HEART OF SIREN - EPISODE 1
Chapter 1
Block Island, New York, distant future.
It was never easy to see your own tombstone.
Forever in our hearts. Our Beloved Daughter and Sister. Josephine Cassidy.
Jo sighed, pondering how her parents might have felt while having this empty grave prepared for her. As much as it pained her, she hadn’t had a choice at the time. Death was a much easier explanation than I’m going to the multiverse. Especially after what her family had been through.
The gentle sea breezes brushed across her skin. She inhaled and savored the salty air. There was no natural air in Eudaiz, the universe she now called home. So now that she was back on Earth again, she might as well enjoy it as much as possible.
She wasn’t complaining. She had indeed gone to a better place. Going to Eudaiz was the second best thing that had ever happened in her life. As for the best thing in her life, she thought about it a lot, but she didn’t want to think about it right now.
The second best reason to live was good enough at the moment. She would jump at the chance to repay the privileges and happiness Eudaiz had afforded her.
She crouched in front of the tomb next to her own. The headstone read, You love the sand, and now you can be one with it. Beloved sister and daughter. Shauna Cassidy.
While Jo’s grave was empty, her sisters wasn't.
Jo traced her fingers over the words she had chosen for her sister’s headstone. A tear rolled down her face.
“I’m sorry. I wish it had been me,” she whispered. She was just a kid when it happened, but the incident still haunted her.
Then she placed her hands on the headstone, concentrated, and pushed the energy in. In a second, the entire tomb and the soil around it liquified. The grave had become a small pond.
Jo had silver blood eudqi—the strongest source of energy from Eudaiz which, when combined with the natural talent of an individual, turned into a powerful but unpredictable weapon.
A unique feature of silver blood eudqi was that Jo could turn it on and off as she chose. When her eudqi was turned on, she could liquify anything she touched to the degree she desired. When it was turned off, she could heal almost any injury to her body.
The catch was that the silver blood eudqi caused a fatal weak point on the body of the host. The location of this weak point was different for each person and was activated when the power was turned on. When Jo used the power of the eudqi, she risked death if her fatal point was hit.
By leaving her eudqi off, she could fight with the peace of mind that almost all injuries would heal quickly. So, effectively, she was invincible if she chose not to use her superpower.
Everything had a catch.
Jo chuckled inwardly when she was about to use her supernatural ability to dig up a grave! Not just any grave, but her sister’s.
She glanced around to be sure she hadn’t been followed. Then she dipped her arm into the murky water and shoved it down through the mud. She knew exactly where to find it.
She grabbed it and pulled it up from the ground.
In her palm, a tri-colored interlocking stone talisman stared up at her. It had been many years, but the sensation it gave her was the same as the first time she’d held it. She felt a lump in her throat, but before she could tear up, a dry chuckle from behind startled her. She turned around to see an enormous man in a strange military uniform that she didn’t recognize. He grinned at her.
He held a rifle in his hand and his eyes were glued to the talisman.
“Thank you,” the man croaked in a strange accent. “I hate digging.”
She shoved the talisman into her pocket and grinned back at him—she was in just the mood to pound on any moving object in her way.
“You’re welcome. I think the hole in the ground is a little small for you. But I’ll widen it for you with pleasure.”
Then she switched off her eudqi and charged at him. She was much smaller than he was, but she thought using her supernatural power on him would be a waste. After all, he wouldn’t have needed a gun if he was more powerful than her.
He raised his rifle, but before he could shoot, she kicked it away from him. He roared.
His size wasn’t doing him any favors. She enjoyed ducking around him and attacking him by surprise, and that included a few good kicks to the groin.
The latter caused the large man to fall to the ground. He sat up and waited for her fatal blow.
Jo withheld a smile. She would never kill a fallen man, let alone one with no weapon. But he didn’t know that, and she was having fun. So she pressed the pointy heel of her shoe into his chest.
“Who sent you?” she asked.
“I got the job from the market. I don’t know the client … please don’t kill me!”
Damn the super-technology of the multiverse! When she went back, she would have a chat about this issue with the authority of the Daimon Gate. The freelance job market needed to be controlled.
In Eudaiz and other member universes, jobs logged into the system were required to be backed by reputable clients and suppliers. But in the crossworld zone and areas without legitimate governance such as Xiilok, anonymous jobs dominated the market.
“Why do you think the talisman can save Lorcan, sister?”
The distant female voice echoed in her ear, but her sister was dead. It must be some kind of hallucination. Or maybe it was a distraction. But why, and from whom?
Someone or something was toying with her situation.
She had accepted this small mission to save Lorcan, a close friend. Except for Orla, Lorcan’s wife, no one knew she was here.
More importantly, nobody knew about this talisman.
The large man slammed a kick into her abdomen. She fell backward, skidding on the ground. When she sat up, she felt a kick to her head that almost snapped her neck in two.
Pain blinded her, and she saw stars. Sensing another kick coming, she raised her hands in defense and, as luck would have it, grabbed the man’s foot. She twisted it, and the tower of a man fell. But before she could get back to her feet, he had grabbed his gun and aimed it at her forehead.
The silver blood eudqi could heal injuries, but it couldn’t bring her back from the dead. And death was the only thing she could see now. She closed her eyes and waited.
Chapter 2
“Hey, asshole, you’re pointing that gun at my wife. Drop it or I’ll break your neck.”
Jo opened her eyes. She was still dazed from the hit, but she could always recognize Tadgh’s voice.
The gorilla of a man in front of her turned in the direction of the voice but saw no one. He started to pull the trigger. But then Tadgh appeared on the man’s right-hand side. The man swung the gun toward him, his finger still on the trigger.
Jo surged to her feet and pushed the gun in the opposite direction. The bullet fired into the air.
Tadgh darted forward and snapped the neck of the man with one hit. His body dropped to the ground, wriggled, and then turned into a long black sea eel before death overcame it.
Tadgh looked at the dead eel with disdain. “I should have known you were spineless.”
“You don’t even bother to dodge bullets these days? Do you think you’re invincible, Tadgh?” Jo glared at him as her stomach quivered with nerves. Tadgh was the best thing that had ever happened to her. In addition to having the mind of a genius and resembling all the gorgeous LeBlanc men, he was hard as nails in his business dealings but easygoing in social situations. Most importantly, he loved her and accepted her for who she was.
He grinned. “I know you’ll save my ass.”
“We haven’t been on Earth in a long time—and this isn’t a joke.”
“True and true. But you sneaked around and took this mission on your own. It’s the same thing as me not dodging bullets.”
She waved her arms in the air. “It’s not the same. And I didn’t sneak around.”
“I know you’re here trying to save Lorcan.”
“Is he okay?”
“Yes, but you should have discussed this with us.”
“Us?” She sighed. “Ciaran knows, doesn’t he?”
“Well, you’ve answered your own question. You know the system reports all transport, and you didn’t exactly walk from Eudaiz to Earth.”
“I thought I’d be quick enough. And since when does the king of Eudaiz check out minor traffic reports?”
“Ciaran doesn’t read traffic reports. But not only is Lorcan our friend, he also commands a major station in the Daimon Gate. His well-being has a larger stake than you think, so of course Ciaran would be alerted when Lorcan’s in trouble.”
“And that’s what I’m trying to fix here.”
“No, Jo, you’re missing the point. Lorcan’s life affects the safety of the multiverse. It’s not as simple as getting a talisman.”
“It’s not just a talisman—”
“I know, Jo, it’s a tri-colored piece of stone also known as the Key of Pisces.”
“What?”
“I’m just joking. That’s yet to be confirmed.”
“What has to be confirmed? The connection between Lorcan and the safety of the multiverse, or the possibility that the talisman is the Key of Pisces?”
Tadgh glanced at his wrist unit. “Both. I’m waiting for Ciaran to confirm.”
Jo narrowed her eyes. “Did you feed a voice into my head earlier?”
“Voice?”
“Never mind. It doesn’t matter, Tadgh. So … Ciaran can fix Lorcan, right?”
Tadgh shook his head. “He’s checking Lorcan’s robotic part. Only the human side of him shut down. The last thing Ciaran said was that Lorcan should be okay for now.”
“I guess Orla told you I’m here to get the tri-color talisman for her. When Lorcan collapsed, she said the last thought in his mind was the talisman. And she felt there was a spell cast on him because of it.”
Tadgh nodded. “Yes, but Orla also said it happened quickly, and after you left, she couldn’t feel that sensation anymore.”
“What does that mean?”
“She said the sensation she felt seemed to be controlled. She thought she was being controlled when she gave you that information.”
“She’s a one-of-a-kind sorceress. If she can be controlled, what chance do we have when we don’t know jack about magic?”
Tadgh shook his head. “I don’t think this has anything to do with magic. It’s not a coincidence that Lorcan collapsed when you were working on a program with him. And the next thing we know, you’re running magical errands on your own on Earth.”
“What does Ciaran think?”
“He thinks someone or something was playing with crossworld technology at a high caliber. And that’s what controls the robotic part of Lorcan.”
Jo walked back and forth. “The crossworld. So they know both magic and technology. And we’re at a disadvantage.”
Tadgh nodded. “Precisely. But what does that have to do with you?”
“What?”
“Well, it happened when you were with Lorcan. How often did you see him last year? Once! It can’t be coincidental. How did you know where to find the talisman?”
“When I played with my sister on the beach when we were kids, we saw a man lying in the sand. He gave us this talisman. My sister liked it, so I let her keep it. When Lorcan collapsed, Orla said she needed a talisman from the sea, so I came back to get it for her because I thought it might do the trick. It’s just a pretty piece of stone to me. Nothing more.”
“So you didn’t know about the Key of Pisces?”
“I know of it.” She turned on her wrist unit and coded.
“What are you doing, Jo?”
“If this is the Key of Pisces, there’s no way I want to have it on me.”
Tadgh turned and saw shadows in the distance charging toward them.
“That’s the precise reason I don’t want this piece of stone,” she muttered as a beam of light shone down.
“Damn Xiilok mercenaries,” Tadgh said and pulled out his gun.
Jo placed the talisman inside the small parcel of light hovering in front of her. She coded it and slammed the send button on the holographic control panel. The light beam and the parcel vanished.
“Where did you send it?” asked Tadgh.
“What you don’t know won’t hurt you.”
Tadgh’s wrist unit beeped. When he looked at it, Jo stepped in front of him and pulled out her gun, waiting for the mercenaries’ attack.
“Ciaran confirms that only the Nepolymbian authority can verify the Key of Pisces.”
Jo winced when she heard the name of the submarine dimension.
The mercenaries continued to come at them. They were outnumbered, but Jo wanted to enjoy a good fight before they went back to Eudaiz. “They’re mine,” she said, staring at the mercenaries.
The sea next to them hissed and whirled like a tornado, then opened into a gateway.
“Come on, Ciaran, not now.” Tadgh waved his arms in the air. “He must know I hate swimming.”
“Ciaran wants us to talk to Nepolymbus now?”
Tadgh pointed at the water gateway. “Apparently!”
“Strange,” Jo said. “But let’s go.” She ran into the divided water and heard Tadgh following as he grumbled his complaints.
Her husband not only disliked water, but he also couldn’t de-materialize—a talent he had and was proud of—in an aqueous environment.
“One more thing …”
She heard Tadgh, but pretended she didn’t, and raced into the wall of water ahead. She’d had enough surprises for the day. Whatever news he had, it could wait.
Chapter 3
Faye shuffled through the stacks of paper on her desk—mountains of scrolls, books, and medical texts. On the walls, constant streams of digital data flew across the monitors. She grimaced at one particular screen and then approached a nearby computer. She called up some specific details and scanned through them. She glanced back at the screen, shook her head, and switched on a communication button on the control panel.
“Kai,” she said.
Soon after, a tall man in his thirties walked in. She nodded to acknowledge his entry and approached the monitor. “Subject 24XUQ isn’t doing well. I’m going to terminate. Since you were the hunter, I’d thought I’d let you know out of courtesy.”
“24XUQ? Come on, Faye, that one was hard work. I just got it last month. Can you give it another week or so?” Kai asked, his deep blue eyes sparking with a hint of temper. It was rare. Kai wasn’t the kind of hunter to get attached to his subjects easily, let alone get upset when they were terminated.
“I’m sorry, Kai. It’s protocol.”
Kai composed himself instantly and nodded. “I understand. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have reacted like that.”
Faye approached Kai and looked into his eyes. “You’ve changed, Kai. It’s noticeable.”
“I never change, Faye.” He stared back at her. “It doesn’t matter what happens—I won’t change. You know that.”
She smiled. “There’s nothing’s wrong with being human.”
“I’m a mer-citizen, Faye. There may be nothing wrong with being human, but it’s wrong to be turned into one.”
“What if I want you to change?”
He cocked an eyebrow.
“The Core doesn’t trust me anymore,” she said.
“After all you’ve done for them? That’s bullshit. You don’t need them. Let’s go back to Black Mountain.”
“See, you just want to be closed to humans.”
“Faye—”
“It’s the truth. You’ve changed. You can’t deny it, and I don’t blame you.”
“Everything is fixable.” His eyes darkened. “You promised me.”
He looked into her eyes. He held her shoulders gently with his big hands, as if afraid he might hurt her. She had to admit that, with one twist of those hands, her tiny body would probably be broken in half.
“If I hadn’t promised you, you wouldn’t have taken the heart, and you would have died…”
“It’s not the heart. It’s a human organ—-”
“It doesn’t matter, Kai. It has an effect on you, and I see nothing wrong with that. But we have to be careful around here. I don’t have much influence in the Core anymore, and they don’t look fondly on human association.”
“Tell me what to do.”
“Be careful. Maybe you should stop hunting for a while.”
“You want me to take on domestic tasks instead?”
“It’s only temporary…”
“Why don’t you just put me in jail?”
“I need you here with me, Kai. You promised you’d protect me regardless…”
“Yes, I did.”
“So stay alive, stay here, and protect me. The Core has lost trust in me. They might take back my access to resources at any time. And I’m nowhere near ready.”
“Even with the latest subject I’ve gotten for you?”
Faye shook her head. “We’ve lost her.”
“She’s dead?”
“No, taken from us.”
“By the Core?”
“I don’t know. But I suspect so.”
He grabbed her elbow. “No, this is getting too dangerous. I need to get you out of here before they figure this out. I’m taking you back to Black Mountain.”
“I won’t return to land until my mission is finished, Kai. But I want you to control your changes. The organ is affecting you, and you’re becoming more human by the day. As I said, there’s nothing wrong with that, but it makes the Core suspect us even more, and we’ll get kicked out before we can accomplish anything.”
“I’m not worried about being kicked out.” He grabbed her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. “But I can’t let them hurt you.”
“You can’t let them hurt me because?” she asked and looked back at him. He had a lot of human in him right now, and she wanted him to use the word humans usually used to express their passion to their significant others. There was no such emotion in Nepolymbus, especially in her world. But she wouldn’t mind hearing it from someone else.
And certainly not from Kai. Any female mer-citizen would throw herself at his feet for a chance to be his mate.
“Because I’m a hunter, and I am your guard.”
She felt a lump in her throat but swore to herself she wouldn’t let any tears fall. “All right, I accept your protection. Now let go of me.”
He didn’t. He grabbed her shoulders and lifted her so high her feet almost dangled above the floor. He kissed her.
It was a hell of a kiss.
A loud bang behind her startled them. The kiss stopped. Kai took a step back and regained his composure.
She turned and punched a button on the wall. A panel opened, revealing a row of tanks filled with water, all of them containing sea creatures. In a tank in the middle of the row, a mermaid floated back and forth in an upright position. A half-smile on her face, she looked at Faye and then slammed her tail into the glass wall, making another loud bang.
“ZZ29, are you trying to make a point?” Faye muttered.
The mermaid charged at the glass panel, slamming her hands against it, her tail angled straight up. She glared at Faye and bared her fangs.
“Well, thank you. You’ve saved me a lot of time and resources by proving yourself unworthy as a subject.” Faye approached another panel on the wall and pressed a square purple button, releasing poison into the tank.
The mermaid hissed and hurled herself at the glass wall again and again, but her body soon floated to the top of the tank. Faye flushed the water and the body down a pipe to empty the tank.
“There’s room for a new subject, Kai,” she said then turned and walked toward the lab window.
The rebel’s dome was not as large as the majority of the domes in Nepolymbus. But it was big enough to host thousands of hunters and the forces they needed. From her window, Faye could see the high traffic area of the entrance. It was late in the day, judging by the stream of mer-citizens swimming their way home outside the dome. The rebel dome was not a place for families.
She stood and waited for the light system to shut down for the night. Kai said nothing, but she knew he was behind her, protecting her and looking out for her. At all times.