Once a siren has a hold upon you, she will not let go. She carries her sailor
with her all the way to the bottom of the sea, where she has her way with him.
Then she steals all of his valuables and leaves him to float in the abyss.
There are many myths surrounding sirens. Most no one knows fact from
fiction. But this part I do know. All the sirens throughout the centuries have
carried their stolen treasures to an island, Isla de Canta. There can be found the wealth of history, treasures beyond imagination.
This is what my father seeks. This is why I’m here. This is what I’ve been prepared for: stealing another piece of the map.
Each of the three pieces was passed down from father to son for generations.
One traveled down the Allemos line, eventually falling into Jeskor’s hands, possibly now Draxen’s. Another down the Kalligan line, now safeguarded by my
father. And the last belongs to the Serad family. Vordan will be in possession of that one.
With the three pieces united, the bearer will be able to find the legendary Isla
de Canta. Island of Song. Also called the Land of the Singing Women.
“There aren’t any sirens out there,” I say to Enwen. “If there were, you’d already be enchanted to jump overboard. Do you hear any music?”
“No, because the storm’s blocking it.”
“So the storm’s a good thing?”
“Yes—no. I mean…” Enwen wrestles with that for a moment.
Enwen and even Kearan seem too anxious to sleep tonight. Even a man who’s
spent his whole life at sea has reason to fear her when she’s angry.
But not I. I sleep soundly. Listening to her music. The sea watches over me.
She protects her own.
Chapter 5
THE NEXT FEW DAYS and nights pass in much the same way. During the day, Riden comes down to question me. We poke and prod at each other, trying to get
answers. Rarely does anything come of it. He also brings me my meals, but aside
from that, I’m always left alone in my cell, a couple of guards watching over me.
The guards get switched out every so often, but Kearan and Enwen are by far the
most entertaining.
Unfortunately for Riden, guards are not the deterrent I’m sure he was hoping
for. Even they have to sleep, and once they do, I creep from my cell and poke my nose around the ship. Since the map didn’t turn up in Draxen’s quarters, I decide to start my search belowdecks from stern to prow and then make my way
above. I chose this order because I assumed I would be starting with the easiest
places to search and making my way toward the harder ones.
But nothing proves to be quick or easy.
When there’s nigh forty men belowdecks, sleeping, there’s always at least one every hour who needs to piss in the night, no doubt due to heavy drinking
before bed. I spend half my time ducking out of sight, squeezing between tight
spaces, or holding absolutely still while they rush over to the ship’s edge and then return to their beds.
My search is tedious and unfruitful, and each night I manage to finish only a
small section of the ship.
On my fifth night aboard the ship, Kearan is snoring loudly while Enwen
counts gold coins out of a small purse.
“Have you been gambling?” I ask.
“No, Miss Alosa, I don’t like to gamble.”
“Then where does your money come from?”
“Can you keep a secret?”
I look pointedly around my cell. “Who would I tell?”
Enwen nods pensively. “I suppose you’re right.” He looks down at the coins
again. “Well, this one I got from Honis. This one’s from Issen. This one’s from
Eridale. This one’s from—”
“You’re stealing them.” I smile.
“Yes, miss. But only one from each man. If a man sees his whole purse gone,
he’ll know someone’s taken it, but if he’s only missing one coin—”
“He’ll assume he’s lost it,” I say.
“Yes, exactly.”
“That’s brilliant, Enwen.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re much smarter than you let on. Do you only pretend to be a
superstitious fool so the crew will remain unsuspecting?”
“Oh no. I’m as superstitious as you can get.”
“And the part about being a fool?”
“I may overdo that one just a bit.”
I laugh lightly. This is the kind of man I would allow to be on my own ship, if
he could manage to reserve his stealing for people who weren’t his crew members.