Riden blinks. He looks around in confusion until he sees me and everything
comes back to him. I did not take away his memories of the song, so he knows
exactly what I made him do. He inhales a quick breath. The pain from his injuries comes back to him. I cannot keep the pain away once I stop singing. It
was only a temporary relief, but I gave him what I could. It’s my fault he’s here in the first place.
Well, actually it’s Theris’s, but I can’t expect Riden to see it that way.
Vordan steps closer to the cage, peering at me intently. “Your eyes truly are
the window to your soul, Alosa,” he says loudly in an attempt to compensate for
the wax in his ears. “In less than a minute, they’ve turned from green to blue to green again. Such a handy tool to tell when you have the power of your song and
when you do not.”
Damn.
I hoped they wouldn’t be able to tell when I was out. They’re observing me
too closely. I won’t have any secrets left by the end of this.
“But back to the task at hand. I think you can do better than that, Alosa,”
Vordan says in an encouraging voice that makes me even sicker to my stomach.
“Try again.” He points a finger at the other pirate in front of me.
This time Cromis stoppers his branch with his thumb before raising it over my arms, which hang limply outside the cage.
This is an act. I want them to think that using my powers weakens me momentarily. Might help me get the drop on them later.
I pull the water into myself as it falls. I feel it running through me, rushing into all my limbs. Doubt becomes certainty. Weaknesses become strengths. Fear
becomes resolve. These men don’t know who they’re dealing with. I am power
and strength. I am death and destruction. I am not someone to be trifled with.
They are beneath my notice. I shall—
“Alosa.” Riden’s voice cuts through my alarming thoughts. Does he notice how the siren tries to take me? Or is he merely urging me along because he’s scared of what Theris will do if I don’t immediately obey?
Whatever the case, I’m grateful he seems to have the ability to bring me back
to myself. And quickly.
“Alosa, you don’t have to do this,” he continues. Again, he’s turned away from Vordan and his men, so they can’t possibly tell that Riden is speaking to me. “It’s all right. Ignore them. Focus on getting yourself out of this. You’re good at escaping. So do it.”
I smile at him despite the situation.
“Each time I escaped, it was because I planned ahead. I didn’t plan this capture.” I hope Vordan will assume my moving mouth is the beginning of my
song. To keep the illusion, I blur the last word into a note and start a new song.
To me, the melody sounds fast-paced, exciting, thrilling. It always seems to match my intention. For this time, I run Riden through an impressive display of
flexibility and dexterity. I make him do somersaults in the air. He runs up trees and flips off of them backward. I make him run faster than should be possible with his injuries. He performs stunts I’m sure he can’t do on his own, for as long as I know how to do them, he will be able to as well.
When I drain myself of notes, I sink to the bottom of the cage once more.
Vordan takes the wax out of his ears. His men, taking his lead, do the same.
“Much better, Alosa.” Vordan now has a piece of parchment and a stick of charcoal in his hands. It doesn’t matter that the wax is gone now; my abilities are gone, too.
“Let’s start breaking down the extent of your abilities.” Vordan begins writing with his charcoal. “If I’m not mistaken, you essentially have three abilities. The first is your song. You can enchant men to do essentially anything, so long as it doesn’t defy the laws of nature. For instance, you cannot make
Riden fly. How many men can you enchant at a time, Alosa?”
I hesitate. Should I lie or tell the truth?
Riden gasps in front of me. Theris pulls back a bloody sword.
“Three!” I shout. “For stars’ sake, let me think a moment, would you?”
“There’s nothing to think about. Answer, and no harm will come to Riden.
Now, you replenish your song with water from the ocean. And the ocean water
only goes so far. You couldn’t make Riden do very much with the amount Cromis gave you. I’m sure the complexity of the instruction will determine how
much water is necessary.”
And each man’s mind is different. That affects the amount, too, but I’m not