Chapter Fifteen
After a few hours, they rested against some flat rocks, all except Luke, who had joined them now. He kept watch for any unwelcome guests.
Muddy bolted upright, hearing one of his favorite riffs of all time. Suddenly, their need for a guide on the way to the castle lessened. The song kept repeating in his head and he knew right away that Silver Eye was behind it. He would be the guide they truly depended on. Lyra’s brother would have to settle for the role of bassist. Maybe this time, it wouldn’t be a lethal job. “I know where to go!”
The others halted their play and gathered their instruments. Corey nearly dropped his horn in a deep crevice.
“Careful,” Otis warned. “If you break it, I think we bought it and no receipt will get us back home.”
“Yeah,” Muddy added, “I doubt there’s a Guitar Center anywhere nearby with replacement parts.” Thoughts crossed his mind about a straw and a camel’s back. He wondered if he could handle the stress.
Poe remained silent. That always worried Muddy. “What? Do you hear something?”
“No,” she replied. “Just thinking. If you break or lose that guitar, are we stuck here?”
Great. Another worry to think about. The camel’s back was creaking.
“Well, don’t go breaking a string now,” Otis added.
The whole group groaned a little. Hopefully, fate wouldn’t depend on a wire .09 of an inch thick. The band unfortunately remembered Muddy’s penchant for bending the strings too much. Might not be a good idea this time around.
The camel’s leg just buckled a bit in his mind.
The band began their journey along the western path. Muddy guessed that if this world reflected theirs in any way, west would take them to the water. Luke didn’t try to correct him as they co-led the way. Nobody else did, either. Maybe for once, they saw him as bandleader instead of Zack’s little brother, the lesser Rivers boy.
The path soon led them out of the forest. The world of green disintegrated into a world exploding in soft blues and cool breezes.
The ocean.
As the edge of the forest approached, the band and the twins found themselves looking down a steep slope that led down to a beach with pure white sand and crashing blue waves.
Again, he heard the riff in his head.
“Wow, we sure ain’t in Jersey anymore. I don’t see high hair, steroid bodies or green water.”
Otis spun to Corey, who’d uttered the words. “Man, you trying to be funny? Finally?”
The bigger boy grinned. “I am funny, when something isn’t trying to kill me.”
Poe inhaled deeply. “And no pizza or funnel cakes, either, Otis. I think we took a wrong turn somewhere.”
“Funny,” Muddy said, although he worried about never again seeing the tainted shore they all loved. “We need to move, and quick.”
“Why?”
He pointed toward the water on the horizon.
“Oh, my,” Corey exclaimed. “Is that what I think it is?” They gazed across the calm, blue water and saw a thick smoke hovering about a football field’s length away. “No freaking way.”
“If it is, it can’t be good. It wasn’t good news in the song, but it does mean we’re at the right place,” the guitarist smiled. Now let’s go find ourselves a ride.”
Poe inhaled. “Is something burning on the water? It looks like the water is on fire somehow; or is there something on top of the water that’s feeding the flames?”
No one answered. After what they’d witnessed so far, no one wished to venture a guess as to what danger they’d face next.
The way down the slope consisted of snakelike switchbacks which made the descent easier. On either side lay rounded rocks of all sizes.
“Are these going to attack us?” Otis turned to Lyra, who in turn looked at her brother.
Luke shrugged. “I don’t think so, but we’ve never been this far before. Neither of us have.” His reply sounded as though he was ashamed that his adventurer skills fell below par.
Lyra shot him a glance. “Just by leaving the city, they could kill us—the Tritons or our own leaders. Luke risked his life to scout out this little trip for you guys.”
Otis spoke first. “Wow. We really aren’t worthy to cause anyone’s death. Why’d you do this for us?”
Luke kicked one of the stones, sending it rolling downhill. “I didn’t,” he replied and kicked another. “I did it for my family. We’re sick of being told what to do, where not to go, never having that music to listen to anymore. Do you know what it’s like to have people from your side come over here with such fantastic skills, only to have it disappear for good when they leave?”
“I’d go nuts,” Otis said, twirling a stick on his fingers. “One day without my iPod and I’m a mess.”
“Yeah, well imagine hearing something amazing, experiencing how good it feels and then being punished for it. It’s all we had left once they took power. You don’t know pain like that.”
“What?” Poe missed something, which was definitely unlike her.
He stared at her deep, translucent green eyes and his voice began calming. “What I meant was, you survived. Most don’t. We get maybe twenty or so musicians here a year.”
“How many make it back?”
The group watched him skitter a rock across the water. It sailed through the air, splashing as it danced into the distance then disappeared into the deep. It didn’t swim back and bite anyone. Muddy took that to be a good sign.
“You’ll be the first I know. I hope.”
* * * *
They walked carefully along the beach path, nervously waiting for something to reach out and pull them beneath the sand. With each step they tread carefully, yet no giant worm devoured them nor did any of them fall into spider webs made of guitar strings.
As they reached the surf, Poe scampered like a nymph into the water. She splashed around, apparently thrilled to be off the path and facing seemingly innocent water. “I love the water,” she squealed. The waves crashed lightly as the tide rolled in.
Muddy ran to the edge of the foam and nearly skidded into the surf. He loved the water too, boogey-boarding and snorkeling for shells in water where most sunbathers wouldn’t reach.
However, he knew this wouldn’t be typical beach water. The fear of the unknown paralyzed him as he attempted to scream at Poe. If anything happened to her, a part of him would be lost forever.
The other four jumped in, apparently not worried one bit. Well, he’d wait for them right there, just in case. He had a feeling if he ventured in he might be adding too much temptation to what lurked beneath the surface.
* * * *
After Lyra and Luke explained that they had never seen the ocean before, Muddy shared his fear and the desire for frolicking ebbed. The concept of something unseen dragging one of them under the water for good was enough to kill the mood.
“Thanks, Muddy,” Otis said. “Always the wet blanket.”
“I got carried away,” Poe said. “After everything we’ve been through, I couldn’t help myself.”
Muddy felt his guilt rise. “I’m sorry. I just couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you.”
“Ever see Jaws?” Otis poked the twin.
Luke gave him an “are you serious” look before he pointed north. They all gawked at the massive darkness swirling over the water just past the breakers. From black to light gray, it churned, roiling like flames licked just below the surface of the ocean. Muddy strained to see through it, to find the source of the smoke. No light emanated from within and no burned-out ship stretched out trying to save itself from destruction.
Was the smoke itself alive? No, it couldn’t be.
They followed the shore northbound another hundred yards and Muddy felt paranoia creeping inside him.
“Call me crazy,” Corey said, “and you know I don’t spook easily, but is the smoke following us? I mean, the breeze is blowing out to sea, not northbound, right?”
Luke stopped. Everyone followed his lead. After a few minutes, they realized that the cloud of smoke did appear to be moving with them. Or was it just an optical illusion? “Walk faster,” he said.
“No problem there,” Corey agreed. “By the way, where are we headed? We’re not walking all the way to the fortress, are we?”
The blond teen grinned a bit, though his eyes still showed fear. “We’re supposed to pick up a ride sometime soon.”
“Ride?” Muddy began to worry even more. “From whom?”
“Yeah,” Otis chimed, “isn’t this a bad place to be hitchhiking?”
Luke pointed to the bend up ahead where a black jetty stabbed into the sea.
“Right there, I think.”
“Is that what I think it is?” Muddy asked, his voice unsteady, not caring who heard.
“The heck with that. Are they what I think they are?” Otis smiled through his question.
The two locals, however, didn’t smile as they hopped up on the jetty and speed-walked as though it would be their last mile.
“Guys, I think it’s time to be afraid again. Let’s go,” Luke said.
Muddy didn’t like seeing their guide turn white. He could tell that Luke had expected something different, something human. “Do you think they really are what I think they are?”
Poe stared hard, tapping into the special vision she was still getting used to. “I’m not sure what they’re supposed to be like, look like, or what they really like to eat. We read the Odyssey in our freshman year.”
Muddy grasped her hand in his. “It’s okay. I’m a little scared, too.” He squeezed. “But we’ll be fine. I know it. Silver Eye wouldn’t send us off to die.”
Otis kept walking, still smiling. “Who cares? Oh, our guru did say we might not make it back, so that argument is shot.”
“Otis!” Corey snapped. “We’re supposed to make ourselves feel better, not scare the crap out of each other.” He, too, placed a hand on Poe, even though his own trembled.
“Sorry, man, but we’ve got to embrace the fear,” Otis said. “Some of us face stuff like this every day. Suck it up, already.”
Muddy looked at his friend. Too many times they forgot about his fragility and that each day might be his last. Maybe that was the way to view life, instead of worrying.
“Sorry, bud. You’re right. Let’s go ride that siren cruise.”
As they neared the end of the jetty, a few of the creatures turned to stare at them. Fear raced through Muddy’s veins. He hated feeling so anxious, hoping it wouldn't cripple him when he needed strength most.
Remember, he told himself, Zack needs me. I can’t let him die here.
The alluring siren sitting on the bow of the ship spoke first. “Need a ride? We can take you anywhere you want. Just hop in and grab a seat.” Her voice purred like a kitten but with the edge of a hawk’s cry.
“Hey, gorgeous,” Otis said, stepping up to the ship’s landing. “Just when I thought only ugly creatures lived here.” Lyra slapped at his arm. “Oops,” he said. “No offense. I only meant non-human ugly.”
They gazed at the female who spoke. Her raven hair covered her and nearly fell into the ocean. The thick tresses framed gray eyes that drew Muddy in, despite his reservations. He now knew why they were the downfall of so many sailors in mythology.
But here, they were real. He should have felt scared but only found himself moving closer. He couldn’t tell what she wore under the hair, if anything, but noticed the arch of black wings peeking out from the tops of her shoulders.
Luke stepped up and held out a bag. “Don’t go thinking you’ll get the meal you’re used to, harpy. We need to be somewhere and we know you can get us there quickest and safest.”
She smiled with the look of another creature, perhaps a wolf. “But, of course. Meal? We're not even hungry. What’s in the bag?”
“What you really want. Seeds of new songs. Ones that no one will be able to resist.”
“Why would you want to give us something? We do not need anything to help us sing for our food.”
“Okay,” he said, putting it back in his sack. “If you don’t care about it, fine, but I gathered them from the banks of the River myself.”
The others with her drew nearer. “How did you?”
Seeds? Silver Eye had never mentioned that to Muddy.
“Simple. I plugged my ears. My father taught me what to look for and what to fear.”
Lyra punched his chest. “Fool! He told us never to do so. You know how many have perished doing just that.”
The leader stepped off the boat, carefully avoiding the water, obviously intrigued. She stood well over six feet tall. Muddy could only imagine her wingspan.
“I know you fear what the water will do to you,” Luke said. “Just think, with these seeds, sailors from other countries will beach themselves for you and fish will hop from the surf when they hear your music.” The teen was a good guide. The guitarist might have learned a little, but he was definitely out of his league here.
Muddy finally took in what he saw before him. They were just like in Greek mythology, but not at all. Their beautiful eyes, silvery blue or green, stared at Luke and the others. About a dozen perched on the long ship. The apparent leader’s long, straight hair hung in front of her womanly torso and tapered off to even longer legs. Yet, instead of human feet, five talons jutted delicately from her ankles. She reached out to Luke.
“Give, please, and I'll take you anywhere.”
Luke retrieved the bag once more. “Only for a trip to the mountain. All the way there.”
She cried out in a voice that sounded like a thousand songbirds dying at once. The others joined her. The result sent the band to their knees in pain. Muddy covered his ears, jamming his fingers in as far as he could manage.
“You know we can't do that,” she hissed in song. “The Tritons would kill us.” The others echoed her in sweet harmony.
“They can kill you?” he taunted. “Even the great sirens?”
She slashed out with her left hand. It was attached to something other than an arm. It was human as far as the forearm. The fingernails appeared to be retractable. A slender wing about twelve feet wide nearly knocked the teen down. Gorgeous feathers unfurled in a stunning pattern. The wing reached down to her ribs and connected in the middle of her back.
“Give,” she said, “and I’ll take you to the shore of the caverns. We’ll take you to where the supposed gauntlet exists. You know that's our limit. It’s anyone’s limit, so please don't tease me, boy.”
At the end of the wing, beautiful, slender, human fingers beckoned to him with the longest nails Muddy had ever seen. Muddy had figured out the game Luke was playing and took his turn. “Look, they stole my brother and took him to the Dark Muse.” He gathered up his strength, ignored his anxiety. “We're going there, with or without your help. So, if you want these songs, which I've heard myself, take us to the cove of the gauntlet, like my friend, here, knows you can. If not, we’ll find another boat.”
“Give,” she repeated, but shrank back a bit. “Fine, but allow me to sample one for the road as a matter of good faith.”
Muddy knew those nails and talons could shred them to pieces if they so wished.
“We want the Tritons gone more than you do, so we agree to your terms. We’re tired of singing only where they allow us to sing. We ache for the freedom of the olden days.” Was that sadness in her voice?
Luke reached into the bag and grabbed a seed. Before he tossed it to her, he spoke. He also nodded to the band, a signal to ready their instruments. “If you trick us or attempt to score an early meal, the entire bag goes overboard, as do all of us and your meal sinks.”
Her eyes flashed an anger Muddy had never imagined in the worst horror movie villains. “But you’d be sealing your own fate as well, boy.”
He shrugged. “So be it, but I have a feeling you won’t dare lose a chance at these.” He grabbed hold of Muddy’s guitar and shoved the bag into the sound hole. “Now it’s safe for the ride.”
Muddy gave him a confused look then quickly figured it out. “You can’t touch these instruments, can you?”
She didn’t answer.
“I don’t know why,” Luke offered, whispering close, “but the legend has it that whoever carved those protected them with something. Something that no one here can touch. So as long as you hold them tight, you’ll be alive.”
He relaxed a little, breathing a deep, shaky breath. “Really?”
“Maybe.”
The anxiety shook Muddy’s bones again.
“Let’s board and see what this boat can do.”
He held his guitar tighter than his fear.
Once they were seated in the rear of the boat, they huddled together and Poe asked, “What is this? Is it theirs?”
The ship ran roughly forty feet long and wide enough for the band to sit on dual rows of wood benches that stretched from bow to stern. A tall mast launched into the sky about midway, holding up a sail almost as wide as the ship was long.
Corey, the resident historian and Jeopardy freak, smiled at her. “Likely not. It seems like a Viking longship.” He stood and peered over the edge, being careful not to step too close to the sirens that were rowing. “Why would they be in a longship? Norway’s quite a ways away from here.”
Muddy looked around, fingers tapping the boat’s rim. “Shouldn’t we be worried about where they’re taking us?”
“Stop worrying, you,” Otis said, doubling his buddy’s rhythm. “These ladies seem to know where they’re going. Never question a lady, especially one who might off us when they start singing.”
Anxiety skittered up Muddy’s spine again. They might not even make it to where Zack was, if his feelings were true.
“Anyway,” Corey continued, “if you spazzes knew anything about history, you’d know that the Vikings came down through Canada into America long before Columbus did. People found artifacts along the east coast a few years ago. Heck, they even found some as far south as the Carolinas.”
“Okay, genius,” Otis replied, “then, why don’t we celebrate Erik the Red Day?”
Corey grinned, but obviously darkened inside. “Marketing. They’d have to change all the calendars.”
“Well, since we’re here,” Muddy said, “we might as well find out how much they know about what we’re doing.”
The leader stood a safe distance away, but with one ear cocked. Her hearing must have been as keen as her voice because at that moment she turned toward the group and smiled.
“So you want to know the way to your goal? Maybe how to live through it?” Her voice purred liked the sweetest songbird with just a tinge of venom.
Muddy stood, steadying himself in the swaying boat. “Please, that might do a ton of good, miss,” he said, his voice almost sure.
“Of course,” she replied, “anything to topple the Tritons and allow us to go back to the lives we once knew.” Her smile turned crafty. “But, everything has its price, right?” Her wings folded inwards. “Later. I promise it will be only a small favor in the grand design of things, especially to save your kin. But enough of that. You desire a map of clues and I have more than that. A story I hold, with bits that will keep you and your music alive forever. Just sit back and listen. Your lives depend upon your heeding every word.”
The others began to slink closer. As she spoke, an eerie dance began with her wings swaying in time to her voice. Then it got really weird.
“If the deal is right, we can save your lives,
for journey is long, into the heart of evil we drive.”
What? Muddy’s head swiveled. The conversation spun first into stereo then into surround sound as more of the sirens sang around them, sounding as if one mind controlled them all.
“To the hive, where the evil one dwells,
the darkest one lives where the innocent one fell.”
The hairs on Muddy’s arms and neck rose. Something just wasn’t right. He looked over at Poe who gave him that “we need to hear this” look. Still, her hands gripped the railing too tight.
“Follow the smoke, which lies along the waves,
maneuver the currents, row past whispering graves.”
Many of the creatures flitted from floor to mast, to sail to bow, singing along in harmonies the band never heard before. Queen would have sacrificed a gold album to blend voices as sweet as these dangerous birds.
The leader swooped down and sung into Corey’s ear.
“From the shores of where bones sing,
follow the ridge to the gauntlet ring.”
Otis’s head swayed to their beat, his fingers adding their own counterpoint. Two of them curled long toes on the wood on either sides of him, drifting in, fading away.
“Find the key of earth to open every door,
for the wrong tone will drop you into mythical lore.”
What’s the key of earth? Muddy thought, becoming entranced. The others looked toward him for an explanation, but he shook his head, giving his best clueless expression. Music theory didn’t come easy to him. Corey and Poe knew that stuff, but from their bemused looks, he’d guessed them to be as lost as he was. Otis kept to the rhythm, but he turned to the twins, their sibling guides, the only ones who knew the land.
Lyra pulled at Luke, but he just stared ahead through the smoke, his face set with a grim expression.
He knew something. What, Muddy didn’t know, but it scared his innards something fierce. Still, they needed the clues. Without Silver Eye, only the brother and sister knew more than they did, which didn’t offer much comfort.
“But,” he began. Poe immediately shoved her hand in his face to shush him. His anxiety kicked in and he ached to run, to scream at them. Something! Why weren’t they doing anything?
“Without the key, you will fall,
into a pit of discord, forever like babes, you’ll bawl.
They will rip from you, your soul,
song removed, dying together, but not whole.”
His vision swam, doubled, but peace slid into his veins, battling for purchase with his anxiety.
“Seven trials await, each born of muses’ breath,
familiar to your world, yet played off brings death.
Solve the puzzle of the room and play the next tone,
out of tune, out of key, and your friends will find only bone.”
The fog appeared to break, or at least thin on the next wave. Luke scampered to the bow but two harpies spun in front of him and unfurled their wings to block his view.
He attempted to scream, but their song drowned him out, his mouth forming only silence.
The leader stepped in front of Muddy and finished the tale.
“If you recall each lyric’s melody or clue,
the door into where you first began will cue.
You’ll step into the final realm, where a certain harmony will break,
the hearts of Triton souls of which the darkened muse was made.”
Muddy tightened his grip on Poe. “I think the song’s over.”
The moment the siren finished, Corey and Muddy ran to help Luke battle for sight of what lie ahead of the haze. The others tried to flap them away and sing in their ears to subdue their efforts. The fingers of the trio in front of them lengthened into talons. Sharp ones. Their eyes focused into hawkish, hungry stares. Their mouths opened wide. Their teeth shrunk into smaller rows of jagged peaks. Muddy wouldn’t have described them as beauties to begin with, but now their faces had morphed into something monstrous. The leader approached Muddy and the others.
“It’s time for the payment,” she nearly squawked.
Muddy stood in front of Poe. “And what is that?” He found himself shaking.
“Nothing much, considering what we just offered you. All you need to do is follow our directions exactly and you will find your brother.”
“How many have succeeded in getting through the gauntlet?”
The beak-like thing smiled. “You’ll be the first, I assume. You have something the others didn’t.”
“Which is?”
“You have the determination to save a loved one, instead of striving for riches or fame. I assume those instruments you’re carrying can do something quite amazing for you. That’s a lot more than the last few who have ventured this far had in their possession.”
Muddy held his guitar tight. “Did you lead them all the way, or did they perish on the boat?”
She laughed, sounding like a cross between a beautiful woman and a macaw. “Silly boy. You think you know us? From your folk tales? Nightmares?” She brushed her wing’s edge against his throat. “You know nothing about our race. We scheme only to survive, to thrive, the same as anyone. Are we to be punished for that?”
Luke grasped hold of the oar he had pointed through the fog. “Tell them,” he said. “Tell them your price, beast.”
Otis screamed through the fog as it suddenly lifted. “I can see it. The shore! It’s right there. It’s—oh, no. No.”
The band pushed past the sirens as they pulled their wings back.
“What is that on the beach?” Poe strained to focus. “It looks like driftwood.”
Corey finally spoke. “It’s not driftwood. They’re bones.”