| Chapter 27 Tara stood in the kitchen helping the girls prepare breakfast. Nick was in the great room with Ephah and Jered, working on the latest technique they had shown him. "Evi, can I ask you something?" Tara said. "Sure," she replied. "Well, I was just wondering, are we the only sirens, or are there others?" she asked. Evi and Serenity glanced at one another. Tara watched them, wondering if she shouldn't have asked. Serenity motioned towards the table and the girls took a seat. "We aren't the only ones," she said. "We aren't? Where are the others?" Tara asked. "Scattered throughout the world," Evi said, "We only gather in groups of three. It helps to hide our numbers that way." "So do you know how many others there are?" Tara asked, curiously. "Several thousand by now," Serenity answered, "And we're gaining everyday." Tara could feel her stomach churn, "Several thousand? I had no idea." "No one does. That's the way we like it," Evi said. "But how do you know there's that many if we only gather in threes?" Tara asked. "We have ways of keeping up with each other," Serenity said. "Yeah, the internet has made it easy to keep in contact," Evi added. "Will I get to meet any of the others?" Tara asked. "Possibly," Evi said. "I'm sure after your confirmation you will meet a few," Serenity said. "Oh OK," Tara said, disappointed. "Don't sound so glum," Serenity said, "We aren't that bad are we?" Tara laughed, "No, it's just that I was kinda hoping to meet some more like us." "Honey, there are none like you," Evi said. "Yeah, you are a one of a kind at the moment," Serenity added. "At the moment?" Tara asked. "Yeah, I'm sure once you start on some missions, they will include bringing more like yourself to us," Serenity said. "Yeah, see we have a unique ability that you guys don't have," Evi said. "What's that?" Tara asked. "Well, we can affect even the strongest of angels and demons, and they never see us coming until it's to late," she explained. "Yeah, I was wondering about that. I can feel them, and I know they can feel me, but why can't we feel you?" Tara asked. "Because of the song," Serenity said. Tara looked at her confused, "What does the song have to do with it?" "The song is everything. It's what gives us the power we need. It's also how we hide," Evi said. "I don't get it," Tara said. "OK, we only affect people when we sing the song. Therefore we are normal until that point. There's nothing that would trigger anyone sensing us, and when we sing, the nature of the song is such that it's undetectable. So we are hidden from those that would want to do us harm," Serenity explained. "OK, so if we are hidden all the time, do we know each other when we pass on the street?" Tara asked. "Yes," Evi said. "How?" Tara asked. "You have to be one of us to sense us," Serenity said, getting up and checking on the food. "Oh, OK, that makes sense," Tara said. "Good," Evi said, getting back up. "But I do have one more question," Tara said. Both girls looked at her. "How did this alliance come to be?" she asked. The girls looked at one another, then back at the food. "OK, let's finish this and eat first, then we'll tell you," Evi said. "You can't tell me now?" Tara asked. Serenity shook her head, "No, it's to complicated and way to long. After we eat, alright?" Tara sighed, "OK." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Bri, do you care if Ted comes for dinner tonight?" Lyn asked. Brian looked up from the couch, "No, not at all. Why are you asking me, it's your house." Lyn laughed, "It's our house now." Brian smiled, "OK our house, but you still don't have to ask." Lyn rolled her eyes and went to the kitchen to get their breakfast. "We have to be at the attorneys in about an hour and a half," she announced from the kitchen. "OK," Brian said, standing up and immediately feeling a wave of dizziness. He leaned over and steadied himself by holding on to the side of the couch. After a minute the feeling was gone, and he continued into the kitchen. Lyn was just setting their plates on the table. She looked up at him as he walked in and sat down. "Are you OK?" she asked. "Yeah, why?" he said. "You look a little pale," she said. "Oh, I'm sure it's nothing. Probably the lights in here," Brian said. Lyn stared at him for a moment, then sat down. They took each others hand and said a silent prayer over the food. When they finished they began to eat. "So this attorney is good at wills and stuff?" Brian asked. "Yes, he was my fathers attorney, and I've kept him on retainer for years. I trust him with everything," she said. "Good, I want it to be simple and not take a lot of time," he said. They finished eating and spent the rest of the time getting ready to go into town. Lyn was waiting in the living room when Brian walked out of their room with some papers in his hand. "What are those?" Lyn asked. Brian looked down at them, then back up to her, "This is the last will I had done. It's kinda out of date, but it has a lot of the information that I'm gonna need in it." "Bri, do you always travel with that?" Lyn asked. He nodded, "I know it's kinda silly, but with everything I've been through, I just kinda made it habit." "I see," she said, walking out the door to the car with him. "Stop," Brian said, once they got in the car. "What?" Lyn asked. He laughed, "Trying to figure out why I carry this." Lyn smiled, "I'm sorry, but it is strange. You do know that right? Most people don't carry their wills around with them." "I know that, but most people aren't me either," Brian replied, "With all the craziness that seems to surround me sometimes, it's just better to have important things like this handy." "I guess," Lyn said, backing down the drive and out to the road. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tara walked into one of the sitting rooms and sat down, anxious to hear this story. The girls followed her in and took seats across from her. "OK, let's see here," Serenity said, "Where to start..." "How bout at the beginning? That's usually the best place," Tara said. Evi laughed, seeing Serenity roll her eyes at Tara. "OK the beginning. Ages ago, before any of our times, the sirens had dwindled down to almost becoming extinct. There were only a few left, and due to unknown circumstances, those few quickly died out, leaving only one. Her name was Luna. Luna vowed not to let our kind die. So she sought out a demon by the name of Nickolas to help her. They formed the alliance that we still honor to this day. She promised to help him and his kind through all of eternity, and in return she was �given' a number of young women to take and train," Serenity said. "There's a demon named Nickolas?" Tara asked. "There was," Evi said, "He was killed a long time ago during a great battle with the angels. But the alliance still stands." "So nothing can break the alliance?" Tara asked. She watched as the two girls glanced at each other, looking like they didn't want to reveal what they both seemed to know. "What?" Tara asked, getting impatient. "The only way the alliance can be broken, is if Nickolas breaks it," Evi said. "But you said he was killed, how could he break it?" Tara questioned. "It's hard to explain," Serenity said, getting up and looking through one of the bookshelves in the room, "It's easier to show you." Tara watched as she found the book she was looking for and thumbed through the pages, stopping on one and looking at it. She walked over and handed the open book to Tara. Tara looked down at the page and gasped. There on the page was a drawing of Nickolas. He was the spitting image of Nick. "Holy shit," Tara mumbled. "Yeah," Evi said, "Now you see why we fear him." "But this is just a drawing. It's not even in color. How do we know that he really did look like this, or even had the same color eyes and hair as Nick?" Tara asked. "We know," Serenity said, "In all the stories about Nickolas, he was described as �angelic' looking. Blonde hair and blue eyes, just like Nick. And they have the same name, it's even spelled the same." Tara looked up at them, "But you know Nick isn't this Nickolas, right?" "It was told that Nickolas would come back and test us. If he found us displeasing he would break the alliance," Evi said. "But how? What breaks it?" Tara asked. "If he kills one of us, the alliance is broken. The sirens would turn on the demons, and another war will start between the demons and the angels," Serenity said. "And all this is foreseen?" Tara asked. Both girls nodded. Tara stared at the drawing, studying it. "Do they know?" she asked. "Who?" Evi asked. "The guys. Jered and Ephah. Did they know this before they took Nick?" Tara asked. "No they didn't, and they don't. It's common knowledge among the sirens, but there are only a few in the demon world that know the whole story. I'm expecting them to be quite surprised when Nick goes to be confirmed," Serenity said. "I bet they would be," Tara said. "Tara, Nick needs to be careful. Those that know will not like him being here and may try to harm him," Evi said. "But why?" Tara asked. "Because of who he is. They rely on us to help them. They know their job is made easier with our help, and they know what will happen if the alliance is broken. They may try to kill him to keep that from happening," Serenity said. "But Nick would never do that," Tara argued. "He may not, but it wouldn't matter to them. The similarities are to great to ignore the possibility," Evi said. "OK wait, so if you guys knew this all this time, why didn't you try to kill him yourself?" Tara asked. "We wanted to, but were not allowed. Jered and Ephah wanted him alive, and we are bound to serve them. Then when he turned, he became to powerful for us to harm anyway, we just had to hope that this wasn't the prophecy coming to light," Serenity said. Tara sighed and looked back down at the picture. "Tara, you can't let him know this," Evi said. Tara looked back up at her, "He has to know he could be in danger." The girls looked at each other. "You know he would never do this. He's not that Nickolas. And I will not let him walk into a trap at the confirmation," Tara said. "Can't you just tell him that he's in danger without really explaining why?" Evi asked. Tara laughed, "No I can't. You know he has to know everything. He won't take me telling him that without some reason." "Can't we make one up?" Serenity offered. "Do you have any great ideas?" Tara asked. "No, other than his music vexes them," Serenity said. All three girls laughed. "I don't think he would believe that one," Tara said, "Let me tell him. It won't go any further than us, but he needs to know who's footsteps he's walking in." Evi and Serenity thought for a long time. Neither one wanted to give up the information, but Tara did make a good point. They had come to like Nick and didn't want to see him hurt anymore than Tara did. "Alright," Serenity finally said, "You can tell him." Tara breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you," she said, getting up with the book to go find Nick. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian and Lyn walked out to the car. They had spent the morning in with Lyn's attorney drawing up Brian's new will. It was now lunch time, and they were both starving. "Where would you like to go?" Lyn asked. "I don't care," Brian said, getting in the car. Lyn got in and looked over at him. He was staring at the new will, a lost look on his face. "Bri, you alright?" she asked. He shook his head, "It feels so final now ya know? I can't really explain it." Lyn took his hand in hers, "You don't have to, I understand." He smiled at her, "That's one of the things I love about you. I don't have to say anything, and you still know exactly how I feel." Lyn laughed, "That's what true love is. Knowing the other person so well that you don't have to explain things, you just know, because the same thing is happening to you. When you hurt, so do I. When you're scared, a part of me is to. I feel what you do, so I know." Brian started to say something when his breath caught in his throat. The world around him was spinning out of control, and he had to close his eyes to keep from getting sick. "Brian? Brian, what is it?" Lyn asked, seeing his face pale and watching as he broke out into a cold sweat. Brian leaned against the side window, trying to catch his breath, "I'm ... dizzy." Lyn reached across him and laid his seat back for him, "I'm taking you to the hospital," she said, starting the car. Brian reached over and grabbed her arm, "No, I'll be OK." "Brian, I'm taking you, this isn't something to play around with," she said. "Please Lyn, I'm already feeling better. I just need to lay down for a while and I'll be OK. Please don't take me to the hospital, I don't like being there and getting poked and prodded. I just want to lay down, please," he begged. Lyn stared at him with tears in her eyes, "Brian, I don't.." "Please Lyn, I promise if I start feeling really bad I'll let you take me, but I'm just tired, that's all," Brian said. Lyn wiped her face and looked at him. The color was returning to his face and he was breathing better. "You promise? If you feel worse you'll tell me?" she asked. He nodded, "I promise." "And I can call Ted when we get home and have him come over and check on you?" she asked. Brian nodded again, "Yes." "Alright, we'll go home," she conceded. Brain smiled looking up at her, "Lyn?" "Yes?" she asked, pulling out of the parking lot. "Can we go through a drive through, I'm really hungry," he asked. She glanced down at him and laughed, "Yes, we'll go get something to eat." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick sat on the bed staring at the drawing in the book. Tara had told him the entire story of Nickolas, and he was completely freaked out. "They can't think this is me?" he asked. "They do to a certain extent," Tara answered. Nick looked up at her, "I'm not this person." Tara sighed, "I know that, but the general public doesn't. You will be in danger if any of them find out about you." Nick looked back down at the picture, running his finger over it. "Tara, do you think this is why we came?" he asked. She shrugged, "I'm not sure. The thought did cross my mind. It wouldn't be unlike Him to show us the pieces to the big picture falling into place." Nick nodded, "Yeah, but to start a war? I dunno if I can do that." Tara looked at him, "If it's suppose to happen, it will, wether we want it to or not." "I know, but a war? I don't want to be the cause of some of our friends getting killed," he said. "And neither do I, but maybe this is why we're here," she said. "Maybe," Nick mused, still staring at the picture. "We have to leave before we go to confirmation," Tara said. Nick looked up at her, "I know, and that doesn't give us much time. Ephah said I was ready." "And so am I," Tara stated, "We only have a couple days left." "I have to have more time with Ephah. I can feel him struggling when we're together. I know I can get him back, but I need more time," Nick said. Tara sighed, "We don't have it Nick. We cannot go to confirmation. It would be a death sentence for you. We'll have to leave with or without Ephah." Nick sighed, "We still have a few days right?" Tara nodded. "Then I'm gonna make the most of them. I refuse to leave without him knowing how he feels," he said. Tara sighed and kissed his cheek, "I hope we aren't making a mistake by staying." Nick bit his lip, "So do I." Chapter 28 |