Siren's Silence

Chapter 15: The Pirate King

James

  By the next morning, Siren was back to her distant self. What had happened, what I had done, or if I was even the cause, I was unsure, but she was more tense than ever. Her shoulders were tight and knotted, her eyes narrowed, her face an unreadable mask. Not wanting to infuriate her, I did my best to stay out of her way.

  Parker had an air of foreboding about him as he wandered from house to house in the village, speaking to almost every family. The conversations I witnessed ended with him stepping out with an "I'm sorry". The families always consoled him, but even I could see the worry in their eyes. At long last, he caught up with me.

  "Siren sends her apologies. A matter of some urgency has surfaced, and she must attend to it. She invites you and your crew to remain on the island, as she cannot yet return you to your ship," he informed me, looking somber.

  "Are the repairs complete?" I asked, surprised.

  "Yes." Parker smiled vaguely.

  "Excellent!" Relief washed through me like a tidal wave, clearing away some of the worry buried deep in my mind. I frowned in thought. "My apologies for prying, but what 'matter' would this be?"

  Parker's expression became unreadable and his tone, strangely level. "She received a summons a few days ago in Aina o Aka. Unfortunately, she cannot ignore it any longer."

  "A summons?" I remembered the unusual correspondence involving the large bird of prey at the volcanic island. She was being summoned? I was unaware that Siren answered to anyone.

  "For reasons unknown, she has been asked to a meeting at Dead Man's Cove, or the Isle of Liars as we call it, chosen port of the Pirate King."

•~•~•~•~•

  I stood at the bow of the Griffin, watching it cut through the grey water. It had taken some persuasion, but Siren had allowed me to come. I was curious about this "Isle of Liars" and the Pirate King whose legend was nearly as famous as Siren's, though much older.

  The Pirate King was known to be a brilliant, though ruthless, tactician. The name had been around for nearly three decades and the ship that accompanied it, the Chimera, had been the terror of the seas before the introduction of the Wolves and the Griffin that pursued them. Since Siren's appearance, the Pirate King's tale had been overshadowed, but far from nonexistent. He was still known to slink out of the depths of night to strike at either a heavily laden merchant ship or an unsuspecting port before disappearing again. He had been pursued many times, but smoke would be easier to catch than the clever captain and his elusive ship.

  I looked behind me, noting Siren's still unpleasant expression hidden deep beneath her dark hood. This eerie behavior led me to wonder what history these two legends had.

  I looked ahead again to note that there was now a town visible just beyond the wide swath of white sandy beach of the rather large island. A number of ships were moored in the harbor, all flying black flags or patterns indicating their lack of allegiance to any particular nation. Never had I seen so many in one place, even Aina O Aka couldn't compare.

Siren navigated carefully between the other crafts. To my surprise, the Griffin only slowed, but did not stop as it circled through the bay. Parker called me down from my perch and I met him beside the longboats. Siren had left the helm to Dalil and joined us.

  "Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked. "It is dangerous here, more so than any other place we have been." Her eyes showed the concern that her lack of a voice did not permit.