Arms of the Ocean Ch. 07

As if in tune with Ronav's thoughts, the wind's battering tapered off a little with Yis slowing down. The surging flight turned instead to a gentle glide through the sky. The sun, with nothing to take the edge from its rays, soon undid the wind's cold.

Only once the initial highs and discomforts of his first flight had worn off did Ronav realize just how close he was to Yis. The way she had his arms and legs so closely wrapped in her own meant that he could feel every inch and contour of her body upon his back. The proximity didn't help to remind that, despite her childlike innocence and the narrow, slim frame all Chayli possessed, she was undeniably a grown woman.

Ronav forced those thoughts from his mind. Vyla was trouble enough, he didn't need more. And the fact that Yis spoke Siren would make her trouble.

The descent through the treetops of town earned Ronav more than a few scratches but Yis seemed to be trying her best to ensure a safe landing. Either by coincidence or planning they had managed to land in a quieter part of town that looked to be a residential rise. The boardwalk here had been built narrow, barely room for two people to pass one another.

Ronav tried to step away from his companion but he found her arms still wrapped across his chest. He waited a moment before taking her hands in his and pulling them away.

A curious, wide-eyed Yis greeted Ronav as he turned around. She stared at him with a tinge of fear present in her features. A wild girl who must not have been so near to civilization for years.

"It's okay," Ronav reassured her and he placed a hand upon her shoulder.

"Quol?" she replied.

Ronav cringed. He'd hoped that the daunting nature of the town would encourage Yis to keep silent but, unless she only spoke here knowing that they were alone, he may have been wrong. "Yis, shh," said Ronav, one finger on his lips.

Yis mimicked the gesture but her frown betrayed her lack of understanding.

Perfect, Ronav thought. Yis clearly didn't find it odd or problematic that she should be speaking Siren. "Yis, don't talk. See? Shh..." Ronav pointed to his mouth, clamped it closed and covered it with one hand. She had to understand some of that.

Yis tilted her head and regarded Ronav with her usual curiosity. "Quol?" she asked after a few seconds.

Ronav's shoulders sagged. As soon as he found Vyla, if he found Vyla, they needed to have a nice, long talk that involved him learning the basics of the Siren language.

===

"Where are you going?" Vyla asked.

Zeerae had been moving about the dungeon of a room for nearly a minute now, gathering things, moving things, occasionally pausing to consider some things. "I must fetch your accomplice."

"Why?" Vyla shifted forwards in the wooden tub that had come to serve more as an infirmary bed this past hour.

"Didn't you tell him of your plan? He was pursuing you, when last I saw. Sitting outside The Gilded Bough."

She truly has been observant, Vyla noted. "But what does that matter?" With all her injuries she didn't feel much like thinking too deeply.

"We can't have him stirring rumors of Lady Telra's life being in jeopardy. At any rate, I should imagine he is wondering where you are." Without another word, Zeerae's body rippled into the form of a Neynas woman clad in a tan shirt and trousers. A worker like the hundreds of others in the fold.

Dressed appropriately Zeerae then slipped out the door to the sewer room and closed it with a gentle thud. The click of tumblers sliding into place soon followed but the sound didn't faze Vyla. Locks couldn't stop a Siren. Zeerae meant to keep others out.

Then we are someplace that a passerby might happen upon, Vyla noted, though she doubted that such a piece of information might become relevant. She had no plans of escaping for she had no need.

===

Once again Ronav found himself thanking fate that the Chayli living in Shadetree Fold these days vastly outnumbered the other races combined. He doubted that Yis would have been managing things quite so well if the boardwalks had held a more reasonable amount of foot traffic for this sized city.

"Down here," Ronav half-whispered to Yis as he led her by hand on their descent towards the riverside. His words continued to be met with a confused, almost-anxious glance; Ronav imagined that it might look odd to others if a couple walked past hand in hand yet totally silent.

"Sa'u pajae uuse," Yis remarked at such a volume that only her companion would hear. She then looked at Ronav, flashed a smile, lifted one hand to her ear and buzzed loudly through her lips.

The sound, Ronav realized, was reminiscent of the constant droning of wind that roared overhead from all the Chayli flying around. Noisy, that had to be the thought that Yis was trying to convey.

"Yes," Ronav agreed and nodded in the hopes that doing so might better illustrate the fact.

"Teb," said Yis, her voice cheerful. She smiled again then looked ahead.

Barely a second had passed before Yis jumped and released a soft yelp. Ronav followed the girl's gaze to the object of her fears as his heart started in shock.

A carriage, nothing more. It had just come into view and lumbered along behind the horses drawing it. Yis' eyes trailed the mammoth object.

Ronav stayed beside the woman with the childlike curiosity, acutely aware that she had grabbed hold of him in her fright and now clutched close. Only once the carriage had passed by did Yis glance at Ronav and shy away.

"Gyys," she squeaked.

What's your story, Ronav wondered.

Lady Telra's carriage stood where it had been when Ronav had left the riverside last. Several of her entourage watched over it. Ronav eyed the vehicle from afar, as did Yis who didn't seem quite so nervous with it currently motionless.

There'd been no success at The Gilded Bough. Perhaps Vyla lay in wait here instead. At any rate, Telra's guards could be informed of the situation. Part of it.

"Yis?"

She took a few seconds to tear her eyes away from another carriage that they had wandered to, now approaching down the road. Still a ways off yet. "Teb?" she asked when she finally looked his way.

"Wait here." Ronav pointed to her then to the ground beneath them. Soft, murky ground, filled with river water.

A moment passed before Yis' eyes widened and she shook her head. "Lu, Lu." She pointed down the road to the oncoming carriage.

"Fly then." Ronav flew his fingers through the air with a wooshing noise then pointed to the canopy.

"Ahh, teb." Yis nodded and she immediately jetted skywards to vanish among the trees above.

Ronav shook his head as he crossed the trader's stop towards Telra's carriage. The guards there came alert briefly but relaxed when they recognised him.

"Looking for your employer?" asked Altis, the Taigin from the campfire the night before.

"She's not here?"

Altis shook his head. "Not since the two of you left earlier. Why, what's gotten you and she separated?"

"She, uh... sent me off on an errand. I came back and she'd gone someplace." Part of Ronav felt concerned over how easily that story had arranged itself in his mind. Almost as if Vyla's abilities were rubbing off on him. "Where's Lady Telra?"

Altis' eyes narrowed. "What concern's that of yours?"

The rest of the guards present had been visibly absent-minded about the exchange but mention of their charge perked them up.

Tinheads, Ronav sighed. "I figure she and Vyla might be off together someplace."

"Last I heard she was headed to some fancy Taigin spot."

"I checked there already."

Altis shrugged, heralding the end discussions. That was that. No other questions, no other clues. No reason to talk anymore.

Ronav shuffled back across the cobble-work to where he had been standing with Yis. He looked skywards. Nothing to see up there save branches and leaves.

"Ronav," came the girl's voice, followed by a rustling as Yis crashed out of the undergrowth that lined the road between rises to the tiers above. She grabbed his hand and began pulling him along. "Gybat," she said with urgency.

Okay, Ronav thought as he let himself be led along. Off we go.

===

Yis turned the bright-red object over in her hands. It felt strange, almost like fur but much smoother, thinner and with an unnatural texture. Whatever it was, she felt certain it couldn't be eaten. She tossed the scrap away, frustrated that it had enticed her through the trees only to betray.

The treetops practically parted for Yis as she darted through them towards the place she had left Ronav. A lifetime spent in the trees had conditioned her to moving among them with perfect precision, not counting that little mishap earlier. But that wasn't her fault. She'd been ambushed.

Part of Yis still felt rather nervous to be in this place with so many people about. More people than she had ever seen in her solitary life. But she found trust in Ronav and his presence made her feel safe. Maybe she might explore this nest of her forgotten fellows by herself sometime. Yis couldn't quite remember why she hadn't done that before.

At the branches above the spot that Ronav had left her, Yis found a perch and peered down through the leaves. No sign of her friend. Over by the big, brown, circle-legged, square animals? Not there either.

Yis left her branch and hovered on a faint breeze through the canopy. Her eyes scanned the ground below in a hawk-like search for her friend.

"Ahh," she remarked as she spied him walking up towards the pathways along the hill. Then Yis' blood turned to ice and her heart nearly leapt up her throat as she realized with whom Ronav walked.

Herself. The brown, tangled hair and fur clothes, that she had put so much work into making, with wing-blades sticking through. There could be no question that a duplicate of herself walked down there next to Ronav.

"Siren," Yis breathed, her heart racing. The one she and Ronav were after? She couldn't tell. At any rate, Ronav stood next to the most dangerous thing Yis could imagine.

Without thinking, Yis launched herself from the branch. Then she did think and she landed again. Sirens were dangerous. Too dangerous. With claws that cut flesh into little ribbons of meat and teeth to rip guts apart. Spines and quills that exploded in skewering bursts, speed and agility matched by none. Rippling armor to stop all but the most devastating of attacks. No, Yis knew she couldn't fight a Siren. But neither could she let Ronav be eaten by one.

===

"Through here?" Ronav asked. The 'here' referred to an iron-plated door that sat on a heavy set of hinges in one of the many entrances to the hillside. Not the most welcoming of places. It didn't look like any sort of store or business, nor like a place where Telra might go. Then again, it was Vyla they were after.

Yis nodded from where she stood several steps back. Still timid about Shadetree Fold, Vyla and a myriad of other things, Ronav imagined.

The door had a lock but it hadn't been used and Ronav managed to push through without trouble. The hinges whined as they carried their burden inwards, revealing a dank, stone stairway that led down into the hill. He could spy a faint light at the bottom. An oil lamp that neared exhaustion.

Ronav stepped inside and Yis followed, her eyes darting about.

At the bottom of the stairway Ronav could see something in the gloom. Something he couldn't quite make out. His eyes hadn't fully adjusted yet but there looked to be a faint, metallic glimmer in the dark.

"Ronav?"

He turned to face an apprehensive Yis. She swung the door shut behind them then placed a hand upon his shoulder.

"Taigin are supposed to be strong, right?" she asked.

If not for the hand providing a degree of support, Ronav might have collapsed then. As it was his mind still lurched. Had he misheard? Impossible, Yis had spoken in common.

"Vyla?" he asked.

Yis smiled. A cold smile. "Not quite." Her body began to ripple as fur clothes and dirty hair melted away to be replaced with steel plates, rich leather and a smooth curtain of ocean indigo.

"Your kind are strong," the Siren stated.

"I— we are," Ronav replied. His thoughts struggled to keep up. A new Siren? This could always be another game of Vyla's.

"In that case, let us have a battle of strength." The Siren's body began to change again. Where once there had been skin and leather between the plates of metal, a dark, chitinous armor surfaced. Her entire body slowly encased itself in this thick, black skin, still dotted by the silver of steel. "If you value life, you will want to stay clear of the bottom step."

Ronav glanced at the stairway behind him. His eyes having adjusted sufficiently, he could now see in cruel clarity the fate that awaited. Where once there might have been an ordinary stone floor, instead there stood rows upon rows of short, polished spears embedded in the rock.

"Let us begin," said the Siren. The plates of the black shell-like armor surrounding her mouth screeched together as she spoke. Impostor Yis then placed both hands on Ronav's shoulders and began pushing.

Ronav had little choice but to copy his attacker. He shoved back with all the strength that his race granted. The firm, dense, muscles in his arms and legs bulged and he managed to resist the force pushing against him.

"Who are you?" he grunted.

"Quite strong indeed," the Sired said, ignoring him. "How about this?"

A crunching echoed from the floor around the Siren's feet. Ronav's eyes flashed there and back, just catching a glimpse of several spines growing out and bracing against the steps. With far greater purchase, and the advantage of pushing from above, the odds steadily slipped out of Ronav's favor.

To keep from losing balance he took a step backwards, then another and several more. "Stop!" Ronav cried. How many steps left until the spears? No more than ten, he felt certain. "What do you want?"

"Be stronger, Taigin. Come, I am water and you are stone. Do not let me shear you as the sea shears the land."

The screeching of the Siren's armor as she spoke did little to calm Ronav or make it easier to think. He couldn't win a battle of strength in these conditions. This creature had every advantage. He needed strategy, finesse.

"Almost there, Taigin. Six more steps."

Fed by desperation, Ronav realized what he had to do. Five steps now... Four... Three...

"Graaah!" Ronav cried. He immediately stopped pushing back against the Siren as he dropped down. The sudden lack of resistance caused her to fall forwards a short way but she recovered quickly. Ronav didn't pause in his movement. He grabbed the Siren by the body, drew on her momentum and flipped her overhead towards the spears.

"Kssh," the Siren hissed. Her armor melted away in an instant, mid flight, and she slipped from Ronav's hands. With the agility of water she landed on her feet, flesh and clothed again, between the spears.

"You had me worried, Ronav," said the Siren as she stepped out from the bed of spikes to stand by the door beyond.

"Who are you? Where's Yis?"

"Your winged friend is fine. She is outside right now, I should think. As for who I am, you may call me Zeerae. I am a friend of Vyla's."

In the dim light of the dying oil lamp, Zeerae looked like no friend. Her armor, posture and indigo hair, glinting with metal in places, said that she was a warrior.

Ronav folded his arms. "You're lying."

"Step through here if you don't believe me." Zeerae pulled the door open and entered, leaving it ajar behind her.

Ronav looked at the spikes then made a short jump over them.

The room he came into stank of sewage and a faint hush of water filled the air, punctuated by the occasional, reverberating drip. A empty dungeon save for a table on one side, a wooden tub on the other and a water channel running opposite him.

The tub was where Ronav's attention lingered. Even in the gloom he could see her sitting in it, looking at him.

"Ronav," she greeted.

"Vyla, what's happening here? Who's this?" Ronav asked as he approached his friend. "And— what happened to you?!"

Her body looked as if it was slowly melting away below the waist. Vyla's expression turned to distaste and she cringed as her liquid flesh slowly pulled together to form a set of legs. Ronav looked away as he waited for her to form clothing and cover her nakedness.

"Does my body make you uncomfortable, sye?" Vyla asked.

Ronav looked back and found the Siren still bare. "No, I mean—"

"You seem to have enjoyed it in the past."

Zeerae snickered softly at those words and Ronav felt his skin flushing at the mention of such private things.

Vyla continued unrelenting. "You must forgive me for not covering up, sye, but I don't feel my best at the present."

"Alright, what's happening here? What is all this?" Ronav asked. It felt as if he might suddenly become the punchline to some elaborate joke, if he hadn't already.

"She's been critically injured," Zeerae explained. "It will be another day at the latest before she can move around properly. And several more after before she heals to normal."

"What?! Who did this to you?"

"She did." Vyla pointed to the other Siren present.

Ronav turned his gaze upon Zeerae, a new level of dislike surfacing and rising to the realm of hatred. "Why?"

Zeerae met his stare with her own icy eyes. "Ordinarily that would be Siren business. But, given the circumstances, I will endeavor to make you understand..."

Zeerae went on to explain everything. The Shasteless, the events at The Gilded Bough, her pursuit of Vyla from the beginning. Even the Siren protection that Lady Telra unknowingly possessed, though the reason for it never surfaced.

"Which is why Vyla's hunt has come to an end," Zeerae finished as she turned to the Siren in question as though daring her to say otherwise.

"Yes... it has," Vyla agreed through gritted teeth.

"Okay..." said Ronav. His thoughts swam with all this new information as he tried to determine whether or not he might still be in danger. "Okay, but did you really have to hurt Vyla so much?"

"Yes," the Sirens said in unison.

A crash suddenly echoed around the stone walls. Joining the soft trickle of water came a loud rush of wind. Then, with a second crash, Yis screamed into the room. The Chayli girl blew from wall to wall, swinging a branch back and forth as she yelled and shouted.

"I see your friend has found the courage to confront me," Zeerae remarked.

Despite the show, Yis didn't seem to be making much progress towards the side of the room on which the three of them waited.

"Yis is her name?" Zeerae asked.

Ronav nodded.

"Yis, reta atri sharivega!" Zeerae shouted to the girl.

"Stop this foolishness," Vyla translated as Ronav glanced to her.

Across the room, Yis' flying came to a halt. She hovered in place and brandished her makeshift weapon. "Meeyre sye ros," she replied. Let him go.

"Sye su'us la naritch." He isn't a prisoner.

Yis landed by the table and lowered her branch a short way. "Zee'ur renvis." You're lying.

Zeerae turned to Ronav. "Leave, if you wish."

All eyes were on him now. This back and forth in their own tongue had been strange enough, now he had to explain to this girl that the Sirens he was with were safe?

If someone had told me a couple of days ago that I'd be here now, I'd have called the guards on them, Ronav silently laughed to himself as he crossed the room towards Yis. He took her hands in his. "These Sirens won't hurt me. We're safe."

Once again Vyla took the role of translator. "Atrii Sireni ch'us pare ey. Av'ur artoma."

Yis shook her head. "Lu." No.

"Trust me," Ronav pleaded. Jalt ey.

Yis pulled her hands from Ronav's grip. She then stomped over to the door, sat down beside it and glared at him. "Quar zee'ur opas xavis shari, av ch ros." When you're done being stupid, we can leave.