Waking the Siren, page 1
Waking the Siren
The Paradox Files
Book Two
J.E. Taylor
Table of Contents
Title Page
Waking the Siren (The Paradox Files, #2)
Waking the Siren
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
About J.E. Taylor
Waking the Siren © May 2017 J.E. Taylor
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Waking the Siren
Kylee has another mission and a new ally, but will it be enough to battle the desert heat?
Virtue and devotion.
Who would have thought those two qualities could get you killed? When a bicorn starts terrorizing Las Vegas, that’s exactly what this murdering beast targets.
Kylee Paradox is given the mission to bring this monstrosity to justice, but the desert does not bode well for a siren. In fact, it could be just as deadly as the monster she is hunting.
Chapter 1
It had been nearly a decade since I slayed my brother, and I was still mute from Fate’s punishment. The witch had stolen my siren out of spite, and as I stared over the aquatic scenery from my office window, I wondered if I’d ever get my voice back.
My computer buzzed, interrupting my wandering thoughts. I swiveled the chair around, dismissing the view of the Pacific for my oversized cherry desk. I glanced at the instructions that flashed on the screen, clenching my teeth in response. The next menace on my list was a bicorn. I hadn’t run into one of those bastards since the fall of Rome.
It seemed one had come out from hiding and started a killing spree. Culling the virtuous and devoted men of... I stared at the city and let out a silent laugh. What the hell?
Las Vegas?
That was not expected. My fingers poised over the keyboard to question my handler’s judgment. The last place I wanted to go was the desert. Besides, everyone knew there was no virtue left in Las Vegas.
I slammed my nails against the proper keys and sent the city with a question mark.
The space between my desk and the door shimmered, and the newly crowned Fate stood before me. This girl was stuck somewhere between teen and adulthood, and she seemed much softer than the bitch who had been on the job since I escaped the binds of hell. But as anyone who encountered me knows, looks can be deceiving. Word on the street was this little young thing was the one who killed the wicked witch.
I still had yet to pass judgment on whether she would follow in her predecessor’s footsteps or not. As if she understood my hesitation, she slid a printed instruction paper onto my desk, tapping it for emphasis before she settled in the overstuffed chair.
“Yes. Las Vegas. And this bicorn thing is killing people that aren’t on my list. I’m sure you remember the imbalance that occurred the last time someone started reaping those that weren’t on the list,” she said in her soft, young adult voice that made me want to strangle her for stupidly passing up human existence for this godforsaken joke that was immortality.
I huffed at her. I remembered the catastrophe as well as she did. It caused another breach in Purgatory, which has kept me busier than I cared to admit. At least Fate and Death had a handle on one of the beasts from the inner realm—Leviathan. I’d hate to be the one who had to corral that monster.
I remember, but, really, isn’t there anyone else? I signed.
She raised an eyebrow. “Do you see a line of bounty hunters behind me?” She hooked her thumb at the empty space over her shoulder.
This wisp of Fate was definitely not a pushover.
But it’s the desert, I signed. Being that far away from the ocean was bound to create some issues for me. I never strayed that far for very long, and the desert was one place I avoided at all costs.
Fate glanced out the window and sighed. “Lake Mead is nearby, and if you’re in a pinch, you can always take a dip in the fountain at the Bellagio.”
I stared at her and cocked my head, narrowing my eyes. It’s not the ocean. My hands moved faster with my agitation.
She sighed. “I know. But you’re the only one I have at my disposal.”
You’ve got Leviathan, I signed.
She laughed a full laugh that was both endearing and grating. “Can you see Levi in Las Vegas?”
Okay. She had a point. Leviathan in his true form would likely destroy the city like something out of a bad Godzilla film. I slowly shook my head before turning my chair around so I faced the sea.
“Ms. Paradox, I know this is hard,” she started.
I glared over my shoulder at her, and then twisted my chair so she could see my hands. It’s Kylee, and you have no idea what the desert does to me, do you? I looked back at the ocean while silence filled the room.
Fate stepped into my line of sight and leaned on the windowsill. She shook her head, and her chocolate eyes softened. She really hadn’t been in the position long enough to see what the effects of being land-bound did to me.
Three days. That is all I ever have away from the sea. Seventy-two hours, and then this form begins to break down. I waved at the Barbie-doll figure I was cursed with. It starts with dry skin, which isn’t that uncommon away from the water, but the dry skin leads to my hair becoming like corn husks left in the sun too long.
“Can’t you bring moisturizer?” she asked, but it wasn’t in the least bit sarcastic. She was honestly thinking human moisturizer would work.
Fate, you really are clueless, aren’t you, I signed, wishing for my voice so she could get the nuance of sarcasm.
“First of all, please, call me Julia,” she said and shifted. “Every time I hear the name Fate, I think of that bitch that had this job before me.” She shivered and glanced out the window. “And as for being clueless, yeah. I am. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m kind of new here, and the only thing I have about you is the contract you signed.” Her gaze swiveled to mine. “But I do know the contract is binding, and I can’t change that, even if I wanted to. You will be released when the last creature is returned to where it belongs. So, why don’t you enlighten me.” She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.
Well, Julia. I paused and met her stark stare. If I don’t get back to the sea by the time five days have passed, I look like a dried up corpse.
“What happens after five days,” she asked, cocking her head like a puppy.
I don’t know. I have never gone beyond five days away from the sea. Five days is brutal enough, and I’ve never wanted to push that boundary. At that point, it takes me something like three months to recover. But that is under normal conditions, like the Swiss Alps or the Russian tundra or even the Midwest. The desert is an entirely different beast. If I don’t find this thing in the first couple of days, the chances of me having the strength to kill it... I clenched my hands and shook my head.
Fate glanced at me and blew a stream of air through her lips. She turned, facing the ocean. Her bottom lip sucked between her teeth as she pondered my words.
There wasn’t anything more I could add to the conversation, so I waited for her to speak.
With a nod, she turned towards me. “I need you, Kylee. And not just for this job. You’re the only one I have that’s bound to bring these things in. So I guess I have to make sure I get you some solid intel, so you can get in and out before any real damage happens. We will try to shoot for wrapping this up within three days, okay?”
I blinked and leaned back in the chair. The idea that she was going to help in any way was a new one. The old Fate got off on seeing her patsies suffer just enough to understand who had the upper hand. This girl didn’t seem to be the overbearing type at all. Firm, but not nasty.
I nodded. Feeling bold, I asked, Do you think I can get my voice back before you send me on this job?
Julia glanced out the window with a sigh before she looked down at the floor.
I waved my hand in her field of view. Well?
“I’m not sure how,” she finally said after staring at my hands. She met my gaze. “I’m not sure if it’s as simple as giving you the vial or not. But we can try when I bring you the instructions, okay?”
Okay. I bit my lip and asked my next question. Can you tell me how close this will bring me to my own salvation?
>
Fate pulled out her cell phone and pressed a few buttons before she swiped her finger across the screen multiple times. With a sigh, she said, “There are still a few hundred creatures topside, and unless they go rogue...”
I moved my gaze out to the ocean. A few hundred wasn’t insurmountable. It actually was more palatable than not knowing had been, but her last statement really burned. I counted to five to keep my temper in check.
What do you mean ‘unless they go rogue’?
“I wasn’t planning on hunting them down,” she said in a small voice.
So, I’m just stuck here? I balled my hands into fists.
She opened her mouth to reply, and creases appeared in her forehead. Her mouth closed, and she sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, offering me what looked like a consolatory shrug. “If they aren’t hurting anyone, I’m not bound to bring them in,” she finally said.
And my contract isn’t finished until they all are brought in.
She nodded slowly. “Assuming there isn’t another breach,” she said, scrunching her nose in disgust. “Why would you ever sign such a shitty contract,” she added and pointed at her phone.
I was well aware of the many nuances of that fucking contract. However, this last bit of news grated on my nerves like a desert sandstorm.
I met her gaze. Because the alternative was worse.
Fate glanced outside again. “I still would have bartered,” she mumbled and slid the phone into her pocket.
I was young and foolish and didn’t think I had a choice. In the meantime, can you please figure out how to restore my voice?
The girl nodded. “Let me go get you the intelligence you’ll need for this trip. In the meantime, you might want to pack and be ready for my instructions.” She blinked out, leaving a soft breeze in her wake.
I had a feeling that this new Fate would be more of an ally than her predecessor. I always thought the old one wanted me to fail. That bitch had wanted me back in the confines of hell.
Chapter 2
I stepped into my home on Ocean Front Walk and smiled at the orange sky beyond the wall of glass facing the beach. The entire back of my house faced west, so I was blessed with amazing sunsets. Every sunset in progress left me breathless and longing for the days where all I did was swim in the tropics. Of course, those were also the days I lured sailors to their death.
My house was bigger than Alex and I really needed, four bedrooms in a sprawling white setting, but those extra bedrooms came in handy for hiding all my antiquities. I had enough of an arsenal hidden away to be considered a military fort, but these were not the normal military grade weapons. They were the only artillery that could take down supernatural monsters. From simple gemstones that could neutralize garden variety ghosts, all the way to daggers made of stone or wood used to kill beasts from hell.
A bicorn could only be killed with a dagger made of pink ivory wood. I prayed I still had the ones I used all those centuries ago, otherwise I would have to figure out a way to get the wood and make another knife, and there really was no time for that. I turned away from the sun melting into the watery horizon and climbed up the stairs, opting for sweats before I pilfered my artifacts.
After I changed, I descended to the living room and opened the sliders to let the cool sea air filter through my house, recognizing my motions for what they were—procrastination. Rummaging through my weapon store was bound to bring up some unwanted memories, and I was doing everything in my power to avoid going into the third bedroom.
You’re being ridiculous, I thought and glanced at the stairwell. My stomach growled reminding me that I needed to eat. I stood at the foot of the stairs, pushing both my dread and my hunger pains away, and trudged up the steps, wishing Alex were home instead of off visiting his kids.
The door to the third bedroom beckoned me, growing in my mind’s eye like a funhouse mirror, distorting my vision. I closed my eyes, trying to remember the last time I stepped foot in that room. I shivered. It was the night we got home from killing Jeremiah. Just the thought of his name brought a stabbing pain to my midsection, and I nearly doubled over from the agony.
The hardest job I was ever assigned was taking down my brother. He had gone rogue and was killing sailors off the coast of Greece. Jeremiah wouldn’t listen to reason, and my only option was to use my siren. I was always stronger than Jeremiah, and my voice lulled him long enough to pierce his heart with Neptune’s trident.
No one should have to kill their kin. The urge to use my siren song died along with my brother, as did some of my inherent caution.
Fate scolded me for breaking the rules, and she reminded me of the price for innocence lost. She reminded me of what was waiting for me in hell. I have not been the same since. Her punishment left me mute, unable to speak, unable to laugh. Unable to ever use my siren again.
Alex noticed my lack of vigilance, too. The last few jobs we were hired for turned out to be more closely aligned with a suicide mission as opposed to just a run-of-the-mill haunting. We had both been banged up more than either of us cared to admit, but unfortunately, it came with the job. Going up against the supernatural was always a crapshoot, especially without a voice to utter any sort of spell to keep the entity in line. Fortunately, my will to survive had always been strong. I really didn’t know how to give up.
Besides, if something happened to me, I wasn’t sure what Alex would do. He kept promising me he would break into hell to bust me out, but he was just a frail human who had no idea just how impossible that would be, especially since I was certain he was bound for the pearly gates.
Since my brother died, I had been closer to the breaking point than I had ever been in all the years walking this earth. The rebellion was right there, just under the surface looking for a reason to break the rules. And my hatred of Fate didn’t help quell the need to cry mutiny.
Alex seemed to be the only one who was able to tame that wild side and keep me grounded. If he had been killed in Greece, or if that witch had seen fit to yank him from my life, I would have already gone off the reservation.
I mulled over the difference between the old Fate and Julia. If the queen bitch had issued the order to go after the bicorn, I would have found a way to get my voice back and let loose my siren from the top of the Bellagio just to spite her. The results would have been epic, and just entertaining the idea was almost akin to issuing a dare.
Now that I had a chance to meet Julia in person, I wasn’t sure I could betray her in such a spectacular fashion. Especially if that little thing really did kill the old Fate. If the rumors were true, then my chances against her would be slim, especially since she was Death’s girlfriend.
Enough stalling! I scolded myself and reached for the access panel, stepping in front of the scanners. Once I typed in the access code, a screen opened, and light scanned my face. An unmistakable click followed, and I reached for the doorknob.
Hesitation drew my breath in a sharp inhale as I turned the knob. The room remained the same as the last time Alex and I had stepped inside. My gaze pulled to the long dresser where Neptune’s trident was stored, but thankfully I would not have to see the weapon I had used to kill my brother all those years ago.
The dresser was not where my pink ivory wood blades were. Instead of turning toward the bureau, I crossed to the trunk at the foot of the four-poster bed.
Kneeling before the finely crafted trunk, I found the buttons and pressed them in the precise order to unlock the hidden compartment. The click alerted me that my memory was as good as it was the day I set each of the locks. I pushed open the top, and instead of neatly folded linens, the display case of ancient and ornate daggers hidden underneath the blankets was now in full view. I slid the glass aside and picked out the two wooden knives.
“You have a case?”
My heart squeezed. I jumped at the baritone voice behind me. On instinct, I leaped to my feet and spun, nearly launching one of the daggers.
Alex put his hands out. “Whoa there,” he said, his eyes wide.
I lowered my arms, but considering my hands were otherwise occupied holding the weapons, I couldn’t answer him. I turned back to the trunk and pulled out the sheaths, then slid each blade into its holder before I closed the display case and the trunk, reengaging the locks.
