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He looked deflated, “Like I said, we’ll never get out of here.”
“You said there were opening in the ceiling of the cave,” I pointed my finger up.
“Zyn, but the sirens cut all the lines for us to get up there thousands of years ago. Since then, we, our ancestors and us have been trapped inside Mount Gorgullum. The sirens feed us, provide us with many things we need and now and then give us younglings to raise to continue our race.”
I drummed my finger against the table’s surface, “Why would they do that? Sirens are notoriously selfish, why would they keep you? Feed you, bring you younglings?”
Arcoro was obviously surprised I didn’t know, “To harvest our sperm to fertilize their eggs.”
Stunned I sat back in my chair. My mind working through what he said and what I had seen in the underwater caves. “So they’re keeping you as… their… studs?”
“Don’t sound so condescending, I don’t imagine it’s any different for your males, Myles.” Arcoro replied a bit acidy, I must have hit on a sore spot.
“Ney, I guess not when it comes right down to it, except we were under the illusion we were negotiating trade agreements.” I sighed, conveying an apology with the tone of my voice.
“Are there no suffies, on the other planets?” Arcoro asked, slipping back deeper into his heavy accent. I must have truly offended him, I thought, deciding to be more diplomatic from now on. Figuring that by suffies he meant seffies, I filled him in.
“Zyn, there are, plenty of them, they just don’t like to live on Oceanus for some…” I slapped my head. “The sirens of course. They must have done something to make our seffies want to leave and not stay here.”
“Sounds like them,” Arcoro grumbled.
“When we were down in the caves, we came upon a place filled with eggs and embryos, is that…”
Arcoro nodded. “I have never been there, but a few of our ancestors have and reported of the nesting place. Nursery, whatever you want to call it. For a while there had even been plans on destroying that place, just to stop this madness.”
“The sirens would have just started over somewhere else,” I speculated.
“Zyn,” Arcoro looked defeated before he rose with a deep sigh, “Let’s go and find you and your males a place to stay, because like I said, you’re not going anywhere.”
The atmosphere inside the elevator was tense. One of the dragoons who had been stationed outside my quarters to guard me, was speaking orders rapidly into his palmtop.
“They’ll expect us to go to the spaceships, we need to get to the boats,” I emphasized.
The dragoon nodded his acknowledgement and relayed them to whoever he was talking to. Impatiently I moved from foot to foot as the elevator made its way down even slower than usual.
“Get boats manned with as many dragoons as possible,” I continued making my plan as I thought out loud, “we’re going to Fall Mountain Island and free our vissigroth!”
The coolness the dragoon had exhibited so far, cracked some. His eyes met mine full of questions I didn’t have time to answer right now. I was too busy praying I was right and that’s where the sirens held Myles, otherwise… no, I wasn’t going to go there.
Myles had been last seen by Fall Mountain Island, there hadn’t been enough time to take him somewhere else, all the while Sarissa was on her way here.
Finally the doors opened to the first floor, where an entire legion of dragoons waited for us, ushering me into their midst and quickly we made our way to the docks.
In the distance I saw the outlines of Horn, my brother’s city was still close by. Thinking quickly, I demanded, “Send a legion to Horn, Queen Sarissa might decide to attack my brother.”
“Zyn, Vissy Niara,” the dragoon bowed and walked off to follow my latest orders.
Movement in the water caught my attention, hundreds of sirens were watching me. If they followed our boats, I would lead them directly to Myles. I slapped my head, they already knew where Myles was, I would just bring reinforcements to Fall Island Mountain. But also an army of dragoons, I assured myself. I could only hope that the men had trained enough to fight the sirens underwater, because I doubted they would come aboard.
“Can they follow us if we go full speed underwater?” I asked a dragoon with the insignias of a captain.
“Ney, but they will know where we are going and eventually catch up with us,” he retorted.
“Well, that at least will give us some time.” My eyes rose to the platform that held the space transporters. “We’ll need at least one of those,” I ordered, pointing.
“I will have some waiting for us, Vissy.” He confirmed.
All the while we were walking quickly down the pier. Sirens were hissing, a few even tried to swipe their tails over the platform to get to me.
