Doyle shrugged off Sawyer’s surprise as the men moved forward. “Live a few centuries, you know a lot of things. Just as I know a siren’s voice when I hear it. Mind yourself, brother, or she’ll have you wrapped up like a trout.”
“Already wrapped, I’d say.” Bran gave Sawyer’s shoulder a slap.
When the last note echoed off, and her companions applauded, Annika took a laughing bow.
“First, wow, major kudos on the pipes. Where’d you learn that?” Riley wondered.
“There is a bi
g theater by the sea, far from here. For three nights they told this story with songs. It’s not happy because the woman who sang that song dies.”
“That’s opera for you,” Riley told her.
“But the songs and voices? So beautiful, so I went to listen every night they sang. I can teach you the song.”
“You couldn’t teach me to sing like that if we had a couple decades.”
“And we don’t.” Sasha stopped. “It’s there. The cave, it’s there.”
The mouth opened, tall and narrow, in the rock. Spindly brush clung to the top, drooping down like a sagging awning. And over that a black snake slithered.
“Wall lizard,” Riley said.
“That’s no damn lizard.” Sawyer’s fingers itched for the gun tucked at his back under his shirt.
“Just a whip snake—not poisonous.” Smirking, Riley took out her water bottle. “But they do like to bite.”
She took a quick swig, replaced her bottle, started forward toward the cave. Muttering about snakes, Sawyer stepped behind her.
“Wait! Stop!”
Leaping after him, Sasha grabbed his hand. Nearly at the mouth, Doyle and Riley turned.
“Don’t go in. Don’t . . .” Her eyes went darker, deeper. “Don’t go in. Don’t go near.” She turned to Sawyer. “Pain, fear, the shadows of death. Blood and rage. Water and traps. I don’t know. I can’t see clearly. You. Annika.”
“Annika?”
“It’s not safe for you. For either of you. Don’t go in. Stay away, Anni.”
“I’m here. Don’t worry.” Her voice pitched to soothe, Annika took Sasha’s
other hand. “We won’t go inside.”
“He’ll use it. Use you. One to the other. Don’t believe him.”
“Malmon.”
“Malmon. Not what he was, not what he will be. But hers. You can’t go inside.”
“Okay. We’ll stay out. We’ll stay right here,” Sawyer assured her. “What about the others?”
“What?”
“Is it safe for us?” Bran nudged Sawyer aside. “Do the rest of us go in?”
She let out a long breath. “I don’t feel anything for the rest of us. Just Annika and Sawyer. It’s life and death for them inside. For us? It’s a cave.”
“All right then. They’ll stay out here, and we’ll go in, see what we have.”