“And the villagers? The other sirens? How you planning to get past all of them?”
“We didn’t see any others,” Meridan said.
Again, Addison shook her head, seeming about to laugh as she scrubbed her hands over her face.
“Then we’re in for a surprise.”
“So, you’ll come with us?”
“What have I got to lose?” she groaned, defeated. “But if you’re telling the truth and Vidar wants me to forge weapons for him, we’re going to need some things.”
We didn’t have time. I glanced at the door, certain that the moment we stepped out, we would be cornered.
But she was right. We couldn’t make weapons if we didn’t have the supplies.
“How fast can you gatheryour things?” I asked.
The mind believes it knows all and knows very little
The heart believes it knows nothing and knows all
~ Unknown
Addison moved fast, stuffing things into large, leather satchels and mumbling quietly to herself as she went. Meridan stood at the door, peering through cracks in the old wood to look out for anyone that might have seen us wander into the blacksmith’s building.
“No one yet,” she said.
I watched Addison run around like a small critter from one corner to the next, packing hammers, bronze ingots, pre-made hilts, and a variety of other tools and instruments I didn’t understand. Her feminine muscles bulged as she loaded the satchels onto a small hand wagon sitting near her forge fire. Dust billowed up like the thing hadn’t been used in weeks.
“So?” she spoke as she worked, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. “What’s your name?”
“Dahlia. This is Meridan.”
She chuffed. “I must be daft for trusting the lot of you, but I suppose anywhere is better than here at this point. They killed thepreacher two days ago. Since then, no one has even left their homes.”
“Why hasn’t anyone gone inland?”
“The ones without tongues are at the edge of town on that side, always watching.”
“How many sirens are here?” Meridan asked.
“Too many. And not all of them came here in chains. Some, the ones with tongues, showed up a few weeks ago and ‘liberated’ the town.”
“They all look like me?” I asked. “Dark hair? Pale skin? Larger?”
“Aye. The ones that came later, do.”
Meridan and I exchanged a glance.
“Kroans don’t care about the other clans,” she said to me.
I shook my head knowingly.
“Kroans? What’s that?”
“The ones like me,” I explained. “They’re not here to help the others. Once the humans here run out, they’ll start feeding the other sirens to those monsters you talked about.”
Addison slung another leather bag full of heavy materials into the wagon and stopped to look at me, her brows raised.
