Kallie and Marcus cringed, but Charlie was used to my tantrums, so he plunged forward. “We don’t have to talk about it today. Let’s just take a breath and—”
“Oh my gods!” Kallie yelped. “There’s no one by the lake!”
“What?” I turned in my seat, which was difficult, due to the stiffness in my spine. I wheeled myself to the window. As I peered out of it, I saw that she was right. The lake was completely deserted for the first time in weeks. Not a guard in sight.
“Finally. Let’s jump in that lake and see what we can find,” I said, already turning my chair around.
“We should find Opal. It’ll be helpful to have a mermaid,” Charlie suggested.
“We’ll go get her. You two meet us there,” Marcus offered, and he hurried off with Kallie.
Charlie and I returned to our cell first, so I could change into a swimsuit underneath my clothes. When we got onto campus grounds, Oberi did a gallop around the lake, to see if it was truly deserted.
All clear,she said, and tossed her horn.But that doesn’t mean there isn’t anyone watching us.
“We have to take a chance,” I said. “This could be the only shot we get to search that lake.”
Hurried footsteps came from behind us. Charlie turned my chair so I could watch Opal, Kallie and Marcus run our way.
“Heard you guys need help,” Opal said. “What are we looking for?”
“It’s a key, something that’ll resonate with strong supernatural power,” I explained. “You might not be able to feel it, but the rest of us will.”
“But the key might not be here,” Charlie said. “So we’re searching for any clue that could lead us to it.”
Opal nodded. “All right. I’ll see what I can find.”
We moved toward the lake. Kallie waved her hand around as we walked. “From what I can tell, there aren’t any wards or alarms around the lake. The area is clear.”
“Why would the Warden give us free range of the lake?” Marcus asks.
“Because he can’t find what he’s looking for, so he hopes we do,” I said.
“That’s why the campus is so big,” Charlie said, voice lightening with clarification. “The prison yard has acres and acres. It shouldn’t be that huge if he’s trying to keep inmates in.”
“But he’s taking that risk, because he knows there are keys here on the grounds, and he wants demigods to find them,” Kallie said. “Brilliant, actually.”
Marcus gave a shiver, and asked, “So how do we get around the sirens? The lake’s overflowing with them.”
Opal frowned. “There isn’t really a way, since the pool inside the Institute is connected to the lake, so they can go back and forth. They’re far from reasonable creatures.”
“How do merfolk and sirens differ?” Charlie asked.
“Sirens are genetically different from merfolk. You have to be born a mermaid, but you can bemadea siren, as long as you have merfolk blood,” Opal explained.
“So they’re like succubi, who used to be vampires,” I said.
“Exactly. There’s a change involved, but I’m not clear on the details. It’s a bit of a murky subject.”
Probably had to do something awful to become one, I bet.
“They’re much stronger than regular merfolk, and their magic is better. But they’re always beholden to their hunger. They can eat regular food, but what they really like to consume is people, because it makes them stronger, and once they consume the flesh of another supernatural being, they become addicted, and will never stop looking for more bodies to consume,” Opal explained. “Tons of sirens end up at the Institute every time they bring a bus load of kids in, because they need to murder people in order to feed. Sirens prefer the flesh of other supernaturals than merfolk, though. They’ll still eat us, but I’ve heard sirens say before that they don’t like the taste.”
“What are the similarities?” Kallie asked.
“They share siren screams with mermaids, but the worst part is that sirens can compel people to do what they say with their singing voice, unlike merfolk. They aren’t safe to be around.” Opal sighed as she stopped at the lake’s edge. “Might as well try speaking with them first, see what they want.”
She knelt by the surface and stuck her fingers into the water. I think her mermaid magic was calling to them, asking the sirens to come to the surface.
