“Bring it the fuck on, man!” Kai motioned him forward, and the man charged toward the front of the plane. He raised his right hand above his head and windmilled into Kai, but Kai was ready for him. He raised his own right arm in a slightly bent form to block the attack. He was also ready for the knee that the trespasser tried to jam into Kai’s midsection. Kai blocked it with his other hand and threw his right fist at the other man’s chin. The man’s head jerked around at the contact, but he recovered quickly, catching Kai in the gut with a body blow this time. Kai coughed and braced himself for the next blow he knew was coming. Like a brick to the face, kai felt his chin jerk upward with the uppercut that came from below. He saw stars briefly before regaining his senses and ducking the next swing.
He was getting pissed off now. This was getting ridiculous. With energy fueled by anger, Kai slammed his fists into the man over and over wherever he found an open spot, landing some significant hits that resulted in the man staggering backward until his knees seemed to buckle and he dropped to the ground.
Kai stood over him and asked again, “Who the hell are you, and how did you get on my plane?”
But the man didn’t answer. Instead, he threw his leg outward and hooked a foot behind Kai, pulling his feet out from under him. Kai hit the ground hard and slammed his head against an armrest. Once again, darkness enveloped him briefly before pinpricks of light filled his vision. He groaned but didn’t have much time for recovery before the fighter was on top of him, pummeling him with his fists.
Kai lifted his hands in front of his face to protect himself. He needed to get the guy off him. Yet, right now, his priority was to defend the most vulnerable areas around his face and head.
Then, he heard the most beautiful sound fill the cabin of the plane. It was an angelic voice, and it softened the very air around them.
The man’s fists stilled, and he sat upright, his gaze locked onto the source of the song. Kai felt a pull toward a blissful feeling he wanted so desperately to find and roll around in until the world crashed down around him in its final throes of death.
Yet, something in his mind resisted, pulled him back to reality, back to the airplane, and back to the fight that he refused to lose.
He reared a fist back and slammed it into the face of his attacker. The man’s eyes never left the singer, but he slumped off of Kai enough that Kai could sit up and push the man the rest of the way off of him.
With a little bit of effort, Kai stood up, feeling the damage of the fight in every muscle of his body. He spun around and saw Hollyn standing in the doorway of the cockpit, her hair long and free, her face glowing, and the most beautiful melody rising from her throat.
As he glanced down at the man who just moments before had been trying to kill him, he saw the man’s eyes practically spinning, his mouth agog, and his every thought obviously centered on the mysterious woman Kai had only met this morning.
He focused his attention back on her and asked, “What are you?”
Like the sails of a gorgeous sailing yacht, she seemed to deflate as if the blowing wind just simply abated suddenly. The bird flew over her shoulder and perched on a nearby chairback. Her wings were spread wide, and her beak was open. She actually looked like a bird.
“How...how did you do that?” The seagull seemed genuinely surprised.
Kai shrugged and looked at the man kneeling on the floor at his feet. “Not going to lie. I had my doubts when his fist was slamming upside my head over and over.”
“No. Not the fight. How are you not entranced by Hollyn’s song?”
For the first time, things began to fall into place for Kai. “She’s a siren?”
And for the first time, she spoke—full voice—to him. “Yes. I am.”
“That explains a lot.”
“How, though? How did you resist?”
“I...really don’t know. When I first heard the song, I felt a tug toward a place in my head where everything seemed calm and clear, but with effort, I turned away and remained in the present.”
The seagull said, “Amazing.”
“Whatever. Is that why you refused to talk to me?”
She nodded.
“I thought it was a siren’s song that was dangerous to men. Why did it matter if you spoke to me?”
The bird started to say, “Well...”
But Kai waved his hand and said, “I want to hear Hollyn explain it.”
She cleared her throat and began softly, “The song is what mesmerizes, but for some minds, even when I speak to them, they go into a trance.”
Kai nodded, and she seemed to watch him closely to see if he had the reaction she expected. Instead, he said, “What kind of minds?”
She seemed relieved as she answered, “Usually, those who don’t really think for themselves. Or, think at all, for that matter.”
