Warlands of Song

Nine: Saige

The frigid air blowing across her face felt pleasant for once. She shut her eyes and let it wash over her. Her skin tingled, warning her that the chill wasn't welcome, but it didn't matter. She almost felt free, riding in the backseat of Glen and Robert's SUV. The only thing preventing her from disregarding all concern was their unknown destination.

After she'd calmed down at the hotel, Glen and Robert had immediately begun brainstorming. She curled up in the bed and observed in silence, sniffing occasionally.

"All of the travel ways will be monitored," Robert was saying. "Blocked off too, most likely. We're not going to make it back to Tulca."

"The spaceways aren't the only method of transport, you know."

There was a long pause before Robert spoke again. "We've broken enough laws for a while, don't you think? Should this all go south, we want as few charges as possible."

"I don't care about that right now. Can you find one?"

She wished she'd had the chance to gain a friend that could practically read her mind. She watched Robert tip his head back and close his eyes. He may have been counting to ten or something.

"Yeah, fine. Whatever. I don't have a choice, do I?"

Glen grinned. "For someone who only joined the military so you could hack into important stuff with good reason, you're too hesitant about this."

Robert glared at him, opening his laptop and settling back on the other bed. He tucked a pillow behind his head and cracked his knuckles. "Death wasn't imminent then. I'd rather not be executed for treason."

"You won't be. You'll be executed for aiding and abetting a war criminal. Me."

Saige frowned at Glen's gleeful grin. He looked far too excited by the situation. Normal people would have been terrified. Normal people would have given her no thought to begin with. What was his story? She knew little about him, besides that he was a General in the military, and had a daughter. She still cringed inside to think of the last fact. She'd truly wanted them to leave her and never come back, but some sick, twisted part of her was glad they had stayed with her.

"Aren't you cold," Glen asked from the front seat.

"It felt amazing in the hotel room," she said. "I know the two of you must've been melting. I can deal with this for a while."

He smiled, and even Robert glanced at her in the rearview mirror. The rest of the ride was smooth, and without incident. She unwound after a couple hours or so when it became clear that they wouldn't be running into any more Namai agents for a while.

"I have a question," Robert asked, after informing her that they were minutes from their destination. "What are you, exactly? Why are they saying you're an intergalactic threat? You're just a Siren, right?"

Her eyes remained fixed out of her window, and she watched the beautiful, star-filled horizon fly by. She took a deep breath, and looked back at him. Glen had turned to look at her in question as well.

"No," she said, "I'm not a Siren."

"But I heard you singing in the hot spring," Glen said. "It sounded like a giant crowd of people. A choir. Only Siren can do that."

"That's what everyone thinks," she murmured.

"Full disclosure," Robert reminded her. He didn't look at her though.

She sighed. As was her habit, she leaned forward to look out the front windshield, and spotted him just as Robert did. He barked a sharp word and hit the brakes, jerking the wheel. The squeal of tires on asphalt gave her an instant headache, and the car stopped, parked sideways in the road.