The Sound of a Siren's Call

52.) No Place Like Home

It was a full-blown city, carved into a cliffside overlooking the sea. It was beautiful, and the small flights of stairs were barely anything as we were reenergized by being so close to our destination.

A woman, her skin a shimmering silver met us. Ryan ran forward and got swept up in her embrace. I just looked on, holding Juniper's tub. Ryan beckoned us forward. Her perfect lips moved in time with her hands. "This is Luna. She basically raised Leland and I after my parents died."

I looked up at the woman. She looked more majestic than I could imagine in a parent. She reminded me of a more benevolent version of my mother, her smile just as beautiful, even if it was more kind. She had the same instant attraction that said "I'm here for you," but hers was warmer, more gentle.

She led us to a pool, and her skin seemed to lose a bit of its silver sheen. Castor lifted Juniper into the water, her arms around his neck. She looked tired and a bit sick. Our best attempts to leave her unjostled hadn't been very successful. Castor sat next to her, looking up at the new woman. More creatures than I'd ever seen, even at Camp Beta crept forward.

I saw sphynxes, and I reached up for Ryan's hand, squeezing it tightly. She seemed to be more in her element than I'd yet seen her. She laughed at my apprehension.

"What is that?"

I pointed at a barely humanoid shape formed of what looked like black wood. I stared into its eyes, a black void framed by the blackened material that made it up.

"A demon."

I scooted back involuntarily.

"Don't worry. It's friendly."

"Isn't that counterintuitive?"

"You're guaranteed peace and safety here. No one can take that from you, or else they lose their own safety."

I looked at her. "Are there any humans here?"

"Only a few. They've mostly moved out by now."

The buildings each stretched up as high as the stone wall above us would let them. Stairs were carved out to the surface and to the sea. I didn't relish the thought of carrying Juniper down to the sea. I knew I'd likely have to.

"Let me show you my house."

Some people back home had thought it was rude to stare. At pirates. At sirens. At any oddity. My father and mother had each taken staring as a compliment. My mother because it was the desired effect of her beauty. My father because he took it as a sign of fear. So it was only natural that I was staring at each part of the beauty and terror around me.

Castor shrunk behind me, perhaps a reasonable instinct. I would've hidden behind me too.

Eyes were on us too as we followed Ryan and her guardian. Each house was its own spectacle of branches weaving into each other. They formed blocks. Blocks grew out of blocks, up and up until each room at the top was tiny. Railings surrounded each level, the only open space for the ladders that served as the only way up.

An elf sat, branches repairing a whole in one dwelling. I gasped when Ryan and Luna stopped. The outside was beautiful. A boy, his skin shining silver, stood in the doorway. Ryan grinned, but I couldn't see what they said to each other. He kept running his fingers through his wispy hair, and Ryan kept bouncing up, her hand pulling on mine.

"This is Cal," Ryan introduced me.

He waved at me.

"This is my girlfriend, Arriana."

He disappeared inside, and Ryan eagerly followed him. The inside was more beautiful than the outside. Chairs and tables grew out of the walls, and the whole thing was one color fading into another in one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen.

"Now come up to my room."

Ryan ran out, grabbing my hand. I noticed Cal following us, smirking all the way. I looked back at him and he shrank back. I climbed a ladder with Ryan, pausing at each level. She kept climbing until we were several floors up. I looked over the railing. I could see the sea between the buildings. I was almost home. I looked over my shoulder at Ryan.

She beckoned me from inside the doorway. She immediately jumped on a huge bed, the sunlight shining down in spots. I sat next to her, laying back.

"What do you think?"

"It's beautiful."

"It's home-sweet-home."

I smiled. "I like it."

"How long do you plan to stay?"

"I don't know."

Ryan and I curled up on the bed, hopelessly intertwined, like two balls of yarn that had been tossed to and fro, a new knot forming with each toss.

Eventually, I got up. I needed to make sure Castor had gotten everything he'd needed. Ryan followed me.

Cal was the only one who could show us where they'd wound up, and however hard I'd tried not to notice, he always seemed a bit too close to Ryan. I grabbed her hand and she nuzzled into my side.

And I tried to ignore Cal. I really did. But he couldn't' seem to walk fast or with more than a foot between himself and Ryan. When we finally got to Castor, I was glad that we could only go through the door one at a time. I met Cal's eyes, and his smile dropped for a moment when he saw my glare. I went through, and Castor took my attention.

"How are you holding up?"

"Good." He turned to look affectionately at a pool in the corner of the room.

"Juniper!"

Her arms around me felt good. We'd just seen each other, but she looked like she was in a much better mood. She peered over my shoulder and frowned.

I turned and looked. Cal was talking to Ryan, which wouldn't have been a crime if they both had looked any less happy.

"He's a friend of Ryan's." Juniper explained.

"Friend?"

"So I'm not overreacting?"

"I don't know. But it doesn't matter. We're going home!"

I smiled and nodded. But it did matter. Maybe even more because we were going home.