Page 7 of Dry as a Fish
"My mom imported it from the mundane," he said.
"Your mom?" I said, looking around the room, taking in all the signs that this place had more than one occupant. There was a half-open book sitting on an end table next to a cozy-looking chair that had a pillow with flowers embroidered on it. There were pictures hanging on the wall, and I moved closer to them to see that they were of Delphion and several other people who all looked vaguely like him. "You live with your mom?"
"I live with my family unit," Delphion said. "My people don't move out unless we find our heartsong, and even then, most choose to stay within a greater family living unit."
There was that word again.
"What is a heartsong?" I asked him, inspecting a photo of him as a young child, holding a fish that was taller than he was. Then I shivered so hard my teeth chattered audibly.
"You are cold," Delphion said. "Come this way."
I followed him across the room, through a doorway that was blocked by a thick door made out of a dried woven material. The room held a large, steaming pool in the center of it, with a bottom that I could see, unlike the one in the living room. The floor was that same thick water-absorbent moss that seemed to surround all of the bodies of water in this place. The pool had a small stream coming into it from the wall, and it had a small swirl in the water, indicating that it was draining out somewhere, continually being filled and emptied. The stone wall had a series of cubbies carved into it, all covered with miniature woven versions of the door leading into the room.
"You can warm up and wash in here," Delphion said. He put his hand on one of the cubby shelves. "My sister keeps extra clothing in here. She won't mind if you borrow it. She is going to be very excited to meet you."
His sister. He had a sister and a mom whom he lived with.
My evaluation of the situation took another lurch sideways in understanding as I took in the new data. He was a part of a family. He wasn't some solo guy off by himself who kidnapped me; he was a person with a family that he cared enough about to live with. Those facts relaxed me, building a picture of him as someone who was loved by others, who loved them enough to stay around them.
My heart twinged as I thought of that.
I wanted that.
Delphion took out a fluffy towel from another cupboard and set it next to the pool. Then he left the room, shutting the door firmly behind him. I found a toilet through a small door and used it, then afterwards I stripped out of my wet dress and stepped down into the hot water. The warmth seeped into me, and I sank into it with a sigh.
"Kili," I called out softly, tugging on my familiar bond. "Find me."
I already did, I was just waiting for the siren to leave,Kili said in my mind as she stuck her head out of the rock, the swirls of teal of the wall peeling away to make the shape of her small body.
She only came halfway up my calf when we were standing next to her, and she had the form of a small, shapely woman. Right now, she looked like she was carved out of teal glowing rock, to the point that she cast light on the ground around her. She always took on the appearance of whatever material she came through. When I first summoned her in the forest, when following the ritual outlined in the school admissions pamphlet, she stepped out of a tree, and I assumed she was some sort of tree spirit. I came looking as soon as I felt you leave the school grounds.
"We're not on the school grounds anymore?" I asked. "Where are we?"
It appears we are in a secret city under the barren lands surrounding the school,Kili said.It is alongside the underground river that flows away from the school.
She had told me that the area surrounding the school was barren and not survivable when I was first trying to figure out a way out of there. I figured with a familiar that couldfind anything, she could find me an escape. The problem was that her ability was stuck on finding objects and people, and with how much the school worked her, she didn't have time to explore.
"Won't the school notice you're gone?" I asked. I wasn't sure if they would care if I vanished, but they'd definitely notice if Kili went missing.
Doesn't matter,Kili said.They don't have another of my kind to track us down, and they can't force me to come back unless they have you.
"So we're free," I said, rolling the word around in my mouth. It felt right, but at the same time, was it true? Was I free, or was this just another cage?
Probably not,Kili said.You don't know any mind protection spells, and you're in a siren city.
"I don't know any spells," I said, with some frustration. I came to this school to learn magic, and so far, all they'd taught me was how to feed Kili magical energy so she could work longer. "Wait, why would I need a mind protection spell?"
Sirensong,Kili said.It befuddles the mind. Makes you docile and controllable until they stop.
I didn’t feel befuddled. If Delphion was a siren, and he could just sing me into complacency, why didn't he just do that? He didn't have to ask me to wait or ask me to dinner or any of that. Then again, I couldn't just assume he was a good person just because he had the ability to control me and didn't use it. That wasn't enough.
I needed more information, from a source that wasn't the sexy siren who practically wet humped me while dragging me through the water off to his home.
"There are other mundanes here," I said. "Can you findthem and tell me about their condition? Are they keeping them docile with sirensong?"
I knew I couldn’t ask her to do something like that without feeding her, so I imagined my energy rising up along my spine, and I reached out a hand to her, imagining the energy of my magic pooling in my palm, drifting out towards her. Kili reached out and took my hand, and the soft glow of the energy flowed out of me and into her.
Yes,Kili said, and sank back into the wall.
