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"Why are you telling me this? Are you loyal to the Order after all?"

"This is war," Philon says, long purplish hair blowing across sharp cheekbones."I am loyal to the victor."

The lights circle and dart about Pippa's head. She swats at them playfully. I've one last question before we go, though.

"The gorgon is our ally, isn't she? She is bound to tell us truth always."

"Bound by what? The magic is no longer reliable." With that, the tall, thin creature turns away, its thistle cape trailing like a chain.

When we reach the shore, Creostus is there waiting for us, his arms crossed."Did you find what you were after, witch?"

Felicity pats the quiver of arrows on her back.

"So Philon's given you a token. What will you give us in return? Will you grant us power? Or will you deny us?"

I do not answer but climb aboard the gorgon's winglike plank, listening as it creaks closed behind us. The wind catches the wide, translucent sail, and we move away from the tiny island till it is only a spot of green behind us. But the centaur's raw cry follows me on the breeze, catching my breath in its fist.

"What will you give us in return, witch? What will you give us?"

We sail once more through the golden curtain and down the river. When we come again to the statues in the cliffs, to the Caves of Sighs, I see colorful smoke--reds, blues, oranges, purples--rising from high above, and I am fairly certain that I spy a figure behind the smoke. But when the wind blows, the smoke changes direction, and I see nothing but wisps of color.

A silvery fog rolls in. Hints of the shore peek through here and there, but it is difficult to see. Ann runs to the side of the ship.

"Listen, do you hear it? That lovely song is back!''

It takes a moment, but now I hear it. The song is faint but beautiful. It seeps into my veins and runs through me, making me feel warm and light.

"Look! In the water!" Ann shouts.

One by one, three bald heads emerge. They are women like none I've ever seen before. Their bodies shimmer faintly with luminescent scales that glow pink, brown, and peach. When they lift their hands from the water, I can see the faint webbing between the long fingers. They are mesmerizing, and I find I can't stop staring. I feel giddy with their song. Felicity and Ann laugh and crowd the side of the boat, trying to get closer. Pippa and I join them. The webbed hands stroke the great barge as if it were a child's hair. The gorgon does not slow. The tangled mass of snakes hisses wildly.

Ann reaches a hand down, but she cannot reach."Oh, I wish I could touch them," she says.

"Why can't we?" Pippa asks. "Gorgon, lower the plank, if you please."

The gorgon does not answer and does not slow.

The women are so beautiful; their song is so lovely.

"Gorgon," I say."Lower the plank."

The snakes writhe as if in pain. "Is that your wish, Most High?" "Yes, it is my wish."

The great ship slows and the plank is lowered till it hovers just above the water. Our skirts gathered in our hands, we rush out and crouch down, looking for signs of them.

"Where are they?" Ann asks.

"I don't know," I say.

Felicity's on all fours, the ends of her hair trailing in the water."Perhaps they've gone."

I stand, trying to peer through the fog. Something cold and wet caresses my ankle. I shriek and wobble just as the creature's webbed hand curves away from my leg, leaving sparkling scales on my stocking.

"Oh, no! I've scared it away," I say. Its mermaid-like body slips under the plank and disappears.

The surface of the river is covered in a thick, oily sheen. After a moment, the creatures emerge once more. They seem as fascinated by us as we are by them. They bob in the small currents, their strange hands moving back and forth, back and forth.

Ann gets down on her knees."Hello."

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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