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Instantly, his tense arm and leg relax, no longer feeling the cruel slices or the deep gash near his wrist. Then I tear a strip of cloth from the bottom of my blouse and throw it at Riden.
Vordan’s men stand, prepared to intervene should I be attempting to make Riden flee or free me. I should be flattered that they think I can manage something with naught but a strip of cloth.
But it is for Riden’s arm. I weave a few more notes into the song, making Riden tie up his severest wound to stanch the bleeding. I wish I could heal it for him, but my abilities are limited. I can only alter the mind, where I’ve discovered pain truly comes from. I can ease Riden’s suffering temporarily, but nothing more.
I have only a few notes left, so I try to give Vordan what he wants. Riden stands up straight. His eyes don’t glaze over or anything. He looks perfectly normal, as though his actions are his own. But they’re not. He does nothing more or less than what I tell him through song. Riden moves through a couple of combat moves. I make him kick and punch at invisible foes. He jumps through the air, dodging and striking his opponents. Finally, he sheathes an imaginary sword.
I release him from my spell once my powers are drained. Then I sit on the floor of the cage.
Riden blinks. He looks around in confusion until he sees me and everything comes back to him. I did not take away his memories of the song, so he knows exactly what I made him do. He inhales a quick breath. The pain from his injuries comes back to him. I cannot keep the pain away once I stop singing. It was only a temporary relief, but I gave him what I could. It’s my fault he’s here in the first place.
Well, actually it’s Theris’s, but I can’t expect Riden to see it that way.
Vordan steps closer to the cage, peering at me intently. “Your eyes truly are the window to your soul, Alosa,” he says loudly in an attempt to compensate for the wax in his ears. “In less than a minute, they’ve turned from green to blue to green again. Such a handy tool to tell when you have the power of your song and when you do not.”
Damn.
I hoped they wouldn’t be able to tell when I was out. They’re observing me too closely. I won’t have any secrets left by the end of this.
“But back to the task at hand. I think you can do better than that, Alosa,” Vordan says in an encouraging voice that makes me even sicker to my stomach. “Try again.” He points a finger at the other pirate in front of me.
This time Cromis stoppers his branch with his thumb before raising it over my arms, which hang limply outside the cage.
This is an act. I want them to think that using my powers weakens me momentarily. Might help me get the drop on them later.
I pull the water into myself as it falls. I feel it running through me, rushing into all my limbs. Doubt becomes certainty. Weaknesses become strengths. Fear becomes resolve. These men don’t know who they’re dealing with. I am power and strength. I am death and destruction. I am not someone to be trifled with. They are beneath my notice. I shall—
“Alosa.” Riden’s voice cuts through my alarming thoughts. Does he notice how the siren tries to take me? Or is he merely urging me along because he’s scared of what Theris will do if I don’t immediately obey?
Whatever the case, I’m grateful he seems to have the ability to bring me back to myself. And quickly.
“Alosa, you don’t have to do this,” he continues. Again, he’s turned away from Vordan and his men, so they can’t possibly tell that Riden is speaking to me. “It’s all right. Ignore them. Focus on getting yourself out of this. You’re good at escaping. So do it.”
I smile at him despite the situation.
“Each time I escaped, it was because I planned ahead. I didn’t plan this capture.” I hope Vordan will assume my moving mouth is the beginning of my song. To keep the illusion, I blur the last word into a note and start a new song.
To me, the melody sounds fast-paced, exciting, thrilling. It always seems to match my intention. For this time, I run Riden through an impressive display of flexibility and dexterity. I make him do somersaults in the air. He runs up trees and flips off of them backward. I make him run faster than should be possible with his injuries. He performs stunts I’m sure he can’t do on his own, for as long asIknow how to do them, he will be able to as well.
When I drain myself of notes, I sink to the bottom of the cage once more.
Vordan takes the wax out of his ears. His men, taking his lead, do the same.
“Much better, Alosa.” Vordan now has a piece of parchment and a stick of charcoal in his hands. It doesn’t matter that the wax is gone now; my abilities are gone, too.
“Let’s start breaking down the extent of your abilities.” Vordan begins writing with his charcoal. “If I’m not mistaken, you essentially have three abilities. The first is your song. You can enchant men to do essentially anything, so long as it doesn’t defy the laws of nature. For instance, you cannot make Riden fly. How many men can you enchant at a time, Alosa?”
I hesitate. Should I lie or tell the truth?
Riden gasps in front of me. Theris pulls back a bloody sword.
“Three!” I shout. “For stars’ sake, let me think a moment, would you?”
“There’s nothing to think about. Answer, and no harm will come to Riden. Now, you replenish your song with water from the ocean. And the ocean water only goes so far. You couldn’t make Riden do very much with the amount Cromis gave you. I’m sure the complexity of the instruction will determine how much water is necessary.”
And each man’s mind is different. That affects the amount, too, but I’m not going to bother mentioning that. Riden’s mind is much more steadfast and firm than I’m used to seeing. Enchanting him takes more out of me than most men would normally.
After a moment’s pause, Vordan looks over his notes. “Splendid. Now, the power of your song affects the mind. But to what extent? Theris has seen you make men forget. When you enchanted poor Riden here the first time, he didn’t remember the experience. Theris has also seen you put Riden to sleep. I’m sure you could easily make a man kill himself. But could you give him a different reality?”
