Song of the Sirens, from the Odyssey,
Book XII
No one ever sailed past us without staying to hear the enchanting sweetness of our song-and he who listens will go on his way not only charmed, but wiser, for we know all the ills that the gods laid upon the Argives and Trojans before Troy, and can tell you everything that is going to happen over the whole world.
Gravel crunched outside as cars sped past the little town library. An apologetic woman with a drooping face approached their table tentatively.
“I’m sorry, but I wanted to let you know that the library will be closing in half an hour.” Her voice was a half whisper that sounded like a flute playing softly. She touched her glasses and flashed a self-conscious smile at Asia.
Will had noticed that about Asia-men wanted to catch her eye, of course, but women did, too. It was as if they wanted her approval.
Asia stood, her legs uncurling gracefully from beneath the wooden library table. “We’re leaving,” she announced. And she looked at Will.
Will didn’t have the strength to argue, so he followed her.
Night had fallen, and the tall iron street lamps glowed yellow overhead as they stepped onto the sidewalk. They started away from the town. Will was glad. He felt wrung out, like an orange that’s been juiced. An empty rind.
For a long time, there was only the sound of their footsteps and the rush of cars as they passed by. It was Will who broke the silence.
“So why are you here?”
“Calypso finally called to me. And I returned her call.”
“And then you sold the flute.”
“I have no more need to contact my sisters. And no wish to do so.”
“What did she ask for?”
The question hung in the darkness for a moment. “She asked me to deliver someone to her,” Asia said finally.
“Deliver someone?” Will went cold. “You mean kill them?”
Asia put a hand on his arm. “I would never kill someone, Will.”
Will shook off her grip. “Don’t bullshit me, okay? That’s just a technicality. If you hand someone over to those lunatics… So who did you deliver-Jason?”
“I haven’t delivered anyone,” Asia replied.
“Yet,” Will snapped.
Asia sighed. “Yes.”
“So-who’s it going to be? What innocent person are you going to snatch off the street?” He gestured to the shopping district around them.
Asia shook her head. “Calypso has an enemy. Someone who has hunted her over the ages. This enemy disappeared for a while. But a year ago she reappeared.”
“A siren?” Will asked.
“No. Nor human, either. The Burning One.”
Will digested this information. “So why don’t you just team up with Calypso’s enemy and fight?”
Asia shook her head. “I can’t, Will. If I break my promise…”
“So you didn’t have anything to do with my brother’s death?” Will asked.
“Will, I don’t know what happened to your brother,” Asia said. “I can guess, but I wasn’t there.”
“But they were-right? That’s why the flute was there?”
“That is my assumption.”
“And what about Jason?”
Asia sighed a delicate, lacy breath. “The seekriegers are here, waiting. It isn’t safe-not for anyone with as much anger as Jason. They had already taken one, just a few weeks earlier.”
Will felt this answer rather than heard it. The words made him tremble. Asia put a hand on his arm and said, “It’s all right.”
“Yeah.” He laughed bitterly. “And by ‘all right,’ do you mean ‘completely fucked up’?”
Asia winced. “All I can tell you is that once I fulfill my promise, they should depart.”
“So why don’t you do it, then?”
Asia looked at him for a long time, and he read the pain in her eyes. “I suppose you could say that I am weak,” she said finally.
Will ran his hands over his face. “Does Kirk Worstler know what you are?”
“I think so.”
“Why? How?”
Asia shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“How can you do it?” Will’s voice was almost a whisper.
Asia did not look at him. “I have no choice.”
“There’s always a choice.”
Asia looked into his eyes. “Not every story has a happy ending, Will,” she told him.
“Have you ever told anyone what you are?” Will asked.
“A human? No.”
“So-why are you trusting me?”
“You already knew half the truth, and yet I sensed no danger from you. Besides, I know how it feels to lose someone. I know how badly you want answers…”
Will placed a hand against his face, feeling the scar beneath his fingertips. “Why didn’t Calypso kill me?”
Asia shook her head. “That is not for me to say.”
Will laughed, but it was a bitter sound. “It’s the only question I care about.”
“I know, Will. I understand completely. And I wish that I could help you,” The sadness in her voice was like a heavy weight-like an anchor dropping deep into the sea. Will could almost feel the heft of it. “But I don’t have the answer.”