Sacrifices of the Siren [Sirens and Sailors 6] (Siren Publishing Allure) (8 page)

Dr. Jay chuckled. “First thing in the morning. Meet me down here at dawn.”

“I’ll be here.” Blandon beamed and went back to his hut.

Luckily, Marinos and Delmer weren’t there when he arrived, so he set about boiling water for a cup of tea, then went to sort out his clean shorts and shirt for the morning. It would be chilly first thing so he had to be prepared. A pile of papers on his nightstand caught his eye, giving him an idea. He took a sheet of paper and a pencil and went outside to make his tea. As the green tea soothed him he sat on a rock and wrote a Melantho. He explained that even if she had done something wrong he would forgive her. He loved her and just wanted her home. He wrote how much he missed her and was sorry if he had upset her. He tried to express just how much she meant to him, and felt tears prick his eyes.

He went to bed thinking about all the things he wanted to say to her if he only got the chance. Since Rechavia had suggested that anything they did to antagonize Hermandine could result in pain and misery for Melantho he had fought hard to keep away. His first instinct had been to go straight around to her house and demand that Melantho came home with him there and then, but the doctor and his common sense made him think better of it.

Blandon was up way before the sun the next morning, and was waiting at the harbor when Dr. Jay and Farris appeared. They quickly checked over
The Refrainian
before setting sail. It would take a few hours to reach Eastland, and Blandon tried to keep occupied. The ship was already stocked with the white flowers which would be sold on the mainland, and Blandon whiled away the time by tying them into bunches. The smell was beautiful, and reminded him of Melantho. The girls made their own soap from the flowers, and she always smelled sweet. He smiled as he thought of her.

Ademia had packed her men off with a basket full of goodies and they all enjoyed a hearty breakfast, while the majestic vessel cut through the calm waves like a knife through warm butter.

A couple of trucks were waiting for them when they arrived at Eastland’s harbor and four men came over to help them unload the flowers. Less than an hour later the three handsome sailors made their way through the busy streets before finding Harbor Grove.

Blandon’s heart wrenched as he stared at all the concrete and bricks. He knew Melantho would hate it here. She had lived all her life on Refrainia and was used to the fresh air, the grass, and the sea.

“There’s number twelve,” Farris said, pointing to a neat little sign beside a battleship-gray front door.

“Let me do the talking,” Dr. Jay instructed them, obviously aware that Farris’s temper and Blandon’s emotions were likely to get the better of them once Hermandine started protesting—which she was bound to do.

Although the doctor knocked loudly on the front door, there was no answer. A curtain twitched at the front of the house and the men were aware of some movement inside.

“I’ll check the back,” Farris said with a frown, and ran off down the road, searching for the end of the terrace.

Blandon put his ear to the thick door. “I think someone’s going up and downstairs,” he said.

Dr. Jay hammered even harder on the door. A few passers-by looked askance at them but said nothing. Blandon couldn’t help thinking how unfriendly everyone seemed. Melantho would hate this.

“It’s totally sealed off,” Farris shouted as he ran back up the street. “Thick, high walls all the way around, backing onto the backyards of the houses behind. It’s like a prison!”

Dr. Jay knocked hard on the window at the front of the house. “Open this door now or I’ll smash this window, Hermandine!” he hollered.

Eventually they heard the sound of the key being turned in the lock and they all instinctively took a step forward as the door slowly opened a crack.

“What do you want?” Hermandine’s croaky voice snapped out at them irritably.

“We want to see Melantho,” Dr. Jay said calmly but firmly. “May we come in? It’s raining out here.”

“No. She doesn’t want to see you. She doesn’t want anything to do with any of you.” Hermandine tried to close the door but Farris already had his foot wedged in it.

“Let her tell us that herself and we won’t trouble you anymore.” Dr. Jay spoke through gritted teeth.

“No. I am respecting her wishes which is more than what you’re doing!” the old woman shrieked.

“Now, why am I having so much difficulty believing that?” Farris scorned and pushed at the heavy door. A thick chain could be seen linking the door to the wall, and the door strained against it.

“Go away. You’re not wanted here!” the old crone yelled at them.

“We’ll let Melantho decide that!” Dr. Jay and Farris were both very large men, and together they pushed against the door, which sprang open.

“Hey, what’s your game?” A couple of men came running down the street, evidently seeing the kerfuffle on the old lady’s doorstep. Dr. Jay turned around to converse with them while Farris held the door open and Blandon ran under his arm and pushed past Hermandine.

The house felt cold as he searched the lounge and went through to the kitchen. The back door was open and he could see abandoned washing in the yard. He knew the old crones wouldn’t be doing their own washing.

“Mel?” he called as he heard footsteps rushing down the stairs. He ran to the narrow stairwell and saw Solon barring his way, flailing her walking stick at him. His heart hammered as he thought he could hear sobbing. “Where is she?” he demanded.

“Get out!” she screamed at him.

He had only got his foot on the first stair when Hermandine’s shout made him gasp. “I’m calling the police!” she announced.

“Don’t worry, ma’am, they’re already on their way,” one of the passers-by informed her.

“She will be punished for anything you do. You do realize that, I presume?” Solon’s voice was cruel as she narrowed her beady eyes at him.

He took a step backward. He couldn’t risk it.

“Blandon, let’s go,” Dr. Jay called earnestly from the front door.

Blandon felt his gut wrench as he turned and left the house. “Please, just give her this.” He handed the Hermandine on his way out and she snatched it from him before slamming the door shut.

Anger and despair welled in the young man’s stomach as they made their way back up the road toward the hospital.

“Don’t worry, bro, it’s not over yet,” Farris assured him. “We know where she is and she’s not going anywhere.”

Blandon had really pinned his hopes on rescuing his beloved and taking her home with them today, although he knew it was a lot to hope for.

“The police are more likely to listen to us if we go and speak to them calmly, than if they’re called to a brawl at the house, and those men weren’t about to listen to reason,” Dr. Jay explained.

It made perfect sense, but Blandon still didn’t like it. “Is that where we’re going now, the police station?”

“I just need to go to the hospital first. Dr. Ernaut’s probably got contacts with the local cops, and I need to get these samples to him anyway.” Dr. Jay had it all planned out, it seemed.

When they arrived at the large hospital Dr. Jay went off in search of his colleague while Farris and Blandon found the canteen.

“Rech was right about them taking everything out on Mel,” Blandon said gloomily as he sipped his coffee. “Solon said she’d get the blame for today.”

Farris sighed. “We’ll get her back, bro, don’t you worry.”

“But it’s been nearly a week and we haven’t even been able to see her. What if she really doesn’t want to see us again?” Blandon was beginning to feel that the whole situation was hopeless.

“Mel’s not like that. We know the old cow’s got something on her, which is why she upped and left. If we could just find out what it is we could fight fire with fire.” Farris narrowed his eyes as he spoke.

“After we made love I made a comment about not hurting her. She was really tight and I thought—I
assumed
—she was a virgin. She wouldn’t do anything with me for ages and when we did it had to be in the dark. She wouldn’t even let me light a candle,” Blandon explained. “Even after we’d made love she didn’t want me to see her body. I couldn’t understand it—she’s got a perfect figure and she’s so pretty. Anyway, she got upset with me about it.”

“And you think that’s why she left?” Farris raised his eyebrows.

“It could be. I told her we needed to talk about it but we didn’t get time and then she went.”

“But what about the note? Hermandine was trying to blackmail her. That had nothing to do with you.”

Farris was right, but Blandon couldn’t help worrying about it. “I thought it was because she wasn’t a virgin, but the others said she was a Siren anyway, so it can’t have been that,” Blandon reasoned.

“Unless she thought no one would mention it. You don’t think she was trying to keep it from
you
, do you?” Farris looked doubtful.

Blandon thought for a moment and then shook his head. “No, Mel’s not dishonest. Besides, she never actually
said
she was a virgin, I just assumed.”

“So what doesn’t she want us to know? It must be something she feels really bad about.” Farris shook his head thoughtfully.

“Hey, you two,” Dr. Jay placed a cup of coffee on the table and pulled up a chair.

“How did you get on?” Farris asked, sipping his own drink.

“Well, I got the samples to the lab but Dr. Ernaut’s not due in ’til later. Can we stick around for a couple of hours? I really think he’d be the best person to ask about Mel. He’ll know the best person to speak to in the police department.”

“Sure.” Farris was quite happy to spend time on the mainland.

Blandon was relieved. He really didn’t want to go back knowing that Melantho was still here and in trouble.

They finished their coffee and went outside. It was raining so they spent their time meandering around the shops. They found a little café where they had lunch and then they wandered down a narrow side street to get away from the crowds.

“This is where we bought the girls’ hair clasps from,” Farris said as they neared a little shop with trinkets in the window. They went in and looked around.

“Could I get something for Mel?” Blandon asked hopefully, as he gazed at all the sparkle.

“Sure,” Dr. Jay said with a smile.

The shop was filled with sparkling jewellery, tiaras, and hair accessories. Blandon picked up a beautiful silver necklace with a filigree heart pendant. He sighed. It was perfect for someone who lived on the mainland, but would get ruined on Refrainia with the sea air and salt water. He knew how much she loved the multicolored stones in her hair clasp, and was looking for something practical which she would love. He really wanted her to have a token of his affection, too, something she would look at and think of him. He was determined to get her back to Refrainia where she belonged.

“How about one of these?” Dr. Jay had found a collection of trinket boxes in one corner of the shop. Blandon felt a warm glow inside him when he saw them. They were encrusted with “jewels” of every color, and he picked out one which had a small red heart on the lid.

“This is perfect,” he said with a smile. “She can keep her hair clasp in it.”

Farris had some money from the sale of the flowers and he happily handed over the cash for the box. The shop assistant wrapped it in pink tissue paper before carefully placing it in a pretty bag with ribbon handles. Brandon grinned as he took it and hugged it to his chest. He couldn’t have hoped for a better gift. He was sure she would love it.

They slowly meandered back up the street as the rain continued to pour.

“Let’s get back to the hospital,” Dr. Jay suggested. “We can get another coffee while we wait. At least it’ll be dry.”

The canteen was quiet when they arrived and chose some cake to enjoy with their coffees. They were a little more upbeat than earlier and chatted merrily about how much they preferred Refrainia to the mainland.

“It’ll be getting dark soon,” Farris said as a waitress came to take their dishes.

“He should be here by now,” Dr. Jay said, glancing at the wall clock.

They got up and went toward Dr. Ernaut’s office.

“He’s just been called away on an emergency,” a young nurse informed them when they arrived to find the room empty. “I don’t know how long he’ll be. You can wait in here if you like?”

They took their seats in the elderly doctor’s neat little office.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait,” Dr. Jay assured the others. Dr. Ernaut was a fine doctor, who had taken Dr. Jasun under his wing some time ago. They continued to enjoy a good friendship as well as a very helpful professional relationship. The hospital regularly supplied medical equipment and medicines to the island where Dr. Jay had set up a little surgery in one of the back rooms of the big house which he shared with Farris and Ademia. Melantho helped out both in the surgery and around the house, and had become regarded as one of their family, although she lived in a small hut just down the track with her friend Sapphire. Ademia had lived with both girls until she entered a ménage relationship with her men, and they were all very close friends.