“She’s not who she says she is,” said a woman from house keeping. Earlier she had caught me using the Way Machine in the bathroom. That thing was supposed to save my life that night. I had gotten a little rooted down, as I like to say, by losing track of my environment while sending a message to The Lighthouse. The message was a bit frantic, as I was in a tough situation at that hotel.

I had run out of Wayseeds to keep me from shapeshifting, and there was no body of water nearby that I could slip into, let alone a body of water connected to the ocean. I was figuring that the mission had failed and I had let The Keeper down. Perhaps there would be no vengeance after all—no avenging his favorite crew to ever sail the sea. All of my confident assurance to him that I could get the job done was circling in my mind, when I remembered something. The whole reason I was at that hotel was to meet with Lorgo, who surely would have more Wayseeds since he sold them. I sighed a relief, and that’s when the housekeeper came in. I hadn’t switched to my black pants yet, I was still wearing shorts, and I immediately understood her gasp of horror. My legs had begun to shapeshift and were now covered in shiny, silver scales.

“It’s okay, they’re pants. It’s just a style,” I said in one quick breath. The housekeeper immediately calmed down and seemed to believe me. After I changed and was on my way out, she was cleaning the sinks and eyeing me suspiciously through the mirror. I got out of there quick.

Lorgo’s hotel room looked like a science experiment. He had been in the middle of crafting some fake IDs when he let me into his room.

“Verena, hello. What news?” he said. “I wish to know every detail. Come. Sit. Talk as I finish my work.”

“Lorgo, look,” I said. I pulled up my pant leg.

“Good heavens!” he said. “That won’t do. Here.” He scrambled through the nightstand drawer until he found a small pouch full of Wayseeds.

“Take three, you don’t owe me anything for them,” he said. I thanked him and took the seeds. Immediately I felt life reenter my body and mind. I felt hope for the mission again. I would take down Tarry Aster and his crew with my bare hands if I had to.

My legs returned to skin shortly after. I told Lorgo about my plight across The Atlantic Ocean, specifically about my meeting with Remus the Squid. Tarry hadn’t been seen in some time. He knew that The Keeper, or someone associated with The Lighthouse, was after him and his crew. It almost made me happy that Tarry knew his fate, or at least he knew he was being hunted and that what he had done was an atrocity. He had something coming. I told Lorgo that I should’ve listened to The Keeper and brought at least a few more pouches of the seeds.

“He knew we’d be meeting early in your journey. If he felt it would be a real danger, he wouldn’t have let you leave,” said Lorgos. I hadn’t thought of that. “In fact, I have something for you.” Lorgos opened the drawer again and took out a gold and blue envelope.

“The Keeper sent me this along with three pouches of Wayseeds,” said Lorgos. I couldn’t believe it.

“I would read it now,” said Lorgos as I was reaching to put the envelope in my bag.

“Why? Is it bad?”

“Not at all. There’s just matters of urgency that can’t be risked through the Way Machine.”

I opened the envelope and pulled out a familiar piece of handcrafted paper. It was a short letter. I imagined The Keeper sitting by the window in The Lighthouse writing this letter. But why so urgent? I read:

“Dearest Verena,

I write to warn you of an attack. Do not be alarmed at these words, for you receiving this means you are in good company. It seems some of Tarry’s spies gleaned information about your travels and pit stops. Do not use the Way Machine for any sensitive messages. Those airways, though ancient and once safe, are now being surveilled by less than friendly listeners. Be well. I will say it again for you to know it: you have deep courage for taking up this journey and quest. I know it is of importance to you as well.

Until we meet again,

T.K.”

I put the letter back in the envelope and looked at Lorgo. He was putting the finishing touches on a fake ID, as well as a passport. To my surprise, he handed them to me.

“Leave the name of Verena behind for now. I’m uncertain how much information about your journey made it to the wrong places. Your new name will be Nia Vale, and you are traveling abroad from overseas. Your accent will sound European to most people here.”

“Thank you so much. I’ll use these if I ever make it out of here alive.”

Lorgo looked puzzled.

“Oh,” he said. “Yes, The Keeper was quite worried—very worried. To tell you the truth, our adversaries would not attack in the open at such a public hotel. They are likely acting as scouts.”

“They?”

“Mercenaries that link back to Aster. I’ve seen them. Downstairs at the bar there were a couple of them sitting by the bar. When you do what I do, you can pick them out of any crowd.”

I stowed the IDs away in their proper places and mentally assumed my new name. Suddenly, we heard a commotion in the hallway. It sounded like someone was complaining. Lorgos went to the door and listened. The people outside were getting close enough to where I could hear what they were saying.

“She’s not who she says she is,” said a familiar voice. It sounded like the woman from housekeeping.

“And where do you think she went?” said a man.

“I don’t know, she’ll infect the whole hotel with some disease. It wasn’t natural.” And with that they passed by. Lorgos looked to me.

“That is not good.”

“The mercenaries.”

“Not only that…” he trailed off. “We are going to do something dangerous,” he said. “There is another room down the hall where I keep…other things. We can no longer stay in this room.”

“What? Why?”

Lorgos began to grab a few items.

“At least not for tonight. I have a feeling we’ve been watched in any number of ways. Did you notice the cameras in the hallway?”

I had, but security cameras were pretty standard.

“I don’t feel right about those men downstairs, or any men connected to Aster…they have their ways of infiltrating quickly and gathering information. Come now,” he lowered his voice, “we are going to room 518.”

I already had everything on my back. Lorgo slowly opened the door and poked his head out. The coast was clear. We made a right. I could hear every detail of our footsteps as the sounds bounced off the walls in that confined hallway. The floor creaked under each step. We had only made it twenty yards when the worst happened. Two men rounded the corner at the far end of the hallway. Lorgo stopped, so did I. He gasped quietly through his teeth.

I then did what I hadn’t done since leaving the Lighthouse. I opened my mouth and let out an eerie melody that must have never been heard by any living being on that whole continent. The two mercenaries both began to grunt with blood now draining from their noses. They plugged their ears as I continued to sing my song. Lorgo looked at me with astonishment.

I raised my right hand, and the mercenaries both snapped to attention. I whispered in a language I hadn’t uttered in five hundred years. Their faces were scowled. These mighty, untouchable spies had been conquered by a Siren’s song. I lowered my hand and they turned around and vanished around the corner.

“Where are they going?” asked Lorgo.

“To tell their friends what happened here.”

Lorgo finally breathed out a sigh of relief.

“I thought we were done for. Why were you afraid?”

I thought for a moment. I couldn’t explain my emotions.

“I wasn’t afraid for me,” I said. “Thousands of years ago I would have enslaved this entire hotel by now, including you.”

I took off walking toward room 518. I wouldn’t see another mercenary for weeks—a whole group of them—and none would survive.