“You doubt me, Akil? Have you no desire to know what I know? The true prophecy, the entire prophecy? If you knew the truth, you wouldn’t have wasted your life searching.”
“No,” Akil said, finally finding the strength to lift his head.
“I see doubt in your eyes, Aki Karanis. Fear and doubt.”
“You are a deceiver, nothing more,” said Akil.
“I can prove to you that I speak the truth. First you must allow me into your mind.”
“Never.”
“It is the only way, Akil,” she said in a soothing, motherly voice. “We Sirens cannot create memory orbs like you sorcerers.”
“If I give you my mind, I am powerless against you.”
“Look at yourself, Akil. You lay there like a baby with concerns of powerlessness. You are mine to do with what I wish. I am willing to share with you that what you have sought your entire life yet you refuse.”
“At what cost? It is of no value if I am killed, rendered mindless, or become your slave.”
“Let us then come to a mutually agreed upon resolution, shall we?”
“Since when has a Siren ever suggested a mutually agreed upon resolution?”
“You are no fool, Akil Karanis. This is rare among humans. If I were to prove to you that I am indeed Okon ak aintzinako, would you consider attempting to reach an accord?”
“I fail to understand why the great Okon ak aintzinako would bother reaching an accord with the likes of me.”
“We are a dying race, as you know. You are a powerful sorcerer. In all my years I daresay I’ve met less than a handful with your abilities and potential. Let us help one another.”
“If you can prove to me that you are Okon ak aintzinako, I will consider your suggestion.”
“I would call you an arrogant fool for believing you have another option or just simply kill you where you lie, but in order to make progress we must occasionally bite our tongues and withhold our impulses, yes?”
The Siren walked slowly toward Akil. As she drew nearer, Akil could feel his strength returning. He stood, his face a hair-length away from hers. Her pupil-less irises were blood red and rolled like ocean waves inside her eyes. She reached for his hand and lifted it to the side of her face. Her skin was smooth, her hair soft. The Siren closed her eyes and Akil felt a surge of warmth travel through his hand and up his arm. In that instant, he knew she was Okon ak aintzinako, the greatest and eldest of all Sirens. Thought to have perished in the Great War so many centuries prior. He lowered his hand and stepped back.
“Despite the circumstances surrounding our meeting, it is truly an honor to be in your presence,” Akil said, balling his right fist, covering it with his left hand, and bowing slightly.
Okon nodded with a smile.
“What is your proposition, Lady Okon?” Akil asked.
“You truly are inimitable, Akil Karanis.”
“Despite our disagreements, you no doubt deserve the respect I bestow.”
“My proposition is this: I will share with you what your Seer decreed, and you will find, capture, and bring me Gai ak zangar.”
“Impossible. He too was thought to have perished in the Great War yet if you survived, perhaps he did as well. Even if he did survive, I wouldn’t know where to begin searching for him, and once I found him, I would have no chance of capturing a Siren so great as she. Your terms are unreasonable.”
“If I doubted your ability, Akil Karanis, your life would have been forfeited the moment you stepped through the archway.”
“I don’t even know where to begin searching.”
“I am old, Akil Karanis, as you know. Yet death from old age is scores of human lifetimes away. You will have a lifetime to search—more even.”
“More?”
Okon put both hands on Akil’s chest and closed her eyes. Again he felt a surge of heat, this time through his chest directly into his heart. The heat grew in intensity until Akil screamed. He faltered back as she lowered her hands, but he did not fall.
“It is done,” she said.
“What?” Akil asked breathlessly.
“You will live thrice as long as a normal human, perhaps longer.”
Akil gripped his chest, the burning fading. He captured his breath then looked up at the Siren.
“How do I know you will keep your word even if I am able to bring Gai ak zangar to you?”
“I will give you a taste of what you seek,” she said, glancing at the trunk beside them.
“The book?”
“The book and something else,” she said with a mirthless smile, her face changed from beautiful to terrible and back in an instant. “There is a place you must go if you are to know and understand your Seer’s decree. It is also a place where you must begin your search for Gai ak zangar, and only I can send you there.”
“Where?”
“Take the book. Hold it close, for things of value are easily lost.”
Akil looked hesitantly at the trunk. The Siren nodded with an expression of girlish innocence. He slowly reached down and picked up the large volume.
“Very good,” she said. “Now, take the trinket beside it.”
“The watch?” asked Akil.
“That is no mere watch. Your Seer predicted an end to your race, did he not?”
“The Epoch Terminus.”
“Indeed. An enchantment has been cast upon that trinket, which now belongs to you. It winds down as your Epoch Terminus approaches.”
Akil held the book against his chest, picked up the silver pocket watch, and slid it into his pocket.
“Tell me where you plan to send me.”
“We call this place it Ak Egundiano.”
“No. You cannot. There is no return from that place.”
“You must find one.”
“Impossible.”
“Then all is lost. Not simply your reward but the fulfillment of the your Seer’s decree.”
“What are you saying?”
“The Anointed One must also travel to Ak Egundiano to find his power. So you see, Akil, if there is no return, the prophecy will not be fulfilled, and your race will perish.”
“You scoffed at the prophecy, yet now you hold it in high regard.”
“I scoffed at your interpretation. Despite the information you lack, what I speak of Ak Egundiano is true. The Anointed One must return from this place or all will fall to ruin.”
“So then you believe the Epoch Terminus is tied to more than just mankind?”
“Perhaps. Nevertheless, I believe you will succeed where all others have failed.”
“The Never. It cannot be,” Akil said in a whisper. “When? When must I go?”
The Siren’s eyes clouded black as she stepped away from Akil. She spread apart her hands and the ground began to shake. Using all her strength, she fought to bring them together. As they drew closer, the quaking became more intense until, in an earsplitting clap of thunder, they came together. A wisp of grey smoke ascended from the place where, a moment ago, stood Akil Karanis.