Dirty Lying Sirens

Chapter Twenty Two

Caspian

Senator Dimitris Lykkosi was not a man to be taken lightly. Even as I left my house to join Nikkos at a brisk pace to the nearby senate offices, I couldn't help but be frustrated by my uncle's lack of patience. He secured himself a seat at the senate representing the structural safety of Atlantis twelve years ago and hasn't even come close to being unseated. Typically I could expect him to take his time, calculate the information Nikkos brought to him. But instead, he summoned me immediately, which could only mean he was angry about a certain piece of news that was likely now spreading through Atlantis like wildfire.

Madeline.

"What did he say when you told him about Madeline?" I asked, knowing my house was only a few minutes away, and we were growing closer by the second.

"He didn't say anything," Nikkos answered. "He just made the face."

I grimaced. The face, as we called Dimitris's expression of displeasure, was the last sign before Dimitris took strong measures against an opponent in the senate. In this case, Madeline was a beacon of hope for the otherwise decreasing population of sirens that kept Atlantis from the watery death just outside of the ring of towers. All of Dimitris's support for finding new ways to protect Atlantis hinges on the fact that the sirens are weakening, not growing in number.

We moved from the street where I live to the main road, then off to the summit of the city where most of the senate offices had been built. The sandy brown building that held six of the offices, including the one Dimitris used, was a stately structure. Not only was it adorned with vibrant blue patterns around the doors and windows, but it also held carvings of the founders of the five ancient houses. The dome was one of the more expensive glass ones, made even more expensive by the stained glass waves that patterned it.

Inside we were greeted by the flowering atrium that basked in the blue and white light from the glass dome, and out from the central area lay the halls to each office. The beauty of bringing the greenery inside was just another reminder of our limited space to work with. A few familiar faces lingered in the common space, offering a courteous nod but not interrupting our path to Dimitris. Nikkos shot me a look of concern before we turned to the leftmost hallway and knocked on the door.

"Enter," came Dimitris's cold acknowledgment.

Sighing through my nose, I let Nikkos and myself in through the heavy door and closed it behind us. The office was furnished simply and efficiently, much like everything my uncle did. There were no adornments aside from whatever embellishment came on the furnishings that were here long before Dimitris took the office. He had a wall dedicated to shelves of books and files, a commanding desk near the room's large window, and the seating area, where Dimitris now sat in a heavy black chair across from the small sofa where he usually received guests.

His demeanor wasn't open or friendly, nor did I expect it to be, but today he looked tired, haggard. As though the past few weeks that Nikkos and I were away he had been through something.

"Sit, boys," he said, gesturing to the sofa. We took our seats across from him, and his eyes settled on me.

"Tell me about this siren."

I closed my eyes. I  had hoped this wasn't the reason he had called me here so urgently, but there was no avoiding it now.

"We found Madeline by chance on the mainland," I began. "We knew what she was the moment she spoke."

"We couldn't handle it just then," Nikkos added, "but we did run into her again. We didn't have to track her down as I'd feared we would."

Dimitris gave Nikkos a sharp look, silencing him. He wanted answers, but it was clear he wanted them from me. Turning his ire back to me, he folded his hands in front of him. "You were certain enough that you would have gone back after her?"