After a year of no updates, here it is... the sadly short chapter 16. If you like it, review when you're done, otherwise, this story will be cancelled. So... enjoy!

The odds were uneven, plus, the Kirizo sentries had the element of surprise on their side. The first sentry was quick, and he had thrust his sword at Raoul before he had any time to react-Luckily, though the other man was swift, he had poor aim. Raoul winced as the sword grazed his shoulder.

As the second man rushed in to join the fight, Raoul unsheathed his sword and parried the oncoming blade. Fast as lighting he faked to the left and swung his sword around the first sentries side, cutting under then up. That took care of the more dangerous attacker. The second man was down as well after only two parries and a single thrust.

Raoul slumped to the ground to catch his breath. He had been caught off-guard, a mistake that he had almost paid dearly for. He scolded himself, and swore that he would have to be more careful, because luck would hardly stay on his side more than once.

"Will you keep watch tonight?" he asked Peachblossom. The intelligent horse just eyed him curiously. "That's kinda what I thought you'd say."

As he laid out his bedroll he muttered, "Gods, I must be going crazy. I'm talking to a horse." And with that encouraging thought, he drifted off to sleep.

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"Help me escape."

"Kel, I can't. . . My master, he wouldn't like it."

"To hell with your precious master! Help me!"

"You've been beaten. Accept that."

"I can't accept that. I refuse to accept that."

"Then you are making a mistake. He'll get you, in the end."

"I'll die before I become someone else's slave."

"You won't be his slave-You'll be his pet."

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Dom and the siren Eilya had been tracking the Kirizo for two days, and they were only a few hours behind them now. Eilya had decided to help the daring young sergeant, for all his foolishness. She saw him to be courageous, though she knew that it would be a fool's errand. His task was just. His heart was pure. That was all that mattered to her.

"So why did you leave the other siren's?"

"What do you know of my kind, young man?"

"Only the stories that I have heard. Your people are the most beautiful of all the immortals. You have voices stolen from the angels themselves."

"Oh, but that is not all. No. That is not even the half of my curse." Dom glanced over at the old woman. Her eyes had glazed over, as she slowly drifted into the memories of her past. "I am the daughter of the River and of the goddess of Dance. My sisters and I were beautiful from the very moment of our birth. We were given anything we wanted. We were left to our own devices, no restraint, no discipline, and as we grew, any man that we wanted was merely a snap of the fingers away.

"That life grew tiresome, we wanted a different kind of fun, and so my sister schemed up a new game. Men were so weak, so pitiful, so. . . easy. We would sit on the shore of our island, singing our songs. Promising the sailors wisdom beyond any measure, vivacious spirits, and oh, so very, very much more. They were entranced by our songs. They wanted our promises. They fell in love with our beauty. And so they sailed to us, closer and closer to us, until they met their deaths upon the jagged rocks.

"So many good men died, because of my own evil desires. I had nothing better to do, and it was fun, seeing how much power I held over them. That was until I met Symon. I had never met anyone like him before. He did not care about my beauty-he wanted to know my heart. At the time in my life when I first met him, I don't think I even had a heart. But he brought forth life in me that no one else had ever done, and I loved him as no other woman had ever loved a man. But he went away, with a promise to return. I was careful to let him travel safely through our harbor, and he was gone for a very long time.

"I missed him so much. . . So to try and forget my grief, I went back to my games. Maybe my life would be differently, had I only. . . waited.

"The ships were coming steadily that day. I remember laughing as I watched the boats shatter on the rocks. And I also remember the last ship I ever sang to. He was in that one, but I didn't know. . ."

She stopped her story. Horror-struck, Dom didn't know what to say. And then she began again, in nothing more than a whisper. "I can still hear their screams at night. I am haunted by them, and someday they will get me, for all that I have done."

It has been over a year since I have updated, but here it is. My next chapter. For those of you who waited for me, thank you!! And sorry it took me so long!!