As in siphoning out the blood? “Why?” Neris asked.

  “Because she's local to your area, restless, with delusions of incipient consequence, and the mating urge is coming upon her. That makes her vulnerable. She won't be properly diffident about her victim. Ordinarily she would be sensibly cautious about engaging a half god, knowing the risk. She will be in heat--” Rhea glanced at her wristwatch. “Tomorrow night. Be there and you will have her, if you are able.”

  Neris knew how female animals went into heat when it was time for them to breed. They emitted pheromones that summoned males from miles around, eager to breed. The siren was half animal, so this made sense. “Why would I not be able?”

  “She will attempt to pacify you with her song. You must pacify her instead. That will be your challenge.” Rhea smiled briefly. “Your member is virtually virginal. You have never had penetrative sex with a woman. This will be its coming of age ordeal, and yours. The outcome is uncertain.”

  Now he knew. “I will do my best.”

  “And hope it suffices.” She waved them away.

  They were standing back where they had started. “And hope,” Nerine echoed.

  “So how do we find Siphon?”

  “Spot research,” she said. “Check the phone book.”

  He checked the phone book. There it was: SIPHON, with a number, web site, and popular social forums. “She's not even hiding!” he said, surprised.

  “Yes she is. That's her business name; she doesn't say she's a siren.”

  “What's her business?”

  “Homeless shelter, it says here.”

  “Must be a good way to meet homeless or undocumented men that no one will miss.”

  “Indeed. She is smartly organized.”

  They checked the web site. There was her picture, a striking beauty with all the features of a nereid except that she was clothed and better endowed. Her hair was glossy black and curled voluminously to her waist; her pupils were similarly black. She didn't need a song to impress a man; she was phenomenally attractive silent.

  “Oh, bother,” Nerine muttered. “You're hot for her already.”

  “Well, she's half goddess. My kind of woman.”

  “You need her to make a bad dream,” she reminded him. “Not to romance.”

  He laughed. “Don't worry. I know she's a deadly creature. I'll tame her for the dream, then let her go.”

  “Assuming she doesn't tame you, and suck out all your blood.”

  “My plan is to counter her song with my own, put the god-seed into her, and wait for it to act. This seems straightforward.”

  “As straightforward as a gunfight where the fastest draw wins. I don't think you know what you're up against. Neris, she won't come at you with just her voice. She'll flash those breasts at you, those hips, make you desire her. The only thing she won't do is kiss you, because that would interrupt her song. You will have to steel yourself.”

  “Why? She'll want to seduce me. All I have to do is let her.”

  “Don't let her seduce you! You have to rape her instead.”

  “Rape her? When she wants sex?”

  “Yes. So that there is no love in it. Her song is an intensification of love. It will undermine your will to resist. You can't afford that.”

  “I have a song of my own,” he reminded her. “You and your sisters taught me, and you know I have practiced it since. That should counter her song.”

  “It will be some duet,” she agreed. “But singing at a mortal woman is not at all the same as singing at a half-goddess.”

  Her cautions were generally well taken. “Maybe I should try it on you, to get the feel of that.”

  “Maybe you should,” she agreed. “We'll sing passion at each other. Then you'll know.”

  They sang at each other. He knew immediately that she was right: her power matched his, and so did her resistance to it. His feet wanted to go to her, his arms wanted to embrace her, though she was his sister and he had never had passion for her. It was a standoff, but it drained him.

  He broke it off, and she ceased also, immediately. He was breathing heavily. “You made your point. That's a much sterner challenge.”

  She was breathing too. “You did well, though. It was all I could do to stop myself from going to you; you really got me aroused.”

  “Same here. It's a good thing we stopped. We could have wound up having sex.”

  “We could have,” she agreed. It was a considerable admission on both their parts, as neither wanted any such thing.

  “And the siren will have similar power of song?”

  “Yes. Or stronger. She will have had more practice, and her livelihood depends on it.”

  “That's why Rhea gave me the added elixir.”

  “Yes. She knew you'd need it.”

  “I'll need it,” he agreed.

  “Now let's do our homework. We need to learn all we can about the siren. Especially any possible weak points.”

  They studied the web site and followed up with other sources of information. It turned out that Siphon lived in a virtual castle on an island in a small lake within city limits. There was even an operating drawbridge, normally pulled up at night. Hungry piranha fish swam in the lake, so intrusion in the night was unlikely. It was surely very expensive real estate. Despite this affluence, she was well regarded in her community for the good work she was doing. If a man was homeless and hungry, he went there, and got temporary shelter and food. If a woman was desperate, she went, and received surcease. Children were also welcome, and could come away with toys. Nothing was asked in return.

  “This is not what I expected,” Nerine said. “Sirens are normally completely selfish and vicious, not caring at all about the harm they do.”

  “Maybe she does it so she can live among mortals without inciting fear and resentment. It must pay her to cultivate them.”

  “It certainly must. I have heard it said that a cat does not make a friend unless it's well worth it. The siren must find her lifestyle worth it. But that does not mean her nature has changed. Under that mask she'll be as cynical as ever. Don't forget it.”

  “I won't. But I wonder: we need her for a specific task. Once that is done, should we let her go? She seems to be doing no harm; rather the opposite.”

  “One caution,” she said. “If you conquer her and compel her, she will not let bygones be bygones. She will be your enemy. You don't want to risk that.”

  “What other choice is there? I doubt it would be easy to kill her, and of course Hedva wouldn't allow that anyway.”

  “You will have to keep her magically bound. You could let her return to her life, but as your emotional slave, doing your will, not her own. That will prevent her from plotting revenge.”

  He considered that, gazing at the picture of the siren. “Other things being equal, she has the sort of body I would like to plumb. Could I keep her as my sex slave?”

  “Why not? She certainly knows how to do it, and would be unable to suck your blood in that state.” One thing about Nerine was that she was rational rather than moralistic, and had no hangups about sexual expression. As long as her sisters weren't in the picture.

  “I could let her continue to run her homeless shelter, and service me on the side.”

  “Yes. But first you must conquer her. If you don't, anything else is academic.”

  “Yes. I think I still need to know more about her. Maybe we should visit her castle tomorrow, just to look around, before I brace her tomorrow night.”

  “Yes. You will want to be as prepared as you can be.”

  “One thing I wonder about: Rhea referred to Siphon as being with delusions of incipient consequence. What did she mean?”

  “I'm not sure. Maybe she aspires to be more than she is. Some folk get that way. Why?”

  “Because I want to be more than I am. Not just a crossbreed, but a worthy person. Could Siphon be similar?”

  Nerine was thoughtful. “Maybe. Or maybe this was simply Rhea's way of warning you to mind your station.”

  It occurred to Neris that he would be wise to be extremely careful of Rhea.

  Rosie was nervous when he told her that evening. “You're going to tackle the siren.”

  “Yes. Tomorrow night.”

  “I almost want to make out with you tonight, just to have done it once. Because I fear you could die tomorrow, and then I'd forever wonder.”

  “Now don't go to extremes,” he said, laughing. But her cautions, too, were generally well taken.

  Hedva phoned. “You're tackling the siren tomorrow? Isn't there a safer way?”

  “We need her to make the last dissuasive dream, to stop the pollution. It's unsafe not to try.”

  “I believe I can nullify the pollution, if only I have time enough.”

  “Yes. That is our final hope. This is our next-to-final hope.”

  “Good luck, Neris. I—I care for you.” She hung up.

  “Wow!” Rosie said. “She's reacting the way I am. Could she actually return your crush?”

  “How could she? She's 42. I'm pushing 16.”

  “Sometimes older women get a hankering for teen boys.”

  “Hedva's not like that.”

  “She's not,” Rosie agreed. “Unless she's like me in one respect: she fears you will die, and wonders what it might have been like with you.”

  “And if I live, neither of you will have any further interest.”

  She laughed. “Mortals are like that.”

  “I suppose they are. My mortal half has interests that my godly half laughs at.”

  “Oh? Like what?”

  “Like wishing I could have sex once with Hedva before she dies. She's a woman like none other.”

  “It may be a supreme irony: you wanting to have it with her, she wanting to have it with you, but neither of you daring even to mention it because the whole idea is ludicrous.” She nudged him. “Why don't you call her back and offer?”

  He was appalled. “I'd never do that!”

  “Precisely. Neither would she. So there's no chance.”

  “No chance,” he agreed. Yet there was that in him that deeply regretted it.

  Next day they visited the siren's castle. It was impressive, standing several stories high on its little island, with its moat-like lake. It looked like a vacation resort more than a refuge for the homeless.

  They were among several who walked across the lowered drawbridge to the castle entrance. There was a raised portcullis, and the outer walls were thick; it would be hard to get inside once it closed for the night. There was a vegetable garden on one side, and a mini-orchard with fruit-bearing trees on the other; evidently it could endure for some time independently if it had to. There looked to be solar panels above, too. Neris was further impressed.

  There was a desk with a woman just inside the entrance who looked up as they came. “Yes?” she inquired brightly.

  The man ahead of them shuffled forward. “Got no place to go. They said I might get to stay here a night.”

  “That's true. Are you literate?” When he hesitated, she clarified it. “Can you read and write? Because we'd like you to check in with a simple form, for our records. We're a private institution, but the state requires some information.”

  “I can read and write,” the man agreed. “Gimme the form.”

  The next was a woman with a young child. “I've been here before. My husband locked us out again. He's been drinking.”

  “I remember,” the desk clerk said. “No need to check in again. The same room you had before is available. You remember where it is?”

  “Yes.” Then the woman paused, evidently near tears. “This helps so much. Thank you!” She and the girl walked on by the desk.

  “You're welcome,” the woman said after her.

  Nerine nudged him. “We can leave now.”

  “There's a problem?”

  “No. I've got what we need.”

  Oh. She had been reading minds. “But what if we get shut out of the castle at night?”

  “They shut it only when there is reason, like a man with a grudge and a machete. We can return.”

  They quietly got out of the line and exited the castle. No one else seemed to care. Probably people changed their minds all the time.

  “Maybe this is contradictory,” Neris said when they were clear of the drawbridge. “But this seems almost like a Christian Charity operation.”

  “It's better than that. There no religious pitch.”

  “What have you learned?”

  “First I read the desk clerk. Six months ago she was pursued by a violent man, an ex boyfriend who abused, raped and beat her. The authorities did nothing, and she feared her her life, not to mention her health. She fled him and came here. He pursued her; indeed was hot on her trail. She begged Siphon to help her. Siphon led her into the central courtyard, put her to the side, concealed, then assumed her likeness. 'Watch; do nothing,' she told the woman. The man charged in, swearing. He saw Siphon, grabbed her, beat her with his fists, then ripped off her skirt and raped her against the wall. Then he stood there unmoving for some time. Finally he fell away from her, dead. She grabbed his feet and hauled him to an inlet of the lake at the edge of the courtyard. She pushed him in, and there was a swirl as the piranha had at him. Then Siphon returned to the woman, looking plumper than before. 'I showed you this so that you would know without question that there is no further danger from this man. I will in due course dissolve his bones in acid and pour him into the sewer. No one else will know of his whereabouts, let alone his demise. You need never fear again.' Amazed, the woman tried to thank her, but she would not have it. 'But I must repay you in some way!' Thus she came to be the front clerk. She may leave without prejudice whenever she wishes. Meanwhile she gets room, board, and a small allowance.”

  “That's remarkably generous.”

  “It is,” she agreed. “And that's not the half of it. I read the mind of the serving girl in the kitchen. She's a teen who was abducted and held captive for months for continuous raping and prostitution. She finally managed to escape and fled to Siphon, who then took out the pursuing pimp. Now the girl works voluntarily in the kitchen, finding the castle more like a home than her prior life with parents who would not believe that she was abducted, and tried to condemn her for it.”

  “I can see it.”

  “And the groundskeeper. He's a gay man, formerly abused by his lover. He asked Siphon not to hurt the abuser, just stop him. Now the abuser is healthy but has no penis, and has fled to another country.”

  Neris was disturbed. “Siphon doesn't sound like a vicious predator.”

  “She isn't. I can't read her mind because she's immortal. She's in the castle, supervising things, and not hurting anyone I can find, apart from men who really need to be taken out. I can't figure her angle.”

  Incipient consequence? Such as recognition for doing good? “This estate, with the lake, castle, and workers—it must cost a fortune to own and operate. Where does the money come from?”

  “I can't tell. But it seems legitimate.”

  “We'd better find out. I don’t want a mystery before I tackle her.”

  They went home. “Dad, I need a favor,” Neris said.

  Crosby smiled. Neris was treating him with respect throughout. “Name it, son.”

  “There's a homeless shelter in town run by one Siphon. I need to know how she came by it. Can you research the financial transactions?”

  Crosby laughed. “I can answer that off the top of my head; the case is notorious in my circles. Siphon was a gold-digger with a rare beauty like that of the nereid.” He meant Nerine, who appeared briefly, smiling. “She befriended a rich old widower, becoming his open mistress for the sake of that particular estate. She took very good care of him, amazing his cynical associates. He did business at my bank, and I could only envy him his luck with women. When he died he left it to her, together with income to maintain it. It was an excellent investment on her part. Also, it seems, on his part.”

  “How did he die?”

  “Nothing untoward there. He had been in poor health at age sixty five, but improved significantly with her attention. It was almost like magic. He died at eighty five of natural causes, a decade beyond what his doctors had predicted. Now she does charitable work and is widely admired. I understand her beauty has not faded perceptibly despite her advancing age. She would make any man a remarkable wife.” He glanced at Neris. “If I may inquire, what is your interest in her? Surely not romantic? She's a public figure.”

  “I may need to kill her, or at least enslave her.”

  “And you are serious.” Crosby shook his head. “Son, it's not my business, but I must admit to being overwhelmingly curious. Will you tell me why?”

  “You did me a favor. I will return it. But this information is private.”

  “Private even from Doris?”

  Neris hesitated. “Tell her if you feel she can handle it.”

  “Agreed.”

  “Siphon is a siren. That is, a half immortal creature who fascinates and preys upon men. Apparently she does not have to kill them, but can and will do so without compunction if she chooses. I need her assistance on my pollution project, and know she will not give it voluntarily. So I must tackle her and conquer her if I can. I may die in the attempt.”

  Crosby looked shaken. “Nerine accedes to this?”

  Nerine appeared again. “Reluctantly.”

  “When is this encounter?”

  “Tonight. There's a window of opportunity I must take.”