I strengthened my assault, trying to push the lead cutter into its companions. A collision at sea should keep all three ships busy long enough for the sirens to escape, and for me to sneak on board and find out what the hell was going on.

I had just stepped out onto the deck when the sirens responded.

Despite our precautions, the sound rising from the ocean drilled into my marrow, making my bones buzz with desire. Lena found my arm and clasped it tight. The slightest edge of the sirens’ song stirred memories and longing.

For me, it summoned the despair I’d struggled with a year ago. I felt like my chest had been hollowed out, rotted from the inside by everything I’d lost: friends who had died in the fighting back home; my brother’s trust; my dreams for New Millennium; even Gutenberg, though that one was tempered by relief that he no longer ruled the Porters.

Lena kissed me, supplanting the sirens’ magic with her own. I slipped my arms inside her jacket and pulled her tight. I don’t know how long we stood there, frantically kissing and grasping at one another, until another explosion interrupted the sirens and our own desire.

I broke away and looked around for Deb. She’d moved to the bow and was staring out at the waves, but she hadn’t flung herself into the ocean, which was the normal response to an unfiltered siren’s song.

If the sirens had hit us that hard, I couldn’t imagine what they’d done to the crews of those Coast Guard ships. Only they weren’t leaping overboard or collapsing in despair.

Another round of explosions went off. In the flickering light, I saw that the crew were wearing hearing protection similar to our own. They’d known exactly what they were up against, and had come prepared.

I swore long and loud over the implications, but I’d have time to sort that out later. I clapped Lena twice on the shoulder to let her know I was moving out, then swapped books and reached deep into Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief.

I was starting to push my limits. Characters cried out in my head, and my vision flickered with the imagination of countless readers. I seized one particular image, pulled it free, and donned its power. Wings peeled open from the sides of my sneakers.

I leaned over the rail long enough for the waves to spray my face. The cold water helped me focus on this world.

I tapped Deb’s shoulder twice in the signal we’d agreed on. She caught my arm and stepped around behind me. I gripped the rail as she climbed onto my back and clung like a child. I was shocked to realize she weighed little more than my niece. Renfields tended toward the slender side, but Deb was a scarecrow.