A Siren's Wish by Renee Field Page A

that his job was to talk them out of it. The idea of more creatures from the sea being caged and put on display made him sick.
    “Ever hear of the Internet?” snapped his brother, “but before you continue your rant we have another bigger problem. Caskett just gave me a call asking if I was in the neighborhood and if I could pop on over and check out a dolphin he’d captured that had what he said looked like a tattoo on it.”
    There was audible silence on both ends of the line.
    “Tattoo?”
    “Yeah, that’s why he called,” said Darius.
    Sitting down in the one and only chair in his kitchen, Seth asked, “Does anyone else know about it?”
    “Not at the moment. I told him it was no big deal. Many sea mammals have a funny birthmark, and it probably wasn’t a tattoo at all. I told him I was at sea but that I had a good friend who just happened to be in town who specializes in marine life and that he’d take a look at the dolphin. Thank the gods he called me and not the local media,” Darius emphasized.
    “Do you think…?”
    “Oh yeah, no doubt. She’s captured. Poor thing. Scared as hell, I bet. Remember when…”
    Seth cut off his brother. He wasn’t interested in reminiscing about the chances the two of them had taken. He was more interested in the dolphin and the fact that both things he had to take care of involved Caskett. He didn’t like that one bit.
    “I’ll get her out,” he stated, thinking he’d have to make a few calls to delay the plans he had made minutes ago.
    “You’ll have to. I’ve been talking on the phone all morning with these clowns from Florida and they don’t get it. I’m afraid I might have to take some drastic measures to stop them from capturing more whales. Plus as much as I love my boat, there’s no way she’ll make it back in time for me to meet with him. As it is, it’ll take me a good four hours to reach the institute. But I want to help,” said Darius, in the velvety-smooth tone of voice Seth recognized.
    “Darius, you can’t. If they…” Seth stated.
    “They don’t need to know. It’ll be like old times—just the two of us, against the big bad ugly world. Come on. She might be hurt, and I’m the best vet around.”
    Seth knew his brother was right. If what he suspected was correct and if the creature was hurt, then Darius was needed. Plus he still needed to talk to him and explain a few urgent things. “Okay. When did you tell Caskett I’d drop by?”
    “I made it sound like you were busy, but I told him you’d come by at the end of the day.” There was a flicker of hope in Darius’ voice that made Seth a bit uneasy.
    Seth still wished it was like the old days between him and his twin. Back then, a phone call would have been unnecessary. Gifted telepathically as creatures of the sea, they rarely spoke out loud as youngsters. As twins, though, they had an extra special bond. They could sense each other’s emotions. Not so anymore.
    “Can you call one of your vet friends and ask them for a favor?” asked Seth, knowing full well he would need sedatives to calm the creature.
    A few minutes later, the plan had been worked out. Darius would call in a favor to a local vet, Seth would get the necessary equipment, head over to Caskett’s lab to check on the dolphin and also determine for sure if the ancient shells were really gone.
    “How long do you think?” Darius asked, his voice breaking into Seth’s mind that was trying hard to sort and analyze all the problems that had manifested themselves at once.
    There was a catch in Darius’ voice Seth easily recognized—fear. “I’m not sure. It depends on how long it’s already been. The sooner we get that dolphin out, the better. Call me once you’re close to the institute.”
    With that, Seth was left listening to the dial tone. He was anxious about the dolphin. There were too many “what ifs” jumping into his brain, but he knew it was useless to even go there. Not used to waiting he paced