The Siren (Laments of Angels & Dark Chemistry Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

Lucienne and Vladimir from three sides, raising their spears to form an impenetrable wall. 
    “Stop!” Vladimir shouted in Tibetan, and Lucienne snapped her whip in the air. “You want to talk, then talk. One more step, we’re out of here!”
    The monk leader raised a hand. The warriors stopped.
    As Lucienne appraised the leader, who looked more like a scholar than a warrior, Vladimir whispered to her, “Don’t be fooled by his appearance. He’s a Khampa, the fiercest warrior race.”
    “Who are you?” the Khampa asked, eyes travelling between Lucienne and Vladimir. 
    “Lama, the boy sounds familiar,” said an older monk at the Khampa’s side.
    Vladimir snorted. But when he spoke again, his voice went a few notches deeper. “Ha ha, very humorous. Surely we must have been well acquainted in a past life, so let’s get along in this life, as well.”  
    “Why are you chasing us?” Lucienne held her steady gaze on the leader.  
    “Why did you run?” The Lama looked amused.
    “Anyone with a head on his neck would run if an army chased him,” Vladimir said. “Do you find the logic amusing, Lama? Or do you regard the sight of a vast horde of the Dalai Lama’s army going after two kids more entertaining? I thought you followed the Buddha’s teaching. What happened to ‘no violence’?”
    The amusement left the Lama’s eyes. He shifted to English. “Use peaceful means where they are appropriate—but where they are not appropriate—do not hesitate to resort to more forceful means.”
    “He quoted Thupten Gyatso, the twelfth Dalai Lama,” Lucienne told Vladimir.
    The leader studied Lucienne.
    “Is the translation accurate?” Vladimir asked. 
    “ Which one of you opened the crypt?” the leader asked.
    Vladimir narrowed his eyes on the Lama. “Why does that matter?”   
    The Lama’s eyes shone. “Prophecy says someday The One will come for the holy scroll and lead us into the new age. When that happens, the Buddha’s light will radiate in the dark.” 
    “That’s nice,” Vladimir said. “Let us pass. Time is essential to spread the Buddha’s teachings and shed the light.”
    The warrior army didn’t move.
    The Lama smiled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Another prophet said, ‘When The One uses the holy scroll for his personal gains, he’ll sweep away the old world and its traditions like maelstrom sweeping the remaining autumn leaves. His power will increase, but the world will sink into the third dark age.’”
    “That fast?” Vladimir said. “I didn’t know we’d already passed two dark ones.”
    The Lama ignored Vladimir’s mock. “In order to decide if The One is the Light or the Darkness, we’ll ask both of you to stay with us for a few days, until we sort it out.”
    “What if we’re the Dark?” Vladimir asked.
    “The evil must be purged. But if The One is the Light, you will have our unfaltering allegiance,” the Lama said. “If there’s no darkness in your heart, you need not fear us.”
    “How do you decide if The One is the Light or what?” Vladimir asked.
    “We have our means,” the Lama said.
    “Who gives you the right to judge?” Lucienne hissed.
    “We’re the army of the Light. We exist to preserve the Light in the world.”
    “Monsters always believe they’re the saviors of the world,” Lucienne replied.
    “We’re not monsters. We’re Buddha’s followers,” the Lama said.
    “Problem is, there are two of us. And you think whoever opened the chamber is The One,” Vladimir said. “What about the non-One? Will you promise to let her go if The One stays with you?”
    The Lama hesitated for a second. “If The One agrees to stay, we’ll let his friend go.”
    “This is a bad bargain,” Lucienne told Vladimir in Russian.
    But Vladimir had already cried out in Tibetan. “I am The One. Let my sidekick go. I’ll do whatever you want, after I see her leave on that aircraft we brought.”
    “Don’t call me a sidekick under