The Panagea Tales Box Set

by McKenzie Austin

  “Oi, I’m only human!” he protested as he held up his hands. “She’s just the way nature intended her to be, don’t go stiflin’ her sense of self!”

  Elowyn rolled her eyes and crossed the distance over to Umbriel. She cast a shadow over the woman as she loomed above her. “Um ... Umbriel,” she started, unsure what to say.

  The Earth Mother opened one eye and found Elowyn’s face as she towered over her. “Oh, hello, Elowyn,” she smiled and propped herself up onto her elbows. “Is there something I can help you with?”

  “You could put on a shirt, for starters,” Elowyn replied. She looked around the deck to see if there was something she could use to cover her.

  Umbriel sat up further and pushed her hair out of her face. “My apologies, Elowyn. I hope I did not offend you; I’m grateful for the clothing, but I find it’s easier to absorb the sun’s rays when I’m not hindered by apparel. I’ll put something on if you prefer I cover myself.”

  Elowyn pursed her lips and rubbed the back of her neck. She was a medical doctor. A naked body should not have bothered her. But when she looked at Umbriel in her perceived vulnerable state, Elowyn recalled every instance when a man made her feel less than she was because she had breasts and a uterus. Elowyn cursed the patriarchal society she lived in. She wanted women to feel empowered, but now she just felt prudish. “Um, no, it’s okay—you do what you have to do,” she said, “it’s just, Brack is over there watching you, I figured ... I don’t know, I told him to bugger off.”

  Umbriel laughed and put a hand on her chest. “Thank you for looking out for me, Elowyn. Mr. Joney is a simple man who delights in simple pleasures. I’m certain he’s no more ashamed of his actions than I am of mine. His watchful eyes do not bother me. I’m confident in who I am and how I present myself. But it bothers me I’ve made you uncomfortable, and for that, I apologize.”

  “No, I, um—” Elowyn postured. Flustered, and more than a little embarrassed, she forced a smile, “You know, I should see if I need to ... medic ... anything. Um, have fun, and, and make yourself at home.” She dashed off, confused how she went from feeling like the savior of Umbriel’s purity to the thief of her comfort. But something the Earth Mother said stuck with her. Though Elowyn perceived her as vulnerable, Umbriel’s confidence showcased no weaknesses. The medic found it strangely inspirational. She stored it in the back of her memory, should she ever need it.

  Iani and Rennington made their way to the captain’s quarters with haste after their awkward encounter with Elowyn. Both felt too obstinate to discuss what happened as they knocked on the door. It felt like their sister caught them in an unflattering circumstance, and they hoped to never speak of it again.

  “Come in,” the captain’s voice sounded from inside the room. The two men entered.

  “You wanted to see us, Captain?” Rennington closed the door behind him.

  Kazuaki looked up at the brothers and narrowed his eye. One of his guests was missing. “Where’s Nico?”

  Iani shrugged. “We went to get him like you wanted, but he was in the spare parts room. Said he was working on something important and didn’t want to put it down.”

  The captain’s face adopted a look of irritation. He turned to the scholar who sat beside him. “Bartholomew, would you fetch Nico, and clarify it is a command, not a request?”

  Bartholomew nodded as he pulled himself away from a pile of parchment on Kazuaki’s desk. He laid his glasses down on the table and stood to his feet. “Yes, Captain,” he replied, slipping out the door.

  Kazuaki’s eye flicked to Rennington as Bartholomew exited. He took note of his crutch's absence. “Good to see you could say goodbye to that thing,” he said, pointing to where the crutch used to be.

  “Ah, yeah,” Rennington laughed and flexed his leg for good measure. “Happy to say goodbye too.”

  “Right,” Kazuaki leaned over his desk, weaving his fingers together as he stared at the two men. “We’re going over the plan of action for when we arrive in Southern. I called you here because I need your expertise, gentlemen.”

  “We’re here to help however we can, Captain.” Rennington grabbed a chair and slid it over. Iani did the same.

  Kazuaki stood from his chair, far too consumed with energy to sit. He positioned his hands behind his back as he paced the room. “We already destroyed the catacombs in Avadon. I’d like to finish what we started.”

  Iani tilted his head. “I’m with you, Captain. I’d love to see all of Darjal’s division crumble, but Avadon is one of Southern’s larger cities,” he explained with a dose of caution. “It might be easier to start somewhere less aggressive. A smaller town that would put up less resistance, perhaps?”

  “It would be easier,” Kazuaki replied. He stopped to stare out a small window. “But Avadon is right on the coast and it borders Darjal’s home town. I want that bastard’s head on a pike,” he stated with an eerie sense of calm.

  Iani shrugged and leaned back in his chair. “Sure, Cap, whatever you decide. We know a few alleys and abandoned industrial plants that don’t see the light of day. We could take refuge there while Umbriel does whatever it is she needs to do. At least until we need to take things out into the open.”

  “Captain,” Rennington shifted his weight and sat forward, a look of distress on his face. “I’m with you on the whole decapitating Darjal thing, but are you going to get Nico and Umbriel to go along with that? I mean—”

  “Nico couldn’t even kill those footmen when Rennington got shot,” Iani interrupted. “Renn’s right, he’s shit with a gun. And Umbriel seems to be a bit of a pacifist, herself.”

  Kazuaki narrowed his eye. “Just leave them to me,” he responded cryptically.

  The two brothers exchanged glances with one another and shrugged in unison. The three sat in silence until Bartholomew returned with Nicholai. Irritation appeared on the Time Father at the interruption from his project, but he put on a good face. “You wanted to see me, Captain?” he asked as he wiped grease off on his pants.

  “We’re starting our revolution in Avadon,” the captain replied, skipping the formality of pleasant small talk. “I know you drudged around that town for long enough to find the catacombs that ran beneath the city. I need to know of any other places we might seek refuge long enough for Umbriel to get a head start on her forestation project. She said it would be best to sow a multitude of seeds in secret until we’re forced to make our presence known. That will speed up the detoxification process before we’re interrupted by the Southern military.”

  Nicholai frowned and shook his head. “We should choose somewhere far from Darjal’s reach at first. You know, build alliances with disgruntled civilians before we try to infiltrate Avadon again. Starting so close to his home town is a death sentence.”

  “Darjal signed his death sentence when he tried to kill Rennington and Iani,” Kazuaki replied. Though the tone of his voice was even and steady, toxicity hid in his words. Darjal wronged the Platts brothers, and therefore wronged him. Nobody wronged Captain Kazuaki Hidataka.

  Iani grinned and nudged his brother. “Ah, Captain’s gettin’ sappy.”

  “Ha,” Rennington smirked. In a sing-song voice, he taunted, “You love us.”

  “Belay that,” Kazuaki quipped, glaring at the two before he turned back to Nicholai. “Do you know another entrance to catacombs that remain? I know you referenced Darjal’s paranoia when we first met. I suspect more exist that we didn’t destroy.”

  Nicholai shook his head, his face stern, “Even if I did, I really think Avadon is too dangerous. If anything I’ve ever heard about Darjal is true, as soon as he knows we’re back in Southern, he will unleash his army. That man would summon hellfire to rain down from above if he could, and he wouldn’t give a damn who got in the way.”

  Kazuaki huffed. “I’ll bring an umbrella.”

  The Time Father approached the captain. He emphasized his certainty in the tone of his voice. “Kazuaki ... you don’t get it,” he started
with clear frustration, “Darjal is a prideful man. He considers himself a god. He will stop at nothing until I, and by extension, all of you, are dead. I am certain innocent people will perish if they’re in close enough proximity to his rage.”

  Kazuaki met his intense stare. “This is an uprising, Nico. A revolution. People will die. The sooner you accept that, the easier this will be.”

  Nicholai drew in a slow, measured breath. He exhaled and thought back to what Umbriel told him in her quarters. It wasn’t his place to impose his beliefs on the captain, but he would not bend his ethics to suit the situation. “I’m not a murderer, Kazuaki. I will not take a life.”

  The captain did not flinch. “That may win you a popularity contest, Nico, but it won’t win you a war.”

  Nicholai closed his eyes and summoned what little calm he had left. When he knew he could speak without it being tainted with rage, he said, “I won’t stop you from doing what you think is right. I hope you afford me the same courtesy. Just remember, you’re the one who has to sleep with those demons at night, not me.”

  Against everything, the captain laughed. It was a short, haughty sound. “I appreciate the moral lesson, Nico. But when you’ve seen as many nightmares as I have, it’s the demons who are the ones too fearful to sleep.”

  There was no reasoning with him. He was a man cemented in his design. Nicholai sighed and tried to find contentment that while he could not convince Kazuaki to refrain from killing, he, himself, could stand by his principles. “There are additional catacombs that run through the city. They run all the way to Darjal’s home town.”

  “Great. We have options. That’ll be all, Nico,” Kazuaki motioned toward the door.

  The Time Father loitered, perplexed by the short meeting. He looked at the other men then started for the door.

  “Nico—”

  Nicholai spun on his heels to look at the captain.

  “What would you do?” he asked, genuine in his interest. “If you’re staring down a barrel and there’s a finger on the trigger ... what would go through your mind?”

  With a pause, Nicholai thought. After a moment of contemplation, he replied, “I would hope he had a terrible aim.” With that, he left.

  Kazuaki watched him depart, focused on the closed door. He turned to Rennington and Iani then cracked his knuckles. “Make sure everyone keeps an extra eye on him when we dock, boys ... otherwise, that idiot will get himself killed.”

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  The visits with Umbriel got less awkward with time, but Bermuda still dreaded them. There was a dull ache that seemed present in her chest whenever she stepped into the Earth Mother’s quarters. It had nothing to do with Umbriel. After an initial dislike, Bermuda found her calming presence nice to be around. But every time she approached the door, a hesitation lingered inside her, weighing her feet to the floorboards. The quartermaster pushed herself forward at her captain's reassurance. If he said it was for her greater good, then it must be. She trusted him with her life.

  Bermuda knocked three times and pushed the door open when Umbriel called her inside. “Hello again,” she muttered though she forced a small smile.

  “Come in, Bermuda,” Umbriel welcomed her with warmth, as she always did, and sat up straighter when the quartermaster beside her. “How have you been feeling since your last treatment?”

  “Um ...” The woman could not make eye contact. She did not wish to offend the Earth Mother by her confession.

  “It’s okay,” Umbriel reassured her. “You can tell me, even if it’s unflattering.”

  Bermuda cleared her throat and tucked a strand of hair behind her ears. “Well ...” Her face twisted into soft confusion. “I feel ... heavier. Not in a physical sense. When the day ends and I’m about to drift off to sleep ... there’s just ... this overwhelming weight,” she said, pressing her hand into her sternum. “Right here. Not sharp, like a dagger, just ... an ache. I don’t know how to explain it.”

  Umbriel nodded, listening as Bermuda described her circumstances. “I thought there might be,” she admitted. “You’ve spent years with an emptiness there. I suspect it’s normal to feel an uncomfortable pressure as we dispel the toxins.”

  “Is that what you’re doing?” Bermuda asked. Before, she was content to blindly follow the captain’s orders. A base part of her always did and still wished to. But now, as the cobwebs of Mimir’s influence fell away, she grew more curious about what Umbriel was doing to her.

  “It is,” Umbriel replied. Her face took on a gentle appearance. She speculated Bermuda operated on autopilot for the last several years. A heart drove a person’s emotions. But without a heart to speak of, Bermuda operated with her brain, her logic, the driving force of her physical actions. Now that emotion crawled back into play, Umbriel prepared herself for her hard, inevitable questions. “Is there anything else you’d like to know before I continue?” she asked.

  “No,” Bermuda unbuttoned the top part of her shirt to allow Umbriel access to her chest. She felt guilty for questioning Kazuaki’s intentions and wanted to proceed without delay. But as the Earth Mother laid her hands on her skin, the quartermaster’s expression showed a lingering question.

  Umbriel inhaled, as the familiar warmth spread from her fingertips to Bermuda’s skin. “Please don’t hold back, Bermuda, I am here to help. The process will work much better if we clear your mind and your heart.”

  “My heart.” Bermuda frowned, allowing the familiar feeling to flood her body. “I know the captain has my best interest,” she started, “but I must admit, I wished I knew why he insisted on these treatments.”

  Umbriel continued to run the energy through her, plucking away the internal sludge of Mimir’s doing. She wanted to choose her words with care; matters of the heart were fraught with fragility. “He has your best interest,” Umbriel responded. She tried to concentrate on her words as her body depleted itself. “Kazuaki loves you very much. I loved a man myself once. He always said I breathed life into his soul.” She trailed off, smiling at the pleasant memory.

  A nervous laugh escaped Bermuda as she tried to hold her body still. “It’s nothing like that,” she said. The quartermaster didn’t know why the topic made her stomach rise, but she pushed through it. “The captain puts on a front, but he’s dutiful to every one of us. I’m sure his actions would be the same whether it was me sitting here, or Revi, or Elowyn ...”

  Umbriel’s lips shifted into a sly smirk. Kazuaki’s feelings were transparent to the Earth Mother, but it seemed Bermuda wore a convenient pair of blinders. Whether her denial existed before or after Mimir’s curse, she did not know. “That’s a shame,” she said. “It’s wonderful to love and be loved in return. Have you ever felt that way about anyone?”

  Bermuda quirked a brow and became more aware of her beating heart. It felt stronger now, somehow. More present. With it came memories of a face. A man. She narrowed her eyes and tried to pull more details forward. “I ...” She trailed off, distracted by her quickened pulse. “I think I did. Once.”

  Umbriel felt the panic rise in Bermuda. It reflected what happened before. Her anxiety correlated to her inability to fit the pieces of her mental puzzle together. To comfort her and provide reprieve in the form of a distraction, Umbriel shared one of her memories. “My A’ronn, he would whisper sweet nothings as we laid our heads in the grasses, staring up at the night sky.” She grew weaker the more she poured into Bermuda, but she carried on, determined to make more progress. “He was a dear man, my love. A vision, he called me. He had a way of weaving words. Poetry comes easy to those in love.”

  Bermuda nodded as her eyebrows knitted together. “A vision. Gods, that sounds so familiar,” she mumbled but allowed the thought to pass. In a moment of clarity that struck her like lightning, she turned toward the Earth Mother. “Ty. His name ... it was Ty Aldon.”

  “Your lover?” Umbriel pretended Bermuda hadn’t mentioned him once before, as she tried to maintain an air of tranquility. Bermuda made great pr
ogress, but the endeavor took its toll on the Earth Mother. She tried to steady her trembling hands as Bermuda called forth more memories.

  “Ty.” She repeated it as if the name itself helped bring her lucidity. “He worked for the Northern military. He wanted me to join him, but they only allowed men to enlist as soldiers. I ... I could only join as a medic,” she said, careful with her chosen words as everything fell into place. “But I couldn’t. They wouldn’t allow me to undergo the training process because I had a history of petty crimes.”

  Umbriel’s hands quivered more. The weakness moved up her forearms and shoulders, but she held herself in position and remained calm. “I’m so sorry to hear that. What happened?”

  Bermuda’s face fell, too deep in her flooding memories to register Umbriel’s tremors. “He enlisted anyway. He said he wanted to help people. That man was always trying to help people. I was so mad at him for joining without me,” she whispered as she looked away. “That’s why I was at the pub that night when Captain Hidataka showed up ...”

  Umbriel winced and her arms collapsed back into her lap. She hunched over, trying her best not to show evidence of distress, though it remained obvious with her labored breathing. “I’m so sorry, Bermuda,” she said again as she tried to catch her breath. “You were doing so well ...”

  Bermuda’s eyes widened as she reached out with her hand and stump to help Umbriel sit up straighter. “Gods, are you okay?” she asked, unable to ignore the clear signs of distress.

  “Yes, yes,” Umbriel waved her hand to lower the dramatic overtone. “What happened?” she asked again, clammy under Bermuda’s hand as she forced herself to sit taller, “to you and Ty—it must have been painful.”