The Promise

by Peter Lerangis

  I, too, was swept up in the excitement. I fought back tears. There was no denying that Mother had just used the power of the Loculi to do a great good. Was I mistaken in thinking the things were evil?

  Massarym nudged me. “Go grab a girl,” he said with a grin. “Take her for a flying lesson.”

  Before I could respond, he thrust the Loculus of Flight into my hands and pushed me forward, toward Mother. “My queen, you are truly a miracle worker!” he bellowed. “Let us celebrate. My brother—the handsome, dashing, and brilliant Prince Karai—is too shy to speak for himself. Is there a young lady here who would like, for a fleeting moment, to experience the excitement of flying through the air like an eagle—in the arms of Atlantis’s most eligible bachelor? I’m not saying you’ll be the next princess . . . but who knows?”

  Laughter rippled through the crowd as Massarym pointed to a pretty girl, about our age, and beckoned her. Her parents, stunned, made no attempt to stop this.

  Taking her hand, Massarym guided her arm around my waist and patted us both on the arm. “Have fun up there,” he said.

  “I’m so sorry,” I said to the poor, confused girl, “but my brother—”

  “He’s nervous, everyone!” Massarym shouted, turning to the crowd with a smile. He was met with torrents of cheers and encouragement, applause and laughter. And I noticed the young lady was looking at me with disappointment.

  He’d outmaneuvered me. I had no choice. “What is your name?” I asked.

  “Siasan,” she replied.

  “I’m Karai,” I said.

  She laughed. “Of course. We are both being bullied. But I am curious. Can you truly fly?”

  I held her around the waist. “Please hold on tight.”

  As we left the ground, she screamed. A deafening cheer rose from the crowd and quickly fell away as we entered the thin, clear sky.

  “Oh!” Siasan exclaimed.

  I didn’t know if it was an expression of fear or exhilaration, but as I turned I saw a brilliant smile on her face. She was an adventurous one.

  I flew back down to the level of the top of the grandstands, where people could see us well, and looped around a few times, carefully holding Siasan with one arm and the Loculus with the other.

  “Higher! Please!” Siasan breathed into my ear.

  Honestly, Diary, I was having great fun myself. “Ha ha! You see, my blood is not made of ink and dust!” I cried out.

  “What?” she said.

  “Never mind!” I turned and zoomed upward into the cloudless blue sky.

  That’s when my entire body shook to a distant boom. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the sky begin to change.

  The air itself seemed to be bending, gathering in on itself as if reeled in by a giant invisible hand.

  The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as an impossibly thin, blindingly bright bolt of lighting snaked out of the bruised sky—right toward Siasan and me.

  I didn’t think. I flipped around and shot westward. Wind whistled past me. My ears popped and rang. Siasan fainted.

  And I felt her limp body slide out of the curve of my arm.

  Down. Now.

  As I began to plummet myself, another boom nearly knocked me loose. I struggled to hold on to the Loculus myself. When I regained purchase, Siasan was far below me, screaming.

  Faster!

  I dove back toward the earth, but there was no way even the Loculus of Flight would reach her. She was going to die, and all because of me.

  But out of the transparent air, a figure appeared below her—Mother! Holding her arms wide, she managed to catch the girl firmly. The impact was jarring but it lasted only an instant before both were gone again from sight.

  A moment later they were on the ground, falling ungracefully from each other, but very much alive. My heart beat furiously.

  The Loculus of Zap.

  If Mother had not thought to use the Loculus of Teleportation—if she had not known how to manipulate it so well—Siasan would be dead. Filled with gratitude and relief, I sped downward and landed moments later.

  The spectators were stone silent. Mother glared at me. Then she stood, helping Siasan to her feet. The girl collapsed into Mother’s arms, sobbing. Her family surged forward, clambering onto the field, pushing their way past the soldiers. Siasan’s eyes rolled back in her head and her body began shaking.

  Mother reached for the Loculus of Healing. “Please, everyone, give her some air! She’s going to be all right—”

  “Siasan!” Her mother grabbed her out of the queen’s arms. Mother stepped away, shocked. “Oh, are you offended, Queen Qalani?” the woman snapped. “I don’t care who you are! Look what you did to my daughter! Get your awful stones away from her!”

  “Some queen! You almost killed that girl!” a voice from the crowd shouted.

  “But—but I—” Mother sputtered.

  “She saved the girl!” Father bellowed.

  “The power belongs to the gods, not you!” another voice shouted.

  More angry voices began piling up on top of one another until I couldn’t make out one jeer from another. I was seized with shock. No one had ever addressed the royal family this way.

  Then something hit me on the side of the head. A shoe, thrown from the crowd. A half-eaten skewer of lamb landed at Mother’s feet.

  Food, shoes, and rotten vegetables began flying through the air toward us.

  “PEOPLE! ATLANTEANS!” Father cried out, jumping in front of Mother and batting away a rotten melon. “PLEASE, LISTEN! I COMMAND THAT THERE WILL BE NO MORE GAMES!”

  The shouts simmered, but people stopped throwing things. It was Mother the scientist, not Father, who was associated with the Loculi in the people’s minds.

  “IT IS OUR JOB TO HONOR, DEFEND, AND PROVIDE FOR ALL OF YOU!” he continued, but Mother pulled him away.

  “Uhla’ar, what are you saying?” she hissed, her expression neutral to avoid looking emotional in public.

  “Qalani, please, hear me, hear your people,” Father said softly. “This is wrong. Your achievements in science are immense, but now it’s time for you to listen to me.”

  “You?” Mother said calmly. “You who were not born into the royal family, who grew up as one of them, until a starry-eyed princess plucked you from obscurity—”

  “I earned my station, Qalani!” Father said. “But I am also a brother of the people and they know this. Hear them. Hear their unhappiness.”

  “They certainly are wondering what we’re saying, my dear,” Mother said.

  “Please, Qalani,” Father pressed on, “let’s take these Loculi and secure them deep underground, to be used only in times of great—”

  A good-sized fish, glistening and still flopping, hit him in the head.

  “PLEASE, MY PEOPLE, DO NOT BE ANGRY!” Father announced.

  Another fish fell to the ground next to me, bucking and flapping in the grass—still alive. How odd this was. People had brought live fish with them? The creatures had not died from lack of water?

  I looked around at the crowd. Their faces were looking upward now. Toward the sky.

  They were not throwing fish at all. The fish were falling from above.

  Another hit me, then another. I heard a clap of thunder, and the air suddenly became thin and cold. The ground vibrated under my feet, rattling the entire Parade Grounds and the stadium seats.

  And then hundreds, thousands of fish were falling from the sky, pouring down like rain.

  “Down, Karai, down!” Massarym said. “Someone is bombarding us!”

  “Not someone,” I murmured.

  “Than what?” Massarym shouted. “A griffin with a sick sense of humor?”

  “No,” I said. “Atlantis.”

  Our soldiers wrestled us all to the ground, shielding us with their bodies until the grisly storm was over. I could hear panicked screams. People were lamenting the end of the world. But by the time we emerged, the stands were empty of people.

  Workin
g together, stepping through the writhing, dying fish, Father and I scooped up the orbs and used the Loculus of Teleportation to return them to the Great Onyx Circle. Massarym was right. The pain of using this Loculus was nearly unbearable. Groaning as we recovered, we set them into the Heptakiklos.

  Immediately afterward, the ground stopped shaking.

  We trudged back. At the palace now, the soldiers are still working to remove the fish. Their smell is beginning to permeate every corner. I hope the rain will take care of that, because the skies have opened up even more. I am hearing reports that the rivers and streams have risen dangerously high.

  I know that Mother understands the danger of the Loculi now. How could she not? But she will not speak of it. Neither, of course, will Massarym. I dare not speak to Father, or whatever we say will get back to Mother.

  I can foresee nothing but tragedy as long as the Loculi exist.

  There is only one way out of this, Diary. If it’s not already too late.

  Tonight I do what must be done.

  Years later

  MY DIARY! I have found you! I heard murmurings about a book written in a strange tongue that nobody could recognize.

  It could have been anything, but I knew.

  Somehow I knew.

  I have just reread all of what I’d written as a young man. Such naïveté! Such idealism! Well, I admit I am still the same man, albeit older, and I am drawn to continuing what I started.

  So, dear Diary, here is what happened. Please be prepared, old friend—for after I tell you I must destroy you, so you do not end up in the wrong hands. You see, nowadays I am living a life untethered to my former self.

  The better to track down my brother, Massarym, and what he stole.

  Now then. The night of the fish storm, I sneaked through the rain to the Great Onyx Circle and found my way to Mother’s beloved Heptakiklos, where the seven deadly Loculi rested.

  By now, dear Diary, perhaps you have forgotten the circular ridge, which has since risen up to form the proper volcano known as Mount Onyx. Now the maze through the woods has become a labyrinth through a mountain. But to my story!

  I sought my pet vizzeet—what was his name?—Kav’i! Kav’i had vanished from his cage during the chaos of the day. So I was on my own in the maze.

  I remember the spring was especially full, glowing with wisps of bluish smoke that seemed to have a luminescence of their own. When I reached the waterfall I stopped to plunge my hands deep, splashing some on my face. It was cold and revitalizing.

  Pinpricks of mist dotted my skin as I approached the Heptakiklos.

  Eephus—the griffin I had trained painstakingly to protect my mother’s invention—was sleeping next to it. He raised his fearsome head, instantly alert as I approached. I spoke gently to him, murmuring reassurance as I moved toward the very objects he was supposed to protect.

  Rain pelted me as I stepped closer. The Heptakiklos was dark under the overcast sky, but the Loculi glowed faintly with their own power, and were further lit by the thick streams of blue vapor that issued from cracks all around us.

  The Loculi rested in their indentations—but only six glowing spheres. Had the Loculus of Invisibility completely vanished? Before I’d been able to see its flowing energy. The handle of a sword was wedged deep into the middle of the Heptakiklos. I bent down to pick up the invisible orb. My hand touched . . . nothing.

  With the Loculus of Invisibility, as you know, one can feel the surface, and then one becomes invisible. But no, Diary—nothing was there!

  Behind me the air shifted imperceptibly. In that moment I knew exactly what had happened.

  I stood and turned. “M-M-Massarym?”

  “A pity, I thought you’d lost that stutter,” my brother’s voice rang out. “You are terrible at secret plots too, Karai. While you sneaked here, f-f-fumbling and b-b-bumbling your way, I woke Mother and told her of your plans. Do you know what? She didn’t want me to throw you and Father in jail for treason against the Crown, where you should be! She argued for you, Karai.” Massarym laughed bitterly. Two quick footsteps sounded on the stone floor and then I felt my arm being twisted behind my back.

  My heart pounded in my chest. I chose not to struggle against him, knowing he was the stronger of us. My thoughts raced. Mother had defended me? I took comfort in that. Perhaps she’d come around.

  My shoulder was beginning to throb. “I will go f-freely, Massarym. Let us approach Mother together. Please p-p-put the Loculus back—”

  “I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Massarym said, tightening his grip on my arm. “And I’m afraid a meeting with Mother is not in the plan.”

  “But—”

  “I went looking for you, but you were nowhere on the continent,” Massarym said. “Clever, eh? You think you’re the smart one, brother, because you love books, because you used magic and wizardry to teach yourself Akkadian, but you’re not.”

  Sharp pain stabbed through my shoulder.

  “My brother, the power is changing you,” I said, “but you must come to your senses. This is not a question of who is smarter—”

  Massarym’s hand shoved me down to one knee. “I heard you and Father, acting like holy men, pretending you know anything about Mother’s invention. You think the Loculi are responsible for the weather, for the flying fish? Well, you may be right, you may be wrong, but think, Karai. You’re a scientist. What does a scientist do but refine and change? The Loculi are a work in progress. And you cannot stop progress!”

  “What does Mother say now, Massarym?” I pleaded. “Have you spoken to her after what happened this afternoon?”

  “I have told her you want to destroy the Loculi,” Massarym plowed on. “She said this was an act of treason. And she asked me to come after you.”

  “Mother would not have said that!” I shouted, struggling to free myself. “Traitors to Atlantis are killed. She knows I just want to protect us all!”

  “What is the matter, sad that you won’t be king?” Massarym said. “You expected to lead a nation after such a traitorous plan?”

  He was a madman. The Loculi had changed him. In my panic I was seeing things with extreme clarity.

  Massarym hadn’t spoken to Mother at all. Of course. She wouldn’t have sent him alone to get me. If she had really wanted to stop me, she would have come herself.

  Nobody knew we were here. Which was terrifying.

  I jumped into action, kicking at the mass behind me, guessing where Massarym’s legs were. I heard a thump and a cry and my arm was free! I swung my arms wildly at the patch of air that was my brother, connecting again and again. Then my hand hit something hard, and Massarym popped into view. I heard the soft thud of the Loculus landing invisibly on the floor. I saw the slight, slick furrow in the mud as it rolled away.

  “Ah well, at least my hands are free,” Massarym said with a grin as he lunged at me.

  He was far stronger, Diary. As he grabbed me, I twisted in his grip, trying to knee him or butt him with my head. My fists pummeled the air helplessly as he squeezed my arms to my side. He shoved me backward to the wall of the cave, when my foot hit something, something round—the invisible Loculus! I stumbled over it and lost my balance. As my brother and I fell to the ground, my head hit stone, and everything went black.

  I don’t remember how much time went by before I came to, with a throbbing pain in my head. It felt like the earth was moving beneath me.

  I blinked my eyes and realized the earth was moving beneath me.

  Nevertheless I struggled to my feet and swung my arms around, trying to find Massarym, trying to continue the fight that was unfortunately long over. “Show yourself and fight me, you coward!” I screamed.

  Then I saw the Heptakiklos. It was completely empty.

  All seven Loculi gone.

  “Massarym?”

  My heart rose to my mouth. I scanned the area helplessly. I don’t know how long I was out, but it was still dark and still raining. As I tried to think what to do, a violen
t tremor shook the earth and I fell to my knees.

  Eephus the griffin trumpeted in panic. He shifted his weight from side to side, extending and folding his gigantic wings. His eyes rolled back in his head like a panicked horse. That Massarym managed to evade the beast somehow did not surprise me.

  A massive creaking noise echoed above me, and I looked up to see a gigantic rock tip slowly from the top of the great ridge, which seemed at least ten feet higher than it had been moments ago.

  “Eephus!” I cried out. The creature looked up and tried to fly away, but the rock rolled down the ridge and pinned his right wing to the floor.

  He screeched in pain, flapping his opposite wing and scrabbling against the boulder with his talons. I ran to him, looking into his huge eyes, which were wide with terror. I spoke soothing words, trying to calm him. I reached a hand out to the wounded wing, and with a cry he lashed out with his beak, slicing into my arm. As I leaped away, the beast snapped at me, straining against the boulder.

  The next rock that fell was in flames, and it landed in a patch of scrub that was dry enough to catch fire.

  The ground shook again. The ridge lurched upward like a growing creature. A crack appeared in the ground, opening into a black chasm. I had to leave the area or I knew I would die.

  I wanted to save the griffin. I racked my brain about ways to dislodge it and drag it away.

  Don’t be foolish. Save yourself, or you’ll both die.

  “I have to go, Eephus,” I said. “I’m sorry.”

  As I ran for a little-used tunnel, I heard a shriek and looked over my shoulder. Eephus had ripped his wing out from under the massive boulder. He was following me, dragging the injured wing at his side. There was nothing but fury in his eyes.

  No time to think. I sped away, bleeding, hearing Eephus’s screams behind me. I nearly fell into a hidden hole. A spring-loaded arrow missed my head by inches. Where had that come from?

  I ignored the maze that had been cut through the forest. My ankles were lashed with thorns as I ran blindly toward the opposite side of the ridge. Toward home.