Columbus patted his eldock. “I’ve always wanted to be a runner.”
Elara couldn’t manage a smile. Neither could she manage to turn away. She opened her mouth to speak. Columbus beat her to it.
“There’ll be plenty of time for sweet words after, Princess. To the task at hand.”
She nodded, grateful, before they slipped their masks over their heads and dove under water.
The ranks were already forming when they arrived, the lights of the sonstaves creating one massive underwater wall that illuminated everything down to the ocean floor and several hundred feet in front of them. Already the sirens had integrated themselves in the formation. Enemies standing together.
Columbus and Fanucio took position near the back where they could get a view of everything below them. The lines settled. Now, it was time to wait.
Columbus heard Fanucio grumble over his headset.
“Hungry, my friend?”
“Thirsty. I keep picturing Vespucci up there, toasting our demise with my rum.”
“Let him make toasts. We’ll make history.”
“Sure. If anyone’s around to record it.”
Elara settled in at the center of the wall, issuing orders calmly through her headset. The lines drew still, leaving the undersea current to carry ash past them.
Then all at once, silt billowed out of the dark in front of them, coming in time with the deep base of what sounded like the world’s largest drum. Only it wasn’t a drum. It was footsteps. Even high above the seabed, wearing their masks, they could all hear it.
One step. Two. More. Many more.
Columbus felt his chest tighten and took several deep breaths to loosen it.
“Steady,” Elara called. “Ensure sonstaves are at full strength. And no matter what emerges, give no quarter.”
The thundering steps continued. And then the first form appeared. It had grown larger than Columbus could have thought possible. Twenty-five feet tall at least, its mighty legs pounding the earth. It looked female, something held in her hand. Columbus recognized them.
Scales.
The first Titan was Themis.
When she saw the ranks allayed before her, the Titan-Goddess began to swing the scales in an arc. As they spun, they began to glow hot until she snapped them forward and a terrible blast of light shot forward, striking a siren and a human. They exploded in a cloud of flesh and blood.
“Release!” Elara screamed.
A barrage of smaller, sonstave fire lit up the waters of the sea. A thousand points of light accompanied by the sirens, who opened their mouths, issuing harmonic salvos that buzzed the brains of the humans. The first bombardment struck Themis, pushing her momentarily back.
And then the rest of the Titans appeared.
The mighty Hyperion carried a burning flame in his hand, which he threw at the opposing forces, charring the flesh from their bodies in an instant.
Theia came next, her eyes glowing magically, blinding any that looked in her direction.
Crius. He used a ram’s horn to fire kinetic blasts of energy that took the shape of a ram, bludgeoning its victims and propelling them violently into the darkness.
Iapetus. He threw a giant spear that skewered victims only to return magically to his hand.
“Elara,” Columbus shouted into his mask. “Your people are bunching together. They need to make smaller targets!”
Elara relayed the order. Columbus watched as the army spread out to attack the Titans from different levels and vantages.
At the same time, the sirens coordinated their attack, aiming for the Titans’ ears. It must have worked. Several of the behemoths covered their ears and roared with pain. Two of the closest sirens were caught in violent streams of energy coming from the mammoth mouths of Coeus and Phoebe.
Columbus and Fanucio pushed into the fray, firing off sonstave blasts at the Titans’ feet, their throats, trying anything and everything. For a moment, it looked as if the army would hold the Titans back. Then a line opened and the last two forms appeared. These were larger than any other, mountainous.
Cronos, father to all.
He carried his sickle in his hand, slashing it back with unfathomable speed, separating torsos and limbs.
The second figure, Rhea.
Her shimmering crown glowed brightly, putting multitudes to sleep with the wave of her hand.
The attack grew more frantic, the Titans assailed from all sides, but they continued to push closer.
Columbus saw one swimmer speed to the front. Dion. He raised his sonstave and fired a blast directly into Crius’s eyes. The Titan roared in response. Columbus wanted to cheer. Then he saw the Titan grow bigger.
“The blasts aren’t hurting them,” Columbus said.
“They’re only making them stronger,” Elara replied.
Only then did Columbus realize the Titans weren’t even close to full force. Their long slumber had robbed them of their power. But that time was quickly coming to an end. If they didn’t stop them now, the Titans would soon be invincible.
“What can we do?” Elara shouted.
Columbus was about to shout back that they needed to retreat when one of the Titan Goddesses locked him in her sights. Even in the dark, he could see her physical form, curvaceous and alluring. He felt a burning in his loins, flooding him with a desire unlike any he had ever felt before. The Titan giggled as she closed in on him. He was caught in her trance. And then, out of nowhere, a Gadeir fired at her from the side. She turned and pulled back her hair to reveal a naked breast. The Atlantean immediately went still, eyes glazing over. Columbus realized the Goddess was Mnemosyne. Her beauty had erased the man’s memory.
He hid his own eyes as he fired blast after blast toward her, his eldock bucking as another Titan flew past him. The figure’s torso was sculpted and mighty, but the lower half of its body looked like that of a snake.
Oceanus.
He carried an oar, which bloomed radiant fire that eviscerated more Atlanteans. A gang of sirens swarmed him, sinking their claws and teeth into his neck. Before they could do much harm, the last Goddess, Tethys, appeared, her bracelet gleaming hot before a whirlpool of water hurled them away.
“Our weapons are having no effect!” Elara shouted. “We need to pull back!”
Atlanteans and sirens continued to fall, their numbers already reduced by half. They had won nothing. The Titans pushed on, claiming more victims, growing in strength, their diverse powers leaving the combatants blinded and confused.
Columbus surged back to take in the battlefield, hoping for sight of anything that might turn the tide. There was nothing. The Titans were too powerful, their weapons too deadly. He clenched his fists in rage. What did it mean to be the one spoken of in prophecy if he could do nothing to help these people? How could the slaves have written lore to give a kingdom hope if it all amounted to nothing in the end? If he’d only claimed Poseidon’s Trident, maybe he would have stood a chance, but King Atlas had claimed it first. Even if he could find him now and take it from him, it was already too late.
Columbus despaired. He was about to tell Elara she needed to sound a full retreat when Fanucio shouted, “Look!”
Columbus turned. It took a moment for his brain to register what he was seeing. Elara grasped it instantly.
“The eldocks,” she uttered. Then she shouted for all to hear. “The eldocks have come!”
From the southeast, an army of eldocks surged in. A cheer went up as they swept past at breathtaking speed.
Now, this is a spearhead, Columbus thought. Poseidon’s army was complete. He looked for it then, through the darkened depths. Until its silhouette appeared. The spotted eldock. Even from afar, that mottled skin shone brightly. And as it neared, Columbus saw its pattern had changed to resemble the one from his vision. The one with a small form riding on its back, the dark smear of the rider’s leg turning the pattern into the perfect star.
Destiny had arrived.
The Athenians had fore
told of the Anak-Ta Eleece, the one who would bring hope to a realm in ruin. Columbus had thought all along that he was the one. But now he knew the truth. And it came back to those words that had filled his mind again and again.
One true of heart.
Of course, it was Nyx. It had always been Nyx. Who else could have been the Star Rider?
When the front of the eldock line slammed into the Titans, the Gods stumbled under their charge. Wave after wave rammed the enemy, forcing them back, striking with such strength they howled with rage. The people cheered as the onslaught continued. The Titans were too slow to counter their much faster enemy. But even this attack failed to fell them. And with each strike, the Titans continued to grow. The sickle slashed. The spear launched. The scales of justice spun. How could mortal creatures defeat Gods? Columbus understood the answer had been with him all along.
Only united can the children save their world.
“We have to work together!” he shouted. “Man, eldock, and siren! Target the magical items. It’s the only way!”
Despite the barriers of language and communication, all three species seemed to understand. The Atlanteans mounted the unshackled eldocks as the sirens swam alongside of them. Dion emerged at the front of the pack, directing a group of one hundred at Rhea. Her crown glowed hot as she waved her enemies to sleep. The numbers were too many, however, for her to stop them all. The sirens came first, issuing their harmonic song to daze her. The eldocks followed, striking her from all angles until her crown fell askew. Only then did Dion ride in and blast the crown from her head. As it fell to the seabed, Rhea’s mouth opened in an abominable scream, only to watch as her body turned to stone before Nyx and the spotted eldock rammed her, and she exploded into dust.
A cheer rang out as Elara ordered the others to follow suit. The Pygmies led an attack on Hyperion, ducking beneath his fire as the sirens’ song froze him. As the eldocks slammed into him, Monday and Tuesday used their spears to stab at the God’s hand. His powerful flame fell, and Hyperion turned to dust.
The other Gods roared at the loss of their kin. Tethys sent spinning vortices of water at all those approaching, but soon her bracelet had been stripped away, and she too died.
Coeus and Phoebe found themselves surrounded, torn fabric wrapped around their mouths until they imploded, their dust mingling as it had first formed epochs before.
Oceanus’s oar was broken, and he fell. Iapetus’s spear was caught mid-flight upon return, and he passed too. Mnemosyne was driven into the silt, her beauty hidden, her magic fire extinguished. Crius’s horn was broken. The scales of justice lost. In the end, only one Titan remained standing.
Cronos.
Surrounded by impossible numbers, his fellow Gods all fallen, he raised his arms open wide and released his sickle. And the last God of his age crumbled to dust.
The Titans had been vanquished.
Poseidon’s children stood victorious.
During the celebration, Columbus looked for Nyx. He eventually saw her at the far end of the battlefield, apart from the others. He locked eyes with her as he closed in, only to see her turn away. She was hurt. He understood. She had every right. He would need to find the right words this time. Before he could even begin to form them, the earth shook, and another volcanic rent appeared.
“The Titans’ death hasn’t stopped the Void’s collapse,” Elara said.
“This was never about them,” Columbus said. “We need the trident. We—”
Suddenly, Nyx and the spotted eldock sped off to the south. He called after her, but to no avail.
Elara pulled up beside him. “Where’s she going?”
“After the king. We have to stop her.”
Just when Columbus thought it was over, he realized the worst had yet to come.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Before departing for Atlantis, Elara rose to the surface to meet the Siren Queen. She was surrounded by her remaining sisters. Many bore wounds, including the queen herself. Despite this, Columbus thought she looked almost regal in the moonlight.
“This was my brother’s sword,” Elara said, holding the shimmering blade out. “I offer it to you in the hopes our kinds might find peace once more.”
The Siren Queen hesitated only a moment before taking the sword and tipping her head. Elara bowed again, and the Siren Queen and her legion turned for the long swim back to the Craw.
Columbus waited as Fanucio and the Pygmies approached. His crew had only suffered minor injuries. He said a prayer to thank God, though his answer came in the form of another rumble, this one reaching far enough to send a ripple of energy wafting over the firmament above.
Just my luck, he thought. Save a world and be rewarded with the roof caving in overhead.
By the look on Elara’s face, she was thinking along the same lines. She turned to Dion. “Load the wounded into the boats. We’ll return for the dead when we can. I need you to escort the survivors back to the Isle of Arcadia. I’ll be there when I can.”
“You cannot face your father alone, my Queen,” Dion said.
Elara looked to Columbus and his crew. “I won’t have to.”
Dion nodded, accepting his orders, and set out to aid his people.
Columbus helped Elara onto the back of his eldock while Fanucio took on the Pygmies.
As they set back off across the sea, Columbus saw the smoke and ash had dissipated. The trident had fused much of the seabed, leaving it a lifeless husk. He wondered if it would heal with time and decided it probably wouldn’t. Even if they found a way to save Atlantis, it would bear the scars long after they were gone.
When they came in sight of Atlantis, they saw two more towers had fallen. The city that once shone as a beacon of enlightenment was now in utter ruin. The wall leading to the eldock pens had collapsed, leaving no passage inside. Only as they drew near the rocks did Columbus see the spotted eldock floating near the reef.
Columbus bounded off the eldock into knee-high water, drawing as near to the ancient eldock as he could.
“She went inside?” he asked.
Yes, the voice answered.
“Back in the slave dens, you said the Star Rider was in my blood. But you didn’t mean me.”
No.
“But Nyx can’t be my daughter. It doesn’t add up.”
There are more mysteries to your world than you understand. The truth you will find in time.
“Is she my daughter?”
You know the answer. You have always known.
Columbus turned and ran inside. Elara called out, pausing long enough to address the spotted eldock.
“I thank you for your courage, noble one, and ask for your forgiveness. No words can justify what we put you through or the sacrifice you made on our behalf. I can only give my word that you and our siren sisters will be hunted no more.”
The spotted eldock took one last look toward the city before it sank beneath the waters and disappeared.
Elara and the Pygmies rushed for the city.
“Wait for me!” Fanucio shouted, limping along behind them.
More quakes rattled the city, toppling columns and sending glass raining down. Most of the alchemical lights had burned out or been destroyed, leaving the halls in shadow.
Columbus saw Nyx under an awning near the central colonnade. She was peering around the corner when he huddled in behind her.
“Where is he?” Columbus asked moments before Elara and Fanucio joined them.
Nyx nodded to the transportation tubes, one of which looked as if it had been torn open.
“He went up to the royal suites,” she answered, “but I don’t think he found what he was looking for.”
“How do you know?” Elara asked.
An inhuman roar echoed through the city, followed by the sound of more breaking glass. Through the exterior window, the king’s bed plummeted to the sea.
“He already has the trident,” Columbus said. “What else could he be looking for?”
A
set of titters sounded behind him. Everyone turned to see the Pygmies grinning wildly.
“What did you two do?” Columbus asked.
Monday pulled a large sack from behind him. He opened it to reveal the bronze disk that appeared identical to the one that led them to Atlantis. Where the hell had it come from?
“Well, if the eldocks truly leave,” Fanucio said. “At least we have another way home.”
“If we survive,” Columbus reminded him.
The city shook again. Scrap cascaded down the transportation tube.
“He’s coming back,” Nyx said. “We need to find a place to distract him long enough to take the trident.”
“How about the Nave?” Elara asked.
Columbus nodded, and the group ran for the Nave. Once inside, they found the auditorium half covered in rubble, the sky roof above shattered, the stones beneath their feet smoking.
“How do we get him in here?” Nyx asked.
“I have an idea,” Columbus answered. He pointed to the bronze disk. “Give me that thing.”
Outside, an enormous form burst from the transportation tube, ready to stalk outside when it saw a beam of light coming from the Nave. It lumbered in that direction.
The walls shook as Columbus and his crew spread out in the auditorium, taking up hiding places behind seats and columns. They all watched the doorway grow dark as King Atlas approached. Then an immense hand reached up under the lip of the doors and took hold of it. With a single wrench, the wall crumbled, and the king slipped inside.
He had grown huge. Fifteen feet tall, rippling with distended muscles, his eyes blazed with dark power. He held the trident—also more than twice as tall as a man.
Chest heaving, the demigod scanned the room. Then his booming voice filled the auditorium.
“WHO DARES ENTER MY COURT UNINVITED?”
Everyone was frozen. No one knew what to do next. In the sea, they fought the Titans with three species numbering in the thousands. Here, they had six with few weapons to speak of and little room to hide.
Then, Elara called out from behind the throne.
“It’s me, Father,” she said. “I’ve come to help you in your time of need.”
Christopher Columbus and the Lost City of Atlantis Page 34