Chapter Twenty-Seven
EVERLY
Day 13 in Atlantis
The great room has been completely transformed when I walk through the coral doors. The glass walls are lined with tables. No seats are on the aisle they've created down the middle. It's empty of people. There’s nothing on the tables. The room still shakes. The light the walls give off is flickering off and on. Nothing like I pictured a royal crowning looking like.
"You'll need to change soon; the people are getting impatient." Gordon moves in front of me. His blue skin is pale and there are beads of sweat on his brow. He winces as he walks.
"What did he do?" I ask, even though I can guess.
"Nothing I didn't deserve. Come, it's almost time." Just another thing to add to the very long list of why Poseidon must go down. I follow him to a small room with a single chair pushed against the window. Muted light flows through the floor to the ceiling window. Like there is a film over the glass to prevent much light coming through. The wall to my left has a hook with a long, gold dress bag hanging from it. The room feels like a bad omen. "Dress. Quickly." He says and closes the door behind me. Before he leaves, he adds over his shoulder, "It won't last long, ten minutes at most."
My bare feet slap against the floor as I walk to the window and lean my head against it. The coolness feels good. Ten minutes isn't long. But I have no choice but to do this. If I don't, we will die down here.
Karl
Day 80
My knees buckle and I sink underwater. Hands grab me under my arms and pull me back up. I can barely stand. But I won't stop. Not now. Not ever.
"Karl, you have to stop." Garrot growls into my ear.
Blood trickles down my lips. "No!" I push between clenched teeth. I don't know how long has passed, but it feels like a long time. I'm making progress. I can feel it, but it's taking everything I have. My stomach churns. I feel weak.
"Shit, what's that?" I hear Leyland's panic, but I don't open my eyes.
"Selkie." The single word from Victor's mouth draws chills across my already frozen body.
"Mickey!" Garrot yells. The witch is on the cliff above us, a safe distance from us with Harry. The squirrel put up a fight but, in the end, I managed to make sure he’s safe.
Mickey
Garrot yells my name and I know exactly what I must do. I try to light the candle on the ground in front of me. The wind and the fact my shaking hands makes it harder. Finally, it catches fire.
"Protect. Reject. Reflect. Protect. Reject. Reflect." I chant raising my face to the darkening sky. The world around me is eerily silent for a few moments. Then all hell breaks loose. A group of Selkie throw themselves at Karl. They bounce off the barrier I just built around him. I feel it all. The squirrel Karl brought back from Russia chitters as it paces the cliff’s edge. Its hands waving around like he is pissed. "Strengthen!" I yell as a large Selkie kicks the shit out of my spell.
Karl
Day 80
I hear muted yells as Selkie bang themselves up against the shield Mickey cast around me. Still, I don't open my eyes. Garrot pulls me closer to shore in the hope that while they are busy, I won’t drown. As my power drags across the ocean floor, I feel myself being drained.
I don't know if I can do this.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
EVERLY
Day 13 in Atlantis
The dress inside the bag was of course... gold. I drag the shiny material over my body and look in the mirror. I look like a giant golden cock. Its high neck, the frills resting under my chin. Yay. More frills. Awesome. It's tight fitting, all the way down to my feet. Long sleeves ending in frills complete the look. The flat sandals from the bottom of the bag are skin coloured and can hardly be seen, even if I could see my feet. Which I can't. My stomach looks huge, ball-like in it.
I don't know if this place is soundproof, but I can't hear a damn thing. The silence is deafening. I waddle, because the dress doesn't allow me to move very much, it's also disgusting, to the window and look out. The ground still rumbles and the air around me feels thick, making it hard to fill my lungs. I use the strip of fabric I tore from the dress bag and use it to tie my hair up. Getting it off my neck helps cool me down. But not much. The tiny room is stiflingly hot. Time moves like a snail as I chew my nails.
Darcy wouldn't look at me as Gordon dragged me off. Her eyes were wide with horror when he told her to stay put. I hope she is ok. Surely Gordon wouldn't allow anyone to hurt her? If he feels anything for her like what I feel for Karl, Leyland, Garrot and Victor, he would kill anyone who laid a hand on her. But I'm not entirely sure he is capable of the depth of emotion I feel for my guys. Sure, he's shown glimpses of something close to feelings. He did provide the thing I clutch tightly in my hand. But love? Passion. Affection. I don't know.
Dust and debris fall from the ceiling, coating my hair. I don't reach up and wipe it away, though. My appearance is so far from my mind right now, it could be covered in seagull shit and I wouldn't care. The more the ground shakes, the more the baby wiggles. My bladder and ribs take a beating, forcing me to sit on the little chair. My outfit squeaks as I sit. Sounding way too like a fart for my liking.
If they don't hurry up, I'm gunna pee myself. Not that it would ruin the dress, it does that fine all on its own. My thoughts are scrambled as I sit there for what feels like years. They could have at least locked me up somewhere with a lavvy. I am pregnant and we pregnant women tend to pee a lot. I almost let my bladder go when the door swishes open, revealing Darcy.
"Oh, thank god you're ok!" I yell as I try to stand. She rushes into the space and pulls on my arm.
"I am glad you're ok, daughter." My head jerks up to her face.
"Mum?"
"Yes. Listen, Gordon can't be trusted." She squeezes my arm tighter. "Not even Darcy."
"But," I pause to pull myself together. "He gave me this." I open my palm, revealing the delicate tube within it.
"Yes, but what's to say it will work? I've lived a very long time, child. No one can be trusted. You must cut ties with them and do what you were born to do."
"Can you?"
She frowns at me, "Can I?" Amphitrite pulls away and takes a step back.
"I mean, you let me think you were dead. You visited my dreams and told me to train, but you could have told me you switched bodies. But you didn't. Does William know?"
"Of course, he does. But he doesn't matter." She bats the thought of her son away like an annoying fly buzzing around her.
I let out a gasp as the truth dawns.
"He lost an arm, the process of growing it back was excruciating. He sacrificed himself and you disappeared!"
"That has no consequence, daughter. He matters naught." She replies.
"Wait, wait," my head spins as questions pour through my mind. "You're a goddess, right? Surely you have powers. You gave then to me and made Gordon into a half shark, so you must have. Oh my god, you really don't care about anyone do you?"
"No." Her simple answer makes my legs go weak and I almost fall to the floor. Instead I manage to find the chair and land heavily in it.
"You let Darcy be tortured! You did nothing as she was whipped, beaten." Anger bubbles inside of me as I look up into the stone-like face of my friend. "You let them hurt her. Like you let them hurt William. Leyland! He was kidnapped, almost raped. Gordon," a sob forces its way up my throat. "You left him behind with a monster to be brainwashed. Your own son."
"It was all for the greater good, child."
"Fuck the greater good." I use the window frame to stand and close the distance between us, getting as close as I can with my belly between us. "You let good people be hurt. For what? To get me here? I can't kill Poseidon, Amphitrite, he is more powerful than me. He has an army of scary as shit creatures and a whole underwater city at his back. What do I have? Nothing and no one! Because you refuse to help! No," I push past her and stand in the doorway, my back to her, "The only way I can fix all of this is to accept this damn cr
own and hope the people of Atlantis don't kill me and my baby before we can escape."
"I understand you're angry, Everly, but none of that compares to your destiny. You're the only one who can kill him. If you fail, the world will be sucked underwater and billions of lives will be lost. A few die to save the many, this is war, Everly." She whispers just as I step forward. "Your destiny is set in stone. It's what I created you for."
"Be that as it may, it doesn't mean those I love go unprotected. They are not collateral damage. They're people. I'm not you, Amphitrite, I have a heart."
The door swishes closed behind me, and a huge Selkie Elite wraps its long, webbed fingers around my arm and drags me towards the great room. My tears dry on my face. I'm unashamed of them. When I looked into my mother's eyes and heard her say she only cares about killing Poseidon, I realised I'm not like the people of Atlantis. I'm not cold hearted. I won't let anyone be hurt.
I'll take this fucking crown and I'll try to kill that evil bastard. When I do, shit is gonna change here under the ocean. They won't know what hit them. Shit is about to hit the fan, people.
Garrot
Day 80
Selkie rush from the ocean and head straight for us. I turn to Leyland.
"Can I trust you?" he watches the Selkie get closer. A gleam in his eyes.
"No. But I'll help fuck these gross dickheads up. Who knows, maybe you'll let me go if I help." His smile is wide, revealing slightly darkened teeth. The darkness is rotting him from the inside out. Just like it does with dark Fae.
"Hurt me or Victor, and I swear you'll be begging me to kill you. Understand?"
"Woe, Garrot, I like this dark side of you. He should come out to play more often." He replies as I cut his ropes, setting him free.
"Just fucking kill 'em, will ya?"
"Yes, sir." his wings burst from his back and with one small flap, he takes off into the air.
"Ah, shit!" Just as I think he is about to fly away; he swoops down and plucks a Selkie from the ocean and spins. He lets go of its leg mid spin and it splats into the cliff in a shower of blood and bone chunks. The body bounces down the rocks, landing on the sand with a thunk.
"For shame, Garrot. You could at least hide the hard on in your pants instead of waving it around like a lightsaber." he cackles and dives to grab another creature.
"Fuck me." I grumble and adjust my pants. The closest Selkie to me thrusts a gold trident at me. I dodge to the side, narrowly missing getting stabbed through the gut. I kick out at its leg, the satisfying noise of bone breaking makes me smile. It goes down on one knee. Grabbing the back of its scaly head, I bring my knee up into its face. Blue blood splatters everywhere as its nose breaks. I take the opportunity to look up to see Victor in kraken form, a Selkie in four of his eight tentacles. Squeezing the life out of them. Their high-pitched screams are drowned out by the roar of the ocean.
Karl is on his knees in the sea, the protection spell around him buffeting the ferocious waves away from him. His shoulders are slumped, and his head hangs down. His arms are still held out in front of him, though. Two more Selkie pounce on me. Together they manage to bring me down. I slash my knife out as my back hits the sand, slitting the throat of one. Blood gets in my eyes as I try to hold it back. Its teeth snap in front of my face.
"Fuck!" I yell, "Eat a tic tac man, your breath smells like whale blubber!" The darkness rises in me. I feel it claw at my throat as I push the dead one aside and push my power into the skull of the other. It's eyes go wide as I push against its brain. With a brutal pop, it explodes. Bits of pink mush drip out of it's nose onto my chest. I push him off and sit up. The ocean is an odd shade of blue and Victor stands next to Karl. His face is a mask of concern.
“What's wrong?” I ask as I stand and run towards Victor and Karl. When I look down at Karl`s face, it becomes obvious why Victor looks so scared. Blood pours from Karl`s nose and eyes. The crimson liquid leaves stark tracks down his otherwise very pale face. “We gotta stop this, Vic, it's killing him.” I reach out to the glowing yellow protective barrier around Karl, but Victor grabs my wrist in a painful grip. “The fuck man? He's my brother,”
“As he is mine, but I made an oath. I can’t let you stop him. He would never forgive us.” Victor replies.
I know he is right, but seeing Karl like this kills me. If he dies, I'll never forgive myself. Suddenly, the barrier bursts like a bubble. Small, sparkly dots of shiny yellow float to the ground.
“It is done.” Karl says quietly, then flops face first into the ocean.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
EVERLY
Day 13 in Atlantis
I look down at the horrible dress and smirk as Gordon leads me into the great room. I can’t help but wonder why the ground is still shaking and what it means. Is it connected to what’s happening? This coronation of sorts. The whole room is packed with brightly coloured people. Some look ecstatic to be here, others look bored. The more brightly coloured people are those who look bored, like they would rather be anywhere but here. I guess those are the rich people. Maybe even those who like Poseidon being their King.
Ten minutes. That’s all the time I`ll have to make this work. If it doesn’t, I might be killed. It's not as if I have a choice. Clearly, my men can`t get to me. Otherwise they’d be here by now. I have to do what's needed. I don't see Darcy. I hope she’s ok. I might be mad at my mother, but I’m not mad at Dar. She has kept me sane these last couple of weeks. I hope they have not hurt her.
“Fine people of Atlantis,” Poseidon appears at the back of the room. He obviously loves dressing up because he has on the most wonderous tunic I’ve ever seen. It reminds me so much of a wedding dress. A zap of panic twists my gut at the thought that in order to take the crow, I have to marry this lunatic. But surely, Darcy or Gordon would have warned me about that, right? It`s white, so bright it's almost blinding. Jewels of all colours, shapes and sizes are attached to the front in rows.
As I walk slowly towards him, I can’t help but be reminded of the first time I saw the sea creatures who appeared behind the glass. Their colourful skin shone brightly in the muted darkness then, not unlike the gems on Poseidon`s tunic/dress.
“I welcome you to the crowning event of my beautiful daughter.”
Vomit, what a show he is putting on for these people he cares nothing about.
“Everly of Atlantis.” The crow claps and a couple of them even cheer. My head swings towards the loudest person and am so relieved to find it’s Darcy. Tears pour down her cheeks, her pink skin is pale, and her eyes are haunted. But she is alive, and here. Thank the gods.
As I approach the front of the room, Poseidon becomes aware that no one in the room behind us can see him.
“Not long now, little one,” he says his eyes on my bump.
My heart speeds up, threatening to burst out of my chest. Why is he talking to my baby and what does he mean, not long now? Panic races through my bloodstream as he addresses the audience once again. My mind swirls. Fuck, I need to get out of here, like right now.
The room shakes violently, gasps of shock fill the air as almost all of us are thrown to the floor. My elbow meets the marble floor, pain sings through my arm, into my shoulder. The breath is knocked from my lungs.
“Darcy!” I yell as loudly as I can, “Gordon,” I look up into my brother's face. The mask I’ve come to know so well has shattered. Tears glisten in his cobalt eyes lock with mine and time seems to stand still as a paper-white woman appears between his legs. She must be three feet tall; her eyes are bright red. She’s scary to look at. But my heart tells me she isn’t here to hurt me.
She mumbles words I don’t understand as Gordon pulls me to my feet. A bright white light bursts free from the small woman and wraps itself around my middle. It cocoons my bump with its tingly fingers.
“What the?” I stare dumbly down at it while Gordon pries my fingers apart, revealing the tube he dropped in my room earlier today.
“Now is the time.” He si
mply says. Then he and the small woman disappear. Leaving me standing in the middle of a chaotic room. Panic grips the people in the great room. They run haphazardly as if they can’t remember where the exit is. Some bump into each other. Others knock people out of their way. From the corner of my eye, I spot Gordon picking Darcy up in his arms. The next thing I know, I’m hit by a force so hard my back hits the glass wall.
Gordon
Walking towards Darcy, my heart pounds inside of my chest. She looks so frightened as the whole room groans around us. I have no idea what’s happening, but I know it’s the perfect distraction for her and my sister to do something. When I get close, I see in her eyes that it is Darcy I am looking at, not my mother. I knock a Selkie out of the way and lift her into my arms. Her slight body is light as air as I rush from the room with her. Every person in that room is there for a reason, a reason I hope Everly will soon realise.
“Artanga, close the doors.” I order the light witch, “Darcy, can you run?”
“Yes.” The ghost of a smile on her lips prompts me to lean down and gently press my lips to hers. I don’t know where it came from. But I like it. She kisses me back, but we are thrown sideways by another hard jolt. Dust rains down on our heads as I grab her hand and pull her down the hall.
“Where’s Everly? We can’t leave her in there!” she yells and pulls back. I let her stop us.
“She will be with us momentarily, but we must continue, please, Darcy, I need to get you to safety.” I gently tell her, unsure of how to make her believe Everly is completely safe. Kind of. At least, her baby is. Artanga made sure of that. “I assure you, nothing will happen to our Queen, she has what she needs in order to escape, now though, we must move before more guards descend upon us.”
Darcy stares into my eyes. Her seafoam green ones hold so much trust, I barely contain the emotions rising within me.
The Everly Davis chronicles Page 54