In the pitch-black darkness, a moan came toward me from the left. I swam in the direction of the noise. Blinking magic into my eyes to gain greater vision in the darkness. The prince laid upon the top of the highest stalagmite in the cave. He gripped it with limp arms, and occasionally slipped below the surface of the water before struggling to reach the top again.
"Evan," I called out and swam toward him quickly.
His lids fluttered open, but I knew he wouldn't be able to see me in the darkness.
"I've got you," I said as I reached him and wrapped an arm around just under his shoulders. "Release your hold and then kick with me. We need to get out of this cave before the tide finishes coming in."
He obeyed and we struggled to make it toward the entrance. There was still enough room at the top to swim through with our heads above water. Just before we swam out, I heard a screech behind me.
"Evan!" Aria's voice sounded both angry and desperate.
I ignored her and kept propelling us the rest of the way toward shore, navigating around the rocks. When we reached the shore, Evan released his grip on me and collapsed. He coughed and spurted a bit of water from his mouth.
"Are you okay?" I asked, kneeling with him, my hands fluttering over the skin on his neck and face. It felt too cold.
His teeth chattered, and his eyes opened. His gaze met mine, and then traveled along the lines of my face. A smile spread across his lips. "I knew it was you."
My heart leapt in my chest as he raised a hand to touch my cheek. Tears stung the backs of my eyes. He recognized me.
"Do you know how long I've been waiting for you?" he aked as his hand reached around the back of my neck and he pulled me into him. Our lips met, and my warmth became his warmth. I melted into his hold, my body drawing closer to his as he slipped his other hand around my waist. I laid on top of him, feeling his hard body against mine. Too soon, our lips broke apart.
I caught my breath, sat up, and then laughed. "Sorry that I'm late."
He laughed with me and pushed himself up onto his elbows. "Better late than never."
"No! You wretched witch! How dare you touch him?" Aria splashed onto shore, her mermaid tail fin behind her. The waters retreated from her form.
I scrambled to my feet, and Evan followed, his eyes were wide and staring. "She... she can talk?"
I shook my head. Of course, selfish Aria had not been able to resist the call to draw in the sea to her lungs. She broke the law of nature and returned to her mermaid form. "That's what you're most surprised of?"
Aria floundered on the beach. "Get away from him, you witch. Get away from him or I will tell my father—"
The receding waters pulled back unnaturally farther than they should have, as a giant wave began to form. I grabbed Evan by the arm and stepped backward. His eyes went wide as we watched the wave form that was twice the height of the tallest man. Then the wave crashed down upon Aria, slamming her body against the rocks. Her body broke into a million pieces, forming into bubbles at the edge of the waves. Sea foam.
The law of nature had taken my bane and destroyed her. I didn't have to do it myself.
Evan's arms wrapped around me. "What on Earth did I just witness?"
I shook my head. "You saw a mermaid who tried to gain love through hate and let it destroy her."
He laughed and pulled me closer. "I've never been much for mermaids," he said as he turned my chin toward him. "I much prefer a kraken."
Then he kissed me again.
The End
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The Sea of Time and Stars
Mara Amberly
The Sea of Time and Stars © 2020 Mara Amberly
All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
The Sea of Time and Stars
An unspoken threat had hung over my head for as long as I could remember and it shaped me as a person. I didn’t believe I had reason to fear it because I was a good, law-abiding man. The Kerathi Empire’s application of justice had always been swift and decisive. You might even call it cruel, but it had worked reasonably well as a crime deterrent for hundreds of years, with little opposition. After all, it was generally known that humanity was weak and without control, there would be chaos. I’d once believed it, but many things had changed. There was nothing like a jail cell to open your eyes to the truth.
I was going to experience the only sentence for serious crime firsthand. They weren’t going to kill me; at least not directly. They were far more creative and cruel than that.
As I sat there trapped in the hold of a starship, boxed in by a blue forcefield seven feet in diameter, you might have forgiven me for feeling sorry for myself. I didn’t choose a life of crime, not that most people would care or believe me.
The Empire was taking me away from everyone and everything I knew and loved, because they believed I deserved it. I didn’t tell anyone or even say it aloud, but the truth was I’d make the same choices over again. I’d had no choice but to act as I did.
The court would have seen my lack of remorse as a sign of guilt and sin beyond redemption; at least according to my lawyer. My sacrifice was for something greater, so my daughter might live. My true punishment was not knowing her fate, and the reality that I’d likely never find out what happened to her. But giving her a chance she wouldn’t otherwise have had was worth dying for.
My senses had all but drowned out the distant roar of the ship’s engines. There were other prisoners in the section, but I couldn’t see them from my cell. They called out at all hours and made a racket, but I already knew it wouldn’t do us any good. I’d seen them when I was first led in: men with bearded faces and dirty ragged clothes. Mine were almost pristine by comparison, but my beard had grown. I felt like there were eyes watching me, but I saw no one. There were probably well-hidden cameras.
The others’ conversations were a welcome distraction at times. I didn’t talk to them much but I usually listened, and I learnt what I could from them and what they did. Listening helped keep my mind from seeking out the dark places it wanted to go. Even if all of this was for nothing, I’d still have tried, because I had to do what I could for my daughter, Jade. She was seventeen and lovely, and I hoped she was still alive.
I paced my cell in the limited space they’d given me. I’d never been good at sitting still, especially while anxious. By this point I knew the corridor outside and the packing crates piled up in perfect detail. I avoided the back left corner of my cell, because it was the closest thing I had to a toilet. I didn’t like sitting on the bunk either; I’d spent too many hours on there and the cold, hard metal made my back ache. It was about as bad as it sounded.
Someone shouted from a cell nearby.
“Guards, please! Please! We’re starving to death i
n here! You can’t leave us like this.”
I didn’t know the man in there, but he sounded younger than my forty-five years. I wondered what he’d done to wind up on the ship. He could’ve had something to do with the same heist I was arrested for.
“It’s been days since we ate!” the man exclaimed.
It was true, though we were given a constant source of water through a tube in the ceiling. I took that to mean someone mustn’t have wanted us dead yet. I’d also learned to expect casual brutality from them, which was why I stayed silent.
“Shut up! Don’t call them,” another voice begged.
I recognised it as belonging to one of the men who talked a lot. I knew his crime was murder, because I’d overheard him talking about it. I knew he, at least, was guilty.
A door opened somewhere out of sight, with only the clang of metal and my fuzzy memories acknowledging its presence. I expected the screams and shouts of a beating, but this was different. Two armed guards in navy blue jumpsuits approached my forcefield and I wondered if it was time. They didn’t have any food with them.
One guard keyed in a code on the wall panel and a small section opened in the forcefield. Unfortunately, it wasn’t big enough to get through. It would’ve been marvellous to have an opportunity to escape that hell-hole.
“Put your hands through. If you try anything you’ll be shot,” the second guard instructed.
He aimed a laser rifle at me. Maybe he realised ideas were all I had left, but there was little to no hope of success if I tried to carry them out. Would it be worse to be shot? Would I have an answer to the question that plagued me if I was?
I did as I was told, while wondering what would happen if they closed the forcefield with my hands inside. It didn’t bear thinking about, and it soon became clear that it wasn’t their intention. The second guard cuffed my wrists, and then the entire forcefield was deactivated.
I felt a cool rush of fresher air and breathed in deeply as the guards screwed up their noses. Under different circumstances I might have apologised, but their crew were the ones who put me in there in the first place. It shouldn’t have been how a human being was treated, but then it was made abundantly clear to me that I wasn’t a citizen anymore. That meant I had no place in the Empire.
“Time to go,” the first guard said, and I noticed a flash of compassion in his eyes. It was rare to find a good man there of all places; most were cruel or indifferent. I wondered if he’d stay that way or if he’d become just like the others. Sadly, it seemed more likely than not that he’d change.
I was led from my cell and passed those of several other prisoners; their desolate eyes watched me from behind the blue glow of their forcefields. They reminded me of caged animals, and I wondered if I also looked scraggly and devoid of hope. My hair wasn’t as matted or my prison garb as stained, but I suspected my eyes held the same haunted look. I craved a hot shower, but soon it mightn’t matter.
The distant roar of the engines quieted. There were no windows to see through; not there. I was led out into the corridor, one guard beside me and one behind with his rifle aimed at my back. There wasn’t much to see other than the faces of stunned crew members who recoiled as I passed. They reminded me of how I used to be, though I was never military. I knew after what I’d been through that I would have had more compassion, except towards the criminals who’d put me there.
I’d worked in a museum called the ‘Stellar Museum of History’. It was why I was in the right place to be manipulated and blackmailed, and with my prosecution, how I’d come to be on the ship. I’d heard the guards talking; the prison ship was called the Demeter. I’d yet to figure out if its name was apt or not, but then mythology was never my strong suit. Unfortunately the chance to study it more wouldn’t come again.
More than once I’d imagined seeing the bridge, but they didn’t take prisoners to anyone as illustrious as the Captain. Several junior officers in uniform joined the guards leading me into the cargo bay, where a row of escape pods were positioned at intervals along the wall. A lone window provided a view outside. Space, dark and mysterious, awaited me; I imagined it was like death—a place to lose oneself forever and perhaps find peace. As I inched closer, I could see it looked out over a planet below . . . or maybe a moon.
“Dorphus Five,” one of the guards explained. The other admired the view.
One of the officers stepped forward; I recognised him as a Major from his stripes. He was young —no older than twenty-three or twenty-four, I’d guess. I wondered how he managed to rise in the ranks so quickly.
“Cole Zorenn, you have been found guilty of grand theft by the Court of Liades, and will be sentenced to exile on the rim world of Dorphus Five. In order to ensure your punishment is permanent and assistance impossible, you will be deposited on the surface in the year 416—which is over 10,000 years in the past. There, you will find no hope of rescue and no other human souls. It is the hope of the Court that it will give you time to reflect on your misdeeds for the remainder of your life.”
With a sigh, I nodded, just wanting to get it over with. I’d heard things about the surface of Dorphus Five and the other planets they used as penal colonies. They were wild and untamed, filled with dangerous animal and plant life, rugged terrain, and in some cases, barely enough water to survive—if you could find it. I knew a harsh life likely awaited me there, one where I would never see those I loved again. And then there was one more threat.
“As written in the charter, the junior flight officer on the crew has the right to fire on your pod up to three times while you descend, should they choose to do so. For this reason, your pod has limited directional capabilities. You may attempt to avoid these shots, but know this may cause you to land in a less favourable area.”
I couldn’t help it; I laughed. Everyone else there—the officers and guards sported severe, stoic expressions. Not me, despite what I faced. Perhaps I knew if I didn’t laugh then, I’d go crazy; or maybe it was the absurdity of it all. I shook my head, and noticed one good-natured glimmer in the eyes of the friendly guard. I couldn’t have said how it helped, but it did.
“Do you have any final words?” another of the officers asked.
He was an older man with an overly-stiff posture.
“I don’t suppose it would help now, but I’m innocent on all charges. I only did what I had to so I could save my daughter.”
“We know what happened,” the same officer replied.
I was dumb-founded. I’d been found guilty by the Court, despite the complexity of events.
“It doesn’t change what we’re here to do. I’m sorry,” he said.
I nodded at that. “Is there any word on my daughter?”
They exchanged glances, and several of the men shook their heads.
There was no point asking them to check. They weren’t just a massive distance away from the central planets; they were likely already at least 10,000 years out of time.
And sadly, so was I.
“Then please, if you can do so one day, tell her that my thoughts were with her and would be for the rest of my life.”
The same officer nodded, and I knew she would receive a message if she could.
“Remove his cuffs and prepare for the descent,” the Major ordered.
The pod was so small, it hardly gave me enough room to move or breathe. It reminded me of a metal coffin, signalling the death of my old life. I figured the Kerathi Empire intentionally made it as intimidating as possible. Given that they were about to drop me into the atmosphere of an alien planet, I thought it safe to say they succeeded.
I’d spent a lot of time thinking about that moment before they dropped me, but I didn’t feel any urge to hold on to my last contact with humankind. I felt numb more than any other emotion, as though my mind was shielding me from the worst of my current reality. I was resolved, and I accepted that if my fate was to die on the way down to the planet, then that was what would happen. I studied the controls, so if I had to ev
ade shots from the Demeter, I at least stood a chance.
At least, that was what they wanted me to think. Targeting technology was precise and most missiles had homing capabilities. Flying out of the way might not be enough. It felt like a game was stacked against me, but then so did life in general. Maybe it was for now, but once I was down on the planet, things might be different. If I made it there alive.
It happened fast and with little warning. One moment I was ready in my pod and the next I was ejected from the ship at breakneck speed. My controls were limited—I registered my descent speed, but of course there was no way to slow it. There were directional controls in the form of four buttons and a small view screen that showed a diagram of the ship, atmosphere, and my landing zone.
I hoped the understanding of the crew would be enough reason for them not to fire on me, but I wasn’t counting on it. Some of them might be good men and women, but there was no reason to think the Captain was or the junior officer wouldn’t fire on me. I waited for shots from above, unsure of whether they’d show up on the viewscreen at all. I might miss the landing zone if I changed my trajectory but I decided to do it anyway. Sometimes a little control was better than none, even when the options were limited. I nudged the controls and thought I felt a change in the pod.
At least if I crashed into something or landed miles from the water, the descent was partially on my terms. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like never seeing another person again, but it might not be that terrible. I’d miss family and those who had once been friends, but compared to a life controlled by prison guards, it seemed a better option.
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