Depth

by Emily Thompson

  “Yes, you’re right,” Twist said, nodding. “Even if people have been talking about the legend, they were never using my name.” He opened his mouth to say that they must be careful of how they spoke from now on, but the words never left him.

  Myra moved suddenly, as if falling sharply backward, but she vanished entirely, long before she hit the floor.

  Pure, insane, white-hot terror filled Twist to the brim, and an anguished scream escaped him as he reached uselessly into the empty air where she no longer was. He didn’t realize that he’d lost his balance and was about to crash to the floor himself until Jonas caught him.

  In an instant, thick, cold, white fog smothered him completely and stole away all of his thoughts. Twist fell helplessly into nothingness, drowned in the cold fog and the soft rhythm of a swift, familiar heartbeat. Everything fell away: every thought, every emotion, every pain. He remained floating in that emptiness for what felt like a very long time before he found any part of himself again.

  When he began to return to his senses, he seemed to be kneeling on the hard metal floor, surrounded by the warmth of an embrace. Jonas moved his hand off of Twist’s neck, clearing Twist’s empty mind with a neat snap like the pop of a soap bubble.

  Twist found his vision blurred when he opened his eyes; rubbing at them, he found they were full of unshed tears. He wiped at his face and tried to remember why he was kneeling on the floor. His thoughts felt sluggish and heavy. His mind was still foggy at the edges, but there was a clear patch in which to work now. Jonas was still holding his arms, keeping him upright. Twist realized this finally and straightened up under his own power. Jonas left his hands where they were but let his grip go slack.

  “Twist?” he asked gently, carefully, as if his voice might shatter Twist like thin glass if he spoke any louder.

  Twist pulled his vision up to meet Jonas’s eyes. They were the deepest purple, and the weight of his gaze felt grounding.

  “What’s happened?” Twist asked, surprised by the softness of his own voice. Surely, something had happened. Why else would Jonas be holding him? It was surely something awful. But Twist’s foggy mind felt numb and disordered, making it impossible to find anything in the mess.

  Jonas looked back at him sadly, hesitating. “Myra…” he began, but his voice faded.

  The memory shot through the fog in Twist’s thoughts like a flaming arrow, burning his confusion to dust. Terror returned, making Twist look frantically around for her. She couldn’t be gone. It must have been a mistake. A trick of the light. She couldn’t be gone!

  “Twist, Twist!” Jonas pleaded, tightening his grip on him to hold him still. “Look at me.”

  Twist did as he was told as fresh tears began to sting at his eyes.

  “Keep it together,” Jonas said, his tone now firm.

  “My love has just been stolen by evil fairies that want to kill me!”

  “And we’re going to get her back,” Jonas said, his certainty as solid as stone. “Myra can’t be killed. I’ve looked into her eyes. She’s never going to die. You will get her back, safe and sound. But you have to keep your head if we’re going to figure out how.”

  “Yes, yes, you’re right…” Twist muttered, struggling to contain his panic.

  He closed his eyes and pulled in every ounce of will he had, forcing the fear down. Jonas was right. Twist might be mortal, but Myra was not. She would always survive. He only had to find a way to get to her. He had to rescue her. This wasn’t even about her. She’d only been taken because she’d been speaking about him. Had she accidentally said the word “fairy”?

  But this new line of reasoning only added the crushing weight of guilt to his already ravaged will. The only reason the evil creatures would take her would be in attempt to find him. His mind immediately turned to what they might do to try to get her to betray him, and his guilt and fear both doubled. Twist’s tears returned, and he was powerless to stop them. Numb, exhausted, and unthinking, he collapsed into Jonas as he helplessly began to sob. For a moment, Jonas made no comment at all and only continued to support him.

  “Twist, you’re stronger than this,” he said finally. “You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met. You have to keep your head to help Myra. I can’t save her by myself. I need your help. She needs you.”

  Twist clenched his jaw tight, realizing that Jonas was right. He couldn’t wallow in his guilt. He had to save the woman he loved. She needed him. He’d crossed the world and fought pirates for her. He would fight anything for her. Even himself. He forced his breath to slow and smooth with the full force of his will. As his breathing fell under his control, he banished the ugly and terrifying thoughts that had filled his mind.

  Straightening up again on his knees, he looked to Jonas. “What do we do?” he asked as calmly as he possibly could, wiping the tears away. His voice felt hollow and as thin as tissue paper, but it was better than nothing.

  Jonas smiled ever so slightly. “We are surrounded by Sighted freaks and a ship full of Rooks. We also have a genius, a warrior, and a couple of blokes who’ve taken on dragons, vampires, pirates, Rooks, thunder and sand storms, and no less than three Cypher lords without so much as a single scar between them. Oh, and we’ve just arrived in Atlantis, a city filled to bursting with wildly advanced and magic-like technology.”

  Twist listened to this with detached amazement. “Well, hell, Myra is as good as saved.”

  “See?” Jonas said. “Now what are you all worried about?”

  A laugh broke out of Twist, feeling alien on his tongue. He had to admit, though, if he had to suffer the sudden loss of his darling Myra, he was in a better situation to find and save her than he could ever have asked for.

  Twist discovered, with a bit of embarrassment, that Kima had witnessed some of his emotional meltdown. Through no small amount of grace, she had inferred what had happened and didn’t ask for clarification. While Twist was struggling to compose himself—on his feet once again and no longer dependent on Jonas for physical support—Kima moved closer, catching his gaze.

  “Jonas is right, Twist,” she said. “We will see Myra again. She has been taken by the same things that took my son. We will save them both.”

  Twist felt himself relax as he allowed his strained will to lean at least partly on hers. “Jonas, you’re wrong,” Twist said, gesturing to Kima. “She’s the strongest person you’ve ever met. Not me.”

  Jonas shook his head. “No disrespect to Kima, but you’re standing and rational right now, not ten minutes after Myra was snatched away by evil monsters. I’m impressed as hell.”

  Kima laughed quietly and smiled to Twist. “You two are even stronger together than you are apart. Have no fear, Twist.”

  Twist nodded, doing his best to believe her.

  Niko emerged from the restricted area with Frederick following soon after. They both looked to Twist with startled alarm when they saw him. Twist realized instantly that his eyes must be red from his tears, and his face still flushed. He turned away from them.

  “Where’s Myra?” Niko asked.

  No one answered him, and Twist couldn’t look at him.

  “Oh no…not her too.”

  “We’ll get her back,” Kima announced. Twist glanced to her just in time to see her nod at Twist, looking meaningfully at Niko.

  “Right,” Niko said. “Of course we will. And Tasha too.”

  “Yeah, about that,” Jonas said. “Everyone, just listen for a second and don’t say anything.” Niko’s eyebrows rose, but he remained silent while Kima and Frederick held quiet and still. “We have reason to believe that all of these disappearances have something to do with the crazy legend of the split soul.”

  Twist snatched hold of Jonas’s arm, still not entirely convinced that their voices were hidden by their charms. Jonas didn’t complain, but he didn’t vanish either.

  “So far,” Jonas went on, “three of the people who’ve vanished did so right after talking to us about that legend. It might be best
not to mention it at all.”

  “Then…” Frederick said slowly, “why are you mentioning it now?”

  Jonas gave a sigh and pulled up his sleeve to show his tattoo. “Twist and I seem to be immune. His charm is on his watch.”

  “Oh!” Frederick gasped, looking to Twist. “Then you think you’re the—”

  Jonas cut him off quickly. “Didn’t I just say not to talk about it?”

  “Right. Sorry,” Frederick said quickly.

  “Holy hell,” Jonas moaned, rubbing at his eyes. “Yes, so, whether we are or not, whether the legend’s a load of hooey or not, let’s be careful, shall we?”

  “Are you going to warn everyone else, then?” Niko asked skeptically. “I mean, if we can’t even mention it, we can’t tell anyone else what not to say.”

  “Good point,” Jonas said with a frown. “Come on, Twist, let’s go find a way to warn everyone else to be careful before we lose any more assets.”

  Twist nodded. This was clearly a good step toward finding rescue for Myra and Tasha. The Rooks and Sighted people on the ship were the best tools at their disposal. Keeping them within reach was well worth the time. As they returned to the bridge in search of Aden, Twist trained his full focus on remaining mentally present. His chest felt leaden, his stomach barren and inhospitable, and his attention frayed and weak. But as much as his spirit craved to collapse back in on itself, he knew he didn’t have the time.

  When they reached the door to the bridge once again, the guards let them through with no contest, saying that Aden had granted them access. Inside the glass-enclosed bridge, the air hummed with the controlled and authoritative voices of the crewmen. Atlantis stood just outside the massive glass window at the front of the ship, glowing with its alien blue lines of light, while the bridge itself was dim, lit only by soft electric lights that seemed embedded into the various control panels.

  Aden stood on a platform at the center of the bridge, beside a throne-like chair that faced the outside window; he was looking over a loose stack of papers. When a crewman hurried to him with another sheet of paper, Aden looked up and noticed Twist and the others. He beckoned them closer, speaking briefly with the crewman before sending him away again.

  “If you have something to add,” Aden said as they joined him on the platform, still reading over his papers, “now’s the time to do it. I’m about to make an announcement to the ship about the disappearances.”

  “I don’t think you should do that,” Jonas said grimly.

  “Too bad,” Aden said, putting down his papers on a small tray beside the chair. “I don’t have to care what you think, Mr. Davis.”

  “You should listen to him, Aden,” Kima said, her voice firm.

  Aden glanced to her, his Sight likely showing him the truth in her words. He gave a sigh and looked back to Jonas. “All right, tell me. Why shouldn’t I warn my people that we’re under attack?”

  Jonas glanced to Twist, his eyes an unhappy gray. Twist saw the hidden bewilderment in Jonas’s expression at what he was about to say. Twist nodded to him encouragingly.

  “Aden, I need you to just listen to me,” Jonas said, turning back to him. “Don’t say a word. Just listen until I’m done. All right?”

  Aden frowned at this but gave a shrug.

  “Just nod or shake your head,” Jonas began. “Do you know the legend of the witch’s son or the split soul?”

  Aden glanced to Twist and then back to Jonas. He nodded.

  “Well, as insane as it sounds, it looks like at least some of it is true.”

  Aden’s frown vanished in favor of a look of astonishment.

  “At least three of the people who were taken,” Jonas went on, “were speaking to us about the legend just before they did. Who was the first person taken? Was it that guy who sees people’s names?”

  Aden nodded again, appearing alarmed as well now.

  “Well, we met him just before the ball,” Jonas said with a gesture to Twist. “He called Twist by a name we’ve never heard. Because, I don’t know if you know this or not, Twist grew up in an orphanage. He doesn’t know the name his parents wanted him to have. And by the morning after the ball, apparently, this man, who said a name he thought was Twist’s, had vanished. Now it seems like anyone who talks to us about the legend is vanishing too. Tasha and Myra both did.”

  At the mention of Myra, Aden appeared startled, looking to Twist as if for confirmation. Twist looked away from him, fighting to keep a sudden surge of emotion in check.

  “As much as I hate to say it,” Jonas said on a heavy breath, “with what Frederick and Arabel told us, and the way it’s all fitting together, I don’t have any doubt any more that this is all happening because of that damn legend. There, I’m done.”

  Aden seemed unnerved. “And why can you speak?” he asked hesitantly.

  Jonas looked to Twist as he pulled up his sleeve again. Twist reluctantly pulled his watch out of his pocket and held it up for Aden to see the engraving on the back. Aden’s face washed over with a fresh wave of astonishment. Jonas put his sleeve back down, and Twist put his watch away.

  “And,” Aden said, clearly selecting his words carefully now, “those have magic?”

  “Gypsy blood magic, apparently,” Jonas answered reluctantly. Twist recalled the strange man who had licked Jonas’s tattoo; he had called it that.

  Aden shook his head in disbelief. “But I thought you hated me,” he said, frowning to Jonas. “Why tell me anything?”

  “We need the people on this ship if we’re going to rescue our friends.”

  “Of course,” Aden said, smugly. “Now that you need me, we’re friends again.”

  Jonas glowered back at him, aiming his naked gaze very near to Aden’s eyes to enhance the effect of it. “I’d make a deal with the devil himself if it meant getting Myra back, safe and sound.”

  Twist looked to him sharply. Jonas had never expressed anything more than the most mild approval of Myra before. Had his feelings changed so drastically? Or had he always counted her as more important than he’d admitted? Or was it actually, Twist thought again, that this declaration was meant only to aid Twist? Was Twist’s happiness really that important to Jonas?

  Clearly far less touched by the gesture, Aden glowered back at Jonas. “I see,” he said bitterly. “Well, whatever your motivation, I heard no lies in anything you said. And I believe you’re right. I must consult with some experts on the subject before I say anything to my people about this. In the meantime, let’s get everyone off of this ship. That may help on its own.”

  Twist and the others were ushered off of the bridge quickly after this and made no complaint about it. Once they were in the atrium again, Niko turned to Jonas.

  “You realize, of course,” he said in a hushed tone, “that telling Aden all of that could end badly for you. When everyone finds out what’s happening, there will be a lot of fear and anger. And now, Aden knows who to blame.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Jonas said darkly. “But if we lose too many more people, it’s only going to be harder to rescue our friends.”

  “What about after?” Niko asked. “Supposing we all live through this, you’ve just given Aden one hell of a large weapon to use against you.”

  “You think I don’t know that?” Jonas snapped back. “Yes, now he can threaten to sell us out to evil monsters. He could tell all the Sighted people that Twist really is the main character of their stupid story and make our lives a living hell. But trying to keep it all from him would cost time and resources that we need. We can deal with the repercussions later. Right now, we have people to save.”

  Niko fell into a thoughtful silence but didn’t retort. Twist remained quiet as well, suddenly aware of just how much Jonas had already risked in his effort to help Myra. With his mind working at full capacity just to keep him on his feet, he hadn’t actually thought of the risks at all. Jonas clearly had, and yet he had taken on the burden swiftly and without a word of complaint. Twist could only feel hum
bled by this unasked-for and freely given devotion, and he felt driven now to act in a way that was worthy of it.

  “Actually, I think we should talk to those mad people again,” Twist said, looking to Jonas. “They clearly know more of the legend than we do. They may be able to tell us how to get into the fairies’ world.”

  “Yeah, I’m afraid you’re right,” Jonas agreed. “I hope they’re still up there,” he added, looking up to the lounge above them. “And I hope they aren’t too upset with how we left them.”

  “Let Twist do the talking,” Kima advised, walking beside them as they headed for the stairs. “You are better at confrontation. He is better at being polite.”

  Jonas considered this and gave an agreeing nod. “I can’t deny that.”

  “Right,” Twist said, pushing his weary mind to get into gear. He’d need a good handle on his wits to obtain the information he needed.

  Before Twist and his friends climbed to the top of the stairs and into the lounge, they heard a loud projection of Aden’s voice ring though the air. He joyously announced to the whole of the ship that they had arrived at Atlantis, and he seemed to revel in the idea that they could only expect to meet with great success on their mission. He made no mention at all of the disappearances or of the need for silence on the subject of the legend. According to his announcement, all was right with the world. Aden ended his announcement, saying that all passengers and crew were to disembark shortly.

  “I thought he was going to warn people,” Kima mentioned, frowning.

  “Maybe he thinks it’s too risky to talk about it at all,” Niko offered.

  Twist scanned the crowd in the lounge, looking for the woman in black. Some people were already beginning to leave the area, obviously excited to enter Atlantis. He found the group sitting together to one side of the lounge, right where he’d left them. His feet remained stuck where they were as he began to think through what he might have to say to them to get their help. He turned to Jonas in fear. “I have to admit who we are, don’t I?”