The Leira Chronicles- The Complete Austin Series

by Martha Carr

  Agent Grundy leaned over the microphone. "Descending to 0.289659." A scratchy, "Confirmed" came over the speakers. "Continue."

  They were sitting in tight quarters, Alan Cohen right behind Leira, looking out a smaller porthole, his side facing her back. Agent Grundy was just inches to Leira's left, ignoring her as he worked to maneuver the submarine to the ship wreckage.

  A squid swam by, its eight tentacles pushing back and forth in perfect rhythm. The squid swam above the submarine and out of view, just as quickly reappearing, closer to Leira's window, attaching itself to the pressurized glass.

  "Not to be concerned," said Agent Grundy. "He'll leave as soon as we descend a little further and when he figures out there's nothing to eat here."

  The squid rode with them a little further, finally letting go, shooting a cloud of black ink in its wake, obscuring the view from the window.

  "That'll clear in a minute," said Grundy, in the same detached voice.

  "Fun guy," whispered Alan.

  "I think fun is not allowed in his job description."

  "Not if you want this to go smoothly." Grundy looked over at them. "Small quarters. Can hear every last word. Not afraid of your powers either, Agent Berens. Don't like having untrained civilians on my vessel, even if you do work for the same company as I do."

  Leira gave him a crooked smile. "Now that I can respect. Can they hear every word we're saying on the ship?"

  "Only if I press this button." Grundy leaned forward and pressed the button, saying into the microphone, "Descending to 1.72617." The response came quickly. "Confirmed."

  The high pitched, rumbling sound of a blue whale could be heard through the walls of the submarine. Leira's eyes widened as she listened to the long, low call. Grundy glanced over at her. "That whale is probably miles from here. They're the loudest animal on Earth at 188 decibels, louder than a jet plane."

  "I'm liking you more and more, Grundy." A school of rabbit fish swam by followed by a Greenland shark who was gaining on them.

  "I get that a lot. You have to warm up to me."

  "Don't you mean that the other way around.” Alan looked out the portal, listening to the sound of the whale as they descended further and the light faded in the water to inky darkness.

  "No, I don't."

  Leira smiled and looked out the front portal. The lights on the mini-submarine illuminated a few feet ahead of them as they came in view of the hulk of the Titanic.

  "Son of a..." Leira's voice came out in a hush and she leaned forward trying to get a better view. Her eyes glowed and the symbols lit up on her arms involuntarily as she let the energy easily flow through her.

  Grundy kept looking over at Leira, watching the symbols change as he pressed the button and said, "We are at destination."

  "Confirmed."

  "We're going to blow air out over the site where we believe the artifact to be to see if we can stimulate it again." Grundy pushed different buttons on the panel, shifting the submarine as it turned, making a wide half-circle. "Ready to begin," he said into the microphone.

  "Confirmed."

  Leira looked out the window as the sand was stirred up, blocking the view of the lights, the sand glittering as it swirled in front of them.

  Through the middle of the sandstorm a purple glow emerged, widening out in rays.

  "We have contact," said Grundy, letting go of the button.

  "Now what?"

  "Now we retrieve it and head back to the surface. Pretty mundane stuff as far as being on the ocean floor is concerned. Most interesting part is that it glows."

  "And that this is the Titanic."

  "Sure... I suppose. I've seen more interesting wrecks. There's an entire graveyard off the coast of New York from U boats stopping merchant marine ships during World War II. Now, those are interesting."

  Leira looked back at Alan and smiled. "To each his own wreck."

  "Okay, we're lining up with the retrieval arm. You can watch it on that screen right there."

  A padded mechanical arm encased in foam rubber went slowly toward the old metal locker on the ocean floor.

  "That purple glow makes it easier to spot the thing. One easy day at the office. Not sure why they made you guys fly all this way. We could have returned your piece to you."

  "We're Plan B..." Leira felt the submarine shift slightly to port side. "Is that supposed to happen."

  "No," said Grundy, curtly as he maneuvered the arm. The vessel shifted again to the port side, dipping. "Something's wrong with the mechanical arm. It seems to be caught on something. That's not possible. I haven't gotten it even close to the wreckage yet."

  Leira looked at the screen but all she could see was sand swirling around and the arm pulling downward, jostling the submarine. "Wait..." She narrowed her eyes, looking closer at the screen just as something darted in front of the window. She turned her head in time to see a large green fish tail disappear from view, swatting the window. She looked back at the screen to see if she could make anything out. I could swear I saw a hand. It's not possible. Must be a long forgotten doll. Has to be.

  Agent Grundy was pushing different levers, holding down a button becoming more and more concerned. "We're not moving. We're stuck on the bottom."

  "That's not good."

  Grundy leaned into the microphone and said as calmly as he could, "We are involuntarily stationery, presently."

  "Shorthand for fuck, we're trapped, I take it. I think this may be where I hopefully come in handy."

  The submarine suddenly jerked downward and rocked to the side. Leira held on to the arms of her chair as Grundy fell against the far wall, banging his head. He crawled back into the chair, a small trickle of blood on his forehead and a slight panic on his face. "We are being manipulated toward the ocean floor." He let go of the button and kept pushing levers, looking up at the screen.

  "He can't just say, we're fucked can he? I give him credit for not panicking." Leira saw a swirl of something large swim just out of reach of the lights just in front of the sub.

  "They train that into them. I think this is the part where we ignore instructions and interfere anyway. Do whatever you can do."

  Leira looked at Alan and gave him a nod. Breathe Leira, keep your head. You can do this. Same world, just with a little water. You've been underground further than this and that's this week. You've walked on other worlds. Just a bunch of water. Breathe and set an intention.

  Leira took a deep breath, shutting her eyes to get the image of water all around out of her mind. Set us free, help us to get the artifact. She felt the energy coming in through her feet, cool and wide, in a rush of power as it funneled straight through her and out of the ship. She felt herself gliding out, into the water with it, letting herself be pulled along. It was easier to see into the darkness outside of the ship with the glitter from the magic helping her.

  The energy swirled around the mechanical arm, spinning down to the bottom, latching on to what as tugging at it, upending the vessel.

  Leira gasped from inside the submarine.

  "What is it?" Alan got out of his chair and stood over her, wondering what he should do as the symbols flashed along her arms.

  "Mermaids..."

  "What's that she said? I know I took a pretty good knock on the head but I could swear she just said, mermaids."

  Leira could see what was interfering with the retrieval. Two mermaids, both with long brown tentacles on top of their head were angrily pulling at the mechanical arm. The magic swirled around their waists, causing them to loosen their grip as they looked down at the glittering trail. One of them let go, swimming up toward the sub and around to the window as Leira's eyes popped open and she found herself looking face to face with it.

  Leira got out of her chair and pressed her hand against the thick window, her eyes still aglow and smiled in amazement. She looked down at her arms and read the symbols, not recognizing all of them but just enough as she looked at the thin tentacles floating on top of the mermai
d's head. There was the same symbol she had seen in the basement of the old family estate. "Now we know what became of at least some of the Atlanteans from so long ago. They learned how to shift into mermaids."

  Grundy stopped pushing levers and stared, open-mouthed out of the window, not moving at all. Alan came and stood next to Leira, watching the mermaid. She saw Alan and growled, baring her teeth as Leira felt the energy pulse outward, seeking the crown. The mermaid shook her head, leaving the window and swam toward the chest.

  Leira let the magic pull her out again and watched the mermaids hold onto the crown as the light from her energy swirled all around them. One of the mermaids formed her mouth into an O, blowing bubbles through the water, clutching the crown. She let out a plaintive cry that sounded like a scaled down version of the blue whale, modulating her pitch.

  The other mermaid reached into the chest and retrieved a gold braided chain with a crystal hanging from the end of it. She clutched the necklace, spinning in a circle, throwing up sand, trying to get out of the magic that held her back but it wasn't working. She was held to the bottom.

  The necklace. Leira took a deep breath, returning to her body and looked down at the symbols on her arm, noticing the stone in the bracelet was blue and green. All is well. Then what's going on? "Oriceran..." The symbols on her arms said, Oriceran.

  The mermaid let go of the necklace and swam back to the window putting her other hand against the glass and Leira saw it. The symbol of the two Griffins tattoo on her wrist but this version had two fish tales. Agents for the Silver Griffins. They're retrieving the artifacts for them. Allies. Lacey Trader knows more about what's happening than she let on.

  Leira let the magic subside within her and felt it fading away in the water, flowing backward through her and dissipating. The mermaid looked to her right and saw the swirl of energy break apart and pulled her hand from the window, giving Leira a thumbs up as she swam back to the locker.

  "Did that mermaid just signal you?" Grundy looked from Leira to the screen where he could see the mermaids lifting up the entire box and swimming away. The submarine rocked back to position and Grundy pushed more levers, signaling the surface. "Someone else has retrieved the artifacts."

  "Someone else?" came the answer. "Can you repeat?"

  Grundy looked at Leira and Alan as he began the ascent to the ship. "You can explain this one when we get up there. I'm not saying anything. I love my career and I'd prefer not to have crazy or mermaid written anywhere in my file." He leaned over the microphone and pushed the button. "Ascending. Will give further details topside."

  They sat in silence till they got to the top and were retrieved by the ship. Leira got out of the mini-submarine first, blinking against the sunlight. She stepped down onto the ship and faced the Lieutenant, waiting for Alan and Grundy to get safely on the deck.

  "Another magical force was already there and took the artifacts with them. I recognized the symbol and I know where it was taken. I'll let the general know."

  "Another magical force..." The words seemed to sink in to the Lieutenant and leave him speechless. Grundy looked down at his shoes as Alan looked the Lieutenant straight in the eye but didn't say anything.

  "Is everyone alright?"

  Grundy looked up. "Yes sir..." ignoring the goose egg on his head. "The vessel should be fine as well. I'll..."

  "You'll put it in the report. Very well." The Lieutenant looked back and forth at each of them. "The helicopter should be here shortly. Make sure you're on it." He walked away without another word, contemplating a new world order that included magical forces.

  The helicopter arrived and all of them got on board, Mark and Gail peppering Alan with questions that he ignored. He sat back in his chair and leaned his back, shutting his eyes, at least pretending to be asleep. No one asked Leira anything. She leaned over to Grundy. "You should get your head looked at when we get back. Just to be safe."

  "That was supposed to be a routine mission," was all Grundy said as Leira sat back, flying the rest of the way in silence. The plane ride wasn't much different.

  When they at last got back to the hangar in Austin, Texas the general was waiting for them, smiling.

  Leira got to him first, ahead of the others. "Someone else got there first."

  "I'm well aware. Just grateful it wasn't some damn corporation or a foreign government."

  "You knew about the... the mermaids?"

  "I had reports on it, no evidence. Lois and Patsy reached out to confirm they were working with the Silver Griffins. And I'm told that they're not exactly mermaids. They shift between human and something that swims in the sea. Strange world, don't you agree?"

  Leira nodded her head not saying anything. Mer-shifters... I wonder if I can get anything out of Lois.

  The general waited till everyone was out of the plane and standing in front of him.

  "Job well done. I know it didn't turn out exactly as planned but that's a constant in what we do. We got in and out quietly without attracting media attention and no bad operatives got ahold of some very powerful items. I'll say it again," he said, smiling. "Job well done." The general turned and went to his waiting car, not staying for any formal goodbyes. He gave one last wave as he slipped into his car.

  "World just gets weirder and weirder," said Grundy, watching them drive off.

  "Especially with magic in it," said Mark, glancing at Leira.

  "Take out the stick, asshole," said Grundy. "She's alright in my book."

  Alan put his hand in the small of Leira's back, guiding her away from everyone else. "About that dinner. Tomorrow night? As long as the world doesn't blow up. We can keep it simple and just get burgers or something."

  "Sure, why not. As long as the world doesn't blow up."

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Leira drove back to the guest house, parking right in front of Estelle's and went through the gate, anxious to get home.

  "Leira!" went up the cheer from the regulars who were all lined up at the bar. Estelle swatted Craig with the bar towel that had been over her shoulder as he tried to pour his own beer, leaning over the bar. Cassidy and Mitzi were holding out their feet, comparing new shoes.

  Leira smiled and waved but kept going, walking in to her home and dropping her backpack onto the red velvet chair and shutting the door behind her with a soft click. She leaned against the door, glad to be back on dry land and in a place that was familiar. That was a little beyond even my freaky meter. Fucking mermaid shifters. I have only seen a small piece of the wonders of this world.

  There were voices drifting back to her from the kitchen and she realized she wasn't home alone. She took a deep breath and let it out, walking slowly into the kitchen and found Correk and Jackson sitting opposite each other at the table. Correk rose up from his seat when he saw Leira and went around the table, brushing his hand against her shoulder. "I'll let you two talk. I'm going to go have a beer at the bar with the regulars. Mike and Scott claim they have thought up a new drinking game that will amaze me. Something about drinking every time Estelle blows a smoke ring."

  "Sounds like a good excuse to drink." Leira went around the table and sat down across from her father and waved to Correk as he went out the door. Leira could hear a sudden chorus of "Correk" shouted across the patio.

  "I hear there may be t-shirts," said Jackson, a smile drifting across his face.

  "Oh, then it must be a real game. I'm sure Estelle is sponsoring it. You doing okay? I take it you heard the big news."

  "What, that Mara is going to head up a school and be allowed near children? Yeah, what's that about?" He tried a smile again but it just wasn't holding.

  Leira waited him out, keeping quiet. Hagan's rule. Don't talk first.

  "I'm happy for your mother, I swear. If there's anyone in this world who deserves to have a good life, it has to be Eireka Berens. You run a very close second."

  Leira reached across the table and took her father's hand. "Still, it can't be easy. I know we just me
t..." They both laughed easily. "...but since we're related, I feel like I can meddle in your business."

  "You get that from your grandmother... on your mother's side in case I wasn't clear."

  Leira laughed again. "That's another thing. I don't know anything about your family. My family, I guess, on your side. There's so much I have to learn. But...Jackson... Dad... you need to get a life."

  Now it was Jackson's turn to laugh. "I don't stay holed up in that cabin as much as Turner Underwood likes to tell people. Although, I do like my alone time." He held up his hands. "I do see your point. I could try a little harder to be sociable. After all, I'm a family man now." He smiled, the creases deepening around his eyes. "Still sounds so weird. I suppose it will for a good while. I'm a father of a grown woman."

  Leira gave him a crooked smile. "Maybe you can buy me a beer sometime and introduce me to your friends."

  "I think you already met him. His name is Louie. Okay, okay, I can work on that too. I'm pretty fond of that Gnome Louie hangs around with. I think his name is Ronnie. That'll count as two. I can build from there." Jackson grinned as he leaned over the table. "Tell me the truth, is this Don guy good enough for your mother? I asked Correk but he wouldn't tell me. He said he’d rather eat a fireball than talk to me about any Berens women."

  Leira got up and went to get two glasses, opening a Dr. Pepper and splitting it between her glass and the one for Jackson. She slid his glass across the table to him and he took a sip. "Two moons, this planet knows how to do a few things right."

  "He's a very good guy. I've known him since I was little. He always stood by Mom, even when others were calling her crazy. She was the one who pushed him away to protect him."

  "I suppose we all make mistakes trying to do the right thing." He took Leira's hand and held it. "I want you to know something. I forgive Mara for what she did all those years ago. It needs to be that way, no matter why she did it or what happened because she lied. I can't get any of those years back but I can make the most of what I've got and in Elf years it still adds up to a hell of a lot. Call it my first big act as a father. I won't put you in the middle of a family feud, so that means I'm letting it go."