by Apryl Baker
The trio walked into a large, open room, simply yet elegantly decorated with clean floors and pillars that rose to a vaulted ceiling. Val found herself marveling at how high the ceilings could be compared to the short rope ladder she had used to climb down into the city. The walls and pillars shouldn’t be able to extend that far up without poking out of the ocean floor above.
“Atlantis is protected by magic,” Tobias said, passing her. He followed Serath down a hall to the right. “Come on. If you think that’s something, wait until you see the rest.”
Val wasn’t disappointed. She had to remind herself to close her mouth multiple times during their trip through the underground section of Atlantis. Many of the walls weren’t walls at all, but thick glass that showed them a dazzling view of the bluish green water on the opposite side. Reefs rose in the distance like small boulders, fish of every size, and so many Val didn’t recognize them all, swam this way and that, eager to be on their way.
A small shark with a flat head and spots on its smooth skin swam by. Val could have sworn he grinned at her as she passed, somehow realizing a Dendali of true heart was back in Atlantis.
As they journeyed through the Atlantis underbelly, Val passed a handful of Atlantians who gawked at her then realized they were staring and tried to look away. They looked as if they were going to spew a hundred question at Serath.
“Have everyone who is not eating meet us in the hall,” Serath said, waving away their questions. “Tell them a Dendali has come back to rule Atlantis.”
These words seemed to have a magical effect on the Atlantians. Whenever Serath shared the news, those on the receiving end dropped whatever they were doing and ran, not walked, to obey her. One elderly man even jumped into the air with a click of his heels, beaming at Val before he took off down the hall.
Serath led Val to a massive room filled with long tables and benches. Along the far wall was a pair of double doors where Atlantians with aprons carried out steaming bowls of breakfast food.
Hundreds of people were gathered there sharing their morning meal. The smells of hot bread and fresh fruit filled Val’s nostrils and reminded her how hungry she was.
Easy, this isn’t the time to stuff your face, Val coached herself. Think of how long these people have waited to be returned to the world above.
Serath led Val through a sea of bright, wondering eyes. The hall had been a cacophony of utensils hitting bowls, morning yawns, and the light chatter of familial voices at the table. Once Val and the others entered, the noises silenced.
“Momma?” A young girl to Val’s right looked to her mother with concern.
“Shhh…” the attractive Atlantian woman hushed her daughter. “Be still, Eliana.”
“The door to the surface has been reopened.” Serath opened her arms and displayed Val to the room as if she were a prized trophy. “A Dendali worthy of the name has returned. I present to you…our queen.”
The room fell silent for the space of a heartbeat, as if a spell had been cast on the breakfast attendees, and no one was able to break its hold. The next moment, the spell shattered. Applause and shouts ripped through the room as everyone from the smallest babe slapping her tiny hands together to the oldest gray-bearded Atlantian cracking a toothless grin and clapping along with the rest.
Val felt heat rise to her face. She wasn’t prepared to give a speech, but the booming applause was bound to die down sooner or later.
What are you going to tell these people? What are you going to tell your people?
The moment she had been dreading since they began their applause came. Slowly, the hands and shouts died away like mist in the heat of the sun. They all looked to her to speak.
Val opened her mouth, unsure of what she was going to say. Whether it was years of leading a crew on a ship or the royal blood that flowed freely through her veins, the words came.
“My name is Valeria Dendali,” Val said, licking her lips and trying to word what she wanted to say just right. She refused to lie to these people. At the same time, she couldn’t crush their dreams. “I do not know what strength lies within me, but I promise you this. I’m a fighter. I don’t know the meaning of retreat, and I am not my ancestors.”
Apparently, that was enough for the Atlantians. Like a surging wave, they picked up their shouting and applause again. They moved with wide grins and outstretched hands to meet their new leader.
Serath blocked the rush of people. She stepped in front of Val with arms open wide. “Our queen has much to do, touring her city as well as waking her army and bringing life to our Guardian.”
The mention of the Guardian seemed enough for the Atlantian well-wishers to understand and hold back their greeting for another time.
“Follow me.” Serath beckoned to Val and Tobias. “We need to revive the Guardian, and she can aid us in resurrecting your army.”
“I’m sorry, it sounded like you said ‘army.’” Val followed Serath as she left the large hall. The trio traveled through another hall with tall ceilings and glass walls looking out into the ocean depths.
“I did,” Serath said, turning another corner. “The Dendalis have a standing army of soldiers that await your command. They are in a cryogenic state of sleep. The Iron Brigade is sworn to serve the Dendali line until their last breath. In order to ensure they can fulfill this promise, they have voluntarily subjected themselves to a dream state in which they do not age. You will awaken them with Arulian’s help.”
Val looked over to Tobias. The elderly Dendali had been uncharacteristically quiet during their trip and all the information that was being dumped on them. A sadness crossed his eyes that Val understood without having to question.
For his part in the death of his brother, Tobias could never be the one to free the Atlantian people. He was destined to atone for his sins until he met his grave.
Serath finally stopped in front of a pair of giant double doors. The doors themselves looked as though they were made of stone. Ancient runes were carved into the stone in a pattern Val did not recognize.
“The chamber of enlightenment is only for the queen,” Serath said in a tone that would not allow for debate. “We must wait outside.”
Tobias held the woman’s gaze for a moment before shifting to Val. “Remember your training. If you need me, call. There is nothing this woman could do to me to keep me from you.”
Tobias said the words right in front of Serath. He matched her own tone for strength, not allowing any room for argument.
“I’ll be fine.” Val had been in a hundred fights, shot and stabbed in a dozen confrontations. Whatever was on the other side of the door, she would handle. She had to. “I’ll revive the Guardian and be out before you know it.”
Val pressed her right hand to the door, and the stone barricade slowly swung open on heavy hinges. A glow came from the room inside.
Chapter Twenty
It took a moment for Val’s eyes to transition from the brightly lit hall outside to the dull green glow of the room’s interior. The chamber was circular with a large round table in the middle. In the center of the table was a glowing green orb the size of a cannonball. The emerald light coming from the globe was weak, as if the light itself was tired or sick.
Along the walls were paintings of kings and queens. By their clothing and the age of the paintings, Val could make a guess as to who these men and women were. They were her ancestors. The Dendalis who had ruled Atlantis from the beginning.
On her right was a scarred pirate with a patch over one eye. As the paintings progressed, the images of their clothes became closer and closer to the style Val wore. Ages passed as the history of the Dendali line was painted out in front of her eyes.
The last picture on her left was a strong jawed man who looked disturbingly like Tobias. This had to be the brother he had unwittingly helped kill.
Next to this image, the wall was blank. It was strange to think this was where Val’s picture would one day hang. Val walked around the room exami
ning the pictures one more time while looking for a control panel or instructions on what she was supposed to do next.
There was none, but what she did realize was that a section of the table where the green orb rested was cut out. A narrow gap that allowed one to walk into the center of the table.
Val did so, approaching the green orb.
Okay, now what? Val stared into the pulsating light the orb gave off. Is this what’s powering the Guardian? There’s only one way to find out.
Val tentatively placed her right palm on the pulsating sphere. A warm sensation immediately ran up her hand, through her arm, and into the center of her body. A tug from the orb pulled at her magic, gentle at first, but then more aggressive.
Val placed her other hand on the smooth glass surface, straining to satiate the hunger for magic the orb demanded.
Val gritted her teeth. A low roar started in the back of her throat as she fought the urge to pull her hands free. The green glow continued to grow. The once dull, pulsating light now bathed the room in emerald green.
Val wasn’t sure how much longer she could feed the orb. Sweat gathered on her brow. A deep feeling of exhaustion touched her body, and her muscles screamed with fatigue.
A moment later, as Val debated pulling her hands off the magical ball or calling for Tobias, Arulian appeared beside her.
“You can remove your hands now, my queen,” Arulian said with a smile, nodding to the orb full of bright green light. “You have restored me.”
“Good,” Val panted, pulling her hands free. Her fingers felt numb, and her arms shook with fatigue. “I don’t know how much more I had to give.”
“More strength resides in you than you know,” Arulian said with a nod. “Follow me. It’s time we wake the slumbering Iron Brigade. Your army awaits.”
***
Val followed Arulian to the portrait of one of the Atlantian Kings. He wore clothing similar to her own—pirate gear, she’d call it—without all the bells and whistles. His dark hair glinted eerily in the green glow of the orb. It gave him a sinister demeanor.
“This is the first of the Dendali rulers.” Arulian studied the man as intently as Valeria herself. “He was a pirate who invaded our city. Back then, we were only beginning to understand how magic and technology could work together. Jora Dendali was the one to fuse true magic and technology together.”
“He sounds like the man who created the sky map to where Atlantis is now.”
Arulian smiled. “Sky map. Is that a DeCadian term?”
“Yes.” Valeria couldn’t suppress her own smile. She’d heard the term from Lukas. He’d explained to her since DeCadians had taken to the skies instead of the seas, it was a sky map instead of a land map. Truth, but it was still an odd term, especially for someone like Arulian, who’d been bound to the land from her creation.
“You are very much like Jora.”
“You knew him?” Just how old was Arulian?
“No, but his essence remains here, guiding us, as do all the late rulers of our great city.” Now, that made absolutely no sense. Arulian must have read the confusion on her face, because she laughed. “When a ruler dies, his soul and his magic remain here, in the orb.”
“They don’t pass on?” Valeria frowned, turning to look at the now bright green sphere. “That doesn’t seem fair. Everyone should get to pass on to the next life, to our great adventure in Hiahealmia.”
“That is the DeCadian in you talking. Atlantians do not concern themselves with such nonsense. The souls remain to strengthen our city, our magic, and guide us. They are here, every ruler, every citizen, every life cut short, so we may prosper.”
This saddened Valeria more than anything else she’d heard. The poor souls of the dead did not get to move on to the great adventure waiting for them. Instead, they were stuck here, being an energy source for people who did not deserve it—people like Kronos.
“You are upset.”
“I think it’s unfair they can’t reap the rewards of their life in Hiahealmia.”
“And what is Hiahealmia?”
“It is the place we go after death. Our great adventure. For some, it’s simply peace after a long, tiring life. For others, it’s the chance to be who they always wanted or to go on their grand adventure circumstances in this life prevented.”
“So, it’s about choice?” Arulian asked.
“I suppose.”
“So is Atlantis. The people here love our home, our people. They choose to help the one place they love thrive. Do not be sad for them, little queen. They do this out of love, not out of fear or necessity. It is love that binds them.”
“Even those under Kronos’s rule?” Valeria turned back to the portrait, her tone hard. “Why would they choose to help someone as cruel as he?”
“They do not.” Arulian laid a hand upon the portrait, causing the gold frame to light up. Lines and ancient runes ran through every inch of the frame. “That is why the orb had gone dark. There was no ruler worthy of the love and respect of the people. Souls moved on, some slumbered, others waited. Your strength awoke them all and gave them hope that the true Atlantis could once more be reunited with the current Atlantis.”
The wall vibrated, and Arulian whispered words Valeria didn’t understand, but she took a startled step backward when the wall moved. It slid to the left, revealing a dark space beyond. Stale air tickled her nose, and she sneezed. No one had been in this room for at least one hundred and fifty years, since the city closed itself off.
Valeria called up the light Tobias had taught her, and it barely cut through a few inches of the darkness in the area. This was a magical blackout, and one her small light had no hopes of dispelling.
Arulian took her hand and guided her deeper into the inky blackness, and Valeria felt old fears start to rise. She hated cramped, dark places. This might not be a locked closet, but the darkness mimicked it in a way nothing else could. Her breath came out in short gasps, and her fingers clenched Arulian’s like a lifeline.
“Be at ease, my queen. There is nothing here that can hurt you, but you must wake the city. It is dark here because the city itself is dark. I will lead you to the control panel, but it is you who must do all the work.”
Did she have more energy to give? Val wasn’t sure she did, especially not with the panic attack creeping up on her. The longer they walked, the more it ate away at her courage, her sanity. Madame’s voice began to torment her, telling her how unruly children deserved the dark. Teasing her about all the things that crawled along the floor in the closet. Wondering how long such a misbehaved little girl could survive the spiders, the rats…She let out a scream when Arulian pulled her to a stop.
“It’s all right, my queen. I am here with you. You’re not alone.”
“I want Lukas.” He knew all about her fears, how to calm her. He was her strength when she had none herself. Stephen was her past, but Lukas was her everything. She needed him more than the air she breathed. It was something she should have realized earlier, but the heart was confusing on the best of days.
Arulian was quiet for a moment. “As soon as we are done here, I can take you to him, but we must wake the city.”
Arulian took both her hands and placed them on something cold. Val closed her eyes and worked to force back the panic and the old fears. She conjured up an image of Lukas the day he’d found her in the Atlantian prison. He knew she couldn’t stand to be locked up and had come for her. She took strength from the thought of him and was able to concentrate.
A control panel, the woman said, but it was unlike any control panel she’d ever come across. It was completely smooth, no buttons or knobs or gears. It wasn’t stone or iron. The smoothness spoke of marble. An empty marble slab did nothing to help her understand what she was supposed to do.
“There’s nothing here to work with. How can I wake the city if there are no controls on this panel?”
Arulian chuckled. “Have you not learned by now, my queen, magic runs everything in At
lantis, including this panel? Use your magic.”
Magic. Could these people do nothing without magic? She wanted to snort at the absurdity of it. One thing she was going to do when she became queen was teach them not to rely on magic for everything. Always have a back-up plan. What good would it do them to have all these things if no one was around to make them work?
When she became queen. The idea was growing on her. Before, it had been more of an ideal than a reality. Something her grandfather forced her into. These people here, their faces gaunt and scared, waiting for someone to rescue them for over a century, had started to change her way of thinking. They needed strength, the way Lukas gave her strength, even when he wasn’t standing next to her. That was what they needed, someone to believe in, even when she wasn’t right beside them.
They pulled at her heart, because in many ways they were her. Down here alone in the dark. They were her all those times she’d been trapped in a dark closet, with no way out and no hope of rescue. These people had been abandoned and forgotten just like she had been. She wouldn’t leave them here. No matter what she had to do, she’d rescue them. Valeria would take this city back and give it to the lost and the forgotten. These were her people more so than any of the ones topside. These people were her family.
The control panel burst into a blaze of white light so intense she almost pulled her hands away to shield her eyes, but Arulian held them tight. The light bled out from the panel, crawling over every surface in the room, along the walls, for as far as the eye could see. She blinked, forcing her vision to adjust to the blazing light now radiating through the entire room.
Only it wasn’t a room, not really. The ground beneath them was hardpacked dirt, stone pathways leading in all directions. The ceiling was the at least a hundred feet high, the walls perhaps glass, because she could see the ocean all around them.
None of that mattered, though.