by Apryl Baker
The only thing that mattered was what was in the room.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers, some human, some machine, standing erect and at attention. Sleeping soldiers waiting to be awakened. They were so many, so packed together, it caused a laugh to bubble up. Kronos had had the numbers, but now she did. These slumbering giants of flesh and metal would help her take the city with little to no bloodshed, and there wasn’t a thing Kronos could do.
“Wake them, my queen,” Arulian urged, her fingers tightening where she pressed Valeria’s hands into the cold marble.
Intent. It always came down to intent. She looked at the panel and pushed her intent to see the panel, to see the controls, and it came alive beneath her. A flat control board with a hundred flashing lights appeared in a language she did not understand.
“I don’t…”
The panel moved, changed, and became something she did understand. It morphed into a version her mind could decipher. She found the button to release them from their sleep, but she hesitated. Flipping this particular switch meant no turning back, no second-guessing herself. For better or worse, she would be the new Queen of Atlantis and not Emerald, Queen of the Skies.
The faces of the children she’d seen outside this chamber rose, and the little girl in her that cried out for justice committed her to her choice like nothing else could. She pressed the button.
At first, nothing happened, but then a sound like bathwater draining from the tub filled the room. Creaking of metal shifting for the first time in ages bounced off the walls, and the eyes of all the human soldiers landed on her, standing at the helm of the proverbial ship, awaiting orders. The machines that served as soldiers stood at attention. They would need to be programmed with new parameters.
Her army. This was her army.
And they deserved to see the light of day.
She looked back down at the control panel, and it shifted again, showing the controls that sank and locked the city. She moved her hands, connecting the sections of the entire city together again, until it formed one unit, including the city above ground, and she slid her hand up, raising this part of the city as well as the plague ravaged section up and out of the ocean.
Time to go to war.
Chapter
Twenty-One
Kronos paced back and forth. The large open space in his throne room was perfect for the act. Reports were already coming in of the section of Atlantis that had closed itself off now resurfacing.
When Kronos had taken his place as king and removed the Dendali line from ruling power, ancient magic had locked a section of Atlantis away. The section of the city was lowered into the ocean and nearly forgotten.
“You’re a fool for thinking no returning Dendali would be deemed pure of heart,” Kronos said to himself as he paced. “You should have watched, guarded the entrance night and day.”
Kronos stopped chiding himself as someone knocked on the doors of his palace room.
“Enter,” Kronos commanded.
Ajax entered, his uniform pristine. The bulging muscles were only slightly hidden by his tight coat.
“My king,” Ajax said, bowing his head, “I take it you are aware of—”
“From the beginning.” Kronos waved away Ajax’s bow. “I want to hear it all.”
“Reports came in only minutes ago.” Ajax cleared his throat before he continued. “It seems Valeria Dendali has been able to open the closed-off portion of Atlantis that has remained submerged since your ascension to the throne. If history is correct, she now has the power of the Iron Brigade at her disposal.”
“We move now, and we move quickly,” Kronos said as plans began to form in his mind. “Have Hera and Ileana gather their assets and meet me outside the palace walls. I want our army ready to move as soon as possible.”
“Understood.” Ajax’s eyes narrowed. He licked his lips as the promise of blood in the near future was confirmed. “I can have the Atlantian Army marshaled and ready to advance on the risen portion of Atlantis within the hour.”
“If we strike now, we can crush her before she has time to mount any kind of defense.” Kronos curled his hands into balls so tight the fingernails dug into his skin. “This will delay the invasion of DeCadia, but no matter. Valeria and her mutinous band must be crushed.”
“They will, my king.” Ajax bowed again and left the room.
The doors had not even closed when Hera entered. She wore her raven hair down, the black robe of her order contrasting against her fair skin.
Kronos thought for the hundredth time how unnaturally pale the sorceress was.
“I just sent for you.” Kronos released a heavy breath. “You’ve heard the news?”
“I have.” Hera approached his position. She made her obligatory bow two feet from where he stood. “I’ve come to discuss how best to use my Titans in battle. Along with my magicians and the chimeras I’ve bred.”
Something was wrong. Kronos couldn’t put his finger on it, but Hera was uncharacteristically close and almost eager. He wrote this off to the coming battle. It made sense that she would be happy. Much like Ajax, she was about to be allowed to unleash the full power of her weapons on her enemies.
“We’ll let Ajax go in with the first Atlantian soldiers and your Titans.” Kronos bit his bottom lip. “Your magicians and chimeras we’ll hold in reserve.”
“Of course.” Hera moved forward like she was going to embrace him in a hug then stopped. “Will you be addressing the army before we march?”
“Of course. Ajax and the others will have their troops marshaled there within the hour.” Kronos narrowed his eyes at the sorceress. She was acting strangely indeed. “Why?”
“No reason.” Hera made to leave the throne room. “I’ll have my forces congregated there as well. It will be a gathering everyone will remember.”
Hera exited the room, leaving Kronos disturbed in her wake. Did she have the tenacity to try a coup? Did she even desire the power of the throne? These were questions Kronos asked himself of his staff repeatedly. The answer was always no. Hera had never been anything but obedient. So why did he sense a shift in her demeanor?
She would have to be watched closely.
Kronos strode to the door. He opened it and motioned to one of the two guards stationed outside. “I want you to follow Hera and report back to me if you see anything out of the ordinary.”
***
The day had finally come for Hera to take her place as the ruling power over Atlantis. What better way to show her ability to rule than killing Kronos in front of everyone as they gathered for war?
Her plan would not be without risk. However, she had what no one in Atlantis possessed at her disposal. She had the power of not only magic, but the Titans and her precious chimeras.
Hera descended into the belly of the royal palace. She needed to construct multiple plans—one to make a show of marshaling her forces as Kronos expected, and one to lay her actual plan that would give her the throne.
To accomplish this, she would need her lieutenants, Tara and Kat.
Hera made long, bold strides to her private office. Maybe she had made a mistake leaving Kat concealed on The Emerald Queen all this time. However, she had served as insurance if things did not go her way. It was time to call her back.
Hera entered her chamber where Tara sat on an overstuffed chair studying an ancient scroll. Hera’s understudy stood at once when she saw the look on her teacher’s face.
“I need you to gather the Titans, every loyal magician we have, and the chimeras. We’re marching on Valeria Dendali. But first, it’s time to make our move,” Hera said to a wide-eyed Tara. “Our time has finally come.”
“I can’t believe it!” Tara’s mouth fell open. “This is it. It’s our time…”
Tara continued to voice her excitement. Her hands were a flurry of motion as she spoke.
Hera heard a soft step outside the door. Tara heard it as well, because she stopped babbling mid-sentence, her mouth still open.
> Hera gestured, miming for Tara to continue.
“Err—right, and we’re going to finally take our place where we belong,” Tara prattled on as she glared at the door as if she could see through the wood to who was on the other side. “You will be the rightful Queen of Atlantis. Kronos is nothing without you.”
Hera tiptoed to the door. She channeled her magic, forming a long, thick blade in her right hand. The red magic that created the weapon glowed as it formed in her grip.
Without warning, Hera slammed the blade through the door and into whoever was eavesdropping on the other side.
A sharp inhale followed by a fleeting breath met Hera’s ears.
Tara rushed to the door, the same kind of magical blade in her own hand. She threw the door open as Hera released the hold on her weapon, and it evaporated into thin air.
In a pool of his own blood, one of Kronos’s guards lay at the door. His eyes were open as if he were still trying to figure out how he died. A large rend in his breastplate showed where Hera’s magical blade had found a home.
“He knows,” Tara breathed, trying to figure out what to do next. “Kronos knows.”
“Kronos suspects,” Hera corrected her protégée. “Get rid of the body. Rally the troops as we discussed. Nothing has changed. This is our time. We will seize it.”
Tara nodded along with Hera’s words. She bent to drag the dead soldier away and dispose of the body.
Well, Kronos, Hera thought as she closed the door. The sound of the dead soldier’s armor scraping on the ground died down the hall. You’re not as much of an idiot as I suspected. Send a little fly to spy for you? Well, you won’t have to be disappointed long.
Hera stood in the center of her room, channeling a window through space to communicate with her other lieutenant, Kat. Kat was secure, hidden away on The Emerald Queen since the engagement with the Titan on Valeria’s ship.
Hera traced a small circle in front of her with the tips of her pointer and middle fingers on her right hand. A wavering red line followed her motion through the air as she created a window to where Kat lay hidden.
The window she made was no larger than her own palm. If there were sailors around, Hera did not want to alert them to Kat’s presence. The tiny window into the ship showed nothing more than a pile of wooden barrels in a dark room.
“Kat,” Hera whispered, “can you hear me?”
Shuffling from the opposite end. The window widened two feet to create a large circle in the air. Kat’s hooded face showed on the other side. “I’m hidden in the underbelly of the ship. It’s safe to talk.”
“You’ve done better than I could have ever asked,” Hera praised her lieutenant. “You are needed here now. Sneak off the ship and return as fast as you can. You are to remain hidden while you do this.”
Kat withdrew her hood to reveal an attractive face and long brown hair. “Am I to kill everyone on board first?”
She asked the question with a twisted smile on her full lips.
“No,” Hera answered.
“What? Why not? I thou—” Kat caught herself. She shook her head, setting herself on track once more. “I’m sorry. I thought I was here waiting for the time when you wanted the crew slaughtered. I’ve been here patiently for days.”
“Plans change.” Hera smiled. “Kronos is marching for war. This is our time to remove him from power in front of everyone and solidify a sorceress queen as ruler of Atlantis. I need your help here. If you kill the crew as you flee, we could tip our hand in one of many different directions.”
Kat’s disappointed face gave way to one of pure glee. “Of course, right away. I was wrong to question you.”
“You are to remain hidden, enter the city, and guard my back. When I move on Kronos, I’ll be exposed to any failsafe plan he has in place. Our Titans and chimeras will be more than enough to deal with Ajax and any soldiers idiotic enough to stand with him.”
“I understand. I’ll slip out immediately and be there as soon as possible.”
“We have an hour,” Hera warned her. For the first time, an icy edge betrayed her feelings. “Be here on time.”
“I will,” Kat answered.
Hera nodded and released the hold on the spell. The window into the cargo hold of The Emerald Queen disappeared.
With her plans in place, there was little to do besides wait for the appointed time when Hera would make her move. How she had dreamed of this hour. Not only because it would mark the end of Kronos, but the ability to capture and twist Tobias Dendali into her plaything.
Hera smiled to herself as she left her room. Every contingency had to be accounted for. Ajax was sure to attack as soon as he witnessed Kronos fall, as well as a handful of the higher-ranking officers. Hera would need to place her own magicians within striking distance of each one of these key players.
Her Titans and chimeras would be enough to make anyone else considering attacking her pause. A pause was all she would need. In that time of uncertainty, she would have to convince them she was the one who should rule.
Whether they joined her out of fear or out of loyalty, they would join her.
Chapter
Twenty-Two
Valeria cringed a little on the inside. People were bowing, calling her “queen.” It was strange, not something she’d ever wanted, but she had to deal with it. Reports were already flooding in that Kronos was assembling his army to march on the newly-risen sections of Atlantis.
She was amazed at how quickly things were coming together here. Tobias had left to fetch the others. Val wanted them all here where she could see them. It would be just her luck to have Kronos find and use them to make her come to heel.
Kronos had called the thieves back, and it worried Valeria. Sure, Ileana had been on their side, but she also knew the woman would stab her in the back in an instant if it benefited her to do so. Tobias didn’t or wouldn’t understand that simple fact. He thought she was loyal, but Ileana was only loyal to herself. It was a hard lesson Val had learned over the years of dealing with thieves, since she herself was one.
Arulian had been bringing systems online that baffled Valeria. She’d never seen anything as sophisticated as the war room. Massive holographic screens lined three walls. Desks, for lack of a better word, sat in three neat rows, now occupied by some of the forgotten Atlantians. It may have been over a hundred years since they’d manned these stations, but they remembered how.
The city had sealed off the military section of Atlantis so as not to give the usurper access to its most lethal weapons. Or at least that was how the Guardian explained it to her. The metal weapons were designed to combat the mythical and magical, steel imbued with its own magic. It was supposed to be able to withstand the most powerful blasts. Valeria had to wonder if they would be able to combat the creature they’d fought in the Crucible. The Titan, she’d heard Hera call it. The thing had been nearly impossible to kill, and Hera had been able to tweak her design since then.
Valeria sincerely hoped they could, or this was all for naught.
“My queen, we have visual access to the entire city.”
This was one of the technological advances that baffled Valeria. How could you get an actual image onto a screen? She was used to steam powered advances that did not include picture technology. How was she going to get used to all this fast enough to use it wisely?
She stepped closer to the main desk, or the helm, as she’d taken to calling it. It was easier if she used terms associated with her ship. Made more sense to her. The screen in front of them cycled through dozens of images, all centering on different parts of the city. Soldiers filled the streets, scared citizens scurried out of their way, and monsters unlike anything Valeria had witnessed before rambled through all of that.
One such creature caught her attention. It seemed to be created out of different animals. It had the head of wolf, spiked horns lining the circumference of its face, the body of a lion, and what looked to be a Dragon’s tail. A chimera. She’d heard of
such beasts, but they were fairytales, creatures of myth and legend. How had Hera crafted these things?
Magic.
Valeria shook her head. Magic should never be used in such a defiling manner. It was meant to protect and to create beauty, not to give reality to the imagination of a dark and twisted mind. One of the first things she was going to do was round up Hera’s little horde of magic wielders and have them executed. There was no help for it. Minds that had been cultivated to create things like this? They had to be destroyed.
“What is going on?” she asked Ileana, hoping to distract herself from her own dark plans.
“Kronos’s response in the city rising. He knows it’s you, and he’s preparing to march on us before you have time to prepare.”
“Well, it’s what I’d do.” Valeria leaned closer, studying the central courtyard where so many Atlantians were gathered. They were afraid, and had every right to be. How long had it been since they’d seen any kind of war or battle? People were going to die today. It was a fact, and one Valeria hated, but she knew it was necessary. She’d boarded enough ships and lost too many men to think there would be no casualties.
“Shhh,” Arulian hushed her and pulled up the main visual of the courtyard. Kronos had just stepped out onto the dais and faced his kingdom. “We must listen.”
Kronos held up a hand for silence. The noise level fell until the only sound was the growling from the beasts spread throughout the location. Two of the deranged looking beasts took up residence behind Kronos. He looked at them, unable to mask his nervousness.
“Citizens of Atlantis…friends, as you are all aware, the city has unhidden itself and emerged from its watery grave. This is nothing to be feared, but we should rejoice that our great city is whole again.”
Applause interrupted him, and he smiled down upon them all, confident, smug.
Once the noise had quieted, he held up a hand for silence. “As we celebrate the rejoining of our home, we must also combat the threat to the peace we have achieved over the last century. Tobias Dendali, traitor to the throne, has returned with his granddaughter to plunge our home into civil war. They seek to destroy the peace we’ve achieved, to dismantle everything we’ve built. They must be dealt with swiftly and efficiently. And that is why our armies are out in force today. We are preparing to march on the lost city and oust the usurper. We have waited for this day since the city was sealed, and we will not give up. We will reunite our home and spend the next millennium enjoying the same peace as we have had…”