by LM Brown
He saw Rafe immediately. His high priest knelt on the floor, facing Caspian’s throne. He wore his dress robes with the long wide sleeves and his arms were spread wide.
“Rafe?” Caspian asked. He was vaguely aware of the other priests entering behind him.
His high priest stood and turned to face him. It was only when he rose Caspian saw what his robes had previously hidden from view.
“Phoebus!” Caspian ran across the room and dropped to his knees beside him.
It was too late. He knew it immediately.
He recognized Rafe’s knife, still buried in Phoebus’ chest, and he pulled it out and tossed it aside.
“Do you accept my sacrifice, my god?” Rafe asked.
Caspian screamed at the top of his lungs, his powers reverberating through the temple. The ground moved as an earthquake shook the island. The sight of Phoebus’ dead body sent his powers spiraling out of his control for the first time in his life.
“Caspian, what is it?”
“Caspian?”
“Son?”
The voices were echoing through the temple but Caspian didn’t pay any attention to them. He couldn’t. The rage he felt wouldn’t allow for him to do anything right now.
Caspian gathered Phoebus into his arms and gently brushed his hair back from his face.
Cari knelt down on the other side of him. Tears streamed down her face. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t see this coming.”
“It isn’t your fault, my daughter,” Odessa said as she drew nearer. “You know your powers can never show things that will happen in the temple of another god. It is the way it has always been.”
“Still, I knew there was tension and jealousy between Phoebus and the priests. I should have seen something of what would happen.”
Caspian’s father shook his head. “Your mother is right. It’s not your fault that your powers are limited.”
The island finally stopped shaking as Caspian brought his powers back under his control.
He took in a long deep breath and forced himself to calm the storm raging outside the temple. Standing close by, Medina shuffled her feet and wouldn’t look at him.
“You did this,” Caspian shouted at her. “Your curse has played out. Are you happy now?”
“No,” Medina whispered. “I didn’t want him to die.”
“I don’t care what you intended!”
“Phoebus was a sweet young merman. I would never have wished him harm.”
“Your damned love spell is the cause of all of this.”
“No. It can’t be.”
“Undo the magic,” Caspian demanded. “You’ve made your point.”
Medina nodded and raised her hand toward him. A glow emanated from her palm and her hair whipped about her head as though she were standing in the wind. “I cannot,” she finally said, her voice coming from a distance.
“Why not?” Caspian snapped. “You made me love him, now make it stop.”
“I opened your heart and your mind to the possibility of love,” Medina said. “The spell has already run its course. Your feelings are not a result of my magic. They are real, and as such, I cannot remove them.”
Caspian blinked as Medina faded in and out of view. It was almost as though she was having difficulty maintaining her corporeal form.
Caspian’s father placed his hand on his son’s shoulder and Caspian acknowledged the gesture with a small nod.
“To murder the chosen consort of a god is unprecedented,” Cynbel said. “This cannot go unpunished. Caspian, what do you suggest?”
Caspian shook his head. “Not now, father. I can’t deal out justice right now.”
Cynbel squeezed his shoulder. “Then I will do so for you. From this day forth, Atlantis will no longer be home to the Atlanteans. They will be banished from the city and will walk on land with no memory of their heritage.”
“You would punish an entire people for the crime of one man?”
Caspian recognized the voice of Mariana, goddess of sea creatures. Several immortals were agreeing with her.
Cynbel banged his trident on the floor. “This isn’t just any crime. This is the murder of a god’s consort, in that god’s own temple.”
“It was a sacrifice,” Rafe argued. “You used to accept sacrifices.”
Cynbel shook his head. “This was no sacrifice. You didn’t kill the merman to appease your god. You did it to satisfy your own jealousy. You will be the first to be sent from this place.”
“No!” Caspian shouted. “Banish whoever you wish but not him. I will punish him myself—but not right now.”
“Of course, my son,” Cynbel said. “The rest of the Atlanteans will be gone from the city before sunset.”
“What of our priests and priestesses?” one of the goddesses asked. “Are they to be banished too?”
“They are,” Cynbel replied. “The discord between the Atlanteans and the mer has been escalating for many years. This will end today.”
“I thought you’d be all for war,” Mariana commented. “It is your specialty, after all.”
“This is not a war among men,” Cynbel said. “The mer are peaceful. They do not crave land or power or anything else that humans kill each other over. The mer have done nothing to earn the hatred of the Atlanteans.”
Mariana sneered. “Just because they’re too weak and foolish to fight back.”
“It isn’t weak to want to live in peace. It isn’t foolish to desire a life without war.”
“Coming from the God of War, I find that a rather strange attitude to have.”
“There is no glory to be found in defeating an opponent who has no wish to fight,” Cynbel said.
Caspian carefully picked up Phoebus and carried him away from the arguing immortals. His mother and sister followed him.
“Can you see him?” Caspian asked Cari. “When will I find him again?”
Cari closed her eyes for several long moments, but when she opened them again, she shook her head. “I’m sorry. I do not see him.”
“But you must,” Caspian said. “He’ll be reborn sooner or later. Even if his body is different, his soul will be the same. You can see that, can’t you?”
“The mer are not reborn in the way of humans,” Cari said. “Their essence returns to the ocean when they die. They become a part of the waters.”
“Then he’s gone forever?” Caspian didn’t want to believe it.
“Not yet,” Odessa said. “As long as his body remains here, his soul will linger. When you send his body to the ocean, so too will his essence depart this world.”
“What if I were to bury him instead?”
“Then his tormented spirit would remain here in your temple.”
Caspian didn’t know which idea he hated more—losing Phoebus to the ocean or leaving his spirit in torment.
“I have to let him go, don’t I?” Caspian whispered.
“I’m sorry,” Cari said. “I will help you to send him to the waters. I know the words the mer use and will say them for you, if you wish.”
“Let’s not be so hasty,” Odessa said.
“I won’t force him to stay here in spirit,” Caspian replied.
“No, of course not,” Odessa agreed, “but there may be another way.”
“What do you mean?”
“The mer are not so different from humans. They are half human, which means it might be possible to change things.”
Odessa tapped at her lips with her finger as she paced the floor. She mumbled under her breath as she thought over whatever it was she had in mind.
“Mother, what are you thinking?” Cari asked.
“If the mer were to reincarnate, as humans do, Phoebus would one day return to Caspian.”
“But you said yourself, they don’t.”
“No, but they could. It would only take a small tweaking of their species. It’s been done with others to a much greater extent. Just look at all the hybrids the other pantheons have created over the
years.”
“But you’re not talking about creating a hybrid. The mer are already hybrids.”
“Yes, which means this should be easier to accomplish. The mer are already half human and half fish. It is their fish half that compels them to return to the waters after they have passed from this life. It would be just a small thing to let their human halves decide.”
Caspian wasn’t sure whether he should allow himself to hope, but he turned to Cari anyway. “If she changes the mer, would Phoebus be reborn?”
Cari closed her eyes and this time when she opened them she nodded. “Yes, but not right away.”
“I’m immortal. I can wait.” Caspian took Phoebus’ hand in his and held it tight. “Do it, Mother.”
Odessa did as he asked and Caspian watched as she, like Medina, began to fade in and out of view.
“What’s happening to them?” Caspian asked.
“We’re losing our followers,” Mariana shouted. “Cynbel, it’s not too late to reverse your edict. You see what is happening to your own wife. Will you see us all reduced to shadows just because your son wanted to fuck a merman?”
Cynbel banged his trident on the floor again. Sparks shot from the tips. “The Atlanteans are gone. Only those bound to the gods remain. Summon them to your temples and let them know what is happening. Those who have been most loyal to us deserve that much.”
Caspian glared at his own priests. “Get out of here, all of you.”
They all hurried to the door, Rafe included. Caspian raised his hand and used his powers to stop the high priest in his tracks. “Not you,” he said. “You will remain here until I’ve decided how to deal with you.”
The other immortals hurried to their various temple, leaving Caspian with his parents. “What about your followers?” he asked. “Are they banished too?”
“They will be,” Cynbel said. “Odessa, stay here with Caspian until I’ve sent my priests on their way. Don’t leave him alone. You can go talk to your own after I’ve returned.”
“I don’t need a minder,” Caspian argued.
Both his parents ignored him as though he hadn’t spoken.
Caspian didn't have the energy to press the issue, so he sat quietly, holding Phoebus in his arms, as he wondered how long it would take for his lover to return to him.
His mother seemed to be recovering from casting her spell, and by the time his father returned, she appeared more like her normal self.
“Mariana is going to be difficult,” Cynbel said.
“Isn’t she always,” Odessa replied. “I’ll go speak to my priests and say my goodbyes.”
Cari returned shortly after Odessa had left. “I’ve appointed new Oracles from the mer,” she said. “I also sent Fabian to his mother’s temple. As a demi-god, I do not believe he should be banished.”
“A loophole I didn’t foresee,” Cynbel commented, “but I suppose you are right. As the son of a goddess, Fabian is part of the pantheon. You did the right thing.”
Cari returned to Caspian’s side. “Are you ready to say goodbye to him now?”
Caspian didn’t think he would ever be ready, but he gave a nod.
He let Cari speak the words that would send Phoebus on and he choked out a sob when his lover vanished from his arms.
A few moments later, Cari gave a small squeal and Caspian realized she had had a vision.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Mariana is about to defy Father’s edict.”
“How?” Cynbel questioned.
“She’s transforming Fabian and her priests into sea dragons.”
“I’ll stop her,” Cynbel said.
“It’s too late,” Cari replied. “It’s happening right now.”
“Then I’ll make her undo this.”
“Do you have the power?” Cari asked. “I feel weaker without my followers. Also…”
“Also what?”
“I don’t sense Mother any more. It’s as if she’s no longer a part of this world.”
“Cari’s right,” Caspian said. “I can’t sense her either—or Medina, or Tempest. Father, what happens to gods who have no followers?”
“When we have no followers, we can no longer remain a part of this world until such time as someone calls on us again. Do not fear, my son. There are always those who call for justice, just as there are always those who crave war. We won’t cease to exist. We just need to be careful about using our powers. If we should drain them entirely, we’ll go into a form of stasis.”
“Is that what’s happened to Mother?” Cari asked.
“Yes,” Cynbel confirmed. “The magic she performed to alter the physiology for the mer people might have been simple, but to change it for all the mer is still tiring. She would have done better to alter it for Phoebus alone, but it’s too late now. Her priests kept her in this world, but now that they are gone, her foothold has been lost.”
“Will she return?” Cari’s voice quavered as she asked her question.
“In time. Now, let us go see what trouble Mariana is brewing. Caspian, are you coming with us?”
Caspian shook his head. He was barely keeping a rein on his powers as it was. If he were to get involved in an altercation with Mariana, he knew he would lose control.
Cynbel and Cari hurried to Atlantis to confront Mariana, leaving Caspian alone in the temple, with only his thoughts for company.
Or not quite alone, he amended. Rafe, frozen mid-stride, still remained there.
“And what shall I do with you?” Caspian asked with a sigh.
He rose from his seat and went to pick up the knife from where he had thrown it across the floor. The murder weapon in his hand, he stood before Rafe and wondered how he could have failed to see his vile nature all these years.
With a wave of his hand, he unfroze his high priest. “Why?” he asked.
“That creature didn’t deserve your attention,” Rafe snarled. “He wasn’t even human.”
“He was kind and caring, and he loved me for myself, not for what powers he might get from serving me. He was prepared to give up his fins to stay with me. What sacrifices have you ever made for another?”
Rafe remained silent. Caspian wasn’t surprised. He had never done anything without it being advantageous to himself.
Caspian raised the knife to Rafe’s throat, causing the priest to flinch at the touch of the blade to his skin.
“A quick death is too good for you,” Caspian said. He gestured toward the door at the back of the throne. “Go downstairs.”
“To the catacombs?”
“Of course. Now move.”
Rafe kept one eye on Caspian as he headed down the stairs.
“To the cell at the end.” Caspian pointed with the dagger, and when Rafe didn’t step into the room, he prodded him with it.
Caspian conjured a lamp to hang from the ceiling and surveyed the room briefly.
“Your new quarters,” Caspian said. “Enjoy them. You’re going to be here for a long time.”
Caspian closed and locked the door behind him.
He walked up to his private garden and knelt before the fountain in the center. Cari found him there when she returned with the news that both Mariana and their father were drained of their powers.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Cari said as she sat on the edge of the fountain.
“I swore I would protect him,” Caspian said. “I promised to keep him safe. I failed.”
“You couldn’t be with him every single moment.”
“I’m a god. We’re supposed to be omniscient. How did I fail to see what was right before my eyes?”
Rafe’s knife rested on the stone in front of him, still stained with Phoebus’ blood. Caspian picked it up and sliced the blade across the palm of his hand.
“Caspian, what are you doing?”
“I swear no other mer will suffer while I have the power to prevent it. I failed Phoebus, but I won’t fail again.”
“You cannot watch over all the mer.
You’re just one man.”
“One god.”
“Even so, you cannot be everywhere at once.”
Caspian sighed. “You are right, of course.”
“Phoebus was going to give up the sea for you,” Cari said. “Perhaps you could focus on those mer who choose to do likewise. Mer on land are rare, but they are in more need of help than those who choose to dwell in the water.”
Caspian nodded. “I think Phoebus might like that.”
“I’m sure he would.”
Caspian drove the knife into the stone, embedding it to the hilt. “I swear it.”
A few minutes after his oath had been sworn, Caspian heard the sound of his first charge arriving on land. He transported himself from his temple to the merman, ready to begin his work.
Chapter Twelve
Present Day
Marin could still feel the blade in his chest and he had to look down to check that there was no blood.
“It’s okay,” Caspian assured him as he knelt in front of him. “There’s nothing there now. It’s over.”
Finally he stopped shaking and gathered his wits together.
Medina and Cari stood behind Caspian, but Antar had vanished.
Marin shook his head as the memories of his current life battled against those of his past. There was so much to remember, as well as forget.
“Marin,” Medina said as she carefully sat down on the sand and handed him a goblet. “Drink this.”
“What is it?” Marin asked.
“Just wine.”
Cari took the goblet from Medina and tossed the contents away. “Really, Medina, you know the mer cannot handle strong drink. Here… Try this, Marin.”
Marin stared at the fine china cup. He had no idea what it contained either.
“It’s just tea,” Cari said.
Marin didn’t know what tea was, but he took a cautious sip of the hot beverage anyway. He recognized it as something he had tried in England during his short time there. It didn’t really help with his problem, but at least the trio of immortals weren’t staring at him as though he might have some sort of mental breakdown at any moment.
“Was it real?” Marin asked.
“Yes,” Caspian replied. “We all remember you from before. Now you remember us too.”