by Raine, Eliza
I would get back to them. When I’d found Oceanus and we’d saved the stolen souls, I would find out how to become powerful enough to get back to them. I had to.
‘Dora?’ Thom’s voice cut through my thoughts as I stepped out of the hauler onto the top deck of the Tethys. ‘Dora, are you alright?’
‘Um, no, not really,’ I mumbled, rubbing the tears from my cheeks.
‘What happened?’ I heaved another big breath.
‘My, um, mom snuck on board.’ Thom’s mouth fell open.
‘Isn’t your mom a sea nymph?’
‘Something like that,’ I shrugged, as another silent tear slid down my face. ‘If she’d turned up on time to take me to the academy, I would have had time to say goodbye to my dad and sister. But she was late,’ I whispered.
‘I’m sorry,’ Thom said, his eyes dropping to the deck. ‘It must be real hard, not being able to see them.’
‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘Yeah, it is. But I’ll get back to them.’ He quirked his eyebrows at me and I looked him in the eyes, squaring my shoulders. ‘I can do it, I know I can.’ He gave me an uneasy smile and it was clear that he didn’t believe I could become that strong.
‘Icarus is awake.’ I span around at the voice behind me and Arketa sauntered across the deck towards us. Her usually flowing hair was tied in a knot on top of her head and she looked effortlessly beautiful. I rubbed angrily at the tears still sliding down my cheeks.
‘Thank the gods,’ I said, and ran back into the hauler I’d just stepped out of.
‘Dora?’
‘I’m here, Icarus,’ I said, gripping his clammy hand as I perched on the side of the massive bed we’d put him in.
‘Where are we? Are you OK?’ His piercing green eyes were searching mine, confusion and concern filling them as his wings fluttered on the mattress behind him. I felt my heart swelling, and my anger receded as I touched his face.
‘We’re safe,’ I said, and leaned forward to kiss him.
I told him everything that had happened, slowly and in detail, from the fight with the Keres demon, Thom’s attack as the manticore, Neos saving his life, right up to my decision to drag the Tethys up from the bottom of the ocean in the hope of it seeking out its true master. I faltered when I got to my recent discovery in the cargo deck. But I took a breath and finished the story, watching Icarus’s face as he reacted. Fear and concern were replaced with a cold scowl when I mentioned my mom, and he squeezed my hand.
‘That’s quite a lot to take in,’ he said eventually, when I was done.
‘Yeah,’ I nodded. ‘I know.’
‘I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to help you,’ he said quietly.
‘Don’t be stupid,’ I said. ‘If it weren’t for you then we wouldn’t have got the Keres demon. You were amazing.’ He smiled weakly at me and I smiled back.
‘Do you trust Vronti?’
‘No,’ I shook my head. ‘Or Arketa. But she was amazing during the fight. She’s really strong.’
‘What about Neos?’
‘He saved your life. Why would he do that if he wanted anything bad for us?’
‘He could be using us.’
I sighed. I knew Icarus was right, but at the mere mention of Neos I felt my fire magic crackling to life under my skin. Dasko was a good teacher, but Neos brought out something better in me. Something truly powerful. The thought of my tutor sent a pang of regret through me though.
‘I wish Dasko were here,’ I said.
‘Yeah. Me too. Guess we’ll have to make do with your mom as the only adult though.’
I pulled a face at him, screwing my eyebrows up.
‘There’s no way I’m treating her like an adult. She has no idea what being responsible means.’
‘But I’m willing to bet she knows a lot more about Olympus, and Titans, than we do,’ he answered gently. He was right, I realized. She probably did.
‘Dora?’ There was a knock at the door, and Zali came in, an apologetic look on her face. ‘Dora, are you OK?’ I nodded at her as she stepped into the room.
‘Sorry for storming off. I, um, got a bit overwhelmed.’
‘That’s OK,’ she said, coming to the end of the bed. ‘It’s good to see you awake, Icarus,’ she beamed at him.
‘Thanks,’ he said, giving her a strained smile back.
‘How are you feeling?’
‘Pretty sore, actually.’
‘Oh gods, I’m so sorry, I didn’t offer you anything!’ I leapt up, feeling ashamed that I’d just talked at him since I entered his room. He laughed softly.
‘It’s fine. Thom left me this paste stuff he found in the infirmary,’ Icarus said, shuffling up into a sitting position slowly and pointing at a tub on his bedside table. ‘Smells a bit weird, but I think it’s working.’
‘Thom feels awful for what happened,’ Zali said, biting her lip as she looked at Icarus’s bandaged arm.
‘He told me,’ Icarus said, the smile leaving his face.
‘You don’t blame him, do you?’ I asked. Icarus didn’t answer. I made a mental note to make sure he didn’t resent Thom for attacking him and decided to change the subject.
‘Where’s my mom?’ I asked Zali.
‘She’s found a cabin with a big bath. Apparently, she needs a lot of water.’
‘Where does the ship get water from?’ Icarus asked.
‘I dunno. Magic, I guess,’ I shrugged. ‘Icarus, wait until you see the sails up on deck! They shimmer and glow and ripple like the light on them is liquid, it’s so beautiful.’
‘I can’t wait to see them,’ he said, looking into my eyes again, then wincing. ‘But right now, I am a little tired.’
‘Oh, I’m sorry, we’ll leave you to rest. Just, um, shout or something if you need anything.’ I leaned over and kissed his forehead, which was hot against my lips.
‘I will. Thank you.’
As soon as we shut the door behind us, Zali wrapped her arms around me tightly. I squeezed her back.
‘Dora, I’m not sure how much fun this trip is going to be,’ she said, letting me go. ‘Between Vronti trying to kill you, Icarus injured, Arketa miserable and now your mom...’
‘We’ll work it out,’ I sighed. ‘We’ll just have to watch our backs until we find Oceanus.’
‘Speaking of which... Do you have any idea where we are?’ Her big amber eyes looked hopeful.
I shook my head uneasily.
‘No. I’m kind of just hoping the ship knows what to do.’
‘Can you ask it?’
‘Maybe, if I can bond with it. Let’s give it a go.’
We made our way up to the top deck again, where Thom was still pacing. He threw an awkward smile at us both, then disappeared towards the front of the ship, which I vaguely recalled was called the prow.
‘Do you think he’s alright?’ I asked Zali.
‘He’s pretty shaken up about what he did to Icarus, but he’ll be fine. Eventually,’ she answered, without much conviction.
We reached the huge spoked wheel on the quarterdeck of the Tethys and I laid my hands on the cool wood, gripping two of the spokes. The sound of roaring waves filled my ears immediately, and the salty smell of the ocean washed over me. I was grinning before I realized it. Where are we? I projected the thought at the ship, closing my eyes. The waves roared louder, but I heard nothing else. Then, with a slight lurch, the ship dropped and Zali squeaked beside me.
‘Dora? What did you do?’
‘I don’t know!’ The ship kept dropping, swirling pastel colored clouds whizzing by on each side of us, and I threw my will at it, begging it to level out. It did, mercifully, and I gripped the spokes harder as we lurched forward again.
‘You need to spend more time with the ship if you want to understand and control it,’ came a monotone voice from behind us. I tried to stop myself from rolling my eyes as I turned to face my mom.
‘Right, yeah, cos we’ve got loads of time,’ I said sarcastically.
‘It doesn’
t need to be a long time. Just quality time.’
‘What would you know about quality time?’ I spat, before I could help myself. She stared at me, then spoke quietly.
‘Pandora, I am on this ship with you, whether you want me to be or not. I can help you now in a way that I couldn’t before. It would be unwise to turn down that help.’
‘You could have helped me a hundred times in the last month! Just visiting once would have made me feel less abandoned!’
For a second I was sure I saw pain flash across her face, but the stoic expression was back in place so quickly that I guessed I must have imagined it.
‘I didn’t mean to make you feel abandoned and I’m sorry you felt that way. But the academy is a difficult place for me to be. One day, I will be able to explain it to you. You may not believe me, but I am glad I am here now.’
‘That makes one of us,’ I grumbled, turning away from her and back to the billowing sails.
‘May I teach you to fly the Tethys? Please?’ She asked so gently, I was taken aback.
‘Have you flown a ship before?’ I asked, turning back to her. Zali stepped aside as my mother moved to stand beside me, laying a tentative hand on the ship’s wheel.
‘No. But I have a thorough understanding of the process.’ I rolled my eyes. I had a thorough understanding of the process. Months of magical object class and geography had taught me about bonding magically with objects and how the flying ships of Olympus worked. ‘Where do you want the ship to go?’
‘Ultimately to Oceanus, but right now I think we need to pick up some supplies.’
‘I heard that you have an injured boy on the ship?’
I snapped my eyes to my mom’s, feeling immediately defensive.
‘He’s not just a boy. He’s a hero. He helped us stop the Keres Demon. We couldn’t have done it without him.’ She held my gaze levelly. ‘His name is Icarus,’ I mumbled.
My mum raised her eyebrows at me.
‘You fought a Keres demon?’
‘Yes. It’s…’ I faltered. Should I tell her it was in a box on-board the ship? I knew nothing about her, and I didn’t know if she could be trusted with information like that. ‘Yes. We all defeated it, including Icarus,’ I finished eventually.
‘Icarus is the boy with the wings?’
‘Yes. He is a descendant of Prometheus. And he was injured fighting the demon.’
‘Injured how?’
‘His arm was badly broken. It doesn’t look like he’ll be able to use it for some time.’ I deliberately neglected to mention that the damage to his arm had been done by the manticore shifter currently pacing the other end of the deck.
‘Well if he is a descendant of Prometheus he should be able to take ambrosia. That would heal him very quickly.’
‘Ambrosia?’ Zali asked, excitedly. ‘I’ve heard of ambrosia. Doesn’t it kill you if you don’t have ichor in your veins?’
‘Yes,’ nodded my mother. ‘And it is dangerous even for demigods. It can become fatally addictive. But with Titan blood in your veins, you should be able to handle it.’ I scowled. It sounded risky, and we didn’t know how severe Icarus’s injuries were yet. But it wasn’t my decision.
‘And where would we find ambrosia?’ I asked.
‘The same place you’ll find any other supplies. Any marketplace will have a seller with ambrosia, for the right price.’
I thought quickly about my map of Olympus. South Gemini was the closest safe city. Please take us to South Gemini, I thought at the ship, squeezing the spokes.
‘I’ve asked the ship to take us to South Gemini.’ I hated to sound like I didn’t know, or that I needed her help, but I didn’t know how to stop the question. ‘Is that a good place to go?’
‘Yes, that will do fine. But do you know the ship is actually taking you there?’
I winced, doubtfully. I longed to say yes, but the truth was that the ship could be going absolutely anywhere. I had no idea.
‘No.’
‘The ship’s wheel or the main mast are the easiest places to feel a connection. As you have Oceanus’s blood in your veins you can probably feel a connection with the ship wherever you are, but let’s start by making it as easy as possible. Hold the spokes, close your eyes, and picture Olympus. Do you know what a map of Olympus looks like?’ I gave her my best sarcastic look.
‘It’s been a few months since you dumped me completely alone in a world I knew absolutely nothing about,’ I said. ‘I have learned a few things since then. And I’m already holding the wheel.’ I watched her face for another flicker of reaction but her eyes just seemed to tighten slightly in annoyance.
‘Fine. Then picture Gemini. Specifically picture South Gemini. If you know it so well then you can pick a particular port. The ship should give you a feeling of affirmation. A positive, happy, warm feeling. If the ship doesn’t respond and you feel nothing then it’s not going to Gemini.’
I sighed, aware I was being over-dramatic but unable to help it, and gripped the spokes of the ship’s wheel in my hands even harder. The longer my skin connected with the wood, the more my water power hummed to life. The sense of the ocean flooded all of my senses suddenly and it was delicious. My moody sighs turned into joyous inhalations as I smelled the churning waves far far below us, felt the rush of life flowing in parallel to the ship. With an effort I dragged the image of the map of Olympus back into my mind. I concentrated as hard as I could on the south island of Gemini. Not that I would admit it to my mom if I could help it, but I had no idea where the actual ports were on South Gemini. But as long as we got close enough to the shore, I’m sure we could see one. I pictured the forest realm in my mind, distinctly aware that I was guessing what it looked like. I’d only read about it, or seen glimpses in the flame dish during geography class. It must have been enough though because, as mom had said, a warm, happy feeling began to creep over me and I could swear that the ship sped up slightly, the movement barely perceptible.
‘We’re going to South Gemini.’ I didn’t open my eyes as I spoke, unwilling to let go of the connection with the ship, but I heard Zali clap her hands together.
‘Good. I would like to visit with this boy, Icarus, if I may?’ At my mom’s words, I did open my eyes, and turned slowly to face her.
‘Why?’
‘Pandora, I’m older than you may imagine and have had very close ties with the Titans for much of my life. I would be very interested to talk with a boy who is descended from Prometheus.’
I narrowed my eyes.
‘Icarus knows nothing about Prometheus. He doesn’t like to talk about his past, or his family, so no. You may not talk to him.’
‘You are a child. You cannot forbid me to talk to the other people on this ship.’ Her eyes were now more narrowed than mine were, and she pressed her lips into a thin line. Sure, she was intimidating, but I owed this woman nothing, I told myself firmly. I would give as good as I got.
‘On this ship, I’m the captain and my word goes,’ I said, staring back into her cold eyes. ‘You are not to talk to Icarus about his family. ‘
2
I had been so focused on making sure Icarus was comfortable when we’d first boarded the ship that I had just dumped my stuff in the first empty cabin that I had found. Now, as I flopped down on the mattress in the small wood-clad room, I wondered if I had been a little bit hasty. This was the first moment I’d had to myself, and now I looked around at the cabin curiously, I couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed.
The room was a quarter of the size of Icarus’s cabin, and where his was paneled in a rich, deep mahogany colored wood, mine was a pale beech color, scuffed and worn. I had a feeling he was in what would have been the captain’s quarters, as his cabin was at the very end of the corridor that ran the length of the deck, and wrapped around the end of the ship with big picture windows lining the hull, facing the direction the ship was going. My cabin had little round portholes, that did let the soft light in, but didn’t offer anywhere near
such a magnificent view. I didn’t resent Icarus for his room even a tiny bit, but since I’d just loudly told my mother that I was the captain of the ship, I felt like I could do a little better than this cabin. And there were plenty enough cabins available on the Tethys to choose from. With renewed determination, and a fresh wave of curiosity about what else there was to discover on the ship, I slung my backpack over my shoulder, pushed open the creaky little door, and set off down the dimly lit corridor in search of a better room.
I reckoned there were about twenty cabins on the deck, along with a large galley filled with ovens, cookware and crockery, and a smaller infirmary. Arketa had found a room three doors down from Icarus’s that had a huge washroom, and Zali had told me that my mum had taken the room opposite her, with an equivalently large bathtub.
I opened and closed doors, peering into rooms that mostly looked the same. They all had single bunks against the far wood-paneled wall, and basic furniture; wardrobes, chests and small desks, lining the other walls. They all had a doorway that led off to small, functional washrooms with copper sinks and bathtubs. I was going to miss having a shower, I realized. Just the thought of standing under falling water made my skin tingle. We’d only been in the air for a few hours and I already missed the water. I guess that wasn’t surprising, since I’d been living under it for months, completely surrounded by the pulsing, life-giving energy. I sighed and pulled closed another door. None of these rooms felt like my room somehow. I squashed the urge to just pick one for the sake of being able to have a rest at last, and kept going down the corridor. The cabins were getting more sparse, the bunks smaller and the washrooms more barren as I got closer to the end of the corridor. That was, until I got to the final door. The one opposite Icarus’s right at the other end of the ship. I was directly under the quarterdeck at the back of the ship, I realized, as I pushed the door open. My breath caught in my chest, the gasp not actually leaving my lips as I stepped into the room. This was Oceanus’s room. It had to be. Unlike the polished refinement of the mahogany cabin Icarus was in, this room felt the sea itself. A huge bed was against the middle far wall and its headboard was in the shape of a shell, which shone like mother-of-pearl. Each side of the bedhead were picture windows as tall as me, and my mouth fell open slightly as I watched the glittering clouds corkscrewing past us. The wall on the right was lined with bookshelves, and every shelf was packed with ancient looking tomes. The smell of the ocean washed over me as I turned my head, taking in the rest of the room. The wall on the left had a tall wardrobe and what looked like a drinks cabinet, crystal glasses lined up on top, and a door. All the furniture had a weather-beaten, used sort of sense about it, and I loved it instantly. Then I noticed that at the foot of the bed was a massive chest, the scarred old wood held together with iron straps. Curiosity ripped through me, and I kicked the main door shut behind me as I rushed over to it. I dropped my bag on the floor as I knelt before the chest, disappointment surging as I picked up the heavy padlock in my hand. I concentrated, summoning a tiny whirlpool of water to my palm and feeding it carefully into the lock, like Icarus had done with his air magic. Suddenly the lock became searing hot in my hands and I yelped as I dropped it. Clearly there was no point tampering with it, I thought as I scowled at it, now glowing red. I consoled myself by heading through the door into the washroom, where I let out another yelp, this time of happiness. Every wall was made from white marble, glistening as though wet, but when I reached out to touch the cool surface it was dry. Instead of a bathtub, the back wall of the room was just like those in the elemental classrooms, with a wall of water cascading gently down the smooth white stone. At the bottom of the waterfall the water collected into a pool that was sunk into the floor. Two basins were carved from a bank of marble that jutted out of the other wall, under a long window that let in light from the incredible, sparkling sky outside.