by Maira Dawn
“You, love, are the best man in the world. I can’t believe what you are offering me. But this is an under-the-sea home.”
Dylan’s eyebrow rose. “Yeah.”
“I want an on-the-mountaintop home, preferably in West Virginia. I want the warm sun on my face and the soft breeze brushing at my hair. Most of all, I want my strong, dependable, nature-loving husband happy by my side.”
Dylan laid his hand on Skye’s shoulders and put his forehead to hers. “Are you sure, darlin’? Look at everything you’re giving up.”
“Look at everything you’ve already given me. Home, family, love.”
“It ain’t enough. I can’t keep you—it—safe, not like here.”
“We can make it safe. You and me, Wade, and the kids. We can make our own safe place.”
Dylan gave her an uncertain stare, so she pressed on, “Love, you are as good as the warm sun, as unstoppable as the hilltop breeze, and if you decide you’re going to do something, you will.” Skye brushed a bit of hair off his face. “But you’re right, we’ve been surviving. It’s time to start living.”
“How? How do we do better than what we’ve always been doing?”
“Look at what the Atlantians have. They can help us, teach us. Then we can make our own world better.”
Dylan pulled Skye into a warm embrace. “We can make Cole’s Mountain as safe as here.”
“We can start there.”
Dylan’s chest rumbled as he chuckled, and Skye smiled at the sound, snuggling deeper.
“You have grand plans, darlin’.”
“Better grand than none, I say.”
Dylan pulled away just enough to tip his head back to Skye’s. “Grand it is, then.”
He brought his lips to her, brushing them with his before saying, “Cole’s Mountain—here we come.”
Forty-Eight
Scars
The next morning, when Wade entered the kitchen, Dylan sipped at something the Atlantians drank for breakfast instead of coffee.
“That stuff Ian suggested any good?” he asked, nodding at Dylan’s cup.
Dylan grimaced. “Naw. I’m drinking it mostly out of habit.”
Wade leaned against a cupboard and crossed his arms. “This is an amazing place, no doubt. But I have yet to eat or drink anything decent.”
“You got that right, brother,” Dylan said, laughing. “Give me a rabbit burned over a campfire any day.”
“Well, give me a cup of that anyway. I need somethin’ or my whole day will be off-kilter.”
Dylan waved to the wall beside him. A spout and buttons extended from its smooth, stone-like surface.
“I just pushed things until something came out,” he said.
Wade grumbled as he grabbed a cup off of an open shelf and started punching the buttons for himself. He stopped when liquid began to flow out of the nozzle. When it stopped, he sniffed the brew and made a face.
Dylan understood. Their normal cup of strong black coffee had a dark, earthy scent. Whatever this was, it smelled lighter and sweeter. It threw a body off.
“Just imagine it as something different, and it’ll go down better,” he told his brother.
“But where’s the kick? I need my kick.” Wade stared at his cup with a woeful expression.
Dylan shrugged. “I’m still waiting.”
A dolphin swam by the window, drawing the men’s attention.
“Every time I look out a window, I’m surprised I’m under the ocean,” Wade said.
“Not me. I can’t forget we are under tons of water.”
“It’s eerie.”
“Skye says it’s beautiful.”
Wade shot Dylan a glance. “You better get that woman of yours home. She’s gettin’ weird.”
Dylan, who had been drinking the last of his “coffee”, choked a little as he laughed. “I plan to.”
Dylan turned to Wade, changing the subject. “Brother, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”
Wade raised an eyebrow.
“These people,” Dylan continued, “sure can do some amazing things.”
“Sure can.”
“They got rid of the scars.”
“What? How?”
“They just waved that little machine over them. I got skin like a baby now.”
“Now that’s hard to believe.”
Dylan pulled up his shirt.
“Well, I’ll be,” Wade murmured.
“That’s what I said. I still expect them to be there, they’ve been on me so long.”
“Part of you.”
“I assumed so, but I’m doing just fine without them. I feel like a new man.”
Wade folded his arms and leaned against the counter. “I noticed somethin’ was different. I just reckoned it had to do with finding Skye.”
“I wanted you to know. In case, you wanted the same before we left.”
Wade turned and looked out the window, glancing toward the surface—toward the sun—an almost unconscious check for the time. But it was impossible to see the sun this far down in the water.
Dylan waited. It was Wade’s way to make quick decisions, even on something as big as this. When his brother turned back to him, he’d made up his mind.
“I’m thinking I’ll keep ‘em,” Wade said. “They aren’t as bad as yours. And yeah, he was your father, but he wasn’t your blood. He was mine, and sad to say, these scars are the only thing he left me.” He ran a finger over a burn mark on his forearm. “They remind me to settle down when the more unkind personality traits he handed down to me start takin’ the lead.”
“You sure? “Dylan gave him a hard stare.
Wade chuckled. “This sparkling personality is hard work.” His expression turned serious. “We got kids now, and I don’t ever want to treat them like he treated us.”
“I know, brother.” He put a hand on Wade’s shoulder.
Dylan understood. No one knew Wade or their upbringing better than he did. When it came to battle, or fighting of any kind, Wade was fierce. That hard gleam would flame in his eyes, and he was ready to mix it up—whether he should or not.
“And if you ever change your mind, the Atlantians will be here,” Dylan assured him.
Waded nodded. “Now let’s stop this lallygagging and get us some bad guys.”
Within the hour, they were all back in the water vehicle, heading for the surface. But this time an army surrounded them.
Kelsey bumped Jesse’s arm. “Look!”
Atlantians stretched as far as the eye could see. Some rode the same type of water motorcycle as Ian, and some traveled in larger open sea vehicles holding twenty to forty of them.
Dylan smiled.
That mad scientist would never know what hit him.
Forty-Nine
To Battle
The entire company rose out of the sea as one. If any human would’ve been standing there, Dylan was sure they would have needed to change their pants.
He’d been in more battles than he could count, and no matter how often it seemed weighted in their favor, there was always that small doubt saying his side wouldn’t be the winning side.
But not today.
There was no way he and the Atlantians would lose.
Dylan smiled as he stood in the midst of the army, strapping his weapons onto his body.
Skye scanned the sea of warriors gathered in the parking lot by the beach as they prepared for battle. Somewhere in that bunch of men was Dylan, and she wanted one more glimpse of her fiancé before he left.
She raised on her tiptoes, straining to see him. Just when she was about to give up, a line of men jostled each other to one side, creating an opening.
Dylan broke free of them and strode toward her. Head up, shoulders back, and giving her that slow smile of his.
Her toes curled into the sand.
“Darlin’.”
“I was hoping you’d come over and say goodbye.”
“Of course. Wouldn’t leave without thi
s.” He bent, molding her lips to his, and ignoring the teasing calls of the men behind him.
Skye relaxed into him. After today, they could go home, and she could expect this every morning.
Dylan pulled away and tipped his head to hers. “You’ll stay here, right? So I’ll know you’re safe.”
“Of course.” Skye took in the small contingent of Atlantians assigned to protect Sonora, Kelsey, and herself as well as any injured. While she had been more than willing to stay at Dylan’s side, Kelsey was happier on the sidelines, treating the wounded. And Sonora’s husband was barely comfortable with her on land.
Now Dylan was asking her to stay here for the second time today. She understood. Too much had already happened to them.
When he gave her a doubtful look, she said, “I will stay here, I promise—really promise.”
He pulled her tight again and gave her a quick kiss. He ran a finger down the edge of her hair and gazed into her eyes. “I love ya, darlin’.”
Then, with a soft groan, he turned and walked away.
Feeling bereft over the sudden loss of his muscular arms, Skye wrapped her hugged herself as she watched him disappear into the army of men.
Kelsey walked over to her. “Don’t worry. It won’t be long. Devon has nothing compared to these guys.”
The two women leaned against each other, as the company started its short walk to the Marine Center.
Ian once more sent his love to Sonora, wrapping her in it as he walked behind his father, Jorah, who led the army. Beside him were the Cole brothers and a few of his father’s most trusted warriors, but Ian kept his eyes forward, lost in thought.
Devon Shade. The man who tortured him for months in the guise of medical experiments. Ian barely survived it.
Even now, it haunted him.
His people may be able to get rid of physical scars, but the mental ones had to be taken care of the old-fashioned way.
Ian tried to keep the worst from Sonora, but she knew. He often woke in the middle of the night with tears rolling down his face. It was her soft embrace, her sweet kisses, that helped him get through those black times.
Ian would have been happy to kill the man before they had returned to Atlantis months ago, but he’d refrained. Though his wife and her family were horrified over what Devon was, they hadn’t been ready for such drastic action. And it seemed Devon would spend the rest of his life in jail.
Ian let that be enough for him.
But somehow that evil man escaped the tight bands of justice.
Perhaps that is how it was supposed to be. To give Ian the chance to have sweet revenge for himself.
Ian tightened his hand on his weapon.
Devon Shade would die on this day.
Jesse walked alongside his mountain brethren, his eyes bright. He’d hoped to be part of this momentous battle—had held his breath as he asked—and whooped like a crazy man when Dylan said yes.
Of course, like everything with Dylan, he needed to agree with a million cautions. His father made sure he took the battle seriously and went over every likely scenario and even made Jesse swear to do everything he or Wade said.
After that, they talked weapons.
Mom was not so happy.
She was, in fact, livid. Livid was a word they recently discussed in reading class, and it fit her feelings over the matter perfectly.
When Dylan told her he’d given Jesse permission to walk with them, her lips thinned and lost all color. Her eyes had gotten a bright, hard look.
She’d grabbed Jesse and held him to her and said, “No!”
Dylan gently pried her off Jesse and pulled her into the bedroom where they “talked”—with loud voices.
But when they emerged, she seemed at peace with it.
“I gotta learn sometime, Mom,” he’d said. “This battle will be better than most. Everyone thinks so.”
“So I keep hearing. And I realize you’re bigger and stronger now but, Jesse, you’re my boy. This isn’t ever going to be easy for me, not even when you’re a grown man.”
Jesse gave her a lopsided smile. “I know. You love me.”
Skye ruffled his hair even though she needed to raise her hand almost to her eye level to do so. “You know I do.”
He never tired of hearing her say it. His new family was the opposite of the severe conditions Skye had saved him from. Hearing her proclaim her motherly love for him meant the world was right and good.
It’s what made him want to take part in the battle—so the world was good for other people, too.
Devon needed to be stopped.
Now, Jesse marched along the rest of them—Human and Atlantian—so excited he wasn’t sure his feet actually touched the ground.
On top of that, he replayed the warmth of Kelsey’s quick hug before he’d left and felt his heart thump extra hard.
Much as he’d like to start up something with her—if she liked him too—Dylan had explained that a man needed to learn a lot before he could protect and care for a woman nowadays. Dating was a serious business, not just for fun anymore.
He may be too young now—but he was learning, and someday . . .
Sonora put down the bandages she had arranged and walked over to Skye and Kelsey as they stood seeing the men off.
She searched for a glimpse of her husband’s dark hair and found it—maybe. It was so hard to see the front of the line.
But it didn’t matter so much. She could still feel Ian’s emotion as he marched away from her. His love surrounded her like a warm, fuzzy blanket.
Sonora would’ve smiled except for that hard edge of darkness hanging just beyond his love for her. The blackness had been a part of him since she had helped rescue him from Uncle Devon’s lab.
She shuddered, remembering her first sight of him sitting in the too-small cage, injured and sick.
Her beloved uncle had done that to him. To this day she couldn’t believe it, even though her uncle had admitted it himself.
Sonora knew what the darkness in Ian meant. Her uncle wouldn’t make it through the day.
She was okay with that. The only judgment left in this world was the judgment they made for themselves. Uncle Devon was an evil man. There was no doubt about that. And evil needed to be destroyed.
Even though her small amount of Atlantian blood didn’t allow her to share the full strength of her emotion with her husband, she sent it anyway. Her husband needed to know she was on his side and would forgive any action he needed to take today. They were Jatta Arra—together forever.
He sent his immediate response, so overwhelming she gasped.
Relief that she would accept the inevitable. Appreciation and love in wave after wave.
“Be careful, my love,” she murmured.
Skye reached for Sonora’s hand, squeezing it. “This is hard, isn’t it? Seeing them off like this.”
“It is, but when this day is over, we will be home and the world will be a better place.”
“It will,” Kelsey added. “And we can be proud of making it that way.”
The three women watched until the last person faded from their view. They pushed their worry aside and turned toward the infirmary tent sitting on the blacktop under the shadow of Spire Cliff and prepared it under the guidance of the Atlantian doctors.
Fifty
Into the Fray
Dylan and his group of mountain men had found a high place. From there, they could see the major battle and anyone who tried to escape it.
This suited Wade just fine. From what those Atlantians said, they’d be through the building in a few minutes and that would leave him nothing to do. And there wasn’t anything he loved more on God’s green earth than a good ole man-to-man fight. And from what Skye had told them, getting rid of the jackasses in the Marine Center couldn’t happen soon enough.
Wade blew out a noisy breath. And people thought he was bad.
He dug into his front pocket for a few pieces of candy he’d stashed in there earlier and
popped one into his mouth before handing another to Jesse.
“We’re gonna have some fun today, boy.”
Jesse sent him a thin smile as he took the candy.
Dylan scowled at Wade. “We’re here ‘cause it needs doin’. Not for fun.”
“You think what you think and I’ll think what I want.” Wade rubbed his hands together. “I ain’t gonna rough anyone up too bad unless I have to. It’s a way to let off some steam is all.”
“I wish a fight didn’t make you so happy. But your rowdiness does always help.” Dylan looked down and kicked at the ground. “I can’t say I ain’t feeling some of that myself. But we don’t need to pass something like that on to the boy. We only fight when it needs doing, and that’s it.”
“Of course, brother, of course. Jess knows that, don’t ya, Jess?”
Jesse nodded. “I do. And the butterflies are swirling so thick in my stomach, I’m feelin’ more sick than anything else. I’m not sure I’m going to consider fighting fun.”
“That’s good,” Wade said as he chuckled. “No worries, D. The boy had his head on straight.”
“That’s good, Jesse.” Dylan clapped him on the back. “That’s real good.”
Jesse threw a glance back toward the beach. “I wish I could see Mom and Kelsey from here. I’m worried about them. Can you spot them, Dad? Your eyes are better than anyone’s.”
Dylan scanned the beach. “Seems all quiet.” He turned back to the boy. “Worrying is part of battling, but you need to keep your mind on what you’re doing. As much as you can, anyway. Even a slight distraction can cost ya.”
“Speaking of—,” Wade said, “heads up.”
Below them, Ian and Jorah’s army broke free of the brush and trees to cross the parking lot to the domed building. Their dark blue armor shone in the early morning sun, and each man carried a rifle-like laser weapon.
Ian had explained that his army would have their weapons set to stun. That way they could fire at will and sort the good and the bad out later. It would make for a quicker and cleaner attack.