by L. M. Brown
“I tried to warn you, Finn,” Cari said.
The world changed again and they found themselves back on the island. Finn collapsed to his knees as his stomach revolted against the sight of his own dead body. His father held his hair out of the way as he vomited, tears streaming down his face.
“I won’t let them hurt you,” King Nereus assured him.
Finn gave a shaky nod and let his father help him rise. What are we going to do?
“Negotiating with such monsters is not an option,” King Nereus said. “But how can we evacuate the island when it is already discovered?”
“Can you transport us all to the ocean?” Finn asked.
Cari shook her head. “No, I’m afraid not.”
“Why not?”
“My powers were syphoned to raise the city, which means I’m much weaker now than I would normally be.”
“I thought raising the city was supposed to increase all your powers?”
“It was, but those of us who opposed the decision to raise the city found that our powers were taken first for that purpose and drained almost completely. As such, it will take longer for them to be restored, even with the boost from the world seeing Atlantis. I could transport the two of you, as I did just now, but not everyone. There are several hundred mer on this island, and even if we combined the powers of all the immortals who would see you safe, it would not be enough.”
“You mean there’s nothing you can do to help us?”
“No, I believe my grandfather can assist,” Cari said as she gestured to the man beside her. “This is Antar, God of Space and Time. He has the power to stop time for the humans here, to give the mer a chance to escape back into the ocean.”
Antar nodded. “My powers are not what they used to be. The time I can give you is limited.”
Cari pointed back to the city. “I would suggest you head to the palace, where the remaining mer are gathered, and lead your people back to the water. We’ll stay and watch for the humans, and when we see they are too close for your safety, Antar will stop time.”
“I’ll be able to give you about an hour,” Antar said. “I would recommend you hurry.”
Finn and King Nereus ran back the way they had come, hoping Antar could give them enough time to get all their people to the water.
* * * *
Kyle’s head ached and one of his legs hurt even more. He wondered if he had broken a limb. He couldn’t imagine the pain of a bone breaking could be much worse than how he felt right now.
“Kyle? Are you awake?” Lynna’s voice came from his right, but he couldn’t see her from where he was and he couldn’t move.
The room they were in was dark, though he could see pretty well, as all mer could, thanks to their naturally enhanced vision, enabling them to swim in the darkness of the deep oceans.
The wall ahead of Kyle had collapsed, and the doorway was blocked by a heap of rubble outside in the corridor. Even if he could move, they were completely trapped.
“Yes. Are you okay?”
“I think so.”
“What about Cian?”
“He’s sleeping on my chest. Apparently that earthquake didn’t faze him a bit.”
Kyle would have laughed, but he hurt too much. “I think it’s safe to say that what happened was more than an earthquake. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s no water in here now, which means the gods did as they said they would and raised the city from the bottom of the ocean.”
“Oh, I noticed,” Lynna replied sarcastically. “Things were a lot better before all these immortals started waking up. Why couldn’t they leave us in peace? We never hurt them. We’re peaceful.”
“I know, but you have to remember, not all of them want us out of Atlantis. Some wish to help us, they have helped us. Without Medina and Caspian, I’d not have two amazing men in my life.”
“But the ones who want us to leave seem to be the ones winning this battle,” Lynna pointed out. “We mer can’t live on land, not and be happy.”
“I’m happy,” Kyle said, “and you could be, too, if you lived in England with me.”
“I want to live in the ocean and nothing you can say will ever change my mind.”
Kyle could tell Lynna meant every word. His baby sister was all grown up, and whether he liked it or not, he had to let her make her own decisions. “We’ll find you somewhere safe to live as soon as we get out of here. I think you have to agree that Atlantis is no longer an option, not for any of the mer.”
Lynna sighed loudly. “But if the sunken city is no longer safe, where is?”
“I don’t know,” Kyle admitted quietly. “The oceans aren’t what they used to be.”
* * * *
Finn and King Nereus arrived at the palace to find Justin gathering everyone into the king’s audience chamber.
“Father?” Justin frowned at him in obvious confusion. “What are you doing back here? I thought you were going to negotiate with the humans.”
King Nereus strode into the center of the room. “I have it on the authority of the Goddess of Prophecy that such a course of action will endanger us even more.”
“Not us,” Finn argued. “Me.”
King Nereus shook his head. “It’s clear that if the humans were to find out about our existence it will endanger all of our people. You might have been the one in the vision, but I have no doubt there would be more. The humans would hunt us down, one by one.”
Finn hadn’t thought about it like that.
“We need to get everyone off the island and into the water before the humans arrive,” King Nereus said.
“What about the cameras watching?” Justin asked. “If a large group of people suddenly disappear into the ocean, even the dimmest reporter will figure out the truth.”
“The Goddess of Prophecy and the God of Space and Time are watching the humans. Antar can freeze time for us, but only for an hour.”
“An hour?” Justin sucked in his breath through his teeth. “It’ll take twice as long just to reach the edge of the island. We’ll be spotted by those helicopters before we ever make it to the water.”
“What about the tunnels?” Finn asked. “Are any of them still functional?”
Justin shrugged. “I don’t know. The ones we’ve checked have all collapsed, but I know there must be more I’m not familiar with. You probably know of dozens that I’ve never used.”
“I’ll go check the ones I know about.” Finn took two steps toward the corridor before he remembered he hadn’t checked the room for Kyle. He guessed he was more upset by the vision of his possible future than he had thought. A quick glance around the room revealed no sign of Kyle, his sister or her mate.
“Kyle isn’t here,” Justin said, accurately guessing who he searched for. “We believe there are mer trapped on the floor between this one and the lower ones where the temples are located. If Kyle was trying to get his family to England, chances are, that’s where they are.”
Finn was torn. He wanted to search for Kyle. He needed to hold him in his arms, but he was one of the few mer who knew where many of the secret passages were located. Delwyn had had an uncanny knack for finding the tunnels, and the two of them had explored them for hours. As a prince, Finn had access to every area of the palace and he had made the most of it.
For the first time Finn understood what it meant to be his father’s heir and to put the good of the people before his own needs. Even though Justin would now take over the position of King from their father, Finn had been raised to rule Atlantis.
“I’ll be checking the tunnel from the kitchen to the gathering grounds, then the ones leading from the royal family’s chambers. If you find Kyle, send word to me.”
“I will,” Justin assured him.
Finn ran through the palace, wishing he could move as fast as he did when he swam.
The tunnel from the back of the larder in the main kitchen appeared to be in good shape at first. Finn opened the door easily and stepped into the darkness.
He quickly navigated his way down the winding tunnel, hope flaring with every step he took. A third of the way into the tunnel he found himself face-to-face with a wall of rock. This route was impassable, and he backtracked, eager to move on to the next tunnel.
Four routes later, and Finn was no further on in finding a way out of the palace. The raising of the city had caused major damage to the foundations of the building. He suspected it was only a matter of time before the entire roof collapsed on top of them. The sooner they got out of there, the better. He needed to find a safe way to lead everyone to the ocean.
When he had run out of tunnels to check from the royal family rooms, he headed to the staff quarters. There weren’t as many routes out of that part of the palace, but he hoped one of them might have survived.
The first one was completely inaccessible. The room it was accessed from no longer existed. A heap of stone blocked both the room and the tunnel.
“Prince Finn?”
Finn nearly barreled into the man standing in his path. He didn’t recognize him, although he gave off an aura of authority.
“I have a gift for you,” the man said.
“What sort of gift?” Finn backed away a little. He wasn’t sure whether to trust the stranger or not.
“You can trust me,” he said, almost as if he had read Finn’s mind. “My name is Andaman and I am the Atlantean God of the Forge.”
Finn recognized the name from Delwyn’s reports of recent events in Atlantis. “You gave the mer their armor for the battle against Mariana, didn’t you?”
“Yes. I have always been a friend of the merpeople and am grateful for their continued acceptance of my gifts. It is what helped me remain in this world when so many of my people slept. But there is no time for such talk. You must lead your people back to the water before the humans discover your presence.”
“I know, but the tunnels are all blocked.”
“Yes, which is why I’ve brought you this.” Andaman held out a large hammer. “I would recommend the tunnel leading from the kitchens to the gathering grounds will be the quickest to clear. Only twenty yards of the tunnel is blocked. The rest, on both sides, is undamaged.”
“It’ll take hours to remove the rubble.”
“Not with the hammer of the gods,” Andaman replied. “Give it a swing on the pile through there.”
Finn took the hammer and found it surprisingly light in his hand. He struck the tool on the pile of rocks and watched a huge chunk of it disappear in a cloud of dust. “Whoa, did I do that?”
“You did, indeed,” Andaman said. “Now, go clear the route to the sea. The gathering grounds as you call them, were farming lands for the Atlanteans. The fields are currently located about five miles from the ocean. Tell your people to wait at the far end of the tunnel. When you’re all there, call out for Antar and he will appear and freeze time for one hour, which should give you all time to reach the water, providing you run.”
“What if the humans arrive here before we get everyone through the tunnel?” Finn asked.
“That is why you must hurry.”
Andaman vanished, leaving Finn alone with the hammer.
“Well, don’t just stand there.” Andaman’s voice echoed through the corridor and spurred Finn into moving.
Finn raced back through the palace to the kitchens and into the first tunnel he had tried. When he reached the collapsed roof, he swung the hammer at the rock, and like before, the hammer destroyed everything it touched, as though the stones were no more substantial than dust.
He worked his way down the tunnel with ease, occasionally glancing up to check that nothing else was about to fall in on him. Thankfully, all he could see above him was the empty rooms of the floor above. There was nothing left to drop down into the tunnel.
In a relatively short amount of time, Finn had cleared the whole tunnel, and he headed back to the audience chamber to start directing the merpeople towards the way out.
He sent three guards into the tunnel first, warning them not to go out into the open until Antar had declared it safe to do so. Then he headed down to the underground chambers, in search of his father, Justin and most importantly, Kyle.
Justin’s report about the floor below appeared to be accurate. The rooms were in a far worse state of repair than those above.
Guards were carefully lifting away stones, trying to gain access to the stairs leading down.
“Here… Let me handle that,” Finn called as he pushed his way to the front. He swung the hammer at the stones and they vanished instantly.
Everyone in the room gasped in astonishment and Finn made short work of opening the stairway.
“Kyle?” Finn shouted as he obliterated the last of the rubble. “Lynna? Are you down here?”
No answer came, and Finn hurried along the route that would lead him to Medina’s temple. He hoped Kyle hadn’t been in the temple when it was destroyed.
Finn hurried around the last corner and discovered the entrance to Medina’s temple blocked by another collapsed wall. “Kyle?” he screamed.
“Through here!”
It wasn’t Kyle’s voice, but the fact that someone had survived down here gave Finn hope that he would find his lover soon.
With a speed that would probably have been dangerous with a regular hammer, Finn quickly cleared the debris and half a dozen merpeople emerged from the room. He directed them back the way he had come, and they left him to continue his search.
This section of the building was in terrible shape and Finn spent considerable time clearing rocks from his path.
He called for Kyle repeatedly until finally he heard the voice he longed for.
“Finn? Is that you?”
“Kyle?”
“Yes, we’re through here.”
“Who’s with you?”
“Lynna and my new nephew.”
“Where’s Xane?”
“I don’t know. We’ve not seen him since before the city began to rise. His parents refused to leave.”
“From what we’ve seen, only those in the palace weren’t swept off the island when it rose. If he wasn’t here, he’ll be in the ocean with the rest of the mer.”
Finn swung his hammer at the pile of rubble separating him and Kyle. A few minutes later, a gap wide enough to crawl through had been opened.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here,” Finn called.
A few moments later, Lynna emerged with her baby safe in her arms.
Finn pointed the way he had come. “You need to go back that way. Is there anyone else down here besides you and Kyle?”
“We called out, but no one answered until you came.”
“Then I suggest we get moving.”
Finn peered into the gap, wondering what was keeping Kyle. “Are you coming, Kyle?”
“He’s hurt,” Lynna replied.
“What?” Finn hurried through the debris and into the next chamber. “Why didn’t you say you were injured?”
Kyle struggled to sit up. “I was getting around to it.”
“Sure you were,” Finn muttered as he dropped to his knees beside Kyle. One look at Kyle’s twisted limb told him it was bad.
“I think it’s broken,” Kyle said.
“I think you’re right,” Finn replied. “Come on. You can lean on me until we get you to the water.”
Kyle made no effort to move. “I’ll slow you down. You need to get Lynna and Cian out of here.”
Finn glared at Kyle. “If you think I’m leaving you, you can forget it.”
“My leg’s broken,” Kyle argued. “It’s not like a sprained ankle. Even leaning on you, it’ll hurt to move.”
“I know, but it’ll hurt you a whole lot more if the humans find you down here.”
Kyle paled. “Humans?”
“Atlantis is discovered. There’s an American military vessel off the east coast and news cameras watching from the air. We need to get everyone off the island, into the ocean and well away from this place.”
> “Fuck.”
“Yeah, so you see why you’re going to have to put up with the pain until you get to the water. Once you have your fins, you’ll be fine.”
Kyle sighed. “Finn, I need you to get Lynna and my nephew safely to the water.”
“We’re all going to the ocean,” Finn insisted.
Kyle grabbed Finn’s hand. “Do you love me?”
“You know I do. That’s why I’ve no intention of leaving you here.”
“If you love me as much as you say you do, then I want you to take my sister and the babe and get them to safety. Will you do that for me, Finn?”
Finn could barely see through his tears. How can Kyle ask me to do such a thing as leave him here?
Kyle struggled to sit up and pulled Finn into his arms. “Take care of Jake for me,” he whispered, right before he kissed Finn.
Finn could taste the salt of his tears as Kyle made love to his mouth with his lips and tongue.
By the time they parted, Finn wept without restraint, his heart aching. “I’ll come back for you. I swear it.”
Kyle opened his mouth, no doubt to argue, but Finn put his finger over Kyle’s lips, halting his words of protest.
“I am coming back to get you, and you can’t stop me. As soon as Lynna and the babe are safe, I’m going to get you out of here.”
Finn gave Kyle one last kiss, light and chaste this time, before he hurried back through the opening. He returned a moment later and thrust his hammer into Kyle’s hand. “Take this. I hope you don’t have to use it though.”
Kyle nodded, and Finn left him again.
Lynna stared at Finn as he grabbed her arm and steered her away.
“What about Kyle?” Lynna asked.
“I’m going to come back for him as soon as you’re in the water,” Finn explained.
“I’m not leaving my brother,” Lynna argued.
Finn tugged her to start moving. “You have to think of your son. Now, come on. The sooner we get you to the ocean, the quicker I can come back for Kyle.”
The reminder about getting her new baby to safety spurred Lynna into action and they ran through the chambers and corridors.
It didn’t take long for them to reach the tunnel leading out to the gathering fields, where the rest of the merpeople waited for the sign to leave.