by Maira Dawn
Ian laid the picture he carried on the counter and tapped it with his finger. "Did you find out anything about this?"
"I'd never seen anything like that box before you brought the picture round the first time. Not really the kind of thing I deal in here. So I reckoned I wouldn't have any answers for ya."
Ian slumped, leaning on the counter. He'd known it was a long shot. But this was the only lead right now, his others had dried up.
"But then I started thinking." Rick chuckled, "Something I try not to do too much or too long. My family's been on these waters a long time, and you hear things. Stories. Even my grandma, she tells me stories. She used to say, 'Rickie.' That's what she likes to call me. 'Rickie,' she'd say, 'there's a lot more to this world then you or I know.' My parents used to laugh at her, but I never did. She used to fish out there with her daddy. She knew things. Told me a few of them."
Ian stilled. Rick laid his arm next to Ian's and picked up a black light. If Ian was going to leave, he needed to do it now.
Rick gave him a hard stare before clicking the black light on. The light showed what Ian knew it would. With little variation, Rick's skin was a dark, eerie blue color.
Ian's was not. The slight luminescence of his skin enhanced tenfold beneath the light creating a brilliant effect. Though mostly blue, the color was radiant with patterned lines and dots in dark reds and purple scattering his skin. Even a few flecks of gold caught the light.
It seemed to have an almost hypnotizing effect on Rick, similar to the stare Ian had seen humans give tanks full of glowing jellyfish. Those tanks were something he’d learned to stay well away from.
"Wow, man, wow. This is trippin'. Just like Grandma said." Rick shot Ian a look before going back to Ian's arm. "You're like this all over?"
"Yep."
"Born like this?"
"Yes."
When Ian pulled his arm away, Rick grunted his disappointment.
Rick's eyes lit up. Ian sighed. He knew what was coming next.
"Do you grow a tail and everything?" Rick asked.
It was always the first question. But on one thing, Rick was right. There were always stories circulating in the coastal towns. How could there not be? No matter how hard the Atlantians tried to stay hidden, there were enough humans on the water nowadays, they sighted them from time to time. So the council had decided to use that to their favor. If it would help Ian get information on the traitor or the Artifact he'd stolen, he was permitted to tell people about himself. And whenever Ian did, this was their first question. "No, we don't grow tails."
Rick looked disappointed. "So this Artifact. It’s really your people's."
"Yes, it was stolen from us."
"I knew it, dude! That ain't right, that's what I think. So I asked around, and I might have something. A buddy of mine works at the Natural History Museum over near the city. He says he's seen something like this in the basement storage there.
Ian's heart thumped. "Here? Right here at the museum a half-hour away?"
"Yeah bro, that one." Rick stood and crossed his arms. "Ready to be totally amped? He said they're getting it ready to loan to The Marine Center here in town. They're going to open an exhibit with that as the centerpiece."
Ian stepped back, stunned. A relief he hadn't felt since the beginning of this hunt filled him. Ian put a hand to the countertop and easily jumped the counter. Rick's eyes rounded when Ian grabbed Rick and hugged him, then thumped him on the back. Rick accepted the heartfelt, if somewhat crushing, appreciation with grace.
"I have searched the world for this, Rick. Followed the person who stole it to every single continent before losing their trail. Now, you have found it! You will be rewarded."
While Rick stammered his appreciation, another thought came to Ian. If the Artifact landed practically in the Atlantian's back yard, was the traitor too? "Is there anything about who brought it in?"
"There was a tag with the address on the box. Doesn't seem to be anyone special. I asked around a bit and only heard good things about the dude. He just lives down the road here." Rick pointed to the direction as he handed Ian the address.
Ian took the paper and stared at it speechless. He could hardly read the address because of his trembling hands. If only his father was close enough to share the news.
Could this really be the traitor? The one who had taken what was not his? The Artifact. Something crucial for both his people and humans. If only for that, the man needed to be caught. But this traitor was behind the murder of his own people, even if he did use humans to do it. Ian shuddered as he remembered the mutilated bodies of friends and family that had been sent out to sea to mock the entire Atlantian people. If the man on this paper was the traitor, he could finally stop him.
Ian smiled and enthusiastically shook Rick's hand, but after noticing the man's small grimace of pain, loosened his grip. "Thank you! I cannot explain how important this is. I will come back with a reward for your help." Ian stared at Rick. "And about me, do I need to say..."
"Yep, I know. It's nothin' but tall tales. I wish ya'll the best, dude."
Ian pounded Rick on the back again as he left. Rick stood at the door watching as Ian walked to his car. A bemused look on his face as he rubbed his shoulder.
This is What Happens…
Chapter Thirty-seven
Just a few buildings from the pawnshop Ian stood in, Sonora sat drinking a cup of coffee at the coffee shop. A small restaurant, it contained less than fifteen tables on the inside and four on the sidewalk in front of the large windows facing the street. Couches and stuffed chairs broke up the tables to create a homey appeal, and the aroma of roasted coffee and sweet treats added to the illusion.
It was a slow time of the day, and other than the customers who took their orders to go, Sonora practically had the place to herself. Only one other table was taken by two moms who chatted as their babies slept in their strollers.
Sonora sat at her table alone, her laptop opened in front of her as she finished a college assignment. She chewed her lip as she brainstormed the perfect sentence to end her latest paper. Why was the last sentence always the hardest?
She had to laugh at herself. This is what she’d wanted, to go to college, so she shouldn’t complain. Sure, waiting tables, most days, may be easier than writing her thousandth report but it wouldn’t get her what she needed in the long run.
What she needed to do was tell her family about her secret college classes, instead of pretending she worked so much. Sonora hated lying to them, but it was necessary to explain her time away from home. After two years, it had got old long ago. And it made her feel guilty, and it distanced her from her family. Her morning walks with her grandfather, and breakfast around the table were regulated to the times she could talk about her day.
Last night, Sonora tried again to tell them. But when she merely mentioned looking into classes, her mother had panicked. So she bit her lips and kept silent. At least she could talk about it to Sierra.
Sonora sighed and pulled her tired eyes from the computer screen. She rubbed them and took a sip of her coffee before turning her gaze to the large window. From here, she saw the ocean just past the street and a few buildings across from her. It was really kicking up today. She wondered… No, stop. She couldn’t wonder.
But even as she berated herself, she wondered how he was doing. Had Ian moved on? She hoped so, hoped he exaggerated the whole Jata Ara thing. It would make her feel better knowing he’d found someone and lived a happy life in his underwater kingdom with a bunch of little Atlantian children.
A picture of them came to mind as they ran around the living room of his home. Half of them grey-eyed, dark-haired boys, and the other half girls, that looked just like her.
Sonora brought her hands to her face. See, this is what happened whenever she thought about Ian, and she thought about him way more than she should. Somehow it always twisted around to him and her. It’s why she hadn’t stepped foot in this part of the ocean for th
e last two years.
Sonora wasn’t sure what she would do if she did.
It wasn’t like she could swim all the way to Ian’s home, and she didn’t know its location, anyhow. The best she’s be able to do is get in the water and flail around, hoping he was somewhere near watching for her. But there was one thing Sonora had been forced to admit to herself since she left Atlantis. If Ian came for her, she wasn’t certain she’d refuse him.
She might go back with him.
As she did more and more, Sonora let her mind wonder what life would have been like with him for just a few minutes before stopping herself. This was why dating never worked for her. She was stuck on a mythical man, and who would measure up to him?
Sonora watched the flow of the pedestrians outside the window. She imagined seeing his tall, broad form walking along with the others. Almost heard, the little, old-fashioned bell on the door jiggle as he walked in and caught sight of her.
When the bell did ring, and she tensed, whipping her head toward the door. A nerdy-looking young man pushed up his glasses as he entered, a computer case slung over his shoulder.
Sonora sagged against the table. What would she have done? The same problems faced them. The feelings, the connection he claimed to have for her was too overwhelming. And she would have to leave her whole life up here. It might not seem like much to an outsider, but it was hers. Just walking away, never seeing her family again, was too much.
She needed to stop this back and forth. Because It didn’t matter now. It would never matter again. In a huff, Sonora grabbed her bag and shoved her computer into it before heading out the door.
Argos
Chapter Thirty-eight
After leaving the pawnshop, Ian searched for a phone booth while he again tried to shake off the notion Sunny was near. When he finally spotted one, he slammed on his brakes, almost causing the person behind him to ram into him. The other driver sped around Ian, blaring their horn and cursing at him. Ignoring him, Ian swung open his car door and ran to the booth scooping up the phone book.
He found holding the phone book nearly impossible, given the restrictions of the attached security cable. So Ian yanked it from the wall. A tremor of excitement shuddered through Ian as he hunched over the book and ran his finger down the long list of names. Twelve people in the Tri-county area with the same last name as the one on Rick's paper.
Four of the twelve had the first name he looked for. He would go to each one until he found the man. Done with the broken phone book, Ian sat it on the phone booth floor, leaning against the glass.
Ian jumped in his car and headed to the first address. He sat there, drumming his fingers against the leather steering wheel until an SUV pulled into the driveway. A mom, dad, and two young children piled out of the vehicle. Ian didn't recognize the man. When they opened the garage full of children's outdoor toys and the front door with a key he knew they were not visitors. This was their home.
Ian drove to the second person on his list.
Was this man the traitor, Argos himself? If he were, Ian would know him on sight. But it was just as likely, the traitor sold the Artifact to a human who then gave it to the museum. If that were the case, Ian would return and talk to each one of them.
At this house, a middle-aged man came out, got the mail, and stood in his yard opening it. Ian didn't recognize him. He blew out a loud sigh and drove away.
At the third house, Ian kept his eyes glued on the dwelling after parking on the narrow lane it sat on. He laid back in the seat of his car again as he gripped the console. There was something about this one. Would he sense Argos after all this time?
The property was beautiful, well-maintained, nice size but not too large. Comfortable but didn't draw attention to itself. It's what Ian would choose if he were in hiding.
Years ago, when Ian started this search, he'd enlisted the help of a private detective. Not to search, but to teach Ian. It had been a relatively new world to Ian at that time. Although he visited above the sea before, this mission required a lot more knowledge of humans and their world than he'd known. One of the things the detective taught him was how a wanted man could hide in plain sight.
Before resorting to hiring the detective, Ian had recruited the help of two Atlantian friends who were fascinated with humans. Their knowledge had been helpful for the most part, though it veered entirely off course on a few occasions, causing quite a bit of embarrassment for Ian. Even now, he had trouble holding back his laughter over the situation. Eventually, Ian took an apartment and made friends with some of his neighbors, dipping his toe into human society until he blended in without the stares. While many Atlantians visited land, there were few who had the comfort Ian now felt.
Ian scanned the pale-blue house again. Still no movement. At the neighboring pale-green home, a lanky man worked on his car in the driveway. The sound of metal on metal and cursing came from the man from time to time.
A door banged shut, and Ian's gaze shot back to the house he watched. Ian's heart thumped, and he ducked further down in his seat. An older man walked from the back of the blue house across the yard to his neighbor. He greeted the man working on the car, leaning on the vehicle as he talked.
Ian's world seemed to shift. His heart raced as he bolted upright.
It was him. The traitor, Argos. There was no doubt.
He had found him. The most hated Atlantian alive, both among his people and surely any human that knew about him.
Almost numb, Ian's gaze tracked Argos as he reached under the open hood and tinkered with the engine. He laughed with the neighbor and thumped him on the back before walking back to his home.
Argos stopped for a moment and looked out to the water. Then scanned the area as if he sensed someone watching him. Ian ducked again but eyed Argos as he turned for his door.
Ian contemplated the plan. He would take Argos by force, if necessary, and interrogate him. He wanted answers, and he wanted the Artifact.
Ian had already staked out a secluded area, he would take Argos. Once he got what he wanted, they would go to Atlantis for Argos to stand trial.
Ian waited for the right moment to leave the car. He wouldn't have this going wrong now.
Ian ran a hand over his face. Argos' appearance had surprised him. He looked old, even for a human. It was rumored that could happen to Atlantians who moved to land, that they would age more like humans did, but Ian hadn't prepared himself for such a difference. If he hadn't been staring right at the man, he would not have recognized him.
A woman came out of the green house, walked down the front stairs, and shook a rug before going back in. She resembled the traitor. Was she his daughter? He'd made a life here, a good one.
Ian wondered if he was truly happy or merely indifferent about life. What if Sunny didn’t have to leave her home? Would she accept him then? She’d alluded to as much. Ian squinted up at the sun. Could he give up centuries of life for a few mere decades, even if it was with his Jata Ara.
Shaken by the thought, Ian shoved it away and focused on his mission. He scanned the houses again. Still, only the neighbor man was out.
Ian got out of his car and walked up the driveway. When the lanky man raised his head from under the car hood, Ian gave him a smile and a wave. After a moment's hesitation, the man smiled and waved back.
In Argos' house, a light in the back of the house came on. Ian headed there as if it was something he did every day.
Ian tensed as he rounded the corner and stopped by the rear entrance door. Through it, he could see Argos. He stood at a countertop, chopping vegetables, a large knife in his hand.
Argos looked even older now Ian was closer and smaller somehow. In his prime, he'd been every bit as big as Ian. But he had lost muscle, and though it seemed unlikely to Ian, Argos seemed shorter too. A sliver of sympathy ran through Ian before he shook it off.
The old man was no threat to him.
Ian used his knuckle to rap on the door. The traitor looked up. His eyes
widened, and he paled. He quickly glanced around, then at the knife he held.
For a moment, Argos stared at the weapon. But after that brief hesitation, he slowly laid it on the countertop. Ian knew then there would be no fight. His tight muscles eased. He did not want to fight an old man, especially one he used to call friend, and sometimes brother. He could only hope the interrogation went as smoothly.
When Argos opened the door, the two men stared at each other for a moment.
Ian was the first to speak. "Argos."
Argos nodded. "I go by Blake now. Blake Karras.”
Busted
Chapter Thirty-nine
Sonora stood at her sink, filling a glass of water and frowning at the unfamiliar car her grandfather just climbed in. She couldn’t make out the driver, except for the fact he was tall and brawny. She squinted. There was something familiar about the set of his shoulders. Oh, for heaven’s sake, she had Ian on the brain today. Just because she didn’t recognize this guy as a friend of her grandfather’s meant nothing. But, it was odd, Grandpa hadn’t mentioned going anywhere today.
“Mom!”
“Here!” Her mother’s voice floated to her from the living room.
Sonora walked to the archway between the two rooms. “Did grandpa mention he was going anywhere today? I saw him get in a strange car.”
Azurine looked up from the skirt she was hemming. “No. Where would he be going, today of all days, on your sister’s wedding day?”
“I know. That’s why I thought it was weird. But I guess Grandpa has time before it starts tonight.”
“Did you see who he was with? I hope it wasn’t Ralph. They always gab so much they forget the time.”
“I didn’t recognize the car and the driver definitely wasn’t Ralph. He was too young.”
“Go ask your dad. Maybe Dad said something to him.”