Seabound- the Beginnin

by Maira Dawn

Sonora found her father bent over the engine of the car he was restoring, as usual. “Dad?”

  “Um?” came his muffled reply.

  “Do you know where grandpa went?”

  Mike rose and grabbed a rag to wipe his hands. “No. He waved at me as he walked off with that young fella.”

  Sonora leaned a hip on the side of the car. “Okay. Well, he probably plans on being home soon then.”

  The sound of the waves crashing on the beach caught Sonora’s attention, and she turned to look out over the water. Pain flickered over her face before she forced a smile to her lips.

  Mike studied his daughter’s face for a moment. “Sonora, why don’t we go and get some ice cream?”

  Ice cream sounded good on this already too-warm morning. However, things needed doing. “I don’t know, Dad. Mom might freak if we take off too.”

  “You let me take care of that.” Mike stepped into the house to get the okay from his wife.

  Soon after Sonora and Mike sat on a bench at their favorite ice cream stand, laughing as they tried to keep up with their dripping cones. The heat and humidity worked against them.

  After getting his cone under control, Mike gently said, “Sunny girl, it’s been two years since your accident. We keep waiting for you to go back to being the same person you were, and it just doesn’t happen. I’m worried. We’re all worried. What can we do?”

  Her father’s blunt question didn’t surprise Sonora. He liked to get right to the point. And from the time they were little, this ice cream shop had been the place of a lot of daddy-daughter talks.

  She scrunched her face before smiling at him. “I’m fine, dad. Just busy.”

  Mike wrapped an arm around his daughter and pulled her close. “You certainly are. We hardly see you anymore. You’re working a lot.”

  “Oh, um, yes. I do work a lot,” Sonora stammered. She needed to come clean at some point. Now was as good a time as any, and Dad was the one to tell. He was the most laid back of the bunch. Still, Sonora tensed as she worked up her courage.

  “Dad…” Sonora leaned away from Mike to see his face better. “Dad, the truth is, I’ve been taking some classes too.”

  Sonora hadn’t expected anger, her dad had never been angry at anyone as far as she remembered. But she also hadn’t expected the face he now wore.

  Mike smiled. “I know.”

  “You know?” How could he?

  “Yeah, one of my buddies has a kid in one of your classes. He mentioned seeing you there.”

  “Oh, so I’m busted.” Sonora laughed. “The best-laid plans are always tripped up by the smallest things.”

  “That’s true.” Mike patted her knee. “You’re not busted. But I’m glad you told me. Telling me is the easy part. It’s the rest of them you gotta worry about.”

  Sonora grimaced. “Do we have to?”

  “Yeah, we do.” Mike nodded his head as he stared at her. “And you know why.”

  Sonora’s eyes widened. “I do?”

  “We did everything we thought of to talk you out of taking any classes having to do with the ocean. You never wondered why?”

  “Money. You said money.”

  “That is what we had to tell you because you wouldn’t change your mind from some kind of oceanography. But we paid for Sierra’s schooling just fine.”

  Sonora hung her head. “I know. I just assumed—you don’t want to know what I assumed.”

  “Honey, we weren’t playing favorites. We were trying to keep you safe.”

  Sonora sat up. “Safe from what?”

  Mike lowered his voice and bent toward her. “Safe from your mom’s connection to the ocean.”

  Sonora froze. “Dad, uh, you lost me a long time ago.”

  “No, I didn’t, Sunny girl. Where were you those three days?”

  Sonora felt numb. “Dad, I told you where I was.”

  “Your mouth says one thing, the rest of you tells us something else.”

  Sonora gave a slight shake of her head. He couldn’t know, could he? “Dad. What are you saying?”

  “We know.”

  “You know? About what?” Sonora whispered as she flung a glance at the neighboring table when they broke into laughter.

  “We are aware of what’s out there?” Mike pointed to the ocean.

  Sonora put a hand to her face. Her heart thundered. In a murmur so low it surprised her that Mike heard her, she said, “About…. about Atlantis?”

  Mike grabbed his daughter and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her. “Did they hurt you, Sunny?”

  Sonora’s mind swirled as she lay it on her father’s shoulder. “No, dad. They didn’t hurt me at all, quite the opposite. They treated me very well.”

  “No threats? Nothing?”

  “No, nothing. I promise.”

  Mike pulled away and searched her eyes. Seeing Sonora was telling the truth, he relaxed. “Tell me everything.”

  Sonora’s words came slowly as she started, but soon picked up. It seemed surreal, telling this story on dry land. She’d held it in for so long, it seemed odd to speak of it. Sonora told him about Atlantis, the food and how the people dressed. She told Mike that Ian had saved her and taken her to his home. But she didn’t say a word about Ian’s feelings for her.

  “There’s more.”

  Sonora looked down and nodded. “There is, but do we have to talk about that?”

  “No. No, we don’t. I’m so relieved they treated you kindly. With your grandfather’s history, I worried they had harsh feelings for the family.”

  “Grandpa? What does he have to do with this?”

  Mike reared back, surprise covering his face.

  Sonora pressed him. “Did grandpa find out about them? Is that how you are aware Atlantians too?”

  “Oh, uh, no. No.” Mike stammered. “Um, your Aunt Claire. Because of her studies and all.”

  Sonora nodded. Of course, why hadn’t she thought of that? Scientists who studied the ocean would have to know about them, wouldn’t they? She watched her dad wipe the sweat off his forehead. Still, it seemed he wasn’t telling her something. But it had been enough for today. A lot more than she would ever have dreamed of in a thousand years, and such a relief.

  Sonora took Mike’s hand. “So, what now, Dad?”

  “Well, I think today is a full enough day with your sister’s wedding. How about we save this revelation to tell the rest of the family another day?”

  That was just fine with her.

  Let Me

  Chapter Forty

  When Argos had opened the door to him, pity had welled up in Ian. Here was a man who was once his fast friend, and every bit as young and vital as Ian was. Now, look at him. Yes, Argos had lost so much. Ian understood that now in a way he never did before. But Argo's reaction to the loss of his wife had caused him to lose everything. His home, his friends, his remaining family. Ian was relieved he'd gotten himself under control before he had made the same mistake.

  Ian mentally shook himself, pushing away any kind thoughts. Now was not the time for reminiscing. It would hinder what he needed to do. He was a tracker, a hunter, and he needed to act accordingly.

  His mission had two objectives. Stop the traitor from continuing to murder Atlantians and get the Artifact. If possible, bring the traitor home for punishment. If necessary, eradicate him.

  It is time to do what he'd come here to do. Then he could sink beneath the waves for good and stop sensing his edinara.

  Ian's gaze turned icy, and there was no mistaking the hard edge to his voice as he spoke in Atlantian. "Here or elsewhere?"

  Argos closed his eyes for a moment, then glanced around. "Please, anywhere but here. Someone could walk in any minute." Argos stumbled over the words of his native tongue.

  Ian stepped back from the door and held his arm out. "Let's go then. My car is on the street."

  As they walked to Ian's car, Argos waved to the man working on a vehicle in the garage. "My son-in-law."

  "
I do not care." After everything that this man had done, he didn't want to think of Argos having a loving wife and children. Something he taken from so many others.

  The men got into the car and drove in silence. A few times, Argos started to speak, then stopped. What could he say to defend himself? There was nothing.

  Ian drove into the park toward the secluded place he had found earlier. Argos shifted in his seat as they pushed further and further into a forest of towering trees cutting off the light of the sun and causing the day to seem dim. Ian shot him a narrowed glance. There would be no escape for the traitor.

  The path disappeared, but Ian kept on driving on the grass to the end. It was so shadowy here it appeared to be evening. The forest was deadly quiet. It knew there were intruders.

  "Get out, Argos.” Ian ordered.

  Argos clenched the handle of the door. Sweat ran down his face, but he did not obey. "Blake. It's Blake now."

  Ian's anger lit and hardened his resolve. Argos was a destroyer. Did he really think a different name changed that? "I do not care what you like to call yourself. It does not make you something other than what you are. Get out, or I will drag you out. Argos.”

  Argos reluctantly left the safety of the car. His eyes widened as he waited for what came next.

  Ian circled the car a blaze heating the inside of him and stopped in front of Argos. "I want to hear why you did it. From your own mouth, before I take you back." How had this man ever been a friend to him?

  Argos brought his hand out in front of him, beseeching Ian. "I have no excuse. I was just so young when I lost her. I was angry and so, so lost--"

  "You are right. You have no excuse. I have also lost my Jata Ara. I did not murder!"

  Argos took a step toward Ian, sorrow covering his face. He reached out a hand to comfort his friend.

  Ian jerked back and practically hissed. "Do not touch me!"

  Argos blinked his tear-flooded eyes. "Of course. Of course, I'm sorry."

  "You killed our people! Continue to kill them!" Contempt for Argos filled Ian, and he felt ill as the sight of murdered friends and family flooded back to him. "Do you mutilate them? Or do you let your human friends do that?"

  Argos stumbled backward, his face slack with shock. "Killed? I have never killed a single Atlantian! Why would you think that?"

  "Because, Argos, our people have been disappearing since the time you left. Some return to us. Dead and in pieces! As if we are being mocked." Ian's mouth twisted. "As I recall, you did a lot of mocking when you left us."

  Argos' face turned a lighter shade. "Ian, I took the Artifact. I shouldn't have. It was wrong, very wrong to do so. I fully admit to what I have done. But I have never killed one of our people!"

  Ian uttered a harsh laugh. "According to you, we are not your people. That is what you said when you left us." Ian shook his head. "You would say anything to get out of your just punishment. I had hoped you had some kind of empathy left, that you would be honest with me. But you have turned as unfeeling as humans."

  Ian paced back and forth in front of Argos. He wanted the answers, but to get them, he would need to hurt an old man. Ian ground his teeth. Even in such a rage, that was something he was unwilling to do. The council could proceed from here.

  Ian grabbed Argos' arm, ignoring the man's wince, and shoved him back into the car. When Ian returned to his seat, he said, "I'm taking you back to Atlantis. I only hope you can still hold your breath. I didn't bring any baby equipment. Or I will drag home a corpse."

  Ian floored the gas pedal, and dirt and stones ricocheted off the car as it left deep ruts behind in the long, thin grass. He shot a glance at Argos, wondering if the traitor had even been in the sea since he had left.

  Argos’ hand came up to brace against the dashboard as his head narrowly missed it.

  "Ian! Ian, wait! When I was first here, I was in a place..."

  Ian stomped the brakes and stared at him.

  "I was in an awful place..." Argos raised his shirt. Scars lay on top of scars. So many Ian wondered how he had survived.

  Ian gasped. "Argos."

  "I swear to you on everything Atlantian, and my human family too, that I did not kill our people. But I know someone who may have done so.”

  "Do not throw the blame elsewhere. You are still going back."

  "I swear, I did not kill our people. I can take you to the place I was, and I can get back the Artifact. Then I will go back with you to Atlantis and face judgment for the crime I have really committed."

  If there were any Atlantian left in Argos, swearing on his family would be the highest oath possible.

  "Your family will be killed if you do not hold your oath," Ian reminded him.

  Argos nodded. "I swear on my family."

  Ian let the car idle. "Speak."

  Argos shifted in his seat and swallowed before he started. "This will sound… well, please hear what I say. I know what has to happen. I've always known one day someone would come. So this isn't about punishment."

  Argos' gaze went to the trees out of his window before coming back to Ian. His face was set, and his look direct. "We were friends. I didn't lie then. Even with all that happened, I said what I would do, and I did it."

  He waited for Ian's nod confirming his words before he continued. "I am not lying to you now. I will go back with you. I only ask one thing of you first."

  Ian's hands tightened on the leather steering wheel, causing it to squeak. "What do you want?"

  "My granddaughter is getting married tonight. Let me go to her wedding. Please, don't let them wait there for me, wondering where I am on the most important day of her life."

  The request stunned Ian. "What kind of fool do you think I am?"

  "If they are waiting for me, they will realize I'm gone that much sooner and start looking for me."

  Ian shook his head. "We will be long gone before then."

  Argos almost begged. "Just the wedding. You can be beside me the whole time."

  Ian had never attended a human wedding, but he knew they usually involved many people. Even if Argos hadn't committed the murders, there was still the Artifact. It would be idiocy to allow this. He shook his head. "Ask for something else."

  The old man's eyes welled with tears. "My family is my whole life. They are all I have."

  Family. It beat in the heart of every Atlantian. It was the linchpin of their society. Family. It was also the way he could control Argos if he would allow this.

  Ian pulled a long Atlantian knife from his belt. The sharpest blade on earth, water or air. It would cut the heart of a man or beast from their body while still beating. Ian had once used it when he surrounded by a frenzy of unfamiliar, hostile sharks. With one twist of his body, he felled them all.

  "I have permission to retrieve you in any way necessary," Ian bluntly said. "That includes using your family. Do you understand what I am saying? I'll kill the one you love the most."

  Argos reared back in surprise. The counsel rarely included families in the hunt for criminals. "I guess since my family is human, they don't matter as much."

  Ian grunted, not affirming either way. "You tell me everything about the person who killed our people. I want him caught."

  "He's human."

  "I don't care what he is. This will not stand."

  "Okay," Argos said. "I agree to all that, and I offer one more thing. My help in getting the Artifact back to our people."

  "I know where the Artifact is. I don't need your help."

  "My name is on the paper. It is a loan. All I need to do is ask for it. Please let me right that wrong, no matter what the council decides for me."

  Argos was right. It would be less of a problem to let him help get it back. Ian rubbed his hand across his chin. If he allowed this, he would take Argos and the Artifact back, and the whole thing would be done.

  "Do not let me regret this last request from you, my old friend. You will rue this day if you do.”

  The Wedding


  Chapter Forty-one

  Ian assured himself he was no fool, though, at the moment, he felt like one. But if he had Argos' cooperation both with retrieving the Artifact and getting back to Atlantis, it was worth an evening of his time.

  "We will take this slow," Ian warned. "If at any time, I think you are dealing falsely with me, we will immediately head to the sea. Is that understood, Argos?"

  Blake eagerly nodded his head but said nothing, probably afraid one misspoken word would change Ian's mind. His granddaughter's wedding seemed to be the only thing he cared about right now. Then he hesitated. "But Ian, would you call me Blake? No one knows me as Argos." He looked down. "And I hate that name now."

  "Okay. Only because it would seem odd to call you anything other than Blake in front of your family.”

  Ian studied the older man and looked at his own casual clothing. "Is there a set wardrobe for your weddings?"

  All Atlantian schools included a human cultures class. However, human weddings were barely mentioned. It appeared they believed that was knowledge Atlantians would never need. Ian pulled a face. That was clearly not the case today.

  "Yes," Blake said, "there is. My tux is at home. We’ll need to get that, and we must get you, at least, a suit. We can get that at a store."

  "No, we are not going to your house. Tell me of a store that will take care of both our needs."

  Blake mentioned a local men's shop would have what they required and directed Ian to that. It was a few buildings down from the pawnshop.

  As the two shopped, they shot troubled looks at each other. After so many years apart, they were unable to read each other as well as they once did. But throughout the afternoon, they became more comfortable with each other's company. Not to where Ian trusted Argos, but at least enough for Ian to ask any lingering questions.

  While waiting for adjustments on their suits, Ian directed them to a restaurant across the street. As they sat at a corner table in the Italian bistro, Ian leaned back in his chair and asked, "Why did you take the Artifact? You could have just left, done anything you wished up here. We would not have cared. But you took the Artifact. Why?"