She shook her head, tears filling her eyes. She held a hand to her chest as if to will away the pain. When she finally spoke, her voice trembled.
“What use are stars, adventurer, if they defy your deepest wishes? Go. I will stay and rally my people. Atlantis might fall, but perhaps we can find an ending worthy of its beginning.”
“I’m staying too,” Nyx blurted out. “You told me once that adventure is born of risk and great peril. Seems like there’s enough of that down here for a girl to make a name for herself.”
Columbus smiled, though inside, her words hurt him more than he cared to show. He looked to the Pygmies. “And you, my friends?”
Monday shrugged sheepishly. Tuesday spoke in clicks and whistles. “He wants to fight a God. I want to see who wins.”
“You have my blessing,” Columbus said, before leaning over and whispering in Pygmy. “Watch over the girl.”
They nodded. And then to Columbus’s surprise, Monday extended a hand and Columbus shook it.
Vespucci groaned. “Can we leave before we become the artifacts?”
The eldocks sank beneath the water and exited out of the building through the cleft. Once free, the two parties halted.
“I’ll send the eldocks back when we reach the surface,” Columbus said into his mask. “That’s if a ship is waiting.”
“And if it’s not?” Elara asked.
“Then I guess we’ll find out if we can swim to Spain. Good luck, Princess.”
“And to you, adventurer.”
Elara turned and headed off for Atlantis with the other three following. Columbus sat there a moment, watching their lights fade, his gaze locked solely on the girl. He still didn’t understand why she rankled him so. Then, to his surprise, she paused, and his heart skipped a beat. He could barely make her form out. When she spoke, he struggled to hear her voice.
“Farewell, Captain,” she said. “May we meet again one day under a full sail and a warm sun.”
Columbus felt as if he’d been punched. “What did you say? Nyx? Nyx!”
He shouted her name several times, but she never replied, vanishing instead into the dark.
“Captain?” Fanucio asked.
“That phrase… I knew someone once who used to say it.”
Vespucci scoffed “I’ll whisper it in your ear every night if we depart now. I don’t want to be here when those things escape.”
Neither did Columbus. After one last glance in the dark, he directed his eldock upward, and the others followed.
The instant Elara and the others passed back through the Void, they knew things had only gotten worse. The seabed continued to shake, and it looked like even more fiery vents had broken out.
“Where would he go?” Nyx asked. “Back to the city?”
“I don’t think so,” Elara answered. “There’s nothing for him there. I can still see that look in his eyes. He didn’t recognize me.”
“Well, at ten feet tall, he shouldn’t be too hard to find.”
A man’s voice cut in their headsets, husky and raw. “Your father attempts to mend the ocean floor.”
“Who….?” Elara asked.
And then a single rider approached through the cloudy waters.
Dion.
“Dion? You spoke?”
“My penance ended when your brother’s killer was vanquished.”
“Why didn’t you speak then?”
“I wasn’t sure I could.”
“You picked a hell of a time,” Nyx said. “The king stole Poseidon’s Trident and the Titans are coming to finish off what’s left of your kingdom.”
“The Titans?” Dion asked, unable to keep the dread from his voice.
“Poseidon’s immortals,” Elara clarified. “It’s quite a story.”
“I hope to hear it one day.” Dion looked around. “Where is the mariner?”
“Gone. Back to his world.”
Dion took a moment then nodded. “It is as it should be. What orders, my liege?”
“Gather the people. We need to set up one last defense. Here.”
“It won’t be enough,” Nyx said.
“No. We most likely will fail, but we will do it with our heads held high, knowing we did everything we could. And who knows? Perhaps we can earn back some good will from Poseidon. Some parents are quick to forgive their children. And some children should do the same.”
Nyx swallowed. Then, her head turned unexpectedly, as if she’d heard a ghost.
“I-I have to go,” Nyx said. Elara’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not leaving you. But I need to see if I can find a friend. I wish I had time to explain.”
“I trust in your heart, Nyx. Gods willing, we will see each other again.”
Nyx reined her eldock around to face the Pygmies. “Protect her. I’ll be back.”
The Pygmies nodded as if they understood. Nyx sped off into the dark. Elara turned back to Dion. “To Atlantis!”
Together with the Pygmies, they set their course across the sea.
A light wind was blowing across the ocean when three forms broke its surface beneath a crystal blue sky and a golden sun.
“We done it!” Fanucio said, laughing. “We’re back! And, look, the sun! I never been so happy to see that beautiful ball of flame in all me life!”
“There!” Vespucci shouted.
A league away, a vessel sat still in the water, its sails furled. Columbus thought it was the Pinta.
“I was right,” Columbus said.
“First time for everything,” Fanucio said. Both men laughed, but Columbus’s smile faded when he thought he heard a voice. His hand went to his chest, troubled. Fanucio noticed.
“You all right, Cap’n?”
“Yes,” Columbus said. “Let’s go.”
Elara pushed her eldock through the ashy waters when she came upon an open patch and reeled to a stop. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Where the seabed had once been filled with rents, there was now only scorched earth. Her father had managed to seal the ocean floor, but in the process, he’d destroyed everything. The coral. Plankton. Even the fish. Life would never flourish here again.
“The trident did this,” Elara said. “We must hurry.”
Martin Pinzon had been managing the quadrant with a critical eye. He had given his word he would wait four days before departing, and that time was almost up. Then a shout rang down from above. All eyes turned to the starboard side.
“I don’t believe it,” Pinzon said. “That’s Christopher Columbus. But what is he riding?”
A rope was lowered as the trio reached the ship. Vespucci and Fanucio were the first drawn up. As Columbus secured the rope around his chest, he patted his eldock and thanked him. The gray eyes stared back at him a moment before disappearing beneath the waters.
Once the trio was on deck, the Pinta’s crew gathered around to look over Columbus’s suit and the survivors’ conditions.
“Thanks be to God, you’re alive,” Pinzon said, touching the fabric of Columbus’s suit. “I expect you have quite the story.”
Fanucio locked eyes with Columbus. “One for the ages.”
Before they could talk further, Vespucci pulled a sword from the master-at-arms and aimed it at Columbus.
“Captain Pinzon,” Vespucci said, “under orders of his royal Highness and as envoy of your vessel, I order you take these men into custody immediately.”
“Now, wait a damn minute, Vespucci,” Fanucio said. “The cap’n saved your life!”
“That’s not how I remember it. Nor how the king will hear it. But I promise, when he learns what transpired here, I will return with his entire navy to sift through the rubble and—”
A blast echoed, and Vespucci flew across the deck. The startled seamen turned to Columbus, who held a humming sonstave in his hand.
“Apologies, Captain,” Columbus said. “I’m afraid Signore Vespucci suffered a little heatstroke while we were adrift. Perhaps if you took us to the Canaries, he could seek proper attention for hi
s malady.”
“I’m sorry, Columbus, but I have strict orders to return to Spain with you in shackles. And his majesty will want a full reporting of what I’ve seen.”
Columbus reached into his pocket. “Maybe this will change your mind.” He opened his hand to reveal the shimmering gems he’d taken from the slave quarters. The crew gasped.
“Well, we do need repairs,” Pinzon said. “And after all we’ve endured, my memory seems a bit fuzzy.”
Columbus smiled as he handed the gems over. Pinzon stuffed them in his pocket and called out to his crew. “To your stations. We set sail for the Canaries.”
The crew cheered as they rushed across the deck. As the sails unfurled, men began to sing. One of the sailors played a flute, a spirited tune that Fanucio sang to.
Columbus leaned against the gunwale, looking back over the ocean. He’d done what he’d set out to do. So why did he feel so low?
“Well done, Cap’n,” Fanucio said. “I hope you saved some of them rocks for us. First thing I’m going to buy when we reach the Canaries is a big, juicy steak and a big juicy woman to go with it, eh?”
Columbus was in the process of smiling when he heard a faint voice.
Only united can the children save their world.
“The voice,” Columbus whispered. “I can still hear it. Why can I still hear it?” The eldock had to know he was gone. His children had left them. Likely they’d already passed back through the Void. Did the damned creature think he would change his mind?
Yes, come.
Columbus gasped in pain, a hand going to his head. An image penetrating his mind. It was Nyx. She was riding an eldock alone and approaching Ophidian’s Mouth. What the hell was she doing?
We are ready.
It made no sense. And then Columbus remembered. The night he’d slept in the tower. He’d heard the voice then too. Only one true of heart can save a people, it had said. He’d bolted out of bed. At the same time, he’d heard Nyx scream from the adjoining room. He thought it was because of the earthquake, but later in Poseidon’s Temple, she revealed that she’d been hearing the voice too.
“Only one true of heart can save a people,” Columbus muttered to himself.
“Come again, sir?” Fanucio said.
“One true of heart.” Suddenly, Columbus felt the sky falling around him. “We have to go back.”
“We are going back. Straight to blessed civilization.”
“No, we need to go back down there.”
“Atlantis?! Now, see here—”
“I know what it means by one true of heart. I was never true of heart, but I know someone who is.”
“I’m confused. We talking about the princess again?”
Columbus looked around for Pinzon but didn’t see him. The man with the flute was walking past. Columbus grabbed it and stuffed it into his pocket before he climbed on top of the gunwale.
“Are you coming?”
“But they have rum,” Fanucio said plaintively.
Columbus leaped overboard. Fanucio grudgingly followed.
“Well, what now?” Fanucio said. “The water horsies is gone.”
Just then, they reemerged. Columbus grinned. Fanucio growled as they mounted the eldocks.
Atop the ship, Pinzon appeared. “Columbus?”
“Captain, I’ve just remembered where I stashed a fortune in treasure. If you’d like a bigger share, you might consider sticking around a bit longer.”
Pinzon mulled the idea. “How big a share are we talking about?”
“Enough to make us both kings.”
“You have twenty-four hours.”
Columbus slipped his mask over his face. Fanucio did the same.
“If we’re looking for the princess,” Fanucio said, “I think she went back to the city.”
“I have another destination in mind.”
They had reached the Isle of Arcadia, the central most isle in all of Atlantis, and the only one with enough resources for her people. They were still funneling in, but already a thousand had gathered. Elara climbed to the nearest rock and raised her hands. The crowd fell silent. Elara took in the faces of her people. Among them, Dion, the Pygmies, and even the Seer.
“I know these past days have been hard. Can any of us remember a time that wasn’t? Today we grieve for our king as we grieve for all our fallen. But Atlantis can still survive if we stand together. Our ancestors did this long ago, and Poseidon honored them with this realm for it. Today, it is our turn. Today, we will send him a message that the same blood runs through our veins, undiminished and unbowed. And no matter what forces align against us, we will remain Atlantean until the end.”
“But the eldocks have shed the bridles and fled,” someone said.
“Do not fault them. The truth is we have bound them to our service for too long. We will meet the Titans alone using the boats that carried us here. And when they are filled, we will swim. I know the future looks bleak. I know I am not the leader you asked for, but I promise to be one you can be proud of. I call upon you now, my brothers and sisters, if you can carry a sonstave and wish to fight for our homeland, follow me. Together we will win this day or win the honor that will carry us into Elysium!”
The crowd roared as they ran for the beach.
The way was black, the water cold. Nyx knew she could activate the light on her sonstave at any time, but what was the point? Her eldock knew where it was going. It ran through a series of dizzying tunnels that filled the subterranean depths beneath the Isle of Oblivion. Finally, they exited into a vast cavern with a honeycomb of tunnels.
The spotted eldock was waiting.
It is time.
“Are you ready?” Nyx asked.
We have always been ready.
And from the honeycomb, a thousand faces appeared, more eldocks than Nyx could have imagined. She had come for an army. Now, she had one. She prayed it would be enough.
Unlike Columbus’s first descent, he was completely aware this time around, which to him, made it even more harrowing. For he knew what he was going back to. Poseidon’s immortal guards were actually the Titans, imprisoned by the children who had overthrown them many millennia before. They were primordial, capable of what, Columbus couldn’t imagine. Yes, the Olympians had defeated them, but at what cost? History was vague on the subject, which made the hope of the Atlanteans repeating it seem more impossible.
Thankfully, the eldocks understood Columbus’s intention. When they finally arrived at Gaia’s Craw, Fanucio was aghast to see Columbus scramble from the surf and run up the beach, halting in front of the entrance to the siren cave. He paused long enough to gather his breath before he raised the flute to his lips, blowing out several notes that sounded like a cat whose tail was lit on fire.
“Bit out of practice,” Columbus shrugged. He tried a second time. This go around, he blew the melody from the Tower of Illumination—the same one he’d whistled in their nest. He knew he was taking a big risk. The sirens had already helped them once. But if he was right, this was the moment they’d been waiting for.
He watched the mountain passage carefully, expecting to see those malformed creatures brave the sun to answer. The tunnel remained empty. Instead, a thousand silhouettes appeared along the mountainside, near the beachhead, and in the waters behind him.
Fanucio gulped, his voice suddenly lost.
Columbus lowered the flute. “It’s time,” he said.
The Siren Queen tromped from the grass, her dark, avian eyes locked onto him, her cadre of warriors ranked behind her. As she passed Columbus, she let out a slow hiss before slipping into the water. Her legions followed, as did the mariners.
Elara stood, feet planted atop the bow of a fishing boat as it rocked just off the edge of the northern part of the Void. The Pygmies sat behind her, honing their spear tips to razors. They had made good time. The boats had settled. Her Gadeir had prepared their masks and their sonstaves. Hundreds more civilians had done the same. She looked over those in
boats and in the water.
They were ready.
A moment later, Dion emerged. He pushed up his mask before giving Elara a single nod. She turned back to her people.
“The Titans have breached the Void. We will meet them here. Be ready, be resilient, and have no fear. Together—”
“Look!” someone shouted.
Elara turned to see two riders approaching from the west, both on eldocks. She couldn’t make either out at first. Then, as they drew closer, she recognized the lead one’s fair locks and his bearing. A wave of emotion threatened to overcome her. She couldn’t have her people see that. Instead, she waited until he drew to a stop and offered a single curt nod.
“Sorry we’re late,” Columbus said.
“You are here as I expected you,” Elara said.
The Pygmies yipped.
Columbus winked at them and smiled, looking back to Elara. “Hope you don’t mind, but I brought some friends.”
A thousand sirens emerged from the waters, startling the Atlanteans, many who reached for their weapons. Elara held up her hand. “Fear not,” she shouted. “This is Poseidon’s will.”
The Siren Queen made her way toward Elara’s boat, hissing low as she came face-to-face with her mortal enemy again. To the surprise of all, Elara didn’t flinch. She bowed instead. “Thank you for coming, great Queen.”
The Siren Queen tipped her head just as Dion emerged from the water once again.
“They approach,” he said.
“He speaks!” Fanucio said. “I knew he could talk. I knew it.”
Elara addressed her people once more. “It is time. In the water now. We descend together.”
As the splashes echoed around them, Columbus pulled near. “The prophecy said all of Poseidon’s children had to come together. Where are the eldocks?”
Elara shook her head. “They have done their part. We must do ours. I’ve ordered our ranks to form three lines, at depths of twenty-five-foot intervals. At these numbers, communication will be difficult.”
Christopher Columbus and the Lost City of Atlantis Page 33
