by M. Arcturus
In this district the houses were narrow and at least two stories tall. All of the houses were white with dark brown wooden supports. The white walls of the houses matched the white stone of the streets and the wooden supports matched the surrounding trees. Originally, there was a large monument where the town now sat. The outer layer of stone from the ancient structure appeared to have been encased in Tura limestone, and the houses were painted to match as a defensive tactic. If someone were to attack by sea, there was no way to tell which structure was rubble from the monument, and which was housing.
Most of the business buildings had beige stonework that was waist high on the outer walls of the first floor. Not only did it help to locate the shops, but it was also the only sane relief one had from staring at the blinding stark white buildings. Well, that and the plaques. No one even needed to get Shadow started on the plaques! They were tacky and archaic in his opinion, but it was the only thing that made the surroundings colorful. The numerous, thin, metal plaques displayed family crests or business signs and were tacked to the doorjambs of each building to show the name of the shop or who lived in which building.
Having the coachman open the door to the cab for him, he entered and had a seat. Through the window on the other side of the cab, his eyes ever so briefly glanced at the pebble pathway, which led to the center of town. The path led to a beautiful mausoleum, which, by legend, housed the remains of the most powerful oracle of Atlantis. It was said that she was supposed to have lived forever and that her death was a pure accident.
The mausoleum was more like an ornately carved stone gazebo sitting on top of a square platform of terraced steps. Each set of steps had a landing halfway up where a fountain stood. Shadow’s favorite was the fountain on the steps facing east toward Mt. Caspen. Its base was shaped like a six-pointed star, and in the middle was a flat-lying cross where the water poured down from each arm like a waterfall.
The water was actually a hologram. Most of the locals used generators to materialize food and water, but a generator big enough to supply the fountains with water would take up a lot of space, not to mention kill the peaceful mood of the scenery. Another option would have been to lay actual water pipes under the city. Even with alien technology, that would have disrupted the foundations of many houses. Besides, the hologram looked and sounded like real water and glowed beautifully as if it was lit up with a greenish-blue light.
The dome of the mausoleum was topped with a stone sculpture of a manticore that was curled up as if watching over a dear friend. The expression on its face was of pure hurt and depression. Though one could enter the mausoleum by squeezing between the columns, there were four main archway entrances, each facing one of the four cardinal directions. The arches were carved out of a stone slab instead of being constructed with individual stones. They were pointed like the ogee or ogival arch, which is said to resemble a flame. Shadow could see why one could say they looked like a flame, but to him, the top of the arch was more like the shape of an onion.
The intrados of the archways were decorated with exquisite mosaics made of zellige and terra cotta tiles covered in enamel. Once through the archways, in the center of the mausoleum, was the oracle’s sarcophagus. A relief of a beautiful woman was carved on the lid. Her long hair draped gracefully down the sides of the sarcophagus. He would have never betrayed his love for Kajaka, nor would he have fallen in love with the oracle, but her beauty was so exotic he would have given his right wing just to meet her. It was believed that the fiery nature of the arches would one day draw upon the fire elements of the four directions and reignite the spark of life in the oracle. Though as beautiful as the figure was on the sarcophagus, he doubted that she still looked as enchanting, and if she ever was brought back to life, he certainly didn’t want to be around when it happened.
Leaning over on the bench, he used his right elbow to support himself and propped his feet out the window on the other side. He felt relieved at the thought of leaving town. It wasn’t the fact that he didn’t like the Atlantean people; it was the fact that they were human. It didn’t matter what their social class was. The fact was that a human was a human, and he would never be able to relate to them. Shadow thought back to a time when aliens outnumbered the humans and gave a faint smile. But that was a long time ago and he continued to peer out of his window as current reality set back in.
Just on the other side of the monument’s rubble was abandoned Urilliad housing. This centipede race had their sphere-shaped homes made from a dark blue metallic alloy with tunnels connecting each home. Because of the way they were connected, they almost looked like atom models from a distance. Most of their homes were located near the southeastern coast, but some of the clustered spheres intertwined with the other housing additions. It didn’t look like it from the outside, but the metal alloy was like a one-way mirror. From the inside, everything on the outside was visible, but from the outside, nothing inside could be seen. Because the Urilliads were sensitive to the Earth’s sun, this alloy was created to block the sun’s harmful rays and it could withstand any physical attack short of the Earth herself exploding.
Then there were the homes of the Zalarians. Zalarians were a race that was best described as a cross between bats and pterodactyls. Their homes looked like coliseums made from a light brown stone, domed with a shiny substance they called zubcinite. Zubcinite came in three distinct colors: dark pink, blue, and green. They were the first housing structures that visitors saw when they arrived by sea. Why these structures were never repurposed Shadow never really understood. They could have at least used them for public spaces such as malls, galleries, or museums.
Shadow preferred the palace inside of Mt. Caspen, which was more like a resort for “off worlders,” or non-humans like himself. He felt more at ease when he hung around those from far-off places, but over the years, even the galactic ambassadors had stopped coming. Their rooms were now being rented out to the wealthiest of Atlantean families; he could not get away from humans anymore. He let out a sigh in his discomfort.
Looking out his window he was pleased to see that they were a good distance outside of the city, and out of reach from civilization. He could see the crater where he and Kajaka had built their nest. The crater was once a towering volcano that even rivaled the heights of Mt. Caspen, but that was long before their arrival. He smiled as he reminisced over their travels through space to live here on Atlantis. It would have been faster if they would have taken their natural forms and flown through the galaxies. Once they got close enough to Atlantis, to conseal their forms they could have hitched a ride on a Neubian spaceship, but oh no! They had to take their own clunky, dusty, old space cruiser because Kajaka had to bring his plants.
Shadow felt a little guilty when looking back on the situation, and realized how homesick Kajaka must have been, already needing his plants before the trip even started. He seriously hated traveling through space, and panicked the whole time. Oh, and that emergency stop on Talairium 3! Kajaka was afraid that he forgot to talk to his mom before they left; their intergalactic call lasted for four hours! So, there they were, on the most famous space station, placing a collect call to Kajaka’s mom. In fact, as Shadow thought about it, when Kajaka woke up earlier that morning they had a three-hour conversation then too! Kajaka was not a real “mama’s boy,” but he was, and had always been, sensitive. After arriving, his mate didn’t take his time in becoming the old collected Kajaka he fell in love with, but he still didn’t like living on Atlantis. Even now, after hundreds of years, Kajaka summoned their Bennu brothers and sisters from Atlantis and from their home world to keep him company. Originally, he hadn’t realized how much Kajaka would be giving up to come with him, but looking down at the red box in his hand, he hoped that this would help make up for it.
The coach slowed down to let Shadow out. Standing at the base of the extinct volcano, he looked up at the thick growth of green trees. With a little, okay maybe a lot of, magi
cal tweaking; they had transformed their space cruiser into a stepped pyramid. The pyramid was nestled inside the crater of the volcano and could not be seen just by looking at the tall volcanic mound of trees, so it was the perfect place of solitude. Made of sun bleached limestone, the temple had become their new home, and Kajaka’s plants from their former home gave it a touch of familiarity. Shadow watched the coach drive back toward town, then he started his trek up the side of the volcano and through the trees, excited to see Kajaka.
The trees were too thick for him to fly, but Shadow didn’t have far to walk. There was a hidden tunnel near the base of the volcano that led to the entrance of their majestic home. He knew Kajaka was there waiting for him, anxious to hear everything about the encounter with Juron. With any luck, Kajaka would be able to tap into the energy he had collected to see what happened and reveal the outcome of Juron’s interlude with the envoy.
Sunlight shot its rays through the glass floor of the upper level and cast its blessing on Kajaka as he sat beside the fishpond that ran in a swerving pattern throughout the pyramid. White candles floated on the water, each one lit, sending a soft mystical glow on the surrounding foliage within the sacred halls he called home. He looked at the wooden flute in his lap before he slowly brought it to his lips and began to play. Bennu started to congregate around the pond and gathered at his feet while moving their heads to the soft enticing melody that they knew so well. Their colors were so bright and full of fire when he played. Thanks to the new tainted energy throughout Atlantis, outside the walls of their home, any Bennu summoned could only muster a shadowy form.
Shadow heard the music while in the tunnel right before he quietly entered through the glass doors. The tune brought back happy memories of their home galaxies away, yet it bothered Shadow. As cheerful as what the melody was, it was rare that Kajaka played them out of joy. He usually played them during times of emotional distress. Shadow mentally prepared himself for one of Kajaka’s moments of grief.
Kajaka didn’t even hear him come in, but his strong energy gave him away. Since they knew each other so well, they could feel each other’s presence. Shadow felt relief when he walked in. Through the great mercy of the Universe, Kajaka didn’t look up, but just kept playing his flute. This gave Shadow the chance to hide the wine-colored velvet box he had picked up from Raydorian’s shop. There was a cherry blossom bush near the eastern corner of their home. Shadow placed the box in the center of the bush, making sure that the blossoms covered it. He unleashed his black wings as he walked over to his mate. Sitting beside the pond, he rested his head on his hand and watched Kajaka play. Kajaka finished his song and looked at Shadow with a look of exasperation. Shadow was saddened when he met his gaze.
Kajaka wiped away a tear. “Shadow, I’m really worried. She’s on board,” he finally said a little panicked, “Those stupid humans have her on board! They don’t even know what they have done, or even know who she is. The Bennu have informed me that they have her bound, scared, and ready for death. I should have never summoned her to help me with Selené.” Kajaka’s sudden outburst scared the Bennu so much they flew up into the indoor canopy. Shadow realized that the Bennu must have talked to Kajaka while he was away gathering information from Juron’s office. And although he didn’t like what was happening to one of their closest kin, he had to remain strong and calm Kajaka down.
“Love, do you know how long she’s been on that ship? She’s probably been there for days, weeks, or even months! Asking for her help this morning probably had no effect on her situation,” Shadow responded by standing up and taking a new seat beside him. “We knew she was coming. We just didn’t know how, and now we know.”
“She told me she was coming by ship, but she didn’t tell me she was held captive; not even a chirp when we were sitting out in the garden.”
“She is very strong-minded. Recall one time when she has told us what’s going on. She knows we’ll just worry. She’s strong. With her abilities, she could have wiped them out by now. I bet she boarded on purpose because she knows it’s her destiny.” Shadow tried to comfort Kajaka. Wrapping him up in his black wings he stated, “We’ll stop all of this, there’s got to be a way we can ease the situation. There always is.”
Kajaka looked at him and smiled, letting out a small sigh. A moment passed before he added, “So that’s what I have to do to get you to hold me? Hmm, I’ll keep that in mind.” Shadow looked at him with brief surprise, and then realized that Kajaka was only using humor to ease his own discomfort. “I could have asked for a better situation to grab your attention, but whatever works right?” Kajaka winked and then nuzzled into his mate. The seriousness of the situation seeped back into his voice, “We still need her in our custody though. I really don’t approve of the situation.”
“Agreed. Now, about reading the energy I brought home before it dissipates.”
Kajaka dangled the pendulum before Shadow, “I’ll play, you watch.”
“That’s how it usually works,” smiled Shadow as he took the pendulum from Kajaka.
Kajaka focused on pulling the new energy out of his mate. It felt slimy with deceit and manipulative darkness, almost like drowning in someone else’s greed. Kajaka played out the melody according to how he felt. Shadow gave a grotesque facial expression in response to the sounds coming from the wooden flute. Just moments ago, it had played a soothing melody. Now it played a tune that could haunt his thoughts throughout eternity. Even the Bennu hid their heads under their wings, trying to protect their ears.
He knelt next to the pond and dangled the pendulum just above the water’s surface. It spun ferociously in a counter-clockwise circle. Within the circle that the pendulum outlined, scenes from the early morning began to play out. Though Shadow had the gift of sight, he needed Kajaka’s music to fully manifest his abilities. Without Kajaka absorbing the energy, feeling it, and playing it back from beginning to end, the series of connected events would have been nothing more than a jumbled up, chaotic mess. There was no sound with the vision he was viewing. It was like watching a silent film, but with Kajaka’s feelings pouring out of his flute, Shadow could interpret what was seen in the water.
What Shadow saw was a little disturbing. He viewed the envoy from China leave a merchant ship anchored just off the coast in a rowboat manned by two servants. The envoy was helped out of the rowboat when they reached shore. The man who helped him out of the boat was Seth. He must have been ordered by Juron to greet the envoy, because he didn’t look so happy assisting him. Although Seth was a soldier, he never lost his tribal roots or his ability to read people. Feeling a strong, negative presence surrounding the envoy, it was obvious that Seth felt the need to cleanse his energy after the envoy was out of sight. Tapping into the ancient knowledge of his people, Seth started a fire on a nearby beach and proceeded to perform his native fire dance. This was his spiritual way of dealing with the dirt that had washed over his aura the second the envoy touched him. It was now made clear to Shadow that Seth could feel something evil following the stranger, and he wanted no part in it.
The next scene was Kajaka, waking Shadow up, telling him about Selené needing the shadow cloak, and then Shadow saw Selené in her quarters, tossing and turning in bed, tormented by a vision-induced dream. Then it flashed back to Seth dancing in the sand around the fire he built. It was as if Seth’s spiritual plight for energy cleansing was somehow tied to Kajaka’s sleep-disturbing urge to give Selené the shadow cloak, and Selené’s devastating dream of the ship. Both of their experiences appeared to have been spurred on by Seth’s ritual. After catching a few glimpses of Selené’s dream, it also confirmed Shadow’s speculation of their loved one being on this merchant ship for several weeks now.
He was still astounded by Seth’s talent and the strength of his people’s spiritual traditions. Shadow had to give Seth credit, he may not have had any magical capabilities—working harder than most to achieve his goal and destiny—but
the spirits listened to him. The spirits, whether they were his ancestors or some other divine force, knew that through his effort, they could make contact with someone who could hear them out.
Shadow watched as the story kept unfolding. The envoy reached Juron’s chamber shortly before Selené shot out of bed. Shadow then saw Selené try to get past the guards. Being denied access, she roamed the corridors until Kajaka rescued her from her wanderings. Given the shadow cloak, Selené climbed the column to eavesdrop on Juron’s conversation. After a chain of heated political words, the envoy gave Juron a box to persuade him into allowing the ship to dock. Juron opened it up. Even though Shadow couldn’t make out what was in the box, he had a vague idea of what it was. If he was right, they were in for serious trouble, far worse than what anyone had thought. Kajaka was also right about the humans being stupid. They were messing with forces that they couldn’t even comprehend. How could they possibly think they had the right to such an item, a life force that could so easily wipe them all out?
Juron, once mesmerized by the envoy’s gift, eventually signed the papers to accept the shipment, despite his previous verbal declination for the ship to access the port. Juron didn’t know The Destroyer was on board that ship, nor the history of the items that the envoy promised to deliver. So enticed by what was in the box, he just wanted it to belong to him and to no one else. The thought that the ship had more of it on board was nearly too much for his growing greed to refuse.
