by M. Arcturus
Back at Kajaka’s cell, the Bennu birds slipped through the glass to see what had happened to Jarrah. They were so sure he would help them! He just kept limping away toward the main jail door. Figuring he had abandoned them, they went back inside and started to cry once more. Pandora tried to calm them down, but there was no soothing the birds that felt cast aside and forgotten. They were so busy feeling hurt that they didn’t even try to think of another option, including Pandora as a possibility. Who was going to help them now? They had been left behind.
Between the guards and Campanula, there wasn’t much of a fight. She began to produce a fog so cold it crippled them. Her crew of loyal servants took their swords from the jail guards, but they soon found out that they didn’t need them. Whether locked in the icy coils of her tail or paralyzed by the chill of her wings, all were soon frozen and unable to resist. Once she slithered through the entrance, she noticed the guard who had injected her with the Bennu blood. His eyes were the only things he could move, and they were displaying horror and panic as she picked him up and went over to the nearest wall.
With her long fingernail on her right index finger, she pricked him above his clavicle on his left side. The blood, which stayed on her fingernail, was used to write a message on the white marble wall. She kept drawing more blood from the same spot on the guard’s body, using him as an ink bottle. When she noticed his eyes clench tight out of discomfort, she smiled and kept writing. Standing back from her work, she gave an approving nod and gently set the guard down. As she stood there to read her note, Jarrah caught up with her.
She didn’t turn to look at him but started talking.
“So, what do you think? Does it seem too forward?”
Jarrah eyed the words on the wall. They spoke of Juron’s betrayal and possible destruction of Atlantis if his life was spared. The message also spoke of her returning to the Kinnowwa where she would await the trial to see to it that Juron’s death was imminent. Jarrah, putting his first thoughts on hold, replied, “I think it gets the point across.” After a moment, he mentally shifted back to his first train of thought, “I would like one of the rowboats from the Kinnowwa to be waiting for me on the northeastern shore.”
“You have some business to attend to?” Campanula asked. “Very well; you’re a valuable member of the crew. I’m sure arrangements can be made. As you can tell from my note, the ship will not be sailing far, as I’ll be aboard waiting for the Council meeting tomorrow.”
“Yes, I’m sure the rest of the crew will welcome you with open arms.”
“What do you mean by that? Don’t mistake me—I believe I know what you are saying, but I want to hear you say it to make sure we are on the same page.”
“You are planning on becoming the next captain of the Kinnowwa.”
“Yes, I want to carry on where Resheda was forced to leave off, and with any luck, I’ll be able to complete her plans. Fulfilling her dreams is very important to me.” She smiled once again with dark charm.
Her elegance had returned to her. With her new look, she seemed foreboding. Yet, she still had a heart of justified truth and proper business, which was rare to see in anyone, let alone someone like her. She had all the dark power she could ever want in the palm of her hand, yet she had nothing to hide. There was a level of persuasion seated deep within her, but she used morals that suited everyone’s needs. She was to the point and down to business. That’s what she lived for, but heaven forbid anyone cheat her out of a bargain that was agreed upon. Though Juron had fulfilled the bargain, he did it in a way that was neither proper nor just. Jarrah felt no sorrow for Juron. Campanula was a force that wasn’t going to be stopped. They all knew what happened and they were supporting her and her cause.
“I would like a private talk with you once I get back to the ship. I can’t ask you to forgo your plans of being captain, but before you start making the arrangements, I think you would like to hear what I have to say.” Campanula nodded and agreed to wait for him in the captain’s quarters.
Jarrah went over to one of the guards and picked up the guard’s spear. Testing its sturdiness, he walked back down the hall. The Bennu had all gathered around Kajaka and were rubbing their cheeks on him trying to bring him back to life. When Jarrah’s shadow fell upon them, they were startled. Being so engrossed with Kajaka, they didn’t even hear him coming.
Using the spear as a pick, he started chiseling away at the glass. It didn’t take much effort since the glass was already webbed with cracks. All in one thrust, the glass broke, and he stepped inside with relief. Using the head of the spear, he started picking away at Kajaka’s chain. The shaft was way too long and kept getting in the way. With his knee injured, there was no way that Jarrah could break the wooden shaft over his leg.
Looking around for something to use to cut the shaft, his eyes rested on the broken pieces of glass, and a look of dread covered his face. Hesitantly, he picked up a glass shard and whittled away at the wood. His hands bloodied from the sharp edges. Sucking in air through his teeth, he grinned and beared the pain. Blood trickled down the sides of the glass shard; the cuts were starting to get too deep. Just as he was about to give up, the shard cut through the rest of the wood, separating the head from the shaft. Slowly, with shaking hands riddled with burning agony, he picked up the spearhead and went back to work on Kajaka’s chains. The Bennu moved back, giving Jarrah more space to work.
Pandora whispered to the Bennu down by her feet, “Please, rip some fabric off of my dress and give it to him.” The nearest bird perched on her shoulder, climbed up to her chained wrist, and started tugging away on her sleeve with its beak.
The sound of fabric ripping made Jarrah stop and glance over his shoulder. With one final tug, the Bennu jumped down with a wad of cloth in its beak. Jarrah started chuckling at the sight. Once the Bennu got to the glass door, it eyed a spot where Campanula had gouged deep enough to create a hole. It had to aim just right. Since it was in shadow form, it could slip through the glass, but the fabric, on the other hand, was another story. With astounding accuracy, the Bennu jumped through the glass, and the fabric trailed after it, sliding through the hole like a thread through the eye of a needle. It darted over to Jarrah and presented its offering with a boasting chirp. He patted the Bennu on the head. The Bennu shook it off and looked at him with bitter puzzlement, as if non-verbally asking him why he thought he had permission to touch its head. Jarrah shrugged, gave thanks, and then diligently wrapped his hand.
Just a few more picks of the lock and Kajaka was free. In no time at all, Jarrah stood up with Kajaka slung over his shoulder, barely showing his new discomfort. At times, he glanced down at his bandaged leg, but not long enough for Pandora to see and worry.
Jarrah looked down at the Bennu.
“You can either stay with Pandora, or come with me, but please, make sure some of you stay here. Kajaka would like for some of you to protect her.”
Jarrah started walking away when something massive caught his eye. He looked back and saw nothing but the shadow on the wall that had sat behind Kajaka. Jarrah’s brow furrowed from confused apprehension. With Kajaka slumped over his shoulder, there was nothing in the corner to create the shadow. He stood for a moment and waited. Chills pricked at the back of his neck. As he turned to go, he looked over his shoulder just in time to see a huge five-foot Bennu step out of the shadow. It was the largest Bennu he had ever seen. The others ranged from the size of a sparrow to the size of a hawk, but this one was big and ominous. Stretching its wings, it hopped over to Pandora’s cell and nestled at her feet. Pandora did not seem to be bothered by the massive Bennu, so he dismissed it. The other little Bennu stared up at Jarrah as if impatient to be on their way.
“Are you sure you want to stay?”
Another rumble came from the earth. Pandora smiled, “I’m sure. Thanks for the offer.” Jarrah shook off his uneasiness from the minor quake, gave a polite nod and le
ft for the main entrance.
The halls were peaceful, for the guards had been silenced in some form or fashion. Most of them were still alive, either knocked out or frozen. He made his way up a broad staircase. Down the hall and to the left was an open door that spewed forth darkness onto the well-lit path before him. Silently, he crept up to the door and peered in.
An enormous spotlight cast its light down on a mysterious girl dangling in a web of chains in the center of the room. He was attempting to stagger past the door when the chains rattled. The girl’s head had shot up and she was looking right at him. The Bennu down at his feet squawked in surprise. Uneasiness settled in when he noticed that there was no way for her to see him because of her blindfold. He tried to ignore her hidden stare and move past, but something drew him to her.
Standing at the edge of the light, he looked right back at her. Her head lowered and became humbled. The Bennu walked right on through, into the light and stood around her. Some even clung onto the chains that held her. There was one curled up in the shadow directly under her. Jarrah was pretty sure that this Bennu was the one from downstairs. It was the last one to depart Campanula’s body and had drifted away before Campanula freed the prisoners. Just by the way they acted, he could tell that the Bennu and the girl knew each other. The Bennu cooed and nuzzled into her hair.
Not recognizing her from aboard the Kinnowwa, he stated, “This person that I carry—he’s a friend of yours?”
A faint voice replied, “Yes.”
“I’m not going to hurt him. Out of unusual circumstances, he has recently become a friend of mine as well. Just like I told the girl downstairs, I promise you the same thing. I will take him to safety.”
The girl thought for a moment, “I’m not alone?”
Jarrah stood there for a moment and pondered her statement before answering. “I’m not quite sure what you mean by that, but no, you’re not alone—never were.” He gave a faint smile even though he was sure that she couldn’t see it.
“What does she look like?”
He now understood. Up until now, the girl thought her only friend was the man he had slung over his shoulder. Now knowing that her friend had others who cared for him, there was a chance that maybe she would be accepted and cared for by them as well. “Actually, there are two that I know of who care very deeply for your friend. Before we knew each other, I fought both of them about a day ago on my ship. One is downstairs. She has red hair and amazing green eyes that almost glow. The other one has long, sea-green hair. It’s almost the color of the sea far off in the distance, where the sky touches the waves. I can’t remember the exact color of her eyes, but they’re pale. No, you are not alone. I’m sure once they meet you, they will care for you just as much as they do for your friend. That’s just who they are. They are genuinely caring and protective.”
Though she couldn’t express her feelings through the blindfold, it seemed that the Bennu could feel her emotions and started to cry. One even flew over, landed on Jarrah’s shoulder and rubbed its cheek on his, smearing a tear around on his face. He was not thrilled by this, but he couldn’t help but give a chuckle.
Feeling Kajaka’s extra weight on his knee, he added, “I need to go now. Your friend needs help. I don’t like leaving you here, but I’m afraid my knee can’t carry you both.”
The girl let out a deep rich giggle, “I’m weak, not helpless. If I really wanted to, I could free myself.”
Jarrah did not believe her for one second.
“Well, okay, I’ll leave you here if that is what you wish.”
The girl did not respond.
“I’m sure the girl downstairs will need you, and if you see the other one, she’s going to need you, too. Are you sure you will be okay here?”
“Yes,” she responded ever so quietly.
Trying to dispel his own doubts, as well as put the girl at ease, he added, “Help is on the way.”
Most of the Bennu stayed behind with the girl. The large one from Campanula’s cell stirred from his shadowy nest and stood in front of Jarrah. Jarrah had to be on his way, so he turned back to the hallway followed by his new shadowy companion. He reached a part in the hall where the space opened up to a large circular room with an extravagant fountain. The fountain was sitting in front of a large wooden double door, which stood about forty feet tall. Standing in front of the doors, they appeared to reach on forever. There was also a grand stairway that arched over the fountain to connect to the upper level.
The upper level had a glass floor with glyphs etched into it. Standing underneath the glass floor, he could tell that it was a compass and map of Atlantis. Although the writing was very alien to him, he stared up in awe. The floor upon which he stood was checkered with tiles of white marble and mirror. Through the glass floor above, he could observe the domed ceiling as it went from white marble on the right, which is where he entered the room, to brown sediment on the left. Since the ceiling had a white to brown gradient, the mirrors on the floor echoed the colors. It was a beautiful sight! With the mirrors placed between the white marble tiles, it gave it a neat effect.
Kajaka moaned as he started to adjust his position on Jarrah’s shoulder. Since Kajaka was getting pretty heavy, Jarrah limped over to the fountain and set him down. At the fountain, he cupped his uncut hand and started to drink. He wanted to clean his injured hand, but figured it would have to wait. He didn’t want to get blood in the water. After washing his face, he looked over at Kajaka. The green feathers of his cloak were pale and had started to thin out. Two little Bennu birds entered the room with their beaks full of green feathers. He went over to them and slowly knelt, adjusting his injured leg on the way down, to meet them face to face.
“He’s losing his feathers, isn’t he?” The two little birds looked up at him with pity and nodded their round little heads.
“Were you able to pick them all up?” They shook their heads in dismay with wide, pathetic eyes. By their expressions, he could tell they took his question personally.
“It’s not your fault. I didn’t know he was losing feathers. It’s all right if you can’t collect them all. That just means we’re leaving a trail behind us. We’ll be fine once we get out of here. I’m sure of it,” he said as he petted their tiny heads. He didn’t think of it at first, but when he did, he was shocked. They allowed him to touch them! Not making an outwardly big deal out of it, he attended to Kajaka.
Jarrah slowly poured some water onto Kajaka’s head; in response, Kajaka looked up at him with half opened eyes. The dark Bennu from Campanula’s cell looked at Jarrah and watched protectively. He was just waiting for Jarrah to do something that was not acceptable and wanted to make sure that Kajaka was treated with respect. Starting to come around, Kajaka found the energy to drink from the fountain and to try to stand up. Seeing that Kajaka was still a bit wobbly, Jarrah slung one of Kajaka’s arms over the back of his neck to help him stand. After he had a few drinks from the fountain, he noticed that Jarrah was wincing in pain. So Kajaka had Jarrah set him back down.
“I’m eternally grateful for your help, but if you can’t take me any further, I understand,” Kajaka said hinting at Jarrah’s knee.
“No, my tribe has put me through more pain than this. I can manage; I just need more time to rest.”
As they talked, they heard a loud click followed by a roar of turning gears coming from the wall behind Jarrah. A cute little Bennu bird ran anxiously toward Kajaka. Tucking under Kajaka’s wing, it peered toward the chain reaction it had caused.
Kajaka looked at the panicked bird tucked under his feathers, “My, aren’t we the guilty one?” He chuckled and stroked its neck feathers, calming the Bennu down.
Still nervous, it kept staring at the wall. Like a domino effect, the middle portion of the wall opened like a window, revealing galaxies further than even Kajaka had seen. Too fascinated with the new sights before him, Jarrah didn’t e
ven bother looking around to see what changes took place in the room before approaching the living mural and touching it. The liquid crystals under the screen dispersed where Jarrah touched, causing Jarrah to believe that it was some sort of strange sorcery that had solidified water.
However, what really caught him off guard was the image on the screen when it zoomed in on one of the planets. Eventually, all that appeared on the screen were tall trees and mushrooms. Sunlight shone down through the leaves, adding to the trees’ unbelievable height as well as making the environment look majestic as it was covered with thick mysterious fog. As if he had done something wrong, he immediately removed his finger from the image. He had never seen outer space before, let alone another planet, and he figured it was another astral plane that people traveled to during spiritual journeys.
Jarrah turned to Kajaka in excitement and told Kajaka what he thought the images were. Kajaka smiled at the innocence that Jarrah displayed. Not having the heart to tell him about outer space, he allowed Jarrah to believe that space was a part of his ancestors’ astral plane. Kajaka did not argue the fact of Jarrah’s ancestral plane existing. He believed Jarrah, but Kajaka could recognize his home solar system from light years away. All Jarrah did was touch a planet, and the map zoomed in on the planet’s surface.
Jarrah turned and looked at the map one last time and placed his hand on his chin. After a brief moment of thought, Jarrah concluded, “It’s not another astral plane, is it? It is a part of this physical plane.”
Kajaka was speechless, and he tried to find the words to say, but his weakened state was not helping. Jarrah didn’t seem to wait for an answer either. He turned on his heels and surveyed the rest of the room. The large map on the wall cast light onto the map etched in the glass above his head. It no longer looked like a map of Atlantis but another diagram of constellations and planets. Jarrah looked to Kajaka for answers, but he had passed out again from lack of strength. Out of urgency, Jarrah looked around to find the exit and noticed that there was no other way out of the room, except up the stairs and through the grand doorway, or through the door they had just come through. Hoping that the previous map of Atlantis displayed on the glass was truthful, he quickly picked Kajaka up and went up the stairs, choosing the door heading west. With any luck, that’s where they would find the main entrance to the palace, leading westward toward the mainland.
