by M. Arcturus
Anthony’s solemn expression was replaced by an inquisitive look, “Maybe Atlantis not only affects time, but the creative mind as well. A lot of authors say that a book writes itself. If the characters from a book travel to Atlantis while the author is writing the book, then there would be a lot of new ideas that they would be able to take back to the author before the book is completed.” He looked directly at Selené and noticed the look of shock on her face. Her eyebrows were arched, her eyes were wide—not to mention, he had talked almost non-stop. He must have overwhelmed her. Trying to break the icy edge of awkwardness, he added, “This is Atlantis, right?” Though Selené nodded sheepishly, he noticed that she was looking past him, not at him.
Anthony stopped short and turned his gaze to see what she was looking at. Feeling their stares, Icarus realized that both Anthony and Selené were looking at him. He walked away from the conversation he was having with Shadow and Kajaka to confront his observers.
“Just great, here comes bird boy,” muttered Anthony.
“Get away from my angel!”
Anthony stepped back with his hands up as if he was surrendering, “I didn’t know she was yours.”
“Neither did I,” said Selené mumbling to herself through gritted teeth. She spoke clearly and loud enough, but neither one of them showed any indication that they heard her comment.
“I think we need to work on this, Icarus.”
They all turned to see Shadow, and not far behind him was Kajaka. “We better talk,” Shadow said, putting his arm around Icarus’s shoulders.
“But he’s stealing my angel!”
Shadow turned Icarus around and started to walk him away in the other direction, talking lowly so that only Icarus could hear him.
“He seems to have taken a liking to you,” said Kajaka through a smile, which was barely holding back an outburst of laughter.
“Couldn’t help but to notice,” replied Selené. When she looked up at Kajaka, he had already turned and was walking away.
Anthony came up from behind, “I didn’t know you and bird boy had already met.”
“I didn’t know I had to admit that. How did you meet him?”
“I met him during the trials intermission. Other than my recent visit with Nostradamus, none of us have met before.” His voice trailed off as he looked around the room with awe and wonder. As his eyes traveled, observing his surroundings, they eventually rested on her with the same look of marvel.
“What is it?”
“This place is amazing! And you, you’re like one of the Seven Wonders of the World!”
Selené balked for a second, then looked down and blushed, “I’m not sure what to say, except thank you. However, I’m still a little bit confused by your enthusiasm and awe. Atlantis is just an island, and I’m just an ordinary girl.”
“That must be because you live here. This is everyday life to you, but to outsiders, Atlantis is a legendary isle filled with magic and mystery. A lot of people don’t even believe it exists. So, to me, an outsider, this place is extraordinary!” He smirked, and his eyes gleamed with excitement. He continued, “Through my years of study, I have formed a theory that those who have had the greatest impact on society traveled subconsciously to Atlantis. I’m not sure if they remember coming here when they go back, but the knowledge they gained seems to have been kept to some degree. Only after researching historical figures have I been able to hypothesize who these people are and assumed that Nostradamus was one of them.” As Selené pieced together their conversation with her past knowledge of the representatives, she was dying to ask him questions about his Akashic Record agreement. Unfortunately, Anthony cut her off with one of his wandering thoughts, “—but I’m still not sure how the two of us got here.”
Even with her questions burning on the tip of her tongue, she couldn’t help but hang on his every word. Curious to know what was on his mind, she dropped her line of questions and asked, “I thought you came here by using your flying machine or time machine as you call it.”
“Yes, but something odd happened. While I was visiting Nostradamus, we were sitting in a barn next to my machine. He lives in an era before the discovery of electricity, so I placed a cover over it to keep it hidden. Honestly, can you imagine the mass hysteria that would ensue from introducing a man from that era to a time machine? Not to mention the devastating effect it would have on the timeline! But much to my dismay, from under the cover, the machine went berserk.
“I tried to get him out of the barn, but he got too curious and wouldn’t leave. I heard the machine start up, and I knew that I didn’t have a choice but to fix it whether he was there or not. I removed the cover, which on sight scared him half to death. He took off toward the barn door. I caught up with him, threw him in the machine, belted him into the seat in the cab, and I climbed in through the driver’s side. While looking at the control panel to see what was going on, for some reason, the doors closed on me, making me take my seat. And the next thing I know, we show up here.”
“Oh,” Selené said. She almost sounded dumbfounded, but while they were talking, she felt a pang of familiarity. It must have been something in his eyes or the way he carried himself. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she knew him from somewhere before. Her thoughts took her back to the human representatives that used to attend the Council meetings. There were too many to count.
Just to name a few, there was a peaceful, soft-spoken man called Buddha. Then there was Confucius, Plato, Socrates, Chaucer, Edison, but they were all before her time as a Council member. She had only met them in passing. Some of them returned, and others never came back. Ever since she had reached maturity to attend the meetings, the human representatives had always remained the same, and she missed them with all of her heart: Leonardo da Vinci, Einstein, the Wright Brothers, and Onatah, a Shaman from an ancient Indian tribe.
She didn’t know a whole lot about the others, but she missed Leonardo very much. When she couldn’t find him hanging around, having a heated discussion of philosophy and science with Einstein, she knew she could find him in the archive. So many late nights they spent together in the archive. As she listened to his teachings filled with wisdom, she could feel the energy between them intensify. He seemed to age every time they saw each other, but she had always hoped to go back home to age herself so that she could be more to him than just a student. After a long pause of thought, she concluded, “Compared to the other representatives, you’re from the future? How did you and Nostradamus communicate? Do you both speak the same language?”
“The scientists of my time invented this—” he rolled up his sleeve and showed her what looked like, a fancy wrist watch. “They function very similarly to the translator boxes here on Atlantis. As for being from the future, I guess you could say that. And if Atlantis ran on a timeline, I’m from Atlantis’s past as well.” He winked instead of giving more of an answer, creating a riddle for Selené to solve. She didn’t even have time to try to solve it before they were interrupted.
“Sel, they’re coming!” Selené turned to see Pandora, who grabbed her by the arm and ran to Oberon’s side.
The doors rattled and then flew open, spitting Sorbek out past the stairs and onto the main floor. Seeing the irony of the situation, Pandora wondered if that was how she and Selené looked when Jarrah kicked them through the cargo hold door on the Kinnowwa. Sorbek’s fur was tattered and matted with wounds and running blood. Slowly, he started to pick himself up as a shadow darkened the light coming in through the opened Council room door.
Welcomed by the drawn arms of the Council, the first Ackrid walked into the room. Its uniform had seen better days, and the drool from its mouth strung down, causing wet streaks on its olive-colored tunic. Not even bothered by the surrounding hostile audience, it hobbled down the steps toward its greatest opponent, Sorbek. It was followed by another Ackrid, which looked more horrific than the first on
e.
The second one looked more frog-like than the first. The flesh was not only more greenish in color, but was all bumpy on top of the usual peeling. Its back was arched, and its lower jaw protruded past its upper jaw. To add to its awkward appearance, its arms were not the same thickness. In realization, Selené looked at its right arm and then down at her waist, noting that its arm was almost thicker than she was, but its left arm was only about seven inches in diameter. Selené knew the nuclear war had affected their bone density. To some, it even deteriorated the bone, but researching it and observing it were two different experiences. She was far more disturbed than what she thought she would be. It was evident that Selené was not the only one horrified at its appearance. After the initial shock wore off, the Council closed in on both Ackrids engaging in battle.
The next figure to walk in through the Council room door was Seth. His head was low, and his arms were away from the sides of his body as he prepared himself to enter the fray once more. Though he had been doing his fair share of fighting, he didn’t look nearly as bad as Sorbek. In fact, he didn’t look as if he had been touched, except a few minor scratches on his biceps. The swords that he carried with him were obviously missing from their sheaths. As if fighting a mental rage filled with a battle frenzy of blood lust, he paused for one moment as if trying to regain sanity. Within a blink of an eye, the frenzy took over, and he went straight for the second Ackrid. Seth pounced on its back, sending its blades crashing to the floor. A strange vibrating sound hissed and rattled under Seth’s facial scales. It was as if his rage fueled a fire seated deep within him that needed to be released like steam. With adrenaline pumping through his veins, his muscles seemed to enlarge, and he literally started ripping the Ackrid apart in bloodied shreds with his bare hands. Tendons and muscle went flying into the crowd. The Council had to shield their eyes from not only the bits of Ackrid being flung around, but sprays of blood as well. Seth almost seemed to relish in it, smiling in response to his own shower of Ackrid blood.
Though the Ackrid tried to claw Seth off its back, it wasn’t quick enough to remove its attacker—let alone retrieve its swords, which it had dropped to the floor. With howls of agony, it started to weaken, and it fell to the floor. Seth jumped off and picked up its swords. On its hands and knees facing the main floor, it turned its head to see Seth coming in for the kill. Its eyes were filled with fear and regret. Without taking pity, Seth crossed the blades and, like a pair of scissors, cut its head off with multiple uneven cuts sending its last few seconds of life into a world of unmatched pain.
All eyes watched as its head went rolling down the steps and came to a face-up halt at the legs of the surrounding audience. Even though the muscles should have relaxed in its face, the Ackrid’s eyes were squeezed shut, and deep wrinkles were all over its face due to its mouth cocked open as if it were still screaming in the afterlife. It was like the Ackrid’s facial expression was permanently chiseled on its face. The Council stood in shock, but everyone was too stunned to show it. With his hands on his knees, Seth looked up and watched the Ackrid squaring off with Sorbek. He straightened up, still breathless, with a slight smile on his face. Seth lunged into the crowd in pursuit of his new target.
The first Ackrid fought its way to Sorbek laughing, not even responding to the Council as they hacked and plunged their weapons into its back trying to deter its advancement. Sorbek stared in disbelief as he watched swords appear and disappear in and under the Ackrid’s flesh as the blades jabbed clean through its body, causing blood to drip down its back and chest. Yet the Ackrid still advanced unaffected by the painful display of interference imposed by the Council. As it stepped onto the main floor, the Ackrid beat its chest proudly and howled a war cry to the heavens. Though most Ackrids carried swords, this one seemed different. With battle-axe raised, it started its attack. The Council began to close in, trying to intervene, but Sorbek growled as he looked around at them, letting them know that this one was his.
Something wet hit Sorbek’s paws, and cautiously he removed his eyes from his adversary to view the fluid on the floor. After Seth had removed the head from the other Ackrid, and its body had fallen forward. Like wine, its blood poured out of its neck, down the steps and made its way to the main floor where Sorbek stood. He winced in protest, but figured there was no way to improve the current situation as long as the Ackrid before him lived.
Ignoring Sorbek’s wishes for a one on one, Seth jumped onto the Ackrid’s back, which sent them both into a clumsy battle-dance before Sorbek. The furious wolf stood up on his haunches as the Ackrid managed to dislodge Seth from his back, sending him in Sorbek’s direction. There was not enough time to move out of the way before Seth crashed into him, knocking him back down onto the floor. Seth sat straddled on Sorbek’s torso as he gave a shy little wave and a sheepish grin before he got off of him. Now that Sorbek had been shoved to the floor, his backside was drenched in blood. They both stood and with temper flaring, Sorbek pushed Seth backward by pressing his bloodied paw-like hand on Seth’s chest. As if the blood on his paws were not bad enough, it now dripped down the backside of his fur, sending him into a silent, hostile rage of fury. Ignoring Sorbek’s wishes once again, Seth joined the intimate fight between Sorbek and the Ackrid.
The Universe must have felt that the Council needed more excitement, for the last two remaining Ackrids broke down separate sections of wall from opposite ends of the arena and came at the crowd. Oberon started to lose his temper once again. They were no closer to solving the problems at hand than when the trials began. The Ackrids had worn out their welcome, and they were just about to find out by how much.
Pandora watched the wrestling match between Sorbek, Seth, and the Ackrid from the corner of her eye as she moved in to intercept the Ackrid on the far side of the arena. With a little focus and concentration, she tapped into her mind’s eye and envisioned a tree created by thick vines. Trying to summon her vision from the earth far beneath the palace, she began to struggle with her attempt. Meanwhile, Seth had overstepped his bounds with Sorbek while fighting the Ackrid, and Sorbek turned his anger toward Seth. With teeth and claws bared, Sorbek attacked Seth, unable to regain his senses. Seth grabbed Sorbek’s wrists, trying to fight back, barely keeping Sorbek’s claws from ripping into him.
With her back turned toward the dramatic display of violence, Pandora overheard the commotion. Suddenly realizing what was going on, she screamed at Sorbek to stop in Seth’s defense. Seth fell back on the floor, placing his foot on Sorbek’s chest, pushing the overgrown wolf off of him, hoping to find a way to calm Pandora down. Seth’s maneuver worked, which bought him some distance along with some breathing time before Sorbek came back at him.
The Ackrid started to bust up laughing at the new arrangement, which filled him with so much distraction that he started to back up into Pandora. So now, not only did Pandora have an Ackrid advancing on her from the front, but she also had one backing up into her. Oberon who had been watching the whole spectacle knew his daughter would turn her attention and use her powers to stop Sorbek instead of the Ackrids coming at her. If he didn’t act soon, the Ackrid in front of her would remain free, and the other Ackrid would be close enough to have her within arm’s reach.
The Lord of Avalon was teeming with anger and disgrace due to the actions of his trusted Head of Security and the defiance of the Ackrids. He took a sword from a nearby Council member and with calm authority, walked up behind the unsuspecting Ackrid, who was backing up into Pandora and decapitated him. Placing a hand on Pandora’s shoulder, he gave her the reassurance as well as the extra boost of energy she needed to summon up the vines to entrap the other Ackrid to keep it from advancing. Once Pandora’s tree caught its prey, Oberon walked up to it and drove the sword down through the Ackrid’s head. It hung there in its grotesque form, concealed in the tree trunk of vines, blood gurgled out of its mouth and pooled onto the floor serving as a reminder of Oberon’s unquestionable autho
rity.
Between both killings, Seth and Sorbek started to sober up and realize what had just happened. They stood there, staring wide-eyed in disbelief. What had taken them several minutes to achieve, took Oberon a few mere seconds to surpass and succeed. They both stood with their heads down in embarrassment and disgrace. In the distance, Seth could hear the last battle raging on in the background. Hearing the sound of the flames, he could tell that the dragons were involved. The last Ackrid managed to dodge the flames and started to leap over the heads of the crowd to the main floor.
Campanula stood up from her seat just as the Ackrid screamed, “Traitor!” She stepped in the way, causing it to trip as it lunged toward Seth. Thanks to Campanula’s intervention, instead of attacking Seth like it had planned, the Ackrid sailed through the air. Seth quickly calculated the trajectory of the falling Ackrid and knew that it would collide into Sorbek. Seth looked at Sorbek and realized that the wolf was still mulling over his crushed ego, not even paying attention to the activity going on around him. Seth pushed Sorbek out of the way and took the full force of the incoming attacker. Sorbek didn’t even have time to react before Seth wrapped himself around the Ackrid and snapped its neck. Out of breath and pinned to the floor, Seth pushed the overweight Ackrid off of him, so he could breathe.
Sorbek knelt before Seth and helped him up. With an unsaid truce, they exchanged smiles and then parted their separate ways. Sorbek returned to Oberon’s side, and Selené and Pandora welcomed Seth’s presence. Oberon scanned the crowd and was at a loss for words. The trial had been interrupted twice, and a small militia had torn up the outer perimeter of the Council room. He didn’t know if they should continue or call for another recess. Through Oberon’s silence and pent up confusion, all eyes fell on him. There was only one question he could think of to ask, “Is that all of them?”
