by M. Arcturus
“Guides?” Her question was filled with exhaustion from being overwhelmed.
The Lady of Avalon let out a small sigh and gave a faint smile, “I think I have filled your head with enough knowledge for today. We’ll talk again soon.”
Selené watched the Lady of Avalon walk the distance to her husband and slowly help him to his feet. He had been kneeling now for hours. It was not surprising to Selené when two elven guards came to the Lady’s aid. As they walked back into the palace with their torches lit, Selené noticed the darkness. Her eyes immediately went to the sky. It had taken a while for the hazy gray clouds from the day to lift and reveal the star-filled sky. On the western horizon, a pink and yellow glow revealed the struggle of a sun refusing to sleep.
The conversation with the Lady of Avalon left a strange impression on Selené. She didn’t really think to ask about her father. Now most importantly, what did he have to do with this? She was tired of not knowing who she was, or where she was headed in life. Knowing who her father was would shed light on some of the answers, but if the Lady didn’t have more information, or if they didn’t have the opportunity for another conversation, Selené didn’t know whom else to ask. She started to kick herself for not asking the Lady while she had the chance. Getting more upset by the second as her thoughts danced and wrestled with each other until her mind wore out, giving way to an emptiness that consumed her, and time just kept on ticking.
Sitting in the silence, a cool breeze from off the ocean blew over her bare arms. Still not physically tired, she decided to retreat to her usual hiding place, the archive. The last few days had been so overwhelming that she scarcely believed it happened. Only her bruises and aching body reminded her otherwise. As she walked among the tall brown sparkling pillars toward the grand stairway, she witnessed the palace guards clearing away the fallen, preparing them for the funerary priests. Selené recalled her conversation with the Lady of Avalon. Keeping Atlantis from falling to its knees was not going to be easy. Not even one with extraordinary power such as the Lady could end the destruction so easily.
Shadow looked into the cage of light with his hand on his chin. As Kajaka neared, Shadow spoke up, “What do you think we should do with him?”
“I think we should melt some tar and get some feathers.”
Giséi giggled at Kajaka’s response.
Juron looked at them one at a time with jerky head movements. He shook all over, and his eye twitched occasionally. While trying to speak, his words slurred too much to be understood, and he couldn’t keep his spit under control. They all were glad that his cage of light kept them from being hit with his slobber. Giséi even watched some drip down the wall of light to the floor.
“We can’t just leave him here. Although, he is guarded by Oberon’s sea creatures.” She corrected herself when she looked at one of them, and they were glaring back at her, “I, uh, mean sea people.”
“Actually, we can. It’s guarded enough, but I think he needs some alone time in the jail cells below.” Sorbek’s response was followed by the sound of his wolf-like paws hitting the floor of the Council room.
In surprise, Giséi turned and ran to him giving him a huge hug. It was like watching a teenager chasing a heartthrob. “During the battle you were amazing!” She stated with admiration.
Giséi had never fallen for anyone before. She didn’t quite know how to handle it, and it was a little weird to the others to see her be that aggressive and forward. No one knew how to react because it was way out of character for her. At first, Sorbek was taken aback, looking around left and right trying to figure out how he should respond. He wasn’t used to strangers hugging him. Out of confused desperation, he patted her on the back hoping that she would let go. Shadow and Kajaka stared at the two of them with bewilderment and disbelief.
“She gets her taste in men from your side of the family,” said Kajaka to Shadow.
“That’s funny. I’m not even related to her. She’s your niece,” Shadow replied as he smirked at Kajaka.
“Uh, Giséi, I think he wants you to let go,” Kajaka said, unable to resist feeling a little gratification by revealing her innocent motive, completely embarrassing her. To Giséi, embarrassment was an understatement.
Out of self-consciousness, she quickly let go of him, regaining her composure hoping that she didn’t give her feelings away. She didn’t realize that she was a little bit too late. Sorbek, on the other hand, was too thick. Now that she had let go, he didn’t think anything of it, but her feathered guardians knew they had better keep a close eye on her. Walking past the three of them, Sorbek walked right into the ring of light and proceeded to untie Juron from his chair.
“You’re not going to untie him completely, are you?”
In response to Shadow’s concern Sorbek replied, “No, I’m just undoing the ties that confine him to the chair. Carrying his pathetic body all the way down to the cells will be bad enough. There’s no way I’m going to fight him the whole way down.”
The sea creatures helped him out of the prison of light, and he was well on his way when Shadow asked, “Where will you be later if your help is needed elsewhere?”
“I’ll be with the rest of the elven forces on the northeastern shore. With Oberon staying the night here at the palace, the elves will need some sort of guidance or leader.” On his way toward the staircase leading to the jail cells, Sorbek quickly glanced over his shoulder at Giséi. He waited until he turned back around to let the smile grow on his face. Sorbek felt better knowing that she couldn’t see him grin. Her hug may have boosted his ego, but it stirred feelings in him that he wasn’t ready to deal with.
Kajaka leaned toward Shadow and whispered, “That was a smooth move.”
“Someone has to keep an eye on him. Especially since Giséi has taken to him.”
“Do you think she is ready for a relationship?”
“Not sure. She’s been in many wars and seems so mature and ready for anything, but just now it was like flipping on a switch between being an adult and being a teenager. We can’t hold her back, but we can keep an eye on things. Besides, we have yet to find out what his intentions are. He seemed shocked that she hugged him. He might not be that interested in her.”
“True. Plus, she might just be too giddy, and once her emotions calm down, she’ll be able to handle them better.”
Shadow nodded his head in agreement, “I think you’re right. We’ll have to give it more time.”
They watched her stare off after Sorbek as he exited with his entourage of guards and sea creatures. No one saw the golden object fall from Juron’s hand onto the staircase. Juron started screaming as he struggled to break free of Sorbek’s hold, trying to retrieve his shiny thing. All of Sorbek’s muscles tightened as he held onto Juron, but it didn’t seem to slow the wolf-man down.
“Wow, I guess she does like the strong masculine type! His strength is very impressive!” Kajaka arched one eyebrow as he eyed the backside of the well-built wolf. He was off in his own little world, not realizing that his whispering had gotten loud enough to be heard.
“Will you two stop talking about me? I’m standing right here!”
“Why yes, you are. I guess we didn’t see you there for a moment. Since you stood so still while watching Sorbek leave, it was like you were there one moment and gone the next,” retorted Shadow.
Giséi scowled, and Kajaka let out a heavy sigh, realizing that he had his work cut out for him. Shadow’s humor had the ability to either distract or show up at the worst possible time. At any rate, Giséi did not take Shadow’s remark lightly, and Shadow was starting to get hurt due to her not even cracking a smile. Kajaka’s mind raced trying to find a way to separate them until both of their temperaments subsided.
“We’re sorry, Giséi. We’re just not used to you showing emotion,” replied Kajaka.
“Just because I don’t show them doesn’t mean
that I don’t have them.”
“Very true. However, your feelings toward Sorbek change your character.”
“Is that right?” Her anger was deepening.
“Giséi, please understand,” Kajaka didn’t realize how difficult it would be to talk her down from her anger. “We are used to you acting like an emotion tower of strength, an individual far older than her actual age. Yes, it’s fine for you to show your emotions. In this particular case, your emotions make you act your own age, which has thrown us for a loop.” Once her facial expression softened, he knew she was well on her way to calming down. Kajaka then redirected his attention to Shadow. “I think I’m going to show Giséi around the city,” added Kajaka hoping to separate the two of them just for a little bit.
“What!?! We just got through fighting a strenuous battle, and you want to take her on a stroll? Besides, the marketplace is closed at this hour. There’s nothing out there to see.”
“Yes, I know it’s late, and we are all tired. I just think it is best for her to see Atlantis now, while the city has fallen asleep. You heard the murmurs just as loudly as I did. The rumors of Giséi being ‘The Destroyer’ are already spreading.” Kajaka had him there, but Shadow didn’t want to acknowledge it. “You don’t have to come if you want to get some sleep. We’re not going to stay out too late. We’ll be home soon.”
“Do what you feel is right. If she gets too tired I would suggest you bring her home immediately,” Shadow said as he neared Kajaka and kissed him on the forehead. “Don’t be home too late, love.”
Once Shadow left, Kajaka muttered, “I never realized that Shadow would be more protective of you than I am at times.” He turned to see her putting her blindfold back on. “What are you doing?”
“I figured the Atlanteans would react badly to the appearance of my eyes.”
“Did you not just see the large wolf dragging Juron out of the room?” Giséi chuckled at Kajaka’s remark. “Trust me; your eyes are the least abnormal thing the Atlanteans have seen. Most may be human, but they’re so used to ‘out-of-towners,’ it’s not even funny.”
One of Juron’s screams cut through their conversation and caused Giséi to jump. She got curious and used her mental sight to see what was going on. Sorbek had just slammed the glass door to Juron’s new cell and had turned to walk away down the corridor. The lights flickered on and off, indicating a shortage somewhere due to the previous damage. So, it wasn’t that big of a deal when Sorbek turned them off. Cowering in a corner, Juron sat huddled up whimpering. Two Sea Creatures remained to guard the cell, but they didn’t notice the dark, ghastly form gliding in on the floor, slipping under the door to take shape standing before Juron.
The envoy’s apparition approached him with a devilish grin on his face. “You will pay for what you have done!” the voice said. The voice was dark, raspy and loomed over Juron like a thick cloud of impending doom.
Kajaka tapped Giséi on the shoulder, which caused her to lose concentration. “Hey, are you still with me? I just asked you a question.”
“Will you cut that out? It was just getting good!”
“What was?”
“Never mind, I was just looking through walls where I shouldn’t have been.”
He knew he wasn’t going to get anywhere with his questions. She was determined to keep what she saw to herself. Though her remark did leave him with a lot of intrigue, he went back to the conversation he tried to have with her when she spaced out on him. “Are you well enough to walk around? We can go directly home if you want. I was just trying to keep you and Shadow from choking each other.”
“A little walk, yes. So, where exactly are we going?”
The torches flickered in the evening breeze, causing the shadows to dance on the cold, white and beige stonework on the lower level of the buildings. Eerily, a gust of wind tore through the streets causing the thin metal plaques of family crests to rattle in every doorjamb, making the empty streets hiss with warning. Unglued from the noise, Giséi instinctively stepped back, expecting something to happen. When nothing more stirred, she let down her guard and proceeded to survey the surroundings. She noticed that not all of the streets had torches lit, and was very pleased not to be walking down any of them. To her relief, she saw an occasional guard walking around patrolling the streets.
It was when they reached the slums that she got really uneasy. Kajaka and Giséi entered what was known as the “underground market.” Looking around, they could see that the booths were hardly anything more than rickety old death traps. One little tap from a finger could have sent any one of them crashing down to the ground. The people who were shopping there scurried around like rodents, either trying not to bump into a booth causing it to fall, or trying to avoid catching a disease from the merchants who seemed not to possess any morals.
“Tell me again why you brought me here?”
“I’m trying to find a vendor who barters Crimlin root,” Kajaka explained as he clutched on a bit tighter to the piece of Criton ore he had in his hand, hoping it would be enough for a fair trade. Then he continued, “I use Crimlin root in my cooking as well as a few healing elixirs. It’s so rare that one might have to kill to obtain it.”
Giséi sighed, then rolled her eyes and sank back into her hankered posture trying not to be noticed. Her withdrawn behavior had started to spark her war-hardened instincts. It angered her to feel emotions such as nervousness or fear. Naturally, her hands fell to her hips where both of her sai used to be, and then she remembered that she had been stripped of them while aboard the Kinnowwa. Bitterness gripped her as she reflected on the day’s events when Kajaka threw her a couple of blades to fight the Ackrids with. What a mess she had found herself in, a dingy world that needed its ass kicked and no honorable weapon to wield.
A certain smell caught her off guard. It was the scent of blood. Before she even had time to ask where the stench was coming from, the answer laid right in front of her. The bodies of the dead, those who had fallen prey to the Ackrid war, had been loaded up into carts and were being picked over by human scavengers. All personal items of the fallen were sold or bartered, but what bothered Giséi, even more, was the selling of body parts. Most had been put on ice, but the thought of gutting a dead body didn’t seem right to her. The dead should have been left well alone, not sold in a shifty market that seemed as legit as a fly-by-night scam. Even the clang of the coins naggingly rang in her ears, but she couldn’t figure out why. Something just didn’t feel right about it.
“Come on, Giséi! Stop staring!”
“But what about all of those bodies?”
“It’s not what it looks like.”
“Okay, then what is it?”
“Using human test subjects has been ruled as immoral so therefore has become illegal.”
“So, you’re telling me that most of these carnivorous scavengers are scientists?”
“No, but the frozen parts will most likely be bought by a scientist.”
“And if it’s bought by someone else?”
“Every system has its flaws.”
“So, it could be what it looks like. We’re just praying that it’s not.”
“You’re right; the facts do get a little inhumane after the initial thought or planning. If you haven’t noticed, most of the land on Atlantis has a rocky terrain starting just three feet under the top soil. That doesn’t leave a whole lot of room to bury the dead. In turn, the price of burying someone is very expensive.” When Kajaka spoke about money, she was reminded of the clang produced by the coins. Kajaka was completely unaware of her temporary distraction and kept talking, “Most cannot afford it, so the bodies get rounded up and are brought here. It does help that death is not very common on Atlantis. Most people who die here were dead upon arrival. You should see these scavengers when ships arrive at the port. From what I’ve heard, some families are so poor that they eat body parts, and th
ose that are bought for research are eventually burned on a pyre.”
“Why don’t the bodies get burned in the first place?”
“Have you ever smelled a burning corpse? And, once again, it costs money.”
“Forget the fumes of a burned corpse—you think a rotting one smells any better?”
“That’s why they are brought here.” Then he added for dramatic effect, “They get eaten before the rotting begins!”
Giséi looked at him in horror, “Okay, so if they don’t get buried, then why are they taken to the funerary priest? I can smell the burial ointments from way over here.”
“They are treated with oils and herbs, so they last longer.”
“That’s just sick! Your system here on Atlantis is flawed and needs a lot of work. That’s an understatement, by the way.”
“I agree, money has become a large reason for all of the problems, but where is all the money going? Why are people so poor?” Kajaka knew the answer involved the epidemic use of Glaecia. He just wanted her to figure it out herself.
“I thought Atlanteans didn’t use money.”
