by M. Arcturus
Sorbek looked at her in shock. The fur on his back stood on end. “Then I’m glad you’re a good actress.” He cleared his throat and flattened down his fur, “So what do we do now?”
“We’re going to huff and puff and blow the door down. I suggest you hang on tight to something, for it’s probably going to be a bumpy ride.”
“Milady, I fail to see how opening a door could cause a ‘bumpy ride.’”
“Where do you think all the water is coming from?” He didn’t respond, but he did grab onto the pipes and prayed they would support his weight. Then she added, “I’ll need you to hang onto to me. I’m going to need both of my hands.” He wanted to know what her plan was, but he chose not to ask.
Inside the engine room, Juron was up to his ears in water. He was thankful that the exposed wires had already shorted out before the water came flooding in, but something still felt like the water was harboring a small electrical current. It wasn’t enough to hurt him, but it had a numbing tingling effect all over his body. He didn’t know that his rescue party was just on the other side of the door. If he had known, he would have braced himself.
She stretched her hands out in front of her. A huge energy blast left her body through her hands, and in one split second, the energy busted the door down. Juron had just begun wading in the water near the ceiling, trying to keep from drowning when she broke down the door. From the impact, he went flying backward. Smacking his head pretty hard on the glass wall behind him, he went unconscious.
Sorbek held onto the Lady of Avalon tightly, but once Juron’s body had floated out into range, Sorbek helped her up to the pipes and plucked Juron out of the water. Using a fireman’s carry, he draped Juron over his shoulders. There came more moans from the ship. Since the door had been opened, the doorway had become weakened from lack of support. The doorway started to buckle, and more water poured in through the walls.
“You know, I don’t think blasting through the door was the wisest thing I’ve ever done. We really do need to get out of here fast!”
Sorbek gave a smile before taking on a more serious stance. Hopping down from the pipes, they used the current to speed up their pace. Plus, the water helped carry Juron’s excessive weight. It didn’t seem to matter which hallway they took; the water was almost chest high and still rising. The lights flickered, indicating a short.
“Oh no, this is not creepy at all!” Her tone was playful as she tried to hide her uneasiness.
“I think you hid your true feelings better when dealing with the dragon. Something just didn’t seem all that convincing this time around.”
“Okay, I’ll try it again from the top. OH NO! This is not creepy at all!”
He cut her off, “Shh!” Sorbek eyed the water.
“Sorbek, you can cut that out now. You’re starting to freak me out.” She looked down into the water surrounding her body out of panic.
“I’m sorry, milady. I’m not doing this to frighten you. I honestly saw something swimming around in the water.”
The Lady felt something swim past her legs, and she screamed bloody murder. Sorbek resituated Juron on his shoulders so he could cup his paw-like hand over her mouth, “Shh, not a word!”
About that time, a baby water dragon popped up to the surface. The Lady of Avalon got down a little closer to it. “Oh, aren’t you a little cutie!” She used her index finger to pet its tiny head. In that instant, a large two-headed dragon lifted its heads out of the water and roared in anger. Juron woke up from the roar and started splashing his loose arm and leg wildly around in the water out of shock, violently wiggling out of Sorbek’s hold.
“What the hell?” Juron roared back in response.
Sorbek yanked Juron down off of his shoulders and pulled him to his side. Just as the dragon’s tail was about to come crashing down on their heads, the Lady grabbed both of their hands, and in a bright golden flash, she teleported them to the mezzanine. Being teleported caused them to feel like they had walked through thousands of spider webs, and an icy-hot sensation tingled all throughout their bodies. The Lady of Avalon was used to it, but Juron and Sorbek had to shake it off.
Sorbek thought back on the time spent in the maintenance shafts: fighting with his battle gear while trudging through strong currents of water, and having to carry the Lady and Juron periodically. Despite loathing the feel of walking through cobwebs resulting from teleportation, the turmoil in the maintenance shafts could have been avoided if she would have used her magic to transport them.
With drenched hair and fur, he whirled around to face her. “What? You couldn’t think of that before? Why didn’t you poof us to the engine room in the first place?”
She lightly bopped him on the nose. “Don’t forget who you are talking to in that tone of voice! And don’t let me regret joking around with you. It was fun, but remember your station!” He got down on one knee and gave her a humbling bow.
“Please accept my dearest apology, milady.”
She blushed with gratefulness, “You didn’t need to go that far, but I’m flattered you did. I accept your apology,” she said as she winked at him. “Yes, I could have transported us there and back, but I need to conserve my energy. If we have to sink Atlantis, I’m going to need as much energy as I can muster.”
“Uh, excuse me! What’s going on around here?” They both stopped and glared at Juron.
“We just rescued you, you idiot! Although, I’m not sure why we did. Technically, we just wanted you to stop firing up the engines. First off, they don’t work. Second, they would have worked against us as we start sinking Atlantis. Third…, you know, I’m not sure if there is a third? Oh yeah! It would have torn the isle apart!” She yelled her last sentence in his face.
He was about to speak, but she cut him off, “We should have left you back there. You caved into your urge for greed and didn’t even bother figuring out what the spheres were. It would have used too much of your brainpower to figure out that the spheres were dragon eggs, wouldn’t it? Instead of ‘fessing up to the existence of the cargo in the first place, you ticked off the dragons by playing coy and probably started selling them on the market. You screwed all of the Atlanteans. They’re dying out there because of you, and here you are, trying to weasel your way out of this by acting innocent! Have you not learned anything from all of this?”
He plopped down on the ground, brought his knees up to his chest and started wailing a mournful cry, “Why? Why did this have to happen?”
She just turned away, rolling her eyes, and let him sulk. “What a pathetic moron!” Once again there came a rumble. This time, it was more like an earthquake. Parts of Mt. Caspen started falling from the ceiling. “I thought all of this would stop once the engines went still. What’s this all about?”
“I don’t think this has anything to do with the engines, milady,” said Sorbek.
“Oh, then what is it now?” she shrieked her words up toward the sky. The ground became so unstable that she and Sorbek went crashing to the floor.
Causing tremors and fallen rock, the top of Mt. Caspen was torn off and there against the dark night sky was the King of dragons. He recognized the Lady of Avalon from the Council meeting and was much larger than what she recalled. Remembering her kind words, he ignored her and the wolf-man she clung to. Instead, he zeroed in on Juron. Memories flooded him, and tears welled up in his eyes.
In his stern, ominous voice, he said, “You! You bought and sold our children! How could you? They are not objects!”
Juron let out a whimper when the dragon reached down with his massive claw and picked him up to bring him to eye level. The dragon’s eye was the largest eye Juron had ever seen. It was roughly the length of his body. He tried to stare the dragon in the eye, but he couldn’t. His guilt and fear were too great.
“Do you realize the pain it has cost us? Can you not think about the lives that have been lost, and t
he tears of mothers and fathers who have lost their young? What do you have to say for yourself?”
“I don’t think words can describe the apology I feel that I owe you and your kin. Not having children, myself, I can only imagine the sorrow. It is my fault that this war has started. I should have known that the wealth promised was too good to be true. It was my greed that got us into this mess. What can I do to make it better? What can I do to make the war stop?”
“I called off the war a long time ago. Once I heard that a search party had been formed to find the eggs, I called off the attack. It is now up to the parents of the young to cease-fire. Until they are reunited with their young, they will not stop. As for your fate, it is not up to me to decide.” At these words, the Lady cocked an eyebrow. She could not imagine him stepping aside and letting someone else call the shots. “I only follow the orders of another dragon far more powerful than I. It is up to her to decide your fate. She will be here shortly.” He put Juron back down slowly. “I would advise you not to go anywhere. If you leave, your punishment will be more severe.”
Juron started to pace. Not only was his voice loud enough to be overheard, but he choreographed the entire conversation as if he were two people having a debate. In a rush of fear, all of the sanity he had recently collected was lost. “I need to go. I need to go and get the eggs. I’m the only one who knows where they are. I can stop all of this. What? What was that?” he asked cupping his ear leaning toward empty space as if someone was standing there. “No, I can’t leave. My fate depends on it. You can go right ahead and leave you coward! But I’m staying right here,” he rebutted crossing his arms as if mad at the other person. It was more than evident that he had completely lost it. He was so enthralled with the conversation he was having with himself that he didn’t even notice the room getting brighter. It was so bright in the room that it could have been mistaken for daylight.
The Lady of Avalon was so surprised at the dragon Queen’s radiance. The Lady and Sorbek had to shield their eyes with their hands to look up and see her. She was much larger than the King. Standing like a tall tower of pure bright white light, it was like looking into heaven itself. She wore a crown, but they couldn’t look at her long enough to see its details. They could only see its outline was of long slender spikes, and there were charms swinging by her ears. They couldn’t see them, but they saw the movement and heard them clang together, producing a soft chiming sound. With grace, she lowered her face, nose first, down into the hole to get closer to Juron.
The Lady approached Juron. “For once, I think you’re right. Maybe you should go collect the eggs and bring them here.”
“Hold on, I need to see this first,” stated Juron half-mindfully.
“See what?” The Lady’s question went unanswered. They all stared at Juron.
Something had caught his eye. Not noticing the brilliant white dragon, he thought that the lighting of the room intensified as a result of the sun climbing higher in the sky. He didn’t realize that the stars still beamed brightly. Due to the increased light, he saw it. The shadows in the corners of the room were much darker now, and he could have sworn that they moved! They moved again and were getting closer. Merging from different parts of the room, the shadows twisted and stood up in the form of the envoy.
“No, it can’t be you! No, no, no, you’re just a part of my imagination,” Juron cried. The envoy shook its head and kept advancing. “I didn’t start this mess. You did. You sailed here to Atlantis knowing what those spheres were! That’s why the emperor of China was having a hard time with his empire. They had become corrupt, but you can’t blame this on me. I didn’t know they were dragon eggs. I didn’t know they were stolen!” He fell to his knees, crying his eyes out, clutching the robes of the ghostly envoy. Its shadowy face looked down upon him with no emotion.
“Oh, I see,” said the Queen to the envoy. “You have already punished him.” She turned her head to look at the Lady of Avalon, “He has tried so hard to regain sanity, but he has failed. Your friend is not mentally capable of carrying on much further.”
“But he’s our only hope!”
“That’s not what you believe deep inside. Your heart tells me that you trust your daughter. She will find the eggs.” The Lady of Avalon took a step back in surprise. She never mentioned her daughter. “I have faith in my children, too. Some of them have already found their way out of the palace. Besides, you said so yourself, Atlantis is losing the war. Though most of the war has ceased, the isle has suffered too much damage to be restored. Finding the eggs at this point would not change the outcome.” The Lady was not surprised this time that the Queen knew about what she had said to beige dragon while standing outside of the palace. Whether the beige dragon told the King and Queen personally, or through telepathy, there was no need for explanation. The Lady knew the Queen must have been an all-knowing dragon. “Those that die from here on out, due to the war, are meant to go. It is their time.” The Queen turned to Juron, “Juron, it’s also your time. It’s time to go home.”
Juron stood up rubbing the tears from his eyes. “Oh, my word! Who are you?” The shock nearly knocked him back down to the floor.
The Queen giggled. “Juron, I’m the one who has to decide your fate. Tell me honestly, how do you see yourself in two years? Are you still going to cringe when you think of the envoy, or are you going to be able to get past the fear and live your life?”
“I can’t. I can’t think clearly. I’m not sure what is real anymore,” he told the Queen. The Lady of Avalon was surprised at his words, but at the same time, deep down inside, she knew it all along.
“Then it is time for you to be reborn.”
“I don’t understand. How does that fix this?”
“You will be given a test in your next life. Once again, you will be tempted with dragon eggs. If your greed gets to you again, you will cease to exist for all eternity. If you take the time to figure out what the eggs are and return them, your soul will be spared. The only thing you can do right now is step into the light. You’ll find peace and sanity there.” She lowered her head and opened her mouth. Following the light, he walked right into her mouth. She closed her jaws around him. The Lady knew that would be the last time they ever saw him. Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought back on the Juron she once knew. She hoped in his next life he would find the peace and forgiveness he was looking for.
“That was very gracious,” whispered the Lady to Sorbek.
“What’s so gracious about it? The idiot got eaten.”
The Lady of Avalon rolled her eyes, “She has chosen to grant him a second chance.”
“Whatever. Death is death. Digestion is digestion. Death should be glorious. Getting eaten reeks of stupidity. I fail to see how being eaten is glorious enough to grant him reincarnation.” He said in a catty attitude.
“Warriors,” the Lady replied in a helpless tone. She approached the envoy, “Who are you?”
In a shift of the wind, the envoy changed its form to that of a tower of brightly colored Bennu. They jumped down from on top of each other and hopped around happily about her as she got down on one knee.
“Don’t forget. You have things to do,” said the Queen as she faded away. The King was not far behind.
“To the heart of the ship it is,” the Lady replied. Placing the little Bennu in her hand back down on the ground, she took Sorbek’s furry hand and magically transported them to stand at the door they needed to enter.
A smile stretched across his face as he thought of several snide remarks to make about her abilities to transport them around and her reasons for not doing so. He found it ironic that she didn’t seem worried about using up her energy anymore. Once he selected the remark he wanted to use, he opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly cut off.
“Don’t you even think about it!” she barked.
“—but it just doesn’t make any sense. Where’
s your power pack so we can plug you in to recharge?”
Her face became stern, and then she lightened up a bit. “That was pretty witty for you to say. If I didn’t know better, either I’m rubbing off on you, or you have been around Seth too long.” Even though he and Seth had come to terms, her comment still stung him a little. “You know, coming here to Atlantis seems to have made a big impact on you. You learned how to care deeply for another, and it has sharpened your wit. Once this is over with, maybe you should consider traveling around for a bit.” Sorbek knew she didn’t mean to irritate him when she touched on his feelings for Giséi, but for a moment it annoyed him.
“No, my duty is on Avalon,” Sorbek replied with a strong sense obligation.
“You don’t have to make a decision now. You can always change your mind later,” the Lady of Avalon said in a comforting tone. “So, are you ready for this?” She asked gesturing to the door before them.
After regaining his focus on the matter at hand, he stated regretfully, “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be doing.”
“Just stand there and look pretty. Make sure no one disrupts our spell work.” He nodded his head in understanding.
She punched in her code, and as the doors opened, the world of disorder appeared before them. Giséi was holding on tightly to Selené, as poor Selené was balling her eyes out. The others were yelling at each other in disagreement. She watched for a moment, trying to assess the situation. It was obvious that the core was set up like a stone monument, almost like a miniature Stonehenge. The rocks had more than toppled over, and everyone had decided to argue over where and which order the rocks should go. However, it would take cooperation from everyone to figure out the placement of the stones. If the stones were not placed in the correct positions, the earth-based machine would not work.
The Lady of Avalon didn’t even bother to split up the group to settle the argument. Instead, she approached Giséi. “I’m not used to them arguing. What happened here?”
“When we first came in here, the stones were barely dislodged. We started to grumble at each other, but cooperation was still our top priority. As we were nearly finished, the room shook.”
