Shadows of Atlantis- Awakening

by Mara Powers

  “Who sent you here? How did you know we were here?” Azai demanded, pressing the knife closer to her throat. Vinesia panted anxiously.

  Ofira sauntered through the dwelling, casually running her hand over the surface of the entry table. “I told you. I am a servant of the Watchers. By their decree, this woman is favored. So I wouldn’t think about hurting her. Need I remind you the Watchers are the guardians of the threshold between life and death? You would discover the truth of this the moment you hurt her.”

  The prince continued to stare at Ofira. His eyes held no regard for her warning as he backed toward the balcony, dragging Vinesia along with him.

  Ofira mentally summoned her warrior. Prince Azai noticed the imposing shadow darkening the threshold, and in a split second of decision, pushed his hostage toward them. He lithely slid over the balcony, and clicked open a hover-disc. The torsion-crystal spun into its high-pitched whirl as it searched for a telluric current, which did not exist three stories up. Rayliis copied his move, and together they free fell from the balcony, expertly using narrow surfaces to bounce to the ground and speed away.

  Ofira leaned out to watch them leave, her mouth downturned, impressed with their skill. “Hover-tricksters. They must be conclave.” Her eyes drifted to Vinesia. “They will be back.”

  Vinesia collected herself. She had an equanimity, even in the face of danger. With graceful movements, she went to work picking up the items knocked to the ground in her struggle. She carefully avoided the animata warrior.

  “Ofira Pazit. I never thought I’d be happy to see you. Why are you really here? My mother?” She eyed Ofira and the animata with calculating intelligence, then resumed her cleaning.

  “Well, as you seem to know, your mother did send me,” Ofira admitted.

  “Ah. Yes, of course. She’s suddenly begun to care, then?”

  “She’s your mother,” said Ofira calmly. “All mothers love their daughters. It’s the daughters most of the time who choose not to believe it. You will be safer with me for a while. Packing some bags might be a good idea.”

  Vinesia looked at Ofira, deadpan. “I can take care of myself. I have made it this far on my own. Thank you, though.”

  “Very well. I will leave my warrior with you, then.”

  Vinesia shifted her stare and wrinkled her nose. “Is that an animata?”

  “That’s very perceptive of you,” Ofira congratulated.

  Vinesia stopped cleaning and breathed for a moment. The shock was beginning to wear off. She tried to hide the trembling of her hands. “Let’s be forthright. Why did she send you?”

  “I am a caretaker of the dreamclans. Your mother is a very important part of the Watchers’ workings. You must not forget your birthright, my dear.”

  “On the contrary, I know it all too well.” She sat down and stared ahead. “As you can see, I have chosen a simple life. I rue the day I was born into nobility with Telluric Dreamclan blood. My parents negotiated my life away to the royal family, and didn’t stand up for me when Kyliron ruined me at court. I have chosen not to be their pawn any longer.”

  “My dear, your father is the mediator of all sha’mana mining in the ten kingdoms. He could purchase the kingdom from the king himself. Your mother’s dreamclan brought your mother to him in order to renew the link between the old ways with the mining of the treasure. It is time the two of you reconnected. You have more in common than you can imagine. Did she not teach you the ways of her clan?”

  Vinesia shook her head dismally. “When I was a child she taught my sister and me the telluric dances to align the currents, but through the cycles, she became a lady of the courts, and seemed to forget about her Grid dancing.” She stared ahead bitterly. “I have been running from my birthright, and yet somehow the old me always catches up.” She sighed heavily.

  “And yet the new you is the old you, Vektra.” Ofira winked and plopped sideways into a chair, kicking her feet on the table beside it.

  Vinesia paused from her cleaning and cast a suspicious glance at the cavalier captain, who seemed so nonchalant about everything. “What do you know about Vektra?”

  “I know this Vektra has reprogrammed the Grid in this sector using the dances of the Grid Weavers of Hermes; your clan. Your mother wanted me to deliver this messenger-crystal to you.” Ofira produced it from her shoulder satchel.

  Vinesia stared at the crystal.

  “You know how to use these, I take it.” teased Ofira.

  “Of course I do. This is encoded. I need to go to a nodeyard and unlock it with the Grid.”

  “There will be one where we are heading.”

  Vinesia nodded, conceding the argument. She gathered some outfits from the cabinets and stuffed them haphazardly into a satchel. “And where, may I ask, might our heading be?”

  Ofira smiled. “To an old friend’s place. Someone who will be able to keep you safe.”

  PRINCE AZAI AND Rayliis watched from the darkness as the two women hovered away. The animata warrior trotted easily behind. The night seemed still, despite voices spilling from the neighborhood elixir den. Azai lowered the embroidered scarf from his face and nudged Rayliis, tossing his head toward their departure. “I do think this Vinesia woman is our best lead in finding Bavendrick,” he calculated, stroking his chin. A smile formed on his lips. “I see why my cousin Bavendrick has stayed in love with her. We are stubborn with our free will, the line of Atlas. A very big mess has been made, and somehow I don’t think it was Kyliron who caused it. I think he is a victim who is merely trained to perpetuate it.”

  “If you say this Vinesia’s father is the mediator of all sha’mana mining in Atlantis, then she is very important for other reasons, My Prince.” Rayliis prepared her hover-disc. “You should think about that the next time you decide to hold a knife to her throat.” She raised her eyebrows severely.

  He nodded with a deep sigh. “Of course I was only bluffing. I don’t know who that other woman was, but she has made this task significantly more difficult.” He mounted his hover-disc, and winked back at her. “But you know how I love a challenge.”

  Rayliis stared at him as he hovered away, and quickly joined in pursuit of Vinesia and her mysterious liberator.

  TWO FIGURES MATERIALIZED out of Dreamtime as Prince Azai disappeared. Atheerian glanced at Fa’nariel.

  “Was that Vektra?” he squinted.

  “I don’t know. But I know her real identity. She is Vinesia Shanel, former betrothed to Prince Bavendrick,” Fa’nariel divulged, watching them carefully. “I know some of her family. It would make sense Vektra would be her hidden identity.” She made sign to the Fates. “That other woman was at the cartel docks today with D’Vinid. The vortex is clear.”

  “Who do you suppose those other two are following them?” Atheerian asked.

  Fa’nariel shook her head. “I don’t know. But I think it might be wise to lead them astray. I don’t like them.”

  Atheerian smiled. “Neither do I.” He lowered his goggles. “Let’s have some fun, shall we?”

  They simultaneously vanished into the blue dream, and began hunting the hunters.

  UNDER THE COVER of darkness, a hover-carriage passed through an elaborate gateway, embellished with tridents and other nautical symbols. A single rider hovered alongside. The twins sat at the controls, caught in a bickering clash of wills. “You were the one who told father we rearranged the seats at the feast. Why could you not have the sense to keep your mouth shut?”

  The other twin opened and closed his fingers to mimic his incessant yammering.

  “I’m not arguing with you anymore. You’re wrong. Just like you’re always wrong. And I don’t even see why I argue with you in the first place. It’s just a waste of breath, because not only are you wrong, but you don’t believe you’re wrong! That makes you good for just about nothing.”

  They directed the hover-carriage to a roundabout and clamored to the ground. One of them belched as he stretched his arms back.

  “You
two are never subtle, are you?” D’Vinid reined in the Aello twins as he dismounted the hover-disc. “Nor are you aware of your surroundings. I have never understood why your father places so much faith in you in the first place.”

  “We’re his heirs!” Jensyn put his fists on his hips, incensed. “He has to trust us.”

  Kayden nodded in agreement. It was the first thing they had agreed on since their long hover from the ocean to the Aello estate near the rings of the citadel.

  They were approached by a pair of servants.

  “Ah!” Jensyn threw his arms wide. “I’m glad you came to greet us! Please see to it our guest in the carriage is brought to the water bungalows. Put him in the third one, and make sure the doors are locked. He had too many of the wrong elixirs at the revelry.” He winked at D’Vinid to point out his clever subterfuge.

  The servants assessed the situation, and one went in search of a smaller hover-sled from the Aello gatehouse.

  “Come on!” Kayden beckoned to D’Vinid. “Let’s go see our father.”

  D’Vinid lingered on Bavendrick. “I don’t think I will be leaving our friend’s side. Have your father come see us.”

  The twins formed identical frowns.

  “We could just not tell our father,” Kayden suggested.

  “And what would that accomplish?” asked his dubious brother.

  “Well,” Kayden pondered. “If we just take care of our ‘guest’ ourselves, it will keep the secret even more secret. We can’t have people knowing where he is. If father doesn’t know, then even fewer people know.”

  Jensyn hit Kayden over the head. “Don’t be ridiculous! Our father knows everything! That would only get us in more trouble! That’s the dumbest idea you’ve had all day.”

  D’Vinid released a heavy sigh of impatience. By now the servants were returning to load Bavendrick onto the sled. The prince moaned while he was being moved.

  The twins gave in, and followed the quiet processional to the water bungalows. When Bavendrick was safely tucked into bed, D’Vinid flipped his head toward them. “Don’t you have any healers to summon?” he suggested.

  “Oh, yes, of course!” Jensyn stuck his head out the door to the departing servants. “Fetch some sentinels to watch over this bungalow, and a healer. Oh, and food to eat.”

  “And something to drink!” Kayden added.

  Jensyn slammed the door.

  D’Vinid plopped down in the seat next to the bed. “Let’s play an honesty game while we wait. How were you able to find me on Ka-Ma-Sharri?”

  “We didn’t have a locator-crystal, if that’s what you’re asking,” Jensyn answered, as he went to work checking for dust on the surfaces of furniture around the bungalow.

  “Then how?” D’Vinid flipped his wrist to encourage an answer.

  They both looked around conspiratorially, and pulled crystals from their inner pockets. “All Children of One have soul-crystals we use to tap into the Grid.” Jensyn explained. “There are so many ways you can use them. We happen to be really good at locating, because we can triangulate someone’s location together.”

  D’Vinid produced the crystal wand Fa’nariel had given him from an inner pocket. “I need to access this.”

  The twins’ eyes lit up. Jensyn snatched it from his hand and rolled it around between his fingers. His features dropped after a closer inspection. “I don’t think this is a soul-crystal. It’s a record-keeper of some sort. There’s the key.” He pointed to a divot in the crystal’s surface. “See this triangle?”

  The twins focused on each other again. “Should we take him to the estate nodeyard?” Kayden suggested.

  “I think it’s the best idea,” Jensyn agreed.

  D’Vinid snatched it back.

  A healer woman arrived at the door, interrupting the moment, much to D’Vinid’s relief. Of course, Pan employed only the best onsite healers. This one was another temple outcast like Allondriss. Immediate recognition widened her eyes as she carefully assessed the prince’s recovery protocol.

  Kayden leaned in close to her ear, massaging her shoulders. “Of course, no one is to be told of this. I do hope you understand.”

  She nodded, holding Bavendrick’s hand, gently probing his auric field with a crystal. She eased and looked up. “He has suffered from elemental invasion. But he will recover with proper rest and care.”

  “We will be going to fetch our father now,” said Jensyn. “Stay with him until we return, yes?”

  She nodded again.

  The twins and D’Vinid took one last look at Bavendrick and stepped into the moonlit gardens of Pan’s estate.

  “The nodeyard first, then?” said D’Vinid in a tone suggesting “yes” would be the only acceptable answer.

  The twins gestured enthusiastically, directing their path to the estate’s private nodeyard. The node glowed from within, as if it had absorbed the lunar blue flooding the sky. Over the cycles, the Aellos were able to collect an elaborate garden of crystals to surround their node. Crystals of all shapes and sizes were configured in a formation designed to amplify the six-foot-tall capacitor. Jensyn crept through the crystal garden and took a position next to the node. Kayden did the same. Inching closer, D’Vinid held the crystal given him by Fa’nariel.

  As the clouds covering the moon parted and the sky brightened, the Aello twins touched their crystals to the surface of the node.

  “First, you have to access the accessor,” Jensyn explained with a giggle at his repeated words. “Then you have access to the Grid. But do so with intention unless you want to get zapped.”

  “What is your intention?” D’Vinid asked.

  “We like to get zapped,” Kayden admitted. “It’s a real rush.”

  D’Vinid smirked, and concentrated on the crystal, specifically on Loressai’s location. A rush of images flooded his head. He quickly pulled away, stunned by the vastness of the Grid. He could immediately tell it would take practice to get used to the images. The twins convulsed as they pressed their crystals to the node. D’Vinid decided to try a different approach. He focused on projecting his thoughts to the twins to harness their alleged ability to locate.

  They both jolted, and an image of Loressai appeared. Suddenly, it sizzled with static and noise, and was replaced by the menacing shadow face of the Triad Lord who had possessed her. D’Vinid cried out. Dropping the crystal, he tried desperately to block out the terrifying image.

  “What was that?” Kayden’s voice was awash with anxiety.

  “That, I’m afraid, is our adversary,” D’Vinid confessed.

  “Then we must not ever get its attention again,” said Kayden.

  “But we have the upper hand,” Jensyn countered. “If we don’t do our duty and find a way to banish this creature, we will be no better than anyone we despise in Atlantis.”

  “You can’t be serious. Us?” Kayden grunted. “How do you figure we have the upper hand?”

  D’Vinid rolled his eyes. “Here we go again, you two bickering away.”

  The twins flanked him, Kayden on the left and Jensyn on the right, appealing to him as the judge of their new argument.

  “Why is it our responsibility to do something about this?” Kayden pleaded. “Just because we saw it doesn’t mean it’s up to us to face it! We don’t even have the skills!”

  “But that doesn’t change the fact we saw it! That means the Watchers have given us a mission.” Jensyn had a look of longing on his face.

  “What if it’s a trap? What if it’s trying to lure us so it can suck us into its lair?”

  “Then we will have given our lives for a noble cause.” Jensyn looked meaningfully into the sky.

  “Enough! Both of you need to just . . . shut up!” D’Vinid stormed off into the garden. They stared at one another, their clash simmering. The sound of approaching voices echoed through the garden. The twins remained silent, and ducked into a shadow to get a good look at who would appear out of the darkness.

  A BEAM OF golden light s
hone into the courtyard of Queen Dafni. The tree branches stretched into the stars. Brigitte bathed in the gathering light, allowing it to purify her body. Two roses grew from the ground, marking the entrance to a cavernous opening. The darkness led to a view of stars inside Sophaiya. “As above, so below. As within, so without.” The words were a floating whisper on the wind. Brigitte wanted to leap into the opening and escape, but somehow she remained held in the light, unable to move.

  “I must find answers, sister.” The voice of her brother drifted through the dream. “I will be gone when you awake.”

  “No! Lukias. I need you.”

  “I am with you always. Never fear, I will return.”

  Brigitte opened her eyes. An awareness of crushing discomfort overtook her body as she realized she was pinned beneath Kyliron as they slept. A subtle snore labored his breathing. She carefully pushed him away, but he pulled her into a tighter lock. She struggled harder until she was free of his grasp. Gently she crawled to the other side of the rounded bed, and curled into a fetal position, relieved to be free from his suffocating weight.

  Gems sparkle in her violet eyes,

  while she lovingly gazes toward velvet black skies.

  At nighttime her whispers are heard far away,

  echoing distant and faint in the day.

  The silvery strands of her hair flow down,

  and children hide in the folds of her gown.

  She is the guardian of intuition,

  while he stands strong for illumination.

  His hair is golden, a vortex of light,

  striking fear in the hearts of our demons of night.

  Fire and ice streak across each horizon.

  Hark! See his brazen hail, sense her silence.

  Through day and night they assume a chase,