by Kristen Day
“Just because I live on an invisible island doesn’t mean I don’t get to leave every once in a while.” The sharpness of his tone told me not to press further, while his threatening gaze had me narrowing my eyes at him with mistrust. I decided to grill him later when I could corner him and beat the truth out of him if necessary. I don’t care who appointed him – he was hiding something. And I intended to find out what that something was.
Chapter 20
Olivia
“Is the Rent-A-Babysitter really necessary?” I whispered to Carmen.
“Unless you want to be sacrificed to the Atlantean Gods for trespassing.” Sebastian twisted around to face me with defiance. “It would be wise of you to keep me close.”
“You’re kidding….right?” Carmen scrunched up her nose at him.
“Am I?” he challenged with a sneer.
“If anybody needs security, it’s Stasia,” I countered matter-of-factly.
“Every soul on this island knows who Anastasia is.” He raised a blonde eyebrow. “I seriously doubt the same can be said for you.”
“I can take care of myself!” I demanded with hands on hips. I realized I resembled a toddler having a temper tantrum more than a Goddess’s Warrior, so I dropped my arms and straightened my back. It was just that something about him made me want to throw things.
“Fine.” He shrugged and smiled slyly. “Have it your way. But don’t come running to me when they staple ropes to your bare skin and carry you to the center of town, and then gut you from head to toe.” He tapped on Carmen’s forehead and pointed at her feet for effect. “After you bleed out, they’ll take your heart and liver to the offering cliff and toss it into the fire.” Carmen’s eyes grew big and she clutched his arm.
“I don’t know if you’re kidding or not, but I don’t really want to find out the hard way,” she pleaded. “Don’t listen to her – stay with us!”
He stood slightly straighter and grinned down at me. When I didn’t say anything, he nodded once at Carmen and turned on his heel. She followed into step with him and motioned for me to follow. Every shred of the pride in my heart was yelling against me, but I forced my legs to follow suit. No matter how much I wanted to rip his throat out, we were strangers in a foreign land and at the moment he was all we had. I sighed and glanced up at the waning moon rising in the east. It seemed larger somehow out here on this island amidst the dark silence of wilderness.
We followed Sebastian down a worn path, and the sound of rushing water could be heard off in the distance. I wasn’t sure I was necessarily looking forward to flying down more rapids in a wooden canoe – especially at night. Thankfully the moon was bright enough to light our way, but it was still no match for the sun. The night harbored more unknowns, more monsters, more secrets in its endless shadows. There were more hiding places, and an infinite amount of space for an imagination to run wild.
Despite all of those traps, I’d still always loved the night. Sometimes the monsters hiding in the shadows were only the ones inside of us. At night we had the wherewithal to be careful, but the day presented a veil of security that caused us to let down our guards and ignore our baser instincts. Sometimes the scariest monsters were those right in front of our faces; the ones who had mastered the art of deception. So it was the night where I felt the most comfortable. To me, the sunlight presented more risk – it had the power to uncover our darkest secrets and shine light on our weaknesses.
“Whoa.” Carmen stopped abruptly and grabbed my arm. I was about to pull out of her grasp when I looked ahead and realized I needed her grip to steady me. Just ahead was a beautiful, intricate bridge created from the roots of two huge trees on either side. But that wasn’t what had my legs wanting to run the other direction. No, that wasn’t what had me seriously questioning the sanity of these Atlanteans. It was what lay beneath the naturally constructed root bridge.
“Here’s where that whole ‘afraid of heights’ thing comes in.” Sebastian smiled widely at us and the moonlight caught his eyes just as they met mine; throwing me off guard for a second. That one simple glance contained so many emotions, it took me a moment to sort through them all. His sense of adventure, overflowing excitement, and visible anticipation gave him a youthful appearance that made my heart warm. I suddenly figured out where the phrase ‘if he jumped off a cliff, would you jump too?’ came from. It was difficult not to get caught up in the magnetic elation shining in his features as he surveyed the enormous crevice in the earth’s crust. I found myself yearning to share in his emotions; to experience the raw elation of something he’d probably done a million times. I’d follow him off a cliff to experience that kind of passion any day.
I mentally shook myself. I had to stay grounded. Just because he thought it was a good idea didn’t mean it was. I didn’t know him from Adam, and regardless of what Stasia thought, I still had my doubts about him. I was sure Hades probably had the same passion in his eyes right before sucking the souls from his victims and stealing them away to the depths of Tartarus to burn for eternity.
“Why is there a massive crack in the island?” Carmen questioned with dread; eliciting a chuckle from Sebastian. He smoothed the hair out of his face and stepped up to the edge of the cliff. I made the mistake of glancing down at the ‘crack’ in the island, and had to grab Carmen’s arm again. A bout of dizziness hit me as my eyes adjusted to the depth. I could just see a thin line of white at the bottom.
“It’s one of the rings,” Sebastian responded, as if ‘rings’ were a common occurrence and nothing to get all worked up about.
“Unless this is ‘The Lord of the Rings’, I’m going to need you to expound on what you mean by ‘ring’,” she retorted.
“Lord of the what?” He cocked his head to the side with quiet fascination.
“Lord of the Rings…It’s a trilogy that…nevermind.”
“We don’t have any lords, but here on Atlantis there are four rings,” he explained. “Each encircles the city. There are two land rings and two water rings, and they protect us. This is the deepest of the water rings, as well as the oldest. The only way across the water rings are these bridges made over centuries from the roots of rubber trees. We’ve perfected the art of manipulating the roots to provide a natural type of architecture. You can find the root bridges elsewhere on the island as well, but they were originally only for the purpose of crossing the rings.”
“So the island resembles a massive bull’s-eye?” Carmen guessed.
“More or less, yes.” He checked his watch. “And we need to hurry.”
Not willing to stick around and figure out why we needed to hurry, we followed him across the root bridge with shaky legs and wide eyes. The bridge itself was much more stable than I would have expected. It didn’t swing, and felt as stable as if we were walking on the ground. The floor of the bridge was packed with dirt and large stones, making it feel as if we were completely safe. But one glimpse downward and all thoughts of safety flew out the window. The moonlight shone on the metallic layers within the walls of the crevice, and I found myself mesmerized by the cadence of gold, silver, bronze, and reddish colors glimmering in the moonlight. They cast an eerie ambiance over an already mysterious landscape. Random bird calls and animal howls careened through the night; enhancing the feeling that we were in uncharted territory.
The only thing that gave me any amount of solace was the confidence in Sebastian’s gait as he practically danced across the bridge. Once we reached the middle, he turned slowly and flashed a grin that looked a little too maniacal for my liking.
“If we don’t keep walking, I might throw up,” Carmen choked out. “I don’t have a very good track record when it comes to bridges.”
“Almost time.” Sebastian checked his watch once more and glanced down at the thin line of water far below.
“What exactly are we waiting for?” I asked slowly. My mind automatically calculated which direction would be shortest in case I needed to make a quick escape. I could probably s
coop up Carmen and dart back the way we came in under five seconds. Unless I had to fight. Then Carmen would have to make the run back by herself. I widened my stance and felt the familiar hum within my body in preparation for whatever might happen next.
“You’ll see.” He seemed to be counting down the seconds on his watch. His white clothing almost glowed against the backdrop of the black cliffs and crevice. The moonlight glanced across his blonde hair; enhancing the blue of his eyes and the bronze tone of his skin. I reminded myself that demons were also beautiful, but that didn’t make them any less dangerous. It made them more dangerous. I wrapped an arm across Carmen’s waist to push her behind me and stepped towards him with purpose.
“I asked you what we’re waiting for,” I commanded through gritted teeth. “I expect an answer.”
His blue eyes sparkled with amusement, sending the frenzy of electricity behind my eyes burning with indignation. At the same time, a surge of energy flowed from my heart out to my arms and legs, pumped by waves of anger. When he simply smiled widely at me, I almost tossed him into the crevice below.
“Your eyes shine with a fire when you’re angry,” he expressed in Greek with a wink. “It’s breathtaking. Remind me to stay on your bad side.” I was about to show him exactly what my bad side would get him, when I heard what sounded like wings. Millions of them.
“Please tell me you hear that too.” Carmen’s big puppy dog eyes stared at me with uncertainty.
“Duck!” Sebastian instructed. Carmen and I hit the dirt and covered our heads. The flapping of wings became louder and louder until I thought I was about to be carried off by a flock of a thousand birds. I heard Carmen spewing every curse word known to man and decided to take a peek at what golden boy had decided to subject us to. Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw next.
Chapter 21
Olivia
The darkness of night was suddenly replaced with a light so brilliant it hurt my eyes. It was all around me – illuminating my skin, my hair, the bridge and everything in between. It was as if the moon itself had shattered and was showering fragments down upon us. I tried to find Sebastian or even Carmen, but the storm of light was too bright. I tried to call out, but the fluttering wings were too loud. The sheer weight of the sound could be felt in my bones, and the wind created from the fluttering wings swirled up a wind so soft, it caressed my skin and left a residue of something resembling glitter. I wiped at my left arm and watched as a layer of iridescent powder cascaded from my fingers and showered onto my leg.
As the sound gradually faded, I was able to see exactly what had just engulfed us in a cloud of gold powder. Pairs of wings fluttered by my head and shot up and down at random. My first thought was butterflies, but these creatures were much too big to be butterflies. Their wingspan had to be nearly four feet. They were the size of birds, but agile as a bumblebee. Their size was overshadowed by their most redeeming quality, however. They…glowed. And what I thought at first was an opaque being, now seemed to shift and move more like smoke than an insect. Two glowing long trails drifted behind them, attached to the bottom of each wing.
One in particular hovered just in front of me, and I reached out to touch it without thinking. It shifted slightly, became suddenly brighter and then shot up into the sky. Once gone, it cleared a direct line of sight to Sebastian. I gasped and felt my mouth drop. Standing with his arms wide, head back and eyes closed, he allowed the glowing butterflies to land on his shoulders, arms, and forearms. As if they knew exactly what to do, the butterflies hovered, fluttered their wings, and then dropped to a soft landing; lighting Sebastian’s already golden skin to a bright yellow. As the gold powder dusted off their wings and onto his skin, he seemed to transform into something more angel-like than descendant.
When the butterflies continued their upward flight, Carmen and I were able to stand and slowly step towards him in awe. He smiled and lifted his head, slowly opening his eyes. When his gaze met mine, I couldn’t convince my mouth to close. All I could do was continue to stare at him like a madwoman. The creatures were the most beautiful things I’d ever seen, and their complete and utter trust in him shattered my previous menacing view of him. In the presence of those magnificent beings, he belonged among the ranks of the spirit world. As we watched, one by one the creatures lifted from his arms and disappeared once again into the night sky.
One in particular lingered on his wrist as he brought it in front of his face. The exchange reminded me of a boy and his dog - as if it was a pet he’d known his entire life. He stood completely still while the creature hopped lightly on his arm and inspected his face with eyes filled with magic. It opened and closed its wings just like I’d seen butterflies do hundreds of times. His other hand actually stroked what could only be its head, and the creature actually tipped forward like a dog getting his ears rubbed. Sebastian smiled warmly.
“...like that star of the waning summer who beyond all stars rises bathed in the ocean stream to glitter in brilliance,” he murmured in Greek to the winged being as if reciting scripture. The glowing butterfly stretched its wings, but stilled once more. The gold glow of the creature mixed with Sebastian’s golden features so perfectly, it was hard to know where one ended and the other began. My nickname of ‘golden boy’ for him even appeared much more fitting now. Their simple exchange of greeting filled my heart with enchantment and wonder.
He lifted his arm and the butterfly flapped its wings and soared into the sky; leaving a shower of gold powder in its wake. Sebastian watched it go with nostalgia, and then shook his head and body; sending a shower of gold onto the bridge and into the deep crevice below.
“What,” Carmen said as she continued gawking at Sebastian with round eyes, “were those?”
“We call them chrysá fterá,” Sebastian educated us with pride. “Or just chrysá. It means ‘golden wings’.”
“What are they exactly?” I pressed.
“They live within the island, but since they’re nocturnal, they only become active at night. They feed off of the moon’s energy,” he explained. “They belong to the trees.”
“Belong.to.the.trees,” Carmen repeated slowly with obvious doubt. I noticed her mouth twitch in an effort not to laugh in his face. Sensing her budding sarcastic comment, he frowned.
“We all do,” he emphasized simply, and then continued to walk across the bridge as if we hadn’t just been attacked by a swarm of oversized glowing butterflies. “Time to go, kyries.”
After what seemed like the longest hour of my life, we finally came to something resembling civilization. We followed Sebastian through a thicket of bushes and into a sprawling courtyard glistening beneath the light of the moon. I couldn’t identify any of the flowers overflowing onto the courtyard’s stones, but they were all a shade of metallic and seemed to revel in the moonlight. Whether it was silver lilies, golden roses, or bronze poppies, they all reflected the moon rays streaming over them with a precision that almost hurt my eyes.
We continued walking through the courtyard until we started seeing figures milling about, talking or sitting and reading; all wearing white. Several glanced up at us, but for the most part no one noticed we weren’t from Atlantis.
“What’s with the white clothes?” I asked Sebastian. “Do Atlanteans not believe in color?”
He chuckled and his eyes swept the figures we passed gaily. “We don’t have the ability to dye fabric here. Our only option would be natural dyes, which would be taken from the native plants, and we would never misuse nature in vain. You have a different opinion?”
“It just seems like white would get pretty boring.” My eyes automatically drifted down his body and I forced myself to meet his gaze instead. “But I suppose it does have a certain…regal quality.”
“I like the simplicity of it,” Carmen agreed with a nod. “Getting dressed in the morning would suddenly get a lot easier.”
“I’m glad we have your approval.” Sebastian smiled at us with a hint of sarcasm glowing in hi
s blue eyes. “I’ll be sure to send a certified letter straight to Atlas himself.”
“Are you trying to be a smart ass, or are you just naturally offensive to everyone you come in contact with?” I snapped at him. That’s what I got for trying to make conversation.
“Yes,” he answered vaguely with a satisfied grin. I fought back the urge to strangle him as we followed him down a worn stone path. He stopped abruptly and turned to face us.
“Here we are,” he announced as his eyes slid downward; settling on a dark opening in the ground. The opening was created by a robust, stone staircase disappearing into the depths of the earth. Somewhat similar to subway station entrances in big cities, it was underwhelming and rather hidden. Vines and overgrown shrubbery masked its man-made characteristics; making it even more sinister while immersed in moonlight. If you didn’t watch where you were going, you could easily stumble down it without realizing it. The entrance itself had a low arched ceiling with the word ‘Vivliothí̱ki̱’ etched into the rustic gray stone that was barely visible from years of erosion and negligence. The musty smell drifting up made it evident that the entrance had been there for a very long time.
“Viv-leeoth-icky?” Carmen pronounced slowly and then grinned with anticipation. “That sounds kinda creepy. What is this?”
“A library,” Sebastian stated plainly. He cracked a smile and a giggle escaped my lips at the disappointment dripping down Carmen’s face when she frowned.
“Well they should just call it that, then,” she grumbled.
“Vivliothí̱ki̱ is the word ‘library’ in Greek,” I translated dryly and waited for her reaction. She put her hands on her hips.
“I knew that.” She lifted her chin, walked past Sebastian and I with narrowed eyes, and stepped down into the dark staircase. She turned around and raised her eyebrows with impatience. “Are y’all coming or what?”
