Scanning all the people in the room, Visola observed familiar old friends, and some strange faces who were political leaders of places she had never been. She felt excited by this; she was glad to have strong new friends to fight beside, and she was sure she would get to know them quite well soon enough. Gazing across the room, her eyes locked with her husband’s. They stared at each other for a moment, with small, private smiles. Vachlan was in the middle of a conversation with the leader of the Chilean sea-dwellers, known as the Sumpall, but he still had a moment to raise her glass to her in acknowledgement. Visola felt a blossom of warmth inside her chest. She was happy. Even at the cusp of one of the greatest declarations of war to have ever been made, she was happy.
The doors opened, and a handsome man entered in royal attire, with a beautiful blonde woman and man flanking him. Visola’s breath caught in her throat. She stared for a moment, lifting her fingers to her lips. “Taranis?” she whispered. When he looked to her, and his face frozen in recognition, she laughed.
“Taranis!” she shouted, bounding across the room and lunging at the man. She tossed herself into his arms. “Oh my god. Look at you,” she said, touching his curly brown hair. There were tears in her eyes. “You’re all grown up. You were so scrawny back in the sixteenth century.”
“You look exactly the same,” he said, cupping her face in his hands. He rubbed his thumbs over her cheekbones. “No. Something in your eyes has changed. You’re far more stunning than before. You’re breathtaking.”
“War agrees with me,” Visola responded with a grin.
“I met your kids,” Taranis told her. “They are so beautiful. I can’t believe you’re a mom. Visola—about what happened between us. Can you ever forgive me? I was a fool, and I broke all my promises…”
Vachlan was suddenly standing very close to them. He cleared his throat loudly.
“It doesn’t matter now,” Visola said, smiling into the man’s amber eyes.
“It matters to me,” Taranis said.
Vachlan cleared his throat again.
“You weren’t the man for me, anyway,” she told him. “I got an upgrade.”
Vachlan began counting. “Ten. Nine. Eight.”
“What is he doing?” Taranis asked.
“Counting down how long you have to remove your hands from my body before he castrates you,” Visola explained.
“Oh!” Taranis said, abruptly releasing Visola. “I meant no disrespect, Vachlan, sir.”
Visola chuckled when she saw the stormy look on Vachlan’s face. She also felt a little shiver at the danger it signified.
Vachlan stepped forward, glaring daggers at the man called Leviathan. “So, I’ve been given some interesting information lately, Prince Taranis. I hear that you took my wife’s virginity.”
Taranis glanced at Visola in surprise. He began to look around uncomfortably as he stuttered. “Well, I—I… you see, it was… well…”
Visola snorted. “It was pretty awful. He had no idea what he was doing. It lasted like three seconds. It shouldn’t even count.”
“It counts!” Taranis protested. “It definitely counts! And for the record, I was going to marry someone else, but I wasn’t going to abandon you. I certainly wasn’t going to abandon you for two hundred years.”
Vachlan began to roll up his sleeves and step forward. “You dumb, mother fucking…”
“Boys, boys, settle down,” Visola said lightly, hitting them both in the shoulders. “I know you’re both gunning for a fight, but let’s direct some of that energy toward the assholes who want to murder our families and eradicate all sea-dwellers, okay?” When she saw the fire that was still in their eyes, she switched from violent-comrade talk to a soothing motherly tone. “We’re all friends here. Calm down. Breathe. Good. Good boys.”
Taranis cleared his own throat and turned to Visola graciously. “Allow me to introduce my sister and brother, Prince Marinus and Princess Marina.”
“A pleasure,” said Marina, with a small curtsey, as her brother bowed slightly from the waist.
“Great to meet you!” Visola said, giving them both friendly, informal hugs. She paused at Princess Marina. “Gosh, you’re pretty. I wish I could make my hair behave like that.”
“Thank you,” Marina said with a smile. “It takes precious hours of wasted time. I would rather have yours.”
“So, what’s this I hear about Taranis dating my girl, Zuri?” Visola made a face. “That seems odd, considering our history.”
“Yes, well… life is funny,” Taranis responded.
Visola nodded skeptically. “Uh huh. Break her heart, Taranis. I dare you. We’ll see what happens.”
“I would have to win her heart first, before I could break it,” Taranis said, glancing across the room at where Aazuria was sitting and poring over papers.
She looked up, as if sensing that someone was talking about her. Pushing aside her papers, the Queen of Adlivun smiled and rose to her feet. “Is everyone here? Great. Let us begin.” Aazuria gestured to the table before her. “Please take a seat.”
Aazuria waited for everyone to follow her instructions. She looked around the table, making eye contact with all of the political leaders and important officials. “My dear friends and colleagues, thank you for making the trip to Adlivun. We are all here today to discuss our plan of action in dealing with the ASA. Many of our nations have recently been attacked by members of the Anti-Sea Alliance, an organization which we had hardly even heard of up until recently. Prince Taranis has been fighting against them for longer than any of us, so perhaps he can share more information about our enemy.”
Taranis stood up, nodding at Aazuria as she took her seat. “What is the ASA?” he asked. “It began as a small organization of elite Americans and Europeans who were worried that sea-dwellers would be claiming too many resources and presenting a threat to their economic development. In recent years, it has grown into an offensive alliance comprised of almost every land-dweller nation. They have made declarations of war with our individual nations, and have tried to single us out. Divide and conquer. However, we are all here because we recognize the need to work together, as a single, powerful unit. We should let them know that when they attack us, they’re not just attacking one small underwater city, but they’re attacking all of us under the sea.”
There were murmurs of agreement from around the table. Visola found herself studying Taranis in surprise. He seemed so much stronger, both of body and spirit, than when they had first met. Gone were all the insecurities, the weakness, and the hesitation. He had really developed into a fine man.
“The most critical order of business I want to discuss today,” Taranis continued, “is that I have used my sources to recover intelligence that the ASA is working on a superweapon. A superweapon that can be used against sea-dweller nations.” He paused. “The details are highly classified. We do not have any idea what this could be. It might be a sound wave generator that can boil water, similar to Queen Elandria’s technique. But our greater concern is that it might be chemical.”
“Chemical?” Empress Amabie repeated, looking at her daughter with concern. Princess Yamako was frowning.
“Yes,” said Taranis. “They’ve been experimenting with a chemical that will poison the water so that we can no longer breathe and live under the sea. If they can successfully do this… they will wipe out all sea-dweller nations. Those of us that aren’t killed will have to relocate to land, which will be difficult for many of us. I expect that they’ll keep us in prison camps.”
Dylan cleared his throat. “As someone who has spent time in a Nazi prison camp, I highly recommend we prevent this outcome.”
“You have?” Princess Yamako asked in wonder.
“I spent a lot of time on land to keep current with medical developments,” Dylan explained. “Occasionally, I would blend in among them and offer my assistance in times of great suffering. Trust me. No one does suffering like the land-dwellers, and we can’t let them get thei
r hands on our people.”
Several people nodded while voicing their agreement.
“It’s already happened to us,” Elandria said softly. “It was my fault for signing their treaty. The Americans oppressed us for years while our people worked on that bridge. They offered us protection and pretended to be our friends… but they subjected our people to the worst conditions we have ever suffered.”
“But why would they use a weapon to destroy the seas?” asked Sultan Olokun. “There is other life in the oceans that they depend on for survival. Why would they damage the very resource they are fighting us for?”
“Scorched earth tactics,” said Vachlan thoughtfully, glancing at Taranis. He rubbed his chin as he turned to Trevain. “This would be against the Geneva Conventions, right?”
Trevain frowned. “I think that the United States has not ratified that protocol.”
“Fuck the Geneva Conventions,” Visola said. “I broke them about a dozen times in the past few months.”
“But you weren’t acting on behalf of a country,” said the leader of the Rusalka. “You were acting as an individual person, and no rules really apply to you. This would be different.”
Aazuria rose to her feet again. “If Oceanus declares war on the countries of the Anti-Sea Alliance, we would have to follow the Geneva Conventions. We would expect them to adhere to the rules of war as well.”
“They have no rules! They have no dignity!” shouted the Chilean leader.
Everyone erupted in argument, causing Visola to frown. She looked down at her fingers, which she had begun tapping against the table impatiently. She tuned out what everyone was saying until something trivial caught her attention and she saw an opportunity to make a joke.
“We would be sacrificing many of our imports. A great deal of variety has been introduced to our diets recently due to trading with land-dwellers. We have access to vast amounts of fruit and grain, and new types of meat. However, we do not require any of these luxuries, for we have all lived on the bounty of the sea for generations.”
“That’s sad,” Visola said. “I like popcorn.”
Those who were unfamiliar with her flippant ways turned to her in surprise. She gave them a wink, and returned to strumming her fingers on the table as the others began conversing again. Visola was growing antsy and upset, and wanted to leave the meeting. She did not like talking; she was only good at fighting. She only looked up again once the conversation began to involve her.
“Who should give the speech? The official declaration of war for Oceanus?” asked Trevain. “Empress Amabie, or Aazuria?”
“I personally think that Queen Aazuria would present a greater image of strength,” Empress Amabie said. “I might seem too old and frail to the public if I am the face of this war.”
“What about Visola?” Aazuria asked. “Should we consider reinstating her as the official Minister of Defense, and having her make the speech for a serious show of strength? She has made speeches before that went over really well with the American public.”
“After what I’ve done? I can’t be the Minister of Defense anymore,” Visola said sadly. Then she thrust her fist into the air. “But I can be the unofficial Minister of Offence! Heck, yeah.”
Empress Amabie smiled. “Visola, you might think that you have made things harder on us with your actions, but you would be mistaken. The ASA was coming for us either way. You just forced their hand a little sooner, and brought them out of the shadows. We all owe you a debt.”
Visola lowered her eyes, nodding in thanks. She was not altogether sure that this was true.
“Public opinion is quite favorable toward Visola,” Aazuria informed everyone. “There is a high degree of respect and understanding for her actions. Part of the reason for this is Vachlan’s movie. It told the whole story.”
“It was a really great movie,” said Sultan Olokun. “Some fine work, Vachlan—possibly your best.”
“Thanks, mate!” Vachlan said.
“Your movie made me cry like a baby,” said the female leader of the Australian mermaids.
“Same with me,” said the Rusalka leader.
Vachlan seemed aglow. “I can’t tell you how happy that makes me, my friends. Thank you!”
Aazuria looked at her advisor thoughtfully. “Vachlan… Did you intend for your movie to be used as an instrument of war?” she asked him.
The dark-haired man smiled. “Popular literature and art has always been used as propaganda to influence and educate the masses.”
Aazuria turned to look at Visola, shaking her head in wonder. “What an incredible man.”
“I know, right? He’s a peach.” Visola smiled at her husband. Then she lowered her eyes to the table once more. “Look, Zuri. I appreciate that you want me to make the declaration. But I can’t do it. I’ll fight—I’ll fight as much as you all need me to fight. But I’m not in any condition to do this part. The public relations—putting on my fake happy-go-lucky face to trip everyone up.” She shook her head and rose to her feet. “You do the declaration, honey. You be the face and the voice. I’ll be your fists.”
With that, Visola sent everyone a smile and exited the room. She moved through the building, heading for the balconies where she could get some fresh air. She had to cross through the living area, and there was a large television playing a news report of her recent attacks. Visola hesitated and paused. She gazed at the images and video of the mushroom clouds and falling ash, spellbound by the destruction. She listened to the panic in the voices of the reporters, and observed the pictures of all the injuries that people had suffered.
Seeing this drained her energy. Visola crawled into the couch, and curled up into a ball, facing away from the television. She thought about the days to come, and the future of her children. She thought about what a dark place the world had become—and how she was largely responsible. She continued to meditate on the destruction until the reporters’ voices lulled her to sleep. After some time, she awoke to a hand on her shoulder. She could feel that it was Vachlan. She looked up at him, allowing her true emotions to be visible on her face.
“What have I done?” she asked him again.
“You did everything you could,” he told her, taking a seat beside her on the couch. He caressed her hair. “You did what you needed to do.”
She turned over so that she was facing him and the television news report. She stared at the pictures with the deep, soul-searching look of someone who was questioning everything. “If only you had reached me sooner, Vachlan… you could have saved the world.”
He continued to stroke the hair near her temple. “I didn’t want to save the world. I just wanted to save you.”
This sentence surprised her. She looked up at him with a small smile of gratitude for his unwavering allegiance. She lifted her hand to draw small circles on his arm. “Well, I guess I win.”
“Win what?” Vachlan asked.
She gestured toward the television, where there were endless depictions of the burning cities of America. “They used to call you the Destroyer of Kingdoms. What will they call me?”
“The Destroyer of Earth,” Vachlan responded.
“Mmmm. I think I like that,” she said.
“It is strangely beautiful, in a dark and morbid way,” Vachlan said as he surveyed the destruction.
“I was surprised that Japan helped me so much,” Visola admitted. “I really thought they were cool with the USA, but the emperor was holding this secret grudge, and just waiting for the right moment…”
“Can you blame them?” Vachlan asked. “We can act nice and play nice with our enemies for a few decades if we have to… but we will never forget what they did to our mothers. What they did to our grandmothers. Any country that thinks it can escape its history is doomed to be the victim of the same crimes it committed.”
“There are some dark days ahead, aren’t there?” Visola asked.
Her husband nodded.
Footsteps were heard and they both t
urned to see Aazuria enter the room, with a grim look on her face. “It’s done,” she informed them. “I made the declaration. Oceanus is officially at war with the Anti-Sea Alliance.”
“Great,” Vachlan said, slapping his palms against his thighs in a gesture of readiness. “It’s Land versus Sea. Now it’s just left to see who sides with them, and who sides with us. And who remains neutral. This is going to be fun.”
Visola lifted herself off the couch and supported herself with one elbow as she stared at her friend with concern. She peered into Aazuria’s eyes, seeking beyond the woman’s unfathomable resolve. “Zuri,” Visola said softly. “What if we lose Adlivun because of what you just did?”
“It will be worth it,” Aazuria said, with a loving smile. “It will always be worth it to me, for you.”
COMING SOON...
Poisoned Waters
A story centered around Varia and Glais, and America’s backlash against Oceanus. Expected publication early 2015.
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A Note from the Author
Dear Reader,
Maelstrom Page 33
