Tides of Change

by Susan MacIver

  Daria glimpsed the sad world that Travlor occupied. “No wonder his life seems so dismal.”

  Ni-Cio continued. “But there is more to his story. Please be comfortable and I will finish.”

  Daria once again eased into the pillows. She closed her eyes against the foreign surroundings and waited for Ni-Cio to resume his account. “Travlor used to be the go-between from our world to yours. Because he never inherited our unique coloration, he was able to blend easily into the different communities. At regular intervals, he would leave Atlantis to record the progress of Terran technology, habits and spiritual development. We relied on his observations to keep us apprised of any threat your world might have presented to us.”

  Ni-Cio paused, and Daria sensed he was nearing the crux of the saga. She opened her eyes. “What I am about to tell you may not seem serious, but let me assure you, Canon Law is followed with strict adherence. Until you, there has never been a hint of dissension from what is written.”

  Daria could hear the sadness in his voice.

  “Travlor transgressed a Canon Law that keeps him bound to this day. It is forbidden for him to ever leave Atlantis. Never again will he look upon the sky of Terros, for it was his misfortune to fall in love with a Terran woman. Together they conceived a child.”

  “Oh, Ni-Cio, that’s unbearable. Why can’t he be released to go to them and live out a normal life?”

  “Daria, no one would have stopped him, but when he was brought before the High Council, Travlor revealed that both mother and child had succumbed during the birth. Na-Kai and Marik fought for his release from his duties, but they were outvoted. The others felt he had breached Canon Law one too many times. To ensure that he never again mixed bloodlines, Na-Kai was made to imprison him with a thought-form, and she was forbidden to use her healing abilities to extend his life. It is impossible for him to leave. He cannot even access the halls leading to the exit chambers. Travlor is here until his death.”

  Daria had never heard anything so sad. “But his life is so devoid of hope. I can’t imagine living like that. Can nothing be done?”

  “Make no mistake, Travlor wants nothing done. It is not as if we turned our backs on him. He burrows so far into his own misery that no one can reach him.” The tenderness in Ni-Cio’s voice was unmistakable. “Again, I would say to you, leave him quite alone. He has nothing you need.”

  The strangeness of everything finally closed in upon her, and Daria could only nod her understanding and her acceptance. She was such an alien to the ways of this underworld. Would she ever truly fit in?

  Ni-Cio must have felt her anguish and her bewilderment, because his eyes filled with concern. He rose and offered his hand. “Come, let us depart. It grows late and it is over time for you to rest.”

  When she stood, Ni-Cio took her in his arms. She laid her head against his chest and he stroked her hair. His mellifluous voice washed over her in waves of comfort. “All will be well, love. You will see.”

  And she knew this to be true. In his arms, everything was made right. Arm in arm, they slowly made their way back to Na-Kai’s chambers.

  In a solitary room, Evan lay exhausted. After the terrifying scene of Daria’s disappearance and all that it augured, he had stumbled, bleary-eyed, back to the hotel. Spent almost beyond his endurance, he had taken a room, rinsed the dried blood from the cuts on his hands, given them some cursory first-aid, and then fallen on the bed to sleep through a dreamless twenty-four hours.

  He opened groggy eyes to a sunlit room, and his first conscious thought rammed through a sleep-dulled brain. “Travlor has her!” His second thought followed with maximum velocity. “Then she is dead.”

  Evan never wanted to move again. He watched the dust motes swirl in listless patterns until he squeezed his eyes shut against the intrusive morning light. When the final realization came, he gathered the sheets on either side and crushed them in his fists. “I should have just killed her myself.”

  Sorrow welled up and then clamped down on him like a vise. Barely able to breathe, he held himself immobile against the torrent of emotion that threatened to tear him apart. A lone tear began its solemn descent from the corner of his eye. And then, as though a dam had broken, tears streamed from his eyes and his body began to shake. A deep, grief-stricken sob wracked his body as he choked her name. “Daria! Oh my God, forgive me. I’m so sorry.”

  Wave after wave of sorrow broke over him and it seemed to Evan that his whole life had dissolved into nothing but sadness and loneliness, the miasma of a loveless existence. Thoughts and memories pummeled him until he felt as if relief would come only with his death. And as the cacophony of his mind flatlined, a frantic thought-form finally made itself heard in a repetitious command.

  “She lives! Evan…hear me…she lives! Evan…hear me!”

  An indistinct picture of a subterranean room far beneath the surface of an uncaring ocean shimmered, mirage-like, on the edges of Evan’s psyche. He summoned his shell-shocked thoughts into focus.

  “She lives! Evan…hear me…”

  Like a vulture circling its prey, the same thought-form spiraled through Evan’s mind until it had insinuated itself into the vortex of his consciousness. He forced himself to inhale, and air cascaded into his painfully constricted lungs. He flexed his rigored fingers and the crumpled sheets slipped from his death grip. He heard his own ragged exhalation as his mind sluggishly sought Travlor. “She lives?”

  The impassioned answer came. “Yes…”

  “Daria’s alive?”

  Travlor’s sibilant reply struck him like a blow. “Yesssss!”

  Comprehension chased away the fog, and Evan felt the first stirrings of hope. He raised his body to a sitting position and his muscles creaked with stiffness. “You didn’t kill her?”

  “No…”

  Evan’s mind reeled. He couldn’t imagine why Travlor had spared her life, and he didn’t want to take the time to ask. He only knew that Travlor needed Daria dead to secure his release from Atlantis.

  To that end, when his father had approached him with the idea of removing a troublesome female, Evan had promised to help. His conscience hadn’t been bothered. The woman was just one more obstacle to be removed in his quest for the power and control that Travlor had said was his birthright. He had planned to hire someone to take care of the problem, but for some reason his curiosity had gotten the better of him.

  He had become obsessed with the need to meet the one person who merited so much attention from the fearful personage he had reluctantly come to acknowledge as his father.

  Evan rose from the bed and stood on trembling legs. He shook his head to clear the cobwebs and coughed. “Oh, yes, I was going to take care of everything until I made the arrogant mistake of meeting you face to face.”

  He moved to the window and his words slipped through chapped, bitten lips on a sigh. “Thank God you’re safe.”

  As he stared out the window, nothing but the grateful cessation of his misery registered upon his consciousness until he formed the next thought. It plummeted to reach its diabolical recipient. “Now what?”

  Evan pictured a jaundiced light that flickered from the maleficent stare of snake-black eyes when a thought-form descended upon him like a shroud.

  “You…will come…to Atlantis.”

  Evan was stunned. In the years that he and Travlor had been touching minds, never had that suggestion even been hinted. Once Na-Kai was out of the picture, Travlor was to join him on Santorini and they would put into motion their carefully conceived strategy. Now, because of his failure to kill Daria and his inability to isolate her, everything had changed.

  An uncomfortable feeling had taken root, and the tendrils that sprouted were an irritant to the raw ache of his reborn heart. Simply put, he no longer trusted Travlor. Father or not, Evan was aware that he needed to use extreme care when dealing with this demonic entity. With a marked decline of enthusiasm, Evan sent his thought. “How?”

  “A submersible…I
will guide you…”

  The compulsion that clamped down on Evan’s mind told him all he needed to know regarding the desperation that drove Travlor’s every action.

  He turned from the window. As he rubbed his hands over his face, the growth of whiskers scraped against his wounds. He knew that if Daria was to remain safe, he had to follow Travlor’s commands without hesitation. And if he could get into Atlantis, he had a small chance of getting her out. He moved toward the door with a stride that taxed his stiff muscles and doggedly replied, “I will come…”

  Preparations for the celebration were well into the fourth day, and the majestic room had been transformed. Kyla stood at the main entrance of the Great Hall of Poseidon and surveyed the work. The massive granite walls had been draped, floor to ceiling, with centuries-old tapestries that were arrayed like royalty. The resplendent weavings caught and held the light, so that the threads glowed as though lit from within. Her gaze leapt from one hanging to another as the history of Atlantis, from the ancient legends to life after the sinking, sparked to life.

  Immense, hand wrought crystal chandeliers, shimmering with soft pastel colors, hung suspended from arched ceilings. Long buffet tables had been laid with the finest cloth spun from microfibers of gold and silver. Abundant arrangements of strange and beautiful flowers spilled out of large cobalt urns and filled the air with their exotic fragrance.

  At the grand entrance, a pool of glistening water shifted and Kyla watched as silver rivulets ran in a lazy whirl. As if by magic, a gossamer water sculpture began to take shape. It sailed above the basin and drifted in lazy circles. The exquisite masterpiece lingered only to dissolve into sparkling drops of rain as another creation, equally wondrous, rose to take its place.

  Aris and Mer-An entered the Hall through a side portal, followed by a stream of Kyla’s friends. All of them carried a dizzying array of trays laden with gourmet delicacies. The smell of early morning ocean spray and sun-warmed breezes surrounded silver bowls that brimmed with fresh oysters, steamed mussels, baked clams and abalone. Steam rose from some of the platters, and the enticing scent of aromatic spices, cushioned by the yeasty smell of hot bread, wafted throughout the Hall.

  Kyla helped with the food placement as a vegetable stew that had simmered for hours in a nutrient-rich sauce was brought out in huge cauldrons. The tantalizing odor created a mouthwatering response.

  Aris snatched a loaf of fresh bread and began to slather it with a thick layer of creamy butter. “Kyla, if they do not come soon, holding me back from this banquet will be harder than holding back the tides.”

  Kyla laughed when Mer-An slapped Aris’s wrist as though he was a wayward child. “You have no self-control, Aris. Leave this table untouched. Na-Kai and Daria will be here soon enough. Surely you will not starve before their arrival.”

  Aris’s chagrined look and tortured sigh was enough to make both women laugh. He jammed a bite of bread into his mouth, turned, and as he stalked away they heard his muffled sigh, “Women!”

  Mer-An rolled her eyes in an exaggerated display of patience, long and suffering, but couldn’t disguise her grin. “I have loved that man since I was a little girl, but sometimes, he tests my patience.” She looked at her friend. “Truly, Kyla, he is not joking. Everyone is famished. When are they coming?”

  Before Kyla could reply, Marik lumbered in, burdened under the weight of quartz crystal dishes of every imaginable size and shape. Followed by his similarly encumbered crew, he motioned for the tables to be set in the final preparations.

  The heady scent of muscari elixir completed the scene, as crystalline pitchers, filled to the brim, were placed at easy-to-reach intervals. The gold-and-ruby liquid flashed rainbows under the light.

  “We are almost ready…” Kyla’s thought found its way to Na-Kai and Mer-An, and she heard the Healer’s quick response.

  “Our lesson has ended…let me know when to proceed…”

  One last time, Kyla cast a critical eye over the room to see that everything was ready. The Great Hall dazzled even her expectations.

  Kyla had wanted this particular night to reflect her feelings of awe and humility. That Daria would become their new Healer was reason enough to celebrate. That she would willingly abandon her life topside was a sacrifice so unselfish, Kyla had been stunned. Had the situation been reversed, Kyla knew she would never have been able to leave her home, no matter the reason. She took a deep breath and summoned Na-Kai. “Most Sovereign Healer, we await your arrival…”

  Kyla was beginning to feel the effects of the long nights and harried days. She was ready to sit, relax and enjoy the festivities.

  “We are coming…”

  Kyla shifted her gaze to a small group of seated musicians. At her signal, the first strains of an enchanting concerto flowed through the Hall. Written by Enneal, the beautiful composition was an attempt to atone for his angry display at Council. He had poured his soul into the creation, and the music was glorious.

  Dressed in their finest raiment, Atlanteans gathered to await the arrival of the guest of honor. Their beautiful robes swayed in the soft pastel light, and an incredible array of colors permeated the Hall.

  Kyla stepped toward the main portal and rejoiced to see the emotions of love, at-one-ness and peace in the soft blue, green and lavender hues that played over the smiling faces of her friends and family. As she positioned herself on the steps of the main entryway, she knew that everyone had given their utmost to create this memorable tribute.

  She turned when she heard the muted sounds of footsteps, and watched Daria and Na-Kai as they took their place beside her. All attention focused on the diminutive figure of the topsider as everyone placed their hands against their hearts in prayer attitude. The symbolic gesture of reverence continued in unison as everyone turned their palms up and out signifying their heartfelt acceptance of Daria.

  Kyla saw tears in Daria’s eyes and felt her startled reaction. Kept busy with her lessons, Daria had been unaware of the banquet preparations. Na-Kai clasped one of Daria’s hands and Kyla heard the encouragement Na-Kai sent. “Send them a thought-form…let them know how you feel…”

  With a nervous inhalation, Daria closed both eyes and furrowed her brow as she attempted to send her first Atlantis wide thought-form. Kyla grinned to see the studied effort of their young Healer and broke into laughter as Daria’s thoughts reached everyone simultaneously.

  “I am…play…love you…I…worth…dust…”

  Before a larger reaction could be heard from the others, Na-Kai fired out the interpretation. “I believe what our esteemed Healer meant was…I am overwhelmed at this display of love you give to me…I will always strive to be worthy of this moment and your trust…”

  Smiles, laughter and thunderous applause erupted.

  “Speech!”

  “Speech!”

  “No, we probably wouldn’t understand her anyway!”

  “Let’s eat!”

  “I’m starving!”

  All in all, it was a joyous throng that converged upon the buffet. Kyla grabbed Daria’s hand and pulled her toward the heavily laden tables. “I’m afraid when it comes to food, we lack a certain propriety. I think it would be similar to your come and have it attitude.”

  It only took Daria a moment, “I think you mean, come and get it.”

  Kyla joined her friend’s laughter. “Exactly. So you understand why we must hurry.” Kyla led Daria to the head of the banquet. “Do not be amazed by how quickly the food disappears. We are always hungry.”

  Kyla gestured for Daria to precede her. As people good-naturedly jostled her for a closer position in line, Kyla turned in time to see Daria surreptitiously thrust a container back into her pocket. A question came to her lips, but Daria had started to heap food onto her plate, so Kyla thought better of it and instead grabbed her own plate.

  They found an empty table and sat down to enjoy the feast. Daria took a tentative bite of the stew and Kyla watched with interest. She was delighted
to hear her friend’s garbled response.

  “Umm, hmmm.”

  Kyla nodded in mutual assent and began to eat with gusto. At last, Daria slowed enough to compliment Kyla’s efforts. “This is, without a doubt, the best food I have eaten in my entire life.”

  Kyla paused and smiled at her friend. “I do not think you realize how much energy we expend living in our underwater home. The bioskins generate a great deal of warmth, but our metabolism is such that we burn a tremendous amount of energy as well. There is probably no time in recorded history that an Atlantean has ever turned down an offer of food.”

  Daria gestured between bites. “Where did you get all this food? I don’t remember passing a supermarket on our tour.”

  Kyla’s eyes widened and she tucked into her food. “I believe the unexpected appearance of Ni-Cio had something to do with cutting short the rest of our tour.”

  Daria nodded and gave an unladylike snort. Kyla took her glass of muscari elixir and lifted it to her lips. As she savored the heady brew, she changed the subject. “We use aquaponics to grow much of our food and we also harvest the gifts the ocean offers. At no time have we ever been unable to sustain ourselves.”

  “Oh, so you fish.”

  Kyla almost choked and she quickly wiped her mouth with the napkin. “Daria, however limited, we communicate telepathically with most of the fish in the sea. They are our friends. Why even the suggestion makes me lose my appetite.” She pushed her plate away.

  Daria leaned toward her and placed her hand on the top of Kyla’s shoulder. “Kyla I’m sorry, I meant no offense. I’m still trying to acquaint myself to your way of life, but it looks like I’ve still got so much to learn.”