The Last Atlanteans

by Katrina Ryan

  The problem now was that it wasn’t anywhere near England.

  Victoria had to admit that she had no idea how she was supposed to get there, without her mirror. The distance was too great to swim, and trains, cars, or airplanes were out of the question. A boat really was the only possible mode of transportation, but it was too dangerous and would take too long. And I don’t have a boat, anyway, Victoria thought. She put the maps under her pillow and forced herself to go to bed. She would find a solution in the morning, without Gryffin’s help.

  She slept restlessly, dreaming of a sandy beach where a wooden boat awaited to take her to Atlantis. When she woke, her bedroom was light with sunrise. She checked that her maps were still under her pillow, and she fell asleep again. In her next dream, she walked around the same beach from her earlier dream, but no matter how hard she pushed the boat, she couldn’t get it into the water.

  It was a rainy day when Victoria finally woke, but the weather couldn’t ruin her satisfaction. She had the maps. The frustration from her dreams overshadowed her hurt about the situation, but she resolved to overcome the obstacles between herself and Atlantis. At least I have control over that, she thought. As Sarah made breakfast, Victoria stole a moment in the conservatory to research how she could get to Atlantis. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice Sarah standing behind her until it was too late.

  “What are you looking at?” Sarah asked, sneaking up behind Victoria. She placed a steaming mug of tea on the table in front of Victoria and took a sip from her own drink. “You’re looking very thoughtful.”

  Victoria switched off the screen on her iPad, but Sarah had seen. “It’s a map,” she admitted.

  “Where’d you find it?” Sarah pressed, sitting down on the other conservatory sofa. “It looked really old.”

  Victoria wanted to tell Sarah that these were the missing maps, but she would then have to reveal that Gryffin had been here. She took a sip of tea, stalling for time. “I’ll explain soon,” she promised. “I don’t quite understand it yet.”

  Sarah shrugged. “Let me know if you need help.”

  Victoria smiled. If only you knew, she thought. She still wanted to talk to Tom, and she missed him immensely, but she had bigger preoccupations today. She didn’t want to spend much more time at home, and she needed to plan the next part of her journey.

  “I’m going to see to a few errands in town soon,” Sarah said a few minute later. “Are you alright staying here, or do you want to join?”

  “Errands or a date?” Victoria teased.

  Sarah rolled her eyes. “I’ll stay here,” Victoria decided. She needed another opportunity the look at the maps in privacy. “Take the spare keys and have fun.”

  “You sure?” Sarah asked, though she looked grateful when Victoria nodded. “Call if you change your mind. I won’t be gone too long.”

  “I won’t crash your date. Say hi to Nick.”

  Sarah scoffed, but she couldn’t hide her blush.

  Fifteen minutes later, she had the house to herself. She reviewed that the location of Atlantis she’d saved on her phone matched the paper maps, and then turned her attention to the problem she hadn’t solved last night. She still had no idea how she was supposed to get to Atlantis. Even after sleeping on it and considering the dangers, she desperately wanted to go, but she couldn’t see how the journey was physically possible. She couldn’t simply take a boat the rest of the way, like she’d wanted to in her dream.

  Without a miracle, it looked like she would be stuck in England.

  Not knowing what else to do, she found herself debating whether she should message Tom. She started composing a text, and when she looked up, debating whether to send it, the orb was hovering a few feet in front of her.

  “You’re back,” she gasped. “I need your help. The mirror is broken.”

  The orb floated towards to mirror as if it understood her, and Victoria followed, abandoning her message to Tom.

  The room was still for a moment, and then a blinding light burst from the orb. Victoria buried her face into her hands, and when she opened her eyes, she understood exactly what had happened. The mirror had no cracks and provided a perfect reflection of her room, as if it had never been broken. The orb disappeared through the glass.

  Even in the broad daylight, Victoria could see the mirror glowing, and she understood what she was supposed to do next. She raced around her house, throwing clothes and toiletries together into a bag. When she had enough to survive a week away, she surveyed her room. She didn’t feel the nervousness she’d expected at leaving, only regret that Sarah wasn’t here. Victoria hoped she would be able to return to her room for Sarah, but she refused to waste another chance of finding Atlantis because she’d promised to wait. She raced to her desk and scrawled a quick note.

  I’ll be back later. I’ll be okay. Hope you had a great date.

  She left the note on the kitchen table and returned to her bedroom. The mirror was still glowing. She pushed her hand through her reflection, making it ripple, and gasped as her fingers brushed against soft sand through the bottom of the frame. She dusted it off and stepped through the mirror, knowing what she would find on the other side.

  It was the beach from her dream.

  “Thank you,” she whispered to the orb, her heart racing. A wooden boat was on the sand not far ahead, exactly like in her dream. She felt a peace and conviction wash over her. This was exactly where she was meant to be. The orb was her guardian angel, and it was impossible to be afraid of what was next. She was going to Atlantis, whether anyone liked it or not.

  Sitting on the warm sand, she pulled the map out of her pocket and tried to figure out exactly where she was. She couldn’t see any distinguishing features on the island to help her locate herself on the map, but her gaze found one of the small islands at the far edge of the map, just beyond the Atlantean border. If her intuition was correct, the main island of Atlantis was only days away in the boat.

  Seeing that the mirror was still glowing, Victoria examined the boat. The words mene mene tekel upharsin were etched into the top of the boat in small letters. The boat was in perfect condition, and there was plenty of space to fit two people and supplies. Despite her excitement, Victoria realized with a sinking feeling that she hadn’t considered the essential provisions like food, water, and shelter, though they would be critical to surviving the journey.

  “I can’t go yet,” she told the orb. Looking inland, she was relieved to see the large mirror through which she’d come to the island was still glowing. “Besides, I made a promise to Sarah. I can’t just disappear.”

  The orb didn’t seem to protest, but Victoria knew it communicated in ways she didn’t understand. Hoping she wasn’t wasting her only chance of going to Atlantis, she walked to the mirror and stepped through it into her bedroom.

  Chapter Seven

  DEPARTURE

  “Where the hell have you been?” Sarah demanded, bursting through the bedroom door only a second later. “I saw your note, but I looked for you everywhere. I was getting so worried you’d gone without me.” Victoria faltered, sensing that Sarah was genuinely upset, but something in her expression must have told Sarah everything she couldn’t. “Can you please explain what’s going on?” Sarah asked more calmly.

  “Let me show you,” Victoria said. “It’s about Atlantis. You might want to grab your bag. I’ll stay watch by the mirror.”

  Sarah rolled her eyes but grabbed everything Victoria had asked, adding her notebook and a few pens from the kitchen. “No food?” she grumbled.

  “Of course,” Victoria breathed. Sarah had only been joking, but it was a valid point. In her excitement, she’d almost forgotten the essentials again. She glanced at the orb, which hadn’t moved. “I’ll get those now. Can you stay here and watch? I’ll be back soon.”

  Praying that the mirror would still work and the orb wouldn’t go anywhere, Victoria returned to the main house. She found a tent, bedding, a medical kit
, and more food and water than what she considered to be emergency rations. Though she wouldn’t dream of telling Sarah, she had a feeling Atlantis would provide for them until the end, since it had taken them this far.

  The orb and Sarah were still waiting when Victoria returned to her bedroom. Along with her relief, Victoria felt she would never be more prepared than she was now. “We might not be able to get back,” she warned Sarah.

  Sarah sighed. Victoria suspected Sarah thought she’d lost the plot completely, though her artist’s eye had probably seen that the mirror was glowing. “I’ve already told you I’m not letting you go alone.”

  Feeling less guilty now that she’d warned Sarah, Victoria grabbed her bags and followed the orb through the mirror again. She heard a gasp behind her as Sarah followed onto a bright, beautiful beach.

  “Where the hell are we?” Sarah asked. The expression on her face was a wonderful mixture of disbelief and amazement, and Victoria realized she had made the right decision going back for Sarah. “Is this Atlantis?”

  Victoria bit her lip. “I'm not quite sure,” she admitted, deciding not to mention the maps until she had looked at them more thoroughly, “but I think we're at the edge of Atlantis.”

  “You've been here before.”

  “I dreamt about this beach last night, and I was here when you were looking for me,” Victoria said. “I was able to fix the mirror, but this isn’t the place it used to go. We're supposed to take the boat to Atlantis.”

  Sarah swayed on the spot, and for a second, Victoria worried she would faint. “This is so strange, Vic. I really don't understand what's happening, and I'm not sure I like it, but I can see it makes you happy, so why not? I did make a promise.”

  They looked at each other for a moment, and Victoria felt a rush of gratitude. “I pray to the stars we’ll be able to find Atlantis without any problem, and I'm sure we will,” Victoria said, choosing her words especially carefully, “but if there’s ever any emergency, you have to get yourself back to land straightaway. I don’t want you to put yourself in danger.”

  Sarah looked at her with wide eyes, and Victoria realized she'd made her point. “Everything should be fine if we stay together,” she concluded on a lighter note. Refusing to focus on the potential danger ahead, she marched to the boat. The orb followed close behind. As she loaded her bags into the space under the seats, Sarah suddenly seemed to realize what was happening.

  “A boat?” Sarah asked over her shoulder. “Really? Isn't Atlantis supposed to be underwater?”

  It was a fair question, Victoria had to admit. “That's what the myths say, but it isn't. I don't know why everyone has it wrong.” She began to pull the boat into the sea. The wood moved through the sand effortlessly, and the boat was soon floating on the water. Victoria sighed in relief. The journey was progressing better than in her nightmare. “We could swim the entire way, but I doubt that would be much fun.”

  “Fair enough. Hope you're good at rowing,” Sarah said. She brought her bags aboard and took a seat at the bow. Victoria pushed the boat until it was gliding through the water and jumped in, feeling enormous relief that they were moving. The orb floated to the front of the boat, as if it was leading the way, and then disappeared without a sound.

  Victoria exchanged a glance with Sarah. “Looks like we’re on our own now,” she said, reaching for the oars. The mirror on the beach was glowing, but she wasn’t going to turn back. “To Atlantis.”

  “Wait,” Sarah said, “is the boat moving by itself?”

  Victoria looked up, expecting Sarah to be joking, but the boat was moving away from the island and picking up speed. Within a minute, she had no doubt. The boat was cruising along at a safe and comfortable speed, without Victoria having touched the oars.

  It's magic.

  “That makes everything so much easier,” she said, laughing at her luck. “I thought I'd have to row the whole way.”

  “How's it doing it?” Sarah asked. She didn't seem as surprised or suspicious as when she had gone through the portal, now only amazed and curious.

  Victoria shook her head, wishing she had the answer. “Your guess is as good as mine, but I would say magic.” The only other possibility she could imagine was that the orb was somehow involved. She ran her fingers over the words etched into the boat, unable to decide which theory was more likely. “See this? I'm pretty sure it means this boat is Atlantean. If we're lucky, the boat will take us straight there.”

  “If Atlantis exists,” Sarah added gently.

  Victoria laughed. “You sound like Nick.” She would have been offended if she wasn’t so confident. Sarah had seen all the proof Victoria could offer and had no excuse to doubt anymore. “I know it does. You’ll see soon enough.”

  When Victoria next glanced over her shoulder, the beach was disappearing into the distance. After a few more minutes, the island was nothing more than a thin stretch of white and emerald against a sapphire horizon. She took a few deep breaths, trying not to worry if she’d forgotten anything, because it was too late now for regret. She and Sarah were leaving the mirror behind and heading into open waters.

  Even further out from land, the sea was perfectly calm. Victoria watched Sarah pull out her sketchbook and a pencil and begin to draw. Going to Atlantis isn't supposed to be this easy, Victoria thought. She kept her eyes on the horizon for a while and occasionally referenced her maps. According to her calculations, the boat was going straight to Atlantis.

  “What are you working on?” she asked Sarah. “You don’t seem worried with the journey.”

  “I'm just finishing a sketch of Tom,” Sarah said with a shrug. Victoria’s heart skipped a beat. “Nothing new.” She held out her sketchbook, and Victoria couldn't help but marvel at it. Even though the art was still a work in progress, and couldn't deny that Sarah had talent.

  “It’s brilliant, Sarah,” she said. “What will you do when it’s done?”

  “I might put it in my portfolio, if Tom says I can. I like it, but I can see now that I could use more practice drawing scenery than people.”

  “I think it’s amazing,” Victoria said. Sarah shrugged the compliment away, and the boat fell into silence as she began to work again.

  “Where do you think we are now?” she asked after an hour. Although she wanted to trust the boat with her life, she couldn't believe it was taking them straight to Atlantis without any problem. She retrieved the map from her pocket for what felt like the hundredth time. Looking at the map now, she could imagine a line showing the route to Atlantis. With the incredible progress they were making, she guessed they could be on the main island in a day or two.

  “You can read that?” Sarah asked.

  Victoria nodded. “You can’t?”

  “The writing looks like scribbles to me.”

  “You're looking at it the wrong way,” Victoria said, handing the papers over.

  Sarah shook her head after a second. “This isn’t English, Vic.”

  Victoria frowned. “I drew the map myself. Of course the labels are in English.” She couldn't think of any explanation that hadn’t come from a fairy tale. She wondered if the papers had an Atlantean enchantment so others couldn’t read them, and then whether Gryffin had understood the maps. She smiled, hoping they’d frustrated him fiercely.

  “Is that a tattoo?” Sarah asked, breaking Victoria out of her thoughts. “What does it say?”

  Victoria looked down. She’d been playing with the ribbon on her wrist without realizing it, exposing her Sentence. She pushed the ribbon up her arm, deciding it was time to reveal another secret. She told Sarah everything about the Sentence, including what Nick had told her about its Biblical history, and everything else she’d guessed since then. “I might be wrong,” she concluded, “but the expression is important to the Atlanteans. It's probably some sort of motto.”

  “It's so dark,” Sarah said. Victoria wasn't sure she was referring to the ink. “But it's not a tattoo?”

  Victoria shrugged
. “I have no idea how permanent it is. It hasn't faded yet, and it’s been a few days.”

  The boat fell into silence, and Victoria evaluated Sarah's reaction. “If you could have one yourself, would you want one?” Victoria asked.

  “Why not?”

  Victoria hesitated, debating whether to tell Sarah about Gryffin. “It’s felt like a curse when I got it. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, no matter how important it is to Atlantis.”

  Sarah shook her head. “Looks more like a sign of strength to me, but you know best. Did Tom know?”

  Victoria laughed as adjusted the ribbon back into place. “If he noticed the ribbon, I don’t think he saw what was underneath. He wouldn’t have been happy about it. Nick gave me a lot of information about the phrase, but he never saw the Sentence.”

  Sarah slammed her sketchbook shut with a sigh.

  They definitely went on a second date, Victoria thought, but she didn’t dare ask now.

  “What do you think will happen if Atlantis is real?” Sarah asked, interrupting her thoughts.

  Victoria took a deep breath. Sarah was changing the subject, but she was nearly admitting that Atlantis could exist. “People would go mad if they found out,” she admitted. “It's been a mystery for so long that its discovery would make world news. And even if it's ruined, the place will be amazing. Everyone would try to see it, and tourism would only ruin it more.”

  “We probably shouldn't tell anyone,” Sarah said.

  “I think that would be a good idea.”

  “I just wonder why modern technology hasn’t found it.”

  “I was thinking about that, too,” Victoria said. “Either nobody has found Atlantis before, or they never told a soul if they had. If the truth was too amazing or dangerous, anyone with common sense would have kept Atlantis a secret to the grave.”

  “Seems promising.”

  Why me, though? Victoria wondered. She had the maps and this boat, which nobody who had looked for Atlantis before would have had, but that wasn't enough to guarantee success. She mulled over the question until she realized that the sun was approaching the horizon quickly. Sleeping on the boat after sunset would be incredibly unsafe. Even if the sky was clear now and the boat had done well so far, the possibility of waking up in the middle of a storm would be a nightmare. What else are we supposed to do? she thought.