Atlantis Uprising_A Reverse Harem Adventure

by N. R. Larry

  Grinning, I stepped across the pile of shattered marble to the other bar top settled across from it and sat. With my laptop open, I called up my favorite search engine and got to work. I learned long ago that humans used technology as a kind of magic. For the past few weeks I’d worked on mastering it, as I did any new magic or science back home—I knew that if I could master computers, I could have the power I needed on land. Within ten minutes of scanning newsfeeds and message boards, I noticed a pattern.

  Weird shit was happening all over Dauphine Island. Drownings without any hint of a struggle. They were being reported as suicides. Not only that, one man was connected to almost every story. I reached for a napkin and jotted his address down. One of the best things about surface people was that they didn’t care for their own privacy. Any of them could be found at any time of the day, even if they secured their online profiles, I could find them. Placing the napkin in my pocket, I stood and whistled.

  When Jett turned to me I said, “Up for a drive?”

  He smiled. “Hell yes, brother.”

  I went to my trunk, still in the middle of the living room, and picked out a pair of dark green wrist bands. Tapping them activated their power and a rush of magic surged through my body. I closed my eyes and clenched my teeth. Jett’s footsteps padded toward me. He placed a hand on my shoulder and I opened my eyes.

  “Feels good, doesn’t it?” he asked, his grin impossibly even wider.

  I placed my own hand on his shoulder and nodded, still slightly dizzy from feeling the pull of home. “Yes, it does. The king might have a real fight on his hands.”

  Horns honked, and the sun blazed in through the front windshield. The jeep Sophie had given us to get around stuttered and lurched forward, stuttered and lurched forward. Gritting my teeth, I jerked the clutch to the right and the damned thing sputtered before the engine died. I started to hit the wheel, remembered I had my strength back, and managed to stop myself.

  “Hey, asshole!” a male voice called out from behind me. His born blared again. “Learn to drive or get your ass off the road!”

  Beside me, Jett shifted in his seat, then he stood, popping up through the top of the jeep, having insisted on taking the convertible top off, and spread his arms in the air. “You dare challenge the might of Atlantis?” His booming chuckle filled the air. “Come at me, mammal!”

  I side-eyed him. “Come at me, mammal?” I tugged at his shorts. “Sit down. We shouldn’t draw attention to ourselves.”

  He glanced down at me while several more car horns joined in, going off one after the other. “It isn’t our way to back down from a challenge.”

  With a sigh, I peered into the rear-view mirror. A silver haired, orange skinned man was gesturing wildly at us, jerking back and forth in the driver seat, and shooting the middle finger gesture with enthusiasm. Leaning forward, I started the engine again, and tried to take off. “Jett,” I muttered as the car crawled forward. “Sit down.”

  He huffed, said something under his breath, and then finally flopped into his seat. “You should let me drive,” he said over the sound of cars honking.

  I shook my head. “No, I need to learn.” Squinting against the sunlight, I eased my foot onto the gas. The jeep shot forward and the clutch whined and rattled.

  “There are six gears for a reason,” he told me, easing back into his seat.

  Clenching my jaw, I shifted to second. When the vehicle continued to sail smoothly down the road, I smiled in triumph. My shoulders relaxed a bit, and I glanced around at all the small shops that raced by as I steered us to the edge of town. Everything was locally owned and operated. Each store was box shaped and painted the same pastel colors. I turned left, off the main road, and down shifted to better get through the thick mud that led to a small house at the end of a narrow lane.

  Putting it in park, I took the keys out of the ignition and nodded toward a sea-foam colored house. “Here we are.”

  Jett got out and slammed the door. It crashed into the metal framework, which bent inward, before falling off its hinges. I winced. He made a face and shrugged. “My fault?”

  I stepped out of the jeep, crossed in front of the car, and scanned the damage. Then, I homed in on the metal cuffs he was wearing. “Maybe you should take that thing off and practice being careful.”

  “It’s a jeep, it can go without doors.” He bent over, picked the door up between his thumb and index finger and then tossed it in the back.

  I swiped my hand across my forehead and sighed. A lecture bubbled up in my throat and I swallowed it back down. I’d known the big guy long enough to know that he did as he pleased. Zarya had a hard time controlling him, and he was hers to control. Instead, I pointed at the small house. “Orson Rodgers,” I said, waving him forward. “Remember to be gentle. I know you love your high-fives, but now you might shatter someone’s arm.”

  “Who is Orson Rodgers, and why should I care?”

  “He’s connected to every drowning in this town.” I stepped onto the worn down, wooden porch. “You should care because he might be able to tell us something.”

  He sighed. “Would it really be so bad?”

  I blinked at him, waiting for him to finish. He shrugged. “If Atlantis rose up? Maybe the sea king isn’t so mad after all.”

  With a frown, I tapped on the front door, or at least, the dusty screen that covered the front door. “You don’t really believe that.”

  “I don’t know what I believe. But it’s not like Atlantis didn’t rule the land before. These people would jump at the chance to take everything we have from us if they had the opportunity. Look at what they already do.”

  I pressed my lips together and listened for any sound from inside the house. When there was none, I knocked again. “You sound like the king on a rant about the unfairness of man.”

  He huffed. “I’m simply saying he has a point.”

  I knocked again. “We are loyal to Zarya.”

  He was about to speak when there was a shuffle behind the door. Seconds later a thick voice called out, “Yeah?”

  I glanced at Jett, and then inched closer to the door. “Um, Orson Rodgers?”

  There was a loud cough followed by another shuffle. “Who in the hell is it?”

  “My name is Marlowe—” I paused as it wasn’t custom for Atlanteans to have surnames, but it occurred to me I should adopt one. “Jones. I’m here to ask you a few questions.”

  “Jones?” Jett whispered to me and snorted.

  “Questions? Questions about what?”

  I started to respond and then hesitated. “Sir, would you mind opening the door? This would be a lot easier to explain face to face.”

  The doorknob rattled and then stopped. We stood on his porch for several moments before there was a low click, and then the thud of feet. “Yeah,” he called out, stretching the word as most people in this region tended to do. “Come on in.”

  I pulled back the screen door when Jett grabbed me. “I don’t like this,” he muttered. “This cat is weird.”

  Placing a foot at the bottom of the screen door to hold it open, I took hold of the knob. “You need to stop watching land movies,” I told him. “Guy’s harmless.” With that I pushed the door open and squinted into almost total darkness. “What the hell?” I muttered. “Orson?” I called out in a louder voice, taking a step inside.

  Something brushed against my lower leg and I glanced down. Seconds later, bright, white lights exploded in my vision. I raised my hand to block the light, but it was too intense—a light bright enough to steal my sight. Jett stumbled into me, cursing. Then, a high-pitched wail sounded in the room. Something popped in my ears, and blood ran down my earlobe. I crushed my hands to the sides of my face and staggered forward.

  Ahead of me, something rustled. “Gotcha, motherfuckers,” a raspy voice snarled.

  Before I could react, something hit me hard, in the chest. I crashed to the ground with a groan. The bright lights stopped blinking on and off. A dark figur
e stepped into my vision, a shotgun raised at my chest.

  “You aren’t who he usually sends.” He pumped the fore-stock. “I told you to stay away from me.”

  A loud boom cracked my eardrums. Something stuck me in the chest. Something that felt like fire. I was blown back across the floorboards. The gun went off again. Jett crumbled to the floor at my side, and blood soaked through my t-shirt, trickling to the floor.

  10

  Zarya

  I held my book of rituals in my hand and ran my fingers over the raised trident on the cover. It had been too long since I held it. Without looking up, I said, “She risked a lot getting these things from my chambers.” I closed my eyes. “If something happens to her…”

  “It won’t,” Conway told me from where he was sitting next to Sophie on the bed.

  I turned to the middle of my spell book and nodded. “You’re right,” I said, even though I didn’t believe it. King Titus had the royal blood of gods pumping through his veins. The people loved me, but they feared him. “We need more of an idea of what is happening in Atlantis.” Quickly, I read through a spell, and closed the book, setting it on the night stand. I rubbed my wrist bands together and invited the feel of magic pumping into my veins. I could almost smell it.

  “Would you like me to wake her?” Conway asked in a tight voice.

  I shifted my gaze to his. “Are you alright?”

  He stared at me for a few moments and I tried to read his thoughts in the steel of his eyes. I hadn’t seen that look on his face in ages—that cold, hard look that made him the best siren assassin in all the underwater kingdoms. It made my heart hammer against my ribs. I wet my bottom lip with my tongue and forced myself to look away. Right now, we had more important things to do.

  Conway cleared his throat. “I’m fine. I was thinking about how much you look like yourself now. Like the first time I saw you on the throne.”

  I inched forward and sat on the other side of Sophie. Slowly, I swept her tight curls off her forehead and behind her ear. “I don’t have a throne,” I told him with a slight smile. “But I know what you mean. I feel like myself. I feel…” I looked out the window and admired the way sharp clouds sliced through the iron gray sky. Inhaling, I smelled a storm in the air. There were few things I loved more than the moments right before a storm. The moments just before the water and air joined and swallowed bits of earth. They were electric moments in which powerful magic could be made. And I hadn’t worked true, Atlantean magic in far too long.

  “I have an idea,” I told him, my voice buzzing with energy. I cupped my hands to stop them from shaking. “But I’ll need your assistance. It’s dangerous magic. Bordering on dark.”

  The sheets rustled as he stood from the bed. “What do you have in mind?”

  I turned to Sophie, taking in the softness of her sleeping expression. She was gaunt, and her aura pulsed in my vision. “I assumed that the reason she was getting weaker was some human condition.” I paused, curling my fingers one by one into a fist. “But what if it’s something I did to her?”

  His footsteps padded toward me as he joined me on the other side of the bed. “You mean, when you brought her back?”

  I touched the tip of my tongue to my teeth. Then, I turned toward him without looking up. “Obviously, when she died, the Kappa didn’t go with her, or at least, not entirely.”

  “So… Maybe your magic somehow sealed in the ghost.”

  Sophie stirred, let out a groan, and then rolled over onto her back. I nodded as I stared down at her. “I think magic can break Dottie’s hold on her. But, I don’t want to merely drive the ghost out.” I flicked my gaze over to him and paid extra attention to his facial expression. “I want to move the spirit out… intact, or at least as near as I can get it. That way, I can question her. Maybe she saw something, something about who killed her.”

  At first, his features remained as unreadable as still water. A flash of blue slashed through the side of my vision. My heart hitched in anticipation of the rumble I knew would follow. Several moments passed, and then thunder rattled the windows. Still, Conway hadn’t spoken.

  “You doubt me,” I finally said.

  His jaw tensed, but only slightly. “Never. I just. Don’t understand.”

  “Understand what?”

  “Why you care so much about these…” He shook his head. “They are arrogant creatures.”

  I wanted to laugh, but I didn’t. Part of me understood what he meant. He hadn’t had as many dealings with people on the surface. To him, they were probably silly things meant to be ignored, or Poseidon help me, ruled.

  “The king is killing these innocents in my name,” I finally said in a low voice. “And not only that, he means to conquer them, not just rule them. Back home, we have the choice, we chose to put our faith in a single king.” I shook my head, flicking my gaze back to Sophie. “And his madness started with me. He came to me as if I didn’t have a choice. As if I was to kneel before him without hesitation.” I clenched my jaw. “That is not our way. We won’t rule a people who don’t wish to be ruled. We won’t kill innocents. And we sure as seas don’t lie to our own people.” Anger flashed through me, red hot and poised at the end of a sharp knife. “He’s a mad, coward king that means to hide his intentions. I will bring him into the light, because he has hung every human death over my head.”

  There was a brief silence, and then only the rolling of thunder stood between us. Finally, he gave the briefest of nods. “Well, then. We better find out who killed her.”

  I waved my hand in the air. A stream of water materialized in the air and dipped down to my book of rituals, swept under it, and rolled it toward Conway on a bed of water droplets. He snatched it out of the air, and I flicked my fingers left, opening the book to the spell I wanted to work. His eyes scanned the page, and then he looked to me.

  “You’ll have to make adjustments.”

  I snapped, and the stream of water funneled back into my cuffs. “They’re already made.”

  He reached across me and placed the book back on the night-stand. Glancing at me, his lips turned up into a slight smile. “Well, as Jett would say if he were here. This is going to be badass.” Without another word, he picked Sophie up and placed her in the middle of the bed. Then, he positioned himself above her and leaned against the headboard. He touched his fingers to her temples, and then nodded at me.

  There was another flash of lightning, followed almost right away by the rattle of thunder. I took in a deep breath and clapped my hands together. My palms tickled. Droplets of water slammed against them. I waited a few more seconds, and then thrust my hands away from my body. The bits of water in my hands spread out and froze in a mid-sized orb over Sophie’s body. Focused on it, I stretched my hands out and the globe of water expanded, until finally, it rushed past my ears, and encased the room in a bubble of protection, casting a turquoise glow across everything.

  I dropped my arms to my sides and eyed Conway. “Nothing can get in or out.”

  Without lifting his gaze, he nodded. His eyelids fluttered closed, and for a moment, the room was still. Slowly, he leaned over Sophie. His lips screwed up and I braced myself. A soft song traveled from his lips. I could almost see the melody in the air. The hairs on my arms raised, not in fear, but with electricity. Sophie whimpered, her expression pinched, like someone having a nightmare. Then, her features relaxed, her mouth fell slightly open. Conway continued his siren song. Her back began to arch. Her eyelids fluttered. Almost against my will, I inched closer to him, the magic flowing through me attracted to the magic flowing through him.

  Sophie’s body swept upward, floating on a wave of nearly invisible water magic. Her lips parted, and Conway lowered his face to hers. Their lips trembled. I bit my lip, part of me wanted to feel the energy rushing between them. Almost every inch of me tightened with anticipation. He touched his lips to hers, not in a kiss, but to call to her.

  With a groan, her arms shot out and she grabbed his arms and
dug her fingernails in. He nodded, as if he knew she would react this way. Her eyes snapped open and her dark of her irises swept away, becoming milky. Electric green flashed across them, and with his lips, Conway closed her mouth and muttered, “Leave her.”

  Sophie’s jaw clenched, and her neck jerked left before straightening again.

  “It’s okay,” he said in a calm voice. “You’re safe with me.”

  She gathered the sheets in between her fingers. Her legs bent, and she dug her toes into the mattress. Conway traced circles into her temples, kicking up sparks of energy as he did. With every turn, her body relaxed, until she was still again. Slowly, he moved, placing his thumbs and index fingers above and below her eyes. Then, he gently stretched her eyes all the way open.

  His lips parted, and he called to her again. The eyes were more than windows to the soul, if one had to be removed, they were the doors. The siren song lifted, gathering intensity with each passing second. The lens of Sophie’s eyes vibrated, and slowly, a golden light sparked inside them and gathered into an orb above her nose. Her skin hugged her bones as the ball of light grew brighter and denser. The last of her soul seeped out. Conway held it between his hands and began shaking. I could feel the tension in his body. Holding onto that much power wasn’t easy.

  Slowly, as if the contents of her soul might explode if there were any sudden movements, I inched slightly closer, and lowered my hands into the air, palms down. I lifted magic from the base of my spine and it shot out the tips of my fingers. A light blue disc swirled through the air, it looked almost like a sun dial, with ancient, Atlantean symbols flashing along its outer ring. I pulled one hand away from the other, separating the top of the disc from the bottom, then, I nodded at Conway.

  He was so still I could tell he was holding his breath. Still trembling, he pulled his hands back, allowing Sophie’s soul to hang midair for a moment. I focused all my energy into drawing her soul into the magical container. It shot forward a little too quickly and knocked me backwards. Conway started toward me, but I bounced off the protective shield of water behind me and managed to stay on my feet.