Rebel Fires

by Tara Omar

  “You’re right, there is no mention of a Leviathan in the texts,” said David. “Honestly though, did you not hear anything I just said?”

  “None of this explains what actually happened to Paradise Island, though. Humans claim Avinoam wielded a ‘fiery sword.’ Mers say the humans were so destructive they made it uninhabitable. Both seem to put the blame with the humans, I wonder if—”

  “Natalie!”

  “What?”

  “Raphael is dangerous, remember?” asked David.

  Natalie waved her hand. “It’s fine.”

  “Natalie, the mer pled guilty to war crimes, destroyed an invaluable shield in front of your eyes, and now, because he has a fancy library with a few books on humans, you’re willing to trust him?” asked David.

  “I’m just reading a book, David. What’s gotten into you?” asked Natalie.

  “You’re putting yourself in danger and letting bias affect your research,” said David.

  “Actual experience carries more weight than secondary accounts,” said Natalie, “and from what I’ve experienced watching him save the Queen, I highly doubt Raphael is going to put a knife in my back while I’m sitting in the library. Mers can’t kill, anyway.”

  “Maybe not directly, but Raphael did try to kill me, remember?” asked David. “He sent me down suicide way claiming it’s a portal to take me home,” said David.

  “Maybe it is a portal,” said Natalie, shrugging.

  “Are you serious?” asked David.

  “Okay, I highly doubt it exists, but maybe Raphael legitimately thought that there was one. He mentions a portal in his book, the Nephil Histories, along with the merman’s mark.”

  “Do you really think someone responsible for the Disappeared would make an innocent mistake like that? Come on, Natalie, that mer is the reason why you don’t have a—”

  David paused. His cheeks flushed as he thought of Natalie’s missing mother. “Sorry, it’s wrong of me to go there.”

  Natalie frowned. “Please leave me alone. I want to read.”

  Outside in the hall under the bridge, Sasha stood along the edge of the central water feature, pounding out a dent from the wrecked remnant of Buttercup with a rubber mallet. Light poured into the hall through the broken bridge above him. An assortment of tropical fish behind the glass walls on either side of the hall watched as he pulled another dent from Buttercup’s side. Sasha wiped his forehead as David approached.

  “Why are women so complicated?” asked David. “One minute Natalie hates Raphael and doesn’t want to come here. Now it looks like I might never get her to leave since she’s found the library.”

  Sasha set down his mallet and looked inside the bonnet, sorting through a tangle of broken vines and cables.

  “It seems her old obsession with the war is coming back in full force,” said David, rubbing his neck. “Her father will have my head for it.”

  “So she likes history; what’s wrong with that?” asked Sasha.

  “You don’t understand. Natalie…” David sighed. “The humans claim mers wanted land and were jealous of humans’ so-called power and so they waged war. For the mers it was a different story entirely. All their best and brightest citizens were disappearing, and the mers believed humans were behind it.”

  “So they attacked?” asked Sasha.

  “Yes.”

  “And Natalie’s mom was among those kidnapped?”

  David nodded. “It was later discovered that a mer was behind the whole plot. Natalie knows the humans were almost driven to extinction during the war. She’s been obsessed with humans and war history ever since.”

  “What happened to her mom?” asked Sasha.

  David shrugged. “No one knows. The Disappeared were never found.”

  “And the mer?” asked Sasha.

  David nodded toward the underwater mansion at the end of the hall. Sasha shook his head.

  “Wait, what?” asked Sasha.

  “He pled guilty in court but never released any details,” said David.

  “What is he doing here?” asked Sasha.

  “Well, the mers think he’s dead, but it seems the late Queen Aribella changed his name and hid him away here,” said David. “We think she planned to negotiate the whereabouts of the Disappeared in private, in case they’re still alive, but it’s possible she just had a soft spot for him. They were engaged to be married before the war.”

  Sasha nodded, wiping his hands on a rag. “And how did you know about him?”

  “King Saladin and Lady Imaan brought me to him for healing when I was injured in Faerkbërde,” said David.

  “What were you doing here in the first place?” asked Sasha.

  “I don’t know. I have no memory of anything before waking up here,” said David. “Even Lady Imaan didn’t know. Petra claimed she knew my origin but wouldn’t tell me. Supposedly we came from the same place.”

  “Yasmin’s sister-in-law?” asked Sasha.

  “Yeah, do you know where she’s from?”

  “Funny, now that you mention it, I don’t ever remember it ever coming up,” said Sasha, thoughtful, “but that’s not my sort of talk.”

  “I guess it doesn’t matter anyway. Natalie already arranged a ‘history’ for me. It’s probably better not to confuse the issue,” said David.

  Sasha pulled a large thorn from Buttercup’s radiator.

  “Now I just have to figure out how to keep her from confusing the issue,” said David. “With all that I know of him, I don’t trust Raphael, especially now that he destroyed the shield. I still can’t believe it.”

  “Was it the shield you were after in the casino?” asked Sasha.

  “Yeah,” said David. “I’d brought it back from Larimar for Saladin, but Imaan stole it from me. After that, I vowed to get it back so I could go to Paradise and find out what happened to Natalie’s mom and maybe gain favour with the royal family so I could return to Larimar. Norbert spoke of a tree or something there that could help me.”

  “That…sounds like Norbert,” said Sasha.

  “Then the shield fell to Liza, which I guess is where it should’ve been anyway, until Raphael destroyed it. I still don’t know what he’s up to there.”

  “Wasn’t he just trying to save the—Hang on, you mean to tell me you brought your girlfriend—who I believe is still recovering from a major surgery—to meet a dodgy mer who kidnapped her mother, and she agreed?” asked Sasha.

  David stared at him, confused. “Um…yes.”

  “And now you’re upset that she agreed?” asked Sasha. “Are you mad in your head?”

  “I couldn’t just let the woman die there when I knew of a potential cure, but I wasn’t expecting to stay and chat with the mer either,” said David. “We were just supposed to drop her, make sure she’s okay and then go home.”

  Sasha shook his head. “Really.”

  “What was I supposed to do?” asked David.

  “Be less stupid,” said Sasha, removing a ball of root from underneath Buttercup’s bonnet.

  “So I should’ve let the Queen die then?” asked David.

  “That’s beside the point; it’s done now,” said Sasha, “but you could be more charitable.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’d better go fix this,” said David, turning to leave. “See you later.”

  Natalie was still curled up with a book at the back of Raphael’s library, looking glum as she read. David sat on the stony edge of the nearby jellyfish pool, which surrounded a spiral staircase at the centre of the room. He took a deep breath.

  “So, how’s your research coming on?” asked David. “Have you learned anything new?”

  “A bit, yeah,” said Natalie, leaning closer to her book.

  David nodded. “You know there’s a 4-D film that shows the war from Norbert’
s perspective. I’m sure Raphael has a copy of it somewhere.”

  “Yes, I watched it this morning. It’s absolutely horrible what we did to him and his family—to all the humans. I almost can’t believe it,” said Natalie.

  David sighed. “I’m so sorry, Nats. I should have never asked you to come here. Actually, I should have never allowed it.”

  “Hey, I’m perfectly capable of making my own decisions, thank you,” said Natalie. “Perhaps I was less concerned for the Queen’s welfare than you were, but I am happy she’s okay. And I’m learning a lot, so no harm done.”

  “Are you okay after your fall into the pool?” asked David.

  “Yes, I’d say so,” said Natalie, glancing at her feet. “Honestly, I’m more bothered trying to figure out why the mers would’ve wanted a spot of land this side of the Abyss for the Paradise development in the first place. It’s not like all the land in Larimar is developed.”

  “Maybe there are hot springs there?” asked David. “Raphael showed me a pamphlet advertising the development. I think I remember something about a spa.”

  “But we already have hot springs near the—”

  She opened her goldfish clutch, which looked worn after the journey through Faerkbërde. Natalie plucked an unusual, sponge-like rock from between the keys in the damaged keyboard. Natalie gasped.

  “You’re a genius, David! An absolute genius!” said Natalie, looking at the rock. “Can you get Sasha for me?”

  “Um, yeah, I guess,” said David, looking confused.

  Natalie beamed. “Excellent.”

  She pulled a book from the pile as David disappeared into the library.

  C h a p t e r 7 0

  Sasha followed David to the back of Raphael’s sapphire library, where Natalie was flipping through the torn pages of a manuscript next to her goldfish computer. She looked up as they approached.

  “Sasha, what sort of rock makes up Paradise Island?” asked Natalie.

  “Um, they say it’s sedimentary cliffs like the rest of the coast,” said Sasha.

  “And this line in the Sacred Memories, how do humans interpret it?” asked Natalie, holding out the book. Sasha read.

  Then Avinoam cursed Adam, and with a mighty roar and a fiery sword Avinoam split the land into two and banished humans from the land.

  “Well, as far as I know, some people think Avinoam literally wielded a giant sword and split the land into two,” said Sasha. “The others think the island was caused by the erosion of the mainland by the Chumvi River and the Oceana, which has been backed by research.”

  “What research?” asked Natalie.

  “An experiment was conducted quite a few years ago that involved hurling explosives at the cliff face from a distance, then collecting the rock samples that fell into the sea. It showed fairly conclusive evidence that the cliffs are sedimentary.”

  “Who funded the study?” asked Natalie.

  “I think Silbi Corporation,” said Sasha. “They usually fund geological research.”

  “Isn’t that Gabe’s company?” asked David.

  “Yes, but the research was peer reviewed, and has been widely accepted ever since,” said Sasha.

  “Do you think it’s possible they fixed the study, even with the review?” asked Natalie.

  “Why in the world would they do that?” asked Sasha.

  Natalie held up the porous rock she had found in her keyboard.

  “This came out of my computer after the ride through Faerkbërde,” said Natalie. Sasha stared at it.

  “This is interesting,” said Sasha. “This is very interesting.”

  “What is it?” asked David.

  “Pumice,” said Sasha. “It’s a light, igneous rock formed during explosive volcanic eruptions.”

  “And see,” said Natalie, picking up her computer. The fountain displayed a spherical model of the world, which looked like a hollow geode. The geode was split into two land masses opposite each other, with a body of water dividing the two halves. One half was marked Larimar, and the other, Aeroth. Natalie pointed to an area below Paradise Island, which connected to a pillar of rock on Larimar.

  “The explosion that we thought was meant for David occurred at the Central Docking Station, which is on the same rock column as Paradise Island, not Mount Leah.”

  “So you’re saying…”

  “She’s saying Paradise Island is volcanic,” said Sasha, “and it’s waking up.

  C h a p t e r 7 1

  “So Paradise Island is a waking volcano,” said David. “Are you sure?”

  “Think about it. The fertile land surrounding volcanoes would be perfect for new vegetation, and the buried magma chambers would’ve provided the source of hot springs, as David mentioned,” said Natalie. “The mers, we know, left earlier, but I think the humans had to abandon the land in the wake of a massive volcanic eruption, which was later recorded in the Sacred Memories as a mighty roar and a fiery sword.”

  “It’s an interesting theory,” said Sasha, thoughtful. Natalie typed several keyboard shortcuts into her computer. The sphere of water projecting a world map was sucked into the fountain, and another projection emerged. It was a red error sign. Natalie frowned.

  “I’ve been trying to hack into the docking station’s topography files to see if we can get an aerial shot of Paradise Island, but it looks like they might be too well encrypted,” said Natalie. “I’m assuming humans don’t have any maps of the island.”

  “No, I don’t think they have any maps,” said Sasha.

  “There must be a map somewhere,” said Natalie.

  “There is,” said David. “Follow me.”

  He led them up the spiral staircase to a large room with muted gold walls and a mosaic floor showing a large, illustrated map of the world. David pulled a reed from a porcelain vase near the wall and tapped the image of Paradise Island covered in silvery clouds. The grout in between the tiles expanded into large, glass tiles, while the surrounding tiles shrunk into grout. When the tiles stopped moving, the land in the mosaic map looked closer, as though David had zoomed in on a picture. The floor showed a lush green island beneath the clouds, and a sign with gold letters that read, Paradise. Sasha stared at it, wide-eyed.

  “Bi y’avi,” said Sasha, “it’s a caldera.”

  “What’s a caldera?” asked David.

  “Sometimes a volcanic eruption is so great, the sides of the volcano collapse and form this bowl shape, which is known as a caldera,” said Sasha.

  “And now it’s active again,” said Natalie.

  “But what about the supposed tremor that led to the ballroom accident,” asked David. “The Palace isn’t anywhere near the rock column.”

  “I don’t know,” said Natalie,” shrugging.

  “What in the world is going on?” asked David, looking at the map.

  “Well, from a human perspective, it wouldn’t surprise me if Silbi Corporation fixed the research,” said Sasha. “If there’s anything interesting in Paradise, Gabe would want to explore it without competition and maintain his dominance.”

  “And you think they told everyone else it’s worthless—to keep people off the scent, so to speak?” asked Natalie.

  “Yes,” said Sasha.

  “That’s probably why Lady Imaan was so obsessed with getting there first, to undo the evil Leviathan,” said David, “and why she told everyone else it’s forbidden land.”

  “But why go there in the first place?” asked Sasha. “Why fix the study and then race to get there? It’s not like it’s the only volcano in the world.”

  “Maybe Imaan had religious reasons. She was obsessed with the legend that a mer poisoned the humans there. Maybe she was really concerned with figuring that out,” said Natalie.

  “Or maybe she wanted actual poison,” said David. “She killed Saladin with batrotoxi
n from there.”

  “What?” asked Natalie.

  “Imaan claimed there were two known samples of batrotoxin from Paradise in Aeroth, left from the days of Adam,” said David. “One she used to poison the dagger and the arrow she used to kill Saladin. The other she claimed Gabe put in his headache tablets. Batrotoxin is derived from the skin of a poison arrow frog in Paradise, and the only known animal with immunity is a snake. Imaan used it to claim that Gabe literally is the Leviathan, or ‘water snake.’ I know she’s not completely lying because I’ve heard of the poison before while reading my dad’s research. He studies frogs.”

  “Why didn’t you mention this before?” asked Natalie.

  “I don’t know,” said David, shrugging. “I was kind of hung up on being framed for murder. I didn’t think much of the details.”

  Natalie stared at him. “David, do you realise what you just said?”

  “I said Imaan might be looking for poison,” said David.

  “No, about your dad’s research,” said Natalie.

  David laughed. “Oh, come on, Nats. You don’t really believe Gabe’s a snake, do you? I know she used proper science in her argument, but it’s still far-fetched. Isn’t it?”

  “David, your father researched frogs found only in Paradise, right?”

  “Yeah,” said David, looking confused.

  “Don’t you see what that means?” asked Natalie, her eyes bright. “It means you’re from Paradise.”

  David stepped back, the words hitting him square on the chest. “No, I…I mean he could’ve studied the poison here…maybe.”

  “If he did, Imaan would’ve easily found your family,” said Natalie, but David wasn’t listening. He could see the title of his father’s research paper in his mind.

  Survival Methods of Phyllobates terribilis: A field study.

  David stood in the map room like a statue in a museum, his thoughts lost in time as he began to remember.

  C h a p t e r 7 2

  In his mind David entered the art classroom at the far end of Stoneview Institute, carrying a gigantic cello case. He was the art and music teacher at a run-down, inner-city high school, and today their contest entries were due. He sighed.