by S. M. Boyce
She cleared her throat, not sure what to say as she unfurled the map again. “I’m good, thanks.”
The moving, shimmering symbol was now the only thing on the parchment. The image of the lagoon had disappeared. Victoria smacked it with the back of her hand. “See, Diesel? We’re worse off than before.”
“Face the water.”
She frowned, but ultimately complied. She stood in front of the water and stared at the map, tapping her foot and annoyance.
As she watched, the symbol disappeared entirely and a single line of elegant text appeared in its place.
Ne intraveritis et susceperint vos domus.
Diesel stood behind her and leaned over her shoulder, his chin too close to her neck. “Enter and be welcomed, family.”
“You speak Atlantean?” Victoria inched away to reclaim her personal space.
“It’s Latin. And there’s a lot you don’t know about me, dearest.” He winked.
Ugh.
Diesel pointed to the parchment. “Say those words.”
Audrey hopped into the water again, giggling as she kicked and sent water high into the air. “Splashy!”
Victoria sighed. “Ne intraveritis et susceperint vos domus.”
The ground rumbled underneath them, and waves crashed harder against the beach. The sand beneath Audrey began to crumble, and Victoria grabbed her arm just in time as a stairwell appeared beneath her. The wet-sand stairs descended into the ocean, which swept aside to allow them through as if the water were pushed up against an invisible barrier. At the bottom was an ornate set of double doors made from the sand itself. Seashells acted as handles, a warm and welcoming invitation inside.
So much for the theory that the Atlanteans were hostile people. The beautiful island, the gorgeous entry, the sweet saying... All of it seemed more welcoming than even Fairhaven. After all, during her first few weeks in Fairhaven she had been insulted by ogres and chased down thieves.
Hell, maybe she needed to move to Atlantis.
“Fuck! My head,” Audrey said, hands on her temples. She slumped into the sand, elbows on her knees as she cradled herself.
Victoria knelt and rubbed her friend’s back. “How are you feeling?”
“Terrible. What the hell was in that potion?”
“No idea, but it's Fyrn, so you probably drank toad mucus and cuss words. The good news is, you didn't kill us. We’re here.”
“Here.” Diesel knelt on the other side of Audrey and set his hand on top of Victoria's. He muttered something under his breath, and warmth rushed through Victoria's hand into Audrey's body. Tingles of comfort radiated up Victoria's arm, a sensation that made her think about chicken soup and her mother reading to her when she was a kid.
Victoria snatched her hand away and stood, backing away from the wizard and whatever he was doing to help Audrey feel better. Startled, Styx darted into the air and hovered, a concerned expression on his tiny face. Audrey relaxed under Diesel’s touch with a soft smile on her face, but Victoria couldn’t stand the memories Diesel’s spell had brought to the surface. For Victoria, what should have felt like comfort and joy just reminded her of what she didn't have any more.
A knot balled in her throat, and tears burned the corners of her eyes.
“Victoria?" Diesel stood, a look of concern on his face.
Victoria shoved her feelings down and shook her head. “I'm fine. Focus on Audrey.”
She turned her back on the pair of them and stared down the steps to the door hidden deep in the ocean water. She had to focus. She had to be present and aware. This mission was about taking care of Audrey, not reliving her pain.
Diesel set a hand on her shoulder. It caught her off-guard, and she flinched. His touch was tender, which was more than she would have thought a cocky guy like him could muster. He hesitated, lips parted a bit as though he hadn't quite figured out what he had done wrong, and Victoria didn't correct him. The last thing she wanted to do was open up to Diesel, of all people.
“Audrey, are you okay?" she asked.
Audrey jumped to her feet and smiled. “That was the best hangover remedy I have ever had in my life. Thanks, Diesel.”
“Anything for my favorite lady's best friend,” he said, flashing that charming grin again.
Aaaaaand he's back.
“Let’s go,” Victoria said, jogging down the steps with Styx in tow. As she descended, fish swam in the lagoon on the other side of the barrier. Tinted light filtered into the stairwell through the waves above. Eventually she went through the lagoon’s bottom into the sand below, Diesel and Audrey following closely. Victoria careful to keep the map as dry she could.
“Allow me.” Diesel reached for the door handle.
She laughed. “I can open doors.”
“Of course, but I would rather any attacks hit me instead of you.”
“What attacks? Everything’s been beautiful and welcoming so far.”
“When in foreign territory, never allow yourself to become complacent.” He gently tapped his staff against his head to drive the point home and opened the door carefully, sticking his head through before allowing it to open all the way.
Inside was a magnificent cave filled with light and white stone pathways. On either side of the path were pools of glittering clear water. Victoria couldn’t tell where the light was coming from, but it was as bright down here as it had been on the island. It seemed to radiate from everywhere and nowhere, illuminating every nook and cranny with enough light to give the space an open and airy feel despite the rock walls around them.
A wide walkway covered in sand led the way through the mystical cave as though there weren’t an ocean overtop. If anything, it seemed as though they were in whitewashed tunnels beneath a mountain, not a sea.
It was as though they had been transported into a completely different place, with shimmering green ferns growing from the very walls. Brilliant pink and purple flowers bloomed everywhere, hibiscus blossoms and others Victoria couldn't name. The walkway meandered through the caves before ending at a carved doorway that led to another tunnel.
The door slamming behind her finally snapped Victoria from her awestruck daze. As the sand doors closed, the rush of ocean water pummeling them sent her pulse skyrocketing with the fear that the water would break through. But the flood didn’t come, and after a few seconds all was still and quiet once more.
“Wow,” Victoria said under her breath. She returned her gaze to the dazzling cave, drinking in the scene before her as though she would never be allowed to see it again.
“Shall we?” Diesel gestured to the door on the far side of the cavern.
Still dazed, Victoria nodded gently and forced herself to lift the map. Before her eyes, the Latin words disappeared and a hand-drawn version of the scene before them appeared in their place. A blue arrow sketched on the ground led toward the tunnel.
“I guess we go that way.”
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Audrey jogged ahead, a broad smile on her face, and Victoria couldn’t help but smile back.
At least someone was enjoying herself.
***
A sense of nostalgia overwhelmed Audrey, growing stronger with every step she took into the tunnels beneath the lagoon that had welcomed them to the outskirts of Atlantis. She didn’t know for sure these were the outskirts, but some silent impulse told her she was right. Walking through these caves was like Christmas morning or, better yet, it was like pulling into the beach town where her family had vacationed every single summer since she was three. The feeling warmed her like a campfire and produced a smile she could not have removed from her face even if she had wanted to.
Walking through these corridors was like coming home.
Every corner revealed a surprise. Every cave was filled with light and plants and flowers that made Audrey grin with delight. Each pool of water held vibrant fish in every color of the rainbow, reminding her of an aquarium at an expensive restaurant…except this was far better.
And with e
very step, the voice in the back of her head grew a little bit stronger. This was the voice that had told her to keep the white stone figurines a secret. The voice told her where to go, directing her through the labyrinth before Victoria even opened her map.
Audrey didn't say a thing as she walked forward. The voice spoke to her, and she ignored it. But with every step, it became louder. It became harder to disregard.
The impatient voice was pulling her toward something. Something spectacular. And the closer she got to it, the harder it became to tell the voice from her own thoughts.
CHAPTER 14
“Isn’t this magnificent?” Audrey lounged by one of the dozens of identical pools in the labyrinth of tunnels that led to Atlantis.
Victoria shrugged. “I mean, it’s beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but if it wasn’t for the map we would be hopelessly lost. I’m glad we didn’t try to get you here without it.”
Audrey’s smile faltered, but she didn’t say anything. Her sense of direction was better down here than it had ever been anywhere else. She always seemed to know exactly where to go. Once again, however, that silent instinct not to share this new tidbit of information overpowered her impulse to tell Victoria everything.
It was true, though. Every tunnel and underground cave looked the same. They were all beautiful, covered in ferns and flowers that never got old, filled with pools of glittering clear water that could be mistaken for piles of diamonds at times.
The only difference was the wildlife. The deeper they went into the network of caves, tunnels, and pools, the more creatures they discovered.
“Look!" Victoria pointed into one of the pools nearby. Aside from the fish that swarmed within, a large turtle swam close to the surface. A bump in the water appeared over its head, pushing through the rippling waves as it passed beneath their walkway. It emerged on the other side, its shell glittering with an iridescent sheen. As it passed, a frog peeked out from behind a leafy plant and hopped into the pool.
Audrey smiled. She never wanted to leave.
Diesel said something under his breath to Victoria, who rolled her eyes. Audrey chuckled. If Victoria rolled her eyes any more, they might fall out of her head.
Something deep in her chest pulled Audrey down the next tunnel. It wanted her to continue, even though her friends wanted to rest. She wasn't tired. She couldn’t possibly be still, not with the beauty around her and the sense of nostalgia that drove her forward. Some distant part of her longed to be here, to get to their destination and never leave.
If only they would move faster!
The sudden pang of frustration was followed by a wave of guilt. She tried to shove the thought back into the recesses of her mind, tried to pretend that it hadn't popped up, but it had felt almost violent.
She wanted to get to Atlantis, and she wanted to get there now.
She stood, dusting off her pants and pretending to look into another of the pools while Victoria and Diesel bantered. She wondered if Victoria would ever cave and date the handsome wizard, and honestly, it was probably inevitable. The pretty guy always got the pretty girl.
A fizzle of jealousy burned in Audrey's chest, and she grimaced as she forced it back down.
“You guys ready to go?" she asked without turning around.
“Sure,” Victoria said, a twinge of annoyance in her voice.
Audrey's first impulse was to spin around and tell her the attitude wasn’t necessary. It took Audrey a moment to realize Victoria was probably annoyed at Diesel, not her.
Again she swallowed the resentment she didn't fully understand, and followed the voice in her core that told her where to go.
“You want to wait to know where we're going?" Victoria asked. Audrey knew her friend well enough to hear the smile on her face without even turning around.
Don’t need you to tell me.
“Sure,” Audrey said, waiting by the tunnel her intuition had pointed her toward.
Victoria lifted the map and pointed to the tunnel just past Audrey’s head a few seconds later. “Lucky guess, chica.”
“Must have been,” Audrey said, with a hint of a smile.
Down here she didn’t need luck. She just needed patience.
CHAPTER 15
“You have five seconds to tell me where Victoria Brie is,” Luak seethed.
He had pinned the massive ogre against the wall by her throat. For most Light Elves this would have been difficult, if not impossible, but Luak had immense power. He accessed the magic deep within one of his Rhazdon Artifacts to keep her immobile, allowing her to think it was his strength.
To her credit, the ogre didn't cower. Most in her position begged, doing anything it took for a few more seconds of life. She simply scowled at him, glaring as though she would kill him with a look.
Her five seconds passed, and she hadn't said a thing.
He laughed and dropped her. She hit the floor with a loud crash that rattled the nearby shelves. He was amazed the heavy ogre hadn't fallen through the floor and landed in the basement.
Her name was Bertha, if his memory served. He slowly paced the ogre's store, examining the various items and sampling a few of them. Succulent roast duck, a collection of the most delicious steamed vegetables he had ever eaten in his life, and an elegant four-tier chocolate cake were just a few of the dishes magically preserved on her shelves.
To be honest, this ogre was one of the few he didn't want to kill. As a longtime resident of Fairhaven, food was one of his few pleasures. It would have been a shame to waste talent such as hers.
Besides, he had a better idea.
“Stop toying with me and get on with it,” the ogre said, not bothering to stand.
Luak watched her, letting the silence and the possibility of death weigh on her more heavily than a brandished knife or threat of violence ever could. Her hand trembled for the barest of seconds, and he figured if she had been standing her knees would've shaken.
She was a brave creature, but even brave creatures didn't want to die.
“But you are a toy, ogre, and I enjoy playing. It seems like you need time to think about my request, so you will live to see another day. In fact, you get to live until Victoria returns. If you want to live past then, you will tell me the moment she arrives.”
He left without another word or glance back. He wasn't an idiot, and he knew Bertha wouldn't come to him. He knew loyalty when he saw it, and he found it to be a most annoying trait in his prey. He would likely have to kill Bertha eventually—much to the dismay of the culinary community—but examples had to be made. He would at least make it a painless death, unless she annoyed him further.
For now, Bertha was bait. Her home would be continuously monitored.
He passed an alleyway draped in shadows and, without stopping, nodded toward a creature lurking beside the brick wall. “Watch her.”
“Yes, sir,” the dark and gritty voice said.
Luak continued down the empty street, admiring his handiwork. The villagers were scared, and had been scarred by the disappearances of friends and family and strangers from the streets. No one came out unless they had to. Commerce had all but stopped, and the economy was choked.
The king had banished Luak, sure, but nothing had changed.
After Victoria had defeated his snarx and removed the king’s fear, Luak had been forced to change his plans. Everything was still in the works, though. In fact, it was coming together faster than it would have before, so in a way he should have been grateful to the obnoxious brat for throwing a wrench into everything. He would still have Fairhaven, and he would still have Victoria. This time, though, he wouldn’t let her slip out of his grasp. He would take her quietly out of the city and dispose of her in a landfill.
Provided he could find her, of course.
An itch burned along his spine as the ghost in his favorite Rhazdon Artifact, the one that gave him fire, expressed its displeasure with him. He didn't blame it. Luak himself was disgusted that he had let Victoria out of his
sight, but he hadn't had a choice.
He had plans for Fairhaven, and they hinged on the powers of her artifact. If he didn't get Victoria's artifact, he would fail. And if he failed, his master wouldn’t be pleased. Very few survived her displeasure.
Anything less than success meant certain death for him. Luak would do everything in his power, kill anyone it took, and destroy everything in his path to get Fairhaven and turn it over to his master.
Right now, only one girl stood in his way.
CHAPTER 16
Victoria sat in yet another of the caves, leaning against a wall and watching Audrey dip her fingers into the cool water. In all their time together, Victoria had never seen Audrey so happy. It was almost like watching someone discover beauty for the first time. Audrey danced her finger along the pool’s surface, mesmerizing the fish beneath her. They swam after her, circling as each tried to nibble on her fingertip. She laughed, an enchanting smile on her face. Styx, meanwhile, buzzed the water, his tiny fingers grazing the surface as he flew.
