Mythos

by Heather McLaren

  “Get ready,” Faren instructed Luna. “The statues are preoccupied with Harmony. Wait… not yet… just a second… go.”

  Faren and Luna swam as fast as they could for the temple, keeping a close eye on the warriors. They still had their backs to them, giving Harmony the third degree.

  Don’t turn around, don’t turn around! Just a few more strokes.

  The great hall was larger than the one in Pandora. The massive pillars in the middle of the room had to be forty feet tall. Dozens of purple and green flags floated high above them, and white filmy curtains, secured at all four corners, cascaded down the walls.

  A fifteen-foot statue of a man in white robes stood in the middle of the cavernous room, holding a young child. To Faren’s relief, he didn’t stir.

  A few feet from the statue, the sacred crystal tumbled in place within a metal and glass vault suspended by its own pink aura.

  “We need to stay together, at least until we get to the hall of documents,” Faren whispered.

  Luna nodded. “But which way should we go?” She looked around the enormous room. “I had no idea there would be so many hallways.”

  The girls swam for the first doorway and peered down the hall. Even after thousands of years, pictures of past council members decorated the walls, still recognizable. Their pinched faces seemed to scowl at them for being somewhere they weren’t welcome.

  Faren peeked into each room they passed. Most of them held things scavenged from the sea; a couple housed treasures taken from numerous shipwrecks. They moved onto the next corridor with high hopes.

  A couple of hallways and dozens of rooms later, Luna was on the verge of losing control. “What are we going to do if we don’t find it?” She peered into one more room filled with sodden, broken things from the world above, and her emotions got the better of her. “We don’t even know if there IS a document on this Ring!”

  Faren took her by the shoulders. “I know we wanted to stick together,” she said, “but I’m starting to wonder if it’s an option anymore.” She smiled and brushed the hair from her friend’s face, doing what she could to calm her, hiding her own disappointment. “If we split up, we’ll find the document in half the time. What do you think?”

  “This is Pandora all over again,” Luna whined. But she reluctantly agreed, and they went their separate ways.

  An hour and eleven corridors later, the legendary hall of documents still eluded Faren. Just as she felt like giving up, luck turned in her favor. The hallway up ahead was longer than the previous ones, and the walls revealed strange, alien writing–most likely Atlantis’ native alphabet.

  Faren floated up to the nearest inscription and grazed her hand along its smooth edges. A brilliant light cascaded around her; the luminescence radiating from the wall took on a life all its own, bringing with it an unexpected transformation. What once came across as gibberish was now legible writing; the glowing, green writing Faren’s ancestors had abandoned centuries ago morphed into English before her eyes.

  Reflections of forgotten souls escape through panes of glass.

  Ancient answers asked reveal themselves at last.

  Hold the frame, bear witness to a time from long ago.

  With firsthand sight, truth shall follow.

  Walk where others have walked.

  Live where they have lived.

  Die where they have died.

  Reach for the past to see what lies inside.

  Faren wrinkled her brow and moved on to the next scrawling. That was helpful.

  Heed the words upon this stone.

  Truth and wisdom you shall own.

  The light of love that one has worn, the breath of life will then transform.

  Land above and sea below–where these meet I bestow

  A gift like none before to stay upon the distant shore.

  “You found the Hall of Documents,” Luna exclaimed, swimming up behind her.

  “Well, we’re in the right hallway. Now we just need to find the right document,” Faren grumbled, “and it looks like that may be harder than we thought.” She gestured toward the hundreds of carvings along the walls.

  “We might as well get started.”

  When Luna swam to the far end of the hall, Faren made the short trek to the next group of glyphs and ran her hand over them, hoping it was what she was looking for. She was disappointed again.

  I. Never cause harm to another.

  II. Remain humble.

  III. Do not kill more than you consume.

  IV. Treat the Earth with kindness and respect.

  V. Remember your morality.

  VI. Think of me in all you do.

  Too bad they didn’t listen.

  It was nearly half an hour later, when Luna’s thoughts shouted from the far end of the corridor. “I think I found something!”

  Faren swam over and looked up at the glowing words.

  The bearer holds the key

  To light the way for all to see.

  The magic in this ring

  And power it shall bring

  Can save one in their time of need.

  Close your eyes and think of Me.

  Cast a spell, so shall it be.

  The foreign words engraved below the passage confused Faren. “I wonder why this is still written in Romean,” she said.

  “Hey, you!” a guard shouted.

  Faren’s head snapped up. It felt like her heart had stopped beating and was now sitting in her chest like a dead lump.

  The guard swam toward them. “Stay where you are!” he shouted again. “How did you get in here?”

  Faren and Luna raced to the end of the hall. It was a dead end.

  “No, no,” Luna cried, swimming in circles. “What are we going to do?”

  Faren grabbed her and closed her eyes, repeating the foreign words engraved on the wall. “Terret au dente nuk.”

  When she pictured her bedroom, the girls plunged into a place like no other. Brilliant streaks of blinding white light flew by, accompanied by flashes of red and blue. And then, they were back in their own world. Cold chills left Faren and Luna shivering.

  The trip was over in seconds. When the girls opened their eyes, what greeted them was not the angry guard or the many inscriptions littering the walls.

  * * *

  “They have used the Ring and are safely out of the temple,” Madame Isadora whispered. She closed her eyes and relaxed. “They’re in Faren’s bedroom now.”

  The rush of relief flooding through David consumed his body, devouring every negative thought he had ever had. He fell back against the sofa and closed his eyes, whispering his thanks to the Man Above.

  “Faren will meet you tomorrow morning,” Madame said, leaning back in her recliner. “She has all the answers you need.”

  David thanked her and stepped outside a happy man. He whistled to himself on the way to the curb. The streets lights were coming on and the houses he passed were lit up. On other blocks, he saw kids playing and mothers calling them for dinner.

  * * *

  Suri, hiding behind a tree, watched David walk away and looked back at the house. Isadora flung the front door open and screamed into the night, “Don’t go! Danger lurks nearby! David, stop!” But David was already gone.

  Suri started up the stairs. “Hag,” she hissed, advancing quickly on the blind woman. “I want to talk to you.”

  Isadora backed up against the door and felt around for the handle. She got inside and bolted the lock just as Suri got there.

  “Go away!” Isadora cried out.

  “You can’t keep me out,” Suri called, her face plastered to the glass pane in the door. “I think you know that.”

  “Get away from here, beast!”

  Suri heaved her bulk and splintered the door with a blow. She stood in the empty doorway, silhouetted in the moonlight, watching the old woman try to crawl away. She began to walk toward Isadora, and when she noted the absence of eye contact, she laughed. “You can’t see me, can y
ou? You’re as blind as a cave fish.”

  Isadora reached the corner, recoiled, and screamed, “Please, leave me alone! I don’t know why you’re here!” She covered her face with both hands.

  Suri saw the Book of Legends lying on the coffee table and took a step toward Isadora, and then another. “You know I want answers,” she said. “You may be a good psychic – but you’re a terrible liar.”

  * * *

  David never heard the commotion behind him. Just as he didn’t hear the quiet whirring of the sea demon Suri had set to follow him until it leaped from the shadows on top of him. David fell to the hard earth, his breath knocked out of him. He tried to struggle up, but was immobilized by cold, hard tentacles of pure muscle. He kept fighting as the demon began to carry him away into the night. Gripped tightly, David twisted, trying to squirm free. His attacker made escape impossible.

  David found his voice. “Help!”

  “Shut up or I’ll shut you up,” the monster croaked.

  “Go to hell!”

  In response, the demon tightened his tentacles around David, shooting electrical bolts through him.

  David screamed again, this time in pain.

  “I told you to shut up.” The demon laughed.

  David, his body limp and unresponsive now from the electric shocks, looked into the face of his abductor. This close the creature looked like the devil himself. His eyes were blacker than the darkest night. His thin lips were set in a smug grin, and his skin stretched and sagged, barely covering his skull in places.

  The world shrank to that of a pinpoint as the monster stung David into unconsciousness. The last thing he could remember was the creature slinging him over his shoulder and the warm seawater caressing his body as they ventured farther from shore.

  Chapter 9

  Sneak Attack

  SOMEONE BROKE INTO THE TEMPLE LAST night,” Salene addressed the mers crowding the courtyard. “Servio is talking with the guard that witnessed the incident now, and we’ll have more information on their identities soon.”

  Faren hovered near the back of the shocked masses with Luna and Harmony. Her stomach was in knots. Her surroundings seemed surreal; the water felt heavier and the morning sun brighter, like a spotlight calling her out. She hoped no one else noticed their guilty faces.

  “The criminals managed to disappear before the guard could reach them,” Salene continued. “And considering the fact that the hall of documents is a dead end, we find this detail odd to say the least.”

  The crowd came to life, talking at once. “Are you saying they used magic to escape?” someone hollered out. “We don’t have that kind of technology.”

  “Are they from Atlantis?” another shouted.

  “What good are the stone warriors if they can’t defend the temple?” the mer floating next to Faren whispered to his companion. “This is twice in the same week.”

  “We will find out who has deceived us,” Thaden threatened, silencing the mers. “Until the individuals responsible for last night’s caper come forward, Atlantis is on lockdown. No one leaves the city!” His thoughts bounced off the massive cavern, amplified by his anger, and his gills heaved with each enraged breath he took. Thaden swam into the gathering, watching everyone as he would specimens under glass. “Go home,” he commanded them, “and someone will visit you with questions regarding your whereabouts last night. I promise you when we find the guilty parties they will be prosecuted accordingly.”

  Faren slid the ring off her finger and hid it in the palm of her hand. She had planned to take it to the High Council, but considering the recent turn of events, she was having second thoughts. She and Luna exchanged terrified glances, but Harmony was too overwhelmed to do anything more than stare at the sand.

  “There are guards stationed all over the island,” Salene told them. “Those of you who have put your family and friends at risk will not be able to flee. Think about what you’re doing and confess for the innocent if not for your own self-respect.”

  Without further scrutiny, the High Council retired to the temple, leaving the crowd to go their separate ways. Faren and her friends swam back to her house and waited for the guard, praying for a miracle.

  * * *

  “Where were you last night?”

  Faren’s mind was a jumbled mess. The girls had gone over what to say if their crime came to light a dozen times, but now, with the harsh consequence of their actions staring them in the face, she fought to find the right words. “I, um, well, we were here last night.”

  Luna and Harmony floated off to the side with their heads down.

  “You were all here,” the guard repeated, “and you didn’t go out.”

  Just to break into the temple.

  “No,” Faren said, “we didn’t go out.” She hoped her gasping gills wouldn’t give away her deception. She tried not to look him in the eye; instead, she watched the sheer pink curtains floating freely about her window.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Atticus demanded, swimming into Faren’s bedroom. He glowered at the guard when he saw the girls’ terror stricken faces.

  “My name is Arnov,” the mer said, clasping his hands together. “The High Council sent me to ask the girls a couple of questions.”

  “Not without me here you’re not.”

  “Well, now you’re here.” He commenced with the third degree without hesitating. “What would you say if I told you that you and Luna match the descriptions given to the High Council?” He stared hard at Faren.

  They’ve caught us!

  Faren shot a look at Luna, whose eyes had grown to twice their size, and back to the guard. She didn’t dare move. She scarcely breathed.

  “I guess I would say that’s odd.” Faren suddenly felt claustrophobic; her room seemed to be spinning out of control, making her dizzy, as it got smaller and smaller.

  “Well, the night guard–”

  “Are you calling my daughter a liar?” Atticus swam in front of Faren, shoving her behind him.

  Arnov breathed deep and closed his eyes for a couple of seconds, but he kept his tone steady and controlled. “What I was getting ready to say was the temple guard described most of Atlantis; I don’t know how they expect to find the criminals with such vague descriptions.” He chuckled. “Females, light scales, dark scales, blonde, brunette–-that describes half of my family.”

  Harmony finally spoke up. “Why couldn’t he give the High Council a better description?”

  “It just so happens, the guard in question can’t see clearly twenty feet in front of his face. He couldn’t even say for sure what color the mers’ tails were.”

  Faren couldn’t believe their good luck. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief, but still couldn’t relax completely.

  “I can assure you they were here last night,” Atticus defended them. “Don’t you think I’d know if three teenage girls left my home?”

  Arnov laughed again. Faren could tell it was genuine amusement. “Yes, I suppose they’d be hard to miss. I’m sorry I had to put you through this,” he said, turning back to Faren and her friends, “but it’s all part of the job.” He took a quick glimpse at Faren’s cleavage before Atticus escorted him out, leaving the girls to talk.

  “That was a close one,” Harmony said, lying back on Faren’s bed. She tucked the scarlet pillow under her head and picked at the sea grass lining the bronze bed frame. “I was sure I was going to pass out when he said you looked like… well, you.”

  “Tell me about it. Faren and I would have gotten in the most trouble,” Luna said, picking up a small fish figurine from the metal dresser and turned it over in her hands. “Where did you get this? I’ve never seen it before.”

  “My dad got it for me on his latest expedition north.”

  Luna set it back down and gazed around at the metal trunks spilling over with pretty knick-knacks, and the sandstone rock and coral tables loaded down with hundreds of shiny trinkets and baubles. “You’re lucky your dad has connections
with the Treasure Seekers. I’m jealous.”

  “No kidding,” Harmony said. “When does he go...”

  Faren tuned Harmony out and glided over to the door leading to the living room. She peeked out to see her father relaxing on the wrought iron sofa with his head laid back against the black cushions. The gold and white papasan chairs were empty. The guard was gone.

  Luna interrupted her eavesdropping. “Atlantis to Faren. Harmony asked you a question.”

  Faren continued to watch Atticus. “What?”

  “When does your father travel with the Treasure Seekers again?”

  Faren made her way over to the bed and sat down. She curled her tail around the foot board and fidgeted with her hands. “I’m not sure, but we have more important matters to discuss,” she said, surprised her friends were able to let go of the dire situation so easily. “Do you think they’ll blame someone else for what we did?”

  Harmony looked up. “You heard Arnov,” she said with a know-it-all attitude. “That guard wouldn’t have been able to identify his own mother at that distance. The High Council would never prosecute someone without being certain of their guilt.”

  Faren hoped she was right. If someone else did get the blame, she would have to admit her part in the crime–she couldn’t let an innocent mer go to jail, and she would have to come up with a fictitious accomplice to keep her friends out of trouble. It sounded like a lot of work.

  “I can’t believe they didn’t think I had something to do with it,” Harmony said. “I’m the one the warriors saw in the courtyard last night. They had to have told the High Council about me.”

  Faren hoped she didn’t hurt her friend’s feelings when she brought up the obvious. “The night guard never mentioned your extra flukes when he described us.” She swam over to the window and watched Arnov leaving their neighbor’s house.

  “I bet this is one of those times you’re happy to be different,” Luna said.

  Harmony laid her head back down and sighed. “You can say that again.”

  * * *

  “Everyone here has been accounted for,” Servio announced back at the courtyard thirty minutes later. “We believe the perpetrators may have fled Atlantis after the break-in, and we intend to keep an eye out for their return.” He warned the mers, “Please do not pass the city limits until further notice. We don’t want to mistake you for the guilty parties.” He swam into the temple without saying anything more.