by M. R. Polish
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-five.” He gave a half smile and smirked.
“Well, to be honest I’m a little more than twenty. More like a hundred,” she said the last part more under her breath.
Brady nearly choked on air. “A hundred? Seriously?”
She nodded and kept her gaze lowered so she couldn’t meet his stare.
“Okay,” he said, letting out a deep breath. “I can dig that. Ya, no problem. So you’re like a cougar.” He smiled now and nodded. “Cool.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Cougar?”
He chuckled. “An older woman who digs hot younger men, like me.”
She stifled a laugh.
He let out a harrumph as he stared out over the ocean. “So ‘twenty’ years old and you’re still a virgin?” He made quotation signs with his fingers when he said twenty.
She nearly choked on the air. “What? I mean, I know what one is, but why are you asking me that?”
“That’s a yes.” He picked up a small pebble and threw it in the water.
“I don’t see why it’s any concern of yours.” Karis folded her arms across her chest.
“Why’d you follow me?” He looked back out over the water.
“Oh!” She reached out and touched his arm. “I almost forgot. There’s a way off the island.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“No. I mean there has to be. Tarine wouldn’t send me messages like that, telling me to be patient, if it weren’t possible for me to leave.”
“For you to leave. What about me?” He shrugged off her hand.
She hung her head. “I hadn’t thought that far, but I am sure once I’m gone the curse should lift.”
“But you can’t promise that. Can you?”
“Brady, come with me.”
He smirked, and his brows rose. “You mean like leave Earth?”
“Yes,” she said hopefully.
“Where to? Back to Shamike and the evil King who wants you dead?”
“Wherever the portal takes us.”
“I don’t know. That’s asking a lot of someone you just met. I’m a fighter. I’m human.” He threw another rock in the water. “I don’t know if I could do that.”
It was strange to feel disappointment over his response. Somewhere inside, she hoped he would agree to come. That was crazy, of course, since he was right. She’d barely met him days before, but it still made her feel an emptiness about leaving him behind.
Her pendant hummed around her neck. It was the familiar vibration that she lived with since her father placed it around her neck. It reminded her of her true home and her people. She couldn’t allow a human to sidetrack her from finding a way back to Shamike.
“What’s all this?” Karis opened the door to the home she now shared with Brady. He stood on the other side of the bed with her trunk out, sifting through things she had hidden from her sight long ago.
He held up the picture of her and her father. “Who’s this?”
She stormed over to him and snatched the picture from his fingers. “What are you doing?”
“You don’t give straight answers, you want help to get home, and I need to get back to reality. So I came searching for my own answers.”
“This is not yours to go through.” She grabbed the remnants of her life before her banishment off the bed. Carefully she tucked them back to their places in the trunk.
“Look, I get close to you and feel this… this strange attraction. Obviously you don’t share the same feeling, so I need to find a way to get away. I need to go home. I have fights waiting for me. I could have any girl back in the States, why would I waste my time here.”
She wasn’t sure her heart could hurt any worse than that moment. His words were like piercing daggers to her chest. She did feel a pull toward him. One she couldn’t explain, and was too scared to act upon.
“Brady,” she trailed off, unsure what to say.
“What, Karis? What? I crashed here, and there might have been a reason for that. Tarine might have sent me to help you thinking I’m some sort of hero, but I’m not. I’m the same guy I was a few weeks ago. Being stranded on an island was something I never foresaw in my life. Meeting you was something I was obviously unprepared for.” He threw another picture down on the bed. “See? You have me all confused and blabbering like some fool. It’s crazy.”
“I feel it too,” she whispered. “Before you came here, it was like a dark paradise. I was forced to live alone. Living with the fact that I’d never love, never have a family, or my friends. I worried that what I felt was just me scared of being alone again.”
He reached for her and pulled her close to him. This time, she didn’t push him away. She could feel her pulse thump under his touch. His warm breath flushed her already blushing cheeks. “It’s crazy, but I think it’s more than that. I think there’s more to us being together than just you being scared.”
“Like what?” Her words came out in a small whimper.
“Tarine said I have a bloodline connecting me to the Aridam people. Whoever they are. What if we’re destined to meet? What if it’s real?”
She didn’t want to think anymore. His closeness disrupted all her focus and nothing else mattered. “Then I’m glad you found me.”
Is this actually happening? she thought. Was he the one she was destined to be with? It would explain why she never married before her father’s death. No other man in Shamike ever made her feel that she was meant to be with them.
“I hope so.” She heard his voice but his lips never moved. She never had time to question how before his lips were on hers. He held her close and ran his hand up her back to her neck, where he pulled her in for a deeper kiss.
She was inexperienced in this area, so she let him lead. His motions were warm and exciting at the same time, leaving her wanting more. She wasn’t exactly sure what more was, but she didn’t want the kiss to end. His lips slowly and expertly caressed hers in soft sweeps. Her body tingled with desire. Quickly, her lips mimicked his and she moved her hand to his chest. The kiss felt so right, so natural, so amazing. Nothing could have prepared her for how Brady’s kiss made her feel. Every nerve on her body was on fire and her senses became foggy.
He broke the spell and backed up, his hand still at the nape of her neck. He rested his forehead on hers. His breathing was heavy, and she could feel his body shake.
Maybe she’d done something wrong? She reached up and bravely ran a finger down his face, purposely taking the time to trace his scar. She loved it. It showed he was willing to fight, to protect, and she knew he’d never back down from a fight.
He grasped her wrist. “Karis,” he spoke in a husky whisper.
“Yes?”
They had no time to question each other. A loud whirlwind of noise squalled through the island. The trees rustled as a tempest approached.
“What the hell?” Brady darted to the window closest to them.
“There were no clouds or signs of an impending storm.” Karis ran to close the other windows.
“There are no clouds, the sea is calm.” Brady spoke too calmly for her liking.
“What do you mean? Then what is it?” She went over to him.
“That.” He pointed out towards the inlet.
Karis gasped. “It’s time.”
“What do you mean it’s time? What is that?”
She clapped her hands in excitement. “That is a portal.” She ran to the bed, grabbed the photo of her father, and tucked it in the band of her skirt.
He stared out at the funnel of water stationed in the cove. It reached high into the sky, swirling with the clear blue water. He swallowed hard. “That’s a portal?”
She ran over to him, grabbed his hands, and pulled him towards the door. “Yes. Come on. I don’t know how long it will be here.”
It didn’t take them long to reach the tornado of water. It sprang from the pool in the nestled cove. “I haven’t seen one for so long. I forgot
how they looked. It’s incredible,” Karis confessed as they stopped on the top of the wall of rocks.
“Then how do you know what it is?” Brady hollered over the wind.
“After being raised with them, and studying many other nations that have the capabilities to use them, I just know.” She smiled at him and looked up at the massive portal.
After years alone on the island, she wasn’t sure why she was so hesitant on leaving. Brady took her hand, and she knew why. If she left him, she’d always wonder what could’ve been, or if he was ever able to leave. So many things pulled at her at once.
The high winds picked up even more, lifting the portal from the ground, revealing an entry to the world that called out to her. A world that opened a way to save her. Now was the time.
She glanced back at Brady, who stared at her. His dark eyes melted into her soul. She kissed his cheek and pulled her hand from his. Her soul ached at the strange realization that they would be separated.
“Karis, don’t go.”
She could see him breathe heavy and it made it harder to leave, but she knew that she must. Her people needed her. A single tear slipped down her face. “I’m sorry. I wish…” She couldn’t say it. It wouldn’t be fair to leave him with her thoughts of regret.
She twisted to enter the portal. Her hair whipped around her face. She closed her eyes and prayed she would be taken away quickly so she wouldn’t see his face. She didn’t want to live with that. It hurt too much.
She stood inside the portal and waited for it to close. Nothing happened. Why wouldn’t it shut and take her to her fate?
“Karis, wait!”
She opened her eyes and watched as Brady ran to her side, grasping her hands. At that same time, the portal shut as if it had been waiting for him to enter all along.
Karis blinked as a shimmering light blinded her. The last thing she remembered was Brady running into the portal with her. “Brady?” she called out.
He squeezed her hand. “Right here.”
“You came; I can’t believe you came.” She wasn’t sure where they were yet, but she was certain it wasn’t Shamike.
“I couldn’t let you leave without me. I don’t know. I watched you standing there alone, ready to help your people, and all I could think was that you’d need me. I felt this overwhelming tug in my heart and I couldn’t let you go.”
“Thank you.”
She squinted as she looked up. It was almost as if they were still in the portal, yet she swore there was water over them.
“Karis?” a man’s voice spoke.
“Yes?” She hoped to see who was talking, but it was hard to make anyone out.
“Walk towards me. The brightness in the gateway room is more than most can handle.”
Oh, thank goodness. That made more sense to her now. She remembered a couple rooms when she traveled with her father that were inconceivably bright. She continued to hold Brady’s hand, and they both walked out of the bright light and onto dry land.
Karis looked around. Her skin tingled in euphoria. They were in a world Karis only thought was a myth her people told, like fairy tales told to human children. Her father never told her it was real. Why would he want to keep this world a secret?
Brady rubbed his hands over his face. As far as they could see, water shimmered overhead. The city that spread out before them sat on dry land under the sea.
Colorful homes shimmered in front of Karis, imitating the glistening sheen of the water. In the middle of the aquatic city was a beautiful amaranth castle-like structure that was taller than any buildings around it. The top of the main spire was submerged in the ceiling of water, creating a ripple and a reflective wave over the fortress.
“Ho-ly…” Brady stopped and gaped at the view. “Do you see what I see?”
Karis couldn’t help but smile.
“Is that… a… man? I think I’m seeing things.”
Karis looked around in awe at their surroundings. “No. I’m pretty certain that was what humans would call a mermaid.”
Karis watched in amazement as another merman swam at super speed through the water right over her, headed toward the metropolis.
“A mermaid? Are you freaking serious?”
“Actually, we prefer being called Syrenae.” A man stood in front of them. He appeared to be in his early thirties with beautifully scaled patches on his skin that glistened with blues and reds. His shaved head flaunted a tattoo much like the one on Brady’s arm. His eyes caught Karis’s, and she noted that they were the most intense blue she’d ever seen, bluer than even hers. His chest was bare, but around his wrists were silver manacles. Tight black pants, a material Karis couldn’t make out but reminded her of shiny leather, adorned his lower half. Soft leather boots completed his attire.
He held his hand up with his palm faced toward Karis and Brady. “I am Darvin, Keeper of the Gateway here in Perditus and a Syrenae. We are only in our true form in the water.” He had a deep but pleasurable lilt in his speaking that made Karis feel welcomed. He gave Karis a knowing smile. “We’ve searched for a long time for you. Tarine sent an encrypted message that took a few days to decipher, but it led us to you and Brady.”
Brady tensed up as his name was spoken. “How do you know who I am?”
Darvin tipped his head slightly. “Did Tarine not tell you about your heritage? I assumed you knew.”
“Listen, buddy, I don’t know anything about any of this.” He spread his arms out in emphasis.
Darvin nodded at Brady’s arm with the tattoo. “What about that? How’d you get that?”
Brady placed his other hand over his arm. “I saw it in a dream once, and it stuck with me. What about it?”
Darvin raised an eyebrow.
“There are thousands of tats out there. So what.” Even though Brady kept a calm voice, Karis could feel his anxiety growing. His muscles were tight and he was ready to spring into action.
Darvin smiled politely at them both. “It is a mark of a warrior. You have a strong bloodline from Aridam.”
That was where she knew his marking from. She saw one on a trip with her father a long time ago. Aridam was one of her favorite worlds to explore as a child. Its dry land with tall mountainous regions made for compelling yet diverse travels. She wondered why it she didn’t remember it sooner when Tarine told her about Brady’s heritage.
Darvin glanced at her. “You know. That’s good because he’s destined to help.”
“Whoa, look, dude, I don’t want to sound like a jerk, but I have no clue what you’re talking about. This is all new to me. And to be honest, a little creepy. I’m actually starting to wonder if I’m in a coma back on Earth, and the whole deserted island and then being sent to the lost city of Atlantis is just a dream.”
“Perditus, not Atlantis. They perished long ago.” Darvin frowned.
Karis nodded. “That’s true. Their demise was unfortunate. It was a beautiful city. It vanished long before I was born, but in Shamike there are a few photographs that have kept that world alive.”
Brady ran his hand over his face and head. “This is crazy.”
“Even so, our leader, Coron, is anxious to visit with you. We should depart for the castle.”
“Castle?” Brady asked. Karis could sense his hesitance about moving away from the portal entry.
“I grew up in a palace, they are often the same. Come on, I won’t leave you.” She tugged on his hand. Finally, he budged, and they followed Darvin into the city.
“This is so unreal. A couple weeks ago I was fighting for money in the Solomon Islands, and now I am under some ocean, in some God knows what realm of a different world.” Brady talked while they walked past homes and buildings. Small children ran out to greet them. Their bodies had glistening patches the same as Darvin’s, like a fish but in a stunning, attractive way. The colors were different, and she noticed a wide variety. Mothers came to stand with their children and waved at Karis as if they were long-lost friends.
Kari
s waved back to a few. Feelings of empathy radiated off the people of Perditus. She wasn’t sure if it was because of her unfair banishment from her home, or if it was for Brady, who was an innocent being with a sacred bloodline.
They finally reached an extremely large and spacious home that reminded Karis of her childhood palace. Upon closer inspection, she could see it was made out of a clay-like substance and stones. Intricately carved pieces adorned the entranceway with vibrant sea flowers that matched their colorful world. Darvin led them to the front door before turning around. “This is as far as I take you. I must go back to my post. I’m glad to meet you both.”
Karis sucked in a deep breath and knocked on the door. It wasn’t long before a woman in a shimmering silver dress opened the door with a smile. “Please come in.”
Brady took Karis’s hand. She wasn’t sure if it was for her comfort or his own, but enjoyed it just the same.
“Karis, I’m glad we’ve finally found you.” A man much like Darvin with the same lilt-like accent came out from a closed room and embraced Karis. He held on a little too long for her liking and she stiffened. It was almost too much interaction after so long without it.
It was hard to compose herself with such a greeting after years of no physical contact. Brady was the only one she yearned to be close to. Everyone else made her feel as if a pillow smothered her. That was one more thing she found confusing about him.
Karis looked over the man as he spoke. He had a patch of red hair on the back of his head that he pulled back in a tie. He also wore the strange black pants and boots, and his chest was entirely bare. “My name is Coron. Tarine contacted us days ago about your whereabouts and that Brady was safe with you. It was such a relief. I promised your father that if anything ever happened, I would watch over you. Shamike’s council banished you before I could intervene. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive an old man.”
Her father knew these people? Of course he did, she chastised herself. He knew everyone in all the outlying worlds. He was the glue that held them all together as allies. Why didn’t he tell her about this world? About Coron? There must be a reason he kept her from it.
