Ominous Odyssey (Overworld Chronicles Book 13)

by John Corwin

  Grabbing one of the horns from the grasp of a surprised soldier, I twisted upright and smacked him in the face, reversed my grip, and knocked the other soldier senseless. Before the Brightlings who'd run after their traitorous comrade could react, I raced for the railing.

  A terrible scream filled with frustration shattered the air. "You will not escape me!" Kaelissa roared. "Sing to him, my Sirens!"

  Narine and Balaena glided toward me at an angle to prevent me from leaving the ship. Their lips parted and the sweetest song I had ever heard filled my ears. I felt a stirring in my heart, a great yearning to answer the call of that song. Ecstasy awaited if only I turned and ran into the light.

  But another song whispered from the shell on the seaweed around my neck. Its countermelody soured the sweet wine and filled my mouth with bitterness. I regained control and looked back. The soldiers turned as one toward the Sirens, eyes filled with great longing and began shuffling toward them like mindless zombies. The navigators manning the levitation foils left their positions and the ship slowly began to sink as the foils used the last remaining energy.

  Kaelissa was so intent on me that she hardly noticed the effect the song had on the others. I was surprised that it didn't affect her—a side effect of her link through the bloodstone? I looked for the soldier I'd controlled earlier but he lay in a pool of blood, apparently executed by his fellows to protect their empress.

  It's working! Sure, it had taken a while, but Kaelissa had finally made the mistake we'd been waiting for. I held out my arms and made zombie noises, shuffling toward the Sirens along with the other soldiers even as the ship began to plunge toward the water.

  Kaelissa suddenly realized the mess she'd gotten herself in, but before she could command the Sirens, I picked up a nearby sword and flung it at her. The hilt smacked her in the shoulder and she tumbled backwards with a scream of pain. I saw my broom lying a few yards away and ran for it as the wind from the fast descent whistled in my ears.

  I scooped up the broom and lifted off an instant before the massive ship belly-flopped into the ocean with a thunderous splash. Brightling soldiers crashed into the deck, bodies bouncing once and going still. Those that weren't knocked out from the impact dragged themselves toward the Sirens. The ones that had already reached them, gazed adoringly up at their mistresses.

  Apparently, the Mzodi had planned for emergency water landings because like the Akata, the Xanda remained afloat. The Brightlings might be our enemies, but watching them drown as their minds were caught in the Siren song would have been sickening.

  I swooped down toward the deck just as Shelton and Elyssa zipped back into sight on their brooms. The Falcheen burst into view from out of the mist and barreled toward us. The massive tartha bellowed and swam full steam ahead for the ship while seagulls hovered overhead. The Sirens continued to sing mindlessly while their puppeteer struggled to recover from face-planting into the deck.

  At Kaelissa's waist hung the pouch from which she'd taken the bloodstone intended for me. I leapt off the broom, leapt over sprawled bodies, and tore the pouch from the strap. Inside were the bloodstones controlling the Sirens. I'd hoped that taking them would allow me to assume control, but the connection didn't work that way.

  Somehow, I had to destroy the bloodstones to sever the link.

  Kaelissa whirled and flung an orb of Murk at me. I dodged it and hit her chest with a battering ram of energy. She grunted and slid on her backside.

  She shrieked like a banshee and climbed to her feet. The Sirens stopped singing and a hundred dazed and confused Brightling soldiers began to gather their wits. We didn't have long.

  Thankfully, Shelton and Elyssa were on point.

  Elyssa knocked out the Sirens with lancer darts. Dolpha soared in on Galla, and the sea dragon grabbed the two sirens, one in each claw then circled back out to sea. I lunged for Kaelissa, but a squad of soldiers threw themselves in my way. Explosions thundered, and the entire deck shook as two gem bombs went off behind me.

  Dozens of soldiers lay stunned, dead, and dying, but there was no way I could take Kaelissa alive. I hopped on my broom and rose above the fray. Blood trailed down her face, soaking her white gown, and her lovely blond hair was singed on the right side.

  I tried one last time to reason with her. "Stop this madness, Kaelissa! We can make peace and end the bloodshed. There's no need for you to die."

  She looked up at me, pure rage boiling in her eyes, and screamed. "There will never be peace so long as you live, boy! I will see you and your friends burned by the light, and my Daelissa will be avenged!"

  "That's not the answer I was hoping for," I said in a chiding voice. I'd given her a choice and she'd taken the wrong one. Elyssa and Shelton came up beside me.

  Shelton held out his last gem bomb. "You want the honors?"

  I didn't like the idea of killing Kaelissa like this. She was tired, frazzled, and nearly defenseless. My hesitation nearly cost me my head. A beam of energy speared past close enough to give me a sunburn. I twisted the broom around and saw the Ptarn closing the gap, all forward weapons firing. Arturo and the archangels flew ahead of the ship, clearing a path through the seagulls trying to hinder their progress.

  "Don't go soft on me, man!" Shelton twisted the gem and dropped the bomb. "Get out of here!"

  We darted in different directions as beams of Brilliance and Murk sprayed the area where we'd been. The magical bomb exploded and bodies flew. I was too busy dodging death beams to see if Kaelissa had made it out alive.

  The giant tartha bellowed as the ship fired on it, but the attacks did little damage and only made it angrier. With the singing of the Sirens silenced, the Falcheen closed in and engaged the Ptarn. Magical energy sizzled through the air as the gems charged and fired.

  Though there were far fewer crew on the Falcheen, her firepower gouged the tough Murk hull of the enemy ship while enemy return fire left only blackened marks. The Mzodi obviously knew what they were doing.

  Arturo seemed to realize this and dove for the deck of the Xanda. I circled around, but a squadron of archangels veered toward me. Elyssa and Shelton pulled into formation next to me, but I waved them off.

  "We can't take them," I said. I could probably injure a few, but their concentrated firepower would be too much.

  Arturo pulled a body from beneath a pile of soldiers. Two archangels alighted next to him and lifted Kaelissa by her arms. Burdened by the extra weight, they struggled, but managed to gain altitude.

  "Is she alive?" Shelton said.

  I zoomed my vision, but with all the blood covering Kaelissa, I couldn't tell.

  The Falcheen blasted one of the weapon gems on the Ptarn. The explosion left a hole in the enemy hull and rocked the ship hard. Arturo slashed a hand and two squadrons of archangels flew at the Mzodi ship. The Falcheen fired, but the skilled fliers dodged the beams and homed in on the crew with their lightning lances.

  "We've got to help them!" I throttled my broom to full speed and zipped toward the enemy. White hot energy blossomed around my fist and I fired deadly beams at the backs of the attackers. Shelton whirled his staff and unleashed torrents of brilliant orange.

  The archangels tried to dodge, but Shelton's magic homed in on them, wrapping around their wings and rendering them helpless. Two archangels cried out and fell, unable to keep aloft. Four of their comrades came to their aid while the others turned and fired on us.

  Shelton disabled another flier before we had to take evasive action and dodge the return fire. Beset on both sides by us and the Falcheen, the archangels carried their disabled companions back toward the retreating Ptarn.

  With the imminent danger over, we landed on the Falcheen.

  Tahlee cried out the command to pursue and we lurched forward after the enemy ship. Smoke trailed from the hull of the Ptarn where the weapon gem had exploded, but it didn't seem to affect the levitation foils. We gained slowly on the larger ship, the half mile separating us narrowing to a quarter mile while the great g
ray wall of the vortex grew larger on the horizon.

  "They've got nowhere to run," Shelton said. "Are they just gonna commit suicide in the maelstrom?"

  Elyssa looked through Illaena's scope and shook her head. "The portal is still open, but it's a lot smaller than before."

  "Holy farting fairies," Shelton said. "They're gonna try to make it back through before it closes."

  We closed the gap to a hundred yards and the Mzodi soldiers fired the front weapon gems. Beams of destruction left black marks on the back of the Ptarn, but it was too late.

  The enemy ship reached the portal and flew inside, its reverse wings barely clearing the sides. By the time we reached it, the Falcheen was too big to fit, and we were going way too fast. Tahlee cried out a command but there was no way we'd stop from smashing ourselves into the deadly storm ahead.

  Chapter 31

  The Falcheen veered hard to starboard and the entire ship tilted sideways. Navigators held tight to their stations and gave it everything they had. The levitation foils thrummed with effort and the ship screeched to a halt just at the edge of the lightning-laced storm.

  The ship tilted back to center and hung still, thunder rumbling and shaking us down to our bones.

  "We did it," Shelton said, as if he could hardly believe it.

  Adam walked over to us on unsteady legs, eyes wide. "Did we actually win?"

  Elyssa nodded slowly. "We somehow just beat an entire army and sent them packing back to Seraphina."

  "And saved the Sirens," I added.

  "And liberated two Mzodi ships," Illaena said proudly. She shook a fist at the storm. "The Brightling Empire will pay for this outrage!"

  Tahlee pumped her hand in the air and shouted, "Falcheen! Falcheen!"

  The crew joined the cry, soon catching us in the infectious mood of victory.

  I don't know how we did it. Somehow, we'd survived.

  We returned to the Xanda. One of the ships from the harbor in Atlantis floated next to it, several gangways securing the ships together, and the Atlantean soldiers had already boarded the ship and started rounding up prisoners. The Akata was also boarded. In all, nearly a hundred Brightling soldiers were taken into custody, while the bodies of the dead were arranged for funerals.

  Adonis and his people looked horrified at the carnage, but grimly went about their tasks.

  "I have never seen such fighting in all my lifetime," Adonis said. "I would rather never see it again."

  "Boy and how," Shelton agreed. "Too bad there's always another asshole out there who wants to be top dog."

  The Archon scrunched his forehead, obviously confused by the literal translation. "Will more like Kaelissa come?"

  Elyssa and I looked at each other and shrugged.

  "It's doubtful." Elyssa tapped a finger on her chin. "We kept her from taking the Sirens, and we took two of their hijacked ships. The next step is to leave Voltis and warn the other Mzodi that Kaelissa has broken the peace."

  "Gotta figure out how to work that portal generator first," Shelton said.

  Adam shrugged. "Won't be too hard. I'm more worried about releasing the Sirens from the influence of the bloodstones."

  We'd won the day, but there was a lot of road in front of us.

  The Atlanteans towed the Akata and Xanda back to their harbor where Illaena and Tahlee inspected them for damage. Adonis and his troops secured the Brightling prisoners in a dungeon that the Sirens assured us would hold them until we decided their fates. Adonis promised there was enough food to keep them fed but he didn't seem too keen on having long-term prisoners to worry about.

  It looked like life for the Atlanteans was going to get more complicated.

  Adam and Shelton studied the portal apparatus and made plans to move it to the Falcheen. Meanwhile, Eor worked on destroying the bloodstones so Narine and Balaena could be free of their influence. Without orders from Kaelissa, they stood passively, apparently possessing no free will to do anything.

  I shuddered to think of what might have happened to my consciousness if Kaelissa had worked the bloodstone magic on me. Would my real self be trapped and screaming somewhere in the back of my head, or would it have gone to oblivion?

  Shelton made pizza for the four of us that night. Topped with sausage, tomatoes, olives, and cheese very similar to mozzarella, the first bite was like going to heaven.

  Shelton held up a glass of wine. "Here's to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse!"

  I snorted. "Maybe as far as Kaelissa is concerned."

  "What is it with the women of Issa?" Elyssa said. "They're nuts."

  Shelton raised an eyebrow. "You realize the end of your first name sounds an awful lot like Issa. How do we know you're not a long-lost sibling?"

  Elyssa narrowed her eyes and scowled. "You calling me crazy, Shelton?"

  He nearly choked on his pizza. "Nah, just kidding."

  The rest of us burst into laughter.

  "Here I was, just about to give you a medal of courage," Adam said.

  Shelton huffed. "Hey, I'm brave, not stupid."

  Much as I enjoyed the break from being all serious, I steered the conversation back to the future. "What did you find out about the portal apparatus on the Xanda?"

  "The short answer is we can have it transferred to the Falcheen within a few hours." Adam waggled a hand. "Probably have it up and running by the afternoon."

  "We'll need to test it as soon as possible," Elyssa said. "I have to send a message to my father and let him know what happened."

  "I hope Pjurna isn't embroiled in civil war." I grabbed another slice of pizza. "With Kaelissa off our back for the time being, we might have a chance to unify the Darklings again."

  "Do really think she survived the explosion?" Adam said.

  I shrugged. "Doesn't really matter. Arturo will just pick back up where he left off."

  "Speaking of which," Shelton said, "I think it's pretty obvious she didn't use a bloodstone on him so she could take power."

  "He sees her as the second coming of Daelissa." Elyssa sighed. "Either way, we've got a fight on our hands in the near future."

  "What's to stop us from using the Sirens?" Shelton said. "Maybe that'll be enough to keep the Brightlings off our backs."

  I pressed my lips together and nodded. "I've given it a lot of thought, but we have to wait for Narine and Balaena to wake up. Dolpha was helpful, but she's the Negative Nancy of the group, and I don't want to leave the decision in her hands."

  Adam held up a hand. "Amen to that!"

  "If it comes down to a fight, I'm concerned we won't have the military might to win," Elyssa said. "Maybe there's a way to change this on a smaller scale."

  "Assassination?" I said.

  She gave me an apologetic look. "We have to consider all options."

  Picking off Kaelissa or Arturo felt dirty, but they hadn't exactly kept their hands sparkly clean. I sighed. "We'll do what we have to."

  "In the meantime, we can keep looking for a way home," Adam said. "All we have to do is find the nodes the Fallen were using."

  Shelton polished off another slice of pizza. "I'd say we're sitting pretty right now, and not just because we can eat like humans again."

  He was right. This journey had brought us one step closer to home and possibly given us new allies. But there was still a lot to do.

  The next afternoon, Shelton and Adam finished the portal apparatus, and Illaena ordered the Falcheen out to the Voltis Maelstrom so we could test it. We told Adonis that if everything went as planned, we would briefly visit Seraphina and return to Atlantis.

  Once we reached the roiling gray storm, I stood in front of the Chalon and channeled Brilliance through it. The orb levitated off its platform, the intricate designs on its surface catching fire. It spun faster and faster, but nothing else happened.

  Adam stepped beside me. "I think you have to will it to focus energy through the gem."

  I'd only used Chalons to open portals in Alabaster Arches—a process that r
equired little more than willing it to happen. Maybe Adam was right and all the thing needed was a little direction. I imagined the Chalon sending energy through the large gem mounted in front of it and without further ado, beams of magic speared out, using the gem like a giant focusing lens.

  The energy spread into the clouds ahead. Slowly but surely, static and destructive energy filtered away, leaving only a crystalline portal behind. Minutes later, the beginnings of a tunnel lay before us. Illaena ordered the ship inside. It took the better part of an hour, building the portal tunnel in front of us as we went, but before we knew it, clear skies and blue waters extended before us.

  Adam took out his arcphone and scanned the environment. After a time, he nodded. "We're back in Seraphina."

  "You think there's a way to attune the Chalon to do the same thing, but take us back to Eden?" Shelton said hopefully.

  Adam shrugged. "Maybe. We'd have to test it."

  Illaena stood next to us and drew in a deep breath. "It is good to be home."

  "I need to speak with my father," Elyssa said. "Can I use your communication gem?"

  Illaena nodded and took me and Elyssa to her cabin. Thomas's holographic image appeared almost immediately, and relief swept across his face when he saw his daughter.

  Elyssa smiled. "Hello, Dad."

  "I'm glad to see you're okay," Thomas said. "We've been very concerned."

  "A lot has happened." Elyssa tucked her hair behind an ear. She quickly summarized our perilous journey, the existence of Atlantis, and Kaelissa's mission to kidnap the Sirens, her secret weapon.

  "Amazing," Thomas said, his usual stony mask slipping. "If you hadn't stopped her, she could have strolled into Pjurna and worked her way across the continent, taking every city without spilling a drop of blood."

  "I doubt it would have been bloodless," I said. "There's no telling what she had planned."

  "I could use Sirens here in Tarissa." Thomas leaned on the table in front of him. "Legiaros Kohval marched his troops from the north and controls the northern part of the capitol." He flicked his hand and his image vanished, replaced by a map of Pjurna. A red line traveled south from Kohvalla and down to Tarissa where it pooled in the northern sections of the city.