Poseidon's Secret

by Preston William Child

  Dajuan and his men were coming toward them down the beach. The towering Jamaican man looked out of place with his fine suit in the sand but he didn't seem to care about that. His eyes were fixed on Sam, filled with contempt and determination to see him dead. It was unnerving, to say the least, but Sam knew he could defend himself. He had his pearl still, and that pearl's power had been enough to get rid of the Wharf Man. Surely it would be enough to get rid of his apprentice.

  “Did you really think you could outrun me?” Dajuan said as he drew close. “You cannot. No matter where you go, I will see to it that you die. And then I will send your body to David Purdue, one piece at a time.”

  “That sounds like a severe waste of delivery packages,” Sam called back. “You would save quite a lot of money on postage if you just sent all of me at once.”

  Dajuan at first looked flustered by the cavalier response but that confusion quickly transformed into anger. Sam wasn't that afraid, though. If Dajuan was already angry enough to brutally kill him, making him any angrier wouldn't make much of a difference.

  “But really, Dajuan, you can't just wait to go looking for Purdue? You have to keep harassing me instead? This is only going to end one way.”

  “I know it is,” Dajuan hissed. “I will make it happen.”

  “No,” Sam said. “I might not have killed the Wharf Man but I am holding the weapon that did.”

  He held up the pearl between his fingers, making sure that Dajuan could see it clearly. Dajuan stopped his approach and his eyes narrowed, examining the strange little pearl.

  “Purdue used the power that this pearl contains to drown the Wharf Man, to command the water to pull him right down to the bottom of the sea. I saw it happen and believe me, it wasn't a good way to go. Unless you turn around now, then I'm going to have to be forced to do the same to you and your friends. One thought from me and those waves can come right up here and pull you out to sea. This is your last chance.”

  Dajuan shook his head. “Empty threats. Why haven't you done it already then?”

  “Because I take no pleasure in murdering a whole group of people. I know mercy is something of a strange concept to you but I really don't want to get unnecessary blood on my hands. Just leave. Forget about this stupid vendetta of yours. The Wharf Man was a horrible human being. You must know that. He doesn't even deserve to be avenged.”

  Dajuan scowled and took a step closer. Sam held the pearl out in front of him with an outstretched arm, ready to send the ocean hurtling at his enemies if he had to. It wasn't an empty threat. He would do what Purdue did and put an end to these Jamaican crime lords if they didn't back down.

  “You are going to have to do it then,” Dajuan hissed. “Because I am going to kill you.”

  Dajuan started his march again and Sam knew it was now or never. He had to make the choice that he wished he didn't have to make—but it wasn't a choice anymore. It was either this or he died, and he had no intention of being killed by Dajuan.

  Sam tightened his grip on the pearl and closed his eyes, thinking about the waves coming up like whips and snatching his opponents away. He waited to hear the rush of water as a plume suddenly shot out like a missile from the sea...but that sound never came. He opened his eyes and found that Dajuan and his men were still closing in. They hadn't been pulled away. The water hadn't even stirred at all. Sam looked at the pearl and then out to sea and tried again. Once more, the sea didn't obey the pearl. That wasn't possible.

  “Come on, damn it,” Sam swore under his breath.

  It was a horrible time for the pearl to decide to suddenly malfunction. Dajuan and his goons were getting too close now, almost within reach. He kept thinking about what he wanted the ocean to do and he was holding the pearl so tightly that his knuckles were white. Nothing was happening. It was like he had brought a gun that wasn't loaded with any ammunition. The weapon wasn't working. It was useless, but why?

  A horrible thought came to mind—he had the wrong pearl.

  His thoughts raced back to the moment when he had handed off the pearls to Daisy and Eric to put back in their resting places. He was so sure that he had held onto the one that commanded the ocean but clearly, that might not be the case. Somehow, during that exchange, he had accidentally given that pearl away. It was across this island, of no use to him in these precious seconds before his demise. Daisy probably had it, and had no idea that she had the weapon that he desperately needed.

  “What's wrong?” Dajuan laughed. “Your magic not working?”

  Sam's mind was racing now that the advantage he thought he had was moot. He tightened his grip on the pearl again and tried to summon an earthquake, just in case he had Erica's family's pearl but the ground didn't tremble at all. Of course he didn't have Erica's. She kept that pearl close. She wouldn't have taken the wrong one across the island. It dawned on Sam that he had an almost useless weapon in his hand—the pearl that controlled horses.

  Dajuan and his men were upon him and he started backing away, keeping his fist clenched and thinking about the one horse he saw when they first got on the island. That single horse would have to be enough. Purdue continued thinking about it as he retreated away from Dajuan. Dajuan was cackling now, relishing the apparent panic on Sam's face.

  “So that pearl isn't going to save you after all, is it, hmm?”

  Sam could see past Dajuan and his cronies down the shoreline—a horse was racing down the beach toward them. Sam just had to stall for another few seconds and then he would have a chance of not being brutally murdered by these vengeful buffoons. The horse was faster than Dajuan and barreled past, running right next to Sam.

  Sam threw himself on top of the horse. Thankfully under the pearl’s influence, the horse helped him get on. It wasn't easy without a saddle but the horse seemed to take his comfort into consideration. His new steed galloped down the beach, out of reach of Dajuan and his men. Sam glanced back and saw Dajuan trying to pursue the horse on foot, roaring with profanity. If the horse had been just a little slower—arrived a moment or two later—then Sam would have been brutally killed. That one horse on the island had been his rescuer thanks to the pearl that he held tightly in his hand. He would have much preferred sweeping his attackers away with a wave or dropping them in a sinkhole, but he was glad that the pearl that controlled horses had done something at least. He couldn't complain too much since it saved his life.

  Sam didn't have much experience in horse riding. This particular case was probably different than most other peoples' considering he was controlling the horse's direction with a magic pearl rather than just naturally performing as a rider. He had to admit though, as the horse galloped toward the end of the island, running along the edge of the sea, it was a rather beautiful sight to behold.

  There was something about this horse too. One single horse on this tiny island that had been submerged when they arrived. How was that possible? The truth was that it wasn't. There was definitely something more to this place, and gave even more credibility to all of Daisy Judge's weird stories. It was hard to deny some of the things she said now.

  The horse brought him up to the tip of one of the trident island's prongs. Maybe, through the power of the pearl, it understood his desire and where he wanted to go, obliging to carry him the rest of the way.

  There was a pedestal of driftwood on the edge of the sea, resting in the mud. A silver oyster shell rested on top of the pedestal, the oyster's maw open and waiting for its contents to be returned. Poseidon knew how to give a good presentation with a very pleasing aesthetic but Sam didn't have time to admire it for long. He might have gotten away from his pursuers, but they were catching up, sprinting down the beach, to his prong of the trident island. Sam kept the horse that had been his savior close by, just in case he needed help again. He pushed his worries about Dajuan aside. He couldn't think about that yet. No. He needed to focus on completing the task at hand and that meant getting the pearls back where they belonged. He could worry about his own life later
once that was over and done with.

  He approached the pedestal and looked across the water to his left. From a bird's eye view, he was on the farthest right end of the trident. From where he stood, he could see the shape of Daisy Judge approaching her own pedestal and even beyond that, he saw the tiny silhouette of Erica doing the same. They were all at the tip of the trident's three blades. They were all ready. This had to work—it just had to.

  Sam gave a nod to the horse who just watched intently like it was waiting for the moment he released the pearl. Maybe it was waiting to never have to worry about being controlled again.

  Slowly, Sam placed the pearl in the silver shell and watched as the oyster shell closed with a sudden bite. If his hand had been any closer, it would have taken it along with the pearl. Once the shell was sealed shut with Poseidon's pearl inside, there was silence. The only sound was the water touching the beach.

  Suddenly, the waves offshore grew much louder and noticeably larger than before. The island started shaking violently, almost knocking Sam off his feet. He did his best to stay standing and balanced but it wasn't easy. He looked back toward the island and Dajuan was having just as much trouble staying off the ground. The return of the three pearls had definitely done something; Sam just wasn't sure what exactly was happening as a result.

  The tides started spilling over the sand, reaching much farther than they were reaching just moments before. The massive waves were ripping chunks out of the shoreline and the tremors were growing stronger.

  Sam could tell that the horizon was growing slightly higher—no—he was descending. He looked down at his feet. The little trident island was collapsing in on itself, starting to sink. It was returning back to the sea with the pearls—Poseidon was reclaiming his property. The god would drag them all down to the depths to meet him.

  Sam glanced to the horse that had been standing beside him but it was gone. He looked down, hoping to find prints of its hooves but those had been washed away—maybe it had all been washed away—just gone.

  They would all drown if they stayed on that sinking strip of land any longer. They needed to get back to the boat. Sam glanced across the water and saw that Erica and Daisy were already hurrying back toward the boat, away from the waves that were devouring the shore. It would be more difficult for Sam to do the same, considering he had a human wall of vengeful criminals blocking his exit route. Dajuan only looked mildly annoyed about their dangerous new surroundings. His focus was still completely fixated on Sam.

  Sea water was pouring over the beach, wrapping around Sam's ankles. Within minutes, the whole island was going to be under water. There wasn't time to waste on Dajuan. Sam would have enough trouble surviving without having to worry about fighting someone like that. Unfortunately, Dajuan didn't share that perspective. He rushed up to Sam, his stomps creating big splashes under his feet.

  “Enough running!” Dajuan roared. He looked ready to rip Sam apart. “We will end this now! Right now!”

  Sam knew he couldn't fight Dajuan and his gang. Even Dajuan alone looked like he would be too much for Sam to handle by himself. And yet here he was, his back against the ocean, his feet sinking beneath him, and with murderers ready to kill him. He wouldn't stand a chance in this fight, especially without the pearls and now even without a horse. All he had left were his words.

  “Couldn't we do this another time?” Sam asked with a half-hearted smile. “Maybe some time when we're not all about to drown? Let's get to the boats before you try to kill me. How about that? That sounds fair for everyone, if you ask me.”

  Dajuan wasn't the negotiating type and he wasn't easily amused. He didn't say a word before he rushed at Sam, nearly tripping from the quaking sand beneath them. Sam tried to fall back but he couldn't in time, and there wasn't exactly anywhere to go. Dajuan tackled Sam into the wet sand, immediately pinning Sam down.

  Dajuan snarled above him. “No magic pearls. No horses. No nothing. You are not going to get out of this. Not this time.”

  The man was incredibly strong. He wasn't nearly as unspeakably large as his predecessor, the Wharf Man, but Dajuan might as well have been. He was something of a rock-solid boulder crushing anything beneath it. Within seconds, Sam knew he wouldn't able to overpower his far stronger foe. He did his best to protect himself to keep Dajuan's hands away from his throat but the man just grabbed hold of Sam's face instead. His palm pushed against Sam's nose as his fingers squeezed his skull. Dajuan shoved Sam's head into the mud, pressing his face down into the water that was starting to cover the sinking beach.

  “You are going to drown. Just like you and your friends drowned the Wharf Man.”

  Sam's face was being held into the muck that was quickly turning into the shallows. More and more water was pouring over the sand. Mud and salt pressed their way into his mouth and nostrils as Dajuan tried to keep Sam's head in the rising water. Sam tried to pull his head back up but it was pinned down too well. The rest of his body thrashed about uncontrollably, trying to break free to safety; every fiber of his being, every instinct, yelled at him to survive—but he couldn't. There was no chance of pulling himself free of his enemy's grasp. In minutes, he would drown in the shallows and Dajuan would be his murderer.

  Sam regretted a lot of things but in that moment, those regrets centered around not being able to be a bigger help to Nina and Purdue, especially recently. This was his first real assignment as a member of the new Order of the Black Sun, and while he succeeded, he wouldn't ever get a second assignment. No, he wouldn't be able to help his friends in the future, when they might need him more than ever. He never wanted to go out so violently but as their jobs had seemed to have gotten more and more dangerous, he should have probably expected the worst. Maybe it was just a matter of time. Maybe that was all it had ever been.

  Now, he really wished he was with Purdue and Nina on this mission. Together, they might have found a way to actually avoid this mess—and even if they didn't, he would have felt better dying alongside his friends. But sometimes—most of the time—that was outside of a person's hands. He wouldn't be able to determine his own end. He would just have to accept it when it came—and it was looking like he was really going to have to accept it now.

  Water kept rolling over his face and his head sank further and further into the mud. He kept trying to catch air with his mouth but every time he did, some of the mud splashed into him, making it even more difficult to catch his breath before being dunked into the rising water again.

  Sam Cleave let out a primal yell, trying one last time to break free of Dajuan's grip, but once again, it was futile. He was going to die on this sinking island. Maybe he would even meet Poseidon in the end, and become just another person to have been drowned by the sea.

  There was enough water to submerge his face and Dajuan obviously noticed. He forced Sam's face into the brine and mud. Sam breathed what would probably be his last breath. He knew he should have been conserving air but he was far too panicked. Salty water forced its way into his mouth, and down his throat. All he could feel was water. All he could taste was water. And he couldn't hear anything but occasional splashing from the rest of his body. This was it.

  Dajuan's powerful arms kept Sam's head in the water—but suddenly those powerful hands loosened their hold on Sam's face.

  Sam was startled but his survival instincts took over. He pulled himself up and out of the shallow water, choking and gasping. He looked up to see what had happened, half expecting Dajuan to be laughing and relishing the pain he was inflicting

  Instead, Dajuan was standing over him with a look of surprise on his face. His mouth was hanging open and his eyes were narrow with confusion. Sam looked over him and one thing in particular immediately stood out.

  A metal shaft was sticking out of Dajuan's stomach, and blood dripped from the pointy end of it. It looked like a harpoon had skewered Dajuan, running him through. Dajuan tried to speak but his mouth was full of blood.

  Sam looked past the man that had
nearly killed him and saw Aya standing a few yards behind Dajuan. His group of cronies were all lying on the sinking beach, either unconscious or dead. Aya sure looked great standing over them. Her own crew were backing her. They had ambushed Dajuan's men, and given the empty harpoon gun in Aya's hands, she had been the one to take the shot at Dajuan. Those former pirates had come to Sam's rescue—and his heart filled with relief.

  Dajuan, being the towering, intimidating figure that he was, turned around despite the harpoon sticking through him. He grit his teeth and snarled at the sight of Aya.

  “Really?”

  Aya handed her empty harpoon gun to one of her men and another crewmate of hers handed her a loaded one. She aimed it at Dajuan.

  “Really.”

  Dajuan wrapped his fingers around the metal impaling his body and wiggled it around, looking like he was trying to pull it out. That fool, Sam thought, he is probably doing so much more damage to his internal organs. Then again, Dajuan didn't seem like the type to care if he was dying as long as he was frightening people with his power.

  “I should...I should kill you, Aya...” Dajuan stuttered, spitting out blood into the water at his feet. “I should have killed you a long time ago. The Wharf Man should have just said so, and then I would have without hesitation. I always...always hated you...”

  “Aw, thank you,” Aya said. “I share the feeling.”

  Aya fired another harpoon. It spun through the air and lodged itself into Dajuan's left shoulder. He fell down onto his back, creating a large splash as he tumbled. He was groaning in pain, still alive, but the water around him was starting to fill with streaks of red. The heir to the Wharf Man was a far cry from where he was just moments prior.

  Sam stood over his enemy, enjoying the reversal of fortune. The salty taste of the sea water was still stuck to the roof of his mouth and was all he could smell. Part of him wanted to return the favor and dunk his wounded enemy's head into the rising water. But he wasn't really going to do that, even if he really wanted to.