Page 13 of The Void

“Is that how you plan to save us?” Beth asked as she led Mia inside and down a larger circular staircase. She hadn’t been brought up to the roof this way and was totally lost in the massive building. She couldn’t even remember what floor her rooms had been on before.

There was no writing or signs to guide the way around the enormous structure.

“I…” Mia frowned. “No, sorry, that’s just a parlor trick. I’m surprised it worked this time. I’ve only done that twice now.” She shrugged.

Beth stopped outside two wooden doors that were two stories high.

“I suppose you have time to hone your skills. After your companion arrives.” Beth stood back as two men in what could be described as military uniforms opened the doors for them.

There, in the largest room she’d ever seen, was everyone who had been upstairs. They all sat at tables, waiting for her. When she entered, every single head turned her way.

Once more, they waited and watched, wanting something from her.

Mia’s shoulders slumped for a split second. She’d hoped for a moment alone. A quiet dinner to reflect. Instead, she sat at the head table under everyone’s watchful eye as she ate alone.

Chapter Four

By the time Proteus arrived at the water’s edge, the suns were high overhead. Lucas and Jain had waited, talking and snacking on fresh fruit that grew by the edge of the vast sea.

He’d enjoyed his time with her, oddly enough. But he wasn’t looking forward to being pulled around by Proteus again. He still had no idea how the large creature was going to carry him across the dark waters.

When Proteus finally arrived, Lucas understood how. The being was towing a large boat at the end of a thick chain.

Lucas wondered if the creature was actually swimming in the murky water or simply walking along the bottom of it. Proteus didn’t appear to be working that hard, yet he and the boat were traveling at high speed.

“We part in the flesh,” Jain said as the boat bumped ashore at Lucas’s feet. Then she turned back towards the trees and called over her shoulder as she left, “Until I am needed again.”

“Thank you,” he called after her as she disappeared. Less than two steps inside the thick green brush, he could no longer make out her form.

“Across the sea we travel now,” Proteus started as Lucas climbed aboard the boat. “Sailing under the twin suns’ warm glow,” Proteus continued as they started to glide quickly across the sea. Lucas held onto the side railing since the boat was traveling very fast. “To save this realm from the darkness that comes, so that heroes may unite and beat the drums. With courage and strength, they face their fears, braving the night, wiping away tears.” Proteus’s words grew into a song as the massive creature pulled him across the water. He sang, “Through battles fought, and trials endured, their spirits untamed, their hearts assured. Together they stand, in unity strong, defending the realm, righting every wrong. In darkness they shine, a beacon of light, guiding the way through the endless night. For in their resolve, hope will ignite, to save this realm, they’ll forever fight.”

Lucas wondered vaguely what the song was about. The closer they got to the city, the larger it appeared.

Jain had filled him in on a few things about Atlantis. The people that lived there were called the Athaki, not the Atlanteans.

They were ruled by Aynah, their queen or god. The way Jain talked about it, he leaned more towards god.

For thousands of millennia, the twin guardians had protected the realm, until one day when Aynah would return to win some great war that had been foretold eons ago.

Having grown up believing in fairytales, Lucas had no doubt that everything Jain told him was true.

He didn’t know where Mia fit into the story, nor did he yet know why he no longer had his powers. What mattered was rescuing Mia and returning to Earth as quickly as possible.

They still had so much to do to prepare for their next battle there.

By his estimate, it took almost an hour to cross the water. When he glanced back at the path he’d traveled, he was in awe of the beauty of the forest and mountains behind him. When he had walked towards the mountains in the desert, they’d appeared to be lower, almost hills. From this vantage point, he could see the highest peak. Cliffs butted up against almost a quarter of the water, while the low rolling hills where he’d come from surrounded the rest. The mountain peaks sat beyond all of it, as if shadowing the sea and growing from its depths.

He had half expected Proteus to deliver him to a dock or port of some sorts. Instead, there was a band of red sand almost a mile wide that sat around the entire city, separating it from the water.

“To the Aynah, go directly. The Kri’s visions may cause thee, Hinder not thy path, resolutely. Embrace the journey, ardently.” Proteus pointed a very long finger out of the water towards the city. Then he lifted his fingers towards him, and the chains on Lucas’s wrists disappeared.

“Got it.” Lucas rubbed his wrists and glanced out over the mile or so of sand he still had to pass through. “Don’t dawdle,” he said and then turned back. “You’re not coming with me?” he asked Proteus.

The creature shook once, then completely disappeared into the dark water with nothing more than a little splash.

“I’ll take that as a no,” he said to himself. After glancing around, he jumped off the boat and landed softly on the red sand.

For the next few minutes, he walked, his eyes on the city as thoughts of Mia flooded his mind. Was she okay? Had she taken the same path he had? Had she been kidnapped by the same two creatures and brought here?