Turbulent Waves, page 2
She watched Laud glance around the cell and the tranquil scene the computers had generated, images of the planet Atlantis Queen Nessa had stored in their archives. There was a monitor on Tanice’s head which prevented her from hiding her thoughts, but she’d done an admirable job so far of emptying her head of anything useful. She was only one of the seven who’d survived the battle where Pontos Oberon, the Prince of Atlantis, had tried to kill Kai.
You should kill me. Tanice’s thought came through clearly.
Laud nodded and swam closer. With a flick of her fingers the view changed to the one outside the facility. They’d long ago frozen the polar caps to keep some of their bases secret, but as advanced as they were, even they couldn’t produce sea life in a desolate place this far north. The temperatures kept the waters fairly barren, giving them an air of bleakness.
“I have the permission of our queen to leave you here until you’re done with a very long life. You’re a young woman, so do the math. Even the most trained soldier would go mad way before then,” Laud said, touching Tanice’s forehead and smiling. “Queen Galen is devoted to her family, and trying to kill her child won’t make her sympathetic to your suffering no matter how long it lasts.”
“Your queen has no stomach for that. She’s a weakling who raised another weakling who was easily killed in battle.” Tanice glared at Laud and pulled on her restraints for the first time with a sense of desperation. “Where is Pontos? I demand to see him. You have no right to keep him from me.”
“Pontos, or Steve Hawksworth as he was called on land, has abandoned you.” Laud brought up the other six prisoners on the wall monitor and showed Tanice they were in the same position as her. “Prince Pontos left all of you and ran like the coward he is.”
“Liar, I’m his promised. He would’ve never left me.” Tanice tried again to break the invisible restraints, but the only escape would be if she had the talent to stop her own heart.
“This is the only location we keep prisoners. Pontos certainly isn’t here or in the palace, so try to guess where he is. If he was close, you could sense him,” Laud said, wrapping her fingers around the talisman around Tanice’s neck. “Do you feel him?” Laud smiled at Tanice’s glare. She pressed the controls and emptied the room of the Arctic seawater. The only addition the space would get would be a cot. The walls would be a boring beige, all sense of the outside taken away. “Tell me the route he took to run back to Daddy, and I’ll give you the oblivion you seek.”
“I’ll never tell you anything.” Tanice coughed after screaming her response. She hadn’t used her voice in weeks, since they’d kept the room flooded.
“You’ll tell me everything. It’s the only way to get out of this room. Prolonging the experience means you’re a glutton for punishment.”
“You’ll have to kill me.”
“That’s a choice only you can make, but the goddess will be silent to your pleas. You and Pontos tried to kill Princess Kai. There aren’t enough prayers to earn you forgiveness for that crime.”
Tanice stared at Laud and shook her head. “No, the princess is dead. Pontos killed her.”
“The princess is alive, and Pontos will have to live with the shame of his failure. That’ll be easier to bear than the fact he’s nothing but a coward.”
Laud walked out of the cell, the heavy door slamming shut behind her, and appeared on another screen. The exchange made Galen wonder how long Tanice and her friends could hold out. She was ready for Laud to return to the capital and retake her post.
“What do you think?” Hadley asked Laud.
Laud smiled. “I give her another week. There are a few things we can do to quicken the outcome we’re after, but I wanted to see where she was mentally. If we twist her brain like a pretzel, it’s liable to snap.”
“Good, you’re missed, but I trust no one else for this,” Hadley said, turning to Galen and waiting.
“Your wife wants you to hurry it along,” Galen said, making Laud smile. “That and I’m sure my partner is tired of playing babysitter. You’re the only person Hadley trusts besides Kai to protect me.”
“Highness, I’ll be here until I’m sure we have everything we want.” Laud took a deep breath and tapped her fingers over her heart. “I have all the incentive I need to make sure that happens. Cari finished all her procedures and is anxious to start trying again,” Laud said of her wife. “As much as I want that, my duty is to you, Consort Hadley, and Princess Kai. There’s something not right, and the people we have in custody are the only ones who can tell us what that is. I don’t want us to stand down until we know you two and Kai are safe.”
“I agree with you, but my wife has already warned me about keeping you away too long,” Hadley said.
“What about the people who assisted Pontos and his people?” Galen asked. “Especially Bella Riverstone and her mother, Wilma Yelter.”
“I have a group dedicated to finding anyone who had knowledge of Pontos being here. No luck yet, but they can’t hide forever.”
“Then it’s imperative you get Tanice to crack. Do you have everything you need to make that happen?”
“Don’t worry. Patience isn’t something I’m going to show these people.”
Hadley smiled and raised her fist to her chest in salute. “Take care of yourself, and we’ll take care of Cari until you return.”
“Don’t hesitate to contact us if you need to,” Galen said, and Laud bowed her head. “It’s imperative we not only remove the head of the snake but destroy the entire body.”
* * *
Kai sat on the chaise lounge next to Franklin and opened her arms to Vivien. She gazed out to the water, seeing her great white sharks, Ivan and Ram, swimming forty feet offshore. The two sharks were good about staying close but also out of sight.
“I’ll try to tell our history as succinctly as possible.” She held Vivien’s coffee while she shifted so she could see her face. “It all started with Princess Nessa Poseidon.”
“Poseidon? Really?” Vivien asked, laughing.
“Yes, really. You have to realize how the history of the world stems from our gentle involvement. The Greek gods were an extension of our beliefs and the lessons we tried to teach the humans we last shared our knowledge with. All the embellishments of the gods came from the human side after we disappeared into the depths.” Kai linked her fingers with Vivien’s and kissed her temple. “Our history, like I said, starts with Nessa’s courageous journey sixty thousand years ago…”
Planet Atlantis, 57,980 BC
Kashim Poseidon stood before his throne with his hands on his hips. Nessa knew he was waiting for her to appear after his summons. He spent days telling her how displeased he was that she’d volunteered for the decree he’d given his people. After years of a Poseidon on the throne, their planet was beginning to decline, which had led to food shortages and extreme weather. For a civilization that depended on the oceans that covered ninety percent of the surface of their planet, their abuse had resulted in less fish and plant life.
“Where is she?” Kashim screamed at his sister. He was one of three siblings, and both his sisters had married men who lived to garner all they could from the throne. Nessa wanted to break that tradition.
From the shadows, Nessa watched her father grow angrier, but that wasn’t an unfamiliar emotion to her. She was to blame for her mother committing the worst crime against her father. She’d died after giving birth to a girl. A girl who’d never be anything like him or follow his harsh rules. She was popular with their people and had tried her best to start changing the policies that were killing them like a slow choking disease.
“My apologies, Father.” She moved into the room, bowed, and stayed at the bottom of the dais. Her team was hours from leaving, and she was anxious to go. “My team is waiting, so I ask your leave to go now.”
“Make sure you make regular contact, and don’t disappoint me.” Kashim curled his hands into fists, and she could see him struggling to not say any more. There was no way he’d do that with so many people around. Whining would only make him seem weak.
Nessa bowed her head and felt nothing but relieved to be away from her father’s contempt. He’d mentioned more than once what a mistake she was, and how weak her mother had been. No woman was worth the food they wasted on them, in his opinion.
When his advisors had come up with the idea of this expedition, she’d jumped at it. Her exploration trip was supposed to be the first step in finding them a new home. One she was sure her father would ravage like he had this one.
The lead scientists had narrowed the search to three galaxies, and once they were underway, she was going to the location her partner Jyri Merlin had pinpointed. It wasn’t on her father’s list, but he’d never know until they were gone. Jyri had also helped her put together the team. Each of the four ships in her fleet carried seventy thousand citizens, drawn from every profession, and were the best of their population, though unproven. There were a large number of career soldiers, and half, like Jyri and Nessa, were scientists of every discipline. Her father had agreed to let them go because he thought they were all expendable.
Despite her father’s objection, Nessa had also included a group of priestesses and shamans from the temple of the goddess Oceanids. The goddess was important to Nessa, and the young women who’d recently taken their vows were happy to join her. The river that flowed through the middle of the largest land mass on Atlantis was thought to be the mother of all life, and she was worshipped as their creator. The temple and the high priestess had kept her sane, growing up with her father. Now, they were heading into an unknown future, and the guidance of the priestesses would provide comfort in the coming months.
“As you wish, Father. Until we return in glory,” she said, bowing again. She never looked back, unwilling to carry any memory of this place or of him. Once they took off, the shackles he’d placed upon her would be severed, so this was the last time she’d ever see him. The thrill of freedom being so close made it hard to hide her smile as she walked away. It was impossible to dredge up any sadness, leaving a parent who’d treated her like a piece of trash all her life.
The lead ship was at the launchpad, and Jyri was waiting for her on the bridge. Nessa glanced out before giving the order to lift off, saluting the people who had come to see them leave. She’d wanted to take more of their population with her but feared her father would figure out the truth, that they weren’t headed to any of the three possible locations the scientists had suggested. They were headed much farther away. She wasn’t coming back.
They traveled a week following the plan her father’s people had given them. Once they were sure they weren’t being followed, they put their own plan in motion. Nessa put her faith in her lover, glad to be making her own future. She believed in Jyri’s research of black holes and how they were the key to go where no one would follow.
“It’s not too late,” Jyri said as they lay in Nessa’s quarters. The vastness of space stretched out into infinity, but finally the black hole had come into view. If Jyri was right, the vortex that appeared like a large gaping mouth would bend space and shorten their trip to the galaxy they identified as their new home. If she was wrong, it would be death by shredding destruction, but they would die together. It was a chance she was willing to take.
“We can’t go back, my love.” Nessa placed her hands on Jyri’s face and pressed closer to her. “I want a future with you, and a new start where we can be together.” That was something her father would never allow. Her fate at home was to be sold off to the highest bidder, so her father would finally be rid of her. “We need to give the others a choice, though.”
The people who weren’t willing to take a chance were given shuttles to make their way back to Atlantis, but those numbered fewer than two hundred. That’s when her father would learn the truth, but by then it’d be too late. Nessa held Jyri’s hand as she gave the full-ahead order, and the gravity of the black hole began to pull them in.
Their four ships sailed into the unknown with the head priestess lighting the way with the water orb. The treasured relic had been brought on board by the head priestess, so Nessa would have protection wherever she was going. Once they’d settled, she’d build a temple befitting such a precious gift. The light of the orb and the ships were the only things visible once they made it through the mouth of the black hole, and a sliver of fear went through her until Jyri took her hand. So much had gone into planning this step, and if she killed so many on the sureness of their calculations…
It seemed like a blink of an eye when they entered a galaxy with a powerful sun and planets surrounding it. They orbited the blue planet, the one that seemed most promising and most full of water, before Nessa had them put down for the tests needed. After a day the surface was deemed free of radiation and perfect for their needs. She couldn’t help the tears when she stepped out and felt the land under her feet for the first time. The whole planet was untouched, and the waters were pristine and full of life.
“Welcome home, my love,” she said to Jyri. “Our children will be free.”
Chapter Two
That’s beautiful,” Vivien said, leaning up to kiss Kai.
“She wanted a realm completely different from where her father ruled, but the people with her insisted she take the crown and lead them as their queen. Still, she made sure her policies were totally different from where they’d come from. Her joining with Jyri produced three daughters, two of whom started the scientific research that shaped who we are even today. Their advances led to things like expanding what our shells can do.”
“Why did they tell her father where they were?” Franklin asked. “They’d made a clean break by the sound of it. Why take the chance?”
“Nessa sent word back to tell the families of those with them they were safe, but she never provided a location. Giving her father that would have led to the same disaster Atlantis had experienced. From that moment on, the rulers of the planet Atlantis have had two objectives. Every new king claims our residents and lands as theirs, and they’re intent on finding us.” Kai took a deep breath and thought of what those early days must’ve been like. “The appearance of Steve Hawksworth proves they took the same route here and were planning something.”
“He’s from Atlantis? The planet, I mean,” Franklin said.
“Steve’s real name is Prince Pontos Oberon, heir to Sol Oberon’s throne. Once Nessa left, her father was killed in a coup attempt, and the throne went to his sister after the rebels were executed. Her husband wasted no time in taking over, and the throne has been passed to his male heirs ever since. Pontos is another in a long line of bad kings who’ve brought them to the brink of extinction.”
Vivien put her hand to her mouth and leaped toward the bathroom. Kai followed and repeated her earlier ministrations. It also gave her time to collect her thoughts. She hadn’t had to revisit so much of her history in a long time.
“You mentioned something about my niece,” Franklin said when they came back. “Is that wishful thinking or reality?”
“Oh, it’s reality all right, as you can tell from all my sick glory. I was freaked out at first, but Kai explained it so I didn’t go insane. You’re going to be an uncle.” It still amazed Vivien that Kai had gotten her pregnant before she’d disappeared. The doctors had confirmed it, and Kai had been the only one in her life until she’d thought Kai had died. Thankfully, Kai’d made it back to help her through the toughest part of this so far.
They talked until the phone rang, and both Franklin and Vivien spoke to their parents, who were on their way to the airport to visit them for a few days. That would give Kai a chance to speak to them about her relationship with Vivien. This would be very different from what she’d expected to go through when she picked a consort, but she’d be no less respectful of Vivien’s family simply because they weren’t Atlanteans.
“After your parents visit, will you join me on a trip home?” She held Vivien in the shower as she brushed her teeth for the fifth time that morning.
“Really?” Vivien sounded thrilled. “I can’t wait.”
Vivien felt better but not up to a car ride, so she and Franklin stayed at the house to make lunch while Kai drove to the small airport. Palmer Oil’s private plane taxied to a stop, and Vivien’s parents seemed surprised but pleased to see her. She’d forgotten to ask Vivien what excuse she’d given them for her absence, so she kept quiet about that as she stepped forward to greet them.
“Kai.” Cornelia put her arms around her and kissed her cheeks. “What a surprise. Maybe Vivien will stop moping,” she said, laughing.
“Damn good to see you.” Winston hugged her as well and slapped her back. “Hopefully your family is okay.”
“Yes, sir, thank you for the time off.” She helped with luggage and invited them for a drink at one of the resorts on the beach. It hit her then that in this world, she was just one of Winston’s employees who was about to ask for his daughter’s hand. She wasn’t royalty, or some special kind of being. It was down to her as a regular person to ask for his blessing. Maybe that was considered old-fashioned, but she wanted to assure them she’d take good care of Vivien and love her like no one else could. That she was nervous was something new as well, but no matter where she was, she was still Princess Kai Merlin, heir to Queen Nessa’s throne. That reminder helped, a little. “Thank you both for taking some time before we head back to the house.”
“Vivien told us you were responsible for the voting block that put the family back in charge, so I’m glad you asked.” Winston smiled and ordered drinks. “I can’t thank you enough for that and so much more.”
“You and your family are the best fit because no one will care for the company and the environment as much as you do. I’d like to talk to you about Vivien, though.” The smile on Cornelia’s face gave her the courage to go on. “Viv and I have become close, so I’d like to start by telling you how much I love your daughter.”
