Secrets of Stone and Sea, page 23
Sophie said rose gold doesn’t corrode.
At that moment, a huge wind swept through the park, coming from the sea. It was followed by the sound of an enormous splash.
The family faced the sea and saw the two creatures fighting. The stony land creature had fallen into the water, where it was being pounded by waves.
“Peter,” Kai breathed.
Sophie stared at him, then pointed at the land monster. “Peter?”
“Um, yeah. I’ll explain later,” Kai said to his astounded family. “But if we want to help him, we have to get that shield. Where is it?”
“Still at my house,” Grandma said. “In the kitchen.”
“I’ll go get it,” Sophie said. “Mom can tell me if it’s Atlantean or not. And, no offense, Grandma, but I run faster than you.”
“None taken, sweetie. Meet us at the beach,” Grandma called to Sophie’s retreating back. “Besides,” she said to Kai and Dad, “I have other plans.”
Grandma limped to her car and opened the trunk. Inside was her top collection of ancient weapons.
“That rock thing is Peter, you said?” When Kai nodded, Grandma pulled out her harpoon. “Then we need to keep that sorry excuse for a sea god off him until Sophie gets the shield.”
“Mom.” Dad walked over to the car and its trove of weapons.
“Not the time for this conversation, Alex,” Grandma said.
“No.” Dad reached into the trunk. “Any of these good for a one-armed fighter?”
Grandma grinned. “Whatever happened to ‘protect the relics’?”
“Looks like today I’m respecting them and protecting Peter.” Dad pulled out a spear, tested its edge, and tossed it back. “Come on,” he said, closing the trunk. “No time to lose.”
Kai climbed into the car and, armed to the teeth, they drove down to the beach.
* * *
When they reached the boardwalk, Kai was out and running before Grandma stopped the motor.
Land and Sea still fought. But now, one of the Sea’s arms hung loosely at its side, and it was missing patches of scales. The Land dripped molten lava from numerous cuts, the drops plunging into the water with hisses of steam. Both looked exhausted, but the fight still raged.
“Peter!” he yelled at the giant land creature.
Was it just him, or did that thing seem to hesitate and look his way?
But doing so opened the Land to another attack from the Sea. It punched the Land square in the face.
Kai shouted. How could he just wait by while his brother needed him?
Dad and Grandma arrived, carrying armfuls of weapons. “Hey, ugly!” Dad yelled. He waved a bronze spear. “This way!”
“We are officially done with you,” Grandma added. She held her harpoon in one hand and a crossbow in the other. “You know what they say about guests and fish.”
“They both smell after three days,” Dad said, responding to Grandma.
“You’ve worn out your welcome,” Grandma said.
With that she fired a dart at the Sea. Kai watched it arc through the air, carried by the strong winds, until it struck the Sea in the arm.
The Sea snarled and sent a wave toward them, but the family retreated to the ruined shops along the boardwalk. Once the water receded, Dad and Grandma attacked again. This time, Dad threw a spear and while it didn’t hit the Sea, it distracted it enough for the Land to get a hit in.
Peter. Kai bounced on his toes, feeling like someone had filled his veins with boiling water. He wanted to attack, too, but he couldn’t, because sooner or later, that shield would arrive, and then he’d have to move fast—
“Kai!” Sophie arrived, carrying the large shield-platter under her arm. “Here.” She handed him the shield.
Kai took it. It was heavier than he’d expected. He turned it over, to the rounded side that held a word he’d seen before but hadn’t been able to read. Yet.
Now, he could. A single word in Atlantean: SUN.
Kai clutched the shield to his chest. “Thanks, Sophie. Sorry, Grandma,” he said as Grandma and Dad retreated from another wave. “I don’t think you’re going to get it back.”
“That’s fine,” Grandma said, but Kai barely heard her. He was already running back to the Point.
The weather had gotten much worse since Kai was there. The wind was so heightened Kai thought he’d fly away if he caught a gale in the chest, and several times, the shield in his hands felt more like a kite. There seemed to be no reason to the wind’s direction. Kai felt it blowing against him and then with him, seemingly at the same time.
Rain fell, in both drizzles and downpours. Sometimes it was cold, sometimes hot enough to steam. But Kai didn’t stop. He held the orichalcum shield over his head and kept going, until he reached the lighthouse and the battle that raged in the sea beyond it.
Down below, Sophie had joined the fight. She’d picked up an ax and was banging it against an iron shield, yelling like a Viking warrior.
They were a great distraction, but they couldn’t defeat the Sea, even with all of Grandma’s weapons.
That was Kai and Peter’s job.
Breathing heavily, Kai looked at the shield. The precious metal, sacred to Atlantis, about to be returned. A price repaid. And then what? What would happen next, and would Peter be okay?
There was a price. There had been for Peter, and there was for Kai, too. The price he paid was risking Peter. It was being forced to leave the fight in someone else’s hands, not affecting the outcome himself.
He couldn’t defeat the Sea. But maybe he could still save Peter. Looking at the shield, Kai knelt and picked up a sharp rock. He cut his hand, beside his thumb, and smeared the blood across the shield.
Blood has power. To raise, and to bind. This began with my blood, and it will end with it.
Kai had to try whatever he could to bring Peter out of this alive. They were twins. They shared the same blood. Maybe that would matter.
He pushed against the wind to the broken edge of the Point. He held the bloodied shield in front of him, rounded side up, like a Frisbee. He waited, watching the fight in the water, until he felt the wind at his back.
And then, he acted.
“Peter! Heads up!”
Kai threw the shield, spinning, out over the water. Then he staggered back, toward the safety of the lighthouse, to watch. He’d done his part.
It was all up to Peter now.
CHAPTER 31
STONE AND SEA
PETER
Peter felt caught in a hot whirlwind as the Land raged against the Sea. Fighting against the emotions and memories that battered and threatened to absorb him was a chore, and, anyway, wasn’t he supposed to fight the Sea? Wasn’t that what this whole quest was about?
It was easier to let the Land be in charge. Let it fight. Let it make the choices. Once again, Peter didn’t know what he was supposed to do.
If I knew what caused the split, maybe I could stop this fighting before it destroys Seaspire.
More memories of Atlantis surged through Peter’s mind. The people digging, discovering a metal as golden as summer wheat and as rosy as sunrise on the waves, and falling in love with it. They admired its beauty and the way its dual nature made it strong, impervious to corruption. So they took the first of it and crafted a tribute to land and sea, two things united to create the island they lived on. The metal symbolized that unity.
The rest of the metal, they took for themselves to decorate their homes and bodies, and even to write their histories on.
But it was never enough. They wanted more, and, soon, so did their trade partners. Peter felt the hammers and pickaxes rip through him, like his body was the island. In a way, it was, as long as he was tied to the Land.
The Land didn’t mind the mining as much as it minded that the people forgot to honor it. They forgot to take joy in the island except as a source of wealth. Then the Land and Sea’s wealth began to dwindle, and the people took what they wanted from one another. Theft replaced trust. When greed and desperation grew, turning into division and warfare, they came for that first offering.
The Land didn’t know which side of the conflict came and stole that first gift. It didn’t care. But the metal itself had ceased to be only metal; it had become a reflection of the Atlanteans’ unity, and of the unity of land and sea. Stolen away in an act of hate, the division spread until Atlantis itself broke in two.
Land and Sea, born. Diametrically opposed. Peter felt the stinging heat of the Land’s rage that the Sea never had to feel the pain of the digging, that the Sea always bounced back without injury. It loathed the Sea’s changeable nature when it itself was so solid. How dare that thing exist, and how dare the Atlanteans ever regard it and the Land as equals?
Peter thought of Kai, adventurous, adaptable Kai. The one he shared a face with, but who surged forward when Peter saw wisdom in holding steady.
Still, they weren’t that different. They both wanted to protect their family, even if they had different ideas on how to do it. And they needed each other. Without Kai, Peter would never have gotten this far. Without Peter, Kai couldn’t have found and broken as many seals as he had.
They needed each other, as did the Land and Sea.
Peter was no longer sure breaking the seals was a bad thing.
Where was Kai? Was he safe? Was he nearby? Peter thought he heard Kai call his name, but when he turned the Land’s head to look, the Sea hit him.
And then the Sea faltered, its fight separated between Peter and … something else. Peter couldn’t look. The Land had only one target, and that was the Sea.
Had Kai figured out a way to defeat the Sea? Was that what was distracting the Sea? Peter didn’t know. He could only trust in Kai.
Through the rushing wind and the Land’s turbulent memories, Peter heard his name again.
Kai.
Again, Peter took control, turning the Land’s head toward the Point just in time to see Kai throw a shining red-gold disk. Grandma’s shield?
The shield spun through the air, a perfect throw, carried by the wind. Time to act.
As the Sea turned to deal with the distraction on the shore, Peter flexed the Land’s fingers, pouring every ounce of his will into making the huge creature how he wanted. Then he raised his (the Land’s?) arm and caught the bloodstained shield.
It was made of the same metal that the Land remembered being mined away, so many centuries ago. Removing this from a temple of both soil and water had caused the Land and Sea to separate.
A gift, taken in division. Returned in unity.
The Sea had been freed from its prison at the Point by Peter and Kai. Twins. Two people. It took two people, united but with different gifts, to find and activate the seals. Why? So that one day, this gift could be returned to Land and Sea in the spirit of unity in which it was once given.
It had taken some time, but Peter and Kai had united. Like land and sea, working together to create and destroy, to bind and break, together. And now, Peter felt synced with Kai in a way he hadn’t for a long time.
The Sea’s skin was lacerated with all the attacks the Land had dealt it. Its scales were burned, and an old spear hung loosely between two of them. The distraction dealt with for a time, the Sea howled and brought its huge hand up to throw another punch at its true enemy.
Peter was ready. He raised the shield, as small as it was in his stone hand, and brought it to meet the Sea’s blow. The Sea struck the shield with a sound like a bell ringing, and Peter dug his feet into the sand as the force of the attack made his (the Land’s?) bones shake.
The shield glowed like sunlight. The Sea’s eyes widened, and it tried to pull away but was stuck tight to the shield. “What is this?” it roared.
The shield had fastened to Peter’s hand, as well. Now he could sense the Sea’s violent emotions and memories as he had the Land’s. He could see the Sea’s rage at the Land for blocking its path, for never moving, for being so still.
But he also felt the freedom of movement, the lively energy in the waves and currents, and thought, maybe, he and the Land understood the Sea a little better.
Peter looked the Sea in its slitted eyes. “The only binding that matters,” he said in a voice like a rock slide.
And then the light filled him, glowing like the sun yet fizzing like sea spray, and vanished, leaving Peter fading into darkness.
KAI
Kai watched it all from the lighthouse. He saw the Land catch the shield and strike the Sea with it. He saw the flash of light erupt from the shield, and had to turn away to cover his eyes.
When he looked back, both the Sea and Land were gone.
“Peter? Peter!” Kai ran to the edge and looked down. The ocean beat against the promontory, just as it had before the boys raised the Sea in the first place.
But farther out, around the Spire, was a new island. Not big—certainly not a continent. But maybe the heart of one, dotted with trees and ringed with grayish sand. An island that owed its existence to the land that formed it and the sea that shaped it.
Land and Sea had reunited and returned to peaceful sleep.
Kai ran down to the beach. Dad, Grandma, and Sophie had gone, leaving one Viking ax half-buried in the sand that was now visible as the ocean returned to its normal level.
The island wasn’t far. He could swim to it.
And Peter would be on the island. He had to be. He couldn’t be gone.
Kai threw himself into the now-calm waves. The salt stung his cut hand.
It wasn’t far. He’d fight the tide, just long enough to find Peter.
There was a price for victory, but last Kai checked, there were prizes, too.
It was a hard swim, but not a long one. Kai finally touched his feet on the sand beside the island and stumbled onto shore. Peter wasn’t on the beach, so he had to be farther inland.
If he was here.
Of course he was! He had to be. Kai had paid with blood, and blood bound them. Surely it was enough to keep Peter in this world.
Kai raced into the trees, toward the Spire at the new island’s center.
“Peter!”
No answer.
What if he was wrong? What if the price was Peter, all of him forever, and the only prize was saving the world?
He reached the Spire. It was strange to see the huge rock surrounded by land yet still stained with ocean spray.
“Peter!” Kai yelled again.
He heard a groan. “Shut up, Kai. I’m resting.”
Kai ran around the Spire and found Peter, alive but bruised, lying in its shadow with his arm over his eyes. He was smiling. “I feel terrible,” his twin said.
“You look terrible.” Kai sat down next to Peter, trying not to sag from relief.
“Thanks.”
“I mean, anyone would, after that—” Kai stopped. “Grandma gave up her weapons for you.”
“Really?” Peter took his arm away from his face. His eye was starting to blacken.
“Yep. And Dad used them, too.”
“No way. If I wasn’t so sore I’d think I’m dreaming.” Peter grinned. Sitting up, Peter pulled down his shirt collar. Under was an unusual red welt, starting to fade. It would heal completely in no time. Looking at it, Kai felt different. He bet he wouldn’t be able to read Mom’s Atlantean texts when it was over.
It was over.
Peter tried to use the Spire to help himself stand. His arms wobbled, and Kai grabbed his shoulder and pulled him up.
“How did you know you needed to catch the shield?” Kai asked.
“I didn’t.” Peter stretched and winced. “But I trusted that you threw it for a reason. Man, it feels good to be myself again.”
“What was it like?”
“Weird. I was inside it, I saw what it saw. I had its memories and its rage.” Peter rubbed his neck. “The Atlanteans plundered a temple to Land and Sea. That’s why they broke apart. We had to replace the relic they stole to reunite them.”
“Huh.” Kai doubted Grandma’s shield was the actual relic from the temple. But the metal was the same.
“I think that was the point of all of this. Not to lock monsters away, but to keep the world safe until the right team came. The Atlanteans needed people who could work together to bring the creatures back together. The ritual needed two people to raise the Sea, and the Land needed two people to activate the seals. We needed one person to channel the Land and one person to help bind it and the Sea together from the outside.”
“You’re going to have to fill me in on what the Land’s memory showed you. And why you didn’t think activating the seal would kill you instantly.”
Peter closed his eyes. “The mural in the cave. The Land creature was made of light, and there was that little figure under it in the same pose as the Land. The Atlantean writing talked about someone going into the light. And I figured that while the Sea was physical, the Land had to have a host, and that’s why the last seal was on a person.”
“Figured?”
Peter opened his eyes. “Well, I couldn’t know for sure. I just had to trust my gut and act.”
Kai wanted to roll his eyes, but didn’t. “You sound like me. You shouldn’t have taken that chance without knowing for sure.”
“And now you sound like me.”
Kai raised his hands. “What can I say? We’re twins, after all.”
Peter nodded. “Twins.”
“Hey! Boys! Are you out here?” It was Dad, calling from the island’s beach.
Kai and Peter looked up.
“Where are you?” Dad called.
“We rented a boat as soon as we saw the island appear. The storm chasers are going wild right now.” That was Grandma.
And Sophie. “How did you do this?”
The boys looked at each other. “We probably owe them an explanation,” Peter said.
“Yeah. You’re giving it, since you clearly understand this better than I do.” Kai stuck out his uninjured hand. “Can you stand?”
“I’d better.” Peter took it, and together they stood.
Peter wobbled, and Kai caught him. “You okay?” Kai asked.
