Hamish X Goes to Providence Rhode Island (9 page)

“Don't worry, Mimi,” Mrs. Francis had said, stroking her hair as the girl wept. “He's a very clever little boy. I'm sure he's somewhere safe, worrying about you right now.”

Now Mimi found tears prickling in the back of her eyes once again. She wiped her eyes on the filthy sleeve of her
Swiss Guards uniform. It wouldn't do to let the others see her in a moment of weakness. She had to be strong.

She turned her head and looked at Mr. Kipling, his dress uniform a mess, his long legs stretched out in front of him as he dozed with his back to the wall. His naturally gaunt face looked even more drawn. He'd suffered minor burns and bruises in the attack. Snoring softly, he rested his hand on the hilt of the sabre that lay unsheathed at his side, vigilant even in slumber. Mimi longed to curl up next to the old man who had become like a father to them all and just forget about the troubles they faced. Let an adult take care of things! That's what adults were supposed to do, wasn't it?

But that had never been her experience of the world. Ever since she lost her father and mother she'd had to fend for herself, counting on no help from adults and trusting her own strength and instincts to survive.

“But I'm so tired,” she muttered to herself. She could barely keep her eyes open. “So tired.”

She wished Hamish X were here. He'd know what to do. But he wasn't. The King had told her he was gone and now she had to lead. That's what Hamish X would expect of her. She still missed him though.

“And where are ya now, Hamish X?” she wondered aloud.

“Nobody knows,” a voice answered her. Mimi turned to see Cara standing nearby. The other girl made a comb of her fingers and ran them through the tangled mess that was her hair. After a few tugs, Cara gave up. She had a bruise on her cheek, a remnant of the battle with the Grey Agents. “I've spoken to the other Guards, and no one saw him during the battle. In fact, the last place anyone can remember seeing him was at the wedding ceremony. It's like he just disappeared.”

“The King said he was goin' ta Africa, of all places,” Mimi said. “He musta had a good reason.”

“We could sure use him now,” Cara said. Gone was her habitual arrogance, lost when her brother chose to stay behind. She was serious and subdued now, with none of her usual sarcasm. She jerked her head at the group of Atlanteans. “How much longer can they argue?”

“It ends now.” Mimi frowned and pushed herself to her feet. “It's time we put a stop ta this, one way'r t'other. Let's go.”

Mr. Kipling stirred from his slumber and gripped his sabre. “What's happening?” he asked, instantly alert.

“Either they help us or we gotta move on. We cain't wait no longer.” Mimi strode off towards the strangers, Cara and Mr. Kipling falling into step behind her. Mrs. Francis saw the determined set of Mimi's chin and joined the little party, slipping her hand into Mr. Kipling's. He smiled at her, squeezing her pudgy fingers in his own bony ones.

The Atlanteans saw their approach and fell silent. They gripped their staves tighter and fell back slightly when they saw the tall girl's face. Mimi stopped a couple of paces away and pointed a finger at the one called Xnasos.

“Enough jawin'. Are ya gonna help us or not?”

“You have no right to be rude to us, surface-dweller. I am the rightful headman of the great race of Atlantis,” Xnasos said in an outraged tone.

“I don't care if you're the President of the Universe! We got kids here who need shelter and we got friends who need our help. Tell us if yer gonna help us or show us how ta get the heck outta this hole in the ground. We've waited long enough!”

Xnasos scowled. He cracked his staff against the ground. “We have endured for centuries …
millennia
,
even … through caution and wisdom. We are not as powerful as we once were. Our numbers dwindle. At one time we ruled a vast kingdom beneath the oceans of the world, but now we are reduced to this one small refuge. Secrecy is our only defence. When we made the pact with the King of Switzerland hundreds of years ago, we were a much stronger people. Now …” He hung his head. When he continued, his voice was less angry, more weary, and tinged with defeat. “Now we can barely hold our own in the world. Pollution from above destroys our means of growing food. There are no children among us now and our race fails.” The others nodded. “You have powerful enemies. The Grey Ones … They are not to be trifled with!”

“It was us who unleashed them on the world,” Xnasha interjected, drawing an angry glare from Xnasos.

“What do ya mean by that?” Mimi asked.

“Nothing! She means nothing!” he snapped. “They are powerful enemies who could destroy us if they knew we helped you. Circumstances have changed since we swore the oath to your King.”

Mimi felt her righteous anger fade. She looked at the Atlanteans and saw their ragged clothes and their fear, and she recognized in them a kindred desperation. They were refugees of a sort as well. She suddenly felt ashamed of herself for demanding something that would perhaps be difficult for them to give.

“We understand,” Mimi said. “Sorry. I guess I was a little pushy, but I hope you see that we ain't got nowhere else to go. We don't wanna bring the ODA down on y'all. We know how bad that can be.” She looked at Cara. “If you can just tell us how we can git outta here, we'll be on our way.”

Xnasha's eyes went wide. She blurted, “Oh, no!
You
don't understand. What my brother is trying to say is that we will honour the agreement we made with King Gertomund. You are welcome in Atlantis for as long as you wish to stay!”

Xnasos stamped his foot. “Xnasha, really! I wanted to tell them. I'm the spokesman! Why can't you ever let me have any of the fun?”

“Sorry,” Xnasha said sheepishly, sending a sneaky wink Mimi's way. “After all, it's only right we should hide you from the ODA. It's our fault they entered this world in the first place.”

“Xnasha! Silence!” Xnasos barked. Xnasha immediately obeyed her brother.

“What did she mean by that? You're the reason the Grey Agents are here?” Mimi demanded.

“My sister cannot control her tongue.” Xnasos aimed another pointed glare at Xnasha, who reddened and remained silent. “We will explain everything to you later. Right now, we offer our official welcome to the city of Atlantis. You are welcome to stay as long as you need to.”

Mimi wondered what Xnasha had meant by her strange comment. She was about to demand an explanation, but Cara cut her off.

“Mimi,” Cara said meaningfully, “we need a place to rest and regroup. Let's just get ourselves settled, and then we can ask our questions later.”

Mimi glowered at Cara, about to shoot back an angry response, but she looked around at the state of their little company of refugees, the exhausted faces of the Guards, Mrs. Francis, and Mr. Kipling. The tall old sailor was practically asleep on his feet. Seeing that they were in
desperate need of a safe haven to lick their wounds and make plans, she conceded.

“All right,” Mimi nodded. “We accept yer invitation. But I wants some answers … soon!” She turned to the waiting throng of Hollow Mountain refugees and shouted, “Hey, everybody! We got a place to stay!”

The children sent up a deafening cheer of joy that echoed around the stone chamber. Xnasos's face fell. “Oh, dear,” he said softly. “I hope we haven't made a terrible mistake.”

“Doing the right thing is never a mistake.” Xnasha smiled and clapped him on the back. “Let's get underway.”

Chapter 9

After the children had gathered up their meagre possessions, Mrs. Francis herded them into rows, with each older child holding hands with a younger one. The Guards took up positions along the line, forming a protective escort with Mimi, Cara, and Mr. Kipling in the lead. When the chaotic mass of children was finally in a rough semblance of order, Mimi signalled to Xnasos and Xnasha that they were ready. The babble of excited conversation died down to an expectant hush as the Hollow Mountain refugees turned their attention to their hosts.

The Atlanteans faced the glowing dome, its surface smooth and glassy. It was closed and had been since just after the Atlanteans had departed from it. Now Xnasos approached the dome, moving across the metal gangplank until he stood directly in front of the weird object. He reached out, laid a hand on its surface, and uttered a series of words in his own language. The dome responded. The light pulsed brighter and the dome shuddered. A deep thrumming vibration filled the chamber so strongly that Mimi could feel it resonating in her chest. The children sighed in wonder as a section of the dome slid back with a smooth hiss until there was a slice out of the sphere. Golden light spilled over the faces of the spectators. Mimi had to admit it was pretty impressive— until the slice ground to a halt when the opening was only a metre wide.

“How embarrassing!” Xnasos groaned, kicking the dome in frustration. “It's stuck! Oh, what a piece of rubbish!”

“I'm surprised it opened at all,” Xnasha said, exasperated. “We haven't any idea how any of our technology really works. Everything was built centuries ago and we've lost the manuals. Even if we had them, we probably wouldn't be able to read the ancient language, so it's hard to do routine maintenance. We'll have to squeeze!” Xnasha shook her head and squeezed through the opening. Once through, she stuck her head back into the gap. “Come on. It's a tight fit, but you'll manage.” With that, she disappeared into the luminous dome.

Mimi shared a nervous glance with Cara, who shrugged and said, “Scared?”

Mimi scowled and stepped through the gap.

She found herself at the top of a wide stairway made of the weird glowing material. The stairway was long, leading down farther than Mimi could see. The walls and ceiling joined overhead in a smooth arch of the same stuff. The light was bright but not painful to look at. Xnasha stood on the steps below, beckoning and smiling. Mimi started down after her.

Mimi walked carefully down the stairs and found herself in a wide corridor. The floor was paved with huge pink flag-stones covered with carvings of tiny shelled sea creatures, sea horses, and fish. On closer examination, the creatures weren't carved into the rock but actually embedded in it, fossils of ancient living things entombed forever in the stone.

“So beautiful,” Mimi whispered. She'd seen fossils before, but never so many in one place. She looked to either side and saw that the walls were made of the same material. Mimi traced the curling tail of a crablike creature, her mouth hanging open in wonder.

“You're easily impressed,” Xnasha laughed. “Wait until you see the city!” The Atlantean reached out her gnarled hand and grasped Mimi's elbow. “Come! It isn't far!”

Mimi looked behind her up the stair to make sure the others were following. Mrs. Francis was having difficulty negotiating the narrow opening. One Atlantean gently tugged her arm while another pushed firmly from the other side.

“Really,” Mrs. Francis fumed.

Mimi couldn't help but laugh despite the housekeeper's obvious discomfort. Leaving Mrs. Francis in the care of the Atlanteans, Mimi let Xnasha pull her along.

The passage led on for the better part of a kilometre, slanting ever so slightly downward. The air was surprisingly fresh with a salty tang, more wholesome than she had expected any underground passage to be. Xnasha pointed at fossils as they went along, keeping up a running commentary. “Those are trilobites. They've been stuck in the rock for millions of years … there's a sardine. Oh, and that one just became extinct a couple of decades ago. What a shame!” Mimi took the time to examine her companion more closely.

Xnasha was female, although her short, stocky frame was anything but feminine. Her nose was thick and bony, but it gave strength to her face. Her mouth was wide and thin, and her eyes were a very pale blue with flecks of green. Her pale hair, more white than blonde, was worn long, and wound in its tresses were fragments of coral, shark teeth, and shells.

“This is the Hall of Entry,” Xnasha said, running her hand along the cool pink surface of the stone as they followed the corridor. “Down this hall, kings of the surface would come to ask our advice, beg for our help, ask us for trade.” Xnasha smiled sadly and let her hand drop. “A long time ago. Now I doubt that anyone knows we exist or thinks we're anything more than a legend.” Her eyes brightened. “Ah, we're here.”

The corridor ended in a metal door. It might have originally been shiny, but years had coated it with a thick layer of black tarnish. The carvings on the surface were still clear: tangled fronds of seaweed intertwined in complicated relief covering the entire surface and two dolphins leaping over a giant shell in the centre. The door was vast, more than ten metres high.

“The mighty Dolphin Gate!” Xnasos and the others caught up with Mimi and Xnasha, gathering beside them. He sighed sadly while running his hand over the ornate metal. “Cast in a single slab of silver. Beautiful, isn't it? We really knew how to build in those days. We really ought to give it a good clean one day …”

“Why bother?” Xnasha said irritably. “No one ever sees it. We never leave this place and no one ever visits.” Mimi sensed frustration in the little woman, as if the isolation of Atlantis was a bone of contention often picked over between brother and sister. Xnasos stared daggers at his sister. Sensing his displeasure, Xnasha shrugged. “Frankly, I don't think there's enough silver polish in all of Atlantis to make it shine as it once did.”

“Doesn't mean we shouldn't try,” Xnasos said under his breath. Shaking his head, he reached up with his staff and tapped the centre of the shell. “Fendictus Blort!” The door split down a previously invisible seam, its two halves swinging silently inward. The children gasped.

“Oh, that's nothing,” Xnasos chuckled. “Don't just stand there with your mouths open like a bunch of groupers!
⁴⁵
Come in! Come in!”