Hearken (Daughters of the Sea Series) (18 page)

              I felt the pressure of someone’s gaze on me and lifted my eyes to meet those of our guide. Sebastian smiled knowingly at me and nodded his head ever so slightly in acknowledgement. Excitement danced across his face, and after an endearing wink, he stood.

“Welcome to the legendary island,” he said, before sweeping his arm outward and raising his chin with pride, “of Atlantis.”

I felt a slight pressure almost like a sound wave, and my mouth dropped at what suddenly stood a meager twenty yards ahead of us. Immense stone cliffs towering at least thirty stories above us were suddenly blocking the afternoon sun, which had been eclipsed by their sheer size. They stretched for what seemed like miles on either side, and from our vantage point near the bottom, the very top was not visible at all. Angry waves slammed into large boulders at the base of the cliffs, but they were quickly forgotten as the cliffs began to reflect and shine with each movement of the boat. 

“Look at the cliffs!” Phoebe noticed at the same time. “They have gold in them!”

Shining with a brilliance no man could ever replicate, the cliffs most certainly held layers of gold interwoven throughout. The entire cliff glittered with a magnificence I’d never before laid eyes on.

While my eyes did their best to soak in the splendor that loomed ahead, the rest of my senses were being bombarded by an energy so strong it threatened to crush me from the inside out. Everything around me was suddenly brighter, louder, and sharper. It was kind of like the barrage of energy I felt on the Fortunate Isle, but with a slight twist. It was a venerable energy – an energy so ancient, I could almost
feel
the ribbons of wisdom and antiquity flowing within its borders. The present world was intricately intertwined with a past so magical, it was indestructible. I felt the souls of the old who still settled across the island; their essence littering the landscape with beauty and peace. But amidst it all, at the core of the island there was a pulse.

             
I felt it in my veins. It captured my essence and seemed to speak only to me. Like the rhythmic waves of the ocean, it pulsed with the very essence of life. A faint singing in my ears calmed my breathing and swept my heart into its beautiful melody. I closed my eyes and listened more intently, but didn’t know the tongue in which it was spoken. A surge of energy flowed through my body and I allowed the song to encompass my every thought and feeling.

“fengári tou aímatos af̱xánetai.”

“fengári tou aímatos af̱xánetai.”

Whatever life force dwelled within the core of Atlantis, it was ancient, immense, and extremely powerful. And it was calling to me.

Chapter 16

Olivia

              She was doing it again. I watched with apprehension as Stasia closed her eyes and drifted away into oblivion. The half-cocked smile on her face never wavered as she seemed to sway to music only she could hear. I glanced up at the new pain in my ass otherwise known as Sebastian. He was also watching Stasia carefully, but his reaction was worlds away from my own. He tilted his head and smiled to himself before turning his attention back to the spit of land we were about to pull up next to. 

             
Land
may have been an overstatement, considering it was really just a strip of rocks jutting out from the massive cliff rising above us. The waves knocked the boat from side to side and I began to wonder how golden boy was going to maneuver us safely to the rocks without killing us. 

             
I kicked Stasia’s foot in an effort to bring her back to this universe and her eyes fluttered open with confusion, as if she had forgotten where she was completely. I frowned back at her as she glanced around and sighed happily. Whatever she was sensing I didn’t like it. No matter the drug, a drunk Goddess was not a safe Goddess. The slight tingling of the all-seeing eye on my palm warned me something was off. I glanced down at the trace to make sure it hadn’t started glittering like a disco-ball or something, but thankfully it was still pale and barely visible to anyone but me. I clenched my fist and braced myself for the onslaught of waves that were throwing the boat dangerously close to the jagged rocks. 

             
“Got any shampoo?!” I heard Carmen shout at Phoebe as a wave crashed over the bow of the boat; spraying us with ocean water. “This is better than any shower back home!”

             
“I don’t think an entire bottle of shampoo could wash the syrup out of my hair!” Stasia screeched with happiness as another wave crashed over the boat. I wiped at the waterfall cascading down the left side of my head and met the arrogant eyes of Sebastian. He smiled and shook his head back and forth like a wet dog drying off after a bout in the ocean. I cursed him silently as he stood to get a better vantage point of our rocky destination. Several drops of water raced down the bronzed skin of his muscular back and I inspected the tattoos running down its length. It was a phrase written in Greek:
‘I̱ níki̱ eínai apokleistiká gia ekeínous pou eínai próthymoi na pli̱ró̱soun to tími̱ma’,
which translated into English meant,
‘Victory is reserved for those who are willing to pay the price’.

I knew his type. Hot-headed and willing to seduce any and every girl who’d be dumb enough to listen to his bullshit. His use of the Greek language may have impressed the other girls on the boat, but it only proved to me that he was full of himself. Not to mention that for someone who had been isolated on a single island his entire life, his English was amazingly modern. My list for not trusting him was growing longer by the minute. I, on the other hand, had spoken Greek ever since I was a little girl. It was my second language, but only just so. My mother had taught me from a very young age in preparation of the future. There weren’t many times I could thank my mother for forcing me to do something, but I was eternally grateful for the countless hours she worked with me on sentence structure, pronunciation, and memorization of the Greek language. If only to show Sebastian he was no match for me.

He gunned the engine and turned the boat abruptly to the left; sending us hurtling toward the rocks sideways. I pictured my face in the headlines, “A life stolen too soon at the hands of a conceited, crazed madman.”  But instead of the tragic image unfolding in my head, the boat slid to a stop right before we hit the rocks, only gently bumping them. Sebastian reached for a thick rope anchored into the stone and pulled the boat flush against our makeshift dock. Once he secured the boat to the rocks, I practically threw Stasia to safety and then crawled over Carmen to get out of the vessel of death.

“Hey, watch it!” she shouted at me when I stepped on her foot.

“We’ll get you a Band-Aid later, princess,” I tossed over my shoulder as I hopped onto the jetty next to a distracted Stasia. I fought the urge to kiss the ground beneath my feet, but decided to help Phoebe and Avery off the boat instead. Carmen shot me a contemptuous look when I reached out my hand to her and chose to jump to the rocks without my assistance. Sebastian prepared to make the leap as well, but I deliberately stepped in his way, crossed my arms, and raised an eyebrow at him.

“What about our bags?” I demanded.

“You won’t be needing them,” he answered simply.

“I beg to differ,” I argued. “If you think I’m getting on this island with no makeup or soap, you are sadly mistaken.”

“Everything you need will be provided.” He grinned up at me. “However, you are free to bring a small satchel of personal items if you wish.”

“It’s not up to you to decide what I need and don’t need.”

              “Your pride has no bounds, vraziliániki̱ omorfiá mou,” he accused, before smiling and jumping off the boat with ease. His endearment almost got him punched.

“I will
never
be ‘your Brazilian beauty’,” I said; using air quotes as I translated his Greek words. “Don’t make the mistake of thinking you know me.”

“I’d never do such a thing.” He paused and leaned in so close I felt his breath against my ear; sending treasonous shivers down my spine. “But then again, it is a closed book that yearns to be read the most.”

“Excuse me-?” I began, but was interrupted by Phoebe when she ran up beside me in a panic.

“We can’t bring our stuff? What are we supposed to wear?”

“Everything you need will be provided,” I copied Sebastian’s Greek accent for Phoebe.

“Really?” she squealed. “It’ll be like we’re real
Atlanteans!” She ran back to Carmen, Avery and Stasia in excitement. Not exactly the response I had hoped for. Sebastian breezed by me with a light chuckle. He was really starting to work my nerves, and I vowed to let him know exactly what I thought about him and his uppity opinions the next time he made the mistake of talking to me. I reluctantly followed the other girls up the strip of rocks toward the towering cliffs with Sebastian in the lead.

“When Atlantis was raised from the Middle Sea, the cliffs were made stronger and taller to protect our ancient land from the very persons who wished to exploit it,” Sebastian informed us solicitously.

“Mediterranean Sea,” I corrected him.

“Which means ‘Middle of the Land Sea’,” he said without having the decency to look at me; piquing my anger even more. “Also known to
Atlanteans as the Middle Sea.”

“Then what’s the shield for?” Avery asked.

“It’s simply to ward off those who don’t believe or aren’t worthy of seeing our veiled paradise.” I rolled my eyes at our self-appointed tour guide’s flimsy explanation. His Greek accent gave his English an elite lilt that made my skin crawl.

With a captive audience in Phoebe, Carmen and Avery, he continued his extensive lecture of the
Atlantean history and its people. I drowned him out by humming to myself and taking in my surroundings. I kept a close eye on Stasia, who was obviously sensing more from the island than we were. A jealous pang shot through my heart and I thought about how amazing it would be to have her extensive abilities. But as my mom always said:

“Great destiny and abilities come with equally great responsibility and obligation.”

As I watched Stasia glance around with a sudden bout of ADHD, I reminded myself that ignorance was definitely bliss in some cases. We followed Sebastian to an arched opening that led within the cliff wall itself. I purposely fell back to ensure no one had followed us, but I also wanted to put as much distance between myself and our tour guide as possible. It was safer for us both that way. I’d hate to have to kill the first Atlantean I’d ever met.  

As we walked farther into the tunnel, the roar of the ocean was muted by the deafening silence all around us. I felt
Stasia’s apprehension as well as her excitement at this new experience, and wondered what exactly she was sensing in our surroundings that the rest of us could not. My Paladin abilities were able to tell me her emotions, but not the cause. I ran a hand along the wall to my right.  The claustrophobic tunnel’s walls were smooth from centuries of use, and a light breeze alleviated the heat pressing in from the solid rock surrounding us.

We marched on for another ten minutes until we reached a steep stone staircase leading to more infinite darkness. As we continued to climb, distinct smells began to assault my senses. Perfumes and
musks I’d never smelled before filled my mind with visions of vibrant flowers, fields of wild animals and water infused with magic. My thoughts of Stasia’s mental state fell away as I breathed deeply and began to relax. For some reason everything felt ‘right’ here; as if everything was just as it was supposed to be. I couldn’t quite explain it, but I could
feel
it. It settled in my heart and soul like a soft blanket of velvet and I smiled. 

The air cooled slightly as a sliver of light appeared up ahead, and I found myself moving faster to reach it. Stepping out into the sunlight required a moment of blinking before my eyes adjusted, but once they did, I froze in overwhelming amazement. We’d stepped out of the island’s protective cliffs and into an ethereal water wonderland. All around us a lush forest hid its secrets beneath heavy limbs overflowing with vibrant green leaves and flowering vines. Directly ahead, a gentle stream cut a path through the landscape and flowed down towards countless unseen mysteries. The rock wall behind us and the rocky banks of a stream were
littered with waterfalls of all shapes and sizes; providing a sort of sound track for our arrival. As we neared the stream, two white vessels resembling canoes came into view and we all looked to Sebastian for direction.

Instead of providing an explanation, he secured one of the canoes on the bank and motioned for us to get in. Avery glanced back at Stasia for approval before easing herself down into the front of the canoe. Carmen and Phoebe followed suit, and began to inspect their new primitive mode of transportation. 

“You’ll be in the lead canoe with me,” Sebastian informed me and Stasia. His authoritative tone told me there would be no arguing his commands.

“Super,” I mumbled. He held
Stasia’s hand and waited patiently while she lowered herself inside the thin canoe. His tan skin glowed in the light of the sun, accentuating the muscles in his arms when he held his hand out for me. He smiled widely when he caught me staring.

“I knew you’d be ecstatic,” he quipped, and I forced myself to look away. The last thing I needed was for him to see me gawking at his half-naked body. His ego was big enough as it was. I grudgingly took the hand he offered, but immediately realized it had been a mistake. He pulled me closer and turned my palm over for inspection. I tried to pull my arm back, but his grip was secure. His brows furrowed as he inspected my palm and ran a tender finger over the all-seeing eye. I balled my hand into a fist in response and yanked at my arm again, but instead of letting me go he wrapped a strong, warm hand around my balled up fist and met my angry gaze with assurance.