Elemental Shadowed by Helen Scott

14

Tessa

The floor, walls, roof, everything was shaking. Even the crystals that Dres had joked about destroying earlier were rattling to the point that they were falling from the chain or stone that had been holding them up and shattering on the floor. The broken shards looked like diamonds as they spread out across the floor, or what remained of it.

Dres dove across the floor and for a moment I thought he was going to go over the edge, but a gust of air seemed to buffet him at just the right time. He swung around until he was on solid ground once more, the broken crystal shard clutched tightly in his now bleeding hand.

Panic flared across his eyes as he looked up at all of us, and after a second, I realized he must be worried that we were going to turn him in for using his magic. I didn't like that he didn't trust us enough to think that we wouldn't have his back, but I also knew that we were in extremely uncharted waters. I was just thankful that the guys had made that clear to me early on. I didn't understand the rules, but at least I knew a couple of them.

"I just reacted. I didn't think..." Dres's words were quiet and urgent.

"No one's going to tell on you," Kai mumbled as he helped his battle brother up. "You know us well enough by now to know that, don't you?"

I couldn't help but feel the sting as Dres's gaze shifted to me and back.

I won't tell anyone. I promise.I tried to project the thoughts to him, and when he flinched, I thought maybe I'd mentally shouted a little too loud for him, but at least he knew. His dark eyes studied me for a moment before he gave me a tight nod.

"Uh, guys?" Griff said from behind me.

I turned and found him staring down an opening that had appeared behind the statue of the woman who Dres thought was supposed to be me. The wall had fallen backward and created what looked like a bridge between the room we were standing in and a staircase that disappeared into darkness. As soon as I stepped forward to investigate a set of hands clamped down on my arms. I looked over my shoulder to find Finn watching me with worried eyes.

"I'll go first, you can follow if you want," he said quietly. I got the feeling that it wasn't because he was concerned about the others overhearing him but more that he was tired.

"Why don't you rest while I go with someone else?" I kept my voice low to give the illusion that the conversation was just between us, even though I knew that the others were listening.

The stubborn man shook his head. "I'm Atlantean, it makes sense for me to go first in case there are any traps or pitfalls."

I pursed my lips, but before I could reply he had moved past me and was carefully walking over the bridge that had been a wall just a few minutes ago. The others all made a move to go over the bridge but, with a little bit of duck and weave along with my Black Friday shopping elbows, I made it there first and was over the bridge before anyone else.

"Remind me never to box you in anywhere," Finn said with a laugh. As he started walking forward, I followed, making room for Griff who came next.

Just as Dres began to make his way across the bridge, a large metal gate clanged shut between us and the stone bridge gave way. Thankfully, Dres had enough skill with his abilities, or maybe just pure athleticism, that he jumped backward far enough to land on more solid ground.

The gap between us was probably only fifteen feet or so, but I knew from recent experience that I wouldn't be able to make the jump. The irony of the fact that he'd used his powers to save the piece of bloodied crystal that he was still clutching and not me wasn't lost on me, but I knew it wasn't intentional either. After all, the queen had been there before, hadn't she?

It seemed they had all forgotten that I was just human since we'd come to Atlantis. Well, all except Griff, but I expected that was partially because he was the one training me. He got to see how weak and slow I was first hand.

"What the fuck is this?" Kai growled.

"Looks like a gate to me," Finn said with a smart-ass tone.

"You're lucky it's there, or I'd be all up in your business right now," the other man shot back.

"Listen, instead of pissing about, how about you two go back to the palace and let them know what's going on while we investigate and look for yet another way out," Griff said, looking as tired as Finn.

"Fine, but don't let her die again. Gaia knows she can't protect herself." Kai really seemed to have a bee in his bonnet about that, or maybe it was just that he hadn't been the one to kill me.

I stuck my tongue out at him, to which I could almost swear he grinned.

As I watched Dres and Kai disappear around the front of the statue, I couldn't help the feeling of foreboding that was making itself at home in my stomach. I hated that we were being split up again. No matter how much Kai disliked me for whatever reason, I would have preferred that we all stayed together as we figured everything out.

"Down we go, I guess," Finn said with a sigh.

As though they'd practiced it before, Griff flicked his wrist and a ball of flames sprang to life above his hand, lighting the stairway before us for a few feet. I'd hoped for more light, but I knew that was foolish.

This was an ancient stairway that was built behind a trap door in a land that didn't have electricity. Most of the rooms were lit by bioluminescent bacteria that were specifically cultivated to grow on the ceiling in the palace. Outside of the palace, most people just had candles and fires when they really needed to.

If they were some of the lucky people to have more magic than just the ability to manipulate water, then they could create an energy ball or something similar, but that was draining since it fed off the energy they had in their bodies. Finn had explained it all to me within the first month of getting to Atlantis, but it never ceased to amaze me.

"At least we have the option of stairs this time," I added while I followed him carefully down the steps.

I was trying not to think about the fall or the drowning that had occurred shortly thereafter, but it was creeping in anyway, and the only thing I wanted to do was leave this temple and go back to the palace, or better yet, go home. The thought stopped me. I didn't have a home anymore. All of my belongings were in the guys’ old house, and my apartment had probably been rented out again by this point.

When I stumbled, Griff caught me by the elbow and shot me a worried look. "Everything okay, dove?"

"I just realized that I don't have a home anymore." My voice was quiet, which was saying something since all the sound from the outside had disappeared as we'd been circling lower and lower on the stairs. The only sound until Griff's question had been the careful footfalls of the three of us, and even that sounded muffled, as though the stone was absorbing it instead of reflecting it back.

Finn stopped in front of me. "You have a home," he said as he turned to face me carefully. "It's here, with me, if you want it."

"With you?" Griff asked, sounding slightly offended. "Why you? She can live wherever she wants with whoever she wants."

"I just meant—"

Griff cut him off before he could explain. "I know what you meant, that somehow your relationship with Tessa is superior to everyone else's. Well, I've got news for you, bud, it's not."

"I wasn't trying to imply that it was, just that if she wanted to stay in Atlantis when this was all over, she could."

"And what if she wanted to stay in El Dorado? What then?"

"She hasn't seen it yet, but if she wanted to that's fine," Finn replied, sounding slightly disgusted by the fact that I might prefer El Dorado to Atlantis.

They were like two schoolboys going back and forth, and I'd had enough. "Guys! I can make my own decisions, and frankly, right now I'm not wanting to stay in either place. Can we just find a way out of here? This temple is creeping me out the longer we stay here."

"Of course, you're right. Sorry, dove," Griff said while Finn just glared at him.

I wasn't sure why there was so much contention between them right now, but I didn't like it. "What's going on with you two?"

"Finn thinks I should back off and let him woo you," Griff muttered.

"What?" I demanded.

At the same time Finn said, "I never said that," exasperation coloring his tone.

"You didn't have to. I know you, brother. You think because you staked your claim on her first that we should all back off. Well, that's not how it's going to work, Tessa said so herself."

"He's right." I sighed. "Look, I don't know what's going on here. Magic, other realms, dragons, it's all new to me. Most men never got a second look from me, but the four of you... I don't know. I'm drawn to each of you, even Kai, heaven help me. I'm not going to choose, and if you keep fighting about it then I won't be with any of you." I huffed and stepped past Finn and continued until I was just on the edge of what my vision could make out in the dark.

Eventually, I could see the light coming closer, and I knew that whatever was going on between them was done with, at least for now. As I proceeded down the stairs ahead of Finn, much to his dismay, the steps became wider, more like those at the base of a stairway, so I wasn't surprised when a few moments later the stairs ended.

A short tunnel lay before us, and when we emerged onto the other side it was like there was a whole new room there, one that defied comprehension with how big it was. Giant pillars sprang up out of the ground and were the only thing keeping the ceiling up from what I could tell.

I moved to take a step forward but Finn and Griff each took one of my hands. "We don't know if there are any traps or things like the gate upstairs," Finn said, his voice husky and low.

The whole room, although room wasn't an adequate way to describe it. Hall? Ballroom? Chamber? Auditorium? Arena? Yes, that worked better for the feel of it.

The entire arena was glowing a faint blue color, kind of like the bacteria that lit the palace, and had a distinctly wet smell to it. Not quite a wet dog but close. I hadn't seen any animals with fur during my time in Atlantis, so the scent was definitely unexpected.

"Do you have any idea what this place is?" I asked Finn.

"None whatsoever."

"It looks like a tournament arena," Griff said, and I nodded my agreement.

"That was the feeling I got as well," I said quietly.

The sound of rocks shifting or falling echoed through the large area and the blue light grew as something began to happen. I couldn't see anything or sense anything other than the musty mildew feeling, but that didn't mean nothing was happening. Finn and Griff both moved to shield me from whatever it was just as a large gust of nasty smelling air ruffled the back of my hair. I turned in time to watch as a gate, similar to the one upstairs, fell shut behind us.

When I turned to find the two men watching with grim expressions as well, I knew that we were in trouble. Atlantis had been around since before Plato's time and as such had possibly influenced the ancient Romans with the gladiator battles and mock sea battles that used to be held in the Colosseum because there was no denying that was the feeling I was getting as the lighting increased.

Turning all around, I could see the stands that were at the very edge of the arena floor, with seating going high into the still dark recesses. If the Colosseum was said to have had average crowds of sixty thousand then this was at least half as big again, if not bigger.

Gladiators not only had to fight each other but beasts of all shapes and sizes as well. That's why when the ground shook with heavy, shuddering footsteps and a large creature unfolded itself from the dark I tried not to be too surprised. Tried and failed.