To Kill a God by C.S. Wilde

Chapter 25

The Marauder rushed forward,propelled by Captain Flint’s and Mr. Snipes’ wind magic. Three officers from Belinda’s team stood at the quarterdeck, moving their hands in frantic circles, breaking the water to boost the ship.

The vessel suddenly veered sharply to avoid a big wave, and Mera grabbed Beta Three’s arm to balance herself. Belinda wasn’t so quick, but the automaton latched on to her hand before she went overboard.

Once they found their footing, the two of them kept trying to contact Atlantea or the professor through Beta Three’s screen, but only a deep, gut-wrenching silence welcomed them on the other side.

Their ship had set sail shortly after they lost contact with Uncle Barrimond, and while the council didn’t stop them, they refused to add Tagradian resources to the rescue. It made sense, as much as Mera hated admitting it. The government had to focus on defending the mainland, and couldn’t risk warriors and ships on a mission with little chances of success.

“Blasted krakens, this is pointless,” Belinda grumbled after another failed attempt. Turning on her heels, she pointed at the Night King, who stood a few steps away, next to Bast. “Do that thing where you disappear and reappear!”

He shot her a glance filled with pity and sorrow, but still raised his chin in contempt. “I don’t have to do anything, akritana.”

“It’s not that he doesn’t want to…” Mera stepped closer to Bast, intertwining her fingers with his. “We’re not in range yet. Once we are,” she nodded to two oval-shaped cars strapped to the ship’s deck, “they can give it a try.”

“And pray that it works,” Bast added.

Her hold tightened on his hand while the wind blew fiercely around them, making her low braid flail in the same rhythm as her hart’s silver threads.

Mera’s attention then shifted to Corvus. She still didn’t understand why he had come. As king, he should have stayed within the safety of Lunor Insul, but he’d refused to sit back and watch.

“Bast will need me to make your plan work, so…” He’d shrugged. “If it puts your mind at ease, I’ll leave my most trusted advisor in charge, with express orders to contact our brother, Ben, if we don’t make it.”

He’d said it so carelessly, that Mera wondered if he truly understood what he was preparing for…

Their death.

Captain Flint called it a suicide mission because any ship out there would be a sitting duck, especially if Azinor had taken over Atlantea already.

“But he’ll have a hard time catching this particular duck, lass,” he assured her with a wink.

The panels in Beta Three’s torso closed. “We are nearly within range.”

The professor had prepared for this scenario, so he gave the automaton certain coordinates where they could meet. The Marauder was fast, but not fast enough, which meant they would have to winnow at some point, and yet, Bast and Corvus couldn’t transport the entire ship, plus the rest of Belinda’s convoy—the cars followed behind the Marauder, keeping up to speed. So, two little vehicles would have to do.

If they got to the professor’s coordinates in time, they would either be met with no enemies, or the bulk of Azinor’s forces. Flint and the convoy wouldn’t be able to help them—they would be too far away—but it was a risk Mera was willing to take.

Beta Three turned to Bast and the Night King. “Are you positive you’ll be able to winnow the cars to the location? They’re quite heavy.”

“Of course!” Corvus snapped, but Bast didn’t seem so certain.

Mera gave him a peck on his cheek. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”

“Always, min hart.”

“Aye, ladies and gents!” Flint belted from the bridge as he steered the ship. “Get ready.”

Down below, the rest of Belinda’s convoy kept driving in their cars, following the Marauder like dolphins. Slowly, they submerged, boosting faster underwater. Beta Three jumped over the wooden railings to accompany them, splashing the surface harshly.

If everything worked, they would meet Mera and the others at the outer rims in a couple of hours.

She entered the first car on the deck with Bast in the backseat, and one of Belinda’s officers as the driver. Belinda got in the second car with Corvus and another officer.

“Brace yourselves,” Bast warned while pressing his palms against the vehicle’s glass walls, “and pray to Danu.”

Magic thrummed around them as he grit his teeth, his eyes closed. His entire body shook before he suddenly screamed in pain.

Mera felt his strain through their bond, watching as veins popped on his forehead. “Bast, stop! We’ll find another way.”

Suddenly, they weren’t aboard the Marauder anymore. The car drifted among night and stars, their bodies becoming weightless. A gripping cold began taking over Mera’s fingertips, and veins of ice spread over the windows. From one moment to the next, however, the stars vanished, and they reappeared underwater.

“It never ceases to amaze,” the driver muttered. He didn’t throw up, since he’d already winnowed once—when Bast took their convoy into Lunor Insul.

A weak moan escaped her hart before his chin dropped to his chest, and his entire body went limp. His seatbelt was the only thing holding him in place.

Mera grabbed his hand and pushed her magic into him, sending her energy through their bond, hoping it would work. After all, if she’d drained him at the beach, surely she could refuel him.

It wasn’t healing per se, more like recharging—something she wasn’t entirely sure she could do, and yet…

It worked.

As the siren on the driver’s seat accelerated the car, Mera felt Bast coming back to himself, her magic pulling him back to consciousness.

“Wake up,” she whispered, worry squeezing her chest.

Groaning, he blinked awake. Seeing the concern in her stare, he gave her a weak grin. “I’m fine, kitten.”

Still, she pushed more of her power into him. If things went south and water breached the car, he would have to be strong enough to winnow himself out of there.

“It feels so strange,” the driver muttered, watching the deep blue surrounding them, “being underwater while keeping a human shape, that is.”

Mera narrowed her eyes at the vast emptiness around them. “Do you see anything?”

He motioned to the car’s panel, which scanned the seabed, then shook his head. His curly brown hair bobbed like tiny springs. “No life signs so far.”

Her skin felt suddenly warm and tingly, the sensation telling her the runes were twirling under her skin, and the voices—her voices—began chanting a strange word. “Sejun.”

“Mer, do you copy?” Belinda’s voice came through a round speaker on Mera’s side of the car.

She pressed a blue button next to it. “Copy. Did you make it all right?”

“Yes. King Dickweed passed out for a moment, but he’s awake now.”

Maybe Mera was losing her mind, but she caught a whiff of worry in her friend’s tone.

“The Night King is fine,” Corvus grumbled drowsily from the other side.

“All right,” Mera said. “Stay sharp.”

They kept driving for what had to be half an hour. She assessed the car’s panel and the deep blue ahead, but everything around them was empty. Silent. That was until the panel beeped, and an enormous convoy came into view.

It moved like a giant sphere, rolling slowly through the ocean.

“Sejun…”

As they got closer, Mera realized that hundreds of automatons formed a protective globe around the convoy. They sheltered a second layer made by officers in black uniforms, who carried phaser guns and blasters. The officers seemed tired and weary; some of them were hurt and bleeding. Professor Currenter swam amongst them; the only waterbreaker wearing a tattered, white bodysuit.

The sphere had a third layer formed by hundreds of cars; along with waterbreakers riding orcas, narwhals, and dolphins. They too carried phaser guns and blasters, plus an awful lot of crates, but they didn’t wear black bodysuits, which meant they were civilians. Forming the core of the sphere was a legion of women and children.

“They made it out,” Belinda breathed in relief through the speaker.

Either Uncle Barrimond had put on one hell of a fight—which might still be going on even after a day since they’d lost contact—or Azinor had deemed the convoy not worthy of his pursuit.

At least the refugees were safe. They weren’t most of her people, not by a mile, but a good number of her kin who were now free from the prick’s clutches.

Smiling, Mera hit the speaker in the car. “People of Atlantea, welcome. You are now under the protection of Tagrad.”

This wasn’t the middle, nor the end, but it was a start. And suddenly, as if a lightning bulb had blinked to life atop her head, Mera understood what sejun meant.

Prepare.

* * *

“Rogue patrols attackedus near the outer rims, but Poseidon didn’t bother following us.” Professor Currenter stood next to Mera on the harbor, his arms crossed as he watched nightlings mind-scan their people. “You know what that means?”

She nodded. “He has bigger fish to catch.”

The refugees who had gone through the mind-scan were given blankets and cans of food, before being directed toward a squared building in the distance, where they would be sheltered for the time being. It was a slow process, but the waterbreakers seemed happy to comply.

The Atlantean officers, however, did not rest. After being cleared by Corvus’ people, they hauled the big crates up to the Night Palace; crates filled with phaser weapons and technology the professor had gathered before escaping.

Ahead, Bast welcomed and directed sirens, while Corvus helped Belinda carry a crate on the left.

“I’ve talked to Peter Adams, the human councilor.” Mera didn’t turn to the professor, her gaze locked on Bast and her friends. “He’ll be arriving in Lunor Insul soon to go over our technology. Hopefully, they’ll be able to adapt a few things.”

He nodded.

“Also, you’ll be glad to hear that the council voted against bombing Atlantea, now that Azinor is holding half of the city hostage.”

“That’s the merciful thing to do,” he replied. “Are they patting themselves on their backs because they made a decent choice?”

“It’s how politicians work.”

“Well, even if they bombed us, it wouldn’t make a difference. Poseidon has the shield up and in full force now,” the professor went on, his gaze mournful, lost. “Their bombs wouldn’t make a scratch.”

“How do you know he has the shield back up?”

“I have a few prying fishes in town, though their numbers are dwindling.”

She took that in for a moment. “Do you know if my uncle—”

“Last I heard, he was being held at the castle. No word on whether he’s alive or not.” With a burdened sigh, his gaze fell away from hers. “Poseidon’s thugs are roaming the streets, and people are afraid. He started reprogramming the automatons, too. All twenty thousand of them.”

Mera rubbed the bridge of her nose. “We knew this would happen.”

“There’s more. He has a waterdragon. A giant, dead waterdragon that obeys his every command. I never thought I’d see…” His voice cracked. “He calls it Icefire. Your uncle put up a good fight, but when that creature belched waterblaze over the western quarter of the city, all was lost. We’re lucky it didn’t follow us here.”

Mera’s throat knotted, and she fought the tears that pricked her eyes. She couldn’t tell why she was certain Icefire was her waterdragon; she simply knew.

Professor Currenter patted her shoulder softly. “What I’m about to do next will not be easy, little fry, and for that, I’m sorry.”

Her forehead crinkled. “What is it?”

“You have noticed I do not age like a normal waterbreaker.”

“Yeah. I figured you used an anti-aging spell. It’s not uncommon on land. Ruth looked sixty, but she was almost two hundred years old.”

“Quite right, in a way. It was a spell at first, but after such a long time, I suppose it’s become a part of me.” Sighing deeply, he set both hands behind his back. “I was a child at the time of the Great War. This makes me the oldest living creature in this world, after Poseidon—if ‘living’ even applies to him.”

“Almost two thousand years?” Pursing her mouth, she whistled. “That’s a fine anti-aging spell.”

His lips formed a sad smile. “My house on land was attacked during the war. Most of my family died, and I was severely injured, until someone healed me. Someone with black runes tattooed everywhere on his body. To this day, I don’t know what he did to me. I don’t think he knows it, either. Fact is, as long as he lives, I cannot die.”

Still processing what he’d just confessed, she gawked at him. “But you’ve aged.”

“I have, so very slowly. I still have decades ahead of me, but what might happen after that…” He shrugged. “Maybe I’ll regenerate. Maybe I’ll walk this earth as a pile of bones.”

“I’m so sorry. We’ll figure it out, I promise.”

“That’s not why I’m telling you this, little fry. You see, due to my condition, I have crowned every Wavestorm who sat on the throne after the Great War.” Taking her hand gently, he bit his lower lip. “I’m terribly sorry, but there is no other way.”

“Oh, no! You are the crown prince. You’re next—”

“I’m not, and you know it.” Never letting go of her hand, he dropped to one knee.

“Get up!” she begged, but he didn’t move. “Please don’t do this.”

All waterbreakers around the port followed his cue. Even Belinda stopped what she was doing, and knelt with a proud smile stamped on her face.

No, no, no…

Bast and Corvus exchanged one amused glance before they too got to one knee. The nightlings in the port followed after them.

“What are you doing?” Mera whispered to the professor, her lips quivering, fear and dread spreading in her chest. “I’m not ready. I don’t want to turn into her.”

“Don’t fear, little fry,” the professor offered kindly. “You’re not Ariella’s daughter. You’re Mera Maurea, first of your name, citizen of Tagrad and heir to Barrimond Wavestorm. And I hereby declare you Queen of Atlantea.”