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Professor Wilson stayed
hidden behind the coils of rope until everything had been taken from the
ship. Once the crew was distracted he slid down the rope to the dock. “So
this is Atlantis. Well done, lads. Thank you for showing me the way. It
looks like the girl is not going to follow through on her part. I wonder
if I can call this Taygetus man forth. Maybe he’ll cut me in on his wealth
if I deliver him.” He glanced around. “Where did those brats go? I’ll sit
here and wait. I know they’ll be back.”
* * *
Mr. Wallace hid inside the
crew quarters until he saw Professor Wilson slip off the boat. He found a
place out of harm’s way. As he sat, he realized he couldn’t understand a
word that was being spoken. He glanced at the markings on the boat and
couldn’t decipher them either. “Where are Leith and those other children?
Leith, what have you gotten yourself into. Where am I? Is this Atlantis?”
He left the security of empty crates and climbed to the top of one of the
buildings. He saw the rings of water and the temple mount. “I am in
Atlantis. I’d recognize that scene anywhere. The Temple of Poseidon;
marvelous.”
* * *
Professor Wilson watched
as crates of fish were carried off the boats, but that’s not what caught
his attention. He saw emeralds, rubies, diamonds and other precious jewels
scattered through the crates of fish. The residents tossed them aside like
they were weeds. “Forget the kids. Why should I bother with them when I
can have all the jewels I want by hanging around the docks?” He picked up
as many as he could and stuffed them inside his pockets.
As people walked past, he
couldn’t understand their language, nor could he read any of the signs. He
also noticed their bright colored clothing and the strange shades of
blue-green and violet eyes. There was not one dark head to be seen
anywhere. “I’m out of place here. Time to find some extra clothing.” He
ambled down a lane, leading away from the dock.
* * *
Mr. Wallace shook his head
in disgust at the professor. “It’s amazing what greed will do.” He spotted
another stack of empty crates covered with a fishing net, sat behind them
and waited.
* * *
“These fish are for the
royal family. Catt sent us to deliver them,” Leith said. “He told us to
wait until we were paid.”
The guard, dressed in lime
green and bright yellow striped knickers, stepped forward. His plain lime
green shirt had an emblem on the pocket. He reached into his pants and
handed Leith a cloth bag. “The coins are inside. Don’t open it. Give it to
Catt and tell him if he’s late with his delivery again, we’ll find someone
else. He’s easily replaced.”
Paisley glanced at the
man’s black shoes. Her gaze wandered to his head. A lemon yellow hat sat
atop blond hair. She had to fight back laughter. “We’ll tell him,” she
said, grabbing Leith. They ran off.
“We took too long
delivering the fish and almost got Catt in trouble,” Duncan said. “Should
we look in the bag? I’d love to see what’s inside.”
“We’ll see soon enough.
Catt said he’d pay us for delivering the fish. Let’s not mention that we
dilly dallied.” Paisley stared at the temple. “I want to come back here
and sneak inside. This whole place will be destroyed in a day or two. I
want to see it while it’s still here.”
Instead of walking, they
ran back to the docks. Catt stood waiting for them. “What took you? I’ve
got things to do. Where’s the payment?” Leith handed him the cloth bag,
which he pulled open. “Here you go. There’s a candol for each of you.” He
tossed them a coin, flipping them high into the air. “You’d better catch
them or they’ll roll down the dock into the canal.” He laughed at the kids
running around, chasing their candols. “Come back tomorrow at the same
time and you can earn the same amount for the same work.”
* * *
Mr. Wallace watched Catt
torment his son and the others, but stayed hidden. “They’ll be coming back
tomorrow. I think I’ll use this free time to see a bit of Atlantis. I’ll
have to trust my son. I hope his foolishness doesn’t get us all killed.”
Once they were out of sight, Mr. Wallace strolled down the docks towards
the first bridge.
* * *
“I don’t know about the
rest of you, but I’m hungry. I wonder what Atlanteans eat. It looks like
there are a lot of inns lining the Uverlu Canal. If there are inns, there
will be food,” Leith said.
“I’m so starving I could
eat a hundred crabs,” Fraser said.
They walked towards the
marketplace. Vendor’s stalls were set up every few feet with colorful
displays of fruits, vegetables, seafood, breads, pastries, and other
things they didn’t recognize.
“I know what I’m buying
with my candol,” Murray said.
“Since we all have
different tastes, let’s separate, buy what we want and meet right here in
ten minutes,” Paisley said. “Leith, do you want to stay with me?”
Leith grinned. “Sure.” The
others chuckled and ran off to purchase the food. They strolled among the
different stalls, buying bread and a few cakes. “Look at that girl sitting
over there. She looks sad.”
“How can you tell? She’s
not crying.” Paisley stopped and stared at the girl. A single braid of
light brown hair hung down her back. Violet eyes sparkled like amethysts.
Her legs were pulled up to her chin. Without saying another word, Paisley
marched over to the girl. She handed her a cake. “Would you like this? You
look like you’re hungry.”
The girl raised her head.
“I’m not hungry really, but thanks.” She took a bite and then shoved the
entire cake into her mouth.
“My name’s Paisley. Do you
live here?”
“Yes. My house isn’t too
far. My mother and I live in Meloni, as do most of the residents of
Atlas. I like to come here and watch the people buying things. It’s
exciting. My name is Millei. Do you want to sit with me?”
Paisley sat. “Leith, why
don’t you go and buy us some fruit while I talk to Millei.” Leith shrugged
his shoulders and headed for the stalls. “My friends and I are visiting
our Uncle Catt. He’s a fisherman.” Paisley lied.
“Would you like me to show
you around? Your uncle must be busy. Fishermen are always busy.” Millei
stood. “Are you alone, just with that boy?”
“No. I’m with a few of my
cousins,” Paisley said.
“Where are they?”
“They’ll be here in a few
minutes. They went off to buy something to eat. I’m sure we’d all love to
see Atlas.”
“Catt is everyone’s
uncle?” Millei scratched her knee when a bug landed on it.
“Um, right. We’re all
cousins, but we’re friends though too.” Much to Paisley’s relief she saw
the lads running towards her. “Here they are.”
“Do they speak with a
funny accent like you do?”
“The place we’re from is
called Scotland. It’s on another part of the island.” I hope she believes
that.
“I’ve never heard of
Scotland, but I don’t pay much attention to things around here. I want to
be an explorer when I grow up and leave Atlantis forever,” Millei said.
“Why? It seems perfect
here,” Paisley said.
“It used to be, hundreds
of years ago. It’s not any more. There’s a lot of crime and everyone is
greedy and mean.” Millei cleared her throat.
“Hi. I’m Duncan. Who are
you?” He rushed up to the girl standing next to Paisley.
“I’m Millei.”
“I’m Sandy. This is
Fraser, Leith, Murray and of course, Duncan. You know Paisley.”
“She’s offered to show us
around; take us on a tour. That sounds fun, doesn’t it lads. I told her
Uncle Catt doesn’t expect us until tonight.” Paisley glared at the others,
hoping they’d catch on to the deception.
“Right. Uncle Catt. He’s
not expecting us till this evening for supper,” Murray said.
“Where would you like to
go first? There are libraries, observatories, art museums and things like
that. Any preference?” Millei glanced at the boys.
“How about the Temple
Mount? I want to see what the temple looks like,” Paisley said.
“You must be joking. They
won’t let anyone in there. It’s heavily guarded,” Millei said.
“Oh right; by your lemon
drop guards,” Paisley said, laughing to herself. “I don’t mean to be rude,
but those guard outfits are sort of wild and crazy, aren’t they? I’m used
to guards wearing armor and dark colors to make us afraid, not dressed up
like a lollipop.”
“The Queen designed those
outfits herself. The guards have no choice.” Millei burst out laughing
too. “I’m sorry. I think they’re ridiculous too. You should see how she
dresses her sons, the royal princes, Apollis, and Poseenos. They look like
pink clouds.”
“She dresses boys in
pink?” Sandy gasped. “Poor lads.”
“I think we’d better stick
to some of the places I mentioned before. There’s a museum not too far.
Follow me.” Millei led them through narrow streets and around buildings
covered in slabs of gold and silver and bejeweled with sparkling gems.
“Do all the houses look
this fancy?” Fraser wanted to touch each one. “Nobody has houses like this
where we come from. They’re all made of bricks.”
“Atlas is a rich city.
Nobody is poor here. In fact nobody is poor anywhere in Atlantis.” After
several hours of sightseeing, Millie suggested they return to her house
for refreshment. “This is where I live.”
“Whoa! Holy cow! This is
probably the fanciest house of all. Are your parents filthy rich?”
Fraser’s eyes glowed with envy.
“I only live with my
mother. My father died in one of the battles with the Athenians. I was
only one year old. I can’t even remember him.” Millei sighed.
“I’m sorry to hear that,”
Paisley said. “Is your mother nice?”
“Not to me.” A scowl
crossed her face.
“Millei, do you know
anyone at all in Atlas who practices wizardry?” Leith asked when he saw a
glass ball sitting on a table.
“Why do you ask that?”
Millei’s eyebrows arched towards her nose in anger.
Before she could answer, a
thin, gangly woman with long white hair walked into the room. “Millei, why
don’t you introduce me to your friends.”
“Mother Norindal, this is
Paisley, Leith, Sandy, Fraser, Duncan and Murray. They’re visiting their
uncle. He’s a fisherman. I’ve been showing them around Atlas.” Millei
looked at the ground as she spoke.
“If you’re going to be a
guest in my home, do not touch anything; do not get fishy smell on my
furniture; do not eat all my food, and do not go anywhere unless Millei is
with you. Do you understand?” Norindal snarled. They nodded, too afraid to
speak. “Millei, I am going to a meeting. I’ll be back in three hours. You
can feed yourself supper. Don’t make a mess, or you’ll get the whip taken
to your backside. Do you understand?” Millei nodded. “Everyone understands
then?” She slammed the door on her way out.
The lads and Paisley
stared at Millei. “I hate her. She’s a horrible person. To answer your
question, my mother practices wizardry. I am forbidden to speak to anyone
about it.”
“I’m sorry,” Paisley said,
hugging Millei. “Will you help us?”
“I’ll do anything as long
as you promise when you leave you take me with you.” Millei felt tears
trickle down her cheeks. “Your uncle can fit me on his boat too, can’t he?
I’ll live anywhere, as long as it’s away from my mother.”
“I promise,” Paisley said.
Millei took them from room to room. They found
Norindal’s cape and other wizardry tools, such as wands, powdered animals,
and books of magic spells.
“It’s her. It has to be her. She’s the one,” Fraser
said to the others.
“I agree,” Leith said. “Millei, we have something to
tell you. You probably won’t believe us, but it’s true.”
Millei glanced at Paisley. “What is it?”
“I’ll tell her,” Paisley said. “Come and sit with me,
Millei. Why don’t you lads go through the house and whatever you think we
might need, take, if that’s all right with Millei.” Millei smiled.
While the others searched for things, Paisley
explained everything to Millei. “So you see, Millei, we have two days
left. Today is almost done, so we’ve got tomorrow and that’s it. On August
8th Atlantis will be destroyed completely.”
“You are from the future? Wow. That is strange. Do you
have to kill my mother? I mean, I hate her, but she is my mother.” Millei
wept.
“We’re not going to kill her. We just have to make
sure she doesn’t get on the boats. In fact we need to get to the boats and
make sure we talk to the Captains and warn them. Your mother must not
leave here.” Paisley squeezed Millei’s hand.
Millei wiped the tears away. “All right. I’ll help
you, but you promised you’d take me with you. I hate my mother and I hate
living in Atlantis.”
“How did your mother get so rich, Millei?” Leith sat
next to her.
“My father was a wealthy man. He was an admiral in the
Royal Navy of Atlantis. He died in battle. Didn’t I tell you that?” Millei
shook her head.
“I hate to tell you this, but he didn’t die that way.
Your mother told you that because she killed him.” Leith pulled a book
from behind his back. “It seems your mother has written down everything
she’s ever done in her journal, including killing your father for his
money. She lied to you and told you he’d died in battle.”
“What?” Millei jumped up.
“Your mother, Norindal, is a wizard. She’s evil. She
and King Mason work together to spread evil. Your mother paid him money if
he’d build a huge naval fleet. She is the one who influenced him to forbid
anyone but a native Atlanteans to live here. There’s one more thing.
Paisley told you we come from the future. We know history. We know what is
going to happen. Your mother escapes on one of the ships and leaves you
behind to die. That is why we came back in time, to change history so that
she doesn’t leave and you do.” Leith opened the book and showed Millei the
page about her father. “After she leaves here she goes to Iona, meets
someone in nobility and has another child, a son, Sephan. It’s through him
that Taygetus is born.”
“She killed my father! I will have a brother? She
leaves me behind to die? I hate her. How do you know all of this?”
“I studied some books from
our library. We have a grand collection of ancient books,” Leith said. I
also found this in the Azores. Some men had been diving and brought this
back.” He pulled out two goblets. “This is the one I brought from the
Azores and this is the same goblet. It belongs to Norindal. One is from
the future; one is from the present, but both are the same object. I can’t
take your mother’s goblet with me because archeologists need to find it in
the future to help prove Atlantis really existed. In our time everyone
thinks Atlantis is just a make-believe place.”
“This is all so strange.
It sounds like we’ve got work to do. Leave the goblets here then. You want
to get into the palace? I know a secret way.” Millei’s courage burst out
of her. “I’ll help you any way I can.”
“Thanks, Millei,” Leith said. “Without yours and
Paisley’s courage, we couldn’t do any of this. Thank you both.”
Millei opened the front door. “Stay close.” She led
them to Entioch Bridge.
“I think we should split up. Some of us need to go
find the ships that are preparing to leave. There’s a seer who foretells
the future and he’s seen the destruction of Atlantis. He is preparing to
go. We need to make sure he takes the books and other important things.
I’ll take Sandy, Fraser and Duncan with me,” Leith said. “We’ll head to
the docks and find the seer. Paisley, you, Murray and Millei go to the
Temple Mount.”
“But I want to go to the temple,” Fraser said.
“Me too,” Sandy said.
“You’re coming with me. This isn’t a sight seeing
trip. This is life and death. Go on, Paisley. Do what you need to do.
Watch out for Murray.” Leith grabbed Sandy’s arm. “I need you with me.”
“All right.” Leith and the
lads ran back the way they came and disappeared among the houses. |
