Captive of the Deep (8 page)

Lyra began counting his words in her head instead of listening to them.
Five… fifteen… fifty two…

“Lyra.”

Lyra stiffened at the sound of Rigel’s voice. There was a hard edge to his tone. Mimicking the sound, she said, “Rigel.”

The show of attitude must have gotten his attention because he softened his voice. “I have been searching for you.”

“I’ve been showing her the artifacts,” Aidan answered. “I had hoped to get to her recollections about the surface as soon as we are finished with the tour.”

“That is fine,” Rigel said. “I will come back for her later.”

Lyra frowned at the commanding tone in his voice. He looked at her as if he would go to her, but then turned and left. Giving her full attention to Aidan, she said, “So, what is it you want to know?”

“Everything,” he stated.

Lyra felt a tiny knot of dread in her stomach at the enthusiasm in that one word. Soon the emotion was founded as the man continued.

“I think we should start with every exact detail you remember of geography. I have an old map drawn out that we can go off of. Then, perhaps advancements in science, medicine, politics, avionics, astronomy, geology, music, books—you must absolutely sing and recite every song and book you remember. You might think that you’ll never forget, but after a hundred years down here the ditties don’t come as readily as you might think. Oh, and we must have a full description of clothing, food, sanitation, industrial…”

* * * * *

Rigel felt his brothers towering behind him. For a long moment, only the steady, insistent drip of water on stone marked the passing of time. He knew they waited for him to step into the room first, but he wasn’t sure he could. If he saw Nemus it would signify the end of their search. While their brother was lost in the sea, there was still hope.

“Perhaps they are wrong,” Brutus said. Rigel glanced back. The black of his eyes gleamed with silver as the light hit them. He had pulled his long black hair back from his face, letting it lay long against his back. His brooding expression matched Demon’s.

“They are not.” Demon sounded resigned. “The scientists would not make such a mistake. They would only come to us if they were sure.” When his brothers didn’t move, he pushed past them into the laboratory cell. His action prompted Rigel to move. As all three brothers came into the cell, they turned their attention to the floor. It had been a long time, centuries, since they had seen Nemus, but the memory they carried of him was still strong.

Rigel could no longer hear the sound of Nemus’s voice in his head, or remember the exact look of his features beyond the representations they had of him on file. The transparent figure, curled in a ball at their feel, did not remind him of family. Yet, here was Nemus, their brother.

Rigel studied the scylla’s face, seeing a familiar shape to his nose and angle of his chin. Translucent skin was as slippery as the ocean, damp from a near eternity in the water. The room smelled of the ocean, of deep abyss salt and the muddy sand of the drifts. The blue of veins had already begun to show inside the watery shell. Soon, other organs would appear. Now they were just strange shifts of perception, like a jellyfish trapped in water beneath the clear flesh. When he stared into his brother’s chest, he saw a fluttering movement where his heart would be.

“Nemus?” Brutus asked.

“Is he awake?” Demon frowned, leaning over to touch the scylla. His hand slid over Nemus’s leg.

“I do not think so,” Rigel answered. He too kneeled to feel the icy smooth skin. “He does not move.”

“I do not like seeing the scylla like this. It reminds me of living ice,” Brutus said.

“And soon he will melt,” Demon added.

Rigel might not like the prognosis, but knew it to be the most likely of outcomes. “Nemus? Can you hear us? Do you remember Atlantes? Do you remember your family? I am Rigel, your brother. We are all your brothers. We have come to welcome you home.”

Nemus jerked, coming to sudden life. He thrashed on the floor like a seafin out of water, bucking and sliding on the stone. A horrific yell escaped his mouth, the sound hoarse. Rigel and Demon jerked back.

Three scientists ran into the room. Gregor pulled at Demon’s arm. “Let us tend to him. You can visit again later.” He ushered the brothers out so they could try to help Nemus.

“I do not need to come back,” Brutus stated. “That is not our brother. Not anymore. I have said my goodbyes to him centuries ago. Nothing of Nemus remains in that creature.”

 
“Perhaps,” Demon added, not openly agreeing or disagreeing with his twin.

“No matter what he’s become, he is and will always be our brother,” Rigel said. He thought of Lyra and her family, of what his brother had done to them. A pain gripped his heart and choked his throat, making it hard to breathe. Nemus was his brother and he loved him. But, he also loved Lyra. She might not want to hear it, but he loved her.

“Perhaps,” Demon said after a long pause. “Perhaps.”

* * * * *

“I swear it’s true,” Lyra said, repeating the same sentence she’d been forced to utter after Aidan’s show of amazement. “There is such a thing as an underwater assault rifle. It uses steel darts instead of bullets and the barrels are constructed differently. It is more powerful that the underwater pistol, but the pistol is easier to maneuver.”

Aidan grinned as she scribbled notes in his little parchment book. “What else? What else?”

“My knowledge of weapons is pretty limited,” Lyra said, glancing down at the long list of items Aidan had laid out for her. “I suppose science is next. When oil spills, they have an oil-eating bacterium that they can use. The scientist, Chakrabarty, patented the micro-organism. I believe, and don’t quote me on this, that this was the first patent granted for a live man-made organism.”

“Live man-made organism,” Aidan repeated softly as he wrote.

“Ok, I’m done for the day. My brain is about to explode,” Lyra lied. In fact, she was tired of thinking of the surface world. Her brother Will had been the one to tell her about Chakrabarty. He’d worked to clean up an oil spill. Kristopher had worked on an oil tanker and teased his ‘hippy brother’, though in truth he had loved animals more than any one of them. Kris was the one who taught her how to dive and how to shoot an underwater assault rifle. She still wasn’t sure how legal that outing had been.

“Lady Lyra?”

Lyra blinked at the quizzical voice. She hadn’t been listening. Aidan motioned toward the door.

“I have come for you,” Rigel said.

Her heart skipped a little when she looked at him, but she quickly hid the reaction. Saying a quick farewell to Aidan, she moved to follow Rigel. The early morning adventure started to catch up to her and she yawned.

“Did you have a pleasant day with Aidan?” he asked.

“It was very informative. He had a lot to say about your people,” she said.

“Oh?” Rigel stopped walking.

Lyra chuckled, teasing, “You should be scared.”

“I have reason to fear what Aidan said?” He looked as if he would turn back to confront the man.

“No,” Lyra grabbed his arm, laughing harder. He reluctantly let her pull him behind her. “I was making a joke. Never mind. I guess you have to be a surface person to get the humor.”

“My fear amuses you?” He pulled away from her. “I do not need to be from the surface world to understand this.”

“I—?” she began, confused.

“Go to our home. I must seek audience with the king.” Rigel turned abruptly away and left her to stare after him.

“It was just a saying,” she whispered, stunned. Too tired to chase him down and a little worried Aidan would find her alone in the hall and start quizzing her again on the surface world, she hurried back to Rigel’s apartment. Between what she had seen and what she had learned, Lyra had lot to think about it.

* * * * *

“After Nemus is no more, I would like permission to take Lady Lyra to the north.” Rigel stood before the king in his chambers, not pausing for the normal niceties of conversation.

“She still has not adjusted?” The king frowned, dropping the silken cloth he studied. He motioned to the seamstress to leave them alone.

“She,” Rigel paused, thinking of how best to word his complaint. “She does not understand the Merr ways. It is my wish to train her before I unleash her on the populace.”

“A very diplomatic answer, Rigel,” the king said. He chuckled. “I might have to be careful, lest you come after my crown. I always thought you had the makings of a leader in you.”

“I am honored, but I have no wish to be king.”

“Are you sure? For some days I grow weary of the crown. When I took its weight, I never imagined I would be forced to carry it for all eternity. Or, if I did, I was foolish and young and did not understand the breadth of the decision.” Lucius gestured to the side in dismissal, as if such dreams were merely a waste of time and not worth considering for they could never be.

“Birth decided your fate, not mortal decision.” Rigel tapped his hand impatiently, thinking of Nemus, thinking of Lyra, thinking of his honor.

“So it did. And now fate has decided to give you a stubborn ward and a long lost brother.” Nodding, the king added, “You have my permission. Take her north to the mountains. I do not like the reports I hear of her behavior in the palace. When she is not forcing her silence on us, she is screaming at you. I would not have her besmirching the honor of one of my greatest hunters.
 
That is, I would assume, the real reason you wish to take her, so her words cannot be heard again resounding throughout the dining hall?”

Rigel stiffly nodded, remembering her comments as to his killing her brother. Whether this is what she truly felt in her heart or not, it is what she said aloud. The fact that the king was aware of this as well stung his honor.

“You are an honorable man, Rigel. Her words will not change my opinion of you, but yes I think you should take her away.”

Rigel nodded again and moved to go.

“Oh, and Rigel, I am truly sorry to hear of your brother. The ocean is a cruel mistress.” The king didn’t bother with false hope, or wishes to see Nemus well again, as he turned his attention once more to the project before him.

“Hello there, Mr. Sensitive, feeling better?” Lyra glanced up when Rigel entered, expecting him to be alone. He wasn’t. Behind Rigel stood two very tall, very brooding men. By the look of them they were twins, by the size of them they were formidable, by the expressions on their face they were not amused by her words.

“Lyra,” Rigel stated, his tone dark, “do you remember my brothers? They were there when we pulled you from the ocean.” He pointed his thumb over one shoulder without looking. “This is Demon.” He pointed at the other. “And Brutus.”

Lyra forced herself to stand from the low couch. “Forgive me, but no, I don’t. Those first moments were a big of a blur.” Even as she said it, she got a flash of silver eyes in the water and a large black tail shining in a hint of light coming from inside the crystal caves where they entered Altaran.

Brutus arched a brow and she realized she’d been staring at his face. Without preamble he said, “There is no need to cast your eyes at me, my lady. I am not interested in a wife.”

“I—” she gasped. Rigel stiffened. “But, I wasn’t… I, ah…”

Suddenly Demon and Brutus began to laugh. Their expressions changed to instant boyish amusement. They both slapped Rigel on the back as they walked into his home. Without waiting to be asked, they went toward the kitchen to help themselves to food. There wasn’t much, but that didn’t stop their searching.

“Funny,” Lyra mumbled sarcastically.

The twins laughed between themselves, talking in a half-language only they seemed to understand. Rigel sat beside Lyra on the couch.

“My words earlier were not meant to be insulting,” Lyra said quietly. She felt her body pull towards him. All doubts and fears and anger seemed to melt out of her when he was near, erasing her unease and filling her with something else, something much deeper than she wanted to look into.

She couldn’t look at him as she stared forward. She felt the presence of his brothers behind them.
 
A hand brushed her thigh, a light gesture but one that held her complete attention. Nerves bundled in her stomach and she had the distinct impression of being fifteen again about to be asked by an older boy to the prom. The nerves, the excitement, the girlish tingle, they all welled insider her and her breath caught in her throat, even as he heart hammered in her chest.

Lyra tried to think of all the things she should, the logical things that would stop this strangeness inside her body. Why did it hit her now? All of a sudden on such an ordinary day on Altaran—as ordinary as a day under the ocean in a cursed city could be. In a room filled with the laughter Rigel’s jesting brothers?