DESCENDANTS (THE DESCENDANTS SAGA) (3 page)

-5-

“S
ugoi, that boy she saw; he had powers didn’t he?” Asima asked.

Sugoi turned to face her as he spoke. “I sensed something I had never felt before, and yes, I assume it was the boy.”

Asima did not hesitate but made sure that he could hear by her tone that she demanded to know the truth.
“He’s the son of Aquarius and Aurora isn't he? The one said to be birthed of water and wind?”

“First of all, that is a wild presumption. Second, keep your voice down woman or else Mari will hear us.”

“Answer me Sugoi!” she demanded, completely ignoring his request.

“He could very well be….”

Before he could finish, she cut him off. “You were mad to bring her to the Surface! Not only has the sun activated her dormant power, but now she is shadowing his abilities. She was underwater tonight for well over an hour before I pulled her out! Do you know what this means Sugoi?” Asima paused so that he could take in the severity of his actions before she continued, “Your precious secret could have imploded on you. If she can shadow the son of Aquarius and Aurora, then one can assume she can shadow other gifted as well, maybe even Mari. What if she does that and Mari discovers you've been harboring an Elemental under her nose all these years?” Asima’s simple brown eyes were now alive with passion.

“Don't you think I know that? Mari already suspects something. I think she read the child's mind.” Once again his hand found its way to his collar. He pulled at it in hopes of relieving some of his tension. “It wasn’t my plan, but the opportunity presented itself. I couldn’t help testing the theory that she might have powers.” He rolled his eyes as he looked over her hardened face.  “Fret not, dear Asima, I took the necessary precautions. The child w
as bound. Even if she’
d wanted to, she could not have run or used any powers that
may
have been awakened.” His fists clenched firmly at his side as he paced back and forth in front of Asima. “I didn’t expect to run into another gifted. They usually don’t venture out in the open. I am not sure if he is who you say he is, but I definitely sensed power in him.”

“You risked her life just to test if she really had powers? I did not leave Atlanticus only to watch you take unnecessary risks now. You promised her safety when you asked me to leave my city and continue my job as her waiting maid. You asked me not to tell her of her past. You asked me to follow you into the depths of darkness. I lost everything serving this child. I will not have you ruin her now!” Asima’s body reflected the anger that rose in her, and she could sense the heat of her frustration flood into her cheeks.

“Enough! You should mind your mouth when you address me. Remember, I did you a favor when I spared your life.” He slammed his fist into the palm of his hand and snapped his attention back to Asima.  “It was my understanding that all the gifted, the spawns of the light, were in the custody of our allies, Phoebe and Coeus. I did not expect any of them to pose a problem. I will use my connections to check on the status of the others. Until then, do your job and watch her, or I will tell Mari the truth and let her have your head.”

“My job would have been a lot easier if you would have used
your head
and not brought the child to the Surface.”

-6-

S
ollara’s lungs were beginning to burn from holding her breath. She was afraid if she made any sound, even just to breathe, that the Lark would stop singing. Before yesterday she had never seen anything like
it
, and yet here she was again, waking up to the song of the Lark. 

She did not believe in coincidences and had a sneaking suspicion that it kept coming back for a reason. Finally, she was no longer able to hold off breathing, and to her relief, even when she gulped in air the bird did not move.

“Hello,” she said to the Lark.

The Lark cocked his head as if to acknowledge he understood. She chuckled to herself at the absurdity of talking to a bird. But the joy of having a new friend far outweighed any foolishness she felt.

“Your eyes are pretty. I did not know birds could have such blue eyes….” She paused to see if he would react before she continued. “Your eyes remind me of someone I saw yesterday on the Surface. I can imagine you have seen your share of masterful works, but even you would appreciate his beauty. He looked like a work of the gods.
He
stole my breath. Much like you did with your song this morning.” She teased him as she hopped out of bed, clutching her pillow and spun around the room p
retending
to dance with the blue-eyed boy.  If birds could laugh, that was the sound the Lark made.

“Oh, you think that’s funny do you?”

The Lark flapped his wings and bobbed his head side to side.

“Why are you here?” she asked. “No Surface dwelling creature has ventured this far underground for as long as I have lived. How did you get past the Hellhounds?”

The Lark ruffled his feathers as if to shudder at the mention of the Hellhounds.

“I know, those dogs scare me too,” she giggled. “I bet you have never seen anything like them.” Sollara tried her best to mimic the Hellhounds, but by the Lark’s quizzical look she realized her acting was not convincing.

“Mari created them to keep mortals from wandering down here. After all, she does have a little hobby of collecting gold and precious stones. She is obsessed with protecting her wealth.” Sollara walked over to her dresser, grabbing a handful of gems and spinning one of the stones between her fingers. “There was a time when rumors of her hidden treasure caused mortals to brave her wrath. They ventured down here in hopes of finding some. Mari doesn’t like to share, so she enlisted the Hellhounds to keep the mortals out. Personally, I find it rather amusing as we are so overrun with gold and precious stones. They are piled in corners of rooms and strung down the sides of the passageways. Did you see any of them?” The Lark put a wing over his head, and Sollara wasn’t sure what it meant so she continued her story.

“But one should give Mari credit, the Hellhounds are very effective, and since getting them we haven’t had anyone or anything from the
Surface make it down here…
until you!” She spun around the room, still holding tight to her pillow while she imagined the little bird braving the fierce beasts.

The Lark let out a low throaty sound. She
twisted
around and faced him. “Did you just say something to me? Can you sp
eak?” Yet no response was made
—
instead, the bird blinked his blue eyes as he watched her.

“Sorry, I guess I’
m so lonely that I imagined you spoke to me. I don't have any friends. Mari and Sugoi keep me from other people. I think they are ashamed that I am not gifted like Mari is,” she confessed.

Before Sollara could continue, she heard Asima trudging down the hall to her room. Sollara loved Asima dearly, but there was nothing delicate about her. Her heavy-footed walking was a sure sign that she was coming. It did, however, come in handy when Sollara was doing something she should not be.

“Lark, you have to leave now. It’s not safe. If Asima or anyone knows that you are down here, they will surely have you killed. Please go,” she pleaded. Relief filled her as she watched him heed her warning and fly to the crack in the wall. “Thank you for visiting me. It is nice to have a friend,” she called after him.

Asima did not stop and talk to Sollara as she normally did. She was driven by task on her
way to the kitchen. And when Asima rounded the hall, she saw Sugoi slip in unannounced to Mari's dressing room. He never entered her quarters without permission, as he knew not to cr
oss Mari. It was peculiar to Asima
why he would risk Mari’s wrath. She figured that something must have been important enough for him to do so. Letting her curiosity get the better of her, she snuck into the closet next to Mari's room so that she could listen to their conversation through the thin wooden wall.

Mari
religiously
studied her image in the mirror
as she brushed her hair
.
She paused, holding her brush midair.
“Sugoi, stop tiptoeing like an idiot and address me. This had better be good if you risk disturbing my private time.”

Mari seemed to know when someone was approaching. Sometimes the servants joked that she had eyes in the back of her head, a joke that they all secretly thought bore truth.

“Mari, I know you know about the girl. You have been avoiding me.” He flashed a weak smile. “Tell me what you know.”

That was not Sugoi’s usual manner. Although he was scared of Mari, they all were, he was normally so confident in his words. His lack of confidence then made Asima more worried than she would allow herself to admit.

“I know the child is an Elemental. I could taste the power in her blood. And I know you brought her to the Surface!” she snapped. Asima heard a crash and only assumed something was thrown at Sugoi.

“Sugoi, you stupid imbecile! Why didn’t you tell me you knew the girl was an Elemental?” Her words came with great effort as though she was physically exerting herself.

“Mari...my...love... please let... me... explain,” Sugoi said through labored breath.

By his difficulty speaking, Asima pictured Mari pinning him to the wall by his throat. She dearly wished she could be in the room with them and witness firsthand Sugoi getting what he deserved. Another large cracking sound resounded in the closet where she hid. And the wall that separated her from Mari’s room vibrated with the blow of a large object slamming into it.

When Sugoi started to speak his words were no longer restricted but came with ease. “Mari, I apologize that I did not tell you of her powers. I wasn’t sure of the extent of them until now. Sollara’s elemental side is strong
—
the sun was feeding her. I couldn't risk exposing her to you just to have you feast on her to exploit her youth.”

Before he could continue, Mari interrupted him.

“How dare you keep something like this from me! You know of our struggle to find a suitable replacement for our depleting supplies of ambrosia. We should have taken more ambrosia when we left the god forsaken Atlanticus. But we did not, and now when we run out I will age. Do you know what that means for us? If I grow old, I will get weak! I do not tolerate weakness! You know that an Elemental’s blood is a suitable replacement for the ambrosia. What would you have risked by telling me? Why care if the child dies?” She was so upset that her words were delivered with a deep tremor.

“Let us not make decision in haste. Think about it, Mari. We can use Sollara to get us back into Atlanticus and retrieve more ambrosia,” Sugoi reasoned, finding from somewhere inner confidence to challenge Mari. “Sollara is a gift from the gods. A bargaining tool so those damned Fates will let us back in. They cannot deny Sollara entrance; she is what they need to restore Atlanticus to its former glory. And the only way
I
will ever
allow her to
do so is with us seated on
the throne. Don’t you see Mari?
Atlanticus offers us so much more than these god forsaken caves!  There you will not have to worry about aging. It is all too perfect.”

“You and your obsession with Atlanticus! If I
knew that is what this was
about, I would never have agreed to keep that ghastly child!”

“I would have never been forced to leave my
home
if those like you did not try to feed on the Elementals in the first place!” Sugoi raised his voice in frustration.

“Oh
, you are such a moron,” Mari hissed. “The reason I aided in Atlanticus’ demise is because I hated it there. I much prefer ou
r new way of life. Humans are
easy to manipulate, to rule. You have not won me over, Sugoi. After the council meeting, two weeks hence, I will slit her throat! Her blood will run through my veins, and I will keep my youth forever! That is true power, true honor. Those damned Fates knew nothing about the way of life. Do you know what I intend to do? I will make Earth bow to me!”

“But Mari, you have not thought this through.”

“Do not question me Sugoi! If you want to be seated next to me for eternity, you had best hold your tongue, or I will share her blood with one who is more worthy. I am tired of looking on her face. She looks just like her mother. It makes bile rise in my throat every time I see her. This conversation is over. My mind is made!”

Before Sugoi could continue to argue with her, she was out the door and walking past the room in which Asima had hidden. Asima hoped that Mari would not find her eavesdropping. She held her breath and said an internal prayer, asking the Fates for safety. For if Mari found her, it would mean her life, and all hope of saving Sollara would die with Asima.

When she realized that Mari had not sensed her and had kept walking her course, Asima let out a sigh of relief. She had given up so much to be Sollara’s protector, and she wasn’t about to let Mari take Sollara from her now. Reaching down into her pocket, she let her hands fondle the crumpled piece of paper she had carried with her every day since coming to the Deep Kingdom. It was a prophecy that had cost her her family, a sacrifice she had knowingly made. Feeling its familiar creases and texture helped calm her rapidly beating heart. She repeated the words that had long since been rubbed from its surface. They were her last link to Atlanticus and her best friend, Luna.

“Two sisters, not from blood but by the bond of elements, will bear children. The first-born will be a male child gifted with the powers of water and sky. The next
,
a daughter of the sun. She will control its fire and harvest the powers of others. If the children bind their hearts in love, they will have the authority to obliterate the Dark Shadow that threatens to destroy life.”

As she finished her recital, a righteous anger pounded in her chest.
Her hatred for Mari gave her the courage to do what she knew was required of her. In it she had only one regret, she wouldn’
t be able to see Mari and Sugoi draw their last breaths before she died.