Ominous Odyssey (Overworld Chronicles Book 13) (33 page)

"Does the song affect everyone close enough to hear it?" Elyssa said.

Dolpha shook her head. "No, it can be modulated to affect only those you wish to affect."

"You keep saying song as in singular," I said. "Is there only one song?"

Dolpha seemed confused. "The song is what you make it. The song is life."

"That makes so much sense," Shelton said sarcastically. "Want me to sing out of my ass for you?"

Elyssa narrowed her eyes. "That's not productive, Shelton."

He threw up his hands. "Excuse me, but I'm terrified of losing my mind while Kaelissa has her way with us."

Adam smirked and tried to adjust his non-existent glasses. "You afraid she'll diddle your bum hole?"

"I'm a good-looking man," Shelton shot back. "Ain't no telling what she'll do."

Elyssa bit her lower lip and gave me a hopeless look. "I don't know what to do. We can't possibly evacuate the island, though I doubt Kaelissa will care much about Atlantis."

"I have never known war," Adonis said. "My people only know the tales of old. We are not equipped to stop an invasion."

"What about those big ships in the harbor?" I asked.

"They are not large enough to move our entire population," Adonis replied. "Even so, how would they make it through the storm wall?"

Our choices were boiling down to nothing. We couldn't stand and fight, but running away would leave Atlantis wide open to Kaelissa. Thomas had taught me that retreat was sometimes the only option, even if it meant giving up ground. We also had a responsibility to the people in Seraphina to make it out of here with news of Kaelissa's master plan.

I steeled my resolve and told the others what we had to do. "We have no way of defending Atlantis. Our only choice is to leave using the portal Kaelissa created to get in here and warn our people about the Siren threat."

"You mean to leave us undefended?" Adonis said.

"There's nothing we can do," I told him. "I suggest you surrender to her. Odds are she won't even care about Atlantis right now since she has her eyes set on a bigger goal."

"Yeah, world domination," Shelton grumbled.

Fingers mentally crossed, I turned to Dolpha. "We desperately need you. There's no way for us to stand against your sisters if you're not with us."

The Siren whispered in the ear of the sea dragon, and the great scaly beast whimpered. She made a sweeping motion with her hand. The dragon groaned and refused to move. Dolpha sighed and turned. "It appears Galla and I will be coming with you."

"Thank you," I said.

Shelton raised his hands. "Praise the lord!"

Dolpha frowned. "It is the only way I may save my sisters."

Adonis looked back and forth between me and the Siren. "I pray you are right about Kaelissa. For all I know she will slaughter us."

"Can you evacuate into the woods?" I said. "Maybe the Lyrolai can protect you."

"I have a better idea," Elyssa said. "Let's lead Kaelissa back through the portal to Seraphina. She has what she wants, so there's no reason for her to stick around."

It was risky, but at least it provided some safety for Atlantis. "Let's do it."

The island faded into view through the misty bubble around it. Dropping off Adonis with the Brightling ships so close behind would make for a tight window of escape. Even though the odds were three to one, I had faith the Mzodi were skilled enough to outmaneuver our pursuers.

Adam frowned at something on his phone and flicked the screen.

"Whatcha looking at?" Shelton asked him.

"Bloodstones," Adam said. "Even if we escape Voltis, we need to disable the bloodstones controlling the Sirens."

"It's too bad the Fallen weren't home," Shelton said. "I'll bet they know a thing or two about bloodstones."

"What if we use the bloodstone we have on Kaelissa?" I said.

Adam shook his head. "We don't even know how to do that yet."

In other words, we were hella screwed. The only option left to us would be killing Narine and Balaena—a solution Dolpha wouldn't accept.

"You look like you're having second thoughts," Elyssa said.

I bit my lower lip and tried to think of alternatives, but if we left, trying to get back inside Voltis would be almost impossible with this new Brightling fleet in the air. Buried somewhere inside their palace, the Fallen probably had a gem or diary filled with their secrets about the bloodstones. Even better, they might have information about the nodes they used to access Eden.

All our answers were here, but we had to beat back Kaelissa to buy the time needed to find them. The alternative was leading her back to Tarissa and trying to fight her with our army. Even with one Siren on our side, it would be extremely difficult to win that battle.

Shelton groaned. "We're not going back are we?"

"The Fallen have the answers to bloodstones and getting home." I met his eyes. "We have to beat Kaelissa here."

"I can tell you right now we won't win a direct confrontation." Elyssa tapped her chin and stared at Atlantis. "We need to resort to trickery."

I rubbed my hands together. "Ninja mode."

"There's another issue," Adam said. "That portal through Voltis won't last long without the device on the
Xanda
. We need to make sure we get our hands on it somehow."

Elyssa took out her arcphone and began tapping on the screen. "We still have three functional brooms, right?"

Shelton's forehead pinched. "Yeah."

"I might have a wheelbarrow around here too," I quipped.

Elyssa's lips spread into a wide smile. "I have an idea that could get us the portal generator, the Sirens, and get Kaelissa off our backs."

"Don't play with my heart," Shelton said. "I'm feeling really vulnerable right now."

Elyssa turned to Dolpha. "We need protection from the Siren song."

The Siren's inner eyelid flicked across her eye and retracted, almost like a nervous tic. "There is a way, but I must return to Pacifis."

Elyssa blinked. "Where?"

"The Siren city beneath the ocean." She touched the wing of her sea dragon. "Galla is well enough to take me there."

"How long will it take?" Elyssa asked.

"Not long." Dolpha slid easily onto Galla's back. "I will return and meet you in the harbor." The sea dragon dove gracefully over the railing and vanished into the waters with hardly a splash.

Elyssa grabbed my arm and headed for the ramp way. "Let's get the brooms. We have to be fast if this is going to work."

"I need to feed," I told her as we jogged down the ramp. "How are you feeling?"

"Bursting with energy," she said. "Take what you need."

"When we have a minute." I dashed into the cabin and grabbed the brooms and stopped Elyssa before she bolted away. "You seem awfully confident about our chances for success."

"That's because there's one major thing Kaelissa didn't consider when she captured the Sirens." Elyssa's lovely lips spread into a smile. "Hopefully we can use that to our advantage."

As she explained the plan to me on the way back above decks, I couldn't help but share some of her confidence. We had to have perfect timing, a lot of luck, and a rookie mistake by Kaelissa.

There was one huge "if" hanging on our gambit.
If
Elyssa's assumption about the Sirens was wrong, then Kaelissa would easily capture us, I'd probably lose my mind, and Seraphina would be doomed.

Saving the world really stressed me out.

Chapter 29

I finished feeding my inner demon and angel by the time the
Falcheen
reached the harbor and swooped in for a quick landing.

Adonis raced down the gangway toward the turtle pier. "We'll be ready," he shouted over his shoulder. "May the gods be with you."

"Which gods is he talking about?" Shelton said. "The Fallen? The old Greek gods?" He threw up his hands. "I just need to know who to pray to for this insane plan to work."

Elyssa handed each of us a broom. "Make sure they're working. We can't afford any glitches."

I flicked the runes on my broom and tested it out, taking a few practice circles around the ship while Elyssa and Shelton did the same.

Shelton got off his and frowned. "This one has some cracks in the handle." He tested the polished wood with his hands. "I think it'll be okay, but I can't get too crazy on it."

Adam appeared with a bulging satchel over his shoulder. He reached inside and withdrew several nets filled with small cylindrical casks the Mzodi used to keep food preserved. "There are three gem bombs for everyone."

I took one of the nets and slung it across my back like a paperboy satchel. "How do these things work?"

Adam took one and tapped on the gem sealed into the lid of a cask. "Twist the lid and the gem will start to glow. You have ten seconds to get rid of it before Kaboom!" He spread his hands like a mushroom cloud.

Galla burst from the ocean, salt water foaming and running from his scaly blue hide. Naked atop his back, Dolpha's skin looked smooth and gray like that of a dolphin's. Two long tail fins morphed back to human legs, and her diaphanous dress reappeared to cover her naked form.

"Whoa." Shelton's jaw hung open. "Man, these mermaids got it going on."

"These are Sirens," Adam said.

"Don't split hairs with me." Shelton backed up as the sea dragon alighted on the deck. Dolpha slid off and glided across to us without missing a beat.

She handed each of us necklaces of seaweed with intricately curved shells strung on them. I heard a faint sound emanating from within the shell on mine and held it up to my ear. An eerie but lovely melody of clashing disharmonies and a chorus of voices sent a calming warmth through my body.

"I have trapped the song of protection within these shells," Dolpha said. "Take care, for they will not last long."

"How long specifically?" Shelton asked. "Five minutes—an hour?"

"Perhaps an hour," she said, "though measures of mortal time often elude me."

"We'll be long dead or long gone by then," Elyssa said.

I spotted two black specks flanking a shimmering silver dot on the horizon. Kaelissa was nearly here. Dolpha raised her hands and sang out a single piercing note. Massive dorsal fins broke the surface of the sea about a hundred yards out. A tartha broke the surface and bellowed out a note in response.

Another great chorus sang out and thousands of seagulls funneled into the sky, swirling higher and spreading out above. More creatures rose from the deeps. Three smaller sea dragons, flocks of flying manta rays, and dolphins by the hundreds, leaping far into the air before diving back into the ocean.

Shelton's eyes grew wide at the massing armada of sea life. "Uh, can't the ships just keep out of range of them?"

"Not if they wish to see the island," Dolpha said. "The mist shield allows us to see out though they cannot see in."

The huge gong at the acropolis atop the mountain rang out and the ever-present mist around Atlantis thickened, a shimmering translucent bubble from the inside.

Adonis jogged down the dock followed by fifty men dressed in strange shiny cloth armor that looked like something out of a black and white sci-fi movie. They held silver tridents with aquamarine energy pulsating up the prongs and wore bizarre three-pronged helmets also glowing with energy.

"That armor doesn't look like it could stop a rusty spork," Shelton shouted at them.

Adonis slid a dagger from his sheath and stabbed himself in the stomach. The armor pulsated and rippled like water in a pond from the point of impact. "It is more than it seems."

Adam pushed up his imaginary glasses and whistled. "Water magic is really cool."

"I just hope they remember how to fight," Elyssa said.

I hopped on my broom. "Let's get into position."

Elyssa climbed into the saddle on her broom. "That's my line."

Shelton clapped Adam on the back. "If I die, tell Bella I looked like a total badass doing it, ok?"

Adam chuckled. "You'll be a legend by the time I finish the story."

Shelton secured the net with the bombs to his back and the three off us jetted off high into the sky. The seagulls gliding overhead spread apart to allow us through and then closed back up to conceal us.

"I hope bloodstones don't allow Kaelissa to read minds," Shelton said. "If she figures out what Sirens are capable of, we're screwed."

I shared his concerns, but there wasn't much else we could do. The deep basso of the great horn in the harbor rumbled once, twice, three times. Elyssa reached across the gap between our brooms and squeezed my hand three times.
I love you
.

I leaned over and kissed her long and hard. "I love you too."

"Where's my kiss?" Shelton said.

I blew him a kiss. "We love you too, Shelton."

He pretended to catch it and tucked it under his wide-brimmed hat. "I'm saving that for later."

We shared a laugh, and then the horn blew the fourth and final note. Our smiles faded with the somber realization that it was time. The plan was simple, but anything could go wrong. It all began with simply letting go.

We turned off our brooms and began to fall.

The seagulls screeched and dove before us, leaving just enough space between their collective body to see the decks of the three ships below. Shelton took out a gem bomb and the rest of us followed his lead.

Elyssa angled for the
Akata
, Shelton the
Ptarn
, and I aimed for the mothership herself, the
Xanda
. I spotted Narine and Balaena near the bridge, their dragons curled around the portal generator in the front. Golden blond locks blew in the wind—a beacon to Kaelissa where she stood between the two Sirens.

I could end it all right now.
One bomb would kill the Sirens and Kaelissa. Leaderless and without their secret weapon, the Brightlings would have to retreat. But I would kill two innocents to secure the peace.

Dolpha would never forgive me, but what if we failed? What if Kaelissa won this fight and took her prizes to Pjurna? Bloodstones were one thing, but the Sirens seemed capable of mind-control on a massive scale. I couldn't let her escape.