Secrets of the Deep (11 page)

Then he went off by himself to explore while Maddox stood stationed at their landing spot to offer a hand as the others began climbing out into the sunken temple, one by one.

CHAPTER 5

Devil of the Deep Blue Sea

A
t about that same time, high up in the schoolroom chamber in a pink tower atop the Coral Palace, Sapphira closed her eyes and concentrated on her song.

Like their cousins the sirens, all mermaids wielded power in their voices, but it was a difficult piece, rising and falling like the waves, and it required hours of practice.

Of course, it was a great honor to have been chosen to perform the ancient ceremonial chant this year, opening the annual Assembly of the Sea Kings. But the Hymn to the Moon had to be performed with reverence and precision. Neither of which were really her forte.

Professor Pomodori listened intently, making sure she was pronouncing every line with the correct inflection.

She hoped she’d get it right by September.

Representatives from all the kingdoms and royal families of the merfolk would be present at the annual congress, and this was the first time Sapphira would be old enough to join the adults there. Pro-Pom had warned her they’d all be watching her closely, as the future queen of Poseidonia. For now, she was mainly expected to behave herself and watch and listen and learn.

Until the big event, to be held at summer’s end off the coast of Easter Island, her tutor had a whole list of subjects she had to brush up on: protocol, languages, the latest political situations, and a review of major current events in all the great nations throughout the Seven Seas.

Her father’s realm was just one small kingdom out of many, after all. But she was determined to make her homeland look good by her performance, and if at all possible—though it probably wasn’t—to make her father proud.

For once, Sapphira didn’t mind. Ever since that strange day by Calypso Deep, her rebellious attitude had changed. She had been thinking a lot lately about Atlantis and how it pertained to her own responsibilities as the future queen of her country.

If a whole empire could sink itself through its own mismanagement, then maybe
she
had better get serious and start putting a little more effort into her studies.

Professor Pomodori had been pleasantly surprised that she had not ditched her lessons in nearly a month. She trained harder than ever with Tyndaris, and went daily to attend her father in the throne room.

Watching King Nereus, she took notes on how her father handled his courtiers and all their scheming factions; how he decided on decrees, or determined how to allot the kingdom’s resources, and finessed the many matters of state clamoring for his attention.

Her new focus on her duty pleased the adults around her, but her little sister was puzzled by it and even a bit suspicious.

No matter. The reasons for Sapphira’s change of attitude remained her own. After all, she wasn’t allowed to talk about what had happened.

But the truth was, the whole incident with the orb had sobered her about her future responsibilities. As crown princess, one day she’d be responsible for her entire country. She had always known this, of course, but somehow it had never fully sunk in till now.

And that was why she had decided to keep the orb.

As pleased as her tutor was about her new dedication to her studies, she doubted Pro-Pom would’ve been very happy if he knew she had never followed his instructions and thrown it back into the Calypso Deep.

Why should she? Once the old merman’s hysteria over the thing had faded, such a move seemed irresponsible, in the cold light of reason.

If the orb was really as powerful as her tutor claimed—and her abilities as leader were as questionable as Father had long predicted—then maybe she might need it someday.

A little extra ace up her sleeve to give her an edge in dealing with the kingdom’s rivals and enemies when she was queen. The Atlanteans were known to have possessed very advanced learning and science. Who knew what else the orb might be able to do to make her people’s lives better?

Oh, it was still safe, of course, hidden away in her secret place. She went to the sunken temple to see it every now and then, making sure it was still undisturbed.

It didn’t take long to realize that, clearly, Pro-Pom had exaggerated the threat. Plus, no one knew she had it. She’d never told a soul, not even Tyndaris. And, true to his word, her tutor had never mentioned it again, simply assuming she had done as he’d ordered.

Frankly, Sapphira was pleased with her decision. A smart leader used whatever advantages fell into her lap. Especially secret ones. She had learned enough about ruling to know that much, at least.

“Boo!” Once again, Lil popped out from behind a chair when Sapphira was halfway through the Hymn to the Moon.

The younger princess had been clowning around the whole time, trying to make Sapphira laugh so she’d mess up her song.

Sapphira refused to look at her, annoyed, but told herself this was actually good practice. When the time came for her to stand up before an amphitheater full of very important merfolk, including her father and all his fellow sea kings, she was sure to be a ball of nerves.

Lil’s antics were forcing her to learn the song all the better, so she could not be distracted when the big day arrived.

As she drew out the old melody’s final, haunting note, Pro-Pom started clapping. “Well done, Your Highness!”

Sapphira grinned. “Really?”

“I thought you sounded like a humpback whale,” Lil declared.

“I’d like to see you try it, Barnacle,” she retorted, tugging on one of her sister’s golden braids.

“I think that’s enough for toda—” their tutor started, when all of a sudden, a reverberating blast thundered through the city, rocked the royal palace, and shook the room where they were working.

Instantly, muffled yells, shouts, and distant screams reached them from outside.

“What was that?” Lil cried.

Sapphira had reached out instinctively to protect her little sister, steadying her with one hand while holding onto the table with the other. She glanced at Pro-Pom in alarm. “Earthquake?”

“I-I don’t know.” He righted his spectacles, which had been jolted sideways by the blast.

The room was still rumbling when a pod of dolphins came racing up to the small round window in the coral wall. They were too big to swim through it, so Sapphira rushed over to ask what was happening.

The four dolphins squeaked and clicked rapidly at her in alarm, but they were so agitated it was hard to make out what they were saying. They had been on a beach, playing with some human girl, they said—but then their wild chirpings became incoherent. They swam off toward the palace gates as another blast boomed across the city.

“What the devil’s going on?” her tutor exclaimed.

Heart pounding, Sapphira looked out the window only to find Lil’s little seahorse pony, Wallace, gliding up to the opening. He poked his head in to see if his owner was all right.

“Wallace!” Lil raced over beside Sapphira and reached through the window to pat his nose. “Good boy, what’s happening out there? If it’s an earthquake, you’d better stay safe.”

But Sapphira drew in her breath as she spotted the source of the explosions. “Look!”

She pointed.

A black, eerie ship with tattered sails was drifting over the city—not on the surface like normal vessels—but hovering midway down the water column, moving as it willed.

Its underwater cannons were still bubbling, having just delivered the broadsides that had rattled the citizens’ teeth in their heads.

“What
is
that?” Lil whispered.

Peering over Sapphira’s shoulder, Pro-Pom gasped. “The
Flying Dutchman
!”

“Oh, boy!” Lil cried eagerly. “You mean Captain Davy Jones has come here, to Poseidonia? He’s a legend!”

“Not the good kind, though.” Sapphira turned uneasily to her tutor. “What’s he doing here?”

Unfortunately, the moment the words left her lips, she realized she already knew the answer…and her blood ran cold.

No…it can’t be.
The orb?!

But hadn’t Pro-Pom warned her what would happen?
“That thing cannot stay here. It’s too dangerous. It’ll lure every would-be tyrant in the Seven Seas…”

Jones certainly qualified. He had a crew of half-shark mutants recruited from among the souls of drowned sailors he was cursed to collect. They said his cannons could shoot Greek fire on underwater foes, while he kept normal gunpowder for enemies above the surface.

He had full range of all the Seven Seas due to his function, and he was not the sort anyone wanted for an enemy.

Her heart began thumping. She suddenly felt queasy. Turning away in shock, she barely heard her tutor mumbling, “I don’t see too much damage down there. Maybe Captain Jones is just trying to get everyone’s attention.”

“Well, he’s certainly succeeded at that,” Lil said. “Don’t worry, Wallace. He’s trouble, all right, but whatever he wants, I’m sure it’s got nothing to do with us.”

Sapphira knew better.

Her stomach was in knots as she watched a squadron of palace mer-guards hurrying out to counter Jones’s infamous forces and keep order in the frightened city. She was relieved not to see Tyndaris among them; as the chief royal bodyguard, he must stay next to Father.

All the while, the pirate’s monstrous half-shark crewmates came pouring out of his ghastly ship, leaping over the sides of the dire vessel and swimming toward the palace.

Sapphira hid her terror as she finally found her voice. “Stay here,” she ordered. “I need to find out what’s going on.”

“I’m coming with you!”

“No! Stay back, Liliana! It’s too dangerous.”

Lil scowled. “I’m not afraid!”

“Stay,” Sapphira ordered, brooking no disobedience. Then she left their classroom with Professor Pomodori hurrying along beside her. “Has he ever come here before?”

“It’s been decades since he called at the palace.”

“Liliana, I said stay back!” Sapphira suddenly shouted, noticing her little sister following her from the corner of her eye.

“You can’t tell me what to do!” the little princess shouted, swimming right behind them.

“His crew will give you nightmares!”

“I’m not a baby! I want to see Papa.” Lil folded her arms across her chest with a full-on stubborn-princess glare.

Sapphira rolled her eyes and hurried on. In short order, she arrived at the throne room.

“Your Highness!” Standing next to her father, Tyndaris looked over and glared when he saw her. “You shouldn’t be here!”

Both were in the midst of giving orders: the king to his advisers, the commander to his soldiers.

“What’s all this about?” Sapphira demanded, ignoring the order, and praying she was wrong—that there was some other explanation.

“It seems we have a visitor,” King Nereus growled.

“Professor, please take the princesses away. For Your Highnesses’ own safety, you girls return to your quarters,” said Tyndaris.

“Take
her
somewhere safe,” Sapphira objected, “but this is something I’ll need to deal with someday when I am queen. It won’t do, hiding from it.”

Tyndaris cast her father an imploring glance. “Sire?”

The king looked over at his daughters and hesitated.

Before he could give an answer about whether or not Sapphira could stay, the shark men arrived and blocked the exits from the throne room.

Oh, they were hideous, she thought. A mockery of the beautiful merfolk. Originally wicked sailors who had drowned at sea, they had managed to stave off eternal damnation by agreeing to crew for Davy Jones.

But they then became as cursed as their captain. He was doomed to gather drowned souls of bad men forever, while they became monstrous blends with the arms, legs, and torsos of men, but the heads and tails, fins or tentacles of various shark species or some other aquatic creature.

“How dare you enter this palace without the proper protocol?” Spear in hand, Tyndaris swam angrily toward them, putting himself between them and the royal family.

His subordinates did the same, spears bristling.

“Settle your fins, friend,” a gruff voice ordered.

The leering, black-eyed shark men parted to admit their captain.

Liliana let out a small gasp when he entered. Sapphira put her arm around her sister as the dread captain of the
Flying Dutchman
swaggered into their midst.

Davy Jones was younger than she had expected—not an old man, but maybe about thirty, with slightly bluish-tinted skin, a short devil’s beard, and wild black hair that floated about his head when he swept off his tricorn hat.

Striding into the throne room on human-style legs, his feet encased in black knee boots, he cut a flamboyant figure, his long, dark pirate coat flowing out behind him.

He wore a cutlass on his hip, a flask around his neck, and a ruthless gleam in his blue-black eyes. When he walked, he rattled the bones in his skull-shaped dice box, as if out of habit.

No human sailor wanted to lose a bet with him—like his shark-mates had, over the centuries.

“Pardon this intrusion, my fine fish folk,” Jones said in a loud voice. “Let me state my business and I’ll be on my way, just as soon as I get what I came for.”

“And what’s that, Captain?” King Nereus folded his massive arms across his chest.

“Oh, I think you’re well aware, Majesty,” Jones said with a glint of dangerous charm.

King Nereus just looked at him, waiting for him to explain himself.

Oh, no,
thought Sapphira. Father didn’t know anything about it.

“Well, I want the Atlantean orb, of course, King! And I ain’t leavin’ till I have it.”

Father’s shaggy eyebrows drew together. “Come again?”

“The Atlantean orb, Nereus. Don’t play games. The whole watery world knows you found one of them rare baubles and have it in your possession. Well, I want it. Now.”