Strangers in Atlantis Read online

  “Technically, Seaborne wasn’t either,” Ronan said. “He was a spy for the—”

  “Ronan,” Dean said. “Things are complicated enough already, don’t you think?” He turned to Gentleman Jim. “How is it you don’t know any of this? What did they do to you?”

  Gentleman Jim sighed and rubbed his forehead like he had a migraine. “It wasn’t anything they did. I came down here this way.”

  “Without your memory?” Ronan said.

  Gentleman Jim nodded. “Must have left it topside. Just don’t ask me where. I woke up three months ago on a ship full of strangers. When I looked in the mirror, the person I saw staring back at me was a stranger too.” He rapped his knuckles against his temple. “My head was empty, except for one name. Gentleman Jim Harper. I’ve been waiting—praying—for the rest to come back to me, but I’m starting to wonder if it ever will. Three months later, I still don’t know any more than I did that first morning.”

  “How does something like that even happen?” Ronan asked.

  “He took quite a blow when our ship went down,” Dean reminded Ronan.

  Gentleman Jim’s ears perked up. “Something hit me? What was it?”

  “The mast,” said Ronan. “A cannonball took it down. It swept the deck and sent you flying. If you hadn’t pushed the two of us clear first, it would have killed us.”

  “So it’s your fault I’m in this mess,” Gentleman Jim said with the trace of a joker’s grin.

  Ronan winced. He didn’t like hearing that, even in jest.

  “How did you end up here?” Dean asked.

  “Got lucky,” Gentleman Jim said. “By all rights, I should be dead already. I was found floating along on a few battered planks of wood. Must have drifted for days. A company of actors fished me out of the sea. They were booked to perform at Aquatica, and . . .”

  “We understand how you got here,” Waverly cut in. “We want to know how you got here.” She motioned to Gentleman Jim’s cell. “Did you kill Galen Fishback?”

  Gentleman Jim stiffened. “You three came all the way down here to ask me that?”

  “We came all the way down here to save you,” Ronan said. “Captain’s orders. No one gets left behind.”

  Gentleman Jim stroked his beard. He looked like he was about to speak further when the door swung open. Finneus walked in with an apologetic smile on his face. “I’m afraid your time is up,” he said. “I hope this reunion went as well as possible, given the circumstances?”

  “You didn’t tell us about his condition,” Dean said to Finneus.

  “I thought perhaps your visit might jog his memory. Any luck?”

  “None,” Ronan said.

  “I’m more interested in what he does remember,” Waverly said. “He still hasn’t told us. Did you kill Galen Fishback or not?”

  Gentleman Jim spread his arms. “That’s what I’m here for.”

  “That’s not a yes,” Dean said.

  Gentleman Jim locked eyes with Dean. “Fine, then. Yes. I did that.”

  “Why?” Finneus asked, sounding as skeptical as Dean and his friends.

  Gentleman Jim said nothing.

  “I told you he was a special brand of mystery,” Finneus complained.

  Ronan addressed Gentleman Jim once more. “You’re lying. I don’t know why you are . . . but you are.”

  Gentleman Jim shook his head. “You don’t know that. You don’t know me.”

  “More like you don’t know you. I know ya just fine.”

  Gentleman Jim rested a hand on Ronan’s shoulder. “I’m sorry . . . Ronan. You seem a good lad. I wish I could remember you, but I can’t. You should leave this place.”

  Ronan pushed Gentleman Jim’s hand away. “It doesn’t matter if you remember me or not. If you’re in trouble . . .”

  “If he’s in trouble?” Waverly said.

  Ronan leaned in close to Gentleman Jim and whispered, “I can’t just leave you here.”

  “Of course you can,” Gentleman Jim replied. “We’re strangers, you and I. The man you knew is gone. At this point, I don’t think he’s ever coming back. Go home, all of you. Forget about me. If it helps, you can consider that my final order.”

  Chapter 17

  A Friend in Need

  “Go home, he says. Go home!” The reunion with Gentleman Jim had left Ronan red-hot. “As if I had one! The only place I ever called home was his ship. He’s lost his bloody mind.”

  “Keep your voice down,” Dean said, shushing Ronan. “Are you trying to blow our cover?”

  “Yes, calm down,” Waverly agreed. “At least, try. Eat something.”

  The queen’s servants had prepared a sumptuous feast for the three of them. They sat alone in a great hall, before a dining table overflowing with food. A cornucopia of lobster claws, crab legs, oysters, clams, and shrimp had been spread out alongside tureens filled with hot butter and a large bowl of spicy red sauce.

  “How can you eat at a time like this?” Ronan said.

  “How can you not?” Dean said, taking a second helping of food. “I haven’t had anything since yesterday. I’m starving.”

  “And while you’re stuffing your face with shrimp, Gentleman Jim’s locked up in a cell!” Ronan pushed his plate away and got up from the table. The pleasure of finding his former captain alive had given way to bitter frustration.

  “I don’t know what we can do to help him,” Dean said discreetly. “We’re going to have a hard time proving his innocence if he keeps confessing to the crime.”

  “You’re assuming that he is innocent,” Waverly said.

  Ronan leaned over the table, steam coming out of his ears. “Mark me, and mark me well. He didn’t do this. He’s lying.”

  “Why would he lie about killing someone?”

  “Could be he’s protecting somebody,” Dean offered.

  “Or it could be he’s telling the truth,” Waverly said. “How do you know?”

  “We know him,” Ronan said.

  “That’s the problem,” Waverly countered. “He doesn’t. Maybe the Gentleman Jim you know isn’t a killer, but the man he is now . . . the stranger in that cell? He might very well be. You don’t know. You can’t know.”

  Ronan gripped the back of his chair. Dean was certain he was going to pick it up and smash it against the wall, but Ronan surprised him by slumping down instead. “I want to hit somebody, but there’s no one here to hit. I’m no good with this, Seaborne. Making plans is your bailiwick. What are we going to do?”

  “For now, we do nothing,” Waverly said before Dean could answer. “And that means no more talk about it. The queen is expecting a show. We have to give her one. After that, we’ll take our chests filled with treasure, use them to buy Verrick’s freedom, and be done with it. That’s it.”

  “I thought you didn’t like that plan,” Dean said.

  “I don’t,” Waverly said. “What I’d like to do is ask Finneus to send a battalion up to the surface and help us retake the Tideturner, but it’s too late to change our story now. And thanks to you two, we’re friends with the city’s most notorious criminal, which doesn’t help our image as performers. You realize he killed the one person in Atlantis who could have exposed the three of us as frauds . . .”

  Dean choked on a mouthful of lobster. He hadn’t even thought of that.

  “I don’t see another way forward,” Waverly continued. “We have to go through with this charade and hope that when it’s over, we can buy Skinner off.”

  “What about Gentleman Jim?” Ronan asked.

  Waverly looked at Ronan with pity in her eyes. “Ronan, I’m sorry. I know he meant a lot to you, and I know it pains you to lose him again, but he is lost. You said you wouldn’t believe this of him until you heard it from his lips. Now you have. What more do you need?”

  “I can’t leave him in that cell, Waverly. He won’t make it.”

  “Won’t make it?”

  “Put yourself in his position. Alone? Starin’ at that wall of w
ater, day after day? It’s enough to drive a man mad. We leave him here with no hope, no reason to go on . . . he won’t last a week.”

  “It’s not just his life at stake, Ronan. Verrick’s up there at the mercy of pirates, and they won’t think twice about killing him. He took our place as their hostage, yours and mine. Would you leave him to die?”

  The room was quiet. Ronan picked up a giant crab leg and gripped it until it snapped. He tossed away the cracked shell, still unable to eat.

  “You have to choose. We can’t save Gentleman Jim, but we can still save Verrick.” Waverly rose from the table. “There isn’t any time to waste. I’m going to ask Finneus if I can perform my act tonight. You two should be ready to go tomorrow at the latest.”

  Dean made a face like he’d just swallowed seawater.

  “What’s wrong?” Waverly asked.

  “You had to tell them I swim with sea serpents?”

  Waverly didn’t see the problem. “What? It’s nothing you haven’t done before.”

  “With one sea serpent in Zenhala, and I was lucky to survive the experience! What makes you think I can just do that anywhere, anytime?”

  “You told them we were daredevils. What was I supposed to say?”

  Dean frowned. Clearly, the girl who risked her life for fun on a regular basis was not the best person to share his concerns with. Waverly left the room without another word. Dean stared at the door she left through. The distance between the two of them seemed to be growing by the hour. He felt as powerless to close the gap as he was to help Gentleman Jim. On the other side of the table, Ronan had laid his head in his hands. Dean couldn’t think of anything to say that would make him feel any better, either.

  “Hard to believe everything that’s happened, these last few days.”

  Ronan looked up with weary eyes. “You can lay to that. How’d we end up in this mess?”

  “Doesn’t matter,” Dean said. “We’re here. In Atlantis,” he added, still in disbelief. “It’s funny. This is what we hoped for, the lot of us. Adventure. A chance to see the legends of the deep. I would’ve thought we’d enjoy it more.”

  Ronan laughed bitterly. “I hate to say it, but she’s right. We’re blasted lucky someone killed Galen Fishback. Otherwise, this caper would be over before it began.”

  “I don’t think that was her point, but you’re not wrong,” Dean said. “Someone did us a favor on that score.”

  Ronan drummed his fingers on the table, deep in thought. “I’m not leaving here without him, Seaborne. Don’t bother trying to convince me otherwise.”

  “I don’t think we have a choice. Verrick has two days to live, and today is half done. Not much time for us to play detective and clear Gentleman Jim’s name, is there?”

  “You’re right. There isn’t any time at all.”

  Dean squinted at Ronan. “So, what do you want to do?”

  “I’ll tell you what I don’t want to do. I don’t want to play detective. In fact, I don’t care if he did it or not.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me, Seaborne. I don’t care. It doesn’t change anything. Not a blasted thing.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I told you, I won’t leave him behind. Not again. I don’t want to clear his name. I want to break him out.” Ronan slapped Dean on the back. “And you’re going to help me do it.”

  stupid human tricks

  Chapter 18

  Opening Night Jitters

  Night had fallen in Atlantis. The crystal mountain range outside the city gave off a sleepy glow, but underneath the waterfall dome, excitement hung in the air. It was showtime at the palace.

  Queen Avenel’s castle sat at the head of a public square in the middle of the city. Dean, Ronan, and Waverly were there along with at least a thousand others, mermen and mermaids who filled the long rows of gallery seats provided for the occasion. Half the city had turned out to see the famed human circus and witness the wonders of the surface world. Vendors roamed the stands, selling food and souvenirs. At the edge of the plaza, a band played loud, lively music while the audience waited for the show to begin. Children bounced eagerly in their seats, giggling and gawking at Dean, Ronan, and Waverly as if the trio were an odd zoological exhibit.

  At least they’re happy to see us, Dean thought. He longed to share the crowd’s enthusiasm, but the fates of Verrick and Gentleman Jim weighed on his mind like an anchor. Try as he might, he couldn’t see a way clear to saving both men. They weren’t the only ones in danger, either.

  “You’re sure you want to go through with this?” Dean asked Waverly.

  They were standing at the base of a tower that had been built in the middle of the square. A thin ladder ran up the side of the newly erected frame to a wooden plank high up in the air. If the masts of three ships had been stacked up, one on top of the other, they would have still fallen well short of the diving board’s height.

  “Waverly?” Dean asked again, pressing her for an answer.

  Waverly clutched at the collar of a robe she had on over her clothes and took a deep breath. That was it. She didn’t gulp, shiver, or shake. If Waverly was scared, she wasn’t going to show it. “Don’t worry about me,” she said. “You’ve got enough to worry about on your own, I think.”

  Dean scowled. She didn’t know the half of it. He had deliberately not told Waverly about Ronan’s desire to spring Gentleman Jim from prison.

  “How are you supposed to do any cliff-diving in this plaza?” Dean asked, changing the subject. “Aren’t we missing something?” He gestured to the open space below the diving board. There was no water at the landing spot, only an empty platform.

  “Not to worry,” Finneus called out. “If there’s one thing we never lack for in Atlantis, it’s water.” He arrived with Duke Shellheart and a contingent of soldiers, all of whom came from Neptune. “What do you think?” Finneus asked, waving to the vibrant crowd.

  “Quite a turnout,” Waverly said.

  “I expected nothing less,” Finneus replied.

  “I’m impressed you were able to put this evening together so quickly,” said the duke. “I expect you wanted to get a human back on stage as soon as possible. Helps to takes everyone’s mind off the one who was just on trial.”

  Finneus grimaced. “This group of performers will be more to your liking, I assure you. More to everyone’s liking.”

  The duke gave a dubious grunt. “The queen is expecting me.”

  Shellheart went to join Queen Avenel in her royal box. “Everyone’s a critic,” Finneus muttered as he left.

  Dean spied Captain Lyndra sitting next to the queen, looking every bit as fierce as he remembered. Lyndra’s personal guard, a squad of eight armored Abyssians, stood at attention nearby. Both she and the duke surrounded themselves exclusively with their own countrymen. It struck Dean that neither one of them seemed on board with the great experiment of Atlantis. Maybe in another hundred years, Dean thought.

  “It’s time,” Finneus announced to Waverly. “I’ll introduce you. It’s part of my duties as master of ceremonies this evening.”

  Waverly nodded. “I’m ready.”

  “Good luck. Not that you need it,” Finneus said with a wink.

  The crowd cheered as Finneus made his way over to the platform beneath the diving board. The evening’s entertainment was set to begin at last. The young lord’s voice came booming across the square, impossible to ignore.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! May I have your attention, please?” He was speaking into a large cone-shaped seashell that amplified his voice. Acting as the ringleader, he quieted the crowd in an instant.

  “Thank you, one and all. Thank you for coming tonight! It is our great pleasure, as always, to have you with us in Atlantis, shining jewel of the Mer-Realm. The court of Queen Avenel is proud to once again bring you the greatest show under the sea!”

  The crowd roared.

  “Many of you have come a long way to be with us this
evening, to experience the wonders of the surface world. And here in Atlantis, we do not disappoint.” He threw his own hand out, presenting Waverly to the assembled masses. “I give you the lovely and talented daredevil diver—the utterly fearless—Waverly Kray!”

  Waverly waved to the adoring crowd, sporting a one-piece swimsuit covered in silver and gold sequins for the festivities. Dean and Ronan joined the audience in applauding her. They were background players this evening.

  “Tonight, as part of an exclusive, limited-run engagement, London’s princess of peril will demonstrate the bravery and skill that separates her from other surface-dwellers, as she risks her life in a dive from one hundred feet in the air”—Finneus motioned to the diving tower—“into this pool of water.”

  Finneus pointed to a team of mermen who were carrying out a tank of water hardly bigger than a barrel. The crowd oohed and aahed.

  “That?” Dean said. “You’re diving into that?”

  The pool was not worthy of the name. Waverly went on smiling brightly, unfazed by its miniscule size. Dean realized she had known all about this little twist. She had already agreed to it.

  “Waverly, are you crazy? You can’t do this. It’s too dangerous.”

  She smirked. “You sound like my father.”

  “I’m serious,” Dean said.

  “So am I. You sound just like him.”

  “Are you trying to get yourself killed?” asked Ronan.

  “More like I’m trying to keep someone from getting killed. Now, wipe those terrified looks off your faces. This is supposed to be an act we do all the time.”

  Dean swallowed his pride and put on a wooden smile as Finneus rejoined them.

  “Shall we, my lady?” Finneus asked Waverly, offering his arm.

  “We shall.”

  Finneus helped Waverly up onto the first rung of the ladder and asked the audience to give her one more round of applause as she began her ascent. No two ways about it, Dean thought—Waverly did have a death wish. It was one thing to be daring, but this was plain crazy. Even if the water were deep enough to dive into—which it wasn’t—the tank was still so tiny. Aiming for such a small mark from such a height allowed Waverly zero margin for error. She had to score an exact bull’s-eye. Anything less, and they’d be mopping her off the floor.