Chapter Three

Chapter Three

NATE GARRETT

There were no sirens on the way through the ship. Although the sounds of tearing metal echoed around us, a result of the explosions that had been deeper inside the guts of the vessel.

Mordred's team met up with my original team inside what had once been a dancing hall of some kind, where the wooden floor made it easy for Tarron to make an elven realm gate. Carving the letters into the wood made for a more stable gate than just drawing them. And seeing how quickly the ship was currently being torn apart, stable was good.

Tarron was crouched on the floor, finishing up his realm gate, while Isis, Kase, and Irkalla were trying to keep several hundred passengers, prisoners, and crew calm, which was no mean feat in itself.

"I'm not sure what you did," Tarron said. "But this is bad."

"Poseidon," I said.

"He dead?" Kase asked.

I nodded.

"Good," Isis said as she walked over to me. "We need to leave."

"I second that idea," Remy said.

"Where are the rest of the prisoners?" I asked.

"Too many people to all go at once," Tarron said. "This is a second realm gate. I burned out the first gate down in the engine room. Sent about fifteen hundred people through to Shadow Falls in a little under an hour. Hence this second gate. Elven realm gates were not made to take so many so quickly."

"But it works, yes?" Chloe asked.

Tarron nodded. "We have a lot of dead to use for blood," he said. "But that much power probably didn't help the integrity of the ship."

Somewhere outside was a howl that belonged to something quite inhuman.

"What was that?" Zamek asked.

The windows to the ballroom exploded open and water poured in, causing several of the humans to scream in fear before the water remade itself as a young woman.

"Viv," I said. "Always a pleasure."

"I brought help," she said.

"Are we going to ride dolphins out of here?" Remy asked. "Because I would be okay with that."

"Ichthyocentaurs," she said. "There's a herd of them who have been following this ship for a while now. Apparently, they prey on sirens, and seeing how there are hundreds of those monsters here, the ichthyocentaurs have been having quite the feast. They're going to keep the sirens busy while we get everyone out of here."

There was an almighty creak, as if someone had opened a door that needed oiling, and everyone was silent as the noise reverberated around the room. A second later there was silence, followed immediately by the deafening sound of the ship being ripped apart from the inside.

The entire deck lifted up, and everyone slid along the room to the far end before the ship smashed back into the water.

"Tarron, does that thing work yet?" I shouted.

Tarron slammed his hands onto the wood, and the realm gate came to life.

"Everyone on there—now," Irkalla shouted at the humans, moving them all toward the realm gate as more and more awful sounds echoed through the room.

The ship listed, and several humans fell onto the realm gate, vanishing from view before they could be helped up. Hopefully whoever was in Shadow Falls—the destination for the gate—would be able to help out.

"Mordred, Viv, Isis—with me," I shouted. "We need to stop this ship from going over."

We all left the ballroom and made it outside as the ship began to list again.

"You got a plan?" Viv asked.

"We just need to give them time to get everyone through the gate," I said as we all ran along the side of the deck.

An ichthyocentaur leaped over the railing of the ship, its fish tail turning into the legs of a horse, matching the front legs. His long green hair swept over human shoulders. He clicked his lobsterlike claws.

"There are many sirens down there," he said to Viv. "The damage to the ship is total."

"How total?" Mordred asked.

"There's a hole in both sides of the lower decks, letting in water fast," he began. "Two propellers are all but gone, and there's a deep gash running under the stern of the ship that's about twenty meters long. At some point soon, this ship is going to split in two."

"Can you keep the sirens away from us?" I asked.

A siren leaped up onto the deck behind us and died a second later when I threw a bolt of lightning into its chest.

"Apart from that one, yes," the ichthyocentaur said calmly. "We have lost two of my brethren, but they have lost many more."

"That water looks a lot closer than it did when I last saw it," Mordred said, looking over the rail as the ichthyocentaur jumped over it to the ocean below.

The deck forty feet in front of us groaned and began to crack open, the wooden floor bursting as if something were trying to escape from within. I poured air magic out of my hands, wrapping it down the side of the ship and into the crack, flooding the inside of the ship with it, just as Isis and Mordred did the same. The ichthyocentaur and Viv jumped over the rail, and she turned to water before she hit the ocean.

The half of the ship we were on began to lift, and all three of us dropped to our knees but continued to pour magic into the wounded ship, trying to fill the gap.

"I don't think we're going to be able to do this long," Mordred said as sweat poured down his face.

"We're powerful, but not enough to hold hundreds of tons of ship together," Isis said.

I looked back at the front of the ship as it lifted further and further off the ocean. "You're right; we need a better plan," I said.

"Can you fly everyone off the ship?" Isis asked, clearly nearing exhaustion. Even sixty seconds of trying to keep a ship the size of the Harmony of Oceans in one piece was too much for the three of us. "Because I'm not sure we have a better plan."

Viv appeared beside us. "The stern is fucked," she said. "It's almost broken away from the bow, but when it fills, it will drag us all under."

"What's stopping it?" Mordred asked.

"The ichthyocentaurs are essentially water elementals," Viv said. "They're keeping it all together, but there's only so much they can do. A third of this ship is going to come apart, and then the rest will go down too. There's nothing any of us can do to stop it."

The ship listed again, and I wrapped myself in a shield of air as I was thrown across the deck into the outside wall of a medical room. The ship almost immediately listed back, and I dropped to my knees.

"How long do the ichthyocentaurs have before they can't do any more?"

"They're fighting the sirens and doing this," Viv said. "You have a few minutes at most."

"Mordred, Isis, get back to Tarron. We need to—" I was interrupted by the bow of the ship lifting high into the air.

I wrapped myself in magical air, anchoring me to the metal posts that were nearby as Isis and Mordred did the same. I dared to look back at the stern, the rear of which was now under water. The groaning increased from the pressure it applied on the fractures that had already been caused.

"We need to go," I shouted over the noise of the ship ripping itself apart.

Viv, who had vanished into water the second the bow had lifted, reappeared next to me. "Everyone is gone. Tarron is waiting on you three."

"Tell him to go," Mordred shouted. "We'll figure something out."

"You will die here," Viv said. "The ship will drag you underwater, and there's no escaping that in time. Not with the cold too. You're not elementals; you can't breathe underwater. Even Mordred, with his power to breathe anywhere, can't keep that up forever."

The ship was almost completely vertical when it snapped in two, the bow dropping back to the ocean with a huge crash that I felt through my entire body. Followed quickly by enough water to drench everything, even as high up as we were.

"Run," I shouted as the remains of the ship began to list to the side. It wouldn't be long before we were in the ocean.

No one needed to be told twice, and I saw dozens of ichthyocentaurs in the sea, firing jets of water at the side of the ship, trying to keep it upright for long enough to let us escape.

"Get the ichthyocentaurs out of here," I said to Viv as we reached the ballroom.

"You took long enough," Tarron said, getting back to his feet. He'd used two daggers to drive into the wood just outside the realm gate he'd made, giving himself something to hold on to while the ship destroyed itself.

"You coming?" Isis asked Viv.

"I'll see you all soon enough," she said. "I'm going to help the ichthyocentaurs finish this fight."

"Take care," I said as we all stepped into the realm gate and appeared in the realm of Shadow Falls a moment later.

"I do not wish to do that again," Tarron said.

"This realm gate pays for itself," Mordred said, hugging Tarron. "Have I ever told you how awesome you are?"

"I bet you say that to all the people who save your life," Tarron said with a small smile.

Mordred chuckled. "And you know what, my friend? It's always true."

The guards all around the cave that we found ourselves in looked more than a little shaken by what they'd seen. The elven realm gate was usually pretty quiet. They all bowed to Mordred, who sighed. I wasn't sure he was ever going to get used to that part of being king.

"Anyone want to tell us where all those people went?" I asked.

One of the guards pointed down toward the exit with his spear.

"You think Viv is okay?" Isis asked.

"She's one of the most powerful water elementals I've ever met," Mordred said. "She'll be fine."

I left the realm gate cavern with Mordred while Tarron set about deactivating the gate. It was unlikely that anyone was going to use a realm gate that was soon going to be on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, but better safe than sorry.

Outside the cavern, high above the city of Solomon in Shadow Falls, Isis, Mordred, and I stood in silence as we waited for one of the lifts to arrive to take us to the bottom of the mountain range that we were on.

"Did we at least learn anything of use?" Mordred asked.

I nodded. "We need to go see your council," I said to Mordred.

The lift arrived with Persephone and my mother, Brynhildr, on it.

"I was worried," Brynhildr said to me as we got onto the large lift and Persephone operated it, making it slowly move back down the mountain.

"It wasn't the most fun ever," I admitted. "We have news, though. Poseidon was there."

Persephone appeared shocked at the news. "Honestly, I thought he'd died centuries ago."

"He's dead now, if that helps," Mordred said.

I told them both what had happened on the ship. I was probably going to have to repeat the information half a dozen times before I was done, but I had a lot of pent-up frustration and wanted to vent.

When I'd finished, Brynhildr and Persephone shared an expression of resignation.

"I don't think the president is going to be a big problem," my mum said.

"Why?" Isis asked.

"Twelve hours ago, we got information that Gawain was on a civilian flight into the United States," Persephone said. "He landed in DC and went straight to the White House."

"We had a chat," I said. "Not sure how he got into this realm, though. Where did he fly from?"

"Egypt," my mum said.

"How the hell did he get to Egypt?" Mordred asked.

"We're looking into it," Persephone said. "But two hours ago, our allies in the American government arrested those senators and congresspeople who were helping Arthur. They went to the White House to arrest everyone there, including Gawain, and were met with resistance. The White House is in lockdown, but we've scrambled all communications entering and leaving."

"You can just go and arrest the president?" I asked. "Because that seems like something that takes a lot of time and effort."

"The president, no," Persephone said. "The people who work for him are somewhat easier. Besides, these are strange times."

"What's their endgame?" Mordred asked. "They said Gawain had to wait until midnight before the law could be signed. Why?"

"We need to go ask him," I said.

"My father would have a plan for such a contingency," Mordred said. "I would assume there's a realm gate inside the White House, but then why would Gawain fly in? No, it can't be that."

"Do they have access to launch codes?" Isis asked.

My mum nodded. "Yes, but we've been slowly taking control of all missile launch sites for the last year. Despite what Poseidon said, we've made sure that the military is clean of Avalon influence."

"Who do they answer to?" I asked.

"The vice president," Persephone said. "As strange as this sounds, she had no involvement with Arthur. She's been feeding us intel on her boss for the last year."

"Arthur needs America," Mordred said. "It's too wealthy to lose. He'll have a plan to make sure he doesn't lose control."

Persephone nodded. "Yes, he needs America, not just for its riches but also because of the amount of military here. He can't risk that falling into the hands of anyone else. Same with Russia. He's lost Germany and the UK already, and western Europe is removing Avalon influence. Canada, Mexico, large chunks of North Africa and South America aren't under Avalon influence either."

"China, Japan, and South Korea aren't far behind," Brynhildr said. "Arthur can't risk losing anyone else with the military clout he needs. If he controls America, Russia, eastern Europe, and big chunks of Africa and Asia still, he'll have enough to spread back out across the world. Just Russia and America under his control would be enough to cause serious problems worldwide."

"We beat him once; we can do it again," I said.

"I get the feeling that's why he's so keen on controlling the Earth realm," Isis said. "He wants the one thing he's been told he can't have. Like some spoiled little child."

"We have to trust that our allies across the globe are still fighting back," Mordred said. "We need to find Arthur and stop him from making things worse."

"So I guess we need to go to DC?" I said as the lift stopped.

"I'll get ready," Mordred said as we left the lift, heading toward the tramlines.

"It's not that simple," my mum said. "Right now we have the White House contained, but we can't have the king running off over there, helping to drag out the president of a country. We'll just be swapping one dictator for another. In fact, none of our people can do the dragging."

"So who does?" Isis asked as we entered one of the trams that traveled above the city of Solomon.

"The humans have to," Persephone said as the tram started.

I looked outside the window as the tram moved up the rails until it was at its peak height, a hundred feet above the city. Solomon had grown constantly in the years since I'd come back from the dead, so to speak. There had been a lot of refugees from Asgard and Valhalla and a lot more from the human cities in the Earth realm who had been driven from their homes by Avalon.

"You listening?" Persephone asked me.

I shook my head. "Sorry, the humans have to take President Reed alive and drag him out with all the rest of his cockroach friends in front of the world's cameras, yes?"

Persephone nodded.

"Human law enforcement, backed up by the government, yes?"

Another nod.

"Sounds like a plan," I said. "I'll go to DC and get people inside the building. It'll be up to the humans to sort it out from there."

"You need to see the council first," Persephone said.

"Sure thing," I said with a sigh. I'd been building up to a question I'd asked a hundred times in the last year, and a hundred times I'd heard nothing of any use. "Any idea about Tommy?"

Thomas Carpenter was my best friend, and a year ago he'd been taken by Merlin and Arthur before they'd destroyed Asgard. No one knew where he was or whether he was even alive. There had been neither hide nor hair of him in twelve months, and the only thing I could do was find Arthur and ask him personally.

"No," Persephone said.

"Gawain might know something," Isis said.

"And he's in DC," Mordred continued.

"Mordred, how would you feel about me asking your brother a few questions?" I asked him.

"My brother is a psychopath and mass murderer," Mordred said. "You can cut his fucking head off and use it as a football for all I care."

"There's an image I could have done without," Isis said as the tram stopped and we all got out before making the short journey to the palace.

I was halfway up the steps when I heard Mordred sigh.

"Still find it weird you live here?" I asked him.

"I have people who cook for me, Nate," he said. "I am not accustomed to the luxuries of having someone come make my bed for me. I had to stop that one. And also stop them from pouring my wine and opening doors for me. I can open my own damn doors."

"Do they announce your entrance?" Isis asked with a grin.

"Oh gods, what's that about?" Mordred exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

"When I was revered as a god, people would do things for me all the time," Isis said. "I once had a man burn my bed and carve me a new one from some wood I'd found. Just to see if he would do it. We were all assholes, drunk on our own power and believing our own mythologies. Don't do that. Don't act like you're above everyone else, or you will start to believe it. I was told from birth that I was better than everyone, and it took me a long time to realize it wasn't true."

"Well, I was pretty much ignored from birth," Mordred said. "It may have had an effect on me; who's to know?"

Isis smiled. "The best rulers are those who have it thrust upon them. People who seek power are usually not people you want having it."

We reached the top of the stairs, and two guards pulled open the doors, bowing to Mordred as we entered.

"I can't get them to stop doing that," Mordred complained. "I've asked nicely several times."

"I think that's one of those things you'll just have to get used to," I told him.

The five of us walked through the busy palace, with everyone bowing toward a frowning Mordred as he passed them, until we eventually reached the main hall, where two more guards opened the door and bellowed an announcement for King Mordred.

King Mordred sighed.

I tried very hard not to smile.

The main hall was full of people, and the sounds of their chatter stopped as Mordred walked into the room. A large wooden oval table sat in the middle of the room, and as Mordred entered, people began to take their seats on the multiple chairs that surrounded it.

"Your Majesty," an elderly woman said, taking his hand in hers. "It's good to see you unharmed."

"I got a bit wet," Mordred said. "But nothing too awful."

"Have you heard about DC?" Loki asked him. Loki was Hel's father, and he sat in the corner eating an apple.

Mordred walked over to Hel and kissed her hello before turning to Loki. "Yes," Mordred said. "Sorry, just happy that everyone got off the ship in one piece."

"We're all fine," Hel said. "We've got a few thousand new refugees to sort out. A lot of political prisoners that Avalon have taken."

"Avalon is responsible for so many deaths," Hades said from his seat. "Sometimes I wonder how we're ever going to heal the realms even when we've won."

Persephone walked over to her husband and kissed him on his bald head.

"Before we even think about winning, I'm going to need a team," I said. "To take to DC."

A few people shared nervous glances.

"Are you really the best person for the job?" a dwarf asked as he rubbed his large ginger beard. "No offense, but trouble appears to follow you."

"Well, trouble is already there, so I'm ahead of the curve," I said with a smile.

"You'll have your team," Olivia Carpenter told me.

She looked tired. Tired from helping to organize a resistance, tired from being a mum to a small bundle of never-ending energy, but mostly tired from spending every waking moment when she wasn't working worrying about Tommy. I knew it ate at her. Knowing he was out there somewhere but not knowing where. It was tough for her daughter, Kase, and Olivia's young son, Daniel, but Olivia was burning both ends of the candle. I understood. I'd been doing something similar, but I'd also had people to punch to let out my frustrations, while Olivia just added them to the ever-growing list.

I walked over and hugged her, feeling her sag against me. "You need rest," I whispered.

"I need my husband," she said. "Go home; be with Selene and Astrid. We'll come find you in a few hours."

"Business first," I said. I told everyone what had happened on the ship, and when they were done listening, they agreed with pretty much everything I wanted.

"Mordred can't go," Jinayca said. She was one of the Norse dwarves and had been a large part of the rebellion since its inception so many years ago. She was also one of the smartest people any of us knew, so when she spoke, everyone listened. "Sorry, you're a king now."

"And a king should lead," Mordred said sternly.

"Yes," Jinayca said. "And we need to stop Gawain, stop Avalon's plans for DC, and we need to find Atlantis. If you go to DC and involve yourself in matters there, we'll have to send a guard with you, and then we're putting everyone in one basket with no clear way forward afterward. We need to be proactive. Arthur and Avalon want us to react to everything they do, to keep us off balance. We can't win this way."

"And your plan is?" Hel asked.

"We need to find out how Gawain got into the Earth realm," she said. "I assume you have some contacts, Mordred."

Mordred nodded. "I have one or two, yes."

"A request from a king would be better than a request from me," Jinayca said.

"You want me to be more statesmanlike," Mordred said. He looked over at Hel.

"I agree with her," Hel told him. "Gawain would only try to get you involved in a fight you don't need to be involved in. We all go to DC, and then Arthur launches something else, and we're all there fighting. Jinayca is right."

Mordred nodded, but I knew how much he wanted to confront Gawain. "Right, let's figure out who is going where," Mordred said, leaning back in his chair. "Nate, go home and rest—that's an actual order. We'll get your team together. You have a few hours. See your wife and daughter."

There was no point in arguing; besides, I wanted to see my family, so I did as I was told and went to my home at the far end of the city. You could see the realm gate temple on top of the hill from where we lived. The four-story building looked like a Roman villa, something Leonardo had been keen on. He'd called it a touch of class for the classless, which Selene had found hysterical, and I'd tried not to tell him to piss off. I'd failed, but at least I'd tried.

There were guards posted outside my home, which didn't exactly make it look welcoming, but Mordred had insisted, so I'd gone along with it. To be fair, we were a few minutes' walk from the nearest neighbor, so it wasn't like they were going to terrify the locals.

One of the guards opened the large black metal gate and nodded to me. I returned the gesture as the door to the villa opened and Selene walked out, followed by a slowly tottering Astrid, who saw me and yelled until I picked her up. I gave Selene a kiss before we walked back inside.

"Whatever mission you're going to go on next, I'm coming," Selene told me as I closed the door.

"We get to go kill Gawain," I said, bopping Astrid on the nose and making her giggle.

"About fu—" She caught herself before she finished. "About fudging time," Selene said.