Royal Heiress (8 page)

They left the room and walked down the empty
hallway.

When they passed by a set of stairs that went
up, Katherine stopped her. “Do you think he’s waiting up there for
you?”

“Maybe. Let’s check it out.”

They climbed the steps, Katherine’s boots
tapping along the way. Maybe she should have worn the same shoes
Amanda did. At least hers were quiet. As they neared the top, she
heard two people talking in the room at the very top. They peered
over the remaining steps and saw two men in blue uniforms.

“I don’t care what any other country thinks,”
one of them said. “Atlantis belongs to the United States. We
arrived here first.”

“Yeah, but I think the other nations will
want a piece of this incredible technology,” the older man said.
“It could mean war.”

“So what? We’re the strongest nation in the
world. Our military power is too great for anyone else. The
technology in this place is amazing, and we’ve just scratched the
surface. This will strengthen us for sure.”

“China’s on the way. They are growing in
numbers and military might. And don’t forget Russia. The last thing
we need is a bomb to be thrown on us.”

“Which is why it’s crucial we claim this city
first. We don’t have any weapons that can compare to the things
I’ve seen here. This place even comes with a protective shield so
invaders can’t harm it.”

“I don’t know. I have a bad feeling about all
of this.”

“Well, it’s not up to us to make the final
call. Our job is to follow orders.”

Katherine motioned for Amanda to go back down
the stairs. As soon as they were out of the two men’s hearing
range, Katherine whispered, “The United States is where Mom lived
before she went to Raz.”

“I know. We’ve heard all about her past.”

“I guess what we do now is go down the steps
and keep on searching for the Infer.”

“Do you think it’s safe to let the other
people know we’re here?”

As if to answer her question, a man in a
similar blue uniform saw them as he left one of the rooms along the
hallway. “Hey, how did you get here?” he demanded.

By the expression on his face, Katherine
could tell he wasn’t happy to see them.

“We could ask you the same thing,” Amanda
responded, her hands on her hips.

Katherine quickly took out the Book of Spells
from her pocket, which enlarged in her hands, and flipped through
it. The last thing she needed was her sister acting brave when it
was bound to make things worse.

“Who are you?” the man insisted, not deterred
by Amanda’s words.

“I am the Queen of Raz. I have every right to
be here.” She scanned him up and down with a critical eye. “What
about you? Who are you?”

“A member of the United States Air Force, and
I don’t tolerate a bunch of lies, even if they do come from a
beautiful woman.”

“Oh, you really think I’m beautiful?” She
grinned at his compliment.

His expression immediately turned soft. “I do
have eyes,” he joked.

She giggled. “You’re good looking as
well.”

“Have you seen a man called an Infer? He’s
supposed to be wearing all white,” Katherine interjected.

“No. The only people authorized to be here
are military personnel.”

Katherine sighed. She was afraid of that.

“Look, I don’t want to harm you two,” he
said. “It’s just not safe for you to be here. The best thing you
can do is get out of this city as soon as you can. I’m assuming you
have a safe way to get out of here since you got here without
anyone noticing you.”

“Yes, we can easily disappear,” Amanda said.
“But we have some important business to do before we can. Do you
know where the replacement Olympians are located?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Is that a code? Are
you spies?”

Noting the change in his demeanor, Katherine
decided it was time to use the spell she found in her book. After
she used it, he froze, unable to say anything or move.

“Good.” Katherine turned to Amanda. “Come on.
Let’s get out of here.”

“Why? We have nothing to hide,” Amanda
argued, ready to unfreeze him.

Katherine grabbed her hand and led her to the
stairs that would take them down to the entrance. “It’s not safe.
He thinks we’re the enemy. These military people aren’t our
friends. We need to find the Infer. He’ll know what to do.”

Amanda seemed ready to protest but
nodded.

Katherine was glad that, for once, Amanda was
taking her seriously. They raced down the stairs as fast as they
could.

“Did you freeze him permanently?” Amanda
asked.

“No. He’ll be unfrozen in a few minutes. I
just needed to buy us some time.”

“Stop! Who’s up there?” another military
officer called up at them.

Katherine groaned when she realized several
military officials were looking up at them from the bottom of the
long stairs.

“We need to get out of here,” Amanda
whispered.

“Freeze, or we’ll shoot,” a woman in a
military uniform yelled at them, producing her gun.

Amanda grabbed Katherine’s shoulder, and the
next thing Katherine knew, they were outside of the building.
Katherine gasped when she realized there were more military
personnel surrounding them.

Before anyone noticed them, a pair of hands
grabbed the two women and pulled them into a secluded alley.
Katherine was ready to scream when she noticed the two men weren’t
wearing uniforms. In fact, one was wearing all white.

“Are you the Infer I’m supposed to meet
here?” Amanda whispered.

Katherine marveled that her sister could
remain so calm under pressure. Perhaps that was why she was picked
to be the queen.

“Yes,” the man in white replied. “You’re
Queen Amanda. I recognize you from your image in the mirror.”

“It’s not safe to be out here,” the
dark-haired man said.

“He’s right. I know a safe place where we can
go,” the man in white, who her parents had referred to as Pallid,
replied.

They started following Pallid when someone
behind them yelled and started shooting at them. They ran around
several buildings before it became apparent the military officials
weren’t going to lose them.

“Amanda, can’t you do something?” Katherine
finally asked. What good was being the Queen of Raz if she didn’t
use her ability to help them?

“Right,” Amanda cheered, as if suddenly
remembering her powers as queen. “Quickly, grab hands.”

The men obeyed, not taking time to question
the oddity of her statement. Katherine caught sight of all the guns
aimed at them and closed her eyes. If she was going to get shot,
she didn’t want to see it.

Amanda said, “Take us to safety.”

At once, it grew silent.

Relieved, Katherine opened her eyes. But they
weren’t alone. They were surrounded by even more people. The only
difference was these weren’t the ones who’d just been chasing them.
These people, in fact, looked nothing like the ones they’d been
running from. These people were very beautiful and pristinely
dressed.

“You took us into the past,” Pallid spoke
up.

“This is what Atlantis was like before it
sank into the ocean?” the other man asked.

Pallid nodded. “Isn’t it splendid? Everything
is just as I remember it.”

“I don’t think we’re properly dressed,”
Amanda said. “We should do what we can to fit in.” She used her
magic to change their clothes.

Katherine glanced at her dark green dress
with gold sandals, impressed that Amanda thought enough of her to
put her in something attractive. Amanda smoothed her light pink
dress and sighed in satisfaction. Pallid remained in his clothes,
but Jake now wore a dark blue suit with dark blue sandals.

“Okay. So now we fit in,” Jake said. “What do
we do now? Shouldn’t we go back to the future so we can save
Earth?”

Pallid gazed silently at the people laughing
and talking around him. “I had wished for this for many centuries,
and I’m finally back. It’s amazing.”

“Send us back,” Katherine told Amanda.

Amanda shook her head. “It’s not safe to go
back yet. I requested to be taken to a safe place. And right now,
this is it.”

“Are we stuck here forever?” Jake asked, not
looking pleased with the idea.

“No. Just until it’s safe for us to go back.
At that time, the magic I used will transport us back to the
correct time.”

Katherine took a deep breath, understanding
that Amanda’s plan was a good one after all. “We probably won’t be
here for long.”

“In the meantime, we should enjoy ourselves,”
Pallid said, smiling widely. “This is a once in the lifetime
opportunity you don’t want to miss.”

Not sure if she would agree, Katherine joined
the others as they followed him into the busy city.

***

Present Day

Ivory Palace

Planet: Olympia

Zeus looked at Hera, Demeter, Hestia, Hades,
and Poseidon.

“Have you talked to an Augur?” Hades asked,
his dark mood even worse after hearing the news. “They were made to
protect us.”

“Hera and I did talk to Gaius, their current
leader,” Zeus said. “They said our replacements are forming as we
speak. It will take roughly seventy-two hours for them to be
complete.”

“Three days?” Demeter shivered despite the
warm breeze floating into the spacious ivory living room.

“That doesn’t give us much time to act,”
Hades sourly noted.

“We need Ares to help us design a plan of
attack,” Hera said. “We need to reach those replacements before
they wake up.”

“But how can we get into their protective
environments without the password?” Demeter wondered, now openly
shaking with fear.

“We need to find the Infer,” Zeus replied.
“There is one Infer still alive. He must have found another Stone
of Immortality and kept it.”

“That’s good news,” Poseidon said.
“Thankfully, ours wasn’t the only one hidden in the
Underworld.”

“I don’t recall a male Infer ever coming to
my domain,” Hades grumbled. “They would have had no need to live
down there.”

“He must have been in search of something,”
Hera replied. “Whatever the reason, he found the stone but
apparently never stopped by to see you.”

“I didn’t even know he was near my domain. In
hindsight, it’s a good thing he was or else there would be no hope
for us now.”

“Unfortunately, we never told the Infers
about our backup plan in case we didn’t make it out of Atlantis
alive.” Zeus sighed. “He may have the memory of the password, but
he doesn’t know what it’s for. That’s why we need to go there and
talk to him in case Queen Amanda doesn’t find him in time. The
Augurs said several nations on Earth are interested in ruling
Atlantis. There is bound to be a war.”

“They would never survive against our
replacements,” Hades said. “They have no idea what they’re up
against.”

“It’s worse than that,” Hera added. “This
will end up with everyone blowing each other up. That’s essentially
what happened on Atlantis the first time, except the rest of the
world wasn’t involved so the rest of the nations survived. The
people on Earth have become too connected.”

“The best answer is to destroy Atlantis once
and for all,” Zeus decided. “The people on Earth can’t handle the
technology there any more than we could.”

They glanced at each other and slowly nodded
in agreement. They would notify the Augurs of their decision.

“In the meantime, we will need Ares’
expertise in battle plans and Athena’s wisdom in not going
overboard with them. We can’t afford to mess this up,” Zeus
concluded.

Since the others agreed, Zeus went to get
Ares and Athena.

Chapter Nine

Thousands of years in the past

Atlantis

Pallid led Jake, Amanda, and Katherine
through the city, still excited to be back in the city he loved so
much. After all the time of feeling like a stranger in the world,
he finally felt complete.

This was the only place he could see himself
belonging to. If he could find a way to prevent Atlantis’ sinking
this time, then he might avoid having to destroy it altogether. The
possibility sent chills of anticipation down his spine. The future
wasn’t written yet. Just because Atlantis sank before, it didn’t
mean it had to sink again. Since his memory was perfect, he had the
advantage of recalling every mistake that led to Atlantis’ ill
fate.

He knew where he had to go. Avar was the one
who’d doomed Atlantis to the bottom of the ocean with his pride.
All Pallid had to do was eliminate Avar, and he could prevent the
war that ensued because of Avar’s rebellion against the leaders. As
his plan developed in his mind, he grew more confident that it
would work.

The first thing he had to do was find out
what day and year it was, but if he were to ask a citizen of
Atlantis, then he would look suspicious. Being an Infer, it would
be inappropriate to look as if he did not remember something as
simple as the date.

“Greetings, miss,” an attractive young man
spoke to Amanda.

Amanda and the others stopped. “Greetings,”
she replied.

“I don’t recall seeing you before.” He smiled
as he looked her up and down. “Are you new here?”

“Yes. You could say that,” she carefully
responded. She returned his smile and ran her fingers through her
long blonde hair.

Pallid tried not to roll his eyes at her
obvious flirtation. Subtlety wasn’t her strong point, and the man
would be sure to take advantage of that. She was too innocent for
her own good. She had no idea what the men in this city would love
to do to her.

“I can always show you around,” the man
offered. “That is, if your companion doesn’t mind.”

“My companion?”

“Yes. Not the Infer, but the other one.
You’re intimate with him, I assume.”