Gates of Neptune (3 page)

“No, Lord Necros, please, just listen to me. The plan I have will gain us control of Atlantis—and it will mean the death of the Seven Sleepers.”

Lord Necros leaned back on his throne, folded his hands together, and stared down at the Chief Interrogator. “And how are you going to perform these two miracles? You can't even catch seven children with all of your army!”

“But now we'll have them,” Elmas said quickly. “You see, lord, it has been obvious from the first that we could never take Atlantis by force. Our people could not compete with the Atlantians under the sea by military power. Since we cannot, my lord, take the city by force, it must be taken from within.”

“How do you propose to do that?”

For the first time, a trace of a smile and some assurance came to the face of the Interrogator. “One of the Atlantians has come over to our side.”

“One of the enemy? Who is he?”

“Duke Lenomar.”

Necros looked thoughtful, then demanded, “Is this true?”

“Yes, sire! He has gained the mind of Lord Aramis and clouded it so that the admiral obeys his commands.”

“Then, as you say, the plan has possibilities. Now—”
Necros held out one claw again so that Elmas flinched, expecting the pain to strike him again. But it did not come. Instead, Lord Necros said, “Two things you will accomplish. First, the kingdom of Atlantis must be conquered. We must control the sea, and we can only control the sea when Atlantis is in our power.”

“Yes, my lord, and the second thing?”

“As you have been told, the Sleepers must die. Somehow,” he said, sounding puzzled, “these young people are tied up with the fate of the world. Our kingdom cannot tolerate their existence. They are the servants of Goel, therefore they must die.”

“Yes, sire, I will see to it personally.”

Lord Necros looked hard at him and said softly, “See that you do, Chief Interrogator. For if you do not, you will make a trip to one of my torturers, and if you think
your
questioners are harsh, you will think much more highly of ours.”

Fear washed over Elmas. “My lord, it shall be done. Have I your leave to go and set the plan in motion?”

“Leave. And we will expect success, or you will meet a fate worse than death!”

J
osh paddled as fast as he could in pursuit of the young woman Jere, who always kept herself well ahead.

“It looks like she's just gliding through the water,” Sarah murmured. “I never saw anything like that. I know she's been sent by Goel, though.”

Josh dug his paddle into the water. “Like I say, she'd better be. Because if we're going into a trap, I don't see any way out of it.”

He put his strength into paddling and staying in the current. The river had broadened now, and although the ceiling was not quite so high, somehow he was not as frightened as before. The roar of the water had been the most terrifying of all.

For the next twenty minutes, they paddled. Finally Dave Cooper called back, “Look, I think there's light out there. See ahead of us?”

Sure enough, far ahead there seemed to be a pale flicker.

“Come on,” Dave yelled, “I want to get out of this place.”

Josh worked at keeping the boat in the middle of the stream. Dave was doing the same.

Then suddenly sunlight was filtering down, lighting the sides of the cave. And almost before Josh was ready, they shot out into the open, and the bright light blinded him.

Sarah put her hands over her eyes, crying out. Then she slowly removed them and looked around. “Why, look —we're at the ocean!”

Josh shaded his eyes. “It's some kind of a lagoon. But sure enough, that's ocean out there. Where's that girl?”

“Right over there,” Sarah answered. “See, she's beckoning for us to come. Hurry, Josh. Let's get over to where she is.”

Dave had seen the girl as well and turned his boat around. Soon both craft were drawn up on a white, sandy beach.

As the young people unloaded, Jake looked around, his brown eyes squinting against the bright sun. “You know, this looks like Hawaii. At least, it's got a beach like it. My folks took me there once.”

Abigail pouted. “Well, we got out of that old cave anyway.” She moved closer and held onto Dave's arm. “I wouldn't go back in that cave for anything in the world.” She looked up at him with her beautiful eyes and fluttered her long lashes. “I think you did just wonderfully to get us out of there, Dave.”

Standing a few feet away, Josh glared at Abigail and muttered under his breath, “I guess he had a little help.” But when he caught Sarah's warning shake of the head, he stepped forward and said, “Well, Jere, is this the place?”

“Yes, it is.” She waved her arm. “We're here and ready for the second part of the journey.”

Josh looked out over the smooth sea, broken only at the shore by white water as the waves spilled over the shining sand. As far as he could see, there was nothing but water, water. He looked back at her. “You mean” — he swallowed hard— “we're going out there?”

Jere faced them all. She had pulled the plastic hood away from her face, and her raven-black curls blew in the soft, warm breeze. “Yes. That is, if you want to be obedient to Goel.”

“How do you know Goel?” Sarah demanded.

Jere gave her a slight smile. “I have known him for a
long time, but we don't have time to talk about Goel just now. I must know if you're ready to go with me—out there.” Once again she waved toward the vast, open reaches of the ocean.

Josh knew it was up to him, and he said, to forestall argument, “Yes, we made up our mind back in the cave. We voted on it, didn't we?” Some of the nods he got were not very strong, especially from Wash and Abigail, but Josh took it as approval. “All right, Jere. Where's the boat, if we're going to get out there? We can't swim.”

With another smile, Jere reached down to her waist, took a tiny horn, and put it to her lips. She blew, and there was a high, shrill, keening noise, yet it had a melodious sound. When she lowered the horn, she said, “Just one moment.”

Josh and the other Sleepers watched the sea, waiting for a boat to approach. Josh saw nothing.

After looking in all directions, Wash said, “Well, ma'am, I don't see nothing, and I'm telling you flat, I can't go out in that ocean without a—”

Suddenly the water seemed to boil a hundred yards down the beach. Josh stared in shock. “It's a whale!”

“A killer whale!” Dave whispered. “I saw one like him in a movie. That's what he is, a killer whale, all right. I never thought I'd see a real one.”

Josh watched with amazement as the whale's rounded back and huge dorsal fin broke the surface again and again.

“And what's that thing he's pulling?” Reb called. “Look at that. It looks like a boat.”

“It
is
a boat.”

Jere had been watching their reaction with a smile. “That's what you'll be riding in.”

The huge whale stopped twenty yards off shore. Josh could see clearly that some sort of harness was fastened
to the front of the whale's body. The harness trailed back into a single cable, and to the cable was attached what looked like a large, flat sled. It looked very scarey.

“I can't ride in that thing!” Abbey moaned. “Oh, Dave, don't make me get in there!”

Dave Cooper always prided himself on not being afraid of anything, but now he swallowed quickly and shook his head, muttering. “Well, it does look a bit flimsy, doesn't it?”

A murmur went around the group.

Before there was a long argument, Sarah spoke up. “Look, we voted back in the cave, and it ought to be obvious we didn't have a hope in the world of getting away from the Sanhedrin and the soldiers. But the stone wall opened, and we made our way through the river, and Jere came to lead us out. And now there's a boat.”

“You're right.” Josh nodded. “Come on, let's get in that thing.” He managed a grin. “I think they used to call it a Nantucket Sleigh Ride back in the whaling days. They harpooned a whale, and the whale would pull their little boat all over the ocean. Well, let's just pretend this is a sleigh ride.”

“That is a good thought, Joshua,” Jere said. “Come, you and I will bring in the boat for the others.”

Josh felt much less brave than he seemed, wading out into the water with Jere toward the strange craft. Together they pulled the boat to shore. It was made of some lightweight but very strong material. There were several seats and several compartments, obviously watertight, and Josh began to grow interested.

“Come on,” he said. “After all, it's just a boat.” When everyone hesitated, he said, “Come on, how many kids get a chance to ride behind a real killer whale?”

Dave, obviously embarrassed by his own uncertainty, said, “Sure. Come on, Abbey. It's just another boat
ride.” He splashed out, holding Abigail's hand, and the two of them clambered aboard.

Wash, Reb, and Jake followed. Sarah came last, and Josh helped her into the front seat.

Jere said, “Not many young people would have the courage to do what you're doing. I believe that Goel has sent me to the right place at the right time. Now we must go.”

She blew her whistle, and the porpoise was at her side, sticking his head up, grinning at her, it seemed. Slipping into the saddle, Jere said, “On, Captain, on!” and, holding the reins in one hand, she threw her other hand forward.

The huge porpoise began to plunge through the sea, and then the great whale stirred forward, not as actively as the porpoise, but magnificently. He stayed very close to the surface.

“Look,” Josh said. “You can see his tail.”

“Why, it's on sideways, ain't it?” Reb said. “Not like a real fish.”

“That's one of the differences between whales and fish,” Josh said. “They have horizontal tails, and that's the way they get their power. They breathe air too—instead of having gills.”

“I never knew that,” Reb muttered.

Suddenly the whale gave a lunge, and the sled seemed to fly over the water. Reb pulled his hat off and let out a wild cowboy yell.
“Whoo
—
ooo!”
he bellowed. “Ride 'em, cowboy!”

All the passengers in the sea sled gripped the handholds tightly. Most seemed afraid at first, yet there was something wonderful about the giant whale as he knifed his way beneath the waves, rising and falling, the huge tail propelling him forward. The sled flew after him, bobbing up and down as the whale slowed or sped up, and always there was Jere out in front, as Captain plunged ahead.

“That looks like fun, don't it?” Reb said to Sarah. “I'd kind of like to ride a critter like that. The only thing I ever rode is horses, four-footed stuff. But that looks like a fun critter to ride.”

For a long time the sleigh slid across the water, leaving behind it a white wake that broke the greenness of the ocean. The water was smooth. The only sound was Jere's occasional cry, encouraging them to come on, and once in a while the mighty tail of the killer whale rose out of the water completely and slapped the surface with a resounding crash.

“Wow, that's some flyswatter he's got, isn't it, now?” Wash said with admiration. His eyes were large, but seemingly he had overcome his fear to some extent. “I sure hope we get to land pretty soon, though. Ain't much I dislike more than water, and I never seen so much water in all my days.”

Five minutes later, Jere suddenly guided the porpoise around, the whale stopped, and the sled glided smoothly to a halt. Jere urged the porpoise closer, slipped on board, and smiled at the Sleepers.

“Did you enjoy your ride?”

When they all nodded, she sobered and said, “The next part will require a little more courage, I'm afraid.”

Josh looked about at the endless water, and Sarah said, “But I thought we were going to your home, Jere. I don't see anything but water.”

Jere was silent for a moment. She seemed trying to think of some way to break bad news to them, and they all grew very quiet.

“What is it, Jere?” Josh demanded. “Is something wrong?”

“I'm afraid you'll think so.” She bit her lip just like an ordinary girl, and Josh saw again how very pretty she was. “My home is here.”

When they had all looked around, almost wildly, Dave said, “Here? There's nothing here but water.”

“Not here on top.” Jere leaned over and pointed down. “My home is in Atlantis, which is twenty fathoms beneath where we are right now.”

Everyone looked down, but there was nothing to see except blue-green water.

“Twenty fathoms down!” Dave exclaimed. “Why…” He couldn't finish his sentence.

Josh swallowed. “Is that true, Jere? I've heard of the lost city of Atlantis all my life, but I thought it was just a fairy tale.”

“It may have been, years ago, but my people fled the land after the Burning.” She meant after the war, Josh knew. “Living was too terrible on the earth, so we discovered this city, and we have learned to live down there.”

“How can you live under the ocean?” Abigail whispered, her eyes wide. “I don't even like to think about it.”

Jere said, “I cannot explain it to you, but this is the moment when you must decide. My home is down there.” She pointed again to the depths. Then she raised her voice and threw her head back, her hair flying in the breeze. “And Goel has sent me to bring you to Atlantis. I think that you might save our people. Will you come?”

Josh was sure that not a person who heard her voice had any desire at all to go to the city of Atlantis. His friends looked at each other with frightened expressions. Unless something was said, he knew, the whole idea of the Seven Sleepers would be lost. So he took a deep breath. “I don't believe that we were brought out here to quit. I believe we're here for a purpose and that somehow we're going to do great good.”

“But Josh,” Sarah whispered, “twenty fathoms down, and most of us can't even swim.”