Qualify (91 page)
Authors: Vera Nazarian
Tags: #rivalry, #colonization, #competition, #romance, #grail, #science fiction, #teen, #dystopian, #atlantis, #dystopia
And now, here we are. . . .
George’s gorgeous baritone soars in the air, and I take a deep breath, swallow shuddering tears, and then join him, because I must.
But when I came to man’s estate,
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain . . .
I sing. . . . My voice begins breathy and quaking, and then it grows steady and gains power. Soon it’s deep and rich like the sun setting in the Atlantic as I sing the second verse without stumbling. As I do so, I see George nodding to me, because, yeah, for the first time in years, I am singing again.
I am
singing.
Suddenly Gordie joins in, and his tenor is clean and perfect like the air around us:
But when I came, alas! to wive,
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain . . .
And oh, but then Gracie does too! She picks up the next verse, and her bright soprano soars like a morning lark on the wind:
But when I came unto my beds,
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain . . .
And in the end we all sing the last verse together, and our harmony rings in strange wonder.
. . .
A great while ago the world begun,
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain.
But that's all one, our play is done,
And we'll strive to please you every day.
And then there is silence. George is so far away now, a distant speck far below. He turns around one last time, and waves vigorously, and then he flies away, like a blazing meteor.
I
stare for a long moment, then I go inside the shuttle.
There’s Gracie, and Gordie, and Logan, solemn, shaken. Gracie is weeping softly, again. The rest of my friends are getting on board other shuttles.
In a few moments we will rise high up and cut through the miles of atmosphere, and we will be in orbit. Sometime soon after that, we will be inside monolithic ships, heading for the stars.
Even now,
he
is on one of those great ships—he, the golden-haired sun god, son of Kassiopei, and of an ancient empire, and somehow I
matter
to him. . . .
No, no, no . .
.
I told you, I don’t accept it, George, silly, silly
, I mumble, for many endless minutes afterwards, as I am strapped into a harness. Then I sit in a daze, as the sunset fades and probably the sky outside turns indigo, but I don’t know any of it, since there are no windows to look out, here in this damn
alien
shuttle.
As the Earth recedes, and gravity squeezes me into a bottomless abyss, I think of Mom and Dad . . . of Vermont autumn foliage . . . of maple syrup.
“I promise you, the Lark family will Qualify, hands down, all four of you!” Dad had told us, on that last day, two months ago.
Qualify or Die.
But, no
, I whisper in the silence of my own mind,
I reject it
. . . .
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain . . .
There is no “or” for any of us. Because there can be no “Die.”
George, Mom, Dad—I am coming back for you somehow.
All
of you.
I will win the Atlantis Grail and turn worlds upside down and inside out, and I will come for you.
There is only one acceptable answer for anyone human.
Qualify.
The End of QUALIFY: The Atlantis Grail, Book One
The story continues in . . .
COMPETE: The Atlantis Grail, Book Two
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Lords of Rainbow
Dreams of the Compass Rose
Salt of the Air
The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration
The Clock King and the Queen of the Hourglass
Mayhem at Grant-Williams High (YA)
The Duke in His Castle
After the Sundial
Mansfield Park and Mummies
Northanger Abbey and Angels and Dragons
Pride and Platypus: Mr. Darcy’s Dreadful Secret
Vampires are from Venus, Werewolves are from Mars:
A Comprehensive Guide to Attracting Supernatural Love
Cobweb Bride Trilogy:
Cobweb Bride
Cobweb Empire
Cobweb Forest
The Atlantis Grail:
Qualify (Book One)
Compete (Book Two)
(Forthcoming)
The Atlantis Grail:
Win (Book Three)
Survive (Book Four)
Pagan Persuasion: All Olympus Descends on Regency
Thank you for your support!
Vera Nazarian
is a two-time Nebula Award® Finalist and a member of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. She immigrated to the USA from the former USSR as a kid, sold her first story at 17, and has been published in numerous anthologies and magazines, honorably mentioned in Year’s Best volumes, and translated into eight languages.
Vera made her novelist debut with the critically acclaimed
Dreams of the Compass Rose,
followed by
Lords of Rainbow
. Her novella
The Clock King and the Queen of the Hourglass
made the 2005 Locus Recommended Reading List. Her debut collection
Salt of the Air
contains the 2007 Nebula Award-nominated “The Story of Love.” Recent work includes the 2008 Nebula Finalist novella
The Duke in His Castle,
science fiction collection
After the Sundial
(2010),
The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration
(2010), three Jane Austen parodies,
Mansfield Park and Mummies
(2009),
Northanger Abbey and Angels and Dragons
(2010), and
Pride and Platypus: Mr. Darcy’s Dreadful Secret
(2012), all part of her
Supernatural Jane Austen Series
, a parody of self-help and supernatural relationships advice,
Vampires are from Venus, Werewolves are from Mars: A Comprehensive Guide to Attracting Supernatural Love
(2012),
Cobweb Bride Trilogy
(2013), and
Qualify:
The Atlantis Grail, Book One
(2014).
After many years in Los Angeles, Vera now lives in a small town in Vermont. She uses her Armenian sense of humor and her Russian sense of suffering to bake conflicted pirozhki and make art.
In addition to being a writer, philosopher, and award-winning artist, she is also the publisher of Norilana Books.
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There are so many of you whose unwavering, loving support helped me bring this book to life. My gratitude is boundless, and I thank you with all my heart (and in alphabetical order, cause in any other way lies madness)!
To my absolutely brilliant first readers, advisors, topic experts and friends, Anastasia Rudman, Cindy Couch Cannon, Jeremy Frank, Susan Franzblau, and Susan Macdonald.
To the lovely and wonderful group of Vermont writers and friends, Ellen Jareckie, Jeanne Miller, Lina Gimble, and Valerie Gillen.
To everyone at the White Lotus Kung Fu Studio in Los Angeles, Master Douglas L. Wong, Sifu Carrie Ogawa-Wong, and Sifu Phil Jennings for the discipline and Forms-based inspiration to create “Er-Du,” my own imaginary martial art of Atlantis, stemming from the Tai Chi Chuan and Kung Fu traditions, and of course Sifu Travis Wong for the Parkour inspiration—I love you all and miss you constantly!
Finally, an immense thanks to the awesome and all-knowing Facebook friends who helped me brainstorm geeky science and general research details such as canal locks and floodgates, automatic firearms, the sport of running, songs, terms, and provided helpful responses to all the other crazy questions I asked at all hours:
Abigail Reynolds, Abrigon Gusiq, Al Sirois, Alan Levi, Alex Hunter, Alexa Adams, Alice Massoglia, Alison DeLuca, Alister Cameron, Allen Parmenter, Alma Alexander, Amira Bencherif, Amy Bisson, Amy C. Berger, Amy Herring, Ann Gimpel, Anne Hutchins, April Epley, Barbara Denz, Bobbie M. Smith, Bobo Lee, Brian Holihan, Brian Lane, Brian M. Logan, Brook West, C Allyn Pierson, Candra Jones, Caro Soles, Carol Kennedy, Carol R. Ward, Catherine Lundoff, Cathy Georges, Christy Wong-Langstaff, Concetta M Payne, Corwin Brust, Dan Robelen, David Bellamy, David Krieger, David Suitor, Debbie Ledesma, Debbie Moorhouse, Deborah Flores, Deborah Millitello, Deej Garden, Diana Birchall, Diane Sciacca, Eden Mabee, Elaine M. Brennan, Eleanor Skinner, Elisa Difino, Elyn Selu, Farah Mendlesohn, Gayle Surrette, George Kramer, George L. Dziuk Jr., Gerri Brousseau, Graham England, Gregg Mitchell, Harold Chester, Hasmik Davtian, Helen E. Mercier Davis, Hervey Allen, HP Waugh, James Flanagan, James Stevens-Arce, Jan Goeb, Jane Tanfei, Janet Jia-Ee Chui, Janice Lijek DeRossett, Jeff Corkern, Jeffry Dwight, Jenn Brissett, Jenn Reese, Jess Molly Brown, Jessica Saunders, Jessica Wick, Jo Allen, Joe Clark, Joshua Villines, Julia H. West, Julia Mary Breidenbach, Julie Marin, Juliette Winterer, JC Noir, Kari Sperring, Kate Savage, Katy Sozaeva, Katharine Eliska Kimbriel, Kathy Hurley, Kathy Watts, Ken Schneyer, Kenneth Fields, Kurtis Roth, Larry Bonham, Leslie Tolbert, Lillie Thom, Linda Dunn, Lindalee Stahlman Volmert, Lisa Deutsch Harrigan, Lisa Mieth, Lisa Moore, Liz K. Burton, Liz O’Donnell, Lou J. Berger, Louise Turner, Luis Arrojo, Lyn Croft, Margaret Organ-Kean, Maria Grace, Maria Vagner, Marian Allen, Marilyn Holt, Mark Breuer, Michal McKee, Michelle Hufford, Monica Fairview, Nic Grabien, Pamela D Lloyd, Pamela J. Lorenz, Pamela K. Kinney, Patricia D. Novak, Patty Rains, Paul Nagai, Paula Fleming, Paula Helm Murray, Paula Lieberman, Paula Whitehouse, Peggy Wheeler, Persiphone Hellecat, Philip Brewer, Phyllis Irene Radford, Piera Chen, Rachel S. Heslin, Raechel Henderson, Rama Dixit, Rebecca Newman, Regina Jeffers, Rhondi Salsitz, Rhys Hughes, Rich Puckett, Richard Suitor, Rigel Ailur, R-Laurraine Tutihasi, Robert Brandt, Robert Brown, Robert M. Brown, Robert T Canipe, RobRoy McCandless, Ron Collins, Ron Dee, Rouben Sulahian, Ruth de Jauregui, Sam Long, Sara Cooper, Sarah Liberman, Scott Vilhauer, Sharon Lathan, Shelley Hunt, Stacey Helton McConnell, Stacey Miller, Stacey Nomura Wood, Stella Bloom, Stephen Ormsby, Stig Carlsson, Sue Burke, Sue Martin, Susanne Meyer Brown, Suze Campagna, Sycerith H R Krishna, Tera Decky Clare, Terri Bruce, Terri Bryan, Thomas Thurston Thomas, Tony N. Todaro, Tora K. Smulders-Srinivasan, Torbjørn Rasch Pettersen, Trent Walters, Valerie Howarth, Vee Stolesk, Wendy Delmater Thies, West Yarbrough McDonough.