Atlantis Riptide: Lost Daughters of Atlantis Book 1 Read online

  “But—”

  He dropped the vests to the deck. “I’m diving in whether you breathe into me or not. You are not doing this alone.”

  I stared into the blue steel of determination and then swiveled my glance to the churning water below. My tummy churned, too. “What if you get hurt?”

  “I won’t.” A promise he didn’t know if he could keep.

  The churning in my stomach flipped and flopped. Like my mind. How could I risk his life? “Have you ever dived off of a moving ferry into the ocean before?”

  “Have you?” His brow arched in challenge.

  “No, but I’ve done platform diving.” I remembered the crowds excited oohs and ahs. How I’d hated it. But this time, hopefully, no one would see.

  “And I’ve done cliff diving. Into the ocean.” He stomped his foot onto the rail and swung a leg around. “I have more experience than you.”

  My mind wavered. Not give Chase my breath and have him go for it anyhow—dive in and die. Or give Chase my breath and have him possibly get hurt on the dive. “Chase—”

  “Do it now while no one is watching.”

  People scurried toward the emergency exits. No one paid attention to two teens sitting on the rail. On a normal trip, we would’ve been yelled at or apprehended.

  “Come on. Now’s our chance.” Chase lifted his second leg over the rail. The stubborn expression on his face told me I didn’t have a choice. “Do it.”

  I liked the idea of not going alone. But with that comfort came fear because Chase was a frail human in the ocean. He wasn’t like me.

  Expediency fought with worry like a pulley in my soul. Leaning into him, I didn’t have time to convince him to stay. His unique scent mixed with the salty ocean air. My lips touched his and I breathed my special breath into his mouth, blowing as much of my power as possible to keep him safe. “Ready?”

  “A real kiss first. For luck.” He leaned into me and touched his lips to mine.

  I enjoyed the real kiss, much more than giving him my breath. This kiss was special. It wasn’t a means to an end, but a promise. My lips tingled from his quick touch.

  And then his mouth was gone. I opened my eyes and beheld his shiny blue ones, knowing the kiss meant as much to him.

  Together, we both stood. Dove.

  The water slapped me in the face. Hard. I let the momentum from the dive take me down deep. The entire time I scanned for Chase. My gaze roving. My strokes frantic. My nerves tightening. I hoped he’d survived the dive. I hoped he wasn’t scared or hurt. I hoped we ended up close to each other.

  “Pearl?” I heard my name carried on the current.

  “Chase.” I scoured the bottom. “Are you okay?”

  “What a ride!” He sounded like he’d just gotten off the roller coaster on the Boardwalk.

  I swiveled around following the sound of his voice, needing to see him. “Where are you?”

  “Over here.” He swam from behind a section of jagged rocks. A smile flashed.

  “Oh.” I rushed over and landed in his arms, reveling in his touch. “I was worried.”

  “Me, too. About both of us.” He held tight and kissed me on the forehead. “Where’s the ferry?”

  With both of us safe and his arms around me, for a second I almost forgot our purpose. I glanced up and listened. The sound of the ferry’s engines came from a spot west of us. Our deep dive and the ferry’s speed hadn’t carried us too far in the other direction. “This way.”

  We swam toward the ferry.

  “What’s the plan once we reach the ferry?” Chase’s question gave me a boost of confidence. He respected that I was the expert in this arena.

  Except, I wasn’t.

  My heart quivered. “I don’t know.”

  Chase kept his pace even with mine. And I was swimming pretty darn fast. Did my breath not only let him breathe underwater, but give him speed, too?

  I sliced deeper and faster. “We need to think of something.”

  “There’s the ferry.” He pointed at the churning water up ahead caused by the boat’s engines.

  Just like the churning in my stomach because I still didn’t have a plan. The quivering in my heart increased to spasms of uncertainty.

  We kept pace with the ferry. The engines ground together and the noise reverberated across the ocean. The ferry above jerked and then, changed direction.

  “It’s heading to sea.” Chase’s voice held an edge of panic.

  The same panic echoed inside me. “That’s good.” The ocean floor was sandy and smooth here, but I saw rocks in the distance. “That means it won’t crash into rocks or Atlas Island.” It gave us more time.

  A mechanical whirring and heavy clinking noise echoed under the waves. Several large anchors attached to thick, metal chains dropped out of the backside of the ferry. When the noise stopped, the anchors dragged across the bottom but did little to slow the boat.

  “The anchors aren’t helping. What can we do?” Biting my lip, I controlled the rush of fear and adrenaline. Controlled my insecurity. Controlled my scream. I’d risked everything to come down here, even risked hurting Chase, and now we couldn’t figure out a way to help.

  “Grab onto an anchor and use the super strength to stop the ferry.” He sounded so decisive, committed. Like no matter what happened we were going to sink or swim together.

  Which I loved and hated. Because I didn’t want to sink. I didn’t want him to sink. And I didn’t want the ferry to sink.

  My chest thumped echoing the fall of the anchor. “I don’t think I’m that strong.”

  “Together we are.”

  “What?”

  “Remember when you said I wasn’t cold in the water because of your breath.” His confidence grew with each word he spoke.

  “Yes.”

  “And just now I kept up with your swimming pace.”

  “Super speed.” The words rung in my head.

  “So, why wouldn’t I have super strength, too?”

  So logical. But my life wasn’t logical. Nothing worked as planned. “What if you’re wrong?”

  “You said it yourself, we have to try something.”

  We didn’t have a lot of time. The ferry would eventually hit something. “Okay. Let me go first.”

  Maybe on my own I could slow it down. I raced after one of the anchors on the right side. Every time I reached out, the anchor bobbed and jumped ahead. It was like trying to catch a spawning salmon, except the anchor weighed a lot more. I felt stupid.

  “It’s like baseball.” Chase swam beside me and cheered me on, listening to my instructions that I should grab the anchor first. “Watch the anchor.”

  I swam ahead and stood in the path of the chain and massive anchor. My best chance was to catch the anchor coming toward me, like catching a ground ball in baseball. My chest throbbed with burning heat, heaving in and out and in and out.

  In order not to get clonked on the head, I had to catch the anchor while ducking the chain with precision. I held my breath, even though I didn’t have to, and waited.

  The anchor hit a rock and angled left. I shifted position and then held out my arms like I was waiting for a hug. The metal smashed into my chest. Sharp pain shot through my ribs. I grabbed the anchor by the hooks ripping my skin. The anchor slipped in my grasp. It yanked me forward.

  “Ahhhh!” A scream tore out of my throat.

  “Drop it.” Chase lunged toward me. His mouth pulled into a grim line. “Just drop it.”

  “No.” I clutched the anchor to my chest and held on with all my super strength. I stuck my heels in the sand and dug them in deep, refusing to give up. “I got it.”

  The boat didn’t even slow down.

  “My turn to catch an anchor.” His trying-to-sound-playful tone couldn’t be pulled off. He swam to the other side of the ferry.

  “Be careful.” My fingers already hurt from the tight grip I had on my anchor. I kept my gaze glued to him in case he needed help. If he got hurt, I don’t know
what I would do.

  He swam behind the anchor on the other side, seeming to calculate the bumps it would take. Then, he picked up his speed and darted to the right. He reached out and grabbed the anchor like it was the end of a rope in a tug-of-war game.

  “Got it.” He readjusted his hands and dug his feet into the sand.

  A smile leaked onto my face. Guess he played more baseball than I did.

  The boat slowed but didn’t stop.

  Our efforts weren’t helping. My arms shook with the effort of holding on. My heels felt scraped and raw. I didn’t know about Chase, but I couldn’t hold on much longer.

  “Playing with ferries?” Finn swam toward us. “Doesn’t sound fun to me.”

  “Grab an anchor.” Everything inside me celebrated. Assistance had arrived. Surely, Finn would help. “We’re trying to stop the ferry.”

  “We?” His tone changed when he spotted Chase.

  “You got a problem with me, Finn?” With his quick mind, Chase realized who the stranger was.

  After all, how many guys do I know who can breathe underwater?

  “I’ll do formal introductions later.” We didn’t have time to argue. “Finn, please grab an anchor and help us stop the ferry.”

  “You’re with the guy who’s going to write a story about you? Not a smart choice.” His tone was slow and censuring.

  He had no right to question me. “It’s my choice. Besides, he’s not going to write the article.”

  “That’s right.” Chase chimed in.

  “You better not.” Finn dove at the anchor between Chase and I. He grabbed the hooks in one swift swoop. The ferry jerked and slowed almost to a stop. But not quite. Even with three of us, we couldn’t stop the coming catastrophe.

  “What happened?” Finn asked.

  “I don’t know.” I gritted my teeth. “We were taking the ferry to Atlas Island.”

  “Why?”

  First, I shot Chase a look willing him to keep quiet about the shell map, then I answered, “I, um, wanted to see the island. Anyhow, the ferry had mechanical difficulties. It couldn’t stop or slow down. I couldn’t let it crash.”

  “So you brought an air-breather along?”

  Chase smirked at Finn. “I wasn’t going to let Pearl stop the ferry alone.”

  Finn’s gaze narrowed at Chase, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he turned to me. “I can’t hold this anchor forever.”

  “Do you have some place more important to be?” Chase goaded.

  “Be nice, Chase.” I didn’t want to play referee. “What do you suggest, Finn?”

  I’d take any ideas. The pain in my arms was nothing compared to the panic in my chest.

  “We could hook the anchors to a big rock.”

  “If we could find a big rock without the ferry smashing into it first.” I pictured the little girl with the tears running down her cheeks. The old man with the cane. The couple on their honeymoon. My chest heaved panic to pure terror.

  “Good point.” Finn sounded like this was a casual conversation, not like hundreds of lives could be lost.

  A noise, like a bubbling sound, filled our silence. I squinted trying to see if there was a new danger. A black smudge grew bigger on the surface and threw a shadow over our location.

  “What’s that?” I pointed with my chin.

  Chase scowled at the darkening slick. “Looks like oil or gasoline.”

  “If you and those air-breathers ruin another portion of our ocean…” Finn’s tone scraped with disgust.

  “An oil spill?” I studied the concentration of sludge hanging around the back of the boat. “The ferry is dumping their fuel tank.”

  “That’s got to be it.” Chase agreed.

  Buoyancy filled me like I was floating on water, not sunk down at the bottom. “Once they’re out of fuel the ferry will stop.”

  “And we can let go of these stupid anchors and I can be on my way.”

  “Are you in a hurry?” Chase’s reporter tone returned.

  Which reminded me. “Finn, why were you swimming around Atlas Island?”

  “Usually I avoid the area, but I was looking into something.”

  My thoughts whirled. “Are you spying?”

  “What? That’s stupid. Why would I come this close to the enemy?”

  “I meant spying on me, but since you mentioned it, is this the base for the Royalists?”

  “Not a base.” Finn’s tone had an edge, like he didn’t want to explain further.

  “What are you doing here?” Chase’s question sounded like an accusation.

  “You shouldn’t be down here at all, air-breather.” There was no respect in Finn’s tone.

  Chase pressed his lips together, but didn’t say a thing.

  “If Atlas Island isn’t a base, what is it?” I wanted information, not a fight between the two of them.

  “Atlas Island is where Princess Cordelia holds court. It’s where all the Atlanteans lived until the split.”

  “You mean war.” Chase used the same tone of accusation.

  Finn shrugged his shoulders trying to appear nonchalant. “Split, war, battle. It kind of depends on your point of view.” He didn’t sound as confidant about his cause.

  “Have you changed your mind?”

  “What does it matter what I think?”

  “Killing people for a cause is war.” I hated the thought of hurting and killing other people. I hated even more that I’d finally found people like me and they weren’t peaceful.

  “When did the war officially start?” Chase asked the relevant questions getting the facts straight.

  “It hasn’t. Yet.” Finn actually gave Chase a straight answer. “More like skirmishes or sabotage up to this point.”

  The guys were chattering on about a war that was relevant, but not important at this moment in time. The ferry had to run out of gas soon. I couldn’t hold on to the anchor much longer and the more time these guys spent together the more likely they were to come to blows.

  Chase jerked his head at the ferry that was almost stopped now. “Was the ferry sabotaged?”

  My heart thwacked. I hadn’t thought of that. Maybe this wasn’t an accident. Maybe the ferry’s malfunction and the war were related.

  “Why would either side want to hurt air-breathers?” Awkwardness filled my lungs. I didn’t like calling them that, it sounded negative.

  Again, Finn shrugged. “Did you tell anyone in Mermaid Beach you were going to Atlas Island by ferry?”

  “A lifeguard friend of mine.” Suspicion darkened Chase’s expression. “Is Pearl a target?”

  I opened my mouth but I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t even form words.

  Finn glanced at the shadow of the oil slick and the ferry. “Not that I’m aware of.

  That’s not much of answer.” Chase’s voice grew tougher, more accusatory.

  “Why would I be a target?” I needed to calm them both down.

  The boat stopped. The chains attached to the anchors quit pulling and loosened up. Like a yellow light, cautious optimism flashed inside me.

  “Think we can drop these anchors?” Finn sounded like he wanted out of here, possibly away from Chase and I, and our questions.

  “Me, first.” After all, I’d been holding on the longest.

  I held the anchor away from my body and dropped it. Sand swished from the bottom. The boat didn’t rush forward.

  “Air-breathers, second.” Finn made it sound like Chase was second class.

  Chase ignored him and dropped his anchor. Then, Finn dropped his anchor. The ferry stayed in one place, rocking with the waves.

  “We did it! The three of us.” I slapped my hands together to emphasize my point that it had taken all three of us. “We saved the ferry.”

  “More air-breathers still alive.” Finn tried to sound cruel but he didn’t.

  “Better than war-mongering Atlanteans.” Chase crossed his arms and glared at Finn.

  So much for celebrating our success. “Guess
we’re free to go.”

  “Only the truth shall make me free.” Finn’s sarcastic tone touched a warning off in my head.

  Before I could ask what he meant, he dashed deep into the ocean.

  * * *

  Atlas Island was an oasis of calm compared to the calamity, and then victory, we’d experienced under the ocean. Palm trees swayed with the light breeze drying my hair. Beach chairs lined the soft sand. No car noise on the island, just the humming of golf carts and the cawing of seagulls.

  Chase and I took off our wet clothes. We sank down onto a couple of free beach chairs and the let the sun dry our bathing suits. He took my hand and our arms dangled between. With his strong hand in mine, I felt more powerful now than underwater.

  “Are you tired after all of that?” I wasn’t, but I didn’t know how it would affect Chase.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about your super strength?” Anger tinged his flat voice.

  “Why be angry now?” My weary voice held back my surprise.

  “Anger wouldn’t have helped in an emergency situation.” Logical as always. “What else haven’t you told me?”

  I flipped through my old responses from sarcasm to rudeness to downright lies. I couldn’t use any of those with Chase. He’d been good to me.

  Like a gong announcing my intention my heart pounded. My pulse picked up speed. My veins throbbed.

  Honesty.

  While I’d shared parts of myself with Chase, I’d never told him about my upbringing. If I really liked him, and I wanted to have a real relationship with him, I’d need to be straightforward.

  “Even though I had adoptive parents,” who didn’t treat me like their child, “I’ve always had a hard time sharing things about myself. I didn’t have any friends.” The admission cut across my heart. I pressed my lips together trying to keep my emotions in check. He didn’t need to know I was a total loser. “Probably because of my abilities. I didn’t want people to find out about my special powers.” Well, Bill and Carlita didn’t want people to know for fear of losing their source of cash.

  “But you told me about breathing underwater.” Chase dropped my hand and crossed his arms, taking a stand-offish stance. “Super strength and speed aren’t all that miraculous after that.”