Skylar caught Heather’s eye and she quickly looked away.
“Grandmother?” Skylar asked. “Which one?”
He ignored her question and walked through the high-tech laboratory. Heather trailed a safe distance behind them. Technicians were busy studying at various stations. Some had their eyes buried in geodes formed into microscopes. Others were studying complex molecular compositions on translucent screens. The one thing that made Skylar take pause was a holographic globe suspended in the air. Rotating on a mysterious axis, it possessed magic that stood out in the room full of technology. This globe was an organic being representing Mother Earth, intricately detailed and alive with the essence of nature. Skylar was drawn to this magical orb, and she felt a pulse within her chest she’d never felt before as she approached it. She wasn’t sure if these technicians were studying the globe, or trying to control it.
“Let’s continue,” Magus ordered, and Skylar pulled herself away from the globe.
The laboratory was both foreign and familiar. None of this technology was shocking to Skylar. Yet it seemed her presence was shocking to those in the lab. All men, they turned in her direction as she walked by. Most tried to contain their excitement, but it was obvious that her presence was interrupting the flow of work.
While she was still processing her surroundings, a familiar voice rang out. “Hey, Skylar! The guys in the break room said you’d arrived. Long time no see.”
She turned around. “Kyle?” Her mouth hung open. “What the hell?”
“This is my new job,” he said, as casually as if announcing a fast-food gig. “I’m head custodian.”
She took a step back and looked at Magus. “I didn’t realize you had a sense of humor,” she said.
“Mr. Andrews, return to your post please,” Magus said, without a trace of humor.
Skylar watched Kyle walk away and knew there was a good reason for him being there.
“Let’s continue,” Magus said, leading her down the familiar hall of the fourth floor. Awake, Skylar couldn’t tell which door belonged to the nursery. There were many. The ceiling was all glass and nothing could escape being showered with intense sunlight. It felt stiflingly hot on the back of Skylar’s neck.
The hall spilled out into a massive opening as big as an airplane hanger, with one giant water tank that filled the room. Again the ceiling was all glass. There was no respite from the hot sun.
They walked down a carpeted ramp toward the tank, and a fast-moving creature caught Skylar’s eye. It was too quick for her to discern what it was. With a twist of his hand, Magus slowed the movements, as if it were recorded and being played back at half speed.
It appeared to be a woman with unusually long hair, swimming on the back of a dolphin. Magus motioned again. They came back around, and Skylar was astonished by what she saw. There was no dolphin; the woman had a tail.
“A mermaid?” Skylar quickly looked at Magus for confirmation and then returned her focus to the glass. “It can’t be,” she said with childlike wonder, momentarily forgetting her hostage situation. She rushed the glass and her motion attracted the creature in the tank. As she came closer, Skylar lost her breath, mesmerized by the beauty staring back at her. She was everything the imagination could dream up and more. Long threads of light ran through her dark hair, lighting up the water around her as she spun gracefully in circles. Gold flecks shimmered over the greenish hue of her extremely long tail. Everything about her was long.
Skylar put her palm up to the glass, but the mermaid, startled, swam away in a flash.
Three others came over to see her, all female. Skylar was delighted to see them. It was like every one of her childhood fantasies had come to life.
She touched the glass and one mimicked her. Her face was completely different from that of the one that had swum away, but her tail was the same. All of their tails appeared to be identical, in fact.
“Hello,” Skylar said.
The mermaid didn’t respond, only stared at Skylar with sad eyes.
“These creatures are your captives,” Skylar said to Magus. “Why do you think you deserve to hold power over any of us?”
“These creatures aren’t captives,” Magus said. “They are creations.”
Skylar’s attention swiveled between the mermaid and Magus. “I don’t understand.”
“Mermaids exist in the human fantasy world because they remember them. And they remember them because we created them here, in our laboratories, during the First Great Age. In present day they are hidden from humanity except in myth, where many truths are kept safe from the uneducated.” He gestured at the tank. “A rare few are seen in the waters of earth when they happen to cross timelines into current reality—the Triangle, for one. But current reality is so shrouded, any who see them swear them off as hallucination or a trick of the eye. Except children, of course. They aren’t blind to the truth yet.”
“Am I in Atlantis?” Skylar whispered.
“No,” he said. “We rarely use that base anymore. Too many know about it and it’s constantly bombarded with tourists. This base sits atop the old continent of Mu. Science is even further behind on Mu.”
“Why am I here?” she asked.
“That light you carry was forged here,” he said. “And only here will I be able to release it from you.” He took a step toward her and she pressed her back against the glass. The mermaid in the water drew closer with interest.
“You have been to the Underworld,” he said. “You have seen it.”
“It?” she asked. “I’ve seen a lot of things.”
“The citrine wall,” he said. His eyes glowed yellow for a moment before returning to their deep chestnut.
“Oh, yes, I’ve seen it. It’s quite beautiful.” She instantly knew what he wanted with it. It contained the ideas of humanity, past and future. Diana had said that if evil were to find it, it would control the imagination of men. All ideas of humanity would have a middleman; direct connection to the Akasha would be lost. Lucifer had been there as well, confusing Skylar’s understanding. But she’d later learned that Lucifer was neutral—that he was knowledge without heart. It was up to each individual to use that knowledge, combined with their heart, to make their choices in life.
Magus stepped closer still. “You were powerful once, and now it would seem you have gained additional magic. We wanted access to that wall in the First Age but it was denied us. The portals of time are open again. What we once desired can finally be ours.” He reached out his hand to touch her chest, which contained the stone, and the mermaid rushed the glass, her face full of fury. She slapped it with her tail and the reverberation traveled the wall of the entire tank. Instantly, Magus snapped his fingers and a wave of high frequency sound shot through the water. The mermaid covered her ears in agony and swam off.
“You could just release the stone,” Magus said. “Then you could return home and your old life.”
“Something tells me that’s a bad idea,” Skylar said.
“I will get it either way, and there is only one scenario where you will survive,” he said. “It would be a shame to die for this cause you were thrown into unwillingly, don’t you think? This is someone else’s battle.” He waved Heather over. “I’ll leave you to think about it,” he said to Skylar.