Warrior of Atlantis: Raven Weir Chronicles, #3

CHAPTER ONE

I used to dream about going on vacations. I even had a list of states and even countries I wanted to visit and things I wanted to see. It was a long list because it included all the places I read about and found interesting. For years, I kept the list in my backpack and added to it when I heard or read about an interesting place.

I envied the other kids at the schools I attended. They were always talking about the places their parents had either taken them or were planning to take them. Mom never talked about going anywhere. Most of the time, I would come home from school and she would have most of our stuff packed. She would stuff me into the car and off we would go to a new town, except none of them were interesting. If they were, I never knew about anything about it. We went to no place just for fun.

And then there was the inevitable story I had to write when I arrived at a new school, especially at the beginning of each school year.

The teacher always had the students write about what they did over the summer or over a holiday vacation. There were always the many camp stories, amusement park tales, and the ski trips. Almost everyone had a vacation or something fun to write about. Everyone except for me. Talking about the places we lived when we moved just was not exciting or something I wanted the other kids to know. It would have given them more ammunition to torture me with than they already had.

My dream list was special.

I told myself, one day, I would visit the places on my list and have many cool and fun experiences. I never told Mom about my list. I didn’t want her to be upset with me for wanting to visit some places on my list. During junior high, my list disappeared. I’m uncertain, but I think mom found it and destroyed it. I never asked her about it.

—Raven Weir’s journal

The sound of the squawking birds grew louder and louder until it forced its way into Raven’s foggy brain and forced her back to a conscious state. A groan escaped from Raven as her mind and body came back into sync with each other, and the darkness surrounding her brain faded, leaving a dull headache in its place. Raven rolled onto her side and tried sitting up. She grabbed her head and moaned. The dull headache changed into a full-blown pounding inside her skull that was close to being a migraine. The pounding in her head matched with the beat of her heart. She was not sure if her head hurt or if it was just her heart sending the blood rushing through her body.

Raven opened her eyes just as the birds squawked again, only louder and closer than before. Someone needs to turn off the lights, and shoot that stupid, loudmouthed bird!

She closed her eyes against the bright light filling the room. Raven moved her hands to shield her eyes even more. It was not perfect, but it was a lot better than lying there without trying to do anything to protect her eyesight from the blinding light. Now, if she only had a set of earplugs or another set of hands to cover her ears.

After a few minutes, she moved her hands and opened her eyes again. She blinked several times. As her eyes started adjusting to the bright light, the pounding in her head increased.

And I thought this was a good idea? She questioned her decision. My head is splitting open. Some idiot left the spotlights on, and somehow a bird got in here. No one is supposed to be in the attic except me, she muttered as she tried remembering what had happened to her.

Raven rolled to her left side and looked around her. Okay, I’m not in the attic anymore, so where am I and how did I get here? She chewed on her bottom lip. I don’t remember going on a vacation, and I sure didn’t open a Shadow Express doorway.

She frowned as she sorted through the fuzzy images drifting through her brain. She remembered going up to the attic to have some alone time that she needed and write in her journal about what had happened to her.

Raven closed her eyes as more images flooded into her brain.

She had just rescued Claire Westing from Hades and destroyed his weird little soul collection he was using to create the zombies she had been dealing with on what seemed like a regular basis ever since her little walk through the cemetery. Ethan was under the influence of one of the arrows, Hades had stolen from Eros and dipped in Claire’s blood. From what Eros had told her, there was no guarantee Ethan would ever recover from it.

A tear rolled down Raven’s cheek. She wiped it away. I will not cry anymore. I will not waste my time on someone who would try to hurt me. No one is worth that.

She cared about Ethan, but he killed the romance that had grown between them when he attacked her not once, but twice. She hoped he was happy with Claire and she was happy with him, because there was no way she was going to come between them. Raven also hoped that someday she would find the person who was meant for her. Eventually, she would find someone who loved her for who she was and not what she was, but she would not dwell on it.

She couldn’t dwell on it.

She had to figure out who it was that came through the ocean mural and grabbed her. The why was obvious because she was the Guardian, and whoever it was wanted the key codes to Atlantis. The next thing she had to figure out was where she was and how she was going to get home.

Raven opened her eyes and pushed herself up into a sitting position.

Bright sunlight filtered in the room through large holes in the roof. She blinked and rubbed her eyes.

Raven looked at the roof, at least, what was left of it. Several poles were tied together on one end, creating a high center point in the middle of the structure similar to that of a teepee. The other ends of the poles fanned out and were tied to the walls. Remnants of some type of dried grass and palm leaves were still attached to some poles.

At one time, the roof was very effective at keeping the rain and sunshine out, but now, it was like having an open sunroof in a car on a rainy day. It was useless because Raven saw the blue sky and white clouds drifting across it.

She looked around the room, wondering when the last time someone tried to clean it, let alone lived in it. Someone needed to call the maid service and pronto. Filthy, broken furniture was scattered over almost the entire space. The tattered remains of a faded blue cloth hung in strips over the only window in the structure. It swayed back and forth with the breeze flowing into the room through the glassless opening.

On second thought, forget the maid service. They need to just call a wrecking crew and be done with the whole place. There is no way this place can be cleaned. Just tear it down and start over from scratch with a clean slate, she said as she stared at her surroundings. Or better yet, just use a match and some gasoline. That would work too.

The door to the structure wasn’t even a door. It was just a large opening through which people could enter and leave the structure. So much for privacy. Everyone and their dog can walk in and out. Raven rolled her eyes. Or walk by and stop for the show.

It was obvious no one had lived in the dilapidated structure in a long time. I guess there won’t be any room service to go along with these wonderful, five star accommodations for this fabulous vacation site. Raven adjusted her position. They forgot to put my chocolate on my pillow. Wait a minute. They forgot to give me a pillow. This establishment is getting a one star review from me and a letter about their maid service. And a list of demolition crews who will work cheap.

She looked at her clothes and hands. Great. I’m in my pajamas and I’m covered with sand. Couldn’t you at least have grabbed me a change of clothes? A pair of jeans and a t-shirt would have been nice. And maybe a pair of shoes. Is that too much to ask for?

No one answered her.

Thanks a lot for listening, she grumbled.

Raven stood up and dusted off the sand as best she could. She spied a bed-like structure on the far wall. Only an idiot would put me on the sand when there’s a good bed right there in plain sight. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. Just my luck to get kidnapped by the only guy in this lovely island town who is a total moron. She plopped her fists on her hips. Just in case you didn’t hear me. You are a lousy kidnapper, and you are an IDIOT and a MORON!

Several birds squawked and screeched, but not one live human voice answered her. As far as she knew, she was alone.

Raven threw her hands up in frustration. She was alone and without a clue where in the world she was. The only thing she knew for sure was that she was in a grass hut from someone’s nightmare.

She looked at the bed.

It was not the sturdiest structure, but it was the only piece of furniture that was not broken like everything else. There has to be a reason the moron put me on the floor instead of on the bed. But why?

She stared at the bed.

A frown took over her face, causing her eyebrows to snap together. There’s no way! That would be so wrong and on so many levels. She shook her head as her imagination shifted into overdrive.

What if the last occupant of the hut was still there, and he or she was on the cot under the cover?

Her curiosity grew.

She had to know what was under the cover.

Raven nibbled on her bottom lip as she crossed the distance between her and the bed. She stopped and stared at it. A dirty gray blanket covered the bed. From the amount of sand scattered across it, she was positive no one had disturbed the bed in decades.

Guess the owner forgot to pay the maids, or they’re on strike. Either way, this place is just plain yucky! If I was the maid, there would be no way I would even attempt to clean in here. I would have tossed a lit match inside and walked away as fast as I could. A huge frown covered her face because the blanket was lumpy in several spots. She shook her head. Blankets were not supposed to be lumpy, especially old blankets.

Yelp. There’s something under the blanket. Raven sighed. She had hoped there wouldn’t be anything under it, but the lumps told a different story.

What was causing the lumps?

She knew looking under it was not a good idea, but she had to know what was there. It was possible that what was under the blanket was just a bunch of junk, and someone wanted to keep the sand out of it.

But what if it isn’t junk? Whispered the little voice in the back of her head. What if was something straight out of one of the old, late night horror movies you love to watch?

There was only one way to find out.

I’m going to regret this. She tucked several strands of unruly, blue-black hair behind her ear. Raven sucked in a deep breath and let it out. I don’t have to do this. Maybe I should rethink what I’m about to do, she said as she started thinking that just maybe this was a bad idea, like it had been a bad idea to walk through a cemetery all by herself. In the horror movies, the curious female is always the first one to get killed.

She bit her bottom lip.

Oh, what the heck! Raven ignored the sane voice in her head and reached for the corner of the blanket.

A bird made a loud squawking noise just as her hand touched the blanket.

Raven screamed and jumped back as if something had bitten her.

Her heart pounded like a drum against her rib cage.

She clutched at her chest with trembling hands.

She gasped for air.

Dumb bird! That so was not funny! Go find someone else to pick on, she said when she was able to breathe again. Raven squeezed her eyes shut and took several deep breaths as she worked on calming herself so her heartbeat would slow down to a more normal pace. The last thing she needed was to have a heart attack.

She opened her eyes. Enough of the crazy birds, and enough stalling. She grabbed the corner of the blanket and jerked it off the bed.

Dust and sand flew into the air.

Raven threw up her arms to shield her face. She spent a couple of minutes coughing as she waved one of her arms to clear the air, though it wasn’t doing much good. It made the dust even worse.

Raven tried to take a step forward, but somehow the old blanket wrapped itself around her feet, and she tumbled forward. She caught herself on the edge of the bed frame.

Her eyes widened.

Raven opened her mouth and screamed.

She scrambled to get away from the bed, but stumbled and almost fell.

Her heart tried to pound its way out of her chest.

Raven just knew she was having a heart attack.

She wondered if she was going to need a new heart after all of this excitement and horror. She didn’t know how much more her heart could take before it just quit working.

Raven shook her head. I knew it was a stupid idea before I did it, but did that stop me? No, it didn’t. I had to yank the blanket off the bed. I knew better. In the movies, there is always something terrible under the blanket. But did I listen to that little voice in my brain? No, I didn’t. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid, she said.

Raven stared at the human skeleton.

Its empty eye sockets stared back at her. Its lower jaw was crooked compared to the rest of the skull. The skeleton looked like it was laughing at her—mocking her for her curiosity.

The rotting khaki shirt and shorts looked like something explorers wore in the old forties, black and white movies.

Something moved.

Raven’s eyes widened as she watched a huge spider crawl out of one of the eye sockets.

That’s it! I’m so out of here. She turned to the nearest shadow and began to wave her hand in an arching motion to open a Shadow Express doorway. Out of habit, she reached for her necklace.

It was not there.

What the—this isn’t happening. She looked at the sand where she had laid.

The necklace was not there.

Raven pushed the sand with her foot, hoping it was just slight buried under it.

The necklace was not there.

Raven stomped out of the hut.

The skeleton was forgotten.

Going home through the Shadow Express doorway was forgotten.

The only thing on her mind was the necklace. She was tired of people taking her necklace as if it belonged to them. The moron who kidnapped her should not have stolen it. The more she thought about it, the madder she grew. He was going to pay for kidnapping her and for stealing her necklace. He was going to regret he ever saw her.

The intense salty smell of the ocean tickled her nose, along with the odd scent of flowers and rotting vegetation. A hot, tropical breeze played with her hair, forcing Raven to push several unruly strands out of her face. I need a hair clip or maybe a haircut, she thought to herself.

She snorted.

A haircut would be the absolute worst thing she could do to her hair.

Raven looked around at her surroundings.

The clearing was not big and was surrounded by jungle-like vegetation. Palm trees were everywhere. She looked to her left and saw the remains of two more huts. One was nothing more than a pile of sticks and grass. The other hut still had walls, but at some point, the roof had collapsed into the center of the structure.

Great! An island ghost town. Just the place I always wanted to visit. I can scratch it off my list of must see places right after I scratch off Hades and zombie filled cemeteries. She rolled her eyes as she sighed. Skeleton central or zombie central? Big freakin’ choice. I don’t want to deal with either.

Raven shuddered.

The skeletons could just stay where they were.