The Water Princess (The Lost Keepers Book 8) Read online

  The Water Princess

  The Lost Keeper #8

  AR Colbert

  Ramsey Street Books

  Copyright © 2021 AR Colbert

  All rights reserved

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Previously in The Lost Keepers

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  A DEEPER LOOK

  ABOUT THE SERIES

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Previously in The Lost Keepers

  Tate and Millie develop a pill that changes the color of Everly’s aura. It appears blue, like an Atlantean, but the effect only lasts for two days after each dose.

  Able to leave the house again, Everly grows in her powers. She discovers that she not only has the standard Atlantean powers to swim and breathe underwater, but she also has the ability to stop time. Her friends have never heard of anyone with a power like that before.

  Al the owl tells her that her soul has been reincarnated from Athena, and Everly feels the power and energy of a warrior when faced with Rossel and Osborne. Rossel knows about the prophecy, and Everly knows she must find the missing pieces of the tablet before he does.

  With the help of her friends, she sets off for Atlantis but lands in Porta Maris, an island set aside for asylum from the laws of the Keepers.

  Chapter 1

  The situation wasn’t funny at all, but I couldn’t help but laugh. Sean, a broad-shouldered muscular hulk of a man, hunched over at the counter, whining over a mixing bowl. Giant flour handprints were smeared across his apron, and he pouted to my aunt Millie. “I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. They keep breaking!”

  “They’re eggs, Sean. They’re supposed to break.”

  I peered into his bowl at the puddle of broken yolks and pulverized shells. “Maybe you should try a more delicate touch.”

  We tried to keep our conversation light and fluffy in the hopes it would make Driskell and Devon a little less sour. Devon still had his undies in a wad about losing his previous life to these people, and old man Driskell wanted to be anywhere else.

  But at least we were all alive now. Rossel couldn’t get us here. And as soon as we helped Millie with her chore, we would have clean beds to sleep in before our trip to Atlantis tomorrow.

  “Done.” I stepped back from my own mixing bowl, proudly examining the batter within. “Do you want me to pour it into the baking dish?”

  “Not yet.” Millie’s shoulders sagged. “We’re missing the final ingredient.”

  She dragged her feet over to a narrow cabinet with steel bars running across the front of it. With a click of the lock, the door swung open to reveal a pharmaceutical smorgasbord.

  “Ohhh!” I put the heel of my hand against my forehead. “Of course! This is all making much better sense now. You’re making some kind of healing products, aren’t you? I was wondering why they would put you in charge of restocking their baked goods.” I licked some raw brownie batter off of my thumb and gave an approving nod. “No offense, of course. This is actually really good. You’re just not exactly known for your baking skills.”

  “I am around here.” Millie sighed and walked over to me with a medicine bottle in her hand. She twisted off the lid, and I sneaked a quick peek inside. A silvery-greenish substance swirled at the bottom like liquid metal.

  “What is that?”

  “It’s concentrated soma, and it’s incredibly illegal.”

  “And you’re putting it in the brownies?”

  Millie frowned. “It takes a special touch to… uh… enhance these baked goods without going overboard. They need a healer to do it. This is how we pay for our accommodations.”

  “They want to feel good without losing their minds.” Driskell waved an angry hand from the corner of the room and began grumbling something about how the whole lot of them were a bunch of druggies. Millie didn’t disagree.

  “So you’re making special brownies?” I laughed. My little rule-following aunt had a rebellious streak in her after all. “Seems fitting for an island of supernatural misfits.”

  “They’re criminals!” Driskell bellowed.

  “Soma is like ten times stronger than ambrosia,” Sean said. “It was too strong to remain on earth. It’s only grown in Olympus now, which makes me wonder how they have a store of it here.” He shot a disapproving look in Millie’s direction.

  “There are always outside groups looking to hire Keepers for their less than admirable jobs. But money has little value here, so they find other methods of keeping everyone happy.” Millie cut sad eyes over to Devon, who sat stone faced beside Driskell. When he didn’t respond, she set the bottle of soma on the counter and joined him on the bench.

  “When you were here before, in your past life, we worked together on some of these missions.” Millie took Devon’s hand in hers. Though she looked at him while she spoke, I suspected this explanation was just as much for the rest of us as it was for him. “There was an active group of evil, powerful beings whose only goal was to destroy the Keepers and everything we stood for.”

  “The Manticorians,” I whispered.

  “Yes.” Millie’s expression hardened as her eyes rested on me for a moment. Thankfully she didn’t ask how I knew about the Manticorians. It would be difficult to explain that I gathered all of my information from a textbook given to me by the leader of that group—Rastputin, himself.

  “Some of the jobs we were tasked with required tactics that weren’t exactly above board.” Millie dropped her chin, lost in a memory. “So we took sanctuary here, where we could be safe in between missions. We made friends with like-minded soldiers—others who were dedicated to the cause. Tano was one of our best and brightest men. You two were like brothers,” she said to Devon. He visibly stiffened, but still made no response.

  “But someone got to him. Tano turned on us in Saint Petersburg. He struck a deal with someone up high in the Atlantean council—someone within our very own ranks who was working for the Manticorians. He knew we were close to eliminating them, and the councilman offered to exonerate Tano for all of his previous crimes if he killed us.”

  “So he did?”

  Millie nodded. “We trusted Tano. We never saw it coming. I escaped,” she touched Devon’s cheek, “but you weren’t so lucky. To Tano’s credit, he knew he’d made a mistake. He took out four of our own men, which was enough to erase his criminal history per the deal he’d struck with the council, but then he turned on Rasputin as well. Tano became a free agent.”

  “So how did he end up back here again?” I asked.

  “Tano needs boundaries. Freedom doesn’t work out too well for him. When left to his own devices, he makes poor decisions. One list of crimes was replaced by another, and here he is again.”

  “What happened to you?” Devon asked. His eyes were glossy, focused intently on my aunt.

  “I served my sentence for a hundred years, and I’ve been playing by the law ever since.” With one final squeeze of Devon’s hand, Millie stood and returned to work. “But that’s enough talk about the past. We have more important things to focus on, like the future.” She measured out the soma, pouring exactly six drops into the batter and mixing it in before transferring it to the baking dish. She turned the conversation toward me as she worked.

  “When you go to Atlantis tomorrow, you’ll need to act as though you are a guardian. It’s the most common power among Atlanteans, and they will not ask you to prove anything. If they do, run as fast as you can and we’ll just say you’re not particularly adept.”

  I nodded. “Got it.”

  “But as for your real powers…” She put the brownies in the oven and turned to me. The whole room drew a collective breath, everyone wondering the same thing. “Did you really stop time back in my study?”

  “I did.” I busied myself with cleaning up the mess I’d made on the countertop, trying to avoid making eye contact with anyone.

  “Is it something you can replicate?”

  “Nope.”

  “Are you sure? Have you tried it again? Maybe under different circumstances? I could help. We could try to—”

  “Millie. I can’t.” I threw a hand towel onto the counter, sending a cloud of cocoa powder into the air. “I’ve tried. It’s actually really frustrating. And apparently no one has ever heard of a power like this. I’m tired of being the weird one. I’d rather just drop it if that’s okay? There’s nothing you can do.”

  “I’m sorry, Everly. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “You didn’t. It’s just—I’m just tired. It’s been a long day.”

  “Of course. And I’m sure that must’ve taken a lot out of you. Why don’t you go get some rest? We’re almost finished here, and I can wrap things up on my own. Let’s find you a room and s
ome supper. You’ve got an even bigger day ahead of you tomorrow.”

  She was right. And that big day ahead of me was exactly what had me so tense. Though, I didn’t know what scared me more—the thought of going into Atlantis, or the fear of what might happen if we really did find the missing piece of the prophecy.

  There was no backing out now.

  Chapter 2

  Tano didn’t come around again. Some other man showed us to comfortable rooms within the rock of Porta Maris. As we ventured through the hallways, I realized the secret hideout was not only hidden within the stony cliffs of the island, but it extended well below the shore, down under the water as well. Small windows punctuating the hall revealed sea life in the clear water outside of the building.

  We all shared one room. Sean and I split a bunk bed, Driskell slept on the couch, and Millie and Devon shared the queen sized bed in the corner. I tried really hard not to let myself think too much about my aunt and Devon. It still weirded me out if I let it.

  We were all exhausted and slept like the dead right up until the sound of someone knocking at our door brought us back to life the next morning. “Coming!” Millie called out as her feet swung down to the floor.

  I sat up and rubbed my eyes, only to find Millie gaping at me when I dropped my hands. “What is it?”

  “Your aura. It’s white again,” she whispered.

  The knock sounded once more, louder this time. “One minute!” Millie’s sweet voice was like a song to the stranger on the opposite side of the door, but she practically growled at me as she flew across the room and tossed my covers over my head. “Get under there. Don’t move. Don’t even breathe. We can’t let them see you.”

  I held my breath as the door eased open and Millie said hello. A man’s voice responded—Tano. Shoot. If only it could have been anyone else. Was it even possible to hide an aura through a blanket, or would it radiate out, unconstrained by fabric and pillows?

  “Breakfast is ready. Georgette took one look at that tray full of goodies you left in the kitchen and insisted we feed you before we kick you out. There’s a stack of pancakes three feet tall in there.” His laugh was deep and hollow.

  “Great, thank you. We’ll be right down.”

  I heard a hand smack against the door, and Tano’s voice grew louder and closer. “Wait. Did everyone sleep okay last night?”

  “Just fine.” Millie’s voice was higher, on the verge of panic.

  Tano’s wheezy breathing came even closer, audible through the blanket. He had to have been right over me. “Aren’t you missing someone?”

  “She’s in the bathroom!” Driskell shouted. “And she better hurry up or I might wet myself!” He banged on the wall as he yelled.

  Tano grunted a sound of disgust, and I loosed a silent breath as his heavy footfalls left my side. “Alright. We’ll see you in the dining room.”

  It was a full thirty seconds after the door closed before Sean yanked the blanket off of me. “That was too close. We’ve got to get you more of your pills.”

  “You didn’t happen to bring them with you, did ya?” I looked hopefully at Millie.

  “I didn’t. And I don’t think I can make any more without Thaddeus or another Agarthian with strong glamour. Do you think you might be able to take Sean and Everly back to retrieve them real quick?” she asked Devon.

  “Sounds like we probably better. But can I grab some pancakes first?”

  “No.” Sean and Millie answered in unison.

  “Fine,” Devon grumbled. “Come on.” He extended two hands to his sides. Sean and I approached, and Devon frowned at our attire. Sean was barefoot in athletic shorts and a holey, stained t-shirt with the sleeves cut off. I was wearing a faded old night shirt with a cartoon bird on the front that hung down to my knees. It wasn’t unusual for guests to arrive at Porta Maris with nothing but the clothes on their backs, but unfortunately the selection of extra clothing they had to change into was pretty limited.

  “Don’t look at me like that,” I muttered. “We’ll get some other clothes at Millie’s house before we come back.”

  “That’s a good idea, for all of our sakes.” He wrinkled his nose.

  I moved to elbow him in the ribs, but we were gone before I could. I was dipped into the frigid sensation of teleporting across the fabric of reality, but only for a moment before I found myself standing on a pile of papers on the floor of Millie’s study.

  The room had been ravaged from our magical fight the day before, but the Olympians were gone. I dropped the boys’ hands and spun in a circle, surveying the damage.

  “This place is a wreck,” Sean said.

  “No kidding. I can’t believe Jeeves hasn’t… oh my goodness! I forgot about Jeeves! And Pierre!” I turned from the room, taking the stairs two at a time and calling out to my aunt’s butler and private chef.

  “Everly, wait!” Sean’s voice called out from the study, but he was by my side in a flash—one of the benefits of his powers. “If they’re still here, you’re gonna have a lot of explaining to do.”

  “I don’t care. We’ll figure that out later. I need to know that the Olympians didn’t get to them. We’ve got to make sure they’re okay.”

  I continued calling out their names until we reached the foyer at the bottom of the stairs. The house was silent. Millie’s place had never been so quiet. I had to strain my ears to hear the faintest whine and a scratch at the back door. I whipped around to find two enormous, drooling faces looking through the glass door from the patio in Millie’s courtyard.

  “Lemon Drop! Tiny Tim!”

  Sean got to the door before I did, of course, and he let Millie’s giant Mastiffs inside. They greeted us with slobbery noses mushed into our legs.

  “Hey pups. Can you help us find Jeeves and Pierre?” They tilted their huge faces to the side, tails wagging as they looked up at us. “They’re not exactly bloodhounds,” I said with a shrug to Sean.

  But we didn’t need the dogs to help us find the others. Devon had already stumbled across them in the most obvious of places—their usual hangout, the kitchen. We went running at his call, and I gasped as I took in Jeeves’ massive body tied down to a chair with his back facing Pierre.

  Both men were restrained at the wrists, waists, and ankles, with giant gags in their mouths. They must’ve been this way overnight. We hurried to pull the gags and remove their bindings as fast as we could.

  “Everly! What is going on?” Jeeves' voice was hoarse, and it broke my heart to think of them screaming or calling out for help for so many hours.

  Sean gave me the side eye. He’d warned me about this, and I didn’t have an explanation ready. So I would turn the question back around to them, instead. At least until I thought up a plan.

  “You tell me! Who did this to you? And are you hurt?” I turned Jeeves’ wrists over in my hands, searching for any injuries before doing the same to Pierre. Pierre wasn’t as outwardly appreciative, however. He wrinkled his brow as he examined my bird nightgown.

  “Yes, we are fine. But the woman and the short man—they were searching for something. She wanted to kill us but the man said no. I am so thankful for the small little man.” Pierre wiped his brow.

  “I know this is gonna sound crazy,” Jeeves ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath, “but these weren’t ordinary people. They—”

  “Zip it!” Pierre warned sternly.

  Sean and I exchanged looks. They saw the Olympians’ powers. We were going to have to do something about that. But at least they weren’t interested in talking about it for now.

  Devon backed toward the door. He was never a fan of confrontation. “I’m gonna head back upstairs to get… uh… you know.”

  “Thanks.” I nodded to him. “I’ll get myself a glass of water ready.” I had to hurry and take the pills before we teleported back to Porta Maris. We didn’t have much time before they expected us for breakfast there. “Sean, can you run and see if the tablet is still here? It was in Driskell’s room. I think Tate put some kind of glamour on it, so I’m hoping it’s still there.”