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I pulled up images from the island and studied the mountain from all angles, but if it was indeed hollow inside, I found no indication of it from the pictures. No matter how much I zoomed in, I didn’t see any secret cave openings, well, if they were secret I didn’t think I would find them like this.
Only one thing stood out, on the very top, the mountain resembled the inside of a giant bowl. Curiously I noticed several openings, large enough for a person to crawl through.
The sound of the doors closing diverted my attention and I lifted my head to look up, but I was alone. The noise had startled me enough though to realize that my stomach was growling ferociously. It had to be already around noon. I had been up all night and the last time I ate had been yesterday’s dinner.
I was surprised to find domed dishes set on the table. It must have been the servants bringing the midday meal that startled me out of my musings. Had they done that for breakfast too and I had completely ignored it?
My hunger drove me to the table and I grabbed one of the rolls, and began to alternately take a bite from it, while breaking off pieces of a chunk of cheese.
I forced my mind to return to other things than the Zuten and Leandars, because I worried I would fall into another trancelike state. With that though, my mind returned to Myles and I realized something else, it was already midmorning and he had promised to contact me through the palmtop the minute he finished his underwater scouting. He was supposed to be on his way back by now.
I put the food down and creased my brows. This wasn’t like him.
Just as panic was growing in my stomach, the doors opened, a guard announced, “Vissy Niara, Queen—”
“Thank you, I can sshow mysself in,” Queen Sarissa pushed the dragoon to the side and slithered her way in. The dragoon gave me a questioning look, but I waved him off.
Sarissa didn’t even wait for him to close the door. “You have exactly an hour to leave Oceanuss. You and all your treacherouss, dissgusting humanss.”
My stomach flipped as a cold hand made its way up toward my heart. “Why would I do that?” I asked, even though I already had an idea, but managed to keep my voice even.
“Because I have Myless in my custody and I will have him killed if you don’t obey.”
My heart dropped into my stomach. No, no, no, that couldn’t be, it just couldn’t. Myles could never be captured. Not by her. This was a trick. It had to be.
“I don’t believe you,” I replied in a voice smaller than I liked it to be.
“Ssuit yourself,” she shrugged as if it didn’t matter to her one way or another.
My palmtop still lay on the couch, I moved to retrieve it and tapped the appropriate commands, to be connected with Myles. Nothing happened for a while, finally one of the dragoons who had gone with him appeared, his face reflected how unused he was operating the palmtop.
“Vissy Niara,” the sound of my title was a reminder of who I was, helping my confidence to return.
“Where is Vissigroth Myles?” I demanded sounding stronger with each word.
The dragoon looked left to right as if hoping to find someone higher ranking to help him decide what to do or say and my heart dropped a little bit lower.
“I’m sorry, Vissy Niara, Vissigroth Myles hasn’t returned yet.”
“Hasn’t returned yet?” I repeated, making it a question. My voice wavered more with each word. “If they’re still down there, they’re out of oxygen.”
“We were connected through a line, they were supposed to tug if they needed help, they never did.” The dragoon said, more to fill the empty air between us than anything, or to stop me from a meltdown, I didn’t know which and didn’t really care at the moment either.
“What happened to the line?” Now my voice shook.
“It was simply dropped.”
I closed my eyes. I was the one who told Myles about the line. Dropping meant they were in trouble but there was no sense sending help. Dropping it could have meant a thousand different things, from a sudden siren ambush they knew they were outnumbered. They could have gotten trapped somewhere or attacked by a swarm of sea creatures. But with Sarissa standing in front of me gloating, I suspected the former, giving me hope that he was alive.
“Keep you position and send dive teams to see if you can find out anything else,” I ordered.
“They’re already down there, Vissy Niara,” the dragoon assured me, even though his facial expression didn’t make any promises, we both knew that by now Myles and the others would have run out of air.
Oh Myles, I thought desperately, where are you?
Coldly I stared at Sarissa. “I am the Vissy of Oceanus, I demand you surrender Vissigroth Myles at once.”
She laughed meanly, “Look at you, getting all high and mighty.” Her expression sobered just as sudden as her laugh had started. “No, you’re not the one giving orderss here any longer, Vissssy Niara,” she pronounced my title and name like it was some kind of disease. “You may remain vissssy, in name only, but the true Vissssy of Oceanus, the one giving orderss here, iss me.”
