It was every bit as bad as Nathan had described and worse. Benjamin felt his feet lifting, taking one step after another. But he may as well have been a robot. He stopped when Nathan said stop. He sat when Nathan said sit. And he said whatever Nathan told him to say. All in all, it was the most humiliating experience Benjamin could ever remember having. And to top it all off, Phoebe saw every bit of it.
They wound through a series of passages and down some stairs until they came to a life-sized painting of a bunch of people wearing togas. Nathan swiped his eyeball in front of a scanner, and the painting shifted, revealing a teleporter. Nathan ordered Benjamin onto the teleporter, and then he and Phoebe stepped on behind him.
Benjamin was vaguely aware of a feeling of curiosity as to where they were going. But it passed and was replaced with the struggle in his mind to fight against the bonds Nathan had put in place. Even in his zombie state, Benjamin knew he needed to break free. He had to find a way to get in contact with his friends. Or Cory. He hoped Cory had managed to find them, but he hadn’t had the chance to ask Heidi when they’d talked.
When the teleportation stopped, Benjamin tried to move around but couldn’t. But even without looking around, Benjamin knew where he was. He’d been in this passageway before. Over a year ago. It was the underground tunnel leading to the city of Shambhala. Leading to the three keys of Shambhala. The keys which had the power to bring down the shields around Atlantis and Lemuria.
Even if Benjamin had wanted to take the keys with him back then, Helios told him it was impossible. Two out of the three triplets were needed to unlock the keys. Well, here were two of the three now. Benjamin and Phoebe. They’d come to the keys so he and Phoebe could use them to disable the shields and raise Atlantis and Lemuria up from the bottom of the ocean.
Benjamin had a mild thought that he should have been panicking at this realization, but in his zombie state, he accepted it.
“Let’s go,” Nathan said, and Benjamin immediately started following Nathan and Phoebe down the long underground tunnel. At the end, two doors swung open, and they walked into the chamber.
“The children come back to the fold.”
Benjamin couldn’t even turn his head at the sound of the dominating male voice, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out it was Caelus—his birth father.
“Father,” Phoebe said. “We’ve brought him to you as you requested.”
Nathan turned Benjamin so he could see the speaker, and Benjamin saw the man give Phoebe a smile that didn’t come close to reaching his eyes. Could she not see that?
“Yes, yes,” Caelus said. “My son. My very important son.”
Nathan’s grip on Benjamin’s arm tightened like a vise.
“Benjamin Holt,” Caelus said. “I’ve been waiting eons for this moment.”
It was only then that Benjamin noticed a woman standing next to Caelus. Through his foggy mind, he figured this must be Gaea—the first of the false gods and the wife of Caelus.
“You realize this is where it all began,” Caelus said. “Right here in this very chamber.”
Benjamin didn’t realize anything of the sort, but even if he’d wanted to convey this to Caelus, Nathan’s bonds wouldn’t have let him. But apparently, he didn’t need any encouragement from Benjamin to keep talking.
“Yes, that’s right,” Caelus continued. “The three triplets, born in the underground chamber of Shambhala. And it’s here that your mother died. She was so weak.”
Benjamin felt the first strong emotion he’d felt since the bonds had been placed on him by Nathan. He felt anger.
“It was here that your destiny was formed,” Caelus continued. “Here that the keys were bonded to each of you. The Xanadu key was for Phoebe here. The Bangkok key was Cory’s. And the final key—the Shambhala key—that was yours, Benjamin. The key that would bring everything together. The key that would seal the other two once they were joined.”
“Really, Caelus,” the woman who must be Gaea said. “Must we go on with this needless history lesson? The boy will only be killed when we’re through with him.” She looked at Benjamin, and hatred poured out of her eyes.
“The boy should know how important he is,” Caelus said. “It is why we’ve gone to all this trouble, isn’t it?”
“Then perhaps we should focus on that,” Nathan said.
Benjamin saw Gaea smile at Nathan, and it dawned on him that Nathan may actually be her son. He knew Caelus was Nathan’s father, but Nathan had never mentioned who his mother was.
“My child is so wise,” Gaea cooed at Nathan, confirming Benjamin’s suspicions. And then she narrowed her eyes once again. “Let us just focus on what we need to tell this boy before we are through with him. And through with Phoebe.” She glared at Phoebe who shrank under her gaze.
“I will tell the story as I see fit,” Caelus said.
Through his fog, Benjamin noticed Nathan’s displeasure at being silenced, and then he felt a ray of hope. He’d been able to turn his head, just the slightest bit, to get a better sidelong look at Nathan. Almost imperceptibly, he moved it back, hoping no one had noticed.
“Phoebe has known about this day forever,” Caelus said. He looked into Benjamin’s eyes. “But you were different. We didn’t even know where you were until after the Emerald Tablet woke. And when it spoke, we heard it. And we knew the time the oracle foresaw was upon us.”
“It was the birth of the triplets that started the entire chain of events,” Caelus said. “It began the weakening of the shields. It caused the keys to be hidden around the earth in space and time. It started the new age of the telegens—when telegens would once again rule the world.”
Benjamin watched Phoebe as Caelus spoke, and swore he saw pride in her face. How could she be proud of this monster? Caelus was nothing but a power-crazy lunatic.
“We searched for years for you,” Caelus said. “And even after Kennias Burton approached us with his ramblings of your importance, we still didn’t believe him. But when he reported back after the Emerald Tablet, we knew. The second child had been found.”
“It is actually thanks to you and to my son, Nathan, that Cory was ever found,” Caelus said. “He may well have rotted away in the past, though I don’t think the keys would have allowed that to happen.” Caelus walked to the center pedestal, and it was the first time Benjamin thought to look for the keys.
They sat in the center, raised up from the base, and glowed a faint green even now in their idle state. Had the keys controlled everything? Had the Emerald Tablet?
“But the keys have been kind to us,” Caelus said. “Only two of the triplets are required for their strength to be used. Two shall do the task for which they were destined. The sole purpose of the keys is to bring down the shields. And in just a few minutes, you and Phoebe shall do just that.”
Benjamin struggled to open his mouth and respond, and his attempt was rewarded.
“You can go to hell,” Benjamin said.
Caelus laughed even as Benjamin felt the bonds tighten once more around him.
“Let him speak, Nathan,” Caelus said. “Reduce the force of your bonds.”
Nathan frowned but did as Caelus instructed, and Benjamin felt his body relax for the first time since the constraints had been put in place.
“Why should I help bring down the shields?” Benjamin asked. It was the question he’d asked himself just about every day since he found out who he really was. Actually, he’d asked himself why he should keep the shields in place. But the motivation was the same. Was the removal of the shields the right thing to do?
Caelus laughed again. “My dear son, you don’t have a choice. With the bonds holding you in place, you will simply do as you are instructed. But I’ll answer your question anyway.” He put his fingers to his chin as he pondered the answer. “The shields should be brought down because their time is over. They should be brought down because for tens of thousands of years they have held millions of telegens in prison. They should be brought down because humans are weak and need control. Look at the state of the world today. Just look at it,” Caelus demanded, and he cast in front of Benjamin’s eyes a holographic display of the world.
The image zoomed and flashed to show poverty. Starvation. Famine. It shifted and focused on war and all its aftereffects. He saw genocide. Holocaust. Murder. Thievery. Abuse. As the images shifted, Benjamin’s stomach turned, and he felt the urge to look away. But he forced himself to watch. He needed to know the truth about the future.
“This is what Earth has become,” Caelus said. “This is what humans have resorted to. They need guidance. They are simply not mentally equipped to handle living in this world unguided.”
“But what’s to say you’re the right person to guide them?” Benjamin asked. He couldn’t argue with the images he’d been shown. But would anything be different with the Atlantian rulers in place?
“History takes us back twenty thousand years ago, Benjamin,” Caelus said.
The holographic images shifted and Benjamin realized he was now viewing Earth’s past. Images showed humans living in peace. Carrying food to temples. Worshipping their gods.
“These images are totally biased,” Benjamin said. “You’ve only shown the horrors of today’s world, and only peace in the past.”
“Is it really any different?” Caelus asked. “Can you honestly tell me the images you saw don’t reflect Earth as you know it? Can you?”
Benjamin didn’t respond. Everything he’d seen was accurate. But Earth had lots of awesome qualities too. Not every human lived in poverty or fear.
Caelus sighed. “If not for the humans of Earth, than for the telegens of Atlantis. That alone is reason to bring down the shields. The fact that Gaea and I will take control of the arth, Lemuria, and Atlantis is simply a side note. The people of Atlantis must be freed. The Emerald Tablet itself has commanded it.”
Benjamin’s head spun, and if he’d had the self control to sit, he would have. But as it was, he stood in place and looked at the keys. What did they want him to do? But it seemed the keys would never have the chance to respond.
Gaea stomped her foot down, and the room shook. Even Caelus appeared to shrink under her fury. “Enough time has been wasted! This talk is pointless. Proceed now!” she commanded.
Caelus looked at her but didn’t reply. Looking back at Benjamin, he narrowed his eyes. “Yes, the time has come for your destiny to be fulfilled.”
Nathan cleared his throat.
“Yes, Nathan?” Caelus asked.
“When we are finished, will you release the bonds you’ve placed on me?” Nathan asked. “Will you allow me to continue on the path we discussed?”
“Path?” Caelus said. “Ah, yes. Your quest. Your blood quest. Yes, you may continue. In fact you are doing both yourself and me a favor, for it has been foretold that a child of mine shall kill me too. Kill them all,” Caelus said. “And you may start with Benjamin Holt.”
Nathan smiled and fear shot through Benjamin down to his feet. He knew he’d better come up with something pretty darned quick, or he’d be dead.
“Kill them all except Phoebe, that is,” Nathan corrected him. “Remember what we discussed?”
“Ah, yes,” Caelus said. “You may do what you want with Phoebe. I couldn’t care less. Marry her as you want. Or kill her. It makes no difference to me.”
“Father!” Phoebe’s face turned ashen.
Caelus laughed. “Father. A name I’ve had to put up with for thousands of years from all sorts of worthless offspring. All to wait for the birth of the triplets.”
“But, Father,” Phoebe said, and Benjamin saw tears in her wide eyes. “I thought you loved me. You cared for me after my family was killed.”
“I killed your family, silly girl,” Caelus said. “If Nathan wants you for his toy, then why should I stop that?”
Phoebe looked like she was caught between clawing his eyes out and running for the door, but from the way she froze, Benjamin knew invisible bonds had been placed around her. They were in the same boat now. Helpless and completely subject to the will of others.
Benjamin didn’t know what would happen next. After the shields came down. And they would come down. He knew it as sure as he knew Phoebe was his true blood sister. How was he ever going to explain this one back home?
Against his will, he found himself moving forward—to the pedestal. Phoebe came too, up to the other side, and when he looked at her, their eyes met.
“I’m sorry.”
He heard her telepathic thought and saw it in her eyes.
“It’s okay,” Benjamin replied with telepathy. He smiled. And then he had a brief glimmer of hope. Their telepathy had worked. And if their telepathy had worked, then maybe he’d be able to contact Cory. Maybe the power of the keys would lend itself to Benjamin and aid in the telepathy. He had to try. Even as his hand was raised up to the pedestal, he called out to Cory.
“Cory,” he said. “Can you hear me? Please hear me.”
His hand lowered onto the middle key—the one which had stayed in Shambhala all along. Phoebe’s hand rested on the Xanadu key, and once both of their hands were in place, the three keys burst into illumination.
“Benjamin!”
He heard the voice and fought not to smile. It had worked.
“We’re in Shambhala. In the cavern. The keys. The shields are coming down. We need help.”
And then the thrumming began. And the glowing intensified. And all thoughts of telepathic conversations disappeared. He felt Phoebe’s mind in his own. He felt her hurt. Her shame. Her sorrow. At least he’d had over a year to deal with the truth. Her world had turned upside down only minutes ago.
Benjamin tried to peel his eyes off the keys—to see Caelus or Gaea. But he found he couldn’t. And in his mind, he thought about the shields. And the Atlantians. And even though part of him fought to stop it, another part fought to bring it on. To lower the shields and raise the continents. The time had come. He felt no such battle in Phoebe’s mind. She wanted the shields destroyed. She’d wanted it her entire life. It was what she’d been taught. The part of his mind that fought to keep the shields in place weakened. It couldn’t compete against the stronger forces.
The chamber shook around Benjamin, and the earth groaned. Pieces of the ceiling showered down on them, but he couldn’t move, and even if he’d been able to, he didn’t think he would have. He knew the chamber would not destroy him. The keys protected both him and Phoebe.
The shaking seemed to go on for hours, though Benjamin had no idea how long it really lasted. And when it was finally over, he still felt the tremors. The earth above needed to adjust to her new shape.
Benjamin and Phoebe fell to the floor, all constraining bonds released. Benjamin just had time to glance at Caelus and Gaea as they embraced and teleported away. And then he thought about Nathan.
His mind flew to Phoebe, but he remembered Nathan didn’t intend to kill her. He was going to marry her which in Benjamin’s opinion was a fate worse than death. Nathan had to die.
That’s when Benjamin saw Cory. He’d gotten the message and made it to the chamber. Relief flooded through Benjamin as Cory advanced on Nathan, who apparently had not been expecting his arrival. And then Benjamin saw Joey Duncan. And Heidi.
Nathan turned and froze; Benjamin almost saw Nathan’s well-thought-out plans crumbling before his eyes. Doubt clouded over on his face. He surveyed the group, and must’ve had second thoughts, because before anyone had time to stop him, he grabbed Phoebe around the waist and teleported out of the chamber.