Atlantis Rising

Chapter 32

Conlan watched Alaric pace the large room—some kind of a den, all leather and wood—and the repetitive motion pissed him off. "Cut it out. Just let us have the bad news, already. Trying to be diplomatic is wasting our time, and it's not your style, anyway."

Alaric's eyes flashed bright green briefly, but at least he stopped the damn pacing. "I have facts, and I have speculation. I'm going to give you both, and identify which is which. Then we must decide how to proceed."

Riley spoke up, her voice small and quiet. "This is about me, I'm guessing?"

Alaric said nothing. He didn't have to. The look on his face said it all.

She tried to smile, tightened her grip on Conlan's hand. "Okay, fire away. And I meant that figuratively, in case you were wondering."

"First, the facts. You offered yourself to Poseidon for Denal and Brennan. He chose to let you live. However, he branded you with the mark of the Trident that only priests bear." Alaric ticked off items on his fingers as he spoke.

"Second—"

"What do you mean, that only priests bear?" Riley interrupted. "I don't even really believe in him. I mean, clearly I believe he exists, after what happened, and I know he has some pretty amazing powers, but I'm strictly a 'Jesus loves me' kind of girl. I can't be his priest! Or priestess, or whatever."

Conlan felt her rising panic, sent calm and reassurance to her. "Let Alaric explain. I don't think he really meant priest in the literal sense. Poseidon doesn't have priestesses."

"You mean, he doesn't have priestesses now. Thousands of years ago, the high priest was just as likely to be a high priestess," Alaric said.

"What? But I've never heard that."

"There are certain things the temple has kept to ourselves over the past few millennia. Like the existence of aknasha 'an among the ones chosen to leave Atlantis at the time of the Cataclysm." Alaric started pacing again, as if his body couldn't remain still.

"Hello? Still not a priest or a priestess or whatever, here," Riley said, curling her legs under her on the couch. "Plus, aren't priests supposed to be celibate?"

She laughed, her cheeks turning pink. "I mean, oh. Um, well, never mind."

Alaric stared at her, eyes icy green. "Yes, there is a vow of celibacy. Another fact we may wish to discuss."

"Are you kidding? No sex for hundreds of years? That sucks!" She blinked. "No offense, but no wonder you're in such a crappy mood all the time, Alaric. I may have to rethink my entire viewpoint on you."

In spite of the deadly nature of the conversation, Conlan had to stifle a grin. She was the most spontaneous person he'd ever known. Whatever she thought…

"Comes right out of my mouth, I know," she said, rolling her eyes at Conlan. "Quit thinking so loudly. I'm sorry, Alaric. That was thoughtless and tactless of me. I think the idea of an unplanned priesthood caught me off guard."

The temperature in the room warmed a couple of degrees as Alaric's normally impervious expression thawed a fraction. "Believe me, I understand. But Poseidon has marked you with the sign of the ordained priest or, in your case, priestess. I must consult with the ancient temple scrolls to determine what this might mean."

Conlan shoved a hand through his hair. "Can't you ask Poseidon? I mean, you are his high priest."

"The high priest who let the Trident slip through his grasp yet again," Alaric said flatly. "I don't get a response when I try to speak to the sea god these days. Believe me, I've tried."

"But—"

"It's worse than even that," Alaric interrupted. "The portal does not respond to my call. I attempted to return to Atlantis during the night to consult the scrolls, and the magic of the portal refused my summons. I fear we may be stranded up here until the matter of the Trident is resolved."

Ven finally spoke up from where he leaned against the far wall near the unused fireplace. "We've all tried. No dice. Which means we can't call for help, either," he said. "But let's go back a ways. You said there are more of these aknashas in our history? Who were Atlantean?"

"Yes. Several of the aknasha'an were among those of our people chosen to scatter to the high grounds of the earth at the time of the Cataclysm. Empaths were much more common then. Still maybe only one in one hundred babies were born with the gift, but since Riley and—" The pause was barely perceptible. "Riley and her sister are the first we have encountered in thousands of years, you can see how the numbers diminished."

"And what function did we… did they serve?" Riley asked.

"They were among the most valued of the royal counselors, naturally, given the nature of their talents. They were essential to trade negotiations and the like. Also, they would often choose to serve Poseidon in his Temple and were very popular in the priesthood."

"I can see how the ability to sense emotion would make someone pretty awesome in the confessional," Ven said. "You did what? Buzz! Wrong answer! You really did something much worse!"

"Shut up, Ven. You're not helping," Conlan snapped.

"Back off. I'm trying to lighten up the mood. You're both scaring Riley to death," Ven growled.

They all turned to look at Riley, who lifted her chin. "Hey, I'm the one who used an axe against a vampire last night, remember? Talking about the old days doesn't really compare with having brains on my legs." She shuddered. "So don't worry about scaring poor little Riley."

"Back to the point, here is my speculation," Alaric said. "I believe that Riley and Quinn are descendants of those ancient Atlanteans and have our DNA in their blood. Furthermore, I believe that they manifest these ancient gifts in fulfillment of one of the most secret prophecies in the Temple scrolls."

He drew a deep breath. "I believe that they herald the time when Atlantis must intermarry with the humans to bring a new and better generation to the world."

Ven whistled. "That's blasphemy, dude."

Alaric nodded. "Not only that, but it is in direct contradiction to the teaching of the Council that any person of royal lineage who violates the royal marriage strictures will bring a second Cataclysm upon Atlantis."

"What?" Riley could only follow the formal speak for so long before her tired and scared brain cells glazed over.

"No stud farm, end of Atlantis," Ven put in tersely.

"Not just Atlantis. End of the whole damn world, is what I've had drummed into my head for my entire life," Conlan said slowly.

"How do we know which it is?" Riley asked. "I mean, not to jump the gun here, Conlan, since we've known each other for less than a week, but I'd rather go with the intermarry thing than option B: cause the world to end."

Conlan felt her trepidation and admired her courage all the more for it. By the gods, she was beautiful. And brave.

And she loved him.

The wonder of it nearly brought him to his knees.

He put his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "In case you didn't hear me the dozen or so times I said it last night, I love you. We'll figure this out."

She hugged him back, but he felt her trembling. "How do we figure this out?" she repeated.

"That's the problem. We can't get back to Atlantis, and Poseidon isn't answering his phone," Ven said, face grim.

Alaric and Riley spoke at the same time. "The Trident."

Then they stared at each other, eyes widening.

"Tell me," Alaric demanded.

"I don't know. Just a feeling I had when he was talking to me last night. He was so arrogant—all 'you do not bargain with a god.' I get the feeling that he can be capricious—"

"You have no idea," Alaric replied.

"Yeah. So maybe this whole thing has been about 'the best man wins.' You know? If Conlan and you get the Trident, you deserve to win the throne, Atlantis, the free stay at a beach resort of your choice, whatever."

Alaric nodded. "That has a decidedly correct feel to it. The gods are ever changeable, and Poseidon has often demonstrated his admiration for the champion in any challenge."

Conlan tightened his arms around Riley. "So. We recover the Trident, or Atlantis may be lost to us forever?"

Ven laughed, but he didn't sound the least bit amused. "Damn gods and their games. Well, that's a sound enough theory to get us going on, then. Now all we have to do is find the Trident. Alaric?"

Alaric closed his eyes, held out his arms to channel power. Several moments passed, then he shook his head. "Nothing. But I felt it only in flashes the other day. I will continue to try."

Footsteps sounded in the hall, and Christophe rounded the corner, holding something out in his head. "Sorry to interrupt, but Riley's cell phone kept ringing."

He held it out to her. "It's your sister, and she says there's trouble."

Nobody but Conlan noticed Alaric flinch.