Atlantium Trilogy I: Bride of Atlantis (20 page)

“
We haven’t decided yet,
and, with Thor chasing rebels it could be quite a while, but I’d
like for you to plan the wedding, whenever it takes place. I don’t
have a clue about the Atlantean traditions.”

For a moment, Alexis thought Aurora
might jump up and shout her delight like a young girl, but she
merely threw her arms around Alexis, hugging her tightly. “You are
the daughter of my heart, Alexis. Know that I am beyond joyful that
you will be my daughter by marriage.”

From out of nowhere, tears sprang up
to sting Alexis’ eyes. She blinked them back with an effort. “I
love you too, Aurora.”

Aurora released her, patting her knee.
“I must begin making plans. Thor is the Guardian. We must have an
elaborate celebration. It will be tedious for the two of you, I
know, but everyone will expect it to be an especial
event.”

Alexis was relieved when Aurora
left.

It was hard to maintain a facade of
happiness under the circumstances. Thor had not actually asked her
to marry him. She hadn’t wanted to tell Aurora that because she
didn’t want him prodded to ask. If he hadn’t asked, then he still
had some doubts about it.

She wasn’t angry about it. The truth
was, she wasn’t entirely convinced that she was cut out to be an
Atlantean. Thor wasn’t meant for anything else. She was twenty six,
not sixteen, no starry eyed teenager who believed love conquered
all. As much as she loved Thor, as much as he seemed to love her,
they were from two very, very different worlds and she had to
wonder if marriage would only lead to heartbreak and disaster for
both of them.

She would be willing to take the
chance, if Thor decided it was what he wanted, but she couldn’t
shake her doubts.

In any case, her focus at the moment
was on returning to her world to settle matters. She had run out of
options. In point of fact, she had never really had any. There
simply was no way out of Atlantis unless she could convince an
Atlantean to take her.

She had decided Thor was her best—her
only hope.

She fully intended, when he returned,
to begin her campaign to convince him.

She was in the garden rehearsing her
campaign when the sounds of civil war erupted.

Alexis had become so accustomed to the
silence of tranquility that the explosion of sound almost made her
heart stop. She fell to her knees, covered her ears as the sound of
a thousand, ten thousand screaming people erupted around
her.

Chapter Fourteen

Thor had made very little headway in
discovering the rebel compound. He had assured himself, however,
that the threat, should it come, would not be from Atalantium, but
one of her sister cities.

Since he could no longer trust that he
would be alerted telepathically in the event of an attack, he had
stationed sentries around the city to help him watch for
trouble.

He was speaking with the members of
the council when the alarm went up, from first one, then another,
and then yet another of his sentries.

Thor left them abruptly, rushing up
the tower of the council building to the observation deck. Few
buildings in Atalantium were as tall as the council building, none
taller. The tower offered the point of greatest
visibility.

He was staring, grimly, in the
direction of Oceanus when Aurora, breathless from the climb, joined
him.

He pointed to what appeared, at first,
to be a dark cloud moving toward the city.

Aurora stood beside him, watching as
the cloud slowly resolved itself into a horde of flying beasts. “So
many! I had not thought….”

“
They would not have
attacked until they felt sure they had the numbers to insure a good
chance of success. In truth, I had not expected they would launch
an all out attack. I had expected clandestine tactics. There is no
time, now, to summon my men.”

“
What could they possibly
hope to gain? Do they think they have only to take over the council
to rule Atlantis?”

Thor looked down at her, his face
grim. “I do not think they want only to rule Atlantis. I think they
believe their gifts will give them the power to rule the world of
the outworlders. I fear they’ve come to raise Atlantis.”

Aurora stared at him in shocked
disbelief. “But … they cannot! The mechanism would never hold! It
is ancient. Even if it were not, we are thrice the number ever
anticipated. The weight alone would destroy us. Atlantis would
break apart.”

“
I do not believe they will
listen to reason, mother.”

“
You must stop them! You
cannot allow them to capture it!”

“
I cannot stun them all.
There are far too many. I await your orders, High
Councilor.”

Aurora grasped his arm. “Destroy them
then.”

Thor turned his attention to the
advancing horde. “The dome could crack. Even if I could prevent
that, half of Atalantium lies before me, in the path of
destruction. I would be taking the lives of our own
people.”

Aurora looked out over her beloved
city, reluctant to give the order she knew Thor must have to
proceed. “You are our only hope! Destroy them. They will surely
destroy all of Atlantis if they succeed and all will be lost.
Better to save those we can than that we allow all to die. We must
call the people. They will have a chance, at least, if we warn them
to seek safety.”

Thor nodded, turned to gaze out over
the city. Aurora joined him, combining her ‘voice’ with
his.

Beneath them, everyone stopped,
looking up, too stunned with disbelief for several moments even to
move.

Within a split second, the screams of
thousands reached them as pandemonium broke out, people running in
every direction in an effort to save themselves.

Thor transferred his attention to the
approaching army. They were too close already. He dared not give
his people much time or the destruction would be
absolute.

Instinctively, he pulled his sword as
the first wave reached the coast, but he realized he could not
allow himself to be drawn away from what he believed was his
enemy’s ultimate goal. If he went out to meet them, the citadel
would be unguarded.

The mechanism lay beneath the
citadel.

He sheathed his sword.

“
Go, mother. Take the
council below, to the chamber. If I fail, you must protect the
mechanism. If you feel you cannot, destroy it so that they cannot
use it.”

When she had gone, Thor turned to meet
the army, lifting his arms, palms upward as he summoned the power,
funneling it. The waves formed, rippled, inverting like a miniature
cyclone as he sent it forth. The citadel, where he stood, shook
from the force. Great pieces of the ramparts cracked, fell into the
maddened crowd below, creating even more havoc. Before him, a swath
of Atalantium fifty feet wide vanished as if it had never been,
crumbling to dust. The handful of enthusiastic warriors who had led
the first wave, caught flame, screamed, plummeted toward the
sea.

The rebels fell back, regrouped.
Minutes passed while they conferred, then they splintered into
dozens of smaller groups and approached again.

Consternation filled Thor. It would
take a massive wave to encompass them now that they had spread out.
He dared not risk it, knowing the losses in terms of his own people
would be massive. Instead he tried pounding at them with a barrage
of smaller sonic blasts. But, with each bombardment, more of
Atalantium lay in ruins, more crushed and maimed lay dead and
dying.

When the rebels fell back once more,
Thor knew what he had to do. He had to risk a wave that would
destroy them all, that could destroy all of Atlantis. If he allowed
them to spread their attack again, he would be forced to destroy
Atalantium anyway, for he could only level the city, sending the
waves in every direction at once and everyone around him would die,
all those he had warned to flee to safety … Alexis.

He sought his inner strength, waited
until they had reformed at a distance they thought safe. The air
around him stilled. Slowly ripples formed and the air wavered. The
ripples grew in size until the building he stood on began to
disintegrate and he was standing on a precipice. He launched the
wave at the rebels even as they began to scatter.

* * * *

Alexis climbed to her feet, realizing
Atalantium must be under attack. Unfortunately, she had no idea of
the direction of attack, no idea where to run. Would she be safe in
Thor’s home?

The ground beneath her feet shuddered
as if in answer, shifting. Alexis looked down, terrified a fissure
would open up and swallow her, certain it must be an
earthquake.

Helen burst through the gate that led
to the street, breathing hard, her eyes wide with fear.

Alexis stared at her, unable to
believe for several moments that it could be Helen, that Helen had
been released … or escaped. She watched uneasily as Helen made her
way across the garden, stumbling each time the earth shook, but
moving determined toward her.

“
I have come to take you
from Atlantis. To take you home.”

“
I don’t believe
you.”

“
Do you have a choice?
Atlantis is doomed. If you do not come with me now, you will die
with everyone else.”

Alexis’ eyes narrowed. “I’ll take my
chances with Thor and the others.”

Helen’s expression changed, hardened
with malice. “He will not come for you. He is too busy trying to
save his precious Atlantis.”

“
He’s the protector of the
people. I know he’ll do all he can to save Atlantis. He’ll come for
me as soon as he can.”

Helen’s eyes narrowed. “Are you so
anxious to die then? What happened to your vow to avenge your
father? Or have you forgotten him? Does it take no more than a man
between your thighs to deprive you of a will of your
own?”

Alexis’ lips tightened. “I have not
forgotten my father or my vow. But I wouldn’t trust you any further
than I could throw you. If you thought I was stupid enough to fall
for your offer, you’re not terribly bright.”

Helen shrugged. “It would have been
easier if you had just cooperated, but you will go.”

Too late Alexis realized that Helen
wasn’t looking at her at all. She was looking behind her. Alexis
whirled as a creature, much like the one that had captured her
before, swooped from the sky, his taloned feet extended to catch
her.

She leapt aside, dashed for the door
to the house. Helen caught her by her flying hair, almost pulling
it from her scalp. Alexis whipped around, her arm locked and
extended, her hand balled in a fist. She caught Helen square across
the jaw, whipping her head sideways with the force of the blow. Her
knees wobbled, gave way and she crashed to the ground.

Helen retained her grip on Alexis’
hair, however, pulling Alexis down with her. Before Alexis could
disentangle herself, the beast was upon her. It grasped Alexis’
leg, pulling her off of Helen. Alexis kicked out at it, breaking
it’s hold. As she scrambled to her feet, Helen caught her from
behind in a mind hold.

Alexis’ legs went rubbery. The beast
caught her as she fell. Gripping her tightly, it leapt into the
air.

* * * *

A great shout of triumph rose from the
crowd as they saw the remnants of the band of rebels fleeing as
fast as their wings could carry them, back toward the city of
Oceanus. Weary from the energy he’d expended in warding off the
attack, Thor sank to his knees, catching his breath as he watched
them flee.

He needed to go after them, follow
them to their lair.

He wanted to check on Alexis to be
certain she was not harmed.

After a moment, he rose, shifted into
a winged beast and followed the rebels.

He had almost reached the corridor
that connected the cities when it occurred to him that something
was not quite right. The rebels were fleeing, but they were making
no attempt to shake him from their trail, no attempt to outdistance
him. He slowed, stopped, looked back in the direction from which
he’d come. When he turned toward Oceanus once more, he saw that the
rebels had come to a halt, as well.

It dawned on him then.

The mechanism had not been the
objective … not this time anyway. Alexis had been the
target.

He had been puzzled by their strategy,
but he had not put it together.

With a roar of fury, he sent a sonic
wave toward the rebels, obliterating them.

He did not wait to see if any
survived. Whirling mid-air, he soared toward Atalantium and his
home. He saw them as he reached the outskirts of the
city.

There were two of them. One held
Alexis, barely conscious, the other—he knew it was Helen. She had
shifted. She was wearing one of the bands the rebels had devised,
but he knew.

He followed, hoping to catch them
before they entered the exit tube, but he had expended far more
energy than he was accustomed to. Despite his best efforts, he had
gained on them only a little when he saw them shift from flying
beasts to dolphins and dive beneath the water.