Heart Of Atlantis

the way of
politics
.”
    “You know I don’t mean that,” Conlan shouted at him. “How long have you battled beside me? Has anything ever gotten in my way when it comes to protecting humanity? I take my oath as a Warrior of Poseidon very seriously and you should know that.”
    “He has Poseidon’s Pride, Conlan,” Alaric said quietly. “He’s able to use it. And it gets even worse. I think he might be demon kin.”
    “Yeah, demon kin, whatever,” Ven threw in. “You want worse? Anubisa is back. Archelaus wasn’t just slinging rumors. She walked into the Primus today and destroyed every vampire member of Congress in one fell swoop. Told the humans who happened to be there to pass along the word that no vampire in the world was safe until they delivered the heads of the Atlantean royal family to her on a plate.”
    “She has always had a flair for drama,” Alaric observed, mostly to give Conlan a chance to regain his composure. Anubisa, the vampire goddess, had held Conlan captive and tortured him for seven long years before he’ escaped. Alaric thought that a bit of madness still lurked in Conlan’s mind from the ordeal. How could it not?
    “Good. Maybe she’ll kill Ptolemy for us,” Ven said.
    “Why would she go after the vampires, though, is what I don’t understand,” Erin said. “They’re her progeny, right? Why not threaten to kill humans instead?”
    “Humans don’t have the juice to find us,” Conlan answered. “She knows every blood pride in the world will be after us now. One of them is bound to get lucky.”
    “Yeah, and we have an answer to your flying monkeys, too,” Ven said. “Shape-shifter communities are going wild all over the world. Losing any vestige of civilization and turning feral. Interestingly enough, all of this started within a day of when those scientists in Turkey found Poseidon’s Pride. The jewel must be driving them nuts somehow.”
    “The Trident may act as a stabilizing influence on its raw power,” Alaric said.
    “Which is why you need to go find it,” Conlan said. “Take Ven, take everybody you need. I’d go, but I’m going to have to do a lot of damage control right now. When you find the bastard, call me, though. I’d love to face this man who would be king.”
    Alaric defied his prince only rarely.
    This would be one of those times.
    “I will not leave Quinn. Didn’t you hear what I told you? He announced her identity to the world. Every vampire, rogue shifter, and any of a dozen other shapes and sizes of big and bad will be after her.” Alaric called to his magic until his body glowed bright blue-green from head to toe and he held so much power inside him that one simple flick of his fingers could have leveled the palace. “I will never leave her side, or allow her to be in danger again.”
    “She’s safe in Atlantis, and you know it. No vampire or shifter can enter through the portal,” Conlan said calmly. “And turn down the lights, my friend. We get that you’re scary. We get that you have an insanely overprotective need to make sure Quinn is safe. We’ll find a way, but we have to stop this man, or demon, or whatever in the nine hells he is. Now.”
    A quiet voice came from the doorway, and they all turned to see Quinn standing at the open door, sheer rage stamped on her delicate features. “Perhaps the next time you decide to discuss my future, you might remember to include me in the discussion. Especially when the future of the whole damned world is at stake.”

Chapter 11
    Abandoned subway tunnel, New York City
    The one now known to the entire world as Ptolemy Reborn slouched insolently in a chair while Anubisa, goddess of Chaos and Night, matriarch to all vampires, supreme ruler of the dark, vibrated with fury as she hung floating in midair, halfway to the ceiling.
    Frankly, she was boring the shit out of him.
    “Yeah, yeah, I get it.” He finally interrupted her tirade. “You’ll help me in my quest to take the throne of Atlantis, and I’ll deliver the current royal family to you. Do you just want the two and a half princes, or do you want the women and the baby, too?”
    She froze, mid-rant, and stared at him, then levitated back down until her silk slipper–clad feet touched the floor. “Baby? Did I know there was a baby?”
    She flung her arms out and did her best impression of a mad ballerina as she capered and twirled around the room, her hip-length black hair floating around her like a cloak of spider