Heart Of Atlantis

Atlantean,” she said, and he actually growled at her before he put her down, shoved the tourmaline in the Trident’s empty slot with an audible click, and slapped the whole thing down on the cushion on its pedestal.
    Then they both stepped back and stared at the thing, which seemed content now to lie there peacefully, glowing softly, like a colicky baby that has finally exhausted itself.
    “If you don’t drive me to drink or madness within the year, I will count myself exceedingly lucky,” Alaric said slowly, and she realized he was clutching his head as if he were in pain.
    “You know, I could say the same thing about you, Mr. I Must Do the Dangerous Stuff Alone,” she shot back at him. “Also, feel free to heal my head, because I think Ptolemy gave me a concussion in addition to this split lip, and playing
Mission: Impossible
didn’t help any.”
    His aggravation instantly turned to concern, and he sent healing magic through her face and head, and then through her entire body for good measure, and she suddenly felt as if she could take on the world all over again.
    “I will kill him,” Alaric said, and although she had her pick of contestants, it was a safe bet he was talking about Ptolemy.
    “There’s one you can check off your list.” She told him about the atrocities and the sight of Ptolemy being stabbed through the chest.
    “It might not have been his heart,” she added, considering the demons’ questionable anatomy. “But even so, they didn’t seem like the type to help a guy when he was down. He’s probably lunch.”
    “None deserved it more,” Alaric said flatly. “I only regret I was not able to kill him myself. You have an annoying habit of getting yourself out of trouble.”
    She grinned. “Rebel leader, remember? Although, not anymore. Maybe we can have a nap and then decide what to do with the rest of our lives.”
    The clamor and pounding at the door grew louder. Alaric waved a hand, and the door burst inward under the weight of half a dozen warriors and many other people, both men and women.
    “What’s happening?” Conlan said, pushing to the front. “Alaric, I’m going to kick your ass if you ever do that to me again.”
    “As you see,” Alaric began, except then, naturally, something
did
start to happen.
    “You don’t have some kind of ritual?” Quinn asked nobody in particular, but she forgot her question as the Trident levitated into the air and rotated until it was standing on its base, with its three prongs pointing up. An arrow of light shot out of each of its tines, and the three streams joined together to form a shining column of pure white light that was headed straight for the ceiling.
    Quinn immediately saw a potential problem. “Um, is there a skylight?”
    “No,” Alaric said, and she prepared to jump out of the way of falling stone, but just as everyone started moving toward the door, the ceiling of the temple opened like the petals of a flower. The tower of light shot up and up, straight past the top of the temple and up to what must be the ceiling of the dome.
    “Oh, boy,” Quinn said. “If that blasts through the dome, when we’re underwater . . .”
    This time it was Myrken who answered her. “No, my lady, this is exactly what the ancient scrolls say is supposed to happen. We should go outside for this.”
    They all raced outside, and the ground gave a jarring lurch right underneath their feet, like an earthquake. Quinn grabbed for Alaric’s hand.
    “Look,” he said, pointing.
    She looked, and saw the most spectacular sight. Atlantis was
rising
. The water movement outside the dome, and the way they lifted up and passed first a whale and then a school of lighted fish, proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Atlantis was, in fact, actually rising.
    A huge cheer rang out, and everyone started hugging and laughing. Quinn was too practical and far too skeptical for that.
    “Will the fractured dome survive the pressure changes as it rises, or are we in for a massive continental case of the bends?”
    Alaric smiled, and it was a
real
smile, the one that felt like a gift to her heart.
    “I can only guess what this ‘bends’ means, but the Trident’s power is far more than enough to accomplish this ascension. The rest of us can relax now.”
    She threw her arms around Alaric and kissed him, right there on the temple steps, in front of the gods and everyone.
    “We did it,” she said. “We actually did it!”
    “I couldn’t have done it