Vampire in Atlantis

haven’t we tried it before, then?”
    “We have, Princess. Within minutes, the maiden—it was Delia—was choking for air, almost as if she had lost the ability to breathe. We had to return her to the pod, or she would have died, I’m almost sure of it. She almost did, anyway, but a surge of magic from the Emperor restored her.”
    “What makes you think now will be different?” Keely shook her head. “We don’t even have Alaric here to help, and nobody is a better healer than he is.”
    “No, but Marie and I together come pretty close,” Erin said. “What choice do we have? We try again to release them, or they die anyway, at least Brandacea will. Look at her. She’s barely holding on, as it is. Does she have another night, while Conlan and Ven try again to find the Emperor?”
    “In addition to that, she may not have time to wait while we figure out how to use the Emperor, even if they can find it immediately,” Riley said.
    She looked around at each of them in turn: Erin, Marie, Keely, and Horace. “We can do this. It would be criminal not to even try.”
    “And if we’re wrong?” Marie’s face was pale. “I am no stranger to death, Riley, but if we do this, and we fail, we will have brought this woman’s death upon her.”
    “Or we can stand here and do nothing, and kill her just as quickly,” Erin said. “I know this isn’t a democracy, but I vote we try.”
    “Me, too,” Keely said. “I don’t want to live with the regret of having stood by and done nothing.”
    “I am with you, as well, Princess,” Horace said.
    Riley looked at Marie. “It’s up to you, which is fitting, since she’s your ancestor. I’ll make the final decision—the burden will be on me—but I won’t consider it unless we’re unanimous.”
    Marie looked down at Brandacea for a long time, and then she finally nodded. “I can feel her growing weaker every minute. I agree that she will not last the night unless some solution is found. I vote yes, as well.”
    Riley clasped Marie’s hand in one of hers and Erin’s in the other, and Erin took Keely’s hand, and Keely took Horace’s hand. They stood there together, in silence, each of them occupied with his or her own thoughts or prayers, and then Riley looked up.
    “Let’s do this, and please, God, let us be right.”
    Horace placed both of his hands, palms down, on the cover of the pod, and he chanted quietly, in what Riley recognized by its cadence must be ancient Atlantean. A shimmering silver light appeared and surrounded the pod and its occupant, until Brandacea’s still form glowed as if lit from within.
    “Now,” Horace said, and four of them lifted the crystal cover from the pod, carried it to the side of the room, and propped it up against the wall while Marie kept watch over Brandacea.
    “It’s so light,” Keely said. “It doesn’t seem like the door to a prison should weigh so little.”
    Horace bristled. “It was never meant to be a prison. They agreed to do this, for the good of Atlantis.”
    “Seems like somebody should have been more worried about the good of these women,” Erin said.
    Riley put a hand on Horace’s arm. “It’s all right. Nobody blames you, Horace. We’re just upset and frustrated and more than a little bit scared.”
    He nodded. “I know, Princess. So am I.”
    Marie called out, “She looks strange.”
    Erin pulled a handful of precious gems from a pouch she’d carried tucked into her belt. “Is it okay if I put these in there with her?”
    Horace started to answer but stopped and shrugged helplessly. “Honestly, I don’t know. Will the resonance of your gems or your singing interfere with the Emperor’s magic or will it help? We’ve never tried this before, so I have no idea.”
    “You have to try, Erin,” Marie said urgently. “She’s starting to hyperventilate.”
    Erin quickly placed the gemstones around Brandacea on the silken pallet, humming as she did so. As soon as she’d arranged the gems to her satisfaction, she began to sing a song of healing and hope. Marie took Brandacea’s hands in her own and added her own song. She was no gem singer, but she had vast powers of healing, and Riley hoped Brandacea would respond to the combination of both types of healing magic.
    The song filled the chamber, and Horace added his own counterpoint through his chanting, but Riley could see no difference in Brandacea. If anything, her breathing became more labored.
    “It’s not working,” Keely