Warriors of Poseidon 01 - Atlantis Rising

done with the smoke and mirrors? Or, excuse me, that was water and mirrors, right?"
     
    Atlantis Rising – Warriors of Poseidon 01
    Page 198 of 351
    In the space of a single heartbeat, Alaric was lifting her off the couch and up against him. "Don't push me, female. We would both regret it."
     
    But it wasn't anger that Conlan heard in Alaric's voice. It was an almost-pleading desperation.
     
    When Quinn answered, her voice was so quiet that Conlan could barely make out her words. When he did, they didn't make any sense.
     
    "Forget whatever you think you saw in me, beautiful one," she murmured. "I am ruined."
     
    What she did next sent both Conlan and Ven rushing across the room to protect her.
    Because she lifted her hands and put them on Alaric's face.
     
    A sound Conlan had never heard before issued from the priest's throat, a hard, choked sound filled with soul-destroying pain. A shock wave of a sound that literally smashed Conlan and his brother backward, landing them hard on the floor.
     
    In the seconds it took for him to catch his breath and look up, Alaric was gone. Quinn stood alone, hands still frozen in place where Alaric's face had been.
     
    Tears running down her own.
     
    Riley jumped up and put her arms around her sister. "Maybe we should put this off until the morning," she said, glaring at Conlan. "I think Quinn has been through enough today. We've both been through enough. I need to take her home, Conlan."
     
    Before Conlan could utter a word of protest, support came from an unexpected source.
    Quinn wiped the tears from her cheeks with the backs of her hands, then cleared her throat.
     
    Atlantis Rising – Warriors of Poseidon 01
    Page 199 of 351
    "No," she said. "I think you should stay with them."
     
    The four of them sat around the kitchen table, Riley and Quinn holding mugs of hot, sweet tea. Conlan and Ven each had a beer. Conlan sat near enough to Riley that she could reach out and touch him if she wanted to.
     
    It's not like she needed to touch him.
     
    Much.
     
    Most of the other men had all stopped by, trailing in by ones and twos, some bringing food and beer, some bringing news.
     
    None bringing results. Reisen had vanished.
     
    Riley had tried to smile at each of them, especially Denal, who'd kneeled in front of her and presented an armload of flowers, then backed out of the room, careful to maintain a safe distance from Conlan and Ven.
     
    Ven had made some crack about Denal's schoolboy crush, but nobody'd even mustered up a smile.
     
    Now they sat, each of them lost in his or her own private thoughts. When Justice appeared, it was almost a relief.
     
    "So, the gang's all here," he said in that smart-ass way he had. Of course, anybody who could carry off a waist-length blue braid worn over a sword strapped to his back probably could be as much of a smart-ass as he wanted.
     
    She'd seen what he could do with that sword.
     
    Atlantis Rising – Warriors of Poseidon 01
    Page 200 of 351
    "My lawn will never be the same," she muttered.
     
    Quinn looked up from contemplating her mug and caught sight of Justice. "You!" she gasped. "I thought you were an urban legend."
     
    Ven leaned back in his chair, balancing it on two legs. "Right. The nutball axe murderer who hangs out at Lover's Lane, and Justice. Makes sense, really, when you think about it. Both of them give you a case of the ugly creepies, right?"
     
    Justice ignored the ribbing and focused in on Quinn. "What exactly have you heard?"
     
    "Oh, defender of the weak, modern-day Robin Hood, blah blah blah. You're a little hard to miss," Quinn returned, sweeping her gaze from his boots all the way up the six and a half feet or so to the top of his blue-plaited head.
     
    Justice bowed slightly. "You, too, would be difficult to miss. Your fury and grief burn brightly enough to light up the city. You might wish to learn from your sister the technique of shielding your emotions."
     
    With that, he left the room, long strides eating up the floor, leaving Quinn scowling at his back.
     
    Riley thought it was past time for her to intervene. "What is going on, Quinn? I'm getting the feeling that you're not an administrative assistant for an insurance company, after all."
     
    Quinn's laugh sounded rusty, as if it had been a long time since she'd found anything funny. "No, not for an insurance company. Like I said before, I need to know what the deal is with the Atlanteans before I tell you anything."
     
    She pinned