Warriors of Poseidon 01 - Atlantis Rising

Believe me, I've tried."
     
    "But—"
     
    "It's worse than even that," Alaric interrupted. "The portal does not respond to my call. I attempted to return to Atlantis during the night to consult the scrolls, and the magic of Atlantis Rising – Warriors of Poseidon 01
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    the portal refused my summons. I fear we may be stranded up here until the matter of the Trident is resolved."
     
    Ven finally spoke up from where he leaned against the far wall near the unused fireplace. "We've all tried. No dice. Which means we can't call for help, either," he said.
    "But let's go back a ways. You said there are more of these aknashas in our history?
    Who were Atlantean?"
     
    "Yes. Several of the aknasha'an were among those of our people chosen to scatter to the high grounds of the earth at the time of the Cataclysm. Empaths were much more common then. Still maybe only one in one hundred babies were born with the gift, but since Riley and—" The pause was barely perceptible. "Riley and her sister are the first we have encountered in thousands of years, you can see how the numbers diminished."
     
    "And what function did we… did they serve?" Riley asked.
     
    "They were among the most valued of the royal counselors, naturally, given the nature of their talents. They were essential to trade negotiations and the like. Also, they would often choose to serve Poseidon in his Temple and were very popular in the priesthood."
     
    "I can see how the ability to sense emotion would make someone pretty awesome in the confessional," Ven said. "You did what? Buzz! Wrong answer! You really did something much worse!"
     
    "Shut up, Ven. You're not helping," Conlan snapped.
     
    "Back off. I'm trying to lighten up the mood. You're both scaring Riley to death," Ven growled.
     
    They all turned to look at Riley, who lifted her chin. "Hey, I'm the one who used an axe against a vampire last night, remember? Talking about the old days doesn't really Atlantis Rising – Warriors of Poseidon 01
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    compare with having brains on my legs." She shuddered. "So don't worry about scaring poor little Riley."
     
    "Back to the point, here is my speculation," Alaric said. "I believe that Riley and Quinn are descendants of those ancient Atlanteans and have our DNA in their blood.
    Furthermore, I believe that they manifest these ancient gifts in fulfillment of one of the most secret prophecies in the Temple scrolls."
     
    He drew a deep breath. "I believe that they herald the time when Atlantis must intermarry with the humans to bring a new and better generation to the world."
     
    Ven whistled. "That's blasphemy, dude."
     
    Alaric nodded. "Not only that, but it is in direct contradiction to the teaching of the Council that any person of royal lineage who violates the royal marriage strictures will bring a second Cataclysm upon Atlantis."
     
    "What?" Riley could only follow the formal speak for so long before her tired and scared brain cells glazed over.
     
    "No stud farm, end of Atlantis," Ven put in tersely.
     
    "Not just Atlantis. End of the whole damn world, is what I've had drummed into my head for my entire life," Conlan said slowly.
     
    "How do we know which it is?" Riley asked. "I mean, not to jump the gun here, Conlan, since we've known each other for less than a week, but I'd rather go with the intermarry thing than option B: cause the world to end."
     
    Conlan felt her trepidation and admired her courage all the more for it. By the gods, she was beautiful. And brave.
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    And she loved him.
     
    The wonder of it nearly brought him to his knees.
     
    He put his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "In case you didn't hear me the dozen or so times I said it last night, I love you. We'll figure this out."
     
    She hugged him back, but he felt her trembling. "How do we figure this out?" she repeated.
     
    "That's the problem. We can't get back to Atlantis, and Poseidon isn't answering his phone," Ven said, face grim.
     
    Alaric and Riley spoke at the same time. "The Trident."
     
    Then they stared at each other, eyes widening.
     
    "Tell me," Alaric demanded.
     
    "I don't know. Just a feeling I had when he was talking to me last night. He was so arrogant—all 'you do not bargain with a god.' I get the feeling that he can be capricious—"
     
    "You have no idea," Alaric replied.
     
    "Yeah. So maybe this whole thing has been about 'the best man wins.'