Warriors of Poseidon 02 - Atlantis Awakening

into shape in the space between heartbeats—one moment a cool chill threatened a whisper of mortality down Ven's spine, the next Alaric stood before them, hands fisted on the emerald-inlaid hilts of his daggers. He was dressed all in black, as always, like some kind of Atlantean angel of death.
     
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    The high priest scanned the room, as if he weighed and measured the caliber of the men within it in mere seconds. His gaze rested last—and longest—on Ven. "Your witch is a gem singer," he pronounced, before gracefully dropping into his seat.
     
    Of course, he was the symbol of Poseidon's magic made flesh, or so the tradition went, Ven thought with grim amusement.
     
    If he wanted to rip my heart out of my chest while it was still beating, he'd probably do that gracefully, too.
     
    The image of the Lord High Vampire Barrabas's death in that very manner at Anubisa's delicate hand surfaced in his memory for a cringe-inducing second, but he shoved it out of his mind.
     
    Suddenly, Alaric's words sank in past Ven's reminiscing. "What? I thought gem singers were a myth. And whatever in the nine hells she is, she's not my witch."
     
    "A myth? Like the aknasha'an?" Alaric asked, voice dry.
     
    "Whoa, Temple Rat, did you just make a funny?" Ven's eyebrows raised. He hadn't heard even a hint of the priest's trademark dry-as-the-Dead-Sea humor since before Alaric had first met Riley's sister, Quinn.
     
    "I find no humor in the fact that ancient myths are walking off the pages of our scrolls,"
    Alaric returned, his eyes glowing emerald green and warning of his irritation. "First Riley and Quinn are discovered. Bothaknasha'an. Emotional empaths straight out of legends lost in the waters of time. Now Ven describes a human witch who resonates with the lyrical power of a gem singer. Who knows what may be next?"
     
    "My vote is for the Tooth Fairy," Ven drawled. "Maybe riding a unicorn."
     
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    "What's a tooth faerie?" Denal asked, brows drawn together, looking much like the boy who'd so often driven Ven to distraction with his endless questions.
     
    Ven snorted, but before he could explain—okay, mock —Brennan finally spoke. "If the woman—"
     
    "Erin," Ven cut in, unaccountably annoyed. "Her name is Erin Connors. Not 'the woman,'
    not 'the witch,' but Erin. She's beautiful, and she's brave enough to volunteer to ally with us to go after Caligula, so she at least deserves the use of her name." He kicked at the floor with the toe of his boot. "Anyway, we don't know if she's a gem singer for sure.
    Hells, it was probably her iPod I heard."
     
    Brennan continued as if he'd never been interrupted. "If Erin Connors is truly a gem singer, and her song strikes harmony in Ven, perhaps I should be the one to ally with the Seattle magical contingent. I am somewhat of a student of the ancient myths and prophecies. They state that the resonance of a gemstone sounds in the emotion of the singer." He looked around the room and then zeroed his focus in on Ven. "And apparently in the one with the ability to soul-meld with the gem singer."
     
    "No!" Ven pushed away from the wall. "No," he continued, forcing himself to calm.
    "Conlan gave me this job, and I mean to see it through. Yeah, it's true that you have no surface emotions, Brennan. Ever since that damn curse, I mean. But remember that Quinn found something buried way deep down within you. If Erin really is a gem singer, and this resonance crap is even real, then it stands to reason that she'd crack right through that barrier of yours."
     
    He turned to face Conlan and Alaric. "I'm doing it, Conlan. If anybody is forming any kind of alliance with Erin and her coven, it's damn well going to be me."
     
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    "It appears the King's Vengeance has made his decision," Conlan said, a trace of sarcasm underscoring the words. "In any event, I need Brennan to deal with a report of an emotional incubus who is murdering people in New York."
     
    "More myths walking off pages," Alaric said.
     
    "Possibly not even true," Conlan said. "But if it is, Brennan is in a unique position to battle such a creature."
     
    "Fine, whatever. Can we get back to Erin and what in the hells a gem singer is? How do I deal with her?" Ven said, turning his back on Conlan and Alaric and staring down at his folded arms. Maybe