Warriors of Poseidon 02 - Atlantis Awakening

wouldn't."
     
    He glanced outside again. "Regardless of her motive or whether it's voluntary, we'd better do what she says. Because she's standing there with a torch, and five of those wolves just shifted into their were-shapes. I'm game to take on a crowd of eight-foot-tall monsters on my own, but I'm not going to risk you, especially since there are more of them surrounding us."
     
    She raised her chin. "We'll see what they want. Don't forget, I have power, too."
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    "I'm not forgetting anything, but are you as powerful as she is? Honestly?" He kept his voice gentle, but he needed to know the facts. "Exactly what chance do you have against her?"
     
    "It depends. I'm stronger than I let any of them know, but if she's called the dark magic, I can't match that."
     
    "Even with your gem singer powers?"
     
    She shook her head. "I don't know. I don't know enough about what I'm doing, yet. I need—"
     
    "Time's up, Erin," Lillian shouted. "Come out now or we're going to see how fast old wood burns."
     
    "Let's do it," Ven said. "Stay behind me."
     
    "Right. Because you have a chance against an eleventh-level witch? I don't think so.
    Maybe you should stay behind me," she replied, her voice hardly shaking at all. He pulled her to him and kissed her, hard, then threw the door open and stepped out.
     
    "Why does this sound so familiar?" he drawled, scanning the growing crowd of Weres facing him and flanking the gray-haired witch who stood in the center, holding a torch.
    There must have been fifteen or more, all shifted to their were-shapes.
     
    All acting like they were in a bad freaking mood. Great.
     
    "Wait, I know. Wasn't there some story about the big, bad wolf who died horribly at the end?" he continued.
     
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    One of the Weres, a huge muddy-brown hulking monster, snarled at him, displaying dripping fangs. "That makes you the little pigs, human," he growled in the distorted voice distinctive to his Were form.
     
    Ven drew his sword. "This little pig has teeth, dog breath. State your business and get out."
     
    The witch spoke. "Very amusing bodyguard you've found, my dear. But then you and your sisters and your bitch of a mother always were good at attracting the most attractive men around, weren't you?"
     
    Erin flinched as if she'd taken a physical blow. "Lillian? Are they controlling you somehow? How could you… why could you—"
     
    Lillian laughed, and her laughter had an edge of madness to it. "Right. Poor, weak Lillian must have somebody else pulling her strings in order to step out from behind the shadow cast by Berenice and Gennae, right? Or, ten years ago, by Gwendolyn? She took your father away from me, did you know that? Pretended to be my friend and then stole him, bedded him, and married him all before I even knew what was happening."
     
    Erin stood next to him, trembling. Ven watched her for signs of shock with the fraction of his attention he dared take away from the Weres, who kept edging closer.
     
    "You must be insane! My father loved my mother and both of them were never anything more than friends to you. But no matter what you think happened, does it justify this?
    Hurting people who love you? Are you… did you have anything to do with that attack on us?"
     
    Lillian sneered at them. "Still a little slow, aren't you? Guess it's true what they say about blondes. I helped plan that attack, you idiot. Just as I helped plan most of the Atlantis Awakening – Warriors of Poseidon 02
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    attacks for the past ten years. Caligula promised me a seat on his ruling council once we've taken over. Once we rule as we were born to do."
     
    Ven whistled, a long, slow sound of disbelief. "Are you stupid? Or did you just skip history class a lot? If you think you can trust the word of a monster like Caligula, you should have maybe had a chat with Tiberius about who held the pillow that smothered him, back in March of thirty-seven."
     
    Erin shot him a glance, eyebrows raised.
     
    "Hey, I'm a history buff, what can I say," he said, shrugging. "Plus my great grandfather used to drink wine with the man occasionally."
     
    "Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Lillian screeched. "I am sick to death of being ignored!
    Gennae and Berenice spent the past decade ignoring and overruling me on coven decisions. Your parents ignored me when they fucked their way to wedded