He looked to Jemma. “Do you need help finding or healing your staff and students?”
“No, once the threat is eliminated, we can round everyone up and see to their injuries. Do you have a plan for dealing with Atlantis itself?”
“Sort of.” Conryu was mindful of the Reaper’s command not to mention the secret power source. “We need to destroy all the Atlanteans as well as a huge crystal in the center of the city called the Heart of Atlantis. I have an idea about how to get in, but smashing a giant crystal, even with Hell-forged weapons, isn’t going to be an easy task. Before any of that, we’ve got to deal with the second ship and its passengers. Kanna, finish up here and we’ll head out.”
She bowed and disappeared to carry out his orders. Now that he knew what they were dealing with, Conryu was more eager than ever to get back to Maria.
Chapter 25
When they reached Atlantis, Merik was stuck once again in the apartment prison they’d prepared for him. The tedious, empty waiting could drive a man to drink, if there was anything to drink in this place besides water. This time, even Tanidel hadn’t bothered to pretend they cared what he had to say.
He was too human for the inhuman Atlanteans. At least that was the impression he got. They didn’t trust him and the feeling was mutual. All he could think about was when they were going to trigger the crystal in his head and turn him into a mindless slave like the cultists. That they hadn’t yet argued that some shred of humanity remained in them, but it was a small shred.
He rolled over on his hard, crystal bed, trying to get comfortable. It was futile so he swung his legs over the edge and sat up.
Out of nowhere, a jagged pain stabbed into his brain. It was gone as quickly as it appeared, but his central crystal remained vibrating.
Something had happened and he doubted it was good. Merik needed answers and he was going to get them, assuming he could escape this room.
He marched over to the spot in front of the wall where the door appeared and concentrated. Come on, goddamn it! He was of Atlantean blood. No stupid wall was going to keep him from finding out what was going on.
His staring contest with the wall had gone on long enough for him to feel foolish when a ripple ran through the crystal and the door opened.
Merik leapt out into the hall before the wall changed its mind. He found the stairs down easily enough and soon reached the wall that led to the lobby. This time he got the door to open after only a few seconds of staring. Maybe he was getting better at it.
The meeting room where he first encountered the survivors was empty. He scratched his jaw. The city was a big place, they could be anywhere. The only place he could think to start was the giant red crystal Tanidel had showed him just before Atlantis returned to the human realm. If they were doing something that caused his pain, that would be where they did it.
Outside, all the crystal streets looked the same. He set out in what he thought was the right direction. Merik debated trying to reach out through his connection to Tanidel but decided against it. With the way the others had been acting lately, he’d lost a lot of faith in them. Better to find his way on his own.
Walking through the empty streets, Merik felt like an archeologist in an adventure movie exploring some lost civilization. It took a while, but he finally rounded a bend and spotted the red crystal. As he thought, the others were gathered nearby.
He took a step then hesitated. Faced with the reality before him, demanding answers suddenly didn’t seem like the wisest decision. Before he could make up his mind, one of them pointed at the ground beside the crystal. An opening appeared and they descended out of sight.
The idea of sub-levels never occurred to him. What could they have down there? Caution and curiosity warred within him.
Curiosity won.
He tiptoed across the park and peered down into the hole. It was lit with glowing crystals much like the cave where Merik found the key. The familiarity of it reassured him and he stepped on the first stair.
No reaction.
He blew out a sigh and started down. The staircase spiraled ever deeper. He had lost track of how many paces he’d taken when he heard voices. The words were indistinct, but they were definitely speaking. But to who?
The Atlanteans could converse mind to mind so there had to be someone else.
Merik slowed his approach, cautious now as the voices grew louder. An archway at the base of the stairs led to a huge, domed cavern. In the center, the Atlanteans were gathered around a pillar of flickering darkness. He couldn’t make out exactly what the darkness was, but it looked like flames, if flames came in black. The flames rose out of a circular pit in the center of the floor and vanished into the ceiling.
“One of our brothers has died,” a deep male voice said. “You said the battle would be easily won.”
“No.” The reply seemed to come from the middle of the flames. “I said the battle was winnable. Did you think the wizards would simply lie down and let you slaughter them? People die in war. It is unavoidable. That one of you has fallen is unfortunate, but did you truly imagine that you would emerge from a battle with the entire world unscathed? Especially when you rushed into it against my advice.”
“We had no choice,” the Atlantean representative countered. “Once the city was discovered, we needed to put them on the defensive. If we hadn’t, the city itself might have come under attack.”
“So? With your defenses, any attack would have been doomed before it got close. Your fear is what got your brother killed, not any promise I made. Now, what is it you wish of me? I’ve given you all the power I can so all I have left to offer is advice, though I doubt you’ll heed me.”
“We will,” Tanidel said. “Please, what should we do?”
“It’s difficult now that your enemy knows your capabilities. Some of you must go forth to gather more soldiers. It will be a trial to remain undetected, but you have no other choice. Once you have an unstoppable army, then make your move against the larger cities. Don’t focus on the wizards, just kill them as you can. My final word of advice is that you deal with the snoop spying on us. He’s clearly not committed.”
All the Atlanteans turned toward Merik. He thought to run, but where could he go on a floating island? Instead he stepped out into the cavern. “A strange pain struck me. I came looking for you to see what it was. I’m sorry for the death of your friend.”
“You should have stayed in your room,” Tanidel said.
“I will not be a prisoner here.” Merik glared at them. “Since we returned, I’ve gone from savior of Atlantis to prisoner of Atlantis. I don’t like that a bit. Either tell me what’s going on or take me back to Ireland. I can find my way home from there.”
It was a pretty good speech even if he did say so himself.
He barely finished congratulating himself when his body went rigid and he fell to the floor. A moment later he floated up and over to the others.
“It’s unfortunate you chose not to dedicate yourself fully to the mission,” Tanidel said. “Since we can’t risk you interfering, you will remain here while we complete our work. When it’s finished, you will be free to live the rest of your life as we agreed.”
He wanted to snarl and ask what sort of world he’d be living in, one surrounded by crystal people, a lone human in a land of living statues. Unfortunately, his mouth was as rigid as the rest of his body.
Merik floated up a few feet from the pillar of black flame. The others filed out, leaving him alone with whatever lived in the fire. He wasn’t eager to get better acquainted.
When Angus and Sienna arrived at the Central train station, they were promptly told that there were no trains to the Academy scheduled in the near future. That was disappointing but he was hardly shocked. Luckily, while she wasn’t able to open a portal, Sienna was powerful enough to cast Fly on both of them.
Which was how Angus found himself soaring just above the treetops toward the Academy. They were certain to attract attention, but he
was confident he could talk the teachers out of killing them on the spot. While most of them liked him no better than Conryu did, he was known to be friendly.
“What’s going on down there?” Sienna asked.
Angus frowned and looked where she pointed. It appeared as though the entire school was preparing to board a train. “I think they’re evacuating. Perhaps our warning will prove unnecessary.”
They dove toward the gathering. Angus winced and said a silent prayer that no one attacked. God must have been watching over them. They landed twenty yards from the collected students.
“Where is the girlfriend?” Sienna asked.
Angus didn’t see Maria, but she could have boarded already. He did see the withered, black-robed figure of Angeline Umbra shuffling their way.
“As always,” Angeline said. “Your timing is horrendous. It’s almost bad enough to be an actual curse. What do you want and who is your friend?”
“We have no time to waste.” Sienna tried to push past Angeline and got a thump with the Death Stick for her trouble. She collapsed in a limp heap.
Angeline quirked an eyebrow. “Well?”
“It’s a long story. We’re trying to get in touch with Conryu. His mother wasn’t home, so I figured Maria was the next best option. I assume you know about Atlantis.”
“I know they’ve attacked our sister school in the Kingdom and that there’s another ship on the way here. It’s still a ways out so the boy went to help Jemma. His mother’s here, working on some kind of weapon she thinks can destroy the crystal people using technology instead of magic. I didn’t understand half of what she described, but the dean seemed confident. Who’s the young idiot?”
“Her name’s Sienna and she’s part of a long line of wizards whose duty it was to stop the return of Atlantis. She seemed to think you needed to know what she had to say, but it sounds like you’re pretty well up to speed.”
Angeline grunted. “If I let her move, she’s not going to do something else stupid is she?”
“I don’t believe so. We aren’t especially well acquainted.”
She tapped Sienna on the arm and she scrambled to her feet. She glared daggers at Angeline, but the head of dark magic didn’t seem terribly impressed.
A piercing whistle broke the tension. Dean Blane was waving at them. “The ship has picked up speed. We need to go.”
Angeline waved back. “You two had best come along. Unless you want to wait for a shipload of crystal monsters to arrive.”
“What sort of crystal monsters?” Sienna asked as they walked toward the train.
“Humanoid, around seven feet tall, made of jagged crystal. They seem to be able to use a heat ray as well as some sort of repulsion spell. And they’re totally immune to direct magical attacks.”
“Atlantean soldier drones,” Sienna said as much to herself as to them. “They’ve already begun converting ordinary humans.”
“What?” Converting humans didn’t sound good.
“They developed the technique late in the war to increase their numbers. If they’re using it from the start, then there can’t be many actual Atlanteans in the city. That is excellent news.”
“Angus.” Dean Blane nodded at him as they boarded the train. “Find an empty seat, we’re leaving now.”
There was one seat left in the car they entered forcing Angus and Sienna to squeeze in together. Ordinarily being in such close proximity to an attractive young woman would have been something he enjoyed, but with the threat of an imminent attack, he was too tense.
The train lurched and they were underway. All around them the girls were murmuring in soft voices. He picked out few words, but the general tone was one of anxiety. Angus knew his history pretty well, but he couldn’t recall the Academy ever having to be evacuated.
“Again my efforts come to nothing,” Sienna muttered.
“What?”
“They already know everything. Neither my warning nor help are needed. I might better have stayed in the Kingdom and helped them fight the crystal soldiers.”
“It’s the thought that counts,” Angus said.
She looked at him and he had to admit that sounded pretty pathetic. Her eyes widened.
“What is it?”
“I sense Atlantean magic. Where is that hag? The enemy is close.”
Calling Angeline a hag probably wasn’t wise if you wanted to live a long, healthy life, but now wasn’t the time to discuss it. He stood, but there were only young people in every direction.
An explosion sounded somewhere ahead of them, rocking the train.
“The track!” one of the girls in a window seat screamed. “Something blew up the tracks!”
Chapter 26
Conryu was in the middle of healing a water aligned student when the buzz from Maria’s rune stone tickled his brain. He initiated contact at once.
“Maria?”
“The Atlanteans destroyed a section of track and we can’t stop the train in time. Hurry.”
He didn’t need to hear anything else. The girl he was healing was out of danger.
Two steps away from her he opened a Hell gate and vanished. With time basically stopped he had a moment to think. Cerberus whined and butted his arm with his central head. Conryu absently scratched it.
Stopping the train would be impossible with the time the and distance available. He couldn’t bring them here; it would kill Maria. A wind or Heaven portal were his only options.
He leapt onto Cerberus’s back. “Take me to the Academy train.”
The demon dog leapt at his command. Kai could catch up on her own. He didn’t have time to waste.
Stopping Atlantis is your priority, not saving a few wizards.
“I’m not letting Maria and my mother die. We already killed one of the crystal people. Kanna and the others are hunting down any strays. Now be quiet and let me concentrate. Once they’re safe I’ll get back to your war.”
A forbidding power filled the air around him. Conryu ignored the implied threat. The Reaper needed him to seal the void rift. He might complain, but until that was done, the lord of Hell wouldn’t lash out. Afterwards, well, he’d deal with afterwards later.
Cerberus stopped and Conryu opened a viewing window. Directly ahead of them was the train. He shifted his view and found a crater in the middle of where the track was supposed to run. If the train hit that it would kill or hurt hundreds. He had about fifty yards to open the portal. Even for him, that would be tight.
His mace would be useless for this, so he swapped it for the staff and hopped down from Cerberus’s back. “Wish me luck.”
Cerberus barked and Conryu emerged into the real world directly in the path of a racing train. He leveled the staff and commanded a Heaven gate to open. A white disk appeared and expanded nearly as fast as the nose of the train.
The magic levitation train didn’t have conventional brakes and so could do little to slow itself in a hurry.
Conryu poured more of his will into the staff.
With three yards to spare, the portal grew large enough to accept the train. It vanished into the whiteness and Conryu followed, closing the gate behind him.
Ahead of him, the train continued to race away. Fortunately, Heaven was infinite and he had all the time in the world to stop it. Not that he planned to dawdle.
“I hate it here,” Prime said.
“I know, but until everyone’s safe you’ll have to bear it.” Conryu closed his eyes and reached out to the golden lions that guarded the gates of Heaven. “I could use a hand, guys.”
With his request sent, he willed himself after the retreating train. It took only a moment to catch up. As he flew along the caboose, he saw his mother staring out a window with wide eyes. Maria was in the next window looking every bit as impressed. Conryu was pretty sure he’d brought Maria to Heaven at least once, but a lot had happened and he couldn’t actually remember.
A golden glow racing in from the left drew him away. As he got closer, the light r
esolved itself into a golden lion every bit as big as Cerberus.
“Can you help me stop the train?”
The lion roared and leapt in front of the train. It reached out with paws bigger than Conryu’s chest and caught the engine. It wasn’t a gentle stop, but after another fifty yards it was still.
Conryu flew over and patted its flank. “Thanks. I’ll get everyone out of your hair as soon as I can.”
The lion purred for a moment then glared at Prime who huddled behind Conryu’s shoulder. With that parting warning to the demon book, the lion rocketed back the way it had come.
“I don’t like those beasts either,” Prime said.
“It appears mutual. Come on, let’s make sure everyone is okay.”
They flew to the caboose and Conryu slid the door open. Maria rushed out and hugged him. “I thought we were dead.”
Conryu sighed and held her for a moment. “I’m surprised one of the teachers didn’t open a portal themselves.”
There was a snort behind him. He let Maria go and turned to find Mrs. Umbra flying their way.
“I doubt all the light aligned teachers working together could open a portal big enough for the train to pass through,” she said. “Certainly not in the amount of time we had. We hoped to escape the Atlanteans and instead drove right into their sights. Not our best decision.”
“You couldn’t have known,” Conryu said.
“Hello, dear.” His mother was standing in the caboose door with a bemused look on her face. “Is this…?”
“Heaven, yeah. The outskirts anyway. Are you okay, Mom?” He flew closer and hugged her.
“I’m fine. Is your father…”
“I’m sure he’s up here somewhere, but the souls of the dead are kept behind Heaven’s gates. No living people allowed.”
Her expression nearly broke his heart. “I would have liked to see him.”
“Me too.” He squeezed her tighter.
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