by L. M. Brown
“Like what?”
Fabian glanced at his aunt. “Love potions spring to mind, don’t they, Aunt Medi?”
Medina wouldn’t meet his gaze—the sign of a guilty conscience, if ever Jake had seen one.
“It was only the once,” Medina said. “I didn’t think you saw me do it.”
Fabian snorted. “I didn’t think much of it during the meeting itself, but I’ve had a lot of time to think over the centuries. You slipped Caspian a love potion, he then petitions the gods to make a lover immortal and the world as we know it goes to hell. One might consider these things to be connected.”
Jake gaped at Medina. Did she really given Caspian a love potion? Does she have a death wish?
Something of his thoughts must have registered with the goddess and she smiled at him.
“Caspian wasn’t always the bad-tempered god we know today. In the time we’re talking about, he was much more laid back, taking many men into his bed, including all of my male priests.”
“All of them?” Fabian asked. “Really? But didn’t some of them prefer women?”
“Most of my priests were happy to share their bed with either gender,” Medina said. “Caspian made it a particular point to seduce those who had sworn loyalty to me.”
Lightning lit up the room and Caspian appeared. “Are my ears burning again?”
Medina shifted guiltily and neither Jake nor Fabian would meet the god’s gaze.
“The meeting is about to start,” Caspian said. “Are you joining us or not?”
“I am,” Medina replied.
“Do you need to be searched before you come?” Caspian asked.
Medina gave him an icy glare. “That won’t be necessary.” She turned to Fabian and Jake. “Will you be attending upon me?”
Fabian nodded.
“Yes,” Jake confirmed as well.
Medina clapped her hands together sharply.
A moment later they all stood in a cavernous room with large stone columns. Jake recognized it as the meeting place at the center of one half of the Isle of the Gods. The marble floor appeared to have been cleaned since his last visit and someone had set out tables with food and drink around the edges.
The room was filled with people—no, immortals—and nearly all of them appeared to be dressed in robes of ancient style. Caspian wore his usual modern leather trousers and jacket combination, and one of the goddesses wore what appeared to be a modern skirt and blouse. Other than them, the entire group could have stepped right out of a period film about ancient Greece.
Jake stared about him in wonder until he saw what Fabian was now wearing. He was pretty sure it wasn’t called a dress, but since he didn’t know the right name for it, Jake couldn’t say what it was.
When he took a step toward Fabian, he realized he no longer wore his modern shoes. They had been replaced with sandals that were laced up his shins. His bare shins. Like Fabian, Jake’s clothes had been changed.
Fabian smiled and leaned in close. “Rather breezy, isn’t it?” he whispered. “It’s called a chiton.”
Jake smoothed down the fabric as he tried to establish whether there was anything under the tunic. There wasn’t. “I’m pretty sure I put on underwear this morning.”
“Aunt Medi doesn’t believe in such things,” Fabian replied. “And even if she did, what was worn back then isn’t anything like your modern garments. You’ll probably be more comfortable without those.”
“I feel naked.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
“If my friends could see me now, they’d be in hysterics.”
“Modern clothing is very different,” Fabian agreed.
A loud horn interrupted their conversation and Fabian guided Jake to the edge of the room.
A few of the others in attendance also remained around the edge, including the woman in modern clothing. The rest of the people took seats at the large oval table in the center.
Jake guessed that those still standing were priests like himself.
Directly opposite him, a man glared over with pure hatred. For a moment Jake thought the venom was for him, before he realized the man stared at Fabian.
Jake wanted to ask who it was, but he didn’t dare break the room’s silence. The meeting was about to begin, and now that he was here, he had no intention of leaving.
The god at the far end of the table rose from his seat. “I’m sure you all know why we are here,” he said. “Our pantheon has been all but forgotten in the centuries while we have slept. We need to take urgent action to ensure our continued survival.”
“All the pantheons are in the same position,” Caspian said. “Times have changed for all immortals.”
A goddess with hair the color of living flames stood and leaned on the table. “I say we cause the next change. For months now we’ve done nothing but mourn for what we have lost and talk about the problem. I say we’ve done enough talking. We must act if we’re to ensure our survival. The Atlanteans must remember who they are and where they came from. Only then can we regain what we have lost.”
“The Atlanteans will never return to Atlantis,” another god said. “I banished them for their crime and that is the end of the matter.”
“Cynbel, in case you haven’t noticed, centuries have passed, and those responsible are long dead.”
“I’ve noticed,” Cynbel said. “But I could not reverse the banishment, even if I wished to do so.”
“Why not?” asked the first god.
“Because to do so would send me right back into stasis.”
The goddess smiled. “A small price to pay for the good of the pantheon.”
Cynbel banged his hand on the table and the entire room seemed to shake.
Fabian nudged Jake’s arm. He nodded at a nearby table.
Jake glanced at Medina and saw she was gesturing to her glass.
Fabian led Jake to the drinks and showed him which one Medina preferred. Jake followed Fabian’s silent instructions and went to the table to fill Medina’s glass once more.
As they returned to their place at the wall, their paths crossed with the glaring priest Jake had noticed earlier.
“Traitor,” the priest hissed as they passed.
Jake raised a brow at Fabian, who mouthed ‘Later’.
The priest gathered a plate of food and took it over to the table, placing it before a goddess who bore a slight resemblance to Medina. He nudged Fabian. “Your mother?” he murmured.
Fabian nodded and the goddess appeared to notice them for the first time.
“How dare you show your face here?” she shouted as she jumped from her seat.
Fabian didn’t even flinch at her fury.
The various gods and goddesses turned to see what the commotion was that had interrupted their meeting. Jake tried not to cringe at their scrutiny.
“Fabian is here to attend me,” Medina stated calmly. “As my nephew and a former priest of Cari, he is the ideal person to show Jake, my new priest, what to do at these meetings.”
“You stay out of this,” Mariana snarled. “I stripped that treacherous creature of his powers.”
“While he was at the bottom of the ocean,” Caspian chimed in. “You tried to murder your own son.”
Mariana glared at Caspian. “You stay out of this.”
“Silence!” Cynbel roared.
Everyone in the room immediately obeyed.
“Mariana, I couldn’t care less about your personal grievances against your son. Such trivial matters are not the reason we have gathered. There are more important issues to be resolved.”
Jake gaped at the god who called the attempted murder of another human being ‘trivial’.
Medina nodded. “I agree, and as the first to rise from slumber, I have had more time than the rest of you to take in this new world we find ourselves a part of. I see an opportunity for us to bring this pantheon greatness once again.”
“What do you suggest?” Cynbel asked.
“Lo
ok at how many people there are in the world today. There are over seven billion humans out there. They also have the technology to communicate across the globe as quickly as we can travel it. All it would take is one god or goddess to be caught doing something miraculous in front of a modern camera, and the whole world would know about us again.”
“What is a cam-er-a?” one of the gods asked.
“It’s a wondrous device that can make a record of anything you point it at.”
Most of the gods at the table appeared confused.
Jake wondered if he should tell them he owned a camera and offer to demonstrate it, but he quickly dismissed the idea. He had no idea what these beings were capable of, and until he had a better idea of that, he would stick to watching and listening.
Cari cleared her throat and shook her head. “The problem with Medina’s suggestion is what she calls miraculous, people today would barely take note of. There are magicians who can appear to fly, walk through walls and make entire buildings disappear. Anything we do would be explained away by the humans as a trick.”
“Cari is right,” Caspian said. “Many humans today don’t believe in the existence of gods at all, or they practice new religions that have grown in popularity over the centuries.”
“Then we need to make them believe in us,” another god said. “We have to show them who we are, so they can worship us again.”
Jake rolled his eyes. Believing in these gods was one thing. He had seen too much to dismiss them. That didn’t mean he had any intention of worshipping them, as this arrogant god seemed to suggest.
“And how do you suggest we do that?” Caspian asked. “The gods of every pantheon you can name are mostly forgotten—Greek, Norse, Egyptian, Roman, all of them. Yes, there are some who still pray to them, but few truly believe they are being heard. They merely follow traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation. If a god appeared before them and they told someone, they would think him a lunatic and call the authorities to have him arrested.”
“We have an additional disadvantage over the other pantheons,” Cari said. “While Egypt, Greece and the other countries still exist, and relics and artwork of the old gods have survived the centuries, Atlantean culture has not been so lucky. Our images are at the bottom of the ocean in a place few humans even believe existed.”
“What do you mean?” Cynbel asked. “Are you saying Atlantis itself has been forgotten?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. There are texts and stories about the island, and some humans search for proof that it existed, but for most people, Atlantis is nothing more than a mythical place with no real substance in the actual world.”
“It cannot be!” A goddess with long blue hair that whipped around her as though she were in the middle of a hurricane shook her head in disbelief. “Atlantis is as real as we are.”
“Yes, but if you were to suggest such a thing among the humans, they would think you a fool.”
“If that is truly the case, there’s one obvious course of action open to us.” The goddess stood and a long trident appeared in her hand. “We show them Atlantis once more.”
“Oh, fuck,” Fabian muttered beside Jake.
“What is it?” Jake asked quietly.
“She’s talking about raising the island again.”
“What?” Jake’s question came out louder than he had intended, and he hurriedly schooled his expression into one of quiet observation.
“We don’t have the power to raise Atlantis,” Caspian said, “so it’s rather a moot point anyway.”
“I believe we do,” the goddess replied. “If we are all in agreement and if we combine our powers, we could raise the island, revealing Atlantis to the world. The humans would have to accept the evidence of their own eyes.”
“I agree,” Mariana said. “It would also ensure the current occupants of the city will leave the place they have no business being in.”
“The mer have every right to live in Atlantis,” Cari argued. “It’s their home.”
Mariana sneered across the table. “The waters where Atlantis lies are their home. We raise the city and they can go live wherever they wish. I will not stop them from seeking new waters to reside in.”
The sneer in her voice was evident as she spoke of the mer. Jake leaned toward Fabian to whisper. “What is her problem with the mer? Why is she so prejudiced against them?”
“Does prejudice need a reason?” Fabian murmured back with a sad sigh.
“I suppose not.”
“It’s about power,” Fabian explained. “My mother has control over every creature of the oceans, from the smallest fish to the largest whale. She can summon them to do her bidding. Even true sea dragons, if any still exist, can be bent to her will. The mer, despite being creatures of the sea, are immune to her powers and always have been.”
Jake nodded in understanding of what Fabian told him, even if he didn’t understand how someone could hate an entire species simply for being who they were.
He turned his attention back to the immortals, who continued to argue.
“Atlantis is the safest place for the mer,” Cari argued against Mariana. “Mankind has polluted much of the oceans of the world and explores many of the places where the mer were once abundant.”
“Then the mer will need to be careful, won’t they?” Mariana said. “I say we raise the city.”
“If we were to do this, it would send most of us right into stasis,” Caspian pointed out impatiently. “None of us has the number of followers we had when we first sank the island.”
“Perhaps we raise only part of it,” Cynbel suggested. “The city and surrounding environs, rather than the entire continent.”
The blue-haired goddess nodded. “I agree. The raising of the city may take a lot of powers, but when the humans see Atlantis is real, their belief will restore what we lose ten times over. I say we vote on this now.”
Cynbel banged on the table twice. “All those in favor of raising Atlantis, speak now.”
The roar from the gods shook the walls. Jake noticed Caspian, Cari, Medina, as well as several others, didn’t call out.
“I believe the ayes have it,” Cynbel said. “I suggest we raise the city at midnight tonight.”
“Why not now?” Mariana asked.
“Because the mer deserve to be given time to leave safely,” Cynbel replied. “I trust those who have the ears of the mer will warn them of what is to come.”
Jake watched as the gods and goddesses slowly departed. Medina was one of the last remaining and she approached them with a sad smile.
“Jake, Fabian, you’ll want to warn your lovers to get their families to safety. I suggest you hurry.”
“Can this be stopped?” Fabian asked.
Medina shook her head. “The vote is final.”
“But don’t they need your powers to help raise the city?” Jake asked. “I got the impression it would take everyone to do this.”
“It will.”
“Can’t you refuse to help?”
“My consent is not required,” Medina explained. “Darya, Goddess of the Sea, will be the one to raise Atlantis. She will syphon power from all of us, no matter which way we voted.”
“She was the one with the blue hair,” Fabian added. “I don’t recall her having any issues with the merpeople, but the outcome will be the same, regardless.”
“This isn’t about the mer,” Medina explained. “Not for her, anyway. Her twin brother is the God of the Sea and is one of the few still sleeping. The raising of Atlantis could wake him, as well as the others in stasis.”
“I don’t understand,” Jake said. “How can she take your power without your consent?”
“Because we each had an equal vote,” Medina said. “It’s the way our system works.”
“Can’t someone try to talk Darya out of this?”
“Even if we could, another god would be the one to take her place. Each of the oldest gods—that is
the gods and goddesses of the sky, land and sea— has the power to syphon from the rest of us. Even if you could convince Darya, the others all voted the same way she did. The best thing you can do is warn those you love of what is to come.”
Fabian nodded. “I’m sure Cari will be getting her Oracles out of the city, but Delwyn also has other family there.”
“Kyle and Finn will want to bring their relatives to safety, too,” Jake said. “I need to get back to them.”
The words had barely left his mouth when he found himself standing in his kitchen once more.
“Kyle! Finn!” he shouted at the same time as Fabian called for Delwyn.
When his lovers didn’t answer him immediately, Jake ran from the room. He knew he’d find them in one of two places, the pool or the bedroom.
Since the swimming pool was nearest to the kitchen, Jake tried there first. At the glimpse of silver fins, he thought for a moment he had found Finn, but he caught sight of the brown head of hair.
“Delwyn’s through here,” Jake yelled.
He nearly crashed into Fabian as he raced back out of the room and headed for the staircase.
Predictably, he found Kyle and Finn still wrapped in each other’s arms. A glance at the clock showed him barely five minutes had passed during the time he had been on the Isle of the Gods.
“Wake up, guys,” Jake called as he opened the curtains wide.
“What time is it?” Finn mumbled.
“Too early,” Kyle replied. “Jake, come back to bed.”
“We have an emergency,” Jake said, knowing if he took Kyle up on his offer, they’d lose at least an hour of valuable time.
“What is it?” Finn asked as he rubbed sleep out of his eyes.
“Atlantis is about to be discovered,” Jake said. “The mer need to be evacuated, right now.”
“Lynna won’t come here,” Kyle said. “I’ve already told her about the human explorers in the area. She won’t leave.”
“I’m not talking about the explorers,” Jake said. “The gods are going to raise the city.”
“What?” Finn stared at him in utter shock. “Can they do that?”
“Apparently they can,” Jake replied. “The mer have until midnight to get away from the area, otherwise they’ll be brought to the surface of the ocean with the island itself. If that should happen, they’ll be exposed to the world, because it’ll be a matter of hours, if not even less, before Atlantis is on every television set on the planet.”