The Atlantean Chronicles: Call of the Sea

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Diana had never swam so fast in her life. She had forgotten that Atlanteans possessed the ability to swim at almost super sonic speeds, allowing them to go undetected by nearly any form of land-dwellers' sonar equipment.  She had never been able to try it for herself before now.

By the time they reached the city of Atlantis, Diana was struggling to keep up with the others and was barely managing to catch her breath. Namme had stopped their team behind a large rock shelf dotted with coral and small sea-life, completely oblivious to the hell that was about to be unleashed around them. Diana could just make out the pale blue glow of the energy field that surrounded the city shining from the other side of the ledge. Ganirn and his team split off, continuing towards the city while Namme waited in hiding with the others.

Diana waited impatiently as seconds stretched into minutes and still they received no signal from Ganirn. Commander Ullesh should have already been on the inside of the energy field when they'd arrived, ready to disable it. Diana's heart tightened in her chest as she felt herself fill with dread. What if Meison had caught onto them and Ullesh never made it to the perimeter of the city? She fretted.

Jacin sat down on the rock shelf in front of her, pulling her gaze to him. "We'll win this," he said softly, his ocean blue eyes searching her sea-green ones, his brows knit together in concern.

Diana looked down at her feet, letting out a deep breath. "I don't know what I'll do if we don't," she admitted.

Jacin reached his hand out, taking hers. Diana peered up at him and squeezed his hand. Jacin smiled weakly, running his thumb along her knuckles. "Diana, I-"

Before Jacin could finish his sentence, commotion broke out on the other side of the rocky ledge. Namme and the other rebels tensed around her, reaching for the weapons strapped at their sides. The blue light around the city vanished and Asherah let out a gasp beside Diana.

The former queen was looking down at her palms in amazement, a moment later, her eyes were glowing a pale greenish-blue color. She looked up at Namme and nodded —Commander Ullesh had done it, the shield was down. Namme floated to the front of the group. "You know your jobs... let's move out!" she ordered.

Diana's heart thundered in her chest as the rebels swam by her, charging towards the city of Atlantis below. Diana exchanged one last glance with Jacin before following him and Reith. Asherah swam just ahead of them beside Gagri.

As they crested the rocky cliff, Diana paused. Chaos had broken out along the Southern side of the city. Commander Ullesh and his men had been holding back Meison's men while they attempted to take down the shield. Now that they had succeeded, Ganirn and his men had joined in the fray, making it a much more even fight. Already many buildings had fallen victim to the battle. Great chunks of marble and stone lay in piles, holes had been blown out into the sides of the buildings nearest the energy shield. Citizens were crying out in fright, some struggling to pull loved ones out of the rubble.

How many would fall victim to this before Meison was defeated? Diana wondered hopelessly.

Namme approached Ganirn and Ullesh- a tall, broad warrior with flowing blonde hair and scared arms, drawing Diana's attention back to the matter at hand. A familiar dark-haired guard approached Diana and the others as they stopped near the back of the battle. Already, his golden armor was stained red with the blood of his enemies, and his dark eyes were still bright from the thrill of battle.

Hroth removed his helmet as he stopped before Diana, his hair slowly falling to his shoulders. She stared at him, uncertain of what to say to the guard she had been so certain hated her, yet in the end saved her. Finally, she dipped her head. "Thank you," she murmured.