Retribution [malexmale]

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

A chill crept up my spine as I stood there on the cold New York street with Stanton standing across from me, staring back at me with an expression devoid of emotions.

The Atlanteans have returned.

Those words stole my breath away. A thousand emotions assaulted me at once at finally having my suspicions confirmed out loud.

My family was really back. They weren't dead. My father, my siblings, my aunts, uncles, cousins, everyone. Everyone I'd  grown up with. Though my worshippers were gone, my family was here to share in that grief now. I didn't have to sit home alone. Granted, I had Dorean with me and don't get me wrong; his presence was a huge relief. But I couldn't really share in memories with him that he would understand, not like family would.

But where were they? Why hadn't they appeared in our previous realm?

"Your barrier," Stanton said, answering my thoughts and making me look up, "You set a barrier up around your realm and it keeps people away. Bring it down and let them in, if you want."

"If I want?" I asked, frowning at his tone. Why wouldn't I? They're my family.

"Xenon," Stanton said slowly, in a chiding tone as if he were speaking to a child, and I narrowed my eyes in irritation, "Your entire family was imprisoned for several millennia. Do you think they're just going to come back and get back to the ol' grind?" I hesitated. What was he suggesting?

"Let me put it this way," Stanton drawled, "Someone trapped them there. And considering where they left off, who do you think the Atlanteans are going to blame for imprisoning them for over what? Ten thousand or so years?" I stiffened as realization dawned on me.

My family was many things, but forgiving was not one of them. Vengeance ran thick in our blood where our enemies were concerned, and even family members held grudges among themselves. But if there was one enemy the Atlanteans loathed more than one another, it was the Greeks.

When the Atlanteans had been wiped out, we'd been in the middle of a war against the Greeks, dragging them down to their knees and through the blood of many. We were wiping the floor with them and had come dangerously close to defeating them if Callias hadn't of struck that bargain with the Source and resulted in their imprisonment. 

But the Atlanteans didn't know about the deal, didn't know Callias had betrayed them.

So their first order of business was to destroy the Greeks.

I cursed under my breath and looked up to speak to Stanton, but he was nowhere in sight. I blinked and looked around, bewildered.

"Stanton? Stanton, seriously?" I demanded angrily. I cursed again, vanishing from New York back to my home in the Atlantean realm. I stood on the cobblestone entrance, looking around at the desert realm that had yet to change, but once I brought down the barrier, the Atlanteans would flood the realm and it would return to the state it was before. The ocean would flood with creatures of the sea, the desert dunes would flourish into the lush green mountains, streams and creeks overflowing with clean water, birds and animals drawn to its creator and saviors.

I swallowed at the thought. I wanted to instantly drop the barrier and open my arms to my family, but I wasn't sure I should do that just yet.

I took a deep breath and walked in through my front door, pausing when I felt a fissure of power pierce the air. My eyes widened as I felt a power that I hadn't felt in years. I sucked in a sharp breath, and wanted to run racing toward that power, but I didn't want to seem too eager. So I managed to compose myself long enough to walk toward the living room.