Atlantium Trilogy I: Bride of Atlantis (15 page)

Aurora nodded. “We suspected, of
course, but it was necessary to confirm our suspicions that you
have the natural ability to guard your mind from telepathy without
use of a device, that you can break a mind hold. Those are powerful
gifts, would be even among Atlanteans. We would like to welcome you
as a bride of Atlantis, bride of Thor, who has claimed first right
and petitioned the council to take you as wife.”

Chapter Nine

Alexis’ jaw dropped. She glanced
quickly at Thor, wondering if he’d had anything to do with this
‘decision’.

“
The decision was based upon
your tests,” Aurora said gently. “Naturally, we would like to allow
mating to be a matter of compatibility, affection, physical
attraction—love if you will, as in the old times. But we have not
the luxury. In any case, it seems fortune smiles upon your union,
for you appear to have formed an emotional attachment to match your
biological profiles,” Aurora finished, smiling faintly.

“
Wait a minute. Look. I
couldn’t even if I wanted to. I’m married already,” Alexis said a
little desperately.

Aurora’s brows lifted. “You are
divorced.”

“
Divorced?” Alexis repeated,
stunned.

Aurora nodded. “It was witnessed, by
Adonis. You divorced your—ah—previous spouse when he threw you
overboard.”

Alexis looked at her blankly.
Suddenly, she recalled the words she’d screamed at Eric as she was
falling. She shook her head. “That was … anger, graveyard humor. It
meant nothing—changed nothing.”

“
You did not intend to
divorce him?”

“
I fully intend to divorce
him as soon as I can go home, but that doesn’t change the fact
that, by law, I’m still married to him.”

“
Your laws?”

“
Our laws.”

“
You live in Atlantis now,”
Aurora reminded her gently. “If you stay, only our laws apply to
you. The laws of outworlders are no concern of ours. And, by our
laws, you rejected your marriage before a witness. You are
divorced—free to wed.”

Alexis stared at her, glanced at Thor,
who stood, stone-faced, glanced at Helen’s pale countenance.
“But—there was an understanding between Thor and Helen. She told me
it had been settled.”

Aurora stared at her for so long that
Alexis blushed, realizing Aurora was probably well aware of her
lack of consideration for Helen’s prior claim. “We have ruled
against Helen’s prior claim. We considered the long attachment she
and Thor had, but there remains a biological impediment. Time
cannot change this. She was told this long ago. Thor accepted the
ruling. Helen must also.”

“
NO!” Helen cried suddenly.
“Aunt--councilor, you know we have loved each other from the time
we were children! It is not right!”

“
Helen, you know the laws.
You know, have known for many years, that this could not
be.”

Helen rushed to Thor, grasped his arm,
shaking it. “Tell them it doesn’t matter! We do not care if we are
not allowed to have a family.”

Thor looked at Helen uncomfortably.
“Helen, I loved you as a playmate when we were children together. I
have loved you as a dear friend from the time we grew up, but you
are no more in love with me, as a woman loves a man, than I am, or
have ever been, in love with you. We did no more than agree that we
should settle for each other for companionship’s sake. I was
willing, if it was allowed, but it was not. I accepted that we
could only be friends. I thought you had also.”

“
Nay! You did not! You said
that we would wait a while and petition again, that I would be your
wife or none other!”

Thor paled, glanced at the
council.

Aurora flushed, half rose from her
seat. “Helen! You perjure yourself! You cannot lie to us! Even if
you are willful enough to try to lie to yourself, we know the
truth!”

Helen looked frightened, but only for
a moment. She whirled upon Alexis, fixing her with a look that
should have killed her on the spot, before she turned to Thor once
more. “It is her, is it not? It is that she-creature Adonis brought
among us! She does not belong here. She will never
belong.”

“
This has nothing to do with
Alexis. This was settled long before she came. You led me to
believe that it was settled, and that you had accepted as I had,”
Thor said with determined patience.

Helen released his arm, stepped back.
She turned to look at the councilors, at Aurora. Her eyes narrowed
as her gaze settled upon Alexis. She said nothing,
however.

After a moment, Aurora addressed
Alexis once more.

“
You have heard the
council’s ruling. You must decide.”

Shock ran through Alexis. No one had
warned her that she would have to decide, now, today. She had
thought she would have more time. She thought quickly. “What if I
left and came back? I can’t just stay. I have to settle my affairs.
My father deserves justice. I am the only one who can see that he
has it. If you would only allow me to take care of that, I would
willingly return, or you could erase my memories then. It wouldn’t
matter afterwards.”

Aurora seemed to consult with the
other councilors for several moments. When she finally returned her
attention to Alexis, she knew the answer even before Aurora spoke.
“It seems a reasonable request….”

“
Thank you! Yes … I’ll agree
to anything you want to do … afterwards.”

Aurora frowned. “Patience, child. As I
was saying, it seems like a reasonable request. However, there are
… circumstances which have arisen which make it impossible to allow
your petition.”

“
What circumstances?” Alexis
demanded.

“
There is danger to
you….”

“
I KNOW that,” Alexis
interrupted her again.

“
Do not interrupt
me!”

Alexis blushed.

“
You do not know the danger.
I do not speak of your former spouse … and that is not the only
consideration. You carry Thor’s child.”

Alexis stared at her in absolute
horror. Visions flashed through her mind: Thor shifting, sprouting
wings; Thor shifting into a merman; the horrible beastman that had
attacked her; Adonis as dolphin, then merman. Other images crowded
behind those that might have been comical if they had not been so
horrendous; of her, straining to deliver her child and a doctor
holding up a dolphin, or merchild; of her searching frantically for
her baby, picking up puppies and kittens and looking them over to
see if it was her child, shifted into some beast. She couldn’t do
that! She had to get rid of it, she thought a little
wildly.

Aurora erupted from her seat,
effectively distracting Alexis from the images flickering through
her mind. Stalking toward Alexis, she grasped her hand and hauled
her from the room like a naughty child. Alexis was too stunned to
protest. She glanced back as Aurora dragged her from the room. Thor
was staring at her, pale, looking desperately ill.

Helen was laughing.

Aurora didn’t stop until they’d
reached her private chambers. Dragging Alexis inside, she slammed
the door behind them, shoved Alexis toward a chaise. Alexis
staggered back a few steps but remained standing, watching in
bemusement as, still in the grips of a fury Alexis had never
witnessed, Aurora stalked to a chest, pulled a band from it and
returned, shoving it firmly into place on Alexis’ head.

Immediately, the annoying buzzing
noise that Alexis had long since learned to ignore,
ceased.

Weak kneed, she sat on the chaise
behind her, watching Aurora pace the floor.

“
What have I
done?”

“
Indeed! You should well
ask!”

Alexis stared at her, realizing she
had done something unforgivable, but uncertain of what it
was.

“
You have wounded a good
man! Hurt him to the quick with your ignorance!”

The image of Thor’s face entered
Alexis’ mind. “Thor?” she asked, feeling a little sick.

Aurora stopped pacing, collapsing into
her chair as her anger vanished. She covered her face with her
hands. “Child! Child, that was unforgivable.”

“
What? What did I do?”
Alexis cried, fighting the urge to burst into tears.

Aurora took several long, calming
breaths and finally looked at Alexis. “What possessed you to think
such thoughts?”

Alexis felt her jaw go slack as
realization dawned. She burst into tears. “I couldn’t help it! I
was so surprised!”

“
We should have fitted you
with a band long since. You have an undisciplined mind!”

Alexis cried harder.

“
Hush!”

Alexis jumped at the harsh command,
fought for control of her emotions.

Aurora studied her for a long moment
and finally moved from her chair to sit beside Alexis, pulling her
into a loving embrace. “Hush, child. I know you did not intend to
hurt Thor.”

“
No! No, I didn’t. Do you
think I did?” Alexis asked tearfully.

Aurora seemed at a loss for words.
Finally, she said. “Why did you think those things?”

Alexis was tempted to pretend she
didn’t remember thinking anything. “I don’t know. It’s just … I’m
not USED to people changing, shifting. I don’t know what to
expect—You mean, it wouldn’t look like … it would just be a
baby?”

“
Of course it would be … it
IS a baby!” Aurora snapped. “We are as human as you
are!”

Alexis blushed, finally pulling away
from Aurora, although she was grateful that Aurora had offered her
comfort. “I just—I hadn’t really thought about it until you said
I—that I was pregnant. I should find him, apologize.”

Aurora stood, paced the room
thoughtfully for several moments and finally returned to her chair.
“It will do no good,” she said sadly. “It is done now.”

Alexis stared at her, feeling a
sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. It was unthinkable
that she couldn’t ask for forgiveness and be granted it. It was
unthinkable that Thor would hate her now only because of one
careless thought. She didn’t think that she could bear that. She
knew she couldn’t bear to think of it. “But … but, I didn’t mean
it!”

Aurora looked at her sadly. “Alexis,
your heart spoke. We all know that you meant it. I understand that
you did not purposefully hurt us, that it was ignorance, because
you have not been with us long enough to fully understand who and
what we are, but that does not change the fact that you look upon
us as … not of your kind. Perhaps we should consider aborting the
child.”

Instinctively, Alexis’ hand flew
protectively to her belly. “No!”

Aurora studied her. “Only a few
moments ago that thought was uppermost in your mind.”

“
You don’t understand! I
wasn’t thinking of Thor! I was thinking about that … that horrible
thing that attacked me. Thor said it was a man, a man who had
shifted into a beast. And Adonis, the first time I saw him, he was
a dolphin. And when Thor came after me when I was trying to escape,
he changed into a merman.

I’m not like you! I can’t do these
things. Nobody I know can do these things. And all I could think
about was that the baby would not be like me and I wouldn’t know
how to deal with it! It’s not you, any of you. It’s me! I feel like
an alien in this world and I can’t help it because nothing here is
familiar to me.”

“
Be still, child. I will try
to make you understand.” She paused, thinking. “We are an ancient
race,” she said finally.

“
I know.”

Aurora shook her head. “We have been
so intent on preserving the life that we have had that we have lost
our youth.”

Alexis frowned. “I’m not sure I
understand.”

“
Living as we do, here, in
Atlantis, living the life spans that we engineered for ourselves,
we have all but lost the spring time of our race. In the beginning,
we did nothing to control population growth, but we soon saw that
that was a terrible mistake. To correct our error, no one was
allowed to bear a child for many years, but when the time came that
we felt we could, with control, begin again to have families, we
discovered that many were too old to bear. Of those who could,
there are—genetic considerations.”

Alexis looked at her
blankly.

“
Inbreeding.”

Alexis was revolted and it
showed.

Aurora’s lips tightened. “It is not a
matter of incest, but rather genetics, that are too closely
related. In a sense, all of mankind is related. All carry certain
traits, but any time they reproduce within a limited gene pool,
problems arise. Particularly, if they happened, like us, to
deliberately introduce specific denominators. It is my generation
that is mostly to blame, and as I am the last, I feel a terrible
burden for what we brought about in our ignorance. We bred so
indiscriminately that only one in a hundred of our children were
allowed to bear a child, but even then we could not achieve a
balance that was healthy and finally we saw that a whole generation
must pass from this life before anyone would be allowed to bear
again.”