The Avenger From Atlantis

The wisps of smoke, ash, and steam were strangely beautiful, diffusing the dying sunlight into a gorgeous array of reds and pinks. Any other time, they would have conveyed a mix of peace and breathtaking loveliness. Instead, they were the aftermath of a God's jealous vengeance, the rising plume marking a river of souls flowing to their final rest. Atlantis had grown rich and powerful beyond legend, but also too greedy, and too cruel. The vassals of its Empire spread far and wide, but they would never recover in the absence of the city-state that led them. For several cold months, it would rain naught but ash. Crops would fail, all trade would falter, and wars would break out over the meager spoils it left. Its magic too was lost to the world forever. All of this she knew in an instant. She wanted to weep as the great wave rose to drown her, but there were no tears left to shed.

~~

Audrey started awake, heart pounding and breast heaving. She leaped from sheets damp with sweat to find herself blessedly alone. That dream had been nothing short of bizarre, but it felt so real. She hastily threw on a pale gown and padded quietly down the marble stairs to the kitchen after snatching a small box from her side table. A quick breakfast and a cigarette would do her heart good. The dream that shook her so would pass.

To her surprise, her mother was already waiting at the kitchen table, and there was a kettle on the stove. "Mother, you're up very early."

The woman in blue looked her age this morning. Audrey supposed she'd earned it. Dr. Elaine Bancroft had done it all in her lifetime: she'd gone to University, become a noted historian and archeologist, and led the world in discoveries about ancient Mediterranean peoples - including about the most elusive mystery of all, Atlantis. She'd become independently rich from her findings and business ventures, then snagged a peer for a husband. Then, when everyone thought she was too old, she married and bore a single daughter. But what everyone would remember of her were her tales of Atlantis. That must be the source of Audrey's dream, bits overheard about that. She struck a red-tipped match against the stove as she fumbled for her cigarette, then inhaled deeply. The quick rush of chemicals flowed through her, steadying her nerves.

The woman smiled knowingly. "I could say the same. Oh, my dear, you shouldn't smoke those things. They can't be good for you."

"Doctor Radcliffe says they've found no proof of that: I'll quit when they find otherwise. I've just had a bad dream, that's all. Something disconcerting about the fall of Atlantis. I should tell Frederick. He'd say it's psychological, maybe a fear about flunking out of University and not following in your footsteps."

The smile faded. "A dream of Atlantis? A dying island watched from a sinking ship, with smoke and ash above in the fading sun?"

Audrey's eyes widened. "Well, yes. However did you know that?"

Her mother looked away. "You're twenty-one tomorrow, my dear. Twenty-one. Did you know that was the preferred age of marriage in Atlantis, the age when a promising young woman was dedicated to the Bull God?"

Audrey raised an eyebrow. "So I've read. Positively dreadful practice, that. I'm glad we've progressed beyond such things."

"Maybe," Dr. Bancroft muttered, then to Audrey's great shock, reaching for one of her cigarettes. "Such things might be the only way to save your life."

Audrey froze, then wrapped herself in her arms, pulling her pale green gown close about her. "Mother, you're frightening me."

The aging woman lit a match, then inartfully drew in a breath of smoke, only to cough it out. "Dreadful things. My dear, I haven't been quite honest with you. You see, there are some things about Atlantis I've never shared. Dangerous things. Magic. You must have wondered how I'd been quite so successful as I have."

"Oh, mother! You mustn't say such things. There's nobody like you, everyone knows it, and you've earned every penny you have. It doesn't matter what rot of superstition you've latched on to in order to explain it."

Elaine frowned painfully. "Oh my dear, but it does. We must consecrate you. You haven't seen what I have. The gods took vengeance on Atlantis's abuse of magic before its remnants attacked Greece, whatever Plato wrote. No one could have stood against it but the gods and their fury."

Audrey covered her widened mouth. "Look, mother. The kettle is almost boiling. Let me get you a nice cup, and we'll talk some more about this."

Her other's eyes burned. "Don't patronize me, damn it. We're almost out of time. I kept it from you because I thought you'd be safer. Atlantean magic is darker than you could possibly believe. I certainly didn't know the cost. And besides, I never thought I would have any children."

Audrey shook her head desperately, tears beginning to form. "But I've done nothing!"

Suddenly her mother's eyes widened, and she stood, her thin blue robe sagging from her spread arms. "It's too late. He comes."

Audrey's cry of protest became a wordless scream as a pale white bull suddenly appeared, thundering down the hallway. She could see through it to the walls beyond, but it was real enough to shake the chandelier as it came for her. Time slowed to a horrifying crawl as she stared into its reddened eyes. It charged toward her as through the molasses of time - and then in a single thrust of its massive horns, ripped her mother's soul from its body, and exited through the opposite wall, as silent as the ghost it was. Dr. Elaine Bancroft crumpled like a rag doll to the floor, eyes empty, but a grateful smile was on her lips.