“Honestly, I never thought about it,” I admitted. “I just figured we’d fight our way out when the time came.”
She shook her head half in amusement, half in frustration. “Silly child. That is a man’s way, not a woman’s. We have nothing to prove, so we may use our heads to do our thinking instead of our rods. You are far too precious to risk in battle. Hurry now.”
So, I stepped into the darkness with Amaza close behind me. She shuffled the robes back in place then slid the panel shut behind us. It was so black I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. Not a ray of light seeped in from the other side of the panel.
I closed my eyes. I wasn’t terribly fond of the dark. Silently, I wished for light, just enough to see. An orb appeared in front of me, floating about three feet off the ground glowing with a soft bluish white light.
“Very good. I see you’ve been practicing.” Her voice held approval.
“Yes, my lady.” She didn’t need to know that I had needed no practice. The High Priest and the Warrior both had warned me to never show my true self to anyone. Not even the High Priestess of the Temple of the Moon. No one was to know the true nature of my powers. It was my only real protection against those who sought my death.
It was known that a full-blooded member of the Royal Line carried natural abilities and power beyond even that of the High Priest himself. That was how the Bloodline became the ruling class of Atlantis in the first place. It was either subjugate, or be destroyed. It was what made them both incredibly powerful, and frighteningly dangerous. It was only the gift of the gods which made the High Priest more powerful than the Bloodline once he’d been chosen, an unnatural power tied to Atlantis itself which kept the Bloodline in check.
Half-breeds like me, however, did not possess such powers, even half-breeds of the Royal Line. They had some, much like any ordinary citizen of any of the Common Lines, but nothing near what a Pure Blood had.
For some reason, I was different. I was special. Even the High Priest himself did not know why, but he’d given me the best advice I’d ever received: Hide what you are at all costs. It had served me well for fifteen years.
The orb led us down a short hallway to a set of narrow, spiral stone steps which led into the bowels of the hill on which the Temple had been built. Everything was thick with dust and cobwebs and creatures with many legs skittered away from the light to hide in the shadows. Must assaulted my nose and I itched to sneeze. Sneezing, however, would not be a good plan. We might be heard.
The staircase seemed to go on forever. My legs began to tremble and burn with every step. When we finally reached the bottom, several tunnels branched out from the main corridor. Each tunnel was marked with a carved symbol above the entrance. Amaza led the way down the tunnel marked with the sign of the crescent moon and my light darted ahead to illuminate the path.
The already low ceiling slanted lower and lower, forcing us to stoop. The passage became narrower and narrower, pressing in on us from every side. Water trickled down the walls and pooled on the floor, leaving streaks of green, slippery scum coating everything. I could feel panic rising, threatening to overwhelm me. I shoved it aside and focused on Amaza and the glowing orb leading the way deeper into the hillside.
At last, we came to a fork in the tunnel, the left fork marked with a crescent moon. The tunnel opened up and allowed us to stand for the first time in what seemed like hours.
“It’s safe to speak now.” Amaza beckoned me to walk beside her. Once it would have been a great honor. In light of current events, it was meaningless. Without a Temple, the office of High Priestess meant less than nothing.
“Where are we going?” I wondered where on earth would be safe enough for us now.
“To the east of here,” she said. “There are beautiful and wild lands, empty of humans. We will be safe there. I have been preparing for some time, sending warriors ahead with our most important treasures and scrolls.”
I nodded. She’d known this day was coming, just as I had. The first dictate of the Priestesses of the Temple of the Moon was to protect the Royal Bloodline. The second was to protect the knowledge of our people. I was the last of that Bloodline, half-breed or not. She would protect me with her life. I hoped it didn’t come to that.
We hurried down the left fork of the tunnel and within minutes found ourselves outside in the night air. Behind us was a hill on which the Temple stood and above it the sky glowed red. “They’re burning the Temple.” There was infinite sadness in her voice. The last stronghold of the great city of Atlantis was gone forever.
Though I was sad to see the Temple fall, I did not feel the same pain. The Temple was not my home. My home had been destroyed ten years ago when the citadel of Atlantis fell. Now the only thing that remained of my people were a few scattered conclaves hiding in plain sight, praying they would not be discovered, not daring to use their powers. I was used to hiding. I’d been hiding since the day I was born. Hiding did not bother me.