Beneath the Hallowed Hill (43 page)

“I’m not trained.”

Ianara took her by the shoulders and looked into her face. “Trust your instincts. You’ll know what to do.”

“Where’s Govannan?” Megan asked, but Ianara had turned back already and didn’t hear.

Another quake hit, and the Fire Stone swayed. People screamed. Some ran, staggering, out of the temple. Ianara started a chant. Megan strained to hear, but she couldn’t pick it out from the clamor of human voices and the ear-wrenching sounds coming from the crystals. She closed her eyes, trying to do as the Lady of Avalon taught her and find her ground of silence. Finally she succeeded. She stretched her senses toward the other pod workers, attempting to connect with them.

A new quiver ran through the floor and the Fire Stone groaned. Megan’s eyes flew open. The crystal rocked back and forth in its base, the tip coming within inches of crashing through the selenite ceiling. A new crack ran through the giant stone, making a sickening popping sound. More people fled the chamber, screaming about an attack. The racket subsided enough for Megan to hear the calming chant rising from the three intrepid Matrix Chamber workers, as incongruous as a lullaby on a battlefield. At first Megan matched Daphyll’s part, until the pattern began to sound in her head and she found her own harmonic. Rhea arrived, wild-eyed, and took another spot in the circle. More matrix workers found their way through the chaos into the temple, and others came who Megan knew worked in different specialties. They joined in, each matching the sounds of one of the pod workers, reinforcing the chant.

They sang and sang, shifting their tones to neutralize, to calm, to heal the Earth and the wailing Tuoai Stone. As the group synergy built, Megan could see in her mind the temples along the spiraling grid that culminated at this spot. Some swayed and bucked, others were empty of energy, like dried grass in autumn. The group worked to bring peace once more, but as the afternoon turned to night, it became clear that their efforts would only bring them a brief respite. The damage ran too deep. The red core of the Earth ran fingers of molten rock up through the deepening cracks. The volcanoes of Atlantis began to leak fire. The city trembled. In parts of Eden, buildings with wood began to smoke, then caught fire and burned; the stone ones cracked and fell.

Megan swayed where she stood, chanting, yearning for water…and for Govannan. Where was he? He never came. Was he safe? Was he injured in the quake somewhere? Her mind merged into the ritual once more, and she lost track of her individual wants and needs for a while, the energy of the group feeding and sustaining her. Some time late in the night, she became aware of Thuya whispering in her ear. “Come back, now. Come to my voice.”

Megan looked at the old woman, her mind a blank, her every muscle aching, her heart broken. “Where is he, Thuya? Why has he abandoned us?”

“Rhea says you are to rest now. You mustn’t risk your baby.”

“He doesn’t even know.” Tears ran down Megan’s face.

Thuya put her arm around her waist. “Lean on me.” Someone slipped into Megan’s place and the chant continued.

The Egyptian woman led her up the hill to the villa, still safe from the quakes and fires, at least for the moment. She listened to Megan weep and sang little nonsense verses to her, reassuring her that all would be well, that Govannan would be found, as if Megan were the baby instead of pregnant with one. Thuya took her into the water room, stripped off her clothes, and bathed her. She held her head above water and massaged her limbs, Megan passive beneath her nurturing hands. She wrapped her in a soft, warm blanket, led her down the hall, and sat her on a bed. Megan recognized the pillows she brought from her childhood home—only half a year ago, but it felt like ages. Thuya put a cup up to her mouth and told her to drink. Megan sputtered when the bitter herbs hit her tongue.

“Drink it down,” Thuya said.

The medicine stole into Megan’s battered heart and quieted it.

“Now sleep. In the morning, we will find the Matrix Master, then you can tell him your news.”

Megan did sleep, and finally so did the Earth…for a time.

* * * *

Megan woke the next morning to a quiet Earth, but no Govannan, so she started to search for him. Everyone in the villa slept except sturdy Thuya. Megan found her in one of the classrooms, putting the crystals right. “Has anyone found Govannan?” she asked.

“I haven’t seen him or heard any news.” Thuya straightened up, massaging her back. “The others came in just a couple of hours ago. We can ask them this afternoon. Let them sleep now.”

“Have you rested?” Megan asked.

“Don’t worry about me,” Thuya said.

“Can I help you?”

Thuya chuckled. “Go look for him. You won’t be any good until you’ve found him.”

Relieved, Megan went to an empty classroom and sat with a rather large rutilated smoky quartz in her lap to reinforce her vision. She stretched her senses over the city as far as she could, hunting for Govannan’s energy signature. She got up and went out on the streets where chaos reigned. Some areas of the city lay in rubble, others were pristine. Shopkeepers shifted through debris, trying to assess the damage. Families moved rocks and lifted fallen beams, trying to set things right, some searching for lost loved ones. Maybe Govannan was hurt and was taken to be healed. She found her way to the Healing Temple. Crowds of people with crushed limbs, broken bones, and shattered hearts filled the benches and spilled over across the floor. Megan spotted Pleione just inside a large room where patients lay waiting.

Her mother ran and grabbed her up. “You’re safe. Oh, thank the gods.”

Megan returned the hug, trying not to cry.

“What are you doing here, anyway?”

“The Morgen sent me.” Before she could explain, someone came up and asked Pleione a question. Megan saw another healer hovering, waiting for her mother’s attention. “Have you seen Govannan?” She asked before they could be interrupted again.

“He’s not at the Temple?”

“No, I haven’t seen him since I arrived yesterday. I was out looking for him.”

“See if you can contact his mother’s house. Some of the communication screens are still working.”

A healer came running up. “They’re bringing in the survivors from the north market.”

“I’ll be right there.” Pleione turned to Megan. “Go back to your temple. The city isn’t safe. I’ll come when I have time.” She ran off to see about the new patients.

Megan made her way back to the Crystal Guild, realizing only later that she didn’t tell her mother the one piece of good news. Back in her room, she found Govannan’s family listed in the computer files. They lived in the mountains of the Evaemona district, but she wasn’t able to get through nor could she find any news about the conditions in that region. It contained one of the largest volcanoes on Atlantis. Half the communications net was down, and the quakes knocked out some of the energy stations, so flying was no longer safe. Suddenly, an emergency announcement flashed on the screen. Rhea called a meeting.

People packed the room when Megan arrived, filling the seats and leaning against the walls, so she stood at the edge away from the other Crystal Matrix workers, her eyes scanning the crowd for Govannan. Maybe he would come in with the Guild Mistress, but Rhea walked on stage without him. A line of area heads followed her slight figure. Govannan was not with them either.

“Where is he?” Megan whispered to herself.

“Missing someone?” a woman standing next to her asked.

She nodded.

“You’re not the only one.”

Rhea held her hand up for silence, which came quickly. “I’ll come straight to the point. We must evacuate Atlantis.”

Questions and lamentations erupted from all around, but Rhea stood her ground and waited for the chaos to die down again. “The Guild Masters met all morning. It’s clear that the damage is too deep to repair.”

A tremor shook the room, seeming to punctuate Rhea’s words. The quakes started again just after Megan returned from the city.

Rhea waited for the shaking to stop, then continued. “We have lived in harmony with the volcanoes for thousands of years. For the last hundred years, the telluric pressure has been increasing. As you know, our temples and grid systems have worked to balance things, tapping that pressure and turning it into energy…among other things. Now it seems the Earth is going through large changes. The accident in the Crystal Matrix Chamber only hastened the inevitable.” She looked around at everyone. “Soon, parts of Atlantis will sink.”

A sickened silence followed this announcement, then people began talking at once, asking how this could be and swearing that with enough help the Earth could be stabilized. Another quake hit, and the Earth shook long and hard. People grabbed onto whatever they could, most clinging to each other. Some just sat down, praying the ground would not open beneath them. After two full minutes, which seemed an eternity, it stopped. A small crack ran through the ceiling of the room. Everyone stared up at it, breathless. The ceiling held.

“As you can see, our city is no longer safe,” Rhea said. “Go to your division. Make your plans.” Her voice broke, and silence fell. “Some of us may never see each other again. I want to thank you for the glorious life we have lived together.”

People began to weep, but the Earth trembled once more, cutting off anything but survival plans. Everyone scrambled out of the hall toward their various division homes. Megan ran to the Matrix Chamber. Ianara came in on her heels. The pod workers arrived in clusters. Finally everyone was accounted for…except Govannan. His whereabouts was Ianara’s first question.

“I may know what happened to him.” Herasto stepped forward. “Before the accident, I was walking to the Temple. I heard voices, one man shouting and another trying to calm him. I didn’t recognize the angry man, but the other voice was Govannan’s. I called for help. A group of us tried to get into the temple, but the angry man set up some kind of energy barrier. We couldn’t get into the chamber in time.” He looked at Megan, his eyes begging her forgiveness.

Daphyll continued. “The first quake popped the shield. When we ran in, they were gone. The Fire Stone was just used. It took all of us to keep it from splitting in two.”

Herasto looked over at Megan, guilt written all over his face. “We couldn’t follow them.” He turned back to Ianara. “I would have told you earlier, but…I just never got the chance.” He tried to straighten his disheveled clothes “I worked all night, then—”

Ianara held up her hands. “We all know what’s been going on, Herasto. No one blames you.”

Megan stood rooted to the floor. What was he saying? Govannan gone with some stranger, and no one knew where? “There must be some way to find him,” she blurted, then realized Ianara was speaking.

“The Fire Stone is damaged, Megan. Our first task is to balance it, then we can see if enough information is left to trace him.”

Megan let out a wail and several people moved to comfort her.

“I thought you were in Avalon,” Ianara said. “I’m sorry. We’ll find him.”

Megan nodded, her throat closed by hot tears.

“What happened?” Ianara asked more gently.

“The Morgen. She sent me back. She said I should bring the sentinels back to Avalon so they would be safe.”

Ianara shook her head. “We need to speak with her about this.”

“She’s dead.”

Gasps and shouts of dismay erupted from everywhere. Ianara raised her hands for quiet. “An era is passing, and we must survive. We have to heal the Fire Stone so people can transport out, then we’ll have to close it down so when…” She shuddered and forced herself to continue. “…when the island sinks, the crystal will not create space or time disruptions. Before this, everyone needs to seek guidance about where they are supposed to go. I propose we sit together for this.” She looked around. “Is everyone here…that we know to be in Eden now?”

The pods grouped themselves together, each making a count. Megan sat on the floor, numb. Daphyll sat with her, but Megan was barely aware of the priestess’ presence. The missing people were accounted for, and Ianara seemed satisfied. “Now everyone find a comfortable place.” The Earth shivered again. “As comfortable as you can under the circumstances.”

The pods settled down together. Herasto sat on Megan’s other side. “I’m sorry we couldn’t stop them,” he said.

“We’ll find him.” Daphyll squeezed her arm.

Ianara began a chant to enhance awareness, and the group joined her. The complex harmonies worked their way into Megan’s numb mind, gradually bringing relief and peace, finally even hope. Ianara led them into contact with their inner world guides, and silence reigned, more powerful than the small tremors that ran periodically through the room.

The stag appeared in Megan’s inner vision. He walked toward her and shifted into the tall man with dark hair and luminous eyes who led her into faeryland. “You know already where you should go. I will keep you company until you find him again.”

She would find Govannan, then. Megan sat back, satisfied, and waited for the others. It was her first experience with the full power of the Crystal Matrix workers. She began to be aware of a group mind thinking in harmony, a beautiful, multifaceted sphere.

“It is complete.” Ianara stood up and waited for everyone to return from their experience. “Let us hear our destinations.”