Free Atlantium Trilogy I: Bride of Atlantis by Madelaine Montague Page B

Unfortunately, that didn’t appear to be a
modern marvel Atlanteans were terribly interested in. She supposed,
considering their location, that it was just as well they weren’t.
She couldn’t imagine the reception would be very good
here.
    She found books, and was actually
excited for about two seconds, until she discovered they were
written in a language she couldn’t begin to decipher.
    The alphabet didn’t even look
familiar.
    There were other books in other
languages, but she was no linguist. She couldn’t say more than a
few words in French and Spanish combined, and she couldn’t read
either one of them. The only books she found in English was the
translation of Alexandre Dumas’ THE THREE MUSKETEERS and a book of
mathematics.
    She’d already read the classic three
times and she had no use for the mathematics.
    She’d discovered—small wonder—that
there had been a communication glitch between her and Moira. She
was not supposed to appear before the council again for almost a
week.
    So she had a week to figure out how to
get out of Atlantis.
    Easier said than done.
    For one thing, Moira was in the house
even if Thor wasn’t. Moira might not be much for vocalizing, but
that didn’t mean she’d have any trouble at all with
telepathy.
    If she left the house to think, then
anyone nearby might ‘hear’ her plans. She had no way of knowing
what sort of distance limitations telepathy might have.
    Finally, just after lunch, Moira left
with a basket that suggested she might be heading to the
market.
    Alexis sat down to plot a
strategy.
    Probably the simplest thing to try, if
not the easiest, was to see if she could steal a boat, or possibly
beg a ride on one. There were several problems that immediately
presented themselves regarding the last. For all she knew there
wasn’t a soul in Atlantis who couldn’t instantly identify her. Then
there was the minor little problem that she was not telepathic, and
therefore could not communicate. The minute she had to open her
mouth, even if they didn’t recognize her, they’d know she wasn’t
from Atlantis.
    She wondered if there was such a thing
as a mute around here. Somehow, she doubted it.
    As for stealing a boat, or even trying
to get a ride in one, unless Aurora had lied to her, the boat
probably wouldn’t do her any good.
    Getting her hands on a boat, however,
was the only way she could think of to test Aurora’s
veracity.
    Allowing them to erase her memory
simply wasn’t an option, even if it might be the path of least
resistance.
    So, if she managed to steal a boat and
sailed round and round Atlantis and discovered there was no way out
without a submarine, her options dwindled considerably.
    That left giving in to the memory
drain, or convincing some Atlantean to take her.
    It was a shame Adonis had been
banished.
    Of course he was the one who’d gotten
her into this mess to start with, bringing her here instead of
taking her somewhere in the outside world where she would’ve stood
a chance of finding her way home.
    And he had used his native powers to
put a whammy on her only for the purpose of seducing her … which
was probably why he’d rescued her, then brought her here to start
with.
    But, since he’d broken the law to
bring her she didn’t think he would’ve quailed at the idea of
breaking another one by taking her away again.
    Alexis sighed deeply, regretfully
laying aside the possibility of finding another Atlantean willing
to take her out of Atlantis.
    Of the handful she’d met, Helen was
probably the only one that she would’ve had any possibility of
convincing, and then only because Helen simply didn’t want her
around. Which meant she couldn’t trust Helen.
    So, it was the boat or
nothing.
    She went to the kitchen and gathered a
few edibles. She didn’t know how long she might be traveling and
she had no money … or whatever Atlanteans used for
commerce.
    After she’d collected the food,
wrapped it in a cloth and placed it in a