The Atlantis revelation

32

Conrad sat on the bed, anxiously waiting for Serena to emerge from the bathroom and wondering exactly what he'd see. There wasn't a lot of room in her little backpack for a change of clothes or a nightgown. But in every previous do-or-die moment of physical intimacy between them, she'd always managed to surprise him and leave him wanting.

"Conrad?" she called from the bathroom. "How did you find out which box was von Berg's?"

"It was etched beneath the metal plate in his skull."

"What was the code?"

"ARES, the god of war."

"Makes sense," she called out. "And the box number?"

"1740."

There was no response.

Conrad paused, wondering if he should say anything. Then he looked up to see Serena step out of the bathroom wearing only his white dress shirt, which managed to both hide and highlight her irresistible figure. He swallowed hard and stood up as she approached him.

She stood barely an inch away from his face, looking up at him. Their bodies did not touch, but he felt an unmistakable exchange of sexual energy between them.

"Do you really think it's a weapon forged from the technology of Atlantis?" she asked.

"I think it really turns water to fire on some molecular level, and that von Berg had a connection to Antarctica, which might have a connection with Atlantis."

"You're the one with the DNA of angels, Conrad. The Alignment and Americans both think you've got traces of Nephilim blood."

The Nephilim, according to the sixth chapter of Genesis, were the offspring of the mysterious "sons of God"-fallen angels, according to some theologians-who bred with women. Their civilization was wiped off the face of the earth by the Great Flood, which the Bible said was God's wrath upon a corrupted humanity.

"You say Nephilim and I say Atlantean," Conrad said. "But at the end of the day, we all share the same ancestral DNA."

"Some more than others."

Conrad shrugged. "Hasn't helped me yet."

"But it helped me back in D.C.," she reminded him. "Your blood provided the vaccine that saved me from the Alignment's military-grade flu virus."

"Oh, right," he said. "We've already swapped bodily fluids."

Serena's warm gaze embraced him even as she maintained her one-inch distance. It was all Conrad could do to keep from grabbing her.

"Why did you come back, Conrad?" she asked him. "After what I did to you?"

"I knew there were other forces at work, Serena," he told her. "I had to find out what they were."

Her face looked sad, defeated. "And then what?" she pressed him. "What were your plans for our future-if we had one?"

"You mean if you weren't a member of the Alignment? Or a nun?"

"Technically, I'm not a nun. I had to give up my role with the Carmelites for the Dei. And since the Dei doesn't recognize women as such, I'm pretty much a lay leader in the Church."

Conrad felt a glimmer of hope. "That's wonderful," he blurted, grasping her hand. "The best news yet."

"So how many children do you want, Conrad?" she asked, obviously trying to scare him. She was no wallflower. "You'll have to take care of them, you know."

"Me?" he asked.

"Just because I'm not a nun doesn't mean I'll be giving up the Lord's work traveling to the farthest corners of the earth to help the helpless."

"Okay with me," he said, playing along. "The ruins I explore tend to be in the same places. You can just strap the little guys to your back and swing from trees all you want."

"What's wrong with little girls, Conrad?"

"Nothing," he said. "But biologically, aren't I the one to decide that? Guess there's only one way to find out." He gently pulled her closer to him, and his voice turned tender. "You're the only thing I have to show for my life, Serena. Everything else is dust. That Hebrew slave settlement I found by the pyramids in Giza. Gone. Atlantis in Antarctica. Gone. The only thing I ever recovered were the globes, and you and Uncle Sam stole them from me."

"I'm so sorry, Conrad. I really am."

"No, you don't understand, Serena. I'm okay with it. I don't need to make any great discoveries. We can make our own. You're what I've been searching for all my life. I knew it the moment I saw you. And I don't ever want to lose you."

Her eyes sparkled with tears. She threw her arms around his neck and turned her lovely mouth up to his and kissed him.

His whole body and spirit seemed to come alive as they embraced. He couldn't believe this was about to happen.

"Please forgive me, Conrad, for all I've done to you," she said, kissing him again. "For what I'm going to do to you."

His head was swimming in ecstasy. Or was it something else? He opened his eyes and saw the room spinning behind Serena's blurred face.

"I hate you," he groaned as whatever drug she had applied to her lips took hold of his body.

"Forgive me," she whispered as she kissed him generously, passionately, until he blacked out.