Ander tucked forkfuls into his mouth rapidly, without tasting, as if the void within him might be filled.
Eureka was in awe of her own hunger. It had become a shape inside her, with edges sharp as broken glass. But Solons words had made it hard to chew. She thought about Filizs penetrating golden eyes.
Thats why you sent Filiz and the Poet away before you brought out the food.
Did you really think a deluge of salt water could fall from the sky and not destroy the food chain? Solon asked. My assistants think Im starving, just as they are starving. They must continue to think that. It wouldnt do for the neighbors to be crawling around on hands and knees, bumping their heads on my glaze. Understand?
Why dont you share with them?
Solon picked up the pitcher, held it high over Eurekas empty glass, and poured a long stream of water to refill it. Why dont you go back in time and not flood the world?
Ander snatched the pitcher from Solon and slammed it on the table. Water sloshed onto Eurekas thighs.
How very wasteful, Solon said.
Shes doing the best she can.
She must do better than that, Solon said. The third tear is in the world. Soon Atlas will get it.
No, Eureka said. We came here so you could help me stop him.
Solon dragged a finger down his plate and licked the grease from it. This isnt a student council election. Atlas is the darkest force the Waking World has ever known.
How? Hes been trapped under the ocean for thousands of years, Eureka said.
Solon stared into the waterfall for a long time. His voice was faint when he spoke at last. There was a boy who lived two blocks from Byblis when she was a girl in Munich. They took a painting class together. They were friends. Then Atlas took him. He possessed the mind of an ordinary boy and set a devil loose. At a certain point, Byblis died, but never mind that. Atlas didnt leave his hosts body for years. He waved a hand dismally. The rest, unfortunately, is history. And if Atlantis rises, what the future holds is worse. You have no idea what youre up against. You wont understand until youre face to face with him at the Marais.
Eureka fingered Dianas locket. Inside, her mother had written the very same word. Eureka popped its clasp and pulled the chain taut to show Solon. What happens at the Marais?
Time will tell, Solon said. What do you know about the Marais?
Its the Cajun word for swamp. Eureka pictured the mythical city and its monster king rising from the bayou beyond her house. That didnt seem right.
But a swamp could be anywhere, Andersaid.
Or everywhere, Solon said.
You know where it is, Eureka said. How do I get there?
The Marais is not on any map, Solon said. True places never are. Man has frittered away millennia speculating about where Atlantis once was. Did it droop beyond marlins in Florida, or amid icy Swedish mermaids? Did it sink alongside Antarctic seals? Is it undulating under Bahamian yachts, oozing beneath ouzo bottles in Santorini, wafting like palm fronds off the coast of Palestine?
From the bedroom behind the tapestry, William whimpered in his sleep. Eureka rose to go to her brother, who often needed soothing from bad dreams, but the boy grew quiet again.
Solon lowered his voice. Or maybe the whole continent just drifted, disinclined to settle down. No one knows.
In other words, Ander said, Atlantis could rise from anywhere.
Not at all. Solon refilled his glass of prosecco. Over the years the Maraiss latitude and longitude in the Waking World has shifted, but it is and always has been the place from where Atlantis must rise. The seafloor beneath the Marais is pliant in the exact shape of the lost continent. From there, Atlas can bring Atlantis up whole. A successful exhumation.
So it matters where the third tear hits the earth Ander said.
If the third tear hits the earth, Eureka said.
Wherever the third tear hits, Atlantis will still rise, Solon said, but unless it falls on the Marais, it rises piecemeal, in jagged shards, like teeth growing in already decayed. Atlas would have ugly work to do to reunite his empire. He grimaced. And he would rather focus on other things.
The Filling, Ander said quietly.
What is the Filling? Eureka asked.
You are far from ready to comprehend that, Solon said. The Marais is where Eureka must face the Evil One. He will be waiting there.
Eureka remembered that vision of Brooks swimming toward her near the Turkish shore. It hadnt been a vision. And it hadnt been Brooks coming for her. It had been Atlas.
No, she said. I think hes here.
Solon glanced around his cave and furrowed his brow at Eureka.
Eurekas confused, Ander said. On our way here she thought she saw the boy Atlas possessed. I told her it couldnt be him
You told her wrong. Solon studied the lachrymatory in his fist. He slipped it inside his robe pocket. Coming for the Tearline girl himself. Hiding somewhere in these mountains. One must admire Atlass commitment. It is essential, Eureka, that you keep your distance from him until you are prepared.
Eureka was in awe of her own hunger. It had become a shape inside her, with edges sharp as broken glass. But Solons words had made it hard to chew. She thought about Filizs penetrating golden eyes.
Thats why you sent Filiz and the Poet away before you brought out the food.
Did you really think a deluge of salt water could fall from the sky and not destroy the food chain? Solon asked. My assistants think Im starving, just as they are starving. They must continue to think that. It wouldnt do for the neighbors to be crawling around on hands and knees, bumping their heads on my glaze. Understand?
Why dont you share with them?
Solon picked up the pitcher, held it high over Eurekas empty glass, and poured a long stream of water to refill it. Why dont you go back in time and not flood the world?
Ander snatched the pitcher from Solon and slammed it on the table. Water sloshed onto Eurekas thighs.
How very wasteful, Solon said.
Shes doing the best she can.
She must do better than that, Solon said. The third tear is in the world. Soon Atlas will get it.
No, Eureka said. We came here so you could help me stop him.
Solon dragged a finger down his plate and licked the grease from it. This isnt a student council election. Atlas is the darkest force the Waking World has ever known.
How? Hes been trapped under the ocean for thousands of years, Eureka said.
Solon stared into the waterfall for a long time. His voice was faint when he spoke at last. There was a boy who lived two blocks from Byblis when she was a girl in Munich. They took a painting class together. They were friends. Then Atlas took him. He possessed the mind of an ordinary boy and set a devil loose. At a certain point, Byblis died, but never mind that. Atlas didnt leave his hosts body for years. He waved a hand dismally. The rest, unfortunately, is history. And if Atlantis rises, what the future holds is worse. You have no idea what youre up against. You wont understand until youre face to face with him at the Marais.
Eureka fingered Dianas locket. Inside, her mother had written the very same word. Eureka popped its clasp and pulled the chain taut to show Solon. What happens at the Marais?
Time will tell, Solon said. What do you know about the Marais?
Its the Cajun word for swamp. Eureka pictured the mythical city and its monster king rising from the bayou beyond her house. That didnt seem right.
But a swamp could be anywhere, Andersaid.
Or everywhere, Solon said.
You know where it is, Eureka said. How do I get there?
The Marais is not on any map, Solon said. True places never are. Man has frittered away millennia speculating about where Atlantis once was. Did it droop beyond marlins in Florida, or amid icy Swedish mermaids? Did it sink alongside Antarctic seals? Is it undulating under Bahamian yachts, oozing beneath ouzo bottles in Santorini, wafting like palm fronds off the coast of Palestine?
From the bedroom behind the tapestry, William whimpered in his sleep. Eureka rose to go to her brother, who often needed soothing from bad dreams, but the boy grew quiet again.
Solon lowered his voice. Or maybe the whole continent just drifted, disinclined to settle down. No one knows.
In other words, Ander said, Atlantis could rise from anywhere.
Not at all. Solon refilled his glass of prosecco. Over the years the Maraiss latitude and longitude in the Waking World has shifted, but it is and always has been the place from where Atlantis must rise. The seafloor beneath the Marais is pliant in the exact shape of the lost continent. From there, Atlas can bring Atlantis up whole. A successful exhumation.
So it matters where the third tear hits the earth Ander said.
If the third tear hits the earth, Eureka said.
Wherever the third tear hits, Atlantis will still rise, Solon said, but unless it falls on the Marais, it rises piecemeal, in jagged shards, like teeth growing in already decayed. Atlas would have ugly work to do to reunite his empire. He grimaced. And he would rather focus on other things.
The Filling, Ander said quietly.
What is the Filling? Eureka asked.
You are far from ready to comprehend that, Solon said. The Marais is where Eureka must face the Evil One. He will be waiting there.
Eureka remembered that vision of Brooks swimming toward her near the Turkish shore. It hadnt been a vision. And it hadnt been Brooks coming for her. It had been Atlas.
No, she said. I think hes here.
Solon glanced around his cave and furrowed his brow at Eureka.
Eurekas confused, Ander said. On our way here she thought she saw the boy Atlas possessed. I told her it couldnt be him
You told her wrong. Solon studied the lachrymatory in his fist. He slipped it inside his robe pocket. Coming for the Tearline girl himself. Hiding somewhere in these mountains. One must admire Atlass commitment. It is essential, Eureka, that you keep your distance from him until you are prepared.
