Water Shaper (World Aflame) Read Online Free Page B

said.
    “This was a doorway,” Sean said, rushing toward one of the buildings. Though his breath still escaped in clouds of white, the adrenaline rushed through his body at their discovery, helping him temporarily forget about the cold. “I mean, if there had been a real door here once, it’s rotted away. But it’s clearly a doorframe.”
    Jessica pushed gently on a stone that stood at her chest level. It slid easily off the top of the broken wall and sank into the silt beyond. “It’s falling apart. How old d-do you think this place is?”
    Xander shrugged as motioned for Jessica to turn the light toward him. As she adjusted the beam, it fell over another nondescript structure.
    “Centuries? Millennia? I have no idea. It’s been underwater for a long time. That much is clear.”
    “Just so long as it’s not going to come rushing back in while we’re still here,” Sean said.
    Xander shook his head and stepped over another set of fallen stones. The curved walls of the city stood before them. “It won’t. I have the water under control.”
    “Just like that? You’re holding back the entire ocean just like that?”
    “Just like that. I’m not even really concentrating on it. It’s just happening.”
    Sean frowned. “Yeah, glad to know holding back the ocean hasn’t really rated high on your conscious thoughts. That really puts my mind at ease.”
    Sean looked over to Jessica, whose feet were submerged in the damp ground. She held the flashlight aloft in one hand and her other was crossed protectively across her chest. She shivered uncontrollably as she followed Xander with the light.
    She rubbed her arms as she tried to keep her body from shaking. “Holy c-crap, it’s freezing,”
    She pulled a boot free of the sucking silt and frowned as water dripped from its sole.
    “Come here,” Sean said as he walked over and wrapped his arm around her. “I’ll keep you warm.”
    “I r-really want to make some j-joke about you not being as c-cold because of your blubber,” Jessica began through clattering teeth, “b-but it’s just t-too much effort.”
    Instead of offering a stinging retort, Sean laughed and pulled her in closer.
    Xander walked away from the pair, still admiring the ruins around them. The city was enormous and ancient. Despite the damage done by underwater currents over what must have been hundreds, if not thousands, of years, the city was still remarkably well preserved. He reached out as he approached the nearest building, his fingers dancing over the ancient stones. The craftsmanship seemed exquisite considering the obvious age of the houses around him, if indeed houses were what they were.
    He walked around its perimeter until he found what looked like a doorway, though half the wall on one side had long ago collapsed. Around the edge of the doorframe, Xander could make out faintly etched symbols, intricately carved into the stone itself. The water currents had washed away anything discernable, though he doubted he could have read the symbols even if they’d been clear.
    Turning slowly, he saw more and more similar homes stretching as far as he could see, eventually disappearing into the edge of the vortex he created to keep the ocean at bay. Whatever this place had been, it was enormous.
    Sean and Jessica walked up beside him while he was lost in thought.
    “I’m just throwing out ideas,” Sean said, “but you don’t think it could be… I mean, you don’t really think this could be Atlantis, do you?”
    Xander turned toward his friend with a frown. “I think you read too many comic books.”
    “So says the superhero,” Sean retorted.
    “If you two are d-done, then can we p-please hurry? We can’t s-stay here much longer,” Jessica moaned.
    She took a tentative step toward Xander but she seemed to be teetering unsteadily, as though her joints weren’t cooperating under the extreme cold.
    “She’s right,” Sean said. He was clearly warmer than she was, but the strain was