Atlantis in Peril Read Online Free PDF Page A

misty sheen of his skin. With the hint of a grin, he said, “Nice to see you, too.”
    Despite all the doubts she’d felt only moments before, her heart leaped. She dashed to the stream and jumped across to Moss Island, landing right on top of Promi. They rolled on the moss sparkling with spray, laughing together.
    Quiggley, who had taken flight as she jumped, flew up to a willow branch. Amused, he watched the scene below. Then he turned his attention to the stream itself, listening to its constant splash as it swept around the island.
    Closing his little eyes, he recalled the family he’d lost in Grukarr’s attack—a whole clan of faeries who delighted in places just like this. Places where they could zip playfully through the vapors, turning cartwheels in the air, even as they made magical flowers sprout from streams or dined on the nectar of water lilies. Of all their communal activities, though, his most favorite had been telling stories to young children . . . including his daughter. How bright their eyes had glowed when he told tales and drew colorful pictures in the mist!
    Ever so slightly, his antennae drooped. When his tales had ended, those pictures melted away, gone forever. And now . . . so had those children.
    In the moss below, Atlanta and Promi weren’t aware of the faery’s musings (although, if they hadn’t been so distracted, they might have noticed the temperature grow a little cooler). Having rolled to a stop, they sat beside each other, still laughing. Finally, Atlanta spoke.
    â€œHow did you know I’d be here?”
    â€œJust a lucky guess.”
    She peered at him skeptically.
    â€œYou’re more predictable than you think, Atlanta.”
    â€œAnd you’re more ridiculous than you think.”
    â€œBesides,” he added playfully, “what makes you so sure I came here to see
you
?” He ran his fingers through the thick green growth beneath them. “Maybe I just love moss.”
    â€œRight. So much that you came all the way from the spirit realm just to touch it.”
    â€œWell, maybe I came here to touch something else.” Promi leaned closer and lightly stroked her cheek. “Like that.”
    She held his gaze. Then, feeling suddenly awkward, she wanted to change the subject. “How was the journey?”
    He hesitated, tempted to tell her about the fight he’d just had with his parents. But the last thing he wanted to do right now was ruin the mood with Atlanta. Maybe he’d tell her later . . .
    â€œThe journey,” she repeated. “How was it?”
    â€œA bit bumpy,” he replied. “I flew into some, er . . . unexpected winds.”
    Suddenly brightening, he added, “But I actually hit a snowstorm! With really huge flakes. It didn’t last long, ending just before you arrived.”
    She almost grinned. “That’s hard to believe.”
    He shrugged. “Most of my life is hard to believe.”
    â€œThat’s true, Promi. You’ve come a long way for somebody who started out as a pie thief, prisoner, and all-around vagabond.”
    â€œAnd don’t forget,” he added with a chuckle, “the Divine Monk’s proclaimed Worst Criminal Ever in All History. Not because I broke all those laws to sneak into his private quarters on a high holy day, mind you. But because I . . .”
    â€œStole his favorite dessert!”
    They laughed, the sound of their mirth mixing with the gleeful thrum of the stream. When at last they paused, she looked at him with an expression that was not quite serious.
    â€œThe worst thing you ever did back in those days—”
    â€œYou mean the days,” he interrupted, eyes twinkling, “before I figured out the Prophecy, regained the Starstone, saved the world, ended the war in the spirit realm—and, oh yes, became immortal?”
    â€œRight,” she parried. “Back in