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kicking around? Hell, some of them must be begging for a shot at the limelight again.”
    “Because for all of its advancements, science still hasn’t answered the question of
purpose
,” Mac interjected. “Man is beginning to grasp how he came to be, but still searches for
why
he exists.”
    “Especially,” Titus added, “since you haven’t found any signs of life anywhere else in your universe yet. And none of us
old gods kicking around
appear to be who these people are searching for.”
    Duncan gave a muttered curse.
    “If a new deity is being called forth,” Mac continued quietly, nodding toward the colony’s campsite several miles away on the western shoreline, “then we have no choice but to accept the will of the people who are creating it.”
    “Even if whatever they’re creating is evil?” Duncan repeated through gritted teeth.
    “One man’s demon is another man’s god,” Mac said softly, “and the very reason Dad built Atlantis on which to cultivate his Trees of Life. We protect free will by ensuring mankind’s
knowledge
is protected, and will only act if the Trees themselves are threatened—by god or demon
or
mortal.”
    Apparently deciding he wasn’t getting anywhere with the two wizards he’d brought out here today, Duncan folded his arms over his chest and looked at Nicholas. “But you and I can do something about this new demon?”
    Nicholas sat down on the bench. “We’ve decided it’s a demon?”
    Duncan turned back to the steering wheel with a snort. “They sure as hell aren’t reinventing the tooth fairy.” He sent the boat surging through the swells, but suddenly turned to Nicholas again. “Wait,” he said over the loud hum of the engine. “I thought your father was
Odin
.”
    Nicholas dropped his head—to hide his grin, Titus suspected—and shrugged.
    “Then if you’re the son of one of these mythical deities like Mac is,” Duncan continued, “how come
you
can help me?”
    “I never vowed to protect man’s free will,” Nicholas said as he looked up—indeed grinning. “In fact, I’ve made a career of bending many a man’s will to mine.”
    Duncan stared at him for several heartbeats before glancing at Titus and then Mac, then made sure he wasn’t running over any boats or navigational buoys before looking at Nicholas again. “What about your man, Rowan? Did he make any vows?”
    Nicholas stiffened. “Why?”
    “Because I’ve finally talked the councilmen of both Turtleback and Spellbound into pooling our resources and hiring a chief of police and a couple of officers.”
    “Why?” Mac echoed as he also sat back down.
    “Because the population of both towns has almost doubled in four years, and it can take over an hour for a sheriff’s deputy to arrive from the other side of the county.”
    “Installing your own police force sounds sensible,” Titus said, stepping to the wheel to angle the boat past a distant group of kayakers.
    “That’s what we did in Pine Creek several years ago,” Duncan continued as he walked over and sat on the bench. “The townships of Frog Cove and Lost Gore joined up with us. In fact, Greylen MacKeage’s daughter, Megan, is married to the chief of police, Jack Stone.” Duncan leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees to see Nicholas. “So what about Rowan? Do ye think he’d be interested in being our chief of police? We’ll give him a truck instead of a resort cart, and I talked the councilmen into adding an apartment over the storefront we intend to remodel into a police station.”
    Nicholas was already shaking his head. “You’re not getting my man. Rowan is content being second in command of Nova Mare’s security force.”
    “What about Dante then? Or Micah?”
    “They’re overseeing Inglenook’s security,” Nicholas growled.
    “Why not hire a local?” Mac asked.
    “Because I want an Atlantean warrior,” Duncan said. “I need someone I can trust not to shoot first and
then
ask questions when