AMNESIA

by Canada Jackson

  He had lied about the sorcery-rich blood more than once after finding out it linked her to the most powerful magical being that had ever existed. The Father of Magic. The despicable Grand Wraith.

  A being loathed and feared by the Yimmyrd.

  A being that had enacted atrocities that had Diogel reeling centuries before.

  A being rumored to be returning with the help of his kin.

  If Sam was caught, Amber would be sent to Illohi or Serenay for being magical and war would break out in Diogel, for Wrexel would never allow her to be taken from his side, bewitched or not.

  He watched Shihlo laughing with joy, oblivious to his ward’s adventures, and felt a pang of guilt for keeping it from him. Then again, Shihlo was no stranger to secrets and kept some very dark ones of his own.

  Whyle ran his foot over the Monarch’s blood on the floor, his heart heavy when he realized he had taken the secret of his Rak alliance and Inndra’s whereabouts to his grave.

  No.

  True victory would have to wait for another day when the future was less volatile.

  About the Author

  Canada Jackson lives and publishes from Paphos in Cyprus, she was born in South Africa but has lived in the Middle East and now the Mediterranean for the last 18 years.

  She has six biological and adopted children ranging from the age of 24 down to 7 and has been married to her husband for 28 years. In between raising her kids, she’s worked full time, studied for two post graduate diplomas and a Masters Degree from the United Kingdom and still managed to hide 13 manuscripts under her bed until her older children dragged them out and forced her to publish.

  She’s a bit people shy but loves to communicate via social media and would love to hear from you.

  * * *

  www.canadajackson.com

  Also by Canada Jackson

  FANTASY AND SCI-FI ROMANCE

  THE ADRSTA CHRONICLES

  AMNESIA (Book 1)

  FORBIDDEN (Book 2)

  ELUSIVE (Book 3)

  HEARTLESS (Book 4)

  CULMINATION (Book 5)

  MAGICAL REALISM

  Tokoloshe Trials -Birth of the Ushinto

  PARANORMAL

  ESOTERICS

  Soothsayer

  Necromancer

  Soteriology

  * * *

  ASK CANADA FOR AN EXCERPT

  info@canadajackson.com

  Excerpt from Forbidden

  For the chronological readers of ADRSTA, it is the year you may personally name, but it is the month in which Amber has just arrived on Throm and Samantha upon Rheese.

  Everything was foreign to her.

  The environment reflected her soul, which was the way it had been for over a year. Sam pulled the hoodie over her head and tried to be invisible, blending into the crowd that streamed into the deliberation center that saw regular meetings of the Federated Eight within the Diogel system. Sam hadn’t traveled much in her life; being born in the greatest country in the world had afforded her a knowledge and experience of Earth’s finest buildings and technology. Yet nothing that she had seen or even dreamt about had prepared her for the new world she lived in now. A world that did not stand alone like Earth. A world that was part of eight other worlds in a solar system that nobody had known existed until recently. People of Earth, now known as Rheesians, were much like cavemen brought fresh from the hunting tundra and introduced to the center of civilization in the twenty-first century. Out of their depth, overwhelmed, and grossly taken advantage of, they hadn’t stood a chance when they first arrived.

  * * *

  Earth had been destroyed by the alien nation that her brother was going to launch a tirade against that day. They had been so naive, never considering that the evolution of knowledge did not necessarily include the evolution of integrity. If they learnt anything at all with the death of Earth, it was that trust demanded more than perceived superiority of intellect.

  As she entered the large entrance hall of the deliberation center known as the Trafoda, she pulled her thoughts back to the present to take in the giant circular room and its ten doors.

  One door for entry and one for exit; the rest were allocated to each member planet of the Federation. The central area where she stood housed opulent conversation areas, restaurants, and communication portals that gleamed and blinked with transparent boards and lights that she had seen often in the last month but still did not understand.

  They were objects of a superior technology, symbols and signage that meant nothing to Sam who, like many others from Earth, still struggled to catch up to things that were thousands of years beyond Earth’s highest abilities. Her new life was indeed full of profound miracles and wonder, but it wasn’t the technology so much that awed her; rather, it was the beings gathering on the floor above her head: the top level that housed the holy Yimmyrd council that presided over all the member planets.

  It was one of their kind who would meet her that morning and Sam smiled when Revan finally approached her. He walked toward her with a well-deserved air of authority. As direct Communers with the Creator of All, they were known as fair, upright, and just. She was glad they owned and controlled Diogel and the eight planets within it.

  “How are you today, Sam?” He held out his hand for a human greeting and she took it eagerly, sighing as always when the feeling of tranquility overcame her at their touch.

  The Yimmyrd were an enigma. They looked a little gothic rock stars with their naturally lined eyes that were blue and penetrating, their gaze intense like that of a bird of prey. Revan was slender but strong, tall and graceful, and he wore the traditional attire of dark clothes with an open grey cloak. He tucked an errant strand of hair behind his ear and she followed the motion as he moved the long white streak that fell at his cheek.

  Dark hair and silver temples were not the only shared genetic traits that set them apart; it was their ethereal way of moving. All Yimmyrd emanated a “shadow of self” that was a holy blue reflection of their soul.

  “Still find it interesting?” He laughed when she stared at the way his “shadow of self” moved with him like a visible aura.

  Sam blushed. “I’m sorry, Revan, I guess it will get old eventually, but not today.” She would never become used to seeing a shadow of peaceful blue hovering around her friend. At least it seemed to fade away when he was directly in front of her.

  As they walked, Sam reluctantly let go of his hand and immediately missed the radiated peace and tranquility.

  “I’m glad you’re on time.” He opened his arms to introduce the Trafoda. “Let’s take a quick walk so I can tell you a little about all your neighbors.”

  His offer for a tour came from kindness. She had watched the chronicles of the Federated Eight. She had learnt a lot about the inhabitants of the seven neighboring planets to hers, and she realized Revan understood the circumstances of her home life and wanted to take her away from her own sadness for a while.

  * * *

  He led her at his side like a museum tour guide. “Each one of the eight doors along the circular wall will lead the entrants to the upper floor balconies which overlook the council of Yimmyrd decision makers that sit on the first floor.”

  He started his excursion. “This is the hearing balcony entrance for the Serenay.” Revan stopped near the first door.

  “Imprisoned because they have magic, which was not their fault but the result of a weird cloud that floated over all the planets, inflicting people at will about a century ago.” Sam raised one brow, but he merely smiled in return, knowing it was a contentious issue.

  “All the people of magic ability upon Serenay remain in safety on their planet, which is enclosed by a force shield that prohibits free entry and exit unless we grant it,” he confirmed. “But Serenay government officials still have access to the Trafoda so that their representatives can argue for their rights and causes.”

  Sam peered at their door guards. “I’ve heard they are unhappy, Revan. The Yi
mmyrd prohibition has kept away those who wanted to abuse them for their powers, but sadly also held all of them prisoner within Serenay.”

  “This is true, Sam, but we can think of no other way to protect them.” Revan continued the walk past their door and Sam peered curiously at their guards. They wore long brown robes and were large and muscular; she decided that they had possibly been Thromian prior to becoming afflicted, for the Great Cloud that caused magic to return had not been nation-specific when it rained down on all the nations and afflicted them with magical ability.

  “They look like monks except for the big crimson cuffs,” she said to Revan with a grin but then remembered he wouldn’t know what she was talking about. The Serenay guards surveyed all who passed them with veiled animosity and they made Sam uncomfortable.

  “They seem so ... angry,” she whispered. “Everybody in here does.”

  Revan nodded. “Sadly, the Diogel federation of eight is united only in its task of combined protection against the 104 alien beings that live outside of our shared solar system.”

  * * *

  As they moved forward on the tour, Revan groaned under his breath when a woman who wore a long medieval-looking dress approached him. Young and beautiful, her face was clear of adornment, her lips pursed with anger.

  “My lord.” She gave a small curtsy as she stood before Revan.

  He bowed his head. “It’s just Revan.”

  “I see my polite memorandum was ignored.” She gestured toward the two doorways of former Earth colonies Vergana and Hynafol that lay next to each other in stark contradiction to one another. Vergana’s guards wore blue military uniforms decorated with badges of victory. Unlike the Serenay, who held no weapons, they stood with long pointed spears that touched the ground and towered above their own heads. They looked entirely human, which of course they were, and the gold turbans upon their heads glinted in the light that reflected their planet’s identity above the door. Sam knew them to be stoic, unrelenting in rules, and almost archaic in their thinking. The young woman addressing Revan was from their planet. They had a strong army and often took to the skies with the other fighting federation members to protect the unity of the eight. The rest of the time was spent with large sticks up their ass.

  “Look.” The woman pointed at the federated members’ door beside her own.

  Sam bit back a giggle.

  Hynafol, planet of debauchery and iniquity, did not disappoint with its female guards. They sported black leather uniforms that showed generous cleavage and spider-web lace-paneled sides.

  “You would think, considering our men are dying while fighting for protection of their evil ways too, that they would respect our request for modesty within the Trafoda.”

  Hynafol had no army to boast about, and a lackadaisical internal police force that was best known for looking the other way. Judging by how the girls chatted to one another and spent more time rearranging their hair into the beehives that they preferred, there wouldn’t be much of a fight if somebody wanted to enter Hynafol’s door without a pass. They had stun lasers on their hips, which were essentially a waste of time in Diogel. For every laser gun that had been invented in the last hundred years, so too had an equally adept shield.

  Most the 104 aliens who lived in the universe outside of the Diogel solar system also used technology-induced force fields to protect themselves from the fire power of laser weaponry.

  This had resulted in the rules of war returning to hand-to-hand combat much like medieval Earth. Sam had watched chronicles depicting how the inhabitants of Diogel with armies fought like the ancient warriors of the past.

  Brutal and hand-to-hand.

  “Naline, we have free dress in the federated Decagon.” Revan sighed. “We cannot impose the laws of one nation on another.”

  Naline turned around with a hiss and went to her Vergonian guards, who immediately parted to allow her in.

  Revan sighed heavily and then repeated the sound when the Hynafolian on duty that Naline had reported for being underdressed ran her eyes over his young frame and licked her lips in invitation.

  Sam muffled another giggle as he led her onward past the Hynafolian door to the one reserved for the Gweithi. Sam liked this nation the most. The inhabitants made her think of woodland elves with their slanted black eyes, fluffy hair, and long butterfly fingers. They stood to rapt attention, checking the passes of those who approached in rigid and formal duty. However, one female who saw Revan came over to fuss, kneeling continually as he lifted her back to her feet, begging her not to treat him with reverence.

  Sam watched the display with amusement and then turned her attention to the Gweithi male who had not abandoned his post. They held no ceremonial weapon, although Sam knew this didn’t deter their ability to protect themselves. If challenged, they were like nimble ninjas and they each carried a bag of jagged stars that could rip through force shields and penetrate the enemy with poison.

  Sam hesitated as the Gweithi female fawned over Revan, not allowing him to leave. She was reluctant to move onward without him, knowing the next doors belonged to the two brutes within the Diogel system, so she idled in place while he placated the Gweithi.

  The first and closest to her were the Raks of Huggraker and they, too, had guards standing unmoving at their door. They were dressed in uniforms of crimson and black and their faces were encased in ornate fitted masks that showed their rank and affiliation. She had yet to see what lay beneath the intricately sculpted animal masks that fit their faces like a second skin. All she had ever seen were their penetrating gazes as they surveyed those around them. The chronicles had shown none of this nation’s true face, respecting their right to remain private. They, too, had stealthy weapons: a quiver over one shoulder that contained arrows and an archer’s bow. The two guards who stood watching those who approached the door looked the most likely to use them.

  Revan extracted himself from the groveling Gweithi and came to her side, his young face flushed once again with embarrassment.

  “You have quite a fan.” She laughed.

  “The Sacred healed her sister,” he said, which meant that he had used the whip of light that came from his hand to do the job. Her eyes moved down to Revan’s powerful hand.

  Although the Yimmyrd were gentle and kind, ruling with absolute fairness, they were also indestructible and fierce. Their hands were able to produce a whip of source power that was part of their being. It could stun and it could kill; it could also make you reveal every dark secret you wanted to hide. Mostly, though, they used their power to heal, but only if the Sacred willed it.

  “The ones staring at you right now are the Raks of Huggraker.”

  Sam moved her glance from his powerful hand to the guards at the door of Rak who were glaring at her and Revan in stony silence. Sam lowered her eyes and moved on in her walk.

  The guards and six politicians who sat on the speaking balcony above were all that currently represented Rak outside of their home planet. Huggraker was under an embargo, and their planet was on temporary lockdown. It was a Yimmyrd-initiated punishment for their failure to stop an attack upon the Federated Eight, allowing one of the 104 to slip through the protective zone that was their responsibility. Sam felt Revan’s hand gently touch her shoulder as her gaze moved and rested on Throm’s door. The so-called saviors of Earth, who ended up being the destroyers of Earth, and thus a partial reason for her personal misery.

  When she passed by them and saw their size and foreboding presence, she internalized Travis’s concerns. The thought of Amber being held captive by one of their seven-foot muscled crossbred human aliens with their slanting, color-changing eyes was terrifying. They did not look as if they seriously guarded their door. Nobody would venture near their domain and the two on duty spoke in a relaxed way. One was even playing with the dagger that was supposed to be tethered to his hip. Their daggers were forged with sorcery and technology but this was only part of the reason why they were the strongest out of the eight. The
other was that nobody could beat them in speed, strength, and fighting ability. Revan represented them and therefore his tour was at an end.

  He pointed at the door allocated for Rheese. “I’ll see you after ... Travis,” he said and a flicker of sadness crossed his face.

  * * *

  Sam nodded, thanked him for escorting her in, and moved quickly to the door reserved for Rheese. Two human guards still in Earth military outfits nodded at her when she held out the identity monitor strapped to her arm. They allowed her to walk inside to the elevator. Sam had never been inside, so she allowed her eyes to roam around the room that was in full discussion and preparation for her brother’s upcoming speech, to be directed at all the member planets. She spotted him in the corner with three of his aides, speaking urgently on his communicator, with Amber’s father James pitching in comments at his side.

  Sam moved to the rail of the balcony and looked down, for the protective glass barrier had not been lowered yet. She saw the Yimmyrd council who sat below and waited for Revan to appear.

  Although he was the Yimmyrd counselor for the Thromian nation, he also fought for the rights of the newly arrived Rheesians. Probably because he had been held captive on Earth for two weeks by the Thromians and therefore had a special affinity for them. She jumped when Travis slammed his fist onto the conference table and her stomach clenched when he turned his sleep-deprived eyes upon her. His gaze held contempt and anger, but she had become used to it now. Travis would never forgive her for what she had done, and he wasn’t alone, for she was yet to forgive herself.

  “I left my yellow notebook in the apartment.” He raked a hand through his short blond hair. “Can you run back and get it?”