The Prophecy of Arnaka (The Arnaka Saga Book 1)

by Lucia Ashta

  The golden light spread. When the twins were finished, they each had a golden glow around them that was in plain sight. Their light was strong and their hearts were bright. Ashta continued forward without looking back, but she knew that similar changes were taking place in their companions.

  Finally, they arrived at the city’s gate. There was nothing to do but cross through it and enter into conflict. Even from where they stood, the sounds of war were loud and abrasive. The next step they took would place them inside the city. Then, there would be no going back.

  They convened and looked around at each other. They were beautiful specimens of human beings. The cousins had an unusual green glow around them. It was a very different glow than the one Ashta could see around Anak. It was more like a coating that could actually be touched. It reminded Ashta of honey—glowing, green, thick honey all over the cousins. It covered them entirely, even their faces. They, too, were within the barely visible bubbles that Area and Arien had placed around them.

  A spark of fire glinted in Carn’s eyes that convincingly gave the impression that it could propel her through time and space. Baldub’s muscles were flexed and ready to engage. A pink and orange glow, the color of a brilliant sunset, spread across the area of his heart and emanated through the pelt that draped loosely around him. He was prepared to face whatever might come with love in his heart.

  Thom was silent and still, both within and without. There were no evident changes in his appearance other than Area and Arien’s protective shield, which surrounded him. Area and Arien were still not within sight, and the group knew they might not have even left the campsite. They would not wait for them. All together, they drew a collective breath and entered the city.

  * * *

  It was Victor’s turn to take on the chosen pupils. As dawn tinged the Sedona sky a breathtaking violet, he stood with his back to the creek, near a large and ancient juniper tree. Elena and Marco, freshly showered with wet hair, stood before him. They were eager to learn whatever he would teach them. After their experience with Marian, they knew that Victor also held amazing secrets. There was something about Victor’s being that held the promise of the secrets of his soul.

  Victor held Marco’s sword for a demonstration since he had given his personal sword to Marco. Victor stood relaxed, leaning gently against the tree’s trunk as if he weighed no more than a hummingbird. Victor’s grasp on the hilt was also slight, as if the sword only needed the touch of a feather. That everything was so subtle—Victor’s touch, his posture, his energy—somehow made it seem all the more powerful. A shiver ran through Elena’s body as she realized in a flash of insight how powerful Victor really was. She was filled with gratitude that such formidable and knowledgeable teachers had chosen to help her and Marco.

  Without warning or sound, Victor moved. In a flash, he was behind Elena and Marco with the sword crossing both of their backs at the perpendicular. Had he wanted to, Victor could have killed them before they realized he had left his perch against the tree. Of course, neither Elena nor Marco had anticipated the attack, and they had both been relaxed. Had the twins been aware of an impending attack, then perhaps they would have seen Victor move, but they still would not have had the time to defend against it. Victor’s skill was not common to this world.

  Elena and Marco turned around to face their teacher and his sword. The twins’ faces were agog with intrigue.

  “To learn how to work with the sword, it is most important to know inner peace. You must feel the calm of the soul. It is only then that you are able to move as a warrior of other worlds,” Victor told them. “To move the way I move, you cannot think of limitations. You must think instead that the impossible is possible. You both already know the truth of this.”

  Yes, they did. Elena and Marco nodded.

  “Know that the seemingly impossible is not only possible, but easily accessible. Everything in this world is within our reach when we know that we can touch it. There is nothing we cannot do. Especially both of you. You are angels on this earth. If you believe that you can do something, then you can! It is that easy. You both know this. Now, all you need to do is really know it. Believe. Know the sword to be a perfect extension of that magic, and it will be. That is how I do what you saw me do,” Victor said.

  Elena and Marco nodded again in agreement.

  “Now,” Victor said, “show me.” He handed the sword back to Marco. Elena already held the one Marian had gifted her.

  Elena closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She steadied herself with the breath. She took in the godly essence. She filled herself with it, and, very quickly, she was ready. It was becoming easier to tap into the power that always hummed in the background.

  Without even opening her eyes, Elena focused her intention. She saw herself in the eye of her mind standing beside Victor with her sword poised to strike. Because she was in a place of such peaceful belief that she was almost complacent, it happened instantly. She didn’t even need to ask. All Elena had to do was see it, and it happened. It was instant manifestation.

  Elena even surprised Victor. Though Victor had known that Elena and Marco had the ability to learn to do what he did, he had not anticipated that they would perform so quickly. Victor gave a surprised gasp as Elena and Marco appeared on either side of him with their swords pointed at his torso. But the shock passed and Victor smiled broader and bigger than they had seen him smile yet.

  “Very good. Very good, indeed,” Victor muttered to them as he nodded. His mind was racing ahead to things in the future that only he was seeing. “This will do quite well. Your skills will serve the purpose.”

  Elena and Marco, still standing on either side of Victor, looked at each other. Their eyes locked and a burst of remembrance and power swept between them. They were the prophesied twins. In a flash, they disappeared to the creek. There, they practiced this supernatural swordplay until the sun crept low on the horizon. Victor was finished with his instruction for the time being.

  Many hours passed, but the twins’ muscles were not tired. Their spirits soared and fueled them. The idea of an ongoing war between the light and the dark, though still overwhelming, was beginning to seem less so. Discovering these abilities within themselves gave the twins hope that they would actually be able to make a difference in the world. Elena also knew they had no choice but to be optimistic. Either way, they were heading into battle. They may as well have faith; the alternative was much more ominous.

  In the oncoming glow of sunset, Elena and Marco leaned their swords against a juniper tree that beckoned them to come closer. They turned their backs on the swords—the harbingers of what was to come—and walked to the other side of the tree, where its extensive roots visibly ran under the creek bed in a gnarled web. They leaned a shoulder against the rough bark, facing each other. Marco grasped Elena’s hand and drew her close. As always, they were drawn to each other with an irresistible force. They pressed their foreheads together and closed their eyes. The love they shared was the destiny of lifetimes.

  The lone owl that looked down upon them that dusk as sun faded to moon saw a lion and a lioness, twins of the soul, and the owl closed his eyes in peace for a brief second before turning them to a scurrying mouse that would be his prey.

  44 Angels and Demons

  The light warriors stared, transfixed. They had all grown up hearing legends of magical beings, of angels and demons. It was part of everyone’s culture, the stories of light and dark, and the heroes that vanquished and restored peace. Now, they found themselves in the middle of one of these fairy tales. Even though every one of them there was accustomed to magic, it was still astounding to discover themselves in the middle of the fantasies of their childhoods.

  Standing right before them as they crossed the city’s gates was a powerful, tall, and valiant angel. She kept her magnificent white wings pulled in tightly around her body to protect them from harm while she fought over the city’s uneven cobbled streets. She wore a short white tunic robe, belted
in the middle, and white slippers tied at the ankles. Her face was perfectly beautiful; there was no way to improve upon her features. Her lips were the color of ripe peaches and her eyes were golden brown. Her hair shimmered and sparkled in the sun’s light giving the impression that it was made of strands of gold. Her body was strong and flawless as only Creator’s design could be.

  The angel acknowledged them with a knowing look, but had no more time for them. Her focus back upon her opponent, she raised her sword high above her head; the bright, white light of the sword faded into the luminosity of the full sun. Swiftly, she brought the sword down at an angle. The movement was decisive and carried with it a sound of finality. The sword descended summarily upon a figure slightly taller and infinitely darker than she was.

  The angel’s sword cut through the demon’s torso, slicing it nearly in half, and the demon stumbled in its menacing approach. It looked down at itself, with fiery red eyes that glowed to instill paralyzing fear in its prey, stunned at the damage. The demon froze where it stood, gaping.

  The laceration was singeing on all sides of the wound, trying in vain to repair itself, but the injury was too great. The demon let out a mighty and horrifying roar that shook the ground beneath them. The demon stumbled toward them, but could advance no further. It crumbled from its towering height and crashed to the ground, sending the light warriors scrambling to get out of the way.

  Alive and towering to at least twice Ashta’s height, the demon had been monstrous. Gnarled muscles bulged and wrapped a body that was not covered in skin. Rather, the demon’s whole body seemed to consist of a solid, gelatinous substance, as if there were no organs within it at all. It had small stubs of horns at the line where hair and forehead met in humans. When the demon had roared, it showed rows of scaly teeth that gleamed a dirty white in contrast to its dark flesh.

  Now that life had abandoned the fiendish beast, it was rapidly disintegrating, and those features that identified it earlier were barely recognizable. The demon was melting into the void of nothingness. Demons did not originate in light. They were created in an alternate dimension that was the birthplace of all demons. Not within heaven and not within earth, this was a place dedicated to the creation of darkness; Archangel Lucifer had supervised its functioning until he was recently recalled to the heavens.

  Since the demon did not possess light as its essence, it did not return to the light. It melted away. Without a soul and with its purpose accomplished, it served no other function on earth. It simply ceased to exist.

  Ashta and her companions watched the flesh of the demon disintegrate, eventually vanishing completely. Not even a stain of its bodily fluids remained. Upturned cobblestones that had shifted in the tumult of the demon’s fall were the only indication that it had landed there at all. The group of light warriors stared at the spot where the demon had fallen, mesmerized by its disappearing act until their attention was diverted.

  Ashta had never seen anything like the creatures that slid toward them. They were blobs of dark slime, only half the size of a human body, with dark, recessed eyes and no demarcated mouths. They did not have legs or arms, but moved by gliding, leaving a trail of slime in their wake. The angel slashed at several of them with a quick turn of her sword as they passed by her, but the rest slinked past toward the light warriors. It was time for the light warriors to engage.

  Just as Baldub and Anak were about to move toward the creatures, the cousins, Mana and Marn in the lead with Dahn just a step behind them, took them on. As the rest of the light warriors watched, the cousins shot out glowing balls of the same green gel-like substance that covered their bodies. They knelt down on one knee and held the palms of their hands together until a green ball the size of a human head formed. Then, they flung it at each of the creatures. The balls burst upon impact, coating the slimy creatures in green gel. As the gel slid down the creatures’ bodies, they began to disintegrate, just as the demon had.

  The green substance that coated the cousins was a concentrated form of light and, when confronted with it, darkness melted into oblivion. The dark blob-like creatures continued to disintegrate until only the slime that trailed behind them remained. But as Ashta stared on, even that evaporated and disappeared. It was as if the universe had just swallowed them up.

  Nothing had happened to the cousins. Their strength had not diminished. They remained fully encased in the mysterious green substance. The fluorescent green glowed as if it were a source of light itself.

  While the light warriors gawked at the decaying demon, the angel moved on. She fought an even larger demon that had been stomping through the city, crushing everything that crossed its path. The light warriors were not under immediate attack so they stole a moment to look around. There were no other humans in the city. Everyone that could leave had fled long ago. The group reassessed themselves and their mission.

  Ashta and Anak first turned to their warm-hearted companion, Baldub. He was strong and loyal. Next, they looked at Carn. She was vibrant and empowered, ready to take on the world. They turned toward the cousins and looked at each one in turn. They had already stepped up for the safety of the group. Then, the twins turned to Thom. He stood small, but as strong as a pillar. Lastly, Ashta and Anak stared deeply into each other’s eyes. Within themselves and each of their companions, they found confidence. Even with their first glimpse of what faced them, they were ready and united.

  It did not matter what they might have to confront. They were fully in the flow of their divine essence. They derived their power from trust in their Creator. They were there to fight for the light. There was nothing more important than light and the love that accompanied it in this world. Ashta stared into the eyes of her twin once more and saw her thoughts and feelings reflected there. She smiled the biggest smile she remembered ever smiling, grabbed his hand, and stepped forward to embrace the purpose they had come to serve in this life.

  Now heading toward the center of the city, Ashta moved to the side to let horses pass. It was instinct. Ashta heard the galloping click clacking of hooves on cobblestones and stopped automatically. She had enough experience with horses, both wild and tamed, to know to get out of their way. But once she stopped, she looked around and could not see any horses.

  She closed her eyes to listen more closely, to listen at all levels, in all dimensions, not just the one she stood in physically. As she listened in this way, she felt the hot breath of animal nostrils on her neck. Suddenly, the horse appeared. But when she swiveled around, she did not see a horse, but a unicorn.

  There were seven unicorns, one for each of them. Their coats were the brightest white Ashta had ever seen; they were luminescent. This was the reflection of the unicorn’s powerful inner light. Ashta had never seen a unicorn before, and now a group of them stood before her. They were otherworldly. Like their coats, the unicorns’ single horn glistened and glowed, illuminated from within.

  Ashta stared into her unicorn’s eyes; they were bottomless pools of ebony and water. To Ashta, the unicorns’ eyes represented the perfect balance of light and dark in the world. The unicorn was of the purest white, but her eyes were a deep and peace-filled black. The light and dark were in balance within this pure mystical creature.

  One by one, each of the allies engaged his unicorn and spoke with it telepathically. The light warriors honored the magical creatures and expressed gratitude for their assistance in battle. With the unicorns’ express permission, the light warriors lifted themselves up and sat astride the creatures’ backs. Ashta was the last to mount. The enchantment of the scene moved her. But finally, she raised herself onto her unicorn, and the seven companions rode off toward the heart of the city.

  45 Mystical Warriors

  With the addition of their legendary mounts, the warriors had transformed. They now looked every bit the part of mystical light warriors. Assembled, they trotted through the city’s abandoned streets. Ashta and Anak sat tall astride their unicorns. The creatures were eager to engage in battle;
it was what they had come to do. They pawed at the gray cobblestone streets with their thick, strong hooves. They flared their nostrils and breathed out hot air. They waited for the decision to attack, and the light warriors indulged them.

  The twins were at the front of the pack. In unison, Ashta and Anak drew their swords and held them high above their heads. The telltale shliiiing of metal as they unsheathed their swords was immediately followed by the similar sounds of other weapons behind them. Without additional communication or plans, they charged.

  Still in the lead, Ashta and Anak rounded a corner and at once faced the disarray of intense battle. They almost crashed into a demon’s back, and the unicorns they rode upon reared up, stopping in mid-stride. The demon was making ghastly roaring sounds and did not hear them. The rage that thundered through its head obscured the sound of the twins’ approach.

  There was chaos and demons were everywhere. Dark and shadowy creatures of different shapes and sizes, all the color of a moonless night, darted and lurked about. The other light warriors left Ashta and Anak to take on this demon, and they fell away to confront others.

  The twins were on guard as the demon was only a few steps away from them. It had its back turned to them, distracted by something in front of it. It was very large and towered above them even though they sat atop unicorns. The demon threw off a strong, acrid smell that made the unicorns flare their nostrils. The stink of sulfur and decomposing waste rolled off its body.

  Ashta and Anak inched toward the demon while its back was still turned, but it sniffed the air and detected their approach. It turned around and let out a vicious roar. It met them head on, a burst of fire raging around its black eyeballs, as it lumbered toward them. The demon was awkward in its gait. Like a child learning to walk, it staggered to its destination but then found itself unable to stop properly, tottering precariously.