by Lucia Ashta
In an instant, the creatures sucked out the cousins’ souls from their heart centers and took all of that light and goodness in through their mouths. The attack had only lasted seconds from start to finish, but by the time the light warriors understood what was happening, the damage was done. All three cousins lay lifeless on the ground. Mana’s brown hair fanned out around her head like a halo, her arms and legs outspread. Dahn and Marn lay next to her, in identical positions, with a surprising look of peace on their faces.
Anak reacted before Ashta and sent out a blast of light that repelled the hovering fiends. The monstrous creatures retreated, slipping through a hole in space and dimension that had allowed them to cross over onto the earth. The hole remained open, beckoning the three beasts that had fed on the cousins. The two that had preyed on the young men beamed up into the opening without looking at the light warriors. But the one that knelt over Mana looked at them and grinned toothless malevolence. The expression taunted the warriors, mocked the crime they had just witnessed, and reveled in malice.
This time, Ashta did react. She launched herself at the monster with light streaming out in front of her. Surprised, the fiend fled, reaching the warp hole just before Ashta’s beam of light fried it. The hole began to close, but in that split second before it sealed, Ashta watched in horror as Baldub and Carn, holding each other’s hands in silent agreement and support, jumped through the hole after the abominable creatures. The rest of them watched on as the two light warriors disappeared in a flash. The warp hole swallowed them up. As suddenly and unexpectedly as it had all started, it was over.
Ashta was stunned and unmoving when Thom went over to the cousins and closed their eyes. Mana was gone. Dahn was gone. Marn was gone. As they had walked in life, the three cousins lay in death: together on their journey. Their faces looked peaceful in their final rest.
Eventually, Ashta turned to the light warriors that remained. Anak mirrored her shock. Even Area and Arien, whose emotions were reined in by a constant serenity, looked shaken and saddened by the sudden, tragic loss of their friends.
Then Ashta had a realization. Those were the extraterrestrial creatures that had succumbed to darkness and were upsetting the universal balance. They were rogues, flaunting their disobedience of universal law and threatening the balance of light and darkness. They had slipped in from another dimension to attack, and now the light warriors had lost five of their own. Three were gone from this lifetime forever with their souls stolen, blocking their ability to reincarnate, and Baldub and Carn had leapt into the unknown.
Ashta found some solace in knowing that Baldub and Carn could access their guidance in any dimension. She also found comfort in knowing they possessed great skills. Still, Ashta shivered at the thought of jumping through a hole into darkness without knowing whether she would ever be able to come back again. Her eyes welled with tears at Baldub and Carn’s bravery and purity of heart that led them to choose to battle darkness in such a selfless way. They were true warriors of the light. She prayed for their protection. There was no way that she could follow. The portal had closed, but Ashta knew prayers could travel anywhere in time and space.
Thom made them shovels. He gathered five pieces of broken wood and held them with his eyes closed. The wood creaked and groaned as it sculpted itself. In silence, the light warriors dug graves for their fallen friends. Even Area and Arien, usually removed from the common tasks, carved at the earth.
It seemed incomprehensible that this could happen. The light warriors had survived the battle in the city and believed they were free to return to their homes. It was an abomination that the cousins should die, victims to a surprise attack that had given them no way of defending themselves. By the time the cousins had understood that something invisible was striking them, they were unable to do anything other than cope with the insurmountable pain. They did not have the chance to put up the protective green gel, which would have done away with the extraterrestrial attackers.
The way the dark extraterrestrials had assaulted the cousins went against every universal law and convention. Ashta was certain that those etheric beings that watched over them were aware of the incident and were even now orchestrating a response. She hoped too that the heavenly protectors were with Baldub and Carn, that they had been able to follow them wherever the warriors had gone. Ashta wondered if she would ever see Baldub and Carn again, and somewhere within her, she heard the answer: she would. This gave her heart a small leap. She loved both of them dearly.
They finished digging and laid each cousin in his own grave. In mourning silence, the warriors filled in the tombs, then handed their shovels back to Thom. Please be still while we place protection around you, came Arien’s voice within their minds. So Anak, Ashta, and Thom stood still, heads bowed, while Area and Arien placed the protective shield around them. Energy crackled as power surged, and then Ashta could see the familiar edges of the bubble glimmering in the light.
This time as they said their goodbyes there was more emotion and sadness at the parting. There was more of a concern that they might not see one another again. Though all of them knew the importance of positive thought and that worrying itself might bring the tragedy they did not want, it was difficult not to have a sense of it while standing near the fresh graves of their friends.
Ashta held Thom for a long time. She opened her heart so that he could feel all the love that she held for him there. She wanted him to know how special he had become to her. Ashta was taller than Thom was and his head nestled at her neck where one lone tear dripped against her skin.
These were tense times. After the adventure they had survived together, leaving the city without casualties, there had been a sense of joy and triumph about them. Even though they had known the respite from battle was only temporary, they felt lighthearted and happy with the loving and supportive companionship they had shared as fellow light warriors. Now that this lighthearted joy was gone, the stark reality that the darkness would not abandon its pursuit of them took its place.
More than ever, the dark forces would seek them out. They had shown themselves to be valuable assets to the forces of light. The dark forces had targeted them before, but now the hunt would be relentless. The light warriors would have to be disciplined, keeping their light strong at all times. They would also need to be constantly on guard; after witnessing the surprise attack that took the lives of their friends, they might never be truly safe. They would need to cultivate fearlessness and surrender on an even higher level.
With time, the concern would lift some. Ashta and Anak would focus on refining their thoughts. Keeping their thoughts pure and uplifted would be one of the best defenses against the dark. Thoughts manifested reality. The twins knew this and, with some time to process what had happened there that day, they would use their magic wisely. Their alertness would remain heightened, but they would hold their inner peace and trust that all was ultimately perfect in Creator’s world.
Ashta embraced Area, holding this otherworldly woman with appreciation for her lightness of heart. They would meet again, but Ashta knew that much would happen before that time. Ashta hugged Arien next, whispering blessings for his safety and well-being. Arien would not be the same when Ashta saw him next.
51 The Golden Children Return
Ashta and Anak resumed their journey back to Arnaka, connected as one. They were the ones that had been meant to find each other. They were the prophesied twins of light. They were the ones that had come to the planet to help change the world. They were even more determined now to do what they had come to earth to do. They would fulfill their life purposes, growing ever stronger in the light and more capable of defeating darkness. They would support Baldub and Carn and find them if they could. They would hunt for the cousins’ souls and free them.
With that knowing, Ashta and Anak walked. With each step, the weight of tragedy faded, and they regained more of their composure. The walk home would take them several days, but they were eager to return to
Arnaka. The twins walked briskly until they tired, and then slowed their pace. They took one step after another knowing that each step brought them closer to home.
After days of incessant walking, the pyramids of Arnaka finally loomed on the horizon. The pyramids were still far away, but Anak looked at Ashta jubilantly and took off at a run. Ashta was a step behind Anak. They ran at full speed like lions in pursuit of their prey. Their energy reserve revealed itself in glory. Their bags bounced against their backs and their swords swung at their sides, but even that did not alter the grace with which they ran. Their legs extended—long, lean muscles flexing with each step. Their arms pumped as they ran even harder.
The twins ran in full freedom, all thoughts and concerns left behind. They ran in love. They ran as spirits, and, as they embraced the essence within them, something incredible happened. Unexpectedly, Ashta and Anak zoomed forward in a blur of synchronized motion. Time and space bent for them; their protective bubbles broke away. It was the first hint of the greater abilities that were to come. They reached the pyramid in an instant.
The twins collapsed against the pyramid wall. Their chests rose and fell as their breath came heavily. Suggestively, Anak leaned his body into Ashta’s. He kissed her. It was a deep, sweaty kiss where their tongues entwined. Their bodies found each other’s curves and ardor surged within them. Ashta laughed. Teasingly, provocatively, Ashta nibbled on Anak’s lip before turning and running into the pyramid.
He chased her. She was at the center of the pyramid, waiting for him, breathless with the anticipation of feeling him pressed up against her once more. Anak pulled Ashta to him and kissed her with a passion that melted her. Ah-né Ashta. Ah-né Anak. I am Ashta. I am Anak. They were one.
They flattened chest against chest. Anak held Ashta to him with such a devotion that she knew he would never let go of her. As they had done so many times before, they allowed their heads to tilt back. The blue light that was so familiar to their land announced their arrival back home. They were back. The golden children of the prophecy had indeed arrived for a time on earth.
52 The Pyramid Beckons
Elena and Marco sat next to their fallen teachers in vigil until the sun overpowered the silver-lit shadows cast by the moon. They stared into the distance in undisturbed stillness while another perfect canvas of glorious pinks and purples colored the sky.
The twins had survived a battle, but the war waged on, and they still had an important part to play in it. They would need to continue preparing. The demons that had disappeared into the forest had not run away because the twins had intimidated them. There was something brewing that Elena did not yet understand. But each day Elena would see more; she would feel more; and she would float between the worlds.
Elena turned to Marco and finally broke the silence of hours.
“So, my love, we are light warriors. We are angels on earth. We are beloveds and twins of the heart, made for each other before the dawn of time. And there is an ongoing war between light and dark that we are somehow an essential part of.”
Elena smiled into Marco’s eyes. The impossible had become possible. Adventure would always fill their lives.
“Now that this is our life, what should we do next?” Elena asked.
Marco looked at Elena and then looked back at the creek as if he were considering what she had asked. Finally, he replied, though he didn’t exactly answer her question.
“I love you endlessly. I will go anywhere with you. I will do anything with you and for you. You are my beloved and the twin of my soul.”
“I am with you too, my love. All the way,” Elena said.
They shared a pause, a moment of quiet in which they looked around. They took in the natural beauty of their surroundings and also the destruction that had descended there the night before. Everywhere there was evidence of the attack.
Elena asked, “What do we do now? What’s our next step?”
The bodies of their teachers were a vivid reminder of the responsibility they had to all humanity.
“Well, what do you think we should do? Maybe you should sit with it, and see what you feel,” Marco said.
Elena did sit with it. Marco was good at reminding her that the solution for the moment was always within reach if she just asked in the correct way. Elena went within, quieting her meandering thoughts, and the answer arrived. It was the obvious thing to do.
“You know these visions I’ve been having of us in this other lifetime where we go into pyramids and emit light from within them?” Elena said.
“Yes,” Marco said.
“Well, now that we have found each other again, there is the possibility that we may be able to transmit light in this lifetime. I think it is the love between us that creates the circumstances for this to happen. Maybe we should try it,” Elena said.
Marco nodded. “Yes, it is time for the pyramids.”
“I haven’t been able to figure out exactly where the pyramids that I see are. It may be Egypt, but I’m not entirely convinced that it is. I don’t know, but Egypt is my best guess based on what the pyramids look like,” Elena said.
“So, what do you think? Should we go to Egypt and see what we feel when we are at the pyramids?” Elena asked.
A huge grin spread across Marco’s face. He knew something. He knew something big.
Elena smiled back. She couldn’t help it. “What?” she said. “What is it?”
“Utah,” he said.
“What?” she asked.
“Utah,” he said again.
“Utah?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said with the grin still firmly in place.
“Tell me,” she said, knowing there was very much to Utah that she didn’t know.
“I have seen the pyramid where we are supposed to go next. At least I have seen one of them. There is this pyramid in the desert of Utah that has been calling to me for years. I have tried to travel to it several times, but something has always interfered. It was always something different and seemingly random that prevented me from going to it. I think I had to wait for you,” Marco said.
“I received some answers while we have been sitting here. My guides told me that I needed my beloved to access the pyramid. They told me that you are the missing key; you hold the secret to the pyramid. I had to find it for us, but you hold the secret to it.”
“You hadn’t told me about this,” Elena said, surprised.
“No, I had not. Now is the time to tell you. All in divine timing, amore,” he said.
“Yes, all in divine timing,” she said, lost in thought. A few heartbeats passed.
“Okay. Let’s go to Utah,” she said.
Marco was contemplative, staring off into the creek again.
Elena let a few more minutes pass. Then she asked, “When should we go?”
“Now,” he said.
She nodded. He was right.
They would be driving through the Utah desert by sunset of that very same evening. Just beyond the vibrant colors of sundown, their next adventure awaited them. The pyramid was beckoning.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lucía Ashta is the author of many books, including
The Prophecy of Arnaka and Irele: Magic Awakens, each the start of a series.
You can discover more about her and her work here.
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