Blessed
Page 22
A yelp from close by to her left had her heart skipping beats. She saw Kaiser struggling with the black cloud that was pouring out of her. He was soon pinned to the ground and she could feel herself draining his life force away. No matter how much she tried to contain it, it kept pressing forward, destroying everything in its path.
Soon, the only thing she could see were Kaiser’s bright blue eyes staring at her, silently begging for help, and the foul face of Chaos, contorted with the sick pleasure of watching her suffer. As his face began to swim, she noticed a more familiar darkness obscuring her field of vision: Unconsciousness.
She fought to focus on Kaiser, but he was fading fast. The darkness was not only draining him, but now it was draining her as well. She felt herself fall to her knees and then down onto her side. She closed her eyes and thought, well, I tried.
Not yet Ardra. Don’t you give up yet.
The sound of her friend’s voice in her head tore her heart in two. She had failed him. Just like she had failed Bishop Stauffer, and her parents. Just like she had failed her grandmothers who had fought so hard at her side.
Someone grabbed a hold of her sternum and pinched with all their might, causing her to arch her back and grit her teeth in pain.
A light flickered inside of her. This was it. She was going to see that light at the end of the tunnel that everyone was always talking about. She’d get to see her parents again.
The light grew brighter and brighter, filling her field of vision.
It struck her as odd that the bright white light wasn’t white at all, but green.
Her body grew warm, then hot. She noticed that her skin felt like it was stretched to the point of splitting. She wondered if this is what dying felt like for everyone.
As she waited for the inevitable, she realized she could still feel Chaos close to her and opened her eyes to see if he was going to heaven with her.
The pressure released as green light erupted from within her. The darkness around her dissolved instantly and she caught the look of shock on Chaos’ face before he disintegrated before her eyes. As the light pushed out from her body, the courtyard slowly cleared of the smoke that had been left behind from the battle, being blown away by the light spring breeze.
The light faded as quickly as it had come and with it, her consciousness.
Once again, she let the darkness take her.
Kaiser tossed the box containing the pendant that had started it all into the suitcase on the bed. Below it were the clothes they had already packed. Ardra admired his lean muscle and browned skin from across the room where she was closing the last box of items that would go to the local thrift store. She still wasn’t used to the fact that her dog was now her boyfriend. The way she saw it, there were a lot of things that she thought she’d never get used to that had settled in pretty quickly. This would too.
After the smoke had cleared from her battle with Chaos, the man she had befriended during their bickering sessions at the fountain had taken the place of the furry version that she had befriended over the course of the entire nightmare. When she had questioned him about it later, he simply smiled and said, “Fate always rewards a job well done.”
And that was that.
The shock of being told that her entire family had been aware of the whole “Chaos coming to get her” mess for generations had now worn off. When her grandmothers had explained that to her a couple of days after she had kicked his sorry ass, she had almost collapsed to the ground again.
Even Piper and Bishop Stauffer had been sent by some mysterious Druidic council to watch over her. She had fired about a billion questions at the two older women, and they had answered them to the best of their abilities. When it came right down to it though, it was something she was going to have to work out on her own.
None of them had wanted this life for her. As a matter of fact, they had all tried their hardest to make sure that this life would never find her. They couldn’t run the chance of leaving her unprotected though, so they had taken it upon themselves to make sure that she had the level of protection she needed, without the invasive lifestyle of having round the clock personal bodyguards escorting her everywhere.
Up until her twenty first birthday, she had lead the life that most people only dream of: Loving parents, all the popularity she could ever ask for, the best best friend in the whole world, and a bright future ahead of her.
Chaos had had plans very different from those that had been made for her by those who loved her.
Life had been derailed by the freight train that most people call Fate and she had become the person that the world needed. The person she had been born to become. The person she had always secretly wanted to be.
As she carried the last box passed the “For Sale” sign to the truck parked at the curb, she took a moment to remember those that she had loved in that old life. Her parents, her best friend, her bishop, and even her dog. All lost to her now. While she would miss her parents and best friend dearly, she had gained two grandmothers with some pretty cool powers of their own, and Kaiser. The human Kaiser. The Kaiser that loved her, and held her, and kissed her in just the way she needed to be kissed at just the moment she needed it most.
She still hadn’t told him about her dream that she’d had about him so many months ago and she wasn’t sure that she ever would. It was her little secret and she kind of liked it that way.
Maybe one day after they were married, she’d make him reenact it for her.
For now it was time for her to go out into the world and find some allies. It was time to take the war to the root of the problem. As long as Good and Evil existed, their war would continue to destroy families and ruin lives. It was time for mankind to take themselves out of the equation.
It was time for them to find their peace.
We are the Amanuenses, neutral entities charged with one purpose, to be scribes of Fate. We close this chapter of the Chronicle with the scales tipped in the favor of Good. Chaos’ destruction caused a shift in the balance and the Light now has the upper hand.
Ardra’s story is far from over, but for now, it is time for our next hero to face the trials and tribulations of righting a cosmic wrong. Coming into his power shrouded in darkness and despair, this new challenger to the balance must arise and follow the winding path Fate has placed him on.
A new kind of threat is preparing to fall upon their race like a hungry lion, powerful and ready to do what it must to survive.
David Michael currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with his three best friends, two of which are his cats. He has written several unpublished short stories, and over 200 poems, some of which have been published. He comes from a large family, with three siblings and three step-siblings. He's a firm believer that there is inspiration in everything, you just have to be willing to see it. He firmly believes that there is nobody more amazing than his mom, Traci.
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Table of Contents
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Epilogue
About the Author
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