Transcending the Legacy

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Transcending the Legacy Page 29

by Venessa Kimball


  Those words strike a chord in my mind.

  He said those words during our fight by the truck when the hybrid Dweller tried to attack me. Had he planned this since that moment?”

  Nate continues, “Just as the legacy runs through your blood, it runs through mine.”

  The brothers. Oh my God, she was torn between them. She left to fulfill the legacy and one sacrificed himself for her.

  As the imaginings of Nate and Xander’s relation to the two brothers solidifies in my mind, my heart clefts in two. I try and use all of my gained strength from Nate’s received energy to push him away, but he only embraces me tighter.

  His voice cracks and draws in a breath as he says, “I choose you, Jesca. I choose to set you free, to live, to fight for our world…to love. Love Xander with your whole heart, Jes. Do you hear me?”

  I can’t keep my heart from breaking and my soul from crying out to him. I wrap my arms around him and tell him, “I love you, Nate.”

  “I love you, Jes.” The words slip from his lips carried by his final breath and his body leans into me, weighted down with the sacrifice he has made.

  I hold him to me and cry, as the earth beneath us begins to tremble, I open my eyes. I see particles of dirt and dust rising from the ground, hovering all around the kiva. The dirt and dust begins to collect and spin around Nate and I. Holding him to me tightly, I watch in fascination as a radiant glow ascends from us through the shaft of the kiva, out into our world.

  * * *

  I follow the illuminated, spirit-filled dust as it shoots from the mound into the sky, like a rocket aimed directly at the three stars in my visions, Orion’s belt. As soon as it strikes, a ripple of amber energy spreads across the sky in every direction. In the ripple, small orbs of light begin to descend on the earth around me.

  I see the guardians fighting; Siobhan, Nick, Elisha, Jake, Corinna, and Sam are battling the Dwellers attack side by side. Ira, Cale, Lathan, and Seth are battling the birdlike Dwellers and the waves and waves of human Dwellers trying to attack the mound. Just as Ira climbs on top of a wounded beast, one of the orbs of light comes to rest on the creature’s body, quickly absorbing into the torso.

  Ira pulls back, frozen and in awe of what he is witnessing. He slides from the mutant hawk and watches what happens next. Suddenly, a ripple course over the beast’s body. Ira slides from the mutant’s body. The birdlike creature blinks its sharpened eyes, shifting from the onyx darkness of the Dweller to its true honey brown color. Rapidly, it rolls over onto its talons, begins to flap its wings then rises, taking flight.

  The orbs continue to shower on all of the Dwellers occupying creatures and humans. As quickly as they free the vessels, they rise up toward the three stars of Orion’s Belt.

  Seth, Cale, and Lathan gather around Ira as the guardians stop fighting and look on at the orbs mission, to cleanse our world and bring about the rebirth.

  * * *

  A startling burst of sound jolts my body, waking me from my vision and funneling me back into the kiva.

  My eyes are still closed as I rock Nate in my arms. I know his presence the moment he touches my shoulder.

  Xander.

  I hear him breathing through the sob growing within him as he wraps his arms around me. I see his hands rest on Nate’s back, encircling him too. His ragged sobs grow and he holds both of us in his arms.

  I’m not sure how long we cry and hold onto each other. Time was standing still for us as we held on. At some point, someone wrapped a blanket around the three of us.

  After a while, the guardians enter the kiva, circled around us, close their eyes, and laid their silent thoughts upon us. When they come to take Nate from Xander’s and my arms, I sit and watch the embers of the fire pit expire, Xander remains by my side.

  I am the first to break the silence between Xander and I. “He wanted us to live.”

  I look over at him just as he nods and stares off into the dulling embers. I uncross my legs and tuck them under me, rising unsteadily, but standing on my own two feet. I look down at Xander, still staring off beyond the light smoke still rising from the pit. I stretch my arm out and open my hand to him. He looks up at me, eyes red and swollen. Slowly he raises his hand to meet mine and I help him rise from the kiva floor. We climb from the sacred place and walk along the fallen rocks in the main tunnel. Dim sunlight shines through the opening at the far end of the passage; entrance back into the world.

  As Xander and I exit the tunnel side by side, the heavy clouds above part just enough to send multiple rays of amber sunlight upon the valley in the center of the mounds. Humans and creatures are peppering the valley alive and free to live in our world with no fear of capture.

  I feel Xander’s hand take hold of mine as we watch our world’s new cycle begin.

  Marietta, Georgia - 3 years later.

  I walk along the sidewalk; golden, orange, and red leaves race along ahead of me as I watch Tessa and Xander walk hand and hand. Shiva is padding along beside me, then she decides to trot ahead to catch up with Tessa.

  Shiva turned up the day after the purification. She was covered in dried dirt and blood, but no injuries. The only thing we could think was that she hid.

  Xander looks back at me, light knowing smile pulls at his lips. “Tessa, let’s go visit Elisha,” he says.

  Tessa’s voice instantly animates, “At the book store? Will Nick be there today?”

  Xander nods at Tessa, then looks back at me. “See you in a bit?” he asks.

  I nod at him and watch after them as they cross the road.

  Other people, mothers, fathers, children, are walking along the sidewalks carrying on with life. A few cars pass beside me as I walk along. I see a man bending down to pick up something a woman dropped seconds before, a scarf. A young woman and man pass me, walking hand and hand smiling. Feeling the warmth from the sky, I look up at the amber glow of the sun shaded behind thin wispy clouds as I continue to walk at a slow pace.

  It’s been three years since the day humankind was given a second chance on the Earth. We have not had a climatic shift, but Sebastian, Balthazar, and Caleb are working hard to make sure that if it does happen, we will be prepared.

  The night of the purification, many died. Nate’s parents were among the ones that fought to keep the compound from being breached. I like to think that Nate found them beyond the veil as soon as his spirit rose from the Earth.

  It took a long time to find myself after Nate died, Xander too. He found his comfort in research. Sebastian and he both did actually. Now that the legacy had been fulfilled, Sebastian wanted to learn more about the Creek Indian tribe and the soldiers that helped them. Sebastian and Xander spent day after day rummaging through records at city hall, at the library, at the Etowah Museum of Archeology, anywhere they could find out more about the originals of this legacy.

  Onawah was a Creek Indian princess after all. Her father, the chief of the tribe, was murdered during battle, leaving her mother to raise her. Records show she had married an Onoch, Robert Onoch, an explorer. I was surprised because I had suspected she had married one of the brothers, the soldiers.

  Xander and Sebastian discovered the names of the soldiers among the tribe. It was tedious, but they found the brothers. Strangely enough, they were twins. Xander happened upon the birth date, thinking it was strange that two names recorded had the exact same birth date. Putting two and two together, literally, they found them. Beside the birth date was their dates of death; both died; one two years before the other. It left Xander with many questions as he continued to seek out his ancestral line since it seemed to reach a roadblock.

  Sebastian told him that the soldiers could have very well had families of their own back home, children to carry on their bloodline. This encouraged Xander to keep looking, researching, seeking for answers. I think it helped him cope with Nate’s death too.

  My coping took a while. I had lost Ezra as well as Nate. It was a blessing that I had inherited a six year old girl
that needed to be raised. She helped me cope more than she could ever know.

  Every day I woke and told myself to live, be alive, just like Nate told me in the kiva. At first, I didn’t completely understand how his sacrifice worked. With much discussion with Ms. Olivia and remembering my mother’s last contact with me when she told me that there are many forms of sacrifice, I came to realize that in a way Nate’s sacrifice of life was a sacrifice for me. Just as Onawah lived because one of the brother’s died in her place, I am alive because of Nate. He had figured it out before all of us.

  Roan, Delilah, and Bethany survived the battle. They decided to move back to our house here in Marietta. Xander, Tessa, and I moved into a vacant house a few blocks away from them to be close to each other. After a year, with no one returning to reclaim their house, we started fixing it up; making it our home.

  Balthazar, his son Marcus, Caleb, Sebastian, Caleb’s wife Eve, and their little girl Emelie all survived as well. A year after the purification, Sebastian pleaded that they all return with him to the Onoch Estate. He said he wanted the house to be filled with family and happiness, something it never really had. He pleaded with me too, since I was an Onoch, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave now that I was home.

  With the global grid returning to larger cities, communications and travel slowly returning to our world, it has made communicating with Sebastian and the rest of the Onoch clan easier now that they are back in Colorado.

  The guardians, Elisha, Nick, Corinna, Sam, Siobhan, Jake, Luke, Daniel, and Ms. Olivia, decided to stay here with us in Marietta as well.

  Two children run passed me laughing suddenly, briefly pulling me from my thoughts.

  A week after the purification, Ira, Seth, Cale, and Lathan left our world and returned to theirs. Ira refused to say goodbye. I was torn by that sentiment, happy that we might see him again, but weary for it might be under similar circumstances.

  I stop walking as I see the sign hanging above, “Margot’s Deli”.

  The cow bell suddenly rings and a woman comes out with a bag in hand. The smell of fresh bread wafts from the door before it shuts and the woman continues down the sidewalk ahead of me. As the wind blows my hair from my face, I hear it carry the sound of the clock tower chiming on the hour.

  The university re-opened last year. The guardians made it happen. The re-opening was in honor of Ezra. Elisha, Nick, Corinna, Sam, Siobhan, Jake, Luke, Daniel, Isabel, and Ms. Olivia took up on campus residency and positions. Elisha and Nick took over Benson’s book store too. Elisha decided to make some renovations to appeal to the youth. Tessa makes it a mission for us to take her in at least twice a week for Lisha time.

  As I pull the door open, the cow bell rings announcing my entrance. The tables are mostly empty, with a couple in the far back table. I walk along the booths and slide into ours.

  “How are you feeling today?” asks the waitress.

  I smile and look down at my swollen belly tenderly. “Better.”

  “Same? Rueben and peach cobbler?”

  I nod and smile at her. “Yes please, and water.”

  She winks, clicks her pen on her notepad and turns on her heels.

  I haven’t heard Ana or Ezra since the purification. I thought it was temporary, but the longer I don’t hear them, the more I think that they have parted from our veil just like Nate. I find peace in knowing that Ana and Ezra’s souls will never be apart again now that they have reconnected.

  I look at the silver napkin dispenser in the center of the table. I pull a napkin from it gently and set it in front of me. I take one edge of the napkin and fold it over to touch the opposite corner remembering the day that Ezra changed my view of a napkin and my reality.

  I stare at the folded napkin, laying flat on the linoleum table and whisper, “Always connected. Time nor space can separate us.”

  We are all keepers and guardians of our reborn world. This reality is just one in a sea of many realities, many illusive veils. Today, the human race is safe, holding the awareness of the threats fresh on their hearts and minds. Like human nature has evolved, the fresh wounds will heal and the desire to expand, discover, explore, and seek will return; another fold will be pierced. I look down at my growing abdomen and rest my palm over the risen crest. Until then, we will live.

  The End

  Acknowledgments

  First and foremost, thanks to God for blessing me with family, friends, and mentors that have encouraged me and supported my dreams throughout my life. They have come at various stages of my childhood and adulthood. The timing of their intervention was always miraculous. Those “angels” need to know that the wisdom they passed on stuck with me persistently and would not let me quit. It was that wisdom that encouraged me to hit “Publish”.

  Husband, thank you for understanding the need for take-out on more occasions than not, due to my need to finish writing, “one more chapter, honey.” I love you.

  To my three blessings, my children. Thank you for telling mommy to never give up! It not only has given me strength, but has helped me realize that I have taught you the true meaning of never giving up through my example. Win for mommy!

  To the book blogging and book reviewing community that embraces, supports, and promotes authors for no other reason except their love of books! You keep the reading community alive by spreading the word about books daily! Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

  To my publishing house, Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly, along side of Hot Ink Press and Vamptasy Press; One House United! What an amazing family of authors! You have welcomed me into this family with open arms and I am so honored and proud to be a part of our house.

  To the fans of the Piercing the Fold series for loving the characters and wanting more! Much, much love to you! Writing this story for you has been a pure joy. You will never know how much your Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, and Goodreads comments, messages, and reviews have meant to me. It still amazes me that this series has moved some of you to create your own Pinterest boards, graphics, dream casts, and jewelry. I am truly humbled by the inspirations this story has stirred within you.

  Make sure and keep up with my projects, events, giveaways, upcoming releases, and book signings on my social network pages and website. I LOVE hearing from the readers and fans, so please stop by to say hi!

  Website: www.venessakimball.net

  Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/VenessaKimballAuthor?ref=hl

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/VenessaKimball

  Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/venessakimball/boards/

  Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/user/1226147569

  About the Author

  Having always been passionate about the written word, in 2010 Venessa Kimball embarked on writing her debut novel, Piercing the Fold: Book 1. July 2, 2012, Venessa Kimball independently published the first book in what became known as the Piercing the Fold series. Book 2, Surfacing the Rim, independently released March 14, 2013.

  In August of 2013, Venessa joined the publishing house, Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly (CHBB). The Piercing the Fold series re-released the first two books in the series under their press; Piercing the Fold: Book 1 on September 3, 2013 and Surfacing the Rim: Book 2 on September 22, 2013. Ascending the Veil: Book 3 released for the first time with CHBB on November 5, 2013. Transcending the Legacy: Book 4 will release with CHBB on May 13, 2014. Transcending the Legacy: Book 4 is the final book in the Piercing the Fold series.

  As for the future, Venessa is filling her Work-In-Progress folder with new characters and storylines. Spanning multiple genres in the Young Adult, New Adult, and Adult genres, her projects will reflect her diversity as a writer. Will there be more Paranormal/Sci-Fi projects? Yes, there will be!

  When Venessa is not writing, she is keeping active with her husband and three children, chauffeuring said children to extracurricular activities, catching movie dates with her hubby, and staying up way too late reading and writing.

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  Venessa Kimball, Transcending the Legacy

 

 

 


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