Ascension

by Natasha Brown

  Ana shrugged and held her hand out to the large doorway. “Sure, we can go into the other room.”

  She led him into the long hallway of animal enclosures and took a left toward the back door. They walked out into the enclosed sunroom. Bright light refracted in through the windows and a chill hung in the air. Ana sat on the chaise, sensing she’d want to sit during their conversation. Batukhan moved to one of the windows and studied the landscape before turning around to face her.

  “I know it must be hard for you right now. My time spent with Chance taught me a little about him, even if he wasn’t himself at the time. I know he loves you very much and I can see that you care for him too. I know what it’s like hearing the voice and echo of another in your head, but I still can’t imagine what he’s going through right now. He had so many voices and I know of one in particular that must have carried many unsavory memories and urges. I just wanted to ask you to be patient with him. My friend will do his best to help him.”

  Batukhan’s brown eyes met hers. He seemed to want to say something more, but he waited instead for her to respond. Ana wasn’t sure what to say. “What can I do? I can’t just do nothing.”

  “Be there for him. Don’t push him with questions if he doesn’t want to talk, but simply be near him. He needs to know you’re there for him and that you aren’t going anywhere. Be patient, above all.”

  Sadness was reflected in his face. Ana pitied him. He’d lost the love of his life because he’d contracted the shifter sickness and changed his personality. Not only that, but a lie had forced his ostracism for hundreds of years. He had felt the negative effects of this unfortunate curse firsthand. His advice should be taken, she decided.

  “I will do whatever I can for him. I just feel so helpless right now.”

  He gave a melancholy smile. “So does he, I imagine.”

  “Thanks by the way—for looking after him for so long. He hasn’t told me anything about what happened while we were apart, but I know you were with him. When I dreamed of Chance, I sensed someone with him. A friend. That gave me some comfort even though I didn’t know who you were at the time.” Ana lifted her feet to the edge of the cushion and rested her chin on her knees.

  Batukhan watched her wordlessly for a minute. When he spoke, his eyes were wide. “You dreamt of him?”

  “Yeah—it’s actually why I went looking for him. I’d dreamt he was in a fight. I saw him fighting you, I guess.”

  “You saw it?”

  Ana began to feel uncomfortable. He was staring at her with intent curiosity. “I saw him in my sleep a bunch of times. Lifen tells me I found her in my dreams too. I don’t know much about it, like why or how I can do it.”

  “Hmm.” Batukhan said nothing more, but continued to stare.

  If he was going to share something helpful and important, she didn’t mind, but she didn’t want to stick around to be the subject of his amusement. She jumped off the couch, feeling his eyes on her and grew annoyed. “If you have some information to share with me, great. Otherwise, do you mind leaving me alone?”

  Maybe she was being more irritable than usual, but she wasn’t in the mood. Lifen had left without reason, so Jordan was moping, Chance wasn’t being himself and it just plain sucked. She didn’t appreciate being made to feel like a freak around a person who should know what it was like to be different.

  Batukhan appraised her in silence and nodded. His broad shoulders lifted. “I can see you want to be alone. I will make sure you are not disturbed. Feel free to join us if you’d like.”

  He walked past her and she heard the door latch behind him. Ana went to the glass windows, leaned her forehead against them and breathed out. Steam spread in a large circle and she closed her eyes. None of this was right. She should be happy right now, planning her wedding, focusing on budgets and the number of people to invite. All she wanted to do was daydream about their happy ending and all she could do was worry. Worry about Chance, Ryan and everyone else who’d been affected by them. In that moment, it seemed silly to want a wedding when it felt like her life was in shambles. If it wasn’t in shambles now, it would be after she told her mom she was getting married at eighteen.

  Salty tears met her trembling lips. She rubbed her shoulder against her cheek to absorb the flow. The day had started out so beautifully, with Chance curled up behind her and from that point on it had deteriorated. If only she could go back to that moment, when she felt safe in his arms and reality hadn’t set in.

  Enough of this, Ana!

  She spun and dropped onto the outdoor couch. The cushion groaned from her sudden weight. While attempting to clear her negative thoughts away, she let her muscles relax. Her breathing slowed and she eased her eyes shut. Warmth spread through her cells, energy pulsed out from her chest and calmness entered her heart.

  When she opened her lids again the sun had arched across the sky and hung closer to the horizon. It was nearly dusk. They’d be wondering where she was. Before she could stand up, she heard birds squawking and the faint sound of a man crying. Her head tilted to the side while she tried to pinpoint the origination, but she couldn’t see anything to explain it. The wailing chatter was all around her. She raised her hands to her ears to muffle the sound. Nothing could stop it.

  Anxiety gripped her and she couldn’t catch her breath. That was when then the visions came.

  She lost focus on the sunroom. In her mind, she was looking down on a sea of people. Unfamiliar with the setting, she couldn’t understand where the hallucination had come from, but she didn’t think long on it. The waking dream was far too interesting.

  This crowd was different from any she’d ever seen before. Loose-fitting garb hung across their shoulders and waists. Some wore cloths over their heads and even held them up to their mouths. As she breathed in the hot, moist air, she was surprised. It smelled of citrus. She felt as though she were truly there.

  A bazaar of stalls lined a dusty street, vendors selling various types of fruits and vegetables, spices, bread and meat, as well as artisans displaying their wares. Pale pillars rose into the air around her and she realized she was perched on a stone that rose above the street below. Tall cedars could be seen beyond the buildings and structures that encircled the bustling city.

  A long, brown tail curled around her feet. An itch tickled her back and she reached around to scratch her hairy body. Her stomach growled and then a male’s thoughts echoed through her mind, I’m hungry. Let’s see what’s for lunch today.

  Without further consideration, her small, wiry body leapt down into a tall bush. Her animal form moved across the street between passing bodies with ease, like it had many times before. She shadowed a woman wearing long robes, reached up and plucked a roll of bread from a stall unseen.

  As quickly as she stole sustenance, she ducked down another pathway toward an enormous limestone temple. As she got closer to it, she was able to see that a portion was still being built.

  A man thrust his chest out with pride. He was draped with fine stitched cloth and spoke in an elevated voice to a cluster of men and women. “Heliopolis, the city of the sun, is the site of our most precious Temple of Jupiter. The king of the gods may hear your words spoken here, as we are so close to the heavens and sky. Careful of the workers. We are still in development and they can be careless.”

  Nikator, speaking his sweet venom to the pilgrims again. The male’s voice traced through Ana’s thoughts for the second time. He seemed angered by the proud man’s display and skirted around him to hide in a dark recess between some dense bushes and the impressive structure. A pile of dark cloth and a small satchel had been left against the stone. Her skin prickled and she recognized the familiar sensation linked to shifting. No longer a short, lithe monkey: tanned human legs were curled below her. When her arm reached out for the cloth on the ground, she realized it belonged to a man. Everything she was experiencing was from a young man’s perspective. She watched as the dirty and smelly coverings were pulled onto his body. Whe
n he was done, he picked up the bread roll and began to eat.

  The bushes she hid behind shielded her from the hustle and bustle on the street, just five feet away. As she swallowed a mouthful of food, a man walked up and stood just on the other side of her hiding place. Only the lower half of his body could be seen. Another man, wearing leather shoes and carrying a sack, joined him and said, “We found something in the cavern you hired us to uncover. My men are refusing to reenter the site. The symbols frightened them.” There was a pause as the sack was handed over. “I wouldn’t look at it out here—it’s gold. Any street rat would kill for a piece of this. Honestly, I’m glad to be rid of it. I want my payment.”

  The other man grumbled and Ana heard the sound of clinking coins. Her view improved as she crouched onto her hands and knees and peered out from beneath the branches. Nikator, the man who’d been speaking to the pilgrims minutes ago, watched the person he’d just paid walk away. Nikator held a leather sack against his chest while he shot furtive glances all around him.

  Mother died protecting the site. Whatever’s in the sack belongs to Baalbek’s protectors and not the Romans. Nikator’s wealthy enough, he doesn’t need more gold. I won’t let him take what isn’t his. A hunger grew deep in Ana’s soul, possessing her as she watched Nikator walk away from the temple.

  The scene faded away and Ana was left shaking in her seat. Her hands clung to her knees and her breaths were shallow, raspy. The peace she’d felt only minutes earlier was shattered. Fear tightened her lungs. Her mouth dropped open and her cries made no sound except for the air escaping her throat.

  Somehow she made it inside Lifen’s house after discovering the others had already returned, leaving her alone in the animal shelter. She stood in the hallway, feeling hollow and frightened. The voice she’d heard earlier she hadn’t thought anything of, but now . . .

  She knew something was wrong. What she’d just experienced was more than a waking dream. Maybe she needed to figure things out before she said anything and freaked everyone out. Or maybe it wouldn’t happen again.

  To her left, she heard the guys talking, either in the kitchen or dining room. She should join them. Being alone meant she’d be left to her thoughts and right now, they were only scaring her.

  As she stood shaking in the hallway, her stomach growled. Sharp pains followed. Plus, she felt the beginnings of a headache coming on. Maybe food would help with both problems.

  With a sigh, she walked down the hallway and found Mac and Jordan in the kitchen. Sweet smells poured out from the doorway, mixing with the aroma of onion and spices. For the first time since Lifen had announced she was leaving, Jordan didn’t look miserable. At the oven, cooking meat and veggies in a skillet, he was talking with Mac, who was rinsing fresh berries in the sink. She didn’t really feel like stopping to talk with them. All she wanted was to be near Chance. Ana turned and walked across to the dining room where everyone else was gathered, hoping she’d find him there, although she didn’t expect to.

  “Ana! Where’ve you been?” Derek called out.

  Before answering, she spotted Chance sitting at the far end of the dining table. His hazel eyes glinted in the twilight. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw them crease in a half smile.

  “I fell asleep in the sunroom,” she muttered.

  Without lingering in the doorway, she went directly to the one she needed to be near. His eyes followed her movement; she felt them carry with her. Ana pulled a chair next to his and sat down. Her hands reached out, not having to go far before his warm fingers intertwined with hers.

  Derek and Batukhan, noticing their shared moment, turned away and continued their conversation, giving them a certain amount of privacy.

  Ana whispered so only he could hear, “Thank you for joining everyone.”

  He touched her cheek and said under his breath, “I’m sorry for earlier. I’m just—”

  Ana remembered the words of advice Batukhan had offered her and stopped him short. “It’s okay. I understand. I know you’ve been through a lot. But, you need to get that I’m here for you—always.”

  His eyes lifted to gaze into hers, but only briefly, before he lowered them and answered, “I know.”

  Dinner moved painfully slow for Ana. She had the sensation that their lives were on the cusp of change yet again. Since she’d met Chance, she had never been completely safe from danger, but she wouldn’t have chosen differently. Just the same, she yearned for simplicity. Like what Niyol and his wife had had, living on their ranch in Montana.

  Chance walked with her down the hallway to the stairwell that led to the lower level and his room. He cupped his hands on her cheeks and placed gentle kisses on her nose and eyelids. She pulled away and he looked at her curiously.

  “Did you know something was wrong as soon as Markus died? I mean, did you feel different?”

  The softness in his face erased immediately and his jaw clenched. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Chance wasn’t the only one who had the information she sought, but he was the one she preferred talking to about it. She’d have to figure it out on her own for now.

  There was little likelihood she’d be able to go to sleep with fresh worries on her mind. The dark bags under his eyes, furrowed brow and lifted shoulders told her that he was likely in for another night of tossing and turning as well. They needed each other, even if talking wasn’t a possibility.

  She took him by the hand and led him down the hallway to her room. As much as she knew her touch was soothing to him, he had the same effect on her. She needed to feel his closeness, his skin touching hers and his breath against her neck.

  That night as she fell asleep with Chance’s arms around her, tucked against his body, she felt hopeful. Maybe they could truly find their way out of the tangle life had ensnared them in.

  Chapter 5

  Hunger possessed her. A kind of hunger she’d never felt before. It was nothing like going without breakfast or lunch, but a deeper, more primal urge that she couldn’t contain. What was it she hungered for? She wasn’t sure.

  Her surroundings were both light and dark. The ground, cold and snow laden, almost seemed to glow, and the trees around her stood like blackened arrows pointing to the heavens. Steam billowed from her mouth as she crept forward, hunting for her prey. Emerging from the boundary of the forest she saw her target, standing exposed in the moonlight, glowing silver. Ana’s shock held her as she realized it was in fact, herself.

  There she is. Waiting for us. So young and impressionable . . . and powerful. I have waited too long for one like her. Could she truly be a star maiden? I may yet become an immortal god. The voice was deep, yet familiar.

  She was compelled forward, toward the object of power. The girl was speaking to her, but it didn’t matter what she said, or how beautiful she looked, radiating a silvery light. While Ana looked at her, fur grew in waves across her own body. She fell to the ground on all fours, lifted her muzzle to chase the tickle that remained and snapped her teeth with ferocity.

  The girl before her backed away, but it was a useless attempt to protect herself. She would be hers. The voice had said so and there was no fighting it. How could she turn her back on such a priceless object? She wouldn’t—it wasn’t a choice. Ana dug in her paws, moving with amazing speed. Without effort, she was on top of her victim. Dagger-like teeth sank into the girl’s shoulder. Salty blood washed her mouth.

  I need her . . . she must kill me. The same voice echoed through her head, orchestrating her movement and her will.

  Screaming filled her ears. The dream quickly dissolved and she found herself lying tangled in her bedding. A deep moan echoed through the ebony room. Chance was wrapped around her body and she felt him shaking against her.

  “Chance?” Ana grasped his arm while she rolled over to face him. “Hey! Wake up!”

  Through his long, shaggy hair and the darkness, she saw his eyes snap open. He stared at her for a minute. Then in one fluid movement, he
rolled off the bed and sat up. His back hunched over with his head down to his knees. His breathing was ragged and rough.

  Ana crawled over to him and placed her hands on his skin, lending her yellow energy to his aid. She squeezed his shoulders, then combed her fingers through his hair and up to the top of his head.

  “Are you all right?” she said under her breath.

  When he sat upright, his back pressed against her abdomen and she wrapped her legs around him. She rested her cheek to his back and felt his muscles move in response. His voice sounded different than usual, tight and throaty. “Yeah, I’m good.”

  Things fell into place for her and she was thankful that her initial fears were unfounded. “You had another bad dream. Was it a memory . . . one that has to do with me?”

  “I said I don’t wanna talk about it.”

  Ana traced a circle onto his back with her pointer finger and whispered, “You don’t have to, because I already know. Have you ever wondered how we found each other that night? How I found you?”

  She felt him hold his breath and she didn’t wait for him to respond. “I know I told you I’d dreamed you were in a fight and that’s why I went looking for you, but it wasn’t the first time I saw you in my dreams. Since you left me at Balam’s, I’ve been dreaming of you. I’ve seen you and what you were doing and who you were with. I don’t know how it’s happening, but Lifen says that healers can sense what people are feeling when they’re nearby. Well, since you’ve been here with me I’ve been hearing voices.”

  At that, he stiffened and choked out, “What?”

  “I think it’s okay. Yesterday I experienced this very vivid memory—and this man’s voice in my head. It freaked me out and I was afraid of what it meant—”

  He interrupted her. “Your questions last night?”

  “Yeah. But just now, I was having this dream about the night we met up, when you—weren’t yourself. Except I was experiencing it from your point of view. I mean, I guess it was your point of view. It didn’t feel like you were in control, but whoever was, was hungry for something—me. I think I’ve been channeling your memories and experiences. It’s my instinct to help you, so I must be subconsciously reaching out to you or . . .”