The Flame of Wrath
Book One
Published by Christene Knight at Kindle Direct Publishing
Copyright 2014 Christene Knight
Legal Disclaimer: All characters are fiction and should not
be used without the author’s consent.
Contents
The Flame of Wrath
prologue
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
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
prologue
Some may chant the prayers which have come to be our forgotten mystical past while others simply deem those whispered songs nothing more than a dream. Still, there are some ---those precious few--- who cannot and will not relinquish their faith in something utterly beyond their mortal limitations. Those same people walk the world in search of their Higher Destiny. Theirs is not the Destiny preordained by Fate, but rather the Destiny they strive to reach. It dwells somewhere beyond the realms of what the body may physically give and what the heart cannot be without.
Pursue your Destiny, but do not be afraid of what hovers for you within the fleeting distance. Reach out for it always. It is what you were meant to find. In Higher Destiny lies Higher Self. This is our way.
----The Book of Wrath
chapter one
*******
Once when mortals were innocent, a trusting world had opened its innermost recesses to their grateful grasp.
Shape me with the purity of your soul, the world had asked of them. Father and mother the greatness of my every horizon with the boundless strength of your dreams.
And so it came to pass that each morning when the sun rose, it was to a world where legends lived and the mystical thrived.
There was a sense of magic in even the simplest of occurrences. It was found within the budding flower bowing beneath the weight of dawn's dew. It blazed as the phoenix rising from smoldering ashes to outstretch its bright wings toward the sky. And in these charmed happenings, there was no end to the beauty which the mind had created.
It was from the young ones, once so innocent and so pure, that the mind's paintbrush took to canvas. It was from their greatest aspirations that a God was created. Theirs was a God of grace and beauty, both a predator and an innocent as they, themselves, were innocent. So in need of its strength and protection were they that as one, their hearts gave it life. It was then that the world knew the presence of its most majestic creature. It was then that mortals fell under the nurturing shadow of the Dragons.
********
A brilliant sun glinted off each individual blade of grass. Through flowing reeds, a stirring wind created a whistled song.
The clear waters of the river raced willfully over dark slates. The rushed enthusiasm with which they stroked each stone intermingled with the melodies alive inside the clean morning air. Still harmony eluded Creation's symphony until the percussive sounds of powerful hooves in the distance gave it a tempo to sing to.
Inspired by the early morning’s sonata, the dense bushes danced. They parted like heavy curtains as majestic deer burst forward.
The stags thundered along the river's edge, causing the very ground to tremble. Their spirited arrival sent a flurry of birds into the sky in a collage of vibrant colors. Then as suddenly as they had come, the throng of deer vanished once again into the trees.
Within the return of stillness, the forest breathed. It was alive with something mystical. It was alive with a greatness which blessed the day. Its touch lingered over the world as the mist swirling around a humble procession's feet. The mystical seven emerged from the thick wood with wistful thoughts clinging to their bodies like lingering webs. They persisted past the thoughts tugging at their minds, making their way toward the sacred Hall of Glass.
A grand pyramid loomed in the distance as the earthly incarnation of dreams. It shimmered beneath the morning sun. The fragility of its beauty taunted the world by enabling it to seem to linger always just out of reach.
Within this brittle dream, the hallowed knowledge of their people echoed. They were resounding whispers within private meditations. They were epiphany inside enlightened truths. It was in the walls of gracious light that the Druids of Pyros were gathered.
Seven members of the ancient sect spoke no words. Their heads were bowed, causing the sunlight to beat down upon their crimson hoods. Within the center of their ruby ring, a jewel of gold was nestled.
She walked with an air of ethereal grace. Whether that grace was hers by birth or perhaps acquired after much instruction seemed a meaningless riddle now. It was the illusion which mattered. And the illusion she gave as she floated across the earth was that Pyros had known the sweetness of day simply to please her.
The breeze caught against the flowing hem of her sheer chiffon. Its golden length fanned outward exposing the softness of her naked skin beneath. Her petite body blushed with the blossoms of young adulthood. This was her magical year of appointment. So much had been promised to her at the moment she would rise to power. Still, her deep blue eyes looked beyond the druid leading the way. She gazed around him, toward the pyramid on the horizon.
Dread tainted the beauty of her face. She drew in a long breath if only to calm her nerves. That breath commanded the humble rises of her taut chest to rise. It felt heavy.
She lowered her eyes to the golden broach affixing the gossamer surcoat directly beneath her collar bones. The royal seal glinted in the sunlight. It winked as if to bid hello then dulled in sudden and fickle disinterest.
Her bare feet felt the sharp kiss of a stone protruding from the ground. She winced. She knew that by the end of this morning's travel she would ache. She would also experience a fatigue her privileged life had sheltered her from knowing.
The words of the druids echoed inside her ears.
You will know humility, she remembered.
********
Among the masses, the colors of dreams were softened by an ethereal glow. It was hard to distinguish the true nature of any one hue. They beat and throbbed with the pulse of life. Still if life were present in every waking moment, it showed itself now as the profoundly surreal.
Hovering in the great beyond, voices came slowly at first. Their sound rose like fog to linger over the world. It was laughter. It was cries of adoration. It was the sound of a people's hope for the future as that future walked naked and exposed before their watchful eyes.
She closed her eyes for a fleeting moment, completely succumbing to the sound of the music flooding the air. Her body moved with a sensuality rising within her being with every passing moment. Around the procession, two oceans of people writhed in otherworldly ecstasy.
She parted her lashes to gaze out with burning blue eyes to the ornate dragon head turning to look her direction.
The puppeteer caused the mythical caricature to wink playfully while at his back the body of the beast rolled and danced to the crowd's delight under the skillful arrangement of the puppeteers commanding it. Then from the dragon's lips, a burst of color exploded into the air to rain down upon them all as vibrant confetti.
She exten
ded her arms. As she looked up to the colorful sky, she was bathed in glittering celebratory fires.
The throngs of people broke out into cheers. “Long live the Dragon! Long live Aurea!”
********
The hair suddenly rose at the back of her neck. Something powerful gripped her in that instant. Aurea could feel it retching at her depths. She trembled. What was this feeling?
As if to answer her question, an enormous shadow passed over the caravan accompanied by a heated wind. The force gripping her was the same inescapable thing which tugged and pulled at the druids like gravity.
One by one, the druids fell to their knees.
She had seen the reverence with which these men touching their foreheads to the land, but it did not command it to rise within her. Instead as she watched, she felt only consumed by fear. She hugged her trembling body, holding herself firmly. Her eyes widened. Heavily, she stared at the ground beneath her feet.
A shadow had completely engulfed them. In fact it consumed so much in every direction she gazed. Then, just as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished.
This was the very shadow which had fallen over her entire life. This was her Mother, her Goddess, her Salvation and the ultimate reason for her empowerment. She lifted her head, defying custom for one look, one simple glimpse. She winced and hissed as she struggled to see through splayed fingers.
A black outline of something flying away faded into the brightness of fathomless white light.
Her eyes watered then burned.
Unable to stand a moment further, she looked away.
********
It was in the startling clarity of the mind's eye that a vision consumed all sight.
The dream had come. Again.
Aurea’s fingertips sought out the treasure she knew loomed somewhere in the darkness.
A perfume gave her comfort even as it caused her being to shake with fears she did not truly comprehend.
When her fingers lightly brushed against a surface to rival silk, she strangled a quiet sound within her throat.
A halo began to break the gripping blackness. It cracked the delicate horizon in a tiny vein before it swelled. The light bloomed into a powerful new dawn. Its intensity was seen through a sepia veil.
That light, that hungering warmth, washed against the surface of Seduction's body as if it had claim to it and anything else which stood in its path.
Slowly, a woman turned her head to glance in Aurea’s direction. Her face and the wonders of her every feminine wile were nothing more than a silhouette meant to torment the mind.
The light rose higher and higher until it bled into everything. It killed the sights the eyes would see.
When at last it fell away, nothing existed but a soft halo of light in a black world.
Where once a captivating woman had sat upon the erotic curve of her hip, there was now a solitary flower resting its proud head. It sat as simple perfection. Then as if no longer content to remain idle, the flower caught fire with a whooshed sound of farewell.
********
The young woman blinked away the last of the vision. She struggled to allow her mind to catch up to the mechanized movements of her body. Where had her legs taken her when her mind was somewhere else, somewhere lost within a darkened world?
She gasped suddenly in recognition.
The ancient pyramid of shining glass embodied the purity meant for all those who sought out enlightenment. It towered high above, dwarfing the wise wonders of nature branching toward the heavens. Atop its head sat a golden crown. The haloed blessing capped its glory, bathing the world in a beam of ethereal light whenever the sunlight touched it.
Centered along its base, an entrance of dazzling gold taunted the world. Two doors tightly sealed together to form the shape of an immense keyhole. It was behind the sacred doors that the druids' greatest treasures were housed.
The men in cardinal robes broke the protective formation they had created around the woman with flaxen hair.
Aurea searched around her, seeing the manner in which the Druids had fallen away. Her pouting mouth opened as if to voice a protest, but she did not speak. She moved forward.
The enormity of the golden doors left her feeling insignificant. She extended her hand, lightly touching her fingertips to the shimmering surface. Beneath her fingers, she felt the topography of etched planes. She narrowed her sapphire eyes in study. As her mind scanned over the symbols lining the doors, she wondered what they could possibly mean. Then after summoning her courage, she spoke hauntingly, reciting something from the deepest recesses of her dreams.
“In my eyes, lies the power of a God.”
She held her breath and waited.
At first, it seemed that her words had fallen on deaf ears. Aurea took a few steps backward. Her face upturned to feast upon the bountiful horizon.
Uncertainty played within her eyes. It danced there like the light off the pyramid. Suddenly uncertainty gave way to fear then confusion as the ground beneath her feet began to tremble.
The symbols inscribed within the doors began to glow. It was as if a light from behind the doors shown outward, piercing through each symbol with zealous might.
The air filled with the sound of stone scraping loudly against stone as the ground began to tremble. Just beneath the doors, the pyramid’s true door opened to reveal itself as a gaping wound.
Timidly, Aurea moved toward the opening. She gazed down into it with a fearful frown. Nothing. There was nothing. It was as if the stone steps led into the very heart of darkness.
Her clammy hands gripped at the airy fabric of her chiffon. She bunched the material within her fists, pulling the hem from tickling her ankles. With a determined air, she pressed onward. All that mattered in that instant was claiming what was rightfully hers.
Little by little, she was consumed by the darkness. It crept around her, swallowing her profile so that to the Druids she was little more than a halo of gold at the crown of her head.
Alone, she braved the descent.
She could feel each cool stone beneath her bare feet. The gritty surface of the ancient pathway hinted to the temple's true age. It was within the archaic corridor that some of its wisdom seeped into her thoughts. She realized then that each step taken was a conscious movement toward her destiny.
In the darkness, it was hard to know precisely where she was or even if she was safe. However, she possessed an advantage others did not. Where others were pitilessly blind, she could see the world in various shades of blues. This was what it meant to be guided by the flames present inside her royal eyes.
She scoured her surroundings, allowing her flaming pupils to light her way. In their dim light, something urged her to go forward.
A whisper came. It was faint at first.
She froze.
It came again, but this time, the voice seemed as though it spoke directly against her ear.
Who are you? What do you seek? Why have you come?
Aurea jerked violently away from the voice, swinging out blindly into the darkness.
When the voice rang out again, it tickled her opposite ear. Its sudden change of direction startled her.
Soon one question echoed and overlapped until the voices were out of sync while unified in a solitary question.
What kind of soul will you be when you face Her?
She pulled away from the voices so hard that she stumbled. She felt the sharp edge of the walkway warn of its sudden end. Her hand reached out desperately in a gesture of lament. With fingers splayed and eyes alight with panic, she screamed as she fell backward into a fathomless abyss.
********
Their murmurs rose to tempt the young woman from unconsciousness. Long golden lashes fluttered apart to reveal dim blue eyes. Her cheek rested against the rough surface of uncaring stone. It felt warm against her skin contrasting greatly with the cold steps in the corridor. She suddenly remembered the fall and the voices which had caused it.
Tensing,
she lifted her head. Her reward for the harsh movement was the instantaneous throb felt at her temples. She released a pained groan.
Clutching at the floor beneath her, she struggled to push her body up. A great circular weight resting against the floor hung down from her neck. Its hanging weight fought against her as she battled to rise. She attempted to ignore it, staring instead to the flash of colors glinting within the pyre's warm light. The garments holding her attention were not the ceremonial chiffon she had worn before. Had someone redressed her?
The murmuring voices, she remembered.
She had thought they had merely been a dream, but as she searched around her, she could see the druids standing ominously around the hall. Her eyes fell on a druid leaning to whisper his thoughts into the ear of another. The sight sent her blood boiling with memories.
********
She ran as fast as her small legs would carry her. The wind whipped through her thick blond curls. It had been a mistake, a horrible mistake. She had not meant to release the hand of her chaperon, but what child could resist the urge to gaze longingly upon a window revealing sugary treats. Now she was somewhere within the province's heart without a soul to save her from the one thing which she had once foolishly believed she wanted most in the world: other children.
A group of seven children had formed a pack to hunt their quivering prey.
She sprinted through the congested streets, a blur of soft blue in her tattering toga. Her small hands pushed and shoved her way through the throngs of Pyrosians. At her back, she could clearly hear the spirited footfalls of her pursuers.
“This way,” a boy called. “I think it went this way!”
Tears of bitterness raced down her cheeks. She took a sharp turn to the right, seeking out an escape. Her head turned to look over her quaking shoulder. She could see them coming.
The wind was ripped from her tiny body as she impacted mercilessly into a dead end. She fell backward to the cobblestone street.
Shadows fell over her in a tightly woven crescent. The children stared at the crying girl with looks of morbid fascination.
“What is it?” one boy asked.
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