by Summer Lee
After hanging out with Anthea, he saw how evil she was capable of being. On the other hand, being with Anthea helped him see that Achava was a woman of class. He sure hoped that she felt more romantic toward him than she let on. He had to prove himself as being worthy of her. He would make sure not to ask her to marry him again, but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t try to date her. He had to at least try, because he wanted that girl in his arms again. He would do better than the last date, too. That one was a disaster.
Packing his bag with his neatly folded clothes showed that he had character. He did not load a lot into his backpack, but he took the more important items. Making sure to include his compass and a first aid kit was smart. He needed some important items, like matches, to help him out if he found himself alone in a strange country or underground.
Sam assumed that Anthea had planned another underground adventure, in spite of the fact that the fleece with the map of Christ’s crown of thorns showed otherwise. He was ready to do about anything to get away from working below the dirt. As an archeologist, he understood that there were some important things buried deep in the earth. As an adventurer, he was sick of things falling in on him and the people he was with. If one more trip took him underground, he vowed to hang up his curiosity and adventuring, forever.
Sam had no idea what Anthea was doing as he listened to her moving things around in the kitchen. He didn’t care, because nothing of value was in his kitchen. It was okay if she broke something, because the noises would tell him exactly where she was. He did not want her near his treasures.
He finished packing as quickly as possible, because he didn’t want her to get too curious about what he was doing. Glancing into the back of his closet, he saw the chair had not been moved that guarded his secret hiding place for the ancient staff.
He looked through his suitcase one more time to double check his items and make a mental plan. He wanted her to know as little as possible about him. That way, if she did leave him high and dry, she wouldn’t know how easily he could get out of a bad situation.
Anthea had never asked a lot of questions about what he had with him, unless it was pertinent to the current situation. She would probably be the same this time. The less she knew, the better.
He finished, in what he believed to be record time. A huge smile formed on his face. Sam was pleased with himself. He put his pack on his back, which didn’t happen to feel as if it was loaded down with too much stuff. Putting on a light jacket, he made sure to fill his pockets with some granola bars, just in case he got hungry at an inopportune time.
He returned to the kitchen, nonchalantly, and saw Anthea rummaging through his cabinets. “What are you doing?”
“Just looking,” she said.
“That’s crazy.” He laughed.
“You have strange eating habits, Sam,” she said, with condescension.
“I guess it’s all a matter of taste,” he replied, without missing a beat. “Are you finished finding more reasons to insult me?”
Anthea’s eyes widened with his sudden bravado. “Are you sure you’ve brought enough clothing? We could be gone for quite a while, you know.” She eyed his pack.
“I have a few things that we might need.” He wanted to make sure and include the we, in case she might get suspicious, that he only brought items for himself. “Do you want to check it out?” He started to take off the pack.
She shook her head. “No. I trust you. I really don’t care what’s in your oversized lunch bag.” Laughing, she asked, “Are you ready to leave?”
Sam sighed. “Let me just hit the bathroom one more time.”
When he came back into the kitchen, he asked, “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
She narrowed her eyes in disgust. “We’re going to Tibet, stupid. We need Aharon Malka to help find the Crown of Christ.”
Chapter the Sixth
ACHAVA AND KHASSIMA ARRIVED IN TIBET in the middle of the day. So much for being stealthy. Looking about, Achava commented on the mountain range. “The Himalayan region has the highest mountains on earth.”
“It is beautiful, but quite chilly.” Khassima wrapped her arms around her frail body.
“I’ve heard that the sensitive environment here provides for varied climatic regions,” said Achava. “Hope we are prepared.”
“Mountains ranging from high cold fields to low elevation deserts are in Tibet. Yes.”
“Prepare for action,” said Achava. They quickly moved to an alleyway, which made it a little easier to get their bearings.
Khassima looked nauseous. “I don’t think I can ever get used to that thing you just did. What do you call it?”
“Soul Merging.”
“You do this all the time? Yes?”
Achava looked around to make sure no one was listening. When she was certain that the coast was clear, she answered her companion. “Yes. It was… difficult to adjust to at first. I admit that I had several problems dealing with the side effects.”
“Side effects?” Khassima retorted. “I sure hope you’re going to tell me that nausea is the biggest one, because I’m not sure my delicate form can handle anything else.”
Achava giggled. “I mean no disrespect for your concerns by laughing. I just remember what I went through, because of carelessness. I doubt you will have to go through the same things.”
Khassima looked around confused at the alley. She pointed all about her. “This doesn’t look like any monastery I’ve ever seen. Not that I’ve seen many, mind you. I take it, we walk from here?”
“We must,” Achava answered. “We cannot just appear inside of the monastery asking for Aharon Malka.”
Khassima looked toward one of the alley’s exits. “Maybe we don’t have to. How does that Soul Merge work?”
“I envisage a location or a person. As I concentrate on the being, suddenly I am taken to them.” Achava tilted her head at Khassima. “Understand?”
“I think so. Yes.” They both smiled.
“Look!” Suddenly Khassima pointed at a figure standing on the street, with his back to the women. “The way you described Aharon! Could that be him? Yes?”
Achava turned to where Khassima was pointing and saw the familiar long white hair. He had a travel bag with him and he was looking around impatiently, as if looking for someone.
“I must have been concentrating more on Aharon than the monastery! That is him!” Achava did not wait for Khassima, as she ran toward her target.
“Wait up!”Khassima ran behind her. “Hey, Achava! Not all of us are well trained warriors!”
Her pleas fell on deaf ears as Achava continued to move forward as fast as she could. She eyed the bag he was carrying and knew what was inside. Achava was bound and determined to intercept him, before he had a chance to get to the monastery, which was just a mile away.
Out of nowhere, a strong hand grabbed Achava and swung her into the wall of a nearby building. With her momentum, the impact was more than enough to cause, not only a severe headache, but a bloody nose. As soon as the world stopped spinning, Achava managed to look up to see her attacker.
Anthea!
“H, sis,” Anthea said, as she stood with her hands on her hips, looking down on Achava. “It looks like every time we meet up, you end up bleeding.” She looked at her arms and face. “Nice job getting a cure for the aging thing too. Too bad it won’t save you from what’s next.”
“I’m not worried.” Wiping the blood off her face with her shirt, Achava remembered how much taller Anthea was than her. But Achava had an advantage. She was a friend with God, and He gave her the power she needed.
Khassima managed to catch up with Achava, panting, out of breath. “I’m… not… built for this,” she said, getting her breath back. “I’m a dancer.”
Anthea glared at at Khassima angrily. “Who is this?” It was obvious that she did not want another person to be added to the party. Turning her back on Khassima, she bent down and embraced the shorter war
rior, while pressing hard on one of her tattoos.
“Ouch!” Achava swung around, hitting her half-sister in the head. “Keep your hands off me.” There was an evil side of Anthea that would always remind Achava that they had different fathers.
Khassima glared at Anthea and said, “So you’re the one who aged Achava. It looks like you’re going to have to try new tricks. Yes? Ha ha!”
Aharon had been watching. He stopped and listened to the commotion for a second, and then he took off running as fast as his old bones could carry him. Achava yelled, “Aharon is getting away!”
Khassima laughed with excitement.
It was as if Anthea noticed that her symbols were no longer having an effect on Achava. She stepped back and snarled in shock. “Nice trick.”
“It is real and not a trick.”
“Can’t fool me.” Anthea then disappeared into space.
Achava reached out and clasped Khassima’s hand. “Let her go. We have something more important to do.”
“What should we do?”
“Let’s find Sam.” They traveled quickly.
***
Achava said, “Look, there is Sam.” She saw that Sam had caught up with Aharon in front of a book store. Sam caught the Antiquarian, bringing him to a standstill. Sam grabbed the pack and pulled it away from Aharon. He had been running so fast that this caused Aharon to spin out of control, into the storefront and then fall to the floor. Khassima and Achava arrived at the same time.
“Glad you got the pack with the magical fleece,” Achava said.
“Yes.” Sam looked at Achava with love in his eyes. “Hello Achava.”
“Hello Sam.” She walked up to him and placed her hand on his cheek. “How have you been?”
He shook his head with a sad expression as he greeted his former partner. She wanted him to kiss her, but there was no time. This was not the place.
“You know not what you do, boy,” Aharon yelled in a rage. “I’m not the villain here. The consequences will be severe if you don’t let me…”
Aharon was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Anthea. “Good job Sam! You have it!” She grabbed the bag, but Sam wouldn’t let go. “What are you doing, Sam? We have it now. Don’t be stupid.”
Before Sam could answer, Anthea turned and looked in amazement at Achava. “What happened to the bloody nose I just gave you? You should be bleeding!”
Achava smiled as she looked at Khassima. “It appears that I am…how do you say? New and improved.” Her eyes sparkled when she looked at Sam. She could feel his love, because his eyes sparkled as well.
Achava grabbed the pack, while Anthea and Sam still had a hold. “This belongs where no one can ever find it again. It is not meant for humanity. Just the fact that we have knowledge of its existence can change things.”
Aharon stood up and brushed himself off. “She’s right, you know. This was never meant to be found by people. Because of that, we have no idea what kind of things to expect if it falls into the wrong hands. I took it to bury it somewhere no one could ever find it.”
“Liar!” Anthea yelled. “You were in a frenzy to find it! I saw that look in your eyes! You have no intention of protecting this fleece!”
Aharon got in her face and chuckled. “I know. I’m a bad boy.”
Sam rolled his eyes. “This is ridiculous! Achava’s right! We have to protect it because it has a map on it to show the location of the Crown of Christ!” He looked around. “The only reason Anthea and Achava haven’t let go of it yet, is because they know the other one wants to Soul Merge it away from the rest of us. It’s basically a game of chicken.”
The fleece radiated. As it started to glow white, Aharon placed his hand on the pack as well. “I guess I just might have a little chicken in me.”
Khassima looked at Achava and sighed. “Well, since I did come along for the ride, I might as well finish it. Help me though. If you get me killed, I will never forgive you. Yes?” When she touched the pack as well, it glowed brighter.
Anthea showed disgust at all of them. “I’ve had it with everybody!” She glared at Achava who knew she was planning on Soul Merging.
Achava closed her eyes and tried to detect the precise moment when her sibling planned to use the Soul Merge. While concentrating, her mind opened up to Anthea’s thoughts. She gasped when all within Anthea was revealed to her. She had trouble absorbing it all, as images and memories flooded her conscious mind.
She did her best to push things to the side that weren’t important to the mission. She had no desire to intrude into anyone’s thoughts, but she needed to know exactly when Anthea would try to Soul Merge, so that she could do it a split second faster. Would they all travel with her, though? That could be a problem, considering that she never heard of anyone Soul Merging that many people.
She had to try.
Concentrating on Anthea’s subconscious mind, where the real reason for her desire to have the fleece was hidden, she saw that: Anthea planned on selling the fleece to the highest bidder.
“No!” Achava screamed at her sister.
“Stay out of my mind, Achava!” Anthea screamed back.
Sam and Khassima looked confused at the argument.
Aharon lowered his head, as a tear rolled down his cheek. “This will be my last great adventure.”
Sam looked in shock at the old Antiquarian. That was the same thing that Professor Salinger said on the adventure where he died.
“Not so!” Anthea screamed, as Achava felt the Soul Merge preparation. Achava kept her eyes closed.
In the next instance, they all disappeared from the beautiful land of Tibet. Achava looked down and wondered why Aharon wanted to take the fleece so close to Communist China.
Chapter the Seventh
SURPRISINGLY, SAM WOKE UP FIRST. He sat up quickly and released a quick breath. It felt as if he had been holding his breath for hours, which he knew was an impossibility.
The air was different there. Wherever there was. He wasn’t breathing just air. As he took in a deep breath, he didn’t recognize any of the odors that he smelled. He could tell that modern day pollution, dirt, and everything else that was harmful was different in the air.
He inhaled and coughed. What the heck!
He quickly looked around. There were some small elevated mounts nearby, with the rest of the area being desert stretching to the south. The sky was clear with the exception of a few fluffy clouds. The purity of the air, full of oxygen, took him a few moments to get used to.
He looked around and saw that Khassima, Achava, Aharon, and Anthea were unconscious, their bodies scattered around him on the ground. He checked each one, to make sure they were breathing. They were. He checked Aharon first, because of what he said before they all disappeared.
They were all still alive. He checked to make sure his backpack was still on his back. It was. He looked around all over the ground, for the bag that Aharon had been clutching. He had taken it from him.
There was no sign of it.
He pulled out his cell phone, but no matter where he moved to, he couldn’t get a signal. No service whatsoever. He also couldn’t access the Internet. As he searched his phone for anything usable, the others started to wake up.
All of them went through the same thing he did. They each took in a deep breath and sniffed the air. “I don’t understand why the air is so clean,” Anthea said. “This isn’t where I had in mind with the Soul Merge.”
“Me neither,” Achava replied, as she looked suspiciously around. “There is something oddly familiar here, though.”
As soon as Khassima inhaled, her eyes lit up. Her mind obviously filled with memories of days gone by. She had returned to her past—she was home. She smiled with exhilaration. “Yes! Yes! Ha ha!” She fell to her knees and kissed the ground.
Aharon stood up and dusted himself off. He looked at Khassima, as if he understood her secret. “You did this,” he said. “Didn’t you?”
“What’s going on, Aha
ron?” Sam asked, without really wanting to know the answer.
Aharon’s eyes were as calm as his voice. “She’s as close to home as she’s been in a long time.” He turned toward her. “Right?”
Sam saw that Anthea and Achava were as confused as he was. Khassima said nothing. Although he realized that she had a deep secret.
“Actually, she’s probably closer to her home than she thinks,” Aharon added, rolling his eyes at her.
Khassima rose from the dirt and raised her hands into the air. “I have come home! I would know that scent in the air anywhere! I have arrived to fulfill my deliverance! Thank you, Lord!”
“No!” Aharon barked. “Do you understand what you’re saying? Can you even conceive the possibilities of the consequences of why you think you’re here?”
Sam watched as Anthea and Achava stood silent, while listening with stone faces. Sam chose to stand, but not silently. “What? What’s going on? I assume that it’s Biblical in nature…”
Khassima laid a hand on Aharon’s shoulder. Her elation could not be hidden, nor explained to anyone else. “I am home. If my guess is right, I’m right where I should be. I can correct the wrongs that I have done. Because Jesus wore the crown of thorns, I can now be saved for eternity.”
Aharon shook his head. “Achava! You have knowledge! Please talk some sense into your girl!”
“If I knew what the circumstances were, I perhaps could be of some help,” she answered. “I will say that for the time being, we should all call a truce, until the time that we can figure out what is going on.”
Sam said, “I agree.”
“Where is the fleece?” Achava looked around and said, “I don’t see it.”
“The fleece is gone?” Anthea huffed. “It appears that none of you have it, so I won’t be so bold as to accuse any of you. I would like to know where it went, though. Any thoughts?”
“I have a few,” Khassima said, while putting her finger up to her lips and playfully nibbling on it. “I am at the place when I made the most serious mistake in my life. One that was recorded eternally and made a mockery of everything I was at that time, after the fact.”