The Complete 8-Book Guardians Adventure Saga

by Summer Lee

  Aharon took a deep breath and got on all fours. He grunted and groaned as Sam and Achava waited patiently for him. They then followed him inside the tiny cave. Anthea and Khassima took strategic places around the outside of the pit, so that they had all of the areas covered in their sights. They stayed close to the tomb and kept an eye out for anything unusual.

  Right after Achava entered the tomb, she stopped dead still. Sam stopped right behind her. Aharon crawled slowly over to the ossuary that was partly open. “Just look. Let me show you what I have found,” he said.

  “No!” Achava said. She said that she could feel something reverent in the cave. “I feel it in my soul. There is something sacred in here, Aharon. I feel it stronger than I ever have.”

  “You must be careful,” said Sam.

  “Yeah, Achava, I have that feeling as well,” Aharon replied impatiently, as he stopped by the foot of the ossuary that had the bundle in it. “I find it odd, that there is no body in here, but a bundle. A stone did not cover the entrance. Knowing the ossuary form of burial that I do…”

  Sam said, “I feel danger close by.”

  He stopped his sentence, as he noticed Achava’s eyes starting to glow bright gold. He stepped back, as she seemingly became entranced. She started toward the mysterious ossuary. The closer she got to it, the more she trembled. Her breathing became heavier, as her golden glow slowly surrounded her. Within seconds, she was completely covered in gold.

  Sam waited, ready to grab her.

  Aharon backed up, as far as possible toward the other side of the tomb, his eyes on her in amazement.

  She slowly approached the open bone box. Sam was close behind her. Sam noticed that the bundle inside emitted a golden glow as well. Achava was saturated in the glow, as she looked more powerful than she ever had before. Her muscles and body flowed with energy. Shaking, she could barely contain the vigor.

  Golden tears ran down her cheeks, as she grabbed the bundle. She didn’t have to see what was wrapped up inside to know what it was. She just knew.

  Sam watched as she trembled. The bundle continued to glow brighter and brighter. The golden glow bathed everything else in the tomb, except Sam and Aharon.

  Sam felt Aharon nearby as he stood over Achava, not knowing what to do. Achava struggled to get up, but couldn’t.

  “My Lord Jesus… the pain… what You went through…” was all Achava kept repeating.

  Aharon looked upward, attempting to pray. “God? I know You and I have had differing opinions about, well, almost everything. I have seen some pretty spectacular artifacts associated with the Bible. I have to say that I’m impressed. I can’t allow Achava to continue to go through whatever it is that she’s going through.” He looked at Achava with compassion. “She’s a good girl. That’s one thing I know for certain. Yet I can’t help her. I don’t know what this is going to do to me if she dies. So, I just want You to know that I’m going to save her… I wouldn’t mind a few extra points for this one. Thank you in advance. Protect Achava, Khassima, Anthea, and especially Sam. Nothing ventured, nothing gained! Here goes!”

  Aharon dove to the ground next to Achava. He grabbed the bundle and wrestled it from her tight grasp. The golden energy turned blue and ran straight through Aharon.

  Achava could not help him. Achava leaned down and placed her hand on Aharon’s shoulder. Weakly, Achava whispered, “No Aharon. Please don’t die.”

  Blue energy crackled around him, as he finally pulled the bundle free from Achava. Bolts of blue electricity wormed their way in and out of his flesh, as he reared his head back in pain. “Come on death! Don’t fail me now!”

  Sam stood speechless. “Get out of here, Sam,” yelled Achava. “Now! Go or you will die.”

  She watched Aharon crumble into cinders. She was too late to grab the bundle. The bundle rolled away, and rested on an enormous square, deep under a rock.

  Chapter the Fourteenth

  SAM RAN! HE HAD NO CHOICE, but to leave the tomb without Achava. He wasn’t sure what had happened to her or Aharon, but Sam could not help them. He had to save himself if he was going to be of any help to anyone later.

  The cave trembled violently.

  Sam scrambled out of the tomb just in time to see Anthea and Khassima headed right for it. He noticed that there was a massive tremor going through the quarry pit. “Stop,” he called out. “Don’t go in there. It will kill you.”

  Sam was the only one to see the glow emitting from the tomb. All of a sudden, the glow disappeared. He looked around at Anthea and Khassima, who were standing next to him. He felt something powerful, pulling at him to reenter the tomb.

  “Where’s Aharon?” asked Khassima.

  “Not sure.” He took out his inhaler from his backpack, took a puff, and entered the tomb, looking around for the bundle. Gasses were in the air, so he shut his eyes. Getting down on all fours, he covered his face and crawled in deeper.

  He tried his best to hold his breath as he moved toward the bundle. His cheeks puffed out. He looked around and saw the charcoal ashes in the shape of a man. He fell to the ground and covered his ears as pieces of rock from the ceiling of the tomb started to fall off.

  He looked around and saw Achava on the ground by the entrance. She was sitting by an empty open bone box. She was trembling, and her eyes were shut.

  He crawled toward her. “Achava! Are you alright?” He no longer cared about whether he could breathe or not.

  She raised her head to look at him, and when he saw her golden face and eyes, his mouth dropped. He tried to help her stand up. When she collapsed, he picked her up and carried her carefully out of the alcove.

  She asked about the bundle.

  “It is still in there.”

  “Aharon,” she said, almost in a whisper. “Is he dead?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m so sorry,” she said as she started to cry.

  Sam looked back at the ashes, then back at Achava. “Is that why you are sad?”

  Once he was sure she was alright, he rushed back to the bundle. He slowly reached out for it.

  “No!” Achava screamed. Her screech permeated Sam’s very soul and sounded like it was being broadcast through stadium speakers that were right in front of him. “You are not qualified to touch it.”

  Sam ran out of the tomb and down the hill. Khassima and Anthea were right behind.

  Achava exited the graveyard at that moment, just as the girls stopped out front. Anthea and Khassima echoed Sam’s astonishment when they saw Achava.

  “What?” she asked, nervously.

  “Your eyes,” Anthea answered, reluctantly.

  “What about my eyes?” Achava responded.

  “Your eyes are no longer dark. They are golden now,” Anthea answered. “What is wrong?”

  “I don’t know.” Achava’s voice was weak. “There is something in there, bundled in a scarf. It has electrical power.”

  “What is it?” asked Khassima.

  “I think it is the crown of thorns that Christ wore the day he was tortured by evil religious men.”

  Sam said, “I agree.” He knew that Achava was not an ordinary girl who made ordinary decisions. No, she was extraordinary in every way. Her decisions sometimes left her friends confused—and at other times left her confused. He was just not sure what she knew about her own past. The past that extended way back before 1940. Rather than have Caleb and Achsah forgotten, she maintained the DNA of her ancestors, just as if it happened to her.

  Little did Sam understand about the science behind Achava and Anthea. He just knew that they possessed a lot of superhuman power.

  Since Achava was the most righteous, she would be elected to carry the Crown of Christ to its final resting place.

  There was one more riddle to solve. Sam wanted to learn how Anthea had been able to turn Achava into a little old lady, and then later, how Achava could return to normal, a fearless warrior.

  In just a matter of minutes, Sam’s complicated life was about
to become more complicated.

  Chapter the Fifteenth

  ACHAVA SAT BY HERSELF on one of the stones several yards away from the others. She could no longer see the visions or experience the memories of Jesus and His suffering, no matter how hard she tried. She couldn’t even remember the images. She really didn’t want to, anyway. She did feel that she had somewhat of a greater understanding of just what Jesus and His disciples went through. She would never want to experience even a small part of their trials, but she knew that the tiniest of pieces of the entire experience would always remain a part of her. The crown of thorns, wrapped in a bundle, was to be preserved for all time.

  Maybe that explained her new eye color.

  She sat with her legs up and her arms wrapped around her knees. Achava rocked back and forth, trying to make sense of what happened to her in the cave and what had happened to Aharon. Why did he die?

  She still hadn’t responded to Sam’s questions about Aharon. She saw the frustration in his face. She knew that he thought she was hiding things from him again. He wouldn’t understand.

  She raised her head at her last thought. That was what she had continuously thought about Sam before. That was where one of their major communication problems stemmed from. She stood, still shaky from her experience. “Sam!”

  He turned to face her. He had been talking with Anthea and Khassima in whispers and looked her way every once in a while. It was time she cleared the air. Even though what she had to say, probably wouldn’t satiate anyone’s curiosity.

  Sam walked over slowly. He kept staring into her eyes. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded. Then she shook her head no. “I apologize for not discussing what happened to Aharon. I do not want you to think that I am hiding anything from you, Sam.”

  He smiled and looked relieved. “We didn’t know what the heck was going on. Why did Aharon have to go? Why is he just gone?”

  “I was mostly preoccupied with what I was going through,” she continued. “I don’t know if I can find the words to truly explain what I felt. All I know is that when I touched the bundled wrapped item, my mind was filled with images that were not ever really mine to begin with.”

  Sam gave her a confused look, but it did appear that he was trying to comprehend what she was saying. She forced a smile. “I know that I’m not making any sense, but I believe that someone else’s memories were given to me.”

  “Really?” Sam looked more concerned as he tried to come up with an answer. Not only for him, but for Achava as well. “This must be really hard for you, Achava. I can’t say that I know what you’re going through. I believe that the number of people who can say that, with any honesty, is extremely small. I do appreciate that you are communicating with me though.” He smiled for her sake. “I just can’t believe how amazing your eyes look! They’re… wow!”

  She lowered her head and glanced up at him, through the corner of her eye. “So, you’re saying that you did not like my eyes before?”

  Sam opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He just shook his head.

  “It’s alright, Sam,” she said. “I know what you are saying, and I appreciate the compliment. Really! I can’t say what happened that took Aharon’s life. Not completely. I think he saved my life. I do know that he grabbed the bundle from my grasp. I do not believe it had a positive effect on him, like it did me.”

  “Yeah,” Sam replied, as he scratched the back of his head. “We were all talking about that. We think those ashes in the tomb… are all that is left of Aharon.”

  Achava didn’t want to believe it, but it confirmed what she thought. A lone tear rolled down her cheek. “He saved me. I know that.”

  “I know,” Sam whispered, with a comforting tone. “We can’t let his death be in vain. We have to use his and your experiences to figure out how to get out of here. Are you okay to join Anthea and Khassima, to talk about this?”

  She nodded, as she stood straight and tilted her head, to crack her neck. Clasping her hand, he led the way to where the ladies were standing. She followed Sam back to the others.

  Anthea gave her a look of disdain. “Nice to see you’re back, sis. Can we please get out of this place?” She grimaced.

  Achava could see the fear in her face. That was not a sight she would ever get used to. “The bundle is inside the tomb. It contains the Crown of Christ and what I would expect to be the three spikes used in Christ’s crucifixion. It had weight to it.”

  The others remained silent as Achava spoke. They each hung onto her every word.

  She continued, “As I told Sam, when I touched the bundled items, I experienced a barrage of memories and visions that were not mine. I believe they were from one of the followers of Jesus. I know this sounds crazy, but considering where we are, I would say it makes perfect sense.” She paused to study each of their expressions. “Aharon… saved my life, or at least, my sanity. While I was trying to deal with my situation, he took the bundle from my hand. It had a different effect on him.”

  “I’ll say,” Anthea said, nervously.

  “So that means we have to find out how to handle the bundle before we can get out of here,” said Khassima.

  Achava looked at Sam for help. “What do you think?”

  “Well,” he started. “I believe that we have been on one quest. I think that each one of the artifacts that we’ve run across has purposely led to the next one.”

  Achava continued. “When Sam and I first met, we were helping a professor find the Staff of Moses.”

  Sam nodded in affirmation. “That set us up for another expedition, The Sword of Peter, which led us to Itai Malka’s underground cavern where there were several displays that were empty. One of those empty displays was labeled the Fleece of Gideon, which was the next item we searched for. We found something better—a fleece with a historic map. That fleece led us to the Crown of Christ. I believe that the crown will lead us to the next artifact. I also believe that it will be something that there was an empty display for in Itai’s private museum. The funny thing is, every item that we have found since the museum, have been things that…” He paused, because he didn’t know how everyone would accept what he had to say next.

  “Go on,” Achava said, curious about his theory.

  Sam took in a deep breath. “We are finding these items in the order that I saw them in the museum.”

  “Excuse me?” Anthea interrupted. “Are you seriously trying to convince us that everything we’re going through is because you saw some things in a specific order? Hah!”

  Sam sighed. “I know what it sounds like.”

  “It sounds like you have a bigger ego than I do!” Anthea laughed.

  “Please let him finish,” Achava said, urging Sam to continue.

  Sam proceeded. “Anyway, I saw the display for the fleece first, then the crown.”

  Khassima looked fearful and curious at the same time. “What display did you see next?”

  Anthea through her hands into the air. “Oh come on! Are we seriously going to entertain this crap? Might I remind you that Sam is the last remaining male team member and he might be trying to gain an advantage over us poor, helpless women!”

  Sam gave Anthea a disgusted look. “Wow. If it’s not your idea, it must be ludicrous. Is that what you’re saying, Anthea?”

  “Enough!” Achava exclaimed firmly. Her golden eyes glowed brighter. “Let Sam finish his statement. So far, it is making more sense than anything I could have come up with.”

  Sam smiled and bowed to her. “Thank you, Achava.”

  Anthea narrowed her eyes as she glared at him. “Alright, Sam. So what was the next item that you laid your magnificent eyes upon in the museum?”

  Sam took in another deep breath, as he looked up and noticed that the sun was setting. “Noah’s Ark.”

  Anthea looked stunned for a brief moment and then she shook her head while walking away from him. She covered her mouth and snickered.

  Achava raised her brow and tightened
her lips. “Sam has been right so far. If he is right about Noah’s Ark, then that means that the crown somehow will lead us to it.”

  “How are we supposed to get the crown of thorns to lead us anywhere?” Anthea asked in disgust. “The most righteous among us can’t handle it, so I’m not going to try!”

  Sam looked at the sky, again. “It’s getting dark. We have a problem. What if whoever hid the crown comes back for it?”

  Khassima looked up as well. “We have another problem. We need some wood to make a fire. Yes?”

  “No,” Sam answered, with a smile. He patted the pack on his back. “I have a couple of lighters, some lighter fluid, and a few small pieces of wood.”

  “Well, it’s nice to see someone prepared,” Anthea said, as she looked around for twigs and other wood.

  Khassima waited for Anthea to walk away, before she leaned in toward Achava. “Achava. Someone had to bring the crown here. Yes?”

  Achava nodded. “I know.”

  “Then how come the crown didn’t affect them the way it did you and Aharon?”

  “You’ve got a point there.”

  Chapter the Sixteenth

  SAM WAS HAPPY THAT HE HAD remembered the items to make a fire, but his problem was where to start it. He couldn’t start it in one of the tombs because of the closed in space. Tombs weren’t meant for camping expeditions and had no ventilation.

  If they set a fire anywhere outside, they could attract the locals, which, if they were in their own time, might not have been a bad idea. It could be trouble in the Bible time they were in. They had to make sure that no one from their current era, would see them. It could set off a disastrous time ripple that could make going back to their own time an impossibility.

  Daylight was almost completely gone as the four huddled close to the opening of the tomb that had the bundle inside. “We can’t light a fire, Sam.” Achava clasped his arm. “It will bring in the locals.

  “I bring everything to start a fire, but no candles,” Sam said to himself out loud. There must be something else he could use. He dug through his pack. He triumphantly pulled out a flashlight with a few extra batteries.