The Secret of Namana (The Arnaka Saga Book 2)

by Lucia Ashta

  Thom was a white wizard who employed only light in his magic, working always for the betterment of all life. The illusionist used the dark magical arts. Greed, dominance, and general ill intent controlled his heart. If a man of such darkness reached the doman first, he would inadvertently destroy it. The doman was an object of great power and exceptional light. It would destroy itself rather than let the darkness utilize it for evil.

  It was imperative that Thom reach the doman first. The fate of humanity depended on this one feat, and neither Thom nor the twins realized it. They were entirely in the hands of their prodding guidance, urging them on to fulfill their destinies and to save the world.

  19 An Enchanted Bird Song

  Master Kaanra, isolated from other human beings, woke to a delightful day in the forest. Accustomed to beginning the day’s activities with the sun’s first rays, he allowed himself an unusual luxury. He lay in his improvised bed at the base of the tree the stars had led him to, while the soft sunlight of the morning filtered in through its wide canopy.

  There was nowhere else he needed to be right then and, for the first time in decades, he chose to skip a dawn moving meditation. The ancient ritual helped center and connect him to what he deemed important in life. He had no specific reason for deciding to skip the meditation today. If anything, he had more time than ever to move through it slowly, enjoying each pose. But he just did not feel like it, and this was reason enough for the wise old man. He learned long ago that rigidity was dangerous.

  Kaanra remained within his blanket, content with the easy indulgence he was affording himself. He was warm and snug, and his aged body was grateful for the unexpected rest after days of walking in search of the appointed location. The surrounding forest life contributed to his pleasurable rest, emphasizing the setting’s idyllic nature. Birds whistled the most beautiful songs Kaanra had ever heard, and he began to suspect they were intended for him specifically. He was right. Birds perched on branches above Kaanra and sang, delighting in the appreciation this man afforded their music.

  Small, furry animals of the woodlands peeked out at Kaanra, approaching when they perceived the man’s warm heart and safe intentions. Kaanra responded with frolicsome looks, and the animals bounded back and forth to and from him, playing, competing for the man’s attention. Eventually, one squirrel crept, step by measured step, so close to Kaanra that they could touch each other. The man with the kind eyes invited the squirrel onto his blanket, and there the squirrel stayed. The two beings were happy in each other’s company, and the other animals faded away into the background.

  Flowers that had unfurled with the sun’s first light gifted their perfume to the wind. The wind carried its treasure straight to Kaanra, who breathed in the scents of the forest hungrily. A damselfly landed on the old master’s chest, and his heart soared. It brought him great joy to know he was a child of Mother Nature, an integral part of the whole.

  In this same moment, precisely because he was vividly connected to the All of Everything, because he was simply another part of it all, he felt Ashta and Anak. These children of his heart were close, searching for him and the doman. His heart leapt and beat excitedly. He laughed aloud. It was a joyous laughter of celebration, and the squirrel looked at him curiously.

  The twins had found him already? It seemed so improbable that they would find him so quickly when he could have headed in any direction, into any forest or quagmire. Yet they were headed his way; he was certain of it. They were, after all, the golden children of prophecy, and Kaanra had long ago learned that their lives were enchanted. They saw, heard, felt, and knew what others never would in their lives. And now they were on their way to find him.

  Unlike the twins and Thom, Master Kaanra was aware of the urgency in discovering the doman. He knew that by now someone possessed by darkness would be searching for the doman as well. Once an object of such great power returned to the consciousness of humanity, it was just a matter of time before the darkness grew aware of its beckoning light.

  When Ashta and Anak recounted how extraterrestrials murdered the cousins against universal laws, Kaanra understood that an irreparable breach between the worlds had taken place. Darkness was behind the attack, and Kaanra realized that the time for the doman’s safe concealment was over. The doman must awaken from its dormancy.

  The next morning after the twins shared their tragic news, Kaanra called the master council together to speak of the situation. However, he spoke only in general terms with the master council. Afterwards, he and Master Sina discussed further details of Dann’s final prophecy in private. It was for him to know because he was to play a part in the prophecy’s fulfillment, and it was for Sina to know because she was guardian of the secret prophecy. They did not include anyone else at that time.

  In his wisdom, Kaanra understood that all thoughts carried energy. The more energy they gave to the doman, the more readily anyone who tapped into the energy of the universe could feel it, including the dark side that monitored the world’s energy closely. Even unaware of the attacks on his colleagues at the temple, Kaanra knew of the potential danger to the doman.

  He would soon find out whether they had acted in time or not. The fate of the world hung in a delicate balance, in the hands of just a few men and women. Nevertheless, Kaanra had great hope. These were able men and women who had prepared all of their lives to fulfill the destinies laid out for them since before the existence of time.

  Kaanra went within the space of his heart to call out to Ashta and Anak. They must hurry. He would do what he could to help them find him. He had done his job and found the tree. Now they must fulfill their part of the prophecy.

  My children, hurry! There is no time to spare. If you listen, I will guide you to me.

  Kaanra sat up and settled himself comfortably on the blanket with his squirrel companion by his side. Then he began to sing those same songs the birds had shared with him earlier. He let the sounds of the forest echo through heart and mind. He prayed his gifted pupils were listening.

  Ashta, Anak, and Thom were walking when the twins froze mid-step. Once Thom noticed his companions had stopped, he did nothing to distract them. The twins could be connecting to something that would point them in the direction of the doman.

  Thom gave the twins space. He turned away from them, face toward the sun, and stood tall, arms spread wide, eyes closed, and enjoyed how the sunshine warmed his face. The surrounding birds and some small animals stopped what they were doing and looked around them, searching for the source of this new emanating calm. They were drawn to Thom, and a few birds had begun moving closer to him when Ashta called out.

  Our master is guiding us to him! He has found the tree! Ashta closed the distance between her and Thom in a burst of excited movement.

  He is leading us to him through song! Anak said. Do you want to hear his song? It is floating among the forest’s energy.

  Yes, I would like to hear it. Thom was already closing his eyes so he could more acutely listen to the woods around them.

  Our master’s message is subtle, Ashta said, but you will be able to distinguish it from the other sounds of the forest. His songs are like birdcalls, and they say we must hurry, that there is little time.

  Thom’s focus and breathing grew deeper, allowing his consciousness to spread out through the woodlands, listening, searching.

  Then Thom heard it. It was very faint at first, as if he were imagining it, but he was certain it was what Ashta and Anak described. Thom was intimately familiar with the various bird songs of the woods. He could tell what he was hearing was a man’s voice, but the human sound was transformed by such depth of emotion that it sounded very much like the lyrical music of birds.

  Thom’s heart swelled. This temple master must hold great inner beauty to produce such stirring sounds. Thom found himself yearning to find this man, to be closer to his powerful energy. And he was nearby, within the day’s walk. They would reach him before nightfall if he kept guiding them with hi
s songs.

  Thom sang back to Kaanra, through the waves of his mind and heart, with news that they would reach him that eve. Once Thom finally opened his eyes, Ashta and Anak waited patiently for him to show his readiness to move on. The light warriors had to travel swiftly, but there were some things that should never be hurried. Their connection to the All of Everything was such a thing; they never rushed that. Everything else could wait for the all-important divine alignment to become complete.

  I am ready. Thom beamed a luminous smile. Even in the face of darkness, his light shone brilliantly.

  Then let us go, so we may reach our master this evening. He will be very pleased to see us all. Anak sensed Thom’s longing for Kaanra’s paternal energy.

  The three light warriors walked into the sun, which colored the forest with refracting light. Rainbows glimmered and then alighted; they were shimmers of energy not fully of this plane. The warriors stepped toward the muted sound of Kaanra’s enchanted bird song as they walked between the worlds.

  Master Kaanra came to sudden alertness. Squirrel next to him pricked in curiosity at the change in his new friend. Kaanra’s spine grew straighter from his cross-legged seat on the blanket. The golden children had responded to his guiding call. It was incredible! Kaanra was ecstatic to discover they could arrive at his location before nightfall. Time was of the essence now. The world depended on what they did next and on how quickly they did it.

  Beyond Kaanra’s enthusiasm, there was something else: curiosity. Someone else was traveling with the twins, and this person had been able to communicate through the frequencies of the forest. Who could this person be? Ashta and Anak would almost certainly be traveling with someone strong in his light. It was more important now than ever before that the twins maintain a high energetic vibration, which was much easier when surrounded by people who held a similar focus.

  This mysterious person—Kaanra could not tell from the responding song whether it had been a man or a woman—was obviously capable of extraordinary things. Working with the woodland energies in the way Kaanra had to deliver his songs took an uncommon level of skill. Only someone connected to the forest and its creatures at a very deep level could communicate in this way.

  Even Kaanra was not always able to use the language of the birds to deliver his message safely. In fact, he had never been able to do it before. It was his connectedness to the All of Everything that created the timely opportunity for this first.

  The ability to disguise his words was a valuable asset. Too much was at stake to take unnecessary risks. The dark side also searched for the doman, with its spies spread in all directions, hunting wildly for any whisperings that would lead them to it.

  Perhaps this person who possessed the ability to respond to his birdcall was the “master of the forest” from Dann’s final prophecy. Was this possible? Could it be that, without knowing the content of the prophecy, the twins were helping to fulfill an essential part of it? Could they be bringing the master of the forest to the appointed place?

  Kaanra, who had known Ashta since her birth and Anak since he was thirteen, knew the twins were powerful. What they could do constantly surprised him. They could have somehow found the master of the forest needed to fulfill the final prophecy.

  Now, Kaanra could barely contain his excitement, but he found a way. He had to continue broadcasting his songs to the light warriors. He must complete his part in seeing the prophecy fulfilled. He must lead the twins and the unknown one to him. They might only be a few steps ahead of the dark side.

  Hurry, my dear ones. Hurry, Kaanra sang out in radiating waves.

  The twins and Thom heard the master, and they picked up the pace. They were coming.

  Far above, a jet-black speck in the distant skies, a raven swooped and circled, searching for any sign of the doman. Because darkness filled this raven’s heart, he did not hear Master Kaanra’s call or Thom’s response. Their songs traveled on a frequency of light the raven could not access.

  But the raven was nearby, and he had keen eyes and a driving determination to find the doman before anyone else did.

  20 Metamorphosis

  When Elena woke from sleep this time, the sun had just risen. Still lying down, she looked around. She found Marco sitting on his sleeping bag, facing away from her, staring off into the distance. It looked like he had already been up walking around. He was fully dressed, and his hiking shoes were laced up.

  Sitting Bear had stoked the dormant embers of last night’s fire with enough firewood to cook a light meal. Elena couldn’t tell what he was roasting, but he was tending whatever it was with care. He held three sticks above the fire, rotating them slowly. The pyramid towered behind Sitting Bear majestically as he occupied himself with his task.

  A shiver ran the length of Elena’s body as she envisioned a much simpler and more powerful time when connectedness was the norm instead of the exception it was today. Although Sitting Bear wore contemporary clothing, with a wolf howling at the moon screen-printed on a faded T-shirt over worn-out jeans, he still looked the part of the indigenous man. The tight braid he had just redone for the day ahead drew his long, peppered hair away from his eyes. Bright turquoise earrings hung at either side of his face, appearing fluorescent against his dark skin. In this dawn light, his linear tattoos seemed chiseled into his chin.

  Sitting Bear felt Elena’s gaze, and he looked up to meet her eyes. Holding his stare, Elena felt transported to another time. In an instant, it was a place where people lived and roamed freely, honoring the Mother for her sacredness and perfect provision. It was a time when the peoples of the earth only took what they needed—always in gratitude—and never more. It was a time of appreciation for the Mother’s abundant gifts and her indiscriminate giving, of deep connectedness and a rejection of the artificial. Elena found herself wishing that time still existed.

  Sitting Bear rose in front of the pyramid as the representative for his native lineage, of a people misunderstood, censured, and abused. Sitting Bear was strong. He carried the conviction of his ancestors. Sitting Bear stood before the pyramid as his relations had centuries before.

  The power hidden within the pyramid brewed and simmered in response. It recognized who was approaching.

  Sitting Bear was a direct descendant of Thunder Gods, the only one of his tribe to understand the pyramid and use it for its intended purpose. Elena and Marco were the twins of prophecy, reincarnated to rise to the challenge of their destinies. As Ashta and Anak, they used the pyramids effectively. Elena and Marco still had much to learn to discover their full potential, but they carried the seeds within them, and they nurtured them every day.

  The pyramid vibrated and hummed so subtly that only the most attentive animals and plants felt it. Coyote did as he roamed, and he turned his watchful gaze toward the pyramid.

  Times were shifting, finally. There were those that would do everything they could to halt this change, but sometimes there could be no deflecting an unstoppable force. The strength within Elena and Marco was building, as it was within Sitting Bear.

  Some things were preordained. Some things could not be stopped once they were started. The revolution of light had already begun. Its seeds were sprouting at this very moment.

  After a meal of cactus fruit that was surprisingly flavorful, the explorers were ready to begin the day’s adventure, although none of them knew what their next step should be. They looked at each other. They knew their work with the pyramid was significant, even though they couldn’t anticipate what its results would be. Each waited for another to take the initiative until, finally, they all broke out in laughter.

  Life was about to test them in earnest. They all realized this. They were anxious to see what the pyramid would demand of them and if they could rise to meet its challenge. Elena and Marco were especially tense; the memory of demons and wraiths attacking them and their teachers was still recent—if the bizarre and terrifying had descended upon Marian’s otherwise normal home, what could the py
ramid unleash?

  Their unexpected laughter released tension. After all, the situation was comical in some ways. Here were Elena and Marco, who had come all the way from Sedona to find the pyramid—and even farther if they counted that Elena and Marco were originally from Argentina and Italy—and Sitting Bear, who had grown up in the shadow of the pyramid, and not one of them was sure of what to do, despite strong connections to the pyramid and guidance to do something with it.

  They began laughing at the absurdity of it and continued when laughing felt good, releasing some of the weight of the mission. It really did feel good to laugh, and they let go, freely enjoying the lightheartedness. When Elena listened to her companions’ merriment, she forgot why they were laughing in the first place, and that made her laugh harder.

  When her abdomen was sore from so much laughter, she had to stop. The laughter finally subsided. Their searching gazes met again. This time, they did not laugh, but they did not carry the weight they had before either.

  They still had no idea where to begin, but their hearts were unburdened. That made them more receptive to guidance. They had already taken a great step toward working with the pyramid without even realizing it.

  In the absence of a better idea, Elena, Marco, and Sitting Bear set off to circle the pyramid. Sitting Bear was in the lead, marking their path around the pyramid in a clockwise direction.