The Secret of Namana (The Arnaka Saga Book 2)

by Lucia Ashta

  There was no pride or ego involved in Anak’s comment. The light warriors gathered there knew they were an important component of a greater picture. They also knew they were who they were because they were meant to be, because Creator designed them to be exactly as they were. Arrogance had no place in any of it.

  I believe we are the golden ones as well, Ashta said.

  So what does the rest of it mean? Thom asked. With the golden ones, it can open the pyramids to unknown worlds.

  They all thought of the doman they had just studied. They would not receive any answers from it yet. Ashta and Anak shook their heads back and forth, mimicking each other without even realizing it. They did not know what the rest of it meant.

  It is Anak and I who will be able to use the doman to open the pyramids to these unknown worlds. Perhaps the “unknown worlds” refer to the plane Baldub and Carn entered through the black hole in the skies. The unknown worlds may be where the dark extraterrestrials have gone, taking Mana, Dahn, and Marn’s souls with them.

  Maybe this is not only a way we can spread light to the planet and its creatures, but also how we help Baldub and Carn, retrieve the cousins’ souls, and restore balance where the dark extraterrestrials have sought imbalance.

  Anak looked at Ashta excitedly. That would be a synchronicity, just as the universe offers us when we listen and follow the path it opens up for us.

  Anak was talking faster now. We set off from Arnaka to find a way to help Baldub and Carn. It was only ancillary that we find Master Kaanra since we did not yet know what the doman was.

  He paused for a quick breath. We still may not know what the doman is, but it is all coming together. We found Master Kaanra, who found the tree. We found Thom, who found the doman. Now we must find the pyramids to unknown worlds. It only makes sense that it would all lead back to Baldub and Carn and correcting the universal imbalance. The unknown worlds must be where Baldub and Carn are!

  Kaanra slid his master pendant up and down its gold chain while he pondered what Anak was saying. I think you are right. What you say resonates with me.

  Yes, I think this is right, Kaanra repeated. Do you agree, Thom?

  Thom had been looking down at the earth, thinking. Now, he looked up, and he smiled.

  Yes, I agree. Thom smiled not because what they spoke of sounded easy, but because it was a relief to have some idea of what to do when so much depended on their actions.

  So where do we find these pyramids that can open to unknown worlds? Thom asked.

  That, my dear son, is a very good question, Kaanra said. Let us hope we discover its answer before the dark raven does.

  Kaanra repeated the concluding lines of Dann’s final prophecy as the sun slipped behind a cloud far above them.

  But be wary of the dark crow. If he succeeds, the world will suffer the fury of sunless night.

  Despite the muffled density of cloud, the faint caw of a faraway raven rung out in eerie echo.

  There are pyramids everywhere. How are we to determine which of all of them opens to unknown worlds? Anak asked.

  No one answered him right away. It was the same question they were all asking themselves. Finally, Master Kaanra shook his head. When he replied, he spoke while looking off into the distance. There was something they were missing, and he could not identify what it was.

  There must be a way for us to discover which pyramid of all of them it is, Kaanra said. I feel like we are missing something that is right here, something that holds the answer to this question.

  Still, neither Kaanra, Thom, nor the twins could decide where to begin the search. It was futile to walk around aimlessly without guidance, but they also did not want to sit around waiting to figure things out. Learning the answer to this question was urgent. The dark raven sought their trail without rest.

  At a loss of what else to do, they returned to what they did know. They came back to the constant that connected them to the infinite knowledge available to all humanity, when it understood how to listen. The twins stood from their seats on the ground and walked a few body lengths apart from each other and the rest of the group. They did not go too far, however. There was safety in numbers.

  Thom did the same. Only Kaanra remained where he sat. But he, too, was now by himself, able to focus without distraction. Thom walked toward the opposite side of the clearing. He stood for a moment, opening his heart, connecting to the life all around him. Then, he walked straight toward the tree that was closest to him, the one that called out to him the strongest, and he grabbed her trunk and held her.

  Thom breathed in, a moment of pause and presence before rapid movement. Next, in a succession of incredibly quick moves, he tightened his hold on the trunk, and he shimmied up it until he reached the first branch thick enough to hold his weight.

  He straddled his legs around the branch, leaned his back against the trunk, and closed his eyes with a sigh of pleasure. He was at home. This was where he was most at peace and able to be his most amazing self.

  Ashta let out a similar sigh of contentment from her spot at the edge of the clearing. Unlike everyone else, she stood. She held her arms spread out to her sides, and she allowed All of Everything to radiate up her arms. They tingled with life. She took in the beauty that surrounded her. Her heart expanded, and, when Ashta finally closed her eyes, the light of her heart filled her inner sight.

  The forest watched the light warriors with a mixture of curiosity and appreciation, and underlying all of it there was love. In that moment, everything with life within those woodlands was intrinsically connected.

  32 A Great Strength Simmers

  They came to a stop near the pyramid. Marco parked on the narrow access road that allowed them to keep their car nearby—just in case. They had no idea what might happen once they entered the pyramid’s immediate energy field again.

  Elena leaned her forehead against the glass of the passenger-side window. She looked up at the pyramid. She was still dreamy.

  “Are you ready, amore?” Marco asked. There was tenderness in his voice.

  Seeing Elena like this produced a mixture of emotions within Marco. Elena had a glazed look, as if she were there but not quite there at the same time. She was soft and feminine, yet Marco sensed the underlying power and strength that allowed her to connect to the unseen the way she did.

  It took Elena a moment to react to Marco’s question, but she did. She smiled softly and nodded a subtle nod.

  “Yes, I can do this, my love.” Marco didn’t know exactly what she was referring to when she said she could do “this.”

  Elena meant it all. She was steeling herself to do whatever she might need to do. She was mentally preparing to push past her comfort zone if necessary, because what hung in the balance was too important not to.

  Elena was still connected to Ashta, and she thought she might always be linked to Arnaka from now on. It was as if this world and that world were one and the same, as if she and Ashta were one and the same. A constant stream of Arnakan images mixed with Elena’s present life, with Utah’s landscapes.

  Elena looked out at the magical forest that surrounded Ashta and her companions. Elena observed the object whose power Ashta had not yet discovered glowing at her chest, pulsing, growing ready to reveal its secrets. Elena was in Ashta’s body. But when Elena focused on the pyramid that soared toward the heavens in front of her, she could feel her own body also.

  A powerful being in several worlds and in many time lines, Elena was beginning to remember, to awaken to the power that had slumbered, dormant, until this moment. A great strength simmered within her.

  “I’m ready. Let’s go. We have a lot to do,” Elena said while pushing the car door open.

  Marco swiveled to look in the back seat. He and Sitting Bear shared a meaningful stare. Something significant had shifted in Elena. Whatever it was, it was something big. When she spoke, her voice carried an elegance and a muted force that neither Marco nor Sitting Bear had heard her use before.


  Elena was already starting toward the pyramid. She had a mission, and she intended to fulfill it as soon as possible. The men didn’t want to miss what would happen next. They scrambled to get out of the car.

  Marco quickly grabbed the few things they needed and ran to catch up to her. With unspoken agreement, Marco and Sitting Bear let Elena determine their future course of action. The otherworldliness within her announced its presence loudly. The men knew better than to interfere with it.

  Sitting Bear’s skin broke out in goose bumps as they neared the pyramid. The air around them was alive, electric almost. Light and dark swirled in the air, blending as well as oil and water did.

  Ultimately, the light and the dark emanated from the same source, with the similar purpose of soul evolution. Here, at the pyramid, the light and the dark were oscillating, vibrant and exposed. When Marco looked toward the pyramid, he thought he saw the light and dark merging to create a vortex in the sky, both energies longing to connect with the cusp.

  However, despite their identical origins within Creator’s design, only one of them could work with the pyramid at any given time. It would be light, or it would be dark. Only one could amplify through the pyramid, sending a massive projection of itself out to the world, changing the course of all life forever.

  -----

  Just as Marco was watching Elena grow into her power, so too Anak was observing Ashta. He had been connecting to the All of Everything to discover which pyramid, with the doman, could lead to unknown worlds. Now, however, his eyes focused on her, as if they had a will of their own.

  Anak stared, his eyes unwavering, fixed on a beautiful sight. His twin hovered above the ground, her feet removed from the earth’s curves, her arms outstretched to her sides. And, although her entire body radiated strength, it was also soft and supple. She held this power easily and without strain. She was delicate and feminine at the same time as she was powerful in a way that transcended the physical limitations of humanity. A barely-there smile illuminated her face.

  As Anak watched, the woodlands responded to his twin. The forest had been still, but now it stirred. It whipped up a slight breeze that crossed the forest floor. Fallen leaves flew in bursts of movement, and those leaves still on branches rustled in accompaniment. Then the breeze whirled around Ashta, intensifying.

  Despite the flurry of wind, everything else around Ashta stopped. Animals paused their scurrying, their chirping, and their flying. Within cover of the outspread canopy’s magnificence, the shimmer of a new world broke through. The change in atmosphere became too insistent to ignore, and Thom and Master Kaanra also opened their eyes. Thom descended from the tree, and Kaanra stood.

  The two men joined Anak. Mesmerized, they watched Ashta. Her yellow hair flew around her head, at times hovering in still air, at others whipping wildly in response to the wind’s moans. It was an unusual effect. Alternately, Ashta appeared to have an angelic halo and striking serpents attached to her head.

  But even amid the wind’s frenzied movements, Ashta possessed complete stillness. Anak could not tell if she was aware of the effect she was causing or not. Either way, it was escalating. The wind was building strength, its effects becoming more acute. The forest floor beneath Ashta’s hovering figure was constant motion, the wind upturning everything.

  The smaller forest creatures scampered or flew away, and, from a safe distance, they watched. Everything watched Ashta, waiting to see what would happen next. The wind’s excitement was contagious. Anak felt his breathing grow deep and his eyes narrow in sharpened focus.

  The wind formed a funnel around Ashta and began rising further up. The wind paused momentarily when it encountered the overarching tree canopy, but in moments it broke through the resistance and arched upward, free, into the open sky.

  Alarmed that Ashta would again reveal their position to the dark raven, Anak called out to her. The urgent tone of Anak’s voice was sufficient to break the spell. From where she was, connected to what she was, Ashta understood what was behind Anak’s warning. She reined in the wind, which responded instantly. It sunk beneath the treetop veil, and the frenzied air that had whipped around Ashta began to calm.

  Within moments, what had been a sea of swirling motion fully stilled. An eerie silence remained after the roaring wind quieted, until the birds resumed their chirping. Ashta’s feet lowered to touch the earth. Her hair fell into its habitual waves around her head.

  Ashta turned toward the place where her companions stood. Then, she opened her eyes. The men gasped. Ashta’s eyes glowed like the sun.

  Still, despite the supernatural luminescence of her eyes, it was something else that astonished the men. They stared at a glow emanating from Ashta’s chest. Although unexpected, it was a most welcome signal.

  The red glow of the ruby pulsed with every beat of Ashta’s heart.

  -----

  The landscape had encroached upon the ancient stones. Spindly desert plants clung to the pyramid edges, until they couldn’t hold on any longer. Toward its cusp, the pyramid was mostly barren. Alone, it climbed mightily into the sky.

  Elena led the way. Marco thought she would stop at the base of the pyramid as they had last time, but she kept on walking. In her visions, whenever Elena saw Ashta and Anak work with the pyramids as light amplification tools, they usually went within the structures. Elena had never seen Ashta or Anak climb one. Regardless, more than anything, she wanted to climb the pyramid that loomed before her. She wanted to understand it more, to know how to work with its power.

  When Elena reached the base, she didn’t slow. Without looking back, she began her ascent. She needed to do this, even if all she did was touch the top and come right back down.

  She walked with purpose until the walls grew steep. She was grateful for the good treads on her hiking sneakers, which had already saved her from several falls. Now, she was forced to use her hands to crawl and scurry upward.

  For the first time since she stepped out of the car, she stopped to rest and to look for her companions. Marco caught up with her first. His past fears that he would be unable to fulfill his divine mission were gone. They no longer held any power over him. Determined, he had steadily climbed the pyramid behind Elena.

  Sitting Bear wasn’t far behind Marco. Although Sitting Bear was almost as old as both Elena and Marco combined, he had learned to walk in this desert, and he had been walking it ever since. His gait was measured and steady. His feet gripped the rock expertly, propelling him forward. When he reached the twins, he was no more out of breath than they were.

  Marco squatted next to Elena, squeezing her hand. He wasn’t entirely sure what was going on. He showed his support silently, without interrupting the connection she obviously still held.

  Neither Marco nor Sitting Bear asked what exactly they were doing. They both knew Elena was headed to the very top of the pyramid. The climb looked treacherous, especially toward the pinnacle, but they would be able to make it, and they didn’t question the path she was choosing for them.

  When they stood to resume their climb, Elena didn’t move to the front to lead them. They would finish the climb as a team. Together, they tilted their heads up and set their sights on their goal.

  The pyramid survived as a vestige of the passage of time. Memories of many generations of births and deaths had wilted and eventually died in the scorching sun, and yet the pyramid still stood.

  Elena, Marco, and Sitting Bear had sensed the power of the pyramid long before this moment. Now, it called them forth. It urged them upward, spurring their burning muscles to take just one more step, and then another, for soon they would reach the capstone that hadn’t moved since Thunder Gods reached out to make that connection between divinity and humanity.

  33 Follow the Ruby

  Ashta untied the cord that secured the ruby around her neck. As they had done when they studied the doman, the light warriors sat on the ground and formed a circle. They leaned forward over the ruby Ashta held out for them to see. It al
l but filled the palm of her hand.

  The ruby no longer glowed from within as it had when Ashta wore it, but it sparkled every which way. Over many lifetimes, the ocean’s currents shaped natural facets in the ruby, and these caught the light and then sent it out again in an array of prisms. The sunlight hit the ruby just right, dispersing red-tinged light to color the undersides of the forest trees in an array of twinkling patterns.

  Hidden from sight, fairies secretly watched, and, when the ruby produced its light show, they could not resist it. They abandoned their hiding places to dance in celebration of the unexpected beauty that colored their forest. They held hands and danced animatedly in a circle.

  The light warriors stared at this performance, equally captivating because of its flamboyant gaiety and its unexpectedness. It was rare for the fey to allow humans to see a display like this.

  One fairy left the circle and walked straight up to Thom. She climbed onto his leg, held onto the sleeve of his shirt, and leaned forward to examine the source of their delight. She squealed, and the light warriors strained their ears to hear the high-pitched sound. The fairy’s excitement was loud enough for fey ears though, and the other fairies paused their dancing, curious.

  Fairies are cautious with people. They only approach those human beings that understand the sanctity of the forest realm. It was Thom’s presence that initially convinced the most brazen of the fairies it was safe to come over to quell her curiosity. Now, the other fairies eyed the wildest among them as she jumped up and down on Thom’s leg, clapping her hands. She waved the rest of them over.

  The dance circle forgotten, the other sprites approached guardedly, eying Thom’s companions suspiciously. They were instantly comfortable with Thom, and after a few moments of deliberation, they concluded it was safe for them to interact with Kaanra and the twins too. Once they made their decision, a gaggle of giggling fairies ran toward the light warriors, climbing them for a better vantage point to see what all the fuss was about.