The Secret of Namana (The Arnaka Saga Book 2)

by Lucia Ashta

  The ruby continued its show for the fairies’ sake. The fairies’ celebration was a lively one and a curious thing to witness. Small creatures when compared to humans, the fairies jumped, danced, and clapped on the light warriors’ laps, all the while looking down at the ruby Ashta still held extended. Meanwhile, the humans temporarily ignored the ruby to watch the spirited spectacle.

  Then something caused the fairies to engage in animated discussion. The sprites spoke among each other in high-pitched tones that were unintelligible to Kaanra and the twins, although the humans tried to make out the quiet sounds nonetheless. The fey seemed to be debating, each of the little ones piping up with an opinion on the matter. Finally, they reached a decision.

  The first fairy to come over to them climbed further up Thom’s body. When she stood on his shoulder, she leaned into his ear and whispered.

  She says the ruby calls us to the water. It is from the water. We need to take it back there, Thom said. The fey had been deliberating whether it was their place to tell the light warriors what they knew!

  The twins’ eyes lit up in understanding. Ashta had shared the story of the ruby with Anak, but not with Kaanra or Thom.

  The waters of Arnaka gave me this ruby. It was on the ocean floor by an underwater pyramid, Ashta said.

  Kaanra’s eyebrows rose. He did not know of any underwater pyramids in or around Arnaka.

  The water floated the ruby in front of me until I realized the water wanted me to take it. When I extended my hand, the water placed the ruby in it. I have worn it over my heart ever since. But I have never seen it glow.

  The fairy whispered in Thom’s ear again.

  She says we should follow the ruby to the water, Thom interpreted.

  Kaanra spoke up next. Show the fairies the doman. They may be familiar with it. It is an object of the forest.

  Thom nodded his assent. It was a good idea. He said something to the fairies in their tongue that caused them to turn abruptly solemn and serious. They understood the stakes in this ongoing war of light and dark as well as the light warriors did.

  Thom removed the doman from within his cloak, and he held it out for the fairies to see. The fairies let out a few muted oohs and aahs and congregated on Thom’s lap to get a better look, but they soon grew still and reverent, staring wide-eyed at the doman. Then the fairies did something curious. They closed in on the doman, one respectful step at a time, until they formed a circle around it. The fairies positioned themselves on Thom’s lap so they could all reach the doman, and then they each placed one small hand upon it. When they touched the doman, they pulled their wings back, out of the way, and they bowed their heads in honor. Clearly, the doman was a precious object of power to them as well.

  Petite hands covered the circumference of the doman, caressing its smooth and shiny brown. The fey remained like that for a long time, showing the light warriors that fairies could be still when they chose to, though they infrequently were. They were ordinarily too lively to slow down much, but the doman was something both of this world and another.

  The humans watched. They did not interrupt. But when the fairies began to stir, the light warriors were excited to learn what the fairies knew about the doman. Thom and the same fairy conversed again. They went back and forth a bit, until Thom looked up at the twins and Kaanra.

  She says they do not know how to use it, but they know it will show itself to us when it is time. It was the same conclusion the light warriors had reached about the doman.

  She also says we should take it where the ruby leads us. Once we take the doman to the right place, it will do what it is meant to do.

  They call the doman Namana. None of them had seen Namana before, but they had all heard of it. It is part of their people’s lore. Their grandparents told their parents about Namana, and their parents told them about Namana. It is important. It is one of the forest’s legendary treasures.

  With the fairies’ gift of knowledge, the light warriors would take the ruby back to the water, and there they would discover what Namana wanted to show them.

  Ashta’s ruby was ready. It had not completely stilled since it first stirred as the twins were leaving Arnaka. It now glowed softly at Ashta’s heart center, a vivid reminder of the magic that accompanied the twins on this journey. Both the essences of the forest and the waters rooted for a victory of the light.

  Although everyone gathered there understood the urgency of the light warriors’ mission, the travelers decided to delay their journey toward fulfilling Dann’s final prophecy until morning’s first light. They would travel more easily with rest and sunlight. Now, they indulged in revelry, for this moment in time only came once.

  They celebrated the coming together of human being, fairy, and object of power. Fairies, perched upon humans, danced into the evening under the tree-filtered light of a brilliant moon. The whole of the forest delighted.

  They did not build a fire as a concession to the roving threat the dark raven posed. Other than that precaution, their hearts were open, unknowingly preparing for what they would need to do next.

  -----

  The final climb toward the top was precarious, but they managed. Elena, Marco, and Sitting Bear dug their feet into the dirt and sliding rock to keep themselves in place, and they leaned their upper bodies forward. The balance they struck was tenuous, but it would do for now. They reached out to touch the capstone.

  In unison, three hands came down on the pyramid’s crown. Then everything around them changed in a spiral of disoriented confusion. They tumbled down, down, down, in the darkest black of a moonless night.

  34 The Way of the Fey

  Morning announced its arrival with habitual colored splendor. The woodlands woke early, bustling with excited movement, its creatures anticipating the light warriors’ resumed journey. Even so, the twins, Thom, and Kaanra remained serene. As usual, they began their day with intention and vital presence. Seated on their blankets with the peace of slumber still draped around them, the light warriors closed their eyes. Today, they were drawn to connect with the elements—the air, the water, the earth, and the fire—that both surrounded them and were within them.

  As Ashta felt the earth pulse through her, her heartbeat thumped rapidly. She knew this day held the potential for great change. The ruby at her chest was warm. It too anticipated what the day would bring. But unlike Ashta, the ruby realized what was ahead, and it was eager. It urged the light warriors on, and, soon enough, each of them answered the call to individual readiness.

  Thom, Kaanra, and the twins opened their eyes. They stood and gathered their few possessions. Then they looked to Ashta to show them what to do next.

  But it was not really Ashta’s guidance they sought. Rather, it was the ruby that glowed softly at her chest, vibrating with an inaudible hum. The fairies had told them the ruby would guide them. It was the ruby that glowed with power and a connection to other worlds and times, where present and future were indistinguishable.

  Anak, Kaanra, and Thom gathered around Ashta with the same silent question voiced in their eyes: Where do we go? But Ashta, as connected to the All of Everything as any human being alive at this time, was confused. She could not understand what the ruby was showing her.

  The ruby pushed down on her chest. It felt heavy, like a boulder, seemingly pushing her heart center in on itself. It felt suffocating, and Ashta deepened her breath. Instead of indicating an external direction—north, east, south, or west—the ruby marked an internal one: Within. Why would the ruby ask her to go within herself when her twin and other companions could not follow her there, and when there were no pyramids contained within the space of her heart?

  Ashta did not understand, and she began to swoon beneath the confusing indicators and the pressing weight on her heart. The ruby glowed brighter, despite Ashta’s current physical instability. Its glow continued to intensify with each heartbeat, until her heart felt like it could not take it any longer. Her vision began to cloud, fog creeping in
around the edges like a stalking predator. Then, darkness blotted out all sight from her vision, and she fell back into Anak’s arms.

  Alarmed, the fairies rushed over. Anak laid Ashta’s limp body on the forest floor, her head resting in his lap. He caressed her hair as three fairies climbed on her. The fairies examined Ashta’s body, and then the same outspoken fairy that talked to Thom yesterday motioned him to crouch down.

  The scene was humorous to Anak despite his concern for Ashta, the immediacy of their mission, and the dark threat that roved, searching for them without rest. A woman lay on the forest floor, her body elegant and graceful. Her lips were slightly parted; blonde hair framed her face; and her chest rose and fell in rhythmic breath. It was as if she were an angel that fell in mid-flight across the heavens.

  Several fairies, minute creatures with fluttering wings and sparkling, feisty energy, walked across her still, lithe form. The diminutive creatures appeared to walk across the body of a giant.

  The fairy that seemed to set the pace for the pack was named Leva, and she stood on Ashta’s shoulder. With one hand on her waist, Leva used her other hand to motion to Thom. One petite finger crooked back and forth, beckoning Thom down to hear what she had to say. Leva’s wings fluttered in solemn excitement, and Thom indulged her request.

  The wizard of the forest crouched down low, and then even lower, like a shrinking giant. He leaned over Ashta’s body, and the fairy reached up on tiptoes. Then the fervent whispering began.

  Leva had lots to say, and, when she finally finished, a look of comprehension descended upon Thom’s face. Anak was encouraged. Thom reached his hand under Ashta’s shirt, and he pulled the ruby out so it did not press against Ashta’s heart center anymore. Thom did not unfasten the cord from Ashta’s neck, but he held the ruby as far away from Ashta’s body as the cord allowed. Then Thom waited. Leva waited. All the others watched and waited too.

  Shortly thereafter, Ashta began to stir. Several heartbeats passed, and Ashta fluttered her eyelids open. Though stuporous, she looked curiously at Thom perched above her, holding the ruby aloft.

  The ardent energy of the ruby made Ashta collapse. The ruby wants to show us the way. When Ashta did not understand its directions right away, it showed her more strongly. But the burst of energy the ruby emitted was so strong that Ashta’s body could not handle it, Thom finally explained.

  The other two fairies had already climbed down from Ashta, but Leva made another round of Ashta’s body, examining her. She walked onto Ashta’s face to peer into her eyes. Whatever Leva saw within Ashta’s eyes excited her. She ran to Thom’s ready ear, where she whispered again. Then Thom gently lowered the ruby to Ashta’s chest.

  The fairies and the light warriors watched Ashta raptly as she adjusted to having the ruby immediately above her heart again, but, all was well, and Ashta was soon able to sit up, though she leaned against Anak for support. The ruby pulsed beneath Ashta’s linen shirt. Its glow faded in and out in a consistent pattern, only slightly muted by the covering fabric. The ruby was waiting for them.

  The ruby wanted the travelers to return to its birthplace. When Ashta suggested they begin their return to Arnaka’s waters now, the ruby pointedly affirmed their intended location.

  Memories of their previous return home flooded Ashta and Anak. Last time, as they came into Arnaka and the first Arnakan pyramid popped up on the horizon, an unexpected bend in space propelled them from where they were to the pyramid in mere moments, shattering the ordinary limitations of both the human body and the world it lived in.

  Ashta and Anak looked at each other. Even though they had not experimented with this kind of space warping since then, they would certainly explore it now if it were just the two of them. But this was not an option. Thom and Kaanra needed to come with them, and the doman needed to accompany them on this journey to Arnaka as well. How would something like space-warping affect the doman? They did not know.

  The twins could not use their angel wings either for similar reasons. Besides, they had not seen their wings since the time of battle, and they still knew little about them. No, they would have to walk back. It was the only way right now that Thom, Kaanra, and the doman could safely make the journey with them.

  Ashta and Anak released an audible sigh in mastered synchronicity. They resigned themselves to the long journey that would return them to their island home.

  There is another way, piped a small, squeaky voice in the space of their minds.

  Ashta looked at the fairies’ emissary that sat on Thom’s shoulder. But Leva looked just as bewildered as Ashta at hearing the telepathic voice.

  The tiniest of the fairies stepped forward. He was shy, slight in stature and personality. But he had an important idea, and he found the courage to speak when he understood what the light warriors planned to do. He had been listening to their thoughts, a particular talent of his, though he rarely spoke of it to others.

  The timid voice continued. It was hesitant. Human being and fairy alike stared at him, and the fairy trained his eyes on the ground. There is another way, he repeated.

  Anak smiled in encouragement. It was moving to see the emotion and courage coursing through this little sprite. Anak reached his hand out to him, and the fairy startled. He had not seen Anak’s smile or his hand until it was right in front of him.

  The fairy looked into Anak’s eyes, and Anak was alarmed to discover fear in the little one’s gaze. However, the fear quickly subsided, the fairy gathered his courage, and he walked onto Anak’s hand. He held onto Anak’s finger while Anak repositioned his hand so the fairy could have a clear speaking platform. Encouraged, the sprite’s voice rang out in everyone’s minds, solid and strong.

  We fairies can move through space in a way that does not use time. You could arrive at the ruby’s destination immediately, and Brazzon might lose your trail.

  It was Kaanra and Thom’s turn to exchange looks. The light warriors had not mentioned the dark raven’s identity. It was becoming abundantly clear that the fairies had their own source of accurate information.

  There are four of you, but there are many of us. I think we will be able to do it. We could send you through space.

  The fairy looked around him to see what the others thought of his idea. As he gauged their reactions, his chest puffed out in satisfaction. The fairies were already speaking excitedly among themselves. They were little, but they were strong, and they may able to pull this off.

  And Namana? Will it be safe? Thom asked.

  Now the speaker looked to his peers for a response. He had not considered this, and he did not know. The other fairies did not know either, and they turned to look at Leva, their natural leader.

  Leva considered the issue while she dangled her legs from her seat on Thom’s shoulder. She swung her feet back and forth in thought, and then she had it. She knew the answer.

  Yes! Namana will be okay! It can make the trip! It is a matter of what essence is within Namana. Like us, Namana is made of the forest. It carries the essence of the forest at its core. If we, who also carry the essence of the forest at our core, can make the journey safely, then so can it.

  The fairies celebrated Leva’s logic and the solution the littlest among them had found to the problem. The fairies cheered. Anak lowered his hand so the smallest fairy could join in the celebration, and the others swarmed Anak’s hand, raising the fairy onto their shoulders. They hoisted him high, honoring him and his idea. The celebrated fairy blushed at the attention he clearly enjoyed.

  The light warriors looked on, amused. The fairies’ lives seemed to be a continuous discovery of reason for jubilation. It was a beautiful way to live the present moment to its fullest. Finding reason to celebrate everywhere, life was replete with happiness.

  When the fairies finished, they gathered to discuss among themselves. Their energy shifted, and they focused on the importance of what they were to do. Although they did not mention it to the light warriors, the fairies knew what they were about to
set in motion would displace a considerable amount of energy. When the fairies traveled through space this way, disappearing in one spot and appearing in another within moments, they did not disturb the folds of space or time greatly. They were little and their density was slight.

  Relocating four human beings, however, would be quite a different thing. The fairies knew transporting human bodies would likely create a substantial ripple in the fabric of space, a ripple large enough for Brazzon to see if he was looking. But there was nothing the fairies could do about it but hope for the best and put their energy toward creating a positive outcome. Like the light warriors, they knew the energy of their thoughts and emotions contributed to the creation of the future.

  Leva, aware of each fairy’s natural ability, divided the fairies up according to how they could best use their combined skills. Their preference was to hold hands, forming a complete circuit of energy around the human beings, but that was not possible. The humans were too large.

  Leva ordered the human beings to come as close together as they could, and the light warriors moved toward one another until their knees touched. The travelers sat cross-legged, with their bags, swords, and anything else they had with them strapped to their bodies in hopes that the items would transfer with them. Ashta sat next to Anak and Kaanra, and she reached out and held both of their hands. Anak and Kaanra repeated the gesture with Thom.

  They held onto each other tightly. It was important to move together through space as one block of energy, reappearing in the same place at the same time. They knew there were risks to traveling like this, but they were risks worth taking. Time was vital, and they had to accomplish their mission, whatever exactly it was.

  Already connected to each other physically and by the circling energy that linked them, in unison, the light warriors released waves of gratitude to the fairies and to the forest. The fairies received their thanks, but did not stop what they were doing. Now that they knew what to do, the fairies made ready to do it right away.