Awakening - Book of Fire (Blood Heritage #1) (46 page)

Thats it! she realized in a sudden moment of clarity. She can feel the life, the balance. She can feel everything. She is a part of everything. What a truly sensuous experience. She opens herself to feel the subtleties of her surroundings. She embraces the wildness, the ravishing beauty of this existence so far from the hands that would change its perfection. This is what the world should be, not the cities, with their disturbing magnetic energies, their radio waves and their pollution. This is what is good and clean and lasting. We must get back to this if we are to survive. The rest will work itself out if we can just get life back to the way it used to be. Back to it's pure and simple state of being.

As Amber soars through the skies, watching the jungle floor for her last destination, the call flooding through her body, out into the surrounding world, she knows they are out there, the wild women, the Ajana. She can feel them. Hundreds taking the form in which they are most comfortable. As they begin to answer her, she feels the power of their presence. The combined potential of their gathering. A phenomenal tide in this sacred place. She has found it, the center of the web, not just a vision this time, the steps painted in the sacrifices of the past. The children always nearby waiting to feel the pleasure of the blood that he gives to strengthen them. Once these were his chosen few, bathed in the raw pleasure he rained down over them. Now they feel the sadness and emptiness of their loss. She calls and they rush to the temple, hoping to taste of his love once again.

As children seek out the approval of a cruel and unloving parent, they cannot accept he has gone. They refuse to believe they must find a purpose of their own. She has no words that can make them understand, their hearts are closed to her persuasions. In her desperation she conjures a vision. She shows them the truth, the past, and the future. She shows them this is not the first cycle of humanity, reveals how he has erased the board and begun again numerous times. She shows them how little he offers to them, how he is merely a shallow illusion of the kind of deity they make him out to be. She shows them his pride, his anger, and his cruelty. She shows them the truth and they can only suffer under its weight. This is going all wrong, this is not how her sisters responded to her before. She is breaking their spirits, taking their purpose and leaving them feeling empty and false. They are the warriors of the Father, Guardians of the temples of blood, they are the chosen, they are special, they will rule the world. Who is she to shake their beliefs. Who is she to destroy their faith. Amber begins to feel her thoughts waver. Is it possible she is doing damage to their lives instead of inspiring positive change? Is she making some kind of mistake?

As she reaches the climax of her message she feels something flash across her mind's eye, a disruption of the balance. She feels him only a moment before he knocks her to her knees. His strong arms tearing at her hair, her eyes, her face. The pain overtaking her instantaneously, as the blade penetrates her back. He isn't interested in a new leader for the tribes, he has taken on that role, and these women serve him well. He was born to rule and she is not welcome here.

They call him the one who should not be, the faceless one, the soul eater. He was born to the father and spared death due to his blindness. His face pale and ashen as the bloodless slaves the father drops at his feet to tempt him. The father offers him power but he knows as soon as he partakes of any of his offerings, death will soon follow. He has learned to survive, to seem helpless and quiet, and to strengthen his skills in the darkness and protection of the trees. The father does not mind a child that is incapable of breeding, seeing to that when he was young. The Father castrated him at the base of the pyramid for his blood sacrifice was not worthy of the others, his blood would only feed the worms and beasts of the earth. He was a creature of ridicule, but he saw the truth early. He knew the Father would not remain, he sensed the potential for his future. And he intended to keep his safe and secure place at the head of the table. He held his clan in submission using their fear and respect for the Father and he doesn't need a stranger coming in to reveal his charade. He claims to be the Father's right hand, the rightful ruler of this jungle, and she is not at all wanted here.

Amber struggles under his weight, she has been taken completely by surprise. When she regains her footing and turns on the man, his face stuns her for a moment. She expected to see the darkly handsome face of the Father, she should have known it was not him for he would have been far more dangerous than this young man. This albino child, his light milky eyes staring at her, through her. He pauses in his attack, the two taking the measure of the other. She can tell he can't actually see, but he can certainly feel. He is guided by the energies and she feels him pulling at hers. For a moment she feels fear, and then his exploration is met by her intuitive response. He doesn't know what he is up against.

He rushes her again and she turns to avert the thrust, his golden dagger glistening in the sunlight, flashing in her eyes. The light catches her attention for a brief instant and his other hand finds its mark against the side of her hip, he pushes and she is set off balance, once again taking a rough fall to her knees. He stands over her and poises the blade in his hand to cut her throat. The anger and fear within her rises into a swarm of energy. The fire coming to her in a rush that sucks the energy out of the air around them. He pulls back at the sensation of his own precious energy being drawn toward her. His heart beat quickening. She can feel the unexpected fear rising within him, he has never seen anything like her before. A spark of recognition burns inside his mind but it doesn't take hold in time.

Despite his fear he thrusts at her again, one last desperate attempt to stop her. Her body is untouchable as his blade can't penetrate the fire around her. Though his eyes can't see her, he sees her clearly in his mind and realizes too late who she must be. Her anger touches him and his heart feels as if it will explode within his chest. He has been spared for so long only to fall at the feet of his sister; she has his power, his gifts, his rage. He has lost this battle before it even began. He only wishes he would have known before he tried to kill her. She hadn't seemed so much of a threat in her human form, her energy nothing more vibrant than any other clan woman. He falls to his knees before her crying out to her for mercy. Begging her to forgive him for his ignorance. He kneels trying to kiss her feet but the flames burn his flesh and he pulls back screaming in agony. Again he falls at her feet, his fear taking over his sanity and his thoughts clouding by pain. The dagger still flashing in his hand, he feels the shame of it and nearly puts it down, but then the knowledge washes over him.

He knows what he must do to appease her anger. He draws the blade deeply across his own throat allowing the blood wash down the temple steps, the daughters below shouting in excitement and bloodlust. In a flash Amber wakes from the trance of the change, trying to stop the blood pouring from him in a rush, wetting the stains of the ages. Her power pouring into him repairing the damage he has caused himself in his rampage of self-destruction. She refuses to become one of them, she won't be a part of this blood lust. He wakes in a state of absolute confusion, his body convulsing in waves of nausea and fear. She has healed him and he is now even more fearful. He stands up and the screaming and shouting below subside to silence. Amber stares at him with as much shock and awe as the onlookers are filled with.

Where once a ghost of a man with a face empty of expression once stood, now a man of great beauty stands looking down on his temple for the first time. His eyes, silken chocolate brown, taking in every detail of the stunning women before him, the vivid scenery and the glowing goddess standing beside him. He slowly steps down the long staircase of the temple feeling the slickness of his own lifeblood before him, proof that he should not be here. Silently they watch as he enters a world he has never seen before. He stands among them at her feet, seeing the world in a whole new light, seeing his purpose in a whole new way and seeing their destiny for what it should have been. The miracle has earned their trust, their attention and for many their worship. She has unwittingly taken the place of the Father God they so desperately longed for.

The waiting and watching over, the time to act upon them. The rebellion begins in that isolated and thriving rain forest, The chosen dethroning the Father and seeing the urgency of their calling.

Word spreads quickly among the Ajana tribes, Amber personally taking it to many and other leaders emerging as the climate shifts within them. Derivan the ghost man has taken his place to lead a quest on her behalf, bringing the Ajana together with the knowledge Amber has shown them. They are realizing how little they have done, how they have all but ceased to exist in their hopes for his approval and acceptance, and now they want to taste the freedom she offers. They feel the power within them and know it has been underestimated for too long. They feel the immensity of their own presence when they gather together with one goal and one mind.

Within only a few days, the world had seen a vast change, the children of the would-be God have begun challenging their bonds. They have unburdened themselves of their quiet fate, they have taken on the immense task of rebuilding a world that is falling into decay and ruin. Some will stand with her, and her cause for change. Others will resist and hold on to the security and safety of a life without responsibility. Some prefer to continue waiting for their God leader to tell them what to do next. The possibility of war seems imminent, though a uniting front has developed and the scattered tribes are working toward gathering, the air is still ripe with conflict. Amber feels hope and wonder at the world that has opened itself up so eagerly to her. She has become a part of something, finally fits somewhere and can make a difference.

James waits for her with baited breath. He worries and frets and he can't contain his fears that something will happen to her. One of the bellhops brings him news on the second day, that she is faring well, that a new wave of understanding is washing over the world, that she brings a new hope and will be home soon. He senses the shift in the air. There is a happiness that radiates from the people that was not there before. There is a brightness in their eyes and a spring in their step revealing their lightness of heart. The burden of servitude released, so many find a new purpose to live. The light has been turned on and the darkness banished from their dreams. Amber has initiated a wave of change.

On the seventh day, she returns to James, exhausted but exhilarated. The others have seen through her eyes, her vision of a future that rests in their own hands. She has shown them there is an answer beyond the end of days. They don't need to accept that destiny, as the final play has not yet been made. The move is in someone else's court for now, though she feels strongly she has won a major battle in the war to come.

The first step has been taken toward restoring order and passion to a world that has forgotten how to live. She has given them inspiration, hope and a new vision of freedom. She has taken down the walls that held them for so long and though there is still a long journey and a heavy battle to obtain any lasting results. She is prepared for a long road and a difficult climb, she feels the path firm beneath her feet, her objective unwavering.

She has her reason to fight, her reason to live, and her reason to succeed. For her it is not about faith, or about freedom, for her it has always been about love. He keeps an arm around her as they take off, beginning the long journey home. In the security of his arms she closes her eyes falling into a restful and dreamless sleep. A smile spreads across his lips. She pulls him closer and they rest feeling secure and content.

In another place, there is another watching over her with approval.

"
Well played, my dear, well played
." He whispers ...."The prophecy is unfolding perfectly, you have followed your fated path without deviation. Your destiny is clear as day in front of you".....

The chosen one has risen on wings of fire, her visions of good intention spreading the infection of chaos and anarchy among the Ajana.

The rebellion has begun, The Anti-Christ lives and the end of days will soon follow.