Ascendants of Ancients Sovereign (Worlds of the Crystal Moon, Book 1) (4 page)

Entering the locker room, Sam lay down on a bench in an attempt to quiet his mind while he allowed the doctor to tend to his wound.
Red eyes,
he thought.
What the heck? Was I hit that hard?

“Stop fidgeting!” the doctor barked. “I can’t fix you if you don’t lie still!”

Sam’s face tightened. “Just stitch me up, and get off my back! And you better not leave a scar! The stitches need to be tight, or I’ll do it myself!”

The doctor would have argued, but he did not get the chance. A loud hissing sound, seemingly from nowhere, filled the room. It pierced Sam’s body and reverberated throughout the essence of his soul. A chill slithered up his spine as everyone in the room heard the words, “Your wish is granted!”

The trio exchanged glances. The unspoken question was
WTF?

A moment later, Sam’s eyes shut, and his body began to convulse. Over a minute passed, and still the shaking would not stop. As panic set in, Jerome and the doctor tried to stabilize the fighter, but Sam was too far gone. The needle used to stitch his wound was left dangling from the gash above his brow as Jerome and the doctor’s eyes rolled up inside their heads. A foreign sensation overwhelmed them, and they, too, passed out, and then they collapsed.

With all obstacles incapacitated, the red-eyed announcer appeared in a cloud of smoke beside Sam’s motionless figure. He leaned down and whispered in the fighter’s ear. “I’ve missed you. Shall we see how long it takes before your memory returns, old friend? Can you believe the idiot doesn’t know I’m on to him? I’m far too clever for that.”

The announcer lowered his forehead to Sam’s. “I have plans for us. You simply need to be reminded of who you really are. All will be revealed when the proper moment arrives.”

The red-eyed announcer vanished with Sam’s body.

The Hometown of Shalee Adamson

Austin, Texas

SHALEE, A SHAPELY, BLUE-EYED blonde, pulled into the driveway of an old, rundown house. She rushed up to the front door and walked in without knocking, shouting in a thick, Texas accent. “Hurry up, Chanice! We’re runnin’ late! Our supper reservations are in 30 minutes, and it’ll take most of that to get there.”

A large woman sitting on the living room couch coughed.

“Hello, Miss K, how are you?” Shalee asked. “Are the pain meds still making you nauseous? Can I get you anything? You know me, gotta save the world. Might as well start with you.”

Kelly gave a chuckled cough and lifted her head as she struggled to respond. “I’m sick as a dog, darlin’ girl. Serves me right, I guess.” Again, Kelly coughed. “I should stop suckin’ on these stupid smokes.”

Kelly coughed again. This time blood spewed into her handkerchief. “Thank you for takin’ my baby with ya. She loves you to death, ya know? I can see you’re good for her. You have the kindness of an angel. I do believe you’ll save this here world someday. Yer just ornery enough to do it.”

Shalee smiled. “What kind of a woman would I be if I didn’t help? Shoot, it’s easy to love that little girl. She’s got a good spirit, and she’s downright adorable.”

“Ain’t she though?” Kelly groaned as she shifted to find a better position. “I can’t tell you how much my baby has grown since meetin’ you. That there Big Brothers, Big Sisters program is a genuine godsend. Chanice has said more than once she wished you was her real sister. She admires everythin’ about ya, and she especially loves those outfits of yours.”

Shalee pulled at the fabric of her $200 blouse, smiled and then directed her attention down the hallway. “Come on, Chanice! We need to get going! Do you have on the new dress I bought for you? It isn’t ladylike to be late, you know!”

“I’m comin’, I’m comin’ already! I got it on!” the ten-year-old yelled from the bedroom. “Mother threw up again. I’m almost done cleaning it up.”

Shalee looked around and shook her head. The house was a dump, along with the rest of the neighborhood which had been overrun by gangs. It was the kind of place she had worked hard to get out of.

Shalee’s family, a bunch of self-proclaimed rednecks, had become a statistic, a real-life tragedy. Only two of her seven brothers broke free from the dive they grew up in and made something of their lives. The rest of her siblings followed in their drunken father’s footsteps, shooting up and multiplying like rabbits. They made a bigger mess of things by adding more children to the world, and these innocent babies were growing up without proper role models.

Despite the obstacles put in front of her, Shalee had grown into a confident woman. She still lived in Austin, like the rest of her family, but had put her education to work. After graduating from the University of Texas with honors and began working on her Master’s in structural engineering. She had also landed a position with a prestigious architectural firm where she worked for the last three years. She had grown accustomed to her new life, and she was enjoying success.

Childhood poverty had taught Shalee to appreciate the finer things in life, right down to her exotic, leather, Jimmy Choo clutch. In spite of her eclectic taste for fashion, she never forgot where she came from. She often donated to local charities and sent her mother money on a regular basis—trying not to worry where she would gamble away the money.

Shalee opened the passenger door to her new, midnight-black Lexus with tan, leather interior. “Hop in.”

Chanice plopped down inside the sedan and began to cry. “Momma’s killin’ herself. I don’t understand why she’s still smokin’. It’s horrible! Can’t I come’n live with you, please? I don’t wanna live with my uncle when Momma dies. He’s mean.”

“Come on now,” Shalee encouraged. “Let’s take this one day at a time, okay? You know I’ll do whatever I can to help you. Let’s focus on some happier thoughts, shall we?”

Shalee wiped a tear from Chanice’s face, and as always, the young girl gave a brave smile. “Chanice, I’ll be there for you, no matter what. I love you. Do you understand that?”

“I know ya do,” Chanice confirmed, brushing away the tears. After a bit, the child’s gap-toothed grin found the conversation.

“Well, alrighty then! Since today’s my birthday, what do you say that us clever, little girls go celebrate, eat and shop. Shopping will make everything gooooooooood!” Shalee exclaimed in her best Jim Carrey impersonation. “High-five, little sis!”

“Yeah, I’m starvin’! Happy birthday, big sis!”

Shalee grabbed her iPod and chose a song that Chanice loved.

Lately when I look into your eyes

I realize you’re the only one I need in my life…

Swaying to the music, Shalee grabbed her hairbrush from the center console and used it as a microphone while she lip-synced. Chanice burst into laughter and started dancing in the car while Shalee sang, making up her own lyrics.

My little sis and me … oh, oh,

We don’t know how to describe

How happy we feel inside.

Chanice gave Shalee another high-five, took the brush and made up her own lyrics.

We’ve got butterflies

We’re going to fly higher in the sky

We can become anything we want

We’re like butterflies.

“You got it, lil’ sis! That rocks!”

Around 10 p.m., Shalee walked through the door of her home. She tossed her car keys on the buffet table, kicked off her Marc Jacob shoes and made a cup of warm milk to unwind before heading to bed.

If I could only get some sleep without it happening again,
she thought.
I just need one peaceful night before facing another hectic day of presentations, clients and umpteen phone calls. Thank goodness Mother’s taking care of Pebbles. I’m just too tired to deal with his big ol’ behind tonight.

She looked at the picture of the dog sitting on the coffee table.
What a big boy you are … oh yes, you are,
she thought in her best doggy voice as she stared at the image of the great dane before retiring for the evening.

After changing into her pajamas, Shalee sat on the edge of her bed, fluffed the pillows and then crawled beneath the covers. She had quilted her bedspread, and it was her most prized possession. It was even more prized than her closet full of expensive clothes. To Shalee, making something with her own hands added value, and the pattern she had chosen was adorable. The great dane puppies covering its surface were embossed. The way she had stitched around them made these lovable pups stand out. The padded feel of the blanket was comforting, and she enjoyed passing her hands across it.

Reaching up, she paused as she looked at the shade covering the lamp sitting on the nightstand. More great danes. Just like her blanket, they were frolicking about and covered its surface. When she twisted the switch, the light went out, and the puppies glowed in the dark.

Later that night, not long after Shalee had fallen asleep, her nightmares resumed. There would be no rest tonight. Instead, her eyes began moving wildly behind her lids.

The beings who were a part of her nightmares never revealed their faces. They always presented themselves as silhouettes. But tonight was different. Some of the beings’ features were discernible.

The first was a woman. Her hair was long, silky, dark and flowing. She had on a beautiful gown, and the lace covering her arms allowed her flawless skin to be seen. Angelic wings protruded from her back, and they were tucked against her body.

Behind her, a much larger being who remained undefined had his shadowy arms wrapped around her. A clearly seen dagger was pressed against her throat and its tip had been buried just beneath her skin. A dribble of bright-red blood was running down her neck.

With the tension of the nightmare increasing, Shalee tossed and turned. She unconsciously reached out and pulled her body pillow close for comfort, but it did not help.

The being who threatened the angel did not have a face. Just like her other dreams, his features remained ambiguous, and his eyes were nothing more than dark saucers. A massive army of shadowy creatures of all shapes and sizes was standing behind him. Some were small while others were hundreds of feet at tall and equally as long.

The dagger in the assailant’s hand had an ivory handle, but the blade was strange. The steel it was made from waved back and forth—similar to the way a serpent’s body would undulate and end at a point.

Opposing the angel’s attacker was yet another army. They, too, were silhouettes, but not as dark. They were gray, almost as if there was an aspect of good about them, yet they did not offer the sleeping Shalee a feeling of peace. Again she stirred, pulling the pillow closer.

Amidst the ranks of this gray army was yet another visible being. It was an image of a small girl who wandered between them. And as the dream took Shalee closer to the child, she could see it was Chanice. The child’s face looked vacant of emotion, and she was holding an urn filled with ash. The side of the urn had been engraved—Miss K.

A moment later, Chanice poked her head out from behind one of the members of the gray army. Her expression turned to sadness as the urn fell out of her hands. The vessel disappeared into the nothingness that existed beneath the feet of both armies as a wind swept through the masses. Piece by piece, Chanice crumbled and her remains were carried away.

Agonized, Shalee tried to scream, but she was unable to make a sound. Then as if some unseen being pulled at her, she was forced to face the leader of the gray army. The feeling was strange. It was as if he knew she was there. The majority of his body began to materialize as everything beneath his neck took shape. He was tall, and had on a long, brown, rugged, leather robe. Beneath it, he wore tan leather leggings. They were battle worthy, and over them, black, heavy boots extended high on the calf. His chest was covered with a white shirt that had a low cut neck, and above it, a hood had been pulled over his head, yet his face remained obscure and gray.