The Broken Destiny (10 page)

It had been a long, emotional and drawn-out evening. After a late dinner, Maya and I lay curled up on the sofa beside the large fireplace in the sitting room. We listened attentively to Arriana who was telling us about old Minoan legends. I wanted to learn all about the prophecy and how it tied in to what lay ahead for me – if in fact it was all true. I had already asked what seemed like a million questions.

“In the time of the Ancients,” Arriana imparted. “Before pollution and when technology was clean and pure, Minoans inhabited Earth for a little while. Their technology was extremely advanced and was there to teach future generations the purity of it all. But it wasn’t long before the Gods took it away when the Minoan race become greedy, lustful and power hungry. They had begun misusing their gifts to gain riches and power outside of the city walls as there was no need for such things within.”

Arriana wore a look that I knew only too well. A look of homesickness for a home she didn’t know, of losing something you never had. I sat up as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

“Atlantis,” I said unwaveringly.

“Some say it was,” Arriana confirmed with a wide, graceful smile upon her face.

I listened, wide-eyed and full of curiosity, to tales of a race that had been experimented on during the 1930s and 1940s on Earth – our first generation. The weapon had something to do with a perfect genetic recipe. The Nazi’s had discovered pieces of Atlantis, including a small amount of details of this gene recipe. They had then sought out the descendants of the Minoans for more knowledge – a map to where the secret was stored, but the recipe had been hidden in more than one place. The remaining descendants fled with the last piece of the puzzle to the only place left to them, their home planet, their dying planet – Poseidon.

“To escape, they used something called a traveling mirror, which enabled them to relocate people of Minoan descent to Poseidon – our long forgotten home planet. I am the last pure descendant of the Ancients,” Arriana said proudly. “Our Council members were as powerful as the Gods themselves. They had the power to manipulate the elements. It is said that our technological gifts would have been very dangerous if their power was abused, so the Gods sacrificed and destroyed themselves along with the city. If anyone other than ‘The Soul” entered the city, the spirits of the Gods would be set free to destroy the entire planet. A volcanic eruption sealed Atlantis in a time capsule, burying the city underneath hardened lava.

“So that would explain Earth’s Destruction – someone found Atlantis.” I said in disbelief.

Anaya twitched. “Why would you say that?” she asked.

I shrugged. “Because Earth
was
destroyed.”

“A lie,” Arriana said, confirming all of my suspicions.

My mind was on a train ride toward all the possible answers, to all my impossible questions. I was instantly plotting how I would go back to Earth, find out all I could about Atlantis and what tied me to it, as well as why it was my destiny to find the weapon and keep it safe from our enemies.

“But how is it that you have powers?” I asked politely.

“The Gods knew the time would come when we would need those abilities to survive and to recover that which belongs to our people. Our powers have slowly returned as the time of the prophecy draws near.” She smiled. “I knew the prophecy would come to pass in my lifetime. I have seen our people changing rapidly.”

“So, I have powers?” I asked, tentatively.

Arriana nodded. “Somewhere in that mind of yours, yes.” She tapped her temple.

“They will come when the time is right and when you are able to block out the threats,” she replied, her expression riddled with sorrow. I got the distinct feeling she had an idea of what was coming my way. She inhaled deeply, ready to tell me something very important.

“You see, Ava…” she began.

The door suddenly swung open. Tatos entered first, a gust of wind coming in behind him causing dust to rise at his feet. Next, Enoch stepped inside and the peaceful feeling I had acquired, left me at once. He looked down when our eyes met and I quickly looked away, shifting my focus to the fire hoping the heat would melt away Enoch’s power over me.

“I’m sorry,” he said, looking at me for a few seconds before quickly returning his gaze to the floor.

I turned to look at him.
Does he mean it?
I wondered. When he looked up again, our eyes met and my insides froze. He was almost invading my soul with the blue burn behind his gaze. Everyone kept staring at me, expecting me to accept his apology – I didn’t. I hated him for making me feel so pathetic. I got up and made my way back to Maya’s room. I could feel their eyes on me as I exited the room. It felt like I was walking in slow motion. Maya closed her bedroom door when Enoch started to follow me in, and as I collapsed onto the bed she let out a soft groan of disapproval. I stared up at the sky through the big, round window above the bed, and for the first time noticed the bars across its foggy surface. I swallowed hard against the pain of everything that had happened and was yet to come. Standing up against evil was beyond my understanding.

“I wish I could go home.” I said miserably, tearing up, trying to force the words through the hard lump in my throat. I let another salty drop flow down my face and into my hairline but no relief came with those tears. I had to accept that I was stuck in limbo until someone figured out what to do with me. I had never before felt so alone. Anaya came in silently and handed me my device.

“I thought you might want to call Sam,” she said.

“Thank you,” I replied, trying hard to digest my self pity.

The smell of fresh bread woke me the next morning, filling me with a new found hope.
I have played the victim for far too long
, I thought to myself as I opened my eyes. I lay blinking at the grass roof, thinking that I had to somehow make things work out for myself. “Suck it up,” Sam had said to me the night before. “This is your chance to rid yourself of playing the victim card.” I realized that she was right; I had to suck it up and make him feel disgusted with himself for treating me like that.
Better yet, I shouldn’t give a damn.
When Maya lifted her head from under the covers she was already smiling.

“Is it morning already?” she said through a long yawn, all puffy-eyed and rosy-cheeked.

“Oh, yes.”

She climbed over me, elbowing me in the hip as she lifted herself up, and dashed across the room, white cotton shirt all crinkled, and left the door swinging behind her silently. Subconsciously, I rubbed at my thigh where the dart had struck me the day of the attack, but I refused to dwell on it any longer. I was growing tired of playing the victim. Laying my head back down on the pillow, I inhaled cold air into my lungs while summoning the courage to get out of bed and acknowledge everyone. I knew they would all be keeping an eye on me, watching my every move as they waited for
the Change
. Was it any better than being watched by our keepers? Shivering at the sight of the gray sky, I closed my eyes and tried to imagine tiny drops hitting against the window, tried to remember the scent of rain. Water always calmed me, whether it was in my mind or all around me.

“Get up, you lazy bum!” Maya shouted from the bathroom.

I had not noticed that she had returned. Startled, I dropped my device on the floor. I must have fallen asleep while talking to Sam. I jumped out of bed and made my way toward the bathroom, taking another look at the bed on the way there. Everything about the house suggested that the Minoans were a tall race, which was evident considering the size of Enoch and every other Minoan I had met so far. The bed was so high off the ground that I almost had to jump to get onto it, and when sitting on any chair in the cottage my feet would never touch the floor. I walked over to the basin standing on the tips of my toes to wet my face and peered into a piece of glass that was supposed to act like a mirror. My reflection was slight, but from all the tossing and turning the night before, it hadn’t done my hair any favors. As I wet my hair and combed it flat with my fingers, Maya turned to me. “We’re going to see Kronan today,” she said, her toothbrush dangling from her mouth. “You’ll need to borrow some of my riding gear.”

She spat the white paste into the tiny basin. A dim light illuminated the tiny bathroom, which seemed to be inside the hollow of a tree trunk.

“I love it,” I said cheerfully.

“Huh?” she replied as she vigorously washed her face.

Her eyes widened when she realized what I had meant. She threw a wet cloth at me.

“The bathroom. It’s magical,” I said, wide-eyed in amazement.

“Cool, isn’t it? My dad and I thought…” she paused.

Her eyes darkened in sorrow.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t…” I tried to say. I felt the lump in my throat swell up again and bit down on my lip.

“I’ll be fine,” she said, smiling faintly. “It just takes time, that’s all.” She hung her head. “Sometimes, I think I’ll never get over his death.”

“How long has it been?”

“It will be a year next week,” she said, her voice quivering.

I pulled her closer and hugged her tightly.

There was a gentle knock on the door, before it was opened. “Maya?” It was Enoch. His voice burrowed into my chest, my heart rate suddenly increasing. “We’re all packed and ready to go. We’re just waiting for…” he started.

“We’ll be out soon,” she yelled over my shoulder.

“We’re leaving in
one
minute.” His voice was clipped and riddled with impatience.

“Fine!” she shouted back.

She stomped toward him. I marveled at how I could not figure that man out. He had saved me by pulling me from the water, but he seemed to hate me – he was so mean to me. He made it easy for me to despise him, but I didn’t – I wanted to get to know him instead. What was I thinking?

“We’re getting dressed!” she yelled as she reached the bedroom door, closing it to shut him off from us completely. “Idiot,” she spat, leaning back against the door for a second before jumping up again, almost skipping toward me. I giggled into my hand at how annoyed she was with him.

Dressing swiftly, I pulled the sweater over my head as static electricity made the fine hairs on the tip of my head jump to life.
I should never have cut my hair so short,
I thought. Maya laughed handing me a brush to flatten the spray of hair around my head. The boots Maya had given me were too big, so I decided to use my slim black boots instead, and much like Anaya’s, my boots could fold over my knees; came in handy on cold days. I grinned to myself. I had saved up many coins for many weeks to be able to afford leather. Replicated leather, but nonetheless, I loved gorgeous things – perhaps they made me feel better about myself, a curse in itself. Might have been one of the reasons other girls made my life a living hell. Sometimes, my things were the only things that comforted me when Sam was busy living up to her ‘over the top achiever’ duties.

“Oh no,” Maya said, shaking her head. “They’ll get ruined. We’re going to climb a mountain and…” her voice trailed off, as she headed out the door.

I had begun lacing up my boots when Maya came back in and stood staring at me, her navy eyes scanning my every move like she was studying me. She had a pair of boots in her hand, but decided against giving them to me as I stood pleased with myself. When I saw a strange look on her face something inside me flickered. I wasn’t quite sure what it was, but I felt it, and feeling was better than being numb – for now. Soft footsteps approached, tearing us from a moment I knew I had to get back to with her. She was about to tell me something – I could sense it.

“Girls?” Arriana’s voice called from behind the door.

“Come in!” Maya yelled. “We’re decent, mom.” She gave me a dry smile.

I acknowledged her with a nod. We would come back to it later, I hoped.

Arriana drifted into the room. She held a square container firmly between her beautifully slim fingers.

“I packed you some…”

Maya leaped forward before her mother could finish her sentence.

“Banana seed loaf!” She did a silly little dance.

The force of her overexcited grab almost knocked the container out of her mother’s hands. Before we left, I gave myself one last glance over.

The clothes Maya had given me were completely oversized. I rolled the sleeves up and took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves.