Called

by E J Pay

  “What do you mean?” I ask her.

  “I was once as you are, Evelyn. I was a human being who lived on land and walked and ran and loved. But that was so long ago for me. I have been in this state for thousands of years, the slave of humans and two-worlders alike. They all wanted the same thing. They all wanted my power in one way or another to rule the world. I thought that by casting myself into the sea I would be able to escape that burden. But I was mistaken.”

  “I am so sorry,” I say, amazed by what I am hearing. The power source is human, is a two-worlder. “Is there no way to free yourself?”

  “There is a way, Evelyn, but I have never met someone willing to do the task.” Her words move sadly, searchingly through me, making my spine tingle in anticipation. Whatever the task is, will I be prepared to do it? I know that this is what all of my dreams and urges were pushing me toward, but I also know I still have a choice.

  “Take the bottom book from the table, Evelyn,” she says.

  I go to the side table I have seen so many times in my dreams, and pick up the book that has laid there for so long. The book is bound in red, with gold lettering almost burning its way out of the spine. Atlantia, it reads. A long, golden bookmark hangs from the pages and I open to the place it holds.

  “Read it aloud, Evelyn. I want to be able to hear the words again.”

  My eyes move down the page to a passage that is underlined in black ink. As I read, the words evolve from some kind of Ancient Greek hieroglyphs to beautifully scripted English.

  The one who lives as the stone once lived must one day give her life.

  She lives to die for such is fate and the ending of all strife.

  The sea cannot see settled days until this offering,

  Is laid before the silent stone as peace for all to bring.

  But such a sacrifice indeed cannot be compelled,

  For it is by choice that all is given and all law upheld.

  I close the book and rest it on the table. The words are no surprise to me. I have known for years that I will die if I reach out to touch the glowing orb in front of me. She is silent once again, allowing me to feel all that she feels. I see her life in the glowing water before me. I see the baby girl born with magic living inside her. A powerful magic bestowed by a curse. I see her as a child, long and dark wavy hair bouncing on her back as she runs with her brother down a grassy hill, her white robe blowing in the wind. Then the picture changes to show her as a young woman wrapped tightly in the arms of the man she loves. She is kissing him fervently for she loves him with all of her heart. I feel it all.

  Then I see the same young man betray her. He is pointing to her as he receives money from a purple-robed man who stands by his side. The source of so much power, so much potential for love and happiness, is chained and put on display. For years she is forced to give her power to several different owners. Until one day she sees an opportunity. She focuses inwardly, her eyes closed as she hums a tune she remembers from her youth. The melody fills the water around me. It is deep and moving, like the currents of ocean around me. I feel the music in the water, speaking to me.

  I see the young woman humming her tune. Her hair catches fire, but she pays it no notice. Soon she is entirely engulfed in flames, still humming her tune to herself. She burns until she explodes in a radiant display of light. Then there she is, the glowing, magical sphere that I have come to know and recognize from my dreams. She is no longer chained, can no longer be touched by human hands.

  I am silent for a moment as I take in her history. All of its pain and suffering. Her yearning for complete freedom. She finally speaks to me again.

  “You see, Evelyn, the only way I can be freed is if you agree to give your life for mine. That is the only thing that can outweigh the suffering and loneliness I have endured. Several two-worlders have come to my home. They too had the ability and power that both you and I possess within, but they only wanted power. Greed, power, money. That is all they have ever wanted. Are those the things you want too, Evelyn?”

  Of course those aren’t the things I want. But I do want to live with my parents again. To have time with the father I have really never known. I want to live. But I know that if I don’t do as she asks, I will be handing her over to the enemy. Ceto will take her power and ruin the world. My parents will be killed. So will countless others. I won’t be able to live like that, knowing that I could have stopped her and saved all of those people. I know what I will choose.

  I have already chosen it so many times.

  Voices echo from down the hall. This time I can distinguish every single one of them. Ceto, Gwen, my father. They all burst into the room with an army of two-worlders right behind them. Ceto and Gwen scream at me to stop, but my hand is already on its way. My father hovers silently by them, watching me reach for my destiny. He knows what this means for me. He also knows why it has to happen. I see sadness in his eyes. But I also see something else. Pride. Pride in me.

  “I love you, Evelyn.” He whispers it, but it is the most penetrating thing that I could hear. I needed to hear it.

  “I know. I love you too, Dad.”

  Gwen reaches out to grab my arm, but she is too late. My fingers brush the swirling ball of light in front of my face. She is warm and inviting. I reach further until the warmth turns into burning. So much screaming is in the room it is amazing how peaceful I feel about my decision. Then, with my arm raised up to the light, my fingers brush a cold and hard stone.

  Light explodes into the room, pushing back everyone but me. My fingers wrap around the stone, the room grows silent, and for the last time in my life I cannot breathe.

  End of book one.

  Trapped, Book 2 in the “Called” Trilogy

  Trapped, Chapter 1

  “Evelyn!” I hear my name fading in the distance, screamed out by half a dozen people in a battle undersea. The voices fade, my mind goes black and I struggle for breath.

  Fire fills my lungs as I try to breathe. Breathing hasn’t been such a painful chore before. It’s sharp and stinging in my chest, and stabbing pains are striking at my sides. But air is coming in. It isn’t the feeling I expected when I touched the Atlantis stone. In my dreams as I’d reached through the water to grasp what I felt was my destiny, I knew I could no longer breathe. But I thought that drowning would feel more like my chest caving in on itself. Like all the air was being burned out of me and I was collapsing from the inside. It wasn’t ever in my dreams; the actual drowning. But I had always imagined how it would be when it finally happened. I feel the burning I envisioned, but not the collapsing.

  I also feel something different around me. The cool, swirling waters from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean have been replaced by something warmer, dryer. I try to steady myself, slow down my thoughts for just a moment so I can look at what is now around me. I turn to look for my father whose proud and sad eyes were the last thing I registered before reaching out for the pearlescent Atlantean stone. But a large olive tree has taken his place. Its branches are wide and outstretched as though they want to wrap me in an embrace. A brief shudder tingles its way down my spine as I think of those scratchy arms cutting my body and clothing, trying to hold me close.

  The water I was floating in is gone. Nothing is floating, groundless around me anymore. Everything is motionless but for the occasional breeze making everything sway as it moves across the dry earth.

  My feet are planted firmly on the ground and I turn to survey the changed landscape. I feel something prickly on my feet. I look down to see that dried grass is scraping against the leather sandals which have replaced the underwater shoes I was wearing just moments ago. Instead of battle armor, I am dressed in light linen robes of some kind. My body is glistening with sweat as though I have been running. That must be why my lungs are burning and I am so out of breath.

  “Pearl!” I hear a young voice call out and I turn to see where it is coming from. A very short distance from me, a young boy with dark, curly hair is starin
g straight at me. He is just down the hillside from me, standing, also breathless, in the long, golden grass. He is calling to someone I cannot see.

  “Pearl!” He says again, “You’re it. You’ve got to get me now!” My body remains still as my head swivels around from side to side to see who he might be speaking to. With a roll of his eyes, he jogs toward me. “Pearl,” he grabs my arm and gives it a gentle shake, “are you okay? Do you need to take a break or something? Or are you just trying to get out of being the titan this time?” He gives a short chuckle like he knows he’s caught me in some kind of sneaky act. When I don’t answer, his eyes soften and his voice registers concern. “Hey, for real, Pearl. Are you okay?”

  I blink several times, trying to understand what is going on. Why is this boy talking to me like he knows me? Why does he keep calling me Pearl? I look around, frantically trying to recognize anything in my surroundings that might help me understand what is happening. Nothing registers, nothing at all. Until…

  I turn slowly to face the boy who is still holding my arm. He is only ten or twelve years old. His skin is golden brown and his eyes are a green/brown version of hazel. His hair is thick and full and his face is familiar. I know I’ve seen his face before. In fact, I Know I’ve seen this moment before. Only a short while ago I was seeing this same scene through the eyes of the Atlantean stone. The Atlantean Pearl.

  I stumble backward a few steps, my head swirling with the impossibility of what is happening. As I look down at my own hands, I confirm for myself that they are changed. Rather than the rough skin and deep tan I have acquired over the past several months living so much in the ocean, my hands are now soft and small, similar in color to those of the boy in front of me. I reach my hand down to my stomach and run my fingers over my smaller waist and smaller chest. My hips are smaller, my legs are shorter, everything is different, more like it was when I was a preteen. I reach my hands up to my hair. Instead of the long, straight braid I had been wearing in the battle, I feel thick, soft curls. I pull a section forward in front of my eyes to have a good look at what is growing out of the top of my head. It’s black. My brown hair is now black.

  I’m not myself anymore. I’m someone else.

  I look up to meet the eyes of the boy in front of me. This is the boy I saw in the moment I touched the pearl. He, this is the first memory she showed me. “Pearl,” he says again, his voice very gentle and a bit unsure, “I don’t’ think you’re doing okay. We need to get you home.” I slowly nod my head and let go of my hair. He reaches his hand out to me, and I take it, knowing instinctively that he is a safe place. As soon as our fingers touch, something registers within me. Brother. Twin. Domideus. Dom. This is the pearl’s brother. Her twin. Pearl is who she is and what she became. Pearl is who I am now. As I followed dazedly behind him – my brother, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other, her voice enters my mind, filled with a search for freedom.

  “You have come.”

  Acknowledgments

  Here’s a true story for you: you don’t get through anything in life on your own – especially not the big stuff. Yes, there is A LOT to be said about perseverance and success despite difficult circumstances, but even in those instances, there are many who have a hand in helping us succeed. For me, there are several individuals who have made a huge difference in this self-publishing process. I want to take a moment to acknowledge and thank them here.

  First of all, TJ Mackay. TJ is the owner of InD’Tale Magazine, a magazine dedicated to independent publishing and authors. She has a wealth of information and blessed me by her guidance throughout this process. She read my manuscripts several times and gave me the best advice each time. Thank you, TJ, for your time and devotion to this work.

  As I learned about how to make this book happen, I sought advice and experience from others who have walked the path. Erin Huss, author of many novels and series, was SO KIND to give me loads of advice. She is in the business and was so generous with me. She gave me thorough and valuable advice and encouragement. Thank you, Erin, for taking the time to help a new author grow.

  Kristen LePine was introduced to me by a friend. She is an author herself and is several steps ahead of me in the self-publishing world. She spent time with me on a long-distance phone call to share the things that have been most helpful to her. Thank you for your help, Kristen.

  I LOVE grammar, punctuation, spelling, and a million other things that go along with good writing. I even pay my kids when they find printed grammatical errors. Fortunately for me, Penny Friday Baker of Baker Blooper Editing REALLY loves these things. She was AMAZING at catching everything that needed to be adjusted to make my novel spectacular. Thank you, Penny, for your dedication to the editing of my novel.

  I LOVE MY COVER!!!!!!! I love it! I love it! I love it! But I love Mindee Thyrring of PostModernLaundry.com even more for designing it. Mindee’s guidance and questions along the way helped me to convey what I was looking for in a cover. She realized my vision flawlessly while working within my budget. Thank you, Mindee. Here’s to many more!

  Kara J. Miller has been a HUGE lifesaver as I have worked on growing my business. She is a blogger and business owner herself and answered countless texts and questions from me. She understood my drive to make my vision happen and guided me through. Thank you, Kara, for your constant willingness to help a girl out.

  Kirsi Kilpelainen is amazing. I sat and stared at my website for months with no idea how to make it happen. I finally hired Kirsi to help me get the job done and she did an amazing job. Kirsi knows her stuff and knew how to help me get the site I was dreaming of. Thank you, Kirsi, for teaching me and helping me make this thing work.

  Now I get to be all teary-eyed over Erin Salvesen and Sarah Bleyl. These ladies are some of the best friends a girl could ask for. Not only did they both read my drafts and offer advice and helpful commentary, but they were so excited every step of the way, they made me feel so good. Whether it was texting their thoughts while reading or sending crazy GIFs to share their excitement, these helped keep me excited and proud. Thank you, Erin and Sarah. I love you. I love you. I love you. Thank you.

  I have been blessed throughout this process by a loving Father in Heaven who guided me along the way. Without His love and Faith in me, I would not be where I am. Because it is important to me, it is important to Him. I am so grateful.

  And, thank you, my beautiful readers, for picking up my book and reading it until the end. You are helping me make my dreams come true. I so love you.

  About the Author

  EJ Pay is a happily married mother of three. She lives on the central coast of California and loves her beach days almost as much as she loves her books. You can find out more about her and shop her store by visiting ej-pay.com. Connect on Instagram @ej_pay_author or EJ Pay on Facebook.

  Coming Soon

  Be on the lookout for

  Trapped, Book 2 of the “Called” trilogy set to release in 2019

  And Released, Book 3 of the “Called” trilogy set to release in late 2019 or early 2020