Legend of the Timekeepers

by Sharon Ledwith

  Legend of the Timekeepers

  by Sharon Ledwith

  Copyright © Sharon Ledwith, 2013

  All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher.

  This e-book is a work of fiction. While references may be made to actual places or events, the names, characters, incidents, and locations within are from the author’s imagination and are not a resemblance to actual living or dead persons, businesses, or events. Any similarity is coincidental.

  Musa Publishing

  633 Edgewood Ave

  Lancaster, OH 43130

  www.MusaPublishing.com

  Issued by Musa Publishing, August 2013

  This e-book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines and/or imprisonment. No part of this e-book can be reproduced or sold by any person or business without the express permission of the publisher.

  ISBN: 978-1-61937-623-6

  Head Editor: Jeanne De Vita

  Editor: Tricia Schwaab

  Artist: Kelly Shorten

  Line Editor: Ralph Gallagher

  Interior Book Design: Cera Smith

  Acknowledgments

  I said it before and I’ll say it again: Life is a team effort, and nothing is done without the help and support of others. The following people are in some way connected to the fabric of this work, to which I am eternally grateful:

  Thank you to the staff at Musa Publishing, especially to my rock-star editor Tricia Schwaab who pushed my creative buttons so far I thought I was going through the change of life all over again. Seriously, Tricia, you made me a better writer. Hugs to my head editor, Jeanne De Vita who pushed me extra hard to get this manuscript presentable. Also, high fives go to my line editors, Helen Hardt and Ralph Gallagher, both of you made my book clearer and cleaner. Cheers to my book designer Cera Smith—I don’t have a clue how you do what you do, but you do an awesome job! And finally, huge hugs to my book cover artist Kelly Shorten, who knew exactly what I wanted on her very first attempt at designing my beautiful cover—you are truly gifted.

  A special shout out goes to my Wenches of Words family, especially to my cohort, Sloane Taylor. You Wenches have made this past year a special one with your show of kindness, support, caring, solidarity, and teamwork. Love you gals! May your lives be blessed with many bestsellers!

  And last but not least, a big sloppy thank you to my hubby, Mike. You put up with enough of my melt-downs and tantrums to clear away any bad karma left between us. Again you acted as my pillar, my post, and more often than not, my anchor. God bless.

  For my mother, Peggy. You taught me to stand up for myself, and never forget my roots.

  Prologue

  “I have decided. We are leaving Atlantis by the end of this week.”

  Lilith raised her head from the scroll she’d been studying. Had she heard her father correctly? We’re leaving Atlantis?

  A tremor shook the small marble table where she’d been sitting. The two embroidered chairs near the open porch vibrated across the white floor until they smacked into a column decorated with gold and silver butterflies. The wide chairs fell back with a clatter. Lilith braced herself, knowing that her unstable country was falling apart bit by bit. She ducked under the table just as a bronze tile from the ceiling fell and missed her head.

  Segund gasped. “Lilith! Are you all right?”

  Dizzy, Lilith patted her head, making sure her ivory hairpins still held her long, fair hair in place. “Yes, Father, I’m fine.”

  “Segund, I told you to leave a week earlier. If I had a child as young as Lilith, I would have had her on the first boat out of Atlantis!” Kukulkan shouted.

  Lilith got up so fast her vision blurred. She shook her head vigorously. “I am not a young child, Uncle Kukulkan!” She stomped her foot for effect, almost knocking off her palm leaf sandal. “I’ll be ten soon!”

  Kukulkan grinned at her. His long, full red beard bristled and he soothed it with a large, tanned hand. Then his face turned serious. He walked toward Lilith, his shadow engulfing her smaller frame, and crouched to meet her eye to eye. Matching sea-blue eyes stared at each other before her uncle raised his hand to adjust a dislodged hairpin. He sighed deeply, then with his long thumb, he grazed her high cheekbone and let it run down the length of her face to tweak her firm chin.

  “Your mother Meg would be proud of you, Lilith. My wife, your Aunt Ambeno, would have been as well. Unfortunately, they were taken away from us far too soon.”

  Tears welled in Lilith’s eyes. She’d lost both her mother and aunt about a year ago while they were inside one of the amphitheatres in the City of the Golden Gates during a terrible earthquake. A huge marble statue of Belial fell and instantly crushed the group of people standing under it. Her mother and aunt were among them.

  “Leave the past in the past, Kukulkan.” Segund waved a hand. “It is what it is.”

  Uncle Kukulkan stood up and turned toward Segund. The two brothers were almost identical in stature and looks, except Lilith’s father’s hair was the color of the sun and his beard wasn’t as full and long. Lilith allowed herself a deep breath. Father looks so tired. His broad shoulders sagged more and more lately, and his crinkled white linen shirt and dark blue pants looked like they hadn’t been washed in days. He twisted the thick, gold ring in the shape of a snake on his middle left finger long enough to notice Lilith staring at him and stopped.

  Uncle Kukulkan patted her father’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Segund, I know you have an important job trying to organize the evacuation of Atlantis. Your eyes and face tell me you are weary. Did you manage to get all of the arches to safety?”

  “Only the seventh arch. The rest are prepared and ready, awaiting shipment to the other destinations I have chosen. I have decided that Lilith and I will be going where I sent the seventh arch.”

  Lilith narrowed her fair brows. “Where’s the seventh arch gone, Father?”

  He smiled, revealing his pearl white teeth. “To the Black Land.”

  Did I hear Father correctly? The Black Land? Lilith balled her fists and slammed them against the sides of her slim hips. “But…but, Father, there are snakes in the Black Land! Poisonous snakes with hoods that make their scaly, ugly heads bigger! I am not going there! I want to go with Uncle Kukulkan!”

  Kukulkan stifled a chuckle. Segund gave his older brother an angry stare and turned his attention back to Lilith. “Now, Lilith, you’ve simply got to get over this fear of snakes you have. After all, we are known to the world as the Serpent People.”

  Lilith pursed her lips. “That’s because of the human-snake hybrids the dark magi created!”

  “That is not the reason, Lilith,” Segund said, tapping the tip of her nose. “Serpents know the earth better than any other creature and Atlanteans understand this. Serpents teach us how to transmute the poison of our experiences into healing energy to share with the rest of the world.”

  “Your father is correct,” Uncle Kukulkan said. “Besides, there are snakes living in the western land where I’m going too. Long, thick snakes that wrap around your body and slowly squeeze you to death before they eat you.”

  Lilith squealed and covered her mouth.

  Segund slapped his brother across the back of his head. “You’re not help
ing, feather-brain!”

  Kukulkan rubbed his head. He winked at Lilith. “Don’t worry, Lilith, your father will keep you safe from these poisonous, hooded snakes.”

  Another tremor shook the white marble tiles beneath their feet, and a crack that resembled a long serpent crept up between Lilith and her remaining family members, cutting them off from each other. Crystal dishes on granite shelves next to the large, stone fireplace in the main room crashed on the floor. Lilith jumped and hugged herself, feeling her soft linen top cling to her sweaty body like an oyster stuck in its shell.

  Segund leaped over the crack and snatched his daughter up in his strong arms. He hugged her fiercely. “No harm will come to you, Lilith. I’ll see to that. I promise on your mother’s honor.”

  Lilith pushed her face under her father’s warm neck, smelling the stale sweat of these last few days and feeling his rapid pulse against her cheek. His soft beard gave her small comfort. Her hands crept around his neck, and she reached for the clump of crystals that held his long hair in place. This calmed her instantly, took away the unknowingness. She pushed back and stared into his eyes.

  “That’s a silly thing to promise, Father. If Mother was here, she would say that all we have is now.”

  “When did you start getting so wise, Lilith?” Uncle Kukulkan asked as he jumped the narrow fissure.

  Segund smiled. “I believe she takes after Meg in that department, Kukulkan.”

  He laughed. “And her Aunt Ambeno!”

  Screams pierced the air like tiny daggers, making Lilith shudder. The doomsday prophecy was really happening. Maybe not tonight, but soon Atlantis would crumble and sink into the ocean. This horrific event had been predicted over one hundred years ago by the House of Seers, after the first major earthquake destroyed the southwestern portion of Atlantis. A year in advance of the time of destruction, Lilith’s father planned the mass exodus with the king’s permission. Many Atlanteans had left immediately, some going west to where Uncle Kukulkan was heading, others toward the north where it was colder, and the rest sailing east to the dry climate of the Black Land. Then there were those who had decided to stay, debunking the seers, calling their bluff, saying Atlantis would never die.

  “You can put me down now, Father. We need to start packing before this place falls apart.”

  Uncle Kukulkan’s brows rose. “How is it that you’re not afraid of the earth trembling and crumbling around us, but you freeze at the mere mention of a sna—”

  “You know it’s your fault, Uncle!” Lilith snapped and wagged a finger.

  Segund sighed, then gently put her down. “I’m afraid Lilith’s got you there, Kukulkan.”

  “How was I to know Lilith would react the way she did when I showed her what I bought for her from a dark-skinned merchant trader? I thought it would make a great pet!” Kukulkan shrugged. “Poseidon knows, she needs to get her nose out of those scrolls she studies and get outside more often. I thought the snake would help her connect with nature more.”

  “Well, it didn’t!” Lilith felt her chest harden, her fingers curled into a fist. “You woke me from my nap and put that snake in my bed! You scared me! I felt so trapped, so helpless! It could have eaten me!”

  Kukulkan grunted. “I would not give you anything that could harm you, Lilith, understand that.”

  Lilith realized she had been holding her body tight. She took a breath and let it out like her mother had taught her to do when she was upset. “I believe you, Uncle, I do, it’s just that…that when I opened my eyes and saw the snake staring at me, its dark eyes never blinking, and its long forked tongue flicking out to taste my cheek...” She retched, tasting a sour gob in her mouth.

  “I see. Then, I trust you have no use for this?” He reached into his jewel-encrusted satchel attached to his embroidered sash roped around his soft purple robe. “It belonged to your aunt. She wanted you to have this when you became of age, but fate has not been on our side.” Kukulkan passed the shiny object to Lilith.

  She stared at it. At first, she made a face. It was a coiled snake bracelet. Immediately, she knew it was made of orichalcum. The brilliant hue of pink made it appear shinier than gold. Individual scales were etched to perfection going in an upward pattern until reaching the snake’s head. Tiny diamonds were embedded into the mouth for teeth, and two sapphires—the size of her fingernails—were used for the eyes. It was a masterpiece created by a master artesian. Although the bracelet looked heavy, Lilith knew better. The pair of orichalcum dolphin statues on her father’s desk was double its size, and each weighed no more than a pomegranate. Lilith reached out to touch it just as another tremor exploded through her body.

  Kukulkan grabbed her before she fell. “We need to leave. Now!”

  Segund stumbled and reached for the closest pillar. “But…I need to get the five other arches on their appropriate ships with the keepers I have chosen and trained. They must leave when I leave. The arches are our only direct contact with the Children of the Law of One and will make sure our race is preserved, and that this old, red land doesn’t disappear forever.”

  Lilith’s insides jiggled like a beached jellyfish during a storm. She clasped her hands. Her father had been named the Keeper of the Arches years before she was born. His purpose was to receive the messages sent through the arches from the Children of the Law of One, and then share them with the appropriate Atlanteans in authority. Lilith knew these ethereal messengers were wise and kind, and they taught that everyone and everything living on the Earth was interrelated and interdependent. To disrespect another person was to disrespect yourself. It was a simple way, and many Atlanteans followed this doctrine. But there were those who opposed the Law of One, those who were immoral and corrupt. Lilith’s stomach clenched.

  “It will do no good if the Keeper of the Arches succumbs with Atlantis. At least the seventh arch is safe. And you know as well as I do that the fifth arch has been gone from here for over one hundred years.”

  Lilith’s Father snorted, making his nostrils flare in an undignified manner. “The fifth arch might as well be destroyed, seeing as it is in Belial’s possession. That evil magus has been draining the arch’s spiral energy long enough by using it to control the people in the country he landed in. And if they don’t submit to him, he sacrifices or enslaves them. I thank Poseidon that you’ve been chosen by the Children of the Law of One to go deal with Belial personally.”

  Kukulkan’s jaw tensed. “And I shall not disappoint, my brother. The survival of our culture, our race, and this old red land’s memory depends on it.”

  An eruption from Mount Atlas shook all of them. More screams resounded outside their stately home, with its flowering vines winding around the balcony, that overlooked the ocean. Lilith wrung her hands. She had gotten used to the instability of her country, the frequent quakes and mini-eruptions. She knew they must go. They had no choice if they wanted to live. In truth, their house hadn’t been a home since her mother had been taken from them. Lilith felt a slight tug on her arm and unclasped her hands. She hadn’t realized she’d been staring into space until she looked down at her left arm. Uncle Kukulkan had wound her aunt’s snake bracelet around her forearm. It was loose and awkward. The bracelet wouldn’t stay up and slid down to imprison her hand.

  Lilith wrinkled her nose. “It doesn’t fit.”

  He laughed. “Don’t worry you’ll grow into it, Lilith.”

  “It’s still a snake,” she said, grimacing. “I don’t think I’ll ever learn to like it.”

  He lightly touched her cheek. “I hope you do, Lilith. It served your aunt well.”

  “What do you mean?” She toyed with the bejeweled snake head.

  “As you know, your Aunt Ambeno was a seer,” Kukulkan said with a slight smile. “She once told me this bracelet connected her to her purpose, and I hope it does the same for you, Lilith. I m
ust go now. Take care of your father for me. It’s not always easy being the oldest in the family.” He kissed Lilith on the forehead.

  Holding back tears, Lilith wrapped her arms around her uncle’s waist. The soft purple fabric of his robe soaked up her tears like a hungry sea sponge. He hugged her back, then reached over and grabbed Segund’s hand. He squeezed it so tightly Lilith felt her father jump.

  A less threatening tremor broke them apart, signaling it was time to leave.

  “Is there a message that you want me to convey to Belial, Segund?”

  Her father’s lips curled upward, much like the snake’s mouth engraved on her bracelet. She shivered at the comparison. “Yes. Tell him that time is not on his side.”

  1

  The Black Land

  Four years later…

  “You look lost.”

  Startled, Lilith looked up. A boy, roughly two years older than she, hovered over her. A flat clay disk with what looked like scribbling on it hung from a thin, leather thong around his gritty neck. From his clothes and the color of his skin—a deep olive tone—she knew he was a native of this country—a place her people had aptly named the Black Land because of the dark, rich soil found in the river. Lilith’s shoulders sagged. She sighed. What she wouldn’t give to see her old, red land again.

  “The potter won’t be back until it is dark. He’s at the market today,” the boy said insistently.

  Lilith felt her shoulders tense. She had plunked her bottom down under the shade of the potter’s workshop, hoping to cool off from this stifling heat. The dryness was starting to take a toll on her skin too. All Lilith wanted now was to be alone in this dreadful place. Perhaps if she ignored the boy, he would disappear.

  Suddenly he tugged at one of her crystal hairpieces, almost pulling out her neatly styled blond hair. “Where did you get this?” he asked.