2289 A.D. - Arcane Darkness: A Paranormal Fantasy Adventure Saga (The Ashlyn Chronicles - Book 3)

by Renee van Dyke

  Atrahasis humbly nodded, honored by the invitation.

  Steven, seeing the awed look on the faces of the men at Ashlyn’s nakedness, approached. “You’ll have to get used to it. Apparently, it’s the fashion wave of the future.”

  As if it were on cue, Ashlyn’s heavy breasts started bouncing as she stepped down to the main floor of the bridge.

  Novacek swallowed. “I assume these fashion waves were on your breakfast menu?”

  “Man does not live by bread alone, my brother.” Steven threw a grin at Ash. “Ash claims it’s part of an evil plot to drive men mad.”

  Ash stuck her tongue out. “And all of you are going to love every second of it.”

  Ending the awkward silence from all the men, Ash went to Novacek, Brooks, Stratton, Tomlinson and Moore—giving each of them a sincere, heartfelt hug. “It feels like a lifetime since I saw all of you.”

  A door on the left opened in the wall. “I have prepared a conference room.”

  “Thank you, Keeper.” Inside the room, soft, deeply padded chairs were waiting for them, aligned in a circle. The Keeper’s image appeared, he too taking a chair amongst them.

  “If I may, Admiral?” asked Moore. “Why am I here? I can understand everyone else—but me?”

  Steven gave a small chuckle. “Yeah, it wasn’t that long ago that Stratton was kicking you in the ass for getting mouthy—but believe it or not, all of you in this room are now officially members of the Anunnaki ruling Council. Somewhere in the other timeline, each of you earned a place on the Council. And with the crisis ahead, I need all of you. Each of you are invaluable.

  “I’m sorry that I don’t have more details to give you, Moore—but I trust you’ll harness that youthful exuberance. Don’t worry though, this is new for all of us.”

  Moore returned a soft grin. “Thank you, sir.”

  The seven of them, guided by the Keeper who provided the technical details, sat for hours—asking and answering hundreds of questions. They discussed the various time paradoxes, and how Steven had also been Anu. The Keeper explained that it was from Lord Steven and Lady Ashlyn that all pure Anunnaki would come.

  The Council members came to understand the desperate need pressing them to action, and that if they didn’t stay the course as outlined by the Keeper, the Anunnaki empire would someday die. Earth would die. All they had known, fought and sacrificed for, would be lost.

  Solon, who they had invited to remain aboard Destiny with Gorok and his family, rose slowly. He stretched his legs. “It’s a lot to comprehend, and very awkward to be here before you, so casually—knowing that you are Lord Anu and Lady Damkianna.”

  “Damkianna? I’ve never heard that name before,” said Ash. “What does it mean?”

  “It’s Sumerian. Many Anunnaki had come to use it. It honors you, Lady Ashlyn. It translates as, ‘Mistress of Earth and Heaven.’ Only now am I beginning to see the full depth of the meaning.”

  A warm smile tilted Ashlyn’s lips. “It’s beautiful, Solon.” She clasped Solon’s hand between her own. “You have no need to feel awkward in our presence—ever. I have never known a truer or more loyal heart. You have become one of my closest friends and I am honored to know you. I consider you to be part of my family.”

  Deeply touched by her words, Solon squeezed her hand in friendship and gave a small humbled bow of his head.

  “And as family, when we are together and outside of official capacities, if any of you call me Lady—I’m going to take a broom and swat your bottom. That goes for you too, Keeper—even if it is a hologram bottom.”

  “Perhaps that too should be on the breakfast menu?” said Novacek.

  “It is, my friend. It is,” coughed Steven into his hand. His candid playfulness put a smile on all the men’s faces.

  “God, I’m surrounded by teenaged boys,” said Ash shaking her head.

  “And you love every second of it,” retorted Steven, playfully throwing her own words back at her.

  Ashlyn’s pouty face told him that, though she’d never admit it, she knew it was true. After-all, it wasn’t the first time they’d had such a discussion. Years before—before the two of them had become an item back at the Academy, they had gotten into a passionate discussion about the fundamental differences between men and women. Each had expressed their thoughts from their perspective. It had been honest and enlightening, but it also became decidedly heated.

  Steven had expressed his opinion that women had it easier than men when it came to issues of sex, especially regarding the emotional desolation created within the male psyche by unfulfilled longings. Ashlyn had thought he was being overly dramatic when he’d said that the desolation cost each man a piece of his soul, and that the desolation often kept men from ever being truly content. He’d insisted that it was a curse, far worse than any woman’s mind could comprehend, quoting the age-old sentiment that ‘until you’ve walked in my shoes, you just can’t understand.’ In the end, the two of them had retreated to their respective corners, agreeing to disagree.

  It wasn’t until their link within the fugue that Ash came to understand the underlying desperation and longing that plagued so many thoughts within the male mind.

  Without the fugue, she never would have known the silent, internalized suffering that men go through, or that they see their own near uncontrollable sexual need as a battlefield—a battlefield where victory is expected—and failure equates to defeat, even shame. Ultimately, he expects to leave the battlefield as either a conquering hero—or a disheartened warrior whose head is laid low. As such, he is shackled, forced to wait for the next day’s battle when his honor might be restored. It is a war that rages daily, without end.

  And for the man who is monogamous, though his course is canyon narrow, he too feels the call. He awakens each day hoping to do battle, to conquer, to win—hopeful that the sun might set upon him as the hero once more.

  Ashlyn had been given a gift, an insight that no other women had ever seen, and therefore, they could never fully understand. She now knew that the psyche of the male mind views each spoken overture, each sensual touch or suggestive glance as an invitation to join him upon the field of battle.

  He wants his opponent to embrace the invitation, and share in the glory of his wild and unbridled desire with their own untamed abandon.

  It is also why they see each denial of that invitation, no matter how softly returned, as an unconditional demand that he surrender in defeat—or worse, even shamed for having dared to ask, to suggest, to hope.

  And for the defeated warrior, it is under that dark cloud, that he abandoned the field of battle—silent, broken, frustrated. His dream of being victorious, of being heralded a hero—destroyed.

  And though there will be a battle to be fought tomorrow, the frustration of today’s defeat consumes him—for tomorrow’s battle feels impossibly far away and its outcome, uncertain. For once again, he may have to face another rebuke, another defeat—and watch the mountain of his unfulfilled desires grow yet taller, and the clouds shadowing it grow thicker and darker.

  It was that compounding sadness that Steven had long ago tried to explain to her that men are forced to endure. He had suggested that perhaps that was why the ‘grass was always greener on the other side of the fence’—because the blood of their spirit that lay upon the field of battle, had been trampled upon one to many times.

  Ashlyn’s returned grin to Steven held more meaning than he would ever come to know. She was thankful that Tynabo had genetically modified her own sexual need, heightening her desires and balancing the scales between them. Tynabo had accomplished something that mankind had never achieved through evolution. In leveling the battlefield between the sexes, he’d brought order to the chaos.

  It was a sadness that at least for Steven, had come to an end—for neither of them had the power to ever deny the other’s needs. They truly were as one.

  Now, as she sat there, surrounded by teenaged, grown men—and Steven told her that she ‘love
d every second of it’—she realized how much she loved his wildness and lack of self-control. She wouldn’t trade his bawdy and unrestrained behavior for anything. It was like cupids arrow lancing straight into her heart—striking upon the most basic human need—to be desired. To Ashlyn, it was an aphrodisiac without equal.

  Ash smiled inwardly as she remembered a scene from a Woody Allen movie that she and Steven had watched just before they were married. Woody had said, “Sex is the most fun you can have without laughing.” Though Ash wondered if anyone could have sex with Woody and not laugh.

  Ash sighed. Though she knew the reaction she was going to get, she stuck her tongue out at Steven—her sensual chastisement rousing yet another round of testosterone driven grins from all the men. The room suddenly felt very small as all their eyes locked upon her, each of them lost to their inward thoughts.

  Seeking to divert their attention, Ash asked. “Keeper, I’ve been wanting to ask. Why did Steven and I have so many different names by which we were known?”

  “The reason for the various names is quite simple. You and Steven explored many worlds, using your shifting abilities to assume the form of the indigenous people. In doing so, you took names that would not draw attention to yourselves. A few names however, were bestowed upon you—like the example Solon gave. Each name has a different story—a different meaning.

  “And if I may get a bit personal. You may also find it interesting to know, that Lord Atrahasis is of House Lu’tok. It was his daughter Ninmah that married Enki in the other timeline. It is an event that we do not want to see jeopardized. For it was them that uplifted the people of Tiamat. It was they who created your people.”

  “I do not understand how Ninmah can be my daughter. Such things are beyond me, but if it is true, and you are saying that I will someday have a daughter that will marry one of their sons—it is a great honor,” said Atrahasis, a broad smile creasing his face. “I had never dreamed that a daughter of mine would become part of House Anu.”

  Steven shook his head. “All these prime events we can’t change—make me feel like a dog chasing his own tail. We’re definitely going to need your guidance on these matters, Keeper.”

  As the meeting concluded, those from the other ships said their goodbyes—each of them deep in thought, contemplative of what the future held. Tomorrow, they would reset the timeline and begin to build a new society, shaping the universe to what they wanted it to be. Their vision of hope, tempered by the battle that lay ahead.

  ***

  Staring out through the dome on the Observation Deck—Ashlyn enfolded herself into Steven’s arms. Though the magnificence of the time gate was before them, their eyes were locked on a large star cluster off the port bow. Like a vibrantly colored painting, it was alive with color. Hundreds of pinpoints of light shone from within, each competing for attention.

  As a boy, Steven had dreamt of someday seeing such sights up close. Those late nights with his father as they took turns looking through the telescope, were some of his fondest memories. He remembered his father’s loving words, “Come-on sleepy head,” and the warmth of his arms as he picked him up and carried him inside the house during the cool, early morning hours—putting him to bed.

  Steven smiled. Even now, he recalled waking to the aroma of pancakes and bacon. He remembered hungrily chomping on bacon as he excitedly told his mother about the wonders he’d seen with his father the night before.

  Picturing his mother’s smile, it stirred the heart of the poet within Steven, reminding him of a poem from his youth. Sharing it with Ash, he recited the words aloud.

  “The eternity of the universe lies before us.

  Its wonderment fills our heart.

  Its breath gives us life.

  Its knowledge inspires our minds.

  Its vastness challenges our imagination.

  It is ours to explore, if we can harness our conceit and let the wind that guides it,

  billow our sails.”

  “Who wrote that?” asked Ash. “It’s beautiful.”

  “I did. It was a 5th grade assignment to write about something we loved. Mom made me a batch of chocolate-chip cookies for getting a special commendation from the teacher on it.” Steven laughed. “She told me to hide the cookies from dad because he needed to lose a few pounds.”

  Ashlyn smiled, picturing the moment. Because of the demands of military life, she’d met Steven’s parents only once before the attack, on the day they were married. They’d been ear-to-ear smiles at the wedding and were two of the nicest people she’d ever met. If only they had known that the world they knew was days away from disappearing forever. “I wish I’d been able to get to know them. I bet they would have told me some embarrassing stories about you as a boy.”

  “Me? Embarrassing stories? Nah,” said Steven. “You know, seeing this, I can’t wait to explore the galaxy. There’s so much to learn, so many wonders to be discovered.”

  “The gate is open, Lord Steven. I’ve notified the commanders of Defender and Arkane. They are ready to follow us in.”

  “If you have any doubts Ash, now is the time to voice it,” said Steven. “We’re about to wipe out a million years of human history.”

  “We’re not wiping it out—we’re rewriting it,” Ash corrected.

  “Not much difference as I see it. And there’s no going back. It’s a one-way trip,” reminded Steven.

  “Still-” Ash shook her head. “-my answer is, no. No doubts. We’ve been given a second chance to fix everything. And this time, mankind will have our help. And don’t forget, everyone died except the six-thousand at sea base.”

  “Point made,” said Steven.

  “Mind if we join you?” asked Solon, also speaking for Gorok and his family who had come to watch the backward jump through time.

  “Yes,” said Steven and Ashlyn together as one. Both of them chuckled, giving the newcomers a mischievous smile. Ash gave a whimsical wave, “Get your butts over here.”

  “Your children are not here?” asked Tara.

  “We decided to wait until after we reach Heaven to awaken them from stasis,” said Ash. In truth, she was worried about the darkness. Something inside her felt amiss, and in trying to describe it to Steven, words had failed her. In the end, Steven had seen no harm in waiting, trusting her womanly instinct.

  Sensing Ashlyn’s sadness, Tara’s youngest daughter, La’nel, reached up and took her hand—bringing a smile to both their faces.

  “Keeper, take us in,” ordered Steven.

  “You do realize that I’m about to be married to the oldest man in the universe,” quipped Ashlyn.

  Through a narrow grin, Steven replied. “Ditto—to the oldest woman in the universe.”

  Chapter 4

  Three Days Later

  “Exiting wormhole,” announced the Keeper.

  Having thrown a quick glance at Solon—Steven and Ashlyn grinned at one another. Like a small child who’d caught Santa shimmying down the chimney—Solon’s eyes were wide with wonderment and anticipation—his nose inches from the invisible energy barrier that formed the observation dome. They could almost hear the pulse of his racing heart.

  As their view of space came into focus, Heaven loomed large before them, just off Destiny’s bow. The sight stole their breath, drowning the room in silence. The planet’s beauty was unequalled, exceeding even that of Earth. Large continents of green forests and white snowcapped mountain ranges filled the screen. The oceans were smaller than those back on Earth, but the continents had lakes and seas that were larger. A well dispersed spider-webbing of rivers crisscrossed the continents, allowing them to become fertile and lush. It was paradise.

  “By the gods,” said Gorok, unable to articulate his wonderment. His daughters pushed forward. La’nel kicked her legs, asking to be set down on the floor beside her sisters.

  Destiny exited from the wormhole, directly between Heaven’s two largest moons. Steven and Ashlyn suspected the Keeper was showing off a bit, givin
g them an unforgettable first impression of their new home. The moon to each side of them was spectacular, having tall jagged craters and gray mountain ranges with deep ominous crevasses that evoked childlike fears of monsters lurking in the shadows.

  “Even a million years before I was born—Heaven is as beautiful as ever,” said Solon, the tone of his voice fully conveying his reverence and love for Heaven.

  “It is beautiful,” said Ash.

  “The other ships have exited the wormhole, Lord Steven. They are awaiting instructions. With your permission, I would like to lock us into a stationary orbit above what will be the future city of Tryskellyon, so that I can commence ground preparations.”

  “Proceed,” ordered Steven.

  Destiny’s massive engines came to life, nimbly moving the large ship forward. Far below, the western coastline of the Corodon continent came into view. The setting sun on the horizon cast a glistening golden road upon the ocean’s dark waters.

  “That is where Tryskellyon will be,” said Solon, pointing to the large finger of land jutting out into the bay.”

  “It looks a lot like San Francisco Bay,” said Steven.

  “It does,” agreed Ash. “Right down to the small island out in the middle.”

  “That is the island of Charon. It was a place where only the Anunnaki Council were allowed. It was said to contain a portal to where the gods lived,” said Solon.

  “I can explain,” said the Keeper. “The island of Charon garnered its name from the ferryman who transported prisoners to be sentenced. The island contained a portal, taking all who entered to the Temple of Anu on Olympus. At the temple, the Council would convene and judgement would be passed. Few prisoners who took the ride returned—because of this, Charon himself came to be known as the ‘Ferryman of the Dead.’