The Prophecies Trilogy (Omnibus Edition): A Dystopian Adventure

by Linda Hawley

  “Which was when you retrieved your childhood crystal from the Shanghai dream,” Chow said.

  “Yes. That’s what opened them,” I said, nodding. “The second prophecy was described as time itself being purified. The woman would begin to right the wrongs of mankind. The shaman said that there were historical events that shifted mankind’s direction from its intended path. The woman would time travel to ensure that better choices by humanity would be made.”

  “Such as the Canadian RFID hack,” Chow said.

  “Yes. That’s one that actually stuck,” I said, remembering our many failures. “During the second prophecy is when the other two Wisdom Keepers would be revealed. I’ve always found it fascinating that you are twins. It just seems to fit.”

  “We get that a lot,” Edwin said.

  I chuckled at his humor.

  “The shaman said that in the last prophecy, a celestial event would be created by the Wisdom Keepers, and a message would be brought to humanity, changing the future. The Wisdom Keepers would know the right time by seeing signs in the sky. When they saw them, they would amplify their collective spiritual energy, and the celestial event would occur.”

  “Considering the events of yesterday, I find this very interesting,” Edwin said.

  “Which is why I wanted to talk through this now. The signs in the sky is the part that spoke to me,” I said passionately. “The shaman said that within twelve months of the unsealing of the first prophecy, the final prophecy would be fulfilled and that nothing could stop them once they’d begun.”

  “Which is exactly how it has unfolded,” Chow added.

  “And if we look at the timing, Chow, you and I co-dreamed into Shanghai one year ago this week.”

  I could see him calculating the dates in his head. “I did not realize,” he said quietly.

  As the enormity of The Prophecies coming to a conclusion settled in my mind, a shiver shot through me, and I visibly shook.

  “Are you okay?” Chow asked me.

  “Yes. It’s one year this week,” I said softly.

  Chow put his arm around me, squeezed, and then dropped it again. “How did the shaman explain the Herkimers?” he asked.

  “For the past hundred years, the successive shamans have been planting phantom Herkimer diamonds during a sacred ceremony within their caves, in preparation of the unsealing of The Prophecies. The ceremony was to clear the chakras of the Guardian of Time, to protect her from harm. They specifically performed ceremonies to clear her crown chakra, so that she would be open to know her spiritual purpose. Do you wanna know something?” I asked them.

  They nodded.

  “It’s just like they said. I do feel like my purpose has been revealed in the past year. I feel like I have a mission here, with the two of you, and I know in my heart that it will change the future of everyone on the earth. I know it sounds like I’m omnipotent, but what I really feel is that I’m doing service for the good of mankind. I know I sound like a crazy person.”

  “You do not,” Chow said.

  “Well…maybe the three of us are crazy together,” I said with a wink at them.

  Edwin guffawed out loud, which made me chuckle.

  “So that’s it. That’s The Prophecies,” I said and looked to them for their reactions.

  Chow’s dark eyes peered at me steadily through his bruised face, and then he stood, looking high into the sky. Edwin and I followed him. The three of us stood in a triangle, looking into the cloudless, blue sky as we had yesterday during the event.

  “The Wisdom Keepers will know the right time by seeing a sign in the sky,” Chow said reverently.

  “They will amplify their collective energy, and the celestial event will occur,” Edwin added.

  “Bringing a message to humanity and changing the future,” I said, completing the last prophecy.

  Chapter 39

  The three of us brought our heads down and looked at one another, the energy between us palpable. I thought back to the past year. We’d had others ask us to kill our enemies outright, using the powers we’d developed. None of us wanted to destroy mankind—we’d fought against it.

  We’ve kept our hearts true.

  Chow sat again in front of the horse arena, and we followed, again facing one another.

  “If we think about all we’ve tried to do, overall, we’ll keep failing,” I said, looking at them.

  “Our thinking has been too limited,” Chow said thoughtfully.

  “What do you mean by that?” I asked him.

  He paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts.

  “Ever since the 1970s, there has been a back-to-nature movement. People have found themselves drawn to self-sufficiency, organic gardening and farming, disaster preparedness, and alternative energy—”

  “Like my father,” I said, interrupting him. “Since I was a little girl, he taught me about the symbiotic relationship between humans and nature.”

  “Yes, just like him,” Chow agreed. “What if the cosmos has been preparing our world for an event that will change the way we live—a game changer?”

  “Changing our future,” Edwin added.

  “We do not require a dictatorship government to rule us to comfortably survive. We only need food, water, energy, and the knowledge to create more,” Chow said.

  “We have that,” Edwin said.

  “We have been preparing…since the 1970s,” Chow said intensely, energy oozing from him.

  “My own dad even prepared me,” I said, the realization of what Chow was saying striking me like a hammer.

  “I wonder if he sensed that you would need to know,” Chow said.

  The energy between the three of us continued to grow.

  “Your dream about how to use the Herkimers was important,” Edwin said to me. “I believe it has prepared us to deliver the third prophecy.”

  “Yes,” Chow agreed. “It was pure knowledge.”

  “Revelation,” Edwin added.

  I was humbled; I felt like a vessel for the greater purpose. There was something else pressing on my mind.

  “Have either of you ever heard of the Tunguska event?”

  Chow shook his head, but Edwin said, “I have a cursory knowledge of it, but please explain.”

  Edwin was a genius and seemed to have a cursory knowledge of everything. With his formal way of speaking—absolutely never using slang or contractions—but yet guffawing irreverently when something struck him as being funny, he had endeared himself to me. I smiled widely, looking into his midnight-black eyes. He just stared back, inquisitive.

  I explained. “In 1908, in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, at seven in the morning, there was a sudden, magnificent explosion. The energy of the blast was estimated to be five to thirty megatons. Compared to the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, it was a thousand times more powerful. Over eight hundred and thirty square miles, there were eighty million trees blown down or exploded. Eyewitnesses saw a pillar of bluish light that was so bright, they could not look at it. It was as if a second sun stormed across the sky. Exploding in a flash, indescribable heat came from it. A shock wave knocked people right off their feet, followed by a hot wind. What caused it? A three-hundred-foot-wide meteoroid—or a comet fragment—that exploded three to six miles above the surface of the earth.”

  “A celestial event,” Edwin said.

  “Yes. As I told you about the third prophecy, I remembered the blue energy, having read a white paper about it. There is something about this that draws me to it,” I said. “I don’t yet know what.”

  “I think we need to meditate on these things,” Chow said. “Tomorrow morning, would the two of you like to join me for a meditation—Amrit Vela?”

  “Nectar Time…of course. What else will I be doing two and a half hours before dawn?” I said mockingly.

  Chow smiled and nodded. “We can try to figure out the next steps of the Wisdom Keepers.”

  “Amrit Vela is said to reset cycles and patterns to the rhythm of your soul and
the heartbeat of the universe,” Edwin said thoughtfully.

  “You never cease to surprise me,” I said to him with a smile.

  * * *

  The three of us walked outside the ranch into the brisk early morning, intending to meditate in nature under the stars. Under the moon, the crickets sang to the clear, dark sky.

  I remembered India.

  “The night before we left Mount Abu, Aahan and I walked together in the garden,” I said to Chow. “Aahan told me a Hindi saying, of which I couldn’t possibly recite. He translated it for me as, ‘Things that are visible do not need proof for their existence.’”

  Chow nodded silently.

  “Aahan said that when the time came, I would understand its meaning.”

  As I walked in step with my friends, it marinated in my mind.

  Things that are visible do not need proof for their existence.

  * * *

  Dearest Elinor:

  The fact that I can send you a letter, knowing that you are well and safe in France, warms and secures my heart. Make sure to give Eliott a hug from me, and of course Aimée and Jean-Pierre too. Please give Lulu a terrific bone and tell her that she’s been a fine companion to me, and that I love her.

  I want you to know that you have been a blessing and a joy to my life. Before your daddy died, the three of us were three peas in a pod. We had great love, joy, and adventure. I’m sorry that I didn’t do more to stop him from skiing that day. I know that Armond has watched over both of us every minute since then. The past year, I’ve felt his presence very close and have interacted with him in my dreams. He has guided me and helped me in ways that would shock you.

  Do you remember the day I explained The Prophecies to you? I don’t know if you realize it or not, but they were unsealed a year ago this week. That means that the third prophecy will occur very soon. To remind you, it is when a celestial event is created by the Wisdom Keepers that will change the future of mankind. You are in Continental Europe, and I am on the continent of North America. We are separated by the vast Northern Atlantic Ocean. I don’t know how our future will change, Elinor, but I know that it will be significant. It may be that we do not see one another again for a very long time. Please remember what I told you about the Guardian of Time being protected throughout The Prophecies. I have been until now and believe I will continue to be protected.

  You have chosen a righteous, loving man as your husband. Make babies and enjoy your life! Just like we were, your family will be like peas in a pod too, fulfilling your own destiny. Remember what’s important, Elinor—family. I am certain that it’s the most important thing.

  You have been loved unconditionally from the time you grew in my womb until this very moment…by both me and Daddy. Don’t forget what your name means, my darling—“Bright and shining light that drives away ignorance and suffering.”

  You must promise to keep Lulu with you and Eliott. She has been my faithful friend, and I miss her. It will ease me to know that she will be with you until she leaves this earth. Cradle her in your arms occasionally—it keeps her from getting too wild.

  It’s time for me to close this letter and get it into the runner’s hands so that you will have it in two days’ time.

  I’ll love you always,

  Your Mother

  * * *

  After sealing the letter with melted wax, I handed it to the faux-cowgirl runner with instructions that she was to fly that night to deliver it directly into Elinor’s hands. I didn’t want there to be the slightest chance that she wouldn’t receive it. I could see that Vanessa was interested to know what was in the letter, but I ignored her, and she backed off.

  The runner had brought laptops, throw-away phones, and other replacements for things that had been destroyed in the house by the energy pulse we’d created. Edwin was elated. He immediately began researching locations that met the characteristics that were revealed to me during our morning meditation.

  Chapter 40

  “I believe I have found it,” Edwin announced as he sat down on the couch next to me, laptop with him.

  Chow was in the kitchen with Vanessa and, upon hearing his brother, joined us in the living room. Vanessa also followed.

  “It is called Colorado Bend State Park, in San Saba, Texas,” Edwin said as he showed us pictures.

  “That’s it!” I exclaimed. “That picture…right there…that’s what I saw.” I smiled at Edwin excitedly.

  “It is only a two-hour drive from here,” he said.

  “I knew it wasn’t far away,” I said.

  “I hate to break up your little party…” Vanessa said, “but it might be time for you to finally clue me in.”

  I obliged.

  “When we meditated this morning—”

  “Before the crack of dawn…I remember,” Vanessa quipped.

  “I had a vision of a mystical place. Edwin just found it nearby,” I said simply.

  “So you’re going camping?” she said sarcastically. “What?” she said, holding her hands up expectantly.

  Chow took the reins to explain. “That is the place where the third prophecy will occur.”

  “In the middle of the woods?” Vanessa—the city girl—challenged.

  Chuckling, I answered, “Uh-huh.”

  She stared a hole through me.

  “It’s where we’re supposed to go,” I told her.

  “How do you know?” she asked.

  “Things that are visible do not need proof for their existence,” I said, reciting Aahan’s Hindi saying.

  * * *

  “Not without me and security, you’re not,” Vanessa protested emphatically.

  “What? You don’t think we can handle ourselves?” I said, taunting her.

  “I know the only way you can handle yourself is with a stun gun,” she said, mocking me.

  “You forgot my heel-blade skill,” I said, sticking my tongue out.

  “Oh yeah…forgot that,” she said, frowning at me. “But you don’t have your boots anymore, do you?”

  I looked at my feet wistfully and frowned.

  “You do know that Chow’s still recovering from being tortured?” she said.

  “I know he is,” I said, slightly offended. “Listen, Vanessa, I know you’d like me to continue sparring with you, but there’s no need,” I said, peering into her wide eyes. “Tomorrow, the three Wisdom Keepers are driving in the Land Rover to Colorado Bend State Park. We are going alone. It’s the way it’s supposed to be. We aren’t struggling upstream of The Prophecies, but instead we are going with the flow, exactly as the universe intends it to be. You can’t fight against that.”

  She stared me down in silence as we stood toe to toe. I didn’t back down.

  “My orders are to protect you at all costs,” she finally said.

  I opened my mouth to rebut her, but she held her hand in front of her face, a barrier to my words. I closed my mouth.

  “I have also been told that you are leading our mystical adventure. If that means that your trio will go it alone, then I will yield,” she said evenly.

  “Thank you,” I said, exhausted from her pummeling.

  * * *

  “Let’s pack a week of supplies,” Vanessa said to Chow.

  “Do you think we will need that much?” Chow asked her.

  She laughed.

  “I think you’ll need a lot more than that, but we’ll only get a week’s worth in the Land Rover.”

  “I will miss you,” he said, reaching to her and planting a tender kiss on her lips.

  “Oh come on, you two. Take it somewhere else,” I said in jest, walking in on them in the garage.

  “Did I ever tell you about the kiss Ann and I shared?” Chow asked her, a mischievous smile on his mouth.

  “Oh, you are not gonna tell her about that!” I exclaimed, punching him lightly on the shoulder.

  Vanessa gave me a sharp look.

  He actually giggled.

  * * *

  “All s
et?” I asked Edwin.

  “Yes,” he said, opening the front passenger’s door.

  “Where’s your brother?”

  “Saying goodbye,” he said, rolling his eyes.

  I chuckled just as Chow and Vanessa entered the garage. Their faces were stoic, typical of them both. I opened the back door, holding it for Chow. Without a word, he scooted in, and I closed it behind him.

  Turning around, I reached out to Vanessa to hug her.

  “Keep him safe,” she whispered in my ear.

  Looking into her face, I nodded my understanding. Her stoic look was still in place. I moved around to the driver’s door and stepped in. It was three a.m., and I would drive while Edwin navigated.

  Vanessa opened Edwin’s door and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll see all of you soon,” she said to the three of us, more of a command than a platitude.

  Chapter 41

  SAN SABA, TEXAS

  The Year 2016

  We arrived just as dawn broke, driving straight through from the ranch. It rained the whole way. The last town we’d passed through was thirty-five miles before. The park was remote; cell phones didn’t even work here.

  After entering the park, it was slow going for six miles. I was grateful for the vintage Land Rover, which was built for off-roading. The road was only dirt and stone, augmented by more than a few potholes. We’d secured a campsite alongside the Colorado river. It had huge oak shade trees and a fire ring with a grill. We had planned to rest up Chow there and head up Gorman Creek tomorrow morning.

  The rain stopped just before we reached our campsite. As I stepped out of the Land Rover, I noticed deer picking through the vegetation around the site. They didn’t seem disturbed by us, although as I slammed my door shut, their heads popped up and looked my way.