by Lucia Ashta
Lena smiled back. “What? What is it?”
“Utah.”
“What?”
“Utah,” he said again.
“Utah?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me,” she said, knowing there must be very much to Utah that she didn’t know.
“I’ve seen the pyramid where we’re supposed to go next. At least, I’ve seen one of them. There’s this pyramid in the desert of Utah that’s been calling to me for years. I’ve tried to travel to it several times, but something always interfered. It was always something different and seemingly random that prevented me from going to it. I think I had to wait for you. You hold the secret to the pyramid. I had to find it for us, but you hold the secret to it.”
“You hadn’t told me about this,” Lena said, surprised.
“No, I hadn’t. Now is the time to tell you. All in divine timing, amore.”
“Yes, all in divine timing,” she said, lost in thought.
A few heartbeats passed. “Okay. Let’s go to Utah,” she said.
Paolo was contemplative, staring off into the creek again.
Lena let a few more minutes pass. Then she asked, “When should we go?”
“Now,” he said.
She nodded. He was right.
The time is now.
They’d be driving through the Utah desert by sunset of that very same evening.
Just beyond the vibrant colors of sundown, their next adventure awaited.
The pyramid beckoned.
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ABOUT SPIRIT OF THE SPELL, a Witching World story:
Some things are worth dying for. Others are worth living for again.
When Damien dies, Oliana is devastated. It’s understandable, he is her first love. She’ll cry and grieve and, eventually, she’ll move on, as she must—at least, that’s what an ordinary girl would do.
But Oliana isn’t ordinary. She’s a witch. And she isn’t going to accept Damien’s death without a fight.
With the power of the four elements at her disposal, she can do more than challenge death. The question is, what is she willing to sacrifice to get him back?
ABOUT MOWAB RIDER, a Planet Origins story:
I’ll go anywhere to find Princess Ilara. Even to the Wilds—where people disappear and don’t come back.
The rebels are resisting King Oderon’s rule. I don’t blame them, I’d resist too if I could get away with it.
But the rebels don’t know that. They’ll kill me and never ask questions. Especially now that they’re united by a rebel who can tame the mowabs, the fiercest animals of all Origins.
Anyone who can ride mowabs must be as beastly as they are. Good thing Dolpheus has my back. We’ll need every one of his skills and all of mine to escape the Mowab Rider with our lives.
Acknowledgments
I’d write no matter what, because telling stories is my passion, but the following people make creating worlds (and life) a joy. I’m eternally grateful for the support of my beloved, James, my mother, Elsa, and my three daughters, Catia, Sonia, and Nadia. They’ve always believed in me, even before I published a single word. They help me see the magic in the world around me, and more importantly, within.
I’m thankful for every single one of you who’ve reached out to tell me that one of my stories touched you in one way or another, made you smile or cry, or kept you up long past your bedtime. You’ve given me reason to keep writing.
Books by Lucía Ashta
THE WITCHING WORLD (YA fantasy)
Magic Awakens
The Five-Petal Knot
The Merqueen
The Witching World Omnibus, Books 1-3
The Ginger Cat
The Scarlet Dragon
Mermagic
Spirit of the Spell - FREE for joining my Readers Group
PLANET ORIGINS (Space fantasy)
Planet Origins
Original Elements
Holographic Princess
Planet Origins Omnibus, Books 1-3
Purple Worlds
Planet Sand
Holographic Convergence *
Mowab Rider - FREE for joining my Readers Group
THE LIGHT WARRIORS (Visionary fantasy)
Beyond Sedona
Beyond Prophecy
Beyond Amber
Beyond Arnaka
A Betrayal of Time
Whispers of Pachamama
Daughter of the Wind
Immortalium *
The Unkillable Killer
coming soon)
About the Author
Lucía Ashta, a former attorney and architect, is an Argentinian-American author who lives in Sedona with her beloved and three daughters. She published her first story (about an unusual Cockatoo) at the age of eight, and she’s been at it ever since.
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Lucía on the web:
LuciaAshta.com
[email protected]
Beyond Amber
The adventure continues in Beyond Amber, Book 3 of The Light Warriors series.
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Beyond Amber Preview
Chapter 1
Arnaka felt like a different place than it was before Asara and Anak left to answer Archangel Michael’s call to duty. The silence of the land seemed somehow unusual, and the sense of peace struck them as tenuous. Regardless, the twins were happy to return home. They’d missed the water and the swaying grasses of the riverbanks; the pyramids and their cool interiors; and the wind, at times swift and at others implacably still. The life at the Temple of Laresu’u Kal and even the barren sand made them nostalgic of times of greater innocence.
After entering one of the pyramids for a long-anticipated light emission, Asara and Anak went directly to see Master Kaanra. He’d been a figure of wisdom and parental guidance to both of them for many years. They now sought him for solace and comfort after the trauma of what they’d experienced while away.
Kaanra listened in shock as they recounted how Mana, Mohan, and Osarus had died. It was a clear violation of universal law. Beings from other dimensions weren’t allowed to interfere with anyone on the earth plane unless it was in accordance with that human’s free will. Asara and Anak were certain that the cousins didn’t open up to such an attack. The twins were adamant: the cousins’ hearts and intentions were pure. The extraterrestrial attack was a violation.
“My children,” Kaanra said, “what you tell me deeply disturbs me. I don’t understand. Nothing any master or spirit guide has ever taught me explains this.”
He turned away to look out the window toward the River Haakal. A dense fog had settled over the water lending a sense of mystery to the setting. The Temple of Laresu’u Kal was still quiet as the day slowly got underway. Another of the temple masters, Master Tahn, led pupils in the central courtyard through the moving meditation that had been taught at this temple for centuries.<
br />
“I don’t know what to tell you. I’ll have to discuss this with the other temple masters. We’ve come upon a time I didn’t think I’d have to face in this lifetime.”
The master had always offered the twins wise words of guidance, even if it was just to tell them they already had the answers they sought within them. The twins exchanged a worried glance. They were embarking upon uncertain times.
Kaanra looked toward the river again. When he finally turned his gaze back to them, his eyes were full of something new Asara didn’t recognize. “I think the time is coming when you’ll have to do the unthinkable. You may have to make a choice that no one ever wants to make, and the security of humanity will depend on your decision. It’s something you’d never want to take on, a fate you would likely never have chosen. But it’s yours, for better or worse. My children, I never thought I’d live to see this time, but it has come. The great prophet, Dann, told another prophecy besides the one that concerned your births.”
Asara and Anak exchanged looks. The last time Kaanra revealed one of Dann’s prophecies, their lives had changed forever.
“This prophecy was forgotten. No one understood it, not even the temple masters of Dann’s time. Despite the power his words had always carried, many feared the prophet had succumbed to the madness of his solitary life. But I’ve always wondered….”
With a depth of conflicting emotions the twins had never witnessed within him before, Kaanra continued. “No matter what happens, be certain that I’ve always loved you. I always knew I would, even before your births. Like you, I also have a destiny. I just never thought it would come to this. I prayed with every part of my being it wouldn’t.
“Go now. You must ready yourselves. You’ll have little time for rest before much is asked of you again. Comfort and protect each other. Love each other. Life isn’t at all what it seems. Tomorrow, at first light, come to the hall to meet with the council of temple masters. I’ll discuss with the other six masters, not just your futures, but that of all human beings.”
He turned to the window once more. The rushing water of the river below was a reprieve from the picture that was already forming in his reluctant mind. “I had so very much hoped it would never come to this. Creator will have to help us all.”
When he approached the twins one last time, he looked preoccupied. He was already somewhere else, considering the seemingly impossible that now plagued his mind. He kissed Asara and Anak on the forehead. Full lips pressed against their heads as if Kaanra wanted to remember the sensation of his skin against theirs.
The site of Kaanra’s kiss prickled with a strong sensation Asara tried to dismiss. She realized it was possible she might never see her beloved master again. This knowing conflicted with her presumption that she’d see Kaanra tomorrow with the rest of the masters. Her knowing usually knew best.
Although the twins were comfortable together in the marital bedroom Kaanra had prepared for them before their wedding plans were interrupted, their sleep was restless, and they awoke before the sun. Trained early on to synchronize their sleep cycles with those of the planet, Asara and Anak were accustomed to sleeping with the sun; the moon and her magic accompanied them in the dream world. But last night, Kaanra’s words weighed heavily on their hearts.
When the twins arrived at the temple hall to meet with the master council, they realized there’d been reason for their concern. Kaanra had stolen away in the middle of the night to find something so entrenched in mystery that no one would tell them what it was.
Kaanra usually led the meetings when the masters came together for council. In his absence, a woman Asara had interacted with little sat in the center seat. Her name was Sina, and she’d intimidated Asara as a child.
Sina’s hair was long and raven black. It hung loosely at her sides and, like her, it seemed strong and impenetrable as if not even the wind could move it. She was slender and agile even though she’d lived for more than half a century. Her eyes were a steely blue that seemed out of place with her black hair, but they reflected the lack of warmth of her personality well.
When Asara and Anak entered the room, Master Sina commenced the meeting in abrupt fashion. Six masters were present waiting for them to arrive. Asara and Anak had the impression they’d just walked into a war tribunal.
Sina’s strong yet quiet voice pierced the stillness of the room, dominating everyone in it. “Asara, Anak, take a seat. There’s something we must tell you.”
Asara held Sina’s stare while she took a seat across the table from her and the other five masters.
“Master Kaanra left in the night after prolonged deliberations with the rest of us.” Sina looked to the left and to the right, and the masters on both sides nodded, indicating they’d reached some kind of agreement.
“Master Kaanra left to seek the doman.” The word doman hung in the air. The other masters got nervous at the word, obvious by their sudden fidgeting. Neither Asara nor Anak had heard the word before. What was it and why would it prompt such a reaction in these elders?
“Master Kaanra warned us that you don’t know of the prophecy that concerns the doman. It’s only known in the temples, and only by a few elders. Now you must learn it too.”
She made measured eye contact with each of the other masters before proceeding. Asara watched them make a subtle gesture of encouragement, assuring Sina they were on board with the inevitable course of action they’d settled on.
“Long before you were born, a prophet named Dann told of the birth of twins.”
Asara and Anak nodded in response. They’d heard this story before. Kaanra had told them the prophecy that forecasted their births a long time ago. It was this same prophecy that foretold that the twins would change the world when it needed it most.
“What you don’t know is that he also shared another prophecy, one that very few people alive know. He told it to his daughter when he was dying, and even she didn’t believe it then. Dann died when he was thirty-three. He was young and had a sharp mind, but his daughter decided the prophecy sounded too crazy, even for him. She concluded they were the wild rantings of a mind that was too far into the other world to make sense in this one.
“Dann, always wise even in his reclusive ways, realized his daughter’s true intentions despite her assurances that she’d deliver the message. He saw disbelief in her eyes. She was only telling him she’d share his message in an attempt to give him peace as he transitioned to the next world. With his dying strength, he insisted she hand him parchment and a stick of mineral he kept for writing. He wrote just fifty-five words, but they were words that could revolutionize the world.
“He rolled up the parchment until it was very small, then opened a miniature vial of elixir he kept around his neck, emptied the elixir into his mouth, and put the parchment within the vial. The elixir was a plant medicine that hastened his departure to the other world. He left before he was able to close the parchment within the vial fully.
“But his daughter did. When she saw how important those words were for her father, even though she didn’t believe they were the product of lucid thought, she enclosed them securely within the vial and unfastened the chord from her father’s neck. She clasped the necklace around her own neck and was standing over the body of her dead father when an assassin, who’d been dispatched to kill him and any witnesses to his wisdom, slit her throat.
“The assassin and his overlord believed the death of the prophet and his daughter prevented the possibility that his final prophecy could leak into the world. But the assassin didn’t notice the miniature vial hidden between the breasts of Dann’s daughter. Her hair and tunic concealed the chord of the necklace, and the secret within the vial survived.
“As it was, the bodies of Dann and his daughter were thrown into a shallow pit and covered with dirt and sand. Dann’s only living sister, a woman connected to the earth’s messages, sensed the moment Dann’s body was laid to rest. She also felt when the earth accepted her niece’s, and set out
to find the bodies to honor them as they deserved. But when she found them, two days of travel later, she knew there was more to it.
“The vial’s hidden secret beckoned her with its knowledge. Dann’s sister realized its importance and wore the vial and its precious parchment until the time of her death approached. Then she passed it on to her daughter.
“Dann’s sister was my direct blood ancestor. Now it is I who carry the weight of this secret, and it’s a great responsibility.”
Sina’s eyes showed a mixture of honor and duty. The universe had entrusted her with a great task. Not even the shrill cry that pierced the external silence of the temple shook the stoicism of Sina’s eyes.
Chapter 2
The other five temple masters and the twins ran toward the sound of panic without hesitation. Not one of them noticed that Sina remained behind.
Although Master Sina was now responsible for leading the students at the temple, she had an obligation that was even greater than that. Her first thoughts went to the vial she wore around her neck. Dann’s final prophecy in the wrong hands could be devastating. Sina turned on her heels and went in the opposite direction as the others. She was heading for a secret tunnel that would take her straight to the river. The temple had several tunnels with different exits. It was a precautionary measure that proved unnecessary most of the time.
Sina’s instincts were correct. The signs pointed to there being some sort of accident with the pupils, but somewhere deep within, Sina realized this wasn’t the case. She responded to the urgent call to protect the information that was entrusted to her upon her mother’s death, and she looked for the way to flee. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t succeed.
