****
Glass shattering.
Crying.
The sounds of leaves blowing.
Metal screeching.
Crickets.
Demented laughter.
So many different, conflicting sounds amplified, putting my body into a shock as I was pulled from sleep. Vibrations poked at my skin. Some were barely existent, while others scratched and stabbed. I was surrounded by white. It was so bright, it added to the pain.
“Please. Please.”
My voice echoed, stolen from the grinding sediments I couldn’t see. Uncontrollably, I began to spin on the floor. Blood leaked from the wounds being sliced from the sound, and laughter grew louder, tormenting me, pushing the bounds on how much my eardrums could take before they burst into a million pieces.
“Please! I can’t…I—Ri!”
The name came from places inside me I didn’t even know existed. And just like that—silence.
My hands were slick as I clawed at the light below. There was no floor. No walls. Just the brightness all around. It seemed to be supporting me, although I didn’t understand how with the way my body floated and left the evidence of my injuries behind.
“You told him about me.”
Looking up, a large foot was only inches from my face. Fear encompassed me as I found the strength to push and rise to my knees. Yellow eyes were slits as they penetrated right through me.
“You weren’t real.”
“Wasn’t. But I am now, aren’t I, Ina?
“That’s not my name.”
“It is now. Stand. Face me.”
“I want to leave.”
Claws shot from the tips of his fingers, gripping the bottom of my face as he bent down. This man was inches taller than Atlas, and he scared me in a different way than the man who had shown up at my door. My lips quivered, my bravery leaving with every shaky breath I took.
“You are not a coward. You don’t want to leave; you want to stay. This reaction is only temporary. Now, obey. Stand.”
My legs barely supported me as I lifted to my feet.
“Why are you doing this?”
“It is my place.”
“To hurt me? To make me sick?”
He lowered, holding my stare before moving in next to my ear.
“To make you live. Your cancer was going to come back anyway. I just sped up the process.”
“I don’t understand.” Tears burned my eyes, joining the stinging from the lacerations decorating my skin.
“You’re not meant to.”
“I want to know. What you’ve done to me is a death sentence. You sped it up too much. You say it’s to make me live. I’m dying. The only thing that will save me is treatment, which my doctor knows I’m too late for. It’s pointless. What you’ve done, I’ll never forgive. Not even after death.”
“There is no death. Just another realm. But you won’t make it there. This human body is not going to fail you. Not entirely. Atlas won’t allow it.”
“You sound so sure. What can he do that a hospital can’t?”
A laugh. “Many, many things. You must listen to him, Ina, but don’t get too close. You’ve seen what happens to those who are connected to him.”
Memories came flooding in of the child. The little girl. I stepped back, swallowing through the returning terror.
“It had to be done. It is the way.”
“That was his daughter.”
“And I killed his queen as well. It was a small price for his family’s sins. Before you cast judgement, make sure you know the entire story.”
The room titled, swirling in dark shades. It started above like a tornado, spinning around me with a force that had my hair whipping against my face. I reached out, nearly falling before what looked like a medieval kingdom suddenly surrounded us. Black stone was beneath my feet, leading to massive walls men scaled over. They came in the thousands, breaking into the fortress like ants invading a sacred place. Bloodlust drew in their features, and roars could have been thunder from the volume of their deep tones. Dark skinned women and children ran from the small huts centered around the city courtyard, fires igniting their homes as chaos ensued.
For reasons I didn’t understand, I felt my gaze being drawn to the castle that looked more like it was from a nightmare than a dream. A man stood at the top of a tower, his long hair blowing in the wind. The armor covering his chest was the same gray as his skin, yet gold glistened as he pointed to someone behind us. Before I could turn to see who, hands were shaking me. I gasped, flailing as light began to break through.
“Shhh. It’s okay. It’s time for you to wake up.”
An SUV zoomed by, making me jump as a road came into view. I was in a car, and it was daytime. My head ached, and my throat was so dry, I could barely swallow.
“Where?” I cleared my throat. “Where am I?”
“Tijuana. You’ve been asleep for quite some time.”
“Tijuana!” I flew forward, not believing my eyes. “Have you lost mind? Take me back. Take me home.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
“Yes you can. Turn the car around and drive.”
“Then what? You go back and die? They can’t—”
Atlas stopped as he reached out, lifting my arm. Welts had his eyes jerking up to mine.
“You saw him again. He hurt you.”
I quickly broke contact.
“It was the sounds. It wasn’t him.”
“Sounds?”
“Yes. It’s nothing.”
“You must listen to me, Cara. You’re new to this, so you must understand. What happens there, wherever it is he takes you, is not real. It cannot hurt you. Burn that into your mind. It’s not real.”
“It seemed real to me.”
“The body you have there,” he eased my arm from my lap to hold it again, “is not this one. You are not physically in his presence. To believe so could result in more damage than you’re capable of handling. You must not believe. Your mind is more powerful than you know. Third density is a grounded realm. You are moving to fourth. I’ve been to fourth. Trust me when I say the way you think can alter your reality completely. Positivity. Love. What you believe is what manifests. Take this damage you suffered as proof.”
My arm was lowered again, and I couldn’t help but weigh his words. Third density, fourth density. I had no idea what the hell he was talking about, but I believed him. I was also afraid. After what I saw from the castle, I didn’t know who to trust.
“What more of Ri? What did he say?”
“He.” Again, I swallowed. “He said you’re going to save me.”
Confusion. “Was he opposed to that?”
“No.”
“He wants me to save you?”
“I think so. He said you wouldn’t fail. That you wouldn’t allow me to die.”
Atlas got quiet as he turned to stare ahead. For minutes, he didn’t speak. When he turned to me, he was full of anger.
“I should let you die. I should take you home and let this end once and for all. Let Ri reap what he sowed. This is not my problem. I didn’t do this. Any of it. Yet, I lost everything. Everything! How is that fair? Everything I was taught. Everything I believed. I know nothing.”
I jumped as his fist pounded into the steering wheel. A man walking by looked over his shoulder, but continued past.
“You’re right. You should take me home. I don’t want to be a part of any of this. He says only you can save me. I want to live, but not like this. Not as someone caught between the two of you. There’s bad blood. I’ve seen it from both sides. Take me home. Walk away with a free conscience. I’ll take my chances through treatment.”
Atlas’s head lowered. “You don’t understand.”
“I understand free will. I’m asking you to please take me home.”
Brown eyes came to me, full of sorrow—full of enough emotion to seize my heart.
“It’s more than duty that binds me. Ri and I are karmically tied. To let y
ou die only strengthens that tie. I left my home, my throne, to spare my people from his. I can never get that back. At least there’s a chance I can get rid of him forever if I save you.”
Questions wanted to come, like how he planned on doing that, but I couldn’t get over the obvious.
“Why me? Why him? Why you?”
“What do you mean?
“If he wants me saved, why can’t he do it? And why me? Don’t get me wrong, but Ri doesn’t seem like someone who wants to help others. He…” I bit my lip, fearing what I already knew. “The first time I saw him, he called me ‘his.’ This time, he called me Ina. What does that mean? Not what I think it does. I mean, you can’t just claim someone and it’s final, right?”
“I’m not sure I can explain this to where you’ll understand. Ri is not a being of light. He comes from darkness. He cannot heal like I can. The Ri species takes away. They infect. Humans…” He grew quiet. “Humans have always been off limits. Third density…we’re not the same. Not even close. But awakened humans like you are different. You could say there’s potential because of the transition into fourth density.”
“That’s not what I’m asking. I don’t care about the potential of an alien/human relationship. Do I have a choice in belonging to this thing?”
“Being,” Atlas corrected.
“He turns into a monster. That is not a being.”
“I assure you it is.”
“Atlas. Do I have a choice?”
“He called you Ina. Sumerian for within. Within each other. Two becomes one. You told me he merged with you. You must understand—”
“Then, no. Your refusal to answer clearly is an answer.” I turned, staring out the passenger side window. “I will not be saved just to be owned like some slave. Take me home.”
“I can’t.”
“You will!” I spun back toward him. “You speak of karma, of love, and goodness, yet you’d condemn a woman to a life she does not want, with a man who killed your wife and child? All for what, to break this stupid, karmic tie?”
Fingers clutched into the back of my hair so fast, I never saw Atlas move in and jerk me forward. A mere inch separated us, and all I could see were his eyes. And fire. It consumed me at his touch. I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t want to for fear he’d separate us. And that wasn’t right. None of this was.
“Never taint them again with the association of anger. Nor speak to what you do not know.”
“I know your people stormed his castle a long time ago. I know they killed his kind.”
The grip eased the smallest amount.
“Which time? My great, great, great grandfather? My grandfather? My father? They destroyed their population. The Ri came back. They attacked us. We attacked them. Back and forth. But I ended that. I took the biggest loss of love, and I ended it!”
“Did you? Why are you still tied to him?”
He let go, moving back, but his stare did not break from mine.
“I don’t know.”
“And what will your karma be if you save me, only to hand me over to him?”
Atlas paused. “I don’t know that either. My hope is the tie will transition from him to you. I can live with that.”
Chapter 6
Atlas
Had I just said that? Had I admitted handing her over to Ri? To the Ri, king of the monstrous killer species? No one deserved that. Especially some innocent human who hadn’t the slightest clue what she was in for. Peaceful beings like my own would have been hard enough for her to adjust to. Our traditions were nothing like the ones humans lived. But Ri? He’d kill her the first night. Surely, he knew this. Why even risk her life when she was dying anyway?
I nearly growled as I grabbed my wallet and phone from the console. Cara was still refusing to look at me, but it wasn’t like I could take back my words. And they hadn’t been a lie. I would take her being tied to me over Ri any day. What was the worst that could happen? I’d experience her anger? Her sadness? I had enough of my own, I probably wouldn’t even notice hers. Of course, if I saved her and she died, I’d feel that too.
“We need supplies.”
“You mean my miraculous healing isn’t taking place in the back room of a donkey show? I’m so disappointed.”
“Should I know what that means?”
She threw the door open, rolling her eyes at me before slamming it behind her. I got out, regretting ever thinking she was small and fragile. There was a vicious temper in this one. A warrior. Perhaps Ri had seen something in her after all.
A large group of people were in the distance, and random couples and men were walking the streets. I quickly went around the car as Cara began heading in the wrong direction at a fast pace.
“Where are you going?”
Dark hair spun as she looked back at me, but she only went faster. I jogged, not having to take more than a few steps before I grasped her bicep. She immediately jerked at the contact.
“What are you doing? The store is the other way.”
“I’m going home.”
“We’ve discussed this. You’re going with me.”
“I’m not.”
“Woman.”
“¡Policía! ¡Policía! ¡Por favor, ayúdame! ¡Policía!”
Heads spun in our direction, some people even stopping to turn and look at us. I held her tighter at the obvious reaction of the crowd, pulling her back toward the car.
“¡Policía! ¡Policía! ¡Por favor! Call the police, please!”
“Ooh, you are so going to get it.”
Nails tore into my arm as Cara went wild to get away. The people were growing more curious. When three men left the crowd and began heading in our direction, I felt the small amount of power I harvested inside surge. My palm flattened around Cara’s forehead, and I closed my eyes long enough to push my message deep into her subconscious. She immediately went limp.
“Hey! Hey, you!”
Sweeping her into my arms, I threw open the passenger door, dumping her back inside. The men were running, coming right toward me. I raced around, getting in and driving off as fast as I could. Rage ignited, but more at myself. What had I been thinking, being so open about my plans and feelings? This woman was sick, fated to the Ri, and just as alien to me as I was to her. She had every right to fight this process. But I couldn’t leave here without food or supplies. We had such a long way to go. I might not be able to stop again for some time. It was a fool’s mission once I got out of civilization. To stop invited a threat too great to take.
“Call Kelu.”
“Calling Ke-loo.”
Ringing filled the interior, but I barely heard it as I weaved through roads, stopping at a populated area. Stores lined the sides, and I parked, hanging up when she didn’t answer. To leave Cara alone was a risk, but I didn’t have a choice. I had to take her to my sister. She was the only chance Cara had. If Kelu could heal her, the tie would break. It had to. There was nothing else I could recall that the Paltenians were responsible for. If anything, Ri should have been indebted to me.
A soft sound had me turning to look at my passenger. The emotions that came with it were confusing. A part of me felt sorry for Cara for what she’d been through—and was going to go through. Yet, I couldn’t deny there was a pride and surprise for the fight she had. It made her more beautiful to me. She wasn’t crying. She wasn’t hysterical at finding out about me or Ri. All she had were questions, ones she was trying to solve on her own terms. I could have killed her for the scene she displayed. She didn’t know what I was capable of. But she took the chance and fought me anyway. I liked that. I respected it.
Cracking the windows, I turned off the car, taking the keys and locking it behind me. I couldn’t chance her waking up or someone else stealing both her and the car. As I headed to the door, I pulled out money, offering it to a small boy leaning against the building.
“Watch the car?”
“Sí, señor. Gracias.”
I smiled, heading inside. A fan in th
e corner of the small space pushed dry heat against me. I pulled at my collar as I began to head down the aisle, collecting all the food I could hold. The selection wasn’t great, but it would have to do. Had I been thinking straight, I would have grabbed more than just clothes from Cara’s house before I’d carried her out to my car.
Two loaves of bread were all that was left, and I stacked them on the growing pile. When I headed toward the register, the cashier’s eyes watched me suspiciously. I placed it down, holding my finger up as I jogged back to grab two cases of water. He was already ringing up the total, but I couldn’t tear my eyes from my car. Two men were walking around it, one closer than I liked. I kept my attention between them and the cashier, moving towards the entrance as the older man bagged the food.
“Thirty-four dollars, twenty-five cents.”
The numbers lit up on the cash register, and I took out two twenties, waving away the change as I collected the bags and water. The moment I opened the door, the men glanced my way. I didn’t pause. My steps became more aggressive. So much so, I couldn’t stop the protection pouring from me in waves.
“Go.”
One word filled with an ocean of threats.
I placed the water on top of the car, then unlocked and pulled my door open. The man on the passenger side walked around the back, wide, while the other moved in closer. Their intention was clear. I didn’t have to see their aura to feel their threat. It spoke to the man within—spoke to something I couldn’t even define.
Tossing the bags in the backseat, I grabbed the water, pausing as the one closest inched forward. Immediately, I set them back down, turning to glare.
“I don’t want to hurt you, but I’m about two seconds from tearing off your legs. Back. Up.”
A quick banter I couldn’t understand went back and forth between the men. The one feet away stepped to the side. As he did, I turned, grabbing the cases of water and throwing them in the backseat. More yelling came from the side of the store from a man I hadn’t seen before. A part of me wanted them to try something. The need to spill blood hit hard, dimming my light. If they’d only give me a reason, something, I could do more than hurt them. If I wanted, I could end their life with one hit. Kill. Death. Visions pushed into my head of them lying on the ground, bloodied and broken, startling me. I blinked hard, seeing a glimmer of something race down the now smiling man who was headed toward his friend. They were giving up. But they weren’t who they appeared. The tan skin darkened to gray, and a hard tug left a rubber band popping within. My pulse exploded, and I could almost hear Ri laughing. Darkness. I was linked with it because of our tie, and he was showing me his persuasion over my actions. He was showing me he was back.
Atlas Lost Page 5
