Enlightenment (Children of Ankh series Book 2)

by Kim Cormack

  Kayn apologized, “When Kevin killed me, something happened. I didn’t believe he’d be able to hurt me. I changed, I lost myself. I hunted him down and the others were nothing but white noise. They were collateral damage to my rage.”

  Zach’s eyes softened as he whispered, “I had a hard time buying anything any of them were saying. You’re just not that person.” He scooted up beside Kayn. He took her in his arms and held her. She allowed him to hold her but she was incapable of tears. Kayn laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. He said, “I’m so sorry. I can’t even imagine what that would be like. Just so you know, this was part of the job description. The torture and the agony, we all agreed to it. We made a choice to live this way for the opportunity to survive. I’d be tortured every single day to keep either of you safe and I would know it was worth it. I’m alright Kayn.”

  Melody added, “Ditto.”

  “How come we couldn’t find you? Where were you all that time?” Zach questioned.

  Kayn explained, “Well, you guys know I was attacked by the demon from my Sweet Sleep. Patrick accidentally killed me. Zach found me in that room. We were drugged together and I lost you two. I was drowned three times and then wrapped in a cocoon by an enormous rat spider. I fell into rapids with Kevin. We went over a waterfall and ended up in the jungle, where he dumped me for the eightieth time. We split up and I saw my mother, it turned out to be a distraction. Kevin killed me. I hunted him down, killed him and everyone else. A bunch of messed-up things happened and then a giant scorpion tiger spit lava at me. I was burned alive and turned to ash. That was not the high light of my day. I learned how to make blue balls of energy. Melody and I found each other and then I blew up Kevin’s girlfriend.”

  While grinning, Zach said, “Well, now that’s one creative way to solidify a breakup.” He tussled her hair, hugged her to his chin and kissed the top of her head.

  He wasn’t angry. Neither of them were.

  “I bet the lava experience was unpleasant,” Zach whispered.

  “There are no words,” Kayn replied.

  “I haven’t yet had the joy of finding the drowning rooms either,” Zach added.

  Kayn continued to rest her head on his chest for a second while listening to his heartbeat, which was incredibly soothing. She was emotionally drained and felt like closing her eyes. Kayn whispered, “It’s actually not that bad when compared to the other ways to die...The drowning room.”

  As he stroked her hair, he whispered, “Close your eyes if you need to. I’ve been told that my shoulder’s a great pillow.”

  She didn’t need him to say anything else. She shut her eyes, still listening to the conversation while giving her senses a rest. She felt Zach shift her head to his lap. He continued to stroke her hair.

  Mel commented, “She looks remarkably peaceful for someone recently drowned, eaten, dumped and attacked by a lava-spitting tiger lizard.”

  “She’s almost asleep,” he replied while stroking her hair lovingly.

  She heard Zach offer Mel his shoulder or lower down on his legs. She didn’t open her eyes. She heard Melody give Zach a kiss on the cheek.

  Zach whispered, “What was that for?”

  Melody whispered back, “You’re a really great guy. We should be telling you that more often.”

  He teased, “Trust me…I’m not that great.”

  Kayn spoke from her place on his lap, “I’ve noticed a lot of men call themselves down because they’re not up to their own version of perfect. Sometimes, all a girl is really looking for is a soft, safe shoulder to lay her head on.”

  Zach chuckled, “Kayn, for someone with absolutely no dating experience whatsoever, there was a lot of wisdom in that statement.”

  Kayn grinned and whispered, “Every once in a while, brilliant things just pop in my head.” She heard them laughing quietly as she drifted off to dream.

  Punch Drunk

  Kayn dreamt of many things both good and bad that night, or day. With no moon or sun in the sky, time seemed to be unimportant. They were sleeping because they were tired. The events she’d experienced replayed in her mind as it attempted to make some sort of sense of it all.

  A tunnel appeared and she began to venture down it. Frost stood at the end of the tunnel with his arms outstretched. Kayn gazed into his eyes.

  He intertwined his fingers with hers, kissed her hand and whispered, “I can’t help you.”

  Kayn agreed with him, “No, you can’t. I have to help myself.”

  “You’re not alone Kayn. Look beside you.” Frost’s voice urged.

  As his image floated away in the mist, his words echoed in her mind. Kayn opened her eyes and saw Melody. She looked up and saw Zach sound asleep slumped against the wall. She understood what her subconscious mind had been saying. Awake, she struggled to her feet. Her legs were numb from the awkward position she’d fallen asleep in. She awoke with the renewed knowledge that she owed these two people everything. She’d been selfishly serving her own needs. These two Ankh that slept beside her, were everything. They would always be there. They were bound together forever in a spiritually platonic marriage of souls. She’d been focused in the wrong direction. She was too strong to think that a broken heart would destroy her world. It wasn’t going to destroy it, but it would forever alter her perspective.

  There was food in the corner of the room. It had not been there when they’d fallen asleep. She looked at the other two. Zach was curled up in the most uncomfortable looking position. Melody was sprawled across his legs. His legs would be asleep when he finally made an attempt to stand. They’d been tortured. They were mentally exhausted. She suspected that version of her death, was yet to come. She’d died many times physically but it was emotionally that she’d died a thousand deaths. Kayn felt harder on the inside now. If only someone could wipe her memory. She didn’t see the down side to a clean slated mind. The others began to stir. Once they were fully awake Kayn pointed out the food in the corner of the room. There was a giant tray of fruit and a loaf of plain bread. She walked over there and found a reasonably comfortable pillow to sit on. The pillow poked her in the butt. She noticed that something pointy was sticking out of it. What is it? She pulled it through the material. It was a long brilliant red feather. She held it up to the others and asked, “What do you think this is from?”

  Zach replied, “With our luck it’s from a giant man eating parrot.”

  Melody glared at Zach and hissed, “Seriously Zach? Shut your mouth!”

  Kayn groped the rest of the pillow. It was full of tiny feathers? She tore it open to look inside. The rest of the feathers were tiny, delicate and brown. The hamster wheel between her ears started to spin. What if there were more of these giant feathers hidden in the other pillows? What were they for? Everything unusual that she’d randomly come across had some sort of purpose in this place. Kayn ripped another pillow with too much gusto and thousands of tiny brown feathers exploded into the air. They began to descend slowly, magically, all around her.

  Zach said, “Are you done tearing the place up yet? You’re like a kid searching for a seagull feather on the beach. Yes, it’s a giant red feather. Yes, I’m certain there’s some kind of messed-up future situation where it will come in handy but I’m sure the next group unlucky enough to be stuck in the place would appreciate the use of at least one pillow.” Zach wandered towards her. He blew a path through the feathers with pursed lips. They separated, allowing him a feather-free walk. They drifted eerily to the ground on either side of him.

  Kayn passed Zach the red feather and said, “You keep it. I still owe you for the torture.”

  Zach didn’t take it from her hand. He left her hanging and chuckled, “We already had this conversation. You don’t owe me anything. I expected my little fling with Stephanie to end with something epically messed-up. I boarded that crazy train all by myself. You had nothing to do with it.”

  Kayn took the red feather and playfully tickled Zach’s arm with it. She teas
ed, “But was she worth it?”

  Melody wandered over. She glared at Zach and wisecracked, “Don’t you dare say it was worth it.” Zach started to laugh and didn’t reply for a second. Melody socked him in the arm.

  “Of course she wasn’t,” Zach laughed. “You were both so nice to me before we took a nap. I guess love Zach fest is over?”

  Kayn determined it was wine in the goblets by the scent. She passed Zach one of the goblets of wine as a peace offering. These immortals consumed red wine with everything. She would have preferred a goblet of orange juice at this point but felt obligated to drink the enormous heavy goblet of wine. It was obviously some sort of reward or gift. They were supposed to be safe in the sleep chambers. Hopefully this time that was the truth. Kayn recalled the gas. They’d left the sleep chambers though. Had they stayed there, they might have been just fine. They would have had a nice sleep and woken up refreshed. That is where they’d split up the last time. When they split up everything went wrong. Kayn had learned a few lessons during their separation. She learned to value what she already had. She also was finally able to let go of that last piece of her past that was pulling her under. She’d been weakened by her feelings for the enemy. Kevin was now and would always be her enemy. Her childish fantasies had been snuffed out as quickly as he’d snuffed her out with the sharp end of his blade.

  She gulped down the bread and fruit, half-starved. They raised their glasses of wine.

  Zach gave a toast, “To learning to accept the inevitable.”

  Kayn and Melody both raised their goblets and repeated the words, “To accepting the inevitable.”

  With no concept of time, she had no idea how long she’d gone without food and drink before this moment. Nothing made sense, except each other. It was a new state of being for Kayn. For the first time, she saw herself as only one of three parts. The three of them and only the three of them together, made a whole. Her guilt for not fully understanding this earlier began to dissipate. She was having the best time. She almost forgot where they were. As fast as they ate the food, it reappeared. As fast as they consumed the wine, the glasses were magically full again. They were drinking too much wine? Kayn attempted to stand. She toppled over, howling laughing as she landing on all fours. She showed Melody her skinned knees. Blood began to trickle down her flesh. Running on instinct, she laid her hand on Melody’s thigh. Her hand warmed and became uncomfortably hot. Her knees began to tingle.

  Melody moved away from her as she accused, “Your hand just burned me? You just healed yourself with my gift, didn’t you? How’d you do that Brighton?”

  Kayn followed Melody’s eyes to her knees. She wiped off the blood to reveal freshly healed scratch-free skin. She attempted to give her an explanation, “I don’t really know? I felt like I should touch you. It wasn’t a planned thing.”

  Mel whispered, “You didn’t take my gift from me, did you?” She took her knife, sliced her palm and healed instantly. “I healed faster than normal. I think you did something to amplify my ability.”

  Kayn shrugged as she stared at her hand and whispered, “I guess you learn something new every day?” They looked concerned. As she gazed down, she understood. It was happening again. Her veins were clearly visible.

  “That’s a little bit creepy,” Zach commented.

  Kayn shrugged again and sighed, “Brain growing pains?” Had she amped up Melody’s own ability to heal? She got the shivers. What did this mean? She had an ominous feeling about sharing the knowledge that she could do that.

  Zach looked at Kayn and requested, “Can you give me some of whatever you gave Mel? I haven’t been Enlightened yet. I still have a target on my back.”

  Kayn shimmied her behind closer to Zach and said, “I can try.” She left her not so comfy cushion, crawled over to Zach with no coordination whatsoever and touched his chest with both hands. She glanced at Melody and asked, “Well, now what do I do?”

  “I can’t really explain it.” Melody laughed. “I want it to happen and then it just does.”

  Kayn repeatedly touched him but nothing happened. Frustrated, she sighed, “Well, that’s obviously not going to work.” Maybe she needed more energy? Kayn stood up and fumbled her way over to the wall. She looked at her friends and said, “Promise to bring me back, if lose my marbles again?”

  “Do you really have to ask?” Zach replied.

  Kayn placed both hands against the wall and was blasted clear across the room. That sucked. With her nerves still jangling, she sat up, shook her head and announced, “Shit! That hurt!” She’d once again landed directly on her knees.

  Mel laughed, “You can’t keep stealing my healing energy, just so you can spend all day healing the same injury.”

  Kayn groaned as she wiped away the blood with her hand. She was already healed. What in the hell? She was healing, just like a Healer.

  “Creepy, did you just healed yourself again?” Zach exclaimed.

  Kayn whispered, “I wonder how long I get to keep the ability for?” She made her way back to Zach and touched his arm.

  He leapt away from her, startled and accused, “You shocked me!” Zach asked for the knife. He grimaced as he sliced the palm of his hand. Nothing happened… He didn’t heal. He sighed and said, “Are you going to help me out Mel or do you just want to watch me bleed all over the room?”

  Melody suggested, “Kayn...why don’t you try?”

  “Why not?” Kayn said as she crawled towards him on freshly healed knees.

  “You’re not going to electrocute me again, are you?” He teased.

  Kayn answered, “I honestly have no idea.” Zach hesitantly allowed her to take his hand. For a moment, nothing happened. He just continued to bleed. Then something miraculous occurred. Her hand grew warmer. Her heart raced and her hand became scalding hot. Zach tried to squirm away and she released his hand from her grasp. He wiped off the blood and his palm was healed. She’d healed him.

  He gulped and exclaimed, “So, you’re a Healer now?”

  Kayn’s pulse raced as veins rose on her arms, legs and chest in reaction to the energy coursing through her being. She wasn’t a Healer…She was something else. She’d been told but she couldn’t recall the name. As she struggled to catch her breath, her mind kept prodding, you’re starving. You need energy. Find more. You’re hungry. Ripples of excruciatingly painful fire surged through her. She collapsed and began squirming on the stone floor. Her mind kept whispering, eat something. You need energy. She rolled over while gasping for breath and began crawling towards the tombs wall.

  Melody blocked her path, knowing what she was experiencing, she pleaded, “No. Not yet. You can’t do it while your mind is screaming. Wait until you’re feeling calm, just a minute or two longer. I promise you, the pain is going to stop.”

  An animalistic fury surged through Kayn’s being as she writhed around on the floor. She fought against her, while gasping, “I’m starving! I need it!”

  Mel aggressively pinned her down as she calmly assured, “It’s alright. It’ll pass. Let it pass.”

  Her brain kept telling her she was starving to death. Kayn was now consciously fighting against the urge to take energy from Melody. The hunger was too strong. She thrashed while shrieking in agony, “Get away from me! I’m going to hurt you! I need it!” Mel held her ground as she violently struggled. Kayn felt herself slipping away as she met Mel’s eyes and quietly pleaded, “Don’t make me hurt you.” She felt something shut down in her sentiment. She was an autonomous being once more. Kayn’s expression darkened as she ominously stated, “Fine…I’ll eat you.”

  Melody panicked, “Shit!” She rolled off her and hollered, “Zach! Jump on her! She can get too much energy from me! If she makes it to that wall in this state, we won’t be able to stop her!”

  Zach tackled Kayn as she lurched for the wall, putting his full weight on top of her. He whispered, “You don’t want to hurt me. I love you. Fight it.” Melody put her weight on top of Zach so Kayn couldn’t ma
ke direct contact with her skin and they both pinned Kayn’s tortured body to the crypt floor.

  Kayn growled, “Get off me! Let me go!” She struggled beneath them.

  Zach whispered in her ear, “I can’t let you go. I promised you, I wouldn’t let you get lost.”

  His words triggered something in her memory. Kayn felt the rage and the hunger begin to subside. She listened to the calming sound of Zach’s voice. He spoke soothingly until she felt the need let go. Her tortured soul unraveled and she went limp beneath him.

  When she awoke, her friends were both sitting on pillows comically intoxicated. Zach was tickling her arm slowly with the red feather.

  “That tickles,” Kayn whispered.

  The laughing ceased. Zach’s eyes filled with happy tears as he began apologizing, “I’m sorry I asked you to try to give me some of your ability. When you asked me to bring you back if you got lost, I didn’t understand what that meant.”