Enlightenment (Children of Ankh series Book 2)

by Kim Cormack

  A wall appeared and slid open behind them, Melody dove through it giving the others no choice but to follow her. They had to stay together. The door slid shut, leaving one lone butterfly with them in the crypt. It vanished before one of them could squish it. Kayn imagined the monarch was on its way to lure the next group of suckers into the field.

  Zach complained, “Thanks Mel, now that monarch is going to come flitting back with a million of its friends and pick our bones clean of meat while we stand here stupefied in a stone corridor instead of a beautiful field.”

  Before Melody had the chance to respond, the stone shifted beneath their feet and slid away. Both girls managed to grab onto the edge but Zach fell through. As they dangled above the heated glow below, Kayn urged, “Let go! We have to stay together!” Kayn released her grip and plummeted towards the glowing sweltering heat. She kept her eyes on Melody as Zach began shrieking. Bravely, Melody released her grip. Kayn didn’t look down. She kept her eyes trained on Melody. A second later her mind exploded.

  Kayn awoke flat on her back on the stone. She had not allowed herself to view this last demise. She’d kept her eyes trained on Melody until her brain shut itself down.

  This time it was Zach, sitting there waiting for them to awaken. He announced, “Now, we’ve all done lava.”

  Kayn squeezed her eyes shut again as she sighed, “I’ve done lava twice.” A voice that seemed to be coming from the walls kept whispering, you want to go to sleep. Lie down, close your eyes and go to sleep. Kayn lay sprawled on the stone floor, staring at the ceiling as she whispered, “Do you guys hear that voice too?

  “What voice?” Melody quizzed.

  Zach nodded at Kayn as he whispered, “I’ve been able to hear it since right before the monarch butterfly incident. It’s been telling me I need to go to sleep.”

  Kayn stared into Zach’s eyes with the knowledge that they were both in danger…Real danger. She wanted to succumb to the words. With every inch of her being she wanted to close her eyes and go to sleep. Zach had obviously been hearing these subliminal messages for a while longer. He was strong. The tone was so soothing. It was difficult to ignore. It was as though the words were chipping away at her subconscious need for this to be over. Kayn fought the urge to close her eyes and drift away on the rhythm of the soothing words.

  Melody harshly shook her. She ordered, “Get up! Neither of you are allowed to check out on me! I’m not going to let you go!”

  Kayn opened her eyes and scrambled to her feet. She said, “It’s surprisingly difficult to ignore. It’s as if a voice in the walls is trying to hypnotize us into going to sleep.”

  Melody replied, “Maybe this never ends if you succumb to that voice. Don’t you want to get back to the others? At least there are some good times to look forward to amidst the bad.”

  Zach struggled to stand. Kayn took his hand and helped him steady himself. He sighed, “If there was a way to tune out the voices, it would definitely help.”

  Melody squeezed his shoulder and said, “Baby chicks.”

  Kayn knew what Melody was trying to do. She smiled as she thought of the things that made her happy. She added, “Floating dust in a ray of sunshine.” Kayn glanced at Zach and prodded, “Your turn.”

  “Kissing Mel,” he teased.

  Melody grinned as she promised, “I’ll kiss you every day for a full month if you don’t check out on me.”

  He smiled and promised, “I’m holding you to that.”

  “What do I get for not checking out?” Kayn asked.

  Mel teased, “I can’t imagine a kiss from Frost would be anything less than remarkable.”

  Her emotions for Frost were more volatile than loving at the moment. He would have known about the plot to have Kevin kill her during the Testing. Kayn glanced back at Melody and replied, “I’m sure it would have been remarkable. Well, that was back before he was involved in a plot to kill me. The situation has obviously changed…I’ve changed. The love of my life murdered me, which definitely puts things in perspective.” Her stone heart twitched. She’d spoken the words aloud. He’d slit her throat. No tears came. The time for tears was long gone. They wandered in silence for a while with no walls shifting around them…Nothing happened. They were being provided a moment of calm in which to have their epiphanies. Kayn announced, “I think my future goals need to be about experiencing life and honing my skills. Love needs to be placed on the back burner.”

  Zach teased, “That’s all part of experiencing life Brighton. When we get out of here, maybe you just need to be young and stupid for a while? Start living in the now.”

  Kayn spun around and said, “The here and now is really not all that appealing.”

  “You know that’s not what I meant,” Zach teased. “I mean strip off all of your clothes to dance in a field naked. Kiss a stranger.”

  “I second that dare,” Mel declared.

  Kayn asked, “Which one?”

  Zach said, “It doesn’t matter which one as long as you step out of that safe little box.”

  Kayn replied, “By the time we get out of this place, none of us will fit the box we came in.”

  They were all beginning to notice the extended break in the violence, the lack of clashing swords and it had been a while since they’d stumbled upon any wickedly depraved chambers. There was only the sound of their footsteps on the stone.

  Mel bent down and picked up a small black bag. She looked inside it and announced, “It’s empty.” They remained there for a minute and no walls moved. Melody enquired, “You guys aren’t hearing those voices anymore, are you?”

  “Mine are gone,” Zach replied.

  Kayn added, “Mine are gone too.” Kayn understood why they had gulped that wine back, repercussions be damned, they’d needed the break. What she wouldn’t give for a sleep chamber and a goblet of wine right now. How long had it been since she slept? Kayn opened the next room by asking it politely. Zach and Melody walked in first but a barrier kept Kayn from following. She bounced off the entrance, blocked by an invisible force field. Zach attempted to come back out, but he couldn’t. Zach and Melody tried to get to each other but they were also divided by a transparent barrier. Kayn made another attempt to get inside. She pressed both hands against the see-through barrier. A charge ran up both of her arms and set fire to her chest. Adrenaline began to pulse through her. The need for energy began to hum in her brain, the undeniable urgent desire to fuel her ability. Kayn watched Zach through the transparent, impenetrable barrier. She watched him squirm and cry out, without sound. She couldn’t help him. He couldn’t save her from herself if she gave in to this urge to stretch her boundaries. Both Zach and Melody separately appeared to be reliving something horrible. A goblet of wine appeared in front of her. It was a hologram, a distraction. Kayn stared at the enormous glass. She went to pick it up. It was real. She could turn off her mind with this wine. She felt a small surge of energy come from simply grasping the goblet in her hands. She raised it to her lips. She paused and tossed it up against the invisible barrier. The purple liquid dribbled down the force field. What in the hell was wrong with her? What was happening in her mind? Since when was it more important to turn off her own pain? This wasn't like her. Kayn sensed she was losing it a bit. She placed the goblet on the ground and shook her head. They would have already found a way to help her by now. She looked at the goblet and it was refilled. She kicked the goblet over with her foot. She needed to find some salt. It looked as though they were both going through what she’d gone through moments after they’d arrived. She was going to have to leave them here and endeavor to find her way back. She took one last look at them and sprinted down the corridor. She darted into each room that opened, scanned it and moved on to the next. She raced down a long winding cobblestone path and turned the corner into a swarm of monarch butterflies. Kayn stammered, “Shit! Shit!” She swung her arms around in front of her, swatting them out of her path. She kept running even though she’d been bitten numerous times.
Kayn encountered a few sacks of salt almost immediately. She quickly made her way back to her clan led by instinct. She bolted through the swarm of ravenous monarchs without a second thought. With her skin covered in bleeding welts, she sprinted through the maze of sliding walls to rescue her fellow Ankh. Kayn took a handful of salt and tossed it at the first barrier. She could hear Melody now.

  Melody was sobbing, “He’s just a baby. No, please don’t hurt him. He’s only a little boy.” She began to scream, “No! Please! Don’t! Stop! Please! Hurt me! Take me! You can do whatever you want to me! He’s a baby! You’re hurting him! You’re hurting him!” She began to shriek and tear at her face with her fingernails.

  Kayn knew she had to be smart. She threw a little bit of salt at her and Melody’s body was baptized by the tiny particles of demonic forgiveness. Mel gasped as she opened her eyes. Melody lunged forward and began to vomit. Kayn stroked her back as her friend proceeded to heave. She consoled her, “It wasn’t real. That wasn’t real.”

  Melody wrapped her arms around her chest and repeated, “It wasn't real?”

  Kayn repeated her words, “No, it wasn't real.”

  Melody reached up and touched her own face. She had blood on her. She stared at her palm and held it up at Kayn.

  Kayn explained, “Honey, you were scratching at your own face. That’s your blood. You’ve healed yourself already.” Kayn whispered, “I think Zach is being Enlightened. I threw salt at him and it didn’t stop anything. I’m afraid to touch him. I don’t know what to do. I think we just have to wait it out.” She helped Melody sit up to show her Zach’s situation. There was a sound. She was grabbed from behind and yanked through the wall. The hand over her mouth stifled her squeals of protest. Her captor tightened his grip around her throat. She stopped struggling.

  Kevin’s voice scolded, “Why couldn’t you just embrace what you’re meant to become? Why do you keep fighting it?”

  Her heart felt like a lump of stone within her ribcage. It wasn’t fluttering because of her love for him. It ceased to ache because of what they’d done to each other. She felt the dull hum of nothing. Kayn struggled to reach the wall. Her hand made contact. It wasn’t working. Why wasn’t it working?

  Kevin’s voice reprimanded, “Your abilities won’t work in here, stop trying.” He whispered against her hair, “You forced me to do this.” He tossed her into another room as the wall slid away. Kayn landed on all fours. The wall slid shut before she could glance back. She found herself encircled by undisguised Abaddon, in their darkest form. She tried to crawl away. Two of them grabbed her arms as the third knelt above her. It began to whisper words in a language she could not even place. Under normal circumstances Kayn might have made more of an effort to get away. Kevin had thrown her to the Abaddon. He’d slit her throat and she had killed him in return. She couldn’t process the idea of self-preservation. She’d shut down emotionally to the point where she was looking forward to feeling the pain. She gasped as her captor slid a serrated blade into her abdomen. The faceless being began to slice upwards, blood drained from her body as though it were spilling sand from a broken hourglass. She succumbed to the pain and rode the waves of agony through the feeling of the warmth as her essence pooled behind her on the stone. She lay in a bed of liquid warmth. This was the only peaceful sensation at the end of her will. She allowed her mind to find a disturbing version of peace in the rhythm of the blade that tortured her.

  A raspy voice whispered, “Yes…Ride the pain until it becomes a part of you. It will stay with you long after the ride is over. It will be a lingering voice in the back of your mind, an ache in your soul. You’ll remember me always. I will become a part of who you are. I will be the nightmare you see when you close your eyes. I’ll be the voice in your head that whispers, never again.

  The excruciating pain had all but disappeared. Her mind had shut it down. Kevin had delivered her to the Abaddon to experience a tortuous version of death. Breathe in…Breathe out. She choked and sputtered out blood. The being laid both hands on her head, her mind began to hum. The excruciating pain returned instantly. Blinding waves of agony plunged against the shore of her mind. How lovely… He was going to make her feel every second.

  The raspy male voice whispered, “I have something to show you Conduit.”

  The dark being reached into her exposed stomach contents. She felt a tugging, burning sensation. He yanked out the length of her intestines, sliding them slowly through the arch of where his palm met his thumb. He presented them to her. He grinned with mangled, jagged teeth. This isn’t real. The other vacant-eyed fiends swarmed around her body in a wild panting frenzy. This isn’t happening. She watched in horror as beings began to feast on her intestines, yanking and tearing her apart with their razor-sharp teeth. Her heart began to palpitate and even though she was told her ability would not work, she commanded her emotions to cease. Turn it off. Shut it down. She felt a tugging sensation as her body was savagely ripped apart. Through her numbed mind, she saw one of them gnawing on the meaty end of one of her legs. It was no longer attached to her torso. In that instant, Kayn stepped outside of herself. She screamed until she lost consciousness.

  She awoke on the ground with a gasp. She’d been abandoned by the assailants that had painted the chamber red. The room was drenched in her blood. She’d been killed in so many ways… She’d lost count. This last time was the death of her emotional self, the demise of a large portion of her humanity. She’d been tortured and disemboweled. She had been shown her own insides. She remembered everything, every last horrifying second. Kevin had been the one to deliver her to this horrendous version of death. She lay in the still and the silence without attempting to move a muscle. There are some things that you can't come back from.

  The wall opened and she was dragged through it by a familiar face. Patrick stammered, “I don't have time to explain but things are not as they appear to be.”

  Patrick left her there lying emotionally vacant on the ground, staring at the stone above. She didn’t try to stand up nor did she attempt to seek vengeance. She was one with the floor. She would close her eyes and become a part of it now. She heard someone coming. They were Triad. They looked down at her and kept walking. She heard one of them say, “She’s almost gone, don't bother.”

  She lay motionless on the hard stone floor with her eyes wide open, without even the will to blink. They were right. She was almost gone.

  The walls around her began whispering, you’re finished. Go to sleep. You can’t take anymore. It’s over...Let go.

  She heard her sister’s voice pleading, “Get the hell up Kayn! You have to stand back up! You need to get up now! We have to go and find the others!”

  Kayn mouthed the words, “I can’t.” She closed her eyes and decided it was best if she slipped away into a dream. Someone started poking her. Kayn opened her eyes. Her twin sister was leaning over her. She was clearly hallucinating.

  Her sister’s voice hissed, “You get your ass up! This is not just about you! The others need you! They can’t leave here without you! I can't leave here without you! You have no right to give up! Get the hell up!” Chloe hauled her to her feet and dragged her limp body into the first room she came across.

  Kayn tried to focus. She clutched both of her sister’s arms, “You can’t be here. This isn’t real.”

  A voice in her mind said, I’m here with you. Now and always but if you don’t get your ass in gear I’m going to take over. Do you want me to do that Kayn?

  “Sometimes,” Kayn whispered. She echoed, “Sometimes, I do want you to do that.” Her twin was staring at her, a little perplexed at what she was talking about.

  Chloe crouched before her and urged, “You have to keep going Kayn. There are so many things that still need to happen.”

  “What has to happen?” Kayn groggily asked.

  The Other Ankh

  The girl in front of her changed. This was not her sister. It was a friendly looking female stranger.

 
A girl at least six feet tall, with a pixie cut grinned and said, “You see me now... don't you? My name’s Astrid and I’ve been in this place for a long damn time.”

  Kayn repeated her name, “Astrid?” She had a fancy sounding British accent.

  “My parents were hilarious,” she explained. “It’s a family name and a long story.”

  Kayn took in her kind mannerisms as she replied, “Long time?”

  Astrid clarified, “I’m Ankh.”

  Kayn abruptly regained her mojo. This girl had been in here at least five years. How was that even possible?

  Astrid attempted to explain, “I can only imagine what you’re thinking. You’re thinking this girl’s full of it. There is no possible way she’s been in here that long without losing her shit. Well, my ability generates a euphoric sensation. I can exist in my own mind. I even managed to keep the other girl I came in with somewhat mentally hinged. The rules are simple. You can't leave this place unless you possess everyone you came in with. There’s something they don’t tell you. Once two clans have found their way out, the third can't leave. They’re stuck in here, even if they find the way out. Haley and I were the last clan out during our Testing. We were denied departure. We kept each other sane, waiting for the next group of Ankh to come through Testing. We’re just praying we can get out with you three, on a technicality. Haley went to find the rest of your clan.”

  Kayn was in awe of the girl sitting before her. How long had she been in here?

  Astrid smiled as she responded to her thoughts, “We’ve been waiting a long time for you guys.”

  Kayn’s heart thawed. It was quite apparent that the unstoppable girl named Astrid possessed enough faith for all of them.

  Astrid took her hands, she gently squeezed them while urging, “Look at me and try to smile. You’ll start to feel better. We know the way out. It’s time to gather that last breath of courage. It’s almost over. I promise you...Kayn. It is almost over.”