“Tie it around your waist,” Robert called out, while the other two dropped out of the tree.
Troy swam to the water bike and pulled it closer. He wound the rope around my waist, tied a knot and stroked my head. The rope jerked, the knot tightened and I was yanked out of the water. The sound of the water cascading off my wet clothes echoed throughout the ravine and resonated all the way down the river. I placed my feet on the edge of the ravine wall and the boys pulled me to safety. Troy released the water bike’s anchor and climbed up the walls and onto the ledge without a rope. I crouched down, squeezing the water from my jeans, my feet slipping in my soaked shoes. The breeze blew a soft chill over me making me shiver. Helpfully, Dave handed me a sweater. I cleared my throat, signaling for the boys to turn around so I could change. I peeled off my wet, sleeveless top and pulled the sweater over my head. Troy had politely turned his back and was blocking anyone from taking a peek. His protectiveness was heartwarming. I rolled the sweater’s sleeves up and giggled at how I must looked drowning in Dave’s sweater. Troy took my hand and our fingers automatically laced together.
“We have something to show you,” Robert boasted.
I didn’t reply, but I let them lead me through the forest. The faint smell of smoke drifted in the air, and in the distance I could hear the soft beating of drums. I stopped dead in my tracks, my stomach leaping into my throat. Troy pulled me forward.
“Come on.”
“Troy.” My voice wobbled. “I’m not ready.”
I stared down at his outstretched forearm as he tugged me along; I saw the muscles pull tighter as I moved back.
“You’ll never be ready,” he said, pulling me closer.
“That’s right,” Robert declared and let out a resounding howl.
“Troy, please,” I pleaded.
“Just trust me,” he pleaded back, his forehead scrunched into a million folds as he stared at me through his thick, brown eyelashes.
As we drew closer to a clearing, my hands started to sweat. I pulled free from Troy’s grasp to wipe the stickiness from them.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of,” Troy said gently, staring into my eyes to comfort me.
“Okay,” I said, still unsure and still a little shaky, but then my eyes fell on the village.
In the big clearing between the trees and nestled up against a rising cliff, stood dozens of round huts adorned with vibrant patterns that were painted in every color I could imagine. A herder accompanied by his goats met us at the edge of the clearing. Troy shook the boy’s hand. He was young and wore a pair of jeans as well as traditional tribal beads which were strung across his chest. I didn’t mean to stare, but I wondered who had given him the jeans. Our Council would most definitely not approve. He bowed in greeting; his branchy staff towering over us.
“No, please,” I said, trying to wave the bow off, because for the Zulus bowing was not just a greeting, it also showed respect for someone in a higher position of authority.
Troy smiled and pulled me under his arm. Green fields shimmering with dew stretched out before us, covering the earth which had previously been coated in ash and mud.
“The lands are well nourished now.” The herder met my gaze.
I just nodded. Beyond the fields used for grazing, grasslands of soft golden straw rose up into the pale purple sky and beyond that were the hills that stretched into green mountains. We walked on and about ten minutes later reached a huge thorn tree, under which a tiny circle of children sat. Their teacher, who was sitting on a large stone, nodded in acknowledgement of our presence. The kids turned around and excitedly began shouting Troy’s name and then mine. They jumped up, ran to me and tugged at my damp pants. My eyes pooled with tears and my heart flooded with emotion. The kids were gorgeous; dark, smooth skin, big round eyes and wide warm smiles. None of them wore shirts except for the little girls. I noticed that their colored beads were yellow, pink and blue. The small children pulled me deeper into the village and through a labyrinth of huts that brightened up the landscape. There was a dazzling pink hut, a blue hut that had been decorated with white and yellow shapes, and then a lime green hut with blue and red checks encircling its entranceway. Women dressed in vibrant tunics and multicolored aprons made out of beads came out of their huts to greet us. I turned to the others, my eyes wide with amazement. The entire place was so beautiful.
“See,” Troy said.
I felt my anger melt away as I realized that I had helped to free these people. We came across the young queen, who was busy hanging up washing in front of a dark, green hut. She was heavily pregnant. She strolled over and we hugged. Her big, beautiful, dark eyes pulled up in the corners as she smiled. She held onto my hand.
“I thought you would never come,” she said.
“It’s good to see you,” I answered.
She bowed.
“You can call me Thandiwe,” she said and smiled.
I nodded.
She looked around, her gaze scanning the rainbow-colored village.
“You’re most welcome here – anytime.”
“Thank you, Thandiwe.”
We strolled around the village, just Thandiwe and I. We walked hand in hand, our ordeal having bound us for eternity.
“I would like to make a proposal,” I said to her.
She looked taken aback.
“Why don’t you send your young ones to attend school in our village?”
“Oh, I don’t know.”
“It would be our pleasure to give them the gift of education.” I had made the decision for the Council. “There is so much you could teach the youth of your village such as science, economics and math.”
“Your village is far,” she said.
I bit down on my bottom lip thoughtfully. “Missionaries,” I said. “We’ll send teachers here to teach your teachers, and then they can teach your children.”
She shook her head. “You have done so much already.”
“I won’t take no for an answer. It will be our pleasure. Just think how this will benefit future generations. All of Poseidon’s people, the Zulus, Minoans and…” I quickly swallowed the word I was going to use. I had wanted to say ‘humans’. “…our people, together, exploring worlds and medicines and learning from one another.” The idea excited me. I could feel my mind racing along with my heart.
“I will consider it.” She said after a while and we shook hands.
I couldn’t wait to tell Maya and Sam. I was certain I was fulfilling a part of my destiny by bringing our worlds together and it made me feel amazing. I had figured out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, besides spending the remainder of my days and nights with Troy, of course. I was surrounded by a rich culture I had yet to explore. I admired the Zulus for picking up the pieces and starting over again so deftly and beautifully. After all that they had gone through, they continued to follow their heritage even though they were on another planet extremely far away from their home – Earth. They were the epitome of warriors. Their strength and pride pushed me forward.
We beached the water bike near the rock wall from which I had fallen. It seemed like ages ago. Subconsciously, I grabbed the arm that I had broken when I fell. It became apparent to me that, no matter where I went, memories would always be there in the back of mind. Troy took my hand and we walked toward the Minoan marketplace, the sand soft and warm under our feet. Troy had placed the helmets under the bike’s seat along with our shoes, neatly tucked in under the sweater I had worn earlier. I had changed back into my sleeveless shirt as the day was warm. The sun was bright and the faint breeze wafting past us carried the scent of both forest and ocean. The happy sensation that it was the best day of my life enveloped me with joviality and comfort. The feeling stemmed from obvious reasons, as well as the fact that I had finally accepted that I was just feeling sorry for myself; I was ready to move on. I had finally reached the point where I wanted to overcome my past by facing the truth and dealing with it, no matter how ugly it was. A
s long as Troy was by my side, I was certain that everything else would fall into place. I realized that I had a great future ahead of me. Whenever Troy and I had the chance we kissed and caressed each other, and then kissed each other some more. Luckily, the beach was empty. My calf muscles started to cramp as we neared the entrance to the marketplace, a sign I hadn’t eaten or drank anything for more than two days. I was tired and thirsty, but my mind was still feeling invigorated – a plus of being a genetic being. When we reached the end of the beach, we exchanged a sharp look. He had read my mind. It was way too quiet. The market should have been bustling and we should have been hearing a cacophony of noises, but we heard no villagers and no animals. The only sound we heard was the breeze’s soft whistling. I bit down on my resentment wishing he would stop reading my mind, and we ran for the marketplace. I already knew before the village came into view that something bad had happened. An awful energy coursed through the ground as if the earth beneath our feet was carrying a current of evil. I stopped running the second my eyes fell on the destruction stretched out before us. I gasped. Troy dropped my hand. Debris was everywhere. Wooden panels from the stalls, pieces of clothing, tools and pots were scattered all around what used to be the marketplace and everything was covered in a thick layer of leaves, sand and branches. Some horses ran wildly across the disaster area, kicking up debris as they galloped past us. Troy called to one of the horses. It turned, lowered its head and pushed its nose into Troy. Troy touched the horse and his eyes widened.
“Thank you, girl,” he said, patting it gently before it ran off to catch up with the others.
“Troy, what is it?”
“The witchdoctor. He was here,” he said heatedly.
He held me back as I tried to run down into the obliterated marketplace and searched my face for any signs of panic, or anger maybe. I couldn’t quite tell what he was looking for. I pulled my wrist out of his grasp.
“Ava, he wasn’t alone.”
He took me by the shoulders.
“I think the spirit of Shaka was in him.”
“In him? How? I thought it would kill him.” I shook my head. “I thought he was dead.”
He nodded. “We all did.”
“How?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted, before he sniffed and then swallowed.
I ran through the valley as fast as my legs would carry me and came to a slow halt when I reached the cottage gate. The cottage had been destroyed just like everything else. The cottage’s round, wooden door had been blown off of its hinges and its windows had been smashed to smithereens. Tiny pieces of glass dangled from the window frames. I hesitantly walked closer. My gut was aching from a hollowness I didn’t want to face. What if they’re dead? A piece of glass suddenly crashed to the floor as I stepped onto the porch. I screamed.
“It’s fine! He’s not here,” Troy insisted.
The house was dark and it smelled of black magic. I was very familiar with the smell by then. What I had once thought was the smell of Zulus was, in fact, the smell of evil magic. It was an oppressive smell, but the feeling that came with the smell gave it away – you just felt morose and claustrophobic. Every single thing inside the cottage had been torn to pieces. Pages of books were scattered all over the floor – completely destroyed, and Arriana’s pottery had been shattered into millions of tiny pieces. I stood and listened for any movement. I could hear the faint beating of someone’s heart and ran over to where it was coming from. Anaya was trapped under a huge piece of wood that used to form part of a table. Troy lifted the plank off her effortlessly. I fell to my knees. She was struggling to breathe.
“We couldn’t stop him,” she said softly.
“Anaya, what happened?” Troy asked as he knelt down beside me.
She tried to sit up.
“No,” I said, pulling her head into my lap instead.
“He’s got Maya and Arriana,” Troy said, reading her mind.
“Where are Kronan and the others? Why did they leave you like this?” I asked, angered.
“My dad ran for the mirror. In the chaos Willard and Tatos ran to help the villagers and left Anaya to do a search spell for him, but he was too strong and the spell ricocheted back on her,” Troy said, reading her mind once again.
“But, Troy, the mirror isn’t ready yet,” I said, my voice cracking.
“We won’t need it.” He smiled.
I leaned over Anaya.
“Where are the villagers?” I asked her.
“She doesn’t know,” Troy answered for her.
“Where did he take them?” I wanted to cry. This isn’t happening! I felt the guilt build up again. I knew it was somehow my fault.
“Don’t know,” Troy repeated, as he began pulling the rest of the debris off Anaya’s body.
I tried to lift Anaya, but she was too heavy. I summoned more strength, buckling under her weight while I waited for the power in my legs to surge into my arms. I stood holding her in my arms.
“Troy, we have to get…”
He turned and laughed, extending his arms.
“Ava, touch me.”
I did as he requested and my strength suddenly left my body – like he had pulled a plug. He caught Anaya before she hit the ground. My power had transferred to him.
“You should never do that. It doesn’t suit you,” he mocked.
He was pointing out that a girl carrying another girl was not appropriate.
He gestured toward the door with his head and then smiled his lopsided smile. My eyes searched his.
“Let’s go save the world,” he said confidently.
A smile crept onto my face. This is my destiny.
Epilogue
The gang’s name was written in big, bold, black shiny letters across the thin, metallic door of the hangar just outside the Military School. Somehow, being invited there made me feel like I was one of them. It made me feel important. The door swooshed open causing a puff of air to blow back my hair. I gasped at the huge amount of space inside the massive hanger and then my eyes fell on a gigantic, dark-mirror-coated aircraft.
“Where did that come from?” I asked.
“We built it.”
Troy shrugged like it was nothing, but it definitely wasn’t nothing. It was incredible. I had never seen anything like it before, not even in a movie. An egg-shaped cabin sat high upon a sleek, triangular-shaped body that pinched into a sharp spear-like nose.
“I’ve never seen anything like it!” I exclaimed excitedly.
My fingers brushed over its smooth, cold surface.
“You built it?” I shot him a look of disbelief.
“We all did.”
I kept my eyes on him. I knew there was more to the story.
“Okay, we may have had help from another race,” he admitted, as he stroked its shell with his hand and pressed down on a well-camouflaged panel.
“Isis,” he said with pride.
He should be proud, I thought. She’s beautiful. I stared at my reflection in the mirrored surface. The only time I had ever seen myself in a mirror was in the Zulu’s chambers and this time, I could see myself more clearly. I saw the intense gray in my eyes and my pale face smiled back at me for the first time. The definition of my reflection was much better than on any high-tech screen. It was like I was looking at myself for the first time.
“Stop staring at yourself!” Troy said and smiled.
I hadn’t wanted to, but then a paper-thin door slid open and with a low buzz, a number of purple lights flickered on inside the aircraft.
“Hello, Troy,” the onboard computer greeted, as we sat down in the deeply rounded, black seats in the cabin.
The entire aircraft sprang to life. The chair even seemed to hug me tighter as I sat down.
“How long have you had it?” I asked, taking in the smell of brand new, unused technology and the crisp smell of unspoiled fabric.
The mole on his right cheek curled into a dimple. Every time he smiled at me like that my knees w
eakened and I forgot everything else that was happening around me.
“I knew that if I wanted to keep up with you, I would need something faster.”
I chuckled absentmindedly, but then the desperate need to rescue my family returned. Deep down, I started to blame myself all over again. Troy placed his hand on the scanner in front of us and the aircraft accelerated so intensely that we experienced a strong G-force before we had even left the hangar. My head jerked back into the padding of the chair and I seriously struggled to catch my breath. It felt like I had swallowed my chest. We accelerated into the sky. I could see nothing but the lavender sky and clouds rushing past us in a blur. Before I knew it, we had shot through the atmosphere and as gravity slipped away, my hands and legs floated up toward the roof, my ponytail sticking straight up above my head. I enjoyed the moment immensely and instantly felt guilty. My sister and Arriana were in a horrible place and there I was having the time of my life with the sexiest man alive. The gravity field kicked in before I could float off and I was soon seated again. Troy pushed a button on the control panel and we shot across all space and time.
“Their trail is evident,” he said, pointing toward space.
I saw nothing other than stars streaking past us. The windshield turned into a large computer screen showing symbols and graphs, and a map of the stars.
“There. See?” he explained as he pointed to a dark, blue line that ended inside of an aqua-colored dot. “Idiot,” he said derisively. “He’s hiding on our furthermost moon.”
The aircraft came to a smooth landing on the surface of the moon. It was clear that Troy had done it before. He handed me a device that looked like some sort of inhaler after he had used it himself. I followed his example and inhaled the gas. I assumed it was some sort of gadget to help us breathe on the surface of the moon. It filled my lungs with cold stinging air that made me cough. Troy patted my back. I nodded to let him know I was fine. He jumped down onto the rock hard surface and then left me to find my own way down. I loved the fact that he treated me like I was strong. It made me feel like he almost considered me an equal. As I looked around, I noticed that the air smelled strange – like a science lab and, from where I stood, it looked as if it was just one huge desert. There was nothing but yellow-gold stone and sand as far as the eye could see.
The Broken Destiny Page 32
