The Complete 8-Book Guardians Adventure Saga

by Summer Lee

  He was more surprised at her just being there, than she was at having successfully Soul Merged into the tight quarters. It was a transport helicopter and she noticed several soldiers in the larger area. They briefly froze, staring at her in shock. She took advantage of that precious moment and gave her full attention to the pilot. First, she grabbed his hands and pulled them off the controls, so he could not attack her. She glared into his eyes.

  He fearfully returned the gaze.

  She felt an unusual energy as her eyes turned golden. She then accumulated his abilities through the stare and took control of the thoughts of him and his men. Once she had accomplished her task, she broke the stare, and he gasped, as he had held his breath until then.

  He was just barely able to breathe again. One of the soldiers in the back was coherent enough to draw his weapon and aim it at Achava. The pilot called out that was a mistake. He yelled, “No!” But he was too late. The soldier had already fired his weapon. Achava narrowed her eyes at him when he fired. She instantly disappeared from sight.

  She did not leave the helicopter before she saw the bullet hit the controls. Immediately, it started to smoke. The pilot yelled at the soldier, as the helicopter started to spin out of control. The tail rotor hit two other helicopters, causing them to also lose control.

  She watched as all three went down. But the others managed to avoid the accident and continued on toward Sam’s plane.

  Achava returned to the V.T.O.L. where she reappeared in the passenger seat next to Sam.

  “You did it!” Sam shouted with excitement.

  “Yes,” she said, trying to avoid passing out. “Give… me… a moment. The stress was more than I would have… thought… with my injuries.”

  “You need a moment?” he replied. “You got it!”

  She was dizzy and the pain was overtaking her. She nodded in response as she reached out her hand and lightly touched him on the shoulder.

  ***

  SAM FELT A SURGE OF ENERGY as her hand glowed with a golden hue. She looked to be in tremendous pain. “Achava, are you okay?”

  “I just need rest.” She paused, breathing deeply. “I have given you the… ability,” she said, as she showed him the basic flight sequences and maneuvers.

  “Achava!” he screamed as he put the craft on autopilot without thinking. He then leaned over and seat belted her in. He checked her pulse. It was weak, but at least it was there. He then leaned back and took the autopilot off, as realization then hit him.

  Sam did not remember where the autopilot was, yet he not only found it, but activated and deactivated it in the span of under thirty seconds. He grinned and took control over the craft again. “It looks like it’s my turn. You go ahead and rest, my dear. You’re just exhausted.”

  The controls felt natural in Sam’s hands as he looked to the staff of Moses for a clue. It glowed and vibrated. He sped off in the direction the staff was guiding him. He was more determined than ever to get the Commandments of God inside the Ark of the Covenant. He knew once they reached their goal, it would be the one thing that would push victory into their corner.

  The red light blinked even brighter. He saw the blinking red light and knew that they were still being targeted. All he had to do was keep them in the air until they would reach their destination. Wherever that was.

  Three helicopters had been destroyed. The new lead helicopter fired two missiles at Sam and Achava. Normally, he would have panicked, but with the new abilities that his wife shared with him, he was cool under pressure.

  He easily evaded the two missiles with basic maneuvering that placed him up about 500 feet above his pursuers. As he continued along the Sinai Peninsula, his training started to pay off. He recognized landmarks and knew that he was close to King Herod’s treasure chamber, where they had excavated and found the staff of Moses.

  The staff shimmered, showing that they should land. Only one problem—he took his attention off of the fleet behind him. Unfortunately for him, they had not taken their attention off of his aircraft. They ran into each other, trying to land.

  The deafening noise awakened Achava.

  They were now flying over the collapsed chamber at Mt. Nebo. Down below, in the crater, was a box, which lit up brightly. “What is it?” Achava asked. “Do you know?”

  “This is what I think.” The staff in Sam’s hand vibrated as if it was alive. “Since the staff belongs to Moses, the box has to contain the Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses.”

  Something inside Mt. Nebo began to glow. Dark clouds surrounded them. Sam opened the side door to get a closer look. Then, like thunder, a voice came out of the cloud. It roared, “You must be careful to do just as Yahweh your God commands you; you shall not turn to the right or to the left. In exactly the path that Yahweh your God has commanded, you must go, so that you may live and it will go well for you and you may live long in the land that you will take possession.”

  Sam and Achava looked at each other. “It is the Lord,” she said, turning pale.

  The voice spoke loudly again. “The words of the law that the angel spoke, to those assembled on the mountain, are true. Millennia ago, God spoke from the midst of a fire and a thick cloud to Moses. Now he speaks to you.”

  Sam said, “Speak, Lord; your servant is listening.”

  The plane vibrated. As a co-pilot, Achava worked to hold the craft steady.

  Again, the loud voice spoke. The voice said, “Moses accepted my law. He did not add anything to it. The two tablets of stone were written by the finger of God. They are the Ten Commandments. In Moses’s time, the people heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, and saw the mountain burning with fire. God showed Moses his glory and his greatness. He was to know the law. Once again, he shows his greatness to you. This time, you are told to obey the Word of God. The Holy Spirit will give you grace to do so.”

  At that point, a geyser shot upward, and the box in the cavern flew up through the open door and attached itself to the staff, like a magnet. Sam was stunned, speechless, he stood at the open door, watching the staff receive the box. He quickly shut the door when they were both safe inside.

  “Trade places with me,” said Achava. “I want to see if it contains the stone slabs written by the finger of God. I don’t want to take a chance on it shocking you.”

  Achava went to the rear of the plane and opened the box. “This is it—the original Ten Commandments. When we get it back to the Ark of the Covenant, our mission will be complete.”

  Sam sat back down in the pilot’s seat and was soon out from under the cloud cover. Sam situated himself in front of the controls and saw the blinking red light too late.

  Achava had barely sat down in the co-pilot’s seat when the plane was under attack again. Sam veered the craft to a 90-degree right turn just in time. He managed to avoid a direct hit, but couldn’t miss the projectile altogether. “Oh darn.”

  The craft shook violently as he heard an explosion from the left side. The plane had been hit on the wing. He glanced at Achava, who had been knocked unconscious again. Was she alright? He realized he would have to land at the earliest convenience to check on her.

  Sam had a lot of trouble keeping the craft level. He saw the flames and smoke coming from the wing, and thought about death. He had visions of the fun times he had spent with Achava flash before his eyes. He wondered if they would get out of this alive and enjoy each other again.

  He knew the odds were against them living through direct hits when they entered that war. Even though they were reluctant, they continued to pursue whatever purpose they believed that God had guided them to. Achava had said it was the Lord’s will. He believed her.

  He guided the craft down while fighting to use the controls for all he was worth. He knew danger was lurking, so he kept looking over at his wife. A single tear rolled down his cheek when he thought of how much he loved that girl.

  There was a screeching sound in the engine. Something was wrong!

  The plan
e shot straight downward. He yelled when the ground abruptly came upon them. Sam kept the craft as level as he could, so that would give them a fighting chance when they hit the ground. As their speed decreased, they hit the ground like a rock skipping across a body of water. They hit first, then rose about a foot or two, only to repeat the process several times before coming to a complete stop. Achava was startled completely awake. Once her eyes were open, they widened in fear. Looking at the situation, she yelled at Sam, “We’re going to die out here!”

  They both felt the jolt of every hit on the ground. Sam looked at his suffering wife. He saw her muscles tighten in response to the bouncing. Only her seat belt prevented her from being flung around the cockpit or even out through the windshield.

  She grabbed her stomach and screamed. “Go easy. The baby.”

  “So sorry.” When they stopped, Sam looked around. “We’re alive? Is the baby okay?”

  “Barely. I would say,” Achava groaned as she spoke.

  “Are you in pain?”

  “Something may be wrong. I had a pain, but now it is gone. I’m okay. How about you? Are you alright?”

  Sam nodded. “I’m going to have bruises from this belt for a while. That’s about all.”

  She leaned over and kissed him, showing him that she didn’t blame him for what was happening. He smiled back and fought to silence the controls for the last time.

  “ How about you? Any more pains? Is the…?”

  “She’s fine,” Achava answered, while forcing a smile. “When I woke up, I made sure the seat belt wasn’t constricting around my stomach area. I feel as if I just finished holding up an extremely heavy rock for an eternity. I only had the one bad pain. I ache, in addition to my other injuries. That’s all.”

  “Listen.” Sam strained his ears to focus on a sound. He heard the helicopters in the distance. “We’re not done yet.” He struggled to unbuckle his seat belt and bent over to retrieve the staff. His entire body screamed in pain from the crash, but he had bigger things to worry about now.

  He unbuckled his wife and helped her up. “We’ve got to get out of here. Are you ready?”

  She smiled at her husband. “I was born ready for this.”

  He helped her exit what was left of the aircraft. He wasn’t particularly surprised when he saw that they were several yards away from a large body of water.

  “The Red Sea!” Achava exclaimed. “How is that possible? It must be close to 650 miles away from Mt. Sinai! How did we make the trip that quickly?”

  “Red Sea, huh?” Sam replied. “I don’t know. It felt like 15 minutes. I’m not sure of the top speed of these things, but I’m pretty sure it takes longer than that. We can’t worry about that now, though. Prepare to defend yourself.”

  They walked into a wooded area. As they both took refuge behind a boulder, they braced themselves for attack. Several helicopters landed about 50 yards away with more flying in. “This is insane,” she said.

  Sam looked at the sea and then at Achava. “This better not mean what I think it means.”

  “It probably is. Follow your heart,” she said, making a face.

  The staff glowed.

  “Maybe I should relieve you of the burden of that artifact,” said a voice. Sam and Achava turned to see Ben-Shahar standing between them and the Red Sea. “After all, we wouldn’t want the staff to fall into the wrong hands,” he said with an evil grin.

  Sam held tightly onto the staff with both hands. “You’re not getting this!”

  Ben-Shahar held out his hands with the palms open. A small red and yellow light appeared, that he pushed back and forth between his hands. It grew with each touch of his hands. Soon, it was a small fireball. “I picked up a few tricks from our dearly departed friend, Mr. Kieleg. I’m sure he won’t mind if I borrow them since he no longer needs them.”

  Achava stood in front of Sam, in spite of being barely able to stand. “Sam! Do what you need to do with the helicopters. I will deal with Ben-Shahar.”

  “Will you now?” Ben-Shahar asked sarcastically.

  Sam kissed his wife on the cheek. “Kick his butt, baby.” He narrowed his eyes at Ben-Shahar and then ran off toward the beach.

  “You should have said your goodbyes,” Ben-Shahar said with confidence. “My army will make short work of him. I have an idea. Let’s play catch!”

  He pushed the fireball toward Achava. It flew at her at an incredible rate of speed. Achava stood her ground as she spun cool air around her, giving her a protective field. The fireball was deflected easily.

  Ben-Shahar tilted his head slightly. “I suppose I’ll have to bring out the big guns.”

  Achava didn’t flinch. “Do your worst, demon. By the power of Almighty God, you shall not win. You might remember Him. He kicked an upstart angel out of Heaven for having a ridiculous ego.”

  His eyes flared with anger. “You are but a pup!”

  He made circles with his hands. Streams of flames followed his hands as two more fireballs started to form. They were each larger than the one before.

  In the meantime, the spinning air that encircled Achava increased to form a small whirlwind of ice crystals. One at a time, the fireballs impacted with more force than before, but they were still deflected. She felt part of the second one and grimaced.

  Ben-Shahar saw her flinch. He snarled, as he created another fireball, standing back a few feet for it to fully form. “Heh heh.”

  The larger it became, the bigger her force field of air grew. She anticipated that she would have to go on offense soon, but she needed to develop more power. Her body was still in so much pain that it was hard for her to concentrate. Then she felt another labor pain. She did not want to lose her baby. It was difficult enough to keep the whirlwind around her.

  As the fireball grew, Ben-Shahar made it hover just over his head. It had grown to the size of a small car and the atmosphere around him started to electrify.

  Achava increased the size of the icy whirlwind. She strained as it grew into a small tornado. She could feel the pressure of keeping it going, but she had no choice. The funnel climbed up into the sky and began to create benighted clouds to help sustain it.

  The crashed V.T.O.L. started to move slightly with the pull of the tornado.

  “You think you can stop me?” Ben-Shahar screamed over the sound of the funnel. His fireball was double the size it was just a few short moments before. He then sent it at the tornado.

  Does he hope it will be enough to destroy my defense? she prayed, and was glad that he had no idea what she planned.

  “What was once before, is now again!” she screamed, as the fireball hit the funnel and exploded. The resulting explosion knocked Ben-Shahar back several yards. The wind in the area picked up, as he struggled against it to stand on his feet. When he did stand, his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. “No!”

  Achava’s tornado had absorbed the fireball. She used levitation with her golden eyes to control it, as the tornado was now made of ice, air and fire. “Bring back the memories, Ben-Shahar?”

  He appeared to be in shock, as his eyes bulged. “No.”

  At that moment, she heard Sam holler out. The army pursuing Sam stopped in front of him. Achava had to help. She moved the tornado between Sam and the army. While screaming in pain herself, she succeeded in blocking the army from getting to her husband. Even though the effort was killing her, she was determined to win.

  She telepathically communicated with her husband. Are you okay, Sam? I admire you, but I’m exhausted! It’s your turn now!

  I’ve got it covered. And I love you.

  Chapter the Twelfth

  I know. I love you, too.

  SAM WAS TRYING NOT TO BE DISTRACTED by the fire and air tornado blocking the army from him. He knew that his beloved caused it and he needed to take the next step and hurry to her side.

  Supernatural strength entered his body. He looked at the Red Sea and knew that he was about to recreate what could not be recreated in human
strength. He held the staff out in front of him and felt a tightness in his chest. It had power. That was frightening. But Ben-Shari was nearby, waiting.

  “You don’t scare me,” Sam said, trying to shake off his doubt.

  “You’ve never been a brave soul, Sam.” Ben-Shahar acted like he showed status to Sam, but it was obviously forced. “Remember when those bullies pushed you around when you were younger? I was there.”

  “You were the ring leader.”

  “Remember, they made games out of hitting you.”

  “You did it. You got everyone involved.”

  “You were a laughing stock, Sam.”

  “No one’s laughing now,” Sam replied. He had almost forgotten that he went to elementary school with the half-wit, Ben-Shahar. He hadn’t matured at all.

  Ben-Shahar laughed. “Ha ha! Are you sure? Don’t you have the same feeling you had when you got picked last for every sport in school? In baseball, someone would always hit a pop fly right to you, knowing that you wouldn’t catch it. You still tried to catch it, even though everyone knew you couldn’t. I think deep down you knew it too. Didn’t you, Sam?”

  He was lying. Sam decided not to fuel the fire by answering him anymore. He knew what the enemy was trying to do. He lacked enough self-esteem by himself. He didn’t want Ben-Shahar to set it in motion. He needed the holy one.

  “You’ve spent most of your life, trying to prove something to someone. Haven’t you, Sam? No one believed you could do anything. Did they? Look back on your life, Sam. You have accomplished nothing on your own.” Ben-Shahar used mocking tones.

  “Shut up!” Sam put his fist right under Ben-Shahar’s chin, who quickly lost his smile. “I walk with God now. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. He is God’s Son. I succeed only with His might, and the power He puts in this staff!” He held it high over his head. Sam turned back toward the Red Sea and looked up in the sky. “Lord, I believe that I can do this with your help!”