Reawakening: Fallen Series, #3

By Ann Bakshis

The past should remain in the past, but it has a nasty habit of shoving its way to the surface. No matter what Aven does a life stolen from her keeps roaring back, bringing with it nothing but torment and heartache. She refuses, however, to let the past define who she is now, and even celebrates a joyous occasion to finally bring happiness to her chaotic life. But the merriment is short-lived when the Ancients, along with the Guardians, try to dictate the course of her new-found freedom. Will more sacrifices need to be made, and at what cost? Should Aven ignore history, or let it repeat itself until it ultimately consumes her?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ann Bakshis
• Release date: Sep 7, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393803072

Book preview

Reawakening

Fallen Series Book Three

A Novel by Ann Bakshis

Copyright © 2018 by Ann Bakshis

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living and dead, actual event, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.

Description: Description: PonahakeolaPress.png

Published by Ponahakeola Press, 2018

Typeset in Garamond and Andale Mono

For my husband.

Thank you for encouraging me to write and

for giving me the space to explore my crazy worlds.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

Twenty

Twenty-One

One

I miss our comfortable bed in the cabin. Sleeping on the hard ground in the forest for the last several days hasn’t been any fun. I’m half tempted to seek out the cottage Zander and I stayed in, but that’s an extremely stupid idea. It’ll be the first place he tries to look for me once he realizes I’m no longer in Lioc. He surely knows by now, especially since Valora hasn’t returned to him… and won’t ever. Her death, I must say, was bittersweet. Too bad it was by Delphi’s hands and not mine. I wanted the satisfaction of killing that bitch myself, so I guess I won’t feel better about it until I kill Delphi… and Zander, of course.

I check Jonas’ hand every night just to be sure he’s still wearing the Delse ring. He assures me that he’s not taken it off since I placed it on him when we were in the City of Parime, after Isolde took a knife to his heart, cutting right through his protective shield. Sean was able to repair it, so Jonas is once again protected against magic. Also, I don’t want another scare like the one I had with him and Delphi. I still can’t believe Kester sacrificed himself for our protection. Of course, he assumed Valora was going to be the one to kill Jonas, who he was masquerading as at the time. I’m sure he was unprepared for that betrayal, about which I feel at fault.

The only piece of good news to have come out from that whole encounter is that Quincy, the engraver who was violently taken from his home in Lioc by Zander, isn’t doing a thorough job in completing the tattoos Zander is having him put on his followers. Valora, and probably the two Ligotas who accompanied her into Lioc, had a tear in one of the triads that make up the shield, causing them to be vulnerable to magic. Delphi incinerated the three of them before turning on Jonas and stabbing him with the Ligotas sica. Of course, it’s also the same encounter where I learned the true reason Zander has seekers on me. I’m to be his reward for a successful prophecy. My father had me created just for that reason, or at least that’s what he said. I feel part of that is true, and since Delphi is a cunning liar I have no doubt that he’s still hiding his real intentions from me. I doubt I’ll ever get the truth from him one way or another.

All of this can’t just be in order for him to gain control of one single stupid region; no, there has to be more. What else does my father want, and what is he willing to do to get it? Killing his sibling and my lover isn’t below him, so what is? What is the one thing he won’t do, besides not massacre me? After all, he still needs me to fulfill his damn prophecy, regardless. Zander won’t complete it if anything happens to me, so Delphi can’t actually harm me – not only due to the fact that I’m immortal. A comment Delphi made has been replaying itself over and over in my mind: Zander was the only Guardian willing to work with him.

Why?

Prime Jarron technically worked with Delphi, but then he turned on the Ancients and became a Ligotas follower. Ceri, who was to be Michael’s Guardian, was assisting with the prophecy, so did Delphi not trust her for some reason? Lek, Reinga’s Guardian, definitely doesn’t care for the man; neither does the Guardian with the Ancient Parime, or so I believe. So, are there more Guardians out there? Zander told me there were only six; the two remaining were acting as Terac officers, the former security force for the region of Comoros. But they were killed by Gaden Lamen, a man who tried to overthrow the region and who I killed for his efforts.

I really don’t know a lot about the Guardians, or where they came from. I just assumed they were all once citizens of Comoros who’d gotten swept up into Delphi’s delusions, but perhaps not.

Hey, Jonas says, bumping into my shoulder as I lean against an elm tree. Are you going to finish your breakfast? He gestures to my half-eaten sandwich.

Oh, sorry, I say, then take a bite.

What’s rambling around your head today?

The usual.

He leans his head on top of mine. I’m sorry.

As soon as we were out of Lioc, I filled him in on everything that transpired in The Manx since I wasn’t sure what he’d overheard or not. He said he caught only the tail end of the confrontation, so when I told him about Delphi’s admission to me as to why I was really created, Jonas nearly turned us around to go searching for him. Jonas wants to kill my father himself but he’s going to have to get in line, as I get first crack.

It’s not your fault, I say to him.

Honestly, it’s not. I blame Zander and Delphi.

Everything that’s transpired in the last six or seven months has been because of them, beginning when my father died, the man I knew my entire life, who raised me with my mother. The thought of him brings my appetite to an end since my thoughts cascade into my mother, me being partially turned into a Ligotas, and everyone’s manipulation of me – except for Jonas. He’s had nothing but altruistic motives since the day I met him. I set the food aside and blindly reach into my rucksack for the depict frame. I’m only watching Zander now to torment myself. I know Jonas doesn’t like how often I view the device, but I need to make sure Zander hasn’t left Comoros and that he hasn’t found me through one of the contacts Valora told me about.

I touch the indentation in the upper right-hand corner of the frame, turning it on. Energy waves emerge from the four edges of the metal ridges and converge to form a 3D image. The picture displayed is a room in the inn in Welding. It’s the same room Zander and I almost stayed in during our short visit to the hamlet in Comoros. If I’d known then that Zander had lined the room with seekers so he could observe me in secret, I would’ve made sure never to trust him again. But I did, I let myself fall for him a second time while I was working on mastering one of my traits for the Gehenna Sphere.

There are five such traits to overcome, and he represented my fear of betrayal. I had to put my trust into him in order to beat that challenge, and to do that I had to expose my vulnerability. My weakness, since I’m part Ligotas, is lust. I let that side take over so I could defeat the trait and wound up sleeping with Zander… again. I try not to kick myself too hard for allowing that to happen since I wouldn’t be as powerful today if I hadn’t.

Zander paces the room, looking ready to pull his hair out. I smile because I know he’s frustrated, just the way I want him.

Where the hell is she? he shouts, though I don’t see anyone else in the room with him. He kicks a chair along the back wall, knocking it over. How could she have done this?

I wonder if he’s talking about Valora or me.

She and that fucking huntsman have been away from that cabin for far too long. They had to have left the region, Zander says, getting frustrated.

Ah, so he is talking about me.

I grin at his aggravation. I kind of enjoy watching him go over the breaking point.

And you have no idea where they are? he asks.

No, someone responds.

I flip through the various camera angles, trying to get a fix on the person who spoke, but they must be in a blind spot. The voice is deep, making it hard to determine if it belongs to a man, or if a woman is simply trying to disguise herself.

Find her! Zander demands, his face red with anger. He then looks up into the seekers. I’ll get to you, Aven, one way or another. You can’t hide from me forever.

He’s lost his mind, Jonas says, leaning over my shoulder to get a peek.

Zander plops down in a chair alongside a small table. A replica locket, the only one now in existence, sits in front of him. It’s a piece of jewelry that changes the appearance of a person into someone else, as long as the locket contains some type of organic material of that other person. I used it once to become Prime Jarron, the former leader of the Guardians, after Zander killed him for turning me into a Ligotas.

Who knew my father was going to use that malicious act to his advantage? But then again, perhaps Delphi put him up to it. Maybe he even arranged for Jarron to obtain the required Ligotas blood that would aid in my transformation. I don’t put anything past the man.

There had been two lockets at one time, but I destroyed the second one in an acid bath when we went into Irkalla, the underworld. I wonder what Zander plans on doing with that locket. At this point anything is possible.

His volatility is increasing daily, I comment. It’s only going to get worse.

I know, Jonas says as he begins to clean up our makeshift camp. But we need to keep moving before he’s able to find you. God knows what he’ll send after us. Has his informant disclosed my death to him yet?

No, but I’m sure he’ll find out soon.

I know the council in Lioc learned about Jonas’ death, as did their leader, Hekla. Sean, a friend of ours and the other engraver for the region, placed a seeker inside the meeting hall shortly after we left. I wanted to be able to see everyone’s reaction to finding Jonas’ body, especially hers. At first it was shock; this was felt by everyone. Once the initial surprise wore off, Hekla was practically grinning from ear to ear. She’s never cared for Jonas, or me for that matter. I doubt she’ll make any kind of effort to locate me, as some members of the council have recommended they try to do.

I won’t ignore the primary goal of this council just to go looking for someone who’s of no consequence to us, Hekla says after having to bang her staff for nearly five minutes to get everyone’s attention.

We need to know who murdered Jonas, an older woman states.

It’s obvious from the weapon located near the body that a Ligotas did this, Hekla says, gesturing to the spot where the body was. It, as well as the floor, has been cleaned up. Delphi has assured me that the Ligotas responsible has been dealt with, and they will no longer be of any concern to us.

How can you be so sure? Zif, the only other councilman I’ve formally met, asks.

Delphi gave me his word, Hekla scoffs. Do you dare question the honesty of an Ancient?

No, of course not, Zif says sheepishly.

Then I consider this matter closed, Hekla says, pounding her staff on the tile floor.

I changed the location on the frame after that until I was focused on Zander, and I’ve been spying on him ever since.

Ready? Jonas asks once everything has been strapped to the horses.

I shut off the frame, shove it into the rucksack that I keep strapped around my shoulders, and mount the horse.

Where are we headed to now? I ask as we begin moving south.

I was thinking we could go to Qiost.

Why there?

There’s a lodge in the Avise settlement a few hours south of their veil. It’s the closest thing there is to comfort if we don’t want to keep sleeping on the ground.

I’d love a decent bed to sleep in, I say, smiling.

We quicken our pace, though our speed is limited since we’re not traveling along any of the main paths in the forest. We don’t want to risk the horses tripping over tree roots that we can’t see under all the ground cover.

How long will it take to reach it? I ask.

The veil is a little over a day away. You can attempt to shift us, but I doubt the horses will like that.

True. We couldn’t explain to them what’s going on, and shifting isn’t an easy process to deal with. It does take a toll on your body, though the effects only last for a few seconds. At least that’s what it’s like for humans. Animals might be a different story.

I hate traveling. I’ve done so much of it recently that all I want to do is stay in one place for the rest of my life, but who knows if that’ll ever happen. Jonas likes roaming from one region to another, but that’s what a huntsman does, so he comes by it naturally. I was forced into this lifestyle, and I can’t wait to shed myself of it.

Jonas pulls his horse to a stop when we come upon two dark bluish-gray rocks that stand tall and thin, almost like a doorway. They’re greatly out of place in the forest, so they stick out.

This is the veil into Rynn, Jonas says. The Jinn are the only ones who can open and close the entrance. They keep it closed most of the time since they like their privacy and don’t want to really get involved in anything that happens in Eskal, unless they’re selling their Aurum, he says. Changing the subject, he points to a group of maple trees several feet away. Let’s take a break over there.

We tie up the horses and sit on the ground. Jonas rummages through the sack with our food in it and offers me an apple, but I turn it down since I’m still not that hungry. A little rain begins to fall, but because the canopy is so thick barely any drops make it to the ground. The sound, however, is very soothing and I find myself closing my eyes and picturing the Sacrer gardens. I miss being able to escape to that peaceful place. It was my one true diversion from the harshness of reality. I can still feel the tall flowers and grasses slip through my fingers as I brush their tops while making my way down the pebble-covered path to the marble building.

Sweet aromas fill the air as insects buzz from flower to flower. I can even feel the warmth of the sun on my face since there was never a cloud in the sky. I’ve only known night to settle upon the gardens once, which was when my original sword was destroyed. Normally the sun is out all the time so even now I wonder what it was about that day that caused the change. Perhaps it had something to do with Zander, or the prophecy, or maybe even both. I smile as memories of tranquility flood my thoughts. The gardens were the one place I could call my own, even if it was for a short time. Zander always did find me there, no matter how far from the path I wandered. I now know it was probably the seekers that led him to me. I’m sure he had them planted everywhere I usually went.

I kind of miss being alone. I’ve always had someone with me, whether it was my brother Michael, Zander, my friend Knox, or now even Jonas. I have never been by myself for an extended period, and I don’t know if it’s by choice or happenstance, but I don’t think I could handle the solitude that it would bring if I were given the option.

I continue my mental trip through the gardens, feeling more relaxed with each step. In my head I reach the massive structure, or at least what’s left of it. The columns collapsed during a sonic explosion, bringing the entire structure down on itself and neutralizing my magical abilities for some time. There are four distinct sides to the gardens: Zerah, Guardian, Sacrer, and Ligotas. The Zerah section is nothing but ash, a grim reminder that Michael is dead. The other three are still in remarkably good condition, considering the Ligotas side had been disintegrating around the time I’d conquered the Gehenna Sphere. That section of garden began repairing itself right after Zander killed me in the City of Parime.

I turn and begin to head back down the Sacrer path. I know this isn’t real, that it’s simply a memory, yet it’s almost like I can smell the fragrances and feel the light breeze as it passes.

You shouldn’t remember this place, a voice says behind me.

I turn to find Reinga standing there. I’m startled by her appearance, as she’s the last person I would ever expect to come to the gardens.

Why? I ask.

He’ll find you here, just like Michael did. The Sacrer gardens is one spot where all portals meet, whether a veil is active or not.

But this is only a memory, I say, getting a little scared.

Yes and no. It’s a common place the two of you share. If Zander pictures himself here just like you’re doing now, he’ll be able to find you. You can remember any other location, just not this one. The gardens are open to everything.

I immediately open my eyes and shove the memory from my mind. I didn’t know the gardens could do such things, but that would explain how Michael saw me in the star-shaped pool when I was actually in the City of Lertis hundreds of miles away. It was a place the two of us shared; the location where I almost died because of him. Zander and I share that location as well, but for much different reasons. It’s where I nearly bled to death and he saved me. It’s where he brought me to Delphi, which started my real journey into magic. And it’s where I decided to kill him.

Reinga is right, I must forget the gardens and everything in them. But how did she know to find me there? Is Zander not the only one trying to locate me? Is Delphi? I’m surprised he didn’t force me to go with him when we were in The Manx. He has to be up to something else. If he was serious about getting his prophecy completed soon he’d have dragged me to Zander himself, not left me alone. What’s he trying to accomplish? Again, I think there’s more to it than just the region of Comoros.

I honestly never thought Zander would’ve done the things he did to me, or side with the Ligotas, the creatures we were both destined to destroy together. He hasn’t officially turned into one, but fucking their leader was a good start. At least he can’t do that anymore, and I’m not stuck watching them. I still get sick to my stomach whenever I picture him and Valora together; and even more so now with the knowledge that Valora was my sister. What I saw the two of them doing to each other can’t be unseen no matter how many times I try to push the images from my mind. I’m sure he feels the same way when he saw Jonas and me together in the cabin. We’d only been living there for about three and a half months, but since I’m part Ligotas I can get quite lustful, so our passion ignites often. Jonas has no complaints, so it’s Zander’s fault if he decides to watch.

Creepy.

I dig into my rucksack and remove the frame as Jonas begins to feed the horses. I honestly don’t understand why I keep torturing myself with this thing. It’s like I’m addicted to it… or Zander. Maybe it’s simply the Ligotas in me lusting for his attention, wanting to see him moan for me, desire me… and loving every minute of it.

When the image appears, Zander is reaching into one of his bags to remove a round silver device called a Nihilum Plate, along with four discs, or what are normally called lanxes. The last time I saw the plate, Gaden Lamen had it, so Zander must’ve stolen it from him. He sets the plate down and slips each lanx into a slot then pushes a small button on top of the device, activating all four discs at once. An image appears at the center of the plate, displaying various maps of Comoros layered on top of each other. The only exception is the green lanx, which displays a list of files along the left-hand side of the maps.

What Jonas doesn’t know is when we located Zander’s green lanx the other day in the apartment belonging to Quincy, I tucked it into my rucksack, in the secret pocket sewn into one of the seams. I don’t know how I’ll ever get to view the records it contains since I need a specialized mirror to do that, but I wanted to keep it just in case I get the opportunity to delve into Zander’s life before the prophecy started. I’m hoping that the files will have something indicating why he chose me specifically as his reward, and why he’s the only Guardian who was willing to work with Delphi.

Zander turns the top dial around the middle of the plate and activates a different lanx. The first one he stops on is the blue lanx, which shows the various Sacrer sites. It’s the same lanx he stole from me back in the City of Parime. From what I can tell, the Sacrer symbol – a triple spiral that twirls atop each location – is missing from quite a few spots. This is definitely a new development and I’m a little concerned. Did the Ligotas take over these spots, or has something else happened to them? How many Ligotas are even left now that Valora is dead? Is Zander able to turn any more of his followers into them, or has that ceased also because of her death?

He turns the dial again, landing on the red lanx that displays all the Ligotas currently residing in Comoros. This disc was Michael’s. There aren’t as many Ligotas as I thought, which settles my stomach, but only slightly. He changes the lanx again, landing on the black one, but this one won’t help him at all. This particular lanx was intended for my brother and me to keep tabs on each other after we left home, and simply shows a map of Comoros. But if Zander activates it and I happen to be in Comoros, he’ll easily find me since a small blue dot will appear over my location on the map. I tossed my lanx into the lake in the Valley of Caille Anam. I’ll need to see how I can prevent my location from appearing, since I have a strong feeling I’ll be back in that region sooner rather than later.

Finally, he moves to the green lanx. I’m surprised that the list of recordings appears since you need a mirror for it to work, or to physically enter them. He scrolls through the list, selects a file, and has it play. The picture pops up above the plate just like the maps did. He’s chosen the recording of where I rise from the tub filled with water and the Ashes of the Forgotten in the Sacrer bath. Zander placed me in them after Michael sliced my throat in the gardens. The ashes are what prevented me from turning into a full Ligotas, and can only be used once. Zander had been saving them to use on me, and only me. He told me once this was the happiest day of his life – the day I came back to him. I’ve never been sure if he understood that he was always supposed to use those on me since that’s how Delphi set it up, or if Zander felt it was a decision he made on his own. Either way, I would say this is the exact point where everything went sideways.

I stranded him shortly after my resurrection. I felt betrayed, hurt, and angry. I left him behind… on purpose. I didn’t want anything to do with him, I didn’t want to be near him, and I made sure I let him know that. He’d probably been waiting so long for that moment to come and when it did it wasn’t what he