Wanderers: Fallen Series, #4

By Ann Bakshis

Nothing is ever what it seems.

Zander's rise from the underworld has put the entire universe in peril, and not just from him. The Wanderers, creators of all life throughout the cosmos, seek to end Zander's reign of terror by any means necessary, even at an extremely high cost. Aven must battle against time, the Wanderers, and Zander if the universe is to survive. That is, until a past which tests her loyalties and herself is revealed to her.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ann Bakshis
• Release date: Oct 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393339021

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Wanderers

Fallen Series Book Four

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 mother-in-law Sherry.

I’m so thankful that God put you into my life.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

One      5

Two      17

Three      30

Four      43

Five      55

Six      68

Seven      82

Eight      95

Nine      105

Ten      119

Eleven      132

Twelve      146

Thirteen      159

Fourteen      173

Fifteen      183

Sixteen      194

Seventeen      206

Eighteen      218

Nineteen      231

Twenty      244

Twenty-One      256

One

The bright light hurts my eyes as I hear Sofia crying for me in the distance. I know I’m not breathing, yet I don’t feel dead… though I can feel that I’m dying. A fierce rumble quakes the ground, but I can’t tell from where or why. Someone shakes my body, but it’s stiff and unyielding in their efforts to move me. I should be floating above my corpse like I did the last time Zander killed me, but for some reason I’m not, and that bothers me. All I can see is an immense light and all I hear are my daughter’s screams.

I’m stuck between two worlds and neither is letting me in.

Mommy!

Sofia, get under the bed! Jonas yells from somewhere behind me.

The bright light flashes again, but this time it’s so close I feel the heat searing my skin. This seems to finally bring me back around… but slowly.

My eyes adjust and what I see causes me to panic. The garden is on fire. Flames lick at the once-beautiful flowers and have started to eat away at the fence dividing our property from our neighbor’s. The fountain has been demolished; chunks of marble lay scattered about, sprinkled in fresh blood. Zander is soaring high in the air, injured. One wing is bent, and one arm lies limp against his body. I roll onto my side, my lungs burning as they try to pull air back into my body. I’m weak, drained, and dizzy. I’m so fatigued that I wind up only moving onto my stomach so I’m facing the back of my house – what’s left of it. The entire back wall has been blown out. Glass and debris cover me and the ground. Jonas is kneeling on the floor of Sofia’s room, a deep gash across his chest. He looks to be trying to recover his strength, but he’s failing. Sofia stares at me from under her bead, terror etched on her face.

I retract my wings, get to my feet, and begin to charge towards the house. I hop over the splintered wood, grab Jonas by the arm, and drag him into our bedroom. I go back for Sofia, pulling her out from her hiding spot, holding her tightly. I try to set her on the floor next to Jonas but she won’t let go of me, which makes tending to Jonas’ wounds difficult.

Get her out of here, Jonas says through fits of pain.

Not without you, I say, ripping his shirt off to make into a bandage for the laceration on his leg as well as the one on his chest.

He grabs my hand and stops me. Aven, go, he says, tears welling in his eyes. The Torians are on their way. The two of you need to get out of here.

Mommy! Sofia shouts in my ear.

I kiss Jonas hard on the lips. I love you, I say after pulling away.

I love you, too, he says, smiling through the pain he’s in.

Another rumble moves the ground, but this time I know what’s causing it since I’ve experienced this before. It’s the demon conflagration. But how is Zander conjuring it now? It needs the two of us together to create it, so was he able to do it this time? By draining my life force? Or by different means?

And all that aside, how and why am I still alive? It has to be the Argent, but I would think even that has its limits.

I’ll see you soon, Jonas says, pushing to his feet.

He hobbles back to Sofia’s room just as a group of Torians filter into what’s left of the garden. I’ve never liked having the mechanical beings around, even if they are charged with our safety. They’re sentient creatures who obey every command given to them… but only by Jonas or Iva. They refuse to listen to me no matter what I ask of them. At the moment, however, I’ll take them over dying.

I scoop Sofia up and bolt from the bedroom, then shift us to the estate since that’s the only place I can think to go to at the moment. I glance back towards our house, but all I see is a wall of fire. Smoke fills the air and I finally notice that the barriers surrounding the realm are gone. Demons scrabble down the streets, pulling people from their homes and slaughtering them where they stand. I know I need to figure out how all this happened, but now isn’t the time. I run around the side of the massive house until I’m at the door along the back of Iva’s apartment. She’s exiting it as I pull the door open, and almost slam into her.

What’s going on? she asks, her eyes transfixed on the red sky.

It’s Zander. He’s broken through the barriers and is attacking, I say, pulling her back inside. We have to get out of here.

Where’s Jonas? she asks, startled.

He’s with the Torians, I respond as I run down the hall towards a spare room that’s been made into a bedroom for Sofia.

I set her down on the bed, grab a bag from the closet, and begin stuffing clothes into it. Sofia cries and screams for Jonas, but there’s no time to stop. I slip the bag’s strap across my shoulders, pick Sofia up and return to the hallway. Iva has disappeared.

Iva? I call out as the noise from outside escalates.

I’m in the library! she shouts.

I make my way through the kitchen and dining room before I can enter the library. Iva is bent over a small hole in the floor, pulling items from it and shoving them into a rucksack. Once the cubbyhole is empty, she tosses the bag to me and orders me to put it on.

This way, she says, leading me back through the kitchen.

We exit the front door just as several Torians round the corner, their swords caked in blood.

Guard the house, Iva orders them. You, come with us, she orders one of the officers.

I give her a quizzical look as we hasten down the path towards a small shed along the outer rim of the dominion.

He’s going with you, she finally says once we’ve reached the door to the tiny building.

What? Where? I ask as I switch Sofia from one hip to the other since she’s getting heavier to carry.

There’s an island thousands of miles from here. It belonged to Wangari before he was killed, Iva says, pushing the door open and gesturing for us to follow. It has a fortress that can protect you.

What are you talking about? I ask, grabbing her arm and spinning her around so we’re face to face.

Her face falls and then she taps on the rucksack. It’s all in here; everything you’ll need to know about all of this. She steps over to a lever and pulls it away from the wall with all her strength. A trap door appears in the center of the shed, exposing the Grynden Sea miles below us. Take Sofia to the fortress. Neb will lead you to it, Iva says, gesturing to the Torian behind me.

We’re not leaving without you or Jonas! I shout to be heard over the roar that’s happening both outside and below us.

Yes, Aven, you are. Iva turns her attention towards the officer. Sentient protocols have been removed, Neb. You can transform into a human now.

He shakes his head, adjusts a dial on his chest, and sheds the mechanical shell. The body revealed is that of a tall man with heavy muscles along the upper portion of his torso and arms, piercing eyes, and a bald scalp. He secures his sword to a belt around his waist and reaches for Sofia, but he doesn’t force me to give her up. He waits patiently, which is unlike a Torian.

It’s all right, Aven, Iva says, placing her hand on my arm. Neb knows what to do. He was designed for this.

The ground shakes, almost knocking us off our feet.

Mommy, I want to go home, Sofia says, her face wet with tears as her nose runs.

We can’t, baby, I whisper as I rub her back.

Aven, you need to leave… now! Iva yells as the heat in the small building intensifies.

I hesitantly hand Sofia over to Neb. He holds onto her tightly and jumps through the hole, disappearing into the sea below. I glance up at Iva and I know in my heart I’ll never see her again. She reaches out and pulls me into her arms, hugging me firmly before she pushes me out into the air. I instinctively spread my wings to ease my descent, gliding myself to the same spot Neb and Sofia are, though it’s not in the water as I’d thought.

We’re standing on the flat surface of what appears to be an extinct volcano. Neb hands Sofia to me and begins to climb down to an opening several hundred feet below. He moves rapidly, so I quickly fly in, arriving at the bottom the same time he does. We move inside as I retract my wings, but it’s too dark to see anything. I cast a spark, lighting up the massive interior. A dock rests along the wall, with a boat tied to it. Neb waves for me to follow him. We cross the dock and onto the boat’s wooden deck. Neb disappears below and starts the engine while I untie us after setting Sofia down. I push us away and Neb veers the boat towards the cave entrance. I take Sofia and head below.

Cast a spell around us, Neb says with a husky voice. They can still see us from Kemer.

I put Sofia on a cot, set the bags down, and return to the deck. I conceal us from all manner of eyes, though we’ll still be able to see everything that’s happening above us.

Kemer is burning, the marble coating of its ground has cracked. I quickly look around, but I don’t see a dominion anywhere near us. Perhaps the Torians moved the realm out of the way when Zander began his attack. If Kemer goes down, does that automatically end the charms protecting the other islands from exposure?

A loud crack echoes above. I look up in time to see Kemer breaking into pieces, each heading in a different direction, but all slowly sinking towards the water. One by one the pieces shatter even more, causing large chunks to plummet into the sea, creating high waves that Neb has difficulty navigating. I hurry down to the control room to check on Sofia. She’s clinging to Neb’s leg as he steers us to safety.

We have to go back, I say, pointing out the small window beside him, towards the debris field.

No, I have my orders, Neb says, his eyes never faltering from the screen in front of him, which tells him our exact location.

There could be survivors, I say, pleading.

No, I have my orders, he says again, more forcefully.

God damn it, Neb. Why won’t you listen to me? Jonas is out there and so is Iva; we have to go looking for them.

He finally turns towards me, his hands never leaving the wheel. There won’t be survivors, Aven. You know that, he says smoothly.

Don’t say that! I scream at him, hitting him in the arm.

He doesn’t flinch or retaliate.

You’re wrong! I yell, though it’s impossible to imagine how he could be.

I collapse to my knees and bawl. Sofia wanders over to me and wraps her arms around my neck. I hold her tightly and secretly hope Jonas is alive. I can’t lose him… not now… not ever, but I do need to sever my connection with him since I can’t take the chance Zander will locate us again. I’d thought the binding between him and I had been severed, but everything that I just experienced tells me Geraint lied to me, that Zander and I are still connected. Breaking the connection will also destroy the one I have with Jonas, and prevent him from returning if he truly is dead, or from finding us if he’s alive. It breaks more than my heart, but I have to protect Sofia – it’s what Jonas would want.

I pick up Sofia, place her on the lone cot, and secure a blanket around her. She eventually falls asleep, though I fear she’ll only have nightmares. I sit next to her and watch her for quite a while. I want Neb to change course, but he’s going to continue obeying Iva even if she isn’t here.

We need to find some turmeric, I say as I turn to face him.

Why? he asks, his face stone-like.

You know why, I say, almost choking on my emotions.

After I arrived, the Torians were told of my previous connection with Zander and how it might still draw him out of his watery grave. The plant doesn’t exist outside of Eskal, at least that I know of, so no one went searching for it in case it was going to be needed.

What a huge mistake that turned out to be.

How do we find some? Neb asks as the sun begins to set, casting horrific shadows along the horizon.

I’m slightly taken aback by his question since I was anticipating push-back. I try to think of where to start looking when a thought pops into my head.

How far are we from Risan? I ask, standing.

Two days.

Let’s go there.

He taps on the screen as I step next to him, punches in a set of coordinates, and pulls up the outline for Risan. It’s a small island, approximately the size of Comoros. It’s shielded by a dense fog like all the others, but beyond the barrier is a tropical paradise. Palm trees and exotic flowers cover the land, along with open-air houses, porticos, pools, fountains, and lots of people. There appears to be only one city, surrounded by dozens of outlying communities.

When we arrive, I can navigate us safely into the bay, but I’ll still need you to make an opening in the fog so we can pass through. Otherwise, that curse will destroy the boat, Neb says, dismissing the image so it returns to the map’s display of our current location.

Wouldn’t Kemer’s annihilation have ended those?

They were never actually linked to the home dominion. They’re adhered to the islands themselves. Geraint devised it that way in case something like this were to happen. He didn’t want the entire world exposed, not when there are ways to prevent it.

Sofia starts to whine in her sleep, so I curl up next to her and wrap my arms around her. She stops the moment she feels me against her. I find myself drifting in and out of consciousness no matter how hard I try to stay awake. Sleep eventually finds me and I’m too exhausted to fight it off any longer.

Neb is still driving the boat when the sun’s rays filter in through the window, waking me. I know Torians don’t sleep, but I assumed since he’s no longer in his mechanical form, that would’ve changed. I scrounge around the lower deck for provisions, finding enough to feed us for a day or two. Since I still have some Ligotas abilities, I’ll be able to hold off feeding myself and leave the majority of the food to Sofia. She grumbles when she wakes but stops when I hand her a small container of dried fruit, which she devours quickly. I give her some crackers and a bottle of water then ask Neb what he’d like.

Torians don’t need food, he says flatly.

Then how do you survive? I ask, giving Sofia another fistful of crackers.

We were designed to not need anything mortals do in order to live. It’s to make us flawless and everlasting.

But you can die, correct?

Yes, of course, he replies. We’re not immortal. We can bleed and get injured like everyone else. That was done to make us more humanlike when the armor is removed.

So, which are you? Mechanical or human?

He moves his head to look down at me as I’m sitting on the floor with Sofia in my lap. Both. Pieces of us are human, but the rest is robotic in nature. Our true form is a human one, but that’s only when we’re away from Kemer. We wear the suits to display authority in the dominion, but outside of it… we’re just like everyone else, he says with a touch of sadness.

What’s wrong with being like everyone else?

He lifts his head back up. Nothing, of course.

I look at him with my head cocked to the side, wondering if he’s susceptible to human frailties like everyone else, or if that’s not a part of his programming. I’m not thrilled with the idea of entrusting this thing to Sofia’s safety, but I need someone to watch her if I’m not around.

I take Sofia to the tiny bathroom, which is tucked in the bow of the boat. I change her clothes, hand her a book I snagged during our escape, and set her back on the cot to read. I take the rucksack and go above. The air is warm today, with a slightly cool breeze due to the sun dancing in and out of the clouds that freckle the sky. I take a quick look around, but I still don’t see any dominions. I hadn’t actually thought the sea was so massive but, then again, I was viewing it from a world away… or so it felt.

I sit on the floor, rest my back against the seat that encompasses the circumference of the deck, and set the rucksack in my lap. The bag reminds me of the one I used when my journey started, which fills me with discomfort. I push my memories aside, look into the bag, and discover a folded piece of paper, yellowed by age, and creased, addressed to me.

My dear Aven,

If you’re reading this, I’m sorry, as this means I wasn’t able to protect you as well as I wanted. Hopefully you’re in a safe location and away from whatever war has broken out. It was an inevitability that such a thing would happen since I knew the pulses sent to Eskal wouldn’t eradicate Zander from existence, but simply delay him from rising to power. I lied to you when Jonas brought you to Kemer, and for that I cannot forgive myself. The Ligotas was still etched into your cells and bones when you were examined. I simply had the image modified to show otherwise as I thought that if you believed the monster no longer existed, you’d learn to live and enjoy a normal life; that your Ligotas ego would lay dormant until called or required. You needn’t worry about Sofia since the Ligotas traits aren’t hereditary if only one parent carries them, so she won’t have to fear the monster like I know you do.

I also knew the connection between you and Zander still existed, but if we had eradicated it the moment you were brought to me you’d no longer be bound to Jonas, and he needed you so badly during those times that I couldn’t afford to alienate another son. This was especially true when you became pregnant with Sofia. If you’d been given any turmeric while pregnant, or even after, Sofia would’ve been lost since she was bound to you and Jonas the moment she was conceived. I write these words now from my deathbed, knowing Jonas will soon be appointed to rule in my place. Once this occurs, the three of you as a group will be naturally free from the Argent since a god can’t be bound to anyone or anything. Unfortunately, this will still leave you connected to Zander and, my dear Aven, I need him to find you. You’ve already been through so much in such a short amount of time, but I must press upon you even further.

The world created isn’t what it appears to be. Zander discovered this the moment he exposed that dominion, and he’s been gradually recalling all those memories while recovering in a place that can never be destroyed. He must locate you in Kemer so all the horrible truths I have hidden can finally be exposed. I wish there was an easier way, but unfortunately there isn’t. If he’s successful Kemer will be lost, but the important thing is that you’ll be saved. I know I told you a long time ago that your birth wasn’t supposed to happen, but I lied. You alone hold the key to the future of the universe, a key imbedded so deeply into your fibers that you have yet to understand it. When you feel it’s necessary, sever your connection to Zander. You already know where you need to go in order to do that, so don’t second guess yourself. Follow your instincts.

You’re much more powerful than you think you are.

Finally, I need you to find and destroy the other Maidean gems before Zander gets a hold of them. They’re hidden throughout the cosmos, hundreds if not thousands of miles apart, and there’s a hint about each one’s location on the back cover of the Disaic, a small, thin book Iva should’ve packed for you. Jonas will be able to assist you in interpreting the clues and guiding you into entering each realm as only a god can. I never gave the gems to the other gods, but instead kept them for myself like the selfish man I used to be. When the elements gem – the creation gem – was lost, I finally appreciated the gravity of such power and hid the others. I’ve told no one about my deception until now, and for that everyone is going into a war that I could’ve prevented oh so long ago.

Please ask Jonas to forgive this old man for the errors he’s committed. It wasn’t done with malice of heart, but from naivety and recklessness. When Zander is finally defeated, the universe will sigh with relief and the true evolution of mankind can begin.

Your servant,

Geraint

I fold the paper between my fingers and try to control the anger that’s rising within. How could Geraint do this? And why me? Why the fuck is it always me? I’m nobody special, yet they all think I am. Xerci, Zander, Delphi, Jonas, and now Geraint have all said or believed the same thing in one form or another. Why? What could I possibly have done to warrant such attention?

And now I’m really screwed since Jonas is no longer here, so how am I