The Nightmare: Condemnation

By Jasmine R. L.

Ash gives birth, and Rhumea is suddenly plagued by the wrath of the other kingdoms.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 31, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524528065

Jasmine R. L.

Jasmine R. L. is a fantasy fiction writer that focuses on opening up and challenging the minds of her readers. She often writes on controversial issues and dogmas that are present in our society and seeks to break down the “isms” that young and old minds so easily subscribe to. Her writing is often mistaken for no more than teenage folly and romance. She praises independent thinking and action and wants to create youth that love themselves, each other, and the planet. She was raised in Texas for the majority of her life and is currently starting a farm with her husband. She is presently studying to be an environmental interior designer, a contractor, and a construction engineer. She adores her parents, her family, and friends who are often developed into the characters of her books, against their own wills.

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Copyright © 2016 by Jasmine R.L.

ISBN:      Softcover      978-1-5245-2807-2

                eBook           978-1-5245-2806-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 10/17/2016

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Contents

Author’s Note

The Time of Ash The Nightmare

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

To you

Author’s Note

When I wrote the Time of Ash: The Nightmare it led me into unexpected places and revealed in me terrifying emotion. I believe that this book goes further into my being and is a gift from God. I wouldn’t want this story expressed in any other way and therefore must give a warning to those who have read the Time of Ash: The Dream, this book is definitely not the same. The tone is much more personal and precisely written to explore not only Ash’s ideas but of those who have taken up arms in order to further her purpose. There is dramatic violence and descriptive narrative recording these events. I have fallen in love with every character whose name is muttered within these pages and had to communicate the pain and desire of their beautiful souls too. It is amazing that this story has received such infatuation by every person who has experienced it and I wanted to deliver to you not just a book; but a meaningful saga that needs to be heard. Why write you a preluding note? Well, because my viewpoints are vibrantly captured and to readers who may be too young, they may not easily be understood. So this is my warning to you, and whether you picked up this book for pure enjoyment or because you truly believe in the lessons it was written to teach I ask that you simply just enjoy it for all it’s worth.

The Time of Ash

THE NIGHTMARE

Chapter One

Ash closed her eyes as she felt the first contraction envelope her stomach and then grabbed for support on the dresser beside her. There was blood everywhere and now she feared for the baby’s life. Her heart was racing now as a fluster of emotions played out on her already sweat filled face. Her labor became more intense as she screamed for help once more, Somebody help me!

Her gaze quickly went to the door as she searched for the necessary help, but nobody had come and now she was terrified. She was alone. She was in labor, and she was alone!

Somebody help me!

She now shuffled her feet to towards the door, but the pain in her hips traveled up her back and almost brought her crashing forward. She didn’t want to move, for fear of falling. The child seemed to be tossing in her stomach and she gritted her teeth together as more pain traveled just below her hips. She had underestimated childbirth and now wished she had prepared better for it. Would she able to handle giving birth to an immortal?

This was something her body had not been made for.

Another contraction shot through her and she suddenly lost her grasp on the dresser beside her and came toppling dramatically to the floor. Please baby, calm down… The words came out softly through tears as she worked through the pain from the fall. Eques, what have you done to me! Her screams filled the large room around her, but went unheard. Why did she believe she had been strong enough to do this? The room was turning now. She panicked as she cuddled her large belly with her shaking arms. Several thoughts had gripped her mind all at once and now she was faced with the decision to wait for help or crawl to the bed. I can’t do this… she whispered it to herself as she laid in the fetal position on the cold wood, watching the blood pool in the cracks of the floor boards. She wanted to die. Just die and end the pain. Eques was gone and now her child would be the end of her; definitely not the gracious beginning she had been praying for. What do I do? She spoke quietly through deathly wheezing.

Then she saw it.

Her blue eyes barely caught the ray of light shining from the window above. The same magical dust she had seen at the top of the closet before Eques had first spoken to her. She could make out something that glistened so discreetly in the light as it floated. The symbol of Eques crest was forming elegantly within it and she smiled as she remembered the mark etched deeply in her wrist. It was as if the higher power had spoken to her in that moment, assuring her of her capabilities to be the chosen mother of such a child. She could feel its greatness glowing from her womb now, and nodded at the source of light with her newfound confidence. Suddenly she screamed as more pain overtook her body and then made her decision to crawl.

She started to pull herself to the bed just a few feet away, while holding her belly to reduce the intensity of her contractions. She was shushing the baby now as she brought herself up to her knees to make the final climb into bed. No one was coming to help her. She shuttered at the fact that this would be a moment reserved just between her and the child. Now she was on the mattress. Her mind was loud with the thoughts about who he or she would be. She questioned the child’s fraility and then its power; unmoved by the thought that it would not be normal. What would it look like? What would it sound like? She laughed at herself. Now she was curious about all the wonderful things motherhood was introducing to her in this swift moment. Why hadn’t she thought of any of this until now?

As long as the child is safe, she thought. That’s all that matters.

She bit her lip in agony as she bundled up the skirts of her dress and found herself just lying there, waiting for her body to tell her it was time. This was how birth should be. A beautiful event that took advantage of the time allotted to it; not rushed by the drugs of a hospital seeking to get its next paycheck. She thought of how lucky she was to feel it all, to feel the pain along with the joy of bringing life into the world. And then she thought of her mother. She would have wanted her dosed with medicine, barred from the true beauty of being a mother; as most human mothers on earth seem to be. We are so afraid she thought; of the gift of being women. To suffer was to know the true knowledge of life. To know how it all worked. She knew the higher power was looking down upon her with gratitude now. This was her task, and now she was set on seeing it fulfilled.

Please help me. She whispered up towards the heavens, for only the higher power was to be her audience in this fateful time. The magic dust swirled above her and for mere seconds she felt her own strength pulsating through her womb. Her confidence was building at each painful assertion of her body to extract the life within it and finally she pushed.

The exhaustion of her muscles was followed with a deathly groan, but she would not allow herself to stop.

She pushed again.

And now the real pain was ripping through her as she felt the baby moving gently down. She bit her lip and pushed again; screeching as the pain moved forward into utter bliss. She cried for joy, she had done something- for the pain had subsided. And then she stopped as she saw the black curls barely peering through her outstretched legs. The infant started to cry and Ash grabbed it up into her arms afraid she had harmed the child in her labor.

There he was.

A small precious boy gazed back at her with golden eyes identical to Eques’. They glowed with a stately power she could not fully comprehend. He reached for his mother in a moving bundle of fit and she laughed as she cooed him with wonderment. This was the Blessed Child, she knew it as she searched him for any imperfections and found none. This was her son. Conlan…. She spoke gently as she named the precious child within her arms. The baby boy was remarkable. And now he stopped crying as if he had known the name was his. Welcome my love. She turned to her side and laid him next to her, lost in her infatuation. She had done it on her own.

The sunlight wavered around him, drawn to his small moving frame that Ash had cuddled in the silks of the bed. She knew he loved her, for his eyes gleamed with awe as he watched his mother above him. And then her mind went back to the events before his birth. His father Lost, Agele killed, Rhumea threatened, and now her guilt of being human. I am sorry, that’s all I can say for now. I am sorry. Her worried voice echoed through the air around them and Conlan was unmoved. He was lost in his own curiosity of the new world around him. She felt guilty for him, for he was not entirely his father’s child and now she wondered what magical powers he could possibly possess to aid him.

Suddenly a colossal pain shot through her abdomen and Ash screamed as blood began to trickle down her legs again. The contractions had started again and now she was confused. The first part of labor had already been completed. And now terror struck through her body as the pain overwhelmed her and she was forced to lay back. She nestled Conlan at her side, to keep him safe from her pain stricken antics. She prepared herself to accept what her body was bringing forth now, for she felt the urge to push again.

The pain was severe as she clenched her teeth and brought the bed sheets into her shaking hands, preparing for the worst. But no sooner was she done and there before her was another child. A silent and still baby that did not respond as the first had done. There was a shadow cast above the newborn and Ash knew this one was different. This one was of a different nature that she could not outright