Clarity's Doom (Ancient Origins Book 1) Read Free

her purse, used to the weight of a seasoned fast traveler, and tossed the cell inside. If she had to, she was ready to board a plane. She spun to race to the door, her purse slung over a shoulder. A small sound reached her ears, stopping her. Talking, a voice growing in intensity. Clarity was certain she heard someone talking, someone close by. The hairs on her nape stood tall, her body chilled just as the oppressive heat consumed her again. Someone was inside her home. A fine line of sweat dripped at her temple.
    Resisting the urge to call out, Clarity moved toward the source. Her computer table was dark. There was no battery, it died, and she had been too busy for a replacement. It ran on electricity alone. Her hand moved toward the headphones she recently plugged in to blare music and not have the neighbors complain. She lifted the set to her ears and held her breath.
    There was a voice on the other end. A strong male voice. She tried to concentrate on the language being spoken, but it was no use. She couldn’t make it out. Not one word was familiar, which surprised her. With the AC not running, the room was almost immediately engulfed in heat. The sudden chill vanished, and sweat began to drip from more than just Clarity’s temples. Her hands shook.
    “Hello?” she whispered.
    The words stopped. Quiet in the room made the pounding of her heart that much clearer.
    “Hello, female.”
    “Who is this?”
    “You will find out soon enough.”
    Clarity dropped the headset, the purse slipped to the crook of her elbow. She backed up a step when she heard the voice again. “… we are coming for you.”
    Clarity was about to race to her room to lock herself in. Loud undeniable havoc reigned outside her front door, stopping her. With one hand, she grabbed her curtains and yanked them apart. Sunlight crashed in, blinding her momentarily. Blinking, her vision clearing, Clarity watched horrified as the pavement along the townhouses split. A fine line ran an ominous race to a destination, then stopped as quickly at a huge tree base. Silence. Clarity’s breath expelled in a whoosh as her breathing grew rapid. Her home rumbled when the ground gave way, the tree exploded, and fifteen homes dropped into a chasm vanishing from sight with a boom . The line on the pavement began again, heading toward her home. Clarity dropped her curtains and ran.
    ****
    “Holy fuck it’s hotter than hell’s whores out here.”
    “Will you please watch your language when the kids are around?” The woman lifted her shades slightly to give him a scowl.
    The man sent his wife a scathing glance in return. Three children were screaming and splashing in the deep end of the half-sunk, oval, semi-above ground pool, while their parents sat under an umbrella on a large deck in Zero gravity chairs, slathered in sunscreen and wearing baseball caps.
    “They can’t hear a damned thing we say,” he said. “They don’t even notice we exist.”
    “You’d be surprised what they hear.”
    “I’m their father. I’m under no delusions. They’re kids. I could have a heart attack, and they’d be oblivious.” He then grumbled, “Yet, a fucking ice cream truck drives by and all hell will break loose. Little monsters would shove their grimy hands in my pockets for a few bucks while I turn cold.”
    His wife grinned and tilted her head in agreement. She lazily sucked back on the vodka cooler she was drinking then paused. Her brows narrowed.
    “Jackson, when did you change the pool liner?”
    The man’s beer bottle hesitated at his lips. “I didn’t.” He shifted slightly forward.
    Both the man and woman rose slowly to their feet setting their drinks off to the side, to gaze at the bottom of the pool. Pitch black stared back. The children continued to laugh and play, oblivious.
    “Jackson,” the woman said, her tone anxious.
    “Easy,” he responded and he reached to grip her hand, noting she was two seconds from diving in. “The kids are fine. If it