Transcending the Legacy Read Free Page A

the three statuesque mounds atop the distant ridge. Orion’s Belt, part of the constellation, Orion the Hunter and the largest of the Etowah Mounds.
    A whisper on the wind is all I hear. “It bears salvation.”
    The familiar voice of Michael shatters the wind and sends a chill through me. “You will not be saved.”
    I whip around, ready to react to his threat, but he is not there. The woods have darkened and the wind has picked up. Sounds of a distinct thrum beat of a drum and chanting whispers are carried on the breeze.
    Images race through my mind again; The team, Nate, Xan der, Ezra, Sebastian, Siobhan, everyone, we are running through the woods and the dark auras, the occupier beings, that I have come to call Dwellers are not far behind. A glimpse of something I have only seen once before, the giant beings Nate, Ezra and I encountered the night of the intersection; Nephelim. It is a group of them and they are flanking us; running along side us, protecting us. With our abilities, we are fast, but not fast enough. They are surrounding us now, the Nephilim the barrier between us and them.
    Abruptly my body is yanked up and away from my team, the Nephelim, and the Dwellers. The pull is so quick and strong, the air is knocked from me and bright shards of light begin flashing in my eyes threatening my consciousness.
    Before I pass out, the trauma of my body hitting the hard ground rouses me quickly from falling under. A sharp pain rolls through my rib cage as I shift onto my back as best I can. Pinching my eyes closed, I force myself to breathe past the pain. The chanting has gotten louder, closer, and the words are not English. Even though I can’t understand them, my gut tells me the words being sung are not a threat, but a promise of protection.
    The pain is softening and I’m able to open my eyes to see where I have landed. I am in a cave; a red, claylike dome and I’m staring up into a small shaft in the ceiling. An iridescent glow flows through the opening and meets a small fiery pit blazing only a few feet away from me. Pulling back from the heat of the flames, I notice a face beyond the flickering blaze; an aged man with skin tan like leather and eyes the color of honey. Among the deep creviced wrinkles on his face lie markings, tattoos. My eyes trail to his moving mouth; it matches the sound of the wailing mantra I hear. The wailing is no longer a whisper, but a bold reverberation bouncing off of the small enclosed cave surrounding us.
    The ground, it trembles under me suddenly. My hands instinctively move to either side to catch myself from toppling over as the ground rises and falls beneath me, the tremors strengthening. Instead of dirt, my hands meet cloth. Cloth?
    My eyes flutter open and I focus on the fabric I am gripping. Self aware now, I see that I am flush against the seat and my hands have a death grip on the cloth armrests on either side of me. I turn to my right to see if anyone has noticed my erratic reaction to the vision and find myself staring into the blue eyes of my deceased friend, Angela Turner.
    Startled, I jerk back from her and cover my mouth, muffling my shocked yelp. It tears at my heart seeing her sitting here staring at me, knowing that she is only an apparition. I slowly release my grip on the chair and whisper shakily, “I’m sorry Ang.”
    She shakes her head tenderly, closes her eyes, and sends me her thoughts. “It wasn’t your fault, Jes. It was my choice,” she thinks.
    She was so brave and she deserves to be honored for her courage. I have so much to say to her. I open my mouth to speak again, tell her how she saved us all, but her solid frame quickly diffuses into the transient soul she has become and vanishes. The space she reserved is replaced with Xander’s hard stare from across the aisle. His brow is furrowed deeply and his viridian eyes are honed in on me as he studies me. What did he see? Did he hear me talking to Ang? The way I reacted after my vision? Xander