Sapphire and The Atlantians: War in Atlantis
Chapter 17
What
follows is an exceptionally dark excerpt from book two in the Sapphire and
The Atlantians Series of Novels: War in Atlantis. This scene is
extremely dark, so please stop reading if it is too violent for you. The
darkness is necessary to foreshadow a few elements at the end of this book and
the beginning of the next.
Backstory
First,
a little backstory. Atlantians have gifts: empathy (more than simple
telepathy), telekinesis, seeing (future and past), and healing. Sapphire
is surprisingly gifted (you'll have to read the books to learn more about her
gifts). Arion, an extremely gifted empath, can alter thoughts and
memories. Moreover, he can alter a person's reality. In a nutshell,
he is evil—deliciously evil.
In
the following, scene for this book, Sapphire, our female protagonist,
is weary after many days of no sleep. Consequently, she stumbles into a
quiet room to take a short nap before the next battle. What follows
is what happens.
Sapphire's Vision
“Exhausted,
Sapphire stumbles into a quiet room to lay her weary head down for a short
nap. As she closes her eyes, a white, longhaired cat jumps up onto the
plump settee on which Sapphire reclines and curls up next to her. The
feline’s gentle purring lulls her into a deep sleep within seconds.
Soon,
she finds herself slowly strolling through a field of fragrant flowers and
herbs. The variety of heady scents suggests her grandmother’s home is
nearby. Reminiscing, she notes the vernal field leading into a dark
forest—very common in the north.
Gazing
up through the towering pine treetops and into the sunny blue sky, she is
surprised by a majestic brown hawk with a red tail, “By the stars, I’ve ever
seen a hawk-like that in Atlantis.” Oddly, she feels a connection to the regal
raptor as she watches it swoop around the tall trees of the
forest. Suddenly a shrill scream precedes the hawk’s fall from the sky.
Her eyes follow its swift descent as it lands with a thud at Sapphire’s
feet. Soon after it hits the ground, the majestic hawk slowly transforms
into Alex.
Falling
to her knees sobbing, she lays her body protectively across his, only to find
it slowly dissolving into a pool of blood. Blood drips from her hands as
she pulls herself up. As she stands, she looks down to find her clothing
stained a dark red. Dazed, she begins to scream, but a violent spin
silences her.
Lightheaded and confused, she finds her dreamscape transformed into her adopted
uncle’s home in San Francisco. Xavier, graying dark hair, dressed in a
fine navy-blue silk suit, walks into his contemporary white kitchen happily
humming a jazzy tune. Reaching out to him, she yells for help.
Alas,
the scene dissolves once again as she finds herself teleported onto the cold,
gray granite streets of eastern Atlantis. Broken, bloody bodies lying in
the street, doorways and across window ledges morbidly greet her.
Her hands shake and her stomach lurches. On wobbly legs, she raises a
quivering hand to her mouth and whispers, “They are all dead.”
Outside
forces spin her once again as she witnesses a montage of bloody scenes, all
much the same—no survivors. The spinning halts abruptly, and like a
discarded ragdoll, she drops painfully onto a white marble floor.
Her entire body aches and she feels nauseated.
As
she slowly pushes her body from the hard, cold floor, she notices drops of
fresh blood scattered across it. She finds the contrast of red and white
a macabre testimonial of victory and brutal loss.
A
familiar blustery voice jolts her attention toward a group of arguing
white-robed Atlantians sitting in intricately carved, heavy wooden chairs set
around a similarly designed round pedestal table.
Yelling
incoherently, Arion appears to their left. They ignore his taunts and
complaints as they continue their intense discussion. Seething with
anger, Arion steps behind a graying, attractive Atlantian woman and with one
swift movement, stabs her with a long, shiny black knife. He pulls her by
the hair so he can watch her face as she dies. Gazing into her eyes, he
grunts, “And, you thought yourself immortal, didn’t you, Calisto.”
Before
the others can subdue him, each fall to the ground moaning in pain. He
pulls the knife from Calisto’s back so roughly that blood spatters across his
tan suit. Pointing the bloodstained knife at them, he declares, “Enjoy an
eternity of confusion and pain, my Tui Siri Masters.””
More
From this Trilogy
Comments
Post a Comment