Read Online Stone of Ascension by Lynda Aicher - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lynda Aicher
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won’t.”
She turned away and paced to the end of the narrow front porch. Her boots thumped against the worn planks of wood. The barren landscape that greeted her off the back and side of the house offered no escape and did nothing to ease her tension. She turned back to him.
“If there’s some big enclave here, where are you hiding it?”
“The energy field that circles our lands presents the illusion of what you would expect to see. The energy repels normal humans from investigating further and also prohibits anyone from entering who doesn’t have permission.”
She swallowed. Energy fields? “All right. I know who you are, but maybe I should ask what you are.”
Sighing, he extracted his hand from a pocket and rubbed it over the back of his neck. The first sign of frustration she’d seen from him. He returned his hand to his pocket and met her eyes.
“I’m an Energen. We are an evolved branch of homo sapiens and have been here since life began.”
He looked completely serious, but Amber was having a very hard time keeping a straight face. “Okay, I’ll play—evolved how?”
“By evolved, I mean we have the ability to control the energy and elements of the earth.”
This time, she did laugh. She scuffed her foot over the wisps of snow that had collected on the porch. “Really? You expect me to believe that?”
Her laughter did not spread to him. He continued to look at her with a straight face. “Can you find another explanation for how we arrived here?”
Her laughter died. Damn. “How’d you do that?” Guess it was time to tackle that question.
Now he smiled. “Energy. Simply put, I broke down the energy within us and then used the energy around us to move us here.”
Big damn. As advanced as humans might be, she’d not heard of any human traveling through the air via molecular disintegration as of yet.
“So, what—you’re an alien?” Seemed like the next logical thing to assume. As if aliens were logical.
“No.” He shook his head patiently. “I’m just as human as you are.”
He certainly looked human. But still, it was a little too extreme to easily process. Even with her exposure to the tribe shaman and his seemingly mystical abilities, jumping into the realm of foreign species with unnatural powers was an entirely different thing.
But then, she apparently had a tattoo permanently etched onto her hand because she’d touched a stone.
“Why am I here? What do you want with me?” Edging down her panic, she tried to focus on the facts. Stepping over to a window, she peered inside, but could see nothing through the white-backed curtain that blocked the view. She gave up and looked back to Damian.
His night-sky eyes stared into hers, making her feel exposed and emotionally vulnerable. “I told you. You are the Marked One.” He tilted his head, indicating her hand, which was hidden under the length of his coat sleeve. “There are prophecies going back thousands of years predicting your appearance. Telling of how you will have the power to influence the fate of the world. How you and you alone can turn the tide between good and evil. You, Amber, are now the most important person in my world. In the world of my people. It is my duty to bring you in.”
What? “Oh, no, no, no. That cannot be true. I am not that girl,” Amber denied as she edged toward the stairs. “Believe me. I’m not the adventure girl who’s going to change the world. Attending protest rallies is about as daring as I get. So you can take me home, and I’ll forget this ever happened.”
The stoic look on his face told her Damian wasn’t buying it. She wet her lips, then darted down the short flight of steps and sprinted through the narrow path into the snow. She had no idea where she was going, but getting away was imperative. The need to escape pressed on her, propelling her legs until she dropped with a jolt, sunk thigh deep into a snowdrift.
“There’s nowhere to run.”
His cool voice
She turned away and paced to the end of the narrow front porch. Her boots thumped against the worn planks of wood. The barren landscape that greeted her off the back and side of the house offered no escape and did nothing to ease her tension. She turned back to him.
“If there’s some big enclave here, where are you hiding it?”
“The energy field that circles our lands presents the illusion of what you would expect to see. The energy repels normal humans from investigating further and also prohibits anyone from entering who doesn’t have permission.”
She swallowed. Energy fields? “All right. I know who you are, but maybe I should ask what you are.”
Sighing, he extracted his hand from a pocket and rubbed it over the back of his neck. The first sign of frustration she’d seen from him. He returned his hand to his pocket and met her eyes.
“I’m an Energen. We are an evolved branch of homo sapiens and have been here since life began.”
He looked completely serious, but Amber was having a very hard time keeping a straight face. “Okay, I’ll play—evolved how?”
“By evolved, I mean we have the ability to control the energy and elements of the earth.”
This time, she did laugh. She scuffed her foot over the wisps of snow that had collected on the porch. “Really? You expect me to believe that?”
Her laughter did not spread to him. He continued to look at her with a straight face. “Can you find another explanation for how we arrived here?”
Her laughter died. Damn. “How’d you do that?” Guess it was time to tackle that question.
Now he smiled. “Energy. Simply put, I broke down the energy within us and then used the energy around us to move us here.”
Big damn. As advanced as humans might be, she’d not heard of any human traveling through the air via molecular disintegration as of yet.
“So, what—you’re an alien?” Seemed like the next logical thing to assume. As if aliens were logical.
“No.” He shook his head patiently. “I’m just as human as you are.”
He certainly looked human. But still, it was a little too extreme to easily process. Even with her exposure to the tribe shaman and his seemingly mystical abilities, jumping into the realm of foreign species with unnatural powers was an entirely different thing.
But then, she apparently had a tattoo permanently etched onto her hand because she’d touched a stone.
“Why am I here? What do you want with me?” Edging down her panic, she tried to focus on the facts. Stepping over to a window, she peered inside, but could see nothing through the white-backed curtain that blocked the view. She gave up and looked back to Damian.
His night-sky eyes stared into hers, making her feel exposed and emotionally vulnerable. “I told you. You are the Marked One.” He tilted his head, indicating her hand, which was hidden under the length of his coat sleeve. “There are prophecies going back thousands of years predicting your appearance. Telling of how you will have the power to influence the fate of the world. How you and you alone can turn the tide between good and evil. You, Amber, are now the most important person in my world. In the world of my people. It is my duty to bring you in.”
What? “Oh, no, no, no. That cannot be true. I am not that girl,” Amber denied as she edged toward the stairs. “Believe me. I’m not the adventure girl who’s going to change the world. Attending protest rallies is about as daring as I get. So you can take me home, and I’ll forget this ever happened.”
The stoic look on his face told her Damian wasn’t buying it. She wet her lips, then darted down the short flight of steps and sprinted through the narrow path into the snow. She had no idea where she was going, but getting away was imperative. The need to escape pressed on her, propelling her legs until she dropped with a jolt, sunk thigh deep into a snowdrift.
“There’s nowhere to run.”
His cool voice
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