Isle of Sanctum | The Aya Thrasher Chronicles | Book 1 |[Editing]

Chapter Forty-Eight

CHAPTER FORTY- EIGHT

AYA

We received a message that the threat had been neutralized and that we no longer needed to worry about the Wyres for now. Ace was worried about Issa. We hadn't seen her in almost a day. I thought maybe she had gone on a day trip somewhere, but Ace wasn't convinced. He thought something was wrong. He kept repeating it over and over until we listened to him. I thought about it. It was a bit strange she would just go off like that without telling anyone, not even her own brother.

We agreed that if Issa wasn't back by the next day, we would do something about it. There was no need to worry Serina if Issa had just wandered off. Ace was okay with that, surprisingly. The day went by quickly. We didn't have any mentor sessions or training, so it was a nice day off.

Brennan had given me a comic book tablet he thought I would like and I was just now getting around to reading it. I rested my head against the edge of one of the couches and opened up the tablet. Upon finishing the first section, I could feel my eyelids droop. I wasn't even tired, yet my mind was telling me to close my eyes.

I was transported to the tomb. No one else was there. There was something familiar about how the air swirled around. I had been there before. In this exact position. But for what? That's when the man's voice awakened. As the voice grew louder, it wasn't a man's voice, but a woman's. It was similar to the voice that had been inside my head guiding me. Perhaps it was?

I squinted my eyes and saw the outline of a woman. I rubbed my eyes, and the woman started to come into focus. She was beautiful with long wavy dark hair like Serina's. Her eyes were a golden emerald.

"Who are you?" I asked. This was Valencia Woods's tomb, but it couldn't have been her. Valencia was a teenager when she died. This woman was in her late 30's at least. Maybe it was their mother?

"Someone from the past...and future," she spoke with her red glossed lips.

What did that even mean? "Do you have a name?" I asked.

"I have several," she replied calmly.

I was starting to grow more irritated. What was the point of this dream? This woman was only answering my questions with cryptic answers.

"Fear not Aya, you shall get the answers you seek soon." She moved closer and put her hand on my forehead.

Everything went black. Was I awake? Or was a dreaming a dream inside a dream? Then everything came back. It was raining outside, so I glanced down at one of the puddles, examining my reflection. I wasn't Aya anymore. I was the woman I had been talking to. I had been transformed into her. Now I would see what she saw all those years ago.

Twenty years ago....

I woke up suddenly. My skin was pressed against itchy linen. I sat up, realizing I was in some kind of hospital bed. My feet were chained against the footing of the bed. Looking around, I realized my vision was off. I could only see out of my right eye. Reaching up to touch my left eye, I felt soft bandages that covered that whole side of my face. My fingers slipped underneath the bandages, the skin underneath was rough and bloody.

"Oh good. You're awake...." A man's voice trailed off into the room.

At first I didn't recognize the man's voice. I hesitated. "Where am I?"

Then I heard the pounding of heavy boots. The man's voice got closer. "Unfortunately, our strategy didn't go according to plan. You took the drink intended for the wrong target." The man went on. The more he spoke, I was starting to recognize his voice. He sounded almost like a younger version of the general, but it couldn't be, could it?