Legacy of the Feathered Serpent Read online

  Legacy of the Feathered Serpent – Book Two of the Children of Fire Series

  Published by AMJ Publishing 2015 at Smashwords

  Copyright 2015 by ALICA MCKENNA-JOHNSON

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  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Cover and formatting: Sweet 'N Spicy Designs

  LEGACY OF THE FEATHERED SERPENT

  Book Two of the Children of Fire Series

  ALICA MCKENNA-JOHNSON

  BLURB

  First an ancient Phoenix King and Queen and now a sleeping Mayan god, could Sapphire’s life get any weirder?

  Sapphire. 15 years old, strong, intelligent, with newly acquired Phoenix powers. She travels through South America, with her recently-discovered family. Performing with Cirque de Feu Magique as a cover, the Children of Fire respond to the need of magical creatures to return home to Akasha.

  Powerful beings take a dangerous interest in the creatures they are called to save. The challenges of growing leadership and conflict with a Mayan god force Sapphire to realize she’s stronger than she thought.

  This book is dedicated to my Grandmother who recently left us. I love you oceans and oceans.

  Many thanks to my loving family, my critique partners Kilian, Kim, and Mary, Jill who helped edit, and my friends. All of them listened to hours of my plotting, ranting, and whining about this book. I couldn't have done it without their support!

  Theresa thank you for your encouragement and support in helping for stay focused on my dreams.

  And special thanks to Gisselle who helped me with information about Argentina and Peru!

  Chapter One

  "In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future."

  Alex Haley

  Llamas spit.

  "Oh my god, this reeks!" my uncle Gavin said, gagging as he tried to wipe the llama spit off his face. His skin turned pink from the irritating green goo.

  "Oh, gross." I tossed him a packet of wet wipes. "You were told not to scare them."

  My empathy picked up the llama's happiness at his victory. The female llamas surrounded him, making odd cooing noises. Understanding what animals felt and thought didn't freak me out anymore, thank goodness. Animals have a very different view of humans than we think. It didn’t surprise me to find out that when some cats when they slither around your feet while you're walking, are trying to kill you.

  The mountains of Patagonia, Argentina loomed above us, beautiful and desolate. Craggy rocks, spindly shrubs, and grass less than an inch high covered the steep slopes. Far below, the brownish gray mountainside gave way to stripes of bright green, terraced crops.

  "Is not spit," Sasha said, his Russian accent making him sound harsh and arrogant. "Is digested food."

  "Thanks for sharing," I said. Sasha looked less like a ballet dancer and more like a bear in his navy winter coat, heavy black boots, thick wool hat, and scarf.

  "When is their father going to be home?" Sasha paced in front of me wrapping his arms around himself.

  Since Sasha's Phoenix gift of dreaming brought us here, why was he complaining? I sighed and strengthened my empathic shields against Sasha's boredom, frustration, and worry. We had a common ancestor four thousand years ago, a Phoenix King, and now our 'gifts' brought us together.

  I looked over at the mother and her two young children sitting in front of their mud brick hut. They glowed against the gray rocks with their smiling dark, ruddy faces and thick wool clothes woven by their mother from bright colors.

  "The sun is getting lower, and it looks like the mom has started to prepare dinner, so I bet it won't be too much longer."

  Wind coming off the top of the snowcapped mountains of the Andes whipped around us. I snuggled deeper into the itchy wool poncho.

  "Papa, he's coming. Listen," said the youngest, a girl about four or five years old.

  I followed the girl's happy gaze, but couldn't see anyone.

  "What did she say?" Gavin asked. A red splotch marked his face, but at least the nasty green goop was gone. His Phoenix gift of regeneration would heal that mark in a few minutes.

  "She says her father is coming. But I don't see anything."

  I began to get a headache as I always do whenever I translate foreign languages into English. Thank goodness my gift only works with other descendants of magical beings. Otherwise I'd have a constant migraine as we traveled.

  "Can be she heard something," Sasha said.

  A gust of wind blew over us from the valley, carrying with it the soft bleating of sheep.

  "I think I hear them," I said.

  Ten minutes later, the echo of the sheep and the sharp yips of dogs became clear. Five minutes after that, the first black-faced, woolly sheep appeared. Sheep look so cute. And smell. I didn't know sheep smelled. My nose wrinkled at the pungent, musky odor.

  The son, who looked about five or six, ran over to the large paddock and opened the gate. The sheep trotted inside. A few tried going another way, but one of the sheep dogs herded them into the pen with little fuss.

  Their father rode up over the hill, on a sturdy horse with a heavy coat. He watched over his flock, sitting tall in a colorful, heavy wool poncho, a leather cowboy hat, and holding a child in his arms.

  "Is everything all right?" the mom asked reaching her arms up to take the child.

  "He fell rescuing a pregnant ewe. I wrapped it but haven't had time to do anything else."

  Their oldest son moaned as they shifted him.

  "Hello, my name is Lichuen, what can I do for you?" the man called in Mapuche, an ancient language long forgotten by the Spanish-speaking people of Argentina. His wild protective energy skimmed my shield as if trying to figure me out.

  "Good afternoon, Sir," I said, trusting my Phoenix gift for languages would work. "My family and I would like to speak with you, if we may."

  His eyes widened, and I could feel his surprise bounce off my empathic shields. "Yes, of course. Let me clean up and make sure my son is all right first."

  Sasha poked me. "We must help son. He won't trust us or give us jewelry from Akasha if we don't."

  I groaned and rubbed my temples. We needed the jewelry Sasha dreamed about.

  Gavin sighed. "Sasha, if you knew this, why you didn't you say so? None of us is a healer."

  Sasha crossed his arms. "I tell you what I remember of my dreams."

  "Do you happen to remember how we heal him?" I asked. We were all learning how to manage our Phoenix gifts. I can't expect perfection, especially when I'm constantly messing up.

  "Nyet."

  "Sapphire, can you connect to Akasha?" Gavin asked. "Can we connect to Miu somehow?"

  "Then what?"

  Gavin shrugged. "We hope something good happens."

  I closed my eyes
. "Well, I guess it's a plan. A terrible plan, but we'll see what happens."

  I turned towards the fire where they placed their son. "May we try to help your son?"

  His turquoise eyes narrowed, his distrust pinged against my shield. "How?"

  I pulled my fire pendant out, hoping he would recognize the symbol. He didn't. "We are Children of Fire, descendants of the Phoenix King. I'm hoping by connecting to him, we can heal your son."

  His distrust didn't lessen. "I dreamed of this. You're here for my family’s legacy, for the gifts given to my family before white man came, from the god Quetzalcoatl himself."

  Not good, I hadn't meant to upset him. "Yes, I'm sorry but we are here for them. Sasha saw them in a dream given to him by Shamash."

  "His leg is broken and bleeding badly," the mom said.

  Lichuen looked at his wife in silent communication.

  "What's happening?" Sasha wasn't as patient.

  "I don't know yet."

  "You will heal him," the father said, a commandment not a question.

  "Of course." I turned to Gavin and Sasha. "We're being given a chance. Now what?"

  "We'll sit next to him and do our best to connect to the energy of Akasha."

  Sasha dug through his pockets pulling out three cases. "I did remember that we should take out our contacts. Seeing the fire in our eyes will help convince him."

  I took a case and removed a glove, gasping as the bitter cold wind hit my skin.

  "I'm not sure this is a good idea," Gavin said as I removed my contacts.

  "We need the jewelry, right?"

  Gavin frowned but went along with it.

  I put the case in my pocket and looked up. Lichuen’s eyes widened, then he nodded.

  I sat next to the injured boy and almost threw up. The jagged edge of his bone tore through his lower leg. I looked up at the mountain peaks waiting for the wind to blow away the coppery smell of his blood.

  Once my stomach calmed, I looked down at the boy. His ruddy face looked ashy, and his eyes were bright from pain. The jewelry didn't matter.

  "We're going to help you." My necklace began to warm up as the connection to Akasha opened. The boy moaned. A wave of pain and fear cut into my shield. I cupped my hands and held them up, letting the energy from Akasha fill them.

  Gavin and Sasha opened their connection and channeled more energy to me. My hands lit up with purple flames. I tipped my hands and let the flames fall like water onto the boy’s wound.

  He cried out as the bone snapped back into place. Lichuen moved closer and grasped his son’s hand while his wife held onto their younger kids. The muscle and skin began to repair. Sweat beaded on my forehead. I looked away. How could Miu handle stuff like this?

  The energy faded as the skin finished healing over, leaving nothing but a pink scar. I slumped, trying to catch my breath. My hands, red and blistered, ached. I watched as cool blue flames danced on the red skin healing the burns.

  "Thank you," his mother said as she ran her hands over her son's leg.

  "I can't fix the blood loss," I said.

  The shepherd smiled, lines carving into his weathered face, his eyes bright. "My wife knows herbs. He’ll be fine. Please let us get him settled and join us for tea." He scooped their son up and took him into the small home. His wife followed them.

  I turned to the others and let them know what happened.

  Sasha pursed his thin lips, his thick blond eyebrows coming together as he frowned. "What do you think they will serve us?"

  "We will be polite and grateful for whatever they give us," Gavin said. "They don't have a lot and what they share with us will mean less for them later.”

  Sasha's wind chapped cheeks turned even redder as he flushed with embarrassment. "Of course. I was curious only."

  We moved to the logs which surrounded the fire. Gavin tucked his long legs close so his feet didn't land in the coals. Sasha, being five-six, had a little more room than Gavin At five foot two, I was a little taller than our hosts, and I settled on the worn log without a problem.

  The mother passed out cups of maté and plates of homemade bread and cheese made from sheep’s milk. I liked the salty white cheese and chewy bread. She served the tea in gourd cups with metal straws. The straws had flat bottoms with holes in it like a tea strainer so you didn't have to worry about drinking the tea leaves.

  The little girl came over and stared into my eyes, her face so close to mine that our noses bumped.

  "You have fire in your eyes."

  "Let me see," said her brother.

  "No." She grabbed my face, her little hand rough with callouses.

  He pouted but went over to Gavin. He didn't dive in like his sister, but looked from a distance. Gavin leaned forward once I told him what they wanted. The boy gasped and moved in closer, looking into Gavin's pale green eyes.

  "Children, please let our guests enjoy their tea in peace." Their father sat down and sipped his tea through the metal straw.

  When finished, Lichuen picked up a small bundle wrapped in leather.

  "This has been passed down in my family since the beginning of time."

  He unwrapped the bundle, his thick, work-worn hands showing the greatest reverence. His family scooted closer to see. Clean raw llama wool filled the bundle. The rancher brushed the wool aside to reveal his family's treasures.

  "This is a feather from Quetzalcoatl." He held out a beautiful iridescent feather. The green in the middle faded to yellow at the edges. Lichuen laid the feather against his arm with the quill at his elbow and the tip falling over his fingers.

  I could feel a magical connection to Akasha radiating from the feather.

  "It's beautiful, and very powerful."

  "What is it?" Sasha asked, his eyes glued to the magical feather.

  Oops, I need to remember to translate. "Sorry, it's a feather from Quetzalcoatl.""These were given to my ancestor, by a man from another world who was born from people of fire."

  Lichuen paused until I told the others.

  "He passed these along to his son and his son to his son and now they are in my care."

  He held out his weathered hands palms up. A silver arm band glinted in the pale light. Metal curved in delicate swirls with a liquid-looking red line flowing down the center of each swirl of silver. In the other hand was a thick wrist cuff of hammered gold with symbols carved into it.

  The silver arm band hummed with an energy that told me that Shamash had given it as a gift. The other one felt different. It vibrated with the energy from Akasha, but something more—something wild and windy.

  "May I see the writing on the gold cuff, please?" I asked.

  Lichuen turned it, but did not hand it to me.

  "The cuff says, 'To a most treasured son, love Quetzalcoatl,'" I said, first in Aztec then in English.

  "I didn't know other beings brought things from Akasha to Earth," Gavin said, his fingers twitching with the desire to touch the amazing piece.

  "When I received these, my father told me we needed to hold onto them until the Ones of Fire came again. The cuff from Quetzalcoatl will help you get into a secret room where he slumbers." Lichuen paused and stared at me. What? Why is he staring at me? Sasha nudged me. Oh, yes. I translated. He started speaking again as soon as I nodded.

  "Many, many years ago Quetzalcoatl walked among our people. He admired the beauty of the Aztec and Toltec women and blessed many of them with children. The people built Quetzalcoatl shrines, worshiped his children, and the priests created elaborate rituals and celebrations to honor him.

  "One day his red brother, Camaxtil, came and took him away. Legend says they went to battle giants and other gods who would harm the Aztec and Toltec."

  Lichuen’s voice drew me in, and his gestures emphasized the importance of his words. I translated each time he paused, so the others could follow the story.

  "During Quetzalcoatl's absence, drought ravaged the land and the crops did not grow. A priest had seen Quetzalcoatl cut onc
e, and he did not bleed. The priests decided that the gods must need blood because they didn't have any of their own. When their normal sacrifices didn't bring rain, the priests decided to hold a huge sacrifice in honor of Quetzalcoatl, hoping it would make him happy and end their suffering.

  "The priests sacrificed prisoners on the summer solstice, along with the devout who felt called to offer themselves to the gods, and a virgin from each household. Including the king’s youngest daughter, Quetzalcoatl's great-granddaughter. Both Aztec and Toltec temples and pyramids ran red with blood that day. They drummed and sang to drown out the screams of terror as they took prisoners to the altar and cut their living hearts from their chests.

  "During the ceremony, Quetzalcoatl did come. He flew over the people, a large magnificent feathered serpent, like a beacon of hope in the sky. Here is where the stories and the myths part ways. According to the priests, Quetzalcoatl, screamed out in joy and blessed earth with his tears. The rivers filled, the crops sprang to life, and the wells filled with sweet clean water once again. The people danced and cheered and the sacrifices continued," he said.

  We leaned forward, engrossed in his tale. Even Gavin and Sasha, who had to wait for me to translate, hung on his every word.

  "My ancestors knew something different. They knew Quetzalcoatl cried for his grandchild. Her lifeless turquoise eyes looked up, as if in her last moments of life she looked for Quetzalcoatl to return and save her. No one ever saw Quetzalcoatl again. People reported seeing him, and the priests still sacrificed people to honor him, but never again did he bless the people with children or wisdom."

  I blinked to fight back the tears. My throat dry, and I cleared it several times in order to finish translating the story.

  Lichuen leaned back and looked at the sun. He twisted his cup in his hands while his wife finished the tale.