Earth Guardian (Deities Series Book 2) Read online

  “Wow, this must be the Grotto.” I’d heard of this before, but no one is ever allowed to come here. The well keeps plunging down, so I lay my body flat on the ground to help the two ladies into the cave. I close my eyes and focus. Inch by inch, I’m able to move my body back up the shut. I scramble out. Torrent is already there, helping them.

  We’re standing on the high part of a small cave. We lower ourselves down a step, then we come to a big hole. Ash shines her light; the hole goes down about a meter and a half. The walls and ground are uneven, natural. But the ceiling looks like pebbled gravel or sand. Ash knocks it; we are showered with the soft mixture.

  “Careful, don’t bury us, Ashley,” Dr. Mara says.

  “Sorry, Sir.”

  Isn’t Dr. Mara a woman? Maybe that’s what a soldier calls both sexes in the US military.

  “That looks like the same stuff at the bottom of the hole.” I jump down. The ground is shifting, pebbly sand.

  There’s some kind of hushed energy in here, almost like a low hum. We stand still, listening. I close my eyes and am filled with stone, rock, sand, pebbles, soil. I feel myself sinking into the soil, into the stone, into the ground.

  “Pamin!” Torrent shouts.

  “Ridge, come out now,” Dr. Mara says. “Ash, lower yourself with the rope.”

  I’m not completely aware of what they’re saying. I continue to sink, my body becoming one with the soil. Soon their shouts are muffled into oblivion.

  I am Earth, and all is silent.

  Chapter Ten

  Descending into ground, soil, power. Rolling, sliding, moving with the earth.

  My body smashes against something metallic and cold. I cough dust and dirt. Opening my eyes, I strain to see in the pitch black. The ladies are shouting and getting closer to me. I seem to be lying in a mound of pebbly gravel, pushed against a waist-high metal railing in an awkward way. I gingerly sit up, shaking the dirt off. The women crawl from a meter-high square passage nearby.

  “Ridge, are you all right?” Dr. Mara looks pale even in the dim light.

  “Ridge! Oh my god, you’re alive!” Ash says.

  “Stop yelling,” I say. “I’m fine. What happened? Did I pass out in the Grotto pit?” I look around, trying to see where we are.

  Wait a minute, this is not the pit I jumped into … where am I? This cave looks bigger than the Grotto. Besides the deep square vertical shaft dug out in the center of the area surrounded by the rail, there are various levels in this natural cave. Rock partitions stick up horizontally and vertically here and there.

  “Where are we?” I ask.

  “You sank right down into the ground in that Grotto pit, Ridge. Scared the shit out of us. We didn’t know where you went. I was going to go down after you, but Dr. Mara had the brilliant idea of trying to meet you below.”

  “We had to get down farther in the shaft. It only went down a little farther before it angled, like a steep slide,” Dr. Mara explains.

  “We caught site of you rushing down the stone slide with a bunch of the gravel stuff. I thought you were dead.” Ash punches my arm.

  “Next thing we knew, we were caught in the sand slide and came rushing after you,” Torrent says.

  “That was fucking awesome, actually, Ridge.”

  “Do you have any recollection of this, son?” Dr. Mara asks. “You slid all the way down and dropped into a square passage right out there, then kept sliding into this cave and smashed against the rail. If it weren’t for that, you’d be at the bottom of that deep well. We were all going pretty fast.” The doctor leans over the rail. “I don’t know if you would have survived that fall.”

  It goes down to a narrow sloping ledge before the square shaft plunges for several meters. Pebbles bounce down from my feet as I strain to look to the bottom. “No, I don’t remember any of that.” I try to recall, but I’m shaking a little bit. “I just had the sensation of being one with the earth, and descending, yes. Do you think this is another thing I was supposed to do here?”

  “I would guess so.” Dr. Mara gestures to the deep pit. “Do you think you should go down there to double check? We have rope.”

  We secure the line to the metal rail, and I lower myself, using my feet melded into the stone wall to aid me. At the bottom of the pit I stand still, my eyes closed. Very deep, deep within the earth. Deep within me …

  Distant shouting breaks my reverie.

  “Fuck, they’ve found us again!”

  “Stay calm, Ashley. Son, are you finished?”

  “I think so. Nothing happened, really.”

  “Get up here, quick as you can. Do you know if there’s another way out?” She asks as I climb, practically running up the wall with the soles of my shoes.

  “I don’t know. We need to explore this cave.” We fan out, Ash holding up her brightest light for us. We scramble and climb over the various slabs, rock protuberances and levels of this weird cave. We fall silent as we frantically search, hearing voices coming closer.

  “Here,” Ash whispers loudly.

  We converge at the far end of the cave. There’s another meter-high square passageway that may lead out. We stoop and run up it as fast as we can, me leading the way. Ash puts out her light and I grope in the dark as we move forward quietly.

  My hands hit a wall just a few meters in. It’s a dead end.

  Chapter Eleven

  The ladies run right into my back, stifling their surprised cries. But Torrent’s body pressing against all of us can’t suppress the “ow” that escapes from someone. The guards are in the cave with us. Once in a while, we catch flashlight beams bouncing off the walls. Footsteps getting louder with each passing second.

  “It stops here.” I’m very quiet.

  “We’re fucking trapped?” Ash asks.

  “Pamin, listen to me carefully.” Dr. Mara turns me to face her. “What can you do? They will discover us within a minute. I don’t think Tor and Ash’s abilities are going to help us in this situation. You need to focus and listen to your inner self. Let the power or whatever it is you feel to flow through your body. Then once you grab onto that power, let it slowly out and crumble the wall in front of you.”

  “I don’t want to kill anyone, Ridge,” Ash says. “It’s one of the reasons I defected from the army. So trust your inner self and focus.”

  “You can do this buddy.” Torrent presses a firm hand around my shoulder.

  My heart is pounding so loudly I’m sure the guards hear it. I close my eyes and try to calm my breath. Lord, help us. I put my hands together in a prayer pose for a brief moment. Then I place my palms on the rock wall in front of us, the dead end.

  I lean with all my might against it. I close my eyes and remember the sensations I experienced inside this structure today.

  I am Earth, soil, rock.

  My hands go forward, as if the stone wall isn’t there. My body lurches straight in and Ash grabs my waist from behind. Keeping my eyes closed, I move us forward as quickly as I can. I hope the doctor comes with.

  Solid rock. I am rock.

  I almost stop, then realize I can’t—if we are really within the solid rock, the other three will die. At least, I think they probably would. I keep my eyes closed and maintain focus to keep us moving forward through the rock. My body thrums with energy, giving me the boost of confidence I need.

  The stone around me is denser. I sense a heavy weight of man-made stones above as well. I keep moving forward, forward, forward.

  I wonder what everyone else feels as they pass through the stone.

  Then I angle upward, sensing a lack of density far above.

  We move up, up, up, then burst out of the rock, tumbling into a cave passageway, all four of us.

  “Oh my god, we moved through fucking rock. My lungs were about to burst. You got us out just in time.” Ash places her hands on her chest.

  “That was impressive.” Dr. Mara smiles as she dusts herself off, taking deep breaths.

  Torrent helps Ash up, w
ho’s also breathing hard. “Do you know where we are, Ridge?”

  I look about. Ash sparks up her light. We’re in some kind of natural cave. “I have no idea.”

  “Well, see if you can figure the way out. Somewhere well away from here, please. Work with Ash and Torrent. I have a feeling that all three of your abilities are the same. I’ll check over this way.” Dr. Mara points in the opposite direction. “Then rest a bit while we figure out our next steps, but keep a look out for anyone else in these tunnels. We aren’t out of the woods yet. Those soldiers won’t stop until they find us.”

  I return my hands to the rock wall. I can’t believe I just did that—I can move through rock? Thank you, Lord! I’m like a super-hero! I focus my thoughts, pushing away the sudden remembrances of my old life, my home, family and friends, gone.

  I’m no longer Pamin. I am Ridge.

  I start moving along the passageway, keeping my hand on the wall. “Over here.” The others follow my voice. We’re exhausted, hungry, thirsty, and dirty. But we can’t stay here. We need to get out, unseen and unheard, and meet up with Smoke and Tage.

  We walk a long ways before we feel the fresh air touching our faces. Finally, we emerge onto a ridge rimming the Giza Plateau. The pyramids are a good distance away. Though the Nile can’t be seen, I know it’s on the far side of them.

  We have a long hike ahead of us, and the sun has already lit up the golden, shining desert. A handful of tourists are walking toward the monuments. Some are riding camels or donkeys here and there.

  “We’re going to die of thirst before we get there to the pyramids,” Ash says.

  “Focus, Ashley. We’ll have water as soon as we get closer to the Nile. Save your breath and energy for the trek through the city of Giza.”

  We go as fast as we can without drawing attention.

  I can’t believe I did that. I can’t believe I got us out of the pyramid. We traveled through solid rock! Elation fills me, giving me energy.

  When we’re close to the pyramids, a guy with a camel approaches us. He wears a long, white galabeya, his face protected by a baseball cap covered with a red and white turban. “Ride a camel, ride a camel, would you like to ride a camel?”

  “How many do you have? One for each of us?” Dr. Mara fishes out her money. The camel guy quickly runs and gets two more, then directs the camels to kneel so we can climb into the colorful saddles.

  “Holy shit, this is amazing.” Ash grins.

  We’re all covered in dirt, dust and sweat, but the camel guy doesn’t care. I’ve ridden before and lurch up with the beast easily. Everyone else struggles. Ash swears as her camel tilts up sharply.

  Dr. Mara’s camel takes the lead and we head toward the pyramids. “No—Pamin, tell him to take us to the gate nearest the Nile.” She tries to turn her animal. “We need to meet the rest of our party.”

  I speak Arabic with the guy, negotiating a good price, as he was trying to swindle us after we mounted. Then we turn the right direction, toward the boats on the Nile.

  We move along at a camel’s pace, my comrades getting used to the rhythm.

  “Pamin, ask the guy if we can go faster. Dawn is already past. I can pay extra.” I speak with the guy, work out a price more than what we should pay. Then he swats the camels with a thin cane, and they all begin trotting. The guy runs with us.

  “Shit this is so awesome!” Ash is hanging on for dear life. “I need to get me one of these!”

  We go as fast as we dare. Our camels run at a steady pace; we settle into the rocking gallop. Bright, golden sand rushes under us and the wind whips my hair. The doctor sits upright like she’s been on a camel before. Maybe she has. Torrent rides okay, too. Ash hangs onto the saddle horn, trying not to whoop.

  I laugh as healing and lightness fills my being.

  Chapter Twelve

  The ride lifts my spirits, but it’s over too soon. Dr. Mara pays the guy, and he leads the three beasts the long trek back to the pyramids.

  Smoke is waiting right outside a park with a taxi. “About time! We were starting to get a bit worried.”

  “Sorry, son, let’s get off the streets now,” Dr. Mara says. “We’ll fill you in later.”

  We eventually arrive at a small boat this side of the Nile. Dr. Mara doesn’t mind paying again for our transportation, we don’t have time to go to the docks on the eastern side. Wow, that lady has money.

  Look at this—I get to go on the Nile! I can’t believe it. I never would have guessed I’d get to try a rich person’s cruise.

  We quickly run through the green garden path and get on board. I speak to the captain, and we are underway in a few minutes.

  We gather inside, playing it cool like tourists and trying not to draw attention to our disheveled appearance. Most of the sleek, white boat is a cabin with big windows. We’re all tired, dirty, and hungry. We clean up as well as we can in the small bathroom. Dr. Mara pays for whatever food they have on board. On such last notice, it’s simple fare, but we gobble up the pita bread, several hummus and dips, olive oil and goat cheese. Warm mint tea refreshes us.

  “The captain says there’s a medical center in El Wasta near Faiyum”. I stuff the last bit of my dinner into my mouth. “We can reach it by nightfall.”

  “Good, that will do.” The doctor uses the boat’s medical kit to clean and re-bandage Smoke’s wound.

  We’re all exhausted and soon drop to sleep on the various built-in couches, not even caring about the lush, green view along the Nile, the brief yellow desert sands shining beyond.

  I open my eyes. What is this rocking—where am I? It takes me a moment to remember. I look about, staring at the gorgeous white boat, the beautiful waters, and the green jungle on either bank of the Nile.

  “Come on, Ridge, you’re missing all the fun and shit.” Ash pokes me. “Everyone’s heard about your, ah, initiation in the pyramid.”

  “Ridge.” Smoke smiles. He’s looking better already. Amazing what a bit of rest can do. “I like it. You fit right in.”

  “I like it, too.” Tage never leaves Smoke’s side.

  Torrent uses his hands to lift a glassful of water straight out of the glass, whirling it slowly into a floating ball over his fingers. “I think you need to be formally initiated into our group.” He jerks his hands toward me and the water whizzes right into my face. Cold water shocks my body and I gasp. Everyone is laughing.

  “Am I one of you now?” I get serious. I’ve been trying to get back to Zabbaleen. Yet, somehow, I’m not sure my life is there anymore. I’m no longer Pamin. Still, what if they need me?

  “Yes, you most definitely are with the team, son.” Dr. Mara pats my shoulder. “We’re glad to have you. In fact, it’s vital. Gather around the table, everyone. We need to talk.” We obey as fresh mint tea is served, along with olives, feta and oranges. Dr. Mara starts right in. “Since we left America, I’ve been researching all of your powers and ancient Egypt, and I’ve been learning how to read hieroglyphs. Since there’s so much to understand, I’ve also asked Tage to learn reading them, too.”

  “Wow, you don’t waste time.” Smoke smiles. “Hieroglyphs, huh?” He wraps an arm around Tage’s shoulder and moves her closer to his side.

  “So now we both can nerd out.” Tage tickles his side. “You being the brainiac of all things nerdy, knowing everything there is to know about anything.”

  “I don’t know everything.” He nudges her again.

  “But close to it, Smoke.” Ash waggles a finger at him. “Your nose was always in some sort of book. It’s a surprise that you finally noticed Tage here.”

  “I noticed her.” Smoke’s face reddens.

  “Sure you did, and all by yourself.”

  Dr. Mara clears her throat. “Yes, well, remember, we originally found some hieroglyphs that referred to times of great climactic earth changes, and then four youths appear with the powers of the elements. It seems to have something to do with the precession of the earth—the globe’s slow wobble—and t
he end of one two-thousand-year cycle into the beginning of the next.” The doctor reaches into her pack and brings out an old map of Egypt. She unfolds it carefully and lays it flat on the table as we all quickly remove our cups, plates, and food. Then she places a sheet of tracing paper onto the map, with circles marked on it. “See here. If you study the pyramids of Giza, you can see how they are an exact match to the constellation, Orion’s belt.”

  She’s right, we can all see the three stars of Orion’s belt match up with the placement of the three pyramids of Giza.

  “No shit?” Ash puts her cup down to the side. “That’s cool.”

  “The Egyptians correlated the Nile River to the Milky Way; that matches up, too, see?” We’re all standing and peering at the map. “Now, this is a little tricky, and something I’ve calculated myself. If the pyramids and the Nile are like mirror-images of the stars in the sky, and the pyramids correlate to Orion’s belt, which point to the star Sirius, where do the pyramids point to as Sirius on the ground?”

  “What?” Torrent looks confused.

  “Look here, I’ve drawn a line. Looking at it one way, with the tracing paper flat on the map, the correlation of Sirius would be in the middle of this green area in Cairo, but there’s nothing there. I checked.” Her fingers glide over the map as she lifts the tracing paper perpendicular to the map. “But if you look at Orion and the Milky Way as if you were looking into a mirror, then the line to Sirius lands right about here.” Her index finger stops near Faiyum, by the Nile.

  “That’s where we’re going,” Tage says.

  “Is that a pyramid at that spot?” Torrent leans closer.

  “It is, that’s the Weeping Pyramid, the pyramid of Hawara. At the exact spot where the star Sirius would correlate to in the sky.”

  “What does that have to do with them?” Smoke straightens and points to Ash, Torrent, and then me.

  “When you were still at boot camp, I had a team of researchers looking for any information about elemental powers, magic, stories or myths. From the hieroglyphs they found in the Valley Temple at the Sphinx, it mentions something about the four youths of power and rituals in the Halls of Amenti. In my research, I discovered descriptions of a huge labyrinth, under the ground in front of the Hawara Pyramid.” Dr. Mara’s eyes are earnest. “I think the lost labyrinth may be the Halls of Amenti. There are rituals we need to find there.”