Rayna's Sacrifice (The Katori Chronicles Book 3) by A. Lombardo (good non fiction books to read txt) 📕

The thought of an entourage did not set well with Kai. “Thank you, Wilda, for the silks, but I am not sure…”

Lucca pressed a firm hand over Kai’s shoulder. “Wilda, we are honored by your request. If you could gather the elders from every tribe, I would appreciate them coming to Matoku. Give us time with Mariana alone, but we may need your strength if we hope to wake my daughter. I will come to the city when we need you.”

Wilda gracefully bowed to Lucca. “As you wish, Chief Lucca. I will bring everyone together.”

◆◆◆

Days of agonizingly slow travel along the road to Matoku had Kai bubbling with anticipation. He so desperately wanted to speak with his mother. He couldn’t decide what he would ask her first. Tears of sorrow and joy brimmed in his eyes, blurring his view of the landscape. He wiped his tears away before they could fall. Holding his chin high, he took a deep breath to cleanse his emotions from his throat.

The fulfillment of Kai’s dream took them to Alenga’s cavern, tucked in the hills near the Matoku’s tribal city. Mariana’s motionless form lay wrapped in white silk in the back of a padded open carriage, drawn by two white horses. Off the main road, Ryker led them into the rolling hills. A babbling stream burbled along its bed, bubbling over rocks and branches. The sunlight danced on the ripples and beamed into Kai’s eyes. His hand rested on his mother, unwilling to leave her side.

Everything in Katori had a delicate rhythm—Alenga’s presence flowed over the land. You only needed to be open to her energy. The closer they came to the barrier, the greater the power thrummed inside his soul. He looked to the others to see if they, too, felt her magic. A smile bloomed around Ryker’s lips—Kai knew that his friend felt at home here near Alenga’s cavern. Yulia and Liam focused ahead with no sign of recognition. Lucca’s head rose, and he turned to look at Kai.

Lucca’s brown eyes narrowed on the waterfall in the distance. “Grandson, do you feel this place? You were right. There is great power here.”

Kai sighed heavily. “Yes, grandfather, it is Alenga’s lost Agora.”

“Have you been here before?” Lucca asked Kai.

“I have.” Kai shook his head. “I dreamed of my mother in this place. Alenga bid me bring her here.”

“This place is proof Alenga walked among us thousands of years ago.” Lucca glanced at Mariana and then to Kai. “I never thought I would see it with my own eyes. I can feel Alenga here like no other place in Katori. Our history says Alenga opened a portal to this world. It must have happened here on this hill—she walked our shores. Her love for this world created life itself.”

In a soft tone, softened Basil asked. “How could we have let this place fade from our lives?”

Lucca shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Eavesdropping on their conversation, Yulia twisted around to face Kai; her knees pulled to her chest. “If that is true, there would be a great deal of power here. The chance of restoring Mariana might be possible.”

“The cavern is rather amazing.” Kai shifted to extend his bent leg out straight beside his mother. “Damaged, but still impressive. The dome is no longer open to the sky. Maybe Liam can reopen it?” he suggested.

Liam sat beside of Yulia, his legs dangling off the back of the carriage. “I would be honored to try.” He glanced back at Kai. “Knowing Alenga walked here, I am surprised there are no pilgrimages to this place.”

Lucca’s wrinkled nose and creased brow conveyed a sense of confusion. “I really cannot say how we forgot this place.” He shook his head as if the truth would come to the surface if he could rattle it free. “There are stories about her time among our people, and legends of our future, but the location was all but forgotten. I know I have walked these hills, yet I never felt her power before. We have many tomes and maps of our civilization, and I know them all. There is no mention of this place. It is almost as though it was erased from our history.”

The group fell silent. Each seemed to ponder the mystery around their discovery. The very possibility Alenga had erased her time among the Katori puzzled Kai. When their carriage pulled around the hillside, he took a breath and lightened his heart. They had made it.

Water cascaded over the rocks above them. Alenga’s broken tree peeked through the green undergrowth on the hill. Ryker stopped their carriage and hopped from the seat to the ground, then approached the back. “Kai, I will stay with Mariana. Show Liam the Agora.”

Behind the falls, Kai found the round stone door with the worn triquetra. Liam ran his fingers over the faded symbol, then let his hand sweep wide over the surface in a circling motion. Kai put his shoulder into it and shoved the stone. It started to shift, and Liam rested his hand on the door. “Allow me, Kai,” he patted Kai’s arm.

Kai let the stone roll back into place. Liam touched the surface of the stone. Under his touch, it rolled open with ease and held its position. “It will remain open until I close it,” Liam assured Kai.

Sunlight and water splashed into the opening. Yulia, Rayna, and Kai entered ahead of Basil, followed by Lucca and Liam. Once inside, Lucca illuminated the embedded crystals lodged into the walls. The room bloomed with a warm amber glow. Kai felt the power level rise, but it still felt stifled. There had to be more to give. The sealed dome above the pool blocked the sun that typically bathed an Agora.

Liam circled the room, touching the walls, pillars, and ground. “It seems as though this structure sank into the ground.” He stopped at one wall and pressed both hands into the stone. “No—the ground washed over the land and covered it.