A Kiss of Ashen Twilight (Ashen Twilight Series #1) Read online

  Ariya gently caressed the animal’s thick muscles, calming his shiny and soft coat while still holding its gaze. He was ready. It understood that she too was apart of the Earth, but she was here for a different reason. She couldn’t help feeling a bit of sadness for this creature despite their understanding. She promised his passing would not be painful but swift and calm like a smooth, ocean sunset.

  It descended to the ground, first on its hind legs then its front legs before lying down on the damp soft soil. A song swept over her mind that her mother used to sing to her when she was a child.

  All dreams must end

  Life is a dream of unknown darkness

  I will usher you into the light

  Sleep, my dear, sleep

  Slowly it’s large, doe eyes closed. Its breathing lessened to a silent calm. She felt the hunters close in behind her as they inched in to confirm the gazelle’s spirit passing on. Her wings gently fluttered then folded behind her back. She bowed her head and said a soft prayer. Be gentle with this one, Mawu-Lisa, he was kind.

  * * * *

  Aziza Fairy Realm, Outside the Dahomey region—Undefined time

  The realm of the Aziza was wrapped in mist and shadow. Tall green everglades decorated the vast lands. Animals roamed the grass alongside the Aziza fairies. Since she was a child, Ariya played with the exotic beasts as if they were her own Fairy peers. She didn’t think much about the outside parallel world of humans. When they needed their services to hunt, the Aziza would come. It wasn’t a world she was to visit otherwise. The Aziza people usually kept to their own with curious rituals unknown to outsiders. True, she did learn all she could about human history from the ancestors of the lands through oral traditions and her father’s library of books, but she wasn’t ready to find out what life was like on the other side. The stories of the untamed mortals in the outer world were enough to keep her closely connected to her own realm.

  And then, why would she want to leave? The villages offered a sanctuary she likened to her happy childhood. Smaller huts created of the forest leaves, trees and earth offset the larger palaces of white marble in each village. She never considered herself or her sisters any higher than their townspeople despite their royal birthright. She considered herself like them, trying to survive in the same world. The only difference was her growing powers that no other Aziza gained. Not even her sisters. As the days went on with each new lesson learned, Ariya was getting better at honing her new powers.

  As evening fell upon the Aziza lands, the nightly ritual began. The gazelle’s spirit had returned to the deity to be reborn anew in another form, thus leaving its body an empty vessel for consumption in the nightly feast. The warm night air awakened the oncoming summer season.

  Ariya walked along the thin bed of damp dirt and grass, enjoying the feel of the fresh ground beneath her feet. She couldn’t wait for the season to birth the re-growth of trees and wildlife. With it came the union of souls in marriage so that the Aziza people will go on.

  She stopped near the large open bonfire in the middle of the village and leaned on a large oak branch. Her mother and father stood, draped in their white and gold ceremonial gowns; a long, single piece of material delicately wrapped around the body to form a loose fitting dress. Her father wore a matching wrapped headpiece of white satin and gold to symbolize his royal stance over the village.

  Laughter and music spread throughout the area under the sound of drums and the bonfire. Ariya couldn’t help laughing with the surrounding townspeople. She watched gleefully as her father moved with grace in a dance of pure joy and celebration. He reached his hands out to her mother and they both danced, signaling others to join in.

  Death usually wasn’t a sign of mourning for the Aziza. Ariya was brought up to celebrate the life that passed and the new life that began in constant cycles. She heard word of a birth in the nearby gazelle herd living by the river and immediately the celebration began to usher the passage of death into life.

  Lately death had been a source of darkness as it took the life of her oldest sister Rhea not too long ago. Mystery still shrouded the cause and despite their whispered speculations, her parents had spoken of nothing regarding what they might know of it.

  And then there were the dreams.

  For the past few nights Ariya had dreamed of strange pale men in plaid garments with swords at their sides. She didn’t know of who they were or even where they came from. Even so, the recurrence of the dreams proved she needed to pay attention to them.

  Later she would research that in her father’s study. For now it was time to rest her mind and body from the day. Perhaps she would go seek out Shya and run it by her to get her thoughts on the matter. Although, she may already be preparing for her betrothal to one of the land owner’s sons.

  Various instruments filled the air with more music and a joyous song followed, sung in the native Aziza tongue.

  Ariya peered up at the clear black sky kissed with the touch of tiny diamond stars. Long ago, she learned the names of the stars that formed figures. Her favorite was Mawu, the moon and female half of the male Lisa, the sun. In the Aziza legends, it was known that together they created all the other deities that governed the elements of life; earth, air, fire, water. Mawu-Lisa, however, was the queen mother.

  Suddenly Ariya’s thoughts were interrupted as she felt a presence cloud the air. She tried to allow her second sight to see what would happen in the next few moments, but there was nothing but the impending sense of darkness ahead. Slowly she pushed off the large trunk of the tree. Her shoulders tensed, fluttering her wings along with it. Her heart raced and she couldn’t understand why darkness was clouding her mind. Why can’t I see?

  Just then, an ear piercing scream erupted in the darkness of the woods. On cue, the Aziza Amazon guards raced to the direction of the noise. The women soldiers held their hands out and with a flash of light produced long spears of pure silver and dark mahogany wood. Some ascended into the air while others ran into the open sea of tree trunks and fallen leaves.

  Ariya was on her feet in no time with the surrounding villagers behind her. Her heart nearly stopped once she saw the dark figure lying still on the ground.

  “No, do not come any closer, Ariya.” Cidra, her most trusted guard and loyal friend, peered up at her. Despite her round face and calming eyes, Ariya’s heart still raced. Slowly Cidra stepped toward her.

  The world slipped away into a bevy of screams, murmurs and the shuffling of many feet against the ground. Ariya sensed the heart beat that slowly died before her—Shya. Her second oldest sister. What happened to you?

  She watched her father make his way through the guards and kneel down to Shya’s dead body. Slowly he lowered his head and murmured a prayer, hoping it wasn’t too late for Shya’s spirit to cross over.

  Ariya felt her mother’s shaky arm wrap around her body and she screamed into the night air for the second child she now lost.

  Ariya tried to speak and find out what happened to her sister. First she lost Rhea in mysterious circumstances once the oldest of her Fairy sisters was found dead after missing for weeks. Dead and drained of her blood and powers. Now Shya fell to the same fate. I can’t lose anymore of my family. It was just her and her parents now. She swallowed deeply, clinging to her mother’s arms as her heart nearly stopped within her chest. She wanted to remove this pain. She wanted to shake her head, close her eyes and use her magic to bring her two sisters back. She refused to believe this was happening.

  Ariya’s mind continued to race as her mother pulled her toward the castle. She hoped to find an answer to these deaths soon before the invisible creature struck again. She didn’t quite know what the creature was or its origins. Stories of the ghoulish Asiman creatures that Ariya had heard as a child began to resurface among the villagers since Rhea’s death. It couldn’t have been that, though. The crops were still intact and only her family members had been victims. It was as if this attack was deliberate, slowly consuming the life and po
wer of each family member one by one. Her parent’s late night whispers about the creature didn’t help much as they speculated on its origins. Perhaps it was time to inquire more about this strange creature.

  * * * *

  “Ariya…Ariya, wake up.”

  Her eyes fluttered open to the warm, smiling face that greeted her every morning.

  “Daa,” she said smiling. She stretched out her arms and legs, inadvertently letting slide the book that lay open on her lap.

  Her father’s hand darted out just in time to grab it before it hit the floor. “A damlo gangi a?” he asked, thumbing through the book. He flipped it around to look at the cover.

  “Yes, I slept very well,” she answered. She sat forward in the large comfy chair.

  “Reading about the mortals again?”

  She nodded. “I just wanted to check up on some history.”

  “What brought this on?”

  Ariya stood, remembering why she made it a point not to fall asleep in the library chairs since she was a child. No matter how comfortable they were when she sat down, that disappeared when awoke from a long sleep. She continued stretching.

  “A dream. A strange one, of men fighting. They wore strange clothes of plaid colors. They fought under flags of nations I’ve read about but can’t remember at the moment.” She shrugged, noticing her father’s intense gaze. “They were just silly dreams though. I don’t even know why they came to me.”

  “Is this the first time they came to you?”

  Noticing the curious lift of his eyebrows, she quickly smiled to calm him. After everything that had happened to their family she didn’t want to place any more burdens on his heart with another worry. Instead she waved her hand and leaned in to place a kiss on her father’s cheek. “It’s nothing, daa,” she said.

  He set the book on the side table next to her chair. “Do you ever dream of your sisters?”

  “No. Although I still feel them even after the way they died. As if they still live out there in one form or another.” She looked up at him. His warm gaze filled with sadness. “Perhaps their spirits were saved.”

  “I hope so.”

  Ariya looked at her father wishing she could read his thoughts or sense his feelings. He, along with her mother, was the only Aziza whose senses she couldn’t tap into. Especially when they held their guard up like he was doing now. She felt as if he still had something to say. As if the silence was leading to a speech of some sort that he held deep inside. She couldn’t help noticing the way he looked at her. Like it was to be his last.

  “Daa, what is it?”

  He looked up as if he was suddenly coming out of his thoughts. Immediately he smiled. “Not a thing, yèyé.”

  Normally she would mind the word meaning baby in their language, but her father had used it as a term of endearment since she was young. Perhaps to remind himself that she was, and always will be his baby.

  “You must prepare for some real rest now, yèyé,” he said before leaning in to kiss her forehead. “Your mother sleeps now but she still wishes for you to go in and bid her a good night. Do so and she may have pleasant dreams to spare for you.”

  Ariya smiled and brought him in for a tight hug.

  “Go now.”

  She turned toward the stairs and ran up to the top. Only when she heard her father’s deep gravelly voice did she stop and turn toward him.

  “Know that we love you. Always. If you feel darkness near always remember the ones who love you. Trust your instinct. Everything happens for a reason.”

  Ariya smiled. “I know, Daa. You’ve told me before. Good rest to you.”

  As she reached the top of the stairs, she turned to close the door. It was then she thought she heard her father’s low words.

  “Nothing is a coincidence. Please watch Ariya if we can’t, Mawu-Lisa. Usher her for safety into the light.”

  His words turned to quiet whispers and she wondered why at this time was her father worrying? She hoped it was just a case of preparing for the future and that nothing was on the horizon. Pushing the quiet ominous feeling away, Ariya turned and left to bid her mother good dreams.

  Light and Shadow

  Chapter 1

  Ariya awoke with a sharp gasp. Her eyes flashed open to the darkness within her room. The dream images still played in her mind despite the darkness of her bedroom to prove her surroundings. She had the dream again. Blood spilt on the bright grass grounds. Swords clashed upon swords in the air. The ear piercing screams of battle filled the blackened sky amidst severed heads impaled upon stakes erected from the ground. Soldiers wearing folded plaids draped around their armor drank blood from the fallen and raised their swords in victory.

  One man stood out amongst the carnage untouched and unscathed. His handsome, chiseled features accented by the flow of his long, wavy dark hair. His body was carved to perfection. Taut, angular curves revealed the hard forms of his muscles beneath the skin.

  Another premonition? Or perhaps a nightmare.

  It was the third one she had in a row during the past few days.

  She tried to focus on the smooth, white marble and crystal walls offsetting the dark antique Aziza statues. The calm royal purple satin draping and regal light blue motif curtains weren’t a comfort to her unsettled mind.

  Awhile had passed since both of her sisters’ death. Whispers spread across the land that another attack was inevitable. Ariya couldn’t help feeling something was on the horizon. Her father and mother whispered whenever she wasn’t around, promptly stopping once they saw her.

  What was it they weren’t telling her? Could it have anything to do with the men in her dreams? After all, whenever she dreamt of them a feeling of thick dread came over her. That night she revealed her dreams to her father, he hadn’t asked her about it any further since then. On this particular night the dream seemed to hover in the air like a cloud fog surrounding her. Unlike the other nights when it would remain and then melt away.

  Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Ariya tried to slow her breathing. The air was stuffy and for a moment, she thought about opening the large terrace windows to let the night air in.

  Creak.

  Her head shot up toward the cracking sound coming from the hall. The loud pounding of her heart within her chest echoed in her ears and she was sure anyone within close proximity would pick up the drumming beat.

  Gently, she slipped her feet into the soft, warm slippers next to her bed before opening the door. A soft warm wind blew across the hall, caressing her face. The velvety sensation flittered across her skin and throughout her body. She welcomed the sweet distraction. Fragments of the nightmare still crossed her mind as she peeked outside her door, hoping a maid or one of the Aziza Amazon guards were just keeping watch.

  No one was in the darkened hall.

  A shadow brushed across the wall, echoing the tree outside the corner window. The branches and leaves cracked against the glass in reaction to the brush of the wild wind.

  Was she still dreaming? No, it felt too real. She was definitely awake.

  The palace spread out around her like a glistening white marble structure complete with matching triptychs depicting her family, wide arched door frames and dome-shaped ceilings. From what she read in her texts, the architecture surpassed that of the great monuments in the mortal world. Stone walls lined the interior hallways with dark crimson velvet curtains to soften the harsh bright color. Family paintings of her lineage lined the walls down the gold-trimmed staircase. Silence covered each space of the area despite the crack of the branches outside. In fact, it was too silent for this time of evening. She gave a relieved sigh. Her mother always said she had a big imagination.

  Feeling satisfied with the source of the noise, Ariya closed the door to her room again. A soft caress of cool wind brushed her curly hair over her shoulders.

  Ariya turned toward the terrace to see the doors wide open. The curtains swayed into the room. She took a step toward the window then stop
ped, feeling a thousand pricks under her skin. She froze and suddenly the feeling disappeared or had it?

  It was here.

  At first, she slowly backed up, then turned. She couldn’t feel anything behind her, but she knew it was coming. There was no time to run. Instead she flared her wings out from her back and dove over the stair rails. Her wings flapped against the air to catch her fall, then gently lowered her to the ground

  “Don’t stop, Ariya! Run! Go to the mortal realm immediately!” Her mother’s voice echoed in her mind.

  Questions cornered her mind. She hadn’t been called to the hunt to cross realms. Why did she need to go to the mortal realm now? The hunters she worked with didn’t call upon the Aziza until they needed assistance. Then and only then. She was warned about messing with time parallels outside such matters. Most importantly, she couldn’t risk the creature finding her as it did her sisters. Ever since their deaths, the guards kept watch over Ariya and she was careful where she went. Ariya’s heart fought with her mind whether or not to continue running until she crossed realms.

  “Go, Ariya! Just go!”

  She stopped near the front entrance of the palace. The large, marble double doors flew open. With caution burning her brain and the hint of magical words on her tongue, she saw the air outside ripple around the door heading straight for her. She opened her mouth to speak when she heard another voice intervene.

  “No! Here!” Her mother’s voice cried out somewhere outside the palace. The wind rushed away from the door and Ariya faced her opportunity.

  It was now or never.

  With all the energy she could muster, she pumped force into her legs and ran out the door into the still night. Seconds later, the bright crystal and marble magnificence of the palace burst into an explosion of crumbled rock and glass within tall, blazing ethereal flames.