Free Sword of the Gods: The Chosen One by Anna Erishkigal Page A

injuries, his body's reaction at the sight of her disrobing indicated his
people were not accustomed to casual nudity.  She was beautiful, with wavy dark
hair, long eyelashes and full, red lips.  He felt she would compare favorably
to women of his species. 
    Drifting off to sleep,
he dreamt of travelling through the stars with his bossy savior in tow.
     
     
    ~ * ~ * ~
* ~ * ~
     
     

Chapter 11

     
    February -  3,390 BC
    Earth:  Crash site
     
    Ninsianna
    Such a pleasant dream,
being carried back into that place She-who-is had shown her during her vision;
that lofty perch where she could look down upon the stars and watch them dance
for her.  It felt as though she were floating in a river, the warm water carrying
her weight as the sun streamed down upon her face, carrying her body wherever
the goddess willed it to go.  The goddess directed her towards the shore,
whispering reminders that she'd agreed to manifest HER will.  Oh, how
she wished she could drift in this current forever! 
    She-who-is whispered a
promise.  As soon as she'd completed her great task, the man SHE had
sent to help her people would carry her out to see the stars.
    "No!  Máthair!"  
She awoke to the sound of a man's voice crying out.  "Ná gortaítear
sí!  Le do thoil!"
    The unfamiliar bed
gave her a moment of panic.  Sky canoe.  Sleeping chamber.  Mikhail.  The lamp
must have gone out. 
    "Mhamó! 
Cén fáth nach léi bogadh?  Cá bhfuil Saraqail?" 
    Whatever he dreamed
of, it caused Mikhail to flail and whimper as though he were a small boy. 
Moving to his side of the chamber, she felt for a place to sit without sitting
on a wing.  He was having a nightmare. 
    Banishing nightmares
was the province of the shaman, magic her father performed for those ridden
with fever.  Caressing his cheek, she sang songs of banishment learned over
years of observation.  Closing her eyes to enter the dream-state, she coaxed
her mind to expand beyond her body so she could slip into his dream.  The
images she could receive thus were not with the clarity she experienced when
She-who-is sent a vision, for her father had refused to teach her how shamans
disciplined their minds to see.  But her recent adventure with the
sacred beverage had allowed her mind to peek into realms which had been
previously been open only a tiny crack, allowing her glimpses of the images
which were playing through his mind.
    His mind was closed to
her, but she found a crack, a tiny crack where she could slip inside and peek
at what was happening inside of his mind.
    "Máthair! 
Máthair!  Tá siad mharaigh tú!" 
    Terror!  Blood
splashing upon her cheek.  She cried out in horror and pulled back, unable to
put herself into his dream.  All around her, she could feel a malevolence so
powerful it felt as though it would crush the universe within its maw.  No! 
She couldn't do this!  Not even for She-who-is!!!
    'Ninsianna …
please...'
    Ninsianna trembled in
fear.  She didn't want to touch this evil.  She didn't even want to see the
evil which pursued the small boy she'd caught a glimpse of in his dream!
    'This memory causes
him great pain.  He won't allow me to remove it as he feels it's part of who he
is, but he placed his fate into your hands when you saved his life.  Perhaps he
will allow -you- to alleviate his suffering?'
    Ninsianna felt the
thread of She-who-is's mind grow stronger, whispering what she must do.  Her
hand slipped back to caress his cheek.  Her lips moved in exhortations to put
his trust in herto ease his pain.  He thought she was a spirit, come to
guide him into the dreamtime so that he wouldn't have to journey there alone. 
Invoking the goddess for protection, she slipped back into his nightmare.
    A boy!  Inside his
nightmare a boy filled with a dark force was kept at bay by a slender eggshell
of blue light.  Emptiness!  It spilled forth from his heart like blood. 
She-who-is instructed her how to wipe the accursed child from