Beyond Sedona Read online

  Copyright 2018 Lucía Ashta

  Amargento Books

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction.

  Cover design by Lou Harper.

  I am grateful to John Livingston for permission to use material from his book: Livingston, John G. (2004). Adversaries Walk Among Us: A Guide to the History, Nature, and Removal of Demons and Spirits. Fort Bragg, CA: Lost Coast Press. The script Victor uses to clear demons and the request for soul retrieval is based on John Livingston’s teachings.

  I strive to produce error-free books. If you discover a mistake, please contact me at [email protected] so I may correct it. Thank you!

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  For John Livingston,

  who taught me to see

  You are more powerful than you’ve imagined.

  Contents

  Author note

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Chapter 63

  MAKE A DIFFERENCE

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  Acknowledgments

  Books by Lucía Ashta

  About the Author

  Beyond Prophecy

  Beyond Prophecy Preview

  Author note

  This is the first book in a relaunch of my debut series. The initial three books in The Light Warriors series—Beyond Sedona, Beyond Prophecy, and Beyond Amber—are revamped versions of my first published novels (The Prophecy of Arnaka and The Secret of Namana). The fourth and final book, Beyond Arnaka, is the brand new conclusion to the series.

  The Light Warriors books have received a full makeover. They have new covers and blurbs, and have undergone a fresh round of editing. I have made only minimal changes to the storyline. I know many of you have grown to love the original story. Although my craft has evolved over many years of publishing and experience, I left much of the writing intact to preserve what it is you learned to love in these books.

  I have a particular appreciation for this series as it was my first. I wrote the books when I was starry eyed and believed with all my heart that I was honoring my purpose in creating these novels. After all these years, I’ve transformed in many ways, but my belief remains as strong as ever.

  My intention was that The Light Warriors series be empowering to you, the reader. My greatest hope is that I succeeded in delivering magic to you.

  Happy reading!

  Lucía

  Prologue

  I am Asara. I stand strong, my feet planted on the warm sand beneath. A surge of energy prompts me to run toward the pyramid ahead. The breeze that results from my speed caresses my body. I enjoy the freeing sensation.

  All that matters is contained in this moment, in my appreciation of life and its richness. This is how we master time; it stands still when we experience it to its fullest. Ecstatic joy is my secret; through it, I touch eternity.

  I stop against the pyramid and squint into the sun, waiting. The looming figure of my twin soon blocks the sun as he appears, seconds behind me.

  We run inside together. He presses his sweaty body against mine, and a fiery wave rushes upward within me. He brings me chest to chest with him in the center of the pyramid. The movement is as fluid as if it were a well-rehearsed dance.

  We both know what we’re here to do, and we commence without speaking. He draws me even closer to him and holds me tightly, our chests pressed together as we become one.

  We throw our heads back as a soft golden light emits from our chests straight up through the top of the pyramid, now open to the sky. The blinding light rises upward in a defined line and begins to fade only after it reaches the stars above us.

  We spread this light regularly to counter the frenetic energy of humankind. It’s the central purpose of our incarnation: to bring balance to the planet.

  Chapter 1

  The man shook the woman; her long hair scattered all about her face in protest. Lena awoke, annoyed at the disruption of her dream. She’d been running toward pyramids, and it was important that she reach them. “What is it?”

  Her soon-to-be ex-husband stood over her. She focused on his eyes, a mirror of the dark recesses of his soul. The man Lena once believed she’d love for the rest of her life now appeared to her as a symbol of youthful naïveté. She’d married him without fully knowing him, without fully knowing herself.

  “Are you okay?” Robby asked.

  Even in her present state of stupor, she realized he didn’t care. Her father passed away from a heart attack the week before. She’d stood with the phone in her hand, shocked by the news, while Robby turned up the volume on the television to make sure he didn’t miss a play.

  He’d judge her bizarre if she told him she’d been dreaming about pyramids. Lena instinctively knew she was entering a world where he couldn’t follow. It was just as well. The future—her future—had nothing to do with him.

  “Yes, I’m fine.”

  “Jesus, Lena.” Robby spoke in his usual aggressive manner. Though she wasn’t particularly religious, Robby’s use of “Jesus” to emphasize his annoyance irritated her. He did it often, and it bothered her every time. “Why’s the water running full blast?” He spun the faucet closed.

  She had no idea why the water was running. She looked around. She was on the bathroom floor, leaning against the rim of the bathtub, which pressed uncomfortably into her back.

  She stood, still unsure how she’d gotten there, but without another glance at Robby, she walked into the bedroom. Robby went in the other direction, out to the living room, where the seemingly endless sound of the television continued its hypnotic drone.

  Lena removed a worn duffel bag from the far reaches of the closet, then methodically took out her favorite clothes and laid them on the bed. She grabbed a warm jacket, an extra pair of sneakers, and her toothbrush and put them in the bag. She looked around the room she shared with Robby for the last six years and zipped the bag with a delicious sense of finality.

  She placed her wedding rings next to the bathroom sink. She felt a huge weight lift, disproportionate to the size of the rings, and looked around
the room one last time. She wouldn’t step foot in it again. She scanned the art that adorned the walls, half of it of her own creation. A friend could retrieve it later, as well as her books.

  Everything else was tainted by her marital history. Robby could have it all.

  Her chest expanded with the thought of a new beginning.

  She walked into the bathroom to study herself. Lately she’d grown annoyed at the worn woman who looked back at her from the mirror. She coiled her muscles, as she imagined the predators of the wild did. She pictured herself as a lioness; her bright amber eyes were a perfect match.

  She marched out of the bathroom, placed the strap of the duffel bag across her body, and walked straight to the front door of the apartment. There, she turned to Robby. He sat on the leather couch, feet up, engrossed in whatever he was watching. He didn’t look up.

  Lena called to him from the door. “Robby, it’s been—” But then she didn’t really know how it had been. She wanted to say it’d been nice, or that it’d been special, but it hadn’t. It had been memorable, though not in a good way, and she hoped those memories would soon fade.

  Robby was staring at her. He was used to her complacency, to her efforts to make the marriage work no matter what the cost. Lena was leaving that woman behind.

  She opened the front door. “I’ll ask someone to come by and pack up the rest of my stuff while you’re at work. I’ll see you at the courthouse in seven days to sign the final papers for our divorce.” She’d been counting down the days and knew exactly when she’d be free of this man.

  About to step through the door, she hesitated and looked at Robby again. She forced herself to speak from her heart. “I’m sorry things worked out the way they did between us. I loved you dearly and had much hope that we’d share a happy life together. I wish that you heal and find happiness in this life. Now, I’ll go find mine.”

  She smiled one final smile at him, a true smile that shone with the hope that another human being could experience beauty in life, even if that human being had been the cause of much unhappiness in her own.

  Everyone deserved to be happy. Everyone deserved love and compassion. But she would no longer sacrifice her happiness for someone unwilling to see himself for who he’d become.

  Lena left Robby with a stunned look on his face, stepped through the door, and closed it behind her. She’d finally chosen freedom! She felt the impulse to do a happy dance but automatically dismissed it as childish. Then she realized she couldn’t start her new life as the repressed person she’d been in danger of becoming.

  She threw her duffel bag to the side while shaking her hips. She spun and jumped in the air doing leprechaun kicks. Then she zipped up her jacket, grabbed her bag, and took the stairs two at a time.

  A great rush of fresh air greeted her when she opened the outer door of the apartment building.

  Her new life had officially begun.

  Chapter 2

  Lena had no idea where she was going or what she was going to do. It was the first time she didn’t have concrete plans. She’d been an overachiever all her life, a perfectionist: The perfect daughter and student, the exemplary wife and professional. On the path of seeming excellence, she adhered to convention and tradition. Her family was one of attorneys, judges, and politicians. She followed in their footsteps and found herself in a career she didn’t even like. Then she married a man right for her family, but not for her.

  She ended up in the outskirts of Ann Arbor, in a motel room that had seen better days. It was time to make those choices that were best for her, even if she didn’t know what they were yet.

  She woke feeling uncomfortable in an oversized T-shirt that had twisted around her body as she tossed and turned throughout the night. She groaned, not wanting to get up and confront a day that might define the rest of her life. She needed to choose where to go. Or maybe she didn’t.

  Her thoughts were scattered. She thought one thing one minute and an entirely different thing the next. How was she supposed to make such an important decision?

  She got to her feet and started pacing like a wild cat in a cage. She was ready to climb out of her skin. Her body needed to release some of the energy coiling inside her.

  She strapped on running shoes, bundled up as much as possible, and braved the Michigan cold. She hit the sidewalk at a run and immediately slipped on a patch of black ice. She caught herself and was able to avoid the worst of the fall. She needed to go somewhere with better weather!

  And just like that, there it was: an idea. She didn’t like the cold and was in Michigan only because of Robby. Their divorce would soon be final; she could leave immediately after. She’d leave Michigan, her soon-to-be ex-husband and his family behind. She’d start over.

  Renewed by the thought of transplanting herself somewhere where the memories wouldn’t follow, Lena eased into a comfortable stride. She breathed in the cold air, pretending it was warm. She was a caged animal no longer. She’d be free of her past, free of her family traditions, free of her husband’s addictions, and free of the pain she’d learned to live with for the last several years of her marriage.

  By the time her muscles were ready to give out, she understood what she needed to do. She’d book a flight out of Ann Arbor immediately. But to where?

  All she knew was that she wouldn’t seek refuge in Argentina, where her family would make everything easy for her—she couldn’t. She’d go somewhere else. The only requirement was that it be sunny and temperate. She circled back to her motel room. She jiggled the key in the creaky lock, kicked off her sneakers, and let her clothes fall where she stood.

  She’d told herself she wouldn’t cry anymore. She’d cried for most of her marriage; she didn’t want to shed another tear. Still, she couldn’t stop the tears from coming.

  Alone in a shabby motel, Lena sobbed, huddled on the shower floor with the water beating on her back, her legs pulled in close to her chest. The sobs wracked her body until the hot water ran cold.

  And it was in that very moment in time that it happened. As she rested her forehead on the stained shower floor, she begged for mercy. It was only then that things changed for her, and they’d never again be the same.

  It was in that moment that she glimpsed her connection to the Divine, and took the first step on the path to finding herself. It was then that she began to learn about Lena—not daughter, not wife, not professional, but child of the Creator.

  And so the story begins.

  Chapter 3

  The judge declared the divorce final in a hollow voice. When they left the courtroom, Robby shook Lena’s hand as if they’d just concluded a business transaction. She studied his face, hoping to find a trace of affection, but there was none, and she wondered why she’d stayed in the marriage all that time.

  She walked aimlessly through the streets around the courthouse in downtown Ann Arbor. She turned up the collar of her overcoat against the piercing wind that whipped up between the tall office buildings and resolved not to examine the past any longer. Instead she’d find joy and value in her life.

  This time, Lena would walk in those footsteps meant only for her. She thought back to the dreams she’d had as a young girl, and they certainly weren’t of wearing stiff business suits and sitting behind dwarfing desks.

  She pulled off her stiff overcoat and suit jacket; her silk blouse rippled in the cutting wind. She spotted someone huddled in a doorway and handed her overcoat and suit jacket to him. He stared back. Lena smiled and felt bizarrely liberated. She refused to question her sanity, but walked with purpose, head down, clutching her arms to protect herself from the bitter cold.

  As she walked, Lena spoke aloud, “God, it’s been a very long time since I’ve talked to you. I’m ready to become the person I was meant to be. Please give me reason to live again. Help me. Please. Please, help me. I pray that you help me. Because if you don’t, I’m lost.”

  Lena looked up and saw a bookstore. Always a bookworm, she couldn’t pass one up.
She stepped into its warmth.

  The same types of books as always—those of intrigue, excitement, and adventure—drew Lena. That was what she wanted in her life. It would be thrilling to travel for a few years, to lead the life of a wanderer, but she’d only saved enough for a year of living expenses. If she settled in the United States and found a reasonable place to live, she’d use her resources wisely and give herself the opportunity to reflect on her options. She hoped that was the last mature, adult decision she’d have to make for a while. She’d been responsible for too long. Her passion wanted out of its cage.

  She decided to let destiny guide her. Why not? She had no real idea what to do, anyway. She’d find a map and allow her destination to choose her. She walked down aisles until she found a display of globes. A globe would suit her purpose much more dramatically. She’d spin one with flair and let her new location announce itself.