Kahira's Destiny

Kahira’s Destiny

  By

  Laura Baddgor

  Copyright © 2015 Laura Baddgor

  Thank you for downloading this Ebook. This Ebook remains the copyrighted property of the author, Laura Baddgor, and may not be reproduced, copied and/or distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes without the permission of the authors.

  The story presented here is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations are entirely coincidental.

  DEDICATION

  Let me begin by saying that any errors found in this story are mine and mine alone.

  I would like to dedicate this book to and give my heartfelt thanks to Glenn and Sasha Gabriel. Without their endless support, my story would never have been written. They arevery talented authors themselves who have walked me step by step through the process of writing my story in the best possible way to make it the best possible story it could be. Asbusy as they are, they have both been there for me whenever I needed advice, assistance or guidance and they didn’t even know me before I wrote them to tell them how much I lovedone of their books I read. This is the first story I’ve written and it would never have seen the light of day without all that Glenn and Sasha have done to help me. They have become very special friends and mentors; Glenn is my “muse”. I admire and respect them both tremendously and feel very blessed that they have come into my life.

  I would also like to dedicate this book to my sister, Dana Bowers. Dana has given her unwavering support to me in so many ways. Thank you for believing in me.

  I dedicate this book to my daughter, Meghan Holman, for her unending support of my ability to find a talent in myself like writing stories. The talent is there; I feel I am talented.

  But I may have given up on trying before I got to this point if not for the support and love of these two people, as well as the rest of my family.

  Thank you all for helping mold me into what I am becoming today. It gave me a new start on an old life and I am forever grateful.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 01

  Chapter 02

  Chapter 03

  Chapter 04

  Chapter 05

  Chapter 06

  Chapter 07

  Chapter 08

  Chapter 09

  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

  DESCRIPTION

  Come to a planet a trillion miles away from Earth and watch a story become a legend. This is the story of Kahira, a young girl with an ancient and proud lineage.

  Early in life, she knows love of her parents and grief at their loss. She meets strange new friends who stay with her, moving with her toward her destiny. They battle different species of deadly warriors and creatures just to survive, always protecting each other and moving forward...

  Kahira is born with new abilities that she must learn to use and control as she grows. Step by step, she learns of her own destiny.

  Will Kahira accept her destiny? Will her destiny reveal truths to her as she moves slowly towards it?

  Come live the exciting adventures with Kahira and her friends! Learn the hidden truths of “Kahira’s Destiny.”

  Prologue

  In the beginning, there was a speck in space. As years went by, other specks adhered to it. Millennium passed; it became a small planet shooting through space. The planet was attracted to a huge, hot sun, falling into orbit around it. The sun nourished the planet as life began to grow. Seas filled with life as did the land. Grasses grew, plants thrived and trees flourished, pushing from the soil into the light.

  Sula was the sun father who gave warmth, light, strength. The daylight sky was a variation of oranges with lavenders.

  Edla was the mother spirit of all living things on the planet. Edla was much the same size as Earth but was in another galaxy, trillions of light years from Earth.

  There were two moons, Rali and Raza that glowed with effervescence, the twin son and daughter of Sula and Edla. At times they would show together, other times separately, in the bright purple sky filled with stars twinkling like glitter. The night-lit sky was all shades of purple.

  Eons flew by. Plants and animals sprang to life. Humanoid beings evolved. Some lived in caves; others lived in forests or plains, wherever they happened to be born. The beings were separated by great distances.

  Over time, each group of beings found other Edlians. They bonded forming tribes, finding safety in numbers. The three humanoid tribes became: cave dwellers (Wasoon), forest dwellers (Felkas) and plains dwellers (Petros). They chose mates only from their own tribes, being taught that should they choose mates from other tribes, punishment was death.

  The forest and plains dwellers formed a language so they could speak to each other. Their numbers grew; clans split from each tribe. Living in various places on Edla, they found strength in unity.

  There was peace between the plains and forest tribes. Neither had seen cave dwellers as they were taboo because of their dark, evil ways. It had been so many years since cave dwellers had been seen that they had become a myth.

  All three tribes of Edla were beautiful beings, each in their own ways. Only cave dwellers had an “evil” beauty. Plains and forest dwellers had “good” beauty which made the balance of good and evil on Edla.

  All were taught from childhood how to survive. The young learned about all animals that could be tamed or used for food with skins tanned for warm clothing or blankets. They were taught about herbs, which to use in food, which to make medicines with and which were poisonous. Children learned about sea life; what was poisonous, to be avoided, and what could be eaten.

  A year (amakha) was divided into four seasons; spring (gli), summer (waniyetu), fall (hinhpaya), winter (zaptan), Revolutions of the moons were counted as days but there were no months.

  Chapter 1

  A plains girl of sixteen was in the forest close to where her clan lived, picking berries (waskeka). She put them in a basket woven from tall plains grasses. She loved the bright yellow berries which were as large as walnuts! They were delicious, almost melting in her mouth! She plucked some for the basket then popped some in her mouth.

  Her name was Amatola (meaning rainbow). She was born 68 days into spring. She was the only Princess of her clan, her father being the Chief. She had become a clan healer, trained in the arts of using medicinal herbs for healing and removing pain. She had a younger brother, Jaisyn, who was twelve. He was the Prince of the clan.

  Amatola was beautiful with braided golden hair cascading to her thighs. Her skin was radiantly golden from living in the sunlight. She was delicately small with long arms and legs. Her fingers and toes were slender.

  There were scales covering Amatola’s entire body. Her scales sparkled continuously in Sula’s warm glow. Her eyes were the lig
htest shade of gold, the irises sparkling with all the colors of the rainbow. She had a small, turned up nose with three breathing holes.

  Her mouth was round with dark golden lips showing sparkling white teeth when she laughed, smiled or spoke. Amatola’s face was long and heart-shaped with little bud-like ears on each side. Wearing a silver animal hide that crossed one shoulder, herdress ended at her thighs.

  Amatola’s birth tattoo ran up her left leg across her back. It was a long, sparkling silver stalk with plains grasses growing up each side of the stalk. It looked so real that at any moment it might begin swaying with the wind.

  Unknown to her, Amatola was being watched by someone hidden in the trees!

  Chapter 2

  Ahoti (meaning restless one) was a nineteen year old forest dweller with a long dark green braid of hair down his back to his waist. His skin was luminescent green, much paler than

  Amatola’s, from growing up in the forest. He wore a blue skin from a forest animal, clinging to his slim waist to end at his thighs. It showed his muscular abs, bottom and thighs.

  His glittering dark green eyes slanted upward. His smile lit up his face! Ahoti’s nose was larger than Amatola’s with four breathing holes. Tall and lean, his strength could be seen in his chest, arms and legs. Green, pointed ears were tight against his head.

  He had a darker green tail that moved with his emotions. It could be used as a weapon in battle. Ahoti was the oldest Prince of his clan, his father also being the Chief.

  His birth tattoo ran up his right leg across his back. It was a large blue tree with silver leaves across his back and tan roots running down the leg.

  Ahoti’s bow and arrows (wanzi and alintz) rested on his back. He had been out hunting when he came upon the girl picking berries. He hid, watching Amatola with his heart beating fast! She was beautiful beyond his imagination! He could not look at her enough!

  When she finished picking berries, Amatola took the forest path to walk home, enjoying the sunshine on her face and shoulders. Ahoti watched her move further away. With a sigh, he turned, walking to his own home. His bed (mani) in the corner of his hut looked inviting. Laying down on it, Ahoti thought about the girl he had just seen. He could not get her out of his mind.

  Ahoti went to the berry bushes about the same time each day, hoping again to see the lovely girl. His efforts were finally rewarded one day as he watched the grove from the tree he hid in; there she was!

  He was so intent on watching her every move, Ahoti did not see the head of the poisonous snake (agga) creep quietly through the leaves by his legs. The serpent snapped out from the leaves, sinking its fangs into his calf. Looking down, it was already gone before Ahoti’s eyes even found his leg.

  He could see the bite turning dark red, already swelling up. His vision began to blur. Losing balance from the limb he was hidden on, Ahoti fell, landing unconscious on the ground almost at Amatola’s feet!

  Amatola whirled around at the sound of Ahoti hitting the ground. Seeing him laying there unconscious, she knelt down beside him without thinking. She checked him over from head to foot, finding the venomous bite on his calf.

  She knew how deadly the bite was. Amatola also knew he was hurt from falling so far from the tree. She cut his leg open with her knife. She sucked as much venom out of his leg as she could, spitting it on the ground Amatola ran to get an armful of plains grasses, bringing them back quickly to make a bed for the boy. She dragged him over to it, putting him on it as much as she could. She made a fire pit, picking up dead leaves, sticks and branches that had fallen from the trees to use. Pulling out her fire starter, Amatola made a flame that became a nice fire as it caught.

  She found the healing herbs growing close to where they were, pulling the ones she needed.

  Going through a side pocket on her basket, Amatola got out a small pot. There was a lake close by where she bathed sometimes. Going there, she filled the pot with water.

  Getting back, she noticed the young man had not become conscious while she was gone. She set the pot on the fire, adding herbs that would make the pain killing medicine. Amatola applied the medicinal poultice to the boy’s calf. Tearing away part of the hem of her garment, she made strips of bandage, winding them around his leg to keep the medicines in place.

  She felt his head, knowing already he had a fever from the poison. Amatola just hoped she had gotten to it soon enough to save his life.

  She took her water bag back to the lake, filling it. She tore more of her garment’s hem off and soaked it in the lake. She went to the boy, washing his sweaty face with the cool cloth then draping it over his forehead. Amatola laid her water bag beside him in case he woke up thirsty while she was gone. Amatola went home, grabbing two blankets.

  Jogging to the boy again, she wrapped one of the blankets tightly around him. She knew she would have to sweat the fever out of his body. She used the other blanket herself. She was not going to leave him helpless so she could go home at night; instead, Amatola was going to stay with him. She hoped to get him past the death stage into recovering.

  The boy was delirious with fever for a day and night. The morning after, Amatola was happy to note his fever had broken. He was not sweating any longer and was sleeping quietly.

  She caught fish in the lake, cleaning them and boiling them in the pot. Amatola added spices, herbs and wild vegetables she found growing in the forest. Her fish stew smelled delicious, wafting around the boy’s nose. Watching his face twitch, she saw him open his eyes, looking around!

  Chapter 3

  Amatola saw him looking surprised, confused. “I am Amatola. What is your name?”

  “I am Ahoti. What happened?” She lowered her gaze, acknowledging his presence. Amatola briefly explained the story. They talked, laughed, got to know each other. She stayed with him for four days until she thought Ahoti was well enough to move on his own.

  The couple met every day. They walked, talked; stopped to eat under a large tree. Amatola could not get Ahoti out of her head, thinking of him just before she fell asleep at night.

  Ahoti and Amatola became best friends, meeting almost every day at the berry bushes. They swam together in the lake; he helped her pick medicinal plants from the forest floor; they hunted together.

  The couple was sitting on a log one evening, speaking softly to one another. Ahoti gently tilted Amatola’s face up so he could look into her rainbow eyes. Her lips were barely parted. He could not help himself; he was bewitched by her. He moved his lips down to brush gently over hers. His hand trembled as he put his fingers into her hair, sliding them through the silky tresses. “You are so beautiful!” He whispered.

  “I think you are beautiful, too, Ahoti.” She lifted her hand to the side of his face, laying it there to caress it with her thumb. And they fell in love.

  When Amatola turned seventeen, the couple wed under the twin moons in a sparkling purple sky. They knew they would never be allowed to mate, joining as one, by either tribe. So they did it secretly with Edla giving her blessing.

  Holding hands, looking into each others’ faces, they slowly slid to the soft bed they had made with plains grasses. Amatola shivered as Ahoti put a hand behind her head, slowly pulling her into his soft kiss. They mated, becoming one under the heavenly lights.

  The couple met secretly every day. They spent many nights together, trying to figure out an answer to the dilemma they were living with. Eventually, Amatola became pregnant. She did not tell Ahoti; she was terrified he would leave her. Soon other plains women could tell she was pregnant.

  One night when she went to meet her beloved Ahoti in the forest, Amatola was followed by one of the clan men. He hid, watching them. Seeing enough, he ran back to the Elders, relating what he had seen!

  Chapter 4

  The plains Elders sent a message to the forest Elders telling them of Ahoti and Amatola and that she was pregnant. When she returned home early in the morning, the Elders were waiting for her.

  They put her in the “cap
tive” hut, where those awaiting criminal sentencing were held. But she was the only one there. She was frightened, not knowing what would happen to her. In her lifetime, no one had ever broken the sacred law regarding two from different tribes mating.

  Meanwhile, Ahoti’s Elders seized him, placing him in their captive hut! They told him Amatola was pregnant. They removed his weapons but Ahoti still had a sharp knife he kept hidden in his braided hair. He was brave with no worry for his own life. But he was terrified of what would become of Amatola and his unborn baby.

  Ahoti planned an escape to free Amatola. He moved his bed a bit away from the back wall. Using his knife, he started to dig a tunnel under the wall. Ahoti spent every moment he could chopping at the ground, digging out the dirt with his hands.

  When guards came to feed him or to change the guard outside, Ahoti would push his bed back over the hole and the piles of dirt which were accumulating. It was a slow process.

  His fingernails broke; he received many splinters; cuts in his hands and fingers appeared from trying to break the lower bark wall. But Ahoti continued, not worrying about his sore hands or torn flesh. All he could think about was Amatola. After three days, Ahoti finally had a hole large enough for him to squeeze through.

  Listening, hearing nothing in the night, he pushed himself through the hole. The jagged ends of the tree bark made long, deep gashes in his back. When he freed himself, Ahoti crept to his hut. Packing his belongings, he strapped them to his back. Slinking away from the forest village, he ran across the plains to Amatola’s village.

  It was a quiet night as Ahoti moved from hut to hut. Arriving at the last hut in the village which he knew was the captive hut, he crouched at the back wall. “Amatola?” He whispered. “Are you in there? Are you well?”

  “Ahoti, my husband!” Her voice filled with joy. “I am frightened! The Elders will make their decision when Sula peeks over the edge of Edla! I know they will kill me as that is the law regarding mating with one from a different tribe!”

  “Do not worry, beloved. I am going to get you out of here. We will run to find our own way on Edla.” Ahoti crept close to the front of the hut. Squatting, he waiting for the guard to turn his back. As the guard spun to walk the other way, Ahoti snuck up behind him. Using his first finger and thumb, he carefully grabbed part of his neck, squeezing until the guard fell unconscious to the ground.