Dreams of the Forgotten by Lexi Ander Read Free Book Online Page A

Gilgamesh and Enkidu."
"No," Ashur shook his head. "That is too simple. She's up to something. I have sent messengers to my brothers. She will have much to explain when she goes before King Enlil." Ashur scowled at the horizon, his gaze searching for something.
I looked too, not sure what I was supposed to be looking for. "What?" I asked after several moments when nothing appeared.
"My forerunners have not been able to locate her. Ki has been looking for Mithra since I took over your tutelary. She was with me when we came across the small battle of assassins and Lycans. She is convinced Inanna had something to do with the disappearance of Mithra and his consort, Verethragna."
Mithra was the guardian of the Khvarnah , the Divine Glory, which alone bestowed legitimacy on the Lycan kings. He was the God who would herald the birth of the Enkidu Kings and he'd been missing for at least three hundred years. The last King who had been declared by Mithra was Bahram Ksathra. Unless he was found, and pronounced me King, I'd continue to only be a Prince and unable to fully lead my people. I'd never gain the power I needed to be able to wear the mantle of my heritage, the fabled Armor of Scales and Judgment , or have access to the Tombs of the Kings .
"As long as you stay in your territory, the Clearwater area, my magic will keep you safe. Any God that penetrates the circle of protection will immediately be transported to me." I knew Ashur was attempting to comfort me but he wasn't there when the Avatar pulled water out of the ground. Craig Stoiler would've drowned us. You couldn't swim out of a bubble of water when it moved with you. Drowning wasn't the type of death I'd envisioned for myself. I hoped for the old, gray, and in-mysleep type of death.
"I'll have to go to Georgia in a couple of weeks. I need to meet with the Council of Five, close out Theo's estate, and attend the trial of Craig Stoiler's followers," I reminded Ashur.
He nodded. "I will be able to go with you and set another circle of protection but it will not be the same. This is your home, your claimed territory, which is a kind of magic of its own. In Georgia the circle of protection will not be as strong. It does not help that you hold a disguised animosity toward the place. That dislike can do you more harm than good."
I was confused. "What do you mean?"
"Negative energies will attract other negative energies. A protective circle is positive and, considering how you feel about Bahbelle, that animosity will work against you. I know you are not able to change how you feel overnight, so use your tai chi to center yourself and shake off the damaging influence. Connect as often as you can to the Earth and spend some time immersed with her influence. I do not want you to be vulnerable to our enemies when I cannot be with you."
I raised my eyebrow at him. "Our enemies, huh?"
"I am your guardian, Tristan. The children of Enkidu are also the children of the Gods. That I am your tutelary is a great honor, and I take the responsibility very seriously."
Ashur turned to go. "Wait." He stared back at me expectantly. "You said there was a battle. Who were the assassins fighting with?"
"A group we thought long gone and disbanded. They are the Ophidians. Call for me immediately if they come here. Do not engage them, Tristan. They are very dangerous."
"What do they want?"
"From what I witnessed? The annihilation of the assassins."
After Ashur left, the sun rose above the horizon. The reds, oranges, and golds were offset by the cloudless blue sky. The odd trilling of my new birdie residents met the morning with me. There was no such thing as coppercolored birds. I scanned through a ton of Audubon books and searched the internet, but there weren't any listings for animals such as this anywhere. Yet I had an estimated thirty to forty of the brightly feathered birds roosting on the eaves of the barn and playing in the lake.
The flock had arrived about two days after the battle with Craig