Ascendants of Ancients Sovereign - By Phillip Jones Page 0,27

try. He could not overcome Bassorine in a confrontation, and he still needed to know more. For now, all he could do was continue to ask questions.

“Okay, okay. You said we would’ve been sent home if we were unable to summon you. So you must have released your hold on the Crystal Moon. We needed to touch it in order to complete the test, right? Maybe that’s how it was taken.”

Bassorine nodded in agreement and motioned for Sam to continue. “I’m sure you know I understand other languages. I’m also sure you know more about me than I care to guess. So my next question is … what about George? Why was he here? What happened to him when he fell through the floor with your statue?”

Bassorine looked puzzled. He stood in silence for a moment. “George? Who is this George? There should have only been two of you.”

Sam loved the fact he knew something else this “so-called” god did not. “The writing on the statue talked about a group of three who would be called upon to recover the missing pieces of the Crystal Moon. You know, the one about two men and a woman. The prophecy where one of the group’s members falls by the wayside, leaving it up to the remaining two to save the worlds and find a way to gather the pieces of the Crystal Moon before the worlds collide?”

Sam’s expression mocked his next statement. “The whole, ‘watch out for the spread of chaos’ part was on there as well.”

Ignoring his tone, Bassorine responded. “This test was for the amusement of the gods. We grow bored and seek diversions. When I created the prophecy for your greeting, it didn’t read the way you described. I wrote about one man and one woman creating an empire of good. You were to make a difference on the worlds. The Collective agreed and thought this to be a worthy cause … a good entertainment.”

Bassorine cleared his throat. “Sam, we hoped your knowledge and your skills as a warrior, along with Shalee’s goodness and power, would be a strong combination while creating an empire on this world. We further hoped the remaining worlds would follow in your footsteps, and the races would be rejoined. They would be allowed to live together on any world they choose.”

Sam started to speak, then stopped. He started again, then stopped.

Bassorine commanded, “Just speak.”

“Okay, okay. All right. I understand the power the crystal is said to possess. If the gods agreed you wanted us to create an empire, why implement a test in the first place? Why risk releasing your hold on it?”

Bassorine’s brows furrowed. “Not all the gods were in favor of this decision. We govern by majority. It was Lasidious, Yaloom, Mieonus, Alistar, Celestria and four others who felt a test should be implemented to see if you were clever enough to undertake such a task. Lasidious was the one who suggested I allow you to touch the Crystal Moon as a way to summon me. The idea didn’t seem risky. No harm was to come from it.

“I believe a trick has been played, and a game amongst the gods has begun. The prophecy has been rewritten without my knowledge. This is the only logical explanation. You have been caught in a play for power. A new plan is in order to stop the chaos that will ensue because of this deception.

“You’ll be more instrumental than ever while saving the worlds. It will rest on your shoulders to restore balance between good and evil.

“If the pieces are not returned, the planets will drift. This deception could be the beginning of the end of all we’ve created.”

“What on God’s green Earth are you talking about? What do you mean, we’ll need to do this?” Shalee inserted. “Who do you think you are, buddy? We didn’t ask for this. You said I have power. I don’t have any such thing. None of this makes sense. You’ve brought us here against our will ... against our will, I tell you! You don’t do things like that to Texans. We don’t take kindly to folks messing with us. I have a mind to put my foot right up your—”

Bassorine held up his hand and used his power to command Shalee’s silence. Tears began to flow down her face—not because her life was being forced into an unfamiliar situation, but more because the thought of Chanice popped into her head. Oh my goodness, my little sis. Who’ll