Ascendants of Ancients Sovereign - By Phillip Jones Page 0,290

for. The problem was, with Helga, his heart was destroyed, and he was lost. His previous relationship did not have the passion they had shared. His sorrow was unbearable, and he would travel for as long as it took to find the perfect spot that complemented his lost love’s beauty.

When BJ finally jumped down from the wagon, he made his final assessment. The sand of the beach was white and clean. The waves rolled onto the shore, adding a sense of peace that BJ knew Helga would have enjoyed. The trees sat back from the shoreline, creating an alcove of privacy, and within this alcove, there were two boulders that sat close to one another—the perfect place to light her fire.

As he lifted the wood off the wagon, BJ’s heart became heavier with each step. Never had he felt so overcome with sadness. He longed for his love to return and claim that an evil jest had been played. It consumed his thoughts as he stacked the wood the way that Helga deserved. He would not settle for anything less than perfection, but he was losing more of himself with the adjustment of each piece, and his heart was falling into a pit that he would struggle to crawl out of.

When the moment came to move Helga’s coffin, BJ read from a scroll that Shalee had created. The magic released and gave him the strength to carry the coffin from the wagon to the pile and set it in position. He made sure it was centered, adjusting it on a hundred different occasions before he achieved the perfect placement.

With dusk approaching, BJ looked toward the sunset as it cast a beautiful array of color into the darkening sky. This would be the last series of moments that he could share with Helga. The urge to hold her for one last moment as the sun descended behind the horizon pulled at him.

He rushed to the wagon to grab an iron bar. He used it to break open the lock that secured the lid of the coffin. He lifted the latch, not knowing that his love lay torn apart inside.

Unsure if this was the right thing to do, BJ paused as he dropped the latch back in place. Perhaps it’s best to leave her alone, he thought. But how can I pass on the opportunity to show her my love?

It was not long before BJ convinced himself that Helga would have enjoyed the idea of being held one last moment before he lit her fire. He lifted the lid and looked inside expecting to find Helga’s peaceful face, but what he found was his worst nightmare. Seeing Helga’s mutilated pieces, his expression turned from one full of passion to one of horror and excruciating agony.

BJ took a step back from the coffin. He fell off the stack and onto the beach. He crawled to his feet and then ran as fast as he could to get away from the nightmare. He collapsed into the waves, lifted his head to the heavens and screamed, cursing the gods for stealing his happiness, cursing Sam for allowing Helga to go into the face of danger, cursing Shalee for not being there when Helga needed her most. And finally, he cursed himself for letting his love go on a fool’s quest.

A long series of moments passed before BJ stood to retrieve his dagger. He lit a torch and grabbed a container of oil. He poured the liquid over the wood beneath the coffin, but only enough to allow the fire to grow slowly. He then cleared a place next to Helga and lay down inside the coffin next to her mutilated pieces.

With the torch in his left hand, he plunged his dagger into his stomach with his right and then lifted the blade as much as he could toward his sternum. After dropping the torch onto the wood below, BJ closed his eyes and waited for the open wound to end his life, but the flames spread much quicker than he had anticipated. In his grief stricken and confused state, BJ had used too much oil.

BJ’s eyes had not yet closed forever before the intense heat consumed the coffin. His horrific screams filled the night before his soul left for the Book of Immortality’s pages.

George Meets the Minotaur King

George spent four and a half Peaks putting his plans in motion, and Kepler was instrumental in their execution. George realized the moments to bring war to the