King Solomon's Journey (The Dominguez Adventures) (13 page)

            Antonio tingled, feeling her trace the line above his belt. Squeezing his eyes tightly in response, he tried to refrain, but still let out a gasp.          

            “Antonio, your body is a piece of art.”

            He pulled her against him, and kissed her, trying hard to contain his desire. Holding her, he was sure he’d never let her go. He could barely breathe.

            “Antonio, I do not think you lost very much of your manhood in the lobby.”

            What? Rolling his eyes, he held her close. She knew he was at her mercy.

            He grabbed his shirt, determined not to take another round of her poison. He’d get her ready, with all of her buckles buckled, and finish dressing himself outside. His body burned, from a suffocating fire.

            “Come on, Amanda, you’re putting me on my knees.” He situated her gear as fast as manageable.

             “Antonio, is the snow melting or something? Why are you in such a rush?”

            His forehead soaked with sweat beads.

            “Amanda, if you must know, you’re tormenting me. I need to get out of this stuffy cabin, into the cold, and burn off some serious energy.”

            “Did I do something wrong, again?”

            “It depends on what you consider wrong.” He grabbed her hand, and took his gear out to the porch.

            “Depends on what?” She pressed him. Glancing up at her, he silently buckled his boots.

            “Well?”

            He stood, and without putting on his coat, he took her hand.

            “Are you ignoring me?” She persisted.

            “Yes.”

            “Isn’t that rude?” She commented, playfully pushing him. Stopping in his tracks, he pulled her towards him.

            “Amanda, I’m keeping my promise.”

            “Antonio, I did not ask you to take me skiing.”

            “I’m not talking about skiing.”

            “Antonio, are you playing a head game with me?”

            “Amanda, do you know what’s wrong with me?”

            “I think I do, I want you to tell me.” She said with a grin.

            “What? Do you know you’re making me crazy?”

            “Yes”

            He had no idea whether he should feel happy, or tortured.

            “I want you.”

            She smiled. That wasn’t enough, and he knew it. Wow. Now, he was embarrassed.

             “Amanda, look into my eyes, I have never in my life wanted anything more.”

            She felt weak when he put his mouth to her ear again.

            “Your breath alone turns me on.”

            He grabbed her hand, and started to walk again.

            He positioned her for the incoming lift. It caught her off guard.

            “Wow, Antonio.” She became distracted.     

            What could he do but laugh? He’d never be able to let her go. The damn woman had him so distracted he forgot all about the height of the lift above the snow. Now, he concentrated on his breathing, and refused to panic.

            Silent, she was entranced with Nature right now, riding a steel chair to the top of the most beautiful mountain she’d ever seen.

            “Antonio, there are no words.”

            She had no words. Of course… only God could shut her up. He should’ve known that no mortal man ever could. Pleased, he watched her, admired the perfection they were a part of, and smiled.

Chapter 13

“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”
— Albert Einstein

            Striding through the front door, Amanda entered the cabin and walked to the fireplace with Antonio close behind.

            “Here, let me help you out of that,” he referred to her ski gear.

            “I am the image of a 2 year-old in a snowsuit.” She laughed.

            “Honey, you were great.” He grinned at her contorted expression. “Did you see that 3 year-old leave me in my tracks?”

            They laughed. “Here, sit down. Let me take those boots off you. Amanda, you did great.”

            “I hurt, Antonio. I do yoga every day, swim regularly, and still - my legs ache from skiing.”

            “I’ll be happy to check it out later.” He smiled.

            “Really…?”

            “I’ll be right back.”

            She looked at him.

            “I’m starving. Earlier, I studied the menus in the lobby. They list some organic items listed.”

            “You should call room service.” She suggested.

            “True, but I’m faster.” He left.

            Later after they had eaten, showered and were once more toasty and warm, they sat replete by the fire. They had been discussing just how long it might take to translate all of the Scrolls, when suddenly Antonio changed the subject.

            “Amanda, I want to take you home with me.”

            “I am not a puppy.”

            “Cute, but this is serious. We need a few days to get our act together.”

            “Antonio, what would I tell my kids?”

            “Nothing, they think you’re here.”

            “I don’t know what to expect. A lady should never seem too eager.”

            He laughed. “Amanda, do you think I live in a rat’s hole?”

            “No.”

            “You’ve cast your spells on me, now come spellbind my house. I want to have you at my house.”

            She looked around. “Is there room?”

            Antonio pretended to size up her backside. “Yeah, your butt isn’t that big. It might be tight, but I think you’ll fit. Of course there’s room,” he told her.

            “You want me to come to your house, don’t you?” Her persistence was perplexing.

            “I asked didn’t I?”

            “This is a big deal to you, I am flattered. You haven’t kept a harem there before, have you?” Teasing him was fun.

            He admitted to her. “You know, Amanda, the truth is a woman has never stayed there with me. What about your house?”

            “No man has slept in, or walked into my room with me. I bought the house to renovate it myself. Did you move into your house only two weeks ago, Antonio?”

            “I’ve lived there more than 15 years.”

            “Oh. Well, that is quite a while.”

            “Amanda, I think you’re saying yes.”

            “If you are nice to me, I will.”

            “That's impossible.” She’d go home with him, unbelievable. Maria would have to know about her issues with food, as soon as possible.

            “Amanda, explain your food requirements. I need to understand what you eat before I call Maria.”

            “Who is Maria?”

            “Maria and Joe are caretakers. I spend months at a time away from home. They’ve taken care of the place since I bought it.”

            “They live there?”

            “No, they live a short distance away.”

            “Maria does the cooking?” Uh oh, he didn’t know if Amanda would be happy about that. “She cooks in the daytime, when she’s there. She also shops for the groceries.”

            “Okay…” her voice shrank.

            “Amanda, you’re not wild about her being there, are you?”

            She shrugged. “I don’t mind.”

            “Is it the food?” Now, he was sure there was something more to the food than the little flower child wanted to admit.

            “No problem. Nevertheless, I cook. I love to cook food. It should be fun with you around.” He teased her. Holding her face in his hands, his voice was sincere. “Thank you.”

            “Come on, Antonio. I will help you with your disasters. I am guessing that you wanted to check out tomorrow, not this afternoon.”

            “Right...”

            “But, will you still take me to Hidden Mountain?”

            “Yes, I’m taking you there. In fact, we need to make a stop tomorrow, not too far from here.”

            They sat in the chairs near Antonio’s laptop, and he brought out some research he’d gathered.

            “Amanda, let me explain what I’m doing here.”

            “I will let you, Antonio.” Her tone was dramatic.

            He rolled his eyes at her.

            “The Scrolls of King Solomon’s ‘13’ implicates a serious catastrophe, or catastrophes, in Earth’s near future. Fulfilling the Legacy of the Scrolls provides - what I’m interpreting as, something akin to a force field, a protection for the planet.”

            “Antonio, this is huge.”

            “I know that’s one of the reasons you and King Solomon’s Scrolls came to me at the same time. I figured it out today while I was in the lodge lobby. You know, after your tirade about humanity.”

            She rolled her eyes. “Yes, I remember, continue.”

            “This morning, when you were ranting about humanity, I felt nervous, similar to you, but not nuts. Nervous about all the responsibility, I realized how genius this crazy situation is. You’re the mystic, I’m the scientist, and we’re polar-opposites. You’re a female, and I’m a male.”

            She started laughing at his cute explanation.

            “Last night I had the realization that you’re far more of an intellectual than I’d expected. Therefore, your knowledge base is vitally important. Nevertheless, there are two more things. Do you know what they are?”

             “No, do you?”

            “As a matter of fact, I do. Somewhere in that Divine Fabric of yours, they knew you would captivate me, leaving you as my point-of-focus. While I chased you, you would outsmart me, make me crazy, and generally cause me pain beyond my wildest dreams.

            All this would make you my primary focus. Keeping and securing you, among other things would distract me enough to keep me from panicking over the enormity of saving humanity.

            I am in hopes that I might receive a gift in return. It’s just my wish.”

            His interpretation of the circumstances simply proved he was an anomaly. The fact he was oblivious to his own connection made him more endearing. A warm wave pulsated through Amanda’s body. He responded to the squeeze she gave his hand.

            “Amanda…”

            “What?” She whispered.

            “The reward I’m hoping to achieve is the other part of me… the part I was introduced to that day in the cavern. I want The Grand Scheme to allow me to continue holding you close, and for you to keep making me crazy. I want that reward in return for helping out humanity, but it’s a pity for humanity, since I’ll come out on the better end of the deal. Would you like me to justify my point?”

            Tears streamed down her cheeks as her chin gave him a small nod.

            “I’m not sure the people this could save will feel alive or happy once they’re out of danger, and I know I didn’t feel this way a week ago. With you, I’ll feel alive and happy. All that you’ve made me is a miracle, and just in case it hasn’t occurred to you, I haven’t even seen you naked.”

            Pointing to his notes, Antonio continued. “What I have done here, is compile a list of possible scenarios related to and around 12/21/2012. As you can see, most of them deal with that day being the beginning of cycles of change, not so much the end of it all.” He stopped and glanced into her eyes, he could see the depth of emotion lingering behind the astute attention she was paying to his notes.

            “I meant it, Amanda, all of it. You’re making my heart pound, wildly.” He brought out a separate sheet of paper.

            “First of all, there are lots of different cycles, and most of them end soon. We’re not sure how, or if, they will produce an impact on Earth. Do you see this list? It’s not complete yet.

Earth Cycles

Mayan Calendar Cycle Ends

13
^th
baktun

4 X 26,000 year cycle

104,000 year cycle

Completed Evolutionary Spiral,

26,000 year cycle completes travel through

All 12 houses of the Zodiac

Solar system completes orbit around

Alcyone spiral ~ 26,000

Poles point to each of the 12 Zodiacs

2,160 years X 104,000 years

225 million years

5-20-2012 Solar Eclipse

& Sun and Moon conjunct Plaids

11-13-2012 2
^nd
Solar Eclipse

Sun and Moon align

United States of America

236 years since the Constitution

Saturn completes 8 passages around the sun

1781 – Uranus discovered

-     U.S. won war of Independence

Completion of 7 X year cycles since 1781

1781= 84 rythms of Uranus

            For a few moments, Amanda studied the cycles of Earth’s changes that converged in 2012. They weren’t alien to her, but the Scrolls demanded a new perspective.

            “Antonio, what do these mean to you?”

            “The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that these are cycles. That means they’ve happened before, and the Earth survived. On the other side of the coin – we can’t verify whether humans were on the planet when most of them happened. But, we do know forms of life survived,” he explained.

            Impressed, she concurred. “That is positive, consequently, could you please explain the galactic alignment?”

            “On December 21, 2012, at 11:11PM universal time the Earth, Sun, and the center of the Galaxy will be in alignment. The last time this occurred was 26,000 years ago.

            The galactic center has an enormous gravitational pull, and creates the shape of a giant vortex. At least, that’s how we see it from our perspective here on Earth.

            The vortex we see is a pattern created by the stars within the center of this gravitational pull. These stars emerge from within, spinning around its center. The Milky Way, with all its unique color and beauty, is in reality a bunch of cosmic debris, dust, and particles that have emerged from the galactic center.