False Horizon - Alex Archer [58]
And now that seemed to have no chance of happening.
Annja wandered away from the party and back to the grand staircase. There she sat and looked up at the sky. She could see the stars twinkling above her head and had to wonder exactly where she was. And why was this place in danger, now of all times?
Her gut response didn’t make her feel any better. What if Shangri-La was being threatened as a direct result of events set into motion by Mike? What if his lifelong obsession had enabled the possibility of Shangri-La’s very extinction? By being so driven to find this place, Mike might have unleashed the very forces that will lead to its downfall.
Annja frowned. And she might be helping them, too. Just by agreeing to tag along on this adventure, Annja could be just as culpable in the demise as Mike.
Wonderful, she thought. Now I’m destroying whole worlds instead of just evil people. I’m really embracing my inner destructor.
“You look troubled.”
Annja looked up and saw Vanya approaching her. For an older woman, she looked remarkably vibrant. Her skin seemed to glow almost translucently in the twilight. And her smile radiated a peace and warmth that Annja found comforting.
“I suppose I am,” Annja said.
“Here? Of all places? You’ve managed to be troubled about something?”
Annja nodded. “Trust me, if anyone can find something to be troubled about, it’s me.”
“Surely not by desire, though.”
Annja shook her head. “Nope. Trouble seems to find me wherever I am. I don’t go looking for it, but it seems drawn to me.”
“Very often trouble finds us not because we are bad people, but because we have the opportunity to help set things right. Perhaps instead of focusing on why trouble always finds you, you should focus on the good you’ve been able to do when put to the challenge.”
Annja smiled. “I appreciate that, but I sometimes question whether I’ve been able to do any good at all. Or are my efforts merely wasted breaths in the universe. It’s impossible for me to know for certain.”
“Does it matter?”
Annja looked at her. “What do you mean? Of course it matters.”
Vanya shook her head. “I don’t think you believe that. You don’t act as a force for good simply because you want to be recognized for it. That doesn’t really even matter to you.”
Annja shrugged. “Possibly…”
“Your actions in this world bear out a destiny you have been born to. You are where you are supposed to be for that very reason. Our personal agendas have little to do with the nature of our divine purpose.”
Annja looked at her. “You truly believe that?”
“We all have a part to play, Annja. No one role is more important than any other. We are all interconnected and therefore reliant on one another. Even those who may never know us by name or by face will still find that our journey through this universe is not taken alone, but in the breadth of a complete human experience.”
“We’re all in this together, in other words.”
Vanya nodded. “That is an easier way of putting it, yes.”
“And if you knew that something bad was going to potentially happen, what would you do about it?”
Vanya smiled. “There exists in everything and every one of us the potential for anything to happen at any time. Potential is simply misguided energy careering around. It is only when that potential is harnessed and then focused into something that we can decide for certain if it is good or evil.”
Annja sighed again. “I suppose I could stand to wait a little longer before I make certain decisions.”
“It sounds,” Vanya said, “as though you have already started making those decisions.”
Maybe I have, Annja thought.
“The universe is a quirky thing,” Vanya said. “It simply goes on oblivious to whatever our personal desires may be. The real way to impact the universe is not to wish and pray for good things to happen.”
“A whole lot of people are going to be pretty disappointed in that statement,” Annja said with a grin.
“If you want to change the universe, then you must set things in motion starting at the most basic level. Waiting and then trying to change what