by Jaymin Eve
“Aribella, do something to stop her before they come back.” Samuel, who rarely spoke, had decided that now was the time to start ordering me around.
I was getting used to being called ‘Aribella’, which I’d recently learned was my given name. But for most of my life I’ve been Abigail, Abby to my friends. Well, friend. Lucy was really all I’d had.
Lucy gave Samuel a shove before I could throw him the rude hand gesture his arrogant command deserved. In annoyance, I pushed long masses of curls off my face. At some point I’d lost my hair-tie and I was really missing my braid. The blood-red color of my hair, threaded through with black flecks, was even more potent since my power-enlightenment. It was thick and shiny now, without any help from me. Definite bonus. I stared down at the diamond mark on my right wrist. Unlike every other scar, blemish and dot, it had not disappeared during my Walker enlightenment. I now wore the birthmark of each of my parents’ lines.
“Abbs, can you open a doorway and get us out of here?”
I glanced up to meet Lucy’s beautiful baby blues; they pleaded with me to give her a different answer to the question she’d asked a dozen times that morning.
Closing my own emerald eyes, I attempted to draw from my power again. And again there was no response. I could still feel its endless depths, but it was quiet. Instead of the thick string of energy I’d normally feel, all I was getting were wispy strands of fairy floss. I knew there was another way to access the Walker doorways, but unfortunately my father hadn’t had time to teach me.
Sighing, I opened my eyes to look at my desperate best friend. “Sorry, either something has blocked me or I’ve worn out my powers. I got nothing.”
Her face fell, the panic in her features more pronounced now.
I’d felt off-balance ever since leaving my home planet, First World, and opening a doorway to transport us all to Spurn. It was as if my energy was taking a vacation, getting a little rest and relaxation. Perfect timing, of course.
Movement from the adjacent cell caught my eye. Brace and Lucas were back against the wall, deep in conversation. For some reason those two had been seen as bigger threats than we were and had been separated from us.
I’d briefly wondered how Samuel, who was in our cell, felt about that. It was hard to read anything on his coldly chiseled face. He looked just like our beautiful mother Lallielle. But since we had different fathers, and I favored mine in looks, there was no real resemblance between us.
Samuel had been held captive in the same place as Lucy for an entire year and the ten words he’d spoken to me since discovering I hadn’t died eighteen years before have been forced from him out of politeness.
As I turned to look at him, he dived forward and yanked Lucy away from the bars.
I spun around to see what had prompted his action, hands at the ready to combat any threat.
A Spurn stood between our two cells.
Lucy wrestled with Samuel, and it was lucky he had a hand covering her lower face. I smiled. At least now she had another protector to save her from her big mouth.
I examined the newcomer with great interest. The male was shorter than all of us except Lucy. All of the inhabitants so far had been petite but with lithe muscles framing their entire bodies. He was shirtless, with a simple webbed loin cloth wrapped around his waist, just covering the very essentials – which I assumed were the same as ours. His skin was pink, but in a translucent manner, as if muscles and blood reflected through the skin. On top of that I could see blue veins throughout his entire frame. His general shape was humanoid, but slightly off-kilter. It was mainly noticeable when they moved, as if their joints were more flexible or something.
His skin was smooth and shiny, as if a layer of oil coated the outside. He was hairless except for an incredible mane of blue hair on his head. It was long, almost to his knees, and one solid color. He was barefoot, and his toes looked long and slightly webbed, a membrane connecting each digit. At first when they had captured us, I’d been more worried about the trident-style weapons they carried, rather than their differences and powers. But now I wanted to know what secrets they hid. I was also curious why no one had spoken to us yet. There had only been an initial capture and search before we were deposited into these cells.
Even as I thought this, the man opened his mouth to speak.
“You have disturbed the Sacred Isle, and you have stolen from us. The leaders of each clan will converge here for your trial. I am to inform you of this and then there is to be no contact.” His voice was deep and slow.
His lisp spoke of a vocal structure far different to our own as he read us our rights – of which apparently we had none.
I moved forward and clutched at the bars of our cell. How was I supposed to find the half-Walker if I was stuck in this room the entire time?
“Wait a minute. We haven’t stolen anything.” I gripped the bars tightly, barely two feet from the Spurn. “We had just arrived from First World when you captured us. You didn’t find anything on us, right?”
His shiny yellow eyes widened, looking even more alien with their lack of lashes and brows. He hadn’t expected me to answer back but something told me he’d registered my comment. With one last look, he turned and walked away.
Sighing, I banged my hands against the bars, wishing desperately for an axe, or energy ball, or something to get us out of here.
A few boring days later, I’d just finished my small portion of a sweet fruit they had given us. The rough-skinned produce and its juice was all we’d had to eat or drink since arriving, but for some reason I hadn’t felt hungry or thirsty.
I paced our tiny cell and then slumped back into my mesh, closing my eyes. This was the only way to escape Lucy and Samuel’s constant face-sucking. They were driving me insane with a combination of both nausea and jealousy. It would have been nice to have my own distraction from the boredom.
My eyes flew open as an explosion of voices broke the silence. The noises drifted in through the small window at the back of the room. I jumped off my mat. If I sat there any longer I think my butt imprint would become permanent.
“Can you hear what’s happening out there, Red?” Brace had moved to the front of his cell. His question was perfectly acceptable until he added, “You should step away from that window.”
He didn’t look worried, but his tone was stern, commanding me to obey ... not likely. Ever since he’d dropped that dream bombshell on me and then refused to elaborate, our conversations had been a little heated.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m fine here, Brace, but thanks for your concern.” I love an over-the-top use of sarcasm.
Brace was a pain in both my butt and my heart. When I was on Earth, he’d appeared in my dreams, and neither of us knew why. He’d recently informed me that he had dreamed of me too. But that was all the information he’d given.
Since meeting in the flesh we’ve had major unresolved chemistry. I alternated between wanting to kiss him senseless and restraining myself from punching him in the kidneys.
The problem was I knew something was up with him.
I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what it was, but I didn’t fully trust him. Yes, he’d saved my life, and given me a hell of a first kiss, but he was hiding something.
I hate secrets.
My curious nature struggled to accept or leave them be and I was determined to figure out what his secret was.
That’s if he didn’t keep distracting me with his face. Brace was ... gorgeous. There was no other way to put it. Every other man paled in comparison … well, for me anyways. And Lucy was more than vocal about how hot he was.
On quiet nights, when I examined my feelings closely I had to admit that he might already own my heart.
I was still facing him, but my refusal to move had his chiseled features dropping into stern lines, highlighting a dark captivating beauty. His brown hair was short again but it still fell messily across his forehead. He was a giant man, and in this cell he almost re
ached the roof. Six and half feet easily. He shifted slightly to one side as Lucas moved to stand next to him.
My eyes flicked across to the blond; he wasn’t as tall or as broad as Brace, but he had an icy beauty that was interesting all the same. Lucas, who is the next Crown Emperor of First World, had decided to join us for this planet-jumping journey. I still didn’t know what his end game was and I was pretty annoyed to be surrounded by such secretive men.
Mostly, I went out of my way to avoid Lucas since he believed I was his to-be-crowned Empress. And even though I’d done my best to set that straight, he was still here. Besides, any interest I could have in Lucas disappeared the moment Brace entered my world. He eclipsed everything else.
“Abby, you haven’t moved,” Brace said, his tone still stern.
I shook my head in his direction, my full lips curving up. I hated being told what to do.
“I might just have a quick look,” I said as I moved closer to the window.
I was tall enough that if I grabbed on to the bars and pulled myself up I’d be able to see out.
“Abigail, get your ass away from that window.” Brace was right at the forefront of his cage now. He gripped the wooden slats. “Samuel, Lucy ... get over there and stop her.”
Lucy laughed out loud. “Brace, I’ve seen Abbs fight. Trust me when I tell you, I’m not getting in her way – my nose is just too perfect.” She crinkled said perfect nose.
She was referring to our fight classes on Earth, where I may have broken a few of the girls’ noses.
“All four of those incidents were accidents,” I said in my defense.
She snorted.
As soon as I was under the window I reached up to grip the wooden slats. I only had to pull my body weight up a few inches to see out. I paused at a loud banging noise. Spinning my head around, I could see Brace slamming his crossed arms into the wooden slats.
“I’ll come for you. Don’t mistake me, Abigail. And I’m going to be ... annoyed ... when I get over there.” For some reason, the depth of his tone sent a thrill of excitement through me.
What was he so worried about? I was just going to have a little peek. What’s the worst that could happen?
Damn it, I had to stop saying that.
I threw a look over my shoulder; it was pure challenge. Yeah, I did feel pretty safe in my barred cell. Lucy had sat down at this point, pulling Samuel with her.
“This is great. Wish I had some popcorn, though.” Her hands were clasped in front of her, face alight with delight as if she’d just settled in to watch her favorite movie. “Ten bucks on Abby.”
I grinned, none of the First Worlders would have a clue what ‘ten bucks’ was. They didn’t use money; their world ran on a much more efficient barter-for-skills system.
Another burst of noise from outside drew my attention again. It sounded like there were a lot of Spurns arguing out there. I couldn’t quite make out the words, especially with all the lisping. I still had a grip of the slats, so I slowly pulled myself up. Swearing echoed around the room behind me. Ignoring the noise, I enjoyed the familiar burn in my muscles. I was going crazy locked in this little cell, so even a small physical release was welcome.
Once my eye level was above the ridge I could see a large group gathered. There were many Spurns with the same blue hair we’d already seen, but for the first time there were also Spurns with green, yellow and gray hair. They stood around a crouched girl.
My observations were cut off as strong hands gripped me around the waist. I was almost yanked off the bars, but at the last second managed to catch hold again.
“I swear to the Walker gods, Red, you’re going to be the death of me.”
At the sound of his voice, I let go in shock and Brace and I tumbled down.
Using his nicely muscled chest, I dug my elbow in as hard as I could to push myself up to stand. He groaned and I looked toward his old cell. There were large holes in both doors. Brace-size holes. I turned my eyes toward the angry towering-over-me man.
“How ... what did you do?” I stuttered out.
He shrugged, but his expression was burning – I felt like prey, and I wanted to run, fast.
“You know I can manipulate energy, and my power levels are no different here.”
“What. The. Crap.” Lucy, showing no fear, punched him in his thigh, which was the easiest place for her to reach. “Are you telling me that you could have gotten us out of here straight away?”
She pulled her fist back to hit him again, but Samuel gathered her up in his arms before she could.
I laughed. “Violent little thing, isn’t she?”
Truth be told, both of us had a slight tendency to hit first, ask questions later, courtesy of the world we grew up in. Brace’s expression lifted from burning anger to mild irritation. I might have even seen a small flicker of amusement as he held his hands up in surrender.
“Yes, I could have broken through these little wooden slats. But I figured Red was hoping for a more diplomatic solution, considering we need to stay here until we find this half-Walker.”
“You’re lucky you’re hot, Brace, because I’m not finding much else to like about you right now,” Lucy said, continuing to shoot dirty looks at him, but she was at least no longer trying to dodge around Samuel to punch him again.
“Let’s leave now, before we are recaptured, and see if we can find someone to talk to about our situation.” Lucas had moved to stand in the center of the room.
With an exasperated snort, I elbowed Brace as I pushed past him.
Lucas smiled when I reached his side. “Probably better to keep that little temper under control when we step out of here.”
I ignored him by walking past without a second glance. Screw saving Brace. Those Walker gods better save me from impossible, arrogant know-it-all men. I was just about at the barred door to the exterior when Brace strode past me – someone had his speedy pants on. Stepping to the front, his boot smashed into the heavy wooden door. It flew off the frame to land outside on the sand.
Show-off.
“He gets to smash things, but when I do it I have a bad temper,” I muttered as I followed him out.
The weak sunlight was back, but I knew from our few days here it was soon to be replaced by four-strong moons. Their moonlight was blue tinged and as bright as daylight back home.
We didn’t make it more than ten steps before Spurns came running from all directions. We were surrounded within a few moments.
“Do not move or I will be forced to end you without a trial,” a tall blue-haired man lisped in a low tone.
He was a pillar standing before the masses of four-hair-colored Spurns. A few of the five-prong trident-style weapons were pointed in our direction – they looked like big forks. I was intrigued by the strange texture of these weapons – they looked like coral – and they were brightly colored.
“There has been a mistake made here. We are not thieves or criminals.” Lucas, as a future Emperor, had the best diplomacy skills. He had both of his hands held up before him. “We’re travelers from another world, simply looking for adventure and new experiences. You cannot hold us prisoner any longer. We have rights, and we demand to be released now.”
The Spurns muttered.
“Hair is short.”
“Unnaturally tall.”
A nervous energy was building amongst the smooth-skinned, shiny pink people.
“What is this world you have journeyed from?”
It took me a moment to understand her lisped question. Spurn speech was difficult to follow, especially if they spoke fast. The green-haired woman – well, it was more of an emerald, similar tone to my own eyes but darker – who’d spoken, was waiting impatiently.
“First World is our home planet; it’s far from here, and is only around sixty percent water, vastly different from your own.” At Lucas’ words, another series of mutters and gasps spread through the group.
I hadn’t realized First World had even less water than
Earth. Interesting.
“That’s why we disturbed your Sacred Isle. We cannot breathe under water,” I added as soon as there was a lull in the Spurn chatter.
The tall blue-haired Spurn turned around. “Is any of this true?”
“Yes, Ladre sir. Our initial examination determined they have no gills. And they weren’t found with any of our wood or cucreamer either.” Our guard stepped forward to speak.
He locked eyes with me briefly, and I smiled in appreciation.
Shifting my gaze, I examined Ladre closely, trying to find his ‘gills’. Eventually I spotted tiny slits on the side of his neck. They were subtle, almost flat and did not lift or flap as he spoke. Just for underwater breathing?
Ladre turned back, catching my blatant examination.
“I can see that you are not Spurns.” Clear lenses flicked over his eyes as he spoke. “But your arrival coincides at a time of great unease; we’ve had thefts off our Sacred Isle. This is why we have treated you as criminals; you were discovered here right after this event.”
No ‘innocent until proven guilty’ on Spurn; though they hadn’t just killed us, so maybe that was a little unfair. I also wondered why there was no real surprise that we just happened to saunter onto Spurn from First World. If ‘aliens’ had strolled on to Earth from another planet, I was pretty sure the leaders would have a few questions. Were we not their first ‘alien’ visitors?
“They cannot be allowed to roam free on Spurn, doing this adventuring.” The emerald-haired woman stepped forward, her movements awkward but controlled. “They cannot traverse the waters. They are unknown, and that is dangerous. We should just kill them now and save the future trouble.”
I was distracted by Brace, whose entire body had tensed. The muscles in his chiseled jaw started to twitch. Tick ... tick ... tick. He was not a fan of this woman. And here I was, finding her so delightful. His sooty fringe of black lashes lowered briefly as he fought for control. I placed a hand on his arm to calm him before he blew them all up or whatever he was planning. I still didn’t know exactly what his First-World powers entailed.