by Jaymin Eve
“You stay strong, Miss Lucy,” I heard Quarn say. “You and Aribella have a special relationship and it is this strength which will make the difference in the end.”
“I love you, Ralph,” she said when she eventually pulled back.
Finally it was my turn.
I didn’t lift my eyes at first. I focused on his worn boots instead.
“Where is my brave Abigail?” he said.
My eyes flew up. He didn’t usually call me by my Earth name.
“There, that’s better.” His blue eyes drilled into me. “I have one last piece of advice for you. People will come in and out of your life, make you promises that you know in your heart are false. Trust in yourself, trust in your heart and you will never be wrong.” He leaned in close to me. “Beware the tides of Lucas.”
I pulled back to see his face better. “What does that mean?”
“There is something there. I don’t know what it is, but I just don’t want you to let your guard down with him.”
I nodded. That was something easy to promise.
“Well, my dear girl, this is farewell for now. I will see you again in another life.” He leaned down and kissed my cheeks and then my forehead.
I closed my eyes as he lingered there for a moment, breathing in the scent of Quarn. He was the first person to give me hope, the one to bring me to my life.
“I’ll see you again,” I promised him. “You and I are a team, Quarn.”
“Yes, we are.”
I turned away then, allowing him to move to Lallielle.
“Don’t say anything.” She held up her hand. “This is my fault. I should never have sent you and Hallow to Earth. I made the wrong decision. I deserve to lose you too.”
He laughed. It sounded loud and grating in the cavernous hall. “Maybe you do need me to stick around and knock some sense into you. I have never blamed you. Fate is not yours to circumvent, and your actions probably saved more lives than you know.”
“Always and forever,” Lallielle said as they touched foreheads.
“Always and forever,” he repeated back to her, and for the first time a tear trailed down his cheek.
Brace’s arms encircled me. I sank into his comfort.
“I’m sorry, baby, I’m so sorry.” He sounded sad.
I just pulled his arms tighter around me.
Nos had stepped up to Quarn now. I had to fight the urge to dash forward and rip them apart. Quarn locked eyes with me and I knew this was the last moment I would see that piercing blue. Lallielle was sobbing into Josian’s shirt front. She didn’t seem to want to look, but I couldn’t take my eyes off them.
Quarn gave me one last nod before turning away and facing forward. Nos leaned in close and with a few low words, which I couldn’t hear, energy encased Quarn. His eyes closed and I heard the breath expel from his body. I waited for it to sound again, but it didn’t.
I bit back a moan of pain, watching as Quarn’s body started to rise. Suddenly there were visible tethers coming off him, at least twenty different ones. The cords stretched out and as he rose three attached to Samuel, two to Francesca and the rest to seven of the people around him. At the same time, the thousands of other bodies around us started lowering to the ground.
Fully visible on the now empty ceiling, the mass of energy which was gathered in the center of the room shifted, and for some reason I had pull myself from Brace’s arms and move toward it. I don’t know what made me do it, but I threw out my golden cord and without pause it extended itself and attached to the pulse of energy.
I hit the ground, landing on my knees.
I’d never felt a bulk of power like this. It was a living entity. It could create and destroy and level this world to the ground.
The well inside me jumped to attention. It was happy right now and it wanted the energy. I started to draw it into me, waves and flows, masses of power. I didn’t know who I was anymore. There was nothing separating me and the energy. It took forever or seconds. I had no indication of time passing, but finally I swallowed the last bit of mist.
“Get rid of it, Red. Release that power or it will kill you.” Brace’s words finally broke through the silent bubble that had been encasing me.
And now I could feel the mass pulsing inside me. It was going to kill me; I could feel the laboring of my heart.
I had no choice.
“Protect Lucy,” I screamed.
I couldn’t hold it any longer, and released it in one large explosion.
Even though it had been floating on the ceiling before I’d tethered to it, it must have still been contained somehow. But now I’d set it free and it streamed out to connect with every person in the room.
The unconscious Walkers sprang to life, and they weren’t the only ones. The First Worlders opened their eyes. I watched in astonishment as every victim awoke, and not as reanimated beings, but as themselves.
I had my hands resting on my knees as I leaned forward and huffed in some deep breaths. Without even realizing it, or knowing what I’d done, life had been restored.
I swung my head around to where Quarn’s body had come to rest. But, unlike everyone else, he was still on the ground, his corpse colorless.
I ran to him.
“Quarn,” I yelled as I skidded on my knees next to his body. I grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly. “Wake up, please.”
I wasn’t above begging. He didn’t have to die that day.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me I could do that?” I screamed. “Why wasn’t that the first option?”
“Because that’s never been done before.” Nos was the one who answered. “No one in our history, even the originals, could have taken a mass of free energy and actually returned it to the rightful owners. Tethers cannot be restored like that, only by way of sacrifice.”
As usual I’d learnt something just moments too late. But as I had that thought Quarn coughed. I gasped as color flooded back into his features. I threw myself down on him.
“Thank you, thank you,” I kept whispering.
The room around us exploded with noise and confusion.
Everyone else, except for Brace, Colton and Lucy, moved forward to deal with the crazy bedlam of this awakening. The three stood behind me and Quarn like bodyguards. They didn’t leave our sides. Lallielle came to sit across from me and took his hand into hers.
“A hundred and forty-seven years of friendship.” Her voice was stern as she held his hand. “You’re lucky that Aribella figured out how to save everyone.”
“What happened?” His piercing blue eyes held confusion. “I don’t seem to be dead.”
I laughed. “Sorry, buddy, not on my watch.”
He pulled himself up to a sitting position. His eyes darting around as he took in the crying, screaming and thoroughly confusing chaos around us.
“Well, I am glad my sacrifice wasn’t in vain,” he muttered. “How are Samuel and Francesca?” Lallielle shrugged. “I haven’t had a chance to see them. I was more worried that my oldest friend was dead.”
“Abbs.” Lucy interrupted us. “While it’s great that you didn’t bite the dust, Ralph, we really have to go back to Regali and convince Ria to leave.”
She was right; I was running out of time for the fourth ritual.
“Promise me you won’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.” I glared at my guardian as we both stood.
He laughed. “Can’t promise that, but I can promise I’ll be here when you return.”
Everyone gathered around me. I got a big hug from an unusually pale Talina. She kind of laughed and cried as she pulled me closer.
“Thank you … thank you … thank you.” Her words were low and mumbled so it took me a few moments to figure out what she was saying.
I pulled back so I could see her face. “What are you thanking me for?”
And just as I asked I saw him.
The mass of blue hair hung in lank strands down his back, but there was no mistaking the lashless yellow eyes of
the Spurn native. Ladre.
“He was here, his energy being drained, and you gave him back his life,” Talina practically gushed.
“But how?” I said, shaking my head. “He should have dried out months ago.”
“The sleep stasis they were all in was like a vacuum. They didn’t age or grow or change. Although I’m not sure how much longer he could have lasted without water,” Brace answered.
Talina leaned in close to me again.
“Can you take us to the ocean, Abbs?”
I held out my hand to her and we sprinted to Ladre. He grabbed Talina’s free hand without hesitation.
“Hold on,” I said, before tracing them straight to our ocean house in Angelisian.
Ladre didn’t even pause. The instant he saw the water he took off. Talina stayed back for an extra few moments.
“Will you be okay?” Her warm brown eyes were sad. “I want to go with you, but Ladre needs me right now.”
I shooed her away. “I’ll be back soon, hopefully with Ria so we can perform the fourth ritual. For now, you go and enjoy your reunion.”
I was so happy for her. I’d really thought Ladre was dead so this was amazing.
She dashed into the water where her mer-man was waiting for her. No doubt they’d be gone for a while. Talina had assured me many times that there were similar krill animals in this ocean to those on Spurn, so they wouldn’t starve.
I traced back to the room of horror. They were still waiting for me. I could see Lallielle speaking to her sister. Francesca looked a little shell-shocked, her white hair straggly around her face. Samuel sat on the floor near them, but at this stage no one was close to him. I strode right up to him. As he saw me coming he got to his feet.
“Aribella, wait. I need to explain.” He held both hands up in front of him, but I didn’t care.
I punched him straight in the nose. I put every ounce of my anger and hurt into the swing and was satisfied to hear a distinct crunching sound.
“Explain away,” I said as I turned my back on him and walked away.
Josian grinned at me. Lallielle looked upset but resigned. She had been expecting that by the looks.
Lucy gave me a high five when I reached her side. “You beat me to it, plastic surgeon.”
Yep, I could add another broken nose to my tally. It was at that moment, I think, whilst holding his freely bleeding face, that Samuel realized Lucy was in the room with him.
I heard her soft gasp as he locked eyes with her. And there was something there. His eyes blazed with emotion and suddenly it looked like our theories were wrong. I don’t think Samuel had been using her at all. If that look was any indication … he loved her.
And suddenly Colton was at her side.
Oh no, the shit was going to hit the ceiling now.
Lucy wasn’t speaking. It was one of those rare occasions when she was speechless, although her cheeks were flushed.
“So we have to go back to Regali. Who’s coming this time?” I broke the weird standoff.
The low rumbles coming from Colton were getting quite distinctive.
“I’ll be there, of course.” Brace gave me a half-grin.
“Count me in,” Colton growled.
“I’m in, of course,” Lucy agreed.
“I think we might stay here again,” Fury said. “I’m still feeling the after-effects of the drug. I’m not really up to it.”
Dune nodded.
Samuel was still watching us, but thankfully for his personal health he never approached.
“Keep an eye on Samuel for me,” I asked Fury.
She knew the story so she understood my worries.
“I’m sure he’ll have a convincing excuse for Mom, and I don’t want everyone to let their guard down,” I finished.
“You got it,” she promised.
I gave Lallielle and Josian quick hugs, explaining I was leaving for Regali.
“Be careful,” Josian said, “we’ll be here cleaning this up for a while, but I can come at any time that you need me.”
Ignoring the watchful and freaky white eyes of Francesca, I grabbed Brace, Lucy and Colton, preparing to trace them to Regali. I knew I’d hear the soothsayer’s story when I got back, but right then I had more important things to deal with.
Chapter 11
Ria hadn’t seemed to mind the last time, so I just traced us straight into her home. I was hoping that we could save some time, but the tree-house seemed to be empty. I glanced out of the open window. The vines were spread out instead of falling to shield the forest. I’d grown used to the odd blue tint of the world in Regali, but strangely enough it seemed as if it the light filtering through the canopy was now purple.
That was odd.
Colton and Lucy seemed to be in the middle of a terse conversation. Brace gave me a grin over the top of their heads before crossing around them to stand at the window with me. We stood there for a few minutes in silence. But just because we were silent didn’t mean everything was. The jungle seemed extra noisy with animal calls and rustling.
“Are we okay, Red?” Brace finally spoke.
Turning from the view, I faced him. The purple lighting highlighted the dark beauty that was all Brace. Need slammed into me with a speed that literally took my breath away. I’d been so steadfastly ignoring our bond when I was angry, but now, as it roared back to life, I couldn’t stop myself from diving into his arms. And as they closed around me I could finally breathe again.
“I need to know that you don’t doubt us. I might not always have the same opinion as you, but I’ll always have your back,” he said. “You can’t shut me out like that anymore, though.”
“I was really not okay with Quarn’s decision,” I said. “And I’m not sure I accept or understand how you could agree with him, but I have to respect everyone’s right to make choices and have a differing opinion.”
“It’s not so much that I agreed with him, more along the lines that I understood his reasoning. And I believe every man has the right to make choices such as those.”
“Every man has the right? What about women?”
He paused, I’m sure to weigh up which words wouldn’t get him into more trouble.
“Women are rare, precious and absolutely essential to the survival of all creatures. They can’t die unnecessarily.” He moved closer to my ear, his breath fanning over me.
I shivered in response.
“I just don’t want anyone I love to die.” I sounded like a whiny five-year-old who wanted the happily-ever-after in the fairytale.
“I’ll do my best to keep everyone kicking –” Brace was cut off by angry voices.
“I told you it’s none of your business.”
Lucy was in full virago mode. I could see where she’d mussed her blond curls everywhere in her frustration.
I don’t know what Colton had been saying previously, but when he spoke again his voice was dead calm.
“You’re right, Lucy, just be careful. I don’t like the way he was looking at you.” He left her side and stood next to Brace.
There was no expression on his gorgeous, icy features.
Lucy looked a little shocked, eventually making her way to our side also. She threw a few confused glances in his direction, but no more was said on the matter of Samuel.
“Don’t let that asshat ruin your friendship with Colt,” I said in a low voice to Lucy.
She sighed. “He has no right to question my life. He didn’t want to be a part of it. He’s broken, or whatever crap he talks about, so he can keep his opinions to himself.”
“Standing right here and can hear exceptionally well,” Colton said, staring forward. Although the slightest grin might have crossed his lips.
“Should we go down into the jungle and look for Ria?” I peered out into the noisy rainforest.
“That would be a bad idea.”
The words sounded from behind us. We all spun around to find Ria jumping into the room from a side branch.
“I
t is the red moon tonight. The packs have shifted into their animal forms and are running through Artwon.” She stood before us, naked as the day she was born, and damn, the woman could rock some curves.
I fought the instinct to reach up and cover Brace’s eyes, but in the end I was okay with it. I wasn’t an insecure person and I knew he loved me. Melded mates didn’t have much room in a relationship for jealousy, our bond was too great. Lucy clearly didn’t feel the same way. She wiggled around and elbowed Colton in the ribs.
“Sorry about that, didn’t see you there,” she said.
“Of course not.” I laughed. “Six and half feet and two hundred pounds of man always blends into the scenery.”
“I’m sorry.” Ria laughed. It was a light sound that echoed around her space. “I didn’t stop and think that my nudity would offend. I am generally the only one to be clothed in Artwon. Naked is a standard way of life here.”
With those words she stepped behind a fern partition and within moments was back in her leathers.
“Tell me what happened with the fringe?” I moved closer. “Can you leave with me now?”
Ria shook her head. “Thanks to your Brace, the fringe have mostly been disabled and I’m no longer worried about their presence here. But I have discussed with the clans. I just do not see how I can leave Artwon. There is no one to step in as an interim ruler and the packs very easily descend into chaos.” She paused. “And there is still the issue of the other races of Regali trying to take over my territory.”
“You do understand that if you don’t help us the Seventine will be released and their plan is to destroy every world.”
She regarded me with care. “I know that you believe this. I hear truth in your words, but the future is ever shifting and changing. The spirits have confirmed that there is a universal chaos, but they cannot see the final battle yet.”
“Ria!”
Klea leapt into the doorway, her roaring words barely understandable. Unlike her usual half-woman half-lion visage, she was now a large tan lion creature with a short mane. Ria was at her side in seconds.