by Jaymin Eve
She slipped through. There wasn’t anyone close by; she could detect life-force pretty easily, except on those who were close to death. Wandering toward the town center, her eyes flicked left and right, waiting to sense the presence of the town’s people. Arotia was not a spread-out city. To conserve energy, all the inhabitants lived together in large buildings. Each dwelling had layers, one on top of the other; literally thousands inhabited each of the stacked-on structures.
Staying close to the edges of the buildings, hidden by the shadows under the overhanging eaves, Sapha crept toward the front gate. She ground to a halt about a hundred yards out. She couldn’t move any closer. It looked as if the entire population of Arotia was surrounding the gates. Kan and his men still sat in the watchtower. No one moved or spoke.
What the hell is going on here?
It was hard to get closer without running into anyone, but sticking with her darkness Sapha managed to get right into a small corner of a dwelling. From there she could climb some latticework and make her way to higher ground. The first level she reached wasn’t high enough, so she continued to climb, working hard to keep her movements silent and hidden. Finally the second story allowed an uninterrupted view.
Holy mother of all energy, Sapha cursed under her breath as she blinked out into the darkness.
The crowd of foreigners outside the barriers had grown to massive proportions. They were at least as numerous as those inside Arotia, and they had moved closer to the city. Sapha couldn’t tell what was happening, but it looked as if they were preparing to enter.
Shouting broke the silence. The words of the ancient Drones’ language. Not the tongue Sapha preferred, but one she understood.
A young foreigner stepped forward. He wore a long, dark cloak like the rest of their society, his pale skin lit with red carvings which accentuated his very red eye.
“We warned you. Surrender your city and mineralines to us, or we will end you all.” He wore his energy like a cloak, and he was filled to the brim.
In fact, all the people outside the gates looked flush with strength.
“You have one more cycle of the moon.” This was his last warning before he turned and gestured to his people.
They all backed away, and then moved to their camp.
The Arotia priest turned, facing out to the thousands who waited on his words.
“Everyone into the town square now. We are bringing out the emergency crystals. Energy for everyone, so we have a chance to fight.”
Sapha gasped a few times before scurrying down the side of the building. She fumbled near the bottom, missing the last few rungs and landing on her hands and knees. The hard rock that formed the dry ground bit into her delicate skin, tearing it and spraying free the liquid which lived under her skin. She was the only Drone she knew who had this red flowing in her body. It was a real pain. Thankfully she wasn’t too hurt and managed to make it to her feet and take off for the cave. She had to stay ahead of the others and she had to either remove Marl’s tracker or get him back to the town. They were sure to turn on the trackers for this. It was definitely an emergency.
The Drones were going to war again.
Chapter 2
Abigail
The group that gathered on the grassy area before the beach was large. We were at the wedding slash mating of my best friend, Lucy, and her mate, the wolf-Walker Colton. We watched as Cerberus, a two-headed hellhound, and Lina, a massive, shiny black unicorn – her long sparkling ivory horn tipped with a deadly-looking spike – galloped along the sand toward us.
Yes, you heard me correctly: hellhound and unicorn.
As Lina stepped closer, I was stunned to see a pair of shiny black wings tucked in at her side. I hadn’t noticed them before. Unbelievable. She wasn’t just a unicorn, but some sort of hybrid. Like a Pegasus and unicorn combined.
“I’m almost afraid to ask what the other five sacred Walker animals are going to be,” I heard Lucy murmur.
She was next to me, still decked out in her stunning white gown, and tucked under the arm of her equally stunning mate. Colton’s white-blond hair was tousled. He watched the creatures approach us.
“If Cerberus is bonded to me,” I said, “does that mean each of these sacred guides will choose one of the half-Walkers?”
I tilted my head upwards and was captured by the velvety brown of my mate’s eyes.
“Yes,” Brace said. “That’s what the legends tell us.”
As the creatures approached, I felt a draw to step toward them, the same pull that had been there when I found Cerberus in pixie land. I clearly wasn’t the only one. Fury, Talina, Ria, and Delane followed me off the grassy area and onto the sand. The half-Walker girls.
My heels sunk in, but it took no effort to kick the uncomfortable death-traps free. I reached out and linked hands with Fury on the right and Talina on the left. In turn, Ria attached to Talina, and then Delane – our most recent friend from the world of Nephilius – hesitated just briefly before she took Ria’s other hand.
The five of us were linked physically, but as we stood waiting for the animals to reach us, unity, strength, and something a little more connected us at a cellular level.
“What’s her name?” I heard Delane whisper. There was a sense of reverence coating her tone. “And what sort of animal is that?” I wasn’t sure I’d ever heard such emotion from the warrior-Walker.
“On Earth we called them unicorns, but they don’t usually have wings,” I said. “So I guess she’s a pegacorn.”
“Or a unisus,” Lucy chimed in.
I laughed. “Probably just easier to stick with unicorn. And her name is Lina.”
Cerberus reached me first, and his two heads bobbed as happiness exuded from him. My hellhound had been alone for so long, and now he was reveling in the Walker love around him. Not to mention his fellow animal guides were returning.
Lina paused six feet from us. She had large eyes, a shimmery silver color. With an inclination of her head she acknowledged each of us half-Walkers. I found my own head lowering slightly in return. She was majestic; there was no other way to describe her. The energy that swirled around her was so strong I kept expecting to see visible strands.
Lina, who stood heads taller than all of us girls, trotted forward and stopped in front of Delane. The Nephilius half-Walker’s eyebrows drew together and her lips parted slightly. She pulled her hand free from Ria’s, and then with little pause lifted both hands to gently rest them against Lina’s long, horse-like nose.
Suddenly Delane’s short, silky black hair lifted in whirls around her face and the caramel of her skin darkened as energy flowed between them. Both Delane and Lina’s wings shot out from their bodies, standing many feet above their heads. We all had to jump back or we’d have been clobbered by the massive, razor-sharp appendages.
“She’s mine?” Delane choked out. “I can’t … I don’t know what to say.” She turned her head to face me. She hadn’t removed her hands from Lina. I could see the shock in her wide, dark eyes.
“They’re our guides, helping us through this war, protecting us when they can,” I said as I also freed my hands and reached forward to hug Cerberus. “We’ve been blessed, but I’m thinking we need to do some research. I’ve no idea what the sacred animals’ abilities are.”
“We can help you with that, baby girl.” I spun my head to the side and found Josian standing there.
My lips lifted in a broad smile as a flood of joy washed through me. I was so glad he had made it back before the ceremony was over. He’d had to leave in the middle of Lucy’s wedding, but I always felt better when he was close by. Something was going on with my father. I had sensed it for a while now, but still his presence was so essential in my life that I felt a little lost when his massive personality wasn’t around.
“Who’s we?” Ria asked.
Which was a good question, since he was standing there alone.
He grinned, showcasing his perfect white teeth. “The princeps of
all seven clans are due to meet later. We should have enough knowledge between us.” His red hair shifted around him in the breeze off the ocean.
I had so many things to be doing in the next twenty-four hours. I needed to go to the laluna and see if I could reform my melding bond with Brace. I had to meet with the princeps and find out about our animal guides. And I needed to get moving to the next world, Dronish, and gather the sixth half-Walker.
We were in a race against the clock. Four of the Seventine were out there and they were gathering energy and working to free the last three of their brothers.
And speaking of gathering energy, I also needed to find out what Fury had discovered on Crais. I had a terrible feeling there was something big about to go down on one of the planets. I just didn’t know which one or how to prevent it from happening.
“But I think now it’s time for a dance,” Josian said, spreading his arms wide. “Can I have the honor, baby girl?”
His words had the crowds dispersing again. They moved back to the positions they’d been in before the arrival of our second sacred animal, mingling on the dance floor and seated around the tables eating and drinking. I caught Lucy’s eye and she gave me a wink before turning to Colton. He took her into his strong arms. Brace was standing where I’d left him; his features softened as I blew him a kiss. I strode across to Josian, still barefoot, while the other girls remained gathered around the sacred animals.
A quick glance behind me confirmed that Delane still had a shell-shocked look.
I turned away to meet the bronze-eyed gaze of my father. “I’d love a dance.” I linked my arm through his. “We missed you earlier. Where did you go?”
I wasn’t good with secrets. Hated them. And he was keeping a big one from me.
He didn’t hesitate with his answer. “I had to leave to see my laluna.” The sadness on his features tugged at my heart. “They want me to bring you and Brace to them before you reform the melding bond. They have some information to release.”
I reached up and smoothed the frown lines framing his stunning eyes. “What’s wrong, Dad?”
He hesitated a moment, as if he were about to say something, but changed his mind. His eyes dulled even further. “I wish I could tell you, baby girl, but there’re some things that are outside my control.”
After Brace, Josian was the most powerful Walker I knew, and it scared me a little that my dad was so stressed out. That he was keeping secrets from me.
As we moved around the dance floor I wracked my brain trying to figure out what could be bothering him. Clearly it was something he either couldn’t tell me, or didn’t want to. Was it about the Seventine? If it was, he most surely should be clueing me in. I needed every piece of information to try to best them in this final battle.
Josian’s eyes never left my face as he gracefully swirled me around – I was as uncoordinated as always. If I wasn’t mistaken there was pleading in his bronze depths. He wanted me to figure it out. But I just couldn’t think. Maybe his laluna was a hint. He’d mentioned them without much pressure from me, but that made me think that it wasn’t about them. Except, what if it was to do with the stones and he could only tell me so much?
Were they threatening or controlling him? But that would mean they had to be in his head. I needed to talk to Brace about this. I’d avoided mentioning it to anyone besides Lucy, because I didn’t want to create any suspicion around my dad. But Brace was smart with these things, and he knew how the Walker world worked. His ideas would probably be a hell of a lot closer to the truth than mine.
Speaking of, I smiled as my mate danced past with his mom, Lasandra. She was laughing and grinning up into her son’s handsome features. The moment he turned to rest tender eyes on me, her smile dried up. Yes, she was still not a fan, and I was hoping that we didn’t need to deal with that anytime soon.
I was distracted then. A hum of foreign energy suddenly infiltrated the wedding party. It seeped across and then slammed against me with a recognizable force. I turned my head to try to pinpoint it, and I wasn’t the only one – every Walker in the vicinity was locked in on this new power.
Josian straightened, his hands falling as he let go of me. “Well, I wouldn’t have believed they’d leave their home. Your little Lucy is an important lady.” He grinned. “And this is the answer to a question you asked me long ago. You’re about to meet Lucy’s father. The moment I first saw her I sensed his energy, but considering she was from Earth, I thought it nothing more than a weird coincidence. Until Malisna explained what had happened.”
Josian was chattier than usual, probably overcompensating for all those things he couldn’t tell me. And I guessed his words meant the faeries were coming.
The large cloud of power continued moving from the gates of Angelisian toward us. The energy was strong, humming through the air and clashing with the Walker energy inside. Brace moved to stand next to me, which wasn’t a surprise; he was extra protective of me now.
“What is it, Abbs?” Lucy fluttered to my other side, her exquisite, translucent wings moving so rapidly I almost couldn’t see them. “Colt’s gone all growly, and his mind has shifted into this weird black-and-white landscape.”
I widened my eyes, a broad grin spreading across my face. “Are you telling me he thinks like a dog?”
“Wolf,” he growled at me. “I’m a bloody wolf.”
I waved him aside. Growly-wolf-Colton was such a common occurrence there was no need for worry. Although I noticed the way Brace was watching his best friend. If I’d still been able to hear his thoughts, no doubt I’d be seeing my mate’s mental images of punching Colton in the face.
Malisna, the stunning and petite pixie queen, flew over to us. “Lucy!” Her face was pale, the green more prominent than usual and her blue-and-gold eyes were wide and glassy. “Lucy, it’s your father. Promise me that you’ll go nowhere with him. He’s not to be trusted.”
Behind her was Refis, Lucy’s brother. He had his little dagger drawn; it seemed to be a knee-jerk reaction for him in stressful situations.
“Father,” Lucy repeated in a stutter. “As in faeries … freaking faeries are coming toward us.”
A warm voice washed over us. “Well, I’m not so sure about the freaking part, but faerie we are.”
Then from the shadows dozens of faeries emerged. Malisna snarled and moved to stand in front of her daughter. Colton also pulled Lucy back behind him.
I felt Brace’s hand on my arm, stopping me from moving forward. I hadn’t even realized I’d been trying to get a better look.
I stared with more than a little fascination. They were like the tall versions of pixies, with pointed ears, multi-colored eyes and delicate feline features. But despite these similarities there were many differences also.
The faeries stood over six feet, every single one. They had long sweeping hair that reached their ankles. Even on the men. And while the pixies’ skin seemed to exist in shades of green and ivory, this fey group had a plethora of colors going on. Some sported skin as black as night, as black as the Crais inhabitants, contrasting so strongly with others whose skin was so white it almost hurt to stare too closely. There were also red, yellow, purple, and many shades in between.
Their tri-colored eyes stared back at us from their alien features. They had that ancient, carved-from-stone look that was a trademark of Walkers. Unlike the pixies with their leafy covers, they were dressed in regular clothes, like that of First Worlders.
A male stepped forward. He wore an understated but heavily adorned crown of jewels. It held back his long waves of blond hair. His clothing was all black, a silky open-collared shirt and slacks. And yes, his power had that distinct feel of Lucy’s. Ten to one this was her father.
The pixie queen confirmed my thoughts. “What are you doing here, Latinti?” Her words were low and bitingly cruel.
I almost winced as she lashed out with her power-laced question.
“I’m here for my daughter’s mating ceremony. I’m her fa
ther, after all.” His voice was low, rich, and with just a hint of laughter behind each word.
“You lost all rights to Lucy the moment you stole her from me.” Malisna’s bi-colored hair was starting to lift as her power increased. “That you dare show your face here tells me that you have learned nothing from these very long years. You have suffered nothing that I have. You must suffer. You must be punished.”
Lucy escaped her guard-wolf and dived to Malisna’s side.
“Mother, please, don’t do this here.” I heard her urgent words as they fell into the pixie queen’s ear. “He can’t take me from you again; I’m no longer helpless. He’ll soon see that a reunion between us is a rocky and difficult road for him to walk.”
While she was talking down her pissed-off mother, I continued to watch Latinti. From the moment his blue-, gold- and black-flecked eyes had found Lucy, everything in his demeanor changed. Gone was the cocky arrogance and half-smartass expression. He lowered his face, but I still saw the sorrow and fear that stretched his features.
My head snapped to the side at the sound of a low growl. It was Colton.
He stepped closer to the faerie. “You watched Lucy from the window the other day. Your scent is different, but I recognize it … you’ve only masked the top layer.”
Shit. Well, if anyone would know it was the wolf-Walker; he had senses like no other.
Latinti nodded his head once. “Yes, it was me. I heard the pixies were free. I knew that … Lucy had returned.”
He hesitated over her name. Something told me that he had known her as something else. Maybe the name Malisna had called her, or maybe something different.
“Why are you really here?” Lucy finally faced the man who had stolen her and dumped her on Earth. She didn’t seem upset. Her doll-like features were relaxed, eyes calm.