by Jaymin Eve
“It’s Apollo.” Josian sounded both astonished and delighted. “He’s often in the dragon-lizard variety. Seems he chose a water version this time to complement Talina.”
“Apollo,” Talina breathed. “Perfect.”
It took no time at all for the water dragon to cross the expanse of lake. As the land beneath him tapered up to shallow ground, more of his body emerged from the water. On either side of the fins, at the join between his neck and powerful front legs, he had small wings. These translucent appendages were definitely not for flying; they were far too delicate. They looked like they’d work as fins, to offer gliding assistance in the water.
The body was long, lizard-like, with fins all the way to his spiked tail. He was in shades of silver, blue, and emerald green. Hues of the ocean and strangely in tune with Talina. Stunning and deadly.
I resisted the urge to step back when he placed his large, clawed front feet onto dry land.
He had an energy similar to Lina and Cerberus’, but different somehow. Sort of a little more alien or reptile-like. There was no hesitation as the colossal creature pulled himself from the water. He was downwind from where we stood, and started to head straight for us. Or, more specifically, Talina. The Spurn half-Walker also moved, as if she unable to stand still a moment longer. She met Apollo mid-way.
They stared at each other for a few brief moments, and then she reached out and, in a manner similar to Delane’s, placed her hands on his long, broad, scaled snout. I knew she had said he’d touched her in the water, but this must have been their first proper contact.
Energy flared between them. Talina’s emerald hair flew around her head in a graceful arc, before coming back to rest against her back. I wondered in some ways why Cerberus and I had not had such a dramatic connection. Don’t get me wrong: I’d felt the bond form, but there had been no crazy energy show. Maybe it had something to do with being in pixie land. Power had definitely behaved strangely in that little prison dimension.
Once the bond was sealed, Talina and Apollo turned to make their way to us. The water dragon was shrinking as he moved, becoming less dinosaur and more horse-size. Around the same size as my hellhound.
And speaking of, Cerberus took off in a graceful gallop, both heads lolling around. He circled Apollo a few times, before pausing near the water dragon’s head. Their snouts came close, and they appeared to be greeting each other. I felt a deep and strong emotion to see the sacred animals interacting with each other. There was something more there, something special that bonded them.
The same as with the half-Walker girls.
Chapter 9
Sapha was fascinated by Apollo, more so than she’d been with the other two animals. I think seeing the bond form had awoken something inside her. A need she worked hard to conceal.
“So, I will get my own animal? If I stay with you,” she asked as she stared and stared some more at the scaled creature.
He was as nimble on land as he’d been in the water. His large claw-tipped feet were wide and evenly balanced.
“Yes,” Jedi answered her. He seemed to have taken her under his wing. “They’ll come soon. I expect the next four are on their way right now.”
White hair burst into our line of sight. It was Fury, and she was dragging a very reluctant Walker behind her. Her father. She must have heard Jedi’s last statement.
“Oh, my god, I cannot wait until I get my animal,” she said. “It’s going to be something ferocious, like a dragoona or a griffin.”
The girls and I had gone through many of the mythical creatures I knew from Earth. We had guessed which of them might end up being the actual sacred animals.
Lukalien’s already grim features fell even more. “Don’t get your hopes too high. Sometimes what we think is the best thing is sometimes the worst. The universe gives us what we need, not necessarily what we want.”
Fury rolled her eyes at me. “He’s full of philosophical crap like that. I’m actually not sure he is my sire after all.”
Her father didn’t look offended. If anything, his daughter seemed to amuse him. Oh, well, if anyone was to get him out of his shell, it would be Fury.
“You ready to go to Crais, Supes?” Fury turned to me. “I’m not sure I can be away from Dune for too much longer. I’m starting to get all cry-me-a-river on the inside.”
I couldn’t contain my chuckle. But I felt her pain. I was all cry-me-a-freaking-ocean on my inside.
“I just want to check on Lucy,” I said. “I’ll meet you back here in twenty minutes.”
I knew my pixie friend was off trying to discover her faerie side, but I missed her and I wanted to make sure she was okay.
Fury nodded. “Yeah, I saw her heading into faerie land.” She confirmed my thoughts. “I’ll wait here and see if my animal shows up in the next little bit.” She started to look around expectantly.
“I’ll stay here also,” Sapha said. “I would like to get to know the other females.” She was edging closer to Jedi. “And I would like to learn about my Walker clan from the princeps.”
Those two had bonded awfully fast, considering she was as jumpy as hell.
Jedi’s grin was hard to miss. “It’s my honor to help you understand the Walker world.” His tone was reassuring. He flicked his eyes from Sapha to me. “After we’re finished here, I’ll be back in the library.”
I narrowed my eyes on him for a moment before turning to Sapha. “Just know there’s no point in running. You’ve no idea where to go, and I can find you with our connection.” It didn’t hurt to remind her of these facts.
She sighed. “I won’t lie, I’m a little nervous still. And I need to go back to Dronish; I need to kill my mother. But for now, I know that I have little choice, so we must learn to trust each other.”
I angled my head to the side as I watched her expression morph from sad to fearful to thoughtful, and even an iota of contentment. Her expressions weren’t the only things to morph either; her face also wheeled through a range of angular shapes and colors. I don’t even think she realized that she did that. Transitioning through slightly different versions of herself.
I graced her with a smile. “I can agree to some of that. Trust must be earned. Neither of us should be expected to instantly have it.”
Fury interrupted then. “I don’t trust many people,” she declared. “But Supes has a way of worming under your skin. Don’t be surprised if you start thinking of her as the sister you never had.”
Ah, the Crais half was always such a sweet-talker. I gave her a hug before I turned and walked away, leaving the dazzled Talina with her Apollo, and the equally dazzled Jedi with his new little half-Walker. Seemed ‘dazzled’ was the word of the day. Cerberus also decided to stay behind. If I had to guess, he was in the middle of an intense discussion with Apollo.
Josian fell into step with me.
“How are you doing, Dad?” I asked him again, with more seriousness to my tone this time.
He dropped some of the jovial act he’d been projecting. “I’m angry with myself and I miss your mother. Other than that, I’m fine, baby girl. I’ve been through worse things in my long life, and I still have all of my family alive and safe. As I said before, I’ll never complain if that’s the case.”
“Go find Mom.” I stopped under the bannered entrance to Doreen. “Never give up; never stop trying until she understands. She’s hurt and feels partly responsible for not knowing what was going on.”
Josian grinned then, showcasing his unblemished teeth. “Oh, baby girl, you have no idea. I’m just giving her a little breathing room for the moment, but pretty soon she’s not going to know what’s hit her. My determination to win back her love and trust … well, let’s say an eternity could pass and I would not cease my efforts.”
I stood on tiptoes and he ducked his head so I could land a kiss on his cheek. “That’s the father I know and love. Good luck, I’m off to find a little pixie.”
“I should be wishing you luck then,” he m
uttered.
I wrinkled my nose at him before turning to head across the field, away from the library area and toward the fey zone. Despite their protests, all of the fey were in the same general area, although they had separate zones, and it seemed the woodland sprites had drawn the short straw and were the neutral ground between the pixies and the faeries.
Refis was out the front of the pixie area as I strolled past. He inclined his head. I paused for a moment, noticing he was whittling something with his trusty little dagger. Some sort of figurine was emerging from the piece of wood.
“Good day, Lady Aribella.” His bland, generic voice still kind of surprised me. But I was getting used to it.
The newfound respect was a little harder to accept, though. He’d been so disdainful of me during our first few meetings, but since I was blood-bonded to his sister, he seemed to have elevated my position from that of lowly Walker.
“Hi, Refis, what’s happening?” I inclined my head to the right, trying to see his carving better. “What you whittling?”
He held out the small figurine and from my new angle the visage was familiar.
“Malisna.” I bobbed my head a few times. “That’s a pretty great likeness.”
He lowered those multi-colored rainbow eyes. “She’s a little down again. Lucy has been speaking with … the faerie.” His voice dropped, his anger seeping through. “I don’t want her to fall back into a depression … I don’t think I could survive that again.”
I wanted to comfort him. Malisna was the only mother he’d known and she had pretty much ignored him for twenty years after Lucy, her child, had been stolen from her and dumped on Earth. It had damaged something inside him, you could see from the pain in his eyes all the way down to the break in his heart. It must be his worst nightmare to think that might happen again.
“Lucy’s just curious.” I tried to inflect my voice toward sympathetic, but I wasn’t sure I had achieved it. “She won’t choose sides, but this doesn’t mean she doesn’t love Malisna. Luce and I spent most of our lives wishing for our mothers. Trust me, we won’t be giving them up now.”
By the time I left, Refis’ mood seemed to have lifted from drown-himself-in-the-bath to watch-sappy-movies-and-cry. Throw in a bit of chocolate and he’d have a right old pity-party. Poor little pixie. Guess I hadn’t been very convincing.
I continued across the grassed field, noticing that the king of the sprites was at the front of his area. I wanted to stop and quiz the handsome and lithe leader, mostly about his feelings for Malisna. But I knew neither of the monarchs would appreciate my interference, so instead I gave him a wave and continued on my journey.
The faerie banner was the strangest of all that I’d passed. Words written in bizarre foreign text and symbols. Colors that started at a dark green and shimmered along to end in a deep rich maroon. The transitioning seemed to be magical in nature; the colors were not solid but transient. Moving at will.
Faeries were eerie creatures.
I stepped across the threshold and immediately an energy encased me, taking hold and freezing me to the spot. Of course, I was stupid to think they would have no magical security or protection. The Walker areas even had alerts in place in case those from different clans crossed their territory threshold.
But just because I wasn’t surprised by the security didn’t mean I appreciated being held immobile. In fact my claustrophobia, which only spiked on occasions now, started to press in on me. Just tiny little trickles of unease, along with the need to wiggle and scream like a moron until freed. I was strong enough to control the panic. Just.
A few faeries emerged from whatever rock they’d been hiding under, moving in to form a circle around me. Their expressions were unchanging. They watched with little to no obvious curiosity.
My anger tipped over. Screw this, I was not powerless and I would not be made to feel as if I was.
I drew on my endless pit of energy, gathering it up into a large wave of power. With a deep breath I sent my wave of energy outwards, in one single motion of destructive light. It whooshed away, and every being in close proximity was smacked to the ground. I’d seen my father, and Brace, perform this nifty little trick before, but never thought it would be me on the end of an energy strong enough to knock others to the ground.
And yet, I was still trapped.
I was missing something here.
Power wasn’t the key to freeing myself; it had to be something more. I ceased the expulsion of energy, slowing the trickle until it stopped altogether.
At this point the scattered fairies started to pull themselves up. Their previously blank expressions now ranged from fearful to full-blown pissed-off.
I was happy to note that despite my little power show, I wasn’t feeling depleted. Which was a nice bonus. From all the practicing with the girls, I was stronger. I continued wiggling, trying to loosen the faerie-magic hold on me. It was frustrating. I had no more than half an inch to move within this spell. I expanded my senses, sending them from my body, to try to see what held me.
It was an energy cage.
A crisscrossing of power coated my body. I followed the lines as they intersected. They were long, with lots of intricate twists and turns, but finally I found a tiny little loose end. I focused my power on that section and, treating it like a tether, managed to connect my golden cord. The two ends intertwined, and suddenly I could feel every part of the foreign energy that was making up this cage. It was cold, metallic. Very different to the strong heat and earthiness of Walker power.
Without thought I sucked the power into me, filling up my well. The foreign coldness did not want to mix with my Walker power. Instead, as more of it trickled into my center, it formed its own little bubble inside me. A bubble that attached to the wall of the well.
It was a strange sensation, almost as if my energy area had turned into a filing cabinet, and the faerie magic was sitting in its own little indexed space. I knew I could grab onto it again if I needed to, but for now it was stored in its spot. I fell to the ground as the cage disappeared. I was free.
I lay face-down for a moment, trying to figure out what had just happened. That was freaking weird. Could I gather other energies and keep them stored inside for future need? Was this what I needed to do with the other original powers? Store them. But how was I supposed to find these other powers?
My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of approach. Lifting my head, I locked eyes with my favorite blond pixie.
“Abbs!” Lucy was fluttering her wings rapidly as she came toward me. Followed closely by Colton and Latinti.
I flipped over onto my back.
“Are you okay?” my best friend asked as she dropped gracefully to my side.
“Never better,” I groaned, running a hand through my loose curls.
I needed to get in the habit of braiding it again, anything to help with all the grass, leaves and sticks that seemed to lodge themselves in the red depths.
I pulled myself up to stand. The gathered group pressed in closer to me. We were drawing a little too much attention, but a few hard looks from their prince had them backing up again. I was still fascinated by their varied appearance, and the obviously curious but guarded nature of their species.
“Apologies for the binding, Aribella, daughter of Josian and blood-bonded of my Lucy.” Latinti was all formal as he crossed his arms across his lithely muscled chest. His dark gray silk shirt strained against the movement. “We needed additional security after Malisna decided to declare war on my testicles.”
I blinked a few times in rapid succession, biting the edge of my lip to stop the broad grin that wanted to spread across. He’d said that so matter-of-factly that I’d almost wondered if I’d misheard. But no, clearly the ancient-looking man before me had a sense of humor.
“I’m starting to see the family resemblance.” I raised my brows at Latinti’s equally smartass daughter, Lucy.
Her smirk said it all. “We haven’t progressed to father-daugh
ter terms yet, but he’s growing on me slowly.”
“You should go and reassure your mother that you’re okay.” The faerie, who showed no displeasure at Lucy’s words, inclined his head. “I can feel her sorrow from here.”
I followed his line of sight across to the air space above the pixie zone. I stilled. Okay, clearly sorrow wasn’t the only emotion Malisna was experiencing. Heavy, angry dark clouds had formed in a small spot above her area. She had called energy and this storm was the result. All fey were in touch with elemental powers, and right then Malisna was unhappy – yeah, let’s go with that understatement of the year.
Colton hadn’t said much. He was doing his usual staunch arm-cross, I’m-a-badass-wolf-Walker thing that he had down. From the first moment I’d met him, when he’d wandered into the Angelisian beach house, he’d been cool, calm, and confident.
Not much had changed. Walkers were pretty unchanging with the times. Although his pixie was known to fire him up on occasion and his hair was much shorter. It used to be shoulder length, tied back in platinum locks at the nape of his neck, but now he’d gone for shorter on the sides and a little length on top falling over his masculine features. He said it was easier to manage and, strangely enough, he was less shaggy in wolf form now too.
“Did you find the half-Walker?” Colton’s words reminded me that Lucy and I had been apart longer than usual and she knew none of the happenings of the last few hours.
I quickly launched into the story of Dronish and the standoffish Sapha.
“Still sounds like a step up from Fury.” Lucy flicked her curls over her shoulder.
She seemed to have gotten used to the huge increase in hair length after coming into her pixie powers. Which reminded me of something.
“Did you unlock your faerie side?” I wasn’t too nervous to ask since she was before me looking safe and healthy.