by Jaymin Eve
The woman reached out a hand, sorrow in her expression. “Lalli. I am so sorry. Sister – please forgive me.”
I attempted to pick my jaw up off the floor. This was my aunt. Why had no one ever mentioned that to me?
Lallielle clutched the outstretched hand. “Why did you leave then, Frannie? I needed you. Aribella needed you. I thought you were dead.” Her voice shook. “I never even told Aribella that you were her aunt. I believed it to be easier since she was never going to meet you.”
Lallielle and I were going to have words soon about this protecting me for my own good thing. It was annoying.
Pulling her arm free, Francesca crossed the room and sank into a chair. She looked exhausted.
“I’ve traveled non-stop for two days to reach you at this moment, Lalli. Just give me a chance to explain.”
Taking a calm breath, Lallielle sat next to her.
“I know how angry and hurt you are. I just need you to wait for the end of my story before you berate and question me.”
I found it disturbing to try to track eyes without color, iris or pigmentation. Pure white. As I had that thought, she faced me. I decided it was safe to stare somewhere in the middle of her face.
“Aribella. I knew this would be the moment we met officially. How I wished things would be different for us all.” Sighing, she tugged nervously on the long strands of free hair. “From the moment I touched you as a baby, three different paths for your future opened up to me. I have spent the rest of these years hoping I made the right choice, and watching the future shift and change.”
Lallielle shook her head. “I don’t understand. You told me the poem thing. You never mentioned different outcomes.”
“Always the same, little sister: impatient. Let me tell my story. That poem appears to be technically correct, but I only gave you half the information.”
Lallielle sat straighter, emotions ready to burst forth. But she held her tongue, simply glaring at her white-haired sister.
Francesca was looking at me again. “This is about the Walkers. More importantly, the original Walkers.”
Josian walked into the room.
With his hearing and general sneakiness, he had probably been listening the entire time. For some reason the man was everywhere and knew everything. He leaned against the far wall, but didn’t interrupt.
“The worlds are dying. The negative energy from First World is moving into the ether of the six youngling planets. Which of course we already know. But I have figured out why.” She looked toward Josian. “Someone is freeing the Seventine.”
He grew even more rigid as something passed between them.
I looked around the room. “Is this the same Seventine you mentioned earlier?”
Josian shook his head. “That’s just a theory. This is pure legend at this point, Frannie.”
She glared. “You of all people should know that everything legend has a basis in truth, has an origin and a history.”
“Don’t you tell me what I shou – ”
“Two are free,” Francesca interrupted his thundering.
Josian shook his head. “That’s impossible. There are none left with the knowledge to find them.”
“Someone has figured it out,” Francesca said before turning to me. “They must be stopped. I have seen that you are important, although you cannot do it alone.”
I didn’t know what to say.
A sigh drew Francesca’s attention. She reached over to separate Lallielle’s tightly clenched fists and hold both hands.
“I have a confession to make.”
I couldn’t be sure, but the white of her eyes looked pleading.
“When you brought Aribella to me, I didn’t see her early death. I saw that she had to grow up on Earth. I couldn’t tell you the truth, Lalli, for you loved Aribella too much and would never have parted with her.”
A single tear trailed down her cheek.
“It pained my heart to hurt you, but there was so much more at stake than you even realized. It’s literally the fate of the entire universe.”
The room erupted then. Pretty much everyone started yelling at once. Except for me. I just sat there feeling bemused.
“How could you not tell me the truth, Frannie? And why did Aribella need to be on Earth? What’s this great reason you ripped our family apart?” Lallielle’s loud voice wasn’t the only one.
“How do you know of the Walkers and Seventine? These are private stories. Who have you spoken with?” Josian boomed.
“I told you, Sam. Didn’t I tell you something was happening here?” Lucy had somehow made her way downstairs to hear the last part, Samuel right behind her.
“Yes, Luce, you told me,” he replied in his typical dry manner.
She looked at me. “And let’s put a little more pressure on Abby. Save the world, Abby. Oh, no. Wait. If you’re not too busy – save the universe.”
“Aunty Frannie?” Samuel looked shocked. “I haven’t seen you since I was a child. Where have you been?”
Ignoring the loudness echoing around the room, Lallielle was now muttering in another language, something she tended to do when upset.
I leaned forward in my chair. “What else did you see?”
I don’t know why I asked but at least the room quietened again as Francesca spoke.
“I disappeared because if I didn’t go into hiding I’d have been captured and forced to reveal my visions for the future – altering everything. I foresaw my return, at this exact date and time.”
Lallielle smiled, just slightly at this. “Frannie is one of the only natural-born soothsayers. It’s among the rarest talent. Her skills have always been in demand, although she’s equally admired and feared.”
“So the hair ... eyes ... part of the package?” Lucy leaned forward in curiosity. She was now sitting on the floor with Samuel.
Lallielle nodded.
Francesca continued. “I stayed hidden, waiting, watching events unfold. But now I have returned to reveal the information that could spell the difference between survival and annihilation.” She shook her head in frustration. “I don’t see everything, just glimpses and they keep changing.”
“Why does it change?” Lucy took the words out of my mouth.
Lallielle laughed derisively. “Because free will exists. Frannie sees a path, but people change their minds, make other choices and everything shifts.”
“Yes. I saw one future for Aribella at first. But the moment Lallielle sent her away an entirely new path opened.”
Francesca and Lallielle kept speaking over each other.
“So what am I supposed to do now?” Since apparently it was outside my control anymore.
Francesca shook her head. “You need to stay here until you are eighteen. This is the enlightening of your Walker powers.”
I shook my head. But she continued anyway.
“I believe the only way is for you to find the other half-Walkers.”
“Excuse me? Half-Walkers,” Josian sneered, dislike across his features. “Aribella’s the only one.”
Francesca shook her head. “No, she’s not. There has been one woman of power on each planet to carry a half-Walker female to term.”
“So you’re telling me I need to travel to other planets, and somehow stumble across these girls?”
Francesca’s eerie smile crossed her face. “Exactly ... you catch on quickly, Aribella.”
I looked around the room in puzzlement. “And if I don’t do this, the world will end?”
She nodded again.
Excellent.
“I’ll check my schedule and get back to you.” I stood to leave the room, needing some air.
As I walked out the front, I could still hear them arguing through the open window.
“I’m going with her,” Josian said loudly.
“You cannot go, Josian. You need to start rallying your people. I see an epic battle. We already have the smaller chance. There are too many outcomes for a clear future. Bu
t we need all the Walkers.”
Lallielle sounded angry. “I just got Aribella back. She was stabbed in the chest and now you expect me to send her off alone, to strange planets.”
“No, Lalli. I see a few of her friends along for the journey.”
“You are not going without me, Abbs.” Lucy’s voice came from behind me.
She’d joined me on the front porch. I was sitting on the railing, my feet dangling, so she leaned in next to me.
Josian’s voice rose again. “I can’t even sense Aribella. How will I find her or know if she needs me?”
“The half-Walkers are cloaked to Walker powers. It’s a safeguard. You can’t sense her, but neither can any other Walkers. The only reason you’ve ever caught any of her thoughts was through close proximity and a paternal relationship.”
“She is too precious to risk in this endeavor,” Josian continued to roar. He really was like a red-maned lion at times.
Lallielle’s voice was calmer. “If Aribella wants to do this, we will let her go. She is strong. She survived Earth for years without us. Probably why I had to send her away: to make her strong enough to do this.”
There was silence for a minute.
Josian spoke again, quiet and deadly. “Know this, soothsayer, if anything happens to my Aribella, if she doesn’t return to me safe and sound, you will not need to worry about the Seventine. My rage will destroy worlds on its own.”
Sighing, I took Lucy’s hand. We walked back inside to face the angry and concerned room.
“Okay, since we’re talking the end of the worlds, I’ll find these half-Walkers.”
“I’m going with Abby, though, and no one better stop me.” Lucy glared around.
Samuel stood then. “Over my dead body. If Aribella chooses to leave, well that is her prerogative, but ... Lucy cannot be risked.” For once he was stepping away from his reserved personality.
Over his dead body? “That can be arranged, ass-hat,” I muttered.
He glared before turning back to Lucy. She simply raised her eyebrows. Samuel took a moment before reaching up to massage his temples. He pushed his dark hair back.
“I will be accompanying the girls,” he said unhappily.
I laughed out loud; Samuel glared his hatred. I shrugged. What? It was funny.
I turned to Francesca. “So where do we go first?”
Besides Earth, I had no idea about the other youngling planets.
“The day after your enlightening, you need to leave. You will head to Spurn.”
“Spurn? What’s that supposed to be?”
Samuel spoke up then. “That planet is ninety-five percent water. I have heard their inhabitants are hybrid fish.”
“Uh, Luce and I aren’t exactly strong swimmers.”
Lucy fidgeted nervously next to me.
Lallielle looked worried. “What do you mean?”
I shrugged. “We could drown in a bathtub – if it was too deep.”
“There is a section of land. It’s small, housing their materials for construction. No one resides there, but we can use that as our base,” Samuel explained stiffly. “The air content is the same as here and Earth, so we’ll be able to breathe.”
“How do you know so much?” Lucy asked him.
He shrugged. “We are taught of First World’s younglings during our years in the learning centres.”
Francesca spoke again. “For some reason you have to face Spurn first. But it should be an easy initial task. The order of planets is clear, but not the reasons for that order. The one warning I do have: don’t spend too long in the waters of Spurn. I sense an unusual darkness.”
Got to love random crazy talk from soothsayers.
“You’re seeing Aribella’s future very clearly, Frannie,” Lallielle said with suspicion.
“I’ve had almost seventeen years to piece together the facts, Lalli. Plus you know I see family better than I see others.”
Lallielle shook her head. “Sometimes I wonder why it is always my family that has to ‘save the world’.”
Francesca took her hand. “With power comes responsibility. We have always known that.”
Later that night, sleep eluded me. As I rolled over for the fiftieth time to stare at the ceiling, I contemplated how out of control my life was. Needing to escape, I hopped out of bed and stepped through my balcony doors onto the large deck off my room. As I stood at the railings, the cool clean air washed the sheen of restless sweat from my body.
My room was on the side of the house that faced the ocean. In the light of First World’s bright moon, I watched the cresting waves. I was becoming accustomed to the salty tang of the air. Although at first it had caused my curls to go haywire, after using an awesome spray from Lallielle, I had almost no frizz. It was magic in a bottle.
Yesterday I’d discovered swimming wasn’t quite as easy as I’d anticipated. I’d managed a short paddle; my slightly pink shoulders were a warm reminder.
Movement to my right caught my attention. I squinted into the darkness. There appeared to be a shadow beneath the overhanging cliffs. I watched for a few moments, but saw nothing more. I could have sworn a person was standing there, watching me. Shaking off my unease, I turned to make my way back inside.
I wasn’t surprised to see Lucy in my bed. She snuck in whenever the nightmares were bad.
“Couldn’t sleep either, Abbs?” She yawned loudly.
While the restless nights really affected her, I seemed to be able to go longer without sleep.
“Not really.” I climbed in beside her. “I enjoy listening to the waves. It’s calming.”
“Then you must be excited beyond belief that we’re heading to water-world,” she muttered, snuggling into the pillow.
No, not really.
Closing my eyes, finally tired, I drifted off.
I hadn’t dreamed of First World since we’d been at Deralick’s house. In fact, once the nightmares of killing the guard waned, my nights had been surprisingly dream-free.
But not tonight.
I was tormented with dreams of thrashing in endless water for hours, while boats filled with blank-faced people drifted past me. Shadowy figures rose from the depths, tormenting me with fear, but never fully revealing themselves.
Chapter 14
I kept my eyes closed.
“Come on, Abby. It’s not that bad. Open your eyes.”
I shook my head. “No, I’m fine. I don’t need to see.”
For the past hour Lucy had had me glued to a chair in my bedroom. She and Lallielle had been flittering around me, primping my hair, fixing my make-up.
Tonight was my birthday party. I wasn’t officially eighteen until the next day, and so far there hadn’t been any weird changes in powers or abilities. I hoped to skip all of that.
“Aribella, open your eyes.” Lallielle was smiling. Even through closed eyes I could tell.
With a sigh, my eyelashes fluttered open. Immediately, I was yanked to my feet by an excited Lucy.
Lallielle waved her hand. “Okay, I’m going to head down now. You both look stunning.”
She was worried about being late. It had taken them longer than expected to tackle me into the chair.
She was already dressed in a flowing floor-length green gown. She looked amazing and exotic, like a Grecian goddess in the one-shouldered dress. Blowing me a kiss, she left the room.
“Luce,” I exclaimed, seeing her for the first time. “You look gorgeous.”
At some point during my torture, she’d found time to get ready. Her wavy hair had been straightened. She was wearing a strapless blue dress which matched the color of her eyes. They looked even bluer than normal. As she moved, the chiffon lace sheath swished around her legs.
“How have you had time to get ready and help me?”
She rolled her eyes. “Making you look beautiful is not exactly a difficult thing.”
I groaned. It had certainly felt difficult.
We made it into my wardrobe. Lucy grabb
ed my dress from the hanger. I had chosen a simple black silk. Hand-tailored to fit me, it was all kinds of stunning. Stepping into the tightly fitted sheath and adjusting the bodice, I slipped the halter over my neck. For the first time I had cleavage and I was a bit proud of it. It even covered the pink scar on my chest.
Lucy zipped me up before handing me a pair of killer black heels. And killer was right. After two minutes in five-inch stilettos, I’d have broken my neck.
I shook my head. “No, Luce, we already discussed this.”
She just gave me the look, heels hooked over her hand. Sighing, I took them. I’d put them on downstairs.
“Are you going to check out our hard work before we head down?” She had no problem stomping around in her own heels.
Screwing up my nose, I shook my head. I wasn’t ready to face a mirror. I wasn’t ready to turn eighteen. I just needed everything to slow down. Glancing toward the side of my room, I could see the backpack, ready for our adventure the next day. Code name: save the world.
“No, I trust you and we’re already late.” I needed air and to wash my face. But if I did that Lucy would knock me out for sure. We left my room and headed down the hall.
“So, do you think Brace is going to be here tonight?” Most of the time I managed to avoid talking about him.
Now if I could just stop thinking about him, I’d be set. I kept reliving his expression as he broke Olden’s neck, the panic I read in his eyes as he dropped beside me.
Lucy walked smoothly, despite her own six-inch heels. “Sam mentioned that Deralick and Quarn should be here tonight.”
“He is just so different from my dream, Luce. I never thought it would be this complicated.”
She smiled knowingly. “Of course he’s different; you had a one-dimensional view of a fictional character. I know you enjoyed the mystery and even a little the pain as he was wrenched away from you each night, but this is real life. He’s flesh and blood with emotions and issues of his own. You need to take the time to get to know him.”
Her insight was a refreshing change from her usual suggestive comments.
“You’re different since your kidnapping.”
Smiling, her eyes twinkled. “It’s not just the time on Earth. It’s Sam.”