Crais

by Jaymin Eve

  “They’re reanimated dead, Aribella. You must cut off the head.” His voice boomed around.

  A quick glance revealed that most of us were in combat with the ‘reanimated dead’, as Josian called them.

  “Alright, dead biatch, let’s see what you got.” I grinned as it came at me again.

  Although, I had no idea how I was supposed to take off its head without a sword.

  I kicked out again. This time my boots connected solidly with the rotted face. Chunks of flesh flew, including a few bits that stuck to my shoe. Damn, I liked those boots, but they were going straight in the bin now. And the worst part was that its head didn’t even fly off. It got to its feet, only to be joined by another two of its dead friends. They spread out to come at me from all directions.

  My energy rolled inside me, demanding to be released. I skimmed from the turbulence at my centre and formed an energy ball, but instead of leaving it round, I forced its edges flatter to create a disc shape. When the original zombie came at me, I shot out my energy, aiming for the neck. It sliced through like a hot laser, the body collapsing the moment the head was separated.

  I could feel another one coming toward my back. I spun quickly, gathering energy again and relieving the second of its head. I was just congratulating myself when a heavy weight landed on my back. Before I had a chance to spin around it clamped down on my neck and bit deep. I screamed out as pain and panic flooded through me. The creature clenched its jaw, digging even deeper. I fell to my knees, zombie stories flying through my head. I knew what this bite meant and now it was too late.

  Chapter 11

  “Abby!”

  I registered that someone was calling my name. But I think I was in shock or something. I sat there, one hand clamped over the holes in my neck, the other shooting energy discs at the zombies coming closer. I was moving on instinct. I had no idea how long it would take until I turned, and I had to take out as many of these rotting a-holes as I could. I hoped when I joined the undead Josian wouldn’t hesitate to remove my head.

  “Abigail Swish, get that damn look off your face. You’re not dying. You’re a friggen Walker.” Lucy got her face close to mine.

  “You’re unconscious,” I muttered, shooting a zombie over her shoulder.

  “Don’t make me slap some sense into you.” She leaned back, hands on her hips.

  Her eyes flashed at me. What was she so annoyed about? I was the one turning into a zombie.

  I pulled my hand free, surprised to notice there was no fresh blood. I reached for my neck again.

  “Where have the bites gone?” I muttered.

  A crack rang out, and I realized Lucy had followed through on her threat. She’d just slapped my right cheek. The sting brought with it a sense of clarity.

  “Lucy. What. The. Eff?” I lurched to my feet. “Did you just slap me?”

  “You back with us, Abbs? Because we really need your help.” Her cheeks were streaked with dirt and blood, blond curls matted around her face.

  I still felt confused, but clearly I wasn’t about to turn into a zombie. A blush stole over my cheeks. It might have been stupid to have that little breakdown. Walkers probably couldn’t become any other supernatural creature. I could only blame it on too many undead books growing up.

  “What do you need?” I pulled myself together.

  “The reanimated dead are overwhelming us. You need to gather your powers and start blasting these suckers.” Lucy dragged me into the midst of the fight.

  It took hours, and an endless supply of energy discs, but the mass of zombies eventually dwindled. We were surrounded by piles of corpses, and now that they were no longer animated the rotting smell had increased. I’d had numerous bites, but they had all healed quickly enough. Lucy wasn’t quite so lucky, but Josian helped her with a little of his energy. The Walkers then used their brute strength and powers to gather the bodies into a large pile.

  Fury stepped up. With the blue flames encasing her, she sent fire balls into them.

  “They were all First Worlders, ones who have gone missing over the last few years.” Lallielle had tears streaming down her face.

  I’d noticed during the fight that she’d been both crying and savagely wielding a large sword.

  “It was as if I was killing people I knew ... friends ... even if they were already dead.” She choked on a few sobs.

  Josian gathered her close, his large hands running up and down her back.

  “Where have they been? Where did they come from now?” Talina was breathing deeply.

  She looked exhausted, her eyes narrow as she slouched against the wall.

  “Dark energy can reanimate the dead.” Josian was still holding Lallielle. “It’s a Walker ability, but not one that I’ve ever known anyone to use.”

  “So you can’t catch it from them?” I had to ask.

  Josian grinned darkly. “No, it’s not a virus. It’s energy manipulation.”

  “I can’t believe we can wake the dead,” Fury muttered, although we all heard.

  Josian shook his head. “Not even Walkers can bring the dead back to life. Death is a balance of the universe: for birth, there must be death. What happened here is a poor imitation of life. None of these people were anything but empty shells simply being manipulated by darkness.”

  “That’s why I don’t delve too deep into my energy,” I told Josian. “I can feel the heavy darkness down low.”

  “Your energy is neither dark nor light unless you choose to use it in that manner. If your intentions are good then you have nothing to worry about.” He dismissed my fears.

  “Sounds like a slippery slope to me.” I shook out my curls. “On Earth we had a saying about the road to hell being paved with good intentions. And it’s something I’ve seen happen.”

  “As long as you always question yourself, Aribella, and never just assume you are on the side of righteousness then there is little else that can be done to keep your power in check.” Lallielle had lifted her head to speak. Her eyes were ringed in red, but other than that her appearance was faultless. “Your father and I both discuss every important decision. It’s a small thing, but it’s probably stopped us making rash choices in the past.”

  And that right there was why Walkers were stronger in mated pairs.

  “We need to keep moving. There could be more of them on their way now,” one of the Walkers said as soon as Fury had finished burning the piles of dead.

  The corpses were little more than ash now.

  “Her fire is amazeballs,” Lucy muttered.

  I nodded, agreeing completely.

  “There are twelve tunnels,” Josian said. “We need to split up.”

  “No!” Lucy all but shouted. “I’m still not seeing clearly, but you cannot split us up. That’s the worst move we could make.”

  “Do you have a feeling about which tunnel we should enter then?” Josian’s said in a serious tone.

  He hadn’t dismissed her words. It showed his strength and character that he would show such respect for her untrained abilities.

  Lucy turned and strode across to the tunnels, her short legs stopping at the first dark entrance. She waited a moment before slowly moving to the next. She continued, occasionally pausing and staring down the channels, before finally she came back to us.

  “At least ten of them are dead ends. Tunnels six and eight have life in them.” She sighed. “I couldn’t pick up anything more definite than that. There’s too much interference.”

  “Well, can we split into two groups?” Josian asked.

  Lucy nodded, although she didn’t look totally convinced.

  Josian sent ten of the Reds down tunnel six. The rest of us gathered together, ready to explore number eight. As we moved, I felt a tugging sensation on the golden thread in my mind; the Bracentine was close. I released my end of the thread and its voice flooded my mind.

  Hello, sweetheart.

  I gritted my teeth, but didn’t say anything. If all went to plan I’d ha
ve my Brace back, and Bracentine would never be calling me sweetheart again.

  You’re on the right track. Continue down this artery and you will find the spiraling chasm in the centre. At the bottom of this my brother’s slumber. To free the third, all that is required of you is a drop of blood and to speak the words ‘Vectus Elitus’.

  I laughed in my head. It sounded higher than usual. I want Brace to be released before I complete the final part. And I also want your word that none of my people will be harmed while we’re in these caves.

  I had no real evidence, but one would assume that with three of them free their power would increase significantly.

  I will release him the moment my brother is freed. As I have explained, my word is held as law in this universe. I have no other option but to follow through. And I will give you all a fighting chance: thirty minutes from the moment the third is free. You must flee the caves or the three of us will combine our powers and wipe as many of you from this existence as possible.

  Shivers flooded up and down my spine. I brought my attention back to the caves for a moment, wondering if anyone had noticed my distracted behavior. No one was looking at me. Everyone was busy trying not to freak out, waiting for the next ambush. Bracentine spoke again, recapturing my attention.

  Although I don’t think I will end you, sweetheart. You, I have much bigger plans for.

  I felt it then. The laluna was back in my hand, its blue light extra bright in the darkness. It gave me the boost I needed to permanently end the conversation and detach the golden cord. The moment I was alone again, my heart started to beat rapidly. I could be mere moments from having Brace back, but was I deluded to think I wouldn’t damn us all by assisting the Seventine?

  “What are you planning, Abby?” Lucy’s words startled me.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I attempted to keep my voice steady as I slipped the laluna into my pocket. It would either be there later or not. I had no control over the powerful stone.

  “Liar.” She flicked me hard on the arm. “I’d recognize that guilty look anywhere. Either you’ve already done something bad or you’re planning to very soon.”

  I stared into the comforting face of my best friend. I wanted to tell her so badly. I needed someone to talk with, but there were too many ears here. And they all had awesome hearing.

  “I’ll tell you later,” I murmured to her, knowing she’d never give up otherwise.

  She leaned in. “Make sure you do, or I’ll be forced to torture it out of you.” Her grin looked a little evil.

  “Just because you’re an alleged soothsayer doesn’t mean you have to know everything.” I lowered my voice and smirked. “Maybe you don’t know because you’re not meant to.”

  “I have an insatiable need to know everything, even that which is not my business.” She returned my expression, hers even more devious. “And I’ll find out, mark my words.”

  History had taught me, if Lucy wanted something she always got it.

  Tunnel eight was so far uneventful. I had a suspicion that the Bracentine was keeping the dangers away from us. I could feel them lurking out there but nothing was attacking.

  “The men have had reanimated dead, scarab beetles and underground moles in the other channel,” Josian said. “Stay alert. I don’t like that so far we’ve encountered nothing. We’re being led into something big.”

  “Are they all okay?” I asked.

  The Walkers around me laughed.

  Josian nodded. “Yes, they’re fine. The numbers were small and no match for ten Walkers.”

  “There are very few things in any of the worlds that are a match for one Walker, let alone ten of them.” Lanthorne continued to chuckle, his proud features crinkled in mirth.

  “Who would win in a fight, one Walker versus two dragoonas?” Lucy grinned.

  She loved this game. On Earth we’d spend days fighting over which superhero would dominate, arguing all their strengths and weaknesses. Nerdy, I know, but without television we lacked entertainment.

  The debate started then and continued for the rest of the tunnel. Dune in particular found it hard to believe anything could defeat two dragoonas. He listed their strengths, which were impressive. They were definitely the dominant species on Crais, but still the consensus seemed to be that Walkers would squish them like bugs.

  We were still arguing a few minutes later when Josian, who was out in front, came to a halt and threw up one hand to silence everyone. I fell quiet, trying to hear. Finally I made out a tapping noise, so slight it was almost imperceptible.

  Josian started to move again, his grace and stealth resulting in almost silent steps. As we curved around a bend there was a flash of intense light which rendered Josian’s glow-ball useless.

  The end of tunnel eight was just ahead, and there was something very bright up there.

  I opened my mouth to speak but shut it just as quickly. Now was probably not the time to distract him with the questions flooding my mind. I missed having Brace in my head. It was convenient when I had to run thoughts past someone.

  As we approached, the light was so bright that stepping out of the tunnel into the room left me blind for a few moments. I stopped, waiting for my eyes to adjust. Finally I had a clear picture of our surroundings. A swirling vortex-portal thing was in the centre of the round stone room, the light shining up from its depth. This must be what the Bracentine was talking about.

  “Stay away from there,” Lucy spluttered out, breaking our self-imposed silence. “That’s the portal to the Seventine.”

  Yep, definitely in the right spot.

  Josian grunted, his eyebrows lifting. “It should not be open in this manner, even with the freed Seventine. The gateway was sealed and hidden from those that may stumble onto it. First World is the oldest of planets and it was deemed the perfect hiding zone.”

  “It’s open because Que has disturbed the balance. It will be permanently open until they are all free or the gravitational force sucks them back in.” Lucy spoke in a firm voice. She was strangely attuned to the Seventine.

  “Where are these free Seventine and what are they doing?” Fury was leaning as far away from the light as she could.

  “They’re gathering energy, severing tethers throughout all the worlds, and then consuming that now free energy,” I explained to her.

  We’d started having this conversation the previous day, but had been interrupted by some Walker training.

  “Could that be what happened to Kilkalow?” Dune said, facing Fury, his forehead furrowed.

  “Our largest mountain, one which provided much protection for our people, disappeared thirty sun eclipses ago,” Fury explained. “None of us could understand what had happened. Many of the tribesmen perished. They left to hunt as usual and when they returned there was no Kilkalow, and no entrance back below.”

  Occurrences such as this had been happening throughout the worlds. And apparently it was only set to increase with each Seventine release. The guilt churned inside me, guilt that I might be contributing to the death and destruction on the worlds. What was I thinking?

  I couldn’t do this.

  “The Seventine target tethers which garner a lot of energy, both in size and structure, but also ones that are important to the local population. If this mountain was utilized a lot, it would have had strong energy.” Josian’s expression was guarded.

  “Can we close this doorway then?” Lallielle asked. “Since we’re now aware of the opening, surely there’s some way to close it?”

  One of the Walkers shook his head. “No, I’ve been researching this subject and it’s the combined presence of the Seventine that created the vacuum of power and sealed the prison. It was designed by the original seven.”

  “Did that reading give you any idea how we can get them into the prison? You know, except for waiting them out and it sucks them back in?” I asked.

  “I can’t find that information. I need to keep researching. The problem is that
Walkers have their scrolls and tablets scattered all around the star system. Much has been lost, or hidden away.”

  “What we need to do is call a meeting of every Walker. The combined knowledge exists somewhere; it’s just that you don’t have access to everyone’s brain,” I said as I inched my way closer to the opening.

  For some reason I was back to thinking it would be fine to let the third out. My moods were very up and down at that moment. The room fell silent and they all stared at me.

  I crinkled my eyes. “What?”

  Had they noticed my movements toward the vortex already?

  “That’s a brilliant idea, Aribella.” Josian’s smile was blinding.

  I chuckled in relief. “No need to sound so surprised. I’m full of brilliant ideas.”

  Lucy snorted. “You’re full of something, that’s for sure.”

  “It would take some time to get the word out, but I think we could organize a Walker gathering on First World. As soon as we leave here, I’ll get the Doreens to start the campaign.” Josian’s eyes were practically jumping out of his head. “We haven’t gathered in large numbers in so long, it will be like a reunion.”

  “Remember those gatherings in the beginning? Crazy times.” Lanthorne shook his head.

  The other Walkers laughed together as they reminisced about the ‘good old’ days, probably when they partied with the dinosaurs.

  “First World might not survive it.” Josian’s laughter boomed loudly around the stone room.

  The light seemed to react to the noise, the brightness more intense.

  I’d continued to inch my way closer to the opening. The brighter light was actually camouflaging my actions. When I was over the top of it, I glanced down. Waves of light shined up at me from what looked like an endless hole.

  It seemed as if part of the glow was from moonstale stones littering the side walls. There were countless numbers of them interspersed with another type of yellow rock. The prison was lined with a variety of colored stones which must be part of the protection. Without thought I reached down and unsheathed the dagger resting in the side of my boot. Clutching the handle in my sweaty hand, I released the golden cord.