by Jaymin Eve
I shook my head. “Don’t antagonize the angry Walker. If she decides to wrestle you’re going to end up with more than a black eye.”
Colton laughed out loud. “These two are fantastic,” he said to Brace.
“Do they always say whatever they are thinking?” Magenta’s pouty lips were pursed. “Because that will get annoying fast.”
“Oh no,” Lucy held one hand over her heart, “however will I live with the shame of being annoying to a pretentious Walker.”
Colton laughed again, doubling over a little. His sister slapped his arm hard. Everyone in the room was distracted then by Jen announcing that lunch was ready in the dining room.
“I might take these Walkers into my study. I want to go over their list and work out some of the logistics of this gathering,” Josian said.
Lallielle nodded. “I’ll have them send the food in to you.”
“Do you want us girls in there too?” I was annoyed at being excluded again, especially when the half-Walkers were apparently so vital to the success of this venture.
Josian winked at me. “Don’t worry. We aren’t discussing anything important, just figuring out the fine details. Like what to do about Tatiana of Laos and Nos of Whar.” The Walkers all groaned. “They have this lifelong feud. Their clans are always fighting. We’ll put them on opposite sides of the field.”
“And after Jedi of Gai slept with Nos’s sister, they’re also on the outs,” Magenta gossiped.
“This is going to get very messy,” Brace said. “And that’s if Que doesn’t decide to just show up.”
Magenta and Josian continued to discuss the Walker clans as they left the room. But Brace stayed by my side.
“Why aren’t you going with the others?” I asked him.
He smiled. “They don’t need me right now. Mags and Colt will fill Josian in, and I’d rather have lunch with you.”
He hadn’t let me far from his sight since the mountains.
“I just need to use the bathroom first,” I said as I ducked into the small room off the side.
Lucy and I had finally figured out the First-World toilets. It had freaked me out initially, but now I was used to the water and waiting for the blast of air to dry my butt.
I washed my hands, catching sight of myself in the mirror. I’d noticed recently that my marks seemed to be changing: they were brighter, bolder, although it was hard to tell with the constant pulsing of the red.
I walked out, my heart skipping a few beats as I eyed my mate. He was waiting for me, one leg propped up against the wall. Gods help us all from that lean.
His eyes lazily followed me. There was no urgency in his face, so I was unprepared for him to take two steps and scoop me off my feet. His lips crashed into mine. He stood there, in the middle of the room, supporting my weight with ease. I groaned as he deepened the kiss. I would never have enough of this. I couldn’t believe he was back with me, freed from the Seventine. Which only reminded me of what I’d done, and the guilt at my actions roared to mind, momentarily distracting me. Brace pulled away, his eyes roaming across my face.
“What’s wrong, Red? I lost you there for a minute.”
I laughed. “You had at least fifty-five percent of my attention.”
He leaned forward and kissed my neck. “Well, I better work a little harder,” he said as his lips trailed across the sensitive skin under my chin. “How am I doing now?”
I groaned again; I couldn’t help myself. “Maybe sixty.”
He grazed the corner of my mouth, teasing me.
“Okay, seventy.”
More teasing followed. He was driving me crazy. I arched against him.
“Eighty, ninety, one hundred,” I said breathlessly. “Definitely one hundred.”
And right then I was pretty sure we were going to be late for lunch.
Chapter 14
After lunch it was training time for the half-Walkers and even Lucy was included this time. Although it was going to be difficult to train her, her gift was rare and few knew of its secrets. Lallielle, having grown up with Francesca, was her best bet for information, and she was happy to impart everything she knew. They were currently sitting cross-legged in the grassy area close to the house. Every time I glanced across they looked to be meditating. Brace drew my attention back to the half-Walkers. It was strange having him teach us again, although Fury didn’t seem happy with his hard-ass attitude.
“You have an elemental power, Fury. You need to understand the mechanisms of fire,” Brace said after she’d thrown her book down for the second time.
He’d had Fury and Talina researching the properties of fire and water for the last hour.
“We’re Walkers. Surely the science of humans is obsolete for us?” She pushed her white hair back from her face.
“Once you understand the basic structure and properties of an element you have a much better chance of controlling and developing it. Grantham will be here soon. He spent many years researching minerals to assist his Earth abilities,” Brace said. “He’ll be able to tell you if it’s beneficial or not.”
Fury’s eyes narrowed. I recognized her angry-face but before I could stop her she burst into flames.
“Does it look as if I need any help? How could research improve on my power?”
Her voice lowered into a growl, which fazed none of the Walkers. The blondie twins actually looked fascinated, stepping dangerously close to the heat.
Fury stalked right up to Brace, an intense dislike on her face. “You speak to me like I’m nothing, but I’m powerful. I can burn cities to the ground and reduce you to ash.” The glow of power reflected across her features, distorting them.
She made a move to dive at Brace, who was standing stoically observing her emotional display. I reacted instinctively, leaping between them. But in my haste I misjudged the distance, slamming full-bodied into her intense heat and blue flames.
“Abby!” Voices screamed my name from all directions.
I closed my eyes, preparing to be burnt alive. But there was no pain. As we connected, a golden cord of power leapt from my centre and tethered itself to Fury. The moment this happened, her flames sprang higher and a gold sheen flowed through the blue. We were completely surrounded, the flames even flickering off my skin, but there was no pain, just a pleasant warmth.
We stood there like that for an eternity of moments; I could feel her power reacting to my energy, almost like I could control her. After a while I registered that we were surrounded by a circle of concerned faces. Mouths were moving, but I could hear none of the words.
Oh, my god, what’s happening? I can’t move; I can’t stop the fire.
I picked up the panicked dialogue, realizing it came from Fury. I sent thoughts in her direction.
Firstly, you’re lucky you didn’t touch Brace. If you ever threaten him again, I will end you. I started with the most important point. And I’m guessing we connected. I’m not sure why I’m not a small pile of ash, but we need to turn it off now.
More panic threaded her mind. I can’t pull the flames back; they’re outside my control.
Was I the one in command?
I sent energy along the cord tethered to Fury. Her flames responded immediately, surging to surround us in a radius of five feet. Everyone around us jumped back, except Brace, who stood worryingly close to the flames. I jabbed my arms at him to indicate he needed to back up. Thankfully Colton gripped his shoulders and, with some help from Josian, wrestled Brace out of the danger zone. I could tell by the set of his jaw that my mate wouldn’t be patient for much longer. I needed to stop this.
Instead of feeding power into the cord, I started to draw it back along the tether. Huge influxes of energy rocked through me, trying to find somewhere to rest. I guided it toward the well at my centre, which had always scared me with its depth and intensity. It sucked the energy down, as if it had been dying of thirst and this was a huge glass of water. This continued until the rope tethering us together started to fray.
It eventually disconnected, snapping back inside me, and Fury and I fell apart.
Brace had me before I even hit the ground. I wrapped my arms around him, trying to quell the shivers that were shaking me from the inside. I was coming off an energy high or something. I looked over Brace’s shoulder to Fury. She was cradled in Dune’s arms and seemed to barely have the strength to lift her head.
“What happened? What did you do to her?” Dune barked at me, his normal good nature disappearing under the stress of Fury’s limp body in his arms.
“It wasn’t Abby’s fault.” Fury’s voice was just audible. “I got overconfident with my power and paid the price.” She dropped her head down onto his shoulder, closing her eyes.
I struggled to get down, needing to go and verify she was okay. Brace set me gently on my feet. I dashed closer, but Dune held her away so I couldn’t touch her.
“I don’t know what happened,” I said, the stress raising my voice to a high pitch. “When I crashed into her some sort of golden cord shot from me and tethered itself to Fury. She couldn’t control her power and both of us were frozen in this little bubble.” I gulped. “I was in control of the flow of energy. I could increase her flames or end them. I sucked the power into myself. I didn’t know what else to do to separate us.”
Dune’s broad features softened. “Is she going to be okay?”
I turned to Josian, then to Brace, waiting for one of them to speak. They generally had answers to these weird Walker things. But all of them, even the blondie twins, looked like they were in shock. They just stared at me, their expressions full of ... fear and maybe a slight incredulity.
“Hello, Earth to Walkers.” Lucy grinned at me. “Or should it be First World to Walkers?”
“What are you all doing?” I demanded. “Someone answer Dune.”
“I’m fine,” Fury said. It was pretty unconvincing, considering she could barely lift her head. “My energy is drained, but I can already feel it starting to regenerate.”
Relief flooded me.
“So can someone tell us what Abby just did, because I’m picking up nothing?” Lucy had her hands on her hips, looking a little put out.
I laughed. “You’ve only had this ability for a few months, Luce, and for most of that you didn’t even know you had it. Someone’s getting a little too used to having foresight.”
She shrugged. “What can I say; it’s nice not to feel useless in a world full of gods and those with gifts.”
I was distracted then as four massive Walkers surrounded me. They stared down.
“What?” I blurted out, feeling a little self-conscious.
“Well, Abby, you’ve just given Mags another reason to hate you.” Colton’s tone was light-hearted, although his face remained impassive.
“How can a half be trusted with the gift of a conduit?” Magenta spat out. “How can she be the one?”
Josian’s bronze eyes twinkled as he reached out and engulfed me in a hug.
“Francesca did keep assuring me you were the key to defeating the Seventine, and I could never figure out how your power fit into everything.” His voice was soothing.
I concentrated on breathing through the strands of blood-red hair surrounding me.
“But you’re a conduit, baby girl. You are quite literally the key.” Josian set me down.
Lallielle grasped his arm, capturing his attention.
“What is a conduit?” she asked, her features frozen and body stiff.
I wondered what was bothering her.
“Don’t panic, my love.” Josian could read his wife better than anyone. “Aribella has a strong power. She can channel the gifts of other Walkers. As we just saw, she connected to Fury, and had the ability to increase or decrease her powers.”
My heart felt like it literally skipped a few beats. “So when we have all of the half-Walker girls, I’m going to be able to connect to them and increase their powers?”
Brace and Colton laughed together. I faced them, nailing each one with a glare. Brace’s eyes softened, his lips turning up as he chuckled.
“This is so much bigger than that. You’re going to be able to connect to all of them at the same time, Red, and create one super power.”
“Told you she was super Abby, but no one wanted to listen to me.” Fury’s voice was a little stronger. She was still cradled in Dune’s arms about ten feet away.
“Can I connect to anyone and suck their powers out?” Maybe I could neutralize the Seventine by myself.
“Don’t even think about it, Abigail.” Brace’s eyes were drilling a hole in my head. “The Seventine are from the origin. You cannot drain their power. Remember that they can never be undone, only contained.”
There went that brilliant plan.
“Try it with me.” Talina stepped forward, her brown eyes determined.
I shook my head hard. No way. Hell no. I’d almost broken Fury.
“I don’t know how I connected with her, and I sure as anything don’t want to be draining you to separate us.”
Talina shrugged. “You have to practice and I want to understand what just happened.”
And just like that she drew water from the nearby ocean, funneling it toward us. It formed a whirlpool around her, even though she was on dry land. I’d never seen her do that before. She now stood surrounded by hundreds of liters of ocean water.
Colton took a step forward. “These half-Walkers are kick-ass,” he said, reaching out a curious hand.
He was opening his mouth to say something else when he touched the swirling water. Without pause he was swept up in the whirlpool, sucked through it and flung far out into the ocean.
I gasped, before remembering he was a Walker. I shrugged, knowing he’d be fine. Talina waved her hand at me, telling me to move closer.
“Did she just see what happened to Colton?” I said, my feet not moving. “I think I’ll stay right here where it’s dry.”
I shrieked as Colton literally appeared out of thin air in front of me. Water dripped off his white-blond hair and he had a huge grin on his face.
“That was a whole lot of fun and my friends call me Colt.” He winked at me.
“Colt can use a form of instant transmission within the same world, so don’t be alarmed if he disappears and reappears in front of you.” Brace threw his friend a dirty look.
Colton smirked. “Just one of my many awesome powers. I just wish I could use it between the star systems. Unfortunately it’s limited within a world.”
“Definitely an awesome power.” I returned his earlier wink.
“Don’t let him suck you in with his charm.” Brace held out a hand for me but before I could take it I felt a hard shove from behind.
I flew past everyone toward Talina, smashing into her. The golden cord sprang to life, connecting to her the same way it had done with Fury. I was now inside the water, standing next to Talina. From my position I could see Brace and Colton. They looked to be yelling at Magenta. She stood there, arms crossed, unworried by the men. She must have been the one who had pushed me; no wonder I’d flown.
Interesting. Talina captured my attention. I can no longer draw from my energy. I can feel it there but it’s outside my control.
I could sense her energy flowing along the cord. I hadn’t realized when I was connected with Fury, but their power felt different. Talina’s was light and cool. Almost like a mist, it glided effortlessly. Fury’s was ... well, angry. It rushed in burning waves, pushing and forcing itself into me. Maybe their energy was indicative of their personalities or the other way around. The power created the personality.
Let’s experiment, I said to Talina. I’ll try to control the water.
I sent energy back along the cord, undirected pure energy. The whirling vortex of water surrounding us increased in both size and intensity. I sent a sharp pulse along and jets shot off in all directions. Talina’s laughter echoed in my head.
What?
Her chuckles continued. Have a look at Magenta.
I flicked my head around to clash with a pair of angry white-blue eyes. She was soaked head to foot, rivulets still running along her body. She’d been directly hit by an off-shooting geyser. Brace and Colton were standing close. Both had the slightest grins on their faces as they tried not to laugh their asses off. I could only imagine how Magenta would retaliate if they let loose their mirth. I gave her an apologetic shrug, but hey, she was the one who had thrown me into this, so she may have gotten what she deserved.
You can definitely increase the intensity, so now we have to figure out how to separate, Talina said.
Before I could respond, Fury, who was back on her own feet, moved closer to us. Talina and I watched in astonishment as flames erupted from her again.
What the hell is she doing? I asked Talina.
I have no idea, but it looks as if her energy is back.
Fury lifted her arm and before I could shake my head she reached into the water and grasped my hand. She was not swept up in the water. Instead a second golden cord flung from me and tethered to her again. The energy inside me changed again: the cool smoothness of Talina mingled with the burning intensity of Fury. And in the centre of that was my own power drawing it in and cycling it around.
Can you both hear me? Fury’s voice echoed in my mind.
Yes, I said at the same time as Talina.
The three of us were connected.
Have you noticed what’s happened? I said, finally paying attention to the visible power-show.
The flames and water had combined, creating what felt like a boiling tornado. A golden sheen shone throughout; I was starting to get the feeling gold was my color.
Once we have gathered all of the half-Walkers, we’re going to destroy the Seventine. Fury’s confidence was unwavering and I could feel it through the bond.
She liked the power, maybe a little too much. Which might end up being a problem in the future.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. They’re an original power. They might know a few things we don’t, Talina said, always the voice of reason.
Exactly, I added. Like how the hell do I separate the three of us without draining you both?