Nephilius - A Walker Saga Book 5

by Jaymin Eve

  The white swirling mists slowly changed to gray and then black tendrils as they neared the junction that would take them across to Stormhaven. Delane’s advanced hearing picked up the screeching howls; she had her weapons unsheathed and in her hands before they landed.

  The air was clear even on the ground here, and littering the land were large, unnaturally formed cloud structures. The shadow beasts used these to their advantage, lying in wait for the unsuspecting Angelica.

  “You must hurry, Delane. We cannot linger here for long.” Galern also held his weapons, a set of spiked-ended clubs. He was swinging them around in random arcs, keeping his reflexes honed for a sudden attack.

  “Yes, the same energy is here now too. Stronger than it ever was.” Delane started to run, her strides long.

  She could move across the land fast enough to be a blur to the casual observer. Galern took to the air above her. Delane was following the pull and again it led her to one of the cloud edges, the abyss falling away below.

  Peering down, Delane could see nothing, just the black clouds fading out to the white mists, which was all that was visible in the gaps between the ten lands. The abysses separating the lands were large, about a mile across, and as far as anyone knew, endless miles down. Delane would be liar if she said she’d never thought of flying down there. But something held her back.

  A soft thud indicated that Galern was beside her again.

  “It’s from the abyss again,” she huffed. “If these foreigners do not solve our problem, I might have to go down there.”

  “Lane!” he gasped. “That’s suicide.”

  “It could mean death to our entire world if we don’t free the souls. What choice do I have?”

  A noise had them both spinning around.

  Coming at them from all sides were shadow beasts. They shimmered in shades of black, gray and white. Some of them were small, others huge, and there were at least ten in total. That in itself was unusual; Delane had never known them to hunt in packs.

  “Want to try our luck?” She grinned at Galern, who shook his head as they both took to the air, expertly sheathing their unused weapons in the first few flaps.

  Luckily no shadow beast could fly. The prowling, snarling creatures let out shrieks as their prey moved out of reach. Blasts of heat followed them as fire spewed from the larger ones, but the Angelica were too fast in the air.

  They powered along in silence, Delane wracking her brain to figure out what could be causing the problem on the Isle of Souls and most probably the existence of the shadow beasts. It was the same energy, and it was not natural.

  They arrived back on the tournament lands just in time for long-sword training. Delane left Galern at the mist-dwelling. He would let the black council members know about their findings. She strode across to the center of the field. With her energy she manifested a broad sword from the mists. It took a few moments for it to solidify and turn a steel gray.

  “Ready to fight?” Jesile stood with a few of the purple flock, her half-grin shooting toward Delane, her spiky orange hair standing up around her delicate features.

  Delane swung her sword a few times. “I was born ready. Let’s rumble.”

  She pushed thoughts of the Isle of Souls, Stormhaven and the mysterious Walkers from her mind. It was time to battle. She let a grin cross her face as the other flocks stepped up. This was going to be an all-in brawl. The five colors were preparing for the tournament and they weren’t going to be taking it easy on anyone.

  This was going to be painful, for everyone but Delane.

  Chapter 2

  Abigail

  All I could taste and smell was the briny, damp sand. For the tenth time in as many minutes, I found myself face down on the beach. I was getting my ass kicked in the worst kind of way; there was no doubt any longer: my fight training had turned into fight torture.

  “You going to rest there all day?”

  Josian, my personal torturer and father, was standing over me. His massive seven-foot frame blocked the sunlight; we were in front of our house in Angelisian. This was day eight of my training for the tournament on Nephilius, the next planet I was heading to. It was time to find the fifth half-Walker.

  Grantham had sussed out the warrior planet. He assured me that the best chance of finding the female was to enter their annual tournament. Apparently, strangers were not very welcome on Nephilius, so I only had this one opportunity. But it was starting to look like we needed a new plan.

  “I give up,” I said, rolling over onto my back, my hands lifting to brush free the sand that had accumulated on my face and hair.

  Exhaustion wracked me as I stared up into the indigo of the sky. It was a perfect day, not one cloud marring my view. I really shouldn’t feel so old and tired. I was only eighteen and not to mention a Walker. Well, a half-Walker anyway, but still powerful enough to be one of the seven females who might be able to save the worlds from the Seventine. But ever since I’d broken my bond with Brace – damn, it had been almost two weeks ago now – I’d describe my condition as weary. I kept blaming it on the fact that my heart hurt, breathing hurt, speaking hurt, and just generally existing without my soul mate hurt.

  “I thought breaking the melding bond was supposed to increase my strength,” I said without inflection, still staring up at the sky. “Lucy’s vision isn’t really working out the way I thought it would.”

  Josian dropped down beside me, knocking the breath out of me as his huge frame collided with my side. “It will take time for you to adjust to this loss. And you’ll never feel right without Brace. Hopefully, though, functioning will get a little easier.”

  Josian and Lucy were the only ones I could talk to about this. No one else even remembered that I’d had a mate. Thanks to my father’s lalunas, the only beings powerful enough to break an ancient melding bond. And to make matters worse I had no idea what I was going to owe them; they worked on favor for favor. I wasn’t really looking forward to finding out what they wanted; the crazy little creatures weren’t exactly known for sane, rational conversations.

  I wiggled against the sharp muscle aches running along my back. “At this rate I’m not going to be much use in the tournament. We need a backup plan.” I voiced what we were both thinking.

  Nephilius was a warrior planet and I was starting to see that no amount of training was going to get me to a competitive level. Especially if I couldn’t use my energy.

  “I’ll have to find someone else to compete,” Josian said. “We need a legitimate reason why you’re on their world. They don’t like strangers just stopping by.”

  A familiarly shaped shadow crossed over Josian and me.

  “What about Colt?”

  I tilted my head backwards to see Lucy standing above us. She looked lovely, her blond hair gently curled and falling around her doll-like features. Her big blue eyes were sparkling with happiness, and I knew this was about Colton. The wolf-shifting Walker was her mate, and they’d just recently done the big love declaration.

  “He’s as warrior as we’ll get, and since he’s pretty determined to follow me around, it’s the perfect setup.”

  “Doesn’t he have obligations? What about Brace?” I pulled myself up to sit and face her.

  “He’s busy being Princeps. I’m sure he can spare Colt for long enough to kick some Nephilius butt.” Lucy pushed her hair behind her ears. There was a slight breeze coming off the ocean that day. “How long is it until the tournament starts?” Lucy turned to face Josian.

  He got to his feet. “It commences in two First World weeks. Why’s that?”

  “I had a vision.”

  She muttered my least favorite words. Her damn soothsayer powers were more trouble than they were worth.

  “About my real family; here on First World.”

  Well, that shouldn’t be too bad.

  “I know where the pixies are hiding and I want to find them.”

  I jumped to my feet. My hand moved without thought to my chest. The
ache there felt so permanent I found myself massaging the pain, as if I could somehow relieve it that way.

  “The pixies are ancient, powerful, and they’ve made a point to disappear. Do you think it’s a good idea to search them out?” Josian asked, his bronze eyes shifting colors like a kaleidoscope.

  “I need to understand my powers.” Lucy drew her fine eyebrows together. “Frannie has confirmed that I’m not a traditional soothsayer, which basically means she has no idea how to help me control the visions. I’m not even sure if everything I see is real. Sometimes it feels as if something else is in my head. The pixies are my best bet.”

  “Not to mention you can, on occasion, float,” I added.

  She snorted. “Yes, there’s also that. I’d like to know I’m not going to just start floating around.”

  “Well, if you can get Colt to agree to fight, then there’s no reason for my torture …” I caught a grin from Josian. “I mean training, and I’ll be more than free to do some pixie hunting.” I stretched my back as the last of the sharp pains from my father’s beating started to heal. Seemed to be taking longer than usual. Or he’d been really thorough in that last round.

  “Colt has just informed me that he’s on his way right now,” Lucy said.

  I couldn’t stop the curving of my lips as a smile stretched my face. It had been too long between real smiles. “What do you mean: he informed you?”

  Lucy wrinkled her nose as she let out a snort. “Since we haven’t performed the Walker mating ceremony the only way we can communicate is when Colt projects his voice into my head. I can’t respond, so he loves giving me these bossy little orders.” Her voice lowered to gritty annoyance. “He wouldn’t laugh so much if he actually heard some of my replies.”

  A peal of laughter fled my lips; I had no problem imagining the colorful responses. “How is it that he can project into your mind? And you can send those memories into mine?” I realized in my recent depression and training I’d neglected to spend much time the last few weeks talking with Lucy. The only reason she hadn’t kicked my butt for this, is that she’d been busy herself.

  The blue of her eyes darkened as she stared out across the expanse of ocean around us. “I don’t know, Abbs, I have zero understanding of these powers. Which is damn frustrating. That’s why I have to find the pixies.”

  “They must have great skills to cloak themselves,” Josian said, body shifting forward, eyes alight. “I wonder how they’ve achieved this? How have they disappeared for so long?” He raised his eyebrows at Lucy. “Do you have any idea where to start looking?”

  She nodded, the sunlight reflecting off the shades of blond in her curls. “It took a little research. I had to contact Lucas and go through information on the different lands of First World, but finally I think I’ve found the place.”

  So that’s what Lucy had been doing while I trained. I had wondered what she’d been doing at the castle, but she said she was just bored and wanted to visit with Lucas, First World’s Emperor, and our friend. I did know that her extracurricular activities had not pleased her wolfy mate, though.

  “There’s a dark forest in the Lans province. According to Lucas’ sources, no one ventures into its depth and, if they do, they never return. The outer region looks very much like my vision. A land untouched. And Quarn said he believed that forest was the last place pixies had been seen.”

  Anticipation trickled into my body. I was looking for a distraction, and this sounded perfect. “If you can project an image, I can trace us close to the spot.” I brushed the last of the grass off my sweats. “I’ll just get changed and be right back.”

  Lucy hugged me as I moved past her. “You’re doing great, Abbs, so much stronger than I could be.”

  I let out the breath that was caught in my throat. It whistled through my nose in a huff. “I have no choice; it’s just life. Sometimes it’s good and other times it sucks.”

  “Isn’t that the truth,” Lucy said, her gaze drawn across to the expanse of ocean. “But in the end, no matter what happens, this is still better than our life in New York.”

  Her words added a little perspective to the darkness surrounding my soul. She was right. I’d never had so much light in my world since we escaped the drudgery of our life on Earth, with the gangers and the compound. I’d never known love then, and I’d never felt the touch of someone’s soul on my own. I had all of those memories now; despite the far too short time I’d had with Brace. But I was determined that we would be together again and it was this thought that got me through the long, aching days.

  I made my way into the house, up the stairs and entered my room. I didn’t see anyone on the way. My brother Samuel had taken off after the confrontation with Lucy. No one else seemed worried, but I didn’t trust him. He popped in and out at will, but it didn’t seem as if anyone was keeping an eye on him anymore.

  Lallielle and Francesca were out in the town running their little shops. The people of Angelisian were much more social at the moment. Ever since we’d released all the trapped First Worlders from the room of horrors in the dark mountain, there were people in the streets, markets had started up again – once a week – where Angelisians could barter and exchange goods.

  It was almost as if life had returned to normal. Except of course the Seventine were still out there somewhere, working toward the release of the final three.

  Our only hope was for me to find the half-Walker females.

  If I managed that before the release of the last Seventine, we had a shot to use our energy to bind the holes in their prison. After that we could just wait them out. They only had a few more months before they were sucked back into their prison. But if all seven managed to be released before we bound the prison, we would have to fight them – they would have their full strength – and overpower them to re-imprison them.

  Did I know how we were supposed to achieve this? No idea at all, but I hoped something would be discovered soon.

  Josian had all the Walkers working on it. The Red Doreens were no longer at our house on guard duty. Instead they were off trying to gather information. And the princeps, including Brace, were having regular meetings. He hadn’t missed one, and although I tried to avoid the house while he was there, I wasn’t always successful.

  For some reason the six and half feet of my fierce, perfect, beautiful warrior mate was everywhere I turned. The mate who did not remember our bond or the time we had spent with each other.

  It was so strange having to pretend I didn’t know him. Before I broke the melding bond we’d been so intimately connected that it was as if we weren’t even separate people anymore.

  Sure we had our own thoughts, feelings and emotions, but everything intermingled and blended with each other.

  Pushing my painful thoughts aside, I changed into jeans and a shirt. Standard uniform for me. I added a pair of runners, not as fashionable as my boots, but easier to haul ass in. And lately it seemed no matter where we ended up, it involved lots of running. My black jacket was the last thing I threw on before leaving my huge walk-in wardrobe. I stopped in the bathroom to wash the grass from my hands and face.

  Resting both palms on the glass sink, I stared at my reflection in the large mirror. My blood-red curls, with their flecks of black, hung long down my back. Green eyes – like my mother’s – looked dull or … sad. Everything about me seemed a little dejected.

  My fingers tightened on the edge of the smooth surface. I often pissed myself off when I was alone; I couldn’t stop the weaknesses flooding through me. But I refused to fall apart in front of the others, since for the most part they didn’t even remember I’d had a mate. So in these rare moments alone it was difficult to curtail the burning hot flood of agony from rising up to char everything in my body.

  I swallowed. It sounded loud in the tiled room. The lack of moisture in my mouth made that simple task almost impossible. Straightening, I shook off the pain, shoving it back down into its small box, the one where I slammed the lid and
turned the lock. It would stay locked away until another lone moment forced the energy to build up again and burst the walls.

  Without a glance behind me, I left my room and made my way back to the cool outside. As I crossed the lime-green grass I could see that Lucy was standing there alone.

  “Where did Dad go?” I asked as I reached her side.

  “Lallielle needed his help in town. He said to call if we had any trouble with the pixies.” A chuckle escaped her. “Who’d have thought we’d ever hear a sentence like that?”

  Lucy froze then, her blue eyes lit up and the tension I’d seen on her features disappeared. Like magic. I knew what that meant: Colton was here.

  “Hey, pretty girl.” His deep tones surrounded us as he stepped out of a Walker doorway just behind us. His arms were around Lucy before I even sucked in my second ragged breath.

  It was hard to see them together. Colton was Brace’s best friend and seeing him always reminded me of my missing mate. And also the emotions that resonated between Lucy and Colton were both beautiful and painful to witness. Colton captured her mouth with his own; the kiss was brief but sweet. It was like the first kiss every time for them. I knew they hated to be apart from each other so much, but for my own sanity it did make my life a little easier.

  I wandered away, giving them a few moments for whatever whispered words they exchanged. Eventually Lucy led him to my side.

  “So Colt said he can fight on Nephilius for us, but that the only Walker guaranteed to be able to best them in any combat style is Brace.”

  Lucy spoke quickly. As if it somehow lessened the impact to deliver bad news in a rush. My first instinct was to scream ‘NOOO’, but that would probably be weird. Instead I tried for a calm, rational response.

  “Isn’t Brace busy with his new duties? I’m sure you’re more than capable, Colt,” I said, forcing up the corners of my mouth.