Nephilius - A Walker Saga Book 5

by Jaymin Eve

  I noticed then that Lucy was in fresh clothes. She had on dark-blue jeans, and a white ribbed long-sleeved shirt. The back had two little tears for her wings. And with her new shimmery green skin and hair she looked so lovely. Ethereal and earthy all at the same time. I stepped between her and Colton, hip-shoving him out of the road so I could hug her.

  “I’m so happy for you, Luce. Who would have believed both of our families were on First World?”

  She gripped me tightly, not letting me move back. “Malisna and I are very sure that we were placed together for a reason. She senses a true bond between us. A blood bond.”

  At her words I glanced down at my hand. The mark from when Lucy had cut me as a kid so we could be blood sisters wasn’t there anymore, but the moment was permanently imprinted in my mind.

  “The blood bond?” I widened my eyes, pulling back to see her face.

  Lucy grinned. “Told you it was important.”

  “So what other abilities do pixies have? Besides the cloaking and flying thing.”

  I figured everyone else knew ten times more about pixies than I did.

  “We have some affinity for nature, excellent sense of fashion, and the ability to bespell lesser beings.”

  “Bespell?” I asked.

  “Female pixies can work their wily ways on males.”

  Colton snorted and I couldn’t tell if he was impressed or annoyed with that development.

  “Right, lesser beings. I get it.” I winked at Lucy.

  “Alright, I think it’s time we moved on to our next venture.” Brace interrupted us before the women versus men debate got violent.

  Trickles of nerves and excitement flooded through me. Each new planet brought with it complications, but I genuinely loved meeting the new half-Walkers and discovering the worlds. Our sisterly girl-power was not something I’d give up for anything. People searched lifetimes for the type of true bond the half-Walker girls had.

  Brace opened a doorway, but before we could step through a shout had us turning around.

  “I know you’re not leaving without saying goodbye, Supes.” Fury was striding across, Dune next to her. “Hey, Pixie, Wolfboy and Badass.”

  Apparently, we now all had the privilege of a Fury nickname. Following close behind them were Talina and Ladre. Ria and my parents brought up the rear. And then I was bowled over by an enthusiastic two-headed dog.

  “Cere!” I protested with a wheeze; he was squishing the air right out of me. Brace came to my rescue, wrestling the giant puppy away.

  I could see the girls were disappointed to not be venturing with us, but we’d decided that the natives wouldn’t appreciate a massive group of outsiders storming in. The other girls would stay and continue their training, both with each other and the princeps of their Walker clans. I felt a little better knowing I could tether to them from a distance. For some reason when we were away from each other unease plagued me.

  “I need to check in with Klea again.” Ria gave me a hug, her earthy warmth surrounding me. It was like being hugged by the sunlight. I was happy that her sadness from yesterday seemed to have disappeared.

  “I’ll take you,” Josian said. “I’ve already promised Talina and Ladre that they could visit Spurn.”

  “Don’t forget us.” The strong, but generally silent Dune spoke up.

  “Ah, yes,” Josian said. “And Fury and Dune want to check on their dragoona. So we’ll have plenty to do while you’re gone.”

  “We’ll be back each night,” Brace said. “I don’t think the Nephilius’ natives sleep, so we’ll rest here, in safety.”

  “They don’t sleep?” I blurted.

  Damn, how strong were they?

  “As far as I know, they don’t sleep, and they don’t need to eat. They take their sustenance from some type of energy in their land.” Brace shrugged, like this was no big deal. He didn’t look worried at all.

  And I wanted to say: what the eff?

  While Walkers don’t require anything to live, they will weaken and slumber without food. I attempted to picture what these Nephiliuses would look like. Robots probably.

  “Stay safe and I’ll see you soon.” Lallielle wrapped her arms around me. “I love you.”

  “Love you too, Mom.” I pulled her a little closer.

  I knew I still needed to have that chat with her about Josian, but he’d been back to normal again so the worries were pushed aside.

  My mouth dried out and a lump formed in my throat as I took one last look at my friends and family.

  Every time I left I feared that something would happen and this might be the last time I had them all with me. I had no idea what the next day would bring and it scared the hell out of me.

  Brace opened a doorway again.

  We had time for one last round of hugs. We waited patiently while Josian gave his standard warning to Brace and Colton about looking after us.

  I hid my grin; his lectures often left me fighting the urge to either kick my father in the shins or hug him again. I didn’t bother to remind him that we weren’t helpless little girls, he knew that, his warnings simply stemmed from fatherly love and worry. And no one can really complain about that.

  Finally we stepped into the doorway. The vacuum surrounded us and I could see that it looked very white and bright at the end of the tunnel. Linking hands, we moved toward Nephilius.

  Chapter 8

  The chill in the air was the first thing I noticed. The breeze was cold but also soft; gently caressing everywhere I had exposed skin. We’d stepped out into a world of white, the mists of Nephilius swirling in fast-moving arcs. I had no problem breathing, although it was making me a little light-headed, as if it was less dense than the air we normally inhaled. And then as I took my first step to follow Brace I practically bounced a foot in the air.

  “Whoa,” I said, landing heavily and holding both hands aloft as I tried not to fall. My second step ended up the same way. “I’m guessing the gravity is lighter here.” As I spoke I tumbled to the ground.

  I groaned; I’d landed face down. Opening my eyes, I had a firsthand view of the land. What the hell was it made of? Something white and fluffy. I gasped as Brace picked me up and planted me back on my feet. Colton and he seemed to have adjusted within a few steps, walking around like cocky asshats, and Lucy was flying so she hadn’t noticed. I, on the other hand, took about five minutes to get the hang of this gravity.

  “This is going to make the fight interesting.” Brace caught my eye, giving me a wide grin.

  And then in a flash he had bounded away into the white, and before I could blink he was back again. So fast that his normal Walker speed seemed to move up to super speed.

  “So how are we going to figure out where we should be?” Lucy was fluttering her wings, but she looked cold as she hugged her arms tightly across herself.

  Colton wrapped his arms around her as well. He’d keep her warm. All Walkers ran hot, and being a wolf he was even hotter.

  “I can’t see a damn thing, even with my awesome new pixie vision.”

  She was right. I also couldn’t see any further than a few feet in front of us. “Why is it so misty here?”

  There was nothing eerier than standing in these white swirling mists, so quiet and cold. Almost as if we were dead and no longer existed in the First World star system. It was freaking me out a little. My brain tried to process the images it was receiving.

  “It’s not mists; it’s cloud,” Brace said.

  “What?” Lucy and I both screeched.

  “Are you trying to tell me that we’re standing in the freaking clouds?” I spluttered. No wonder the ground looked white and fluffy.

  Brace and Colton took in our shocked expressions, before exchanging grins.

  Brace even let out a chuckle as he explained further. “Nephilius is a land of clouds. I’m not sure if they have any other elements in their lands or structures, because I’ve never explored or spoken with an Angelica.”

  Wait, what? Was he
serious right now? They were called Angelica, and lived in the clouds?

  “Angelica?” I tried not to let my awe leak out.

  Brace locked me in his gaze. He still looked amused. “The inhabitants are called Angelica. There are five different flocks under that banner.”

  I snorted out my laughter, unable to stop myself. Clouds, Angelica and flocks. There was no way they were actually … seriously? It had to be some sort of Earth reference that was confusing me.

  “Are you effing telling me that this is a world of angels?” Lucy was fluttering her wings extra hard as she pressed her hands against her cheeks. Colton seemed to be preventing her from flying right up into the sky.

  I shook my head. “I’m sure they aren’t. That was just something from Earth, right?”

  “Yeah, but how many of Earth’s myths and legends have actually originated from either a Walker, or from one of these other worlds?” She raised her brows at me. “Like, I don’t know, pixie … faerie … Cerberus.”

  I snorted. “You made your point.”

  Guess we’d just have to wait and see.

  “What else do you know about the Angelica?” I asked Brace.

  His brow furrowed. “I believe the Angelica have different talents. Each flock …” He paused. “I don’t know the flocks’ true names; Walkers refer to them by the color of their wings: black, purple, green, blue, and white. I know black are the leaders, and the whites can manipulate the mists, but I’m not sure what the others do.”

  “Colored wings?” I breathed the words under my breath. “Of course they’d have wings.”

  Holy gods above. They were going to be angels, I just knew it now. And suddenly I couldn’t wait to see them.

  “I can hear the sounds of battle,” Brace said, tilting his head to the right.

  He started to move into the mists, and with no other options we followed him into the unknown. I had to stop myself from reaching out and taking Brace’s hand. It was moments like this I forgot that he was no longer my rock to lean on.

  Lucy must have sensed my distress, because she captured my left hand in hers. Colton held her other as she floated between us.

  After a few minutes of walking blind, I started to hear clanking sounds, like that of steel on steel. It still took a while for the scene to come into view, and then in a blast of frigid air the mists were gone.

  We stepped out of the blinding maze we’d been in and suddenly we could see them in all of their magnificent glory.

  “Oh, my freaking god … I mean gosh, shit.” Lucy had momentarily lost control of her wings and had collapsed to the ground.

  “An … Angels,” I stuttered.

  I’d always talked a big game of not really believing in god, but if I examined my feelings closely, I more didn’t believe in organized religion. But I must have held some spiritual beliefs, because seeing these beings which were the very depiction of angels from Earth sent very strong emotions through me.

  They were tall, at least Brace’s height, but many of them were larger. The males had armor over their bare chests and wore just a simple white garb around their waists. The females wore armor also. They had varying tones of skin, hair and eye color, but they were all perfect. I mean, almost as if they had been drawn, with each stroke as precise and spot-on as the last. And they had these incredible wings. And not wings like Lucy, no, these were massive and strong feathered appendages, standing many feet above their heads. The feathered edges looked delicate and yet razor sharp. How was that possible?

  On the battlefield right now was a purple and a green. Just as had been the case with Lucy, I found myself both fascinated and envious of their wings. The first was a deep rich purple and was one solid color with no variance along the feathered lengths. The other was a dark, leafy green. I could see the strength and power in the muscular extensions of these Angelica. And then the purple spun around, his wings flattening out, and with a swoop he sliced through the arm of the green male.

  Okay, now I was really jealous. Wings that were also weapons.

  “I’m really glad you’re not fighting them, Abbs.” Lucy’s eyebrows were almost lost in her hairline. She was bug-eyed staring at them.

  “Me too,” I said, although I was still worried about Brace.

  I knew he was an amazing warrior, and a Walker, but it was abundantly clear that there was something magical about these Nephilius natives. And as if the wing weapons weren’t enough, they also fought with long swords – the length of my torso – which I wouldn’t have even been able to lift, let alone swing. Unless of course it was a lot lighter than it looked. Maybe the weaker gravity was a benefit for weapon play also.

  It took them moments to realize we stood at the edge of their training field. And suddenly we had dozens of eyes locked on us. In swift movements they’d sheathed their weapons, and each fell in with their flock and moved toward us. It was obvious they were separate and distinct groups. And then, as they moved I finally noticed the white-winged Angelica standing around the training area. They were beating their wings in rapid motions and the powerful thrusts were keeping the mists from flooding into the clear area.

  Well, that explained why this training spot was so free of fog.

  The other flocks were still marching toward us. Their expressions ranged from stoic to the anger of drawn eyebrows and clenched fists. This was going to get messy if they didn’t stop to let us explain.

  I stomped my feet a few times, trying to warm myself in the arctic breezes. My foot sank into the slightly spongy ground, and I had to look down at it again. I still couldn’t get over the fact that the ground here was exactly how a cloud looked, but solid. I could lift my foot and slam it down and it felt as if I was hitting pliant dirt. It was not translucent; I couldn’t see through to what lay below. I wondered if this was their land mass or if we were somehow in the sky and there was more land below us.

  My attention was drawn upwards again as the Angelica stopped ten feet from us. Representatives from all five flocks were present, their expressions unnervingly similar, making them all look the same. They were muscular, even the women. For many of these androgynous beings I’d have had trouble deciding on which were male and which female. But there was no doubt they were a warrior race.

  A black-wing stepped forward and started to speak. It was in no language I’d ever heard.

  Brace interrupted him. “Speak in Walker.”

  I hid my smile. The flocks looked a little astonished at his arrogance. They clearly hadn’t spent much time around Walkers.

  “As you wish. Now prepare yourselves for the first test.” The black spoke again, his voice husky, and it sent tingles down my spine. The otherworldly quality of the Nephilius was unnerving.

  “First test?” Lucy squeaked. “Abby’s terrible at tests. She cheated off me every year.”

  “Shut up.” I flipped her off. “It wasn’t my fault; school was boring.”

  “Somehow I don’t think they’re talking about the math or science of Earth,” Brace said, his voice calm.

  And in that moment with one synchronized movement the Angelica had hands full of weapons.

  Yep, definitely not math.

  “You must prove your worthiness to be in our tournament.” Another black-wing with a creamy brown skin tone spoke this time.

  A purple broke from the formation and came at us from the side, his six-foot-wide wings extended. Colton and Brace moved so quickly I didn’t even see them, but within seconds they had the angel on the ground. Both of them rested a foot on his wings to keep him from moving.

  “The females are not warriors, they’re our …” Brace paused, locking eyes with me and mouthing sorry before he continued, “our mates. They’re here for that purpose only.”

  I sucked in hard, almost choking on the air. Brace had gone with the most logical of explanations, but in reality hearing those words from his mouth again was like being stabbed in the heart. Short, sharp pains were running up and down my left side.

 
“I think I’m having a heart attack,” I muttered to Lucy. “Just in case I collapse and you wonder why.”

  “Got it. Heart attack. No problem.”

  She never even looked up at me. Friend of the year, that one.

  “How weak are your females that they do not battle? We’re all warriors on Nephilius.” A black-wing again.

  Brace and Colton lifted the large Angelica that had been crumpled under their boots and tossed him back toward the gathered flocks.

  “Our mates are tough. They don’t need to prove themselves.” Colton looked relaxed as always, but his eyes were very light blue, and I could almost see shimmers of his wolf threatening to break free.

  Lucy was cursing under her breath, and she was very inventive. Some of those four-letter words had to be made up, and yet I still wanted to blush. And on top of that she seemed to be shedding glittery particles from her skin.

  “Uh, Luce, what the hell is that?” I waved the green mist away.

  Her eyes were narrowed in anger, but a small burst of laughter escaped from her as she shook her arm. “I thought Malisna was kidding; it’s pixie dust. Apparently we glitter when pissed off or something. It’s supposed to have some amazing qualities and purposes. Although we didn’t have time to explore what they were.”

  We were distracted from this awesome new discovery by an arrogant voice. “Your women spend too much time flapping their mouths. No wonder they’re not warriors.” A purple-wing, his voice low and heavily accented.

  My god, they were assholes. And I’d had enough of their crap for one day.

  My power burst from me; my dream energy. I figured if it worked on Walkers, it should work on these Angelica. And I was right. The many flock members were suddenly frozen, along with my friends. Using Walker speed – I was extra fast due to the gravity, almost floating above the cloud – I darted around to each of them and wrenched their weapons from their hands.

  Brace was the first to break my illusion; he just stood and watched, a small smile on his lips. It was so strange. It was as if he remembered everything of me, but just not our relationship.