by Jaymin Eve
Damn sexy Walker, using his maleness to cloud my judgment.
Brace’s grin widened. And I felt his amusement in my head. Shit, my mind barriers had fallen on that last thought. Thank the gods he hadn’t felt my panic at having the necklace open. Despite that stupid prophecy, it was obvious our melding bond had been part of my strengths, not a weakness. Just little things like the fact I had to work really hard to keep my thoughts protected now. But did this mean the prophecy was fake? Or just that there was another reason for Brace and I to be un-melded?
As the men moved into our radius, an Angelica group shifted aside to let them reach us.
“You two stay out of trouble?” Colton said, before leaning down and capturing Lucy’s lips.
Her wings fluttered as she rose in the air. Now, instead of an awkward distance between them, they were the perfect height for making out.
“Why ask a question if you were only going to seal her mouth and prevent an answer,” I said, without rolling my eyes, which was quite a feat, if you ask me.
“If he ever greets me any other way he’ll be neutered and running on three legs,” Lucy managed to murmur around their kiss.
“And I’m the wolf to obey her orders.”
I turned my back on them, focusing on Brace. “Are you nervous?”
I was a little worried. Yeah, he was the strongest Walker I knew, and we’re hard to kill. But not impossible. You just had to inflict enough damage before our advanced healing could fix it. “Those sai look pretty deadly.”
“Don’t even waste one second worrying. There’s no chance for the Angelica in this tournament,” he said. I hid my grin; his confidence needed no boost. “I’m more than capable and I love a good battle.”
“Can I see?” I said as I held out my flat-palmed hand.
Brace placed one of the blades onto it. The saidon was lighter than I expected, but still had a balanced weight. The tips were razor sharp. Just the slightest brush broke the skin. It sparkled. Nephilius seemed to have one sun – which strangely looked like a cloud – high in the sky. Its rays were casting shimmers of light off the metal.
“What are they made of?” I turned it over, but there were no marks or insignias.
“Clouds,” Brace said.
I looked up at him, my brow furrowing. Lucy and Colton were still lip-locked next to us, but we were doing a pretty good job of ignoring them. And also pretending that our own attraction wasn’t beating at us.
“The same as their buildings they manipulate these cloudy mists with their own energy and can form solid structures. Including the armor and weapons. They insisted I use their weapons, to keep the playing field fair.”
I doubted they were interested in fair. Probably wanted to make sure they stayed in control.
He was standing very close to me. I could feel his heat all down my side. I found myself closing my eyes as I handed the weapon back to him. I was having very inappropriate thoughts right then. Dammit, how was I going to stay unmelded? My entire body was urging me to throw myself at Brace, to drown in his strength and love. I forced myself to remember that he didn’t know me anymore, that I was doing this for the worlds. Tears pricked at my eyes and I had to turn away.
“Are you okay, Abby?”
I hadn’t been quick enough. I raised my head and met his eyes. The concern there was so strong and warm that I almost full-on ugly cried. I managed to keep it to a few stray tears.
“I lost someone I loved recently; they just left.” I had to say something, but I didn’t want to pretend anyone died. I would never tempt fate like that. “Sometimes it hits me hard.”
He didn’t say anything for a long time. And then finally he lifted a hand and wiped away a single tear from my cheek.
“Anyone that walks away from you is a damn fool.” His hand lingered for a moment before he pulled back and straightened.
I sucked in a few rapid breaths, trying to compose myself. I knew he thought it was a man who’d left me and that was good. Maybe it would create a little distance. We were getting close … too close. Our bond was going to force a re-melding.
Lucy left Colton then to wrap an arm around my shoulder. It was still odd having her meet me at my height, and on top of that I had to remember not to crush her wings when we hugged.
“Sorry, Abbs, I shouldn’t be leaving you with Brace,” she murmured in my ear. “I forget sometimes.”
I squeezed her hand. “All good, Luce, none of this is your fault.”
The blame lay squarely with whatever entity decided to free the Seventine.
Stepping away, I distanced myself a little from our group, and attempted to compose my thoughts. It wasn’t really working, so instead I tried to focus on the Angelica milling around us. I was just staring out between some purple wings when a flash of something caught my eye. Looking behind me, I could see that Lucy, Colton and Brace were discussing battle tactics. So I took the moment to step further away; it appeared again flashing through the crowds. I decided to follow the spectra, my eyes keeping track as it darted between another group of purple-wings. The Angelica didn’t pay any attention to me as I moved through their masses.
I wondered how long it would take you to notice.
I froze as a voice sounded in my head. The beats of my heart suddenly sounded very loud in my ears. I recognized it: the first Seventine.
How do you keep finding me? I demanded, thankful that I sounded tougher than I felt. Hopefully it wouldn’t sense the bumps coating my skin and the way every hair on my body was standing at attention.
I can find you on any world. There is a bond between us. You know it deep down. You’ve had the dreams. Felt the connection.
Besides the dreams of ruling First World, there’d been these random few which I’d chalked up to weird nightmares. They made no sense, flickers of a world filled with lava and death where I was some type of ghostly person drifting over the landscapes. It was like I was dead, only I knew I wasn’t. And there were other ghosts that traveled with me, but I didn’t know who they were. If they were the Seventine then nightmare was an understatement.
In the end you will make the choice to join us. We can offer you the worlds, every single one of them.
I growled, I’ll never join you. Never! And I will be the one to lock you up and destroy any chance of escape. Don’t get used to freedom; you’ll be back in your prison soon.
Laughter echoed through my mind, loud and strong. And then I felt its presence leave.
“Are you okay?” A woman with black wings paused next to me.
I must have looked like a freak just standing there, staring out into nothing.
“Yeah, just thought I saw something strange.” I attempted to curl up my lips. I must have achieved something close to a grin because she returned my smile.
The female was as perfect and beautiful as the rest of the Angelica, although not quite as tall. She had short black hair and eyes so dark I couldn’t differentiate the pupil and iris. Her skin was creamy brown, her eyes exotically shaped in the corners. Just like a Japanese woman I knew once on Earth. I realized then that as this was a female I should be testing for marks, but just as I fumbled to free my locket another black-wing appeared next to us.
“Delane, you’re up in the arena,” he said to the female.
I wondered if this was the Delane who Steva had mentioned earlier. The one who’d visited the Isle of Souls.
She gave me one last nod before turning and making her way across the space and into the clear zone that was designated for fighting. I hurried back to my friends; Brace would have to fight soon and I needed to get onto the moonstale search. It might take the entire tournament to cross paths with every Angelica here.
As I raised my face, I saw that Brace was watching me. My feet faltered for a brief moment before I continued toward him. No doubt he’d had his eyes on me the entire time I was gone, making sure I was safe. The man’s protective instincts ran a mile deep. If we’d still been melded, he’d have followed me, b
ut I could sense that he didn’t want to seem obsessive at the moment. Afraid he’d scare me away. Laughable since I was harboring a pretty serious obsession for him.
Lucy gave me a raised-brows, what-the-hell-were-you-doing look. I shrugged to say ‘nothing’. She shook her head, and our silent conversation was done. As the tournament started to take shape we moved to the edge of the mist-free zone, which was about the size of three football fields. From where we were we’d have a perfect view of the fight.
“There’s going to be a demonstration first.” Brace filled me in on what I’d missed.
I turned my attention to the field. About a dozen white-wings were using their powers to clear the air; down the opposite side to us were the panel of judges. Two from each of the five flocks, their brightly colored wings tucked in behind them. Standing in the center of the field was Delane, the female I’d just met. She held a sai in each hand.
I craned my neck trying to see who her opponent was. But there was no Angelica close by. My eyes were drawn back to the impressive image Delane created, and as her powerful wings spread out like a black cloak, standing high above her head, I felt a gasp leave my mouth. In two powerful thrusts she took to the sky, and as I followed her movement I saw the purple-wing zooming like an arrow straight for her, his twin blades thrust forward.
I held my breath. I wasn’t sure if the Angelica died easily or not, but judging by their ferocious expressions, I was pretty sure I’d find out in this tournament.
Delane twisted in the air at the last second, avoiding the blades and slicing along the side of her opponent. I could see splatters of blood against the white backdrop. It was darker than ours, but still in the maroon tone. The purple-wing headed toward the ground. I thought he was about to land when at the last second he spun back and flung one of his blades. A very sly attack. The saidon lodged itself into Delane’s right wing. She flinched but didn’t slow, before landing solidly on the cloud land to face her opponent. Without a sound she reached up and ripped the weapon from her black feathers.
The purple gave her no time for recovery. They clashed in hand-to-hand combat. The clang of blades echoed across the land. I found myself holding my breath more than once as they cut into each other. Delane was fast, strong and more highly skilled than her opponent. It looked as if she was just tiring him out, his movements slowing until finally in a swift move Delane knocked him down. Lifting her arms high, she brought the saidon down and stabbed them through his shoulders, pinning him to the ground. The purple made no noise. Delane got back to her feet, turned and walked off the field, disappearing into the crowds. The purple was eventually freed by others in his flock.
The judging panel moved toward us. Stepping forward, Steva made a few announcements. They weren’t in English, though, so I had no idea what she was saying.
Brace brushed against my side. My traitorous hands reached for him. I managed to stop myself at the last minute. “Now they divide the tournament field into ten mini zones.” His voice was low in my ear.
“So there will be ten fights going all at the same time?”
He tilted his head to the side, as if still listening to the other language. “Sort of. They stagger the start of each fight to allow the judges to observe the initial combat.”
“And then all battles continue for three rounds or until there’s a winner,” Colton added. “Two flock representatives are left behind to observe.”
“And on that note, I’m in the first ten, so I have to go,” Brace said as he pulled free his sai … saidons from where they’d been tucked into the side of his armor. “Wish me luck,” he said in a low tone, his lips grazing my cheek.
He left before I could find my voice. I watched as his long-legged stride crossed the large field. My eyes widened as I continued to follow his path. In the few moments since Steva’s speech, the Angelica had split the tournament grounds into ten distinct zones, using small barriers made from the clouds.
“He’ll be fine, right?” I spoke to no one in particular.
Colton snorted. “Brace has no equal in the star system. Worry for the Angelica.”
Easy for him to say. That wasn’t his mate out there. Colton slanted a half-grin in my direction then, his expression cocky and speculative. He’d definitely be wondering why I was so worried, especially given the unbreakable nature of Walkers.
The first fight was between a blue- and green-winged. It was as brutal and ferocious as the demonstration had been. The second fight started about fifteen minutes later, the judges following the path of each fight. Brace was third – opposing a blue. My eyes were glued to his zone. His opponent wore the stupidest grin. He was loving being the first to take on the outsider. It was going to be sweet when Brace kicked his ass.
The moment their fight started the blue took to the air. Brace didn’t move. I wanted to look up and find his opponent, but the truth was I couldn’t take my eyes from the imposing Walker. Despite my nerves, I was enjoying the time to stare at him uninterrupted. Damn, I was kind of failing at my task of limiting this bond between us; one might think I wasn’t trying very hard.
Brace almost looked bored, his legs slightly spread, the thrusting winds from the white flock shifting his dark hair. And then his eyes flicked to the right. The blue appeared behind him with both of his saidons thrust forward.
My gasp was lost in the noise of the crowd around us, but I didn’t have to worry. Brace simply shifted to the side, the blue’s attack sliding right past him. And then in a swinging motion Brace brought his weapons around and sliced clean through one of his opponent’s wings. He followed this with a rapid pivot before he launched his right saidon. The blade lodged in the blue’s chest, just above the space where a human heart would sit. Then before the Angelica could even react to his wound, Brace uppercut him. The thud of his fist landing against a jaw echoed across the space.
The shocked noises that rose above the sounds of battle indicated that a good old-fashioned punch to the face was not something that happened here much. And when the Angelica hit the ground, unmoving, I sensed a new respect for Brace flooding through the flock. Respect and fear. The judges nodded before moving on to the next zone. Brace’s fight hadn’t even taken ten minutes. The blue remained unmoving, his still form bright against the white ground.
“Did he kill him?” Lucy was clutching Colton’s arm hard enough to leave marks.
“No, the Angelica are almost as hard to kill as Walkers. You have to make sure you hit both hearts and I’d probably remove their head as an added measure.”
The wolf was a little bloodthirsty … wait a second, did he just say both hearts?
As in two hearts.
My head spun around to find the closest Angelica. A green-flock male stood eight feet from us. I examined his body closely. It was humanoid in shape, but his chest looked a little wider and deeper – I hadn’t noticed before, they were so huge – with a rib cage that seemed to expand further around the thoracic area. I couldn’t help but wonder how the blood moved around. Did both hearts have the same functions, or did one do something different?
A spicy donut scent yanked my attention to the field. Brace was moving toward us. Damn, I’d been wasting time. I should have been searching for the half-Walker female while Brace was out of reach.
“I’ll be right back,” I said to Lucy and Colton.
I dashed away, flicking open my locket as I moved. The moonstale stones were visible as they splashed their yellow light around. My eyes flicked left and right as I sidled through and around the groups of Angelica. But there were no Walker marks appearing. There were three possibilities left: Laos with gold sunbeams, Kaos with brown stripes, or Gai with white dots. I had seen all of the marks before and knew, depending on the skin tone of the Walker, some were harder to see than others. I hoped the Nephilius half would be distinct.
“Your contestant did very well.” I ground to a halt as Steva’s words caught my attention. I moved around a group of purple-wings to stand before her. “The n
ext round will be broad-sword and will commence in twelve cloud drifts,” she continued, and I really hoped Brace knew what a cloud drift was. “I was led to believe that you would not be staying here in between events.” She examined me closely, her eyes briefly falling on my open locket.
“Yes, we won’t be staying. We’ll return in time for the second round.”
I wasn’t sure how many rounds there would be, but I needed to spend less time gawking at Brace and more searching for the half-Walker.
“I would appreciate it if you were here early enough to look at the Isle of Souls. Delane has agreed to be your guide.”
I let out a deep breath. “Okay, we can do that.”
“Don’t be late. Delane would never miss a fight; warrior runs deep in that one’s veins.”
She’d more than demonstrated that on the field earlier.
Steva walked away. I shook my head a few times as I followed her path. She was definitely a weird one.
“Abbs!” Lucy shouted at me. Her voice held a note of warning.
I discreetly closed my locket, expecting Brace and Colton to be with her. And sure enough, as I turned around, all three were crossing the cloud to stand with me.
“Looks like it’s time to go.” I shifted my shoulders, trying to work out some of my tension.
Lucy nodded. “Yep, they not so subtly told us to get lost.”
“Steva said the next round is in twelve cloud drifts,” I said, my lips curving. “I hope one of you has a cloud watch.”
Brace, who was back in his original clothes, grinned at me. “Very close to twelve hours.”
“They want to take us to the Isle of Souls, so we need to be here in about ten hours then.” I exhaled loudly; it felt as if I should be really tired, but as usual my Walker genes kept me full of vitality.
I was getting so impatient to gather the half-Walkers, especially after having the Seventine randomly appear in my head. I wanted to be strong enough to beat them, and right now we weren’t. I needed all seven girls and time for us to develop our powers. But for now it was time to head home to First World.