The Void Hunters (Realmwalker Book 2)

by Jonathan Franks

  The three-legged creatures seemed to be a major food source in the area. They flew over another group of praps with slick, rubbery white skin, hunting the creatures. They hunted as a group, chasing the herd, separating a few creatures from the main group, and flanking them, taking them down. They ate their prey quickly and abandoned the corpses half-eaten as the Void roaches came in to clean up, then approached the herd again to hunt some more.

  Hours later, they were all tired. Herron gave them the signal to stop and land, then they set up a minimal camp. They ate their food cold. The area was warm and dry, so they didn't use a heatstone. They talked over dinner and Herron fashioned an hourglass out of two empty glass vials, some handfuls of loose dirt, and a scrap of Gen's ruined shirt. They kept watch based on the turns of the hourglass, but the time passed uneventfully.

  They reached a border only a few hours after they set off. The beige, dry dirt gave way to a pale, purple sand beach. Waves of a thick, web substance more like saliva than water slowly rolled over the shore and washed back out. The sea had a sharp, pungent smell. As the waves rolled and crashed, thick bubbles clung to the surface.

  “This… 'sea'… is the last area before The Caverns,” Herron said, “but they said there is nothing out there. No islands, no nothing. If we go, we're going and we can't set down for hours.”

  “What about going around?” Hope asked.

  Herron shook his head. “That'll take too long. We'd never make it before the Chamber opens. Slynn said it would be days to go around on the beach. We have to cross.”

  “Okay. Let's rest for a while,” Gen suggested.

  They touched down on the purple sand and dozens of small, blue lobsters shook the sand off of themselves and scattered. Gen lay down on the sand and gazed out at the sea. Hope spread out next to her and laid her head on Gen's stomach. Gen ran her fingers through Hope's short, white hair and they gazed out at the sea. Shae sat nearby and Herron did some stretches on the opposite side.

  “What do you think that is?” Shae asked. “It's not water.”

  “No,” Hope said. “It's definitely not. Look how slowly it moves. It sounds thick and splashy. It's like an ocean full of spit.”

  “Why is this place so gross?” Shae asked. “I can't wait to go home.”

  Gen asked, “Where are you going to go? Are you going back to The Deep? Are you staying up on the surface?”

  “I'm not sure,” Shae said. “I haven't properly finished my apprenticeship. I don't know if I'm ready to be Oracle yet. I mean, all of those fairies coming to ask me about stuff. I'll have so many appointments, I'm going to need a secretary. Some cute little fairy, small than me, who takes care of all of the things I don't want to deal with and brings me tea and rubs my feet between appointments.”

  The girls laughed.

  “That sounds brilliant!” Hope craned her neck to see Gen's face. “Where you do think we could get one of those?”

  “I don't know,” Gen teased. “My feet are getting a little sore right now, though. They sure could use a rub…”

  Hope reached her hand out and squeezed Gen's booted foot. “That's all I can do with your boots on. Sorry, my love, you're out of luck.”

  Gen sighed dramatically.

  “I know,” Hope laughed. “It's so hard to find good help these days.”

  “It's the location,” Gen said. “There's just no market for it here.”

  Herron looked at the three of them and shook his head. “You three are all just sitting there, playing in the sand, giggling and joking around.” He snapped at them. “This is serious business, here!”

  “Yes, Herron,” Gen said patiently, “and I think we're all aware of the gravity of our situation. We're all scared. We all know what's going on here. Just let it be, okay?”

  “That's easy for you to say! Nothing can happen to you! What can you possibly be scared of?”

  Gen propped herself up on her elbows so she could see him. “I'm terrified of losing any of you. Of failing in our mission. Of actually having to kill a pixie and shoulder the burden of knowing I killed their human, too. Maybe I'll heal, but I can still get hurt.”

  Herron glared at her and walked away, down the beach. Gen sighed and lay back down.

  They were quiet for a while, then Gen tapped Hope on the forehead. “Come on, baby. Let's get up.”

  Hope closed her eyes and nodded, then stretched and got up. She held her hand out to Gen, who took it and stood up. Shae was already hopping from one foot to the other and shaking sand out of her hair. Gen couldn't help but smile at her. Gen and Hope brushed each other off. They called for Herron.

  “Everybody ready for this?” Herron still sounded irate. “We don't have a solid way of telling time here, and this looks like it might be pretty rough to navigate. We're going to be going for a long time with no way to stop.”

  The rest of them nodded.

  He took another scrap of Gen's leather jerkin that had been shredded by the prap's attack and tossed it into the sea. Immediately, it began to hiss and smoke. Within minutes, it had completely dissolved. “Are we sure?”

  Shae gulped. Hope took a deep breath. Gen looked out over the sea.

  “Let's go,” she said, and they took off.

  They flew for hours and for a long time, nobody talked. Nobody complained about getting tired, they simply pressed on. They had lost sight of the shore behind them a long time ago and there was nothing ahead but more sea. Each of them was determined not to be the first to complain.

  Shae was the first to crack. “I'm exhausted. I don't know how much farther I can go.” She was holding back tears.

  “You can do it,” Gen consoled her. “It's okay. Come on, a little farther.”

  They flew some more and Gen noticed Shae was having trouble keeping her altitude. She started sinking lower and lower.

  “Shae! Come back up here! You can do this!”

  “I'm trying, Gen. I'm sorry.” Shae struggled and flew back to Gen's level. Shae's face was dark red. Her red hair was slick with sweat and she was breathing heavily. She took the cap off her bottle of water and drank. As she lowered the bottle from her lips, she dropped the cap. “Oh no!”

  “It's okay,” Herron said. “Let's just all drink here for a second. We'll empty the bottle.” He took a long drink and handed the bottle to Hope. They passed it around a few times before it was empty.

  Shae cried. “I'm so sorry. I can't. I'm sorry.”

  Gen took her hand. “It's okay. And you can do it. Let's keep going.”

  “Gen!” Hope shouted in alarm. Her bow was drawn, pointed down at the surface.

  A gargantuan turtle broke the surface where the cap had dropped. The turtle looked like it was made of uncut diamond. It took the cap in its beaked mouth and floated at the surface. It floated off slightly to the side underneath them.

  “Don't shoot,” Gen said. “It can't reach us up here. It doesn't seem especially threatening, does it?”

  Shae sobbed and cried out, then lost her strength and plunged downward. Her hand was damp with sweat and slipped from Gen's grip.

  “Shae!” Gen swooped down after her. Twice she grabbed for Shae's hand and missed. Shae was trying to recover but she couldn't, and as she beat her wings, trying to fly, Gen made another reach for her. Gen's arms were beaten aside by Shae's wings and Shae tried to turn to see her, but smacked Gen across the face with the thick front edge of her wing. Gen lost her balance and spun downward herself. The two of them were both falling to the surface of the sea.

  Above them, Hope screamed, wordless and terrified, but Herron called out, “Look!”

  With incredible precision, the turtle positioned itself underneath both of the falling fairies and they both crashed hard onto the geode surface of its shell. Gen recovered quickly and crawled to Shae's side. She was sobbing and when Gen approached, Shae threw her arms around Gen's neck and cried.

  “I didn't think I was going to make it. I thought I was dead. And then I hit you and I thought I kill
ed you, too,” Shae cried. “I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry.”

  Gen held Shae and pet the back of her head. “It's okay. It's okay,” she repeated until Shae calmed down.

  Herron and Hope landed on the turtle's crystalline back.

  “Amazing,” Hope whispered.

  Once she settled down and could stop crying, Shae sniffled and said, “This is the first nice thing we've seen here. I guess it's not all bad, after all.”

  “Assuming it doesn't decide to submerge again,” Herron smirked.

  Hope shot him a look. Herron shrugged.

  Shae crawled along the turtle's back to the edge of its shell. She looked down over the edge to the turtle's head. It had stony eyes that protruded from each side of its shell. It swiveled one its eyes up and met Shae's eyes. She cocked her head to the side for a moment, then looked back at her friends.

  “Well?” Shae asked. “What do you think?”

  “About what?” Herron asked. “That it's going to go beneath the surface again?”

  “No! What do you think about what he said?”

  “What who said?” Hope asked.

  “The turtle!” Shae squeaked.

  Hope shook her head. “Are you okay?”

  “What do you mean? You can't hear him?”

  Gen, Herron, and Hope all shook their heads.

  “Wow.” Shae peered over the side again and looked at the turtle's face, then turned back to the fairies. “He says that he can take us the rest of the way to the shore. He says that the new rocks don't belong here. They've taken away the sands and that's where the turtles lay their eggs. They know we're here to bring The Caverns back and they want their shell beach back.” Shae's eyes widened and she gasped. She looked to her left, then her right. “Wow!”

  The others looked to the side and saw dozens of other crystalline turtles floating alongside them.

  Gen smiled and sat down. She patted the clear, pointed surface of the turtle's shell. “Tell him thank you, and we'll do our very best to give them back their beach.” She lay down, stretched spread eagle on the turtle's back and closed her eyes.

  chapter 35

  “My dad's taking me out,” Jim said. “I guess he feels like he can ignore me all year if he takes me out for my birthday or something.”

  “Oh,” Portia sounded disappointed. “So I won't get to see you after school on your birthday, then?”

  “I should probably be home by about five, I guess. He usually gets home before six on the days when he comes home at a normal time. So we can hang out for a couple hours.”

  “Ok,” Portia said. “But what about tomorrow? Maybe we can celebrate your birthday eve?”

  Jim smiled. “Sure. Birthday eve is all yours.”

  “Excellent. Because you know what else is tomorrow?” Portia squeezed Jim's hand.

  He nodded. “One whole month.”

  “One whole month,” she echoed him.

  “What do you want to do tomorrow?” Jim asked.

  “It's a surprise.”

  “What kind of surprise?”

  “I'm not telling!” She laughed. “You'll just have to trust me.”

  “Okay,” Jim shrugged. “I trust you.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “You're still dubious.”

  Jim smiled. “Good word. Dubious.”

  They reached Portia's house. They stopped on the sidewalk in front of the driveway.

  She leaned toward Jim and kissed him. “Tell me again.”

  “I love you.”

  She crinkled her nose at him. “I love you, too.”

  “We're adorable.”

  “We are! Do you want to come in? I'm sure my folks wouldn't mind having you for dinner.”

  “Ok,” he said. “If you don't think they'll mind.”

  “My sister told me that my dad doesn't hate you nearly as much as my ex-boyfriend.”

  Jim raised his eyebrows. “He hates me? I thought he thought I was okay.”

  Portia grinned at him. “He hasn't told me he does. Molly said that and it made me laugh. I was sharing to make you laugh, not scare you.” She held his hand and walked up the driveway. She opened the front door and led Jim inside. Portia's mother was dusting in the entryway when they walked in.

  “Oh, hi!” She said. “Hi, Jim. Please, come on in. Are you staying for the evening?”

  “Do you mind?” Portia asked.

  “Not at all. We're having beef stroganoff tonight. I'm sure you'll love it, Jim.” She continued dusting and straightening things.

  “Come on,” Portia said. “Let's go upstairs.”

  Portia and Jim went upstairs. Molly was laying on her stomach in the hall, zooming Hot Wheels around Lego street plates. When she saw Jim, her face lit up into a huge smile. She hopped to her feet. “Jimmy!” She ran up to him and hugged him tightly around the legs.

  “Hey, Moll. What are you playing?”

  “Cars!”

  Jim smiled. “Yeah, I can see that. Well, have fun!”

  “Maybe one day, you can stay and play with me for a change!” She glared at Portia.

  “Maybe he will,” Portia said, then she pushed Jim into her room and closed the door behind her.

  “She's so funny,” Jim laughed.

  “Yeah, she's to die for,” Portia said quickly, then tackled Jim and pushed him down onto her bed. She kissed him and murmured under her breath, “Let's not talk about her.” She kept kissing him furiously, then she whispered, “Here. Let me help you.” She took his hand and slid it up under her shirt.

  Jim tensed up. Portia didn't let go of his hand. “Do you want to touch me?”

  “Yes,” Jim breathed.

  “Then don't be afraid. Just touch me. I want you to. Here.” She let go of his hand and reached around behind herself. She unclasped her bra and adjusted her shoulders so it hung loose in on her chest. She looked into Jim's eyes. “Please,” she begged. “Please, Jim.”

  Jim closed his eyes and gently touched her bare skin.

  “Look at me.”

  Jim opened his eyes again and looked at Portia.

  “I want you to look at me while you touch me.”

  “Okay,” Jim said. He looked into Portia's eyes and caressed and squeezed and rubbed. Portia's eyes drifted closed several times but she snapped them back open as soon as she realized. Her mouth was open and she was breathing heavily. She rolled on top of Jim and kissed him some more.

  “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes,” she whispered. “Then we'll have to go downstairs and face the harsh, harsh light of day.”

  “It's already pretty much dark outside.”

  “Shut up! I'm just saying I would rather be in here all warm and wrapped up in you.” She slid off of Jim's chest and nestled into the crook of his shoulder. She put her arms around him and brought her knee up, resting her leg on top of his thighs. She sighed deeply, contentedly. She closed her eyes and nestled her face against him. She lay there for a couple of minutes, then her arm twitched violently and she breathed deeply. Jim was pretty sure she fell asleep.

  After dinner, they reviewed their English homework and briefly went over their algebra. Then Sarah Ritchey started the ritual of putting Molly to bed. That was Jim's cue to head home. Portia walked him to the door and stepped outside with him.

  “You're so comfortable,” she sighed. “I love napping on you. I've never felt comfortable doing that before - falling asleep next to a boy.”

  “I'm glad.”

  “I'm really comfortable with you.”

  “I'm comfortable with you, too,” Jim said.

  “You have my permission to touch me. It's okay. You don't have to be afraid that I won't like it, or that I won't like you.”

  He shrugged. “I just get nervous sometimes.”

  “I know. You probably don't believe me, but I do, too.”

  He smiled at her. “No. I don't think I do believe you.”

  “Well, I am. I'm plenty nervous. But I hope it's going to be okay.” She kissed him.
“Good night, Jim. I love you.”

  “I love you, too. Good night.”

  She went back inside and closed the front door. The porch light went out, leaving him in darkness. She opened the door, laughing. “Sorry.” She turned the light back on. “Okay, go!” She closed the door again.

  Jim grinned all the way home.

  -

  After school the next day, Jim waited for Portia outside the school in their normal spot. She was late. The position of her locker and the room her last class was in usually had her outside and waiting for him first, but not today. Ten minutes went by. Jim started to get nervous and wasn't quite sure what to do. He went back inside the school and checked her locker. She wasn't there. He looked around the hallways and looked in Mr. Reegan's classroom, which was her last class of the day. She was nowhere to be found.

  He passed his own locker on the way out and saw a note sticking out of it. Since his last class was on the opposite side of the building, usually he packed up his backpack before eighth period and left school when the bell rang so he didn't have to walk all the way back through the school to go back to his locker. He unfolded the pink, lined paper and read the note.

  “Jim,

  I'll meet you at your house, not at school.

  See you soon on your birthday eve.

  Portia”

  The “o” in Portia was shaped like a heart. “Huh.” Jim shrugged and tucked the note into his pocket. He walked home alone. He hadn't done that in a while. In the last month, he couldn't remember a day when he walked home without her.

  It was a chilly afternoon and it was already starting to get dark by the time he reached his house. He dropped his bag by the door and sat down on the sofa in the living room. He wasn't sure what he should do. He thought that Portia wanted to celebrate his birthday eve and come over and hang out for a while.

  The doorbell rang. Jim sprang off the sofa and walked quickly to the door. He opened it and Portia stood outside.

  “Come on in!” Jim said. “It's getting cold out there!”

  Portia squeezed past Jim on her way into the house. “Let's go up to your room,” she said.