Spurn (15 page)

S
neaky Walker could probably read my excitement.

“Every object, whether alive or inanimate
, contains energy, which you already know. But what I haven’t taught you is that they’re all connected to each other and to the planet they inhabit. This is part of what allows Walkers to open doorways. Our energy isn’t connected to any planets. We’re not held down in ways that other races are.

“Those ropes you saw atta
ched to your room are the energy tethers that allow this room to exist in this house and on this planet. If the energy wasn’t tethered down, it would disperse and no longer exist in the manner in which you understand it … as a bedroom.”

I held up a hand to interrupt. My Walker brain was having no problem keeping up, but my Earthling side was going
:
What the hell?

“So without these tethers nothing would exist? Well
, not in the form our brains could see, process and understand.”

Josian nodded
. His deep voice rose in timbre. “Yes, it’s quite a concept to wrap your mind around, but the sole reason that the planets exist, that things are formed as trees, lakes and all of that, is because of these tethers.” He took a deep breath. “And that’s why you also should not be possible.”

He h
as such a way with words.

“I mean
, how can something be tethered to a planet, and then not tethered to anything like the Walkers? Obviously, your dual nature has found a balance, as have the other halflings, but because of this it’s as if all the general laws that govern energy don’t apply to you.”

I ignored that for
the moment. I was a freak, not exactly a new concept.

“What are the planets tethered to?” I
tried to picture them swinging off a star or something. Lallielle’s lips lifted in a gentle smile as she answered.

“Well
, you know all of the younglings are tethered to First World. And First World is tethered to the star system itself. The effect just continues to ricochet backwards.”

I gasped, my hands covering my mouth in shock. “That
’s what the Seventine do, isn’t it? They sever the tethers.”

Josian looked impressed.

Geez, I must look slow.

“Yes, Aribella
, that’s exactly what they do. Their entire aim is to eliminate all existence except Walkers. And once this happens, all of that free, untethered energy is ours for the taking. Since we have no tethers, we cannot easily be undone, or reformed.”

I wondered where that left me in the scheme of energy tethers
and not existing. I pictured half of my body floating away.

“So
, if First Worlders are tethered to their planets, how can they travel to other worlds?”

I thought of Lallielle going to Earth and
... what about Lucy? She’d been traipsing all over the place.

“Tethers are not bound by space, time or distance. As long as the object of tethering still exists, then so does everything tethered to it.”

Brace groaned and ran his hand through his dark hair in a jagged manner. It fell messily across his forehead again.

I had to restrain myself from moving forward and pushing it off his face.

“My father is a purist. He’s adamant that the Walker line is being polluted with the mortality of others.” His words brought back my anger.

“Can I have a few minutes alone with Brace?” I asked the room, my eyes locked on his perfect Walker features.

I alternated between wanting to
kiss him senseless and wanting to smash him one in the jaw.

Lallielle and Josian
touched my arm briefly before they exited. They were so tall and graceful. I never had enough of watching the love and trust between my parents. But right now it felt a little bitter-sweet.

“I’m going to find Sammy.” Lucy paused in front of me. “Follow your heart, Abbs. If it says not to trust him until he proves himself then go with that.” She leaned in even closer. “I know he’s hot, but so what
? Lucas is also hot and he seems a damn sight more trustworthy. And the way he lost it when you were taken and all the questions he asked, well, Brace definitely has a little competition.”

The mention of
Lucas still gave me a strange jumping sensation. But honestly I was about ready to write men off completely. A low growl sounded from where Brace was standing, but a quick glance at him didn’t reveal any obvious emotion.

Lucy turned then and
, moving almost Walker-quick, was in Brace’s face ... okay, more like his navel.

“If you hurt Abby again
, Mr. Liarkins, you’re going to have to answer to me. And trust me, I do not play nice. I can get down and dirty with the best of them, and you will eat every one of your lies.”

I
smiled. She was as tenacious as a pit-bull for those she loved.

Brace
refrained from smiling, although his eyes were laughing. “I promise you, young warrior, Abby is my reason for existence. I will never knowingly hurt her again.”

She stared at him for a few moments
. Something in his words must have mollified her because she turned away. As she reached my side she stretched up to kiss my cheek and left the room.

Brace and I
stared at each other from across the room. He’d straightened infinitely but didn’t move closer. I liked that he didn’t ask for forgiveness or beg. That would have just been pathetic. Words couldn’t undo the hurt he’d caused me. They couldn’t regrow the trust he’d damaged, and they sure as hell couldn’t govern any forgiveness.

He seemed to read my thoughts.

“I won’t apologize to you again, Abby. I know I effed up, as Lucy would put it.” He looked so serious, his eyes almost black. “I want to show you ... no, I need to show you what you mean to me. You can’t possibly understand. You’ve not grown up as a Walker. You’ve not spent hundreds of years searching. You’re the light to my darkness.” He finally took a step closer. “I never thought I would find you. I hoped, of course, but my life hasn’t led me down the road of gracious gifts. And you ... with your beauty, your strength, you’re the most gracious gift I could ever have hoped for.”

Again
, it was as if he had a direct link to my mind, as if he plucked out the most perfect words that anyone could hear. I wanted to bawl my damn eyes out or fall at his feet and beg him to love me forever. But the burning in my heart reminded me of one thing: I had responsibilities, big ones.

I
’d continue to be hunted and hurt and would probably die in a huge fiery war at the end. And right now, with all my anger, I needed to step away from the intensity that was Brace. But I knew, without any doubt, that it was going to be agony to not have him close by. My soul felt him now, and it wanted him by its side forever. Maybe I just needed some time. Time to finish my mission, and deal with all the crap that was my life.

“I can’t say I understand why you lied to me for so long. I really don’t. Maybe I wasn’t raised Walker, but I know the concept of right and wrong. And what you did was wrong.”

I turned away from him
then; I would never be able to get these words out while I continued to drown in his beautiful, depthless eyes.

“My soul tells me that we
’re mates. But my heart needs some time, Brace. I need some time to figure out who I am and to go on these missions. I have to find the halflings. There’s no other option.”

“I understand that
. I would never ask you to stop being who you are, even though I want to wrap you up and never let anything touch you. Let me help you, Abby. We’re partners, and we’re stronger together.”

I shook my head in short stuttering motions. My
heart ached. I was so afraid that because of me Brace would be hurt or killed. Yeah, he was Walker, but he could still be destroyed.

“I need you to leave, Brace.
I need time to think about everything.”

I was surprised when a
grin crossed his face. “I’ll be gone for a brief moment. I have a certain family member to confront. But I’ll be back. You can’t get rid of me that easily. I won’t leave you, Red. Not ever.”

And
then he was standing before me. Reaching out, he pulled me hard. I landed against firm muscles, and then his lips were on mine. The kiss was scorching, burning me to the depths of my soul. Brace kissed as if there was nothing else in the world but me, as if I was the very substance he needed to exist.

I felt it then, that moment of
pure unadulterated joy between us. Something changed; the ties cemented between us. In the way that I saw pink circling Josian and Lallielle, strands of gold, shining the brightest I had ever seen, surrounded Brace and me.

“I
’ll leave you now, Red. But don’t get too comfortable without me.” He kissed me gently on the corners of my lips. “So soft and full, tempting me every day.” His expression was stoic as he visibly devoured me, like he was memorizing every tiny detail. “You have lips built for sin.”

Then
, with another gentle caress, he walked out of the room.

I stood there for a moment, my finger tips touching the
smoldering of my lips. I knew when his presence left the room, and then when he left First World.

My heart shattered, and my soul screamed. With a groan I dropped to my knees. The tears spilled over then
. I wiped at them quickly, but they were flowing fast. I knew I’d done the right thing. Resting my face in my hands, I let the pain free. Barely holding back a scream, I sobbed out my heartache.

“Damn.”

The softly spoke
n word broke through my hurt. I’d been crouched on the floor for so long that my legs protested as I straightened to face Lucas.

“I’m sorry to intrude
.” He looked uncomfortable. “It’s just for some reason I felt your pain, and it’s hard for me not to respond.”

Rubbing a hand over my hot, swollen face, I took a step back
. My head was heavy, and I felt a little slow.

“How did you
... What is our connection?” I demanded.

He shrugged
, his eyes tight. “You’re the chosen Empress of First World, Abby. I’m the chosen Emperor. We’re connected and have been since birth.”

My nose wrinkled as I attempted to digest his words. Was he still riding that gravy train?

“Lucas! I’m a Walker. I can’t be the Empress.”

“
Abby!” He mimicked my tone. “You are half-Walker. Tell me why your First World side can’t be the Empress?”

I stopped dead at those words. No
... oh, my fricken gods. Could my life be any more complicated?

“So you’re telling me that my Walker half is Brace’s mate, and my First
-World half is the Empress connected to you?” My voice was almost hysterically high by the time I‘d finished that sentence. A ridiculous sentence, which unfortunately explained a lot.

“I’m not sure about the Brace part, but you and me, that’s a sure thing
, gorgeous.”

I rolled my eyes
. Always with the sweet-talking.

“I find it difficult to take you seriously, Lucas. I’m not going to be your dalliance for this month. Not my style.”

I couldn’t even think of anything beside the ache deep down
for Brace. I couldn’t stand not knowing if he was okay. I straightened my shoulders. This was my choice. I had to get it together.

“Let’s get this straight, gorgeous, you and I are cosmically connected.” He leaned in closer, the light icy blue of his eyes darkening just slightly. “Not to say I don’t enjoy the occasional dalliance
, if that’s where you want to take this.”

Shaking my head, I gave him a shove. “Dream on
, Lucas, you and I – never going to happen.” I waved a hand dismissively. “You should probably attempt to think with the head on your shoulders. The other one is leading you astray.”

He laughed. “
Don’t say that. You’ll wound his humongous ... pride.” He winked. “And I mean humongous.”

I blushed.
Of course I did, and of course he noticed.

“You know red is your
color, gorgeous.”

My next derisive comment
was interrupted by Josian entering the room. He didn’t acknowledge Lucas, just strode forward to stand before me.

“We have trouble, baby girl; you might want to head downstairs.”

I stared at Francesca, gobsmacked by her words.

“You’re freaking kidding me, right?”

She shook her head, her demeanor apologetic, but the
chill in her eye spoke of something different.

“
I know before you left I said two of the Seventine were released, but apparently the second one wasn’t quite free. Now it is. And the first tether has been severed.”

“
The Seventine are on the countdown to the final battle,” she had told me the moment I stepped into the room, her creepy soothsayer voice washing over us.

And apparently we were now
missing a few landmarks on Earth. The French population was probably stunned by the sudden disappearance of the Eiffel tower.

“And I have to leave straight away, to both collect Talina and
move on to the other worlds?” My cup was running over with crap today.

“We
’re almost out of time, Aribella.” She stood, her white eyes boring into me. “I know you’re not stupid; I shouldn’t have to explain this to you.”

What the eff?
I wasn’t taking that from anyone, especially not a know-it-all soothsayer. I moved closer, getting in her face. I was taller than her by at least two inches.

“You better check that attitude,
Francesca. I’m on my last sliver of patience, and it’s been a long day. Which includes, but isn’t limited to, me being kidnapped and tortured.” I huffed in a few breaths. “So if you don’t want to find yourself trekking to other worlds, dealing with the natives, and basically copping the crap we have, then be very careful about how you phrase your requests.”

My power flew from me again
, encasing the room. I recognized this energy. This was the dream thing I’d done before. When I looked around, I saw everyone was frozen to the spot. Josian shifted almost instantly. His eyes flew open in concern.

“What did you do to them, baby girl?”
His brow was furrowed.

He moved
toward Lallielle and gently nudged her.

“
They’re fine, Dad,” I hurried to reassure him. “I did this once on Spurn. It appears to be a variation of Mom’s power. I can project a dream out to people and they’re virtually frozen in time whilst they relive moments of my life, or whatever I shoot at them. I don’t know what they’re seeing; I didn’t mean to do it.” I snorted. “Which pretty much sums up my energy.”

Josian didn’t leave Lallielle’s side, his expression a combination of concern and a little
pride. “Well, baby girl, I have to say Walkers don’t possess the ability to freeze people or trap them in dream worlds. Once you grasp this power you’ll be in control of something very useful and dangerous.”

“Will you help me learn how to control it?” It was no use having a power if it only randomly sprang from me.

He nodded. “Of course. Like any ability or muscle, you just need to practice the projection, learn what triggers the release, and then you’ll be able to dictate when it happens.”

That sounded good to me, his words instilling a confidence that one day I’d be strong enough to control my half-Walker nature.
I hoped we could start as soon as possible.

It took differing amounts of time
, but eventually everyone started to stir. Anger poured off Francesca.

“I don’t appreciate being included in your
Walker energy show, Aribella.” Her movements were stiff as she took a step away from me.

“Shouldn’t you have seen that coming? You know, being an all kno
wing soothsayer.” Sometimes smart comments just fall out of my mouth without my consent.

“Did you mean for us to see that, Aribella?” Lallielle
interrupted Francesca’s tirade by moving to my side.

I shook my head.

“I have no idea what you all saw. The power seems to adapt to whatever is annoying me at the time.”

Lucy had slouched into Samuel
’s arms; he rubbed her back in soothing circles.

“Your torture, Abbs. We got to relive your torture by Captain Insano Walker.”

I bit my lip, the memories a little too fresh. When I tasted blood I realized I’d clenched too hard. Setting my poor abused lip free, I looked for a distraction. Lucas was perched in the doorway, observing the room. Well, observing me, actually. I ignored the annoying tummy-jump; he was not the distraction I wanted.

“Sorry about that, Luce. Just remember
, I’m half-Walker. I’m tougher than I look.” No point clueing her in to how agonizing and debilitating that torture was.

She laughed into Samuel’s shirt front. Before
tipping her head back to face me.

“Don’t lie to me, Abigail. I know you, and
I’ve never seen you like that. Those screams were pure anguish.”

I waved a hand to dismiss her worries
. There was nothing she could do now, plus something she’d said reminded me of important information I was yet to share. My dismissal had fury flashing across Lucy features, but with a sigh she let me get away with it today.

“
Dad, the Walker who kidnapped me, he said he was going to be the one to cleanse the worlds. He was starting with Spurn. I think that’s where we’ll find him.” I couldn’t let Walkers destroy their world; they deserved to be saved.

“He’s probably responsible for that dragon creature
,” Lucy muttered, still looking annoyed.

I locked eyes with her,
my emerald green and her baby blue clashing as we reached the same thought.

“Hell
, yes. That makes sense. The Spurns can’t fight that thing. A few more of them roaming the waters and they’ll be wiped out.” I looked at Josian. “I have to go back now.”

“And
this time I’ll be going with her, Francesca.” Josian glared at his sister-in-law.

She
dropped her head into her hands, and even I could feel the worry bleeding out into the room. But as she lifted her face, the worry dispersed. She even smiled.

“You have gathered
some Walkers, and I see that word of mouth is spreading as well. It should be okay for you to help them out this one time.” Her white eyes continued to dart around, something that happened when she was ‘seeing’ the future.

“What is the big problem with Dad helping on the planets?” I had to ask
.

S
he was really adamant about it. “You must learn, grow and develop your abilities, Aribella. If Josian helps too much and shoulders the bulk of your responsibilities, you won’t be ready for the final battle.”

I gulped audibly. “Have you seen anything about this battle?”
I asked.

A
ll I really wanted to do was scream. Who do we lose? Who will I lose?

Francesca
rubbed her arm absentmindedly. “I can’t tell anything yet. The future shifts and changes so rapidly. There are too many unanswered questions, too many choices that can change everything.” She focused on me again, the freaky eyes giving me cold shivers. “But one thing is clear: if your abilities are not developed, we lose.”

She coughed then, dropping to her knees
, her head cradled in her arms.

“Go to Spurn now. You have to go
... Talina is in trouble.” Her panicked words echoed around. “Go to the land again.”

I turned to Josian. He already had a hand held out
. I grabbed on.

“Everyone wait here
. We’ll be right back,” he said as he opened a doorway.

W
ithout hesitation we stepped through. In the last second Lucy yelled something at me. But I was gone before the words registered.

We arrived onto the golden beaches, right into the midst of chaos. Josian’s bronze eyes flicked around as he tried to discern the most immediate threat.

I du
cked instinctively as a mass of blue-hair dived at me. He was followed by another Baroon, who sailed over my head, courtesy of a cranky seven-foot Walker. Josian continued to throw around the tiny Spurns as they dived and attacked us.

“Aribella, baby girl
, what the hell is going on here?” He lazily deflected an Earon this time. “We seem to have walked into a world of angry little people.”

An
emerald-haired woman had come quite close to landing a jab with one of their spears.

I spun around quickly,
letting loose a roundhouse kick into the gut of a gray-haired – I couldn’t remember their clan names. He flew through the air, crashing into three yellow-hairs, name unknown too.

“Get off me
, you dirty Gerk,” the yellow-haired snarled as he disentangled himself.

Right,
gray was Gerk.

“There are four clans on Spurn
,” I yelled to Josian, but my explanation was cut off when I had to dodge a series of lightning-fast punches directed at me from a team of Baroons.

When o
ne ducked in from the front, another came at my back. I elbowed the first one in the face, cracking his nose. A dark purple blood sprayed around violently. The other screamed in anger, diving onto my shoulders. I spun around fast enough that my own head spun, before running backwards and slamming into one of those tall trees. The groan from behind me indicated pain, but the weight didn’t shift.

Josian was charging in my direction
with at least twelve Spurns hanging off him. Suddenly, the weight on my back lifted. And I was free.

“What are they?
Evil little munchkins?” Josian worked to dislodge all the Spurn barnacles he’d gathered.

They were so small and light compared to us that he could easily throw them a distance down the beach.

And for the first time we were alone, far enough from the main foray that we had a moment to prepare for the next onslaught.

“So there are four clans
,” I continued. “Blue is Baroon, emerald is Earon, yellow is ...” It took a minute for their names to come to me. “… Yertle and gray is Gerk.” We were getting noticed again so I shuffled him behind a few trees. “None of them like the other clans. It’s a constant battle, and they have the cold nature of their dual status. Think fish-people.”

Josian looked
like he was going to roll his eyes, but refrained. Like all Walkers, he carried a certain level of arrogance, especially to those less evolved species, amongst which I counted myself.

“Can you see your half-W
alker anywhere?” He watched, quite interested in the bedlam on the beach.

I
found the entire thing more comical than scary. At least half of the Spurns couldn’t even walk properly on land. At one point they were actually taking themselves out.

I shook my head
. “Her name is Talina. And, no, she’s taller than almost all the Spurns: she should be easy to spot.”

And then
, as I scanned the running, fighting, wrestling mob … was that someone biting? I shook my head before noticing a large congregation down on the sand, in nearly the exact spot where we’d faced the creature before.

I
gasped as the scene came into a clear and horrifying focus.

I
took off at a sprint.

I could hear
Josian hollering after me, but I didn’t pause for a second; I wasn’t sure we had an extra second.

It took
no time to traverse the distance, thanks to my Walker genes. The horrifying scene I’d noticed from so far away came into focus. The Spurns had Talina, Raror and Gladriel strung up in some kind of rope contraption, suspended over a wooden platform. They were dangled out in the ocean. In the distance, two of the creatures were drifting closer.

“We sacrifice these Spurns
so that you will leave us alone. They are the bringers of evil, so they will be eliminated for the greater good,” a Baroon yelled, his lisping voice echoing over the ocean.

Where was Ladre? Wasn’t he the spokes-Spurn around here?

Creature one and two were moving in. They’d been about a hundred yards offshore, but were closing that distance fast.

“Oi!” I yelled as I came up behind the jeering Spurns.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Pink faces
spun in my direction.

I was so angry that both my fists were in the air
. “Let them go, you dirty, rotten ... fish-people.”

Opening my tight hands,
I shot waves of light energy at them; this was one part of my powers that I could control.

But I also wasn’t very strong or skilled.

My little stream just blew them around the beach. I didn’t have to worry, though. I’d forgotten that Josian was right behind me, and he definitely knew what he was doing, blasting the group in all directions, throwing them far across the beachfront. Of course, this resulted in ropes being flung free, and the three captive Spurns plunging into the water.

“Dad, they
’re tied up; they can’t swim,” I yelled as he reached my side.