Spurn (19 page)

“I’d say your weird smile is kind of creepy
, but I recognize mind-talking,” Talina said, examining me. “Are you speaking to Josian? Is he okay?” Her voice held concern.

I shook my head. “No, Brace has decided to mind
-stalk me. I can’t get rid of him.”

Liar, you don’t want to get rid of me.

I ignored him for the moment. Josian still hadn’t answered me.

“Dad!” I said it more forceful
ly this time. “Pull yourself together. We don’t have time for this.” I raised my arm high so I could snap my fingers in front of his face.

Slowly, with deliberate movements, he stared down at me from his lofty heights. I gulped audibly as I copped the full force of his red eyes.

Rocking the vampire,
I thought to myself.

Never really been a fan
. How is an unnaturally pale bloodsucker attractive?

I was surprised Brace
had understood the reference, and I’d had enough of this one-sided conversation.

I
reached out in an attempt to connect with him. Before I knew it, he’d sucked me in to the warm foreign depths of his thoughts. I laughed out loud. I couldn’t help it; he’d created a mental picture of Josian as an emaciated old vampire.

I was distracted by t
he real Josian as he reached down and took my chin, capturing my attention and forcing me from Brace’s mind.

“We need to let Brace concentrate now
; it is his turn to battle.” His voice echoed, sounding disconnected.

But I
saw a sliver of bronze blending into the red of his eyes. He was gaining control.

“What did
you do to Traktin?” I asked. “And is Brace’s battle the same type of thing?”

Talina
interrupted us. “I really don’t want my father to be absorbed or whatever you did. We aren’t sure if he’s a bad guy yet.”

“I chose to end the energy that was Traktin. He kidnapped and threatened
my daughter, and I could see he would never stop. His obsession was intolerable.” He gestured to where Brace and Almastore silently faced each other. “Brace simply has to best him in battle. He will not make the same choice.”

Josian was trying to
reassure us, but his current scary aura wasn’t really helping.

“Do we need to move closer?” I
said, already walking in Brace’s direction. I was too far away for my comfort.

Red, you stay out of this. Promise me. I need to concentrate
, and as always half my attention is on you. I need to make sure the other half stays on this moron.

He was in my mind, but to look at him you’d never know it. His gaze didn’t waver, not even a flicker from his eyes.

I’m not promising anything. But if you don’t get your butt kicked, I’ll stay over here.

I lowered my ‘mind voice’ in warning.

So don’t lose.

His laughter echoed through me, warming, comforting. It was so familiar
, and yet it gave me chills. Bumps broke out across my skin as though a swift breeze had startled every hair on my body and they were now standing up on end. But the weather was warm and calm. Nope, that was all Brace.

“It
is about to start,” Josian said.

Shivers crossed my skin again. I couldn’t watch and yet my eyes refused to shift.

Almastore bowed formally, which Brace reciprocated. The animosity that had been between Josian and Traktin was missing from this fight. However, I wasn’t reassured.

They started without any fuss
.

Brace dived to the side as the first of a series of energy balls shot in his direction. He continued to play
defensive as Almastore moved in a circular pattern, shooting off one flame after another. The flashes of energy were all different colors and I wondered if each one did something special.

“Why isn’t Brace fighting back?”
I whispered, worried about distracting him.

“He is testing the Abernath
, assessing his skills and abilities. It’s clever, especially if you’re quick and skilled enough to avoid the attacks.” Josian was engrossed in the fight. “He will strike soon. Brace is fast and lethal. Don’t you worry, baby girl.”

I wasn’t worried
. Sure my nails had just about drawn blood in the pads of my hands, but I was cool. My eyes closed as Brace just missed copping two full – were they lightning bolts? – to the chest. That was way too close.

Keep your eyes
shut. I’ll be finished in a minute. You don’t have to stress.

Of course the moment he issued his ‘order’ my eyes flew open. I snorted out loud as I glared at my bossy mate.

I love when you call me mate.

His
caressing words distracted me, along with a stroking sensation down my body. I jumped two foot in the air. I found it supremely unfair that he already knew these tricks.

Narrowing my focus, I ran my eyes slowly, deli
berately over his entire body. I started at the silky strands of his black hair, which fell messily across his forehead, before making my way down all six and a half foot of muscles and tanned skin. My experiment was starting to backfire.

The chemistry between us had me sweaty and a little annoyed. I was possibly going to s
elf-combust soon. During my mental assault he stumbled once, and a burst of light from Almastore glanced off his shoulder.

Oops.

Red,
he said in warning.

I stop
ped messing with him. I did want him back in one piece.

“What are you doing?” Almastore
said. He appeared to have had enough of this dodge-and-retreat from Brace. “Fight me. I don’t have all day for you to show me that you are weak and afraid.”

As h
e poked at Brace’s ego, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Brace didn’t rise to the bait. I had always assumed that the male ego was fragile.

Brace just
grinned and nodded once. With a deep breath he stood straight and then he moved.

I’d likened Brace’s fighting style to a ninja once, and it
had never appeared truer than now. He flowed from one movement to the next. There was no energy or throwing of light. He got in close and personal, and began to land heavy blows on the other Walker.

A serious of kicks, followed by a well
-placed elbow to his face, drew the first blood. Almastore attempted to stem the flow, but the thick red fluid continued to pour freely.

Brace moved again.

Using a judo throwing style, he smashed Almastore into the ground, before he really started to fight dirty.

I heard a distinctive crack
.

H
e’d twisted Almastore’s arm behind his back, snapping it without effort. The other Walker let out a yelp, but made it back to his feet, his left arm hanging uselessly at his side.

“You can concede to me at any point
,” Brace said carelessly.

He hadn’t broken a sweat
. His breathing was even; he looked like he hadn’t moved at all.

“You don’t understand
: I need my daughter.” Almastore’s reply was quiet, but we could still hear what he said.

I was concentrating so hard
on his words that I accidentally tapped into Brace’s thoughts again.

I’ll just bet you do.

I agreed with him; this Walker was up to something.

Try and find out what he wants her for
,
I thought to Brace, hoping he’d hear.

He
flicked his eyes toward me and nodded.

“So, maybe if you tell me why you want Talina, I will leave her in your capable hands
.” His tone was perfect, not too interested, with just the right amount of push.

“There is another of our kind
whose son is interested in a mate exchange. I promised my ... uh, daughter, and I think that would be best for her.”

Talina snorted
. She pawed at the ground, her bare feet digging trenches under where she stood.

I patted her arm
. “Yep, Walkers are big, not so hairy, unevolved apes.”

Josian laughed, as did Brace in my mind.

He’s lying, Red. I get deception at its finest. A few more beatings and he will concede.

Yes,
we need to know his true intentions so we can prepare, and Talina needs to understand.

I’ll find out.

And he did.

I
t took a while. He beat on him over and over, asking the same questions. Almastore suffered through another broken arm, I would guess quite a few broken ribs and what looked like a fractured jaw.

Brace did his job smoothly, with a methodical intensity
that would have freaked me out except I could see into his mind. And he wasn’t enjoying this task. But he had a protective streak a mile long and would not stop until he was satisfied with the answers.

I
enjoyed digging around in his mind; there were just so many layers to explore.

“No more
,” Almastore finally said.

He was on his hands and knees before Brace
, his face and hair streaked with blood, one of his arms still broken, though the other looked to be healed.

“You have demonstrated your ability to outclass me in every fight style.
” His head fell forward to rest on his chest. He couldn’t lift it again. “It’s Que. Your father wants Talina and he is going to kill me if I come back without her.”

“Are you even Talina’
s father?”

The man nodded
, but before he could speak Gladriel interrupted.

“Of course he is.”

We turned to stare at her. I wasn’t sure about everyone else, but I’d forgotten she was even there.

Talina gasped out loud, her hand flying to cover her mouth. Gladriel was holding
an unconscious Raror, her hand wrapped around his throat as she propped him up.

“Raror!” Talina screamed and started running
toward them.

The
seawater swirled around Gladriel. A sudden storm had blown up. Or, judging by Talina’s fixed expression, she was brewing one.

“Stop,
my pathetic little half,” Gladriel ordered, one hand held up in warning, the other tightening on Raror’s throat. “Do not come any closer, and halt your powers or he will be destroyed.”

“You would not destroy your own son
,” Talina said, although she did pause about ten feet from Gladriel. “He is all you have, next in line to rule Earon.” Her voice was tinged with desperation.

An evil smile
spread across Gladriel’s face, followed soon by manic chuckling.

I
had a sick feeling that very bad news was coming for Talina. And Gladriel did not disappoint.

“He is not mine
, Talina. He was abandoned years ago, and since I could not have children I decided he was better than nothing.” She glanced at the Walker Brace had bested without even breaking a sweat. “Of course, that was before I fell pregnant with you.” She gestured away. “I told you your father was weak and spineless. Look at him.”

Almastore
groaned from where he lay face down in the sand. I assumed each Walker had different abilities to heal, because he was still hurting.

“Brace is Que’s son.
” He groaned again, attempting to shift onto his back. “I could never have bested him. He’s been training since birth to take over all Walkers as leader.” His words were mumbled.

He lifted his head
and we all noticed the myriad of darkening bruises on his face. His lips were puffed and split open, although the leaking blood had slowed.

“
However, I cannot disobey Que. I had no choice.”

Walker
leader?
I questioned Brace.

H
e bristled slightly at my incredulous tone.

Don’t sound so surprised, Abigail.
Even though I am reasonably young for a Walker, I am strong and powerful. Don’t doubt my ability as your mate.

I
realized that my careless words had wounded his pride. I was reminded again how stupid pride could be.

I look after myself, Brace. I’ve never needed anyone and I’m not about to start now.

His arrogance was a sting to my own pri ... no, not pride ... independence. Something I had always been protective of. I didn’t like this whole ‘need a mate’ thing. In fact, every time I felt as if I couldn’t take one more breath without Brace’s kiss or my arms ached to hold and be held – it made me want to break things, send out energy bolts and go a little nuts.

Damn,
I’m the guy in this relationship.

I was the commitment phobic,
the one rebelling against this feeling of ownership.