by Jaymin Eve
SPURN
A Walker Saga Book Two
Jaymin Eve
Spurn: A Walker Saga Book Two
Copyright © Jaymin Eve 2013
All rights reserved
First published in 2013
Eve, Jaymin
Spurn: A Walker Saga Book Two
1st edition
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. All characters in this publication other than those clearly in the public domain are fictitious, and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
To my parents (especially Mum) for always believing in me
Chapter 1
Talina
Talina floated on her back facing toward the half-sun. She barely noticed the expanse of sparkling blue and green waters surrounding her. Instead, she focused on the peace and quiet as she lay semi-submerged in the depths. Her one and only aim had been to escape the endless squabbles of her family. And she had finally swum far enough. She’d reached the edge of the territories, but despite the push of the drifting currents, she wasn’t quite brave enough to cross out of Earon’s quadrant. After all, it was a punishable offence to enter any of the other clan areas.
The four moons were just beginning their slow spread across the pale pink skies of Spurn. They were the force dictating the measured ebb and fall of the tides. Talina loved it when the weak light of their half-sun was washed away by the bright moonlights. Sighing, she turned over to lightly tread water. It was probably time to stop hiding and face her mother. Gladriel had been in fine form today. As head of the Earon clan she took herself and her duties far too seriously.
Talina hated confrontations, and she hated being around other Spurns; that is, with the exception of her brother. If only she could escape forever, but there was nowhere to swim. The four clans divided their world, each with a distinct hierarchy and private quadrant.
Earon was the second strongest, and with her mother as the leader she should have loved her life. But instead, she hated it. In Earon, she was nothing but a half-breed.
She duck-dived beneath the water. It took a few moments (far longer than most Spurns) for her gills to kick in and the instinct to breathe through her mouth to cease. Talina hated her differences; they drew attention, marked her as weak. And on Spurn the weak were eaten, luckily not by each other, but there were plenty of other predators in the waters.
Still, she had to admit there was truly nothing comparable to a glide through the ocean. She didn’t even care that her webbings were small and fragile. She ducked and dived with the currents, searching deeper until the strength of the moonlight waned. There was a fine line in the deep water between light and eternal night. Talina had never been able to venture any deeper, not without assistance. Her defects, her weaknesses, prevented it.
Talina, be back at our pontoon before half-moon. Do not make me tell you twice.
She flinched as Gladriel’s voice echoed through her mind. Her mother was the one Spurn she was forbidden to block out. She had the capability, but it wasn’t worth the drama.
Rising once again, she swam closer to the surface. The protective clear lenses over her eyes flicked, clouding her underwater vision, before settling back into place. Glancing to her left, a pod of droltines swam alongside. The playful pink creatures with large fins and spout-shaped noses were a very distant cousin to Spurns. She danced with them in delight until they moved off in a different direction.
Talina groaned as her stomach rumbled; she hadn’t eaten that day, refusing the morning’s ration of cucreamer. Normally she loved the sweet, pink fruit, but for some reason, earlier she’d been unable to stomach any food. But with the distance she had traveled, her energy had depleted significantly. Through her lenses she noticed a small stock of krillonia, the shrimplike planktonic crustacean that was her favorite. Gliding in the midst of the dense cloud, it was simple enough to open her mouth, expelling the water through the small gills on her neck, and take in the sustenance.
Satisfied for the moment, she increased speed toward her home pontoons. A flash in her peripheral vision brought a broad smile to her face. A familiar image darted out of the gulfstream to fall in beside her.
Raror, where did you come from?
She opened her mind to speak with her brother. He was the only one never to judge her, and she loved him dearly. His emerald-colored hair, long enough to secure him as a future leader, streamed behind in the ocean depths. The visible veins beneath his skin were more prominent than ever; he had to have been swimming long and hard to get that amount of pump.
Earon was called to Silver City for a meeting of council heads. Mother sent me.
The deep rich timbre of his voice echoed through her mind. Without fail it evoked memories of the many nights he had protected her, rocked her to sleep and comforted away her hurts throughout the years. His voice was the sound of safety. Talina had only been to the underwater city once. It was difficult for her to make that distance; the water pressure at that depth played havoc with her senses. But Raror was often there. It was the neutral ground where the four clans discussed all issues.
What has happened to bring everyone together?
He didn’t answer immediately; they’d just reached the edge of Earon’s pontoons, and needed to slow.
Some strange occurrences. Three Baroons and a Gerk have gone missing, and there have been disturbances on the Sacred Isle.
His eyes widened, nostrils flaring. In a world that was predominantly water, the one and only section of land was protected and off-limits to everyone except the Keepers.
Cucreamer and wood are missing. The rationing systems have been thrown out, so we’ve had to redistribute. The vote found the Gerks will receive less.
Talina’s pulse raced as panic threaded through her mind. Who would risk the wrath of the gods by stealing from the Sacred Isle? She pushed that terrifying thought aside to focus on the caste system which she despised.
Why is it always the Gerks who are treated like lesser Spurns? They are no different. Hair color should not dictate status for life.
Raror shrugged.
Talina knew that while he sympathized with her point of view, he failed to understand why she was so soft-hearted. The way the majority of other Spurns had treated her had resulted in her possessing an unparalleled empathy. But the castes were a part of life on Spurn. The Gerks, or Grays, were mostly found in positions of servitude. They controlled less territory, and had less power and status. It had always been that way.
They dodged the pontoon pets, cat- and dog-fish swimming lazily in the waters surrounding their family home. Talina gave a quick pat to Toto, her favorite little friend, whilst keeping an eye out for Earon’s guardian, Chamandia. The large water dragon had never liked her, and since just one touch of its scales or breath of its venom would find you writhing in agony for days, it was worth the vigilance.
In sync, brother and sister surfaced. Talina sucked in a deep breath. This was the fastest way to activate their interior respiratory valve to switch from gills to lungs. Unlike other Spurns, she found this a more comfortable state.
Instead of moving forward she stared in dismay toward their floating pontoon. Returning home was never a pleasant experience.
As Gladriel was head of Earon, their dwelling was the most lavish in this quadrant. Constructed out of the trees that grew on the Sacred Isle, the timber slats were layered over each other, and the pontoon had small decks off each level.
The clans were granted a cer
tain quota of the lagoona trees. The leaders then divided this between the individual families. So it was no surprise that Gladriel’s house was three stories of floating opulence. Talina’s room was at the top, in keeping with her low family status. Only those of high standing scored a room near the water. Behind their home were low rows of tethered pontoons, spreading as far as the eye could see. The emerald flags of Earon swayed lazily in the cooling breezes. The majority of their community lived here, with just a few lone Spurns scattered throughout the quadrant.
Raror was already at the edge. Talina watched as his lithe muscles rippled, and he shot himself up out of the water and onto the higher decking, a feat her weaker body had no chance of achieving. He lowered the ladder for her to climb. With a sigh, Talina grabbed the bottom rung and pulled herself up. As she climbed, the fine webbings between her fingers disappeared, and each digit emerged. She was the only Spurn whose webbing completely disappeared when out of the water. Her long emerald hair trailed behind her, but unlike the pure color of the other Earons, Talina’s was flecked with black throughout.
According to Gladriel, this was courtesy of her unknown father, who was not of Spurn. They’d had a brief affair before he disappeared, never to be seen again. Spurns rarely stayed in long-term relationships; they tended to have mating seasons, and then moved on.
Raror reached down, and hooked Talina under the arms, dragging her onto the middle decking – his level.
“Gladriel has requested us downstairs, Talli.” Raror spoke aloud, his lispy voice courtesy of the Spurns’ tongue structure and vocal cords, something she also lacked.
Talina groaned and hung her head. “I just need one day without her constant disapproval.”
Raror pulled her into a tight hug; she shivered slightly against his skin. It was always so much colder than her own, but she appreciated his gesture. Spurns were not normally a demonstrative people.
“Come, we might as well find out what she wants. Get it over with.” He clasped her hand and led her downstairs.
Talina kept her head lowered, not making eye contact with any of the Earons scattered throughout her mother’s vast quarters.
“Nice to see you, Raror my son.” Gladriel, shifted in her bright pink coralline chair, a living entity made by microscopic sea creatures that continued to grow even outside the ocean.
Gladriel lifted her emerald hair over one shoulder; it was free-flowing down to her knees, as any good ruler’s would be. Then Gladriel turned her cold yellow eyes toward Talina.
“And you. Take a seat, and do not speak unless I require you to.”
Eyes downcast, Talina scurried along before falling down to sit cross-legged on the floor. She had chosen a back corner, where no one could come at her from any side but the front. Raror took his appointed seat next to Gladriel in a smaller coralline chair. The rest of the floor space was taken up by the heads of the minor family units within Earon.
“Thank you all for gathering so quickly. My son has returned from the city with grave news of thefts of cucreamer and wood from the Sacred Isle.”
A gasp rippled throughout the room. They all understood the gravity of the situation. Cucreamer and wood, vital to their existence, only grew on the Sacred Isle, and Spurns could not survive without that small stretch of land.
“However, in the time since the meeting at Silver City, there has been a capture on the Isle.”
Gladriel’s slightly pointed teeth gleamed as she smiled around the room. She looked proud, as if she had made the arrest herself.
“Foreigners, from a distant planet, apparently. And the chosen of the clans are to convene for the trial.”
Whispers and murmurs echoed throughout. The last foreigner to visit from another planet was Talina’s father.
Talina sighed; she knew what this announcement meant for her. Raror would be gone, and life was almost unbearable without the protection of her brother. Nothing that she couldn’t handle, of course, but the constant taunts and loneliness would wear her down after a while. Plus Gladriel loved to leave her with all the worst jobs. In particular she hated de-barnacling the base of their pontoon.
As if Raror had heard her thoughts, he raised his head to glance in her direction. A small smile played on his lips.
What was he up to?
He straightened his shoulders and met Gladriel’s gaze. “Mother, I cannot attend this trial with you.” He spoke without hesitation.
The rest of the gathered members looked up at him in confusion. More and more lately he had been taking on the responsibilities of the clan.
Talina waited for her mother to explode, but Gladriel simply smiled out into the expanse of the room.
“Talina will accompany us, Raror; you do not need to worry about your promise to her.”
Raror continued to stare at the troubling smirk displayed by the head of Earon. Talina could tell by his expression he felt the same way she did; Gladriel was up to something. And right now she was not keen to be going on this adventure. But, as always, she had no choice.
Later that night, as Talina stepped into her water-pod for her nightly respite, and everyone else had either returned to the water or to their pontoons, she heard screeching.
“No,” she breathed.
Surely Gladriel wasn’t up to her old tricks. She’d promised Raror she would stop. But Talina knew Raror was away visiting his mating partner, and clearly Gladriel was taking advantage of his absence.
Stepping out onto her balcony, Talina dived headfirst over the rail into the cool water. She shook hard, her anger bristling over.
How could she do this? But Talina knew her mother was pure evil.
She continued to swim towards the largest moon, staying close to the surface. No one else would be able to hear the droltine’s cry, but Talina’s hearing was better than most. Finally the isolated barge came into view. Mesh netting surrounded it on all four sides, a barrier to keep them contained.
With her head above the waterline, she gripped the closest section of netting.
“Gladriel!” She would probably pay for it later, but Talina couldn’t help the anger that spilled out in that one word.
A single screech was her reply.
Talina’s clenched fists tightened on the barrier. She would have to enter her mother’s lair.
Diving over the top, she descended into the sparsely lit water. All the way down she continued to hope she was wrong. But there was very little doubt.
Gladriel came into sight then, her emerald hair surrounding her. At first it looked as if she was alone, but within moments the droltine came into view. It was tethered to Gladriel by a simple twined rope. And she was systematically pulling it forward, send hot shock waves into it and blowing it back.
STOP! Talina mentally screamed at her mother.
Gladriel turned, a sneer gracing her features.
Hello, daughter, come to join me while I train our next guard and scout?
Talina shuddered with anger. She could taste the fury as it ascended from the pit of her stomach. The swirl of energy that always lived inside her was tumultuous, and her vision started to blacken around the edges.
No, I can’t lose control again. She silently begged herself to hold it together. You have to stop, Gladriel. You cannot treat our beautiful friends so cruelly.
It is in our nature, daughter. I need this one’s co-operation and I need it to be tough. There is no other way to achieve this.
And she turned to shock the poor animal again. It screeched in pain, shying away from its torturer.
Talina noticed the spattering of red where the droltine had endured Gladriel’s training.
The water started to swirl around Talina and she knew it was almost too late; her power wanted to be released; Gladriel must be stopped. The water heated as it formed turrets.
Slowly her mother turned back toward her and noticed the energy surrounding them.
Talina! What are you doing? You must control yourself; you are weak.
Talin
a barely registered the insult. She was reveling in the flow of power, the confidence that she was the baddest thing in the water and that she could end Gladriel’s reign of terror. The blackness was descending over her vision again, but she registered Gladriel’s fear. Her mother trembled and dropped the tethered droltine, holding both hands up in a pleading gesture.
I promise I will let her go and never do this again. Just stop this.
A smirk crossed Talina’s face; Gladriel knew she was about to become the victim; she was practically begging for Talina’s mercy. It was time to give some of the torture back.
That last thought was enough to shock a semblance of control into Talina’s system. She paused on the brink of sending out a devastating wave of power.
No, she refused to be like her mother, abusing the powers granted to her.
Instead of attacking Gladriel, she sent a powerful force through the water that blasted apart the mesh cage.
If I ever catch you doing this again, Gladriel, I swear I will not stop at disintegrating the mesh.
Talina turned then and left the area. She needed to get away from her mother before the anger brimmed over. She needed some hard swimming to calm down.
Her power needed release, and she’d never be able to control it if she couldn’t work off this pent-up energy.
As she swam she decided not to tell Raror what had occurred. It would only create drama for him, and she hoped that was the last time Gladriel would commit such cruelty. Her fear of Talina’s powers might just keep her in line.
The next morning Talina and Raror sat with their legs hanging off the side of her top-level balcony. Eighteen pontoons had been separated from the collective to head for the Isle. It would take them seven days powered by wind and seahorses to reach the land. Earon’s quadrant was the second largest behind the Baroons; blue-hairs were top of the food chain.
Talina rested her face on the railing. She stared out into the half-sun lighting a pink sky.
