by Jaymin Eve
“I will keep you alive,” she whispered to her only friend, the little boy she thought of as a brother and would die to protect. “Do not ever fear death from lack of energy, I have enough to keep you alive.”
Marl hugged her, his cold thin body melding into her own for a brief second. The Drones did not hug or touch much, it was not in their nature – too easy to want to suck the life energy from another. But Sapha craved touch, so these brief moments meant everything to her. “I would give you energy now, but I know that if anyone sensed it on you, they would want to know where you got it from and they would kill you.”
They would think Marl was stealing energy and they would not hesitate to end his life. They were brutal with their laws now. Martial law ruled Arotia.
“You give me more than enough.” Marl patted her arm once before withdrawing back to himself.
He really didn’t understand the power Sapha wielded.
There was no day or night on Dronish to mark the passing of time, only the sliver of moon which drifted across the sky. From this they knew when to rest in their meditative state and when a weekly cycle had passed so they wouldn’t miss Marl’s next chance with the crystals. Sapha wished they didn’t have to go into Arotia at all, but Marl wore tracking bracelets, as did all the other Drones. If someone did not show up for feeding time, they searched for them. The priest said it was protection for the masses, but it was really about control. The trackers were deactivated, the lights along the edge of the ankle brace dull and lifeless. They would light up if activated. But they only did that in rare occasions. The priest wouldn’t waste power unless he needed to find you. Sapha dreaded the day that Marl’s lit up. She didn’t have one of course, she’d been hidden since birth.
It was the next moon when she approached Marl. She’d been working on a plan all night. It felt like now was the time to break all ties with Arotia, especially if a battle was coming. “I think I’ve figured out how to remove your ankle tracker. I just have to be sure that my power won’t be detected.”
Marl shook his head, his eye blinking as he stared. “Why bother? They won’t call it in. No need to risk exposure.”
Sapha clenched her hands together. “What if those other Drones have infiltrated the city? They might have the energy to activate every tracker. They could find us out here. We risk detection either way now.”
“Can you sneak back in under your shadows and see what’s happening?” He crouched down on his pillow. It wasn’t time for meditation, but he often sat and absorbed the fine particles of energy in his surroundings. “That way we know the true risk either way.”
“I already planned on going,” Sapha said.
She had not rested for the entire meditation period. She had to know what was happening and she had to know now.
She left Marl, after making him promise many times he would not leave the cave, and made her way back to Arotia. She called her shadows to her the moment she was in the clear plains. It was nice when the shadows wrapped around her, warm and comforting, giving her the touch she desperately craved. Yes, they were not solid, but had been there her entire life; she would have gone crazy without them. She slowed outside the fence hole, pausing for a moment to make sure there was nothing or no one to worry her on the other side. It seemed to be clear.
She slipped through. There wasn’t anyone close by; she could detect life force pretty easily, except on those who were close to death. Wandering toward the town center, her eyes flicked left and right, waiting to detect the presence of the town’s people. Arotia was not a spread-out city. To conserve energy, all of the inhabitants lived in large buildings. Each dwelling had layers on top of the other; literally thousands inhabited each of the stacked-on structures.
Staying close to the edges of the buildings, hidden by the shadows under the overhanging eaves, Sapha crept her way toward the front gate. She ground to a halt about a hundred yards out. She couldn’t move any closer. It looked as if the entire populations of Arotia was surrounding the gates. Kan and his men still sat in the watchtower. No one moved or spoke.
What the hell is going on here?
It was hard to get closer without running into anyone, but sticking with her darkness Sapha managed to get herself right into a small corner of a dwelling. From here she could climb a lattice decoration and make her way to higher ground. The first level she reached wasn’t high enough, so she continued to climb, working hard to keep her movements silent and hidden. Finally the second story of this particular building allowed an uninterrupted view.
Holy mother of all energy, Sapha cursed under her breath as she blinked out into the darkness.
The crowd of others outside the barriers had grown to massive proportions. They had at least the same numbers as Arotia, and they had moved closer to the city. Sapha couldn’t tell what was happening, but it looked as if they were preparing to enter.
Shouting broke the silence. The words of the ancient Drones’ language. Not the tongue Sapha preferred, but one she understood.
A young Drone stepped forward. He wore a long, dark cloak like the rest of their society, his pale skin lit with red carvings which accentuated his very red eye. “We warned you. Surrender your city and energy to us, or we will end you all.” He wore his energy like a cloak, and he was filled to the brim. In fact, all of the people outside the gates looked flush with strength.
“You have one more circle of the moon.” This was his last warning before he turned and gestured to his people. They all backed away, moving to their camp.
The Arotia priest turned, facing out to the thousands who waited on his words.
“Everyone into the town square now. We are bringing out the emergency crystals. Energy for everyone so we have a chance to fight.”
Sapha gasped a few times before scurrying down the side of the building. She fumbled near the bottom, missing the last few rungs and landing on her hands and knees. The hard rock that formed the dry ground bit into her delicate skin, tearing it and spraying free the liquid which lived under her skin. She was the only Drone she knew who had this red flowing in their bodies. It was real pain. Thankfully she wasn’t too hurt and managed to make it to her feet and take off for the cave. She had to stay ahead of the others and she had to either free Marl’s tracker or get him back to the town. They were sure to turn on the trackers for this. It was definitely an emergency.
The Drones were going to war again.
Chapter 2
Abigail
The group that gathered on the grassy area before the beach was large. We were at the wedding slash mating of my best friend, Lucy, and her mate, the wolf-Walker Colton. We were watching Cerberus, a two-headed hellhound, and Lina, a massive, shiny black unicorn – her long sparkling ivory horn tipped with a deadly-looking spike – gallop along the sand toward us.
Yes, you heard me correctly: hellhound and unicorn.
As Lina stepped closer, I was shocked to see a pair of shiny black wings tucked in at her side. I hadn’t noticed them before. Unbelievable. She wasn’t just a unicorn, but some sort of hybrid. Like a Pegasus and unicorn combined.
“I’m almost afraid to ask what the other five sacred Walker animals are going to be,” I heard Lucy murmur. She was next to me, still decked out in her stunning white gown, and tucked under the arm of her equally stunning mate. Colton’s white-blond hair was tousled. He watched the creatures approach us.
“If Cerberus is bonded to me,” I said, “does that mean each of these sacred guides will choose one of the half-Walkers?”
I tilted my head upwards and was captured by the velvety brown of my mate’s eyes. “Yes,” Brace said. “That’s what the legends say.”
As the creatures approached, I felt a draw to step toward them, the same pull that had been there when I found Cerberus in pixie land. I clearly wasn’t the only one. Fury, Talina, Ria and Delane followed me off the grassy area and onto the sand. The half-Walker girls. My heels sunk in but it took no effort to kick the uncomfortable death-traps fre
e. I reached out and linked hands with Fury on the right and Talina on the left. In turn, Ria attached to Talina, and then Delane – our most recent friend from the world of Nephilius – hesitated just briefly before she took Ria’s other hand. The five of us were linked physically, but as we stood waiting for the animals to reach us, unity, strength, and something a little more connected us at a cellular level.
“What’s her name?” I heard Delane whisper. There was a sense of reverence coating her tone. “And what sort of animal is that?” I wasn’t sure I’d ever heard such emotion from the warrior Walker.
“On Earth we called them unicorns, but they don’t usually have wings. She’s a pegacorn,” I said.
“Or a Unisus,” Lucy chimed in.
I laughed. “Probably just easier to stick with unicorn. And her name is Lina.”
Cerberus reached me first, and his two heads bobbed as happiness exuded from him. My hellhound had been alone for so long and now he was reveling in the Walker love around him. Not to mention his fellow animal guides were returning. Lina paused six feet from us. She had large eyes, a shimmery silver color. With an inclination of her head she acknowledged each one of us half-Walkers. I found my own head lowering slightly in return. She was so majestic. The energy that swirled around her was so strong I kept expecting to see visible strands.
Lina, who stood heads taller than all of us girls, stepped forward and stopped right in front of Delane. The Nephilius half-Walker’s eyebrows drew together and her lips parted slightly. She pulled her hand free from Ria, and then with little pause Delane lifted both hands to gently rest them against the long, horse-like nose of Lina. Suddenly the Nephilius half-Walker’s short, silky black hair lifted in whirls around her face and the caramel of her skin darkened as energy flowed between them. Both Delane and Lina’s wings shot out from their bodies, standing many feet about their heads. We all had to jump back or we’d have been clobbered by the massive, razor sharp appendages.
“She’s mine?” Delane choked out. “I can’t … I don’t know what to say.” She turned her head to face me. She hadn’t removed her hands from Lina. I could see the shock in her wide, dark eyes.
“They’re our guides, helping us through this war, protecting us when they can,” I said as I also freed my hands and reached forward to hug Cerberus. “I think we need to do some research into them. I have no idea what their capabilities are.”
“We can help you with that, baby girl.” I spun my head to side and found Josian standing there.
My lips lifted in a broad smile as a flood of joy washed through me. I was so glad he had made it back before the ceremony was over. He’d had to leave in the middle of Lucy’s wedding, but I always felt better when he was close by. Something was going on with my father. I had sensed it for a while now, but still his presence was so essential in my life that I felt a little lost when his massive personality wasn’t around.
“Who is we?” Ria asked. Which was a good question, since he was standing there alone.
“The princeps of all seven clans are due to meet later. We should have enough knowledge between us.” He grinned, showcasing his perfect white teeth. His red hair shifted around him in the breeze off the ocean.
I had so many things to be doing in the next twenty-four hours. I needed to go to the lalunas and see if I could reform my melding bond with Brace. I had to meet with the princeps and find out about our animal guides. And I needed to get moving to the next world, Dronish, and gather the sixth half-Walker. We were in a race against the clock. Four of the Seventine were out there and they were gathering energy and working to free the last three of their brothers. And speaking of gathering energy, I also needed to find out what Fury had discovered on Crais. I had a terrible feeling there was something big about to go down on one of the planets. I just didn’t know which one or how to prevent it from happening.
“But I think now it is time for a dance,” Josian said, spreading his arms wide. “Can I have the honor, baby girl?”
His words had the crowds dispersing again. They moved back to the positions they’d been in before the arrival of our second sacred animal, mingling on the dance floor and seated around the tables eating and drinking. I caught Lucy’s eye and she gave me a wink before turning back to Colton. Brace was standing where I’d left him; his strong features softened as I blew him a kiss.
As I strode across to Josian, the other girls remained behind, still gathered around the sacred animals.
***
About the Author
Jaymin Eve loves surrounding herself with the best things in life: a good book, chocolate and her two little girls. She’s been writing for about ten years and now it has settled into her blood and she can’t get it out. Not that she wants to.
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