by Jaymin Eve
Channa stood. “What do you mean, she’s gone?”
Yeah, I was kind of wondering the same thing.
“Nomads just stormed the entrance and made off with more of the females.”
“Were they the blessed from the sacred grotto?” a female asked.
I looked around as panic spread through the group. Why had no one mentioned having problems with the nomads before?
“No, just a few random tribeswomen who were in one of the gathering rooms,” he said, taking a deep breath.
“And Fury just happened to be one of them?” I couldn’t help the suspicion that bled from my words.
He spun around to face me, I think for the first time noticing we were not local inhabitants. His eyes widened as he answered. “Fury was not taken. She stole sacred leaves from the grotto and took off after the nomads.”
Now that sounded like Walker behavior.
“She said something about having a man on the inside that may be able to help.” Having passed on the information, he turned to leave the room.
“Has the sun eclipse just started?” Channa’s words halted him.
He spun his head and nodded before leaving the dining room.
Channa started to pace and I swear as her eyes flashed in anger it looked as if tiny flames were lit within them. “The nomads are a dying race. For some reason they cannot produce young, although this doesn’t stop them from stealing our women and holding them captive,” she practically spat out.
I exchanged a glance with Lucy. Well, now we knew exactly what those poor women were being held for. I had a brief flashback to my life on Earth. The human smugglers and Gangers were the same, taking woman for their own sexual perversions.
I hadn’t noticed at first, but I was absently running my hand along the knife strapped into my boot. I guess I was mentally preparing to castrate a few men.
“Do they have no women of their own?” Lucas asked the question.
I wrinkled my nose. He sounded more interested than concerned.
Channa gave him a long look before replying. “I have never heard of any besides Fury’s mother. The nomads are born from our tribes. They come and take them from us.”
“How do you know they’re nomads?” Lucy asked.
“All nomads have hair of pure white,” Channa said, and then with a flurry of gestures she ushered us from the dining room.
No more words were spoken as we hurried to follow the quick-footed woman. My eyes had adjusted quite well to the semi-darkness, but still I had to keep a close watch.
“Something about this whole situation stinks,” Lucy bit out. “Seems like a setup.”
“Agreed.” Talina’s tone was dark.
Before I could help it I exchanged a worried glance with Lucas. His face was calm, but the icy blue of his eyes didn’t hide his concern. Damn, Lucas never worried about things; something really did smell rotten here.
Channa led us through a barrage of chambers, halls and rock landings. The decor never changed. Rock was definitely prevalent on Crais. Eventually she started to slow.
“Do not touch anything in this room,” were her short words before she stepped inside.
We followed close behind.
A gasp escaped before I could even acknowledge what I was seeing. And I wasn’t the only one.
“Shut the freaking door,” Lucy said as she clutched my arm. “They have a damn oasis hidden here.”
We were standing in a forest. The light was almost blinding after the darkness of the caves. I glanced up, expecting the roof to be open, but instead the rock stretched high for miles. The brightness seemed to come from a series of reflective surfaces scattered up the walls, beaming light from above and then all the way down into the forest. Channa picked her way gently through the foliage. There was a single stone path, and she never wavered or stepped onto any of the greenery.
“I get the feeling that this place is important to the Crais people,” Lucas said drily.
“I see why they’re so excited about you being the next Emperor. Your deduction skills know no bounds.” I threw him a cheeky grin.
According to Brace, no one seemed to think Lucas was up to the job, and I felt it was my bitchy duty to point that out.
“Guess it’s lucky I’ll have your wise council, you know, as the future Empress.” He flashed me his shiny whites.
“She said she wasn’t interested. Might be time to take the hint; your desperation is starting to seep out.” Lucy gave him hard eyes, interrupting my reply.
“Abby can fight the inevitable all she wants. But fate is decided and you can only run for so long before you’re caught.”
I stepped forward, my plan to punch him in his perfect nose, since words didn’t seem to do him any harm. But Talina spoke, halting me in my tracks.
“Walkers are bound by no one’s decision of fate. We make our own path and travel where we want. It might be time for you to step the hell back and let Abby decide. Pushing her will do nothing but increase your chances of being kicked in the face.”
I laughed. “Well, I was going to punch him, but I could probably kick him in the face if I tried.”
Lucy grimaced. “Not me. You’re all too tall. You take his face and I’ll take his jewels.”
I snorted as Lucas’ hands moved to shield himself. He caught the movement though, halting it halfway.
“Why did I decide to journey with three women?” he muttered, taking the lead as we continued to follow Channa through their secret green grotto.
Our small talk was over so I took the time to study the land as we walked. I had never seen any of these trees or plants before. They were not overly tall, but very thick and bushy. There seemed to be a variety of bulbous root-type vegetation and small berries, but I didn’t see many other fruits.
My mind started to wander as we continued across the large space. I’d been studiously ignoring the golden thread in my head, but at this moment I realized it was tugging at me. That hadn’t happened before. My heartbeat accelerated. Was the Seventine trying to contact me?
I had to work hard to ignore the strand, because there was this constant temptation to grab hold and see Brace again. I ached every moment. And I just plain missed him more than anything. But until someone figured out how to separate them, seeing him was only going to create far bigger problems. Like tempting me into making a deal. I hadn’t forgotten his offer. For some reason I couldn’t automatically dismiss it.
I shut my mind off again.
It was time to bring my focus back to the situation we were in. We were still moving across the huge forest area and at this pace we’d made a good distance. The other side was coming up fast. I could see the group of men gathered at the junction, blocking our exit. I recognized Jordan standing with a dozen or so others, all garbed similarly, and I figured we were looking at the tribe leaders.
“Channa.” Jordan stepped out of the circle to greet his partner.
Both hands encircled her biceps as he lifted her off the ground and touched his forehead to hers.
“You heard of the nomads’ attack?” he continued, lowering her back to stand on her own feet.
“Yes.” She frowned. “I figured if we moved quickly enough you would have time to show these travelers where to follow. The eclipse has only just begun?” she questioned.
He nodded. “We must wait two more sunbeams. Make sure you keep up.”
I realized he was now addressing us.
A thumping noise had everyone spinning back to face the forest area. A black-skinned man dashed into view.
“Luiz, what are you doing? You cannot rush through the sacred grotto. You might damage the plants.” Channa’s voice was tight and cold.
“I must accompany you to find Fury.” He stood tall, his voice low.
Was he her mate?
“We leave now.” Jordan gave the Crais man a nod.
“I am ready.” Luiz smoothed down his leafy belt.
I gathered my energy as everyone fell in clo
se, mentally preparing myself for the drain. It was worse now that I knew the suns’ intensity.
“Fury can’t stand in the sun at all. Even with the leaves, she will not have made it far,” Jordan said as he hit the side of the rock wall and it opened. Daylight flooded the area we were in. “We must climb to the surface. We will wait for you at the top.”
The men started to move up what looked like a rock ladder. I spread my shield around everyone, knowing we had no choice but to trust these men and follow them out into the sun. I let my friends go ahead. That way I could keep an eye on my shield coverage. I had to be diligent because as we ascended the air would no longer be breathable.
We were definitely nowhere near as fit or dexterous as the tribal leaders; they scaled the rock ladder quickly, while we lagged much further behind. Lucy seemed to be the one who complained the most and took the longest. I continued to find myself clinging to the edge of the rocks waiting for those above to move it. The tips of my fingers were slightly abraded, but my Walker healing fixed that up quickly.
The light grew brighter as we moved; I managed to shift the glasses that had been resting on my head back down over my eyes. I noticed Lucas reach up to help Lucy do the same. I hated it when he was thoughtful; it was easier to detest an arrogant asshat. Finally we reached the edge, and with a deep breath I followed everyone up into the burning brightness.
Chapter 6
The surface of Crais looked exactly the same as before: dead, with red and black splashes of contrast. In fact I couldn’t tell if we were in the same spot where the dragon had attacked us or somewhere different.
We followed the tribal leaders as they ducked in and out of shaded areas. They seemed able to withstand very small portions of direct sun.
I hoped they knew where they were going, especially if we only had an hour until the sun eclipse ended and everyone had to be back in the caves. My shield would last longer than that, but there would be no point in us staying out there. We’d never find anything without their help.
The silence seemed unnatural inside our shelter; I could almost feel the heavy thoughts. Well, maybe not Lucas’s. I doubt he had many thoughts besides where to find his next bimbo. His white teeth flashed at me. Either he’d read my mind or the fact I’d been kind of staring in his direction had prompted the smile. I flipped him off in return. His smile broadened. Lucy and Talina snorted with laughter.
“Acting like an ass is not going to deter me,” Lucas said.
“Oh, so we’re talking now? Thank god. I hate forced silence. I feel like all these thoughts are going to burst from my head.” Lucy chattered away.
I shrugged. “Since we only have an hour and we know the air lasts longer than that, I don’t see why we can’t chat.” I shifted my eyes to Lucas. “And I’m not trying to deter you; I just simply don’t like you.”
He actually laughed out loud. “You don’t hate me. You want to hate me; there’s a difference.”
He might have a point. I more hated the attraction I had toward him. It felt disloyal, despite the fact there was not one ounce of doubt in my mind that I belonged with Brace. But for some reason Lucas was hard to push away, and I desperately needed him out of my personal space. So for now the hate would continue.
“Are you all getting a weird vibe from these people?” Talina asked.
Lucy snorted. “Yes! First they started with that friggen water induction. And now this little adventure seems all too planned. Co-incidence? I think not.”
“Yeah, but what is their end game?” As I said this I noticed my shield was a little close to Talina. Without effort, I expanded it.
“I think they’re counting on your power to help them recover their lost tribe members,” Talina added quietly. “That’s what we would have done on Spurn.”
That did make sense.
“Considering I have a vested interest in finding Fury, they might just get lucky today,” I said.
We had to increase our speed to keep up with them. They were running flat out now across an exposed plane toward a mountainous cliff face. It had to be the largest rocky overhanging area that we had seen since arriving on Crais. I noticed the dark entrance first, a large opening carved deep into the mountain.
“Do you think these nomads live in that cave?” Lucy sounded nervous.
I couldn’t blame her. Dark caves were creepy. And I was kind of sick of being in them.
“Looks like we’re about to find out,” Lucas said as the tribal leaders disappeared into the darkened entrance.
We were close behind them, and everyone crowded into me. We tripped over each other, but it was easier to maintain my shield. Our footsteps echoed off the rock walls as we continued our dash. Even after removing my glasses I still couldn’t see any further than about ten yards in front. I just hoped we were heading in the right direction. Lucy gripped my hand tightly; without Walker abilities, she’d have almost no vision.
Shouts could be heard in the distance. We increased our speed before emerging into an open space. I threw out my free arm to halt everyone at the edge of the room. The mossy lights illuminated the chaos that was reigning before us. The tribe members we’d followed leapt around attempting to fight off a dozen men who had long blindingly white hair. The nomads stood taller and more muscled than the tribespeople, their skin a shade of burnt red like the dirt outside.
“Do you think we’re far enough underground to breathe the air?” Lucy asked.
She was bouncing on her feet like she did before fight-class back home.
I shifted my eyes to her. I’d been in plenty of fights lately, but clearly Lucy thought she’d been missing out.
“I have no idea, but we should test it out. I nominate Lucas,” I said as I turned and shoved him out of the shield.
He stumbled into the clear space next to us. Talina gasped and Lucy snorted with laughter. I watched closely. If he struggled to breathe I was totally prepared to extend the shield, I swear.
Lucas glared at me before closing his eyes; I think he was counting to ten. Opening them again, he nodded to indicate it was fine to breathe the air. I slowly retracted my energy. The air had that dirty ash taste to it again, much worse than anything I’d experienced. But if I breathed shallowly it was bearable.
“You should give a guy some warning the next time you’re trying to kill him. It’s only polite.” Lucas bit the words out.
“Don’t be a little baby. If I was trying to kill you, you’d know about it.”
Lucy’s cough interrupted our bickering. “You two fight like an old married couple. And seriously, what is this crap we’re breathing? My lungs actually hurt.”
I faced Lucy and Talina. “Make sure you two let me know if it’s too much for you to handle.”
“It’s not pleasant, but I seem to be doing okay,” Talina said.
Now that we had established our ability to breathe we turned back to the scene. Many of the tribesmen were looking down and defeated. The nomads were clearly the dominant fighters. They used no weapons that I could see, just hand-to-hand combat.
Jordan and another tribesman were working as a team, throwing each other into their opponents to knock them down. It was clever, but definitely required huge levels of control and acrobatic ability. Otherwise they could just as easily hurt themselves. Had all the rock climbing given them those necessary strengths and skills?
Before I could stop her Lucy took off. She dodged around the main group of white-haired men, who were giants compared to her. Once she was in the centre she used her small stature to her advantage, ducking around and taking out the unsuspecting nomads’ legs.
Within seconds she had shifted the advantage toward the tribes. I actually stood there dumbfounded for a moment. She was laughing her ass off as she punched, judo-rolled and crown-jewel-kicked her way through the white-haired men.
I knew I needed to get in there too, but her sheer craziness had me alternating between freaking out with worry and laughing my own ass off. Shaking my head, I gath
ered some energy the way I’d been taught and started firing off small balls of power.
It was hard in the semi-darkness to make sure I hit the intended target and not someone on our own side. I sent one off into a man who had been approaching Lucy from behind. She’d been too busy swinging off a nomad’s long white hair to notice. The man in question was furious, twirling around with fists flying, trying to dislodge her. He didn’t have a chance.
Her behavior had certainly upped in recklessness since the whole Samuel incident. Like the rest of us, she had a lot of anger to work through.
When I reached her, she stepped in back-to-back with me. We’d fought that way a lot and it worked very well for these large group situations.
“What are you doing, Luce?”
“I’m going all Chuck Norris on their asses,” she said as she launched off my back and two-foot-kicked a man in the head. “I don’t need a weapon; I am one.”
I was about to answer when I noticed a spectacle to my right.
“Where are our women?” Jordan bellowed as he repeatedly smashed a nomad’s head into the rock floor. “You keep taking them and we never see them again.”
Lucy, who had dropped back in unscathed, shook her head. “I don’t know how he thinks a dead man can answer questions.”
The nomad might not be dead – yet. But he was definitely knocked out cold, small slivers of blood seeping around his forehead.
“Jordan, I think he might be done,” I yelled, jumping to the side as two wrestling men crashed into our space.
“Enough!” a deep voice bellowed out, echoing through the cavernous area.
The nomads stopped actively fighting, although they still worked to restrain the remaining tribesmen.
“We will fight no more. Fury has agreed to stay and in exchange we will give back all of the others.” A nomad stepped into view.
He was tall and broad, his skin a fiery red although there was a white sheen across it, as if he was wearing heavy-duty sunscreen. He carried the aura of being ‘in charge’ and as his fierce eyes flashed around the room I figured not many would disobey him. Behind him stood a few dozen tribeswomen. They looked shaken but otherwise unharmed.
