by Jaymin Eve
“Fury would never have agreed to stay.” Luiz, her friend, stepped forward. “Where is she? Let her speak for herself.”
Wow! I was surprised he had the guts to address the nomads so bluntly. I hoped they didn’t kill him; I truly admired loyalty in friends.
“Quiet, cave dweller. I’m not interested in you or your opinion. The only reason you will leave here alive is that Fury has agreed to co-operate fully.”
They’re going to use her as a breeder. Jordan mouthed the words to me.
My anger peaked then. What was it with men who thought they could just take you and rape you because you were female? It happened all the time on Earth too, and honestly we needed a way to defend ourselves against this brutality. Like barbed-wire vagina guards. I stepped around the men who were blocking me from view. I couldn’t stop the words spilling from my mouth.
“Listen up, red asshole. Fury is not a plaything for you morons to try and force a baby from.”
He spun around to stare me down, but I’d had far too much experience with arrogant Walkers. His power-play was nothing in comparison.
“I’m going to give you two minutes to release her. Or things are going to get very ugly.”
While I was speaking I noticed that the tribeswomen were being shuffled to the back of the caves. They soon disappeared from view, and I hoped that meant they were being taken to safety, because things were about to get messy. The nomad continued to stare before throwing back his head and laughing.
“I don’t know what you are.” He tilted his head to the side. “Some type of weird hybrid alien species, I assume, but you amuse me. I think I’ll keep you too.”
He gestured to a few of his men. They slowly moved into a circle to surround me. I sighed. No one ever wanted to take the easy way out. The one to my left dived in, arms extended. I sent a blast into his face, flinging him back ten feet. I followed this with a full extended kick into another’s throat, dropping him to the ground in a choking mess. The next golden ball was flung into the third one to try me.
A fourth stepped in from the side and clipped me across the chin with a well-placed jab. I winced as my head snapped back. One of my hands reached to hold my face, the other firing forward to crunch into his nose. My speed was turning out to be an advantage against the bulky nomads.
From the corner of my eye I noticed the remaining tribal men move across the room to intercept Lucy, Talina and Lucas. They then started to back away, taking my friends with them. What the crap were they doing? I spun around to follow but my path was blocked.
“Where are you taking them?” I screeched at the black-skinned Crais men.
The nomads continued to herd me toward their leader, although they now seemed reluctant to get too close. I watched in horror as three tribesmen maneuvered Lucy. Talina, who was virtually powerless in this land without water, was dragged along by another two, while six surrounded Lucas, pushing him back along the dark path. Were they taking them out into the sun? They couldn’t survive without my shield. When they disappeared from my sight, fear and panic flooded through me.
I let my power explode. It came in waves and torrents, knocking all those around me to the ground. I took off, sprinting as hard as I could along the darkened pathway. Reaching the end where the sun was too bright for me to see clearly, I erected my shield mere moments before I’d have been burnt to death.
I looked around. There was nothing: no tribesmen, no nomads, just a circling beast high up which looked very much like the mythical dragon again.
How could they have disappeared like that? Even if the suns had melted them or whatever, there would have to be something left behind.
Were they still in the caves?
As I had this thought, and was turning around to head inside, something hard slammed into the back of my head. My skin scorched as the shield dropped and the world went dark around the edges. I hit the ground hard, before my legs were grabbed and used to hoist me over a shoulder.
Within seconds the intense heat abated and we were back in the caves. The burning of my skin distracted me and I was too disorientated to fight back. Warm blood dripped over my forehead, leaving visible marks on the floor. Spots danced before my eyes and nausea rose, probably a concussion, but at least with my Walker abilities I’d be healed enough to fight in a minute. Closing my eyes, I waited for the sensations to subside. In my weakened state my mind drifted closer to the golden thread, and by the time I realized, it was too late to stop from brushing against it. I was reeled in.
“Hello, mate. I’m glad to see you again.”
I took the first moment to drink in the sight of Brace. It felt like years since I had last seen him.
“I’m not your mate,” I said bluntly. “Let’s not get confused here.”
He smiled, just the slightest curve, which was actually quite sinister. “I don’t know, the more time I spend with Brace, the more I see the attraction.”
Great. Just what I needed, a Seventine who was absorbing some of my melding bond with Brace. Time to cut him off here and now.
“Look, ancient psycho, I understand that you’ve been buried below for a long time and there weren’t many available females down there. But let me spell it out for you: you’re a power-hungry, crazy-ass who is determined to destroy billions of people and all seven worlds for your own selfish gains ... so I don’t think you and I are going to have much hope as a couple. I mean, what would we even talk about?”
The smirk remained. He dragged me closer by tugging on the golden strand that held me immobile.
“You’re just like us, Aribella, one of the ancient ones. You will come to understand and then you will join us.”
He was close enough that I could have reached out and touched him, and it was so hard to restrain myself. I craved Brace in a way that would be considered an addiction on Earth. I needed a good rehab clinic.
“Go now, sweetheart, you and I will speak again soon. Once you have decided it is in your best interest to help me free the third.”
I shuddered as the previously endearing ‘sweetheart’ turned to sourness in my stomach. This creature must have full access to Brace’s memories.
Thanks for ruining that for me, asshat.
And then he released the golden cord.
I popped back into my own head. I was barely disorientated, my focus zeroing straight in on my surroundings. I was still underground, in some type of rock cavern. And there was no door. Not that that was usually a problem for a Walker but I had no idea where to go right now. I couldn’t leave the planet until I found Fury, and I was really worried for my friends’ safety. I’d wait until my captors came back; I had a few questions and I was kind of hoping I needed to beat the answers out of them.
The pain from the burns and head injury was already subsiding. Despite the many crazies it had brought into my life, I couldn’t complain about the fringe benefits of being a Walker.
“What are you?”
The forcibly spoken words had me spinning around. I obviously hadn’t checked the stone room thoroughly enough. I’d missed the woman slumped in the dark right corner.
“Excuse me?”
“I said: what are you?” she spat out again.
I raised my eyebrows. “That’s what I thought you said. I was just giving you a chance to be less of a bitch.”
She stood then and my eyes widened as she stepped forward into the lightened area. She had creamy red skin and long white hair that reached to her waist. A female nomad? Unless I was mistaken, Fury was my cell mate.
“You seem to be some type of pale-skinned creature, one I’ve never seen before and, since you can understand what I’m saying, how about you answer the question?”
She was not a happy camper, her arms crossed across her front. She was slim, around my height, and had piercing eyes. They were dark. If I had to hazard a guess at the color, it would be gray. I couldn’t distinguish the pupil and iris.
“Fury, right?” I was already over this day.
She almost snarled at me. “How do you know my name?”
I sighed. “Look, your attitude is starting to annoy me. How about you take a step back from the bitch-ness and maybe I’ll answer your questions?”
“The nomads have sent you in here to try and figure out my power. I promise you, they might take my body, but I will never allow them to have my fire. Never!” She flicked the white hair. “So don’t even bother with your witchy persuasions.”
Damn it, now I was angry. The pain and darkness that had been constantly simmering under the surface of my personality erupted from me.
“Look, you pain-in-my-butt, I don’t have time for your childish tantrums and threats. My friends are missing, I’m stuck in this stupid rock room, I’m wondering why the hell my claustrophobia has cured itself and, since most of today’s crap is your fault, it’s in your best interest to stop pushing me.”
Her eyes narrowed and her lips started to quiver; she looked bewildered by my outburst.
“I don’t understand –” she started to say.
“I’m sure that what you don’t understand would probably span from here to the dark side of your planet. So why don’t you sit down and shut the hell up?”
My powers were snarling inside me, demanding to be let free. They wanted to wrap themselves around Fury, and probably do that dream thing. But I was getting very good at keeping them under control. They stayed on the leash most of the time now.
Suddenly she burst into flames. I clutched at my mouth to stop the shriek about to erupt. I took a step back without shifting my eyes from the spectacle in front of me. A bright blue flame encased her entire body, but she wasn’t screaming or burning to death. And there was no doubt that the flames were hot. I was getting waves of burning heat even from across the room. Fire power, she’d said, and now I understood.
Her eyes widened as they locked with mine.
Help, she mouthed to me. She couldn’t reel her energy back in.
I took a hesitant step closer. The room was getting uncomfortably warm now and the rocks behind her were a glowing red. She emitted heat like a volcano.
“You need to calm down; I’m not a threat to you. Your powers are reacting to your fear.” I spoke softly, letting my voice soothe her.
I allowed a small fraction of my power to leak out with my words, but only the calming portions. The angry part of me stayed tightly locked down.
She took a few shuddered breaths.
I could hear yells from behind me and a disturbing grinding noise. I wanted to turn around but was afraid to take my eyes off the firebug in front of me.
“It’s okay, Fury, these are just your Walker powers. You can learn to control them, but first you have to let go of the fear and also the strength. I know how addictive the sense of security is, but don’t let the powers control you.”
I had no idea at what point I had turned into the head counselor for these half-Walkers. But whatever I said had some effect. She drew the flames back into herself. The grinding noise continued behind me.
“They are coming for me now. Dune warned me not to use my powers, that they were a beacon for the nomads. They want me.” She spoke without an ounce of fear.
“What do they want you for?”
A sad smirk crossed her pale red lips. “I am to be their breeding machine for future generations of nomads. They think my power is the source they need to procreate.”
Sometimes it’s just awesome to be a woman.
She continued. “The reality is that nomads are anomalies on this world and they simply cannot breed. The only way for new nomads to be born comes from the tribes.”
“So why would they think you’re special or different?”
She laughed. “My mother was a nomad, and the only one to ever have a child. They believe I’m the key to their proliferation.”
I nodded, understanding flooding me. “The reason your mother was able to have you is because she was with a Walker. It would never have happened with another nomad.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “That’s the second time you’ve said that. What is a Walker?”
The rock behind me was starting to shift, and I finally figured out what the grinding was. They were opening the cave up. Keeping one eye on the wall, I spoke quickly.
“It seems as if we’re about to have some visitors. I’ll give you the condensed version and any questions will have to wait.”
Her eyes flicked to the slice of opening behind me now. She nodded once.
I ran through the most basic explanation of Walkers, their origins and, most importantly, the Seventine. She opened her mouth, eyes wide and shocked. I shook my head, cutting her off. She blinked but let me finish explaining my mission and the reasons we were on Crais. My story was cut off in the middle of the half-Walkers’ role when a man pushed through the rock opening. I spun around on the defensive. They wouldn’t be smacking me in the back of the head again.
The single man stepped further into the room. He was tall and domineering with strong facial features and short white hair. He oozed confidence and power. He reminded me so much of Brace that in that moment I almost fell to my knees. How is it that a metaphorical wave of pain could often be as debilitating as an actual physical blow?
I shook it off. Now was not the time to fall apart again. Brace would be the one kicking my ass if I showed weakness to the enemy.
“Fury, I warned you not to use your powers. They’re coming now. We must escape.” His voice was deep and his English rough.
Was this man friend or foe?
I spun my head to catch Fury’s expression. Her eyes were locked on him. Although, she still looked a little shell-shocked, whether because of me or hunky-man over there I couldn’t tell. But if the way she was eye-devouring him was any indication, she definitely had him in the friend category – very, very good friends.
“Dune,” she breathed. “What are you doing here?”
He didn’t answer. Instead he strode forward and threw her over his shoulder. She looked too stunned to object. He was moving toward the door when his dark blue-gray eyes locked on me.
“If you don’t want to spend time in the company of a herd of nomads I suggest you keep up.”
And he took off.
I didn’t hesitate to follow.
Chapter 7
Dune moved swiftly through the caves, ducking along low and narrow arterials. Fury’s complaining echoed off the walls.
“Why did you tell her to follow?” she said. “She’s crazy. She told me this stupid story about end of worlds and that I’m half-Walker.”
At that moment I stumbled on a few loose stones, falling a few feet behind and missing the rest of their conversation. By the time I regained my footing and caught up Dune’s low voice was all I could hear.
“According to your mother, your father was from an ancient race of beings called Walkers.”
I bit back a smile. Fury wouldn’t be happy to hear that.
“She told me some of the story before she died. I was never supposed to reveal it to you unless there came a time your life was in danger.”
“Well, one might think now is that time, Dune.” Fury’s voice sounded tense.
He didn’t speak again and his pace was increasing. I took a moment to look behind us but as far as I could tell we weren’t being followed. Did he know something that I didn’t? While I always enjoyed a chance to run, my white outfit and the lack of oxygen on Crais didn’t exactly create a fun experience. I even used my shield a few times just to clear my lungs of the sooty air.
Finally, Dune started to slow. The stone surrounding us looked different. It was less red and a sheen of slime ran along it. I’d guess we were further underground.
Dune dropped Fury down. They both moved toward an overrun of water on the wall and let their bodies replenish themselves.
I didn’t wait for an invitation, diving under a shelf nearby, sighing as the coolness flowed over me, the thick and absorbing nature of Crais water leaving
me refreshed. The moment one need was sated, another made itself known. My stomach growled; it had been a long time since we’d dined in the hall. And I’d been expending a lot of energy.
“Come.” Dune turned and strode around the corner.
We followed him; he pushed a rock wall aside to reveal a fully outfitted home. There were hammock chairs, padded sleeping surfaces, and an area that looked like a stone kitchen.
“This is where you live?” Fury said as she wandered further into the room. “Why are you underground?”
“I don’t live with the nomads. When I’m not keeping an eye on you I stay here. I like my own space.”
He walked into the kitchen and bent down in front of a small round pot. Within moments I could smell smoke and see the small fire that was beginning to heat the vessel. As I stepped closer, I peered inside to find it half-full of water. Dune continued to fuss around his area, opening weird boxes and throwing an assortment of things into the pot.
Fury hadn’t moved. She stood in the centre of the room, arms crossed across her front and a glare on her face. Her attention never wavered, and despite her clear annoyance she was far more patient than I’d have been.
Eventually my boredom kicked in and I sat down on one of the hammocks.
Leaning back, I thought about my parents. Damn, I’d forgotten to drop the energy around my mind and contact Josian. He was probably going crazy. Dune was still busy cooking and Fury was busy stalking him, so I figured I had time. With a thought I freed my mind and tentatively reached out to my father.
Aribella, how nice of you to relieve the worry of your parents. His booming voice echoed through my head, with just the slightest tone of annoyance.
Sorry, I forgot. Things have been a little strange here.
I heard his sigh. Well, don’t forget that I’ll be kicking your butt when you get home.
I laughed, even though he sounded serious.
So what has happened on Crais? Have you found the half? When are you returning?
Can you see check on Lucy, Talina and Lucas for me?
