The Void Hunters (Realmwalker Book 2)

by Jonathan Franks

  Hope squeezed her hand. “You can come home with me.”

  Gen smiled at her and squeezed Hope's hand back. “Thanks.” She took a last look at the Walkers' residence, then turned to face the others. “Let's go,” she said.

  They enjoyed traveling on such a beautiful day. It was pleasant to fly and talk. It was all jovial and good-natured. Gen had a suspicion that everyone was being so outwardly light-hearted because they were all as afraid as she was. Making it more like a trip with her friends was easier to handle than thinking about it as a perilous quest that might kill some or all of them.

  By nightfall, they had left The Peak and flown down the mountain, over The Foothills, and into The Highlands. They made their camp in the soft heather and sat around the heatstone while they ate. Shae and Hope had lots of questions about the human world and Gen did her best to answer them.

  “What's the weirdest thing about being here?” Shae asked.

  “Honestly,” Gen said, “it's the freedom. I don't have a schedule. I don't have anyone telling me what to do or where to be. Nobody ordered me on this adventure we're having. The Oracle suggested that I have the power to help all of these fairies, and you three wanted to help, so here we are. We're doing this because it's the right thing to do, not because we're being told to do it. The Peak was a small, close-knit, pretty self-sufficient little community. And they were all so sharing and so welcoming. I mean, we didn't pay to stay in the residence. We didn't pay for any of the food or anything. They just fed us.”

  “Actually,” Herron said, “I did pay for it.” He reached into one of the small pouches attached to his belt and removed a silver coin. He flipped it to Gen.

  She caught the coin and looked at it. It had a constellation on one side - some group of stars that Gen didn't recognize - and stylized clouds on the other. She frowned. “Oh.”

  Herron smiled. “It's okay. You weren't being completely idealistic. You're right about the residence. Most communities have a place for Walkers to stay, free of charge. Some are nicer than others, but most towns will take care of a Realmwalker.”

  “Why?” Gen asked.

  “They tap the Hearts,” Hope said. “The Heart of each Realm secretes magical energy. It crystalizes into a kind of powder. One of the responsibilities of the Walkers is to collect that powder from the Chambers in the various Realms. We use it for all kinds of things, mostly channeling magic and enchanting things. It's how the heatstones work, for one.”

  “Wow,” Gen said. “Wait. The energy is a powder? Like a dust?”

  Herron shrugged. “I guess so, sure.”

  “You actually have fairy dust?”

  “Fairy dust?” Herron chuckled. “That's interesting. We don't call it that, but, sure, I guess you could.”

  Gen shook her head. “Amazing. We have these stories of fairies, but Peter Pan isn't anything like you guys.”

  “What's Peter Pan?” Herron asked. “I remember you mentioned that to Ivy.”

  Gen told them the story of Peter Pan and Tinkerbell and Tiger Lily and Captain Hook. Her three companions were captivated by the tale.

  “I guess for this trip,” Gen said to Herron, “instead of you telling us about the stars, it'll be me telling you stories. Wait until I get to Star Wars.”

  “What's Star Wars?” Shae asked.

  “It's amazing,” Gen said. “It's three movies that—” Hope and Shae stared blankly at her. “Herron, we watched a movie at my house. Why don't you tell them what it was like?”

  “It was incredible, like some kind of great illusion. Watching pictures moving and talking and telling a story. It was fascinating.”

  “That's a good description,” said Gen. “Star Wars is a series of three movies that tell the story of an orphan… Oh, that might not make sense to you guys, either. Okay, he's a farmer and he gets wrapped up in a great war between the evil Empire and the rebellion who fights for everyone's freedom. It's super cool.”

  The three of them looked expectantly at Gen again.

  “No way! One story a night!” She said. She yawned. “I'm ready for bed. You want to come, too?” she asked Hope.

  “Yeah,” Hope said. “Good night, you two.”

  “Night!” said Gen, and they went into their tent.

  Shae looked up at the stars. “If you still want to,” she said, “I'd like to hear you talk about the stars.”

  “Maybe another time,” Herron said.

  “You know we're only going to have three or four nights where we even get to see the stars? After that we'll be in The Void and who knows what they have there. Won't you please tell me about just one of the constellations?”

  Herron looked at Shae. She looked back at him, smiling a hopeful smile. “Okay,” he said, and he told her the story of the serpent and the butterfly. They used to be friends when the butterfly was a caterpillar but the serpent became very jealous after the caterpillar turned into a butterfly. He showed Shae the constellation of the serpent, then pointed out the constellation of the butterfly.

  “That's a beautiful story,” she said. “Thank you.”

  “You're welcome,” said Herron.

  “You ready for bed?”

  Herron nodded and stood up. Shae followed him to his tent but he stopped and looked at her quizzically. “Yes?”

  “Oh!” Shae squeaked. “Oh no! I'm sorry! I mean… I just…”

  “Look, Shae,” Herron began.

  “No, no, no!” Shae interrupted. “Don't say anything. It was my mistake. Remember how I said that sometimes it's hard to separate the future from the past, hard to tell if something is foresight or a memory? I'm sorry. It's very embarrassing when you get it wrong.”

  “Oh, hey, that's okay. Don't worry about it. Good night,” Herron said. Shae was flustered and embarrassed and flew quickly to her own tent. Poor thing, he thought. It must be so confusing, seeing the future and remembering it and keeping it all in order.

  He was sympathetic to her embarrassment. After all, he'd had a crush on Ivy when they had travelled together. He could understand that she felt something similar about him. It wasn't until later when he was just about to doze off that he realized what Shae had actually said.

  chapter 8

  George parked in the driveway behind his mom’s van.

  “You have such a nice house,” Laura said. “Such a lovely neighborhood. And it’s kind of unseasonably cold, don’t you think?”

  “You say that every time we come here. Don’t be nervous. I can tell when you’re nervous because you get all small-talky,” George said. “You really think it’s scarier telling my parents than it was telling yours?”

  “Oh, definitely.”

  “It’ll be fine. They love you!”

  “I don’t think your mother likes me one bit,” Laura said.

  “What are you talking about? She thinks you’re great! She took you and Genny out for ice cream, didn’t she?”

  “Yeah,” Laura shrugged.

  “There you go,” George said. “She’s never done that before.”

  “Your mom has never done anything with one of your girlfriends?”

  “Not once,” George said.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, really. Have I ever been out by myself with your folks?” George asked.

  “I guess not.”

  “There you go,” he said again.

  Laura took a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

  George turned off the car, then walked around to the other side to open Laura’s door. He took her hand and they went in through the front door.

  “Hello?” George called out.

  “In the kitchen,” his mother replied.

  George and Laura went into the kitchen. His mom and dad were sitting at the table, holding hands, looking at pictures. One of the family photo albums sat open on the table and a handful of loose Polaroids were next to it.

  George clapped his dad on the shoulder, then kissed his mother on the cheek. Her cheek was cold and he though
t it may have been slightly damp.

  “Mom? Are you okay?”

  She blinked and refocused, then said, “Hi, sweetie. Yes, I’m okay. Hi, Laura.”

  “Hi, Mrs. Summers,” Laura said. “Hi, Mr. Summers,” she said to Geoff.

  “Hey, Laura,” George’s dad said quietly.

  “We have really exciting news,” George said. He looked around. “Hey, where’s Genny?”

  Gabrielle inhaled a sharp, shaky breath through her teeth. “She’s… She’s gone.”

  “What?” George asked. “Gone? What does that mean? Like she went out? When’s she coming home?”

  Gabrielle lowered her head. “I don’t know. Never, probably. She left.”

  “What?” George asked again. “What are you talking about? Gen ran away? Is that what you’re saying? She’s never do something like that!”

  “Well, she did!” Gabrielle shouted. “She left us and she might never come back!”

  “Come on, Gab,” Geoff said. “You don’t know that.”

  “Mom? Dad? What happened?” George asked.

  “That’s complicated,” Geoff said. He shot a glance toward Laura.

  “I’ll just… Um. I’ll go wait outside,” she said. She kissed George’s cheek and let herself out the back door into the back yard.

  “You guys are scaring me,” George said. “What happened?”

  “Sit down,” Geoff said.

  George sat in his usual spot at the table and looked at his parents.

  “What’s going on?”

  Gabrielle said, “It’s hard to explain. It’s even harder to believe. But you have to believe us. She’s gone. She went to another world. There was a Bridge between the worlds and she had the opportunity to go. She thought she had to go, to save someone’s life.”

  “Another world? What the hell are you talking about?”

  “George! Watch your language.” Gabrielle frowned disapprovingly at her son, then continued, “Apparently, fairies are real, and she went to their world to save one of them.” Gabrielle pushed the Polaroids in front of George. They were pictures of Ivy’s and Pepper’s bodies. “Jim had these. He said these are the dead fairies from some battle. There was an explosion that burned Gen pretty badly but this girl fairy, Ivy, saved her life.”

  “Is this some kind of joke?” George asked. “What are you guys getting at? Are you screwing with me? Are Jim and Gen screwing with me?”

  “No joke,” Geoff said. “Super strudel. This is serious.”

  At the mention of his family’s secret “stranger danger” password, George froze. They were almost like magic words. “This is for real?”

  Gabrielle nodded and a tear clung to her eyelashes.

  “Wow,” George said. He picked up the pictures and sat back in his chair, studying them. “When?” He asked.

  “Monday,” Geoff said.

  “Monday?” George shouted. “It’s Sunday! Were you even going to fucking tell me about this?”

  “If she came back right away,” Gabrielle said, “we’d have had her tell you herself. But she hasn’t come back. And watch your mouth!”

  “Forget my mouth! How do you know she’s even still alive?” asked George.

  “Because Monday night, I had a dream and she told me she was okay. Don't look at me like that,” she said. “I know how it sounds, but I know it was her and she told me she was okay, but that she had something she had to do and she couldn't come home.”

  George threw the photos on the table and crossed his arms, frowning. “This is bullshit.”

  “George!” Gabrielle shouted. “Watch your mouth.”

  Geoff stood and looked out the kitchen window. “Laura looks worried. What did you have to tell us, anyway?”

  Gabrielle said, “She's not pregnant, is she?”

  “Jesus, mom!”

  “Go get her,” Gabrielle said. “Gen is fine, and we'd like to hear your exciting news.”

  George stared at his mom. “How can you be so blasé about this?”

  “Because we have to let her do what she needs to do. I don't know if I believe in destiny,” she said, “but if there is such a thing, then this could be hers. Every adventure book you liked to read when you were a kid had children who went off on grand adventures. This is hers, and we have to let her go. We have enough to try to cover with her school and all of that. She, uh,” Gabrielle sniffled, “she had a dentist appointment today. The boarding school story isn't going to hold if she comes back right away.”

  George shook his head. “I can't believe you guys.”

  Geoff opened the patio door and called Laura. She followed George's dad into the kitchen.

  “Everything okay?” she whispered to George.

  “Yeah.”

  “Where's your sister?”

  “Trying out a boarding school for gifted kids,” George lied. Gabrielle nodded at him.

  “That's amazing. Good for her!” Laura said.

  Geoff said, “George said you have something exciting to tell us.”

  Laura tried to nod calmly, but when she held her left hand out, she squealed with excitement. “We're getting married!”

  “That's wonderful!” Gabrielle said. Laura rushed to her and wrapped Gabby in a tight hug.

  They explained their plan, with Laura graduating, moving into George's apartment, his graduation, then joining the Peace Corps.

  Gabrielle's face fell. Her mouth tightened into a thin white line.

  “It'll be okay, mom,” George said. “It's only for two years.”

  “That's great news, you two,” Geoff said. “We're very excited for you. I'm sure we'll be doing a lot of wedding planning. We should celebrate. Right, Gab?”

  Gabrielle nodded absently.

  Geoff said, “We don't have champagne, but we'll open a bottle of wine.”

  “Nah,” George said, “We have to drive back to Champagne tonight. The other Champagne,” he laughed. “I don't have any Monday classes, but Laurie does.”

  “Stay for dinner, then,” Gabrielle said.

  “Sure,” George said. “What are we having?”

  “I haven't started anything, but I think I could—”

  The doorbell rang. Geoff and Gabrielle looked at each other.

  “I'll get it,” George said. He went to the door. He returned a minute or two later. “It's the police. They want to talk to you two.”

  Geoff and Gabrielle shared another look, then nodded and went to the door.

  “The police?” Laura asked George.

  “Yeah.” He looked back toward the front door. “No idea.”

  His mother shrieked and started crying. Laura and George rushed to the front door. “What's the matter?” George was shouting as he ran up the hall.

  “No! No!” Gabrielle cried.

  When George rounded the corner, Gabrielle was slumped on the floor against the wall, sobbing. Geoff wiped his eyes several times as he talked to the officers.

  George knelt next to his mom. “Mom? Mom, what's wrong? What happened?”

  Geoff closed the door and sat next to Gabrielle. He put his arms around her and wept.

  “Guys, you're scaring me, what's wrong? What happened?”

  “Greg…” Geoff struggled to say. “Greg's dead.”

  “What?” George cried. His throat closed up. He couldn't breathe. His heart was pounding. His vision blurred.

  Laura helped him to the floor, then rushed back to the kitchen to get him some water. When she got back, all three Summers were huddled together and sobbing. Tears flooded Laura's eyes. She watched the grieving family hugging on the floor and she didn't know what to do. She started to cry and Gabrielle reached a hand out to her. Laura took it and cried with her new family, mourning Greg, who would never be her brother-in-law.

  “What happened?” George eventually managed to ask.

  Gabrielle sniffed hard and said, “He was shot.”

  “Shot? At school?”

  “Another boy on his floor had a gun. He was thre
atening to kill himself. The RA ran to get the campus police and Greg went in to talk to him. The boy shot Greg, then shot himself,” Gabrielle said. “Look at all of my children. The god damn lot of you, all big fucking heroes.”

  George was shocked into silence. He'd never heard his mother use foul language, ever.

  “So fucking selfless,” she went on, “everyone one of you has to go and save people. You're all trying to fucking save people! Well, what about your family? All of these strangers are more important than us?” she screamed.

  “I raised kids with no god damn survival instinct and look what's happened. Gen's off god knows where doing god knows what. You're going off to do the same thing. And Greg… God damn it!” She screamed and pounded the wall.

  Laura gulped, swallowing the terror of offering comfort. “You didn't raise us with no survival instincts,” she said. “You raised good people. You raised three kids who are caring, giving, selfless, charitable, and kind. They have good manners. They put others before themselves. Your family is amazing and I worry that I'm not worthy to be a part of it because all of you are so much better people than I am. George is the best man I've ever met and I'm in love with him. That's all because of you.”

  Gabrielle pulled Laura to her and hugged her tightly. “Oh, honey,” she said, still crying, “you're so worthy. I just don't want to lose anyone else.”

  “We can stay,” George said. “We don't have to go to Africa. We can stay.”

  Gabrielle steadied herself and sat up straight. Her eyes were puffy and red and her cheeks glistened. Tears ran down the line of her jaw. “No,” she said. “No, if this is what you have to do, then this is what you have to do. You're right, Laurie. Our family is amazing and all of you are good people.”

  She stood up and went to the kitchen. She returned with the bottle of wine, uncorked, and the photo album. They passed around the bottle and looked at pictures of their family, and they laughed and cried and drank together.

  -

  “We all know that we have to live as much as we can every day. We all know that our days can be over before we know it, and that we have no control over when or how a human dies,” Kerring said. “And we, particularly, we fairies know that the risks we take with our own lives hold other lives at stake. But we do what we have to do, and we keep The Savannah safe.”