by Jaymin Eve
Brace threw two of the subs in a graceful arc, and Colton caught them.
“Fetch,” I said to Luce with a wicked grin.
Once Lucy had dived across to harass her own mate, Brace handed me my goodness. My stomach roared at me, unhappy about the length of time between meals. Sure, as awesome mythical creatures we could go a long time without food, but that didn’t mean I was happy about it. Or that I wasn’t going to totally shovel this beef sub into my mouth as fast as possible.
We finished our food within minutes, all of us silent, mouths too full for conversation. Brace also had a jug of water, which disappeared just as fast. To save time, I called Fury across and got her to burn our trash for us.
There was no more reason to delay; we were heading to Earth.
Lucy quickly tied back her long waves. “Alright, I’m totes ready to hit up all the awesomeness of Earth. Can’t wait to find me some gangers.” She clapped her hands together. “I might have the power to actually go some kung fu, eye-of-the-tiger on their asses.”
I shook my head, amusement warring with exasperation. “Don’t forget our powers will be muted on Earth.” The world was an energy dead zone, and no one really knew why. “Personally, I’m hoping I can figure out how to even find this last half. If the tethering energy doesn’t help me, we could be in a hell of a lot of trouble.”
The last time I was on Earth my Walker energy was not at full strength. Something told me this time the loss of power was going to hit me hard.
New York City was where we’d go first. It was the area we knew, and I was hoping that the half-Walker was in the city. Maybe, like Lucy, she would be drawn to the area I grew up in. To the Walker energy. Or that could all be wishful thinking, and she could be anywhere. Earth was too large to randomly wander, so I had to hope the connection tether led me right to her.
“Are we tracing or taking a doorway?” Lucy asked as she linked her arm through mine.
“Tracing,” I said. “Faster and less mess left behind for someone to accidentally stumble across.”
The four of us linked arms. Even though the bond with my half-Walker girls was strong, ancient and tangible, this was the core group of my family. The four of us were a team and had been through so much together. I was more than lucky to have so many loved ones.
Time to keep them all alive.
I decided to trace us into the hall of Compound 23. I hoped this was a safe starting off point. Of course, in the city I had called home for most of my life, nothing was as safe as it seemed.
Chapter 5
Another shuddering retch shook me. I was curved over on myself, palms pressed against the brick wall as I fought to keep my stomach from exiting my body. Through my mouth. Ugh, vomiting was so not attractive.
“It’s okay, baby.” Brace rubbed my back in soothing circles. “Your body will adjust in a minute. This is simply your mind reacting to the loss of power.”
I wasn’t the only one. Lucy was curled up in a tiny ball next to me, her wings wrapped almost protectively around her. Colton crouched behind both of us, growling as his eyes darted around to make sure no one snuck up on us. Although, the majority of his focus remained on his mate. He too used a free hand to rub her back.
My stomach lurched again, and another heave shook my chest. I had not felt this terrible in years. I wasn’t sure I’d ever felt this terrible. Walker genetics meant that growing up I was rarely sick. Lucy was the same. Although, she was affected by the common cold and she was a big baby about it too.
Of course, nothing had been as debilitating as when I broke the bond with Brace. This loss was nothing in comparison, which was why I was a little pissed off that I couldn’t woman the hell up and deal. I heaved again, but the force was less this time. Another few moments passed, and then I could straighten myself. I left my hands resting against the roughened brick, but the sickness was passing. Nausea abating. Although, the sensation of something cloying pressing into my energy well had not gone anywhere.
Thank the gods I had expected this to happen, otherwise I’d be freaking out thinking something was really wrong with me. Instead it was just the anomaly of Earth and its energy dead zone.
I sucked in deeply. The acrid stench and taste to the air in New York was not helping my nausea. It was so much more pronounced now that I’d grown used to the cleaner air of First World and Abernath. But still, there was something about being back here, something about this city which still felt like home. Memories of my life here were as strong as ever: running the streets, gangers, Olden, Compound 23. They spun in a kaleidoscope of images. And most importantly – Lucy. She was the best thing from my life on Earth. Her and Quarn. The first male to truly change my life. My guardian.
“Well, that sucked.” Lucy was off the ground now and her wings were gone. She must have returned them to the little pockets which sat just beneath her skin. “And I see the city still smells like old ass. Good to know nothing’s changed since we left. ”
I wondered what year it was; because of the energy dead zone, Earth’s timeline seemed to move differently to the rest of the worlds. It was warm and humid right now, felt like storm season. But I had no idea of the date. Two years could have passed on Earth while we were dealing with the Seventine. Two years, wow, that was a lot of time to an Earthling. Time meant something here. Years aged and matured humans.
For the first time I was starting to understand that I wasn’t an Earthling, to actually feel the differences between humans and me. I had done and seen too much to ever go back to the naïve girl who used to run the streets to escape life.
The four of us moved out of the front entrance of Compound 23. I hadn’t had much of a chance to check out our old home, what with trying not to lose the contents of my gut, but the unused, abandoned feel within these walls was very prominent now. Strangely, I could no longer sense the negative energy which had always assaulted me in these halls. Probably the doorway, which the lalunas had permanently set up for many years, was now gone.
“How are you going to find her, Abbs?” Lucy kept her voice low as we shoved open the heavy front door and stepped outside. My pixie friend hadn’t been on Dronish, so she had never seen the way I connected to all of my girls and was able to follow the energy tether to Sapha.
I quickly explained it to them.
“I’m just hoping it’ll work,” I said, finishing up as we left the front gated area.
The dead grass was long against our legs, but that was soon replaced by the concrete jungle outside the compound.
“My energy is definitely muted here. I’ll know as soon as I connect to the others. If I’m not strong enough, I might have to bring the girls here.”
Close proximity definitely helped when tethering. Especially for the first time.
For a split second fear and worry pressed down on me. Could I handle this? The power of the half-Walkers was intense. The first time, when all six of us connected, I had barely been able to control the flow. Now, there would be seven. A complete unit. And something told me that the energy was probably going to blow my frickin’ head off. Maybe it would have been better to connect with all of them on Earth for the first time, where everything was less intense. But I also worried that if we did that, any surge of power or abilities might also be muted, and we needed every ounce of power if we had any hope of defeating the Seventine.
The streets outside our former home looked the same. Rubble, shells of cars, rubbish – the tortured soul of this city. I knew there was no point wandering aimlessly, so I reached out and halted my friends. They didn’t ask me why; they knew what I was about to do.
My golden tether sprang to life. With almost no effort I shot it out, sending it toward the six other females whose energy matched my own. Even across worlds, time and space, the tether found its targets.
Abbs.
Supes.
Abigail.
The chorus of greetings went on for a few moments. Even Sapha joined in, her accented tones easy to differentiate fr
om the others.
Are you on Earth? Delane got right to business. Have you found the female? We need you both back here. There’s been a small escalation in the battle, nothing serious, but I feel that this is the countdown to something quite destructive.
I could tell from the clipped urgency in her tone that she wasn’t exaggerating her worries.
No, I haven’t found her yet. That’s why I’ve connected us. I’m going to try and follow her tether. Like I did on Dronish.
Delane spoke for everyone again. Well, we’re here for you, but we’ll pull back now and let you concentrate.
I heard a snort of derision. Whoa, warrior-Walker, you don’t speak for all of us. But I’ll allow it this one time. Fury still wasn’t great with authority figures.
She didn’t want the responsibility of being in charge herself, and if she respected you she would follow you anywhere, but Delane was yet to prove herself to the fiery Crais half.
There were six tethers in my head; five of them golden and strong with wisps of elemental energy resonating from each of the girls. The sixth and final tether was very faint, almost like a transparent image. A hologram that was mimicking the other tethers. That was the one we needed to follow.
As the other girl’s energy withdrew from my mind, it allowed me to focus more on the last tether. I had an idea that might work; it was something I’d done before, but I knew it would be harder on Earth.
“Hold on to me,” I said to Brace, Lucy and Colton.
None of them seemed surprised by my sudden outburst. Sometimes I forgot that not everyone was in my head listening to all the inner conversations. Well, actually Brace probably had caught some of it, even though he did get pushed out a little when all the half-Walkers were tethered to me. I only had so much spare room and attention inside my mind.
As soon as the four of us were physically connected I reached for the ghostly tether. As I had done on Dronish when I’d had to take the sun’s energy to the center line, it was sort of a reverse tracing, because I didn’t actually know where it would end.
Closing my eyes, I tried to trace us all toward the tether. A lash of energy slapped back at me, loud like the crack of a whip. I flinched, barely stopping the shriek which bubbled up from my throat and died on my lips. Ouch. That had kind of hurt. The cloying sensation on my well felt extra strong, and something told me it was that which hindered my ability to follow the Earth tether.
“Abbs?” Lucy was on my right side, her voice low so as not to attract unwanted attention. “Can we help you?”
I gritted my teeth, thankful that none of them seemed to have felt that painful backlash of energy. “I think that with Earth limiting my powers, my tethering abilities are faulty. I can see her ghostly tether, but I can’t pull us toward it.” I let out a sigh. “Looks like we’re walking.”
No one complained or said anything, but I knew we were all thinking the same thing. This half-Walker could be anywhere in this massive world. What was I going to do if I reached the edge of America and had to try and find her in another country? I couldn’t walk on water – well, I was pretty sure I couldn’t.
I’ll come over and swim for you, Talina piped up.
Even though the girls’ energy was back in the corners of my mind, they could still connect if they concentrated.
Deal with one crisis at a time. Sapha was the surprise pep-talker. Don’t worry about crossing water-ponds until you have no choice.
I grinned. Man, I loved these half-Walkers. They were solid.
Thanks, friends. I’m going to disconnect now. I’ve got the lead on the Earth half, so I’ll just keep her tether locked.
It was always the same. Once I recognized the energy of a half-Walker, I could find her much easier the next time.
Okay, Abby, but make sure you keep us updated. Check in on occasion. That was Ria, and she sounded upset.
Everything okay, Ria?
The queen usually took everything in her stride. She was so calm and her plants kept her wrapped in a loving embrace.
The pause was extended. But she did eventually answer. I’ve been back to Artwon. The forest has very little time left. Death spreads like a malignant growth. My heart is heavy. It aches for the loss of life. Both plant and sentient being.
Damn. Those freaking Seventine. I wanted to rip them limb from limb and then glue all their pieces back together, with like a welder – because burning hot metal – ouch, then rip them apart again.
We’ll make it in time, Ria. We’ll save all the worlds and Artwon.
Her pause was less pronounced this time. I know, Abby, I have every faith in you and in all of us.
I felt like there was more, but I didn’t want to push her. Probably something to do with Lucas, First World’s Emperor. Those two had something going on, something complicated, but years of hurt and loss was interfering in the relationship they might have. Oh, and just the small problem that they were both rulers of worlds far, far away from each other.
The girls couldn’t disconnect from me; when we were tethered I held most of the power and control. Although, we were slowly learning how to share the energy around. I severed the tethers to the five solid golden cords, concentrating so I wouldn’t lose the final ghostly one. It shimmered for a moment, and I fought to keep hold. Then the connection solidified and we were good to go.
“Okay, let’s start walking,” I said, turning to head east from where we were. In the direction of the cord.
“I’m so glad you convinced me to wear shoes,” Lucy said, kicking out her booted feet. “These streets are effing disgusting.”
“Word,” I agreed.
No one had cleaned the city streets for a very long time.
Lucy was a lucky-biatch. She could freaking fly – yep, no envy here – so she rarely wore shoes anymore. But since we were on Earth, and humans tended to spaz out about things like wings and pixies coming to life, Lucy was going to be stuck walking. Which was why I’d mentioned before we left First World that it was probably in her best interest to cover those dainty feet. Lest, she lose them to some sort of gross-ass substance on the ground here.
We continued to stride at a medium pace, a comfortable silence between us. I was simply enjoying having Brace by my side. His presence was warming to my soul and calming to my mind. We were whole again. I couldn’t even stress too much about the fact that it was only a matter of time until the four of us were jumped by gangers.
Of course, it wasn’t the same sort of threat that it used to be. Lucy and I now had ancient battle-ready Walker mates by our side. Don’t get me wrong, Lucy and I could hold our own and more than throw down if needed, but it didn’t hurt to have some backup.
As we walked, Colton and Brace slowly started to maneuver us so that we ended up between them. That way, if anyone attacked, they’d be the more vulnerable targets. I wasn’t sure if they thought we hadn’t noticed, since they were acting all casual like. Gods, they were cute. Cute and annoying.
I wasn’t really paying attention to landmarks, mostly because the tether was my guide. I’d never actually been out of the downtown part of New York, but I had the vague suspicion that we were heading toward Brooklyn. Although, there was so much destruction now it was almost impossible to tell any longer. Well, we’d know once we hit water.
Over the next few hours we walked, chatting quietly. I’d had probably a dozen hours’ sleep in the past couple of days, but my energy remained steady. Lucy looked good also, and the boys could have walked forever. My focus remained on the flimsy tether. If my concentration wavered too much, it could slip away from me.
During this time I was getting an occasional flash of emotions resonating along the transparent cord. A sense of unease filtering through. I had a bad feeling that my Earth half was in trouble or something. My pace increased then. I don’t know how I knew it, but I just knew we had to hurry.
After about five hours of striding, just as we ventured into the more sparsely cluttered parts of the city, something change
d. A trickling of unease on the air and the familiar churning in my stomach which warned me of danger.
I was about to speak up when Brace threw out an arm and halted our progress.
Here we go.
We stood there in suspended animation. Crackles of noise filtered toward me. We were no longer alone. Well, five hours without interruption had been better than I’d anticipated.
By the time the gangers busted out of the shadows, I was so ready. Six of them did their usual trick, spreading out to surround us on all sides. I exchanged a commiserating look with Lucy before settling in to wait for their first move. This was an annoying interruption I did not need; we were running out of time. Lucy, on the other hand, looked excited. She’d been wanting to kick some ass for a while now.
“What do we have here? The streets are a veritable hub of activity nowadays.” Douche one – overly skinny, short, with bad teeth and a wicked receding hairline – decided that he had something to say.
I was just surprised that he’d managed to use words with more than one syllable.
“But see, we can’t just have pretty girls wandering around here. We have a reputation, and others might think we’re getting soft.”
Douche two took over. “Who do you affiliate with? Your markings are unusual.”
Markings? Oh, right. The Walker marks Brace and I permanently wore. The gangers used tattoos to help identify which rat belonged to which crap-hole, so they would be more than curious about our marks. These particular douchebuckets wore the tattoos of the Crimz. Red splatters, like blood, had been flicked across them. Crimz gangers had really unattractive markings.
“We’re from the gang of ‘you’re all about to die’,” Colton said, his tone unhurried and mocking. “And we don’t have a lot of time, so can we skip the bullshit posturing and just get down to the killing part.”
The Crimz hesitated. Our confidence and the sheer size of Brace and Colton had them reassessing whether taking us on was the best option. Still, they hadn’t been kidding before. Word would spread if we were allowed to continue unharassed. Then the other gangers would come for their territory. They were stuck between a rock and a Walker. Both of which could crush them.
