Regali (A Walker Saga) (15 page)

“A million years
,” Klea moaned. The leon was back in her other form and was crouched beside Ria. I hadn’t noticed how many of the pack surrounded us. “It has stood here for a million years and now it is gone.”

And it was gone. Fading from our sight like mist in the sun. The first, housed in the body of a First Worlder, turned to face us.

“Time to free the fourth,” he said.

The shells they wore exploded before us
. It was nothing like the power of Que, but it still knocked almost everyone down.

Brace was on his feet
. He reached down and pulled me up.

“We have to hurry, Red.” He gripped my chin firmly before leaning down and kissing me soundly on the lips.

“Uh, what?” I stuttered as he pulled back; he’d said something right.

He gave me a heart-stopping grin. “I said we need to hurry and perform the ritual. Before they release the fourth.”

Screams started behind me. I spun quickly, my eyes darting left and right to find the problem.

It was Ria.

She stood before the sacred tree space and as I moved to her side I noticed what had caused her anguish. It was barely discernible, but spanning out from the newly untethered sacred tree, slivers of brown threaded the vines.

“They’re dying
,” she sobbed. Leaves and vines were wrapping themselves around her in comfort. “If the tree is not restored all of Artwon will die.”

I reached out and
, pushing through the foliage, found her hand and gripped it tight. “I don’t know for sure, but our research indicates that if the Seventine are re-imprisoned all the tethers will be restored. So if you leave and help with the fourth ritual, it might be over today.”

“And if the ritual does not work?” Her violet eyes bore
d into me.

“Then we have to beat them in the final battle.” And I had to give up Brace and my very soul.

She turned away to stare at the faint signs of Artwon’s death.

With a sigh she nodded. “Yes, I will join you. There is no point ruling only to let my world die around us.” She raised her voice. “Packs
, unite.”

They moved from all over to circle around us.

“I am leaving to try and restore the sacred tree. I authorize Klea as interim leader, but she will confer with each pack elder on all decisions. Abby will bring me back as frequently as possible, so if you can wait to do anything major I will be around.”

Noise exploded from t
he pack members. Klea’s growls silenced them again.

“Yes.” Ria started to answer their questions. “Artwon will die without the sacred tree
. I would not leave if it wasn’t this important. I promise I will do everything in my power to save our land.”

She flicked her eyes up to lock on me. “We have no time to spare
, right? I can’t spend one last night giving Klea instructions.”

I pursed my lips before shaking my head. “We have to perform the ritual before they release the fourth. It
’s our only chance.”

She sighed
, turning to Klea. “I’m sorry, old friend. But I trust you, and I know you will rule fairly and with compassion in my stead.”

“I will try my best.” Klea nodded her head toward her Queen. “Just hurry home
. I am not a ruler; I do not have the temperament. You are the true Queen.”

Ria pulled herself free from the plants to hug her friend.

“If I don’t make it back, get them to safety,” I heard her whisper. “Find somewhere else on Regali for them to live. Stay together as one strong unit.”

Klea growled once as she pulled back. Ria then turned and
, touching one finger to her brow, she seemed to salute the rest of the pack members. Everyone in the clearing dropped to their knees before her, a united sign of respect. Ria gave an audible swallow.

“Let’s go
,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.

I didn’t waste any time
. I couldn’t afford for her to change her mind.

I traced the five of us back to our house in Angelisian. I chose the front white room as our landing place and as soon as everyone started to move I used my power to sense who was around. There was a faint feeling of Talina
’s energy coming from the direction of the ocean, but that was all I could detect.

“Now what do we do? What is the next step to finding and destroying these Seventine?” Ria
’s voice was as hard as timber.

I figured it wasn’t the time to remind her that we couldn’t destroy them, only imprison
them.

“I need the other half-Walkers
: Talina from Spurn and Fury from Crais,” I explained. “Then we go to the entrance of their prison to perform the ritual of the four.”

She stared at me for an extended moment. And her expression
said that I was doing too much talking and not enough moving.

“Alright then, I’ll go get Fury
. You all can wait to see if Talli surfaces.” I threw Lucy a deadpan look.

S
he returned it with the slightest grin. Ria was not a happy camper.

I spun around and lifted my face in anticipation of Brace’s kiss. He did not disappoint. It was brief, but so hot as he slipped his tongue between my parted lips I was practically panting when he pulled away.

“Shouldn’t we get dinner if there’s going to be a show
?” Colton drawled.

Lucy laughed in one short burst. Those two were far too similar for my liking.

“Behave.” I waved my hands at them. “I’ll be back soon.”

I traced my way straight to the room of horrors, but it was empty. Staring around the space I realized that now it was empty of the thousands of bodies it was absolutely massive. The walls
appeared to be made of a reflective white surface and somehow light shone from tiny spaces along the joins. It was cold and sterile. But there was no time to examine the ins and outs. I needed to find Fury. I lowered the shields of my mind.

Dad, where are you?
I called for Josian.

His presence filled my mind immediately
. For some reason he never seemed to have a shield up. I’d ask him about that one day.

Aribella, nice to hear from you
, baby girl. We’re at the castle, in the throne room.

I’ll be right there
,
I said as I reshielded myself.

I wasted no time tracing into a corner of the castle’s throne room. My sudden appearance was unseen as the large area was filled with crying and screaming people, which I assumed were the awoken victims from the horror room.

“Hey, Abby, how is everything?”

I spun to face the person with the soft calm voice. It was Francesca.

“Crazy, isn’t it?” She nodded to the hysteria. “Half of them are family and friends who thought their loves ones were lost.”

I took a deep breath. “Are you okay? I’m sorry you ended up in that situation.”

She gave a strangled laugh. I wished I could read more from her eyes, but as usual the pure white globes gave away nothing.

“Que found me, tried to turn me into his own personal oracle. He broke me down, built me up again and broke me again. I’d have done anything to make it stop, but my powers had other ideas
. I haven’t had a vision in months.”

“So that’s why he strung you up for your energy?”

She nodded. “Yes, he said I might as well be useful to him.”

“Tell me about Samuel?” I said
, my voice hardening. “Why did he betray us? And why did you never warn me that he was in with Que? Surely you saw something?”

“Why don’t you just ask me yourself, Aribella?” Samuel said as he stepped out of the crowd with Lallielle and Josian right behind him.

“I never saw anything.” Francesca’s voice was a whisper. “My power has forsaken me.” And with that she started to wail and sob.

I left Lallielle to comfort her while I faced Samuel.

“You have two seconds to speak or I’m going to break your nose again.”

He laughed
. It sounded harsh with his husky voice. His throat had been damaged during his imprisonment on Earth.

“I didn
’t betray anyone. Or I wasn’t aware that I was,” he said, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “At some point on Earth Que must have done something to me. He rolled my mind. When I returned to First World I was mostly in control of my actions, but occasionally I’d find myself waking up with missing time. I’d have eight or ten hours I couldn’t account for.”

His eyes implor
ed me to believe him. But I didn’t.

“Where’s Lucy?”
he finally asked after a few moments’ silence.

“Stay away from her.” I pointed my finger at him.

“You don’t believe this, right?” I spun to face my silent father.

He shook his head, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “I’m reserving judgment
. Que definitely had the energy levels for something like that, but it’s also a mighty convenient excuse.”

He leaned down close to my ear. “Your mother believes him
, though. She’s insisting he come home. But I’ll be keeping a close eye on him.”

I sighed
. Of course my soft-hearted mother would be taken in by his con. He was her son and she’d never believed he could be so evil.

“Have you seen Fury?” I asked Josian, getting back to the most important part. “Ria’s at our home
. We’re ready to perform the ritual.”

“She said she wasn’t breathing the same air as a punk
-ass backstabber,” Samuel said, overhearing my question. “I believe she and the red man went out into the courtyard.”

I caught the slight grin on his lips.

I couldn’t help my own grin as I turned away. That was so Fury.

“Contact me when you’re back at the prison
,” Josian said. “I’ll come and make sure nothing goes wrong.”

“And be careful
,” Lallielle added over Francesca’s shoulder.

“You got it.” I
blew them both a kiss.

I made my way through the masses of emotional people. I didn’t feel any Walker power in the group
, so I guessed they’d already left for other worlds.

As I passed by one expressive and stricken face after another I wondered if any of them would truly recover from this ordeal
, or were there just some things too all-encompassing to come back from?

I thought of Lallielle’s face when she’d talked of losing me and Samuel, and I knew there were definitely some things that would change you fundamentally. You could never be the same person again.

I found that tiny courtyard without any more distractions. It was relatively unadorned, besides one thud tree in the center, its bra
nches casting off spheres of shade in the sunlight. I strode out to stand beside the thick trunk, looking around. It took me a few moments to notice them. They were tucked into the corner, and they were very busy.

And then, right in the middle of their kissing session, Fury burst into flames. Dune threw his head back, her rejuvenating flame working on his energy levels immediately. It always amazed me the physical changes I could see when he absorbed the fire.

I waited until they were done, and as I watched them something occurred to me. Why didn’t their clothes burn? I knew there was nothing special about them. They were just First-World fibers and should be flammable. But it was as if whatever touched their bodies didn’t burn. That was odd and convenient.

“Are you just going to stand there like a weird creeper nomad?” Fury swung her head to grin at me as her flames disappeared.

I snorted. “An audience doesn’t usually bother you … don’t tell me you’re having performance issues.” I raised one brow.

She laughed, strolling forward
, her hand entwined with Dune’s, their pure white hair glowing.

“You wish, supes.”

She’d shortened Super Abby to ‘supes’. Since she said it ten times a day, apparently her tongue was getting tired.

I wasted no time filling them in. “So Ria, the Regali half-Walker
, is back at the house. We need to go right away and try this ritual. The Seventine were on Regali. They stole the energy from their oldest sacred tree, which gives them enough to free the fourth. So we have no time to waste. We have to beat them.”

The carefree look fell from her face and warrior Fury was back.

“Alright then, take us to the beach house,” she said, dragging Dune up to me.

I traced us into the front room. I never worried about anyone being in the space
where I landed. Josian had explained that two objects cannot occupy the same space, so if I traced into a place then, according to the rules of the universe, there would be nothing in that spot. It would either have moved or I would land a little to one side of where I was aiming.

The front room was empty
, but I could see everyone through the front window. They were out by the water, their backs to us as they faced the expanse of ocean.

Talli hasn’t surfaced yet.
Brace’s warm tones echoed.

I smiled like a silly jerk. He made me so happy. Even when he was annoying me
, he still made me happy.

You make me happy too
. Now get that gorgeous butt out here so I can fill my arms. They’re feeling a little empty.

You’re also getting a little sappy in your old age
,
I teased as the three of us made our way out of the house and across the green grass.

When the sand hit my boots, I resisted the urge to reach down and take them off. There was no time to indulge in beach therapy right
then.

Ria turned at the sound of us squeaking across the sand. Her eyes rested on Fury before coming back to me.

“Ria, this is Fury of Crais and her mate Dune,” I said.

The girls exchanged a nodded greeting
, but that was as far as it went.

“I wish I was visiting here under better circumstance
s,” Ria said as she turned back to the ocean. “There is so much to explore. I never imagined that a body of water existed like this.” Her purple eyes widened. “And it is undrinkable. What is the point of it then, and why are there no trees?”

She indicated toward Angelisian. And I understood what she was asking.

“People can’t really live in trees here. They don’t have the skills or power. So they build their homes on the ground.” I sighed. “Unfortunately they need open space to do that so sometimes the environment suffers.”

Ria’s face hardened as I spoke.

“Luckily First World is really very conscious of their natural wonders,” Lucy added. “You don’t want to visit Earth. They’ve razed the rainforests to the ground.”

Ria gasped. “My heart hurts
,” was all she said, and I couldn’t blame her.

Unable to stay away any longer
, I stepped over to Brace. It took all my willpower not to throw him to the ground and tear his clothes off.

“Damn willpower
,” he muttered as his long arms closed around me in a comforting and tingle-inducing hug.

I wished we had more time, but I had to beat the Seventine.

Since I was already on the edge of the ocean it was easy enough to throw out my energy toward the water, in a sort of dolphin call for Talina. I hoped she would recognize me and get her butt out. There was no way any of us could chase her under the sea.

We continued to wait.

Lucy sat back from the wet sand. Colton was near her and he – I had to look twice – he was building a sand castle. Or sand boobs, by the looks of those weird mounds.

“You have a dirty mind, Red. That’s a mini map of our planet, Abernath, he was showing Lucy before.” Brace grinned down at me.

I took a moment to look at it a little closer.

“So there are the seven main inhabited planets, but there are also lots of little worlds scattered around?” I asked. “Like Josian’s place.”

“Yes, there are many smaller globes that orbit around the pull of larger tethered worlds. Walkers mostly use these as home bases when they’re not on the big seven.”

I gave a brief chuckle. “I still almost can’t believe the life I live now. I never knew any of this existed when I lived on Earth.”

And with that thought two human-fish people surfaced at the back of the breaking waves. Case in point. Talina rose up with the crest of a swell and gave me a happy wave. My heart filled with pure joy for her. She was the kindest of souls and I hated that she’d lost everyone. I hoped that the reunion with Ladre went well.

“Oh
, she looks so happy.” Lucy had moved to stand beside me. She paused for an extended moment before speaking again. “So did you see Samuel before?”

My head
spun round to meet her eyes. She looked calm, as if this were just a casual conversation. But her question had a sense of urgency.

“Yes,” I said, “he told me a story about how his mind was possessed, he was losing track of time, didn’t know what he was doing.” I snorted. “A very lame attempt at explaining
. He should just own his evil-ness.”

Lucy’s brow crinkled. “What if it’s true? There just seemed to be so much for it all to have been an act.”

I sighed. “Luce, I don’t want you to get sucked back in. I don’t even think there’s enough good deeds in the world for Samuel to redeem himself.”

Not only for
what he’d done to Brace but also for how he’d hurt Lucy and Lallielle. They had both suffered from his actions.

“Abbs has too much warrior in her
. We’re not quick to forgive betrayal,” Brace drawled as he watched our water-friends approach. “Even if Samuel was somehow a victim, his weakness cost everyone a lot.”

Brace’s words
, whilst supportive, reminded me of something. My own weakness was the reason the third Seventine had been released. Who was I to judge anyone else’s betrayal? Maybe Samuel deserved a chance to prove himself. All I could do was keep an eye on him and make sure he didn’t hurt anyone else.

“You know what, you’re right
, Lucy. We should reserve judgment in case his story has some truth.”

My drastic turn around had her shooting me a confused look, but all Brace did was shift
his expression from stoic to a half-smile. I narrowed my eyes. Had he deliberately made that comment so I would let up on Samuel a little? Wouldn’t put it past him, damn sneaky Walkers.

“I can do that
,” Lucy finally said.

“Lucky I’m here to stop all you tender-hearted souls from getting yourselves killed
,” Colton muttered as he stood next to Brace, their stances mirror images of each other.

Brace laughed but didn’t comment again
. I really had no idea what his feelings were about this situation. He was keeping it very close to his chest at the moment.

Talina was in the shallows now; she strode out
, water running off her in rivulets. Her emerald-colored hair looked luscious and vibrant. It had enjoyed the swim.

“Where’s Ladre?” I asked as she
drew closer.

I
could have sworn I’d seen him before.

“He
’s not quite ready to face everyone. He’ll stay in the ocean.” She smiled brightly.

Lucy and I groaned.

“You’re going to be insufferably chipper and happy now, aren’t you?” Lucy said in a mock-devastated voice.

Talina laughed, reiterating our points. “I am very happy
,” she said.

“Oh
, you will be elaborating on that later.” I gave her a pointed look.

“So what are we doing now? I assume you called me because I’m needed.” Talina pushed her heavy locks behind her ears.

I pointed toward the stunning chestnut-haired Queen. “Talli, meet Ria of Regali. She’s the fourth half-Walker. We’re going now to perform the ritual.”

Talina walked up to Ria. Unlike Fury
, she was friendly and held out a hand.

“It
’s so nice to meet you,” she said with a huge grin. “Welcome to the half-Walkers.”

Ria just stared down at the offered hand for a moment before reaching out and tentatively
touching it. With a smile Talina showed her how to shake hands and after a brief moment pulled away.

“Let us go now. I really do need to return to my people.” Ria addressed me.

I could see the lines of stress around her eyes; she was worried. I really hoped this ritual worked, not just for her sake but for all of ours. And more personally so that I could avoid having to break my melding bond with Brace.

I wasn’t comfortable tracing that many people, so Brace opened a doorway to the large room in the dark mountains. The one with all the tunnels off it. We started down number eight.

The mountains seemed quieter now
. That evil energy which always tormented me there had abated. Brace held my hand as we walked. He was on high alert. I knew both of us were waiting for an ambush. The Seventine would be close by, preparing to release their fourth.

The light from the prison came into view, its bright sparkles filled with many colors.

“Can you feel them?” I said in a low voice to Brace.

H
e was more in tune with the Seventine than anyone else.

“They
’re around but not close at the moment.” He pulled me closer to him. “But I wouldn’t let my guard down.”

He didn’t have to worry
. I was so tense I was practically vibrating as I walked.

We crossed over the doorway threshold into the prison room. The light was practically blinding this close
. It was white again, but I knew it would turn red if the fourth was released.

“Alright
, Abbs, what do we have to do?” Brace pulled me closer to the entrance.

“The Walker was a little light on details. But he said that we needed to combine the blood of four half-Walkers and as we sprinkle it into the prison we need to chant
invictius collasa repeta intombre.
” My memory was so good now I didn’t even have to strain my thoughts to recall the words.

I repeated the
m a few times, and then the girls chimed in. When I felt they had the wording perfect, I pulled my knife from my boot. This damn thing was coming in handy for these rituals.

“Why does it always involve bloodletting?” I heard Lucy sigh. “It’s so unoriginal. Now if we had t
o bring flowers and plant them, that would be different. Or release butterflies.”

Colton laughed. “Blood is powerful and it
’s what gives us life. In our veins our power runs. Blood binds them to the prison. It makes sense it would be needed to re-entomb them.” He raised his brows at her. “Besides, if you want something, you need to give something back.”

“The great balance,” Ria said.

“Thank you, Colton – smart-ass,” Lucy muttered.

Colton laughed again, shaking his head this time.

The opening was too large for us half-Walkers to stand right around and hold hands, so we stood close on one side. I held up my right hand.

“Are we all ready?” I asked.

I could see a few nerves, but everyone just nodded and held one hand out toward me. My knife was sharp enough for this job. I was pretty nuts about making sure my weapon was well cared for. Having a blunt knife could end up being a fatal mistake.

And that made it easy to press down on the fleshy pad of each hand for a clean cut. I didn’t wipe it off in between
. We couldn’t contract blood-borne diseases, so there was no point worrying about cross contamination. Plus in the end we had to press all of our hands together.