Spurn (12 page)

“Ladre is waiting for us
. We should move into the main hall,” Raror said from inside the front room.

H
e continued to help Talina.

We followed as
they led us through room after room. They were all open plan, but still gave the impression of individual space. There were scattered tables and chairs throughout. I had the feeling of small dining rooms, or gathering places. But each room was empty. Eventually, the smaller rooms tapered off. We finished up in one huge cylindrical space. Along the back wall, sitting around a large coralline table, were five Baroons. The center one was Ladre, their leader.

“Hello, welcome to Silver City
,” he said, waving us over. “Please have a seat. We have much to discuss.” He turned his head slightly to indicate his companions. “I have gathered some of the council to hear your story, and then we will vote on whether Talina is free to leave.”

Talina, who had been watching him longing
ly, suddenly frowned.

“I was unaware that I was owned
,” she started. “Surely this is my decision. ”

Ladre’s eyes clashed with hers. “You are an important part of Spurn. As Raror reminded me, you are the daughter of the Earon leader and have duties. It is not as simple as you think.”

Talina glared at her brother, who shrugged apologetically. I knew then he would use any means to keep her on Spurn.

Ladre continued. “You are needed, Talina.”

Her eyes widened and shimmered at his strongly spoken words.
“But first, before we discuss this further, there is someone who has been waiting to meet you.”

I paused at the
sudden disjointed nature of his words. He had been speaking fine a moment ago, and now he sounded like a puppet. I took half a step forward.

“Wait a second, Red
.” Brace held out a hand to stop me. His eyes narrowed as he perused the area. “Something’s up with Blue there. He no longer appears to be in control of himself.”

I wasn’t sure if Brace knew something I didn’t or if he
’d just noticed the strange behavior. As he spoke, the men fell into defensive mode. They moved in front of us, and as a group we drew closer together before backing up in steady steps.

“Yes, but who besides Aribella, with all her super powers, has the ability to do this.” Samuel’s features were schooled in tight worried lines.

“Do
any Spurns have powers to hypnotize or mentally manipulate others?” I was pretty sure I hadn’t done anything this time.

Talina
shook her head. “No, I have never heard of anyone who would be capable of that.”

Ladre
hadn’t moved yet. He was still standing, his hand out in a gesture to sit, his expression blank.

“Ladre is the most powerful of any Spurn
. Who could have done this?” Talina’s voice broke.

S
he was fidgeting, and I knew she was very close to running back to Ladre.

Raror
, who must have sensed the same thing, tightened his hold on her arms.

The other
Baroons around the table continued to sit, expressionless and silent.

“Well
, well, you are slightly more aware than I gave you credit for.” The low deep voice came from behind us.

We
spun around.

“I didn’t think First Worlders were too
fast on the uptake. They definitely weren’t the few times I decided to stop off on your ape planet.” The giant man framed in the doorway continued to speak.

D
erision rolled off him in waves, and I recognized this level of arrogance. I knew immediately what we were dealing with; he was a Walker. His white-blond hair was long, and was secured at the nape of his neck. His eyes were such a dark blue they looked violet. He had the same broad-plane features as Josian. I guessed that many of the old Walkers would look as if they’d been carved from stone millennia ago. But unlike Josian this man had no warmth, no sparkle in his eye that spoke of empathy or care.

“Damn it, you Walker freaks just keep popping up everywhere we turn lately
,” Lucy commented. “No offence, Abbs,” she finished, without turning her head.

I actually laughed a little.

“How dare you address me? You are even less than First World; you are from Earth,” he muttered, as if she was some crap on the bottom of his foot.

Brace mov
ed forward slowly, edging me out of sight. I assumed he was trying to hide the red Walker marks on my face. It was probably a good move, considering halflings were not supposed to exist. The man started to pace before us.

“
When I arrived on Spurn, for ... well, my own important reasons. I was surprised when my old buddy Lanster,” I was pretty sure he meant Ladre, “informed me that there were visitors from First World here. Now he didn’t exactly understand the significance, but I know First Worlders can’t just jump worlds. So I got to thinking.” He paused and faced us again, energy rolling off him in waves.

It made my stomach ache, and I wanted to take
a step back.

“That maybe you little travelers had a Walker aiding you. And
, well, we just can’t have our Walker secrets paraded around for any lower life-form to utilize.”

His face fell in
to a pose of exaggerated apology. “Sorry to say, but it’s my duty to make sure that you don’t leave here with any information you shouldn’t.”

I wasn’t sure if
I should step forward or not.

“Of course we have the power on First World to travel. I am the Emperor
. I control the royal stones.” Lucas spoke up.

I groaned; he should
not have mentioned the laluna to this Walker.

The
blonds’ face grew even colder, although a slight red flushed his cheeks.

“No one controls the
lalunas, you pathetic ape. They were gifted, in error if you ask me, to you unevolved entities. The fact that these objects, which are to be honored, are in your filthy grips, well, I and all Walkers should hang our heads in shame.”

“Oh
, for eff sake. Someone shut this ass-hat’s mouth. Every time I have to listen to something more moronic than the last thing he said, my brain cells commit suicide in protest.” Lucy, as usual, had absolutely no sense of self-preservation.

Samuel and I both dived to cut her off, but we were too slow. Her words seemed to linger in the air for a few moments, and then
, before I could blink, the Walker was standing in front of her.

“For that, mortal, you shall die.” He smiled down at her, a smile of pure cold-blooded killer. He would take her life in that instant and not think twice about it.

“Stop!” I screamed.

He whipped around to lock on me with his dark, violent eyes.

I stepped around Brace and faced the Walker. “Leave her alone. I am Walker
; I transported us here.”

He
moved at super speed again to stop in front of me.

“What witchery is this? How are your marks on display?
” He reached out a hand, his grip gentle as he cupped my face. “You are of my clan.” His tone held a sliver of respect.

A storm of energy was brew
ing behind me. Brace stepped forward, his skin glowing, a light emanating from within. He was taller than this man, and I watched with shock as the blond Walker took a step back.

“Abernath’s
...” he said in shock. “You are of Abernath’s house. Why have I sensed no energy from any of you?” His arms shook, but he stood his ground. “How are you masking your energy?”

When we didn’t answer I
felt his anger building. Brace had moved to stand in front of me, and the glow he emitted made my eyes ache. What the hell were his powers again? Glow-worm.

“Just leave now, and no one needs to get hurt
.” Brace’s words were soft and deadly, though serious enough that the threat behind them wasn’t even close to being veiled.

“You don’t scare me, son. You
’re just a baby compared to all I have seen and done. Despite your family,” a calculated look crossed his face, “I will have my answers, and since you appear to be hovering protectively around the redhaired beauty, then I think she is my ticket.”

I had no idea what was going on. How could he know Brace’s family?

“If you touch her, I’ll kill you. Don’t think because you’re Walker that you’re safe.” Brace sounded so sincere that I actually believed him for a second.

The man grinned, and then he laughed out loud, head thrown back, in the same manner as Josian.

“Lesson one of the day: don’t underestimate your superiors. We are superior for a reason.”

Brace nodded once. “If I meet anyone superior, I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”

“Excellent,” the man said, and then, in a slow-motion movement, he brought his hands together.

“Boom
,” he said.

And the world fell apart.

S
trong arms enveloped me as the walls of Silver City dissolved. Water crashed in around us. As the pressure encased me, I inhaled one big breath before I, and whoever held me, were sucked out in a huge tidal wave and I blacked out.

The sound of steady dripping was the first thing I noticed as I roused from my semi-comatose state. My head was forward, resting against my chest. As I lifted it up, the faint throbbing that’d been plaguing me turned into a pounding headache. I tried to lift my arms to rub my temples, but they didn’t respond.

It took far longer than it should have for me to
realize I was tied down, arms and legs secured to the chair I was sitting on. I yanked hard on my tethers, twisting my wrists, trying to break the bonds.

What the eff?
What was I tied down with?

I peered in a disorientated manner
around my prison. I was in a large room. The walls looked like they were made of bulky stone blocks, each one varying in color and texture, like you’d expect in an old castle.

And the air was warm, not damp like
it was on Spurn, but rather warm like it was on a sunny spring day in New York: crisp, clean and beautiful. I swear I could hear birds chirping from somewhere to my left and that incessant dripping.

T
here were no windows in this room. A wooden door was the only break in the expanse of gray and brown stone.

I noticed that my energy was back
swirling inside me. This told me that at least I wasn’t on Earth.

O
pen a doorway and try to escape? Or wait and see?

I could open one, but being tied down made it kind of hard to walk through it. I
’d be smarter to save my energy. At some point a better opportunity would present itself.

“
I see you’re awake, and still tied up. Are you sure you’re a Walker?”

Tall, blond
, and deadly appeared before me. And, no, he hadn’t used the door. Nope, he just popped in somehow. So of course I shrieked loudly.

“Give a girl
some notice ... cough or wear a bell or something,” I managed to splutter out, my heart beating so hard it was about to exit my body.

He cocked his head to the side, the slightest smile gracing his lips. He was examining me.

I began to wiggle my tightly bound hands. They felt like they’d been tied together and then attached to the back of the chair. I could lift them up a little, but I couldn’t move them apart from each other.

“What creature are you
, baby Walker?” He stepped closer. “Who is your father?”

Should I tell him? Would it make a difference to w
hether he allowed me to live?

“Why are you holding me captive? Is this normal
behavior between Walkers? And aren’t you worried that my family is going to uber-pissed by this little ‘hostage situation’?”

He threw his head back and laughed. “Your ape-lik
e speech is actually endearing. Usually I find it ear-piercing, and want to kill whoever is speaking.”

“You
’re so arrogant,” I sneered. “What the hell makes you so awesome?”

What a giant asshole. This guy was getting on my last nerve
; he was like a cartoon character he was so obnoxious.

“The mere fact I have existed for close to a thousand years is reason enough. I have seen cultures rise and fall
. I have seen the evolution of man.” He laughed. “In fact, I have participated in many of these historical events. I am everything and everywhere, seeing all, and have decided that no longer shall the worlds, any of them, continue down the same destructive path.”

Oh
, great. He was bat-nuts crazy. And I was tied to a chair in the room with him.

“A mass culling is required on
all of the worlds. I have started with Spurn. Weed out the weak, the unworthy. I’m doing the worlds a favor. They will be stronger. It’s survival.”

I could see that he
honestly believed he was working for the greater good. And unfortunately he probably could ‘go mad with power’, as they put it.

“I think that if the worlds wanted your opinion on their current path
, they’d have probably asked for it.”

He stare
d at me without saying a word. I tightened my energy around my mind, and hoped he couldn’t break in. He flicked his fingers then, and the ropes binding my hands and feet fell free.

“You
’re no longer my prisoner. If you can find your way from here, without the use of Walker doorways, then you’re free.”

I
rubbed my chafed and bleeding wrists together. The ropes had cut me during my struggle, but by the time I looked again the skin was starting to heal. Within moments there was just creamy unmarked flesh. No sign of any injury.

“You
’re quite magnificent.” His words washed over me.

I
leaned back from all the creepy he was emitting.

“Is the Abernath your mate?”

I was confused for a second before I remembered him calling Brace that.

“What’
s an Abernath?” I demanded as dozens of thoughts flickered through my mind.

H
is eyes widened in surprise. “He hasn’t told you of his family?” His expression grew calculating. “The Abernaths are the most powerful clan. Even without his marks displayed, the power he released was impressive. He has to be a high-ranking member.”

I
’m a little slow at the moment, but is he saying what I think he’s saying?

“Brace
... is a Walker?” I spluttered out, my words almost incoherent.

Pain and anger flooded through me. I felt betrayed at the highest level. Why hadn’t anyone told me this
? Why had Josian kept it from me?

The Walker
interrupted the flood of betrayal that was dragging me down. His laughter echoed around the stone of the room.

I got to my feet in one blinding lunge of anger. I was standing before him so quickly
that I realized for the first time I’d utilized Walker speed.

“Answer me
,” I yelled, my energy bubbling over.

He was a liar
. He had to be, otherwise I was the world’s biggest idiot. I was going to kill Brace when I got my hands on him.

“You said his n
ame is Brace?” A flicker of ... fear maybe … entered his eyes. “Then he is Que’s son. The Princeps of the Abernath line.” He lowered his head until we were almost at eye level. “I think I was lucky to escape with you when I did.”

My head hurt
again as I thought back to the moments in Silver City before I blacked out. “What did you do in the city?”

All I
had were disjointed memories, flickers, images – all terrifying.

“I dissolved the bonds that
formed the water dome,” he said, his tone casual.

At that moment my heart stopped beating.
As it stuttered to life again, the full repercussion of his actions flooded me and I dropped to my knees. I attempted to suck in some air. My protesting lungs were starving, but nothing was responding.

“You killed my friends
,” I stammered out through gulps. “They couldn’t have survived that.”

He shook his head. “I have no idea. Brac
e will have survived; nothing would take out an Abernath. But the rest – collateral damage.”

“Noooo!” I screamed long and loud.

Sobs broke from me as I stumbled back to my feet. I couldn’t escape the mental images; all that water crashing in on them. Lucy, especially, could not have survived. My energy filled me up, expanding my insides until it was forced from me, along with continued screams of outrage.

I shot everything I had into the blond Walker. My energy
was irrevocably tied to my pain. The walls began to shake as dust fell from the roof. The stones groaned as they began to shift free. The room around me was crumbling to the ground.

Despite the depth of my pain, the ache in my heart and the burning in my eyes, I could not sustain
the flow for long. I collapsed again, and as I fell forward my arms cushioned my face before it hit the floor. At that moment the walls came down. I waited to be crushed under the heavy stone ceiling, but nothing landed on me. I sobbed uncontrollably. I was so tired and the shock of my loss crushed my ability to fight. Bruising grips encircled my biceps and lifted me to my feet.

“Your power is remarkable
, baby Walker.”

He
held me up off the floor, and my exhaustion was such that I let my head hang limply.

“And I
’ve changed my mind. Since you’re such a surfeit of secrets and intrigue, I’m going to keep you for a while. If anything, you’re a good bargaining chip with the Abernaths.”

And as quick as that I was back tied to the chair.
And he’d disappeared again.

I tried desperately to direct power
toward my tethers, but I was empty and the wisps did nothing except float around me. Accepting a semblance of defeat, I dozed for a while, my thoughts dark, my heart heavy. I tried to block Brace from my mind, but I couldn’t rid myself of those moments – playing in the netting and the stolen kisses. I felt as if the person I was then was gone.

Brace
. I trusted him. How could he have lied to me about something so fundamental? How could no one know, not even Josian?

On top of this I also couldn’t shed thoughts of
Lucy. But until I saw her lifeless body with my own eyes, I would never accept her death. I was stubborn and single-minded that way.

Eventually I pulled myself together somewhat, and the tears stopped flowing. T
here was only so much ‘pity party’ I could throw without being very annoying. I knew, once I was free, I’d have ample opportunity to drown my sorrows, but until then I needed to get myself together.

I found the strength to ope
n my eyes before lifting my head to once again see my surroundings. My earlier burst of temper had collapsed all four walls so I could see beyond. I was on a small island, surrounded by the large stone blocks that used to form my prison. The stone room must have been set up as a sole dwelling. The island was surrounded by large cavernous turrets and huge gulleys. The Walker had never planned on setting me free. No way could I have traversed this type of unforgiving terrain without the aid of a doorway.

I opened my mind then, dropping the energy encasing my thoughts.
No way was I sitting here like this for all eternity. I was not a fan of crazy nut jobs. I’d spent enough time with Olden, the psychotic Earth compound leader, to know that could only end in tears, or near-fatal stabbings.

Josian,
Dad ... I need help ... Can you hear me?

I knew it was a long shot, but if anyone could save me it was my
father. Of course, I was only guessing, since I’d never bothered to learn the mind-speak thing.

Brace
,
I said tentatively, uncomfortable but willing to try the liar. I’d take rescue from anyone at this point.

“There is really no point
in screaming quite so banshee-like. This is my realm, and no one can hear you.” He appeared before me again, but this time I was too exhausted to react.

“
I have finally figured out what bothers me about you, baby Walker.” He paced a few steps before spinning around to face me. “You’re not a Walker. Josian is slumming it with a First-World ape woman, and you called him father.”

He shook his head. “
But it’s not possible. You cannot be a halfling. We were told it was a legend and that no one could bring Walkers to heel.” He muttered like the crazy he had inside was spilling out.

I watch
ed a myriad of emotions cross his face, and suddenly all I could see was fear. I could tell he was not happy about it. I held my breath, knowing this was about to get really bad for me.

He threw
out a hand, and I screamed as the agony of a lightning bolt coursed through me. The pain burned, charring me from the inside out until my body was on fire.

I glanced down
to see if my skin had been crisped from my bones. I gasped as I noticed small burn marks littering my arms. They almost looked like exit wounds. Strangely, none of these round, red burns marred the lace design. I was distracted from all thoughts as his assault continued. And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop my screams. I hated giving him that satisfaction. The moments blended together. Minutes or hours, I could no longer tell one from the next. There was just pain.

“Tell me what you are
. Give me an explanation that doesn’t go against everything I’ve known.” He lifted his hand, allowing me a small reprieve from the agony.

My entire body shook as it burned.

“Must be a trap
.” His mutters grew louder.