walker saga 06 - dronish (20 page)

With that thought, I fought back. The slimy iciness of its power was easy to recognize and, just like the foreign faerie energy, I aimed to lock it away.

It took me a long time. The struggle was very real. I had no idea what everyone around us was doing. I couldn’t shift my focus for more than a microsecond.

After many extended moments, I finally won the battle.

This achievement filled me with a sense of self, my relief strong. I could beat the Seventine one on one. Sure, I was still possessed by the first, because I needed its help, but I had it contained in a section of my energy well.

You are strong, ancient warrior. Your energy is from the mother of all. You will be a welcome addition to us when the worlds are reformed.

I didn’t even bother to answer. Nothing I said could ever change its views. It was like arguing with a stone: pointless and painful. Besides, if they reformed the worlds, I’d be dead, because I would fight right up until that point.

“Hello, freaky eyes and marks.” Fury’s words brought my attention back to the room.

I must be sporting the same swirly globes in my face that possessed Brace had done. And probably had purple coloring my red marks.

I focused on the room. “What do I do now?” I flinched a little at how strange my voice sounded. Lower than usual, smooth and hypnotic.

Everything around me was in this amazingly sharp detail. In some ways it was as if I’d never really seen any of my loved ones before, and yet everything was a hundred percent familiar. The lines of stress on Brace’s face; the tension in Lucy’s body. A million tiny telltale signs that I’d have missed without the power of the first riding along in my body. Even the way the fine hairs stood up on the back of Fury’s neck, and the nail marks lining her palms where she’d clenched her fists so tightly.

Grantham captured my attention again. “You need to join your power with the Seventine. Mingle the two energies together and form an arrow-like projection. You’ll have to create a pathway into the prison.” His deep voice paused for a beat. “And … blood is required. The creatures who dwell in the walls won’t let you pass without an offering of life.”

Damn, everything required me bleeding to death.

The Relli Walker produced a sharp knife and took a step toward me. “I’m sorry, Abby, but this must be heart blood, or as close as possible.”

What the eff did that mean?

“What the eff does that mean?” Lucy’s snarling words matched my inner dialogue.

Grantham’s eyes flicked across to Brace. Such a fast, involuntary movement that I wondered if anyone else had noticed. The already tight features of my mate darkened further. I knew Brace had seen that look. He understood what was about to happen.

“The purest of blood is that which has just left the heart chamber. The most potent would be for me to take from the aorta, but … it’s too dangerous. Instead I’ll puncture your carotid, taking from the blood bound for your brain.”

“You’ll cut my throat?” The hypnotic voice I was currently rocking echoed through the chamber.

Grantham nodded.

Lucy gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. Brace stepped toward me, one of his hands raised. Somehow he managed to pull himself together and halt the movements. Colton was instantly at his side, a flat palm resting against the strong, broad shoulder of my mate. The best friends exchanged a glance and I knew Brace was assuring himself that Colton would stop him if he lost his shit.

“After you bleed enough to satisfy the prison, the path will open and you can shoot the combined energy in. The first will find its brother, and then you use the words.
Excrui changen velliuc mectre.
This will join together the energy forces of the lalunas and the Seventine. They will exchange themselves.”

“How does it work? Will the lalunas be prisoners in there or are they bound to the walls?”

In essence all of us are bound to the walls. That is where we are imprisoned.

The first answered my question at the same time Grantham explained this to the room. So that meant on top of the regular security the energy of the prisoners also strengthened the prison. Ingenious.

Luckily sentient thought is limited in the walls.

I picked up a stray tidbit of information from the first. I could tell it wasn’t directed at me. He’d gone all inner dialogue. Not surprisingly, he had not appreciated his time in the prison walls. I wanted to kick myself hard. I could not be feeling sorry for their crazy asses, for reals? They were going to destroy everything. Kill billions. I was chalking the emotional breakdown up to the fact we were kind of sharing energy at that moment. Nothing else. I needed to move this exchange up fast. I didn’t want to share a body any longer than was needed.

“When you have combined energy with the first, tell me, and I will let free the blood,” Grantham said. He stood close to me.

I reached into my energy and started to form a large ball of the golden light. The Seventine’s power responded. The darkness that lurked inside it began to expand from the box I’d contained it in, and then our two energies began to mingle. It was like some sort of weird animal mating ceremony. Like these slugs I’d read about in a book once that had both male and female parts but still needed to exchange … uh, slimy stuff … to have young. The first and I were right in the middle of exchanging slime and it was grossing me out on a level usually reserved for images of slugs exchanging slime, foot fungus, and gangers.

There was a delicate balance, a dance of sorts that was taking place between us, and by the end our energies were no longer separate. The gold and dark had blended and formed something of a shimmery purple night. It was a complex entity, this new product, something that was a blend of good and evil. Happiness and sadness. But in essence it was all power, and it was strong.

We work.

The first continued his crusade to tempt me to the dark side, but it was easy now to ignore the seductiveness of his words.

I took a deep breath. Time for the pain. Time to bleed.

“We’re ready.”

Without even noticing, I’d fallen into referring to us as one.

At least Grantham looked pale, as if he was not happy to be cutting my throat. Better than him being a little trigger-happy. He reached out and grasped my hand, leading us closer to the opening of the prison. The white light was extra bright there as it reflected around in its usual power show.

“My apologies for this,” he said. “Please stay very still.”

I closed my eyes right around the time the growling started behind us. I didn’t need to turn and look. I could sense his anger, feel his fear and panic. Brace was about to lose it.

I was distracted from the overwhelming emotions of my protective mate by the cold bite of steel touching my throat. I forced myself not to swallow too vigorously. With a knife that sharp, any exaggerated movement could sever my throat entirely. I took faith in the fact I was Walker and should not die from this cut, even if Grantham’s steady hands slipped.

The sliding of steel continued, and I bit back a whimper. It felt as if he was slicing me so slowly. Why the hell was he going so slowly? The knife glided through my skin like a hot knife through butter. The pressure was immediate, but the pain took ten seconds to register each time he moved it down my throat. Which told me he was cutting deep.

“Why is it taking so long to heal?” Lucy’s frantic voice reached my ears, despite the buzzing that so much pain had caused to descend over my brain. “She’s bleeding everywhere.”

Colton didn’t answer. He probably had his hands full right then with a tropical cyclone.

Grantham was the one to reply. “This blade is infused with ancient Walker energy. It always takes us longer to heal wounds caused by our energy.”

The growls increased.

“It’s better this way. Otherwise I’ll have to keep cutting her to produce enough blood.”

Roars surrounded me. “It is enough now!”

Winds buffeted us, and the waves of his anger knocked me back a few steps. Luckily the knife had been pulled from my throat seconds before.

“Give me a minute, Brace.” Grantham’s voice increased in pitch. “Can you hold him another minute, Colton? We’re almost done.”

“I’m not sure I can hold him another second.” The wolf-Walker’s voice was strained. “And he’s not even fighting me as hard as he could. Let’s all be grateful for the amazing strength of will this Walker possesses, or else we’d all be dead – except for Red.”

Lucy snorted. “Not the time, babe.”

I was starting to feel a little light-headed now, nothing too serious, just where you know that you’ve lost a little bit of that red stuff which is essential for life.

“You’re done.” Grantham’s voice was very close to my ear. “The path is open.”

I felt a hand come up and wrap around my throat, but I didn’t panic. I knew it was Brace. I could feel his heat and masculine scent enveloping me. He was going to protect me and stop me from bleeding to death while I finished the ritual. My eyes opened again. I wanted to see what was happening, but I didn’t turn to my mate. Right then I had no time to cry, and I knew the fear on his face would bring me to tears.

I focused.

The first and I reached for our energy. We started to shape that sparkling midnight, turn it into a slim-line arrow which could be shot into the prison. The Seventine was much more adept at energy manipulation and soon a gleaming weapon formed between us. It was beautiful and mesmerizing and, judging by the gasps surrounding us, visible to everyone else too.

Do not let go of the end of the energy,
the first warned me.
We will need to keep the path open.

We shot the arrow free. It left in a burst of power, the trails of dark energy following along. I could feel the prison as it descended, the cold power that lined the walls. The many powerful entities which rested within this rock.

As the arrow descended further I started to notice something else: schisms in the power grid. In the beginning it had felt like a solid wall of energy, but now there were these gaps. If my calculations were correct, I was sensing four very large ones. The release of the Seventine had weakened the walls, and it was time for us to fix that.

The stones were still in my hands, their power contained by the cage. I had to wait until the first found his brother before I released them. The arrow continued descending. I had the end firmly clutched in my energy well. Finally, though, we hit the target. I felt the thud, the burst of strength and coldness which coated the tip of the arrow.

Start the exchange.

The lalunas began to glow and burn then. For the first time I could feel them in my hands, and I knew my blue stone was manipulating all of the energy again.

They started to bleed into the line of dark power that still connected us to the arrow and, as they attached and descended along the path, the midnight purple lit up. It became a symphony of light and color, bursting free and brightening the already well-lit cavern.

At the same time the coldness on the end started to rise. It was as if the fifth Seventine and the lalunas were magnets, drawing toward each other.

I worried what would happen when they collided. It felt as if I were holding a nuclear weapon that was about to explode.

As they closed the distance between each other, the line of energy started to vibrate, starting small and moving up to large racking shakes. I was worried that I’d not be able to hold on to the line if it got much stronger, but I knew if I let go, the ritual would fail. And this was one ritual I couldn’t fail at.

Just when I thought I was about to lose my grip, the vibrations eased. Stupidly, I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that everything was going to be okay.

Little did I realize that this was just the calm before the massive ass-kicking storm.

As the energy of the lalunas collided with that of the Seventine, everything around us stilled. This lasted for just a few beats of my racing heart. I was waiting for something to happen. I could feel the level of power along the line was insane, but there was no explosion or anything. Which was weird.

A sucking sensation started to flow around the stone room.

“What’s that?” My eyes flicked left and right.

I knew that the power of the Seventine and the lalunas was still contained in our arrow of energy, so it wasn’t either of them.

Brace’s eyes narrowed as he scanned the space. Then the screaming started. It was high-pitched, and my eardrums began to burn. The pressure built up. Finally the racket died off, and I felt more energy smash into my arrow.

“It’s Tenni.” Brace was the first one to figure it out.

I’d been a step behind him, understanding what was traveling along the arrow.

“She’s being called to her brethren.”

Grantham straightened. “The arrogance of the lalunas was enough that she would never have thought for a moment that her brethren were a weakness for her.”

It was true. They had believed they were untouchable. I could tell from the way she’d bragged about her plans, the lack of worry or stress she’d exhibited. Of course, we couldn’t have achieved this exchange without the help of my laluna.

I grinned. “Arrogance is blinding.”

Brace returned that smile. “For some.”

I shook my head at him. Silly Walker.

Time to bring my brother home.

I flicked my eyes to Grantham. “Do I say the words now?”

“Is the energy connected?”

I nodded. “Yes, they’re intermingling, somewhere about halfway along my arrow line.”

“Then yes, it’s time for the exchange.”

I sucked in deeply. Bringing forth the memory of the words, I opened my mouth and let them fall free.
“Excrui changen velliuc mectre.”

The first joined me in saying the words. Its voice was mental, though, but that didn’t seem to matter.

The moment the last of the word
mectre
fell from my lips, energy ricocheted outwards. I hit the ground, and so did everyone else in the room, including Brace, which told me how strong the blast had been. I managed to hold onto my arrow by the speck of will that I still possessed. It was damn close. Rising from the depths, the cold power moved toward us, and again it started to vibrate.

Brace pulled me to my feet.

“The Seventine is coming,” I said.

Glorious.
The first was still inside me, and I wanted it out, but knew we had to wait to let go of the arrow. The white of the glowing light started to fade out to red, and I knew the Seventine was about to emerge. I prepared myself for more evil to enter the world.

Thank you for your assistance today. You have furthered our plans monumentally, and I will see you again at the convergence.

The first tried to leave. I could feel it bashing against the walls I’d created in my well, the walls of the cage. But it was stuck. I still held power over it. I was feeling a little mean, so I took my time releasing the bond.

In that moment I sensed something new coming from the first. Fear.

What did you do to me?

I had no idea, so I didn’t answer. Somehow I could keep it locked inside and it hadn’t been able to free itself. It was an exhilarating feeling.

The rushing winds picked up again and the red light spilled across us all. Two shadows zoomed from the prison.

Hang on, what the hell?

Laughter echoed around us. Maniacal laughter.

“What did you do?” I screamed to the swirling mists.

You thought we wouldn’t know how powerful the lalunas were? How they were going to strengthen this prison. Of course we knew, but we had the means to free five and six. We took the wager.

No! They had done it to me again, really to all of us. We’d needed this so badly to lock away the lalunas and free Josian. Now five and six were free – holy eff balls. The princeps’ plan had not been as great as they’d thought. The cons seemed to be higher than the pros right about then, since only the seventh remained locked in the prison. I should have known that the Seventine would not take a deal which was heavily skewed in our favor.

My blood spattered as I turned to follow the mists. My throat was still bleeding. The pain had faded away though in the ensuing panic.

“What happened, Abbs?” Lucy was tucked under Colton’s arm.

He seemed to be supporting her in the energy rushing around us.

“Somehow they released five and six.” My voice broke as I explained. I swallowed with difficulty before turning hard eyes on Grantham. “Did you know this would happen?”

He had his hands against the wall, resting his head between them. I wondered what the hell he was doing.

His voice was gruff as he spoke. “The lalunas are now part of this mountain and the prison foundation. They’re no longer sentient, but have transformed back to the mineral elements from which they came.”

I felt a moment of sadness that I’d never have my little stone drop into my hand again, but it was better this way.

Finally Grantham turned to face us. “They freed two because I underestimated the power you would have after joining to the first. Together you could have done anything.” His eyes flicked back to the wall. “As well as checking on the lalunas, I was feeling the vibrations in the stone, talking to the minerals. We were lucky they only pulled the next two free. There was enough energy to free them all, but not enough time. And I’m guessing the Seventine didn’t want to risk upsetting the balance too quickly.”

My heart was beating rapidly. I snuggled myself closer to Brace, needing the comfort. His long arm swung around me and lifted me into his body. I was hardly even supporting my own weight now.

“Well, that sucks the big one,” Fury huffed. “But I’m looking at the silver lining. There’s still one imprisoned, and they need a shit ton of power to get it out. Supes will find the last girl and we’ll lock them away.”

I tried to bring my mind back to the positives, but with the remnants of the first’s energy still inside me, I was all out of whack.

As I had this thought Brace released the gates which had been separating our energy from each other, and his presence flowed through me. The heat and signature power load that was Brace washed away the lingering effects of what had happened, and I felt my neck burn a little as the cut finished its healing. My melancholy lifted, and I was able to put a more optimistic spin on everything.

“Okay, so Tenni is no longer a threat and we’ll get Josian back, right?” I faced Grantham and he nodded, but there was some hesitation which I did not like. “Not to mention that this prison is now as secure as it will ever be.”

As if to reiterate my point, the red light was fading out, but instead of its usual white glow, it shone purple. The color of the lalunas when they combined with each other.

“Right now we need to finish this up, find the last girl, and get these asshole Seventine locked away.”

Colton stood taller. “Are they still in this room?” His features were drawn as he shifted his eyes around.

It always surprised me that others weren’t as tied to the Seventine as Brace and I always seemed to be; left over connections from his possession and now my own.

“No, they left straight away.” I’d felt their overwhelming excitement; they thought they had this all wrapped up now.

I was going to stop them, no matter what.

“Where is Josian?” Lallielle’s voice was stronger. “I still can’t feel him, the bond is restricted.”

Dad.
I mentally reached for him. But for the first time there was nothing, no reply.

“I can’t reach him either,” Grantham bit out.

Brace straightened, taking me with him, as I was still snuggled against his chest. “We need to go to his world and see what’s wrong. The lalunas’ power will no longer be controlling him. They’re now part of the stone.”

So where the hell was my father?

As we exited the cave I gulped down the lump that had formed in my throat. Outside was exactly how I pictured a war zone. Two sides, patiently staring each other down, waiting to move in for the kill. I could see our side, the Walkers, pixies, faeries, First Worlders and many others, had started setting up camps and shelters. The black ash which coated the ground was shifting in the air. It was not pleasant to breathe, but everyone looked to be dealing. I squinted across the distance as I tried to ascertain exactly what we were facing.

Ahhh, heck, freaking zombies again. And there was also …

“The same tree things that were on Crais.” Fury was also scanning the area. “They’re damn hard to destroy.”

She wasn’t kidding. They’d been practically impervious to her fire. And we didn’t have an army of dragoonas at our disposal right then.

My spirits lifted and I let out a joyous cry as a two-headed beast caught my attention. He was galloping across from the other side, clouds of dust raining around him. My feet started moving and I met him halfway, throwing my arms around both heads as best I could.

“Cere,” I cried, “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

I’d known he wasn’t dead. The bond between us was solid, but the worry had still been there. It was horrible to think that so much stuff had happened in the past few hours, events which had taken all my time and focus, and had prevented me going back to Crais to look for him. To make sure he was okay.

Cerberus then proceeded to sloppily lick my face, which only made me laugh and cry harder. Lovable beast seemed to have forgiven me.

Fury scowled. “When am I going to get my own ugly-ass dog?” Her hands dropped to her slim hips.

Cerberus gave her a snorting growl, but seemed to take no offence at her insult.

Then, as if she’d summoned the animal by speaking, I noticed something bounding across the center of the battle field. Way out in the open, in the space that separated both sides of the fight. I squinted my eyes, because it was small and fast. Darting, ducking, and diving through the dead plants, dirt, and ash.

Cerberus shifted next to me, letting out a bark when he too noticed the little creature. It didn’t stop moving, and it was hard to tell if it was colored black or if it was coated in ash. Finally, my eyes and brain registered what it was.

A kitten. A tiny, fluffy ball of cuteness.

“What’s that?” Fury took a step toward the runty-looking cat.

Lucy’s blue-and-golden eyes lit up. “Oh, my god, it’s a kitty. I always wanted a cat.”

Fluff-ball kept moving, disappearing from sight as it entered the masses that were gathered around. It suddenly appeared again and in one last speedy jump landed right in front of Fury. We all fell silent as we stared down, examining the new arrival. It was tiny, no larger than twelve inches tall, and it wasn’t dirty. Its coat was a shiny and fluffy black, with especially thick fur around the neck area. Like a mini lion.

Fury’s eyes widened then. “No way … no freaking way in all of Crais hell. You are not my animal.”

She wrenched her eyes from the cat, staring upwards into the sky. “Supes, deal with this. It’s tiny, and fluffy. No claws. No fangs. It’s … cute.” Her voice trailed off in horror.

Lucy cracked up then. I mean laugh out loud, hit the ground, she was that hysterical. “Whoever the Walker gods are, I think I love them,” she managed to choke out between her gasping laughter. “Fury got a kitten for her sacred animal.” The rest of her words trailed off, indecipherable.

“Supes gets a hellhound, Talina a water dragon, Delane a horse with a goddamned spear on its head.” Fury’s eyes seemed to be drawn back down toward the innocent little fluff-ball that was sitting so calmly in front of her. “No,” she barked at the kitten. “Go away, you are not my animal.”

I was worried right then that the Walker guide would be upset by this encounter. I glanced across to Brace to see his reaction. My mate had the smallest of grins, which told me there was no need to worry at that precise moment.

Fury suddenly dropped to her knees, bringing her face very close to the sweet little baby kitty. “What do you want? Food? If I give you something you want, will you go away?”

Brace laughed then, and the sound filled me with absolute joy. I didn’t hear his laughter very often. It made him seem younger, less burdened by all his responsibilities.

“That’s Crete. He’s always some variety of feline, and has the temperament to match,” he said to Fury.

I grinned at the Crais half. “Sounds like a perfect pair.”

Fury opened her mouth to say something, probably an insult, judging by the narrowing of her eyes, and at that moment Crete leaped at her. She had no option but to hold out her arms and catch him. Her eyes widened as the flood of bond crossed between them. Her white hair whirled before settling into place again. The kitten was so damn cute. He snuggled right into her, dark green eyes wide as they stared up.

“No,” Fury said again. “I will not be charmed by your cuteness. I need a monster, a warrior animal. Something that can rip zombies and tear creatures apart with its bare hands.”