Crais (15 page)

He must have caught my
morbid thought. I’d been distracted and let my energy slip. We reached the Reds and they weren’t kidding about the channels. The room was circular with at least a dozen dark entrances visible.

“We have to split up.”
I recognized the speaking Walker as Red four. “There’s no other way to determine what’s along these paths.”

“I don’t think that
’s such a good idea.” Lallielle’s voice was shaky, her worry clear.

I gasped as she dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her face, her hands pulling at her long hair. I exchanged panic
-filled looks with Josian.

What
’s wrong with Mom?

Fear suddenly
flooded through my system. My mind filled with darkness, the black tendrils streaking in and coating everything inside. There were all of these images infiltrating; I couldn’t tell what was real anymore. Death, blood and burning surrounded me. I choked back bile as it rose unwillingly to my throat. I knew we couldn’t move or everyone would die.

Josian
rose up before me. I stared at my father. Screams fell from my throat as his skull was split in two by an unseen force, blood and brains dripping down his features. My hysterical screams increased as the life fled his body. How was this happening? I knew something was wrong, but I couldn’t calm my thoughts long enough to figure it out.

“Aribella!
Fight this. You’re stronger than the witchery here.” Josian held me tightly with one hand.

“You’re dead
,” I shrieked over and over.

“Ba
by girl, listen to my voice: I’m fine. No one is dead.”

Finally his voice a
nd words infiltrated my mind, allowing me a moment to silence my screams. Despite my clarity, the vision before me still alternated between Josian whole and healthy and Josian with his blood and brains coating my boots.

Closing my eyes
, I started to chant, “Not real, not real, not real.”

I
also took my power, wrapping it tightly around myself, expelling whatever negative energy was manipulating my thoughts. I hesitated before opening my eyes again; the fog that had clouded my vision was gone and I could finally see the reality before me.

“Are you
back with me, baby girl?” Josian asked.

His features
hardened as he cast worried glances toward the rest of our group. I took in the spine-tingling horror myself. Our friends and family were on the ground, hysterically screaming or crawling into each other and the rock walls.

Josian’s words snapped my attention back to him.
“I need your help to break this energy chain.”

“Two questions.”
I held up my index and middle finger. “What the hell just happened? And why were you not affected?”

His words were short and sharp.
“It’s a trap, cleverly designed to incapacitate anyone who makes it this far into this cavern. And I’m too old and powerful to be manipulated like this.”

“So what happens
after they have everyone incapacitated?”

As soon as the words left my mouth
the answer crept out of the darkness.

“Oh
, holy shitballs.” My jaw dropped open as the disbelief colored my words.

Josian spun around.

Zombies. Excellent, because the day just couldn’t get any worse.

“
Well, this is unexpected,” Josian said, before facing me again.

He
was still holding Lucy. He gently lowered her to the ground. Once his arms were free he reached for his wife. Lallielle had been face down on the dirty floor, clawing her way in circles around his legs. Gripping either side of her face, he shot a beam of blue energy into her. She blinked rapidly a few times before coughing and recognition reappeared in her dazed eyes. His blast of power had awoken her.

“I need you to help me, Aribella. Send light energy in
to free their minds from the fear and darkness. Keep the emotions happy and guide them to do the same.” Josian had already moved on to Talina.

Having no idea what I was doing
, I stepped toward Fury. She was screaming and head-butting the wall in front of her. Blood ran in rivulets down her face from the large gash she’d opened on her forehead. It would just start to heal and then she would smash it again. And the entire time she screamed in a high-pitched tone of fear. As soon as I got within arm’s reach she lashed out, her arm catching my right cheek and knocking my face into the wall.

“Oh
, for crap’s sake,” I bit out.

I definitely needed to work on my cursing, but come on
: this day was not going to be the right time to start. And I probably should have seen that hit coming; my reflexes were leaving a lot to be desired.

Stepping back again, I shook off
the disorientation and moved in for attempt two to capture her. I managed to get a hand on either side of her face, wrenching her around. She was strong as she fought to free herself, thrashing against me.

I grabbed at my energy, careful to siphon off the lighter white at the top
and staying far from the darkness lower down; that was a place I’d always been too afraid to explore. I shot the stream straight into Fury’s face. It slapped at her features before being absorbed in.

I continued the stream
.

Using my extra senses
I watched as the black tendrils which had been encasing her thoughts started to dissipate. Finally her screams ceased. Her face fell for a moment before realization crossed it and I had to dodge another bitch-slap coming my way. I reached out to capture her swinging arm.

“Get your hands off me, superstar
,” she hissed at me.

“You got one as a freebie
because you weren’t in your right mind. The next time you hit me I will hit back,” I growled, squeezing her forearm before flinging it away.

She opened her mouth to reply, but I spun around before she had a chance.

The creatures across the way caught my attention again. I’d forgotten about the horrifying scene that was slowly advancing in our direction. Lucy had been right when she’d dreamed of the walking dead, and I needed to move it and free everyone before the zombies reached us.

Fury had crawled her way over to Dune, but
had to remain outside his reach. He was all fists of fire at the moment. His hands were burning red and he was spinning in rapid circles.

“What’
s wrong with him?” Fury screamed as she dodged his attacks.

“Everyone’s been influenced with negative
energy; it’s bringing our nightmares to life. He can’t tell what reality is.”

“This is so those zombie creatures can attack while we are
defenseless?” Fury clearly had not missed the lurching group heading our way.

“Exactly
. Now distract Dune so I can get a hold of him?”

Fury burst into flames, illuminating the underground
cavern until it was almost as bright as the outside. The heat coming from her was intense, and she could now step forward and grab onto Dune’s hands without being burnt.

“Hurry
,” she said, her voice deep and more gravelly.

Dune was so much stronger
than she was and she was struggling just to stay in contact with him.

I came
in from behind, careful not to get too close to Fury’s flames. I reached up to clutch the back of Dune’s white hair, sending energy in with more force than I’d used on Fury.

I knew w
e were running out of time.

I could smell the
decay heading in our direction, a stomach-churning aroma of rotted meat masked by a strange chemical smell.

“Come on, Dune
,” I snapped. “Wake the hell up, fire man.”

He was strong
as he fought against my hold. Fury growled at him before launching herself forward and slamming her lips into his. His head fell back and I was thrown to the ground. Glancing up through a mass of messy red curls, I watched as he absorbed her blue fire, and then he was back. The glow in his hands faded out as he clutched Fury close to him.

“I don’t know what just happened, but damn,” he said as
he pushed her white hair off her face, “you’re leaving me with no doubt; you’re as hot as hell, tresorina.”

A rare smile broke across Fury’s face
. Pure joy shone, and as their lips met again I picked myself up and turned away.

“
No thanks required and get a damn room,” I muttered, mild jealousy tainting my words.

I
was suddenly spun around as a hand clutched at my bicep. It was icy cold even through my jacket. I threw myself back as I sucked in air, facing the nightmare before me. Yep, it was a freaking zombie. I’d knocked it back a few steps when I’d fallen but it was lurching at me again. I was pretty sure it had been a woman before its death. There were sparse strands of long matted blond hair scattered over its head. The eyes were light blue but with a white sheen coating the top. Chunks of rotted flesh were hanging off its face and body, and every time it moved it shed bits of its body. It was a zombie in the classic sense but there was intelligence in its eyes and it definitely wasn’t blind as it focused and came straight at me, clenched hands out front and teeth bared, growling and hissing as it lurched.

“If you’re not too busy, Dad, let me know what I’m supposed to do about the zombies?” I called out, not taking my eyes off
the creature before me.

I kicked out, hitting it in the stomach. My foot squished in, not finding much substance in its
decayed mid-section. But at least it shot back a few yards.

“They’
re reanimated dead, Aribella. You must cut off the head.” His voice boomed around.

A quick glance
revealed that most of us were in combat with the ‘reanimated dead’, as Josian called them.

“Alright, dead
biatch, let’s see what you got.” I grinned as it came at me again.

Although
, I had no idea how I was supposed to take off its head without a sword.

I kicked out again
. This time my boots connected solidly with the rotted face. Chunks of flesh flew, including a few bits that stuck to my shoe. Damn, I liked those boots, but they were going straight in the bin now. And the worst part was that its head didn’t even fly off. It got to its feet, only to be joined by another two of its dead friends. They spread out to come at me from all directions.

My energy roll
ed inside me, demanding to be released. I skimmed from the turbulence at my centre and formed an energy ball, but instead of leaving it round, I forced its edges flatter to create a disc shape. When the original zombie came at me, I shot out my energy, aiming for the neck. It sliced through like a hot laser, the body collapsing the moment the head was separated.

I could feel another
one coming toward my back. I spun quickly, gathering energy again and relieving the second of its head. I was just congratulating myself when a heavy weight landed on my back. Before I had a chance to spin around it clamped down on my neck and bit deep. I screamed out as pain and panic flooded through me. The creature clenched its jaw, digging even deeper. I fell to my knees, zombie stories flying through my head. I knew what this bite meant and now it was too late.

“Abby!”

I registered that someone was calling my name. But I think I was in shock or something. I sat there, one hand clamped over the holes in my neck, the other shooting energy discs at the zombies coming closer. I was moving on instinct. I had no idea how long it would take until I turned, and I had to take out as many of these rotting a-holes as I could. I hoped when I joined the undead Josian wouldn’t hesitate to remove my head.

“Abigail Swish, get that damn look off your face. You’re not dying. You’re a friggen Walker.” Lucy got her face close to mine.

“You’re unconscious,” I muttered, shooting a zombie over her shoulder.

“Don’t make me slap some sense into you.” She leaned back
, hands on her hips.

Her eyes flashed at me
. What was she so annoyed about? I was the one turning into a zombie.

I pulled my hand free, surprised to notice there was no fresh blood. I reached for my neck again.

“Where have the bites gone?” I muttered.

A crack rang out, and I
realized Lucy had followed through on her threat. She’d just slapped my right cheek. The sting brought with it a sense of clarity.

“Lucy. What.
The. Eff?” I lurched to my feet. “Did you just slap me?”

“You back with us, Abbs
? Because we really need your help.” Her cheeks were streaked with dirt and blood, blond curls matted around her face.

I
still felt confused, but clearly I wasn’t about to turn into a zombie. A blush stole over my cheeks. It might have been stupid to have that little breakdown. Walkers probably couldn’t become any other supernatural creature. I could only blame it on too many undead books growing up.

“What do you need?” I pulled myself together.

“The reanimated dead are overwhelming us. You need to gather your powers and start blasting these suckers.” Lucy dragged me into the midst of the fight.

It took hours, and an endless supply of energy discs, but the mass of zombies eventually dwindled. We were surrounded by piles of corpses, and now that they were no longer animated the rotting smell had increased. I’d had numerous bites, but they had all healed quickly enough. Lucy wasn’t quite so lucky, but Josian helped her with a little of his energy. The Walkers then used their brute strength and powers to gather the bodies into a large pile.

Fury stepped up.
With the blue flames encasing her, she sent fire balls into them.

“They
were all First Worlders, ones who have gone missing over the last few years.” Lallielle had tears streaming down her face.

I’d noticed during the fight that
she’d been both crying and savagely wielding a large sword.

“It was
as if I was killing people I knew ... friends ... even if they were already dead.” She choked on a few sobs.

Josian gathered her close, his large hands running up and do
wn her back.

“Where
have they been? Where did they come from now?” Talina was breathing deeply.

S
he looked exhausted, her eyes narrow as she slouched against the wall.

“Dark energy can reanimate the dead.” Josian was
still holding Lallielle. “It’s a Walker ability, but not one that I’ve ever known anyone to use.”

“So you can’t catch it from them?” I had to ask.

Josian grinned darkly. “No, it’s not a virus. It’s energy manipulation.”

“
I can’t believe we can wake the dead,” Fury muttered, although we all heard.

Josian shook his head. “Not even Walkers can bring the dead back to life. Death is a balance of the universe
: for birth, there must be death. What happened here is a poor imitation of life. None of these people were anything but empty shells simply being manipulated by darkness.”

“That’s why I don’t delve too deep into my energy,” I told Josian. “I can feel the heavy darkness down low.”

“
Your energy is neither dark nor light unless you choose to use it in that manner. If your intentions are good then you have nothing to worry about.” He dismissed my fears.

“Sounds like a slippery slope to me.” I shook out my curls. “On Earth we had a saying about the road to hell being paved w
ith good intentions. And it’s something I’ve seen happen.”

“As long as you always question your
self, Aribella, and never just assume you are on the side of righteousness then there is little else that can be done to keep your power in check.” Lallielle had lifted her head to speak. Her eyes were ringed in red, but other than that her appearance was faultless. “Your father and I both discuss every important decision. It’s a small thing, but it’s probably stopped us making rash choices in the past.”

And that right there was why Walkers were stronger in mated pairs.

“We need to keep moving. There could be more of them on their way now,” one of the Walkers said as soon as Fury had finished burning the piles of dead.

The corpses
were little more than ash now.

“H
er fire is amazeballs,” Lucy muttered.

I nodded
, agreeing completely.

“There are twelve tunnels
,” Josian said. “We need to split up.”

“No!” Lucy
all but shouted. “I’m still not seeing clearly, but you cannot split us up. That’s the worst move we could make.”

“Do you have a feeling
about which tunnel we should enter then?” Josian’s said in a serious tone.

H
e hadn’t dismissed her words. It showed his strength and character that he would show such respect for her untrained abilities.

Lucy turned and strode across to the tunnels, her short legs stopping at the first dark entrance. She waited a moment before slowly moving to the next. She continued, occasionally pausing and staring down the channels, before finally she came back to us.

“At least ten of them are dead ends. Tunnels six and eight have life in them.” She sighed. “I couldn’t pick up anything more definite than that
. There’s too much interference.”

“Well
, can we split into two groups?” Josian asked.

Lucy
nodded, although she didn’t look totally convinced.

Josian
sent ten of the Reds down tunnel six. The rest of us gathered together, ready to explore number eight. As we moved, I felt a tugging sensation on the golden thread in my mind; the Bracentine was close. I released my end of the thread and its voice flooded my mind.

Hello, sweetheart.

I gritted my teeth, but didn’t say anything. If all went to plan I’d have my Brace back, and Bracentine would never be calling me sweetheart again.

You’
re on the right track. Continue down this artery and you will find the spiraling chasm in the centre. At the bottom of this my brother’s slumber. To free the third, all that is required of you is a drop of blood and to speak the words ‘Vectus Elitus’.

I l
aughed in my head. It sounded higher than usual.
I want Brace to be released before I complete the final part. And I also want your word that none of my people will be harmed while we’re in these caves.

I
had no real evidence, but one would assume that with three of them free their power would increase significantly.

I will release him the moment my brother is freed
. As I have explained, my word is held as law in this universe. I have no other option but to follow through. And I will give you all a fighting chance: thirty minutes from the moment the third is free. You must flee the caves or the three of us will combine our powers and wipe as many of you from this existence as possible.

Shivers flooded up and down my spine.
I brought my attention back to the caves for a moment, wondering if anyone had noticed my distracted behavior. No one was looking at me. Everyone was busy trying not to freak out, waiting for the next ambush. Bracentine spoke again, recapturing my attention.

A
lthough I don’t think I will end you, sweetheart. You, I have much bigger plans for.

I felt it then
. The laluna was back in my hand, its blue light extra bright in the darkness. It gave me the boost I needed to permanently end the conversation and detach the golden cord. The moment I was alone again, my heart started to beat rapidly. I could be mere moments from having Brace back, but was I deluded to think I wouldn’t damn us all by assisting the Seventine?

“What are you planning, Abby?” Lucy’s words startled me.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I attempted to keep my voice steady as I slipped the laluna into my pocket. It would either be there later or not. I had no control over the powerful stone.

“
Liar.” She flicked me hard on the arm. “I’d recognize that guilty look anywhere. Either you’ve already done something bad or you’re planning to very soon.”

I stared into the
comforting face of my best friend. I wanted to tell her so badly. I needed someone to talk with, but there were too many ears here. And they all had awesome hearing.

“I’ll tell you later
,” I murmured to her, knowing she’d never give up otherwise.

She leaned in. “Make sure you do, or I’ll be forced
to torture it out of you.” Her grin looked a little evil.

“Just because you
’re an alleged soothsayer doesn’t mean you have to know everything.” I lowered my voice and smirked. “Maybe you don’t know because you’re not meant to.”

“I have an insatiable need to know everything, even that which is not my business.” She returned
my expression, hers even more devious. “And I’ll find out, mark my words.”

History had taught me
, if Lucy wanted something she always got it.

Tunnel eight was so far uneventful. I had a suspicion that the Bracentine was keeping the dangers away from us
. I could feel them lurking out there but nothing was attacking.

“The men have had reanimated dead, scarab beetles and underground moles
in the other channel,” Josian said. “Stay alert. I don’t like that so far we’ve encountered nothing. We’re being led into something big.”

“Are they all okay?” I asked.

The Walkers around me laughed.

Josian nodded. “Yes, they’re fine. The numbers were small and no match for ten Walkers.”

“There are very few things in any of the worlds that are a match for one Walker
, let alone ten of them.” Lanthorne continued to chuckle, his proud features crinkled in mirth.

“Who would win in a fight, o
ne Walker versus two dragoonas?” Lucy grinned.

She
loved this game. On Earth we’d spend days fighting over which superhero would dominate, arguing all their strengths and weaknesses. Nerdy, I know, but without television we lacked entertainment.

The
debate started then and continued for the rest of the tunnel. Dune in particular found it hard to believe anything could defeat two dragoonas. He listed their strengths, which were impressive. They were definitely the dominant species on Crais, but still the consensus seemed to be that Walkers would squish them like bugs.

We were still arguing a few minutes later
when Josian, who was out in front, came to a halt and threw up one hand to silence everyone. I fell quiet, trying to hear. Finally I made out a tapping noise, so slight it was almost imperceptible.

Josian started to move again,
his grace and stealth resulting in almost silent steps. As we curved around a bend there was a flash of intense light which rendered Josian’s glow-ball useless.

The end of tunnel eight was just ahead, and there was something very bright up there.

I opened my mouth to speak but shut it just as quickly. Now was probably not the time to distract
him with the questions flooding my mind. I missed having Brace in my head. It was convenient when I had to run thoughts past someone.

As we approached
, the light was so bright that stepping out of the tunnel into the room left me blind for a few moments. I stopped, waiting for my eyes to adjust. Finally I had a clear picture of our surroundings. A swirling vortex-portal thing was in the centre of the round stone room, the light shining up from its depth. This must be what the Bracentine was talking about.

“Stay away from there
,” Lucy spluttered out, breaking our self-imposed silence. “That’s the portal to the Seventine.”

Yep, definitely in the right spot.

Josian grunted, his eyebrows lifting. “It should not be open in this manner, even with the freed Seventine. The gateway was sealed and hidden from those that may stumble onto it. First World is the oldest of planets and it was deemed the perfect hiding zone.”

“It
’s open because Que has disturbed the balance. It will be permanently open until they are all free or the gravitational force sucks them back in.” Lucy spoke in a firm voice. She was strangely attuned to the Seventine.