Crais (21 page)

Y
ou can definitely increase the intensity, so now we have to figure out how to separate,
Talina said.

Before I could respond
, Fury, who was back on her own feet, moved closer to us. Talina and I watched in astonishment as flames erupted from her again.

What the hell is she doing?
I asked Talina.

I have no idea, but
it looks as if her energy is back.

Fury
lifted her arm and before I could shake my head she reached into the water and grasped my hand. She was not swept up in the water. Instead a second golden cord flung from me and tethered to her again. The energy inside me changed again: the cool smoothness of Talina mingled with the burning intensity of Fury. And in the centre of that was my own power drawing it in and cycling it around.

Can you both hear me?
Fury’s voice echoed in my mind.

Yes
,
I said at the same time as Talina.

The
three of us were connected.

Have y
ou noticed what’s happened?
I said, finally paying attention to the visible power-show.

The flames and water had combined, creating what felt like a boil
ing tornado. A golden sheen shone throughout; I was starting to get the feeling gold was my color.

Once
we have gathered all of the half-Walkers, we’re going to destroy the Seventine.
Fury’s confidence was unwavering and I could feel it through the bond.

S
he liked the power, maybe a little too much. Which might end up being a problem in the future.

Let’s no
t get ahead of ourselves. They’re an original power. They might know a few things we don’t,
Talina said, always the voice of reason.

Exactly
,
I added.
Like how the hell do I separate the three of us without draining you both?

I pulled my power
, slowly trying to unravel the cord, but there was no change. I also tried to walk away, but the cord just extended. I knew I was the only one who could disconnect us. The other girls didn’t have any control.

I’m sorry
,
I said, knowing I had no choice but to drain them.

N
othing was working: the bond was strong and unwavering. I started to pull energy from them both. As before, my endless well had no trouble taking and containing the huge influxes. It took longer than the last time and when I felt the cords weakening, instead of continuing, I reached out, mentally grasping both and yanked as hard as I could. They resisted me for a split second before tearing away from the girls. All three of us hit the ground.

“Well
, that wasn’t as bad as last time,” Fury said, pushing herself up to rest on her forearms.

I wanted to answer but at that moment I was fighting the power inside.

“Let it go, Red.” Brace was by my side. “You know what you have to do.”

He helped me to my feet.

“You should see your marks, Abbs.” Lucy was close by, helping Talina to stand. “There are pulses of gold in the red.”

I couldn’t
answer; I was too focused on getting rid of the energy. I started toward the ocean. I hadn’t meant to move quickly but I was so fast it was almost instant. With a deep breath I gathered the excess flowing through me and shot it from my body. It left in a blue and gold flash, igniting into a series of fireworks out over the turquoise depths of the ocean.

“Well
, at least we know she’s good for the entertainment at the Walker gathering,” Magenta said. She was dry and back to looking perfect.

“Shut up
, you annoying-as-hell Walker.” I expected Lucy to have spoken but it was Fury. I was surprised until she added, “No one gets to insult super Abby but me.”

She gave me a half-grin, just the corners
of her lips turning up.

We’re a half-Walker family
. We can fight but no one else is allowed.

I picked up her thoughts, which was the first time I’d been able to do that. And I could tell she hadn’t intended me to hear them. I tightened the energy around my mind,
effectively shutting out the others. It was much better not hearing anyone except Brace; he was always a presence in my head.

You better believe it. But you have to know that when you’re connected to the girls I cannot reach you. The melding bond is still intact but it’s as if communications have been suspended between us.

His deep tones washed over me, soothing the last of the ragged edges left from the overload of energy.

I don’t like it when
I can’t talk to you,
I said, taking his hand and threading our fingers together.

Josian cleared his throat, capturing
everyone’s attention. “I think we’ve had enough training for the day, and there needs to be some brainstorming regarding this new conduit power and how to control it.” He looked proud.

Lallielle
, who was beside him, just looked worried.

“
I think it’s time to head to the field and mark out the territories. Is everyone coming?” he continued.

W
e all nodded.

I was distracted then as
Quarn drove up in one of the small forest buggies. There weren’t many vehicles on First World, but I really enjoyed travelling in the small, open-aired all-terrain buggies.

They were green in color, low and fast with a visible roll cage.
The engine was almost silent but I could hear when it cut off and Quarn jumped out, moving toward us. He’d been back at the castle with Lucas, assisting in some security concerns.

Lucas’s news that I’d missed earlier had been an assassination attempt on both himself and his father. First World had never had such an occurrence before, and
it had been initiated by the head of armies, making it even more serious. Quarn was going to be gone a lot trying to restore a semblance of order, and Lucas needed someone around he could trust.

“How is everything with the royals?” Lallielle stepped forward to give her oldest friend a hug.

Quarn returned it wearily. He looked to be dead-on-his-feet tired.

“I’ve weeded out a dozen men and three women who were involved. A pattern is starting to emerge.” He rubbed his forehead. “They were all previously patrolling the dark mountains.
That’s why I’ve briefly left the castle. I needed to explain the situation and let you know that we’re going to have to go back to the mountain.”

“There
’s something more there.” Lucy spoke up. “I can’t quite tell. I think I’m being blocked but we missed something.”

I shuddered
. I never wanted to go there again. But judging by the nods, we were going back soon.

“Yes, I want
ed to send patrols out to investigate, but I’m concerned about more compromised men and women.” Lines shadowed Quarn’s features; he was one of the only First Worlders I’d seen who looked older than thirty.

“Walkers went through the entire
underground; I have no idea what we missed,” Josian said. “But as soon as we’ve dealt with the gathering, we’ll look again. Lucy might be able to see more clearly if she’s there.”

“That’s if we all survive this brilliant plan to place the most powerful and volatile beings into
close proximity with each other.” Magenta tossed back her sheet of hair, and it still fell perfectly into place.

“Split ends and frizz is clearly not a problem Walkers have.” Lucy leaned in to whisper from the corner of her mouth.

I grinned back. We so often thought alike.

“So are you heading back
, Quarn? Can I not convince you to stay for the night and get some rest?” Lallielle’s brows furrowed as she put a hand on his arm.

He shook his head, a brief smile crossing his lips. “Don’t you worry about me
, mother-hen. I’m tired, but there’s too much happening at the moment for me to stay here; I need to return immediately. Lucas can’t be everywhere. We were just lucky he found the planted device and recognized it before the explosion. He saved many lives with his quick thinking.”

I shoved down the new pangs of guilt
. Damn, I hated this emotion, but I’d really hurt Lucas last time when I’d ignored his concerns and disappeared with Brace. And I’m sure he’d spent time torturing himself with what we were doing when we left. I might not have romantic feelings for Lucas, but there was a tie there and because of my fear of this ... bond thing ... which wasn’t his fault, I’d been treating him like crap.

“Can I come with you, Quarn
? I need to speak with Lucas.” I made the decision and, turning to Josian, I added, “I’ll just meet you all at the field later.”

He
nodded. “We’ll be there for the rest of the day so take your time.”

“Don’t worry
. We’ll keep Brace company while you’re gone.” Magenta stepped forward, placing her slender fingers on his muscular bicep.

I stared at her for a moment, before taking my own step forward. I flicked out my
closed fist quickly, dispelling her hand and moving into her personal space. It was annoying that she was so much taller, but if I’d learnt anything from Lucy it was how to intimidate from a shorter stature.

“Brace and I are melded. You and
he are ... nothing. In fact, he has never even mentioned you to me, so I can’t imagine you featured very much in his thoughts. Keep that in mind the next time you decide to try and play the whore-bag-touch-my-man Walker.”

L
ucy and Talina both snorted.

“Whore-bag
Walker.” Lucy’s eyes twinkled. “That was the best you had, Abbs?”

I shrugged. “What can I say
? I seem to have lost my A game when it comes to insults.”

Lucy’s
raised her eyebrows, screwing up her face at the same time. “Sorry to break it to you, but I’m pretty sure you never had an A game.”

“You’re probably right.”
She was definitely right; I was the person who thought of the perfect reply ten minutes after I was insulted.

I noticed that M
agenta’s face had turned an interesting shade of pissed off. She looked like she was about to explode. Colton rested a hand on her shoulder. Her face whipped around to glare at him, and he shook his head ever so slightly. Some type of communication passed between them, and with a deep breath she turned away.

“I’
m going to go with you, Red. I might be able to help Quarn while you speak with Lucas.” Brace’s eyes were hard, and I wasn’t getting any read on his thoughts.

Magenta’s breath caught at his words
. It was very slight but I still heard it. I could feel pain radiating off her and tried to imagine how she felt. They’d been friends for a very long time, and it was possible that at some point Brace and she had had a romantic relationship. They obviously weren’t true mates, but that didn’t mean there weren’t real feelings there. I felt a little sick thinking about Brace with the long-legged beauty standing before me, but I wouldn’t drive myself crazy until I spoke with him and confirmed my thoughts. Sympathy flooded through me, though judging by her hard eyes she was not interested in my softer emotions.

“I need to return the buggie, so you can either ride with me or trace your way across.” Quarn was already striding to the vehicle.

I looked sideways at Brace. He gave me a grin.

“Buggie
,” we both said together.

It was probably anti-Walker but w
e loved travelling in the speedy little car.

I gave my parents, Lucy and Talina
quick hugs. Brace had just taken my hand, leading me toward Quarn, when Colton dashed in and engulfed us both.

“
It’s alright, Colt, we’re going to see you later today.” Brace gave his friend a slap on the back as we separated.

“You know better than most that the best laid plans can be derailed. We must never take our loved one
s for granted. One minute they’re there and the next gone.” Sadness shadowed Colton’s eyes.

Brace had told me
a long ago that with their extended lives they faced a lot of death and loss. The friends exchanged one last look before going their separate ways.

Brace squished himself into the back bench seat, pulling me in next to him.
He took up three quarters of the space and his legs were practically around his ears.

“You can sit in the front with
Quarn,” I offered, which was pretty generous, I thought, since I was rather enjoying our close proximity.

He brushed his fingers gently along
the mark on my cheek. Tingling warmth followed their path.

“
And let you sit back here alone? I don’t think so. I’ve never been more comfortable, Red.”

Quarn
kicked over the engine, a whirring noise starting in the front panels which stored sun energy to power the buggie. With a wave to our friends we settled in for the ride. We were travelling in the same jungle that Brace had escorted us through so many months before. Quarn gave me a running commentary on the trees, animals and First-World inhabitants we passed. Mostly they were patrolling guards, since we were entering the off-limits area of the royal forest.