I sucked in a few rapid breaths, trying to compose myself. I knew he thought it was a man who"d left me and that was good. Maybe it would create a little distance. We were getting close ... too close. Our bond was going to force a re-melding.
Lucy left Colton then to wrap an arm around my shoulder. It was still odd having her meet me at my height, and on top of that I had to remember not to crush her wings when we hugged.
"Sorry, Abbs, I shouldn"t be leaving you with Brace," she murmured in my ear. "I forget sometimes."
I squeezed her hand. "All good, Luce, none of this is your fault."
The blame lay squarely with whatever ent.i.ty decided to free the Seventine.
Stepping away, I distanced myself a little from our group, and attempted to compose my thoughts. It wasn"t really working, so instead I tried to focus on the Angelica milling around us. I was just staring out between some purple wings when a flash of something caught my eye. Looking behind me, I could see that Lucy, Colton and Brace were discussing battle tactics. So I took the moment to step further away; it appeared again flas.h.i.+ng through the crowds. I decided to follow the spectra, my eyes keeping track as it darted between another group of purple-wings. The Angelica didn"t pay any attention to me as I moved through their ma.s.ses.
I wondered how long it would take you to notice.
I froze as a voice sounded in my head. The beats of my heart suddenly sounded very loud in my ears. I recognized it: the first Seventine.
How do you keep finding me? I demanded, thankful that I sounded tougher than I felt. Hopefully it wouldn"t sense the b.u.mps coating my skin and the way every hair on my body was standing at attention.
I can find you on any world. There is a bond between us. You know it deep down. You"ve had the dreams. Felt the connection.
Besides the dreams of ruling First World, there"d been these random few which I"d chalked up to weird nightmares. They made no sense, flickers of a world filled with lava and death where I was some type of ghostly person drifting over the landscapes. It was like I was dead, only I knew I wasn"t. And there were other ghosts that traveled with me, but I didn"t know who they were. If they were the Seventine then nightmare was an understatement.
In the end you will make the choice to join us. We can offer you the worlds, every single one of them.
I growled, I"ll never join you. Never! And I will be the one to lock you up and destroy any chance of escape. Don"t get used to freedom; you"ll be back in your prison soon.
Laughter echoed through my mind, loud and strong. And then I felt its presence leave.
"Are you okay?" A woman with black wings paused next to me.
I must have looked like a freak just standing there, staring out into nothing.
"Yeah, just thought I saw something strange." I attempted to curl up my lips. I must have achieved something close to a grin because she returned my smile.
The female was as perfect and beautiful as the rest of the Angelica, although not quite as tall. She had short black hair and eyes so dark I couldn"t differentiate the pupil and iris. Her skin was creamy brown, her eyes exotically shaped in the corners. Just like a j.a.panese woman I knew once on Earth. I realized then that as this was a female I should be testing for marks, but just as I fumbled to free my locket another black-wing appeared next to us.
"Delane, you"re up in the arena," he said to the female.
I wondered if this was the Delane who Steva had mentioned earlier. The one who"d visited the Isle of Souls.
She gave me one last nod before turning and making her way across the s.p.a.ce and into the clear zone that was designated for fighting. I hurried back to my friends; Brace would have to fight soon and I needed to get onto the moonstale search. It might take the entire tournament to cross paths with every Angelica here.
As I raised my face, I saw that Brace was watching me. My feet faltered for a brief moment before I continued toward him. No doubt he"d had his eyes on me the entire time I was gone, making sure I was safe. The man"s protective instincts ran a mile deep. If we"d still been melded, he"d have followed me, but I could sense that he didn"t want to seem obsessive at the moment. Afraid he"d scare me away. Laughable since I was harboring a pretty serious obsession for him.
Lucy gave me a raised-brows, what-the-h.e.l.l-were-you-doing look. I shrugged to say "nothing". She shook her head, and our silent conversation was done. As the tournament started to take shape we moved to the edge of the mist-free zone, which was about the size of three football fields. From where we were we"d have a perfect view of the fight.
"There"s going to be a demonstration first." Brace filled me in on what I"d missed.
I turned my attention to the field. About a dozen white-wings were using their powers to clear the air; down the opposite side to us were the panel of judges. Two from each of the five flocks, their brightly colored wings tucked in behind them. Standing in the center of the field was Delane, the female I"d just met. She held a sai in each hand.
I craned my neck trying to see who her opponent was. But there was no Angelica close by. My eyes were drawn back to the impressive image Delane created, and as her powerful wings spread out like a black cloak, standing high above her head, I felt a gasp leave my mouth. In two powerful thrusts she took to the sky, and as I followed her movement I saw the purple-wing zooming like an arrow straight for her, his twin blades thrust forward.
I held my breath. I wasn"t sure if the Angelica died easily or not, but judging by their ferocious expressions, I was pretty sure I"d find out in this tournament.
Delane twisted in the air at the last second, avoiding the blades and slicing along the side of her opponent. I could see splatters of blood against the white backdrop. It was darker than ours, but still in the maroon tone. The purple-wing headed toward the ground. I thought he was about to land when at the last second he spun back and flung one of his blades. A very sly attack. The saidon lodged itself into Delane"s right wing. She flinched but didn"t slow, before landing solidly on the cloud land to face her opponent. Without a sound she reached up and ripped the weapon from her black feathers.
The purple gave her no time for recovery. They clashed in hand-to-hand combat. The clang of blades echoed across the land. I found myself holding my breath more than once as they cut into each other. Delane was fast, strong and more highly skilled than her opponent. It looked as if she was just tiring him out, his movements slowing until finally in a swift move Delane knocked him down. Lifting her arms high, she brought the saidon down and stabbed them through his shoulders, pinning him to the ground. The purple made no noise. Delane got back to her feet, turned and walked off the field, disappearing into the crowds. The purple was eventually freed by others in his flock.
The judging panel moved toward us. Stepping forward, Steva made a few announcements. They weren"t in English, though, so I had no idea what she was saying.
Brace brushed against my side. My traitorous hands reached for him. I managed to stop myself at the last minute. "Now they divide the tournament field into ten mini zones." His voice was low in my ear.
"So there will be ten fights going all at the same time?"
He tilted his head to the side, as if still listening to the other language. "Sort of. They stagger the start of each fight to allow the judges to observe the initial combat."
"And then all battles continue for three rounds or until there"s a winner," Colton added. "Two flock representatives are left behind to observe."
"And on that note, I"m in the first ten, so I have to go," Brace said as he pulled free his sai ... saidons from where they"d been tucked into the side of his armor. "Wish me luck," he said in a low tone, his lips grazing my cheek.
He left before I could find my voice. I watched as his long-legged stride crossed the large field. My eyes widened as I continued to follow his path. In the few moments since Steva"s speech, the Angelica had split the tournament grounds into ten distinct zones, using small barriers made from the clouds.
"He"ll be fine, right?" I spoke to no one in particular.
Colton snorted. "Brace has no equal in the star system. Worry for the Angelica."
Easy for him to say. That wasn"t his mate out there. Colton slanted a half-grin in my direction then, his expression c.o.c.ky and speculative. He"d definitely be wondering why I was so worried, especially given the unbreakable nature of Walkers.
The first fight was between a blue- and green-winged. It was as brutal and ferocious as the demonstration had been. The second fight started about fifteen minutes later, the judges following the path of each fight. Brace was third opposing a blue. My eyes were glued to his zone. His opponent wore the stupidest grin. He was loving being the first to take on the outsider. It was going to be sweet when Brace kicked his a.s.s.
The moment their fight started the blue took to the air. Brace didn"t move. I wanted to look up and find his opponent, but the truth was I couldn"t take my eyes from the imposing Walker. Despite my nerves, I was enjoying the time to stare at him uninterrupted. d.a.m.n, I was kind of failing at my task of limiting this bond between us; one might think I wasn"t trying very hard.
Brace almost looked bored, his legs slightly spread, the thrusting winds from the white flock s.h.i.+fting his dark hair. And then his eyes flicked to the right. The blue appeared behind him with both of his saidons thrust forward.
My gasp was lost in the noise of the crowd around us, but I didn"t have to worry. Brace simply s.h.i.+fted to the side, the blue"s attack sliding right past him. And then in a swinging motion Brace brought his weapons around and sliced clean through one of his opponent"s wings. He followed this with a rapid pivot before he launched his right saidon. The blade lodged in the blue"s chest, just above the s.p.a.ce where a human heart would sit. Then before the Angelica could even react to his wound, Brace uppercut him. The thud of his fist landing against a jaw echoed across the s.p.a.ce.
The shocked noises that rose above the sounds of battle indicated that a good old-fas.h.i.+oned punch to the face was not something that happened here much. And when the Angelica hit the ground, unmoving, I sensed a new respect for Brace flooding through the flock. Respect and fear. The judges nodded before moving on to the next zone. Brace"s fight hadn"t even taken ten minutes. The blue remained unmoving, his still form bright against the white ground.
"Did he kill him?" Lucy was clutching Colton"s arm hard enough to leave marks.
"No, the Angelica are almost as hard to kill as Walkers. You have to make sure you hit both hearts and I"d probably remove their head as an added measure."
The wolf was a little bloodthirsty ... wait a second, did he just say both hearts?
As in two hearts.
My head spun around to find the closest Angelica. A green-flock male stood eight feet from us. I examined his body closely. It was humanoid in shape, but his chest looked a little wider and deeper I hadn"t noticed before, they were so huge with a rib cage that seemed to expand further around the thoracic area. I couldn"t help but wonder how the blood moved around. Did both hearts have the same functions, or did one do something different?
A spicy donut scent yanked my attention to the field. Brace was moving toward us. d.a.m.n, I"d been wasting time. I should have been searching for the half-Walker female while Brace was out of reach.
"I"ll be right back," I said to Lucy and Colton.
I dashed away, flicking open my locket as I moved. The moonstale stones were visible as they splashed their yellow light around. My eyes flicked left and right as I sidled through and around the groups of Angelica. But there were no Walker marks appearing. There were three possibilities left: Laos with gold sunbeams, Kaos with brown stripes, or Gai with white dots. I had seen all of the marks before and knew, depending on the skin tone of the Walker, some were harder to see than others. I hoped the Nephilius half would be distinct.
"Your contestant did very well." I ground to a halt as Steva"s words caught my attention. I moved around a group of purple-wings to stand before her. "The next round will be broad-sword and will commence in twelve cloud drifts," she continued, and I really hoped Brace knew what a cloud drift was. "I was led to believe that you would not be staying here in between events." She examined me closely, her eyes briefly falling on my open locket.
"Yes, we won"t be staying. We"ll return in time for the second round."
I wasn"t sure how many rounds there would be, but I needed to spend less time gawking at Brace and more searching for the half-Walker.
"I would appreciate it if you were here early enough to look at the Isle of Souls. Delane has agreed to be your guide."
I let out a deep breath. "Okay, we can do that."
"Don"t be late. Delane would never miss a fight; warrior runs deep in that one"s veins."
She"d more than demonstrated that on the field earlier.
Steva walked away. I shook my head a few times as I followed her path. She was definitely a weird one.
"Abbs!" Lucy shouted at me. Her voice held a note of warning.
I discreetly closed my locket, expecting Brace and Colton to be with her. And sure enough, as I turned around, all three were crossing the cloud to stand with me.
"Looks like it"s time to go." I s.h.i.+fted my shoulders, trying to work out some of my tension.
Lucy nodded. "Yep, they not so subtly told us to get lost."
"Steva said the next round is in twelve cloud drifts," I said, my lips curving. "I hope one of you has a cloud watch."
Brace, who was back in his original clothes, grinned at me. "Very close to twelve hours."
"They want to take us to the Isle of Souls, so we need to be here in about ten hours then." I exhaled loudly; it felt as if I should be really tired, but as usual my Walker genes kept me full of vitality.
I was getting so impatient to gather the half-Walkers, especially after having the Seventine randomly appear in my head. I wanted to be strong enough to beat them, and right now we weren"t. I needed all seven girls and time for us to develop our powers. But for now it was time to head home to First World.
Chapter 10.
I followed Brace through the doorway back to Angelisian. His broad shoulders blocked my vision of the beach house, but then, as he moved aside, I noticed the man leaning against the front railings. The black of his skin contrasted beautifully with the lighter tones of my home.
Jedi, princeps of the Walker clan Gai.
I clenched my fists tightly as my heart froze in my chest. What was he going to tell me now? The previous month Jedi had come to me and explained about something called convergence. The moment where the tethers of all seven worlds would join, allowing the Seventine to sever them in one fell swoop. And this was as serious as it sounded. Instead of giving us time to fight them and save the worlds, they would be able to absorb all energy in a single moment and end life as we knew it. Jedi had been doing some research to figure out the date this might happen.
And judging by the look on his face, he wasn"t going to give me good news.
Best case scenario was that the convergence was set to happen soon, because all seven of the Seventine needed to be free to have the strength to sever the cord. And at the moment only four had escaped their prison. But deep down I knew that the ent.i.ty who"d set this entire chain of events in motion knew the exact convergence date and had planned all of this accordingly. We were the ones chasing our tails, trying to find information and play catchups. We"d been behind since the start and I wasn"t sure we"d made any ground yet.
"What"s Jedi doing here?" Brace said, expression unchanged but his tone hard.
I shrugged. "I"m not sure. He might have some information about the Seventine." I was happy that my voice sounded calm. "I"ll see you in nine or ten hours?"
It was a pretty obvious hint. I wanted him to stay, but it was better if he left for so many reasons.
"I do need to check on the Abernaths, but I"m happy to stay if you need me."
He was eyeballing Jedi now, his gaze pinning the handsome, dark-skinned Walker to the spot. No one messed with Brace, not even other princeps.
"I"ve got her back," Lucy trilled, fluttering her wings. Her voice was so much more singsong now. "You and Colt head to your planet, sort the peeps and make sure you get back in time for Nephilius."
Bossy little pixie.
Colton, who had been standing across from her, stalked closer. "Are you trying to get rid of us, pretty girl?" He cupped her chin when she rose to his height. "Because I think it"s my duty to b.i.t.c.h and moan, right before I work very hard to change your mind."
Lucy leaned in close, her mouth brus.h.i.+ng his cheek. "I can think of many things I"d rather be doing than letting you go to Abernath." I could just hear her breathy whisper. "But duty calls."
"Screw duty," Colton all but growled. "I don"t want to leave you."
"It"s just for a few hours and you"re Brace"s second and best friend. He needs you too."
Resignation crossed the perfect planes of Colton"s features. His full lips were pressed into a straight line, but that didn"t stop him placing a gentle kiss on her cheek.
"You stay here and out of trouble," he said as he pulled back. "No adventuring and no pixies."
I knew by the look on Lucy"s face that this was about ten seconds from flaming into an argument. And sure enough, as I turned to face Brace, four-letter words were spewing from her mouth.
Ignoring this, I gave Brace a smile. "I"ll just head over to Jedi now, see you tomorrow?"
He nodded, the brown of his eyes darker than usual but not black. "Call if you need me, Re ..." He broke off with a shake of his head.
Had he almost said Red? The nickname had been unsaid since the lalunas broke our bond.
"Call me if anything happens, Abby," he finally finished, confusion warring with his unease.
I nodded before forcing my gaze from him. It hurt to turn away, as if I"d run my face across sandpaper. I had to gulp down the tears, but since Jedi was watching me closely as I crossed the green gra.s.s to him, I didn"t have the luxury of breaking down. I was halfway across when I felt Lucy at my back.
"You"re doing great, Abbs, the boys are gone now." She wrapped her smaller hand around mine. "You can relax a little."
I already knew they"d left; Brace"s power was unmistakable. It was always obvious when he was close. Or gone. And both ways hurt more than I"d ever imagined. I just wanted to be able to breathe again. It felt as if something heavy pressed on my chest, and exhaling every single puff of air was hard work. If I wanted to stem the impending waterworks, it was definitely time for a change of subject.
"Good or bad news, do you think?" I kept my voice low. We were about twenty feet from Jedi now.