First World (15 page)

The ro
om was small, dark and smoky. I couldn’t interact with the scene, but I imagined a musky smell.

Without hesitation,
Lallielle moved toward the back right corner. Cushions formed a semicircle, and sitting against a wall was a woman. She had long white hair, not gray or silver, pure white. Her eyes were closed and she made no movement. She didn’t speak as Lallielle sank down onto one of the large colorful cushions.

But then her eyes flew open.

I gasped, before trying to stifle it.

Stupid, of course.
This was a memory and no one could hear me.

Her eyes were the same white as her hair, no iris, no pupil.

Was she was blind?

“Daughter of Emperors and Empresses.
Why have you called on me today?”

She twirled an odd round glass object in her hands, but her scary eyes never wavered from
Lallielle.

“I need a reading,
Frannie; I need to know the future for Aribella.” Lallielle spoke, her voice tinged with desperation and what sounded like familiarity.

Leaving the glass on the table, the woman turned. Extending her hand, tipped with long talon nails, she reached into my carriage.
Quarn made a movement toward me, but Lallielle waved him away.

She touched her index finger to my forehead. Her eyes closed.

Lallielle froze, her desperation apparent, perspiration beading her forehead.

The woman’s eyes flew open, filling the room with a white light. She started to chant.

“Children of Gods, born unknown and alone,

the seven are needed to eliminate. Take heed,

f
or baby will not live till four and one year

u
nless removed from the world here.

The youngest and strongest to collect.

Lost and alone, a god-man is the key.

Gather the Halflings, stone and fear.

The end of days is written in mineral.”

The words filled the room as light shone from her sightless eyes. Lallielle gasped, before reaching out a hand and pulling the baby carriage closer. The white woman collapsed onto the cushions, grief wracking her features. The scene was rushing away from me. I tried to stay in the room. I wanted to know what was about to happen but everything blurred.

And then I was back in my own head, staring around the room in confusion.

Lallielle was on the couch, watching me closely.

“Don’t worry. You’ll get used to the sensation, and eventually be able to stay aware of your surroundings.” Her eyes were slightly downcast. “When you entered my mind, you left a rift and I could see some of your life.”

She took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry – it was a hard life I left you in – I need you to know I’m so proud. You’re strong, beautiful and brave. I could not have asked for more.”

She smiled.

“And Lucy.
We’d better find her soon, because I can’t wait to meet her. She is quite the character.”

I
nodded, my throat tight with unshed tears. The memories, losing Lucy, it was emotionally overwhelming. I cleared my throat.

“Do you know the memories I saw?” I asked her.

She nodded. “Yes, but once you learn how to block your thoughts I won’t sense anything.”

Well, that was interesting.

“So, the white-haired woman, what happened to her? What does that poem mean?”

Lallielle
shook her head. “She disappeared. I didn’t realize at first because I was in panic mode – that’s when I sent you away. By the time I went back to question her she was gone. The rest of the poem is a mystery to me, though Josian and I have theories.”

“So how do I block my thoughts?”

She looked at me closely. “Take your energy and wrap it tightly around your mind. Encasing it will protect your thoughts. It will be hard at first, but just keep practicing; eventually it will be second nature.”

I reached
toward my inner spot again. Pulling at the taffy substance, I imagined it winding round and round my thoughts. It was difficult. The moment I stopped concentrating, the energy would slip back and again I’d feel the less guarded nature of my mind. It was definitely going to take practice.

I glanced up again
toward the doorway. It had been some time since Josian and Brace had left. Where were they? I was ready to go to Earth.

I faced
Lallielle again. “How do the Walkers travel between the worlds?” I asked for curiosity’s sake and to fill in time.

A mild fear crossed her face. “It’s a guarded secret,
Aribella. The only reason I know is because of your father.”

That increased my
interest.

At that point
Josian walked back in. In the time he’d been gone I’d forgotten how tall and impressive he was. His presence filled the room again, and I couldn’t believe I was related to this extraordinary creature. If I hadn’t seen the Walker mark, I would be seriously questioning that. And the extraordinary continued as Brace followed. His otherworldly beauty, controlled power – maybe that’s the attraction. I was half-Walker, a race of beings that valued power.

“So the men are done for the day. They offered to come back tomorrow, but I told them we would handle it ourselves.”

Brace stood in the entrance. I jumped up. Finally the lock-down was over.

Josian
’s expressive features lifted in a half-smile. “Let’s head to Earth now, find Quarn and see if we can figure out what happened.”

Lallielle
stood. “Yes, let’s get my son and other daughter,” she smiled at me, “Lucy back.”

Finally we were moving, but first I wanted to warn them.

“Earth is very chaotic. I have no idea what we’re going to walk into. But since I know New York, let’s start there.”

Josian
straightened. “Whenever you’re ready, I’ll open the doorway. Should we take anything with us, Aribella?”

I wasn’t sure at what stage I’d just accepted the name
Aribella. In reality, it had never seemed odd to me.

“It’s violent and dangerous. Do you have any weapons?
And food? You never know where your next meal is.”

Lallielle
clapped her hands together, part of her gentle mannerism. “I’ll have some packs done immediately.”

Josian
turned to me. “We don’t use active weapons on First World, except for our powers. We’re just going to have to wing it.”

I sighed. “We may have some weapons at the compound. If the security access hasn’t changed, I might be able to find something.”

Brace crossed his arms. “Worst case scenario, Josian, you open a doorway and get us back to First World.”

Josian
agreed. “Let’s not forget they can follow us through the doorway.”

Brace laughed, and not in a nice way. “They will regret that decision.”

Lallielle straightened, breaking the mood. “I’ll gather the food and I have a little something for Aribella.”

She left the room.

“They can follow us through the doorway?” I stared up at my mesmerizing father.

His memories were the ones I wanted to examine
. I couldn’t even imagine the things he had seen.

Josian
nodded. “Every time I access the energy stream I leave a rift behind. It’s temporary. The universe corrects it. But for a few days it’s basically a black hole – anyone can fall through.”

Interesting.

I turned to Brace. He’d made no move to enter the large room. Sometimes his face was such a distraction; I tried not to stare at it any more than courtesy demanded.

“You don’t have to come, Brace. You’ve done more than enough.”

His broad shoulders shifted as he straightened. “Don’t you worry about me, Red. It’s my duty to help, and I’m curious about this planet you grew up on.”

Lallielle
distracted me as she walked back into the room. In her hand she carried a small white box tied with a purple ribbon. As she approached me, she held it out.

“Just a little gift I had made.
To keep you safe. You’ll always have a small piece of your people.”

My eyes widened – my first real
present.

Hesitantly, I reached out. My hand trembled as
I took the light package.

I unravelled the ribbon and it fell free. Lifting the lid off, I gasped at the gorgeous necklace nestled inside.
A globe locket, two-tone in color and medium-sized. It was the perfect replica of a miniature world. Looking closer, I didn’t recognize any of the land masses, but they looked larger with less water than Earth.

“It’s
First World.” Lallielle spoke, smiling brightly. “Open it; there’s something special inside.”

I lifted it free. The long silver chain trailed behind. I spun the locket to find a small clasp. When I pressed the raised area, it popped open – a perfect half-sphere on either side, connected by a small hinge.

Yellow light washed over my face. Nestled in both spheres were
moonstale
crystals.

I felt a
strange inner relief.

I’d always have the identification
crystal on me now. I could see my mark anytime I wanted.

Closing the locket, I slipped the large chain over my head.
It fell to rest between my breasts, forming a perfect representation of my heritage.

Having had no experience with accepting gifts, I had no idea what to say. I faced
Lallielle and Josian. Letting my joyful expression speak for itself, I kept it short.

“Thank you. I love it.”

For the first time since returning, Brace stepped into the room.

His expression was
full of an unexplained emotion. “Your Walker mark is amazing. So detailed and ... beautiful.”

He looked away for a minute and then his normal smile was back.

“Thanks. I think it’s amazing too.” I smiled wistfully. “I kind of wish it was always there.”

His cocky grin was back
. “Then your name would be Red Lace.”

I rolled my eyes at him. I still hadn’t found the perfect nickname.

“I feel much better knowing you have some
moonstale
now.” Josian lifted his right hand. Wiggling his pointing finger, he showcased a large flat ring. “This ring encases my crystal. Traditionally, Walkers are given a gift of
moonstale
from the elders.”

“Everyone is given one?” Brace
asked, his brows furrowed, his head tilted slightly.

Josian
threw his hands about, in his usual grand gesturing. “The crystal is our essence. It’s part of who we are. Without an actual world to be tied to, these energies are our anchors.”

As he spoke,
the sun made its final descent and sank below the horizon. All of a sudden the room was awash in light from various sources. Lamps, candles, strange speckles of ascending lights imbedded in the walls. Of course, I hadn’t seen anyone touch a switch. They just automatically came alight at sunset.

Another arrival distracted me. A small cart entered the room under its own power, in a similar manner to the baby carriage in
Lallielle’s memory. Four large black bags sat in its caged centre.

Lallielle
moved forward. “Excellent. Our packs are done. The supplies will be evenly spread, so just grab one each.”

Moving forward, I lifted one free.

It was really light. I could strap it to the top of my other pack, no problem at all.

“Are you sure you packed enough? My bag is really light.” I bounced it in one hand.

Lallielle smiled. “They’re full; they only feel light because this design of bag is energy-touched. The carbon in the air helps to take the burden of the weight.”

I smiled. “That’s great here, but we’re going to Earth. I don’t think your energy thing is going to work there.”

Josian, moving faster than fast, expelled the bags from our hands. “You’re unmanning me. I must show brute strength and carry all packs,” he joked as he threw both into this crazy extra-large pack, custom-made for a nearly seven-foot man.

Lallielle
blew him a kiss before turning to me. “I know you are going to say no immediately, Aribella, but I think you should consider freshening up before we leave.”

Looking left and right, I attempted to subtly sniff my armpits.
Did I smell that bad?

“I just think it might be a while before you have the chance again, and you’ve already been on the road for a couple of days.”

Since I’d just gagged a little at the smell of my shirt, she made a good point.

“Great idea,
Lalli love. Brace and I will discuss some tactics while you show Aribella to her room,” Josian arrogantly ended the argument.