Regali (A Walker Saga) (9 page)

“We will leave in a few moments
. The rest of the guards are on their way, and none should miss this moment.” Ria lifted both hands skywards.

The vines from up in the canopy dropped down.

“Are you okay to travel on the vines?” she asked us.

“No problem
,” Lucy said without hesitation.

“Hold up,” I said
. “What does that mean?”

“The vines will swing us through the jungle
. It is the fastest way to travel through the canopy.”

Sounded insanely unsafe to me, but hey, six months
before who would have thought I’d walk through a wall into First World, let alone everything else that had happened since.

“Let’s do this.” I jumped to my feet.

We’d left our packs at Ria’s place, so all I had were my sweaty clothes, and myself. And that was all I needed.

I couldn’t find the right words to describe our journey through the trees. Once my initial fear faded – being thrust at a breakneck pace toward branches, trees and vines – I couldn’t help but enjoy every moment. The speed, the scent of the forest, which was earthy but with sweet flowery aromas intermingling, and the freedom of flying.

We were surrounded on all sides by the different pack members
. Some of them flew; some jumped through the branches; and others also used the vines.

The forest was too densely packed
for us to be able to do this without Ria parting the branches. It was a once in a lifetime experience. I was having a lot of those lately.

All too soon our momentum slowed
, and I gave a final sigh as my vines lowered me down. Ria said she would get everyone as close as possible; we would be downwind to hide our scent, but we still had to stay quiet. On the ground I hugged close to the base of a massive redwood tree and waited for everyone else to join me.

Brace’s arms
encircled me from behind.

I’ve done a lot of things in my life. But that was definitely fun.
He sounded happy.

I tilted my head back so he could lean down and gently lay a kiss on my lips. We pulled apart as Ria, followed by Lucy and Colton, crept out of the bushes to our right.

“The rest of the packs are around us in the trees.” Ria’s words were so low I barely caught them. “There was no activity in the fringe entrance just before, so follow me and we will hit them hard and fast.”

I gathered energy, keeping it close to the palm of my right hand. Josian had been teaching me how to load my arm up like a gun
, saving precious seconds when I needed them.

“Let me go first,” Brace murmured
. “I’ll clear the initial path.”

With a nod Ria made sure Brace stayed close to her. She waved toward a large leafy overhang that was bordered on one side by a waterfall
. On the other was a massive ravine. There was only one entrance, under the overhang.

I
t was the perfect camouflage from anyone looking down from the canopy. You would be able to see nothing but overhanging leaves framed by two natural wonders. Although, unless I was mistaken, there seemed to be animal furs hung in the branches of the trees surrounding the area.

“Under the canopy
,” Ria murmured.

Brace shifted around her
. I could feel him gather energy. Our powers were connected with each other, but his energy dominated mine. The buildup sent shivers along my skin. The hairs stood up on my arms.

Could
everyone feel the powerful storm he was about to release?

It felt as if the jungle knew
. The leaves around us turned inward, moving toward the source of power.

My mate took two large steps and
, with both hands thrust forward, he released his energy. The leaves ruffled on the fern-like plant, but I knew the real burst would come in the underground lair.

He held his hand up for one moment, halting our shifting.

“Okay,” he finally spoke, “we can go now.”

Klea let out a rumble, which was quiet, but seemed to echo through the trees, ricocheting from one large branch to the next
, and before I knew it the rumbling sound filled the space.

All of us moved as one
– and we weren’t alone. The pack guards came in from all sides to join us. I ducked my head as we hit the entrance, although leaves still brushed along my curls. The sensation was wet and unpleasant.

Under the canopy was a large tunnel opening
. My eyes adjusted as we moved into the initial darkness, but there was light just ahead. The space wasn’t really underground. Instead it moved along the edge of the waterfall, and we emerged on the other side into a large space hidden behind the falling water.

“So clever,” Ria said, “the thunder-falls hide their activities
. They have plenty of food and water here. It is the perfect place to set up a base.”

The space wasn’t empty
. Brace’s energy had knocked down the ones who must have been closest to the entrance. I noticed that the fallen fringe were mainly bera, and I was glad to not be facing these seven-foot enemies straight up. Although there were a few bodies that didn’t look like pack.

I stepped around three small ones
, squinting as I looked closer. They reminded me of garden gnomes with bulbous noses and rosy cheeks, and they’d be cute if they didn’t have that creepy gremlin feel to them.

Next to them was a stick insect in man form, about the size of a large rabbit
, and lastly something that resembled a boulder with eyes and short arms and legs.

“What
’s that smell?” Lucy asked, wrinkling her nose.

“Blood
,” Brace said shortly.

“Yes,” Colton agreed, “much blood has been spilled in this area.”

“This is where they skin our dead,” Ria bit out.

She pointed her hand across to the wall and as I turned to examine the macabre scene a coughing gasp fell from my lips. Was there a way to scrub one’s mind
? Because I really needed to unsee everything about this scene.

There were two carcasses suspended upside down against the back wall
. One was a munk and the other a jag. There were round wooden bowls beneath them to catch the blood as it dripped down.

Beside them were two more
, but I couldn’t tell what they had been because they no longer had their skin. Instead they were just bloody masses of muscle, organ and bone.

And behind them there were literally hundreds of skins spread out in various stages of drying.

“I do not care any longer about offering them a chance to surrender. They all die,” Ria said, her voice as sharp as broken glass.

The howls and shrieks that accompanied her words indicated the packs agreed.

And I totally understood.

T
his was a horrific thing to see, and if any of my family members had been strung up like that ... Well, I’m not sure how I would have reacted.

The guards swiftly dealt with t
he fringe who’d been knocked unconscious. Let me tell you, their teeth and claws were as sharp and lethal as they looked. I turned my head at the last moment, right before the heads were severed.

No matter how much I immersed myself in this life, and how much battle and carnage we caused
, I was never going to be comfortable with death. There was too much Earth human in me. We’re raised to fear death. Humans have short, often volatile lives, and they live knowing they may not be there the next day. I guess it’s the same for all worlds, but some races are harder to kill than others.

“Twenty dead, Queen, which is but a fraction of their numbers.” Klea strode over to where we stood.

We were close to the entrance. I stood as far from the dead and as close to the fresh air as I could.

“Let’s find the rest
,” Ria said. For the first time there was no warmth in her voice.

“Just like mother nature
,” Lucy whispered to me. “One minute she’s all warm and sunshine, the next a lightning bolt hits you in the ass.”

I stifled my laughter. Perfect analogy to describe Ria.

Once we moved from the waterfall, the cavern darkened. There was one path that led away. Assuming that this was where the fringe had disappeared, we started to move through.

I was drifting along with everyone else, but I was almost against the left wall, my arm scraping the solid black dirt-like
material.

Then at some point in our journey I was nudged hard enough to solidly stumble into the wall
. I expected a hard thud, but instead of slamming into rock I ended up tumbling straight through the wall into the other side.

I gasped as I finally found my footing and looked around. I was in another tunnel,
which I expected ran parallel to where I’d just been.

And I was alone.

I couldn’t hear anything, and pushing against the wall resulted in nothing. It must have been one-way. With an audible swallow I turned to face the darkness.

“You’re okay, Abby, there’s nothing hiding here in the dark.” I spoke to myself
, deciding it was better to be crazy than pee myself in fear.

I released a small energy ball of light
. It hovered near my face. The tunnel was low and narrow, the air stuffy, and for the first time in ages my claustrophobia started to react.

“Don’t think about it
,” I muttered as I crept forward. “There’s nothing in here with you and the dirt isn’t going to cave in on your head.”

I was too panicked to even think about tracing out of
there. I couldn’t focus long enough to find a tether.

Re  ...
Red … hear me.

I stopped as flickers of Brace’s voice sounded in my head.

Hello? Brace, I’m in a tunnel next to yours.

My words sounded a little frantic. Why was I so scared right
then? There was no reply from Brace.

“You shouldn’t have left your friends.”

The words echoed around me, and yes, if I’m honest, a small shriek escaped as something brushed my arm.

I spun around, the light drifting with me
, but I could see nobody. Who had spoken?

“I’ve been waiting for you
, my precious little half.”

Bile rose in my throat. No way. Was that the Seventine?

There was nothing around me but the echoing of the ghostly words. I almost hit the ceiling when something brushed me again. I made myself repeat the words that the Walkers had said at the gathering. The Seventine couldn’t do anything physical in their current state. They couldn’t really do anything to hurt me until they were all released. I must have spoken the words out loud as well, because it answered me.

“The Walkers don’t know everything. I have plenty of power. No one truly remembers the originals.”

I started to run then.

I didn’t care what was ahead of me
. I couldn’t stay there by myself with the Seventine taunting me. My heart raced. I couldn’t remember being that afraid in a long time. Echoing laughter followed me.

I screamed as something grabbed me from the shadows.

At the speed I was racing I couldn’t believe anything could have plucked me out of thin air like that. Without hesitation I flung out my arms and legs, and they landed on something very solid. This was not a Seventine; this was something else.

Growls started
, and by the time I remembered my light it had swung around to highlight a monster.

Okay, maybe a monster was an exaggeration
, but it was freaking scary.

It held me in its large claws
. I could feel the tips cutting into my biceps. Its snarling snout was close to my face.

I threw my head back as it snapped once. No doubt those sharp teeth would have severed my throat if I hadn’t moved.

Its snout was coming at me again, so I released my previously loaded blast of energy and found myself flung to the ground. I jumped to my feet, ignoring the pain.

This animal was fast
. It didn’t hesitate to come straight back at me.

Seeing it in the light again
, I realized it had definite wolf-like characteristics, but with less human mixed in with the animal – the other packs on Regali seemed to be almost half and half – but it was also not a full wolf either. It had an extended snout, but shorter than an Earth wolf. And the yellow eyes definitely shone with intelligence.

I continued to back away and turn in a circle, never taking my eyes off it. It growl
ed at me. I knew it was communicating, but I didn’t speak wolf. Where was Colton when I needed him?

“I am not your enemy.” I held up a hand.

Maybe my words would stop this creature like it had the leon when we arrived.

Nope, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

The moment the words left my tongue its snarls increased and it leapt at me again. I threw my head back, avoiding the jaws again, but it changed course at the last second and its razor-sharp teeth bit straight into my right shoulder.

I gritted my teeth, whimpers falling from my lips in short, shrill cries. It wasn’t letting go and
, considering it stood over six feet on its hind legs and was powerfully strong, I didn’t know how to free myself. My right arm hung uselessly at my side. I knew that could only mean that the tendon and nerves had been severed.

Using my left hand
, I clawed at its eyes. My stomach rolled as my index finger squished into the soft wet socket, but it was about survival now.

It howled, and the lock of its jaw lessened, so I dug deeper. It flung me away, its long tongue darting out to lick at its wounds.

Then it faced me.