Spurn (17 page)

“Seriously
, can’t you take a hint? She doesn’t like you, creep. Go back to your own planet and, like, invent a girlfriend. That’s your best chance of locating someone who doesn’t find you toxic.”

Talina shocked me again, channeling her inner Lucy and challenging the crazy man.
Beneath my hands I could feel her start to vibrate. Within a matter of seconds we were in the midst of a full storm. The water swirled in great arcs around us, large crashing waves and whirlpools utilizing massive volumes of water.

And then he was
gone, swept up in a water spout.

The winds were out of control, strong enough to bundle up the Walker and drag him into the air. But we were safe in the
center. Talina was burning hot to touch, I could feel the power as it erupted from her. I was afraid to move or speak, knowing I would disturb her focus.

Eventually
, though, I had to help her reel it back in.

“Damn, Talli
, you certainly pack some punch there. Tell me why you didn’t destroy Gladriel and her petty words years ago?”

Her
head whipped around, and I was staring into pure yellow eyes. For a moment there was nothing in there that resembled my friend, just a cold-blooded creature. I kept my expression calm, waiting, allowing her to examine me, and then slowly my friend bled back into her darkening eyes.

“Abby, did I hurt you?”
Her voice was frantic as her once-again-brown eyes scanned me.

“Nope, girl
, you saved me again.” I had no idea where the Walker had disappeared to, but he was like a damn yoyo; he’d be back. “But let’s book it out of here. I’m thinking once again we only have a temporary reprieve.”

She nodded and
, gripping my arms, threw me over her shoulder. We were off. I thought she’d been going fast before, but I realized I’d been deluded. Now her pace was so rapid we were almost skimming the water.

“So
, that’s some pretty amazing power you have there. You seem afraid of it, though.” My tone was as casual as I could manage.

She
shifted her shoulders under my arms, I couldn’t tell if it was a shrug or just uncomfortable movement.

“I can’t control them, Abbs. It’s almost as if I black out and they take me over. I have no problem initiating the energy, but then I
’m lost.”

I snorted. “Tell me about it
. That flow of energy is the most addictive thing I can ever imagine. You feel invincible, and it’s so hard to shut it down. I’m always terrified that the next time I won’t be able to.”

She came to a screeching halt again. I frantically scanned my surroundings, looking for the next obstacle.

“What, Talina? What did you see?” I was tense enough to resemble a plank of wood.

She spun her head back to face me, there were tears streaming down her cheeks.

“You understand, Abby. For the first time in my life, someone actually understands what it’s like to be me.” She sobbed out loud.

My face softened as a flood of sympathy
inundated me.

“You don’t have to worry about being a
lone anymore. I promise that whatever happens we’re a family ... half-Walkers have to stick together.”

She
smiled through her tears. And then she pulled herself together. It was amazing to see. One minute she was crying, her face full of emotions, and then it was gone, as if they’d never existed. It was unparalleled emotional control.

“Sorry about that, Abby
,” she said as she turned to face forward. We started swimming again. “I don’t like to lose control; it’s a shameful act to cry.”

Lifting my tired arms
, I managed to slap her shoulder. Not enough to hurt – I didn’t have the strength for that – but she still noticed.

“Don’t let me hear you say that again, Gladriel
,” I taunted her. “Your ability to feel and express that type of emotion is what separates you from the fish.”

She actually laughed a little then
, and I joined in.

“Plus we
’re females, Talli. We’ll cry for no apparent reason. You don’t have to explain or justify it. We get to claim that one just because we can.”

“Not on Spurn,” she said ruefully
. “If you cry here it better be because something just ate your arm.”

I shuddered at the mere thought.

Of course Olden hadn’t encouraged crying on Earth either, but in a compound full of females, there’d been someone in tears at least once a day.

“How far are we from the Isle?” I glanced behind, just waiting for something to pounce on me.

“You should be able to see land soon,” she said, moving again, her breath even and calm.

“How
do you orientate yourself with the same ocean surrounding you on all sides?” I was major jealous. I’d have been lost at sea forever. Well, until I drowned.

“All Spurns are taught how to use the moons as guides
. Each of them is slightly different, and we know the general direction to follow. The largest and most rounded is the Baroon’s moon. Earon’s is more yellow, and has a curve to the left.” She pointed up as she talked, and I could see what she was saying. “I always know which direction to travel.”

“No one back home would believe this place could exist,” I said wistfully, enjoying the soothing sensation of water flowing over me, my exhaustion slightly abated.

“I thought First Worlders are taught of the youngling planets. Spurn shouldn’t be a surprise to them
,” she said, sounding confused.

“Oh
, yeah, I meant Earth. It’s a force of habit to think of it as home. I guess, deep down, I’ll always be an Earthling.”

I had never been so relieved to see land as the trees that spanned parts of the Isle came into sight.

“Josian!” I screeched
as we entered the shallows, unable to wait any longer.

Talina
leapt out of the water, dumping me into the briny depths.

P
robably should have warned her.

Strong hands fished me out, and I clung to the familiar scent of my father. I knew he’d have
heard my shouts this close to land.

“Aribella, can you see
gray hair?” was the first thing he said to me.

I pushed my masses of wet curls off my face and looked up over his sternly set features, all the way to his fiery blood
-red hair. There wasn’t an ounce of other color, especially gray.

“No Walkers in history have had
gray hairs, and yet one teenage daughter has decided to prove us wrong again.”

“Dad, it wasn’t my fault. That stalker
-Walker.” Where was Lucy when I needed a high-five for rhyming. “He took me again and ... I can’t get rid of the creep.”

Josian blinked a few times
, but he remained relatively calm.

“What happened to the creatures?” I couldn
’t see one ripple on the still water.

“Well
, those two won’t be bothering anyone again.” Josian chuckled.

“What did you do to them?” I didn’t want him to
have killed them.

I
t wasn’t their fault stalker-Walker wanted to play god.

“Had a bit of fun
. They were quite temperamental, and then I figured out where the Walker manipulation came from and reversed it. They are now harmless.” He chuckled. “Well, semi-harmless sea-dragons and octopuses.”

So they had been some kind of mutant hybrid. How did he even do that?

“Don’t get angry, baby girl,” Josian changed the subject, “but there is someone on land who wants to talk to you.”

He dragged me out of the water.

Talina kept easy pace with us.

I looked
toward the land, wondering who was waiting there, though I had my suspicions. And then I could see him. In fact it was impossible to see anything but Brace as he stood bathed in the blue moonlights.

In the time we’d been apart, and yes
, it wasn’t that long, I’d forgotten how impressive he was. I couldn’t read anything on his calm face. He didn’t approach us as we made it to land. He just waited. I was more than aware of how waterlogged I was. I never seemed to look my best around Brace, but I really didn’t care. He looked perfect enough for both of us.

Although my first few steps were shaky, I managed to gather strength and move up the beach. As I
drew closer I could see that although his expression might be calm, his eyes were black.

“Hey, Red
, I’m glad to see you didn’t drown at sea,” he said in a tight voice. “I would have helped search, but since you asked to be left alone ...” He shrugged.

Josian laughed loudly, head thrown back
. His red hair already looked dry as it flew everywhere.

“Don’t believe a word of it, Aribella. Brace here did more than his fair share of scouring Spurn for you.” His laughter died down to random chuckles. “And he’s quite the bossy taskmaster.”

Brace’s face shot up – Josian was one of the few people who topped him in height. He glared his annoyance.

Talina
muttered. “All Walkers are domineering asses.”

I imagined it hadn’t been easy being around Brace or Josian wh
ile I was missing.

“Tall
... overbearing ... domineering asses,” she continued.

“We can hear you
, Talli,” Brace said drily, a slight smile crossing his face.

Talina blushed then
. This snarky attitude didn’t seem to be her normal personality. It had been a stressful few days.

“So the monsters are pretty much
gone?” I asked.

Josian’s broad planes
sobered. He nodded. “Yes, I’ve removed that energy, but if there are more out there they will need to be disabled.” His bronze eyes narrowed. “And of course the Walker must be dealt with.”

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Brace clenching his fists.
It was one of the only signs of his anger and frustration. I was mesmerized by the continuous open ... close ... open ... close.

“I’m going to need Brace to stay around, to help me out
,” Josian continued.

H
is expression didn’t change, but I noticed the gleam in his eye.

I
glared at him. My father better not be playing cupid. Brace and I had enough problems without his clumsy attempt at mending bridges.

“I
want to stay and help. My father is off on an unanticipated journey and will be busy for a while. Which should give us time to figure out what to do about him.” Brace’s eyes were locked on mine. “But I won’t stay if you don’t want me here.”

His voice wasn’t
sappy with romance. It was just direct and to the point. And he was leaving the power with me.

“
If Dad needs your help, then I would appreciate if you stayed,” I said stiltedly.

His
grin said everything. I wanted him to stay with me. It was as simple as that. I was so off-kilter when he was gone and stronger when we were together. I’d had my little hissy fit, kicking him out of my life for all of five minutes.

And in
those five minutes, especially when I was near drowning, I realized something. I didn’t care what Lucas said about me and destiny.

Brace was mine
.

I could feel it in a tangible way when we were together
, and if I survived this entire ordeal, he was my choice.

The connection between us was more than any prophesy, a true fate, not the illusion that Lucas was under.

Or should I say delusion.

I knew trust would take time to re-build
, but I needed to give this a chance.

“Has anyone seen Raror?” Talina’s words interrupted my sudden burst of understanding.

S
he frowned, scanning the deserted beach.

No one had.

The beach was completely devoid of all life.

“
Where did all the other Spurns go?” I asked.

“They went back to the ocean as soon as I dispatched the c
reatures,” Josian said.

“What was all the fighting about in the first place?” I
looked at Talina. “It was the Silver City, right?”

A
single tear escaped from her simmering brown eyes. “Yes, everyone lost it when the city’s bubble collapsed. Ladre hasn’t been seen since. We don’t know what happened, and everyone assumed it was caused by you ‘aliens’. My family was chosen as a sacrifice.”

That explained some of the chaos
.

“Of cou
rse, not everyone could agree, and then the creatures were back,” Talina continued. “They all went crazy. I couldn’t use my powers. I was so stressed, nothing responded.” She sniffed loudly.

“Yeah
, you Walkers have a lot to answer for. These half-powers are not reliable at all.” I lifted my brows in Josian’s direction.

“Your mother filled m
e in on what happened, and we need to look closely at this. You can obviously utilize large portions of energy when you need, and then other times there is no response.” He looked thoughtful. “It may just be about training and development, or possibly it’s your half-sides warring with each other.”

“Talina!” The words were screamed along the beach
, and we all spun around.

Brace moved
protectively to my side.

Gladriel was
fifty feet from us, closer to the water edge. Where had she popped up from? Her wraps were black, emerald hair blowing free in a long stream behind her.

“There you are
, daughter. I have a little surprise for you,” she said.

I could clearly see her
haughty smirk. She turned away from us to face the tree line to her left. Two men stepped out from the rows. I clenched my fists. One was my stalker-Walker, and the other ... I was pretty sure was Walker too. He was tall, with pitch-black hair, so black there seemed to be no other color or depth. His face was arrogant – big surprise – and his striding walk confident. Their faces were eerily similar, although their hair color was different.

“Oh
, shit,” I blurted.

Josian laughed
. “You’re lucky your mother isn’t here to hear that.”

I snorted
. “I don’t know, something tells me she might have said something similar.”

“I have no comment on that, baby girl.”

The men paused on either side of Gladriel. The three just stood there staring at us.

“Do not make the first move
,” Josian muttered from the side of his mouth.

I was about to question
his reasoning, but the slight movement of his face warned me to stay quiet.

It took fifteen minutes
for us to find the limit of Gladriel’s patience.

“Talina, you have asked me repeatedly about your father
,” she shouted again.

I noticed that as soon as she spoke twin looks of anger crossed the two Walker faces
. They’d been playing the same dominance game as Josian, and were not happy to be on the losing end.

“Come and meet your father
, Talina.” She gestured up to the black-haired Walker. “Apparently, he, like your friends, has a great need for the special half.”

Between the lisping and
sarcasm, her words were almost indecipherable. But we got the main idea. Talina faltered for a moment. I laid my hand on her cool arm. I really didn’t want her to go over there.

“Can it be true?” she said, her tone shaky.

“Well, he is Walker,” Brace said, “and I’m pretty sure he is of our clan.”

“Do not step away from us, Talina
.” Josian’s voice was low and serious. “I will protect you, but I need you to stay close to my side.” He glared down at me. “You too, baby girl. Lucy told me how you like to run off and play hero.” His warning was clear: no one was to play hero today.

H
e turned from us to boom along the beach. “Identify yourselves and state your business.” 

Gladriel’s group shifted uncomfortably as Josian’s power bled from him.

The blond one stepped forward. “I am Traktin of Doreen, and I wish to officially challenge you, Josian of Doreen, for possession of the redhaired half that you have protected at your side.”

Josian groaned low then. I turned questioning eyes in his direction, but he was still focused down the beach.

“I am Almastore of Abernath.” The black-haired man stepped forward. His hair was shorter than I had originally thought. “And I wish to claim my daughter. She is Walker, and belongs with her clan.”

“Give me a moment to confer with my
associates, and I will respond to each claim.” Josian’s expression remained impassive, but I could almost see his cells vibrating.

I wasn’t sure why.

He gathered us closer, his voice low and serious.

“I am sorry, both of you, but here is a crash course in Walker politics.”

He looked at us, and I had no doubt something serious had just occurred. The waves of fury flowing from both Josian and Brace attested to that.

“Our female Walkers are rare, and in the last few millennia the unmated females have become almost non-existent.” He put an arm around me, pulling me close. “If you have not been through the mating ceremon
y, any Walker can challenge for the right to mate with you.”

I snorted then, pulling out from under his grip. “Are you kidding me
? What, are women like possessions you just trade around?”

Talina nodded
, but instead of showing anger like mine, her face was pale and drawn.

He shook his head vehemently. “No, you don’t understand
. We are a very old race, and we value our rare precious women like no other.”

Brace sighed then
, drawing our attention. “We have darkness inside. It grows as the years pass by. Loneliness is an emotion that destroys the best of us. Many of the very old Walkers are desperate to find their mates.” He paused. “Desperate enough to either misjudge or not care that you are not their true mates, and now the Doreen has challenged Josian.”

“Which means what exactly?” I demanded.

“It is an official challenge; if I do not accept then he will take you. If I accept and fail, he will take you. If I win, he will be dead,” Josian said it all in a matter-of-fact way.

“No,” I gasped
, “no, you can’t do this. I won’t risk you. I’ll go with him until you can figure out how to rescue me.”

He laughed
in his low husky tones. “Thank you, baby girl, for trying to protect me, but it is my job to protect you, and I will not fail.”

“Besides, even if Josian did fall,
which is practically impossible, I would claim you and he would have to face me.” Brace’s features were dark, his eyes black.

If this was going to be so easy, why were both of them disturbing the airwaves with their pal
pable anger?

“So say I just left with him now, because this is my choice to make
– don’t think it isn’t – what would happen then?” I wanted to know all my options.

“He will perform the mating ceremony with you, whether you consent or not, and then we cannot touch you without risking retribution
.” Josian’s eyes twinkled.

A
s if he had read my previous thought, his worry dissipated.

“Dad, you
’re not taking this seriously. He’s going to hurt or kill you.” I tried to contain my panic but it spilled out in my words.

I had felt this Walker
’s power. It was debilitating.

“Have some faith in me
. I am not that easy to defeat.”

“Your arrogance is going to be the death of you, Josian
,” I said, beaten.

I couldn’t stop him accep
ting the challenge. But I was ... annoyed, yeah, let’s go with that.

“What does the
... other Walker want with me?” Talina blurted out.

I could tell she
’d been as patient as possible.

Josian faced her, his expressio
n sympathetic. “Family can also claim females, as a manner of keeping them safe until they are mated. We don’t own you.” He looked at each of us. “We protect you. Women are precious, and without their seed of life nothing would exist or continue.”

M
y eyes widened.
Over-share. Thanks, Dad
.

“In short, I am going to have to battle both of them to keep you.” He faced Talina
. “I know you probably want to go with your father, but until we are sure of his intentions and whether he is who he says he is, I would advise against it.”

“I will battle for Abby
.” Brace spoke up. “You shouldn’t have to battle for both of them, and I owe this Doreen for every single mark he placed on her.”

“You can’t
, Brace. You know the challenge for Aribella has been issued directly to me; however, you can battle for Talina. She’s of your clan, so it’s acceptable. We might as well get them out of the way.” His bronze eyes narrowed. “And I promise he will not be around to hurt her much longer.”

My panic threaten
ed to overwhelm me. This was what I’d wanted to avoid: people I loved in danger – especially because of me. Josian stepped away to take three long strides down the beach. My right arm lifted to grab him back, but he was too quick, and I knew I’d never be able to stop him.

“Neither of the females wish to leave with you
, so we will accept both challenges. I, Josian of Doreen for Aribella of Doreen, and Brace of Abernath for Talina of Abernath, will convene here in ten minutes for the first challenge.”

He was
back at my side. “If by some chance we fail, I need you to trace to your room again, baby girl. They can’t follow either of your energies so if you can stay hidden, you should be safe. I have contacted my brothers and they will protect you and Talina.”

“It is against the rules to use a doorway
to escape a challenge,” Brace explained, “but there is nothing about tracing.”

“
Shit ...” I said again, softly this time.

But no one was listening to me anymore.

Brace and Josian were discussing tactics, and Talina had sat down on the sand, her head hanging between her legs as she took deep breaths.

I just stood there glaring
down the beach at the two Walkers, and Gladriel more than any. She was evil. If looks could kill ...

“Where is Raror?” Talina
’s question caught my attention; her voice was unnaturally high and breathless.

I moved over to
sit next to her. “I don’t know, Talli.”

“I’m so worried. He wouldn’t have left me alone like this unless something was wrong.”

“You can bet Gladriel knows; she’s been planning this,” I said tonelessly.

“
I should have ended her maniacal tirade a long time ago.” Talina’s tone was hard and brittle.

She sounded as if a swift breeze would b
reak her apart and she would drift away.

“You have two more minutes. Prepare yourself
, Walker.” Traktin, the stalker-Walker, had stepped away from the other two.

He
stood in the space between our groups.

“I love you, baby girl
.” Josian pulled me to my feet.

I examined his features
, relieved to see no nerves or fear. I had to trust my father knew what he was doing.

“Love you too, Dad. Just win
,” I said to him firmly, “or I’ll be hunting down your free essence and kicking its ass.”

I stood on tip-toes to kiss him
. He leaned down so I could reach his cheek without a struggle. Breathing in his familiar scent, I blinked back my tears. I would stay strong. Josian was the toughest, most arrogant person I knew. That had to mean something.

He touched my
face, and walked away to halt opposite Traktin. It was with a malicious joy that I noticed Josian was much taller and broader through the shoulders, and Traktin finally looked uneasy. A warm hand cupping my arm drew my attention. Brace smiled gently as he stared down into my face. My returning smile was a tad shaky.

“It will be okay, Red
, I promise. Josian is tough and smart. You have nothing to worry about.”

“What about you?” I said
fiercely. “I have everything to lose here today.”

He moved quickly.