First World (11 page)

Brace finally noticed Lallielle.

“
Lalli – I didn’t see you there. Have you met Abby? It’s her best friend who went missing. The men are searching.”

“Sister,” I said quietly.

Brace turned back to face me.

“Lucy’s my sister, my only family.” My voice was emotionless, robotic.

Brace nodded once, an acknowledgment that he understood.

A soft sob had him spinning around. He was at her side so fast it was almost instant.

“Lalli, what’s wrong?” He draped one of his strong arms around her shoulders as he comforted her.

“Where did you find them?” She didn’t take her eyes off my face, but her words were strong and steady.

Brace had a slight wariness in the depths of his eyes, but answered without hesitation.

“They were captured by my father in the royal forest; he was about to hand them over to the guards. You know how I feel about the
Guardians.” He shrugged, looking closely between us. “Do you know each other?” He looked again, for longer this time. “I see a definite resemblance.”

I shook my
head; I didn’t actually see much similarity. Although, if I dissected us a little, the heart shape of our faces was the same. And also our lips – slightly tilted up at the corners and unusually plump. Although Lallielle’s were minus my red tone.

And I didn’t
care. Well, not about anything other than finding Lucy.

Lallielle
spoke again, to me this time.

“I lost the trail of your essence on Earth; I t
hought the worst had happened.” She smiled. “But here you are ... perfect ... beautiful. More amazing than your father and I could have dreamed.”

The rush of deep anger took me by surprise. Part of it was for Lucy, but another part – this woman had dumped me on a war-torn planet, abandoning me, forcing me to drag myself to adulthood. She was rich, beautiful and privileged. The only thing her actions had ever given me was Lucy – and now this planet had stolen her too.

I stood across from them, staring daggers.

“You’re
Aribella?” Brace queried, looking lost.

I found this odd;
it didn’t fit with the general confidence he exuded.

I shook my head. “No. I told you before: I’m Abby. I don’t know who
Aribella is.” And I really didn’t.

His moved from
Lallielle’s side to sit on the couch. He patted the spot next to him. Ignoring this, I sat in the single-seater.

A
slight smile tilted the corner of his lips. “Sammy told me the story of his sister Aribella. She’s First World’s chosen Empress.” His eyes scanned my face. “Her death announcement sounded when she was one, the night the royal stones disappeared.” He muttered to himself. “Also looks just like Josian.”

He turned to
Lallielle and he didn’t look impressed. A lesser woman would have recoiled, but she met his glare.

“You knew she was alive,
Lalli?”

The look hadn’t done anything but the hard tone
of his voice had her flinching as if he’d struck her.

“Everyone had to think she was dead. In her short time here there were numerous attempts on her life.”

She sucked in a ragged breath, before continuing, her voice low.

“Don’t look at me like that, Brace. Sending
Aribella away was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I gave up my baby to save her life. My ...”

She paused, her expressive
light-green eyes shadowed with pain.

“
A soothsayer warned me to not keep my daughter by my side, or she would not reach her fifth birthday. I was desperate; I had no choice. All that’s important is Aribella and the survival of our worlds.”

She moved forward to sink into a burnt-orange chair the vibrant
color contrasting with the white of the other couches.

I didn’t interrupt. I wanted to hear this story – plus, if I opened my mouth, every profanity known to man would be spouting from my lips.

“I decided to use my ability and send you to a youngling planet,” she elaborated. “During sleep, I enter a trance state and can dream-span worlds. I was the safekeeper of the blue royal stone, because you’re the chosen Empress. I used its power to open a doorway between the worlds. I chose Earth because it’s void of magic. No one could trace your magical essence.”

She smiled sadly.

“I assumed your trace would grow to be really strong, considering who your father is, but it’s hasn’t.”

She shook her head.

“My only aim through all of this was to keep you safe – I even sent Quarn, your guardian, and his wife Hallow – to protect you until it was safe to return.”

Brace interrupted her. “
Quarn and Hallow Lockner? I thought it was strange when the girls mentioned Quarn earlier. I figured there must be another.”

Lallielle
nodded apologetically. “Our plan was simple. They all ‘died’ in a fiery explosion. That way no one would search for them. Quarn was the best person to send. He’s gifted as a protector. He protects his charges until death; the finest there ever was.”

Brace looked surprised. “I never knew he was a protector. They’re pretty rare.”

Lallielle’s voice broke as she attempted to continue. Her devastation was obvious. And I realized something else: I had a brother, an older brother.

I shook my head; I’d deal with that later.

Eventually I just had too many questions to continue ignoring her.

Examining the dirt under my nails, I spoke quietly.

“What happened on Earth? I only met Quarn a week ago; Earth is at war – not exactly a safe place to raise children.”

She flinched again, only this time at my tone. But I give her props, she pulled herself together.

“I don’t know. I lost contact with Quarn when the transition took place. I knew that Earth was a magic dead zone but I thought I could still dream-span and communicate there. I’m a strong Dreamer.”

That probably explained my dreams for the past seventeen years.

She took a deep breath before continuing.

“I chose Earth, thinking it was a young, healthy vibrant planet. Evolving slowly but moving forward in a promising manner. The perfect place to keep you safe and the last thing our enemies expected us to do.”

I snorted quietly; sometimes people are too smart for their own good.

She smiled. “Of all the youngling planets, Earth is the closest to ours. You shouldn’t have had any transition period. The mistake I made was underestimating the ripple effect.”

I looked up from my now clean nails. Around me flecks of dirt marred the pristine white couch.

“You did manage to communicate with me.”

Lallielle looked at me blankly.

“All of my life I’ve dreamt of this world, and in every dream you were there.” I paused for a second. “And for the last few years, Brace was also in them.”

I avoided his stare, although I could see, out of the corner of my eye, he looked bothered.

Lallielle’s
eyes widened perceptively.

“If you were dream-spanning Abby, then why did she see me?” Brace’s
bewildered expression probably mirrored my own the first time I saw him in the forest.

She shook her head. “I don’t know, Brace. That’s highly unusual.”

My panic for Lucy was just under control while I gathered information, but the moment the search party returned, and the town was not on lock-down, I was out of there. I faced Lallielle.

“I’ve never met any Hallow –
Quarn was always alone.”
Was Hallow the reason Quarn had refused to leave?

Lallielle
shook her head. “We grew up together. Hallow was my best friend. When she married Quarn, we were a close group. They volunteered to watch you; I planned on it being a year at most. Then I would bring you three back and we’d disappear.”

She didn’t explain how she planned to hide my apparent ‘magical essence’ and I didn’t ask. It at
least partly explained why my mother had sent me to Earth, and not gone with me. If we’d all disappeared at the same time people would have been suspicious. I shrugged. I still wasn’t sure if I’d be forgiving her any time soon.

“What’s the ripple effect?”

Some of the story made perfect sense, other parts were confusing. But I needed to know. Whatever was happening between these planets involved Lucy now.

She sighed.

“It’s a complex part of our history –”

I cut her
words off. “I don’t have time for the entire history. I have to find Lucy. So if you can just tell me what I really need to know ...”

The delicate
skin above her eye furrowed. Already I had noted this was something she did when upset.

“Your life may depend on you understanding. Please do not leave before I can explain.” Her smile was strained. “I just wanted you to
appreciate; there is no easy, simple explanation.” She looked up for a moment. “I guess it begins with First World.”

I sighed, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. This was going to be a long story.

Her smiling eyes creased. “Our astronomers, space technicians, explorers – whatever you call them – have established First World as the actual
first
planet. Its existence began around the eight-trillion-year mark. Give or take a few years.”

I sucked in a deep breath. Well, that explained the nickname.

“There have been humanoid inhabitants for approximately two million years; we are still developing as a species. First World has six younglings.

“They’re the offspring of our planet, existing in adjacent star systems and connected to First World. Like any young, they’re growing and learning to become self reliant
, but they still carry a certain level of ... attachment and connection to their mother.”

Her lilting accent was beautiful as she weaved her story.

The room was silent.

“They’re unique planets, most extremely different to any world you would have known.”

“So Earth is one of these six planets?” Never in my life on Earth had I heard mention of youngling planets.

Lallielle
nodded, her clasped hands resting in her lap.

“Yes, the closest related youngling to us. Earth’s inhabitants and ecosystems were developing on a similar timeline to ours. That was before the dark days, of course.

“This is the reason you’ll find so many similarities between our planets – culture, language, environment. The younglings develop from our energies.”

She smiled at me.

“We didn’t always speak English. In fact, we used to have many languages, but a universal language developed many years ago and now any other is secondary.”

She took a deep breath.

“Negative energy will also be passed through the connection and that is the basis of the ripple effect.”

I stood and started to pace around the room. I could not sit any longer – this was like no history class I’d ever been in.

“The six younglings are in the early stages of existence. For example, humanoids have been on Earth for around 200,000 years. They’re bright and inquisitive, but with limited abilities. However, we still don’t know the reason for the magic void; the other planets all use magic of some description.”

She paused, before shrugging.
“Balance is the entity that keeps the worlds developing. And in the last few years there has been a huge influx of negative energy in First World. Such an imbalance has never occurred before. Everything’s in chaos. The younglings feed from our energy, so the chaos ripples.”

Tears filled her eyes.

“By the time we realized the extent, it was too late – you were already gone and I couldn’t find you to bring you back.”

It was like a story from some crazy whacked-out sci-fi movie. But, unfortunately, it actually made sense. The escalated demise of Earth had never felt natural.
The crazy behavior of the humans had been extreme, even for those that fell into the extra-stupid category.

Lallielle
shifted toward me, the sadness in her face pleading with me to understand. “I cannot express my regret for the world you were raised in ...” She hesitated. “Tell me everything that’s happened since you left us. Who is Lucy and how did you make it here?”

There was too much. Where would I even start? I wanted to find Lucy, but
a quick glance in Brace’s direction and the shake of his head told me the town was still locked down. I’d just give her the basics.

Without too much emotion, I described my life to that point.
The dismay on Lallielle’s face made me uncomfortable.

So
, upon finishing, I distracted myself by observing my opulent surroundings.

After giving her a few moments to recover from
my tales of the life she’d unintentionally gifted me, I decided to ask something I was really curious about.