walker saga 07 - earth (16 page)

He knew it was the truth, but that didn’t make it any easier for him to let me do this.

Colton and Lucy ushered all of the females toward the back of the boat, as far from us as they could get, before coming back to stand at my side.

“You two okay with sharing some energy?” I checked in before just taking. I had to at least pretend I wasn’t a rude douche.

Colton leaned down and kissed me on top of my head. “You don’t even have to ask, little sister.”

His words sent beams of warmth through me. I could feel his sincerity. He truly thought of me as family. Lucy followed suit by hugging me tightly around the middle.

“Take as much as you need,” she whispered against my shirt.

Brace closed in to seal off our little square of love. His features were calm, but I knew that a storm brewed beneath the surface. He was pretty worried, and for a split second I wondered if I should be also. I just had to hope that he was simply being over-protective, although his instincts were usually pretty good on these things. Oh, well, too late to worry about what the consequences of my actions might be.

Pushing down the doubts, I reached for the golden tether in my head. It was frail on Earth but still functional. The cord wanted to go toward Eva – who was watching my every move with the focus of a laser. That was the natural reason for my tether’s existence, but I forced it closer to me. Sending it into my family.

As I connected to Lucy, Colton and Brace a flood of thoughts, emotions and energies started to flow in and around me. I almost staggered from the initial influx, but when comparing this to the sun from Crais – well, my body was a lot stronger now and this amount of energy was manageable. Especially with Earth muting our power.

It was easy enough for me to identify their individual energies. Colton’s was Walker – Abernath, just like Brace’s, but there was also something animalistic in his energy. The wolf had permeated everything, and was so much a part of him that there was no way to know where the Walker left off and the wolf began. The canine energy brushed against me, but it wasn’t aggressive. I was a member of his pack and he had no problem with my presence.

Then there was Lucy. She was the most foreign to me, her pixie energy strong. It was like nature, flowers and living plants, with just a touch of how brutal Mother Nature could be. Interwoven with this were tendrils of another energy: ancient and metallic. Elemental. I could only guess that was from her faerie side, which was yet to be unlocked, but was still there in her DNA. You might be able to suppress parts of yourself, but deep down it was impossible to change your fundamental makeup.

Finally Brace, the most familiar, an extension of my own energy. Melding had combined our very essences. His Walker and princeps power was strong, almost too strong to handle. The heat and force brushed against me like the flaming winds of the hottest forest fire in history. It was almost unbearable standing in the full force of his power, but at the same time I didn’t want to leave. I needed more. The warmth was intoxicating. Why are the very things we crave the ones which would most probably lead to our demise? Fire burned and yet I wanted to be closer.

The well inside me began to hum. That greedy little sucker loved energy and I was surrounded now by an overabundance of goodness. I started to draw from my friends; it took real effort not to just take, take, take and fill my well. Instead I focused on filling the filing cabinet inside – this was how to keep the energy safe.

The compartment was still around a quarter full, and I was careful only to take as much energy as I felt that the three could share. I took the most from Brace. Firstly, he was pretty much shoving it at me. Secondly, he was the most powerful. Although, I was definitely never going to underestimate Colton and Lucy. Together, those two packed a punch.

The other girls remained huddled at the back of the boat. None of them spoke, each just staring at us. I knew they’d have learned from a young age not to trust strangers. Especially powerful or crazy ones. And as far as they knew, we were both.

The entire energy transference took no more than five minutes. I didn’t take enough to completely fill myself. That would require more than my friends could safely give. I just had to hope I had enough. I wouldn’t risk depleting them completely, no matter how much Brace tried to shove his power at me.

Take it, Red! I won’t have you unprotected, weak or vulnerable. You won’t drain me … I promise.

Stubborn Walker.
I have enough and, if I need more, well, I know where to find it.

I could share from his energy pretty easily. Our bond allowed for that.

“So I just blast a wave of power into the field? Or should I connect to it?”

I spoke out loud again, hoping that the others wouldn’t be as protective as Brace. I knew he was going to limit the information he gave me, especially if it was dangerous. Colton wasn’t quite as reticent with the sharing of risky knowledge.

Brace’s lips quirked into a half-smile. He’d read my thoughts. “You don’t have to connect to it, and I would actually recommend not even attempting that. It could lead the creator straight to you, plus it’s especially important that you stay in control of the energy you send into the shield. Sometimes there’s a failsafe set up. If this was my barrier, I’d have it rigged to capture any who attempted to connect or manipulate the programmed electromagnetic field.”

Colton crossed his arms across his chest, biceps standing out starkly from the edge of his soft cotton shirt. “Just blast into it. Send all that beautiful power into the barrier, and allow it to filter through. It’ll work.”

I sucked in deeply. The bad feeling that had tightened my gut earlier was back. In full force. I was sure it was just nerves. Seriously, what was with all of these Seventine energy-gathering zones scattered around the planets? They had plan upon plan in place. Two steps ahead – they were always two steps ahead of us.

I locked eyes with Brace. He had his hands clenched on the side of the boat. Probably holding on to that so he didn’t reach out and snatch me out of what he considered a dangerous situation.

For the record, I think this is a terrible idea.
There was a tinge of worry and humor in his tone.

Record noted,
I said.

I focused and reached for my free energy, before flinging open the drawer which had sealed in all that delicious power. My body started to hum, the well inside me springing to life again.

Once the power flowed through me, filling every facet of my being, I could clearly see the barrier. It was still faint, but I knew exactly where to direct the blast of energy. I’d done this a few times before. It took a little concentration, and I wasn’t as good at it as Brace and Josian. Still, I almost had the hang of it now.

It was like a wave, a large curtain of energy which I lifted above my head, and then smashed across the barrier. In this situation, I left the bond open so there was a continual flow of power leaving me. I hoped I’d have enough stored power to crash the barrier before I grew too weak and had to cut it off.

As the first rush left me, I closed my eyes. It was harder to do this on Earth. Like gravity pulling me to the ground, the energy didn’t want to leave me. Earth was an enigma and the power was happier inside my well. Still, I was the boss today, and it would go where I sent it.

The flow started to build up; the energy rose and heated the surrounding area. Everyone would be feeling the effect of what I was doing. I wondered briefly what I looked like standing in the midst of so much energy. My marks would be glowing, my skin bathed in a golden glow. Eva would have plenty more evidence of Walkers now. She was going to have to believe me eventually. Right?

With the moderate level of control I still possessed over the living entity which was this energy wave, I directed it further into the barrier. It was at this moment that the electrical impulses embedded in the shield reacted; they connected to the wave of Walker power and the resulting backlash almost knocked me off my feet.

Others hit the deck. Colton and Lucy went down, and Brace even stumbled.

As the wave continued to crash against the electronic barrier, more energy left my filing cabinet and a gap started to appear in the shield. It reminded me of the way a waterfall would part when something broke the stream of falling water. I had broken the interconnecting energy.

I didn’t stop. I continued to let the power flow from me, my wave spreading across the area, opening more of a gap and interfering further. I was watching closely, so I noticed that the shield had also started to crack. Brace was right. It was starting to disintegrate on its own.

I was more than halfway through the stored energy when my legs started to feel like jelly. I was slightly weaker, but decided to hold on for a bit longer.
Had I done enough damage?
I couldn’t quite tell if it was the right time to stop.

“Cut it off now, Abby.” Brace had moved as close as he could, but was still a foot from me. It was hard to stand in the force of all the power which was leaving me. “You’ve done enough. Save the energy in case we need it.”

I could tell he cared nothing about saving power; he was just worried for me. I stared him down for a few moments, before deciding that he was right. I’d started the domino effect, and the rest of the barrier should continue to shatter now. There was no point in wasting our power stores.

I began to withdraw my energy, to close down the flow and seal off whatever goodness was left inside. I did the usual with my tether, mentally severing the cord – only the flow didn’t stop.

My trickling stream had turned into raging rapids and couldn’t be halted. I jolted forward, mentally locking down my body. Trying desperately to cut myself off from the barrier. Usually the moment I decided to cut off the power it halted, but I’d lost control.

“Abby, what’s wrong?” Lucy was next to Brace now, trying to reach me but unable to penetrate the energy.

I couldn’t speak. All I could do was shake my head.

Brace swore, and threw his arm toward the wave of power around me. I felt the shuddering crack as he hit the energy, but he wasn’t able to break through. My knees buckled even further. I was very close to having an empty filing cabinet and I had no idea what was going to happen when I ran out. Whatever it was, we were going to find out soon. There wasn’t much time left.

I tried to connect to my half-Walkers, but the golden tether was locked down in the flow. I also couldn’t trace or open a doorway. I had not felt so stuck and helpless in a long time. I was in big trouble and there wasn’t a damned thing I could think of to get myself out of this mess.

I could hear the others talking. “Clearly they have security on it. The barrier is destructing, but it plans on taking the destroyer with it.” Colton’s words were low and growly. His wolf eyes peeked out.

“No!” Lucy cried. “We have to do something. Now! Guys, think of something.”

Brace was still trying to crack the energy and reach me. I could feel our melding bond. It was strong, but there was something interfering with the connection. It was like a mini version of what had happened when the lalunas broke the bond. The cabinet continued to empty, one row of stored energy after another, and then – it was all gone.

I cried out, but there was no sound, my agony silent within the barrier. The energy leaving me now was my own, wrenching out of my well inside. Walker and First World power flowed, and further weakening spread through my limbs. My knees crumbled and I hit the deck, just managing to keep myself from face-planting.

I knew Brace was losing it. I could sense the way he tried to get to me, and I wanted to reassure him, but I could barely hold on to the small semblance of lucidity I still possessed.

In the end, right before I knew the last of my essence would be stolen, I decided to stop fighting the force. Instead, with a final surge of strength, I threw myself at the field and went with the flow. My body jerked in a forward motion; I was off the boat and out into the barrier.

Holy crap.
What had I done?

The moment I became part of the barrier, the flow of energy from within cut off. I was swimming through the air, following the electronic pulses. It was sort of like body-surfing the electromagnetic force.

Behind me the shield continued disintegrating, but whatever was tugging me along managed to keep me in front of the destruction. I knew there was no point struggling or stressing. I would save that for when I finally reached my destination. My eyes scanned the surroundings. I wanted a heads up if I was about to face-plant into a mountain or something.

I continued to fly across the ocean. Its sheer size and beauty was both mesmerizing and calming. Since I was trapped, I had little choice but to relax and watch the white wash below, water surging and crashing against itself. There was also the flip and shine of scales as fish ducked and dived with the currents. Even a few of the larger variety could be seen in the clear depths.

During this time small slivers of energy started filtering back into my depths. Which was a relief. I’d been severely depleted, like almost dead. But since I wasn’t dead, my Walker side was kicking into gear – regenerating me. No doubt, wherever I ended up, I was going to need as much energy as possible.

Movement was limited within the field, but I could shift my head far enough to keep track of the destruction behind me. The energy back there continued to fissure and shatter. Now, I was no measurement expert, but to my untrained eye, the gap between me and the destruction was getting smaller.

What would happen if it reached me before I reached my destination? Would I also crack and shatter, since I now seemed to be integrated into the barrier? Or would I simply drop into the depths of the oceans? I hoped I didn’t have to find out. I did not need to add anything new to my craptastic list of the week.

Have I mentioned lately that the Seventine were asshats? Stupid. Douchebucket. Asshats.

I felt marginally better after cursing them out. Nothing like a good swear-athon to keep a girl sane.