walker saga 07 - earth (25 page)

The fire which had been a plume skyrocketing above us tapered back to a nice arc of flame. Fury’s blue fire was equal parts mesmerizing and deadly. I was grateful that half-Walkers seemed to be immune from the burn.

I smiled at the Crais half. “You controlling your flames now, Fury?”

Her return grin was all sparkling teeth. She was pleased with herself. “Hell, yes, I can feel that control is back with me.” Her flames swirled and danced in the air. “I think I could use it as a weapon again.”

She had had some elemental training. Grantham in particular had helped her a lot. He was a master at controlling his earth power. Though, this was the first time she’d ever controlled the flames while we were all together and so much power fueled us.

The storm was less intense.

I could feel that the other girls were also starting to control their elements. I was just about to suggest we start experimenting with our power storm, when a large crack appeared in the ground.

My breath caught as I waited for the next obstacle to appear.

“Is this from anyone here?” Delane asked. “Or is the Mother of All messing with us?”

That was a very good question.

Our focus remained locked on the large hole. It started to widen even further, before a sudden mass of greenery shot up from below. It was a veritable wall of vines, thorny brambles, shrubs and small trees. Ria threw back her head, mahogany hair flying in the breeze, ivy vines twirling around, dancing to the energy.

Her warning came sharp and fast. “This is not friendly greenery and cannot be controlled. We need to destroy it.”

She blinked rapidly and, I’ll admit it, I was surprised. Ria never wanted to destroy her beloved plants. She protected them at all costs.

Everyone was on alert now, but before any of us could react three of the sacred animals stepped forward – Cerberus, Apollo and Lina. Because we were still connected to them, I had a sense of what was going on – it kind of felt like they were gathering energy.

Cerberus moved first, blurring away. He was soon joined by Apollo on one side and Lina on the other. The three of them stayed close right up until they neared the start of this jungle.

Then they split off from each other.

The flora’s first line of defense was a bramble filled with thorns the size of my forearm. Thick, dark and very pointy-like; thorns that size could easily impale a person or animal and cause untold damage.

“They’re going to be okay, right?” Talina’s large brown eyes widened even further, a shine emerging as her protective lenses slipped up and down. A sight which still on occasion had my stomach rolling.

Crete – who was in his prehistoric panther-size – shifted his head, fluffy black mane swaying in our storm. He stood beside Fury and growled. Every single one of us could tell he was scoffing at Talina.

“Pretty sure Crete is spending too much time with Fury,” I said. “The attitude is starting to rub off.”

I received twin scowls before everyone turned back to the battle scene. The sacred animals were stalking around, trying to find a weakness. Which was difficult as the mystery foliage was acting like it had sentient thought. As the three guides moved, the large thorns followed their path.

Cerberus shot up in size. He was now at least twelve feet tall, and almost as wide. Both heads were low and pointed forward as he scanned the greenery. I was just wondering what power he might have to destroy something like a forest, when I felt the pull on our power. My head spun around. Which of the girls was using her element?

Six faces were doing the same confused thing as I was. It wasn’t from the half-Walkers.

Heat drew my attention again, and I felt myself take a step back as flames shot out of Cerberus’ mouth. Dude, he was a hellhound, not a fire-breathing dragon. What the heck just happened? Then Lina and Apollo decided to shoot out their own set of flames. This three-attack began a circle of blue fire that surrounded the crack in the ground and forest which had emerged from it.

“Holy great suns of Crais,” Fury said, her tones breathless. “When they’re joined with us, they must be able to use our power.”

And use it they did. The sacred animals had much greater control over the elements than we did. They managed to make fire work between them, like a circle of death that linked all three and obliterated everything that lay in the middle.

Once the smoke had cleared, there was nothing left of the greenery, just a blackened pile of ash. The pull of power started again, and winds blew up to blast the ash away. Now they were using Delane’s ability.

I exchanged a look with the warrior-Walker and she nodded twice. We needed to take what we had just learned from our guides, and figure this out for ourselves. I had been saying it for a long time: the key to beating the Seventine was a strong bond between the half-Walkers. It was the most important weapon we had. I’d known it when Josian tried to keep us apart; it was the lalunas’ greatest fear for a reason.

If we managed to sync our powers then we had a chance. It was a small one, but better than nothing. I reached into the darkest recesses of my mind. It was time to imagine some of the creatures which haunted me. I was looking into my fears. Top of that list was the Seventine, of course, but we needed to work up to that. First: gangers and zombies. Then, with no more than a thought, a mass of tattoo-faced thugs and undead popped up into existence.

This world was both awesome and scary-as-heck.

Around us more fears were willed into existence and we were soon surrounded by a plethora of nasty-looking beings.

Okay, so we had our obstacles. Now we needed to figure out how to eliminate them.

Let’s start with everyone grasping your power and reeling it back.
The storm was starting to rage again.
I know it’s tempting to just throw everything at them at once, but let’s try our elements individually. I’ll act like the conductor in the center. Wait for my signal before attacking.

Someone needed to take the reins here, and the conduit was the natural conductor. I sensed no outright objections to my plan, which was the best I could hope for.

The first creatures we faced were zombies, which I knew from First World were not that difficult to kill. You simply needed to take their heads off. We didn’t have swords right then. The key was to figure this out using just our elements.

Eva, what are their weaknesses?

My voice snapped them all to attention. The Earth half did not hesitate. Her time on the streets of New York had her mind battle-ready.

Fire is number one. They’re quite flammable. And then decapitation. Most other injuries won’t weaken them, and they can regenerate anything but their heads. So don’t waste your time trying to maim them.

I was glad I’d checked, because these zombies seemed hardier than the ones we’d fought in the dark mountain.

Eva’s power is wicked and awesomesauce.

Fury had been spending way too much time with Lucy. That was something I would expect out of my pixie friend’s mouth. But she was right: it was wicked awesome.

Delane’s command rang out, cutting off any replies.
We must all focus now. Focus is something we lack as a group and it’s a weakness for us. Abby’s our general. She’ll give the orders and we’ll follow them.

I could feel some dissension amongst the group. Most of these strong, independent females did not like to follow orders, but for now they knew Delane was right and did not argue.

If fire is a weakness then we’ll use Fury’s power for this one. We need to figure out how the sacred animals managed to share the one power between the three of them.

The zombies were advancing on us. We didn’t have much time.

Fury pulled on the collective power and shot the blue flames around. I sensed her focus as she tried to ‘share’ the flames with the other girls. The circle formed easily, but faded off just as fast. We didn’t know how to hold on to each other’s power.

Try the animals,
Talina said.
I think they can take on any or all of our powers.

Fury immediately changed her focus. Instead of trying to join her flames to the girls, she sent them down into Crete, and the moment it connected with her guide, he sent it across to the rest of us. The flames now linked all seven half-Walkers. I could literally feel the hot element of fire burning through my center.

Now that’s more like it!
Ria’s exclamation was loud.
Let’s kick some undead ass.

I let loose a few peals of laughter; we were all a little drunk on the energy. We had needed the animals to link us, but control still rested with us.
Let’s surround them from all sides, and then on my command we send the ring of fire into their group.
I started to issue orders.

The girls didn’t hesitate. They ran, fast and agile. Nothing physical was difficult for us. We had the best of both our worlds in our bloodline. The strongest females of our home planet were our mothers, and one couldn’t forget our Walker fathers. We were also made of the original sevens’ energy. We were like freaking Olympians hopped up on steroids.

Within moments we had closed around the horde of zombies. There were probably about thirty in this bunch.

I gave a shout.
Go.

And go they did. The fire energy which had been building between us ricocheted outwards from each girl. In a single circle of blue flames, it washed across us in a six-foot-high wall.

The zombies shrieked as their dry, leathery flesh came into contact with the overwhelming, volcanic-like power of Fury’s element. One or two who were near the edge tried to dodge out of the way, but there was no hope for them. Each girl sustained the push of elemental fire and I made sure the flow of energy continued to cycle between us. This was the very reason my well existed: to cycle massive loads of energy and not kill me or anyone else with an overload.

Delane was pleased with our advancement.
It’s so strange. Fury’s fire doesn’t feel familiar like my wind, but I do have control over both elements right now.

Even though the girls were controlling the fire, they still had access to their own elements.

So whichever element the guides connect all of us with, we can control it, and then still our own if needed. That’s pretty powerful. It means we can make a big bang when needed.
Sapha sounded excited, and she wasn’t the only one.

We continued to fire-bomb the zombies until there was nothing left. Just ash and scattered remnants of bones and clothing.

I was grateful that no scent of burning flesh stung the air here. This world was not real enough for that.

We also didn’t need to blow away the remains this time. They simply sank back into the white starkness of this world and were gone.

Awesome.

One threat down. Time to move on to the next one.

We battled for what felt like hours. We fought dragoonas; large ocean serpents; forest-dwelling animals, including a bera; energy-sucking Drones; Angelica; and other imagined predators.

We learned how to use wind, water, fire, earth, and plants as weapons. We learned how to wrap shadows around our group, which basically camouflaged us from our enemies, and we learned how scary-ass Eva’s new powers were, because she could see into our inner souls and lay out every single one of our weaknesses. Every time we used our powers the strength between us grew.

Our stamina never faltered. We required no food or drink, even though I knew I should be both hungry and thirsty. Of course, that would all change once we were back on the real world. There we’d have to be more careful about how we utilized the energy we expelled. The filing cabinet was full, but I was saving that in case we needed it to lock away the Seventine.

“This is beyond anything I imagined!” Delane was exuberant as she gathered the wind particles around us and turned them into raging tornados.

This allowed her to literally scoop up the enemies and throw them far out into the whiteness.

Talina let out a snort of laughter. “It’s incredible, but also scary. We’re very powerful. Should any beings be this powerful?”

I knew she was thinking of Gladriel, her mother, the evil sea-bitch.

Her pretty face fell. Sorrow briefly grazed her features and slanted her eyes downwards. She shook it off quickly, before focusing on her water again.

Using the liquid, she formed a shape, sort of like a spaceship, but with paper-thin and razor-sharp sides. Talina liked to use these water-discs to remove heads and limbs. Basically anything which could be severed was up for grabs. Even though Talina was the softest of the half-Walkers, there was still Spurnian blood inside her, and that coldness always manifested itself in battle.             

“Do you think we’re ready to go back now and face the Seventine?” Sapha’s skin was very white at the moment; she looked almost albino.

Her camouflage ability was blending her into the Mother’s colorless realm. Even the red of her eyes and purple of her hair was peppered through with white.

“We’re definitely not ready,” I said. Not even close. “They have so many more years together than we do. They know and understand their power. But the Mother will surely be sending us back shortly, no matter our readiness.”

I had already started to sense the world around us beginning to crumble. We were going to be rejected very shortly. I knew it.

“Do we have the strength to join now without our animal guides?” Delane’s hands rubbed over the handles of her twin axes.

The females who liked to fight with weapons – Delane and Eva primarily – touched their blades all the time. Even if they weren’t particularly using them. I was sort of glad Eva had her Walker-born sword. She was like me, without an active power, so this gave her an extra protection.

“Only one way to find out if we still need the guides,” I said to Delane.

I severed the power from the group.

My body staggered back at the empty feeling which rattled around inside me. I missed the girls already. I missed the wash of energy and my well inside was not happy to be so empty and alone.