“Do not almost die again.”
I couldn’t promise that, so I settled for another kiss, this time on the lips. Hard and a little frantic. Then I stepped out of his heat and crossed over to the unconscious Seventine. He was no longer covered in a bright light; Brace had really done a number on him.
The moment my hand touched the robe, I reached for a tether inside the mountain, in one of the corridors close to the prison. I expected tracing the Seventine would be hard, moving all that ancient energy.
But it wasn’t.
We moved together easily, and then when I was inside, I threw him over my shoulder and ran the rest of the way. Brace would make sure the others were right behind, but for now I needed to get the first into the cage.
I was almost there when a surge of awareness tingled down my spine. Crap. The first was awakening. Picking up the pace, I dashed down the tunnel and into the round room, startling Jedi, who shot around, arms held defensively.
The princeps recovered in an instant. “In here, Abby.”
He grabbed on to the legs of the first. I wanted to wrench his hand off – I wouldn’t lose anyone else to a severed tether – but I had no time to argue.
Together we threw him across the space and into the small area which was surrounded by white stones. Jedi reached down and placed a final gem into the formation, and the barrier shot up. This was pretty much at the same moment that the first jumped to his feet and charged at us. He bounced back off the cage, landing hard on his gremlin butt.
I let my anger brim upwards, filling my eyes and face. This was for Quarn and every single other being who had lost something because of the Seventine.
“I’m going to lock you away again. You will never be free,” I said, before turning away and ignoring his angry tirade and the way he bashed against the cage.
“He won’t be able to drain the stones like I can, right?” I whispered to Jedi.
The princeps shook his head. “No, there’s none but a conduit who would be able to harness that much energy.”
“And his brothers will just what … get sucked in –?”
I never got to finish my sentence before lashes of wind whipped around the cave, followed by a loud screech.
I spun, crouching low and waiting.
My stance relaxed when I realized it was the rest of the Seventine. The bond was dragging them to their brother. The red ties between them tightened and, as the last of the wind died down, there were seven colorful heads of hair in the cage.
“You’re not strong enough to take our energy back into the mountain,” the first said in a clipped, screechy voice. “We’ve done this before. The originals sacrificed themselves. That will be your fate.”
He was probably right, and it was not a choice I was happy with, but they had to be locked away.
“We will offer you a deal,” he continued. “If you free us now, we will harm none of the half-Walkers or your friends or family. They will all be reborn immediately after the convergence … and one of the worlds will be yours to shape as you see fit.”
And we were already at the bargaining stage.
“Abby, you’re not making deals in here without us, are you?” Fury’s voice reached me moments before her mop of white hair came into view.
She was followed by the rest of the half-Walkers and our sacred animals. Cerberus barked and ran straight to me. I could feel his reprimand for taking off without him. I scratched the hellhound behind the ears.
More noise sounded at the entrance. Brace, Colton and Lucy entered the room. They looked beat up, but they were alive, and that was all that mattered. Right behind them were Josian and Lallielle. My mother raced straight across and wrapped me in her arms. It felt like years since I’d seen her, and right then a Mom-hug was exactly what I needed.
“I’m sorry about Quarn, baby girl.” Her voice broke on his name. “He would have found no greater honor than dying so that you had this chance to save everyone.”
I couldn’t speak. I didn’t even have the words to express my utter pain and rage.
Eventually, though, I managed to choke out, “I’m sorry about Frannie.”
Lallielle clutched me even tighter. “My sister walked a dark path at times. She’ll now be at peace … I’ll keep telling myself that until the sharp agony of losing her eases. Until it doesn’t hurt quite so much to breathe.”
Josian stepped in then and wrapped us both in his strong arms, as he had done many times before, and I felt a moment of peace. Just a moment. But it was enough for now. As we pulled apart, there were more noises.