I jumped about ten feet in the air.
The Mother of All appeared out of the mist.
We stared for an infinite amount of time, before finally I spoke.
“Where am I?”
Her voice was all tinkly as she stepped closer. “You are in the land between the planes.”
Planes? “Like planes of existence?”
“Yes, I managed to capture the rest of your essence before it was lost. I brought you here to give you back enough energy so you could return to your vessel.”
The choked up feeling was in my chest and throat again. “Why?” I managed to croak out.
“You have sacrificed much, given more than any could expect.”
It was no more than most would have given. “I didn’t have much choice. I would have preferred not to die.”
She laughed and it reminded me of tinkling chimes, chirping birds and the warmth of summer.
“You held on to each of your friends. You fought for them long after they were gone. You did not give up and now … the gods will not give up on you.”
“Will the girls return also?” A flickering of hope.
“Their essence was not free for me to capture. I cannot help you with them.” The light voice dropped, and I sensed she wished she could have answered differently.
Gods, I wished she had answered differently.
The Mother took another step toward me. And now, unlike in her realm, I could see her clearly. She was shrouded in white, but her skin was dark and creamy. Milk chocolate. Her eyes were large and ringed in kohl, and she had the longest, darkest lashes I’d ever seen.
“You will return now, to the life you left. Your soul will be one with the vessel again. You will still hold small portions of your original power, but it will be nothing like you had. The bulk of the original power is again in the prison. Never to be freed.”
“How can I survive without it?”
The originals hadn’t been able to survive.
“You were born of three entities. Walker father, First World mother, and original energy. All you have lost is the original energy. You are more than the loss of one part.”
My hybrid nature was the reason I had survived, the reason the Mother could return me.
“Why is the prophecy spoken here?”
The words were still there, faint in the background.
“This was your last fate. It was attached to your essence. Now that you have fulfilled this calling, it will leave you. A new fate will be born.”
Great, she talked in riddles like Francesc –
I cut off the thought. I couldn’t think of my aunt right then … or Quarn ... or the girls. I needed to keep that pain and anger tucked away in my little box. I needed to get back to Brace before he tore apart the seven worlds that we had sacrificed so much to save.
“Are you ready to return?”
I nodded once. “Thank you,” I said. “I’ll be forever grateful to you.”
“It is the gods who are grateful,” she trilled, and then with a wave of her hand a veil of darkness returned to me.
An instant passed, no more than a speck of time. That was all it took for me to travel between the planes of the white misty world and First World. I returned to the sensation of hot energy pouring into me.
“Abigail … please. Wake up. Brace, you have to do more; it’s not working.”
Lucy’s voice was the first sound then there was pain. So much freaking pain. My entire body hurt despite the softness below me. Still, my soul sung with pure joy to be home.
Red. The word was ragged, Brace’s usual smooth accent gone.
He was broken. I had broken the strongest being I knew.
What’s up, baby? I tried to joke, even though pain was making me its bitch right about then.
Red …
I forced my eyes open. It took more than one attempt, but focus eventually filtered in. I was not in the cave any longer, which explained the soft surface. I was in my room at the beach house. Brace was on one side of me, Lucy on the other, and Colton stood at the foot of the bed, on guard or something.
I struggled to sit up. Despite the Mother’s help, my energy was still almost depleted. I wasn’t worried, though. My Walker side would repair the damage in no time. Helped along by the flood of hot energy my mate continued pushing through my limbs.
“What happened after …?” I trailed off.
Emotions were choking me, so many mixed feelings. I had lost so much, but not everything. Brace and Lucy were the two people who meant more to me than any others in the worlds. It was like I was seeing everything for the first time. With a crystal-clear clarity that had me breathless.
“How did I get back here?”