I didn’t realize how hard I’d been pressed against Colton’s barricade until Lucy took my hand and pulled me back. I dropped my gaze and my heart warmed at the love that shone from her baby blues.
“It’s going to be okay, Abbs. We’ll rip the demons from their lives; we’ll make them whole again.”
Guess I wasn’t hiding my worry very well. I squeezed her hand, unable to speak when so much pain was engulfing Brace. When he was hurting, I was hurting. He was trying to shield me from it, but I could feel it. Tears pricked at my eyes, heat engulfing my throat as I tried not to lose it and cry like a big baby. The last thing Brace needed was to deal with my emotional breakdown too.
Colton turned his body to shield us. “Close your eyes,” he said, his voice a bite of demand.
I knew better than to argue. My lids fluttered down, and almost immediately I wanted to open them again to find Brace. Luckily I didn’t because another blast ricocheted outwards and even with closed lids the light was intense.
Then it was over. The power waned and I knew Brace was finished his cleansing of this place.
I took a deep breath. It was time to deal with this room, but first I needed to hug my mate.
Chapter 3
The room now held nothing but the two tanks; Brace had wiped out every other thing. Lasandra’s face was pinched, but a slight smile curved her lips. She seemed to be proud, and resigned to her son’s behavior.
As we exited Colton’s barrier she ran straight up to Brace and wrapped her slender arms around his chest. She whispered something, and I heard the last part. “One of these weapons could have been important in the war.”
No way! Bitch had reprimanded him.
Brace shook his head. “I won’t take the chance that he ever gets his hands on anything in this room again. Besides, there’s nothing here which could turn the tides of this war. Red and her girls are our only hope, which you’d do well to remember.”
His tone was not unkind, but the warning was still there. He then untangled himself and strode straight to me. I sighed as I was wrapped in his arms. He held me tight, like he needed my strength, like he needed me to wipe the last vestige of his childhood demons from him.
I couldn’t get close enough. The bond between us flared to life, the golden aura of our melding washing across us and the room. We didn’t speak. There were no words right then, but this was enough. For the moment, anyway.
Eventually we separated and joined the others in front of the tanks. Without anything else to distract, I could do nothing but stare at the strange sight. Que and Josian were floating in some sort of high viscosity liquid, almost like a gel but not that thick. The color was clear, with just the hint of pink, like there was a drop of blood in the substance. I reached out a hand and placed it onto the glass of my father’s prison. While Que was still on occasion opening and closing his eyes, Josian’s remained firmly shut, his blood-red hair a splash of color in an otherwise very monochromatic room.
“Has anyone seen anything like this before?” I broke the silence.
Colton said, “Yep, they’ve been modified, but these are regeneration tanks.”
Brace reached out and captured my hand, entwining our fingers. “When Walkers went into battle or had clan wars, it would get bloody. Loss of limb was common, and in general that would put us out of commission for some time. Que used these to speed up the regeneration process.” He tilted his head to the left, looking around the side of the two massive glass cages. “Colt’s right, though, these two have been tampered with. This section is not normally there.”
He pointed toward a mass of tubes and wires attached to the outer side of both tanks. The wire contraption seemed to extend and then run along the floor until the cords exited out the wall and ended up – somewhere. I knew Brace would send someone to follow those and see where they went.
I was so anxious to get to my father. I knew Lallielle would be freaking out also. Shit! I had to let her know –
Mom. I lowered the protective energy around my mind and sent a call toward her. I was becoming quite adept at finding the person I was targeting. My energy hit a barrier. It took her a moment to let me in.
Aribella, do you have any news of your father?
She sounded terrible. Even her mental voice was laced with anguish.
I hurried on. We found him. The lalunas have him locked in some sort of chamber in Que’s house of horrors.
There was a stunned silence for a moment. I’m coming there, baby girl, I’ll see you momentarily.
Her barriers went back up and I shook my head. I still wasn’t used to the sensation of having voices jump in and out of my mind. Lallielle was not a Walker. She was from First World and couldn’t access the doorways to hop between worlds, but she’d been with Grantham, my father’s best friend and leader of the Relli clan. He would bring her here.
Does Grantham know how to get through the securities here? I asked Brace.
Que had this world set up so that it was difficult to find the real Abernath community.