Josian snorted. “Now she thinks she takes care of us,” he said to his mate. “Cheeky brat.”
I grinned. “That’s what kids are for: helping their parents when they become frail and elderly.”
Something I would never actually experience. My parents looked like they were thirty and always would.
Josian rubbed at his brow. “I feel that I should defend myself here … I’m not elderly, just well preserved.”
Lallielle laughed, the peal of her sweet melody echoing around the room. It had been so long since I’d heard her happiness; it lifted my spirits. I wasn’t the only one. Josian moved toward her, as if the sound was drawing him in. Calling to him. I knew my family would be okay while I was gone. Grantham would watch out for them and they would have some bonding time. Which they needed after all the laluna drama.
There were kisses and hugs all around, and then I prepared to trace back to Brace.
Josian stopped me just before I left. “Watch your back, baby girl, I have no idea what’s coming now, and that makes me nervous. I would forsake much in these worlds to keep you safe, and as soon as my energy returns I’ll be fighting right beside you.”
I knew that without a shadow of a doubt.
Waving goodbye, I grabbed a tether on Abernath and traced back to the front step of the glass building. Brace, Colton, Lucy, and Cerberus were waiting for me.
“Ready, peeps?” I asked, preparing myself for the next move.
It was time to get serious. We were running out of time. First World battle, here we come.
Chapter 4
To the untrained eye the area around the dark mountains was pure chaos. On the side closest to the mountain itself was Team Awesome: seven Walker clans, First World’s army, and an array of faerie creatures. Including the pixie clan, of which Lucy was the princess; and the faerie clan, of which she was also a princess. Yep, my BFF was a double-princess – probably explained her attitude.
The other side was Team Douchebags: weird tree entities, little fire-lizards, zombies, and an array of other soul-sucking assfaces created by the Seventine.
Right then the creatures were reluctant to engage Team Awesome fully; fighting had only broken out in small pockets. On the far right border the Relli clan, some pixies and sprites were fighting a pod of tree entities. Those suckers were fast and deadly; you couldn’t let them get their branches around you or they’d cut you right in half. And unfortunately they were pretty impervious to fire. Though, on the plus side, the sprites seemed to have some sort of magic which stunned them and gave our army a chance to chop them down. Together our people were keeping the Seventines’ evil minions at bay, stopping them from reaching the dark mountain.
Some of the leaders believed that the dark creatures were trying to bring the mountain down so that the prison within would be weakened. I doubted that; right then the prison was extra strong. Our plan to rid the worlds of the evil laluna had worked and now they were part of the cage’s security. The prison itself would never fall, but bringing down the mountain might help to weaken First World, and it would be a right old pain in the butt if we had to dig through a ton of rock to find the prison again.
I didn’t linger with the army. I was only there to check in with my half-Walker girls. We were working on our bonds, strengthening them, and that required time and proximity to each other. I knew where they were; I could feel each of them at a cellular level. I was the conduit, the key to bringing all of our elemental powers together. Their energy clustered near the entrance into the dark mountain. I was surprised to feel that Talina had already returned from Spurn. Which was perfect: I would get to see them all in one place.
Everyone followed as I wove through the masses. I had a pretty good idea of which race, clan or species most of the beings were from. Even though the Walkers had no marks on display.
We were receiving many curious looks – which was nothing new – and more than a few nods of respect. Occasionally as I brushed past a Walker I would feel a small knot of heat and connection in my center, and I knew they were Abernaths. I recognized them as my clan, as my people. For Brace, the recognition was a hundred times stronger.
“I can’t believe the Walker clans are interacting like this?” I said to Brace as we continued navigating through the crowds. “The last time we gathered they needed fenced-off and security-staffed areas.”
Yeah, they were ancient, wise and powerful, but they also had a touch of Neanderthal.
Brace reached out and linked our fingers together. Walkers were touchy-feely types; I was totally not complaining about that.