She nodded. “Yeah, Ladre is still there trying to do … political things. I couldn’t stand it any longer, so I returned.” She shrugged. “I miss him, though.”
I gave her an extra hug before turning away. Our bond hummed between the six of us as I left the girls. Cerberus also abandoned his catch-ups with the other animals, and as he loped across to me I paused to let him reach my side.
“Cere,” I said, pulling his heads together for a hug. “You can’t come to Earth, buddy. Your power will be muted there, and your badass scariness is probably going to freak out my half-Walker, and she’ll run screaming in the other direction.”
He gave a growling bark, and it sounded like he was pleased at the thought of being scary. I pulled back, but kept both hands resting against his coarse, dark fur.
“I’ll be back soon, buddy, and then we’re going to put those Seventine down.”
Both of his heads nodded.
“Stay here and keep the girls safe, and bond with the other guides. They need you.”
His large, dark eyes glittered at me. I could tell he didn’t want to let me go to Earth without him, but he seemed to be more accepting than the last time I’d tried to leave him behind. Maybe he’d been to Earth before and knew it was not a hospitable place for those with lots of energy.
Finally, he lowered those heads and each one licked me up the side of my face. It was all kinds of gross, doggy drool, but still the sweetest thing ever.
“I love you, Cere,” I said.
And I could feel the warmth of his return love as he licked me again.
My arms felt empty, my heart heavier as he turned away and made his way back to the other sacred animals. He glanced back once and our gazes clashed. It felt wrong to leave him, but I knew that we’d meet again very soon. I just had to finish up this damn task and get rid of the Seventine.
My breathing was ragged by the time I stepped across to stand beside Lucy and Colton. Brace had taken off just after we arrived, heading to the Abernath section. He had to check in with his people, and the war council. I felt terrible that he was neglecting his duties as princeps for me, but no one questioned him. They understood. Plus he was kind of a scary warrior when it came to me, and no one wanted to push those buttons.
On my way, baby. Wait right there.
I could see his giant form pushing through the crowds.
Everything okay with the clan? I wanted to know.
He nodded and since he was back at my side, switched to talking out loud. “Yes, nothing for you to worry about, Red.”
Yeah, I was still going to worry. A crinkling sound caught my attention, and I lowered my eyes to see what he held. It was a brown bag. I was curious for about ten seconds before he unscrunched the top and pulled out four sub-style sandwiches. Curiosity died as hunger flared to life.
I pretty much pounced on him, and Lucy was right behind me.
Brace laughed. “Gods … I need all ten fingers, girls, so give me a second … I won’t eat your sandwiches.”
I couldn’t remember the last time we got to eat properly.
Lucy was still grabbing at him. “I’m not sure I trust you, and until that food is in my hands, I’m in attack mode.”
Brace threw two of the subs in a graceful arc, and Colton caught them.
“Fetch,” I said to Luce with a wicked grin.
Once Lucy had dived across to harass her own mate, Brace handed me my goodness. My stomach roared at me, unhappy about the length of time between meals. Sure, as awesome mythical creatures we could go a long time without food, but that didn’t mean I was happy about it. Or that I wasn’t going to totally shovel this beef sub into my mouth as fast as possible.
We finished our food within minutes, all of us silent, mouths too full for conversation. Brace also had a jug of water, which disappeared just as fast. To save time, I called Fury across and got her to burn our trash for us.
There was no more reason to delay; we were heading to Earth.
Lucy quickly tied back her long waves. “Alright, I’m totes ready to hit up all the awesomeness of Earth. Can’t wait to find me some gangers.” She clapped her hands together. “I might have the power to actually go some kung fu, eye-of-the-tiger on their asses.”
I shook my head, amusement warring with exasperation. “Don’t forget our powers will be muted on Earth.” The world was an energy dead zone, and no one really knew why. “Personally, I’m hoping I can figure out how to even find this last half. If the tethering energy doesn’t help me, we could be in a hell of a lot of trouble.”
The last time I was on Earth my Walker energy was not at full strength. Something told me this time the loss of power was going to hit me hard.
New York City was where we’d go first. It was the area we knew, and I was hoping that the half-Walker was in the city. Maybe, like Lucy, she would be drawn to the area I grew up in. To the Walker energy. Or that could all be wishful thinking, and she could be anywhere. Earth was too large to randomly wander, so I had to hope the connection tether led me right to her.