Pushing down the doubts, I reached for the golden tether in my head. It was frail on Earth but still functional. The cord wanted to go toward Eva – who was watching my every move with the focus of a laser. That was the natural reason for my tether’s existence, but I forced it closer to me. Sending it into my family.
As I connected to Lucy, Colton and Brace a flood of thoughts, emotions and energies started to flow in and around me. I almost staggered from the initial influx, but when comparing this to the sun from Crais – well, my body was a lot stronger now and this amount of energy was manageable. Especially with Earth muting our power.
It was easy enough for me to identify their individual energies. Colton’s was Walker – Abernath, just like Brace’s, but there was also something animalistic in his energy. The wolf had permeated everything, and was so much a part of him that there was no way to know where the Walker left off and the wolf began. The canine energy brushed against me, but it wasn’t aggressive. I was a member of his pack and he had no problem with my presence.
Then there was Lucy. She was the most foreign to me, her pixie energy strong. It was like nature, flowers and living plants, with just a touch of how brutal Mother Nature could be. Interwoven with this were tendrils of another energy: ancient and metallic. Elemental. I could only guess that was from her faerie side, which was yet to be unlocked, but was still there in her DNA. You might be able to suppress parts of yourself, but deep down it was impossible to change your fundamental makeup.
Finally Brace, the most familiar, an extension of my own energy. Melding had combined our very essences. His Walker and princeps power was strong, almost too strong to handle. The heat and force brushed against me like the flaming winds of the hottest forest fire in history. It was almost unbearable standing in the full force of his power, but at the same time I didn’t want to leave. I needed more. The warmth was intoxicating. Why are the very things we crave the ones which would most probably lead to our demise? Fire burned and yet I wanted to be closer.
The well inside me began to hum. That greedy little sucker loved energy and I was surrounded now by an overabundance of goodness. I started to draw from my friends; it took real effort not to just take, take, take and fill my well. Instead I focused on filling the filing cabinet inside – this was how to keep the energy safe.
The compartment was still around a quarter full, and I was careful only to take as much energy as I felt that the three could share. I took the most from Brace. Firstly, he was pretty much shoving it at me. Secondly, he was the most powerful. Although, I was definitely never going to underestimate Colton and Lucy. Together, those two packed a punch.
The other girls remained huddled at the back of the boat. None of them spoke, each just staring at us. I knew they’d have learned from a young age not to trust strangers. Especially powerful or crazy ones. And as far as they knew, we were both.
The entire energy transference took no more than five minutes. I didn’t take enough to completely fill myself. That would require more than my friends could safely give. I just had to hope I had enough. I wouldn’t risk depleting them completely, no matter how much Brace tried to shove his power at me.
Take it, Red! I won’t have you unprotected, weak or vulnerable. You won’t drain me … I promise.
Stubborn Walker. I have enough and, if I need more, well, I know where to find it.
I could share from his energy pretty easily. Our bond allowed for that.
“So I just blast a wave of power into the field? Or should I connect to it?”
I spoke out loud again, hoping that the others wouldn’t be as protective as Brace. I knew he was going to limit the information he gave me, especially if it was dangerous. Colton wasn’t quite as reticent with the sharing of risky knowledge.
Brace’s lips quirked into a half-smile. He’d read my thoughts. “You don’t have to connect to it, and I would actually recommend not even attempting that. It could lead the creator straight to you, plus it’s especially important that you stay in control of the energy you send into the shield. Sometimes there’s a failsafe set up. If this was my barrier, I’d have it rigged to capture any who attempted to connect or manipulate the programmed electromagnetic field.”
Colton crossed his arms across his chest, biceps standing out starkly from the edge of his soft cotton shirt. “Just blast into it. Send all that beautiful power into the barrier, and allow it to filter through. It’ll work.”
I sucked in deeply. The bad feeling that had tightened my gut earlier was back. In full force. I was sure it was just nerves. Seriously, what was with all of these Seventine energy-gathering zones scattered around the planets? They had plan upon plan in place. Two steps ahead – they were always two steps ahead of us.
I locked eyes with Brace. He had his hands clenched on the side of the boat. Probably holding on to that so he didn’t reach out and snatch me out of what he considered a dangerous situation.
For the record, I think this is a terrible idea. There was a tinge of worry and humor in his tone.