Colton cracked up. He was in the front seat next to me. “God, I love that pixie. She has such a way with words.”
A burst of laughter fled from me, even though I was trying not to laugh in the face of my serious half-Walker, but I couldn’t help it. The visual Lucy had just painted was ridiculous. I so needed to get raincoats for all the girls.
I had just composed myself when a smile crossed Eva’s face and I almost fell off my seat. She’d smiled. An actual, honest-to-god smile. Okay, it was only a slight tilt to her lips, but still, it felt like a massive achievement.
“I’m going to leave the car over there.” Brace interrupted the moment. “No time to take it any further.”
He pulled off to the side of an intersection, which was bordered by a large national park. There seemed to be more than one entrance into the thick canopied area, so he took the first path wide enough for the truck. As soon as we were far enough into the trees to be blocked from the sight of anyone on the highway, he ground to a halt and shut off the engine.
We exited the car. There were more emotional pangs as I wondered if this was the last time I’d drive or listen to Earth music. I didn’t want to lose all these things from my past. But change was inevitable.
Standing beside the black body of the vehicle, I held out my hands. Everyone but Eva knew what to do.
“You need to hold on to one of us,” I said. “This won’t hurt, but it might feel strange. I’m going to move us instantaneously from one spot to another.”
Eva didn’t even hesitate. She just dropped her hand into Brace’s. Her features did not shift and no fear was in her eyes. Definitely had a death-wish chick on our hands here.
I brought forth a mental image of the gray-colored power grid. I had taken note earlier, during my impromptu visit, that there was a small grassed section right in the center. This was as good a place as any for us to land. I drew on a little of Brace’s energy, knowing I probably didn’t have enough of my own. The warmth of his princeps power traveled through me, his energy strong enough to send jitters across me. I wasn’t sure if that feeling was simply because it was Brace and he made my heart race, or if his essence was something beyond any others. He was unusually powerful, even for a Walker.
The jolt as I traced us was rougher than usual, but we got there in one piece. Mostly. Eva’s creamy skin looked to be a few shades paler than normal, but there were no other outward signs that she was freaked about the fact that she had just jumped hundreds of miles.
Imagine when I explained to her that the same ability was hers for the taking. Not now, though. I liked to keep my new half-Walkers – who were generally flight risks – a little uneducated about the many ways they could avoid me. Saved me the trouble of tracking them down again, which would leave me a tad upset. Like itching powder and fire ants in their beds upset. Damn, I was starting to think like Lucy.
We all broke apart, and Brace and Colton were the first to spread out and scan the perimeter. I shook my head, trying to shake off the electrical currents in the air. Yep, there was definitely something preternatural about this area. I could feel the otherness. It was like a tingle on the back of my tongue. But – the energy seemed to be gone.
“There’s nothing here,” Colton said. He had his nose slightly elevated as he sniffed around. “I don’t think the energy was ever stored in this grid.”
Lucy nodded. “That makes sense. We were taught that power isn’t stored in these grids. This is simply where they distribute it after it’s generated.”
Told you the pixie was a nerd. A sexy, smartass nerd. She just loved school.
“So, where the hell did all the power they gathered through the barrier go then?” I said, still attempting to shake off the tingles like a wet dog.
“Do you think the Seventine already have the power?” Lucy’s nerves had her voice wavering. “Did we waste too much time making sure the girls were secure?”
Eva made a sort of growl noise. “It wasn’t wasted. No matter how important and powerful you are, if you forget about the little people around you then you don’t deserve the gifts you have.”
Lucy gave a heaving sigh. “Yes, I get that, but we’re ultimately working to save all the people in these worlds. Not exactly forgetting about them.”
“That means nothing to those girls if they’re raped and brutally beaten to death by smugglers. That was almost certainly the fate for most of them. You gave them a chance to survive. You don’t have to do more than that, but people deserve a chance.”
Some of the defiance had left Eva now, but she wasn’t backing down.
Lucy simply flipped some of her golden hair over her shoulder. “I’m not saying I disagree with you. I’m just hoping like hell that when we get back to First World, we don’t find the last Seventine free and kicking.”