They had been waiting for the half-Walker females. They are the last attempt to save the star system. Should they not succeed then all will be lost. All worlds will be destroyed. There will be no free energy for anything to be reborn. The Gods will wash their hands of these worlds. No second chances …
I wasn’t sure at what point I started to regain consciousness, but the story of the gods continued to write itself across my mind. I devoured the information, thirsty for any knowledge which might help in this battle. I knew some of the story, of course, but there was new information there. Had the Gods truly been the ones to create discord amongst the originals and Seventine? They’d deliberately started a war.
I finally opened my eyes, blinking a few times to figure out what the hell was happening. I blinked a bit more, but – I could see nothing. I was in some sort of massive expanse of white, as if I stood on a blank piece of paper that was waiting for me to write something across it. I stared around, squinting into the distance. Wait. Was that some sort of shadow out there in the distance? Could it be the other girls? Had we all been dropped here into this land of stark whiteness? What had happened to us?
I tried to recall the last thing I remembered. I found Eva … we went back to First World … but what had happened in the dark mountain? More hazy memories filtered across … that’s right, the Seventine were there and we’d tried to join our power for the first time. The energy had exploded between us. I dropped my gaze to see the red lace marks pulsing away. I was strangely relieved about that. I think I’d be a little devastated if they disappeared now.
“Abby!”
The shout had me shifting around to find there were more shadows in the whiteness. I strode forward, and then I was running. Full strides, as fast as my legs would take me. I felt no shortness of breath, no cramping of muscles or even a stretching sensation to indicate I was pushing myself. It was as if there were no weaknesses here. Which was kind of cool.
Talina came into sight first, her emerald hair a wash of color in this stark environment. Tribal marks pulsed across her skin as her wide brown eyes locked on to me in a sort of tense desperation.
“Are you hearing voices in your head?” she gasped out as we collided in a hug. “A strange tale about the origins of the star system.”
“Yes,” I said, vigorously nodding my head. “I only just woke up, but that story was going round and round in my head.” I pulled back, wondering what was different about her. Then it hit me. “Talli … your marks?”
Why the heck were her marks on her skin? There was no moonstale around. I even double-checked that my necklace had not fallen open, but it was shut up tight.
Her doe-shaped eyes flicked down. The thin filmy lens which sometimes covered them shimmered for a moment but didn’t drop.
“I don’t understand,” she said. “Is there moonstale here that we can’t see?”
There wasn’t; the yellow light would be immediately obvious against the white. Noise from behind had us both spinning around; it was the other girls.
Their stunningly unique features had never been more obvious than in that moment. In this world where there was no competition for color or contrast.
Delane’s black wings stood high and glinting. Sapha’s purple hair and midnight skin were striking. Ria’s mahogany mane filled with tendrils of ivy vines. Fury with skin of red and hair of white. And lastly Eva. Her blond hair had never appeared more golden or silk-like.
“They’re all wearing marks,” Talina said.
She was right. Every single one of them had their clan marks on display. A thought flittered through my mind.
“Do you think the marks are permanent for all the halves now?” I mused out loud. “Something happened to us when we joined. The power exploded from us and I blacked out. Now we’re here and our marks are on display. Where the heck are we?”
Fury reached us, throwing herself at me. “Great question, Supes.” Her hug was tight and I could feel the slightest tremble of her limbs. “What the freaking heck is this place. It’s creepy.”
“Word,” I said.
The other females did not say much, but on instinct we fell in back-to-back, making sure that our circle was complete.
“Should we move somewhere?” Delane held axe-style weapons in her hands. She stayed further forward from the group, just so her wings didn’t rip us to shreds. “Staying put doesn’t feel like the best thing to do.”
“Has anyone tried to trace?” Ria was the voice of reason.
I realized I hadn’t, and immediately reached for a tether on First World. I pictured the entrance to the dark mountain. But there was nothing to grasp. This had happened to me once before in pixie land, so I knew a doorway wouldn’t work either. I still tried it, though, just in case.
“Can all of you trace?” Eva’s golden eyes narrowed on me. “You didn’t tell me that, Abby.”
I wrinkled my nose, trying to look innocent. “I didn’t? Must have slipped my mind.”