I nodded. Why Brace would want to accompany us, I didn’t know, but I’d welcome any help. A guy of his size was perfect intimidation against gangers.
“Do ... do you think she’s okay?” I whispered, some of my anguish leaking out in my voice.
Reaching over, Brace hesitated a moment before he picked up my left hand. He laced his fingers through mine and the world slowed. My heart skipped a beat and heat flooded my body. Forcing myself to breathe and my ears to listen, I focused on him. That delicious male scent, so uniquely his, and his features ... so unnaturally perfect.
“I made a promise to myself that I would get you and Lucy here safely and I failed. I will not rest until I make this right, Abby.”
I blinked at his formality, although in the First-World accent, it sounded perfect.
Josian appeared behind the mirror. The laluna had been replaced by an object covered with a dark gray cloth.
Brace stood abruptly, jolting me on the couch. “One of the men needs my assistance. I’ll be right back.”
My gaze followed his broad shoulders as he exited the room.
Josian’s eyes were glued to me.
Did he not notice that strange behavior? And how the hell did Brace get out the door?
Probably Josian didn’t harbor the same mini-obsession I held for Brace.
“Are you ready?” The red-haired Walker’s anticipation and excitement drew my attention. “This mark is for identification. Every Walker clan has a unique design. It can only be viewed under the light of a moonstale crystal – remember, they’re part of the original colliding energies that created the Walkers.”
Ahhhh, that’s what moonstale was.
I nodded. Let’s get this show on the road.
He removed the cloth to reveal a small dark-gray crystal. I squinted, trying to get a clear image. Shimmery sections glittered, casting illusions and emitting a yellow light.
I gasped, staring at my reflection covered in its glow.
Josian exclaimed loudly, his expression that of a stereotypical proud father, “You look beautiful, Aribella, my girl.”
I was Walker.
From the creamy white of my skin, the mark emerged. It started along my forehead, moving around my left eye and down my face, continuing to the edge of my shirt and down my left arm, like a dense network of lace, dark red to match my hair. It wasn’t solid, like a tattoo. It pulsed. I looked up into Josian’s joy-filled face. He’d never looked more god-like than with his own red mark pulsing along his right side.
Lallielle stood to the side, hands on her slender hips and a tearful smile across her face.
“Why is yours on the right?” It was amazing and mesmerizing. I couldn’t stop staring.
“Men’s are on the right, women’s the opposite.” He grinned. “The marks were passed from the original Walkers. There are seven distinct clans descended from each.”
I was trying to understand. “How is that possible? Uh, surely you need two Walkers to make baby Walkers?”
I blushed slightly – it was a delicate subject to be discussing with your father – and he chortled loudly at my pink cheeks. “The seven had a unique energy. They could create more Walkers without the need of humanoids’ complex reproductive systems.”
It never seemed that complex to me, but what the hell did I know.
After many minutes, Josian covered the crystal. My mark lingered for a moment before fading away beneath my skin.
With the moonstale in one hand, he used the other to hoist the mirror, before leaving the room. I was pretty sure he grinned the entire way.
Suddenly I found myself alone with Lallielle. She looked at me and I turned away. It was probably unfair to lay the majority of blame for my tough upbringing on her.
Okay, definitely unfair.
She’d been forced to make some tough decisions which might have screwed up my life. And she didn’t have hindsight. But right now I couldn’t forgive her. Well, I guess technically I could, but I really didn’t want to.
Ignoring my reticence, she sat next to me. Continuing to disregard her, I simply enjoyed the opulence of the couch, sinking into its luxurious depths.
Lallielle was rigid, twisting her hands over and over. Eventually, when I couldn’t stand the uncomfortable atmosphere any longer, I faced her.
“So how does the mind-reading and telepathy work?” I asked, needing more information to figure out how to block my thoughts.
She smiled hesitantly. “I can’t read your thoughts. You have a strong natural mind-block, same as your father. Sometime during our evolution, we learned to communicate over distance and mind to mind. How it works is beyond me. From our age of power maturity, we’re mainly taught how to control the powers, not about their origin.
“We keep constant mind-blocks in place, but if someone wants to communicate with me there is a nudge in my head, as if someone is scratching lightly. When that happens I can open my mind enough to talk – like a one-way door. Or I can open a window and allow a back-and-forth flow of information. Each nudge is unique. You’ll sense who’s trying to communicate – if they’re familiar to you.”