I was getting used to being called ‘Aribella’, which I’d recently learned was my given name. But for most of my life I’ve been Abigail, Abby to my friends. Well, friend. Lucy was really all I’d had.
Lucy gave Samuel a shove before I could throw him the rude hand gesture his arrogant command deserved. In annoyance, I pushed long masses of curls off my face. At some point I’d lost my hair-tie and I was really missing my braid. The blood-red color of my hair, threaded through with black flecks, was even more potent since my power-enlightenment. It was thick and shiny now, without any help from me. Definite bonus. I stared down at the diamond mark on my right wrist. Unlike every other scar, blemish and dot, it had not disappeared during my Walker enlightenment. I now wore the birthmark of each of my parents’ lines.
“Abbs, can you open a doorway and get us out of here?”
I glanced up to meet Lucy’s beautiful baby blues; they pleaded with me to give her a different answer to the question she’d asked a dozen times that morning.
Closing my own emerald eyes, I attempted to draw from my power again. And again there was no response. I could still feel its endless depths, but it was quiet. Instead of the thick string of energy I’d normally feel, all I was getting were wispy strands of fairy floss. I knew there was another way to access the Walker doorways, but unfortunately my father hadn’t had time to teach me.
Sighing, I opened my eyes to look at my desperate best friend. “Sorry, either something has blocked me or I’ve worn out my powers. I got nothing.”
Her face fell, the panic in her features more pronounced now.
I’d felt off-balance ever since leaving my home planet, First World, and opening a doorway to transport us all to Spurn. It was as if my energy was taking a vacation, getting a little rest and relaxation. Perfect timing, of course.
Movement from the adjacent cell caught my eye. Brace and Lucas were back against the wall, deep in conversation. For some reason those two had been seen as bigger threats than we were and had been separated from us.
I’d briefly wondered how Samuel, who was in our cell, felt about that. It was hard to read anything on his coldly chiseled face. He looked just like our beautiful mother Lallielle. But since we had different fathers, and I favored mine in looks, there was no real resemblance between us.
Samuel had been held captive in the same place as Lucy for an entire year and the ten words he’d spoken to me since discovering I hadn’t died eighteen years before have been forced from him out of politeness.
As I turned to look at him, he dived forward and yanked Lucy away from the bars.
I spun around to see what had prompted his action, hands at the ready to combat any threat.
A Spurn stood between our two cells.
Lucy wrestled with Samuel, and it was lucky he had a hand covering her lower face. I smiled. At least now she had another protector to save her from her big mouth.
I examined the newcomer with great interest. The male was shorter than all of us except Lucy. All of the inhabitants so far had been petite but with lithe muscles framing their entire bodies. He was shirtless, with a simple webbed loin cloth wrapped around his waist, just covering the very essentials – which I assumed were the same as ours. His skin was pink, but in a translucent manner, as if muscles and blood reflected through the skin. On top of that I could see blue veins throughout his entire frame. His general shape was humanoid, but slightly off-kilter. It was mainly noticeable when they moved, as if their joints were more flexible or something.
His skin was smooth and shiny, as if a layer of oil coated the outside. He was hairless except for an incredible mane of blue hair on his head. It was long, almost to his knees, and one solid color. He was barefoot, and his toes looked long and slightly webbed, a membrane connecting each digit. At first when they had captured us, I’d been more worried about the trident-style weapons they carried, rather than their differences and powers. But now I wanted to know what secrets they hid. I was also curious why no one had spoken to us yet. There had only been an initial capture and search before we were deposited into these cells.
Even as I thought this, the man opened his mouth to speak.
“You have disturbed the Sacred Isle, and you have stolen from us. The leaders of each clan will converge here for your trial. I am to inform you of this and then there is to be no contact.” His voice was deep and slow.
His lisp spoke of a vocal structure far different to our own as he read us our rights – of which apparently we had none.
I moved forward and clutched at the bars of our cell. How was I supposed to find the half-Walker if I was stuck in this room the entire time?