“You’re so arrogant,” I sneered. “What the hell makes you so awesome?”
What a giant asshole. This guy was getting on my last nerve; he was like a cartoon character he was so obnoxious.
“The mere fact I have existed for close to a thousand years is reason enough. I have seen cultures rise and fall. I have seen the evolution of man.” He laughed. “In fact, I have participated in many of these historical events. I am everything and everywhere, seeing all, and have decided that no longer shall the worlds, any of them, continue down the same destructive path.”
Oh, great. He was bat-nuts crazy. And I was tied to a chair in the room with him.
“A mass culling is required on all of the worlds. I have started with Spurn. Weed out the weak, the unworthy. I’m doing the worlds a favor. They will be stronger. It’s survival.”
I could see that he honestly believed he was working for the greater good. And unfortunately he probably could ‘go mad with power’, as they put it.
“I think that if the worlds wanted your opinion on their current path, they’d have probably asked for it.”
He stared at me without saying a word. I tightened my energy around my mind, and hoped he couldn’t break in. He flicked his fingers then, and the ropes binding my hands and feet fell free.
“You’re no longer my prisoner. If you can find your way from here, without the use of Walker doorways, then you’re free.”
I rubbed my chafed and bleeding wrists together. The ropes had cut me during my struggle, but by the time I looked again the skin was starting to heal. Within moments there was just creamy unmarked flesh. No sign of any injury.
“You’re quite magnificent.” His words washed over me.
I leaned back from all the creepy he was emitting.
“Is the Abernath your mate?”
I was confused for a second before I remembered him calling Brace that.
“What’s an Abernath?” I demanded as dozens of thoughts flickered through my mind.
His eyes widened in surprise. “He hasn’t told you of his family?” His expression grew calculating. “The Abernaths are the most powerful clan. Even without his marks displayed, the power he released was impressive. He has to be a high-ranking member.”
I’m a little slow at the moment, but is he saying what I think he’s saying?
“Brace ... is a Walker?” I spluttered out, my words almost incoherent.
Pain and anger flooded through me. I felt betrayed at the highest level. Why hadn’t anyone told me this? Why had Josian kept it from me?
The Walker interrupted the flood of betrayal that was dragging me down. His laughter echoed around the stone of the room.
I got to my feet in one blinding lunge of anger. I was standing before him so quickly that I realized for the first time I’d utilized Walker speed.
“Answer me,” I yelled, my energy bubbling over.
He was a liar. He had to be, otherwise I was the world’s biggest idiot. I was going to kill Brace when I got my hands on him.
“You said his name is Brace?” A flicker of ... fear maybe … entered his eyes. “Then he is Que’s son. The Princeps of the Abernath line.” He lowered his head until we were almost at eye level. “I think I was lucky to escape with you when I did.”
My head hurt again as I thought back to the moments in Silver City before I blacked out. “What did you do in the city?”
All I had were disjointed memories, flickers, images – all terrifying.
“I dissolved the bonds that formed the water dome,” he said, his tone casual.
At that moment my heart stopped beating. As it stuttered to life again, the full repercussion of his actions flooded me and I dropped to my knees. I attempted to suck in some air. My protesting lungs were starving, but nothing was responding.
“You killed my friends,” I stammered out through gulps. “They couldn’t have survived that.”
He shook his head. “I have no idea. Brace will have survived; nothing would take out an Abernath. But the rest – collateral damage.”
“Noooo!” I screamed long and loud.
Sobs broke from me as I stumbled back to my feet. I couldn’t escape the mental images; all that water crashing in on them. Lucy, especially, could not have survived. My energy filled me up, expanding my insides until it was forced from me, along with continued screams of outrage.
I shot everything I had into the blond Walker. My energy was irrevocably tied to my pain. The walls began to shake as dust fell from the roof. The stones groaned as they began to shift free. The room around me was crumbling to the ground.
Despite the depth of my pain, the ache in my heart and the burning in my eyes, I could not sustain the flow for long. I collapsed again, and as I fell forward my arms cushioned my face before it hit the floor. At that moment the walls came down. I waited to be crushed under the heavy stone ceiling, but nothing landed on me. I sobbed uncontrollably. I was so tired and the shock of my loss crushed my ability to fight. Bruising grips encircled my biceps and lifted me to my feet.