“Is he having a rest already?” I finally broke the silence.
“His affinity is for natural elements. Minerals, dirt, rock, and stone, all of those found in the base of planets,” Brace answered me.
And then I could see it for myself. A huge crevice was spreading through the area, surrounding the second and third of the Abernaths. I knew it wasn’t much more than a distraction, but it was still impressive.
I turned back to watch my father and Que. I’d had just enough training to see that Que was in a class of his own as a fighter. It was apparent where Brace got his ninja smoothness. The man flowed from one movement to the next without pause. I was relieved to see that Josian was holding his own, but he couldn’t keep it up against that unwavering onslaught for long.
“Josian knows Que’s weaknesses. We’ve practiced for this,” Brace reassured me, probably hoping I’d stop chewing my nails to the bone.
Lallielle stepped up next to me. I hadn’t seen her much lately, and I wondered how she was handling the stress. Using my free hand, I gripped hers tightly. She smiled but didn’t take her eyes from Josian.
“He’s just so good,” I said, caught up by Que’s amazing fight.
“He’d want to be; his sole focus in the last few thousand years has been becoming the supreme commander of this star system.”
I’d thought my life sucked growing up. I’d bet having a father like that made mine look like the ideal childhood.
“Your father will be fine, darling. He’s not without skills of his own.” Lallielle ran a comforting hand over my curls.
“I hate this. I never imagined that upon finding my parents I’d be thrust into a universal battle. And that I’d be the reason for all this fighting –”
I let my whining drift off as I caught sight of Talina standing alone. Damn, I needed to be grateful for the gifts in my life. Talina had just lost everything.
“Sorry,” I muttered. “I’m actually happier than I’ve ever been. I just feel guilty.”
“It’s not your fault that you were born, and that’s all it comes down to. The circumstances of being a half-Walker have dictated this heartache in your life,” Lallielle said, her voice breaking a little at the end.
She sniffled once, but I couldn’t see any tears. I let her tuck me under one arm. Brace had to release my hand so I could hug into her properly. She smelled of lilac and cinnamon, scents that had always been familiar to me, and before now I hadn’t known why. Pulling back from her warmth, I forced myself to focus on the fight. For all the buildup and anticipation it seemed to be progressing rather slowly. It looked like there was more verbal and mental sparring than physical.
“They seem afraid to actually touch each other.” Lucy piped up.
She had a point. The three on each team were staying close to their own side. Besides Grantham lobbing rock torpedoes randomly around.
“Yeah, that’s why Walker battles happen rarely. We’re too powerful. Many of them end before they even begin.” Brace was our expert, and I hoped this fight also turned into a non-event.
Que and Josian separated from their groups again, stepping forward to meet in the middle. They were arguing, but I was too far away to make out any of it. Josian’s head spun once in our direction, and the fury on his features made every hair on my body stand on end. I’d never seen him this angry, even when he’d destroyed stalker-Walker on the beach.
He struck out at Que, and not with fists, but with power. Energy blasted throughout the arena and everyone in the vicinity hit the ground hard. And we stayed down. I wasn’t hurt, but I couldn’t pull myself up from the floor. Brace had stayed standing, but he was the only one I could see from my semi-facedown position.
What’s happening? I screamed at him, hoping something would get through all this energy surrounding us.
I felt as if I could see the streams in the air; it was heavy and strong and I was starting to feel very claustrophobic.
Well, Josian just dissolved Que’s second and third lieutenants, and right now is directing an energy stream. We’re just getting the residual side effects.
I thought Josian said he wouldn’t do that again.
This is different to what he did on the beach. That was absorbing energy; this is simply blasting them apart, right down to the cells.
Brace reached down a hand and pulled me up, and the moment he touched me I could move through the pressure.
If you’re stronger you can overwhelm them with energy and they can’t hold onto their cellular shape any longer.
Then what happens? There seemed to be a lot of variances to this immortal thing.