Chapter 4
I was standing in my room on First World staring at four pale-pink walls. Lallielle appeared in front of me and I realized I was dreaming.
“Mom!” My voice sounded a little disjointed. This was different to my dreams on Earth.
She stepped closer to me. Her long black hair flowed down her back and her green eyes, lighter than my own, were shadowed with concern.
“Aribella, thank the gods. I’ve been trying to dream-span you for days.” She sounded almost the same, maybe less vibrant, a little more one-dimensional.
I couldn’t move toward her, but speaking was easy enough.
“We were captured as soon as we landed. We’ve just managed to convince them to let us free ... or kind of under house arrest.” I still couldn’t move. “Have you spoken with Dad?”
I needed to ask him about my powers.
Lallielle shook her head. “No, I’ve tried a few times, but wherever he is, I cannot reach him.”
No wonder she’d been upset; she hadn’t been able to reach anyone.
I sucked in a breath. “Is that normal?”
She shook her head and shrugged.
Great answer.
Since I didn’t know how much time we had, I decided to tell her about my energy.
“So my powers have sort of shorted out ... since I opened the initial portal. I’ve only been able to use them one more time.” I raised my brows, the only thing I could move. “They’re kind of temperamental.”
She gasped. “I don’t like that, Aribella. You’re stuck on Spurn?”
Her face was turning into one big wrinkle of concern. She was probably flashing back to the time she couldn’t find me on Earth.
“This must have something to do with your halfling nature. Not even Josian could guess what we were going to produce.”
I laughed. “Don’t you worry about that. You produced all kinds of awesome.” I’d teased half a smile out of her. “And, yes, we are stuck here for the foreseeable future, although I’ve already found the halfling. Tell Frannie that planet one was as easy as she promised me. Although the natives are a little blood-thirsty and there’s a crazy-ass creature in the water.”
“Aribella,” she admonished me. “I’ll let her know, and if she has any additional advice I’ll pass it on next time I manage to contact you.”
“Why couldn’t you contact me until now?” Were everyone’s powers crapping out today?
Her image froze then.
I waited an extra second, before trying to move forward again. I swore angrily as I was once again contained. The scene began to fade, and with a pop, I was back inside my own head. But at the same time I wasn’t there alone. My mind flooded with a repeated phrase and even though I had only heard it just one other time, I had no problem recalling every word.
Children of Gods, born unknown and alone, the seven are needed to eliminate. Take heed, for baby will not live till four and one year unless removed from the world here.
The youngest and strongest to collect.
Lost and alone, a god-man is the key.
Gather the Halflings, stone and fear.
The end of days is written in mineral.
It was a warning – or prophesy, if you could call it that – from Francesca. I wanted to open my eyes and stop the chanting of words but I couldn’t.
How had I jumped from Lallielle to this? I guess, if I was honest, until this point I hadn’t really spent much time thinking about these words. I didn’t put much faith in prophesies. Although most of what was there made sense, it was about the seven half-Walkers and how we were the key to preventing the end of the world. But gather the stone and fear? Written in mineral? It was too vague, and that was part of my pet hate of soothsayers. Just give me facts, not this crap that can be interpreted in twenty different ways.
I wrenched my mind free from the chant and forced my eyes open. I didn’t have time to get lost in those words. I needed to do my job, and that was to collect Talina and move on to the other worlds.
Sitting upright, the last echoing vestige of the words faded from my mind as I stared at my surroundings.
I was camped out on the ground, but it was soft. I realized I lay on some type of mesh throw rug. The room looked like a living area, and if my slightly queasy stomach was any indication, the ground was shifting under me. I stumbled to my feet, my right hand pressed firmly against my chest. My throat tightened, unexpressed tears and emotions brimming, threatening to burst free.