First World - A Walker Saga Book 1

The days that followed were both restful and frustrating.

  Lallielle and Josian were yet to let me far from their sight. Apparently that little incident was too close for comfort, even for a Walker. I have little recollection of my trip back, and thankfully I was completely out for the knife removal.

  With some help from Josian’s energy, my recovery was progressing. The puckered pink scar on my chest ached on and off, but I was alive.

  I awoke from my afternoon nap to find Lucy perched on the side of my bed.

  “You know, Abbs, I could live in your wardrobe.” She lay back, sighing wistfully. “And the blue stone is back again.”

  Rubbing my eyes, I sat up, working through the stiff pain that shot through my chest. Lucy was dressed in an ankle-length, floaty white dress. It was perfect for the balmy weather of First World. She’d already been making up for all our years without a massive walk-in wardrobe and had taken to wearing at least two different sets of clothes a day. The dress, generally thigh-high, looked gorgeous on her blond beauty.

  Glancing to my left I could see the laluna nestled in the pillow next to mine. The blue pulsed, and I could feel the warmth it created. No matter how many times Josian took it away, it just kept reappearing. The little Walker world had claimed me.

  Shifting it to my side table, I looked around the room. “Where has everyone disappeared to?” I hadn’t seen anyone all day. Odd for my overprotective parents.

  Lucy laughed. “I have no idea. Sam took off with your parents earlier, something about having to meet an old acquaintance.” She shrugged.

  “How are things going with Samuel?” I asked her.

  Since my revival from the dead, I hadn’t spent any quality time with my brother. He appeared to be avoiding me and, not wanting the emotional drama, I hadn’t bothered to care. I’d had enough of my own emotional breakdowns.

  At least the last few nights I hadn’t being dragged awake by my own screams. I continued to dream of my own grisly death, sometimes stabbed again; in others it was a broken neck, and Olden was always the murderer. Thankfully, the image of the dead guard, my knife in his throat, was fading. Though my last confrontation with Chrissie never seemed to disappear. Lucy thought all of the girls from the compound had scattered from the warehouse. By the time they got me into a doorway to First World, none had been around.

  Lucy again distracted me from my dark thoughts, her lovely smile spreading across her face. It’d been absent too long. I missed my usual snarky friend, but she was getting her groove back.

  “Honestly, he’s wonderful ... awesome ... and too sexy for his own good. I would never have made it through my kidnapping without him.”

  The scars crisscrossing Lucy’s back had not faded much. She wouldn’t talk about it, but I knew she’d been tortured for information, on more than one occasion.

  Then she surprised me. “You know whenever Olden took me away, Sam would fight through his bars to stop her. And then when I came back into the room, worse for wear, he talked to me for hours. His voice, his stories, they allowed me to escape for a time.”

  I hated it when her blue eyes held that empty horror.

  “I’m pretty sure his stories and lovely husky accent got us all through the day.”

  One of the few things Lucy had confided was the reason for Samuel’s unique husky tones. His vocal cords had been damaged during his year of imprisonment and torture.

  “I still can’t believe I dreamed of those cells and then ended up there, Abbs. Sometimes I’m afraid to fall asleep, afraid I’ll dream a new catastrophe.”

  I laid a hand on her arm for comfort, but I couldn’t contain my own worry. I’d had my own weird dreams that night, and really wasn’t keen for them to come to life. I knew it was to punish us that Olden deliberately targeted Lucy for the worst of the treatment. A familiar white flash of anger threaded through me. Olden was dead, and a person could only be killed once, but sometimes I wished that wasn’t the case.

  “Luce, there is no doubt a true bond exists between you and Samuel.”

  The type of unbreakable bond forged in battle.

  She smiled, the sheen of happy memories in her eyes. I pushed down my brief flashes of jealousy.

  I hadn’t seen Quarn or Brace since arriving back on First World. Quarn had gone back to his home. He wanted some time with Hallow’s things – which Lallielle had stored for him – and to mourn properly. I’d given up questioning Brace’s absence. There had been no word from him since we’d returned. Sometimes the ache in my chest was from more than a big-ass knife wound.

  I had a sudden thought. “Did I tell you Brace has seen me naked?”

  We both needed some light-hearted relief. My blunt statement had its desired effect. Lucy whipped her head around so fast that she fell off the bed.

  Climbing back up, her face was a mask of disbelief. “You and Brace ... what? Had sex?” Her mouth parted in shock.

  I laughed, one hand holding my chest to ease the pain.

  “Of course not. What type of girl do you think I am?”

  Lucy shrugged. “One that takes advantage of all the hotness that is Brace.”

  I shook my head, and before she could create any other elaborate scenarios, I explained what had happened that day. As expected, she got a good laugh out of the entire scenario.

  Lucy changed the subject as she rolled back onto the bed. “You know, Lalli’s finished my room. She let me pick the wall color.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Bet she regretted that decision.”

  Her laughter sprang forth. “It’s amazing. Turquoise with chocolate brown accessories. Just how I always pictured my first room.”

  Tired again, I rested against my pillows, ignoring the familiar need to escape.

  Leaning down, I sniffed a few times. I really needed a shower; when the smell starts to bother your own nose, you know it’s time.

  “Lalli said, when you’re up to it, I can go clothes shopping.”

  I nodded, closing my eyes. “Sounds great, Luce. You know how much I love to shop.”

  Despite my sarcasm, I was happy she was there and loving everything. It went a long way to soften the memories of her time with Olden.

  She’d gushed to me for hours about how gorgeous the house was, and her room and Samuel. She was happy.

  My door opened. Lallielle and Josian crowded into the room.

  I smiled at my parents. My relationship with Josian was wonderful. He was huge and intimidating and passionate, but I already loved him. Maybe it was genetic, but I didn’t care.

  After the stabbing, he’d been crazy protective, barely allowing anyone except Lallielle near me, which might have had something to do with Brace’s abrupt departure. Even Lallielle and I were ... better. I was growing up, accepting her tough decisions. And she was giving me the space to come to terms with it.

  “Hi, where have you been today?” I looked between the two of them as they dropped into armchairs on the other side of my bed.

  Lallielle leaned forward, excitement across her nobly gorgeous face, green eyes alight.

  “We had to speak with the town chair about possibly throwing an event for your birthday.”

  I shook my head as I sat up again. “No ... seriously. No way. I don’t want to be the center of attention.” I looked toward Josian in desperation. “I’d rather be stabbed again.”

  Lallielle shook her head. “Don’t even joke about that, Aribella.”

  Josian chuckled. “Sorry, baby girl.” He’d taken to calling me that constantly. “I’ve been outvoted by your mother.”

  Rolling my eyes, I groaned. “There’s no way for me to get out of this, is there?”

  Lallielle shook her head. “No, Aribella. You need to be revealed to First World. And ... it’ll be fun.”

  I stared at the ceiling. “I heard that hesitation. What are you not telling me?”

  She smiled brightly. “Nothing. I just want to show you off.”

  I gritted my teeth. Luc
y was practically bouncing next to me she was so excited. “Next week, we’re getting new dresses,” she said.

  Lallielle clapped her hands together as she stood. “I’ll start prepping the ballroom immediately.” She walked off, muttering about how much she had to do.

  I turned panicked eyes on Josian. “Reel her in, Dad, or I won’t be responsible for my actions.”

  Leaning over, he kissed me on the forehead. “I’ll see what I can do. Don’t lose it yet.”

  With a wink, he took off. I groaned. This event was all I’d hear about from Lucy and Lallielle until my birthday.

  Later that week, after managing to shower and change, I was downstairs in the living room, sprawled back on plush couches so soft that I sank into their depths. Lucy was on the floor, stuffing her face with popcorn.

  “Your newfound love of junk food is astounding.”

  She couldn’t answer; her mouth was too full. Any attempts to speak simply spluttered bits of kernel from her mouth.

  We were watching a movie. Apparently First World didn’t have an entertainment industry, so everything we had was pirated from some network connection to Earth. Don’t ask me how it worked. Samuel was the Flecho here, dominating all things technological and manmade. They were the same movies we used to have back home. I smiled as an animated ogre argued with a donkey. This was one of my old favorites. Now this world made perfect sense to me.

  Samuel appeared in the doorway. I averted my eyes as he swept Lucy up off the floor for a kiss. For some reason, the pair couldn’t go more than ten minutes without touching. Lucy was the calm to all the broken that was Samuel. She didn’t seem to mind, but I worried that he might be damaged beyond repair.

  Lucy was breathless and flushed. She smiled into his face. “What’s up, my sexy Sam? Everything okay?” She seemed to like teasing him more when I was around.

  His hard features gentled. The only time I ever saw his mask fall was around Lucy. “Yes, I just wanted to see you.”

  He looked over his shoulder toward me. I stared resolutely at the screen. “Mom wants you, Aribella. Something to do with color sashes.”

  I groaned. It never ended. What center piece? Help with the seating charts for people I had no idea about. And there was no point avoiding it. She was tenacious.

  The pain was minimal now, so without much distress I strode out of the room, relieved to be escaping their distinctive murmurs and soft laughter. I was halfway down the hall when I realized I’d left my necklace on the couch. I’d taken it off earlier that day to show Lucy both the moonstale and my marks. Clutching at the neckline of my shirt, I suddenly felt naked.

  Turning, I made my way back to the room. But at the sound of conversation I paused outside the slightly open doorway. Lucy and Samuel were in the midst of a discussion, their tones somber.

  Lucy’s soft voice drifted out to me. “I’m just worried about her, Sammy. She’s not sleeping well, despite what she thinks. And I hate that no one knows her future.”

  Awesome. She was discussing me with my idiot brother. I couldn’t wait to hear his reply, considering my serious doubts about his intelligence.

  “From what I have seen of Aribella, she’s a strong person. I have no uncertainty that anything thrown her way she’ll deal with.”

  Hmmm, maybe he was smarter than he looked. I was shocked to hear that almost positive-character-trait observation from Samuel.

  “When I was locked in the cage, all I could think about was getting to Abbs. And then watching that bitch Olden stab her, thinking she was lost to me again, forever this time ... it changed me fundamentally. I can’t live in a world that Abby isn’t in.”

  I was hearting Lucy so much right now.

  “I understand. Abby, in a manner, is your soul mate.”

  “Hell, yeah! She’s my BFF, soul mate, coolest chick I know.”

  Samuel laughed. I took a staggered step back. I hadn’t heard happiness from him before. For a moment I had a brief glimpse of the light-hearted friend Brace had lost.

  “But before you make any crazy plans, I need you to remember I can’t live in a world you’re not in, Luce. The darkness I existed in – until they opened that door and led you to the cell next to mine – it was an all-consuming darkness. I was a changed person, I was destroyed, no longer Samuel. But now, you’re my light.”

  There was silence for a few minutes. I was not even going to imagine what they were doing.

  Lucy’s voice sounded teary. “Abby worries the kidnapping was too much for me to handle. But it was actually the best thing to happen.” She cleared her throat. “You are also my soul mate, Sammy. I feel it in the ache of my heart, in the urge to be by your side for eternity.”

  “It does feel strong, and maybe it is even unnatural the way this has happened, Luce. But I can promise you will never regret choosing me. I’ll be that man for you, the one who wipes your tears, kills your spiders, chases away the fears, fights the darkness, and never ever leaves you.”

  Okay, now I was kind of hearting Samuel as well. And I really didn’t even like the big douchewad.

  Silence descended over the room again, maybe a few murmurs but I couldn’t make out any more words. They were going to be here forever, but I really wanted my necklace.

  I walked back ten steps before moving forward again. But this time I was loud and whistling as I moved closer to the door. I knocked once before strolling right in.

  They were snuggled on the couch. Lucy looked a little dazed as she smiled at me.

  “Hey, Abbs, that was fast. What did Lalli want?”

  I shook my head. “Nah, I was almost there when I realized I’d forgotten my necklace. You know I hate being without it now.”

  Lucy jumped up immediately. “Where did you leave it? On the couch after you showed me your un-freaking-believable Walker marks?”

  I nodded once, a small smile turning up the corners of my lips. I loved my marks too.

  Lucy scrabbled around in the corner chaise before emerging triumphant. I’d been studiously ignoring Samuel, but he caught my eye as I turned. There was something buried in his light-brown depths. And for once it didn’t seem to be animosity, maybe more curiosity.

  I took the necklace from Lucy, and blew her a kiss before I left the room again to find Lallielle. My thoughts were troubled, worried about everything that had happened, but mostly that which was still to come.

  Lallielle was in the entrance room. The white and burnt-orange couches had been pushed aside to make room for a massive table, which groaned under paper, material samples and other crap.

  I slouched into the orange single-seater. Lallielle hadn’t even noticed my arrival. She was engrossed in a book of material samples.

  “Alright, Lalli, hit me with these sash choices,” I finally said.

  She didn’t flinch. My arrival hadn’t been as unnoticeable as I’d thought. She couldn’t have picked up my thoughts. My shield was solid. Josian had worked with me until my head ached, but I was shielded.

  Lallielle didn’t answer immediately, busy finishing up something, so my perturbed thoughts went back to yesterday’s training session. I’d eventually asked Josian about his strange expression when he’d first met Lucy. Generally, I felt as if I could read him pretty well. Highly emotional, his feelings were out there for all. But the moment I asked, his expression shut down. He’d said she reminded him of someone, which was totally not the whole story. But that was all the information I could get before he kicked my butt back to training.

  Shaking off my worries, I waited patiently. Eventually Lallielle finished what she was doing and spun around, book clutched in her hand. As she opened her mouth to speak, we were interrupted.

  Crystaline, the head housekeeper, had appeared in the doorway. “You have a visitor, Madam.”

  Without preamble, a woman stepped into the room. Lallielle gasped, the book falling to the carpeted floor. I sat upright in my chair as I recognized her: the woman from Lallielle’s memory.


  Her waist-length white hair was braided off her face, a few strands framing her pale skin and white eyes. Those eyes were creepy as creep, and to complete the creepiness she was covered from head to foot in a white cloak.

  “Francesca?” Lallielle moved closer, disbelief in her voice. “Where have you been?”

  The woman reached out a hand, sorrow in her expression. “Lalli, I’m so sorry. Sister – please forgive me.”

  I attempted to pick my jaw up off the floor. This was my aunt. Why had no one ever mentioned that to me?

  Lallielle clutched the outstretched hand. “Why did you leave then, Frannie? I needed you. Aribella needed you. I thought you were dead.” Her voice shook. “I never even told Aribella that you were her aunt. I believed it to be easier since she was never going to meet you.”

  Lallielle and I were going to have words soon about this protecting me for my own good thing. It was annoying.

  Pulling her arm free, Francesca crossed the room and sank into a chair. She looked exhausted.

  “I’ve traveled non-stop for two days to reach you, Lalli. Just give me a chance to explain.”

  Taking a calming breath, Lallielle sat next to her.

  “I know how angry and hurt you are. I just need you to wait for the end of my story before you berate and question me.”

  I found it disturbing to try to track eyes without color, iris or pigmentation. Pure white. As I had that thought, she faced me. I decided it was safe to stare somewhere in the middle of her face.

  “Aribella. I knew this would be the moment we met officially. How I wished things would be different for us all.” She tugged nervously on the long strands of free hair. “From the moment I touched you as a baby, three different paths for your future opened up to me. I’ve spent the rest of these years hoping I made the right choice, and watching the future shift and change.”

  Lallielle shook her head. “I don’t understand. You told me the poem thing. You never mentioned different outcomes.”

  “Always the same, little sister: impatient. Let me tell my story. That poem appears to be technically correct, but I only gave you half the information.”

  Lallielle sat straighter, emotions ready to burst forth. But she held her tongue, simply glaring at her white-haired sister.

  Francesca was looking at me again. “This is about the Walkers. More importantly, the original Walkers.”

  Josian walked into the room. With his hearing and general sneakiness, he’d probably been listening the entire time. For some reason the man was everywhere and knew everything. He leaned against the far wall but didn’t interrupt.

  “The worlds are dying. The negative energy from First World is moving into the ether of the six youngling planets. Which of course we already know. But I’ve figured out why.” She looked toward Josian. “Someone’s freeing the Seventine.”

  He grew even more rigid as something passed between them.

  I looked around the room. “Is this the same Seventine you mentioned earlier?”

  Josian shook his head. “That’s just a theory. This is pure legend at this point, Frannie.”

  She glared. “You of all people should know that everything legend has a basis in truth, has an origin and a history.”

  “Don’t you tell me what I shou–”

  “Two are free.”

  Josian shook his head. “That’s impossible. There are none left with the knowledge to find them.”

  “Someone has figured it out,” Francesca said, before turning to me. “They must be stopped. I have seen that you’re important, although you cannot do it alone.”

  I didn’t know what to say.

  A sigh drew Francesca’s attention. She reached over to separate Lallielle’s tightly clenched fists and hold both hands.

  “I have a confession to make.”

  I couldn’t be sure, but the white of her eyes looked pleading.

  “When you brought Aribella to me, I didn’t see her early demise. I saw that she had to grow up on Earth. I couldn’t tell you the truth, Lalli, for you loved Aribella too much and would never have parted with her for anything less than her death.”

  A single tear trailed down her cheek. “It pained my heart to hurt you, but there was so much more at stake than you even realized. It’s literally the fate of the entire universe.”

  The room erupted then. Pretty much everyone started yelling at once. Except for me. I just sat there feeling bemused.

  “How could you not tell me the truth, Frannie? And why did Aribella need to be on Earth? What’s this great reason you ripped our family apart?” Lallielle’s loud voice wasn’t the only one.

  Josian boomed: “How do you know of the Walkers and Seventine? These are private stories. Who have you spoken with?”

  “I told you, Sam. Didn’t I tell you something was happening here?” Lucy had somehow made her way downstairs to hear the last part, Samuel right behind her.

  “Yes, Luce, you told me,” he replied in his typical dry manner.

  She looked at me. “And let’s put a little more pressure on Abby. Save the world, Abby. Oh, no. Wait. If you’re not too busy – save the universe.”

  “Aunty Frannie?” Samuel looked shocked. “I haven’t seen you since I was a child. Where have you been?”

  Ignoring the loudness echoing around the room, Lallielle was now muttering in another language, something she tended to do when upset.

  I leaned forward in my chair. “What else did you see?” I don’t know why I asked but at least the room quietened again as Francesca spoke.

  “I disappeared because if I didn’t go into hiding I’d have been captured and forced to reveal my visions for the future – altering everything. I foresaw my return, at this exact date and time.”

  Lallielle smiled, just slightly at this. “Frannie is one of the only natural-born soothsayers. It’s among the rarest talent. Her skills have always been in demand, although she’s equally admired and feared.”

  “So the hair ... eyes ... part of the package?” Lucy leaned forward. She was now sitting on the floor with Samuel.

  Lallielle nodded and Francesca continued. “I stayed hidden, waiting, watching events unfold. But now I’ve returned to reveal the information that could spell the difference between survival and annihilation.” She shook her head in frustration. “I don’t see everything, just glimpses and they keep changing.”

  “Why does it change?” Lucy took the words out of my mouth.

  Lallielle laughed derisively. “Because free will exists. Frannie sees a path, but people change their minds, make other choices, and everything shifts.”

  “Yes. I saw one future for Aribella at first. But the moment Lallielle sent her away an entirely new path opened.”

  I rubbed a hand over my face, and up to the tension forming in my temples. “So what am I supposed to do now?” Since apparently it was outside my control.

  Francesca shook her head. “You need to stay here until you turn eighteen. As I told your mother long ago, this is the enlightening of your Walker powers.”

  I shook my head. But she continued anyway.

  “But after this you have to find the other half-Walkers girls.”

  “Excuse me? Half-Walkers.” Josian snorted out his disbelief. “Aribella’s the only one.”

  Francesca shook her head. “No, she’s not. There has been one woman of power on each planet to carry a half-Walker female to term.”

  “So you’re telling me I need to travel to other planets, which are vastly different to any world I’ve ever seen and what … just stumble across these girls?”

  Francesca’s eerie smile crossed her face. “Exactly ... you catch on quickly, Aribella.”

  I looked around the room in puzzlement. “And if I don’t do this, the world will end?”

  She nodded again.

  Excellent.

  “I’ll check my schedule and get back to you.” I stood to leave the room, needing some air. As I walked out the front, I could still
hear them arguing through the open window.

  “I’m going with her,” Josian said loudly.

  “You cannot go, Josian. You need to start rallying your people. I see an epic battle. We already have the smaller chance. There are too many outcomes for a clear future. But we need all the Walkers.”

  Lallielle sounded angry. “I just got Aribella back. She was stabbed in the chest and now you expect me to send her off alone, to strange planets.”

  “No, Lalli. I see a few of her friends along for the journey.”

  Lucy’s voice came from behind me. “You’re not going without me, Abbs.”

  She’d joined me on the front porch. I was sitting on the railing, my feet dangling, so she leaned in next to me.

  Josian’s voice rose again. “I can’t even sense Aribella. How will I find her or know if she needs me?”

  “The half-Walkers are cloaked to Walker powers. It’s a safeguard. You can’t sense her, but neither can any other Walkers. The only reason you’ve ever caught any of her thoughts was through close proximity and a paternal relationship.”

  Josian continued to roar: “She’s too precious to risk in this endeavor.” He really was like a red-maned lion at times.

  Lallielle’s voice was calmer. “If Aribella wants to do this, we’ll let her go. She’s strong. She survived Earth for years without us. This is probably why I had to send her away: to make her strong enough for this challenge.”

  There was silence for a minute, before Josian spoke again, quiet and deadly. “Know this, soothsayer, if anything happens to my Aribella, if she doesn’t return to me safe and sound, you will not need to worry about the Seventine. My rage will destroy the worlds.”

  Sighing, I took Lucy’s hand. We walked back inside to face the angry and concerned room.

  I glanced between everyone. “I want to say hell no and eff this. But since we’re talking the end of the worlds, it’s looking like I have no choice but to find these half-Walkers.”

  No doubt that was going to much harder than it sounded, seriously.

  Lucy glared around. “I’m going with Abby, though, and no one better stop me.”

  Samuel stood then. “Over my dead body. If Aribella chooses to leave, well that’s her prerogative, but ... Lucy cannot be risked.” For once he was stepping away from his reserved personality.

  Over his dead body? “That can be arranged, ass-hat,” I muttered.

  He glared before turning back to Lucy. She simply raised her eyebrows. Samuel took a moment before reaching up to massage his temples. He pushed his dark hair back.

  “I’ll be accompanying the girls,” he said unhappily.

  I laughed out loud. Samuel glared his hatred. I shrugged. What? It was funny.

  I turned to Francesca. “So where do we go first?” Besides Earth, I had no idea about the other youngling planets.

  “The day after your enlightening, you need to leave. You’ll head to Spurn.”

  “Spurn? What’s that supposed to be?”

  Samuel spoke up then. “A planet that’s ninety-five percent water. I’ve heard their inhabitants are hybrid fish.”

  “Uh, Luce and I aren’t exactly strong swimmers,” I said, as I worried at my bottom lip.

  Lucy fidgeted next to me.

  Lallielle looked concerned. “What do you mean?”

  I shrugged. “We’d drown in a bathtub – if it was too deep.”

  Samuel added more. “There’s a section of land. It’s small, housing their materials for construction. No one resides there, but we can use that as our base. The air content is the same as here and Earth, so we’ll be able to breathe.”

  “How do you know so much?” Lucy asked him.

  He shrugged. “We’re taught of First World’s younglings during our years in the learning centers.”

  Francesca spoke again. “For some reason you have to face Spurn first. But it should be an easy initial task. The order of the planets is clear, but not the reasons for that order. The one warning I do have: don’t spend too long in the waters of Spurn. I sense an unusual darkness.”

  Got to love unhelpful crazy talk from soothsayers.

  “You’re seeing Aribella’s future very clearly, Frannie,” Lallielle said, narrowing her brows.

  “I’ve had almost seventeen years to piece together the facts, Lalli. Plus you know I see family better than I see others.”

  Lallielle shook her head. “Sometimes I wonder why it’s always my family that has to ‘save the world’.”

  Francesca took her hand. “With power comes responsibility. We’ve always known that.”

  Later that night, sleep eluded me. As I rolled over for the fiftieth time to stare at the ceiling, I contemplated how out of control my life was. Needing to escape, I hopped out of bed and stepped through my balcony doors onto the large deck off my room. As I stood at the railings, the cool clean air washed the sheen of restless sweat from my body.

  My room was on the side of the house that faced the ocean. In the light of First World’s bright moon, I watched the cresting waves. I was becoming accustomed to the salty tang of the air. Although at first it had caused my curls to go haywire, after using this spray from Lallielle, I’d almost no frizz. It was magic in a bottle.

  Yesterday I’d discovered swimming wasn’t quite as easy as I’d anticipated. I’d managed a short paddle. My slightly pink shoulders were a warm reminder.

  I squinted into the darkness. There appeared to be a shadow beneath the overhanging cliffs. I watched for a few moments, but saw nothing more. I could have sworn a person was standing there, watching me. Shaking off my unease, I turned to make my way back inside.

  I wasn’t surprised to see Lucy in my bed. She snuck in whenever the nightmares were bad. And we were so used to sleeping close to each other, we struggled with the distance.

  She yawned loudly. “Couldn’t sleep either, Abbs?”

  While the restless nights really affected her, I seemed to be able to go longer without sleep.

  “Not really.” I climbed in beside her. “I enjoy listening to the waves. It’s calming.”

  “Then you must be excited beyond belief that we’re heading to water-world,” she muttered, snuggling into the pillow.

  No, not really.

  Closing my eyes, finally tired, I drifted off. I hadn’t dreamed of First World since we’d been at Deralick’s house. In fact, once the nightmares of killing the guard waned, my nights had been surprisingly dream-free.

  But not tonight. I was tormented with dreams of thrashing in endless water for hours, while boats filled with blank-faced people drifted past me. Shadowy figures rose from the depths, tormenting me with fear, but never fully revealing themselves.

  Chapter 14