Walker Saga: Nephilius Part 27

Lallielle slipped her hand into his, and he was instantly reminded of the moment he had formed a mating bond with her. The happiest instant of his life. She'd never forgive him if she knew what he'd been doing, the ways he'd manipulated all of them for the past twenty years. It didn't matter that this was out of his control. He should be stronger; he should have figured out a way to fight them. Thankfully, after so many years together, she didn't pry too deeply into the small parts of his mind that he kept separate from her.

The calling came again, like a vise of pressure forming around his skull. Pain was no issue. He welcomed the punishment, but the voices that never stopped in his head they were driving him crazy. Making it impossible to think or focus on anything else.

He leaned closer to Lallielle's ear. "I have to leave for a short while, darling," he murmured. "Tell the girls I'm sorry. I'll try to be back in time for the celebration."

As always, his most perfect mate just smiled at him and kissed his cheek. "They understand, my sweet. I know you wouldn't leave unless it was important. I love you."

Her final words almost broke him, because he knew it was true. She did love him. And he was completely undeserving of her love and trust.

"You're my ... everything." He brushed her silky hair off her face. "Call for me if anything happens." They touched foreheads, and then, rising to his feet, he left the ceremony.

He moved around to the back of the house, away from prying eyes, and opened a doorway. He didn't step into it straight away; he fought back against the pull. His hands were tightly clenched as he dug into the ground. He shoved the voices from his mind, working so hard to find a way to expel them. They continued to beat at him, reminding him that they were all he had now, reminding him of the list of terrible things he'd done to his family.

Starting with his influence of the prophecy, which had resulted in Lallielle sending Aribella to Earth. That was the first blackout he'd had, waking with no memory of twelve hours of time.

After this occasion, when they'd rolled his mind for the first time, they'd left him alone for many years. The next major event was when he helped Que free the first Seventine. And that's when everything started to fall apart.

Unaware of his actions, he'd been so happy when Aribella returned to them, not realizing the s.h.i.+t-storm he was dropping her into. He hadn't known that he'd been the one to open the portal to get her back to First World, or that he'd kidnapped Lucy, and revived Olden with stolen energy on Earth. He'd saved the life of a woman who had tormented and stabbed his daughter in the chest. He should have torn her to shreds, but his actions were no longer his own.

It wasn't until he absorbed the influx of that traitorous Walker energy on Spurn that pieces of his memories were unlocked. He'd finally had the power to remember and he'd fought his controllers then, but it was too late. He'd never had a chance.

He clawed at his face in desperation as he continued to pace in front of the doorway. So many horrible things he'd done. Facilitating the possession of Brace. Planting false prophecies in Lucy's head. Keeping the half-Walker girls away from each other, because together their strength continued to increase. Manipulating Jedi into giving them the wrong incantation for the ritual of four; the Gai princeps had no idea he'd done that.

The list went on and on. But the worst thing was the moment he'd encouraged Aribella to break the melding bond to Brace. His controllers had wanted it that way, because together those two were stronger than any couple that had, and would, ever exist in the Walker world.

And his little girl had been beyond resilient, showing a strength of character that he clearly could not find. Despite the pain, she'd sacrificed her love and soul for the worlds. And it killed him that it was all for nothing.

Their manipulation of Aribella had been a small turning point. Josian had managed to regain some control of his actions. His anger was a fuel he used to fight them. Recently he'd been attempting to fix things, planting little ideas to keep the girls on the right track. But these rebellions were too few and far between.

The vise pressure increased on his head. His breathing became labored as he fought again, but his feet started to move toward the doorway. They were laying on the heavy now, and he had no choice but to follow where they were leading him.

Walking through the vacuum, he stepped out into the stone cavern, looking neither left nor right; nothing interested him here. This was his place of torture. He moved along the path, one huge foot stepping after another. And then he stopped before them.

Tenni glided forward. "Our bonded one, why do you fight us so?"

He dropped to his knees before his lalunas. Their power and bond washed over him, and his mind became pliable putty for them to manipulate. Sometime in the past hundred years they'd started to crave that which was not theirs to crave. They had planned all of this to coincide with the convergence of the worlds. And Josian feared that there was none that could beat them, although he had a small flicker of hope inside that the seven girls had a chance.

Josian had tried to warn Aribella about them, but the best he could do was over-exaggerate the extent of their powers, hoping that when she found out she came at them with everything she had. Yes, the lalunas were immensely strong, but they still had to follow the laws of the universe. There were ways to beat them if the girls could outsmart them. And the fact that Aribella had her own, not-yet-crazy laluna was a wild card that he had managed to keep hidden from Tenni.

The lalunas had a hive-like mentality. Tenni was their queen of sorts, and she controlled the rest. They looked separate, but in reality it was one big consciousness that had expanded into many different creatures.

"Tell us what has been happening?" Tenni encouraged, and Josian's mouth opened without any effort from him.

"Aribella will come to you and ask to reform her melding bond with Brace."

Tenni tilted her head to the side. Ancient eyes which were very alien stared at him. "We cannot let that happen. They are too strong together. It tips the final battle in their favor."

Josian liked this. "How will you stop them?" he asked. "Aribella is determined. It would take something serious to keep them from melding again."

Especially Brace; he would move mountains to claim his mate.

"You know we can't become directly involved in this battle. We can only set up the chess board and hope the pieces move where we want them to."

Lalunas were original powers. They could not directly influence the end of the worlds. But they could set it up so others did the dirty work. It was a loophole they were taking advantage of.

"Does that mean you can't stop them?" He tried to keep the hope from his voice.

Her tinkling laughter rang out. "Oh, dear one, you're precious. Do not fight us. We promise this is for the best. The worlds are a mess. They're no better than warring animals. This will give the energy a clean slate. It will be reformed. But Walkers will still exist, none will be lost."

He tried to appeal to their common sense, to their need for balance. "The Seventine will be free, and they'll take all the energy. They'll destroy everything."

She shook out her long hair. "No, they will be re-imprisoned. They're but p.a.w.ns." She stepped closer until they were practically face to face. Josian was still on his knees. "And don't you worry about Aribella and Brace. We will make sure that bond is never reformed."

A single tear escaped the corner of Josian's eye. He would kill himself if he thought that would stop the lalunas, but in reality he might be the only one who stood a chance of thwarting their plan. He just had to figure out how to get around his direct orders to let no one know of them. Maybe if they found out themselves, that would lift the secrecy geas placed upon him.

He was released then, the vise grip loosening on his head and body.

"Go now, dear one, and bring your daughter back here. We need to ensure no accidental reforming of the bond occurs."

Josian stumbled up. Growls were building inside his chest, but he managed to keep his anger from exploding. He strode in long, strong steps from the room. The lalunas had just made a fundamental mistake, revealing their fears of the melding bond between Brace and Aribella. He opened a doorway back to Angelisian. The key to beating them was to reform the bond, and somehow he would figure out how it would be done. He didn't care about the consequences. Now he just had to find the strength.

Please, if you loved this book, could you do me a huge favor and post a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Reviews are so valuable to independent authors and I'd appreciate your feedback. Jaymin .

About the Author.

Jaymin Eve loves surrounding herself with the best things in life: a good book, chocolate and her two little girls. She's been writing for about ten years and now it's settled into her blood and she can't get it out. Not that she wants to.

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