Crais(68)

There went that brilliant plan.

“Try it with me.” Talina stepped forward, her brown eyes determined.

I shook my head hard. No way. Hell no. I’d almost broken Fury.

“I don’t know how I connected with her, and I sure as anything don’t want to be draining you to separate us.”

Talina shrugged. “You have to practice and I want to understand what just happened.”

And just like that she drew water from the nearby ocean, funneling it toward us. It formed a whirlpool around her, even though she was on dry land. I’d never seen her do that before. She now stood surrounded by hundreds of liters of ocean water.

Colton took a step forward. “These half-Walkers are kick-ass,” he said, reaching out a curious hand.

He was opening his mouth to say something else when he touched the swirling water. Without pause he was swept up in the whirlpool, sucked through it and flung far out into the ocean.

I gasped, before remembering he was a Walker. I shrugged, knowing he’d be fine. Talina waved her hand at me, telling me to move closer.

“Did she just see what happened to Colton?” I said, my feet not moving. “I think I’ll stay right here where it’s dry.”

I shrieked as Colton literally appeared out of thin air in front of me. Water dripped off his white-blond hair and he had a huge grin on his face.

“That was a whole lot of fun and my friends call me Colt.” He winked at me.

“Colt can use a form of instant transmission within the same world, so don’t be alarmed if he disappears and reappears in front of you.” Brace threw his friend a dirty look.

Colton smirked. “Just one of my many awesome powers. I just wish I could use it between the star systems. Unfortunately it’s limited within a world.”

“Definitely an awesome power.” I returned his earlier wink.

“Don’t let him suck you in with his charm.” Brace held out a hand for me but before I could take it I felt a hard shove from behind.

I flew past everyone toward Talina, smashing into her. The golden cord sprang to life, connecting to her the same way it had done with Fury. I was now inside the water, standing next to Talina. From my position I could see Brace and Colton. They looked to be yelling at Magenta. She stood there, arms crossed, unworried by the men. She must have been the one who had pushed me; no wonder I’d flown.

Interesting. Talina captured my attention. I can no longer draw from my energy. I can feel it there but it’s outside my control.

I could sense her energy flowing along the cord. I hadn’t realized when I was connected with Fury, but their power felt different. Talina’s was light and cool. Almost like a mist, it glided effortlessly. Fury’s was ... well, angry. It rushed in burning waves, pushing and forcing itself into me. Maybe their energy was indicative of their personalities or the other way around. The power created the personality.

Let’s experiment, I said to Talina. I’ll try to control the water.

I sent energy back along the cord, undirected pure energy. The whirling vortex of water surrounding us increased in both size and intensity. I sent a sharp pulse along and jets shot off in all directions. Talina’s laughter echoed in my head.

What?

Her chuckles continued. Have a look at Magenta.

I flicked my head around to clash with a pair of angry white-blue eyes. She was soaked head to foot, rivulets still running along her body. She’d been directly hit by an off-shooting geyser. Brace and Colton were standing close. Both had the slightest grins on their faces as they tried not to laugh their asses off. I could only imagine how Magenta would retaliate if they let loose their mirth. I gave her an apologetic shrug, but hey, she was the one who had thrown me into this, so she may have gotten what she deserved.

You can definitely increase the intensity, so now we have to figure out how to separate, Talina said.

Before I could respond, Fury, who was back on her own feet, moved closer to us. Talina and I watched in astonishment as flames erupted from her again.

What the hell is she doing? I asked Talina.

I have no idea, but it looks as if her energy is back.

Fury lifted her arm and before I could shake my head she reached into the water and grasped my hand. She was not swept up in the water. Instead a second golden cord flung from me and tethered to her again. The energy inside me changed again: the cool smoothness of Talina mingled with the burning intensity of Fury. And in the centre of that was my own power drawing it in and cycling it around.

Can you both hear me? Fury’s voice echoed in my mind.

Yes, I said at the same time as Talina.

The three of us were connected.

Have you noticed what’s happened? I said, finally paying attention to the visible power-show.