Spurn Read online

  His eyes locked me in, his gaze intense.

  As I pulled my hand away I reminded myself to breathe. My distraction had at least resulted in him looking a little less murderous, but it had left me all girly and flustered as usual.

  “Quiet, Gladriel. I know you have history here but your first instinct should not be to kill.” As Ladre turned back to us, he missed the flash of hatred that shone in her cold yellow eyes.

  If I was him, I’d be watching my back for sure.

  I examined her more closely. What was up with her attitude? What had we ever done to her? Or was she just a bitch? I knew it happened; sometimes people are just ass-hats.

  “We can’t leave yet; the energy we used to arrive on your world is currently unavailable to us,” I said, not without a little annoyance. “So instead of killing us, maybe you can just house us for a short time. You know, as a second option.”

  “I will take responsibility for them while they are here. Until they leave, they will be by my side.” An emerald-haired male appeared from the middle of the group.

  Gladriel spun around. Her pink features flattened into irritated lines. “Raror, what are you doing?” she hissed at him.

  “They just said they cannot leave, and you say they cannot be allowed to roam on their own, so logic dictates that they will need an escort while they are here.” He stepped closer, his hair flowing behind him.

  Ignoring the drama, I continued to observe closely. All of the Spurns had long hair, at minimum to mid-back, but those who spoke out and carried an aura of being in charge had hair that reached to their knees. There were four distinct hair colors, but no variances within their tone. And all of the four hair colors were exactly the same shade, none lighter or darker, none with streaks or fading. Did they age? I could see some discrepancies in their appearance, but there were definitely no very young or old present.

  It was like watching an intensely three-dimensional movie. I had so many unanswered questions, but clearly flicking to the end wasn’t an option. And, although it had taken awhile, I found it less challenging now to understand the lisping way they spoke. Well, I’d at least stopped wanting to say ‘Huh?’ after every second word.

  Gladriel appeared frozen, her eyes mere slits across her face. Her features remained stone-like as she turned around to speak again.

  “My son has decided that the Earon clan will house these other-worlders.” She spat the words at us. “This is about Talina,” she muttered.

  If I hadn’t had Walker hearing, I’d probably have missed it.

  Who was this ‘Talina’?

  My heart started to race as a woman stepped up to Raror and smiled.

  Could it actually be that easy?

  She was different from the average Spurn, taller than most – though still shorter than me. She had striking features. Her smooth skin was creamy rather than pink like the rest of the Spurns. Her face was round rather than elongated, and she had long lustrous emerald hair with flecks of black. Unlike the others, she had brown eyes in a sea of yellow, and eyelashes and brows, whereas the others had none.

  Lucy caught my eye, her head starting a continuous nod in the unusual woman’s direction – in case I’d missed it the first five times she’d done it.

  I laughed silently; subtle just isn’t in Lucy repertoire. And, if I wasn’t mistaken, we might just be staring at my half-Walker.

  Chapter 3

  When most of the arguing had subsided, they led us out of the clearing and toward the beach. During our time I’d noticed a few new Spurn characteristics. They were very cliquey, mainly staying in their hair-color group. My half-Walker was the only exception, sometimes crossing paths with Ladre, the blue-haired leader who’d first confronted us. Was something going on there? They certainly exchanged lots of quick flicking glances, but there was definitely no touching.

  As we arrived at some small lowset buildings, most of the inhabitants dived under the eaves. I wondered why until a face full of salt water assaulted me. Judging by the misty spray pouring from all sides of the structure and the relief on their faces, they needed to stay wet.

  Whilst I enjoyed my observations, documenting as much information as I could, most of my attention was focused on Talina. I was afraid to lose sight of her. I probably didn’t have to worry, though. In between glancing at Ladre, she would often catch my eye, as if she was keeping tabs on me too.

  Everyone turned as Ladre moved onto the first step of the building.

  He cleared his throat, and all noise ceased. “We are still going in to have a council meeting. We must discuss other options now for the destruction and theft off the Sacred Isle, if it’s not connected to these foreigners.”

  Pink faces shone with respect as they faced him.

  With one last smile at his people, he turned and stepped inside.

  Gladriel climbed onto the top step. “Raror, you must stay and mind your ... new friends. Do not let them wander; they are not welcome on this isle.” With a toss of her head that made her emerald hair shimmer, she entered the building.

  Small groups broke away from their clans to follow them into the structure. And just like that we were no longer prisoners or suspects, which was suspiciously trusting of them.

  “Well, she’s a pleasant piece of work, isn’t she?” Lucy’s eyes crinkled in annoyance as she glared after Gladriel.

  “Yes, I am very sorry; my mother is not the most even-tempered Spurn. She doesn’t like strangers, and unfortunately many of the collective reflect her attitude.”

  We spun around to face the half-Walker. Talina had wasted no time approaching us, stopping a few feet away on the sand. Her voice was soft and gentle, without the lisp.

  “So what are you really doing on Spurn?” she continued, her question more prying than her soft manner of speaking indicated.

  “Well, there’s a high possibility that we’re actually looking for you,” I replied. I was on a deadline, no time to pretend otherwise. “We need to tell you about your father and explain a rather crazy situation.”

  Her eyes widened. I could tell my words had shocked her. But I had her interest and complete attention. And also Raror’s, who was at her side in an instant.

  “Talli, there is no need for you to speak about this. I promised you I would look after them until they could leave. Let’s not stir anything up.” He had to look up to meet her eyes.

  It was hard to distinguish expressions on his hairless features, but I guessed he was pleading with her.

  She laid one of her pale hands on his arm, her fingers lacking the obvious membranes that I could see between each of Raror’s digits.

  “Raror, I have suffered my entire life for weaknesses that are not my fault. If it wasn’t for your protection, I have no doubt my half-status on Spurn would have resulted in my death.”

  I doubted that. Walkers were hard to kill. But, who knew? Judging by what I’d seen of Gladriel, she was a woman who would definitely eat her young.

  Talina must have noticed my expression. “On Spurn, it is survival to the extremes. My mother would have been the one to kill me if it wasn’t for the strength of Raror.”

  She had just taken a reasonably accurate guess at my thoughts ... unless.

  “Can you read my mind?”

  I had to constantly remind myself that people on worlds other than Earth had this ability. Josian had worked with me to develop a strong shield of protection, but maybe they could circumvent that here.

  She shook her head, the breeze lifting the flowing emerald locks. Her hair was amazing; it almost appeared to be moving with a life of its own.

  “I have not attempted to. That would be unforgivably rude. If you are worried, do not be afraid. Whenever I have brushed your mind, I have felt a strong barrier. In fact, all of you appear to be well protected.”

  I glanced at Lucy. She remained a puzzle. No one had figured out why her thoughts were safe. Being from Earth, and without active energy, she should have no shields.

  Talina con
tinued to stand before us in a meek and timid manner, as if she expected us to start yelling at her. I hated to see anyone so downtrodden; it was as if she’d been kicked every day. Shifting my heavy mass of salt-ridden curls, I tried to think of something to say that might make her feel better. I remembered her words to Raror earlier.

  “You know, Talina, I think the rest of Spurn has it the wrong way around.”

  She frowned, the confusion evident on her face.

  “You aren’t the one with weaknesses; it’s them. They just haven’t realized it yet.”

  “What exactly does that mean?” a blue-hair who had been lingering nearby lisped at us.

  “Well,” I drawled in annoyance, fixing the interrupter with my famous glare. “Where should I begin? From my very short observation, all of you seem to linger under these ocean-mist things, and yet I see that Talina remains here and is looking remarkably dry.”

  I shrugged, letting them deduce the rest. Talina smiled. I think it was the first time I’d seen any solid emotion from her.

  “Yes, I can remain out of the water indefinitely, but if the average Spurn allows their hair and body to dry out they could die,” she said, sounding far too innocent, as if she would just give an honest answer to anything we asked.

  Judging by the angry glares, the other Spurns did not look happy to have that particular vulnerability exposed to us.

  “Bang!” I said loudly. “Number one way you’re weaker. And number two, Talina’s sturdier on land.”

  From the way she moved, she was obviously more co-ordinated than they were.

  She nodded. “It’s strange. This is the first time I have ever stepped foot onto solid land and, whereas I fall behind in the ocean, here I’m comfortable and, well, not a freak.”

  I found it amusing that on this planet her similarities to First Worlders was a disability. We must have looked like true aliens to the other Spurns.

  “And how does any of this help the half on a world that is predominantly water?” The freaky lenses flicked over his yellow eyes as he spoke.

  Their attitude was really starting to annoy me, especially the way he referred to her as ‘the half’ as if she didn’t even warrant a name.

  “Well, fish-boy, have you ever considered that she won’t always live on this world?” Lucy, who’d been standing close by, challenged him.

  “We are not fish, you other-worlder imbecile.”

  Lucy tossed her blond curls. “I disagree: you have gills, flippers and are slimy. Sounds like fish to me.”

  He shifted forward, to do what I have no idea, but he stumbled before he reached Lucy, sprawling at her feet. Lucy let a brief grin cross her lips, before turning her head in a disdainful manner. His friend dragged him up quickly, and they left without incident, moving to the other side of the building. Our men, who had tensed for a moment, relaxed again beside us.

  Another smile graced Talina’s impassive features. “Thank you,” she said, “but you will find yourself in many challenges if you continue to defend me.”

  Lucy and I shrugged. That was nothing new for us. Brace looked at Samuel and in sync both snorted with laughter. Come on. We weren’t that bad.

  “Shut it, douche-wads.” Lucy kicked sand in their direction.

  Talina shuffled backwards, as if unsure of what we were doing or afraid of our joking. I patted her arm, meaning to be reassuring, but instead I was shocked at how cool she felt to touch.

  “That’s amazing,” she said, rubbing her bicep, “you’re even warmer than me, and I’m warmer than Raror.”

  Gee, fish-boy must feel like an ice cube.

  “So what can you tell me about my father?” She finished her words in a rush and there was a glimmer of hope in her brown eyes. They were not the same liquid chocolate of Brace’s. They were much lighter – but still lovely.

  “Let’s sit on the beach.” I indicated the way with my hand.

  This was going to be a bit of a story, and I really wanted to move away from all the curious eyes.

  She nodded. “We have to stay close to the ocean for Raror.”

  Right, I’d forgotten all about our ‘guard’. He was standing a short way from us, but I could see the unhappiness on his face. He didn’t object when we turned to leave the main group, only pausing at a distant but unbroken thrashing sound from the tall trees to our right. No one moved or showed any sign of worry; they just faced the noise, waiting to see.

  Should we be panicking? Was this an attack?

  I couldn’t exactly take comfort in the Spurns’ calm faces. I was pretty sure they only had two emotions: nothing and angry. Eventually, as the forest rustling grew louder, I could also make out the sound of heavy panting.

  A blue-haired Spurn stumbled into sight.

  He was bleeding heavily from a large jagged wound on his right side. His blood, which was almost purple in color, had soaked his loin cloth.

  He lurched in a swaying motion as he reached the group.

  “Tell Ladre ...” he gasped, “tell him the creature ... it’s back ... Jonah dead.” The words were disjointed but understandable.

  The group didn’t hesitate. A few dashed into the building, and others took off in the direction from which the bleeding Spurn had come.

  “You girls stay here. We’ll see if we can assist.” Samuel leant down to give Lucy a brief kiss.

  Brace locked me in his gaze and nodded. Lucas smiled his usual charming, obnoxious grin before falling into line. With Raror leading the way, our three men left us standing there on the beach.

  I looked at Lucy. “Did they just? – seriously – did that just happen?” I knew I wasn’t making much sense, but I was annoyed.

  “I’m not sure, Abbs.” She shook her head. “But I think we were just dismissed to sit on this beach like little women and, like, knit scarves until the heroes return.”

  Talina looked at us in confusion. “They are just protecting you, right?”

  I shook my head, hands on my hips. “No way, not on our world. We girls have the right to kick butt as much as the men. We don’t sit on the side-lines for anyone. Come on, let’s go,” I said, waving my arms in a forward motion.

  In my experience, men usually got into more trouble than they prevented.

  Talina hesitated briefly, but with an almost unheard sigh she pushed her beautiful long hair over her shoulder and joined us.

  We stepped around a few female Spurns who were crouched on the ground tending to the injured male.

  Before we could set of, our journey was intercepted by the council streaming out of the building. Since we had no idea where to go, we simply fell in behind them, although it was frustrating keeping to the slow pace of the less co-ordinated Spurns. I breathed through my exasperation, taking my time to observe our surroundings.

  Lucy must have been doing the same. “Where are the waiters that bring you those little drinks in coconuts with umbrellas?” she asked as we jogged past gorgeous expanses of white sandy beaches. The grains twinkled enticingly in the sunlight.

  I sighed, giving her a half-smile. “Yes, why didn’t we land on one of those islands in the ‘Caribbean’ that we read about in the compound. Instead our island paradise is full of blood-thirsty fish-people who want to kill us and use our bones for their soup or something.”

  “Word, Abbs. Aunt Frannie has a lot to answer for.”

  I thought I heard a tinkling laugh from my other side, but when I turned, Talina was silent. As a group we dashed between huge plantations of trees. They were tall, with thick trunks and a few scattered leaves up high. They reminded me of bamboo but with thicker stems.

  The weather was balmy, the sunshine not hot, but everything still felt warm. As we finally burst free of the trees, we could hear shouts ahead of us. We’d ended up at the easternmost point of the land. At first all I could see were endless oceans, where the water looked calm, blues and greens intermingling across the vast expanses.

  More shouts drew my attention and I saw a group of men standing wa
ist-deep in the shallows. All around them were ominous trails of what looked suspiciously like blood.

  “What’s out there? What are they fighting?” Lucy asked as she stood next to Talina, both of them scanning the scene.

  My eyes widened as I caught sight of Brace and Lucas. They were further out than everyone else, towering head and shoulders above them. Suddenly, from the darker depths of the water, just beyond the blood, rose ... well, a freaking monster.

  “Uh, Talina. What the crap is that?” I gulped.

  In sync, the three of us took a step back.

  “I don’t know. I have never seen anything like that in the waters before. It is almost like our water-dragons but ... it has been changed.” She brought up both hands to grasp at her face.

  The creature had many limbs, like an octopus, but it was scaly with a mix of colors: dark stormy grays and dirty greens. Its head was massive, with a long snout and rows of sharp and lethal-looking teeth. It was twelve feet tall, and at least that in width. Snaking out one of its limbs, we simultaneously gasped as it wrapped the length around Lucas, its movement so quick there wasn’t time for Lucas to react. As it lifted him into the air, I took off toward them.

  Must have taken a crazy pill today.

  “Why do you always have trouble remembering to run away from the monsters?” Lucy cursed as she grabbed at me and missed.

  I sloshed through until I was thigh-deep in the water, surrounded by four-hair-colored Spurns. In front of me I could see Ladre and Brace working together to free Lucas.

  Ladre gripped his trident and dived down to stab at the creature. Its green goopy blood sprayed around, adding another layer to the film of muck surrounding us.

  Brace shot off small energy balls. The moment he released one, he already had another gathered in his hands. In a perfectly co-ordinated move, Ladre stabbed in deep and Brace shot an energy ball from his left hand straight at the beast. With a strangled roar, the creature flinched and the tentacle that had been holding Lucas retracted. He dropped with a splash into the deeper water.

  “Get him out now,” Ladre ordered over his shoulder.