The Breaker's Promise (YA Urban Fantasy) (Fixed Points Book 2) (10 page)

“I’m not sure what to say,” I admitted.

“That’s unfortunate,” Dahlia answered. “Because it looks like you’ll be doing a lot of explaining.”

I narrowed my eyes, confused about what Dahlia meant; though I did notice Echo drumming his fingers against his desk, which was never a good sign.

“The Council didn’t take this well,” Echo explained. “The words ‘unadulterated disaster ‘ were used more than once. I’m afraid they’ve called on us.”

“Called?” I asked, my face suddenly hot.

“They want to see us,” Dahlia explained in a tone so droll that it took me all the way back to the DeSoto High principal’s office.

“Right,” I shook my head. “And by us, you mean…”

“All of us,” Dahlia answered. “Me, Echo, Owen, you. They’re even insisting we drag Merrin along for the trip. Though, if you ask me, the poor thing is in no condition to travel.”

“The Council wants to see me? Like, me?”

“Yes, like you,” Dahlia answered.

“In the Hourglass?” I looked over at Owen, who, for some ungodly reason, had decided not to tell me all of this in my head.

“Yeah Cress, in the Hourglass. We leave immediately.”

“Immediately?” My voice cracked.

“Is there an echo in here?” Dahlia asked. Echo started to raise his hand, but Dahlia stopped him with a finger and a sharp warning. “Don’t start with me.” Turning back to me, she said, “Yes Cresta. We are under strict orders to set out the instant you regain consciousness and, as you are definitely conscious, we’re already running late.”

“Oh God. We’re leaving now,” I said, looking around.

“Yes,” Dahlia answered. “Unfortunately, we’re leaving now.”

“Wait!” I said, panic rising in my throat. “I need to pack. I need things. I need-“

“Calm down,” Echo said. “Your things have been  packed for you. But, in case we missed anything, you have ten minutes. Get what you need, but get it in a hurry.”

I ran out of the room, back toward my chambers. The hall was completely empty; which probably had something to do with the Council and their instructions. But I didn’t care about any of that right now. I needed to talk to Owen. I needed to get the strait of what was happening.

Owen! Owen! Answer me!

But there was no answer. Why wouldn’t he talk to me? Did the Council have an inside track on our thoughts now, and if they did, what chance did we have?

I swung the door of my room open, and started to shudder uncontrollably. This was where it happened. This was where we let it happen.  The room was empty, save for the twin beds that Flora and I slept on, which had been completely stripped. They hadn’t missed anything. The Breakers had run their hands over everything I owned while I was asleep, digging through it and packing it away. A wave of horror rose in my chest. What about the letter that I had swiped from Dahlia’s office? If she had found it in my possession then she’d know what I was up to. I dug through my pockets, but found them to be empty. I spun, not quite sure what I was going to do.

“Looking for these?” Owen stood behind me. His face was thin, tired, and sunken in. The ‘Poe’ letter sat in his hand and, under that, the sliver of Casper’s sweater that I had taken with me.

“Oh thank God,” I muttered, and grabbed my stuff.

“I got them after you; you know, after you passed out. I don’t know what significance the cloth has, but I figured better safe than sorry,” he said, looking at the floor.

“It’s Casper’s,” I admitted. “I just needed to-“

“You don’t have to explain,” he said. “I get it.” He was still looking at the floor.

“Owen, what’s-“

“I didn’t think you were going to wake up,” he said, finally looking at me. His eyes had filled with tears. “I thought you were gone, and that was it. I thought I was alone. And Merrin; she’s still not awake. Do you know what they said, Cresta? They said that there was irreversible damage to her brain. It’s like she’s not even in there. She might never wake up.” The tears in his eyes started to fall down his cheeks. “What did we do? Fate’s hand, what did
I
do?!”

“It’s not your fault,” I said, wrapping my arms around him.

He jerked away from me. “The hell it isn’t! I knew the risks. I knew what could happen, and I did it anyway.”

“No!” I said through gritted teeth. “You will not blame yourself for this! You did what you did to protect me; ‘cause you thought it was what you had to do. And everything would have turned out fine if Flora hadn’t stopped you in the middle.”

“You don’t know that,” he shook his head.

“And neither do you,” I said, taking a chance and brushing his hand with my own. “All either of us knows is what happened. Merrin didn’t deserve what happened to her, but it’s not completely our fault. And who knows, maybe there’s something the Council can do to help her.”

“And what if they do?” Owen asked, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. “What if they bring her out of this? You know what that means.”

Of course I knew what it meant. It meant there was a chance that they’d the information we had been trying to keep from them; that they’d know I was the Bloodmoon.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” I answered. “All we can do now is keep going.  But we have to stick together. You have to talk to me.” I tapped my index finger onto his forehead, letting him know just what sort of ‘talking’ I meant.

“I would if I could,” he answered. “But something happened when you touched Merrin. I can’t communicate with you that way anymore. I keep hitting a wall.”

Great, just what we need; another hurdle to jump through.

“Fine,” I sighed. “We’ll make due. We just need to get through this whole Hourglass thing in one piece.”

“We will,” Owen shook his head. “The Council works the same way all Breakers do; using shade. So long as you can manipulate it, we can make them believe anything we want. We just have to keep our stories straight. We have to stick together.”

“We have to be us,” I answered, squeezing his hand. I wanted to kiss him, if nothing else, just to make him feel better. But it didn’t feel right. Too much had happened. We had done too much. I didn’t deserve his kiss; at least not right now.

Five minutes later, I was following Echo and Dahlia across the lawn in Weathersby with Owen behind me. I wasn’t sure where we were headed at first, but the nearer we got, the more I remembered. I had been here before, to this spot on Weatherby’s grounds.  Echo waved his hands, and the barren area transformed into a bright structure spotted with official looking anchors. This was the holding cell; the place Owen was taken to when he was caught sneaking into Weathersby.

I shot him a look. He cringed, and we both walked into the structure. It was cold inside, so cold that I shivered as I marched down the hall toward the holding area where Owen had been kept.  A familiar sick feeling bubbled up in my gut. It was strange, being in this place; where I witnessed Owen go through so much pain, where I had taken my trip through his memories. I didn’t like being here, and I liked the reason we were here even less.

The sick feeling grew as I entered the holding area. There were five metal chairs with leather straps across them. Merrin sat, virtually lifeless, on the far chair, her head strapped back to keep her from falling forward. Seeing her hit me like a punch in the gut.

“What are we doing here?” I asked, trying not to look at her. “Where’s the bus or plane, or however it is we’re getting to the Hourglass?”

“This is how we’re getting to the Hourglass,” Dahlia sighed. “There are ancient laws regarding the whereabouts of the Hourglass. Only the Council of Masons and their approved representatives are allowed to know exactly where it’s located.”

“But, didn’t you all come from the Hourglass?” I asked, already confused.

“Yes,” Echo answered. “But the transportation modules scramble our sensory perception.” He pointed to the chairs. “We’re placed here and, through means we’re not privileged to know about, we’re transported to the Hourglass. It’s how all field Breakers leave and, if they’re lucky enough, how they’ll all return one day.”

“That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard,” I admitted.

“It might be, but it’s the way it’s been done for hundreds of years,” Dahlia answered.

Suddenly, two men in silver and blue uniforms appeared from the corners of the rooms.  I tensed.

“They’re Council representatives. They’re here to facilitate the transportation,” Echo said, sitting in one of the chairs and strapping himself in.

“Oh,” I flinched. “Nice to meet you.”

“Don’t get too friendly with them. They’re prohibited from interacting with us at all,” Dahlia glanced at the men; one of whom was fastening the strap around her forehead. “I suppose you can never be too cautious. Wouldn’t want to give anything away.”

Owen was next to sit down and I realized that, once again, the Poe letter and Casper’s sweater sliver was vulnerable in my pocket. But what could I do? We were leaving now, if leaving is what you could call it. I couldn’t exactly excuse myself to hide them somewhere. Sitting down myself, I realized I was going to have to hope that no one found them.

One of the representatives sidled up to me silently and started fastening straps around my arms, legs, and forehead. “Cold hands,” I chuckled nervously. Of course, he didn’t respond.

“It’s okay.” Though I couldn’t turn my head at this point, I recognized Owen’s voice beside me. It was calm and comforting. Thank God he was here with me. I remembered what he said to me just minutes before, what he had always told me.

Everything will be okay.

I took a deep breath. “See you on the other side,” I muttered. No sooner were the words out of my mouth that the world started to shimmer. My perception was being screwed with. Things started to spin. I started to feel woozy and, when I was sure my lunch was about to make a return appearance, I passed out.

Three days before he died in my arms, I woke up somewhere I never thought I would be. When I first heard about the Hourglass, and even when I saw it in Owen’s memories, it seemed to me like a far off thing; like some magical land in a fairytale that would never, and could never, actually touch me. Yes, my mother; well, both my mothers actually, grew up in this place and, as a Breaker, it was technically the land of my people. But I had never felt a connection with this place and had absolutely no desire to journey here. Of course, once I realized the Council of Masons were digging around for the truth about me, my apathy turned into a pretty intense disdain. Suddenly, the Hourglass transformed from an inconsequential fairytale to the setting of my nightmares.  So, as I woke up from the trance the Council representatives put me in, the sun beaming off my eyes, I wasn’t surprised to find my chest heavy with dread.

I didn’t open my eyes. I just lay there hoping that, if I kept them closed long enough, then maybe; when I finally opened them, I wouldn’t be where I knew I was. Maybe it would all be a dream. Maybe I’d open my eyes and be back at Weathersby, with Owen standing over me with a platter of bacon and eggs. Or better yet, maybe I’d be back in Crestview, with Mom at the bottom of the stairs and Casper making inappropriate comments with his face planted firmly in his phone.  It wasn’t likely, I knew, but a girl could hope. Besides, I had no desire to start this journey any sooner than I needed to. So I just lay there.

“Excuse me,” a voice sounded after a few minutes. I didn’t answer. “Excuse me. While I understand your trepidation, the change in your breathing pattern suggests that you’re awake. If that’s true, I’m afraid I have to insist that we get going.” Again, I didn’t respond. ‘Getting going’ wasn’t high on my list of things to do today. Besides, my back was sort of achy from whatever transportation we took to get where it was the Hourglass was located.  “Hmm,” the voice pondered. “Oh I know! What it is the baselines say? Rise and shine?”

Whoever this voice belonged to, it was obvious that he wasn’t going to stop. So, in the interest of shutting him up before he started to shake me, I finally opened my eyes. The room I found myself in was bright. The walls were beige and covered with various anchors or different shapes and colors. The furniture looked old; like brown wicker that had been woven together a hundred years ago. Beside me, on a similarly old looking wicker counter, sat a glass of purple liquid and two pills.

“There she is,” the voice said. “I was beginning to think I would have to douse you with something wet.” It was a boy, pretty close to my age, with sandy blonde hair that curled around his neck, tan skin, and deep chocolate eyes.  He wore a simple white shirt that fit loosely and a pair of brown pants so plain that they didn’t even have belt loops. He smiled with teeth so white and straight that it took all I could do not to look away. Whoever he was, he was like the male version of the way I perceived Merrin before I actually met her; California sun kissed and strikingly striking.

“What day is this?” I asked. My throat was dry and the words were more a mumble than anything coherent. Still, the boy managed to understand.

“That’s a silly question,” he smiled. “It’s today, of course.”

“No,” I sat up. My back sang a stiff song as I settled upright. “I mean, how long did it take us to get here?”

“It took as long as it takes,” the boy said. His eyes knitted together and he seemed genuinely confused by the question. I looked around, trying to find something that might inform me, but came up empty. There were no clocks on the walls or the counter, no calendar anywhere.

“I’ve been instructed to ask you to consume the contents of the cup as well as the pills beside it,” the boy said, his smile returning.

“What is it?” I asked, turning toward the counter where the cup and pills sat.

The boy’s mouth fell open. “It’s an electrolyte wash and multivitamins to replenish what you lost in the transport.”

“Okay,” I answered. “Look, no offense. I’m sure you’re great and all, but I sorta wanna see Owen before I drink anything, okay.”

His chocolate eyes got wide. “You are truly amazing.”

“Um, thanks, I guess,” I answered. My head was starting to pound and I winced as I continued. “Look, do you know Owen?”

“Of course,” he answered. “Everyone knows everyone.” His eyes flickered up to me. “Well, for the most part.” He plopped down on the bed beside me. I flinched away, but he didn’t seem to notice. His eyes were bright and his smile was exuberant. “Is that what they teach you out there, to ask questions? Do you ask questions about everything?”

“If I don’t understand something,” I answered, inching away.

“That’s wondrous,” he said, coming forward for every inch I moved. “I hope you don’t mind. It’s just; I’ve never met anyone I’ve never met before, except for babies, of course. The whole thing is very exciting.”

“Never met what?” I asked. My head was pounding harder now, and I put soothing fingers at my temples.

“You’re a whole new person; a brand new Breaker that no one has ever seen before. It’s so exciting. I could even sleep last night knowing you were coming.”

“What? Dude, are you for real?” My words came out even more mumbled now. The pain in my head made everything worse; the light coming from outside, the incessant noise coming from this overgrown kid.

“Of course I’m real? You ask suck strange questions.” Before I knew what was going on, the boy had the cup up toward my lips. “I wish you would drink this. The transport can be rough on people, and this will make you feel the world of better.”

I didn’t wanna drink, but my head hurt so much, and this kid was about as threatening as curdled milk. I took the cup and tipped it back, letting the purple liquid; a chalky nasty thing, pour down my throat. As I swallowed, the idea that, just a little while ago, I probably wouldn’t have thought Flora was very dangerous crossed my mind. I shouldn’t have drunk this, not until I talked to someone I trusted. Still, as the cold chalky liquid spread throughout my body, I started to feel better. My back stopped aching, my throat felt cool and coated and, most importantly, my head stopped pounding.

“Told you,” the boy said, reading my reaction. “I’m Sevie, by the way.”

“Cresta,” I sighed, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.

“I know,” he smiled. “Everyone knows. You coming here is sort of a… big deal?” He pursed his lips playfully. “Did I use that phrase correctly? I’ve been studying contemporary lingo for some time now.”

“You people are so weird,” I said. For the moment, I was so relieved to feel better that I forgot where I was. The room we were in was plain, without a television, phone, or even a closet. In fact, as I took the room in, I realized that there were no doors in it at all; no closet, no bathroom. Even the front door was just a rounded hole in the wall that ran to the floor and exposed everything that was happening to the outside world.  “What kind of room is this, Sevie?” I asked.

He handed me the multivitamins. I put them to my mouth. Though I had already drunk the wash, I was still a little leery about my company. He seemed a little too man-boy to be for real. So I pretended to take the vitamins, but really just cupped them in my hands.

“It’s a recovery center,” Sevie smiled. “Transportation to and from the Hourglass is an ordeal. It’s trying physically, and some people need more time to get over it than others. “

“Where are my friends?” I asked, covertly stuffing the vitamins between the sheets of my bed. “And why is there no door to this room?”

Sevie looked back at where the door should be, back to me, and then back to the door again; as though the question was preposterous. “Doors are instruments of privacy. Privacy breeds secrets. There is no room for secrets in the Hourglass. And your friends are safe. I’d say they’ve probably already woken up, seeing how long you slept.”

No privacy? Lord, was I in the wrong place. What was it with Breakers and their weird ass world views? No love, no privacy, basically no free will; the whole thing rubbed me like a Brillo pad soaked in lemon juice. I’d have said something, but as I looked in Sevie’s eyes, bright and believing, I realized just how little good it would do. This kid
was
for real. He was an honest to God, actual, unfiltered believer. He was an optimist to the nth degree, and nothing I said was going to change that. So instead, I moved on to the other question he raised.

“How long was I asleep?”

“Oh, quite a while,” he smiled. “Longer than most. Though, I suppose that’s to be expected, given that you have no previous experience with – Well, with anything here really.”

He grabbed my hand and pulled me up with all the enthusiasm of a kid dragging his sister down the steps on Christmas morning. “Now come on! It’s time you got settled in, and we’re already running late.”

I flinched as he pulled me up, but there was no pain. I wasn’t even sore anymore. That electrolyte wash was some damn good stuff. The vitamins would probably have had me dancing on the ceiling. Still, I wasn’t sure what I was wearing. The Breakers did have a history of changing my clothes while I was unconscious and, man-boy or not, I didn’t want to go prancing around Sevie in my underwear. As the covers fell away, I realized I had nothing to worry about. I was wearing the same clothes I had on when we made the transport; blue jeans and a pink tank.

Sevie looked me up and down, scrunching his nose. “You’re so delightfully strange. It’s glorious.” He leaned in closer. “And, while I’m sure this is the kind of thing you hear all the time, I just have to tell you how distinct your eyes are.” He stuck a pair of fingers in my face, bringing them close together, like he was measuring something. “They’re just wonderfully symmetrical.”

“Yeah dude, I hear that every day,” I muttered. “I wanna see my friends.”

“You will,” Sevie shook his head. “Come quickly. We’re running late.”

I had no idea how we could be running late, because I hadn’t seen as much as a pocket watch since we’d been here and, for as much as he had talked, Sevie hadn’t mentioned even one unit of time; not minutes, not hours. He hadn’t even told me what day it was.

Before I could ask him where it was we were so late getting to, Sevie had pulled me outside. The sun was bright; brighter than I ever remember it being. I shut my eyes tight and let him guide me forward. When I finally could open my eyes, I found myself staring down at brick roads. Looking up, I saw the Hourglass that I remembered from inside Owen’s mind. Rounded, vintage looking buildings, they were dull in color and without dressing of any kind.  People walked the streets, all dressed in exactly the same flowing white shirt and brown pants that Sevie was wearing. They stared at me as I passed by, sort of the same way the people in Weathersby did the first night I got there; only this was a thousand times worse, because there seemed to be a thousand times more people.

They were everywhere, on every side of me; their eyes burning into me. “What are they staring at?” I asked as Sevie pulled me through the crowd. Did they know the truth about me? Had the Council of Masons gleamed that I was the Bloodmoon the moment I passed through their hallowed walls; their huge cinderblock, atmosphere blocking walls?

“They’ve never seen you before,” Sevie said flatly. “It’s exciting.”

“Apparently,” I muttered. Sevie made his way through the gawking crowd, marching toward the unknown with me in tow. A flash of panic hit my mind as I remembered the precious cargo in my pocket. Still being pulled, I dug around with my free hand and found the Poe letter and Casper’s cloth still there; seemingly untouched. “Where are we going?” I asked.

I was half sure he would say the Council of Masons as we made a hard right at one of the brick road intersections. When we turned, I saw several horses and buggies trotting down the street toward us. Inside, Breakers sat, wearing the same white and brown ensemble and chatting with each other. As they passed, I realized that, in addition to clocks, I hadn’t seen a car in the Hourglass either.

“Where are we going?!” I repeated.

“To get you settled in,” he answered. “Traditionally, Breakers without their immediate family are moved in with their closest blood relative, but the Luna line died out some years ago, and the Blut line is contesting the legitimacy of your lineage, so you’re going to be housed somewhere else until it’s all sorted.”

Given that what Sevie just said was like a landmine of information, I wasn’t quite sure where to start. The Luna bloodline, my bio mom’s family had died out? How does an entire bloodline die out? More troubling, Sevie’s tone made me think that sort of thing wasn’t uncommon. More than that, my bio dad’s family was apparently going around saying I wasn’t his; which was such a Maury thing to do. Still, I didn’t care about that. Screw them. I didn’t even know them. All that mattered to me was that Owen was safe, and that the Council of Masons wasn’t ready to punish him for something that was my fault; by birth or action, I suppose it didn’t matter to these people.

“Where am I staying, some foster house?” I asked.

Sevie made a sharp right at another of the intersections, revealing a much more rural area. Somehow, just a hundred feet and a right turn away from all of these industrial (if quaint) buildings, sat acres and acres of farmland. Small, plain farmhouses dotted the area. Sevie turned and laughed at me. “There are no foster homes here, Cresta. We’re all connected in one way or another. The idea that someone wouldn’t have a place to go is unfathomable to us.”