The Curious Fate of Nelsonora (Fractured Universe Series Book 1)

by Marissa Nofer

  I wiped the blood from my face and ran my hands through my hair. It was soggy with blood already. I was panting as I looked at the rows and rows of creatures and realized that my fire idea would never work. I would have to recreate their unique deaths one by one.

  “How many are there?” David asked Edmund.

  “There’s no way of knowing.” Edmund answered.

  “One or two each day, most days, for four years.” I answered.

  “You’ve only scraped the surface.” David realized aloud.

  I threw up violently.

  CHAPTER 10

  David spent that evening asking me about the various ways that clients would have died. Edmund grew more and more uncomfortable as we all faced the reality that the past four years of my life with Connie may have been worse than just letting me end up in a Camp with my memories intact. He was designing tactical strategies and sorting methods to make the process more efficient.

  “Why have her kill every drowning victim separately when we can have her sink them all at once? The same could apply for car wrecks, fires, shootings—” David’s list would have gone on.

  “We got it.” Diana snapped.

  I hadn’t even realized that I’d settled down on the sofa until she draped the blanket over me. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t feel anything. I knew I should care about what he was saying, but I couldn’t even reach out for the glass of water on the coffee table. I felt my throat grow uncomfortably dry, and I wondered if I could just shut myself down entirely. Diana got David away from me, and I heard her lecturing Edmund in a hushed, angry tone.

  “Stop licking your wounds about not being able to protect her before and get off your ass and do something now before you hear her name in the next suicide list. SHE IS NOT OKAY, ED.” She hissed. I thought she was always bubbly and happy, but Diana was in charge here.

  ***

  I didn’t wake until late the next morning. In fact, I didn’t wake until I heard a familiar voice.

  “You need to wake up now. I came here to make sure you are okay.” Westly said leaning over me. I felt as if it had been at least a month since I’d seen him last. I sat up and threw my arms around him. “I forgot we touch each other now.” He mumbled. Edmund’s eyes narrowed at that. He was standing just inside the doorway, shaking rain off an umbrella. The weather was typically unpredictable in Raven’s Landing, especially as spring gave way to summer.

  “How did you find me?” I asked happily.

  “Edmund came to my house and told me you were here.” He said nonchalantly.

  “You just trusted a total stranger?” I asked skeptically. Westly was sensible, and he had a sheriff for a father. He would not have done something risky like that.

  “I met Edmund a month ago. He was staring at you outside of the shop, and I told my dad to arrest him for stalking an underage girl.”

  “Yeah, that was a fun day.” Edmund added sarcastically. “We didn’t exchange names at the time, but I realized who Westly was, eventually.”

  “It’s still illegal for you to watch an underage girl through a window if the window is at the registered address of a private residence.” Westly continued.

  “Well, I’m glad to see you now.” I interrupted him, glancing at Edmund gratefully.

  “Oh, you’re awake.” Diana said, smiling as she came out of the kitchen. I watched Westly’s face as he first saw her. His eyes grew huge and his jaw dropped slightly. I’d never seen him take an interest in a girl before. “Hi, Westly.” She added when her eyes met his. If I wasn’t mistaken, she was blushing at his reaction to her.

  “I brought your birthday present. Your hair looks weird.” Westly said as he switched his attention back to me. I realized he had never seen the extent of my bedhead. He handed me a small box. By the size, I guessed that there would be a friendship bracelet or a key chain inside. During our freshman year, he gave me a sexual assault whistle. I opened the box and found a train ticket that could cover an unspecified one-way route. I broke down crying. I had spent so much time feeling guilty for leaving Raven’s Landing and leaving Westly. I hoped that he would eventually understand why I needed to be far away from Connie and clients who could come to me no matter where I lived here. He already did. He was encouraging me to do what would be best for my own well-being.

  “Do you have cramps today?” Westly whispered loudly. I shook my head.

  “Your present made me happy, and also sad that I have to leave my best friend once we get this zombie or shan mess all figured out.” I explained.

  I realized at that moment that my newfound duty to kill the shan wasn’t just a punishment, but an honor if it meant protecting Westly and everyone else.

  “Edmund said that you have a big mess to clean up, and this is happening because Connie forced you to exploit nature.” Westly mentioned in a casual tone.

  “That pretty much sums it up. That was why I was able the kill that zombie… or shan. I guess they’re called shan. The one at the school.” I clarified foolishly as if he might have forgotten that.

  “So, we already know you can kill them, and I can help.” He nodded.

  “No way. It’s super dangerous. I don’t want anyone helping me.” I protested.

  “Tough shit.” David said, as he emerged from the hallway. I looked around at the four of them reacting in agreement and realized I would not have a choice in the matter. I had an abundance of backup.

  ***

  We waited for darkness. I was standing outside with Edmund who now had guns strapped to his body. He was an incredible sight dressed head to toe in navy like an alarmingly attractive color-blind burglar. David exited the house wearing only a pair of cut-off shorts I was certain were the same sweatpants. He was barefoot, and I didn’t even want to ask why. They armed Westly with a modified baseball bat and he wore his noise blocking headphones. He’d already told his father he was visiting me overnight. So much for routine.

  Diana seemed to have missed the memo entirely as she walked outside wearing denim shorts and a floral tank top. She looked like she was headed to a day spa. Edmund muttered, “Christ” under his breath and rolled his eyes. I had my hair tucked under a beanie. I was dressed normally in jeans and a striped blue t-shirt. The shan blood had somehow stained my hair, and it was lightening more and more each time I looked at it. David didn’t seem surprised by it, and it only happened to me. He and Edmund had got covered in the blood as well, with no issues. I worried my hair would fall out next time, so I kept the hat on to prevent any more blood touching it.

  I was carrying a duffle bag full of tools of the trade that Edmund had reluctantly given me. David handed me a flashlight. “Identify them. Tell us how it needs to go down. We will make it as easy for you as possible, but you have to make the kill yourself.” He reminded me. He was wearing dark glasses at night for god knows what reason. “Oh, also try not to scream when I change.” He added.

  “When you change what?” I asked. We were hurrying towards town at this point. David grinned and swiftly transformed into a wolf. I was sure it had to be a little larger than wolves were ever meant to be. I froze mid-step. I looked back at Westly who seemed completely thrilled, and Edmund who looked unimpressed by the display. Diana just rolled her eyes.

  “He does that a lot” She said distastefully.

  “That’s incredible!” I exclaimed in amazement. “Where is he going?”

  “He’s going to catch you some shan.” Westly admired. Before anyone could respond, I heard a howl in the distance and knew I needed to get ready.

  David, the wolf, came sprinting back with a squirming body dragging from his mouth. He threw it down at Edmund’s feet and nodded gruffly to me before running off again.

  “He makes it feel like I’m cheating.” I admitted, realizing what an asset he would be to this process. Edmund wasn’t thrilled by my comment, and I didn’t know or care why as I tried to get a good look at the shan’s face.

  “Decapitation by building collapse.” I said gr
imly. I opened the duffel bag and found the same axe I’d floundered with before. Edmund turned the shan face down and nodded to me. It only took one whack. The body was bloated and brittle already. It went pale quickly and David was already back with another one. A woman who would have died of a ruptured small intestine causing sepsis.

  “How do I simulate that?” I asked. Westly shrugged, and Edmund was pensive as Diana handed me a knife.

  “Under the belly button. Above the crotch,” Diana advised. It took two tries before the shan stopped moving and went pale.

  “Why are they called shan?” I asked, panting.

  “Shouldn’t. Have. Angered. Nature.” Edmund responded. “It’s a versatile term for the many ways nature can punish us.” I gave an unenthusiastic thumbs up as I still struggled to catch my breath. Serial killers must hit the gym daily.

  Luckily, the next two shan would have died of natural causes related to old age, so stopping the heart or lungs did the trick easily enough. David had already taught me how to do that one at a time without even touching them. I groaned quietly as I realized my part in robbing them of the long lives they were meant to have. All three of them tried to comfort me at one point or another, and each refusal for comfort became more aggressive than the last. I didn’t want to feel better. I wanted to get this over with.

  David returned slowly with the next one. It was a larger muscular male who kept breaking free of his hold by ripping himself out of David’s wolf jaws. When he released the thing over to Edmund, there was a struggle and the shan gave Edmund a huge gash across his upper arm and chest. Edmund got it in a headlock and continued to struggle so I could identify the man. Westly stood in front of Diana with his bat at the ready. I recognized the shan by sheer size alone, but I couldn’t remember anything about how he was supposed to die.

  “I don’t know.” I panicked. “I don’t know. I don’t know.” I kept saying.

  It tossed Edmund off its back and charged towards me. I was holding a knife feebly and my knees were shaking beneath me. David became a human again and quickly slid into his shorts before getting between me and the huge shan.

  “Grab the damn axe!” He yelled at me. I stumbled as I hurried to do as he said. Once I had it David got out of the way and Edmund rushed towards it with his arm hanging limp at his side. David knocked Edmund to the ground.

  “Let her figure it out!” David hollered. “She can handle it.”

  I had a feeling he was wrong.

  I fell backwards as I tried to back away from the massive bloodthirsty shan I was supposed to be killing. It climbed on top of me as I remembered that he visited the shop with his wife who would break her neck in a hiking accident. It tore my shirt in its first attempt to eat me alive and it would not miss again. This guy was something outside of our theories. I never predicted his death.

  “He’s not mine. Help!” I screamed as I saw Edmund break through David’s hold by throwing him over his shoulders with explosive strength.

  “God damn it, David. She’s my wife!” he roared. It was the last thing I heard clearly before the handle of the axe slammed back against my forehead and I blacked out.

  CHAPTER 11

  I woke up long before sunrise the next morning. Westly and Diana were awake playing a board game at the table and enamored with each other’s company. David was pacing the living room floor, and Edmund didn’t seem to be there at all. I worried immediately.

  “Where is he?” I demanded. My voice was hoarse, and my body felt horrible, but nothing was broken.

  “He’s in bad shape.” David answered. “He’s in his room.” I ran in there and saw Edmund fast asleep. His mouth was open, and he snored loudly.

  I kicked the door shut behind me and he woke up, startled. He was shirtless and covered in horrific bruises. “How bad are you hurt?” I asked sternly.

  “It was bad, but this will be gone in a few more hours.” He assured me. I shook my head at his bizarre statement but realized the massive gash in his arm and chest was nearly healed; it looked like it had happened weeks ago. My relief was just clearing the way for my anger.

  “Are you a giant dog too?” I demanded. He realized now that I was fuming and sat up wincing from the effort.

  “Diana and I are healers. We don’t die easily.” Edmund explained.

  “You left that out.” I fumed. “You also left out the part about us being FRICKEN MARRIED!”

  I turned to leave the room, and he jumped over the foot of his bed to block the door. He was down on his knees in front of me. “I will tell you everything. I will tell you anything.” He promised. “But please understand that I spent the better part of four years in a glass cage being ripped apart and experimented on by the Renly Foundation scientists who think they can bottle up genetic traits and market them for profit. The only thing that kept me going was the hope that you would still be alive when the war ended. I scoured the country to find you, and someone stole our life from you. I am terrified that every single thing I want to say will send you running.” He was shaking, and unshed tears broke his voice.

  I was quickly learning that my emotions responded to Edmund with or without my memories on board. I pulled him back up and led him to his bed. He needed to rest, and I needed to know what my life was before, but I still felt frustrated and I wasn’t sure what it was towards exactly. I felt betrayed by my own mind. I climbed onto the bed and lay down next to him considering my words carefully. “Edmund, I need you to tell me everything of significance that I should know. Today. It’s now or never for this conversation. I can’t promise you a marriage based on one week of insanity, but I care about you and Diana, and I won’t be running anywhere.” I told him gently.

  “Your parents were complete heroes. Your father was a brilliant genetic researcher, and your mother was gifted with her magic. Your father could shape shift like David—” Edmund began.

  “That’s why you said he was a beast?” I gasped.

  “He was a beast among beasts.” Edmund assured me. “He graduated from the Renly Institute before he met your mother. From what I understand, they had a whirlwind romance and married shortly after meeting one another and facing off with Renly scientists for the first time. Your parents have what we call bloodline magic because they were descended from the original families that created shapeshifters and the magically inclined women who could withstand being their mates and masters.” I held up a hand to interject again.

  “What does that make me?”

  “You are a master and maker of beasts.” Edmund answered. “Which means you have supernatural abilities, and the genetic potential to give birth to a shape shifting son or a daughter like you, but only if you partnered with a shifter.”

  “Like David.” I added. Edmund nodded uneasily before continuing.

  “I have books for you. They belonged to your parents and when they taught you everything about your abilities, your mother used each of these books. They are littered with your father’s notes from his research. He found other people with similar abilities to make sure their lives weren’t as difficult as he and your mother had to endure.” Edmund explained. He was excited to tell me all of this, and I was captivated.

  “How did I meet you?” I asked.

  “Your father found Diana and I when we were twelve years old and took us in. He helped us understand what we were, and why our parents weren’t up to raising us.”

  “Why?” I asked cautiously.

  “Our mother was Emilia Renly. She had quite an obsession with your father, and she single-handedly caused the war on genetically abnormal individuals. She attempted to change our genes in utero and ended up creating another variation of abnormal to despise. She gave us up before our third birthday. Your father found us in an asylum that later became the model for the government camps. Designed by Emilia Renly.”

  “How old are you, Edmund?” I asked. I decided not to dwell on the small detail of his biological parent essentially being the Hitler of our lifetime.

 
; “I’m twenty-one.” He smirked as I worked out the numbers slowly. My head was still pounding.

  “I’m older than you!” I marveled.

  “By several months.”

  “So, I was twelve when you met me?” I guessed.

  “You were the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I was too scared to speak to you for almost a year. I made things awkward for you and you were constantly becoming more beautiful as time passed and you grew up. You were taller than me until I turned fifteen. You had other admirers and I was sure that you hated me until you kissed me one day when you were seventeen. I think it was just to spite your father, but it changed things.” Edmund said.

  “Did my dad approve of us together?”

  “It thrilled Isaac that you didn’t pick a shifter. That was his biggest fear for you. You picked someone he knew well, and someone he knew he could terrify if need be. When I asked him for your hand, he told me to go get your mother first. He had so much respect for her, that he wouldn’t make that call on his own.” Edmund recalled, admiringly.

  “What was his problem with shifters? He was one himself.” I pointed out.

  “More often than not, the mothers don’t survive childbirth. Unless they have a girl… in which case it’s fifty-fifty.” He admitted. “Isaac was terrified that you would be a boy, and he sterilized himself to avoid having any other children. I don’t know the details, but he still had nightmares from the hours before your birth. Even when I knew him.”

  I didn’t respond. I could have listened to details about my parents for days on end, but one question kept pushing to the center of my thoughts.

  “Am I different?” I asked, sheepishly.

  “We all are. That’s why the war left us like this.” He answered with a vague gesture to everything.