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

by Marissa Nofer

  “Just remember, you can do anything. People used to think it was the elements that gave your kind powers. It’s energy. There’s energy in water, fire, air, nature, and all living creatures.” David said.

  I looked at the candle again. There was a tiny blackened nub of the wick left undestroyed by my first attempt. I made sure not to let my thoughts wander, and I visualized a lit candle. A vision of a woman with long dark hair filled my mind. She was singing, but I couldn’t hear it. A young boy entered the room holding a birthday cake with thirteen lit candles. I recognized him as a much younger Edmund. I realized the woman was Abigail. She was beautiful. I didn’t blow out the candles; I just looked at the cake and the flames diminished as if being suffocated. I opened my eyes and saw the candle burning normally. Edmund looked proud and David looked mildly terrified as if he was ready to dodge a full-scale explosion. He’d probably seen enough fire for one day.

  “Does she always trip out like that now?” David asked in a hushed tone.

  “She’s fine.” Edmund dismissed, “She just remembered something.”

  “If my mother had my mind altered, she would’ve wanted to bind my memories to the safest possible ally.” I added unsure of how I knew that information.

  “Your husband.” Edmund nodded approvingly.

  “No—a shifter.”

  CHAPTER 14

  Edmund struggled with watching David tutor me. Magic was very personal and intimate. He made a halfhearted excuse about being tired and went into his bedroom for the duration of the evening. I continued to study the book and take notes of my own in my journal.

  David didn’t seem keen on leaving me alone, and though I was trying to be considerate of Edmund’s feelings, I felt better not being on my own while I explored my wide range of newly rediscovered skills. By the time I felt tired, it was well after midnight, and David gave an exasperated sigh with a glance at Edmund’s closed bedroom door.

  “I don’t know what his problem is right now. I really don’t.” He complained. “He asked me to do this.”

  “I think he’s taking that information as a sign that my mother doubted his ability to keep me safe. If there’s one thing I know about him by now, he’s carrying a lot of guilt for how things went down for all of us.” I answered.

  “What an idiot. Binding the spell to him would’ve meant you were screwed if he didn’t survive the war or the camps. The way your mother designed that spell made sure you would eventually regain your memories. You just had to meet a shifter… or maybe just another master of beasts.” He said gesturing to me. “He should be thrilled you’re going to remember your life from before and all the choices you made.”

  “Maybe there’s something he doesn’t want me to remember.” I wondered quietly.

  “That’s a question for Diana, but I can tell you I’ve never met a man so in love with his wife.” David defended.

  “Diana!” I exclaimed. “Where the hell is she?”

  David looked wary as he swung her bedroom door wide open. It was empty.

  “Any chance she’s staying over with Westly? They seemed pretty smitten with each other.” David pointed out. I shook my head. There was no way in hell the sheriff would let Westly have a girl stay overnight. Moreover, there was no way Westly would sneak around like that.

  David hesitated outside Edmund’s door, and I blew past him to enter.

  “Get over yourself. I need help.” I said, tossing Edmund’s shoes towards him. To his credit, he didn’t even ask what I needed. He was ready in an instant and I realized I could’ve literally led the man to hell and back and he would follow without a second thought.

  “Nelsonora, what’s wrong?” He asked grabbing me by the shoulders.

  “Diana never came back.” I snapped. His face paled, and he grabbed a shotgun from underneath his bed. “Is there something I can do? … to locate her.” I asked desperately. I had a terrible feeling about what would happen next.

  “You’re not ready for that, but I can find her. Don’t worry.” Edmund assured me squeezing my shoulder.

  “I’m going with you.” I insisted. He looked at me severely as he gauged how stubborn I would be on the matter of Diana’s safety. He caved quickly.

  “Yeah, I guess you are.” He nodded in agreement. David was already on the porch in his hobo shorts. He looked antsy.

  “Up or down?” David asked.

  “Up. Definitely. I’ll need a headcount.” Edmund replied.

  David nodded and shifted into a large bird so quickly that I blinked and missed it entirely. I believe he was a hawk, but he was gone so fast I couldn’t be sure.

  “She’s still in town.” I said.

  “How do you—” Edmund trailed off as he saw Diana’s hairbrush in my hand and a cut across my palm dripping onto the porch steps.

  “I read about this earlier.” I admitted. I could tell I wasn’t very good at this. I should be able to pinpoint her location within a few feet according to the parts my father’s notes translated. I could only tell that she was still in Raven’s Landing. Somewhere. Edmund took my hand, and we hurried into town. He was trying to heal it, but it wasn’t working, and he swore. A bird flew overhead a few minutes later and made three distinct sounds.

  “There are three guards patrolling tonight.” Edmund whispered to me. “Do you have any updates on her location?”

  “She’s moving. It’s hard to sense her.” I sighed.

  “There’s a guard at the end of this block.” Edmund explained as we entered the downtown area where the shop had been. “Can you distract him?”

  “Yep.” I answered quickly.

  “How?” Edmund looked worried.

  “You won’t like it.” I said as I ran off down the street.

  “Goddamn it.” He hissed.

  The guard looked about Edmund’s age. He was pacing around nervously with his gun drawn. The shan outbreak had done little for his nerves. I made sure he saw me coming, so I didn’t have to worry about him being startled and shooting me.

  “Why are you out right now? Do you have a death wish?” He demanded.

  “My boyfriend dumped me. I couldn’t stay there anymore.” I lied, wiping a fake tear.

  “He sounds like an idiot.” The guard said eyeing me. I giggled and smiled at him and tasted bile in the back of my throat. The guards were responsible for incalculable atrocities against people like me.

  “Do you have someone back home?” I asked coyly.

  “I do. She sure isn’t here though.” He grinned.

  “I am.” Edmund growled from behind him. The guard yelped and within seconds Edmund had disarmed him and slammed him against a wall between two buildings. He had the shotgun barrel pressed into the guard’s throat. No part of me questioned how serious he was about pulling the trigger if he didn’t get his way.

  “Bitch.” The guard spat at me as he realized I wasn’t alarmed by the irate redhead. Edmund pressed harder on the man’s throat.

  “Diana Hennessy.” Edmund said angrily. “Looks a bit like me, probably angrier.”

  “She’s in custody.” The guard rasped. “Headed east to camp Nye.”

  “Why?” Edmund demanded.

  “Nye never closed. We have orders to fill it for Emilia Renly.” The guard wheezed. Edmund moved the gun away from the guard’s neck and he immediately began gasping and rubbing his throat. I grabbed the man’s hand and he and Edmund both looked confused.

  “The minute you speak of this or cross me, your heart will stop beating.” I promised him. He looked terrified. I wasn’t sure if I had the power to enforce that threat, but I wouldn’t have to. I wiped my bloody hand across the top of his and mumbled some nonsense I recalled from Latin class during my sophomore year. He nodded profusely, and I let go of his hand in disgust.

  Edmund backed away after me without taking his eyes off the guard who slumped down to the ground coughing and sobbing.

  “You’re demented.” He admired.

  “I just want to find Diana
.” I replied. “What do we do now?”

  “We need to get back to the house and plan this out. Camp Nye will be guarded by an army. Many of them are traitors to our kind.” Edmund answered.

  “Can we disguise ourselves as guards?” I suggested.

  “They have mind readers, shifters, and worse.” He shook his head. He was walking so quickly that we were nearly back to the rural road that led to the house. I was jogging a little to keep up.

  A wolf approached me, and I recognized it as David.

  “She’s in transport to Nye.” Edmund shared. David quickly turned back into his human self, and I created a visor with my hand to block out his nudity.

  “There’s no way to get her out of there.” David shook his head in disappointment.

  “I’ll make a way.” I swore.

  Chapter 15

  David assured me he verified Westly was alive and well inside his house, so I didn’t need to worry about what became of him. He was able to follow their scents. Diana must have been stopped on her way back. We encountered six shan on our walk home that night. I quickly discovered that stopping a heart was as easy as flipping a light switch when I was angry. It no longer mattered what their cause of death should have been; I could kill them easily if they came near me. I could destroy the heart, lungs, and neck, and that bypassed the need for a specific cause of death.

  David grew increasingly worried about the alignment of my magic. He warned me repeatedly that skills built on death would often grow to crave death. I couldn’t worry about that now.

  “There are two kinds of women like you.” David explained.

  “Good and evil. I get it.” I snapped.

  “No. Creators and Destroyers.” He corrected. “You have been forced pretty far in one direction.”

  “This isn’t the time for a moral crisis, David. I will get her back.” I insisted. He shook his head but refrained from saying any more on the topic.

  So far, our plan was more of a collection of information. They knew that the camp would take three to four days to process Diana as a new intake, and until they assigned her a cell, there was little hope of locating her within the camp. Every one of my suggestions ranged from infiltrating the camp to killing everyone who got in my way, and Edmund assured me I would be dead before I got into the main doors. Apparently every third guard placed at a camp was a genetic abnormal who decided they would rather be on the winning side of the war. They used their abilities to make the camps impenetrable. I was ready to act immediately, but Edmund assured me they would have no interest in killing Diana, and that our best bet was to figure out a foolproof course of action to avoid merely joining Diana inside Camp Nye.

  I spent the early daylight hours resting inside Edmund’s room to avoid any further lectures from David. He made himself a spot on the floor to avoid making things awkward for either of us. I was almost asleep when I heard him mumbling.

  “What did you say?” I asked peeking over the edge of his mattress.

  “It doesn’t matter what you do. Your motivations determine the alignment of your magic. That’s what your mother would say.” He said sleepily.

  “There’s room up here if you know anybody who likes evil killers.” I offered in a half yawn.

  “Let me go get that guard.” Edmund mocked as he climbed into the bed. I elbowed him in the ribs and fell asleep.

  ***

  For all of Edmund’s assurances that Diana would be fine once we figured out how to rescue her, he tossed and turned for hours begging for her release. I tried waking him, but he would fall right back into the same nightmares. I left his room and found David unable to rest. He was looking at a map of what was once western Colorado. “Will you tell me the truth?” I asked quietly. He looked up and considered what I might ask next.

  “Shoot.” He encouraged.

  “What are the odds we get Diana out of Nye and all four of us survive?” I asked.

  “Slim. If we’re lucky, they will place us in cell blocks that share meals.” He admitted.

  “And if we’re not?” I winced.

  “You kill yourself overdoing your magic. I get tranquilized and caged. Edmund gets dissected until his psychotic biological family realizes who he is and kills him to avoid a scandal.” David guessed.

  “I need to go to church.” I muttered.

  “You think God will care about Diana when the first thirty thousand slaughtered genetic abnormals didn’t catch his attention?” David snapped.

  “No. I need something from the church.” I responded irritably.

  “You can’t go anywhere, because we can’t escort you properly while they’re trying to reach their quota to fill that camp. We are on file. They have records of our mug shots and DNA. The Shan outbreak is out of control and we can’t even kill the secondaries for you because WE CAN’T GO OUTSIDE!” David yelled.

  “That’s bullshit. Are they hunting birds now too?” I challenged. David just glared, so I continued. “I need you to get a message to Westly.”

  “What message?” He asked after trying to ignore me for a few minutes.

  “Just trust me and deliver this.” I said as I wrote furiously on a page of my journal and then tore it out and taped it closed for privacy.

  “So, I’m a mailman now?” David demanded. He sure was a bitch when he didn’t sleep.

  “I was thinking carrier pigeon.” I mocked. “If you do this for me, it may save all our lives, but first you have to trust me. You said protecting me was your duty.” I added. David groaned and took the paper.

  “If I’m not back in an hour, I’m dead.” He announced melodramatically before exiting the house.

  ***

  As soon as David was gone my thoughts began spinning with a devastating and confusing blend of memories and current thoughts. That was not the first time I’d watched David leave to go do something dangerous. In my mind I remembered standing a large front porch with an amazing enclosure made up of countless windows. Each of the windows had peeling paint that was a different bright color. A much younger looking David was about to leave, and I had knots in my stomach watching him go. He said the same line about being back soon or being dead.

  “Please be careful.” I heard myself plead.

  I shook my head to clear my thoughts. There was something that no one was telling me. I knew with a staggering certainty that David was not merely a new friend of Edmund’s from Camp Edison. He was part of our past. I turned around and saw that Edmund had finally woken up and was standing in the living room rubbing his eyes.

  “How long have I known David?” I asked. Edmund sighed.

  “He came home with your dad about a year before Diana and I did.” he responded.

  “Why didn’t anyone mention that before.” I pressed.

  “He was in love with you. Your father couldn’t stand that. I didn’t want to embarrass him by telling you about that before you were ready to remember. You two were thick as thieves, but he left when things became too difficult.” He explained. “He had a lot of trauma to work past from our days at the institute. He used to be a lot like Westly. He needed his space and his quiet.”

  I remembered now, that I met Westly and felt close to him because he was familiar. He needed a friend, and I needed someone safe and reliable. My thoughts began swirling again. I was afraid of everything I would remember, and of missing everything I’d lost.

  “Is it fair to have him here helping us if he had feelings for me?” I asked upset.

  “He is family. He wouldn’t have it any other way. He’s past that.” Edmund insisted. I nodded. I had a massive headache to the point of nausea.

  “I think I’m going to be sick.” I mumbled.

  I ran to the bathroom and felt much better after I washed my face with cold water. I took a few shaky deep breaths and prepared myself for what would happen once Westly got my note.

  CHAPTER 16

  “Where are you going?” Edmund demanded as I put the Book of Cold Hearts into my backpack along
with a handgun, a tape recorder, and a flashlight. He was pacing around in the way.

  “I need you to trust me, and I’ll be back as soon as I’m done.” I assured him. I kissed him and gently lowered him to the floor as he went unconscious. It was my newest magic trick, and it bought me maybe an hour. I hoped so anyway.

  “If we’re doing this, we need to do it now.” Westly interrupted.

  “What time is it?” I asked Westly.

  “Thirty minutes until the next shift change.” He replied.

  We went out onto the small porch and David was out there putting his shirt back on.

  “I think the Sherriff just saw my ass.” he complained. “You didn’t tell me I’d have company when I shifted back out here.”