“Why?”
“Sometimes I dream things that haven’t happened yet… and they come true.” I pause a moment to take in their reactions. The mild surprise gives me hope that they’ll believe this next part. “The Sentinels are going to find me before my birthday.”
“What other talents do you have?” Mrs. Parker asks calmly.
I frown. “Um, I can make people see and hear me,” I finish in a rush. My eyes pop up to theirs, watching their expressions morph into one of disbelief.
“You can what?” Mr. Parker asks.
“How?” Mrs. Parker demands.
I slowly explain the best I can about how I managed to make the bus driver see me. They both seem astounded even after I tell them. I don’t have to ask whether or not this is a normal ability.
They are still reeling when Molly chimes in with, “Mason made it so I could talk to Olivia, too. She was really nice. I liked her a lot.”
“Excuse me?” Mrs. Parker asks slowly.
I turn and look down at Molly. “How do you know it was me that made it so you could talk to Olivia? Maybe it was you.”
Molly shakes her head. “It wasn’t me. I was trying to do what you told me the whole way up the stairs, but I couldn’t do it. You made it so Olivia could hear me when you touched me. I felt it.”
“You felt what?” I ask.
Molly shrugs. “It kinda tickled.”
“Well, I wasn’t trying to do anything.”
I look back at the Parkers for some help. The weird, happy grins on their faces really freak me out after a second. I feel Molly’s fingers tighten around mine as well. “What?” I ask.
“You didn’t have to try to do anything to share your power with Molly. It happens naturally,” Mrs. Parker finally says.
“Aerlings can share power with each other?” I ask. Why didn’t anyone mentioned this before?
Mr. Parker shakes his head. “Not all Aerlings can, only siblings.”
“Huh?” I ask.
“It’s the only way that could have happened. Molly is your sister, Mason. You have no idea how rare it is for an Aerling to find a sibling while they’re here.” Mrs. Parker grins again and pulls both Molly and me into a hug.
Molly starts bouncing up and down next to me, chanting, “Mason is my brother! Mason is my brother!”
I find myself laughing at her antics and struggling to understand the emotions racing through me. I spent the first five years of my life believing that the people who were raising me were my biological family. When they were killed, I was blessed to find Olivia, but I knew they weren’t my family. I love them dearly, but I was a spare part in their home, never belonging in quite the same way they did. After finding out that the family I thought I came from was really only a foster home, the feeling only intensified.
I still don’t have a home, not yet, but something changes inside of me as I realize I do have a family. As soon as the realization settles over me though, panic follows close behind. “Does that mean Molly is an Aerling God like I am? What if the Sentinels find out?”
Mr. Parker lays a hand on my shoulder. “There’s no safer place for her to be right now than with you.”
“What about after I’m gone, though?”
Squeezing my shoulder, Mr. Parker says, “Don’t worry, Mason. We won’t let anything happen to her.”
Molly squeezes in between us, still bouncing and demanding everyone’s attention. “Does that mean I’ll be able to do all the things Mason can do? Can I make people see me, too?”
Mrs. Parker puts an arm around Molly’s bouncing body. “Every Aerling has different abilities. You’ll just have to wait and see what yours are.”
“I’m a lie detector and a master thief,” Molly says proudly.
Both of the Parkers look down at her questioningly. I can’t help but laugh. “She can feel a difference in the air vibration in people’s voices when they lie,” I explain, “and she can see using the air she calls, which she has learned to put to use on locks. She hasn’t actually stolen anything… as far as I know.”
“Well,” Mrs. Parker says with a laugh, “this has certainly been an enlightening evening.” She looks down at Molly seriously. “I’m glad you’re learning to use your power, but no more opening locks you’re not supposed to be playing with, okay?”
Molly pouts, but she nods. Mr. Parker hides a smile and says, “You might also want to check and see if there’s an alarm system next time as well.”
“I was wondering how you knew we had left,” I say, wanting to kick myself for not thinking of that.
Mr. Parker shakes his head and puts an arm around my shoulders. His embrace is warm and kind. As we head for their SUV, he looks over at me seriously and says, “I hope you know you can trust us, Mason. We’re here to help you and protect you.”
“I do, Mr. Parker, and thank you,” I say.
“The next time you need to talk to Olivia, just tell us.”
I nod, and the feeling that everything I have been struggling to understand and muddle through is sitting solely on my shoulders slips away. It’s a good feeling.
Chapter 13
Mine
(Olivia)
As the door slams shut behind me, frustration balls my hands into fists. Tension makes my body ache. The headache that started the second the door opened chooses right now to explode into a full force throbbing on the inside of my skull. Robin sighs next to me, looking just as frustrated.
“Come on,” she says, “let’s go. She’s not going to help us no matter how many times we beg.”
Stalking down the sidewalk, I wrap my arms around my body. The frigid wind that blows past us sours my mood even more. It’s not supposed to be this cold yet! It’s like the weather is taunting me, reminding me that time is passing too quickly.
I was thrilled when Robin told me she had finally tracked down an Escort. I should have listened to her warnings about how the Escort might react, but I didn’t. I was shocked when the woman freaked out and slammed the door in our faces at the mere mention of the word Aerling.
“She told us more than you realize,” Robin says quietly.
“What do you mean?”
Robin’s eyes stare out the window, a strange expression on her face. “It means she answered at least one question for us. Escorts coming back is not a good thing.”
Her words quiet my irritation. “What does that mean?” I ask quietly.
“If you do this right, you won’t be coming back here.”
“But will I die, or go with Mason?”
Sighing, Robin rubs her hands up and down her jeans to warm her fingers back up. “I don’t know, Olivia, but that lady wouldn’t have known either. She almost burst into tears when she heard what we wanted. Just thinking about whatever happened traumatized her all over again.”
“Do you think her Aerling died?” I ask.
“Probably.”
“But it might not have been her fault. What about what Mason said? Maybe her Aerling didn’t learn to control his power well enough.”
Robin shakes her head. “I don’t think the Aerling dies if they aren’t trained properly. Wouldn’t there be a body left behind if they did?”
“Who would see it?” I argue.
Puzzled, Robin doesn’t respond. We’re both quiet the rest of the drive. As I pull up to my house, I ask, “So what do we do now?”
Robin shrugs. “Keep working on your powers. Most Escorts only have a few days to get ready. We’ll figure this out.”
Robin gets out and shuts her door. It takes me a minute to follow her. She is halfway down the driveway, walking toward her car by the time I get out of the Jeep and say goodbye. Her wave is halfhearted, but I don’t blame her. Wanting to collapse on Mason’s bed and block out everything, I turn and head for the front door.
The smell of cookies greets me when I walk into the house. Normally, that’s enough to draw a smile from me. Not today. Even still, I wander into the kitchen, intent on eating at least three
of them. Evie’s happy voice filters out into the hall while I strip off my winter jacket and scarf. I spot the gloves I was looking for earlier lying on the floor next to Evie’s hat, and scowl. Picking them up, I march into the kitchen and toss them at her head as soon as I round the corner.
“Hey! What was that for?” Evie whines. She chucks the gloves back at me, but one falls to the table barely a foot away from her.
“Clearly, lack of athletic talent is a family trait,” says a familiar voice.
My eyebrow rises as I turn to find Hayden sitting at the kitchen table chomping on a cookie. Evie smacks his shoulder playfully, which also gives me a moment’s pause. Ignoring Hayden for now, I turn to Evie and point at the gloves now scattered across the table.
“Did you borrow those without asking?”
“I couldn’t find mine and yours were just sitting there.” She turns her nose up at me. “You never even wear them, anyway.”
“It hasn’t been cold enough to wear them until today! My fingers are ice!”
Rolling her eyes, Evie stands up and walks over to the sink to put away her plate. “You are way too dramatic.”
I’m so fixated on my annoying little sister, I don’t realize Hayden has gotten up from his chair until he takes my hands and presses them between his. I try to jump back, but he won’t let me. He completely ignores me trying to tug my hands out of his and turns to look at Evie. “Her hands are frozen. You should be ashamed.”
His teasing tone makes her roll her eyes again, but she laughs as she turns away. She adds an empty glass to the sink and saunters slowly back to Hayden. I’m really quiet shocked when she touches his shoulder and smiles up at him.
“Sorry about your gloves, sis.” She’s still looking at Hayden. “Promise I won’t borrow them again. I wouldn’t have taken them in the first place if I knew I could get a hot guy to warm me up without them.”
“Hot guy?” I echo.
Evie smirks. “What, you don’t think he’s hot?”
“Of course, but that’s not the point.”
Ignoring me, Evie grins at Hayden. “I knew she thought you were hot.”
I almost laugh at the expression on Hayden’s face. Evie, her I’m going to smack. I take advantage of Hayden’s shock and yank my hands away from him, only to whack Evie on the shoulder.
“Ow!”
“What is wrong with you?”
“What?”
I gesture at Hayden erratically. “Are you flirting with him? What about Aaron?”
Evie shrugs. “We broke up.”
“Really? When?”
“Uh, a week ago,” she says in her most annoying voice. “You’d have noticed if you weren’t pretending to be a zombie around that time.”
Okay, I deserve that. “Evie, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” she says airily. “I wasn’t all that broke up about it. He blew me off for some stupid video game he had to stand in line for all night.”
“Well, it’s probably for the best,” I say, secretly thrilled, “but seriously, leave Hayden alone.”
“Why, is he taken?” Evie asks.
I’m seriously going to kill her. “No, but he’s my… um, he’s my friend.”
“So that means I can’t flirt with him?”
“Yes!” I snap. “He’s too old for you anyway, and you’re not even allowed to date!”
Evie rolls her eyes again. “Like that’s ever stopped me.”
My hands ball up in frustration. I don’t think I have ever been so embarrassed to call Evie my sister. I’ve never want to hit her so badly, either. Hayden must sense the tension, because he steps between us gracefully and says to me, “Want to get out of here?”
“Please!” I snap.
Hayden looks back at Evie, but he only shakes his head. I, on the other hand, glare at her until Hayden drags me out of the kitchen. He shoves my coat and hat into my arms, but pulls me out onto the porch without letting me put them on. The wind stings my fingertips and I growl.
“What?” Hayden asks.
“I left my gloves on the table!”
Hayden cracks up laughing. I turn to go back for my gloves, but Hayden grabs my hands and drags me toward the stairs. When I refuse to move, he says, “This isn’t just about Evie. We need to talk.”
“About what?” I cross my arms, suddenly wary.
Hayden towers over me with a serious expression. “What are you and Robin up to?”
“What makes you so sure we were up to anything?” I demand.
Squatting down next to me, Hayden narrows his eyes. “First off, you’re never that short with your sister. You were obviously upset when you got back from hanging out with Robin. Secondly, this project you two are supposedly working on doesn’t exist.”
“How do you know?”
He smirks at me. “Because, unlike you, I am actually pretty social and I have friends.”
“Ouch,” I say, crinkling my nose at him.
Hayden rolls his eyes. “You know it’s true.” He smiles for a minute, softening the barb of his words. “I asked around, and nobody else has been assigned a project even remotely related to mythology. Whatever it is you and Robin are researching, it’s not for school.”
“So?”
The expression on Hayden’s face makes a pretty firm statement. “So something weird is going on with the two of you.”
Stepping back, I look at Hayden feeling more than a little annoyed. “I don’t need you to babysit me.”
I try to reach for the front door, but Hayden blocks me. “You being weird about this is only making me more concerned.”
“Hayden, I’m getting a little sick of feeling like your pet project.”
Tired of this stupid conversation, I spin away from him. I don’t need Hayden thinking he has any business snooping though my personal life. Not only is it actually none of his business, it’s dangerous.
“Olivia, don’t do this,” Hayden says.
Turning back around to face him, I say, “What is your problem?”
“I’m worried about you, okay?” Hayden steps closer, his eyes fiery with frustration and concern.
“Why are you so worried?” I ask.
A strange mixture of emotions plagues me as he puts one hand behind me on the house, bringing him even closer. “I’m worried Robin has pulled you into something that’s not good for you.”
“Why would you think that?” Hayden has never been anything but nice to Robin.
Finally, Hayden pulls back a little and presses his hands to his head. “Look, I know Robin is your friend, but there’s something off about her. I keep trying to pinpoint what it is that rubs me the wrong way, but I can’t. Whatever she’s getting you into, it’s not good.”
The tortured look on Hayden’s face steals all the fight out of me. Despite the fact that it is freezing out here, I drop onto the porch swing and sigh. Hayden takes a step toward me, but hesitates before sitting down. I feel a little bad for being so mean to him when he’s really trying to look out for me, so I gesture for him to sit. Hayden’s body weight makes the old swing creak a little, but I’m pretty sure it will hold.
“Please talk to me,” Hayden says. “I’m stuck thinking the worst if you don’t.”
“What is the worst?” I ask. I’m curious to know, because in reality, it’s probably not as bad as the truth.
Hayden’s fingers tap anxiously against his leg. “Drugs?” he says, more of a question than a statement.
“No,” I say, looking up at him with a half-smile. “You were already planning some kind of intervention, weren’t you?”
That finally draws a smile from him. “It crossed my mind.”
“Feel free to put that on hold.”
“Thank goodness, because I’m sure Evie would want to get involved and that would just be… awkward.”
“Why? Because you were afraid we’d get in a fight, or because she might try to seduce you?” I’m laughing before I can even finish speaking. I laugh even harder
when Hayden blushes and shakes his head.
“Is she always like that when she’s between boyfriends? I mean, Evie is a nice girl, but I’m not interested in the least and your dad would kill me.”
I can’t help it. I bust up laughing at the thought of Hayden asking my dad if he could date Evie. Not only would she not date Hayden, she wouldn’t date anyone until she moved out. I shake my head as I try to figure out why would she even attempt flirting with Hayden when he’s mine?
Suddenly, my laughter dies away as my last thought runs through my mind over and over again. Hayden isn’t mine, but I’m startled to realize how much Evie’s actions upset me. It hits me that I do see Hayden as mine. Not my boyfriend, but mine all the same. I close my eyes and press my hands against my face. What is wrong with me?
“Hey, are you okay?” Hayden asks softly.
I sit back up and try to banish such thoughts from my mind. They’re stickier than I expect. “Uh, yeah, I’m fine. Sorry about Evie… not that it’s any of my business who you date. We’re not… I don’t expect …”
Hayden tips my head up, his finger sliding along my jaw afterward. I close my eyes and whimper, silently begging him to stop.
The cold that was plaguing me just a moment ago evaporates. Suddenly, it seems way too hot and my coat is suffocating me. His other hand pushes into my hair, tipping my head up so I can see the longing in his eyes.
His lips turn up just slightly. “I’m not interested in dating any other girls.”
“But …”
Hayden shakes his head. “I already told you, I’m not backing off. If Mason wants to come here and stop me from changing your mind about leaving, he’s more than welcome to do that. Until then, you’re all mine.”
I am rendered completely speechless as Hayden’s lips brush against mine. He doesn’t wait for me to say something or react. He stands up and walks down the porch steps, leaving me alone to try and remember how to breathe.
Chapter 14
Whisper the Warning
(Olivia)
Waking up feeling nauseous is a terrible way to start the day. All I want to do is pull my blankets back up over my head and shut my eyes. I don’t want to move a single part of my body, not even my eyelids, but my alarm is blaring in my ear and I am likely to scream if it doesn’t shut up. Forcefully, I slap my alarm as I wish it would spontaneously combust.
Intangible Page 10
