It’s late in the evening by the time we finally make it to the volunteer center where some of the earthquake victims are being housed and treated for minor cuts and scrapes. The volunteer coordinator sitting at the welcome desk is having trouble staying awake as we walk up. The second she catches sight of us, though, she takes us in warily.
“Hello, can I help you?”
Hayden steps forward with a warm, charming smile that almost makes me laugh. “Yes, we’d like to see about volunteering.”
“You would?” the woman asks. No doubt a group of random teens aren’t the usual fare.
“Of course,” Hayden reassures her. “We heard about what happened and wanted to lend a hand, plus, we have a bunch of community service hours we need to do for one of our college classes.”
I never would have thought to say something so seemingly superficial, but Hayden’s pretend reasoning actually makes the woman relax. “Of course. We can sign whatever documentation you need us to before you head back home. We’re always happy to help encourage young people to volunteer, even if it is a requirement.”
“Great,” Hayden says, grinning. “What do we need to do to get started?”
Suddenly, the lady looks tired again. Grabbing a stack of packets, she hands three of them over, one for each visible person. “Inside you’ll find all the necessary paperwork to become an official volunteer. Read through everything, sign and date, and then bring it back to me in the morning.”
I half expect her to shoo us away after that so she can go back to trying to not fall asleep, but she surprises me by standing. “I can give you a tour now while it’s quiet, so when you get here in the morning you won’t be wandering around lost.” She gestures for us to follow her, and continues talking as we walk behind her.
Hopefully the others are listening, because I have no clue what she’s saying. I’m too focused in on pushing my power out from me and splashing it around the halls. Every step we take, I push out more power, nudging it along, begging it to find something. The tiniest breeze sends a shiver through me. I stop and turn abruptly more than once as I try to search out what I’m so desperate to find. The tour is over before I’m finally forced to admit defeat.
“Anything?” Mason asks as we all pile into a cab.
They all look so hopeful, but a shake of my head lets everyone down. “Not a single hint of Aerling power anywhere in there.”
“We’ll try again tomorrow,” Hayden says. His unfailing positivity makes me smile, but I fear tomorrow won’t hold anything more for us than the realization that we wasted a huge amount of time.
***
By early evening, we’re all losing steam and hope. The shelter took in twelve more families just this morning, and finding room for them isn’t easy. I was put in charge of helping the women and children get cleaned up and settled, with Sloane helping me silently all day. I’ve barely seen Mason or Hayden all day. One of them was sent off first thing to help unload relief supplies and the other was recruited to help with distributing water to those still in their homes, but without electricity or water to cook and wash with. I can’t remember which one is doing what, but they look exhausted as they wander back into the main room.
“Did you guys finally get a break?” I ask as I approach them. Mason wraps me up as soon as I’m within reach. I can’t help notice that Hayden heads straight for Sloane, though he keeps his hands to himself.
“Just finished unloading the last supply truck, so we’re done for the day,” Mason says. I guess he was on unloading duty. Pushing him to sit down on a nearby chair, I begin to rub his tight shoulders.
Hayden hops up on the table where Sloane and I were organizing care packets full of personal hygiene items and leans his head against the wall. “Man, riding through the streets to deliver supplies to people was nuts. Even the houses that weren’t damaged that much, the utilities are all jacked up. It’s a mess. People have no idea how long they’ll be without water and electricity. A lot of the families had kids, too. They were all pretty freaked out.”
Even though Sloane and I still have our issues, working with her all day has made it pretty obvious that she is a deeply emotional person. I saw her nearly break down more than once when families came in after having lost everything. She’s a natural caregiver, and even I have to admit, a good person. I find myself being less irritated than usual when she gravitates toward Hayden and rests her head against his shoulder.
“We haven’t had any indication at all that the Mother was here,” Sloane says. The fear and confusion in her voice draws everyone’s attention. “I don’t understand why she wouldn’t be here. There’s so much suffering. This is the biggest shelter in the area for earthquake victims. Short of being out there searching for survivors, I don’t know where else to look. She should be here. She should want to help these people.”
I’m caught off guard when tears start rolling down her cheeks. Hayden reacts immediately, pulling her into an off-kilter hug. I’ve been in that position with Hayden more times than I care to admit. For once, instead of being jealous or angry, I’m glad. Knowing Hayden will take good care of Sloane, I turn to Mason and say, “Sloane’s right. The Mother isn’t here.”
“What does that mean?” he asks.
I wish I had a different answer, but I don’t. “It means she’s not the kindhearted Mother Theresa the Aerlings pretend she is. She’s not here to protect humans. Maybe Aerlings, sure, but not the rest of us. She’s protecting herself. Wherever she is, it’s somewhere she won’t draw attention.”
“Somewhere Tū would never think to look for her.”
I wish I knew.
Abandoning Mason’s shoulders for now, I take a seat on his lap and lean my head against his chest. For just a moment I block out everything and simply listen to his heart beating. It’s so comforting, I begin to doze off. Why can’t it just be like this? Calm, easy, simple. Whose idea was it to scramble up two whole worlds and dump the problems off on a couple of teenagers? Then again, if they hadn’t, I would have spent my life without Mason. The tradeoff just isn’t worth it. It never is. I’ll take two messed up worlds over not having him in my life.
“Olivia,” a voice calls out.
My head jerks up from Mason’s chest with a start. I look around, finding an equally exhausted Lindsay, the woman in charge of the group I was assigned to. “Yeah?”
“I know your shift is just about over, but we just had a woman and her two sons come in. I’m getting them checked in, but most of the others have already gone home. Would you mind making up a spot for them?”
“Sure, no problem,” I say. I’m dog tired, but I really am happy to help. Lindsay rushes away to get back to what she was doing and I pull out of Mason’s arms.
“I’ll help you,” Mason says.
Pushing him back down into his chair, I shake my head. “You’re ready to drop. I can handle this. I know where everything is, so it’ll just take me a few minutes. Be right back, promise.”
He lets me go more out of being too tired to stop me than anything else. I completely understand. I’m about ready to fall asleep on my feet too, but I hurry toward the supply bins lining the hallways and gather up everything I need for three cots. I’ve got two done in a matter of minutes, and am almost done with the third when a noise draws my attention. There are a few people sleeping in adjacent cots, but when I look around, everything seems peaceful.
As I reach for the blanket I was laying out, a form moves to my right. Jumping, I spin around and very nearly scream. The scar running down his face sends a shot of terror through me like nothing else can. I stumble back and nearly fall over the cot. My body weight shoves it sideways until it crashes into the next one and I bang my elbow on the edge.
“Olivia, please,” Tū says with a condescending laugh. “You have no reason to fear me.”
“Like I’m really going to believe that,” I snap. “The memory of you attacking me in the park is still a little too fresh.”
Tū shrugs
, as if my concerns are of little importance to him. “At the time, it was necessary. Mason seemed to have no hope of mastering his power by his birthday. Killing him was seeming like the more likely option, but getting to him was more difficult than expected. We needed you.”
As bait, I realize. The goal that night was never to kill me. He probably could have done that quite easily if that’s what he’d been after. They wanted me alive, to draw Mason out so they could capture him, see if he was capable of taking Robin back and breaking the barrier, and if he wasn’t, they’d kill him. That one bit of understanding pulls me back up to my feet, fists clenched.
“Get away from me, Tū.”
He smiles in a way that makes goose bumps pop up all over my skin. “So you did figure out that one bit.” He laughs, though it’s no more pleasant than his smile. “I had wondered if you two would be bright enough to realize who I am.”
“You gave us some pretty big clues.”
“Who says I was ever trying to hide my true identity?” Tū asks.
I don’t respond to that. What would I even say?
“Have you figured out the rest?” Tū asks, this time more earnestly.
“The rest of what?” I ask.
He moves faster than I can react to, his hand clamping down on my shoulder. Light flashes in front of my eyes. Terrified, I blink rapidly to clear my vision and almost faint when I open my eyes again and find myself nowhere near the shelter. The only thing keeping me from passing out is the absolutely overwhelming beauty of this place. Crisp green grass brushes at my ankles, soft and luxurious. Dancing in a soft breeze, millions of wildflowers dot the open expanse, growing right up to the edge of a velvety forest. The evergreens look soft, like I could bury myself in their boughs and never feel a single prick. Brilliant emerald leaves of deciduous trees mix with the rest of the forest to create something both exotic and familiar. It’s breathtaking.
“Where are we?”
“This,” Tū says, “is the place we created for our mother. We could not live in the perpetual shadow of our parents’ control, but we still cared for them both, in the beginning. Tane and I prepared this place for her, full of beauty where she could care for the life on this planet, but she spurned it. She ran.”
Trying to shake off the mesmerizing quality of this place, I put my fear aside and look at Tū squarely. “Can you blame her for running? Her own children tried to kill her, and then banished her here. Why would she stick around where you could find her again?”
For once, Tū looks truly weary. “You never answered my question. Have you figured out the rest of the lies?”
“The lies about what? The Mother?” I ask carefully.
“The lies about everything,” he growls. “Everything has been twisted to fit their will, to convince others of their righteousness while condemning anyone who dared oppose them. This war is their doing! They caused it with their selfishness and greed!”
My eyes widen as the air around me grows agitated. Sparks of electricity burst all around me as the temperature plummets. “Why don’t you…” My lips are frosting over, but I force them to work. “Tell me your side, then. Then me what they did.”
He opens his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. Fury rises in his eyes and I fear he’s about to take his anger out on me, but he turns his head up and screams. Torment pours out of him. Lightning flashes everywhere at once, rocking the ground beneath our feet, tearing up this wondrous place. Gale force winds crash against the forest. Huge trees are uprooted as he continues to howl out his fury. If I weren’t petrified into stillness, I would have collapsed.
Finally, his raging ends and he turns his fiery gaze back to me. “Tell you?” he demands. “Tell you?” His hands crash against his head, fingers tangling in his hair as if tearing it out would solve everything. “Do you think I would play these games if the solution were that simple, stupid little human child? Do you think I would let them continue to tear apart my home and family if I could simply set it all right with words?” His frigid hands grab my face. I’m so terrified I can’t even react. He crowds in close, his icy breath washing over my skin, causing it to frost over. “She bound me before she ran. I can’t speak a word about what she’s done, no matter how hard I try. This is the best I can do, Olivia. You must discover the rest on your own. You must uncover what she has hidden and save what is left of both worlds.”
“But…you…but the Aerling children. You’ve been killing them,” I say. He wants me to understand, but nothing is making sense. “How you claim to have done all of this for altruistic reasons while killing the Aerling children?”
“They are just power!” Tū says in exasperation. “Their lives matter little in the face of this war. You must…” His eyes bulge as he tries to continue speaking. Another frustrated growl bursts out of him, but all he can say is, “What I do now, I do to end the war. Tāwhiri believed he could solve it by staying in our home and controlling the Father, but he was wrong. He was too limited, too weak to do anything more than hold off the inevitable. We have both run out of time. If you do not stop her, the Mother will sacrifice your world to save hers.”
I feel like the breath has been knocked out of me. “What?”
“I can tell you no more!” Tū nearly screams. His hand clamps down on my shoulder again, rough and frightening, and then the destroyed valley vanishes from sight, consumed by the darkness.
Chapter 16
Rebellious
(Mason)
A sound from somewhere to my left startles me about of my half-sleep. Heart racing, I look around for the source. Hayden and Sloane are still talking over by the work table, but Olivia is nowhere in sight. Not sure how long I’ve been out, I glance at my phone. Half an hour?
“Shouldn’t Olivia have been back by now?” I ask. “She said it’d only take her a few minutes to get those cots set up.”
Hayden checks the time as well and frowns. “Maybe Lindsay needed her help with something else?”
“We should go look for her,” Sloane says. The worry on her face amps up my own concern.
Without another word, we all file out of the little work room and start scanning the rooms and halls for any sign of Olivia. Fifteen minutes later, we all come up empty. Where could she have gone? I can’t think of a reasonable excuse for her taking off without telling anyone. Even if she had stumbled upon the Mother somehow, wouldn’t she have called?
I spot Lindsay heading down the hall with a stack of clean sheets and run over to her. “Have you seen Olivia? We can’t find her anywhere.”
Despite her clear exhaustion, Lindsay stops and thinks. “I saw her in the gym about half an hour ago. She was talking to a man, but everything seemed fine. I just assumed it was one of the residents.”
“What did the man look like?” I demand.
“Well,” Lindsay begins, her expression more worried by my intensity, “he was tall, muscular, well kept. I didn’t see his whole face, but aside from his scar, he didn’t give me any reason to be concerned.”
Everyone’s faces drain of color. “Scar?” Hayden chokes out.
“Yeah.” Lindsay is looking even more freaked out, but she draws a line down her face with her finger, mimicking Tū’s scar exactly. “Is everything okay? Really, they were just talking normally. I didn’t think twice about it.”
“Uh, everything’s fine,” I lie. “Maybe they just stepped outside for a few minutes. If you see Olivia again, tell her to call, okay?”
Lindsay blinks several times before responding. “Sure, okay.”
No doubt we only take her worry up a notch when we all bolt away from her, but I don’t have time to deal with that right now. We all burst out of the shelter and stare at the street uncertainly. “Should we split up?” Sloane asks,
“No.” I shake my head, dismissing the idea immediately. “If Tū is out there, we can’t risk it. We’ll stay together and find her.”
“Where would Tū take her?” Hayden asks. “And why?”
Not to hurt her, I tell myself. That can’t be the reason. He said he wanted us to discover the truth. He’s not trying to kill us right now. We’re doing what he asked. He’s not going to hurt her. “Maybe he wanted to show her something, some hint.”
“Why not just tell all of us?” Sloane asks as we run, searching the streets and alleys.
I have no answer for that. Maybe because he didn’t want to risk us attacking him? Perhaps she was the only one he was able to catch alone. I have no idea. Focusing on anything other than the fact that he has Olivia is next to impossible. Before I realize how far we’ve gone, we’re edging up to the disaster area. Rubble from partially damaged buildings clutters the sidewalks, spilling into the street further down where crews have yet to clear a path.
Is there a clue somewhere in this destruction? Did he bring her here for a reason? Did he bring her here at all? I just don’t know. The expressions on the others’ faces says they’re stuck as well. “Stay close, but spread out a little. Listen for any sounds. Maybe he’s holding her in one of the ruined buildings for some reason.”
Sloane and Hayden nod. They fan out far enough that we can cover a bit more ground, but still within seeing and hearing distance. The winter light is fading fast. The rescue and cleanup crews have all either gone home or moved to a different area. No one is around to see us creeping through broken buildings. There’s no way we can leave her out her with Tū all night. We’re staying until we find her.
“Mason!” Sloane cries out suddenly. “I hear something over here!”
Hayden and I nearly crash into each other trying to get to her. Our feet scuffling against the asphalt and broken cement drown out any noise. Even my breathing seems incredibly loud at first. Hayden’s chest is heaving as well, but everyone’s eyes are glued to a collapsed section of a small shop. “It sounded like a voice,” Sloane whispers.
Invincible (The Aerling Series Book 3) Page 13
