I can’t see anything. The interior of the shop is bathed in dark shadows. Huge chunks of the block wall has collapsed. The aged look of our surroundings says these buildings were built long before earthquake building codes were enforced. I can’t imagine anyone still in there, not alive anyway, but before I give up, a quiet murmuring catches my ear.
“Did you hear it?” Sloane whispers. I nod while Hayden shrugs in confusion.
As quiet as it was, it’s no surprise his human ears can’t pick it up. The sound comes again, barely louder than before. Someone is definitely in there, but it can’t be Olivia. Turning to Sloane, I see the same realization in her eyes. Staying to help this man means delaying our search for Olivia. What will that mean? Neither of us knows, but we both nod and step forward. Olivia would never forgive us for leaving this person behind.
Hayden doesn’t seem to get what’s going on completely, but as Sloane and I start forward, he follows. Once we get into the building, I realize the damage is worse than what I originally thought. Old, massive ceiling beams have fallen onto the rubble-strewn floor. The floor is partially collapsed as well. It hasn’t fallen into the basement below, but it’s on the verge. When it does, it will take everything and everyone with it.
Sloane stays back a little while Hayden and I pick our way through the mess and attempt to find a safe route to approach the source of the voice. By the time we’re right on top of the pile of blocks and wood, Hayden finally hears the small voice moaning in pain. He reaches for one of the beams lying across the blocks, but he can’t get enough leverage to lift it more than a few inches. He tries several times, the impact of it falling back down causing the blocks to shift dangerously.
“Plan B?” Hayden says.
“And that would be?” I ask.
He points to me and Sloane. “You two are the ones with super powers. How about putting them to use on this stuff. We’re not getting him out otherwise.”
I feel stupid for not having thought of that on my own. Nodding, I gesture for him to move out and for Sloane to join me. Other than giant pieces of hail, I don’t know how skilled she is with her power, but she’s all I’ve got. “On three, wedge some air beneath this beam here.” I point to indicate the beam trapped beneath another heavy piece of wood. “I’ll try to lift the top one, but if that bottom one shifts it could send everything crashing.”
Sloane nods and begins to focus. It seems to take her longer than I would have expected, but a few second later she has invisible bands of air wrapped around the lower beam to keep it from shifting when I make my move. Getting my own carefully controlled stream of air positioned isn’t hard, but the second I start lifting it, the pile shifts and the slap of rubble crashing to the basement freezes us both.
“We need to be able to shore up the floor,” Sloane says.
I agree with her, but when I try to hold one portion of my power and the air I’m controlling steady in one place while moving it in another, I nearly lose control of everything and send this poor guy under the rocks down to his death. I could never do the whole pat your head and rub your stomach thing, and this is proving just as impossible.
I look to Sloane, but she shakes her head immediately. “There’s no way I can do that. My control isn’t anywhere close to yours. I’m more likely to accidentally kill him.”
Not sure where that leaves us, I wish for the millionth time since leaving the Aerling world that they hadn’t heaped the fate of the world, of both worlds, solely on our shoulders. Breathing in slowly, I hold the breath, taking comfort in the feel of it filling me. As I finally let it out, I say more to myself than anyone else, “I need help.”
Those three words, uttered in near-hopelessness, do something completely unexpected.
My breath condenses as if it were a cold morning back home, but it doesn’t dissipate. It expands. The hazy white of the foggy breath blossoms into a burst of air, water, electricity, and purpose. My eyes are fixed and wide as I stare in recognition. How did my wind spirit manage to get here? I reach out to…touch it? I don’t even know. It responds to me right away. In a flash, it’s at my hand, waiting. For what, I’m not entirely sure. Hoping for some help, I turn to Sloane for answers.
“You have to command it,” she whispers. The awe in her voice is echoed in my head. All Hayden can do is stare at the wispy white creature.
“How do I command it?” I ask.
Sloane blinks slowly. “The same way you called it.”
I almost tell her that I haven’t got a clue how I called it, but the memory of holding that breath, of the plea I pushed out along with it, crowds to the front of my head. Pulling in a deep breath, I put my desire into my words and say, “Support the floor from below.”
The spirit whips away and disappears through a miniscule hole in the rubble. I can’t see it any longer, but I seem to know exactly when it’s in place and ready to go. Sloane and I go back to our original plan of lifting the beams one at a time. We get a little further than before, but the cracking and snapping of the floor and rubble calls us both to a halt.
“We need more help,” I grumble under the strain of holding the beams. “Call yours,” I demand.
Sloane bites at her bottom lip. I can see the fear that she won’t be strong enough to do what I’m asking, but I urge her on. She has to be strong enough. There’s no choice anymore.
“Breathe in deeply,” I say with as much patience as I can muster. “Form the plea for help in your mind, breath it out with the air and speak. Command it to come to you.”
Following my instructions exactly, Sloane jumps in shock a few seconds later when her wind spirit materializes in front of her. Slipping under the effort of holding the beam with just my power, I grunt in impatience. Sloane snaps out of her amazement and ushers her spirit over to help mine. For a moment, I think it’s working. The two beings stop the creaking a groaning of the floor, but before I can even make another move, the back corner of the floor collapses and sends up a crash and bang as it hits the basement.
“Help each other!” I beg in desperation.
It was really just a crazy, frantic thing to yell, but it works. I can’t see the spirits melding together, but I can feel it. Judging by the look on Sloane’s face, she can feel it, too. There is a strange squelching feeling as our wind spirits push together, but I’m more focused on what happens next. Not only does combining give them the ability to work as one, it does something to the power they contain. Joined, they drawn on the air and power around them, becoming stronger and more able. Their power flattens out, stretching firmly across the damaged section of floor.
I don’t know how long it will last, but I hope it’s enough to get the job done. “Hayden, be ready,” I beg. Turning to Sloane, I say, “All at once. Beams, bricks, blocks, everything.”
She shifts and we both maneuver our power to encompass more than just the beams. Her body is shaking as we lock eyes. One nod and everything moves. Dust flies as we lurch and yank, pulling the ruined materials off the person buried beneath them and tossing them carelessly to the side. Choking on the dust, I send a small blast of air out from my body to clear it. When it does, Hayden has the victim and is dragging him to a safer section of the floor.
“Did you see a woman?” Hayden asks the man. “Blonde, thin, short. Or a man with a big ugly scar?”
The poor guy is barely coherent. He stares at Hayden pleadingly, begging for help, but he shakes his head back and forth slowly. He’s completely out seconds later, having spent what little energy he had left to catch our attention. Hayden sighs and pulls the unconscious man into his arms. Sloane and I follow behind, my thoughts racing even more than before. What just happened?
“How did we do that?” Sloane asks as we walk.
My shoulders bob up and down helplessly. “They just did what I asked, but I have no idea why it worked, or why they were more powerful together than separated.”
“It was like the more air and purpose they had, the more powerful they became.”
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“Yet…” My brow wrinkles as I consider. “They’re separated from the Aerlings who made them because of the barrier. This can only happen when we have access to our wind spirits. Direct access. Leaving them behind limits them so much.”
“But, we have to leave them here or we’ll die without a connection to the human world,” Sloane argues.
I know she’s right, but something about this experience has me on edge. We’re nearing the shelter again by the time I puzzle it out. “Leaving the wind spirits here saves our lives when we go back, but it limits us, controls us. It keeps us from ever having the amount of power it would take to do anything truly useful.”
“Or rebellious,” Sloane finishes in a whisper.
Nodding, I realize she’s hit it exactly on the head. “The barrier keeps Aerlings from being able to resist the will of the Mother and Father. It’s a barrier of protection, yes, but it’s a prison as well.”
Is that what Tū wanted us to see? Did he take Olivia to put us in a situation like this? It seems like something he might do, but if that’s true, where’s Olivia?
Chapter 17
Tactics
(Hayden)
The look on Lindsay’s face when we burst through the doors carrying the guy we rescued from the ruined building is only trumped by her shaky voice saying, “Olivia?”
Mason hurriedly explains, rushing ahead of me. Sloane stays off to the side since Lindsay has no idea she’s even here, but has her arms crossed over her small frame in worry. The guy in my arms is small and thin, but my arms are burning. I can’t remember where the triage center is and I have to break into the explanation to ask. Lindsay must decide news on Olivia has to wait, because she hurries away from Mason and starts leading me in the right direction. My arms feel like jelly by the time I lay the man down on a cot and he’s swarmed by two volunteer nurses.
I hear them discussing the need for an ambulance and step away knowing the man is in good hands. As I step back over to Mason and Sloane, it’s apparent the same thought is running through all of our minds. Where is Olivia?
“Did you find her?” Lindsay asks when she scurries over to us. Mason shakes his head and her frown deepens. “Where could she have gone?”
None of us has an answer. Lindsay shakes her head, but puts aside her questions to do what she does best. Thoughts on organizing our search, suggestions on where to look, mention of contacting the police if we don’t locate her within the next hour all start tumbling out of her mouth. A strange mix of exhaustion and adrenaline makes me hyper alert. Even so, when Lindsay yelps, I still bump into the back of her.
Mason is racing around the cots we were passing before I realize what caused the commotion. Then I’m running as well. Mason has Olivia’s limp body propped up in his lap by the time I reach them. Sloane stumbles up behind us and peers down worriedly.
“She wasn’t there a minute ago,” Lindsay says. The disbelief and confusion in her voice makes it quaver. “Where did she come from?”
No one answers her. All our focus is on Olivia. I don’t think any of us even dares to breathe as Mason gently pats her cheek and begs her to wake up. It seems like an eternity before her eyes finally flutter open. As soon as they do, her arms fly out from her body as she gasps in a frantic breath. Mason has to tighten his hold on her to keep her from falling.
“Ollie, Ollie, I’m here. You’re okay. You’re safe,” Mason says.
The sound of his voice does wonders to calm her down, but she’s still terrified. “Tū took me…he took me to this place…they made it for the Mother, but she wouldn’t go. He tried to tell me the truth, but the Mother…she did something to him. He can’t talk about it. They were selfish and greedy…something about the power. He said Tāwhiri stayed in the Aerling world to stop the Father and Tū came here, but it’s not working. The Mother will sacrifice our world to save hers. We have to stop her. Oh, Mason, we can’t let it happen. We just can’t.”
Olivia breaks down in tears after the last word leaves her mouth and Mason immediately pulls her to his chest, cradling her like he would a frightened child. He focuses on calming her down, but I look back at Sloane to see her reaction to everything that just spilled out of Olivia’s mouth. I’m not prepared for the brokenhearted expression on her face. I reach out, linking my fingers with hers behind me where Lindsay won’t notice. She flinches a moment before leaning her head against the back of my shoulder.
“I’ve spent the last year pouring myself into becoming an Aerling,” she whispers tearfully. “I missed my family…my Caretakers so much. I got to meet my real dad, but he was already fading when I came back and he told me Levi would never be coming home. Leaving behind who I was and really becoming an Aerling, becoming what my dad wanted me to be, what my Caretakers had spent my whole life preparing me for…it was all I had left.” Her expression crumbles to pieces. “It was all a lie. Everything I’ve been taught and everything I’ve worked to become, it was all a lie.”
Turning away from Lindsay, I want nothing more than to pull Sloane into my arms, but I have to settle for squeezing her hand tightly. “Hey. No matter what the Aerlings lied about, it doesn’t change who you are or all the work you’ve done to build your power and use it to help people. Nothing can take that away. You helped Mason save that guy, everything you’ve done for me and Olivia…that’s all that matters.”
Her expression is still tortured, but she lowers her head to my shoulder and doesn’t say anything else. I almost reach up to stroke her hair, but a voice cuts in and stops me.
“Would someone care to explain this to me?” Lindsay demands.
Knowing she’s due an explanation, I look back at her feeling repentant. “We’re not college students,” I say slowly. “We didn’t come here for a class. We came here to find someone.”
“The guy with the scar?” Lindsay asks. I can tell by the way she’s pressing her fingers to her temples that she is beyond tired and frustrated.
“No, the guy with the scar is actually following us,” I say slowly. Best not to bring up all the times he’s tried to capture or kill one of us. “The person we’re looking for, she wasn’t here, but the guy with the scar found us and took Olivia…somewhere. He wants us to find the other person and stop her from doing something bad, but we can’t find her.”
Lindsay looks like she’s about ready to check out of this conversation. “Why did you think this person you’re searching for would be here?”
“She’s supposed to help and protect people,” Olivia says, “but it was all a lie.” The edge to her voice is unmistakable. Sloane tenses behind me, echoing Olivia’s bitterness.
Spearing her hands into her hair, Lindsay shakes her head slowly. “Look, the people here, they’ve already been through so much. If you’re bringing dangerous people here…”
“We’re not putting anyone in danger,” Mason says with authority, “but we’ll be leaving tonight. The person we were looking for isn’t here. As much as we’d like to stay and help out more, this really can’t be put off.”
Her hands drop from her hair and hang at her sides like dead weight. “I don’t understand any of this, but you all seem like nice kids. I’m going to forget any of this happened. Thank you for your help today, but I think it’s probably best if you head back to your hotel. Whatever you’ve got going on, I can’t risk it bringing more trouble here.”
Mason stands and helps Olivia to her feet slowly. His nod to me says he agrees and I take the lead. Stepping forward, I offer Lindsay my hand. She hesitates, but takes it. “Thank you for allowing us to help. Good luck with everything.”
“You too,” she says with a sigh. “It sounds like you’re going to need it.”
Yes we will.
No one says anything as we gather our things and head out of the shelter. It’s not until Mason manages to hail a cab that Sloane seems to come out of her fog. She slips in front of me to scoot in next to Olivia, taking her hand in support as soon as she’s seated. I expect Olivia to pull
away, but Sloane’s calming influence seems to affect her too quickly for Olivia to balk. I slide in next to Sloane with my thoughts racing.
The car is quiet, though, as the cabbie drives us back to our hotel. The whole way I’m trying to remember everything that tumbled out of Olivia’s mouth when she woke up, but I know I only caught a portion of it. The one thought that sticks in my mind the most is what she said about the Father. There’s been all this talk about finding the Mother, learning her secrets, stopping her, but she’s only half the puzzle. Where is the Father, and what was his role in all of this?
By the time we make it back up to our hotel room and make sure Robin hasn’t escaped somehow, my weariness has been buried by the buzzing questions in my mind. I barely give Olivia a moment to sit down before my first question bursts out of me. “What did you say about the Father?”
Sighing deeply, Olivia tucks her feet beneath her and gathers her waning strength. “Tū told me that Tāwhiri stayed in the Aerling world to try and control the Father in order to end the war, but being there made him too weak. He was limited by the barrier.”
“So, the Father is still in the Aerling world,” Mason says, his tone considering.
“Yeah, but where, and what’s he doing?” That’s what I really want to know. “Did you guys see him when you were there?”
Mason and Olivia glance at each other, and it’s clear they’re both perplexed. Must be a no. If he didn’t show up to welcome home the two people Tāwhiri chose to save their entire race, where was he? Seems like something you’d want to take notice of and, well, show up for.
Turning to Sloane, I ask, “You were in the Aerling world for a year. Did you ever see the Father?”
Sloane’s head shakes back and forth slowly, her lips pressed together tightly. The anger I see slipping onto her features tells me she knows something about this. She doesn’t make me drag it out of her. “I asked about the Father, not long after I learned of his existence,” she says with a bite to every word. “What I was told was that after he and the Mother were separated, he was so overwrought with grief at losing her that he secluded himself in a distance part of the Aerling world. He saw no one, and never came out to greet newly returned Aerlings. Tāwhiri took over all his duties out of respect for the Father’s grief.”
Invincible (The Aerling Series Book 3) Page 14
