“What is this?” I muttered.
“I knew it,” Renner said from beside me.
“What am I looking at?”
“Your birthright,” he said. “What you’re seeing now- or, what I assume you’re seeing now, given that no more than three people in the history of the world have laid eyes on it, is the building blocks of who and what we are. It’s the energy that makes up the shade, Cresta. It’s the Essence, the source of all things. “
I tried to jerk away, to pull myself out of this. I wasn’t sure why, but the idea of peering into the building blocks of Breaker DNA wasn’t something I wanted on my college application.
“Don’t fight it,” Renner said, as though he could sense my apprehension. “The fact that you’re seeing it means you can shape it.”
“I could always shape it!” I said, ignoring his advice and trying with everything in me to make the world go back to normal. But it wouldn’t work. Whatever I had done, whatever barrier I had pushed through, wasn’t letting me go back.
“You could shape shade, Cresta. This is different. This-this is everything.”
“She said no!” Casper’s voice was loud and affirmative, the way it only got when he was standing up for me; which he had to do way too much lately.
I felt his hand on my shoulder. “I’m here, Cress. You’re not alone. You’re not ever going to be alone. I don’t know what you’re seeing, and honest to God, I don’t care. But you look really scared right now, and that makes me really scared. So I’m gonna need you to snap out of this, m’kay?”
“I don’t know how Cass?” I admitted, looking around. The dots, the Essence, surrounded Echo, Royce, and Dahlia; and not the way it seemed to surround everything. These dots were bright and pulsating. They looked like parasites feeding off the auras of my fallen comrades. My eyes darted over to Royce. The dots pulsated around him too but, where they say on the surface of the others, they had seeped inside of Renner's body; digging into every piece of him.
“It’ll be okay, Cress. Just listen to me okay, focus on my voice,” Casper said.
“What makes you think that’ll work?” I barked.
“I'm sorta winging it here, Cress. Just listen to my voice and try to cut down on the bitchy, okay?”
“I’m not being bitchy,” I muttered. Looking down at my hands, I saw the brightest light I had seen since finding myself lost in the Essence. It was perhaps the brightest light I had ever seen period. My palms were beacons, bright burning things that threatened to sear through my corneas if I didn’t turn away. The dots within them were fierce and swirling. They changed color and intensity at the speed of light. No wonder it felt like I was burning through on the inside whenever the shade got to be too much. I actually was.
“You totally are, but it’s okay. I love you anyway,” Casper said, squeezing my shoulder. “Do you remember that time we ditched Mr. Coulson’s class and went out by the lake?”
“It’s not much of a lake,” I said, thinking of the overgrown puddle that all the old farts back in Crestview frequented on Saturdays to catch catfish and talk about how hot it was.
“Well, it’s not much of a town,” he chuckled. I knew what he was doing. He was trying to get my mind off things, to create a point where I could get mentally, hoping it would pull me out of this.
“But it is home,” I said, speaking more for him than myself. Crestview had never been home to me. Chicago was, in our apartment in the shadow of the Seer’s Tower, with Mom, Dad, and me watching old movies and hanging Christmas lights way too early cause Dad was ‘feeling the spirit’.
But it was home to Casper and, at this point, Casper was home to me. That was had been made clear in the excruciating months that he was gone.
“It was November, so there was a little bite in the air. I stole my dad’s fishing pole and we sat out on the lake for three hours,” he said.
“And you didn’t catch a thing,” I laughed. I remembered that day like it was yesterday; the quiet chirp of the birds that had flown down from up north, the empty beer cans that littered the lakeshore.
“I don’t remember you pulling in a trophy winner either,” he answered.
“You’re the country boy, Opie. I’m a city girl.”
“You sure are,” he said, leaning in. I could feel his breath against my ear now. “Don’t you go forgetting yourself on me, Cresta Karr. What would I do then?”
And just like that, I was back. The shimmering world of shade disappeared, taking its sticky Essence with it. I was back in the kitchen again; just Cresta Karr standing next to her best friend.
“Cars drive on roads,” I said, leaning against Casper.
“You’re damn right they do,” he said.
He marched over to the fridge and pulled out a block of cheese. “Looks like these folk are gonna have to wake themselves up, Renner.” He gave me a wink. “If anybody needs me, I’ll be in the den working on my crosswords.”
Chapter 15
Baby Daddy
“I can’t believe you knocked somebody up, bro. I didn’t think you had it in you.”
It had taken three hours for Royce to wake up after I had inadvertently knocked him out, but only thirty seconds for him to make me wish he never had.
“Look at the ginger snap over here; gonna be a baby daddy. I’m proud of you bro!” Royce gave Casper a slap on the back which, for whatever reason, made me really uncomfortable. In fact, the whole idea of Royce and Casper being friends rubbed me the wrong way. Casper belonged to me. Well, me and Liv Rivers, and the citizens of Clarity – Oh, and some random college girl named Sarah… and their baby.
Whatever! The point was he was my friend, and I wasn’t planning on sharing him with some smug cowboy with a God complex.
“Shut up, Royce,” I said, almost out of habit. Seriously, I should have a ‘Shut up, Royce’ t-shirt. At least a bumper sticker.
“Don’t be mad, Sweetheart. You jealous? Feelin’ a little twinge in the ol’ biological clock. Don’t worry. Give it a little time and good ol’ Royce will put a bun square in that oven.” He gave me a stupid, cocky wink. “Can’t fight fate, Babydoll.”
“You sicken me,” I said, sneering at him. But that wasn’t the truth, not really. Sure, the idea of shaking his hand, much less allowing him to impregnate me, seemed as wrong as it did foreign. But he had risked his life to save mine. We had fought together, ran together, and lost things together. It was hard to truly hate someone after that. I wasn’t about to tell him that, though.
A loud shout came from the kitchen, causing Casper to drop his cheese log (I have no idea why or how he got it). It had been like that since the three of them had woken up. Royce came out here to annoy Casper and me, while Dahlia and Echo gave Renner a hard time about what had happened, what he had helped me do.
“Give me a minute,” I said, standing up and heading toward the kitchen.
“Where are you going?” Casper asked through a mouthful of cheddar (maybe he was using the thirty-second rule).
“This is at least half my fault. I can’t let him take the heat for it alone.” I moved to the door, ready to open it and throw myself on the metaphorical sword, when I heard the shouting again.
“You know that’s not what I meant!” It was Dahlia’s voice, and it was shrill, high and, above all, tired.
“Then what did you mean, dearest? Because from my end, it sounds like you were siding with your friend instead of your husband.” Echo sounded equally tired.
“I’m just saying that there is more than one side to this. There are things to consider.”
“Like the fact that he almost got her killed!” Echo shouted.
“Lower your voice. The children will hear you,” Dahlia hissed.
“You’re being dramatic, Echo. The girl was born for this, and keeping her from it won’t do anyone any good.” Though he had reason to be more tired than any of them, Renner sounded calm and collected. I leaned against the door to get a clearer picture of what they were saying abou
t me.
“Is that what you think? Is that what your people think; that I’m just going to let you put Cresta in danger because you think she’s meant for it?” Echo’s voice was filled with disgust. “Because if it is-“
“My people! I assume you mean her mother!” Renner chimed in.
“The mother who never saw her! The mother who, even now is nowhere to be seen! Where is she Renner? If she cares so much, if Cresta’s safety is so paramount to her than where in fate’s name is Laurel Luna?!”
“How dare you perceive to know what’s going on with any of us?! You weren’t there, Mrs. Montgomery. While we were planning this revolt, you were safe in your bed.
“And when Ash died, Cresta’s real mother, she sent her to me. She didn’t come looking for any of you. She didn’t send her daughter to whatever mythical utopia you’ve promised to bring her to. She sent her to the person she knew would protect her. That makes her my responsibility. And I do not shirk my responsibilities, Renner; not ever.”
Dahlia butted in. “Echo, please. If you would just-“
“Just what, Dahlia?! You want me to say it’s okay, to give him permission to let Cresta dip into the Essence? I will not. It's quicksand, you know that. You saw what happened to the last person who tried to control it. Or would you rather I tell her that too? Would you rather I just tell Cresta that her-“
“Quiet!” Dahlia said, and I could almost sense her raising her hand to quiet him. “She’s here. She’s listening at the door.”
God, I hate Dahlia’s powers.
“Cresta.” Echo’s voice was calm and ever. “Cresta, come in here and bring the others with you. There are things we need to discuss.”
I beckoned for Casper and Royce, and once we were all sitting at the table in the center of the kitchen, Echo dug into our various situations.
“Casper, I know you’ve told us before, but it’s important that we know exactly how you got here. You’re the only human to ever set foot inside the Hourglass, you got here without help from any Breaker, and you now seem to be intimately connected to the Damnatus. So, if you’d indulge us, please don’t leave anything out,” Echo said, drumming his fingers against the table.
“It wasn’t without help,” he started, running a hand through his ginger hair. Maybe it was the way the sun was hitting his face through the window, or maybe it was the fact that I knew he was going to be a father, but Casper looked young today. “The letters got me here; Wendy’s letters.” Dahlia flinched at the sound of her daughter’s name, but Casper pressed on. “The last one she sent me had coordinates on it. I went there, said some words that she had underlined three times for emphasis, and the next thing I knew, I was in these woods.”
“How would that happen?” I asked Echo.
It was Dahlia who answered. “That’s the way of the anchors that surround the Hourglass. In order to keep its exact location a secret, the anchors strip and manipulate memories; even from Breakers. But the anchors are supposed to be impenetrable. Wendy must have given you a failsafe of some sort.” It was still strange to hear Dahlia call her daughter by her name. “What were the words that she made you repeat?”
“I don’t know,” Casper admitted, lowering his head. “I can’t remember, and when I woke up, the paper was gone.”
“You can’t remember?” Royce asked, shaking his head.
“If he doesn’t remember, it’s because Wendy didn’t want him to remember…for whatever reason,” Echo said.
“I never dreamed,” Dahlia started. “I knew she was powerful. I knew she was special. But to think that Wendy could have set all this up, to think that she could see so far and so clearly after- after her own death. It’s astounding.”
Echo’s fingers stopped drumming long enough to find Dahlia’s hand and clasp it.
“So what do we do?” Casper asked. “We know who the Damnatus is, and I’m not about to sit here and chance some idiot coming after-“
“Your baby momma?” Royce chuckled.
“Shut up!” I gave him a slug on the shoulder.
“We’ll do what we have to in order to keep her safe,” Echo said. “We have to break out of the Hourglass.”
“That isn’t an easy feat, though,” Renner said, talking more to us than to Echo. “As Dahlia said, the anchors are impenetrable.”
“So how do we get out?” Royce asked.
“With the Blood Moon,” he answered.
“Me?” I asked. “What can I do?”
“Not you,” Dahlia said, still clutching her husband’s hand. “The actual Blood Moon.”
I cocked my head, which Dahlia must have found infuriating, because she let out an exasperated sigh. “The astronomical phenomenon, dear.” Her voice was flat, but it held the sort condescension you might otherwise reserve for a meddlesome fly. “It’s a lunar eclipse, given its name because of the reddish hue the moon takes on during it.” She ran a finger through her tightly coiffed hair. “As you know, anchors are tied to things, things from which they draw their energy. Big anchors must be tied to big things. There are no anchors bigger than those that hide and protect the Hourglass.”
“They’re tied to the moon,” I said, remembering the way I had tied my own anchors to the moon and the way it seemed to happily take them on.
“And any abnormality will weaken those anchors. The Blood Moon is obviously one of the biggest abnormalities in Breaker culture.”
“Obviously,” I repeated.
“The Blood Moon, the actual Blood Moon, happens in three days. In lieu of any other options, we’ve decided to use the phenomenon to help us escape.” Dahlia concluded.
“Is that as risky and stupid as it sounds?” Casper asked.
“More so,” Dahlia answered.
“We’re risking our lives again. Must be Thursday,” Casper said, sinking into his chair.
“We’ll be okay,” I told him.
“No, no. I’m not complaining,” he said. “I actually find something about the consistency sort of comforting. It’s like; we never know if we’re going to survive. But we always know we’re not going to know. Which; gives the uneasiness a sort of easiness. Ya know... ”
He was kidding, but there was some truth in that. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt safe, and I had no reason to believe that was going to change anytime soon.
“So that’s the plan?” Royce leaned forward. “We just sit around and wait for the moon to go red?”
“Unless you have a better idea,” Dahlia answered impatiently.
A better idea? Of course! Of course, Royce had a better idea. He got in here too. He, Renner and all the other sources that Royce was always talking about. He’d know how to get in and out of here. He’d have to.
“Can’t we just go the way you did?” I asked him.
“I wish, Sweetheart. We had a guide in our pocket. He’d bring us in and out, but the anchors would always wipe our minds. None of us have any idea how to get the hell outta this damned box.”
“Well then let’s just use your guide,” I suggested, thinking it should be a pretty obvious idea.
“Not possible,” he said, wincing. “He got caught.”
“Caught meaning…?”
“Meaning they bought him ice cream,” Royce huffed. “What do you think? He’s dead, Sweetheart.”
A barb of hurt flowered in my heart. I didn’t know this guide, didn’t know any of Royce’s sources or helpers. But he had died, in part, because of me. And I had promised myself that I’d never let that happen again.
“So we wait,” Echo said, seemingly sensing my discomfort and wanting to change the subject in order to dissuade it. “And, when the Blood Moon rises, we strike.”
“And what if we can’t get out?” Casper asked, still riding low in his chair ala the Saved By the Bell theme song. “I mean, none of us actually know where we’re going. What if we can’t find the magic, memory altering exit door in time?”
“Then fate help us,” Dahlia said. “Because Lorelei herse
lf wouldn’t be able to escape the Hourglass with its anchors at full strength.
“Okay. Since this is the second time I’ve heard that reference and I have absolutely no idea what it means, I’m just gonna ask. Who the hell is Lorelei?”
“She’s a myth,” Renner said quickly.
“She most certainly is not!” Dahlia chimed in.
“Are we really going to have this fight again, Dahl?” Renner cut his eyes over at her.
“Dahl?” I mouthed. It seemed strange for anyone to address Dahlia as something other than the ice queen she was.
“Lorelei was the first Breaker. She was immensely powerful, immensely brave-“
“And immensely fake,” Renner interrupted her. “She’s a bedtime story we tell our children to make them feel better. She’s the feel good opposite of… Well, of you,” he said, looking at me.
“And she’s real,” Dahlia smirked triumphantly.
“That’s enough,” Echo said. “We’re all very tired, and I’ve had about enough of surprise pregnancies, astronomy lessons, and philosophical debates. If I’m not mistaken, Royce still has a body to bury, and the rest of us have a lot to think about. I say we take this back up in the morning.”
And before anyone could answer, he was up and out the door.
**********
I went outside to catch my breath. So much had been going on that I felt like I was going to break from the stress of it if I didn’t take a minute for myself. The sun had dipped down behind the wall of the Hourglass, forcing the sky into a deep red-orange. The moon stood a faint stalwart in the quickly darkening abyss. The light made it look pink, and I shuddered.
As much as I wanted to get out of this place, the idea of actually pulling the trigger, of following through with Dahlia’s half-baked idea, made me more than a little fearful. It wasn’t that I was afraid of these people. I was afraid of these people. They were the most powerful goons on the planet after all. But I wasn’t alone, not in theory or in actuality. Whether I had asked for it or not, these people had risked their lives for me. And people I had never seen; a whole fleet of them, if Royce could be believed, stood at the ready to throw themselves in harm’s way just so I didn’t get hurt. It was a lot of pressure for a girl who, at her core, wanted more than anything to stuff her face full of Twizzlers and Netflix her time away.
The Breakers Ultimatum (YA Urban Fantasy) (Fixed Points Book 3) Page 13
