The sick feeling grew as I entered the holding area. There were five metal chairs with leather straps across them. Merrin sat, virtually lifeless, on the far chair, her head strapped back to keep her from falling forward. Seeing her hit me like a punch in the gut.
“What are we doing here?” I asked, trying not to look at her. “Where’s the bus or plane, or however it is we’re getting to the Hourglass?”
“This is how we’re getting to the Hourglass,” Dahlia sighed. “There are ancient laws regarding the whereabouts of the Hourglass. Only the Council of Masons and their approved representatives are allowed to know exactly where it’s located.”
“But, didn’t you all come from the Hourglass?” I asked, already confused.
“Yes,” Echo answered. “But the transportation modules scramble our sensory perception.” He pointed to the chairs. “We’re placed here and, through means we’re not privileged to know about, we’re transported to the Hourglass. It’s how all field Breakers leave and, if they’re lucky enough, how they’ll all return one day.”
“That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard,” I admitted.
“It might be, but it’s the way it’s been done for hundreds of years,” Dahlia answered.
Suddenly, two men in silver and blue uniforms appeared from the corners of the rooms. I tensed.
“They’re Council representatives. They’re here to facilitate the transportation,” Echo said, sitting in one of the chairs and strapping himself in.
“Oh,” I flinched. “Nice to meet you.”
“Don’t get too friendly with them. They’re prohibited from interacting with us at all,” Dahlia glanced at the men; one of whom was fastening the strap around her forehead. “I suppose you can never be too cautious. Wouldn’t want to give anything away.”
Owen was next to sit down and I realized that, once again, the Poe letter and Casper’s sweater sliver was vulnerable in my pocket. But what could I do? We were leaving now, if leaving is what you could call it. I couldn’t exactly excuse myself to hide them somewhere. Sitting down myself, I realized I was going to have to hope that no one found them.
One of the representatives sidled up to me silently and started fastening straps around my arms, legs, and forehead. “Cold hands,” I chuckled nervously. Of course, he didn’t respond.
“It’s okay.” Though I couldn’t turn my head at this point, I recognized Owen’s voice beside me. It was calm and comforting. Thank God he was here with me. I remembered what he said to me just minutes before, what he had always told me.
Everything will be okay.
I took a deep breath. “See you on the other side,” I muttered. No sooner were the words out of my mouth that the world started to shimmer. My perception was being screwed with. Things started to spin. I started to feel woozy and, when I was sure my lunch was about to make a return appearance, I passed out.
Chapter 10
Wonderfully Symmetrical
Three days before he died in my arms, I woke up somewhere I never thought I would be. When I first heard about the Hourglass, and even when I saw it in Owen’s memories, it seemed to me like a far off thing; like some magical land in a fairytale that would never, and could never, actually touch me. Yes, my mother; well, both my mothers actually, grew up in this place and, as a Breaker, it was technically the land of my people. But I had never felt a connection with this place and had absolutely no desire to journey here. Of course, once I realized the Council of Masons were digging around for the truth about me, my apathy turned into a pretty intense disdain. Suddenly, the Hourglass transformed from an inconsequential fairytale to the setting of my nightmares. So, as I woke up from the trance the Council representatives put me in, the sun beaming off my eyes, I wasn’t surprised to find my chest heavy with dread.
I didn’t open my eyes. I just lay there hoping that, if I kept them closed long enough, then maybe; when I finally opened them, I wouldn’t be where I knew I was. Maybe it would all be a dream. Maybe I’d open my eyes and be back at Weathersby, with Owen standing over me with a platter of bacon and eggs. Or better yet, maybe I’d be back in Crestview, with Mom at the bottom of the stairs and Casper making inappropriate comments with his face planted firmly in his phone. It wasn’t likely, I knew, but a girl could hope. Besides, I had no desire to start this journey any sooner than I needed to. So I just lay there.
“Excuse me,” a voice sounded after a few minutes. I didn’t answer. “Excuse me. While I understand your trepidation, the change in your breathing pattern suggests that you’re awake. If that’s true, I’m afraid I have to insist that we get going.” Again, I didn’t respond. ‘Getting going’ wasn’t high on my list of things to do today. Besides, my back was sort of achy from whatever transportation we took to get where it was the Hourglass was located. “Hmm,” the voice pondered. “Oh I know! What it is the baselines say? Rise and shine?”
Whoever this voice belonged to, it was obvious that he wasn’t going to stop. So, in the interest of shutting him up before he started to shake me, I finally opened my eyes. The room I found myself in was bright. The walls were beige and covered with various anchors or different shapes and colors. The furniture looked old; like brown wicker that had been woven together a hundred years ago. Beside me, on a similarly old looking wicker counter, sat a glass of purple liquid and two pills.
“There she is,” the voice said. “I was beginning to think I would have to douse you with something wet.” It was a boy, pretty close to my age, with sandy blonde hair that curled around his neck, tan skin, and deep chocolate eyes. He wore a simple white shirt that fit loosely and a pair of brown pants so plain that they didn’t even have belt loops. He smiled with teeth so white and straight that it took all I could do not to look away. Whoever he was, he was like the male version of the way I perceived Merrin before I actually met her; California sun kissed and strikingly striking.
“What day is this?” I asked. My throat was dry and the words were more a mumble than anything coherent. Still, the boy managed to understand.
“That’s a silly question,” he smiled. “It’s today, of course.”
“No,” I sat up. My back sang a stiff song as I settled upright. “I mean, how long did it take us to get here?”
“It took as long as it takes,” the boy said. His eyes knitted together and he seemed genuinely confused by the question. I looked around, trying to find something that might inform me, but came up empty. There were no clocks on the walls or the counter, no calendar anywhere.
“I’ve been instructed to ask you to consume the contents of the cup as well as the pills beside it,” the boy said, his smile returning.
“What is it?” I asked, turning toward the counter where the cup and pills sat.
The boy’s mouth fell open. “It’s an electrolyte wash and multivitamins to replenish what you lost in the transport.”
“Okay,” I answered. “Look, no offense. I’m sure you’re great and all, but I sorta wanna see Owen before I drink anything, okay.”
His chocolate eyes got wide. “You are truly amazing.”
“Um, thanks, I guess,” I answered. My head was starting to pound and I winced as I continued. “Look, do you know Owen?”
“Of course,” he answered. “Everyone knows everyone.” His eyes flickered up to me. “Well, for the most part.” He plopped down on the bed beside me. I flinched away, but he didn’t seem to notice. His eyes were bright and his smile was exuberant. “Is that what they teach you out there, to ask questions? Do you ask questions about everything?”
“If I don’t understand something,” I answered, inching away.
“That’s wondrous,” he said, coming forward for every inch I moved. “I hope you don’t mind. It’s just; I’ve never met anyone I’ve never met before, except for babies, of course. The whole thing is very exciting.”
“Never met what?” I asked. My head was pounding harder now, and I put soothing fingers at my temples.
“You’re a whole new person; a brand ne
w Breaker that no one has ever seen before. It’s so exciting. I could even sleep last night knowing you were coming.”
“What? Dude, are you for real?” My words came out even more mumbled now. The pain in my head made everything worse; the light coming from outside, the incessant noise coming from this overgrown kid.
“Of course I’m real? You ask suck strange questions.” Before I knew what was going on, the boy had the cup up toward my lips. “I wish you would drink this. The transport can be rough on people, and this will make you feel the world of better.”
I didn’t wanna drink, but my head hurt so much, and this kid was about as threatening as curdled milk. I took the cup and tipped it back, letting the purple liquid; a chalky nasty thing, pour down my throat. As I swallowed, the idea that, just a little while ago, I probably wouldn’t have thought Flora was very dangerous crossed my mind. I shouldn’t have drunk this, not until I talked to someone I trusted. Still, as the cold chalky liquid spread throughout my body, I started to feel better. My back stopped aching, my throat felt cool and coated and, most importantly, my head stopped pounding.
“Told you,” the boy said, reading my reaction. “I’m Sevie, by the way.”
“Cresta,” I sighed, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.
“I know,” he smiled. “Everyone knows. You coming here is sort of a… big deal?” He pursed his lips playfully. “Did I use that phrase correctly? I’ve been studying contemporary lingo for some time now.”
“You people are so weird,” I said. For the moment, I was so relieved to feel better that I forgot where I was. The room we were in was plain, without a television, phone, or even a closet. In fact, as I took the room in, I realized that there were no doors in it at all; no closet, no bathroom. Even the front door was just a rounded hole in the wall that ran to the floor and exposed everything that was happening to the outside world. “What kind of room is this, Sevie?” I asked.
He handed me the multivitamins. I put them to my mouth. Though I had already drunk the wash, I was still a little leery about my company. He seemed a little too man-boy to be for real. So I pretended to take the vitamins, but really just cupped them in my hands.
“It’s a recovery center,” Sevie smiled. “Transportation to and from the Hourglass is an ordeal. It’s trying physically, and some people need more time to get over it than others. “
“Where are my friends?” I asked, covertly stuffing the vitamins between the sheets of my bed. “And why is there no door to this room?”
Sevie looked back at where the door should be, back to me, and then back to the door again; as though the question was preposterous. “Doors are instruments of privacy. Privacy breeds secrets. There is no room for secrets in the Hourglass. And your friends are safe. I’d say they’ve probably already woken up, seeing how long you slept.”
No privacy? Lord, was I in the wrong place. What was it with Breakers and their weird ass world views? No love, no privacy, basically no free will; the whole thing rubbed me like a Brillo pad soaked in lemon juice. I’d have said something, but as I looked in Sevie’s eyes, bright and believing, I realized just how little good it would do. This kid was for real. He was an honest to God, actual, unfiltered believer. He was an optimist to the nth degree, and nothing I said was going to change that. So instead, I moved on to the other question he raised.
“How long was I asleep?”
“Oh, quite a while,” he smiled. “Longer than most. Though, I suppose that’s to be expected, given that you have no previous experience with – Well, with anything here really.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled me up with all the enthusiasm of a kid dragging his sister down the steps on Christmas morning. “Now come on! It’s time you got settled in, and we’re already running late.”
I flinched as he pulled me up, but there was no pain. I wasn’t even sore anymore. That electrolyte wash was some damn good stuff. The vitamins would probably have had me dancing on the ceiling. Still, I wasn’t sure what I was wearing. The Breakers did have a history of changing my clothes while I was unconscious and, man-boy or not, I didn’t want to go prancing around Sevie in my underwear. As the covers fell away, I realized I had nothing to worry about. I was wearing the same clothes I had on when we made the transport; blue jeans and a pink tank.
Sevie looked me up and down, scrunching his nose. “You’re so delightfully strange. It’s glorious.” He leaned in closer. “And, while I’m sure this is the kind of thing you hear all the time, I just have to tell you how distinct your eyes are.” He stuck a pair of fingers in my face, bringing them close together, like he was measuring something. “They’re just wonderfully symmetrical.”
“Yeah dude, I hear that every day,” I muttered. “I wanna see my friends.”
“You will,” Sevie shook his head. “Come quickly. We’re running late.”
I had no idea how we could be running late, because I hadn’t seen as much as a pocket watch since we’d been here and, for as much as he had talked, Sevie hadn’t mentioned even one unit of time; not minutes, not hours. He hadn’t even told me what day it was.
Before I could ask him where it was we were so late getting to, Sevie had pulled me outside. The sun was bright; brighter than I ever remember it being. I shut my eyes tight and let him guide me forward. When I finally could open my eyes, I found myself staring down at brick roads. Looking up, I saw the Hourglass that I remembered from inside Owen’s mind. Rounded, vintage looking buildings, they were dull in color and without dressing of any kind. People walked the streets, all dressed in exactly the same flowing white shirt and brown pants that Sevie was wearing. They stared at me as I passed by, sort of the same way the people in Weathersby did the first night I got there; only this was a thousand times worse, because there seemed to be a thousand times more people.
They were everywhere, on every side of me; their eyes burning into me. “What are they staring at?” I asked as Sevie pulled me through the crowd. Did they know the truth about me? Had the Council of Masons gleamed that I was the Bloodmoon the moment I passed through their hallowed walls; their huge cinderblock, atmosphere blocking walls?
“They’ve never seen you before,” Sevie said flatly. “It’s exciting.”
“Apparently,” I muttered. Sevie made his way through the gawking crowd, marching toward the unknown with me in tow. A flash of panic hit my mind as I remembered the precious cargo in my pocket. Still being pulled, I dug around with my free hand and found the Poe letter and Casper’s cloth still there; seemingly untouched. “Where are we going?” I asked.
I was half sure he would say the Council of Masons as we made a hard right at one of the brick road intersections. When we turned, I saw several horses and buggies trotting down the street toward us. Inside, Breakers sat, wearing the same white and brown ensemble and chatting with each other. As they passed, I realized that, in addition to clocks, I hadn’t seen a car in the Hourglass either.
“Where are we going?!” I repeated.
“To get you settled in,” he answered. “Traditionally, Breakers without their immediate family are moved in with their closest blood relative, but the Luna line died out some years ago, and the Blut line is contesting the legitimacy of your lineage, so you’re going to be housed somewhere else until it’s all sorted.”
Given that what Sevie just said was like a landmine of information, I wasn’t quite sure where to start. The Luna bloodline, my bio mom’s family had died out? How does an entire bloodline die out? More troubling, Sevie’s tone made me think that sort of thing wasn’t uncommon. More than that, my bio dad’s family was apparently going around saying I wasn’t his; which was such a Maury thing to do. Still, I didn’t care about that. Screw them. I didn’t even know them. All that mattered to me was that Owen was safe, and that the Council of Masons wasn’t ready to punish him for something that was my fault; by birth or action, I suppose it didn’t matter to these people.
“Where am I staying, some foster house?” I asked.
&
nbsp; Sevie made a sharp right at another of the intersections, revealing a much more rural area. Somehow, just a hundred feet and a right turn away from all of these industrial (if quaint) buildings, sat acres and acres of farmland. Small, plain farmhouses dotted the area. Sevie turned and laughed at me. “There are no foster homes here, Cresta. We’re all connected in one way or another. The idea that someone wouldn’t have a place to go is unfathomable to us.”
“Yeah well, the unfathomable tends to be not so unfathomable when I’m involved,” I answered. Sevie slowed down and let go of my hand. He pointed to one of the furthest farmhouse dots.
“Don’t be ridiculous. You’ll stay with us,” he grinned.
“Why?” I asked, tilting my head. “Are we related or something?”
“No,” he answered, meeting my suspicion with the sort of wide eyed innocence I hadn’t seen since my last trip to Disneyworld. “But we’re still connected.”
“Connected how?” I asked.
He grinned and, for the first time, I saw something devilish in his smile. “Come and see,” he said. And, with that, he darted off toward the farmhouse dot. I thought about not following him. I had no idea who this guy was. I had no idea where I was or even where he was leading me. But what could I do? I was here; the Hourglass, alone and with very few options. If I didn’t follow him, what would I do then; fumble around until I found Owen, all while Breakers- who may or may not know the truth about me- scowled and stared?
To hell with that. I shot off behind him, surprised at how fast I was going. Back in Crestview, I had never been much of a runner. What’s more, hand eye coordination had never been my strong suit. Sure, I watched Owen play a few football games, but that was mostly to ogle at his butt in the uniform. You could put everything I knew about sports into a shoebox and still have room for the sandals. But ever since I showed up at Weathersby, things had started to change. It must have been the training; the constant hikes and capture the flag games. I could move now, and I did.
The Breaker's Promise (YA Urban Fantasy) (Fixed Points Book 2) Page 10
