The Breaker's Promise (YA Urban Fantasy) (Fixed Points Book 2)

by Conner Kressley

  Mom?

  He wasn’t talking to my mother. He was talking to his own, but who was that?

  “Look, I gotta go. If I’m gonna make it halfway to the cabin before sundown, I gotta leave now; especially considering the route we’ll have to take now that we’re on foot.” He paused. “I will. I got an extra pair in my backpack, but I won’t need ‘em. It’s warm out here.” He paused again; a hint of a smile gracing his lips. “Love you too,” he said. Turning, he finally saw me at the edge of the valley, staring at him. Something flickered across his eyes and he bit his lip. “And Mom,” he said. “Tell them not to worry. I’ll do whatever’s necessary to keep her safe.”

  Chapter 22

  It Never Happens Like You Think

  We walked until the sun went down, dipping behind the huge wall that cut the Hourglass off from the outside world. I had wondered about that wall a couple of times since I got here. It could have been anywhere. I watched the people of Crestview unknowingly sit through breakfast as war waged on right in front of them. The anchors kept them from realizing it. This wall; the Hourglass, it could sit right in the middle of downtown L.A. and no one would be the wiser. They’d walk right by it, never knowing that it was there. Something about that just didn’t feel right to me.

  Since Edgar was out of commission, Royce took us down a series of back channels and ‘off the map’ beaten paths that even Owen and Flora knew nothing about. That told me that one of two things was true. Either, like Owen and Flora, Royce grew up here- and maybe he had reason to frequent these out of the way paths; or he had studied this area petty thoroughly, preparing for a moment like this.

  I realized, as I mused between these options, that I knew next to nothing about Royce. Other than the fact that he was annoying, liked motorcycles, and that my mom saved his life, he was a mystery to me. And, judging by the lack of conversation that was going on between the lot of us, that didn’t seem like it was going to change anytime soon.

  “This seems like as good a place as any,” Royce said, dropping his bag on the ground. It was the first words any of us had said in hours. We had finally made our way out the woods, and found ourselves in an agricultural area of the Hourglass. Miles and miles worth of crops stretched out in perfect little lines. Royce decided we’d travel through the corn, since it was high and would give us cover. When I suggested that we wouldn’t be able to tell which way we were going, he scoffed and told me his sense of direction was “as perfect as Marshall Dillon’s aim’ (whoever that was). But when I told him that we wouldn’t be able to see if anyone was following or advancing on us, he relented. So we walked just outside of the corn; which gave us cover in at least one direction.

  “We’re stopping?” Owen said tensely.

  “We’re stopping,” Royce said, and plopped on the ground beside his bag.

  “If we keep going, we can make it to your cabin by morning,” Owen answered.

  “It’s not my cabin,” Royce said. “And if we keep going, we’ll pass out from exhaustion. These girls haven’t had food in a day. The only time Cresta’s been off her feet is when I knocked her ass out.” He gave me an infuriating wink. “It’s been a long day, and we won’t do ourselves any favors by stumbling around hungry and tired in the dark; especially considering that only one of us actually knows where we’re going.” He unzipped his bag. “I ain’t got much in the way of food and even less water. Suffice it to say, things weren’t supposed to go like this. But y’all are welcome to what I do have.”

  “Fine, we’ll stop,” Owen relented. “But we should migrate into the corn. It’ll give us better cover.”

  “No,” Royce said. “If these bastards are gonna find us, I wanna see ‘em coming.”

  “You’re maddening. Do you know that?” Owen said.

  “He might be, but he’s not wrong,” I said, pushing past him and settling beside Royce’s scant bag of treats. “The corn won’t protect us unless we’re moving. Other than that, we need to be able to see what’s going on around us.” Turned out Royce had more than he let on inside his duffle bag. Sure, it was all junk food- Cheetos, candy corn, chocolate chip cookies- but as someone who hadn’t had junk food since the minute she was transported to this awful place, he could have done worse. I tore open a bag of Cheetos, the fiery hot kind, and started munching.

  “Fine,” Owen said. “Then I’ll take first shift.”

  “Not gonna happen,” Royce said, taking a huge bite out of one of the cookies. “Flora and I will take turns. You just focus on your beauty sleep, Gorgeous George”

  “I wanna help,” Owen said with clenched fists.”

  “This ain’t a debate, Dragon. You’re not taking a watch.”

  “You don’t trust me to be alone with her?” Owen’s eyes narrowed. “I protected her long before you ever came into the picture; whoever you are. You think because you’ve been here for what; one whole day, that you know anything about us? You have no idea what’s going on. I will never stop protecting her.”

  “Maybe so, Hotshot, but that ain’t what the prophecies say.” Royce’s face got tense. His eyes flickered with that glow they held when he took down Ezra. “They say you’re gonna kill her. No wait; devour her. That’s it. So, you’ll forgive me, but I don’t give a damn about what’s going on. I’ve been training for this since before you knew who you were, since before Allister Leeman convinced you to up and leave your family and get this whole troublesome ball rolling.” He leaned up and dug into his bag. “I got a job to do, and I’m not about to let anybody-you included- stop me from doing it.” He pulled at a bottle of water and threw it at Owen, who caught it deftly.

  “I’m not thirsty,” Owen growled.

  “It’s for you to wash your face,” Royce answered. “You’re still bleeding from the last time you pissed me off.”

  Owen gave me a look and marched away.

  “You’re being too hard on him,” I told Royce, pushing my bag of chips aside.

  “I don’t hold hands, Sweetheart. We’re in deep shit. There’s no room for error here. I’m not taking any chances, not even for your boyfriend.” My eyes went wide and Royce stifled a chuckle. “Of course I know. I ain’t blind. I see the way he looks at you, the way you look at him. I knew it the minute you wanted to go back for him. Nobody would risk their life like that for somebody who wasn’t tickling their fun places.”

  “There’s no tickling,” I said as red colored my cheeks.

  “Whatever,” Royce muttered. “It is poetic though. I’ll give you that much. The Bloodmoon falls in love with the Dragon. It’s like Shakespeare, but in English. It ain’t smart though. You know the way these work, Cresta. Prophecies might not come true the way you think they will, but they do come true. And for every second you’re around that guy, you’re in danger; whether you love him or not.”

  “He’d never hurt me,” I said with the same certainty I’d use if I was telling him my name or the color of my eyes.

  “He might not mean to, but the prophecies never said anything about intent, just results,” Royce said. “Not to mention the fact that you’re already promised to somebody else.”

  “The Raven?” I scoffed. Just the thought of it disgusted me. “Allister Leeman is dead. I’m free of that now.”

  “You’re right,” Royce conceded. “If Allister Leeman really was the Raven, then you are free.”

  “If…?” I muttered.

  Royce leaned closer. “It never happens like you think it will, Sweetheart.” A shuffling noise sounded from the distance.

  “Owen!” I said, jumping up. To his credit, Royce was right behind me as I darted in the direction Owen had been going. The noise level increased as we neared a line of brush. It was the sounds of a scuffle; a lot of grunts and rapid movement. I ran to it, feeling not only Royce but Flora at my side also.

  Pushing through the brush, I saw Owen. He was standing by a rock formation, surrounded by very angry looking Breakers. Scanning their faces, I realized I didn’t recognize any of t
hem; which probably meant that Owen didn’t either. And judging by the way he stood-on the balls of his feet and ready for action- I knew there would be no friendly way out of this.

  Hands jerked me back to the other side of the brush. It was Royce, holding tight to both of my shoulders.

  “Let me go!” I yelled.

  “Hell no,” he whispered. “And keep your damn voice down. Letting them know you’re here won’t help anything.”

  “We know she’s with you. The Council tracked your mental signatures to this area. We know you went to her,” one of the miscellaneous Breakers said in the distance.

  “Then you should know she’d never stay here. She’s too smart for that. She’s long gone by now.” Owen’s voice was louder than it needed to be. He was trying to get me to leave. Feeling Royce’s hands on my shoulders, I realized that everyone was. Throwing an elbow into Royce’s gut and running out to meet Owen as soon as his grip loosened, I hoped they realized that what they wanted wouldn’t dictate me.

  “No!” Owen yelled as he caught sight of me barreling toward him. “Cresta go!” But I wasn’t listening. The same wave of adrenaline rushed through me, and Breakers went flying like rag dolls, making a hole in their circle. Owen tried to run, but as soon as the hole appeared, more Breakers moved in to fill it. I felt a tug at my leg and then something hard across the back of my head.

  I was on the ground, the world was spinning around me, and I tasted something metallic in my mouth. Someone I didn’t recognize was on top of me. He was younger; younger than me I think. His grubby hands wrapped around my throat and pressed. Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe. I struggled, flailing about, trying to knock him off of me. But it was no use. He was firmly planted. I gasped for air, but none came. He was staring me right in the face; his eyes on mine. For some reason, I noticed the smattering of freckles across his nose and cheeks. He looked so innocent somehow. Even now, even killing me, he was childlike. What would make him do this? What could the Council have hammered into him to make him treat another person like this? He didn’t even know me.

  I tried in vain for one more gasp of air, and then readied myself to pass out. Suddenly, the boy’s eyes got wide and he fell to the side. His hands released from around my neck and sweet cool air flooded my nose, throat, and lungs. I took a few quick greedy gulps of air as the light shimmered around me and Flora came into view.

  She pulled me up; gently but quickly. “Come. We must move quickly,” she said, swinging my arm around her shoulder. As my eyes adjusted, I realized the extent of the horror surrounding me. Were there this many Breakers before? It looked like a hundred of them fluttering around the four of us. Royce and Owen were scattered, doing their best to fight them off. But I could see that Royce was limping and Owen’s nose had opened back up, gushing blood anew. “I have to get you out of here,” Flora said.

  “No!” I pulled at her. “I’m not leaving them!”

  “You must,” Flora said. “This is all for you, don’t you understand that?”

  I pulled away, stumbling but not falling. “I know that they’re fighting for me. And if I leave, they’ll die for me too. I can’t have that.” I marched forward. Someone came at me from the side, I ducked away and he went headlong into a tree. But the person behind him barreled into my side, knocking me back to the ground.

  This wasn’t my forte. I couldn’t fight; not with my hands, at least. But I was Cresta Karr. I was Julie Karr’s daughter, and I had other talents. I pulled at the shade around me and, given the sheer number of Breakers around, there was a lot. I used it as a battering ram The Breaker grunted as he went flying off of me. I spun, using the shade to force a hole through the crowd. More Breakers rushed me, but one by one, I picked them off; knocking them back with splintered pieces of their own shade.

  “Run!” I heard from somewhere close. It was Owen, but I wasn’t going anywhere. I – a sharp pain rang throughout my head. But, unlike the blow I received before, this pain was inside my head. And it was one I had felt before. I grabbed my head, crumbling to the ground the way I did back at the Council’s chambers. I looked up, already knowing who I was going to see.

  Felix, the toddler Council member was standing before me; his arms stretched out; assaulting me with the same shade that almost killed me just the day before. I descended against much faster this time, like my mind had trained itself to feel it; some kind of sick muscle memory thing. I fell, but was caught by strong hands.

  “Hey, Diaper Rash; put a cork in it!” That voice…whose voice was that? I couldn’t see anything. The pain was too much. But that voice, it dug into the deepest parts of my mind. “Don’t make me embarrass you out here!”

  “You have no power here,” Felix said, all childlike and disturbing.

  “Yeah, that’s sort of a running theme with me,” the person holding me said. “The thing is, it’s never stopped me before.” There was silence, and then screaming. But, to my surprise, it was Felix’s screaming. His horrible wails pierced my eardrums and made the pain he was putting me through even worse. But then, as quick as it started, it stopped.

  And so did the pain. The arms lowered me gently to the ground. I tried to open my eyes, to put a name to the voice, but I couldn’t. I was tired and sore, and my eyes were bleary. Whoever this person was leaned down and kissed my forehead. “Hey there, Sunshine,” he said. My heart rose into my throat, remembering those words and all the times I had heard them leading up to this moment. “Don’t try to move. It’s over. Everything will be okay. I’m here now.” He squeezed my hand. “Keep fighting, okay? I’ll see you soon.”

  I must have passed out, because the next thing I knew I was laying on a blanket. There were no angry Breakers around, no toddler Council members with stubby pain inducing hands, and no pounding headaches. The peaceful rustling of running water pulled me to consciousness. But where was I? There was no water where we had been. My heart jumped. We had been captured. I was a captive of the Council and had been put in one of their cells.

  My eyes jerked open and proved me wrong. I was outside. It was morning; which meant I had been asleep all night. I turned. There was a creek beside us, and Royce was kneeling beside it. He had his shirt off and was tossing water onto his face and chest.

  “Are you okay?”

  I turned again. Owen was standing over me, with a bowl in his hands. “It’s rice,” he said and handed it to me.

  “Where are we?” I asked, my voice hoarse and cracked. “What happened?”

  “We’re in the forest, closer to where we need to be,” he said, kneeling down beside me. Steam from the rice drifted up to my nose and made my stomach gurgle; which would have been embarrassing if I wasn’t so damn hungry. “And, we got saved, Cresta.”

  “Saved?” I asked, my nose crinkling. “By who?”

  “By whom,” a gruff voice corrected from my left. I turned toward its source and my heart skipped a beat. I recognized the face immediately, even though I had technically never seen it; at least not while I was awake. His hair was lighter than in the dream and his face more warped with time. But his eyes were the same glistening gray that stood out so vibrantly to me. It was him; Mother’s Man.

  “That would be me,” he said.

  Chapter 23

  Static

  And there he was. Wendy’s words came crashing into the forefront of my mind.

  It won’t end until you find Mother’s Man.

  Was this it? Had it ended? If so, why were we still in the forest? My mouth was agape as I looked him over. He was dressed in gray from head to toes; which did nothing to offset his hair or eye color. My hands tightened around the bowl of rice Owen had just given me as Mother’s Man came closer. “Hello Cresta,” he said, extending an open hand to me. “My name is Renner.”

  “I know who you are,” I said. Shoving the rice into his hand, I jumped to my feet; a move that caused my head to spin and my back to ache. Grabbing Owen’s arm, I pulled him away from Renner. “We need to talk. Alone,” I hissed, pulling
him behind me.

  I marched down a rolling hill, following the path of the river Royce was washing in. “That was sort of rude, Cresta,” Owen said, settling beside me as I came to a stop. “Especially considering that he just saved our lives.”

  “That’s Mother’s Man,” I said, disregarding what Owen had just said.

  “What?” His eyes got wide. “The guy from your dream?”

  “Yes, the guy from my dream. What the hell is he doing here?” I asked.

  “He’s Royce’s uncle,” Owen answered, instinctively turning around and looking at Renner again. “Apparently he’s part of this whole gambit to save you.”

  I remembered Royce telling me about his uncle; the guy in the cabin I was supposed to find if anything happened to him. I had no idea that the uncle in question would be the baby killing bastard from the Poe letter.

  “Okay, I can’t believe you just used the word gambit and you weren’t talking about the X Men, but I’m gonna put a pin in that right now, because I can’t believe this is happening. You think he knows my mother?” I crossed my arms.

  “He seems to. At the very least, it looks like he has your best interests at heart.”

  “I’m not so sure about that,” I said, looking back at him. Renner had walked over to Royce. They were talking and looking over at Owen and I. Suddenly, I felt more surrounded than I had when the Breakers were attacking me. What if I couldn’t trust Renner? What if I couldn’t trust any of them? Sure, Royce had a picture of my mother, but was that really enough to justify putting my life in his hands?