PANDORA

by Rebecca Hamilton

  Robin’s head starts shaking halfway through Evie’s comment. “I can never leave. It’s my punishment for breaking my covenants to protect Eliana. Among Caretakers, I am a prisoner. Even if I try to run, they’ll find me. Believe me, I’ve tried.”

  “What?” I ask slowly. “You’ve run away before?”

  “And they drug me back, every time.”

  Evie stares at Robin as if seeing her for the first time. “How many times have you run away?”

  “At least ten, maybe more. I’ve lost track.”

  Pressing my hand to my forehead, I try to understand what she’s telling me. “So, you want Mason to . . . take you with him?”

  Her bottom lip begins to tremble. “It’s the only place they won’t be able to find me.”

  “Is that even possible?” I ask.

  Robin shrugs. “Probably not, but I have to try.” She wipes away a tear before it can slither down her cheek. “I know you have every reason not to trust me, but I’m begging you to give me a chance.”

  Evie and I look over at each other with the same question in our eyes. She could be lying. She’s a Caretaker after all. But if she is, I can’t figure out what benefit she would get out of it. Even if she reported everything to her parents, they want the same thing we do—to see Mason get home safely.

  I look away from my sister and turn back to Robin, still unsure. It’s clear from Robin’s expression that she knows we are not convinced. A strange look of resolve mixed with shame settles over her. I watch as her fingers grip the bottom of her t-shirt. She only has to lift it an inch or two before Evie and I both gasp, but she pulls her shirt up to just beneath her bra so we can see the full extent of what living with her parents has cost her. The collection of mottled bruises covering her abdomen is staggering.

  “I am well aware that trying to cross into the Aerling world might kill me,” Robin says, “but at this point, it’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

  Evie and I don’t need to look at each other. We both nod, accepting Robin’s help and making the decision to trust her. There is still no guarantee that we are making the right choice, but when does life ever guarantee anything?

  The three of us sit back down on Mason’s bed. The room is quiet until I speak. “If I’m supposed to be able to take Mason home, it must mean that either I have some kind of power capable of doing that, or something about me is inherently different. We need to find out everything we can about Escorts and how they cross between worlds. Whatever the Caretakers are lying about, we need to be prepared for it.”

  “We will be,” Evie says. Her hand slips into mine and squeezes. “We aren’t going to let anything bad happen to Mason, or to you. We’ll figure this out, Olivia.”

  We spend the next hour tossing out ideas and brainstorming for even the most outrageous possibilities. I think all three of us could have gone on for hours longer, but a call from Robin’s parents cuts it short. It is an odd experience to hug Robin before she leaves. I am careful not to hurt her, but I am not prepared for the feeling of responsibility I feel toward her when I pull back.

  “Thank you,” she says quietly, before turning and walking out to her car.

  Evie asks me if I want to talk, but I am too exhausted to do anything but collapse into bed. Night is still hours away, but I can’t keep my eyes open more than twenty seconds after my head touches the pillow. I wake hours later to my phone vibrating under my face.

  My first instinct is to push it aside and go back to sleep, but the preview of a text message from a number I don’t recognize flashes on the screen and yanks me up to sitting. I slide my finger across the screen in a panic, an irrational fear that it will disappear before I can read it plaguing me. I bring up the message, holding my breath.

  I am safe. I love U, Ollie. We’ll be 2gether soon. I promise.

  The End

  Check out this Sneak Peek of Book Two in The Aerling Series . . .

  Chapter 1

  A Dangerous Idea

  (Mason)

  Being invisible once seemed like a curse. After the last few days of constant, invading supervision, I wish I could go back to being the guy nobody even knew existed. I never realized how much I valued my privacy until it was gone. Losing it to complete strangers makes it even worse. Losing it because there is a whole society of killers out to murder me makes it unbearable.

  “Mason, please,” Molly, my seven year old instructor, begs.

  Small, fingers wrap around my larger hand. Molly squeezes, but I can feel a slight tremble in her hand. It surprises me and causes me to look at her. The pleading look in her eyes captures my attention.

  “Mason, you have to focus. You have to learn to access your power and control it. You have to try harder,” she pleads. “There can’t be any mistakes. They have to do it right this time.”

  “What do you mean this time?”

  “Failing is . . . it’s just not an option,” Molly says before dropping her eyes.

  “What happens if I fail?” I ask.

  Molly shakes her head, brunette ringlets bouncing into her eyes. “I . . . ,” she says. “I’m not supposed to talk about it. Mrs. Britton will be angry with me if I do.”

  Feeling the trembling in her hands increase, a surge of protectiveness bunches my shoulder. I’ve only known Molly for three days, but the instant kinship I felt toward her refuses to let me stand by and watch the Brittons mistreat her. The Brittons are not Molly’s biological family, of course. She’s an Aerling like I am. They are the only family she has ever known, though, and she can’t hide how much they scare her.

  I don’t want to put Molly in danger of being punished, but I have to know the consequences of failing, so I ask, “What happened the last time there was a ruling Aerling, like me?”

  Still visibly upset, Molly relaxes somewhat and answers the question. “Usually, ruling Aerlings are identified at a young age. They show special talents right away. As soon as they’re identified, they start intensive training. The Caretakers are afraid of failing.”

  Turning so I can put one arm around her small shoulders, I hug her against my side. “Why are they afraid?”

  “The last time the Caretakers found someone like you, their training didn’t work. They blamed the Aerling, I guess. They said he wasn’t quite right and couldn’t learn to control his power. Every time he tried to use his talents, things got scary. When he turned eighteen, they were more than happy to send him on his way, but the bad things didn’t stop when he left.”

  “What happened?”

  Molly doesn’t answer right away. Her lips press together, probably to stop them from trembling. She tucks her body more tightly against mine. “The first time it happened was the day he went home, not an hour after the Aerling boy and his escort vanished. It was one of the Caretaker children, the one closest to his age that was first. Nobody could explain why she just stopped breathing. Nobody connected the dots at first. It took two more of the family members dying for them to realize what was happening. And it didn’t stop with the family. Everyone who tried to teach the Aerling was dead within weeks of him leaving.”

  Finding a response to that is impossible. If I don’t learn to control my power before my eighteenth birthday, it could kill everyone who has tried to train me.

  I am supposed to be moved every week until my birthday. That’s barely more than a month away, but that is still too many people put in danger because of me. “Molly, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”

  She shakes her head, almost angrily. “I’m not trying to blame you,” she says. “It won’t hurt me. I’m an Aerling. And even if it hurts the Brittons . . . ”

  Molly doesn’t finish her thought, but she really doesn’t need to. I felt the coldness of this house the moment I stepped through the door.

  “You’re scared, though,” I say quietly.

  She nods.

  “Why?”

  It takes a moment before Molly pulls away from me enough to meet my gaze. Her tiny frame looks so sm
all sitting in front of me, vulnerable and fragile. I stay silent as she gathers her courage.

  “What will happen to me if there isn’t enough time to train you?”

  Before Robin’s parents handed me over to the Brittons, they gave me strict instructions not to discuss any of the details that brought me to that moment. I was forbidden to tell anyone that my original Caretakers were murdered in front of me when I was five years old. I was definitely not allowed to tell anyone that Olivia found me a few days later, wandering lost and alone, and I have been living with her family for the last twelve years.

  The only information exchanged between Robin’s family and the Brittons was that the Sentinels had found me and I had to be kept on the move until my birthday.

  To myself, I added that I should never tell anyone that Olivia is my Escort. I also didn’t need to be told that I should keep to myself the fact that I can choose to reveal myself to people, both visually an audibly. That is not something Aerlings are supposed to be able to do. Robin’s parents don’t know about that certain ability, and I intend to keep it that way.

  I pull Molly into my lap. She is so light, it takes hardly any effort. She snuggles against me immediately, and I can guess that she rarely gets this much affection. It saddens me and makes me wonder if my memories of my Caretakers those first five years of life are tinted as if being seen through rose colored glasses. I remember being happy with them, but the only other Caretakers I have met have not been like that at all.

  “Molly,” I say, “how good are you at memorizing?”

  Not prepared for this seemingly random question, Molly looks up at me oddly for a moment before answering. “Good. It’s one of the things I’m best at.”

  I nod, pleased. “I want you to remember what I’m about to tell you. If you’re ever in trouble, I know someone who will help you and take care of you.”

  Molly’s eyes widen. “Other Caretakers?”

  When I shake my head, her eyes widen even more. “No, they aren’t Caretakers, Molly. This is the first time I’ve lived with Caretakers since I was five years old.”

  The way Molly’s eyes dart around fearfully puts me on edge as well. I scan the living room carefully. When we are both convinced that we’re truly alone, I lower my voice and tell Molly what I was told to never tell anyone. I repeat Olivia’s address and her home phone number until Molly has it memorized. She proves her superior memorization abilities when she has the information stowed away in only a few minutes.

  I can see the hope filling her eyes, but she isn’t convinced yet. “But, how will they know I’m there? They won’t be able to see or hear me.”

  “Don’t worry, they’ll find a way to make it work.” I hesitate, not sure how much I can tell her. No doubt it is a risk, but I feel connected to Molly and I refuse to leave her alone and scared. “Maybe . . . maybe I can teach you a few things before I leave, too.”

  Molly looks at me sideways, not sure if I’m playing with her. Her eyes glint with the desire to believe me. The corner of my mouth turns up, and suddenly I want to teach her. I don’t even know if I can, but I am determined to try.

  Mrs. Britton walks in from the front yard where she was preparing flower beds for the quickly approaching winter months. Her eyes narrow at the sight of me holding Molly on my lap. She stops in the hallway. “Are you two working?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Molly says quickly as she scoots away from me and crosses her legs.

  “I should hope so,” Mrs. Britton says. “You have very little time, Molly. Don’t waste it.”

  “I won’t,” Molly says quietly.

  Mrs. Britton nods and continues on her way.

  Disturbed by Mrs. Britton’s words, I turn to Molly and say, “Olivia’s family will take you in, no matter why you show up on their doorstep.”

  Molly blinks quickly, but a tear escapes and rolls down her cheek. “Is it scary,” she asks, “knowing you have to leave Olivia when you go home?”

  I begin to nod, but stop. “Do you know what happens to Escorts when we go home?”

  Shaking her head, Molly’s eyes drop. “No one knows for sure, but they don’t come back. Mrs. Britton says it’s their duty to sacrifice for us.”

  “Why?”

  “Because we’re more important, for some reason, like something bad might happen if the Aerlings disappeared. She says sacrificing the people we love most is the only way to make sure we survive.”

  Her words punch through me, leaving me hollow. “Sacrifice Olivia?” I shake my head in defiance. “I won’t do it, Molly.”

  Frightened eyes snap up to mine. “You have to, Mason. You’re the most important Aerling the Caretakers have seen in . . . maybe ever. You’re more powerful than they even realize.”

  “What does that matter?” I demand. I won’t sacrifice Olivia just to save myself.

  For once, Molly doesn’t shy away from my question. She looks up at me squarely, and says, “If you have power, you have a responsibility to use it. Mrs. Britton tells me that all the time, but for you . . . I think it’s even more important. I think the Aerlings are in trouble, and you’re the only one who can help them. You may not have a choice about Olivia.”

  “I still have a choice, no matter what.”

  Molly’s nose crinkles in thought, the deep kind of pondering you wouldn’t expect to see on someone so young. She looks up at me, serious and scared. “Would you choose Olivia over the lives of every other Aerling?”

  My shoulders fall as I contemplate her question. Could I really be some kind of answer to saving the Aerlings? Is saving them worth losing Olivia? I sit back, not sure I can make that kind of choice.

  About the Author

  DelSheree Gladden lives in New Mexico with her husband and two children. The Southwest is a big influence in her writing because of its culture, beauty, and mythology. Local folklore is strongly rooted in her writing, particularly ideas of prophecy, destiny, and talents born from natural abilities. When she is not writing, DelSheree is usually reading, painting, sewing, or working as a Dental Hygienist. Her works include Escaping Fate, Twin Souls Saga, The Destroyer Trilogy, and Invisible. Look for, Wicked Power, the next book in the SomeOne Wicked This Way Comes Series, and Soul Stone, book two in the Escaping Fate Series, coming 2014.

  http://www.delshereegladden.com

  Other Books by DelSheree:

  Escaping Fate Series

  Escaping Fate

  Soul Stone

  Oracle Lost

  (Coming 2014)

  Twin Souls Saga

  Twin Souls

  Shaxoa’s Gift

  Qaletaqa

  The Destroyer Trilogy

  Inquest

  Secret of Betrayal

  Darkening Chaos

  SomeOne Wicked This Way Comes Series

  Wicked Hunger

  Wicked Power

  Wicked Glory

  (Coming Fall 2014)

  The Aerling Series

  Invisible

  Intangible

  Invincible

  (Coming Fall 2014)

  The Date Shark Series

  Date Shark

  (Coming Fall 2014)

  Awakening

  Book One of the Bloodlines Series

  by Apryl Baker

  Prelude

  Alexandria Nicolette Reed

  August 3, 1996 August 25, 2012

  Loving Daughter and Sister

  Mental Patient,

  Shy, Quiet, Reserved

  Weird, Insane, and Invisible

  May You Rest In Peace

  And Never Return

  You Will Not Be Remembered

  I remembered that day in the park. I remembered writing the eulogy into my journal, tearing it out and shredding it. The pieces floated away on the wind like dandelion wisps. I remembered how I’d felt that day—excited, scared, determined.

  Looking back now, I realize how innocent I had been. I’d thought The Event had changed me all those years ago, but I was wrong. It
had been those words I’d written on that piece of paper which had truly sealed my fate.

  I am Alexandria Nicolette Deveraux and this is my story.

  Chapter 1

  I taste blood as I stare into hell.

  My hands shake. I can do this. I won’t be locked up again.

  Just calm down, I mutter and force myself to open the car door and get out. My tongue flicks over the small cut in my mouth, the tinny taste blanketing my tongue. Adam’s High School looms in front of me. The very sight of the four story brick building terrifies me almost as much as going back to Compton does. It’s not your standard brick and mortar high school, but has touches of wood and stone built into the brick, giving it a charming appearance that blends into the mountain scenery around it. Looks are deceiving, though. I learned that lesson the hard way and it’s not one I will forget.

  Thunder booms overhead and I look up to see black storm clouds rolling across the sky. The teens still outside start to scurry into the building, the threat of a storm puts a little speed into their pace.

  Would any of them still remember me?

  A raindrop hits my hand where it still rests against the car. I should go in, but still I linger, the threat of what is waiting for me behind those doors almost as bad as the storm approaching. Another crash of thunder rumbles overheard.

  It has been five years since I’ve seen any of them. Would they remember the twelve year old girl who’d run crying from the halls of Brendon Junior High school? Would they let me forget her?

  But that person is gone, I remind myself forcefully. Dead and buried.

  More raindrops land in my hair.

  It’s either go inside or get soaked. Bookbag in hand, I lock my car and make a run for the school. I step inside just as the rain lets loose full force. Everyone is talking and laughing, some on their phone, others just hanging out by the lockers. Excited chatter surrounds me. People prattle about their summer and cat calls shout out amongst the laughter. They all look so normal. It’s my turn to try normal.