Intangible

by DelSheree Gladden

  I start to shrug, thinking I have no idea, but then a theory springs to life. “I always wondered why Robin seemed so confident that I would be able to take her with me.” I think back to earlier today and my theory begins to take shape. “When I mentioned Robin wanting to come with me to her mom today, she had no clue what I was talking about.”

  “You think the Sentinels gave Robin the idea?” Olivia asks.

  Nodding slowly, I say, “I don’t think it’s just an idea. They know I can take someone with me, and they want it to be Robin.”

  “Why you?” Hayden asks. “Why not some other Aerling who doesn’t have a whole squad of Caretaker Officers on their doorstep?”

  Olivia lays her hand on my thigh and squeezes my leg tightly. “Because there is no one else like Mason,” she says. “My guess is that not every Aerling can take someone with them. Only a god can grant passage between worlds.”

  “With your help,” I add.

  Her shoulders bob up and down. “Hopefully,” mumbles.

  “Okay, that might explain that part, but what are they planning?” Hayden asks.

  My head falls back against the couch as I sigh. “Whatever it is, it begins with Robin getting into the Aerling world.”

  “Then we better make sure it doesn’t happen, then, right?” Olivia says.

  “How?” Hayden asks. We all know Robin is intelligent and determined, and now we realize just how manipulative and borderline psychotic she is as well.

  Olivia’s lips twist up in a harsh smile. “We make her believe she’s coming with us, of course.”

  Chapter 33

  Collateral Damage

  (Olivia)

  As Robin slides into her seat across from me at lunch, my muscles tense. I knew this was coming. I knew I would have to face her today, but it doesn’t help me not want to reach over the table and slap her. Only having Hayden and Mason on either side of me stops me from acting on my disgust. Mason has to place a restraining hand on my knee when Robin’s expression turns understanding and filled with false concern.

  “Mason, how are you holding up?” she asks.

  I can tell by the stiffness in Mason’s grip that he is as tense as I am, but his outward appearance and tone have a casualness I could never pull off. “Pretty good,” he says.

  Robin pauses for a moment as she considers Mason’s response. I watch as her eyes narrow. Thoughts turn over in her mind and I can see her trying to figure out Mason’s apparent cool. “Something happened,” she says slowly. Her eyes dart between me and Mason.

  If I speak, I know it will be something nasty, so I keep my mouth shut. I expect Mason to answer, but his only response is a tightening of his fingers on my thigh.

  “What happened?” Robin asks.

  Even after her demand, it takes Mason a moment to answer her. “I did it,” he says.

  Immediately, Robin’s mouth pops open and she lets out a yelp of excitement. She’s just short of jumping over the table and hugging Mason. It’s a good thing she doesn’t. Yesterday, her enthusiasm would have sparked some amount of compassion from me. Not anymore.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Robin demands excitedly.

  Somehow Mason forces a smile onto his face. “It was really late last night when I finally did it and I thought it would be fun to surprise you.”

  “Well you did!” she gushes. “I thought something was wrong!”

  Hayden mumbles something unpleasant under his breath. Thankfully, Robin is used to ignoring him by now and is too focused on Mason anyway. Just in case he wants to make any other comments, I kick him in the shin. His answering grin isn’t encouraging.

  “How did you finally create the wind spirit?” Robin asks excitedly.

  Hayden and I both tense. Obviously, we can’t tell Robin that it was her mom that helped Mason, or she’ll know immediately that her lies have been exposed. Mason knows this, but I have no idea what he plans to say.

  Settling back in his chair, Mason drops the remaining half of his sandwich back on his tray. “It wasn’t easy. I was on the right track …”

  The corner of my mouth twitches at the lie.

  “…but I was trying to combine everything in the wrong way,” Mason finishes.

  “What do you mean?” Robin asks.

  Mason frowns, settling into his deception. “I kept trying to keep things so controlled and organized, but air doesn’t like to be controlled or organized. What I needed to do was gather everything together and allow it to sort itself out.”

  I think everyone holds their breath as Robin takes in what he just said. Her eyes narrow for just a moment, but I can’t tell whether it’s in suspicion or thoughtfulness. What Mason just told her is the opposite of the truth, but very similar to what he had been attempting on his own before finally approaching Robin’s mom. There should be enough there to make her believe him. My hand tightens around Mason’s.

  “Wow, that’s amazing,” Robin finally says. She starts to say something, but then her eyes flick around the table in confusion. “Where’s Molly?”

  “My mom stayed home with her today. She wasn’t feeling very well,” I say.

  “Is that safe?” she asks.

  Safer than letting her be around you, I think. It’s seriously a chore not to voice my hatred for Robin right now. Luckily, Mason steps in. “A Caretaker Officer is with them. They’ll be fine.”

  Robin seems to take the explanation at face value. A moment later, Robin’s lips thin into a line. Her shoulders pull inward in a conspirator’s posture that I know all too well. “So,” she says, “what’s the plan to get us to the Aerling world?”

  “Us?” Hayden scoffs. “Who says you’re even going?”

  The air is sucked out of me at Hayden’s comment. I want to reach over and slap him! We’re supposed to be reassuring her!

  “Give it a rest, Hayden,” Mason says with a roll of his eyes.

  I sit quietly as Hayden and Mason expertly feed off each other, quietly amazed that they are so good at this.

  “What?” Hayden says innocently. “There’s no guarantee Olivia will be able to take her. She acts like it’s already a done deal, when it’s not.” Hayden scowls at Robin again. “This isn’t about her.”

  Mason’s lets go of my hand and crosses his arms. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was really ticked off at Hayden. “Me going home is just as much about Robin as it is about me. We can’t leave her here to be hurt by her family. Put your personal opinions aside. This isn’t about you, either.”

  Sulking, Hayden shakes his head and looks away from Mason. He’s not done talking, though. “If this is about anyone, it’s about Olivia. She’s the one putting her life at risk to get you home and Robin away from her psycho parents. Anyone want to talk about that?” He turns back to glare at the both of them. “All either of you care about is how you’re going to escape and survive. If it was up to me …”

  He trails off, but his eyes are fiery with a passion I don’t think is completely fake. He’s been so supportive and helpful since rescuing Mason. Even after kissing me, he has been the perfect friend. I realize now how much I have taken him for granted. This must be killing him.

  Robin, however, is not the least bit sympathetic. “Olivia has already come to grips with her role in this whole thing. Grow up and do the same,” she snaps. “Olivia doesn’t belong to you anyway. I don’t even know why you’re hanging around pining over her when she’s clearly not interested.”

  “I’m her friend,” Hayden snarls. “I back her up and care about what happens to her. That’s what friends do, but I suppose that’s probably a foreign concept to you since all you’re here to do is use Mason and Olivia to get a free ride away from your parents.”

  The pale skin of Robin’s face flushes pure scarlet. I dig my fingers into Mason leg, begging him to do something.

  “Enough,” Mason snaps. “Hayden has every right to be here,” he says to Robin firmly. He turns to Hayden, then, and says, “I know you’re worried
about Olivia, but we’re doing everything we can to keep her safe.”

  I notice that he doesn’t comment on Hayden’s accusations.

  Slowly, the tension diffuses and Mason leans back into his chair. “Now, can we get back to Robin’s original question about the plan?”

  Robin and Hayden nod stiffly.

  “Thank you,” Mason says. He looks like a parent getting onto a couple of troublesome children, but his right knee is bouncing frantically under the table. It’s actually somewhat of a relief to see some nerves from him. I was starting to believe he really was as freakishly confident as he is pretending to be. I don’t know how any of us can be confident about anything at this point.

  “So… the plan,” Robin prompts.

  Mason sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “It’s not a complete plan, yet, because Olivia is still working out how to bridge the gap between our worlds, but we’ve decided the location should be somewhere out in the open where the Sentinels will have a hard time getting to us, but not so crowded that we’ll cause a scene.”

  “And that would be where?” Hayden asks, a bit of edginess still clinging to his voice.

  Tempting fate, I step in and say, “The mall food court.”

  Robin’s nose crinkles. “What? That’s a terrible place for this.”

  “Why?” Hayden demands. “Do you have some kind of insight you haven’t shared with the group, yet?”

  “No,” Robin snaps, “but I do have common sense.”

  Hayden mutters his response to that under his breath. Robin either doesn’t hear him, or pretends not to. She continues speaking either way.

  “There are going to be too many people there.”

  “It depends on the time,” Mason argues.

  “You don’t know the time!” Robin says. “Olivia will only know it’s time when the time comes. This isn’t something you can plan down to the minute.”

  I kills me that all I can do is trust Robin that I’ll know when it’s time. That really gets under my skin, because she’s the last person I want to be trusting right now. For obvious reasons. If she’s wrong, and I miss the window to send Mason home, we’ll die. Needless to say, I’m more than a little edgy right now.

  “We’ll sit in the food court all day if we have to,” Mason says calmly. “It’s a good defensive spot if the Sentinels try anything.”

  “No,” she argues, “it’s a good spot to get innocent bystanders injured.” Robin shakes her head and real fear creeps into her expression. “Mason, you don’t understand how ruthless the Sentinels are.”

  Mason’s eyes flash silver and narrow in on Robin. “I don’t understand?” He breathes out slowly, but it does nothing to calm his anger. “I watched my Caretaker family die, almost watched my little sister die, and felt his knife dig into my flesh as they tried to kill me. I know exactly how ruthless they are.”

  Swallowing hard, Robin leans back from the table just enough to get out of Mason’s reach. “I just meant that when it comes to killing you, they won’t care about collateral damage. If they get to you in time, there may be a lot of innocent people hurt.”

  It sounds like a valid excuse, but I understand her true motive. She isn’t arguing because she cares what might happen to a few civilians, she just doesn’t want to chance the Sentinels not being able to stop us from leaving without her. They don’t want to kill Mason anymore. They want him to succeed and do whatever it is they think taking Robin into the Aerling world will accomplish.

  I know the truth behind her words, but I can’t say a single thing about it. As my eyes dart to Hayden and Mason, my anxiety lessens. They see everything I do. Hayden pretends to sulk in the chair next to me, but he is listening intently to every word. Mason is the first to speak.

  “If this were just about my own life, things would be different. The thought of collateral damage would be unacceptable. This isn’t just about me. It’s about what I’m supposed to do. I have to save Molly and the rest of the Aerlings from the Sentinels.” Mason runs his hands through his hair. “I don’t want anyone else to get hurt, but I have to make sure I get home. I can’t risk not making it.”

  A strange, sickening look of satisfaction creeps onto Robin’s features. She doesn’t voice it, but there is approval in her eyes. The thought of causing someone else to be injured is a heavy burden for Mason, yet Robin merely sees it as a means to an end. “Fine,” she says a little too lightly. “When are going?”

  “We aren’t going anywhere together,” Hayden says with a biting smile.

  Robin looks to Mason for his argument, but Mason only shrugs. Her lips fall open. “But… but, you said …”

  “I’m still taking you with me, if I can,” Mason says slowly, “but it’s not a good idea to go together. We don’t want to tip the Sentinels off.”

  “But …”

  “Is that all you can say?” Hayden snaps.

  Robin’s head whips around to glare at him before swinging back to Mason. “We shouldn’t be separated! What if the Sentinels attack before we’re all back together?”

  “Then we’ll deal with it,” Mason says. “Driving off together on my birthday will be like taping a big sign to my back that says ‘Kill me.’ This isn’t negotiable, Robin. Olivia and I will go to the mall as soon as it opens and pretend we’re shopping like everything’s normal. You and Hayden will come later and just happen to run into us and then we’ll all go have lunch together.”

  Her displeasure is obvious, but Robin nods sharply. Only half of her attention is focused on us now. The rest, I’m sure, is being funneled into figuring out how this plan might hurt her chances of getting to the Aerling world. For the first time since she sat down, I relax a little. It doesn’t matter whether she thinks up something diabolical or not. The last thing we would ever do at this point is tell her our real plan.

  Chapter 34

  White Hot

  (Olivia)

  “How do you stop yourself from strangling her?” Evie asks after slamming the front door shut. She clenches and unclenches her fists and rolls her shoulders as if she’s gearing up for a fight. In reality, she’s trying to stop herself from getting into one.

  “It’s not easy,” I say.

  I knew letting her be around Robin after learning the truth wasn’t a good idea, but sometimes it’s just unavoidable. Like the eve of Mason’s birthday when everyone is so rattled they’re about to break apart and no one wants to go home for fear of missing something. Hayden is having the same problem.

  Evie stomps back into the living room and glares at Hayden. His pacing has been getting on her nerves for the last hour, but sitting down is just not going to happen right now. As Evie walks by, she mumbles, “You could have at least brought Matt with you.”

  “He’s at his study group tonight. I already told you that,” Hayden growls.

  Mason walks back into the house after walking Robin out to her car and frowns at the agitation choking the room. His eyes fall on Evie as she picks up a pillow off the floor and torpedoes it back onto the couch.

  The frantic energy in the room doesn’t lessen as Mom reaches for Evie. In fact, it gets worse as Evie bats Mom’s hand away in irritation. I can see the battle between wanting to comfort her daughter and wanting to punish her in my mom’s eyes. Mason sees it too and steps in.

  Evie doesn’t lash out when he grabs her arm gently. Her nervous movements quiet at his touch and she falls against his chest with tears in her eyes. Mason tips his head in the direction of the stairs and I nod. I can see my little sister’s shoulders trembling as he leads her away.

  Hayden seems oblivious to the whole exchange, still pacing back and forth. I ignore him for a moment and take my mom’s hand. “You can call Dad and tell him he can come home now. I know he won’t want to stay away any longer than he has to.”

  Mom bites at her bottom lip. “Should I have told him?” she asks quietly.

  I shake my head. “It would only torture him,” I say. “If I don’t come back… he’l
l understand someday. Just tell him how sorry I am and that I love him.”

  The tiny quiver that starts in my mom’s chin nearly breaks me. She squeezes my hand tightly before releasing me and escaping to the kitchen. It takes me a moment to blink the tears back. I might have stood there for a long time if not for the quiet shuffling of Hayden’s feet on the carpet.

  My grip is soft as I wrap my fingers around his. He looks up at me with a hollow expression. “Hey,” I say, “come with me to go check on Molly.”

  He nods wordlessly.

  I have to tug on him to get him going, but he follows me down the basement stairs without resisting. We get about halfway down before the sound of singing and syrupy background music only a little girl can appreciate hits our ears. My lips curl into a smile, and even Hayden comes out of his fog at the sight of Molly dancing around the room belting out the theme song to her favorite cartoon. For a minute, we just stand there and watch her live in this carefree moment.

  “How does she do it?” Hayden asks quietly.

  “Do what?”

  “Forget what’s going to happen tomorrow?” he says. “It’s all I can think about.”

  Hayden’s hand tightens around mine and it hurts my heart to know that if I die, it will cause the people I love more pain than it will me. I pull Hayden’s arms around my shoulders and lean into his embrace, wishing I could tell him that everything will work out. The only reassurance I can give him is to say, “She has faith, and so do I.”

  About that time, the song ends and Molly flops down onto a beanbag chair. She notices us a few moments later and asks, “Are you done tricking Robin yet?”

  “Let’s hope so,” Hayden says seriously.

  “Yeah, we’re done. Want to come back upstairs?” I ask Molly.

  Slowly, her eyes drop down to her feet. “Can I stay down here a little bit longer?”