The Breaker's Resolution: (YA Paranormal Romance) (Fixed Points Book 4)

by Conner Kressley

  “Now,” he started, his voice once again in my head. “What would be the fun in that be?”

  There was a chuckle in his voice, a fiendish one.

  “And Owen, tell her that now we’re definitely even.”

  And then we were gone.

  Chapter 29

  Got That Backward (Aka The Rest of Him Part 2)

  Cresta

  I stared at Laurel Luna like a deer staring at the headlights on an oncoming truck. It was here, it was scary as hell, but did I really understand it? Could this actually be happening? Could I really be watching another mother die in front of me?

  “Cresta!” Casper’s voice was shaky and close. “Call an ambulance!”

  “No!” Laurel moaned from the ground. “No ambulance. No police. No no one.”

  Blood pulled around her, staining the carpet and spreading with each passing second.

  “We have to call someone,” I said, instinctively kneeling down to her. “There’s too much blood. You won’t make it if we don’t.”

  “Then I won’t make it,” she answered. “If you draw attention to this place, then the Taggers will find Sarah. I didn’t go through all of this so that girl could die, Cresta. I didn’t do it so that damn prophecy would be another tick towards completion. If I have to die to keep that from happening, then so be it. But no ambulance.”

  “Get Dahlia,” I motioned to Casper. “And be quiet about it.”

  Casper nodded and started out the door. Looking down at Laurel, at the way her color already seemed to be changing, I yelled back to him. “And get Royce too, Cass. He needs to be here.”

  “Thank you,” she said. She was fumbling for something, and I soon realized that it was my hand. Sighing, I gave it to her. “I want you to know that, if I could have-”

  She winced as pain cut off her words.

  “There was an eye on his helmet,” I said, changing the subject. “The person who shot you, and he rode on a motorcycle. What does that mean?”

  “I don’t know,” she said, but I had her hand. I could tell she was lying.

  “Laurel. I need you to be honest with me,” I said, looking down at her.

  “Listen to me,” she said, gasping for breath. “There’s something you need to know, something about Royce.”

  Shade started pouring out of her, out of her wound. And then it started moving back into her. It was trying to tell me something. It wanted me to try and fix her.

  “Laurel, shut up for a minute,” I said, moving my hand over the source of the blood.

  “What are you doing?” She asked as I pressed my hand against her.

  “I think I’m healing you,” I answered, tapping into the shade and, deeper than that, the Essence.

  “No!” She batted my hand away.

  “Are you crazy?” I asked. “Let me help you.”

  “You’ll have to get into the Essence to do that. I won’t let you do that to myself. I’ve seen what that does to people.” She grabbed my hand again. “I want better for you, Cresta.”

  Again, she was telling the truth.

  “Really?” I asked, pulling my hand away. “Then let me do this. Because, whether I really care to admit it or not, I’d like to keep you around for a while.”

  “Cresta, I won’t allow it.”

  “I’m not giving you a choice,” I answered. “Sarah, if you want to keep Laurel alive, then get your pregnant ass down here and hold her hands down.”

  Sarah climbed down from beg, leaned down and did as I asked. Of course, she was scared to death. Her eyes were full of tears and her entire body was shaking.

  “Sarah let go of me!’ Laurel said, but her voice was already getting weak.

  “I don’t want you to die though,” Sarah said, still holding her hands, still crying. “I don’t want anybody to die.”

  “Then let me do what I do,” I told me. Tapping into the deepest parts of the Essence, I moved through the wound. It was deep, cutting through organs that-while I didn’t recognize them- I knew were vital.

  “Cresta, it’s dangerous,” laurel muttered weakly.

  “What isn’t?” I answered, knitting her back together.

  “Cresta, you’ll lose yourself,” she continued, almost whispering.

  “I’ve got a pretty decent support system. If I lose myself, they’ll find me. I worked backward, pulling the bullet toward the front of her body and stitching her back up as I went.

  “You don’t understand…” she said, almost unconscious.

  “Then you can explain it to me when you’re better,” I said. “You know, after I save your life.”

  I pulled the bullet from my biological mother’s body and let it fall to the floor. Sweat poured off me in sheets now and I was more than a little dizzy as I mended the entry wound.

  I fell backward when I was done, breathing heavy.

  I tried to shift out of the Essence, to see the world the right way, but I couldn’t. It was sticking. Why was it sticking?

  “Cresta?” I heard Sarah’s voice, but she was just shade and Essence. I saw her as swirling energy, and the baby inside of her glowed like a spotlight, pulsating brighter than anything I had ever seen before.

  “What is that?” I asked, moving backward across the floor. “What’s inside of you?!”

  “Cresta!” Dahlia’s voice was in the air. I saw a blanket of energy come toward me and then felt a hit. The world snapped back into the place the instant Dahlia’s hand landed flush against my cheek.

  “Thank you,” I murmured breathlessly.

  “What- what did you say about my baby?” Sarah panicked.

  “Nothing,” Dahlia snapped. “She wasn’t in her right mind. Laurel, is she alright?”

  “I think so,” I answered.

  “You shouldn’t have done that,” Dahlia stared at me. “I’m proud of you, but you shouldn’t have done that.”

  “Where’s Royce?” I asked.

  “He’s gone.” Casper was in front of me, hugging Sarah, whose face was shoved into his chest. “I told him everything and he lost it. He hijacked a motorcycle and went after the guy. I tried to stop him, Cress. But he-”

  I jumped up, almost falling as the world spun around me.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Dahlia steadied me.

  “I’m going after him. He’s going to get himself killed.”

  “And getting yourself kill will help matters?” Dahlia asked. “You just performed surgery with your mind. You’re way too drained to be of any use to him.”

  “See that woman there,” I pointed to an unconscious Laurel. “That’s her son, and her son has saved my life more times than I care to think about. I’m not letting him die, not if I can help it. Try to get Laurel into bed, and then do that scan thing you do. See if you can pull the shooter’s motive, allegiance, or identity from the room.”

  “I can’t use my powers. I can’t produce the shade.”

  “I can,” I answered. “Taking her hand, I moved some energy into her. “That should be enough to cover it.”

  “I’m coming with you,” Casper said, Sarah’s head still on his chest.

  “You need to stay here, make sure nothing gets to her. I’m fine, Cass. I’ll be fine.” I marched out the door, woozier than I’d ever admit and threw some shade back to that room. “I’m shielding you, so that no one who doesn’t already know you’re here can find you. I’ll be back as soon as I can and then we’re getting the hell out of here.”

  Casper told me to be careful, and I ran out of the house, slamming the door shut behind me.

  The sun blared brightly on what looked like an idyllic little town. It all seemed so quaint and so quiet. You’d have never thought all hell was breaking loose, or that the fate of the entire world rested in that little blue house.

  I turned right and started running as fast as I could. Yes, Royce could be in the complete opposite direction, and maybe he was. But there was no time and I had a fifty percent chance of being right.

  U
nfortunately, I didn’t take into consideration how horribly unlucky I’ve always been. Because, instead of running into Royce or even the biker, I ran smack dab into Commissioner Rivers.

  “Stop right there!” He grabbed me on the shoulders, stopping me in my tracks. I pulled away from him.

  “Let go! I have to go!” I yelled.

  “Listen to me, there’s been a slight security breach. It’s nothing for you to worry about, but it might be for the best for you to stay indoors for the time being.”

  “Slight?” I balked. “That’s one way to put it. It’s the wrong way, but it is one way. And hiding in my room, that’s not really the way we do things. Now which way did they go?”

  “I’m going to have to insist that you do as I ask,” Commissioner Rivers said, moving toward me.

  “Which way!” I demanded.

  “If you’ll just calm down, we have everything under control.”

  “I doubt that seriously,” I spit out. From the corner of my eye, I saw a red car parked along the street. “You know what? Nevermind. I’ll find them myself.”

  Commissioner Rivers grabbed at me and I pushed him back, making contact with his chest so he wouldn’t think it was shade that sent him rolling onto his ass.

  “Sorry dude, but you’re not nearly strong enough to stop me.” I jogged across the street, pulling at the red car’s door handle. Locked.

  A flick of my finger and a touch of shade later, and not only did the car unlock, but it purred to life seconds after I climbed in.

  I threw it in gear and tore out onto the road. Hopefully they hadn’t gotten out of Clarity yet. Something told me that part of the Taggers way of ‘having things under control’ probably included some sort of barrier to keep the guy inside. If that was the case, then I wouldn’t have much trouble finding Royce. This place was, after all, about the size of a shoebox.

  I took a hard left down a side street named Elm and saw the Clarity town limit sign in front of me.

  ‘The Strangest of Places’ it read.

  “Oh shut up,” I muttered to myself. But before I could blink, two motorcycles darted across my line of sight, one after another.

  “Royce!” I gasped. He would find a motorcycle, wouldn’t he?

  I kicked it, mashing the gas pedal as far down as it would go. I took a quick right, following the bikes and leaving skid marks on the small town street.

  We booked it into downtown- a small space of diners, shops, and housing- as I gained on the bikers. It really was a lot like Crestview.

  “Except Crestview never had a high speed chase,” I murmured to myself.

  A full scale unseen battle by warring factions of Breakers, but never a high speed chase.

  I darted into the far lane, which didn’t worry me as much as it would have in a town that might have seen a car or two a day.

  “Royce!” I yelled, finally pulling up even with him. “Royce! Stop this!”

  “Sweetheart?” He turned to me. His sandy hair whipped in the wind and his eyes, no longer shielded, were that of the Raven. “You need to get out of here!”

  “I’m not leaving without you,” I said, swerving to miss a mail truck sitting on the side of the road.

  “He killed my mother!” Royce yelled as I settled beside him again. “This son of a bitch ain’t getting away. He’s gonna pay for that!”

  “He didn’t!” I yelled, screaming to talk over the sounds of the dueling engines.

  “What?” He asked, looking over at me.

  “He didn’t kill Laurel! I healed her!”

  He stared at me for what seemed like a long time now, especially given that he was going seventy miles an hour with no helmet on. “God, I love you!” He screamed.

  “What did you just say?” I blanched.

  The biker turned around. The pistol that shot Laurel was still in his hand. He fired two shots at Royce, who was still looking at me.

  “Watch out!” I screamed. Royce jerked toward me. He was about to skid to the ground, but I slammed into him, knocking him into the car beside me.

  He landed on the seat beside me, hitting his shoulder hard. I thought I heard a crunch, but at least he wasn’t a cocky splatter on the side of the road.

  He righted himself beside me, holding his shoulder.

  “You okay?” I asked, trying my best to keep up with the biker ahead. He took a left and then another right down a tight alley. Though I wasn’t sure this damn convertible would fit, I followed him in.

  “I’m fine. Just get me to him,” Royce said.

  I was supposed to turn him around, to get him out of harm’s way. But I didn’t want to do that now. I wanted to take this bastard down, and I wanted Royce to do it with me.

  So I kept driving.

  “Your eyes,” I said, glancing over at him.

  “My powers don’t work here. Momma gave me contacts, but the damn things itch so much.”

  “I like them,” I said, eyes on the road.

  “Good to know,” he said, and though I wasn’t looking at him, I could hear the grin in his voice.

  The alley narrowed ever further and I cringed as the brick walls that lined it squeezed against the car. Sparks flew along either side of us and, though I was flinching my world away, Royce stood up, wind blowing through his hair.

  “Just get me close enough to jump on,” he yelled.

  “Absolutely not,” I said. “He’s got a gun. He’ll kill you.”

  “He does have a gun, but you got the last part backwards, Sweetheart.”

  “I saved Laurel. That’s unnecessary,” I said.

  “This ain’t about Momma anymore. Casper told me what happened. He was after that woman. He was after the Damnatus. I ain’t gonna let him kill her. I ain’t gonna let him do that to you.”

  The biker reached the end of the alley and took a left as it spilled out onto another road.

  Sparks burst from either side as I did the same thing. The windows were crushed now, and I had no doubt the sides of the car were ruined.

  Ooops…

  I floored it again, trying to bridge the gap. But there, standing off the road just a step, was the blond woman I saw back in the woods in the Hourglass, the one no one else could see, the one who was responsible for bring us to the Damnatus in the first place.

  We made eye contact for a split second and, as she mouthed something I couldn’t make out, she pointed back…back toward Laurel’s house.

  Looking back at the biker, he seemed different now. He flickered. He was almost transparent, like he was a hologram. Like he was shade.

  I waved my hand and he dispersed into thin air.

  “What the hell!” Royce said, sitting back down beside me.

  “He wasn’t real, Royce,” I said, my heart jumping into my throat. “He was distraction!” I turned to him with terror in my eyes. “We have to get back to the house!”

  **********

  My heart leapt into my throat as we skidded to a stop in front of Laurel’s house. It all looked normal. There were no screams, no blood, and no bullets. Maybe we had actually gotten here in time.

  I put the car in park, leaving the ruined heap running and rushed toward the front door. Royce was hot on my trail and I pushed on the door. It was locked. I didn’t like that.

  “I didn’t leave it locked!” I said, looking to Royce.

  He didn’t answer. He just leveled a boot into the door, knocking it backward and sending splinters flying in the air.

  Dahlia appeared in the doorway of the bedroom, fists lamped and ready for action.

  “Thank Fate,” she exclaimed.

  I rushed toward them, doing away with the barrier as Royce and I came through.

  Laurel now lay cross the bed, still unconscious but visibly breathing.

  Royce ran to her, settling beside her and kissing her on the forehead. It still seemed strange to me, but I pushed that feeling down.

  “Her color is better,” I said to Dahlia.

  “Thanks to you,” she answ
ered.

  Casper and Sarah were in the corner. The woman sat cross legged on the floor. Casper stood behind her, his hand in hers.

  “What happened?” he asked, brushing red hair out of his eyes with his free hand. “The biker dude, is he…”

  “No,” I shook my head. “What we were chasing was an illusion. He’s still out there somewhere.”

  Sarah sobbed hard and I found myself moving toward her. “Don’t worry. I’ve got this under control,” I lied. It was the same lie Commissioner Rivers had told me only a few moments ago.

  “It’s…It’s not that,” Sarah said, her teeth gritted together. “It’s that.” Looking down, I saw a puddle of water laying around her.

  “Oh God. Is that what I think it is?” I turned to Dahlia. “She’s having the baby!”

  “I’ll take care of it,” Dahlia answered, touching my shoulders and looking me square in the eyes. “But there’s something you need to know. I managed to get some information from this room when I scanned it. The biker, he’s-”

  “Now, now,” A voice sounded from the living room. “Don’t give away all my secrets.”

  Spinning, I saw him. The biker, still clad in his helmet with the visor pulled down, strode toward us.

  Sarah whimpered again, and this time I was pretty sure it was because of him.

  “Don’t worry,” I said, settling in the doorway. “I got this.”

  I threw my hands in front of me, manipulating the shade so that it created a barrier in the doorway, effectively blocking the biker from getting to us.

  “That’s impressive,” he said, not breaking stride. “Watch this.”

  He moved through my barrier with ease, like someone settling into a warm bath.

  “That’s not possible,” I stammered.

  “Guess it is,” the biker said, and threw a punch into my gut.

  I bowled over, pain shooting up my spine.

  “You done went and done it now,” Royce yelled.

  He jumped into action, hopping through the air, and unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks at the biker.

  It was no use though. For all of Royce’s moves, the biker had a counter move. Royce punched. He blocked. Royce kicked. He side stepped it.