Invincible (The Aerling Series Book 3)

by DelSheree Gladden

Gently, Sloane presses her hand to my face, urging me to look at her. When I finally meet her gaze, there is no hate in her eyes. Only joy and compassion stare back at me. “You’ve been using your power since the day you met my brother, Hayden. You just never realized it because it’s such a natural extension of your personality.”

  “What?”

  “Just like Olivia’s natural desire to help those in need led to her developing into a Seeker, your natural ability to accept others for who they are developed into you becoming a Judge,” Sloane says with an air of reverence. “You can see the truth of a person’s heart. You accepted what Levi told you because you could see into his heart and judge him as being honest. With Olivia, you knew how selfless she is, how willing she is to give up her own desires to help someone else. It’s why you were drawn to protect her so fiercely. Those who are willing to give up so much are often at the most risk of being hurt.”

  Everything she says sinks in slowly. Reliving the memory of Levi’s death, I remember how odd it seemed that I trusted him and his Caretakers so much, but it seemed natural to do so. Somehow, I knew they weren’t lying to me. Everything Sloane said about Olivia…it’s impossible to argue with any of it. “And you,” I say slowly, “I know your heart as well.”

  Sloane’s eyes widen, but she doesn’t seem scared. Her palms turn up as if waiting for my judgment, like what I say will define something within her.

  “Your gift may be to sense potential in people, but you are so emotionally connected to others that you can’t help but want to heal their emotional scars and wounds. I know Olivia was freaked out by you sharing her memories, but I get that it wasn’t to steal her experiences. You were so drawn to everything we’ve both suffered and you were desperate to fix it. The more you learned from her, the more convinced you were you could help us both.”

  The tension in Sloane’s body slips away as I speak. “I knew from what Olivia showed me that Levi’s death wasn’t your fault. I overheard Mason saying that it looked like I enjoyed getting into Olivia’s head, but it wasn’t that at all. It gave me peace to learn more about you, because it convinced me that I could help you.”

  “Thank you for wanting to help me,” I say quietly. “Most people wouldn’t have done that.”

  “Most people wouldn’t still be in the middle of all of this when they could have easily walked away,” Sloane says. “But here you are, doing everything you can to protect Mason and Olivia. Why?”

  Shrugging, I give the only answer I can. “Because they’re the only ones with enough courage and strength to save the rest of us. And because they’re my friends. If the whole saving the world thing wasn’t enough, that is.”

  Sloane’s hand reaches over and takes mine. “I wish my brother had gotten to know you for longer, because I know you would have taught him so much, but I’m glad he knew you for as long as he did. That gives me more comfort than you can probably imagine.”

  Smiling, I put my arm around Sloane’s shoulders and we sit together like that for a long time. The slim connection that brought our paths together has turned into a lifeline somehow. It’s not just what her power does to me, it’s having shared my worst memory with her and found only comfort instead of condemnation. That’s something I never thought I would find. While this experience with Sloane has removed so much of the guilt I’ve felt over Levi’s death, there’s one thing she couldn’t take away. I couldn’t remember the face of Levi’s killer until I met him again at the compound. Seeing him then stirred my hatred. Reliving the memory with Sloane has cemented it. Mason can have all the other Sentinels, but that one is mine.

  Chapter 14

  Hardly The Worst Thing

  (Mason)

  “When are you coming home?” Molly begs.

  The ache in her little voice tears at me. I wish I had a different answer for her, but I don’t. “I’m not sure Mollywog. It’s going to be a while still. We’re trying as hard as we can to find the Mother so we can all come home.”

  “Me too,” Molly says emphatically. “Evie and I are searching all over the place and I try to tell her which bits are true. Sometimes it’s easy, but sometimes I can’t tell. It’s harder to do it this way than just listening to people’s words when they talk.”

  “I know it’s hard. You’re doing awesome by helping Evie, though.” My reassurance makes her sigh. I wish she was here. It’s not just the constant fear I carry around that the Sentinels will get to her. Mostly, I just miss her. Even when she’s scared, she’s like a little ball of sunshine.

  Mumbling in the background filters over the line and Molly grumbles something in response. “Evie wants to talk to you for a minute,” Molly says. The pout in her voice makes me picture her with her bottom lip sticking out, an adorable scowl on her face as she thrusts the phone at Evie.

  “Mason?”

  “Hey, Evie. What have you guys found?”

  Frustration bubbles out of her in a harsh sigh. “Not much, unfortunately. This Māori stuff isn’t easy to come by. I’m pretending to be a cultural anthropology student in order to get some professor in New Zealand to help me out with a few things.”

  “Way to take some initiative,” I say with a laugh.

  Evie’s voice lowers as she says, “It’s not the first time I’ve pretended to be someone else to get info out of someone.”

  “I’m not even going to ask.”

  “Probably better that way,” she says with a laugh. “Anyway, this guy in New Zealand told me some different versions of the Māori creation story that might be helpful. One of them said that the Māori usually were drawn toward coastal settlements, so the Mother could be on a coast somewhere if that’s really true.”

  It’s something, but there are a lot of coasts in the world. “And the other stories?”

  “Well,” Evie says, “it was really just one other that Molly thought was important. It talks about how when the Mother and Father were separated, the Mother’s blood was spilled and it stained the Earth red. It’s a sacred color to the Māori. I know there are lots of places in the world that have that chalky red dirt like what was up at Red Rocks in Colorado, but that might narrow down the search area. It could even mean she might be here in the U.S., close enough to keep an eye on you both.”

  “It might,” I say.

  I wish there was more, but I know Evie’s doing everything she can to find more information. The thing is, the Māori stories aren’t the history of the Aerlings. They’re stories passed down from generation to generation that echo what really happened, but they’re sacred beliefs of one specific religion and culture formed out of real events. The coasts and red dirt may have something to do with where the Mother is, but they also may have zero actual meaning.

  “I’ll keep looking,” Evie promises.

  “I know you will.”

  Evie sounds reluctant to let me go, but eventually she says, “Molly wants to say goodbye. I’ll call as soon as I have something new for you guys.”

  After telling her goodbye, Molly regains control of the phone. We talk for a few more minutes about nothing in particular until Evie calls her away to dinner. I feel drained when I finally hang up and toss the phone aside.

  “You guys are so pathetic,” Robin says as she struggles to eat her dinner with her hands still bound together. Her awkward situation doesn’t stop her from scowling at me like I’m beneath her. When I ignore her comment, she laughs. The bitterness in her voice makes my skin crawl. “I feel like I’ve been watching you two flounder around for answers for years! It’s actually pretty hilarious when I’m not having to worry about keeping my head on my shoulders. The Aerlings seriously couldn’t have picked to more idiotic people to save their world.”

  “And I suppose you have all the answers?” I snap. “How about the fact that fixing the bridge has a cost? Did Tū bother to tell you that the person who broke the barrier has to be the one to fix it?”

  “Why would I care what happens to Olivia?” Robin says as she rolls her eyes and takes
another bite of her sandwich.

  Standing, I stalk over to her and squat down in front of her bound body. “Not Olivia,” I say slowly. “You. You’re the one who broke the barrier, Robin. Fixing it requires blood. Your blood. And not just a little. All of it, in fact. You took vows to protect the Aerlings, and it looks like that’s exactly what you’ll be doing, whether you want to or not. How’s that for an answer?”

  Frozen with her sandwich halfway to her mouth, Robin’s mind seems to be racing. “It won’t come to that,” she says.

  “I’m half tempted to use you to fix the barrier regardless of what it might mean just to see you pay for everything you’ve done,” I hiss.

  Robin’s not the only one to stare at me warily. Hayden and Olivia pause in what they were doing in the little kitchen and look over at me with concern. Ignoring them, I focus in on Robin. “Clearly, you’re a much better actress than I ever gave you credit for, but you’re not fooling anyone anymore. Neither is Tū. We’ll find the truth behind this war, and we’ll decide what to do about it and who to punish. Even if fixing the barrier isn’t the right thing to do, there’s no way I’m letting you off scot-free, Robin. You put my family through hell and I fully intend to return the favor.”

  Bristling at the threat, Robin drops her sandwich back on her plate and glares at me. “You’re such a lost little puppy, Mason. It was stupidly easy to manipulate you. Poor invisible boy with no friends,” she mocks. “Make you feel like you’re special, like you’re seen, and you were eating out of my hand. You didn’t even bother to question how strangely coincidental it was that of all the places I could move to, I ended up in the same town as Tāwhiri’s special boy.”

  Her head shakes as if it’s all just too much to believe. “Olivia was no better,” Robin snaps. “Sure, maybe her jealousy made her dislike me, but when Evie realized Tū was the guy who repaired your dishwasher, how stupid could she have really been to not even wonder how a Sentinel ended up in her house doing appliance repair? Didn’t even a single one of you stop to consider that the Sentinels might have bugged your house, rerouted your phone lines?”

  Now everyone in the room is listening in. Olivia looks ready to kill her, but I can see the regret in her eyes that we really didn’t catch on to the full extent of Robin’s deception. Looking back now, of course we should have realized what was going on, but when we were knee deep in fear, struggling to find answers and save our necks, it wasn’t so easily seen.

  Disgust is etched on Robin’s features as she turns to glare at Olivia. “It was laughable watching you all try to fool me those last few days when everything you said was recorded anyway. I seriously almost started laughing a couple of times that last night. The only thing that kept me on edge was that Olivia was still too stupid to figure out how to take you home. If she had only figured that out earlier, we could have avoided the whole dramatic scene on the cliff.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you would have found a way to make it as splashy and bullet-ridden as possible,” Olivia says with mock sweetness as she crosses the floor to stand in front of Robin. “You love a good show, don’t you? It’s just too bad you’re sweet little Sentinel bestie got taken down in the process. I wonder how she’s doing, don’t you? Even if Mason didn’t manage to kill her, Sentinels don’t heal like Aerlings do. Strange that nobody saw any sign of her at the Sentinel compound.”

  Olivia takes a few more steps, crossing in front of Robin and squatting down next to her. “You think you’re so clever for pulling one over on us when we were scared and confused? Not much of an accomplishment, if you ask me. How about trying it again when we know how you got your little school friend to kill Eliana, or how you hurt yourself to try and get a little kid in trouble? You think it’ll be easy to fool us now, when your life is in our hands?”

  Olivia stares at her expectantly, waiting for some kind of snippy response. When Robin doesn’t mutter a word, Olivia smirks at her. “That’s what I thought.” She shakes her head and stands, towering over our captive. “Dying isn’t an easy thing to face. Trust me,” Olivia says, “I’ve been there. Dying is hardly the worst thing that can happen to a person, Robin. Try to remember that the next time you open your mouth.”

  Olivia walks away then, but her threat lingers long after she goes back to setting out dinner for everyone else. It takes a few minutes before Robin picks her sandwich back up and takes another bite. When she tries to swallow, the food seems to stick on its way down. Her already pale skin is ghostly against the flickering firelight in the corner. Olivia is one of the most caring people I know, but I don’t doubt that she will make Robin pay for what she’s done if given the chance. I’m not the only one who believes it, either. Robin wraps her arms around her body and curls in on herself, wary eyes watching Olivia as she tries to contain her fear.

  Chapter 15

  Just Power

  (Olivia)

  Nothing is working. I’ve tried everything I can think of over the last two days to make some kind of connection to the Mother. All I’ve accomplished is giving myself a massive headache. I know my pacing has got to be driving Mason nuts, but I can’t help it. There has to be some way to make contact with her. I’m just not seeing it.

  “Hey, why don’t we go for a walk?” Mason says as he comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist.

  “We don’t have time for a walk.” I don’t mean to snap at him, but the stress is really beginning to affect me. Robin glaring at me from the corner isn’t helping. Neither is Hayden and Sloane brainstorming over at the table. They’ve been awfully chummy lately. “Fine,” I finally say, “let’s go before my brain melts.”

  We make it as far as the cabin door before Hayden calls us back. “You guys have got to see this,” he says when we reach them. He turns his phone toward us, the screen lit up with images that makes my heart stop.

  “What happened?” The smoke and mangled buildings immediately make my mind jump to some kind of terrorist attack.

  “It was an earthquake,” Sloane says. “South of San Francisco.”

  I lean in closer to see the pictures better as Hayden clicks through them. Homes and businesses are completely destroyed. Those who still have homes are without power. More pictures show fires that broke out, ruined streets. At the bottom of the article, the writer mentions the need for volunteers to help with displaced families and in cleaning up some of the rubble where things are stabilized.

  “We should go,” I say. The other three people at the table all look at me with curious expressions. I know it seems like a random thing to say, but the thought process that lead to it starts spilling out of my mouth. “The Mother is supposed to be a nurturer, right? And possibly stay by the coast. I doubt she has the same travel restrictions as the rest of us, either. If she’s really who and what the Aerlings believe her to be, she would be there, right? She would want to help during a natural disaster like this.”

  Even though I’m still skeptical about Sloane, I turn to her for her thoughts. She knows more about this stuff than the rest of us. Sloane’s lips press together as she thinks. “It’s a good idea. If the Mother is there, even if we don’t find her, I think Olivia would be able to feel her presence. It might be the best chance we have to come into contact with her.”

  She looks to Hayden, but he only shrugs. “Sounds better than sitting around here, but what do we do with Robin? Driving to San Francisco from here will take us a while. Flying would be a better option, but we can’t really fly anywhere with her trussed up like a pig.”

  “Just leave her here,” Sloane grumbles. She despises Robin and has no qualms about making sure she knows it. She’s only been living back in the Aerling world for a year, but her sense of loyalty to them is pretty firmly in place.

  Mason frowns. “I wouldn’t be against that if we knew how long we’d be gone. If it was only going to be a day or to, fine, we could set her up so she’d be okay. Any longer, though, and we risk her escaping. Not to mention it wouldn’t be humane.”

&
nbsp; Sloane and I both sport a sour expression at that. Glancing away from her, I look back to Mason. “Could you possibly keep her secure through the airport and during a flight without anyone realizing there’s something wrong?”

  I can see the wheels turning in Mason’s mind. He considers my question for a few minutes before nodding. “I can do it. We need to get there fast if we’re going to have any chance of contacting the Mother. I’ll take care of Robin.”

  With that decided, everyone bursts into motion. We’re packed and ready to go fifteen minute later, on the road while my dad scrambles to buy us all airline tickets. The expense has got to be nearly giving him a heart attack. I would feel more regret about that, but I know he has money stashed away for emergencies. This probably wasn’t even close to what he originally envisioned using the money for, but it definitely fits the bill given that the world might end if we can’t stop the Aerlings from getting massacred by Tū.

  An hour later, we’re standing in line at the Casper airport to claim our boarding tickets. Thankfully, the process is wrapped up quickly. I think everyone in our group keeps a wary eye on Robin. I can’t see her bonds any more than any other regular person, but Mason explained what he did. The ball of air shoved into her mouth is pretty effective as a gag, especially with an additional band of air wrapped around her mouth and the back of her head. With her hair up in a ponytail, only the most observant would notice the indentation where the air is pressing her hair flat to her skull.

  The most impressive set of bonds are those keeping her from making a run for it. A central band of air at her waist connects bands of air that are statically charged to each of her hands and feet. If she tries to run, the friction will increase and zap her. I almost hope she tries it, even though that would mean explaining what happened.

  Mason’s threats and the bonds keep Robin perfectly in line all the way through boarding. As soon as we’re seated, Mason pulls out Cedrick’s handy little trick and drops Robin into a carefully monitored sleep. We don’t hear a peep out of her until we land and Mason wakes her up. Even then, she’s too groggy and disoriented from her forced nap to offer much resistance.