“What do you mean?” Owen asked. Then, stepping closer, he said, “Cresta, tell me what’s going on.”
My eyes drifted over to Royce and Renner. But where was Flora? For all I knew she could be standing right beside me, listening to what Owen and I were saying, all invisible and whatnot. I lunged forward, threw my arms around Owen, and started talking. I told him everything; about the Poe letter, about Renner’s relationship with Dahlia, and finally, about the baby he killed.
When I pulled away, Owen’s eyes were hard. “We can’t trust them,” I decided in a whisper. “They say they know my mom, and there was some evidence. But what if they were lying? Why would someone who killed a little baby just because he thought he was the Raven want to save me? I’m the Bloodmoon, Owen. If he wanted the Raven dead, it’d stand to reason that he’d want me super dead.”
“If they wanted you dead, they wouldn’t have saved you,” Owen answered, wrapping his fingers around my wrist. “They could have just let the Council have you. Mission accomplished. They called you here. They wanted you with them. I don’t know what their motives are, but I think they want you alive.” His hand tightened around my wrist. “And fate help them if they don’t.”
“I don’t care what they want, Owen. There are too many variables here. Isis, the Council, Allister Leeman’s people inside these walls. We can’t afford to have to watch our backs like this. We need to leave. Now. We can go further into the woods. We’ll find a way out of here, and then we’ll run…for as long as we can.”
Owen’s face twisted, like he was going over something in his mind. “I wish it was that simple, Cresta.”
“It can be,” I said, with more pleading in my voice than I care to admit.
“Cresta,” Owen started, looking at the ground. “There’s something you don’t know; something about how Renner save us back there.” He looked up at me; no, past me, and pointed off into the distance. “Follow me,” he said.
A sense of dread bubbled up into my chest as I followed at arm’s length behind Owen. He walked up the hill and, when I followed him to its peak, what I saw made me sick to my stomach. An army of Breakers surrounded us. There were thousands, maybe tens of thousands of them; all lined up as if they were toeing some invisible line. I had never seen so many people in one place in my entire life. It was like it was opening day back in Chicago, and Wrigley Field had been filled to capacity with people who all wanted the Cubs dead.
“Good Lord, there’s so many,” I muttered. “But why are they stopped? What are they waiting for?”
It was strange. Why weren’t they advancing? There were only five of us. They could take us out instantly without even having to use their abilities.
“You can thank my uncle for that,” Royce’s voice sounded from behind us. I shuddered and spun to meet him. I hadn’t even heard him coming. Damn, these guys were sneaky. His sandy hair was wet and plaster to his head. His shirt clung to his still damp chest and wrapped around his pecs and flat stomach like a second skin.
“Thank him?” I muttered.
“That’s his power.-well, part of it anyway. He creates and manipulates static fields. When he heard that your identity had been compromised, he left, hoping to meet us in the middle. Luckily, he came across us just as those idiots were making their play. They didn’t count on Uncle Renner though.” There was a glint of pride in Royce’s eyes that would have been endearing if it hadn’t been directed at a murderer. “In one fell swoop he pushed them all out and created an electromagnetic field that no Breaker can pass unless they’re looking to have their skin fried off.” He looked at me, smiling. “Pretty impressive, wouldn’t you say?”
So, to recap, I am now trapped inside a giant force field with a known killer and his fresh faced lackeys. Meanwhile a literal country full of Breakers are standing outside, looking for any break in the energy so that they can rush inside and take my head off. Impressive isn’t exactly the word I’d use.
“Yeah,” I muttered.
“Look,” Royce said, turning from me to Owen and back again. “Uncle Royce said you were a little strange with him back there. I know it’s a weird time, and that there’s a lot going on. But that dude practically raised me. He’s one of the good guys, Cresta. “
He seemed so sure-and what was more- so genuine about what he was saying. Was it possible that Royce didn’t actually know his uncle at all? Could he be in the dark about what Renner did all those years ago? It would certainly explain his evident pride, even if it didn’t give me answers as to what Renner wanted with me now.
“So what’s the plan now,” I asked.
“Dinner,” Royce said, winking at me. “I could eat a steer, Sweetheart.” He turned and head back down the hill, toward Renner.
“I’m not even going to tell you how much the ‘Sweetheart’ thing bothers me,” Owen said, watching him leave.
“You have absolutely nothing to worry about,” I scoffed. “What’s our play?”
“All we can do is stick together and ride this out. With any luck, they’ll get us close enough to the exit that you can get out.”
“Me?” I asked, looking at Owen.
“We,” Owen corrected. “Obviously, I meant to say we.”
When we made it back, I found that the ‘dinner’ Royce had promised was little more than rice, beans, and a bunch of shredded greens that looked like a poor man’s excuse for salad. It didn’t look very appetizing. But beggars can’t be choosers, and this beggar was starving. Scoping out the manmade fire with the boiling pot hanging over it, I plopped down beside a floating bowl that could only mean Flora was there.
“Be visible,” I barked. I wasn’t sure why I said it. I didn’t give a damn whether I could see her or not. Maybe I was falling back into old habits with her; an idea that made me happy and sad all at the same time. She came into view just in for me to watch her shovel a heaping spoonful of food into her mouth. “Thanks,” I muttered quietly.
“Sure,” she answered, matching my tone. She downed another gargantuan spoonful before disregarding the utensil altogether and tipping the bowl over, slurping up its contents like the leftover milk in the bottom of a cereal bowl. A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. Casper would have liked this girl.
“So Cresta,” Renner started from the other side of the fire. “At the risk of upsetting you, may I offer you some food?” There was a smile on his face that I’m sure ninety nine percent of people would tell you was open, inviting, and completely harmless. Then again, the ninety nine percent probably didn’t know that he had killed a kid. He leaned forward, picking up a bowl and readying to fill it with food.
I jumped up and snatched the bowl from his stupid murdering hands. “I can get it!”
Renner shot Royce a look and then sat back down.
“Is there something about getting your ass saved that’s pissing you off, Sweetheart?” Royce asked as I scooped a helping of rice, beans, and yes, the poor man’s salad into my bowl.
“She’s been through a lot. We all have,” Owen answered. “And her name is Cresta.”
“Yeah, I know,” Royce said, giving Owen the stink eye. “Who the hell could forget the name Cresta? It’s like naming your kid Pepsi or Shoelace. It sorta sticks in the mind.”
“Where the hell are we?” I asked, really not wanting to talk about my name at the moment.
“We’re in the woods,” Flora answered with clueless aplomb.
“No,” I shook my head. “How far did we go after Renner saved us? You put me under the impression that we were in the same place, but there was no stream where the Breaker attacked us.”
“There was,” Renner said. “It was just underground.” He sat his bowl down and stared at me with those mysterious gray eyes. “We are in the same place Cresta. I just brought it to the surface.”
“You brought a river to the surface?” I balked. “How did you even” Wendy’s words came to mind again.
It all breaks when water flows up.
“Oh God,
it’s breaking,” I said, jumping up. The rice, bean, and salad mix fell to the ground. “The shield or the barrier-whatever it is. It’s breaking!”
Owen leapt up beside me, ready to fight or run; both of which seemed equally pointless given the sheer number of Breakers I had just seen.
“No, it isn’t” Renner said, standing a bit more calmly. “The barrier is tied to me. If it was breaking, I’d feel it. I assure you, you’re safe here Cresta. No one came come in or out of that barrier without me allowing it; at least, for the time being.”
“What does that mean?” Owen asked, putting his hand on my shoulder.
“Shade is a fickle thing. You know that. There are people out there doing their best to try to break through what I’ve created. To make sure that didn’t happen, I attached the barrier to an anchor. But, as with most things in life, size does matter; regardless of what anyone might tell you.” He looked from Owen to Royce with a perverted grandpa twinkle in his eye. “And, with a projection this size, I needed to attach it to something pretty damn big.”
“What does that mean?” I asked. “What did you use?”
Renner glanced up; up at the sky, up at the sun.
“You attached it to the sun?!” I was floored; mostly since I had no idea things like that could be used as anchors.
“Not the sun,” Renner said, still looking up and squinting. “The sunlight. It’s beaming down on us, beaming down on them,” he said, motioning to the army of Breakers outside. “And keeping these ‘walls’ standing.”
“Wait,” Owen said, tightening his grip on my shoulder. “What happens when the sun goes down?”
“That’s where the ‘for the time being’ part comes in,” Renner answered, still squinting.
My heart fell into my feet. I tried to compose myself, but my words came out stilted and stammering. “You’re telling me that-all of those people out there-“
“And soon as the sun dips behind the Hourglass’ walls, the barrier comes down,” Renner said, confirming my worst fears. “And it’s a free for all.”
Something strange happened when Renner told me about the barrier. I sort of felt relieved. A ticking clock had been placed on my safety. So, one way or another, after today, all of it would be decided. I would never have to spend another lying awake in bed, staring at the ceiling, and wondering how everything was going to play out. Zero hour was almost here, and there was a peace in that. “Okay,” I muttered, grabbed my bowl, and refilled it with food.
“Okay?!’ Owen said. I couldn’t tell whether he was more upset about what Renner had just said or the way I was reacting to it. “What do you mean okay? We have three, maybe four hours before we lose the light. We have to come up with a plan.” He turned to the other three. “How are we on weapons? We need to grab as much stuff as we can.” He looked around, scouring the area. “Maybe we can get some of these trees down and build a makeshift fort. It won’t last for long, but it might be but enough time for Cresta to get away.”
“No!” The word was sharp and came out much louder than I expected it to. Actually, I hadn’t expected it at all. But standing there, looking at these four people, I thought about all the other people in my life that had put me first, and where that had gotten them. Casper was gone, surrounded by people I didn’t know. He was scarred and I was never going to see him again. Mom was dead. Wendy was dead. A baby was dead. Even Sevie, in his own way, had put my needs first and gotten hurt because of it. How much longer could I allow this pattern to go on? How many more people would have to get hurt, to die, before I would just stand up?
“Nobody else dies for me,” I said.
“What are saying?” Owen asked, looking at me with those eyes that had both lit me up and tore me down since the instant they entered my life. I knew how much this was going to hurt him, but the idea of him fighting off a thousand Breakers in some last ditch suicide effort while I snuck away like some coward wasn’t something I could live with.
“When does this end?” I asked, taking his hand. “We fight, and we fight, and we fight. And sometimes, we even die. And for what? We’re still stuck here, Owen. If we somehow miraculously find a way out of this situation, we’re still gonna be stuck here. Even if we got out, if we made it to my mom, who’s to say the Council of Masons wouldn’t follow? And then I’d be responsible for the horrible things they’d do to my parents, and to Royce’s parents. A whole new set of people would suffer because I want to save my ass. People have suffered for years. God knows how many people have died to keep me safe or to stop me from even being born.” I touched his face; his sweet, sweet face. “What if I’m not worth it? What if, after everything all these people have been through, I’m just a failure? Maybe I am the Bloodmoon, Owen. Maybe there’s no way around it and, if that’s the case, wouldn’t the world be better off without me?”
His face was a mask; pale and empty. He blinked hard, as if he was trying to gather his thoughts. “Of course you’re worth it,” he said, setting his jaw. His eyes flickered over to the others, like he was embarrassed or hesitant to continue. He must have pushed that thought out of his mind, because he grabbed my free hand and planted the longest, most wondrous kiss I had ever experienced onto my lips. It was soft and electric, like his eyes, like his touch. But it was more than that. It was the first time Owen had kissed me in front of people since maybe ever. It was our coming out; proof that he had outgrown his respect for these ridiculous Breaker rules and the power he had given them over him. And it was a plea; a sweet desperate appeal for me to change my mind. “You’re worth everything; all of it,” he said, pulling away from me. “I’d die without you. Forget about the world ending. My world would end.”
I shut my eyes tight; half trying to keep tears from falling down my cheeks, and half because I knew if I was looking at him I’d never be able to say what I needed to. “I’m sorry Owen,” I said, staring at the back of my eyelids. “I know you can’t understand it now, but it’s for the best. Really it is.”
I felt a jerk at my side, and suddenly I was out of Owen’s arms. Opening my eyes, I saw Royce pulling at me. “Come with me,” he barked. Then, nodding at Owen, added, “Don’t worry. Your girl will be safe. I just need to wanna show her something.”
I would have gone of my own volition. I mean, we were trapped in the woods. Where did I have to go anyway? But Royce didn’t give me the chance. With his hand around my forearm, he pulled me forward, marching up the hill where Owen had showed me the Breaker army just minutes before.
“What the hell are you doing?” I said, trying to jerk away.
“What the hell are you doing?” He asked, pulling me closer. “You think all of this is a joke? People died for you, Little Girl. People left their families-they left their homes- to keep you alive. You think they did all that just so you could give up the minute your bottom lip starts wobbling?”
He continued to pull me behind him, getting closer to the barrier and the army of Breakers behind it.
“Look, I know you don’t get it, but that’s why I’m doing this; so nobody else has to die,” I answered breathlessly trying to keep up with his fast (and very large) strides.
“Don’t feed me garbage, Sweetheart. I ain’t a trash compactor and I ain’t your idiot boyfriend,” Royce said. I wanted to smack his arm and tell him that Owen was about the furthest anybody could get from stupid, but the Breaker army had caught sight of me. They started wailing; screaming so loudly and angrily, that my heels instinctively dug into the ground. “You’re doing this cause you’re scared. You think giving up is easier and you wanna hide behind some ass backward morality nonsense so you don’t feel like a coward.” He kept pulling me. The fuzziness that once surrounded the Breaker armywas gone now, replaced by detail and stark clarity. They had weapons; swords, daggers, even guns. Was that a flamethrower? How much did they think it was going to take to kill one girl? “Well you are a coward, Cresta. If you do this, if you give up after everything everyone has done for you, then you’re the biggest cowar
d in the whole damn world.”
I pulled away again, and this time I was able to break free of his grip. “Stop it!” I yelled. “You don’t have any idea what it’s like being me! You don’t know what it feels like to have the end of the world pinned on you.” I bit my lip. “And not to know whether or not it’s true.” I hadn’t really talked to anybody about it, but I had so much power now. I could do things that I never thought were possible and, what’s more, that these stupidly overpowered Breakers didn’t know they were possible either. I was a threat; that much was certain. And after all the times I had seen fate twist and turn on a dime, how could I be sure that the power inside of me wouldn’t be used to bring about some kind of Armageddon?
“You need to see them,” Royce said quietly, motioning at the Breaker army and reaching for my arm again.
“No, I don’t!” I said, pulling away from him. “I can see them just fine from where I am.”
“Can you?” He leaned in closer. “Can you see that the short one in the front with the sword strapped across his back is a kid?” I looked over. True to his word, Royce was pointing to a freckle faced little boy. He had a blade at least twice as big as he was going across his back. His teeth were clenched, his face was mangled with anger and his eyes seemed to burn into my skull.
He wanted to kill me.
“He’s seven,” Royce said. “And the person beside him; that’s his sister. She’s nine. These are children, Cresta. And they want you dead. Not because of anything you did, or even because of anything they think you might do. These kids don’t really understand the prophecies. They want your blood because their parents told them they do. And their parents told them that because the Council demanded it of them. It’s a vicious cycle. Kids are taught hate. They’re taught to judge and to condemn. Their lives are stolen from them, and they’re turned into monsters; slaves to birth, fate and circumstance.” He put his hand on my arm again, but this time, it wasn’t to pull me forward. “You can change that.”
The Breaker's Promise (YA Urban Fantasy) (Fixed Points Book 2) Page 26