Invincible (The Aerling Series Book 3) (17 page)

Neither of them says a word. Mason’s face
has gone pale in the already haunting moonlight filtering in through the edges
of the curtains. The slight shake of Hayden’s head tells me he’s having a hard
time wrapping his head around this too. Maybe I should be struggling with this
more than I am. A life is a life, no matter what the person or Aerling has
done. Destroying a life is a serious thing, but I don’t feel anxiety about this
mission. I just feel peace.

“This is the only way to save both
worlds,” I say calmly.

“I know,” Mason whispers, “but it’s
still…why did she create the Caretakers if she didn’t really care about
anything other than feeding her own greed?”

Saddened by the answer, I swallow a lump
of hurt before saying, “She was just protecting her own interests. The Aerlings
who come to Earth and return home on their birthdays successfully leave a
portion of their power behind. I think she can harness that. It might even
sustain her.”

Fists balling up in anger, Mason’s eyes
snap up. “How could a mother do that to her own children?”

“They aren’t her children,” Hayden says.
“They’re Tāwhiri’s. She never would have shared her power like that. He
was the one who tried to keep their purpose alive by creating more Aerlings to
help protect this world, but it was his power he put into them…until he nearly ran
out. To the Mother, the Aerlings are just vessels. Their lives mean as little
to her as they do to Tū.”

I wish that wasn’t true, but we all know
it is. Suddenly, the fanatical loyalty to
purpose
in most Caretakers
makes sense. She instilled it in them to ensure her own survival on an alien
world. Faced with losing her power to her children, she ran to the world she
was supposed to protect and slowly began to kill it. Sloane mentioned how much
harder it’s been to keep control of the human world with their dwindling numbers
and power. The Mother has been here all along, soaking it up, biding her time
until she could take back her place as queen bee.

“She’s only half the problem,” I say.
Suddenly, I’m not afraid of going back to the Aerling world or leaving Mason.
I’m too angry to be scared. “If the Mother has spent millennia scheming here on
Earth, what has the Father been up to?”

Nothing good, I’m sure.

Chapter 19

Bloodline

(Mason)

We said our goodbyes a few minutes ago,
but I still want to grab hold of Olivia and stop her from leaving. The Aerling
world seemed like a safe place a few days ago. Now, I’m not so sure. What will
be waiting for her there with Tāwhiri not around to protect her? Whatever
he did to protect the other Aerlings from the Father, did that disappear when
he did? Are Olivia and Hayden walking into danger? There’s just no way for me
to know.

A few minutes ago, Olivia’s body was
trembling, but now she sits with Hayden in a state of complete peace. Hayden
looks considerably less peaceful. His faith in Olivia outweighs his fear of
being dragged along to an alien world. The irony isn’t lost on me that I used
to be insanely jealous of him, yet now I have no problem trusting him to
protect the most precious person in my life.

I don’t know exactly what’s happening between
them as Olivia whispers, quietly directing Hayden to access his power. Hayden
is concentrating very hard while Olivia smiles patiently. As scared as she is,
I recognize the expression on her face. She’s going home. Tāwhiri told her
that once he claimed her, the human world was no longer meant for her, and I
can see that he was right. It’s comforting to know that if we end up back there
for good, she’ll be happy, but I still fear being locked behind a barrier where
I’ll lose contact with the people I’ve grown to love and care about.

Sloane gasps next to me as Hayden and
Olivia begin to fade. We both stand watching as they are pulled out of this
world and into the Aerling prison. Just before they disappear, Olivia turns to
me and smiles. It’s only then that I feel like I can breathe again. My breath
flows out of me long and slow, filled with nervous energy.

“What do we do now?” Sloane asks. “Just
wait around for them to come back?”

I start to say something, but my phone
buzzes at me from the nightstand and I put my comment on hold. The jumble of
nonsense numbers and symbols that pops up on the screen causes me to snatch it
up quickly and press it to my ear. “Hello?”

“Mason,” Mr. Parker says in relief, “I’m
so glad to hear your voice. We’ve all been so worried. How are you doing?”

“I’m fine, I guess. There’s so much that
doesn’t make sense anymore. Too many unanswered questions. I need help.” My
shoulders drop as the last word crosses my lips. Three days until Olivia comes
back, hopefully with answers. I can’t just sit around waiting that whole time.
“Mr. Parker, do you think we could meet?”

There’s hesitation—the kind I understand,
given that he has a family to protect—but eventually he says, “Yes, I think
that would be best. It’ll just be me and the boys since it’s too risky to bring
everyone, but we already spoke about meeting you and we agree it’s worth
bringing Conner and Shane out of seclusion. This is bigger than any one
Aerling.”

“Much bigger,” I agree quietly.

“Conner has something to show you, too,”
Mr. Parker says. The excited, eager quality to his voice makes me smile.

Shuffling crackles over the line and the
next voice I hear isn’t Mr. Parker’s. “I did it, Mason!” Conner exclaims. “The
wind spirit, I made one a few days ago. I’m going home when the time comes.
I’ll be able to cross the barrier…if there still is a barrier, I guess.”
Subdued, his voice trails off.

I hate that his good news is clouded with
uncertainty and fear. “Hey,” I say, “that’s great, Conner. Barrier or no,
you’ll be safe now. Congrats, man. I’m really proud of you.”

“Thanks, Mason,” he says, some of his
excitement returning. “Let me give you back to Dad. He had some other stuff he
wanted to talk to you about.”

Mr. Parker gets back on the line and we
spend the next ten minutes working out a meeting place and all the details of
getting there safely. It’s actually the safest time to bring the two boys out
of seclusion since Tū seems to have declared something of a cease-fire on
Aerlings until this business with the Mother and the barrier can be resolved.
Still, that’s not terribly reassuring. When we hang up, I’m still consumed with
anxiety thinking about Conner and Shane being so exposed, but I bury it under a
frenzy of activity.

It’s not long before Sloane and I are in a
car and driving, Robin bound and strapped in behind us in the backseat. The
hours pass quietly. Our thoughts are on our friends. It’s still difficult for
me to understand how it only feels like seconds when we cross the barrier, but
in reality takes a full day. Where are they right now? Are they stuck somewhere
in the ether between the worlds, or does time just work differently? It’s a
puzzle I’ll likely never solve, but it occupies my mind as we drive.

By the time we pull into an abandoned park
filled with dead weeds and cluttered with bits of trash, all thoughts of Olivia
and Hayden are carefully stowed away. I recognize the Parker’s SUV, but I still
hesitate getting out of the car until I see Mr. Parker step out. Only then do I
sigh in relief and go out to meet him. Sloane follows my lead, but Robin stays
securely bound in the car.

Crushing me with his embrace, Mr. Parker
says, “It’s such a relief to see you again. You have no idea how much pain
Caretakers go through sending their children off to an unknown fate, only
having hope and faith that they’re fine and happy left to comfort us.” He hugs
me even more tightly, one hand resting on the back of my head as he pulls me in
closer. “You’ve done the impossible, Mason. Not just coming back, but letting
us know, once and for all that we aren’t letting go of these souls we raised
and loved just to send them off into oblivion. Thank you.”

I’m too overwhelmed with emotion to
respond, so I just stay in his arms until he finally releases me. When he pulls
back, there are tears in his eyes. I have to choke back my own emotions to
finally say something. “They’re all okay. When they cross over, they’re safe
and happy. You don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

Mr. Parker doesn’t say anything in
response. He just claps me on the back and squeezes my shoulder in thanks. Once
he’s gotten his emotions under control a little better, he turns to the two
boys he loves as much as any of his biological children. Suddenly, he’s
struggling to control a grin. Curious, I turn to face the boys and have to
stifle a laugh when I see Shane standing next to Sloane staring up at her in
adoration. Sloane only shrugs when I look at her holding his ten-year-old,
gloved hand.

“Found a new friend, huh?” I ask Shane.

He practically has to force his gaze away
from Sloane. “Where did she come from?”

“She came back with us from the Aerling
world.” It’s almost impossible not to laugh when Shane’s eyes widen even more
and his gaze is pulled back to Sloane. Conner, who’s standing behind the pair,
is dying. One hand over his mouth, he’s laughing as silently as he can manage.
Luckily, Shane seems oblivious to the noise.

“Boys, how about we sit down and see what
news Mason has for us?” Mr. Parker says as he tries to contain his own
amusement. He gestures to an old wooden picnic table off to the side. Conner
starts moving immediately, whacking Shane on the shoulder as he passes. Shane
barely notices.

Sloane starts toward the picnic table with
Shane in tow, looking a bit uncertain about this boy clinging to her. When she
passes by I give her a reassuring grin and shake my head. To Shane, I grip his
shoulder playfully, lean down, and whisper, “Dude, you’re gonna make Molly
jealous when she hears about this.”

Instantly, red floods Shane’s entire face.
“Molly doesn’t even like me,” he mumbles. The red spreads to his ears, making
it tough not to chuckle at him.

“Come on, you know she adores you,” I say
with a smile, “and we both know the feeling’s mutual.”

Shane’s eyes flick up to mine, maybe to
make sure I’m telling him the truth, then drop back down to his toes. I shake
my head and pat him on the back one more time before taking a seat across from
Mr. Parker. The focus turns away from Shane’s sudden infatuation and lands
securely on why we’re here.

It’s takes a long time to explain
everything we’ve learned since landing in the Aerling world. I don’t leave
anything out. It kills me to follow up Conner’s excitement about being able to
return to the Aerling world safely with news that it’s no longer a protected
place to be. I’m not sure Shane understands everything I’m telling them, but he
sits patiently and tries to take it all in. The whole time I’m talking, I watch
the boys’ reactions carefully, knowing this affects them more than anyone else.
It’s not until I’ve run out of world shattering news to dump on everyone that I
glance over at Mr. Parker and am caught off guard by his distraught expression.

“The barrier…you’re not going to fix it?”

Not entirely sure why this has him so
messed up, I consider my answer carefully. “We’re not completely sure yet. As
far as we can tell, the barrier is weakening the Aerlings, preventing them from
protecting their own world and Earth like they’re supposed to. The barrier
benefits the Mother and Father somehow, but we’re not sure about the details
yet.”

“If we can stop Tū from killing
Aerlings and prevent the Mother and Father from hurting the Aerlings,” Sloane
says, “we won’t need the barrier anymore.”

“But,” Mr. Parker says, his voice thick
with emotion, “that will mean, there won’t be any need to send Aerlings to
Earth. The Caretakers, we’ll be obsolete. We’ll never raise another Aerling
child again.”

The weight of what he’s saying sinks in.
Caretakers look like average humans, but they’re not. The Mother created them
to serve a purpose. I’ve just taken all of that away. Reaching across the
table, I squeeze Mr. Parker’s fisted up hand. “Getting rid of the barrier also
means the Aerlings will be able to come and go freely.”

He looks up at me, white-faced and frightened.
“What does that mean for Conner and Shane? Will their parents come here? Will
they take our boys away from us?”

Clearly, neither of the boys had
considered that. Both their faces drain of color. The Parkers may not be their
biological family, but they’re the only family they know. They love them.
They’ve spent their whole lives with them. Being ripped away by strangers? The
memory of meeting my own parents crowds in and the same conflicting feelings
stir in my chest.

Yes, I knew they were my parents as soon
as I was in their presence. There was a connection there, a sense of having
found something, but when I think of my
real
family, it’s not them that
comes to mind. It’s Olivia’s parents, her and Evie. They’re the ones who raised
me and accepted me when they didn’t have to. That’s stronger than blood.

“I won’t let that happen,” I say firmly. I
know I may not have the right to make such a declaration. I’m just one kid
among thousands of Aerlings. Do I really have the power to decide such a thing?
I don’t know, but being Tāwhiri’s heir and having his power has to count
for something, right? Meeting the eyes of the three people looking at me right
now, I say, “We’ll work it out after everything is settled. We don’t know for
sure whether the barrier will come down or not, but I refuse to let hundreds of
children be ripped out of the only homes they’ve ever known. That’s not right.”

“Can you really stop them?” Shane asks
with tears in his eyes.

Pulling him to my side, I ruffle his hair
playfully. “I’ve got the power of an Aerling god rolling around in my head. You
think I’m gonna let anyone take you away? Not happening, dude. You’re stuck
with Conner and Parkers for a while yet.”

He doesn’t look completely convinced, but
he smiles up at me and goes back to leaning against Sloane’s shoulder. Conner
is the next to speak, though I’m not expecting his offer. “What can we do to
help?” he says.

Glancing over at Sloane, I wait for her
nod. One of the few things we discussed on the way here was our need to figure
out more about what happened when we rescued that guy from the earthquake
rubble. There didn’t seem to be a way to do that until hearing that Conner has
made his own wind spirit. Now, we can try a few things.

“Conner, I need you to call your wind
spirit. We need a few answers, and we think you can help us.”

Conner perks up from his melancholy
immediately while Mr. Parker sits up straighter. Both are curious, but Mr.
Parker is certainly the more cautious of the two. “What are you planning to
do?” he asks.

“We needed to help someone,” I explain,
“but our individual powers working together wasn’t enough. Even both wind
spirits coming to help couldn’t do it. We had to combine them.”

“Combine them?” Mr. Parker’s expression
turns thoughtful. “I’ve never heard of that before.”

Conner leans forward eagerly. “What
happened when you did?”

Shifting so she can see everyone around
Shane’s head—which is still leaning against her shoulder—Sloane says, “The
power increased, more than just adding two wind spirits together.”

Mr. Parker frowns. “Seems like that goes
against some laws of physics or whatever governs your power.”