Invincible (The Aerling Series Book 3) (18 page)

“But it worked,” I say, excitement
creeping into my voice. “I think there’s something to this. Something we don’t
understand.”

“Tū’s comments about the Aerlings
just being
power
made us realize that our power in finite, and it can be
transferred. When we combine the wind spirits, it’s almost like it’s absorbing
more power, but we don’t know where it’s coming from,” Sloane says. “If an
Aerling dies, whoever killed them gets their power. There are other ways an
Aerling can lose their power, but I have no idea where it goes. From what I was
told in the Aerling world, if Mason were to give up his power and stay here on
Earth, that power would simply be lost. That would be a lot of power, and
neither world can afford to lose that much power.”

“Wait,” Conner interjects, “why would
Mason give up his power? I can see wanting to stay here, but you could do that
without giving up your power, right? Especially if the barrier comes down and
you stop the Mother and Tū.” The confusion begs for an answer, but I
hesitate to give one.

I had purposely skimmed over this topic in
my earlier explanation. Conner is fifteen, and even though he didn’t have loud
mouthed friends in public school to fill him in on all the details like most
boys his age, I’m sure he knows enough. Shane, though, is still pretty young.
Still, they need to know, especially if they choose to stay here when and if
the barrier falls.

“Aerlings and humans aren’t allowed to…uh,
have families together. I’ll lose all my power if I do.” I spit it out quickly,
glancing up at Mr. Parker, hoping he’ll handle any of the more technical
questions.

His deflated expression tears at me.
“Mason, I’m so sorry.”

I shrug, because that’s all I can do at
this point. Olivia and I, we’ll figure it out later. Something will work out.
It has to. Conner seems as dejected as his adoptive father, but Shane is still
trying to put it together. “So, if you and Olivia have a baby, you’ll stop
being an Aerling?”

“They can’t have sex, stupid,” Conner
snaps. Mr. Parker gives him a warning glance, but he just shakes it off.
Conner’s jaw clenches and a look of anger I wasn’t expecting flashes across his
face. “I get it, I guess, but it’s still not right. Why do they get to decide
who we end up with?”

I’m not the only one who seems shocked by
Conner’s outburst. Everyone but Shane is eyeing him curiously. Leaning over to
the youngest person at the table, I ask, “What’s going on?”

Shane’s never been very good at
whispering, so everyone hears him when he says, “Our new neighbor, Serena, he’s
totally in love with her.”

The corner of my mouth turns up at the
idea. Unless Serena is more than just a human, she has no idea Conner even
exists. He’s invisible to her, but apparently that hasn’t done anything to
dampen his interest in her. Reaching across the table, I clap Conner on the
shoulder. “Don’t get discouraged yet. We have no idea how things will be when
this is all over.”

Mr. Parker seems to have mixed feelings
about my advice, but he puts it aside for now and moves on. “Where does the
power go if an Aerling loses it without being killed and having it absorbed? I
think that’s important. If it’s just out here waiting to be used, tapping into
that could make all the difference in a fight.”

“You’re exactly right,” Sloane says.
“That’s why we want to run a few tests with Conner’s wind spirit.”

Looking over at Conner, I ask, “What do
you think? Want to give it a try?”

He nods, his jaw still set in frustration.
He stands and the rest of us follow. “So, how do I call my wind spirit back? It
just shot off after I made it.”

“Just focus, breathe in, form your
request, and when you breathe back out, call to it,” I explain.

Sloane disentangles herself from
Shane—much to his disappointment—and goes over to Conner to walk him through
the process. It only takes a few minutes before Conner’s wind spirit comes
zipping up to him, ready and waiting for a command. Sloane and I call ours as
well, but we quickly realize we don’t really have a task for them.

Shane’s hand shoots up into the air right
away. “Make them lift me up! As high and they can!”

Not keen on watching his youngest Aerling
plummet to the earth while we’re all watching, Mr. Parker says, “Not too high,
and make sure someone’s ready to catch him if something goes wrong.”

I promise that we will and guide Shane to
the center of our little circle. In all actuality, Shane would be able to save
himself. I doubt Mr. Parker knows about Conner and Shane’s favorite game. They
only got the chance to play it a few times while I was staying with them, but
watching them jump from the highest points in their backyard only to stop
themselves from breaking a leg or arm by sending out a blast of air below them
in order to stop made it clear it was not something either of the Parkers would
have approved of.

Conner must know exactly what I’m thinking
because he grins and winks at Shane before we get started. Mr. Parker stands
back, but keeps a keen eye on everyone as we start pushing our wind spirits
together for a common goal. Sloane and I are prepared for the sudden influx of
power, but Conner’s and Shane’s eyes bulge. Even Mr. Parker, who I know can’t
feel everything we can, seems to be able to sense something unusual is
happening.

“Dude, you guys are sucking up all the air
around us,” Shane says, his grin nearly splitting his face in half.

“What do you mean?” Sloane asks.

Her question seems odd, since we’re able
to call air to us any time we use our power, but something in her expression
tells me that’s not what we’re doing. Splitting my focus from the floating
Shane, I take a small portion of my power and spread it out around us. Right
away, I notice what Sloane did.

Shane said we’re sucking up all the air,
but we aren’t. The air around us is as still as it ever was. A few light
breezes are whipping around, but it’s not moving toward us like when I pull air
in to make it work for me. We’re not pulling in air. We’re pulling in power.

“Where’s it coming from?” I ask Shane, my
eyes on Sloane for confirmation of what I just realized. She’s in total
agreement. Shane, on the other hand, is having too much fun to answer. Forming
up a bit of water from the ambient moisture in the air, I dump it on his face
to get him to focus.

“What?” he squawks.

I don’t signal the others to put him down
because I want him to be able to keep observing. “Where is the power coming
from that we’re sucking up? Can you tell?”

It’s not something anyone else seems to be
aware of, including me. The Montgomery’s once told me that seeing Aerling power
as a physical manifestation is a fairly common talent for Aerlings. I’m
beginning to think Shane has it, and has for a while. He said air, but his
failure to react to me mentioning power says he knew what was really happening.
He was always suspiciously good at the Aerling games we played while I was at
the Parkers house.

“It’s not coming from anywhere in
particular,” Shane finally admits. “It’s everywhere, like it’s just sitting
around waiting for someone to use it.”

Wondering about something, I say, “We’re
going to put you back down, but I want you to keep watching and see what
happens to the extra power when we stop using it.”

Shane sighs in disappointment, knowing
he’s been caught. “Fine.” He grumbles a few more things, but I’m already
focused on working with Sloane and Conner to bring Shane back down softly. As
soon as he’s safe on the ground and our wind spirits have been sent away,
Conner cuffs Shane on the head and frowns at him.

“You’ve been cheating at games this whole
time?” He’s glowering at him, but there’s a hint of pride underlying it. Even I
have to admit it was a pretty good con.

Mr. Parker just shakes his head. “Why
didn’t you tell anyone you had this talent?”

“’Cause I’m not stupid,” Shane grumbles.
“The games were part of school. Mom would have made me do other work if she
knew I could win all the games so easily.”

I can’t help it. I start laughing. It
doesn’t matter that I probably shouldn’t condone this sort of thing, but Shane
is pretty brilliant. He rarely ever won the games we played, but he always came
in a close second to whoever did win. Good enough to get “passing” grades in
his Aerling studies, but not enough to let everyone know he was cheating the
whole time. Genius.

Pulling him in for a side hug, I laugh and
ask, “What happened to the power?”

Looking glad for a change in topics, Shane
says, “I just went back to floating around. It’s everywhere, all the time.
Always has been. I didn’t realize you guys didn’t know that. I’ve pretty much
always been able to see it.”

“Can you use it?” I ask.

Shane shrugs. “Sometimes. It’s not easy to
call it. If I’m doing something I really have to concentrate on, I can get a
little bit to help me, but it came right away to the wind spirits, like it
belonged with them.”

I’m not completely sure what that means,
but knowing there is latent power around us constantly is reassuring. “I think
I just figured out your extra homework assignments now that you’re probably out
of the games.”

Shane groans. “Fine. What do I have to
do?”

“Watch the power. Try to get it to help
you. Tell me what happens. Conner can help. Have him call his wind spirit and
you two see what you can do with the two, okay?”

Perking up a bit, Shane nods eagerly.
“We’ll figure it out, Mason.”

“I know you will,” I say with a grin.

“Mason,” Mr. Parker says, “I hate to do
it, but we need to get going soon. I don’t like leaving the rest of the family
alone at night. Even with Tū holding off for now, it’s still dangerous.”

Reaching out, I shake his hand. “I know. I
don’t want them in danger either. Be careful going home.”

He pulls me into another hug and says, “We
will.”

I move on to telling Shane and Conner
goodbye for now, but Sloane reaches out and touches Mr. Parker’s shoulder. He
stops and looks at her expectantly, but she hesitates for a minute. Finally,
she gets up enough courage to ask, “Do you know why Hayden can see me?”

During my long explanation, I sped past
Hayden and Sloane for the sake of getting everything out as quickly as
possible. I don’t remember if Mr. Parker reacted to the news of Hayden being
able to see Sloane at the time, but he does now.

“Sloane, where is your Escort?” he asks.

“He’s gone,” Sloane says, her mouth
pulling down into a frown. “He went on a mission to deliver an Aerling child
shortly after he brought me home. He never came back.”

Mr. Parker nods as if he expected this
answer. “We’ve only seen it happen a few times, but when circumstances are just
right, an Escort’s calling of protection can be transferred. The only way for
that to happen is when the Escort’s Aerling has died through no fault of his or
her own and an Aerling of the same bloodline has lost his or her Escort.”

Sloane’s mouth falls open. I’m pretty sure
everyone else’s does as well.

“Marking an Escort, we don’t really know
how it’s done, but we can only assume it’s not easy, and as Mason told us,
requires giving up a portion of power. It sounds like they don’t have a lot to
spare, so this all makes more sense now. They’re just trying to conserve the
resources they have,” Mr. Parkers says, “but I believe Hayden can see you
because he’s your Escort now.”

I don’t say anything as Sloane asks a few
more questions. I’m too busy trying to wrangle the thoughts skittering through
my mind suddenly. Aerling power somehow recognizes blood. It’s capable of
realigning an Escort’s purpose to protect someone based on their bloodline.
Could that possibly be used to our advantage?

Chapter 20

Born Of Power

(Hayden)

Gasping for breath, I stumble when I
finally feel solid ground beneath my feet. Olivia handles the arrival better
than I do and grabs my arm to keep me from falling on my face. It takes me a
few seconds to find my balance and look at where we landed. When I do, I’m left
reeling again.

I remember that last conversation I had
with Levi. There was such excitement in his voice when he talked about coming
here together, having adventures. I’m suddenly choked up thinking about how
much he would have loved this place.

The circle of woods we’ve appeared in is
staggeringly beautiful. The silvery trees are massive, stretching so far above
my head I can barely see the tops. Vines that creep up the trunks of the huge
trees rustle, creating a gentle hum that somehow seems to be welcoming us home.
Every spec of life in the grove is vibrant. Some small animals chitter in the
distance and artful birds flit back and forth through the trees, their songs
hypnotizing.

“Pretty amazing, huh?” Olivia says
quietly.

When I turn to look at her, she’s smiling,
though it seems sad. “Yeah,” I agree. “This place is incredible.”

“Not such a bad place to spend the rest of
your life, if that’s the way it has to be,” she says.

I know she’s talking about remaining here
in order to be with Mason, should it come to that, but it does make me wonder.
“Escorts come and go, but as far as the Caretakers know, they never come back.
A lot of Escorts are Caretakers. Don’t they ever want to go back and visit
their families?” I ask.

Olivia’s lips press together, creating a
thin line that says her thoughts as clearly as words might. “With the way
Escorts are treated by the Caretakers…and after you learn what’s really going
on and what your role is,” Olivia says, “it would be hard for Caretaker Escorts
to ever go back. For the ones like us, maybe they do go back…secretly. It’s not
like the Caretakers would know since they turn their backs on Escorts and their
families once the Aerling is gone.”

“So we could still go home when we want
to, see our parents and siblings?” I ask, holding my breath for the answer.

Only half of Olivia’s attention seemed to
be on our conversation before, but now she turns to me with a fully-focused
look in her eyes. “You’re staying when this is all over?” The surprise on her
face is plain as day.

“If they still need Escorts,” I say with a
shrug. We may very well be obsolete if things work out the way we’re
hoping…maybe. I’m not totally sure. Will Aerlings still need us to cross
between worlds once the barrier is down? I have no idea.

Without warning, Olivia throws her arms
around me, squeezing me so tightly it almost hurts. Then, in a complete
reversal, she pulls back and stares at me hard. “Why?”

“Why? Because they need us. I thought I
was useless after Levi died, but this is another chance to do something
important. I
want
to help. I think I need to be here doing whatever I
can.” I know that might sound weird, but being here feels right…just like being
with Levi did. Just like…the memory of Sloane helping me fills my mind and all
those bizarre sensations return. Yeah, it feels like that, just a little less
intense. Shaking off those kinds of thoughts, I say, “Plus, you’re my best
friend, Olivia. I can’t just walk off and let you fend for yourself. I still
have to teach you how to skateboard, too.”

The corners of her mouth turn up in a
barely contained smile and she hugs me again. Quietly, she says, “I was afraid
you were only doing it for me. I’m glad you’re not.”

“I’d do it just for you, too,” I say
sincerely, “but maybe not for the same reasons I once would have.”

Olivia cocks her head to one side. “What
do you mean?”

Shoving my hands in my pockets, I say,
“You know I’ll always love you, but I’ve made peace with how things are. I
understood before that there was something between you and Mason that I could
never compete with. I didn’t really know what that was until recently. Now, it
really makes me happy to see you two together, and I’ll fight for you both to
keep it that way. I don’t know if this taboo between mixing is genetic or
something the Mother came up with, but it’s wrong. Nothing should stop the two
of you from being together. I get that now.”

“Because of Sloane?” Olivia asks.

I shrug. “Kind of, I guess.” I look back
up at Olivia. I want to make sure she understands this. “It’s not like I’ve
moved on because I’m interested in Sloane instead of you now.”

“Are you interested in Sloane?” Olivia
asks. “I know me and her didn’t get off to a great start, but she’s grown on
me.”

“I don’t know what’s going on with Sloane,”
I admit. I like her a lot. The way she makes me feel when she uses her power on
me is addictive, but just being with her is comforting, and right now that’s
even more of a draw. “You know how I told you that being near you helped me
deal with Levi?”

Olivia nods.

“Well, it’s like that, but on a whole
different level. She’s seen into the darkest parts of me and accepted
everything, somehow repairing the damage I never thought I’d escape. It’s not
just a temporary fix, either. Meeting her gave me a new purpose, makes me feel
whole again.”

Nodding, Olivia truly seems to understand.
“I’m glad for you, Hayden. You of all people really deserve that.” She looks up
at me and smiles. “Plus, she’s pretty cute, too. I’m sure that helps.”

Rolling my eyes, I sling my arm around her
shoulder. “Where’s this change of heart coming from?”

“Watching you with her the last few days,”
she says. “I’ve seen the difference she makes in you, and that can’t be a bad
thing. She really is a nice person, too. I just let my fear get the better of
me in the beginning. You were right that her seeing our memories didn’t change
anything between us, but it did help her understand you better and know what
you needed. I’m grateful for that.”

Relieved that the tension between the two
of them won’t be a problem anymore, I squeeze Olivia’s shoulders and force
myself to address the reason we’re here. As beautiful as this place is, I’m
kind of freaking out about confronting the Father. Maybe Olivia knew that,
though, because she didn’t push me when we first arrived, but is now completely
focused as well.

“Are you ready for this?” she asks.

“Probably not.”

Olivia smiles. “Just stay with me. I was a
little worried there’d be a whole crowd here again, but I guess they only do
that when they’re expecting an Aerling home. I’m not sure where Cedrick is, but
he’s the one we need to talk to.”

I just nod, because I have no clue what to
do otherwise. I’m just along for the ride right now. Pulling out from under my
arm, Olivia takes my hand. I can feel it shaking. Giving her a reassuring
squeeze, I let her know I’m here for whatever she needs. I don’t know how much
help I’ll be going up against trained Aerlings, but I’ll protect her. I
promised Mason I would.

It doesn’t take long to start attracting
attention. Nobody has a clue who I am, but everyone we meet seems to recognize
Olivia. The first few Aerlings we encounter simply stop and stare. A few run off
looking panicked. We’ve made it to some kind of centralized hub by the time a
man carrying the weight of authority steps in front of us.

“Olivia, what are you doing here?” he
demands.

Bolstered by her rising anger, Olivia
drops my hand. Her fingers curl into fists as she steps forward to face who I
can only assume is the guy we were looking for. “I’m here for answers, Cedrick.
The ones you so conveniently left out the first time we were here. Answers
about how this war
really
started and where the Father is.” Every word
snaps off her tongue, making Cedrick’s stalwart shoulders droop incrementally.

“I…there’s…how?”

“How did we find out the Father has been
trapped here since the beginning of the war?” Olivia snaps. “Tū. That’s
how we found out. The guy you sent us to destroy seems to be the only one
telling the truth around here. Why is that? Why doesn’t every Aerling know that
the Mother didn’t get stolen away by Tū,  that she and the Father were
consumed by their greed for more power, that they’re the ones who started this
war and she ran away to save herself and hoard as much power as possible.
You’re all sending your children down to Caretakers created by the woman who
imprisoned you all here. This war isn’t about stopping Tū. It’s about
saving the Aerlings from a slow death locked up in a world that’s dying.”

Olivia stays focused on Cedrick, but my
eyes travel to the crowd of gathered Aerlings. Most faces are white with shock,
but a few heads have dropped in shame. So not everyone was in the dark, I
realize. A few knew the truth and kept perpetuating the lies. Part of me wants
to condemn them, but I also realize they had no idea what else to do. Without
Mason, they had no hope of stopping Tū’s never ending cycle of murders and
not even a shot in the dark at getting rid of the Mother.

The still stunned Cedrick has yet to say a
word. I put my hand on Olivia’s bunched up shoulder to bring her back down from
her high of outrage. “What else could they do?” I ask her. “You and Mason were
their only hope at survival. There wasn’t any point in terrifying everyone.”

“But he should have told
us
!”
Olivia snaps. Her eyes narrow in on Cedrick. “You sent us down there to destroy
Tū, but we can’t, can we? We’re holding Tāwhiri’s power. Their power
is the same, completely unable to damage the other one.”

“They can’t kill each other through
violence,” Cedrick finally says, “but you can still defeat him.”

“How?” I ask before Olivia can snap at him
again.

Cedrick’s whole body deflates. “I don’t
know, but there’s a way. The Mother did it to their other children before
Tū and Tāwhiri managed to stop them in the end. They shouldn’t have
been able to kill their own children. Aerlings
cannot
kill each other.
Tū only manages what he does through the Sentinels. The Mother found a
way, though.”

Olivia’s body goes rigid beneath my hand.
“What?” she demands. “What do you mean? Tāwhiri, I thought he was the one
who defeated the other siblings.”

The slow shake of Cedrick’s head sets my stomach
to twisting uncomfortably, though I suppose we should have expected something
like this.

“The stories you’ve heard,” Cedrick says,
“they paint a prettier picture than what really happened. Yes, some of the
children of the first parents did plot to separate and imprison them so they
could escape their controlling grasp. They never got the chance, though. The
parents discovered their plans and retaliated. Tū and Tāwhiri didn’t
start the war, the Mother and Father did. She defeated the other children and
absorbed their energy. It was only the combined power of the twins, Tū and
Tāwhiri, that they were able to stop them and do as much as they could.”

Cedrick shakes his head wearily. “Tū
thought he could bribe the Mother into submission with a beautiful place on
Earth to rule, but she refused it and ran. Tāwhiri believed he could keep
control of the Father here and save the Aerling world from losing power, but he
could no more stop us from weakening than kill his parents. Power does what it
will no matter who wields it.”

“Tū has the Sentinels kill Aerlings
to gain their power and stop either of the parents from gaining it,” Olivia
says, “but he’s killing this world at the same time.”

“He is harming us greatly,” Cedrick says,
“but this would have happened naturally even if he hadn’t interfered. An
Aerling’s power is absorbed if they are killed—a design of the first parents in
order to benefit themselves and maintain control—but when an Aerling dies
naturally their power is released to the world, this world. At least, that’s
how it was meant to work. The barrier stops any power trapped on Earth from
returning. It does stop the Mother from using that power as well, which is a
small comfort, but the loss of power has hurt us more than anything.”

Olivia and I glance at each other, and I’m
glad I’m not the only one who seems confused. “But, you guys can still access
some of your power through the wind spirits, right? Why is all the power
trapped on Earth hurting you guys so much?”

Sighing, Cedrick runs a hand through his
hair. “Aerlings are born of power…literally. We are running out of power. Soon
there will be no other Aerling children. Those of us left will die off and no
one will be here to contain the Father or stop the Mother. When that happens,
the Mother will bring down the barrier, collect all the power on Earth, and
return to the Aerling world. She’ll be so powerful at that point, she won’t stop
at just collecting the stray power, she’ll suck the life right out of your
world, ensuring its death, and then she’ll abandon everyone who’s left.”

Well, we already knew we had to save both
worlds. Now we just understand things a little more clearly. We still need a
few answers, though. “Where’s the Father?” I ask Cedrick.

Now Cedrick really looks worn out. “I’ll
take you to him, but I doubt it will do you any good.”