The Breaker's Resolution: (YA Paranormal Romance) (Fixed Points Book 4) (11 page)

It was gone. They were all gone.

The last thing I wanted to do was bring the Council in on this. The idea of them poking around in Sevie’s head sent shivers of anxiety through me. But the way he had woken up, screaming, crying and claiming not to know who any of us were, was too big to cover up.

And truth be told, I didn’t know what to do about it.

“I don’t know how you can’t know,” I said through gritted teeth. The Council of Masons sat before me. Their chambers had transformed into a giant throne room, and they were perched on three matching golden arches. “You’re the freaking Council. Isn’t it your job to know everything?”

I paced back and forth. Mother and Father were in the Medic Bay, trying to calm Sevie down enough to run more tests. And Merrin stood behind me, wobbly and looking even more tired than she had back at the farmhouse. Something was going on with her. She should have been with a medic too. But she insisted on coming with me, standing by my side in front of the Council so I’d be at my full strength. I hoped she could feel the gratitude that brought about in me.

“We’re keepers of the records, enforcers of the ancient laws, and servants of Fate herself,” Chant answered, completely skirting the question. “Sometimes, Fate takes us in new and unforeseen directions, and it is our job to guide others through that process. We won’t be apologizing for that, Mr. Lightfoot.”

“So you’re telling me that no Breaker has ever had amnesia before?” I asked, bolting dangerously close to the steps that led up to their ridiculous perches.

“We’re telling you that what your brother has is not amnesia. Amnesia presents itself as the result of either physical or emotional trauma.”

“I took advanced brain chemistry when I was six, just like everyone else, Chant. I know how amnesia presents itself,” I scoffed.

“Then you’ll know why that isn’t what’s effecting your Sebastian.” Chant waved his hand and an image of a brain appeared in the air between us. “Your brother’s mind has been wiped clean somehow.” The brain began to spark with lights. “It’s actually producing completely new neurological pathways, as though he were a fetus in the womb. As far as brain activity is concerned, your brother is quite literally becoming another person.”

“That’s impossible,” I muttered quickly. “Even a mortal’s mind couldn’t be subjected to that. A Breaker’s brain has failsafes and barrier to block those sorts of intrusions.”

“What could or could not happen to a Neanderthal is beside the point, as is the nature of natural protections present in your brother’s mind,” Chant answered. “The fact remains, this
is
happening. And we have no idea why.”

Merrin’s heart fluttered a little and I felt it in my chest. I didn’t have to wonder. I knew what she was thinking. She loved Sevie nearly as much as I did. She had grown up with him, with both of us. If this was happening to him, then it meant my brother was about to be gone forever. Unless, of course, we could find a way around it.

The Council might not know what was going on with Sevie. But one person did. Royce.

“Sometimes, it’s important for us to accept Fate’s will and try to absorb the lesson she gives us with it.” Chant leveled a gaze at me. “There are other more pressing issues to consider, Dragon.”

I batted back a flourish of anger. What on earth could be more important than Sevie? Let the whole damn world crumble around us. I didn’t care anymore. But fighting them wouldn’t do any good. Their beliefs were as old as the hills this place was built on. I wasn’t going to change them with some impassioned speech. And I had other things to do.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I choked out. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to check on my brother.”

“Your brother is dead,” Chant answered, stopping me in my tracks. “The mind he had is gone. As such, you’ll receive the customary three day bereavement period. But at the end of that, you’ll be expected to do your duty, Dragon.”

I glared at him siliently as I took Merrin’s hand and turned to march out of that godforsaken place.

“Though, if you don’t use your time wisely, it looks like it might be six,” Chant said, baiting me into stopping.

“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked, spinning around.

“Your wife, Dragon,” he answered, a thin smile spreading across his face. “Haven’t you been looking at her? The poor thing is barely hanging on. Wouldn’t you like to know what’s going on? Wouldn’t you like to know how to save her?”

“Save me?” Merrin balked. “I’m fine, sir. I’m just under the weather.” She was quiet and demure. She was respectful to the Council in a way that I had abandoned long ago, in a way they didn’t really deserve given that they had turned her into a walking tape recorder and-when that failed- tortured her for my crimes. Still, it took strength to push that aside and play along for the greater good, strength that I now felt flowing from her into me.

“You know that isn’t the case,” Chant answered. “And you’ve known that for quite some time, isn’t that right?”

Merrin didn’t have to answer, and I didn’t even need to feel the response in our shared mindset. I could see it in her face. Perhaps it was a truth she wasn’t ready to face quite yet, or maybe it was something she wanted to deal with on her own. But Merrin knew what was happening to her was serious.

“Cut the bull, Chant. Tell me what’s going on,” I demanded.

“And what do I get?” Chant asked, using his cane to shakily get to his feet. “What’s my payment for this very valuable information?”

“She doesn’t die,” I answered, motioning to Merrin.

“She’s
your
wife, Dragon. I’d assume her wellbeing is your responsibility, especially given the very unique bond you two share.” His decrepit finger waggled from one of us to the other. “What happens to one happens to the other. That’s the way of the symbioses.”

“And that’s all the reason you need. You can’t let me die,” I said, biting my lip. “Not with Cresta still out in the world.” I blinked hard. “You gave Merrin to me to chain me down, to keep me from running away with the Bloodmoon.” Of course, what the Council hadn’t known at the time was the fact that the crone’s words had made me ever being with Cresta again impossible. But hey, no need in giving these idiots even more ammunition.  “So why would you want to back away from that now?”

“We don’t,” Chant answered simply, looking back at the red woman and toddler tyrant who made up his cohorts. “Which is why my condition is a simple one. If I tell you what is necessary to save the life of your wife, I expect you to commit to doing it. And I expect that commitment to be enforced with a Breaker’s promise.”

“I won’t kill Cresta. I don’t care about what Luca showed me,” I answered flatly.

“You’ll do what Fate deems necessary. I don’t need a promise to know that. No, what I want you to do has nothing to do with your little girlfriend,” Chant said.

“Then fine. Of course I’ll do what I need to in order to save Merrin. I-” The word caught in my throat for some reason, but it
was
true. So I said it anyway. “I love her.”

“Good,” Chant grinned. “That will make this easier for you.” His cane hit hard against a stone floor as he slowly made his way toward us.

“You don’t live with your wife, do you Dragon?”

“I don’t think that’s any of your business,” I answered, folding my arms over my chest.

“And I agree. Unfortunately, your inactivity has made it my business.” He settled in front of us, his eyes sliding over to Merrin as a mix of disgust and pity filled them. “Do you not undertand the gift you’ve been given? The symbioses joins you in ways that other people can only imagine. You’re stronger together than you could ever dare to be apart.”

“We don’t need you to read us the brochure. Just get to the point,” I answered.

“That is the point, Dragon. This is a gift but, like all gifts, it must be appreciated lest it turn its back on you.”  He shook his head. “You have to be together, Dragon. If not, you’re disrespecting what the gift is in the first place. You have live with her, Dragon. You have to-”

“Fine!” I yelled. “Whatever will shut you up. I’ll move back in tonight.” Looking over at Merrin, suddenly my defenses dropped. She had meant so much to me. For so long, she had been the face of my future. And that didn’t just go away. I
did
love her. It was true. And I always would, even if it wasn’t in the way the Council (and maybe even Merrin herself) would have liked. “I’ll move back in tomorrow.” I squeezed her hand. “Tonight, if that’s what it takes.”

“Ha!” Chant’s chuckle, loud and coarse, startled me. “Don’t be a fool, Dragon. This isn’t about living spaces. The proximity required to stop what’s happening to her is much more intimate than that. Haven’t you ever wondered why only married people are eligible to receive the symbioses?” he slammed his cane against the floor. “The life force is draining from her, whiddling away with each passing night. It’ll happen to you too soon, Dragon. It will be slower, because you’re physically stronger than her. But it
will
happen to you.”

“What are you saying?” Merrin asked weakly from beside me.

“You have to be with him, Mrs. Lightfoot. You both have to be with each other.” Chant turned back to me. “She’ll die, Dragon. If you don’t consummate your marriage, your wife will die.”

Her footsteps fell like boulders as Merrin and I walked through the Medic Bay. We hadn’t so much as spoken since leaving the Council chambers, slack jawed and flustered. She was weak though, almost too weak to stand-let alone walk. And we finally knew why.

“Do you want to take a break?” I asked, glancing over at her.

“I’m fine,” she answered.

“You know, I can take you home. If you’re not feeling up to it, I’m sure Sevie would understand.”

“I said I’m fine!” She cut me off. “And I’d be surprised if Sevie even knew my name at this point, let alone get upset that I wasn’t there to see him.”

“You don’t look fine,” I said, stopping and turning to her.

“Don’t do this now,” she sighed, stopping beside me and slouching against the wall.

“If not now, then when?” I asked, looking away from her. “I’m not sure how much more time we’ll have.”

“He was lying to you,” Merrin said weakly, shaking her head. “He had to be. I studied the symbioses thoroughly after our wedding and I never came across any evidence to support his claim.” She coughed again. “Not a single piece.”

“Except for this,” I answered, motioning to her. “You’re sick, Merrin. You might even be dying. And if I can save you-”

“No,” she answered flatly.

“Merrin, it’s okay,” I said. “It’ll save your life. I want to.”

“Well, I don’t,” she responded. As soon as the words left her mouth, she relapsed into another coughing fit. We were beginning to garner the attention of medics as they passed by.

“It’s okay,” I said, motioning them forward, before turning back to Merrin. “Are you serious right now? What do you mean you don’t? You’re going to die, Merrin. And I’ll die after you. We have to do this.” I shook my head. “I thought- I just didn’t think you’d be…” My words failed me, trailing off into an awkward nothingness.

“You thought I’d be easy,” she answered.

“Nothing about this is easy,” I spit back disgustedly. “And don’t do that. Don’t act like I’m some pervert who’s trying to weasel his way into your pants. Or worse, like I’m some stranger.”

“It would be easier with a stranger,” she answered without looking at me. She slouched further, crumpling to her knees, sitting on the floor.

“I don’t know what that means,” I admitted. And truth be told, I wanted to cry. “How did we get here, Merrin? How did any of us get here?” I sat beside her and she rested her head against my shoulder. “I know a lot of it was my fault, but I couldn’t have done all of this. Could I? I couldn’t be responsible for all this.”

“No,” she answered, her hand finding mine and her fingers intertwining with my own. “This isn’t your fault, but it’s not mine either. And I’m tired of paying for it. Do you have any idea how much I’ve been through since the night you left? This isn’t what my life is supposed to look like.” She leaned forward, lifting her head and looking at me. “I mean, come on. Have you
seen
me? I’m gorgeous. I’m gorgeous, and smart, and funny, and kind.” She swallowed hard. “And I’ve never so much as kissed someone who’s ever really cared for me.”

“I do care for you,” I answered, my brows furrowing. “I love you, Merrin. It’s not the way it should be, I know that. But I do. And I always will.”

“I know you do,” she said, blinking back tears. “But don’t you think I deserve more than that? I felt what you and Cresta feel for each other. Shouldn’t I have that too? Shouldn’t my first time be with someone who feels for me the way you feel for her?” She put her head back on my shoulder. “I’m just tired of giving things up.”

“I know,” I answered. “I am too.”

She lifted my hand, still in hers, to her lips and kissed it. “Come home tonight, okay?”

“Okay,” I answered.

**********************

After sending Merrin home, along with a Medic and bodyguard to ensure her safety (being the Dragon had its benefits), I turned my attention to my bother. If I was going to save him while there was something left to be saved, I was going to have to act quickly.

Whatever was happening to him was either so strange or so new that the Council itself had no idea how to define it. Which more than likely meant it had something to do with Cresta. She was a sea of things they couldn’t explain. What was one more?

Either that, or it was a byproduct of whatever Royce did to him while he was unconscious. Either way, the answer I needed was with them. And to get to them, I was going to have to convince Sevie to use an ability that, even with his memories intact, he had very sparse control over.

I moved through the Medic Bay for the second time in an hour. The looks I got, half contempt and half awe, came as no surprise to me. When I was a child, people never noticed me. I was fated to die and, as such, obsolete. I was the Hourglass’ vestigial tail. But ever since returning, since I was forcibly ‘outed’ as the Dragon, I couldn’t go anywhere without people’s opinions of me plastered all over their faces. Some of them thought I was the second coming, the destined hero who’d take down the Bloodmoon, regardless of the way I felt about her. Others thought I was a coward, a traitor, and an idiot. And that being the Dragon didn’t absolve me of any of it. Truth be told, I hardly registered any of them anymore, regardless of their opinion.

“I’m here to see my brother,” I said, settling in front of a medic. He was young, perhaps younger than me. But he wore the long red coat that signified that he had come out the other side of training.

“Name?” He asked, without looking up from his clipboard.

“Seriously?” I countered.

“When he glanced upward, he sighed. “Oh,” he muttered. “You can’t see him now.”

Must be one of the ‘coward’ people.

“Why not,” I asked.

“Your brother’s preparing for testing.”

“What sort of testing?” I asked.

The medic looked up at me, clutching his clipboard tightly. “I’m sorry. Have I given you the impression that I have time to stand around answering your questions? If so, let me relive you of that false notion. I have a wing full of patients, many of whom are still nursing injuries suffered when your comrade in arms unleashed the Armageddon upon us.”

“Listen, I just-”

“I know what you want,” he spit. “You want to soothe your guilt by pretending to care about your brother, all the while purposely forgetting the fact that what’s happened to him is your fault. People might be afraid of you, Mr. Lightfoot, but I’m not too timid to say that you have opened the floodgates. You think you should be applauded for your future role in ‘devouring’ the Bloodmoon? I say it’s the least you can do, seeing as how you’re the one who brought her into fruition.”

“Don’t you dare presume to speak for me!” I said, stunned at his speech. “And certainly not while being so damn hypocritical. You people worship Fate then look to blame someone when it comes to pass. I don’t have to explain myself to you or to anyone else. If you think you can do a better job, then take your shirt off. I’ll be glad to give you the wings.” I stepped closer, so that my face was inches from his. “Now where is my brother?”

The medic blinked hard and stumbled back a little. “He’s in the Meditation Grotto, preparing for the genesis testing.”

“Genesis testing?!” I balked. “He’s not a newborn.”

“His patterns are presenting as one.” He backed away even more. “And seeing as how you’re neither next of kin nor a Councilmember, that’s all I’m obligated to tell you.”

“Why would his-”

“That’s all!” he answered. “And if you approach me like that again, I’ll have you escorted out.” The medic glared at me, straightened his jacket, and started down the hall.

******************

No one is allowed to disturb patients without the express permission of a medic, so I had to sneak out into the Meditation Grotto. And, given that the Hourglass had just been made aware of its first intrusion in over one hundred years, security was a little heavier than it usually was.

Still, this wasn’t exactly a seat of power. It was a courtyard in a hospital filed with running fountains and bronze statues of important Breakers throughout history. So, getting passed the two armed guards who stood at the glass door leading out into it was little more than a game of ‘look over there’.

As I made it out into the Grotto, the first thing I noticed was how quiet it was. This was undoubtedly a concentrated effort, seeing as how one can’t really meditate without a bit of calm. But the complete silence unnerved me. And it made my steps, feet crunching against fallen autumn leaves, all the louder and more evident.

This place looked completely empty, a square of forest in an otherwise urban building. Where was everyone? And where was Sevie?

I thought about yelling his name, but what good would that do? I could see every inch of this place from where I was standing. If he was here, I would have seen him. And besides, there was no guarantee my brother would have even recognized his name at this point.

A cool breeze, shade no doubt, given that we were entrapped by tall walls, made me shiver. Not only that, it let me know they were watching me. Right here. Right now. Everywhere. All the time. So long as I was inside the Hourglass, I’d never be free of the Council’s unblinking eye. And I had never felt more alone.

Something struck me hard on the back and I went down. Spinning as I tumbled, I saw that Sevie had jumped down from his perch in one of the trees and batted me in the neck.

His eyes were large and his mouth was set.

“Sevie, what in Fate’s name are you doing?” I asked, rubbing my head.

He looked at me. “They won’t talk to me,” he said, motioning toward the statues. “Why won’t they talk to me?”  Before I could answer, he lifted a boot and brought it down right at my face. I spin quick, barely making it out of the way before his foot collided hard with the ground in front of me.

I jumped up, my hands instinctively pulling in front of me in an offensive position. “Sevie, don’t!” I yelled.

But he did. He most certainly did.

He swung at me. First a right, then two lefts, and a right again. I blocked each other, but he had way more precision that he should have. He swept with his leg, trying to knock my feet out from under me. Anticipating his attack, I hopped out of the way, landing a punch across his face that I immediately regretted.

I had split his lip. He staggered backward and dabbed at the blood with his finger. “Fate above, this one is soft.” He muttered.

“Sevie, don’t make me hurt you. I don’t want to hurt you, okay?” I said, my hands still regretfully in front of me.

“Why do you keep calling me that?” he asked, coming at me with a flurry of karate chops. Where did he get these moves? Sevie wasn’t a field Breaker. He shouldn’t have had this training.

“Because it’s your name,” I answered, blocking his attacks,

He was pushing me backward, driving me toward the other end of the Grotto.

“That is not what I was told. They told me my name was Sebastian. And even that is a joke,” he said.

“Don’t do that,” I said, knocking his hand back. “You were named after our great-great grandfather, founder of the Lightfoot bloodline. Your name is not a joke.” I blocked him again and then landed a flat palm against his chest Once again, he stumbled backward. “And I’ve always called you Sevie. I have ever since we were children.”

“You’re one of my brothers?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.

“I’m your only brother,” I answered. “Don’t you get it Sevie. We’re all we’ve got. I know this is hard for you, and I get that you’re probably afraid, but you have to let me help you.”

“I am not afraid,” he answered, huffing as he let his hands fall. “And I am not the one who should be afraid. But you should know, Sebastian Lightfoot isn’t here.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, terrified of the answer.

“I do not know how to explain myself, because I do not know why this is happening. I should not be here. I should have moved on by now. This is how it works, how it always has. She is the same and I am different. She is aware and I am not.” He shook his head. “This is how it has always worked, ho it must always work. The fact that it isn’t now, that I am still here, it means that everything is wrong somehow.”

He wasn’t making any sense. He was speaking the way he had before, when the moon turned red, when I saw him in the cave in my dreams. Maybe I should have seen the signs then. Maybe they were all clues that were meant to lead me to this moment. Or maybe they were something else altogether.

“Sevie, I get that you’re confused, and you have every right to be. You were drugged. Royce injected you with something a long time ago. I think that’s the reason this is happening to you. But I have to tell Cresta what happened. She might be able to help you, or at least try to convince Royce to.”

“You are without perspective,” he answered, his eyes flickering up to mine for only the briefest of instances. “Not only is the person you search for not here, he never was.”

“Sevie, just take a breath okay?” I asked, moving forward hesitantly, like I was edging my way toward a deer in a pasture. “They want to do genesis testing on you, like you’re some youngling or something. It’ll wipe out every piece of who you are. So just calm down. Let me take you home, and together we’ll find a way to fix this.”