Invincible (The Aerling Series Book 3)

  Invincible

  Also by DelSheree Gladden

  Escaping Fate Series

  Escaping Fate

  Soul Stone

  Oracle Lost

  (Coming 2015)

  Twin Souls Saga

  Twin Souls

  Shaxoa’s Gift

  Qaletaqa

  The Destroyer Trilogy

  Inquest

  Secret of Betrayal

  Darkening Chaos

  SomeOne Wicked This Way Comes Series

  Wicked Hunger

  Wicked Power

  Wicked Glory

  The Aerling Series

  Invisible

  Intangible

  Invincible

  The Date Shark Series

  Date Shark

  Shark Out Of Water

  Invincible

  Book Three of

  The Aerling Series

  DelSheree Gladden

  Kindle Edition

  Invincible

  Book Three of

  The Aerling Series

  Written by DelSheree Gladden

  Copyright © DelSheree Gladden 2014

  Cover Design DelSheree Gladden

  And Hannah Jennifer

  Published by DelSheree Gladden

  Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher and/or author.

  Printed in the U.S.A.

  For all my friends on Wattpad who reminded me daily that I should be working on Invincible. The hundreds of messages and comments and emails prove how much they love these characters. This story is for them.

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you so much to my Wattpad readers for hounding me until I got this book finished. I left them hanging for way too long, but they forgave me and gobbled up the new chapters the second I had them posted. Their love for Mason, Olivia, Molly, and Hayden spurred me to finish the story so they could know once and for all, what happens at the end!

  I’m especially grateful to one of the readers I met on Wattpad, Sneha Mohite, for her help answering questions on Wattpad, her enthusiasm for all my books, and being the first to give me feedback on the ending. As she knows, I agonize over ending a series no matter how many times I’m forced to do it.

  I also owe a big thanks to Nikki Jeffrey for fielding the literally hundreds of messages that came in, and keep coming in, asking about this series. She has been so kind to help me out so I could focus on writing. She’s a life saver!

  Most years I participate in NaNoWriMo, but this year my goal was to finish this book by the end of November, and I don’t think I would have made it without the awesome lady known as SeriouslyGina and her band of NaNo pirates! Late night Google chats kept me writing and got me moving on this story, so thank you Gina!

  Thank you as well to my husband for his support and his encouragement to finish writing this book and stop dragging my heels over it. He also pulled me away from it when I needed a break because my brain was fried and I just wanted to curl up with him and watch a movie.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Home

  (Mason)

  How is it possible that the fate of an entire world is in my hands? I just agreed to leave what is supposed to be my home and return to Earth, where I will be hunted by every Sentinel on the planet. I look over at Olivia and my chest tightens. It’s not just me going back. She’s coming too, willingly walking into the kind of danger that has nearly claimed her life three times already.

  I stare out at the crowd of Aerlings, all of whom are staring back at Olivia and me. Fear and anticipation bleed out of them. Their world is collapsing. They believe I can fix it.

  Can I?

  Cedrick, the leader of the Aerlings, steps forward and says, “Mason, I know this is a lot to take in, but there isn’t much time. You and Olivia need to prepare to leave right away. We must hurry.”

  He starts trying to bustle us off somewhere, but I yank my arm away roughly. “Wait…” I shake my head, dislodging sticky thoughts and fear alike. “You said the bridge between the worlds wasn’t going to collapse immediately.”

  “No, but we have no way of knowing how long it will take you to reach the Mother and repair the damage to the bridge.” Cedrick’s anxiety is evident in every harried movement, but I’m not leaving without a few answers.

  Squaring up my shoulders, I’m surprised when my power jumps immediately to my aide. I’m not the only one who notices the sudden influx of air gathering around me, as if I’m readying myself for a fight. The Aerlings surrounding us stare wide-eyed, some even taking a step back. Olivia turns to look over at me, but she doesn’t seem scared, only curious.

  I’m not entirely sure what to make of this, so I try to ignore it for the time being. Answers first. Turning to Cedrick, I say, “Before we leave, we need to know what we’re walking into. I need a few answers before we go diving headfirst into a fight I have no idea whether or not I can win.”

  “Mason, don’t you understand what you are?” Cedrick asks.

  I stare at him, not sure what he’s talking about. “An Aerling, uh…god?” When Cedrick’s eyebrows furrow in confusion, I stumble over my next response. “That’s, uh, what the Caretakers called me, anyway. They made up their own classes, so maybe…” My eyes dart around the troubled eyes staring at me. “Were they wrong?”

  Cedrick shakes his head. “They have forgotten so much,” he says, frustration and sadness tainting his words. He looks back with a serious expression that worries me. “While you do hold tremendous power, you are not a god. You are a Warden. Your purpose is to protect our world from the Sentinels. You are one of the few able to kill them. We have not seen a true Warden in centuries. Your birth was a beacon of hope to every Aerling here that the war with the Sentinels would soon come to an end.”

  “Wait, what?” Olivia interrupts. “You all expect Mason to take down the entire Sentinel army? By himself?” She turns, taking in all the eager faces watching us. “Are you all crazy?”

  If any of them are offended, they certainly don’t show it. Cedrick places a calming hand on Olivia’s shoulder. “Mason doesn’t need to defeat every Sentinel. He only has to defeat their creator, Tū. If he is defeated, the Sentinels will lose their power over us.”

  “Tū,” I say, “as in Tūmatauenga in the Māori myths?”

  Cedrick nods eagerly. “Yes, he must be defeated. He holds the Mother on Earth and prevents her from rejoining the Father.”

  “Whoa, hold up,” Olivia says. “How much of the Māori story is actually true?”

  A woman steps up beside Cedrick, then, and looks at Olivia kindly. Her wrinkled hands are clutched in front of her, but she carries herself gracefully despite her age. “It is such a beautiful tale, the Māori creation story. During my time on Earth, it was always my favorite.”

  She smiles warmly, but Olivia and I look at each other, wondering if she actually has something to say that will help us, or if this is like talking to Robin’s grandmother.

  “My name is Alba. I serve as a historian for the Aerlings.” She takes each of our hands briefly before continuing. “The Māori story captured the basis of our history well. The Mother and Father of the Aerlings are the gods of our world. Their first children were gifted with spec
ial talents to aid in caring for our world, but some wished to extend their dominion over the human world as well. Tū and Tāwhiri fought against each other, but Tāwhiri could not conquer his brother. The most he could do was banish him to Earth, but not before Tū captured the Mother and caught her up in the banishment as well. By the time Tāwhiri realized what had happened, it was too late to save the Mother.”

  Trying to process everything proves challenging. I shake my head in confusion. “But, I thought you said we had to go to the Mother to fix the barrier. How can she fix it if she’s been banished as well?”

  “She can fix it,” Cedrick says, “because she is the one who created it.”

  Seeing both Olivia’s and my confusion, Alba says, “The Mother had begun constructing the barrier before she was taken. After her abduction, the power sealed the worlds and prevented her rescue.”

  “I’m sorry,” Olivia says. “I’m completely lost. If Tāwhiri couldn’t go back and get her, does that mean you’re all stuck here, too? How do the Aerling infants go down to Earth, then, and why?”

  Before anyone can begin to answer Olivia’s questions, a burst of movement stirs in the back of crowd. Olivia grips my hand in fear. I’m on the verge of running as well, but I quickly notice that none of the other Aerlings seem worried. In fact, the anxiety they’ve been shrinking under since Robin’s appearance begins to mellow into excitement. The crowd parts. Standing in the suddenly empty pathway is a man and a woman. My parents.

  I stand, shocked…too taken aback to even react. It’s not that I have my father’s eyes or my mother’s hair. It’s not the joy lighting up their features at the sight of me. It’s the unfamiliar feeling of belonging, of coming home, which wraps itself around me, pulling me forward a step, then two. The second I move, my mother rushes forward. Her arms crush me against her and my father presses us both to his chest as he weeps.

  “Mason,” my mother cries, “we’ve missed you so much. We were so frightened, so terrified that we would never see you again. I’m so glad you’re home.”

  Her words wash over me, thick and welcoming. Home. I have only ever associated that word with one place. Olivia’s house. No, with Olivia herself. She has always been the one person I truly belonged with. That is still true, but my mother’s words sink into my soul and I know that they are my home as well. I don’t remember the day they sent me to Earth. I don’t remember if they cried or told me they loved me. I don’t remember them at all, but I remember belonging to them. I remember their power cradling me, filling me with their love.

  I look up at them slowly. Their faces are foreign to me, but I know them all the same. “Mom, Dad,” I say, testing the words on my tongue.

  Both sets of eyes fill with tears and they fall on me with hugs again. It is a long moment before we are able to pull back. When we do, there is a hint of fear in their eyes. At first, I suspect they must already know about Robin and that I must leave them again, but then I recognize the look as the same one I saw on Olivia’s parents’ faces when we left this morning.

  “Molly’s safe,” I tell them. “She’s with Olivia’s family and she has a whole contingent of Caretaker Officers guarding her night and day.

  “What?” my father asks. His deep, rough voice is oddly comforting, even when filled with fear and confusion. “You found your sister? How?”

  “By chance, really.”

  My mother smiles, though her fear is still very present. “That is a blessing we couldn’t have dreamed to see. Thank you for protecting her, Mason. We knew you would if given the chance.”

  I don’t want to be parted from them, but Olivia hovering just off to our side demands my attention. After extricating myself from my parents’ grip, I reach out for her. She hesitates only a moment before walking over and standing next to me. She glances between my parents and me looking uncertain, but at the same time, filled with happiness for me.

  “Mom and Dad, this is Olivia.”

  My mother is the first to embrace Olivia. She beams at her when she pulls back, too excited to even say anything. It’s my father who all but yanks Olivia out of my mother’s grip and into his arms. Olivia laughs as he crushes her against him. His own laugh rumbles deep in his chest. “Olivia, you are forever welcome in our family. You have saved our son and we can never repay such a debt.”

  When Olivia is finally released, she steps back nervously. “I haven’t saved him just yet, I’m afraid. We have to go back very soon to repair the barrier.”

  Both of my parents’ faces crumple in sadness, but they seem to know this was coming. They nod slowly, trying to hold off their fear. “But you will be with him,” my mother says. “You will protect each other, fulfill your mission, and return to us safely.” She nods, as if trying very hard to convince herself of this.

  My father looks down at Olivia with a look of concern. “You will stay with Mason until the end, won’t you?” His shoulders bunch nervously. “Most Escorts choose to remain with us, but they don’t have to. None have ever been asked to face such dangers before, either.”

  “Of course I’ll stay with Mason,” Olivia says softly. Her arm slips around my waist as she pulls in close to me. “I have no intention of leaving him.”

  When Olivia looks up at me, the devotion in her eyes holds me hostage. I know she means every word. Everything else slips away for just that moment. We are about to face our deaths head on, yet knowing we will be together gives me faith. I lean down, kissing her upturned lips, and smiling as I pull back. I want to do more, but it’s neither the time nor the place.

  Sighing, I look back to my parents and am startled by the outraged expressions on their faces.

  Chapter 2

  Tragic

  (Olivia)

  I couldn’t be more shocked by the sudden hostility directed at me, not only from Mason’s parents, but from every Aerling in view. Five minutes ago they were practically cheering for me. Now they look like they’re ready to toss me back to Earth, with or without Mason. What in the world did I do?

  “What is going on?” Mason’s father demands.

  Just as startled as I am, Mason doesn’t let it hold him back. “What do you mean? Why is everyone suddenly glaring at us like we’ve done something wrong?”

  “Did you just kiss your Escort?” his mother asks. The disgust is pretty hard to miss.

  I feel myself shrinking back, but Mason’s arm tightens around my shoulders, refusing to let me hide from their animosity. His whole body tenses up, and once again, his power begins to sizzle. Hot, heavy air crackles around his body. Everyone around us takes a step back except Mason’s father. He stays planted firmly in front of us, as does his scowl, but Mason speaks before he can say anything else against me.

  “I don’t know what problem you have with Olivia,” Mason says, “but I will not let you treat her in any way that might be even the slightest bit disrespectful. You have no idea what she has gone through, what we have both gone through to get here.” Mason’s eyes sweep the crowd before settling back on his parents.

  His father hesitates, but only for a moment. “We have nothing against Olivia. She is an Escort, and she will be shown all the respect her power demands.” His eyes leave Mason’s and pierce me. “Our problem is with her attempting to lure you away from our world. We will not allow one of our children to be stolen from us.”

  “Wait, what?” I demand, shaking my head at all of this. “Who said I’m trying to take Mason anywhere? I nearly died getting him here. More than once! All I’m trying to do is protect him.”

  “By seducing him?” Mason’s mother asks.

  My mouth falls open. Did she seriously just ask me if I’m trying to seduce her son? I mean, I guess it’s not too far from the truth given that I’d be more than happy to take our relationship to the next level, but is it really any of her business? Why would that mean Mason wouldn’t stay here with them, anyway? I look over at Mason, completely lost. He doesn’t seem to be doing any better.

  “Look, whateve
r you seem to be assuming, you’re wrong,” Mason says. “I love Olivia, and she loves me as well. We both knew coming here might mean never leaving and we were prepared for that. Just because we’re being sent back now doesn’t mean you’ll never see us again.”

  “How can you possibly claim to love her?” his father asks. Hands clenched into fists, he’s clearly pissed. “You’ve know her a few days at the most! I will not stand by and let her…”

  Mason steps forward, challenging his father eye to eye. His anger sparks the tiny bursts of electricity I’ve come to expect when Mason gets upset. His father’s eyes widen at the sight, but it doesn’t make him back down. Mason glares at him and says, “I have known Olivia almost my entire life. She saved me when my Caretakers were murdered by Sentinels. She has protected me for nearly thirteen years. She knows me better than anyone here, and if you dare doubt our devotion to each other, I won’t return after I find the Mother and repair the bridge, and I won’t allow Molly to stay here, either. Do you understand me?”

  Finally, the raging hostility pouring off every Aerling in the area starts to fizzle out. As they all begin to comprehend what Mason just said, his parents’ expressions go from angry to worried. They glance at each other, and I swear they look scared, but I don’t think it has anything to do with Mason’s threat. There is something else hiding behind their eyes.

  I step forward, out of Mason’s protective hold, and look them both in the eyes. “What is going on? This can’t just be about you all mistaking our relationship for some kind of fling. There’s clearly more to it and I think we need to know what it is.”

  “Perhaps this is a discussion better left for another time when there is not so much at risk,” Cedrick says as he steps between Mason’s parents and me.