Intangible

  Intangible

  Also by DelSheree Gladden

  Escaping Fate Series

  Escaping Fate

  Soul Stone

  Oracle Lost

  (Coming Fall 2014)

  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

  (Coming Fall 2014)

  The Date Shark Series

  Date Shark

  Shark Out Of Water

  Intangible

  Book Two of

  The Aerling Series

  DelSheree Gladden

  Smashwords Edition

  Intangible

  Book Two 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.

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author

  For all of my enthusiastic readers who refused to let me stop writing Mason and Olivia’s story.

  Acknowledgements

  The list of readers on Wattpad who hounded me daily to start and then finish this book is too long to include here, but all of you are the reason I couldn’t take more than a few days after finishing Invisible to get started on Intangible. I love your energy, and the way you have all taken Mason, Olivia, Hayden, and Evie into your hearts has inspired me so much. You all were everything an author needs all wrapped up into one, beta readers, fact checkers, marketing gurus, and the sharp stick in the side that kept me writing. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

  I also need to thank Angela Fristoe for being there for me when I asked her way too close to the release date to set up a cover reveal and blog tour for this book. She is not only a tremendous friend, but an excellent marketer!

  As always, thank you to my husband, Ryan. It’s been a crazy year, but he’s stuck by me through it all.

  Contents

  1. A Dangerous Idea

  2. Heaviness

  3. Difficulty

  4. Selfish Desires

  5. The Return Trip

  6. The Beginning

  7. Aliens

  8. Just Another Nightmare

  9. Coincidence

  10. Elemental

  11. Practicing

  12. Siblings

  13. Mine

  14. Whisper the Warning

  15. The Stalker

  16. Justify

  17. Tangled Up

  18. Contingency Plans

  19. Who or What

  20. Red

  21. The Moment

  22. A Plan

  23. Start Explaining

  24. Fair

  25. The Story

  26. One Phrase

  27. A Baby

  28. Mistake

  29. Goodbye

  30. Patience

  31. Purpose

  32. It Begins

  33. Collateral Damage

  34. White Hot

  35. Confidence

  36. Ruin

  37. One Last Time

  38. Together

  About The Author

  More Books by DelSheree

  Chapter 1

  A Dangerous Idea

  (Mason)

  Being invisible once seemed like a curse. After the last few days of constant, invading supervision, I wish I could go back to being the guy nobody even knew existed. I never realized how much I valued my privacy until it was gone. Losing it to complete strangers makes it even worse. Losing it because there is a whole society of killers out to murder me makes it unbearable.

  “Mason, please,” Molly, my seven-year-old instructor, begs.

  Small, fingers wrap around my larger hand. Molly squeezes, but I can feel a slight tremble in her hand. It surprises me and causes me to look at her. The pleading look in her eyes captures my attention.

  “Mason, you have to focus. You have to learn to access your power and control it. You have to try harder,” she pleads. “There can’t be any mistakes. They have to do it right this time.”

  “What do you mean this time?”

  “Failing is… it’s just not an option,” Molly says before dropping her eyes.

  “What happens if I fail?” I ask.

  Molly shakes her head, brunette ringlets bouncing into her eyes. “I …” she says. “I’m not supposed to talk about it. Mrs. Britton will be angry with me if I do.”

  Feeling the trembling in her hands increase, a surge of protectiveness bunches my shoulder. I’ve only known Molly for three days, but the instant kinship I felt toward her refuses to let me stand by and watch the Brittons mistreat her. The Brittons are not Molly’s biological family, of course. She’s an Aerling like I am. They are the only family she has ever known, though, and she can’t hide how much they scare her.

  I don’t want to put Molly in danger of being punished, but I have to know the consequences of failing, so I ask, “What happened the last time there was a ruling Aerling like me?”

  Still visibly upset, Molly relaxes somewhat and answers the question. “Usually, ruling Aerlings are identified at a young age. They show special talents right away. As soon as they’re identified, they start intensive training. The Caretakers are afraid of failing.”

  Turning so I can put one arm around her small shoulders, I hug her against my side. “Why are they afraid?”

  “The last time the Caretakers found someone like you, their training didn’t work. They blamed the Aerling, I guess. They said he wasn’t quite right and couldn’t learn to control his power. Every time he tried to use his talents, things got scary. When he turned eighteen, they were more than happy to send him on his way, but the bad things didn’t stop when he left.”

  “What happened?”

  Molly doesn’t answer right away. Her lips press together, probably to stop them from trembling. She tucks her body more tightly against mine. “The first time it happened was the day he went home, not an hour after the Aerling boy and his escort vanished. It was one of the Caretaker children, the one closest to his age that was first. Nobody could explain why she just stopped breathing. Nobody connected the dots at first. It took two more of the family members dying for them to realize what was happening. And it didn’t stop with the family. Everyone who tried to teach the Aerling was dead within weeks of him leaving.”

  Finding a response to that is impossible. If I don’t le
arn to control my power before my eighteenth birthday, it could kill everyone who has tried to train me.

  I am supposed to be moved every week until my birthday. That’s less than three weeks away, but that is still too many people put in danger because of me. “Molly, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”

  She shakes her head, almost angrily. “I’m not trying to blame you,” she says. “It won’t hurt me. I’m an Aerling. And even if it hurts the Brittons …”

  Molly doesn’t finish her thought, but she really doesn’t need to. I felt the coldness of this house the moment I stepped through the door.

  “You’re scared, though,” I say quietly.

  She nods.

  “Why?”

  It takes a moment before Molly pulls away from me enough to meet my gaze. Her tiny frame looks so small sitting in front of me, vulnerable and fragile. I stay silent as she gathers her courage.

  “What will happen to me if there isn’t enough time to train you?”

  Before Robin’s parents handed me over to the Brittons, they gave me strict instructions not to discuss any of the details that brought me to that moment. I was forbidden to tell anyone that my original Caretakers were murdered in front of me when I was five years old. I was definitely not allowed to tell anyone that Olivia found me a few days later, wandering lost and alone, and I have been living with her family for the last twelve years.

  The only information exchanged between Robin’s family and the Brittons was that the Sentinels had found me and I had to be kept on the move until my birthday.

  To myself, I added that I should never tell anyone that Olivia is my Escort. I also didn’t need to be told that I should keep to myself the fact that I can choose to reveal myself to people, both visually an audibly. That is not something Aerlings are supposed to be able to do. Robin’s parents don’t know about that certain ability, and I intend to keep it that way.

  I pull Molly into my lap. She is so light, it takes hardly any effort. She snuggles against me immediately, and I can guess that she rarely gets this much affection. It saddens me and makes me wonder if my memories of my Caretakers those first five years of life are tinted as if being seen through rose colored glasses. I remember being happy with them, but the only other Caretakers I have met have not been like that at all.

  “Molly,” I say, “how good are you at memorizing?”

  Not prepared for this seemingly random question, Molly looks up at me oddly for a moment before answering. “Good. It’s one of the things I’m best at.”

  I nod, pleased. “I want you to remember what I’m about to tell you. If you’re ever in trouble, I know someone who will help you and take care of you.”

  Molly’s eyes widen. “Other Caretakers?”

  When I shake my head, her eyes widen even more. “No, they aren’t Caretakers, Molly. This is the first time I’ve lived with Caretakers since I was five years old.”

  The way Molly’s eyes dart around fearfully puts me on edge as well. I scan the living room carefully. When we are both convinced that we’re truly alone, I lower my voice and tell Molly what I was told to never tell anyone. I repeat Olivia’s address and her home phone number until Molly has it memorized. She proves her superior memorization abilities when she has the information stowed away in only a few minutes.

  I can see the hope filling her eyes, but she isn’t convinced yet. “But, how will they know I’m there? They won’t be able to see or hear me.”

  “Don’t worry, they’ll find a way to make it work.” I hesitate, not sure how much I can tell her. No doubt it is a risk, but I feel connected to Molly and I refuse to leave her alone and scared. “Maybe… maybe I can teach you a few things before I leave, too.”

  Molly looks at me sideways, not sure if I’m playing with her. Her eyes glint with the desire to believe me. The corner of my mouth turns up, and suddenly I want to teach her. I don’t even know if I can, but I am determined to try.

  Mrs. Britton walks in from the front yard where she was preparing flower beds for the quickly approaching winter months. Her eyes narrow at the sight of me holding Molly on my lap. She stops in the hallway. “Are you two working?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Molly says quickly as she scoots away from me and crosses her legs.

  “I should hope so,” Mrs. Britton says. “You have very little time, Molly. Don’t waste it.”

  “I won’t,” Molly says quietly.

  Mrs. Britton nods and continues on her way.

  Disturbed by Mrs. Britton’s words, I turn to Molly and say, “Olivia’s family will take you in, no matter why you show up on their doorstep.”

  Molly blinks quickly, but a tear escapes and rolls down her cheek. “Is it scary,” she asks, “knowing you have to leave Olivia when you go home?”

  I begin to nod, but stop. “Do you know what happens to Escorts when we go home?”

  Shaking her head, Molly’s eyes drop. “No one knows for sure, but they don’t come back. Mrs. Britton says it’s their duty to sacrifice for us.”

  “Why?”

  “Because we’re more important, for some reason, like something bad might happen if the Aerlings disappeared. She says sacrificing the people we love most is the only way to make sure we survive.”

  Her words punch through me, leaving me hollow. “Sacrifice Olivia?” I shake my head in defiance. “I won’t do it, Molly.”

  Frightened eyes snap up to mine. “You have to, Mason. You’re the most important Aerling the Caretakers have seen in… maybe ever. You’re more powerful than they even realize.”

  “What does that matter?” I demand. I won’t sacrifice Olivia just to save myself.

  For once, Molly doesn’t shy away from my question. She looks up at me squarely, and says, “If you have power, you have a responsibility to use it. Mrs. Britton tells me that all the time, but for you… I think it’s even more important. I think the Aerlings are in trouble, and you’re the only one who can help them. You may not have a choice about Olivia.”

  “I still have a choice, no matter what.”

  Molly’s nose crinkles in thought, the deep kind of pondering you wouldn’t expect to see on someone so young. She looks up at me, serious and scared. “Would you choose Olivia over the lives of every other Aerling?”

  My shoulders fall as I contemplate her question. Could I really be some kind of answer to saving the Aerlings? Is saving them worth losing Olivia? I sit back, not sure I can make that kind of choice.

  Chapter 2

  Heaviness

  (Olivia)

  No matter how many times I look at my phone, more texts won’t magically appear. The night Mason was taken away, I received a text from a random number letting me know he was safe. There’s been nothing since. It’s killing me to not know.

  “We’re running out of time,” Robin says before taking a bite of her roast beef sandwich. “Aside from my parents telling us that sending Mason home is an inborn ability and you’ll know what to do when the time comes, we’re no closer to figuring this out.”

  “Do you really think it’s something I’m born with?”

  Robin looks thoughtful. She shrugs. “I don’t know. It would make sense. Caretakers and Sentinels are born with their abilities. Why not Escorts?” She tosses her sandwich back down, irritated. “That doesn’t mean I believe them that you’ll just magically know what to do. I think they don’t want to tell you yet because they think you’ll go after Mason and try something crazy.”

  “I would.”

  “I know,” Robin says.

  It makes me sick to my stomach to think about the bruises Robin showed us. The night I ended up in the hospital after the Sentinel stabbed me in the arm, I was so scared and angry that Mason was being taken away from me that I lashed out at Robin and basically blamed her for everything. I certainly don’t think she helped the situation, but I am beginning to realize that the Sentinels had found Mason before Robin ever moved here.

  When we realized they were using our neighbor’s ho
use to spy on us, nobody thought at the time to consider how long they had been there. It wasn’t until after Mason left that Mom finally got a hold of the Dewalt’s daughter and found out they had been in Florida visiting her for nearly a month. Yet in all that time, their newspapers never accumulated in the driveway and their mail was taken out of their mailbox each day. More likely than not, the Sentinels had been watching us for a long time.

  I feel a sense of guilt for my outburst, now. Some of the blame does fall on Robin’s shoulders, but nothing she did was worth being beaten by her parents like that.

  “Someone has to know how I’m supposed to help Mason get home,” I say, getting back to the topic at hand.

  “Maybe,” Robin says, “we should approach this like teaching an Aerling how to control their power.”

  “Huh?”

  Robin shrugs. “If it is an ability you’re born with, my guess is that you need to learn how to control it. Mom and Dad took on a lot of the responsibility for training Eliana because I was still young, but I watched every lesson and even started to teach her on my own before… before she died. We could try, anyway. I’m not sure what else to do.”

  “Really? How? When?”

  “Today after school?”

  I nod eagerly. Who knows if Robin can really teach me anything, but I’m already feeling desperate for a path that will lead me back to Mason. Even if it doesn’t work, maybe it will distract me. “I’m in.”

  Robin lets out a nervous breath. “Good.”

  To be honest, I still don’t fully trust Robin. She may be lying to me about a great many things. I have no way to know. What I do know, though, is that she is as desperate to get away from her parents as I am to save Mason. Not the strongest of bonds, but it’s enough for now.