whirling around, her sharp green eyes flaring with intensity as she faced my father.
“And where are we going to go? Tell me, where in all of Aon do you think we’ll be safe from him?”
“He made it clear that Westraven is his target, nowhere else. Maybe that monster will attack other cities, but we can’t worry about that right now. We just need to keep on the move, stay alive until–”
“The Vesper won’t stop at Westraven! He’ll destroy every inch of Aon after what we did! Our neighbors don’t deserve that. The Sky Guard doesn’t. Thousands of children don’t. Our little girl doesn’t. I won’t run and leave them to that creature, Joel. I won’t do it. There has to be a way to close the Breach, and I will find it.”
There was a long pause, and I wondered if my mom turned away from my dad. Her voice was shaky, barely audible when she added, “I understand if you want to take Claire and leave. I won’t stop you, but I can’t turn my back on hundreds of thousands of innocent lives. Not when we’re part of the reason they’re about to be destroyed in the first place.”
The next silence was longer still, and my heart began to race. Dad won’t leave, will he? He loves mom. He loves me. He can’t go, he can’t–
“It’s the smart thing to do,” he said. “You know that, Dee. There’s a chance we’ll fail at this, too. If we’re both killed, what will happen to Claire then?”
Mom didn’t reply. Dad sighed heavily. I heard some shuffling.
“It’s the smart thing to do,” he repeated, “but not what I’m going to do. I can’t believe you even suggested it. The thought of taking our daughter and leaving you here… I wouldn’t forgive myself for that.”
My heart swelled with relief. I almost yanked open the door and ran to them, until I heard Mom cry.
“I’m sorry, Joel, I just… I can’t let someone else pay for my mistake. I can’t…”
Dad’s voice became muffled, as though he was whispering or holding her and speaking into her hair. I stepped back from the door and padded to my bed. I crawled under the covers and drew them up to my chin, staring at the ceiling. The darkness stretched across it, so thick I couldn’t see the corners of the walls.
At the time, I didn’t know what they were talking about, or what a Vesper was, but I wasn’t scared. I knew my mom and dad could do anything. They’d built incredible machines on limited time frames before. They could do it, they could save everyone…
Coming out of the memory, I tucked the key under my shirt again and glanced at Abby to make sure she was still asleep. She continued to moan and stir, but her eyes remained closed. I hated that I would have to leave her again tomorrow, especially since her illness was getting worse. But she couldn’t come with us. If anyone saw what she was becoming, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill her. And if Davin or the Hellions decided to return…
I shivered, wrapping my arms around my middle.
Not for the first time, I wish I had pushed myself harder. When my parents returned from the Breach, just before the Hellions began The Storm, they had been different. They didn’t smile often, and when they did, there was no joy in it. It was a lie to give me the illusion of safety. I would ask what was wrong, if I could help, and my mother would gently stroke my hair and whisper with defeat, “There’s nothing you can do.”
How long did she think that before she gave me a baby sister and a key I didn’t know how to use? Did she believe in me so much that she didn’t think to leave me her journals or notes on what I was supposed to be creating in her stead? Was it before she realized that she had failed, and Westraven was destroyed? Was it after my father died?
I sighed. Her reasons didn’t matter. I had to look at the key as the piece of a puzzle that was never finished. I couldn’t think of the secrets it held or what kind of past the Vesper had with my parents. It
“And where are we going to go? Tell me, where in all of Aon do you think we’ll be safe from him?”
“He made it clear that Westraven is his target, nowhere else. Maybe that monster will attack other cities, but we can’t worry about that right now. We just need to keep on the move, stay alive until–”
“The Vesper won’t stop at Westraven! He’ll destroy every inch of Aon after what we did! Our neighbors don’t deserve that. The Sky Guard doesn’t. Thousands of children don’t. Our little girl doesn’t. I won’t run and leave them to that creature, Joel. I won’t do it. There has to be a way to close the Breach, and I will find it.”
There was a long pause, and I wondered if my mom turned away from my dad. Her voice was shaky, barely audible when she added, “I understand if you want to take Claire and leave. I won’t stop you, but I can’t turn my back on hundreds of thousands of innocent lives. Not when we’re part of the reason they’re about to be destroyed in the first place.”
The next silence was longer still, and my heart began to race. Dad won’t leave, will he? He loves mom. He loves me. He can’t go, he can’t–
“It’s the smart thing to do,” he said. “You know that, Dee. There’s a chance we’ll fail at this, too. If we’re both killed, what will happen to Claire then?”
Mom didn’t reply. Dad sighed heavily. I heard some shuffling.
“It’s the smart thing to do,” he repeated, “but not what I’m going to do. I can’t believe you even suggested it. The thought of taking our daughter and leaving you here… I wouldn’t forgive myself for that.”
My heart swelled with relief. I almost yanked open the door and ran to them, until I heard Mom cry.
“I’m sorry, Joel, I just… I can’t let someone else pay for my mistake. I can’t…”
Dad’s voice became muffled, as though he was whispering or holding her and speaking into her hair. I stepped back from the door and padded to my bed. I crawled under the covers and drew them up to my chin, staring at the ceiling. The darkness stretched across it, so thick I couldn’t see the corners of the walls.
At the time, I didn’t know what they were talking about, or what a Vesper was, but I wasn’t scared. I knew my mom and dad could do anything. They’d built incredible machines on limited time frames before. They could do it, they could save everyone…
Coming out of the memory, I tucked the key under my shirt again and glanced at Abby to make sure she was still asleep. She continued to moan and stir, but her eyes remained closed. I hated that I would have to leave her again tomorrow, especially since her illness was getting worse. But she couldn’t come with us. If anyone saw what she was becoming, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill her. And if Davin or the Hellions decided to return…
I shivered, wrapping my arms around my middle.
Not for the first time, I wish I had pushed myself harder. When my parents returned from the Breach, just before the Hellions began The Storm, they had been different. They didn’t smile often, and when they did, there was no joy in it. It was a lie to give me the illusion of safety. I would ask what was wrong, if I could help, and my mother would gently stroke my hair and whisper with defeat, “There’s nothing you can do.”
How long did she think that before she gave me a baby sister and a key I didn’t know how to use? Did she believe in me so much that she didn’t think to leave me her journals or notes on what I was supposed to be creating in her stead? Was it before she realized that she had failed, and Westraven was destroyed? Was it after my father died?
I sighed. Her reasons didn’t matter. I had to look at the key as the piece of a puzzle that was never finished. I couldn’t think of the secrets it held or what kind of past the Vesper had with my parents. It
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