Intangible (Invisible #2 SAMPLE)

Intangible Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The Return Trip

I’m about to reach for the door of the Jeep when Robin all but crashes into it. “Olivia,” she exclaims breathlessly, “wait!”

I look over at her expectantly. You’d think she just ran a marathon the way she’s panting. “Wait for what?” I finally ask.

“During study hall, my grandma called me back.”

Instantly captivated, I stare at Robin, trying not to look too desperate. “Did she know anything?”

“Yes, but it’s not good news.” She grimaces, but doesn’t keep me waiting. “An Escort isn’t meant to be apart from their Aerling. You’re supposed to protect him, and that’s kinda hard to do when you are not with him. Whatever happened yesterday is going to keep getting worse. Once it really sets in, you’ll start to feel if Mason is in danger or hurt, and if you don’t help him… it’ll be bad for you.”

 “But,” I interrupt, “if he is in trouble, how am I supposed to help him? I don’t even know where he is.”

“My grandma said you may not know what city he’s in when it happens, but you’ll know where he is.” She shrugs, and it’s difficult not to get frustrated at her. It’s not her fault this is so impossible to figure out.

 “She also said …” Robin hesitates, and I fear I won’t like what’s coming next. “She said the only way Mason will be granted safe passage is if you’re with him.”

“Do you know what she meant by that?” I ask.

Robin shakes her head. “Not really.”

I want to bang my head against the Jeep. Seriously. I sigh and try to focus on doing something more productive. “It almost sounds like there will be someone responsible for either granting or denying Mason safe passage between the worlds, but that would be crazy right?”

“Why? Everything else seems to be a manic mess. Besides, what’s sane about crossing between worlds?” Robin shakes her head. “This whole secret reality sounds like a bunch of crap if you think about it from a normal person’s point of view.”

Rubbing my palms against my face, I stare up at the clouds drifting lazily by in the chilly sky. “I used to be one of those normal people. Caretakers, Sentinels, Aerlings, it’s too much as it is. I just don’t think I can add in some other group, one who may or may not grant Mason passage on some kind of standard I have no clue about.”

“That may not be what she meant,” Robin says. “She could have been talking about the other Aerlings, the ones already in the Aerling world. Maybe they’re the ones that grant passage back and forth. I mean, they must have the power, right? They send the Aerling infants here… I think. I don’t know who else would be sending them.”

“But if the Aerlings have the power to cross, why would they need an Escort to go home?” I shake my head and try to resist the urge scream. “There must be something I can do that they can’t.”

“Then, how do the infants get out of their world if they can’t cross?” Robin looks honestly stumped.

“What if they can leave, but if they do, they can’t get back in without an Escort?”

“So… if someone takes the Aerling infants out of their world, they’re just stuck here?”

Defeated by the sheer amount of questions, I unlock my door and climb into the Jeep. Robin plops down next to me a few minutes later. Her eyes look squinty, as if she’s trying to hold off a headache. I’m pleading for my bed right about now. Well, Mason’s bed, since that’s where I end up more nights than not, lately.