Beautiful Chaos(96)

“You do belong, Liv. And you don’t have to stay down here with him. You’re not a monster.”

Like he is.

Ethan? Is everything okay?

Lena was reaching out to me.

Yeah, L. Be there in a minute.

No rush.

It was Lena’s way of saying she didn’t mind me talking to Liv, whether or not I would ever get Liv to believe that. I wasn’t sure I believed it myself.

Liv was staring at me. “What are you doing here, really? Because I’m fairly certain you aren’t concerned about my social life.”

“You’re wrong.” I was still holding the pie tin.

She took it, opening the foil and breaking off a piece of pie. “Delicious. So there is nothing new I should know about?” She broke off another corner. Amma’s pie was a good distraction.

“What do you know about the Wheel of Fate?”

She looked surprised. “Funny you should ask.” And just like that, the subject of Liv’s personal life was closed, and we returned to her favorite subject—anything else.

“Why?”

“I’ve been thinking about it ever since we found the Temporis Porta.” Liv pulled out her red notebook and opened it to a page in the middle. There was a sketch of three perfectly formed circles, each divided by spokes set in varying patterns. “This was all I could remember from the door.”

“That looks right. You said it was some kind of code?”

She nodded. “I’m not certain, because you opened the door without using them. But I’ve been researching the symbol in Macon’s library.”

“And?”

She pointed at the drawing. “The repeated circle. I think it has something to do with what you’re calling the Wheel of Fate.”

“And the Temporis Porta?”

“I think so. But there’s one thing I can’t understand.”

“What is it?” Something Liv didn’t understand was a bad sign.

“The door opened by itself. You didn’t even touch any of the circles. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.”

I remembered the rough feel of the rowan wood beneath my forehead.

“And I couldn’t go through it at all.”

“But you said you didn’t understand why.” I wasn’t sure where she was going with this.

“Whatever the Wheel of Fate is, I think it has something to do with you, not me.”

I let her believe it, but I knew better. I could still hear Amma’s voice, echoing in my head.

The Wheel of Fate crushes us all.





12.06





Fractured Soul


Ethan!”

Lena was screaming, and I couldn’t find her. I tried to run, but I kept falling because the ground was moving beneath my feet. The pavement on Main was shaking so hard that dirt and rocks were flying up into my eyes. The road rolled on, and it felt like I was standing on the edge of two tectonic plates battling it out.

I stood there, one foot on each plate, while the world shook and the chasm between the plates widened. The crack was so big I knew I was going to fall. And it was getting bigger.

It was only a matter of time.

“Ethan!” I heard Lena’s voice, but I couldn’t see her.

I looked through the crack and saw her—far below me.

And then I was falling….




My floor hit me harder than usual.

Lena!

I heard her voice, groggy and half asleep.

I’m here. It was just a dream.

I flipped over onto my back, trying to catch my breath. I balled up the sheet and threw it across the room.

Everything’s fine.

I knew I didn’t sound very convincing.

Seriously, Ethan. Is your head okay?

I nodded, even though she couldn’t see me.

My head’s fine. It’s the Earth’s tectonic plates I’m worried about.

She didn’t answer for a moment.

And you’re worried about me.

Yeah, L. And you.

She knew when I woke up screaming her name that she had suffered another violent, frightening end in one of my dreams we hadn’t shared since the Seventeenth Moon. And the dreams were getting worse, not better.

It’s because of everything we went through last summer, Ethan. I’m still reliving it, too.

But I didn’t tell her it was happening to me every night, or that she wasn’t the one in danger this time. I didn’t think she wanted to know how much reliving I was doing. I didn’t want her to feel like it was getting in the way of living.

There was something else getting in the way of living, at least for me. The answer to the question that Amma wouldn’t give me and I couldn’t figure out. But I was pretty sure there was someone else who knew, and I finally had enough guts to go see him.

The only question left was whether or not I could get him to tell me.




It was pitch-black outside as I pulled the front door closed behind me. When I turned around, Lucille was sitting on the porch, watching me.

“Didn’t get enough of the Tunnels last time?” Lucille cocked her head to one side, her standard answer. “Let’s get going.”

I heard a rip. Actually, it sounded more like a nasty tear.