Chronicles of the Unknowns: Intervention

Excerpt from the Sequel

I woke up in a cold sweat. It was a recurring dream. Or nightmare. I wasn't sure which at this point. I could hear Jake snoring lightly next to me. My head was laying on his chest and it rose and fell with each breath he took. I felt an odd combination of restlessness and content.

I pulled myself away from him and sat up. When I looked up at the sky it was still dark out. There was no telling how long I'd been asleep. A few minutes? A few hours? No idea.

Then the gravity of reality came crashing down on me.

Timothy.

I didn't want to think about it. What it would take to get him back. The war with the humans had been bad enough, but a war with Giovanna? It wouldn't even be a battle. We would be slaughtered.

Jason had told us everything that happened when she went against the Court. Giovanna used her magical energy to change your perception of the world around you. Magic was based on an illusion so I supposed it made sense. She could be standing 50 feet behind you, but trick you into thinking that she was right in front of you. She could make you think you were on a beach in Miami when in reality you were in a swamp.

It felt hopeless. The only way to get my brother back would be to give in and give her what she wanted. That was probably the only reason she'd taken him. To get back at me for denying her. I could give in, but I didn't trust her. This war had left me with a lot of scars, but I'd bear them all for Timothy. There was a time when I wasn't sure if I could do that for my brother, but I'd had plenty of time to reflect on what was important to me. I knew how to weigh the costs of what was important.

It was weird. I knew exactly how to look at a situation and see what needed to be done to make it out alive. Sometimes that meant that a plan was impossible or that our objective was unattainable. Sometimes it meant heavy casualties, but everyone important would make it home. And to be honest, it was the exact same reason I sucked at plans.

Knowing what it takes to live doesn't always mean knowing what it takes to win. Some days those two things shared the same meaning and some days their meaning diverged on different paths. My brother had always been a better tactician than I was. He was the perfect balance of callous and compassionate. He would have never jeopardized a child in the way I had. Well, not without exhausting every other option. Timothy was still my brother. We still shared the same blood. And although my flaws were not necessarily his flaws, I knew what he was capable of.

Celeste

The voice was urgent. It was so vivid that it made me tingle all over. It made my ears ache like scratching on chalkboard. I rubbed my forehead, trying to expel the discomfort. I'd been suffering from these dreams for the past couple of weeks. And based on the timeline I got from Daisy Lynn and her crew it had started at around the time my brother was captured.

My brother needed me.

I didn't know how I was going to get past Giovanna, but I knew the perfect person to help me. The strongest Unknown I knew. The one person who could kill any and everyone in this camp without ever raising a finger.

Jason.

A/N

Book 5 is slow coming it seems. I have 2 chapters written and want to get out a few more before I start posting just to make sure I am happy with the direction I start off with. 

I've been listening to Book 2, and I am going to keep with the trend that Celeste does a lot of morally questionable things to benefit herself. But there's one person who makes her look past herself: Timothy. Celeste knows that saving Timothy means facing Giovanna. If it were anyone else, they'd be a lost cause. Because in what world can a shape shifter beat someone who can manipulate magic?

Celeste is no one's hero. But she is a big sister who loves her little brother. Sometimes she's selfish and sucks at showing it, but Celeste holds Timothy close to her heart. And if there's anyone that she'd lay down her life for, it's him.

I'll update when the sequel is up.