Consensus Breaking (The Auran Chronicles Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

crazy!’
    ‘These are but examples of the many strange things that have happened to reality in recent months. The Families have been working overtime to find the causes, eliminating those they can.’
    ‘But how? What can be causing all this?’
    Then it hit him.
    ‘The Spoke Stone. The Consensus.’ He slumped back into the chair. ‘I did this, didn’t I?’
    ‘I wasn’t sure, until now,’ Sedaris said. ‘But, alas, now I’ve heard the full tale, it can be the only explanation. The breaking of the Spoke Stone, one of the pillars of this reality, has caused a breakdown in the Consensus. This has led to the fractures in reality that we’re seeing.’
    Seb sat forwards, his head resting in his hands. He scrunched his eyes shut, let out a slow, shaking breath, and sat back up.
    ‘I don’t know what to say.’
    ‘I can imagine this is a lot to take in.’ Sedaris rose again, obviously not a fan of the sitting still. ‘Still, all is not lost.’
    Seb looked up. ‘Why?’
    Sedaris smiled, those unnaturally white teeth on display. ‘Why, is it not obvious? With the Consensus in the state it is it gives us much more capability in terms of dealing with this new threat. The humans cannot handle it. Their minds would simply fold if they knew the truth. If anything, it gives us an opportunity we never had before.
    ‘I don’t follow.’
    ‘Think about it. For many centuries our kind has been bound by the Consensus, limited in using our abilities. And for what? To maintain a safeguard put in place for a war that happened years before, in an entirely different realm? Even the sheol are not the threat they once were.’
    ‘Really? Tell that to Skelwith.’
    Sedaris’ face hardened. ‘Skelwith was the result of one Magister’s incompetence. If they had chosen to speak to us rather than deal with it themselves then this would never have happened. But lessons have been learned, Seb. Now is the time for us to take back control. We are the Aware, are we not? Does it sound right that control over reality should rest with the unconscious minds of the Unaware?’
    Something uncomfortable had squirmed into Seb’s gut. He opened his mouth to disagree, but when he saw the look of sheer intensity that gazed back he changed his mind. This wasn’t an argument he was going to win.
    ‘I don’t know, maybe not,’ he muttered.
    ‘Of course not. They know not of the power they possess. It’s the ultimate irony do you not think? We know how to handle this power, yet they are the ones who have it, in vast amounts, yet do not grasp its magnificence.’
    ‘So what does this mean for these glitches you mention?’
    Sedaris sat back down. He rang his hands constantly, his dark eyes glinting with intensity.
    ‘These glitches, we’ve found, are being caused by the Aware.’
    ‘What? What does that mean?’
    ‘I know, I know,’ Sedaris said, his eyes widening, a near-manic grin breaking out. ‘We thought so, too. I mean, how often do the Aware occur in a given generation? Once, twice in a million?’
    ‘One in a million,’ Seb quoted from memory.
    ‘Quite, quite. This is new. Before, the Aware, barring some exceptions,’ he nodded at Seb, ‘We could track them. We knew when they would emerge, and we could take them and deal with them.’
    ‘Purge them. Rip their minds.’
    ‘But not anymore,’ Sedaris continued, ignoring Seb, ‘they are occurring much more frequently. But they can’t control it; with the Consensus weakened they are able to do simple things, purely on instinct. For some it terrifies, they seek medical help, but of course the authorities cannot do anything. For others it’s much more severe.’
    ‘They go mad.’ Seb knew this already. It could’ve easily been him having his mind ripped by one of the Magistry’s magi.
    ‘Exactly. So what do we do? How do you think we deal with this, Seb?’
    He wasn’t sure if this was an actual question or rhetorical, but the way Sedaris was looking at him seemed to