Observe, Mosaic Chronicles Book Four Page 12

  Nicole nodded. She set the branch on the counter. “I don’t even know where to begin,” she said.

  Lizzie shrugged. “Does the book say anything?”

  “No.”

  “Maybe you need to concentrate longer. Picture the grains.”

  “How, when I can’t even see them?”

  “Here, let me.” Lizzie got up and retrieved a steak knife from the drawer. She cut off a chunk of branch, then stripped it of bark. She handed the now-clean section of wood to Nicole. “Now you can see.” She scratched her head. “Um . . . maybe picture the grain? Focus closer on it than you did with the stool? I don’t know. We need Coolidge or Aus—I mean, we could use someone else’s help.”

  Nicole ignored Lizzie’s slip and placed the piece of wood on the counter, pushing the remaining branch aside. She rested her chin on her crossed forearms and stared at the section of branch, concentrating.

  As usual, she first got her breathing under control, feeling it rush in and out of her lungs. Then she reached out to her powers—much more carefully this time—and asked them to come to her, aware of the slight shock still being delivered to her right wrist.

  After she had a small amount of magic at her disposal, she cautiously directed it forward, asking it to envelop—but not damage—the piece of wood.

  The wood began glowing slightly. Nicole stared at it, concentrating harder. Her eyes traced the outline of visible grains. The lines separating the grains began glowing.

  Nicole nudged the wood mentally, with her powers, and asked her magic to gently separate the grains from each other.

  It worked. The wood fell apart, but this time, in sections.

  Lizzie cheered. “You did it!”

  Nicole leaned back, rubbing her head. “That was hard. A lot harder than I expected. I could feel my powers pretty much begging me to destroy it.”

  “You’re not a native Earth Arete. It’ll take some practice.”

  “I’m done for now.”

  Nicole turned off the bracelet and removed it. She and Lizzie cleaned up the mess that had been their stool, and Lizzie put the branch near the front door, deciding not to throw it out in case Nicole wanted to practice on it again.

  ***

  Finals week arrived and Nicole put everything else on hold. She stopped answering her phone and checking emails after setting up an automatic message that would tell everyone she wouldn’t be available for the next week and to contact Lizzie if an emergency came up.

  Nicole was doing the same for Lizzie. They’d found in high school that this sort of arrangement really helped with family and friends who didn’t quite understand how serious final exams were.

  No one contacted either girl, which helped them relax and focus even more.

  Both girls took—and passed—their finals. Nicole breathed a sigh of relief. She recognized, however, that things were about to get really interesting.

  For all she knew, that first full semester of college would be her last. She hoped not. She couldn’t wait to hear from Elizabeth, though she wasn’t sure how that would happen without Austin contacting her in some way.

  The minute Tiffany learned that Nicole was finished with school, she called her. “Your father and I will be right there to pick you up.”

  “Um, Mother, you know I’m in Seattle and you’re in Texas.”

  Tiffany didn’t respond.

  “You are in Texas, right?”

  Just then, the doorbell rang.

  Nicole groaned and walked down the hall to the front door. She wasn’t surprised that her parents were on the other side. She put her phone away and invited them in.

  “How long have you been in Seattle?” she asked as Tiffany and Dad entered the apartment.

  “Only a couple of days,” Dad said. He looked around. “Nice place you’ve got here.”

  “A couple of days?” Nicole folded her arms. “Were you really waiting for me to finish finals?”

  Tiffany waved her off. “Of course not, dear. We also had a lovely visit with Andrew and Shana.”

  Nicole rolled her eyes. “I wish you’d leave them alone. I hate the feeling that you’re sifting through my things and my business.”

  “Andrew and Shana aren’t your things,” Tiffany said. “And they happen to like you. Which happened to make us happy.”

  “Well, good. Your happiness is very important to me.”

  Tiffany brushed off the couch before taking a seat, and Nicole rolled her eyes again. The couch wasn’t dirty, but her mother loved making it a point that no one was as clean as she. Ridiculous.

  Tiffany motioned for Nicole to sit next to her. “Now that you’re on our side, Nicole, you need to stop being so negative toward us.”

  “Yeah, so I’ll eventually get over how you raised me at more than arm’s length, distrusting me and hating everything I would become.”

  “Exactly.”

  Dad took a seat. No one said anything for several seconds.

  “How did finals go?” Dad asked.

  “Fine. I passed them.”

  “Excellent.”

  Tiffany said, “Have you had a chance to study the material I’ve been sending?”

  “Not yet, but I planned to start tonight.” Nicole leaned forward. “So, really. Why are you here?”

  “To bring you home, of course,” Tiffany said. “Well, not home. To Vegas—that’s where the convention is being held.”

  “When does it start?”

  “Tomorrow.”

  Nicole jumped to her feet. “Tomorrow? I haven’t even started to pack yet!”

  “I’ll help,” Tiffany said, standing. “Heaven knows you could use my assistance.”

  Nicole led the way to her bedroom. She pulled her suitcase out from under her bed, ignoring how Tiffany looked around the room with disdain.

  “You know you don’t need to stay here anymore,” Tiffany said.

  “It’s free. And I like it. The landlord is nice.”

  “Yes, I know.” Tiffany ran a finger along Nicole’s desk. “At least you’re keeping it relatively clean.”

  Nicole folded several shirts, placing them in her suitcase. “I use my desk all the time. Don’t check my dresser. That’s where I store all my dust.”

  Tiffany watched for several moments before stepping next to Nicole and holding out a hand. “Here, let me pack. I’m faster. Gather what you’ll need and put it next to the suitcase.”

  “Fine.” Nicole didn’t feel like arguing. Mainly because Tiffany was right—she excelled at this sort of thing. “When does the flight leave?”

  “In two hours.”

  “Are you serious?” Nicole glanced at her mother. “Why were we chatting on the couch?”

  “It’s a private jet, Nicole. It’s not like they’ll leave without us.” Tiffany refolded the shirts Nicole had already put in the suitcase, tucking them next to each other in what Nicole had to grudgingly admit was a better way than how she’d done it. “Go get your toiletries.”

  Nicole stepped out of her room and into the bathroom. She didn’t grab any of the generic things—toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo—knowing that the hotel would provide those sorts of things. Tiffany always picked places that were fully stocked. But Nicole did grab her makeup, hair brush, and hair products.

  She returned to the bedroom, placing the items next to the suitcase.

  Soon, she and Tiffany had finished. Nicole zipped up her luggage, pulling it down the hall and into the living room where Dad waited, reading a magazine.

  “I didn’t take you for a makeup and hair kind of guy,” Nicole said, sending him a smile.

  Dad set the magazine aside. “You never know when I’ll need to learn to tweeze my eyebrows.” He held his mouth straight, but his eyes smiled.

  “Oh, hold on. I nearly forgot.” Nicole dashed back to her room, pulled her carryon out from under her bed, and began packing the reports Tiffany had sent her which she still hadn’t had time to study. She’d hoped to get to them early and regrette
d it not happening. She closed the luggage and hefted it from the bed to the floor, surprised at just how heavy it was. Nicole swallowed. That weight represented a lot of information she needed to start learning.

  Once she’d returned to the living room, she asked, “Is there an agenda or something that’ll help me know what I need to learn first?”

  “Yes, dear,” Tiffany said. She opened her briefcase and pulled out some papers that had been stapled together. “If you have any questions, go ahead and ask.”

  “When do we need to leave?”

  “Not for another half an hour.”

  “All right. If you need me, I’ll be in my bedroom. Make yourselves at home.”

  Tiffany’s eyes strayed to the kitchen, and Nicole knew she’d be cleaning while waiting for her daughter.

  Nicole pulled the carryon back to her bedroom, wishing she’d thought to ask her mother for the agenda before packing everything away.

  She got to work quickly, numbering each item on the agenda. Then she started sifting through the documents Tiffany had sent her, giving each one a number that coincided with the numbers on the agenda.

  The first thing on schedule for the next day was an overview of leadership around the world. Nicole knew most of the leaders in America already, due to what she’d studied from the file Tiffany had let her borrow back around Christmastime. She would only need to go over those documents briefly to refresh her memory. The international leaders would be more difficult, especially those hard-to-pronounce names.

  The items on the agenda that most interested Nicole were the ones that mentioned weapon and armor factories. It shouldn’t have surprised her that Tarians were manufacturing things like that. They really did plan to have an all-out war with Aretes and their supporters.

  It took twenty-five minutes to complete the task. Nicole had Tiffany to thank for teaching her to categorize and organize things quickly. She put the documents back into her carryon, along with the agenda, everything now in numerical order.

  Dad carried her suitcases out to their rental car, and Nicole locked the apartment, wishing she’d been able to give Lizzie a hug goodbye. Her roommate was out celebrating the end of the semester with her current boyfriend.

  Instead, she left a note for Lizzie and sent her a text. Then she and her parents drove to the airport. Not needing to navigate through security made things go much faster. Private security was a lot more efficient, so there was hardly anyone there.

  The trip to Vegas went quickly as Nicole studied the items in her carryon. Most of the leadership in the States hadn’t changed since December, and she got through them easily. She just hoped she’d remember the names and faces of the international leaders.

  She got all the way through the first item on the agenda before they’d been in the air for five minutes. She took a break, then got started on the next thing.

  Nicole had barely finished number three when they touched down in Vegas. She still had eight numbers to get through, but her brain had had enough. Especially since she’d studied so much for finals.

  The Las Vegas heat billowed over her when they stepped out of the airport. It was eighty degrees—thirty degrees warmer than Seattle’s humid weather had been lately. Nicole immediately started sweating, but still enjoyed the heat.

  Tiffany hurried them to another rental car and to their hotel. Nicole’s assumptions about her mother’s choice had been correct—everything was provided for them.

  “Are we meeting anyone for dinner?” Nicole asked.

  “No, I figured you’d want some time to rest and study before tomorrow.”

  Nicole raised an eyebrow. For the first time in as long as she could remember, her mother had put her needs ahead of everyone else’s. Wow. That was journal-worthy.

  Instead of commenting on the monumental moment, Nicole thanked her mother and retreated to her private room, deciding a shower was in order.

  She spent the rest of the evening alternating between studying, sitting on the deck, and swimming in the beautiful outdoor pool when her brain needed a break. By the time the first meeting started the next morning, Nicole would be ready.

  Chapter Eight

  The opening ceremony was scheduled for nine o’clock in the morning. Nicole dressed in pumps, black slacks, and a nice blouse. Tiffany approved of the outfit, and she herself was dressed in a dark skirt suit.

  The larger meetings were taking place in the Thomas and Mack Center of UNLV. Nicole nearly scoffed out loud when she learned that. The place had to seat at least fifteen thousand , and probably more. But then Nicole sobered, realizing her earlier assumptions were correct. The Tarians had been hiding their numbers for years.

  Wishing she could take a break to call Coolidge, Nicole followed her parents as they walked through the crowds and toward the court where the dignitaries and important people would be sitting.

  Rebecca appeared next to Nicole, making her jump. “Goodness, Rebecca. I didn’t see the spider.”

  A sad expression crossed Rebecca’s face. “There are too many people here. The poor darling got trod upon as soon as it appeared.”

  “That’s just terrible.” Nicole couldn’t help being sarcastic, but she hoped Rebecca wouldn’t comment on it. She wasn’t in the mood for discussing the sanctity of spider lives. She glanced at Rebecca. “There’s a ton of people here.”

  Rebecca beamed. “I know. We’ve grown so much since your grandfather and I created the group.”

  Nicole hesitated. “I thought you didn’t like Tarians anymore.”

  Rebecca raised an eyebrow. “Just because I don’t like where they are now doesn’t mean I can’t still be proud that something I created is so huge and powerful.”

  Right. That was convincing.

  Nicole and her parents took their seats on a stage in the center of the court, near the microphone. Nicole twisted in her chair, watching as the thousands and thousands of arena seats were slowly filled. Holy cow—the entire place would get used.

  She swallowed. This was a lot bigger than she’d thought.

  Rebecca remained standing, her gaze flitting back and forth between Nicole and the other people.

  “When are you going to introduce me?”

  “Soon, dear, soon.”

  “What do you think will happen—will they be okay with me being in charge?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  Rebecca appeared distracted, and conversation with her quickly died.

  Noticing CNN cameras all over the place, Nicole turned to Tiffany. “CNN? How did the Tarians manage to get CNN involved?”

  Tiffany glanced at Nicole. “You haven’t finished reading my papers. We nearly own the organization. Enough Tarians have infiltrated them that they pretty much do what we ask.”

  Nicole’s mouth popped open. “You’re serious.”

  “Of course. And CNN isn’t the only place we’ve gone. We’re in almost every major news station around the world. CNN was the first we worked on, so we have the most power with them.”

  Nicole turned her attention as people began standing. She too got to her feet, craning her neck to see who’d stepped onto the court who was important enough for everyone to rise.

  Nicole’s hand fluttered to her mouth. The president of the United States had arrived, trailed by several foreign and national dignitaries, many of whom Nicole recognized but whose names didn’t come to mind immediately.

  She quickly folded her arms behind her back, refusing to look surprised anymore. It only labeled her as a naïve newcomer. But she couldn’t believe that the president was a Tarian. Oh, heavens, she needed to talk to Coolidge. And soon. It would have to wait until after the meeting, though.

  Not long after the president took a seat, a man stood and approached the microphone. His back was to Nicole, so she wasn’t able to recognize who he was. His voice didn’t help identify him, but she assumed he was the president of the Vegas chapter. It would make sense that the local chapter would run the meetings, seeing as how the conven
tion wasn’t always held in the same place.

  Nicole didn’t pay very close attention as the man welcomed dignitaries and such, mentioning them by name. She turned her attention to the crowds, searching for Aretes. She felt just one, recognizing the flavor as Greg’s. He wasn’t seated on the court, which surprised her. In fact, he was near the top of the arena, in the nosebleed section. She didn’t sense any other Aretes.

  Andrew, who was sitting a few people down from Nicole, discreetly pulled the Alerter from his bag, and Nicole realized he was thinking the same thing she was.

  “What is that?” Tiffany hissed, staring at the object Andrew held.

  “The Alerter,” Nicole said.

  “I know what it is . . . I mean, how did he get his hands on it?”

  “Through me. I got it for him, as my initiation.”

  Tiffany’s jaw dropped. “Do you know how many of us have died trying to do just that?”

  “A ridiculous number. Why didn’t you hire an Arete years ago? I’m sure you could have found someone somewhere.”

  “We tried everything, Nicole.”

  Tiffany’s eyes hadn’t left the object, which now had a red light pointing at Nicole and another pointing into the audience where Nicole knew Greg was sitting. She felt satisfied when she realized her senses weren’t off—she and Greg really were the only Aretes present.

  “Do you know how much power you’ve given to Andrew? This is going to be awful. He’s going to think he’s important now, and . . .” Tiffany trailed off, noticing the expression on her daughter’s face.

  “Mother, you only had to ask and I would’ve gotten it for you. Are you jealous? Because you really don’t need to be. You’re the mother of the future Tarian leader.”

  Dad shushed them just then, though Nicole knew she and Tiffany had been whispering quietly enough not to have disturbed anyone—the arena was noisy and the mic loud enough to cover their whispers. But the occasional camera panned over them and they needed to look professional.

  The man continued introducing and welcoming dignitaries. He reached Charles and Tiffany Williams’ names and paused after reading them.