Observe, Mosaic Chronicles Book Four Read online

  Good. A break would be nice.

  She slowly made her way back to the lobby where she’d sat before and sank into the armchair, pulling out her phone to check her texts.

  Nicole had only been in her seat for a couple of minutes when she was interrupted by a guy who sat down across from her and said hi. At first, she thought it was Greg and chose not to look up, but then she realized this guy had no magical pulse.

  She glanced up, then did a double take. He looked a lot like Austin, but he had bleached blond hair, a nose ring, and was wearing eyeliner. Nicole narrowed her gaze.

  “Austin?” she whispered, her heart doing a fast beat in her chest.

  The guy half smiled. “Guilty.”

  Nicole’s jaw dropped and the sudden urge to fling herself across the distance between them nearly overcame her. She’d missed him so much! “How are you here? And . . . and without a pulse?”

  Austin chuckled. “My heart still beats for you, baby.”

  “You know what I mean. What’s going on?”

  He didn’t answer her question, but indicated for her to get up and follow him. “We need to talk. Somewhere private.”

  The halls were pretty much empty by this point, but Nicole didn’t argue. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t felt him coming! And she couldn’t believe he was actually there.

  Austin led the way down the hall, up two flights of stairs, and into an empty classroom. He shut the door behind them, then flipped on the lights before turning to face her.

  “Have a seat,” he said, pointing to a student desk.

  His dark eyes sparkled and Nicole could sense his desire to hold her. She forced herself to ignore the racing of her heart as she sat on top of the desk, hugging her purse to her chest, hoping that by so doing, she’d resist the urge to touch him, to caress his beautiful face. Kiss his lips. Melt in his embrace.

  “You got your nose pierced?” she asked.

  Austin laughed. “It’s not real, Nicole.”

  “The hair is.”

  “Yes, and so is the guyliner.”

  Nicole snorted. “Guyliner? You can’t seriously be calling it that.”

  “I’m a guy. And I’m wearing eyeliner. Guyliner is a legitimate thing.”

  “Why the pseudo disguise?”

  “I didn’t want you to recognize me right away and ruin our covers, especially in that last representatives-only meeting.”

  “You were there? I can’t believe I didn’t see you! And how did you get here without me sensing you?”

  Austin sat on the teacher’s desk facing her. “I’ve been here all day. Listened to your speech this morning at the welcome ceremony. You had me nearly convinced of your sincerity.”

  Nicole shook her head. “Don’t believe a word I said.” She looked at him in earnest. “I’m so glad you’re here. I can’t even begin to tell you how welcome a sight you are right now.” She held her arms tightly to herself again, resisting the urge once more to throw them around him. “Seriously, though, how did you sneak in?”

  Austin’s expression sobered. “If I have time, I’ll explain. But first, we need to get through things that are more important. In fact, you have a visitor.”

  Austin fiddled with something in his shirt pocket, and suddenly Elizabeth appeared next to him.

  She was wearing the same exotic black dress she’d opted to wear the last time Nicole had seen her. Her beautiful red waves swirled around her shoulders, and the same haughty expression was on her face.

  “Elizabeth, how are you?” Nicole asked.

  “Fine.” She didn’t elaborate. “Rebecca is lying to you.” Elizabeth stopped, perhaps giving Nicole time to digest the information.

  Nicole shook her head, ignoring the swell of disappointment in her chest. “I’ve never fully trusted her, but hoped she wasn’t being dishonest. She is my grandmother, after all.”

  “You were smart not to give in completely to her whims.” Elizabeth flicked her hair behind her shoulder. “If you continue following her commands, you’ll kill all the Aretes in the world and will remove powers from Aretes who have gone beyond this world. Basically, rendering me as weak as a regular human.”

  “It would affect all Aretes?” Nicole couldn’t believe that. “What about Rebecca?”

  Austin snorted. “I’m sure she’s figured something out—there’s no way she’d be selfless enough to give up her own powers.”

  Elizabeth continued. “There are two devices located not far from each other in Idaho. One of them is the embryonic manipulator, and the other is what the Tarians call the AD—short for Arete Destroy. The embryonic manipulator has been feeding the AD for a century, but without the elixir, the process cannot be completed.”

  “Rebecca told me that the elixir can destroy the embryonic manipulator. Is this true?”

  “Yes, it is. She has woven truths in with her lies to make it easier for you to believe her.”

  Nicole nodded. That was what Rebecca had instructed her to do with the Tarians—tell as much truth as possible so the lies were more disguised.

  “How was she planning to carry out her plans?”

  “She never intended to tell you that the embryonic manipulator wasn’t the machine she would be having you feed the elixir to.”

  Nicole rubbed her face and moaned. “How many people know that she’s lying to me?”

  “At least your parents,” Elizabeth said. “I followed Rebecca to their house several times as she kept them updated. They know that you plan to betray them in the end—that Rebecca has been telling you that she’ll be doing just that.”

  A sick feeling hit Nicole in the center of the stomach. No wonder Tiffany was struggling with handing power over to Nicole. She didn’t believe Nicole’s charade. And if she didn’t, who else knew Nicole was putting on a show?

  “Should I try to convince my parents that I’m on their side? I mean, what am I supposed to do from here on out?”

  Elizabeth shrugged. “That’s up to you. But I think your parents know you too well to believe you’d ever betray Aretes.”

  Nicole snorted. “They don’t know me at all—they’ve never even tried to get close to me.”

  “Nevertheless, they are your parents, and they see and hear more than you realize.”

  “How will I know which machine is which?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t seen Rebecca go there.”

  Nicole glanced at Austin, then back to Elizabeth. “Is there anything else I need to know?”

  “This isn’t all I’ve come to report,” she said. “Rebecca has been working closely with the Great Ones. She believes she has them under her thumb, that they’ll perform her will, but she doesn’t know that by getting their help to destroy Aretes, they’ll end up destroying us all—every Arete who has ever lived and possibly every living person on earth, if they get bored with humans. She is a naïve, stupid woman.”

  Nicole slid off the desk and sank into the chair. “I can’t believe this.”

  “Believe it. I’ve seen her with them many, many times.”

  “I’m not questioning you.” Nicole actually trusted Elizabeth—she felt it in her gut that the woman was speaking truthfully about Rebecca. “I just . . . . I don’t understand how easy it was for her to lie to me.”

  Elizabeth nodded. “Well, when you’re young and trusting, you haven’t had to learn how truly evil some people are.”

  She sat on the desk next to Austin, looking tired. “I don’t have much time. But you need to know that there is a woman in the dimension of the Great Ones who is leading the fight there against them—trying to stop them from meddling in the affairs of earth. But she’s failing.”

  Nicole frowned. “Who is it? Would it be possible to help her?”

  “You’ve already met her.”

  Nicole raised her eyebrows. “I have?”

  Elizabeth pointed at the pocket of Nicole’s slacks. “You carry a note from her all the time. She’s been trying to reach you through it.”


  Nicole pulled out the laminated piece of paper. In the rush of the last couple of weeks, she’d forgotten about it. The words Nicole, please come. I need you. were still visible.

  A crushing feeling flooded over her as she realized just how long Anna Morse had truly been asking for her to come. “We have to go to her,” she said.

  “No, we don’t,” Austin said. “Not to another dimension, especially one controlled by such powerful monsters!”

  Elizabeth shook her head. “You might not have a choice, dear boy. Join with anyone who will be of assistance. The Great Ones will be coming soon. You’ll want to know what to do to stop them. You aren’t familiar with them, as Anna Morse is. And you truly don’t know how powerful the Tarians have become.” She motioned to Nicole. “She’s just barely coming to grasp the extent of their reach.”

  Elizabeth began fading away. “I lack strength to remain. Austin, I’ll come back for my husband’s journal when I’m able.”

  Nicole turned to Austin after the woman had disappeared. “Has Coolidge talked to you about Anna Morse? He’s been trying to find a way to locate that street again.”

  Austin shook his head. “Hasn’t said a thing. I’m sure he will soon, though—now that finals are over, everyone seems to have more time.”

  Nicole nodded, remembering that Stephen Nielsen was also a professor and probably hadn’t been able to devote much time to Coolidge’s assignment.

  She glanced at the clock on her phone. “How long are you staying at the convention?”

  “The entire time, if possible. Coolidge is having me watch things where you might not be able to. I have to admit to being very surprised at everything.”

  “Seriously. It’s mind-boggling. I can’t believe how well they’ve kept it hidden from Aretes.” Nicole leaned back in the chair. “Have you told Coolidge anything?”

  “All but that last meeting.”

  “So, he still needs to get the most important stuff.”

  “Yup.”

  Austin pulled out his phone, hit a button, then put the cell on speakerphone, placing it on the desk and sitting on the chair next to hers.

  “Something new to tell me?” Coolidge asked when he answered.

  “Yes,” Austin said. “And Nicole’s with me now. She just got Elizabeth’s report.” He looked at Nicole and whispered, “Coolidge has already heard it. We were together when Elizabeth first appeared.”

  “I’m ready whenever you are,” Coolidge said.

  Nicole and Austin took turns updating the professor on all the reports they’d heard in that last meeting. Coolidge’s responses were short, mainly encouraging them to continue. When they finished, there was silence on his end for several seconds.

  “This is rotten news,” he finally said. “We have a lot of work to do, if we plan to catch up. Fortunately, they don’t realize how much we know.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that,” Nicole said. “Rebecca knows I’m still planning on turning on the Tarians. The only reason she’s allowed me to attend this convention is because they feel they’re so far ahead, we can’t possibly catch up.”

  “And she may be right,” Coolidge said.

  Nicole and Austin met eyes, and Nicole saw the worry she felt reflected there.

  “Let’s hope that’s not the case,” Austin said.

  Nicole leaned toward the phone, biting her lip. “Have you heard anything from Professor Nielsen?”

  “Not yet, but I probably will soon, now that finals are over.”

  Nicole nodded. That’s what Austin had already said. “Let me know when you do.”

  They ended the call and Nicole glanced at Austin. “Okay, now can you tell me how I didn’t sense you approaching? And why I’m not on the floor puking?”

  “Sure.” He pulled a weird-looking contraption from his shirt pocket and held it up so she could see it. Bits of twigs entwined around scraps of glass and metal. It didn’t have a cohesive design, looking more like something a young boy would put together.

  “What is it?”

  Austin tucked it back in his pocket. “It blocks magical pulses,” he said. “Coolidge and a friend in New York first built it to prevent the Alerter from recognizing when an Arete was coming. While they were together, though, pulling the Alerter apart to figure out what made it tick, Coolidge realized something. The Alerter recognizes an Arete by sensing his or her pulse. The same way other Aretes sense each other. Coolidge speculated that it’s the same thing that alerts the Great Ones to my presence around you. The Great Ones recognize my magical print and wreak havoc on your body when I come.

  “By preventing anything outside of me from sensing my pulse, it would protect you from the Great Ones and would keep the Alerter—and other Aretes—from knowing I’m present.”

  Nicole shook her head. “That’s fantastic.” She straightened in her seat, looking at him from the corner of her eye. “So, um . . . how strong is it? I mean . . . could I . . . touch you?”

  Austin sighed, slumping in his chair. “We don’t know. Coolidge figured it was best that we not find out.” He looked at Nicole and she saw the pain in his eyes. “Oh, I wish I could pull you into my arms. Smother your face with kisses. But that time in the restaurant, when the Great Ones didn’t know I was there until I touched you . . . that showed me just how powerful physical contact is. In order for this to be successful, I don’t think we’ll be able to touch again. At least, not until it’s all over.”

  Nicole nodded, blinking rapidly so the tears wouldn’t fall from her eyes. “Do we still have to date other people? I wasn’t very happy in my relationship with Toby. I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

  “I never started dating other girls—Judith Ann was a horrible accident.” His face grew dark and Nicole recognized just how annoyed he still was at the girl for deceiving him. He glanced at Nicole, obviously realizing something. “You’re not dating Toby anymore?”

  “Not for a couple of weeks now. He realized I would never get over you. He said he’d wait around for a few months, but I think he knows I’m not going back to him.” She bit her lips, watching Austin. “You really haven’t dated anyone else?”

  Austin shook his head. “No. I couldn’t do it.”

  This time, Nicole didn’t stop the tears from filling her eyes. “I love you, Austin. And I never want to be separated from you again, ever.”

  He nodded. “I agree. We’re better together than apart. But we need to keep a low profile while we’re here. That . . . boyfriend of yours will suspect something.”

  Nicole smiled at Austin’s logical response to her emotional one. Then she scowled. “Greg? Ugh.” She didn’t want to talk about him. “What now?”

  “We return to the convention and go our separate ways. You should be able to get texts from me and send them in return now. If being with me doesn’t bother you, texting won’t either.”

  “What happens if we accidentally touch?”

  “We’ll need to do our best never to be within arm’s reach of each other so that doesn’t happen.”

  Sad day.

  Nicole motioned to the object in his shirt pocket. “I’d definitely feel better if that was in a more secure location. I mean, what if it fell?”

  “Coolidge had barely finished it right before I left for the convention. This is temporary.”

  “I recommend a necklace. It’s worked great for the elixir.”

  Austin raised an eyebrow. “I might be wearing a nose ring and guyliner, but I have no intention of ever, ever owning a necklace.”

  Nicole laughed. “I know lots of guys who wear them.”

  He smiled. “I’m not one of them.”

  “Fair enough.”

  Nicole grinned, meeting Austin’s gaze. His eyes searched her face, serious now, and the electrical pull between them increased until he leaned back, breaking eye contact.

  “We’ve really got to be careful,” he mumbled.

  “I know.”

  He cleared his throat. “What time
is your next meeting?”

  Nicole pulled her agenda out of her purse. “One o’clock.”

  “What’s it about?”

  Nicole scanned the schedule, looking for a description. “Looks like it’s more info about the armor in Colombia.”

  “Okay. I’ll go wherever I’m able—aiming for meetings you can’t attend. And we’ll do our best to gain as much information as we can. Coolidge will need everything we get our hands on. He’s planning on making more of these blockers, by the way, so he can physically help us without the Tarians knowing.”

  “That’s a relief. We could definitely use his help—in fact, it never occurred to me that he wouldn’t be there.”

  “You probably know this, but there’s no way we’re going to stop the Tarians just by destroying the embryonic manipulator. In fact, doing so will only force us into war faster.”

  Nicole took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. “I think we may be able to enlist the help of more than just living Aretes. I mean, if what Elizabeth said is true, and all Aretes will be destroyed, not just the living ones, it shouldn’t be too hard to get their help.”

  “True.” Austin rubbed his face. “I have no experience in organizing a war, obviously. I hope Coolidge will have the right connections.”

  “Me too.”

  Austin got to his feet and Nicole reluctantly followed, wishing she could at least hug him. She turned her thoughts from her former—kind-of-current—boyfriend back to the meetings going on downstairs.

  She had a convention to run.

  Well, to pretend to run, anyway.

  Chapter Nine

  After the revelations of the first day, the next two days seemed almost boring. Nicole had plenty of opportunities, to be a leader and she was finding that the Tarians responded well.

  Now that she knew Rebecca was lying, however, she couldn’t help but wonder why she was still there, pretending. She knew she couldn’t possibly change their minds—not in a matter of a couple of months, and maybe not even in a year or two. Their hatred against Aretes was so complete, so inbred, it would take a huge miracle to turn their hearts away from destroying anyone with a speck of magic in them.