Withhold Read online

  While waiting for Jill to return, Nicole inspected the sunroom. The windows were open, allowing in a fresh breeze. Flowerpots lined those windows, their colorful blossoms releasing pungent aromas that tickled Nicole’s nose. The sunshine and warmth tried to envelop her in slumber, but she fought it off, fidgeting with her phone in her lap instead. The room reminded her of her mother’s sunroom.

  Jill returned, holding a box of old leather journals. “These were my great-great-grandmother’s. She was Helen’s neighbor.”

  She scanned through the journals, looking for mention of Helen. “I know I’ve seen it in here somewhere. If I can’t find it, though, I know just the person to send you to.” She glanced up at her visitors. “I’d send you now, but I’d like to help you as much as I can first.”

  After a moment, she finally found what she was looking for. It was an entry that talked about Helen and how she’d gone crazy. The girl read it, paraphrasing as she went.

  “Okay, so apparently, Helen overdid her powers. It sounds like Sutherland, the man she was in love with, was trapping animals up in the mountains above Lake Crescent when he got attacked by a grizzly. Helen wasn’t far away—it seems she was worried about him and stayed within easy walking distance of him whenever he was in town. Kinda stalkerish. Anyway, she heard his cries for help and dashed through the trees to stop the grizzly. Not having a weapon, she had to use her powers to get the bear to leave. It took a lot more magic than she’d ever used before, and it knocked her out. The grizzly was demolished completely.”

  “What happened after that?” Lizzie asked, totally involved in the story.

  “Sutherland carried Helen off the mountain and into the town, where she remained unconscious for many weeks.” Jill scanned several more entries. “Okay, so when she came to, she asked him if he would stay with her. He had to say no because he’d proposed to his beloved shortly before that trip, and his heart belonged to her.”

  Jill pulled out a picture of Sutherland and handed it to Lizzie, who glanced at it before passing it to Nicole.

  Nicole studied it. He had long hair, a salt-and-pepper beard, and totally looked like a fur trapper. Smile and worry lines creased his face. She couldn’t stop staring at his eyes. They were kind, friendly, and approachable, but also sad. She was touched at how much emotion was visible in one picture.

  Had this been taken before or after Helen went crazy? How did he really feel about her? He’d been engaged, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t ever returned her feelings.

  Nicole handed the picture back. “Does it say whether he ever felt anything for her?”

  “No, it doesn’t.” Jill read ahead. “When Helen woke up, she told him she would be there for him forever. She promised she’d return for him. And then she faded away—her personality, her sanity, everything. She began wandering the forest, searching for him.

  “Unfortunately, she fell to her death from rocks on her family property. The rocks overlooked the strait where she’d watch for him to return. Her family buried her there.”

  Nicole didn’t say anything for a moment. She sensed Lizzie’s hesitancy to break the silence as well. “Does it say exactly where her grave is?” she asked finally.

  Jill nodded. “The property belongs to the great-grandson of Helen’s sister. He’s a cranky old man and definitely not friendly.”

  “Do you think he’d let us see her grave?”

  Jill hesitated. “Probably. But take care when you approach him—I’m not kidding when I say he’s cranky.”

  She gave Nicole the address, and Nicole and Lizzie thanked her for her time, promising to return if they found any information she could add to her family history.

  As soon as the girls were outside, Nicole pulled out her phone to call Austin.

  “We’ve got it,” she said. “Come get us and we’ll head out there right now.”

  Chapter Three

  Everyone piled out of the car when they arrived at the man’s house. The house was old, windblown, and had been painted white at one point. Most of that paint had peeled off. Shutters hung at the windows, a couple of them waving in the wind, creaking, not fully fixed to the house anymore. Dead vines clung to one half of the small, one-story place, and dead rosebushes lined the walk.

  The gate was wide open, and they approached the house cautiously. Something was off. It felt vacant. Nicole gathered her powers, sensing as the others did the same.

  The front door was open a crack. A chair lay on its side, the back of it broken, and pieces of it strewn on the old carpet where it had fallen. It looked like someone or something had been in a fight.

  They didn’t even bother knocking before entering—it was obvious the place was empty. Their quick search of the house was over in seconds.

  Nicole glanced at the others. “What should we do?”

  Coolidge returned her gaze, his expression troubled. “Maybe we should look out back, head toward the bluffs if we can’t find anyone.”

  The others agreed. There wasn’t a back door, so they went out front and headed around that way. Nicole gasped when she saw a crumpled body on the back porch. The rancid stench in the air suggested that whoever it was had been dead for some time. Flies buzzed, and the air in the semi-enclosed porch was heavy enough to make Nicole gag. She only got close enough to see a shriveled old man and to see that the skin on his face was bruised and his hair was falling out. His hands and feet were missing, and the jeans he wore had holes in them. Maggots were visible through those holes.

  Nicole’s stomach clenched, and she turned away, trying to minimize the air she breathed.

  “Is that him?” Lizzie asked, her voice shaking.

  The frown on Coolidge’s face deepened. “I would assume so.”

  “Murder?” Austin asked.

  “Given the circumstances, again, I would assume so.” Coolidge didn’t take a step closer to confirm, and no one else was willing to examine the body.

  Austin ran his hand through his hair. “I’ll call the cops,” he said. “You guys go on ahead.”

  Nicole and Lizzie glanced at each other. Nicole didn’t want to leave Austin alone to do the unpleasant task, but she also didn’t want to stick around the dead body. She’d seen enough of those to last her a couple hundred lifetimes.

  Coolidge started down the tiny path, and the girls followed. It wound through the grass and weeds that consumed most of the backyard. A forest was up ahead, the trees short, brown, and scraggly—unusual for this location. Most of the other foliage they’d seen had been lush and green. These trees looked like they’d been starving for years. Maybe that was true—they were close to the salt water in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. But Nicole didn’t know enough about gardening to figure out if being near the strait would make them shriveled.

  The little path led them into the forest, where the air was cool, still, and calm. No animal noises reached Nicole, and the wind didn’t brush the trees. The feeling there was one of reverence, almost sacredness. The juxtaposition of that with the health—or lack of it—of the trees bothered Nicole.

  The forest ended right at the edge of the bluffs that overlooked the strait. Rather than admiring the beautiful view, Nicole and the others began searching for the grave. It wasn’t difficult to find. A white cross with the word “Helen” etched into it was stuck in the ground, slanting to the right. Nicole’s heart fell when she saw that the grave was open, the body gone, and no sign of the coffin. She shouldn’t have been surprised—with the man dead, what else could she have expected?

  Coolidge grumbled to himself. He knelt on the dirt next to the open grave, holding his hand over the hole, eyes closed. His magic snaked away from him, and Nicole felt it question the surrounding elements, asking about Helen and her body. Coolidge held still for a long time, his brows furrowed.

  After several moments, he got to his feet, wiping his hands on his pants. “She’s not here. Her spirit is no longer connected to her body, and even if it were, we wouldn’t find it here.”

&
nbsp; “What now?” Lizzie asked.

  “We’re going to have to go to the dimension of bones to find Helen. That’s most likely where she resides now.”

  Nicole and Lizzie nodded. Nicole couldn’t help but wonder why most Aretes went there after death. It wasn’t exactly a “rest in eternal bliss” place. She found herself relieved to know that when she died, she would be in Shonlin for a while. There was some comfort in that.

  “I wish we had Anna Morse to help us,” she said. The old woman had been destroyed when the Great Ones had come to earth a year earlier.

  “We’ll use Robert instead,” Coolidge said.

  Nicole had almost forgotten about her professor’s friend who had passed away the same time Anna Morse had. He’d helped them before, when they’d been searching for Keitus’s place.

  The three of them walked back to the deserted house. Austin was still on his phone, maintaining a healthy distance from the body, a serious expression on his face.

  Realizing they would have to wait until the cops arrived, Nicole and Lizzie headed around front to the porch swing. They hopped onto it, kicking against the sagging wood on the porch to get moving.

  “Awful luck,” Lizzie said.

  “Seriously.” Nicole sighed. “Nothing is ever simple.”

  They waited in silence until the police arrived, then they escorted the officers around back.

  After answering questions, Nicole and her friends were finally able to leave. She wished she knew more about the man who had died. It was obvious that he’d been killed by Keitus’s men. What was his name? What was his story? Her heart ached, thinking about his situation. How long had he been dead? And how had no one else found him? He must have been alone. She hoped he would find peace in the next world. Regardless of how cranky he was, he didn’t deserve to die at the hands of an evil man and his minions.

  They dropped the car off at the rental place, and Jacob picked them up and keyed them back to Seattle.

  Austin followed the girls home so they could gather their stuff. Lizzie needed help studying for a Fire test, and Austin had volunteered. It was a great opportunity for Nicole to practice as well, since she still hadn’t mastered all of Water or any of Fire.

  They headed to Austin’s apartment. Nate wasn’t there yet, but he promised he would come as soon as he dropped his girlfriend off at her place. He was a Fire Arete and had progressed a lot recently, and Nicole looked forward to seeing what she could learn from him. The girls and Austin got comfortable on the couch while waiting, discussing what Nicole and Lizzie needed to work on.

  “My biggest goal this semester . . . and possibly next,” Lizzie started, “is to learn how to stop Fire completely.”

  “That’s going to be fairly difficult,” Austin said. “Especially since your native ability is to start it.”

  Lizzie nodded. “I know. Nicole told me. But I’m determined, and who’s to say I can’t figure it out?”

  “Don’t worry,” Austin said. “I have no doubt you’ll master it.”

  Lizzie grinned. “Maybe not easily,” she said. “But hopefully easier with you and Nicole helping me.”

  Once they’d discussed everything, they waited for a few moments more, each content in his or her own thoughts, and Nicole found herself glancing at her phone several times. Where was Nate? Should she ask Lizzie to leave so she and Austin could talk in private?

  Would it bother or relieve him if she brought up the proposal topic? Regardless, the conversation would be better if it happened in private, so Nicole put the topic from her mind and relaxed against the back of the couch, staring at the ceiling.

  Nate finally got home, and the four of them gathered around the counter in the kitchen to start working on their abilities. Nate’s was to grow fire, not to start it or stop it. So Lizzie created the fires, Nate made them grow, and then Lizzie worked on stopping them.

  Nicole could tell how frustrated her best friend was at this exercise. She was only able to stop a fire that was the size of a small candle. Nicole could barely sense Fire at the very edge of her conscience. Instead of pushing herself too much, she started working on Water instead, gathering the molecules of moisture from the air. She concentrated on making that water expand.

  After half an hour, she held enough water with her powers that it coated the upper half of the room. With a grin of triumph, she let it fall into the sink—being careful not to get anyone wet—and smiled at the expression of pride on Austin’s face.

  Lizzie slumped in her chair, staring at the now-wet sink. “It’s not fair.”

  “You’ll get it,” Nicole said. “Besides, I still can’t do anything with Fire. You’re way ahead of me where that’s concerned.”

  Lizzie nodded. Then, with a sigh, she delved into practice again. Nicole decided to see if she could learn from her best friend—sense how Lizzie was creating Fire. She commanded her magic to follow Lizzie’s, hoping to glean some information. She felt as Lizzie reached out with her powers, but could only follow along for a short while. Fire was simply outside of her grasp.

  Nicole was frustrated with her lack of progress in that area, but she was being unfair to herself, especially since she hadn’t fully mastered Water yet. She couldn’t master Fire until she understood Water. Instead of forcing herself to practice with Water again, though, she relaxed and enjoyed her time with two of her most favorite people.

  After two hours, everyone decided they were ready for a break. Nate headed for dinner at his girlfriend’s apartment while the others chose to go explore Seattle. Nicole couldn’t believe she’d lived there for over two years and hadn’t really gotten to know the city itself.

  “Where should we go?” Nicole asked.

  “I know just the place!” Lizzie said, practically bouncing. “It’s called Ye Olde Curiosity Shop. It’s a little store down by Elliot Bay that I discovered while you guys were off on one of your adventures. It’s got all sorts of cool things in it, including mummies, shrunken heads, petroglyphs, totally real totem poles, and all sorts of other awesome stuff.”

  Nicole raised an eyebrow. “Shrunken heads? Yeah, I’m not sure how I feel about that.”

  Lizzie giggled. “You can ignore that part. But just wait and see. The place is freaking awesome.”

  After everyone agreed to give the store a try, they piled into Austin’s car and drove to Alaskan Way, where it was located. Stepping inside the shop, Nicole knew right away that Lizzie was right. This was a place they had to explore. It was cramped and crowded and smelled a bit musty, but she fell in love immediately. The shop was full of some seriously crazy stuff. A four-legged chicken, shrunken heads, the Lord’s Prayer on a penny, and many other things that totally caught her off guard. Her favorite, of course, were the mummies—Sylvester and Sylvia.

  Realizing they wouldn’t have nearly enough time to explore everything in the store, Nicole bought a book called A Curious Alphabet that listed twenty-six fascinating items that were housed there.

  While they were browsing, Coolidge called Austin. The conversation was quick and Austin ended the call, then tucked his phone into his pocket, looking at the girls. “Robert is ready to talk to Helen, and Jacob is on his way.”

  Chapter Four

  “Does Jacob know how to get here?” Nicole asked.

  “Yes, I told Coolidge where we are. He told me to tell Sylvester hi for him.”

  Nicole and Lizzie laughed as they walked with Austin to the door, where Jacob was waiting. He explained that Renforth and Azuriah had decided not to come. Then he took them on a brief detour to Coolidge’s house to get supplies, including food and water.

  “We’ve got a long walk,” Robert said once they’d met up with him. “It took me quite some time to figure out where this woman is, and it’s not close.”

  “We’re grateful you were able to find her,” Nicole said. “We were worried that she wouldn’t be here at all.”

  Robert glanced at Nicole. “She’s here all right. I’m afraid she won’t be very happy
to see us, though.”

  He turned away, obviously not wanting to talk about that anymore, so Nicole didn’t chase the topic. She started to fret, though. What would make a ghost nervous?

  They started out across the vast bleached-white hills and mountains of Anna Morse’s dimension, the brittle bones crunching under their feet. Nicole couldn’t wait until the day when she wouldn’t ever have to return to this dimension again.

  She hoped they would reach Helen in time to convince her to ignore Keitus and do what was right for everyone rather than what she felt was right for her situation.

  Instead of taking them in the direction of Keitus’s previous place, Robert led them to the left and through a narrow canyon. They passed through many small canyons after that. Nicole was glad they brought food, which she munched on as they walked.

  The farther they went, the more she noticed an acrid smell in the air. It both tickled and burned her nose, making her sneeze several times.

  Robert glanced back at her with a knowing expression. “That smell gets worse—much worse.”

  Nicole didn’t need him to tell her that—she was already starting to notice it. “What is it?”

  “You’ll see soon enough. We should conserve energy just in case she attacks and not talk.”

  They traipsed through one more canyon, coming upon what looked to be a vast expanse of water. No mountains were in sight. A lone island, only a couple of feet above the water level, was visible in the distance.

  As they continued toward the body of water, Nicole noticed that the bones underfoot began feeling softer. They started sticking to her shoes, making her calves tire. Her feet were getting heavy.

  “Be careful not to let the bones touch your skin,” Robert said. “The stuff they’re melted with is poisonous.”

  Nicole didn’t need to be told twice. She wouldn’t have touched them anyway, but it was good to have the warning regardless.

  The closer they got to the water, the more Nicole realized it wasn’t water. It was sludgy, thick, and grayish, like unset concrete. “What is it made of?” she asked when Robert stopped to survey it.