Praxis Novellas, Mosaic Chronicles Book Two Read online

  Austin snorted at his older brother’s obvious impulse purchase. He looked at the frame—a simple, $10 “steal” from Walmart, probably. He turned it over. The paper label on the back was partially ripped off. Only the right half remained.

  nell Manor, Seattle.

  “Nell” looked like it was the end of a word. But what word? He pushed the thought aside. This wasn’t worth his brain power when he had food to eat.

  Austin put the picture on the counter, grabbed his ramen noodles, then sat in front of the TV. He took a huge bite of noodles and turned on the system, searching for a documentary. While waiting for it to load, he called his brother, not bothering to identify himself when Cody answered.

  “What’s with the picture? They ripped you off.”

  Cody laughed. “Just wait—it’s pretty awesome. The guy I bought it from had it for years in a box in his warehouse. I figured since you’re a magical student and you’re in Seattle where the house is, you’d figure out what’s going on better than I could.”

  “Arete student.”

  “Whatever. Something only the fourth child of a family would understand.” Cody chuckled again, then jumped into a discussion about the woes of university life at a school where there weren’t many Aretes. “Dude, you’d never believe how boring it is!”

  A few minutes later, they finished the conversation and Austin scarfed down the rest of his noodles. He grabbed his jacket, then left for study group. Midterms were about to happen, and though the material for Earth Arete was easy enough, he wanted to make sure he hadn’t missed anything.

  When he got to the class, his roommate waved at him from the front row. Austin hesitated. He looked at the back longingly, where he’d have fewer eyes on him, but joined Nate anyway. He scooted down in his seat, feeling his cheeks flush when the girl conducting the session smiled at him.

  She promptly started the review. They discussed terms specific to their type of magic, including the different kinds of sand and dirt, and how to work with their strengths and weaknesses—stuff Austin had learned over a year before.

  “Hey,” Nate whispered an hour later. He looked paler than usual, his eyes red. “This is way over my head, and you’re obviously bored. Let’s go home and watch a movie.”

  Austin breathed a sigh of relief, grabbed his things, and they quickly left the room. The sun had set during the session, and he pulled his jacket closer around him. He’d never get used to the chilly, humid Seattle weather. Montana was much drier—and warmer at this time of year.

  They flicked on the apartment lights, then Austin set up the system while Nate rummaged through cupboards, most likely looking for junk food.

  “So . . .” Nate said.

  Austin waited, rolling his eyes. Nate’s tone of voice suggested a conversation Austin probably didn’t want to have.

  “Uh . . .” Nate continued. “Okay. I’m just going to ask it. Are you into Lizzie?”

  Lizzie? Short, hyper, funny Lizzie? Had Austin done something to make Nate think he liked her that way? And if so, did she think it too? That would be really awkward. “No, man. She’s a good friend, but she’s not really my type.”

  “What is your type?”

  Austin shrugged, flipping through the DVD collection. He wasn’t about to answer. Their friendship was the type that wouldn’t last after graduation, and definitely not the type where Austin would feel comfortable spilling his guts. Besides, Nate had met Savannah—the girl Austin dated in high school—plenty of times. He already knew Austin’s type.

  Deciding the DVDs needed a more thorough inspection, he took the black leather holders from the shelf and plopped on the couch, starting from the beginning. “You about ready?”

  “Just getting the cheese dip warmed up.”

  “What movie do you want to watch?”

  Austin heard the microwave beep.

  “Don’t know.” Nate paused. “Why do you have a picture of an old house?”

  Austin flipped to the James Bond movies. He owned every single one of them—originals and the more recent. “Ugly, isn’t it? My brother spent $150 on it. Not worth it.”

  “It’s not all bad, but yeah, definitely not a steal.”

  “You’re from around here—have you ever heard of a manor with a name that ends in ‘nell?’“

  “Nope.” He paused. “The guy who took this picture knew what he was doing. The lighting from the moon behind the clouds is really eye-catching.”

  Austin raised an eyebrow. The picture had been taken in full daylight. He decided not to say anything to his obviously less-intelligent roommate.

  Nate walked over from the counter, carrying the cheese, bags of chips, and photograph. “What’s up with the guy in the corner?”

  Austin pulled one of the DVDs out of the sleeve and put it in the player. “There’s no guy. It’s probably a bush.”

  “Dude, I’m not blind—check it out.”

  After making sure the disk was set, Austin took the picture, glancing at it. Then he pulled it closer, frowning. Weird. How did he miss that? “The person wasn’t there earlier—I swear. And it could be a guy or a girl. Too blurry to tell.”

  He looked up at the TV, watching the opening credits. He’d seen the picture just a couple of hours earlier and knew he wouldn’t have missed something that noticeable. And Nate was right about another thing—the photograph was obviously taken at night. Had Austin been that distracted by the price?

  ***

  The following evening, Nate hosted a party in their apartment, and he bribed Austin to come out of his room for most of it by telling him how much everyone wanted his white chicken chili. Apparently, several of Nate’s friends had requested the stuff, and Nate didn’t tell Austin this important detail until half an hour before the party.

  Austin procrastinated and stressed over what to wear that would help him blend in more than usual, finally emerging long after the doorbell had rung the first time. If he’d had a say, he would’ve cooked the chili several hours earlier, then left it in the Crock-Pot so everyone could serve themselves, leaving him free to read in his room.

  As expected, tons of people showed up. Nate was popular. But at least he’d invited Lizzie and her roommate, Nicole. Austin couldn’t help but wonder if Nate had also invited Savannah. That would make things awkward.

  Austin’s hands start sweating as soon as Nicole arrived. She came into the kitchen section of the great room and smiled him.

  Act normal. Act normal. “Hey, how’s it going?” That was an okay question, right? He resisted the urge to wipe off his hands.

  “Great! I hear you’re cooking white chicken chili. Yours is the best, you know.”

  “Yeah.” Lame. He didn’t know what else to say.

  He needed to come up with something to talk about before she moved on. School? No that would be dumb. He didn’t want their relationship to revolve around classes. What about the weather? That was a safe topic, right? He opened his mouth, then clamped it shut right away. A relationship that revolved around clichéd conversation topics wasn’t high on his list either.

  Nicole didn’t seem to sense his internal dilemma. “How was your Arete 101 exam? You took it yesterday, right?”

  School it was, then. “Yes. It went well. I passed.”

  “Congratulations.”

  An expression he couldn’t read crossed Nicole’s face. Did she want to leave? Talk to him more? Was her boredom showing through or had he said something wrong?

  To stop her from going somewhere else, Austin grabbed the picture from the counter where it had sat, ignored, since the night before. “You like art, right?”

  “Mostly music, but yeah.”

  “Check this out. My brother sent it to me. It’s pretty bad.”

  Nicole took the picture and cringed when she saw it. “Whoa. That’s intense. And I wouldn’t say it’s bad—it’s quite good, actually. And very, very creepy.”

  “Creepy?” That wasn’t a word Austin would have used to describe it.<
br />
  “Well, yeah. That guy—or woman—crawling across the grass like that. How did the photographer manage to capture this? It looks like it was taken in the late 1800s, and not many pictures from back then showed this sort of emotion. The artist was very skilled.”

  Before Austin could take the picture back to inspect it, Nicole turned away and showed it to Lizzie, whose reaction was similar, though stronger. Everything Lizzie did was a tad over the top.

  Realizing he wouldn’t see it again for a while, Austin forgot the picture and focused on cutting chicken for the chili. But he kept tabs on Nicole as she wandered around the room, laughing with many of the other people. Whenever she talked with a guy, he paid extra attention. After a while, he breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t seem to like any of them, though several watched her closely and pounced as often as they could.

  Then he noticed something that made him really happy—she sent glances his way every now and then. She had to be interested in him, right? They’d shared a kiss a while ago . . . but he knew well enough that kissing didn’t always equal a relationship. His thoughts flicked to Savannah, his ex-girlfriend. She wanted to get back together again, and a part of him welcomed that idea. On the other hand . . . Nicole was nice and cute, and dating Savannah never went very well.

  Austin grunted at himself and pushed aside all thoughts of girls, focusing on the chili. He quickly added the remainder of the ingredients to the Crock-Pot to heat before serving.

  Someone bounced up beside him and he didn’t need to look to know who it was. “Hey, Lizzie.”

  “Hey. When are you going to ask Nicole out?”

  He froze. “Huh? What are you—”

  “You watch her all the time. Your face lights up when she comes in the room.” Lizzie leaned forward, putting her hands on the counter. She opened her mouth to say something else, but just then, Nate walked up, and grateful, Austin turned to talk to him.

  “We have any more chips?” Nate asked. “And how much longer until the chili is done?”

  “An hour, probably. And here—take them.” Austin pulled another bag from the cupboard and handed it to Nate who, unfortunately, left.

  “I’m serious, Austin,” Lizzie said when they were more or less alone. “You’d make a great couple. Ask her out.” She pounded the counter top for effect.

  Austin looked around quickly, hoping no one had heard, then turned back, trying to find a response. She didn’t wait for him, though. Flashing an impish smile, she flipped her red curls and bounced back to the group.

  A big breath rushed out of his lungs—he wasn’t even aware he’d been holding it. His eyes automatically found Nicole’s face in the crowd. She watched Lizzie, then looked across the room and met his gaze. His stomach clenched and he ducked, pretending to get something out of the cupboard below the counter.

  ***

  Later, after everyone left, Austin finally remembered the picture and what Nicole had said. He found it under a pile of blankets on one of the couches and sat down, holding it to the light. Then he nearly dropped it.

  Not possible. Not possible at all.

  Wanting to do the opposite, he brought the frame closer, staring at its contents.

  Nicole was right.

  About ten feet from the camera and crouched down on all fours was a person, looking at the manor. It was grotesque and skeletal. Bones jutted out, almost appearing to be broken. The body was wrapped in scant amounts of worn black cloth—cloth that looked worm-eaten. Stringy, dirty hair fell from a nearly bald scalp. The skin was pale, translucent.

  A strange feeling hit Austin—the creature meant to do harm to the people living in the manor. He wasn’t sure how, but he knew that. He cringed, trying not to think about it.

  Where did the figure come from? And where was the head that had been in the bottom right corner?

  He lowered the picture and stared at the wall in front of him. Maybe he’d imagined things. Maybe everyone else had, too.

  Austin counted to thirty before glancing down.

  The person was still there.

  What if the creature could get out of the frame?

  Austin jumped up, holding the corner of the picture, and strode across the apartment to the empty bedroom where he put the photograph facedown in the bottom dresser drawer. He knew it was irrational, but he didn’t want it anywhere near him.

  With some effort, Austin pulled the heavy, solid oak bed frame in front of the dresser, then shut the doors to the room.

  After a cursory glance around the apartment, he strode into his own bedroom and shut the door behind him, locking it.

  ***

  First thing the next morning, Austin sent a text to Lizzie and asked her to come over as soon as she could. It was time to get some information about the photograph.

  Lizzie called him right away without responding to the message. “What’s up?”

  “You saw that picture of the manor last night—I need to find out where the house is.”

  “Okay. I’ll bring Nicole. We’ll be there in a minute.”

  Nicole was coming! And they didn’t live far away. Austin smoothed his shirt and combed his fingers through his hair, then grabbed a rag and wiped up the chili that had spilled onto the counter the night before. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang, and he invited Nicole and Lizzie inside. Nate emerged from his room, still in his pajamas.

  “What’s going on?” he asked.

  Austin motioned to Nicole. “Tell him what you saw in the photograph.”

  Nicole sent Austin a curious expression, but did so, describing the figure and manor in detail. Austin watched Nate’s reaction carefully and wasn’t disappointed.

  Nate abruptly sat on a stool, his jaw dangling. He didn’t respond for a moment. “We’re talking about the same thing, right? You’re sure that’s what you saw?”

  “Of course.” Nicole flipped her ponytail, obviously annoyed that he would question her.

  Austin half smiled, then set aside his amusement and leaned against the counter. He explained to the girls what the picture looked like when he first got it, and then the change Nate had seen later. “We need to find the house,” he said. “Something bad is going to happen to the people who live there. I can feel it.”

  Nate stood. He looked back and forth between Austin, Lizzie, and Nicole before letting his gaze settle on Lizzie. “Okay, don’t hate me, but I really can’t get involved in this. I’m struggling enough in school as it is, and all my spare time needs to go to studying.”

  Lizzie gave him a hug. “It’s fine—go, do homework.” She turned to Austin after Nate left and asked, “What information do you have on the house?”

  “Just this.” Austin pulled out a notebook where he’d described the manor and the changes in the picture. He’d put the description from the back of the photograph there as well.

  “Nell Manor, Seattle . . .” Nicole chewed thoughtfully on her thumbnail. “Did you Google it?”

  “Let’s do that now.”

  Austin got his laptop and set it on the counter. The girls crowded around, watching as he typed in the words “Nell Manor, Seattle.”

  Nothing came up.

  “That’s weird,” Lizzie said. “Google’s never failed me before.”

  Nicole smiled, then tucked a strand of blond hair into her ponytail. “What’s going on with the picture now? Any other changes?”

  Austin shrugged. “Haven’t looked at it since last night.”

  “Let’s get it!” Lizzie said.

  Austin hesitated for a moment, then led the way to the guest bedroom.

  Before opening the doors, though, he faced them. “Don’t laugh—seeing that figure was really disturbing, so I locked it up.”

  He pushed the door open, half expecting someone to jump out at them. Of course no one did, and he strode across the room and shoved the bed aside, then pulled open the drawer where the frame still lay facedown. He picked it up and tucked it under his arm, walking back to the kitchen, then put it
on the counter.

  The three of them leaned forward to look at it.

  Nicole gasped. “It is heading for the manor!”

  And she was right. The figure had crept forward and was only a short distance from the house.

  “But why?” Nicole looked up at Austin, her crystal-blue eyes filled with concern, the strand of hair falling out of her ponytail again.

  Austin resisted the urge to reach out and brush the hair away, turning instead to the photograph. “Don’t know.” A million thoughts raced through his brain. Who was it? What were they planning to do? And why? Could they actually stop it if something bad really was about to happen there? “See, this is why I need to find out more about the place.”

  “I’ll bet we can ask around at the university,” Lizzie said. “Or check the library. There’s got to be a listing of manors in Seattle—this place is as old as the city, after all.”

  The other two agreed, and they left. Austin brought the picture, keeping it in his backpack—hopefully it wouldn’t change again anytime soon.

  A storm was blowing in, the sky darker than usual. The wind picked up and leaves scattered across the sidewalks as the three friends quickly walked to the library.

  Once they arrived, Nicole enlisted the help of a student librarian, and after a few moments, they found a huge book that cataloged old homes in Seattle.

  Lizzie plopped down on a chair. “It’s going to take forever to go through this.”

  “Probably,” the librarian said. “Do you have any information on the house that would make it easier?”

  Austin raised his eyebrow. Shouldn’t that have been the first thing the librarian asked? He shrugged the question off, though. She probably hadn’t been around long.

  Nicole gave the girl a slip of paper on which she’d written the words from the back of the photograph.

  “Oh! Wonderful. We have an internal database that might be able to pull up this info.” She turned to a computer, and after a few clicks, showed them the page numbers where houses with names ending in “nell” were listed in the book.