In Pursuit (The Lost Keepers Book 4)

by AR Colbert

  The other students varied in appearance, some of the Agarthians maintaining their beautiful golden eyes, and some changing their appearance to better fit in around the mortals on campus. But they were all too beautiful to truly look human. Everyone except me. I was squarely in the mortal department when it came to looks.

  And I wasn’t the only one who noticed. A few beautiful faces turned to stare, leaning in close and whispering amongst their friends.

  “Relax, guys. She’s Atlantean, she just hasn’t gotten her powers yet!” Dom huffed out an annoyed breath and turned to me. “It’ll be fine. They’ll get used to you.”

  “How do they know I’m a mortal?”

  “It’s hard to explain. But once a Keeper has received their powers, it becomes very obvious to all the others who and what they are. It’s almost like an aura around them.”

  “How cool. What does my aura look like?”

  “You have no aura.” Dom frowned. “Or at least not the Keeper kind.”

  Well that explained all the dirty looks I’d gotten since entering the room. There was some shuffling in the seats behind us, followed by a grunt of disapproval. “The mortal is here.” The newcomer didn’t even attempt to lower her voice.

  I turned to see the three Agarthian girls from outside earlier. Great. This day just couldn’t get any worse. Thankfully a door at the front of the room opened then, and a tall older man entered. He was in no hurry to settle in, slowly removing a book and glasses case from his bag. He opened a laptop, furrowing his brows and clicking around with a stream of whispered curse words. Finally his brows lifted with a sigh.

  “Ah, there we go.” A large screen behind him lit up with a picture of the professor and a short bio. “I’m Professor Brossard. Welcome to A Review of the Ancient Languages.” He smiled, moving his gaze across the faces in the classroom, faltering only slightly when he landed on me. Mercifully, he said nothing and continued with the lesson.

  There wasn’t much of a lecture—more just a review of the syllabus and what we could expect to come throughout the semester. The final slide showed a picture of the professor with another man standing in front of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

  The men looked jovial. Professor Brossard wore a floppy canvas hat and a big grin under his sunburned nose. His companion wore a similar hat, but it wasn’t enough to hide his curly orange hair. One section of curls stood out from the others—bright white, and it hung low over his forehead. His eyes sparkled a bright aqua blue—like my aunt Millie’s. And something about him intrigued me, making it difficult to pull my eyes away. I imagined he had lots of good stories to tell.

  We were dismissed a few minutes early, and the other students immediately shuffled through the aisles to get out. But I wasn’t so eager to leave.

  “Hey Dom, I think I’m gonna hang back for a few minutes. I need to talk to the professor.”

  She nodded, clearly seeing my true intentions. I had to find out if he could help me read the tablet. “That’s fine, but I can’t stay with you. I’ve got to get to the other side of campus. Sean is nearby, though. I’ll text him to meet you on the Low steps after class.”

  “If you must.” I grinned. Millie would be upset if I took off without my trusty bodyguard—or at least a friendly Keeper of some kind. But I wouldn’t resist today. Not after seeing those cruel looks from the Agarthian girls.

  I waved goodbye and made my way down to the front of the room. Most of the other students had already filtered out, but the professor was busy shutting down his computer. I cleared my throat as I approached, hesitant to interrupt him.

  “Excuse me, Professor Brossard? Do you have a minute?”

  “I think I can spare one.” He bent over his desk, shuffling through papers and tidying up. He didn’t seem particularly interested in chatting, but I figured I may as well continue since I was already here.

  “Great, thank you. I’m Everly Gordon. I’m Atlantean,” I added quickly. He would see that I had no aura, as Dom put it. “I just haven’t received my powers yet.”

  “Yes, yes. I figured that was the case otherwise they wouldn’t have allowed you into my room.”

  My mouth pulled itself into an embarrassed smile. “Right. Well, I’m honored to be in your class this semester. I look forward to learning from you. You see, I have this…artifact, that I can’t decipher. I don’t recognize the language, but I hear you are really knowledgeable with things like that, so I’m hoping after learning from you I’ll be able to get it figured out.”

  “It is my specialty.” He stopped shoving things into his bag and finally looked up at me, appraising me for just a moment before asking, “What kind of artifact?”

  “It’s a stone tablet. Or a piece of one, anyway. It may have been broken.”

  “I see.” He zipped up his bag and slung it over his shoulder, squinting at me before continuing. “I would be happy to take a look at it if you’d like.”

  “Really? That would be amazing. When would be a good time?”

  “Tonight? I have a dinner meeting this evening, but I can probably examine it before I go. How about 5:30?”

  “That sounds great.”

  “Are you familiar with The Honey Pot?”

  “I am.”

  “Let’s meet there. Ancient tablets shouldn’t be quite as shocking to our people as they would be to mortals, so it’s a safe place to discuss our findings.”

  Our people. At least he considered me on the same level as the other Keeper students. “Very good, sir. And thank you again. I will see you later.”

  I practically skipped out of the room. Maybe this day would turn out alright after all.

  CHAPTER 5

  The other students had completely cleared the hallway outside of our classroom. There wasn’t a person in sight. There was, however, an adorably fluffy orange and white tabby cat sitting across the hall when I exited.

  “Hey, little guy.”

  The cat stood and meandered over to me, winding itself lazily between my feet. I reached down to pet its head, but it ducked and moved off to the side.

  “I don’t think you’re supposed to be in here. Come on, let’s get you outside.”

  The cat moved in front of me and stopped, rolled onto its back, and shot me an expectant look.

  “You want me to rub your belly?” It was an awfully canine move for a cat, and one that usually resulted in playful bites and claws to the arm from my experience with our barn kittens back in Oklahoma.

  I reached down, and sure enough, the cat latched onto my arm with claws from all four feet. But it wasn’t playing around. The animal instantly drew blood, and bit me with a feline ferocity I’d never experienced—more like a tiger than a barn cat.

  “Ouch!” I tried to yank my arm away, but the cat held on tighter, kicking me with its back feet and shredding my skin with its front claws.

  One of the Agarthian girls from earlier rushed around the corner. “You found my sweetiekins!”

  Instantly the cat released me and sulkily trotted back over to the wall where I first found it.

  “Your cat mauled me! Why would you bring a beast like that on campus?” The question burst from my mouth before I had time to think it through, and the cat hissed. But in that moment I didn’t care if the girl could overpower me. It didn’t matter that she’d tried to murder me with a glare earlier that day, or rudely pointed out my mortality in class. My arm was bleeding and I was ticked off.

  But the Agarthian girl didn’t react angrily. She appeared quite calm, in fact. A slow smile spread across her face, and her brown eyes flashed with a golden glow. “Please give me my cat.”

  “No! I told you it just attacked me.”

  “Give me my cat. Now.”

  The girl’s eyes glowed brighter and something shifted within me. Back in the recesses of my mind, I knew I was being glamoured. I knew it, but there wasn’t a darn thing I could do about it.

  “Okay,” I muttered, stepping toward the animal. It turned and quickly padded d
own the hall, opposite the girl.

  “What are you waiting for?” She asked, her voice somehow made up of multiple harmonies. Even as she commanded me to do her bidding, I found myself enchanted by the sound of it. “Go get it.”

  The cat waited for me at the end of the hall. I moved for it, and just as I could almost reach out and pick it up, it moved again, turning to the left. It halted outside of a bathroom door.

  “Stay, kitty.” I lifted both hands and tiptoed forward, aware of the Agarthian girl on my heels. She made no attempt to get the cat herself, and I knew she was playing with me for her own entertainment.

  I approached the animal again, and the bathroom door swung open. The cat darted inside. I turned back over my shoulder and the girl threw her hands in the air, her expression a clear and silent insult to my intelligence. She may as well have shouted, get in there and grab it you idiot!

  Of course, she didn’t have to say anything else. I was still under her spell from before. Bound by her command to get the cat. I knew I could do nothing else until my task was accomplished.

  She followed me into the bathroom, where a second Agarthian from the mean girl squad stood waiting. Once inside, the second girl raised a hand and the door slammed shut behind us.

  “Did you just—” My words were cut short by a huge gust of wind that slammed me back into the wall, pinning me there, unable to move.

  The first girl laughed. “You weak little mortal.” She turned toward the second girl. “You can drop her, Stella. She’s not going anywhere, are you, mortal?”

  The pressure of the wind released me, but the glow of the girl’s eyes and melodic sound of her voice was just as strong a captor. I timidly shook my head, eliciting laughter from both girls now.

  The cat circled in place on the floor, and in a move I never saw coming, grew and shifted, standing on its feet and rising up to our height. Its fur appeared to melt into smooth, tan skin, and its face morphed into the beautiful feline features of the third Agarthian girl. Her strawberry blond hair fell loosely to her shoulders and her large green eyes still sparkled with golden flecks.

  She grimaced and marched over to the sink, scooping palmfuls of water into her mouth and swishing before spitting back into the basin. “Eww! You taste disgusting!”

  “I can’t believe you bit her!” The first girl laughed louder now. She was having way too much fun at my expense.

  “Shut up, Camille. She was about to walk away. Maybe if you had shown up on time…”

  “Enough, girls.” Stella, the one who could apparently create gusts of wind with her bare hands, seemed to be in charge. The other two girls silenced at her command, and all eyes turned toward me.

  “What are you doing here, mortal?” Stella made no attempt to change the color of her eyes. They were a beautiful amber color, like Tate’s. Her hair was a rich espresso, and her skin a flawless deep golden brown tan. I imagined this was as close to a pure Agarthian appearance as they could get. She was strikingly beautiful, even with her face twisted into a mocking hatred.

  “Being trapped against my will.” I scowled.

  Camille snorted. “No one is holding you here.” She sneered, fully knowing that I couldn’t resist her glamour.

  “I mean, what are you doing in Keeper classes at Columbia? And don’t tell me you belong here. No one has ever had to wait beyond their eighteenth birthday for their powers to come in. I’m not buying your story.”

  I gulped. At least none of these girls were telepaths like Dom.

  “It doesn’t matter if you buy my story or not. It’s the truth.” Probably.

  She raised her hands and another gust of wind slammed me backward, causing me to knock my head against the wall.

  “Watch your mouth, mortal. And watch your back, too. No one is going to sit quietly off to the side while you try to get cozy with one of our most sought-after males. If you can’t keep your hands to yourself, we’ll just have to show you your way out of New York.”

  The girl was fuming. I should have kept my big mouth shut if I knew what was good for me. But I couldn’t resist just a little more trash talk. My words were the only power I had over them, after all. “Aww, what’s wrong? Are you sad that he might be more attracted to a human than any of you? And what about your own soulmates? Nervous that maybe they don’t exist? That maybe their souls have been fractured by all the other Agarthian men who’ve taken mortal lovers?”

  I was going out on a limb with that one. But seeing as how the Agarthians seemed to hate fractured souls more than any of the other Keeper races, I thought it might be a bit of a sour spot for them. And I was right. My words definitely struck a chord.

  The cat girl immediately shifted back into her feline form, jumping at me at the same time my hand turned the knob behind me. I’d caught them by surprise and knocked them off their guard. The door was unlocked, and I spun out into the hallway, pushing it closed behind me before I could suffer another claw attack or hurricane from Stella.

  I’d been prepared to run, but the guy across the hall stopped me in my tracks.

  “Tate! Thank goodness! I need your help!”

  I swear he was bathed in golden light like a gift from above. A ridiculously attractive gift. He leaned propped against the wall, one ankle kicked over the other, expressionless with those gorgeous golden eyes trained on me. I gripped the doorknob hard, feeling the girls on the other side working to shove it open again.

  “Little mortaaaal…” Camille’s sing-songy voice was muffled, but I still felt its power fluttering through my mind.

  “I can’t hear you!” I shouted, drowning her out. “Lalalala!” Yep, I was resorting to the tactics of a ten year old. But it worked. Her already muffled voice was drowned out by my immature shouting.

  A gust of wind blew out of the bottom edge of the door, nearly knocking me off my feet, but I leaned against it with all my weight and somehow managed to keep them inside. But I knew it wouldn’t hold much longer.

  “Please!” I cried out again to Tate. “Don’t just stand there. They’re trying to hurt me!”

  He didn’t say a word. His golden eyes looked straight into me, somehow making my body come alive. After what felt like several minutes, though it was probably just half a second or so, I was burning up.

  “Come on, Tate! Do something!” The door gave way, and my body was thrown to the ground. I jumped up, barely risking a glance over my shoulder as I heard Stella say something to my hunter. I never made out what it was. I was too busy running.

  Within seconds I was back at the front door of the building, relieved as the sunshine blasted down upon my cheeks. But I didn’t dare stop. I wanted to put as much space between those Agarthians girls and me as possible.

  And Tate. I didn’t even know what to think about Tate. I knew he wasn’t there to protect me. I knew he was just as big an enemy as anyone else on this campus. And yet, I felt betrayed. Why wouldn’t he help me?

  CHAPTER 6

  I ran and ran and ran. If I just kept moving, I wouldn’t have to worry about the strange looks I got from other students or respond to the offers for help. Humans couldn’t help me. Not with super powerful Agarthians on my tail. Though truth be told, I wasn’t even sure if they’d followed me out of the classroom building.

  And like all good things, eventually the adrenaline wore off. The burn in my legs brought me to a stop and the stitch in my side bent me in half. I’d somehow wound up in a parking lot. It was mostly empty, well-shaded by established trees, and it had no identifying features. I didn’t even know which side of campus I was on anymore. I wished I’d paid better attention during my original tour with Dom and Gayla.

  But the campus wasn’t too large, so I had to be near one of the main roads by now. If I continued straight ahead, I’d run into one eventually.

  After rubbing out a charley horse in my calf, I stood up to find my snowy white owl friend sitting on the asphalt a few feet in front of me.

  Ugh, I groaned. “Please tell me you’re no
t here to warn me of impending doom again.” I stepped to the side and tried to get around the owl, but it bounced over right in front of me again.

  I squatted down to look into its sentient yellow eyes. “I am trying to get away from some Agarthians who are trying to hurt me right now. I don’t know if you can actually understand me or not, but if you can, I need you to move. Now.”

  I stood and tried to zag back to the left, but like before, the owl mimicked my movements and blocked my way again.

  “Okay, really? Is this like back in the alley? Are you trying to guide me somewhere? You’re better than a dog. Even a fluffy helpful one, like Lassie.”

  The owl blinked.

  “Look bird, I honestly do not have time for this right now. You’re cute and all, but I’ve got to get out of here.”

  We stared each other down for a few breaths, and then, without any warning, I lunged forward into a sprint. The plan was to catch the owl off guard and run right past it, but of course it saw me coming. Who knew owls had such great reflexes? Either that, or the bird read my mind like Dom and knew what was coming. But I refused to believe that. It was just an animal. Right?

  The owl lifted off of the ground, flapping in place about as high as my shoulder. We collided, and out of instinct alone, I swatted the bird away. My hand made contact with the creature and it was tossed several feet over to the side. I should have used that opportunity to take off and run, but I couldn’t just abandon the poor little guy. Even if it was an annoying distraction in my escape, I had to make sure it was okay.

  I trotted over to where the owl sat on the ground. Its feathers were ruffled, but otherwise it looked to be in good shape. Good enough anyway. It didn’t look happy though. “Are you alright?”