Nicole, Lizzie, and Elyse rolled their eyes, but Nicole was grateful the men had thought to bring the tools.
With a lot more energy than Nicole could have mustered, the two men hacked away at the brush and vines growing over the door. They would have just used magic if they weren’t both conserving their energy.
Another twenty minutes went by before things were clear enough for the door to open.
Elyse, Nicole, and Lizzie, deciding to give the men a break, stepped forward to heave the door.
At first, it didn’t budge. Nicole consulted the map, wondering if they needed a key, but nothing showed that the door would be locked.
After another few minutes of yanking, the hinges broke away, nearly knocking the women down the hill into the scrub oak below.
They hefted the door to the side and pulled out their flashlights, directing them toward the tunnel’s interior.
“Is anyone else thinking Indiana Jones right now?” Lizzie asked.
No one answered, but her question did elicit a few chuckles. Nicole knew what Lizzie was talking about—the entire tunnel was full of old and fresh spider webs. Disgusting.
Nicole was grateful when Dave volunteered to go first. Using his machete, he swiped away cobweb after cobweb. Coolidge followed, cleaning up what Dave’s machete didn’t catch, and the rest came after.
It took at least five minutes to reach the end of the tunnel, where another door was affixed. Dave and Coolidge pushed up against it, and like the first door, the hinges broke off, spilling the men forward into the sunlight.
Nicole followed and only had a brief moment to scrutinize the scenery that waited for them—ruins covered in undergrowth and scrub oak—before she and the others were frozen in place.
Nicole . . . welcome.
Only Nicole’s eyes could move. She looked around, wanting to see the source of the voice, but was unable to. She tried talking, but no sound came out. When the voice spoke again, she realized it was communicating directly to her mind.
Choose an assistant . . .
An assistant? Why?
Choose . . .
Oh, yeah—Nicole remembered that it would take two Aretes to use the elixir. She thought over those who’d come and was sad to realize that she’d known all along Lizzie wouldn’t be her choice. First, she couldn’t allow anything to happen to her best friend, and second, she would need a powerful Arete at her side, just in case. Her thoughts flickered to Austin for a moment and she sighed inwardly, wishing it could be him.
I choose Elyse, she thought, wanting another woman with her, in case anything embarrassing happened.
Very well.
Right away, Nicole and Elyse were unfrozen. Nicole stumbled forward into Lizzie, nearly knocking her best friend over. She righted herself, made sure Lizzie was okay—well, as okay as was possible in the current situation—and turned to Austin’s mother.
“That was almost unexpected,” Nicole said.
“A good way to put it,” Elyse said. “We knew something would happen, but didn’t know what.” She glanced at the rest. “They should be fine. Let’s get this done.”
Nervous bubbles erupted in Nicole’s stomach. Her hand sought the elixir and she clutched it against her heart. Was she about to destroy Aretes everywhere? Or was she about to end the curse on humans?
She took a deep breath, then pulled the map from her pocket so she and Elyse could study it.
Nicole looked back and forth between the map and the meadow in front of them. They’d gone through a small hill to reach it, and brambles and briars all along the top of that hill prevented access. The other sides of the meadow were made of sheer cliffs. It looked like the place had been untouched by anything but plants and bugs since Rebecca and Christopher had last been there.
The clearing was circular and small, being only about forty feet wide. Thick shrubbery, about knee high, choked the ground.
In front of Nicole and to the left was the first clumping of ruins. Up against the cliffs to the right was the second set. Both sets were a dusty-brown color and very geometric. Square blocks with rough edges were piled on top of each other about ten feet high and spilled down into the thick underbrush. Nicole assumed the machines were in the middle of those piles.
“Which is which?” Elyse asked. She glanced back at Dave and the others. “I’m not in a hurry to make mistakes, but they can’t be very comfortable.”
Nicole also looked back. All three Aretes had their eyes on her—the only part of their bodies not frozen—and she could almost imagine them begging her to take all the time she needed to make the right choice.
“Well, the map shows that this one—” She pointed to the ruins on the left “—is the embryonic manipulator. Which means we should use the elixir on it first.”
“And said elixir didn’t come with an instruction manual, right?”
Nicole chuckled as the women started picking their way through the dense, knee-high bushes. “Of course not—Rebecca wouldn’t have wanted me to know.”
“Thank goodness for the map.”
“If it’s right.”
Elyse cast a troubled glance at Nicole. “You think it might be wrong?”
Nicole took a deep breath. “Yes, it could be.” She looked over to the ruins on the right. “Let’s check out both machines before doing anything.”
Elyse nodded, and the two of them fell silent the rest of the way to the first set of ruins. When they got there, Nicole hesitated—the ruins were taller than they’d appeared. A faint path—almost completely overgrown—led underneath a squared-off arch around the back. She followed it, finding a set of steps.
The stairs led into a room without a ceiling in the heart of the stone blocks. The stone walls were too high to see the three other Aretes, and the room was only about five feet across. A machine sat on top of a large, thigh-high block in the middle. Visible gears were slowly, slowly turning. It looked like something from the late eighteen hundreds, which made sense, since that was when it had been created. A metal funnel was affixed on top.
With Elyse’s help, pour the elixir into the funnel . . .
Mentally thanking whoever was sending the messages, Nicole stared at the rusty black machine. Could it possibly be that simple? She’d imagined having to break into the heart of the thing, pulling chunks and pieces away. But a funnel—she’d never thought something as easy as that would be included.
Elyse stepped forward and bent over, peering at the contraption. “How does it actually work?”
Nicole shook her head. “I have no idea.”
They circled the huge block, looking at the machine from all angles.
“Well, we know magic is involved.” Nicole looked at Elyse. “It looks like Rebecca and Christopher invented something that, when wound up, would cycle for over a hundred years.”
“And would probably continue cycling until someone came along who would stop it with that.” Elyse pointed at Nicole’s elixir.
“Exactly. Then the Great Ones added their touch. But does it send out pulses to everyone on earth? And if so, why can’t I sense them?”
Elyse shrugged. “I can’t tell that the thing is magical at all. Maybe it’s on a different wavelength than what Aretes feel.”
That sounded like as good a theory as any. Nicole straightened. “Let’s go look at the other one.”
The women went back down the stairs and under the arch. Getting across the meadow wasn’t fun, but they did so fairly quickly. Nicole sent apologetic glances to the three who were still frozen. They couldn’t possibly be comfortable like that—Coolidge was hunched over, his face directed toward the bright sunlight, Dave was mid-step, and Lizzie’s hands were up, shielding her eyes. But Nicole didn’t want to rush this decision. She was sure they would agree.
The second set of ruins was exactly identical to the first, complete with arch and stairs. Even the machine looked the same.
Elyse scratched her head, glancing at Nicole. “So, no markings on them anywhere, nothing different abo
ut them. How do we know which is the embryonic manipulator and which is the one that’ll kill Aretes?”
Nicole bit her lips. “I’m not sure. Maybe the Great Ones—or whoever’s communicating with me—will give us a clue?”
“It’s worth a try.”
Nicole took a breath. Hello? Is anyone there? she thought. No response. She actually felt silly doing it. “I doubt they’re going to help.”
“So, do we trust the map?”
“I don’t know—I mean, what if Rebecca planned for it to be stolen? What if she’s watching now, hoping I’ll go with what’s on the map?”
“Do you have your Rebecca Blocker on?”
“Yes.” Nicole lifted her shirt, showing Elyse the device she kept on a belt around her waist. “And it’s working—I can sense the pulses.”
“So can I . . . but just because it’s pulsing doesn’t mean it’s doing its job.”
“Good point.” Nicole turned and stared at the machine again, her thoughts a complete mess. But she realized something—if they made the wrong choice, they’d be dead. And if they made the right choice, they wouldn’t. It was an all-or-nothing situation, which made her feel a bit better, surprisingly. No one would fault her for making the wrong decision. At least, none of her friends would, considering the pressure and circumstances.
And with this line of thinking, Nicole made up her mind.
“We’re going to follow the map,” she said. “It’s the best thing we have, and I’d rather follow it and have it be wrong than guess and be wrong on my own.”
“I like your reasoning,” Elyse said. “So, to the other machine?”
Nicole nodded, already walking down the steps and passing under the arch. While they crossed the undergrowth, they discussed possible outcomes for destroying the embryonic manipulator.
“I’m guessing there will be some sort of physical reaction,” Elyse said. “Something to do with the reproductive organs that all Aretes will feel.”
“That would make sense. I hope it isn’t painful.”
“I’m sure it will be,” Elyse said, sending Nicole a smile. “I always expect pain . . . and then when it doesn’t come, I’m pleasantly surprised.”
They’d reached the other ruin by then, and Nicole passed under the arch and walked up the steps. She approached the machine and removed her necklace, then gazed down at the little vial that had been so much a part of her life the past few months. She tossed the necklace over the wall of the ruins, toward the cliffs. She did not want to keep it as a souvenir. Then she pulled the top off the vial.
“Here goes,” she said, holding her hand over the funnel. “We both need to pour it in.”
Elyse reached over and held the elixir just below Nicole’s fingers.
They tipped the vial, slowly pouring the elixir into the funnel. Nicole felt the power it had been borrowing from her returning and the extra strength it had given her being drained away. It was a weird feeling—her own powers returning felt comforting, like going home after years of being away. But having the strength the elixir gave her leave made her heart feel a sort of hollowness. She wondered how long it would take before that disappeared.
Nicole replaced the top of the vial, then dropped the glass container and stomped on it until it shattered. Then she stepped back.
For several moments, nothing happened. Then, with a horrible wrenching sound, the gears in the machine shuddered to a stop. They remained motionless for a couple of seconds before suddenly whirling the opposite direction.
A light shot out of the funnel, almost as bright as the sun, and pierced the sky above them. Nicole could see it extending up forever—possibly all the way out of the atmosphere. At the very top of it, a dark spot started to grow, then flowed away from the shaft of light, getting bigger, faster and faster.
Soon, the light from the sun began to dim as the darkness continued.
After only a few seconds, the only source of light was the one coming from the machine.
Then the shaft splintered into millions of streams, all pointing in different directions. One of the streams hit Nicole in her lower stomach. Ouch. A burning sensation rushed outward from there and she looked down, expecting to see her shirt on fire. It wasn’t. She lifted her shirt only to see that her skin beneath it was glowing. She tried to rub the burn away, but instead, all the strength in her body disappeared.
Nicole was only able to panic for a moment before she fell to the stone ground, hitting her shoulder roughly. Coherent thought fled momentarily. Elyse collapsed next to her. Their streams of light followed them, staying on their stomachs.
The burning sensation increased until Nicole’s entire body throbbed, then started glowing. Her insides writhed, shuddered. She almost threw up as the pain intensified in her stomach. Her ability to think finally returned. Was she going to die? Had she chosen the wrong machine? Was that light actually stealing her powers?
Nicole gasped as that thought occurred to her. Maybe the machine wasn’t meant to kill Aretes, but take their magic away.
She must have chosen wrong!
The disappointment crashed down on her, stronger and more distracting even than the pain in her stomach.
But suddenly, the light separated from her and shot off into the sky. And then, Nicole’s vision flashed away and Rebecca was there, screaming soundlessly in front of her. The elderly woman lunged at Nicole, her hands encircling Nicole’s neck, choking off her air.
Nicole struggled against the woman, pushing, shoving. Her pain was disappearing and strength returning. A thought popped into her mind while she fought for survival. She must have chosen the right machine if Rebecca was this upset!
Nicole gathered her powers to herself and pushed them against Rebecca. The woman faded away, still screaming, her fingers still around Nicole’s neck as she disappeared.
Then she was gone and Nicole’s surroundings reappeared in her vision.
Nicole looked around—all was silent. The light continued streaming into the sky, the sun was still dark. Elyse was also stirring, and the two helped each other up.
“Now what?” Elyse gasped.
“We go dismantle the other machine before anyone has a chance to come stop us.”
Elyse agreed, and the two of them stumbled down the stairs and under the arch. They pulled their flashlights out, but the things didn’t turn on.
“Hello?” Dave called.
“They’ve been released!” Nicole said, barely able to see across the meadow.
The two women changed direction and rushed across the brush as fast as they could back to the tunnel, where they found all three Aretes getting up.
“You did it,” Coolidge said to Nicole.
“Almost—we still need to get rid of the other machine.”
He nodded. “Show the way.”
Nicole turned and stepped through the short brush, making sure the others were keeping up. They raced up the steps and into the small room.
Nicole looked at her friends, barely able to see them in the darkness that still covered the ruins. “Since we know the Great Ones are coming for sure, does it matter if we destroy this instead of just dismantling it?”
Coolidge frowned. “That’s a great question. I say we try dismantling it first, just in case the Great Ones change their minds. Then we destroy it if that doesn’t work.”
Everyone agreed to this course of action. Nicole motioned for Dave and Coolidge to go ahead. They had actual experience with magical items, and they’d be the best at figuring out how to take the thing apart.
Coolidge looked at Nicole. “Just to be sure, you don’t have the elixir anymore, right? So there’s no chance of getting any of that on this and destroying all Aretes?”
“It’s gone,” Nicole said.
“Oh, good.”
He turned back to the machine. Dave produced a little metal rod from his bag and they started pulling panels off the machine, exposing more turning gears underneath, then a core that glowed a slight red.
“That must be the magic from the Great Ones,” Dave said, pointing at the core.
Nicole could see the pipe that led from the funnel down to the core. Obviously, the elixir would pour over the entire thing, probably activating something in the red core that would kill Aretes.
Finally, after several gears had been removed, the machine sputtered to a stop, the slight vibrating ending.
Dave and Coolidge stepped back. “That should do it, right?” Dave asked.
“What about the glowing thing?” Lizzie asked.
Nicole glanced at her friend—she had a great point. The core hadn’t stopped glowing.
Coolidge shrugged. “My guess is that only the Great Ones can stop it. And I don’t exactly plan to ask them for help.”
Nicole stepped forward. Enough of the machine had been removed that she could heft what remained, a four-inch section that included the core. “Should we take it with us, just in case?”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Elyse said. She motioned to Coolidge. “You keep it. Watch over it. Who knows if we’ll ever have a reason to study it in the future? Besides, we really need to make sure Rebecca never gets her hands on it again.”
Coolidge nodded, tucking the device into his bag. “We’d better hurry—get back to Austin.”
The group agreed and left the ruins, making their way across the meadow.
As they stepped into the tunnel, Nicole glanced back at the light that still shot into the air. How much longer would it go? She realized that all those streams were going to separate people, one at a time. With how many billions of people lived in the world, it would take a long time for the light to finish what it was doing. Thinking about the inhabitants of earth made her wonder just how many people would have been born if the embryonic manipulator hadn’t been invented.
Nicole felt a huge sense of satisfaction in knowing that Rebecca’s machine was destroyed. There would be nothing to stop people everywhere from having just the right number of kids.
Chapter Eleven
The trek through the tunnel went slowly. Coolidge led the way, followed by the rest of the group. Not having light made it difficult and extra creepy. Much to Nicole’s relief, nothing happened, though, and they got out of the tunnel just fine.
Reclaim, Mosaic Chronicles Book Five Page 15