Reclaim, Mosaic Chronicles Book Five

by Andrea Pearson

  Lizzie and the others yelled, chasing after her, but didn’t get far before several monsters jumped in front of them.

  “No!” Nicole shrieked, reaching for her friends. But they were soon out of sight as Nicole’s captor carried her away.

  Nicole then realized something. The beast they’d fought after leaving Anna Morse’s dimension had turned invisible as it drained blood. Was she being carried by something like that?

  It was very likely.

  But where was it taking her?

  Not toward the link, which was surprising. The creature was carrying her away from both the farmhouse and the portal.

  For several seconds, Nicole stopped squirming as she tried to figure out what was going on. She felt something grasping at her shirt and glanced down. Her Rebecca Blocker got torn off and smashed into pieces midair, the sections tossed away.

  At that moment, she knew where she was going.

  Rebecca wanted to see her. Away from everyone else.

  Nicole swallowed, then forced herself to relax, to conserve her energy, both physically and magically. Her stomach and sides ached from the pressure of being held there.

  She was carried, unnoticed, past an entire Arete unit. None of them were looking up high enough and they couldn’t hear her calls for help over the sounds of the battle.

  At least a hundred feet away from the unit, Nicole and her captor entered a thicket of trees. She was set down on the leafy ground in the middle of a small clearing. She quickly righted herself, spinning, waiting for an attack from the beast or Rebecca. But nothing happened and only the foliage was visible.

  “Hello?” she called. “Rebecca?”

  Something crunched behind her and she whirled. Nothing was there. Had the beast left? Was she about to be alone with the elderly woman?

  “You shouldn’t have betrayed me, Nicole.”

  Nicole spun again. She still couldn’t see Rebecca. “Where are you?”

  No answer.

  Suddenly, Nicole was struck across the back. She sprawled to the dead leaves, struggling to breathe through the pain in her ribs and lungs.

  “You had so much promise.”

  Nicole was struck again, this time on the shoulder. She rolled over, trying to see where the attacks were coming from, but she couldn’t even tell what had hit her. A rock? A branch?

  Not wanting to be helpless, Nicole pulled her magic to herself, grateful she hadn’t spent it all yet. Quick as a flash, she sent up a whirlwind around herself just in time to see a rock hurl through the air. The whirlwind didn’t stop the rock, but it did slow it enough for her to step out of the way.

  “You have so much left to learn, Nicole. So many lessons I could have taught you. If only you’d come willingly.”

  Remembering that she could find Rebecca by searching for her magical pulse, Nicole reached out, sensing immediately where the woman was hiding. She was only marginally surprised to find that Rebecca was making her voice come from the opposite side of the grove of trees.

  Nicole released the whirlwind, instead focusing on Rebecca’s magical print, then pulling it to herself. That was how she called Trevor to come, and she hoped it would work similarly with Rebecca.

  The woman materialized a few feet away from Nicole. For a moment, she looked surprised, but that expression quickly melted into hatred.

  What could Nicole do that Rebecca couldn’t? Not much—the woman was far more powerful.

  “Don’t you have Great Ones to prepare for, old woman?” Nicole asked.

  Rebecca laughed. “They’re wrapped around my finger. They’ll do anything I ask—just wait and see.” She leered at Nicole. “Have you heard what I plan to do with you?”

  Nicole rolled her eyes. “Remove my organs and offer them to the Great Ones as a means to obtaining a more powerful body for you. Really, Rebecca? Why so cliché?”

  Rebecca disappeared, reappearing next to Nicole so quickly, Nicole wasn’t able to do anything preventative.

  “And that’s not all—your powers will become mine.” Rebecca gripped Nicole’s arm and flung Nicole head over heels into a tree.

  Nicole gasped as pain radiated from her back where she’d hit the trunk. How had Rebecca done that? The power behind that grip had been immense.

  She struggled to her feet, trying to figure out how to fight a woman who was dead and who had access to huge amounts of strength.

  Rebecca tried to grab and throw Nicole again, but Nicole was able to twist out of her grip at the last moment. What to do, what to do?

  She tried to think through what she’d learned from Coolidge’s book. Silencing Rebecca wouldn’t do anything right now, but what was the next easiest thing she could use against the woman? It had to be enough to cause damage.

  She jumped when Rebecca came at her, but didn’t dodge the attack in time and fell to the ground again, her face smarting where the woman’s hand had connected. Why wasn’t Rebecca using her powers to attack Nicole?

  Nicole grinned when she realized why—the woman was conserving. Just being here sapped her energy, as did touching Nicole. Using her powers would decrease them more than anything else.

  Nicole turned her concentration back to her side of the fight. She could increase the volume of sound. If she directed it at the old woman, it might stop her—hurt her in some way. Burst her eardrums.

  But what sound? Nicole looked around the small forest, trying to find something—anything—that would make enough noise.

  She could throw a rock, then use the noise it made when it landed. But she’d have to think fast—too fast—as that sort of noise would quickly dissipate.

  Then it occurred to Nicole. She could create the sound herself!

  Right away, she started screaming, shrieking at Rebecca. The moment the noise escaped her mouth, she amplified it, requesting it to increase exponentially and flow toward the woman.

  It worked—Rebecca clamped her hands over her ears, howling.

  Nicole increased the volume, also putting her own hands over her ears. Even though it wasn’t resonating in her direction, it still hurt.

  Taking advantage of the woman’s distracted state, Nicole reached out to the bark on the trees nearby, shredding it to slivers. She threw the slivers at Rebecca.

  Ignoring the pain her granddaughter was causing, Rebecca pulled out a pair of knives and rushed Nicole, thrashing.

  Nicole didn’t get out of the way in time.

  The knives connected with her arms, slicing and ripping. Nicole screamed at the rush of pain. She protected her face and head, dropping to a ball on the ground.

  Rebecca followed.

  With one last pull on her magic, Nicole summoned bark, leaves, anything she could find, whirling it all around her and the elderly woman. She forced the particles into Rebecca’s eyes, blinding her.

  Rebecca shrieked and dropped the knives, hands at her face.

  Finally, the effort was too much, and the woman started fading.

  She was still screaming when she disappeared.

  Nicole collapsed, breathing hard. Her arms smarted. Her bracelet didn’t deliver shocks anymore—she must’ve pushed herself too far. She blinked, trying to clear her eyes. Her vision swam, lights flashing, then for a moment, everything turned black.

  Nicole jerked awake. How long had she been out? Had Rebecca returned and stolen Nicole’s organs? No—she would be dead, if that were the case.

  Nicole rolled to a sitting position, then gasped when she saw blood all over her arms. She panicked, grasping at her chest. Her shirt was intact—her heart safe.

  Rebecca hadn’t come back.

  Nicole shuddered, barely stopping herself from sobbing. She slowly pulled herself to her feet, dizzy. Was it from loss of blood? Would she make it back to the farmhouse? How bad were the cuts, anyway?

  Nicole flipped her arms each way, looking at the wounds. They weren’t very deep—Rebecca must’ve already been weakening when she’d come at Nicole.

  Not knowing how much time had
passed since she’d been carried away, Nicole stumbled from the forest, gaining speed and becoming more sure-footed as adrenaline coursed once again through her system.

  She’d nearly made it back to the farmhouse, springing over the dead bodies of what she hoped were only Tarians and not Aretes, when suddenly, monsters started converging on her. It was like they knew she was coming and were determined to prevent her from returning to her friends.

  In fact, that was probably exactly what they were doing. Stupid Rebecca.

  Nicole wished she had a gun before remembering there were machines that prevented them from working. Instead, she dodged, twirled, and ducked under monster after monster. There was no way she’d win in a fight against them.

  Something struck her arm, stinging her cuts. She didn’t hesitate, but continued dodging and running.

  A prodding in her wrist from the bracelet made her realize her magic was returning. She obviously hadn’t used as much of it as she’d thought. She reached back to the forest and pulled those slivers of bark to her again. Using as much wind as she dared, she blasted the slivers into the monsters that surrounded her.

  Several of them roared, rearing back. Expecting this, Nicole amplified their sound, pulsing it toward them at the fastest rate and loudest volume she could manage. More monsters fell away.

  One monster swiped at her with a forked tail, striking her across the thighs. She barely felt the pain before concentrating her powers on forcing the wind in the beast’s lungs to vacate the creature. It only required a little more magic to prevent more air from going back inside.

  The monster fell to the ground with almost no effort on Nicole’s part.

  Realizing she’d finally found something she could do to stop the creatures without using a ton of magic, Nicole focused on all of them at once, expelling the air from their lungs and not allowing more to enter. It didn’t take long for the creatures to realize what was going on—they gave up on her and struggled, clawing at their chests and throats.

  Leaving them behind, Nicole climbed over a huge beast and sprang off it, racing across the distance to the farmhouse.

  It wasn’t until she was up the steps and in her boyfriend’s arms that she released her grasp on the air surrounding the monsters. She wasn’t sure if that was long enough to kill them or just knock them out, but she couldn’t hold on anymore. The bracelet had stopped electrocuting her again. She’d pushed herself too far, but it no longer mattered. She was safe for the time being.

  Austin held her tightly, kissing her. He pulled back and started. “You’re covered in blood, Nicole. Please tell me it’s not yours.” His eyes met hers and he must’ve seen something there because he clenched his jaw.

  “Let’s get you inside,” he said.

  Nicole looked down—her thighs were bleeding where the monster had hit her. Leaves stuck to her arm wounds. Her shirt was stained red.

  Austin picked her up and crossed the porch. He entered the farmhouse, where he laid her gently on the couch and placed a quick kiss on her lips before turning to Joe. Lizzie sprung up from the armchair where she’d been seated, her face covered in tears.

  “Nicole!” she exclaimed. “You’re alive.” She rushed to sit next to Nicole, pulling her friend’s head into her arms. “You’re all cut up, poor thing.”

  “Do you have any bandages?” Austin asked Joe.

  Joe jumped to get some while Austin pulled out a pocketknife and cut away the legs of Nicole’s jeans.

  She flushed, wondering how long it had been since she’d last shaved her legs—it must have been a couple of days at least. Then she immediately felt silly for having that thought in circumstances like these.

  Either Austin was too concerned about her wounds or he really didn’t care because he didn’t seem bothered by the prickles on her legs. He got to work right away, pulling leaves and twigs from Nicole’s arms, a worried scowl on his face. Lizzie gently laid Nicole’s head back down and got to work, helping Austin.

  A sudden shock wave blasted through the farmhouse. Nicole felt it, and judging by the expressions on Austin and Lizzie’s faces, they did too. It knocked poor Joe over. He didn’t get up again and Austin stepped to his side, checking his pulse.

  “He’s unconscious.”

  “Go find out what happened—help your parents. Lizzie and I’ll take care of my cuts.”

  “But—”

  “Austin, I’m not going to die right now, I promise. What’s going on outside is far more important.”

  Austin nodded. He gave Lizzie the first aid kit Joe had brought, then dashed outside.

  Nicole raised herself to a seated position, and she and Lizzie inspected her cuts. They definitely weren’t life-threatening, but she would probably need stitches on a couple of them later.

  Nicole dug through the first aid kit, pulling out Super Glue, alcohol wipes, and lots of Band-Aids. She and Lizzie wiped the blood away with the alcohol wipes, Nicole wincing at the sharp pain. Then, making sure all debris they could see was gone, the girls got to work gluing the edges of the cuts together.

  Once the wounds had been taken care of to the best of their ability, they covered them with a multitude of Band-Aids. There wasn’t anything bigger than that in the first aid kit.

  With Lizzie’s help, the girls checked out the other places where she’d gotten injured, including her back, but none of the spots had drawn blood.

  “We need to find out what’s going on outside,” Nicole said, trying to get to her feet.

  “No, we don’t. I’ll go look.”

  Nicole shook her head. “I’m coming. Don’t you dare try to stop me.” She added a smile to her words to soften them, but was completely serious, and Lizzie knew it.

  “Fine,” Lizzie grumbled, helping Nicole to her feet.

  After casting one last glance at poor Joe, who still hadn’t moved, Nicole limped to the back porch with Lizzie’s help.

  The Youngs were huddled together again—all three of them. Nicole felt more than saw them combine their powers to create another shock wave, this one much more intense than the first. She held on to Lizzie, nearly falling as the wave pulsed over her.

  All the monsters that were fighting Aretes dropped to the ground like flies. They didn’t get up.

  But the Youngs also toppled over. Nicole got down next to Austin, ignoring the stinging in her thighs. He was unconscious. His parents were too. But they were still breathing.

  Coolidge staggered up to Nicole, sweat pouring down his pale face.

  “What do we do?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “Nothing has prepared me for this,” he said loudly. Nicole knew that meant he was overdoing it.

  Like everyone else.

  Coolidge continued. “I realized it would be hard, but thousands of creatures? I was expecting hundreds.”

  Nicole jumped when her bracelet started electrocuting her again. Thank goodness, her powers were returning. She must really be dancing along the threshold if they were only staying away for a few minutes at a time.

  Just then, Nicole heard someone shouting her name. She shielded her eyes, gazing toward the link where the voice was coming from.

  Jack was climbing over bodies, racing toward her.

  “Jack!” she said, stumbling to her feet. She lurched forward, crossing the distance between them, pulling herself over monster bodies, ignoring the pain radiating from her arms and thighs. She should’ve taken pain killers while she had the first aid kit.

  Once she reached Jack, she said, “What are you doing? I thought you couldn’t leave that dimension!”

  He fell in front of Nicole and she tried to help him up. “No, no.” He looked up at her, tears tracking down his face and wetting his hair. “They got Anna. She’s gone, Nicole.”

  Nicole’s hand fluttered to her mouth. “Oh, no, Jack. I’m so sorry.” She knelt next to him, her hands nervous, not sure what to do to comfort him.

  “Great Ones are coming . . .” he breathed. “Soon . . . be here.”
>
  Nicole gasped. “What do we do?”

  “Hide. Don’t . . . don’t think about them.”

  Coolidge joined them and sat next to Jack. “Why can’t we think about them?” he shouted.

  “Draws their attention.” Jack took one last breath, then his eyes rolled back and he slumped to the ground, his jaw slack.

  Coolidge gently closed Jack’s eyelids. He helped Nicole up, then they stared down at Jack, Nicole offering her thanks to him for his valiant service.

  The two of them turned around. Nicole wished they could do something about Jack’s body, but there wasn’t enough time.

  “We can’t think about the Great Ones?” she said as they stumbled toward the farmhouse, Coolidge helping Nicole over the fallen beasts. “How are we going to get that message out to everyone?”

  “We aren’t,” Coolidge shouted. “You are.”

  Nicole winced at how loudly he was speaking. “By doing what?”

  “Using your natural ability in reverse.”

  Nicole shook her head. “I can’t do that—I’ve never done it before. Besides, isn’t it supposed to be one of the hardest things an Arete can do?”

  “Look around you, Nicole. Who else is going to do it? One more slight expenditure of my magic will damage my brain permanently, and it still wouldn’t be enough. At least you’re a native Wind Arete. Wind was the last ability I conquered. I might have enough energy left to strengthen you, but it’ll still be a lot better for you to do it than it would be for me or anyone else.” He leveled a gaze at her as they stopped outside the farmhouse. “The Great Ones are already familiar with your print. They know you’re here. The most important thing we can do right now is keep them from realizing just how many Aretes are fighting. It’ll save lives, having you expend the last bit of energy just before their arrival instead of me or someone else.”

  Lizzie jumped to her feet from where she’d been sitting next to the still-unconscious Youngs. “I want to help. What can I do?”

  “Lend every ounce of power you have to Nicole.”

  Nicole took a deep breath, realizing that what Coolidge said was true. She had no choice, not when innocent lives were at stake. Closing her eyes and biting her lips, she reached out to her magic once again. How was she going to do this? Shout at them? Use her powers to amplify her voice? That was definitely something she could do, but it wouldn’t be a good idea. Shouting would defeat the purpose of asking people to hide.