“You won’t need to learn them all. Once you’re able to perform five or six, the rest fall easily into place, allowing you to move on to the next element.”
Nicole smiled. “That’s the best news I’ve had in ages. I was prepared for it to be a daunting task, and this makes it easier.”
“Yes, it does.” Coolidge got up and pulled a book off his shelf. “Try this one first. If it doesn’t help, the library has a good selection.”
Nicole thanked Professor Coolidge and put the book in her backpack.
He shook her hand. “I’ll email you when I get more information on the Tarian group.”
Nicole thanked him again, then headed to the cafeteria for lunch.
As soon as she’d sat down with her tray of food, Nicole opened up Coolidge’s book. Her eyes widened as she flipped through it. She doubted she’d need anything else to finish learning Wind abilities. It even explained the science behind many of the sub-abilities. Most of them pulled from the pineal gland, as she’d already learned, but some of them were triggered by other areas of the brain, such as the pituitary gland and the medulla. The pineal gland was where the magic originated, but other areas of the brain helped control the powers. Fascinating.
The sub-abilities were listed alphabetically. Under each one was a list of other sub-abilities of Wind magic that would be easiest to learn.
Nicole wasn’t sure what the official term was for hers, so she went to the topical guide and looked up “sound.” She found it about halfway down the page.
Noise cancellation. Nicole opened up to the corresponding page number and quickly scanned the listing. Apparently, it was one of the most difficult to master and even to discover—most Wind Aretes who had Noise Cancellation as their sub-ability never learned to Channel. She found herself grateful it was where she’d started, but knew it was also why she’d struggled so much in the beginning.
Nicole found that the medulla, which helped control breathing, also helped control this ability. Which made sense, since she’d needed to learn to focus her breathing before she could Channel properly.
The other sub-abilities that were supposed to be easy for her to learn were then mentioned. She studied that list, trying to decide where to start.
Music and noise pitch
Speed of sound
Volume of sound
Intonation of instruments, humans, animals
Noise Creation was the hardest for Wind Aretes whose powers started with Noise Cancellation. That made sense.
After thinking it over, Nicole decided that the easiest thing to do would be to start at the top of the list and work her way down, learning them all that way. For most of these, she’d need someone to practice on. Austin’s face appeared in her mind, and she had to close her eyes and take a breath to push away the slight nausea that hit her. She couldn’t tell if the sickness was due to the heartache she now felt or the effect of the Great Ones. It was probably both.
Nicole glanced at her phone—her next class was about to start. She used a clean napkin to mark her spot in the book, packed up her things, and left the cafeteria.
***
Nicole knew Lizzie was doing it to make her feel better, but she couldn’t handle the frequent updates her roommate gave her on Austin. Especially when she learned about his first date with someone else a few weeks later. She didn’t know if it should make her happy or sad. She wanted him to be okay, to be able to move on, not to be lonely. But thinking about him with another girl else—happy with that other girl, caring for her—upset Nicole too much.
The only solace she found was in the fact that Austin really had sworn off Savannah, his ex, for good. Nate, Austin’s roommate, confirmed that to Lizzie. The two hadn’t seen or spoken to each other since October, when Austin had last broken up with her.
Unable to deal with it anymore, Nicole asked Lizzie to stop giving her updates on Austin. They were too painful and started causing her to be ill. But even stopping the updates turned out not to be enough. Eventually, she even had to ask Lizzie not to hang out with Nate anymore.
“I can always tell when you’ve been over there,” Nicole said. “I know you try to hide it, but there’s this . . . this feeling around you that tells me you’ve seen Austin. I’ve had to throw up twice now because of it.”
Lizzie sighed dramatically. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to give Nate a break. Besides, the only reason I’ve been over there so much lately is for you. To keep an eye on Austin. Even if I can’t tell you what’s going on in his life, I want to know so I can protect you in some way.”
“And I really appreciate it. I just . . . I need a clean break. Is that okay?”
Lizzie shrugged. “Sure. Nate’s not my only friend. Besides, now that he’s dating someone else, it’s time for me to stop hanging out with him so much.”
“How are things where guys are concerned?”
Lizzie’s face brightened. “Oh, my gosh, there’s this super-hot guy in Fire 202 who is totally awesome. He’s got these fantastic brown eyes. His name is Jake. He’s really tall—”
“Compared to you, anyone is,” Nicole said with a laugh.
“I know. But he’s even much taller than Austin.”
“Austin isn’t the tallest guy out there—he’s barely over six feet.”
“And Jake is six feet five inches.”
Nicole laughed again. “Does he like you?”
“I think so. He kissed my hand today all flirty-like and asked for my number. He’s texted four or five times so far.”
“Yeah, he likes you. Is he a decent guy?”
Lizzie lifted one shoulder. “Seems to be. A lot of the time, unless the guy is like, smacking a girl around right then, I can’t tell anyway. Other than the creepy feeling they sometimes give off.”
Nicole chuckled. “And we always avoid the guys who hit girls in public.”
“Let alone in private.”
“But that’s much harder to find out.”
The two grinned at each other, then finished making dinner.
“Made any progress with other sub-abilities?” Lizzie asked around a mouthful of pancake, butter, and syrup.
Nicole nodded. “I’m able to change the pitch of noise and music for inanimate things, but I really do need to practice on a living person.”
Lizzie raised her hand. “Oh, me! Pick me!”
“When do you want to practice?”
The girls picked a time that weekend, then finished their dinner, talking about Jake and two other guys Lizzie had noticed that week.
As she was getting ready for bed, Nicole emptied her pockets, placing the items on her nightstand. She was about to change her clothes when she noticed something odd about the laminated piece of paper she carried in her pocket.
She picked it up, looking at it closely. The writing was still unintelligible, but it had changed. She flipped the slip of paper over and gasped, letting it fall to the floor.
“Lizzie!” Nicole shrieked, running to her bedroom door and throwing it open. “Lizzie!”
Her best friend popped her head out of her room. “What?”
“Come see, come see!” Nicole said.
She dashed back inside her room, followed by Lizzie, picked up the paper, and handed it to the girl.
Lizzie’s eyes rounded, her jaw dropping. “Holy smokes. What does this mean?”
Nicole took back the paper, looking at it again.
Nicole
That was the only thing written, where before, the entire paper had been covered with illegible scraggly writing.
“Call Professor Coolidge,” Lizzie said.
Nicole nodded. “Good idea.” She picked up her cell and quickly dialed Coolidge’s number, hoping it wasn’t too late.
Coolidge answered on the fourth ring, right before voicemail picked up. “Yes, Nicole? What’s up?”
She quickly explained the situation. “Any idea why it would do that? Or how?”
There was silence on the other end for several mom
ents. “I don’t know. Watch and see if anything else changes. I’ll do some studying on my side. This is definitely weird, though.”
Nicole agreed to keep her eye on it, knowing she’d be checking it every five minutes from then on. They ended the call.
She checked it frequently over the next several days, but nothing changed. It still only said Nicole. Was Anna Morse trying to get in contact with her? Or was it someone—or something—else? Did it mean she was supposed to try to find the woman, or was there more coming? Maybe Mrs. Morse would write her a note one word at a time.
Or maybe the Great Ones had gotten their hands on Anna Morse’s things in that crooked street in Ohio where Nicole had stayed for three weeks. Maybe they were trying to manipulate her yet again.
Either way, she needed more information.
***
Nicole was so grateful the Great Ones didn’t seem to care that she still kept her best friend around. Or Professor Coolidge, for that matter. She wasn’t about to question why and hoped it wouldn’t change in the future.
Over a month passed before Nicole heard back from Coolidge about the local Tarians. During that time, she didn’t see or hear from Austin. She found herself thinking about him less and less during the day, and that was a relief. But nighttime was still really difficult. She spent a lot of time crying, not understanding why it was so hard to get over a breakup this time.
After class one day, Coolidge gave her a slip of paper. On it was written an address and a time. “The next Tarian meeting,” he said quietly as students rushed past them. “This Saturday.”
Nicole thanked him and tucked the paper into her pants pocket next to Mrs. Morse’s laminated slip.
That evening, Nicole and Lizzie brainstormed solid reasons for Nicole wanting to betray Aretes. The only things they could come up with was the fact that it wasn’t fair that only Aretes had powers. That it was too random—that those with magic weren’t necessarily the hardest working or the most worthy. And the one that Nicole sort of agreed with, but also disagreed with—that the powers were too dangerous for just anyone to have.
In Nicole’s perfect world, everyone would be born with Arete abilities. Now that she’d been Channeling without a focus for over a month and sensing the powers of magical items and people for much longer, she couldn’t imagine living any other way. She didn’t want to live any other way.
The meeting was in an abandoned warehouse. Fitting, in a stereotypical way. Why they didn’t put it in the top of a high rise with a fantastic view of Elliot Bay was beyond her. She couldn’t give them too much credit by way of brains and creativity, though.
Coolidge warned Nicole that she might not be the only Arete in attendance, and she decided to go cautiously, sensing for other magical people. What would she do if she found they’d turned their backs on Aretes? Or that they hadn’t—that they were spying, like her?
Nicole agonized for several hours over whether she should wear a disguise and use a fake name or not. She finally decided to go as herself—Nicole Williams of Lucas, Texas. Arete. It would be easiest not to lie from the start. And eventually, if things went according to plan, she’d be leading them anyway. It would be better to start making a name for herself early, instead of having to explain later why she didn’t come clean in the beginning.
She didn’t tell anyone where she was going when she left for the meeting. Not even Lizzie knew where it was. Now that Nicole carried the elixir, she knew Rebecca couldn’t see her every move—or hadn’t foreseen her every move a hundred years ago. That gave her a bit of comfort, and the sense of some much-needed privacy.
Nicole pulled into the gravel parking lot next to the warehouse. She glanced around at the other people also pulling up just then, glad to see she wasn’t the only one wearing normal clothes—another decision she’d had a hard time making. She was positive the evening gown for Christmas Eve had been for that special occasion and had decided on jeans and a hoodie, her usual Seattle clothing. Her gut hadn’t led her astray—most everyone else was wearing jeans and a warm top too.
Nicole tucked her hair back into her hoodie and zipped up when it started drizzling. The warehouse exterior was faded red brick. The sidewalk leading to the main doors was broken up, and she had to watch where she was going.
“New here?” a man asked, opening the door for her.
She glanced up, shocked that he’d recognized a new face so quickly. “Yes.” She wasn’t comfortable expounding on that, even though the man was apparently waiting for an explanation.
“My name’s Jonathan. I’m the secretary of our local chapter.” He held out his hand as they passed through the doors.
“Nicole Williams.” Nicole shook his hand, surprised to find it firm and warm. Weren’t bad guys supposed to be . . . bad? Fishy? Limp hand shakers?
“You’ll want to introduce yourself to the president,” Jonathan said. He nodded in the direction of a makeshift stage, where several rows of chairs had been set up. “We won’t go over our regular items of business until all new members have been introduced.”
Nicole thanked Jonathan, then headed toward the stage, wondering if she was supposed to meet the president now or wait.
She decided to take a seat on the third row and wait to see what happened. She watched as about thirty people—none of whom were Aretes—filed into the warehouse, taking seats around her. Lights had been wired along the edges of the room, and she could hear a generator outside. Most of the windows were broken, and graffiti covered the walls. Garbage littered a large part of the huge interior.
Several moments later, a gray-haired man stood and held up his hands, silencing the crowd. He cleared his throat. “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming. I’d like to invite all visitors to approach the stage at this time to be signed in. We’ll begin in five minutes.”
Nicole got to her feet and glanced around, feeling her cheeks burn when she realized she was the only one standing. Thirty pairs of eyes zeroed in on her as she walked toward the stage.
The gray-haired man extended his hand, eyeing her curiously. “I’m Andrew.” He pointed to the woman behind him. “That’s Shana. She’s my wife and the vice president of our group.”
Nicole nodded to the woman, who smiled in return. “I’m Nicole Williams,” she said in a quiet voice. “This isn’t my first Tarian meeting, but it’s the first time I’ve been interested in joining.”
“Very good. Where have your other meetings been? And what interests you about our group?”
Nicole breathed a sigh of relief as people behind her started whispering, obviously getting bored. “I need to be completely open with you. I’m an Arete, studying at Katon University.”
The man’s eyes narrowed. “Why are you here?”
Nicole swallowed, realizing that the next couple of minutes were crucial. She needed this man on her side—needed him to trust her. “My parents are Tarians. Over the past few months, they and another relative have been teaching me things that make me wonder at the fairness of the situation we’re in. I’m not positive I should be an Arete, let alone anyone else. I’m undecided as to whether Aretes should all be killed, but I don’t like the idea that someone has immense powers because they’re born with them and didn’t earn them.”
Andrew nodded. “A good argument. What do you intend to do with our group?”
“Learn as much as I can before making a decision. Be involved. Help, where possible. I love my parents and want to make them proud. They feel I have a bright future with the Tarians.”
“Who are your parents?”
“Charles and Tiffany Williams.”
Recognition flooded the man’s face. “You’re Tiffany Williams’ Arete daughter?”
Nicole nodded.
Andrew rubbed his chin. “We can’t divulge sensitive information in this or any meeting until you’ve completed an initiation.”
“I’m willing to do whatever you need me to do.”
“Good.” Andrew looked back to Shana and bec
koned her to join them.
Shana also had gray hair. It was spiked all over the top of her head, and a section above her left ear was shaved. Nicole hid a smile. Shana was at least seventy. It seemed she was doing her best to keep her age out of the fashion equation.
“Nicole here is the daughter of Tiffany Williams. She wants to join our group. She’s an Arete.” He cleared his throat. “Do you think for her initiation, the . . .” He trailed off, his eyes intense.
Shana nodded. “Yes. It’ll be perfect for her.”
Andrew invited Nicole onto the stage and had her sit next to Jonathan. “Have her fill out her information. Shana and I will decide on her initiation.”
Jonathan nodded, pulling a piece of paper and pen from his briefcase. He gave them to Nicole, asking her to turn in the paper at the end of the meeting. She was to stay by him until the meeting concluded. She wasn’t sure why—probably to make sure she didn’t take notes on topics discussed or something.
The meeting went okay, from what Nicole could tell. It was orderly, people were polite, and several reports were given. Nicole had no idea what was going on, though, since everyone was using code words. She figured it was because she was present and they didn’t want her to know something sensitive.
What she did understand was when Andrew turned attention to the coming of a future leader. He talked about Mrs. Price frequently, how she was preparing this person. How it would be someone powerful. When Andrew said this, several hands shot up in the air. People wanted to know if it was the guy in Europe who was indeed very powerful.
Nicole refused to look up and meet eyes with anyone. It seemed only she knew that the power Rebecca referred to was not position, but magic. Oh, she hoped she’d be able to help these people see the error of their choices, as Rebecca seemed to think was possible!
Nicole finally returned her attention to the paper she was still filling out. It asked questions she’d expected. Name, address, number, email address. It asked if she was related to any Aretes. She circled “self” and nothing else—she didn’t want them to know that her great-great-grandmother was an Arete just yet. And besides, great-great-grandmother wasn’t even an option.
Observe, Mosaic Chronicles Book Four Page 4