Obscure, Mosaic Chronicles Book Seven

by Pearson, Andrea

  Nicole pulled her phone from her pocket. “I’m not sure, but we need to find out.” She sent a quick text to Jacob, hoping he’d receive it.

  He didn’t respond, and she realized why—he didn’t have service in the castle in Maivoryl City. Instead, she texted Austin. He agreed with her—they needed to find out ASAP what Keitus had done while everyone was gone. But without a way to contact Jacob, they wouldn’t be able to do it until the morning.

  “We really need a Minya,” Lizzie said.

  Nicole nodded. “Yeah, that would be awesome right now.”

  “I think we should ask Jacob to help us find one.”

  “Good idea.”

  The girls went to bed then. Nicole wasn’t able to fall asleep for a while, though. She tossed and turned, thinking about the old man who was trying to steal talismans and bodies so he could rule multiple worlds.

  Chapter Eleven

  The next morning, Nicole woke to Jacob’s responding text. She read it, then slumped back against her pillows. Keitus hadn’t left his dimension the whole time Nicole and the others were gone—he was gathering people, monsters, and creatures to help.

  Nicole called Austin. He answered after a few rings with a groggy “Hello.”

  “Hey, when are we heading to the other planet? Have you talked to your parents?”

  “Yeah, I did last night. They’re flying out now. We’ll leave as soon as they land.”

  “Okay. Anyone else coming?”

  “Coolidge doesn’t think we’ll need a bigger group than you, me, him, and my parents.”

  Nicole nodded. “Three Silvers and two advanced Aretes should be enough, right?”

  “Right. I’m going to shower. I’ll come by in a while. Let’s go to lunch, okay?”

  “Good idea. Do you mind if Lizzie comes too? Apparently, her boyfriend didn’t stick around while she was gone, and she’s pretty bummed.”

  “I don’t blame him—two months is a long time to wait for someone who has completely disappeared.”

  Nicole’s heart warmed—Austin had waited for her. “Do you think he called the cops?”

  “He might have—I definitely would’ve.”

  “We’d better take care of that now.”

  They said goodbye, and Nicole set her phone down, confused. If Chet had called the cops, this place would have had officers crawling all over it. Sam would have been involved. The apartment might even have been signed off to someone else. Her eyes narrowed. Did Chet call the cops? If he didn’t, Lizzie was better off without him.

  She opened Lizzie’s door a crack and poked her head inside. Her best friend was still sleeping, her red curls splayed out across the white pillows. She looked angelic. Nicole found herself hurting for her best friend all over again. When would Lizzie find the right guy? Nicole realized her best friend wasn’t even twenty yet—she still had plenty of time. But still. The girl deserved to date a good guy. Someone who was at least concerned about her.

  Lizzie rolled over, then blinked, staring at Nicole.

  “Morning,” Nicole said, stepping inside and hopping onto the bed. “Did you sleep well?”

  “Yeah, until I found some creeper staring at me.”

  Nicole chuckled, and Lizzie grinned, sitting up. “What’s going on?”

  “Austin’s showering, then he’s coming over. The three of us are going out for lunch, and you don’t have a choice—you’re coming.”

  Lizzie put her hands up. “Trust me, I’m fine with that. When will he be here?”

  “Well, his showers are long, so probably not for another forty-five minutes.”

  “Okay. Go pretty yourself up for him.” Lizzie grinned. “It’ll be nice to get out and have some fun before you, um, save another planet.” She tilted her head. “You’re not really saving that planet, though, right?”

  “In a roundabout way, yes. We’re stopping Keitus, which in turn will save everyone.” Nicole felt silly saying that. She had a hard time holding back a smile, especially at the mischievous expression on Lizzie’s face.

  “You’re so heroic,” Lizzie said.

  “That’s me—total hero.”

  Lizzie whacked Nicole’s shoulder. “Go get ready. I can’t shower while we’re talking.”

  “Technically, you could,” Nicole said. She knew what Lizzie meant, though. They’d talk and talk and never get anything done.

  Twenty minutes later, someone knocked on the door. Nicole was only halfway through doing her makeup. The knock came again, much more insistent this time, and she rushed to look through the peephole. Austin was on the other side. She undid the locks, then swung the door open. “What’s up? You’re here way earlier than I thought you’d be.”

  Austin didn’t respond. He rushed past her, turning on all the lights and opening the blinds.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Austin strode to her, bending over, shoving his head in her face. “Look. Look!”

  Nicole stared at her boyfriend’s hair. “What am I looking for?”

  “Just look.” He reached up and pulled a section of hair aside, laying it against his scalp. “Do you see?”

  Nicole gasped. A thin line of silver was visible in his roots. “Holy cow, Austin, that’s amazing!”

  “Inspect it. How much of it is gray? All, or just parts?”

  Nicole led him to a barstool, pushed him on it, then pulled his head down again and started going through his hair.

  Lizzie entered the room. “Uh . . . I swear, if you eat anything you find, I’ll puke all over you.”

  Nicole glanced at Lizzie. “Come here and see this.” She turned Austin’s head, showing Lizzie the barely visible silver line at his roots. “I don’t see any new dark hairs coming in at all, Austin,” she said. “Oh, my gosh—you’re a Silver!”

  Lizzie raised her eyebrows. “And before your junior year. Impressive.”

  “We need to celebrate,” Nicole said.

  “Definitely,” Austin said. “I have an idea. Let’s celebrate by going out for lunch!”

  Nicole kissed his cheek. “Silly.”

  “Where do you ladies want to eat?”

  Nicole and Lizzie looked at each other before turning back to Austin. “It’s your party,” Nicole said, knowing Lizzie would agree. “You pick.”

  Much to the girls’ surprise, Austin chose a local fast-food joint.

  “We offer the world,” Lizzie said, “and you choose a burger?”

  “What can I say? I have simple needs.”

  Lunch was fun, but the moment Austin received a text from his dad saying they’d landed, he and the girls left for the airport. Nicole sent Jacob a text on the way. He responded, saying he’d pick them all up from Nicole’s apartment.

  Austin let his dad drive the SUV on the way home, and Nicole ended up sitting in the back between him and Lizzie. She held Austin’s hand tightly, her lunch doing a number on her stomach. They’d be okay, right? There wouldn’t be any problems on the other world. They would all come back just fine. Just fine . . . She had to keep telling herself that.

  Austin’s parents were thrilled to see that he had become a Silver. Nicole loved the pride that was totally evident in their voices. It made her ache for parents who actually cared.

  Jacob and Coolidge were already in Nicole’s living room when they got there. Nicole blinked when she saw what Jacob was wearing. Black robes lined with bright red fabric. What the crap? He looked . . . weird. Like he was going to some sort of role-playing event. The bright red was only visible when he moved, and when he did, Nicole noticed the weirdest thing ever. His magical vibe was activated while the red was visible, when his robes swished. Whoa. She’d have to ask him about that later.

  A long pole was strapped to Jacob’s back. If Nicole was being honest with herself, she’d have to admit that his getup was actually a bit attractive. He carried himself differently—more importantly, older. He was confident and comfortable in these clothes. It was kind of hot.

  Jacob shut the door, then
opened a link to the castle, where Akeno waited.

  Lizzie gave everyone hugs, then closed the door behind them, a resigned expression on her face. Nicole didn’t blame her. She had opted not to go this time, wanting to stay home to practice her magic and focus on school. There was no way to know how long Nicole and the others would be on the iron planet, but it was safe to say it would be at least four days.

  Nicole was only a little surprised that Azuriah had also chosen not to accompany them. She hadn’t really ever seen him use his powers. She’d need to challenge him about that later and see if he really had any.

  They gathered around the usual table in the throne room, and Jacob and King Dmitri showed them a map they’d drawn of the compound where the talisman was. Nicole and Coolidge pointed out the building where Nicole had seen the talisman, and they concocted a plan to get there.

  Dave, Austin’s dad, peered at Coolidge. “You sure we can’t just go in with guns blazing, so to speak?”

  Nicole knew he was referring to their powers, not actual firearms, though they’d have some of those on hand too.

  Coolidge shook his head. “They’re Agarchs. They’re far more powerful than we are. If magic comes into play too early, we’ll fail for sure. We need to stay on the defensive as much as possible.”

  “So, we sneak in,” Dave said. “Through the dirt.”

  Nicole hid a smile. She loved the expression of distaste on the man’s face.

  Coolidge nodded. “Exactly how Nicole got out. It’s why we wanted you to come—being able to go quietly and cautiously will make things much easier.”

  “All right,” Elyse said. “Give us the rundown.”

  Coolidge quickly explained what Nicole had done, then finished by saying, “Jacob will key us there. Akeno will come and place a couple of doors strategically around the place—there’s only one in the entire compound, and it’s not safe for us to mess with.”

  “What do they use instead of doors?” Dave asked.

  Nicole glanced at him. “Blankets, from what I could tell. Nothing with keyholes.”

  Coolidge continued explaining what they would be doing. Nicole’s primary job would be to gather air and keep everyone oxygenated. Coolidge and Austin would dig forward, Dave and Elyse would pack the stuff behind them, and Jacob would physically move the dirt.

  “We want to avoid burnout,” Coolidge said, “so everyone, keep track of how you’re doing magically.”

  Good idea. Nicole pulled out her bracelet and strapped it to her wrist.

  “And the place is hot,” Austin told his parents. “Like, really, really hot.”

  Dave and Elyse glanced at each other. “Good to know,” Elyse said.

  Once everyone indicated they were ready, Jacob Time-Saw to make sure they were safe to key to the other planet, then opened up a link to the door they’d hidden in the thicket. They all stepped through, shielding their faces from the blast of heat, and Jacob shut the link.

  Everyone turned to Coolidge.

  “Now what?” Austin asked.

  Coolidge glanced around. “We go down the hill the back way, then dig.” He pointed at Akeno. “You, set up doors around the city. Stay out of sight. You have your potted plant, right?”

  Akeno nodded, pulling the little thing from his knapsack. Nicole remembered that he was able to sense living creatures by putting his left ring finger against the plant. It would come in handy for the Makalo, and hopefully, for the rest of them too.

  “Good,” Coolidge said. “If we’re still gone when you finish, come find us.”

  Akeno set off, crouching, crawling, and Coolidge led the way down the hill.

  “Won’t Akeno finish long before us?” Nicole asked.

  Coolidge shook his head. “Probably not. It’ll take him time to sneak around without being seen. He’ll have his hands full.”

  Nicole hoped the Makalo would be okay.

  Her nerves were on fire—not just from the extreme heat, but from the danger they were about to place themselves in. She saw the Silver at least a mile away, digging in the mud. She could tell it was him by the glow that surrounded his head. He went out of sight as they descended the hill.

  Coolidge had everyone wait, then peered around the last visible shrubbery. He turned back to them and whispered, “We’ll start here.”

  Everyone pulled on headlamps, and Nicole sensed as the four Aretes began directing their magic to the dirt beneath them. She felt it shift and she lifted each foot, allowing piles and piles to float past, stepping lower each time. Soon, they all were at least eight feet underground and had turned on their headlamps. She looked up at the sunlight, saying goodbye as Coolidge and Austin started digging the way forward.

  It was long, slow, laborious work. Nicole found she ended up with the job of not only pulling air to them, but also passing around bottles of water. The cavern they’d created and worked to maintain was a little over six feet tall and around five feet wide—barely enough for all of them to fit in.

  Soon, dirt once more coated practically every inch of Nicole. Her shoes were full of it. The caked mud on her jeans crackled each time she inadvertently touched it. Her hair was pasted to her scalp, and mud trickled in sweat rivulets down her face.

  No one spoke as they worked, minus Jacob asking everyone to take a break every now and then so he could mark their progress. Because he could See where they needed to go, he was in charge of keeping them on course. Several times, he had them change direction.

  Two hours later, everyone took a half-hour break to eat and rest. Nicole plopped in the muddy dirt, surprised at how moist it was. The Silvers in her group were having to work with Earth and Water. She did not envy them.

  Nicole thought about the time that was passing back on earth. She was too tired to do the math, but figured that if four days had passed in about three hours while here, they had probably just passed day three. It was a weird thought. How was Lizzie doing? Was she okay? Safe? Happy?

  Long before they were ready, Coolidge indicated it was time to continue again. Nicole took a breath, reaching out through the dirt to find the pockets of oxygen. It was hard work, shifting and packing dirt between their pocket and where the oxygen waited, creating little pathways for it to follow. She was grateful she’d already mastered Earth principles.

  Finally, Jacob indicated that they were near the room where the talisman was. He closed his eyes, Time-Seeing. It took him five minutes to return. Apparently, the room was inhabited by a huge Agarch.

  “We’ll need to wait,” he whispered.

  Everyone sank down, turning off their headlamps.

  Nicole stared straight ahead, grateful for the sudden blackness. Her eyes were exhausted from straining to see in the artificial light. Even though it was cooler down here than up top, she still felt like she was suffocating from the heat. How did the Aretes who lived here stand it?

  Speaking of the Aretes . . .

  “I forgot to say something earlier,” she whispered, “but that Arete is a Silver.”

  Coolidge grunted somewhere on the other side of the dugout. Nicole had no idea where anyone had ended up—not even Austin.

  “You’re sure?” Coolidge asked. “He hasn’t Restarted yet.”

  “Yes, I’m sure—his hair was completely gray.”

  “Is that possible?” Austin asked. “A Silver who hasn’t Restarted?”

  “Of course it is,” Elyse said. “Winston, my neighbor growing up, always told us he’d turned fully gray by the time he was seventeen. He’s not an Arete, but I do know that others have grayed that early too.”

  “We should see if we can take the Silver back with us,” Dave said. “Someone needs to be around when he Restarts. Someone trained who can help him out.” He turned on his light again, shining it on the people in the room with him. “Mark my words, when he does Restart, it’s going to be epic. It might even kill him.”

  Nicole frowned. She didn’t need to ask how Dave knew—Arete abilities weren’t something to joke about. E
specially someone who would potentially be “born” fully magical the moment they Restarted. That was insane.

  “Let’s focus on getting the talismans first,” Coolidge said. “Then, if we’re able, we’ll help out here. Our first priority has to remain with stopping Keitus. If we lose our concentration, he’ll win. And I don’t think I need to tell you what would happen in that case.”

  No, he didn’t. Nicole felt bad, though, knowing how miserable the humans living on this planet were. But Coolidge was right—living was more important than being freed just before a crazy man murdered everyone.

  Jacob breathed a sigh of relief. “The Agarch left—we’re good to go.”

  Nicole and the others turned their lights back on.

  “Don’t rush into things,” Coolidge said. “Nicole will go in first and get the talisman. Then, once we know for sure she has it, we’ll either go back the way we came or run for the entrance to the tunnels and have Jacob Key us out.”

  “That’s if things go well,” Nicole said. “What happens if they don’t?”

  “And we get attacked?” Coolidge hesitated for a moment before responding. “You’ll still focus on getting away with the talisman. Jacob, you’ll go with her. Regardless of what happens to the rest of us, we know Nicole has to be the one to get the talisman, and Jacob is the only one who can get her and it out of here.”

  He glanced at Jacob. “How close is Keitus to arriving?”

  Jacob’s eyes went out of focus for several seconds. Then he said, “He’ll be here in a couple of days.”

  “Earth days?”

  Jacob shook his head. “I don’t know—I’m all mixed up with the different times.”

  “Let’s go,” Coolidge said.

  Nicole waited until Coolidge and Austin had cleared the remaining foot or so of dirt before moving to stand next to them. Soon, the wall had been removed enough for her to slip through.

  She glanced around—the room really was empty—then she strode to the center of it, looking up.

  The talisman was gone.

  “Guys,” Nicole said, turning back to the cavern. “It’s g—”

  “Watch out!” Austin screamed.