Discern (Mosaic Chronicles Book 1)

by Andrea Pearson

  “Can you feel that?” Sylvia asked.

  Nicole squinted at the girl. “Feel what?”

  Sylvia bit her lip and turned to stare at the dissecting area. “Concentrate really hard.”

  Nicole closed her eyes. She knew Sylvia was probably talking about magical energy, so she pushed outward with the part of her that was still strengthening.

  And she sensed something. It was slight, barely noticeable. But as she concentrated on it, she quickly discerned a magical pulse that was growing very slightly, very slowly.

  She opened her eyes, meeting Sylvia’s gaze. “What does it mean?”

  Sylvia’s eyes were wide, the pupils almost fully dilated. “Something’s coming.”

  Nicole felt goose bumps rise across her flesh. “How do you know it’s headed this way?”

  “Because it is.” Sylvia wrapped her arms around herself and looked at Howard’s area again. She glanced back at Nicole. “We have to leave as soon as the storm rolls through, regardless of the time and regardless of who’s stuck below. I’m afraid we don’t have a choice.”

  Nicole shivered again at the intensity in Sylvia’s eyes. “I think you’re right.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Raindrops splattered heavily against Nicole’s tent, forcing her awake. She sat up, wondering what time it was. She groped in the darkness and found the battery-operated clock she’d brought. Only three in the morning. Way too early to be awake. She rolled over in her sleeping bag and closed her eyes.

  A strong gust of wind tousled the tent, and the door whipped open. She glanced at it and frowned, barely able to see it in the dark. She’d checked last night—it had been zipped up and shouldn’t be able to whip in the wind. Had Camille or Sylvia gone to use the bathroom and left it open?

  Nicole sat up again, noticing that Camille’s bag was empty. That girl! She’d definitely lost her mind on this trip. Nicole reached across the empty bag and zipped up the tent, trying to be quiet about it. Hopefully, it wouldn’t wake Sylvia. She sneaked a glance at her friend and froze.

  Sylvia’s bag was empty too.

  Was there a meeting she didn’t know about? Or was it possible that both girls had gone to the bathroom? Weird at this time of the night, but not unheard of in a situation like this. Why, though, would Camille wake up Sylvia—or vice versa—and not Nicole? She was in the middle.

  Maybe Camille had gone to the bathroom and Sylvia had ditched. She’d been nervous last night. But like Jason, she hadn’t seemed the type to leave without telling anyone.

  Nicole stared at Sylvia’s bag. She could’ve sworn it was light blue in color, not dark. She fumbled in the darkness, searching for her phone, and turned it on. When it emitted enough light, she pointed the screen toward Sylvia’s bag.

  And gasped.

  A dark stain marred the blue nylon. She leaned over, inspecting it.

  The stain was red.

  Blood.

  All over.

  Nicole shrieked and jerked back from the bag. She flashed her phone around the tent, seeing for the first time that blood covered the walls too.

  Her breath hitched in her throat and she bit her lip, staring, wondering what to do. She had to get out of there! Had to leave the tent. Check on the others. Call the alarm.

  She shoved her feet in her boots and yanked her arms through the sleeves of her hoodie.

  Realizing that whatever—whoever—had taken Camille and Sylvia might still be outside, Nicole pocketed her phone, slowly opened the tent, and ducked out. She waited for her eyes to adjust. It was no longer raining—the storm was finally blowing over. Stars lined the horizon to the east and the crescent moon was just rising, casting a slight glow over everything.

  Nicole screamed at what she saw, then clamped a hand over her mouth, cursing her instinctual reaction.

  The camp was crawling with things—people, Agarchs. Nearly all were carrying bodies to the hole. Some Agarchs were still on the dissecting tables, but others were walking around, using their root-like tentacles to pivot themselves forward.

  Her scream echoed for several seconds across the desert, carrying through the still night. Everyone froze. Misshapen heads turned toward her.

  People began jumping out of tents, pulling on pants and shoes. The coven humans scrambled, racing toward the hole, carrying bodies or dumping them as they went. The Agarchs raised themselves on their tentacles, their bodies swelling. They towered over the dissection tables by ten or fifteen feet at least. They were at least six feet wide, possibly more. At once, they turned toward Nicole, one of them flinging a table in Nicole’s direction. The table crashed into the tent next to her and she was nearly whipped by a support rod as it sprang out of the tent.

  She jumped when someone grabbed her arm. It was Will.

  “The Agarchs hesitate where you are concerned. Get out of here. Now.” He pointed to a Jeep. “Stay low.”

  Nicole didn’t question. She dashed to the Jeep and hopped in.

  Moments later, the Jeep was filled with survivors as Will finished herding up the living. Coolidge got behind the wheel, revved the engine, and peeled out. Only one of the eight Jeeps followed. Were that many people dead?

  Nicole looked back at those in the Jeep with her. She’d hoped for a miracle, but Sylvia wasn’t there, and neither were any of Howard’s people. She looked at Coolidge. “What about the others?”

  He didn’t respond.

  Coolidge drove far too fast for the dirt road, and several times, massive waves of muddy water splashed the Jeep, drenching those inside as they bounced through huge potholes. The entire time they were on the dirt road, Coolidge kept looking in the rearview mirror.

  Finally, they reached a paved road and Coolidge loosened his grip a little. “They’re not following anymore.”

  Nicole looked behind them—the other Jeep was still there. Was he talking about the Agarchs?

  She glanced forward as Coolidge careened around a bend. He was going sixty miles per hour, obviously still in a hurry to put distance between them and the campsite. What had he seen? Was it the Agarchs? Or had his more sensitive abilities discerned something she hadn’t?

  After only a few minutes, they passed the visitors’ center and got on the highway, heading toward Moab.

  Coolidge stopped at the first hotel that came into view and ordered everyone inside.

  Nicole joined the others in the lobby. The man behind the counter watched the dirty, panicked people enter his hotel and quickly started assigning rooms. As Coolidge handed out keys, he asked them all to help in the search for survivors when it was light enough. They’d be leaving at eight—only three hours away.

  There weren’t any other girls, so Nicole ended up with her own room. She locked the door behind her, wondering and worrying about Sylvia. Please, oh, please be okay!

  Then she realized something—Austin and Judith Ann had never returned the night before. Had they stayed in Moab when the storm came? Or were they some of the first victims?

  A shiver crossed her, and she felt tears spill over onto her cheeks. She held herself, rocking back and forth, trying to control the sudden emotions that raged inside. Fear. Anguish. Anger. Exhaustion.

  She never should’ve come on the expedition.

  The Agarchs were alive. How? The last time she’d seen them, they were shriveled up and dead. And now—now they were massive and huge! Had Howard figured out how to bring them to life? If so, why would he have done such a thing?

  Or was it something else? A trigger of some sort? A change in the desert air? In the weather?

  A thought occurred to her. The creatures had been shriveled. Had the rain brought the Agarchs back to life like thirsty plants? They did have those root-like appendages.

  Nicole glanced at the clock. It was five in the morning. She was wasting her precious sleep time on thinking. She forced her thoughts aside and inspected her clothes in the mirror—far too dirty. Because she had nothing else to wear, she showered while fully dressed. She wasn’t abo
ut to put on filthy clothes in the morning.

  It took a moment to figure out how best to hang the wet things around the heating unit, which she turned on full blast, hoping to warm away the chill in her core. For a moment, she wished she had her cello to help ease the fear and stress she felt, but realized sleep would be the best thing for her.

  Finally, she got into bed, tired and emotionally drained, refusing to think about what she’d already seen and would see when they returned to camp.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Nicole’s phone rang just as she and the others were leaving the hotel. She pulled it out and checked the caller ID. “It’s Judith Ann,” she said.

  Nicole’s breath shortened and she noticed Coolidge looking at her through the rearview mirror. He probably wanted to know about Judith Ann and Austin as much as she did. Had they survived the night, or was this one of the coven humans calling?

  She pushed the answer button and brought the phone to her ear. “Judith Ann?”

  “Finally!” the girl shrieked.

  Nicole held the phone away as Judith Ann continued shouting.

  “Where on earth are you, Nicole? I can’t believe what you’ve done. You’ve completely abandoned my father’s things! I thought I could trust you, but no one is here to guard them! And everything has been damaged. It’s going to take me forever to clean this up, and my father will probably sue you. His equipment was expensive, Nicole, and rare!” She paused. “Are you listening to me? Hello?”

  Nicole couldn’t respond at first—her stomach was somewhere near her feet. She’d totally forgotten Judith Ann’s request. She hadn’t even checked that the shed was locked up.

  “Yes, I’m listening. Look, I’m sorry, but you have no idea, Judith Ann, no idea at all what happened last night.”

  “I don’t care. It’s going to take all day to clean up this wreck. Are you coming to help?”

  “We’re on our way. We have to search for survivors.”

  “Good. I have some calls to make.” Judith Ann hung up.

  Nicole thrust her phone into her purse and glared out the window. She felt Coolidge looking at her again and her cheeks burned.

  He cleared his throat. “She’s upset?”

  “She has a right to be—I was supposed to watch over her father’s equipment yesterday. I totally forgot.”

  Coolidge shook his head. “Anyone would’ve forgotten under the circumstances. Don’t beat yourself up over it too much.”

  “I didn’t even check before going to bed.” She swallowed, trying to get the bitter taste at the back of her throat to go down. “I can’t believe how careless I was.”

  The student sitting next to Nicole—a tall, freckled guy—put his hand on Nicole’s arm. “It’s going to be fine.”

  Nicole nodded, but the sick feeling in her stomach didn’t leave. Almost everything that had happened after going to bed had been out of her power, but before that? She should’ve at least remembered to make sure Howard’s people had locked up when they were finished.

  “Are she and Austin at the campsite, then?” Coolidge asked.

  “Judith Ann, yes. I don’t know about Austin.”

  No one said anything the rest of the drive. Nicole’s stomach gradually returned to its proper place, and the sick feeling was replaced with determination. She would make things right. And as soon as possible.

  Coolidge pulled up near the campsite, and Nicole hopped out of the Jeep.

  She immediately spotted Judith Ann by the shed, talking to a police officer—probably tattling on Nicole. Great.

  Nicole turned and surveyed the rest of the campsite.

  Seeing the destruction in the light of day was shocking. She couldn’t believe how much damage the invaders had caused. It looked like they’d continued rampaging after she and the others had left. Tents were strewn across the ground. Food items had been scattered into the wind. Sleeping bags were shredded and dragged everywhere. The Jeeps had been knocked over. Only a few structures remained upright—a couple of the tents, Nicole’s included, and the shed.

  No bodies or survivors were in sight, and Nicole wondered if the coven humans had returned to take them below.

  The first thing she did was get the rest of her stuff. Her stomach curled when she saw the blood inside the tent.

  She probably shouldn’t have been surprised, but her belongings were still where she’d left them. She changed quickly, packed everything up, and put her duffel and sleeping bag in the Jeep. There was no way she’d spend another night at the campsite, and she didn’t want to run the risk of losing anything while people searched the wreckage.

  After only a couple of minutes, a sheriff approached her and requested a statement. Her statement turned into a deposition when they realized she knew the most about what had happened. Nicole gave thorough answers, making sure not to leave anything out. She recognized she was procrastinating inspecting the shed. She didn’t want to be there at the same time as Judith Ann, and the girl seemed determined to stick around.

  While Nicole was talking to the cops, a search and rescue team arrived and started outfitting for their trek through the caverns. She watched as they descended the ramp. Hopefully they’d come out alive.

  After nearly an hour of reporting what she’d seen, followed by writing down everything she could remember, the police finally took her name and number and promised to call when they had more questions. Nicole sighed with relief. She was tired of the smirks of the cops, who probably thought she was insane—though she couldn’t blame them. Saying Agarchs existed was like saying Big Foot had come for a visit. It was ludicrous.

  Nicole shook the officers’ hands, barely paying attention to their good-byes, and braced herself. Time to investigate the shed wreckage.

  She strode across the campsite, stopped outside the doors, and took a breath. Then she walked inside.

  What she found totally shocked and surprised her.

  Nothing had been damaged.

  Not one single thing.

  Sure, the padlocks on both sets of doors had been ripped off, but nothing inside the shed had been touched.

  She stepped outside, listening and watching as Judith Ann ranted to Coolidge about suing him and Nicole and everyone else.

  Why would the girl lie? And so blatantly? Nicole couldn’t comprehend it.

  Austin turned from where he’d just finished talking to an officer and caught her eye. He joined her and glanced into the shed. “So . . . she exaggerated, huh?”

  Nicole nodded. She didn’t trust herself to speak. The only thing she wanted to do was to wring Judith Ann’s neck, demanding the whole time that the girl take back her lies.

  “One search and rescue team is already in the cavern and another is on its way,” Austin said.

  Nicole nodded again. She watched Coolidge placate the very angry Judith Ann. Nicole glowered when they started walking in her direction.

  Austin put his hand on Nicole’s arm. She was so upset, she couldn’t even appreciate his voluntary contact.

  “Um . . . be nice,” he whispered. “There’s something off about her—she’s a little messed up inside, and it’s gotten much worse since we arrived this morning.”

  “Tell me about it,” Nicole hissed.

  Judith Ann stopped in front of Nicole and flung her hand toward the shed. “You saw?”

  Coolidge raised an eyebrow, stepping inside. “What was damaged?”

  Judith Ann’s mouth popped open, forming an O. “Are you blind?” She pointed at Nicole. “And you. You are so going to pay for this.”

  “No, I’m not,” Nicole said. “Nothing’s damaged!”

  Coolidge stepped beside Austin, facing Judith Ann. “None of your father’s equipment has even been touched. Only the padlocks.”

  “And it’s no thanks to any of you,” Judith Ann said. “I’ve been cleaning the place since the sun came up.”

  Austin raised an eyebrow. “That’s not true. We’ve only been here for a couple of hours.”


  Judith Ann glared at him, folding her arms. She stared at them in turn. “I see how it is.” Realizing she wasn’t going to find a sympathetic ear, she huffed and stormed away, flinging more insults and threats back at them.

  Coolidge let out a breath of air. “Unhinged.”

  The other two nodded and Nicole turned to Austin, not wanting to spare another thought on Judith Ann. “There’s a second team coming?”

  “Yes, and possibly a third—over twenty people are missing.”

  Coolidge shook his head. “I wish the first team had waited for me. Do they know what they’re up against?”

  Austin shook his head. “They asked, but I didn’t know what had happened. There’s blood everywhere—we thought everyone was dead.” He glanced at Nicole. “Judith Ann and I both freaked out. I’m sure her reaction is due partially to what we saw.”

  Coolidge ran a hand through his hair. “Better head down and help find survivors, if at all possible.” His gaze flicked to Nicole and Austin. “Lock up here as best you can, get outfitted, and come join me.” He jerked his thumb in the direction of the dirt road. “Stuff’s in the Jeeps. Hurry, please.”

  He walked away, and Nicole attempted to shut the shed door. It wouldn’t close—the padlock was too broken.

  “Let’s try the inside one,” Austin said, leading the way.

  The inner door shut and locked easily. It alone would have to be enough.

  They turned to leave, but Nicole grabbed Austin’s arm, realizing something was missing from the shed.

  She whirled, whipped out her key, and unlocked the door again. It only took a glance to confirm her suspicions.

  “My cello!”

  “What?” Austin asked.

  She turned to him. “It’s gone! Why would they take my cello?”

  A line appeared between his eyebrows. “Will did say they enjoyed the music. Maybe they thought they could use it themselves.”

  Nicole bit her lip, trying to control the urge to scream and cry. “I’d like to see them try to play it.” She folded her arms and glared at the place where she’d last seen her instrument. She couldn’t believe they’d steal it! Did they think she wouldn’t come back, that she’d leave it here in the desert?