Old Man on the Sea (The Lost Keepers Book 6)

by AR Colbert

  CHAPTER 4

  “Are you sure we can trust him?” Dom crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the kitchen counter. Tate had been scowling since he picked me up from Millie’s house. Gayla was the only person who wasn’t furious with me for getting caught by Devon.

  “No, I’m not sure. I barely know the guy. But my aunt sure seems to think highly of him, and despite being her soulmate, he didn’t reveal my secret to her—at least not before I left the house.”

  “I hope you’re right. Millie is best friends with Claudia, and if Claudia finds out about some new white aura, you’re screwed. She won’t hesitate to report it to the council. Her husband has been on thin ice with them lately, and she’ll do anything to get him back into their good graces.”

  “Sean’s dad is on thin ice? Why?” I hadn’t seen Claudia in a few weeks—not since Sean and I first met Gayla and Dom in the Hamptons. But the little I knew of her seemed right in line with what Dom described. She didn’t seem too happy to have Sean involved with a potentially fractured soul even before I started getting myself into trouble. If it weren’t for Millie, Claudia would have reported me long ago.

  “I’m not sure. I just heard they were keeping a closer eye on him,” Dom said.

  “You heard as in someone told you that? Or did you read it in someone’s mind?”

  “The means by which I acquire my information are unimportant.” Dom waved her hand in the air as if shooing the question away.

  “Dom gets all the juicy gossip straight from the source,” Gayla said, tapping her temple with one finger.

  A knock sounded from the door. “I bet that’s him.” I jumped up from my seat to let Devon in. He’d agreed to meet us here after lunch, and I told him we’d fill him in on the details if he would help us out.

  Another impatient knock pounded on the door just before I pulled it open, and the moment I turned the knob, Sean came barreling through. “Looks like your flu is gone, Everly.” It was difficult not to wither under his stern glare.

  Devon slinked in behind him, casting me an apologetic look.

  Apology not accepted. “You had one job,” I growled at Devon. “Come to my apartment without telling anyone. Why was that so difficult?”

  “A better question,” Sean pointed at me, “is why you’ve been lying to me for the past several days. Why didn’t you just tell me you got your pow—” He paused, only just noticing my aura. “Your powers,” He finished, softly.

  “I’m sorry,” Devon said. “But I knew Sean would kill me if he found out I was getting involved with you guys behind his back. Plus, if this is as important as you seem to think it is, having a little finesse on our side will be helpful.”

  “But you didn’t tell Millie?” I chewed the inside of my lip, hoping with everything I had that he at least kept our bargain there.

  “No.” Devon’s mouth pulled into a frown. “I wanted to. And I probably will at some point. But I can’t bear to see her hurting or stressed over this until we know for sure what’s going on. Now, tell me about this aura and why you’re searching for a lighthouse.”

  The guys followed me into the living room, and Sean stopped in front of the couch where Tate sat, not even attempting to hide his glare. “What is he doing here?”

  “Tate was with me when my powers emerged. He saved me from Osborne and rushed me back to the apartment. Plus—he’s the only one who seems to know anything about the prophecy.”

  “Prophecy?” Devon settled cross-legged on the floor in front of our coffee table. “Ooh, this is getting good.”

  Dom filled them in on Gayla’s vision and how we thought it could be related to the prophecy Tate overheard when he was younger. Then Gayla let them know she thought it might all tie back in with my mother’s disappearance somehow, as well. I allowed them to answer the questions and fill in all the blanks. I’d gone over all the details enough, and I was already busy with the next step of our puzzle, anyway.

  As soon as Sean and Devon seemed to have a good grasp on the whole situation, I spun my laptop around and pointed at a list I’d made in a spreadsheet.

  “What is that?” Sean asked.

  “This is a list of lighthouses near here,” I said with a triumphant grin. “I’ve linked to maps and images, so Devon can pop in and out easily. It’s not a comprehensive list by any means, but I figured it would be enough to get us started.”

  “You want me to just pop in and out of lighthouses all along the coast?”

  “Yeah.” I shrugged. “You can do that right?”

  “Well, I can do a few at a time. But teleporting takes a lot out of a person. I only have so much energy to use. Besides, I don’t even know what I’m looking for. How will I know if I’ve found the right one?”

  “There will be an old man there, hiding in the cleft of a rock,” Gayla said.

  “Right.” Devon rubbed at the back of his neck. “I heard. But I’m not sure that’s enough to go on.”

  “It’s gonna have to be. For now anyway.” I gave my best attempt at big round puppy-dog eyes to soften him up.

  “Okay, but can we start tomorrow? Millie is probably already wondering where I am.”

  “I don’t think—”

  “Yes.” Dom interrupted, shooting me a sideways glance. “Tomorrow will be great. Can everyone meet here after lunch?”

  Mumbles of agreement echoed out through the living room, and all the guys stood to leave. Tate hung back for another second though, pulling me off to the side.

  “I think I figured out the whole disguising your aura trick. I’m gonna head down to the library tomorrow morning to see if I can find out anything else about the prophecy. Do you wanna come? I can practice hiding you.”

  “Yes,” I said too quickly. “I mean, if you’re sure you’ll be able to keep me hidden.”

  “Great. I’ll do a practice run before we leave, just to be sure. Meet you here at nine?”

  “It’s a date.” My cheeks warmed. “I mean, not a date, but—”

  Tate grinned. “See you in the morning.”

  I watched him leave, my stomach rolling with an anxious excitement. By this time tomorrow there was a good chance we might be visiting with some supposedly crazy old man in a lighthouse, learning about my true destiny as the Deliverer or whatever. More importantly, I might finally be able to see my mom again soon.

  Dom nudged me, shaking me out of my stupor. “I’d keep my distance from him if I were you.”

  “From who? Tate? He’s harmless now that he can’t kill me and extract my soul.”

  “I certainly wouldn’t call him harmless.”

  “Why? Do you know something I don’t?”

  Dom pursed her lips, and I suspected she knew plenty that she wasn’t telling me. “I can’t be certain, but I think he knows something about your mom.”

  “What?” I grabbed her arm. “Tell me everything you heard.”

  She pulled her arm away, gently. “That’s just it. I didn’t exactly hear anything. But Tate is good. He knows how to hide his thoughts, or at least beguile to the point where I can’t perceive them clearly. But I can’t shake the sense that he isn’t telling you everything he knows.”

  “And are you telling me everything you know?” I paused, realizing the question came out a lot like an accusation. But it seemed like everyone was better informed than me, and once again, they weren’t exactly racing in to lift me out of my ignorance. Not even Dom.

  “I would tell you if I knew more about your mom. I promise. I don’t know any more about where she might be than you do.”

  That wasn’t exactly what I asked, but it was all the answer I needed. Dom wasn’t giving me the whole story. But why? And who was she protecting?

  CHAPTER 5

  Gayla stumbled out of her room the next morning with a messy topknot balancing high on her head and a sleepy grin. “Do you prefer Taterly or Evate? I’m having a hard time settling on your new couple name.”

  “You are ridiculous.” I pull
ed a light jacket off the hook near our door. The mornings were already beginning to cool off here in New York, though it would probably still hit a hundred degrees back in Oklahoma. That was one thing I didn’t miss about home. “And those are both awful. Lucky for you, we’re not in a relationship, so you don’t have to come up with anything better.”

  “Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that, but I don’t think Tate’s done hunting you at all.” She winked and leaned against her bedroom door frame. “You better get downstairs, or you’re gonna be Everlate.”

  I snorted out a laugh. “Alright, that one’s pretty good.”

  “I thought so, too.” She grinned. “You two kids have fun. Don’t do anything I would do.”

  “Ha! Trust me, I won’t. I’ll see you guys after lunch!”

  I pushed open the door and let out a little squeak of surprise to find Tate standing there in the hallway. My face warmed, realizing he’d probably heard us talking about him.

  “Perfect timing.” His crooked grin warmed me even more. He was almost unbearably good looking. “I just walked up.”

  Gayla’s soft giggle trickled out as I shut the door behind me.

  “Alright,” I said, turning back to Tate. “So let’s hear this plan you have to disguise my aura.”

  “We will definitely talk about that. But first—coffee.” He extended his arm and handed me a hot drink from the Honey Pot. Our fingers brushed as I accepted the cup, sending a familiar tingle down my arm. I inhaled the aroma of warm vanilla and espresso with just a touch of something that reminded me of home.

  “What is this?”

  “It’s a cinnamon vanilla latte. I heard it was your favorite.”

  “It is. Thank you.” I closed my eyes and breathed it in again, and when I opened them I caught Tate smiling down at me. Maybe Gayla was right. Could this be the beginning of something?

  Or was I being manipulated, like Dom suggested?

  Wiping the grin from my face, I decided to push away any tender feelings that may be brewing between us and get down to business. “Alright, so how are we gonna hide me?”

  “Well, we’re not going to hide you, exactly. We’re just going to hide your aura. I’ve been looking into it, and I should be able to cover you in a glamour that would hide the aura from everyone else.” He pushed the elevator button and we stepped inside, each of us gluing ourselves to opposite walls. Yep, he definitely felt that same strange connection I did.

  “But you still need to be careful. You’ll have to stay close to me, because the glamour will weaken with too much distance. And if another skilled siren comes along, they may be able to see through it.”

  “Got it.” I extended my arms to the sides. “Well, cover me up. Let’s see if it works.”

  Tate mumbled some incoherent whisper of words and his eyes flared into a warm golden light. I felt nothing, aside from the usual buzz of energy I got from him. But there was no glamour worm in my head or any strange compulsion pushing me forward. Everything felt normal.

  I released a breath. “Did it work?”

  He inclined his head toward me and a muscle twitched at the corner of his mouth. “Of course it worked.”

  The elevator dinged open and I hesitantly followed him into the lobby. It was mostly empty, with a couple of mortals standing off to one side. But there was no way for me to verify if my aura was actually hidden from other Keepers. I couldn’t see it myself.

  “Just to confirm, no one is going to notice anything strange, right?”

  Tate held the front door open for me. “Right. Just act normal.”

  That was easier said than done. I found myself scanning the streets like a guilty criminal, just waiting to be caught by the first Keeper who passed us by. It didn’t take long before we strolled past a group of Columbia students—a mix of Atlanteans and an Olympian. Two of them cast casual glances in our direction, but there was no indication that they noticed anything off.

  “You can relax.” Tate gently touched the small of my back, and his whisper sent a thrill down my spine. I shivered a bit, and he pulled his hand away. “I’ve got you covered.”

  I would just have to trust him. Finally, we reached the Butler library and quietly made our way through the gorgeous stacks of books. The library was one of my favorite places on campus. It held an old world charm, with towering windows and columns, and giant ringed chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. And there were more books than I could ever dream of reading.

  We took the stairs, hoping to avoid any other Agarthian sirens who may be studying in the building. Once we were alone in the stairwell, I finally felt comfortable enough to probe a bit into Tate’s motives.

  “Why are you so interested in this prophecy, anyway?”

  He didn’t seem bothered by the question at all as he spun around the fourth floor landing and continued upward through the building. “Because I never believed it could be real. I’ve been told it’s just folklore my entire life. If it’s real, the whole world could change.”

  It seemed like an honest answer. “Is that why you’re being so nice to me lately, buying me my favorite coffee and whatnot? You think I’m the Deliverer?”

  He paused and I nearly ran into the back of him. Slowly looking over his shoulder, he set his jaw before finally speaking. “I was only hunting you before because it was my job. There’s no need for me to distance myself now that I can’t have your soul.”

  “And are you disappointed that you can’t have my soul?”

  He quirked a brow and started to say something, but stopped. Then he was moving up the stairs again. “I’m interested to see what it means for my position moving forward. I wouldn’t say I’m disappointed. Just curious.”

  I wasn’t sure how not retrieving my soul could possibly affect his position, but the thought was secondary to what I really wanted to know. “You were there the day my mom went missing at the gallery.”

  “Yeah.” He pulled open a door to the sixth floor, and I followed him through, dropping my voice now that we were in the midst of other Keepers again.

  “Do you know anything more about where she might be?”

  “Hello.” An Atlantean girl with a pretty, almost-turquoise aura unknowingly interrupted me as she glanced up from a desk outside of the rare book and manuscript library. She nodded at Tate, then pinned me with a hard stare. “I’m afraid the reading room is open by appointment only.”

  “She’s with me,” Tate said.

  The girl shook her head. “Appointment only,” she repeated.

  Tate dropped his voice to a whisper, though no one else was around. “She’s Atlantean. She just hasn’t gotten her powers yet.”

  The girl’s eyes narrowed, and my heart thudded against my chest under her scrutinous gaze. “I don’t—”

  “It’s fine,” Tate said, the melodies of his voice dancing together in a song I didn’t want to end. The girl nodded and allowed us to enter the reading room.

  “Did you glamour her?”

  “I had to. You Atlanteans can be really uptight with the rules, sometimes. She’s not supposed to allow mortals into the room, and I didn’t think she would budge without a little encouragement.”

  “Why aren’t mortals allowed in here?” The room wasn’t terribly impressive, though it was obvious we were surrounded by some incredibly valuable pieces of history.

  “Because of this.” Tate stepped between two stacks of books and placed his hands on either side of a glass case holding an old oil painting. No one outside of the reading room could see us between the stacks, and we were the only people within the room. He slid his hands down the edges of the case until he found whatever it was he was looking for. With a small creak, the entire wall panel lurched forward like a hidden doorway, and Tate gestured for me to go ahead.

  Stepping through to the other side was like entering a whole new world. The dusty-smelling reading room behind us couldn’t compare to the life that buzzed on the other side of the wall. It was an enormous room hidden in the cente
r of the building, with massively high arched ceilings and exquisite details carved into the rich woodwork of the mouldings. Two-story shelves created short aisles down the sides of the large room, and cozy nooks with armchairs, desks, or tables occupied the spaces between the rows. The whole room felt alive, and there wasn’t another mortal in sight.

  Clusters of Keeper students gathered in many of the nooks, working together on projects and quietly quizzing one another in their studies. None of them looked up at us as we made our way through the room. The only person who seemed to notice us at all was an Olympian girl sitting behind the massive desk in the center of the space. She appeared to be a point of contact for anyone who had questions, and she stumbled over her response to an Agarthian boy as her eyes settled on me and Tate. He quickly shoved me into an empty nook, out of the girl’s sight.

  “Sit here,” he said, pointing to an empty table. “Pretend you’re studying. Don’t speak to anyone or look up from this book until I get back. I’m going to explain ourselves to Lydia. She definitely saw you come in.”

  “Did she see my aura?”

  “No. That’s the problem. I could get into major trouble if she reports me for bringing a mortal into the Keepers’ library. I’ll let her know you’re Atlantean. You just stay here.”

  I slid into my seat, eyeing the book Tate had randomly pulled off of one of the shelves for me to pretend to study. Arbitration: Settling Disputes Across Keeper Races. My eyes crossed before I even got to the end of the title. Surely there had to be something a little more interesting for me to read until Tate got back. Since no one else was around my little hiding nook, I decided to take just a quick moment to scan the shelves for a different book. I wouldn’t go far—just the shelves immediately bordering my table.

  That was my plan, anyway, until I heard Osborne on the other side of the stacks.