“Make sure you use that Makalo stuff and get some good sleep tonight,” Sanso said. “I’ll see you again tomorrow.”
They walked to the abandoned building. When they reached it, Jacob was just stepping through the door. He stared back and forth between Nicole and Sanso. “How was it?” he asked.
“Fine,” Nicole said. “He actually taught me things.”
Sanso snorted. “Of course I did.”
The Ember God strode around the corner of the building, and Jacob let Nicole through the link ahead of him. “Seriously, how did it go?” he asked.
“He’s weird. Insane. Intense.” Nicole held up her hands, showing the bruises that were forming. “And really good at fighting.”
“Yes, he is,” Jacob said.
The same servant from before helped Nicole with Kaede sap bandages, then Jacob took her home. The moment Nicole walked through her door, she picked up her phone and called her boyfriend.
“It’s so good to hear your voice,” she breathed in relief when he answered.
They talked until Austin had to go to class. Nicole set her phone down, then wandered through her apartment. She was restless, lonely, bored. She needed something to keep her mind active. Sleep would be good, but it was much too early for that, regardless of how much healing she needed.
She decided to pop some popcorn and watch a movie until Lizzie got back.
***
Nicole’s practice session with Sanso the next day didn’t happen. Right before Jacob was scheduled to pick her up, Professor Coolidge called.
“Nicole!” he said the minute she picked up. “I’ve found the owner of the last talisman!”
Nicole gasped. “You’re serious? That’s fantastic!”
Coolidge agreed, then said, “He—John—is living in Alaska. Our dimension. We’re heading there immediately—Jacob is on his way.”
They ended the call and Nicole raced around, gathering things she might need for a trip to the coldest state in the U.S. during spring.
“Lizzie!” she called out. “Get your stuff—you’re coming.” Lizzie only had one class on Friday, and Nicole knew she’d be okay with missing it.
Nicole hesitated near her closet. Her phone said it was currently 35 degrees in Anchorage. She had no idea where they’d end up, but if their visit went overnight, it would be absolutely freezing. Did she even have the proper winter clothes? She knew better than to assume that the man lived in an igloo, but how much time would they all be spending outside?
Nicole ended up wearing three shirts, two sweaters, two pairs of pants, and a thick pair of tights. With Lizzie’s help, she stuffed herself into a long, heavy coat. She pulled a hat over her ears and tucked her scarf around her mouth, then waited for Jacob to arrive while Lizzie tugged on a coat. She refused to wear triple layers. Nicole hoped she wouldn’t regret it.
Jacob walked through the door wearing a light jacket, and Nicole felt her cheeks burn. He chuckled when he saw her.
“Hey,” she said. “You never know when a trip to Alaska might go badly.”
“True, true.” Jacob chuckled again. “Ready?”
The three of them swung by Coolidge’s place where the professor and Austin were waiting before keying to John’s house in Alaska. Both men were dressed like Jacob, and though neither said anything about Nicole’s attire, she saw Austin’s lips quirking before he turned away, probably to grin.
Whatever.
John was ready for their visit. He was sitting in an armchair, facing the door. A quick glance around the room told Nicole that the chair had originally been facing the large TV hanging on the wall.
John’s eyes lingered on Nicole’s clothes for a moment, and she didn’t miss the smile raising the corner of his mouth before he turned to Professor Coolidge.
“I wasn’t quite honest with you,” he said. “I don’t trust cell phones or landlines—not with that man searching for talismans.”
“‘That man?’” Coolidge asked, looking like he was scrambling to figure out what was going on—what John had been dishonest about.
“He didn’t give a name but said he worked for Keitus.”
Coolidge nodded, and Nicole wondered if he’d told John who Keitus was. She didn’t know what information had already been shared.
“What do you mean, you weren’t honest with me?” Coolidge asked.
“Well, I figured the best way to protect the talisman was to make it so no one could get to it. Within reason, of course.”
“Where is it now?” Austin asked.
“I’m a geologist. I’ve been studying recent earthquake activity a couple hundred miles from the North Pole. I left the talisman up there.” John held up a finger before anyone could say anything. “I enchanted it to prevent shortcuts in reaching it. The only way someone will be able to remove it is if they walk every foot of the way from this apartment.”
He smiled at them, looking extremely pleased with himself. “You’ve got many months to stop Keitus before the minion he sent finds the talisman.”
Coolidge didn’t look satisfied, though. “Was the ‘minion’ human?”
The man looked confused. “I assume so. Why?”
“Because a human making that trip versus one of the creatures Keitus might hire to do it . . . There’s a huge difference. Some of the monsters from Keitus’s current dimension are quite fast—their ‘walk’ is triple ours in speed. And they don’t need sleep, food, and breaks the way a human would.”
A troubled expression crossed John’s face. “Um . . . huh. Well, that’s an excellent point. Either way, there’s something more important you should be doing.”
“What’s that?” Nicole asked.
“Stopping Keitus from reaching a physical body. He will get the talisman eventually, but there’s only one body he wants. I suggest you remove it from his reach.”
“How do you know about this?” Lizzie asked.
The man turned his gaze to her. “The talisman I had weakens. When I was first visited by one of Keitus’s servants, I used it on him until he told me what his boss’s plans were. Made him forget why he was here, buying me time to hide my most prized possession.”
“Is the information to be trusted?” Austin asked.
The man shrugged. “I haven’t found that people lie when I use my talisman on them—they are generally distracted enough to tell the truth.”
“So, which body is he wanting to use?” Nicole asked.
“One from an ancient Arete named Helen.”
Lizzie’s jaw dropped, and she and Nicole met eyes. Could it be? No way.
“Helen?” Lizzie asked. “Do you know anything about her?”
John shrugged again. “Well, she’s insane. And from what I’ve heard, she got slighted by a man a long time ago.”
Lizzie leaned forward. “Anything else? I mean, that’s not a lot to go off of, you know? Lots of women get slighted.”
The man glanced at her. “Sure—there are all sorts of legends about her. After trying to convince him to go with her, she went mad and possessed a statue. It’s said that storms in the Northwest are her way of trying to bring him back to her.”
Lizzie squeaked. “It’s my Helen!” she said. “Oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh.” She started shaking, her eyes wide, her face pale. But when she spoke, her voice was strong and clear. “I’ve finally got my chance. I’m going to meet her in person. I’m going to make her pay for what she did to me.”
Coolidge started shaking his head before Lizzie had even finished talking. “It’s not a good idea,” he said. “She’s insane—she’s dangerous.”
Lizzie glared at him. “Don’t you dare think about stopping me or telling me I can’t go. We all know the only way we’re going to put an end to this madness with Keitus is by preventing him from getting what he wants. He wants Helen’s body, and I’m going to be there to stop it from happening. After all, I’m the one she nearly killed!”
Nicole’s mouth had popped open sometime during Lizzie’s outburst. S
he’d never, ever seen Lizzie so determined or forceful.
“I agree with her,” Nicole said. “She needs to be there—she needs the closure.”
Lizzie flashed Nicole a grateful smile, then turned her glare back on Coolidge until he held up his hands in surrender.
Satisfied, Lizzie relaxed again, everyone thanked John for his information, and Jacob keyed the group to their respective places.
“Can John be trusted?” Nicole asked Jacob when he opened the link to her apartment after dropping Coolidge and Austin off.
Jacob nodded. “I’m afraid so,” he said. “He was telling the truth.”
Nicole closed her eyes. “So, I have to find a way to get past that Fire Pulser regardless.”
“Why?” Lizzie asked. “If we can stop Keitus from reaching Helen, you won’t ever need to face Lasia.”
Nicole and Jacob were both shaking their heads. “No,” Jacob said. “Part of stopping Keitus is getting all of the talismans, especially since knowing their location means knowing his.”
“Why can’t we approach Helen first?” Lizzie asked.
“We probably could,” Jacob said, “but it’s only putting a Band-Aid on the situation—he’ll just find another body. For all we know, he’s contacted multiple people who are all willing and ready to give him control.”
Nicole sighed. “Besides, I’m a guardian of Shonlin. I’m the only one who can protect it from Lasia. And I’m not about to slack off on that.”
She felt her heart warm with her conviction—she’d fully accepted her responsibility. A brief vision entered her mind of the current guardian, and a connection to him warmed her heart even more as he witnessed her internal declaration and matched it with a promise of his own to help her as much as he could.
Nicole would protect Shonlin, and he would protect her. She breathed deeply, relieved. When Lasia had first attacked, she hadn’t realized the guardian could help at all. She’d been surprised he’d opened that door, thereby saving her life. He wouldn’t be able to accompany her into the forest, but she was sure he’d do everything he could to make her task easier somehow.
Lizzie slumped into the couch in their living room. “Hey, I tried to get you off the hook.”
Nicole smiled, sitting next to her best friend. “And I appreciate it. Really, I do.”
Jacob glanced at his watch. “Nicole, are you ready for your next training session with Sanso?”
Nicole sighed, sinking into the plush cushions. “I guess.”
“Where’s your dedication and conviction now?” Lizzie teased.
“Easy for you to say when you’re not the one having to train with a creepy, non-human guy who controls fire.”
“Hmmm. Sounds intriguing—maybe you should introduce us.” Lizzie grinned to show she was joking, then said, “Have fun with him. Relax. Enjoy it.”
Nicole raised an eyebrow. “Are you serious?”
“Why not?”
Nicole couldn’t even entertain the thought and decided not to respond. She procrastinated a moment longer, then pushed herself from the comfortable couch. “All right, let’s go,” she said to Jacob.
Sanso was waiting when she arrived. He grabbed Jacob’s arm immediately. “Bring some of that healing stuff. A lot of it.”
Jacob nodded and opened a link to the Makalo village. Nicole saw Akeno on the other side of the door, sitting at a table, going through papers and books. As soon as Jacob relayed Sanso’s request, the Makalo gathered a ton of supplies into a box, which Jacob handed off to the Ember God. Then he left Nicole and Sanso to practice.
Nicole’s eyes dropped to the box. “We’re going to be playing with fire today?” She flushed as soon as the words were out of her mouth, hoping Sanso hadn’t caught the unintended innuendo.
He stared at her until she looked up at him, then he smiled, his eyes lingering on her lips before rising to her eyes. “In more ways than one.”
Nicole felt herself flushing even more. She could have kicked herself for not thinking her words through. He did not need encouragement.
Sanso shifted the box to his other arm and casually took Nicole by the hand, leading her into the forest. Nicole cringed, her arm stiffening at his touch. Should she bring up Austin again? Would Sanso even get the hint? She was taken. She wasn’t interested in returning any affections of his whatsoever.
Once they’d traveled far enough to satisfy Sanso, he dropped the box and turned to Nicole. “Ready?”
She half crouched, prepared for Sanso to pounce at her. Instead, his hands started flaming, dripping fire, and the amulet around his neck glowed even more. He grinned at her, and before Nicole could change her defense, a fireball was rushing toward her. She ducked, rolled, but not before getting the side of her face burned. Ouch.
She landed on the soft leaves and pine needles, flexing the muscles in her face, hesitating before tenderly touching her cheek. It must have scared her more than anything because it didn’t hurt more than a sunburn.
Sensing Sanso approaching, Nicole rolled over, jumping to her feet. She blocked his attack at the last second.
“Very good,” Sanso growled, his face only inches from hers.
He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close. “Very, very good,” he breathed, pressing his forehead against hers.
Nicole struggled out of his embrace. “Knock it off, Sanso,” she said. Just to show she was serious, she punched him in the gut. The wind rushed from his lungs and he doubled over.
“Point taken,” he gasped.
“Good.”
The next couple of hours went quickly as Sanso continued showing Nicole more defensive moves. This practice was even more painful than the last due to the addition of his fire. She soon had burns everywhere. Her clothing was charred, and her skin stung and throbbed.
Nicole held up her hand when he came again for another attack right after a rough and fierce skirmish. “I can’t . . . I can’t . . .” she gasped, dropping to the ground. “I’m done . . . for today.”
Sanso slowed, leaning against a tree. She was satisfied to see that he was panting too.
His eyes didn’t leave her as she gingerly put her head in her hands. “It doesn’t matter what I do,” she said, “I’m never going to be able to fight Lasia. I simply don’t have the skills to fight someone who practically explodes every thirty seconds. And I don’t have the time to learn them, even if it is possible to defeat her.”
“Not with an attitude like that, you won’t.”
Nicole glared at him. “I’d like to see you fight her.”
He shrugged, pushing off the tree with his shoulder and joining her on the forest carpet. “I’ve already fought—and beat—a Fire Pulser. I don’t need to do it again.”
Nicole didn’t respond. She stared at a little tree just starting to grow a few feet in front of her.
Sanso reached over and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Why are you doing this, anyway?”
Nicole pulled away from him, not liking that his touch didn’t creep her out this time. She hoped she wasn’t getting used to him. “Because no one else can.”
“So?”
Nicole glanced at him, surprised for a moment before remembering who she was talking to. “Obviously, you’re not going to understand my need to protect those I care about.”
Sanso jerked away from her. “You don’t know anything about me,” he snarled.
Nicole held her breath, trying not to show her fear over his sudden temper.
The Ember God blinked several times, then his anger melted away as quickly as it had come. “That isn’t your fault . . .” His voice trailed off, and he stared out toward the city. “I’ve learned the hard way that some battles aren’t worth fighting.”
“Yeah, and so have I. This one is worth fighting.”
Sanso stared at her for several moments. “We should get you home. You’re done fighting for today.”
Nicole agreed with that. She had Early take a message to Jacob. He was stuck taking a test and
promised to come as soon as he could.
Sanso didn’t wait around to make sure Nicole made it back okay. He pushed the box of Kaede sap toward her, then left. She had no idea where he went, but she was grateful to be alone.
Too tired to care any longer, Nicole rubbed Kaede sap over the more tender parts of her body, hoping sleep would heal the rest.
She took her time getting back to the city, careful not to further injure herself. By the time she reached the abandoned building, Jacob was already there.
***
The moment Nicole woke up the next morning, she realized how stupid she’d been for not using more Kaede sap the night before. She was stiff and sore and bruised. And her burns, though not serious, weren’t in any better shape.
Vowing not to make the same mistake twice, Nicole requested extra Kaede sap before meeting Sanso.
And need it she did. He fought even harder and nastier than he had the day before. Only twenty minutes passed before Nicole was in so much pain, she couldn’t move anymore. She gasped, clutching her thigh where a horrible burn had developed when her pants caught fire.
Sanso took one look at the burn, then grabbed Nicole’s purse, rummaging through it. “Where’s that Makalo juice?” he asked.
Nicole moaned, unable to think over the screaming pain in her leg.
Sanso shook Nicole. “Where is it?”
“Backpack . . . over there . . .” She pointed in the rough direction of the tree she’d leaned the bag against.
Sanso disappeared, then reappeared seconds later, dumping items all over the forest floor next to Nicole. He quickly mixed the appropriate things together—Nicole wasn’t sure how he knew what he was doing, but was grateful he did—then applied soaked cloths to her leg. She whimpered when the cold material touched the sensitive skin.
Apparently, her leg wasn’t the only thing burned because Sanso didn’t stop when he’d finished with her thigh. He put the cloths over her foot, left arm, and forehead too.
Soon, waves of exhaustion started rolling over Nicole. The pain began fading to the background, and she struggled to keep her eyes open.
Enshroud, Mosaic Chronicles Book Eight Page 8
