“He asked me for my number,” Lizzie said. “Technically, that’s the first move. And I don’t think it would bother him anyway.”
Nicole nodded, noticing that Lizzie hadn’t actually answered her question. “All right. Let’s party!”
***
The evening was fun, relaxing, and exactly as it should have been. Gabriel was awesome. Nicole could tell he was way into Lizzie, and she really hoped this relationship would be one that lasted.
They all cooked dinner, baked cookies, and she and Austin got in a lot of snuggles and kisses.
Nicole sighed, leaning against the couch, her fingers threaded through Austin’s. Unbidden, her thoughts turned to the next morning, and she struggled with making them go somewhere else. She pressed her face into Austin’s chest, refusing to allow desperation to ruin the evening.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, smoothing her hair out of her face.
“Just freaking out about tomorrow.”
Austin made a rumbling sound deep in his chest. “I wish I could go.”
Nicole nodded, not trusting herself to talk. She hated that she had to do it alone.
All too soon, the evening came to an end, Gabriel left, and Nicole kissed her boyfriend goodbye. “See you in the morning?” she asked.
He trailed his fingers down the side of her face. “I’ll be here.”
“Good.”
***
Austin showed up bright and early. Nicole was still asleep when he tossed a pebble at her window.
She pulled it open, rubbing her face. “So early?” she asked.
“It’s after nine,” he said.
Nicole looked back at her alarm clock. “Wow. Yeah, I didn’t fall asleep until almost four. Come on up.”
She changed her clothes and brushed her teeth and hair, pulling her hair into a high ponytail. She should have washed it, but didn’t want to spend any unnecessary time away from Austin. Plus, she didn’t think cleanliness would impress the Fire Pulser. She’d be covered in Kaede sap anyway, so there wasn’t a point in showering.
“You look beautiful,” Austin said, caressing her face.
Nicole chuckled. “I’m glad you think so.”
He wrapped his arms around her and nestled into her neck. “Mmmm . . . and you smell good too.”
Nicole giggled, pushing him away. “Stop that. I haven’t showered.”
“I love your smell.”
She took him by the hand and led him into the kitchen, where they made pancakes, bacon, and eggs.
Lizzie joined them, fully dressed, hair and makeup done, and said, “I’m coming with you to the castle or the fortress or wherever you’re leaving from. In fact, I’m going as far as the magic of Shonlin will let me.”
Nicole already knew Austin had similar plans. She felt her heart swell, nearly choking her with love for these two. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have them in her life.
When Jacob arrived, they were all fed and ready to go.
***
Nicole sucked in while Lizzie helped her do up the buckles on the fireproof clothes. Pambri bustled around her, tucking Kaede-sap-soaked cloths into her pockets and smearing the stuff on her exposed skin. Nicole fingered the extra fireproof tubes of sap in the little knapsack she’d be keeping in the library. Hopefully, she’d be able to leave the forest long enough to put more on if necessary. Hopefully.
Everyone waited in the library—literally, everyone. Austin, Coolidge and a nauseated-looking Hayla, Azuriah, Dmitri and Arien, the Fat Lady, Akeno and Jacob, Sweet Pea, and Aldo.
Austin was pacing between the bathroom door and the library. Even when Nicole emerged, he didn’t stop pacing for several moments.
“Hey,” she whispered when he neared. “I’m going to be okay.”
He shook his head, but didn’t say anything. His hands went tight around her waist, though, and if she weren’t coated in the sap, he would probably have held her closer.
“I know a lot of you want me to take you too,” Jacob said, “but only Nicole, Akeno, and I will be going. If an emergency happens, I’ll need to have as much power saved up as possible. I won’t be able to help Nicole if I’m transporting people back and forth.”
Lizzie and Austin both looked crestfallen, and Nicole felt it too. It would have helped so much having them just outside the door.
Everyone indicated that they understood, and Jacob took Nicole and Akeno’s hands as Austin started pacing again.
“Good luck,” Coolidge said.
Jacob glanced around at the people present. “Say your goodbyes.”
Austin froze, his anguished eyes on Nicole. He stepped back, though, letting everyone else approach her first.
Lizzie jumped at Nicole, throwing her arms around her, crying and sobbing. Nicole barely resisted crying too. She squeezed her friend’s shoulder, trying not to get Kaede sap on Lizzie’s clothes.
Coolidge shook her hand, and Hayla gave her a gentle hug. “Thanks for planning the baby shower,” she whispered. “You’d better come back for it.”
After everyone else had taken the opportunity to say goodbye, Austin finally strode across the room and grabbed her by the shoulders. “I love you, Nicole. I can’t bear to be without you.”
Nicole could only nod in response. She loved him so much. Her chest constricted just thinking she might not see him ever again.
He let go of her when Jacob took up her hand.
“Please, please be careful,” Austin said. “And come back to me.”
“I will—I promise.”
Right as Jacob was warming Nicole’s hand, Austin blurted out, “Marry me?”
Everything flashed around her as Jacob’s magic took her away from Azuriah’s fortress and the man she loved, past Gratitude city in the past, and into the Edana library in the present.
Nicole couldn’t swallow, couldn’t think. Had Austin just proposed? Holy cow. She couldn’t believe it.
She felt two pairs of eyes on her and realized she’d closed her own. She opened them and looked first at Jacob, then Akeno. Neither said anything for several seconds.
Jacob cleared his throat. “Sorry,” he said. “If I’d known he was about to ask, I wouldn’t have taken you away.”
Nicole shook her head and breathed deeply. “It’s not your fault.” Her chest began warming, and her fingers tingled. A wave of positive feelings cascaded over her as her ring also started warming. Holy cow! Austin had proposed!
“So . . .” Jacob started. “Is it too personal to ask what your response would have been?”
Nicole didn’t hesitate. “It would have been—I mean, it will be—yes.”
Jacob grinned. “I figured as much. Congratulations.”
“Thanks,” Nicole said, but she didn’t feel like celebrating just yet. She needed to get focused on her upcoming fight with Lasia.
“We’ll be waiting for you as close to Shonlin as we can get,” Jacob said.
Nicole nodded and took a step in that direction. “If Austin contacts you, tell him I love him, but don’t say anything else, okay? I want to do it myself in person.”
“Of course,” Jacob said.
Nicole took a deep breath and entered Shonlin. The guardian was there, waiting. He followed her warily, not saying anything about the Kaede sap. She had half wondered if he would—if he’d think it was magic.
She set down her knapsack of food, water, and extra Kaede sap near the corner of the room, then closed her eyes for several moments before picking up the lantern. Was she ready? Could she do this? Did she have a choice? She knew the answer to that last question. This was her duty as a guardian.
The wall dissolved when she lifted the lantern, revealing the familiar warm and inviting forest. She might not live—it was very probable that she wouldn’t. But at least she had something to live for. She would return to Austin.
Chapter Eight
The forest was quiet, calm. The usual sensation of hundreds of eyes wasn’t there. All of the attention se
emed to be gathered toward the one glowing ball hovering in the forest at least a hundred paces in front of Nicole.
She approached it, uncertain, hesitant, making sure she didn’t think of anything other than Lasia. Where was the Fire Pulser?
Nicole stopped walking toward the ball and instead stepped off the path. Onyev hadn’t ever warned her not to do that, and she figured he would have if it was important.
The ferns rustled around her feet and ankles, hushing her, calming her. Peace, they seemed to say. It helped her nerves. The forest was on her side. Even if that didn’t end up saving her, just knowing it was a relief.
Nicole heard the pop she’d been waiting for, and a blast of fire exploded in her direction, destroying the calm.
She dropped and rolled, keeping the lantern tightly clutched in her fist. She gritted her teeth. There was no way she could fight Lasia while holding that dang thing. Would she be able to find it again if she set it down? Onyev didn’t know everything about it—maybe the forest would suck it away from her once she let go. Did she dare try?
No, she didn’t. The forest had many secrets—she wasn’t about to learn them all on her own. At least not yet—she’d use that as a last resort.
Feeling weird for leaving as soon as she’d come, she returned to the guardian to ask her question.
“The lantern only grants entrance, and therefore exit, to the person holding it,” he said, his voice monotonous and his eyes closed.
Nicole’s thoughts started spinning. He hadn’t said that anything bad would happen if she put it down while in the forest. “Can two people go, if both are holding the lantern? Or if the second person is touching the first?”
The guardian didn’t respond for a moment, and Nicole almost turned away. But then he said, “Neither has ever been tried.”
Nicole thanked him and again entered the forest. She took a deep breath and carefully set the lantern down. Nothing happened at first, but then, the door into the library completely disappeared. Endless forest extended away from Nicole in all directions, and a disorienting sensation of vertigo struck her. That sensation went away, though, as she leaned against a tree trunk. Lasia didn’t attack—perhaps she didn’t know Nicole was there again.
Just to be sure, Nicole picked up the lantern and watched as the doorway returned. Good. She put down the lantern again and turned her back on it. The disorienting sensation wasn’t as strong this time.
But then Nicole bit her lip. Would she be able to find the lantern again if she left it? The trees here looked almost the same as they did everywhere else. Too bad she hadn’t considered this dilemma a long time ago. It would have been smart to have a plan.
Spotting a section of brush that was much thicker than the rest of the forest, Nicole grabbed the lantern and stepped off the path, crouching through the tall ferns in the deeper shadows. She burrowed the lantern deeply into the underbrush, doing her best to keep its light covered by leaves without allowing them to catch fire. She memorized its location.
Nicole looked around. The Fire Pulser wasn’t in sight, and the glowing light was behind trees and a ways off. She tilted her head, staring at the trees themselves. The last time she’d been here—and even just minutes ago—the Fire Pulser had flamed them all. They barely showed the scars now, though, and fresh leaves covered them. She breathed a sigh of relief. The forest healed quickly. Thank goodness.
She started forward, walking as quietly as she could. Sanso had taught her about walking through underbrush without catching attention, but it didn’t seem to matter how careful she was—her steps crunched slightly. She cringed each time. No one would ever confuse her for a Native American.
Nicole slowed even more when she reached a large oak tree. She turned and pressed her back to it, keeping it between her and the orb, taking a deep breath. She felt the Fire Pulser’s magical presence. How did Lasia’s powers work here, and not Nicole’s? Was it because the fire was so much a part of what made Lasia?
The magic coming off the creature like heat waves was hard to ignore. Lasia was practically begging for a fight, for something, anything to entertain her.
For a moment, Nicole felt pity for the beast. She pushed it aside, though. The Fire Pulser had made her choice. She’d deserted Onyev and his guardians, not the other way around.
Nicole had to try to catch the Fire Pulser off guard. But how?
As she pressed farther into the oak tree, she breathed deeply into her nose and out through her mouth. She didn’t know where she would go or what she would do now that she was here, but she realized that standing around wasn’t going to help. She opened her eyes and gazed at the forest in front of her.
She could barely see the lantern’s handle poking up through the underbrush, and she was surprised to see that the usual slight mist had already started to form in the air. The small water particles hovered, barely moving with a breeze so gentle, she couldn’t feel it.
A few years ago, Nicole and her parents had traveled to Toronto. Something like this had happened while they’d been there. Apparently, with one-hundred-percent humidity, it was fairly common to have rain that didn’t actually fall.
As she had walked through that air in Toronto, Nicole had slowly become soaked. The forest here was pretty much the same, though she hadn’t ever really paid attention to it before. It surprised her now because she had just seen the Fire Pulser blaze through everything with her flames.
The fact that there was so much new water in the air was encouraging. It felt good, wholesome. This place craved health and goodness. She was sure, then, that the forest wanted to be rid of Lasia as much as Nicole wanted to survive. The goal was the same, really. Lasia was dangerous to Shonlin and Nicole.
She only wished she could use her powers to pull some of the water from the air to douse the Fire Pulser—to keep her consistently drenched.
Nicole finally pushed off from the tree and turned around, trying to see the Fire Pulser. The only thing visible besides the trees and underbrush, though, was that slightly pulsing light ahead. She took a couple of steps toward it.
She hesitated again, though. She needed to try something different, something Lasia wouldn’t expect. So instead of heading straight for Lasia, she began zigzagging through the forest, inching closer and closer, first left, then right. She paused behind another large tree, dropped to the forest floor, and peeked through the underbrush. Lasia was still looking in her direction.
A pop sounded, and Nicole barely prepared herself for the blast that exploded through the forest.
“Dang it,” she whispered.
How was she going to do this? She wrung her hands, knowing she had to stop putting off the inevitable, but feeling so very underprepared.
She decided to circle around the Fire Pulser and see if anything new was visible from the other side.
Nicole started to the right and carefully crossed the path, heading in a huge circle around Lasia.
Once behind the Fire Pulser, she inched toward the beast again. But once more, Lasia was already facing her. It was as if she had an internal magnet—a Nicole-seeking one.
There was no way for her to sneak up on Lasia, so a more direct attack would be appropriate. Wanting to be on the side of the Fire Pulser that was closest to the lantern, Nicole continued her large circle, ending it where she’d started. She felt hundreds of eyes on her. She couldn’t tell if the presences were happy that she was there or not. She had to assume the eyes belonged to the forest, though. She wanted to assume that. And the forest was on her side.
Maybe she could reason with Lasia. She moved as close to the Fire Pulser as she could without making Lasia feel like she was about to engage in physical combat, then crouched in the underbrush, keeping a tree between the two of them.
“Hey, Lasia!” Nicole called out.
She waited for a moment, but no one said anything. She almost didn’t expect Lasia to respond.
“So, I know about the arrangement between you and Keitus,” Nicole continued. Sh
e decided that trying to hold a casual conversation was probably her best bet at this point. “Well, at least part of it.” Nicole sighed. “What I don’t understand is how you can turn your back on everything you know—on everyone who trusted and loved you.”
Nicole heard something that sounded like a chuckle or a snort—she couldn’t be sure what it was.
“So,” Nicole said. “What did Keitus promise you?”
Lasia made that sound again. She responded, and Nicole really had to strain to understand the Pulser’s scratchy and inhuman voice. “More than you can offer.”
“He’s getting you powers, right?” Nicole asked.
“Your human brain could never understand.”
Nicole hesitated. A little pop sounded, and she ducked down just in time as fire roared overhead. Once the flames ended, she turned and peered through the underbrush.
Her jaw dropped as she noticed something. The Fire Pulser was tied in place. She was guarding the light, yes, that was evident, but she was also fixed to it by a long, loose cord. The cord wrapped around her wrist, snaked along the forest floor, and led up to the glowing light, disappearing into it. Why? Why would she be bribed to protect the orb and tied down at the same time? Was Lasia an unwilling servant of Keitus? That wasn’t believable—not from what she had just said. She’d been smug, sure of herself in the reward Keitus had promised.
Nicole pondered this new information. She needed to leave, reassess the situation, and return when she had a better game plan. What she knew now changed everything, and before she could attack, she needed to figure out what Keitus had done here.
Not saying anything else to Lasia, she left the forest, feeling her Kaede sap stop functioning. Just as she reached the lantern, Lasia pulsed another time. The flames licked at the edges of Nicole’s clothes, singeing her hair and skin.
Relief rushed over her as she saw the door to the library opening. She stepped inside, prepared to sit in the corner of the room and do some serious thinking, but she hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should go talk to Jacob and Akeno instead. If she did, Akeno would give her the opportunity to rest and heal in a Minya container.
Enshroud, Mosaic Chronicles Book Eight Page 14
