“But not all Aretes are bad or evil.”
“They did nothing to earn their powers. Abilities like that should be earned, not left to chance.”
Nicole knew that arguing with her mother would defeat the purpose of trying to get her to believe that Nicole was having a change of heart. So she only nodded in response. “And you’re okay with it?”
“With what?”
“Having me destroyed too.”
Tiffany hesitated. “Not really. You are my daughter, after all. But as I keep my eye on the ultimate goal—fairness and equality for all—it’s easier to push aside my feelings.”
Nicole blinked. That was the closest Tiffany had ever come to expressing affection for her child.
“I’m willing to not get married—to not have kids—if it means staying alive. I’ve barely started living, Mother. I’m not ready to die yet.” The lies and half-truths rolled off her tongue much easier than she thought they would. Rebecca had been right—as long as Nicole told as much truth as possible, the lies would be easier to disguise.
“I understand. I’m sure Rebecca and her group will listen to your plea.”
“Rebecca said that you and Dad are members of the Tarian group.”
Tiffany tilted her head. “I’m surprised she told you.”
“So, it’s true?”
“Of course.”
“She said I’d find out soon enough.”
“She’s right.” Tiffany grabbed a calendar, pulling it near. “In fact, you would have found out next Wednesday at the annual Christmas Eve party.”
Nicole raised an eyebrow. “It’s weird to me that the Tarians celebrate Christmas.”
Tiffany waved that off with a flick of her hand. “It shouldn’t be. Christmas has been a part of the culture here much longer than Tarian groups have existed.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell us?”
“Tell you what?”
“That you and Dad are Tarians.”
“It wasn’t important.”
“What? Yes, it—” Nicole closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She couldn’t afford to lose her patience now. Not when things seemed to be going so well. Time for another lie. “Okay, we’ll discuss that later. For now, I’d like to learn more about their philosophy.”
“That can be arranged. We were planning on presenting you to our local chapter at the party.”
“On Christmas Eve.”
Tiffany nodded. “Yes. In the meantime . . .” She unlocked a cabinet next to her and pulled out a file. “Go through this. Acquaint yourself with the members of our group. You’ll want to know their names and positions before Wednesday night.”
Nicole took the folder, laying it in her lap. She wanted to open it then, but decided that doing it in the privacy of her own room would be better. “Can I take it?”
“As long as you don’t lose it or get it dirty.”
Nicole held back an eye roll. “Thanks.”
Tiffany opened her laptop, signaling the end of the conversation, and Nicole got to her feet and exited the room, shutting the door behind her. She checked the time on her phone—thirty minutes before dinner would be served—and returned to her room to examine the file.
The first sheet of paper had a list of board members. The next several pages went into detail about those members—pictures, contact information, family, known Arete relatives, and prior activity in the group.
Dad wasn’t on the board, but Nicole was unsurprised to see that Tiffany was the secretary. She’d always been good at keeping things organized, including her emotions for her children, which she kept securely tucked away.
The last few pages gave information about all the other Tarian groups around the world. Only an address was given for each. Nicole took a picture with her cell of the information on the Seattle group, noticing that the address was incomplete. In fact, all of them were—only a city, state, and zip code were included. In a big city like Seattle, a zip code would help narrow things down, but not enough.
There were groups on every continent. Most were in Europe and North America, with South America and Africa coming in next. Asia and Central America had the least number of groups. Nicole wondered about that. Asia made sense—a lot of it was led by communist governments that would probably prohibit a group like the Tarians. But why Central America? Maybe they were humbler and nicer and actually appreciated their Aretes.
Nicole flipped back to the information on the board members. She noticed that one other couple had given birth to an Arete—a boy named Greg who was a couple years older than Nicole. Did he know his family was involved? She’d find out eventually, if not at the meeting next Wednesday.
Chapter Two
Nicole spent the week studying that list of people. She memorized everyone’s names and faces, their roles, and even what they’d done in the Tarian group before their current positions.
She hoped this information would come in handy, even though she’d be spending most of her time in Seattle. Once she returned to Katon, she planned to look up the Tarian group there and possibly join them.
The thought of becoming a member of such an evil organization made her skin crawl and stomach roil. But if she was to perform her duties well—take over leading them—she had to gain their trust somehow. She didn’t think just having Rebecca come in and say, “Here’s your leader, follow her” would be good enough. Yes, some would be okay with it, but others would still distrust her. And for good reason—Rebecca was planning on betraying them all in the end.
Wednesday night came quickly. Nicole allowed Tiffany to have her designer make her a new dress—a sleek, bright red thing with gold accents. It was floor length and had a sheer overlay that made her feel feminine and pretty.
Dad wore a tux and Mother a navy-blue evening gown. They were so stunning together that it made Nicole wish Austin were with her. She closed her eyes to the pain that thinking about him brought. She still hadn’t had a visit from Rebecca and didn’t know if she’d get nauseated and see creatures every time they touched from now on.
Usually, Dad drove himself around, but this time, he hired a driver to take them to the party at the home of the Dallas Tarian president.
Nicole didn’t need to look at her cheat sheet to know that the president’s name was Walter Crenshaw, that he was married to Jean, and that he’d been president for ten years now. She’d known Walter and Jean for many, many years as some of Dad and Mother’s best friends. A knot twisted in her stomach, reminding her of all the lies her parents had told. Such hypocrisy and deceit.
They arrived at the Crenshaws’ house and waited for their driver to come around and open the door. Nicole noticed that others had hired drivers too, which mildly surprised her. Was it all for show—to see who was the most affluent—or was it simply customary?
This wouldn’t be the first time Nicole had stepped foot in the Crenshaw home, or their ballroom, where tables had been set up along the edges with space for dancing in the middle. But it was the first time she’d be going knowing full well who everyone was. She took a breath, calming her nerves, realizing that she would be doing a lot of lying tonight. She hated that.
The Crenshaws’ butler opened the front door, then announced them to the group. Nicole stood behind her parents as they posed, smiling for a cameraman.
Walter approached, shaking Dad and Tiffany’s hands. His eyes landed on Nicole and he tilted his head, glancing back to Tiffany and Dad. “She knows?”
Mother nodded. “And she’s interested.”
Walter raised his eyebrows. “Indeed?” He stepped past Tiffany and enveloped both of Nicole’s hands with his own. “And why are you interested now?”
Nicole glanced at Tiffany. “Let’s just say things have come to light that make me question a lot of things.”
“That’s wonderful, dear,” he said.
Walter gave her a warm smile, and Nicole’s stomach twisted again. She couldn’t believe that such a nice and friendly man—someone she’d looked
up to for years—could entertain such horrible, fascist beliefs. How had she never noticed the gross feeling that followed him now?
Tiffany threaded her arm through Nicole’s as they stepped past Walter. “Well done, my dear.”
Nicole couldn’t ignore the pride lacing her mother’s voice. If she understood things correctly, turning into an evil, murder-planning harpy was what would finally earn her mother’s pride.
Ridiculous. Disgusting. Horrible.
And Nicole could only smile like it pleased her.
Most of the evening went smoothly. Maybe Nicole was expecting too much, but apparently, no “evil” Aretes would be sacrificed that night. A few times, she jumped when someone touched her, but they only wanted to get to know the daughter of Tiffany and Charles Williams. When they learned she was an Arete, they were especially surprised. She quickly became the most popular person there as others vied for her attention, wanting to know for themselves why she was there and if she truly believed that Aretes should be killed.
She found that her usual answers—she was having a change of heart and wanted to learn more about the Tarians—satisfied everyone.
It wasn’t until almost the end of the evening that Nicole gasped in shock when she sensed a magical pulse that could only mean one thing—another Arete was present. The pulse was faint, the Arete wasn’t strong, but it was unmistakable.
“What’s wrong?” Tiffany whispered.
“There’s another Arete here,” Nicole whispered back, setting down her dessert fork.
Tiffany glanced around the room, her eyes landing on an older couple who’d just entered the door. She turned to Dad, motioning to the newcomers. “The Huffs are here.”
Nicole raised an eyebrow. Sally Huff was the vice president of the organization and the only other member who had an Arete child. Greg Huff was attending the Tarian meeting. It looked like she’d meet him tonight after all.
Tiffany put her hand on Nicole’s arm. “We’ve been meaning to tell you that you aren’t the only Arete who’s changed sides. In fact, Greg has been attending Tarian meetings for years now.”
“His parents told him what they were?” Nicole whispered.
“Of course. He’s known since he was a child.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about all of this sooner?”
“Things were different for you, Nicole.”
Nicole couldn’t see how, but she turned with her mother and watched as the Huffs were announced to the group and then went around the room, saying hi and being greeted warmly. She still couldn’t believe how these people could act so . . . civil and open when they had such evil thoughts. She wouldn’t forget what happened to Austin’s older siblings for going against Tarian wishes.
Nicole’s eyes were drawn to Greg. Maybe it was the slight magical pulse that flowed off him, but it could also have to do with the fact that he was downright gorgeous. His features individually weren’t terribly impressive, but all together, they made a very attractive man.
Greg’s hair was blond, almost silver, and his eyes very dark brown. He was tall, tan, slender, and walked with an arrogance that made him look like he was the most important person in the room. His expression was dark and brooding. Even when he smiled, the smile didn’t reach his eyes. But something about his confidence, the way he held himself, attracted Nicole. She’d always been a sucker for confident men.
After a moment, his dark eyes flitted across the room and landed on her. Had he sensed her magic?
From that moment on, his gaze rarely left hers. Nicole tried to watch him discreetly, but when Tiffany elbowed Dad and motioned in her direction, she realized how obvious she’d been. It was then that she noticed that her parents glowed with pride. Weird.
Nicole reminded herself that Austin was her boyfriend, that he was a good person, that Greg was a member of an evil organization. It should be enough that her parents seemed to want her to hook up with him to discredit him as a possible boyfriend.
Still, she found herself hoping he’d join them at their table.
What was she thinking? She didn’t know anything about him. What if he was married? Besides, her reasons to ignore him should have been enough.
The Huffs finally reached the table where Nicole and her parents sat. Greg’s eyes didn’t leave Nicole’s until he’d pulled out the chair next to her and sat. Then he turned to the food being placed in front of him by a server.
“Long ride into town?” Dad asked Sally as she also took a seat.
She chuckled. “Oh, you know. We had to swing by Greg’s apartment. He was busy with—”
“Never mind that, Mom,” Greg said.
Sally chuckled again. “Fine. I won’t share your . . . activities.”
Greg glanced at Nicole. “Parents,” he said loudly.
Nicole gave him a half smile. Yeah, parents. Whatever. She didn’t think they had any notes to compare in that department.
“So, you’re an Arete,” Greg said, then put a bite of chicken in his mouth.
“Yes.” Nicole wasn’t sure what else to say.
Sally looked at Nicole. “Your mom said she was thinking about bringing you. Glad to see you here.”
“It’s good to be here, I guess. Everyone has been very friendly.”
Greg leaned toward her. “Believe me, you’ll get used to the two-sided behavior eventually. One minute, the people are sharing cocktails and laughing near a fireplace, and the next, they’re executing a member for losing an important paper. Other businesses would simply fire someone or reduce their hours or pay, but here, they take things a lot further.”
Tiffany and Dad rolled their eyes, and Sally put her hand on Greg’s arm. “Stop trying to scare her.”
Greg shrugged. “She’ll find out soon enough.”
A quartet in the corner of the room started playing. Greg downed his glass of wine in one gulp, then pushed away from the table. He held out his hand to Nicole. “Shall we dance?”
Nicole glanced at Tiffany and Dad, wondering if they were okay with her leaving.
“Go ahead, dear,” Tiffany said.
Nicole nodded to Greg and took his hand. A server pulled her chair back, and she got to her feet, being careful not to tread on her dress.
Greg took her to the center of the dance floor and pulled her close. He placed one hand on her hip and held her right hand in his left.
They waltzed for a few moments without talking. Nicole tried to control the flutter of nerves in her stomach. She felt eyes on them and glanced at the tables that surrounded the dance floor, noticing that most of those present were watching.
“They can’t take their eyes off you,” Greg said. “I don’t blame them. You’re exceptionally beautiful.”
Nicole looked at him. “And the fact that the only two Aretes present are dancing together doesn’t have anything to do with it?”
Greg shrugged, his hand on her hip tightening as he pulled her closer. He stared at her openly. “I’m barely an Arete—never had much need for powers when I knew they’d be taken away eventually.”
“They’re not just going to take our abilities away—they’re planning to kill us.”
He grinned. “So? We’ll just live shorter lives.” He placed his cheek against hers and breathed deeply. “Which is why I choose to enjoy myself.” He let go of her hand and wrapped his arms around her, his lips brushing her earlobe, then trailing down her neck.
Nicole pushed back, raising her eyebrow at him. “You’re too forward, Greg. I just met you, and you don’t know anything about me.”
His gaze swept her dress, body, taking everything in. “I don’t need to know anything about you to know I like what I see.” His dark eyes rose to meet hers. “Why are you here?”
The question was sudden, pointed. Nicole hesitated before answering, realizing he was probably spying for his parents and the entire group.
“It’s complicated.”
“Then simplify it.”
Nicole glanced away, letting him twirl her
. When he brought her close again, she took a breath. “I’ve had several experiences lately that have me questioning a lot of things. Why is it that only the fourth child has powers? Who gave us these abilities? Why can’t we share them with others? And do we even deserve to have them?”
She laughed. “Don’t get me wrong—I love using my magic. But that doesn’t mean I don’t question the equality of the system.”
Greg nodded, but didn’t respond. Nicole couldn’t tell if he’d bought her answer. Technically, everything she’d said was true. But what she’d hinted around—that Aretes needed to be stripped of their powers—was definitely not true.
“So, you use your magic?” Greg asked, a playful smile teasing the corners of his mouth. “Care to demonstrate?”
Nicole snorted. “Not a chance.”
He pulled her close again and trailed his hands down her back. “A private demonstration, then. I like the sound of that.”
Nicole rolled her eyes, trying to pull away to see his face. “Greg, I have a boyfriend.”
“So? What does that have to do with anything?” He leaned forward, brushing his lips across her right cheekbone. His hands massaged her back, and his breath tickled her ear.
Nicole swallowed, and for a moment, she didn’t have an answer for him. She blinked. Austin.
“I’m done dancing for the evening.” She pulled away from him and crossed the now-full dance floor back to her seat.
Tiffany glared at her. “What was that all about?” she hissed quietly enough so the Huffs couldn’t hear.
Nicole leveled a stare at her mother. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“He obviously likes you, Nicole. Why did you rebuff him?”
“Because he’s slimy and a player. I don’t spend time with players.”
“That’s going to have to change, you know.”
“Is it?”
Tiffany motioned to Sally and raised her voice. “Tell her, Sally.”
Sally blinked, obviously confused. “About what?”
“Her and Greg.”
“Oh, of course.” Sally turned to Nicole. “Greg’s decided to date you.”
Observe, Mosaic Chronicles Book Four Page 2
