Obscure, Mosaic Chronicles Book Seven

by Pearson, Andrea

  “I don’t think so—this is where I was supposed to lead us.” She turned to Jacob. “But I think I might need you to take me to Onyev for more instructions.”

  “Now?” Austin asked.

  Nicole nodded. “If Jacob can take me now, I shouldn’t be gone longer than ten minutes.” She looked at Jacob. “Do you think the dog will stop you from time traveling?”

  “Only one way to find out.” Jacob’s eyes glazed over for a moment as he apparently Time-Saw, then he glanced at Nicole. “If we can go now, I should be able to take you straight to Onyev’s tree. Unlike last time, there aren’t tons of people wandering the city.” He held out his hand and Nicole took it. She almost smiled at Austin’s expression. Jacob must have noticed it too. “Don’t worry—I’m not putting moves on your girlfriend. It’s the only way to take her back in the past.”

  That didn’t seem to reassure Austin, but Nicole didn’t have long to think that over before everything around her disappeared and she was in Gratitude near a large tree.

  “Good to know—the dog doesn’t stop time traveling,” Jacob said.

  He sat against the tree and Nicole thanked him, then walked around to the front where the doors were. The guards—different ones this time—motioned for her to proceed.

  She found Onyev in the same room as before, and as before, he immediately dismissed everyone when he spotted her.

  “Sorry to bother you again,” she started, “but I tried to—”

  “Remove a magical item without knowing how to do it?” he asked, his African-like accent musical to her ears.

  Nicole blinked. “Yes, exactly. How’d you know?”

  “It left a print on you. And if I’m not mistaken, the object you attempted to move is a magical dog.”

  “Wow—you’re good.”

  “When you try taking things without understanding what sealed them in place, you’re punished for it. It leaves a temporary print on you—like a smell—that other guardians can sense for a while. It’ll fade soon.” He took a seat on a garden bench, motioning for Nicole to sit next to him. “Now, tell me why you’re trying to move the dog.”

  “It’s preventing magical access to the kingdom of Edana, and that’s proving to be a huge problem right now while we’re trying to find the talismans. It takes several hours to get there and back without the key.” Nicole shut her mouth. Had she said too much?

  Onyev glanced at her with a twinkle in his eye. “‘The key,’ eh? You wouldn’t be speaking of the keys I created several years ago, would you?”

  Nicole racked her brain, trying to come up with an explanation. “I wasn’t supposed to say anything. They were concerned that if I did, it would cause problems for you.”

  Onyev sighed. “They’re probably right—it definitely makes me feel homesick—but I wouldn’t worry too much if I were you.” He stood and faced her. “About the dog. You will not be able to remove a magical item without first understanding the magic used to seal it in place.”

  Nicole tilted her head. “But the first talisman—I unlocked that easily enough.”

  “How did you find it?”

  “I dismantled a cabinet.”

  He tapped his cheek. “Did you use any tools to do so?”

  “A Phillips screwdriver, if you know what that is.”

  “I don’t. But I’m assuming you’ve used one before?”

  She nodded.

  “I’d bet the talisman was sealed using magic very akin to yours, along with mechanical movements and usages. You understood how to pull apart the cabinet, and you didn’t need to understand how to use your Arete abilities.”

  “Did I tell you I was an Arete? I don’t remember that.”

  “You’re one of my chosen guardians—you don’t need to tell me anything.”

  Nicole nodded. “So, how do I find out which magic was used to seal the object in place?”

  “You must return to Shonlin—”

  “I was afraid you’d say that.”

  He smiled. “And ask it to reveal the magic to you. As I said, you must then understand the magic that was used.”

  “How much of an understanding will I need?”

  “Just enough to see the steps involved in sealing the item.”

  Nicole rubbed her eyes, feeling exhausted by this new information. “It’s so complicated.”

  Onyev put his hand on her arm. “You’ll be fine. I have faith in you.”

  “Thanks.”

  “And you can come any time you have questions.”

  Nicole repeated her thanks and went to find Jacob.

  Jacob jumped up when he saw Nicole approaching. “What did you find out?”

  “I have to go back to Shonlin.”

  Jacob took her hand. “Sorry about that,” he said, warming her hand. Their surroundings disappeared and then they were on the fifth floor of the library. “And that’s all I can do for now. My powers don’t allow me to travel within the same time period, and I can’t take you back in the past again for a while. I’m still not completely immune to the pain it causes when I do that.”

  “I didn’t know it hurt. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Jacob shrugged. “Because I’m nearly over it now. It’s only a minor annoyance that makes me get tired.” He sat against the banister overlooking the library’s main floor and closed his eyes. “I’ll be right here.”

  Nicole thanked him and hurried to the lantern. She picked it up, then stepped into the forest. Her intention was to rush to get what she needed, but something about the forest made her slow and walk reverently.

  Nicole reached the floating ball of light and held the question in her mind. Which magic was used to seal the dog in place?

  Instead of the path to the dog that she’d seen earlier, the vision showed a Makalo, badly beaten and bruised, standing near the wall where the dog had been placed. A man wielded a club over him.

  The man yelled and the Makalo cringed and put his hand back into the stone box. Then the vision disappeared.

  What was Nicole supposed to do with that information? Obviously, it was a Makalo who had sealed the dog in place. Nicole couldn’t do Makalo magic. Would Akeno be able to undo the power?

  She returned to the library, replaced the lantern, and found Jacob waiting by the banister.

  “What did you learn?” he asked.

  Nicole sighed. “Hopefully, something that’ll help us.” She glanced at Jacob as they jogged down the stairs. “We’ll see when we get there.”

  “You said it would take ten minutes,” Azuriah said with a scowl once Nicole and Jacob had returned. “That was much longer than ten minutes.”

  “We let the bird go while waiting,” Austin said.

  “Probably a good idea.” Nicole pointed to Akeno, deciding to ignore Azuriah. “I think it was a Makalo who locked the dog in there. Do you mind checking? See if you can—I don’t know—sense another Makalo’s touch?”

  Akeno looked doubtful, but nodded and entered the cell anyway. He put his hand in the hole, resting it against the wall of the box. He glanced at Nicole. “Yes, a Makalo did something here. Give me a minute to figure it out.”

  He turned and faced the box. It was nearly at his eye level, so he could see inside fairly well.

  After a few minutes, he took a breath and addressed the entire group. “What I can tell is that the Makalo planted little weeds inside the box, then commanded them to hold the dog in place. Unfortunately, the weeds have died, so I can’t work with them anymore.”

  Nicole and Austin looked at each other. “Aretes can only work with dead—not living—things,” she said.

  “Is it dead enough?” Austin asked.

  Nicole shrugged. “I hope so. I don’t want to get electrocuted again.”

  She turned to the box, bending slightly to see inside. She studied the dog statue, noticing the wisps of dirt on the floor of the box. Those must have been the weeds—they’d degraded into dirt. Strange that they were still holding the dog in place. Nicole took a
breath, gathering her magic, then instructed it to go to the dirt, relax it, and coax it to release its hold on the dog.

  The dirt glowed for a bit, then poofed into the air, coating Nicole. She coughed, wiping dust from her face. “Gross. It got in my mouth.”

  “It’s just dirt now,” Austin said.

  “Yeah, and that’s gross.” She hesitated, then reached into the stone box and gripped the dog around the midsection. With another little pause, she picked it up and pulled it out.

  “It worked!” Lizzie exclaimed.

  “Yes, thank goodness,” Coolidge said. “What should we do with it now?”

  “I’m taking it back to Shonlin,” Nicole said. She looked at the others, trying not to stare too much at Azuriah. Why wasn’t he doing more? Especially if he was a guardian too? “I haven’t sensed any magical pulses there, which, I assume, means their powers are diffused. And that’s what we need from this thing.”

  She glanced at the dog, wondering who’d made it and how. It was rough, as if the person who sculpted it had done so in a hurry. The object radiated magic, like heat.

  Nicole led the way back to the library. She was tired of going into Shonlin, but this time, she was surprised when the guardian met her close to the stairs.

  “You have an item you’d like to seal?” he asked.

  “Yes, a—”

  “Give it to me,” he said, reaching for it.

  Nicole placed the dog in his hand, then shrieked when the guardian’s eyes opened. She’d never seen his eyes before. They were completely yellow—even the whites. She couldn’t help but be a little freaked out. Was he seeing the dog with his physical eyes or something else?

  He stared at the dog, rotating it, inspecting every section of it, then handed it back to Nicole. She sensed the difference immediately. The power that the dog had radiated before had coiled in on itself, now perfectly contained just within the surface of the figurine.

  Nicole walked around the guardian and entered Shonlin. The moment she stepped across the threshold of the room, she knew what needed to happen. She turned to the right and found a new bookcase, one that hadn’t been there before. Its shelves were clean, smooth, unscuffed, empty.

  Nicole placed the dog on the first shelf, then closed her eyes before letting go. She sensed a portion of her magic return—the guardian must have realized she’d need it to seal the dog in place. Pushing a bit of her magic to the dog, she commanded the figurine to stay there until it should be needed again by a future guardian. Then she stepped back.

  The dog shimmered, appearing a little opaque, then solidified to its original state. And that was it.

  Nicole assumed that meant the task was done. She took a step back as if to leave, but more knowledge flooded into her mind. She needed to make an entry in Shonlin’s log.

  She strode back to the front of the room where a book had been placed under a glass case. She’d barely noticed it in her previous visits to the room—it hadn’t really caught her attention—but now it was all she could think about, which let her know she was heading in the right direction.

  Nicole lifted the case, gently setting it aside. Then she opened the book and flipped to the first empty page.

  A fountain pen rested at the side of the book. She picked it up, placing it on the page, and started writing. The words flowed from her fingers, spreading across the ancient paper, and before she knew it, a whole page had been filled.

  Satisfied that she’d written a complete account of where she’d found the dog, what it did, and how she’d removed it, Nicole set the pen down and surveyed her work. She crinkled her brow, staring at the words.

  They were in a different language.

  And she couldn’t read one bit.

  How had she written them? And why couldn’t she read them anymore?

  Nicole turned. The guardian had caught up and was hovering near the door. “Why can’t I read the writing?”

  “It is the ancient Makalo language—the language of Onyev. You will only be able to read it when you need information about something.”

  “Good to know.”

  Nicole blew on the ink to dry it faster before shutting the book and replacing the glass case.

  Then she left the room.

  Chapter Three

  “Did you find out where the next talisman is?” Azuriah asked the minute Nicole had rejoined them just outside Shonlin. “Or are you wasting everyone’s time?”

  Nicole groaned. “I completely forgot—sorry. I’ll go back and do that now.”

  Austin grabbed her arm. “Eat first. It’s been hours. And while we’re doing that, Akeno and Jacob can set up a door so we can see if moving the dog worked.”

  Nicole was surprised they hadn’t already done that and said as much.

  “We wanted you to be here when we tested it,” Akeno said, a sheepish smile on his face.

  Nicole was touched. She could tell from how Akeno said it that it had been his idea. “Thanks. I appreciate it.” She looked at everyone else. “Have you all eaten already?”

  Azuriah glared at her, but the others nodded, so Nicole took the bag of jerky from Austin and motioned for Akeno and Jacob to continue.

  Akeno pulled a miniature door from his knapsack, reached out his hand, and let go. The door landed on the floor just below his hand, still miniature-sized. He looked at it in confusion. “What happened? Why didn’t it work?”

  Nicole chuckled. “The guardian strips my powers when I’m up here. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s happened to you too.”

  Akeno frowned. “I can’t even tell—how awful.” He bent and picked it up. “I guess we should go downstairs, then.”

  Everyone gathered their things and started down the stairs. Once the Aretes felt their powers return near the third floor, they all stopped, and Akeno again reached out and dropped the door. This time, it appeared in full size on the other side of the long room, next to the banister that overlooked the front entry.

  Jacob pulled the key from his pocket and jogged to the door, Nicole and the rest following. He put the key in the keyhole that appeared, turned it, and opened the door. Nicole grinned when she recognized the interior of the Maivoryl castle.

  “It worked!” Jacob said, turning around. He shut the door. “Now what?”

  “We find out where the other talisman is,” Austin said. He looked at Nicole. “Are you up for another visit to Shonlin?”

  She nodded. “The only problem is this—we’d have to get the talisman immediately. We wouldn’t be able to wait around because the path doesn’t stay visible to me for very long, and I’m worried it will disappear completely. If it ends up being a long trip across all of earth or Eklaron, we’d be in trouble. I mean, what if we have to walk for years before we can find it?”

  Austin shook his head. “We’ll take the fastest form of transportation possible. It shouldn’t matter if we walk, use horses, or drive. My guess is that if we’re following the path that shows up for you, regardless of speed, we’ll be able to reach the item.”

  “Good point.” She took a breath, then looked at everyone, feeling exhaustion seeping into her bones. “Are you all ready for what could possibly be the adventure of a lifetime?”

  Azuriah rolled his eyes, but Coolidge nodded. “Yes, and if necessary, we can make the trip in stages. Follow for a while, then let the trail run cold while we gather information and prepare.” He rubbed his chin. “That would require you to return to Shonlin to remember the rest, though, and that would be time consuming.”

  Nicole thought over that for a minute. “If only I knew the end point and how long it would take to get there. Making multiple trips to Shonlin isn’t the best use of my time, but I’m fine either way.”

  Lizzie glanced at Nicole. “Don’t forget about school. You’re still in the middle of being tested on glass. You don’t want all this to affect you there, do you? I mean, would you be okay with taking a D on that entire test?”

  Nicole sighed. “Not really. But this i
s more important.”

  Lizzie’s eyes widened. “In all my life, I never once thought I’d hear you say something like that.”

  Nicole swatted at her best friend. “You’ve heard me say it plenty of times. I regularly put things ahead of my education, especially lately.”

  Lizzie grinned. “It’s true. I’m just teasing.”

  Nicole smiled at her friend, then turned and headed back up the stairs. “Let’s just see where this goes, okay?”

  It didn’t take long for her to reach Shonlin and to pick up the lantern. As had been the case earlier, she’d intended to make her way straight to the glowing light, but the moment she entered the forest, her pace relaxed, her mind calmed, and the eagerness and determination she’d felt earlier disappeared.

  Even while she was no longer pressing forward, she still recognized that she was in a hurry. She’d never get anything done if she visited this forest too often.

  Glowing lights waited, and Nicole approached the first cautiously, wondering what it had in store for her.

  The forest around her disappeared as the vision came into her mind, showing her the way to the talisman. The path glowed long and far—crossing the universe—until it stopped in a land Nicole had never seen before.

  Then the vision ended and Nicole’s memory of the path disappeared.

  When Nicole tried to approach the glowing light again to get information about what had sealed the talisman in place, nothing opened up for her. Did that mean it hadn’t been sealed or that Shonlin only revealed one thing at a time?

  She wouldn’t get the answer to her question until they found the talisman.

  Nicole turned and left the forest, replacing the lantern. The stone floor before her glowed, marking the path, and she followed it out of the room and down to the third floor where everyone waited.

  The glow led all the way to the door Akeno had just put in place in the middle of the room. Nicole walked around to the other side. The glow didn’t continue. Weird. She opened the door, but nothing appeared.

  “What are you doing?” Lizzie asked.

  “This is where it led me, but it’s not showing me anything more.”

  “It wants you to key somewhere,” Jacob said.