Lizzie shrugged. “I’m sure it happens a lot.” She snickered. “Can you imagine having to use Play-Doh?”
Nicole laughed. “No, and I don’t have to, thank goodness.”
The girls got back to work, practicing until it was time for Nicole to head to campus for symphony rehearsal.
***
Later that evening, Nicole was lying on the couch, finally getting to her reading for Professor Whitman’s class, when Lizzie burst into the living room.
“Put down your homework, girl. It’s party time!” She skidded across the wooden floor in her stocking feet, did a pirouette, then landed on the arm of the couch next to Nicole. “Come on. I’m serious—we need to get to know people.”
Nicole groaned. “I’ve got at least an hour of reading left.”
Lizzie tugged on Nicole’s arm, trying to get her to stand up. “I won’t accept no for an answer. Besides, you’ve been reading for an hour now.”
Nicole shut her book and rubbed her eyes, stretching out. She could use a break. “Okay, fine.”
Lizzie cheered, jumping to her feet. “Let’s go! The party starts in half an hour.”
It took Nicole five minutes to touch up her makeup, change into something cute, and grab her purse. They rushed to Lizzie’s car.
“Where’s the party?” Nicole asked as Lizzie drove out of the parking structure that they shared with a few other buildings. “And who invited us?”
“A guy named Nate. It’s at his apartment.” Lizzie hesitated. “Uh . . . and we know his roommate.” She turned in her seat. “But don’t worry. Austin didn’t have anything to do with planning the shindig. It’s all Nate’s idea. I don’t think Austin will even be there.”
Nicole frowned. “Fifteen thousand students on campus, and the party is at Austin’s place?”
Lizzie squirmed. “Yeah, sorry about that. But like I said, Austin probably won’t participate.”
“That’s it. We’re only staying for a few minutes. If he’s there, I’m not sticking around.”
Lizzie acted as if she hadn’t heard Nicole. “Nate’s also a Fire Arete. We’ve sat next to each other every time we’ve had class. He’s really cool. I can’t wait for you to meet him.”
***
They found the correct apartment, but when Lizzie tried to ring the doorbell, Nicole grabbed her arm.
“Give me a minute,” she said. Not waiting for a response from Lizzie, she leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. She had an inkling of a feeling at the back of her brain telling her that she was overreacting. Well, so what? Austin had been a jerk.
“Are you sure we have to go?”
“Of course.” Lizzie folded her arms, scowling. “Where’s the independent girl I know?”
Nicole lifted her eyes heavenward, wanting to respond sarcastically. But Lizzie was right. It was time to put this whole thing with Austin behind her.
Nicole pushed away from the wall and rang the bell herself.
A guy answered. When Lizzie gave him a huge hug, Nicole realized it was Nate. His hair wasn’t as red as Lizzie’s, and the light from the apartment made it look more strawberry blond than anything.
Lizzie made quick introductions, and Nate stepped back to let the girls in. Nicole scanned the crowd. Austin wasn’t in sight. She breathed a sigh of relief and followed Nate into the combined living and kitchen area.
Nicole dropped her jacket with the other outerwear and immediately went to the refreshment table. Chocolate. There had to be chocolate somewhere. She spotted a bowl of M&Ms—yes!—and swooped up a handful, popping a few in her mouth.
Someone across the counter from her straightened, lifting a cookie sheet from the oven and setting it on the counter between them. Nicole glanced over and found herself looking into Austin’s deep-brown eyes. They both glanced away quickly, Nicole ignoring the racing of her heart. She grabbed a paper cup and dumped the rest of her M&Ms in it, then strode away from the counter, entering the crowd.
Guess she and Lizzie would be leaving early.
It didn’t take long for her to spot Lizzie. She was the only one with flaming red curls who had a group surrounding her, laughing at something she’d just said. Nicole grinned. Trust Lizzie to become the center of attention as soon as possible.
Nicole glanced around the room again and saw a brunette sitting alone on the couch, flipping through a photo album. Nicole decided to start there. She walked over and sat next to the girl, who looked up and smiled.
“There aren’t any pictures of Austin in here, even though it’s his album.” She returned to flipping through the photos.
Nicole raised an eyebrow. Was the girl looking for Austin specifically? Probably. He was hot, after all. And making delicious-looking cookies. Nicole’s gaze flicked across the room to where Austin was putting the cookies on cooling racks.
Nicole shrugged. “I wouldn’t fill my own album with pictures of myself either.”
“Not even one or two?”
Good point. “Maybe he doesn’t like cameras.”
“I’ll say.” She closed the album and turned to Nicole. “I’m Lacie.”
“Nicole.”
“You’re a freshman, aren’t you?” Lacie asked.
“How could you tell?”
“By the level of magic around you—freshmen tend to have a lot of undirected pressure.”
Nicole exhaled. “I wish it wasn’t so visible.”
Lacie laughed. “Don’t worry. My main power is a rare one—I can see others’ level of magic.”
“How does that relate to earth?” Nicole asked.
Lacie hesitated. “I’m not sure, actually. As far as I can tell, the molecules in a person’s body speak or show me their abilities.” She frowned. “Maybe it’s because of that saying—you know the one. We come from the dirt and will return to it, or something like that.” She brightened. “But anyway, I’m a junior majoring in physics. Have you chosen your major yet?”
Nicole chuckled. “No. I’m still a little disoriented from having to learn magic and regular things.”
Lacie patted Nicole’s arm. “You’ll get used to it.” She folded her hands in her lap. “I’m excited about the university’s change. Too many people were failing in real-life subjects.”
“Arete magic is real life.”
“Yes, it is, but if you can’t do math or if you don’t know history, what good will you do the world?”
Nicole nodded. “How did you pick your major? How’d you decide not to have it be in magic?”
“Oh, it’s in magic all right. I sense molecules. It’s a natural fit for physics . . .”
Lacie continued talking, her hands showing her excitement, but Nicole’s attention got ripped away. The wind rushed out of her lungs. She gasped for air. A warmth spread across her back and she turned, expecting to see someone there, looming over her, but the nearest person was five feet away. The warmth increased, heating her face. It was gentle, like a summer breeze.
“Would you please excuse me?” Nicole asked during a break in Lacie’s conversation.
Lacie nodded, said something about being glad to meet Nicole, and turned back to the album.
Nicole got to her feet, inspecting the crowd. Nothing looked out of place—was she the only one who had noticed a change? She walked around the side of the couch, reaching out with her inner magic self. The heat was increasing. Something was approaching. It was familiar—like a hug from her grandmother or a kiss from a long-time boyfriend. Nicole felt her stomach drop. The only other time she’d felt that had been—
Austin’s apartment door slammed open with a bang that made the wall decorations shake. Nicole’s breath caught in her throat. She clutched her neck. A shadow crossed the threshold—low to the ground and long. Like a person creeping, army crawling.
Suddenly, the power went out, plunging the large room into darkness.
Someone screamed. Lizzie? Nicole kept her hand to her throat, unmoving—afraid to do anything.
The li
ghts turned back on.
Everyone started talking at once, except one person. Nicole felt his gaze on her and she looked. The intensity in Austin’s eyes made her heart race yet again. She couldn’t look away. Why was he staring at her like that?
The warmth disappeared and a shiver crossed Nicole. She rubbed her arms, breaking eye contact with Austin. It wasn’t until then that she noticed the room had fallen silent. Everyone was staring at something on the counter that hadn’t been there before.
The leather book.
Chapter Five
Things happened in a flurry. Probably freaked out by the strange power outage and the weird feeling in the room, people scrambled to get out of the apartment—grabbing coats and jackets as they left.
Nicole couldn’t force herself to move. She watched as Austin threw a kitchen towel over the book, wrapped it up, put it in a grocery bag, and tied it off. He glanced up, met her eyes, and nodded to the bag.
Nicole understood—it was her responsibility to return it to Professor Coolidge, no matter how it had gotten here.
She crossed the distance between them, snatched up the bag, and held it tight to her chest, hoping the pages would stay shut. She turned—Lizzie was there with their things. The two of them left without another word. Nicole felt Austin’s gaze on her the whole way out.
The girls parked as close to the museum as possible and jogged across the grass to the door nearest Professor Coolidge’s lab.
“Please be there, oh, please be there,” Nicole whispered to herself.
For the first time in a while, Lizzie was silent. She kept sending glances to her friend—worried looks that frustrated Nicole. How could Nicole defend herself if Lizzie wouldn’t talk?
The museum was locked.
Nicole dropped her head against the glass, trying to control her breathing. What was she supposed to do now?
The heat from the book’s binding had begun to seep through the bag and towel, warming her hands and arms. She cringed—she really did not want to take it home.
“Do you have his number?” Lizzie asked.
Nicole shook her head. “I don’t.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for several seconds, then looked at her friend. “I’ll just have to give it to him tomorrow.” Regardless of how she felt, she couldn’t leave it at the museum door or anywhere else.
Lizzie nodded and motioned for Nicole to follow her back to the car. As they were walking away, the lock clicked behind them and Coolidge called to them to return. “Sorry it took so long to get up here. I couldn’t leave my lab right away.”
Nicole’s shoulders sagged with relief. “How’d you know to come check?”
“Austin called.” Coolidge reached out, and Nicole passed him the sack. He opened it, removed the book, and crumpled the bag and kitchen towel, handing them back to Nicole. After flipping through the pages, he glanced up. “I don’t want to worry you, but the book wasn’t supposed to be in my office earlier when you were working with Toby.”
Nicole’s mouth popped open. “It was there? I didn’t see it.”
Coolidge didn’t respond, and Nicole and Lizzie met eyes.
“What’s going on?” Lizzie asked.
“I don’t know.” Coolidge shook his head. “Something isn’t right—I’ve had this book in my possession for many years. It shouldn’t be acting like this. It never has before.”
Nicole frowned. “It’s doing this on its own? Is that possible?”
Coolidge looked at her sharply. “I don’t believe you’re naïve enough not to know that this sort of thing, though rare, does occur.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I’ll lock it in my office. Be careful on your way home.”
***
Not surprisingly, Nicole didn’t sleep much from there on out. Her dreams were riddled with power outages and possessed books.
Thank goodness the spiders were leaving her bed alone. They were still trying to take over her room, but she could handle that for the time being. She and Lizzie lined the room with traps each night. Every morning, without fail, the traps were full.
Throwing the things away was a joy. The spiders were wiggly and constantly tried to escape the sticky stuff. Occasionally, one was successful. As long as the girls were fast, the spiders that got away didn’t crawl up their hands and arms.
Nicole and Lizzie also emptied the water jars. That wasn’t nearly as difficult—rarely were there more than three or four spiders per jar. Nicole refused to wonder why, not wanting to picture the critters swimming in the water and climbing the bed legs anyway.
But it was satisfying, knowing they were ridding the earth of as many disgusting predators as they were. She said as much to Lizzie as the girls drove to Austin’s to return the bag with the kitchen towel in it.
“I totally agree. They don’t deserve to live!” Lizzie parked the car and grinned at Nicole. “And look on the bright side. You get to see Austin again.”
Nicole snorted. “Why would that be ‘the bright side’ of killing spiders? I don’t see a connection between the two”
“Because he thinks you’re hot.”
Nicole glanced heavenward, deciding to ignore the “logic” in her friend’s argument. “Lizzie, you and your imagination. If he thought I was hot, he wouldn’t ignore me.”
“You just keep telling yourself that.” Lizzie undid her seatbelt and hopped out of the car.
Nicole wiped her hands on her pants, not sure why she was nervous. He was just a guy, and this was just a towel, and she was just returning it. Nothing more.
As soon as Nate opened the door, Nicole handed him the bag and turned to leave. But Nate gave Lizzie a big hug and invited her in, forcing Nicole to follow. Great.
Nicole entered hesitantly, hoping Austin wasn’t home, and for a moment, it appeared she would get her wish. But then she spotted him on the couch, watching a documentary of some sort.
He looked up and turned off the TV. Nicole groaned to herself, turning to listen to Nate and Lizzie, not wanting to encourage conversation with Austin. Of course, knowing him, he would stare, not talk.
Nate laughed at something Lizzie was saying and Nicole pretended to enjoy it as well, all the while being painfully aware of Austin’s movements. He walked around the bar that separated the kitchen area from the living room. He opened the fridge and pulled out several cans of pop, placing them on the counter.
Lizzie immediately grabbed one, flipped the top, and took a long drink. Nicole didn’t blame the girl for being thirsty—this was the first time she’d stopped talking since they entered the apartment.
Nate also took a drink from a can of pop, then turned to Nicole. “How are you liking Katon so far?”
Nicole shrugged. “It’s fine. Better than high school.”
Nate chuckled. “Definitely better.” He set down the can. “Lizzie says you’re having a difficult time with Channeling. I’m sorry about that—it was hard for me too.”
“Speaking of which,” Lizzie said to Nate, “how’s that going?”
“Not bad. I still struggle, depending on the material. Plastic’s the easiest. I can’t wait until I’m strong enough to move on to other sub-abilities. ’Course, I doubt that’ll happen for a while.”
Nicole tilted her head. “Sub-abilities? What do you mean?”
Nate started talking animatedly, using his hands. “You know how Aretes control elements, right? And which element they control depends on what color their hair is when they turn eighteen?”
Nicole nodded.
“Well, within those powers are what we call ‘sub-abilities.’ For example, Lizzie here controls fire—that’s her main power. Her specialty within Fire is to actually create fire. Mine is to make it grow.” He grinned, his eyes gleaming. “Want to see?”
Lizzie perked up. “Yeah! Do you have a metal garbage can?”
“Nope. I have something else that’ll work, though.” Nate pulled a heavy cookie sheet from one of the cabinets. His eyes moved to Austin. “Okay if we use this?”
Austin motioned for Nate to go ahead and settled in at the bar. Nicole also sat, looking forward to the demonstration.
Nate placed the cookie sheet on the counter and grabbed a paper plate and some plastic forks. He put the forks on the counter next to the cookie sheet and ripped off a section of paper plate, setting that on the sheet.
“As you’re about to see, I’m pretty useless if there aren’t matches around.” He pulled a bit of rope from his pocket and started tying knots in it. His faint magical pulses grew stronger.
“You’re trying to create a fire, aren’t you,” Nicole said.
He nodded. “And nothing’s happening. But if Lizzie were to do it, she’d be successful. Watch.”
He motioned to Lizzie, and she immediately began drawing into her palm. “It’ll take a minute,” she said. “It always does.”
“That’s fine,” Nate said.
Everyone watched as Lizzie concentrated hard, her face bunched up. Magical pulses began flowing off her. Nicole noticed that Austin seemed particularly interested, and for a moment, jealousy panged in her chest. She’d never been envious of Lizzie, and it was a weird sensation. Attention that Lizzie got and Nicole didn’t had never bothered her before—why would this be different?
After several moments, the scrap of paper plate started smoldering. A tiny flame appeared, and quickly, the bit of paper was gone.
“We need something a little bigger,” Nate said. He grabbed the rest of the plate and put it on top of the burned piece, then filled up a glass of water. “Just in case.”
He motioned to Lizzie to go ahead.
Lizzie again drew into her hand, and once more, the flame started.
“See if you can make it grow,” Nate said.
Lizzie’s face scrunched up again, but nothing happened to the flame.
“She can’t do it. And that’s where I take over. But I need you guys to back up. Wouldn’t want someone to get hurt.”
Nicole and Lizzie did so, but Austin stayed where he was. Nate didn’t seem to notice. He began folding and tying his rope, and again, his magical pulses increased.
Discern (Mosaic Chronicles Book 1) Page 8
