Paul snickered. “Finally, the eldest deigns to follow his younger brother’s example.”
Derek rolled his eyes. “Yes, Paul, my life’s goal is to be just like you.”
“It always has been.”
“Right. I love offending and insulting people every chance I get.”
“Yes, I—”
“Stop bickering, boys,” Tiffany said.
No one said anything for several minutes as they finished their pizza and tried to behave. Once they were done, they retreated to the family room again, continuing their “getting caught up” conversation.
Nicole didn’t mind these sorts of get-togethers. She was rarely the center of attention, even though she was the youngest and the only girl. She figured part of it was because she was so different from her mother, while another part was because she was an Arete. The latter especially set her off from the family.
The conversation lulled for a minute, and Julia turned to Nicole. Nicole steeled herself for whatever onslaught the girl would send this time.
“I heard you dropped out of school. Was it too hard?”
Nicole held back her eye roll. “No, Julia. I went on an expedition for the university. I had to compete against thousands of other students. Only three of us were chosen, and we had to drop classes to go. I’m still considered a full-time student.”
“That’s wonderful, Cole,” Dad said.
Derek and Chase nodded, but neither Paul nor Julia seemed impressed. Mother only watched her children with her arms folded, her expression blank.
“Can you do magic yet?” Julia asked. “You know, you’re the first Arete I’ve ever met who couldn’t do anything.”
Nicole suddenly saw she couldn’t escape this sort of attitude. Paul had given it to her before he’d married Julia, and as soon as Nicole went to Seattle, Judith Ann had dished it on her.
“I take it from your silence the answer is no, you haven’t finally learned something.”
Nicole hated it when Julia used the word “finally.” “Finally, you’re doing something with your life.” “When you finally make something useful of yourself.” Nicole couldn’t understand how someone so unrelated to her could come into the family and pick her out as the person to make fun of and ridicule.
“Give us a show,” Paul said. “Prove to us that you’re an Arete.”
Nicole looked to Derek for help, but he didn’t say anything. He only gave her a compassionate expression. She hadn’t really expected him to do anything about the situation—he usually clammed up in front of Julia. Being so shy and introverted, he’d never warmed up to her. Of course, her attitude and personality made it difficult for someone even as outgoing as Nicole to want to be around her.
“Here, I’ll go get my cello,” Paul said. He got up and left the room.
All of Nicole’s siblings played a stringed instrument. Paul and Nicole played the cello. Derek played the bass and Chase the viola. Mother used to play the violin. She hadn’t touched hers in years.
No one said anything while Paul was gone, and it took him several minutes to return.
“Had to dig it out of the closet in my old room.” He handed it to Nicole. “Go for it.”
Nicole took a deep breath and unzipped the case, then pulled out the cello. She took her time getting the instrument set up and tuned, and the others started talking.
She didn’t wait for them to stop before saying, “It takes me a minute to get warmed up. I’ll let you know when I’m ready to show anything.”
Nicole wanted the extra time to prepare herself for a possible failure. This would be the first time in a while that she would have tried Channeling with something other than Niko.
She didn’t want to tell them what her sub-ability was. Instead, she started playing quiet, background-type music that encouraged chatter. While the others talked, she tested the air around her, sensing for, discerning the magical flows of pulses. It didn’t take her long to find them, since hers were the only ones present.
Nicole eased into her powers, welcoming them to her.
She was surprised to find that they were ready and willing. Cool. She tilted her head, wondering when she’d be able to Channel without a cello. Probably really soon, given how her magic was reacting tonight.
Nicole didn’t know what everyone was talking about, but they’d paired off in their conversations—Mother with Dad, Paul with Julia, and Derek with Chase. Nicole hesitated, wondering who to silence first. She started with Paul’s wife. Let her have a taste of Nicole’s magic.
Julia coughed, putting a hand to her throat, and Nicole pulled away immediately, deciding she could do better than that.
She closed her eyes, adjusting her playing to something quiet and mellow, then reached out magically to everyone in the room. She’d silence them all at the same time. It would be simple, easy. She took a deep breath and pictured them in her mind, allowing her power to flow through her to them all.
At once, everyone stopped talking.
They turned to look at her. Nicole raised an eyebrow, staring at them.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
A flash of fear crossed Julia’s face. Tiffany was irritated.
Nicole sighed in exaggeration. “I could keep this up the entire time I’m here. It would be easy, you know.” She smiled. “But I won’t.”
Nicole stopped playing, then released her hold on them. For a second, she was distracted by the fact that pausing her playing didn’t release the hold—she had to do it mentally. Did that mean she was becoming independent of the cello? It had to!
No one said anything at first, but Nicole didn’t miss the grins that Derek and Chase exchanged.
“That was fantastic, sis,” Derek said, speaking in front of the group for the first time that evening.
Tiffany scolded him with her eyes before turning her disapproving expression to Nicole. “Oh, yes, it was so mature, Nicole. Very adult of you.”
Nicole sighed at her mother’s negativity. She realized she’d never win her approval.
No one else seemed to want to talk, and Tiffany finally stood and approached Nicole. “I need to speak with you.” She indicated for Nicole to follow.
Nicole got up and saw Derek giving her an expression that said, “Here it comes.” She smiled at him, wanting to show that she was ready for anything Tiffany might have to say.
They went upstairs to the sitting area in Tiffany’s bedroom. Mother asked Nicole to have a seat on the couch, then went to her shelf and got out a photo album. So, Derek was right. This was about family history stuff. Interesting.
Tiffany sat next to Nicole. “Did I ever tell you I had a twin sister?”
Nicole’s jaw dropped. “No, you didn’t.”
“Well, I did. She died in a car crash when we were ten.”
“Oh, wow. That’s horrible.” Nicole knew her mother hadn’t ever said anything about this. She’d always said she was an only child. This was huge! Why had she never brought it up before?
“That’s not all. Mother had two pregnancies before she conceived us.”
Nicole leaned back in the couch, realizing what her mother was saying. “You could have been an Arete.”
A fierce expression crossed Tiffany’s face. “I should have been an Arete.”
Nicole swallowed. She’d never seen this sort of behavior before. Tiffany hated Fourths. She disliked Nicole for being one. Was it possible she was jealous? But if that were the case, why had she almost never mentioned Aretes while Nicole was growing up? It was a taboo subject. Nicole hadn’t even been permitted to learn about them until she’d turned eighteen and was close to Restarting.
Tiffany got up and began pacing. “My parents doted on me a great deal, planning for my eventual Restart.” She whirled, facing Nicole. “How could they know it would be Susan who was the Arete, when she died at ten, eight years before a Restart was possible?”
Nicole nodded sympathetically, unsure of what else to do. She knew that the fourth child con
ceived was always the Arete—that when twins weren’t identical, one of them would almost always have been conceived before the other. But when the twins were identical, either had the exact same chance of being the magical one. People didn’t have a way to know which twin would end up being an Arete until one of them Restarted.
“I know you think you had it hard, Nicole, not Restarting right away. But imagine how it was for me. Not even knowing if I ever would—if it was possible. Even years after I turned eighteen, a part of me still wondered if it was coming.”
Nicole’s mind was reeling with these revelations. No wonder Mother was always bitter. To have that pressure put on her and then to find out so many years later that she wasn’t an Arete . . . and with some people not Restarting until well into their twenties . . . she must’ve been so very disappointed.
“I would have been chosen instead of you, Nicole.” Tiffany glared at her daughter. “There was never any question whether you would be an Arete. I didn’t have any miscarriages. You were the fourth child your father and I conceived.”
Nicole ignored the malice on her mother’s face. “Chosen?”
“You already know that I inherited a great deal of money when I was a child. They went back and forth between wanting to give it to me or Susan or wait until one of us Restarted. That decision was made easier when Susan died.” Tiffany continued pacing, not really talking to Nicole. “I never touched a dime of it, and I still haven’t.” She again turned to Nicole. “I know you think we’re rich because I inherited money, but everything we have now is thanks to your father and his genius with business.”
She took a deep breath and finally sat on the couch next to Nicole. “Because I never Restarted, the money is technically yours.”
Nicole frowned. “How? It was willed to you. They gave it to you, not me.”
“It was based on me being an Arete. Yes, I legally had access to it, but Grandfather mentioned that if I didn’t Restart, I should do my very best to give birth to an Arete and make sure they had access to the money.”
Nicole shook her head. “I can’t have it. I don’t want it.”
“You don’t have a choice, Nicole.”
Nicole put her hands on her legs and stared at Tiffany. “Mother, you’ve been tiptoeing around something all evening. Just come out and say it, okay? What do you mean ‘chosen’? Why was it important that an Arete inherit the money?”
Tiffany did something that surprised Nicole. She took her daughter’s hand, holding it with both of her own. “Depending on what you’ve already guessed from our conversation, this may or may not come as a surprise to you . . . but Captain Christopher Price is your great-great-grandfather.”
Nicole froze. “What . . . what did you say?”
“Christopher and Rebecca Price are your ancestors.”
Nicole’s thoughts catapulted through her mind so hard and fast, she got dizzy.
Rebecca . . . Rebecca was related to her. She was Nicole’s great-great-grandmother. The journal that had followed Nicole around belonged to her ancestor. Rebecca had said she cared for Nicole, that they knew about her. They’d watched her grow up.
Nicole’s head started hurting and she leaned forward, putting it in her hands.
“That money of Captain Price’s was always intended for an Arete descendent. I hoped so badly it would be me. But it wasn’t and so the money is for you.”
“What am I supposed to do with it?”
Tiffany hesitated. “Well, what have they told you?”
Nicole narrowed her eyes. “I don’t feel comfortable telling you.”
“Very well. Next time Rebecca visits you, let her know we’ve had this conversation. She’ll know what you can and can’t hear.”
“You . . . you’re aware that Rebecca has been visiting me?”
“Of course I am. After all, I’m the one who made sure you ended up in the apartment next to that possessed tree. She was unnaturally prolonging her life, living in special receptacles, and couldn’t go to you on her own. You had to be brought to her when you were mature enough to meet her.”
No wonder Rebecca had died as soon as the tree was cut down—it really had been giving her life. And no wonder she’d been so insistent that Nicole read the book. They wanted it to be their bloodline that carried out the important task of destroying the embryonic manipulator.
Nicole looked at Tiffany. “You know about the embryonic manipulator?”
“Yes, and it’s a wonderful invention. We’re very happy it’s still working.”
Nicole frowned. What was her mother playing at? Had she never read Captain Price’s journal? Did she really not know that he and Rebecca abhorred and regretted the invention, that they wanted to destroy it? Well, Nicole wasn’t about to tell her mother what was going on.
“Here, let me show you pictures of the Prices.” Mother got up and grabbed another album, and Nicole remembered what Derek had said earlier about the duty of their family. It was in their charge to undo what Rebecca had done. To fix the problem their family had created.
For a moment, Nicole felt a bit of awe over the fact that her ancestors had chosen her. They’d known it would be her all along and obviously never told Tiffany that she wasn’t an Arete. Nicole felt a bit of gratitude for that. It showed that they respected Nicole. At least, she felt it did.
The two spent the next hour looking over pictures and sketches of Rebecca and Christopher, along with letters they’d written. Apparently, one of their good friends was an artist who practiced on the Prices quite a lot. There was an overabundance of artwork that surrounded the couple.
Nicole searched through the letters, trying to find mention of the things she’d been taught in the journal, but only a couple of items popped up here and there—Rebecca inventing something that took many years to create, communicating with important beings, that they would be blessed with strong, dependable descendants.
Captain Price always had a smile on his face in the sketches. He looked like he truly enjoyed life. Rebecca was more somber, but Nicole saw one or two sketches where the woman was grinning at her husband. It was weird for a while, seeing Rebecca that much younger.
Mother put away the last book—there had been three—and glanced at Nicole. “I know you have some pretty difficult decisions coming up. I want you to know you can always come to me if you need support.”
Nicole took a breath. “Why is it that you’re finally offering that support to me now? Did it really take Christopher and Rebecca’s approval? Because that’s messed up. I’m your daughter. Your only daughter. You should have supported me regardless.” Nicole got to her feet and awkwardly put her hand on her mother’s shoulder. “Either way, thanks for the offer. I appreciate it. I’ll see you in the morning.”
What she’d really wanted to say, but couldn’t, was how frustrated she was that her mother finally approved of her when she saw that it could benefit her and get her more power.
Nicole couldn’t wait for Rebecca’s next visit. They had a lot to talk about.
***
The rest of Nicole’s stay was fairly pleasant. Paul and Julia left her alone—finally—and Chase and Derek entertained her. They watched movies most of the holiday while waiting for Emily to finish up the turkey. Nicole recognized how un-American it was to have a cook do the entire family meal, but that was how it always was at their house. Emily had brought her boyfriend over and seemed to enjoy herself.
The dinner went fairly well. There were no arguments or even awkward feelings, surprisingly. Tiffany didn’t nitpick, though Nicole could tell she had things on her mind.
After eating, Dad took Nicole to his gun room and showed her his newest Civil War-era gun. Nicole oohed and ahhed over it, as expected, then told him about the Smith and Wesson Model 1 Revolver that Coolidge had in his possession. Dad was as excited as she’d predicted he would be, and asked several questions. Then they spent an hour talking about the tests Nicole had to take to make it on the expedition.
Nicole
actually found herself enjoying the time she spent at home. She hadn’t realized just how stressed she’d been. But even though she was having a good time, she couldn’t stop worrying about Albert and the Gardners.
Saturday morning’s flight out couldn’t come fast enough.
Chapter Ten
Lizzie was just as ready as Nicole to get back to the daily grind. On the way to the airport, she talked about her upcoming finals and the boys she’d missed. Nicole waited until Lizzie had finished, then told her about her visit with her family, including her conversation with her mother.
Lizzie was just as shocked as Nicole had been to learn that the money Tiffany had inherited was actually intended for Nicole.
“But wait a second, wait a second. That old lady is related to you?” Lizzie’s eyes were huge. “Seriously? How’s that possible?”
“I don’t even know.”
“And what about the money? What are you supposed to do with it?’
“I have no idea. I’m going to ask Rebecca next time I see her.”
“Yeah. Let me know when you do. I’m dying to find out what’s going on.”
“You and me both.”
The flight back to Seattle went quickly, and soon enough, they’d touched down. They found their way out of the airport and to Nicole’s car, then Nicole dropped Lizzie off at their apartment. She called Austin and talked to him almost the entire drive back to Moses Lake, a tradition she really enjoyed. He was still in Montana with his family—otherwise, she would’ve stopped by his apartment to see him.
Even though they’d talked every night she was in Texas, it was still good to hear his voice.
Nicole’s car and phone died on the main road, just by Albert’s driveway. He was there waiting with his buggy, his position tense, looking uncomfortable. The minute he saw Nicole, a smile spread across his face, and his entire demeanor relaxed. She could tell it had been a stressful last few days.
“How was it?” she asked, hopping into the buggy, her bag on her lap.
Albert grunted. “I wasn’t able to get to the Gardners, not even once. I have no idea what’s going on at the house. Not only that, but I was paid several visits from city authorities. They heard from the hospital that something is going on out here. I told them everything I knew and they tried to convince Winston to go with them. He gave them a bunch of lies, saying he and his family are moving in here with me . . . but I know it’s not true. It did buy us a bit of time, however.”
Perceive, Mosaic Chronicles Book Three Page 14
