Knowing that hanging onto a ladder wasn’t exactly resting, Nicole only waited a couple of minutes. When she started climbing again, though, she took a brief break every ten rungs.
Finally, they reached the top.
“What now?” Nicole asked, pushing a hand against the cement above. “What is this place, anyway? It’s not a legit smokestack.”
“I never said it was a smokestack. You naively jumped to conclusions.”
“Only because it’s cylindrical, tall, and coated with soot on the inside. What else was I supposed to call it?”
“Enough, you two,” Austin said.
Ouch. Nicole hated that her boyfriend was acting more mature than she. But he didn’t have a stupid Shiengol constantly attacking him. Maybe he’d be arguing too if that were the case.
“As I was about to explain,” Azuriah said, “we now have to jump.”
Lizzie squeaked. “J—jump? Off the ladder?” She whimpered. “Please tell me I didn’t hear that correctly.”
“I’m afraid you heard me perfectly fine.”
Nicole felt herself start to hyperventilate. “What does jumping do?”
“It gets us to Renforth’s world.”
“You’re absolutely serious?” Lizzie asked. “You’re not joking?”
Azuriah growled in annoyance. “Do I need to spell it out in your ridiculous language?”
Austin grunted. “Well, with this news, my stomach is already somewhere near the bottom. I might as well go find it.”
Without waiting for a response from anyone, he let go of the ladder and fell backward.
Nicole screamed, watching her boyfriend plummet. He disappeared from view. She waited for the resulting thump as he hit the ground, but it never came.
“Your boyfriend has a lot of courage,” Azuriah said.
Nicole gasped, trying to breathe through her panic. “If you just sent him to his death, I swear, I’ll kill you.”
“If I die when I fall, you won’t need to.”
And with that, Azuriah followed Austin.
“Nicole?” Lizzie whimpered.
Nicole felt tears build up in her eyes. “Yeah?” She couldn’t believe Renforth would require this. And why hadn’t Azuriah warned them ahead of time?
“Will you jump with me?”
“Oh, Lizzie, of course I will. I don’t want to go alone either.”
It took some shuffling, but Nicole was able to lower herself to Lizzie’s position. They put their arms around each other. Nicole could see her fear mirrored in her best friend’s eyes, and realized she needed to be brave enough for both of them.
“On the count of three?”
Lizzie nodded, a squeak escaping her mouth.
“We need to push away from the ladder—don’t want to hit it on the way down.”
Lizzie only moaned in response.
“One, two . . .” Nicole took a breath. “Three.”
The girls pushed off the ladder and were suddenly plummeting downward, the wind streaming through their hair, roaring past Nicole’s ears. They clung to each other, screaming.
Abruptly, the dark interior disappeared, and Nicole and Lizzie were no longer falling. They stood at one end of a pristine, white-stoned courtyard.
Nicole kept her arms around Lizzie when her friend burst into tears. She felt a few of her own leak out as well. She couldn’t tell who was shaking more—her or Lizzie.
Austin’s calm, strong arms surrounded both of them, and the three held each other for several minutes. Nicole felt eyes on them, but she didn’t care. The stupid Shiengols could eat their hearts out. She was surprised, though, that Azuriah didn’t interrupt them.
When Lizzie and Nicole were no longer shaking, they pulled away from each other. “Let’s get cleaned up and bandaged,” Nicole said, glancing at Lizzie’s hands. She turned to Azuriah. “Can we get some of that stuff now?”
A loud throat-clearing interrupted them. “His Majesty, King Renforth, prohibits any cleansing or healing of injuries sustained while trying to reach our planet.”
The speaker was another Shiengol. This one had long blond hair and a pinched face.
“That’s cruel,” Austin said. “Look at their hands.” His were probably in bad shape too, but as he’d been raised on a ranch, he was way ahead of the girls.
The Shiengol wasn’t moved. “Follow me.”
He turned and strode across the pristine courtyard, and Azuriah followed.
Nicole sighed. “Sorry, Lizzie. We’ll get you taken care of as soon as we can.”
Lizzie sniffed. “I’m okay—I can’t really feel them anymore.”
Nicole put her arm around Lizzie’s shoulder. The poor girl.
The three Aretes followed Azuriah and the other Shiengol into a massive throne room lined with pillars. At the opposite end was a Shiengol Nicole assumed was Renforth. He sat with one leg crossed over the other, his dangling foot bouncing impatiently.
“Come on, come on,” he called.
The visitors hurried across the room, stopping in front of him.
“Well?” Renforth said.
“We need Keitus’s body,” Azuriah said. He pointed to Austin. “He can explain why.”
Austin paled. “No . . . I . . . Not . . .” His mouth hung open for a moment before he snapped it shut.
“What’s wrong with him?” Renforth asked.
“Who knows?” Azuriah wasn’t even paying attention anymore. He’d stepped to the side of the room to a body hanging from the wall. It was rotted and disgusting, barely held together by the sinews and tendons. “Is this Keitus?”
Renforth got off his throne and joined Azuriah. The Aretes followed. “Yes. Lovely, isn’t he?”
“We need his body,” Austin said, finding his voice. “He’s going to try to get it back. If he does, we’ll be in big trouble.”
“Why?”
Austin glanced at Nicole, a panicked expression on his face. She knew it wasn’t because he didn’t know the answer, but because he absolutely hated being put on the spot in unfamiliar settings like this.
“Because of the talismans,” Austin said.
Renforth cackled. “Those talismans are worthless on this planet.”
“He doesn’t plan to stay here,” Austin said. “He needs his body to use the talismans, and when he gets it, he’ll be able to wield their power. From what we’ve heard, the power is great—enough to rival even the Great Ones.”
Renforth laughed outright. “The Great Ones? Who are they to me? Nothing but myth and legend. They’ve never even stepped foot on this planet.”
Nicole shook her head. “If Keitus gets the talismans, he’d definitely have power over your planet too.”
Renforth stared at her, his eyebrow raised. “Who are you? I don’t remember giving you permission to speak in my presence.”
Nicole threw her hands up. “Argh! You didn’t give Austin permission, and yet you’re okay with him talking?”
“Azuriah said he’d explain. He didn’t say you’d explain.”
Nicole spun away from him. She was worried that if she looked at him a second longer, she’d smack his stupid face. Which, of course, had been the original plan . . . but now that they were in Renforth’s palace, she realized how dumb that idea was.
“Regardless, Keitus’s body is perfectly safe here. You all experienced how difficult it is to gain access to my world. Keitus is in a weakened state and can’t gain strength without a body. His corpse isn’t leaving this wall without my permission.”
Nicole looked back at the wall. Renforth was a little too confident in how secure the body was.
“We have access to a lot of awesome gadgets,” Nicole said. Something about this guy said he’d be impressed with the things she and the other Aretes could offer.
He shook his head. “I have enough for my needs at this time.”
“What about magical items?” Austin asked. “I can get you nearly anything you want.”
“I want Keitus’s body.”
“Attitudes like that, Nicole, definitely won’t get you what you want.”
Nicole was surprised Renforth had heard, but she wasn’t in the mood to try to smooth things over anymore. “Well, being shortsighted won’t get you anywhere.”
An expression of anger flashed across Renforth’s face. “You are forward, girl. I don’t recommend that here. Normally, such insolence would be enough to grant all of you weeks of dungeon time.” His eyes strayed to her hands. “And something tells me that much time would be very detrimental to your health.”
He put his arms behind him, standing tall. “But I am in a forgiving mood. Therefore, I shall allow your group to leave without punishment for your impertinence.”
Nicole ground her teeth but didn’t say anything. She remembered what Jacob had said about his first visit to Renforth’s place. They really couldn’t afford to get stuck on this ridiculous planet for longer than a few minutes. Already, she was aching to get home, and it wasn’t only because of her throbbing hands and sore muscles.
Renforth sighed loudly. “A word of advice. You obviously don’t recognize this already, but if Keitus is decided on using the talismans, he won’t need to retrieve his corpse—he’ll know it’s too difficult to steal it from me. And he’ll also know that nearly any other body would do.” He glanced at Azuriah. “Have that human boy of yours keep his eye on Keitus. The man won’t stop searching until he gets what he wants.”
“How do you know this?” Azuriah asked.
Renforth stared at the Shiengol before responding. “I watched Keitus for nearly as long as you did. I know him. And I was already familiar with how the talismans work.” He turned away. “Now leave.”
Azuriah nodded. “Let’s go,” he said to the Aretes.
Nicole glanced at Renforth, surprised he’d actually said something helpful. She really hoped he was wrong, but something told her he wasn’t. They’d definitely be asking Jacob to keep his eyes on Keitus.
Azuriah paused, turning back. “How do we exit?”
“Same as always.”
Azuriah glared at Renforth. “Thank you for your kindness, brother.” He stormed from the throne room, with Nicole, Austin, and Lizzie struggling to keep up.
“He’s your brother?” Nicole whispered once they’d reached the courtyard.
“It’s an expression. We’re related, yes, but not siblings.”
Wow. He hadn’t snapped at her. Not wanting to push her luck, Nicole dropped back until she was even with Austin and Lizzie.
“So, what’s the ‘same as always’ way to exit this planet?” Lizzie asked.
“The way we entered it,” Azuriah said.
“You’re serious?” Austin asked.
“I’m serious.”
Lizzie and Nicole glanced at each other. How were they going to force themselves back up the smokestack?
When they reached the other side of the courtyard, Azuriah stepped into the darkened interior of the smokestack. Nicole didn’t remember seeing it here when they’d first arrived—she would’ve sworn nothing but white stone had been behind them. Nevertheless, the ladder was there, ready for them to climb.
“I can’t do it again,” Lizzie said. “There’s no way. I won’t even be able to hold on for a split second.”
Azuriah exhaled in frustration. “Come here, girl.”
Lizzie stepped to him and he indicated for her to hold her hands out. Once she’d done so, he opened his bag, pulled out the healing stuff, soaked a bunch of rags with it, then wrapped her hands in the soaked rags. He did the same for Austin and Nicole, then had Austin help him with his own bandages.
“This should help numb the pain until we reach the top,” he said. “When we arrive at the castle in Eklaron, you’ll need to get home as quickly as possible and sleep. You won’t fully heal until that happens.”
Nicole adjusted the bandages until every section of her hands were covered, then she faced the ladder. “Who wants to go first?” she asked. Her hands still throbbed, but Azuriah was right—the pain was numbed a bit.
“I’ll go,” Austin said. He started climbing. Nicole swallowed, watching his arms shake with the effort. If he was struggling, how were she and Lizzie going to make it?
Azuriah went next, followed by Lizzie, then Nicole. Nicole didn’t want Lizzie going last—if her best friend fell too early, she wanted to try to catch her.
Austin took breaks after every five rungs. At first, it seemed impossible to make it even that far, but after about fifteen rungs, Nicole’s muscles warmed up again, and it wasn’t as difficult. Until the shaking took over. Her fingers cramped up, permanently curved in the shape of the rungs—she couldn’t open her hands anymore. Most everything from her head down was numb, and those areas that weren’t screamed in agony. She alternated using her leg muscles to push herself up while trying to give her upper body a break, then had her upper body do the work while her lower body relaxed a bit.
It was agonizing.
Lizzie and Nicole were both crying by the halfway point. Nicole couldn’t imagine being in more pain. Not even having her thighs cut open a few months earlier was this awful. Her heart beat so hard in her chest that her ribcage ached. Her lungs were on fire and she couldn’t stop coughing. When she tasted blood after a long coughing fit, she knew she was in trouble. Was it really possible to overuse lungs so much that they started bleeding?
Finally, they reached the top. This time, Lizzie and Nicole didn’t wait for the men to jump. They both let go of the ladder the moment Azuriah gave them the go-ahead. Nicole didn’t care what happened—her fear of heights wasn’t as strong as her need for relief.
The same thing happened as before, except this time, they appeared outside the smokestack, facing the industrial road.
Jacob was on the other side, waving at them to come.
They lurched across the dusty road, barely able to walk. Even Azuriah looked like he was in incredible amounts of pain.
“I Time-Saw the whole thing,” Jacob said. “I’m so sorry, so sorry.” He already had the door open with a link to the castle. “We’re going to do something unconventional to get you guys healed.”
Nicole didn’t care what happened—the only thing she wanted was morphine, or an equivalent, and fast.
She definitely wasn’t prepared for the “unconventional” thing, though. Suddenly, the room spun, and her ribs and waist were pinched uncomfortably. Then she stood on a spongy surface, staring up at a huge face. A face she recognized.
“Akeno?” she asked, then gasped and dropped down when she realized she was standing on his hand. She’d been shrunk!
“Yes,” he said. “We’ll take care of you.”
He slipped her inside a big metal container, then shut the lid, plunging her into darkness.
Exhaustion rolled over Nicole in waves, and she had no choice but to fall asleep.
Chapter Six
Nicole woke to blackness. She felt refreshed, healthy, energetic. She groped around, trying to figure out how to turn the lights on. It took a moment for her to remember what had happened.
She’d been shrunk.
How was that possible?
“Nicole’s awake!” Akeno’s voice shouted.
Nicole immediately clapped her hands over her ears, wincing as they rang at the loudness of his voice.
His face was revealed when he pulled the lid off her container. “Oh, oops,” he whispered. “Sorry.” He sent her a sheepish grin, then held out his hand. “Here, let me put you to rights again.”
She scrambled to her feet and stepped onto his palm. Nausea hit her when she tried to look at the huge room around her. “What on earth is going on?”
“We healed you in a Minya container,” Akeno said. “Putting you back to normal is going to pinch a little. Just don’t move and you’ll be fine.”
Akeno waited until she was ready, then picked her up around the waist and reached out, setting
her down. The wind whooshed in her ears, and suddenly, she was standing near the doors to Dmitri’s throne room, right where she’d been when Akeno picked her up earlier.
The Makalo was on the other side of the room, and with him were Austin, Dmitri, and Arien.
Nicole stepped across the room quickly, looking around. Azuriah and Lizzie weren’t there. “Where’s Lizzie?”
“She still hasn’t woken up,” Austin said. “Apparently, you sleep until all your injuries are healed. Since her hands and body were in worse shape than ours, she’ll wake up last.”
“Azuriah’s already awake?”
Austin nodded. “He woke up first and is back at his place again.”
Nicole wondered momentarily where Azuriah lived but found she really didn’t want to know. She didn’t care if she never saw the Shiengol again. “How long have you been awake?”
“A couple of hours. I’ve been grilling Akeno, trying to learn about his magic system.”
Nicole turned to Akeno. “That was my next question. You can shrink people?”
Akeno flushed. “Yeah. And things too.”
“Pretty cool, if you ask me,” Austin said.
Nicole agreed, but she still couldn’t believe it had happened at all. “Okay, tell me from the beginning. What did you do?”
“My Rezend—that’s my magic—gives me control over atoms and living things.”
He acted like that was a good enough explanation.
Nicole shook her head. “It’s cool . . . but I still don’t get how it works.”
Akeno shrugged. “I don’t either, honestly. I was the first Makalo in hundreds of years who’d been able to do it. Jacob had to take me back in the past to learn from the Makalo who knew the most about our magical abilities.”
“I love my own magic,” Nicole said, “but I’d definitely appreciate having some of your powers.”
Akeno grinned. “They’re pretty awesome.”
Nicole sat next to Austin at the table where the Minya containers had been set—only one was still shut—and noticed that the king and queen were deep in discussion. “So, what happens now?”
“Coolidge came and they all had a meeting,” Austin said. “We told them what Renforth said, and Jacob will be watching Keitus closely. But apparently, the only other thing we can do is get the talismans before he finds them. No one wants to sit around and wait to see what Keitus does.”
Conceal, Mosaic Chronicles Book Six Page 10
