Conceal, Mosaic Chronicles Book Six

by Pearson, Andrea

  Nicole reached out and touched the feathery soft surface of the shield. It was barely tangible and nearly invisible. “I didn’t realize your range was that big.”

  Jacob nodded. “Let’s go.”

  He stepped out of the building. As they walked, Nicole realized her ability to sense the other Aretes was hampered quite a bit by his shield. It was a good thing he was leading. Juri whispered to him in hushed tones as she helped him figure out where to go.

  They walked through several buildings and went down a few streets, heading toward the center of the island again. This time, Nicole was able to pay better attention to their surroundings. She imagined the place had once been a pleasant, bustling hub. With so many apartment buildings, it must have housed a lot of people. Many of them had left belongings behind, and even though she knew people had moved away gradually as the available work had diminished, it still felt like the area had been abandoned in a hurry.

  They finally approached the right place. Jacob had everyone stop and duck several times behind broken walls. Several Fire Aretes wandered aimlessly throughout the courtyard outside Takashi’s building.

  Rather than go through the front doors, Jacob led them into a neighboring building. He put a finger to his lips, then had Juri find a hiding place—the Aretes wouldn’t sense her presence, and sneaking around with four people was getting hard. Three would be difficult enough.

  Once they reached the side entrance to the neighboring building, he motioned for Nicole and Lizzie to come closer. “I’ll go first,” he breathed. “Count to ten before following, and be watchful. Is it possible to turn off your magical pulse?”

  Nicole hesitated. “I can push my powers away, but I don’t know how much that would do.” If only they had the blockers from several months earlier that completely dampened her pulse. She really hadn’t expected to need those again, though.

  Jacob hesitated. “Just . . . just do what you can. We can’t stick together anymore, though.”

  Nicole agreed. “Go ahead—we’ll follow.”

  Jacob turned and looked before dashing across the small alleyway between the buildings. He climbed three steps to the doorway and disappeared from sight.

  After waiting the full ten seconds, Nicole ducked into the alley next, pushing her powers as far away as she could. Her heart beat in her ribs so hard, it made her throat hurt.

  She headed up the stairs, but stumbled when a loose one shifted under her foot. She slipped, falling backwards, and slammed her hand to the crumbling pavement in an attempt to stop her fall. It didn’t work, and her butt landed roughly on the hard ground. A groan of pain escaped before she could stop it.

  “Who’s there?” a man called from the courtyard.

  Crap, crap, crap.

  Nicole got to her feet, sensing two Aretes approaching. She dusted her hands on her jeans.

  “No one,” she said, cursing her clumsiness as the men neared. One had a gun in his hands, and the other’s pulse was strong enough that he could obviously defend himself without a weapon.

  The one with the gun motioned to Nicole. “Haven’t I seen you here today?” He stared at her hard, his eyes moving to her hair.

  “Yes. I’m here with my friend.” Nicole glanced toward Lizzie. “She felt something on the island calling to her. We’re trying to figure out what it is.” She hoped her straightforward answer would keep them from asking more questions.

  The man lowered the gun, looking toward Lizzie as she stepped out of the building and came to stand next to Nicole. He stared at her hair for a moment before nodding.

  “It’s calling to all Fire Aretes, but no one has been able to find it. We only know it’s somewhere in there.” He pointed the gun toward Takashi’s building.

  “Clint, don’t tell them nothing,” the more powerful Arete said.

  “It doesn’t matter what I tell them. She figured it out on her own,” Clint said, motioning to Lizzie. “Let’s take them to Nelson.”

  The other Arete grumbled. “Nelson don’t need to see them. Anyways, the last several he saw disappeared.”

  “All newcomers see Nelson,” Clint said. “Stu, I’ll even let him think you found them.”

  Stu grinned. “That’s kind o’ you.”

  Stu grabbed Lizzie’s arm, yanking her toward the courtyard, and Clint grabbed Nicole’s. His fingers dug sharply into her flesh. She did her best to pretend it wasn’t bothering her, not sure how else to react. Calling out for help would let the men know there were more in their group. She definitely wasn’t going to do that.

  Clint dragged them into Takashi’s building and through the front doors, then marched them up the stairs to the second floor, pushing Nicole to her knees in front of an open apartment lit with several hanging propane lanterns.

  A man standing over a table glanced up. “What’s this?” he asked with a thick Australian accent.

  Clint strode into the apartment, keeping the girls in his line of sight and the gun trained on them. “Newcomers to see you. One’s a Fire. The other’s Water.”

  Nicole bristled. She was not a Water Arete. Couldn’t he see her super-blond hair?

  “What are they doing here?” Nelson put his arms behind his back and stepped over.

  “Same as everyone else.”

  Nelson nodded. He walked around Nicole and Lizzie, then paused in front of Nicole. A flash of metal caught her attention, and a knife was suddenly at her throat. She cringed, expecting him to slice her neck, but instead, he used the flat side of the blade to pull her chin upward.

  “So young,” he murmured. His eyes roamed over her face, hair, body. Nicole felt a cold sweat rush over her when she noticed that Nelson’s hair was nearly gray—only a little red was visible. He was more powerful than she.

  He stepped to Lizzie, gently stroking the knife down the side of her face. She jerked away and he chuckled.

  “College, I’d guess?” he asked.

  Neither girl responded and he stepped back to the table.

  “Out,” he barked at Clint and two Aretes who stood against the wall on the other side of the table.

  It wasn’t until then that Nicole noticed Stu hadn’t stuck around. Where’d he go?

  The three men left the room, and Nelson looked down a hallway. “You too,” he said.

  A woman stepped into view, glared at him, and strode past Nicole and Lizzie without looking back.

  Nelson motioned for the girls to approach the table. They glanced at each other, then did so.

  “The thing we’re searching for is somewhere in this building,” he said. He looked at them. “I’ll make you the same promise I’ve made everyone else. You find it, give it to me, and I’ll make you rich.”

  “How do you know it’s worth anything?” Nicole said with her eyebrow raised. “And define rich.” She didn’t know a lot about Australia’s economy, but if it was similar to America’s, which she thought it was, “rich” could mean a lot of things.

  Nelson laughed. He stepped behind Nicole, his hands hovering over her arms for a moment before he lightly made contact. His voice was right next to her ear when he whispered.

  “Anything you can imagine,” he breathed. “I have it all.”

  Nicole tried not to cringe. “I have what I need.”

  “What about your friend here?” Nelson turned to Lizzie, tugging on one of her curls, then letting his hand rest against her neck briefly before glancing at Nicole.

  “She can speak for herself,” Nicole said. “She’s the reason we’re here.”

  “Yes, she is, isn’t she?” Nelson turned to the table, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. He pointed to a handmade map tacked to the surface. “Here’s the building. As you can see, we’ve explored every inch of it, but no one has found anything.”

  “How do you know it’s here?” Nicole asked.

  He glanced at Lizzie. “Ask her. It calls you,” he said to her. “Doesn’t it?”

  Lizzie nodded. “Yes.”

  “Well, let’s fin
d out where it takes you.” Nelson suddenly grabbed Lizzie by the arm. “Lead the way. You can come too,” he tossed over his shoulder to Nicole.

  Lizzie looked at Nicole, an expression of terror on her face. She was probably remembering what Clint’s friend had said earlier about people going missing. “What if I can’t find it?”

  “We’ll discuss that later.” Nelson let go of Lizzie and picked up two lanterns at the door, carrying both of them. Then he motioned for Lizzie to go first.

  Lizzie walked out of the apartment building, leading them back to the staircase. No other Aretes were on this floor—Nelson kept this place squarely under his thumb.

  They started up the stairs. A few Fire Aretes waited on the third floor and trailed them. Nelson handed one of the lanterns to a woman they met near the fourth floor.

  The farther they went, the more Aretes followed until there were fifteen or more behind Nicole. She felt their gazes boring into her. How were she and Lizzie going to get out of this place? And why hadn’t Keitus come yet? Nicole bit her lip. He was probably working on getting the other talismans first. It had been at least two weeks since he’d taken Coolidge’s.

  The higher they went, the slower they climbed as they reached the sections of stair that were most deteriorated, forcing Lizzie to pick her way carefully.

  Nicole watched in surprise as Lizzie reached the eighth floor and turned toward Takashi’s apartment. The girl was right—the talisman really was calling for her.

  Lizzie hesitated near Takashi’s door, and Nicole saw why. There were five or six Aretes waiting inside.

  “Move,” Nelson commanded.

  They obeyed.

  Nicole wondered what had happened that this man could gain control in the few weeks since Takashi had passed away.

  Lizzie stepped into the small kitchenette and knelt in front of the cabinet underneath the sink.

  One of the women in the group snorted. “We’ve searched there before.”

  Nelson hushed her, his eyes not leaving Lizzie.

  Lizzie put her hand on the cabinet and closed her eyes. “It’s here. I can sense it.”

  “That’s what everyone says,” Nelson said.

  A sudden and brief pulse streamed through the cabinet, hitting Nicole squarely in the chest. She gasped. She could sense the talisman too!

  “What?” Nelson asked her.

  Nicole shook her head. “I . . . I . . .” She wasn’t sure what to say. If she told Nelson she could also feel the talisman, he might not believe her—he might think she was trying to trick him.

  Nelson looked at Lizzie again. “So get it.”

  Lizzie’s mouth popped open, then closed. “I’m not sure how.” She looked at the cabinet.

  Nicole knelt beside Lizzie, putting her hand next to her friend’s on the cabinet. “We need a screwdriver,” she said.

  Nelson stared at her for several moments. Then he looked at the nearest Arete, the man with the crazy beard from Nicole’s first visit to the island. “Get the toolbox,” he barked.

  The man nodded and pushed through the crowd, leaving the apartment.

  No one said anything while waiting. The silence was thick. The room stank like onion breath and body odor. Nicole wasn’t surprised—these Aretes hadn’t showered in who knew how long. Probably weeks.

  Finally, the guy came back. He pushed through again, dropping the box next to Nicole.

  She opened the toolbox and pulled out a Phillips screwdriver. She turned back to the cabinet and started unscrewing the hinges. What was she doing? She had no idea. Probably getting them killed.

  At first, the screws didn’t budge. Nicole twisted harder, praying the old metal wouldn’t strip. Soon, though, it turned, and she was able to remove all the screws. She pulled the cabinet door off, setting it aside before starting on the other screws holding the hinges in place.

  “What are you doing?” Lizzie whispered.

  Nicole didn’t respond. She didn’t have an answer to that. It just felt right.

  After she’d removed the hinges completely, she started on the sides and floor of the cabinet, working on loosening the glue and nails that held them in place.

  The more she took the cabinet apart, the more the Aretes behind her grew restless, eager.

  “It’s getting stronger,” a woman said. “She’s getting closer!”

  The Aretes pressed in behind Nicole and Lizzie. Even Nelson hovered above, watching intently.

  Nicole also felt the talisman’s pulse strengthen. What would happen if she uncovered it and took it? The Aretes would definitely kill her to get it in their hands. Regardless of whatever society Nelson had set up, these people were going crazy trying to get it. They’d kill Nelson if he tried to stop them, and he had to recognize that by now.

  She glanced up at him. Nope—he was as crazed-looking as the rest.

  Nicole swallowed, turned back to the cabinet, and continued dismantling it. She weighed her options. She could stop now and claim she couldn’t sense it anymore, or she could continue. If she stopped, the Aretes would certainly pull her away—she was surprised they hadn’t done so already. But if she continued, they’d definitely overpower her and take the talisman.

  Knowing she needed the talisman worse than they did, Nicole continued. It was the only way she’d even have a slight chance of leaving with it in her possession.

  She pried the top layer of wood off the bottom of the cabinet, and suddenly, light shone from inside.

  “There it is!” a woman screamed.

  Everyone pushed forward, knocking Nicole down and to the side. She gasped as the bodies pressed on top of her.

  “It’s mine!” someone shouted.

  “Give it up!” Nelson responded. A gun cocked. Had he forgotten he controlled Fire?

  Then true pandemonium broke out.

  Nicole was kicked, jostled, shoved, and pushed aside as the Fire Aretes fought over the talisman.

  She curled into a ball, trying to protect her head. Someone fell on top of her, knocking the wind out of her.

  The gun went off once, twice, three times. People screamed. A window shattered.

  Then the room started getting hot, fast.

  Nicole wriggled out from under the person who had fallen on her. She cried out when a foot crushed her hand. “Lizzie?” she called. “Lizzie!”

  “Mmmm—here,” Lizzie responded.

  Thick smoke started filling the room. Flames danced across the ceiling.

  Nicole realized that someone was probably using their powers to make the fire grow. She and Lizzie needed to get out, even if it meant leaving the talisman behind.

  A part of Nicole realized, though, that if they didn’t take the talisman now, they’d never see it again. Keitus’s goons were probably on their way already—if they weren’t there by now.

  “Lizzie!” Nicole called, trying to weave through the stampeding legs. Why were these people still fighting over the talisman? How were they not burning to a crisp? It was so hot, even near the floor where Nicole crawled.

  “Over here,” Lizzie responded.

  Nicole forced her way through the room, arriving at Lizzie’s side. A deep purple bruise was blossoming across the right half of her face. Her eye was swollen shut.

  “Can you tell where the talisman went?”

  “Yes, but so can all the other Fire Aretes.”

  “We have to get it back!”

  Nicole coughed, her eyes stinging, watching several Fire Aretes race after another who dashed out of the apartment. She caught a brief glowing light in the woman’s fingers before she disappeared around the wall.

  The flames died the moment the woman left. She must have been controlling them.

  Nicole helped Lizzie to her feet, wishing she could better control water. Lizzie’s arms had second-degree burns on them.

  “Lead the way, Lizzie,” Nicole said.

  The room was surprisingly quiet after the chaos of seconds earlier. Bodies were all over the floor—Nicole saw Nelson a
mong the dead and injured.

  Lizzie didn’t hesitate. She sprang over several Aretes, jumped out of the kitchen, into the living room, and then to the hallway outside.

  Nicole followed. They raced after the screaming voices that had started down the stairs.

  The girls shrieked when Jacob leaped onto the stairway next to them. “I tried to help—things went so fast,” he gasped as they barreled downward, passing an Arete who’d fallen.

  Nicole didn’t respond—her lungs were burning too much. First the smoke, and now the stairs.

  “This way!” Lizzie hollered, exiting the stairs on the third or fourth floor and running down a hallway.

  Nicole and Jacob followed and Nicole briefly wondered where Juri had ended up. She hoped the woman was okay.

  Lizzie entered an apartment and abruptly came to a halt. She screamed.

  Nicole slammed into her friend, then screamed too. The woman who’d run off with the talisman had no hair—it had all melted away, third-degree burns covering her scalp. She held the talisman in one hand, and her other hand was around the throat of a man who convulsed in front of her. The man’s skin steamed and boiled. Obviously, the woman was heating him up with her Fire abilities.

  Nicole looked away when the man dropped to the floor, dead. She felt bile rising up in the back of her throat. Completely barbaric.

  The woman laughed maniacally, holding the talisman to her chest.

  “Who’s next?” she said.

  “We need that,” Lizzie said. “You don’t understand what it—”

  “I don’t need to understand anything. It wants me.”

  Lizzie shook her head. “No—it’s calling to all Fire Aretes. You’re not special.”

  The woman glared at Lizzie. “Shut up, brat.” Without waiting for a response, she pushed past Lizzie and Nicole.

  A thump sounded from the hallway, and the woman grunted and fell to the ground, revealing Juri, who held a huge piece of wood. She tossed the wood aside, then pried the talisman from the woman’s fingers and handed it to Nicole.

  Nicole tucked the talisman into her pocket. “Thanks, Juri,” she said.