Enshroud, Mosaic Chronicles Book Eight Read online

  “Yeah, that’s fine.”

  Nicole started up the stairs, taking them two at a time. She was almost to the top floor when she hesitated. Something twisted in her gut—a sort of premonition, a warning. Maybe she should have Jacob wait on the fifth floor instead. She shook her head at herself—she was being silly. But the feeling persisted, and when Nicole reached the fifth floor, she gave in to it.

  “Hey, Jacob,” she called over the balcony to where she could see him sitting on the bottom step of the first floor.

  He looked up. “Yeah?”

  “Why don’t you wait up here? That way, we can start discussing what I figure out immediately.”

  Her hesitation was misplaced, she was sure. Nothing ever happened once she got inside Shonlin—she was safe there. Still, her hands started sweating, and cold waves flooded over her.

  Nicole approached the door in the corner and greeted the guardian, pushing aside her nervousness. It wouldn’t help her now. She needed to stay focused and protect her mind from wandering thoughts when she picked up the lantern.

  The guardian stood motionless, eyes shut, and didn’t respond to Nicole’s greeting. Nicole entered the room, then approached the lantern where it rested, already lit. She concentrated on the real talismans and picked it up, then stepped into Shonlin’s forest.

  She knew immediately that something was different. But what?

  One light was visible, far off. Nicole approached it.

  She heard a slight hissing and a pop. The forest around her brightened considerably, and a massive fireball exploded right next to the glowing light.

  Nicole dropped to the forest floor and screamed as flames roared over her. Her back was in agony, the pain stabbing and deep.

  The fires stopped almost as quickly as they started. Nicole screamed again as she rolled, trying to put out the flames that seared her skin. Even after it was gone, the effect of the fire lingered, the heat licking at her nerves. She felt wind breezing across her back and knew she had no clothes there anymore. How badly was she burned? She whimpered as she cautiously, carefully, got to her knees and tried to turn to see.

  Blisters covered both shoulders, but she couldn’t turn her head farther to see how bad they were.

  What had happened? Nicole looked the way she’d been headed, but the glowing light was still there. She’d thought it had exploded. She stumbled to her feet, unable to think clearly. What was going on?

  A darkened figure stepped into view, blocking the ball, and reached toward her. “You are not wanted here, Nicole . . .” The feminine voice was grating, the accent weird.

  Nicole gasped as visions flooded her mind. Glowing trails, Keitus with three talismans, a single path leading to that last talisman—a snowy expanse over mountains and lakes and a massive ocean from his current location.

  The visions disappeared.

  Nicole heard another hiss and pop. It came from the woman.

  Turning, clenching the lantern, Nicole scrambled, tripping, running as fast as she could through the charred trees back to the library. She felt and heard the fire roaring behind her and threw herself through the wall, landing hard on her stomach. The lantern was flung from her hand, but not before fire exploded over her, rushing into the room, eating up the oxygen there.

  Nicole screamed, shrieked, wishing Jacob could hear her through Shonlin’s magic. Her entire body was in agony. She felt herself drifting, going unconscious. She had to fight it!

  The wall slammed shut and the fire died.

  Had to get to Jacob . . . had to survive. Fight. Live.

  Nicole crawled forward, barely able to move. The pain was too much, too raw. She wouldn’t make it.

  The guardian stood near the large rose window, his face toward her, his eyes shut.

  “H . . . help . . .” she gasped.

  “You’ll replace me soon,” he said.

  “Please . . .”

  He shook his head. “It’s my turn to move on.”

  No, it wasn’t—she wasn’t going to die. She wouldn’t allow herself to die! Nicole dug her toes into the cold stone, carefully reaching out, gripping it with her fingertips, and dragged herself an inch forward. She’d been burned twice across her back, but her chest, stomach, thighs—none of her front had been burned. She had a chance. She would make it.

  Blackness crept in at the edges of her vision.

  “No,” Nicole said.

  She reached again, pushing with her toes, screaming in agony, and again scooted an inch.

  Only twenty feet to go.

  Feeling tears enter her eyes, wishing she’d taken the chance to say goodbye to Austin, Nicole forced herself forward again.

  She couldn’t die. She wouldn’t die.

  Nicole concentrated hard. She counted to three. Then she bellowed as loud as she could and pulled herself forward again, this time moving several inches.

  She ignored the guardian. He hadn’t moved from where he stood next to the rose window, his face turned toward her, a peaceful expression there.

  With another massive push, Nicole again pulled herself forward by several inches.

  It was exhausting, horrible.

  She roared again and pushed hard, then screamed when the skin on her back wrinkled and shifted with her efforts. How was she still alive? Didn’t burns like these usually kill people?

  Realizing that following that train of thought would kill her, Nicole forced her focus back to the task of getting out of the library.

  She edged her way to the door that was now visible. The door that led to Jacob. It was open. Had she shut it? She thought she had.

  Then she saw that the guardian had moved, that he’d opened the door for her. Shame filled her when she realized she’d never asked him how long he’d been stuck here, in this room, with rare visits from other people. Should she allow him to find peace and relief? To be released from this eternal calling?

  No . . . no. She couldn’t—she wouldn’t die.

  Austin’s face entered her mind, his warm brown eyes. His beautiful lips as they formed the words “I love you.”

  A sense of warmth built, starting in her chest, and Nicole felt herself strengthening, even if only a little. Determined to survive, she thought about the people she cared so much about, starting again with Austin. Lizzie followed soon after, and Nicole pushed herself forward several more inches as she thought of her relationship with her best friend. Lizzie had been there for her through everything—she knew Nicole better than anyone else in the world, Austin included. She’d seen Nicole grow up—they’d been by each other’s sides since grade school.

  Nicole inched forward, her arms aching, her leg muscles throbbing. She was reaching the edge of her physical limits. She’d exceeded her physical limits.

  She grasped at the threshold, thinking of Professor Coolidge and his belief in her, how he’d practically adopted her from the beginning. How he’d taught her, counseled her, trusted in her.

  Her thoughts returned to Austin again. The things they’d been through together. Their breakup, his devotion to her even through all of that. She pushed herself over the threshold.

  Was it far enough? Would Jacob be able to help her?

  She couldn’t see him, and she couldn’t feel her magic. Her magic always returned when she left Shonlin.

  A few feet more to go. It felt like a hundred miles.

  Nicole allowed her thoughts to go to her parents. Her dad, who had always been so lovingly detached. Affectionate, but at a distance. Never caring enough to really get to know her. And Tiffany—oh, Tiffany. The mom no girl wanted. Full of jealousy, full of envy. Tiffany had hated Nicole enough to actually go through with murder—though instead of killing Nicole, she’d killed another Arete. An evil Arete. Greg.

  For the first time, Nicole felt forgiveness flooding through her. She forgave her parents. She forgave Greg.

  With a final grunt, Nicole pushed herself fully beyond Shonlin. Jacob solidified, sitting against a shelf opposite her. She felt her mag
ic appear, faint still, but enough. She forced some of it to trickle to a table, shuffling the charred remains, trying to catch Jacob’s attention.

  She prayed he wasn’t Time-Seeing somewhere.

  The table shuffled, slid across the stone. It wasn’t much, but it was enough. Jacob jerked, his head swiveling upward.

  “Nicole?” he said.

  “Help . . .” It was only a whisper.

  He lurched to his feet as Nicole struggled to remain conscious. He bounded across the distance between them, then gasped when he neared her.

  Not asking what happened, Jacob pulled a small metal container out of his pocket and opened it. Out floated Early, his Minya.

  “Get Akeno. Bring him here immediately.”

  “He can’t . . .” Nicole couldn’t finish. Her vision started swimming. How was she still conscious? How was she still alive? Akeno wouldn’t be able to help—how could he even get here without Jacob’s help?

  Early had already disappeared. She reappeared with a flash, holding something in her arms that was as big as she.

  “Take me to the other side of the library!” a tiny voice said.

  Nicole couldn’t keep her head up any longer. She let her face drop to the cold stone.

  A moment later, a sharp pinching around her shoulders made her scream as her burns were roughly handled. The scene around her rushed away, and she appeared in Akeno’s hand. She recognized his face in the dim darkness that surrounded him. What had happened? Where had he come from?

  He didn’t waste any time getting her into a Minya container. She screamed again as her burns touched the fabric that lined the metal box. She finally blacked out before Akeno could even shut the lid.

  Chapter Two

  Nicole woke to the dark interior of the Makalo container. She knew where she was immediately. What surprised her was that she remembered what she’d been through, and it hadn’t been pleasant.

  She stretched out, loving the sensation of wholeness, of wellness, and especially enjoying the fact that it didn’t bring her any pain. Thank goodness for Makalos, Minyas, and Kaede sap! She reached up and pushed the lid open, squinting against the sudden light.

  “She’s awake!” Austin called out. “Akeno, would you enlarge her?”

  “Austin?” Nicole asked, her heart warming.

  He turned to her. “You’re in the castle in Maivoryl City. Jacob and Akeno brought you here while you were sleeping.”

  Akeno enlarged her, and she ran straight to Austin, who was just getting to his feet, the Minya container still in his hands. She held him tightly, so grateful to see him again. “You saved me,” she whispered. “You and Lizzie and Coolidge.”

  “Technically, Jacob and Akeno saved you, but I’ll take some of the credit.”

  Nicole giggled, leaning her forehead against his chest. She was so relieved to see him again, so relieved to be out of pain. It made her giddy. She kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll explain later. How did Akeno get there?”

  “Sweet Pea made him little here so Early could carry him. The library is big enough that he was able to get far enough away from you to successfully shrink you, even while shrunken himself.” He kissed her forehead, tucking her hair behind her ear. “You were so tiny, Nicole. Akeno was only four inches tall, and you were a quarter of an inch.”

  She gasped. “Wow. Did you see me that size?”

  He shook his head. “We didn’t want to open the container once you were in it. But Akeno showed us how big you were compared to him, and we figured it out.” He showed her the container. “When he got back here, after you’d spent several hours in this already, he made it normal sized so he wouldn’t lose you.”

  Nicole leaned against Austin’s chest again, so grateful to be in his arms. “I appreciate that.”

  Austin made a rumbling noise. “Do you realize we missed both our birthdays while we were on the other planet?”

  “Happy birthday,” Nicole said, still unable to believe that February, and three other months, had come and gone during the four days they’d been away.

  “I’ll make it up to you.”

  “Are you hungry?” Queen Arien called from across the throne room.

  Nicole glanced over. The regular table was packed with people, and Jacob was just shutting a link to what looked like Coolidge’s house. The professor was making his way to the table where Dmitri, Arien, Aldo, Lizzie, Azuriah, the Fat Lady, and Akeno were already sitting.

  “I’m starving,” Nicole said.

  Arien motioned for her to come. “We’ve got a feast for you.”

  Austin led Nicole to their usual places, and Lizzie put her arms around her best friend. “Jacob told us you’d been burned. Like, really, really badly.”

  Nicole nodded. “I don’t know how I got out alive. I shouldn’t have.” She looked at her friends. “It was thinking about each of you—needing to say goodbye, to warn you, to be with you—that saved me.”

  “Warn us?” Aldo asked.

  “About the person in the forest,” Nicole said after taking a drink of orange juice. “I think Onyev knew what was going to happen. He made an off-hand comment about things getting interesting and difficult, but he wouldn’t say how.”

  At the queen’s insistence, she pulled a large breakfast casserole toward herself and piled a huge serving on her plate, then passed the casserole to Austin. As she and the others ate, she explained what had happened. It took an hour to get through her meal, but she didn’t mind—the information she shared was more important.

  “Tell me more about this woman you saw in the forest,” Dmitri said, leaning forward, hands clasped.

  Nicole shrugged. “Well, she had some sort of bombs. At least, that’s what it seemed like. Huge blasts of fire exploded outward from her after a sort of ticking or popping sound.”

  “It has to be a Fire Pulser,” Dmitri said, looking at Aldo.

  Aldo nodded. “It would seem so.”

  “What’s a Fire Pulser?” Lizzie asked.

  “A non-human creature that, well, pulses fire from every pore,” Aldo said. “On our world, they’re regarded as dragons. They can’t fly and they look more like humans than traditional dragons, but their mastery of fire is unmatched.”

  “If Shonlin has been taken over, can we even use it anymore?” Jacob asked.

  Nicole cringed inwardly. She hadn’t allowed herself to follow that train of thought. She had so many questions. “I don’t know, but how did the Fire Pulser get access to that part of the library? And how was she there without the lantern? And why have I never seen her before? Not only that . . . but what am I going to do?” She leaned forward, putting her head in her hands. She was a guardian of Shonlin, but she never wanted to go back again. Would it be bad if she didn’t?

  The answer sprang into her mind immediately. All those magical items—they couldn’t be left unguarded. Sure, there was someone there now, but he could only do so much without the help of a living guardian.

  And what about the forest itself? The Fire Pulser would eventually destroy it. Could Nicole live with herself if she allowed that to happen?

  She didn’t want to look inside too deeply at the moment. The memory of her pain was still too fresh. “I need to talk to Onyev,” she finally said.

  Jacob frowned, shaking his head. “Yeah, well, I have my own information to report.” He thumped a fist on the table, his eyebrows drawn in frustration. “I’ve been so stupid. So dumb. Keitus had me on repeat—the same scene was playing over and over again.”

  “Repeat?” Austin asked. “Wouldn’t you have noticed a pattern if that were the case?”

  Jacob moaned. “Yes, if I’d been paying closer attention.” He sighed, looking at the others. “The loop was two full months long. The only thing that clued me in was a book on the corner of Keitus’s desk that flicked quickly between two locations after two months of staying in the same place. It took me forever to figure it out—fast forwarding, rewinding, fast forwarding, rewinding through everything Keitus
had given me to see. And yup . . . it was a loop. I’ve watched it five times now to be sure.”

  “What does this mean?” Arien asked. “How do we proceed?”

  Dmitri got to his feet and started pacing. “With Keitus completely gone and Jacob unable to find him, we’re going to have to start investigating the old-fashioned way.” He pointed at Coolidge, Austin, Nicole, and Azuriah. “You four will leave immediately. Go to Keitus’s dimension and see what you can find out.”

  “Don’t you want me to talk to Onyev first?” Nicole asked.

  Dmitri shook his head. “No. I’m not sure if Jacob has told you this already, but time passes the same when you’re in the past as it does when you’re here, and I don’t want to wait even a moment longer—not when we have no idea what’s going on with Keitus. At this point, information from Onyev will merely satisfy our curiosity. Knowing what Keitus is doing is far more imperative. Hopefully, he’s there still, just hiding from Jacob’s sight.”

  Dmitri looked at his son with an expression of pride. “I know you’ve been stressed about this, but we really love and appreciate you. Thank you for everything you’ve done to help us find Keitus.”

  Azuriah grunted. “It’s not just Jacob who’s been trying to find him. He’s hiding from my sight too.”

  “Wait,” Nicole said. “You can Time-See too?”

  Azuriah stared at her, his lip slightly curled. “Really? Think, Nicole, think. Did you even consider where Jacob got the ability from? It certainly wasn’t from his human father.” His gaze flitted to the king. “No offense, of course.”

  A smile played at the corner of Dmitri’s face. “None taken.”

  “Hold on,” Nicole said, straightening in her chair. “What do you mean, where Jacob got it from?”

  Azuriah rolled his eyes. “Are you so dense? How could a human have such remarkable abilities?”

  Nicole shrugged. “I wondered, of course, but figured Jacob would tell me if it ever came up.”

  “Well, it’s coming up now,” Azuriah said.

  Jacob glanced at Nicole, a flush on his face. “I was going to tell you guys, I promise. I . . . uh . . . I wanted to wait until you and Azuriah got along better first.”