At the next Tarian meeting, Nicole was given an assignment, the nature of which surprised her. She and two other people—a woman and a man—were to go door-to-door and car-to-car hanging Tarian fliers.
The Tarians were recruiting? How did the general Arete populace not know this? And if they did, why was no one speaking about it?
As soon as Nicole left the meeting, she sent Coolidge a text, informing him of the change. He called her immediately, asking her to keep track of as many of the assigned tasks as possible.
Nicole agreed to do it. She fell silent for a moment, trying to decide if she should stay in the parking lot or drive somewhere else to talk. “I’ll call you back in just a minute—I’m going to find a more private place.”
She drove for several minutes, hoping Coolidge would be okay with the wait, then turned down a side street, pulled off the road, and put her car in park. “Back,” she said, after he’d answered. “It’s also occurred to me that we may not know exactly how many people are Tarians.”
“What do you mean?” Coolidge asked. “Their group is small—always has been.”
“Yes, but there’s been a completely different set of people at every meeting I’ve attended. The secretary has been switched out three times now, and I don’t think it’s because he’s getting fired. I think it’s because this chapter has multiple branches, and the leaders of the group don’t want anyone knowing just how many supporters they have. I mean, has any Arete ever taken a Tarian seriously before?”
“I see your point. And if we always underestimate them, they won’t be far off from gaining a victory. Besides, you’ve assumed in the past that Rebecca is being honest with you. We can only guess right now as to what’s really going on.”
Nicole was silent for a moment as she contemplated this. He was right and she felt powerless to do anything about the situation. “What should I do?”
“Continue going to the meetings. Like I said, try to keep track of as many tasks as you can. Watch where they’re recruiting. See if there are any patterns. And be careful—very careful.”
Nicole agreed and they ended the call. She tucked her phone into her purse, then pulled back to the main road. The meeting had taken place Saturday afternoon, and she had a date with Toby that evening. Her assignment was to take place the following day at three o’clock.
The date with Toby was a good distraction, and Saturday ended quickly. After what felt like only a few hours, Nicole was meeting the Tarian people, a woman named Meredith and her husband, Kurt.
Kurt was short, with thick glasses, and Meredith was tall and skinny. They made an odd couple, especially their personalities. Meredith was talkative and nervous around Nicole, while Kurt was solemn and rarely said anything. Nicole couldn’t tell if he was distracted, annoyed with her, or just annoyed at the task.
Meredith brought tons of fliers, and they started by walking the parking lots surrounding a few shopping centers, putting fliers underneath wiper blades.
Meredith said she had a lot of questions about Nicole, but she only ever asked one.
“Do you like having powers?”
Nicole glanced at the woman, trying to gauge the intent behind the question. “Most of the time, yes. But I don’t like not understanding everything completely. How the powers are created, how they find me. That sort of thing.”
After that, Meredith didn’t bring up anything Arete again, and Nicole wasn’t sure if it was because Nicole’s answer upset her, or because she really didn’t have anything else to ask.
Once they’d passed out half of the fliers, they spent twenty minutes stapling rubber bands to the others. Then they drove to some very tall apartment buildings, and after sneaking inside of one, started at the top floor and went door-to-door, hanging fliers on knobs.
As it was the middle of the afternoon, they didn’t run into many people. But Nicole jumped when the door she was about to hang a flier on opened.
A magical pulse surrounded the man. He was an Arete.
He stared at Nicole. She stared back. He was unkempt, wearing a white tank top that rolled up over his large belly. But the man had the confidence around him that Nicole had come to associate with many Aretes. Perhaps it was the fact that elements—even if only a small aspect of them—obeyed their command.
He took the paper from Nicole, read over it, then glanced at her. “Aren’t you on the wrong side?”
Nicole’s cheeks warmed. Meredith and Kurt stared at her curiously. “Aren’t you?” Nicole asked. She pointed at the paper. “Come learn more about us.”
Then she turned and walked away, Meredith and Kurt on her trail. Several long moments later, she heard the man shut the door, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
“What was that about?” Meredith asked.
“He was an Arete.”
“So?”
“It’s the first time I’ve run into one since turning my back on them. It’s weird, that’s all.”
After that, Meredith fell quiet, like her husband. Without her nervous chatter filling the silence, Nicole’s brain was free to roam, to feel the shame in her actions. Oh, she hoped this would all work out in the end.
They were nearly to the first floor when they ran out of fliers. Meredith took out a notebook and wrote down which apartment they’d ended on, and the three left the building, going their separate ways.
It took several hours for Nicole to rid herself of the gross feeling that accompanied her after the run-in with the Arete. Was she ready to do this? To be the “face” of the Tarians for however long it took? She’d be opening herself up to a lot of public shame and ridicule. Only those closest to her—Lizzie, Coolidge, Austin—would understand why she was doing it.
Would she be okay with that?
She didn’t know.
***
Nicole finally decided to come clean with Toby. After what had happened with Meredith and Kurt, she couldn’t bear the thought that only two people she interacted with on a regular basis really knew what was going on.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Lizzie asked ten minutes before Toby arrived. “You’ve been a nervous wreck all day.”
Nicole smoothed her hair for probably the twentieth time. It was Friday. Finals were happening in three weeks. She and Toby had been dating for three and a half months. He’d been patient long enough, and she knew he was dying to hear the truth.
“I’ll feel better once I get everything out in the open.”
“Okay. Want me to stick around? I can cancel my date with Trent.”
Nicole shook her head. “No, no. You go have fun.”
Lizzie enveloped Nicole in a hug. “Good luck with dinner, too—it smells great.”
“Thanks.”
Lizzie flounced out of the apartment, and Nicole was alone with her thoughts for a few minutes before Toby’s knock came at the door. She welcomed him in, then showed him to his seat. Dinner was already laid out on the table. She’d made kalua pork—slow-baked in the oven, since she was fresh out of a yard to bury the pig in—and a fruit salad. The bread, she’d bought from the store.
They started eating immediately, and Nicole did her best to act naturally. It was hard, and she knew Toby could feel a difference. Things actually had been a little awkward between them since the run-in with Austin. She hoped this wouldn’t put their relationship over the tipping point. She really did care for Toby.
Nicole realized this increased her chances of not being able to date him, however. The Great Ones didn’t want her dating Austin, possibly because he was a very powerful Arete, but maybe also because he held such an important part of her heart and life, and his thoughts and feelings really did hold sway for her. Toby wasn’t there yet, but she didn’t doubt that it might happen eventually.
“Dinner was fantastic, Nicole,” Toby said. “Thank you.” He wiped his mouth, his eyes not leaving her face, and she could sense that her nervousness had rubbed off onto him.
Great.
“Let’s sit on the couch and talk for a while before dessert,” Nicole said, motioning to the living room section of the room.
Toby nodded, standing. He waited for Nicole to lead the way, then they sat close on the couch, his arm around her with her snuggled up next to him.
“Toby, there are a lot of things I haven’t told you yet that I feel you deserve to know.”
He didn’t say anything, but she couldn’t sense malice coming from him.
She held up the necklace. “It has a lot to do with this.”
“Okay,” he said. “I’d like to hear whatever you’re comfortable sharing.”
She took a deep breath. “Well, it all starts with my first class of Professor Coolidge’s last year.”
Nicole proceeded to tell him about the leather journal, and how it had followed her everywhere. How Coolidge had finally found a way to lock it up. She told him about Rebecca’s former living place—the tree that used to be out front of the apartment building—and how the woman’s spirit had followed her to Arches, wanting her to read the book.
She then told him about actually reading the book and learning about her great-great-grandparents. Then she explained to him what had happened in Moses Lake, Washington.
“You carry the elixir with you everywhere?” Toby asked after Nicole had finished.
She nodded. “I have to. It would become ineffective if I didn’t wear it. It gives me a little bit of strength while borrowing energy and power from me.” She looked up at him. “But at least you can see why it’s so important.”
“Yes, and I’m glad you told me.” He pulled her close, kissing the top of her head. “I can understand why you’re so protective of it.”
“It’s not the only thing I need to talk to you about.”
“There’s more?”
“Yes.”
So Nicole told him about the Great Ones preventing her from being around Austin, and how she was now a member of the local Tarian chapter. She explained to him about Rebecca wanting her to lead the Tarian group, to help them see the folly of their ways. She told him about how Austin was working with Elizabeth to find out if Rebecca was being honest.
“Oh, good,” Toby said. “I was trying not to ask you why you believe this woman without any witnesses to what she’s saying.”
“At first, I did believe her. But now, I really don’t know what to think. It’s been several months and apparently, Austin still hasn’t heard back from Elizabeth. I hope he does soon, though. The world convention is in a month.”
“Right after finals end for you.”
“Yup.”
Neither said anything for a moment, and Nicole was okay with that. Her voice hurt from talking. She hoped he’d be understanding. She was happy that he hadn’t freaked out yet, as she’d partly expected him to, but Toby was so easygoing, nothing ever seemed to faze him.
“Nicole?”
“Hmm?”
“You’re still in love with Austin.”
Nicole opened her mouth to contradict him, but closed it immediately, because she knew he was right. And lying wouldn’t make him feel better—he’d still sense the truth. So she didn’t respond.
Toby sighed. “Should we have dessert now?”
Nicole wanted to snuggle up next to him, but she was worried doing so would make him feel like she was being disingenuous. She’d basically admitted to being in love with another guy. How could she cuddle with Toby after that sort of confession? Sure, she hadn’t said anything, but Toby still knew.
“Yes. That’s a great idea,” she finally said.
They got up from the couch and Toby helped Nicole clean up dinner, then serve dessert. They were fairly quiet, only talking about safe topics—weather, school, things like that.
Nicole sensed a change in their relationship. It made her partially regret saying anything to him about the elixir and the drama surrounding it. Would he ever get over this? Did she want him to? Did she want to keep dating a man she wasn’t free to love? That wasn’t fair to him, was it? Even if he chose to wait for her, it still didn’t seem like the right thing to do.
Realizing they’d already talked about enough serious things that evening, Nicole gave Toby a kiss on the lips, promising to talk to him later. She hoped having some time to think over the revelations of the evening would make both of them feel better—would help them know what to do.
***
Over the next two weeks, Toby and Nicole went on several dates. Things weren’t as strained as she expected them to be, for which Nicole was grateful, but she could tell she was distancing herself from him. She wasn’t sure why and didn’t want to think too much about it, so she didn’t.
She also went on several more Tarian assignments—all like the first. Most got her and those she worked with kicked out of buildings or stores, with angry managers swearing and yelling at them never to return.
Nicole was relieved that Andrew and Shana didn’t ask her to do anything that was more involved or serious. With finals looming, she simply didn’t have the time or energy to do much more than hand out fliers and study.
As Coolidge had asked, Nicole kept track of where her assignments took her, trying to figure out if there were patterns, to see if she was constantly sent to the same area. This would hopefully help her figure out how big each area was, and in turn, maybe give them an idea about the number of Tarians there were now.
But Andrew was diligent—never sending her with the same person or to the same location. Nicole wasn’t sure if that was because he didn’t trust her or because he was trying to find stuff for her to do to help her feel useful.
It had been at least two months since she had heard from Greg, the Arete Tarian from Texas, but for some reason, as the end of the semester drew near, he started calling, texting, and emailing her again.
Nicole never responded.
She didn’t care what Rebecca or Tiffany said. She needed to maintain at least a little control over her life.
Besides, Rebecca didn’t seem too worried about any of that—her visits were still fairly frequent, and she kept Nicole updated on the planning for the upcoming convention.
Tiffany’s reports started arriving in the mail—hundreds and hundreds of confidential documents. Nicole only glanced through them before getting overwhelmed. She needed to focus on school first. Pass her classes. Then she could become the “perfect” Tarian.
Austin still hadn’t heard from Elizabeth yet, and Nicole began worrying that perhaps the woman had brushed them off. Nicole knew better than to contact Austin and ask if he could try to find Elizabeth—to call her back again. Perhaps it was harder than TV and the movies made it look to follow someone around, especially when they were dead.
A week before finals, Toby took Nicole for a walk. She was distracted at first, and it took several minutes before she noticed that he was nervous, fidgety.
“What’s up?” she asked.
Toby didn’t respond for a moment. He pulled his baseball cap down lower against the uncharacteristically bright sunshine and dug his hands into his pockets before finally glancing at her. “It’s not going to work between us, is it?”
Nicole paused, then started walking again. “Why do you say that?”
“You’ve been increasingly distant. And now I understand why—you don’t expect to live much longer.”
“If Rebecca is right, I’ll survive. But if the Tarians get their way, then no, I won’t be around after this summer. And neither will you.”
“I just have a really hard time taking all of this in.”
“I know.”
He glanced at her. “Did I ever have a chance with you?”
Nicole thought about his question for a moment before answering. “I care for you and enjoy spending time with you . . . but it’s different. It’s . . . I don’t know . . .”
“Brotherly?”
“Yes.” Nicole nodded, then realizing what she’d just said, she shook her head emphatically. “No! That’s not what I mean. Obviously, I feel something for you that I don’t for other guys, especially my siblings. Ew. Yuck.”
Toby didn’t make eye contact with her. “But it’s not the same as what you feel for . . . previous boyfriends.”
Nicole sighed. “No, it’s not.”
Toby nodded, hands still in his pockets. He opened his mouth several times to say something, but stopped just before anything came out.
They walked in silence for a while. Nicole knew she should reassure him—hug him, tell him things would work out, but she didn’t know if they would, and she couldn’t lie. She’d been doing enough of that as it was.
Toby stopped and turned to her. “I’m not going to beg you. And I’m not promising to wait around for you—that’s not fair to me. But . . . I do care for you. And I want you to call me if you ever get over him. I’ll probably still have feelings for you for several months.” He started walking again. “I think it’s time I move back home.”
“Where is home?” Nicole couldn’t believe she’d never asked him before.
Toby paused. “Atlanta. In Georgia.”
She chuckled. “I know where Atlanta is.”
Toby smiled at her, then tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I love you, Nicole.” He kissed her gently, then, without waiting for a response, turned and left.
Nicole stared at his retreating back. He’d just said he loved her. She’d had no idea. Sure, she knew his feelings ran deep . . . but love?
And he’d broken up with her. How did that make her feel? Not angry or depressed, as she’d come to expect after failed relationships.
Instead, she felt empty.
Their walk had ended only a couple of blocks from her apartment. Not knowing what else to do, and not having the heart to run after Toby, she headed home.
***
Nicole handled the breakup easier than she thought she would. She missed Toby and especially missed being able to talk to him, now that he knew what was going on in her life, but it wasn’t his kisses and touch that she longed for. This told her he was right—they’d never had a chance.
Right before finals started, she finally had the opportunity to begin studying Earth Arete stuff. She hadn’t had a moment to breathe lately, due to school, Tarians, and Toby.
Coolidge’s book gave her a list of Earth sub-abilities that were just under her own native sub-ability. She opened the book on the kitchen table and began memorizing, reading all of the information the book offered on each talent.
Lizzie came home while Nicole was studying. She sat at the table, not saying anything for several moments.
Nicole glanced up. She recognized the expression on Lizzie’s face. She’d talked to Austin. Or had seen him. “I can’t even hear what you have to say,” Nicole said.
“I know.” Lizzie sighed. Then she blurted it out anyway. “He’s doing well and said to tell you hi and that he heard from Elizabeth and she’ll be contacting him again soon with some concrete information and he said in the meantime, don’t worry about any of that, and he still loves you.” She took a breath, sending Nicole an apologetic look. “Sorry.”
Nicole breathed through her nausea, rubbing her temples where a headache had started. After several moments, she whispered, “Thanks,” then started reading the book again.
Lizzie leaned toward her. “Can I help with anything?”
“Sure.”
Nicole told her what she was doing, then had Lizzie gather wood items throughout the apartment. Then Nicole explained the list of sub-abilities, the names of which were much longer than the Wind sub-abilities she’d learned.
Complete wood destruction
Disassembling wood at the level of the grain
Disassembling wooden items, i.e., chairs, stools, etc., into parts
Lizzie was shocked that complete wood destruction would be the easiest for Nicole to learn.
“Why, though?” Nicole asked.
“It just seems so . . . huge.”
Nicole shrugged. “I’ve done it several times already.”
“And how is it related to your native sub-ability?”
“That’s where I’m confused. Maybe it’s because I destroy things by nature. I stop sound, not create it. I destroy wood, not put it together.” Nicole frowned. “Is this why Rebecca chose me? Because, to the core, my abilities are destructive?”
Lizzie bit her lip. “I don’t think so. Rebecca would have chosen you anyway because you’re her granddaughter. Don’t let things like this upset you.”
“I know, I shouldn’t. But it’s disturbing.”
Lizzie didn’t respond to her comment. “Since you already know how to destroy wood, let’s not start with the first sub-ability. I actually like the wooden items I brought out.”
“I need to learn to disassemble things at the level of the grain. Doing that will destroy pretty much everything here.”
Lizzie made a pouty face. Then she smiled. “Give me a minute. I’ll go find a branch or something from outside.” She hopped off the bar stool and rushed out the door.
While waiting, Nicole decided to skip to the bottom of the list and practice pulling furniture apart. She strapped on the bracelet Coolidge had given her, then turned it on. Immediately, a slight, steady shock tweaked the sensitive inner part of her wrist. Ouch.
Turning her attention to the stool Lizzie had just vacated, Nicole took in a deep breath, held it, then released it. After making sure she was in full control over the rest of her breaths, she stared at the stool, gathering power while envisioning the joints coming apart and the nails and screws popping out.
Suddenly, the entire stool dissolved to sawdust.
“Uh . . . did you really need to do that?” Lizzie asked from the open doorway.
Nicole groaned. “I was trying to get it to undo itself.”
“You completely destroyed it. Dang it, Nicole, I really like these stools!”
“I’m sorry. We’ll get another one, I promise.”
Lizzie stepped over the sawdust and sat on the next stool. She handed Nicole a branch. “Start with this. Obviously, taking furniture apart is still too difficult.”
Nicole nodded. She set the branch on the counter. “I don’t even know where to begin,” she said.
Lizzie shrugged. “Does the book say anything?”
“No.”
“Maybe you need to concentrate longer. Picture the grains.”
“How, when I can’t even see them?”
“Here, let me.” Lizzie got up and retrieved a steak knife from the drawer. She cut off a chunk of branch, then stripped it of bark. She handed the now-clean section of wood to Nicole. “Now you can see.” She scratched her head. “Um . . . maybe picture the grain? Focus closer on it than you did with the stool? I don’t know. We need Coolidge or Aus—I mean, we could use someone else’s help.”
Nicole ignored Lizzie’s slip and placed the piece of wood on the counter, pushing the remaining branch aside. She rested her chin on her crossed forearms and stared at the section of branch, concentrating.
As usual, she first got her breathing under control, feeling it rush in and out of her lungs. Then she reached out to her powers—much more carefully this time—and asked them to come to her, aware of the slight shock still being delivered to her right wrist.
After she had a small amount of magic at her disposal, she cautiously directed it forward, asking it to envelop—but not damage—the piece of wood.
The wood began glowing slightly. Nicole stared at it, concentrating harder. Her eyes traced the outline of visible grains. The lines separating the grains began glowing.
Nicole nudged the wood mentally, with her powers, and asked her magic to gently separate the grains from each other.
It worked. The wood fell apart, but this time, in sections.
Lizzie cheered. “You did it!”
Nicole leaned back, rubbing her head. “That was hard. A lot harder than I expected. I could feel my powers pretty much begging me to destroy it.”
“You’re not a native Earth Arete. It’ll take some practice.”
“I’m done for now.”
Nicole turned off the bracelet and removed it. She and Lizzie cleaned up the mess that had been their stool, and Lizzie put the branch near the front door, deciding not to throw it out in case Nicole wanted to practice on it again.
***
Finals week arrived and Nicole put everything else on hold. She stopped answering her phone and checking emails after setting up an automatic message that would tell everyone she wouldn’t be available for the next week and to contact Lizzie if an emergency came up.
Nicole was doing the same for Lizzie. They’d found in high school that this sort of arrangement really helped with family and friends who didn’t quite understand how serious final exams were.
No one contacted either girl, which helped them relax and focus even more.
Both girls took—and passed—their finals. Nicole breathed a sigh of relief. She recognized, however, that things were about to get really interesting.
For all she knew, that first full semester of college would be her last. She hoped not. She couldn’t wait to hear from Elizabeth, though she wasn’t sure how that would happen without Austin contacting her in some way.
The minute Tiffany learned that Nicole was finished with school, she called her. “Your father and I will be right there to pick you up.”
“Um, Mother, you know I’m in Seattle and you’re in Texas.”
Tiffany didn’t respond.
“You are in Texas, right?”
Just then, the doorbell rang.
Nicole groaned and walked down the hall to the front door. She wasn’t surprised that her parents were on the other side. She put her phone away and invited them in.
“How long have you been in Seattle?” she asked as Tiffany and Dad entered the apartment.
“Only a couple of days,” Dad said. He looked around. “Nice place you’ve got here.”
“A couple of days?” Nicole folded her arms. “Were you really waiting for me to finish finals?”
Tiffany waved her off. “Of course not, dear. We also had a lovely visit with Andrew and Shana.”
Nicole rolled her eyes. “I wish you’d leave them alone. I hate the feeling that you’re sifting through my things and my business.”
“Andrew and Shana aren’t your things,” Tiffany said. “And they happen to like you. Which happened to make us happy.”
“Well, good. Your happiness is very important to me.”
Tiffany brushed off the couch before taking a seat, and Nicole rolled her eyes again. The couch wasn’t dirty, but her mother loved making it a point that no one was as clean as she. Ridiculous.
Tiffany motioned for Nicole to sit next to her. “Now that you’re on our side, Nicole, you need to stop being so negative toward us.”
“Yeah, so I’ll eventually get over how you raised me at more than arm’s length, distrusting me and hating everything I would become.”
“Exactly.”
Dad took a seat. No one said anything for several seconds.
“How did finals go?” Dad asked.
“Fine. I passed them.”
“Excellent.”
Tiffany said, “Have you had a chance to study the material I’ve been sending?”
“Not yet, but I planned to start tonight.” Nicole leaned forward. “So, really. Why are you here?”
“To bring you home, of course,” Tiffany said. “Well, not home. To Vegas—that’s where the convention is being held.”
“When does it start?”
“Tomorrow.”
Nicole jumped to her feet. “Tomorrow? I haven’t even started to pack yet!”
“I’ll help,” Tiffany said, standing. “Heaven knows you could use my assistance.”
Nicole led the way to her bedroom. She pulled her suitcase out from under her bed, ignoring how Tiffany looked around the room with disdain.
“You know you don’t need to stay here anymore,” Tiffany said.
“It’s free. And I like it. The landlord is nice.”
“Yes, I know.” Tiffany ran a finger along Nicole’s desk. “At least you’re keeping it relatively clean.”
Nicole folded several shirts, placing them in her suitcase. “I use my desk all the time. Don’t check my dresser. That’s where I store all my dust.”
Tiffany watched for several moments before stepping next to Nicole and holding out a hand. “Here, let me pack. I’m faster. Gather what you’ll need and put it next to the suitcase.”
“Fine.” Nicole didn’t feel like arguing. Mainly because Tiffany was right—she excelled at this sort of thing. “When does the flight leave?”
“In two hours.”
“Are you serious?” Nicole glanced at her mother. “Why were we chatting on the couch?”
“It’s a private jet, Nicole. It’s not like they’ll leave without us.” Tiffany refolded the shirts Nicole had already put in the suitcase, tucking them next to each other in what Nicole had to grudgingly admit was a better way than how she’d done it. “Go get your toiletries.”
Nicole stepped out of her room and into the bathroom. She didn’t grab any of the generic things—toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo—knowing that the hotel would provide those sorts of things. Tiffany always picked places that were fully stocked. But Nicole did grab her makeup, hair brush, and hair products.
She returned to the bedroom, placing the items next to the suitcase.
Soon, she and Tiffany had finished. Nicole zipped up her luggage, pulling it down the hall and into the living room where Dad waited, reading a magazine.
“I didn’t take you for a makeup and hair kind of guy,” Nicole said, sending him a smile.
Dad set the magazine aside. “You never know when I’ll need to learn to tweeze my eyebrows.” He held his mouth straight, but his eyes smiled.
“Oh, hold on. I nearly forgot.” Nicole dashed back to her room, pulled her carryon out from under her bed, and began packing the reports Tiffany had sent her which she still hadn’t had time to study. She’d hoped to get to them early and regretted it not happening. She closed the luggage and hefted it from the bed to the floor, surprised at just how heavy it was. Nicole swallowed. That weight represented a lot of information she needed to start learning.
Once she’d returned to the living room, she asked, “Is there an agenda or something that’ll help me know what I need to learn first?”
“Yes, dear,” Tiffany said. She opened her briefcase and pulled out some papers that had been stapled together. “If you have any questions, go ahead and ask.”
“When do we need to leave?”
“Not for another half an hour.”
“All right. If you need me, I’ll be in my bedroom. Make yourselves at home.”
Tiffany’s eyes strayed to the kitchen, and Nicole knew she’d be cleaning while waiting for her daughter.
Nicole pulled the carryon back to her bedroom, wishing she’d thought to ask her mother for the agenda before packing everything away.
She got to work quickly, numbering each item on the agenda. Then she started sifting through the documents Tiffany had sent her, giving each one a number that coincided with the numbers on the agenda.
The first thing on schedule for the next day was an overview of leadership around the world. Nicole knew most of the leaders in America already, due to what she’d studied from the file Tiffany had let her borrow back around Christmastime. She would only need to go over those documents briefly to refresh her memory. The international leaders would be more difficult, especially those hard-to-pronounce names.
The items on the agenda that most interested Nicole were the ones that mentioned weapon and armor factories. It shouldn’t have surprised her that Tarians were manufacturing things like that. They really did plan to have an all-out war with Aretes and their supporters.
It took twenty-five minutes to complete the task. Nicole had Tiffany to thank for teaching her to categorize and organize things quickly. She put the documents back into her carryon, along with the agenda, everything now in numerical order.
Dad carried her suitcases out to their rental car, and Nicole locked the apartment, wishing she’d been able to give Lizzie a hug goodbye. Her roommate was out celebrating the end of the semester with her current boyfriend.
Instead, she left a note for Lizzie and sent her a text. Then she and her parents drove to the airport. Not needing to navigate through security made things go much faster. Private security was a lot more efficient, so there was hardly anyone there.
The trip to Vegas went quickly as Nicole studied the items in her carryon. Most of the leadership in the States hadn’t changed since December, and she got through them easily. She just hoped she’d remember the names and faces of the international leaders.
She got all the way through the first item on the agenda before they’d been in the air for five minutes. She took a break, then got started on the next thing.
Nicole had barely finished number three when they touched down in Vegas. She still had eight numbers to get through, but her brain had had enough. Especially since she’d studied so much for finals.
The Las Vegas heat billowed over her when they stepped out of the airport. It was eighty degrees—thirty degrees warmer than Seattle’s humid weather had been lately. Nicole immediately started sweating, but still enjoyed the heat.
Tiffany hurried them to another rental car and to their hotel. Nicole’s assumptions about her mother’s choice had been correct—everything was provided for them.
“Are we meeting anyone for dinner?” Nicole asked.
“No, I figured you’d want some time to rest and study before tomorrow.”
Nicole raised an eyebrow. For the first time in as long as she could remember, her mother had put her needs ahead of everyone else’s. Wow. That was journal-worthy.
Instead of commenting on the monumental moment, Nicole thanked her mother and retreated to her private room, deciding a shower was in order.
She spent the rest of the evening alternating between studying, sitting on the deck, and swimming in the beautiful outdoor pool when her brain needed a break. By the time the first meeting started the next morning, Nicole would be ready.