Discern, Mosaic Chronicles Book One

Chapter Seven

After five minutes, another room emptied, and Coolidge checked the things inside and motioned to Judith Ann. "It's ready for you."

Nicole didn't feel bad that Judith Ann got to go first—she didn't want to wait with the girl. Was it possible that Coolidge felt the same? Nicole bet so.

Judith Ann stepped into the room and squealed in disgust. "The gun is here!" She whirled, glaring at Professor Coolidge. "You did that on purpose!"

Coolidge frowned. "Actually, I didn't. And thank you for giving away its location. Now I have to rearrange the objects in all of the rooms." He nodded to Nicole and the others. "You're excused. I can't have you around to see which objects end up where. Return in twenty minutes."

Judith Ann stomped a foot and stormed around the corner, flipping her hair. Nicole half smiled, shaking her head. She walked in the other direction, sat on a bench, and pulled out her lunch, deciding to eat part of it now anyway. She could restock at the cafeteria between tests.

The food calmed her nerves and she was able to finish reviewing what she'd learned the night before. The time passed quickly, and Nicole returned just as Judith Ann disappeared into a room. Coolidge motioned Nicole to an open room and she went inside, shutting the door behind her. She peered at the table and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized she recognized all seven objects.

Of course, the book was one of them. She hesitated. Had it followed her, or was Coolidge really wanting her to be familiar with it?

Nicole took a deep breath, headed straight to the book, and put it on the far end of the table. It would be the most powerful thing in the room, she was sure of it.

Nicole stepped back and examined the remaining objects.

The porcelain doll was there, along with the beanie, the gun, a wad of tissue, a coin pouch, and the bowl they'd talked about the second day of class.

Nicole started touching the objects, weighing them in her hands. She was surprised to find that she could recognize a difference in the magical pulses of three of them. Wow—that was better than she thought. She placed those items on the table according to the strength of their magic.

She studied the remaining objects—the beanie, the coin pouch, and the bowl. Where should she put them? None of them seemed any more important than the others, and their magical pulses felt the same. The bowl was thousands of years old, yes, but that didn't make it more powerful. The beanie was from the seventies; the coin pouch, the thirties.

Nicole felt time ticking and tried not to rush herself. She put her shaking hands in her back pockets, trying to force herself to concentrate. What if she failed the first test? Would she be allowed to make mistakes? She suspected that it all depended on how the other students performed. She couldn't help but wonder what Judith Ann was doing. She'd probably left already.

Okay, enough rambling and mind wandering. Nicole closed her eyes and took a deep breath, pulling the information on the objects to the front of her brain.

The beanie was created by a wealthy man. It looked shabby because it really was his first crochet project. But he was a very powerful Arete. He'd made it for his only child, a boy with a mental disability. He hoped it would prevent the son from developing further problems by offering cushioning to the boy's skull. Whether it worked or not, Nicole hadn't been able to find out, but she knew the man had put his heart and soul into the beanie.

The coin pouch was made magical by a woman who suspected her husband was filching her money. The pouch caused money not owned by the man to turn red. Again, Nicole didn't know if it had done what it was supposed to do, but she hadn't been very impressed with the woman's other projects.