Old Man on the Sea (The Lost Keepers Book 6) Read online

  Old Man on the Sea

  The Lost Keepers #6

  AR Colbert

  Ramsey Street Books

  Copyright © 2021 AR Colbert

  All rights reserved

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Previously in The Lost Keepers

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  A DEEPER LOOK

  ABOUT THE SERIES

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Previously in The Lost Keepers

  Everly finally gets her powers, but they are nothing like she expected. She can swim like a fish and breathe underwater indefinitely, but she can’t teleport like her mother could. Not yet, anyway.

  And while she can now see the auras of other Keepers, hers is not the same. Atlantean auras are a blue-green color, but Everly’s is white. Tate suspects this could be dangerous in the eyes of other hunters, like Osborne.

  Gayla has an intense vision about someone called the Deliverer, which reminds Tate of a prophecy that was once rumored to exist. Now Everly is left with more questions than ever before, and it seems every mystery they stumble upon is somehow connected to her.

  CHAPTER 1

  The oven beeped, a signal for my mouth to begin to water. I could practically taste the fudge-nutty goodness of Dom’s brownies through the air. It was a refreshing distraction from the conversation at hand.

  Dom and Tate had been grilling me since Gayla quieted down after her vision. They acted like I should maybe have some clue as to what she was talking about, but I couldn’t even stop to dwell on it. My mind was still reeling from the afternoon’s events. I had powers now, which meant I would be able to survive a trip into Keeper territories.

  I could find my mom.

  Dom slid a paper plate in front of me, the brownie looking more like a pile of mud than a neat little square. But I didn’t dare criticize her for pulling them out of the oven early or cutting into them too soon. Melty, gooey piles of fudge were exactly how I preferred to eat my brownies. I scooped the pile into my mouth, then opened wide and breathed in and out quickly while fanning with my hand to cool my scalded tongue.

  “Hot?” Tate asked with a smirk.

  I stole his glass of milk and chugged it down with my brownie in three swallows. “Better now.”

  Dom smirked and slid into her seat at the table. “Okay, so back to what we were discussing…”

  “About the Deliverer?” Tate asked.

  “No. About Everly’s aura. I think that’s where we need to begin. We can worry about finding this so-called Deliverer later.”

  A groan echoed from the living room. “Do I smell brownies?” Gayla croaked.

  Dom winked. “Told you it would work.”

  Three chairs scooted across the tile in unison as we all went to check on our friend.

  Gayla still lay on the floor, mouth half open and eyes squinting in the light from overhead. She looked like she was going to be sick.

  “How are you feeling?” I asked.

  “I’m feeling like I will never swallow another pill in my life.”

  “That’s probably a good thing.” Dom extended a hand, and Gayla’s arm still shook as she accepted the help back onto her feet. “Do you want a brownie?”

  “Not yet.” Gayla’s nose scrunched. “Maybe some water?”

  They were already seated around our small breakfast table when I set the glass of water down in front of Gayla.

  “So you mentioned a Deliverer.” Tate steepled his fingers, as though he were the CEO of an important meeting in some sky rise downtown.

  “Who let the hunter in?”

  “Everly did.” Dom shot me a knowing look. “We’ve got a lot to catch you up on.”

  “Like Everly’s new white aura?” Gayla tilted her head in my direction.

  “See?” Dom said to Tate. “The aura takes priority.”

  “I really think there’s something important in that vision, though,” he argued.

  “Guys!” I shouted through a mouthful of half-chewed brownie number two. “Yes, I am a freak with a white aura. But I’ve always been a misfit. There’s nothing new there. And Gayla’s vision was… strange. But I don’t know that it necessarily matters right now.” I swallowed my food, hoping Dom wouldn’t be able to read the lie I just told. “I think you’re all forgetting the most important thing of all. I’m a Keeper now. That means we can get outta town and go find where they’ve got my mom locked up in the territories.”

  All three of my friends began shooting that idea down at once, and I couldn’t make out what any of them said as they all spoke over one another. The truth was, I suspected all of this was important and interconnected somehow. I hadn’t forgotten my first full day in New York—the day my mom went missing. We were in Rossel’s gallery, looking at a four-foot tall picture of me. Not the old scarred up me. The new me. The Keeper me. And the plaque under the portrait clearly showed the title: Deliverance.

  It couldn’t have been a coincidence. But trying to piece that mystery all together felt overwhelming. We needed to start with the most basic piece. We had to find my mom. It didn’t matter what color my aura was or what Gayla thought she saw. Rescuing my mother was all I could think about.

  “No,” I repeated. “I’ve got to find my mom. She could be in danger.”

  Tate looked like he wanted to say something, but he stood instead, moving to refill his milk glass. Dom must have noticed, too. She stared hard in his direction, eyes slightly narrowed. I wondered what she was discovering in that mind of his.

  Finally, Dom turned back to Gayla and me. “Maybe Tate’s right. We should focus on the vision. If there truly is some prophecy that the royalty is trying to erase from history, it might be connected.”

  I clenched my teeth, but Dom continued before I could object. “Your aura is different. What if it relates to the prophecy somehow? Maybe that’s why your mother was kidnapped. Maybe she knew. There’s just too much revolving around you for this to all be a coincidence.”

  She had a point. My mother obviously knew something was different about me. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have needed to hide my powers. I wasn’t fractured. I was just… not like anyone else.

  Gayla nodded. “Yeah, I definitely think the vision was for you, Ev.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  She shrugged. “Just a strong hunch. This wasn’t like the others. This was more visceral. I felt things. I knew things that I couldn’t see. It’s hard to explain.”

  “Try,” Tate said, sliding back into his seat.

  “So bossy,” Gayla grumbled, but she tried anyway. With her eyes closed, she began rubbing her temples, wrinkling her forehead as she lost herself in the memory of the vision. “So there was this old man with white hair. Or—part of it was white, anyway.”

  “Olympian, then,” Dom said.

  “No. I don’t think he was. He was definitely crazy though.”

  “How so?” I asked.

  Sh
e paused, and her eyelids twitched with movement from underneath. “He just sits by the window, mumbling to himself and watching the water.”

  “Ocean water or river water or what?”

  “Definitely the ocean. And I’m certain he’s waiting for you.”

  “I thought you said he was waiting for the Deliverer.”

  Her eyes flicked open and settled on me. She swallowed and nodded slowly. The others were staring at me as well.

  “Seriously? You think I’m the Deliverer?”

  She cocked her head to the side. “Yeah, I think maybe you are.”

  Dom’s eyes darted back and forth across my face, attempting to gauge my reaction.

  “What does that even mean? I can’t change the world. I barely understand how Keepers relate to the mortal world at all. And when it comes to powers, I don’t even know what exactly I can do!”

  “That’s why we need to get to the bottom of this prophecy.” Tate reached across the table and rested his hand on my arm, effectively lighting me up from wrist to shoulder. I pulled away, risking just a quick glance in his direction to see if he felt it too, but he gave no indication one way or the other.

  “I agree,” Dom said. “We should definitely look more into the prophecy if we want to have any idea of what you’re supposed to do.”

  “Assuming it’s more than folklore and that I’m the Deliverer it speaks of.” I shook my head, still unbelieving anything like that could be true.

  “Right. But I think you’ve got a point, too. You just got your powers like an hour or two ago, right? Let’s allow things to settle and see what you can do. You won’t be able to change the world until you at least have a grasp of your own powers. What have you noticed so far?”

  “Well, my senses are definitely sharper. I can see further and hear better. And I can see your auras now. I can’t see mine, though.”

  “I can’t see mine, either.” Gayla shrugged.

  “Yeah, I don’t think anyone can see their own, so nothing strange there,” Dom said. “What else?”

  “I can swim now. And maybe breathe underwater? Or maybe I don’t have to breathe underwater anymore. Either way, I’m definitely comfortable staying down there for however long I need to.”

  “Yeah, that’s Atlantean alright. But those are just the basics. All descendants of Atlantis can do that. What about teleporting? Your mom was a messenger, right?”

  “Right, but I’m not. I tried and it didn’t work.”

  “Can you heal, like Millie?” Dom stood and walked to the kitchen.

  “I don’t know. I haven’t tried to—DOM! What are you doing?!”

  She’d sliced open her palm with the brownie knife, and cupped it to prevent blood from dripping to the floor.

  I leapt to my feet, but Tate and Gayla looked as relaxed as ever, propped lazily on the table. Gayla swirled the water with her glass, and Tate just watched me expectantly.

  Dom extended her hand toward me. “See if you can heal me.”

  “How?”

  “I don’t know. Just take my hand and think about the wound closing up.”

  I did, trying my best to keep my own hands steady. Her skin was cold except for the sticky warmth of her blood leaking between her fingers as she settled her hand between my palms. I took a good look at the wound, then closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, thinking of nothing but the sides of her cut coming back together and stitching her wound closed.

  When I opened them, everyone was staring at me. I slowly lifted my hand from where it covered Dom’s, and with a shaky breath, I peered down to find that nothing had changed.

  “It didn’t work.”

  “That’s okay.” Dom raised her shoulder. “It’ll heal in a couple of hours anyway—that’s another perk of being a Keeper. Healers just make it happen a little faster.”

  “So you’re not a messenger, and you’re not a healer. Can you run fast like Sean?” Gayla asked.

  “I don’t know. I haven’t tried.”

  “There’s energy manipulation, too,” Tate said. “It’s not as common as the others, but it’s pretty cool in action. That’s an Atlantean thing, too.”

  “I don’t even know what that would look like.” I plopped back down into my chair with a huff and rested my forehead on my arms atop the table.

  “Okay,” Dom said. “We will definitely get this all figured out, but it doesn’t have to be right now. Gayla looks like she’s going to pass out at any second, and Everly looks like she could use a nap, too.”

  “She smells like she could use a shower first,” Gayla added with a laugh.

  I shot her a sarcastic look, but then glanced down at my damp, dirty clothes. I probably smelled just like the Long Island Sound and all of its filthy glory. She was right. I needed to get cleaned up.

  “Let’s put a pin in this for now. I think I’ve got an idea brewing so we can discover what Everly is capable of really soon. But in the meantime, nothing that happened here today can leave this room. Got it?” Dom looked pointedly at Tate.

  “Got it.”

  Dom nodded, satisfied that he was telling the truth. “And Ev, unfortunately, I think we need to keep you hidden until we know what exactly this white aura is all about. Can you promise me not to sneak out or anything until we figure some things out?”

  “I promise,” I said. And at the time, I meant it.

  CHAPTER 2

  My heart thumped harder as we stepped through the double glass doors that led into the gym. The air stung with the scent of chlorine, and my thoughts immediately raced back to Clayton nearly drowning me in the St. A’s basement. Logically, I knew that wasn’t possible anymore. As an Atlantean, I was an amazing swimmer now. But evidently, my adrenaline hadn’t gotten the memo.

  “Can I help you?” A man with deep brown skin and muscles that could have easily graced the cover of any men’s fitness magazine looked up at us with a grin.

  Gayla noticed him as well. She sauntered over to the front desk, tucking a thumb under one of her bikini straps that peeked out of the loose neckline of her tank top. “Actually, you can.” The man’s grin widened and Dom rolled her eyes as Gayla cranked up the charm. “We’re looking for the pool.”

  “I’m sorry, the pool is booked for the next hour and a half, but you’re welcome to hang out here until it’s available. There’s a juice bar around the corner.”

  Dom pushed her way past Gayla and set a box of cupcakes on the counter. Muscle man’s eyes widened at the sight of them. “We’re the ones who booked the pool.”

  “You’re the birthday party?” he asked.

  “Yup.” Dom did not look amused.

  “Oh, my apologies. Right this way.” He led us down a hall and into a large room with walls of glass windows. The real star of the room, however, was an Olympic-sized swimming pool, glittering in the middle.

  “Would it be possible to close these blinds?” Gayla asked, sweetly.

  “Afraid not. Corporate doesn’t allow that for parties. It’s a liability.”

  “Close the blinds,” Tate said. I felt the harmonies of his words in my bones, and it gave me a little shiver.

  “Yes, of course,” the glamoured muscle man responded with a nod and scurried over to the windows, closing the blinds window by window.

  Dom utilized the time he spent working to set up the cupcakes on a small table off to the side. Three colorful helium-filled balloons rose from each corner of the table, wishing some imaginary child a happy birthday. It was genius for her to book this pool for us. There wasn’t anywhere else that I’d be able to swim and experiment in the water so freely without the burden of watchful eyes. And there were cupcakes in the deal, which was always a bonus.

  Muscle man finished up with the blinds and turned back to Dom, sensing that she was the one in charge. “I’ll direct the rest of your guests this way as they arrive.”

  “There are no more guests. Just us.”

  The man glanced nervously between me, Tate, Dom, and Gayla. But he knew bet
ter than to object. Instead, he nodded and dashed over to the doors, pulling them quickly closed behind him as he exited.

  “You guys didn’t have to run him off so quickly,” Gayla pouted.

  “We don’t need him.” Dom placed her hands on her hips. “Alright, Everly. Let’s see what you can do.”

  With a deep breath, I shimmied out of the shorts and t-shirt that covered my modest one-piece. It covered so much more than the bikini from the St. A’s house had, but I still felt exposed. My cheeks heated, and I couldn’t bring myself to make eye contact with Tate. The tightening of my chest was enough for me to know he was still there.

  But as soon as I broke through the surface of the water, all my insecurities just disappeared. The water in the pool was so much clearer than the water of the sound, and my muscles came alive with the freedom to speed and swirl and spin through the water. I raced back and forth down the length of the pool, then decided to skirt around the outer perimeter. Everything about the water felt natural, like this was where I was meant to be.

  After some time, another body splashed down into the water across the pool. I was by Dom’s side in three seconds, emerging from the water with a grin.

  “Holy cow! You weren’t kidding.”

  “It feels so good, Dom. I can’t even begin to describe this feeling.” Something drew my attention to Tate, who sat in a chair on the outside the pool. He watched me closely, amusement glimmering in his golden eyes.

  “Well you’re definitely Atlantean,” Gayla said with a laugh. She had stripped down to her swimsuit as well, and sat on the edge of the pool with her long legs dangling in the water, kicking softly back and forth.

  “Okay,” Dom said as she hoisted herself back out of the water on the edge of the pool. “Let’s see what else you can do.”

  I climbed out as well, no longer embarrassed about my lack of clothing. I felt strong and powerful, and frankly, I didn’t care who noticed. Though I still didn’t look at Tate for too long. He was distracting enough as it was.