Promises (Book One of The Syrenka Series) (29 page)

“
Sure, Master….um…Kain,
sir.” Palmer continued stuttering out his words as though he was
standing in front of a rock star. “Are you here for practice?” My
cousin looked around nervously as though he may have forgotten
their appointment.

“
Oh no. I had a water
session this morning and I’m spent,” Kain said with a smile. He had
a way of making those around him feel at ease with very little
effort. It was a really great quality and one I wish that I could
master. “I’m actually here to talk to Eviana.” Kain looked down at
me and I couldn’t tell if we were going to have a good or a bad
conversation.

I stood and brushed off the sand from
my body. My hair pulled against the back of my head, so I retied my
ponytail to keep the long blonde pieces from falling in my face
again. Trying to be casual and confident I threw back my shoulders
and faced my cousin.

“
Palmer and I are finished
now.” Turning back to Kain, I added, “Why don’t we go inside so I
can get a drink.”

He nodded and we began to trek back
towards the house. I felt something hit the back of my skull and I
spun around to glare at my so-called protector. He was standing
there with a huge smile on his face tossing a small pebble up and
down in his right hand.

“
What? Your training is
never over, Eviana. Remember that.” He threw the pebble at me again
and I swatted it away. Tipping an invisible hat in my direction,
Palmer turned around and jogged off towards the other guys training
further down the beach.

“
Jerk,” I muttered under my
breath. Kain just laughed.

“
That’s pretty tame of
you.”

“
Yeah, well…see how grown
up I am now? I didn’t even begin to call him all of the nasty names
that went through my mind.”

He smiled at me. “I’m impressed.” My
heart did a little flip-flop at that comment. I knew that I had
messed things up pretty bad, so when I got a compliment from Kain,
it really meant something to me.

We were nearly to the top of the
stairs leading up to the expansive redwood deck my ancestors had
built around our house when a petite figure with long dark hair
like my mother’s leaned over the top of the railing and began
waving her arms at us.

“
Eviana! Kain! You need to
come inside now!”

“
We’re already on our way,
Marisol.” My little sister had been forced to grow up quite a bit
as well after our parent’s death. She and I still did not get along
most days, but over the past few weeks it seemed as though she
realized that putting our differences aside was going to be the
only way to make living together practical. Plus, I was her legal
guardian now so she really didn’t have much of a choice.

“
Well move faster!” she
yelled. “You need to see this!”

I had no idea what she was talking
about. Maybe she learned a cool defensive move or maybe her new cat
was doing something cute. I didn’t really care to be honest. She
was still blaming me for our parent’s deaths and she certainly
didn’t hide her true feelings about me becoming our clan’s leader.
We had a damaged relationship; that was for sure.

Her slim body disappeared inside just
as we reached the top. Shrugging my shoulders, Kain and I silently
continued towards the sliding glass doors that opened up into a
large kitchen and dining area. The television was blasting from the
adjacent living room and it seemed as if that’s where we had been
summoned to. Quickly grabbing a bottle of water, I leaned around
the counter to see that almost everyone inside was gathered around
the large flat screen, vying for a spot to see the show. I looked
questioningly at Kain, who had waited for me, but his slight shake
of the head told me that he didn’t know what was going on
either.

“
Eviana!” Marisol’s squeaky
voice called again, although this time it was tainted with
something I couldn’t quite place. Maybe fear or despair and my
stomach dropped at her tone.

I pushed my way to the front of the
crowd to see what all the fuss was about. One of the local news
channels was on and the words “Breaking News” kept flashing across
the top corner of the screen. Marisol was sobbing and one of the
female protectors was trying to soothe her.

“
Can someone turn this up?”
I asked trying to ignore her sniffling so I could hear what was
happening.

The newscaster, a thirty-something
year old man with perfectly manicured hair and an award-winning
solemn face, began to speak. “I am standing outside of The Wensler
Academy where a student has just been arrested for shooting several
others earlier in the day. Eighteen-year-old Justin Bernard,” he
said while reading from his notes, “was detained by police almost
an hour ago. Sources say that Mr. Bernard came to school with a
loaded pistol and brutally attacked three female
students.”

Pictures of the injured girls flashed
on the screen and I sucked in a panicked breath. “Kristy Smith,
Carlee Robinson, and Mia Sarcowski all sustained serious injuries
when Justin opened fire on them without warning.” The newscaster
disappeared and clips from an earlier student interview filled the
screen.

“
He just kept mumbling the
same words over and over. I couldn’t understand him but it sounded
like
I must hurt her
friends
.” The redheaded boy kept shifting
nervously and his eyes darted to and from the camera.

“
Do you know whose
friends?” asked the reporter. But the boy continued shaking his
head.

“
No. I don’t. It’s just so
weird. Justin wasn’t like that. He would never hurt anyone. I…I
don’t understand…” His attention jerked towards the crowd behind
him where Justin and the police had just emerged from the building.
The star athlete’s hands were cuffed behind his back and two
officers were escorting him by the elbows. They hustled him to the
car, but not before the reporter stuck the microphone in front of
his face.

“
Why did you do it, Justin?
What was going through your mind?”

I didn’t know Justin well, but from
what I could see of him right now, there was something very wrong.
His pupils were dilated and his lips never stopped moving. He
wouldn’t answer the reporter’s questions and instead stared
straight ahead like a robot. Just before the police pushed his head
into the backseat of the car, the camera man got a close enough
shot for me to pick out a few words.

It was only three little
words but they sent ice through my veins. How was this possible?
What could he possibly mean? None of it made sense to me and when
he kept saying
hurt Eviana Dumahl
over and over, the reality of what this could
represent suddenly came crashing down.

About the Author

Amber Garr spends her days
conducting scientific experiments and wondering if her next door
neighbor is secretly a vampire.  Born in Pennsylvania, she
lives in Florida with her husband and their furry kids.  Her
childhood imaginary friend was a witch, Halloween is sacred, and
she is certain that she has a supernatural sense of smell. 
She writes both adult and young adult urban fantasies and when not
obsessing over the unknown, she can be found dancing, reading, or
enjoying a good movie.

Other Titles Coming
Soon

Betrayal
– Book Two of The Syrenka Series

Touching Evil
– A Leila Marx Novel

Connect with Amber Garr
Online:

www.ambergarr.com

http://ambergarr.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com – Author Page: Amber
Garr