Emanare (Destined, #1) (3 page)
Read Emanare (Destined, #1) Online
Authors: Taryn Browning
“You’ve got to be cold. Go put a shirt on,” she said. He offered her a compliant smile. “Oh, and don’t think you’re off the hook, mister. You have some explaining to do.” Chase arched his back with his palms out, acting playfully worried, helping to expel the tension that kept slithering back into the air.
“I know something’s up with you. That pit bull, you being half-naked and outside the bar. Something’s up. I don’t know what it is yet, but I want answers.”
“I will explain everything tomorrow.” He leaned in closer to her.
“Promise.”
“Promise.” He flashed her an obedient smile, exposing two adorable dimples, and turned to leave. “See you tomorrow, Sam Spam.” He waved, his back turned to her.
“Eww—that’s a horrible nickname. Please tell me you don’t actually call me that.”
“I thought I’d try, but you still hate it.” He laughed and she heard the elevator ding.
Sam stirred restlessly on her worn, crunchy, plastic-coated dorm-issued mattress and fell into a disturbed, busy sleep, full of a bundle of unfamiliar events and things that didn’t make any sense....
Evrik cradled her under a tree as she lay helpless and broken at its base, stroking her hair. She fought to speak through the stabbing pain in her chest. Then a black bear appeared, its arms whipping around frantically as its enormous body balanced on strong hind legs. It returned to all fours and approached Sam, padding the ground cautiously, sadness and concern swirling within its tear-filled blue eyes.
Suddenly she and Evrik were sitting on a blanket on the floor, next to a fireplace in a house she didn’t recognize. The fire flickered so closely, she could taste the ashy scent of burning wood on her tongue. The moon smiled through the window, flooding the room with a soft, ethereal glow. Evrik gently held her hands in his because Sam’s palms were bandaged. She looked up and noticed Evrik’s skin had a lavender tint, accentuated by the moonlight. Evrik lifted her up and brought her closer to him, kissing her gently and devotedly while he held her in the serenity of his strong arms.
From out of nowhere, a hideous, red-eyed creature towered over her, snarling and spitting, with a malevolent twist to its mouth.
Sam’s eyes flew open. She gasped to consciousness, sitting straight up in bed and drowning in a pool of sweat. Her T-shirt stuck to her chest and her hair lay damp and flat against her head.
She glanced at her clock. It was six in the morning. She had only slept for three hours. Sam lay back down, closed her eyes and tried to fall back asleep, but she felt like her veins were about to burst. Her mind raced along with her pulse, sprinting to the finish line in a marathon of craziness.
What's happening to me?
She decided to start her day early. Maybe a walk through campus would help her clear her head. Everything she had dreamt felt so real, but it didn’t make any sense. She didn’t remember ever being hurt or seeing a black bear, and Evrik’s skin—lavender. The image of the red-eyed creature flashed before her eyes. Sam inhaled deeply, centering herself. It was just a dream. It was only a dream. It had to be. It happens. Sometimes dreams can seem very real.
Sam donned a black velour running suit, her favorite black and white Puma’s with pink edging, coiled a gray scarf around her neck, and slipped out the door, careful not to wake Lauren, who was snoring like a lawnmower.
She sauntered up the faded asphalt pathway, under the towering oak trees, leading her in the direction of campus. The sun had just started to wake. Its predawn self-luminous rays peeked through the trees’ barren branches in its ascent. Sam approached the century-old stone academic buildings. They represented prestige and authority.
As Sam meandered by the Science Hall, taking the cool winter air deep into her lungs, a flash of Evrik and three other very tall students flickered before her eyes. One of the guys was huge and had platinum blond hair. The other guy was not quite as tall, with jet-black spiky hair and a tattoo spiraling down his neck. Sam couldn’t make out the intricate detail of the dark ink. The girl was beautiful. Her black hair cascaded down her back and she wore a sweet smile. Like a snapshot, the vision was gone as quickly as it had appeared.
Sam continued on, looping around the beach, a grassy circle where students hung out between classes—but definitely not at six on a Saturday morning. The campus was desolate and asleep, like she should’ve been.
Her eyes focused on the English Hall. She had taken English last semester, but had very few memories of sitting through class. It was as if she hadn’t gone to her classes. Sam had to have attended them. After all, she’d gotten an “A.” She was sure attendance counted toward some portion of the final grade. Sam suddenly remembered her final English paper about the moment in her life that had affected her most – her aunt’s death.
Frustrated and alone, Sam plopped down on the red brick wall outlining the grassy circle. The coolness of the brick permeated through her running pants, nipping at her skin. She wiggled her butt around on the brick, allowing her skin to numb. A winter breeze whirled into a miniature tornado. She wrapped her arms around herself, giving herself a warm hug. She readjusted her scarf to cover her exposed skin.
“It’s a little early to be on campus.”
Sam sat up straight. Her heart pounded against her rib cage as she watched the dark stranger approach. His walk was determined, similar to his arrogant demeanor outside the bar the night before. Confidence clung to him like a tight sweater.
She shivered.
Evrik Sinclair threw the front door open, slamming it shut. He shared a house with his friends— Alea, Malachi and Draylan, just north of the university, next to the reservoir, a man-made water source for residents. The reservoir offered recreational areas with running trails, picnic tables and fishing. His home was located deep in the woods, about a half-mile from the water.
It had been a horrible night. His girlfriend of six months had experienced memory loss, something he’d never anticipated. And when he finally found her, he didn’t know what to expect. But amnesia?
How could she forget me, forget us?
Evrik entered the great room and flopped onto the sofa, sinking into the cushions. He reflected on how the night had started. Earlier that evening, his close friend, Alea Brookes, had a feeling something dangerous had arrived in Baltimore, possibly a demon. Alea had created a seeing elixir. After mixing two of her bottles together, she’d thrown her elixir into a large ceramic bowl, letting the green gas-like substance make clockwise rotations and form a hazy picture. She’d seen a visitor among the green gas. A
sanguis
demon emerged from a Baltimore alleyway. She figured he had slipped into the human world through a portal from the Infernus, the underworld where demons had been banished long ago.
Alea hadn’t seen the
sanguis
demon with Sam, but Evrik didn’t want to take any chances. He knew Sam was going to be downtown with her friends. He never expected to find Sam alone in a different part of town and missing part of her memory. He wished they had gotten to Baltimore sooner. Maybe then, he could’ve stopped him.
He felt himself worrying, even after the fact. But luckily, Malachi Kohl, whom Evrik regarded as a brother, had a heightened sense of smell. Evrik knew Malachi could track Sam’s scent when they arrived in Canton. Draylan Howler, Evrik’s other brother-like friend, had decided to stay home, so Evrik called Sam’s best friend, Chase Flynn. The three had traveled into the city to make sure Sam was safe. When they realized she wasn’t in Canton, Malachi had used his ability to locate her at a bar in Fells Point.
Evrik thought about how nervous he’d been when he entered the bar in search of Sam. Though Malachi returned home, Chase had waited outside. Evrik was relieved Chase had demanded to stay, because Chase was able to get Sam out of the city while Evrik dealt with the problem.
“Evrik, you’re home.” Alea entered the great room, jarring Evrik out of his reverie. “What happened? Malachi told me you found Sam. She wasn’t where she was supposed to be, but you found her.” Alea joined Evrik on the couch and waited patiently for him to tell her what was wrong. They had always been close. All four of them could feel each other’s moods, which made it difficult to hide things.
“Sam doesn’t remember me. When I found her, she didn’t recognize me. She looked at me like I was a stranger. There wasn’t even a hint of love in her beautiful brown eyes, just scared confusion.” Evrik hung his head, shaking it back and forth in disbelief.
“How did she lose her memory?” Alea asked, trying to mask the concern in her voice. She wasn’t successful. Evrik knew she was worried.
“I don’t know. The
sanguis
demon was outside the bar when we left.”
Alea slid to the edge of the sofa cushion. “What? Do you think he lured her out of the bar in Canton?”
“How else would she have ended up in Fells Point with no recollection of how she’d gotten there? She certainly didn’t drive, at least not alone.”
“But her memory?” Alea paused. “
Sanguis
demons don’t take away memories. They don’t have that ability.”
“I can’t think of any other way to explain her memory loss.” Evrik’s hands balled into fists. Bright, bluish-green veins bulged under his skin.
“Even if he did take away her memory, why would he want to seduce Sam?”
“Don’t even
say
that word,” Evrik growled. He calmed himself, taking Alea’s hand. “Sorry, Alea. I just can’t go there right now. I’m not going to think about him doing that to her until I know what really happened.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” Alea squeezed Evrik’s hand. “I meant to say, what would he want with Sam? She’s human.”
“I don’t know what happened to Sam’s memory, or how she ended up in Fells Point alone, but he was there, outside that bar. He acted like he was actually concerned for her,” Evrik said in disgust.
Alea’s eyes widened. Her voice raised an octave. “You confronted him with Sam there?”
“I had to. He wanted me to leave Sam with him.”
“Did he figure out who you were?” She stared at him intently.
“I’m sure he did. I grabbed him when he—” Evrik choked. He looked away, not wanting to remember the
sanguis
demon’s words.
“You don’t have to say it.” Alea smiled compassionately. “I understand. He threatened to do something to Sam.”
Evrik nodded slowly.
“So, he saw your strength.” Alea sat back on the couch, tapping her foot anxiously on the hardwood floor.
“And my eyes,” Evrik added. “I may have made everything worse. If he knows a human is connected to one of us, especially me—”
Alea gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder and stood. “I’m going to start working on an elixir to get Sam’s memory back. I’ll tell Malachi and Draylan to start researching the
sanguis
demon. We’ll figure this out.”
Evrik nodded.
***
Sam tried to swallow her uneasiness. She hadn’t expected to see anyone on her walk, especially not the dark stranger from outside the bar. “You scared me,” she said.
“Sorry, I didn’t think a pretty girl would be out here all alone.” He smiled, exposing his gleaming white teeth against that dark 5 o’clock shadow. His eyes had a hardness about them, a bad-boy toughness, making him seem too dangerous to approach. With his smooth confidence, looks, and darkly charming demeanor, Sam was certain he left girls everywhere crying in the dust.
