Promises (26 page)

“
Care to explain?”

“
Not really.”

His eyes locked on mine, and his fingers began twisting the paper cup, forming his next question. “So they caught up with you then?”

“
It’s really none of your business,” I calmly replied as my thumb began to stroke my Servak ring on my index finger. I didn’t like his questioning.

“
I take it that it went well the second time, but the first was a little difficult?”

I pressed my lips tight. Was I that much of an open book? How’d he know this?

“
I’m right, aren’t I? Want to talk about it?”

I realized I was giving myself away too easily. “Like I said before, not really.” How many mistakes could I continue to make?

“
Holding in your emotions will cause you greater harm in the long run. I’m just trying to help. You look like you need a friend.”

I sat silently, trying not to show him how close he was to the truth.

His eyes softened. “You’re hurting for whatever reason, and having a friend could help. It’d give me the chance to get to know you.”

I stood, slinging the pack over my shoulder. “It was nice to see you again, Matt. Have a nice day.”

I didn’t dare look back, but I felt his eyes watching me. Why was he so interested?

I just wanted to be alone, and now Matt was attempting to latch himself on to me? Couldn’t I get away from these situations? I had no desire to head back to the house, so I glanced around. I knew my hiking boots were in the trunk, and a walk might improve my mood. Soon I found a suitable trail, and within moments I was exploring the mountain, gravel crunching under my boots. Any worries about the Tresez were pushed aside. It would be at least a few weeks before they’d track me here and besides, I had Maes, my personal protector. I grew bored on the trail, and headed off on my own, finding a large grouping of boulders.

I wiped the slight perspiration from my brow; the wind once again moved wisps of hair over my lashes. I climbed to the top of the boulders and found a fairly level spot. I lay down, closing my eyes and absorbing the warmth from the sunshine.

My hands rested at my sides. I listened to the forest around me in an attempt to clear my mind. A rustling nearby caught my attention—I didn’t bother to look up. I knew it was Maes.

Just breathe, Cheyenne, just breathe.

He lay on the boulder beside me, and I blocked him from my senses, trying to imagine I was alone. I wasn’t in the mood to argue again. I didn’t have the strength. I didn’t need any additional guilt on my shoulders—what I’d done today alone was overwhelming.

Finally, Maes broke the silence. “Did you have a nice coffee?”

He was trying to have a casual conversation now?

“
Iced tea,” I replied.

“
I thought you really liked coffee.”

“
I only drink the cold blended coffees, because they’re not as strong as the lattes.”

“
Didn’t you want one today?”

“
Just felt like iced tea.”

Silence fell over us again, but it was short-lived.

“
You know I’ve never lied to you, Cheyenne.”

What was with him? Was he trying to give me whiplash with his moods?

“
Not that I am aware of
yet
, Maes.”

“
Do you trust me?”

“
I don’t know,” I said carefully. “You’ve saved my life a couple times. You say that I’m your only hope, but you could be manipulating me to get whatever it is you want. There are a lot of angels and demons, villains and saints out there. I haven’t figured out who is who yet. For all I know, I could be the villain, and maybe Marcus is the saint.”

“
You’re no villain. I’d say you were as close to an angel as I’ve ever seen.”

I rolled my eyes internally. “Maybe I put on a good show.”

“
No,” he said deep in thought. “I’ve been watching. I would’ve seen something by now.”

The birds chirped, and I heard the pitter-patter of a squirrel running nearby. A bee decided to pester me, and I swatted at my face. Why did Maes need me to trust him?

“
You want to go for a swim in the lake?” Maes asked, and I sat up on my elbows.

“
What?”

He sat up. “Do you…” he winked at me slyly, “…want to go for a swim?”

I was waiting for the “
are you deaf”
comment to be tagged onto the end, but it never came.

“
You want me to come?”

“
That’s what I’m asking, parrot.”

He rose to his feet, extending his hand, and I fought to hold my mouth closed from shock.

“
I’ll need to get my swimsuit. Do you want a ride back to the house?” I asked, trying to be nice. If he was putting forth an effort suddenly, then I could do the same.

“
I’ll meet you there, if you don’t mind. I need to cover your tracks.”

I nodded.

We climbed down, and he departed in a different direction while I headed for my car. I was sure he would circle around behind me until I got to the trailhead. When I arrived at the house, he was waiting at the front door, changed. I ran upstairs and threw on my swimsuit, meeting him with my towel in hand out front.

“
Ready?” The word rolled from his tongue in his French accent as he arched a brow, and a faint smile appeared.

He was actually smiling?

I nodded, and we departed for the lake. The walk was short, only half a mile. The sun warmed as afternoon strode on, and the cool mountain lake would be refreshing. We found a vacant dock, stopped at the edge, and Maes dove in. I tossed my towel and removed my shorts, and dove in as well. I gasped as I came out. The water was colder than I thought.

Maes was a good swimmer, even in his human form; however, I could hold my breath longer than he knew. He must have been in his torturing older brother mood because he pulled me out away from the dock and left me hanging in between the dock and a small island. He knew it was a hard swim; he was expecting that I’d ask for help.

The instant his fingers released me, I immediately dove under, deep enough that he assumed I swam away. I held my breath for about five minutes, and rose closer to the surface.

“
Cheyenne!” I heard Maes’s muffled cry. “Cheyenne!”

I broke the surface and saw he was halfway to the dock in a frantic search. Whistling, I snickered. It was about time I pulled one over on them, even though
they
weren’t truly here. I saw the relief wash over Maes, and in the next moment a wicked smile grew on his face. He dove back under, and I knew he’d pay me back for that one. I attempted to swim to the island, but he caught up quickly. As I resurfaced, breathless, he was in front of me, smiling. Exhaustion was quickly setting in.

“
Nice one,” he complimented. “I probably deserved it. You did better than I thought with the swimming.”

I was barely holding on and couldn’t answer.

“
You want some help now?” he chuckled.

I nodded, and he turned me around. His arm pulled around my waist, and he swam us to shore. I collapsed into the sand, as he towered above me. Breathlessly, I attempted to speak, “That wasn’t…very nice…of you. I’m not…going swimming…with you again.”

Maes chuckled, “You’re getting stronger. I didn’t know you could hold your breath that long; you gave me a good scare. I thought I was going to be doing a search and rescue for your body.”

“
When are you going to learn not to underestimate me?” I grinned.

“
I don’t know. I kind of like surprises.” He plopped down beside and watched me breathe. As he moved down to his elbows, he rolled to his side.

“
Like me taking your powers?” I giggled.

He rolled his eyes. “I can guarantee that won’t ever happen again.”

“
Just out of curiosity, did you know what was happening at the time?”

“
I thought it odd. A feeling of intense cold pulsing through my veins, but before I could figure out what it was, it stopped. I knew you were up to something. I just didn’t know what at the moment. I really didn’t think anyone would be able to take my powers—ever.”

“
Wow, I pulled one over on The
Great
Maes.” I smirked. “I don’t get the impression it happens often.”

“
Very few have succeeded.” His eyes drifted towards the water, his thoughts deep in some sort of memory.

“
What do you mean by you didn’t think anyone would be able to take your powers?” This was a new development.

“
Well,” he turned towards me. “The power I hold now is limited because of the curse. I guess I figured since it was limited from the curse, you wouldn’t be able to remove it from me, but then again, you are the last living Kvech heir.”

“
Limited?”

“
Yes. When your grandfather cursed us, it limited our powers, but over the years I’ve been able to manipulate the curse.”

“
Manipulate it how?”

He sighed. “The curse in its original form forced us to serve the Sarac on all fours like dogs. My grandfather was a shape shifter, so the curse limited us to only that power and forced us to remain as dogs, as Tresez. Tresez is the binding of three—three coming together, heart, soul and mind, to become the shape we desired. It used to be easy, just a simple thought, but after the curse…well, it can be exhausting.”

“
So you shouldn’t be able to shift? But you do, how?”

“
Manipulation.” He grinned. “I’ve figured out a way to do it, but it drains me.”

“
It drains you every time you do it?”

“
Yes.”

“
But you shift effortlessly all the time…at least it looks effortless.”

“
It’s not something that I let others see. It’s a weakness I’d rather not have my enemies know about it.”

How had I missed this? “But I’ve never seen you sleep?”

“
When I first manipulated the curse, I’d be down for days. Now I only need a small bit of time to recover.”

“
Oh.” I watched him carefully. “So am I your friend or enemy?”

A smirk appeared, but no reply came.

I sighed, and my mind wandered back to my past Tresez attacks. If they were all shape shifters, they would have changed back when they died, but they couldn’t…or could they? If he’d learned to do this, then surely others would have too.

“
I’m confused.”

He raised a brow.

“
If you can do it, then others can as well?”

“
Few, but I believe really it’s only because the curse is weakening.”

“
Weakening?” Daniel had told me some information when Maes wouldn’t, but I didn’t have any details.

“
It’s not as strong as it used to be, which is another reason I believe it doesn’t wipe me out as much.”

I nodded and processed this information. Why was he so willing to share his secrets with me now? His eye coloring was another question I had. Why was there only a bit of jade on the outer edge of his iris and nowhere else? He’d never answered me in the past. Perhaps that was for another time. I had other questions I wanted answered first, and his mood had certainly improved from the morning’s episode. I sat up and crossed my legs contemplating. “Maes, can I ask you a question?”

He shrugged. “Depends on what the question is.”

“
My mom, Sahara, how well did you know her?”

A black veil draped over his appearance, and suddenly I became chilled.

“
Well enough,” he replied coldly.

“
What was she like?” I asked earnestly. Besides Dex and Lilly, no one had firsthand information.

“
You really don’t want me to answer that question.”

“
Please? I’ve only heard what little Dex and Lilly have told me. They say she switched sides to fight against Marcus. You saw her before she ran away. I just want to know what she was like.”

He kept his eyes out upon the water and a vein pulsed in his forehead.

“
Please, Maes, I just need to know.”

I sat quietly waiting for his reply, which never came. I reached out and touched his arm, hoping for any tidbit of information that might provide me with some comfort. “Please,” I whispered.

His head moved slowly, and his green-rimmed eyes were filled with hatred. My breath caught.

“
She was a conniving, heartless woman who worked relentlessly at destroying everything in her path.”

I blinked, shocked at such a statement. Tears rose to the surface. Why would he say such a thing? Lilly made my mother out to be a saint. I shook my head. “No, that can’t be the truth,” I barely uttered.

“
Truth is sometimes hard to accept, Cheyenne, but Sahara was as cold as they come. She left her father alone to die. He died because of her selfishness.”

“
How can you say that?” My fingers curled into the palm of my hand. “Lilly said she was wonderful and loving. My mom sacrificed her life for me.”

He snorted. “That’s what they’d like you to believe. I saw it firsthand. She never sacrificed anything. She took until she left things lifeless to satisfy her own desires.”