Promises (Book One of The Syrenka Series) (16 page)

“
Okay! I get it! I am the
most horrible person in the world and believe me when I tell you
that I truly feel that way some days. But I made my choice and we
all have to live with it.” I continued before he could reply. “I
called you because Brendan thinks that a Clan Leader is controlling
the selkies. We were attacked the other night. They stole his skin
and I need to get it back. He thought that maybe you would know
more about what’s going on since you are a leader now, but forget
it. Just forget it! I’m sorry that I called!” My hands were shaking
and I belatedly realized that I was standing up hunched over the
phone, yelling into it like that would help to get my point
across.

“
Eviana, stop screaming,”
Kain said with more command in those words than if he would have
yelled them himself. “Start from the beginning and tell me what
happened.” His sudden change in attitude caught me off
guard.

“
What?”

“
Just take a breath and
tell me exactly what happened.” He was suddenly Kain Matthew the
Leader, and all semblances of hurt feelings and angry attitudes
disappeared. I slunk back down to the floor and told him everything
from the beginning of that horrible night up until my phone call to
him. He only asked a few questions, but I think that was because he
was having a hard time understanding me through my sobs and snotty
nose. I wiped at my face and took a few calming breaths.

“
Have you ever heard
anything like this before?” I asked.

“
Yes.” When he didn’t
elaborate I continued forward.

“
Mermaid’s can do that? We
can control other beings?”

“
Some can, yes.”

“
And do you know anyone on
the east coast who is strong enough to build an army of
selkies?”

“
Possibly.” I was starting
to get irritated with his short answers, but he spoke again before
I could complain. “Give me your address.”

“
Why?”

“
Because we’re coming
there,” he stated. I told him where we were staying and he said to
keep the phone close by and to expect them in a day. He hung up
before I realized that he said ‘we’ and ‘us’ as though he wasn’t
the only one coming to our rescue. Who could he possibly be
referring to? I had been shunned, which by merfolk standards, was
pretty much the worst thing that could happen next to death.
Everyone was to act like I was dead; like I never even existed.
Kain was taking a big risk for me and the guilt I’d been carrying
for so long roared to life again. He was putting everything on the
line to help us. Or was he? Perhaps there was more going on in the
political underworld than anyone had ever let me know, and maybe
this was all part of the bigger issues Kain had mentioned at his
appointment ceremony.

But as I sat there and over analyzed
our conversation, I realized that I wasn’t being totally fair.
Although I’m sure that Kain would have some understanding about the
political tension and know whether or not these events were
connected, he was still coming to see me at great risk to himself
and his career. Plus, whoever was coming with him would know that
they could be excommunicated from their clan as well.

I climbed into bed next to Brendan and
cried. I had abandoned everyone who had been good to me, and now at
least one of them was coming to my rescue. I didn’t deserve that,
but Brendan did and regardless of how tough this was going to be
for me, I vowed to do everything I could to save him. Even if that
meant dealing with the people who hated me the most.

Twelve

The knock at the door awakened me from
the first bit of sleep I was able to grasp over the past twenty
four hours. Wiping my eyes and running my fingers through my hair,
I rolled out of the bed to greet my guests. Brendan hadn’t moved so
I tried to walk quietly and quickly even though the fear of seeing
Kain slithered through my bones.

I opened the door to see one stern
face and two unexpected companions standing just behind it. Kain’s
height blocked the rising sun from my view but his dark, ominous
silhouette trapped the words in my throat. His expression was blank
yet cold; reminding me of something dangerous and on edge. He
wasn’t happy to be here and he was making no attempt to ease my
discomfort. I looked up at him and tried to smile. When I was met
with an unemotional stare, I peeked around his shoulder to welcome
the two others instead.

Daniel pushed his way past Kain and
gave me a hug that nearly caused me to cry. He kissed my check and
stepped away, glancing over his shoulder to address Kain. “I can
give her a hug,” he chided as if he needed to justify some unspoken
rule. Turning back to me, he said, “Where’s Brendan?”

Wordlessly, I stepped aside and waved
my hand towards the bed. Daniel promptly entered our hotel room,
threw his bag on the kitchen table, and walked to the injured
selkie. He knelt down on the floor and had a whispered conversation
with Brendan who had just woken up. I was curious to know what they
were talking about, but a nudge against my shoulder drew my
attention to the other familiar face.

“
So, this was your plan?”
Carissa’s sultry voice and crooked grin only added intrigue to her
persona. Kain snapped his head around to glare at her.

“
You knew about this?” he
asked. His body shook with anger and if I was on the receiving end
of that rage, I would have wilted away. But Carissa just ignored
him and stepped towards me. She kissed me on both cheeks like a
European and flipped her sunglasses up to the top of her head.
Looking around our modest home through the half opened door, I
could see her taking in all the flaws and I suddenly felt very
uncomfortable. She made a noise of either content or disgust before
stepping back away from Kain and me to resume her aura of
nonchalance.

“
Daniel is going to stay
here and we’re going for a drive,” Kain broke the tense silence. I
wanted to make some kind of mafia joke but it wasn’t appropriate in
this situation. After all, with the way Kain felt about me right
now, maybe he did want to “take me on a drive” to make me “swim
with the fishes”.

“
Who’s going?” I asked
quietly.

“
We are,” Kain replied
nodding his head towards me and Carissa.

“
Where are we
going?”

“
To see someone.” All of
the fun and the life that had made Kain such an amazing person had
disappeared. I knew that I had contributed to that and it saddened
me more than I wanted to admit. Behind that hardened exterior, he
was hurting. His father was gone, he was a leader amongst our
people, and worse than anything, I had betrayed him. “Eviana?” I
must have been staring at him.

“
I-I’ll go get dressed. Do
you want to come in?” Carissa turned towards the door, but Kain
stopped her in her tracks.

“
No. We’ll wait here.” It
was such a cold, hard response. I quickly turned around and ran
inside before he could see the tears running down my face. Slamming
the door shut a little harder than necessary, I slumped against the
frame as though it could absorb all of the pain and remorse
consuming my body right now.

“
Just give him some time,”
Daniel said from the other side of the room. I belatedly noticed
Brendan staring at me with concern and curiosity in his eyes and
before I said something to make things worse, I ducked into the
bathroom like a coward. The boys were speaking in hushed voices and
after a few minutes I heard Daniel banging around in the kitchen,
presumably finding something for breakfast. Not knowing how I felt
about leaving Brendan and Daniel together, I brushed my teeth and
hair concentrating instead on making myself presentable.

Brendan was standing outside the door
when I opened it, startling a small scream from my lips. “Why are
you out of bed?” Without answering, he pushed me back inside the
bathroom, closing the door behind us. In the tiny room we were
nearly pressed up against each other and I could see just how
horrible he looked. I laid my hand on the side of his cheek to feel
his overly warm skin pressing back. “Brendan,” I
whispered.

He pulled my hand away from his face
and smiled at me. “Thank you.” Kissing my forehead, he allowed me
to wrap my arms around his waist even though I was sure that it
hurt him. “I know what this took for you. Just try to focus on the
task at hand and let your friends come to you when they’re ready.”
It was probably the best advice anyone could give me and it was
exactly what I needed to hear.

I was helping Brendan back to the bed
just as Daniel walked over with two bowls of oatmeal for each of
them. I thanked my friend who didn’t seem to hate me at all and
joined the two outside that I wasn’t so sure about.

The sun had broken free of its
nighttime prison highlighting the sky in brilliant reds and
oranges. I briefly recalled the old saying about red mornings and
sailor’s warnings, and considering the company I was keeping,
perhaps I needed to heed the omen. Following my two silent
companions towards the parking lot I wondered what I had really
asked for when I called Kain. I just knew that there was more going
on in the merfolk politics than anyone ever let me know, and now we
may be getting ourselves right into the middle of it. But then I
thought of Brendan and they way he looked right now and there was
no question in my mind that I was doing the right thing.

At the far end of the parking lot was
a black Lexus sedan with dark tinted windows and a sleek body
design. I stopped to look up at Kain, but Carissa answered my
silent question instead. “One of the perks to being in
charge.”

“
This is yours, Kain?” He
extended his arm and I heard the beep that unlocked the doors.
There was another sound and the car suddenly started while we were
still ten feet or more away. Kain never did answer my question but
I saw the slight smile that he was trying to hide from me. Maybe
there was still some life left in him after all.

We were all in the car heading south
along the coast before I finally spoke again. Kain was driving and
Carissa was in the passenger seat, leaving me alone in the back
like a criminal. “Who are we going to see?” Carissa turned to look
at Kain, but when he stayed silent she resumed her pretend
fascination with the scenery outside. “Hello. Is anyone going to
speak to me?”

“
Jeremiah Williams,” Kain
finally answered.

“
What?” Jeremiah Williams
was a legend amongst the merfolk, but more importantly, I thought
that he was dead. I said as much to my disgruntled car
mates.

“
He’s very much alive
although he would prefer to stay off the radar,” Carissa
added.

“
How do you know him?” I
asked directing my question to Kain.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat
and seemed hesitant to tell me. “He’s a distant
relative.”

“
You’re related to Jeremiah
Williams?” The questionable merman had been a famous actor in his
younger years, but once he retired from the spotlight the rest of
the clans seemed to act like he didn’t exist anymore. I had always
wondered if he’d been shunned, although until recently, I didn’t
think that was a punishment practiced anymore. The more I thought
about it, the more I had a feeling that is exactly what had
happened to him. “What did he do?” I asked in a barely audible
whisper.

“
I don’t know,” Kain
replied solemnly.

Instead of asking anymore questions, I
just sat back in my seat and thought about what was happening. We
were going to see a merman who had done something bad enough to be
shunned from the community. Granted, I was also facing the same
kind of treatment, but something in my gut was telling me that
Jeremiah’s punishment was for a far worse crime than being a
runaway bride. We drove for another half hour along the barren
Maryland shores, passing a car only every few minutes. The white
dunes were trimmed with green grasses and the occasional scrub
pine, reminding me of the pine trees that surrounding the lake
where Brendan and I met the naiad. I almost wanted to ask if either
Carissa or Kain had ever seen a naiad before, but decided to keep
that to myself for now.

We pulled into sand driveway leading
up to a large beach house. Three white columns held up the aluminum
roof of the plantation-like brick home. Lush green landscape
bordered the perimeter of the acreage even though the surrounding
environment was full of sand dunes. The driveway gates were open as
though we were expected and Kain parked the car beside an
impressive water feature consuming the majority of the front yard.
The fountain masterpiece boasted three different ponds interlaced
and connected to a raised structure in the middle. Water spewed
from the highest fountain and trickled over the faux rocks and lily
pads supplying a constant rhythmic beat of drips and splashes.
Carissa and I were admiring the gorgeous pink flower at the edge of
one of the lower ponds when the water before us suddenly shot up
towards the sky, sending droplets raining down all over
us.

“
And who do we ‘ave here?”
A strangled accented voice asked. It was as though he was speaking
through a tunnel. I looked up to see a man made completely out of
water standing before us. Well, standing wasn’t exactly accurate.
It was more like he was floating on the water’s surface, yet he
never broke contact with the pond.