Sam changed out of her running suit and into jeans, boots, and a white fitted long-sleeved top that bunched around her hips. For warmth, style, and color, she rewrapped a red scarf around her neck.
Caught in the middle of an eerie déjà vu moment, Sam’s jaw dropped at the sight of Evrik leaning against his black 3-series Beemer. He had the attention of every girl, and guy, in the vicinity. Evrik’s chestnut hair, drizzled with sun-kissed highlights, framed his angular face. He had a strong chin and perfectly placed, sharp cheekbones, sitting just below his piercing emerald green eyes.
“I’m glad you called.” Evrik extended his arms to hug her as she approached. Sam stiffened and he retracted them quickly. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be…I suppose it’s what you’re used to doing.”
“Sam, as I said, we’re going to figure out how to fix this.”
“Alea?”
“We’ll talk more when we get to my house.” Evrik opened the door to the passenger seat, another strange déjà vu moment. Sam had a feeling she was going to have quite a few of those throughout the day.
They drove through the congested college town, around the traffic circle, and north to the reservoir. The commercial buildings and homes appeared less frequently. Fewer cars passed them, and soon nothing but trees surrounded them. They didn’t speak during the car ride. Sam felt Evrik seemed hesitant to say the wrong thing, maybe push her away. And she didn’t know him well enough to start up a conversation.
After too many minutes of awkward silence, Sam decided to say something. “I remember the reservoir.”
“That’s a good sign.” Evrik nodded, his eyes still on the road. “What do you remember about it?”
“I was sitting on a large rock. It was dark outside, but I could hear the water flow beneath my feet. And the trees, they were everywhere. I think I was in a forest.” A feeling of nostalgia danced around her.
“You were sitting on our rock,” he said with longing in his tone.
“We have a rock?” She chuckled.
For the first time, Evrik broke his stare on the road. She felt his eyes on her. “My house is next to the reservoir. On our first date, we sat on a rock next to the water. It was the night you learned what I was.” His spoke cautiously, and from her peripheral vision, she saw him turn his focus back to the road.
“It looks like you’re going to have to tell me what you’re talking about all over again. I don’t remember you telling me what you were. Do you have some top-secret job or something?” Sam laughed to hide her discomfort.
“Or something.” He nodded.
“You weren’t with me in my memory. I was alone.”
“You weren’t alone, Sam. I’d never leave you alone in the woods.”
“Now you’re scaring me.” An eerie feeling crawled up her spine, causing her to wiggle around in the soft leather seat. She could tell he had the seat heater on, but if she didn’t know better, she would have thought she’d peed her pants. Well, that would’ve totally sucked, but it was certainly one way to get rid of one of her three boyfriends.
“I don’t mean to scare you.” Evrik exhaled in frustration. “I just want you to have your memory back.” He shook his head.
“Me, too. It sucks not being able to remember my boyfriend or my best friend.” She looked out the passenger side window, noticing a run-down abandoned shack. The roof leaned to one side, as if the whole pile of decaying boards could crumble with one strong gust of wind. The windows were boarded up and there was a bright-orange DO NOT ENTER sign on the door with spray-painted X’s on either side.
He slowed the BMW to almost a complete stop and turned up a dirt road. They headed deep into the forest. There were animals everywhere, but it didn’t seem odd. Sam felt everything was as it should be. Rabbits hopped fearlessly across the ground. Bambi ate the leaves off of a small tree, seemingly undisturbed by the passing car. Two squirrels jumped onto a barren branch and began to wrestle playfully. It was like something out of a Walt Disney movie. “Snow White,” she said aloud, and totally unintentionally. The words just flew out of her mouth, making her think of bats escaping a cave at twilight. .
“What did you say?” Evrik stopped the car abruptly in the middle of the dirt road. Sam jolted forward, springing her head back against the soft leather headrest. He turned his torso so he was facing her. His expression was hopeful.
“I think I said Snow White, but I’m not sure where it came from.”
“The first day I brought you to my house, that’s what you said…Snow White…the animals reminded you of the movie Snow White.” Evrik’s lips rose into an optimistic smile. He was handsome when he smiled. Over the last twenty-four hours she guessed he hadn’t had much to smile about.
“I think I remember something else.”
“What?”
“Your convertible. We were driving up this road—” Sam concentrated, trying to make sense of her memory. “I think a bat flew down and scooped up an insect right in front of my eyes.”
“That was also your first night here,” Evrik said. “I introduced you to Malachi and Alea.”
“Do you live with your friends? I mean our friends. Well, Alea and Malachi—” She paused again, trying to remember the other name. “There was one more, um—”
“Draylan,” Evrik finished. “And yes, I live with our friends. They love you. Alea has been working tirelessly to get your memory back. We just don’t know exactly how it was taken from you. The only thing we’re sure of is that it happened last night.” Evrik wavered for what seemed like minutes before finishing. Sam’s eyes never left his face. “There’s only one, uh—person, who could’ve done it, but it doesn’t make any sense. We don’t think he has that ability.”
“Who, and what ability?” Her voice jumped into a higher pitch, scaring a pair of deer happily grazing next to a bush beside Evrik’s side of the car. She lowered her voice, realizing her words had come out louder than she’d intended. “That sounds insane. Who has the ability to take someone’s memory away, or part of someone’s memory away, in my case? That’s impossible.”
“Sam, do you trust me?” Evrik’s words were calm and even.
All rationale told her to high-tail it out of there. He was talking crazy, but she stayed. She didn’t know why she didn’t feel threatened by him. Bizarrely, she even felt safe. “I trust you,” she whispered.
Evrik started to drive again, evading any more questions about who had “taken” her memory.
While he drove, Sam closed her eyes and recalled a semi-familiar picture. It was her first day on Tolbert’s campus…
Massive oak trees arched around her as she walked, creating a towering tunnel that shaded her sticky skin from the scorching high-noon sun. After becoming more familiar with the academic buildings that would house her classes, she circled the beach, heading back to the dorms. She passed the Science Hall and noticed three strikingly different students standing out front. They looked slightly older than freshmen and held themselves comfortably in their very tall stances.
An intimidating-looking platinum blond made hand gestures as he spoke to his friends. He must’ve been seven feet tall—he was massive—The Incredible Hulk kind of massive, only not green and ugly. Maybe that wasn’t the best analogy—at any rate, he was huge compared to the others.
Her wide eyes focused on a guy leaving the building. A tingling surge of heat danced from her toes to her cheeks. He sauntered over to the group and handed a bottle to an exotic-looking girl. The guy’s hair was a yummy shade of deep chestnut. He had a bronzed, straight-off-the-beach surfer’s tan. Three words—tall, dark, and handsome. The Surfer ran his fingers through his thick, wavy hair and smiled at his friends, exposing his sharp cheekbones and square jaw line.
Sam wondered if she should continue in “Hang Ten’s” direction or circle back around the beach. She wavered. Fortunately, he didn’t notice her, considering her deer-in-the-headlights expression and unattractive open-mouthed gawking. But before she was able
to take off undetected, his eyes fixed in her direction. Their eyes locked. The muscles in her back twisted into a tight knot, forcing her shoulders back. She held her breath for what seemed like minutes. Saved by the ringing of her cell phone, she broke their stare to answer.
Sam opened her eyes, retreating from her memory. She realized the “Surfer” was Evrik, only she didn’t know him at the time. Her attention shifted. They drove up to a normal-looking two-story Colonial, much like the house she’d grown up in. Evrik shut off the sports car’s powerful engine, circled the car, and opened the door for her. Hesitantly, he reached for her hand. Sam put her hand in his, allowing him to assist her to her feet.
“Thank you.” She looked up into his eyes. A fleck of sunlight caught his irises, displaying a spectrum of colors, like a beautiful rainbow over a green meadow during a dewy spring shower. An artist could paint a picture using the colors in Evrik’s eyes. There was only one word to describe Evrik’s looks—breathtaking. She knew there was something very special about him. Even though she couldn’t remember exactly what it was, she knew he was powerful.
CHAPTER 6
Chase Flynn loaded the weight bar with free weights, staring at his reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirror at the university’s gym. Even though football season had ended, he needed to stay in shape. He looked tired. He hadn’t fallen asleep until close to four, and even then, he had tossed and turned, nightmare after nightmare. In each one, something had happened to Sam.
Chase thought back to the first time they’d “officially” met. He’d walked into the laundry room, expecting another boring day of babysitting his clothing. But then he saw her. She was heavily immersed in a book—The Notebook, by Nicolas Sparks. Her favorite novel.
He still remembered exactly how she looked. Her blond hair was tied back into a ponytail. She wore khaki shorts and a navy and white striped tank. Her legs were crossed, and one foot was on the floor while the other flicked her brown leather flip-flop against her heel. Sam’s beautiful brown eyes moved up from extraordinarily long lashes. Her face was petite, like her body, and her cheeks were a rosy pink, covering her leftover summer tan. He had loved her from the moment he saw her. He knew it for sure when he discovered she could carry on an intelligent conversation about football.
Chase was the star running back at his New Jersey high school and carried his legend-like status to college. Now a sophomore, he didn’t have any trouble attracting girls. He just wasn’t interested in any—until Sam. But she had been unattainable, dating Evrik since he met her.
Chase asked her out that day in the laundry room, but she told him she had a boyfriend. Sam was interested in hanging out as friends, and so it happened—they became best friends. They both loved each other, just in different ways. Sam’s heart belonged to Evrik. Chase accepted this, but he didn’t have to like it.
But now everything was different. Sam didn’t remember Evrik. Chase finally had his chance to be with her. She could get to know him all over again. He was sure she had felt their connection outside the bar, that evening back in the dormitory, and earlier at breakfast, when she’d grabbed his leg under the table.
Chase lay on his back and extended the bar upward. He hardly had to strain through his reps. The amount of weight he put on the bar was too heavy for even the strongest linebacker to lift, and that included NFL linebackers. He was the only person in the weight room, so he wasn’t worried about the exposure.
Last night had held another surprise. Evrik had called him, concerned about Sam. Apparently there was some new guy in town. Even though the guy Evrik referred to as the sanguis demon didn’t usually prey on humans, Evrik didn’t want to take any chances, especially knowing that Sam would be downtown with her friends. Chase agreed. And he didn’t usually agree with Evrik about anything.
After they finally found her, Chase waited outside the bar while Evrik went in to retrieve her. The only conclusion Evrik could come up with for how she had ended up in Fells Point was that she had been lured there by the sanguis demon. They hoped he was wrong, even though Chase had no idea what a sanguis demon was. Demons were Evrik’s area of expertise.
As much as Evrik annoyed him, Chase was glad he had called. He was able to remove Sam from yet another dangerous situation. She was always so stubborn, an annoying characteristic that he loved about her.
Chase sat up and retrieved a set of free weights. He breathed through each rep, toning his biceps with each curl.
He was fully aware Sam knew what she was getting into when she became involved with Evrik. She’d decided Evrik was worth the risk. Chase exhaled loudly, dropping the free weight to the floor. Nobody was worth losing her life. Why couldn’t she see that?
Chase placed the other weight on the ground, stood, and removed his towel from the treadmill. He took a seat back on the weight bench and wiped the sweat from his face and arms. Something had been bothering him since last night. Sam was different, and not just because of her memory loss. Something about her was different. Chase grunted in frustration. He knew her so well, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Chase took a swig of water, letting the coolness travel down his esophagus and into his stomach. After a quick glance at his watch, he gathered his gym bag and towel. Sam would be calling soon. Now he just had to figure out how he was going to answer her questions about last night. With no knowledge of the “supernatural” world, this was going to be interesting.
***
Evrik’s house was decorated tastefully, with modern clean lines, like something out of a Pottery Barn catalog. Certainly nothing Sam expected from a group of college kids. Everything was neatly placed in its appropriate spot very tidily and organized. Sam found herself thinking about how much her mother would approve of his living habits. She and her mother had inherited the oh-so-fun OCD gene from her grandmother. As loving as her grandmother was, she was also neurotic—a real mother hen on crack.
Bookshelves lined the entranceway, full of hundreds of old books. Some were missing their bindings, others were yellowed with time but looked like expensive first editions, and the rest just looked ancient. In the foyer, two rectangular cut outs, outlined by decorative molding, displayed large glass sculptures. Three vibrant scenic paintings were spaced equally, displayed high on the walls above Sam’s head. A wooden staircase curved down the grand two-story foyer, greeting them at the edge of a contemporary rug with two-toned brown wavy lines and cream-colored circles. This wasn’t the average home it appeared to be from the outside.
A flat screen television hung on the wall in the massive great room. On the opposite wall, the most breathtaking floor-to-ceiling mural stretched across the entire length of the room. The painting depicted a gigantic man holding a bow and arrow by his side. He had a broad chest with square, statuesque shoulders. The hand holding the bow was enormous, strong enough to crush anything in its grasp. He appeared to be a great warrior.
A stunning woman stood proudly beside him. An aura of colors emanated around her as if she were a sparkling jewel emitting a spectrum of electric blues and deep marigolds, shades of periwinkles and magentas. The woman clutched a long, sharp weapon—some sort of two-edged blade, appearing ready to fight alongside the man. Her body was slender and muscular. Brilliant, violet spiraling locks twisted down her back. The woman’s deep violet hair was striking, shades darker than her lavender skin. Lavender skin—I’ve seen that before, in my dream. Evrik’s skin had a lavender tint under the moonlight. That explained her dream. She had jumbled remembering Evrik and the mural in his home into one experience, one dream. She checked a mental box—one part of her crazy dream explained.
The fireplace in the great room seemed familiar, as well—stacked masonry stone with a mahogany butcher-block mantel. Sam remembered dreaming about its comforting flames. On top of a cozy faux fur blanket, she had sat with Evrik, cradled just feet from the roaring fire. Embers popped into tiny, bright fireworks. And the warmth. Sam closed her eyes, visualizing the feeling of sunbathing in the tropics, sand betw
een her toes as the sun’s rays tickled her skin. The memory fizzled out too soon. Without more details, she couldn’t put the whole picture together, like mixing up Evrik’s skin tone with the mural in her dream. Sam opened her eyes, smiling. For the moment, at least, it was wonderful.
“Your house is beautiful. Not what I expected.” Sam drew in a nervous breath. “I guess I thought it would be more like a frat house.”
“If Draylan had his way, it might be. Alea would never let that happen.” Evrik led her down the hallway, past the great room and into the kitchen.
“Is any of it familiar?” There was a hint of desperation in is voice. She knew he wanted her to remember, but nothing more was coming to her. Only the same I’ve-been-here-before feeling, like the events had happened in another lifetime, or in a parallel universe. Everything was starting to feel that way. She wanted so badly to have her memory back.
Evrik sifted through a pile of mail on the kitchen island. He put a few envelopes into a wooden box labeled, “Bills.” Sam wondered if Alea had created the well-organized filing system.
“Where is your dog?” Sam asked.
“My dog?” Evrik’s brows dipped.
“At the bar. You had a pit bull. I remember his name was Chase, well, because of Chase, um, I mean, the human, Chase. It’s almost like you named the dog after him. But that would be weird, considering you two don’t like each other.”
“I don’t have a dog, and I do like Chase.” Evrik cornered the island on the way to the fridge. He reached the door handle and turned back for her response.
“But you were talking to the dog outside the bar, which I thought was kind of weird at the time.” Sam stared at Evrik’s blank expression. “Oh—let me guess, this is some other unexplainable thing you’d like me to just trust you on.” Evrik shook his head. “Then I’ll drop it, for now.”
Emanare (Destined, #1) Page 4
