“What the heck took you so long?” Kim asked, waving Addy over to join her by the fire.
She was sitting with Matt’s younger sister Renee and a few other people who lived on the estate, watching Matt and Gage talk to the human girls.
“They don’t waste any time,” Renee said, laughing. She knew exactly what her brother’s priorities were once they moved to a new location, and she wasn’t shy about teasing him over it.
The sour expression on Kim’s face said she didn’t think it was as funny.
“It’s a new town,” Addy said with a smirk, “and they have priorities.”
She sat with the group and chatted for a bit, mostly about how awesome the new location was. They were all great snowboarders and skiers because they spent so much time in the snow, so they were pumped to try some warm weather activities.
“I’m gonna grab a drink,” Addy said, standing up, motioning for Kim to follow her.
Kim jumped to her feet and trailed behind Addy to the coolers.
“I expected to see you like two hours ago. How’d you end up with Gage—you guys are never together?”
“He was checking around the outside of my villa because of the man you spotted earlier—I literally ran into him.” Addy glanced at Gage and rolled her eyes at the little smile on his face as he talked to one of the girls. “Fate and the others are just on edge because Tremain was here before—it’s where my parents died.”
Kim leaned toward Addy. “Are you ok about being here?”
She handed Kim a beer and grabbed one for herself.
“I’m more bugged about Gage creeping around my place than about being here,” she said, shaking her head. “They’re worried about the humans who attacked my family coming back. Gage told me Bernard’s having him keep an eye on me.”
”Honestly, you should be glad Gage is looking out for you,” Kim said, glancing over toward where Matt and Gage were standing. “What if they’re right to be worried and the people who killed your parents decide not to wait and see what happens after Fate’s gone?”
“They won’t.” Addy shook her head at Matt’s extra loud laugh at something one of the girls said. “We’re just here so the Scattered Akori who will be rematerializing can find the estate if Fate—” Addy paused and cleared her throat. “Fate’s always told me they backed off when they found out I was a girl—that they figured he’d be the last Overseer since he didn’t have a male heir. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Kim tapped on the top of her can before opening it. “Maybe he was wrong.”
“There’s no chance I’ll be the Overseer and everyone, including the people who killed my parents, knows it.” Addy took a sip of her drink and watched as Gage started walking toward where she and Kim stood. Matt and their new friends were trailing behind him. “Oh great.”
Kim looked over and scowled. “Why are they even talking to those locals? It’s not like they can date them.”
She leaned toward Kim and put her hand in front of her mouth. “I don’t think dating them is what they have in mind.”
Addy was pretty much indifferent to seeing Gage and Matt with girls. She’s been seeing it since they were old enough to date, and she knew they played the same game every time the estate moved. They were both good looking, and locals always found two new guys interesting.
Kim and Addy had both dated a few local guys when the estate moved over the last couple of years. A few months earlier they went snowboarding with the guys they were seeing. They ended up running into Matt and Gage. By the end of the night, Matt had all he could take of seeing Kim with someone else. He started running his mouth and picked a fight with the guy in the lodge. It was a mess and they all went to a lot of trouble to hide it from Addy’s grandfather. He wouldn’t hesitate to send Kim home if he thought they were causing trouble.
“Addy! You’re late.” Matt spoke obnoxiously loud as he walked between her and Kim, placing an arm around each girl.
“I told you I had to meet—” Addy stopped. She thought she saw someone off in the tall grass along the edge of the sand. She strained to see, but it was too dark.
Gage picked up on it and looked in the same direction as Addy. “What’s wrong?”
“I thought I—it’s nothing, only shadows from the fire,” she said, shrugging it off.
Gage tossed Matt a beer and then looked at Addy and Kim. “Ready?”
Kim shook her head no, but Addy finished hers off and grabbed another from Gage.
“That’s my girl,” Matt said, raising his arm for a fist bump.
Eventually, the entire group ended up gathered around the coolers instead of the fire, talking and drinking. Kim and Matt were laughing and joking the way they always did, and the poor girl Matt walked up with looked confused. They were way more than friends and did a terrible job of hiding it when they were drinking.
Addy moved over and took another beer out of the cooler, which was almost empty. The moon was bright in the sky and she could see the grassy area on the hill clearly. It didn’t look like anyone was there, but for some reason she still wanted to go check it out.
Addy looked for Kim, who was usually her co-conspirator, but she and Matt were on their way down to the water. Gage was face to face with some girl and Renee was walking around picking up the beer cans people had abandoned. She’d probably be getting ready to call it a night soon anyway. Renee was nothing like her brother when it came to partying.
It looked like she’d be flying solo, so Addy dropped her unopened beer back in the ice and started across the sand.
When she got to the grass and stepped down, she immediately wished she’d worn her shoes. The layer of dried up, crunchy grass under her feet was brittle. She was walking slowly because it hurt, not because she was trying to be stealthy. If she really had seen someone up there, he or she would have seen her coming anyway.
Further ahead was an area with bushes and a couple of palm trees. It belonged to the sprawling resort that was situated next door to the estate. She scanned the entire area, but didn’t see anything. Giving up, she turned to walk back to the fire.
“Who are you people?”
Addy caught her breath and spun around. The beach stalker stood up from behind the bushes. The shadows from the fire played on his face, making him look pretty frightening.
“Who are we?” She pushed her fear away and challenged him. “How about you explain why you’re spying on us.”
“Sure,” he said, challenging her right back, “after you explain why no one else seems to find it wacky that your house wasn’t here yesterday.”
Addy was shocked. Normally, local people just acted as if the estate had always been there when it relocated. She’d never heard of any humans who weren’t affected by the symbol’s power. Bernard, Doris, Fate, and Addy had been at the estate long enough to be immune to the symbols, but even after living at the estate for a couple of years, Kim still experienced some weird sensations occasionally.
Looking back at the fire, she thought momentarily about calling for Matt and Gage. She turned back and looked at the guy—he really wasn’t that scary. Addy figured since he was right in front of her, she might as well take a shot at making him back off herself.
“For your own good, you need to stop hanging around here,” she said, raising her brow at him. “And seriously, the next time you go on a secret spy mission—dress the part. A black concert tee and boots at the beach was a giant red flag you didn’t belong there earlier.”
His expression softened and he gave her a slightly lopsided smile. “I’ll remember that.” He nodded his head at her in the guy greeting way. “I’m Tanner Sutherland, and you’re Addy.”
She tensed and took a step back. “How’d you know my name?”
“I heard the drunk guy shouting to you earlier.”
“Oh.” Addy relaxed her shoulders and took a few steps closer so she could get a better look at his face. “So what’s your deal—you just walked by our
house today and decided it wasn’t there yesterday?”
“Yeah, sure. When I was taking my daily stroll down the coast checking out the real estate I noticed it seemed out of place.”
Addy raised her eyebrows at him. “Good thing you’re around to keep the shoreline safe from rogue real estate.”
“It’s too late to be nice now,” he said, pointing to his t-shirt and boots. “You’ve already insulted my beach attire.”
“You didn’t strike me as the overly sensitive type—I thought you could take my constructive criticism.” Addy tipped her head to the side. “My mistake.”
Tanner stepped a little closer to her and put his hands in his back pockets. “The day before yesterday I started feeling strange—almost sick, but like I was being pulled. The next thing I knew I was driving here.”
“So you’ve been hanging out here for the last two days?” Addy glanced at their tropical surroundings and then back at Tanner’s anywhere but the beach outfit. “Doing what—just creeping around?”
He raised his eyebrows. “Wow, it sounds so much worse when you say it like that.”
“Sorry,” she said, trying not to smile at his goofy expression.
“I didn’t stay because I wanted to. Leaving hurts—like my guts are being pulled out.”
“Oh.” She looked studied his dark eyes. “Do you live around here?”
“About ten minutes away. In case you couldn’t tell, I’m not really a sand and surf kinda guy.” He looked around and shook his head. “I never come here—the beach sucks.”
Addy tapped her index finger on her bottom lip, choosing her words carefully before she spoke. “If you don’t come to the beach, then what makes you think our house wasn’t here before?”
“Because last night a crazy blue glowing started and I watched it take shape in that spot.” He told her as he nodded toward the estate. “I tried to leave after that, but the farther away I got, the worse the pain was.”
When Akori rematerialized they got a pulling feeling that led them to Fate. Tanner’s hands were in his pockets, but Addy wanted to see if he had blue symbols on them—she was beginning to think he was an Akori and didn’t know it.
Addy crossed her arms, staring into his dark eyes. “What you’re saying is you’re being pulled here by some weird feeling that gets worse if you try to leave?”
“Yeah, basically,” Tanner said, tipping his head to the side, “and don’t judge me, girl from the magic house.”
After that, Addy just started asking him random questions to make conversation. He told her he was twenty-two, and in a rock band—which didn’t exactly come as a total shocker.
They moved over and sat on some large rocks near the bushes, partially hidden from her group of friends who’d migrated back to the fire. Sitting only a few feet away from him, she could clearly see Tanner didn’t have any blue symbols on his hands. That meant her theory was out, but him being there definitely had something to do with the Akori—she just had no idea what it could be.
Addy and Tanner ended up talking about all kinds of things from music to movies and video games. She actually had to remind herself she was supposed to be trying to figure out what was up with him—not finding out what his favorite movie quote was.
Talking to Tanner was easy, like when she met Kim. He was funny and smart and up close he wasn’t scary at all. He still wore ripped jeans, black boots, and a black t-shirt. He wasn’t much taller than her, four inches at the most. Tattoos peeked out from his sleeves, but she couldn’t tell what they were. If you overlooked the fact he really needed a shave and something done with his long and scraggly dark hair, he was pretty good looking.
“So after talking to you for awhile my working theory is that you’re from some kind of supernatural cult,” he said, with a hint of a smile. “Am I getting close?”
“Maybe—I’ve got some grape flavored drinks back at my place.” She cut her eyes at him. “Thirsty?”
“I’m good, but thanks.” Tanner put his hands on his stomach. “My insides already feel like I drank the poisoned punch.”
Addy shrugged her shoulders. “Suit yourself.”
Tanner ran his hand across his forehead and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “Seriously though, what’s the deal—who the hell are you guys?”
In the distance, two figures approaching them caught her eye. Gage and Matt started calling up to her.
Feeling panicked, but grateful they’d saved her from answering Tanner’s questions, she instantly decided she didn’t want them to see him.
“You gotta go,” she whispered.
Tanner looked between her and the approaching guys. “Only if you come back tomorrow night,” he said, making no effort to get up. “You gotta tell me what’s going on, girlie.”
Addy didn’t know what was going on—that was the problem. She really wanted to find out though and quickly nodded her head at him. “Fine, but go before Gage and Matt see you. And please don’t be stalking around making yourself obvious—they’re looking for you.”
The guys covered the ground between them quickly and within seconds Matt was standing over Addy.
“Were you just talking to yourself?” he asked, eyeing the area around her.
She glanced where Tanner had been sitting; completely relieved he’d made a fast get away. “I think you’re drunk, Mattie.”
“I’m not yet, but Malcolm just refilled the cooler, so I plan to be soon.”
Gage stood a few feet behind Matt with his arms crossed. He seemed tense, which made her wonder if he’d seen Tanner.
“We’ve been looking all over for you,” Gage said not even trying to hide the hint of annoyance in his voice.
“I was just up here working on my observation skills.” She snickered at him and he rolled his eyes.
Addy stood up and started to make her way back through the grass. The fire was starting to burn itself out and wasn’t as bright. She started swearing under her breath at the dry grass under her feet. It hurt a lot more going down than it had on her way up.
Without warning, Matt snatched her up and tossed her over his shoulder.
Addy squealed and gripped his shirt to keep from falling. “C’mon, put me down Mattie!”
He ignored her and a minute later dumped her off by the fire next to Kim, who was snapping pictures of everyone. Gage sat down beside her, which was really unusual. They’d already spoken more in the last couple of hours than they had in the last few years.
Kim stuck the camera in their faces, telling them to smile.
Gage bumped her shoulder with his. “So do you know what else happened when we lived here before?”
Knowing he was just acknowledging her existence because Bernard told him to watch her made it just plain annoying and she wished he’d just go back to ignoring her. Addy pasted a smile on her face for the camera and shrugged her shoulders. “Hmm… What?”
Gage tipped his head sideways toward her for Kim’s picture. “It’s where we met.”
Chapter 5