Whirl (Ondine Quartet Book 1) (2 page)

I'd been covering it up for the very purpose
of avoiding this scene.

"
That
is just a tattoo," I said
casually, hanging my jacket in the closet. "I'm sure you've seen
one before."

She stared at my shoulder as though something
alien had grown on it.

"When did you do it?" Anger strummed under
her voice.

"I don't know. Last week sometime, before we
moved. " I shrugged. "What's the big deal? We're ondines. Nothing's
wrong with getting a cool tat to represent that."

"You just turned sixteen! You aren't supposed
to be getting tattoos left and right."

"Quit overreacting. It's just one — "

"Those things are permanent!"

"So you're saying that at some point in the
future I'll no longer be an ondine and the tattoo won't be
relevant." Sarcasm dripped off my words. It was my usual smartass
reply, the kind that got me into frequent arguments.

She didn't answer right away. Finally, her
gaze shifted back to me. "We'll discuss this when I get home in the
morning."

"You haven't gone out on patrol yet?"

"No. There were some things that came up
tonight that I had to deal with first."

Things like that guy you were talking
to
. I knew better than to ask about him again, though.

"I'm coming with you." I slid my dagger into
its usual spot with one fluid movement.

"No, you're not. Stay here until I return."
It was like an order from a commanding officer.

I really should've been more careful tonight.
Catching me sneaking back in may have permanently destroyed any
chance I had of going out with her.

"Why?" I crossed my arms in a defiant stance
very much like hers.

"Because my job is to protect you from
Aquidae. Your father gave his life —"

"I'm not talking about Dad now," I
interrupted, the volume of my voice rising. "I'm talking about how
you never let me gain any experience. It's unfair."

"You're not ready. Not when you're still
sneaking out to clubs and getting hidden tattoos."

Black swirls of frustration and humiliation
uncoiled, and I struggled to control it. Tense silence filled the
air.

"I may not be the best mother, Kendra." Her
face turned impassive. "But I'm the only one you've got. Which
means it's my responsibility to make sure you stay alive for
another day."

I couldn't believe she had the nerve to pull
the motherhood card. "I'm sure I'll be able to stay alive even
without your
protection
."

"And saying things like that only shows how
much of a child you still are."

I flushed, but refused to back down.
Something flitted through her eyes. It almost seemed like regret.
But in the next moment it was gone. Without a word, she turned and
left, slamming the front door a bit harder than she needed to.

It was the last time I saw my mother
alive.

ONE

The music's
heavy bass continued to pulse behind me. I'd rung in my seventeenth
birthday dancing and flirting up a storm at Club Inico. The grey,
grimy street was starkly quiet, populated only by a few drunk
college boys looking to score some weed.

Staying out at night had become a way to work
though my restless energy and avoid the inevitable dreams of her
face.

And the last words I'd said to her.

It wasn't like I had anyone to celebrate my
birthday with. Bob and Jan, my foster parents, were good people,
but we all knew the truth. I was staying with them only until I
could get out of school and be on my own.

Hunching my shoulders against the chill in
the spring night air, I shoved my hands into my jeans and wished
I'd remembered to bring a jacket.

My fingers brushed against the folded paper
tucked into my right pocket and something inside me tightened.

I grasped the letter and pulled it out.

Dear Kendra,

If you're reading this, it means you are
turning seventeen and something has happened to me.

Ondines emit their latent magical energy at
this age, placing them at risk of being spotted by Aquidae. You are
now in greater danger and I am unable to be there to help or
protect you.

You are no longer safe being Rogue and I've
arranged for you to return to Haverleau. You will receive the
guidance and care you need by rejoining the ondine community
there.

You must learn to fully harness the power of
your Virtue. Haverleau will help you in your magical training.

A gardinel should be arriving to take you
there soon. Be on the lookout.

My only hope is that I have done my job to
adequately prepare you for your future.

- Naida

When the letter had arrived this morning, it
was like a ghost appearing from the past. There'd been no return
address on the envelope and for a brief moment, I'd suspected
someone of playing some kind of sick joke.

But the meticulous handwriting and precise
tone were unmistakable. As well as the distinct lack of any
motherly words.

Everything flooded back in a rush. The visit
from the dour-faced police officer early in the morning. The silent
trip to the morgue. The pale, lifeless body on the steel cart. The
ugly, livid bruise on her broken neck.

I cut across the commercial center of San
Aurelio, darkened store and restaurant windows watching me like
empty eyes. Haverleau was the water elemental capital and one of
twelve ondine communities scattered on coastlines throughout the
world. Other than that, I only knew the bare facts about ondine and
elemental life and almost nothing about my parents' childhoods or
families.

Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair in
frustration. After everything she did to keep us Rogue after dad's
death, she wanted me to return to ondine society.

I didn't understand. It was a world I knew
almost nothing about.

And the only person who could provide me with
answers was buried several feet underground at San Aurelio
Cemetery.

My head jerked at the sudden sound of
footsteps. Three men approached me from the left. They were the
college guys I'd spotted outside of the club earlier.

I'd been so consumed in my thoughts, they'd
actually caught me off-guard. Unfiltering my Virtue, I reached out
to gauge their intentions.

Nothing.

I frowned. My magic only worked on humans,
but even with elementals like my mother, I'd always sensed a solid
barrier.

This was different. I didn't feel
anything
. There was nothing inside them but…empty space. A
void where something should have been, but wasn't.

They stood a few feet away in triangle
formation, blocking my left and front. Tight, confined area with
little mobility, and only one exit point behind me.

I sighed inwardly. I really wasn't in the
mood to deal with drunk boys on my birthday.

"Well, well. Look who we got here." The tall,
thin one in front spoke in a raspy voice that reminded me of
crunching gravel.

"Sorry, boys. My night's over," I replied
coolly.

The two burly guys in back came forward,
barring my path. They slowly advanced, herding me into an alley on
my right.

One of them, a beefy blonde, had an eager
look on his face. He rolled his head, cracking his thick neck in
anticipation. The streetlamp reflected off a small discoloration, a
pale white brand just above his carotid artery.

An Origin scar.

Shaped in the form of a small letter x, it
marked the hole through which a living being exchanged mortal blood
for the black demonic essence of an Aquidae.

I jerked back in surprise. Icy fear shot
through me and I reached for the dagger at my back. I'd made the
stupid assumption they were human.

Backing away, my heart pounded against my
ribs. The handle of my dagger felt cool and smooth in my sweating
palm.

"We've been looking for you, Kendra," Raspy
Voice breathed and I stiffened.

How do they know my name?

"We've been trying to find you for days. But
now that you're seventeen…" He chuckled. My insides clenched in
revulsion at the sound. "Your magical energy was easy to spot, even
from halfway across town."

He gave me a considering look.

"Happy birthday, by the way," he added,
almost as an afterthought. "You shine very brightly,
sondaleur
. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like
it. Your mother didn't have half your glow."

His two sidekicks laughed as though they
shared a private joke.

I didn't know why he was calling me
sondaleur
, and I didn't care. What I did know was that he
was the bastard who'd killed her. Snapped her neck as if she were
nothing more than a chicken, leaving her body abandoned in an empty
parking lot of a strip mall near the edge of town.

Rage fueled by grief exploded through my
veins like molten fire.

I lunged with a slashing motion. He stepped
aside, swatting at my arm like it was a pesky fly.

The contact sent me flying down the alley. I
leapt back up, ignoring the pain in my arm and knees. Crouching, I
balanced on the balls of my feet and sprang, spinning into the air
with a kick aimed at the face of the nearest broad-shouldered
target.

The guy, whose long black hair was tied back
into a ponytail, dodged it with a bored expression. He casually
flicked his forearm and it smashed into my cheekbone with a force
that sent me reeling back to the ground.

They were so fast, so strong. Just like my
mother had warned. My skills easily surpassed human ability. Slow
and clumsy was not something I was used to feeling.

My cheek throbbed from the blow. I clenched
my teeth, dug my fingers into the asphalt, and staggered back
up.

Keeping my arms loose by my sides, I raced
through my options. I had to strike them with my dagger. The silver
of the blade would injure them, though it wouldn't hold them for
long. But it might buy me enough time to get a head start.

The blonde moved towards me, but the tall
Aquidae raised his hand. Blondie stopped, conflict warring in his
eyes.

"Now, Kendra." Amusement danced on Raspy
Voice's gaunt face. "Let's not make this any more difficult. All
you have to do is come nicely."

The hammering of my heartbeat roared in my
ears and I fought to control my shaky muscles.

It was one thing to fight and die like my
mother. But they didn't want to kill me. They wanted to take me,
which could only mean one thing.

They wanted to turn me Aquidae.

I was scared shitless so I laughed.

"What's the matter?" I taunted, mustering as
much bravado as I could. "Can't kill me yourself? Need someone else
to do it?"

Blondie and Ponytail snarled, their faces
reddening.

"No," said Raspy Voice sharply. "We have our
orders."

He peered at me with dead eyes that looked
like black holes. His face was young, but those eyes seemed like
old, endless pits of darkness. They roamed over me and my skin
crawled.

"Do you know what I think,
sondaleur
?"
he asked softly. "I think you're just a little, pitiful ondine
trying to act bigger than she really is."

Anger's spidery tendrils unfurled and spread.
My eyes narrowed and I brought the dagger in front of me with
deliberate slowness.

"Really?" I bared my teeth. "Then why don't
you come and get me?"

He raised a mocking eyebrow and gave a low,
delighted laugh.

A lightening fast shadow darted down the
alley behind them. It took a millisecond longer for the Aquidae to
notice before they whipped around to address the new threat.

The billow of a long coat and the golden glow
from a
kouperet
flashed in the darkened alley.

It's him
.

It was the guy I'd seen with my mother on her
last night. His face remained in the shadows, but I recognized the
form and movements of his body.

Raspy Voice launched at him, leaping through
the air with a feral growl.

But the stranger was faster.

With a quick, graceful movement, he twisted
and staked it through the Origin. The Aquidae crashed with a
gurgled cry, black muddy liquid gushing from its neck.

The other two surrounded him on both sides.
But before they could attack, he knocked Blondie down with an elbow
to the eye and brought Ponytail to the ground with a low,
side-swept kick.

Every movement was full of power, revealing
the litheness of his body and his superior skill and control. Gold
streaked through the air as his
kouperet
staked first one
and then the other.

I stared, my mouth slightly open.

All three Aquidae were on the ground, dead in
a pool of thick, dark blood.

I couldn't believe it. I'd never seen anyone
move as fast or as effectively as this man just did.

He approached me slowly, arms up as if to
show me he meant no harm. The
kouperet
had already been put
away and his hands were empty.

Staring down at the bodies of my mother's
murderers, frustration mixed with the rage and fear still coursing
through me. I hadn't even been able to avenge her myself.

He took a step forward and I tensed. He'd
spoken to her on the night she died.

My stomach clenched. He took another
step.

Instinct kicked in.

I knew it was stupid, knew that I had no
chance, especially after what I'd just witnessed. But logic and
reason weren't in control of my body.

I lashed out, attempting to connect my fist
to his face.

With one easy movement, his large hand
blocked my punch. Long fingers wrapped around my wrist, holding
back the force of my blow. He could have easily snapped my arm
off.

But he didn't.