Carlisle, Abbie - Elijah's Vow [The Order of the Mist] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Abbie Carlisle

  “I just had the weirdest call on my cell. I thought all cells were secure and I didn’t recognise the voice,” Elijah spoke, concerned.

  “They are secure. How did someone get your number?” Jonah turned and started to tap furiously into the computer, trying to access the phone database. He wanted to see if he could find the source of the call.

  “Call Jenson. I want to know if anyone’s given out my number. The caller sounded irate and kept going on about protecting a female,” Elijah stated. “And it’d be a good idea to get my number changed as soon as possible. It’s not safe for contact with humans.”

  Jenson walked into the room making Elijah turn and stare at the tall male.

  Jenson wore shorts and a tight-fitting vest top and his hot and sweaty appearance told Elijah that he’d just come from the gym. Elijah knew Jenson often worked out late at night, knowing it was the one time of the day where Jenson found peace in his thoughts.

  Jenson noticed the strange look on Elijah’s face. “What’s up, boss?” he said slowly.

  “Elijah’s just had someone call him,” Jonah informed Jenson, not looking away from the computer. “No info on where the call came from. Looks like the caller had a scramble on their line.”

  “How did they get your number?” Jenson stared directly at Elijah.

  “That’s what I want to know. Kept going on about a female needing to be protected. Do you know anything about this?” Elijah asked.

  “No, nothing. What else did he say?” Jenson replied.

  “He said to check in the scriptures. That must mean he either knows who we are, or possibly even be Mist. Do we know of any new sightings lately?”

  “Not that I know of. If he mentioned the scriptures, he must know something we don’t. There’s only one bit I could transcribe that involves a female.” Jenson stood with his gym towel firmly gripped in his hand. He could see the concern in both male’s faces and could hear Jonah’s thoughts about his worries on the breach in security.

  “You keep trying to track the source of the call, whilst Jenson and I go check out the scriptures. Call me when you have some news.” Elijah walked straight past Jenson and out into the corridor.

  Jenson turned and followed, hearing the questions going through Elijah’s mind. He had studied the scriptures many times but its writings were difficult to read. It was written in an ancient language used over a hundred years ago, by the original Mist. He recalled a part of it that talked about a female who would change the future.

  The compound was a maze of corridors leading to The Order’s personal quarters, the gym, kitchen, living areas, and security rooms. The walls were carved from stone and had a smooth, silky appearance that glistened in the spotlights that had been placed in equal distance along the ceilings. The floors were tiled and as they made contact with Jenson’s trainers it created a soft echo that could be heard throughout the compound. The doors to each of The Order’s quarters were hung by large gold hinges and were made from a deep coloured oak with elaborate swirls and a specific design in the centre, unique to each member. Elijah’s door to his quarters had a curved shape carved into the wood with elaborate swirls extending from the centre to each corner.

  As Elijah approached the large oak door at the far end of the corridor, he gazed upon the decorated swirls and the carved cylinder shape. Carrick had spent many hours, carving with passion the elaborate design, creating the entrance to the sanctum which held the treasured writing from the past. The doors opened automatically.

  Elijah stepped into the brightly lit room that had shelves down each side. Each shelf held a long cylinder, covered in a pattern that had been burnt on it long ago. Elijah walked over and took one from the top shelf. It was heavy with a large gold latch at either end. He carried it over and laid it gently on the low table in the centre of the room. Elijah and Jenson sat on the low couch next to it and Elijah unclipped the latches and raised the lid gently.

  Inside, a parchment lay on a bed of red satin. It was tied in the middle by a red ribbon and Elijah gently tugged to undo it. He lifted the parchment out of its satin bed as Jenson lifted the case and placed it on the floor next to them. Gently rolling it out, each male held down the edges. The paper was soft to the touch and was covered in the ornate lettering of the ancient language. Elijah and Jenson scoured the writing for the part they were looking for. The female.

  “What do you think this drawing means?” Elijah asked as he pointed to a swirl of black ink.

  “I’m not sure, it looks like an S,” Jenson replied. He stood and walked around the table. “I’ll go and get a laptop, see if I can find anything on the net that looks like that.”

  Jenson walked quickly back to the security room and picked up his laptop that lay on the desk. He returned to the sanctum and laid the laptop next to the scripture and turned it on. He typed an S symbol into the search bar. The screen lit up with various pictures and drawings.

  “Here is one almost exactly the same as the drawing,” Jenson said as Elijah looked up from the scripture. The S on the screen had the same ornate swirls surrounding a beautiful letter S. “It says that it is the emblem of a town called Swane in the south. Maybe that’s where she lives.” Jenson surmised.

  “We need to go there and find out who this female is. It states in the scripture that it has something to do with the King, whoever he is,” Elijah said as a strange feeling crept through the pit of his stomach.

  Jenson looked at Elijah. He could read the instinct that had formed in his leader’s head. An instinct that was totally out of place but he understood what it was. Possession!

  Chapter 2

  Jasmine Tate woke, startled by the sun’s bright rays shooting through the bedroom window. She’d had another one of her frightening dreams, leaving her covered in perspiration and breathing heavily. They were always the same. She was strapped to a bed with covered faces looming over her, and had always woken up before they’d gotten close enough for her to see into their eyes. Sometimes it felt as if she was inside one of the books she edited.

  She lay there, inhaling and exhaling deeply before lifting her head from the plump pillow and gazing around the soft furnished room. It had elegant white wardrobes and a matching dresser, and under the bay of the window sat ocean-blue cushions on a window seat. The room was pure luxury, Jasmine thought to herself with a small smile.

  She lifted her legs and stood from the side of the bed, drawing her silk dressing gown over her slender shoulders. She stretched and breathed in the fresh scent of lilies that were in a glass vase on the dresser. It reminded her of the fresh spring mornings in her hometown, not like the smog air of the city she woke up to every morning. The noisy sounds of the New York traffic excited her senses and people’s footsteps tapping on the pavement outside her apartment were the best alarm clock.

  But here, there were no cars, no noisy people, just the sound of the ocean waves splashing and the wind blowing through the trees. It would be a nice change to relax, enjoy the fresh air and total silence. Her breathing had relaxed and she decided that it must have been her mind working overtime, or that she should give up the coffee she so loved to drink just before bed. It really was not going to help her relax if she had too much caffeine, and this vacation was all about relaxing, she reminded herself.

  This was the vacation that she had always dreamed of having and nothing was going to spoil it. Working at the publishers in New York was a demanding job and she had not been on vacation for nearly three years. She worked from eight in the morning until eight at night, proofreading and editing author’s books, and rarely had any social time for herself. She was going to do absolutely nothing and enjoy it.

  At the age of twenty-five she had a good job, a nice little apartment, and had come a long way from her hometown of Welbeck. She missed the little town, with its quaint little stores and coffee shop where she had loved to go on a Sunday to drink coffee and just watch the world go by. She especially missed the hot summers and cold winters.

/>   She’d lived with her parents until she was twenty and had then rented a nice little flat just above the bakery in town. She had loved the smell of the fresh bread baking in the mornings before she left for her job in the local grocery store. She knew when the time came that she would head to New York to find a job more worthy of her talents.

  Whilst she enjoyed the idea of the hustle and bustle of a big city, she was a small town girl and loved how everyone had known each other.

  New York was a very isolated city and when she’d joined one of the biggest publishing firms in 2011, it had left her little time for socialising.

  The boathouse conversion that she had rented was a small but well refurbished rental home just on the edge of the beach. It was surrounded by large billowing palm trees that gave cooling shade from the scorching sun. It had big bay fronted windows that looked out to the ocean and loungers on a veranda to relax on and enjoy the shade. She walked to the window of the bedroom and stood watching the wave’s crash onto the golden sand.

  She could stand there all day watching them roll in and out, mesmerising her and calming her anxiety of the dream she’d just had. The house had a spacious living area with a couch and television, and a beautiful oak wood fireplace. Not that she ever watched much television. Her passion was reading. The kitchen was well equipped with cool black-marble work surfaces, a large refrigerator, and a beautiful tiled floor. The bedroom had a four-poster bed with the most comfortable mattress she had ever slept on, much better than the one in her apartment. This was just her style of house.

  Today she decided that she must go to the local town of Swane to pick up some groceries. She hadn’t had time to pick some up yesterday when she’d arrived. But first things first, she must grab a shower.

  The bathroom had an elegant, white corner bath with a separate shower cubical, toilet, and cabinet. She looked around and found a plump, fluffy towel and turned on the shower. She wanted to wash away the dampness of her skin that reminded her of her awful dream and, as she stepped into the shower, the stream of hot water eased down her slender body. It felt good as she lifted her head under the jets of water, her long hair soaking up the shampoo.

  When she finished, she dried and dressed in a pair of blue denim shorts and a peach vest-top. She was determined to get a tan as she was looking paler than usual, and that was not a good look against her auburn hair.

  Her hair flowed down her back in soft curls, which fell gently around her oval-shaped face. Her eyes matched the colour of her hair, a beautiful golden-brown. After putting on her pumps, she walked back into the lounge, grabbed the house keys, and closed the door behind her.

  She felt a slight shiver travel down her spine, which was unusual for such a hot day. She had a sense of being watched as she looked up and down the beach. The beach cleaners were out in their large trucks with what looked like forks on the front. They were shifting the sand, cleaning it, and it left a smooth layer on the top that glinted in the sunlight. She couldn’t see anyone and surmised that it must be her imagination playing tricks again.

  Growing up in Welbeck, she’d often had times when she could sense things that weren’t there. Sometimes, she’d felt that there were people outside of her house, but her parents had never found anyone when they’d gone outside to check. Her behaviour had worried her mother greatly to begin with, but after a time, her mother had told her that her imagination would make her a good writer. As Jasmine had gotten older, she’d suspected it was more than just her mind playing tricks. Eventually, she’d stopped telling them as they never believed her anyway. This must just be another one of those times.

  The sun shone beams through the trees which danced from the light breeze blowing at their branches as she walked down the narrow path leading to the main road. The gravel path had been worn away by many people going to the beach and it made Jasmine smile to know that she was as far away from phones, people, and publishers as she could get. She felt relaxed, and enjoyed the feeling of the sun warming her skin as she walked. The palm trees swayed in the warm breeze, and she listened to the sounds of the waves running on the beach as she walked down the main road into town. This was a perfect venue to have her vacation. The town of Swane was a little over fifteen minutes’ walk from the house and it had a grocer’s and a police station, but not much else. It reminded her of her hometown a little which had been why she’d chosen it, but there was no coffee shop, much to her disappointment.

  She picked up the groceries that she needed, paid the cashier, and left the store to start her walk back to the house. In the back of her mind there was that nagging feeling again, that feeling that she’d had at the house. She could feel someone watching her. She looked up and down the street but only saw a couple of people walking in the opposite direction.

  “Hello!” Jasmine called out, hoping that it was just a case of her over active imagination again.

  “Hello, Jasmine.” a deep voice replied, so close behind her she could feel his breath on her neck.

  She jumped and turned, almost falling over. Jasmine’s heart beat so hard in her chest she thought it would explode at any moment.

  “Oh…my…god!” Jasmine breathed as she looked into the eyes of purest blue. Her pulse raced and her hands started to shake, threatening to drop her groceries bag. She felt fear begin to race through her body, making her legs unsteady. Staring at the enormous man, she felt herself begin to stumble backward. All she could think about was getting away from the tall, dark stranger that stood before her but her legs wouldn’t move.

  “What do you want, and how do you know my name?” she asked, her words struggling to come out.

  “You,” he replied, the intensity in the stranger’s voice making her heart race faster.

  Suddenly, the door to the grocery store opened and Jasmine turned, desperate to catch the eye of whoever was coming out, pleading for help.

  “Please help me, please!” Jasmine cried out to the man who had walked out of the store.

  As Jasmine turned to look back at the threat that stood before her, it was gone. Nothing but the road ahead lay before her eyes. Confusion began to cloud Jasmine’s mind. Where was he? How had he gone in an instant? She turned back to the man from the grocery store, who looked at her, unable to understand what was wrong. Jasmine felt anxious as she began to slowly walk back to the house. She kept looking up and down the street, sure of what had happened but unable to understand how he’d disappeared so quickly. She knew he’d been there, knew that she’d felt his warm breath on her neck, and knew the intense blue eyes and deep voice that had spoken only one word to her. You! He knew her name, but she had never seen him before. She would have remembered those piercing blue eyes for sure.

  “Yep, definitely losing your mind, Jas!” she spoke aloud as she started to walk faster back to the house. Nothing a large glass of wine wouldn’t fix.

  As Jasmine unpacked the groceries, she put them in the spacious cupboards of the kitchen. She couldn’t stop thinking about the stranger she’d seen. In only a split second, as he stood before her, she’d memorised his face. The piercing blue eyes that seemed to stare straight into her soul and his perfect pink lips that had smiled at her when he said, “You.” His deep voice had scared her, so strong and demanding.

  After pouring herself the glass of wine she’d promised herself, she sat on the window seat and stared at the ocean. She wasn’t going to let a perfect stranger spoil this vacation.

  Determined to put the event of earlier to the back of her mind, she decided to take a dip in the ocean. She walked into the bedroom and opened the top draw of the dresser and pulled out one of the bikinis she had brought. She had never worn a two-piece suit before but decided that if she was to get a good tan then she would have to be a little braver.

  She slid her shorts down her slender legs and lifted her vest-top off over the soft curls of her hair. Once dressed in the bikini, she looked in the full-length mirror. She had chosen a bright, cerise-pink bikini, which sat high on her slim
hips, and a top that hugged her full breasts. She had always been proud of her slim waist and legs, her favourite part of her body, and she worked hard at the gym to keep them toned.

  Feeling happy with her new purchase, she grabbed a towel and left the bedroom. Picking up her sun hat and favourite book, she walked out of the house, closing the door behind her, and walked down the beach to the shore. The sand had heated from the morning sun and, after laying her book and hat down on the towel, she walked to the water’s edge. Slowly, she dipped her toe into the water. It was warm and inviting and she walked further into the water. She gently lowered herself into the pale blue wash of the ocean and let the water lap at her as she lay, relaxed and content, soaking up the heat beating down on her from the hot sun.

  * * * *

  Elijah spent the next hour with Jenson researching the town of Swane. They’d found out that it lay on the southern coastline and had worked out a route that would get him there as quickly as possible. There was a lot of road to cover and he’d decided to leave first thing in the morning. He would drive on the main interstate and then take the side roads until he reached the small unassuming town.

  He hoped not to be away from the compound for too long. There had been several security attempts on the compound from an unknown source lately, and he did not want to leave his males for too long. Not that he didn’t think that they could handle any situation that may arise. They were a team and always worked best together. He would pack a bag and grab a quick sleep before heading out on the road.

  Chapter 3

  As Elijah walked back to his quarters, he thought about the scriptures. Jenson had been able to translate some of the ancient writing, but there were still parts that were a mystery.