Solace: Book Three (Strange in Skin Trilogy)

by Sara V. Zook

  “Emry,” Candy begged. “Things didn’t work out on Earth, because it was Earth. Things can be different here. Please tell me you’ll at least consider it.”

  Emry laughed again. “Wow, Candy. Just wow. Go away. You’re being pathetic.”

  Candy looked to Ben who nodded. She put her hand on her daughter’s back and led her away.

  Emry turned to Ben. “Why did you even bring her here to tell me all this?”

  Ben inhaled and let the air out slowly. “Well, she’s back. I didn’t want you to run into her somewhere without knowing all the facts. It’s the cold, hard truth, but they’re the facts. And now you know.” He turned to leave.

  Emry slammed his hand down onto a pile of books sitting on a nearby desk. The thump echoed in the gigantic room.

  “My entire life on Earth was fake. Do you realize how many wasted years I’ve lived?” Emry began pacing around the room, frantic and hurt. “I mean, don’t they know what that feels like when I hear it, or don’t they care?”

  I sat on the edge of the desk and watched him circle around a couple of times before jumping up and hurrying over to him. I grabbed his face and kissed him. Then I leaned back to look at him.

  Emry licked his lips. “What was that for?”

  “For not wasting your life anymore and moving forward. It’s all in the past.”

  “It still makes me so mad …”

  “It’s behind you now,” I said in a stern manner. “This bad past makes the future look brighter and brighter.”

  Emry grinned. “True.”

  “Besides,” I continued. “We have work to do.”

  He gave me a questioning look.

  “We have to figure out what to do with Cami, remember?” I reminded him.

  “Oh, yeah, right.”

  I grinned back. “Why can’t you be like a vampire or something and be able to erase minds?”

  “A vampire?” Emry burst out laughing. “Then I could bite you.”

  He began chasing me around the room trying to bite me. I squealed and ran away. He caught up to me and scooped me up into his arms.

  “Tired?” he asked.

  I pressed my nose down to his. “Exhausted.”

  “Let’s go to bed,” he suggested.

  I leaned my head against his shoulder, allowing him to carry me. “If only we could drug Cami, something along those lines.”

  Emry pretended to struggle with carrying me as he reached the stairs.

  I giggled.

  “Not a bad idea, Anna,” he said. “Not a bad idea at all …”

  TEN

  I took a sip of the hot coffee as I walked out into the garden that Emry had created in my bare feet. It was still early as a gray fog hovered just above the highest branches of the garden trees. Some flowers were closed, their petals clenched together as if huddling from the cold night air. It was still gorgeous out here though and so peaceful. I closed my eyes and thought about the wedding dress Trishelle was making. I was wearing it and walking down this brick pathway, Emry in my sight just ahead …

  “Hey.”

  Startled from my daydreaming, I gripped the cup of coffee tighter so it wouldn’t spill. I looked back and smiled.

  “Hey. I thought you were still sleeping,” I said.

  Emry grinned. His hair was still ruffled from his pillow, and he was only wearing gray sweatpants. That wasn’t what I had pictured him wearing to our wedding just moments ago, but he could get away with it if he wanted.

  “I was looking for you everywhere,” he told me. “I woke up and no Anna.”

  “Everywhere?” I raised an eyebrow at him.

  He laughed. “Okay, maybe not everywhere. This was the second place I looked.” He glanced around at all the pretty plants. “Still like it out here?”

  “Still love it,” I corrected him.

  He came over and grabbed my empty hand. “Still want to get married after all we’ve been through?”

  I stared up into those blue eyes and felt as though I could melt into a puddle. “There will never be any doubt in my mind.”

  He blinked at me a few times, a smile playing on his lips. “So does that mean you’ll go on a little adventure today with me?”

  “Uh oh,” I mumbled. “Adventures with you are always trouble.”

  He walked over to one of the bushes and plucked off a lavender flower. He pushed the hair back behind my ear and slid the flower into place, then stood back to take a look.

  “I promise it’ll be interesting,” he added.

  I took another sip of coffee, careful not to disturb the flower he had just given me. “Never a dull moment.”

  “Well, isn’t that why you’re with me? I spice up your life.”

  I stared at him. With all the bright colors surrounding him, man, he was gorgeous. He grinned.

  “Yeah, that’s exactly why,” I replied, laughing.

  “So … that’s a yes?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yes, it’s a yes. What are we getting into?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” he said, turning around and heading for the door back into the castle. “You already agreed. Can’t get out of it now. When you finish that coffee, go get dressed.”

  I watched him disappear back inside. My heart was thumping rapidly in my chest. I wondered if there ever would be a dull moment with Emry. Probably not. I sucked down the last gulp and headed back inside myself.

  ***

  I had just finished getting dressed for the day, deciding on jeans and a white tank top. Everyone already knew I was human, why not dress like one?

  Emry came into the bedroom. “Ready?” he asked.

  I nodded. “Are you going to give me any clues as to what we’re doing?”

  He reached for a shirt and pulled it over his head. “Today is the day that we take Cami home.”

  “What?” I gasped. “How?”

  “The details are all worked out. Just go along with it, okay? She’s on her way up here …”

  “Hi, guys!” Cami said, bursting into the room without even knocking.

  I ran a hand over the top of my head and forced myself to smile. “Morning, Cami. Sleep well?”

  “Oh, my, that bed was just wonderful,” she answered. “Emry told me he’d show me around Evadere today, that we’re meeting some contributors.”

  I glanced Emry’s way.

  He nodded. “That’s right.”

  “Is Treyu joining us?” she asked, a sullen expression falling over her eyes.

  Treyu was long gone. “Um, he said he’d catch up with you later,” I told her, regretting the words as soon as they came out of my mouth.

  Poor Cami thinking that Treyu was somebody he wasn’t. I didn’t want to be the one to burst her bubble, so for now, she could think he was just cooling off from the fight the night before.

  “There’s a carriage waiting for us outside,” Emry announced. “Better get going.”

  I nodded and led the way for Cami down the stairs and out the main door. The sunshine beat down upon my skin as I made my way to the carriage. Ben was already occupying one of the seats.

  “Good morning,” Ben said.

  Please don’t let us be taking Cami to the middle of nowhere to dispose of her body.

  “Morning,” I mumbled, my mood taking a turn for the worse at the sight of him.

  Cami and Emry entered the vehicle after us. Emry reached out the window and patted the side of the carriage. It began to go.

  “How do these things just move like this?” Cami asked, thinking along the same lines as myself.

  Ben looked out the window. “Special engineering,” he replied.

  Cami looked at me, and I shrugged. She seemed in brighter spirits today. She had cleaned herself up and someone had given her clothes from Evadere as the yellow material she was wearing moved with the wind of the open windows. She had piled her hair on the top of her head and had applied heavy red lipstick to her lips.

  No one said much for the rest of the trip.
/>   Once we reached the large white tents, I recognized this place and the emotions hit me full force.

  “What’s wrong?” Emry asked, seeing me wipe tears from my cheeks.

  “These are the medical contributors,” I whispered as I glanced Cami’s way to see if she was paying attention to me. She wasn’t.

  “Right,” Emry whispered back.

  “This is where Rooney was killed,” I quickly explained.

  “Rooney?”

  “You know, the Scave. Jo’s friend,” I reminded him.

  “Oh, Anna, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize … I would’ve never asked you to come,” he said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

  I took a deep breath. “No, it’s all right. I’ll be okay. Just give me a moment to get it together.”

  Ben exited the carriage first followed by Cami. Once my feet hit the ground, I tried to think of anything but being here before. I tried to figure out what Emry had up his sleeve by bringing Cami here and what he meant by taking her home today.

  Oh, dear lord.

  I pulled on Emry’s arm. He turned around and bent over so I could speak with him so Cami wouldn’t hear.

  “You’re not … drugging her, are you?” I murmured.

  A huge grin crossed his face.

  “Emry, no!” I hissed.

  “Hey, it was your idea,” he reminded me.

  “I was joking.”

  “It was a good idea though,” Emry continued. “The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Just follow along.”

  “Is she going to be okay?” I questioned him.

  “Do you really need to ask me that?” He gave me a chastising look.

  I guess I didn’t have a reason to be concerned, and I wouldn’t be at all if Ben wasn’t here. He had been the one who had suggested we dispose of Cami the night before.

  Ben walked into one of the tents. We followed. Inside there was a table and chairs in the middle of the room. A very tall, middle-aged contributor male approached us. He shook Ben’s hand and nodded to the rest of us.

  “Nice to see you, Ben,” the man said. “Prince Emry.”

  “This is Merrick,” Ben introduced us. “He’s been a friend of mine since …”

  Merrick smiled. “Since forever.”

  Ben actually smiled back. “Yes, since forever. He’s going to do some things for us today.”

  “Like what?” Cami asked, excitedly clamping her hands together as she sat down at the table.

  Merrick stared at her for a few moments. “Well, I’m …” he hesitated, looking to Ben for help. “Why don’t I start everyone out with some drinks? Everyone want one?”

  Wow. Good job Ben and Emry I thought sarcastically. If I were Cami, I’d think something fishy was up. Then again, it was Cami. I couldn’t picture her being a psychologist. She was too clueless about her own life to give any input on anyone else’s.

  “Sure. I’ll take one,” Emry bellowed out.

  “Me, too,” Ben joined in.

  “Yeah,” I followed along. “Me, too.”

  Cami just stared at everyone.

  “Cami?” Merrick asked.

  She frowned. “I just had breakfast. I’m fine. Thanks.”

  Emry and Ben exchanged glances. They wanted her to have a drink and now she was ruining their plans.

  “Oh, come on … Cami,” Merrick said as if trying to remember her name. “You’ll want to try this. It’s a delicious recipe.”

  “What did we come here to do?” Cami asked.

  Perhaps she was smarter than I had given her credit for. I wanted to laugh at Emry’s expense, but I knew I couldn’t, so I just made fun of the situation every time he looked my way as it played out in my eyes.

  “This is just part of the tour today,” Emry told her.

  Cami frowned again. The tour was already an obvious disappointment to her. “What do they do here? Make drinks?”

  “You don’t want to taste new things from Evadere?” Ben questioned her as if she were crazy to turn down Merrick’s offer.

  “Well …” Cami was processing Ben’s words as he had made the tour sound a smidge more attractive to her. “Is it going to taste like wine?”

  Amusement couldn’t be hidden in my eyes as Emry glanced my way again.

  “Let’s hope so,” I chimed in.

  Merrick brought out four drinks and put them down on the table. He had filled them up too much. Some of them overflowed onto the table. Whatever it was, it was a deep purple color, almost black. He picked up Cami’s and handed it to her.

  “Please, let me know what you think,” Merrick said.

  My face twisted up in disgust as I looked at the liquid. It didn’t smell too appetizing. There was no way she was going to try this stuff. I wasn’t going to try it either, not only because it smelled like rotten eggs, but because what if there was poison in it? What if Merrick had gotten them mixed up somehow and the poison was sitting in front of me?

  I could tell Emry and Ben weren’t too impressed by the idea of taking a sip either. They just let theirs sit there as well.

  To my surprise, Cami picked it up and put the cup to her lips. She took a drink. “Hmm,” she said, swishing the liquid over her tongue for a moment. “Not too bad.”

  Merrick’s face lit up with pride.

  Cami drank some more, red lipstick stains covering the top of the glass.

  “You like it?” Merrick asked as if shocked himself that anyone was even touching the glass.

  Cami nodded. “It’s actually really delicious. Reminds me of a juice I took in college. It cleansed out all the toxins in your body …”

  I watched the glass fall from Cami’s hand and shatter on the floor as she slumped down in her chair, her head dangling to the left. So they had drugged her.

  “Wow, that was fast,” Merrick stated.

  Ben and Emry hurried to her side so she wouldn’t fall down on the floor and injure herself. Emry scooped her up in his arms. “You sure you didn’t overdose her?” Emry questioned him.

  Merrick didn’t reply.

  Emry turned to me. “Ready?”

  “For?”

  “I told you we’re taking Cami home. You coming?” He took a step backwards as if struggling to hold her limp body.

  “As if drugging someone isn’t adventure enough,” I mumbled, hurrying to Emry’s side.

  ***

  I blinked. Heavy, humid air hit me in the face. I didn’t think I would ever get used to this transporting thing. Not only do you have the shock of instantly being in a new location, but the change in climate is a little overwhelming on the body. Evadere was warm, but a comfortable warm. Wherever we were now was sticky and just plain hot. Cold water soaked my feet. I jumped back in surprise. Emry snickered.

  I looked out into the ocean waves. We were on a beach. I moved away from the water and took a look around. People with their swimsuits on were walking, but they were a distance down the beach from us.

  Emry was still holding Cami who hadn’t moved a muscle.

  Is she dead?

  Ben must’ve had the same thought because he reached down and put his fingers to her neck to check for a pulse.

  “Still kicking,” Ben remarked.

  “I don’t find this very funny, Ben,” I snapped. “This is like throw you in jail type of thing.”

  Emry gave me a look.

  “Sorry.” I pressed my lips together. “Didn’t mean to mention the whole jail thing.” Like they could ever hold him in prison now that he knows how to work his power. “So what now?”

  Emry put Cami down in the sand. “Hey! Anyone! Please help!” He began frantically waving his arms in the air. He yelled out again.

  Some people turned and saw him. They saw Cami and started sprinting toward us.

  “What happened? She okay?” one guy asked.

  Emry shrugged. “We just found her like this.”

  “You don’t know her?” another woman asked.

  “No.” Emry glanced down a
t Cami and crinkled his eyebrows as if deeply concerned about her well being. “Do you have a cell? Someone better call an ambulance.”

  The woman reached in her back pocket and pulled out a phone. She dialed 911 and then stepped away to talk to them.

  “Is she …?” The guy hesitated.

  “Dead?” Ben shook his head. “I just checked. She has a pulse.”

  “Okay.” The guy scratched his head. “You were just walking and found her?”

  “Yeah,” Emry replied.

  The guy bent down to get a better look at her. “I wonder what happened to her.”

  Emry shrugged. “Who knows. You know kids and their drugs these days.”

  I shot him a stern look.

  “Overdose, huh?” The guy scratched his head a couple more times. “Could be. Could be.”

  The woman rushed over and peered down at Cami. “Medics are on their way. We’ll wait with you until they come. I hope she’s okay.”

  I watched Ben and Emry exchanged glances. I wished I had the power to read their minds right now.

  Within minutes, the sirens were blowing and an ambulance parked near the road entrance to the beach. They exited the vehicle and ran over to us.

  “Please back up,” the medic said. He began taking Cami’s vitals.

  Another medic glanced at all of us and then went down to his knees to help his coworker. “Any distress?”

  “No. It’s like she’s sleeping,” the other medic answered.

  “Head injury?”

  “I see no external signs of trauma.” He looked back up at all of us. “Did anyone see what happened to this young lady?”

  We all told them no.

  “He found her lying on the ground like this,” the woman explained.

  The medic looked to Emry who nodded.

  “So you don’t know her name?” the medic asked.

  “No.” Emry crossed his arms.

  I bit my lip wondering what was going to happen to poor Cami. I had a million questions but none that I could ask aloud at the moment. It was driving me crazy to have to be patient. I can’t believe I went along with this idea of theirs.

  The medics checked Cami’s pockets. “No identification on her,” one commented.

  “I’m going to go get the board,” the other one told him. “In case she has back or neck injuries.” He took his radio off of his belt loop and spoke into it as he walked back to the ambulance.