Yolanda Sfetsos - Alex Wales - Promise

Alex took another step back, disgusted. For once, she was actually glad she’d spent so much time amongst degenerates and criminals. Otherwise, she’d have already thrown up.

Damon stepped forward, and his fingers slid away from hers. He’d held her hand since the moment they’d left the room and continued to hold it even after they met up with the others. She hadn’t resisted his touchy-feely action, because his warm skin made her feel good. It kept reminding her of what he’d done to her.

If that’s how he heals all the time, there must be some really sick women around Eden.

When his bare toes dipped into the edge of the blood puddle, she cringed. How could he act so natural around something he claimed never happened around here?

She reluctantly turned her gaze back to the corpse and caught sight of a shiny bone peeking through a particularly nasty wound, in what had to have been the chest. Was that a rib? The way the moonlight glistened on the sharp end only added to her revulsion. She wondered if this had been a woman or a man.

Priestess Aleena stood across from them, on the other side of the corpse. She stepped forward, and the hem of her long, white dress almost dipped into the blood. “Do you know what happened to him, Damon?” The blonde stood with people on both sides. The grim-looking man who kept glaring at Alex with a sour expression on his face had taken a step at the same time as Aleena.

Shrubs lined the expanse of wall behind them, and blood was splattered on some of the leaves.

There seemed to be a lot of walls around here. Damon kept referring to this place as a village, but it looked more like a castle or a fortress.

Alex wondered if the population built as many walls around themselves as they did in this seemingly safe haven. For crime not to exist, something strange had to be going on behind the scenes. To not have crime while living in such a concentrated population didn’t sound realistic. It wasn’t how humans behaved, and since she’d only seen bare-footed, blue-eyed, and blonde humans walking around so far, she assumed the population was all human.

She stared at Damon, with his beautiful, caramel skin and black hair. He might have light eyes, but his pallor wasn’t the same as everyone else’s. Why?

“Well, Damon. What do you see? Anything that can help us figure out what happened?” Aleena asked again.

He squatted a little closer and narrowed his eyes, as if he were scanning the corpse and the area. “He was definitely murdered.”

A chorus of gasps sounded around Alex. She looked up.

Aleena lifted a pale hand in front of her mouth. Levi’s eyes were so wide, they looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets. Another man gasped in horror beside him. The tall, skinny one with the constant scowl glared at Alex. What the hell is his problem?

“I think whoever killed him took several bites first,” Damon added with a small shake of his head. “I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

“What?”Aleena’s complexion turned waxy, as if she were getting sicker by the minute. “Could it be one of the birds?” She looked up at the dark sky, as if checking to see if she could find the answer written above.

“I doubt it,” Damon said. “They usually peck at their prey. This isn’t pecking. Someone tore him apart, and it looks like he was feasted on, but not the same way a bird would.”

“Speaking of feasts,” Aleena said, turning her attention to Alex. “I’m afraid we’re going to have to postpone the celebratory feast in your honor. For the moment, at least…I hope that’s not a problem, Alex.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s fine. I understand.” Not that she’d wanted to partake in any sort of feast about a hocus-pocus solution to whatever imaginary problems these people had. After seeing this dead body, maybe she’d been too quick to judge their utopian society.

“How could this have happened?” the nameless, angry man asked.

“If not the birds, then what did this? We don’t have any wild beasts within the village walls.” Levi’s voice was low, barely more than a whisper.

Alex wasn’t sure it was a good idea to have a teenage boy witness such a barbaric act. Then again, he seemed to be Damon’s assistant or something.

“You have wild beasts outside,” Alex observed. “I heard one roar earlier.”

Aleena’s brow furrowed, but she didn’t say anything.

“I think you’re mistaken,” the sour-looking man said, with a stern shake of his head. “There are no roaring beasts in the jungle.”

“I’m sorry, but who are you? I didn’t catch your name.” Alex crossed her arms. This man definitely had some kind of problem with her, and she was determined to get to the bottom of it. The last thing she needed was someone with an agenda against the ‘space traveler’.

The man lowered his gaze, sweeping over her cleavage with obvious disapproval. When he met her eyes again, a smirk curved his lips. “My name is Elroy. I am the consort of our Priestess and head of security.”

Alex had to admit that she was curious. She found it strange how they all referred to their obvious matriarch as a Priestess, but she hadn’t seen any statues or chapels so far. To hold the title, one had to somehow be connected to a deity. So who did Priestess Aleena worship? What deity did she preach about to the population of Eden?

The more she learned about these people, the less she liked being stranded here. There was something very odd about them, and she had no intention of getting caught up in their insanity.

She considered the man who didn’t like her. “Well, Elroy . Maybe it’s time for you to consult your magical stones. Or whatever it is you use for security around here, because it’s been officially breached.” Alex unfolded her arms and placed them on her hips instead. She hadn’t bothered with her jacket and was only wearing her dirty tank top at the moment, but she didn’t appreciate the man’s disapproving scrutiny.

“Maybe we should take you in for questioning. It seems a little too coincidental for something this violent to occur almost as soon as you arrived.” Elroy’s suggestion echoed around them.

No one else reacted.

Alex yanked the blaster from its holster and rushed him before anyone had a chance to stop her. She didn’t even skim the puddle of blood before she had the barrel pressed against his temple. She motioned at the mess near her boots. “Are you accusing me of doing this?” Anger simmered beneath her skin, making her breath come in spurts. “If I was going to kill someone, I wouldn’t need to get my hands dirty. As you can see”-she jabbed the end of her blaster harder against him-“I handle myself pretty well with a weapon. So, why would I tear someone apart when I can use my blaster, huh?”

The man didn’t move. He just kept his beady eyes glued on hers.

Anger and determination rushed through her. She wasn’t going to let this asshole accuse her of something so barbaric.

For some reason, he obviously didn’t like her. She didn’t care about who liked her or not, but she wasn’t going to put up with anyone’s crap.

Elroy lifted an eyebrow, but he didn’t even wince. “I’m merely stating the obvious. Since you arrived, strange things have started happening…”

“Elroy!” Damon stood up and reached her in seconds. He pressed a hand to her shoulder. “Alex had nothing to do with this. She’s been with me the whole time.”

She had to admit that she liked knowing Damon was ready to back her up, almost as much as the warmth radiating from his palm. Boy, this man sure could do some weird and wonderful things with his hands.

“It’s too coincidental,” Elroy repeated.