Dissever (Unbinding Fate Book One) (5 page)

Grabbing a few hairpins from her drawer, she pulled it
up into a half twist and smoothed the loose pieces behind her ears. Looking in
the mirror while she put on some lip gloss, she could see a slight tan already
and was glad she hadn’t burned after being in the sun most of the day.

Gage was down on the floor rubbing Moose’s belly when
she walked out of her bedroom. The cat was pretending he was starved for
attention, as well as food.

She leaned against her door frame watching.

“He’s got you caught in his trap,” she said. “He’s
acting really sweet and loveable, but when you try to stop petting him he’s
gonna bite you.”

 “No you won’t, will you buddy?” Gage asked the cat in
a goofy voice.

The cat responded by arching his back so he could rub
his head on Gage’s hand.

“It’s suddenly getting weird in here—we should go.” Addy
blew the cat a kiss and headed for the door. “Bye Moose, I’ll be back to cuddle
with you later.”

He glanced up at her and smiled. “And that wasn’t
weird?”

Gage started to follow her. Moose tried to bite his
hand but he was too fast for the cat, who stalked off acting offended.

 “He’s mad,” Addy said, closing the door.

“Maybe I’ll let him win next time.”

“You never let anyone win, Gage.”

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and
smirked.

“Who’s down by the fire?” Addy asked as they walked to
the path leading to the beach.

 “It's just the usual crowd,” he said, walking in
front of her, “plus Kim, Matt, and Renee.”

 It felt warmer outside than it did earlier in the
sun. Gage looked hot in his white button down shirt and jeans. Like temperature
hot, she could see beads of sweat on the back of his neck. Clearly, she wasn’t
the only one lacking summer clothes.

“So, what was your take on the guy at the beach today?”
he asked, pulling at a piece of the tall grass when they walked past it.

“I don’t have one really. He seemed out of place—
but
honestly
, I wouldn’t have even noticed him if Kim hadn’t pointed him out.”

Addy only mentioned it to Fate earlier to hijack the
conversation until Bernard and Stubbs joined them.

Gage shook his head. “You’ve gotta watch what’s going
on around you now that we’re here.”

She stopped walking and looked at him bewildered.

He turned to face her. “What?”

Even at five foot seven, she was at least eight inches
shorter than Gage.

Addy looked up at him. “What do you mean
now that
we’re here—
they told you?”

“They didn’t have to
tell
me, I remember being
here. I was five last time. It’s where your parents were...” Gage trailed off.

“My parents
died
here. You can say it.” People
always acted as if they had to be so careful talking about her parents and it
completely irritated her.

Gage put his hands in his pockets. “We just gotta
watch out here after what happened last time.”

It all came together and Addy eyed him closely. “Is that
what they
think
—they’re thinking the humans who attacked my family will
try again?

They wanted control of the Akori’s power and thought
they could get it by ending the Overseer’s bloodline. They’d already killed her
dad, Fate’s male heir. Coming after her was
pointless.

“They’re probably
wrong
, but Bernard just asked
a couple of us to keep an eye on you. There’s nothing to worry about,” he said,
moving to put his hand on her shoulder.

She dodged him and stepped back, laughing. “You’re
babysitting me? Oh my god—that’s
hilarious
.”

She was actually pretty irritated he was only hanging
out with her because he was told to. It totally made sense though—more sense
than he suddenly wanted to be friends. Even when she and Gage were just with
Matt and Kim he didn’t talk to her.

“I’m just keeping an eye on what’s going on.”

Addy smiled and shook her head at him. “Let's get down
to the beach.” She put her hand up like she was making a pledge and tried to
paste a serious expression on her face. “
I promise to be more observant of
my surroundings
.”

Not about to let him see her disappointment, she
turned and padded down the path. The fire was in sight and she couldn’t wait to
talk to Kim.

“You’re an interesting girl, Addison Sanders,” Gage
said, catching up to her.

She avoided looking at him. “Why’s that
Gage
Elsegood
?”

“The way you are—or maybe it’s more the way you deal
with things,” Gage said. “It’s like nothing fazes you. We’re in the place your
parents were killed and your grandfather’s sick. You shrug it off like it’s
nothing.”

Addy couldn’t believe he’d just said that to her and
didn’t have a chance to hide the shock that ran across her face. After years of
barely speaking to her the fact he’d decide that was an ok thing to say was
outrageous.

“So what
should
I be doing?” She demanded. “Splitting
my time up between mourning for parents I don’t even
know
and contemplating
how I'm going to feel when Fate
dies
?”

Gage put his hand up and tried to interrupt her, but
she just kept going.

“I didn’t know my parents and Fate’s been prepping me
for life without him as long as I can remember.” Addy stopped walking and
stared at him. “Apparently you’ve forgotten that I’m the one who’s spent a
large part of my life learning how to be the Overseer, even though I never will
be. You used to be there; you should
remember.”
She turned away and
started toward the fire again. “Once Fate dies our way of life is over.”

She thought that last part sounded a little
overdramatic, but it was true. They didn’t live
anything
like humans
their age. They had responsibilities, but the people who lived at Tremain spent
a lot more time hanging out and partying than most humans ever did.

Gage started to say something but she waved him off and
they walked the rest of the way in silence.

 Just before they reached the fire, he bent down and
whispered in her ear. “You don’t have to remind me who you are, Addy.” He then walked
away to join Matt and a couple of girls she didn’t recognize.

Chapter 4

“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 human girls.

“They don’t waste any time,” Renee said, laughing.

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
rolled her eyes. “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. He 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?”

Addy shook her head. “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.”

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. Addy moved over and took another beer out of the cooler,
which was getting low. 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 she really
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.

Farther 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 scary.

“Who are
we
?” She challenged him. “How about
you explain why you’re spying on us.”

“Sure, after you explain why no one else seems to find
it wacky that your house wasn’t here yesterday,” he said, challenging her right
back.

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.

Looking back at the fire, she thought momentarily about
calling for Matt and Gage. She turned back and looked at the guy. Addy figured since
he was right in front of her, she might as well take a shot at scaring him off
herself.

“For your own good, you need to
stop
hanging
around here,” she said. “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 smiled slightly. “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. She took a few steps
closer to him to 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?”