Betrayal 2012 Read Free

eyes darted to and from the camera. 
    “Do you know whose friends?” asked the reporter.  The boy continued shaking his head.
    “No.  I don’t.  It’s just so weird.  Justin wasn’t like that.  He would never hurt anyone.  I…I don’t understand…”  His attention jerked towards the crowd behind him where Justin and the police had just emerged from the building.  The star athlete’s hands were cuffed behind his back and two officers were escorting him by the elbows.  They hustled him to the car, but not before the reporter stuck the microphone in front of his face.
    “Why did you do it, Justin?  What was going through your mind?”
    I didn’t know Justin well, but from what I could see of him right now, there was something very wrong.  His pupils were dilated and his lips never stopped moving.  He wouldn’t answer the reporter’s questions and instead stared straight ahead as if in a daze.  Just before the police pushed his head into the backseat of the car, the camera man got a close enough shot for me to pick out a few words.
    It was only three little words but they sent ice through my veins.  How was this possible?  What could he mean?  None of it made sense to me and when he said “hurt Eviana Dumahl” over and over, the reality of what this could represent suddenly came crashing down.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Two
     
    “No,” I whispered in a state of shock.  Three of my closest friends from school had been shot and I believed it was in an attempt to harm me.  We continued watching the news until the repeating film loops began to give me a headache.  The ticker on the bottom of the screen said that all three girls were in critical condition at the city hospital, but that the doctors were hopeful with their prognoses.
    The newscaster added that a few students heard Justin say that a tall blond man told him to do this, but everyone seemed to be passing that off as a delusion.  Certainly Justin was hearing voices.  No one could force another to shoot innocent people.  Right?
    Kain and I looked at each other in perfect understanding.  His eyes reflected back the same fear that was now coursing through my bones.  We knew a tall blond man who could force a human to do his bidding.  And he just happened to hate me right now.
    “It couldn’t be,” I whispered again, forcing Kain to grab the sides of my arms when I almost toppled over.
    “I’m sure there’s another explanation,” he said calmly, but the stiffness in his shoulders gave him away.  Kain thought that Lucian Sutherland was behind the shooting just like I had suspected.
    The doorbell rang causing nearly everyone in the room to jump.  Jason, one of the protectors that had been inside earlier, left the living room to greet our new guest.  I heard some mumbled words a few seconds before he came back into the room holding a red envelope, a black flower, and a suspicious look on his face.  “It’s for you, Mistress Dumahl.”
    I wiped the tears I’d been shedding from my cheeks and pulled myself away from Kain.  He followed closely behind but didn’t stop me from taking the delivery.  The envelope was made of expensive paper and my first name was written in perfect calligraphy across the center.  I broke the wax seal, noting the engraved “S” in the center.  Inside was a note card, no bigger than the envelope with a personalized message written in the same cursive style. 
    Eviana-
Consider this your warning.  The next time will be fatal.  You have one last chance to accept my offer.  I anxiously await your answer.
    Always-
    Lucian
    My hands were still trembling when Kain yanked the letter from them.  I turned towards Jason who was holding the other gift away from his body as though it might attack him at any second.  Knowing it was from Lucian meant that Jason should be scared.  I took the flower from his hand and spent a few seconds admiring its beauty.  It was a black with several draping petals and