Free Sweetwater: The Kihn (The Sweet Series) by Rivi Jacks

imagination. The stories are true, Sofie.”
    I stare straight into his eyes, such a beautiful dark blue without a hint of deception. I’ve always been pretty good at knowing when someone’s lying. “Okay, so you’re telling me there are” —I glance about— “there are actual leprechauns, trolls, Bigfoot...”
    Nick takes my hand, and his is warm and oddly familiar. “Yes, that’s what I’m telling you.” He squeezes my hand. “There are—at the risk of sounding cliché—things that go bump in the night.”
    “Oh... I’ve always known that.” He looks puzzled, and Estella stands and moves to the stove to prepare more tea. “Please, don’t make any on our account. I’m certain we need to get to my house...” My voice trails off when I see Nick’s face.
    “I have more to tell you,” he says.
    “You do?” I have an awful feeling I’m not going to care for what else he has to say.
    “The Kihn are ruthless in their determination to find the gate in time. They hold no regard for human life.” His gaze holds mine. “They move into an area sometimes a year or two in advance of the gates opening to prepare for moving their people in.”
    “How many are there?” My voice comes out in a whisper.
    He glances at Lucian, who answers, “A hundred years ago, we estimated them in the tens of thousands. Of course, a number of them are women and children. Today our—”
    “What?” I exclaim. Oh, this is too surreal.
    “Sofie.” I turn my attention back to Nick. “They are a race of beings, living and reproducing, but they do exist and will move into this area.”
    “And... they’re responsible for the cattle killing?”
    “They are.” His expression is grave. “The majority of the Kihn will not come until they’re certain the gate opening is near.” He hesitates. “The ones already here will continue to hunt your livestock. They’ll venture farther out, preying on animals from surrounding communities. At times, humans will cross their paths and—” He holds out his hands.
    “What happened today with Jake will probably be repeated.”
    “Yes.”
    “And sometimes... people will die,” I murmur.
    His eyes search mine. “Yes.” I think he fears freaking me out. Too late. I’m already there.
    “Where is this gate? I mean, if it’s here in Sweetwater?”
    “We don’t know for sure.” At my expression, he’s quick to add, “The Kihn don’t know either.”
    “The gate,” Lucian further explains, “is not a physical object, but an opening in our dimension to another.”
    “Why do y’all think it’s happening here? Maybe you’re mistaken.”
    Estella leans forward in her chair. “We study the stars, as the Kihn do. Until the past few weeks, we were unsure if the gate would be here in this area. The actual site has always been—difficult to find.”
    “But they’ve been here for months.”
    She shrugs. “They might have been mistaken. It’s happened before.”
    I think ofNick’s earlier comment. “You mentioned ‘find the gate in time.’ So, the gate is only open for a short time?”
    Nick nods. “Yes. They become relentless as the time draws near. We’re not even sure how long the gate stays open. We’ve never found it in time.”
    I realize all our lives are in danger. “How do we stop them?” I include Estella and Lucian in my question.
    “It’s more an answer of controlling than stopping,” Nick states.
    “What do you mean?” I ask.
    Lucian answers, “They are not easy to catch. They are masters of hiding and, as Nick told you, they are ruthless.”
    “We have to do something!”
    “We already have plans in place, but of course, your community must be included.” Nick reaches for my hand. “We’ll wait until we’re at your house to talk about some of these plans.”
    “Okay.”
    Nick says, “I won’t lie to you.” I raise my eyebrow at him. “I did not lie before. I didn’t think the time was right to expose what we suspected might be happening.