Free Promise by Kristie Cook Page B

our
belongings this time, they were at least familiar, if not
nostalgic. Mom decorated in browns and beiges, but with leather and
wood furniture and chenille and silk throw pillows, the variety of
textures kept it from being boring. Rather, it was cozy and
calming, like "Mom's place" should be. And I was scared to death to
be here alone.
    I paced the cottage several times, mentally
going through self-defense moves Mom taught me many years ago. They
hadn't done me any good against those people last time, but I
thought if I was ready for them now….
    I whirled on a whispered sound, my heart
hammering. It stopped when I did. Then I realized it was only my
own feet sliding across the tile floor.
    Feeling the emotional tolls of the day, I
finally talked myself into going to bed. But while lying in my
bedroom, my eyes wouldn't shut and my ears strained, my mind
imagining various monstrosities lurking in the rest of the house.
Eventually I curled up on the couch with all the lights on, and,
somehow, sleep overcame me. I awoke several times, thinking I heard
something outside, but when I listened, all was quiet and I fell
back to sleep.

Chapter 6

    The store felt empty and ominous when I first
arrived, but I came early to have a little extra time before
opening. Mom kept a small office in the back room and I thought she
might be more likely to hide something there than at home, where I
might find it. I tugged on all the drawers of her desk and filing
cabinet, but, of course, they didn't budge, locked against
intruders…and snoopers like me. There were no loose papers on her
desk and only one large, flat envelope in her inbox. She was
annoyingly organized.
    I glanced at the single piece of mail and my
eye caught on the corner where the return address should be.
Instead of an address, though, there was a strange, yet vaguely
familiar symbol and the word "Amadis" embossed into the paper. I
picked the envelope up and studied it closer, holding it to the
light, but I couldn't read anything inside. I briefly debated
whether I could get away with opening it and resealing it, but
eventually just dropped it back into the tray. It was probably from
a publisher and I had seen the symbol on a book's spine. Or, for
all I knew, it was just junk mail, not worth the risk.
    Curiosity gripped me all morning. As soon as
Owen arrived and relieved me of my duties, I hurried home to search
Mom's room. I didn't expect to find anything I hadn't already
discovered while unpacking, but there was something right on her
nightstand. A lone piece of paper with that strange word "Amadis"
printed at the top. The paper contained a list of names with
numbers next to them. Some were obviously phone numbers; others had
the wrong number of digits and I didn't know what they meant.
    Two names stood out: Katerina and Stefan.
Katerina because it was my middle name. Does the name on this
paper mean anything? The number next to it wasn't a phone
number. I wasn't sure why Stefan struck me. The name was familiar,
but I couldn't place it.
    A sticky note with Mom's handwriting clung to
the bottom corner of the page:
    Alexis, This is for emergency use only. If
Owen can't help, call these people until you reach one. They will
know what to do. If this is not an emergency, though, you put us at
risk. SO STOP SNOOPING! Love, Mom
    I snorted. She knew I'd be prying. I put the
paper back and lay on her bed, thinking. What did Amadis mean? Who
were the people on the list? Did she actually go to see one of them
this weekend? And how would I be putting us at risk? That last
question made me anxious. I knew Mom well enough to know she
wouldn't joke about this. Is just calling them risky? Or is all
of my research? I sighed. Regardless of the answers, my
research and snooping only led to more unanswered questions.
    I tried to study, but my mind drifted in
various directions, eventually toward Tristan. I didn't know when
I'd see him again and as the afternoon wore on and evening
encroached,