Five weeks ago, I nearly killed the girl I loved.
It wasn't an accident. It wasn't a mistake.
I did it deliberately, and the feeling of her body weakening in my arms haunts me still, as if branded into my hands. The sound of her last, thin breath replays over and over in my mind, a taunting reminder of what I am capable of and what I had done.
She carries the mark of where I had forced a stolen soul into her - a thin, finger-long scar engraved between her breasts.
She tries to hide it, but I know it's there.
She will carry that scar to her grave, a permanent reminder of who I truly am - a killer, designed by the darker hand of fate.
The scar had bled down her beautiful, fair skin that night, turning the bodice of the white ball gown she had worn into a sickening, mottled pink. In my mind I see her, lifeless, tucked under me as I try to shield her from the pieces of falling stone and wood that rain down around us. Debris that was from the massive hole her energy had drilled through the Breakers. Energy that was unleashed when her body switched to overload, and her DNA hit the self-destruct button because of me.
Eila’s POV:
I slammed the driver’s door shut and walked around the back towards Ana who was sliding out her side. Her walking boot was awkward, but soon would thankfully be retired. She wobbled slightly on the slick ground, but Kian was quickly next to her, one broad hand on her back.
“I am not a total clutz you know?” she protested, cursing the slushy driveway.
Kian slid her a sly smile. “Yeah, well . . . knowing your luck, you will slip and break the other leg and then I will be giving you piggy back rides everywhere. Actually, I could get down with that arrangement.”
Ana punched him in the arm, but then slipped. He grabbed her quickly and pinned her to his side. “Jeez woman! It wasn’t a dare!”
“Will you just help me get inside already?” she sighed, gripping the front of his leather jacket tighter as she slowly made her way across the slick ground to the door. I followed, trying not to smile as she and Kian continued to argue about everything, including the size of the snowflakes.
Raef’s POV:
I shook my head to clear the ringing, and began to go after him again, but then I heard Eila’s voice behind me. I turned, and she was coming down the stairs, her stained t-shirt and old jeans still on. Kian and I immediately switched to a more neutral stance so she wouldn’t know we had just tried to start our own Fight Club.
“Oh,” she said, halting on the stairs, “I didn’t know you were here, Kian. Everything all right?”
He glanced at me, then to Eila. “Of course. I was just going to keep digging through Dalca’s journals. Ana might join me later.”
“Really?” she asked, genuinely surprised and happy.
He shrugged. “It will keep her mind busy.”
She nodded, “That’s a great idea. Thank you, by the way, for helping her yesterday.”
He shifted, looking more uncomfortable. The subject of Ana’s father was never mentioned around Kian. “I’m going to leave you two, so you can get back to whatever it is you have to do. I’ll be in the library.” Kian eyed me once last time as he turned to leave.
I looked back to Eila and she gave me a shy smile. I came to the stairs and walked my way up to her, “You didn’t take a shower?”
“I can’t raise my arms enough to get my shirt off. Do you have scissors? ‘Cause I’m just gonna cut it off – it’s old anyway.”
“Christian probably does somewhere, but I’d need to find them,” I replied, stepping closer to her and taking the edge of her t-shirt in my hands. “Turn around,” I instructed and she gave me a curious glance, but obeyed, turning her back to me.
With one good pull, I tore the t-shirt straight up her back, turning the top into a smock.
“Better?” I asked.
“Uh . . . yup,” she replied with a breathless squeak.
About the Author
I have been a journalist for 15 years and serve on the Board of Directors for the Cape Cod Writers Center. I also drive a 16-ton school bus because I am ENTIRELY NUTS.
In addition to working jobs that should come with a warning label , I hold a BA in Psychos (Forensic Psych), torment the tourists about Jaws, and occasionally jump from the Town Neck bridge in an attempt to reclaim my youth.
I live on Cape Cod with two smallish humans who apparently are my kids, my fishing-obsessed husband, two canines (adept at both flatulence and snoring), and a cage-defiant lovebird that sleeps in a miniature tent. Nope - that's not a type-o. The bird is quite the indoor camper.
Author Links:
Guest Post
Are your books pure fiction or are some aspects inspired by your own life or someone close to you?
The series is based on a REAL version of Cape Cod.
In fact, one of the characters owns an ice cream shop named The Milk
Way. While “The Milk Way” is fictitious, it is 100% based on Four Seas Ice Cream
in Centerville (a REAL town, were fictional Eila lives). Four Seas
knows they are in the book and they host book signings. Other things in
the book that are real to Cape Cod (so you can basically visit here and
do all the things that Eila and her crew do) are:
1. Eila’s house – The home the main character inherits, and thus sets off the chain of events for UNDERTOW, does exist in the historic area of Centerville,
not far from Four Seas Ice Cream. It used to be owned by a friend of
mine and we hung out in it all the time when we were young. She now
resides in Hong Kong as a pilot, so we catch up on Facebook and she
gives me more secrets about how the house was built. FYI – don’t go
knocking on the door, because someone else owns the house now.
2. Barnstable High School – Totally real and totally cool public high school that does some crazy thing.
The students and faculty know they are in the novels (and even decided
to begin building their own book trailer based on the series), so they
allow me to come in and walk the halls as needed to make sure I stay
true to the story. And yes – it is so huge that I need a GPS to find my
way out. 2000+ students go there. Their award winning theater department became part of a major TV network series known as High Drama a few years ago. American Idol contestant Siobhan Magnus was a student there.
3. The Jeep Subculture – Again, totally real. On Cape Cod, Wranglers
are the most beloved vehicles of all. Most families have one, and if
you drive one, other Wrangler drivers will wave to you when you pass
each other – like Harley riders do. And yes – you can drive them out
onto some of the beaches (MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHICH ONES!)
4. Witch Balls, The Crimson Moon, and Eila’s Bracelet – All real. Witch Balls are made at any one of our beautiful, glass-blowing shops (and yes – you can watch them actually blow glass, which is so cool). The Crimson Moon was based on The Lavender Moon,
which is no longer in business. It was owned by a real coven of witches
and when you would go in there, you could buy healing stones, herbs,
crystals, oils, etc. Don’t worry – Dalca didn’t work at the real
version! Eila’s bracelet is a staple of Cape Cod and there are several
variations, though the original is simply called a Cape Cod Bracelet.
They come in various sizes, so having a two-year-old with one is not
unusual. The ball screws the bangle together, which means that sucker
ain’t coming off, so don’t get it caught on anything or your arm may go
with it.
5. Town Neck, the Bonfire party, and the infamous bridge – All real, though I did take a few creative liberties. So, Town Neck beach is part of the town of Sandwich. It has the boardwalk,
just as described, and the long beach at the end, AND, yes, the river.
Kids can jump from the bridge (yup, I’ve done it too, and IT IS
FREEZING). However, you cannot drive a car out on Town Neck and you are
not supposed to bonfire there – all those things can be done on SANDY
NECK or NAUSET (where Raef hunts), so I kinda sorta blended the two beaches.
6. Barnstable Harbor and the Ferry – Totally true and yes, you can sit and people watch. You can also catch a Cape Cod Baseball League game in the nearby field. The Cape Cod League is famous because so many players get called up to the Majors.
Q & A with KR Conway
If
you could be any character in your book (and receive their powers as
well, if they have any), which would you be and what would you do?
Oh
dang . . . Ummm. I’d be Ana Lane I guess – car fanatic, surfer girl,
and basically an emotional psychic on crack who is pursued by a gorgeous
and devoted guy named Kian. But I am lucky enough to have a real crew
of teenaged models who I get to see on a regular basis. I found Cape Cod
teenagers from the real Barnstable High School on Facebook that looked
like the characters (at least, in my mind) and they were brave enough to
become the models in a fancy-shmancy studio we use. So yeah – Raef,
Kian, MJ, Ana, and Kian text me all the time – LOL. The entire “cast”
will be at Stormfront’s book launch on August 3rd here on Cape Cod (yup – you can get an early copy on Cape Cod that night, otherwise it is August 13th).
Do you incorporate yourself into your characters' personalities? If so, which character are you most like?
I
think all authors pull from what they “know” so yeah, I’d say Eila’s
dry humor is me, the craziness of MJ is me, and Ana’s take-no-crap
attitude is me. Of course, all those personality traits help in my other
job: driving a school bus.
What do you aim to teach your readers through your books?
Strength,
perseverance, and devotion. I want my female readers to be bold and
strong, and my male readers to understand that being protective does not
equal being controlling. I want teenagers to see relationships painted
in a positive light and that every relationship must be a balance of one
another.
Where did you get the inspiration for your characters' names? Kian,
Raef, and Christian were all on my list of boy names for my son (he
ended up as “Finn”). Jesse was a dear friend in high school as was MJ.
Nikki is my niece’s name, and Mae is my daughter’s middle name. Ana,
Eila, Rillin, and Collette were all just made up, though they seemed to
fit the characters.
No comments :
Post a Comment