Read Online Sound of Sirens: (Tales of Skylge #1) by Jen Minkman - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jen Minkman
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few hours ago. Weaving Web .
“N-no,” I stammer, groping around for a plausible excuse. “I just – came up with that melody today. I...”
I start when Sytse slams his fist on the counter. “Don’t lie to me,” he growls. I’ve never heard my brother speak to me like that. All of a sudden, he feels like a stranger with a secret side I should never have found out about.
“Okay,” I squeak.
“So. You listened to that record. How? When?”
My jaw tenses. “Who are you to interrogate me like this?” I throw back. “It’s none of your business.”
His face falls just a little bit. My words hurt him. We used to be so close before he left to work at sea. “Enna, it is my business,” he insists. “I gave you that record. Now, I want to know how you managed to listen to it. I didn’t mean to put you in any danger. Come on – I hate it when you lie to me.”
“Well, I’m not the only one keeping secrets,” I fume, my voice rising a notch. “What about your nightly visits to Stortum? When were you planning on telling me about those?”
“What the...” Sytse staggers back, then grabs my upper arm and forcefully shoves me away from the sink and out of the kitchen without saying anything else. He marches me into his room, kicks the door shut, and sits me down on the bed.
“Okay. Now tell me everything.”
His stern look makes me draw up a blank as I contemplate lying to him. Sure, I could tell him I saw him sneaking out of the house so I decided to follow him, but that still wouldn’t explain how I know about the music on my new record.
“Royce Bolton came up to me at the harbor,” I mumble. “Said he wanted the LP you gave to me. I refused. So we struck a deal – he said I could use his electric turntable if I agreed to listen to it together.”
Sytse lets out an incredulous sigh. “Enna, that’s dangerous,” he groans. “What if his family finds out? What if his mother barges into his room when you’re visiting?”
“I didn’t go to his house,” I argue. “He owns an old cottage in Stortum that used to belong to his grandparents. And he doesn’t have a mother anymore.”
“Stortum,” my brother echoes.
“Yeah. That’s how I found out about you. I was there two nights ago.”
Sytse shakes his head and sits down heavily in his desk chair. When he fixes his gaze on me again, his next words shock me.
“Was it you who stole the book from the house?”
I can feel the blood drain from my face. So he knows. The anthology must have been important to him if he noticed it’s missing so soon.
“It was,” I admit softly. “I just – I was looking around and I saw all these books, and they seemed so old. I was intrigued.”
“Is it in your room?”
I shake my head. When Sytse’s eyes widen in alarm, I quickly add: “It’s with Dani because she wanted to read in it some more. She’s bringing it back tonight, okay? We didn’t intend to keep it. We wanted to give it to the Skelta tomorrow.”
A tired little smile pulls at his lips. “Well, that’s laudable. Since it belongs to the Skelta in the first place.”
“Huh?” I stare at him in amazement.
Sytse’s dark eyes lock onto mine. “That entire house does,” he continues. “And all the stuff in it. Including the radio.”
What the hell is a radio? “I – I don’t understand.”
“Once Dani gets here, I’ll explain it to you both,” he says. “But you have to promise me you won’t tell a soul.”
“Of course,” I say indignantly. “Your secret’s safe with me. With us.”
“You don’t even know what it is yet.” He smiles wistfully.
“Well, I do know that you can trust me. Don’t you?”
“Yeah.” Sytse frowns. “I do. But for the love of Fosta, please stop seeing that Current guy. He’s my age. Royce shouldn’t be hanging around with young girls like you.”
My jaw tenses. I’m not that young – I’m almost old enough to get my own house. At the same time, my blood runs deliciously
“N-no,” I stammer, groping around for a plausible excuse. “I just – came up with that melody today. I...”
I start when Sytse slams his fist on the counter. “Don’t lie to me,” he growls. I’ve never heard my brother speak to me like that. All of a sudden, he feels like a stranger with a secret side I should never have found out about.
“Okay,” I squeak.
“So. You listened to that record. How? When?”
My jaw tenses. “Who are you to interrogate me like this?” I throw back. “It’s none of your business.”
His face falls just a little bit. My words hurt him. We used to be so close before he left to work at sea. “Enna, it is my business,” he insists. “I gave you that record. Now, I want to know how you managed to listen to it. I didn’t mean to put you in any danger. Come on – I hate it when you lie to me.”
“Well, I’m not the only one keeping secrets,” I fume, my voice rising a notch. “What about your nightly visits to Stortum? When were you planning on telling me about those?”
“What the...” Sytse staggers back, then grabs my upper arm and forcefully shoves me away from the sink and out of the kitchen without saying anything else. He marches me into his room, kicks the door shut, and sits me down on the bed.
“Okay. Now tell me everything.”
His stern look makes me draw up a blank as I contemplate lying to him. Sure, I could tell him I saw him sneaking out of the house so I decided to follow him, but that still wouldn’t explain how I know about the music on my new record.
“Royce Bolton came up to me at the harbor,” I mumble. “Said he wanted the LP you gave to me. I refused. So we struck a deal – he said I could use his electric turntable if I agreed to listen to it together.”
Sytse lets out an incredulous sigh. “Enna, that’s dangerous,” he groans. “What if his family finds out? What if his mother barges into his room when you’re visiting?”
“I didn’t go to his house,” I argue. “He owns an old cottage in Stortum that used to belong to his grandparents. And he doesn’t have a mother anymore.”
“Stortum,” my brother echoes.
“Yeah. That’s how I found out about you. I was there two nights ago.”
Sytse shakes his head and sits down heavily in his desk chair. When he fixes his gaze on me again, his next words shock me.
“Was it you who stole the book from the house?”
I can feel the blood drain from my face. So he knows. The anthology must have been important to him if he noticed it’s missing so soon.
“It was,” I admit softly. “I just – I was looking around and I saw all these books, and they seemed so old. I was intrigued.”
“Is it in your room?”
I shake my head. When Sytse’s eyes widen in alarm, I quickly add: “It’s with Dani because she wanted to read in it some more. She’s bringing it back tonight, okay? We didn’t intend to keep it. We wanted to give it to the Skelta tomorrow.”
A tired little smile pulls at his lips. “Well, that’s laudable. Since it belongs to the Skelta in the first place.”
“Huh?” I stare at him in amazement.
Sytse’s dark eyes lock onto mine. “That entire house does,” he continues. “And all the stuff in it. Including the radio.”
What the hell is a radio? “I – I don’t understand.”
“Once Dani gets here, I’ll explain it to you both,” he says. “But you have to promise me you won’t tell a soul.”
“Of course,” I say indignantly. “Your secret’s safe with me. With us.”
“You don’t even know what it is yet.” He smiles wistfully.
“Well, I do know that you can trust me. Don’t you?”
“Yeah.” Sytse frowns. “I do. But for the love of Fosta, please stop seeing that Current guy. He’s my age. Royce shouldn’t be hanging around with young girls like you.”
My jaw tenses. I’m not that young – I’m almost old enough to get my own house. At the same time, my blood runs deliciously
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