The Baleful Letters

By Kimberly Vogel

Mail can bring both the good and the bad. For the Nartana siblings, it's bad news. Not for them, though, it's for their benefactor President Jeremiah Kroz. No matter what, the young men hunt down the anonymous letter writer. President Kroz will be protected by those he protects. The seven brothers will reply to the threatening letters in person.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781105638169

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The Baleful Letters

The Baleful Letters

Copyright

Copyright © 2012 by Kimberly Vogel.

ISBN eBook 978-1-105-63816-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

For additional copies refer to:

http://www.lulu.com/shakkathi

Acknowledgements

I want to thank my family and friends for supporting me.

Without you, I don’t know where I would be.

Case 1 – The Baleful Letters

Nartana stared out of a window in the top floor of an apartment building in Central City. In his bedroom was the only quiet place he could escape to. Living with six other siblings made both the main room and the rest of the apartment very noisy. Despite the chaos, they each had a job to do. Shaking his head, Nartana stood from his desk chair and walked out of the door.

The top floor had just one apartment. It was a good thing, since the seven siblings ran their business out of their home as well. Lining the east and west side walls were the bedrooms. To the north was a pair of bathrooms on either side of the expansive kitchen. In the center of the home were a mix of dining room and lounging spaces. Most of the center wall that separated the dining room from living room was made by bookcases or other tall pieces of furniture.

You brat! Give me back my shoes!

No way, Dante! Laughing, a blonde boy appearing fourteen years old ran away from a brunette boy three years older than him. Holding a pair of shiny red sneakers above his head, he dodged away from the hands of the other boy. Jumping over a footstool, he yelled, They’re mine! 

Kirabo!

Shaking his head, Nartana ran his fingers through his purple bangs feeding his fingers through his collar length tan hair. Guys...

I don’t think they’re going to stop.

Nartana glanced at a curly haired boy who looked to be seven years old. What’s that now Mikasi?

Harshly shaking his head, Mikasi replied, Kirabo’s been trying on Dante’s clothes. Whatever he finds that he likes, he hides in his room.

Nartana sighed deeply. Well that’s not right; I’ll try and talk to them.

Okay. Mikasi slid off of his seat. I’m hungry. I’m going to see how Dusan is doing with dinner.

Alright.

Hurrying through the living room then into the kitchen, Mikasi hugged his plush kitten tightly to his chest. Dusan!

Glancing over his shoulder, the bleached brunette replied, Yes Mikasi?

How’s dinner coming?

Chuckling faintly, Dusan shrugged. If my calculations are correct then you should have your meal in twenty minutes.

Okay. Mikasi nodded. The orange haired boy then turned around and watched the other two boys run around like madmen.

Jerking open the door, a redheaded man yelled out, Hey! You’re being too loud!

He stole my shoes Trevet!

We share everything!

No, we don’t!

Yanking open another door, a fair blonde man snapped, It doesn’t matter! You’re going to get us kicked out if you keep making so much noise!

Canto!  Kirabo stopped in his tracks. He was surprised only because the other brother never seemed to lose his temper.

Dante ran into him then snatched back his shoes from Kirabo. Troublemaker.

Nartana walked over to the group. He’s right. Frowning at them, he folded his arms across his chest. We don’t live in our own house. We live in an apartment. We have to be respectful of the other people around us.

I’m sorry, said Kirabo.

Me too, said Dante. While walking to his room he mumbled into his chest, But stay out of my room.

Whiles sticking out his tongue at his brother’s back, Kirabo smirked. Fine.

Nartana rubbed his forehead in disbelief. Four of them appeared to be twenty-one, even if they were truly all the same age. A rare condition gave them purple eyes and stunted their growth. So far he, Trevet, Canto, and Dusan hadn’t been affected by the latter symptom. Nartana