The Untitled Story of the Naiad’S Wolf

By MLE Balzic

Kei is a bored teenage boy who never does anything exciting. He could be having a great life of adventure, but instead is stuck in melancholy. All that changes when he meets Keza and Tsuki, a brother and sister who are definitely not normal. Keza even seems to be able to read minds while Tsuki is shy and introverted. Kei decides to join their little group of friends and finally gets all the excitement he could ever want. He searches to uncover the secrets of his new friends, finding way more than he bargained for.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 31, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465362216

MLE Balzic

Born on Friday the 13th, MLE has been writing and creating stories since as long as she could remember. She works at Chuck E. Cheese’s and loves her job. She is the middle child of three, with wonderful, loving parents. She loves animals, especially dogs, and has even been known to bring home strays every once in a while. She grew up and lives in Northeast Ohio. MLE has one dog, a Beagle named Snoopy who she loves dearly. She is very close to her family and friends, since family is very important to her.

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Copyright © 2011 by MLE Balzic.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2011915994

ISBN:         Hardcover                               978-1-4653-6220-9

                   Softcover                                 978-1-4653-6219-3

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4653-6221-6

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.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

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CONTENTS

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

For Sally

May you one day learn to spell

Part 1

I stared at her in disbelief. She sighed sadly, as she had done many times before, and rested her arm on the large wooden dresser. The room reverberated with my shallow chuckle. After all, how could anyone believe the impossibility she had just laid before me? I thought back to the first time I had met her and every moment of her presence following. I had never before noticed her convenient evasion from physical human contact. Her skin was a pleasant, yet unearthly tone. The pale sandy color of salty beaches, a bluish violet woven within it. Her hands in particular, had always possessed this eerie yet appealing hue. Standing in the same room as her made my skin cringe against the frosty aura surrounding her. Quite the opposite of her brother with his radiant heat. Her cold affiliation failed to prove anything, though, as I tried to persuade her to tell me the truth. She stared at the floor in defeat.

I was only sixteen when I ended up moving to a small suburb in Southeastern Michigan. We were so close to the border that I easily could have gone to a school in Ohio. It was on a day trip to that odd state that I first ran into the strangest pair I would ever come across.

My father and I had gone down to Ohio for a swap meet. The weather was rather dull in Ohio, menacing rain clouds and shivering winds. I was rather unenthusiastic about the trip. Dad parked the old Galaxy from sometime I didn’t care to remember next to a rather weathered red Ford truck. He grabbed a box from the trunk, and I followed nonchalantly to a table and helped him spread out the collection of old Matchbox cars. I sighed, glaring up at the threatening clouds.

Why don’t you go look around a bit? Dad asked, sensing my displeasure.

Sure… . I’ll be back later, I sighed as I wandered aimlessly away. I didn’t care much for this sort of thing. People stared at you and expected you to know things. As I traveled through the maze of tables with very few interesting items, I spied a flash of unexpected color. I looked up only to be caught off guard by what I saw.

A large boy sat in a metal folding chair. He had black curly hair that formed a messy afro around his rather red face. His pale blue eyes were focused on the comic in his large hands. He had a thick gray coat on and his eyes moved quickly. Standing next to him, reading over his shoulder, was a strange girl. Her hair was plain brown, and it fell just below her chin in the front, and got subtly shorter as it went to the back of her head. Her skin tone was pretty much the opposite of the boy. She donned worn-looking blue jeans, a thin pale orange long sleeved tee shirt, and a dark green vest. Both of them had glasses, the girl’s lenses were thicker. The weather didn’t suit either’s clothing. It was too warm for a thick coat, but too cold to not have one. What caught me the most was that these two were not extraordinarily attractive, but they each radiated with a kind of unique beauty. Even the boy. His reddish skin, coupled with his distinct hair and eyes, made me want to be his best friend. The girl, on the other hand… . her type of beauty was far more unique, and took me even more by surprise. Her icy complexion was very appealing in an unexplainable way. I stared at them for several moments, until I saw a pink tint on the girl’s face. The boy rolled his eyes before lifting them to me.

Can I help you? He sounded annoyed. The girl kept her eyes down. Excuse me, if you don’t need anything, would you mind leaving? He rolled his eyes again. Something in his voice made me want to obey him. I turned to leave, but I didn’t want to. I hesitantly turned back.

Uh, I started. What are you reading?

The boy looked at me emotionlessly. A manga.

Manga? I felt my face color with excitement. Which one?! I was speaking a bit too earnestly. The girl colored a tad more as she edged slightly away. I was a bit offended by her action. The boy sighed and, using his thumb to mark his page, lifted the book to reveal the cover. It was a manga I had never heard of, so I hesitated to respond. The boy sent a secret knowing glance toward the girl, smirking. She smiled nervously, still hiding her eyes. I eyed her curiously. The boy shot me a strange look and sighed again, this time placing a piece of purple paper in the manga.

My name is Keza, he informed me. I raised my eyebrow in suspicion. Could he be lying? He looked nothing like an Asian, except the color, and only the color, of his hair. He rolled his eyes, glaring at me. I’m not lying. I have no reason to! This is Tsuki. His tone was menacing and protective. He nudged her slightly, and she looked up, not at me, but up.

Her eyes were the strangest and most unique thing about the pair. They were green with blue swimming in them. No, they were blue with green… . I could never really tell. Golden veins flashed throughout them like lightning over the ocean.

So you’re going to be rude like that? Keza’s annoyed voice snapped my eyes away from Tsuki’s.

I’m sorry, I sputtered. I’m Kei. I pronounced my name the way my mother had taught me to, with the ei sounding like ay. Tsuki’s eyes widened a bit, but she still avoided looking at me. Keza gave her a knowing look, and then gave me the once over. I felt awkward, standing near them in my black turtleneck and grass stained blue jeans. My blue wind breaker had some muddy smudges on it, and my work boots were shabby. I swear I saw Keza sniff the air. Dog-like. He nodded toward me, smirking at Tsuki. She closed her eyes and shook her head slightly. I got the feeling that Keza and Tsuki were having a conversation. I felt my cheeks redden slightly as I sighed. Tsuki smiled nervously, never actually looking at me.

So… . Kei… . Interesting you should have that name… . Keza smirked at me this time. Then it hit me: Keza and I both have ke as the first syllable of our names. I didn’t really see what could be so extremely amazing about that. Tsuki and Keza seemed to find it far more interesting than me. Tsuki edged behind Keza slightly, blushing with a very slight smile. Keza smiled gently back at her, and then turned his eyes on me; but they had changed to harsh and protective again. I took a step backward. Keza stood up, shaking his head slightly, putting a hand on Tsuki’s shoulder.

Go ahead. Just make it quick, he said. She nodded, running off. I looked around Keza to watch. He stepped into my field of vision, locking his pale blue eyes with mine. I got a strange feeling that he knew what I was thinking. He stared at me seriously.

You seem to have an intriguing effect on Tsuki-chan, he accused, his jaw tightening. I gulped.

Uh… . well… . I glanced up at the clouds, praying for rain.

It won’t rain. The clouds are just rolling through. I would know. Tsuki-chan and I are very in tune with weather.

Uh… . I looked downward, hoping the earth would open up and swallow me.

That won’t happen, either. Keza smirked. He grimaced and sighed, sitting down and pushing his glasses up. He looked over me again. I guess you really aren’t so bad… . He allowed a somewhat forced smirk. Tsuki returned, a bottle of water half drained in one hand. She quickly finished it, slipping something in Keza’s pocket. He smiled gratefully at her. She closed her eyes, smiling back at him. I froze. I had thought that nothing could be more alluring than her eyes. That smile of hers made me tense up and blush and lose my breath. Keza quickly turned to glare at me, and Tsuki blushed deeply, hiding behind Keza.

Niichan… . She muttered as he stood up angrily. She grabbed his arm tightly. Even as a whisper, her voice sounded almost musical. Keza turned to her, his wild rage softening. He sat, glaring at me. I sighed in relief. He was her brother. That was all. Niichan, I knew, was a Japanese term of endearment meaning older brother.

Um… .

So where do you go to school? Keza asked, still glaring at me.

Uh… . I live up in Michigan… .

"Uh huh. So you don’t know what school you go to yet? Come to the