The Eden Series: The Complete Collection (11 page)

“I went to see you this morning, and you had already left,” she explained, breathing hard from running. “You’re going to the sanctuary?” Aiden looked at Wolf, not actually knowing where they were going.

“Yes, we are taking him there,” he explained coldly to Elisa. His attitude had completely changed when she arrived, Aiden noticed. He was so relaxed before, and now he seemed irritated and stiff.

Elisa’s posture immediately straightened too, her chin lifting slightly. “Well, I’m going there too, so I’ll take him from here. You guys can go back to your rooms and sleep off your hangovers.”

“Oh, thank God,” they heard Logan say from behind them. He walked back the way they had come, disappearing into the side streets.

“Better go with him.” She motioned in the direction Logan had just gone.

Wolf’s eyes narrowed, and Aiden could see his cheeks slightly colour with either anger, or embarrassment, or maybe a little of both. “I’m not hung over,” he said in a defensive tone. “And I don’t need you to tell me what to do.” Turning toward Aiden, he didn’t wait for her response. “Good luck.” He smiled, rolling his eyes. “I’ll see you later.” Then he brushed past Elisa and disappeared around the same corner as Logan.

Aiden stood there awkwardly, not quite understanding what had just happened.

“It’s a long story,” Elisa said, looking where Wolf had disappeared, probably sensing Aiden’s confusion. “Not one worth telling, though, so are you ready to get going?” He nodded his head, and the two of them started across the square toward the side of the palace.

In the morning light Elisa was even prettier than he had thought, Aiden observed. She was talking to him about something, but he was too busy looking at her to listen. The sun made her hair more golden, bouncing off each strand. He could see her eyes better too: they were a mix of different shades of green and brown. At one point she asked him something and waited for his response, and he just smiled and nodded, since he hadn’t actually heard the question. She accepted it and continued on with her narrative. He sighed inwardly and tried to focus on the words coming out of her mouth.

“The High Priest’s name is Alistair; I’m not sure if Diana already told you about him,” she was saying.

“She did,” he replied.

“Good. Well, he is like a second father to me, and very wise. You should listen to everything he tells you with good faith, and trust him. He has only your best interests at heart.”

They came up to a beautiful building that sat behind the palace walls. As they walked toward the door, Elisa held out her hand in front of him, forcing him to come to an abrupt halt.

“Before we go in,” she began, “there is something you should be aware of beforehand. You’ll be expected to make a small sacrifice before entering the sanctuary—it’s a requirement.”

He looked at her, confused and slightly frightened. “Sacrifice? What kind of sacrifice?”

She looked at him, noticing the colour fading from his cheeks. She hadn’t been able to see him properly in the dark the night before, but now that they stood in the daylight she could see all his features properly. He definitely wasn’t bad-looking, although he was a bit too skinny. His hair was a shade that wasn’t quite blonde, but not quite brown either—she couldn’t decide. His eyes were large and expressive. It was almost possible to read exactly what he was thinking through them. He looked positively scared at that moment, which made her want to laugh, but she didn’t want to hurt his feelings. “A blood sacrifice,” she replied, watching him take a step backward away from the sanctuary. She couldn’t help but laugh again. “Don’t worry, Aiden. It is only a small amount. They just cut your arm a little and take a drop. Honestly, it’s just a drop.”

“I’m not good with blood,” he confessed. “I’m not good with people cutting me, either—not really my thing.”

She laughed again. “Come on, you big baby.” Grabbing his hand, she pulled him toward the door and knocked softly three times. Aiden looked like he was going to faint. She almost felt sorry for the boy. The usual priest opened the door, looking them up and down.

“The High Priest is expecting us,” she said in a loud, confident voice. The man nodded his head, and brought out a small dagger and a bowl made of stone.

“Oh, God,” Aiden said under his breath, but she heard him. She held firmly onto him, making it impossible for him to turn and run. The man approached Aiden first, waiting for him to offer his arm. Slowly he did, and the man proceeded to cut a small line on his forearm, holding the bowl under it. A drop fell, and it was over. He handed Aiden a tiny handkerchief to stop the blood flow, and then he turned toward Elisa. She tried to keep her face calm, to show Aiden there was nothing to be afraid of. After she was finished, they continued inside, the priest leading them down a narrow hall with low ceilings, until they arrived at two wooden doors. He knocked quietly.

While they waited, Elisa wondered what Aiden would think of Alistair and the King … or her father, for that matter. She thought the last with a shudder. Her father was sure to try to intimidate him right from the beginning. For the second time already that morning, she found herself feeling sorry for Aiden, especially when she saw how pale his face was.

“Come in,” a voice came from inside. The priest opened it, stepping back to allow the two of them to enter.

“Ah, and here they are!” the man said as they walked in. He was a very tall man, with white hair and deep blue robes. He reminded Aiden of Merlin from the stories he read when he was little. Alistair’s eyes were instantly on him, making Aiden feel slightly nervous.

“Hello, Alistair,” Elisa said, bowing in front of him. Aiden didn’t know if he should follow suit. He was still embarrassed from how he had reacted in front of her about the blood. She had made it look so easy.

“Why do you insist on greeting him so informally?” came a deep voice from one of the chairs that sat in the room. Aiden hadn’t realized there were two more people there. The one who spoke was even bigger than the priest. He was probably just as tall, but he was muscular, and his face looked hard. He had a huge scar above his left eye, and thick, dark eyebrows. His hair was short and black, and a huge beard covered the lower half of his face. Even his eyes looked black in the lighting.

“Oh, come, Turk, she is like a daughter to me,” the High Priest brushed him off. “Will you not introduce us, Elisa?”

“Of course.” She smiled, turning toward Aiden. He stepped forward to the spot she motioned to, as she named everyone in the room. “Aiden, this is the High Priest of Eden, and this is Turk, the Captain of the King’s army, and also my father,” she continued, pointing to the large man. He nodded his head in their directions. “Last, this is the High King, King Jameson, of Capital City. Everyone, this is Aiden.”

The third man stood up, so Aiden could see him properly. He looked much younger than Aiden had expected. His hair was a light shade of brown, only slightly touched by grey on the sides. He had no beard to hide his face, which still looked young. He had kind eyes, not in the least bit intimidating, which was what Aiden would have expected from a King.

“We are honoured to meet you,” he said, holding out his hand. Aiden reached out to shake it, but the King grabbed his forearm instead, almost cutting off the circulation with his strength. Aiden could tell this wasn’t the type of King who sat on his throne while others fought his battles. He was clearly a soldier, among other things.

“You’re quite a tiny thing, aren’t you?” the Captain said, regarding him from head to toe. Aiden wondered if he was expected to actually answer that.

“Now, Captain, he will need training—we all knew that. No one comes from his world ready to fight our battles right away. As I understand, Diana worked with you a bit before you left?” Alistair asked.

“A little,” he said in a shaky voice.

“Excellent,” the King commented. “Anything is better than nothing. Your training will start tomorrow; we don’t want to overwhelm you on your first day here. We are all looking forward, though, to seeing you achieve your greatness.”

Sweat was building under his collar as they all looked at him. It was obvious how much faith they were placing in him, and he couldn’t help but feel like it was folly. Did they not realize that he was completely unqualified for this job?
There has to be a mistake,
he thought frantically.

“He looks like he’s twelve,” the Captain commented again. Aiden felt his cheeks grow red, but he appreciated that someone in the room was actually being honest here. He could tell the Captain doubted his abilities just as much as he did.

“Turk, that is enough,” the King said harshly. “We are not to discourage the boy. Aiden, my first advice to you is to not listen to the insults this man will throw at you. There will be many, and they don’t mean a thing. He does it to everyone.”

Looking back at the Captain, he saw the man smile and wondered if he really was just teasing him. Elisa was smiling as well, which helped to calm his nerves.

“Elisa, bring him back to the dormitory and get him something to eat. We will see you again tomorrow,” the High Priest instructed. He watched her bow again, and both of them turned to leave. As they walked down the hall again, Aiden let out a huge breath of air that he felt like he had been holding the whole time he was in there.

“Wait,” they heard someone shout. Both turned to see the King running up. “May I have a word alone?” he asked. That took Aiden off guard, having a
King
ask him permission for something. He instantly nodded his head, and Elisa walked up ahead to leave them alone. “I just wanted a chance to tell you how brave I think you are for coming here and doing this. I can only imagine how strange and frightening this journey has been so far, and there is so much more to come. If you ever need anything, and I mean anything, please do not hesitate to call on me. I have instructed all my guards to let you into the palace should you request entrance.”

“Thank you,” Aiden mumbled awkwardly.

“All right then,” the King said, taking a small step backwards. “Off you go.” Aiden bowed his head and turned to leave. “One more thing …” He reached out, grabbing Aiden’s arm. “How is Diana doing?”

“Um, she is well?” he replied, making it sound more like a question than an answer.

“Wonderful. I’ll see you tomorrow then.” With that, the King turned back toward the High Priest’s chambers, leaving Aiden confused and alone in the hall.

“Aiden! Let’s go,” Elisa barked. Jumping at the sound of her voice, he turned and hurried up to reach her, thankful to be leaving the place.

When they returned to the dormitory, she led the way to the main room, keeping Aiden close so he wouldn’t get lost. Everyone was already there eating lunch. As they entered, all eyes turned in curiosity toward the newcomer. Looking back at Aiden, Elisa grabbed his arm and brought him to an empty table.

“Don’t let them intimidate you,” she said in a low voice. “No one knows who, or what you are, and we should probably keep it that way.”

He looked up at her questioningly, his face pale again. “Why?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Alistair told me to keep your origin a secret for now. He doesn’t want anyone treating you any differently, whether that be for the better or for the worse. Only we know where you came from, and my father and the King. Other than that, he wants it kept quiet. We’ll tell everyone you’re from a village outside the city walls.”

“Won’t people know I’m lying? Someone would have seen me by now, no?” he looked around wearily at the other tables. The other men were still watching them, making Aiden’s shoulders drop.

“We don’t usually take boys from the smaller villages outside the city, so no one here will notice. Most of the men have come from families whose ancestors were in the army before them, or at least from inside the city gates. There are men, like Wolf, who are from the other tribes, which happens only occasionally. We’re a select group.”

Elisa watched as Aiden’s body straightened as he realized that he was a part of an elite group. She gave herself a little mental pat on the back, knowing it had helped. In all honesty, she felt bad for Aiden. Not only was he in a strange place, and a new world that he never knew existed, but he had no one here, and had more expectations on his shoulders than any other fifteen-year-old boy. The weight of their world was literally riding on him, and that couldn’t be an easy thing to handle. She’d have to try her best to make him as comfortable as possible. Some of the looks she caught were jealousy, and she knew some people would mistake their friendship for something more. He would have enemies right away because of that.

“I’ll go get us some food,” she said, smiling down comfortingly at him. He smiled back, slowly nodding his head.

“There he is!” Elisa heard Wolf cry out. She turned to see the two idiots walking over to their table.
Great,
she thought, rolling her eyes. The intentions behind Wolf’s friendliness were still a mystery to Elisa. She couldn’t help but be suspicious. He wasn’t normally so forthcoming with his companionship like this, especially with new recruits—or at least he hadn’t been with her.

“I’ll be back,” she said, turning to Aiden again. She walked off just as the other two arrived.

“Where is she going?” Wolf asked, nodding in Elisa’s direction.

“She just went to get us some food,” Aiden explained. He felt depressed, and scared. Everyone that morning had looked at him like he was some gift from God, sent to save them all. Now everyone was looking at him like he was the plague. It was one extreme to the other. He couldn’t help but feel lost. There was no way he could live up to the expectations of the leaders, and he would undoubtedly embarrass himself in front of the other men here, making him the laughing stock of the army. No one would want to befriend him. Except, he thought, looking up at the two boys who sat with him, Wolf and Logan seemed to want to befriend him. He wasn’t completely alone, he thought reassuringly, and he also had Elisa.

Looking over at her, he saw that she was speaking with an extremely obese man, wearing nothing but a white tank top and dirty brown pants, which seemed to have more food on them than the counter in front of him. She held two bowls out, while he filled them with something from the large steel pot. He could tell she was trying her best to keep his mood up, which he appreciated, but he doubted she understood how much stress he was under. It was easier for her—she was this archer who was naturally good, the best apparently, and he was this lanky boy from another world, who had no skills whatsoever. How could he compete? Looking at the other two, he knew they were probably great at their talents too. He could tell just by how muscular they both were. All the men around him were, except of course for himself. He sighed, wishing he could crawl under a rock and hide.