The Eden Series: The Complete Collection (136 page)

Aiden pushed harder, both physically and mentally against Aziz’s invisible wall. He could hear his muffled voice from the other side when he spoke to Callum.

“Really, why are you still crying?” he asked, disdain lacing his voice. “I did you a favour.”

Aiden heard Callum growl in outrage and then he was running at Aziz from the other side. The distraction was all Aiden needed to gain an upper hand. Aziz turned to throw up another wall, sending Callum flying backwards when he ran full tilt into it. The wall Aiden pushed against weakened considerably when Aziz constructed the other, and soon Aiden’s powers were overwhelming his.

Aziz’s head swung back, his eyes wide and bright. Aiden pushed harder, letting the energy flowing inside him lose with all he had. The sorcerer cried out before being thrown back onto the floor. Aiden stopped, the air stilling around him. He walked slowly to the crumpled figure of Aziz, axe in hand. He stopped when Aziz looked up at him. Gone was the strong, youthful man with dark hair and bronze skin. Now there was only a shell of a man before him. Grey skin sagged on sunken bones. His eyes looked hollow and empty. White, sparse hair covered his head making him look twice his age.

“Not so strong now, are you?” Aiden pointed out. He stepped closer, crouching down in front of him. “This is what you truly are,” he said softly, “nothing more than a weak, pathetic fool. I hope whatever afterlife awaits you is
exactly
what you deserve.” He stood again looking down distastefully. “May the Gods show you the same mercy you’ve bestowed upon others.” With a final swoop, Aiden brought his axe down, slicing through the sorcerer’s neck cleanly. His head rolled away, eyes still wide in horror.

He turned slowly, taking in the scene around him. Melissa sat with Lily whose eyes were now open, watching Aiden carefully. Turk stood defensively in front of the fallen brothers. Aiden’s eyes landed on Callum anxiously. “Is he…?”

Turk shook his head. “Only knocked out.”

Aiden nodded, relieved. His eyes moved to Jameson and he found he could not look at him for long without wanting to turn back around and chop Aziz into tiny little pieces. He instead turned his focus to Ethan who stood against the wall behind the girls, his face pale and stricken.

“You ready to go home?” Aiden asked evenly.

Ethan swallowed, his eyes darting to the headless corpse behind Aiden then back to him. “More than I can say,” he replied.

Elisa notched her last arrow. She wasn’t sure what would happen after this, but her gut said it wouldn’t be good. The men were tired, even though they outnumbered Aziz’s. The fact that the beasts were three times harder to kill than a regular man was taking its toll. She waited for the best opportunity before letting her arrow fly, watching it hit one of the larger beasts in the eye so the men around him could deliver the fatal blows.

“I’m out,” she yelled to Wolf.

He looked over, his brows furrowed in concern.

“I’m out too,” Logan called.

“Out of what?” Moose asked.

“Energy mostly,” Logan replied seriously. Elisa laughed despite the circumstances. At least if they were going down they would do it together. She couldn’t imagine being in better company during a time like this.

“Don’t you dare think that way,” Wolf said sternly. She looked over at him in surprise.

“Think what way? How do you know that I’m thinking?”

“It’s written all over your face.” He stepped forward, cupping her chin gently in his hand. “We’re going to see it to the other side of this, I promise. Aiden won’t let us down.”

She opened her mouth to argue, to say Aiden was just a boy, but she closed it again. He wasn’t just a boy. She wasn’t really sure what he was, but he wasn’t
just
anything. Maybe Wolf was right. But in the face of what they were dealing with now, it was hard to believe.

“Don’t worry, Elisa,” Moose smiled. “We’ll protect you. Just stay back, out of reach.”

“Yeah, Elisa,” Logan added. “We shall never let harm come to you!” he proclaimed gallantly. “Do you hear that, you disgusting monsters?” he yelled. Wolf and Moose broke out into wide smiles, while Elisa shook her head at Logan’s typical dramatic flair. “You will not harm a hair on her pretty little head!” he hollered. Suddenly the air seemed to vibrate and Aziz’s creatures fell one after another in an unnerving way. Everyone froze, no one knowing what to do or make of it.

Logan turned around slowly, his mouth hanging open. “Did you just see?” he turned away from them and then back around. He puffed his chest out, a pleased smile spreading across his handsome face. “Did you see what I just did for you Elisa? I scared them so bad they just dropped dead!”

“Your powers are simply astounding,” Moose muttered dryly.

A victorious cry ran throughout their men as their focus turned to the remaining human soldiers, making quick work of them. Wolf turned to face Elisa.

“What just happened?” he asked.

Elisa was about to reply with “I don’t know” when her eyes focused on one of the dead beasts. The matted hair looked like it was receding, smooth skin revealed in its place. Her breath caught in her throat as the size of the beast shrunk, more hair disappearing.

They were human.

The grotesque features of the beast melted away to reveal the pale skin of a normal man, his eyes closed in death. A scream worked its way up her throat as she heard others discover the gruesome truth.

She turned her head slightly to look at the body of one of the smaller beasts, now no longer that, but the body of a black dog, its fur still clumped together with blood. Logan cursed, all humour gone from his voice. Someone was throwing up close by, she could hear them heaving.

“Does his insanity know no end?” Wolf said, stepping forward to stand beside her.

“How many innocent people do you think we killed here today?” she asked, her voice thick with emotion.

Wolf’s hands gripped her upper arms, turning her to face him. “You didn’t know. None of us did. If you hadn’t killed them they would have killed you.”

“Not because they would have wanted to,” she said. “You can’t stand there and tell me you actually believe anyone would have voluntarily let Aziz do this to them,” she continued, motioning toward the body.

Wolf shook his head, eyebrows pulled together. “It’s not your fault. We did what we had to.”

“What do you think happened to them all?” Moose asked, his face paler than usual.

She was about to respond when it dawned on her. “Aiden,” she breathed. Wolf’s eyes widened. They both turned at the same time to run inside the passageway.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

The army did a vast sweep of the mountain fortress, destroying anything of Aziz’s that seemed dangerous. Despite her grief, Diana had spoken up when the sorcerer’s office was discovered, demanding his books be kept and put into safety. Aiden had spent hours walking through the dark, damp tunnels. Partly to make sure they weren’t missing anything, and partly just to get away from everyone.

Jameson had been set up in the room he had died in, his body laid out on the long, wooden table. They wouldn’t be able to carry his body back to the Capital, so a funeral pyre was being constructed outside. The injured were now in the large cavern that had most likely housed the beasts Aziz made – not beasts, humans. Aiden felt sick just thinking about it. The healer they had brought arrived not long after, Diana with him. Aiden didn’t want to recall the look on her face when she learned of the King’s demise.

Lily was there now, being looked after by Diana herself. Aiden thought, perhaps, the witch needed something to focus on during this time. He had stood around nervously for a while, but ended up leaving. It was too much for him. There were so many injured or dead. Lily didn’t seem to be getting much better, even though she had been awake for a while. The thought of losing someone else was agonizing. He couldn’t just stand there and watch it happen.

Ethan and Melissa were also being looked after. Both of them were severely dehydrated, and pretty battered from their experience. Aiden imagined the mental scars would be the worst. He still couldn’t look at them without feeling an unbearable amount of guilt. If it hadn’t been for him…

He walked on, letting his hand ghost across the walls as he did, feeling the cold stone against his fingertips. Everything was so silent inside the mountain. There was no daylight, no sense of the outside world. A part of him actually liked it, while the other didn’t want to appreciate anything Aziz had created. He blanched at that thought, reminding himself of just what exactly Aziz had made. He wondered if he’d ever be able to fully absorb it all.

An opening ahead lightened some of the darkness. Aiden walked toward it, finding himself in the same throne room Rain had brought him to earlier. He slowly walked up to the thrones, still glittering in all their magnificence. He sat down on the one that would have been Aziz’s and looked out at the room. His thoughts seemed to go everywhere and nowhere at once as he just sat and stared, seeing nothing. How long he sat there, he didn’t know, but it wasn’t until a small cough echoed off the walls that he finally looked up and focused his eyes.

“You’re a hard man to track down,” Lily said casually. Aiden blinked slowly, praying his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. He moved, eating up the space between them in long strides until she was crushed against his chest, his face buried in her hair.

“You’re okay,” he breathed, squeezing her tighter. Both arms wrapped around his neck as her body vibrated slightly from her laugh.

“I’m perfectly fine, Aiden,” she said lightly. “I told you, we’re a hard people to kill.”

He straightened, looking down on her. “We never would have found you if it weren’t for you and your people.”

“I know,” she smiled. “It was the least I could do.”

He shook his head, brushing off her modesty. “You did so much to help us, Lily. I’ve always been able to count on you.” He leaned in, kissing her lightly on the lips. “I missed you so much. I was so worried.”

When their eyes met he saw tears filling hers. He pulled her head to him, letting her nestle into his chest. “How are you feeling…about everything?” she asked. Aiden rested his chin on the top of her head, letting his breath out slowly.

“I’m still trying to accept it,” he replied honestly.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he replied softly. “It’s nothing I can’t handle with time.”

They stood together in silence. Feeling her tiny body against his was like having the missing piece to his heart back. He felt like he could breathe easier than he had since the moment he saw his brother swoop down from the sky.

“They’re getting ready to do a short service for Jameson,” she said finally. “I think you should be there for Diana. I’m not sure how well she will take it.”

Neither was he, he thought. They broke apart, linking hands and walking back down the tunnel he had come through. Everyone was already outside when they joined them, Melissa and Ethan standing awkwardly to the side. Ethan smiled when he noticed him, giving Aiden a nod when he saw Lily with him.

“I’ll go stand with them,” she offered. He looked down in surprise. She shrugged. “I’m the only person they know, and we’ve sort of become friends after being locked up together.” He could feel his face fall and Lily gave him a reproaching look. “Don’t do that,” she scolded lightly. “None of this is your fault, so don’t think it.”

“Hard to say it’s not my fault when the only reason the three of you were taken in the first place was because of your ties to me,” Aiden argued.

“None of us blame you,” she countered, stepping closer so her face was only inches away from his. “And don’t forget that it was
you
who came to save us. We all love you.” She went up on her toes, kissing him softly on the lips. His head swam from her last words, his own reply frozen on his tongue. She turned and joined Ethan and Melissa, their faces smiling genuinely at her as she did. It was so strange to see his two worlds come together before his eyes. Not once had he ever imagined Lily meeting Ethan or Melissa. The fact that he could even talk openly about it to them was an unexpected gift.