The Eden Series: The Complete Collection (40 page)

Moose laughed. “Well then I see some things never change.” The two of them laughed together. Aiden noticed a small girl in the picture sitting beside Wolf.

“Who’s that?”

“Our sister,” Moose replied. “She just turned fifteen this year.”

Aiden turned towards Moose with a confused look. “Wolf never mentioned anything about his siblings.”

“Wolf can be guarded sometimes,” he shrugged. “I wouldn’t think much about it.” They kept walking, passing by two closed doors on either side of the hallway. There were four doors in total, and a fifth one of the very end of the hall. Moose stopped in front of the last door on the left. “This one is yours,” he said, opening the door. It creaked slowly, opening to a tiny bedroom much like the one he had slept in at the dormitory. There was a single bed with a colourful quilt folded across the end of it, and a round table beside it where a candle burned. Across from it was a dresser made of dark wood, intricately carved with pictures of horses along the side.

“It was Wolf’s room,” Moose said. He looked back down the hall wearily. “Do you just want to sleep, or should I tell my mom to get a plate ready for you?”

“I think I’m just going to go to sleep,” Aiden said, after he thought for a moment. “She won’t be offended, will she?”

“Nah, she’ll understand you’re tired. Well, have a good night. I’ll see you in the morning.” Moose walked back down the hall, leaving Aiden standing uncomfortably in the doorway. Stepping in, he shut the door behind him and looked around.

It was strange to be in Wolf’s childhood room, almost like he was invading a very personal space. Sitting on the bed, he slowly dragged his hand down his face. He was exhausted and it was hitting him full force. With one last look around, Aiden lay back on the bed, pulled the quilt over his body, and leaned over to blow out the candle. It didn’t take long for him to fall into a deep sleep.

He had been dreaming about Elisa – being back in the Capital with his friends – until a soft creaking noise woke him up. Aiden lay still, listening carefully for the sound that had interrupted his sleep to repeat. The house was quiet. He wondered what time it was. Everyone else must have gone to bed already. Then the sound came again. It was coming from the outside wall of his room. Without sitting up, Aiden turned his head slowly towards a small window that he had barely noticed when he first walked in. The thick pane of glass was slowly being lifted from the outside. The tips of fingers were pushing it up from the bottom. Aiden cursed silently, sliding his body slowly off the bed and noiselessly onto the floor. Thankfully the old wooden planks didn’t creak under his weight. Someone was breaking in and he would be ready for them.

Crouching close to the ground, he inched his way over to the wall, flattening himself against the wall beside the window where the intruder wouldn’t be able to see him. Whoever it was, was taking their time to open it, trying their best not to make noise. Obviously they didn’t know someone was in this room. Or perhaps this person was coming for
him
, Aiden thought with a chill. The idea struck him in the gut, making him wish he had some sort of weapon. Then he realized he was in
Wolf’s
old room. Moving slowly again, praying the person wouldn’t step through the window before he could get back to the wall, Aiden slinked towards the bed, reaching his hand under the mattress and frantically felt around. His hand brushed cold metal and a wave of relief washed over him. It was a knife. Aiden knew Wolf wouldn’t sleep without a weapon close at hand.

Silently dislodging the blade from its hiding place, Aiden quickly returned to his own hiding spot and waited patiently. It took the figure another minute before a gust of wind rushed through the room, telling Aiden the window was finally open. A head emerged through the opening. Before Aiden knew it, its whole body was in the room, landing on the floor without a sound. When the figure straightened, Aiden realized they were quite small, much shorter than he was, and skinnier too. A long black cloak hid their face and body. This would be easy, Aiden thought with a smile, placing the blade on the ground.

Stepping out of the shadow, Aiden came up behind the intruder, and quickly grabbed both wrists, twisting them behind their body, and securing them in one of his hands. Hearing the person suck in air, he reached around and covered their mouth with his free hand before they could scream.

“Who are you, and what are you doing here?” he said, quietly into their ear. The person struggled, twisting and turning to try and release Aiden’s hold. Without hesitating, Aiden spun the figure around and pushed them down on the bed. Straddling their hips so they wouldn’t be able to move their legs, he pinned their hands above their head. “I said, what are you doing here?” he repeated through clenched teeth.

“Who the hell are
you
? And what the hell are
you
doing here? Get off of me!” Aiden was momentarily taken aback. It was a girl! He couldn’t believe it! Someone had sent a girl to kill him. Keeping his hold, he ignored her questions.

“I will
not
get off until you tell me what you want. Who sent you here?”

“Sent me? What are you talking about? I live here! Now get off me!” she snapped, her voice hushed. Shaking her head, the hood of the cloak fell off. Aiden looked down at a young girl, her hair, long, thick strands of black, spilling out around her. Even in the dim moonlight, Aiden could see how big and expressive her eyes were, and she had the same wide, plush mouth as the rest of her family. It was too dark, but he expected her to have green eyes as well. Crap. It was Wolf’s sister. Aiden quickly got off, apologizing in a jumble of words.

“I didn’t know, I didn’t know,” he was saying. “I’m so sorry!” A scratching sound filled the room, then suddenly a flame appeared in her hand, and she leaned over to light the candle on the bedside table.

“Stop apologizing,” she said shortly. “We don’t need to wake up the whole house.” Turning to him, Aiden could see her face clearly in the light. She was even prettier than he had imagined. Her face was pale and soft like Sunny’s, and her eyes were such a light shade of green, it was almost like looking into two small pools of water. Thick lashes rimmed them perfectly. “Who are you, and why are you in my brother’s room?” She was saying as Aiden stood staring at her with his mouth open. Shaking his head slightly, he tried to pull himself back together.

“I’m Aiden. Your parents are letting me stay here,” he started. “Wait – what are
you
doing in your brother’s room?”

“I don’t really think that is any of your business.”

Aiden let out a small laugh. “You’re sneaking into a bedroom in the middle of the night where I was trying to sleep. Doesn’t that give me some right to know why?” She regarded him with a stony look. “Fine,” he said, slightly exasperated. “I just want to go back to sleep. Have a nice night.” It was too late to be arguing, especially when he was desperately tired. She stood still another moment, and then turned to leave without saying another word.

Before closing the door she looked back. “Rain,” she said softly, so no one down the hall would hear.

“Pardon?”

“My name is Rain,” she smiled slightly for the first time. “It is nice to meet you, Aiden.” Then she shut the door soundlessly behind her. Aiden looked at the closed door for a while before falling back into bed. Things in the west had just become way more interesting.

CHAPTER FIVE

The air in the south was warmer this time of the year than she was used to. They didn’t get winter down here, which was welcoming after the cold in Central Eden. Elisa hated snow, hated the chill and wetness of it. The fur coat her father had bought her years ago scratched her face when she wore it and restricted her movements. Now, as she rode quickly, she wore her brown riding pants and sleeveless shirt, and was free to move as she liked.

She had followed the King’s highway the entire time, making sure to stay on the main road. The land she rode through was green, with rolling hills all around. She didn’t even realize she was on a hill, until suddenly she found herself riding down one side and up another. The Great Forest ran along her western side. The breeze tasted of salt. She was close to the sea, the city just beyond. Her father said there would be a boat waiting to take her across to the island. Even from where she rode, she could see the faint outline of the city in the afternoon sun. Nysa, the city of the Sun People. The bright rays of sun seemed to bounce off the city, causing golden hues to reach back up into the blue sky. It was as if Nysa battled the very thing its people had been named after: the city was almost as bright as the sun itself.

Elisa had never been this far south and wished she could stop long enough to enjoy it, but she didn’t have time. Digging her heels into the side of the horse, she urged him forward towards the rushing sound of waves.

True to her father’s word, as Elisa reached the docks that ran along the shore, there stood a boat waiting to take her across. A small seaside town lined the water’s edge, complete with small stores and a couple of taverns. Laughter and profanity spilled out into the streets from the open doorways. This was clearly a place for fishermen and other sailors to wind down before setting out on the water. Most women would not feel comfortable in a place like this, but Elisa was not most women. The men who looked at her quickly looked away. She rode a horse from the west, which spoke loudly of her station. There were also weapons hanging visibly on the sides and back of her saddle. She smiled to herself, thanking her father for that small suggestion.

“If you show yourself clearly to those on the road, they will not bother you,” he had said, as he finished tying all her weapons. At first Elisa had protested, afraid that someone would want to rob her of them, but her father assured her the men on the roads were essentially cowards, and nowhere near as well trained as she was.

“Elisa?” a man called out. His voice had the accent common in the south, but it didn’t sound smooth and cultured like she was used to. This man was rough, his voice harsh. His hair was grey, frizzing out from his head. He looked like a wild man, someone you found wandering the streets in the Capital, preaching the end of the world. His eyes were dark, almost black, with two huge bushy eyebrows arched above them. The years of having the sun and salt water on his skin had left it looking rough, red, and wrinkled. Elisa could only imagine what it would feel like if she touched him.

“Yes,” she replied, lowering herself thankfully to the ground. As much as she loved horses, she preferred to use her own two feet. The man hobbled down a rickety looking plank, and helped her lead the horse onto the ship. She was afraid the animal might panic, but he remained calm the entire time. As she stepped onto the ship, the air around her smelled of fish and fresh water. The man in front of her smelled like fish too. She guessed that this smell never went away – no matter how many times he washed.

“My name is Lorenzo,” he said, turning back to face her. “I’ve known your father a long time,” he continued, smiling almost to himself. She could see his mind racing through old memories, but kept silent as he reminisced. Refocusing, he cleared his throat before speaking again. “It is a fine pleasure to meet his daughter.”

“Thank you, sir,” she smiled.

“Lorenzo,” he corrected with a wink. Without waiting for her to reply, he walked to the side of the ship and began to untie it from the dock. Elisa decided to head towards the bow of the ship, so she could watch them approach the island as they sailed. Her mission was simple: get in and get out, and make sure she left with what she had set out there to get.

At first, Elisa had been reluctant to make the journey, not so much for the distance, but more for the reason behind it. Her father had stressed that he believed she was the only person for the job. She didn’t believe him, but how could she argue? The whole land was still in turmoil; the north was suspiciously quiet, and everyone felt unease. She knew how important it was that she do this, so she finally agreed.

“Best to go down and get some rest,” Lorenzo said. She jumped at his sudden reappearance. For an older man, he moved around quite silently. She turned to him with a questioning look.

He chuckled in his raspy voice. “My dear, you look beat, and it will take us a while yet to reach the island. There is a small bed down in the cabin. No sense in you staying out here and getting burned.”

She looked down at her dirt stained hands.
How bad do I look?
Seeing as there was nothing she could really do anyway, she shrugged to herself, and decided to take him up on his offer. “I guess I could sleep for a little while. How long will it take us?” she asked.

The old man squinted up at the sun, as if the answer lay waiting there. “We should get there before midnight, I think, depending on what weather the Gods send our way.” Nodding, Elisa walked towards the stairs he had motioned to.

When she finally awoke and climbed the stairs to the upper deck, it was to a black sky. She stood at the rail of the ship, watching as the city slowly drew nearer, the wind off the water blowing her golden hair around her. The hard part of this journey was just beginning. Racing through days and nights, all her muscles aching from the speed in which she rode – all of that was easy. What was coming now would be the difficult part, and she was not looking forward to it. Well not
it
, she thought grudgingly.

Wolf.

The white buildings stood out like stars in the black sky. Even from the boat, Elisa could hear laughter coming from the crowded streets within. All the roofs on the buildings were flat and close together. That was a useful piece of information, Elisa noted. The homes were taller here, much more than the Capital, and what shocked Elisa the most was that there were no walls. Unlike her home, the city was just open to the world around it.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Lorenzo asked, appearing silently by her elbow. “There is no city in Eden quite like Nysa.”

“It’s so open,” she breathed.