The Eden Series: The Complete Collection (35 page)

PRELUDE

Entry 3,498, Book 108 – Archives, Capital City

The war began yesterday. After ten years of tension between the Capital and the north, the exiled Prince Callum and his allies have moved against us. In an attempt to save the people of the city from the horror of war, the High King, Jameson, positioned his troops, along with the feared Captain Turk, at Emerald Fields. It was there that the High King’s Army and the Northern Army battled each other for the first time. Most accounts of what took place are similar. According to sources, the long-awaited warrior from the other world, Aiden, fought gallantly and bravely against the monsters created by the sorcerer Aziz. It is said that none survived where Aiden’s axe fell. Not until the Northern army began to retreat did Aiden fall. Some say it was an arrow with a peacock feather, others say an eagle’s. All agreed that it was indeed a lethal arrow that struck the warrior in the shoulder, leaving him writhing on the ground. He was not supposed to die. Everyone who saw him battle swore that any injury he suffered would heal before their eyes. This arrow, however, was something no one had expected. Dipped in a poison unknown to most, except for the Sand People in the East, it left the warrior dying before all who stood and watched. Then he vanished. Diana, the witch, and some say beloved to the High King, vanished alongside him. We pray he has lived. We pray he will return, for the war is not over. No, it has just begun, and we will need all the weapons we can get.

CHAPTER ONE

The scent of dirt and grass filled his nose, as well as something sharp. He tried to breathe in deeper, recognizing the metallic smell of blood. A cool breeze played with his hair. Then the pain hit, and his surroundings melted away. He heard her voice again, breaking through the dense fog.
It’s okay Aiden. Everything will be okay.
Elisa’s voice repeated this mantra, over and over in his head, but it was hard to hear her. The fire in his veins burned its way through his entire body. He knew he was screaming, but even that was muffled by the rushing sound in his ears. The pain was unbearable. Black spots dotted his vision. He wanted it to end. Why wouldn’t the pain end? He opened his mouth to scream again, his jaw aching, and closed his eyes against the bright light.

When he opened them again he was back in his room.

Lying on his back, Aiden waited as his heart rate slowed down.
It was just a dream,
he reminded himself. Well, at least
this
time it was. He had been having them the entire summer, waking up the same way, drenched with sweat, his blankets on the floor, and his clothing sticking to him like a second skin. Sitting up slowly, he dragged his hand down his face, giving himself an inward shake. The numbers on the alarm clock said it was only six in the morning. It felt like he hadn’t slept at all. The whole house was quiet. No one would be up for another half an hour or so. Aiden let the peace settle in around him, enjoying the silence. As soon as his little sister was up, there would be no more time for him to reflect.

The dreams were constant and similar in matter. He would be back in Eden, fighting beside his friends, beating back the northern army. All would seem well, but it always ended with immense pain. Sometimes it wasn’t an arrow, sometimes he was simply attacked by some unknown figure. There was a presence there – always. It loomed just out of his vision, watching him, testing him. For what? He didn’t know. Truthfully, he didn’t even think it meant anything. Dreams were just your subconscious mind creating false images, weren’t they? The strange presence felt real, but only when he first woke up and the dream was still fresh in his mind. By the afternoon he would convince himself it was nothing. He let out a sigh, looking back at the clock. He didn’t actually have to wake up for another half an hour, but there was no way he was getting back to sleep now.

Grabbing fresh clothes and a towel, he headed down to the second story from his attic bedroom and into the washroom. The door to his sister Eddie’s bedroom was open. He could hear the sound of her softly snoring. It made him smile as he went by. While the water warmed up, he looked at his reflection like he did every morning. It was still weird for him to not have to wear his glasses. His mother had dropped the subject, be he knew she was still confused by the change. Who wouldn’t be? When Ethan had commented on it, Aiden simply said he was wearing contacts now, but his mother knew better. Aiden wondered suddenly if his mother had
Googled
it.
Probably
, he decided. She
Googled
everything.

He rubbed at the dark circles under his eyes. God, he looked awful. The first day of school and he looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks. If he hadn’t signed up for the football team, requiring him to be up and at the school at the ungodly hour of seven in the morning, he might have been able to go back to sleep for another hour or so. But no, he had decided to join one of the school teams, subjecting himself to this early morning regimen.

The room was beginning to steam, so he quickly took off his damp t-shirt and kicked off his shorts. Over the summer he had continued to work out, capitalizing on the muscles in his arms and legs he had earned while in Eden. He regarded his reflection in the mirror closely, with a sense of accomplishment. Last year he was nothing but a tall, lanky nerd in glasses. Now he was thicker and more confident. He smiled lightly at himself. His health and physique were why he had joined the team. He wanted to stay in shape, just in case he was called back to Eden. He had to be in top form if he ever returned.

As the water hit, the usual melancholy settled over him at the thought of returning.
If
he returned. Yeah, that was a big
if,
he thought somewhat angrily. It was hard to keep hope when he hadn’t heard a word from anyone since he had been returned home. The entire summer had flown by, and not one person had contacted him.
Well it’s not like they can pick up a phone and call you!
Scolded his inner voice. This was true. Despite his newfound hate for the little voice in his head that kept him in check, he knew it was right. Part of him was angry that he had been left without any answers, but his more sensible side knew there was nothing he could do about it. Diana could come over, but he didn’t know if she could do it at will, and how much it might take out of her. Unless…no. He dismissed the thought from his head immediately. She was fine. They were all fine. He had to believe that.

No more thoughts of Eden
, he told himself. Instead he let his mind wander to thoughts of what the new school year would bring. His arch nemesis Bentley, and his crew, were gone this year. Aiden smiled at the thought. He might actually get through a year without being picked on. Ethan, his best friend since grade 9, had heard Melissa had broken up with Bentley over the summer. Apparently he had cheated on her while visiting a college. How Ethan knew this, Aiden had no idea. He had long ago given up trying to discover his best friend’s weird ability to hear anything and everything about the people they went to school with.

“You almost done in there?” his father’s voice called through the door.

“Yeah, one minute,” he called back.
Crap, how long have I been standing here?
Quickly finishing up, Aiden dried off and dressed in jogging pants and an old t-shirt. He’d pack nicer clothes for after practice. When he opened the door, his dad was leaning against the wall, his eyes closed. Aiden could help but smile. “Are you sleeping standing up?”

His father grunted in response, slowly moving past him into the washroom. “I hate Monday mornings,” he muttered, closing the door.

“Ai’en,” Eddie’s voice called out. Aiden walked to her room, finding her sitting patiently in the middle of her crib.

“Morning monkey,” he said, lifting her easily into his arms. He could hear his mother getting up in their room next door.

“Aiden, when do you need to leave?” she called, as he heard her opening and shutting drawers. He looked at the small clock in Eddie’s room
. Double crap, it’s already six thirty-five.

“Fifteen minutes, tops,” he replied. He changed his sister, listening to her chatter in whatever language she was speaking, responding with “really?”, “uh huh”, and simply the nodding of his head. This seemed to placate her, so he continued it as he carried her down to the kitchen. His mom was heating up a bottle.

“This sucks,” she mumbled, taking Eddie from him.

“You’re the one who always said I should be more involved in school activities,” he pointed out.

“I know, and I still think that, but did it have to be the one that starts at the crack of dawn? Who in their right mind would encourage that?” she said, buckling Eddie into her chair. “Or at least wait until you can drive yourself.”

“I can,” he pointed out again. “You just won’t let me.” He got his licence over the summer, but his mother still wouldn’t let him drive to school. He could drive on weekends, but she insisted that if she let him take the car to school he would end up skipping. It had been a huge fight one night, which resulted in the two of them not speaking for two days. He’d finally got over it, deciding that it wasn’t worth holding a grudge. After his close call in Eden, he realized how much his family meant to him. He would never forget thinking that he might never see them again, and the pain that thought brought. He didn’t want to fight over something so trivial. Plus, Ethan had a car this year, which he wisely didn’t mention.

“Hurry up and eat something and we’ll go,” she said, ignoring his comment. “First day of practice, you don’t want to be late!”

* * * * *

His legs felt like jelly as he ran, but fear coursed through his veins, pushing him further. Others ran on either side, but Aiden could feel the focus on him. Sweat poured down the sides of his face and down his back. The field was open in front of him, safety just beyond his reach. It felt like no matter how fast he ran, the hands of death were behind him, drawing closer and closer. Aiden briefly squeezed his eyes shut, opening them again to the harsh reality before him. He pushed harder, ignoring the constant pain in his chest. His lungs burned, but he wouldn’t slow down. The second he did it would be the end. He was sure of it. Alone, against an enemy he couldn’t begin to understand, Aiden prayed for some sort of aide.

“Two more laps!” Coach Morris bellowed. “Move it Aiden – don’t think I can’t see you! Next time you’ll think twice about being late for practice!”

The voice effectively ended the terrifying fog in his brain. Cursing under his breath, Aiden sped up, trying to stay in line with the teammates in front of him. It wasn’t enough that these dreams haunted him every time he closed his eyes, but now they were working their way into his mind when he was awake too.
Would it ever end?

“We’re not going to win any games like this, you pathetic bunch of pansies!”

Coach Morris was notorious for his verbal abuse. As much as the whole football team resented their fearless leader, no one would dare say a word against him. They were terrified. Each breath Aiden took burned the inside walls of his chest and throat. The coach had already made them run twenty laps, and then tagged on two more right near the end. The air was dry and the sun was already searing, even though it was early morning. Sweat soaked through their shirts as if they had all just showered while fully clothed. Aiden couldn’t wait for this torture to be over. To think, he had actually thought this was going to be easy compared to his training with the King’s army. As every muscle in his legs screamed, he began to rethink that.

“Alright, bring it in!” Coach called out from the benches.

Everyone circled around him, the air filled with the sound of hard breathing. It felt like Aiden’s lungs would burst. Bending over, he tried to breathe in through his nose, and out through his mouth, hoping this would slow down his heart rate. He listened intently as the coach began to speak.

“The Summer is done,” he announced. “This means playtime is over, boys.”
Way to state the obvious
, Aiden thought tiresomely. “What this means for
you
lot is that not only is our season beginning, but you are
expected
…” he stressed the last word, and then stopped to correct himself, “no,
required
to do well in all your classes if you want to be on this team. I’m talking at least B’s! Do not make me have to cut any of you because you don’t know how to do your work. I’m going to have every teacher behind these walls working you has hard as I do out here on the field. Do not disappoint me! Do you understand?”

“Yes sir!” they replied loudly in unison. Aiden wondered if he had mistakenly signed up for the army instead of high school football.

“Now go shower. You all look like hell.”

With a sigh of relief, Aiden headed toward the locker rooms alongside the rest of the team. The orange bricks of the school ominously towered over them. Dread seemed to fill them all as the reality of another school year hit. As they filed, one after another, into the dark change rooms, Aiden turned around and took one fleeting look back at the clear sky. The blue was undisturbed, not a single cloud floated in it. The sun shone down mockingly as the institutional walls closed around them, locking the students inside while fall approached. As if to support his thoughts, the doors suddenly slammed shut, erasing the rays of light from his face.

* * * * *

The halls were overflowing with students. Voices filled the corridors with greetings as people reunited after the long summer. Aiden walked briskly towards the cafeteria. Ethan would be waiting for him at their usual table, so he hurried along, avoiding the stares from some of the younger girls. It was strange, the new attention he received from the opposite sex. The change in his appearance was still new to him, making him embarrassed when he realized others noticed it too.

Shaking it off, he walked through the double doors into the densely packed cafeteria. Georgetown High School wasn’t quite as big as his previous school in Toronto, but was still big enough to make him uncomfortable as he tried to manoeuvre his way to the lower level. Ethan sat with a dazed look on his face. No one else sat at the table, making him look alone and lost. Aiden couldn’t help but smile as he approached his friend.