The Eden Series: The Complete Collection (53 page)

She knew it immediately. It was what she had been trained her entire life to know. The sound of the wind being cut, a slight whooshing sound as it flew in a straight line towards her seat. Without looking up, Elisa flung herself to the side, crashing loudly into the chair beside her. The tip of her shoe caught on the hem of the gown, ruining the momentum of her manoeuvre, sending her crashing to the ground. The back of her head slammed on the edge of the table. Stars appeared in front of her eyes. People were screaming in the background, but she couldn’t make sense of it. The sound of the arrow embedding itself into the chair where she had just sat rang in her ears. Another sound was coming faster. Cursing, for the first time in her life, Elisa scrambled to gather her wits and moved behind Markus’s chair. Before she knew what was happening, an arm wrapped around her waist, another supporting the back of her head, and rolled her under the table, just as a second arrow hit something near her. A body was on top of hers, a voice frantic at her ear. Trying to hear and see through the stars that still clouded her vision, she slowly began to recognize the voice that was calling her name.

“Wolf?” she asked, her voice muffled in her own ears. She had a concussion, she realized. It wasn’t bad, but it would take her a while to feel steady again.

“Are you ok?” he asked, his voice dripping with concern. She focused her sight on his face, and saw him looking her body over quickly for any injury. The hand supporting her head was sitting right where she had hit it. He was hurting her, but at the same time she felt secure in his grasp and didn’t ask him to move.

“I’m fine,” she said, her voice betraying how she really felt.

“I have to go back and see what is happening. You stay here!” She grabbed his arm before he could move, keeping his body close to hers.

“Don’t leave,” she said. There was no way she was getting up from this spot on her own. He looked alarmed.

“Did it hit you?”

“No! No,” she reassured. “I just hit my head, and I think I gave myself a concussion. This damn dress tripped me when I tried to move out of the way.” He chuckled, a mixture of relief and amusement.

“Alright, I’ll keep you by my side.” Her heart quickened at his words. Rolling himself off her, he reached under the table and grabbed her in his arms. Lifting her up, still cradling her body, he stood up and walked them towards the French doors that led into the ballroom. The whole thing seemed effortless for him, as if she weighed nothing at all. Chaos was all around them, but all she could focus on was how much her head hurt. She shut her eyes against the sudden feeling of nausea. The air abruptly changed, and she knew they were inside now. Even more voices were yelling. Wolf lowered her gently onto a chair, crouching down in front of her to look in her eyes. She stared back at the pale green of his.

“Where did you hit it?” he asked, reaching around to feel the back of her head. A slight flinch on her part told him where the spot was. “You’ll have quite an egg tomorrow, but I think you’ll live.”

“Thanks doctor,” she said, sarcastically. “I’ll be fine, I just need to get my balance back.” Hurried steps came running across the floor. She looked up to see Mary speeding towards her.

“Are you ok?” she said, looking from Elisa to Wolf.

“Just a bump on the head,” Elisa reassured her.

“Shall I get the doctor?”

“Yes.”

“No.” Elisa looked at Wolf accusingly. “I don’t want to see a doctor!”

“I think you should,” Wolf insisted, his voice taking on a note of authority. Before she could argue back, a loud commotion broke out in the middle of the room. All three turned to look. Markus and his advisors were frantically yelling over one another. Logan stood amongst them, his grey eyes darker than usual, and motioned for Wolf to join him. He was angry. Glancing at Elisa once, Wolf stood up and walked over to where the crowd gathered.

* * * * *

Words could not express the feeling that shot through him as he watched Elisa throw herself to the ground. Of course she had heard the arrow first. It wasn’t until Wolf saw it hit the chair that he realized what was happening. Thankfully he had been close by. There was mixture of panic and pain on her face. It didn’t take him long to figure out that another arrow was heading straight for her. Flying through the air, he landed on top of her, quickly rolling them both under the table. He had been afraid he’d hurt her doing it, but he soon realized she was already injured from her own fall.

Now he was walking towards Logan. The servant girl was with her, so he didn’t feel as bad leaving her alone. Everyone was yelling except Logan, who stood silently in the chaotic crowd of men.

“What’s happening?” Wolf asked in a hushed voice.

Logan shrugged his shoulders. “I can’t make out what anyone is saying, but from what I gather, they’re upset that someone tried to assassinate Markus.” Wolf’s breath came out in a harsh gasp. “I know. How is she?”

Wolf looked back where Elisa sat. She was watching him, her eyes glazed. The blood in his veins started to boil.

“Wolf –” he started to say warningly.

“Everyone shut it!” Wolf yelled, holding up his hands. All heads turned in his direction. Markus looked wildly at him, a clear sense of panic written over every feature.

“I beg your pardon?” he said, with confidence and assertion.

Wolf stepped closer to him. “You know, for a man who has spent the last four days devoting all his time and attention to the girl, I find it pretty funny that you have yet to make sure she is ok.”

Markus stood up straighter. “In case you didn’t realize, that arrow was meant for
me
! Elisa was wearing
my
cloak and sitting in
my
chair. Clearly they mistook her for me.”

It took all of Wolf’s restraint not to hit him where he stood. “In case you didn’t realize, regardless of the intended victim, it was
Elisa
who was almost
killed
!” He was yelling now, his face red with rage. “
Twice
!” His breath came out fast and harsh. Markus looked hesitantly over to where she sat. “If it hadn’t been for all your wine and dining, we wouldn’t even be here anymore! It’s your fault I almost lost her!”

Markus’s eyebrows shot up. His voice was extremely steady when he spoke. “I am concerned for her, obviously, but the more important thing right now is to find out who would want me killed.”

Coming to his rescue, Logan finally stepped in. “Actually, I don’t think that is obvious. It is clear you only care about yourself.”

“That is not true –” he began. He didn’t get any further. Stepping between Wolf and Markus, Elisa appeared, her head held high.

“Stop,” she said, holding her hand up. A hush ran throughout the room. “I wish you luck in finding who did this tonight. I’m sure you wouldn’t want a recurrence. You’ll be looking for someone who is left handed, that much I can tell you from their shot.”

“Thank you for your understanding,” Markus said, his voice changing when he spoke to her. It made Wolf feel sick to his stomach. This man didn’t love Elisa, he only loved himself. Elisa was just something foreign, beautiful, and exciting to him. She was another trophy for him to parade around his famous parties.

“Right,” she replied, her voice cold. “That being said, I want to officially thank you for everything you’ve done for us while we’ve been here, but it is clear our time has come to leave. Our King will need to know about this, and quite frankly, I think we’ve worn out our welcome.”

“Elisa –”

“No.” Her voice was almost a whisper. “I’m leaving –
we’re
leaving. Tonight.” She didn’t give him a chance to reply. As soon as she finished speaking, she turned and walked towards the doors, leaving the group of men to watch her retreat.

“Markus,” Wolf said, nodding in a gesture of respect and farewell, a slight smirk hovering on his lips. The shocked look on the other man’s face was almost laughable. Logan said his farewells and the two boys followed their friend out.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Aiden pulled the covers up to his chin, sinking gratefully into the soft mattress. It had been a long day and an even longer night. The whole village had come out when they returned, and true to his word, Hawk immediately planned a feast. It had been just like the time in the Capital when he had killed the beast, and everyone had eaten it. The thought made him miss his friends even more.

Aiden had been the guest of honour, sitting at the head table beside Hawk, who frequently beamed proudly at him. Sunny had embraced him in a fierce hug when she arrived, although Rain had walked by him without a word, heading over to sit with a group of kids that looked her age. Moose shrugged his shoulders at Aiden’s confused look.

“Women!” he offered with a wry grin. Hawk stood in front of the whole village, raising his glass for a toast. Aiden picked up the cup in front of him, sniffing the contents curiously. It smelled like beer, which pleasantly surprised him.

“To our guest, the great warrior Aiden,” Hawk called out in a loud voice. Everyone raised their glass in response. “At sixteen years of age, he has managed to bring home a bigger kill than my own son,” he continued looking over at Moose with an amused smile. It didn’t seem to bother Moose, thankfully. He simply smiled and shrugged. “He has truly proven himself amongst our people, and has been officially welcomed as one of the Riders of the west.” Everyone cheered in response. He smiled back, raising his glass and thanking Hawk with a slight nod of his head. As he looked around at the smiling faces he noticed one person who didn’t have a glass raised. Rain. For some reason this bothered him, even though he knew it shouldn’t. He understood that she was mad at Hawk, but that was no reason to be angry with him. It wasn’t his fault the Riders didn’t allow women to join the hunt. Biting back his disappointment, he continued to smile, taking a large gulp of the ale.

Later that night, much later, he retreated back to the house. It had taken him a while to get there, stopping and talking to the villagers along the way. They all wanted to give him their congratulations and approval. It was sweet, but he was tired, and he had been drinking ale all evening.

“Long night?” a familiar voice came out of the dark, as Aiden had reached the gate to Hawk’s house. He turned to see the Shaman standing in his yard across the road. The old man stood still, his eyeless face looking in Aiden’s direction.

“Good evening,” he replied respectfully.

“Or good morning one might say,” the old man chuckled. “Our people love their celebrations.”

Aiden laughed in return. “I’ve noticed.”

“What you did today was a great feat, Aiden. You should be very proud.”

“Thank you, I am sir.”

His wrinkled face broke out into another grin. “Shaman, Aiden. Just call me Shaman. Tell me, how did you kill the great bear?”

“With his axe, and some seriously quick moves,” came Moose’s voice in answer. “Not to mention an excellent partner, you know, in case he ran into any trouble.”

“I believe you were the whole reason we were in trouble to begin with,” Aiden replied dryly. Moose shrugged, grinning from ear to ear.

“Son of Hawk, it is a pleasure to speak with you,” the Shaman said, turning his blind gaze towards the spot where Moose stood. “I have not spoken with you in quite some time.”

Moose cleared his throat awkwardly. “I’ve been busy.”

The Shaman nodded thoughtfully. “You must make an effort to come by sometime, I miss our conversations.” Moose didn’t reply, instead he looked over at his house, the need for sleep as clear on his face as it surely was on Aiden’s. “Well I will let you boys get your rest,” he continued, in reply to Aiden’s thoughts. “It’s not every day one fights and kills a bear.”

“Or kisses a forest girl and lives to talk about it,” Moose chuckled, elbowing Aiden. The Shaman turned back to Aiden again, eyebrows raised.

“You met a forest person today?” he asked, his voice filled with wonder and surprise, and something else Aiden couldn’t quite identify.

“Yes, Shaman,” he answered, giving Moose a severe look. Moose held up his hands in defence, mouthing ‘sorry’.

“Interesting,” the Shaman continued, almost to himself. “She kissed you, and yet here you stand? I must say Aiden, you are much stronger than even I imagined.”

“Thank you?” he said, more a question than a statement.

The old man was lost in thought as he turned to head back to his house. “You two have a good night,” he said over his shoulder, leaving them standing there alone.

“He gives me the creeps,” Moose said quietly, looking across the street at the closing door of the Shaman’s house. “I don’t know what it is, but I’ve never liked him the way everyone else around here does.”

Aiden looked at the Shaman’s house. “I know what you mean,” he said thoughtfully. “I get a strange vibe from him. I can’t tell what it is.”

“Someone that quiet and alone all the time is bound to be nuts.”

“I don’t think he’s nuts,” Aiden replied.

“Then what?” Moose asked.

“I think he has secrets,” Aiden confessed. They turned to look at each other. “There has to be more to why I’m here. For instance, how did I even get here? Diana told me only she could get me, because it took a special kind of magic that most people can’t perform. From what I’ve seen and heard about the Shaman, I don’t think he could manage something like this. And why even bring me here? Why the west, and not back to the High King and those who know me?”

Moose was nodding his head. “I wondered how he brought you here too. When my father mentioned it at first, I remember laughing. I didn’t think he’d be able to do it. It sounded like the old guy was just talking nonsense again. But my father, he believed him. The Shaman kept insisting we needed to bring you here. It didn’t make sense, nothing was happening.”

“That’s what I mean. Why now? Why here? The answers he gave me before didn’t feel complete, like he was hiding something.”

Moose looked contemplative for a moment. “I don’t know,” he said eventually. “But I know we can’t ask him,” he continued, motioning towards the Shaman’s house with his head. “First, I don’t think he’d tell us, and second, I just don’t trust him.”