The Eden Series: The Complete Collection

by Stalder, Janelle

  Logan would still be down at the tavern, so he’d have to take all four himself, which suited Wolf just fine. The newest adversary was quite small compared to the three buffoons by the front doors, and he was the closest, so Wolf ran straight at him, knocking them hard against the wall. He heard the breath escape his opponent as all the wind exited his lungs. Unsheathing his blade, he held it at the man’s neck, their faces close now. Sweat ran down the sides of Wolf’s face, and his long hair hung distractingly in his eyes. As he shook it back, Wolf looked down with a smile at the man he held pinned. His smile quickly dissolved.

  “Elisa?” his voice came out in an accusing tone. Her large eyes looked up in shock at him as she tried to pull her face away from the lethal edge at her throat. Now that he could see her clearer, he saw that she was definitely not a man, nor was she even dressed like one for once. Elisa wore a long white dress, something Wolf would never have expected to see her in. “What the hell are you doing here?” He was angry now, although he couldn’t say why. When he first said her name, a wave of relief had washed over him. It had been a long time since he had last seen her. Now that he saw she was fine, he became angry, cursing her for being in the room when there were three extremely angry men waiting to tear him to shreds.

  “I don’t mean to avoid your question,” she said, her voice sounding slightly strained. “But you seem to have quite a situation on your hands, and now doesn’t seem to be the best time to talk.” Cursing out loud, he stood back, giving her room to straighten out. Just as he did, a large object hit him in the back of the head, sending him tumbling to the ground. Groaning, Wolf rolled onto his back, looking up at the figure above him.

  “You’re a fool, Rider,” one of the men laughed. The speaker still stood by the door, the other two now standing on either side of him. Elisa was out of his line of vision.

  “Have we met?” he asked, holding the back of his head. He could feel warm liquid on his hand. A large boot kicked him swiftly in the ribs. He grunted in pain.

  “No, we haven’t met,” the same man replied, walking slowly closer to him. “However, I do believe you are well acquainted with my wife, Victoria.”

  Wolf squeezed his eyes shut. This was not good, he realized quickly. Victoria had screamed threats at him as he told her to leave, swearing she would tell her husband he had taken advantage of her, and that he would come and kill Wolf. Of course, at the time, Wolf thought she was just bluffing, but apparently the woman was more serious than he had believed. It had been a stupid affair that needed to end, and now she was going to have him finished as well. “Veronica you say?” he replied, trying to take shallow breaths. One of his ribs already felt bruised. “Can’t say I remember a Veronica. What does she look like?”

  A deep, male growl filled the room. “I know you know whom I speak of, you filthy rat.” The man spat. “You have ruined my woman, and now I will ruin you.” Suddenly a flash of something flew by Wolf’s face, and one of the bigger men went crashing to the floor. The other two whipped around to see where the object had come from. A thin line of blood emerged on the man’s forehead, where the sharp edge of a disc had sliced him. Moving quickly, Wolf rolled over, grabbing it as he did, and jumped to his feet.

  * * * * *

  When Elisa entered the room, she stood by the open doors to let her eyes adjust. The place was dark and smelled like man, a mixture of sweat and spice. There was a large bed on the far wall, with blankets spilling onto the floor. Beside the bed had been the doors, but they were now broken and stood open. The room, from what she could see, was very plain, except for the large rug that lay on the floor, which had an intricate pattern woven into it. Elisa stood still for a moment, taking in her surroundings quickly, and trying to figure out exactly what was happening. It was as she stood there that a body came rushing at her from the dark, sending her crashing into the wall behind her. She could see him clearly as the light from the moons outside streamed through the doors of the balcony. There was a brief moment when she actually thought he was going to hurt her. She felt the blade resting dangerously close to her throat. Then their eyes met and she knew she was safe.

  “Elisa?” he said, with such a mixture of relief and annoyance that it had momentarily thrown her off. She couldn’t think of anything to say back. What was she really expecting? A warm welcome? Not likely. But she hadn’t expected him to sound so angry when he asked what she was doing here. The three men were making their way into the room, so she quickly brought him back to the situation at hand. It was then that one of the men knocked him down.

  As she stood against one of the side walls, she listened to their conversation and discreetly reached under the fabric of her dress. Apparently Wolf had slept with someone’s wife, which didn’t really surprise her. What did shock her, however, was that the woman told her husband! Now Wolf was being berated as he lay on the floor. A large part of Elisa wanted to let it go on longer, make Wolf learn his lesson, but she could see that he was bleeding. His blood was already thinner, and too much blood loss would make him too weak to travel with her. Reluctantly, she loosened the disc she had strapped to her outer thigh, the only weapon she had that was thin enough to hide under the garment, and sent it flying through the air. They all gasped in surprise as the one she hit sank to the ground.

  “What is this?” the man called out. “Who are you? Show yourself to me!” His tone of voice exuded some sort of authority. Elisa hesitated, wondering if she should be attacking anyone in a city that was foreign to her. This was exactly the type of situation her father had warned against. “Do nothing to draw attention to yourself, and speak to no one!” he had instructed. Leave it to Wolf to put me in this kind of situation, she thought angrily. The other bodyguard took a step towards her, but stopped as she sent a second disk went flying through the air, slicing off the tip of his ear. The man fell to his knees, holding the side of his head.

  “I think it is time for you to leave,” Wolf said, stepping between her and the only one left standing.

  She could see the outline of the man, but his face was lost in the darkness. His body was tense, his hands in fists at his side. Elisa saw he was struggling with what to do. When he spoke, it was through clenched teeth.

  “Do not think that you will get away with this,” he said, very slowly. Snapping his fingers, his two men struggled to stand and followed him slowly out of the room. As they left, Wolf turned around to face her, his body lit up by the moons. Elisa still stood hidden in the shadows. What Elisa had expected was a ‘thank you’ from him, but what she got was a scowl. Without saying a word, Wolf walked closer and pulled her quickly by her wrist. She was about to say something rude, but he looked back with a warning, and pushed her behind the curtains. Elisa held herself against the wall, as Wolf stood in front of her, his body pressed against her. His lips were at her ear as he whispered.

  “Be quiet.” She could feel his breath down her neck. She tried to ignore him, focusing on the sounds out in the hall. There were people approaching the room again. From her estimation, there were five men in total, all five in armour and heavy boots. She could hear the clanging of their suits and the weapons that hung at their sides. She wanted to ask who they were, but Wolf stood rigid against her, and she knew it would be stupid to speak now, even in a whisper. Whoever they were, they were now in the room.

  “Where is he?” someone asked.

  “He was right here,” another voice replied, confused. She recognized it as the vengeful husband. “The balcony! He must have gone out there.”

  “And you say there was a girl with him?” the same voice asked.

  “Yes, a small girl. She was the one who injured my men.” The silence that followed was slightly awkward. Elisa could have sworn she heard someone snicker.

  “I think I might know who it was,” the man continued. “I shall take care of it tomorrow. You three, keep an eye on the place for their return. Make sure you watch for his friend, Logan, too.”

  “Yes sir,” a new voice sa
id. Elisa tried to keep her breathing normal as she heard someone walk slowly around the room. Wolf pressed harder against her so that the outline of their bodies did not show through the curtains. The heat off their bodies made the air around them stifling. He wore only light trousers and nothing on his upper body.

  After what seemed like forever, the men eventually left, their footsteps disappearing down the hall. Neither of them moved until they were certain that no one remained. She brushed a stray piece of hair off her face. The back of her hand slightly grazed the bare skin on Wolf’s chest. Her face heated as Wolf took a step away from her. Pulling aside the curtain, he took a quick look around the room, and then turned back with his finger on his lips. He headed towards the balcony, motioning for her to follow him out the doors. She retrieved her discs along the way, wiping the blood off of them with the rug.

  When she stepped out into the night air, Elisa took a deep breath and welcomed the cool temperature. Her forehead and temples were damp with sweat. Wolf pointed towards the roof. Nodding her head, she went over to the railing and hiked her dress up so she could lift herself onto the edge. She heard a strangled noise from behind her. Elisa turned to see an amused look on Wolf’s face. She lifted her dress up further, ignoring the embarrassment rising in her stomach. She had little choice, given what she was wearing. Shooting daggers with her eyes, she turned back to the railing and hoisted herself up, balancing carefully against the wall. The stone of the hotel was rough, with convenient foot and hand holds. As she reached for the edge of the roof, a hand swooped over the side, grabbing her arm and hoisting her up the rest of the way. She almost screamed, but suddenly found herself in a close embrace. Two thick arms circled around her, pinning each arm to her side. Instinctively she wanted to kick out, but the person’s voice stopped her .

  “Elisa!” Logan’s voice was close to her ear. He pulled her back, looking at her with a huge smile and wide dark eyes. At least someone is happy to see me, she thought gratefully. “What are you doing in Nysa?” he asked, not waiting for her to respond as he crushed her again in an embrace.

  “That is what I’d like to know as well,” Wolf said, pulling himself up onto the roof, standing apart from them.

  “You’re in a dress!” Logan laughed, looking down at Elisa as he finally let go.

  Her face felt hot as she looked down at the ridiculous garment she wore. Before she could respond, Wolf interrupted again. “Who cares what she’s wearing,” then, turning to Elisa, “what are you even doing here?” His tone was still filled with a bitterness that caught her off-guard.

  “The least you could do is thank me for helping you down there!” she spun around to face him. He looked annoyed.

  “I had the situation under control.”

  “Well it didn’t look like it from where I stood.”

  “You should have stayed there. Now you’ve made things worse!”

  “Alright you two. Everyone take a breather,” Logan said, placing his body between them. “You want to fill me in on what happened, exactly? I was on my way home when I saw Antonio enter the building with two large bodyguards. I can only assume he was here for you?” the question was directed at Wolf, who shrugged indifferently. There never seemed to be a situation that Wolf took seriously.

  “Victoria got a little vengeful,” he replied calmly.

  “I told you not to get involved with her.”

  “Now is not the time for I-told-you-so’s, Wolf said, lowering himself into a sitting position. She’d never seen him with such dark bags under his eyes, and his hair was in complete disarray. “We have bigger problems on our hands now.”

  “Such as?” Logan asked.

  “Well, she’s one,” Wolf pointed at Elisa.

  “Now wait just one minute –” she began.

  “No you wait!” Wolf interrupted. “We’ve both asked you now: what are you doing here? I expect an answer, and quickly, so we can send you back.” The antagonism in his voice stunned her. She was momentarily speechless. She had known it would be awkward to see them again, but this was something else.

  When they had last seen each other it hadn’t turned out well. Wolf was upset over Felix’s death, blaming himself for not being quick enough to save him. He was also bitter about the fact that he had been unaware of the truth behind Aiden’s origin. He felt betrayed, especially by Elisa.

  She remembered the night before he left for the south, when he had shown up at her bedroom door. She’d never forget the hate in his voice as he yelled at her: “Where were you? What were you doing in that tree? Watching the birds?!” He had screamed at her. Elisa had been speechless then as well, taken aback by his onslaught. “It was your job to keep an eye on everyone. You should have done something to save him!” He hadn’t been talking about Felix then. He meant the arrow that hit Aiden. Wolf believed she should have seen it heading toward him, and should have knocked it off its path with one of her own. It was true, she could have done that – she had done it many times in practice. But at the time she had been distracted by everything else that had been going on. The truth was, no one had noticed that arrow heading towards him, nor had they been able to figure out where it had come from.

  “How can you blame me for something like that? We were in battle! How was I supposed to be watching all of you and still be doing my part?” Normally she had no problem yelling back at Wolf, but her chest felt too tight. Her voice came out quiet and shaky.

  “Don’t act like you weren’t watching him the whole time,” he spat back, making her face burn. “You two were the best of friends, the only ones who knew the truth.”

  “Wolf, that’s not fair –”

  “I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN!” His face was scarlet with anger, his eyes bulging. Elisa didn’t know what to say. After a moment, Wolf turned and left, leaving her alone. That was the last time she saw him in half a year. He had left the same night with Logan, travelling south to the City of the Sun.

  Now, as they stood on the roof, she could see the same anger in his eyes, but he was more controlled.

  “My father sent me,” she said, keeping her voice strong. There was no way he’d get the best of her again. “The King has sent numerous messages, asking for the two of you to return, with no reply. I’m here to make sure you receive the message.”

  “Great, message received. Now you can go back home.” Wolf got up and walked to the opposite side of the roof, turning his back to both of them. Logan watched him closely.

  “I’m not supposed to leave without you,” she said. “We need to leave tonight.” Unexpectedly, Wolf started to laugh.

  “No one is going anywhere tonight,” he said, without turning, his voice betraying a sense of fatigue.

  “Why not?” asked Logan.

  “Because we still have our other problem.”

  “Which is what?”

  “Markus.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  “Markus?” Elisa asked, confused.

  “Yes, he was the one who came in after, and I can guarantee he knows you’re here now,” Wolf said, coolly.

  “No one is supposed to know I’m here,” Elisa said, cursing inside. This was exactly what her father had told her to avoid.

  “Well it’s too late for that. A small girl, here with me, who attacked and almost killed two large men? It doesn’t take a genius to figure out it’s you. You can say what you want about Markus, but he is certainly no fool.”

  “What do we do?” Logan asked.

  Wolf stood looking out at the city for a moment before responding. “We can’t leave now,” he sighed.

  Elisa’s stomach tightened. “Why not?”

  “He’ll have the docks patrolled. No one will be able to leave without having their ships inspected. There is no way we’ll leave here without him seeing us first. The only thing we can do is wait for the morning.”

  “What will happen in the morning?”

  Logan was the one to answer. “He’ll send a summons,” he replied. “That’s what he did when w
e first arrived. We’ll all be required to go to the palace.”

  “But why?” she asked.

  Logan looked at Wolf, who looked back nonchalantly. Something passed between them that Elisa didn’t quite understand. “The man who came here tonight is the chancellor at the palace, and a good friend of Markus’. He’ll want to find out what happened before he lets anyone leave.”

  Great, thought Elisa. Leave it to Wolf to piss off the one person who can trap us in a city this big. Before she could throw accusations at him, Wolf continued to speak. “It’s because of you too,” he looked at her, the first time in a while. “You’re quite famous, and he’ll want to meet you before you leave.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me,” Wolf said, exasperated. She still didn’t understand, but left it alone. There was no sense in fighting with him all night – not if they were going to have to be ready in the morning to deal with court officials.

  “Since there isn’t much we can do tonight then, why don’t we go back to the room and try to get some sleep?” Logan suggested.

  Wolf shook his head. “They’re watching the place. We’ll need to go somewhere else.”

  “Do you have any suggestions?”

  He smiled. “Don’t I always?”

  The small apartment smelled like cheap perfume. The windows were draped with thin curtains the colour of blood, and there was a large bed on the far wall covered in vibrant purple silk sheets and pillows. There was also a small dresser and a vanity. Make-up and jewellery covered every flat surface. From what Elisa could see, there was no kitchen, but there was a small bathroom off to the right. It was hot and stuffy, and made her instantly uncomfortable. The lady that answered the door was clad in a dress very similar to Elisa’s, except the material was even sheerer. In the light you could see the entire outline of her body beneath the fabric. It was surely a nightdress, Elisa thought. Her hair was dark and flowed down her back in waves. She had dark brown eyes too, lined extravagantly with kohl, and her wide lips were stained red. Perhaps when she was younger she would have been considered beautiful, but now she had deep lines in her face and a scar above her left eyebrow.