“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to,” was his simple reply. She had swallowed back a gag when she looked back down at the mystery flesh. He was right. She didn’t want to know. They parted ways soon after. She was to dine alone in her room, because he needed to take care of a few things. She was grateful for a bit of solitude.
Now the endless fire in the hearth made her room delectably warm, and soon Rain found herself drifting off to sleep. With the mountains of pillows and blankets, she sunk down deeper, curling herself into a ball. As her mind began to shut down for the night, she heard it; that horrifying, lost and angry wail. It brought back thoughts from earlier in the evening. When she had first returned to her room, she had thought she heard human screams again. The goose bumps that rose unwillingly on her arms were the only indication that she reacted to those horrible sounds. If she was smart, which she was, she knew exactly why those people were screaming. Aziz had been looking more worn out and tired as the day went on. His hands shook more, and fine lines creased his face. By tomorrow, he would be back to his flawless perfection again. If she was being really smart and honest with herself, which Rain admitted she tried not to do, she would guess there would be a whole bunch of fresh meat tomorrow too. The thought caused bile to rise in the back of her throat.
None of the screams she had heard before held the same bone chilling sensation as this one. Whoever it was, they were enraged. She tried to cover her head with a pillow, hoping that she could ignore this one like she had the rest. It went quiet. Rain waited, bracing herself, but nothing came. She was just about to let out a sigh of relief when it rang through the stone fortress again, ricocheting off the walls. A chill ran slowly up her spine, making her curl her shoulders in tighter. A loud bang quickly followed, causing Rain to shoot straight up in bed.
“What was that?” she whispered to herself. There was shouting and snarling from somewhere down the hall. Whatever it was, it started to bellow again, angrier than before. Rain knew she should just stay in bed and ignore it. Aziz would be furious with her for snooping, but still she got out of bed. It was as if her feet moved of their own accord, despite her mind yelling at her to stop. She didn’t bother with the robe spread out at the bottom of her bed. The halls would be cold, and she only wore a light nightgown, but the adrenaline that pumped through her veins heated her against the cool, damp air.
Tonight no one stood outside her door. She stopped in surprise. They must all be trying to contain it, she thought to herself. On silent bare feet, Rain walked slowly down the hall, trying to judge where the sounds were coming from. There was a struggle taking place, she was sure of it. Orders were being yelled out, and she could hear grunting against some sort of attack. Aziz’s human soldiers were trying to subdue whatever was happening. They were highly trained men from Aziz’s homeland in the east, expert swordsmen that he kept as personal guards.
After what felt like hours, but could have only been mere minutes, she came into the dining hall. The quiet and darkness made time feel slow, almost as if it had stopped completely. She realized her teeth were chattering, and drew her arms around her body to try and conserve heat. Slipping along the wall, she crept to the doorway that led down to where Aziz kept the beasts. The ruckus grew louder as she neared. A quiet sigh of relief escaped her lips, causing a puff of smoke in front of her face. At least I’m going the right way, she thought, throwing a thank you towards the sky through the open ceiling.
Inching forward, Rain poked her head around the corner and gave the dark hallway a quick glance before pulling back against the wall. No one was there. A small amount of light was peeking under the door to Aziz’s study, though. She prayed he wouldn’t hear her, or suddenly come out as she was making her way towards the disturbance. As quietly as she could, she skirted down the hall, holding her breath when she passed his office. Nothing happened. Picking up the pace, she hurried along until she made her way closer to the large cave-like room where he kept the beasts. She could still hear men struggling, so she kept as close to the wall as possible. The last thing she needed was to get stuck in a deadly altercation.
When she reached the doorway that stood high above the floor, she crouched down low to the ground, taking a quick look just inside the door. No one was there, and thankfully the whole walkway that wound around the circular space was empty of any soldiers. She dropped to her belly, and slowly crawled until she was right on the edge of the walk. Her nose practically scratched the rough stone floor as she looked over the edge, and down into the room. As she took stock of what was happening, she was shocked to see that whatever it was, it wasn’t happening with these creatures. Like her, they were deeply disturbed by the events still echoing against the stone walls. The larger beasts stood tall, their faces wearing weary expressions. The smaller beasts seemed to be cowering against the walls. All eyes were directed at another passage she hadn’t noticed before. There, she thought, narrowing her eyes while she watched the doorway to the new area.
Keeping close to the wall, she started the slow decent into the room. When she reached the bottom, she had yet to encounter anyone. Some of the beasts eyed her, but none raised any alarm. She smiled inwardly. Thank you Aziz, she thought gleefully. They were used to her now, and would see her as no threat. Probably didn’t even realize she shouldn’t have been there at that moment. Running like the wind, she raced across the middle of the room, and slammed up against the wall directly beside the opening. Slammed a little too hard. She gritted her teeth at the impact. There’d be bruises on her shoulder blades in the morning.
The sounds were extremely loud now. Many voices mixed to cause one cohesive buzz of noise. There was one thing she knew – Aziz was definitely not in there. She would have known his voice, despite the others, and she doubted this whole situation would have gone on as long as it had if he’d been involved. Where is he? She wondered. More grunts and loud bangs filled the air, as if men were being thrown against the wall. A cold sweat broke out on her neck, but she moved forward.
This hall was darker than the others. No torches lit the narrow passageway, making it even harder for her to move swiftly. Rain waited a minute until her eyes became accustomed to the dim lighting. Moving forward with extra care, she came to the exit on the other end, and slowly peeked in, praying no one would see her. They didn’t. There was too much going on for anyone to notice a tiny girl standing just outside the doorway. Her mouth dropped open as she watched.
Wings.
Inside the small cavern there was a massive cage. The cage had only a tiny cot inside it and nothing else. The ceiling was open to the sky like the dining hall, but the opening was much smaller. The moons lit the area in an eerie blue. No torches were here either. It was hard to take in the surroundings when her eyes kept going back to the glorious feathers that glinted in the moonshine. They were a pale white, the tips touched with a deep blue, from what she could see. The white shimmered, almost like a thousand tiny diamonds were embedded in the feathers. Their span was so great, they touched the walls on either side.
Soldiers circled those great wings, each of them pointing their swords at the being that owned such beautiful appendages. Some men lay crumpled on the ground. A few were silent, while a couple moaned in pain. One of the soldiers moved to strike. Rain had to bite back a scream of protest. How could anyone want to injure something so magnificent? She thought in a panic. Her reaction was proven pointless as the winged creature simply batted him away as if he were nothing but a fly. The soldier flew against the wall. Another man slowly circled around to its back. Rain retreated a little more, worried that she would be seen.
An odd sensation arose in her to call out a warning. She knew it would be stupid of her. Whatever it was that they were trying to get back in its cage, clearly it didn’t need her help. Without warning the winged creature turned to face the man in front of her. She gasped, quickly covering her mouth. Her eyes darted around to each soldier, but thankfully none of them had heard her. Except someone did.
As Rain looked back at the winged creature, her eyes collided with his.
It was definitely a he standing there, two beautiful wings protruding out of his back. Everything else, now that she could see the front of him, was like a normal man. He wore only loose dark slacks, his bare stomach bronze even in the dark, except for crimson dripping down his skin from cuts fresh from the fight. His arms were covered from wrist to shoulder in black tattoos. There was one on his face as well, a swirling black design that decorated his temple and curved around the corner of his left eye. It was his eyes that made her stop breathing. They looked back at her, as if he could see her perfectly, even hidden in the dark like she was. Those eyes were not human. The irises were a pearly white, outlined by a thin line of bright blue. There were no pupils that she could see, just pure white and crystal blue, widening when he focused on her.
Trying desperately to not to be heard or draw attention to herself, Rain covered her mouth tighter and pressed back against the wall, severing their eye contact. Her chest rose and fell in gasps as she tried to control the frantic beating of her heart. He was beautiful yet lethal looking. There was an empty look in his eyes that made Rain feel like he was capable of things that would send chills down her spine. Taking a deep breath, she looked around the corner again. He found her instantly and she watched as he ceased fighting the soldiers. They must have sensed his submission, even though they didn’t understand why, because soon they had his arms bound behind his back. A few sent violent kicks into his stomach, but nothing registered on his face as he continued to look in her direction.
“Get him in the cage,” someone said. Rougher than Rain thought they needed to be, they dragged him, landing more kicks and punches as they did so. He did nothing to block their attacks. Simply took what they were doing while keep his eyes trained on the floor. One even spat at him, but he didn’t flinch.
“You’re not so tough now, are you pretty bird?” someone said, laughing mockingly at him. For some reason Rain could feel tears form in her eyes. She felt bad for him and could see the defeat written on his perfect face. His jaw, strong and squared, tightened as he clenched his teeth, but he said nothing as others began to taunt him through the bars. A low growl filled the air. This was the creature whose pained screams haunted her.
“Put the key back in the Master’s office,” another one instructed. She watched as the speaker walked closer to the bars, his eyes focused on the winged man. “You won’t be getting out again Elex, so don’t try. When Aziz is strong again, he will have words with you. Hurt my men again and even he won’t be able to save you from my wrath.”
Quickly retracing her steps through the dark hall, Rain left before any of the soldiers made to leave. She hurried out into the larger room and hid herself in a small recess in the wall. Some of the beasts gave her a quizzical look but didn’t give away her location when the soldiers appeared through the doorway. Jagged edges of rock cut into her back as she slid herself deeper into the shadows. She kept her face turned outwards so she wouldn’t cut it on the sharp pieces. A loud grating sound followed, but she couldn’t see what they were doing. Finally the group started toward the walkway leading up to the exit. They carried their hurt comrades between pairs, so their progress was slow. Rain waited patiently for them to disappear, all the while wondering exactly what she thought she was doing. Am I really going to go back there? She asked herself, knowing the answer already. Of course she was. Something had registered inside her when she looked into the winged man’s eyes, and now she’d have to go back and see him again. Even if she just looked at him from the doorway. It didn’t make sense, this compulsion inside her, and yet her course was set.
When the last sounds of footsteps were heard, she started to wiggle herself free. Her nightgown caught on a sharp edge of rock, and the sound of ripping fabric followed. “Crap,” she muttered. She breathed a sigh of relief when she was standing in the open again. The spot had been tinier than it looked when she choose it. Looking down, she saw a long rip along the side of her dress reaching almost to the top of her thigh. Well, she thought, there’s nothing she could do about it now. Giving a mental shrug, she turned to start back down the hall, but quickly stopped.
The doorway was gone. The soldiers had managed to roll a large rock in front of the passageway, effectively hiding it. No wonder she had never noticed it, or managed to pinpoint where the screams had been coming from when she heard them before. Her shoulders dropped a little in defeat. There was no way she’d be able to move the rock on her own. “Damn,” she grumbled irritably, kicking a rock angrily with her foot. Pain vibrated up her toe. She had forgotten she was only in bare feet. Cursing, she hopped around on one foot, waiting for the pain to stop. One of the smaller beasts started to whine.
“I’m fine,” she reassured it with a smile, not that she knew if he understood her. She hopped over to one of the walls, leaning against it for support as she looked at her now throbbing toe. A large hand suddenly landed on her shoulder. Sucking in air to scream, Rain turned to look into the chest of one of the larger beasts. Her scream melted away, as she looked up, and up, into eyes that regarded her calmly. It nodded its head towards the large rock covering the passage. She looked from it, back to the creature, then back again.
“You can move that for me?” she asked, praying it might understand. Shockingly it nodded its head, and moved toward the rock, pulling the chains confining itself to the wall taut. A giddy laugh almost bubbled up her throat and out her mouth as she watched it effortlessly push the rock aside just far enough for her to pass. Moving swiftly, she slid her way through the narrow opening. She looked back at the creature standing on the other side. “Thank you,” she offered. He nodded his head as if he understood her completely. Then, to her immediate panic, he began pushing the rock back in place. “Wait!” she called out, but he had sealed her in just as quickly as he had opened it.
Darkness completely surrounded her. Even when Rain raised a hand in front of her, she was unable to see it. Her heart beat erratically, the sound echoing in her ears. Obviously he had replaced the stone should anyone come and see it out of place, but she still couldn’t settle the frantic pulsing in her body. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Her hands felt gingerly along the stone walls. Even as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, it was difficult to see where she was going. She stubbed her toe twice on invisible rocks, and bit back the urge to cry out. The winged creature was a mystery to her, she wasn’t sure if he was friendly or dangerous. It was crucial he didn’t hear her coming. Rain wondered how well his hearing was. Perhaps he already knew she was coming as soon as the stone had been moved.
Shaking off the feeling of dread, she kept pace until a faint blue light appeared at the end of the tunnel. She paused momentarily before she gave herself a mental push to keep going. Slower than before, she crept along the wall, keeping herself firmly pressed to it. When she reached the opening, she took another deep, calming breath before peering around the corner. He stood in the middle of the cage, glorious wings folded behind him, glittering in the moonlight. His head was down, causing the long, dark strands to fall forward, effectively hiding his face from her. The tip of his long, straight nose poked out from behind his hair, but those breathtaking eyes were not visible.
Taking advantage of his position, she let her eyes soak him in. He was much taller than her and built of all lean muscle. The white of his wing stood out against the bronze of his skin and the dark stands of his long hair. The black swirling tattoos rippled along with the fine definition in his arms. Rain had never felt so compelled, or taken with a man this way. He’s not really a man, though is he? She reminded herself. Raising her eyes slowly back up, trailing over each detail, she reached his face again and gasped. He was no longer looking down. Now he stood, his eyes fixed on her, his face an unreadable mask. Rain instantly pulled herself back against the rock. There was no way he could see her. It was far too dark where she stood.
“Come here,” his voice called
out. It was a deep, musical voice, although slightly husky. Sweat broke out along her spine. So he had seen her, she thought, almost wanting to kick herself. She was immobile where she stood. Her feet didn’t want to retreat or advance. She too afraid to make any move. Why had she come back? Didn’t her father always tell her that curiosity killed the cat? Well meow, she thought bitterly.
“Come. Here.” His voice was hardened now, filled with impatience at her lack of response. With shaky legs, Rain pushed off the wall and slowly entered the small prison. He stood completely still, watching her approach with those pearl and ice blue eyes. Rain stopped a few feet away from his cage, watching him carefully. He titled his head to the side, in a very inhuman way. “What is your name?” he asked.
“Rain,” she answered, forcing herself to stand straighter. She never showed anyone her fear, and wouldn’t start now. She raised her chin a little higher and thought she saw his mouth quirk slightly in the corner.
“Rain,” he repeated softly. “You are bleeding.” It wasn’t a question. Confused, she took a quick look at herself and sure enough her big toe on her left foot was bleeding. Most likely from one of the rocks she stubbed it on, she realized quickly. Looking back up, she shrugged at him.
“Who are you?” she asked. He took a step forward, his long legs taking him to the bars of the cage in one stride. Two large hands gripped the bars as he examined her.
“Did he not tell you about me?”
Rain thought back to all the conversations she had with Aziz and knew he had never mentioned such a creature. She shook her head in response. One dark eyebrow raised on his forehead.
The Eden Series: The Complete Collection Page 59
