Eden-South (23 page)

“I’ve had that stuff put on my wounds
hundreds of time—ones that weren’t nearly as bad as yours—and they
didn’t heal like that,” he argued.

Aiden sighed, looking down at the back of
Ty’s neck. How was he supposed to answer them? He wasn’t supposed
to reveal where he was really from. These were his friends, and he
didn’t like keeping secrets from them, but he had no choice.
Looking up, he saw the three of them still looking at him, waiting
for the truth. He had to give them a partial one, all that he could
for the time being.

“Look, I can’t really explain everything to
you at this point, but I promise you when I can, I will explain it
all.” Their faces looked confused, but none of them argued.

“All right, newbie, if you say so. Let’s get
to work!” Wolf called out, slapping the butt of the horse Felix sat
on, sending him running forward. Felix yelled out as the three of
them laughed behind him.

Wolf and Logan kept saying how surprised
they were at the two of them. Neither Aiden nor Felix had fought
yet on horseback, but it didn’t take them long to gain the proper
balance.

“We have to teach you now what it is like to
be attacked by someone on foot,” Logan said, calling them over to
stand in front of them. “I’ll attack Felix, and Wolf will attack
Aiden.”

Wolf circled around him, his short sword in
hand. “Be aware of my attacks on you, and Ty,” he was saying. “You
don’t want Ty injured, because you could be thrown, which you’re
used to … or worse, you could be trampled.” Aiden rolled his eyes.
“Ready?” Wolf lunged at him, his sword flying in and out like the
wind. It took all of Aiden’s concentration to block his attacks
with the handle of his axe. Thankfully, Ty was calm, since his
attacker was Wolf, who was almost like a father to the animal.
Aiden found himself only blocking, barely finding an opportunity to
attack Wolf.

They heard a cry, and turned to see Felix
lying on the ground beside his horse. Aiden jumped off Ty to run
over and see if he was okay.

“What happened?” Wolf asked as the two of
them approached. Aiden hadn’t realized he was right beside him
until then.

“He just slipped off the saddle,” Logan said
calmly. “He leaned out too far to get me, and lost his
balance.”

“Are you okay?” Aiden asked, crouching
beside him.

“Yeah,” he replied, rubbing the back of his
head. “Just a bump, I think.”

“Back to work, boys,” Wolf said. They walked
back over to where Ty grazed on the grass.

“I’m finding it difficult to find an
opportunity to attack,” Aiden confided.

“It will take some time. You’re preoccupied
with yours and Ty’s safety, because that was the last thing I told
you. Now, you just have to convert that to being second nature for
you, and focus on attacking at the same time. Soon, it will all
just come to you, I promise.”

They practiced until late in the evening.
Wolf insisted that they needed to learn how to fight in the dark,
so they continued way past sunset. By the time he called them to a
halt, Aiden’s arms and thighs were aching. Wolf had been right:
Aiden eventually got the hang of attacking as well as defending. He
was still slower than when he was on foot, but he had vastly
improved since just that morning.

“It amazes me how quickly you pick these
things up,” Logan commented as they headed back to the city. It was
a little unsettling for Aiden himself. He had never even been that
good at sports, taking soccer for five years and still being
mediocre at it. For some reason, he just understood the basics of
fighting and absorbed the instructions they gave him. He still
doubted he’d be good enough against the army from the north, which
scared him more than he could admit, but all he could do was pray
that he’d last through most of it. Hopefully, Diana was right, and
he’d be unable to actually die while he was in Eden. That thought
brought images of his family to his mind again, and he began to
miss them dearly.

“What is the matter?” Felix asked, nudging
Aiden.

“I’m just thinking about my family,” he
admitted. “I miss them.”

“Me too,” Felix replied, looking up at the
sky. “I always wonder what they’re doing right now.”

“Do you have siblings?” Wolf asked.

“I have a sister,” Aiden said, thinking
about her tiny face.

“Really? Is she pretty?” Wolf smiled.

“She is a baby,” Aiden said defensively,
looking at him in disgust.

“Damn,” he said, chuckling. Logan laughed
too.

“I have a sister as well,” Felix said. “She
is a year older than me, and more beautiful than any other girl in
our village.”

“Now that is some good news!” Wolf laughed.
“I can’t wait to meet her!”

Felix looked at Aiden, rolling his eyes. All
four guys started to laugh, and kept it up until they reached the
gates. When they got there, Elisa stood waiting for them. Her face
looked grave, and she wore no smile.

“What’s wrong?” Wolf asked, instantly
sobering up.

“We’ve had news from the north,” she said,
looking over at Felix. Everyone waited for her to continue,
confused by the pause. Aiden turned his head to look at Felix too,
her eyes never left his. Felix’s face turned white as he
understood.

“My village?” he asked, tears already
building in his eyes. She looked at him, slowly nodding her head.
“Nothing?”

“It looks like they destroyed it all,” she
said quietly. “I’m so sorry, Felix.”

He dropped to the ground, burying his face
in his hands. They all stood silently as he wept openly for his
family. Aiden crouched down and put a reassuring hand on his
shoulder. The loss seemed to hit them all, awakening a desire for
revenge in them, not only for their friend, but for all the people
who were gone now.

“Don’t worry, Felix,” Logan said
passionately. “We’ll avenge them—we’ll destroy them all.”

Elisa and Aiden looked at each other in
sadness. No one wanted to move until Felix could regain his
composure. It took him a while, but eventually he stood up again,
wiping the last of his tears from his face.

“I need to be alone,” he said in a hoarse
voice. They all nodded, letting him walk ahead of them.

“Who else?” Wolf asked, turning toward
Elisa.

“It looks like two more villages were also
destroyed.” She sighed. “I recognized the name of his, so I thought
I should be the one to tell him. We didn’t think they’d destroy the
villages, opting out in order to make up more time, but they’re
setting fire to everything. No one has been left behind; they’re
all destroyed.” Aiden could see tears welling up in her eyes as she
spoke. He stepped forward, bravely putting his arm around her
shoulder.

“Don’t worry,” he offered reassuringly.
“We’ll stop them before they can do any more harm.” She looked up
at him uncertainly. He smiled back, hoping he could at least fake
confidence for her sake.

“Are there any more villages leading toward
emerald fields?” Wolf asked.

She nodded her head. “One more,” she
answered hesitantly, looking at Logan. Aiden turned to see his face
fall.

“My parents,” he uttered. He started
forward, but Wolf stopped him in his path.

“Logan, look at me,” he said, grabbing his
shoulders. “There is nothing we can do now. They are too far
away—we’ll never reach them in time.”

“So we’re just going to let them all be
destroyed?” he spat out bitterly. He shoved Wolf back. “This is my
family, Wolf. I can’t just stand by and let them all be
killed.”

“What can we do, Logan? They are probably
only a day’s ride away. It would take us at least five to get there
if we rode all night—it’s impossible,” Elisa said in a soothing
voice. She reached out to touch him, but he jerked away, turning to
look at the field behind them. He screamed at the top of his lungs
in anger, kicking the ground hard. The three of them stood quietly
as he let out his frustration. Then he stood with his back to them
in silence for what seemed like forever. Finally, he turned to look
at them again, and his face had his usual calm look. Aiden let out
a sigh of relief.

“I need a drink,” he said. Wolf smiled,
walking over to throw his arm around his shoulders. Aiden couldn’t
help but smile too.

“That’s my boy! Drinks on me then. Come on,
Aiden,” he said, leading the way.

“Are you going to come?” Aiden asked,
looking down at Elisa. She smiled and shook her head.

“You guys go ahead. I have some things I
need to do,” she answered. Aiden wished her a good night and
hurried along to catch up with the other two. Something else seemed
to be bothering her; Aiden could sense it. He figured it was the
stress of the war, and left her to deal with it privately.

Elisa watched as the three boys strode off
toward the tavern they frequented. Her heart felt like it was going
to burst from sympathy and despair. So many people had died
already, and so many were still at risk. Even as she watched the
boys’ figures disappear into the darkness, she realized that one of
them could just as easily not be there in a short time. Everything
was so uncertain, teetering on an unknown future for each of them.
She had been spending most of her evenings in the sanctuary,
praying for whatever favour the God and Goddess would bestow upon
them.

That evening she would have to miss her
prayers and head out of the city. Her father had given her a
special task, which would require her to be out for the whole
night. The emerald fields were a good five days’ ride away, if one
took a horse. In Elisa’s case, she’d be taking a much faster means
of travel, which would bring her there by midnight. Her father had
called her into his chambers earlier that evening.

“Sit down, my child,” he said, motioning
toward the sofa. She obediently sat down, waiting for him to speak.
He looked concerned, overwhelmed by something. Elisa assumed it was
the upcoming war that troubled him. “I have a task for you,” he
said.

“Of course, Father. What is it?”

“The King’s plans to use the emerald fields
is a good one. However, the northern army will have the advantage
of the trees, whereas we will be out in the open. I’m sure you can
appreciate the difference.”

“Indeed, they will have more cover, and
their archers will have higher points to shoot from,” she said,
thinking about the trees that lined one side of the field. She had
been there only once in her life, a long time ago when her father
had taken her to see the Riders in the west. He rode through that
way, and they had stopped to eat. She remembered climbing one of
those trees, finding the large, low branches ideal. It was on that
trip that her father had introduced her to the Chief’s son. She
hadn’t known then what was planned for the two of them.

Bringing herself back to the present, she
focused on her father’s words.

“I need you to go see Diana tonight, and ask
her to send you to the fields. She has a way of sending people
through magic in only a matter of minutes. She doesn’t do it often,
but I think she’ll agree that now is the time to use her skills to
our advantage.”

“What would you like me to do there?” she
asked, nervous at the thought of travelling by way of magic. She
didn’t understand the witch and her abilities, and was a little
frightened of putting her faith in her.

“I need you to find a spot where you can
station yourself during the battle. You are our best archer, which
means the higher we can get you, the more of the battle you will be
able to see, and then you can pick their men off one by one. We
also need to make sure your whereabouts won’t be discovered by
their men.” He walked over and knelt beside her. “I don’t think I
need to express in words for you, how scared I am to even have you
near that field.”

She smiled softly at him, placing her hand
on his cheek. “You don’t need to worry, Father. I have been trained
by the best.”

“War is a lot different from training, my
dear. There will be hundreds of men there, and things you can only
dream of. There will be so much death and destruction right before
your eyes, and you have to make yourself numb to all of it. This is
not an easy thing to do. Even at my old age, I find it hard to keep
focused with that much chaos going on around me.”

“I understand, Father. I will stay focused
as best I can, and stomach what I see below me.”

“Even if it is your friends down there
dying?” he asked. Her heart dropped. She turned toward the fire.
“No matter what happens, Elisa, you cannot come down from where you
sit. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, Father.”

Now she was on her way to the witch. He had
continued on to tell her about the villages, which led to her
finding Logan and Felix before she left. He also made sure to
explain the type of spot she needed to find, which sounded like it
was going to be harder than she had first thought.

The spot had to be high enough so that she
could have a clear view of the whole field, but not so high that
her arrows wouldn’t fly straight in the wind. It had to be a spot
that was well covered, so that the northern army wouldn’t be able
to see her, or make out her location. Her arrows would have to
appear to come from thin air. It couldn’t be too covered, though,
at the risk of her arrows being slowed down by the brush. The tree
itself had to be easy enough for her to climb quickly, as she’d
have to get up there as soon as they arrived, and without anyone
seeing her, but not so easy that foot soldiers would be able to
climb up after her if she did happen to be discovered.

Elisa wasn’t sure exactly how she was
supposed to find a place like that, but if she remembered the field
correctly, there would be plenty of trees to choose from. Her
father also stressed that the tree not be too close to where the
northern army would enter. It had to be in the trees, but still
close to their side of the battle. That would limit her options
significantly, but judging from the map he had showed her, she
still had plenty to choose from.