The eleven-foot snake glared at Gaia with his deep black eyes. Knowing the beasts were usually around five foot long, Gaia was sure there was no way she could win against this beast. She closed her eyes and waited for impact. Instead she felt the room turn into blue fire and the beast cried.
“Gaia.” Edan walked behind her and saw the cone stabbed into her shoulder. “Don’t move it, you’ll bleed out.” He ripped a piece of his shirt revealing a small part of a black tattoo on his spine right above his hips. Gaia tried to get a better look but the ink was smudged by a long burn scar. Edan wrapped the piece of shirt around the cone holding it steady.
“Duck!” Edan pulled Gaia against him, bending backwards as a Tracker jumped past them. He pointed his hand at the beast and the blue fire burnt the creature to death. “We need to go. Can you walk?” She nodded and he helped her to stand up. “Use my back for support.” He leaned closer. Gaia slid her unharmed arm around his back and gripped his shirt to keep her balance. Edan held her by the waist and helped her out of the store.
Outside, two Skuggors waited. Edan pulled Gaia against his chest. “Edan…” she whispered, scared of what was about to happen.
“Don’t worry, I got you.” Edan held the back of her head. He leaned closer and whispered, “I always do.”
The dark beasts growled and attacked. Even holding Gaia, Edan’s movements were flawless and beautiful. He moved as if he knew what the beasts were thinking. Edan fought with the Skuggors until they reached the edge of the forest. He hugged Gaia even stronger and pointed his free hand towards the beasts.
His hand shook, his eyes stood steady and his breathing accelerated. Edan’s blue flames grew stronger until they formed a blue tornado. The flaming tornado touched the ground and created a wall of fire between them and the beasts.
Once it was impossible for the Skuggors to get to them, Edan lifted Gaia into his arms and ran into the forest.
* * *
Back at the camp, Donovan and the rest had everything prepared to leave. “Where’s Edan?!” asked Willow, pacing nervously. “He shouldn’t have left alone. We need to go and help him.”
“No,” Donovan stopped her. “Those were his orders.”
“Edan!” Willow pushed Donovan and ran towards Edan who carried the unconscious Gaia.
“Willow, I need herbs,” Edan screamed and ran towards the rock table. “Shui, get me water.”
“G!” Priyam ran to Gaia and saw how badly hurt she was. “Here,” she said pushing everything that was on top of the table to the ground.
Edan placed Gaia on the table and ripped the top part of her shirt. His hands shook with fear for Gaia. Pink arrived and held his hand, “Go, relax, we’ll do this.”
Knowing there was much to do before the group moved on, Edan nodded and left the women to care for Gaia.
Once the camp was packed and ready to go, Edan went to check on Gaia. Her wound was properly treated and her color was coming back to normal. “I told you not to be reckless.”
Edan tried to take the dirty ribbon off but Gaia slapped his hand. “No! It’s Molly’s.”
Edan stopped cold. “Gaia, who’s Molly?”
Damn it… Gaia was so out of it that she forgot she wasn’t supposed to know anyone from that town, or any town for that matter. “The baby of the owner of the ice cream place I went with Noah.”
Edan clenched his jaw. Donovan took a step forward but Edan lifted his hand and stopped him. “Noah? Who’s Noah?!”
“What?”
“Stop playing stupid,” he glared at Gaia in a way that made her bones chill. “Who’s Noah and how do you know him?”
“We… we met at the village.”
“That village?!” He pointed in the direction where they came from. “That village?” Gaia nodded. “You’ve been there before?” He asked, his voice deep with anger.
“Yes.”
“When?” he asked, but Gaia kept quiet. “When!?”
Hunter tried to help Gaia but Veter stopped him.
Gaia looked away from Edan. “Last few days.”
“Days!? You went there for days? This is where you’ve been disappearing to? To be with a man!?” Edan slammed his fist on the table hard enough that the rock cracked. Gaia flinched with pain. “Are you mad!?” he screamed.
“Edan, stop!” Shui jumped in between him and Gaia.
“No!” Edan pointed at the smoke on top of the forest and the horrifying cries. “See! That’s what happens when you behave like a reckless child. You are so oblivious to what is happening around you. You think that your actions won’t have consequences.” He paced in front of her. The others were clearly uncomfortable, but there was nothing they could do. “When are you going to get it?! We are here because our world,” He pointed at her, “your world, was shattered in order to kill you. We are here to teach you how to fight back, but instead you go play village life? Are you seriously that irresponsible?!”
“I didn’t plan on going to the village! I just got there somehow.”
“Why?”
“Because I was running from you!”
There it was again, that pain in his eyes. “How convenient.” Stressed, Edan rubbed his face with both hands and pointed at the group. “We are leaving right now,” he commanded.
Everyone except for Gaia, who sat still on the rock, moved from their place and did what they were told.
“Where are we going?”
“To see Klog Mor,” he said and left to help Donovan.
Gaia closed her eyes, holding her wrist where she had Molly’s ribbon. The adrenaline was still pumping through her veins, only now she could feel it… she was alone, hurt and emotionally a wreck.
Chapter 20
The Village Boy
THE COLD BREEZE HIT HIS face but Edan kept his eyes closed, his body remained motionless against the trunk of a tree, his knees bent, his head slightly leaning back. He wasn’t asleep. He hadn’t slept since the night before, when they were still at the camp. He took a deep breath and tried to control himself when a small twig cracked a few feet from him.
“Is anyone else awake?” he asked without opening his eyes.
“I think Priyam is the only one left sleeping,” said Donovan. He sat down and leaned against the tree next to Edan’s, in a wooded area they had chosen as their new hiding place. Since they were on the run, they didn’t build any bungalows or anything permanent. Instead they found an abandoned cabin and spent the night there.
Donovan stared at Edan. He knew he was aware of it, even with this eyes closed. “Are we going to talk about it?”
“No.”
“Are you still angry?”
“I wasn’t angry.” Edan opened his eyes and kept them looking at the ground. His jaw clenched as if he didn’t want to speak his next words. “I was scared.”
Donovan’s eyes opened so wide he stopped blinking. “I’ve never heard you admit to being scared before.”
“That’s because I’ve never been before. Not like that.” Edan bent his head down rubbing the back of his neck. “I can’t stop thinking about it. Of what could have happened if I had arrived a moment later. Of what would have happened if she was there when they attacked the town.” Edan looked haunted. His eyes kept staring at a nearby rock. “She was there every day for a week.”
“You didn’t know she was going there.”
“I should have.” There was hurt and guilt in his downcast eyes. “I’m supposed to protect her.”
“We all are. Even Hunter can’t understand how she managed to dodge him.” Donovan crossed his arms behind his head and leaned on them. “You should apologize.”
“I know.” Edan looked at the cabin. The second window to the right was the room assigned to Gaia and Priyam. He took a deep breath. He wanted to see her and yet he feared it too, especially after the face she made when he broke the table, like he was a monster. And he was, at least a part of him. “She probably hates me.”
“She doesn’t hate you.”
> “You wouldn’t know.”
“Oh, I do,” Donovan laughed. “You are just too slow to see it… and so is she.”
“And who is this Noah?” Edan asked with an absolute dislike for the person. “Noah… Even the name sounds irritating.”
Donovan smiled amused, “Does it?”
“Don’t start.”
“Relax, Edan; I think she’s fine. I also think you need to stop waiting for her to remember. Just tell her.”
Edan lifted his face and saw Gaia leaving the cabin with Shui while carrying flowers. He stared at her face, her hands, the quirky dance she made every time she was excited about a topic, her long red hair waving in the air, enchanting him. Veter walked out of the cabin and wielded the wind around the girls, making the flowers and their hair float above them. The girls hoped to catch the flowers. Gaia’s shirt lifted revealing her stomach. Edan looked away, his face flushing. “You know I can’t.”
“Fine, it's your decision.” said Donovan. “But here’s a wild thought… how about you stop being here all frustrated and you go tell her you’re sorry?”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
Edan managed to get the courage to look in her direction again. This time, she was alone and looking a little sad. “Ahem!” Donovan coughed getting his attention. He pointed at Gaia. “Why are you still here?”
Edan stood up and sprinted towards Gaia. His legs and back hurt after spending the entire night against that tree guarding the cabin. After the attack on the town, there was no way he would allow something like that to happen again, and the only way for him to ensure it, was being on top of the situation 24/7.
He tried to walk normally since Gaia was looking at him now. Her hands moved to her elbows and she bit her lower lip. Edan smiled at how easy it was to read her. She looked around trying to find an escape but Edan couldn’t let that happen. He needed to talk to her now.
“Gaia!” He sped up his pace giving her no chance to get away. “I’m sorry,” he blurted out the second he was in front of her. “About hitting the table in that manner. That was uncalled for.”
“It was,” she pouted. Edan took a better look at her eyes; they were red and puffy, probably from crying all night. He hated that. “But you were right. It’s just that I never saw the danger. I mean, I do have those nightmares and everything you guys have told me but that was the first time it felt… real.”
“How is your shoulder?”
“Unexpectedly well. It still hurts, but it’s bearable.” She rotated her left shoulder to prove it. “I don’t know what kind of plants you guys have in Terra but they cured me amazingly fast. They don’t even leave a scar.”
“Yes, some plants have extraordinary healing properties.” Edan decided to give Donovan’s advice a try and tell her his thoughts. “Last night, I wasn’t angry because you left, I mean… I was.” He took a deep breath. Speaking his mind was harder than he thought it would be. “But… I was angrier because you could’ve been there when it happened. We were sent here to protect you. I can’t do that if you run away from me.”
Run away from me… Gaia flinched at his words and hugged her arms. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think about it, something like that happening in a place that peaceful,” she said and cried. “All those people, because of me…”
Edan’s mind went blank; this was the first time that he’d seen her cry as an adult. He wanted to calm her but he wasn’t as good at relaxing people like Shui was or as funny as Veter or as sweet as Hunter. Not knowing what else to do, Edan hugged her awkwardly and patted her on the head.
Her body tightened between his arms, making him feel he did something wrong. “Why are you hugging me?” she asked.
“Because I don’t know what to say or what else to do.”
Within seconds her body relaxed and molded into to his. Her head leaned against his chest. He hoped she was too out of it to realize how fast his heart was beating. “Thank you,” she whispered against his chest and his arms hugged her stronger.
Veter walked out of the cabin holding an enormous amount of logs. “Hey, Prinze-” a small hand covered his mouth.
“Shhh!” Shui let go of his mouth and pointed at Edan and Gaia hugging. “Let them be like that for a little longer,” she whispered and walked away.
Before following Shui, Veter took one last look at Edan and Gaia and smiled. He left the logs on the ground. “Can we hug like them?” he asked her as they walked away.
“No.”
“How about later?”
Shui stopped. She turned around, leaned closer and kissed Veter on the cheek. “Maybe,” she whispered and walked away leaving Veter alone in the forest.
Veter stared at Shui walking away. He could barely believe what just happened.
* * *
That next day, Gaia opened her eyes, checked the locket that Edan had bought for her and let out a deep sigh. It’d been fifteen minutes since she came outside of the new cabin and she was sure Edan would soon be freaking out about her whereabouts. “Time to get going,” she said out loud, but her body didn’t want to obey. Her skin felt cold yet she wasn’t shivering since she couldn’t get Edan’s hug out of her mind. Feeling relaxed and in contact with her emotions, she placed her hands together, concentrated and formed a ball of fire between them.
The fire burned around her fingers. She tried to make it bigger but no matter how beautiful the fireball it was, it never lasted long.
“Good shape,” said a manly voice behind her. Gaia’s fire consumed itself. “Could use a little more strength.” Surprised, Gaia jolted and fell from the trunk she was laying on. Lifting her gaze, she saw Noah staring back at her.
Noah laughed out loud. “Little overdramatic, are we?”
“Noah?” Gaia stood up. She was happy to see him alive yet angry at him for making her worry that way. “What are you doing here?” she asked, then realized Noah wasn’t freaking out over the fact that she was creating fire out of nowhere. “Who are you?” she asked suspicious of him.
Noah’s face changed from friendly to serious. Unwilling to take the risk of endangering everyone in the camp by talking to him, Gaia walked away to the house.
“Gaia!” he screamed as he followed.
Gaia stopped cold at the sound of her name and turned around to push him. “How do you know my name?” she screamed at him.
Noah placed his hand on Gaia’s shoulder. “You told me,” he said with his charismatic face.
“That’s a lie!” She shook her hand off his shoulder.
“You doubt me?” he asked, very entertained by Gaia’s reactions.
Gaia stopped for the second time and pushed Noah against a tree. She lifted her hand against his chest. “Stop playing around, because if you do know who I am, then you know what I can do to you.”
Instead of stopping, Noah’s smile grew wider. “Feisty,” he said lifting both of his eyebrows with amusement. "I like it.” Gaia punched him with her fist in a hook so perfect that Pink and Floyd would cry with excitement. Ouch… she flinched from the pain in her wounded shoulder.
“All right, all right!” Noah spit blood and cleaned his mouth with the hem of his grey sweater. “I know you from before.” He rubbed his jaw. “Nice damn hook,” he whispered.
Annoyed at being lied to, Gaia took Noah by the chin and looked straight at his face. She was absolutely sure she had never seen him before that day in the village, especially not in a place like Truckee. “You are not from Truckee,” she hissed.
“From Terra, Princess,” he said emphasizing the word princess. Gaia took a step back, her gray eyes wide open. “Now, have I got your attention?” he said rubbing his jaw for the second time.
“Maybe,” she said. She took a few steps and circled Noah wishing her memory would flash some sort of past she’d had with him but there was nothing. “I assume your name isn’t Noah.”
“You assume right,” he said while his hazel eyes followed her motions.
; “Who are you?” she asked.
“How about if you hear me first, then I’ll tell you everything you want?” he proposed, but Gaia stood quiet, still trying to figure out who this now nameless guy was. “What?”
“I don’t trust you,” she said coldly.
“Why not?”
“Are you serious?!” Gaia lifted her hand for the second time and turned it on fire. “You pretended not to know who I was for a week and after a whole village burns down, you happen to be the only survivor? How could you possibly think I would trust you after that?”
“I’m from Terra, you know we can handle more than humans do,” he said, only this time he was serious. “I tried to save them… there were too many dark beasts.”
He was right, there were too many beasts. “I still don’t trust you.”
“You should.” Tempting his fate, he took a step forward and moved her hand away.
Gaia’s hand consumed the fire. “And why is that?”
“Besides the incredible friendship you and I can share?” He took a small pause to see Gaia’s reaction. She rolled her eyes. “I know a lot about you… things they don’t want you to know, things they don’t want you to learn,” he whispered.
Gaia’s heart pounded. Half fear, half excitement. There was something about this guy. Even though her instincts were screaming to run, she couldn’t. If he knew answers, she needed to know more. Gaia’s stomach clenched when she remembered how she massively failed at getting information from Edan.
EDAN!!... She gasped.
Sensing he was beginning to lose her, the guy took her hand. Gaia flinched and snatched it away. “Look, I’m sorry. I should have not lied to you.”
“Why did you?”
“Honestly? Because I’m not supposed to be here. At all. And more importantly, I was forbidden to talk to you,” he said, his eyes gleaming with sincerity.
“By whom?” Gaia asked as she slid her hand away from his grip.
“You know who.” He flashed a wicked smile. “Same guy that wants to control your life.”
Seasons Within Box Set Page 23