2. Blood Past (Warriors of Ankh #2)

by The Elephant House

  “You need complete focus in here, Eden,” Cyrus instructed as he strolled towards one of the swords and took it down. He took a matching one down from beside it and turned to hand it to her.

  She studied it, feeling its weight in her hand, the slope of its forward curve. “This is a Kopis. A weapon the ancient Greeks would use when they were not using it for cutting animal meat. Fighting with the Kopis is not an elegant dance; it is fast, close, and extremely lethal. So pay attention.”

  Her guardian was in a particularly serious mood because of Friday night. Cyrus had not been pleased when they returned from their night out. Noah had reported what Shona had overheard McLeish say and Cyrus had had to do the one thing he hated doing: go behind one of his own official’s back to his people and recruit one of them against him; to recruit Christopher, who had been more than willing to serve Cyrus, for whom he had deep respect. Now that McLeish was suspect Numero Uno, Christopher was keeping his senses extra alert around McLeish to uncover whether or not he was guilty of betrayal. The last thing Cyrus needed was McLeish getting in contact with Cosmina Arcos’ people. As for Eden, she had been uncomfortable enough as it was around McLeish.

  Now she just hated being around him full stop. She guessed she should be used to people hating her after a lifetime of living with her school peers dislike, but now she was Ankh people hating her bothered her. Of course Cyrus had told her not to worry but Eden couldn’t help but stress over it.

  They had soul eaters in Edinburgh causing havoc; the last thing they needed was a traitor in the ranks and Arcos to come after her when her training wasn’t even completed yet.

  It made Eden even more determined to excel in her training, to push her abilities and prove that she was capable of hunting.

  If it had been up to her she would have been back in training on Saturday but Tobe, Alison, and Val had determinedly dragged her onto a train to the city of Glasgow to do more shopping. How much clothes did one person need?! And yes, admittedly there had seemed to be a ton of shops in the city compared to Edinburgh but even that hadn’t done anything to take her mind off the night before.

  Instead, as had they walked down Sauchiehall Street, Tobe and Alison arguing over a pair of boots Tobe had wanted and whether or not they should eat at the Mediterranean restaurant or McDonalds, Eden had coaxed Val into conversation in the hopes of distracting herself.

  “You ever been to Glasgow before?” Eden had asked her mentor.

  “It’s pronounced Glas-go not Glas-gow, Glas-go,” Tobe had turned around and chided before returning to her argument with her mother as if she’d never said a word. Eden had rolled her eyes before glancing at Val.

  “She’s like the Hitler of Scottish pronunciation.”

  “I heard that!”

  “Good, maybe you’ll stop correcting me every five seconds.”

  “Maybe you’ll start pronouncing words correctly and stop embarrassing me.”

  “Embarrassing you? I’m sorry if I can’t understand why you people think it’s acceptable to name a street Cockburn Street just because you pronounce it Co-burn Street.”

  Tobe had glared at Eden over her shoulder and then made a face. “Fine, I’ll give you that one.”

  Before Eden had been able to enjoy the win, Val had said softly, “Yes, I’ve been to Glasgow before.”

  “Oh, when?”

  “I was sent here on assignment in 1965.”

  Eden had smiled. “A while ago then huh?”

  “You will learn that forty six years to an Ankh is as fleeting as a day is to a human.”

  They had been silent a moment as Eden had absorbed this, the buzz of Tobe and Alison’s conversation washing over her in among the crowds of shoppers passing them by. Her eyes had rested on the silver Ankh ring on her finger before she had finally gathered the courage to ask her mentor, “Is it bearable? Immortality?”

  Val had pinned her to the spot with such an intense look Eden had dreaded the answer. “Some days it will be a burden. However, most days our duty compels us to go on. Having people you love who share the burden of eternity helps as well.”

  Eden had frowned. “I didn’t know you had someone.”

  “I don’t have him. I just love him.”

  At her sad smile, Eden had somehow known Val was speaking of Darius. There was a spark in her eyes anytime he was mentioned and she had seen the way Val had seemed to shimmer with unbelievable life that day they had met him in the hotel room. Aching for her friend, Eden had touched her shoulder unsure of how to comfort her. There was no way of comforting such a long life filled with unrequited love.

  Val had seemed grateful for the gesture anyway. Her fingers had brushed Eden’s knuckles gratefully before Tobe had turned to draw them into the restaurant argument.

  More than ever, Eden had wanted to pummel something the next day as everyone else enjoyed a Sunday of rest. She’d thought Noah would be on the same page. Instead he had suggested they do something else, one of his favourite pastimes. Swim. It hadn’t been what Eden had had in mind but she hadn’t been swimming in a while. Borrowing a suit from Tobe, she had followed Noah to this old historic building that was now a swim centre. Eden had felt a little nervous as they wandered off in the opposite directions to the requisite changing rooms. As she’d slipped on Tobe’s modest swimsuit, she had suddenly realised that Noah was going to see more of her than he ever had before. And she of him. First out of the changing rooms (that had been a surprise), Eden had gazed at the high arches over the pool, the beautiful light filtering in from the glass ceiling. The place had been quiet and so tranquil she’d immediately felt her body relaxing. Overcome with the feeling, she’d slipped into the lukewarm pool to begin slow laps without Noah. As her head had bobbed up again she’d almost coughed down chlorine as Noah had appeared, striding casually towards the swimming pool. She’d let her feet touch the bottom of the pool and had tried to smooth her expression out.

  Wow.

  Noah in swim shorts.

  Some people looked vulnerable when almost naked. Not Noah. He’d somehow looked even taller than normal, his upper body lean but sinewy. He was pure muscle. Eden had watched him with pleasure as he’d moved, so languid and graceful. She’d followed the ripples of muscle on his abdomen to the sexy cut of his hips and her mouth had gone instantly dry. She’d been so glad she didn’t blush outwardly, ‘cause on the inside her brain had fried.

  Not having seemed to notice her ogling, Noah had slipped into the pool with ease and challenged her to a race. They’d done that (Noah had won) and then continued doing lengths. After a while, Eden had stopped to relax and float by the edge of the pool and Noah had swum over to join her. For a minute or two they had bobbed together and then Noah had finally cleared his throat. Eden had quirked an eyebrow at the noise, suddenly nervous about what he was going to say since he was so clearly nervous about saying it.

  “Does this… does this mean…”

  “Does this mean what?” Eden had asked warily.

  He’d shrugged. “I don’t know. Does this mean I’m forgiven? That you forgive me?”

  “Oh,” she had replied softly, suddenly unable to meet his eyes. She had forgiven him right? She understood now, right? She’d thought about waking up in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat, Tobe peering down at her in concern. She’d been having nightmares about Stellan’s death these past few nights. Replaying it over and over.

  But that wasn’t Noah’s fault. Not really. It was Romany’s though. Eden just had to keep separating Noah from Romany and they’d be fine. It was just… taking some time.

  Eden had sighed and finally looked him in the eye. “I’m getting there.”

  He’d nodded, his expression so careful Eden hadn’t been able to tell if he was pleased or dis pleased. “So, not to shoot myself in the foot here but why did you decide to try?”

  “Because… I know how the whole Ankh thing works now. I know that that feeling of duty and responsibility to your job is compelling.” She h
ad snorted. “I also know how hard it is to say no to Cyrus, and how deep the connection to him is. I guess I’m just realising what a difficult position you were in. And I’m getting there.”

  A silence had fallen between them and for once it hadn’t been their usual easy kind.

  Irritated by it, Eden had sought to dispel it. “So… swimming, huh?”

  “Yeah. It’s a great way to stay in shape and it’s relaxing too.”

  “Yeah, I guess.” Not when the boy you’re swimming with looks like yo u, she’d thought. “I used to swim in our pool a lot.”

  At the mention of her family the horrible silence had fallen again.

  “You wanna grab something to eat?” Noah had asked suddenly, seeming as desperate to get away from the silence.

  At her enthusiastic yes they had gotten out of the pool and changed, heading off to find somewhere to stuff their mouths so there was a legitimate reason for the taciturnity. They had found a quiet little pub that served big platefuls of comfort food. Noah had tried to talk her into having the national meal – haggis, ‘neeps and tatties – but Tobe had already told her what Haggis was ( gag! ), and she didn’t like turnips, so all she’d be left with was a plate of mash. Eden had opted for a burger and fries instead and took notice that Noah had followed suit, avoiding the haggis too.

  Despite the silence that had befallen them at the swim centre, Eden had desperately pushed past it.

  Relaxing, she had asked Noah about his life. As the meal had worn on she’d found herself moving closer to him until they were huddled together in the corner of the pub as Noah told her about life during the fifties and sixties, how the 70s had been such a great era for music and film, the cities he’d been to – Paris, London, Budapest, Sydney… - about all the amazing things she had yet to see and learn.

  “What about my mom?” Eden had finally asked, now that they were so comfortable again.

  Noah had smiled at her, his expression warm and caring. “Merrit was amazing. I met her a few times when I was younger because Dad and Cyrus have always been such good friends, but in the early eighties my parents made a couple of bad investments and we lost everything. We moved in with Cyrus and Merrit so my dad could get back on his feet and after your mom… well Mom didn’t want to leave Cyrus all alone in that big house… and we haven’t left since. I could have gotten my own place, I guess, but I like being around them all.”

  “So you lived with my mom for a while?”

  He had nodded. “She was amazing, Eden. You could talk to Merrit about anything and she always had your back. Kicked my ass a few times for…” Noah had suddenly trailed off, seeming embarrassed.

  Eden had been able to guess why. “For being a player.”

  He’d thrown her a sheepish look that had been so adorable she’d foolishly wanted to curl into him.

  “Yeah. Merrit was a good person and a great warrior. But she also didn’t beat around the bush. She just said it how it was which was kind of a shock for my mom sometimes. They had a few heated discussions over what was proper language for a lady.”

  That had made Eden laugh.

  Noah had stopped her with a penetrating look. “She was beautiful too. You look like her a lot. I can’t imagine what it means to Cyrus to have you in his life.”

  Having felt her throat begin to close with grief, Eden had glanced away quickly, willing her tears to recede.

  “Eden.” Noah had placed a warm hand over hers and she’d felt his rough touch like a shiver of pleasure down her spine. “I am so sorry for not telling you who I was. For blindly following orders. I am so sorry I did that to you.”

  After a tense moment Eden had glanced up at him. She’d given him a watery smile and had whispered, “I forgive you.”

  “Eden,” Cyrus snapped bringing her back to the present. “I have a sword pointed at you. Will you please focus.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  The first Cut is the Deepest

  It didn’t matter how distracted a person was, when Cyrus used that tone of voice you snapped to attention. Eden shook off the weekend and began listening as Cyrus and Noah demonstrated fighting with the Kopis. It was a frantic, close quarter fight and for a moment Eden was lost in the grace of their movements. Cyrus instructed as they fought, swinging the Kopis in a semi-loop around his head so that it came down towards Noah with the full force of his upper body strength. Noah countered the move, and soon began a hissing of metal on metal as they fought one another off in a flash of figure of eight movements. After each demonstration, Eden took a turn, starting off tentative until she felt comfortable in her own skin with the sword. Cyrus said many of the Neith began their sword training with wooden swords but he didn’t believe that was necessary for her. It put the pressure on but Eden was determined, and like all things that involved fighting and self-defence, she picked it up like she had been doing it for years. Soon, they moved from the weightier Kopis to the Lakonian and Persian short swords, from those to the Katana (Samurai), from the Katana to the Broadsword, from the Broadsword to the Longsword.

  Despite the whole powerful, immortal thing, four hours in and Eden’s shoulder was on fire. With a grunt she dropped the hefty Longsword that had been clasped in her sweaty palms. Great, she winced. Now her other shoulder was killing her because of that damn thing. She looked at it in disgust.

  “You might want to be careful with that, it wasn’t cheap,” Noah said as he picked it up. He threw Cyrus a look as he placed his sword and hers back up on the wall mounts. “I think someone needs a break.”

  She curled her lip at him, noticing he had barely broken a sweat. “I’m fine.”

  “You are using muscles you have never used before,” Cyrus assured her. “And we have been going strong for a few hours.”

  “Did I miss anything?” Val sauntered into the room, shutting the door quietly behind her. She had been on patrol that morning.

  “Any news?” Cyrus asked quietly.

  She shook her head and turned to Eden with a smirk. “You look a little worn out.”

  Jeez, it wasn’t like she was panting on the floor dying or anything, Eden rolled her eyes. “I’m fine.

  I just hate the damn Longsword.”

  “Well, you don’t have to fight with the Longsword. I don’t know any who do; it’s just useful to know that you can if you ever have to.”

  “Yeah, real useful.” Eden grimaced, rolling her left shoulder.

  Val grinned at her and strolled over to the weapons. Reaching up, she pulled down one of the Persian short swords; it was more like a long dagger with a sharp curved tip than an actual sword.

  “The Acinaces.” Val grinned, slicing it through the air with expertise. “My favourite.”

  “Darius’ also.” Cyrus nodded, studying her movements. “He taught you well, Valeria.”

  The Ankh shared a quick knowing look with Eden and Eden felt that pang in her chest again for her mentor. She cleared her throat, “Uh, well I have to go with the Katana.”

  Noah smiled cheekily at Cyrus. “I think you owe me twenty bucks, Princeps.”

  Eden watched, brow furrowed as Cyrus wearily handed over the cash. “Did I miss something?”

  “Noah bet you would like the Samurai sword best.”

  “Oh and how did Noah know that?” Eden made a face, totally fed up of being so transparent to this guy.

  He shrugged. “The Katana has a nice weight and balance, not to mention it’s got a lethal cut.

  Female warriors tend to like the Katana best.”

  “Not all,” Val murmured, striking the air with the Acinaces before pulling it back and launching it with perfect aim into one of the training dummies that lined the room. Eden gazed at Val’s handiwork, afraid to look at Noah while her mind wandered into a dark, unforgiving place…

  …A warrior with a swishing blonde ponytail, a girl perhaps a year older than she, took advantage of Stellan’s distraction.

  “Eden!” He yelled, turning away from the warrior, to fight his way
through the miniature war.

  “Eden, no!” Noah tried to pull her back.

  “Stellan!” She reached out for him, her eyes widening as the sword came towards the back of his head. “Stellan, noooo!” She screamed.

  But it was too late.

  The sword cut through him, a sweep of his blood swiping through the air along with the top half of his head…

  …Romany carried a Katana.

  Eden’s heart pounded as she imagined finding her, the two of them facing off with their Katanas, Eden’s slicing through the skin and muscle of her brother’s murderer. She felt sick and shaky at the thought.

  “Eden?”

  She blinked at the touch of Cyrus’ hand on her shoulder. He gazed down at her in concern. “What is wrong?”

  “Memories,” she whispered, unable to lie.

  He nodded. “I understand.”

  Did he?

  “Why don’t we let Eden have a shot at decapitating this guy?” Val said from over Cyrus’

  shoulder. Bemused, they turned to see her wheeling a dummy over. The dummies were creepy. They were just this weird fleshy material, shaped like a head and torso, with no face. “This,” Val smacked her hand across it, “is Guido.”

  Eden laughed. “Guido?”

  “Yes. Guido the soul sucking worm is here to die today at your hands. Guido is made from special materials that simulate the skin, muscle and bone tissue that you’ll have to cut through.”

  “Charming.”

  Val winked at her. “A warrior’s life, sweetheart.”

  “OK,” Eden sighed, holding out her hand to Noah. “Give me the Katana.”

  But cutting off Guido the soul sucking dummy’s head wasn’t as easy as Eden had thought. Her first try she didn’t put enough force into it and her blade just made a cut. The second time, it got stuck a quarter of the way in and the vibration of the impact of her sword made her feel vaguely queasy even though she was practicing on a dummy. The queasiness shot her nerves to hell so when she finally swung and took the head clean off, she felt less than triumphant.