Leaving Eden

by Kelly A Walker et al.

  I WAS SO HOT.

  So much for darkness lowering the temperature, I thought as I tried, once again, to get comfortable. It wasn’t easy, what with sleeping in my robe and tunic. Even though the fire had gone out an hour or so ago, the moon’s light was still enough to see by, and I was far too modest to sleep in the nude as I’d like.

  Obviously, that wasn’t a problem for the men who, though donning loose pants, were shirtless. I could see the sheen of sweat on Jonah and Leon who laid head-to-head in our circle. Adon slept a bit further behind me, putting me in between the men in case…Gana knew what.

  Heat wasn’t the only thing keeping me up. I had so many questions about Braun, Adon’s exiled brother. What did he have to do with the Tikil Lie being tainted? What kind of person would seek revenge, not just on one man, but an entire people?

  Tossing on my ridiculously thin bedroll, I couldn’t help wishing that I was back home in the Order. A cool bath. A plate of La’Na Shorren’s honeycakes. Gana, a book! I should be heading home. The culprit of the sickness had been found. The sick in Forus village had been healed. It was time to go.

  Why was I still here?

  “Lana, be still.” Adon’s guttural voice almost made me jump out of my skin.

  “I’m not a child,” I hissed back. “Go back to sleep.” The nerve of that man, dictating everything.

  He sighed. “Why can’t you sleep?”

  “I’m hot,” I whispered back. Before I knew it, I was being pulled by my robe and dragged to Adon’s side. With a squeak, I slapped his hand away, only to have them held in one of his hands high above my head. My back dug painfully into the ground.

  “No wonder you’re hot, you stubborn woman,” Adon growled. “You have too much clothing on.” He released my hands but only long enough to pull my robe and tunic off, leaving me in nothing but skin.

  Horrified, I raised my knee and dug my heel into the dirt, trying to buck him off me. “Release me this instant!”

  “Be still. If you promise not to scratch me like a hellcat, I’ll let you go back to your bedroll.”

  I could see the whites of his eyes and teeth, the sheen of sweat on his brow and cheeks. He looked serious, not at all interested in that fact that he was holding a naked woman. I relaxed slightly. “Fine. I promise.”

  “Trust me, you’ll thank me in the morning.” Releasing my hands slowly, he watched me warily as I scooted back in a half-roll, half-backward crawl to my bedroll, taking my clothes with me. When he shut his eyes, I let out a deep breath.

  I used the tunic for a bit of covering, enough to be tolerable in this heat. My head was turned away from Adon, so now I was facing the two other Wildland men. Jonah was sound asleep, his right hand curled under his cheek. Leon, however, winked at me.

  I sighed and sent a prayer to Gana for sleep.

  In what felt like minutes, I was awake. Shadows above me told me the men were up and walking around in the morning light. I smelled food and wondered how long I’d overslept. Sitting up, I realized I was chilly, and understood immediately why. Quickly, I grabbed my tunic and pressed it to my breasts. Nearby, Leon chuckled, and when I looked up, Jonah was red in the face.

  “Morning.” My voice came out higher than I’d like, but I did just wake up. Oh, who was I kidding? I was embarrassed.

  Jonah cleared his throat. “Morning, Lana Sarian.” He then turned around, busying himself with packing up.

  After creatively dressing myself without standing, I went behind a tree and relieved myself, then located my robe. I was almost done with the stew Jonah had handed me when Leon sat down beside me.

  “Yes?” I scraped the bottom of my bowl with my wooden spoon and waited.

  “Do Sarians mate?”

  Choking, I sputtered for some water, making crazy hand motions at my throat. Adon appeared and tossed me the canteen. I drank my fill, taking my time to gather my thoughts.

  Did he really just ask me that?

  Why was he such a horse’s ass? Or maybe he’s just that dense. Well, this was the man who, when I first met him, was naked as the day Gana made him. Perhaps propriety was unheard of here. But if that was the case, Jonah wouldn’t have blushed this morning when he saw me naked.

  I cleared my now raw throat. “We do. Mate, I mean. Well, I don’t…uh…Sarians can, though.” Great. Now he’ll ask me—

  “What do you mean, you don’t?”

  Risking a look, I met Leon’s questioning gaze and saw I had completely captured his attention. He looked genuinely baffled. I sighed, trying to figure out the best way to explain.

  “Well, Sarians, the female ones—and the males, for that matter—just aren’t…inclined to?” I handed my bowl and spoon over to Jonah who had walked over to us. Probably wanting to hear the answer to Leon’s question, too.

  “Are you not sexual?” Leon asked, his brows pinched together.

  My cheeks reddened. “Of course we’re sexual, you…” I stopped myself, reining in my temper. “We’re just not as free to… display such things.” I waved my hand at him in some vague gesture, as if he represented all things hedonistic and carnal. In my mind, he pretty much did, but that was neither here nor there.

  “She’s trying to say that she’s modest, you oaf.” Adon dropped a saddle bag onto Leon’s lap. “Not every woman is a hellcat in heat like—”

  Leon’s face fell, then his jaw tensed. He stood abruptly, the saddle bag sliding off him and onto the ground with a thump.

  “Leon, I’m sorr—” Adon quickly added.

  Leon held out his hand and picked up the bag with the other. “Don’t care. Let’s get going.” As he walked off, I looked to Adon and Jonah. Adon looked like he’d eaten a rotten fruit. Jonah had his eyes closed, mumbling something about Dovia under his breath.

  Standing up myself now, I asked, “Um…what just happened?”

  Adon brushed past me. “Nothing. Let’s mount up.”

  I sighed. Here we go with the “Let’s not tell Lyra” game again. I had a feeling the rest of the day would be hot with a chance of “lovely.” I rolled my eyes and grabbed my bag.

  12

  ADON

  “Dovia, take it. I didn’t mean what I said, alright? I just…” I shook my head and loosened the reins in my hand. “I didn’t like your questions.”

  Leon rode beside me, jaw clenched tight, head facing straight ahead. I’d been riding beside him now for about ten minutes. The silence was killing me, and I knew if I wasn’t going to be the first to say something, we’d be riding like that all day.

  Behind us, Jonah and Lana chatted, their mount too far behind for us to hear their conversation.

  At my words, Leon scoffed. “Really, Adon. Just tell her you want what’s under her tunic and be done with it.”

  I growled. “She is a Sarian and our guest. And that’s not the point. I shouldn’t have said what I did or implied—”

  “Yeah, yeah. I get it, alright? Relax.” He shook his head. “Trust me, I’ve had plenty of time to learn the difference between a hellcat in heat and actual female attraction.”

  That made me wince. I was an ass, I knew it. It was a part of who I was: I attacked first and questioned later, after licking my wounds. Damn Mara to the Great Depths. “I apologize, brother. I wasn’t even thinking about that…woman…”

  When I trailed off, Leon let out a tired laugh. “Yeah, I have a hard time labeling Mara too.” He turned to look at me. His green eyes were less intense, and the dark circles that had started appearing under his eyes a few nights ago were getting lighter.

  “I’m glad you’re back, brother. Don’t disappear on us again.” I turned my head back to the road in front of us and saw him nod in my peripheral.

  “So am I, Adon. And I’ll try not to.”

  We were quiet for a few minutes before he asked, “Why didn’t you like my questions to her?”

  I jolted a little in my saddle. “Dovia, not going to let me get away with that, are you?”

  “Nope.” He la
ughed.

  Sighing, I rubbed my jaw and let out a long sigh. “She’s so young, Leon. Beautiful, strong. I’d be a fool not to want her. But she doesn’t belong to us, she’s a stranger in a strange land, and Dovia’s Balls, she’s a Sarian.”

  He shrugged. “So what? What’s that have to do with anything?”

  “Because soon, she’ll be leaving. Dovia willing, we’ll take care of this Tikil Lie situation and be back at the tabernacle by mid-week.”

  “Still don’t see the problem, Adon.”

  I looked at him. “She’s not like our women.”

  “Even better reason, if you ask me.” He looked over his shoulder. “Dovia knows, she needs a good fucking.” He turned back around, the corners of his mouth lifted in mirth.

  I rolled my eyes. “Not going to happen, brother. She’s off limits.”

  After a moment, he shook his head. “You need a woman, Adon. Hell, even Jonah needs one.”

  “And you don’t?”

  His jaw tensed and he turned away, but at last, he sighed and looked at me again. “I’ve had my fill. If another woman comes on to me within a season or two, it’ll be too soon.”

  I made a face. “Well, that I can understand. But not all women are like that demon Mara.”

  Leon didn’t respond, and after a few minutes, I decided it was best to camp for a late lunch. We hadn’t made much headway over the past two hours due to the narrow road and the terrain.

  Jonah served us bread, cheese, and a bit of jerky, and we washed it down with watered down wine. When Leon went off to do his business, Lana waved her hand, beckoning me over to where she sat.

  “I take it you made up?” She pointed a thumb behind her, in the direction Leon had gone.

  My eyes narrowed. “We did, yes.”

  “Good. I don’t know what was going on before I arrived in Forus, but each day he seems to become less…”

  “Animal?” I supplied softly.

  She eyed me tenderly, looking a few years older. “Exactly. It’s evident that the three of you care for each other.” Her gaze cast around to where Jonah was with the horses. “I didn’t expect that.”

  I crouched down beside her, helpless to converse even when my head was screaming at me to stay away. “What, that the Wildlands were basically inhabited by primitive and impulsive sub-humans no better than wolves?” I softened my words with a smile.

  Her cheeks reddened, and I wanted to touch them and pull her mouth to mine. And at the thought, my eyes homed in on her lips—rosy, plump, feminine.

  “Possibly.” She breathed out a shaky sigh, and I gazed into her blue eyes. “I’ve learned a lot since I’ve arrived. You are a good leader, Forus Adon.”

  Taken aback by the sincerity, I bowed my head slightly. I also couldn’t help feeling disappointment. Perhaps I was too old for her, and she saw me too much as a figurehead and not a man. “I appreciate that, Lana Sarian.”

  Lips twitching, she looked away.

  “What? What’s so funny?” Dovia, I wanted to touch her.

  “My name isn’t ‘Lana’ any more than your name is Forus.”

  “What? Then why… oh.” I thought of all the times she’d try to explain her title. No wonder she thought we were foolish pigs. “My apologies…?”

  “Lyra,” she provided on a whisper. Something had changed between us. I sensed her shyness and knew then that she was seeing me as a man, not just a guide for her mission.

  “What’s going on?” Leon was back and looked between us. “Adon, what did you do to Lyra? She’s as red as a berry.”

  I stood up and walked over to my horse, checking my saddle bags. “Time to head out.” Once I mounted, I rode out of the camp, Leon’s laughter echoing behind me.

  Distraction was what I needed, so I focused my thoughts on what we had come here to do—deal with my brother. Unlike Leon, Braun never did learn from his mistakes and ordeals, and had no interest in changing who he was. It was when I was fourteen winters that I learned Braun wasn’t normal. Something in him was damaged and had been for years, but at that time, I was old enough to separate myself from who I was and who he was. I had something to compare him to.

  Our parents had died in a raid when we were small, and Cant and his brother raised us. Perhaps it was our parents’ death that turned Braun rotten, but whatever it was, the guilt of not doing what should have been done months ago—making sure Braun could never hurt another soul, ever again—ate at me now. The weight of what I had to do for my people, for my brother’s soul, was as heavy as it had ever been.

  And the biggest question of all needed an answer: How did one kill their own blood?

  13

  LYRA

  I could feel the heaviness of their thoughts as we rode on toward the setting sun. Sometimes the terrain was too cumbersome to not slow our pace, making conversation possible, but not much was said. Earlier today as I had ridden with Jonah, he had explained more about their people, their land and its history. I, of course, ingested the information like water to a dry plant. But even he was silent now.

  My thoughts went from categorizing all the various Wildland creatures and plant life we passed, to the strange feelings that floated inside me at the thought of these men. Each one brought their own color to my thoughts: red for Adon; blue for Jonah; yellow for Leon. Together, they were colorful ribbons of silk that wrapped around my whole being, taking my attention—and sometimes, my breath—away.

  These men were good. Their bond fascinated me. Having never experienced anything even remotely like the connection they had, I could sit for hours studying the link they shared. But perhaps this was how normal people in societies functioned and it was me who was the anomaly, keeping myself sequestered away inside a stone temple with only books as companions.

  Or maybe it was the fact that I was a woman, young and free, as the Prima La’Na had pointed out. Adon and his men were virile, strong, and Gana, help me, they were definitely male. Their scents, their looks, their voices, did something to me. It was frightening yet exciting.

  I would hold onto these feelings, though, and treasure them for as long as I was in their company. I was a Sarian, not a Forus. There was no hope for anything more than a passing fancy to nurse at night, something to keep memories of close to my heart.

  I knew we were close when the wind started making eerie melodies in between the dense fir trees that surrounded us. It was coming on twilight, and the colors the setting sun cast on everything was magical. As soon as the hair on my nape raised, Jonan slowed to a stop. I sniffed the air and recoiled. Rotten vegetation and some other odor I couldn’t identify wafted in the air.

  “We’re here.” He leaned forward to dismount, then helped me do the same. I didn’t release his hand from mine, though. Something about this place was just too unsettling.

  We were in a clearing that bordered a fast-moving river. Jonah pulled me close to him as we walked to stand near Adon and Leon, who had already dismounted. Standing a few feet in front of the river was a man with the same coloring as Adon. He was wearing some type of leather cloth wrapped around his lean waist. Bright tattoos of snakes and fangs covered his chest and upper arms. His hair was long and pulled into a tail that draped over one shoulder. It was his eyes that made my stomach drop. The dark orbs were both too lively yet void of life. Whatever it was, the contrast made my skin crawl. This man was dangerous.

  With one word, Adon made it all clear. “Braun.”

  “Adon, what a surprise.” With a smile I could only define as evil, Braun raised his arms in welcome. “Leon, Jonah, so good of you to come all the way out here to see me. And who’s this you brought?” He eyed me, his lascivious smile growing bigger as he moved a pace or two forward.

  I turned my head, avoiding his gaze. Jonah squeezed my hand and pulled me to his side, tucking me a little behind him.

  Our horses whinnied, distracting me from Adon and his brother. When I turned around to look, I noticed the horses were prancing in agitation, as if the ground
was sticky. That’s when I noticed the grass. Either the waning sunlight was casting a glow on the dry grass, or the area was covered by some kind of moss-like sod. I looked down at my feet, and sure enough, strange whirls of color and texture, like crushed velvet in a pale green, cushioned the ground.

  As Adon and Braun spoke, I lifted my foot a few times, noticing how spongy the soil was. Each time I lifted my slipper off the ground, the color of the moss changed.

  “Jonah,” I whispered, trailing my eyes from where the horses stood and where Jonah’s feet were.

  Without turning to look at me, he whispered back, “What is it, Lan… Lyra?”

  Even in the midst of this strange situation, I managed a smile. He had overheard me and Adon speaking this morning, then. “Look down at your feet. The soil. It’s not right.” The decaying smell was growing stronger as well.

  I peeked around his shoulder, avoiding Braun’s eye, and noted the grass in front of us. Dead, straw-colored turf, and those same swirl markings but darker. The horrible thing, though, was they seemed to move like ribbons. Or snakes. I gasped.

  The gasp captured Braun’s attention. He looked at me immediately, dropping his arms. “You’ve brought an Ancient.” His smile faltered for a second, his eyes losing a little bit of their insane shine. “By Dovia, a Sarian has finally set foot on the Wildlands. I did it then.”

  “What are you babbling about, Braun?” Leon asked, his arms crossed, his stance wide.

  Something inside me went cold.

  “You see, brother,” Braun drawled, ignoring Leon. Instead, he took his eyes off me and focused on Adon. “You never thought I had it in me to rise up and do something for the good of the land. You only wanted me out of the way, thought you were better than me, better than us all.” He nodded in Leon’s direction, then Jonah’s.

  “What did you do, Braun?” Adon’s growled question echoed in the silence before the river behind Braun started slushing, the waves beating a steady rhythm against the bank.

  “Why, I brought her here, of course.” Braun’s spindly finger pointed in my direction. The water behind him churned, matching my tense stomach.