Eden's Creatures (3 page)

“Er… nothing.”

“Do you like boobs?”

“Yeah, a lot. That’s why you need to put them away.”

“Put them away? How ridiculous,
Rupa!
Only joined females cover their appen…boobs. How else am I to attract a mate if I cover myself?”

He just shook his head, unsure how to respond.

After a lengthy stare, she exhaled noisily and turned to rummage through one of the baskets. When she spun back around with her hands on her hips, an animal skin had been tied in place over her small breasts. “Satisfied?”

Yeah, probably not my smartest move.

He nodded, his mind whirling as he tried to think of a way to distract her so he could escape somehow. He wondered how high they were at the moment and whether there was a chance of his getting down without any broken bones.

“What is your name?” she asked him.

“Cal.”

“Cal?” She said his name with a hint of accent, making the simple pronunciation sound exotic.

“Yes.”

“My name is Perstassia, but mostly I am called Stassi.”

Cal studied the lovely creature in front of him. She was petite and thin with long, silver hair that hung straight down her back. Iridescent amber eyes marked her as something foreign yet intriguing. She wore a loin cloth around her waist and fur-lined boots. Her wings were dark and sinewy, not at all like the white feathers of the men.

This can’t be happening. She can’t be real.

He asked the burning question on his mind.
“What… what are you, Stassi?”

“The only thing keeping you humans alive.”

I’m in the hands of a mad woman. Just keep her calm and talking.

He bowed his head. “Well, thank you for that. We do want to stay alive. Tell me, Stassi. Do other people know of your existence?”

“Do you mean the sons and daughters of Adam?” At his look of confusion, she asked, “Humans?”

Broken bones, here I come.

“Yes, humans.”

“No, you are the first son of Adam that I have seen up close.” She reached out to run her hands over his face and he flinched. “You have seen battle.”

His face reddened under her touch and he pulled away. “It’s nothing.”

“Battle excites me,
Rupa
.” She turned and rubbed her backside against him. “I choose you. I wish to mate with you now.”

He pitched backwards into the wall of the nest. “Whoa, what a minute. Mate?”

“Yes, mate,” she purred, backing into him once again.

He gripped her swirling hips to keep them in place. “Wait! I… I don’t even know who you are.” Hell, he didn’t know
what
she was.

She stopped abruptly and turned, a question on her face. “Tell me,
Rupa
. Have you mated before?”

“What? Yes. Of course,” he scoffed. Twice. Under the school bleachers. With a girl two years older who already had a kid at home. Best six minutes of his life.

Her eyes blazed with heat. “Good.”

“Why?”

“Unless I can convince my people that you are to be my mate, they will kill you.”

F
or the first time, Cal noticed that Stassi’s two canine teeth extended downward into sharp fangs. It did nothing to distract from her beauty, yet he couldn’t
mate
with anyone on demand. Particularly a girl that claimed she wasn’t even human. Cal had his doubts. The costume was elaborate, he would give her that. And the flying thing was probably just a well-hidden pulley system that lifted her into the air. It had to be something explicable, right? Otherwise he would be forced to acknowledge that the strange girl in front of him was real.

“Your people?”

“The Faedin.”

“So, let me get this straight,” he said. “Unless I mate with you, your people, the Faedin, will kill me?”

“They will not wish to harm you, but will have no other choice.”

“Why?”

“Gai’tan covets you.”

“Gai’tan?”

“The serpent. He has searched for a human since the dawn of time. It is the only way he can escape.”

“A serpent is after me?”

She sighed heavily as though he were a dimwit. “Yes, and now that you are here within our realm, he will stop at nothing to get to you. In order to prevent that from happening, you will be sacrificed to protect all others.”

“Unless…?”

“You mate with me. Is that really so objectionable to you?”

Cal speared a hand through his hair. “It’s not that simple.”

In a blur of movement, Stassi leapt at him and took him to the ground with a spine-tingling growl. “Are you rejecting me, son of Adam?”

“No!” he bellowed into the snarling face hovering inches from his. “I… I don’t even know you.”

“I do not understand,” she said, digging her talons into his chest. “Any Faedin male would gladly give up their nest for mine.”

“Of course they would,” he assured her through a hiss of pain. “You’re very beautiful.”

“But?”

“But I’m not Faedin and I have to get to know someone first.” He shrugged. “I guess it’s a human thing.”

She let go of him and stood. “If you want to live, we must.”

“Can’t you just tell your people that we… er… did it so they won’t kill me?” he suggested hopefully.

“They will know.”

“How?”

“I will get my white wings after it happens,” she told him, her expression turning wistful. “It is all I ever wanted. To get my wings and become one of the warriors.”

A sudden desire to give her what she wanted flooded through his body. He sat up with a sad smile. “I do want to help you. Really, I do.”

“Now?”

He shook his head. “Not yet.”

“What will change your mind?”

After a long thoughtful moment, he said, “Tell me more about the Faedin, Stassi. Show me your world.”

A feral grin lit up her face and she snapped out her wings. A forceful leap took them both up and out of the nest and into the blue sky above the treetops.

Cal winced in terror as Stassi’s erratic movements almost emptied the contents of his stomach. Taking several calming breaths, he turned his attention to the space around Stassi, searching for wires or a cable, but found no evidence of anything keeping them in the air except her wings.

“Cal, look!” Stassi exclaimed, pointing.

Down below, the forest opened up to a village full of people going about their day. Men, women and children. All winged. Most with white feathers that lay furled along their backs, but the younger Faedin had the smaller bat wings like Stassi.

My God, they are real. This is no hoax.

Many of the villagers looked up at them with open curiosity. One — the blond man from earlier — with open hostility. Several of the children squealed in delight, running along beneath them to give chase, but they soon gave up when Stassi continued out of range. She seemed intent on taking him as far from the village as possible.

Just when the flight started to smooth out, Stassi fell into a steep descent, and he groaned as his stomach heaved once again. At about ten feet from the ground, she let go of his coat and he crashed down into the dirt.

“A little closer would be appreciated next time,” he grunted as he stood.

Stassi’s wings fluttered with a soft humming sound as she landed — quite gently, he noted — next to him.

“Forgive me, Cal, I forgot how frail you are.”

“Be careful there. I
am
a man, you know.”

A perfectly arched eyebrow rose above her eye as she ran her gaze over his body. “Barely.”

He fought an urge to check to see if all of his parts were still in place. “Gee, thanks.”

“Come on. Let me show you my world.”

Cal picked up his trampled pride, dusted it off and reluctantly followed.

Stassi moved quickly, her wings giving her speed even on the ground, making it look as though she was floating. She led them onto a darkened path that cut through a grove of gigantic trees of a species Cal had never seen before. He looked up in awe at rows and rows of bark and limbs that seemed to have no ending. It made him feel very small. Like he had suddenly stepped into the pages of a giant’s fairytale.

“Hurry, Cal!”

He glanced ahead just in time to see Stassi disappear into a thicker part of the woods. He ran to catch up and watched her dart inside the opening of a large cave.

“Hold up!” he shouted and went in after her.

Humid air drifted pleasant pinpricks of mist over his face, and he could hear the trickling of water echoing hollowly throughout the cavern. He followed the only source of light up ahead and came out of the tunnel into an open chamber that held a pool of water that, like the lake, glowed a luminescent green. Soft tendrils of vapor floated lazily over the surface, almost hiding the stone steps that led down into its depths.

Stassi sat regally on the shale rock at the edge and dragged her hand through the still water, causing it to ripple out.

“It’s beautiful,” he breathed.

“Yes. It is but one of many of our hidden grottos.”

Cal shed his winter coat and sat next to her. “How long have the Faedin been here?”

“According to our lore, we were sent here by the Maker after the great flood to guard the Tree That Will Not Die.”

“The Tree That Will Not Die?”

She nodded. “The serpent is trapped beneath that tree.”

Cal shook his head as every answer only created more questions. “And you said this serpent covets me?”

“Not you specifically. Any human.”

“Why?”

“A human sacrifice would allow him to break his bonds and be reborn into man’s image.”

“And if this serpent is reborn? What will he do?”

“He will destroy the world.”

The look on Cal’s face told Stassi just how difficult it was for him to believe her story. Yet she would do whatever it took to keep this green-eyed human for her own. Somehow, she had to find a way to convince him to commit himself to her.

“No offense, but do you know how crazy this all sounds?” he asked and ran a hand back through his dark hair, something he did frequently when frustrated.

She shrugged. “It is the truth.”

He blew out a long breath. “It’s hard for me to believe that all of this — the Faedin — have been here all along and no one knows.”

“From what we understand, a veil separates our worlds and humans cannot find us.”

“I found you.”

“Yes, but I do not know how. It has never happened before. Maybe our leader, Julius, will have the answer.”

“So if the serpent is trapped, why do you need to guard him?”

“He is very sly, Cal. He has created an army to help him.”

“An army?”

“We call them the Fallen. They were once Faedin warriors but are now cursed into doing the serpent’s bidding.” She shuddered and wrapped her arms across her chest. “It is a fate worse than death.”

“His bidding? What do they do?”

“They endlessly search the boundaries of the veil, searching for a way out. Searching for a human.”

This time Cal shivered, most likely from wondering just how much danger he really was in.

“What do you do with these Fallen?” he asked.

“The warriors hunt and kill them.”

“They can’t be saved?”

“No.” Stassi turned toward him and took his hands in hers. “I must know. Will you join us, Cal? Will you be my mate and become a Faedin warrior?”

He licked his lips nervously. “Yes. Of course I will.”

The lie fell easily off his tongue, but she recognized it for what it was and accepted it. After the
Shahda
, it would no longer matter. She stood. “Let us go talk to Julius.”

“Whoa!” he said, scrambling to his feet. “Who is Julius?”

“The chieftain of the Faedin people.”

“Are you sure he’s not going to kill me? I mean, after what you just told me, a human can’t be a welcome sight around here.”

“I will protect you.”

His face fell, as it had earlier, and it pleased her that he felt pride. He would make a good warrior.

“Wait!” he said, grabbing her arm. “About this whole mating thing…”

“Yes?”

“I can’t do it yet.”

His declaration hurt her. Was she not to his liking? Did he not find her a worthy mate? “To make a good warrior, I need my wings, Cal. You must give them to me.”