Eden's Creatures (4 page)

“But I have another family, Stassi. I can’t just leave them without saying goodbye.”

“You may return to them after the ceremony.”

His face lightened. “I just need a little time.”

She leaned in close. “Very well, son of Adam, but do not make me wait long.”

T
o Cal’s relief, Stassi set him down gently this time in the middle of the torch-lit Faedin village. Excited murmurs grew as the bird people gathered, appearing out of the forest at a run or flying down from their nests. Their curious silence gave Cal a few moments to study his surroundings.

The men were all dressed the same — shirtless and barefooted. Most of the women wore exotic sheer garments draped and gathered together at one shoulder. The younger females wore animal-skin wraps around their hips and little else. Cal tried his best not to stare, but his eighteen-year-old eyes seemed to have developed a will of their own.

Several small buildings edged the perimeter of the village, each with its own purpose. The largest was a store of some sort with a variety of fruits and vegetables displayed out in front in wooden carts. A clothes maker next door worked an old-fashioned loom with racks of clothes behind him. Further down, a woodworker sat on a stool with large piles of shavings at his feet. Another building looked to be an infirmary if the Faedin being escorted out with a blood-stained bandage across his temples was any indication.

In the middle of it all stood a domed pavilion with white pillars and wide steps. At the top of the stairs stood a tall man and a woman, both with long gray hair and white wings fully extended.

It was toward this couple that Stassi stalked.

“Perstassia, what is the meaning of this?” the man asked, his deep voice silencing the anxious whispers of the villagers and sending Stassi bowing low to the ground.

“A son of Adam has found us, Julius.”

A snarl erupted from Julius’s throat and he flew down the steps. The mumblings in the crowd grew more ominous as Julius bent into an aggressive crouch before Cal.

“He brings danger!” someone yelled out.

“Kill him!” another suggested.

Cal yelped as a Faedin poked him in the ribs with a long and very sharp spear.

Stassi hissed and leapt to her feet, snapping her small wings out behind her. “He is mine!”

Julius’s eyes narrowed as he spun around to face her. “What are you saying?”

“We will be joined.”

The crowd gasped in surprise.

Julius looked from Stassi to Cal. “He is human!”

“I know,” she said softly, and Cal felt a sudden, bizarre urge to comfort her.

The woman who had been standing in the pavilion glided majestically down the stairs and stood next to Julius. “Do not hasten to judgment, Julius. There must be a reason this son of Adam has found us.”

Cal decided he liked this woman very much.

Julius rubbed his chin in thought. “After all these centuries, is there a breach in the veil, Caliphy? Or something else?”

“I do not believe it is coincidence.”

Julius turned back to Cal. “How did you find us?”

Cal’s heart leapt into his throat, fearing that any wrong word in this moment could very well mean the end of his life. “I… I don’t know. I was just walking and then I was pushed from behind and falling… and here I am.”

A young, muscular Faedin stepped forward with murder in his eyes. The same blond-haired man who had been eyeing Cal since he had arrived.

“Do I not have a say in this, Julius? Stassi has been promised to me!”

Stassi growled at him. “I am promised to no one, Gilad!”

“Silence!” Julius roared. “I will speak to my daughter alone.”

Daughter?

Julius propelled Stassi up the steps of the pavilion with a firm hand on her elbow. He led her to a stone bench just inside and plopped her down while he stood above her with arms crossed.

“Gilad makes a good point. Why not him, Perstassia? He is strong and brave and will make a good mate. Why do you want this human?”

Stassi swallowed uncomfortably. How could she answer that? How could she tell her sire about all the years she had been watching Cal? How she felt she knew his heart in a way that frightened her? How could she explain that she wanted more than a mate? That she wanted what she observed the young people outside the veil sharing. Laughter. Friendship. Affection. The Faedin offered her none of these.

Of course, she could never adequately explain any of it. It wasn’t the Faedin way and he would never understand.

“I do not want Gilad,” she said simply.

“This should have nothing to do with your
wants
, Perstassia. Your choices must take into account what is best for your people. You will rule them one day,” he reminded her.

She stood to face him. “Yes, I do know that, but I agree with Caliphy. Cal has found us for a reason. Would you cast aspersions on the fates and kill this human they have delivered into our hands? Without knowing his purpose?”

Julius’s shoulders tightened and he took a deep breath. “You really wish to take this son of Adam as a mate?”

She nodded. “I do.”

“What about the danger? If a Fallen recognizes him as human, it could bring untold disaster down on our heads.”

“There is a way to remove the threat.”

“How?”

“Permit him go through the
Shahda
. With me.”

“You wish to become a Faedin warrior?” he asked in shock.

“Yes,” she hissed. “More than anything.”

“You never said so to me.”

“I knew you would disapprove.”

“So now you ask? With a human at your side? I do not even know if such a thing is possible, Stassi. It might even kill him.”

Unexpected tears welled in her eyes. “We must try! We are saviors, Sire, not killers.”

Julius rubbed a hand down his face, clearly torn. “Are you sure he will be an acceptable mate, Perstassia? That he will accept all of our ways?”

No.
“Yes.”

Lips pursed in thought, Julius began to pace as he considered. After several long moments, he finally came to a stop and nodded. “Very well, Perstassia. We will perform the
Shahda
, but even if your human survives, he will still have to prove himself capable at the trials.”

In an uncharacteristic show of emotion, Stassi threw herself into her sire’s arms and hugged him around his waist. “Thank you.”

She heard his slight sigh as he awkwardly patted her back. “Do not thank me yet, daughter. Now, we must tell the others.”

Cal felt immense relief when he saw Stassi returning with Julius. A few of the more aggressive Faedin had continued to poke and prod at him while she had been gone, slicing his skin open in places. And the vicious looks Gilad was directing his way should have killed him already.

Stassi came to stand next to him.

“Am I going to die?” he asked out of the side of his mouth.

“Not tonight.”

Considering the bizarre situation he had stumbled into, he supposed he should feel grateful for even that little bit. He just hoped Stassi kept her word that he could leave after this mysterious ceremony.

He was about to ask for more details when Julius walked up the stairs of the pavilion and raised his hands. The chieftain waited for all to quiet before he spoke.

“Brothers and sisters of the Faedin. For reasons as of yet unknown, we find ourselves harboring a human in our midst.”

Cal shrank back from the bestial hooting sounds, not quite sure if they were meant to convey pleasure or blood thirst.

“Why it has happened now, after so many years, is something I do not know, but I do feel confident that all will be revealed in time. As you may have heard, my daughter, Perstassia, has requested to join with this human.”

Gilad flew forward with a snarl on his face, knocking several villagers to the ground. “And you, Julius? What have you decided?”

Julius met the antagonistic Faedin’s eyes. “I have determined that she is old enough to choose her own mate. She—”

Gilad howled with rage and rushed toward Julius. For a moment, Cal thought he would attack the chieftain, but the younger Faedin veered off before he reached the steps and shot into the sky, his enormous wings taking him up and over the treetops in a few powerful strokes.

Julius watched Gilad go with a shake of his head. He then turned his gaze to Cal. “Son of Adam, come closer.”

Stassi nudged him forward, and he grudgingly walked past the menacing birds to stand before Julius.

“Have you agreed to this, son of Adam? You will be a mate to my daughter and become a Faedin warrior?”

What other choice do I have if I want to live out the night, Chieftain?
“Yes.”

Julius clapped his hands. “Very well. Faedin! Prepare for a
Shahda!
”

When Cal returned to Stassi’s side, she was making contented mewing sounds, her fangs mauling her lower lip in anticipation.

“What’s going on?” he asked her, an instinctual spike of fear stabbing him in the heart.

“It is done. You are now safe.”

“Thank you?”

Her amber eyes glowed with excitement. “We are to be raised as warriors together, Cal.”

“Raised? What does that mean exactly? What do I have to do?”

“We must partake of the flesh. After you commit yourself to the Faedin, I will take you back to the clearing to return to your family as you requested.”

His entire body trembled with relief.
Eat meat? I can do that if it gets me out of here.

Several Faedin passed by them, lugging armloads of firewood up into the pavilion. Others were donning elaborate masks that covered the upper portion of their faces. One particularly large fellow carried a sizeable drum on his shoulder.

“What are they doing?”

“Preparing for the ceremony.”

Cal rubbed a hand over his jaw.
Please let this be over quickly.
He waited with Stassi in the growing darkness, his anxiety increasing with every passing minute.

He felt a small tug on his hand and looked down at a very young girl with silver hair similar to Stassi’s. Her eyes were the most remarkable pale blue.

“What is your name?” she asked him shyly.