The Garden of Eden (3 page)

Chapter Four

Eden

The dining hall was not what I was expecting. I expected it to be loud and full of people, like a school cafeteria. But it was just the opposite. Sure, it was communal, but in a formal dinner party way. I stopped short. Asher noticed I wasn’t behind him and looked back to find me. I must have had the oddest expression on my face because he smirked and came back to join me.

“What?”

“It’s so…” I couldn’t find the right word to describe the scene in front of me. Thankfully, Asher did.

“Formal?”

“Yeah. I expected it to be more…”

Again, he finished my sentence for me. “More like a school cafeteria?”

“Yes. Exactly.” I grinned at him, and he grinned back. I expected him to hold out his hand for me again, but he must’ve gotten the hint because his hand stayed firmly by his side.

“Come on. Come meet everyone.”

As we walked around the perimeter of the room, around one large communal table, the majority of eyes made their way to me. Why were they staring? Oh God, I hope they didn’t know. Thankfully, when we reached the ‘young person’s table’ as Asher told me he called it, there was staring, but of a less accusing kind.

“Who’s your girlfriend, Asher?” teased a chubby boy, who must have been about ten years old.

“She’s not my girlfriend, Markus. This is Eden. She’s new here.”

“The Nephilim girl?” piped in a girl about my age, with platinum blonde hair and pink tips.

Asher shot her a warning glare. “Jaz.”

“What? That’s what she is, is she not?”

Before Asher could speak for me again, I hated people speaking up for me. It was my top pet peeve. I stepped in. “It’s okay. Yes, I’m Nephilim, and I’m not offended by it.”

“That’s
so
cool. I’m Jazmine. Jaz for short. I
hate
being called Jazmine.”

“Nice to meet you.” I smiled at the welcoming, but intimidating girl, and sat down at the end of the table next to Asher.

“Jaz believes she has Nephilim powers,” blurted Markus once everyone had sat down and began eating.

“Shut up, Markus!” Jaz gave the young boy a fierce glare.

I had the impression these two were related somehow. And Jaz’s next words confirmed by suspicions.

“Sorry about my pain in the arse brother.”

“It’s okay.” I sucked at small talk. I looked down at my dinner. Was this all they were feeding us? It was the blandest soup I had ever tasted. I wiped my mouth on my napkin and pushed my bowl away from me. Asher leaned in close to me and my stomach flipped. Did he have to get so close?

“Sorry about the food. This is kind of a palate cleanser. The entrée is coming.”

I looked at him, lifting an eyebrow. “You mean this isn’t dinner?”

He tried to choke back laughter. Was he laughing at me?

“No.”

“Why do we need a palette cleanser? My palette is already clean.”

More laughing ensued. My cheeks flamed.

“Sorry. It’s just a fancy thing. You’ll get used to it.”

I muttered to myself. “I hope so.”

After the next two courses, I was beginning to feel really full. How do people eat three course meals? Was their trait to have four stomachs like a cow? Just as I was beginning to feel bored and about to excuse myself, the young woman seated opposite me asked me a question.

“So, Eden, do you have any brothers or sisters?”

The question caught me off guard and came unexpectedly. But I answered honestly. “No. I’m an only child.” Was it really any of their business? And why did she want to know?

“Do
you
have any brothers or sisters?” I asked back.

“Yes.” She replied, looking to her left. She was looking at Asher. And then I noticed the resemblance, and it all made sense.

“Asher is your brother?”

“Yes.”

“I didn’t notice it before. But I do now.” I smiled at the both of them. The young nun smiled sadly back at me. What was her name again? Gosh, I was bad with names! She had introduced herself to me earlier, and now I can’t remember. Did it start with a C or an S?

“I’m really sorry, excuse me, but I just can’t remember your name.”

“It’s okay,” she laughed musically. “It’s Cecelia.”

“Cecelia.” I said with a smile. “I think I can remember that.”

When dessert came, sticky date pudding, I noticed from the corner of my eye that Asher was staring at me. When I looked at him, and he caught me, he looked away and back at his dessert. I pulled my hair around my face to hide the blush that was forming on my cheeks. It was then I realised that this thing I had with him, if it were even a
thing
, was going to kill me. Literally.

When dinner was over and we left the dining room, I felt a tug on my jumper. I turned to find Jaz behind me.

“Hey, wait up.”

“Hey.”

“So, what is it with you and Asher?”

“Oh, nothing.”

“Didn’t look like nothing to me. You guys were doing some serious flirting.”

“Were we? I hadn’t noticed.”

“You must be either really dumb or naïve, because, girl, he was flirting.” Ouch. Did she just insult me?

“Really?”

“Yes, really. If you don’t pay attention, Nephilim, someone could steal him right out from under you.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder and sauntered off down the hallway, leaving me gaping after her.

As I climbed the stairs to the dorms, I knew one thing for certain: I had competition. I had to do something about it. But what? I couldn’t kiss him. I would kill him. I had no idea what to do. I went to my room and waited until lights out, which was in an hour. I filled the space with reading, but I couldn’t concentrate. All I could about think about was
him
. Asher. I wondered if he were thinking of me at this exact same moment. I wondered if our fates were intertwined. I fell asleep with these thoughts.

Water lapped at my feet. But it didn’t wet me. I looked down and saw I was standing at the end of a dock. The dock jutted out from a bank at the edge of a vast but gloomy lake. It was night, and deadly silent. Mist rose from the water down below, giving the whole scene a foreboding feel, as it was waiting for danger to creep in. And then it did. I noticed a light in the distance, slowly moving closer to me. I squinted, trying to make it out. Was it a lighthouse in the distance, or simply a firefly hovering in the mist? Then the firefly turned into a lantern. I could see it clearly now. It was attached to a stick and the stick was attached to a boat. I couldn’t hear the water swishing around the boat, which was odd, but I could make out the eerie shape of it in the darkness. As the boat approached me, I could hear a voice. My heart jumped in my chest. It was saying my name!

“Eden. It is time.”

Time? Time for what? I wanted to ask the voice. But I couldn’t talk.

The boat grew close. Yet not close enough for me to see the person in it. They were still shrouded in darkness.

“Eden.”

“What do you want from me?” I tried to scream but my voice couldn’t escape.

“It is time.”

And that was when I heard the ticking.

Chapter Five

Asher

Dinner seemed to drag. But I was right about Eden feeling more at home once she met everyone. Everyone except Jaz. I sat next to Eden as she talked to Jazmine and Markus. And then my sister, as friendly as ever, leant over and began talking to her. For which I was glad. I breathed a sigh of relief and watched her. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. When the first dish was served, the palette cleanser, which I never touched, Eden sipped away oblivious to the fact it was only a palette cleanser. She scrunched up her nose at the grossness of it. It was the cutest thing I had ever seen. And then she sensed me. I quickly looked away, but she had caught me. Our eyes met briefly, and we seemed had another moment like in the garden. It was like our minds and souls were circling each other. I pushed away the urge to groan or sigh. She really was going to kill me.

When she asked if this wasn’t dinner, I couldn’t help but laugh, causing her to blush. Gosh, it was the prettiest thing ever. It happened again over dessert, the connection, and I had the urge to either run, or kiss her. But I couldn’t with everyone watching. Soon after dinner was finished, and we all headed back to our rooms, I wanted to pull Eden aside, but unfortunately, Jaz had beaten me to it. I hid around the corner and eavesdropped on their conversation. Jaz was asking about our relationship. Eden’s and mine. Eden was playing the innocent party, which wasn’t a smart move in front of Jaz. That girl had a temper. And yes, was she pissed.

“If you don’t pay attention, Nephilim, someone could steal him right out from under you.”

I knew what this meant. Jazmine had made a threat against her competition. The claws were out, but I wasn’t going to let her win. I hated her. So I made a promise to myself. Later after lights out, I would sneak over to the girl’s dorm to try to see Eden.

Chapter Six

Eden

I sat bolt upright in my bed. It was pitch black. As I fumbled for the light switch on my bedside table, I realised it had only been a dream. But what did it mean?
It is time.
Time for what? And who was the creepy guy in the boat? I was too freaked out to go back to sleep, and I realised I had totally forgotten about sneaking. I slipped out of bed and stepped into my slippers. I needed hot chocolate to calm my nerves. As I slipped into the hallway and closed the door behind me, I sensed someone in the darkness. A hand stifled my scream.

“Ssh.”

“Asher?”

“Ssh. Keep your voice down. Yeah, it’s me.”

“You scared the living daylights out of me!”

He chuckled. “Sorry. Why are you so jumpy anyhow?”

“I kinda… had a bad dream.”

“What was it about?”

“I’m not sure. I’m still trying to understand it.”

I had my suspicions about what the dream could mean, but I couldn’t tell him that. I couldn’t even tell him about my trait. I moved around him, which was nearly impossible without touching his body. I tried not to, but as my hands touched his abdomen in the dark, I felt the electricity surge through us. And then the warmth turned cold.

“Oh no!” I pulled my hands away quickly and jumped back.

“Eden? What are you doing?” I could swear he was smirking at me in the dark.

“I had to get around you, you were blocking me.”

“You had to feel me up to do it?”

Yep, he was definitely smirking. At least he couldn’t see the blood that had made its way to my cheeks.

“No. I mean… I wasn’t. I have to go.” I had to get out of there as quickly as possible.

This boy was going to kill me before I kill him.

“Eden, wait! Where are you going?”

Of course, he was going to follow me again. I could feel him behind me.

“To the kitchen for hot chocolate.”

“You don’t need to go to the kitchen for hot chocolate. Let me.”

“No, I…” But I didn’t even get to protest. It was too late. He took my hand.

Chapter Seven

Asher

Sneaking out was a lot easier than you would think. Only one Michaelite roamed each dorm hallway each night and it was easy to avoid detection. I usually made a move when the night watch man or woman was around the corner. And they were now, so I slipped out of my room, and looked both ways. I listened for the sound of footsteps on the carpet, but there were none, yet. I slipped into the hall and silently closed my door behind me. I was barefoot so as to keep silent. I snuck down the hall towards the door. As soon as I reached the end of the hall, I heard someone coming. Lucky it was dark so they wouldn’t be able to see me. I was thankful to have put a black t-shirt on instead of my normal white sleeping attire.

“Hey! What are doing out of bed?”

Crap. I had been spotted. I stood still and stepped into the shadows away from the light coming through the frosted window in the door. After a few nervous seconds, the dorm warden didn’t come any closer, and I couldn’t hear her anymore, so I quickly opened the door and slipped out.

The next obstacle was the main hallway between the two dorms. Two Michaelite night wardens usually guarded this hall, and currently it was unoccupied. Luck was on my side tonight. Or fate. I ran to the girl’s dorm and slipped inside. Now all I had to do was find Eden’s room.

This hall was equally dark so it made it easy to sneak all the way up to the end of the hall. I cursed myself for not finding out which room was hers, but by the time I reached the end, I didn’t have to. I could hear talking. I inched closer to the door the noises were coming from and pressed my ear up against it. I smiled. She was dreaming, or talking in her sleep, or both.

“Time for what?” she was saying. And then she began screaming. What was happening? I couldn’t take it anymore. Something was happening to her in her sleep. I burst through the door, not caring if I woke anyone else up. I had to get to Eden. She was tossing, turning, and screaming.

“What do you want from me?” she was utterly and irrevocably frightened of something, or someone. I ran to her, placed my hand on her shoulder, and shook.

“Eden?”

She began resisting and her eyelids fluttered open. I jumped back and pressed myself up against the wall in the darkness. I was such a chicken. I came to see her, but what was I doing? Hiding in the dark, in the corner like a loser. When she sat up in bed, I quickly snuck out the door, careful to shut it behind me as quietly as I could.

I began pacing outside the door. Was she awake? Did she know it was me who came into her room? Or did she think it was the person in the dream? My mind began fighting a tug-o-war with the decision to go back in, or stay out here in the hall. Screw it. I was going back in. I went to grab the doorknob but it began spinning in my hand as the door opened. I didn’t even get time to register what was happening when she began screaming.