Ashes of Eden

Eric uncurled from his place on the cracked soil, coughing. Dust lifted around them as his restless body followed his impulses to just move and fight to know where he was. A hand waved the dust cloud he'd made. Nadia's eyes blinked against the floating dust.

"What happened?" she asked. Eric couldn't tell if she was doing a hell of a job not letting alarm shine through or if she really wasn't worried by his sudden… He stopped. What was happening to him?

Eric's shoulders braced back as he twisted around, eyes fixed on the way to the large mountain they'd been traveling alongside earlier. To the east, a very faint voice whispered behind his conscious thoughts. Eric struggled to his feet. He wrestled with his bag, straightening it on his shoulder. From the barren land they were standing on, he could spot the flat surface of that mountain and he knew that was where the slavers had gone.

Eric stretched out his arm, pointing his index finger like a five-year-old, "That's where they went." Nadia's eyes deviated to the distance. "There, at the top of that mountain, that's Hiken."

Eric was ready to walk on when Nadia grabbed his wrist. He turned willingly, recalling the unhappy incident of him pushing her away on reflex. He wouldn't risk a repeat.

"Eric," her eyes were wide, unguarded, to an extent he never thought possible. Eric found himself swallowing hard at the fog of fear shading her moonlight irises. "What happened to you? How do you suddenly… know that?"

Eric struggled to put a lid on his raging excitement.

"I don't know."

"Give me something better than that."

"I don't… I just blacked out." His eyes had flicked to the ground. He almost cursed.

Nadia gripped him harder.

"You're a terrible liar." So, she had noticed his tell. Carter did say he was a lost cause when it came to lying. "If there's something wrong with you—if Carter was right and you're sick—you have to tell me. We're alone now. We're following a band of slavers to rescue someone. I can't have you blacking out," she drew out the words as if underlying his lie. "And possibly getting us killed."

Eric's breathing was hard. His temper flared.

"Weren't you the one who wanted nothing to do with me? With Carter?" her fingers slipped. He tugged his arm free. "I saved your ass last night. I freaking carried you—for hours."

"Are you looking for a thank you?"

"No!" he yelled, towering over her. "I'm trying to show you that you can trust me. I haven't taken off to find my brother. Carter could be hurt or…" Eric clenched his teeth as emotions clawed up his throat. He pushed against them. "Or worse. Instead of searching for him, I'm here. I'm following you."

Nadia's face was passive for a few moments longer before it fell in shambled. She sighed, rubbing at her face with both hands.

"I know it's hard for you, Eric. But we agreed that our best option was waiting. You said Carter would come back for us…" Eric should have known Nadia wouldn't be guilted easily or that her attention would divert from the matter at hand: his recurring fainting spells. "That said, your temper tantrums aren't going to work as a deflection technique. Tell me what's going on with you."

"I don't know," he repeated after another worthless stare-down between them. Nadia's mouth opened, but he kept going. Slowly. "I don't know… but I saw things. Like a dream." Eric remembered the consuming cold spreading inside and all around as he'd struggled to untangle himself—those dark eyes… "Or a nightmare."

"You were out for five minutes. Maybe more." Eric's mind reeled at the information. "Was it the same last time? At the swamp?"

He tangled fingers into his hair, "No… I'm not sure. I just saw a flash then. Nothing solid." His hand fell to the hilt of his sword. It was simple. Unlike the one he'd wielded in the dream. "It hurt a lot more that time, though."

Nadia's face lit with a hint of relief.

"How do you know Hiken's that way?" she jutted her chin east.

Eric wanted to lie and say he'd deduced it through one of the tracks. Nadia had already caught on with his suckiness at lying, it wouldn't do either of them any good. Eric confessed he's seen Hiken in the dream. Finally, they began hiking through the deserted area. It was an awkward silence, nothing like earlier.

"After we figure out how to save that guy, we can look for Carter and Fi." Nadia told him, not looking at him. "If that's what you want to do."

"That's not…" he trailed off. His voice softened, "I don't know if we should wait or search. We'll see how this goes first."

When they arrived at the foot of the mountain, they glared at the astoundingly steep hike ahead. It was a sheltered, carved path, as if someone had taken a large knife and cut a piece of mountain and ate it. The path wasn't narrow, it allowed passage for carriages, like the ones carrying slaves and probably merchants. On either side, they were flanked by undented mountain rock. Other people were climbing. Eric threw a furtive glance at Nadia's hair. The blue tips were hidden underneath the cloak.

A group of bumbling men were coming down. They ambulated Nadia's way at the last minute. Eric never needed to step in. Nadia saved herself from two unflattering grabby hands. She didn't stop at sidestepping the idiot. She lifted a booted foot and smacked it on his lower back. The drunkard spiraled down with his two friends rushing after him, laughing their asses off. It was a good thing they were drunk, otherwise they wouldn't think it was funny. Another man making the climb gave Nadia a non-appreciative glare. If Nadia noticed, she didn't act on it.

"Have you noticed…"

"That there are only men here?" he finished. "Yeah, I've picked up on that. It's weird for me, too." It was hard to believe this was real. It felt like a fantasy-slash-history book page they were acting out.

Eric's heart quickened. Tall walls, much like the ones at Callibur, came into view. Hiken stood on a mountain, a city with only one entrance, a city guarded by tall stacked stone. No one guarded the entrance, it was open without any gates, but Eric spotted two lookout towers, one facing north and an opposite one, facing south.

A foul smell—more than one—wafted into his nose before they entered. He shouldn't have been surprised. Priest Amund had warned them about Hiken and what sort of business it entailed. Unfortunately for Eric, Nadia was good at spotting band t-shirts.

"Where do we go now?" he whispered, eying the rows of wagons to their right. Merchants with sparkling stones, handmade jewelry, others with various strange herbs and roots (like the marked girl back in Callibur), others had fabrics and tons of various furs.

She gave him a doubtful look, "I can see creepy ghosts and glamoured Fae. Apparently being a map is your thing." Eric didn't think it was funny. Nadia was grinning, though. "Keep walking," she nodded forward. "If we just stand here it'll draw attention. Let's take a walkabout…" her nose twitched. Eric saw she wanted to plug it with something. They were walking between a row of small buildings. "What is… Is that smell…?" Shit? He finished in his mind.

"Do you want confirmation?"

"Nope."

Eric's mouth was dry. His stomach was making familiar noises, very similar to the night they'd arrived. He heard Nadia's stomach complaining a couple of times. Thing was, they had no money—no quadras.

"Do you think trades work?" Eric didn't have a clue.

"Suppose they do. What would we trade? We have nothing." Eric had his sword. His bag had an empty canteen and Nadia had her Nike bag, her kickboxing gloves and the book Amund gave her…

"That's a pretty thing you got there." Eric grew out of his thoughts. He glared at the slurring man propped against a wooden wall.

"Watch it," Eric heard Nadia spat. "Women aren't pretty things. They're people who deserve to be treated with respect."

The man let out a rumbling laugh and this time Eric needed to hold her back from breaking the guy's bones. Nadia might be strong, but Eric held her back like one would a kitten. Effortlessly. It reminded him of the sword in his dream. How easily he'd held it up.

"Boy, boy," the man spilled some liquid onto his holey shirt. "You have some wench with you." Those words didn't calm her. Nadia kicked out her legs, trying to aim at the guy's junk. Eric tightened the arm around her waist. He ignored how hard the muscles of her stomach were and tugged her into his personal space. "I wasn't talking 'bout you, little miss. Ima' talking 'bout that feather there on you. Oi, that one. That right there is a feather from a Stymphalian."

That's not a complicated name, Eric thought bitterly. How did you write that? He set his jaw, focusing on the matter at hand.

"You make it sound like it's worth anything." Eric mumbled as Nadia settled against his chest.

The man let out another laugh. Eric took a good look at the man's face and balked at the eyes. The whites were slightly yellow. Eric knew that was code for some liver disease. The possibility of this man being drunk now was high, considering he was holding a metal cup with dark liquid.

"Boy! Don't ya' know anything? Those birds sell for riches!"

"Really?" Nadia asked sounding dumbfounded. Still slightly heaving.

Eric shifted once Nadia touched his arm. He took it as a friendly gesture to drop his arm. It surprised Eric she hadn't elbowed his kidneys, since it was her preferred method. The man's eyes caught on the sword at Eric's hip.

"Did you kill it, boy? You sure look strong enough."

"He did." Nadia snapped. Hmm, okay. Eric was fine with not talking. He glanced around at a loud commotion coming from further down the row of establishments they were on. "Eric?"

"What?" he mumbled quietly, compelled by the on-going brutality. They shoved a small boy into the dirt, throwing a chair that broke and splintered—the boy's cries made him see red.

"We can use the feather to get quadras."

Eric's chest expanded with a quick, sharp breath. Before he knew what he was doing, he was advancing toward the…

A hand grabbed his vest, causing it to tighten further on his back.

"Where are you going?"

He stole a glance at Nadia.

"That kid…" Eric glanced to where the child laid, bawling but moving little.

"I thought we weren't supposed to pick fights." Look who's talking, Eric thought. "That pig tried to grab me, and he was drunk. Do you think I'm crazy?"

"The thought has crossed my mind a lot."

"Well, apparently, out of the two of us you're much crazier."

"…shame about all the Dybbuks. A lot of children are getting 'nabbed by them."

"They're hitting kids because they get possessed?" Eric muttered with an angry undertone. "They should help them. Who kills their own kid?"

Nadia shoved both hands into his chest, causing Eric to falter a step, more out of surprise than due to her strength. She walked up to him and her hands shot out.

"The problems of this world are theirs to solve. Not ours." She whispered, gripping his vest's collar. "Stop trying to play some fantasy hero, Eric. Just because you have a sword doesn't mean you can go around picking fights. This is real—you can get yourself shish kabobbed."

Eric felt an urge to yell at her again. That wasn't the adult thing to do, though, and would turn heads their way. People—mainly men—were already leering at Nadia.

Eric covered Nadia's hands—covered them completely—and forcefully unhooked her fingers from his vest. Her pointed glare stayed, not backing down under Eric's towering height. Had she always been so short? Taking stock of his bewildered expression, Nadia crossed her arms.

"What?" she barked.

"Nothing," Eric felt irritation drop from his shoulders in waves as a smirk stretched his lips. "I just realized how short you are." He shrugged turning on her, deciding to move somewhere less crowded. Somewhere with less bars, where muffled, loud yells didn't register as singing or yodeling.

Nadia was quick to catch up.

"I'm not short!" Eric snorted. "I'm five feet and seven inches tall. It's not my fault you're abnormally tall."

"I'm six foot. It's not that tall. There's no way you're…"

"You can't be six foot. You're at least two heads taller than me, you've got to be like six foot and three inches or four—"

"I know how tall I am. I'm an inch taller than my brother."

It was Nadia's turn to snort, "Ah, no. It's way more than an inch, wonder boy. You're not very good at math, are you?" His ego didn't sting like it should have, because numbers were easier to deal rather than anything with words, but he was too absurdly stunned. Slowly, Nadia blinked, easing her steps. Eric wasn't sure how he was still marching forward. "I mean…" her eyes traveled to the side fleetingly. "That night in Callibur, when the Dybbuk attacked, I helped you to our room." He remembered. Eric had hated needing to lean on her for support. "You were pretty heavy, but I don't think… I didn't think the gap between our heights was so big."

Not as big as they now were. Eric inched his shoulders and felt the material strain greatly. It hadn't done that before.

"Maybe getting thrown into another dimension caused a growth spurt?"

He was busy flexing his hands, looking down at them. Really looking. They were larger. Hadn't he thought that before? His fingers were thicker and longer.

"I hit my growth spurt at fourteen." He gritted. Eric pulled back the sleeve of his sweatshirt. For the first time, he noticed how the material strained against his muscles. His wrist and forearm were thicker. Eric flexed his left hand into a fist. His forearm muscle swelled to a new size. "This… what is this?"

Carter would've registered his sparking panic. The way his breathing picked up and how his voice softened. He didn't expect Nadia to. Her right hand came into sight, lowering itself onto his left, undoing the half-clenched fist. She lowered their arms, keeping her hand enveloping his—which looked comical, his hand could dwarf hers.

"I don't know. This place is strange, a lot of things don't make sense." Eric knew she was referring to her Sight. "You're not alone, okay?"

Eric knew they were standing still, again, but something shifted, and his world became smaller. The longer Nadia stared into his glacier eyes, the easier he breathed and for a minute he wanted a STOP button on life just to freeze frame the strange emotions tip toeing to the surface. Until some stupid fool made a swipe for the feather on Nadia's cloak.

Nadia's eyes snapped at the retreating hand. With honed reflexes, her right arm shot out, hand grabbing the guy's shoulder. The tug was violent, but not enough. In the same motion, Nadia kicked out, hitting behind the guy's knee, making him buckle. The man gasped and thumped onto his knees.

"Stealing isn't very nice." Nadia informed him, snatching the feather from his startled grasp. Eric noticed the man's hands were shaky. Like someone in need of a fix. "Is everyone here a drunk?" she heaved, retreating to Eric's side, having seen the same he had.

The man dared to look at Nadia with wild eyes. That quickly dissipated once Eric lowered his hand on the hilt of his sword. Another tense moment had the man scrambling to get himself out of their sight. He disappeared between houses.

"We were warned." Eric shrugged. He shifted in the uncomfortable vest before tearing it off. He opened the satchel Carter had gifted him and shoved it inside. His sweatshirt was fine, it stretched tautly, sure, but it wasn't constricting any movements. "That feather is more than just pretty."

"Yeah," Nadia got out. She pressed her lips together for a second, absently running her fingers through the feathers colors. Eric chose to ignore her eyes roaming his body. "So, we should trade it for food. And maybe a new jacket for you." She paused. "If they make jackets that big."

He gave her a doubtful look.

"Your shoulders are very, very wide."

He rolled his eyes, "Of course they are." He cocked his head to the sides, searching for… "Where do we get food, exactly? Or anything?"

"I don't know." There weren't signs reading Starbucks or MacDonald's. No places reading Walmart. "Should we ask?"

He was about to say 'why the fuck not?' when a sharp feeling clambered across his spine. Eric's head snapped right. He began walking without knowing why or where he was heading.

"Is this another 'hunter instinct'?"

"Yeah," the vestiges of a chuckle graced his voice. His instincts delivered them to an old, one-floor house. Its outside walls were patched with what looked like dried mud. The window closest to the open door was totally scratched, giving it a whitish color.

It was mostly deserted. Apart from a few older men sitting in a corner, tossing what looked like dice onto a table. Eric didn't see any cards, he had no idea what sort of game they were playing. Boards squeaked under his weight. He wondered how large he looked. He hadn't seen a mirror lately. How much did he weigh? The strangest thing was: he hadn't noticed the change. It had to have been slow, subtle. Carter would've noticed, he wouldn't have ignored something so… noticeable. Or had the biggest change happened last night? That strange dream with white snow, blood and defeated thoughts came back…

"This ain't the place to sell women, boy…" the man at the counter informed him with a grumble as he leaned back, reaching for something red—a red weed—from a jar. The man shoved it into his mouth and chewed. "There's plenty brothels. It's not easy to miss 'hem."

"She's not for sale." Eric's voice rang deep and sharp. "She's mine." He waited for a fist to the back. Nothing. Eric could feel the angry girl seething behind him. He advanced the rest of the distance toward the counter, praying for some inspiration from watching his suave brother. "Do you have food?"

The man stopped chewing at his rough demand. Alright, he couldn't channel Carter. At all. Good to know. It didn't really come as a surprise.

"Of course, I do. This is a tavern." The man reminded him, making him feel like a moron.

Nadia pushed him off, showing the man the feather. The tavern keeper's jaw dropped.

"T-that's a…"

"It's a Stymphalian's feather. If you service us for as long as we stay in Hiken we'll repay you with it."

The man looked at her—he came for the counter fast, bracing stuffy hands on it. His eyes were brimming with greed. Eric saw it plainly. The man's eyes flew from the feather Nadia was holding when she retreated her hand, hiding the feather from view with her cloak.

He started stuttering, "I… will service you with whatever you need, sir." Eric perked a brow. First, he'd called him a boy, now because of a measly feather he was a sir.

"Do you have clothes?" The man gave Nadia a strange look. "Can you get any? He needs a vest." She tapped the back of her hand on Eric's chest. He glared at the top of her head. "If you can't get clothes, I'm afraid we'll have to search for another kind soul who will provide us with what we need."

The man kept eying her like she was a simpleton. Eric could feel the man weighing the pros and cons. Eric believed Nadia when she said they would find another place if this man couldn't get what she was asking for. She was the sort of girl who didn't settle, she kept fighting to win.

"Well…" the tavern owner sized Eric's broad form. He winced. "Maybe I can look 'round the mercenary camps. They have big guys, somethin' might fit ya."

"Thank you, that would be very kind. His vest ended up in tatters from the tumble with the Stymphalian." He saw the man's eyes bulge in awe. Suddenly, Eric was the center of attention, something he hated.

"You killed a Stymphalian? B-by yourself?"

"Of course, he did." Nadia's front became pressed to his side. Her concealed Nike bag hit the back of his leg as she leaned on him. One arm wrapped around his right arm and her other hand rested on his midsection. The tips of his ears were red, his muscles were tense. He was petrified at the sudden change in the violent girl. "My lover's very strong. He's a very skilled hunter, an expert at slaying Babi Ngepets."

Lover? Good God, it was a good thing Nadia was talking. The only thing that would come out of his mouth right now would be a big, fat 'hell no'.

A couple of minutes later, they were sitting at one of the empty round tables. Eric traced the split wood with acute attention. Nadia had stashed the feather in his bag and was currently eying the shadowy bar. The only light came from melted candles. A draft came from the far end of the tavern, where a window was cracked. The owner brought them bread stuffed with sweet meats, like what they'd eaten at Amund's church, and a jug of something fruity with a little bitter taste of alcohol. They chowed greedily, ignoring the occasional curious look being cast their way by the old men with the dice.

"Will you be wanting more?" the tavern owner asked after bringing them another round of the same. Eric shook his head and saw Nadia decline as well, the man was just about to ambulate towards his place behind the counter when his female companion called out. "Yes, miss?"

"Give me your canteen." Nadia asked him. Eric scrambled for his bag, thrusting his hand past the vest and tugging out the water container. "Fill this please." The man took the leathery canteen with a nod. Eric noticed he wouldn't look his way. "Oh! Also, do you happen to know if any slave companies arrived today?"

The man scratched his gaunt, bearded face.

"I think Amilcar's company arrived today with a fresh horde to sell." Eric's jaw muscles cramped from clenching so hard. Talking about people like cattle didn't sit well with him.

"And where would we find this… Amilcar?"

"At the camping grounds, miss." The man left to fill their canteen.

Nadia twisted towards him, "Where the hell is that?" she said in an annoyed whisper. "I really wish we had a map or a GPS or…"

"Fi?" Eric threw out after finishing downing his drink. Nadia hummed. "Something tells me it won't be hard to find."

They left after the canteen was brought back and Eric told the man they would be back before night, needing a place to sleep. Maybe by then the man would have a sizable jacket he could wear. After they set foot outside Nadia tilted her face up at him, eyes narrowed with mischief. Eric felt the center of his cheeks going red—again.

"Oh my God. Your face is so red!" Nadia giggled—actually giggled. She reached out to poke one of his cheeks, still grinning when he flicked out his wrist, swatting the hand away. "That's adorable, Eric."

"Stop mocking me." He ground out, heaving a long sigh.

"I'm not mocking. I'm just having fun."

"I'm so glad me being embarrassed counts as fun in your book."

"You have nothing to be embarrassed about, I only praised you…" Nadia quieted down as they headed further east inside the city. Eric could see banners, so, one assumed that's where the camps were. She bumped into his side lightly, whispering, "Lover."

Eric shot her a brooding look. She smiled widely, teeth and all.

"You're such a brat." He gritted.

"You're the one who's getting all fussy. You shouldn't have skipped your nap-time."

"Next time we're attacked, I'm leaving you." He wished that wasn't a lie.

"Don't think that was fun for me. I don't make a habit of objectifying myself to accentuate a man's attributes." Nadia wasn't smiling now. "I did it because it's obvious you don't have Carter's people skills and because whether I want to or not, women aren't exactly treated with respect here—certainly not in Hiken. Selling you as some big, bad warrior was the only thing that came to mind and it worked. The man was scared of you—"

"Thanks…"

Nadia shut up for a second or two.

"Do you think Carter noticed you changing?"

"I have no…" in the back of his mind he recalled something. That weird lingering stare Carter gave him when he was washing. "Maybe. He was acting strange and giving me long stares when I woke up—after the Dybbuk. I just thought he was being paranoid."

"Back at the swamp I thought something was different. You looked taller than Carter. But I thought I was imagining things—that you'd always been that tall…" She pulled her cloak up, making sure her hair tips were hidden. "If Carter noticed… why wouldn't he say something? It's freaky."

Eric didn't have an answer.