Chapter 53

“Eve!” Henry shouted and ran towards the unconscious woman, "Eve?” he asked as he took her from the dirt, held her head and whispered her name, “Eve, can you hear me?” he could feel the sweat-drenched skin, the pulsing of his own eyes, and the ringing shrieks vibrating in his ears, and the thumping of his heart against his chest. He looked around nervously and searched for the witch. But it was as if he was alone and couldn't hear his abrupt own breathing, he could even feel the oxygen flooding in and out of his lungs. Hesitantly, his eyes looked at the dead creatures before him. Fear troubled his guts, churning his stomach into severe cramps as he stole a glimpse towards the young woman. "Jenna? Is that you? Help. I need help!" He trailed off and carried Eve.

A few hours later, still holding Eve, Alpha Henry was still anxious that he was going to mess big time. Despite having given himself lots of time to think, after the horrible moment with the Sanjinn creature and his astonishment of the cyclone, he and Jenna waited for it to fade, waited for two more hours, praying for it to stop, and when it did, the two didn't wait for a moment longer to stay in that clearing. Eve on his shoulder and the young Jenna leading the trail, they started their journey out of that cursed land. While walking, they discussed their next plan and decided to go along with Jenna's companion, who knows someone who can help heal Eve.

In the next few hours, they finally arrived at the path towards the little witches' village, which turned out to be little more than a browny trail. There was dried grass growing in the middle of it, and it didn't look like many creatures had ever strolled on it. But the isolation was what Henry and Jenna were looking for. The view from the narrow path had made him reflect on just how small people were. The magnificent hills and rugged cliffs rose and fell as he ran on this lonely path. The logic and order of the witches' village seemed a long way from here; this was where nature lived, and he could almost picture the spirits striding freely among the trees, rocks, and creatures. “Jenna, is this your old village?”

“Yes, Alpha. My family once lived here.”

“It's quite a village, I see; I never thought this part of land was even inhabited,” he said as he watched the surrounding landscape and estimated he needed someplace with nature, someplace where reason and order didn't rule his pack, someplace where he could regain his perspective and just appreciate life, yet he knew it wasn't his situation; he needed to find his Elizabeth, and to achieve that, he needed Eve's help.

After the exceptionally surprising encounter with the sandjinn, he wanted a place that he could think of, someplace away from that cursed land. He was tired of the fighting, tired of killing, and, to be honest, tired of everything. He felt rather empty like a human noble lately, and his pack only wanted to take from him, and there had to be more to his life than just that.

Speaking of taking, his advisers had both done well; now he had done very well, but he was okay with the concession, at least it was over, or he hoped it would be over.

He was starting over figuratively, although he had enough to start over with some degree of style. He had approved of the Wetland's hatred towards him, it was no secret anyway. Being the old comrade of Alpha Jefferson, he knew the Alpha of Wetland hated him as much as he hated humans. It was one of the reasons his pack needed someone better than him—compassionate and understanding, young and lively. Having to return to the past was the least on his mind; he doesn't want to be on the front lines of the war again. It was too much to repeat. All he ever wanted was to never experience the battle again. Running away from the cursed land and thinking of Eve made him think of the moment with her; somehow it was a past he did not want to repeat. The mistake of his youth.

Watching this isolated pathway that interested him, the fresh and raw forest beyond really didn't matter.

Their feet sauntered, and he bounced from one particularly deep pothole in his way that seemed to have been created by werewolves to take out some prey.

He slowed down, stopped on one particular switchback, and just looked at the view. He breathed in the cool, clear air, and for the first time in a hundred years, he actually felt good. He enjoyed the view for several minutes, at the risk of being even tardier.

Then, they went to stand on the nearby flattened rocks and hoped Jenna's friends would be there soon. It had been mid-morning when he left that cursed land; now it was just before an hour ago, and according to Jenna's memories, it should be right around the next ridge.

Alpha Henry hadn't seen another soul in more than an hour of strolling, and then suddenly there it was. He saw it. It was a tiny shed-style cabin perched on the edge of a steep valley. The view from the start of the pathway was incredible; he could only imagine it from the cabin. The cabin looked like it was part of the scenery, whoever had built it must have appreciated “fitting in with nature” rather than “overpowering nature,” and it made him want to see more. "It's, um, what should I say, a reasonable dwelling?" he murmured to himself, and Jenna smiled at him. The surrounding cabin was all empty and hadn't been occupied for a long time. The austere grey-dead stone building on the far end stood alone on foreboding moors, indifferent to the wave and flow of life within and without it. Meagre hedges and trees bent and warped from fierce winds barely reached the bottom of the second-floor windows.

A whirled, rutted road, muddied from the recent rains, stopped abruptly at two massive oak gates that had blackened with age. Approaching the old place, an open cart thundered along with the fog-bound road, cracking and grumbling, swallowed by the wind. Two weak and bedraggled female passengers wrapped in an oilskin sat in the cold drizzle behind a sad-looking, ugly driver. He snuggled under an oilskin with another woman and whipped the horse onward in a discursive expression. The man and the woman crouched together for warmth, scarves wrapped around their heads to protect them from the rain. Watching them, Henry was curious: who are they? They smell like humans, he thought to himself.

At the gates, the driver trudged out of his seat and limped up to the doors, and taking a large black pull-rope in his hands, he pulled strongly. A dull clang from a distant bell was hardly distinct over the endless whistling of the wind. The gates swung open slowly. Remounting, the driver whipped his horse into motion, and the cart lurched slowly into the courtyard. It stopped in front of an imposing set of doors set into the front of the house like prison gates. Passing them by the view at the gate, Henry followed Jenna as she started her walk again to the old trail visible only from the witch's eyes. "Jenna, what is this place? And what about that stone house near the moor?"

"Those are the human buildings for the bidding of slaves, Alpha.” Jenna pointed and turned her head at the cart. “And those ladies? They were slaves. The smell was from their houses; they don't have plumbing on this side of the village; they throw their waste anywhere, those peasants used vinegar to shampoo their hair and urine to bleach their clothing. Human peasant life was unfortunate and awful, but sadly, we couldn't do anything about human affairs. We have our problems to worry about."

"I thought this was a witch's village."

"Yes. It was, um, before. Before they hunted and killed my kind, all my family, and burned our village. Since then, I have lived like a criminal."

Walking further, on his side were the waterfalls. An enchanted stream burbled as it travelled along its bed, bubbling over rocks and branches. It was beautiful and enchanting.

Alpha could smell the dirt, freshwater, and leaves—all the vegetation. He could even taste the dirt, smell the fresh scents, and feel the prickly bushes and icy-cold water.

"Looking for someone?" Henry asked.

"Yes but..."

“Your friend is not around, I can smell no one and sense no one too,” Henry grumbled behind her, adjusting Eve on her shoulder.

Scanning the place, Jenna nodded. She had always made decisions quickly, and much of her success was based on her ability to see things other people couldn't. There was just something about this place that spoke to her, even after only a few minutes of being here. Edmond left something, and she wanted to find it out.

The only downside to coming here, she thought, was that it was unlikely she wouldn't meet Edmond, and the fact that they needed help made her worry all the more, but the logical part of her brain said, Help will come. “I know, Edmond often left the cabin unattended,” she said as she looked around and wandered to the verge of the waterfalls, where she could see for miles and miles. To the right was the small cabin; the rugged hills and deep grooves with the ocean in the background were all exactly what she was looking for. “Alpha?” she pointed out, “South to the ocean were another pack; I guess you were familiar with the Snowland Pack? We can ask for help,” she asked.

He nodded. “Yes, I can ask the alpha, but not now,” he sighed before adding, “Eve is more important. We need to heal her first.”

“I know, let me find something in there, I hope there there is something that can help her inside the cabin.”

Staring around, Jenna saw no one at the end of the old cabin. Other than a stiff wind and a whiff of roses, nothing seemed to move anywhere. There was something about this place, something she just couldn't put her finger on; it was a feeling. This place reached out and touched her somehow in a very good way. She strolled around the cabin and noted it was in fairly good shape, but it must have been vacant for a little while because she could see a little stain peeling here and there, but nothing she couldn't handle. On the far side of the cabin, she had that feeling again; this time, whirling around, she glimpsed him. Edmond.

“Who are you?” A male voice echoed from the small kitchen.