Eden (Night in Eden Book 1) Read online

  Eden

  Night in Eden Series

  Amanda K. Dudley Penn

  Other Books By Amanda K. Dudley-Penn

  The Alexandra Denton Chronicles

  The Hidden

  The Appointed

  The Fallen

  The Sacrifice

  The Brazil Werewolf Series

  Beckoned

  Summoned

  Enticed

  Lured

  Tempted

  The Preston Vampire Series

  Bound

  Unbound

  Eternal

  The Roses and Blood Series

  Roses and Blood

  The Angel Essence Series

  Cherish

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Epilogue

  I dedicate this book to my cousin, Christopher Russell, who has always stood by me and been a big source of support. I love you.

  Prologue

  Her face was weathered and paper thin but beloved as her grandchildren gathered around her. Each wore expectant expressions as if hungry for what she was about to say. Perhaps they were as hungry for her words as their growling stomachs were hungry for food. She sat next to the eldest of the children...The one with hair the same shade of burnt auburn as hers had been in her youth preparing to remember a world forgotten in the midst of chaos.

  "Tell us grandma," this child insisted. Her wide eyes were turned toward her waiting for her to speak. She was always the most interested of the bunch. When words failed to come the child pushed forward, "What was it like?"

  The grandmother closed her eyes, remembering the world as it had been when she was only four years old. Seventy years had passed but the images were burned into her mind of how it once was. She licked her lips as her mind brought up the Christmas dinners and the ease of the world.

  She spoke in her voice roughened by age. Her body bowed with a tiredness that reached into her bones, "We went to a place called a grocery store for food. There were buttons everywhere. They were on big metal boxes filled with drinks and food and we would put small silver and copper discs inside them and push the buttons to retrieve the drinks. There was something called a microwave which cooked your food in two minutes. The world was much larger then. We would get into cars and go places that were far from home. We were...free."

  She stopped, realizing tears were falling down her cheeks and opened her eyes with the world she had lost still playing in her mind. All of the children were asleep except for the eldest. She was still listening with an intent that both frightened the old woman and made her proud.

  She smiled at her before rising and turning to tuck her into bed with a well-worn blanket. Her grey eyes flashed as her mind replayed her grandmother's stories, piecing together what it must have been like to live the way she had before the wars...before the volcano...before everything destroyed that precious freedom.

  "You must sleep now, Serafina," she said, smiling down at the little girl. She caressed her soft cheek.

  "I will grandma," she said as her rosebud lips stretched into a wide smile, "I will dream about your world. I hope one day it will come back."

  "It will take something great to do that," her grandma said. Her voice held all the melancholy her many years had heaped upon her.

  "When I grow up, I will make it happen," the little girl whispered with such determination it caused the grandmother to jump. Serafina closed her eyes.

  The grandmother opened her mouth to argue but Serafina had fallen asleep. Fear gripped her heart as she stared at the child's face frightened that she would get herself killed because they no longer lived in a world of freedom. They lived in a world where death could knock on anyone's door...Even a child's.

  Chapter One

  Three years later

  The light shined through her window in muted grays causing Serafina to wince as she sat up in bed. Her heart trembled as she realized her grandmother hadn't woken her nor her siblings for school...neither had their parents. She crossed her arms over her abdomen and glanced toward the opened door as her bare feet touched the cold wooden floor. She stood motionless before releasing her abdomen to grip the bottom of her nightgown in her sweat drenched fists.

  "Grandma," she whispered as she shuffled her feet toward the door, "Momma...Daddy."

  Only a sob answered her. She moved toward it to the kitchen. Though the oil lamps had been lit, the wooden stove wasn't burning.

  She moved further into the room, staring at the stove as if she could conjure her grandmother and everything would continue as it always had.

  "Serafina," her mother croaked over her sobs. She broke her gaze with the stove to stare at her mother with wide grey eyes. Her father stood beside her. His tall thin frame shadowed her as his large hands rubbed her shoulders.

  "Where is grandmother?" Serafina whispered barely able to push the words from between her lips as she continued to glance around the room. Her eyes landed on the bags of food the sheriffs had given them for their work the day before. They were strewn across the table. The paper was torn in places to reveal the contents within.

  "The sheriffs came," her mother said, trying to catch her breath through her sobs. Her shoulders shook with the effort, "They accused her of stealing food."

  "No," Serafina whispered, shaking her head. She took a step away from her parents but her eyes fell on the bags again and she frowned, "What did they say she stole?"

  Her mother reached into the bag and placed a pear on the table with a thud. Serafina blinked as she took it in, "That was in our bag yesterday," she said as her heart pattered against her chest. She took a deep breath, "She didn't steal it. I can tell them."

  Her father moved around the table and knelt in front of her, "It's too late, Serafina," he said as his voice quivered. She winced and then, blinked as she took in his words, "They sentenced her to fifty lashes. It's been carried out. Your grandmother died before the tenth. She's already been taken by the coroner."

  She stared at the pear as tears fell down her cheeks in jagged paths. Her face reddened as her nostrils flared. She stepped away from her father and grabbed the pear, gripping it tight. His eyes widened as he reached for her but she had already turned and was running out of the front door. He screamed her name but she didn't stop. She ran down her street moving on to the next until she could see the square where the huge grey stone courthouse stood on a hill. Her eyes were trained on a wooden platform and she moved toward it. Her grandmother's blood still coated the wooden planks.

  Her gaze moved from it to the sheriff who stood there with his whip trained on his waist. It was long and coated with metal. Electricity sparked from two wires at the ends but Serafina's anger was still too fresh to be afraid. She moved toward him, stopping in front of him. His dark eyes traveled from her bare feet to her narrowed eyes. He raised a brow surprised to see that she was only eleven years old.

  "You should be in school," he said and then, pressed his lips together as he moved closer to her. His eyes sparkled as they roamed over her face, "You know the punishment for missing school."

  Serafina raised her chin before bringing out the pear and placing it on the ground, "I have this day to mourn but I wanted to give this back to you," she
spat, "It was put in our bags yesterday and my grandmother was arrested this morning for stealing it. She died on the gallows."

  He grinned but it was mirthless and cruel, "You can have it," he said with a laugh, "It's already been paid for."

  "With a lie and blood," Serafina said taking a step closer to him, "Your lies and my grandmother's blood."

  He raised his brow and a grin spread over his face, "You had a chance to leave," he said and then, stepped forward grabbing her by her forearm. A crowd stood around them now. The children had stopped walking to school to stare.

  "Ten lashes," The sheriff said announcing it to his guards before turning to the crowd, "That's what the punishment is for accusing a sheriff of wrongdoing."

  Fear finally wiped out her anger as she glanced toward the platform. Two poles stuck out of the side of it with a rope connected to each. Those ropes were used to hold the prisoners in place while the sheriffs administered their lashes. Tears burned her eyes as he pushed her toward the platform causing her to fall forward.

  The sheriff dug his fingers into her forearm, pulling her to her feet. His grip tightened and she hissed in pain as he dragged her forward. The ropes were pulled toward her as the guards forced her wrists toward them.

  "Stop!" Someone's voice called from the crowd. She blinked the tears from her eyes to find a boy from her school. He was a little older than her at thirteen. His blonde hair fell across his tanned brow. His blue eyes met hers with fear and remorse shining from them. Her mind whispered his name and she winced...Thane.

  "Her sentence has been given unless you would like to take her place," the sheriff said, raising his brows.

  Thane glanced at her and then, nodded, "I-I will," he said, raising his chin, "I'll take her place."

  She shook her head thinking she had misunderstood. He barely knew her. Why would he want to suffer for her? Why would he risk death? Her eyes widened as the sheriff released her to grab him. The horror of facing the sheriff's whip still clung to her but she couldn't allow him to take her place.

  "No!" She cried but the sheriff stepped in front of her. His guards tightened their grips on Serafina's arms as the sheriff's lips lifted in a malicious grin. He gripped her chin to stare into her eyes.

  "Make her watch every lash," he said as the boy was tied to the post.

  The sheriff turned to Thane and unfurled his whip, "One word from you and he'll get ten more," he said, narrowing his eyes at Serafina.

  A tremble shook through her as the sheriff turned. She wanted to close her eyes as he swung the whip but she knew better. The crack was deafening as it met his skin. He inhaled sharply but didn't cry out. He threw his head back. The guards pulled her closer to him.

  "I want her to see his pain," The sheriff said, a muscle near his eye twitched before he turned back to Thane, "Make sure she has a view of his face."

  The guards drug her to the front of the platform and made her kneel at the bottom of the stairs. Her eyes locked with his. The whip cracked again but her eyes remained focused on him as his back bowed in pain. She wanted to reach out and comfort him but she couldn't. The third lash came and he would have fallen to his knees if the ropes were not holding him. The fourth came and he finally cried out causing her to fight. The guards lost their grips on her wrists. She reached out for him as the fifth came and she wished he had never stepped forward. The sixth came and she moved away from the guards who were reaching for her and crawled toward him. The seventh wrapped around his shoulder gashing him there. Blood dripped down his chest. The eighth and ninth gashed him again as she reached the final step of the platform. She threw herself against him and wrapped her arms around him with her back exposed for the sheriff. The tenth she took absorbing the slice and burning of her skin as she fell to the ground. Thane was cut down and left lying beside her as her vision clouded. His hand reached out for hers, gripping it as their blood mingled with her grandmother's on the wooden planks. Then, the darkness came taking her away from the pain for a little while.

  **********

  7 years later

  She sat up in bed, her breaths catching in her throat as she glanced around the gray room. The mist from her breath mingled with the rest of the room before disappearing into the air as she realized where she was. She was no longer wrapped around the boy who had once saved her. Their blood no longer stained the platform and the sheriff had long forgotten the little girl who stood up to him and the boy who took her punishment. Thane had forgotten her.

  When she tried to talk to him at school, he walked by as if he had never seen her...Never sacrificed for her. Over the years, she caught him staring at her but once their eyes met, he turned and went back to pretending she didn't exist. Then, two years before, he graduated and the rumors were that he had been drafted for the King's Army. She hoped that wasn't true. She had witnessed what the soldiers became.

  Shaking the thought away, she sighed. It would do her little good thinking of him when she had so much to worry about. She swallowed as she glanced at the dress hanging on the door. Her eighteenth birthday was coming just in time for the prince of Eden to view the women in hopes of finding his mate. Of course, the girl could choose not to become his wife but at a great cost. The last family to have a girl turn down the offer of marriage to a prince, no longer existed within Eden's borders. They had been banished.

  She glanced around the room at her sleeping siblings. She would never do that to them but still she hoped she wouldn't be chosen. Though it would mean that they didn’t starve, she didn't want to marry into the cruel family of the King. She wanted to live her life like the people in the stories her grandmother told. She wanted to be free.

  "Serafina!" Her mother called. Her heart fluttered in her chest as her eleven year old sister, Stella turned on the cot, opening her hazel eyes to stare up at her. Her four other sisters still slept on the cots within the room.

  "Fina, are you okay?" She asked in her sleep worn voice. Her brow furrowed as she glanced around the room.

  "Go back to sleep, Stella," She whispered, "It's the one week you don't have to go to school or work in the fields."

  She nodded and closed her eyes. Serafina's heart clenched. Stella was too young to have to work so hard. They all were. The stories of how children were in her grandmother's memories ran through her brain as she rose and walked into the kitchen. It had been seven years but her eyes still flew to the wooden stove expecting to see her grandmother there and always coming away disappointed.

  She jumped when her mother spoke again, "Did you try on the dress?" She asked.

  Serafina turned to her, studying her mother. Once again, she was pregnant....This time with her eleventh child. The bulge of her stomach extended outward sitting on top of her thighs. Her legs and feet were swollen as was her pretty face. Her hair the same color as Serafina's was pulled back in a ponytail revealing the silver-grey of eyes that she had also gifted her daughter with.

  "I did," she said, sighing as she sat down.

  Her mother's face darkened as she studied her, "There's a good chance he won't pick you," she whispered.

  "I hope for it," she declared and turned back to her mother, "I hope that it is a few days off work and school and we get a new princess who isn't me. Perhaps her family will show mercy on us and throw us scraps of food."

  She winced, "We can hope," she said and then, sighed. Serafina studied her mother.

  "Why are you more understanding than father?" Serafina asked, raising her brow. Her father had hopes of her becoming the princess and became upset when she didn't express excitement at the possibility of being chosen.

  Her mother sighed, "When I turned eighteen, the king was the prince then and sadly, his first wife had passed away. He was still in his twenties and went in search of his new wife," she said and smiled, "I was thankful that he didn't choose me. He chose the girl who refused to marry him. Elizabeth Fellows was her name. She was a friend of mine. Her whole family was banished. Then, the king chose another and though the
girl he chose did not want to wed him, she did out of fear."

  "That's all we have here is fear," Serafina spat as anger swept through her, "We always fear everything. We fear the gallows and the sheriff worst of all. I'm sure there is someone set to be whipped today."

  Her mother nodded and Serafina raised her brow, "Who is it?" She inquired as fear slid through her. Since her grandmother's death, she always feared for those she loved.

  "Maggie Perkins," She whispered and Serafina sucked in her breath. Maggie had been friends with her grandmother.

  "Another of the elderly," she hissed through her teeth, "How convenient. She's ninety. She won't make it."

  Her mother looked down at her hands, "I don't think she wants to."

  Serafina nodded, "When is it?" She asked, frowning.

  "Today," her mother said, "In two hours."

  "What's her crime?" Serafina wondered narrowing her eyes.

  "She slept through time for church on Sunday," she said as a tear fell down her cheek, "When she showed up panicked, the sheriffs took her."

  Serafina glanced at the wall where the ten commandments were written on a wooden plaque. Her grandmother's voice whispered through her memory.

  "Breaking these rules didn't mean death when I was a girl," she said with a sad sigh, "They were something you followed in order to worship. The King and the sheriffs are the ones who made them something to be feared."

  Serafina blinked away the memory and walked to the door before she slipped into her shoes.

  "Serafina, don't cause trouble," her mother pleaded, hastily, "You know what happened last time."

  Serafina's heart trembled as the memory of Thane taking her punishment slammed through her mind, "I'm not, Mother," she said with a sigh, "I want to speak to Maggie before she faces the gallows. I hope it offers her comfort."

  Her mother nodded as Serafina walked out the door.

  ***********

  Maggie Perkins was huddled in the corner of her cell, dirty and unfed. Her yellowed eyes narrowed as she peered into the darkness. The shadows were cast over the girl she had known since the day she was born. Serafina's eyes were the only bright thing in the murky room.