Knights v Hunters: The Choice
Chapter 2

Both the Knights and Hunters existed to protect the Normals, but whereas the Knights were in the habit of rescuing the condemned Normals who they deemed worth saving, the Hunters believed in eliminating the condemned from Normal society by releasing the arrows that flowed in the Hunters’ blood. The Untouchables were the outcasts of Knight society. They would normally have to have done something unspeakable or committed some act in violation of the Knights’ strict covenants to be removed from Knight Town, the residence of the Knights and to be placed within the society inhabited by the Normals. The Untouchables were stripped of their powers and memories when they were banished from Knight Town and the Knights never interacted with them on a personal level again. Unconsciously, the Untouchables were also able to block out Knights, thus making it difficult, although not impossible, for Knights to read, sense or track them. It seemed that Eden Grant was about to discover just how difficult it was, first hand.

“She’s in trouble,” Rafe stated as he started running towards the interview room. Marquez

and Caleb both followed him and just as Rafe swung open the interview room door, he heard a muffled shout from Eden.

They found Eden and Tyler near the window of the room, Tyler’s hand covering Eden’s mouth and a small sharp pocketknife in his right hand.

“I’m getting out of here, or the young lawyer gets one to the throat,” Tyler shouted. Caleb noticed that the Untouchable looked determined to make his escape. Why, though? Caleb wondered. Wasn’t the Knight here to rescue him?

“There’s no way out Tyler, just give it up,” Marquez quietly pronounced as he drew his weapon. In the meantime, Rafe raised his hand preparing to launch the arrow that would end Tyler’s life and he knew that Caleb had adopted a similar stance. The weapons of vengeance flowed in the blood of Hunters.

Tyler stared at the boys, the look in his eyes confirming that he knew exactly who the boys were and the reason they were there. They could terminate him in under a second and the captain would be none the wiser. His nostrils flared in anger. He hadn’t come this far to die alone. He would take the Knight with him, the one who had come to offer him salvation. He didn’t know when he had made the decision to not accept the Knight’s offer to rescue him, even though he had expected a Knight to turn up at the station. He harboured great regret and sadness over his actions today and if the smoke alarm hadn’t triggered the emergency services this evening, thus disrupting his plans to be with his family, he wouldn’t now be in this situation. He should have never listened to them. He had lost everything and for what? Now, he was hoping to die. There was nothing left. Nothing to live for. No Izzy. No babies.

As Captain Marquez continued to try and talk Harry Tyler into releasing Eden, Harry, still possessing the agility of the Knight he had once been, quickly brought his hand with the pocket knife down, stabbing Eden close to her lungs. Just as quickly and without hesitation, Rafe dispatched the arrow, straight into Harry’s heart, as Eden collapsed with pain. Harry’s body shook, the effect of the arrow clearly evident and within seconds, he was dead, the arrow being absorbed into his body and breaking down into a million unidentifiable pieces.

Marquez raced over to both Harry Tyler and Eden. He felt Harry’s neck for a pulse. Nothing. He couldn’t understand it. Did the man just have a heart attack? He’d seen him shake and then fall down. As for Eden Grant, she was moaning with pain.

“I’m calling an ambulance. Guys, come and wait here with Miss Grant,” Marquez commanded as he ran out of the room to call for an ambulance. Rafe and Caleb knelt next to Eden as her eyelids fluttered open.

“Get me out of here,” she begged, “you know I can’t be taken to a hospital!”

Without hesitation, Rafe and Caleb helped her off the floor and Rafe carried her in his arms and out of the police station faster than the time it had taken Marquez to get to a phone to call for an ambulance. Once a safe distance from the police station, the boys contemplated what to do with the now unconscious Knight.

“We can’t just leave her here,” Rafe said. Eden was in a considerable amount of pain and he suspected that the knife had probably just missed her lung, but she wasn’t bleeding, the tear in her clothes the only indication that she had been stabbed. Unlike Hunters, Knights didn’t bleed.

“Well, we can’t take her home with us! Knights aren’t allowed in the compound! In any case, the Knights would have picked up on what happened and should be here in the next few minutes,” Caleb reasoned. The Knights, like the Hunters, had an internal tracking system where they could track their own. Pity they couldn’t track down the Untouchables, Caleb mused.

“Not if she is with a Hunter,” Rafe quietly mentioned, looking down at an unconscious Eden.

“What do you mean?” Caleb was perplexed.

“Our protective shields are so strong that Knights can’t track us, only Hunters can track each other. The Knights won’t be able to replace her if she is around us. They probably lost track of her when she entered the police station.”

“Then let’s leave her and go,” Caleb urged, whilst knowing that Rafe had already made his mind up to the contrary. The Knights and Hunters were natural opponents, but Caleb knew that Rafe would not leave a dying Knight in an alley. Hell, he wouldn’t either. That’s not how they were raised.

“Okay, I’ll carry her,” Caleb said and before Rafe could object he mentioned that he was faster than him.

Rafe handed Eden over to Caleb and while looking at her lying in his brother’s arms, he was once again overwhelmed by a sense of recognition.

Caleb carried Eden to their car, not in the least bit surprised that no one paid attention to an unconscious woman being carried through the streets of downtown New York! The brothers drove home to their compound and hoped that one of the Hunters, especially their mother, could help Eden so that they could return her to the Knights.

Driving into the compound where all the Hunters lived, Rafe was struck by the fact that every time he entered the area, he felt a sense of belonging. He felt it down to his last cell. Although their compound was as far away from the Normals as was possible, the Hunters were always aware of what lay beyond the walls that surrounded them. No Normal, as far as he knew, had ever entered their compound, which he and Caleb had named “Huntersville” when they were little. The Hunters attended their own schools, played their own type of sport and even studied further through correspondence, but although they carried identification, they were not on any system, very much like the Knights. The compound looked like any other middle-class suburb in New York, but here, they knew every single one of their neighbours and they lived a peaceful, if isolated, life. The only Normal they interacted with was the mayor of the neighbouring town, whose family, current and past, had all been friends and allies of the Hunters. Mayor Peter Strong knew the history of the Hunters through his own ancestors and never questioned his role in safeguarding the Hunters’ existence.

Rafe and Caleb’s mother, Ava, was already on the front porch as they drove up, a worried look on her face. Ava was tall, almost six feet, with dark, straight hair and was stronger than most forty-five year old women. She almost always displayed a serene smile, much like the Mona Lisa, Caleb had once said. Now she stood there, staring at her boys as they carried an unconscious Eden out of the car.

Without hesitation, Ava said, “Take her into the lounge, I’ll be there in a second.” Quickly, she went to fetch her medical bag. Ava was one of five Healers in the Hunter compound and one of the most experienced, given the escapades of her husband Jude, leader of the Hunters. Jude was out now, on another mission, but Ava knew that he was aware of what was going on and that he would have communicated with her if he thought that she needed to progress differently.

Checking over Eden, Ava shooed her boys out of the way as she lifted the blouse of the injured Knight. She quickly scanned the wound and realised that it went deep. The young woman would need extra care. There was also a green substance around the edges of the wound. Lifting some of it gently, she sniffed. It smelt like rosemary, a herb Normals frequently used in cooking, but which was deadly to both Knights and Hunters alike. Harry Tyler had obviously been ready to kill his way out of prison and he had known exactly what it would take to do it.

“Rafe, I want you to go and get Ella please,” Ava ordered from the lounge. Rafe did just that, appearing with Ella, younger sister to Becca, but an apprentice Healer in her own right.

Together, Ella and Ava carried Eden into one of the bedrooms. Eden was now burning up, the poison obviously having entered her system. Ava mixed one of her secret concoctions and asked Ella to gently wake Eden up. Ella knew how to do this painlessly and within a few seconds, Eden was awake, though barely lucid.

“Drink this,” Ava ordered and held the glass to Eden’s mouth. Ava knew that the mixture tasted horrible, but Eden never complained, drinking it as directed. As her head settled on the pillow again and her eyelids fluttered shut, Ava left Ella to stitch the wound and went to speak to her boys.

Rafe had a strange look on his face, Ava noted, whereas Caleb looked almost guilty. “The knife missed her lung, which is fortunate, but the knife was laced with crushed rosemary which can be fatal to us, as you know. I’ve administered some medication and we will see over the next few hours whether she will make it. Your father will be home in a while. Why don’t you boys get something to eat in the meantime?” Although they had in effect been dismissed, both boys lingered.

“Do we need to inform the Knights, Ma? They won’t know where she is” Rafe carefully asked.

“And because they won’t be able to track her, they will assume one of two things, that she is no longer of this earth or that she is with us. Your father will decide Rafe and we will abide by his decision,” Ava firmly stated.

Rafe recognised that tone and both he and Caleb turned towards the kitchen. He was too tired to eat, but Caleb could always eat, even if he was troubled. He sat and watched his brother work his way through four sandwiches and half a gallon of juice. For the life of him, he didn’t know where that all went, for Caleb was leaner than him.

It was sunrise before Jude returned from his mission. He had taken Ethan with him and it was obvious from the look of satisfaction on his face as he entered the house, that the mission had been successful. Turning to his sons, he quietly tried to assess the situation. Caleb was worried about what would happen next; Rafe was only worried about the girl. His son seemed almost confounded, Jude thought.

Ava, together with Ella, had spent the last few hours with Eden, wiping her down as her temperature spiked. She seemed to be much better now and over the worst. Ava felt her husband enter the house, triumphant in his mission, but concerned about the situation they now found themselves in and right now, he also seemed concerned about Rafe. She made her way downstairs and Jude immediately wrapped his arms around her. They had been married for twenty five years and not a day went by when she didn’t feel like the luckiest woman in the world. Jude was the kindest, strongest and gentlest man she had ever met. Forget that he was gorgeous and seemed to grow more so by the day, but he was an excellent father, an exceptional husband and a respected leader of the Hunters, someone who listened, even when he didn’t have to.

Jude loved the smell and feel of his wife. She had been the one constant in his life, the girl he was destined to marry, despite his family’s initial misgivings. His mother Alexandra had thought that Ava was too free-spirited to be the wife of the future leader of the Hunters, but she had eventually relented, especially when she saw them together. She’d known then, as he had, that Ava was a life partner, someone to complement him and to make him stronger. Their wedding had been magnificent, their marriage, better than even he could have imagined. Now, she was his mother’s favourite person, the one person from whom Alexandra regularly sought counsel, and as his mother grew older, the person whom she trusted the most with her healing. He and Ava now had a big decision to make, one that could challenge the current relationship between the Hunters and the Knights.

“Rafe, Caleb, I will call for a gathering of the Hunters at noon. We will decide on how to proceed and how to hand over the young Knight to her people. Your mother is certain that she is on the road to recovery so it will be safe to move her. I am not eager to communicate with the Knights, but Eden is the daughter of their leader Gabe, and as a father, I know he will be worried about his daughter. Your mother and I will ensure that the Knights are informed,” Jude’s words brooked no argument and even though Rafe and Caleb had a dozen questions on their minds, they didn’t want to voice it. Instead, they spoke silently in their minds, to each other. “Rafe, how do you think Dad knew that Eden is Gabe’s daughter?”

“I don’t know Caleb, just like I don’t know how I knew that myself!” Even though Jude could track them and see through their eyes what was happening around them and to them, he could not read their minds, which in this case, was fortunate.

Rafe was confused. He had instinctively known that Eden was Gabe’s daughter. How was that possible? More importantly, how were his parents going to communicate with the Knights? He knew that the Knights and Hunters rarely, if ever, communicated. He also knew that since Knights could not read the minds of Hunters, this communication had to be formal. You’re overthinking this Rafe. Just trust Dad, like you always have.

“In the meantime,” Jude announced, “I think we should all try to get some rest before the meeting. Ella will take first shift with the girl.” He looked at Rafe. His son looked worn out and troubled and he couldn’t understand why. The boys had eliminated Harry Tyler and apart from the incident with the girl, it had been a standard operation. Ah, the girl. Dawning realisation brought no comfort. He just had to ensure that the situation didn’t get out of control.

Eden stirred in her dream-plagued sleep. She saw Harry Tyler stab her not once, like in reality, but over and over again. And he kept muttering the words, “I didn’t need you to save me, Knight. Those Hunters will kill me now.” She then saw him lift his hand to stab her one last time, right through her heart. She jerked awake, breathing heavily.

“Shhh, it’s just a bad dream. You’re okay now. Go back to sleep,” someone whispered, gently laying a hand on her hair. Rafe, it dawned on her, as her eyelids once again drifted shut. Her last thoughts were that her father would be so worried and she had no way to let him know what had happened.

Gabe paced up and down the passage, further wearing out the already worn-out carpet. His wife quietly watched him, knowing not to interrupt him while he was deep in thought. She had been married to him too long to not know how troubled he was. Their daughter was missing. She could be dead. Gabe couldn’t track her. Grace though, knew that Eden was okay, that she was being taken care of, but she couldn’t tell her husband. Thankfully the all-powerful Gabe did not have the ability to read her mind. True, he could replace out where she and the other Knights were at all times, but he didn’t have access to her most private thoughts.

Eden has to still be alive, Gabe thought. He might not be able to track her, which would normally indicate that a Knight was no longer alive, but his heart knew that his daughter, fast, strong, quick-thinking, Eden was still with them. Which only meant that she was in the company of a Hunter. But why? The paths of Hunters and Knights rarely crossed on missions, usually because they had different agendas, so they stayed out of each other’s way, never interacting. They had become silent adversaries over the past few generations, whereas once they had been partners, but they both abided by the most sacred of joint covenants – do no harm unto each other. The world would never be the same if there were an all-out war between the Hunters and Knights. So Gabe was only slightly comforted by the thought that Eden would be unharmed if she was with them, but why hadn’t he heard anything yet?

“Father, any news yet?” Josh couldn’t contain himself as he walked into his parents’ home. His sister was missing. No one seemed to be able to track her. He still couldn’t understand why his father had let his sister go on this mission alone. She was the youngest in the family and probably the most vulnerable and she hadn’t even made the Choice yet. Nothing must happen to her, he thought.

“No, my son,” Gabe answered, aware that his children would be fretful and knowing that very soon, he would have to call a meeting of the Council of Elders to inform them of Eden’s disappearance and to discuss the way forward. The Council normally took their lead from him, but he also knew that they would think that he was too emotionally involved in this and would ask someone like Noah, to be the arbiter in this case. Noah, who had been a hot head since he was a child, growing up in their secluded town, had not improved with age. He had been trying to oust Gabe as leader of the Knights in the last decade, to no avail, but the Council recognised his competitiveness and fed off it when it suited them.

“Gabe, I know that you will talk to the Council eventually, but why not leave them out of this for now?” Grace advised.

Gabe turned around, his face etched in confusion. “I can’t keep something like this from them, Gracie. They will learn of it, of that I am sure,” he concluded.

Josh looked at his mother. He agreed with her. She seemed sure of her suggestion. “Father, I think we should hold off on this for a few hours, while we do our own investigations. Kyra, Matthew and I, will search for Eden’s trail. You can check with your own contacts among the Normals.” Unlike the Hunters, the Knights frequently interacted with the Normals outside their town. Like the Hunters though, Normals weren’t allowed into their town.

Gabe pondered a moment and then nodded. His four children, he knew, thought differently about the ways of the Council and the rules of the Knights. He also acknowledged though, that so far, when given the Choice, they had all chosen to remain Knights. As would Eden. She would never abandon her family. They would not abandon her now. Most importantly, he and Gracie had not raised daughters, they had raised warriors. If anyone could survive on her own in the world of the Normals, it was his youngest child.

It was almost noon before Eden’s family received notice via Mayor Peter Strong, the mayor of the town next to which the Hunters had their compound, and with whom Gabe was familiar, that Eden was okay, but that due to her injuries, it would only be safe to return her the next day. The mayor himself would bring her to the town in which the Knights lived and the Knights could collect her from the gate.

Gabe experienced a sense of relief that he hadn’t felt since Eden had gone missing. His baby. Thankfully she was okay. He responded to the mayor by saying that although he would like to have his daughter returned as soon as possible, he would not risk her health. He thanked the mayor for his kindness and indicated that he would be outside the gate, waiting for this daughter the next day at the allotted time. No mention was made of the Hunters or their role in his daughter’s care.

Grace silently said a little prayer as she walked towards her husband. She would see her baby tomorrow and she knew that Eden was doing well, the poison having been removed from her system, but she was weak and needed time to completely recuperate. Eden’s siblings were overjoyed when they heard the news and glad that Gabe hadn’t called the council meeting as he had planned. They would just have to keep Eden indoors for a while. Their sister had a lot to think about, including her future with the Knights and as the youngest daughter of the leader, she would be facing the added pressure of being expected to conform to time-honoured traditions.

The sunlight streaming through her window eventually woke Eden from what seemed to be a deep sleep. She barely had memories of waking up the night before with a bad dream. Did she dream that Rafe had been in her room and comforted her when she had awoken afraid? Probably.

“Ah, you’re finally awake. How are you feeling?” Eden turned her eyes in the direction of the voice. There, she saw the most beautiful woman, dark haired, with long flowing locks, a kind voice and a dimple on her right cheek, that was so deep, it looked as if it had been carved at birth. She must be Rafe’s mother, Eden thought, for his looks were similar and both he and his brother had dimples on their right cheeks, though Rafe’s was more pronounced.

“I feel so much better, thank you.” Eden said and made to sit up. Ava was quickly by her side, lifting up pillows to accommodate Eden in a sitting position.

“Your temperature is almost back to normal,” Ava announced. That was a good sign. Lifting up Eden’s shirt, she saw that the wound was almost completely healed. Knights healed much faster than Hunters, Ava knew, which explained Eden’s healing. It was only the poison in her system, which had slowed her down.

If Eden was uncomfortable with the familiarity, she didn’t mention it. She was grateful to be alive and knew that it had everything to do with the actions of the Hunters. “My name is Eden. I am the daughter of Gabe and Grace,” Eden ventured.

“I know who you are,” Ava said, a half-smile on her face. “I am Ava, wife to Jude and mother of Rafe and Caleb. We have informed your family of your situation and will return you to them tomorrow when you are a bit stronger. A Normal, who is a trusted friend of my family, will take you to them.” Eden was surprised. Her father might be worried though that she had disappeared off his radar screen and had essentially been carried off by the enemy, but he would be grateful that she was okay.

“I think you should get some food into your system. Ella will help you clean up and I’ll bring you something to eat.” As if summoned, Ella appeared, all smiles and with an armful of clothes. Like Ava, she had dark hair, but her eyes were green.

“I think these clothes will fit you. They are my sister’s,” Ella said as she went to help Eden. In fifteen minutes, Eden was cleaned up and immediately felt much better. She was settling against the pillow, with Ella chatting away, when Rafe entered the room. The faint smudges beneath his eyes were the only indication that he might not have slept well last night. He stared at her, as if mentally examining her, which should have made her uncomfortable, but did not. Finally he smiled, his dimple more pronounced as his smile widened.

“Hi, I see you’re much better this morning,” he said.

“Are you reading my mind?” Eden simply asked. This caused Rafe to burst out in laughter.

“Yes, guilty as charged. You are very easy to read.”

Eden looked at him. She was a Reader. Why couldn’t she read him? “Knights can’t read Hunters,” Rafe answered, “or it seems, the Untouchables!”

Eden was miffed, but she knew it was true. Even her father, the all-powerful Gabe had not read Harry Tyler, but Harry had been able to read her! How was that possible? Why had he not been stripped off his powers when he was banished as an Untouchable to live amongst the Normals? That was one of the Knight’s covenants.

“It might have to do with the fact that his father sat on the Council and he might have decided that his son needed some of his special abilities to keep him alive when he was sent to live with the Normals.” Rafe knew that Gabe had not been part of that decision and Tyler’s father would now be punished for transgressing the rules and would himself become one of the Untouchables. This, he would not tell Eden. It was a matter for the Knights.

“The captain at the police station mentioned that you were a Seer, is that true?” Eden asked curiously, whilst ignoring Rafe’s remarks. She didn’t want to comment on Knight business, especially not to a Hunter.

“No. I’m a Reader, a very good one at that,” he mused. “I just needed to get in to see Tyler because we needed to ensure that the kids were found.”

“Well, I can’t thank you or your brother enough for getting me out of there and now your mother and Ella for basically saving my life.” Eden seemed to be in a contemplative mood for a minute. “Why do I feel like I know you, Rafe?” she suddenly asked.

For a second, Rafe could not speak. He felt like he did when Caleb and him were in training and he got the wind knocked out of him. He took a deep breath and answered honestly. “I don’t know, but I had the same feeling when I saw you, which is crazy because our paths have never crossed before.”

By this time, Eden was most perplexed. She was so sure that she knew Rafe, that there was a previous connection between them, but she couldn’t explain it. That Rafe felt the same was even more perplexing. “I rarely forget stuff you know, I’m so sure I would have remembered you if we had met. I don’t think I’ve even met a Hunter before.”

“Well, now you’ve met my family.” As if summoned, Caleb, Jude and Ava walked into Eden’s room. Eden immediately became self-conscious, suddenly aware that she was in the presence of the formidable leader of the Hunters. Jude filled the room, exuding the power for which he was famed. Dark hair fell to his shoulders, mapping his angular face with its sharp cheekbones under olive skin. He looked much too young to be the father to Rafe and Caleb.

“I am glad to see that you are on the mend,” Jude stated.

“Thank you sir and thank you to your family for your hospitality and saving my life,” Eden stammered.

Jude stared at her, in much the same way as Rafe had. “You are welcome. Despite our differences, my children know not to leave injured Knights behind!” He smiled as he said that and even though he might have said that in jest, Eden knew that he had spoken the truth. There was a certain kindness evident in the Hunters that she had been very surprised to see, mostly because she had been raised to view them as the enemy. An enemy in her mind, was someone to be feared, someone who was cruel and who would destroy you if they had the chance. These Hunters didn’t exhibit any of those characteristics. They were fearsome, yes, but they were also caring.

“Leave the child be,” Ava ordered and shooed her men out of the room. She placed the food tray on Eden’s lap and watched her slowly eat. Eden enjoyed the chicken stew more than anything she had eaten in a while. Her mother was a lousy cook, so Eden tended to the household meals whenever she could. Ava, though, knew how to cook!

The next day, the sun shone brighter than it had in New York the entire summer. It was almost expected, that the sunshine would later be accompanied by passing showers. Promptly at 10am, the boys placed Eden in their car and drove her out of the Hunter compound, after several thank-you’s to Ava, Jude and Ella. The mayor was waiting for them outside the compound and Rafe decided to carry Eden and place her into the mayor’s car. As she said her farewells to Rafe and Caleb, Eden was overcome with tremendous, inexplicable sadness. It was worse than when her Grandma had passed all those years ago. She would never see the Hunters again. Why did that thought make her want to weep?

Rafe watched the mayor drive away with Eden, unaware that his brother was carefully watching him. He wanted to run after them, tell them to stop and ask Eden to stay. Why?

“Let her go,” Caleb said, startling Rafe out of his sombre mood. “She doesn’t belong here.”

“I know,” Rafe admitted.

“Besides, there’s plenty of game closer to home,” Caleb joked. He knew that there were several women amongst the Hunters who would give anything to get close to Rafe, but Rafe was picky, unlike him! Caleb enjoyed the attention of several beautiful women, all of whom he still maintained very close friendships with, even when the relationships had ended. It was time to get Rafe into the game.

Rafe heard his brother’s thoughts and wasn’t very interested in pursuing any relationship right now. He had a lot of training to do over the next few days and he had to help the other Hunters with some of their missions. That was his role – he would take over the leadership of the Hunters some day from his father; for now, he needed to ensure that he was learning as much as possible.

When Mayor Strong arrived outside the town where the Knights had long resided, Gabe and Grace were there to meet him and they quietly loaded Eden into their car, thanked the mayor profusely and drove off. It was the first time that the mayor had met some of the Knights and he was struck by how serene they seemed in comparison to the Hunters whom he had known for a lifetime. The Hunters radiated energy and had helped out his town more often than even he could remember. Although the Hunters lived secluded in their compound, living very self-sufficiently, none of the Normals in the town seemed to be curious enough to venture into the Hunter compound and the Hunters only ever interacted with the Normals in the town during missions or for business, never socially. His family were the only Normals fortunate enough to have long and enduring relationships with the leaders of the Hunters for many generations and he would never do anything to betray that.

“Sis, we’re so glad you’re home,” Josh declared as he helped his sister out of the car. His father looked grim faced, probably because Eden looked weak and tired.

Eden was glad to be home, but a part of her already missed the Hunters, a fact she wouldn’t readily share with anyone, even her sister Kyra. None of them would understand how she felt when she barely could. When Eden was eventually settled in her room, Grace wandered in, carrying a tray laden with herbal tea and scones.

“I know you might have eaten breakfast, so I brought you something light. Don’t worry,” Grace smiled, “I didn’t bake these scones, Kyra did!” Eden was always amazed that her mother did not take offense to the fact that her cooking was not one of her most admired skills in their family. She often joked about it and was not offended when one of her children did either. Only Gabe refrained from making any comments on his wife’s cooking.

“Thanks, Mother,” Eden said as she accommodated the tray on her lap. Grace smoothed the hair back on her daughter’s head. She was grateful that her youngest had been returned to her, almost healed. Something much worse could have happened out there. Gabe had told her in the middle of the night, when their house was quiet except for the chirping of birds outside their bedroom window, that two Hunters had taken Eden away to their compound after she had been stabbed by Harry Tyler. Knights healed quickly, so the action wouldn’t have been necessary, except that Eden had been poisoned by the condemned Normal, who it turned out, had actually been an Untouchable. Gabe had confided in her, that he would always be grateful to the Hunters for saving his baby. Grace knew that it took a lot for Gabe to say that, but her husband had always been a remarkable man, an honourable man, someone she would and had trusted with her life. And yet, as she watched him drift to sleep that night, she felt a sense of guilt knowing that there was only one thing she had ever kept from him in her entire life, something for which he might never forgive her if he ever found out.

Eden sensed that her mother was far away in thought. Grace was an incredible woman, someone who had found the strength to bury her young brothers when she herself was barely a young girl, who had tended to her ailing parents and who had stood side by side with her husband on many missions, saving lives, bringing absolution to the lives of so many Normals. Her mother had no way of knowing that Eden and her siblings had cottoned on to the fact that their mother continued to track the lives of the Normals whom she had rescued, almost to ensure that they weren’t wasting their second chances.

“I want you to know that your father is more than a bit distressed that he hadn’t completely read Harry Tyler before he sent you out on your own to rescue the man!” Eden wanted to protest, to say that she did not blame her father for what had happened, but Grace motioned for her to listen. “Over the next few days, he will walk around like a bear with a sore head, very regretful, but also contemplative. Give him some space my darling, okay?”

Grace knew she didn’t even have to ask. Eden and Gabe had a very strong bond, based on loyalty, commitment, trust and the purest of love. Father and daughter had always been inseparable, ever since Gabe had first held Eden in his arms shortly after she was born. Just as she had always known this, Grace also knew that something had happened, was happening, which would test the strength of that bond.

Just then, Gabe walked in, looking contrite, with the rest of his children in tow. For a moment he just stared at his daughter, knowing how close he had come to losing her. “Eden, I am so glad to have you home. It wasn’t the same without you.” Her sister and brothers nodded in agreement. None of them had sustained life -threatening injuries in their missions before, so the thought that they could have lost their little sister, humbled them and cautioned them at the same time.

Gabe then proceeded to share with them, his dilemma, as Eden’s family settled themselves in her room. Gabe couldn’t reveal to the Council that Eden was injured by an Untouchable, for that would raise too many questions about her health and recovery and would bring the role of the Hunters to light. At the mention of the Hunters, Eden’s mind flashed to a pair of blue eyes, the colour of the ocean and gentle hands. She scolded herself into focussing on her father’s words again but the image of Rafe still clung to her mind like the feel of the first raindrops on your skin after a long drought.

“So you mean that the role of the Council in all of this will remain unspoken?” Matthew quietly questioned.

Gabe nodded. “Revealing this will unearth the fact that a member of the Council allowed an Untouchable to retain his powers because of familial relations.”

“Not to mention the fact that Eden almost died as a result of that!” Josh said, none too happy with his father’s reasoning.

“Father, Seth has been trying for years to replace you with Noah. If we tell the Council, Seth will be removed and he will be banished. Are you trying to tell me that the Council will choose a Knight who betrayed his people over one whose daughter was saved by a Hunter?” This time Matthew asked with more anger than he thought he had inside him.

The question remained unanswered for a while. Then Gabe pronounced, “You must understand, the Knights and Hunters have been adversaries for centuries. So yes, I think that the Council would view any interaction with them, albeit an innocent one, as a betrayal.”

“What about the Guardians?” Kyra asked. “They saw you and mother collect Eden at the gate. They would know that she was unwell.”

The Guardians protected the homestead of the Knights. In all his years, Gabe had never heard of any incident resulting in a breach of Knight security. No one, but Knights, was allowed to enter Knight town. Physically, the Guardians were the strongest of the Knights and they were born into their roles.

“I have their loyalty. They only take instruction from me,” Gabe affirmed. His wife and children nodded, acknowledging their acceptance of those words.

“So Seth gets off scot-free?” Matthew prodded.

“For now. You see, although I realise that he wanted to leave his son Harry Tyler, or Lucas as he was known when he was part of the Knights, with an advantage over the Normals, I’m wondering if Seth has done this before or since.”

An uncomfortable question settled in the minds’ of Gabe’s family. Could the oldest member of the Council have committed the ultimate betrayal?