Beyond the Garden

by S. Y. Thompson

  At least Imani had managed to charter a boat by using some of her local contacts. One of Imani’s people, a man, would function as a front for them to avoid the inherent second-class stigma of being female. That left trying to provide sentries for the next phase of the journey. Lil had tried recruiting American service men and women, but to no avail. Apparently, they hadn’t any time for extracurricular activities.

  Lil halted abruptly and scanned the area. For the last week, she’d felt eyes watching her. So far she hadn’t seen anyone following her, but she knew someone was there. Her dark clothes ensured she would blend in to the darkness and the lack of working electricity would definitely help. There were no streetlights here to give away her presence. She wished she had Pravde nearby so she could see through her eyes, but she was safe at home across the ocean.

  When nothing moved in the shadows, Lil continued on her way. Signs of war were overt here with blasted buildings and sporadic running water. Stray dogs ran the streets though none were visible at the moment. The area was being rebuilt through the generosity of the United Nations and countries like the European Union and the United States. Scaffolds and heavy equipment sat quiet for the moment, but Lil knew she wasn’t alone.

  A man stepped from shadows cast by the partially crumbled brick wall of a ruined school. Lil assumed he was the one she felt watching her. She saw the arrogance in the tilt of his head, the scowl in his eyes as he expected her to cow down to his masculinity. He wore frayed old camouflage utility clothing that he’d probably taken from a dead soldier. Lil’s assessment was based on the bloodstains on the clothes and his lack of obvious wounds. Unwashed, greasy black hair and a week’s growth of stubble added to his bad guy image. All he lacked to complete the picture was an eye patch. She didn’t care for him, but that wasn’t important at the moment.

  A cloud moved away from the moon and Lil noticed the crosses carved into both of his cheeks. She had seen people do many strange things to themselves for all sorts of reasons, religion being chief among them. Lil boldly approached the unsavory character, intent on finding out the information she needed and getting back to Dana at the hotel. She tried to ignore the uncomfortable sensations she experienced around this man.

  “You have something for me?” she asked in the local dialect.

  He smiled, showing where he’d lost several teeth. The remaining ones appeared never to have seen a toothbrush. “You are looking for soldiers?”

  “Bodyguards,” she corrected automatically. “I don’t need mercenaries, just some men to protect a diving expedition off the coast.”

  Dark eyes narrowed and Lil wondered if she’d misspoken. “What is it you seek?”

  “That is none of your concern. Can you put me in contact with someone or not?”

  The stranger suddenly spat on the ground, a clear sign of his disgust. “Where is your man? Why is a woman here alone? You say you seek protectors and yet you come to such a dangerous place without anyone?”

  Lil sensed the escalating tension. She suspected the stranger had set this meeting as some kind of test, one she had apparently failed. Her muscles tightened as Lil expected him to attack. She didn’t see a rifle or handgun, but he probably thought her an easy mark. He probably planned to rob, possibly rape, and definitely kill her. She would easily break his neck before any of that happened. Lil didn’t expect the wickedly sharp scimitar he pulled from somewhere at the small of his back.

  “You may kill me, but I am sent to deliver a message.”

  This was different. “What message?”

  “The Evil One was banished from paradise at Allah’s will. We will prevent your return, even if it means our own demise. The Haimia have sworn this as a sacred oath.”

  Lil had assumed his earlier raised voice a sign of anger that a woman would attempt to deal with him as an equal. As he finished delivering his warning, his voice trembled and clued Lilith in to her error.

  “You know who I am.” It was not a question. Lil hardened her voice, playing on the man’s fear.

  “You are the child eater, the succubus and temptress of men. Bullets and poisons will not kill you, but you cannot regenerate if you are in pieces.”

  No, she couldn’t regenerate in pieces. But that wouldn’t prevent her consciousness from carrying on unimpeded. The idea of being awake and aware, yet unable to move was worse than the thought of never-ending life. Lil shuddered in the face of such torture.

  Muted light glinted off the blade as he raised it high to signify his intent. He rushed toward her and Lil barely jerked away as the knife flashed in front of her face. She felt the swish of air as it just missed severing her nose. He spun again, quickly attempting a backhanded slice. Lil’s jaw tightened in irritation. If she had a nickel for every group with a self-appointed mission to kill or maim her… First it was the Knights Templar and now these Haimia.

  Before he could connect, Lil translocated. She reappeared a hundred yards away under an intangibility spell. She heard the attacker trip in the rubble as he missed in the attempt to decapitate her. With his target no longer present, the force of his strike threw him off balance. He hit the ground with a muffled curse. Lil rolled her eyes and tossed her head. This was a complete waste of time.

  Lil needed to get back. Dana would be worried. Although Lil wanted people to protect the ship and crew during their quest, things were taking too long. She’d already lost a week trying to put the undertaking back together. Lil would give it a few more days, but after that she would go through with the team she had now.

  A low growl caused her steps to falter. She quickly discarded the notion that the sound emanated from the Haimia assassin. She had left him far behind and the sound didn’t seem to be one capable of originating from a human throat. Easily recognizable as a natural sound from a canine, Lil wasn’t initially concerned. Stray dogs roamed all over the Middle East. Unlike in some other countries, people in the region were more anxious with their own day-to-day survival to concern themselves with neglected, abandoned, or homeless animals. In her current state, under the intangibility spell, Lil wasn’t really worried.

  As she stood motionless in the full moon of a beautiful Baghdad night, a huge, shaggy beast rounded a building directly in front of her. Approximately the height of a large wolf, it stood out beneath the moon’s glow only due to its silvery gray coat. Judging by the crimson glow in the eyes, this was no ordinary canine. Lil would have known that simply by the stench of death assaulting her nostrils. The ragged coat and breath issuing from the open muzzle reeked of blood and rot. Lil fought the urge to gag.

  She quickly assessed the direction of the wind and the sound of her own beating heart. She stayed frozen out of an instinctive urge for self-preservation. Though she wanted her mortal existence to end, she had no desire to experience shredding agony pointlessly. Then she remembered the spell under which she stood. Nothing could see, smell or touch her at the moment. Lil had paid a heavy price in gold to Merlin many centuries ago for this ability. Despite the cost, it had proven worth the effort more than once.

  The boney head swiveled from side to side as the creature scented the air. Lil held her breath as scarlet orbs turned in her direction and stopped, proving her faulty assumption of safety. The muzzle closed and a more intense, rumbling growl reverberated from the heavy chest. Startling intelligence stared out at Lil even as the stench of sulfur grew stronger still.

  Lil had never personally dealt with one of these monsters, but she recognized a hellhound when she spotted one. Before she had properly completed the thought, the beast attacked. It launched itself upward with one final snarl. Lil automatically translocated, but managed to limit the distance. She couldn’t shift to a place where innocent bystanders might be hurt. For that reason, she moved only a couple hundred yards. She had used the relocation and invisibility spells so often that she expected the hound to lose her. Instead, it swiveled on its paw pads and rushed her again. Once unleashed, the creature would relentlessly pursue until it dispatched
the prey or was killed and sent back to hell.

  It charged again, so fast that Lil barely had time to react. Lil spun aside. The jaws closed together with a sound similar to tree trunks snapping. Simultaneously, Lil chopped downward on the creature’s neck with the blade of her hand. She put all of her strength into the move and expected to shatter the hound’s spine. Instead, the animal barely flinched.

  Teeth flashed in her face and Lil reached for the muzzle. She tried to grasp the upper and lower jaws with the intent of twisting and breaking the mandibles. She missed and the hound’s teeth sank into the flesh of her right elbow. The bite was so powerful that the teeth tore through skin, sinew and muscle, finally insulting the bone. The creature’s weight threw them to the ground.

  Lil heard her own cry of pain, but continued to fight. She wrapped her legs around the hound’s torso so that it couldn’t rip her belly open with its rear claws. The dog bit down harder and shook its head from side to side, shredding her skin. Blood slicked her body and the ground beneath them. Lil reached around the hound’s thick neck with her left hand and grabbed hold of the clamped muzzle. Her fingers slipped in blood and saliva but she persevered. Even as the skin of her fingers parted beneath the sharp teeth, she pried the jaws apart. Her right arm finally free, Lil used both hands to break the beast’s neck with one final, powerful wrench.

  Rather than falling limp, the heavy body abruptly puffed into a thick, oily cloud. The stench flew up her nostrils and down her throat as though the beast refused to surrender. Lil choked as the cloying presence attempted to suffocate her. The taste of decay on her tongue was too much. This time, Lil did retch. Her stomach heaved and she was thankful for not having eaten.

  The reflex had the effect of expelling the noxious fog from her mouth. Suddenly, the cloud collapsed in on itself, withdrawing from Lil and shooting downward. The hound’s remaining spirit finally relented and disappeared rapidly into the ground. Now formless and unable to stay in the corporeal realm, the hound hastened back to its master.

  Lil lay back on the ground, panting and exhausted. Her arm ached, her fingers burned and her chest felt like someone had poured acid down her throat and it had pooled under her sternum. She fervently hoped it was only a pulled muscle and that she hadn’t reinjured her heart. When she could breathe again without sharp, all-consuming agony, Lil struggled to sit.

  Her elbow felt crushed and she could barely wiggle her fingers. Already the joint had swollen and turned purple. Though these injuries were substantial, they were nothing compared to those she’d recently endured. Slowly, she climbed to her feet and became aware that her invisibility spell had dissipated during the struggle. She hadn’t the strength to reconstitute it. She had just dispatched a creature sent from hell and was more concerned with wondering about the purpose of the visit. Even if the beast had killed her, she would have eventually reanimated. Lil thought it far more likely that the visit was a warning of some type. She couldn’t fathom why, but had no doubt that she must be getting close to something and someone didn’t like it.

  It took hours for Lil to make it back to the hotel. All she wanted to do was lie down somewhere and sleep. Only her concern for Dana kept her on her feet. Lil wasn’t able to relocate by magical means and had to make the short journey under her own more natural power. She deliberately avoided the main lobby doors and took a rear entrance into the building. Fortunately, it was the middle of the night and no one was around to see her disheveled state. Lil gratefully pressed the button for the elevator and took the conveyance to the penthouse suite that she shared with Dana Reed.

  She’d never be able to relax until she ensured Dana was all right. Part of her questioned why she cared so much. She allowed that Dana’s kiss might have affected her more than she wanted to admit. Either that or she was just getting soft with her advanced years.

  “Maybe I’m just tired,” she muttered as the door opened to her key card. Somehow, she’d retained the card in her hip pocket throughout the struggle with the hellhound.

  With her softly spoken comment, Dana surprised her by sitting up on the sofa in the living area. “Lil?”

  “Yes, it’s me. I’m sorry that I woke you.”

  Lil recognized the words for the lie they were even as she spoke them. She was actually happy to find Dana alive and whole. She unaccountably drew comfort from Dana’s presence, feeling the tension ease between her shoulders. Dana clicked on a table lamp and Lil flinched from the unexpected brightness.

  “You’re hurt! What happened?”

  Lil tried not to smile. She felt warmed by Dana’s concern, but attempted to conceal her expression as she hobbled toward the sofa. Dana quickly made room for her. She leapt up and headed for the small kitchenette while Lil rested on the cushions. Dana returned with a dish of warm water and a cloth. She gently bathed the blood from Lil’s arm, hands and face. Her movements were soothing and Lil’s eyes watered from the tenderness in Dana’s touch.

  ****

  Dana awoke with a start when she heard the muttered words. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but the exhaustion and stress of the last few days combined with the late hours had overcome her resolve. Worried because of the disasters that appeared to keep pace with their every move, she had intended to wait up until Lil returned safely.

  She had left only the light in the small kitchen burning. It was enough to deduce that Lil had not returned the hale and hearty hero. Concerned, but determined to see the truth, Dana reached up and switched on the table lamp.

  “You’re hurt! What happened?”

  Guilt warred with apprehension as Dana made way for Lil to drop wearily onto the sofa. Blood streaked Lil’s right arm, both hands and dotted her face and clothing. Dana pressed her lips together to halt the torrent of questions and recriminations. She knew she should have gone with Lil, if only to watch her back.

  Dana left Lil’s side long enough to procure some clean water and bandages. As she cleaned, she noted with relief that the most serious injury was the right elbow. Purple and hugely swollen, Dana thought it had to be excruciating. She looked more closely at the wound and gasped when she saw bite marks. She glanced up to see Lil’s eyes were closed. Her head leaned against the cushions and she appeared to sleep. Only the tension in her body and lines under her eyes told Dana otherwise.

  “Dog?”

  Lil smiled softly. “Something along those lines. It was a hellhound.”

  Dana wanted to believe Lil was pulling her leg and almost said as much. As she hesitated to respond, she witnessed the puncture wounds begin to knit together. Blood stopped seeping and the marks disappeared entirely. Even the swelling looked better than it had only moments before. She swallowed hard and went for a casual tone.

  “Are you going to fill me in on what happened or should I just guess?”

  Lil’s eyes finally opened, her expression one of concern. “Are you angry with me?”

  Dana took a breath. “Well, let me think. In the past week I’ve seen you riddled with bullets, watched you die and come back to life, and now you stroll in with a mangled elbow talking about a date with a werewolf.”

  “Hellhound,” Lil corrected.

  “No, I’m not angry. I’m…wh….” Dana raked her fingers through already disheveled hair. “I’m bewildered, flummoxed and on the verge of losing my mind.”

  “There is nothing wrong with your sanity, Dana.”

  “Don’t get cute or I might get pissed off after all. Just tell me what happened. Did you meet with our contact?”

  “I did, but things didn’t pan out.”

  “How so?”

  “Because it was a setup. He wasn’t trying to help us find security. It was a test.”

  Lil told Dana about the man who proclaimed membership in a group called the Haimia. She explained their self-appointed task in keeping Lil from returning to the Garden. Dana was surprised to find Lil so forthcoming, but wasn’t about to squander the opportunity.

  “How do you know their task is self-a
ppointed?”

  “You mean how did I know God or one of his messengers didn’t assign this responsibility?”

  Dana nodded.

  “Because things don’t work that way. God doesn’t speak to mortals through burning bushes as he did in the old days. To be honest, I don’t really think he cares about any of this anymore.”

  Dana presumed Lil spoke of humanity in general. “And the hellhound?”

  “A warning to stop what I’m doing. Which of course makes me all the more determined. If someone sent a hound after me, then I must be on the right track.”

  In her excitement, Lil reached out and grasped Dana’s hand. Dana felt the contact to the pit of her stomach, but couldn’t return the gesture since she still held the stained washcloth.

  “I thought you said things didn’t work that way.”

  “For ordinary mortals, no. You forget I’ve been around since the beginning. Besides, God didn’t send this beast.”

  “Satan?” Dana thought her head would explode.

  “Lucifer, yes. It makes perfect sense.”

  Dana pulled away from Lil’s grasp and tossed the rag into the water bowl. She placed the whole mess on the coffee table. “I’d really like to know how. In what twisted, bizarre, parallel universe does any of this make sense?”

  “Samael delivered a message to me from Yahweh that an artifact existed that would end my life. Clearly, I’m interfering with the intended order of things by encouraging strong women to make this world a better place. God believes in free will above all else.”

  “But Lucifer likes you meddling in things,” Dana guessed.

  “It is an ages-old feud and clearly I’ve become a tool in the game.”

  “Then it’s time to let them fight their own battles.”

  “Precisely.”

  The triumph in Lil’s tone caught Dana unaware. She quickly realized Lil’s point and rushed to argue. “Not like that! Not by finding this dagger and committing suicide. Something tells me that you’re looking at things from too simple of an angle.”