In a whispered tone so quiet as to be non-existent, Dana asked, “You’re God’s wife?”
“I know,” Asherah waved a dismissive hand. “You’ve never heard of me. Check your Gentile Bible; the books of Exodus, Deuteronomy, Judges, Kings, Chronicles, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Micah.”
Her voice trailed off, fading into the ether and Dana could almost believe she’d imagined the remark. Why had she never heard of Asherah before?
“What do you want me to do?”
The sun peaked out again and the wind died away. “Do what you have all along. Return to Lilith. Show her how wonderful life can be. It is because of you that Lilith has this chance for redemption.”
“I don’t understand. How have I done anything?”
“Before you, Lilith carried only anger and bitterness in her heart. Little by little, her love for you has allowed her to embrace her humanity. Lilith believes all humans to be warlike, the scourge of creation. Yet for all that, when the hellhound attacked, she deliberately translocated to a place where mortals could not be harmed. It was a conscious decision on her part. Now why do you suppose that is?”
“I don’t know.”
“Neither does she.” Asherah’s playfulness was back and Dana sighed in relief. “Yet that one decision changed her path to salvation. Go. Take Lilith the bracelet and allow her to find the end of her journey.”
Tears coursed down Dana’s cheeks upon hearing the words. Her breath caught in her chest and she found it difficult to speak. Choking back the emotion, she tried once more. “You can’t ask me to do this. I love her. I don’t want to lose her.”
The maternal tenderness in Asherah’s gaze made Dana feel at once loved and scolded. “What is love without sacrifice?”
Before Dana could respond, Asherah disappeared. She vanished between the space of a blink and a breath. Dana still held the bracelet clasped in her fist. Dana wiped the tears from her cheeks and turned around. The path to the riverbed lay before her, straight and true. Without question or any doubt in her heart, Dana set out for the river.
Returning to the riverbank after speaking with Asherah proved fairly straightforward. The path now led in the proper direction, only meandering around the most significant of obstructions. Dana considered the lack of difficulty a silent confirmation that Asherah had indeed been toying with her. It figured, Dana thought as she donned her scuba gear. Apparently the ancient Greeks had the right idea. The gods really did screw around with humans for their own amusement.
Dana grabbed her gauges and took a quick look before pulling on the buoyancy vest. The tank remained connected and she remembered how low she was on air when the light ball pulled her here. Dana calculated the trip had lasted about seven minutes. She’d have to breathe shallow.
“What the hell?” she shouted, startling the birds from their roosts.
The tank showed completely full. Considering the way her mask had materialized after losing it in the Euphrates, she shouldn’t really be surprised. More messing with the mortals. In this case, the game worked in her favor and Dana wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
“Thank you,” she said, looking around for her benefactor.
Asherah wasn’t anywhere to be seen, but Dana was sure she’d heard. With a shrug, she finished suiting up. Her thoughts had already turned to Lil and Dana was suddenly in a hurry to pass along her good news.
Chapter Eighteen
Lil awakened inside the tent. Her eyes were barely open before she realized she was alone. Then again, maybe not. Dana wasn’t around, but Lil sensed danger closing in on her location. Lil scrambled off the cot and shoved her feet into her boots. She laced them in a haphazard manner and grabbed her crossbow and the quiver of steel arrows. Lil raced out of the tent, her boots sliding in the scrub as she halted right outside the circle of their camp. A quick check confirmed what she already knew. Dana wasn’t anywhere around. It was a snap to realize she’d returned to the barrier to attempt to find a way in.
Several factors occurred to Lil simultaneously. She’d slept for many hours judging by the distance the sun had moved overhead. Dana was safely elsewhere and there was a group of men closing in on Lil’s location. Being empathic rather than telepathic, Lil couldn’t read their thoughts. All she could glean were the combined intentions, which meshed together in such a way that she wasn’t really sure how many of them approached. The nearest she could figure were that there were three or four of them and they were definitely male.
The Haimia. Even without visual confirmation, some instinct as well as recent experiences told her who they were.
Lil scanned the camp, searching for anyone hiding close enough to be an immediate threat. While she could read their malicious resolve, and that they were nearby, she couldn’t tell their exact location. Fortunately, she didn’t see anyone near the truck. She traveled slowly around the tent, peering over crates of equipment. Nothing. Not even the sound of birds or insects. The only sounds she could hear were the crash of the Euphrates as it traveled through the Cradle of Life and the rustling of the breeze in the trees.
Suddenly, a stronger emotion emanated from one of the lurkers. Lil honed in on a section of especially dense trees. A man emerged carrying an automatic weapon at his side. The AK-47 hung by a sling over his shoulder. The menace in his countenance was clear though the rifle wasn’t raised. Instead, he held a machete. Lil immediately noted the dual crosses carved into his cheeks. He was close enough for her to see the deep indigo of his eyes. The color clashed with his swarthy skin and long, dark beard. Lil barely had time to register his appearance before three of his compatriots joined them in the clearing.
The leader smirked, following Lil’s gaze to his machete. The site of the blade and the sadistic expression sported by its bearer reminded Lil of her first encounter with the Haimia. She remembered the threat of being chopped into pieces.
“You don’t really believe I’m going to allow you close enough to use that?” Lil asked in the local dialect.
“You don’t really believe you have a say in the matter?” he returned somewhat arrogantly.
Before he’d fully finished the comment, Lil released the arrow she’d nocked into the crossbow. She took out the man to her left since he seemed more inclined to utilize his automatic weapon while the leader with the machete wasn’t as immediate a concern. Lil could have killed him, but at the last moment she pulled the shot. The bolt caught her target high in the right shoulder, missing anything vital, and threw him backward into the truck. He bounced off the hood and lay moaning impotently on the ground.
The balance of the small group rushed her all at once. Machete man reached her first. Unable to reload, Lil raised her bow to block his strike. The blade bit deeply into the wood, almost chopping it in two. No longer fit for shooting arrows, Lil used the weapon in another way. She smashed her assailant in the face and had the satisfaction of hearing his nose break. He flew several feet away and Lil hoped he was at least unconscious. There were still more attackers and she hadn’t any time to enjoy the pain she’d inflicted.
Lil spun to confront the remaining attackers. She threw her elbow into one man’s face while following up with a snap-kick to the other’s knee. Lil put as much force as she could behind the kick, intent on disabling him completely. The strength of her blow snapped the bones and one of them tore all the way through the flesh. The Haimia squealed and dropped to the ground, writhing in pain.
For the next few moments she was busy blocking and returning punches. The leader of the group recovered and came after her once again. Even with blood covering his mouth and chin from the busted nose, he didn’t hesitate. This time he was smart enough to bring his rifle to bear.
Reflex saved her life. Lil grappled with the man still on his feet and pulled him in front of her as a shield. The AK-47 fired and the stranger’s body jerked repeatedly as high velocity rounds tore into his body. Her heart actually went out to a man who’d tried to kill her, but there wasn’t time to mou
rn the loss of life. At this distance, she’d be lucky if a bullet didn’t pass through and strike her.
Lil shoved the dead man toward his partner. Simultaneously, she noticed movement over the leader’s shoulder and saw Dana emerge from the wood. Lil quickly registered the concern on her face, but was immediately filled with apprehension for her safety. She needed to take this last man out before something happened to Dana. Before she could close the distance to the leader and finish him off, the Haimia with the broken knee tripped her up. Lil caught herself with her hands braced in the marsh grass. The dead man fell beside her and Lil quickly rolled to the side, expecting to feel bullets tearing into her body. Instead, she heard Dana’s voice and looked up in sudden terror of what would happen next.
“Excuse me.”
Dana tapped the Haimia on the shoulder. Presumably out of reflex, the killer turned at her touch. Dana stood several inches shorter than the bearded man, but that didn’t stop her from swinging her fist and punching him in the middle of his broken nose. Lil never would have expected it, but he folded like a house of cards.
With three of the four out of commission, Lil rolled over on her backside and kicked the remaining Haimia in the head. The blow was enough to render him unconscious. Lil had barely registered the fact before she jumped to her feet and rushed to Dana’s side. Dana raised her arms as though welcoming Lil into her embrace, but Lil wasn’t in a hugging mood.
“Are you all right?” Lil asked, frantically checking Dana over for any signs of injury. “You could have been killed. What were you thinking?”
Dana transitioned from overjoyed to furious. Lil recognized her change in mood by the frown suddenly resting between her brows. “Swing high?”
“That’s not funny.”
“It certainly is not. You can’t expect me to just stand in the trees while these guys kill you.”
Dana actually stomped her foot and Lil thought her absolutely adorable. Belatedly, Lil reached out and hugged her close. She reveled in the feel of Dana’s warmth pressed against her and closed her eyes to enjoy the sensation. It didn’t last long.
“I have to tell you something.” Dana pulled away and grabbed Lil by the forearms.
“Fine,” Lil agreed, “but not here. I’d say we’ve worn out our welcome. If these men don’t return to whomever sent them, more will be sure to come.”
Lil couldn’t blame Dana for being wound up. It wasn’t every day that a person came upon an attempted murder. It wasn’t surprising that she’d want to give up on their quest either, as disappointing as that was. Lil had her own doubts, especially when she considered attempting to breach the Garden’s barrier. She didn’t think she could go through that kind of excruciating pain ever again. The perk of never finding the dagger would be spending more time with Dana. That was something in which Lil could happily seek solace.
“I’ll start loading up the truck. Why don’t you pack up inside the tent?”
“That’s not what I mean. We can’t leave. Lil, you have got to listen to me.”
Lil glanced worriedly at the three unconscious men at their feet. They wouldn’t be out forever. “Dana, what could possibly be so important? I don’t want to kill these men, but something tells me they lack the same restraint. We can’t stay here much longer.”
“But I found a way in!” Dana finally shouted. “I’ve been there. Where’s your wetsuit?”
Lil felt stunned by the news. That Dana had gotten into the Garden was amazing. She was the first person to step foot inside God’s paradise since humans were thrown out. Despite her surprise, it didn’t really change anything.
“Dana, that’s fantastic but you know I can’t get through the barrier. Unless you want to return and spend some time there on your own, I can’t see the point of going back down there.”
A frown of confusion settled on Dana’s face, but cleared quickly. “Oh, no. You don’t understand.”
Dana pulled a bracelet from her wrist that Lil hadn’t previously noticed. The piece was magnanimous, sporting a large ruby centered over a gold- and silver-braided circlet. Lil took the bracelet, turning it over and over in her hand. She’d been around a long time, but had never seen such craftsmanship. More than that, Lil could feel the hum of energy emitted by the mystical jewelry.
“Where did you get this?”
“I’ll fill you in on the way. Let’s get out of here before some of these guys wake up.”
Lil thought that remark particularly accurate since some of the men would never move again. One of them was decidedly deceased. The other three were injured, one severely, but that wouldn’t prevent them from pulling a trigger. Lil still had her misgivings about attempting to return to the supernatural boundary, but holding something created by a mystical being went a long way toward persuading her.
“Let me collect my things.”
“You don’t sound very excited.”
Lil looked up slowly from the bracelet. She couldn’t deny Dana’s observation. “The truth is, I’m not sure how I feel. Let’s get out of here and you can tell me all about your adventures. Maybe by the time we reach the dive site, I’ll feel more enthusiastic.”
****
The conversation with Dana left Lil reeling. When she mentioned her encounter with Asherah, Lil experienced a joy she hadn’t anticipated. Asherah had very nearly vanished from history and Lil hadn’t seen her in hundreds of centuries. The female deity rarely interacted with anyone on a personal level, certainly not to the extent that Yahweh had. Lil remembered asking Samael about Asherah before starting this adventure. He’d refused to say anything, but Lil had gathered he knew something. She was pleased to see that the secret he kept concealed something good.
That Asherah still existed caused rampant, conflicting emotions. Lil felt excited, afraid and astonished all at once.
“Are you ready?” Dana asked as she pulled on her BCD and buckled the front of the vest. She was slightly hunched over from the weight of the air tank.
Lil nodded. She checked out the bracelet she still held in the palm of her hand, captivated by the beauty and the significance of the jewelry.
“I’ll admit that I’m still concerned about breaching the barrier. There’s a part of me that can’t believe I’ll actually get through, but if Asherah says the bracelet will work, then I’m sure it will.”
“You have that much faith in her? Considering what you told me about how you were thrown out of the Garden, I find that hard to believe.”
Lil snapped the spare weight belt around her waist. It was a little loose compared to the one she’d lost so she had to readjust the cinch. “Asherah visited me right after I left. She didn’t stay long. Sometimes, I almost convinced myself that it never happened.”
“What did she say to you?”
“Not much, really. She just encouraged me to hold true…her words. Asherah told me that one day I would find all that I sought and I would be happy. She told me that the torment would end.”
“That could mean anything. How is that helpful?”
Lil shrugged and then realized what she’d done. She smiled thinking that Dana’s habits had begun to rub off. “I don’t know, but we never will unless we see this through.”
“Did I tell you that I saw a saber-toothed tiger?”
Lil wondered about the change of subject, but went along with it. “The Garden is untouched by time. There are creatures there that exist elsewhere only in folklore.”
“You’d better not be telling me that we could run into a T-Rex.”
Lil laughed and felt some of the pressure in her chest ease. “I would never tell you that. Some things you just have to experience for yourself.”
Once she finished pulling on her scuba gear, Lil settled down on the bank of the Euphrates. She allowed her feet to float in the current, her fins already in place. Lil’s facemask rested on her forehead. All she had left to do before they headed for the barrier was to clasp the bracelet around her wrist. She hesitated, afraid the metal would bur
n into her skin.
“Come on,” Dana urged, sitting down beside her. “How bad could it be?”
“You do remember what happened when I touched the boundary?”
“Yes, but you said Asherah was nice to you. Why would she give you something just to inflict pain? It doesn’t make any sense.”
Lil held her breath and snapped the jewelry in place before she could change her mind. She felt a slight tingling sensation, but no heat. Instead, the breeze suddenly picked up and Lil’s bangs lifted into the air. She felt energy course out from the magical trinket and ripple out into the world around her. Along with the outflow of power, Lil felt her fears evaporate. Tears pricked her eyes at the relief of terrors hidden even from herself. Lil hadn’t even realized the weight she’d carried for so long until it disappeared.
“Lil?”
“I’m okay. In fact, I’ve never felt better.”
“Good, because some day you’re going to have to explain to me what just happened.”
“I will,” Lil promised. “Now, are you ready to revisit my first home?”
Dana held her hand out, indicating the river in a playful manner. “Lead the way.”
Chapter Nineteen
The sensation of euphoria faded quickly as Lil swam toward the invisible wall. Here, fighting the Euphrates’s current, silence surrounded her. She knew Dana was close, but Lil couldn’t see her through the sediment. Bright sunlight illuminated the sandy particles, reflecting the light and further obscuring her vision. Lil had never felt so alone.
Breaching the Garden seemed imminent and the very thought of their success caused goose bumps of apprehension to break out on Lil’s forearms. The idea of a chill seemed farfetched. The area stayed quite warm and they had opted for short-sleeved wetsuits for their excursions. Now, Lil wished they had gone with the full sleeves. All of her senses were on high alert and Lil was struck by the water’s bracing cool caress. Her eyes burned from too-bright light and she could feel every particle of sand against her skin.
Beyond the Garden Page 24
