Beyond the Garden

by S. Y. Thompson

  “Want to sit while we eat?”

  “What a great idea. It’ll be like a little picnic.”

  “Hopefully minus the ants.”

  Pravde made a few more trips before Lil released her to find her own meal. The owl fetched grapes, lychee and mangoes. There was plenty to eat and even a little left over. Lil didn’t want to waste anything so she and Dana divvied up the few remaining pieces, carrying them by hand since they didn’t have a satchel of any type.

  As the sun began its descent, Lil felt a tingling sensation on the back of her neck. Something was coming and she didn’t think it was a good thing. She looked around nervously, wondering from where the threat originated.

  “You feel it too?” Dana asked.

  “Yes, but I don’t know what it is. Just keep a sharp eye out.”

  “At least we know it’s not the Haimia.”

  “Right, at least there’s that.”

  Lil didn’t mention that creatures in the Garden could be much worse than any human. Animals had their own set of rules, usually eat or be eaten. That was the natural food chain. From an idealistic standpoint, Lil thought that in this place a person shouldn’t have to worry about such things, but the truth was exactly the opposite. Animals weren’t evil, they acted on instinct and the instinct to survive was the most powerful of all.

  A rumbling sound approached from behind and Lil looked quickly over her shoulder. Something tunneled toward them, just below the ground’s surface. From the way it caused the turf to buckle and raise, it had to be huge.

  “Run!”

  Dana didn’t argue and they sprinted for the tree line. They’d been strolling through an open meadow and Lil hoped the deep, heavy tree roots would deter the unseen creature. Lil and Dana split up when they hit the trees, each dashing around huge redwoods. Lil stood directly behind the trunk, peering around her shield to see if the beast would pursue.

  “That can’t be,” Dana said softly. “Do you see it?”

  Lil nodded, belatedly realizing that Dana couldn’t hear her response. “Yes, the beast doesn’t leave a wake behind.”

  The creature veered away just before the trees and Lil saw that the ground only rose up from where the thing was at the moment. As it moved on, the turf resumed its original, flat appearance. This tunneling brute didn’t leave a trail.

  “It’s gone.” Dana left her concealment and joined Lil behind the redwood. “Do you think we can rest for a while?”

  Lil hugged her for support. “Let me find out how much farther.”

  Chapter Twenty

  The frivolity and light-hearted teasing of the day before had given way to haggard silence. Sleeping on the ground had left them tired and sore. Neither of them had slept much and even Lil had to admit that she missed the comforts of a soft mattress and Egyptian cotton sheets. After a light breakfast of nuts, berries and more fruit, they had set out for the Tree of Life once again.

  “How much farther?”

  “We’re almost there,” Lil replied, concentrating more on each step than her actual destination. “From what I can see through Pravde’s eyes, about another half mile.”

  “Thank God.”

  Lil looked over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow in inquiry.

  “What? It’s just an expression. Besides, it’s hard not to believe in a supernatural deity when you’ve seen one for yourself.”

  “Not supernatural, alien.”

  “You can’t be serious.”

  Lil was happy to use this conversation as an excuse to stop for a minute. She found a fallen log and sat while Dana joined her.

  “Now keep in mind that I was created by these beings, and essentially so was all of mankind. I certainly don’t have all the answers any more than you do. I’ve actually met Asherah only twice and that conversation with her yesterday was the longest talk we’ve ever had. Most of what I’m going to say is pure conjecture on my part from clues I’ve gleaned over the centuries.”

  “Go on.”

  “Before I do, how closely have you read your Bible?”

  “Pretty closely, at least as far as Genesis is concerned. I was looking for clues on how to get here so I was paying attention to every word. Why do you ask?”

  Lil nodded. “That’s good. All right, do you remember a passage that said ‘And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us’? He didn’t say man had become like him, he said us. That implies more than one, and indeed we know there is more than one because of Asherah. Now I’m not saying that Yahweh didn’t create life as we know it, but I am saying we don’t have all the facts.”

  “Okay, I can see that. If there can be two, why not more? I’ll admit I’ve always wondered at things from a scientific perspective.”

  “How so?”

  “Well, if we have fossilized human remains predating the Garden, how is it that Adam and Eve were the first modern people?”

  “Because the human genome was tampered with,” Lil answered simply. “Like I said, pure conjecture, however I remind you that I left the Earth for a time and traveled the stars with advanced civilizations.”

  “I’d forgotten about that.”

  Lil smiled and put an arm around Dana’s shoulders. “It was pretty amazing. I’ve seen things human eyes can never dream of seeing, but I got tired of it and wanted to come home. As for this Garden, Yahweh and Asherah, all are amazing. It doesn’t matter how you look at them.”

  “Okay,” Dana finally said after a long silence. “I never would have thought it possible, but you’ve convinced me. I’m officially a believer, at least insofar as the possibility of greatly advanced cultures go.”

  Pravde interrupted the discussion by flying in and landing on the log beside Lil. She dug her talons deeply into the bark and hooted at her master.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “She’s telling me to get off my backside because she’s ready to finish this and go home.”

  Dana giggled and put a hand over her mouth. Eyes alight with mirth, she asked, “Is that really what she said?”

  “No, but close enough.”

  After the short rest, Lil felt a renewed bounce in her step. They were close enough now that she could see the Tree. Awe flooded through her and she stopped at the edge of the huge clearing that marked the border around the Tree of Life. While feeling overwhelmed emotionally, Lil’s logic center worked just fine. There was a reason the Tree was so isolated and they needed to utilize caution.

  “What are you waiting for?” Dana asked, walking backward. “We’re almost there.”

  “Dana, stop!”

  The warning came too late. Dana had stepped onto a patch of bare earth. These patches weren’t rare, but scattered throughout the otherwise verdurous meadow. The ground dropped away suddenly beneath Dana’s feet, like a board of collapsing tiles. Dana’s shriek of terror cut off abruptly as her elbows and forearms hit the solid turf directly in front of her.

  Lil dove toward her, landing on her stomach and grabbing for Dana’s clawing hands. Hauling backward with all her strength, Lil pulled Dana toward the edge of the drop. Dana scrambled upward and finally flung a knee back onto solid ground. In only a few seconds, they lay next to each other panting from both fear and exertion.

  “Remind me,” Dana said between breaths, “to keep an eye out…for burning bushes.”

  “We have to be careful. The Tree will be guarded.”

  “Now you tell me.”

  Lil stood up and helped Dana to her feet. “Step where I step.”

  This time, Lil kept careful watch of their surroundings. She traversed anything that might normally seem mundane, a solitary branch lying on the ground, a simple stone. If the object in question wasn’t part of the field of pure, unblemished green, Lil avoided it. She kept one hand behind her, gripping Dana’s wrist in case anything unexpected happened.

  Ultimately, they closed within a hundred feet of the Tree. The full, thick branches spread far from the central trunk and Lil was careful to remain out
side of the shadows cast by the limbs and foliage. Up close, she could see the unique produce hanging temptingly from their anchors.

  “What kind of fruit is this?”

  “I have no idea,” Lil admitted. “I’ve never seen anything like it, but I suggest we don’t eat the fruit.”

  “Right…the one tree that man is forbidden.”

  Something in Dana’s tone informed Lil that eating was exactly what she had in mind. Normally, Lil’s complaining stomach would have urged her to do the same.

  “Don’t do it. If you have to, think about what happened to Adam and Eve when they ate from the Tree of Knowledge. I have an idea that the consequences here will be much worse.”

  “Uh huh.”

  “Dana!” When Dana met her eyes, Lil noticed a dazed expression. She appeared almost hypnotized. Lil snapped her fingers in front of her face and Dana blinked. After that she seemed more focused. “I’ll buy you a T-bone and a huge baked potato with all the trimmings when we get out of here.”

  Dana nodded and took a breath. “I’m okay now. Let’s get on with it before I do something we’ll both regret.”

  “You stay here.”

  Lil took a single step and then almost lost her balance when the ground suddenly began to rumble beneath her feet. Everything shook, but the Tree’s fruit didn’t fall. Leaves rained down around them and Lil saw Dana drop to her knees with a mixed expression of curiosity and dismay.

  “Earthquake?” Dana shouted.

  Lil spotted a lump tunneling toward them from her left. The bulge moved toward them, disrupting the ground as it traveled, but leaving no sign of its presence as it moved on. “I don’t think so.”

  The buried behemoth cut off their avenue of approach and centered itself directly beneath the Tree. It did not emerge, but Lil had the distinct impression that she would finally catch sight of the monster if she moved any closer.

  “Now what?” Dana brushed her hands off on her backside as she stood. She kept her eyes locked on the mysterious guardian. “You think that thing will rip us to shreds if we keep going?”

  “It can try, but I haven’t come this far to turn back now.”

  “Speak for yourself. I’d really like to go home in one piece, preferably one working piece.”

  Lil felt the same, but readied herself to continue on anyway. She held her right hand out in preparation of touching the Tree and managed to close within ten feet. Lil thought she would actually make contact when the ground shook once again. Without warning, a thicket of thorns erupted and encircled the hardwood. A thorn caught her outstretched hand and Lil hissed in pain as she jerked away.

  Blood coursed down her hand and dripped from her forearm. The pain was intense, but Lil had experienced worse. Dying repeatedly, especially burning alive at the stake, gave her a unique perspective. She expected the miniscule wound to close virtually in an instant. Instead, it continued to bleed. Lil found the persistent injury more of a curiosity than a concern.

  “Are you okay?” Dana grabbed her hand to inspect the wound. “It doesn’t look too bad.”

  “I’m all right. I’ve just never been injured like a normal person.”

  “Well get used to mortality. If you get what you’re after, this is what you have to look forward to.”

  “Hopefully for many years to come.” Lil squeezed Dana’s hands. “It’s a small price to pay.”

  Dana kissed her cheek. “Get on with it, but be more careful.”

  “I’m open to suggestion. This thicket is pretty…well, thick. I should have brought the Haimia’s machete.”

  “What about the bracelet? It worked for the underwater barrier.”

  It was worth a try. Lil considered her wounded hand and realized she’d extended the one without the bracelet. She held her left arm up vertically so that the bracelet would touch the thorns first. Rather than allow her to pass through as she had while submerged in the river, this blockade retracted from contact with the jewelry.

  “That’s a neat trick.”

  “Stay here.”

  “You said that already.”

  Lil stepped forward and the coppice drew back even more. The brush proved more barbed than substantial, only a couple of feet wide. Lil was through quickly and stood beside the Tree of Life. Filled with wonder that she had actually made it here, Lil forgot about the ruby bracelet and reached toward the trunk with her other hand. The meager laceration on her finger vanished.

  “Do you think that was a little too easy?” Dana stood beside her.

  Seemingly in response to her question, the creature in the ground erupted. Dirt and scattered debris rained down upon them and Lil leapt toward Dana, concerned only with her safety. She knocked Dana to the ground and covered her with her own body as a monstrous serpent emerged. She immediately saw the irony of such an occurrence, but disregarded the thought when she saw a human face upon the beast.

  “Samael.”

  “I am both the defiler and the bringer of knowledge,” the archangel responded in a resonating voice.

  The booming sound made her eardrums ache. Lil stood with Dana and confronted her old friend.

  “I understand. You bring a warning before I make my decision,” Lil said formally.

  Intrinsically, she appreciated that this was the final test. She had told Dana before that the snake was a symbol of duality and Samael had just said as much to her. Lil could always blame the serpent for tempting her if her decision didn’t work out, but in the end, the choice was always hers.

  Samael’s ghastly countenance weaved back and forth, bobbing in the air as his body writhed in a snake-like fashion. When he spoke, Lil could see his pink, forked tongue and his voice boasted a definite hiss.

  “You have reached your goal, but what you enact here cannot be undone.”

  “We’re good with that.”

  Samael ignored Dana’s remark. His tongue flicked out and caressed the Tree’s ancient trunk. Straight away, the bark peeled back. An ornately carved wooden dagger sprang forward. The hilt curved in an interlacing pattern that harbored tiny gems of every variety. The blade was also constructed of wood, though honed to an extremely sharp edge. Lil had an idea that she couldn’t use the dagger in the traditional sense.

  “You may not take the dagger from the Garden. Crossing beyond the great rampart will destroy the blade. Make your decision here, but know that the dagger does not function as you believe.”

  Lil was still stuck on the fact that she couldn’t take the knife with her and use it at some date in the future. Her plan to live a mortal, loving and fulfilling life with Dana had just evaporated in the wind. She was now faced with the decision to sever her mortality or give up the quest forever. The idea of continuing on after Dana perished from old age threatened to steal the breath from her body.

  “And if I should chose to utilize the blade now?”

  “Then there will be an exchange. A life for a life. By giving up life eternal and existing as a mortal, another must die.”

  “What?”

  “You can’t be serious.” Dana said almost simultaneously.

  Lil’s blood ran cold as she finally comprehended the full ramifications of Samael’s warning. “You mean Dana.”

  She heard Dana gasp and felt her grab hold of Lil’s biceps.

  Samael’s head bobbed and Lil took that as confirmation.

  “No.” Lil didn’t have to think about it. “I’ll not trade my desires for her life.”

  Dana’s grip eased off slightly.

  “And if you are given the option of a stranger taking her place? Would you accept this gift if another, one you had never met, were to pay the price?”

  This was where Samael’s true nature emerged. As the tempter, he presented Lil with an offer that was difficult to refuse. Lil literally bit her lip to keep from accepting. She didn’t want to leap into something she would later regret. Instead, she thought carefully and realized that no one deserved the result of such a bargain.

  “I would not
agree if you offered the life of the most vicious serial killer. This burden is mine to bear. Either sever my immortality without restrictions or allow me to continue as before.”

  Along with her decision, Lil let go of the anger she’d harbored against humanity for so long. Just as this decision was hers alone, so were the choices she’d made in her life. She did believe people were warlike, but she also finally accepted that humans possessed the potential for altruism. She could no longer hold onto the past.

  The serpent vanished in an instant, absent the theatrics of an earthquake. In its place stood the innocent-looking, blond-haired cherub. Samael’s blue eyes flashed with merriment, though he quickly knelt and bowed his head. Lil didn’t believe his behavior was in honor of her decision.

  “Congratulations, Lilith. You have chosen humanity over your own selfish wishes.”

  Lil and Dana turned to see Asherah.

  “And what has that decision earned for me, a never-ending future of solitude?” Lil couldn’t contain her displeasure, but wouldn’t have changed anything if it meant another would die.

  “Quite the opposite, actually.” Asherah’s typical mirth fairly oozed from her pores. “Put aside your disappointment and consider how you feel. Are your senses as sharp, do you feel as strong as before?”

  The suggestion caught Lil unaware. Now that Asherah mentioned it, the sun didn’t seem as bright and she could no longer hear the worms in the earth. Lil made a fist and noticed her lack of strength. It appeared that in return for making a selfless decision, Asherah had granted her most coveted desire.

  “That easy?”

  “It always was. You weren’t banned because of your independence from men. It was because you harbored bitterness toward humanity in your heart. When you released your anger toward mankind, you released your burden. The decision was always yours to make.”

  “We make our own fate,” Dana said softly, reminding Lil that she had spoken those same words many weeks ago. For all that she was many centuries older, Lil still had a lot to learn.