Return to Eden

by G. P. Ching

  "I heard you were down here." The voice that filtered through the flames was one he'd never forget.

  "Auriel." Dane turned. Her figure silhouetted behind the flames.

  "The one and only." She laughed and the flames lowered. She hadn't changed. With platinum-blonde hair, icy blue eyes, and a silvery blue gown, she could dice any guy's heart to shreds and have it for breakfast, literally.

  "What are you doing here?" Dane rasped.

  "I have a meeting with Lucifer." She lowered her voice to a whisper and raised her hand to the side of her mouth. "We’re taking over the world. I suppose I can let you in on the secret since you’re as good as dead."

  Dane buried his face in his hands. "Leave me alone, Auriel. Isn’t it enough that you used me and almost ruined my life? Do you have to torment me in my death, too?"

  "Oh, but Dane, I have more use for you. Don’t you know you’re an integral part of the plan?"

  He shook his head. "Lucifer can try to use me as bait to entice Malini and Dr. Silva to translate the list of Soulkeepers. They never will. I’m not that important."

  Auriel grinned. "Hmmm. If that was what Lucifer was really after, it would be a total loss. I’m pretty sure your friends are gonna let you burn."

  Dane jerked. Every muscle in his body ached in response. "Then how am I an integral part of the plan?" His voice broke as he said it.

  "We need an innocent living sacrifice, and you..." She circled her palm and giggled. "Are it."

  He might have asked her more about his fate but at that precise moment Lucifer appeared in front of her in a shower of sparks. Applause broke out from the shadows. Auriel clapped the loudest and gave a little bow at the waist.

  "An elegant entrance, my lord," she said.

  "Thank you, my dear. And what are you doing? Playing with the tool?" Lucifer wrapped his arm around Auriel's shoulders.

  "Just keeping myself occupied while I waited for you to grace me with your presence."

  Dane snickered.

  Lucifer shot him a look that made his skin burn. Dane squeezed his knees to his chest, determined not to scream. The burning stopped when the devil turned his attention back toward Auriel.

  "Has our guest arrived?" he asked her.

  "Yes. She’s in your chambers, my lord." Auriel motioned toward a door in the stone a few yards from his prison. Dane had seen Lucifer come and go through the door, but hadn’t known what lay beyond it.

  "Well, let’s not keep our guest waiting."

  Lucifer guided Auriel toward the door and pulled it open, wide enough for both of them to fit through. Dane had a moment to absorb the opulence of the red and gold entryway before his eyes fell on the guest that waited there.

  "Dr. Silva?" he called.

  Her icy blue eyes flashed to his in recognition.

  "Dr. Silva! Please, please help me!" he begged. He crawled to the side of the fire.

  Lucifer patted Dr. Silva's shoulder. Pat-pat-pat like a father pats a daughter.

  Her expression became as emotionless as a reptile. The door closed slowly behind them, severing her heartless stare. She'd abandoned him with nothing but the flames and the pain.

  For a moment, Dane was confused. Why was Dr. Silva in hell and why was she talking to Lucifer? Then he realized it didn't matter. Auriel had given him all the information he needed. If he was the key to Lucifer's plan, he needed to take himself out of the equation.

  What was it his parents used to say? Suicide is a mortal sin. If he killed himself, he'd lose his soul. But some things were more important than one soul. Like stopping Lucifer. Like saving the Soulkeepers.

  With everything he had, he pushed himself to his feet. Before he could chicken out or think too hard about the consequences, he sprinted toward the flames. He landed squarely on the ring of fire. Intense pain swallowed him whole. His hair burnt off in an instant. His skin bubbled black. The rancid smell of burning flesh filled his nostrils and the sound of his screams ricocheted off the stone around him. Eventually, there was nothing left to feel pain and he welcomed death with open arms.

  But his sacrifice was for naught. When he came to, he was right back at the center of the circle. Death wasn't an option it seemed, at least not until Lucifer wanted him dead. Dane buried his face in his hands, hopelessness blanketing him like a shroud.

  Chapter 18

  Mara and Henry

  Mara woke with fireworks in her heart. She’d never expected her first time to be so perfect or that she’d love someone the way she loved Henry, with every part of herself. Memories of their night together came back to her in luscious flashes, a bare shoulder, the sight of his hip, the weight of his body above her.

  Henry’s arm was draped over her waist but she could tell he was sleeping because he wasn’t breathing. It was weird to think she could stop breathing, too. She’d tried it a few times but could never keep it up. After a few minutes, she’d get distracted and start again out of habit. How long, how many centuries had it taken for Henry to lose the urge to breathe? Now, the only time he did was when he thought it would make her more comfortable.

  The ring Henry had given her fit snugly on her finger, the platinum skull spanning the space between the knuckles on her left hand. She thought of the one she’d given him, the hourglass. The thought made her heart ache. Time was how she’d defined herself since she was twelve, but now her power was gone. Who was she? Would she ever have a chance to find out?

  "Sorry to disturb you but there is something we must discuss," a small voice said from the end of the bed.

  Henry startled awake. He sat up so fast, Mara struggled to keep the sheet in place. Pulling it tighter around her body, she propped herself up on the headboard. The woman on the end of the bed looked identical to Mara. Well, a better version of Mara with no piercings and an inner glow that filled the room with homey warmth.

  "Who are you?" Mara asked. Henry elbowed her hard in the side.

  "I am," the woman said.

  "Oh, you’re God!" Mara sounded dense even to herself. "Sorry, I thought...why do you look like me? I always thought you were a man."

  The look Henry shot her could’ve soldered iron.

  "I am neither. I am. You see me as I exist in you." God’s voice held a soft echo that gave it the hollow quality of wind chimes. "It is easier for you this way."

  Henry shifted uncomfortably but Mara didn’t know why. She felt completely at peace in God’s presence. "Are you here for me?" Mara asked.

  "Yes. Your soul is clearly mine," she said. "You have a good heart, Mara Kane. It’s time for your soul to move on to heaven."

  Mara beamed with pride. Something about the way God said it made her feel good to be her, to have lived the life that she lived. She leaned forward, drawn to God by some invisible force, but stopped when she realized Henry was statuesque on the other side of the bed, his face conspicuously blank.

  She twisted the ring on her finger. "I’d like to stay here," Mara said. "For my heaven, I’d like to stay with Henry."

  God rose from the end of the bed and glided toward the window. Birds flew to rest on the sill, looking toward her presence and singing their happiest song.

  "I’m afraid that’s impossible. The In Between isn’t any place for a soul. You should have never been brought here."

  Mara intertwined her fingers with Henry’s. "Will you force me to go?" She was surprised how raw her voice sounded.

  God’s eyes lingered on their connected hands. "You have free will, Mara. I will leave a door for Death to usher you through. When you are ready, come to me. Whenever you are ready."

  Mara's heart leaped as she considered God's words. She had to go, someday, but not today. She could stay with Henry longer, maybe until the end of forever.

  Henry’s face looked like he just won the lottery. He pulled her into his chest.

  "Oh, thank you. Thank you," Mara said. She bowed her head, overwhelmed by the gift God had given her.

  A dark hiss came from the corner of the room. I
nky shadows crawled across the walls, knitting the air into a dense tar. Lucifer stepped from the darkness, shaking his blond head and wagging a finger. "Not so fast. I demand a consequence."

  God glowed brighter, sparks of electricity dancing on her skin. "A consequence? Her soul is mine. There shall be no consequence," God said, her voice rising.

  Lucifer lifted a corner of his mouth and focused unnaturally blue eyes in Mara’s direction. "Death broke the rules. I am entitled to a consequence for his indiscretion."

  God narrowed her eyes and twisted her mouth as if the room stunk from Lucifer’s presence. She sighed. "Fine. What consequence shall you enact on Death?"

  He held out a hand and an obsidian hourglass the size of a gallon of milk formed in his palm. He turned it over and sand began trickling into the lower chamber.

  "Mara must go through the door before the last grain of sand falls or her soul is mine."

  God’s presence thundered against the walls. She levitated two feet off the floor, charging the air with electricity. "This is unacceptable," she boomed. "The consequence is his not hers to pay."

  With his hands on his hips, Lucifer gave a cocky laugh. "Since Death doesn’t have a soul to take, losing her is the only suitable punishment. Besides, as you said, she shouldn’t be here."

  "Leave my sight, beast!" God bellowed, and this time Lucifer flinched.

  "Do you agree to my consequence?" he hissed.

  The room quaked. Mara thought the walls might come down.

  "YES," God said, but the word was filled with anger and resentment. She took a deep breath and blew it out at Lucifer. He came apart like dust, his pieces dissolving into the ether. God returned to the floor, her power folding within her, until she looked peaceful and almost human.

  "I must go now," she said to Mara. "Do not miss the door. I cannot save you from where he will take you."

  Mara nodded.

  God turned to Henry. "Perhaps it is time for you to share with Mara how you came to your station."

  Henry’s head snapped up and his lips parted in a silent gasp.

  "She seems up to the challenge." God strode to the window, broke apart into the light and was gone.

  Watching the sand rush through the hourglass, Mara burst into tears, rolling her face into Henry’s chest. He hugged her to him and rubbed her back in slow circles.

  "Mara. Mara, don’t cry. It’s going to be okay. I need to tell you something. God gave me a way for us to be together."

  Mara tipped her head back so she could see his face. "What? How?"

  "I need to tell you how I became Death."

  Chapter 19

  Mara and Henry

  Out of surprise and confusion, Mara pushed back from Henry’s chest and wiped the tears from under her eyes. "I thought you said you couldn’t tell anyone? I thought there were cosmic handcuffs on your vocal cords or something?"

  "There were. But God just gave me permission to tell you. You might say the handcuffs have been unlocked."

  Mara slid out of bed and wrapped herself in a fluffy red robe that appeared on the chaise lounge by the window. She took a seat at the table and conjured a cup of coffee from the ether. The steaming mug she lifted to her lips read Instant Undead, Just Add Coffee.

  "Would you like one?" she asked Henry, bobbing the cup.

  "No. I’m fine."

  "I'm ready. Spill this super secret story about how you became Death. Then tell me how it’s going to keep us together."

  Henry got up and walked to the window. He rested his hands on the stone sill, and stared out across the rolling English hillside. "Where should I begin?"

  Mara brushed her hair back from her face. "At the beginning. I want to know everything about you."

  Henry nodded but kept his eyes fixed on the horizon. With the far off nostalgia of long distant memories, he began his story. "I was born in 1332, in a village called Wickshire in England. People say that you come into this world alone and you leave alone but that wasn’t the case for me. I was a twin. I came into the world with William.

  "Our parents, Richard and Mary Gravel, owned an inn called the Golden Goose. There were only about two hundred people living in Wickshire at the time but because our inn was on a well-traveled road, my parents earned a fine living and due to that, William and I grew up with more comforts than most people in our town.

  "Things were different then. There were no computers or telephones. Often we were the first to hear news because messengers would rest at the Golden Goose on the way to more important places.

  "Once we were old enough, William and I spent our time in the tavern talking with the guests about any number of things. Our conversations and interests varied widely. Although we were twins, William was always a strapping boy. From the time we were twelve, he already looked like a man and worked like an ox. I, on the other hand, was sickly as a baby. I was smaller and thinner. Often my gaunt cheeks would provoke some concerned traveler to ask if my parents were feeding me. I was eating, better than most at that time, but I couldn’t gain weight.

  "William talked with patrons about hunting and swordplay. He once met a knight who thought he’d make an excellent squire. That’s what William wanted to be, a knight. I’m not sure why he didn’t take the man up on his offer. I can’t remember now. I hope it wasn’t because he didn’t want to leave me, but it probably was. We were like that, as different as we were, wholly together."

  "What did you want to be?" Mara asked.

  "Unlike William, I spent my time talking to messengers and religious men. My dream was to become a priest."

  "A priest?" Mara’s eyes widened.

  Henry grinned. "It might have been different had I known a girl like you, Mara. Priests were the scholars of my time. I eventually learned to read and even owned a Bible."

  Mara interrupted. "Learned to read? Didn’t everyone know how to read? Didn’t children go to school?"

  "Not necessarily. If you were a boy and your parents had money, you might go to the monastery for an education, but most people only learned what they needed to for their occupation. By the time we were thirteen, William and I helped run the inn. I knew how to make all different kinds of ale by then. We never went to school. I learned from our guests. It was rare to be able to read as well as I could. And owning an actual book was almost unheard of in our town."

  Henry planted both palms on the windowsill, as if he needed the stone to keep upright. "Our father died in his sleep when we were sixteen," he said.

  Leaning forward, Mara placed her hand on Henry’s, rubbing her thumb across the back. "I’m so sorry."

  "It was a long time ago." Henry's eyes met hers. "The night he died, the sound of footsteps outside my room woke me, and I watched a man with flaming red eyes enter my father’s bedchamber. I crept to the doorway in time to see the man pull my father’s soul from his body. Of course, I thought I was dreaming but in the morning he was dead."

  "How awful," Mara said.

  "Our father’s death was extremely difficult for William and me, but we learned to carry on. By that time, we were running the inn anyway. Our mother handled the cooking and the cleaning. We brewed the ale and managed the tavern. Then one night a messenger came with a story that would change everything. The Black Death had come to England."

  "Wait, the Black Death, like the plague?" Mara's face twisted in horror.

  Henry nodded gravely. "At first it seemed like a far away thing. The messengers brought word of an illness. Boils on the armpits and groin were the harbingers of certain death. We heard of entire towns dying out and the places discussed were closer and closer. People abandoned their homes and livelihood and ran from the disease, often staying with us on their journey. Then the unthinkable happened. A man staying with us grew ill and was found to have the Black Death."

  Mara swallowed hard. Her hands were sweating and she wiped them on her robe. "We had to learn about the plague in school. They say it was spread by rats and flees."

  "We didn’t know.
Life was different then. Faced with their impending death, people became animals. They abandoned their families, took part in drinking and debauchery. Others became hermits, isolating themselves from everyone. Eventually, we feared for our lives and closed the inn. Still death came for us. My mother fell first, then my brother. I cared for them both, knowing I’d be next."

  "Weren’t you scared? It must have been terrifying. How did you make yourself stay?"

  He turned toward her, leaning his hip against the windowsill. "I’d spent enough time studying with the priests to believe that only the body dies. I knew I couldn’t leave and still keep my soul. I was prepared to die if it meant doing the right thing."

  Mara always felt Henry was a good person, despite having the position of Death. As she looked into his dark eyes, she was sure of that now. She could see the soul inside the man shining like a star.

  "William died in my arms a few days after my mother. That’s when things became bizarre. I saw the man with the flaming red eyes again. He came to my brother and pulled his soul from his body. I hadn’t eaten in days and I thought I might by hallucinating but when I saw the door open and the light shine on my brother, I rushed forward and dove into the light before William.

  "Death grabbed my arm. ‘This door is not for you,' he said. I struggled against his grip, all the time watching William move into the light behind me. ‘Let me go!’ I said, but Death looked me in the eye and asked, ‘Do you challenge me?’"

  "He asked you if you challenged him?" Mara's eyes widened.

  "Yes. I wasn’t sure what he meant. I just wanted to be with my brother, to know that he’d be well wherever he was going. But he asked me again, ‘Do you challenge me?’ I said, ‘Yes.’"

  Mara grimaced. "You challenged the existing Death? While you were still alive?"

  "Yes, Mara, I did. I had no idea what I was doing, only that I desperately wanted to join William in the light. But words are weapons when it comes to old magic. I had challenged Death and there was no going back.