Seeds of Eden

by Paige Watson

  “Caroline’s mom is a secretary at the police station and she said my mother had identified my father’s body. Apparently my mother told her she would be taking the body back to Indiana to be buried.”

  “I’m glad Marie is still alive, but this also means we need to be extremely careful tonight.”

  “So what’s the plan?” Caroline asked, leaning forward in her chair.

  “Well I think it would be best if we go at night. That way we’ll at least have a little bit of protection from the darkness. We’ll go in armed and get the painting.”

  “Well that sounds pretty simple,” she said, looking over at me.

  “It is simple, but the tricky part’s if we’re attacked.”

  “If we are attacked, then we fight them off,” I countered.

  “Yeah, but let’s hope that it doesn’t come to that,” he said.

  The rest of the morning was spent going through tons of weapons and gear that we would take with us. The living room looked like a bomb had exploded inside it. Knives were collected and put into holsters for us to carry and axes were polished, making them appear even more deadly. Conrad left out the holsters, but stored all the other weapons in the trunk of his car. He wanted Caroline to get a little more practice with her weapon, so the two of them went outside while I cleaned up the house. I watched from a window as they practiced. Caroline was a natural at defending herself. Each blow Conrad dealt she blocked with surprising agility. She moved pretty fast and her speed could no doubt be attributed to her long legs. Although she was only 5’7, the couple inches of height Caroline did have on me made her the faster sprinter. Despite Caroline’s speed, Conrad seemed just a little faster. He moved gracefully, as if he were dancing a waltz instead of wielding a menacing sword. I couldn’t keep my eyes off him. Everything about him was so familiar and yet new at the same time. It was hard to control myself around him. Perhaps it was because deep down I knew that I didn’t want to control myself around him.

  “What are you up to in here?” Conrad burst through the door, brandishing a sword and a grin.

  “I was just cleaning some stuff up and I was about to make us some sandwiches for lunch.” He sauntered over to where I was standing, setting his sword against the wall.

  “You look like you had a good workout,” I said, noticing the beads of sweat that were dripping down his face.

  “Yeah, Caroline is really good. It’s kind of surprising actually, but she’s fast with her axe, and it’s a good thing too because if we’re going to take down Aden we’re going to need all the help we can get.”

  “I don’t know why everyone is so surprised that I’m such a badass.” She was standing in the doorway with her axe slung over her shoulder. “I think it’s because I’m a blonde, and I resent that, because Sarah Michelle Gellar kicked a whole lot of ass as Buffy and she never got any crap for it.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “You are too much sometimes,” I said, shaking my head at her.

  “Better too much than too little,” she answered.

  I prepared a plate of turkey sandwiches and tossed some grapes in a bowl. I made each of them sit at the table before fixing their plates with food.

  “I think it would be smart to pack some stuff to take with us, like clothes and shoes. That way if we do get ambushed, we have everything we need. I don’t want to lead them back to the safe house if they’re tailing us.”

  I nodded my head and took a big bite of my sandwich.

  “You don’t think they’ve ransacked the auction house do you?” Caroline turned toward Conrad, waiting for him to answer.

  “I don’t think so. They wouldn’t have any reason to and my guess is Aden still wants to lay low somewhat. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to tear through everything connected to Evey.”

  “I wish we knew what he wanted,” I said, staring at my plate. “I mean, we know he wants the powers of the consiliarius but I can’t help thinking he has to be after something bigger than that.”

  “I was hoping we could ask one of the Concilium that. I’m sure they’d have a better idea of what he may be up to than we would.”

  “I hope so,” I said.

  “Have you had any flashes or dreams about Aden?” Conrad asked. His eyes surveyed my face as he waited for me to answer. Out of the corner of my eyes I could see Caroline’s green ones fixed on me as well.

  “No, not really. I don’t think I’d want to have any dreams about it; I’m afraid of what I might see.”

  “What you might see may surprise you. Aden wasn’t always evil. There was a time when the two of you were happy together.”

  His words shocked me. In the back of my mind I knew Aden had been slowly driven toward hostility, but it seemed impossible I could ever be happy with him. I didn’t want to believe it. “I almost don’t want to think about it,” I answered.

  “I think it would be beneficial for you to try and remember some of the time you spent with him. It might make it less confusing for you when all your memories of him do come rushing back to you.”

  “I don’t want to think about it,” I said, hearing the anger rise in my voice. Why was he pushing me to remember being married to someone that turned out to be so cruel? I had been married to Aden; had shared everything a man and a wife would share with each other. I belonged to him once; like a lost set of keys he was dying to have back in his possession. The thought of Aden possessing me made me sick to my stomach. Before either of them could say anything to me I pushed my chair back and ran up the stairs to my room. I slammed the door behind me and threw myself down on my bed. Then, I kicked my shoes and socks off, hearing them land on the floor with a thud. I nestled myself under the covers and pulled them up over my head. The door to my room squeaked a little and I knew someone was there.

  “Go away!”

  “Evey, I’m sorry I upset you.” Even buried under the covers I could hear the guilt resonating in his voice. He lifted up the covers and slid himself into the bed. I rolled over; turning my back to him but his arms drew my body to his. He turned me to face him and cradled my face in his hands. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I shouldn’t have said all of that stuff about Aden.”

  “It’s not your fault I was married to a monster.”

  “It’s not your fault either.”

  “Isn’t it though? I mean I was the one who gave him the apple.”

  “You didn’t know he was going to change from that, and it wasn’t just the apple.”

  “You’re right; we did the rest of it.” As soon as the words left my mouth I knew they hurt him.

  “I know.” I held my hands over his so he couldn’t draw them from my face. “I’m not going to pretend like I’m not guilty for that because I know I am, but I’m not sorry about it. He didn’t deserve you then and he sure as hell doesn’t now. I’m not saying I deserve you either, but I won’t apologize for loving you.”

  “I don’t want you to, because I won’t either,” I said, sliding my arms around him. His lips touched my neck, trailing up to my mouth. I felt his muscles through his shirt and I couldn’t stop my hands from sliding beneath it to touch his skin.

  “You know if you keep doing that, you might lose a few articles of clothing,” he said, propping himself up over me.

  My cheeks started to burn and I looked away from him. “Oh really?”

  “Yup, and trust me, what you have on I could take off in a second. You gave me a lot of practice with taking off corsets and let me tell you, they’re a lot harder to undo than a simple snap,”

  “I think I’m at a disadvantage.”

  “How’s that?”

  “Well you remember what I look like without clothes, but I don’t remember what you look like.”

  He sat up and pulled his shirt off.

  “I didn’t mean right now!” I yelled. My hands flew over my eyes and I immediately felt embarrassed.

  “I know Evey,” he said, bending to kiss my forehead. “Just let me know when,” he winked. He fell to the b
ed beside me and took my hand in his. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Why are you scared of remembering him?”

  I let out a deep breath before opening my mouth to speak. “Because there was a time when I loved him, when I cared about him, and it scares me that he has that kind of power over me. I’m afraid because he could use that power to play off my emotions. I know he’s cunning and manipulative and it frightens me that he could seduce me back to him.”

  “I can understand that,” he nodded. “But I also think you don’t give yourself enough credit. You’re a lot stronger than you think and you won’t crumble to his will. Plus what you have with him; wasn’t anything like what we have together.” His hand rested on my chin as his thumb caressed my lips.

  “What we have is stronger,” I replied.

  “Yes,” he smiled. “It is.”

  I knew what he was saying wasn’t just words to make me feel better; what he was saying was true.

  “You said before that we were married. Is that true?”

  “Yes, actually we’ve been married several times.”

  “What was it like?” I set my head on his shoulder and threw my arm over his chest. His fingertips glided back and forth over my skin.

  “It was really nice, and it didn’t matter where we went; as long as we were together we were happy.”

  “I wish it could be like that now.”

  “It will be again. We won’t let Aden get you or the rest of the Concilium.”

  “I can’t help but wonder what he’s up to. We know he wants the Concilium and me, but I know there is more to it than that.”

  “I’d say we will find out, whether we want to or not.”

  “Yeah. There’s one more thing I wanted to ask you about,” I said, biting my lip.

  “What’s that?”

  “When I was Gabrielle d’Estrees and I died what happened?” Instantly, I felt his body stiffen beneath me.

  “What do you mean what happened?” The tone of his voice suddenly turned harsh.

  “I mean were you there?”

  His jaw clenched and he turned his eyes away from my gaze. “Yes.”

  “Well what happened?”

  “I don’t really want to talk about it.” He sat up on the side of the bed with his back to me.

  “Why not?”

  “Why not?” he asked, raising his voice. “Because I had to watch you die. I held you while you started seizing, the poison eating away at your body. And the whole time I knew I was the reason why it was happening. I felt like I had failed you. I was brought back to protect you and keep you safe but instead I just got you killed.”

  “It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know he was going to go crazy and kill me.”

  “That doesn’t matter. It’s my job to protect you and I let you down.”

  “The only reason I’m alive right now is because of you. If you hadn’t been at the diner I would be dead right now.” He rose from the bed and walked over to my dresser with his back to me. I followed behind him and he jumped slightly at the feel of my hand on his shoulder. “You’re in a bedroom with a girl you haven’t really been alone with for 86 years and you aren’t even going to try to make out with me?”

  Without replying, he swept me up in his arms and tossed me back on the bed. His mouth was against mine before I even knew what was happening. Our arms tangled around one another’s bodies and the rest of the world seemed to fade away as he drew me deeper into the kiss. In a matter of seconds my shirt was off and he was throwing it to the floor. As he kissed me, the room around us began to darken. The soft light that filtered in through the sheer curtains was dimming. He rolled over, positioning me on top.

  “What were you saying about me not trying to make out with you?”

  “Well you weren’t right at that second,” I teased. He laughed, spreading his smirk across his face. “Actually, I think you want to do more than just make out.”

  “How do you figure that?”

  “Well the fact that my shirt is laying over there on the floor seems to be a pretty good indicator.”

  “You could have pulled it off in the heat of the moment,” he flirted.

  “Hmm, but how do you explain this?” As I asked my question, I pointed to my right arm. His eyes fell to where I was pointing. His fingers were clutching the strap of my bra, pulling it down my arm.

  “So are you saying that I should stop?” He rose, lightly grazing my lips with his.

  “Not at all,” I smiled.

  A knock at the door took our attention away from one another. Conrad jumped off the bed and threw his shirt on, then flung mine to me. I had just enough time to pull it over my head before Caroline walked in.

  “Are y’all playing doctor?” The tone in her voice was nothing short of wicked.

  I avoided looking at either of them, but Conrad answered her with all of the confidence in the world. “I gave her a clean bill of health,” he replied in a voice that was equally as wicked.

  “Anyways—” I said, changing the direction of the conversation. “Did you want to talk to us about something?”

  “Well it’s getting dark outside and I was just wondering when we needed to start getting ready for tonight.”

  “What time is it?” Conrad asked.

  “It’s almost eight,” Caroline answered from the doorway.

  “Let’s start packing our stuff up so we’re prepared and ready to go for tonight.

  “Alright, I’ll get my stuff ready and get changed,” Caroline replied, turning to head to her room.

  Conrad walked to the door to leave, but I jumped up and caught his hand before he could go. I held his hand in mine, rubbing my fingers along his knuckles.

  “About earlier,” I paused trying to collect my thoughts. “What happens to you if I die?”

  “Do you mean what happens to the secundae?” I felt myself unable to speak so I nodded my head instead. “We get pulled,” he said in a matter of fact tone.

  “What does that mean?”

  “We don’t really die; we get pulled out and then wait for you to be reborn so we can be reborn.”

  “Could my dad be reborn again soon? I figured since he isn’t here and he’s a secundae he would be coming back.”

  “We can’t be reborn until it’s time for you to be reborn. You have to live out the rest of your life first,” he said, interlacing his fingers with mine.

  “Oh,” I said, feeling all my hopes to see my father again deflate. “Do you go to the same place when you die and when you are pulled?”

  “Yes.”

  “And where is that exactly?”

  “Heaven,” he answered with a smile. “We go to heaven.” He gave me a slight peck on the cheek before leaving to go to his room.

  Heaven? I couldn’t stop thinking the word. Heaven. Instantly I found myself wondering what it was like. I made a mental note to pester Conrad into telling me all about it later, but then my thoughts turned to my father. When I saw him last his body was burned and broken beyond repair, but now he was in heaven. Kit and Mickey were there too. A tiny part of me felt happy at the thought. Even though they weren’t here with me, they were all in a beautiful place together. I couldn’t have wished for anything more than the comfort of that.

  I changed into jeans and a long sleeved black shirt. I retrieved my pink Converses and slid them onto my feet. I clipped my hair half up, letting the rest fall down my back. I gathered up everything that was mine and shoved it into my bag. I did a final survey of the room just to be sure I hadn’t forgotten anything. Then I made my way to Conrad’s room and watched as he packed up his belongings. He threw some clothes and shoes in a bag and slipped his arms through the holes of his leather jacket. He took the painting from the chair and covered it back up with the material. Then he pushed it into the box and returned it to the underside of the bed.

  “Are you ready to go?”

  At the sound of my voice, he crossed the room and switc
hed the light off.

  “Yeah, we better go downstairs and start getting everything else ready.”

  He grabbed my bag from me and carried it in the same hand as his own. We walked into the kitchen and found Caroline sitting at the table. Her bag was at her feet.

  “What time are we going to leave?”

  “I think we should leave around eleven. I want to get there late, so it’s quiet.”

  “I have the key to the auction house on my key chain so we will be able to go in through the front door and it will look like no one was there,” I added.

  “That’s good. Now the painting we need, you know exactly where it is, right?”

  “Yeah, it’s on a back wall by the window.”

  “Good, I want this to be a quick trip. I don’t want to stay out there for too long.” He handed us each a holster with knives in it and fitted it onto our backs.

  “Ok, don’t we need something to cover all the knives?” Caroline asked. “I mean, if we have to go to a public place, we might look suspicious wearing all this.”

  “Hold on,” Conrad ran out of the room and we could hear his shoes banging against the stairs. He returned a minute later and handed us each a sweat jacket. I pulled the black jacket on and zipped up the front. The holster wasn’t visible underneath the loose fitting jacket. Caroline’s jacket was navy blue and the sleeves weren’t quite as long on her arms as on mine. She had changed into a blue t shirt and jeans. Her brown boots were laced tight; she looked as if she were ready for a fight. “I’m going to finish loading up the car.” He carried our bags to the door and stepped out under the dark night sky.

  “You don’t have to go through with this if you don’t want to,” I said looking at Caroline.

  “Yes, I do.”

  “No, if you didn’t want to Conrad and I would understand. There is a good chance you could get hurt by sticking around.”

  “I’m staying. Besides I’m already too involved.”

  “Caroline—”

  She held up her hand, cutting me off. “Would you do this for me?”

  “What?”

  “Would you help me if things were reversed?”

  “Of course I would, but—”

  “But nothing. I’m staying and that’s final. You would do everything you could to help me so don’t think for one second I won’t do the same for you. You’re my sister; I’m staying.”