Seeds of Eden

by Paige Watson

  I nodded my head in agreement and looked at my phone to check the time. It was 2:00 a.m. Most normal people would be asleep right now, but after everything I had discovered about myself in the past few days; I was nothing close to the word. Suddenly the buzzer sounded and a voice came over the intercom, causing us to jump.

  “It’s two in the morning. Who’s there that feels the need to disturb my house at this hour?” The voice was harsh and demanding.

  “I am a brother of the secundae and I came to this house in hopes I might be welcome.” Conrad’s voice was direct and unfaltering. It instantly made me glad he was the one doing the talking because I knew my voice would be shaking as badly as my body.

  “I see,” the voice replied. The voice was definitely a man’s but I was having a hard time placing the accent. “Is it a matter for the Concilium?”

  “Yes, I have the female primum with me.”

  The voice didn’t reply, but instead the buzzer rang out. The door unlocked and Conrad pressed it open, looking back at Caroline and me. He gestured for us to follow him upstairs and I grabbed Caroline’s hand to steady myself. She squeezed my hand slightly and my heart slowed its pace at her reassurance. As we stepped into the entryway of the building, the door slammed shut behind us, making Caroline and me jump. The first thing I noticed was the inside of the building was decorated in a modern style, continuing the theme from outside. The floor was made of shiny black tile that reflected our images like a giant mirror. The walls were painted a deep purple and a large staircase was located on the left side of the room. On the right was a long metal table with a red bowl located in the center. A single white orchid bloomed from the bowl. It reminded me of the still life drawings my art teacher used to set up for our class to draw.

  “Let’s go upstairs,” Conrad ordered.

  “Ok,” I whispered.

  The three of us headed to the staircase. The steps were made of the same shiny tile and the railing appeared to be the same metal as the table. I was afraid Conrad would have a hard time walking up the stairs, but he walked gracefully, as if he wasn’t injured at all. I couldn’t help but think his tolerance for pain had to be ridiculous. The purple walls continued as we climbed the stairs, and a black door stood before us. As Conrad reached out to knock, the door flung open, revealing a tall slender girl. She looked the same age as Caroline and I, although she was a few inches taller. Her black hair was cut into a trendy

  bob and she wore a low cut black shirt and tight red pants. She looked like a fashion model and I instantly decided that was reason enough not to like her. I barely had enough time to take in her appearance when she called out Conrad’s last name.

  “Bourdet!” She flung her arms around his neck, knocking him back a few steps. “It’s been decades,” she exclaimed, hugging him tightly. He gave her a quick hug back before she broke away from him.

  “It’s good to see you too,” he smiled. He turned to look at me and her eyes locked onto Caroline and me, noticing us for the first time. “This is Helen Megaera.”

  “Ah, I see Eve is with you, but who else have you brought?”

  “Hi, I’m Caroline. I’m a friend of Evey’s.”

  Her brown eyes narrowed as she scrutinized my face. I smiled at her uncomfortably, hoping she would avert her eyes from me.

  “Well any friend of an original is a friend of mine,” she answered in a voice that was almost too sweet. “Please come in.” She moved over to allow us inside. I sucked in a deep breath as we crossed through the doorway. The room we entered was as grand as the entryway beneath us. It had a large open floor plan, housing a sitting area on the right and a library on the left. The entire left wall of the room was an endless bookshelf that held thousands of books. Helen ushered us to the sitting area. I stood by Caroline and we sat down together on a white couch. Conrad sat to my left in a white chair with a high back. Helen remained standing in the center of the sitting area.

  “I assume you’re here to see Noah?”

  “Yeah, we’re sorry to wake all of you up, but it’s urgent,” Conrad answered.

  “It’s no problem. I’ll go upstairs and get him.” I watched as she walked over to another metal staircase just behind where we were sitting. I looked at her back and saw a sacramentum tattooed upon her skin. The same tree that was on Conrad’s back covered hers as well. Although, as I looked at her mark, I noticed that it wasn’t an exact copy of Conrad’s. While the branches on his tree were dense and full of leaves, Helen’s tree didn’t seem to be as full. Once she was out of earshot I turned to Conrad, expecting an explanation.

  “Helen is a secundae of a consiliarius. I’ve known her for years. I used to serve as one of Noah’s secundae when I was banned from being yours.”

  “Oh, ok.” It was the only thing I could manage and the room fell silent after.

  “Well, being a consiliarius must have its perks because this place is huge!”

  “Yeah, it’s pretty nice,” Conrad said with a slight laugh.

  I gave her hand a little squeeze; you could always count on Caroline to break the silence. Before either of them could speak again, we heard the sound of feet coming down the metal steps. In unison, the three of us turned to see who was approaching. To my surprise, a young man who looked to be in his

  early twenties was standing in front of us. He was as tall as Conrad but not quite as muscular. From what I could see of his arms beneath his rolled up sleeves, they still looked strong. He wore a black button up shirt and gray slacks. The dark color of his shirt made his light green eyes stand out.

  “It’s good to see you again Bourdet,” he said, walking in front of the couch to shake Conrad’s hand.

  “You too Noah. It’s certainly been a long time.”

  “That it has,” Noah smiled. His hair was bright blonde and styled to perfection. It was short and he had fixed it to stand up in small spikes. “I see we have Miss Eve here with us.” He turned his eyes on me and nodded in my direction. I returned his gesture with a slight smile. “And you are a friend of Eve’s?” His gaze fixed on Caroline, taking in her shocked expression.

  “Um yes,” she said after she had composed herself. “My name is Caroline.”

  “Well it’s very nice to meet you.” He seated himself in a chair opposite the couch I was on. Helen, and a short man with caramel skin and dark brown hair came in and sat on a set of black chairs to the right of the couch. “I believe you already know Helen, but this is Milton. He’s also one of my secundae.” Milton gave each of us a curt nod. His eyes were the same caramel color of his skin and his neck was as thick as his arms. I had no doubts about his abilities as a secundae.

  “I’m sorry, but you’re a consiliarius?” Out of the corner of my eye I could see Caroline’s gaze was fixed on Noah.

  “Not what you expected?” Noah turned his attention from Conrad to her.

  “What I expected, was a plump balding man in brown monk’s robes, not an Abercrombie model.”

  “Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you,” he smiled.

  “Anyway, why have the three of you come here?” Helen’s voice was sharp and to the point.

  “Well, we came because Evey was attacked by a group of tortured souls. They killed the Fultons and Guy. Marie was taken by Aden.”

  I could tell by the expression on Noah’s face that this was not what he was expecting to hear. “How did he find her?”

  “I don’t know. Guy left us with a clue of how to get in touch with a consiliarius. He hid the clue in a painting at his and Marie’s auction house. When we went to retrieve the painting, we were attacked by more souls and a dissimulo demon. We knew we had to warn you, so that’s why we came here as soon as we were able to figure out what was hidden in the painting.”

  “I wondered when he would surface again,” Noah said, rubbing his chin. “It’s quite concerning that he’s having souls do his bidding; it’s not a good sign.”

  “I think the dissimulo concerns me even more,” Conrad added. “Do you t
hink he is trying to wield the servi satanam?”

  “If he is, we are all in trouble,” Noah replied. “But that’s only two of the six. If we see all six of the servi, then we know Aden is making deals with the devil.”

  “What is the servi satanam?” I asked.

  “The servi satanam refers to the six types of minions Satan rules over in hell. Five of them are different types of demons and the sixth, are tortured souls,” Noah said, looking at me.

  “Do you have any idea what he might be up to?” My voice was so soft, that for a second, I thought he hadn’t heard me.

  “Well we know he’s after you and members of the Concilium. The powers of the consiliarius he killed must be running out. He’s getting desperate again. There’s a ritual he could perform to bind the powers of a consiliarius to him, but I don’t see how he could know about that. I thought only members of the Concilium knew about it,” Noah said, looking confused. He turned to face Helen. “Helen, would you notify the rest of the Concilium and their secundae of this? I want to make sure everyone knows what’s going on.”

  “Of course.” She stood up from her chair and returned upstairs, with Milton trailing behind her.

  “Eve, do you have full possession of all your memories?”

  “I prefer to be called Evey, but no. I’m able to remember bits and pieces but that’s about it. What ritual are you talking about?”

  “It’s called the Comedere Cor. It roughly translates to eating of the heart. Basically, Aden has to cut out the heart of a consiliarius and combine it with the heart of the first sin he committed. Then, he has to consume the heart, at the tree of knowledge of good and evil, in the Garden of Eden.”

  “So he needs to eat my heart and the heart of a consiliarius?”

  “Not your heart; the heart of the apple.” He paused for a moment, before continuing. “Specifically, the seeds of the apple.”

  “But that’s good news right?” Caroline looked between everyone waiting for her question to be confirmed. “I mean, those seeds have to be long gone by now.”

  “Actually, Evey used to carry the seeds around with her,” Conrad replied.

  “What?” I could hear the panic in my voice as I spoke. “I kept the seeds?”

  “Yes.”

  “But why?”

  “You showed me the seeds when I was one of your personal guards in 1475. You explained to me where the seeds came from, and you told me you liked to keep them with you. You said you kept the seeds as a reminder of the penance you owed to God. You had them with you at all times, always hiding them somewhere safe so you could find them again when you were reborn.”

  “So Aden thinks I have the seeds, or know where to find them, and that’s why he’s after me?”

  “Do you know where the seeds are?”

  “I don’t,” I said, answering Noah. “Is there a way for you to give me back my memories?”

  “Nothing that would work the way we need it to,” he answered. “The best thing for you to do would be to just let the memories come back with time.”

  “The problem is,” Conrad started, “that I’m not sure how much time we have.”

  “Well, as long as you’re here, you are safe. I think we would do good to see the head of the Concilium. He knows more about the ritual than I do, and he may be able to tell us a way to help Evey’s memories come back faster.”

  “Where is the head of the Concilium?” I asked.

  “He is in New York right now, but he moves around every so often.”

  “Oh, ok. So we’ll be going to New York?”

  “Yeah, but it’ll be a day or two. I’m going to arrange for us to take a private plane. It’s much safer than driving there. Especially since Aden was able to find you before.”

  “There’s one thing I don’t understand,” Caroline piped up.

  “What’s that?” Noah again fixed his gaze on her.

  “If the consiliarius are supposed to be immortal, then how was Aden able to kill one of you?”

  “We’re immortal in the sense that we don’t age or die of sickness; however, we can be murdered.”

  “Oh.”

  “No one can be completely immune to everything. If anyone were, it would disrupt the natural order of things,” Noah said, standing up from the chair. “All of you must be exhausted. Follow me and I’ll show you to your rooms.”

  “We still have bags in my car,” Conrad said.

  “I’ll send Milton to retrieve your things for you and bring them to your rooms.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate it,” he replied.

  We trailed behind Noah as he walked up the stairs, passing the floor directly above us.

  “This floor houses the kitchen and dining room, and the top floor is where all the bedrooms are.” We stepped off the staircase and immediately turned into a long hallway. There were six doors along it. Noah led us down the hall and stopped in front of the first room on the right. “Caroline, you can take this

  room, and Evey, you can take the one right beside it. Conrad, your room is the first door on the left here. Helen and Milton are in the last two rooms on the left and mine is the last on the right if you should need anything. Is there anything else I can get you?”

  “No, but thank you so much for your hospitality,” I said.

  “It’s my pleasure. Goodnight.” He looked at all of us before walking down the hall to his room. I couldn’t help but notice his eyes lingered on Caroline slightly longer than Conrad and me.

  “I’ll see the two of you in the morning,” Caroline said, going into her room.

  There seemed to be an awkward silence lingering in the air between Conrad and me. “How is your leg?”

  “It’s fine.”

  “When they bring our bags up I’ll come to your room and put a new dressing on it.”

  “Ok.”

  I turned from him and went into my room, closing the door behind me. The walls were painted a deep gold and it shined brightly against the white trim. A tall sleigh bed took up the majority of the space and a giant painting hung on the wall behind it. It looked like a Degas. It depicted a ballet studio with young ballerinas lining up to dance. The soft smudging of the colors together was characteristic of Degas’ work. Considering the state of everything in the apartment, I figured it was real; Noah didn’t seem like the type to hang a fake Degas on his wall. The tall windows on either side of the painting were covered with yards of white chiffon. On the left wall was an antique vanity made of the same wood as the bed and a matching dresser stood in the corner. I opened a door to the right and discovered a large bathroom. It had a large counter with double sinks and a deep claw foot tub. On the other side of the bathroom was a door. I opened it and found myself in Caroline’s room.

  “Hey!” I said in surprise.

  “It’s like we’re roommates,” she said, looking at everything in her room. Her room was furnished the same as mine, but the walls were painted a deep blue color and thick gold curtains hung from the windows. Instead of a Degas painting, a large gold map of the world hung above her bed. It looked like it could be museum quality and the frame it was encased in was definitely expensive.

  “Look at this bathroom.” She joined me and let out a gasp. “This is just about as big as my room at home!”

  “I know, it’s so huge!”

  “Oh, I want to see your room,” she said, walking into my room. “Gosh it’s beautiful too!”

  “I can’t believe you hit on a consiliarius,” I laughed.

  “I’m sorry, but I had this image of a fat old guy locked in my mind. Besides, you weren’t expecting him to look like that either!”

  “I know. What do you think of Helen?” We sat on top of my bed as we talked. “She seemed kind of cozy toward Conrad, and she was definitely sending hate vibes my way.”

  “She was a total bitch,” she said, smiling at me.

  “Thanks for saying that.”

  “Well it’s like I say; we’re best friends because we hate all
the same people.”

  “You know, that’s got to be the reason,” I laughed.

  “Besides, you heard what Conrad said about her. He was one of Noah’s secundae and they worked together. That’s all that was.”

  “I know, I guess I was just a little jealous about the way she hugged him.”

  “Can’t say I blame you…plus who dresses like that at two in the morning? I mean, other than hookers.”

  “Caroline!” I couldn’t help but shake my head at her.

  “What? Her shirt was really low cut, and her pants were practically painted onto her body.”

  “I’m glad you’re here.”

  “Me too,” she yawned. “Well, I’m off to bed. I’ll see you in the morning roomie.” She exited through the bathroom and I followed her, shutting the door to my room. Then, a soft knock came at my door. I answered it and saw Milton. He handed me my bag without saying a word.

  “Oh, thank you.” He nodded his head in reply and stalked down the hall. I guess he was a man of few words, if any at all. I could hear voices coming from Conrad’s room and I waited until Milton cleared the hallway before sneaking over to Conrad’s door to listen. He was talking to Helen, and from the sound of her voice I could tell she was upset.

  “I thought the Concilium forbade you from seeing her.”

  “They did,” Conrad answered.

  “Then why are you with her right now?”

  “Because I couldn’t stay away from her and I don’t want to,” he said raising his voice. “And Noah didn’t seem too concerned with the fact I’d disobeyed orders of the Concilium.”

  “That’s because the rest of the Concilium isn’t like Noah. He’s much more lenient than the others, especially the head of the Concilium.”

  “I mean, after all the attacks does it really matter? Aden would have her right now if I hadn’t gone back for her.”

  “The only person Aden wants to hurt more than Eve is you. You know that, and yet you still risk everything for her. I don’t understand it.”

  “I risk everything for her, because I love her. She never asked me to do any of this, to become her secundae. The Concilium asked me to do it and I do it for her.”