Lost Eden (The Soulkeepers)

by G. P. Ching

  “She could be in Hell already. He could be holding her like he did Dane.” No one could go to Hell without being ushered in by the devil himself. Hell wasn’t like Nod. It was Lucifer’s domain as Heaven was God’s.

  She grabbed his face and gave him a peck on the mouth. “Keep watch. I’m going over.”

  Chapter 5

  The Challenge

  Malini tumbled into Fate’s stucco-walled villa with a painful jolt. She knew better than to make the journey to the In Between in her present emotional state, but time was of the essence. Every moment Abigail was with Lucifer posed a risk, but strong emotions made crossing between worlds uncomfortable. Her hate for Lucifer, the guilt for letting Warwick’s stone land in the wrong hands, and her fear for Abigail’s safety weighed heavily on her heart. All of that baggage traveled with her through the ether, like trying to swim in a snowsuit.

  Eyes closed, she tried to quiet her mind, breathing deeply with her head between her knees. Once she’d composed herself, she walked the rows of fabric, searching for Abigail’s thread. Over time, she’d developed a method for finding things in the miles and miles of material. Hands stretched to her sides, she would trail her fingertips over the bolts of fabric, human years passing like Braille beneath her touch. Souls told their stories in every stitch. Abigail was thousands of years old, but she’d only been human a few months. Malini worked her way toward the newer bolts, waiting for the hypodermal tickle that would tell her she was touching the right one.

  When she’d first become a Healer, she’d assumed one bolt of fabric must equal one human year, or at a minimum a consistent length of time. She was wrong. Destiny was a fickle fabric. Fate, as measured by the intersection of souls and the choices they made, increased in activity at certain times in history. The years during World War I and II took up an entire row of the warehouse-like space. The newest material wasn’t not necessarily at the front. The bolts were organized by significance, not time.

  She wandered the rows, mind open, allowing the ancient part of herself to take over. A flash ran up the inside of her arm. She stopped, focusing on the roll her sixth sense told her corresponded to the current year. Carefully, she pinched the corners of the fabric, her arms spread-eagle to encompass the width, and unraveled the shimmering blue cloth. Lives blinked up at her. They flashed in and out of their silver-embroidered home like bits of binary code. She coasted her fingertips over the silky material, faces flashing through her mind in fast-forward as she read the world’s history.

  She sifted through the threads of the last twenty-four hours, seeing Paris, Stephanie, Jacob, and a blur that she understood was herself. (A Healer’s fate was never to see her own past, present, or future clearly.) She’d gone too far. She needed to back up to before Abigail was taken. Sliding her fingers a few inches, she looked again for Abigail, concentrating on her friend’s image and allowing the deepest manifestation of her power to take control. Nothing. Abigail’s thread was nowhere to be found.

  “She’s not in there.” Fatima stood behind her among the bolts, lanky limbs crossed and eyes downcast.

  Malini lifted her fingertips from the fabric. “What do you mean she isn’t in here?”

  Fatima’s expression drooped. Malini had never seen her look so tired. Dark areas under her eyes sagged over tearstained cheeks and sallow skin. “Lucifer stole her thread,” she said weakly.

  “Stole her thread! How? Why didn’t you stop him?”

  She forced a chuckle. “Stop Lucifer? Only one stands a chance at such a feat, God, and unfortunately, She was here at the time. Their interaction was not what you might expect.”

  “What’s going on, Fatima? Why were they both here?” A deep sense of dread wormed into Malini’s gut. Fatima, normally a tower of immortal strength, hunched before her, countenance a dark omen that permeated every corner of her abode like an icy chill.

  “Follow me.” Fatima led her out the front archway onto the veranda and then down the stairs to the rolling hillside beyond.

  The silhouette of an angel stood on the top of the tallest hill. “Who is that?”

  “Not who, what. Allow me to assist with the distance.”

  A blink later, Malini stood atop the hill. The In Between was a construct of each immortal’s consciousness, and Fate had reconstructed her yard to bring them closer without all the walking. A massive statue rose before Malini. Made of white marble and eight feet tall, the angel’s wings spread against the ambient light of the sky. The figure was feminine, blindfolded, her face tipped down, lips pressed together in a stern expression … judgment. In her right hand, a set of scales dangled. In her left, a crystal model of the world covered in pinpoints of light and darkness.

  “Lady Justice, angel style,” Malini said. “What is this?”

  “She is the scorekeeper, the guardian of the challenge. Lucifer demanded a consequence for the role I played in making Dane a Soulkeeper. He asked for my soul and to name my replacement—”

  “No!”

  “God refused but made an alternate proposal. The compact was dissolved.”

  “What!”

  “A challenge is underway for human hearts; the prize, exclusive rule over Earth for one thousand years.”

  “This can’t be true,” Malini muttered. “All of our lives—why would God risk all of our lives?”

  Fatima continued. “Lucifer will release six temptations, and God will release six gifts. Each is meant to win human souls to their side. This scorekeeper marks the balance and will record the winner.”

  Malini brought her nose close to the crystal Earth. “Light verses darkness.” White and black pinpoints danced over the globe. Her life and all of the lives depicted within were in jeopardy.

  “There’s so much darkness. The scales are already tipped in Lucifer’s favor. Has he issued the first temptation?” Malini asked.

  “Unfortunately, no.”

  “But he already has an advantage!” Malini grimaced when she thought of his advantage. “The water. His Watchers have influenced many of the most powerful people in America. That’s why he has the advantage.” She pointed her hands at the scales.

  “About that, God made it clear that the influenced don’t count in this game. Lucifer will be cautious to overuse that card.”

  Malini huffed. “So the Watchers can influence people but probably won’t. Why doesn’t that make me feel better? And Abigail! Oh no, Abigail.” She pressed both hands into her stomach.

  “I’m sorry, Malini. Lucifer knows exactly what he’s doing. He took Abigail’s thread so that you could not track her. He wants to weaken you, to distract you, and so far he has. You and the other Soulkeepers are the only ones who pose a threat to his Watchers on Earth. You are the only ones who can lessen the impact of his temptations.”

  “We are God’s best weapons aside from the six gifts.”

  “Exactly.”

  Her hands balled into fists. “Where is Lucifer?” Malini asked through her teeth.

  “I can’t follow him or his Watchers. They have no souls and no threads. We know a few Watchers already inhabit Earth. Death’s numbers tell the tale. But without the compact, Lucifer and his minions could be anywhere. They can travel anywhere, without a portal.”

  “Then track the deaths!” she snapped. “I will fry his Watchers one by one until Lucifer gives me Abigail.”

  “He will never do that, Malini.” Fatima lowered her gaze. “You know he’d kill her before he backed down.”

  Malini tipped her head and narrowed her eyes. “So what you are telling me is that the Watchers can come and go as Lucifer pleases, to Hell, Nod, Earth and even here in the In Between. Abigail could already be caged inside a ring of fire in Hell, just as Dane was, but I can’t know for sure because I can’t track her. She has no thread.” She groaned. “What can we do?”

  Fatima folded her arms, all eight of them, across her abdomen. “I will tell you what you must do. Be patient. Don’t draw attention to yourself. Wait until Lucifer becomes car
eless and tips his hand.”

  “Do you know what he could be doing to Abigail at this very moment? I can’t just abandon her.”

  Fatima sighed. “When Dane was captured, he called your soul to Hell. At that time, he wanted the list of Soulkeepers. Chances are Abigail is the bait for something he wants. Wait for the ransom note. Wait for him to call you to him.”

  “And what if he doesn’t?”

  “Attacking Watchers won’t save Abigail. If she is in Hell, no one can reach her. Lucifer will expect you to retaliate. Maybe he’s even hoping to draw you out of Eden so that he can kill you. Trust me on this, Malini. Keep a low profile. Wait until Lucifer releases the first temptation, and then take advantage of his distraction to exact your revenge.”

  Her immortal friend was right. As hard as this was going to be for all of them, she had to close ranks and wait. Lucifer expected an immediate response. He’d be counting on a fast, sloppy retaliation. If Abigail was the bait, Lucifer might want nothing more than to flush the Soulkeepers from hiding, all for naught. None of them could travel to Hell to save Abigail. Malini needed to act smart not fast. Perfect timing was their only hope of helping God win this challenge.

  “Thank you, Fatima.” With a hasty goodbye, Malini journeyed back to Earth, making the agonizing fall into her body in the maple grove. Thankfully, Jacob was there to pull her weeping face into his shoulder.

  * * * * *

  On the second floor of the Eden School for Soulkeepers, Malini stood at the head of the conference table. Gideon Newman, the former angel turned human, sat in the seat to her left, pale and hunched. Lillian Lau, Horseman and leader of field operations, chose the chair next to him, squeezing his hand to offer emotional support. Master Lee, Helper and martial arts expert, found a spot across the table but perched on the side of the chair as if ready for a fight. And Grace Guillian, Helper and mother to twin Horsemen Bonnie and Samantha, fidgeted nervously in the seat to Malini’s right.

  “Thank you for convening on such short notice,” Malini began.

  “Did you find her? Can we get her back?” Gideon leaned across the table, jaw clenched. The skin around his green eyes held the worn and bloated look of an overused paper bag.

  “I’m sorry. No.”

  Gideon scrubbed his face with his hands.

  Malini glanced around the table. So much pain. So much worry. “Abigail has been taken by Lucifer as we suspected.”

  “To Hell, like Dane?” Grace asked.

  Malini nodded. “It appears so. And worse, I’ve learned Lucifer and his Watchers can now travel anywhere, without a portal.”

  A sharp intake of breath came from Lillian’s direction. “But he… can’t! He can’t stay on Earth. There are laws. Ancient, God-made laws. How could the Watchers be here? What about the sun? They can’t—”

  “Until now,” Malini interrupted. “The compact has been nullified.”

  Grace covered her mouth with her small freckled hands. “Why?”

  “Lucifer and his Watchers were granted access to Earth as a consequence of Fate making Dane a Soulkeeper.” Malini paused, rubbing her palms together. “According to Fate, God and Lucifer have engaged in a battle for human souls, winner take all for one thousand years. Lucifer will release six temptations, God six gifts. Each is meant to win the hearts of humans. Upon the last gift, the balance of human souls will mark the winner. I saw the scorekeeper myself. The challenge has already begun.”

  As if she might bust out of her skin if she held still, Grace erupted from her chair and paced the room. “So stupid. So irresponsible. What was she thinking making Dane a Soulkeeper?”

  Master Lee sighed, rubbing his milky eye, a Soulkeeper’s gift that allowed him to see through a Watcher’s illusion. “She was thinking, save a life. Dane would have died without her intervention. Any of us might have done the same.”

  “It’s not fair, Lee,” Grace snapped. “Lucifer forced Fate to break the rules. If he hadn’t cheated and targeted Dane in the first place, she wouldn’t have had to save him. Lucifer was not supposed to tamper directly with human lives. Dane was human. He tampered. Fate was justified.”

  “Maybe that’s why God posed the challenge,” Malini said quietly. The others turned to face her one by one. “For thousands of years, God has kept the compact while Lucifer ignored it. Evil does as it pleases. Perhaps this challenge is a way to end an agreement that wasn’t working.”

  The five stared at each other, a whole lot of blinking and fidgeting in place of any real progress. Malini needed to bring them back to the task at hand, but she couldn’t focus. For the first time since becoming the Healer, she was flying blind, working off intuition rather than her power.

  Lillian spoke first. “When you were In Between, did you see any hope of getting Abigail back?”

  “No. Lucifer stole her life’s thread. I can’t see her past or her future.”

  Gideon let out a shaky breath, and Malini put her hand on his shoulder. “Chances are he’s using her as bait. If we wait, he’ll send me a ransom note like he did with Dane. Remember? He pulled my soul into Hell to demand the list of Soulkeepers. He’ll probably do the same with Abigail, and when he does, I’ll bargain for her.”

  “So we wait? We do nothing while Lucifer tortures my wife?” Gideon spat. Despite Malini’s healing comfort, Gideon dropped a fist to the table, rattling the wood and the spirits of everyone seated around it.

  “We have no other choice. Lucifer is going to expect us to respond immediately. He’s counting on it. He wants to flush us out of Eden. That’s been his plan all along. When he approached Cheveyo to act as his Trojan horse, he did it because he knows this is the only place we’re safe from him.”

  “This is bullshit,” Gideon said, the first curse Malini had ever heard him use. He shrugged from under her hand and stood, knocking back his chair.

  “Remember, Gideon, that Lucifer has the list that Abigail conjured. He knows the names of every Soulkeeper on that list. He knows where we live and where we go to school. The only place we are safe is in Eden.”

  “So?”

  “So, he probably took Abigail to smoke us out. Watchers could be anywhere. Too aggressive and we play into his hands. He already knows Jacob, Dane, and I live in Paris. If he suspects the entrance to Eden is here, the town will be crawling with Watchers in no time. He’ll pluck us off one by one. Without the Soulkeepers in the way, his chances of winning this challenge are vastly improved. No, we need to be smart about this. Lucifer will get impatient and careless. He’ll make a mistake and that’s when we’ll move in—when he least expects it. I have to believe that our best bet of getting Abigail back from Hell is helping God win this challenge.”

  “What about the challenge, Malini?” Lee asked. “How do we prepare when we have no idea what the six temptations will be?”

  Suddenly, her upper body felt heavy, and she pitched forward, catching herself on the table. Lee’s words echoed in her head. Her heart thumped in her throat. How could they prepare? They were all caught up in some giant chess game between God and the devil, pawns in a contest she could barely hope to understand let alone influence. Sweat gathered at the back of her neck. The room was too hot, closing in.

  A soft touch on her back gave her comfort. Grace was at her side, rubbing circles over her spine. “It’s okay, Malini,” she whispered next to her cheek. “No one could possibly answer that question. Even Soulkeepers are only human.”

  With her head still spinning, Malini tilted her face up to look at Lee. “I don’t know what’s coming, but I do know how we should prepare. The same way we always have. We train. We get better at defending ourselves and working together. From now on we train harder and faster than we ever have before.”

  Lillian rose from her seat, pointing a finger at Malini. “We can and we will. Once we get Cheveyo up to speed, this will be the strongest team you’ve ever seen.”

  “Good,” Malini said. “Because we can’t think of ourselves as observers. We might not h
ave control over the challenge or the form of Lucifer’s temptations, but we are part of this war, and I for one intend to be on the winning side.”

  Chapter 6

  The First Curse

  One week later …

  Abigail paced in front the wall of windows overlooking the city. She’d become all too familiar with the sprawling penthouse. In a space that took up the entire top floor of the building, she’d counted six massive bedrooms, seven bathrooms and two powder rooms, a gourmet kitchen, a great room large enough to double as a ballroom and a smattering of specialized areas for entertaining. She couldn’t enjoy any of them.

  One of the rooms was a library, chock-full of leather-bound books in multiple languages. She suspected the previous owner had left the collection, as Lucifer had never shown any interest in reading. Abigail yearned to pass the time by taking one down and curling up in a plush chair to read, but Lucifer’s curse made that particular act impossible. Her hand passed through the binding as it did the telephone, the television, and any pen or paper she wished to employ. He’d turned her into a ghost.

  The only exception to her plight was when he fed her. Twice a day he’d provide a meal and at that time his sorcery would break, and she could lift the fork and drink from a glass. Enough to keep her alive, yes, but with no human interaction, she could feel herself slipping away. The ghost world she lived in was a torture like no other.

  She tried to focus on the certain hope that the Soulkeepers would find her. Even if Malini couldn’t follow her thread and predict where she’d be, Gideon would never give up. He’d find a way to track her down. She just needed to be patient. They’d have her out of here in a few days.

  The sound of the front door opening sent her scurrying from the library into the great room, fully expecting to see her rescuers. Instead, Lucifer paraded through the front door, Auriel and Cord following on his heels. He did not spare a glance for Abigail. This was part of her torture. The one being who could see her refused to look at her.