“What’s going on at the tower?” she asked.
“At the tower? Nothing. Everyone is holed up inside, but something’s happening in town. The party was attacked, as was the prison, barracks and several homes. Many are dead.”
“Attacked? How?”
“We don’t know yet,” Zaph said. “Seems to be the work of assassins.”
Though most of what Lilev said made no sense, Alexandra clung to the words that most impacted her family in Babylon: “Do not return to the tower… It’s not safe for you there.”
“We need to get to the tower!” she said. “They are going to attack there next!”
Zaph shook his head. “The tower is barricaded and safe. I’m taking you-“
“No!” Alexandra said as she reached for Kir’s sword. “Fly there now! They are in danger!”
“I must protect you-“
“Protect them!” she said as she pushed the angel away. Hesitating no longer under a saint’s command, he took to the air and flew away.
Alexandra retrieved Kir’s sword, pulled it from its scabbard and followed on foot. A sword in her hand shouldn’t have been a familiar feeling, but inexplicably it was. Memories of the wasteland flashed into her vision as she sprinted towards the tower. Another place, another time – another mad dash towards a destination. Were the memories real?
She reached the tower. Screams, shouts and gunfire echoed from within. The door was jammed or barricaded, so she crawled through a ground floor window. Two bodies laid sprawled near the stairs. One was a woman in rags and the other was Walter, a dagger planted in the center of his back along his spine. Vomit and blood coated the floor.
Alexandra dashed up the stairs, away from the grisly scene. Nothing on the second floor. She heard scuffling from above and raced up the next set of stairs. Two rangers lay still on the ground and another woman in rags with dark, unkempt hair struggled with Marco. Alexandra rushed towards them and they separated.
“You!” the young woman in rags screeched. She held a curved dagger in each hand, both of which dripped blood.
At first, Alexandra didn’t recognize the youth. Then, the woman reached towards her. Marco shouted a warning. Alexandra froze in terror and felt her stomach explode in pain. A boom of thunder rattled the walls of the tower and Marco was blasted backwards.
As if her soul was jarred from her body for a moment, Alexandra had a brief moment of clarity. She remembered everything – Eden, Koneh, Erzulie, Father Callahan, General Ryan, Lilev, the Crone, her dreams.
Everything.
She held no love for Shaun. Some force drew her to him and she remembered him as the man from her dreams – the man in the suit who was possessed by Satan. Then, she watched herself don the mantle of sainthood and become a follower to the Child King, Nebu. Dressed in a gleaming white robe, she absorbed the glory like a sponge.
Then, as soon as the clarity arrived, she was slapped by some violent, unseen force and thrown to the ground. Her stomach continually ripped in half and she opened her mouth to scream.
No sound escaped nor could she breathe. When her lungs seemed ready to burst, she gasped and then inhaled. The woman before her was Via, and she had done this before when she stole Alexandra’s jeep.
“Via,” Alexandra breathed.
Trampling footsteps grew louder and Via said, “You’re lucky we need you alive. Next time, Abomination.”
With the final word hanging heavy between them, Via sprinted down the stairs and out of sight. Marco groaned and checked the back of his head where he hit the wall. Blood matted his hair and face.
The pain subsided and Zaph landed next to her, followed by Shaun.
“Alexandra!” Shaun said.
“I’m okay,” she said.
Shaun gathered her in his arms. The memories of Koneh and everyone else faded into the background, replaced by warm memories of Shaun’s first kiss. Her ceremony. The day she met Nebu.
No!
She pushed him away and still found it difficult to focus upon Koneh and Erzulie. Like the details of a dream shortly after waking, the specifics became blurry with each passing moment.
“What’s wrong, dove?” Shaun asked.
Dove!
“No!” she said, dropping the angel’s sword and retreating down the steps.
What could she do? Where could she go? Her reality had been shattered and now she wasn’t sure about anything. She reached the bodies on the ground floor and climbed back through the window. All she knew was she needed to get away from the tower. Away from him.
She ran through the streets of Babylon. People wailed and fires consumed houses and tents. The rangers and military were already dousing the flames, but she didn’t care. Did she? Why did a part of her want to see Babylon burned to the ground?
She shook her head and almost pulled the hair from her scalp. What was happening to her?
She heard the flapping of wings and before Zaph landed, she said, “Go away!”
“I cannot leave you unprotected,” Zaph said.
Now separated from Shaun, the memories she glimpsed after Via touched her came back into focus. Moments from the road she shared with Koneh and everyone else were like warm blankets on the cold Babylon night. She recalled Koneh’s sweetness towards her and his relentless training. He was also willing to abandon his quest so she could be left alone by the church, by the world and by the forces of Heaven and Hell. He cared for her in a way nobody else ever had. In the end, he even sacrificed his life so she could reach Eden. He was willing to trade another eternity as a vagabond and outcast so she could know peace and joy in paradise.
And she also recalled her act of forgiveness which sent him to paradise instead. Her love towards him was the wildcard he never accounted for. Now, he was in Eden and she was left in the cold, lonely wasteland.
But was there a way? A sliver of a dream memory lanced into her mind and she recalled a ceremony where Lilev helped her reach Eden again. She could be with Koneh!
“Are you okay, My Lady?” Zaph asked softly.
She looked at the angel and wondered about Erzulie. Was she in Eden as well? Now that she shared half of Alexandra’s soul, did she find her peace as well? After thousands of years as a slave in Heaven, Erzulie certainly deserved a measure of respite.
Breathe, she told herself. You can figure this out.
What did she know? She was certain her memories from her previous journey to Eden were real, whatever that meant. Her feelings for Koneh and Erzulie were pure and true, whereas her perceived love for Shaun triggered her defense mechanisms. He did something to her and she felt violated.
She also knew that being near Shaun sent her memories into disarray. If she was to hold onto her tenuous grasp on her past, she needed to keep clear of him until her rendezvous with Lilev.
The demoness was her new ally in everything and she needed to trust her, as difficult as that was for Alexandra. It just seemed like the truest course left to her. She found safety and companionship in Babylon, but everything about it felt false to her. Everything except Medina. The girl sensed it as well, but she was just as trapped as Alexandra was. Betrothed to Nebu, where could she go?
“Everything’s gone so wrong,” she whispered, momentarily forgetting about the nearby angel.
“This wasn’t your fault,” Zaph said, misunderstanding her regret. “Those cultists were obviously planning the attack for quite some time. I heard Baruti and several Brazilian generals were killed. Some craftsmen we cannot replace so easily. They even came after you, Marco, Padre Hernon, Shaun and Nebu. They knew their targets.”
Alexandra wiped the tears from her eyes and stood. “Okay,” she said. “I’m going to survey the damage in town and help with wounded. Go tell Nebu I’ll be back later.”
“I must stay by your side,” he said.
“Nonsense. It’s safe now. They won’t attack again so soon.”
Zaph eyed her but didn’t budge.
“What are you waiting for?” she asked,
annoyed by his angelic stubbornness.
“You are different,” he said.
She crossed her arms over her chest and said, “What are we talking about? Do you really want to discuss my mood swings after the night we’ve had?!”
“It’s no mood swing,” he said as he extended his wings. “I’ll come find you in a moment.”
Zaph launched himself into the black sky and disappeared.
“Freakin’ angels,” she muttered to herself as she picked her way through the debris-filled streets towards the activity.
Most of the fires were doused or contained by the time she arrived on the scene. She healed a burn victim but quickly became weak from the exertion. Her marathon healing session at the docks may have had a permanent effect on her. Zaph helped her back to the tower and she didn’t have the strength to resist him.
“You are different,” the angel repeated as he supported her. The tower was close now.
Could Zaph also be her ally in all of this? Would he so readily protect her if he realized Via’s touch had somehow jarred Shaun’s control over her? Was the angel even aware of what was really going on?
“I’m exhausted,” she said, unwilling to gamble any further.
Zaph eyed her as they entered the tower, but he refrained from speaking whatever was on his angelic mind. He helped her to her cot with tenderness and closed the door behind him softly.
Finally free from the players in Babylon, Alexandra exhaled. Her world refused to stop spinning, so she focused on her surroundings. Talla whimpered from the corner and tentatively accepted food from her.
“Quite a night, eh buddy?”
He scurried back to his corner at the sound of feet outside.
“Alexandra?”
It was Shaun.
Like before, her mind swam through a thick fog and she felt the urge to open the door and invite him into her bed.
“No,” she whispered through clenched teeth.
“Can you open the door?”
“No,” she said. “I need sleep.”
Her entire body trembled as she attempted to contain her urge to run into his arms. The thought of their lips and bodies touching almost overwhelmed her and she squeezed her eyes shut. Talla whined.
“Okay,” Shaun said. “I’ll be back later.”
As his footsteps faded away, her self-control returned. Like anesthesia, she was near powerless to fight the onslaught upon her consciousness. She couldn’t stay in the tower for three days, she decided. Donning her black fatigues and Koneh’s sword, she waited for a few more minutes and then slipped down the stairs and away from the tower.
Talla seemed relieved to be leaving as well and he hopped merrily at her side as she walked through the still dark streets of Babylon. She bowed her head and didn’t make eye contact with anyone. Most everyone expected her in her white robes, so perhaps they didn’t even recognize her. There was only one place she felt safe.
The door opened and Alexandra felt a wave of relief wash over her shoulders.
“Iara,” she said to Medina’s mother. “May I stay here today?”
Iara’s face brightened and she said, “Yes, yes! Come, please.”
The small shack served as both a home and storefront for Iara’s soups. Alexandra and Medina had visited the hovel a few weeks prior, and Alexandra felt she could trust the woman.
Alexandra tried her best to explain to Iara that she didn’t want anyone knowing where she was. She thought she got the point across using a combination of Spanish and English. After making a small sleeping area, Alexandra laid her head down and was unconscious before her mind had a chance to swirl into a maelstrom.
Once again, she was transported to the greenery of Eden. Koneh joined her on the grass and eyed her suspiciously.
“You’ve been gone a long time,” he said.
The mild breeze washed over her naked body and warmed her bones. All the pain and anxiety from the past few days drained away from her. Babylon wasn’t home, Eden was. Koneh was home.
“Are you going to say something?” he asked.
She shook her head. If there were words to say, none of them volunteered at that moment. She was numb in too many ways.
“Listen,” he said, “there is something you should know.”
Still keeping silent, she raised one of her eyebrows.
“Erzulie is here.”
The recent events in Babylon became a distant thought as Alexandra processed his words. Her mouth refused to ask the myriad of questions bursting from the back of her throat. Her heart sank, leapt and then flipped around inside her ribcage. Her head felt light and ready to float into Eden’s azure sky.
Erzulie was alive!
“Did you-?” He paused as he apparently searched for his own words. “Did you give her a soul?”
Alexandra’s questions finally came.
“How? When?” She looked around the river and tree line. “Where?”
“Not sure, really, on any of those,” he said. “She flew to me one day, kissed me on the cheek, and then flew away. The smile never left her face. In shock, I did not have a chance to ask her anything. And I have not seen her since.”
Alexandra’s dreams were accurate. Again. Erzulie was in Eden.
“And there’s something else,” he said, his face dark.
He didn’t need to tell her, she knew. From the moment she awoke on the grass, she felt something imposing upon her heart. A looming dread hung over all of Eden.
“Something’s coming,” she said.
Koneh nodded. “I think so. We are all connected with Eden in a way I have never felt anywhere else before. Like a ship heading into a storm, we all feel it.”
“Lilev.” Alexandra breathed the name.
“She knows something,” Koneh said. “Are you still with her?”
“Three days. I need to make it three days before it’s safe to contact her again.”
“All these years, I ignored her insane ramblings about the danger of Eden,” he said. “If she is right, then everyone could be in grave peril from whatever lurks just beyond.”
“How?”
He shook his head. “Not sure, exactly. As much as Heaven and Hell existed as realms apart from our universe, it stands to reason other realities are possible. If Eden is their doorway to Earth, then I now see why Lilev was so frightened. I was a fool for blindly following Elah’s plan.”
Alexandra rubbed her temples, though they didn’t ache in the perfection of Eden. “I’m just having a hard time grasping this cosmic stuff,” she said.
“Me as well. However, we cannot ignore this feeling.”
“Any chance it’s just something new with Eden?” she asked. “Something we haven’t seen before?”
He shrugged. “Anything is possible.”
Sitting there in the grass, with the oppressive weight above her, she knew she was just lying to herself. As much as footsteps in a hallway beyond a door signal someone’s approach, she knew something was coming to Eden.
And the dread she felt told her that something wasn’t friendly.
“What do we do?” she asked.
He looked into her eyes and said, “You are now the one on point for us. Choose the path we will take, ‘o leader of men.”
“I told you to never call me that again,” she said as she nudged him.
He turned serious and said, “I hope you do whatever you must to protect yourself and everyone else. Even if that means following Lilev.”
Though he didn’t come out and say it, she knew what he was hinting at: the destruction of Eden.
She shook her head. “If it comes down to it, I’ll find a way that doesn’t involve extreme measures.”
Koneh looked to the mountain where Alexandra knew the silver tree waited.
“I fear we do not have much time,” he said.
Chapter 26
Alexandra awoke as night fell over Babylon. Creeping away from Iara’s house, she contemplated her next move. Did she stay in the tower f
or the next two days to avoid suspicion or did she flee into the rocky canyons? Nobody suspected her, but she wasn’t certain she would keep herself together near Shaun. Whatever he was doing to her messed with her memories and emotions. She couldn’t risk missing her rendezvous with Lilev.
She bent to lace her boots and Talla nudged her hand.
“I don’t know, buddy,” she said as she scratched him between his ears.
A Brazilian couple passed her on the street, but they didn’t recognize her dressed as she was. Perhaps the darkness helped as well.
“Well, I need my things in any case,” she said to Talla as she rose.
The tower was mostly dark at that late hour. With Walter gone, nobody occupied the ground floor. Alexandra slipped inside and moved as quietly as she could up the stairs. Then, she heard them.
Shaun and Marco descended from above, talking about the attack. She couldn’t avoid them as they came into view on the third story landing.
“Ah, there you are,” Shaun said. His face shifted to confusion as he looked her over.
Her heart spun like a pinwheel in a hurricane. Though the previous day saw much blood, perhaps he would still invite her into his bed? What was she doing out in the hallway at such a late hour anyway?
Talla nibbled at her calf and she sobered slightly. She remembered her night at Iara’s and reason for leaving. The fog in her head attempted to fill in the cracks of clarity opened by the coyote’s simple act, but Alexandra fought the onslaught.
“I… I was just getting some air,” she said. Words were heavier than dump trucks.
Why did she lie to him? He was her love, her soul mate.
Talla whined and she knew she needed to get out of there.
“Where are your other clothes?” Shaun asked, moving closer.
Alexandra stepped towards her door and put her hand to her forehead. “I’m still woozy from that… Whatever that was. Mind if I get some rest?”
“And your sword?” he pressed.
She used the door handle for support and strained to remember her friends.
“After tonight,” she said after a long pause. She licked her lips. “I just wanted to be safe.”
Babylon (Eden Saga Book 2) Page 25