“Did I hear gunfire?”
“Yes. Captain Morin circled back to check on you and saw the battle with Iblis. He called in reinforcements when the demons descended upon Babylon. A battle ensued.”
“A battle? No, that would be awful in Babylon. So many innocent people-”
Erzulie stopped her. “General Ryan broke it off quickly, once he knew you were safe,” she said.
“And now?” Alexandra asked.
“The Child King sits upon his golden throne and demons force the people to labor in Babylon. Angels, unaware of the true nature of things, worship him. People still come, but General Ryan intends to warn them.”
Alexandra frowned. Had she really failed so completely? Eden wasn’t destroyed and Iblis had beaten her. Literally.
“I know this isn’t what you wanted to hear,” Erzulie said.
“Catch me up.”
Erzulie bit her lower lip. “The general is here.”
General Ryan pushed the entrance flap aside and entered. He appeared weary behind his bushy beard and tired eyes. Stopping at the foot of her bed, he beamed.
“It’s great to see you finally awake,” he said, tears at the base of his eyes.
“Thank you,” she said to him. “I hear I have you to thank for my rescue?”
“I just provided the cover fire,” he said, wiping his face. “Captain Morin got you out of there.”
Alexandra turned to Erzulie and the angel shook her head.
“My wing got clipped during the escape,” she said. “Captain Morin carried you most of the way.”
“Oh,” Alexandra said. “Then I guess I truly owe him my gratitude.”
“He thinks you two are even now,” General Ryan said. “He hasn’t stopped telling the story of how you slew demons like a whirlwind and pushed one from on top of him.”
“Wow, okay,” Alexandra said. “So, where are we?”
“About twenty miles north of Babylon,” General Ryan said. “They started to follow us, but our fifty-cals dissuaded them pretty decisively. We were planning to move once you were out of the woods.”
Alexandra exchanged a knowing glance with Erzulie and said, “I’m not in the woods anymore, trust me.”
Erzulie suppressed a giggle. Her new soul had changed her in many ways.
“I’m missing something,” he said.
“It’s nothing,” Alexandra said and she pulled the IV line from her arm.
“Maybe I should go get the doctor,” he said, concern stamped along the lines on his face.
“No need,” Alexandra said. She pulled herself upright and ignored the tearing in her chest.
“You sure you’re okay?” General Ryan asked. His eyes wandered to her many tracks of stitches and what it meant. He appeared quietly curious and obviously worried.
Grimacing, she said, “Yup, I’m good.”
“You have thirteen cracked ribs,” he said.
She twisted her torso and marveled at Lilev’s handiwork.
“I’m okay, really,” she said though her bones hummed and her skin felt like it was tearing at the seams.
“Alright then,” he said, uncertainty in his demeanor. “Want some fresh air?”
Alexandra slipped out of her cot and into a heavy, gray bathrobe. Her sword and new wardrobe rested at the foot of her bed and she felt comfort knowing the articles were nearby.
“In a minute,” Alexandra said. “I’ll meet you guys outside?”
General Ryan nodded and held the canvas aside so Erzulie could exit. Once they were both gone, Alexandra stumbled to the washbowl. Her knee felt shredded and weak. Hands shaking, she concentrated to regain control over her own body.
Almost afraid to look in the mirror, she slowly focused on her own reflection. A new scar ran from her scalp, behind her right ear and down her neck. She traced the stitches with her fingers and felt her skin tingle from the many tracks Lilev had cut into her. Her knee throbbed and reminded her that her pain was quite universal. Marco had certainly left his mark upon her as well, before he perished at the hands of the witch, Via.
So much death.
Death and loss.
Where were the voices of doubt and self-loathing which accompanied her on so much of her recent trek? If anything, Alexandra expected them to appear now that she had a moment of peace and solitude. Instead, those voices remained noticeably silent. Did she conquer them? Silence them? Did they perish along with a part of her she had yet to discover?
As if in answer to her call, the voice returned.
Who are we now? The voice was less berating than it had been in the past. Are we whole or forever shattered?
Alexandra returned an answer in her mind. We are whole, she reassured. And we will find our way again. Together.
For the first time since the voice appeared, Alexandra didn’t feel at odds with it. Instead of fighting against each other in the arena of her heart, Alexandra felt like she was sitting at an imaginary table with the voice and discussing their shared fate.
Together, the voice confirmed.
Her scars likely ran deeper than the stitches and ache in her bones. She wondered when and if she would ever grip the full terms of her loss.
Alexandra’s thoughts wandered to Eden. What was happening there? Were Koneh and Father Callahan fighting some new enemy, or were they snuffed from existence by whatever dread loomed over the place? Was there even a cause for such rash action?
“Yes,” she whispered.
Her trust in her new allies was genuine. Though Lilev had done unspeakable things to her, the demoness was correct. Eden’s time was over. Now, perhaps, the Earth could heal as the Crone prophesized. The new, yellow sky seemed to support that theory.
“Miss you, Koneh,” she said as she grasped her sword.
She allowed a few quiet tears to pass for both Koneh and Talla. She hadn’t the time while in Eden. Closing her eyes, she remembered her friends and her love. She hoped they were safe but she knew that was not likely. Whatever dread Eden suffered, Koneh and the others would have to face it. Then, a grin curled in the corner of her mount – whatever entity threatened Eden would have to now deal with mighty Koneh. Alexandra surmised him unique in his power and ability. Let them come. Koneh would do the human race proud before surrendering.
Opening her eyes, she examined the weapon in her hand. Never again, she promised herself. Never again would she allow the weapon to leave her side. She sheathed her sword, Koneh’s sword, on the way out of the tent and stopped in her tracks.
The entire camp had assembled outside her tent while she was alone. Erzulie, General Ryan and Captain Morin stood amongst them, as did Medina.
Then, Alexandra recognized another familiar face – Benjamin! He walked towards her and they embraced.
“Thank you,” he said.
Behind him, the two surviving soldiers from the hill smiled and joined the embrace. The onlookers clapped.
“You… You’re alive!” Alexandra said as she held his head between her hands.
Smiling through a tear-streaked face, he said, “You saved us. I don’t know how, but you did it.”
“I wasn’t even sure I did,” she said. “So much of Babylon is a blur to me.”
They embraced again and the applause was followed by a few hoots. Then, starting with General Ryan, the assembled people all saluted her. Seriousness and admiration on their faces, Alexandra accepted the gesture with an appreciative heart. She had saved their comrades and they were genuinely grateful.
Alexandra touched her forehead to Benjamin’s and whispered, “Padre Hernon is dead.”
Benjamin’s tension drained from his body and he nearly slumped against her. His relief was palpable, but he didn’t speak. Alexandra hoped he found some measure of comfort in that news, even though it meant the passing of yet another life.
Benjamin smiled and hugged her tightly before letting her go.
“Okay people,” General Ryan said, addressing the crowd. “We’re good to move. Let’s put
this Godforsaken place behind us. Break camp!”
“I gotta go,” Benjamin said.
“Sure, sure.”
“We’ll talk on the road,” he said.
“Just like old times. Oh, and you’ll have to tell me how you lost your eye,” Alexandra said with a wink. “At some point.”
With Benjamin and the other soldiers clear, Medina raced into Alexandra’s arms.
“I was scared,” the girl said.
“Shh, you’re safe now.”
“You came to get me?” Medina asked.
Alexandra stroked her hair and said, “Always. I wish I could have saved your mother too. I’m so sorry.”
Medina sniffled and clung to Alexandra.
“What now?” Alexandra asked, gazing upon the far horizon, where she knew Babylon waited.
“I was planning to head back to Brasilia,” General Ryan said. “We have some civilians and refugees with us. Not to mention the families of some of these soldiers are waiting for us.”
Alexandra nodded. “That makes sense. Medina deserves a chance at a life as well.
“Come, Medina,” General Ryan said. “I have a safe place for you inside that tank. Alexandra needs to talk to the doctors now.”
“It’s okay,” Alexandra said to her. “I’ll join you in a minute.”
As General Ryan led the girl away, Alexandra said, “Tell your doctor I’ll see him in a few minutes.”
The camp buzzed with movement as soldiers packed supplies, readied guns and prepared vehicles. Erzulie stood by her side as the two women watched.
“Back to Brasilia,” Alexandra said absently.
Erzulie nodded. “I think we should protect these people on their journey.”
“Of course.”
The fallen angel caught her eye and said, “Good. I thought you were planning on attacking Babylon again.”
Alexandra chuckled. “No, you’re right. We should do what we can for Medina and the soldiers. Babylon will have to wait.”
Shifting on her feet, the angel said, “You still owe me an explanation. I’m sure there is some reason you said the things you said to me in Eden?”
General Ryan returned to them and said, “Medina is safe inside, enjoying some MRE dessert pouches.”
“Ahh,” Alexandra said. “I’ve missed those. I’ve had my fill of dry pasta these past few months.”
“You’re going to have to tell me about it,” he said.
Forcing a smile, she said, “General, do you mind leaving us alone for a moment?”
“No, not at all,” he said. “I have some things I gotta do too. We’ll be ready to go in about an hour.”
“Great, thanks again.”
He paused and appeared ready to ask more questions or talk about matters of the heart. However, he glanced at her again and smiled before silently walking away. Alexandra felt terrible for excluding him, but she wasn’t sure anyone else would understand her actions. Heck, she wasn’t sure she completely knew all the whys of the past few days. One thing was certain, however: Eden’s influence from their world was gone, and it was her hand that caused it.
“Erzulie?”
“Yes, Lioness?”
“Lex, remember?” Alexandra corrected.
Erzulie examined her for a moment and then said, “May I kiss you now, Lex, as you promised me?”
“Kiss? What?”
Erzulie sighed. “Before we parted in Brasilia, you promised me another kiss at some later time. Well, this is a later time.”
“After what we’ve just been through, you’re asking for a kiss?”
“I don’t see the problem,” Erzulie said. “If you didn’t want me to have all these emotions, you shouldn’t have gifted me a soul.”
Grumbling, Alexandra said, “I’m not really in a kissing mood right now, Erzul. My knee feels like it’s fallen off, my chest burns and my skin is running away from me.” Then, with a smirk, she asked, “Later?”
“You cannot avoid me forever.”
Alexandra twisted her arm around her stitches and said, “Maybe I can now.”
“It is awful what Lilev did to you,” Erzulie said. “We can search for a way to reverse it.”
Alexandra raised one of her eyebrows. “Is it possible?”
“You have taught me to believe in the impossible,” the angel said. “Perhaps we can discover a way. Together.”
Both women paused and allowed a moment of silence to pass between them. Soldiers bustled around the camp as it was broken down into smaller, transportable components. Tanks and jeeps waited to take them all back to Brasilia. Alexandra’s little war on Babylon was over.
“Erzul?”
“Yes?”
“I asked you to put your faith into me when we were in Eden together,” Alexandra said. “First, I’d like to apologize for putting you on the spot like that. It wasn’t fair of me.”
“I don’t-“
Alexandra interrupted her friend. “Just, let me finish and then I’ll talk about it as much as you want.”
Erzulie nodded.
“I asked a big thing of you,” Alexandra said. “And your unquestioning trust taught me something about myself. Well, to be honest, it has changed my entire outlook on everything.”
“Everything?”
“Everything,” Alexandra said. “My eyes are opened in a way I never thought possible. Your trust in me allowed me to put my faith into others and I found the courage to finally make the right decision. For a moment, I felt a connection to everyone and everything else in our world. I realized Eden presented a danger to our world that could no longer be ignored. Did you feel the impending dread in your heart while you were in Eden?”
“I did,” Erzulie said.
“Lilev and the Crone both worked to destroy Eden. They have long held that the Earth would be better off, safer even, if Eden were gone. In my mind, that wasn’t good enough. I took their facts and applied my own feelings to it. Trapping the souls of the dead in an eternal reward feels like a violation to me. We weren’t meant to live forever. It’s not natural.”
“Science has long altered nature,” Erzulie said. “You see this as different?”
“I do,” Alexandra said. “Right before the world ended, people could choose to freeze their bodies or download their brain patterns into a computer – all in hopes of eternal life once science was truly ready to deliver. That’s their choice. Others are content with the lives they live, free of some afterlife they never chose. I have a problem with some cosmic entity choosing for me. Add to that the notion that our predetermined place of eternity opened a malicious doorway to our world, and I chose to destroy Eden.”
“A doorway?”
“I’m not sure what that feeling of dread was while I was in Eden, but I trust some of what Lilev told me. Her concepts are on the verge of mind-boggling for me, but I see some truth in it. You are not made of any substance I’ve ever heard of. If anything, you’d be categorized as an alien by our scientists. Who knows where Elah came from, or where he went? Who knows what else is out there? There’s a larger universe we’re just not perceptive or intelligent enough to observe. If Eden was a beacon to these unknowns, I trust the Crone. I trust that it needed to be destroyed.”
“But we didn’t destroy it,” Erzulie said.
“No,” Alexandra said hesitantly. “And I fear we haven’t heard the last from Eden. I just can’t rid myself of that place, for some reason.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t want to,” Erzulie said. “Koneh is there. Richard is there. Some people in this world may desire an eternity in paradise after their life in the flesh has ended. Perhaps it is a good thing we didn’t raze Eden. Maybe someday, we can find a less destructive solution.”
Alexandra looked into her friend’s eyes and sighed. “You are an amazing woman, Erzulie of Heaven.”
“No,” the angel said. “Erzulie of Earth. My home is here now.”
Alexandra smiled as earthbound sunlight touched her face for the first time in ov
er a year. “Mine too.”
###
Matthew C. Plourde is a cancer survivor and native New Englander. He is a husband and father of two children. His family called Vietnam “home” for a month while they adopted their son. Though writing is his passion, he currently works as a compliance consultant for large enterprise corporations. His shorter fiction has appeared on many different e-zines and he continues to write novels.
The next planned novel in the Eden Saga, Brasilia, will be available in 2012 or 2013.
The Eden Saga
Book 1: Eden
Book 2: Babylon
Book 3: Brasilia (coming soon!)
For all the latest, visit Matt’s blog:
http://matthewcplourde.wordpress.com/
Babylon (Eden Saga Book 2) Page 31