Garden of Salt and Stone

by A. L. Burgess Jr.

  Smiling triumphantly, Peter rose to his knees and was met by a menacing glare from the queen.

  “Do you believe this changes anything?” Kea asked smugly. “Once I’ve dealt with Uriel, I’ll make you suffer until the end of Creation—whether you give me that damn book or not.”

  Peter swallowed hard. Although he felt some relief in summoning Uriel, he knew what awaited him should Uriel fail again.

  Outside, a continuous series of deafening reports drew closer to the chamber. The ground swelled and quaked as nearby towers and buildings collapsed.

  “Hold your ground!” Kea ordered. “He stands no chance against us!”

  Ice-blue light penetrated the joints between the blocks of the chamber’s walls. The light grew to a blinding intensity as Uriel’s aura surrounded the rock and transformed each into human souls. Individuals of every era from history oozed from their former positions like melting wax. They dripped down to the earthen ground of the chamber floor and lay quietly in fetal positions as they regained their senses.

  Uriel pushed through the circular breach and into the Garden remnant. His glow flooded the massive chamber with cyan light, overwhelming everything and everyone within. Perched high on the nearest pillar to the opening, Butch the Giant flung himself toward the center of brilliance and the unwary angel. A blast of energy struck out from the aura and swept across the falling giant. The power severed the bonds between the individuals who made up the giant’s body and sent the freed souls plunging through the air. Uriel spun a web of glacier energy and caught the falling mortals, settling them gently into the dense undergrowth, out of harm’s way. A simultaneous strike directed at Butch turned the falling thug to salt, allowing him to shatter across the indigenous rock of the earthen floor.

  The guards followed closely on the heels of Butch’s attack. They charged the blue sphere of light, thrusting and swinging their weapons in all directions. Uriel moved forward, his aura brushing them aside and turning their diminutive ranks into a forest of salt steles.

  Kea remained in the center of the chamber barring access to the Two Trees while Asmodeus and Sitri flanked wide in an effort to surround their opponent. The queen and her two henchmen let loose with their power, flooding the chamber in a dazzling array of colored energy. Their might scorched wide tracks of vegetation, turning the vibrant green into ash. The combined force of the three demons swept away Uriel’s glacier aura and exposed the angel’s true features.

  “Ah, there you are, brother,” Kea mocked. “Won’t you break your vow for us—perhaps say a few words before we silence you again?”

  Uriel responded with a sardonic smile and drew his sword. Orange and red flames erupted along both edges of the weapon as it left the scabbard. He held the burning blade aloft and took a battle-ready stance.

  “A pity,” Kea said, nodding to her two henchmen to begin their assault.

  From their flanking positions, Asmodeus and Sitri advanced, throwing sustained discharges of red and green might at the angel.

  Uriel used his sword to absorb Asmodeus’s attack and easily dodged Sitri’s. Instead of standing his ground, the angel spread his silken wings and leapt into the air. He flew at Sitri and delivered a forceful blast that sent the demon reeling. Uriel angled sharply toward the center of the chamber and Kea. He held the flaming blade high above his head and dove at the queen.

  In a show of superiority, Kea calmly held steadfast. She was unperturbed as Uriel swung the blazing sword down upon her. At the last moment, the queen raised her arms and met the angel with an explosive concussion that shook the foundations of the chamber. Their might combined to form an indigo sphere of power that obscured them both.

  The discharge of light was too much for Peter to take in directly. Instead, he followed the odd interactions of Asmodeus and Sitri. The demons held off their support of the queen, apparently not wanting to incur her wrath with a premature intervention.

  Uriel pushed Kea back and slashed the diminutive queen across the chest, opening a gaping wound. He sensed the queen’s power waning and the glow of their collective output faded. He sheathed his weapon and put all his might into a sustained blast that enveloped the woman. The angel drew the queen’s energy from her, causing the woman’s appearance to fluctuate between human and demon.

  From Peter’s vantage, Uriel’s victory over Kea seemed all but assured, but a quick glance at Asmodeus and Sitri dispelled that misplaced hubris. The queen’s impending doom stirred her two henchmen into action.

  The two demons stepped forward and attacked Uriel at close range. The roar of power echoed through the chamber as energy arced to the nearby columns and traced lines of electricity throughout the atmosphere of the hall.

  At first, the angel ignored the additional threats, but as the demons got the upper hand, Uriel had no choice but to disengage and fight a defensive battle. He drew his sword and lashed out at the attackers, but they kept their distance and continued to pour offensive might into the fray. Healed of her wounds, Kea rejoined her subordinates and their combined potency was more than Uriel could handle. He spread his wings and attempted an escape, but the queen caught him midair and forced the angel back to the ground. The attackers circled power around the struggling divine being and tightened their grip.

  Peter turned away. He could no longer bear witness to the brutality that would once again be Uriel’s end. He did not realize exactly how overwhelmed the angel would be against the power of all three demons. Peter needed to help, but he did not know what to do. He fumbled the Book of Souls open only to reveal its darkened pages.

  Peter studied the manuscript closely. The jumbled scenes of lives past had been replaced by an unending stream of nothingness. He ran his fingers across the rough paper. The parchment underneath was still present; it was just being obscured by a field of black. Peter felt as if he were being punished—perhaps the book was choosing not to display anything because of his reckless action in calling Uriel to an unwinnable confrontation.

  Down below Peter, the demons were gleefully toying with Uriel. Panic gripped him and his mind flooded with the thoughts of the torture and pain he would suffer following the angel’s demise. He wanted to run, but there was nowhere to go. The chasm surrounding the plateau was an insurmountable obstacle and regardless, he was sure the demons would see him at the very least. He took an unsteady breath and looked down to the waters of Avernus. If it came to it, he would throw himself into Hell and make a run into the dunes surrounding the sea. If he were lucky, perhaps Lucifer and his army of Fallen would never find him. Peter shook his head and shuddered at the idiocy of his pointless strategy. Hell was their domain, and it was foolish to think he could outrun them to any degree.

  Peter swallowed hard and returned to the Book of Souls. He held the manuscript out at arm’s length and moved it about the room looking for any sign as to its usage given the current situation, but the book remained indignantly unhelpful. He was missing something—something very important. Peter closed his eyes and calmed his mind, but riotous laughter drew his attention back to the demons.

  Kea and her henchmen surrounded Uriel. They poured might onto the angel, forcing him back to the ground while hurling taunts and insults with each act of subjugation. Slowly, the three attackers were turning the angel back to stone.

  Uriel lashed out, but every assault came up short. The angel’s strength was waning as he desperately searched the chamber for any advantage he might be able to bring to bear. In the background behind Asmodeus, Uriel spied the statue of a soldier holding a weapon. As darkness descended upon the angel, he sent a flash of glacial energy to encompass the effigy and convert Hannibal back into his human form.

  Hannibal assessed his situation in one glance. “End this now!” he shouted to Peter and plunged his sword through Asmodeus’s right wing and into the demon’s ribcage. As Asmodeus reeled from the impact, Hannibal jumped onto the demon’s shoulders and tipped them both backwards, into the chasm.

  “Hannibal!” Pete
r screamed as he watched the pair fall in a spiraling motion through the sky below. He could see Asmodeus attempt to throw off the old general, but Hannibal was too strong. The general moved deftly across the demon’s shoulders, pressing the sword deeper into Asmodeus’s body to keep the demon in pain and unable to mount any serious challenge. Together, the two combatants continued their fight until they disappeared from Peter’s view.

  “No, no, no!” Peter cried out in anguish. Guan, Thomas, Nicholas, and now Hannibal gave their very existence to see this quest through to the end. Their sacrifice was all too poignant for Peter. They had risked everything in hopes of ending the malicious evil that ruled the Garden of Eden. He never wanted it to happen like this. When Peter entered the chamber, he had a plan and was willing to end his own meager existence for the small chance of success, but instead, everything changed. Four of his comrades were gone and Peter was no closer to finishing the quest. He had failed his friends, and they had paid with their souls.

  With one demon gone, Uriel reasserted his might and emerged from his partially solidified form. He found the demon’s combined might formidable and any misstep on the angel’s part could push him right back into a losing situation. Uriel took to the air. His best defense would be moving about the chamber and striking when an opening presented itself.

  Colorful energy arced through the air and turned the remaining swaths of thriving plant life into nothing more than smoldering cinders. Uriel maneuvered low, among the damaged thicket and used the structural supports of the chamber for dodging the incoming attacks. On more than one occasion, the angel tried to revive some of Hannibal’s soldiers frozen in stone, but the demons where well aware of his tactics and blocked every attempt. Uriel needed help. Without an overpowering force to subdue Kea and Sitri, the fight could go on ad-infinitum. The angel turned to lock eyes with Peter standing on the plateau. Uriel said nothing, but his gaze was more than sufficient for the human to grasp its meaning.

  Peter acknowledged the angel’s request with a simple but forthright nod. He opened the Book of Souls and studied its inky-black pages. He still did not know how to activate the manuscript and thought back to when he delved into the circumstances surrounding the Two Trees. The images at that time were so real that Peter almost forgot he was witnessing an illusion and not the actual incident itself. In his attempt to revive Uriel, the displayed scenes immersed Peter in an experience so lifelike that the professor could feel the events happening around him. He could smell the acrid air and hear the desperation in the humans who fought by the angel’s side.

  Peter shook off his train of thought. The previous situations were vastly different from the current circumstance. Up until now, the Book of Souls only displayed events in a historical context. What Peter needed was a way forward, a way to navigate the present. He wanted to end the Garden of Eden today, not revisit its demise years from now. What if the knowledge he sought required a different method of reading the manuscript? No, Peter dismissed the thought. The book contained every aspect of creation, whether it was part of the past or unfolding in the present.

  An idea took hold in Peter’s mind: What if the pages of the Book of Souls were showing the present? The absence of images could mean that the future was not set, that choices were going unfulfilled—freewill, as it were, was still required. The manuscript worked on all of Peter’s senses, not just his sight. Perhaps the Book of Souls was requesting his input—an experience of some kind?

  Peter cleared his mind and concentrated on the coal-black pages of the Book of Souls. Instantly, he felt the manuscript swallow him and drag him down into its murky depths. The darkness closed in around Peter and the smells of the remnant were replaced by the unmistakable scent of rotting flesh. He gagged and fought the urge to withdraw from the experience, but he remembered what was at stake and pressed forward. He delved deeper into the nothingness and lost himself in the moment. Peter sensed the darkness getting colder; it swirled around him and chilled him to the bone. The inky vacuum was bleak and without joy. It was as if the black oblivion had consumed all the warmth in the world, leaving behind the empty husk of Creation.

  Peter realized what the Book of Souls was displaying. It was not the immediate present but the future should the manuscript fall into the hands of Kea and her brethren.

  Urgency swelled up in Peter as he searched for a clue—anything that would guide him to his goal. Impenetrable black surrounded him, but nothing existed within the void. Then it dawned on him: this was only one version of future events. He could choose to create a new destiny—an existence that was better and without fear.

  Peter concentrated on the swirling nothingness around him and pushed it aside with his thoughts. He pictured grass, children playing and laughing in the sunshine. He forced himself to think about the relationship with his wife and let the good moments of his marriage come forward. Peter thought back to all the selfless acts he had witnessed in his life. No deed was too small to include in his montage. Soon, scenes of people helping others filled the space around him.

  Happiness welled up in Peter. He fed off the pleasant images and took pride in his handiwork, but something was lurking within his display that did not belong. A foreign presence permeated the exposition. It was subtle at first, but gained strength in step with Peter’s gushing emotions. He strained to see behind the façade of the pleasant ideality, but his vision remained restricted to its superficial surface. The mood of the imagery changed. Peter could hear whispering. A disembodied speaker uttered words and phrases in a language he did not understand. The voice spoke carefully—peacefully—as if in a kind and generous manner.

  Suddenly and without warning, a bright light pierced through the medley of idyllic scenes. Peter gazed skyward, toward the source of the illumination and there, he saw a wondrous thing. A small hole of white light appeared in the black sky of the book’s images. It was directly above Peter’s vantage. It swirled and danced above him. There was movement, but it was too far away to see the detail behind it. For a brief moment, the spectacle reminded Peter of when he first arrived in the Garden of Eden. At that time, the light at the far end of the tunnel was cast by demons. A surge of fear ran through him, but Peter let it go. The new light was different; it cast a warm glow that filled him with joy.

  “No!” Kea shrieked and grasped at her chest as if mortally wounded. She turned to look at Peter. “What have you done?”

  The scream jerked Peter away from the deep trance cast by the Book of Souls. All around him the walls of the remnant’s chamber were turning back into human souls. The people poured like blood from the stone as if from an open wound.

  Kea stared at Peter with an awkward yet surprised look. She staggered around the humus and fell to one knee. Her power, once tied to the city’s greatness, was weakening in step with every soul freed of her demonic spell.

  Sitri broke off his engagement with Uriel and rushed to help the ailing queen to her feet.

  Uriel sheathed his sword and took a position nearby. He flexed his white wings and tucked them carefully behind him. Although he tried to maintain an emotionless demeanor, Uriel let down his guard and smiled at the long-awaited outcome.

  Peter marveled as the columns supporting the ceiling disintegrated into human souls. The ceiling fell in on itself, melting into individuals and throwing them in every direction. Eve and the mercenaries recovered and went to work helping the perplexed men and women reclaim their senses.

  The chamber fell open to the twilight sky above. There in the sky, as it was in the pages of the Book of Souls, was the white hole. He could clearly see the light streaming into the Garden of Eden, but it was not beams of luminescence; it was a legion of angels. There were so many that Peter could not count them all.

  The angels flew in white waves toward the city and once there, they went to work helping those in need. Unlike Uriel, they seemed to be conversing with the humans and responding to the myriad of questions issuing forth from the confused masses. Once convinced that
the luminous beings were not a threat, the humans allowed themselves to be ushered into large groups. Each angel attended to an assembly of souls independently. The divine beings outstretched their wings and produced a dazzling spectacle of power that encompassed the humans. At first, the wary souls recoiled from the display, but after several tense moments, the crowd calmed and lifted into the twilight sky. Soon, the atmosphere was aglow with soft, warm light, and huge bulbous orbs floated far overhead. One by one, the groups rose to the aperture and passed through, out of sight. In a short time, the city was gone and every soul victimized by Kea and her henchmen had been rescued.

  Peter stood on the floating plateau, looking out to the unobstructed horizon in every direction. He found it strangely calming to see nothing but the demons and their human guards standing alone in the vast plain of Eden.

  The Garden shook violently and sent all who remained falling to the ground. Large fissures developed in the earth and stretched haphazardly across the landscape. Chunks of soil and rock thrust upward and then fell, disappearing through holes that opened beneath them.

  All around Peter, the Garden of Eden was transforming. The sky above began to brighten. The dim twilight, so prominent in the Garden before, gave way to a garish sunlight that encompassed everything in an eerie opaque hue. Below, the once solid ground rent and heaved until it disintegrated and fell away, toward the land of Hell.

  Kea pushed Sitri away and stood under her own power. She threw a coy smile at Uriel. “Brother, here’s to the future,” she said, changing back into her demon form and taking flight.

  Lilith flew around the plateau, pausing only briefly to wink at Peter before descending through the chasm.

  Sitri lingered, studying the destruction and contemplating the sequence of events that led to their demise. He nodded respectfully to Uriel and took flight. The demon thrust forward and followed his queen to Hell.