In Eden's Shadow

by Amanda Churi

  “Did you give me another option? Last I heard, you told us that we didn’t have a choice.” He wiggled his haunches and then pounced, using his sharp, broken fingers to latch onto the stone farther up the grade. “Besides, I told you from the moment we met that she was different, but you were so stubborn that I figured it didn’t matter. Satan would get it through your head somehow—I just never expected it to be in this way.” He took another leap. “And in my own defense, it was fun to toy with you for once. You definitely aren’t as sharp as you used to be.”

  I buried my fangs into my tongue, not wanting to speak more, but my curiosity won the battle. “So then how did Reeve kill her, huh?”

  Korbu met my shriveled face with a victorious smile. “You caused the mission to fail the first time, but thankfully, that Calla stepped in and preserved Reeve’s spirit thousands of years into the future—saved her from Satan’s to-come banishment and allowed her to manifest in the body of a child until she was ready to emerge.”

  “Calla?” I questioned.

  “Oh, yeah… Well, let’s just say that there is no other witch that Satan has taken more pride in.”

  I squinted again, shamefully finding myself lost on multiple levels. “Witch?”

  Korbu sighed. “I’ll catch you up on that later…” He picked up the pace before I could continue pestering him.

  I lingered back, feeling a migraine coming on in the deepest recesses of my brain. All of this information was becoming so difficult to sort and digest. I mustn’t have even been awake a month in human time; after sleeping restlessly for so many millennia, I should have at least had the opportunity to snooze once.

  The elevating pace of my heart worried me; the sickness in my fibers and unrest within was definitely something to remain vigilant about. If I kept allowing these tufts of information and revelatory sights to get to me, my lifespan would continue to dwindle—Satan knows how many more pulses I had to my veins as was. I had to make the most of each… Take the widest steps and refuse to slide back.

  And that meant to continue pushing back to the world I had so recently escaped from. That was where Gannon lay—the only pawn truly needed in my ambitious plan. What his skills and abilities were, however, was unknown, and in spite of my greatness, even I knew that careful evaluation was needed. Not only was I now on Earth, lapsing my immortality, but this man and his ancestors had been responsible for capturing uncountable demons. He would never be able to entrap me as he did those idiots, but he was clearly no average mortal.

  The road to above smoothed out, returning to a straight shot up. The path lingering ahead was as dark as ever, but the blackness before us was not equivalent to the disorganized mess of matter we had passed through.

  “Should I revert to my human form?” Korbu considered aloud. “We are drawing close to the surface. What would be a mortal’s reaction upon seeing my frame?”

  Mabel looked down at her demon in tow, thoughtfully considering his question. “I don’t know… Is there any way that you can tell me where we will emerge?”

  He grunted, dissatisfied. “No, but almost certainly somewhere along Devil’s Divide.”

  “So, we will have to cross back into the districts…” Mabel darkly surmised. “It’s only a stretch of thirty minutes to an hour, but I think you would be safer reverting in that case. Sure, your human is a bit abnormal, but it’s bound to draw far less suspicion than the walking dead.” She reared her neck back to catch sight of me next. “And you… Hm.”

  I snorted in defense. “What about me? I look fabulous. Most men would kill for this body.”

  She raised an eye, stupefied. “What’s there to love about a mobile rock? Do males really think that’s attractive?”

  “Oh, you’re one to talk about being sexy, board. Get some breasts, and then we’ll resume this conversation.”

  I expected her to shrink back, maybe even shed a self-conscious tear, but her big cheeks did not even twitch. “I hope you know that I pity you. I’ve truly never met anyone with such little worth.”

  If I had been able to free my arms and chuck Coruscus at the brat, I would have. At the rate she was going, her lifespan would soon be shorter than Korbu’s.

  …But I, unfortunately, could not ignore the Sword of Maeve that she kept tucked away in her armor; the hilt was just barely poking out of the collar so that she could draw it at a moment’s notice.

  Dismissing my existence, Mabel returned her attention to the soft-boned skeleton. “Should we hold off on your transformation until I find somewhere to take cover? You almost blew me away the first time.”

  “I don’t think you need to be so cautious,” he calmly assured her. “Condensing energy is a far more peaceful process than releasing it, but I will wait just in the event.”

  “Thanks.” She turned her face away and resumed the literal rock climb. Korbu followed like the lapdog he was, all while I hissed like a cat forced to bathe.

  How ridiculous. All of it: being tricked by a spicy flame and punished to hibernation; having my identity stolen by some weak earthling; getting my tail sliced off and ass kicked; and now, being the punching bag of a midget. This third turn at “life” definitely wasn’t going easy on me; my existence only seemed to be on a downward spiral ever since I was booted out from the ultimate world. Didn’t think that one could go lower than Hell, but how wrong was I.

  “So, what are the benefits of your human form?” Mabel asked as we continued. Her snarky tone made it evident that she was talking to Korbu, but that was fine with me. She was so stupid that it could have been contagious for all I knew.

  “It’s more of a defense form, if anything,” Korbu said. “The role of a shi demon is that of a lawful enforcer.”

  “Oooh, so like a demonic knight?”

  “With far better weaponry and skills, I suppose.”

  Mabel giggled in such a high pitch that my eardrums fractured. “That’s cool! So, demons have blocks they are assigned to? Jobs and statuses? Kind of like a caste system?”

  “A loose version of it. Like a caste, it’s next to impossible for demons to move up or down in rank—” He stuttered, a single misty eye spinning back toward me. “Well, unless you become an Essence, but I suppose that’s the same as an exile.

  “When Satan began colonizing Hell, He changed not only His form but the appearances of His followers as well—”

  Changed? Dumb, forgetful fuck… More like reshaped us with His fists.

  “—to best suit our strengths and hence enhance our individual skills—a great tactic for our eventual assault on Heaven. Shis, for example, were made to be such because we were Satan’s defense regiment in the battle against God—some of the most savage warriors entrusted with keeping Him safe. In Hell, we became the military of Nortora, as well as jailors. Such is the purpose of our chests: to lock away disobedient demons and damned alike.”

  “Dude… That’s awesome…”

  Korbu basked in her praise with an earnest smile. “See? We may be a bit twisted, but we are far superior to angels.”

  Mabel snickered. “Ha… Don’t get ahead of yourself there. I said you’re cool—but I’m a child of God, not Satan.”

  The shi shrugged. “Any compliment I can get these days far outweighs an insult.”

  They continued yapping for a bit more, but the quality of the conversation was so low that I zoned out completely. Shi this, falka that, blah blah blah… Why did the brat want to know so much? Better yet, why was Korbu telling her? Satan only knows what scheme she could have been brewing.

  I reached to pull myself farther into Earth, and the moment my hand was down, a needle shot through my palm, nailing me to the rock. “WHAT THE HEAVEN?!”

  My outburst immediately caught my group’s attention, but all I could focus on was the musky blood coating my hand and falling over my arm. I couldn’t rip the saber out—it would mean sacrificing my hold completely, but the weapon of my attacker—a yard-long sewing needle with a thick white thread attached…<
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  “PUPPET!” Korbu bellowed. He secured his hold with a single hand before ripping his katana from his chest. Mabel also switched to offense; she scrambled a short distance farther to the thinnest of ledges and spun around, taking aim with her flaming sword.

  With a churning growl, I looked down to catch a glimpse of our enemy.

  In the swirling chaos below that lapped upon the stone like a rueful sea, a sewn-on face mirrored us, all with a glorious, fulfilled smile. Their former body and clothes had been repaired and reattached, but not without the help of spool upon spool of multicolored thread sewn in intricate, tight patterns—still, the puppet moved just as fluidly as they did before, shimmying up the thick rope that dangled from my pierced hand.

  “You crazy doll, what do you want now?!” Korbu demanded.

  “Firrrst of all, I have a name! Secondly, no one has ever battled me and lived!”

  Mabel closed one eye as she held her sword out, aiming through her imaginary scope. A liquefied, spinning ball of red-orange flames swirled at the tip of the sword, waiting for the command. “BACK. OFF. CREEP.”

  “Now waittt!” they protested, putting a little swing in their climb. “That being saiddd…! Even as strong as I am, I have never been able to find Daddy alone. But you all! He touched you—I can see it! I think you can help me!”

  “You and your goddamn dad!” I painfully snapped. “Grow up!”

  “Ohhh, stop that! I do not appreciate your hostility!”

  “Hostility? You haven’t seen—!” They purposely yanked on the yarn so that the needle wiggled in my hand. The rest of my threat transitioned into a run-on of curse words.

  “Beeetter! Now just let me get up there, and I will free you from my perfect bondage!”

  “Like we’ll fall for that!” Mabel screamed. She shot.

  Puppet laughed freely, taking hold of the rope with their toes and gracefully falling back, letting the fireball travel so close that it seared the loose edges of thread dangling from their reconstructed body. They cracked a wide smirk as their eye followed the expulsion of energy, happy to see Mabel’s load strike a near face of rock.

  They threw their limp upper body back into the rope, singing to the flaming girl. “Now, nowww! I do not seek to take your sword, honey! Trueee, I may have adopted it, but it clearly favors your hand! I’m being honest when I say that I only wish to use all of you to my clear advantage!”

  Mabel opened her shielded eye, skeptical. “I appreciate the sincerity, but what makes you think we’ll agree? What do we get from helping you?”

  Wasn’t she the one who moaned about monologues and soliloquies?! “Stop asking questions and blast the fucker!”

  “Shushie!” They gave another tug, reinitiating my mudslide of profanity. “And Mabelll, isn’t it clear? For one, you can’t kill me, and two, no one can! When you were leaving my home, I thought I overheard something about a certain enemy you all had a thread to pick with… A death-defying ally sure is enticing, nooo? All that I ask in return is that you help me find Daddy afterward!”

  With a sigh of resentment, Mabel lowered her weapon. “Who’s your father?”

  They gasped in offense. “Again…! Daddy is not my father! Daddy gave me lifffe, but he did not raise me! I am my own father!”

  “…Alright,” she irritably replied. “Who’s your Daddy?”

  A surprising burst of laughter exploded from their gut. “You tell me! I don’t know!”

  Mabel’s jaw plummeted. “Then how do you expect us to find him?”

  Puppet shrugged with a smile. “Don’t know that either! But it sounds like I will have lots of faces to see in battle, and I’m sureee I will know his when I see it!”

  That pathetic answer did it; I was going to lose it listening to that freak’s logic. “ARE WE DONE CHIT-CHATTING?! THERE’S A FUCKING CRATER GROWING IN MY HAND!”

  “Oh, stop whining like a mortalll!” They wiggled up the rope until they were beside me, meeting my face with a large, ambitious smile. “I will not hurt you! As I said before, my only intention for youuu is to reforge your strength!”

  “And I told you to piss off! It’s a NO!”

  Mother-like in their response, they reached out with a single hand and cupped my chin, presenting a warm smile. They twisted their scarred wrist before my face, pridefully flashing the neat patchwork. “Lookie here. Do you still think that Coruscus will merely dangle from your tailbone?”

  I scowled, unable to help a side-glance at my altered weapon. I did miss our connection, that much was evident, but I could still take advantage of its strength just fine.

  …But when it comes to my faceoff with Gannon, will that still be true?

  I did not accept nor refuse their proposal, merely grunting and giving them the cold cheek. Whatever. I had time to think about it. Our fateful duel was nowhere near.

  Puppet suppressed a giggle, but they thankfully said no more on the subject. “Ok! Hang on tight while I retrieve my baaaby!”

  My eye traveled to the edge of its reign, confused. “What does that—?”

  A magical spring and thud later, they were sitting on my shoulders as my child, nearly knocking me down to my death. My eyes popped and muscles ripped as I clutched the mountainside for dear existence, locking my jaw and waiting for the lean-ass to dismount. They took no note of my suffering, humming to themselves as they always did, and with a smile, they began to wiggle the stake around within my hand, trying to decipher the safest removal method.

  I could hardly look, the forced movement of my tendons and the parting of flesh pushing waves of angst through my solid body. The blood came in heavy gushes, squirting and making a soppy squish as it painted me red; it also had an odd stench to it—one that I did not recognize as my own. It seemed thinner, fainter, and, dare I say, of human origin, even though it came out fresh from my body.

  “Almost done!”

  “Thank Satan…” I inhaled, properly braced as Puppet set their hand, but with that breath, I saw something fall from somewhere far above and land on my hand.

  A drop of blood.

  I raised my neck, confirming that it did not come from Mabel when another drop splattered across my hand.

  My fixation on the foreign blood had been so intense that I was entirely caught off guard when the doll finally unpinned my hand. I jolted so hard that I nearly lost my grip.

  “You’re good to go!” They whisked a thin piece of cloth out of their hair, gave it a good lick, and then smacked it onto my gaping wound. “That’s for being such a good patient!”

  Their willy-nilly personality didn’t bother me—not even the fact that they refused to get off my shoulders. All that I could stare at was the blood that did not mix with my own.

  “What’s wronnng?” Puppet whimpered. Their neck went slack with failure. “Do you not like it?”

  “Yeah, what’s up?” Mabel wondered. “Not usual for you to go even thirty seconds without a pessimistic comment.”

  Another splat plummeted from above and smacked down onto my arm, this one larger than any before it. “Not all of this is my blood,” I said. “Some of it is a mortal’s.”

  Mabel raised an eye. “What? How is that even possible?”

  “I don’t know. But it made its way down here.”

  Puppet leaned over my head, taking a good whiff. “Yuuup! That definitely smells better than a demon!”

  “You’re sure?” Korbu prompted, having a hard time believing my hypothesis as well. “How could it—?”

  “No…”

  Our attention fell upon the only angelic figure among us. I was surprised to see her with her own hand outstretched, and then I knew she believed me—the beading trail of red running down her uninjured hand gave her all the proof she needed.

  Her head whisked up, fear grabbing her so tightly that it made her whole body tremble. In a flurry of panic, she shoved her sword back into her suit and jumped, reaching for the nearest hold she could find. She hardly had any grip acquired before sh
e was at it again, leaping like a drunken frog up toward the surface.

  “Hey!” Korbu called. “Slow down! What’s gotten into you?!”

  “I have a bad feeling about this!” she called back without slowing her pace; in fact, she moved in such an unstable, frightened way that she nearly slipped several times within entering flight mode. “We need to hurry and get to the surface!”

  Flustered by her unjustified reaction, Korbu sheathed his sword and scrambled after her, but I could not switch gears quite as quickly. With a lazy, spoiled voodoo tagging along for the ride plus a mangled hand, I moved much slower, but that didn’t bother me. I wasn’t taking an unnecessary risk—whatever was happening at the surface was her problem, not mine. If she wanted to flail around and kill herself in the process, that just meant that she would be out of my way sooner.

  “I wonder what it will look like this time!” my drag weight piped. They rested their soft elbows on my skull and leaned forward as the thinning atmosphere continued to evolve. “It’s been hundreds of years since I’ve been up there!”

  They were so messed up that I couldn’t help but probe for more information, even though I really didn’t care. “And why didn’t you stay there?”

  “Because people are meeean!” They half-fell over my face, touching their decomposing nose to mine of scales. “Maybe now that I have an army of friends behind me, they won’t be so quick to judge, hehe!”

  “And you’re coming with us solely to find your ‘Daddy?’”

  Their bobbing chin smacked my head in praise. “Yes yes! Glad to see those ears do work!”

  That just didn’t make sense to me. “Why?”

  Puppet paused. “Why?”

  “Yeah, why. Why do you need to find him?”

  “Ummm…” Its voice trailed away, allowing an eerie silence to envelop us as I continued the climb, watching my team get farther and farther away. They didn’t speak for minutes, deeply contemplating their answer, but that only made my skin crawl more. They were so persistent on coming along to find this guy, always bringing him up in conversation, but when asked a fundamental question, they didn’t even have a simple reply.