The Soulkeepers

by G. P. Ching

  Chapter 39

  Malini’s Confession

  Malini picked up the bowl of ice cream she’d dropped and tossed it in the trash. By the tilt of Jacob’s head and his deadly serious expression, she knew this was about Auriel.

  “Why don’t you go get some more ice cream?” He was going to ask Dr. Silva for help.

  She moved toward the ice cream vendor but kept her eyes on Jacob. Dr. Silva walked away from him. After all this time, she still blamed Jacob. Maybe some of that blame was deserved but Malini knew that most of it wasn’t.

  As Jacob followed Dr. Silva across the field to the barn, Malini trailed close behind. She hid behind the closest cart and watched. Vomit filled her mouth when she saw Auriel. She hurled onto the grass. What was it about that girl that made her feel sick? Unless her illness was brought on by wanton jealousy? Definitely a possibility.

  Without warning, Auriel snatched Jacob and kissed him, full on the lips. A toxic energy flooded Malini’s body. It was a mixture of fury and envy with a splash of guilt. With nowhere else for the emotion to go, it came pouring out from her eyes in the form of tears. No. Not that. Get your lips off of him, she thought. The idea of that disgusting creature touching Jacob made her retch. The upside was there was nothing left in her stomach. When she saw Auriel leading Jacob to the red Jeep, she didn’t waste another minute. She ran into the barn.

  Dr. Silva was shoveling what looked like cow manure into the back of a truck. When Malini cleared her throat, she looked up from the pile.

  “It’s for my garden,” Dr. Silva said. “Fertilizer.”

  The odor hit Malini and she covered her nose and mouth with her shirtsleeve. She walked forward, until she was just a foot away from Jacob’s neighbor. “Dr. Silva,” she said, “there’s something I need to tell you.”

  “What would that be?”

  “I know about the tree in your garden. The one in the back garden.” Malini lowered her chin as she said this and watched Dr. Silva’s eyes squint skeptically.

  “What do you know? Tell me.”

  “I was the one who left the gate open. I was with Jacob that day and saw him lock it behind us. After he left, a little girl, maybe three or four years old, came to the gate from the inside. I thought she followed us in there. She was crying and begging me to let her out, so I did. I didn’t know it was against the rules.”

  “Who are you?” Dr. Silva demanded.

  “Malini Gupta. I’m Jim Gupta’s daughter. We met in his office when your window was broken.”

  “Yes. I remember you. You say you were there the day Jacob went to the tree?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why are you telling me this now?”

  “Because Jacob’s in trouble. The girl I let in through the gate. I think she, somehow … it’s like she grew up. Jacob introduced me yesterday to a girl that looked exactly like her, but older. And I just saw her kiss him and then take him away.”

  Dr. Silva stared at Malini, her pale face expressionless. She might as well have been made of stone.

  “Do you smell that?” Malini asked, pressing her shirt more tightly over her mouth. “God it’s awful. Not the manure, it’s a sweet, spicy smell, but more metallic … like arsenic.”

  Dr. Silva took a step back and then her eyes darted toward the barn door.

  “Please, Dr. Silva. You are the only one that can help. I know it.”

  “How much do you know, girl?”

  “Not much, but you can fill me in on the way. We have to catch them. She’s not right. I know she’s evil. You can’t let her take him.”

  “Well to be clear, I can let him go, but it seems you, Malini, cannot. He’s important to you?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you think he is worth getting back?”

  “Of course!”

  “Then I believe you. But we must make haste if we are to have any hope of reaching him before it’s too late.” She looked at the truck. “This won’t do.” She grabbed Malini’s wrist and ran for the door.

  In the parking lot, Malini had to sprint to keep up with Dr. Silva, who was scanning the rows of cars until she saw one that seemed to have promise. She waved her hand over the lock and helped Malini into the passenger side of a silver BMW roadster. She crawled behind the wheel. With another pass of her hand, the engine started and she peeled out of the parking lot.

  “Seatbelt, Malini,” she said.

  Malini reached over her shoulder for the belt. Her shirt fell from her nose. She clicked the belt into place, gagging.

  “There it is again. That smell. What is that?”

  “Do you believe in God, Malini?”

  “Yes, of course I do.”

  “Do you know the story of how Lucifer fell from grace?”

  “Lucifer? Like, the devil? Yes, I’ve heard it.”

  “Where do you think the fallen went?”

  “Obviously, the story isn’t true. The Bible says they were cast to Earth, but if fallen angels were here I think someone would have noticed by now.”

  “We are talking about the Lord of Illusions. They are deceivers, tellers of lies. I could be one of them right now and you would never know.”

  “It’s not meant to be taken literally. It’s a myth to teach a lesson.”

  “So, in this myth then, where does the Bible say that Eve encountered Lucifer disguised as the serpent?”

  “In the garden of Eden.”

  “Yes, and how did he get there? They were in Eden, after all, the most perfect place created by God. How could evil walk right in?”

  “I don’t know. It’s never explained.”

  “Well, I wasn’t there personally, but I knew,” Dr. Silva said. “We all did.”

  “What do you mean? How could you know?”

  Dr. Silva did not answer.

  She was flying down Rural Route One now, in control but speeding as fast as she could safely drive on the long stretch of road. “All angels exist to serve God. Lucifer and his followers rebelled and were cast out of the presence of God. They still have powers, although they are limited compared to the power of God. They are no longer considered angels but Watchers, fallen ones.”

  “Then the story is true?”

  “Yes.”

  Malini’s throat felt dry. Her hands trembled. “What powers do they have?”

  “They are sorcerers, illusionists, and herbalists.”

  “Herbalists?”

  “Think drugs. An easy way to control people’s minds and Watchers are all about easy.” Dr. Silva pulled into her driveway in the shadow of the dark Victorian. She turned and looked Malini directly in the eye.

  “The odor is so strong here,” Malini said, trying to breathe through her mouth.

  “Tell me, Malini, have you smelled that smell before?”

  Malini thought about it. Of course she had.

  “Auriel. But why am I smelling it now?”

  “And is there anything about me that reminds you of Auriel?”

  Malini stared in horror at her perfect features. Dr. Silva’s hair was straight, Auriel’s curly, but both were platinum blond. They were both tall and thin although Auriel was slightly shorter than Dr. Silva. And they both had the type of eyes that cut right through a person. They weren’t twins but there was something, a likeness, that couldn’t be denied.

  “Yes,” Malini said, suddenly terrified.

  “Do you know what we are?”

  “I think so.”

  “Then say it. Call it out so that we can put it behind us.”

  Malini swallowed hard. “You’re a Watcher—a fallen angel.”

  “Very good,” she said, nodding. “I’m proud of you. Now can you answer one more question for me?”

  “I can try.”

  “What are you, Malini?”

  “What do you mean? I’m a human being.”

  “Normal humans can’t smell Watchers. There are some occasions when we use our smell to lure a human being to us. We are lazy creatures after all. That�
�s why we are called Watchers: we watch, we wait, and we use what opportunity is presented to us to our advantage. But you … I wasn’t trying to lure you. You smelled what I was, not what I wanted you to smell. So, what are you?”

  “I don’t know.” Malini’s hands shook. She reached behind her back for the door handle.

  “And therein lies the problem. You see, where we are going, where we must go to save Jacob, will be very dangerous. I could be captured but you could be killed. And if you are something else, something more than just human, it might give us away. The good news is that I couldn’t see you. All the time you were spending with Jacob, I never suspected you were anything other than a normal, everyday girl.”

  “I don’t understand. Why would you be captured? I thought you were one of them?”

  She laughed mockingly. “Malini, if I was like them, you would already be dead or taken. It’s true I fell from grace. But I changed. I want to be a Helper, a Soulkeeper. I regretted following Lucifer from the very beginning. I’ve been living among humans ever since.”

  “But how do I know you’re not deceiving me right now? If you’re a Watcher, that’s your strongest power.” Malini pressed her back against the door.

  Dr. Silva didn’t answer but got out and started walking toward the house. Malini sat in the car for a moment and then sprinted after her. If Dr. Silva wasn’t telling the truth, there was no way she would have left her in the car alone.

  When they reached the door, Dr. Silva stopped and met Malini’s eyes. “The hardest thing you will ever do in life is to know for sure what is true. Where we are going is a place ruled by illusion. Saving Jacob will be difficult and terrifying. I don’t recommend you come with me.”

  Malini had always done the right thing, the safe thing. But the thought of Jacob with Auriel ignited fervor deep within her. Whether it was a sense of possession, jealousy, or old-fashioned loyalty, Malini’s jaw hardened. At that moment, she would have walked through fire for Jacob.

  “I’m going. I’m not going to let that evil bitch steal my best friend!” Malini spat the words out like they tasted bad.

  “All right then, come with me. We need to pack some things before we go.”

  They entered the house and Dr. Silva began filling an old leather bag with things from her cupboards. Malini was fascinated by the odd combination of items she grabbed.

  “…salt, for clarity, flowers, for beauty, water, and finally, light.” She grabbed a candle from a wooden box on the mantel. As she placed it in the bag, Malini glimpsed a name in its wax—Abigail Drake.

  “What is that, Dr. Silva?”

  “My baptism candle.” She threw the pack over her shoulder.

  “You were baptized?”

  “Later. We have to go. Gideon!” Dr. Silva called. The largest red cat Malini had ever seen ran into the kitchen. “It’s important, Gid. Will you come with us?”

  Malini watched as the cat nodded. She tried not to let her mouth fall open.

  They raced out the back door and into the orchard, through the gate and down to the meadow, up the hill, and finally through the cactus maze.

  “You never finished telling me the truth,” Malini said as they walked toward the tree. “How did the serpent get into the garden?”

  “The fallen ones are not of this Earth, Malini. They are under it. They live in a land of illusions, a land that is not with God but is a spiritual realm bound forever to this Earth. They live in a land where God sent Cain when he cursed him to wander. They live in Nod. They are connected to all living things through their wrongdoings. Sin attracts them. Why was the serpent in the garden? The woman brought him there. She was already thinking about taking the fruit; angry with God for the rules he had given Adam. Her pride opened the portal in the tree. She invited the serpent.”

  In front of the tree, Dr. Silva’s hand hovered inches above the gnarly bark. “Are you ready?”

  Malini’s remembered vividly the bark crawling up Jacob’s arm. All of the same questions plagued her. What would this do to her body? What would it do to her soul? The difference was that this time Jacob was on the other side, the Jacob she loved, her best friend and the person who needed her. Regardless of the question, Jacob was the only answer that mattered.

  “I’m ready.” She held out her hand.