Eden (33 page)

“No!” Ryan yelled, raising his
weapon.

Bex reluctantly stopped him.

Ryan grabbed Bex’s collar. “Help
her!”

Jared crawled to all fours, and then attacked
the King of Hell again. He groaned and grunted with each heavy blow
Satan dealt him, and soon he was overpowered, and thrown to the
floor. The man in white jerked his hand, commanding Jared’s body
against the wall under Claire. Her blood flowed from her wounds and
dripped in a steady stream onto her brother’s shoulder.

Claire closed her eyes, her lids fluttering.
“Help us,” she whispered. “Don’t you see? Help us,” she
begged.

The Devil took another step. He was just a few
feet from my makeshift bed. I held my daughter’s tiny head in the
crook of my neck and touched my lips to her white, wispy hair. She
smelled like her father, but softer; more pure. I looked up at her
assassin from under my brow, terrified and hopeless; cowering in
his presence.

Jared took off once again, his form obscured
by the speed. They crashed together, and with barely visible
movements, they blurred from one space in the room to the other,
stopping momentarily, and then moving again. Soon they were back
where they started, and Jared was on the floor, his blood spilling
from his wounds.

Satan leaned in slowly, relishing my
terror.

“Help her,” Claire begged in a tiny
whisper.

Ryan moved toward me with desperation on his
face, but Bex grabbed his shoulder. “Let me go!” he said,
struggling. Bex wrapped both of his arms around my friend,
forbidding him to step in.

Bex and Ryan were going to watch us all die.
If Bex could somehow escape with Ryan, Claire could be saved, but
that would leave my child vulnerable. A million thoughts ran
through my head, hopes that even if I were killed, Jared would
survive long enough to get our baby to safety.

In that moment, anger replaced my fear. I
remembered Eli’s words, and courage I never knew I owned swelled
inside of me. “You can’t have her,” I seethed, lifting my chin in
defiance. “I am not afraid of you.” My eyes filled with angry
tears.

He smiled. “And what will you do?” he said,
looking over to Kim’s lifeless body. In one blurry moment she was
in his arms. He cradled her, looking almost paternal as he brushed
her cheek with his blackened fingers. He scanned her face with a
somber expression, and then leaned down to smell her hair. “She had
a heartbeat not an hour ago. Dreams. Aspirations. And now,” he
said, tossing her limp body across the room with one hand,
“nothing.”

I closed my eyes, unwilling to let fear rob me
of rational thinking. Before I was a mother, I might have run from
the room, but I had carried her inside of me for the better part of
year, and I had survived Hell before. Something inside of me
whispered that my child was safe in my arms. I would have faith in
what Eli had told me, and I would stand my ground. Nothing was
stronger than a mother’s love for her child…not even
Satan.

Claire dropped to the floor, and Ryan rushed
over to her. Jared attempted to get to his feet, but instead
resorted to crawling toward me. Jared made his way to his family,
and then slowly stood on his knees, weaving with exhaustion. Once
again, he was all that stood between us and death.

Satan took Jared’s throat in his hand and
lifted him off the ground. Jared gripped the man’s arm with both
hands as his feet dangled above the floor. Moving his arm to the
side, Satan held Jared in the best position to watch the
end.

Long, blackened fingers reached for the child.
Without thinking, I pulled her to the other side of my body, and
with my free hand, gripped the Devil’s wrist. It was cold and thin.
My skin blazed against it.

“Don’t. Touch. Her,” I breathed.

He frowned, noticeably confused. He tried to
advance his hand to my child, but he was unable to move.

“That’s far enough, Lucifer,” Samuel said. As
usual, he had blinked into our plane without detection, but time
Eli was with him.

“What is this?” Lucifer said, struggling to
reach the child. He was clearly straining, but he was powerless in
my grasp.

Eli smiled. “Daddy says no.”

Lucifer wrenched his hand back, his eyes wild
with anger. “He’s allowing this…this human to defy me?” he howled,
dropping Jared to the ground. “Do you know what this
means?”

“War?” Samuel grinned. “Too late.”

Satan began to speak, but Eli held up his
hand. “Enough, Lucifer. It’s over. He has chosen to spare the
child.”

Lucifer charged at us, he arms extended, his
fingers curled, preparing to kill the baby angel in my arms. Just
before he reached us, he was blown back and held against the wall.
Large, long fingers curled around his neck. Lucifer’s eyes widened.
The Prince of Darkness was afraid.

“Gabriel?” Lucifer said, surprised.

“He said enough,” Gabriel snarled. “Go back to
your pits, Satan. He will not ask it of you again.”

“Dad!” Bex said, his hopeful and excited
expression matching Claire’s.

A figure stepped into the room from outside,
through the broken remains of the windows. It was Michael, battle
worn but victorious. “Enough.”

Samuel stood beside Michael, crossing his
arms; Eli stood before the warriors. His immaculate white shirt was
a stark contrast to their heavy armor. Another form stepped over
the broken glass and into the room, and then another. Soon, twenty
members of Michael’s army were in the room.

“The time of great suffering has come,”
Lucifer seethed. He stepped to the side, away from Gabriel’s
grip.

Eli lowered his chin. “You will leave this
family alone. Hell will leave Gabriel’s children, and their
children’s children, alone. He has commanded it,” he said firmly.
“The child has found favor with God.”

“It is not human!” Lucifer hissed.

Gabriel took a step, his hands
balled into fists at his sides. “She is
my
granddaughter.” His voice boomed,
but he did not yell. “I swear to the Most High, your punishment
will have you wishing for the pits of Hell if you threaten her
again.”

“Vile!” the Devil screamed. “Vulgar!
Iniquitous! Despicable!” After his tantrum, he smiled. “Well. He’s
finally stooped to my level. How delicious.”

“Blasphemy!” Samuel said, taking a step. Eli
stopped him.

Before Eli could utter a command, Satan
disappeared.

I took a deep breath, letting out a sob. Jared
crawled back to us, wrapping his bloody, sweaty arms around our
daughter and me. I shook as I cried, kissing my baby’s soft,
delicate forehead as Jared kissed mine.

“Claire?” Ryan said, holding her in his
arms.

Eli calmly walked across the room, kneeling
beside them. “You look a fright.”

Claire managed one weak laugh. “Really? I
thought for a brush with the Devil I look pretty fly.”

Gabe joined them, evaluating her wounds.
“Pretty ugly, kiddo.” He looked to Eli.

Eli motioned to Samuel, and Samuel was
suddenly kneeling next to Eli, lifting Claire from Ryan’s
grasp.

“Wait,” Ryan said.

Samuel ignored him, setting Claire on her
feet. Her clothes were still ripped, but the gashes from her face
and body had disappeared.

Gabe helped Ryan to his feet with one hand,
and hooked his arm around Bex’s neck with the other. “Thank you,”
Gabe said, seemingly to himself. I knew it was God he spoke
to.

Ryan pulled Claire into his arms and smashed
his lips onto hers, kissing her over and over. “You okay?” he said,
visibly upset.

She smiled. “Just another day at
work.”

He hugged her tightly, a single tear running
down his dirty cheek. He breathed in quickly, and then exhaled a
faltering breath.

“In case I forget to tell you later,” she
said, pulling back. “I kinda love you.”

Ryan laughed once. “Just remember who said it,
first.”

She nudged him, and they turned to watch Bex
slowly return to Kim’s body. He frowned, trying to hold back the
overwhelming sadness that we all felt.

Ryan fetched a sheet from the corner of the
room, and Claire helped him to spread it on the floor. Bex lifted
Kim’s body from the floor, laying her gently on the sheet. He
straightened her bent legs, and crossed her hands against her
chest.

Eli stood next to Ryan. “We offer Kim’s soul
to you, Father. Please welcome her into your kingdom, and your
arms. Extend comfort to her father and to her friends, and remind
them daily that the sacrifice she made, was made in
love.”

“I’m sorry,” Bex said, covering her face with
the sheet.

Ryan choked, and he and Claire wrapped their
arms around each other.

My emotions were so tapped that I couldn’t
find the tears to cry. I just stared at her outline under the sheet
in disbelief. She was really gone. I imagined the horrible task of
informing her father, and Beth. How we could possible explain how
she died?

“We’ll take care of it,” Jared said. “She’ll
receive the burial and respect she deserves.”

“I just want her back,” I said quietly. “This
is my fault. I shouldn’t have left. We would have all been safe if
I’d just stayed in the Sepulchre.”

Jared touched my cheek. “Anxiety is a struggle
for anyone. You did what you believed you had to do in the moment,
and the survival instinct is nearly impossible to ignore as a
Hybrid. You didn’t want this. Kim knew that.”

I nodded, but knew the guilt would haunt me
for a lifetime. The threat I felt in the tomb was very real at the
time, but looking back, I let my fear get the best of me, and it
cost Kim her life. I would carry that for the rest of my
life.

Gabe kneeled beside me to better see his
grandchild. “She’s absolutely beautiful,” he said, touching her
tiny hand.

“Thank you,” I said, my eyes finally filling
with tears.

“You don’t understand what you’ve done here,”
he said, wiping the tender skin under my eye. “You saved her, and
she will save us all.”

“That’s a big job for a little girl,” Jared
said, looking down to the precious bundle in my arms. “Good thing
she’s strong like her mom.”

I lifted my chin, and touched Jared’s lips to
mine. His lips were warmer than mine for the first time in months.
His scent mixed with our baby’s, and I felt lightness from relief
that was vaguely familiar. Feeling safe was like a distant memory,
and it came to me in such a surreal way, as if I couldn’t trust it.
But, our family was safe. We earned a new beginning for us, for all
of us, that Heaven had created. With that thought, I looked on the
precious beauty in my arms. “Eden,” I whispered.

“What was that?” Jared said, nearly
euphoric.

“Her name is Eden.”

Epilogue

My hands were soaking wet. I wiped
them on my gown, but they immediately became moist again.
You can do this
, I
thought.
This is nothing. Definitely been
through worse.
I had, but there were
hundreds of people watching. Waiting.

I turned to look for my husband. My eyes
weren’t what they were when I was pregnant, and it was very
frustrating returning to a normal human after experiencing life
with abilities. An arm waving above the crowd caught my attention,
and I saw Lillian smiling from ear to ear. Next to her was Cynthia.
Bex, Claire, Ryan sat in a line on the other side of my mother,
with Jared on the end, trying to keep hold on an excited and wiggly
Eden. She was ten months old, with rolls on rolls, and wavy blond
hair. Her cheeks were so chubby that they hung down like a basset
hound’s. I could see her big blue eyes all the way from my seat.
She stood on Jared’s lap, bouncing and waving, flashing her two
gapped front teeth. It seemed to be all Jared could do to see
around her, but it was her big brown bow that obstructed his view.
I couldn’t help but laugh watching him try to see around
it.

We had spent the last ten month is utter
bliss. I finished my senior year at Brown as any other student,
sans husband and child. No more looking over my shoulder. No more
fear. Life was normal. Better than normal. We were living our
happily ever after, and our daughter watched our absolute joy in
our new freedom.

“Nina Grey Ryel,” the announcer
called.

I walked up the stairs and across the stage,
taking my diploma from the president. She greeted me, and I made my
way across, shaking the hands of people I’d never met, but were
obviously important at Brown University.

Beth and Jared, Tucker, Josh and Lisa were
among my classmates, and we were all both sad and excited that we
had finally made it to graduation.

After the ceremony, we made our way to the
gate, and danced through the famed Van Winkle gates with the band
and Bruno, the Brown mascot. Beth and I laughed and skipped all the
way down the street, meeting my family at the end.