The Garden of Death (6 page)

“There can’t be. End of question.”

“Fine.” I still believed they were zombies,
though.

Asher

I knew I was doomed if my soul was stuck
inside Eden’s head mingling with hers, well not completely doomed.
But I had no soul.

“Holy crap!”

“Asher!” Cecelia swatted my arm, but I
ignored her.

“I have no soul! Holy crap!” I bent over at
the waist and stuck my head between my knees. I suddenly felt
faint.

“Asher? Breath!”

“It’s only a temporary thing. We’re trying
our hardest to wake her up,” said Rachael.

I can’t help it. I can’t hold it back
anymore. I snap. “Well, try harder!”

“Asher!”

“No, I mean it. I freaking have no soul!
Don’t you get what that means?”

Everyone stood there stunned and staring at
me. “I have no freaking soul! I’m a corpse!”

“Well, at least we know where your soul is,”
added Lakyn. I turned around and glared at him. It was a poor
attempt at reducing the thick tension in the room.

“Let’s go for a walk outside, shall we?”
Cecelia offered, holding her hand out to me.

“No. I want to stay with Eden.”

“Ash, Eden isn’t going anywhere anytime
soon. Come on. I think it is best we go for a walk and come back
later.”

“What if she wakes up while I’m gone? I want
to be here when she wakes up.”

“I’m sure Lakyn or Rachael will tell us when
anything happens.”

“Of course,” said Rachael.

“Yeah,” Lakyn said, nodding, and then went
back to the workbench where he was grinding up some sort of
powder.”

I let out a long shaky breath. I was so
furious and even more frustrated. I wanted nothing more than to
stay with Eden until she woke up. But I realized my sister was
right. Being angry with Eden’s parents wasn’t going to bring her
back. I reluctantly left the room after my sister.

Cecelia led me out of the basement and out
toward the garden. When she opened the door, the humidity and
earthly smells hit my nose. They were familiar and calming. I
inhaled deeply.

“So, I need to talk with you about
something.”

I opened my eyes and looked down at my older
sister, whom I stood a whole head. “Yeah?”

“I need to talk to you about that
night.”

“What night?”

“The night you returned to us.”

“Returned? What are you saying?”

“Asher, I’ve studied the Nephilim texts, as
well. I know what happens when someone loses their soul.”

I looked down and kicked a pebble with my
shoe. The pebble flew up and hit the head of the angel statue in
the fountain. I was afraid of this talk. I was trying to avoid this
conversation.

“Oh.”

“How did it happen?” she asked in a voice so
quiet I hardly heard her. I couldn’t hide this from her any longer.
I looked Cecelia in the eye and told her the truth.

“I didn’t realize it at the time, until I
miraculously turned up at the pier. Only it wasn’t the pier we
normally see down near the river.” Cecelia didn’t speak. She
clenched her fingers together tight around the fabric of her dress,
so I continued. “I didn’t realize what had happened until I saw
her… until I saw Eden.”

Suddenly, Cecilia looked up at me, eyes
glossy with tears. “She killed you, didn’t she?”

“Yeah. She did.” I knew I didn’t have to say
the words though. Cecelia already knew the truth. “Cecie…” I
reached for her, but she turned away from me.

“It was an accident, Cecie. She didn’t know
what she had done until it was too late, until I turned up at the
pier. Cecelia, please.”

She spun around then and faced me with her
hands clenched at her sides.

“How do you think I felt, huh?”

“I’m sorry.”

“How do you think I felt when I found my
baby brother unconscious in the garden?”

How could I forget? I had woken up in the
arms of someone that was not my girlfriend, not Eden.
I wondered
if Jazmine was around when they found me.

“Was I alone?”

“No. Jazmine found you. She said you just
appeared out of nowhere. She came to get us.”

Did she, now?
She was playing
everyone for a fool, but not me. I couldn’t tell them what she was
up to, not yet.

“Oh. And where’d you find Eden?”

“Eden’s father brought her in, said he found
her at the docks. It’s so weird.”

The docks. It seemed like the docks were a
portal to another world—to the Realm of Death.

“Yeah. It is.”

Eden

For a place seemingly filled with undead
people, ghosts, and lost souls, the cemetery was eerily quiet and
empty. So far, Abraham and I were the only entities around.

“What are we waiting for?”

“Ssh.” Abraham put a hand out to shush me.
“You’ll wake them before they’re ready.”

“But aren’t we waiting for them to wake? If
we wake them early, then we can speed up the process.”

He growled. “Why are teenagers so impatient?
You don’t understand.”

“Well, would you enlighten me? I’m here to
learn, remember? Sheesh.”

“Fine. You can’t wake the bodies up before
three days because they will be restless, and half transformed,
thus vicious.”

“Are we dealing with vampires now?”

He turned to glare at me. “I think you’ve
read too many badly written sappy teen novels. For the last time,
vampires and zombies don’t exist. Now shut up and be patient.”

“But I just want to know what I’m dealing
with before I face it.”

“I’m telling you now if you don’t be quiet,
then you’ll be facing undead creatures that are in between places
and that want to suck your life force out in search of their own
souls.”

I flinched. Was he serious? I turned back to
the grave in front of us and crossed my arms.

“How long do you think it’s been for this
one?”

“The three days are almost up. Any minute
now.”

I continued staring straight ahead at the
grave, and what felt like hours, but was only a few minutes
according to my wrist watch.

“Oh, I forgot to ask,” I interrupted the
silence once again. This time, Abraham turned and fully glared at
me.

“Sorry, but what exactly do I do once the
creature comes out of the grave?”

“You read
The Book of Reaping,
right?”

“That big dusty book with the demonic words
in it, yes.”

“Well, can you remember the incantation for
how to return a soul?”

“How to return a soul? What? But I thought
these guys had lost their souls? How can we return a soul if we
don’t have a soul?”

“That’s what this is for.” Abraham dropped
the heavy looking black duffle he had been carrying at his feet. I
had totally forgotten about it.

“What’s in the bag?”

He untied the top of the back and opened it
wide for me to see.

“Empty Soul Spheres?” I looked at him in
confusion.

“They won’t be empty for long. That’s what
this is for,” he said, stamping his cane on the ground in front of
him.

“Your cane? I just thought you liked
carrying it. It has a purpose?”

“Yeah. It’s a sort of Soul tracker and
magnet.” He placed his hand down on top of it where a whitish-grey
crystal sat. The crystal lit up blue as soon as his palm touched
it. My eyes grew wide, mesmerized by the glowing crystal.

“Now I can track the souls. Stand back.”

I did as he said, not really sure what was
happening. The ground beneath us began to quake and quiver and all
of a sudden, a bright white light shot out from the crystal on top
of the cane, blinding me. I squinted to try to see what was
happening. That was when I heard the sound.

“It’s happening. They’re coming.”

“Who?”

“Get ready, they’re coming! Eden, they’re
coming!”

Those were the last words I had heard before
I blacked out.

Asher

After Cecelia had left, I stayed in the
garden. I sat on the soft grass beside the path and threw pebbles
into the fountain. I plucked grass as well, and played with the
piece in my hand until it broke, and then I grabbed another piece
and started over. I missed Eden so much. I had never been in love
before, so I didn’t know how it felt, but I was pretty sure I loved
Eden. I craved her as an addict craves their drug of choice. I
needed to hold her in my arms. If I died without her, at least my
soul would be with hers. Oh, but could I die again? That question
was left hanging as Cecelia ran back out into the garden.

“Ash! Asher, come quick!”

I immediately stood as if it were an
automatic reflex.

“Is it Eden? Is she awake?”

“Yes. She’s waking up! Come on!”

I didn’t hesitate. I pushed past my sister
and ran to the basement. When I made it to the base of the stairs,
I saw Lakyn and Rachael standing on either side of her, watching
her cautiously.

“What happened?” I asked as I made my way to
her. I stood beside her and took her hand.

“She just coughed,” said Lakyn.

“Someone, get her some water for when she
wakes up. Her mouth must be dry.” Cecelia ran out, but I didn’t pay
attention. I kept my focus on Eden.

“Eden? Can you hear me?”

She began coughing again. Her whole body
shook with her coughs as if she were under attack or was violently
ill.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“Her body must be trying to deal with your
soul inside her, or the effects of the plant toxin and
antidote.”

Eden kept spluttering, and on her last
cough, her eyes snapped open.

Eden

I opened my eyes and saw many faces looking
at me. My chest hurt for some reason and my throat was as dry as a
desert. When my eyes focused, I saw my Mum, Lakyn, and right beside
me, Asher. Then I took in the room. I was somewhere unfamiliar.

“Where…” When I tried to speak, my voice
came out hoarse. “Where am I?”

“You’re back at the Michaelite Sanctuary,
sweetheart. Do you remember anything?” My Mum said. I looked at
her, Lakyn, and then to Asher. Asher’s sister entered carrying a
glass of water, which she handed to Asher.

“Here, have a drink.” He offered me a glass.
I reached for it desperately. I drank it greedily in three
gulps.

“Thanks.” I tried to focus on the question
my mother had asked, but found it hard to concentrate. Why was my
brain so fuzzy?

“Um, I remember… Oh, no!”

“What is it, Eden?” asked Lakyn,
worried.

“I have to get back! I shouldn’t be
here!”

“Go back? No, you belong here, baby,” my
mother said, trying to reassure me.

“No, you don’t understand. I have to go back
and help Abraham.”

“Abraham? What the hell has he done to you?
That bastard has some explaining to do!” said Lakyn angrily.

“The souls, they’re missing. We were in the
cemetery waiting for one of the bodies to be resurrected, and he
pressed down on the crystal on top of his cane…”

“Whoa, slow down. Souls? Bodies
resurrecting? What are you talking about?” asked Lakyn.

“I work with him, as his assistant. We take
souls when it’s time and store them safely. Except this time, all
the souls are missing, so we’re trying to call them back so we can
return them to their rightful owners. It’s all messed up.”

“Damn right it’s messed up. Since when do
you work for Abraham?”

I knew my father wasn’t going to like this,
but he could suck it.

“Um… that night you and Uncle Adam took me
to that apartment. I escaped, and Abraham found me and offered me a
job.”

“He has no right…”

“He has every right, Dad… I mean Lakyn. I
have the right Trait to do this. I can now do something good with
what I’ve been given, instead of something bad.” Lakyn began pacing
with frustration showing, so I turned to look at Asher, who was
tracing little circles on the inside of my wrist. The sensation was
amazing.

“Asher… I’m sorry for what I did.”

“You already told me, don’t worry about it.
I’m here, aren’t I?”

“About that, Asher. You have to tell her the
situation.”

He glared at his sister.

“Yeah, thanks for the reminder, Cec.”

“What situation?” I looked at him, taking in
his beautiful blue eyes, which were a little duller than usual.

“The situation about um… you see, it’s about
my soul.”

“Crap, don’t tell me I lost your soul,
too!”

“No, no, you didn’t. It’s right here.”

“Then how is that a problem? What’s
wrong?”

“It’s not in me.”

I looked to each person in the room for an
answer, but they were all waiting for Asher to tell me.

“Asher? What do you mean?”

“Eden, my soul, it’s inside you.”

Had I just heard him right?

“What?”

“My soul, it’s inside you, inside your
head.”

“I know, I heard you, but… how is that
possible?”

“Something must have happened when I fell on
top of you when we were running from the Hellhounds. The sphere
shattered and my soul somehow ended up inside you.”

“Oh.” I still couldn’t wrap my head around
it. “At least it’s safe and not missing.”

“That’s something.” Asher smiled and took my
hand. I smiled back.

“Eden, honey, what did you mean when you
said ‘the souls are missing’?”

“Oh, yeah. They’re missing. Every single
soul of everyone who has died, apart from Asher’s, is missing.
Right before I blacked out and woke up back here, Abraham was
trying to summon the souls back to him. I have to get back there to
help him. I have to help return the souls.”

“No, you can’t.”

“What?” I turned to my mother. “I have to!
The fate of the world is screwed if I don’t do this.”

“What do you mean by the fate of the
world?”

“Ever since I died, as in, inhaled those
psychotic looking flowers and woke up ten years in the future,
every single person who has died in that time wakes up three days
later like a zombie.”