Eden

Chapter Twenty-One Mother

There is a distinct difference between the ability to create life and the innate need to protect it, to cherish it. Appreciating that life is the one being you love most in the universe becomes duty, and as a direct result, one must neglect all else to preserve it.

The mother that throws herself in front of an oncoming car, the mother that eats a can of generic peaches when the last bit of food isn’t enough to share, the mother that wears a ratty dress to work so that she can keep much-needed shoes on those tiny, precious feet…that is the distinction of a mother’s love: self-sacrifice.

The moment I heard the cries of the tiny, gooey baby in Jared’s arms, nothing else mattered. Not even me.

“Is he okay?” I asked.

“Uh…yeah. She’s okay.”

“She?” I said, stunned. I had prepared myself for almost everything that could happen when I delivered. A girl was not one of them.

“It’s a girl?” Claire squealed.

“It’s a girl?” Bex groaned.

Jared wrapped her in a clean blanket, and carefully lifted the tiny bundle to look into her eyes. He had no expression except for the smallest hint of a smile. His eyes focused on me, and then put her in my arms as if he were passing on the most fragile, priceless, precious treasure in existence.

I nestled her in the crook of my arm, and until that moment the times I thought I had sacrificed seemed trivial. Everything and everyone in my life was less important, less urgent. My life was simply an extension of the tiny, soft, innocent wonderment before me. I knew how millions of other women before me could behave so erratic, be so forgiving, and so courageous. My heart was no longer on the inside of my body. It was in my arms.

“Jared?” Bex said. With one hand he held the door closed, with other, he gently slid Kim’s lifeless body away from the door and against the wall.

A loud bang vibrated the wall, and Bex flew back, skidding across the floor. The door blew open, and creatures filed into the room, immediately attacking. A foul odor filled the room, and I held my baby close to me. Jared stayed close, violently fending off any demons that dared get close enough to his family.

Every window on the opposite wall from the door exploded. Jared covered us with his body to shield us from flying glass. When the dust cleared, Samuel stepped into the room, standing next to a familiar face in full armor.

“Michael,” Jared breathed, stunned. It was Isaac’s father; his entire army of warrior angels behind him.

The demons snarled and shrieked.

“You shall not touch this child,” Michael said, drawing a long sword.

“Come!” Samuel challenged, raising his arms. “We welcome Hell’s most terrible wrath!”

The demon that had taken me from the Sepulchre lifted his head and bleated, and then led a charge into the street.

Bex and Claire stood to the side, watching hundreds of demons surge past them, casting off wind like a freight train barreling through the room. The clash outside between Heaven and Hell was audible, like nothing I’d ever heard before, and then at once, it was silent, crossing planes.

Jared grabbed each side of my face with a broad smile. “We did it, Nina! Heaven will protect her!”

I sighed with relief and hugged my daughter to my chest. The quiet we shared was frozen in time. The end of the war around us was instantaneous. Bex, Ryan, Claire and Jared all looked in wonder at my little girl. She lay still, peering around with her big, round, cloudy eyes, blinking at the bright light.

Jared kneeled before me, still breathing hard, his face red and marked with shades of blood and dirt from his fight to reach us. Ryan and Claire crowded around us, their worried expressions softened by the sight of the child wrapped in my arms.

“You’re amazing,” Jared said. His voice cracked an infinitesimal amount as he spoke, but I couldn’t look away to see his expression. The little girl in my arms was breathtaking.

Claire took a few silent steps until she was next to me. She rubbed her palm on her jeans and then reached out her small hand, extending her index finger to touch the baby’s pinky. “She’s…here,” she whispered, in awe.

“You did it,” Ryan said with a half-smile.

Jared crawled to the opposite side of Claire, tenderly putting one arm behind my neck, the other touching his daughter’s cheek with his thumb. He kissed my hair and leaned in to whisper in my ear. “I didn’t think I could love you more than I already did.”

I looked into his eyes and smiled. “You did it, Jared. You saved us.”

Jared’s blue-grey eyes glossed over, and he pulled me closer, the three of us in a tender embrace.

After a few quiet moments, Jared’s arms tensed, and he looked to the doorway. Claire flipped around, her hands balled into fists at her side. Bex stood in front of my makeshift bed, crouched in a defensive stance.

Ryan quickly cocked his gun and aimed at the door, ready for whatever the Hybrids were bracing for. “What now?” he said, his eyes focused at the same point as the others.

Claire shoved Ryan against the wall and then pointed at him. “Stay there,” she said firmly. “Don’t. Move.”

Ryan lowered his weapon, and waited.

The door opened slowly, and a man in a white suit walked, slow and lithe, through the threshold. His hair was shiny and black, his eyes deep-set and calm. He was beautiful and grotesque at the same time; a baby-faced supermodel with eons of hate and bitterness flowing through his veins.

Bex took a step, but Claire held out her hand and flattened it against his chest, restraining him. “Stand next to Ryan.”

“But…” Bex protested.

“Do it!” she growled. I’d never heard her take that tone with her little brother.

The man’s eyes darted to the youngest Ryel, his head unmoving. It was unnatural, frightening. Bex slowly walked to the wall, wary of the pair of eyes that studied his every move.

I pulled my infant daughter closer to me, turning slightly so that my shoulder was in a position to protect her. I didn’t notice the movement until I realized it had drawn the man’s attention back to us.

“Desecration,” the man breathed. His was more of a hiss than a voice. “Even more than your father.”

“Do not speak to her,” Jared said, his tone low and terrifying.

Ryan looked to Claire. He was confused and worried, but he didn’t move.

The man took another step.

Jared stood, and lifted his hand, pointing at the black-haired man. “She belongs to Him. You can’t touch her. You may kill us all, but He’s commanded that she live.”

The man took in a deep breath through his nose, his eyes rolling back into his head. His lids shuttered, and then popped open, focusing on the baby. When he spoke, his voice was many; distant and loud simultaneously. “If you’ve noticed, I quite enjoy doing things He forbids.”

“Should I shoot?” Ryan whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

“No,” Claire said, her voice strained. “Don’t move.”

Ryan frowned, clearly unsettled. “What is it?”

“The Devil,” Bex said.

The man’s pupils bled into the whites of his eyes, the darkness inside them glistening from the light of the fire outside. He took another step.

A large vein bulged from his pasty forehead as his calculating eyes targeted my daughter.

Jared didn’t wait for him to take another step. He charged, stopping abruptly when the Devil grabbed him by the throat. Claire immediately reacted, attacking him with astounding speed. Her small body flew against the wall, and Ryan reacted.

She held up hand. “Don’t,” she said, standing.

Jared managed to pull free, and then he attacked him again with a series of punches. They traded blows, and suddenly Jared was struck to the ground. Claire rushed Satan again, but she was blown back, this time held by an unseen force high against the wall. She screamed in agony as dozens of deep, bloody gashes formed across her face, neck and body. Blood oozed from her wounds and down the front of her clothes, dripping from her shoes onto the floor beneath her.

“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.”