Salvation: The Eden Chronicles

Chapter 5

"A second Bifron demon was located early this morning," Henry said. He opened up the file in front of him.

        "I killed one last night. Is it the same one?" Evelyn asked. She was curled up on the chair in front of Henry's desk while Jasper was again sprawled out on the other chair munching on muffins he grabbed before they left the kitchen. She didn't understand how he could still be hungry.

        "No, it's a different one," he replied and didn't bother looking up.

        "Then that's the third," Evelyn answered.

        "Something is going on. There are too many demon attacks lately..."
        "Isn't the Angel Guard watching the Dark Realm? I mean, that's their job," Jasper interjected.

        Henry's eyes floated to him in a harsh glare. His hands were folded in front of his mouth. Evelyn stifled her smile; Jasper would soon learn not to interrupt Henry while he was speaking.

        "Yes, of course the Guard is watching the Dark Realm but it's not like demons haven't come through before. It is why you're here, after all."

        Evelyn glanced at Jasper out of the corner of her eye. He appeared unaffected by Henry's tone and just stared at the muffin he was about to shove in his mouth.

        "Anyway," Henry continued, taking a breath and flipping through the pages of the file. He kept all of his notes handwritten on paper. "Aside from that, a Fallen has been found. With his heart ripped out."

        Evelyn's mouth opened slightly, she blinked hard. "But that's the third..."

        Henry nodded and closed his eyes.

        Evelyn's brow pulled together. "What's going on?" she mumbled more to herself than anyone.

        He looked up. "I'm worried that this is some ritual but I can't find anything about it."

        Evelyn nodded. 

        "Talk to Leonard. Be careful and make sure to take Jasper."

        She frowned and Henry gave her the look that told her not to say another word. Evelyn remembered when Henry was a friend and not her Keeper. They traipsed around London, Florence, and New York City hunting demons together. They had their fair share of fun, too. Then all of a sudden he was different, older. The gray in his hair showed his age, the wrinkles around his eyes visible from years of worrying and living the life of a Hunter, and the sadness in his eyes of having his heart broken.

        Evelyn recognized that sadness every time she looked in the mirror.

        "Who's Leonard?" Jasper's voice broke through her reverie. He moved so fast, she hadn't even seen him get off the chair, and now he was standing and looking down at her. He was definitely Nephilim with his quickness.

        "Leo," she corrected and stood up. "He's a Sorcerer."

        Jasper's jaw tightened. "Wait, you mean the Demon Sorcerer Leonard? And why are we playing with demons?" He voice was full of aversion.

        "Only when we need them," she sighed, catching the look in Henry's expression.

        Be very careful.

***

         Evelyn retreated to her room after explaining to Jasper that one didn't just barge in to see Leo in the middle of the day. Much to his displeasure of wanting a walk, she promised him one later. She left him at his room and locked the door behind her, which she rarely did.

        She wanted to sleep and forget the events of the morning. Evelyn's body felt the release of tension after seeing Adam and knew that she wouldn't have to feel that way again for a long time in mortal years. But in her time, it would feel like days. But she couldn't move on quite yet; she needed to speak with Adam's Watcher, Sam, to make sure the ritual had worked.

    Evelyn pulled out her phone and dialed Sam's number. It rang and rang, not even going to voicemail. She twisted her lips in worry, collapsed down on her bed, and tried three more times before giving up and tossing the phone aside. It was completely unlike Sam not to tell her exactly where he would be relocating himself and Adam.

        She put on her headphones and turned up her music loud, smiling as the song distracted her for a moment. Evelyn rolled over and grabbed the book she was reading off the nightstand. She pushed her hair out of her face and opened the book, the leaf falling onto her chest. Shoving the book aside, she picked up the leaf gently in her hands.

        It was old and should be browned and withered, like her, falling to a million pieces in her grasp. But it wasn't. It was a lush green with gold specks, soft and moist, the tips gold too, and it shimmered as it rippled. Evelyn brought it to her nose and inhaled deeply, squeezing her eyes closed. It smelled like the earth, like the air, and like the tree it fell from. And from a home she hadn't been to in a long time. 

        Moisture pooled in the corners of her eyes and she hadn't realized she was crying until she sat up and the tears fell down her cheeks. She tossed her legs over the side of the bed and opened the nightstand drawer. She withdrew the wooden box buried beneath some books and opened it, placing the leaf inside next to the picture of her and her last partner.

        "Benjamin," she whispered. He was Nephilim, immortal. Rare these days. The Immortals' population was dwindling. Everything can die he used to say to her but she didn't believe that until he did die. He was handsome, always smiling; he kept his black hair short which made his piercing blue eyes stand out even more.

        They had been together for decades. He had changed her world and everything she thought she could ever feel or was allowed to feel again. They were inseparable and lethal as a pair, as partners, and secretly as lovers. Only Henry knew about their relationship. 

        She didn't remember picking up the picture until a tear splashed down. Evelyn wiped it away. It was of her and Benjamin; they were sitting in the grass at the Order Sanctuary in Florence. They were laughing and staring at each other, the sun setting behind them casting a yellow brightness over the picture and lighting up their faces.

         I was so happy, Evelyn thought to herself. It was the first time she had allowed herself to feel something for someone other than Adam; Benjamin made it so easy.

        She loved him.

        Evelyn shut the box abruptly, before she shoved it back in the drawer.