Jezebel

Part One: 22

They were present when she took her last breath. Agate, Garnet, and Olivine watched in solemn silence but did nothing. Ashera's plan for her and the baby was far worse; letting her pregnancy take her life was a path of escape for the woman.

Agate turned to Olivine and nodded. "Now."

The soul of the baby gave off a pulsing white light as Olivine drew nearer. Their plan was simple: take the soul of the child to the seventh heaven while Agate and Garnet were to guide Anat to Abraham's bosom. Agate had already predicted a possible clash with either Ashera or Baal was unlikely. If Baal had not returned earlier in the day, there would have been a real problem. Ashera and her cronies would want to fight for the queen's soul.

When her feet softly landed on the bed, Olivine placed a palm on the queen's stomach. The light burned with brighter intensity as the child's form floated out of the grave of its mother's womb. It would have been a female if it survived. The eyes of the baby were shut and its small hands and feet were folded against its body tightly. When the soul was safely tucked in her arm, Olivine turned to Agate. At his nod, she pulled her hood over her head and stepped through the southern wall of the king's chambers.

The hallway was deserted. Not a single demon or imp in sight. Not wanting to take any chances, Olivine rushed towards the back but came upon the crying maid of the queen. Stopping short, a simple unexpected instruction passed through Olivine's mind. Tearing her gaze from the crying girl, she carefully looked around the garden. She sighted a small scroll.

Lead her to it.

Hugging the infant's soul closer to her chest, Olivine walked to the girl's side and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Look in that direction."

The girl sniffed and wiped her tears before looking. When she sighted the scroll, she stood from her position on the floor and walked over to it. But at the very moment the girl picked the scroll and straightened, a hiss reached Olivine's ears. Turning to her right, she sprung back just in time to miss a flying dart. A water imp had spotted her. The vile creature's head rose above the calm surface of the pond, and its round black eyes were fixed on the bundle Olivine held.

Olivine was part glad the imp's attention was on her and not on the maid currently walking away with the scroll in hand. If the imp raised an alarm, more of its kind will come and maybe demons would join the band. She might make it out of there unscathed but she could not say the same about Agate and Garnet. Not that she was worried for the two angels—no, both knew how to take care of themselves quite well—she was concerned about the soul of the queen. 

Since the fall of man, it had been a constant battle. Darkness fought for souls no matter how much light existed in them. Olivine was eager for the time when it would be entirely impossible for darkness to speak even a single word in judgment against souls of light.

The imp's eyes were still trained on her as though it were sizing her up. They were incredibly foolish spirits. Olivine wouldn't be surprised if the thing was actually considering taking her on alone. She couldn't blame it though. Both her arms were holding the child to her chest. She knew if she moved to release one of her arms, the creature would fling its toady form straight at her.

Still hissing, it slowly rose from the water. The thin membrane around its neck inflated and deflated as it mimicked the breathing pattern of a frog. Its slimy green skin possessed a disgusting sheen that covered its arms and fat torso. Olivine remained still. Even when the imp's clawed webbed hand pulled its entire frame out of the water, she remained unmoving. Agate and Garnet would be through with getting the queen's soul by now. Perhaps if she stretched her little encounter with the imp a bit, they would—

The imp suddenly charged at her, giving off a shrill wail to alert the rest.

Great.

Her arm shot out as the strip of leather around it uncoiled. The weapon lashed at the approaching imp, whipping it with two sharp strikes. The imp shrieked and leapt back. With large black eyes still fixed on her, the imp observed her as it wobbled about on bowed legs.