Destroyers of the Lost Garden (The Lost Garden Trilogy Book 3) (8 page)

Chapter Fourteen

Alexey and his men made it to within 100 yards of the mountain. He saw the two Chinook helicopters between his army and the mountain. He smiled as if he had already won the war.

He knew that the Daughters were deep into the forest and wouldn’t be able to get back in time to stop him. He picked up his pace as he and the soldiers headed straight for his prize. The Tree of Life. As he closed in on the helicopters, he noticed that the pilots weren’t standing in front of them as they should have been.

Alexey stopped short of the helicopters, but waved his men on ahead. They ran past the vehicles. The Daughters of Eve poured out from both helicopters and immediately engaged the Iranians.

“Damn it!” Alexey yelled. He knew then that the Daughters had purposely led his army away from the mountain. They must have known that he had abandoned the search and turned back. Somehow they reached the helicopters before him. He stepped further back as the battle started.

Even with primitive weapons, the Daughters seemed to hold their own. The surprise attack benefitted them as Alexey witnessed one Daughter ram her spear completely through one of his men. She then acquired his automatic weapon.

He turned around quickly in a bid to run back to the cover of the forest and came face to face with Jess, Knight, and Shala. Alexey backed away from the trio, only to trip and fall to the ground.

Knight laughed.

“Wow! I hope you’re not the formidable Alexey Konstantin, because from what I see…you’re nothing but a coward.”

Alexey stood up and tried to draw his gun. He was angry and yet he shook with fear. “I am Alexey Konstantin and you are all dead!”

Knight slapped him so hard he fell over again.

“We don’t have time for this! Jess! Shala, See if you can help your sisters. I’ll take care of this creep.” He spoke with such conviction that for a moment Jessima IL Eve was motionless, rooted in her admiration of him.

No one had ever made her forget her primary obligations before. No one had ever made her feel such conviction…
He WAS the Chosen One.

Jess nodded as she regained her balance. She cringed at the thought of working with a probable traitor, but she would have to until the time she could prove the truth about Shala’s loyalty. Jess would make sure to keep a close eye on her sister.

Shala didn’t like taking orders from a mortal. She saw what Jess and Knight had and it infuriated her with an envious anger. She had to bide her time. Shala would get her heart’s desire as well…her freedom from Eden. Shala forced a smile as they both left to join the fray.

Knight grabbed Alexey’s arm and brought him to his feet.

“So, are you the leader of this?  Are you the one responsible for the war on Eden?”

Before Alexey could say anything, a female voice was heard from just behind Knight.

“No. He is incompetent. If you want a source for the war, turn around.”

Knight turned to see Sulina and three people he recognized from the attack on his house.

“You don’t know when to give up, do you?” he smiled, directing his question to Morina.

Their conversation was interrupted by an explosion that emanated from the mountain. A layer of rock and dirt exploded outward from under the ledges where the Trees of Life and Knowledge stood; they were undamaged. Sulina had a puzzled look; she had expected the entire mountainside to come crashing down in the explosion.

“Damn bitch! We should have made sure she was dead! If you want something done…”

Sulina touched one of the Fallen minions. A black energy rose from him and was absorbed by Sulina’s hands. As he was being drained, the minion’s body dried out. His skin flaked off the more he was consumed. He tried to fight Sulina, but was helpless. The more his body drained of energy, the faster it dried out. Before long there was nothing left of him besides a large pile of ashes. Sulina then moved methodically and positioned herself between Morina and another Fallen. She placed one hand on each of them and began the process again. This time the black energy seemed to permeate her pores as it rose, swirled around and was absorbed into her fingertips.

Morina reached out toward Knight who was in shock at what was transpiring right in front of his eyes.
Was it magic…or something else?

As Morina reached out for Knight, he could see her pleading for his help. Knight couldn’t help the feeling of compassion for the woman who had almost killed him and Jess. It was all he could do to imagine the pain that Morina felt as she turned to ash right before him. Her arm was outstretched to him, as if by simply touching him she would be healed. She fell to the ground and was about to touch his ankle when she separated into a pile of black ash. Evan was devastated by the spectacle.

It was a strange sensation to feel for an enemy.
Enemy.

Morina didn’t die as his enemy. He turned his attention to the woman who was.
Sulina.

Sulina saw his anger aimed at her.

“Good. Come then, Chosen One. Come fight me. I am the embodiment of all I have absorbed. Eden has a way of amplifying my abilities. I think it’s time to test them, don’t you?”

***

Jess and Shala joined their sister in battle. Jess found it difficult to focus on both the soldiers and Shala so she decided to place her full attention on the greater threat. Her sisters had taken no losses, which inspired her to fight harder. The Iranians were surprisingly easy to defeat. Spurred by the will to survive, the sisters didn’t hold back. They killed those men to prevent Eden from being overrun.

Alexey did everything in his power to make it to one of the helicopters unscathed. He watched the Daughters cut through his army with precision and ease. He couldn’t believe how quickly his war had unraveled. All of his planning and bribing, all the money that was spent, all for nothing. He looked up at the Trees of Knowledge and Life. They appeared to mock him and his plan for gaining immortality. He scoffed as he thought of what might happen to him once the Daughters were finished with the Iranians. He fell to his knees, bowed his head, and prepared to accept his fate.

***

Knight noticed something different about Sulina since she had consumed her friends. She smiled at him and then disappeared in a blur. He looked around confused, still trying to maintain a defensive stance. He heard her laughter come from all directions.

He tried to pinpoint her locations.
Be careful what you wish for.
He felt a hard jab to his ribs. It caught him off guard and caused him to stumble a bit. Another hit to the ribs, followed by one to the abdomen. All he could see was a blur of movement. Sulina had acquired Morina’s speed.

Knight backed up just as Sulina served up an upper cut to his chin. The punch threw Knight to the ground. He had no defense against an attack he couldn’t see.
Some Chosen One he had turned out to be.

Sulina stopped suddenly. To his relief her attention no longer seemed to be focused on Knight. She looked toward the skirmish, then down at him.

“It appears that we will have to continue this little one-sided fight later. Bye-bye.”

She disappeared as quickly as she had before, but that time the blur left with her. Evan Knight collapsed to the ground.

***

Jess was excited that she and her sisters were making short work of their enemy. She had expected that the battle would have been bigger. She smiled as she looked up at the trees, knowing that they would be safe. She saw a figure standing by the Tree of Life. She squinted her eyes to see better.

Shala came up beside her and pointed at the tree.

“Mother Daughter!” she yelled.

The sight of Myora IL Eve surprised her more than anyone else. She could have sworn Mother Daughter was dead. That would be the last time she underestimated anyone ever again.

With the last of the Iranians dispatched, all of the Daughters ran toward the mountain cheering victoriously. Shala stopped and looked behind her. She saw Sulina put her index finger up to her mouth and smile. Shala breathed a sigh of relief as she joined her sisters.

Sulina knew that her victory would lie in the difference between the time that she completed her task and the time that the Daughters of Eve saw her. She went to each of the Iranians and touched them in the chest. She wasn’t sure if it would work, but it did. The dark energy flowed out of her and into each and every one of the soldiers. She knew they would be no match for the Daughters. Despite the fact that they were heavily trained military men, Sulina knew that they had no chance. She needed them to be in Eden though. Everything that she had predicted had come to pass. If she could just seal the deal.

After she transformed the last one into a Fallen, she had them line up single file. She kept looking back at the spectacle of the Daughters cheering at the base of the Mountain of God. Sulina’s eyesight was extremely sharp and she could tell that Myora was still. She was still bleeding.

Alexey heard the commotion, or rather the lack thereof, and looked up. He saw Sulina’s line of newly recruited Fallen, with the queen, herself at the front.

She saw Alexey and walked confidently over to him. “So Alexey, I assume that you are aware of my plan now.”

Alexey looked confused and then had a spark of realization. “You! You were planning to sacrifice my army all this time! Вы суме коровы! I can’t believe you would betray the man who got you into Eden!”

Sulina laughed. “Poor, poor, Alexey. Did I burst your little bubble? Ultimate power is mine and I would never allow a simple mortal to get in my way. If I were you, I would run and cower in one of those helicopters with the hope that someone might feel sorry enough for you that they will carry your whimpering hide back to civilization. You could die here too. Either way is fine with me. Goodbye Alexey.”

He ran toward the helicopters, unseen by the Daughters, as Sulina started to absorb the life force of her newly formed minions.

***

Myora had difficulty standing, let alone speaking, but she knew she had to address her Daughters.

“Daughters!” Her voice crackled.

For the first time since they had seen their Mother appear, they realized that something was wrong.

“Daughters!” Myora repeated, to make sure that they heard her. “As you know, there is a traitor in Eden! But at the present time, that is not our greatest concern! Sulina the Fallen, has infiltrated our paradise as well!”

“The traitor is Jessima IL Eve!” yelled Shala, to the surprise of everyone. “She exchanged perversions with the Chosen One, mere minutes ago!”

Myora tried to stand straight. “Love is never a determination of betrayal, Shala! As I stated, the traitor is unimportant only because she has already done all of the damage she can do! We have a much bigger problem that must be addressed!” She fell to her knees in pain.

“Mother!” yelled Jess. “Why do you not partake of the Healing Oil? The Tree of Life is right there!”

Myora smiled weakly at Jess. “If I do that, then I will not be able to do what I must to try to save Eden! You will understand soon!”

***

Evan Knight slowly pulled himself up, feeling quite emasculated. He groaned as he felt his chest. Three cracked ribs. He saw all of the Daughters at the base of the mountain and then saw large piles of ash all over the ground. He knew that the three Fallen, who were absorbed by Sulina didn’t make those extra piles. He swallowed hard as he saw the source of the ashes.

Sulina was standing several yards ahead of him, at least he thought it was Sulina. Her eyes were yellow and had a crystalline reflection to them. She had a misty black aura that moved constantly around her. She was also a few feet taller than he last remembered. Her hair was jet black, even darker than it had been before. It appeared as if it had a life of its own and flowed in correspondence with the black aura. When she smiled, she showed off a set of oversized, chiseled teeth. They resembled the teeth of a shark. Her clothes appeared as if they were made out of the black mist. Her body was completely covered up to her neck. Her arms and legs were ripped with muscles. Her skin had a red hue to it, but what surprised Knight the most, was that…she had a tail. The tail was long and appeared to be prehensile. It was about twenty feet long and swished back and forth in response to her mood. It was thin and red and had a fork at the end.

Throughout Knight’s time in Eden, he had felt apprehension, low self-esteem, love for Jess, confusion, and a sense of awe. After seeing Sulina, he could add intense and complete fear to the list.

The Final Chapter

Alexey thought he was safe inside one of the helicopters. He looked towards the mountain and saw the Daughters turn toward him.
Well, that was that. So much for plans of conquest.
Now that he had attracted their attention, he would try to find a compartment to hide in. Hide like a rat. Such would mark the end of Alexey Konstantin’s glorious life. There would be no hero’s welcome for his return. There would be no immortality.

It would be easy to blame Sulina for his failure. She seemed to know how ineffective the Iranian army would be against the Daughters of Eve. She seemed to have everything planned out perfectly…
for herself.
Alexey had never been outsmarted by anyone in his life, much less a woman.

He fought to open the rear storage compartment. He struggled and wondered why it would be stuck. He pulled for all he was worth, which at the time wasn’t much. The storage door flew open causing Alexey to tumble backwards. He looked up in shock to see an Iranian pilot shaking with fear inside the compartment.

Alexey smiled.

“Do you want to live my friend?”

The pilot shook his head vehemently.

“It is just you and me,” Alexey continued. “We will not win our escape by confronting these Amazons. I must ask you to get into the pilot’s seat and prepare for departure.”

The pilot rushed to the seat and put on his helmet. Alexey sat in the adjoining seat and buckled himself in. He was ready for an all-out attack on the helicopter.

Alexey saw a female figure walk out to the front of the chopper, but the woman showed no interest in his escape. She was focused on the Daughters, who were headed straight for her.
Sulina?
If it was Sulina, there were a few things that were different about her.
Was that a tail?

Alexey and the pilot didn’t move. They wanted to see how it was going to play out first. “Hold on, my friend,” Alexey said confidently. “New plan.”

***

Sulina stood defiantly in front of the helicopters as the Daughters advanced, in spite of the warnings from Mother Daughter. Myora knew that there was something different…something powerful about Sulina. She stumbled against the tree.
Soon.

Sulina started to run toward the Daughters, despite the fact that they severely outnumbered her. As she advanced, she grinned and showed off her new teeth. Calaya IL Eve was the first to see the transformed Sulina. She stopped.

“Sisters! There is something…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Sulina became a red blur and bit deep into Calaya’s neck, almost severing her head with one bite. Calaya’s blood sprayed everywhere as she fell lifeless to the ground. The remaining sisters stopped to assess the situation and examine Calaya’s body.

***

Evan Knight arrived at the helicopters just in time to witness the bloodshed in the distance. The chopper’s blades started their familiar rotation, as Knight went to the front to see who was inside.
Alexey.

Alexey smiled as the helicopter rose into the air. Knight had a split second to decide what he was going to do, before Alexey was out of sight. Knight grabbed the landing skid and held on tight. He assumed that Alexey would fly right out of Eden. If Sulina hadn’t shown up the way she did, he might have. She provided the much needed distraction he had hoped for. They were headed for the Trees of Life and Knowledge.

***

Sulina let out a blood curdling howl as she raised her hands in triumph. Jess watched Knight hang on to the bottom of the helicopter as it passed over. She had more important things to attend to.

“For our Sisters!” Jess yelled with her fist raised.

All of the Daughters joined in the cheer.

Jess was the first to rush Sulina. She blurred out of the way and elbowed Jess in the back, which knocked her to the ground. The Daughters attacked as one. Each one jumped into the fray, delivered a blow to Sulina and got out of the way, to give another sister her chance. Sulina’s tail grabbed Tallia IL Eve by the throat while the evil one rushed two other sisters. When Jess tried to attack Sulina from the back, the tail acted independently and threw Tallia into Jess.

Sulina was hard to hit, because of Morina’s speed. That didn’t stop the Daughters from trying. Sulina grabbed Shala by the tunic and lifted her into the air.

“What the hell are you?” asked Shala.

“Is that any way to talk your aunt?” replied Sulina. Her voice was course and sounded like four or five different people were talking all at once. “By the way,” Sulina continued. “I don’t need you anymore.”

She threw Shala hard into the ground. Shala felt the bones in her left arm shatter as she let out a scream of pain.

Maliah IL Eve delivered a roundhouse kick to Sulina’s head, which knocked her off balance then she punched Sulina continuously in the throat, the gut, and the chest. Maliah pushed Sulina backward with her barrage. The sisters regrouped as Lila IL Eve attended to Shala’s arm. Maliah was relentless with her assault as her own knuckles bled with the force she used. Sulina’s mouth started to bleed, as she tried in vain to dodge or block. Another blow to the head. One more to the gut. No other Daughter could get close, now it was Maliah who was the blur. She would not be satisfied until Sulina was dead.

Sulina was on the ground. Maliah continued her attack. She forgot about one thing. Sulina’s tail. The tail came up from behind Maliah and quickly wrapped around her throat. The tail lifted Maliah high into the air, which gave Sulina a chance to get up. She saw the helicopter heading toward the trees. She smiled and launched the helpless Maliah toward the chopper with her tail.

Maliah flailed around in the air as she screamed. Knight looked in the direction of the bloodcurdling sound and saw the Daughter headed straight for him. What he saw next would stay with him the rest of his life. Maliah’s body hit the main blade, which instantly shredded her to pieces. The front glass of the helicopter was spattered with her blood.

The pilot lost control as they got close to the ledges. Knight waited until the helicopter tilted close to the mountain and then tried to anticipate where he would land if he jumped. There was no longer an “if” as he swung himself over to the closest ledge. The one with the Tree of Knowledge on it. His feet hit first and he rolled up to the tree.

The pilot had to swerve the helicopter away from the mountain.

“I don’t have a choice, Mr. Konstantin. If I don’t try to get us out of here now, we may not get another chance.”

“Out of here?” Alexey asked, even though he knew the answer.

The pilot sighed.

“We must leave Eden.”

Alexey’s adventure was over.

“Do it.”
At least we will get out alive.

***

Knight looked up to look at the tree he lay under. He saw the helicopter disappear into the sky. He looked over at the other tree, where Mother Daughter was on her knees trying to stay alert.

“Mother Daughter?” Knight asked, already knowing the answer.

Myora looked at him. She was tired and hurt and her Daughters were dying in front of her.

“Mr. Knight. You are under the Tree of Knowledge. I would advise against partaking of its fruit.”

She pointed to Sulina.

“It doesn’t work well with some people.”

Knight nodded.

“Listen. You need to be with your Daughters. I can protect the trees.”

Myora showed surprise for the first time in a while.

“Do you think you can protect the trees?”

He pointed to his chest.

“Chosen One? I’ve got this. Help your Daughters save Eden. Help Jess…ima. That’s what I’m here for, right?”

“Be good to Jessima, Evan Knight. You need to treat her as you would a queen. After all, she is Biblical royalty. You have my blessing, Chosen One. God bless you. It is an honor having met you.”

Knight smiled. Before he had a chance to say anything in return, Myora IL Eve stood up straight, nodded at Knight, and allowed herself to fall off the ledge.

“No!” Knight shouted. “I didn’t…know…”

He realized by her look that her mission was almost over.

There were only four Daughters left alive, including Shala, Calisto, Madeira, and Jess. All stood around Sulina. Sulina showed that she was worn from battle, but she still had enough energy to dispatch the last of the Daughters. All were breathing hard.

Shala was the first to act. She aimed a high knee kick to Sulina’s head, which knocked her back a few steps. Sulina responded by grabbing Shala’s throat with her tail and squeezing.

Calisto attacked next, only to be backhanded before she could connect with Sulina’s grisly form. The tail tightened around Shala’s throat as tears ran down the Daughter’s face. She looked at Jess and mouthed the words “I’m sorry”.

It was at that time that Mother Daughter reached the ground of Eden. Her feet touched down lightly. As soon as she had both feet on the ground, a light emanated from her feet and ran along the ground until it connected with Calisto, Jess, and Madeira’s feet. The light engulfed their entire being. It failed to reach Shala, because she was not on the ground. The light avoided Sulina, who grew even more angry.

The light consumed Myora as well. Sulina threw Shala on the ground and looked at her sister.

“Not this time, bitch!” She ran over to the Mother Daughter. The Daughters couldn’t move while surrounded by the light. “Mother!” cried Jess.

Sulina picked up speed as she ran straight for Myora. At the last moment she leaped at her as a jungle predator would leap at its prey. As soon as Sulina bit into Myora’s neck, the Mother Daughter exploded into a blinding light. A pure light that none of them had ever seen. When Myora exploded, her light spread quickly throughout all of Eden. The trees that had been charred and burned away by Alexey were renewed. Everything that was dead was given life again. Each Daughter that had died rose up surrounded by the light of their Mother Daughter and the light of their Father.

Once all of the dead stood again, the tattoos on their backs started to come to life. Falcon and Eagle alike, the wings on the tattoos grew and became real. They stretched out at least ten feet. Mother Daughter appeared in pure white light with a full wingspan as well. Ellisia flew out of the mountain and landed next to her Mother. The four remaining Daughters looked on in awe. Shala picked herself up off  the ground and looked at the white glow that surrounded her sisters.
Where was hers?

Myora IL Eve went to the four Daughters one final time.

“Take care of Eden, my children. It is time for you who survive to take up the mantle and bring new life into Eden.”

She winked at Jess. All of the fallen Daughters spread their wings and flew into the heavens as the sky opened up to reveal an eternal light. As soon as the last one was through, the sky closed.

Sulina was furious.

“No! Myora! You can’t do that to me! I can still win!”

She looked up at Knight and the two trees. Knight looked down at her. “Here we go,” he said nervously.

Sulina dug her hands into the mountainside and propelled herself upward. She reached the ledge with Knight on it. He was standing in front of the tree.

“You’re not getting this tree! I have your number!”

He then flipped her off.

“Foolish mortal,” Sulina responded. “That’s not the tree I’m after.”

Knight could only watch as she jumped to the ledge with the Tree of Life on it. He got a running start and jumped while he twisted his body to push him further. He came up short of the ledge, reaching out and grabbing it with both hands. Sulina stepped on his right hand. He let out a muffled groan as heard the bones snap and break. He swung himself sideways and managed to get his feet up on the ledge, pulling his body up and over it while Sulina turned her attention to the Tree of Life.

“Hey!” he yelled. “I’m still in this and I’m here to discuss your future, or lack thereof.”

Sulina turned to see Knight holding his right hand.

“You and those four whelps are the only thing stopping me from getting what I have earned the right to receive! You’re nothing!”

“I beg to differ,” Knight replied. “I’m the Chosen One, bitch!”

Knight gave Sulina a swift, solid kick to the head, followed by a left jab to the throat. She was caught off guard and stumbled backward. He kicked her again and knocked out one of her teeth. There was a trickle of blood from her mouth. He tried to push his elbow into her throat, but she countered with her tail. The tail grabbed his leg and threw him into the Tree of Life but he recovered quicker than Sulina expected.

Knight knew this day would come since he found out the Mother Daughter thought he was from Jess. He had always wondered whether he would live up to what it all represented. He had doubted his ability to be the Chosen One. He had doubted whether he even belonged in Eden with all of those warriors. As he fought Sulina, none of that mattered. He finally realized that it didn’t matter who or what he was. Nothing mattered except for the fact that he had seen powerful righteous warriors fall to that smelly bitch. All he knew was that Chosen One or not,
he was
there. He was going to prove who Evan Knight was.