Read Where All Souls Meet Online
Authors: S. E. Campbell
Where All Souls Meet (4 page)
"Eden! Eden, no," Yuri said. "Let her go, demon!"
She heard the sound of yelling, something cold went through her, and then she heard loud screeching. The arms, which had been pulling her backward, disappeared. Yuri wrenched her forward again, and she sprawled on her stomach, stunned. When she rolled onto her back and gazed at the sky, she felt relief
. I can see again. I can see.
Yet the question of what had occurred burned like a bonfire in her mind.
As Yuri helped her to her feet, she saw a man with golden skin and black hair chasing back the shadow demon with holy water. The demon screeched and fell back into the darkest alleyway and cowered beyond her sight. She could not even make out his luminescent irises anymore.
"I hate those demons," she said. "This is the second time I got trapped by one."
"So did I," Yuri said.
"Well, when were you ever well-known for smart ideas?" a familiar voice said from behind her. "Looks like nothing has changed. You still need me to help you every step of the way."
Eden's mouth dropped open and she thought,
Thema. This is Thema.
A massive grin crossed Adanna's face and she turned around. Eden turned too. Adanna sprang into Thema's arms, but since the girl was so small and thin compared to her tall sister, the two of them fell to the ground entangled. It was hard to even see her old friend beneath the sea of Adanna's curly black hair. If Eden had not just been attacked by a shadow demon, maybe she would have smiled. Instead she could not manage it, though she did feel relief and was glad her friend was okay. A curtain of darkness was over her heart.
"I take it you two know each other," Yuri said, gazing down at the two sisters. His tense jaw gave away his stress level.
"Oh, yeah," Eden said. "She's the girl I was searching for. I'm so glad she's safe. If only she was one of my souls."
As Eden watched Thema and Adanna hug each other, she felt the darkness within her leave. There was so much love between the two of them. So much. Warmth filled her heart, but she could not help but look down the alleyway and into the darkness.
The dark-haired man re-appeared from the alleyway and ran toward them. His eyes met Eden's at once. He skidded to a stop next to their group and then glanced down at Thema and Adanna.
"Looks like she finally found her sister," the man said.
After leaping to her feet, Thema grabbed her sister's hand and pulled her up. Thema walked over to Eden and gave her a hug. Eden sighed with relief that her friend was all right and hugged her back.
"I'm so glad we found you, Thema," Eden said. "You have no idea how worried I was about you."
"You were worried?" Thema rolled her eyes. "I was the one who was worried. Adanna has never been without me, and youâ" Thema poked her finger against Eden's chest. "You could somehow find trouble in the middle of a peace rally. I didn't know how long I was going to have to wait or whether you would come back at all."
"I'm sorry I worried you." Eden squeezed her arm. "If it makes you feel any better, I missed you."
"Just don't leave me again." Thema gave Eden one last squeeze.
After she stepped away from Eden, she hugged Aaron and sent a questioning look at Jared and Yuri, who she had never met.
"Okay, who is the guy who saved us?" Aaron asked. "Thanks for that, by the way. Eden was a goner."
The man sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "My name is Edward. It's nice to meet you. Though I don't think Gabriel is the best place for introductions. Thema, let's take your friends back to our camp, shall we?"
Thema nodded. "Yeah, I don't want to be in Gabriel a minute longer than necessary these days. As you can see, it's
dangerous
here."
****
Eden, her friends, and Edward sat in the woods with Raider lamps set all around them. The dead, barren trees did little to conceal their presence, and she kept looking over her shoulder, expecting to see the red eyes of a dark shadow or some other worse demon she had yet to be introduced to. She wondered whether the demons could track her presence. If they could, then she wasn't the only one in big trouble â her friends were too.
"Eden, aren't you happy to see me at all?" Thema asked, bringing her back from her thoughts. "Aaron told me all about your little adventure, but you've hardly said a word all this time."
As Eden and Yuri sat on a log, he placed his hand on top of hers, gazing at her with concern in his green eyes. It appeared Thema, even after their prolonged absence, had also noticed the change in her personality. She appeared concerned too.
"I'm just worried," Eden said. "We aren't well concealed out here, are we?"
Edward regarded her with a cocked head. "We move all the time. We've done our best to keep the Raider lamps hidden by the trees."
How did he meet Thema?
She was grateful he had saved her, but no one had told her why he was with the girl.
"I see," Eden said. "Thema never told me why the two of you are together."
"I don't know myself," Thema said, gazing at him. It wasn't the look of a girl in love, just blatant curiosity. "I felt drawn to him, I guess. There used to be a group of us, but the demons got to them. He didn't have a goal besides self-protection, and I just had to keep myself safe until you guys came back. We kind of just ended up together."
Nodding, Edward turned and stared at her. "At first, I didn't believe Thema when she said she was friends with
you
."
Eden glanced from side to side, expecting him to be talking to somebody else. The way he addressed her, it was as if he spoke of some pop star or famous actress. When she met his eyes again, she saw he still gazed at her with the same intense expression.
"I don't understand," Eden said. "What do I have to do with it?"
"You're, well,
you
," Edward said. "Everyone has heard about what you did. About how you faced down Satan and managed to get away. People speak everywhere about a blonde-haired girl with strange eyes who is going to save the world"
No. No, no, no.
She stood abruptly, upset. The more people who knew who she was, the easier it would be for the demons to find her.
"This isn't good," she said.
"Why?" Thema raised an eyebrow.
"It's justâ¦" She stared down at Thema's confused face and let out a shaky sigh.
Okay, calm down.
"I think I need a moment alone. It's not a problem. It's just⦠me."
Yuri stood up and gazed at her with wide eyes. "Do you want me to go with you?"
"I just need a minute, Yuri," she said. "Sorry."
"But you shouldn't be alone," Yuri said stubbornly.
"I won't be far."
Either way, she was the only one who Agares was hunting. She turned with a lantern in hand and had walked a couple of feet away when she became aware she had a tag-along. She turned and looked straight into Yuri's eyes.
"Oh Yuri, why?" she asked.
"Just minutes ago, you were attacked by a wild demon," Yuri said. "You shouldn't ask me why."
"I just need to breathe, orâ¦" She sighed. "Okay, not breathe."
"I'm not here," Yuri said, standing against the tree with a serious expression on his face.
As she stood there, staring through the darkness, she began to feel something she had never felt as a soul before â exhausted. She was done plunging headfirst into adventures and fighting demons and Satan Spawn. She was done being hunted by everything evil. A knot of anger sat in her stomach as she gazed through the trees.
It took her a moment to figure out who she was angry at. She was angry at God. God had sent her here like this, hadn't He? God had wanted her to do this task for Him. Why did it have to be her? Why couldn't He have chosen someone â
anyone
â else. Maybe she could have been normal if she hadn't died. Maybe she could have gone to college or maybe she would have traveled the world and discovered some artsy hidden niche. But now she was stuck here.
Before this, there had been times when she had felt cheated, but not to this point. She stared up into the sky and all she wanted to do was scream. Just once, she wanted to be normal. She didn't want to be the quiet outcast with odd parents like she had been when she was alive. She didn't want to be the person chosen for these difficult tasks after she had passed on.
"Argh!" She kicked a rock and sent it flying into a nearby tree. "I hate this. I hate this place, I hate the demons, and I hate being here. Why did it have to be me, huh? Why? Why am I being chased by every demon in existence, and Iâ" She shuddered, "âhave to worry about being here."
She balled her fist and punched a tree; it sent shooting pains up her knuckles and arm.
Yuri cocked his head and frowned at her. "Feeling better?"
"A little," she admitted.
"I figured you needed to blow off some steam," Yuri said. "You can only be perfect for so long."
With a frown, he approached her and hugged her, and she wrapped her arms around his back. She let out a sigh.
"Let's run away together," Eden said, though she knew it was unrealistic.
"Okay," Yuri said, sounding unsurprised.
"I've always wanted to go to Hawaii," she said. "Once, my mom went and she brought me this necklace made from seashells. I wore it every single day until another kid tore it off my neck at school. I cried and cried, but we could never find another one like it. One day, my dad came home from work, though, and he had a box full of seashells. He said one of his co-workers went to the beach every year and had collected them. I made my own necklace. It seems like so long ago."
"You miss your parents, don't you?" Yuri said.
"Yes," Eden said. "I miss my mom and dad so much it hurts me. That's why, when the demon said I killed her, Iâ¦"
"You didn't kill her," Yuri said. "There is a reason why she died. There is a reason why
you
died. There is also a reason why you are here. And when we're finished in Purgatory, we'll go everywhere together. We'll go anywhere you wanted to go. God will owe it to you."
There was silence. She pressed her head against Yuri's chest and gripped his clothes.
I should stop relying on him like this. It's going to become a weakness
. But then she realized love would never be weakness, only strength.
Eden stepped into the camp with Yuri trailing behind her. She felt much better after her rant.
I better apologize to Thema and Edward. I hardly know him, and he probably questions my sanity for disappearing after finally reuniting.
She saw their belongings were packed. Adanna, Aaron, and Thema sat on a log while Edward stared into the distant trees. When Edward saw Eden, his eyes widened in concern.
"Are you okay?" Edward asked.
"Yes," she said. "I'm sorry. Iâ"
"Don't bother explaining, Eden," Thema said, jumping to her feet with Adanna at her side. "Us and pretty much every other soul, demon, and Satan Spawn heard your little nervous breakdown. Please tell me you aren't cracking up on us."
Eden smiled wryly. "It's just a little crack."
"Yeah, well, make sure it doesn't become a big one," Thema warned. "Don't want to have to tie you up with your own jacket."
Frowning, Yuri searched around. "Hey, where's Jared?" he asked.
"I was about to ask you the same thing," Aaron said, standing. "Your little friend left around the time Eden started yelling. We haven't seen him since."
"Well, we have to move," Edward said. "We can't stay in the same place for long or something will come after us. It's one of the keys to survival."
"But we can't just leave someone behind â alone," Eden said. "Jared will be eaten alive."
Everyone was silent for a moment. Yuri crossed his arms in front of his toned chest.
"I don't understand," he said. "Normally, Jared is so responsible. It isn't like him to run off like this."
"We'll just wait a little longer," Eden said. "All right?"
Aaron and Thema groaned, but Adanna and Edward nodded. With a sigh, Eden sat down on a log and frowned. A moment later, somebody sat next to her. She turned, expecting to see Yuri or Aaron, but instead she saw Edward. The man grinned at her and his large eyes shone.
"Thema told me you've been looking for your mom," Edward said.
"Yeah, I have been since I first arrived here," she said. "I said some things I shouldn't have to her. I need to apologize."
"Thema mentioned that too." Edward studied his feet. "I was going to tell you before you disappeared, but there was a woman wandering around Gabriel a week ago. It is a common rumor that you planned to return to the city. The woman said she was your mother and asked Thema and I about you. She was traveling with another man named Henry or something. Said her and her companion met on earth then came back here when she died. Does the name ring a bell?"
Henry? Do I know a Henry?
She shook her head. Only a small part of her was hopeful. If there were rumors, then people asking about her must have been common. Plus, she definitely didn't know any Henry. Yet her mom had made a bad habit of being "friendly" with men whose last names she didn't even know. For all she knew, it could have been her.
"Well, she had curly red hair and was tall." Edward cocked his head, his eyes wide and thoughtful. "She said her name was Rudy. No, I've got it wrong⦠Thema, what was the name of the tall, red-haired woman who asked about Eden?"
Thema glanced over curiously. "Her name was
Rebecca
, not Rudy. Why did you even bring it up? The woman was obviously just one of those weird stalker people. She doesn't even look like Eden."
It's her.
Eden's mouth dropped open.
Mom. My mom is here. She is nearby.
She stood up and went rigid. What would she say to her mom if she saw her? What would she do? She knew she had to find her mom first, but thinking about what to say felt pressing. She had to find the two missing souls, yet she wanted to locate her mom more than anything else in the world.