Shadowed Eden (28 page)

Avery looked to Benny again. “What's your plan?”

“Take her and get out. I can stay behind to distract these bug things.”

“You can't stay, Benny! You don't know what they'll do.”

But Benny shook his head. “It's better than all of us getting stuck here.”

Avery turned to Luca for help, but his lips pressed together in a thin line. “It's worth a try.”

Avery shook her head. She couldn't believe this was happening.

Benny squirmed out of the hold June's arm had on his neck, and he helped reposition her lifeless body over Avery's form. Avery slumped under June's weight, but after a moment, she adjusted to the extra load and tried taking a shaky step. She nodded. “I think I can make it.”

Benny gulped. “Then go. I'll try to get out as soon as I can.”

If ever she had wanted to hug Benny it was today. “You don't have to do this, you know.”

He shrugged. “Let me have my moment. No one else ever has before.”

Her heart squeezed and she swallowed back tears. “OK. Thank you, Benny.”

Taking a deep breath, she stepped toward the trees again. Luca moved slowly behind her, and the bugs swarmed. She did her best to ignore them. With Benny staying put, though, they didn't seem to protest her and Luca's movement as much.

They reached the edge of the tree line and Avery glanced back one last time.

The beetles crawled over Benny's body. Terror covered his face, but he stood perfectly still as a huge bug climbed on top of his head.

“Let's move,” Luca said.

Avery nodded and turned to go, but Rafa appeared in front of her. “What's this? You thought you could go without my noticing?” He threw back his head and laughed. “You're taking my winning ticket away from me, and I just can't have that.”

Rafa shoved Luca backwards. Under normal circumstances, the force of his shove would have sent Luca flying, but with Daddy in his arms, Luca toppled backwards and hit the ground hard. The air left his lungs in a grunt, and Avery screamed.

The dark angel didn't seem to notice her, though. He wanted Daddy. Daddy was the one who would tell the world about this place if given the chance. Daddy was the one who had unleashed the demon.

And Avery was the only one who could stop him.

Avery glanced at the way out. She had to save June first. She could slip through and save June's life, then slip back inside. But what if she got stuck outside the fire wall?

If only the right choice were as plain as the danger they were in.

Pressing her eyes closed, she whispered a prayer for help. Then she opened her eyes and stepped forward.

Stepping through the portal to the outer jungle felt like walking in a vacuum. The air sucked in behind her, and a terrible screech pierced the air. June's body shuddered.

Avery bent low and put June on the ground. “I'm sorry to leave you here, June.” She brushed the hair out of June's eyes. Hopefully, June would wake up and make her way back to camp, but who knew what would happen?

Avery stood and turned back to the wall of fire that had reappeared. It didn't burn her this time. No heat blew across her skin, because she knew now it was all in her mind.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped back inside.

35

Luca

Squirming out from under Mr. Miles's body, Luca scrambled to his feet and scooted away from the crazed, dark angel. Rafa stared into Luca's eyes, waiting for Luca's move.

Luca didn't plan on moving, though. What could he do against a supernatural being?

His gaze darted to Mr. Miles who still lay unconscious on the ground. He couldn't leave Mr. Miles here. He would be dead by the end of the day if not sooner, and Avery would never forgive Luca.

“Not sure what to do, eh?” Rafa said. “You could follow your girlfriend back into the jungle. Of course, then Rae here would have to hunt you down. He can't let word get out about this place, you know.”

“I will not let you have the human,” Rae bit out. He stood to their left, panting and watching Rafa like a lion on the hunt. “None of them, in fact.”

Rafa growled and rolled his eyes. “Stay out of this, will you? You can't beat me.”

Luca stood perfectly still as the two angels restarted their fight. If only he were closer to getting out, he might try making a run for it. Benny still stood near the edge of the garden. Tears ran down his face as the bugs crawled all around him, but he didn't budge.

Luca winced. “Go!” he mouthed.

Benny shook his head.

Luca tried to wave at him, shooing him out, but Benny stayed put.

Luca's gaze pulled away when Avery stumbled back into the garden.

Stupid, brave girl! What was she doing?

He gritted his teeth and shook his head.

“Let the others go,” Avery said.

Rafa and Rae didn't even offer her a glance.

“Get out of here,” Luca hissed. “Both of you. Go!”

Avery lifted her chin. “No way. We're in this together.”

He huffed and shook his head. So stubborn.

Mr. Miles groaned on the ground at Luca's feet. That got the angels' attention.

Rafa was at his side in a moment. “Is he finally waking up?”

“He won't help you,” Avery said. “There is still some good left inside him.”

Luca didn't argue, but he definitely disagreed. Mr. Miles would shout it from the rooftops if it would buy him the recognition. The sacredness of the place didn't matter to people like him. To people like Luca's own dad.

The urge to lash out built inside his soul. Dad hadn't cared about the sacredness of the church on the night he died. He hadn't cared about his family, either, or how his suicide would affect them.

Anger burst through him like hot lava. A loud shout erupted from his throat and he lunged at Rafa. The surprise was enough to knock Rafa backwards, but it only lasted a second. Rafa fought back, knocking Luca into a tree. The air left Luca's lungs, and he gasped for breath.

He wasn't done yet, though. Ever since Dad's death, Mr. Miles had looked at him differently. Looked at him like he was undeserving, like he would probably do the same thing as his old man one of these days. Mr. Miles had worked hard to put distance between Luca and Avery since then.

Luca growled and charged Rafa, but Rafa was too fast. He moved easily, letting Luca pass him by. Luca didn't wait to recharge. Sucking in a deep breath, he spun around and charged again. This time he hit Rafa straight on.

Rafa fell backwards and knocked his head against something hard. It wasn't a tree, though. Rae stood behind the dark angel. He wrapped his arms around Rafa's chest. Rafa struggled to break free, his face a mask of anger.

“Bah!” he yelled. “Get your hands off me!”

“I will not!” Rae shouted back.

Before Luca knew what was happening, Avery had rushed past him. She stood in front of Rafa and shouted. “I bind you from this moment forward, in the name of Jesus Christ! You will bring no further harm to my father or the rest of us. You will bring no further harm to this sacred garden. You are hereby banished for evermore!”

Rafa gave one last cry of anger as a bright light flashed, and then he was gone.

Avery slumped to the ground, shaking, while Rae gaped at her.

Luca stared at the space that had just held Rafa. The dark angel had disappeared, and now a spot of dead grass lay in his place.

Luca swallowed hard and glanced at Benny, who stared open-mouthed at Avery. The bugs had vanished along with Rafa.

Avery moaned from the ground, brining Luca back to reality. He rushed forward and wrapped her in his arms. “Are you OK? How did you do that?”

“I don't know,” she gasped, still struggling to breathe. “I remembered the book, and I prayed for guidance. The words came out without my meaning for them to.”

Mr. Miles groaned again.

Luca reluctantly let Avery go. “We need to go.” The anger from earlier had vanished. For the first time ever, he'd let himself feel it. Bask in it. He'd ignored his pain for so long, he'd forgotten what it felt like to be free of it. And now he'd let it go. A deep, cleansing breath cleared his head, and he bent to heft Mr. Miles back onto his shoulder. “Let's move.”

As he lifted Mr. Miles onto his shoulder, Mr. Miles moaned and his eyes fluttered open. At first, he glanced around in confusion, but then his eyes opened wide and he struggled to get out of Luca's grasp.

“What is this? We must bring back proof. We must document it all!”

The struggle was too much for Luca, and he stumbled backwards. He lost his grip and his feet began to slip, but then Avery came at him with an enormous stick.

The smack against Mr. Miles' head vibrated Luca's bones.

Avery dropped the stick with a thud as Mr. Miles went still once again. She breathed hard, tears streaming down her face. She had done it.

He knew she could, though it had cost her.

Benny waved at them and nodded toward the exit.

Avery's gaze moved to Rae. She swallowed and stepped toward him. “Rae? Are you OK?”

Rae didn't move from his bowed position on the ground. His face pressed to the earth, and a slow, quiet chant rose. Rae was praying.

Luca shifted uncomfortably under Mr. Miles's weight. “We need to get out of here.”

Avery finally looked at him. She nodded but still moved to Rae's side. She touched his shoulder. “Thank you. We'll go in peace, now. We will make sure no one tells.”

Rae kept still, and this time Avery moved ahead of them all and rushed to get out. They stepped through the invisible wall and the air around them changed.

June lay in the jungle, shaking uncontrollably.

“She's having another seizure,” Benny said.

“That's not good,” Luca said. “How do we get her back?”

“Once she stops we can carry her,” Benny said.

They waited a few moments until the shaking stopped, and then Benny and Avery bent to lift her into their arms. Once they were positioned comfortably, they started back for the camp.

Luca couldn't get the images from his mind. The Garden of Eden? No way. Angels? Unlikely.

This place was more than he'd ever imagined when they found themselves stranded all those days ago. And if he couldn't get the images out of his mind, he was pretty sure Avery and Benny couldn't either, but no one mentioned it.

They made their way back to camp in silence.

36

Avery

They arrived back at camp just as darkness fell across the desert. Avery's body shook with exhaustion as she and Benny lowered June to the floor of one of the shelters.

“What happened to her?” Erin asked.

The others swarmed around them.

Avery glanced at Luca before speaking. “We got lost. She must have overheated, and she passed out. Then she had a seizure.”

“Was it like before?” Erin asked. She immediately moved to check June's vital signs.

Avery had almost forgotten about the earlier seizure. “Yeah, I guess it was like that.”

Erin nodded as she continued to work.

“What about him?” Chad nodded to Daddy.

Luca lowered Daddy to the sandy ground. “He's the reason we went in to start with. We found him, but he'd been hurt. He hasn't woken up yet, but he's breathing.”

Erin moved immediately to her next patient. “Benny, can you bring the medical supplies from the back of the van?”

“Yeah. Sure.” Benny's shoulders slumped as he moved slowly toward the van. Poor guy was exhausted.

“Hey loser, think you could speed it up?” Bradley asked.

Luca spun around and scowled at Bradley. “He's got more guts than you'll ever have. Leave him alone.”

Bradley must have seen something in Luca's eyes, because he stepped back, frowning.

Avery almost smiled. Almost.

Benny returned with the box and Erin began digging through it. She came out with gauze to clean Daddy's bleeding lip and head.

Avery winced. She'd done that to him, busted his forehead. But it was the only way to get him out of the garden. They'd had to leave before Rae changed his mind.

Erin's voice snapped her out of her daydream. “We need water. Someone found your backpack when we went swimming in the creek. Somehow, it'd been knocked into the water. It's over by the fire now.”

Avery didn't question the explanation, just rushed to the bag of waters and returned with two bottles for Erin to use. She held the water to each of the patients' lips and poured a few drops. Daddy and June seemed to respond, but they remained unconscious.

“I think they're going to be OK,” Erin said. “We'll get them help first thing tomorrow.”

But Erin had no idea what they'd both been through. The things—the beings—who had tormented them. How could June ever recover after being tormented by a demon?

Erin worked furiously and Avery paused. Erin had recovered from whatever tormented her. If Erin could do it, maybe Daddy and June could, as well.

“Maybe we should leave now,” Luca said, pulling Avery from her thoughts.

Avery knew the darkness would prevent them from making much progress, but she couldn't blame Luca. She wanted to get out of there, too. Now. Before Rae changed his mind about letting them go so easily.

“First light,” Chad said. “A very wise guy put that idea in my head.”

Luca managed a small smile and nod, but Avery knew it cost him. “You got it, boss.”

“Let's get some rest. We'll be ready to ride as soon as the sun peeks out in the morning,” Chad said.

The group broke up and went to their sleeping quarters.

Avery moved toward the van, but Luca grabbed her arm.

“Are you OK?”

Was she? Her whole body hadn't stopped shaking since she cast Rafa from the garden. Her mind reeled at the thought. Where had she come up with such an idea? Finally, she shrugged and gave him a small smile. “Sure. What about you? You're the one who got into a fist fight with an angel. And for my dad, no less.”