Eve of Redemption (41 page)

The light radiating from the ghostly figure illuminated the dark space. A quick glance told her that none of the others had drawn their weapons yet. Sara pulled her dagger from her belt.

Finally the light dimmed, and a small figure stood before them holding up an old lantern. Sara thought he was the strangest man she’d ever seen. Not more than four feet tall, he had a long narrow face that was wrinkled with age. Tufts of white hair dotted his nearly bald head, and, though she thought it could be the light, Sara was pretty sure his skin was pale green. The man wore a tattered brown tunic that reached to his feet, the toes of well-worn boots peering out from beneath.

Sara held her dagger out in front of her, but the figure that stood before them didn’t look dangerous. Nor did he look like one of the Horde—though to call him human would have been a stretch. He stood no more than four feet in height, with a stocky body, large eyes, and long pointed ears. A tuft of white hair spouted from the top of his head. He was almost comical and almost familiar.

“At last you have come, but are you the one?” The small man’s voice sounded scratchy and ancient.

“You talk like you were expecting us,” Sara said.

“Expecting someone, but you? That we shall see.” The little man turned and moved toward the back of the room, his lantern illuminating a door in the wall that Sara hadn’t noticed. Without another word, he walked to the door—which swung open without any effort on his part—and passed through it.

“What do you make of that?” Ryan asked. Sara saw he’d pulled his dagger out as well.

“I don’t know what to think anymore. Master Eleazar? Does any of this mean anything to you?” She turned to the old weapons master and saw he still sat on the floor, Dana’s limp body cradled on his lap. Even in the dim light from above, she could see his face was pale. “Master! Are you all right?”

The old master forced a smile but shook his head. “I’m afraid my leg broke when yer young friend here fell on me. Too much weight for an oldster’s brittle bones, ya know.” He pulled himself to a more upright position and leaned against the wall. “There be tales of knowledge bearers locked in the nether regions, only seen when their certain knowledge is needed. This here may be such a one.” He moved his leg and groaned. “Ya should follow. Me and yer young friend will wait here. Keep yer wits about you, but don’t kill him unless ya have to.”

Sara looked at Ryan and Kyle, the last members of her shrinking group. “He didn’t feel threatening to me, but I’m not even sure what’s real anymore.”

Kyle laughed. “I don’t think
real
has any meaning where the dark god is concerned. Real or not, though, we’ll be just as dead if we screw this up.”

Again, Sara couldn’t argue with Kyle’s logic. She looked to Ryan.

Ryan shrugged. “I guess we go see what he has to tell us.”

Sara nodded and turned to the door through which the little man had vanished. “Just once I’d like a straight answer,” she said as she stepped through the door.

T
he room was small and sparsely furnished. A rough wood table with two long benches sat in the center, and a large oak chest rested against the far wall. The little man was seated on the chest when Sara and the others entered the room.

“You didn’t say who you are,” Sara said.

“And I might not,” the strange man replied. “Then again, I might.”

“Do you ever give a direct answer?” Kyle demanded. Sara had been about to ask that same question.

“Ah, I have an answer. But do you know the question?”

“Who are you?” Sara asked. “What are you doing out here in the woods?”

The little man’s eyes closed to slits as he smiled. “Two questions, but neither the right one. You may try again, or you may leave, and I shall await the one for which I wait.” He shrugged as if to say it mattered little to him.

Ryan pushed his way in front of Sara. “My sister is dying in there,” he said, pointing at the room from which they had come. “She needs help. Can you help her?”

The little man cocked his head quizzically, as though listening to something only he could hear. Then, his face grew sad. “Your sister I cannot help. However, there is one who can, if you are in time.”

“In time for what?” Ryan asked.

“Ah, that is another question, isn’t it?” The strange man slipped off the chest and opened the lid.

Ryan’s face reddened, and Sara grabbed his arm and pulled him alongside her.

“You speak like you are waiting for a particular question, but we don’t know what to ask,” she said.

The man turned and faced them, his eyes boring straight into Sara’s. Though the top of his head only came to her chin, the power and wisdom in his large eyes told her he was more than what he appeared. “If you are the one, you know the question. Forget who I am. Forget why I am here. Forget about me altogether. What is your question?”

“Is Eve real?” Kyle asked.

Sara glanced at him but knew it was the wrong question.

The little man did not even look at Kyle. “That is your question.” His eyes remained riveted on Sara. “What is yours?”

“Why does this keep coming back to you, Sara?” Kyle nearly yelled. “What’s so special about you? I’m a part of this too, you know.”

Sara kept her eyes glued to the strange man.

“Easy, Kyle. We’re all in this together,” Ryan said. He placed his hand on Kyle’s shoulder, but Kyle shook it off.

“Don’t touch me.” Kyle kicked the dirt floor and turned away from the rest of the group.

Sara forced her mind off the distractions and willed herself to concentrate on the task at hand. She didn’t think the old man was playing games with her. Kyle’s question had been close—she’d felt it when he asked. Close, but not quite right.

“Where is Eve?” Sara finally asked.

The little man smiled again and turned back to the chest. “Where is Eve?” he muttered. “That is the question, isn’t it? Come, come.” He motioned for Sara to move closer.

She glanced at Ryan and, together, they approached the little man, who was bent over inside the chest. Rising, he turned and held up a necklace from which a crystal-like red jewel hung.

“Belonged to Eve, this did.” The man gazed at the necklace almost lovingly. “She must have it back.”

“Are you saying we have to take it to her?” Sara asked.

“Eve is with the Dark Lord, keeping him imprisoned with her own sacrifice.”

“She gave herself for humanity,” Ryan said, remembering the story in the scroll.

“She gave her soul. Her soul must be released.”

Sara shook her head, confused. “Released? I don’t understand. Released from where?”

“From Gehenna, of course.” The little man raised his eyebrows as though challenging Sara to question his words.

“But…I thought Gehenna was destroyed in the final battle between Eve and the Dark Lord?”

“Ah, destroyed it is, yet it exists. The battle rages still. All around us, on it goes. Take the jewel, young Sara. For you it has been waiting.”

Sara hesitated. “Me? Why me?”

The little man shook his head. “Wrong question, that is. Take it to Eve. She needs it.”

“How can we take it to her if we don’t know where she is?” Sara asked. “Gehenna is just a legend.”

“The mist,” Kyle said from behind them. “It’s in the mist, isn’t it?”

The strange man scrunched his face into a smile. “Wrong question, that is. Wrong question but right answer.”

Kyle shook his head. “This just keeps getting better and better, doesn’t it? No one goes into the mist and lives. No one. Ever. So, of course, that’s where we have to go.”

Sara was growing tired of Kyle’s attitude. “You don’t have to go, if you’re so against it. Feel free to stay behind and keep the Horde company. I’m sure they’ll appreciate your charming demeanor.” Her words came out harsher than she’d intended, but she was tired and sore and in no mood for her surly companion’s whining.

Kyle glared at her but held his tongue.

Sara sighed. “Besides, the legend doesn’t say that everyone who has gone into the mist died, just that they never came out. Who knows what we might find in there?”

Kyle snorted. “Yeah, well, whatever we find, I doubt it’s going to be good. Gehenna was the home of the Dark Lord, you know. We can’t just go knocking on his door asking for Eve, now can we?”

Actually, that had pretty much been Sara’s plan. She reached out, and the little man placed the necklace in her hand. She slipped it over her head and tucked the jewel beneath her shirt.

“What’s happening in there?” The sudden sound of Master Eleazar’s voice from the other room startled them all. Sara had nearly forgotten the old master and Dana, both injured and helpless.

Sara turned to the open door between the rooms. “We’re okay, Master.”

When she turned back, the strange little man was gone. Sara spun in a complete circle, but he was nowhere to be seen. “Where did he go?” she asked no one in particular.

The man had vanished.

MASTER ELEAZAR LOOKED up as the strange little man crossed the room toward him.

“She asked the right question,” the man said before breaking out in laughter.

As he laughed, the air around him shimmered and brightened. Eleazar remained seated on the dirt floor, the limp form of the injured girl still draped across his lap. The little man grew in height and bulk until Lagos stood before him.

“Stupid humans will believe anything,” Lagos said, shimmering in the dim light of the cellar. “Is that one dead yet?” he asked, gesturing toward the girl.

“No, not yet,” Eleazar said.

The girl’s friends had left moments before, after checking on her status. Eleazar had made it clear there was little chance of her survival, but that he would remain with her and do his best to keep her comfortable. The girl’s brother had been nearly inconsolable and had, at first, refused to leave his sister. But in the end, Eleazar had convinced the young man that the quest for Eve was much more important than one life he could do nothing about.

“This is working out exactly as planned,” Lagos said. “I must say, I questioned whether Agibus knew what he was doing, but so far everything has gone precisely as he said it would.”

Eleazar looked up at the demon lord. “John Burke?”

“In the shallow place between Earth and the veil, escorted by Cyrus. Soon he and his daughter shall meet, and then the real fun begins.” His face took on a quizzical look. “You did well, Eleazar. You shall be rewarded in the new world. That I guarantee.”

Eleazar did his best to look thankful. “I am but your humble servant.”

“True, and don’t ever forget it.” Lagos gave Eleazar’s outstretched foot a kick. “Get back to wherever it is you spend your time. You are no longer needed.” The demon turned to leave, and then paused. “Oh, and Eleazar, kill that trash before you go. How you can let it touch you like that is beyond me.” Lagos flashed and disappeared.

Eleazar remained where he was for quite a long time afterward, one hand unconsciously stroking the girl’s soft hair. Lagos was right—everything was going exactly as planned. So why did Eleazar not feel excitement? If all went as it should, he would be back in the real world very soon. Yes, the real world, the world he had been ripped from when death came calling for him. But what kind of world would it be? Certainly not anything like what he had left.