Redemption (Stand-Alone, Spin-Off to Reaper Series), page 4
“Fantastic,” Javan said, his excitement seemingly about to burst out of him. “Okay, I have to go now, I’ve got a book signing. But I can’t wait to see you again. Do you need the address or something?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Eve said, grinning slyly. “I know how to find you now.”
Javan grinned back at her. “I can’t wait. I’ll see you tomorrow, Eve!”
“Yeah,” Eve replied. “See you then.”
Javan backed away, as though afraid to take his eyes away from Eve, in case he never saw her again, but then he finally turned and hurried away through the crowd.
Eve watched him go, glad that he was alive. She was confused about how he was alive, but thankful to finally have her friend back. Someone who didn’t see her as an Angel, or the Devil, or anything other than just his friend. Pleased with how her little outing had turned out, Eve turned to leave, but bumped into someone as she began to walk.
“Oh, sorry!” Eve laughed, looking up into the face of the man she had ran into. When she saw his face however, her smile faltered.
Gabriel, her older brother with his wind-swept black hair and stern expression, was staring down at her with narrowed eyes. He seemed to have dressed down from his usual armored attire, now wearing a pair of dark jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
“We have to talk,” he growled. “Right now.”
4
WHEN MAN MET EVE
A
lmost two million years ago, Eve stood amidst the thick foliage of the wetlands, smiling as she let the heavy rain pour down upon her, feeling the cold water run off the leaves overhead and down onto her wings and hair. She felt the soft grass between her toes and spread her wings wide to catch the rain as it fell, enjoying the tickling sensation of the rain drops dripping over her feathers. She listened to the sounds of the creatures that lived in the jungle, heard their calls and wondered if they were speaking to each other. She didn’t notice the creature that was slowly sneaking up on her through the trees, using the thick plantlike to hide his approach.
The hominin slowly stalked the winged creature that stood so still in the rain. He could not see its face, nor did he know what it was, but these things didn’t matter to him. He gave no thought of the creature other than the food it would provide. The warmth its feathers might give. He had no thoughts aside from the two basic needs he currently had. Food and warmth. He grasped his spear tightly in his hands, now within feet of the winged creature. He stared at the brightly colored feathers from the tall grass, ignoring the rain falling into his long, tangled, hair. He was still and completely silent, unblinking as the creature simply stood there, seemingly unaware that he was so close.
Finally, uttering a loud cry and launching out of the grass, he lunged at the creature, pulling back his spear as he prepared to thrust it straight through the creature’s back.
Eve turned just as the hominin leaped from the grass. She turned and looked directly into his dark eyes. The moment he saw her bright green eyes, he stopped. He froze and his roar died in his throat. The spear in his hands seemed to falter, as though he was about to lower it, but was unsure if he should. He simply stood there, facing Eve, the rain still pouring down upon them both. Eve was unafraid as she regarded the six-foot man before her. She studied his long hair with interest, then glanced over the ragged clothing he had made out of the skin of another animal for warmth. The man finally lowered his spear, narrowing his eyes at Eve as he grunted in apparent confusion. He was looking from her face to her wings, then looking over her finely made white dress.
“Javan?” Eve asked in the Angelic language. The closest English translation would be, “Mortal Man?”
Naturally, Javan did not understand. He grunted at her again, then seemed to sniff the air in her direction. He grasped his spear closer, but did not hold it threateningly, choosing instead to take a defensive stance. Eve giggled at him, finding his movements amusing. Eve pointed at his clothes, indicating the areas that did not cover his chest, arms, and legs very well.
“Karnao vu nru’sai?” Eve asked. “Aren’t you cold?”
Javan stared intently at Eve’s smile, as though its presence confused him further still. However, as he stared, he seemed to decide he liked the smile, because the corners of his own mouth began to twitch. Slowly, as Eve watched with curiosity, Javan mimicked her smile, though it was lopsided and far too toothy. This just made Eve laugh louder, which also seemed to please Javan. He grunted rapidly, which must have been some kind of laughter, still smiling as he turned in a circle and stamped the end of his spear on the ground, moving in a extremely ape-like way.
Suddenly, Javan’s expression became sour as he turned his ear toward the jungle, falling silent as he listened. He heard footsteps approaching. He knew right away it was the rest of his hunting party, catching up with him.
“Fryn l’au?” Eve asked. “What is it?”
Javan turned back to her, suddenly looking worried. He looked back over his shoulder at the sound of the hunting party steadily coming closer. Turning back to Eve, he took in her great red and white wings, her white dress, her bright red hair, her brilliant green eyes. Then he roared at her again.
Eve, surprised, took a step back. Javan roared at her again, grabbing his spear in both hands and raising it above his head, shaking it up and down, as though he was trying to make himself look bigger. He roared at Eve with apparent ferocity, his wild hair shaking about and sending water flying. He glanced over his shoulder again, then looked back at Eve and roared with more urgency.
Finally, Eve understood. Javan was trying to keep her away from the other hunters. He was attempting to scare her off so that the hunters would not kill her. Smiling as she understood what Javan was doing, Eve turned away and opened a swirling, violet, vortex of light. The sight of it immediately stunned Javan into silence and he stared at it in awe. Eve was about to walk through the vortex when she stopped. She half-turned back to look at Javan, still smiling at him.
“Naru’tai dev, Javan,” she said. “I will see you again, Mortal Man.”
And then Eve vanished into the vortex, the light closing behind her and leaving Javan standing alone and bewildered in the rain, staring at where he had seen the shiny girl with bright hair and eyes. And wings like a giant bird.
*****
“What are you doing?” Gabriel demanded angrily.
They were walking down the Strip, still in Vegas. Eve was walking quickly, like she wanted to get away from her brother, but his height advantage over her allowed him to easily keep up.
“I’m walking,” Eve replied shortly, without looking at Gabriel. “Hopefully away from you.”
“Just stop and talk to me!” Gabriel snapped.
“Why?” Eve demanded, still not stopping. “So you can lecture me? Again? You didn’t like me being friends with Javan before, and you don’t like it now.”
“He is not your friend, Eve,” Gabriel said, grabbing Eve’s arm and forcing her stop and look at him. His tone may have been angry, but his eyes were full of concern. “Don’t you remember what he did?”
Eve sighed in annoyance. “Of course I remember, do you really think I don’t? But that was more my fault than his.”
“That is highly debatable,” Gabriel countered flatly.
“Whatever,” Eve snapped, turning away again, her hair flipping as she spun and stormed away. As Gabriel pursued her, she added, “But that was more than a million years ago. He’s changed. He’s not the same Javan we knew before.”
“How can you be sure?” Gabriel demanded.
“How can you be sure he hasn’t changed?” Eve asked angrily, turning to face her brother again. “Did you see him in there? He is so not the same guy.”
“Just because he can make a fancy presentation doesn’t mean he has changed,” Gabriel argued.
Eve made a frustrated growling sound and stormed off again. Gabriel sighed in equal frustration and hurried to keep up with her.
“Look, Eve,” Gabriel began. “Do you think Father will be pleased about this? Assuming he doesn’t already know, which I doubt.”
“If he’s angry, he can talk to me himself,” Eve snapped.
“Don’t you remember how that went the last time you befriended this creature?”
Eve stopped walking suddenly, remembering the conversation with her father. Elohim had not been angry. He just looked so… disappointed. He had looked at Eve as though she was a stranger to him. The look in his eyes had been enough to bring Eve to tears. Elohim hadn’t had to say a single word before Eve was begging for him to forgive her. He eventually did, but not without ensuring Eve would learn her lesson. That was when she was banished to the Garden for a thousand years, to learn what her poor judgement had caused, and to set things right. It was only because Eve learned her lesson so well that she decided to stay in the Garden.
However, despite her concerns over disappointing her father again, she was determined to not let Gabriel bully her out of reconciling with the first true friend she had ever known. She stopped walking and turned to face him again, this time with a little more patience.
“Gabriel,” she began calmly. “I appreciate your concern. But you don’t have to worry. I know better now. I know not to interfere.”
“And what do you call this if not interfering?” Gabriel asked firmly.
Eve thought for a moment, and then a big grin broke out on her face.
“A technicality,” she said, quoting what Javan had said earlier. Before Gabriel could argue again, she continued. “Look, it’s not like I’m going to give him the secrets of the universe or anything. He already knew Angels existed before we all swore to not interfere, and he became immortal by himself. Where exactly have I interfered? It’s not my fault he figured out how to live forever.”
Gabriel sighed. “I don’t trust him, Eve.”
“Yeah, I know, that’s why you killed him,” Eve snapped. However, when she saw the hurt expression on Gabriel’s face, she immediately felt bad for what she had said. “I’m sorry. I know it was an accident. I forgave you a long time ago, really, I did. It wasn’t your fault. I’m sorry.”
Gabriel nodded. “It’s okay. It was my fault. I may not have meant to, but I did it. It’s just… He was dangerous, Eve.”
“Was,” Eve repeated, placing a lot of emphasis on the word Gabriel had used. “You’re right, he was dangerous. He isn’t anymore. And I’m going to see him again tomorrow.”
Again, Gabriel sighed, this time also throwing up his hands in defeat.
“Fine!” he cried. “Fine. It’s not like I could stop you, anyway. I’m not even sure Father could stop you, and he created the universe you love to cause so much damn trouble in.”
Eve grinned mischievously. “If only you knew.”
“I think I’m better off left in the dark on that,” Gabriel said, rolling his eyes. Then he fixed Eve with a serious gaze, his face etched with worry once more. “But please, do me a favor, okay? Be careful.”
“It’ll be fine,” Eve assured Gabriel. “Don’t worry. Javan’s harmless.”
“I remember you saying that once before,” Gabriel replied grimly. “And look how that turned out.”
5
INSIDE THE IVORY TOWER
E
ve thought a lot about Javan for the next twenty-four hours. She drifted through her duties in the Garden without much thought or care for them. She wasn’t about to admit it out loud, but she was excited about seeing Javan again. When the following day finally rolled around, Eve was almost bursting with anticipation.
Eve arrived in Toronto, appearing discreetly through a vortex in the alleyway beside the building she sensed Javan’s presence in. Once again keeping her wings hidden from view, she walked out onto the street and looked around. A couple of passers-by gave her curious looks as they noticed her bare feet, possibly wondering why this young girl was so underdressed for the chilly Canadian climate, but carried on without slowing down. Eve paid them no attention at all, as she was staring up at the tall building Javan called home.
It was at least twenty-stories tall, dwarfing the smaller office buildings around it. The glass windows were so clean they reflected the Toronto skyline back at itself like a mirror. Looking at the entrance, Eve saw a pair of gold-framed doors and a well-dressed doorman, standing to the side and smiling merrily, humming a tune to himself, his breath puffing out in small clouds every time he exhaled.
Eve approached the door, somewhat hesitantly. She knew she could have just appeared inside Javan’s home, but thought it would be more polite to actually knock first. As the doorman noticed Eve walking towards him, he smiled invitingly at her and pulled open the door.
“Afternoon, Miss Eve,” he greeted with a strong Canadian accent. “Best hurry inside where it’s warm. You’ll lose your toes before long.”
Surprised that the doorman knew her name, Eve hesitated before going inside. “How do you-?”
“Mr Javan gave me the heads up,” the doorman grinned, his blue eyes glinting with good nature. “Said to look out for a girl with bright red hair and no shoes. Can’t say I understand the no shoes thing, but I do like your hair.”
Eve smiled. “Thank you.”
Walking inside, Eve noticed that the lobby of this building was even more remarkable than the outside. The wooden floors were highly polished, there were crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, even the reception desk in front of her looked more expensive than Donald Trump’s. The woman standing behind the desk was dressed more like the First Lady than a receptionist. Her suit looked more expensive than most cars. The woman was talking on the phone behind the desk when she looked up and saw Eve walk in. Unsure of where to go, Eve approached the desk, receiving a bright smile from the receptionist, who continued to talk on the phone, but held up a finger to Eve to indicate she would only be a moment. Looking at the name-tag pinned to her jacket, Eve saw the woman’s name was Lilith.
“He’s already on the way down?” Lilith asked on the phone. “Very good… Yes, she just arrived… Okay. Thank you, sir.”
Lilith hung up the phone and gave Eve another bright white smile.
“Hi!” she said cheerfully. “You must be Eve.”
“That’s right,” Eve replied, wondering just what Javan had been telling people about her.
“I was just speaking to Mr Javan,” Lilith explained. “We weren’t sure what time to expect you, and he’s unfortunately tied up in a meeting right now. But he’s sent his assistant down to take you upstairs to his suite.”
“Suite?” Eve repeated, sounding surprised. “Assistant? Sounds like Javan’s kind of a big deal. I thought he was a motivational speaker or something.”
Lilith nodded. “Yes, but he’s more than that, too. He’s a philanthropist, a scientist, an author, a businessman…”
“An overachiever?” Eve suggested cheekily.
Lilith smirked. “A little. But he’s doing a lot of good for the world. And there are so many people who owe him so much.”
At that moment, there was a ding coming from the elevators to the left of the lobby. Eve turned to look and saw a familiar-looking young man of about twenty-one years with messy brown hair walking out of the elevator and heading towards her.
“Hey, you’re the apple guy!” Eve realized, remembering him as being the same young man who had handed Javan an apple during his seminar.
The young man smiled as he held out his hand to shake Eve’s. “That’s how most people know me, but you can call me Isaiah.”
Eve shook his hand, noticing that he wore a thick steel ring on his middle finger, which had intricate, jagged, carvings cut out of it. Eve also mentally took note of Isaiah’s charming smile, bright blue eyes, and strong jaw. With a quick glance, Eve also noted his broad shoulders, but then quickly dismissed the thoughts and looked him back in the eyes, smiling politely.
“I’d go by apple guy, personally,” Eve joked. “It’s a bit more memorable.”
“I tried that once,” Isaiah replied. “But there was a legal issue with a fruit market and their mascot.”
As Eve grinned, Isaiah turned to Lilith.
“Thanks, Lil,” he said. “I’ll take Eve up from here.”
Isaiah gestured for Eve to follow him and he led her back towards the elevator. Once they were both inside, Isaiah pushed the button for the top floor and the doors closed smoothly behind them.
“So,” Eve began as the elevator began to rise. “Is this, like, Javan’s business or something?”
“Kind of,” Isaiah said. “But he also lives here. The suite is his own private area. But the rest of the building is devoted to his work.”
“And what is that, exactly?” Eve asked.
“Well, there’s his philanthropic work, of course. The first ten floors are like a hotel, for the homeless. Mr Javan takes them in off the streets and gives them somewhere safe to sleep, gives them food, clothes, even finds jobs for them. He funds homeless shelters all over the world, giving people on hard times the best chance they could ever hope for.”
“Really?” Eve asked, impressed. “What about the rest of the building?”
“Labs, mostly,” Isaiah said. “Mr Javan employs a range of the best scientists and doctors in the world, financing research in finding cures for cancer and other diseases people say are incurable. There’s also research in renewable energy, stem cells, there’s an entire floor devoted just to noetic science. Hopefully Mr Javan shows them to you, they’re totally awesome.”
“You sound like you really like working for Javan,” Eve noted. “How long have you worked for him?”
“About three years,” Isaiah said. “He gave me a chance when no one else would. Got me off the street, and I don’t plan on ever going back.”
“You were homeless?” Eve asked, surprised.
Isaiah nodded, but didn’t explain any further, as the elevator finally reached the top floor and the doors slid open. Isaiah led the way out and down a small hallway, while Eve followed. She suddenly found herself standing in the living room for what looked like an extravagant apartment. The rooms were full of modern furniture and countless artifacts of numerous sizes and shapes, all seemingly from widely varying eras of human history. Eve noticed there were artifacts and artwork from all over the world. There were vases from various Chinese dynasties placed on shelves. There were original paintings from the Renaissance and earlier. There were fossils of dinosaur bones and petrified eggs, a glass case hanging on the wall displayed a vast collection of coins from every society since the 6th century. On the wall at the edge of the room, beside a staircase leading to the second floor of the suite, there was a wide array of weaponry from numerous historic cultures.
