Beyond (4 page)

After I got ready, I opened the double doors and saw Au stin standing there. His spread—
out wings caught the sun ’
s rays as they radiated around him and through the layers of his wings.
The vision was like an early—
morning sunrise giving birth to a new day, pouring their vibrant hues across the land. I had seen them many times before , and I d id n ’
t know if it was the glow, but I was taken aback by the beauty of this venator . For a moment d éjà v u crept ove r me.
I had seen something like this before, but I couldn ’
t recall what it was.

Admiring
his wings , I wondered how they felt on his back. Obviously, I didn ’
t get the wondrous gene from my father , who was one of God ’
s first angels —or was it Gamma ’
s doing that I didn’t have wings ?
I couldn ’
t remember .
Austin turned to look at me with his beaming smile.
“
What took you so long?
”
he muttered , snapping me out of my daze . He too had changed.

“
Making you wait. So, you going to fly me there or do we walk?
”

“
Let ’
s see how fast you can move .”

“
Huh?
”
I didn ’
t have wings so I knew he didn ’
t mean flying. Maybe he meant running .

“
I ’
ll lead and you follow. I want to see what you can do. Catch me if you can.
”
His voice lingered for a second.

Before I could register what he
had just said, he took off running , s o I ran after him. To my surprise, I was fast. Not just fast, really fast, almost as fast as him. Like a light ning bolt, I followed him down the cliff to the sandy beach.
“
Whoo hoo!
”
I shouted, enliven ed by this excitement. I gu ess ed I ’d always moved like this.
I d id n ’
t remember, but what a RUSH.
The refreshing light wind brushed me , and I s p e d like the weightless breeze.
As I chased Austin, I got so caught up with this newfound skill that I lost sight of him and smacked into his body full force.
We tumbled to the sand.

I placed
my hands out to support myself , but couldn’t help landing on top of him , m y face next to his.
“
Sorry, I got too excited and …
.
”
I paused , staring at his devious grin . M
ost likely he was thinking of a flirtatious line.

“
I always knew you like d to be on top.
”
He winked.

All of a sudden, h
e flipped me over, wrapp ing his wings around us like a cocoon.
“
But I like it on top, ”
he said. H
is lips were a breath away from mine . F
lushed and hypnotized by his piercing eyes I lay there , paralyzed , anticipat ing a kiss that didn ’
t happen . Relief flooded through me when he broke away and lifted me to my feet .
He pointed toward the row of bushes that was a distance away.
“
We ’
ll have to go through th at field of tall bushes. Let ’
s walk this time. Y
ou might knock me down agai n.
”

“
Hmmm…I don ’
t need a reason to knock you down now that I know I can, ”
I teased .

He chuckled lightly as I dusted the sand of
f my clothes and we headed toward our destination. The bushes looked like tall grand guards protecting the garden from uninvited intruders. To the left and right, they completely surrounded the island.
Euphoria filled me a s I followed him. Austin was taking me to see the Garden of Eden where the Tree of Knowledge had re sted since the birth of humans—Adam and Eve. I could hardly wait!

Chapter 2

What I thought were bushes were actually tall fronds of grass cov ered with sharp prickly thorns.
E
ven knowing they had thorns—a warning sign that flashed ‘
do not touch ’
—I disregarded the sign. Excitedly, I gingerly parted them.

“
Ouch !”
I jerked from the sting.
The cut was deep and about an inch long.
Blood trickled down the palm of my hand a nd one pearl—
shaped drop fell to the ground. Austin flipped my hand over.
I stared as the cut started to heal by itself , as if an invisible thread and needle s titched it up.

Austin traced the healed wound as I stood there dumbfounded. Did my wounds heal like this all the time and I just didn ’
t remember? The cut and the pain disap peared like it had never happened.

Austin
glanced at me .
“
Pretty cool , huh?
”

“
Do all venators heal like that?
”

“
It depends on the cut and how deep. The deeper the cut the longer it takes, but there is one type of weapon that can kill any angel . It needs to be made from a certain type of crystal.
I ’
m working on that for our missions, and I’m also creating some cool small weapons you may like, ”
he winked.
“
Now…shall we try again?
”

I blinked
at Austin in expectation .
He flashed his “
don ’
t worry ”
smile and said , “
Recludo.
”

Like Moses
part ing the Red Sea, the grass shook, shuffled , then parted . Way too cool! The clear path stretched a mile or more.

I turned to Austin
offering a huge smile, like a kid at a magic show .
He winked with pride and bent down like a perfect gentleman , allowing me to enter first. As we walked on the dirt road, the smell of the ocean breeze and the taste of salt vanished . All I could hear was the sound of our footsteps on the pebbles of the path.

As I glanced around the area, the tall grass sentinels closed in , brushing my body with their prickly thorns. I panted, my chest hurt , and dizziness overwhelmed me. Austin’s worried gaze met mine and immediately he grabbed me in his arms and shot skyward.

My panic eased. I relaxed against Austin, now able to enjoy the magnificent view.
I saw nothing but greenery covering the island . There were several gentle waterfalls that flowed in to a narrow stream. As Austin spiraled down, I saw patches of various flower s —roses, calla lilies , orch i ds—a gem of botanic beauty.
I couldn’t remember ever having seen such grandeur .
The vibrant colors decorat ing the flowers painted a perfect picture. There were also several trees that surrounded us, but the one right in front of me as we landed stood out from the rest.

“
Are we here?
”
I whispered.

“
Yes, ”
Austin whispered back.
“
Why are you whispering?
”

I giggled and shrugged my shoulde
rs .

He pointed to the tree.
“
The one and only…Tree of Knowledge.
”
Then he pointed to me.
“
This is Claudia.
”

“
Hello there, ”
I muttered nervously, complete ly entranced. It was humongous—not what I had envisioned. I tilted my head back , taking in the tree’s grandeur .
A natural glow emanated from its roots to the tips of its branches. All the branches curled outward and massive countless leaves together created a dome effect , resembling a giant umbrella. If it rained at th at moment, I would surely be sheltered underneath it. But what truly amazed me were the forbidden apples. Big, round, shiny, red apples hung from branch after branch. Just looking at them tempted me to stretch out my arm and yank one off. My mouth watered , and I could taste the sweetness.

As I marveled at every single inch of
th e tree, my gaze s h ifted to Austin.
“
So …
what do you think?
”
he asked .

“
Amazing!
”
I exclaimed , my body tingling with excitement . Never in my wildest dream s did I imagine I’d be right in front of the Tree of Knowledge.
“
Oh , my gosh!
”
I slowly walked toward the trunk with my arms extended , looking at Austin to see if he would forbid it. He didn ’
t. Instead, he gestured with open arms .

Carefully I ran my fingertips
down the lines that protruded from the trunk . It felt rough, hard and cool , like any other tree. T
hen I wrapped my arms around it , but was unable to embrace it completely due to the enormous size. Recalling the serpent, I stiffened. Though I knew it was no longer there, I hesitantly looked up to confirm that such a thing wouldn ’
t spring up and surprise me. I heard Austin chuckle , so I knew he was watching me and most likely think ing how silly I was. After I soaked in the moment that I was actually touching this marvelous tree , I backed away to see Austin grinning brightly.

“
Beautiful , isn ’
t she?
”
he asked, leaning against an adjacent tree with his arms crossed.
“
Yes, it is, ”
I replied.

“
I wasn ’
t talk ing to you. I was talking to the Tree of Knowledge.
”

Immediately heat rushed to my face
.
“
Funny , Austin. The Tree of Knowledge has no mind. It can ’
t even hear you.
”
Could it?

“
You never know .”
He sh r ugged his shoulder s , advance d toward me, jumped high and yank ed off an apple.

“
Austin!
”
I gasped , astounded.

“
‘
Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat, but of the Tree of the Knowledge of g ood and bad, you must not eat, for on the day you eat of it, you shall surely die.
’
Don ’
t worry, I ’
ve already sinned plenty , and I ’
m not going to grow another Adam ’
s apple . I already have one, ”
he smirked and t ook a bite.

Stunned
, I continue d to stare at him as he took another.

“
Don ’
t worry, ”
he said .
“
It ’
s not forbidden anymore.
”

My body relaxed.
“
Oh…
.
”

“
You do know the myth about Adam ’
s apple don ’
t you?
”

“
I remember some.
”
My mouth began to water just watching him.

“
The story goes…Adam was just about to swallow the forbidden fruit when God called his name.
Fe e ling ashamed, he was unable to swallow the piece he ’d just bit ten .
That’s t he reason all m e n are born with this lump on our throat.
”
He pointed to his.
“
Thanks Adam. He should have just swallowed the dam n piece, ”
he chuckled .
“
Delicious. It ’
s too bad apples don ’
t taste this good back in the human world.
”
With a twist of his wrist, he placed the unbitten part of the apple close to my lips, tempting me.
“
Go ahead. You won ’
t get any wiser. I promise. We ’
ll just have to take our clothes off and run around like Adam and Eve.
”