Lost Eden (The Soulkeepers) Read Free Page A

once traveled regularly, Abigail abandoned the scooter at the edge of the maple grove that used to be hers. Across the street, the Laudners’ cheery yellow Cape Cod hadn’t changed since her days living here, but where her dark Victorian once stood rose a repainted version in pale tones with brightly colored flowers blooming in baskets outside the windows. The house was a bed and breakfast now.
    Jogging into the trees, over the gently sloping terrain toward the place her back garden used to be, Abigail had a moment to think. Anxiety over the mission to Nod had left her careless, reactionary. Why had Malini wanted to meet here of all places? Surely if the Healer could come this far, she could make it to Eden. Much more likely this was a trap. Perhaps Lucifer had already captured the Soulkeepers and was luring her to her doom.
    She halted, placed her hands on her hips, and tipped her face to take in the blazing red of the maple leaves above her. Rushing into this was a mistake. She needed a plan. Bending, she touched the hilt of the knife in her boot, the one weapon she’d brought from Eden. Would she be strong enough, fast enough, to face a Watcher in her human form?
    Curse this mortal body, she would not. She should have thought this through before she left Eden, but her desire to help—no, to be useful— drove her toward impulsive behavior. Lucky for her, it wasn’t too late to err on the side of caution. She turned, and strode back toward the road and the scooter. She’d go back to Eden, get Gideon, and make a plan for recovering the Soulkeepers. There had to be a better way.
    “Hello, Abigail.” The velvet smooth voice lassoed her shoulders, stopping her short.
    She turned to face her enemy. At first the man’s attire, a double-breasted suit with Italian loafers, threw her. Very human . Then she noticed his eyes matched the deep navy blue, almost purple color of his tie. A Watcher, for sure. Human beings didn’t have eyes that color or noses that straight. He twisted the gold, lion’s head ring on his manicured finger.
    Lucifer was the Lord of Illusions, and his followers boasted similar talents, but under it all, Abigail knew the Watcher’s skin and blood were black as tar. “How is your illusion so strong during the day?” she spat nervously. Distraction was her only hope.
    “Well fed.”
    “Who are you? I deserve to know who Lucifer sent for me.”
    “You don’t remember me, Abigail? That hurts. We were once very close.”
    A deadly smile crossed his full lips, and he smoothed a hand over his meticulously styled black hair. Abigail tried to place his voice, but in her human form, all she could sense was the illusion. Worse, the smell of freshly baked cinnamon rolls had filled the maple grove. His sorcery drew her in, a fly to the spider’s web. The smell triggered a memory of a long ago day, before Lucifer had become jealous of God and led the Watchers to fall from grace.
    This Watcher had chosen an illusion not far from his appearance as an angel. Abigail shook her head. Lucifer must be serious about her capture to send his right hand man. “Cord.”
    He took a step closer. “Good girl. I see your senses haven’t completely dulled with your humanity. Now come. Lucifer is waiting.”
    Abigail took a step back, dropping into the fighting stance Lillian had taught her. She wasn’t completely defenseless. She’d learned the martial arts basics Lillian insisted all of them learn. Cord took another step toward her, and she whipped her knife from her boot. “I think it’s you who have lost your senses, Cord, if you think for a second I’m coming with you willingly.”
    Straightening his shirt at the cufflinks, he stepped even closer, so that her blade was mere inches from his chest. He arched a brow and looked down at her pitifully. “A knife, Abigail?” He chuckled.
    She didn’t waste time defending the virtues of the knife. With everything she had, she attempted to use the element of surprise