Lost Eden (The Soulkeepers) by G.P. Ching Read Free Book Online Page A

pitched forward, catching herself on the table. Lee’s words echoed in her head. Her heart thumped in her throat. How could they prepare? They were all caught up in some giant chess game between God and the devil, pawns in a contest she could barely hope to understand let alone influence. Sweat gathered at the back of her neck. The room was too hot, closing in.
    A soft touch on her back gave her comfort. Grace was at her side, rubbing circles over her spine. “It’s okay, Malini,” she whispered next to her cheek. “No one could possibly answer that question. Even Soulkeepers are only human.”
    With her head still spinning, Malini tilted her face up to look at Lee. “I don’t know what’s coming, but I do know how we should prepare. The same way we always have. We train. We get better at defending ourselves and working together. From now on we train harder and faster than we ever have before.”
    Lillian rose from her seat, pointing a finger at Malini. “We can and we will. Once we get Cheveyo up to speed, this will be the strongest team you’ve ever seen.”
    “Good,” Malini said. “Because we can’t think of ourselves as observers. We might not have control over the challenge or the form of Lucifer’s temptations, but we are part of this war, and I for one intend to be on the winning side.”

Chapter 6
    The First Curse
     
    One week later …
     
    A bigail paced in front the wall of windows overlooking the city. She’d become all too familiar with the sprawling penthouse. In a space that took up the entire top floor of the building, she’d counted six massive bedrooms, seven bathrooms and two powder rooms, a gourmet kitchen, a great room large enough to double as a ballroom and a smattering of specialized areas for entertaining. She couldn’t enjoy any of them.
    One of the rooms was a library, chock-full of leather-bound books in multiple languages. She suspected the previous owner had left the collection, as Lucifer had never shown any interest in reading. Abigail yearned to pass the time by taking one down and curling up in a plush chair to read, but Lucifer’s curse made that particular act impossible. Her hand passed through the binding as it did the telephone, the television, and any pen or paper she wished to employ. He’d turned her into a ghost.
    The only exception to her plight was when he fed her. Twice a day he’d provide a meal and at that time his sorcery would break, and she could lift the fork and drink from a glass. Enough to keep her alive, yes, but with no human interaction, she could feel herself slipping away. The ghost world she lived in was a torture like no other.
    She tried to focus on the certain hope that the Soulkeepers would find her. Even if Malini couldn’t follow her thread and predict where she’d be, Gideon would never give up. He’d find a way to track her down. She just needed to be patient. They’d have her out of here in a few days.
    The sound of the front door opening sent her scurrying from the library into the great room, fully expecting to see her rescuers. Instead, Lucifer paraded through the front door, Auriel and Cord following on his heels. He did not spare a glance for Abigail. This was part of her torture. The one being who could see her refused to look at her.
    “Hello, Abigail,” Cord yelled to the opposite corner of the room.
    Asshole . She raised her middle finger toward the back of his head. If Lucifer saw her crude gesture, he didn’t respond. He approached the wall of windows, clasping his hands behind his back. The city, shrouded in night, provided a spectacle of shimmering lights but somehow seemed dwarfed by the devil’s silhouette.
    “I’ve brought you both here tonight because I am prepared to release the first temptation.” Lucifer’s voice took on the rasp and crackle inherent beneath his illusion. The sound made Abigail’s scalp prickle.
    Auriel clapped her hands and skipped to his side, smoothing her sweater and short skirt.