I shouldn’t have been surprised to see her in the Underworld; after all, she was the first to sin. The first mother of a murderer, the first human to befriend Satan. But Eve’s DNA was flawless. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, and like Ramiel, there was something very wrong about her beauty existing within the nightmarish backdrop of Hell.
A loud boom shook the doors again, this time rattling my bones. I could feel the strain on the doors through the floor, the walls, and it shook through to my core. Streams of eons-old dust and dirt began to filter down from the ceiling.
Ramiel smiled on me like my father did sometimes. “It’s by design, Eden.”
“So you want them to get through?” I asked, looking for an exit. “I’ve been here before, but it’s been a long time. With Levi injured, we’ll need an escape plan.”
“Not escaping is the plan,” Eve said, walking with Ramiel to the back of the Oubliette.
“Wait. What?” I said, following her further. We were deeper in the dungeons than I’d ever been, passing cells containing so many revolting scenes of torment that I made myself stop peering in, instead concentrating on Eve, who seemed unfazed.
Levi encircled his fingers around mine, trying hard not to hobble. Beads of sweat formed between our palms, at my hairline, and on the small of my back, fanned by the thin fabric of my nightgown each time I took a step. The broken bits of gravel and dirt beneath my feet was hot, but it didn’t burn. Still, I wished I’d taken the time to dress before we left. A trip to Hell is never short.
Ramiel stopped at a circular steel door, the metal tarnished, the borders blackened by superheated fire that had rolled through the corridor at least once before.
We waited for a solid minute before Levi finally shifted his weight. “Respectfully, Ramiel. You know what’s outside. What the hell are we waiting for?”
“The door.”
“I see that, but you obviously have an end-game here, and we need to know what that is before my brothers and their legions breach the entrance,” Levi said, as if he were reminding him. “They’re still attacking the outer doors.”
“We need everyone here, first,” Ramiel said. “Patience. It takes time to get all the players together on such short notice.”
As if on cue, the lever jerked upward, the door unlatched, accompanied by the high-pitched sound of metal grinding against metal. Two men walked through, and had Eve not embraced them both, I would’ve already known their names. The sons of Adam had dark, rich skin like their mother’s, but only Cain’s hands and feet were stained with the dirt that Eve wore. It must’ve been a mark, a reminder that they’d failed God—maybe even ancient burns. The sons were nearly identical with their round, deep-set russet eyes and short chins they’d inherited from their father. The high cheekbones and jawline from Eve. Their dark hair was so coarse but soft like wool, braided close to the scalp. Deciding which was Abel and which was Cain wasn’t difficult. The taller brother had the glow of a glorious eternity spent in Heaven; the other was shorter and hunched over, worn and haggard after spending the same time in Hell.
It was strange knowing Eve was their mother. She looked maybe ten years older than Cain.
Abel spoke in a language I didn’t understand, but he said it with a smile.
“I’ll translate. They can understand you, but the descendants of Adam speak their father’s tongue only,” Eve said. “Abel apologizes for their tardiness.”
“Abel,” Levi said, outstretching his hand. “Thank you. I know you took a great risk to get my mother through the gate before my father could stop it.”
Abel spoke, and again, his mother translated. “I’m the first human to arrive in Heaven. One procures many favors over such a long time. I called in them all,” he said with a smile. “Sans one.” Abel turned to his brother.
“Cain,” Levi said with a nod.
“My debt was to Ramiel,” Cain muttered, communicating with Eve’s assistance. “He’s helped me escape from many horrors here, in this very place. He asked me to use my position to retrieve Gehenna. You brought it, yes?”
Eve didn’t have to translate the last part, but any explanation had to be cut short.
“Yes,” I said. “Levi has it.”
Ramiel’s expression changed. “Levi, do you sense it? Your father knows.”
Levi nodded. “My senses are weak, but yes. That I can feel.” He grabbed my hand, turning toward the corridor. “The tunnel Kershus came in through. Where does it lead?”
“To the temple,” Ramiel said. “You’ll need to escape through the portal. Don’t hesitate. Abel will destroy it behind him.”
“And you?” I asked.
Recognition hit, and Levi’s shoulders sagged. “No. No, not you, too.”
Ramiel smiled. “A sacrifice is a sacrifice, no matter where it happens, and saving you will help me see Lizeth again.”
“They’ll tear you apart,” I said, my brows pulling together. “And it won’t be immediate.”
“I’ve endured worse,” Ramiel said. “And then I’ll be with her. Anything is worth that.”
“That’s what all of this is about? To return you to Lizeth? I don’t understand what part the brothers will play.”
Eve smiled. “Ramiel will rejoin Lizeth. Cain and I will finally be free of this place with the help of Gehenna.”
“You expect me to kill you? The mother of all humanity and her first son? It will disturb The Balance to use Gehenna. I can’t, even if I wanted to.”
“Not you,” Eve said. “You.” She looked to Levi.
“Me?” he said. He was keeping weight off his ankle as much as possible, signaling he was feeling worse, not better. He wasn’t healing at all, now.
Cain spoke to Ramiel, his words quick and without emotion. “This will be your part, Levi. As the Keeper of the Balance, Eden can’t do it, but you can.”
“Once it’s done, Levi,” Ramiel said, his voice low, “once you know I’m gone, you must go through the portal. Abel has to destroy it before he leaves to let me into the Eighth Pearl.”
“Didn’t you hear me? Using Gehenna disturbs The Balance,” I said. “I’ll be expected to punish Levi. I won’t let him do it.”
“Levi,” Ramiel said, “this was their only request for helping us get your mother and me through the gates.”
My gaze locked with Levi’s. “No.” I shook my head. “Don’t you dare do that to me. I don’t care what they’ve done for you. You can’t put me in that position.”
“You’ll see after this is all over that you have nothing to fear. There will be no more chances. No alternatives. This is the way it’s meant to be. When you died,” Abel said, “it set all of this in motion.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“The course of events. Levi looking for you, the fight with his brothers, falling out of favor, the development of your powers, Petra escaping Satan, resulting in him renouncing Levi, and that would leave him open to be assassinated by anyone in Hell. It’s the perfect storm and positions you perfectly for what you were born to do.”