Girl Enchanted (Book 2 of The Girl Trilogy) Read online

  “Well, I don’t know how we’re going to get anywhere if I start trying to fly…” I said with an ironic smile, “… because the last time I tried, I was just barely able to lift off the ground.”

  “That’s where my wings come in handy.” As he stepped closer to me, his hand brushed against mine and my thoughts got all jumbled up.

  “What do you mean?” I think I was blushing because my face felt hot.

  He was looking at me now.

  My throat grew tight.

  He was so close that I could feel his soft breath on my shoulder. “You don’t have to do much but flutter a little…” he said, “…until you get the hang of it because I can do the rest for you.” His silver eyes gazed at me through his thick lashes.

  I was so distracted from his electrifying stare, that I hardly heard what he was saying. “Really?” I finally managed to respond. Oh, I felt so stupid!

  He nodded as he stepped away slightly.

  “How?” I wondered why he moved away. Did he feel the same strong connection between us that I was feeling?

  “It’s easy.” He shook his head in amusement. “Just bring out your wings and we’ll be off and on our way.”

  He must think I’m silly. I hoped I didn’t make too much of a fool of myself in front of him while trying to fly. It didn’t matter really, I told myself. At least I looked good in my mean snake skirt. I dropped his hand. “How the hell am I going to fly in this thing?” I pointed at the skirt.

  He laughed. The dress was absurdly tight. “It stretches,” he said humorously.

  Shaking my head in playful exasperation, I touched the hump on my back and then commanded the wings to come out. To my great thrill, they did. And now I was able to see them for the first time in the natural mirror of water before me. They were magnificent. For the moment, I forgot all about my desires for Shaul.

  He was right. The wings looked like a huge exotic red flower, with lovely sheer petals. I couldn’t see the lit stars in the back, but I sensed the power exuding from them.

  After some more chanting, Shaul sprouted his enormous black feathered wings. He looked regal and powerful like the angel of death. His silver eyes shined like headlights.

  “Ok. Let’s go.” Looking at me with smoldering eyes, he took my hand.

  I started to feel those butterflies in my stomach again, but I quickly calmed myself, only releasing three fluttery insects into the air above.

  Shaul smiled wryly. “I guess you like me.” He chuckled lightly as he looked up at the colorful butterflies fluttering softly overhead. He released my hand and gently positioned my wet long hair over one of my shoulders.

  My body trembled lightly at his touch. I just stood there for a moment wondering what he was going to do next, yearning to touch him, but then I remembered the task at hand.

  I was glad to be out of the water and away from the light and the intense erotica of the music where my lusts were unbearable. Now, though my yearning for Shaul was more than strong, I at least had some control, even if it was very little.

  Redirecting my focus, I got my wings moving pretty easily and was already up and down, on and off the ground when he took my hand again. But, immediately after I was in his grip, before I had a chance to get aroused all over again, he pulled me way up high into the sky with him.

  “Whoa!” I yelled as the ground left me.

  When I looked up at Shaul holding my hand above me, he looked omnipotent and transcendent with his dark wings spread out in the grey-blue heights. He really was a master aviator of his own body. He chuckled lightly as he looked into my wide eyes that were filled with shock and wonder.

  This really was thrilling and I knew that once I got the hang of it, Shaul wouldn’t be able to keep me out of the sky. But, for the time being, I was an awkward buffoon in an elegant, daring gown dangling in his grip. Quite the contradiction was I. But, I just had to laugh and not worry about my absurdities because this was way too exciting to care.

  “Let’s go!” he called out, and we flew up higher.

  I giggled as the open air rushed over me like a big wave. What a feeling. I felt so free.

  The brisk morning air felt wet and refreshing against my skin as we flew through a puffy white cloud. It was like swimming through a big bubble bath. As we made our way out of the cloud and back into the grey expanse, I looked down and saw tiny distant figures of deer in the grassy green field below. Then we soared over some woodsy terrain. But, Shaul slowed down as we came to a field of many flowers.

  “This is where I’m taking you,” Shaul hollered as he pulled me close to him.

  My heart raced when my body pressed up against his. “The flowers are so bright and dynamic. It’s hard to believe they are actually real.” I had never seen so many blossoms in one place. The colors seemed more vibrant than anything I’d ever experienced.

  We lowered gently out of the sky and onto the ground. The floral scents were splendorous. A mix of yellow daisies, purple snapdragons, and red tulips surrounded my legs. It seemed like every type of flower was in this field even though the combinations seemed impossible. We walked through an odd, but beautiful mix of roses, orchids, and daffodils until we came to several hedges of honeysuckles that joined to make a wall.

  I noticed the sky had a sparkly quality like someone had thrown pixy dust into it and it just floated in the air, flashing and twixing in twinkly light. It was beautiful.

  “You should see the sky at night,” Shaul said seemingly enamored with the setting as well. “The stars are brighter here and they fill the sky like a million diamonds.”

  He shook his head as if pleased with the thought and picked some of the tiny cone shaped flowers for me. “Taste this.” He handed me some of the honeysuckles. His silky voice was like music to my ears.

  I sucked the nectar from the tubular end of one of the flowers. “Yum. It tastes like honey.”

  “You bet it does.” Slowly, without averting his eyes from mine, he leaned toward me. I could feel his breath on my neck. “It tastes like you,” he murmured in my ear. His hands touched my waist.

  Hot blood raced through my veins. My heart was beating fast. I concentrated on slowing my breath.

  He traced the outline of my lips with his finger. Then he slowly ran the backside of his fingers down the side of my face, down my neck, and across my collarbone. He shook his head for a moment like he was waking from a dream. Then he ran his hand down the side of my body in a sensual caress. He sighed.

  The amatory scent of his body surrounded me and sent my senses aflame. But, after a moment, to my sudden surprise, his demeanor changed. He pulled me close to him and held me in his arms.

  “We have to be careful not to get too close,” he said. Now his eyes saddened. “I might lose control. You must know every moment is a constant struggle for me. Everything in my essence draws me to you—to become one with your body. It’s vital that we never go too far.”

  The way he spoke of his feelings for me, aroused me further. But, my demeanor became serious now as I nodded in agreement. I thought about how the world could be destroyed if we gave into our desires or even worse for me, I could lose Shaul forever.

  “We didn’t even make it to first base,” I sighed, trying to lighten the mood. “That’s three whole bases before a homerun.” I smirked lightly.

  “You do understand that if I choose to not return the apple to the Tree of Knowledge and instead eat from the Tree of Life which is really in my inclination to do so, we will not be together in the hellish world that will ensue. If that was to happen, love would not exist.”

  My throat tightened. “I know.” I liked how he said “love” though he may have only been speaking hypothetically. Could the devil love another? I wondered. I knew his brother couldn’t, but I hoped Shaul could.

  “Do you sometimes think about how strange it is that you and your brother, Aver, each have half of the devil’s soul inside of yourselves?” I picked a red daisy and inhaled the floral scent.

>   Shaul frowned. “It’s not any odder than possessing the soul of the original woman, Eve, like you do.” He stretched his arms over his head and leaned against a tree.

  I sighed. “That’s true. I think a lot about how I’ll never be able to have children. I always thought I’d have a lot of kids some day.”

  “Come here,” He said, motioning me over to him.

  As I walked over, he slid his back down the tree broodingly and patted the ground next to him. I sat beside him in the bed of flowers.

  “You can have as many kids as you want, Cordellia.” His expression was serious. I noticed a glint of pain in his eyes. “We just can’t have kids because if we have a son he will possess the soul of the original man, Adam. The bearer of that soul is the key to the Garden of Eden. You know that Aver would try to steal the child to gain access to the Tree of Life.”

  I interrupted, “Yes and Aver surely wouldn’t return the DNA of the apple to the Tree of Knowledge. He would most certainly eat from the Tree of Life without correcting the original sin. And if he did that, he would rule the world forever, giving all power to the serpent people who are the descendants of the devil himself.”

  Shaul took my hand. “The world would become completely evil for all eternity. It would be hell on Earth. Love would not exist and all humans and creatures would become slaves to the serpent people.”

  “But, it doesn’t have to go that way,” I said, enjoying the sensations of holding his hand. I thought about the first time I saw him produce a light ball from his palm with the original DNA of the apple from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. It was scary and shocking to see. “If the original woman and the serpent give birth to the soul of Adam, then they can return the original DNA of the apple to the Tree of Knowledge instead.”

  He smiled. “And after returning the apple, then they…”

  I turned to him. “You mean ‘we’ not they.”

  He blushed, which surprised me. “Right. We can eat from the Tree of Life making our correction of the original sin eternal.”

  “There would then be peace on Earth forever.” His nostrils flared when he said ‘forever’. I thought I saw the color of his eyes turn red for a second.

  “But, if that happened, all serpent people including you would cease to exist because serpent people are innately evil which is incompatible in a world of pure goodness.”

  “It would be heaven on Earth.” His teeth clenched. It looked like he was filled with an overwhelming rage that he was trying to contain. He stood up and violently broke a branch from the tree. An unexpected smile spread across his perfect face as he threw the branch into the air spouting a Latin incantation. The branch turned into many sparkling jewels that fell to the ground.

  I was shocked. My mind felt mixed up. Shaul was an enigmatic contradiction. In reality he was innately evil. He was Satan, but his mind was beautiful. His creations were beautiful. Even his heart was beautiful. How could someone so perfect, so alluring, and magical be bad?

  “We’ll never return the apple to the tree,” I said suddenly, desperation sounded in my voice. “I wouldn’t let you die.” I grabbed onto his shoulders and looked him in the eyes. “No.” I shook my head. “No.”

  He looked sad, but he smiled wryly as if he was trying to mask his pain. “When you grow up, you can marry and have many children.”

  That hurt when he said that, but I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t express my true feelings for him yet. They were too raw and vulnerable. And I was too inexperienced at that sort of thing. I couldn’t tell him how he was everything to me now. How I didn’t want to live without him. How I’d rather be an eternal slave to the devil than let him die. He was me and I was him. We were one, but I couldn’t say that.

  Either way, Shaul and I lose, so I decided I would never consummate my relationship with him so that I would not risk impregnation. If I never gave birth to a son, the world would remain the same, a mix of good and evil. With the balance of the two opposing forces as it is, Shaul and I could be together forever, that is if he wanted to be. My heart ached.

  “I know what you’re thinking.” Shaul shook his head. “Don’t think about our struggles and tests now.” He smiled and gazed at me through his thick lashes. “Instead, close your eyes as I lead you through to the other side of the hedge.”

  I wondered what was beyond and was excited by this little game. “Gladly,” I murmured. “But, how do we get through this wall? The hedge looks so dense.”

  “That’s for me to know and you to find out.” His voice was soft and playful now.

  We stood up. He put his hand over my eyes and led me straight ahead. It was strange because I should have smashed right into the leaves and branches before me, but instead I just walked right through with no impediments. Life with Shaul was magical.

  He spun me around three times which made me laugh and then he said, “Open your eyes.”

  3

  When I opened my eyes, I was amazed. The field of flowers continued on the other side of the hedge, but there were also gigantic toadstools with small, decorative houses beneath. The trees were magnificent and of pure gold with huge, colorful leaves that looked like butterfly wings.

  Shaul and I stepped onto a gold walking path. Female faeries fluttered around and above the toadstools in elegant costumes of varying colors and unique patterns. They were all so beautiful. Some of them even smiled at Shaul and then giggled as if they were flirting.

  I turned to Shaul to see his reaction which was unreadable, but I noticed for the first time that he had a hump on his back like me.

  I laughed. “What happened to your angel wings?”

  He grinned slyly. “You didn’t think I’d reveal myself as a serpent did you?”

  “So, now you’re posing as a faerie?”

  “Yup.” His eyes glistened wickedly.

  “You even put one of those ugly humps on your back to fit in?”

  He looked at me earnestly. “I think your hump is beautiful.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Thanks,” I muttered.

  “Look, Cordellia. I would never be allowed in this faerie community if I didn’t appear to be one of them. Faeries abhor serpent people as much as humans do.”

  “Oh, that makes sense.”

  “Thanks,” he said sarcastically as he ran his fingers through his dark overgrown hair.

  Realizing that I just insulted him, I giggled.

  “Yeah, yeah. Real funny.” He was smiling.

  “I thought it was.” I said wryly.

  He shook his head in good humor. “Anyway,” he continued, “I transform to my surroundings so that I can be free to do whatever I want to do.”

  “What do you want to do?” I asked in a facetious tone.

  “You shall see,” he teased. He really had the most gorgeous face I had ever seen. It was hard for me to believe that I was with him and that he liked me.

  He led me up the gold path. We passed a mesmerizing waterbed with many little waterfalls. Both male and female faeries splashed around teasing each other in playful games. Everyone was unusually attractive.

  It looked like a teenagers’ party. They were playing zed music on a bit player. I hadn’t seen one of those since the Economy Crash. Some other faeries were lounging on big satin embroidered pillows of varying colors upon the ground while they smoked from a long intricate pipe. The substance had an enchanting rose scent. They all looked like they were having so much fun together.

  I noticed one female faerie lounging upon an obsidian rock under the sun. She was even lovelier than the other faeries in appearance. Her hair was in many curls and her gown was of the softest looking silk. Something about her looked mischievous.

  When she saw Shaul, she blushed and giggled flirtatiously. I rolled my eyes. To me it looked like a planned act and seemed entirely false. As with the other faeries, Shaul seemed oblivious to her advances and completely uninterested in her obvious beauty. That relieved me.

  We came upon a breezy are
a where the wind blew the long gauzy red petals that extended from the tops of tall silver trees. A group of children flew through the air together playing games and turning flips in the sky. I liked that spot. Laughter filled the surroundings.

  Beneath a huge toad stool was a charming dark crystal house. Shaul walked me up to the front porch that sparkled many colors in the sunlight. The entire house was reflecting rainbow light actually. He knocked on the crystal door.

  “Just a minute,” a soft womanly voice called from inside.

  I noticed the colorful light reflecting on my arms as we waited.

  “Just go along with whatever I say. It’s in your best interest and for your own safety,” Shaul whispered.

  I was confused by what he said. “I trust you.” My adrenaline rushed. I wondered what we were doing at this beautiful, mysterious house of fine jewel.

  After a moment, the woman opened the door. My eyes popped wide when I saw her. She looked familiar, but I couldn’t place where I had seen her before. The more I studied her, I realized her face looked a lot like a popular zed star I saw in concert before the serpent people took over. But her eyes were different than Exva Shalone’s. They were a pale yellow and her lips were naturally red without wearing lipstick.

  “Hello there, madam.” Shaul smiled mischievously at the woman, but she couldn’t take her eyes off of me.

  The way she kept looking at me, I wondered if she thought I looked like a zed star too! That made me laugh because even though Shaul saw me as attractive, I viewed myself as a bland, awkward humpback.

  Once I averted my stare, I saw that she was wearing the most interesting dress. It wrapped around her thin body ever so neatly and though there was a silken gown beneath, the outer layer was made of an intricately woven silver vine. I was entirely fascinated with her.