Free The Garden of Eden by L.L. Hunter Page B

through and wasn’t that bright up close. But I wondered why it seemed so bright back at the other end of the library?
    “Eden, There’s a key pad thingy.”
    “Damn!”
    “Try it; you could have access, seeing as you’re now a reaper.”
    “You’re right.” I flashed him a smile a walked up to the security pad. The keypad looked more like an iPad encased in a transparent plastic case. I flipped the plastic case up and placed my palm against the screen of the security pad. I felt it vibrate and hum with life underneath my hand. A light the colour of the one coming from behind the door shone up between my fingers almost blinding me.
    “Does that mean you have access?”
    “I don’t know. Has the door opened yet?” I asked. Asher walked over to the door and stood in front of it.
    “Nope. No go.”
    I concentrated on the light and my hand sitting on top of it. What was I supposed to do? Then all of a sudden, the glass door opened with a whoosh.
    “You did it! What did you do?”
    “I don’t know. I just concentrated on my hand,” I shrugged.
    “It must have worked. Come on, I don’t think it’ll stay open for long.” I took my hand away from the touch pad and followed Asher through the door.

 
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Eighteen
     
    Asher
     
    As we entered the glowing room, I knew there was no going back. There never was with Eden. Damn this girl drove me crazy. She poked her tongue out at me. Yep. Definitely crazy. I was crazy, and she was crazy. Match made in hell.
     
    Eden
     
    I knew it was the soul room as soon as I stepped over the threshold. I could hear screaming everywhere. I felt the urge to cover my ears with my hands but then Asher would probably drag me out of here. I couldn’t show fear in front of him. Instead, I listened to the screaming as we walked deeper into the room. The soul room looked like a library, but instead of books stocking the shelves, there were glass jars filled with ghostly, glowing souls. I walked over to a jar and picked it up. The soul started jumping and banging on the side of the jar like an insect stuck in a container, desperate for freedom. I stared at it. I was at a loss.
    “What do I do, Asher? How do I know which one is yours?”
    “They’re in alphabetical order.”
    “What?” I was puzzled until I walked over to where Asher had gone. He was standing near the end of a row of shelves staring at a plaque.
    “A to H.” I read. “Last names or first?”
    Asher picked up a jar and studied it. “Last.”
    “Asher!”
    “What?”
    “Be careful.” The soul started going crazy inside the jar he was holding. It began flitting around so fast the whole jar started to vibrate and I was afraid he might drop it and release the soul. I quickly took it from him and put it back on the shelf.
    “What was that?”
    “That soul had some sort of reaction to you. Do you know that person?”
    “No.”
    “Come on. We need to hurry. Abraham will notice I’m missing soon.” I tugged on Asher’s sleeve to pull him down the first isle. When we reached the second isle, I had a sudden terrible realisation that I didn’t know Asher’s last name!
    “Uh, Asher?”
    “Yeah?”
    “What’s your last name? I just remembered you never told me.”
    He chuckled. “Sorry, I forgot. It’s Christien.”
    “Christien… we’ve passed it!” I spun around so fast that I crashed right into Asher’s chest. A wave of deja vu hit me and we were back outside my room at the Michaelite Sanctuary.
    “Oh, I… sorry.”
    He smiled down at me. “It’s okay. How about we slow down a little?”
    “No. We can’t slow down. Abraham could come in here at any minute. We have to grab your soul and run.”
    He took my hands and squeezed them tight. “We have a moment.”
    “No, we…” my protests were cut short by his lips on mine. I tried to pull away but he only pulled me closer and held me tighter. When his fingers found their way into my hair, all my tension seeped into them and