The Healing of Eve Ch. 12

We woke as the sun came up the following morning and came downstairs immediately, concerned as to what we might find. The small of freshly ground coffee as we reached the bottom of the stairs seemed like a good omen and we were overjoyed to find John seated on the sofa with Martha, still obviously extremely tired, but enjoying their drink together. He looked up as we came into the room and I realised that he could still see.

Martha smiled at us, she looked none the worse for her recent ordeal. Perhaps a little more dishevelled than usual but bright eyed and vital.

"Coffee in the kitchen," she said, and I left the room, returning quickly with three steaming mugs to find Eve sitting on the floor at John's feet and Beth and Martha seated on the sofa, one either side of him. I handed them their drinks, sat in the chair opposite and we drank in companionable silence. The room was still as we had left it the night before. The bloodstained platform remained, a stark reminder of the horrors of the previous evening. I looked at it with revulsion, wanting it not to be there. John saw my gaze and spoke,

"We will break it up later today, and its timber will keep us warm as it burns," he said. We have no more use for such devices." He paused.

"I owe all of you an apology," he said. "And a debt of gratitude which is too great to ever repay. Through your courage and quick action yesterday you averted a catastrophe that even now I can barely begin to contemplate... No, hear me out." He held up his hand to silence our chorus of denial. "In my arrogance and ignorance, I completely underestimated the powers ranged against us. I put you, the people I love most, in extreme danger, and not only you; we came within a hair's breadth of unleashing a terrible evil on the world, and who knows what the consequences of that might have been."

"And yet," I spoke out, "We are unharmed in the end, Eve is cured, and you have regained your sight. This is the way the Goddess works; even out of evil, good comes."

"Ah Hazel," John said, "as usual, your words reveal the treasure that is your heart and soul." I blushed and the others laughed. Cathartic laughter that brightened the room.

"Come," John said, "we will talk more of this later, but I must sleep to regain my strength, at least for the rest of the morning. And you too, if you are wise, will rest. Help me please Martha."

Martha helped John stand, and led him, with a less than steady step to his room. We three foraged in the kitchen and found bread, cheese, and more coffee. We were hungry and made a simple breakfast that was as good as a feast. I for one did not feel the need to rest, the opposite in fact, I was full of energy and felt I needed to do something practical.

"I am going to clean and dismantle that platform and put it on the wood pile for burning," I said. Beth and Eve volunteered to help and between us we removed the spreader and cuffs, unbolted the post and maneuvered the platform itself out through the kitchen and stacked it out of sight behind the pile of logs that were ready for the fire. Then we cleaned up the living room and stoked the fire, happy that when John and Martha reappeared, the cosy room would be back to normal. After our exertions John's advice to rest seemed sensible and so we returned to our communal bedroom and slept again.

It was mid-afternoon when we surfaced and came downstairs to find John, much recovered, in the kitchen peeling vegetables, while Martha stirred a large pot whose delicious aromas filled the kitchen. John looked up and smiled as we entered.

"You have no idea how wonderful it is to be able to see to do these simple tasks," he said. "And thank you all for clearing up. Beth, if you look in that cupboard over there you will find a couple of bottles of wine that will do justice to Martha's stew and perhaps Eve and Hazel will lay the table for us."

The dinner that Martha and John prepared was delicious. The wine complemented it perfectly and afterwards we sat around the fire, the events of the previous day seeming incongruous, completely alien to the warmth, companionship and love that had grown between us. John stared into the fire, watching the flames dance as though hungry for the visual stimulus he had been denied for so long. Finally, he broke the silence.

"I spoke to you this morning from my heart when I expressed my sorrow for what you have been through. Martha and I have talked at length about what happened yesterday, and we would like to share our conclusions with you. Even though some of it is inevitably surmise and we may never know the whole truth." John looked at Martha and she continued.

"It is beyond doubt that Eve's pseudo pregnancy was the result of something that occurred during your enactment of the Great Rite. We know that she was possessed at the time by two spirits, that of Sarah, Beth's late partner but also by some force of demonic origin. Our first mistake was to underestimate the power of that force. At the rite it was the daemon who left Eve's body first, the spirit of Sarah remained and left only when Eve reached sacred orgasm. We assumed that the daemon had been forced from Eve's body but that was wrong. The forces of the Evil One are cunning. John and I now think that the daemon, or some manifestation of it, left Eve's body voluntarily, crucially before Eve's climax. Before leaving it accomplished its foul purpose, causing the corruption that led to Eve's pregnancy. Sarah's spirit was freed by Eve's sacred climax at Hazel's hands, and we were blinded by the obvious beauty and goodness of that act."

John spoke, "we think that had it not been for the rite, the daemon would have remained dormant until, in the fullness of time, Eve conceived a child naturally, whereupon the embryo would have been corrupted.

The other clue to which we paid insufficient attention was the fact that we did not know how Eve's possession occurred in the first place. Eve swore that she has never undertaken any of the practices that might have opened her to possession." John looked embarrassed, "and I, er have been sufficiently intimate with you Eve, to be in no doubt that you told us the truth." Now it was Eve's turn to turn a fetching shade of pink.

"We should have set more store on understanding how that happened. It seems to us now that the channel that allowed Eve's possession in the first place remained open and that at the height of our healing ritual yesterday, we enabled a powerful servant of Asmodeus to cross to our plane of existence. You saw the result when Eve's poor body was taken over."

John was interrupted by a cry of fear from Eve, her face a picture of terror.

"What is to stop that channel being used again?" she whispered, as though dreading the answer. I put my arms around her, as though mortal strength could protect her from such a foe.

"You need not worry," John was quick to reassure. "Martha has seen to that. When she offered her life, and it was accepted, the work of the Evil One was undone. The power of love and sacrifice has closed the door. I cannot say that there are no other ways for evil to enter the world, of course there are, but you are safe."

Eve left me and went to where Martha sat. "I will never be able to thank you enough," she said, throwing her arms around the surprised woman's neck. "You saved my life."

"Martha saved all our lives," John's voice was grave. "If the creature had not been stopped, Beth would have been impregnated, if she did not die in the attempt. And if she had, the creature would have turned to Hazel or Martha to accomplish its purpose. If Beth survived the rape, the rapid gestation and birth would certainly have killed her. Once the demon child was born, any of us remaining alive would have been killed, the creature would have reverted to Eve's form and remained at large in this world to nurture its spawn, possessing her body until it had no more use for it."

It was a sobering thought, and we were all silent for a moment until John answered my unspoken question.

"You must remember that the power for good was not Martha's death itself, rather her willing intention to sacrifice her life. At the time of the offer, she had no reason to hope or believe that she would not die."

"But what about the talisman?" I asked, "that was the key that allowed us to save you. Without it Martha would have been beyond resuscitation, regardless of John's healing powers"

"I had no knowledge of the power of the talisman," Martha admitted, "It was given to me by my father when I was a small child. I put it around Eve's neck before the ceremony because I have always treasured it and I hoped it would protect her. When the creature tore it off and threw it to the floor it was close enough for me to reach out with my toes and gather it. I hid it under my foot until there was a moment when I could pick it up un-noticed and hold it in my hand.

"There is the power of the Goddess at work," said Beth. Even in the darkest times, the means of salvation is manifest, the token of love given to you by your father has served its purpose."

Martha opened her robe, to reveal the talisman, newly polished, gleaming on its chain at her throat.

"Long may it protect you and those you love," Beth said.

We sat silently, I for one offering my prayers of thanksgiving for our safe passage through the darkest time of my life.

"I suppose we should make plans to return to our normal lives," Beth said. "I know it's only been a day or two, but it seems as though we've been here forever. And you have your sight John, will you stay here? What will you do?"

"That needs careful thought", he said, "as far as your normal lives are concerned, if you take my advice, you will rest here for at least a day or two more. The weather is set to improve and perhaps we can walk together. Then Johnny can be summoned to transport you back to civilisation."

"Yes, you must stay," Martha added, and so it was decided. The haven of the cosy cottage, nestled between the hills, the stunning landscape in which we were able to walk, and John's child-like delight in being able to appreciate the beauty with which he was surrounded but had hitherto been unable to see was balm to our spirits. Time passed quickly and all too soon the day came for us to depart.

I was standing in front of the cottage enjoying the view when John came to join me. "Before you leave Hazel, there is something I need to tell you." He paused as though uncertain of how to say what he needed to say. "I have been thinking over recent events and I have come to the conclusion that you have the gift of healing," he said. I laughed, more out of surprise than anything else, but he continued. "I first suspected it at the time of Beth's healing. You were much more than a channel for my gift and that is partly why I was not drained afterwards. Then, when my powers were at their lowest ebb, you restored Martha's life. That healing was more your doing than mine. I am telling you this now, while we are alone because you and only you must choose whether you wish to develop your gift. You must come to your own decision about that and in your own time. If in the future you decide to explore it, I offer you my guidance, for what it is worth."

I didn't really know where to begin, it was quite a lot to take in, the prospect was exciting and rather frightening at the same time. In any case, before I could ask any questions, the others came through the door and over the horizon the battered Land Rover appeared, lurching and grinding its way towards us, a smiling Johnny at the wheel. I was glad. I needed time to think, it was all too much to take in. We hugged, said our goodbyes and finally climbed into the sturdy vehicle for the rough ride back to reality. At the airport I felt genuinely sorry for poor Johnny as he waved us through the check-in, his crestfallen gaze following Eve as she disappeared through airport security.

After an uneventful flight we asked Eve whether she wanted to spend some time with us before returning to her flat but she declined, thanking us sweetly but insisting that it was time for her to return to what passed for normality -- and so we shared a taxi to our place, and parted there, with a promise to get together in near future.

And so it was that two weeks later, on Saturday afternoon, Beth and I found ourselves in the kitchen preparing dinner for Eve and nearly-doctor Mike, fulfilling our promise to feed him in return for taking care of the drunken oaf that Beth had knocked senseless outside Eve's flat. I had not told Beth what John said to me as we were on the point of leaving Teach Ceardaí, but I had done a lot of thinking about it and for some reason suddenly felt the need to share it with her.

"Beth," I said, can we take a break? There's something I want to talk to you about before Eve and Mike arrive."

Beth stopped peeling carrots and looked at me quizzically. "I was wondering when you were going to tell me about it," she said. I must have looked as surprised as I felt because she laughed and said, "Hazel, you are as transparent as something completely transparent. It's been obvious since we came back that you have been worrying about something. I would have asked you about it earlier, but I knew you would talk about it when you were ready."

I smiled ruefully, "I never was much good at hiding things and I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner if it was that obvious.

Beth put her knife down and came over to where I was washing up. "We've plenty of time to get dinner ready," she said, "let's sit down and you can tell me what's on your mind."

We sat at the kitchen table with a cup of tea and Beth put her hands in mine.

"Just before we left to come home John told me that I had the gift of healing and offered to help me nurture and develop it," I told her. It was a small thing to say but the consequences were potentially huge.

Beth looked serious. "I'm sure he's right," she said, "the thought had occurred to me as well."

"Did you talk to John about it?" I asked, wondering whether there were more secrets.

"No," she said, "and if I had done, I would have told you about it immediately." Was there a hint of reproach in her voice, I wasn't sure.

"What makes you think so?" I asked, feeling a little defensive.

Beth smiled, "Ever since I was healed of the injury to my ribs, when we make love, I feel some of the same energy that I felt that afternoon. I thought perhaps there was some residual effect of the healing, but it did occur to me that you may have a rather wonderful talent."

"It might be wonderful, but it comes at a price," I said, "John has a marvelous gift that's certain, but it has driven him to become a hermit, and who knows whether the loss of his sight is not in some way related to his gift." I paused, "It's not a price I'm prepared to pay, at least not now. In the future perhaps I'll feel differently, only time will tell."

"It's your decision," Beth said, "now and in the future, and whatever you decide I'll be with you."

The feeling of relief was enormous, and I felt stupid for not talking to Beth sooner. I did not want to have secrets from her. It was then I remembered our conversation on the hilltop and wondered whether there were other secrets that might be exposed while we were in a sharing mood. So I prompted.

"We started a conversation on top of that hill the day before Eve's healing," I said. "If I remember correctly, you were fantasising about tying me up, and wasn't there hot oil on the menu, not to mention posts and spreaders and the like?"

Beth laughed. "Funnily enough I've rather gone off bondage posts and spreaders. Can't think why. And the only hot oil I'm currently fantasising about is the olive oil in which I was about to fry the croutons for my carrot and coriander soup for tonight. But since you ask, yes. And tonight, after the young lovers have left, well there are plenty of silk chords from the robes, and there's our big iron bed with a frame that has endless possibilities."

"And will you tease me unmercifully, like you promised." I asked.

Beth came over, spun me round and kissed the back of my neck, her hands sliding beneath the folds of my robe, cupping my breasts and finding my nipples with her probing fingers.

"Unmercifully," she said, as the touch of her fingers brought the goosebumps out all over my body, and, biting my neck gently, whispered in my ear, "There will be no mercy shown, no, none whatsoever!"