Genesis: A Soul Savers Novella by Kristie Cook Page A

they went, the more Jordan realized it was like an underground city, lit by fires in sconces on the walls and in pits dotting the caverns. People who weren’t really human—he could feel the magick crackling in the air—milled about, conversing in languages unfamiliar to him.
    In one cave they passed, a pale-skinned vampyre bent over a naked human, his mouth at her throat and his hand between her legs. She didn’t struggle, even seemed to be enjoying it, as the vampyre drained her blood. In another cavern, three men sat around a wooden table and gnawed on bones, their teeth scraping and pulling off the raw meat, reminding Jordan of wild dogs consuming their kill. Yet, in others, men and women traded furs and pelts, jewels and other goods, just as they did in the agora back home.
    Eris tugged at his hand. He’d slowed, distracted by all the activity, but she told him they still had a ways to go. They left what must have been the city’s center, passing more caves, these dark and cold. Moaning, growls and even cries of pain filled the air. Finally, they came to the end of the passage. A heavy wooden door with two beastly men blocked their way. Eris murmured something to them in a language Jordan didn’t know and tossed her head toward him. They nodded and one stepped back while the other opened the door.
    They passed into a large, circular room with hearths carved into the walls every ten or so strides, fires burning within them. Jordan had never seen flames with such vivid colors of green, purple, pink and blue. In a semi-circle of chairs that looked like king’s thrones sat figures covered in black cloaks, hiding their forms and faces. Naked women fed them grapes, wine and even their own blood, holding their wrists to where the figures’ mouths were hidden in shadows. The evil power thrummed in the room, almost tangible, giving Jordan a thrill.
    “Welcome, Jordan,” one of them said, rising from his chair and dismissing the attractive blond who’d been sitting on his lap. “We have been waiting for you.”
    Eris dipped into a sort of curtsey. “Father.”
    “Thank you, Eris.” The figure removed his hood, revealing a young-looking face with Eris’s dark eyes and the white hair of someone very elderly. He eyed Jordan and smiled. A proud smile. “Do you know where you are, Jordan?”
    “Hell?”
    Someone laughed—one of the cloaked figures standing by a fire. He turned toward Jordan, but kept his hood in place, showing nothing of his face. “Very close, indeed. As close as you can get on this side of the veil between here and the Otherworld. How does that make you feel?”
    Jordan lifted his chest, bowing up. “At home, to be honest.”
    He felt more at home here than he’d ever had with his family. They feared their darkness, tried to hide it, pretended they were something they were not. Made him feel like an outcast of his own kin because he let that darkness show, sometimes even embraced it. Here, he could be himself. Here, he belonged, like he had nowhere before. He felt it in his bones.
    “Very good, then. That’s what we hoped to hear. But still … you must prove yourself worthy.”
    “Worthy of what?” Jordan asked.
    “Worthy of joining us,” another figure answered. “This is not a place for weak humans.”
    “I am not weak and prefer not to be compared to the humans.”
    “We shall see,” Eris’s father said. “Do you believe in God? The one God?”
    The way he said “one God” sounded as though he mocked the idea.
    Jordan cocked his head. “I did before. Then I wasn’t sure, until my father shared his truth with me. Proved to me that angels and demons exist, so God and Satan must exist, too. With all I have seen in the world, however, I find it difficult to believe that God truly cares for us.”
    “Because he doesn’t,” said someone sitting in one of the thrones. “God only cares for himself. He wants all the glory. He wants all the control. He wants everyone to submit to