The Time Key

Twins Run in the Family

Mephisto sent a portal for Shura right on time. She stepped tentatively through, wearing the golden frock Belial had laid out for her. Mephisto's palace disappeared with a snap of electricity as the entrance shrank into space-time. Shura fell to her knees, losing her balance in a flashing gilded swirl, like a carelessly dropped trinket.

"Fuck sakes." She ground out. "He said someplace fancy, not the wilderness in the middle of the night!"

Struggling to get her bearings, she noticed soft ground beneath her. Shura realized she was in a bed of soft grass and wildflowers. With aggravation she yanked off her heels and tossed them into the darkness.

"Mephisto!" She called out. "Where the hell are you!?"

"That dress was quite expensive, I'll have you know." Mephisto emerged from the darkness. "It will get soiled in the dirt. We are not in the wilderness."

He extended his hand, pulling her gently to her feet.

She noticed Mephisto was dressed in a black suit and cape, the cape decorated with delicate golden embroidery at its edges. It looked like something from another time, long before she was ever born. The garment was fit for royalty and matched the colours of her dress.

"Where did you get that cape?"

"That, my dear, is another story," he teased. I've taken us further back than the origins of our clothes."

"Further? Where? It seems too damn quiet."

"This is an ancient version of the garden of Hesperides. Some may say this place could be the famed Garden of Eden." He winked at her mischievously. "But it's all just a silly rumour."

"Are you tryin' to tell me we're in the past?"

"700 BC, to be exact." He mused.

Shura stopped in her tracks and crossed her arms.

"Did you just say what I think you said?"

"Don't be alarmed, Darling. Nothing bad will happen to you." He took her hand once again. "Tell me what your exorcist studies taught you about the Hesperides?"

"That's easy." She grumbled. "They're the Three Fates."

"Yes, and coincidentally, they can take the form of apples." Mephisto smiled. "The Fates are connected with Time and are, therefore, my kin."

"Hesperos also means night." Shura considered thoughtfully. "Is this why it's so dark?"

"It's dark because the sun has not yet risen. It will soon." Mephisto answered. "Hesperos, in actuality, means The Evening Star. You are in the birthplace of that star."

"But wait." Shura placed her hand to her chin in contemplation. "If Lucifer is the Morning Star, that makes you the Evening Star."

"Yes."

"So, are you trying to tell me you were born here?"

"This is, indeed, where my ego was born." He motioned to the approaching dawn. "This garden is a place of new beginnings."

Mephisto motioned for her to sit beside him on a simple stone bench.

"I come here for peacefulness, to contemplate."

Shura took a moment to listen to the sound of crashing waves as the sun began to rise with a wash of vermillion. As her eyes adjusted, she realized they were sitting atop a cliff, looking out into a beautiful expanse of sea. Behind her sat an endless orchard of apple trees.

She closed her eyes and felt the sea breeze on her face. She listened intently to the sounds of birds, serenading the early morning with sweet chime-like songs.