The Guardian Angel (The Guardians of Nine Heavens #1)

Chapter 26: Adam's Sin

Eve and I got startled once we saw Adam, but we had different reasons - Eve was scared that she'd been caught in a crime, while I was worried if Adam would fail now too. I had lost my trust in these two humans completely, after Eve's such reckless actions.

"This... This is not what you think!" Eve tried to justify herself.

"Then what is it? You bit the Knowledge apple! It was forbidden for us, but you bit it! How could you?!" tears filled Adam's eyes as he saw how yet another woman in his life had defied the orders of the High Forces.

"Adam, you must understand! This snake ate an apple from the Tree of Knowledge and now he's able to talk!" she pointed him at me, "I bit it and I was able to open my eyes! Now I know everything: the High Forces forbade us to eat Knowledge and Life fruits so that we could not become higher than them and rule the world instead of them. They acted selfishly!"

"Wh... What are you saying?!" Adam was in indignation, "The High Forces only want the best for us!"

"Just bite this apple and you will understand it too," Eve handed him the forbidden fruit she had just bitten.

"I won't!" Adam stepped back, "And what's with that lie as if a snake talks? Snakes don't talk!"

"He does! Look," Eve turned to me: "Prove to him that you can talk, snake!"

I blinked - what to do? Should I proceed with this test or... stop while it hadn't turned into a complete disaster? But then I remembered - Adam too was ambitious deep at heart. He was a man of thoughts, after all. What would happen if he found the proof of what Eve said? Would he believe her then, thinking it was pure logic? Would he defy the orders of the High Forces because of logic? I got curious, so I said:

"It is true. I can speak".

I saw Adam's face turn from angry to terrified one. He cried out in fear and stepped back:

"A snake can talk!"

He never expected such an unusual and illogical thing to happen, as it seemed.

"See? I've told you!" 

Eve crossed arms. Yes, she had definitely changed - she was no more afraid to show her thoughts and feelings. She acted all independent as if she truly were a queen of the Garden of Eden. 

"It's... impossible!" Adam stared at me, the talking snake. "What if... it's a demon?"

"You cannot see black energy within him, can you? He's not a demon, but a simple snake who's gained knowledge because of the fruit. I bit this fruit, so I got the knowledge too. If he were a demon, I would know at least now, but I feel no energy now either, so he's truly a snake".

Naive Eve! She thought she would feel the black energy at an even greater level now when she had bitten the fruit, but it was the total opposite - by doing so, she had lost the link with her soul memories and perceptions, so she would never be able to sense any black energy again. But now my main concern was Adam - how would he react this time, when a solid proof was before his eyes?

"So... you say this fruit grants powers equal to the High Forces' level?"

I was dumbfounded - he had already believed it all and now wanted to get sure in his assumptions? These people were unbelievable!

How could they fail so easily?!

"Not equal to the High Forces' level, but I assume it's equal to those of the angels. We shall have power equal to that of the High Forces if we eat the fruit of Life too, afterwards," Eve pointed on the Tree of Life nearby.

Now I was completely shocked - they not only intended to eat the fruit of Knowledge but now wanted to taste the fruit of Life too?!

Their ambitions have no boundaries... No, this can't go on. I must reveal myself now.

I was ready to shape-shift and stop them when I noticed how Adam bit the apple too. I was late! His eyes changed from innocent to expressive, and even worse than in Eve's case - they turned cold. Apparently, it was the result of his nature being inclined to his spiritual and mental self. Once he lost his innocence, coldness completely seized his heart, which was scarce with emotions even from the very start. 

But the worst was still forward. Just as Adam turned into such a cold being and grew red seeing Eve's bare body, while Eve flushed up and covered her chest with her hair, a terrible shrill sounded throughout the entire heavens - the deathly scream of Elijah, the angel of innocence.