Palindrome

He said the word like it was a title, Noah was obviously referring to our names. Everyone in my family had palindromes as names. I took a step back, keeping my face blank.

“I believe you.”

I didn’t know what he meant with the magic behind our names, I had always thought it was just a quirky family trait. I bit the inside of my lip; he was distracting me. I needed to get out and get help. Different spells popped up in my head, but none were fitting, I hadn`t exactly prepared for this. Could I make one?

Make him talk. Drag out the time.

I furrowed my brows, earning a confused look from Noah because of my expression.

“What do you mean about what you said?” My voice sounded breathless.

Noah smiled; I could see he was missing some teeth. Not so weird, maybe, taken into consideration that he was some thousand years old. He gestured to the chair I`d seen through the keyhole and waited for me to sit before he got back in his own chair.

“So, your parents didn’t have the time to tell you about your legacy?”

I didn’t respond, just sat on the edge of the chair, ready for everything.

“Let me tell you about Eve. The Bible gets her oh so wrong. Both she and her sister were creations of Earth, but Eve got her breath of life from man, and Lil got hers from magic. They grew up together, but it soon became clear that God had a plan for them. He made Adam and put him together with Lil, meaning for them to rule over Man.”

Noah sneered, spitting out the rest. “But she acted up, wanted to decide for herself. When Adam refused, she got mad and ran away. Leaving Eden, such a fool. Well, Adam turned to God, who gave him Eve instead. She turned out to be a better match, but she was also full of stupidity.”

I snorted, breaking my silence. “Are you really going to tell me the whole “snake and the apple” story? Blaming everything on a woman?”

I saw Noah`s eyes darken, and I meant that literally, they became black. Was it his eye colour when he turned into a Beast?

“Shut up, woman. There never was a snake, and there never was an apple. It was a man, and the forbidden fruit was grape, which Eve found out how to turn into wine. Eve got drunk and you know the saying In Vino Veretas? Well, it`s true. She ended up with another man, the wine opening her eyes to the good and evil in the world. Adam found them and got mad. He turned to the amphora as well, and cursed God in his intoxicated state, getting them kicked out of Eden.”

I was stunned, how had this story changed so much? And where was Lil in all this, and who was the other man?

“Eve mothered Cain and Abel, you know how that went. Adam got mad with sorrow, detaching himself from his family. It`s funny that Gomer – or George if you like, calls himself Adamson, because he isn’t. Seth isn’t Adam`s son. He`s the son of the other man. A Beast.”

A drop of resin exploded in the fireplace, scaring me awake from my trance. It was as if I was there, seeing Eve falling for the Beast, having his child. The story about her in the prophecy book, where she takes Seth to find the Garden, and he is supposedly bitten, and the Archangel refuses to help them, how much was true? Had she taken Seth to find his real father – only to be dismissed, having to crawl back to a furious Adam? Then what was it they wanted from Lil? Why didn’t she want to help her sister, so she could stay with her lover and her son?

“Why do you think Lil has the spell then? Don`t you think she would help her sister?”

My foot was tapping up and down, my whole body itching. I knew William had stronger senses, like hearing and smell, but it seemed Noah was so old that he too had succumbed for the old man`s curse.

“You need grapes from the Tree of eternal Life to make the potion. When God kicked Adam and Eve out, he closed the doors for humans to that realm. But Lil wasn’t human.”

I put my hands on my knees, getting ready to jump up. How did he not hear it? It was like a helicopter hovering over the house. I almost didn’t get what he was saying, but his last words rang through the room.

“And neither are you, Hannah.”

Then the door crashed in, and all hell broke loose.

It wasn’t a person coming in the door, it was Mother Nature herself. My hair whipped furiously around my face, momentarily blinding me. The wind was so strong I had to grip the shelf to the right of me, so I wouldn’t get caught in the whirlwind. I saw Noah`s cane start to fly, spinning dangerously fast in the small room.

RUN!

She yelled in my head, kicking me in the ass. I caught a glimpse of Noah on the other side of the room, he was in the process of changing, but he looked odd, frozen in a half and half state – his appearance gory, like another project of Frankenstein. The ancient man howled in anger and terror by the force of magic in his house, and I ran. Books were flying, and I heard the scraping sound of the table getting airborne when I darted through the door, prepared to run or fight for my life. It was supposed to be ten Beasts in the house for the party, my guess was that they hadn`t left for home yet, not with a witch waiting to be tortured.

I almost cried with relief when I recognised the walls outside the room, it was the part with all the paintings – close to the employee-entrance. I could still hear the growling from Noah, but the tornado was now blocking the door completely, reaffirming my hope that this was magic at its finest use. It had to be Samuel.

The carpeted floor turned into the roughly slated floor, signalling I`d entered the staff`s area. Where was everyone? I could taste blood in my mouth, my heart hammering with fear and exertion. My naked feet hit the cold floor, each step taking me closer to freedom. I had to hitch the dress up so I could run faster, and I heard it tear at the hem. Didn’t matter, I was free. I was free to get back in and save Natan.

The corridor leading to the exit was narrow, my shoulders bumped into the rough walls, scraping my bare skin. When I reached the door to the outside, I had to take a deep breath. Adrenaline and fatigue, horror and shock got the best of me, and I felt my head swim. The handle slipped in my now sweaty palm, making it hard to open the door. I leaned in, using my bodyweight to press the handle down. The sky was dark on the outside, the lights surrounding the big driveway leading up to the back of the Pevensy-house seemed to flicker. My head was spinning, exploding in pain again now that I had time to feel anything other than fear. Why was I hearing flapping? I grabbed my head to keep it from implode, and then I fell. I kept on falling and falling, I never hit the ground. It was almost like I was flying…

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