"Everyone! Get out of here!" I cried, hoping that I would be strong enough to control the power that I had unleashed long enough to let the others escape. I may not like being a Lili, but that doesn't mean that they all have to die. Despite the bright glare, I noticed that many Lilim turned to leave, some flew, some ran, but all had a panicked face on them.

When I coughed black blood, I just knew that I wouldn't be able to hold on.

Need a voice, Mistress?

Who's that?

It is I, your servant. If you wished it, I would gladly give you my voice, Mistress.

How... how are you going to give me your voice?

By just saying these simple words, Mistress. Repeat after me, 'Windsor, Windsor, my contract Windsor. I summon you'.

Then what?

Then I shall appear to be your voice and your shield.

I know that this sounds suspicious, but I really have no choice. I need to finish this fight here and now. This is my only chance. Very well. Windsor, Windsor, my contract Windsor. I summon you.

Then the pendant that Delilah put around my neck started to glow and as if by invisible hands, it was lifted to the air in front of my face. A cold mist started to come out from the pendant and gathered in front of me. As the mist grew to monstrous proportions, it compressed and started to form a humanoid shape. Then as the shape sharpened, it became no different than Disney's Genie, except that the color was green and not blue. He must've been at least 14 feet tall.

"I was summoned, and have come. What is your wish, Mistress?" boomed the genie.

Windsor?

"Yes, I am Windsor. What do you wish of me?"

I need a voice. Can you give me my voice back?

He boomed again, "This one has no power to return you your voice, Mistress. But if it pleases you, Windsor will be delighted to be your voice."

"What?!!!" yelled Dinah, spitting black blood on Windsor's back. Florian was still on her back, holding her with a bear hug while Amphillogiai was still stuck in her stomach

Yes, that would be acceptable, Windsor. Please be my voice, starting from now!

Rise, ancient spirits of Sheol. "RISE, ANCIENT SPIRITS OF SHEOL."

Firiel, The Bound Angel. "FIRIEL, THE BOUND ANGEL."

May your vigilance be eternal. "MAY YOUR VIGILANCE BE ETERNAL."

Galgrifon, The Royal Beast. "GALGRIFON, THE ROYAL BEAST."

May your reign be long and prosperous. "MAY YOUR REIGN BE LONG AND PROSPEROUS."

Entenakra, The Ancient Queen. "ENTENAKRA, THE ANCIENT QUEEN."

May your subjects worship you forevermore. "MAY YOUR SUBJECTS WORSHIP YOU FOREVERMORE."

Rise, and answer my call. "RISE, AND ANSWER MY CALL."

At this point Dinah took her right hand off the hilt of Amphillogiai, conjured a huge fireball and threw it at Windsor's big face. He simply shrugged it off and blocked the other fireball that Dinah threw with his fist which remained in flames but was quite unharmed.

Seeing as he was okay, I continued my chanting. Grant me control over the elements of Sheol. "GRANT ME CONTROL OVER THE ELEMENTS OF SHEOL."

Ultimate power to defeat my enemies. "ULTIMATE POWER TO DEFEAT MY ENEMIES."

Rid them from my side. "RID THEM FROM MY SIDE."

And smash them into a million pieces. "AND SMASH THEM INTO A MILLION PIECES."

Dinah again attempted to disrupt the spell with a well placed Earthbomb that I was a victim of earlier. Windsor was slightly dazed, but easily deflected the consequent Earthbombs with a slap of his hands.

Wind and Water. "WIND AND WATER."

Darkness and Void. "DARKNESS AND VOID."

Erode this unworthy foe. "ERODE THIS UNWORTHY FOE."

With my hands I bind my enemies. I raised my right hand, palms down. The circle and the runes inscribed started glowing bluish white. "WITH MY HANDS I BIND MY ENEMIES."

With my words, I dissolve my foes. "WITH MY WORDS, I DISSOLVE MY FOES."

Then Dinah struck Windsor with a series of three Lightnings directly at his chest. Windsor appeared to flicker than disappeared. The crystal part of the pendant turned cloudy and fell to my chest lifeless.

"No! Windsor!" I cried. I noticed Dinah coughing even more black blood and her hands were cracked and bloodied.

Then I realized that my voice had returned, so I continued the spell, with my own voice.

"Hear my call, spirits of Sheol."

"With my will, I call..."

"Endgame: Banish!"

The circle and runes glowed much brighter and it lifted off from the ground and surrounded Dinah. With Dinah's waist as its center, it glowed much brighter before it collapsed upon Dinah. The resulting glare became so bright that I had to shield my eyes with my hands.

NO!!! said the Inner Ilyse.

What? You're regretting it now? It was your idea.

It's not that. Banish is not imploding anymore, it's growing. At this rate, it will eat the entire Vanity Meadows.

You must be joking!

I'm not, and if you value your life, help me control it.

Despite the bright glare, I raised both hands and attempted to control the spell that seemed to be growing exponentially. I opened Wedjat to help me control Banish better, but I immediately knew it was pointless.

"Everyone! Get out of here!" I cried, hoping that I would be strong enough to control the power that I had unleashed long enough to let the others escape. I may not like being a Lili, but that doesn't mean that they all have to die. Despite the bright glare, I noticed that many Lilim turned to leave, some flew, some ran, but all had a panicked face on them.

When I coughed black blood, I just knew that I wouldn't be able to hold on. As the bright light of Banish washed over me, I closed my eyes, expecting the inevitable.

-----

Then suddenly it became deathly silent. I opened my eyes. I was now in a white room that was so white that it actually hurt my eyes. I rubbed my eyes a few times.

"Man, that sucks!" said a voice I knew so well.

I looked up at Inner Ilyse, who was squinting her eyes. Apparently, she was also affected by the pure white room.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Beats me," she shrugged, "The circle was flawless and the spell matrix was good, so it can't be either of that."

She rubbed her forehead while looking down. "The only thing I can think of that may be the reason the spell went wrong, was that we weren't able to control mom's power."

"What do you mean?" I asked as I closed my eyes for awhile.

"Well, everyone knows that tricorne power is unstable. Most tricornes had their early lives marked with the destruction of properties or death of a close one through earthquakes, flash floods, sudden fire, typhoons, and volcanic eruptions, sometimes plagues. Since we had never learnt how to control our tricorne power, I suppose instead of stopping when we told it to, it continued to channel power to Banish thus making it function even after it died."

"So... what, are we dead now?"

"You think? Frankly I don't know. I've never died, really."

I opened my eyes as I asked her the next question. "Hey, where do we go after we die?"

"Well, normally dead Lilim who aren't claimed by Mother will lose their memory and sentience, eventually becoming Legion. The others would be returned to their Lilin body, be washed in the Lethe River first, or sent straight to Adam Kadmon to be reborn as a new soul, which can be either Lili or human."

"No, I mean us two. What will happen to you and what will happen to me?"

"Interesting question. I don't know. I suppose I would follow you wherever you're supposed to go, which will most likely be Tartarus since you're the Queen there. Or maybe we are actually two different souls and if that's the case, then I will most likely go to Gehenna straightaway, if I don't become a Legion, that is."

"So are you saying that I will die a human death?"

"No idea, you should ask Uriel when you go to... did you hear that?" she said.

"Hear what?" I asked before I started hearing an indistinct voice shouting something.

"Shhh," she held out a hand, signaling me to keep quiet.

I could've sworn I heard a voice saying 'peach tub'.

"Tea cup?" she guessed.

"No, it sounds more like..." that was when I heard it more clearly.

"Reach up!" said the voice.

"Ohhhh..." we both said at the same time.

"Patty, reach up!" the voice said again.

"You think we should do as the voice say?" I asked, as I looked at Inner Ilyse uncertainly. She was looking uncertain herself.

Before she could reply, the voice said again, in a more urgent tone. "Quick! Reach up! I can't hold this much longer!"

I looked at Inner Ilyse, and she looked at me. "Well, no harm in trying. See you on the other side, Ilyse," I said as I raised my hands.

"See ya," she said as she did the same with her left hand.

Suddenly I felt a hand grabbed me and I blanked out.

-----

When I woke up, I discovered that I was lying on grass. I got up and took a quick look at my surroundings. I was alone, in a clearing with trees on one side and open land on the other side. One the far side of the open land were more trees and beyond that was some tall buildings. It must've been midnight, judging from the darkness alone. I noticed that unlike before, I couldn't see very far into the night. From the look of those tall buildings, it appeared that I have also returned to Assiah (Earth).

Suddenly in the stillness of night, I heard a melodious voice, "About time you woke up."

I tried to find who the voice belonged to. As I looked around me, the voice spoke again, "Up here!" I looked up and saw Naamah sitting on a branch. She looked visibly perky.

"That was a such a beautiful display. I never thought I'd ever see dear ole' Lilith fidget so much again. The last time she did that was when we were told to visit King Solomon at his temple."

Before I could say anything, she continued, "Oh! But I don't think you will see Lilith anytime soon. She looked pretty pissed off and has sealed your wings, tail and horns. Your Banish caused some very serious injuries on your sisters, though fortunately for you, there were no casualties. Except for Dinah of course, who Adela, Milen and Beata are still scouring Sheol for. But I think the thing that she was really pissed off about was the matter of her throne. She'll have to fix it before she put it back in Vanity Meadows, which funny enough, is now a crater so large it looked like it was hit by a meteorite."

She giggled while I was feeling guilty.

"Thanks for saving me," I said.

"Saving you? When did I do that?"

"Eh?" I said, slightly confused, "Weren't you the one who pulled me out of there before I was destroyed by Banish?"

"Wasn't me. I wouldn't have done something so suicidal for one of Lilith's children."

"But if it wasn't you, then who was it?"

"I don't know, child. So many things happened back then that I really lost track of everything. I only found you because I was trying to find Wedjat. Imagine my surprise when I saw you still alive and in one piece. I did notice however, that at the moment of Banish's explosion, a dimensional rip opened in Vanity Meadows. I originally thought that it was just Banish's side effects. If what you said is true then, whoever opened the rip must've been very powerful indeed."

"Who could it be?"

"No idea," she said with a shrug.

"Oh, before I forget, here," she said as she threw a ring at me.

"Florian?" I asked, feeling the texture of the once ruby encrusted gold ring. It now looked just like a soot-stained ring.

"He was very persistent. Extremely strong willed too, which is uncommon, even rare to a Lilin artifact. I have only seen a few artifacts with such a strong will for life that it defied death. That sword is one. One was Sequence, the sword that Arthur exchanged with Lady of the Lake for Excalibur. Then there's the Gá¡e Bolg, CẠand Spear of Longinus. Another was Demeter's basket."

I examined Florian closely. Rubbing here and there, I noticed that while it was very hard to clean, it was not impossible. I sensed nothing of Florian inside it though.

"Why wouldn't he reply when I call?" I asked after trying to telepathically communicated with Flo.

"He's probably in something equivalent to a coma. People don't just walk up and leave after being hit by a truck, you know. For your sake, let's just hope that he will wake up soon. Cleaning off the soot will probably help."

"Why am I still female? Doesn't killing Dinah means that I have won?" I asked after taking a look at myself. The strips of silk that emphasized more than covered my assets were torn here and there.

"Sure, you won, but what actually did you win?"

"I... The terms of the duel was that I will be free if I can defeat Dinah. I already won, so shouldn't I already be free?"

"What freedom are you talking about, child?"

"Well, there's the freedom to choose..."

"You already have that."

I pondered at her words and realized that being a Lili really didn't stop me from doing what I chose to do.

"Urgh, freedom to be myself..."

She shook her head. "You already have that."

"Umm, freedom to do what I want..."

"As I said earlier, you already have that."

I pondered at her answer and realized that she was right. Then something hit me, "Ah! There the thing about being a man. I want to be a man."

"You can already be a man if you choose that. Just hide your lilin self and you can live out your life as a man."

"Well, I don't want to have a hidden lilin self. I want to be a pure human. A human that can bleed red blood, eat high cholesterol foods, get tired after running a mile and die when hit by a truck! And why can't I freaking change back to Patrick form?"

Again, she shook her head. "That wasn't part of the deal, Ilyse. Let this be a lesson to you, wording means everything. If you want something specific, you must specify what exactly that you want. Otherwise, the other side will just try to find a loophole in your wording. This is especially true for creatures of Sheol, as our words are our bonds, we can't go against our own words. As for not being able to switch to your male human form, I suppose because you're out of power. Such things do happen."

"What? Are you saying that I fought Dinah for nothing?!" I said as I raised both my hands in a show of surrender.

"Not for nothing. You've gained the respect of the Ardat Lili and certain factions of the Lilim, such as Delilah's clique. I'm afraid though that you should stay away from Lilith for now. She's really pissed off at you."

Then she jumped down from the branch and held up her hand before saying, "I want it back."

I tightened my fist around Flo, "But Flo's mine! With mom gone, I'm the heir of Flo!"

"I'm not talking about your ring! I'm here for my eye. I want it back."

"Oh," I said, "why didn't you say it clearly? How do I give it back though?"

"Just put one of your palms onto of my palm. Then wish for you to give it back to me."

"Why can't you just take it, though? This seems much like a hassle," I said as I focused on giving it back to her. I knew it worked when I felt something transferred from my palm to hers.

Her forehead started glowing until like a camera's flash, the light intensified for a second before it turned into a dull glare. I was slightly freaked out to see the eye started moving and blinking fast.

"Yes, yes. This is perfect." she muttered to herself as Wedjat moved and blinked.

Then she closed her eyes and suddenly laughed in a very sinister way, very unlike her normal self. Frankly, she scares me.

"You have done very well," she said before she laughed again and disappeared in a blink. Her laughter could still be heard in the still night air, like a ghost in an abandoned mansion.

I had a slight feeling that I might've done something bad. I fell to the ground, as my legs failed me. I didn't realize that for awhile now, my body had been trembling in fear. This new Naamah really shook me up.

After awhile, once my trembling was kept under control, I tried to get up and leave this place, which oddly started smelling like rotten eggs. I wondered why I didn't notice it earlier.

I was in a park of sort. It looked much like Griffith Park near my home, but not quite. Those tall buildings looked promising though, so I started walking there. Even if I didn't know how I got here, at least I could find out where I was.

I was about to reach those clump of trees, when for some reason, I turned to another direction. I couldn't really explain it, it was like my feet were guided to follow a certain path. As if I was in a dream, my feet carried me to a suburban residential area, one where you could spy through the Christmas trees with help from the dim light of the porch or the living room.

My legs carried me further into the residential area until finally it stopped in front of a particular house. I looked at it and simply gave up. I walked up to the door and pressed the doorbell. I waited awhile before pressing it again.

"Yes?" came Chris' sleepy voice when he opened the door.

"Hi," I said.

"Pat?"

"Why? Were you expecting Santa Claus? I think he use the chimney."

"What are you doing here?" he stared at me, not believing his eyes.

Just about then, a truck with a few small pine trees in the back passed by, blaring the music 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town'.

"I'm your Christmas present. Don't you want to unwrap me?" I giggled.

"Am I dreaming?" he said as he rubbed his eyes.

When he looked back at me, I said, "Why? Do I look like a dream?" I think I actually gave him a coy smile.

"Baby, you're my biggest dream come true!" he said as he took a step towards me.

I took a step towards him, and placed my palms against his cheeks. "Does this feel like a dream?" I asked.

"Maybe, if this is a dream, I don't think I can tell the difference," he said as he brushed a stray hair from my face.

"Well, does this feel like a dream?" I moved my hands to rub his t-shirt-clad chest, shoulders and arms. Then I placed both his arms around me.

He clasped his arms behind me and pulled me closer. "Well, it feels slightly more real now, but I can't really be sure."

"Why don't you make sure then?" I said, by now our face are just inches from each other. I could feel his breath on my face and his eyes boring into me, which sent tiny tremors to every part of my body.

"Don't mind if I do," he said right before he gave me a sweet, long kiss. For that moment, it felt like time stood still, as if we had died in each other's arms.

It was when a cold breeze hit me did I pull back. "Can we go inside? I'm really cold." I couldn't believe that I walked all this way in such skimpy clothing. Heck, thinking back, it was amazing that I didn't get raped while passing through those dark back alleys.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. Please, come in," he said as he practically carried me through the front door.

"I guess I'm your bride tonight," I giggled as the front door closed with a loud bang. I really should remind him to lock it later.

The End?

Thanks to Stanman for the proofreading and to all readers for their comments and for reading this story of course.