Patrick was a normal everyday white-collar worker. He had a normal life, normal job, normal car and normal house. The only thing that was not normal about him was the fact that he was claimed by a demoness soon after he was born. For years he was unaware of that fact until one night the demoness came to him in his dreams and asserted her ownership over him. What would you do if you found out that you had to serve a demoness for the rest of your life? For Patrick, he fought it all the way. The Half-Lilin Prologue - Chapter 1 by Shin Eris

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Lilin or lilim, are creatures of Jewish lore that was said to plague the dreams of men and kidnap children on their spare time. For countless ages, people feared the Lilin, as their powers of seduction and corruption was so undeniable that even the wisest men would fall at their feets. It was said that Lilith herself gave birth to these demonic creatures after her flight from Eden. She made a deal with God, that in exchange for her freedom, one hundred of her demonic children will die daily. And so it was said that everytime the sun rises, one hundred lilin will die. The Lilin learnt to hate the sun and spent their entire lives enjoying the night until the day it was their turn to be sacrificed for Lilith's freedom.

Patrick was a normal everyday white-collar worker. He had a normal life, normal job, normal car and normal house. The only thing that was not normal about him was the fact that he was claimed by a demoness soon after he was born. For years he was unaware of that fact until one night the demoness came to him in his dreams and asserted her ownership over him.

What would you do if you found out that you had to serve a demoness for the rest of your life? For Patrick, he fought it all the way.

---

 
 

Os iusti meditabitur sapientiam
Et lingua eius loquetur iudicium
Beatus vir qui suffert tentationem
Quoniam cum probatus fuerit
Accipiet coronam vitae
Kyrie, fons bonitatis
Kyrie, Ignis Divine, Eleison
O quam sancta, quam serena
Quam benigna, quam amoena
Esse virgo creditur
O quam sancta, quam serena
Quam benigna, quam amoena
O castitatis lilium

Lilium, Kayo Konishi and Yukio Kondou

The scriptures were all wrong. Eve was not the first woman. Adam was not the first human. Lilith was both the first woman and the first human. When God dictated that all shall bow to Adam, and Lilith shall lie under Adam, she rose in protest. In her mind, she was the highest creature of all, as she was created with the world itself and that she was the one who sculpted Adam from the clay that Uriel took from her home of countless eons. God refused to acknowledge her protest and she left heaven in anger without even saying goodbye to her beloved Adam. And so the second sin was born, Pride.

Adam was frantic when he found out that Lilith was gone. He immediately went to God telling him of her disappearance. God, the All-knowing, already knew of her departure and had already sent three angels to chase after her. The three angels were Senoy, Sansenoy and Semangelof. He empowered these three angels as he knew that not even the three of them combined would be able to subdue or even catch up to Lilith. When the three angels caught up to Lilith, a fierce battle which raged for centuries ensued; tossing mountains high and about, freezing oceans, cracking continents and marring landscapes as both sides summoned rocks of heaven to maim their opponents. Ironically, neither side meant to kill, as Lilith thought of angels as God's children and she refused to anger God any further, while the angels had a respect of her as a wind deity who created herself on the 6th day of creation. A statement of which she took to heart and never failed to remind everyone she met in heaven about it, that was when the first sin, Arrogance was born.

When both sides realized how pointless the fight was, they told Lilith, "Return to Heaven or we shall drown you in the sea". This was said as they rested uneasily over the sea that would one day consume the pharaoh's army.

"Leave me be!" said Lilith. "I was created only to cause sickness to infants. If the infant is male, I have dominion over him for eight days after his birth, and if female, for twenty days".

Hearing this, the three angels insisted that she return to Heaven, but Lilith adamantly refused. To persuade the angels to leave her alone, she vowed that she will not bring harm to infants who wore amulets with their names inscribed on it. In a desperate attempt, the angels conveyed God's words that dictated one hundred of her children will die each day unless she return to Heaven. She agreed to it and it was said that every time the sun rises, one hundred Lilim will die each day as the cost for Lilith's freedom.

When it was obvious that Lilith will not return, God took one of Adam's ribs. From bone, it became covered in flesh and eventually, a copy of Adam was made, albeit with a different gender. He made it so that Eve will never act the same way as Lilith in such a way that both Adam and Eve will function like a puzzle box that will live as separate persons, but will never feel complete without the other. Senoy, Sansenoy and Semangelof told Lilith of this news in the hope that she would return to Heaven. Lilith wasn't amused. It was this day that the third sin was born, Jealousy.

Lilith was angered by the turn of events and she did return to Heaven, and the Garden of Eden, in the form of a snake. She tempted Eve to take a fruit from the tree of knowledge. Not knowing what each fruit represent, she asked Eve to take one at random and told her that each one will give her knowledge that would make her and Adam more beautiful, intelligent and closer to God. It was at this time that Lilith, whom Eve had never met before, introduced Vanity to Eve.

Eve was ecstatic about being closer to God that she returned home and cut up the fruit in two. When Adam returned, he asked about the strange fruit that she offered him. Eve told him that the fruit was from the Tree of Knowledge. Adam was angry at her and refused to eat the fruit as God had specifically forbid them from eating any of the fruits from that tree. Eve was desperate to be closer to God that she persuaded Adam to eat it by various means, some of which was taught by Lilith. Adam finally relented and both ate the fruit at the same time. Soon after, an overwhelming feeling washed over them and they tried to hide their naked bodies of which they were not aware of before, seeing as there was no need for protective clothing in the Garden of Eden. This overwhelming feeling was called Shame.

God spoke to them, "You are no longer fit to live in Heaven. You shall go to Earth and live a mortal life there". Both Adam and Eve, who were now covered in leaves sown together, left Heaven in tears. Lilith was laughing with glee.

Soon after they were casted down to Earth, Lilith again grew jealous and bitter as Adam and Eve had each other for comfort while she, who sculpted Adam was alone. One day she abducted Eve after both were asleep and sent her far to the southern end of the world. Both seeing that they were alone spent decades searching for each other, until the angels took pity on them and Gabriel came down to lead Eve to Adam. Lilith grew more and more angry at Gabriel's intervention that she swore she will separate Adam and Eve forever. God, seeing how helpless Adam and Eve were, sent the first of the angels known as the Grigoris down to help them build shelter and gather food. As the number of Adam and Eve's descendants grew, so did the number of Grigoris sent to watch over them and their children. One day, the Grigoris, saddened by mankind's suffering, rebelled against the Almighty God. God sent Gabriel, and he smite each one of the Grigoris until not a single Grigori was left and spent centuries combing the Earth, sowing seeds of disharmony among the Nephilim, the unholy union between the Grigoris and human females. It was one of these unholy offspring that would one day challenge David.

Lilith was tired of being alone. So she constantly seeked Adam's children to be her companion. She stroked a lucky break when Adam, horrified by Cain's murder of his brother Abel, left his family to live alone. It was this time that Lilith came to Adam as Eve and slept with him. She beget him a son though they did not continue to live together as Adam found out soon after that she was Lilith and not Eve as he was led to believe.

Aware that Adam would be more alert since that incident, she sought another companion. She found this in Cain, Adam's son who murdered his own brother out of Greed and Jealousy. She gave birth to girls that would be the firsts of the Lilim. She beget more Lilim afterward before she left Cain.

She met Samael, the Poison of God and she gave birth to many more Lilim, each looking less and less human than the previous ones. After a violent outburst when God snuffed the life of all her children except one, which she managed to save in time, God made her infertile, so she would never be able to give birth to more Lilim.

She then remembered the children she gave birth to when she was with Cain. Many of those were not Lilim by birth. A quick search through the world's populace yielded positive results by the thousands. She awakened their Lilin self and took them in. These people were called Half-Lilin, and they were everywhere.

Maybe your own sister is a Half-Lilin, you'll never know until they got a visit from Lilith herself.

 
Chapter 1
 
I looked down at the bed, watching the man gurgle and drown in his own blood. His throat slashed open and there was a pool of blood at the place where his heart should've been.

Shocked and in fear, I recoiled and retreated away from the bed. As my hands touched the wall, I felt a certain stickiness, with the texture of a thick maple syrup covering my hands. I raised my hands and was horrified at the sight of my blood-covered palms and scissor-sharp nails.

Collapsing to the floor, my mind was confused, not comprehending what was happening. As I listened to his dying sounds, I realized that I wouldn't want to be here when the cops arrive. I will need to flee. Fast.

Slowly, I got up from the floor, stepped past the dying man and into the bathroom. I decided that if I wished to leave, I would need to get rid of the telltale signs of my connection to... whatever happened here. I needed to clean myself.

I closed the door, walking with trepidation to the mirror, wondering how much and how long will I need to take to make myself look halfway normal. As I looked into the mirror, I saw the scariest thing I've ever laid my eyes on.

-----

I awoke with a gasp, or rather, several gasps. It took me awhile to regain awareness.

That damned dream again, I cursed. It's been plaguing my dreams for days now. Always the same dream. Always the same man, same bed, same bathroom, and same face in the mirror.

Try as I might though, I could not recall the face. I recall that it was frightening, but as for details, it was all a blur, except for the eyes. Yes, the eyes. It was yellow and the pupils were slits, similar to the ones on a cat. I supposed it was rather mesmerizing, if one didn't mind the splashes of blood that covered the face. Inside the pupils though, it was filled with fire and cruelty.

That was as much detail as I could recall. Maybe it was time to change prescriptions. This particular one seemed to trade one kind of nightmare for another. Maybe another visit to my shrink will do me good. He did help get rid of my previous nightmares.

But for now, I got to go shower. Mental check: get rid of the alarm clock and buy one with real bells, instead of the one that sounded 'tittit, tittit'.

-------------

"Hey Pat. Mr Punctual's almost late again today. What's up?"

I turned around at the annoyingly mocking face of my high school nemesis. That wasn't really accurate though, we must have been enemies since grade school. To say that I hated him was an understatement, I loathed him with the passion of a big bad dog chasing Garfield.

"Rick, my name is Rick. Besides Chris, what do you care if I'm late?" I countered not bothering to hide my desire to strangle him and skin his face.

He acted hurt, which would've convinced me, if I hadn't known him since elementary school, "I only wanted to know how my best friend's been doing. We are childhood friends after all".

Yeah, right. Childhood friends. Childhood friends don't steal their friend's girlfriends, nor do they break their friend's leg just because their friend happens to be going to the prom with one of the most popular girl in school.

"Besides, your mom asked me to take care of you."

I groaned. My mom passed away 3 months ago, brain tumor they said. Only lived long enough to see me graduate and get a job. My little sister cried a river during her funeral, and mourned for weeks. My mom, she wasn't perfect, but she tried her best to take care of us and listened to us, when no one else would. So when she left, we felt as if we had no one else to turn to. My dad handled it the worst. He buggered off for a long, unscheduled and unanticipated voyage across the world in his yatch solo a week after she died. We haven't heard from him since.

I walked straight to my cubicle, not bothering to reply Chris. Besides, he probably just wanted attention, and I was not going to be the one to give it to him.

Getting the hint, he moved to the cubicle in front of mine and sat on his chair. Go figure, I've been trying to avoid him for my entire school life and here he got the same job, in the same company, in the same office and given the seat right in front of mine after we graduate. A funny irony? Not to me.

I called my shrink and tried to get an appointment for this Saturday. Funny how you could never get an appointment when you asked for it. I got an appointment on Monday instead. Guess I'll have to take a day off. One thing that my boss particularly liked about me was that I never consciously arrive late and I never used office time to do other things.

A message popped up on my screen. "hey, the girls want to go to the bar across the street after work. want to join? sue".

Sue was the girl in accounting whom I met and instantly liked during the company's Christmas party. She claimed that she was only a year older, but you can't really trust women and their claims when it comes to age.

I opened the program and typed a message. "Only the girls? Sue, you know how awkward it is to be the only guy in an all girls group". I wasn't joking, it was awkward. I would talk about global warming and the fuel hike and they'll talk about bras, negligees and cute guys, as well as discount sales. Definitely not my point of interest.

Another message popped up almost instantly, "chick~en. cluck cluck cluck. don't tell me you're afraid of cute little lambs?"

Cute little lambs? Sue always had a way of making me laugh.

"If they're lambs, then Gandhi's a tiger. They're more than capable of ripping the throat of yours truly". Uh oh, wrong choice of words, now I was reminded of my nightmare this morning. I suddenly felt sick, but sent the message anyway.

It took awhile before the next message arrived, "come on, patty, it'll be fun. i promise we won't talk about bras again. please?"

Again with that name. Why is it that everyone insisted on calling me Pat? I hated it. It sounded like short for Patricia. Patty's even worse.

"OK, i'll go. But no bras". Sent.

I received a, "oh you naughty boy".

Naughty boy? Huh?

-----

We did go to the bar that night. I ended up acting as their personal waiter fetching drinks from the bar to our table, again. One of the girls, Liz, left with a cute guy (according to the girls). The rest of us stayed there for another hour.

They delivered their promise of not talking about bras. The entire conversation consisted of make ups and cute guys (according to them). I was pretty sure I groaned a lot.

I think they actually did it to see me squirm.

I got home rather late. After ordering chinese, I sat on the sofa and watched Oprah. My dad always said that I was a dreamer because I watched too much Oprah. I normally just shut up and avoid replying since he was known for his temper and his 'I'm right, you're wrong' attitude. Personally, I liked watching Oprah. It restored my belief in the human race.

After having dinner in front of the TV (a habit my late mom used to try to stomp out of me, without much success), I washed up and went to bed, not without worry. I was pretty sure that I would be having that nightmare again.

Lilin or lilim, are creatures of Jewish lore that was said to plague the dreams of men and kidnap children on their spare time. For countless ages, people feared the Lilim, as their powers of seduction and corruption was so undeniable that even the wisest men would fall at their feets. It was said that Lilith herself gave birth to these demonic creatures after her flight from Eden. She made a deal with God, that in exchange for her freedom, one hundred of her demonic children will die daily. And so it was said that everytime the sun rises, one hundred lilim will die. The Lilim learnt to hate the sun and spent their entire lives enjoying the night until the day it was their turn to be sacrificed for Lilith's freedom. The Half-Lilin Chapters 2-4 by Shin Eris

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From last chapter:

 

 
Chapter 2
 

I was walking alone in the darkness. Darkness? I wasn't very sure. Maybe it was actually brightness, it was hard to tell really. Around me, thick mist swirled and flowed. I couldn't even see my toes. Just kept walking forward, not knowing why I continued to do so.

A moment later, the mist in front of me parted and a womanly figure walked straight towards me.

As she got closer, I could see parts of her body; her face, breasts and waist hidden by the swirling mist.

“Mother?” I enquired, confused.

There were subtle differences between the last time she appeared and this one that was walking towards me. For one thing, Mother used to glide serenely in the mist, refusing exaggerated feminine swings, but definitely still female. This one walks with a purpose and demands attention, with the click clack of her heels and the swings of her hips.

A voice echoed from around me, tinged with sexual appeal and dripping with a powerful desire, “Yes, my child. How long it has been since we last met”. I didn't think that she was asking for an answer, so I kept silent.

“Now I'm here and I will never let you go again. You're mine, always was, always will. Just like your sisters”. Sisters? Did my dad have an affair or something?

Another thought hit me. Hey, she speaks. I never knew she had such a voice. Her husky whisper sent thrills to my brain, both upper and lower, threatening to provide rather embarrassing evidence. Suddenly something struck me; she never spoke to me before. Why had she suddenly decided to speak to me now?

“Now go back. You will return soon enough, my child.”

As soon as she said that, my feet felt light and every step raised me upwards as well as forward. It must've looked like I was climbing an invisible staircase. Then the mist evaporated and I was violently wrenched backwards

I woke up with a sweat. Man, that was rather intense. That last part was definitely something that I did not appreciate. My heart still felt like it would rip itself out through my spine.

As I showered, I reflected on my dreams. It was definitely a much better one than my everyday dreams. I made a slight smile. I missed seeing Mother in my dreams. I haven’t seen her since the night she attempted to kill me in my dream and since I took my prescription.

Oh heck! I forgot to take my pills last night. I didn't have any nightmares though, so did this meant that I no longer needed the pills?

Mother Gaia, as I understood to be her name, used to appear in my dreams starting shortly after my mom's death. At first I thought that it was my mom in disguise, sent back to help her poor, left-behind family cope with her departure. I immediately knew it to be wrong. Mother Gaia was very different from my mom. Mother Gaia had a more subtle mix of caring and love. Oh, you can feel it there, but you'll always know that it was just maternal instincts and that she had more important things to do or talk about rather than holding you and rubbing you kindly.

But Mother Gaia helped me in a lot of ways. When I was sad from my mom's death, she was there and although she did nothing, she stood there listening to me whining about the unfairness of it all. Sometimes I would ask her questions, and she would reply with images that form descriptions of which I had to translate myself.

My shrink told me it was just me desiring a mother figure after losing my mom. He told me that it was all simply my subconscious splitting a part of myself to converse with the main personality. It all sounded rather weird to me, but I followed his suggestion of recording each minor details of the dreams in a little book I called 'dream diary'. Some of the dreams were forgotten as soon as I opened my eyes, though some lingered a while longer. So the 'diary' wasn't very complete.

If Mother Gaia was just another part of me though, I must be some kind of a closet Socrates deep inside because the answers she gave were very deep and philosophical.

-----

A message popped up as I entered my cubicle, “patty, you free this evening?”

Must be Sue, I thought. That IP looked like hers. I placed my coffee next to the keyboard, “I don't have any plans for today if that's what you're asking”.

“would you like to come to my place for dinner?”

I grinned; I've been to her place a few times before. It was a cool house with a swimming pool and such, inherited from her favorite uncle. I know, at my age, I shouldn't be so giddy about swimming pools, but I couldn't help it. I love swimming pools.

“My, my, girl. You're asking me for a dinner date? What would your bf say?”

I thought she suddenly felt guilty and won't be replying me. As I took a fourth sip of my coffee, her reply came,”we just broke up”.

I soaked the LCD flatscreen with a mouthful of coffee. Immediately getting a handful of tissues, I wiped it all clean. It wouldn't do to have the boss walk by and saw me vandalizing company property.

“I'm sorry, I didn't know. Want to talk about it?”

“just tell me yes or no. i'm not sure what i want right now.”

I decided that I need to be a good friend to her, so I sent, “Sure, I'd love to. May I bring my swimming trunks? ^_^”.

“you're such a kid. sure, maybe we can have a swim after dinner”. I didn't know how, but I could sense her mood had improved with that reply.

“OK, I'll see you at 8?”

“sure, bring some booze though. i'm thinking of getting plastered.”

Laughing inwardly, I recalled that Sue had a very low alcoholic tolerance and it wouldn't take much at all to get her plastered.

“Will do.”

I sent another message quickly after, “This is Sue, right?”

“of course this is sue. who else calls you patty and sits in accounting?” Well, I can name a few.

Avoiding argument, “Right, but I wish you would stop calling me Patty. It sounds really girly”.

“patty patty patty”. I could sense her smirk as she typed those.

Oh well, at least she was participating in the joy of making fun of me.

-----

“Hey dude, need I remind you that it's Saturday? Which means half day?” Guhh, that damn son of a something really annoy me.

“Too much work to finish.” Please, just piss off.

He hovered outside my cubicle for a while, probably thinking of an insult of sort.

“I heard you'll be having dinner with Sue Preston tonight.”

How could such insignificant news be a subject of gossip? I turned around facing him, “And how, pray tell is it any of your business who I'm having dinner with? I don't remember signing up as public property, and I sure as hell don't remember signing up as your personal property. Why is it that you always want to take what I have?”

His gaze turned hard and I half expected that he'll break my bones. It conjured a memory of the incident that happened four years ago, a month before prom. Despite him being significantly larger than myself, I wasn't afraid at all.

I could sense a slight tremor in his voice, “I'm just looking out for you, dude”.

I stood up, angry. “Oh, for my own good, no doubt? Just like the day you broke my leg with a hockey stick soon after you found out I will be going to the prom with Cathy Thomas?”

He looked apologetic, if I hadn't known him since we were kids; I probably would've believed him. “I told you, it was...”

“An accident? Yes, you've spouted that crap since forever. Saying 'Hey look, I bought a new hockey stick. Pow! Oh sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. Are you OK?' doesn't make it an accident. Please, just get lost”. Or there will probably be a case of vandalism concerning a CPU casing and someone's fractured head.

Thankfully, he stormed off to his cubicle, grabbed his briefcase and left. I wasn't really sure if I would be strong enough to pick up the heavy CPU, raise it over his head and slam it down.

Looking around, I realized that we've raised quite a crowd. I shot a murderous glare in the general direction, "Just what in all hell do you all think you're looking at? Want me to do a strip show as well?"

As they scurried away to do whatever they were doing before, I turned around to look at the lucky CPU that would live another day. Scowling, I sat down on my chair and played House of the Dead 2.

-----

I arrived home at 5PM. Apparently my skills with the mouse had became rusty and I needed three hours with multiple tries to finally be able to kill the Emperor. Imagine how totally screwed I would be if someone invited me to join a CS tourney now.

Normally after coming home from work on Saturdays, I would start making dinner for myself. Nothing elaborate, just something with meat, chips, salad and mashed potatoes. Since I lived alone, I was never under any obligation to use the dining table. Most of the time, I sat on the floor, put my meal on the coffee table and watched TV while having dinner. Needless to say, I have absolutely no table manner when I'm alone.

Today though, I kept myself hungry since I would be having dinner at Sue's in 3 hours. Sue was a believer in eating well and exercising often, so I half expected that she'd be cooking more than I could handle.

I went up to my room to wash the grime and sweat away from my body. I was never one who liked sweat, so I normally avoided sweat producing activities, except for the occasional morning jogs. Normally I'd do it if I had an hour or two to spare before going to the office. That way I'd have enough time to shower and get rid of all the sweat. Plus, the park nearby was just so beautiful, it simply screamed, “Go jogging!”

It's funny, sometimes I actually heard someone saying that. I wonder if I've developed schizophrenia too.

After showering, I opted for casual attire, round-neck T with slacks. Well, she never said it would be a candle-light dinner. I didn't think someone who just broke up would be in the mood for a candlelight dinner so soon anyway.

Grabbing my keys and the wine that's been sitting in my fridge for weeks, I left my apartment for the car park under the building.

Oh darn, I almost forgot my swimming trunks.

Half an hour later, I arrived at Sue's place. It was located in the wealthier part of the city. I've been here a few times, but never managed to get over my awe for the entire neighborhood. Her uncle was one cool dude. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought that her uncle was a Columbian drug lord.

It wasn't that my family lived in a trailer park or something that made me so in awe of her uncle. For one, my family while not wealthy was rather well off. Heck, how else could my father afford a yatch if we lived in a trailer park? This though, just defined awesome. Anything more awesome would be a palace, or a castle on the highlands.

I stopped the car in front of the main gate. Pulling out my cell phone, I called Sue telling her of my arrival. Sure, I could probably ring the bell, yes, but why would I want to walk several feet away to the intercom when I could just talk to her without raising my legs at all?

Soon enough, the gate opened and I cruised into her driveway.

She opened the front door as I came to the top of the stairs. “Hey, I thought you weren't coming”.

I raised an eyebrow, “I think I'm only late by less than 5 minutes”.

Giggling, she ushered me in. I handed her the wine and asked if there was anything she wanted my help with. She told me she had already finished everything and asked me to sit on the sofa and relax before dinner.

A few minutes later, she called me to the dining room. Entering the dining room, I thought, yep, a very large meal as expected. Commenting on how delicious it looked and smelled, I sat down in front of her and dug in. It was very good, and I told her so. She looked visibly happy and told me to eat more, there was plenty more where it came from.

I must've made a funny face because she laughed when she looked at me.

After dinner, I volunteered to wash the dishes and then we sat in the living room watching TV, talking about everything and nothing while drinking wine. Her speech pattern started to sound slurred after the third glass.

She started talking about her most recent ex and why she broke up with him. She asked me if what she did was wrong, if she was the one at fault in the first place. Being her friend, I told her the most cliché but possibly the best words for this situation, that it wasn't her fault and things just happened.

Frankly, I myself had no idea why any guy would want to have an affair with another woman when he already have someone blonde, bright and beautiful like Sue Preston. The only thing she's missing is 'b for bosom'.

I left a little after 11, after carrying her up to her bedroom since her collapse on the sofa. I tried to talk her out of having more wine, but she seemed determined to finish the entire bottle. I tested my steps, smelled my breath and satisfied that I was not drunk and so could drive home. I only had three glasses after all but you never know.

As I prepared to go to sleep, I looked at the anti-psychotic pills on the cupboard next to my bed. I decided to forgo taking it to see how it would go tonight.

Aw heck, I forgot to use her swimming pool.

Chapter 3

The two figures on the bed rolled around. The man with the handsome face and toned muscles groaned as the woman with large wings and pointy tail rested her body on his while squeezing his testicles with her fingers. No words were exchanged between them, but they both knew what each other wanted and both wished to gain the most from each other.

He kissed her lips. His hands roaming all over her body. As his hands grabbed her buttocks, she cooed in delight. Her own hands busy rubbing and scratching on the man's chest, drawing blood in long lines. Neither noticed nor bothered about the wound on the man's chest, though the woman obviously appeared more animated as the lines got longer and more numerous. Her rubbing of her sex on the man's shaft made her and him both delirious with pleasurable anticipation.

She turned her lips and kissed, licked, sucked and bit on his ears as he kissed her breasts and licked her nipples. Her wings shivered as she felt a slight tremor from down below. They exchanged kisses even more, their tongues wrestling both inside and outside their mouths, twisting, licking and pulling on each other.

His hands went lower, rubbing briefly on her puckered hole, making her gasp, and finally resting on her dripping lips. He explored her sex, making her whimper with pleasure, her hips moving around in obvious arousal. He kept on rubbing until his fingers found her little nubbing. She moaned her approval as he rubbed it gently, taking special attention on her sensitive little clit and feeling a gush of wetness covering her opening.

In response, she twisted her tail in between them. Wrapping her tail around his erection, she guided it to her literally steaming pleasure hole. His mind was on overload. He didn't know if he was supposed to be feeling ticklish or aroused as something that was definitely not her hands wrapped around his manhood, tugging it to and rubbing it on her hot wet pussy.

She moaned loudly as he pushed his sizable erection into her. His groans echoed her sentiments as he decided that this was definitely where he belonged and he would do this over and over until he became an empty husk. She raised her hips up and down, in effect causing his erection to go in and out at a fast pace. She bit his neck, drawing blood from the puncture wounds caused by her smallish, almost unnoticeable fangs. She lapped it up as he humped harder, not even noticing her sucking his blood into her throat in his desire to release himself inside this gorgeous creature.

He didn't even notice when her bat-like wings expanded and wrapped itself around him. Her wings wrapped him in a gentle but firm embrace, as if she never intended to let him go. Soon enough, her body vibrated and shook as her orgasm peaked. She closed her eyes to enjoy the sensation, while her pussy tightened and massaged his shaft. He came in a very verbal display as she screamed her delight at receiving his seed.

Then her eyes turned feral and she kissed his lips, sucking into her every drop of saliva, every single breath and everything else that kept him alive. He realized too late as his body weakened and her wings pulled back behind her.

-----

My Sunday breakfast normally consisted of baked beans, sausage and scrambled eggs. The difference with today was that I replaced sausage with hash browns. Then I would normally spend the entire morning cleaning the house before showering in the afternoon.

Today however, I was feeling extremely energetic and wanted to do something different for a change. So I showered earlier, sent my clothes to the laundry and sped off to the shopping mall. The car parks were especially crowded this morning, so I had to make several turns and rounds until I finally caught a car moving out of the lot. Once I entered the shopping complex, I went straight to my most favorite place in the entire county, the arcade. House cleaning can be done later.

It had been a rather long time since I last entered an arcade. I used to go to the arcade every week when I was in college. I decided that I was going to start doing that again.

As I entered the arcade, I looked for my favorite games. I like guns the best, so typically my favorite games would be one of those shooting games. I toured around the arcade; watching people playing and making a mental note of which machine had a badly tuned gun. I found my favorite game, the Police 911 which I knew from experience would turn anyone's legs into jelly if one played for too long. Unfortunately, both machines were occupied.

I weighted my options. There were other shooting games such as House of the Dead (all three!), a ninja something game (not really interested), Virtua Cop (rather old), Time Crisis (all occupied) and Biohazard (badly tuned gun). I settled on the vacant Dance Dance Revolution instead. I got a lot of energy to burn.

A few hours later, I was desperately searching for a place to sit. After half an hour of the Police 911 game, I found that I could neither walk, stand nor avoid the shots anymore. My legs felt like collapsing on me. My muscles must've been badly overstretched and weakened. I couldn't even walk out of the arcade if I didn't hold on to something. For the next few minutes, the wall was my best friend.

Finding a bench, I sat down to ease the jelly-ness of my knees. Leaning back, I watched people going about their activities; some I noticed were here with a purpose, while others were simply here to socialize and window shop. Some others apparently had a somewhat huge purpose judging from the number of purchases hanging from each hand.

It was then that I realized for my whole life, I had never bothered to stop and look at my surroundings. I've lived my entire life focusing on 'what's important' that I never really understood the pleasures of life itself. Even when I went to the arcades in my college years, I always went alone. Correction, I always went alone and played alone. Of course sometimes there would be some guys asking me if I would mind if they took the linking slot. My grunts constituted the only answer and the guy would put the tokens into the slot and shoot away, only to die a few minutes later. Amateurs.

My eyes fell on a family of four. The two little girls were pulling their parents into a clothing store for kids. I wondered when I would be able to have a family of my own, and how long would it be before I could have kids that I could love and cherish. Chuckling, I decided that I didn't envy the father of the little girls though. The store looked awfully pink.

It was three hours later that I returned to my car. It took me two hours to convince myself that I was able to walk unsupported and one hours of walking in the supermarket section to convince me that I could drive. I arrived home half an hour later than I should be. I was driving very slowly.

-----

At four, I decided to stop my cleaning and start dinner. It was then that the phone rang. I left the potatoes in the pot and went to pick it up.

“Hello?” I asked while wiping the plates.

“Hey, Pat.” Oh great, Chris. I could never forget that voice.

“What do you want now, Chris? Going to tell me that you're coming over to show me a new hockey stick?”

His tone changed, “Man, you're never going to let me forget, aren't you? I said I was sorry. It was a long time ago”.

I wiped the plates a little harder and rougher this time, despite the fact that doing it gently worked just as well.

“The fact remains that you destroyed my high school prom experience. What did you hope to accomplish anyway? It's not like Cathy Thomas will go and find you just because you broke my leg.” In fact, I heard she hated him since then. No one had ever stopped her going to a party by breaking her date's leg with a hockey stick.

“Look, I'm not calling to talk about what happened four years ago...”

“Oh? Going to stop using hockey sticks and start to use steel pipes now? You big bully, who I went out with is none of your concern.” I shot back, still wiping the already shining-clean plates.

Before he could manage a reply, I added, “You are neither my brother, father, uncle nor even my cousin”.

“Now, hold on a minute...”

“Seriously, I don't understand what you did when you did, to tell the truth. I think you're just jealous because I got all the cool girls.”

I could tell that I've succeeded in getting a rise off him. I think by this time he would've been clenching his fist and looking for things to smash.

“I'M NOT CALLING TO ARGUE. BEER AT WESTON'S TONIGHT WITH THE GUYS. YES OR NO?”

“NO!” Well, he did yell first. I didn't appreciate being yelled at.

“FINE!”

I put down the phone as soon as I heard it disconnect. I shrugged, no loss to me.

Chapter 4

The woman with bat-like wings soared high over the city. Her blood-red hair flowing in the winds as she glides through the air. Her nose actively seeking the scent of her favorite food, ignoring the less nutritional kinds and searching for the most delicious and filling of them all.

Her search swept over candies, desserts, and tasteless rations. She grew increasingly agitated until she sensed a certain smell that lingered in her nose. She paused and hovered in mid air, trying to determine the direction she should take. Her senses homed in on a particular skyscraper, not far to the west. Careful to avoid losing her prey, she flew steadily closer despite her increasing hunger at something she could almost taste on her tongue.

She attached herself to the walls, her razor-sharp nails digging into the concrete as her wings furled behind her. She quickly scaled the building, searching for the delectable meal she'd be having soon. At the same time, she casted a spell so that she would appear as nothing more than an insignificant shadow even to the most sensitive of eyes.

She stopped outside a particular apartment. Leaping onto the balcony, she peered through the closed sliding door into a living room where a man and two boys sat watching television. She couldn't see what they were watching but that was of little importance to her. She wondered which of the males of the house owned the delicious smell she detected earlier. As she scanned the males in the living room, her yellow pupils fell on the boy to the right. The boy couldn't possibly be more than 16, yet he exudes an aura that outshone his father and brother. She was sure that he will grow up to be a very strong man, if he lived that long.

Right now though, she decided, he will first satisfy her hunger. Reaching into the locking mechanism of the sliding door with her mind, she gently worked the parts to release the lock. Then she slid the door open slightly and started casting the spell that would cause them to get increasingly sleepy. She watched satisfied as each of them slumped on the sofa and dozed off in a matter of minutes. She was about to enter the room when a woman, the mother she judged from her age, appeared from one of the rooms.

She silently cursed as the mother shook their bodies and succeeded in rousing them from their sleeps. She had half a mind to storm in and murder each one of them, with the exception of her meal when she noticed her telling the boys to sleep in their rooms. All the better, she thought, it will be most unlikely for her feeding to be disturbed if she could feast in the boy's room.

While the mother turned off the lights, she watched from the window as the boy slid into bed and fell asleep immediately. She expanded the range of her senses and was satisfied that everyone, including the mother, was already far in dreamland. As she unlocked the window and entered the boy's room, she decided that she would give the boy a dream he was never likely to forget.

-----

I woke up early this morning, despite the silence of the alarm clock. I decided to sleep a while longer as I had already told the office that I was taking the day off today to see my doctor. I didn't specifically tell them what doctor as I didn't want anyone to start doubting my abilities.

A phone call interrupted my sleep. The persistent ringing jarred my nerves as I slowly got up from the bed and walked unsteadily to the living room. Must get myself a phone in the bedroom, I thought. I said hello to the handle, but received no reply. After a moment, I repeated it but received a disconnected tone instead.

Just great, I got woken up by some random nutcase who dialed random numbers to get to know some random chicks. If I knew who that was, he would most definitely regret calling my number. My mind already started imagining several methods of torture, ending with castrating his balls and shoving a pike up his backdoor.

Fully awake by now, I decided to shower and sit around watching some DVDs before it was time to go to the shrink's office. As I was brushing my teeth, I noticed my hair being slightly longer. This will not do, I thought, I'd have to find a barber to cut it later. I was a neat freak, and proud of it.

After shower, I went back to the living room and pulled out a number of DVDs from my shelf. Most of them were from serials from a few years back that I loved and missed. I pulled out Andromeda, Stargate SG-1, Babylon 5 Season 1 and The Adventures of Sinbad. From the four, I picked Sinbad. I loved Rumina and my sister loved looking at 'handsome Sinbad'.

-----

The afternoon's session with the shrink went rather well. I told him about the nightmares I had during the previous week as well as my suspicions about the drug.

“So you've been having these nightmares ever since you took those drugs?”

In all fairness, no. “I've been having nightmares since before I took the drug, but only after I took the drug did I start to have the same dreams every night”.

He turned his eyes back to his notes, “This is certainly unexpected, but the ways of the mind is still a mystery even to the brightest of people. We can provide possible solutions, but compared to neurology, psychology is pretty much guesswork”.

“Tell you what,” he continued as he looked up from his notes, “I will reduce the dosage of the medications I've prescribed. Although you have mentioned that you no longer have those nightmares when you skipped those drugs, I don't think your body would be able to handle the withdrawal effect of the drugs if you suddenly stopped taking it.”

So that was how it went, I was now a proud owner of Amitriptylene 5mg instead of Amitriptylene 10mg. I wasn't very convinced that these things will help me, though they were awfully good as a substitute for sleeping pills.

That night I spent catching up on my leftover work. Business had been rather slow lately so I hadn't had much to do. Though I suspected that someone in marketing would get fired if this trend keep up as the management people enjoyed saying: “It's marketing's job to give us a job, it's IT's job to do the job and it's accounting's job to ensure that we don't screw up. The management's job is to get rid of people who didn't do their job right”.

It wasn't long before I called it quits. I popped in one of the pills and collapsed onto my bed. It feels so good to lie on the bed. I drifted to sleep with thoughts of how much I loved my bed. I felt like I wanted to stay on my bed forever.

 
To be continued...
 

---

 
*Thanks for reading. Please leave a comment. I know this is rather slow, so please bear with me ^_^

She felt as if an electric shock coursed through her. Finally her memory flooded back to her and she tried to back away from the man. This can't be, she thought. It can't be him. I was about to have sex with him. This can't be happening. Then she felt a hand touching her, and one word screamed in her mind. NO!!! The Half-Lilin Chapter 5 by Shin Eris

---

 
From last chapter:

 

 
Chapter 5
 

She soared high above the city. Looking down, she saw rows and rows of light, each formed from individual lights, moving from one rows of light to the other. She had always liked watching those lights, it was so pretty and from above, it looks like twinkling glass. She shook in amazement at how the human world never seemed to sleep and wondered how this would complicate her feeding.

Then she felt something pulling her. It was very gentle; it didn't even feel like a tug. It was as if she was being persuaded to move. Move she did, as she spread her wings as far as it can and swoop in towards the origin of the pull.

She came upon a neighbourhood near a tranquil lake. As sudden as it appeared, the pull suddenly vanished. She started to panic as the connection got severed and tried flying around low trying to catch the source. It didn't even cross her mind to cast an assimilation or camouflage spell to cover herself. She was simply too preoccupied with resuming the link.

After half an hour of searching, she caught on to a thin tendril of thought. After analyzing its composition, she decided that it was the same one as the one that pulled her there. Slowly following the link, she finally came upon an average-looking suburban house. The grass was neatly trimmed, but there were neither flowers nor any ornamental plants around the yard.

She walked up to the front door, put her index finger on the doorknob and smoothly turned her finger clockwise. The door emitted a soft 'click' sound as she turned the knob and entered the house. It was very dark in the house, though being a very capable demoness, the darkness had absolutely no effect on her sight.

She proceeded up the stairs to a particular room. This door was not locked. Slowly, she turned the knob and entered, heading straight to the sleeping man on the bed.

Mmm, he looks strong, he'll fill me up for sure, she thought.

She gently got onto the bed, dissolving any skimpy clothing she had on. Her large bat like wings furled behind her, her tail dancing madly with anticipation. She pushed her long blood-red hair back as she lowered her head and licked his neck.

Realising that she liked his taste, she pulled down the blanket rubbing his broad chest as it became exposed. She nuzzled on his chest, his neck and his face. She decided that he not only tasted nice, he smelled nice and he felt nice too. She wondered if his flesh and blood would taste just as nice.

As she kissed and licked his collarbone, enjoying his taste, she felt his manhood coming alive. She giggled as she rubbed her wet mound on his briefs-covered erection. Feeling like teasing him a bit, she dry humped his crotch, feeling it grew in the tight constrains. He groaned a bit, as they all did when she teased them.

Then she raised her head and kissed him on the lips. Her tongue busy exploring his mouth, licking all around his tongue, going all the way to the back. Suddenly his eyes opened and he became very much awake.

He pushed her up, releasing her liplock with his and his eyes got wide as he said. “Pat?”

She felt as if an electric shock coursed through her. Finally her memory flooded back to her and she tried to back away from the man.

This can't be, she thought. It can't be him. I was about to have sex with him. This can't be happening.

Then she felt a hand touching her, and one word screamed in her mind. NO!!!

-----

“Ouch! What the hell?”

My hands flew to my forehead as I opened my eyes quickly. I looked around, wondering just what the heck did my head hit. My eyes fell on the bedside cupboard to my right, and concluded that it was the culprit. Darn, I never knew that a plastic cupboard would hurt so bad.

It's time to get up though, I thought, it's workday today.

So with one hand on my forehead, I grabbed my towel, stripping myself with every step. It was another bad habit of mine to strip on the way to the bathroom. I never considered it a problem as I lived alone and I was able to restrain myself whenever guests were to come over. The fact that my late mom never found out about it simply proved that the habit was never a problem.

Soon as I entered the bathroom, I put the towel on the towel rack, turned on the water heater switch and turned the tap. It was also my habit to test the water first before I bathe. I really hate cold showers.

As I waited for the water to heat up, I brushed my teeth. I always considered brushing my teeth in the morning as a ritual and often took quite some time doing it. It was not that I enjoyed brushing the same spot over and over again, it was just that I felt fresher the longer I brush.

I glanced up to the wall clock, wondering how much time I'd have before it was time to go. I had put one up here the last time I overslept in my bathtub. That incident costed me a date and earnt me a slap when I met the girl the next day. Since then, I decided that I should always be able to see the time even while I was in the bathtub. As my eyes rested upon the hands of the clock, my eyes turned wide..

“Eight twenty! Damn, I'm already late!”

I jumped into the shower, not caring whether it was cold or hot. I was already late and cold shower was the least of my concern at the moment.

Boy, that was a really cold shower.

I rushed to my car at the basement parking lot, after having to go back to my apartment once because I forgot my wallet. My heart fell as I estimated the time it would take for me to navigate the traffic. It fell even lower as that the traffic didn't move much after 10 minutes.

This was going to be a very long morning, I thought.

I entered my cubicle slowly and silently. I guessed Mr Stuart probably already knew about me coming in late, but it was never my habit to flaunt my delinquency by apologizing every time I did something wrong. If Mr Stuart had a problem with my coming late, he could just call me to his office.

I booted up my computer and went to get myself a cup of coffee. I needed the caffein fix more than usual, since I didn't have time to make one at home this morning. Walking into the lounge, I came face to face with Roger Jinkle. He was one of the guys in charge of the company's servers. We got along fine normally. Sometimes I went to his office to check on system compatibility with my designs, sometimes he came to my desk to help me modify my designs to reduce load on the server. This morning though, he gave me this really curious look, as if he just saw a cat with three heads, three tails, twelve legs and sixteen wings. He walked past me and left through the door I came in from.

What was that about?

I filled my mug at the expresso machine. The taste was horrible, but that was the only way to get my daily caffein fix, so I couldn't really complain. It tasted even worse today though. I briefly wondered if coffee beans could go bad.

I was walking back to my cubicle when Carol Hurst, a lovely brunette from marketing commented on how she loved my hair and how it fitted me better than my previous hairstyle. I replied with a confused 'thank you'.

When did I changed my hairstyle?

The morning went by smoothly, I guessed Mr Stuart had too much things on his mind this morning that scolding me for coming in late was simply not something he decided on doing.

At eleven, a message popped up on my screen, “wana hav lunch together? sue”

I replied with, “Sure, but not too far, I got a lot of work today”.

“not far, just the cafe acros the street”.

“OK, see you there at 12?”

“yup, dont be late”.

“Patty! Over here,” came the voice of Sue Preston soon after I entered the cafe.

I turned around, spotting Sue sitting at the far corner of my right. She looked better than the last time I saw her, probably due to the fact that she appeared much sober this time.

“Geez, make it louder, would you? I don't think the people in Moscow heard you.”

She answered with a giggle.

“Well, you look giddy today. What's up?”

“Do I? Hehe, wanna try a guess?”

I had never been one who liked guessing games. I always thought that it was a silly pastime and a waste of time. Why couldn't people just tell it directly?

Unfortunately, Sue's giddiness was too infectious to ignore, “ OK, what will I get if I play the game?”

More giggles, “Play and I'll tell you”.

“Then I don't want to”.

Pouting and with a flutter of eyelashes, Sue pleaded, “Please, pretty please with cherry on top and whipped cream on the side?”

Darn, I'd need to track down her ex and find out how he managed to be immune from her charm. If my ex was this persuasive, I think I would've gotten two kids and a beautiful house in a friendly neighbourhood out in the suburbs by now.

“Fine, but lunch's on you,” I replied as I signalled the waitress.

“Oh poo! You're going to get half of it if you got it right.”

Half? This must be something monetary then.

“You got a promotion? Congratulations! Now how much do I get every month?”

“No, you ass! I'm not getting a promotion. Besides, you're not getting a cent of my wage even if the world ends.”

“Need I point out that if the world ends, your money would be worthless anyway?”

“Try again,” she said as she twirled her luxurious blonde locks around her finger.

“Black coffee and lunch special, please.”

“That's not a... oh!” she turned around, spotted the waitress and asked for cappucino and salad sandwich.

I'd never understood why women would torture themselves by only eating vegetables for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I suddenly had this image in my mind of women melting into slimes as they were fed beef stew and fried chicken.

Granted, Sue didn't always eat vegetables only, but still... anyway, it wasn't my problem in the first place. So I decided to do what I normally did, I kept my mouth shut.

“Your distant relative gave you a private jet as a christmas present?”

“Nooo, if they had a private jet, do you really think they'd give it to me?”

“What about a boat?”

“The only one who got a boat was my Uncle Robert, and he made it perfectly clear in one of our family reunions that he'd rather sink it himself than have anyone else touch the steering wheel of his beloved Santa Maria.”

“Aliens landed in your backyard.”

“No, silly.” Giggles.

At least I'm still funny.

“You won a year's supply of mackerel.”

“Would you be serious?”

“Why? Was it related to the death of a certain person?”

“No, but I think you would be thrilled to hear it.”

It was at this time that our orders arrived.

“Oh? What would I be thrilled about?” I asked as I sipped my coffee

“A vacation to Hawaii, of course,” she immediately covered her mouth with her dainty fingers, “Oops!”

“You're saying you want to take me to Hawaii?” I asked, incredulous.

“Yup! Won a trip for two to Honolulu. It's part of their Valentine's Day promotion.”

“Wow, I've always wanted to go to Hawaii, but my family never got the time and my ex was never really big on travelling. Since my mom passed away and since I broke up with my ex, a vacation had become the most distant thing in my mind.”

Her eyes soften, “You know, you've never talked about your mom.”

I looked at the black liquid in my cup, then raised my head and looked straight at her, “What's to talk about?” then I added with a venom, “The only person around here who knew about her was that jerk Chris in my department”.

She touched my hands with hers, then said in a soft voice, “I would like to be another person who knew about her. What was she like?”

I stared at her, wondering if she was just being friendly or if she really wanted to know, “She was a great mom. She was a wonderful cook and she was great with housework. When she was alive, she taught my sister the fine arts of 'seducing your man through housework'. She included me in one of those lessons once and I'd swore never to do that ever again. I'm sure it would be sexy if it was my mother or little sister doing it, but me, it would be too gay.”

The memories of that particular time made me shiver.

She looked visibly more interested, “Really? Would you by any chance teach me how to do that?”

“No friggin' way.”

Pouting, “Fine! What else was she good at?”

“She was good with sewing. When we were kids, mom used to make all kinds of costumes for us. If not because we donated most of those costumes, my closet would've been filled with costumes alone.”

I thought mentioning that particular time when she mixed up me and my sister's measurements and ended up making a male costume for her and female costume for me would be overkill. I ended up as Tinkerbell while my sister became Captain Hook. Shivers. Good thing there wasn't that much difference between boys and girls at that time.

“What about her cooking? What was her specialty?”

“She was good with Mediterranean cuisines, and her meals were often laced with spices. Me and my sister used to make a game out of guessing what meals she was cooking by the smell wafting through the corridor.”

“Was she an Italian or something?”

I laughed, “Nope, she was British. People could normally tell when she spoke. As far as I know, she had no Mediterranean blood at all”.

“You know, this reminds me. One of my cousins once went to France for the summer vacation. She came back sounding very French. She got quite a few boyfriends with that accent. When she went to college, she made this story about how she was raised in France and only recently returned. I guess men really dig foreigners.”

“Seriously? Haha, what a fake.”

“Yup, so how did she looked like?”

“How would I know? She's your cousin.”

“I mean your mom, dummy.”

“Oh, her. Well, she was a brunnette. She always appear neat and tidy and clean. She was very big on cleanliness and tidiness that I lost count how many times I got scolded per week for not tidying up my room.”

“Was she pretty?”

“I think the word to describe her would be beautiful. When I was growing up, my friends used to say that she ought to be a model or an actress. She seemed to have this inner glow that made her appear cheerful and approachable. Even on her last days at 46, her beauty could still rival most women ten or even fifteen years younger than her. She refused any treatment and had this really silly idea that no treatment in the world would be able to save her. We didn't mind though as we got to spend her last remaining days with her, doing the things we used to enjoy doing. For a while, everyone ignored work and school, living only for the moment.”

She handed me a tissue as I gratefully took it.

“Even dad became more friendly. We could see that she was visibly weaker, and we had to help her with everything. Dad even held her close to him as if he didn't want to let her go, and I suppose that might have been true. That was about the most intimacy that I've seen from dad since I went to college and the last act of intimacy since then.”

I paused, rubbing my eyes with the tissue. I seriously hoped that no one from my office saw me in this state. Chris would just love to make fun of this when he heard about it.

“At night, my sister would sit close to her as she watched TV and when they were alone, she would pour her heart out to her, telling mom about her life, her fears and what she wanted to do in the future. At first, my mom would reply, telling her not to worry and that she'd be fine. As her final days grew nearer, she couldn't even nod and her eyes glazed over. I half suspected that my sister was only talking to herself by that time. She died peacefully on her bed while my sister told her about her dream house and how much she would love to have mom in it. When my sister found out mom had died that night, she held on to mom and wouldn't let go. Only when I told her that she was hurting mom did she finally let go.”

It took quite some time for me to calm down and dry my eyes.

“So how are you feeling?”

Sniffling, I replied, “I guess at that time I was still in denial. I hoped that she wouldn't be gone forever, that she was just taking a vacation and will return one day,” I paused, “Thanks, Sue. This is the first time I actually cried since her death”.

She squeezed my hands, “It's okay to cry, you know. You've always held it in. When you're sad, cry. When you're happy, laugh. When you're angry, just beat the person up. The idea that men shouldn't cry is stupid. Using your own words, the person who made that rule should be caught, tied up, flogged, marched in front of a firing squad, shot with high calibre guns, and had the carcass dumped as dog food”.

I laughed at that.

We finished breakfast in silence.

When it was time to pay, she looked at me, and said, “That Chris Reynolds is quite a stud”.

“Oh God, Sue! I don't need to hear this!”

-----

As we entered the office, she turned to me and said, “I love the new look”.

I turned around, shouting, “What new look?”

Of course, she was no longer there.

The rest of the day was dull to say the least. I went to the washroom after Sue's remark and had a good look at myself.

It did look like my hair was longer than yesterday. More peculiar, it looked much healthier and more reddish than I had ever remembered. I wondered if someone made a prank of putting hair dye into my bottle of shampoo.

I sure looked better than usual though.

When I arrived home, I felt something nagging at me. It was the kind of feeling I got if I forgot something or something was missing. I wondered what it was.

She closed her eyes in bliss as she felt him spurt deep within her. With each spurt, her purrs got louder until it turned into growls. She turned her head down and moved her lips closer to his. Closer and closer she got, breathing in his scent, smelling the sweet aroma of the delicacy she'll be devouring. She oh so loved a well-cooked meal. Then their lips connect. The Half-Lilin Chapter 6 by Shin Eris

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From last chapter:

 

 
Chapter 6
 
She closed her eyes in bliss as she felt him spurt deep within her. With each spurt, her purrs got louder until it turned into growls. She turned her head down and moved her lips closer to his. Closer and closer she got, breathing in his scent, smelling the sweet aroma of the delicacy she'll be devouring. She oh so loved a well-cooked meal.

Then their lips connect.

She began to nudge his lips open with her tongue. He relented easily.

As she cradled his head and fastened her lips on his, her tongue playing wildly at the entrance of his mouth.

Then she sucked. Hard.

She sucked in every living breath, every trace of conciousness and every little bit of energy from within him into her devouring maw. She sucked and sucked, neither caring for the flailing arms that tried to dislodge her from his body nor the leg that tried to knee her away.

Shortly after, she felt the essence reduced to a trickle. She oh so wanted to continue feeding, he was so delicious, but caught herself and sat straight on his pelvis. She berated herself on almost killing her meal, as it was a promise from ancient times of glories past that her kind will not kill their food.

Mother wouldn't be too happy if she found out I almost broke her promise to King Nimrod, she thought.

She got off his body and laid down next to him. She rubbed her full but not so bloated belly, recalling his taste and how good it felt as he spurted his seed into her. She looked into his sleeping face and felt a bit of regret that she couldn't mark him, as his body resisted all her attempts to mark him as her own little restaurant. She didn't mind all that much though, she had already consumed enough that she felt like she could go for days without breakfast, or lunch, or even dinner.

Maybe I'll make a pact with him later, she thought dreamily.

She snuggled into his almost lifeless form. Drinking in the delicious scent of his aura. She knew it was taboo to be lying next to her food after meals, but she decided that she would ignore that particular norm just this once.

She was shocked by the arm that suddenly draped itself around her torso.

“God, you totally drained me just now,” he growled softly, ”I don't think I've ever been so drained my entire life”.

“How can you still be able to speak? I'm pretty sure I sucked you dry,” she replied as she looked up at his face.

“You sure did, doll. You almost sent me to heaven just now.”

“I assure you, I have no intention of sending you to heaven nor anywhere close enough to heaven. Now how exactly are you not half-dead? Do you have some kind of energy reservoir within you?”

“Woah, these things are real. I thought they're just props. I thought you're just a kinky little slut.”

She purred, “Hey, don't rub my wings, “ gasped , “and no playing with my tail, either”.

“Is this your true form? I always knew there was something weird about you.”

She slapped his hands away, “You still haven't answered my questions”.

“Hey, I love your horns. It swirls around above your ears like a pair of ram's horns. Makes you look cute as hell”. He proceeded to test if those were real as well.

She slapped his hand away as his other hand rubbed the base of her wings, “Were you even listening to me? Just who are you? And stop playing with my... ooh... don't touch that!”

He squeezed her buttocks at that point, as if making a statement. “Why, you've known me your entire life, Pat.”

And in that particular moment, I became her and she became me as our cries echo from deep within our souls.

-----

I woke up screaming bloody murder this morning. Talk about nightmares. I thought this qualified as the worst nightmare I've ever had. It was bad enough that he was in my dream, to have sex with him, even in a dream was the most terrible thing. I didn't think there was even a word in existence to describe my loathing and disgust over the whole affair.

I opened the bedside drawer and threw my bottle of anti-psychotic pills away. I wasn't sure if it was the culprit, but I needed to blame something. I still wasn't feeling any better though. I banged my head to the wall, until I couldn't stand the pain.

The memories were still vivid in my brain.

Now I got a freaking headache as well.

I concluded that it was obviously an extremely dumb thing to do. Now I had to find an aspirin in my tortured state. Not a very easy thing to do when you were clutching your head in agony with one eye closed.

I spent quite a long time under the shower, trying to get rid of the burning pain in my brain. It took me about half an hour just to get a shred of sanity. It took me 10 minutes to be able to get out of the shower without tripping over my own feet, 5 minutes to find a comb and about 20 minutes to get dressed since I only used one hand and one eye to do those. The other eye was closed in pain while the other hand was too busy massaging my poor head.

Damn! What I am going to do with my hair? I forgot to cut it yesterday.

-----

I arrived at the office almost 5 minutes late, again. Had to struggle with making a ponytail as I found out that all the scissors in my house were blunt! What the hell?!!

If this ‘coming late to work’ thingy keeps up though, I might end up being on the shortlist for the next downsizing. I hoped Mr. Stuart didn't take any special notice of this.

It took me a few extra minutes to settle down in my cubicle. It appeared that the IT division, the server room especially, was pretty busy today. People were walking back and forth just outside my cubicle as if we were at war or something. I wondered if someone important was coming.

I went out to visit the cubicle next to mine, the one occupied by Steve Candle. Normally I wouldn't really speak to this burly, muscly, macho and obviously full-of-himself guy, but today was an exception I guess. He still gave me the creeps though, and the weird way he looked at me this morning as I walked into the lounge really wasn't helping.

I knocked on the partition that separated our cubicles. “Hey Steve, you know what's going on in this office?”

He just stared at me. An expression of puzzlement ran on his face, or was that confusion?

His stare was getting me very uncomfortable, so I knocked on the partition again and called him in a louder voice, despite the fact that he was only a few feet away from me. “Yo Stevie, dude, hello?”

I knocked a bit harder.

He looked like he was awakened from a journey somewhere far away as he coughed and regained his composure. “I'm sorry, do I know you?”

Now it was my turn to be confused. The only difference was that I was confused and starting to panic. This was starting to sound like a scene out of Twilight Zone, the one where you suddenly woke up one day and found out that you were lost in some parallel universe of which you weren't supposed to exist in.

“Umm, I'm Patrick Willows. I work in this cubicle over here,” I said as I nervously pointed to my cubicle, which as I've said before, was right next to his.

Now his face turned into one of astonishment. “Ricky? God Damn, did you do a hair extension or something? I'm pretty sure your hair wasn't as long as this yesterday. Hell, the only person in this department with a hair longer than you, is Mr. Stuart's wife, and she doesn't even work here.”

He turned around looking back at his flatscreen monitor, mumbling incoherent words. I did catch a few disconnected words though, such as 'pity', 'damn' and I think he mentioned the name of a french dish.

My voice raised a pitch, “Steve! I'm asking you if you know what the friggin’ hell's happening here. Why is everyone being busy out of a sudden?”

He turned around, looking at me with a raised eyebrow as if saying, ‘you incompetent slowpoke’. It wasn’t just my imagination; I’ve heard him call some people that in the open, especially when he was the project manager.

“You don't know what day this is?”

“Tuesday,” I answered, in a matter of factly tone.

He spoke slowly, as if talking to a child, “Do you know what's so special about this particular Wednesday?”

Was there anything special today? I must've missed a memo.

He must've noticed my confused expression as he answered his own question for me, “Today, is 20th of December”.

“Uhh, yeah, I knew that. So what's the big deal?”

He spoke even slower this time, “You know... Christmas is in... a few more days?”

“Look, I'm not dumb. You don't need to treat me like I'm a child. I can understand you perfectly no matter what speed you choose to say it. I know Christmas is approaching, but what's the big deal? I'm very sure that Santa will not drop down of our chimney and give us all presents for being good boys and girls. So please, GET STRAIGHT TO THE POINT!”

“We don't have a chimney.”

“Oh great, now you're being sarcastic.”

“Okay, you know that Christmas is coming?”

“Yes.”

“You know that I've always wanted a Porche?”

“No, and there's no chance in hell that me or anyone else will give it to you as a Christmas present.”

“Tough.”

“So what is this about?”

“You know Mr. Stuart will be spending Christmas in Switzerland?”

“Yes.”

“Did you know that the office will be closed from the 21st to 1st January?

“Now that news to me. When did he say this?”

“About 13 minutes ago. Everyone's urged to finish their work before Christmas holidays or they won't be getting any end of year bonus.”

“Well, that's a revelation. Thank goodness I've already finished all of mine.”

-----

It was almost lunchtime. The hectic-ness of the day had slowed to a trickle. Most of the people from my department decided to take advantage of the looser rules today to get lunch earlier. So there was only me and one or two other guys in the office.

I was chatting with Sue about her Christmas plans when I sensed an ominous presence behind me. I didn't even need to turn around to know who it was. I've had years to remember the aura of the sinister character behind me.

So it didn't surprise me when he said, “Pat, we need to talk”.

I turned my chair, ready to launch an assault with my venomous tongue when I saw him holding his right palm upwards in front of me.

I thought he was awfully nice to offer, so I place the wrapper for the coffee candy I just ate onto his palm. At least it would save me a trip to the trashcan. Apparently the cleaners forgot to put my dustbin back into my cubicle when they did the cleaning yesterday.

He responded by throwing the wrapper back at me, which flew away from me since it was just a thin sheet of plastic candy wrapper.

“You know, littering is frowned upon in this office.”

He totally ignored me. Instead, he said, “Let's talk reparations”.

I raised my right eyebrow, briefly wondering if he was on pot.

He walked closer to me, and ended up trapping me between him and my chair. He placed his hands on mine, effectively pinning me to my chair. I tried to struggle and pull out my hands from under his but failed. Man, this guy has a really strong grip.

“Hey, let go. What the hell do you think you're doing?”

“I want to make sure that you won't be going anywhere. We're going to settle this right here.”

“Settle what, dumbass? I don't remember maiming that psychotic brain of yours, though I did entertain the thoughts of driving a hockey stick up your behind.”

“Oh, you liked that, didn't you? You were moaning so loudly when I did that.”

I decided that he was definitely on pot, “Excuse me, as far as I know, it was my left leg that got beaten with a hockey stick. I don't remember your hockey stick getting anywhere near my butt when that happened”.

“Don't change the subject. I'm talking about this morning, in my house, on my bed.”

Well, what do ya know, the head-banging worked. I totally forgot about that dream until he mentioned his bed. I still thought that he was on pot though. Seriously, his wet dreams were none of my business.

Feigning ignorance, I said, “I'm... sorry, I don't think I know what you're talking about. Hey hey, watch it. You're gripping me too tight.”

“Don't play dumb. I knew it was you back there. Have you forgotten how you teased Mr. Happy with your tail or suck my breath out that you almost killed me?”

I was dumbstruck and it must've showed, because he continued with, “Hah! Can't deny it anymore, huh? It was you there this morning as well as yesterday. I knew it from the start”.

What did this mean? Did our dreams somehow got connected and we ended up sharing the same dreams? Which force in the universe would do such a disgusting thing?

“Now that we've accomplished that it was indeed you back there, let's talk about reparations”.

I was woken from my thoughts the moment I heard the word 'reparations'.

“What reparations? How was it my fault that you ended up breaking your bed while you're having a wet dream?”

He looked at me closely, as if studying my face. It felt really uncomfortable so I moved my face to the side, breaking eye contact. “I couldn't tell for sure whether you're just denying it or you really didn't know.”

I tried again to release my hands as it was starting to get sweaty and achy. His grip, coupled with many pounds of body weight pushing down on my hands worked really well at binding me to my chair. “Know what?”

“About you blowing up my windows?”

“Which window?”

“All of them.”

“So your house got vandalized in the middle of the night. What made you think it was me doing it?”

He studied me again. I thought I could grow to hate that gaze as well. “It was no vandal, you did it.”

“How can you be so sure that it was me?”

“Because all the glasses broke the moment you started screaming with that god-awful pitch. I thought I must've blown an eardrum.”

“Good, you deserve it.” So it actually happened in reality. I thought it was just nothing more than a wet dream. So did this mean that all those guys I fed from, were real people? I didn’t remember breaking the windows though.

“I had a hell of a time cleaning the mess you made. Eventually I gave up and hired a maid service to clean up the house. Do you know how much that cost me? I haven't even started calculating the cost of replacing all the glasses in the house and on the windows.”

“So what do you want me to do? If you're looking for me to pay for the replacements, then forget it. I don't do charity.”

“Oh, I'm sure we can arrange something. You know, something like, having you coming back to my house tonight? In full demonic disguise, of course. I think it's pretty kinky.”

OK, that's it.

I kicked him in the nuts. Hard. That released me from his grip as he needed his hands to cover his genitals. He fell hard to the floor clutching his family jewels. I added a few extra kicks on the butt for good measure.

“Get off my case, creep. And stop acting all gay around me. I am NOT going to put up with anymore crap from you.”

I got out of my cubicle and ran for the safety of the accounting department. I hope Sue hadn't left for lunch yet. He wouldn't do anything with other people around.

Pity, he was really good in the sack.

Huh? Where did that thought came from?

-----

“So your sister will be coming today?” Sue enquired as she played with her glass of orange juice.

“Yeah, she'll arrive late this evening.” I answered, wondering when my drinks will arrive.

Liz Manning, the sexy redhead with a tight body and in an almost equally tight clothing interjected, “I didn't know you had a sister. Is she cute?”

Have I mentioned that Liz was bisexual?

“It would be weird if I tell everyone I met that I got a sister, wouldn't it? Besides, you asked the wrong person. Brothers don't see their sisters in that way.”

“Why not? I think my older brother Matt was hot!” she replied with a grin.

I just stared at her, eyes wide, “You're... weird”.

Thank goodness my drinks finally arrive. At least I can be spared from having idle hands.

Sue moved her lips closer to Liz's ears, and whispered in a loud voice, which didn't sound like a whisper at all, “His sister's really hot. She has golden blonde hair, cute face and her legs go on forever. I'd say she's supermodel material. I'm sure you'd simply adore her.”

“Sue! Don't talk about my sister that way.”

Sue took a sip from her glass, “Oh, don't be such a prude, Patty. You can't be her protector forever.”

“I'm not trying to be her protector. She can take care of herself. Besides, we didn't really get along in the first place.”

Tammy Fielding, a small, timid and shy girl who barely spoke a word since we arrived exclaimed, “Food!”

Tammy's meal was the same as mine, which was the deluxe lunch set.

Liz laughed, “I can't understand how you can manage to put all those inside your little tummy. I can't even fit half of yours inside mine.”

“You think that's a lot? Wait till you had one of Sue's dinners. You probably won't last 5 minutes,” I said between mouthfuls.

“Been there once, no more,” Liz said, putting her hands up in surrender.

Sue pouted, “You don't like my cooking? Fine, I won't bother inviting you guys again.”

Liz consoled her as she hugged her softly, “Don't be like that, girl. It's not that we don't like your cooking. It's just that the meals you cooked were too much. Imagine what it will do to my gorgeous figure.”

We laughed as she removed her hands to cup her impressive breasts.

“I don't think anyone would mind if that particular part gets fatter, dear Lizzy.” I said as I imagined her bosom getting larger as if pumped like a balloon.

Liz grinned, squeezing her pillowy flesh, “Speak for yourself. I had backaches because of these puppies”.

I laughed even harder.

“I don't even have breasts to worry about that,” I said as I patted my chest.

Tammy admonished in a whispering voice, “Liz, put your hands down. It's embarrassing, you know?”

“Chill, Tam. Liz's a common slut, she has no shame,” I said as I patted her back.

Liz raised her nose at that, “I resent that. I'm not a common slut. I'm a choosy slut and proud of it”.

Tammy sighs, as she looked at Liz with a facial expression that said, how did I became friends with these people?

Just then, a commercial featuring the beautiful Stephanie Mills appeared on the tube. She was promoting a skincare product, which I didn't believe for a second she used or even needed. She was also ambassador for many different beauty products. I couldn't even go to the loo in a mall without seeing her face in posters promoting a new movie, a makeup brand or a skincare product. It's not much of a problem though, I didn't think I'd ever get tired of looking at her flawless skin and unearthly beauty. I just had a problem with throwing the water sometimes when my mind was imagining her at the point of launch.

My mind must've been wandering because Sue's voice woke me up, “Hey Patty, I know she's cute and she has great complexion, but you don't need to drool”.

My hand immediately flew to my mouth. “I didn't drool!” I said as I wiped my slightly moist lips as the others laughed.

“Oh, it's okay, Patty. It's normal for guys to drool. She's in every way, perfect. I wouldn't mind doing her or her little sister myself,” Liz grinned, showing her perfect rows of expensive white teeth.

“Of course you'd do her, Liz. You'd do anything,” I teased.

“Not quite, I won't do this chair, or this table,” she said, as Sue visibly shuddered at the imagery.

Tammy asked, confusion apparent on her innocent face, “What do you mean you won't do the chair or the table? Do what?”

“So what time your sister's coming?” Liz said, changing the subject.

I shook my head, “No idea. She didn't give any exact time”.

Liz leaned back on her chair, appearing disappointed, “Aww, that's too bad”.

I decided that I was definitely going to keep a close eye on Liz and make sure that she and my sister never met.

“I wish I had a sister too. I'm tired of being the only child,” Sue said, sadness clear in her voice.

I looked at her, wondering what was running through her mind, “You don't want a sister, Sue. They'll steal your toys and annoy you all the times”.

Liz added, “Yeah, they'll soak your bras in cold water during winter as retribution for squealing to your parents about them skipping schools”.

We gave Liz the look that said, ‘you poor thing’.

Liz noticed our looks and said, “What? Do I have mashed potatoes on my face?”

-----

Stella, my sister arrived a few minutes after 10. She brought with her a number of bags that could probably last her a few years, assuming that all of them were filled with clothes. I briefly wondered if she intended to move in with me.

We hugged and it became obvious to both of us how much we missed each other. I haven't seen her since we buried mom. Though, it may have been my fault. I couldn't stand seeing my sister cry as it made me feel like crying too. I hated that feeling so much that I left as soon as it was polite to do so.

“Hey, bro. How's it hanging? And what's up with the hair? When I walked in, I thought you were your girlfriend. Your hair's almost as long as mine and my hair already reached my waist. And what made you color it? You've always been the prude of the family.”

“I'm okay. Don't bother with the hair. It must've been my friends playing a joke on me, I'll get it cut. And I'm not the prude of the family. Anyway, how are your studies? Doing well in school?”

“Oh come on, dear brother. Isn't that the most boring thing to ask? Can't you just ask me how I'm doing, or what's happening in my life?”

I let go of her and tried to give her my sternest stare, “I assume your studies didn't go very well then?”

She shrugged, “Not this semester. Nor the last one”.

I sigh, “You've got to stop thinking about mom. She's at peace now. She won't like it if you flunked school”.

She pinched both my cheeks, it really hurts, “I'm not going to flunk school, stupid. I may not have been doing as well as my previous semesters, but I'm still doing better than most others. I am not in any danger of losing my scholarship”.

Then she let go of my cheeks.

She continued, “So this is it, huh? The first Christmas we'll be celebrating without mom and dad. I guess it's inevitable, but I still don't like it.”

I held her close, as her arms closed around me and her tears fell. “Nobody said you have to like it, Little Tell. Don't worry though, I'm here and we'll make the most of this Christmas. I promise you that”.

She made a little giggle, “Thank God for brothers”.

I closed my eyes, “Thank God for sisters too”.

A short while later, she pushed me a little and asked the question I dreaded most, “Do you know where dad went?”

I groaned, signaling to her that it was my most despised subject, “No, I don't. And I don't care.”

“So he didn't contact you at all?

“None, no communication whatsoever since he took the yatch and buggered off to God knows where.”

“That's sad, he must've been spending Christmas alone this year”.

“How would you know? Maybe he's got himself a new wife and will be spending Christmas with his new family.”

She pushed me away, “You're mean. Dad won't do that to us”.

“Yeah, right. Anything's possible with that guy. Come on, I'll show you where you'll be sleeping,” I said as I picked up her bags and proceeded to the guest room.

Man, these bags were heavy. How exactly did she manage to carry all these all the way up here?

“Hey, do you intend to move in permanently or something?” I asked, while juggling her luggage. Maybe I should've just carried them one by one.

Her only reply was a giggle.

“I'm not a girl, Mother! The only thing girly about me is my long, beautiful hair!” She looked at me. Then snapped her fingers, and said, “Easily remedied”. I was confused, “What do you mean?” She flicked her right wrist, “See for yourself”. I felt the air become denser and soon enough, the air in front of me solidified becoming some sort of a mirror. My hands immediately flew to my crotch. “It's gone!" The Half-Lilin Chapter 7 by Shin Eris

---

 
From last chapter:

 
Chapter 7

It was a bleak and dark place. I was walking on a ground of rough metallic rocks. The air was heavy and smelled an awful lot like burning sulphur. Far to the horizon, streaks of light flashed again and again, showing clouds of smoke and ash that went high up to the sky, suggesting that it was either an erupting volcano or flashes of lightning.

"Where am I? How did I get here?"

“Hello, little one,” came a voice from behind.

I turned around, expecting to see a 10 foot monster with clawed feet and scary face as befitting this environment.

I was pleasantly surprised to see who it was, “Mother?”

Her form was hidden behind a swirling cloud of white ash, though the silhouette was enough to show that it was a feminine figure. Not to mention this overwhelming presence, that choked and embraced at the same time could only be hers.

“Mother, where are we? How did I come here and why?”

A short pause. Then she spoke in a low voice, slow and clear as if speaking to a child, “So many questions. Why can't the young ones just say 'yes mother' or 'thank you mother'?”

She continued, “Wasn't it you who called me in the first place?”

Huh? I did?

“You have questions, do you not? I just happened to be the one who heard it. I am also about the only one who got the answers and willing to answer your questions for you. That was why I brought you here.”

Mother continued, a slight annoyance can be heard from her voice, “Well, that and the fact that it had become impossible to ignore your screams. I was woken up many times from my slumber when your screams reverberate throughout Yenne Velt. I could've sworn you screamed louder than Delilah, which made you the first to scream that loud since two thousand years ago.”

I looked downward, feeling like a child guilty of stealing cookies from the cookie jar, “I'm sorry, Mother. But this is all very confusing. I don't know what's going on and why I did what I did”.

Her voice softened, “What did you do, child? Tell me everything”.

“Well, I often went out in my sleep to feed on men, once I even fed from a child. I... why did I do that, Mother? In my dreams I had this horrible shape, like a demon from hell, with bat-like wings, a pair of ram's horns and a tail. What was even more annoying was that I was female!”

She turned her head towards me, or at least I thought she turned her head towards me. It was really hard to tell when she was behind a veil of smoke. The penetrating gaze I felt on me however was unmistakable.

“What was so bad with being female? Last I checked, half of the human race was female. Being female is not the end of the world. Besides, I'm female, do I have to shiver in disgust every time I acknowledged that fact?”

“You know what I mean, Mother. There's nothing wrong if you're BORN female, but I wasn't born as one. I... I don't think it would be very healthy to lead a double life that.”

“You just have to take it like a man, oops, he-he, woman since that is your true form, my dear. You are a Lili. A demoness of the highest caliber, only slightly lower in rank to the princes and princesses of Sheol, and their advisers. It is your job, to consume as much male essence as you can and introduce corruption based on carnal lust to the men you feed from.”

“But why a demoness? Why female? I'm a guy, Mother.”

“Nothing's wrong if you choose to remain a male, but if you do, you will slowly die. Die in the most torturous state that is, since you will not be able to feed in your male form. Your male form will also consume your own Lilin energies. So you will end up starving to death, killed by your own body.”

As she said that, she stepped out of the cloud, first revealing her perfect long legs, her tiny waist, her gorgeous bosom and the most beautiful face I've ever seen. Wait, hold on.

“You're not Mother. Who are you?” I cried, unable to control my fear.

She fixed her gaze on me, as if daring me to cross eyes with her, “Every single one of your sisters called me Mother. I don't see why you should call me anything else.”

She stepped closer to me as I took a step back away from her, “Or did you mistake me with someone else? Gaea for example?”

“You... you knew about... Mother Gaea?”

She dropped her head closer to mine, at the same level with her chest, making me wonder if I was really that short or if she was really tall. Her blood-red hair falling around her face like a curtain. “That was a really mean trick Sarai pulled on me. The deal was that I get you when you turn 18. Then when you were 18, she pleaded for me to allow you to be free for as long as she lived, which I consented to because of her previous deeds for my cause and because of that pesky Barbiel's intervention.”

As she continued, I can see and feel the heat from the fire in her eyes, “Then before she died, she made a pact with Gaea to keep you away from me and deny me of my own CHILD!”

I recoiled as the ground beneath me shook and cracked, sending rock fragments up to the air.. I winced as a couple of those sharp rock fragments hit my face.

Then she calmed down somewhat, the fires in her eyes becoming fainter, “Sarai made a mistake though. She asked Gaea to keep me away from you, but she didn't realize that Gaea didn't care at all about a single human. You would've been better off if she had left you in the care of Barbiel. My opportunity came when Gaea asked you to make a choice, which you chose wrong, and caused her to break her promise to Sarai”.

“You mean... the one about the wooden chair and the golden throne?”

“You're catching on. Your choice — the golden throne, made Gaea angry. That was expected as she never was able to understand human desires. It also showed that you are indeed my child as only a child of mine would be so greedy as to choose a throne made of gold.”

Her hands touched my face; it felt hot, soft and calming, like the feeling of a heated mattress in the coldness of winter.

“Well, that's all behind us now. Sarai can't do anything about it anymore since she’s in that prison they call Purgatory.”

She stood straight and continued with a fiercer tone, “And she better stay there because if I ever get my hands on her, I'll cancel the deal and she'll be back as one of my Lilim. Then she'll know what hell really means.”

“Umm, Mo... Mother, you kept talking about Sarai just now. Who's Sarai?” I asked, still keeping my distance.

“Why, Sarai was your human mother of course, the one who gave birth to your human body. The one whom you knew as Samantha Alders. Didn't she ever tell you anything?”

I was shocked, mouth agape as I recognize what this means, “Then, she was also...”

“Yes, she was a Lili too. Just like you. The only difference was that I claimed her when she was 7 days old, and got her when she was 12. I claimed you when you were 3 days old, but I only got you after 20 years. It was an extremely annoying wait.”

“Was she a guy too?” I asked, feeling horrified over the idea.

She laughed heartily at my question, then she said, “No, my dear. She was born female. I don't prefer recruiting boys as they tend to get shy and guilt-ridden the first few times. They also develop multiple identities shortly after to deal with their guilt.”

Then she fixed her gaze on me, though this time, with a smile of interest and a better mood. “But you, you were a natural. You did things by instinct. You didn't even remember your human self until that second time with your soul mate. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought that you were a True Lilin”

I was feeling very confused, “Wait, wait, Mother, back up. What did you mean by 'soul mate'?”

She pushed my chin upwards with her fingers, so that my eyes were looking straight at hers, “I'm talking about that man, Chris Reynolds of course. You fed from him two nights in a row, didn't you?”

I frowned, clearly showing my disgust over the whole idea, “Mother, we were not even friends. We didn't see eye to eye with each other. Heck, he even broke my left leg with a hockey stick once because he was jealous that I went out with Cathy Thomas. How could we possibly be soul mates?”

She sighed, then she held out her left hand to me.

I hesitated, since I wasn't very sure that she didn't mean to obliterate me, “Take my hand, child. Don't worry, I don't bite my own girls.”

Still not very sure that she didn't mean me harm; I took her hand, wondering when she would zap me with some kind of energy bolt.

“That's my good girl. Relax, we're going to take a journey to the past, and you will understand why I said that he was your soul mate,” she said to my very male Patrick Willows self.

“I'm not a girl, Mother! The only thing girly about me is my long, beautiful hair!”

She looked at me. Then snapped her fingers, and said, “Easily remedied”.

I was confused, “What do you mean?”

She flicked her right wrist, “See for yourself”.

I felt the air become denser and soon enough, the air in front of me solidified becoming some sort of a mirror. My hands immediately flew to my crotch.

“It's gone! Mother, this is not what I meant!” I said as I gazed horrified at my sizable boobs, narrow waist and gorgeous hips.

-----

We were in a bedroom of some sort. A bed was tidily propped against one wall with a pair of drawers flanking it. On the corner facing the bed stood a large armoire, one of its doors open. There was a book rack and a work desk next to the armoire. The book racks were lined with difficult books, such as those written by Nitche, Karl Marx, Stephen Hawking, Mark Twain and Shakespeare. What a boring person.

“Mother, where are we?”

She looked at me in a strange way, “You don't recall this place? You were only here yesterday.”

Huh? What does she mean by... oh hell, I know this place. That armoire, that desk is exactly as I remember it. Gah! Even he is sleeping on the bed. I need to get out of this place.

Mother must've sensed my anxiety because she said, “We're not going anywhere. We are going to watch!”

I must've panicked, I certainly felt that way, “But he'll wake up and I don't want him to see me here. Please Mother, let's just go.”

“You don't need to worry. We're not travelling through time, we're just exploring your memories. So in his,” she gestured to his sleeping form, “eyes, you don't exist. At least, not this you.”

Then I felt something weird happening behind me. It felt like something big was pushing through a small, elastic hole. I turned around, and saw the air behind me ripple and distort, then a hand with long nails appear from it. Soon enough, a full form appeared. There was no mistaking it. There was no mistaking that ram's horn, that tail with arrow-shaped point, the long blood-red hair and that large black bat wings. There was no mistaking ME.

The demon me crawled on the bed, towards the sleeping figure.

“Wakey wakey. Mm mm, you smell so delicious. Come on stud, wake up and let me eat you,” she said in a lusty, sensual voice.

She was licking his forehead when he opened his eyes and said, “Oh wow, you're back. I thought you wouldn't come again after last night.”

She pressed her body on his, while at the same time purring soft words that would've weakened any man, “I don't know about last night, but I think you would enjoy tonight. Would you like me to make you happy?”

I turned towards Mother. I really did not wish to see any more of this.

Mother noticed my desperate looks and said, “Oh fine. I was actually looking forward to watching this. Let's just fast-forward to the end.”

She raised her right hand and made a clockwise spinning motion with her index finger.

I fought my feelings of vertigo as the world around me moved at a speed 4 times than normal. It ended soon after it started.

I saw my demonic self lying on top of him, his left hand rubbing the base of her tail while his right was massaging the bones of her wings. She was purring with pleasure, “... ooh... don't touch that!”

He then squeezed her buttocks. Then with a grin, he said, “Why, you've known me your entire life, Pat.”

She looked startled by that and soon after, she opened her mouth and screamed god-damned loudly. It was not just loud, I even felt it in my brain, as if my brain's vibrating or something. I covered my ears with my hands, despite knowing it wouldn't work, closed my eyes and hoped for the best. Even through her scream, I could hear the sound of glasswork breaking around me.

Then it all stopped. When I opened my eyes, I found that I was already somewhere else. Mother stood in front of me, rubbing her forehead.

Still rubbing her forehead, she said, “Now you understand why I couldn't sleep? That scream even reached Yenne Velt. It was even worse than the time when Delilah found out that the Philistines destroyed Samson's eyes with her help.”

“You mean the story about Samson and Delilah? I thought that was the intention?”

“No, she never intended to let them capture Samson or have them destroy his eyes. She just thought that by destroying Samson's strength, he would be hers solely and no longer God's pawn. I assume the money wasn't a bad motivation either. Though we're not here to talk about Delilah. You can ask her about it yourself when you come to Yenne Velt one day.”

She looked around, “Do you recognize this place?”

I didn't even need to look around to know where I was. I could never forget this smell of lavender and sage, as well as coriander and paprika from the kitchen. This was my house, the one I grew up in. The one that became empty after my mom was buried.

I turned around and saw two figures, one a blonde teenage girl sitting next to the bed, the other a thin, youngish looking brunette lying on the bed. The brunette's eyes appear unfocused as if she was looking at a far away place. The teenage girl was holding her hand, telling stories and dreams. There was no mistaking it, we were in mom's bedroom, shortly before her death.

“...and when I get a job one day, I'll get a nice home far from the city and then you will come to visit me. It will be so cool, we can have some girl talk, and we can go out shopping and maybe we can go on a vacation together. Wouldn't that be awesome?” said the girl, in an obviously fake cheery voice. Even from here, I could tell that she wasn't fooling anyone with her attempt.

“That was my sister,” I said, “we're here the night mom died.”

A drop of tear fell to my cheek.

“... and then, when I get married, and I got a child, I'll let you name her. I won't forget you, mom. I promise. You can come visit any time you want.”

I turned around, and saw myself, the other me, standing behind the open door, listening to my sister's voice. I remembered that time. I was afraid and torn. Afraid because I was scared that mom would die, and I couldn't bear the thought of living my life without mom anywhere close by. Torn because I so wanted to cry, but I simply couldn't do that. After all, only sissies cry, right?

Oh I remembered how much I wanted to storm in there, to hold her and never let go back then. How I wanted to do as Little Tell did, to tell her how much I wanted mom to be part of my future life. To tell mom how much she meant to me. I remembered having the idea of shaking her lifeless body and telling her not to leave us.

A voice broke through my revelry, “Enough with the waterworks. It's about to start.”

I turned towards Mother, “How could you say that? She's one of yours too, wasn't she? How could you not be sad looking at her in that state?”

Mother gave me a look as if saying, ‘you’re weird.'

“She's a Lili. She has a dual existence. She won't truly die. You'll see her all healthy and perky soon enough.”

I looked at her as if she was insane, “What? What are you saying...”

My mouth dropped as I saw a sliver of light emerged from mom's body. It slowly resembled a humanoid shape, albeit with whitish bat-like wings and whitish tail. She looked down at Little Tell, landed behind her and gave her sleeping form a gentle hug. Then she walked to the door, her wings fully-spread and hugged the other me who was holding back tears next to the door.

I remembered that feeling. It was like being caressed and embraced by a fog. It was cold, but not overly so. It felt comforting like having a bath after a long day. Then she seemed to melt into the floor and was gone.

I suddenly thought of something, “Mother, you said this was my memory. I don't remember seeing that when mom died”.

“Of course you didn't. But you're referring to your human sight. Human eyes can't see many things because it was trained to not be able to see those things that it didn't need to see. You mind saw everything, but translated little. Nevertheless, this was in your memory as your Lilin eyes were also looking at the same scene.”

The scene changed.

We were standing in the living room of which I knew instinctively as the living room in the same house. It must've been a different time though. There was an obvious festive atmosphere now.

“Your family house, but can you guess the 'when'?” Mother asked.

I looked around, spotting first some snow on the windowsill, which suggested that it was winter. A large fir tree stood next to it. I thought it must be Christmas. The large tree brought back memories of a happier time; when Little Tell would cry and scream and beat dad if she thought the tree was too small; when Little Tell would ride on Dad's shoulders so that she could put the angel at the top; and when Dad would pass presents from under the tree on the morning of Christmas.

Little Tell might not be so little anymore, though she still love large trees. That reminded me, we didn't discuss about buying a tree at all. I wondered if it was possible to get one now.

The smell of cookies brought me back from my revelry. It reminded me so much of mom's cooking. She was a wonderful cook. Her Christmas feasts were simply that, a feast. My favourite was her honey and coriander combed turkey and oregano chicken. Little Tell preferred her coleslaw and Garbanzo-Pasta Salad.

“The day before Christmas Eve 2004. Almost 14 months before mom got too weak to do anything. In five days, mom will break the news of her condition to Little Tell and me. Little Tell will cry and hug her tight and tell her to go for chemotherapy. Mom will then say, 'we'll see'.”

“Pretty good. Though I simply can't understand what all the trees, decorations and gifts are about.”

“It's called Christmas, Mother. Have you ever celebrated anything?” I said, as I became more comfortable and less afraid of her.

“Oh sure I did. I celebrated Adam and Eve's exile from Heaven by giving them their first taste of a hurricane,” she said as she giggled merrily.

I rolled my eyes as I pictured Adam and Eve being at the mercy of the strong winds, “Whatever. What are we doing here anyway?”

“How would I know? You're the one who wanted to come here.”

I turned to look at her, wondering if she was making a joke of some sort. I wondered, do demons even joke?

“What are you talking...” my speech was interrupted as I spotted a figure standing outside the window.

She was just standing there in the snow, looking into the house. She was wearing skimpy clothing that revealed more than hide, and emphasized more than if she was naked.

“Mother, were you here too back then?”

“Back when?” she said as she picked her nails.

“This time, here.” I replied, pointing at the window.

She turned to look at the thing I've been pointing and said, “Oh”.

“Aren't you cold being in the snow wearing so... little?”

She laughed, she really laughed, very hard. When she calmed down, she said, “Hah! If I could stand being a cloud of swirling dust in the hottest, most humid and most hostile air in an unstable hole in the ground with hurricanes and freak waves crashing over me for tens of thousands of years, I could certainly stand being in the coldness of winter for a few minutes!”

Just then I spotted Little Tell leaping down from the second last staircase and running straight to the kitchen.

“Mommy, Ricky said he won't make it tonight. He's crashing in at a motel a few hours from here. Said the roads are too slippery,” cried Little Tell as she yelled all the way from the stairs to the kitchen.

I heard mom's voice through the hallway, “Oh that boy. He could've just started driving early in the morning. Hand me the phone, will you sweety?”

Suddenly I felt uncertain. I wanted to go to the kitchen; I wanted to see her again. But for some reason, my legs wouldn't move. I tried and tried, but my legs simply wouldn't budge.

That was until I felt a shove from behind. “Go on. I know you missed her. She's been away for a while now”.

Now I found it easy to move. Though I still moved with uncertainty, I finally arrived at the entrance to the kitchen. Mom was busy cutting onions with a phone pinned between her shoulder and her ear. She looked beautiful. I couldn't say that she looked young, because she always looked young. But this... how I missed seeing her full of life; with a spring in her steps and a rhythm to her motions. I really, really missed her.

I ran to her, wanting to hold her again. I wanted to feel her rubbing my head softly like the way she always did whenever I was in the mood of being spoiled. I wanted to hear her call me 'my sweet little lily' again; she hasn't called me that since I entered high school.

Just as my fingers touched her though, she started to distort. No, not just her. The world was distorting, and I couldn't stop myself from calling her and asking her not to leave me again.

I fell to the floor in a heap. Sobbing uncontrollably at the idea of losing her again. I didn't realize anything that happened around me until a hand pulled me up to a standing position.

“Oh quit crying. Do you have to wet the ground in every scene? Get up, this is what I want you to see.”

I pushed her away. “Enough please, let's just go back. I don't want to see anything anymore!”

She suddenly gripped my arms tightly, and raised me a feet or two upwards so that my face was level with hers.

“You listen here, girl. You disturbed me because you have questions. I came here to answer your questions. The least you can do is stick to it until I'm finished!” she said with a voice filled with anger.

I was scared, very scared. It was not just her voice. Her grip was so strong it felt like she was crushing my flesh and bones. A look into her eyes and I saw a thousand years of torture and suffering, some of which I couldn't possible survive while some others were meant to prolong the suffering without killing me.

I didn't remember when she put me down, but I knew that my body was shaking so hard that my hands were a blur.

Mother put her hand on my head and moved it so that I faced two teenagers. One was the younger me, the other was Chris Reynolds, even back then he looked huge compared to me. Back then, our friendship was already strained. I didn't like his attitude. He was too obnoxious and clingy, at the same time acting like he was my guardian or something. We were only on speaking terms because our families were next door neighbours.

It was a rather sunny day. I was sitting on the grass in front of my house fixing Little Tell's bicycle. Chris was walking towards me with a hockey stick in his hands.

He greeted me, “Hey Pat, what you doing?”

“Would you please stop calling me Pat? How many times do I have to tell you that I hate being called Pat?” I replied with a tone of annoyance.

“Oh come on. I've called you Pat since we're in kindergarten. I've gotten too used to calling you that.”

“Then get unused to it. I told you to call me Rick.”

“I can't call you that.”

“Pray tell, why not?” I asked, as I looked up at his face. Gosh, was he tall.

“Because I don't like it. It sounds like a biker's name.”

I returned to fixing the chains. “Well, tough luck. It's my name and you will call me with that name. Understood?”

His voice was so close to me that I jumped when he spoke. He was only inches from my face!

“Affirmative, but I won't. I'll call you Pat whether you like it or not.”

I placed a hand on his chest and pushed him away. “Don't do that, you're freaking me out. Why do you have to be such an ass all the time? Why are you here anyway? And what's with the hockey stick?”

He got up and raised his hockey stick. “Oh this? Just bought it. Some friends from school invited me to play ice hockey with them this weekend.”

“Oh cool, that sounds right up your alley.”

“Now, what's that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, I was just keeping the conversation alive. Help me hold the seat, will ya?” I said as I got up and tested the brakes and gears.

As I tested the bike, he asked, “Have you got a date for the prom?”

“Yeah, I do. You can let go of the seat now.”

He was obviously impatient and asked me straight out, “Well, who was it?”

“Cathy Thomas,” I said, grinning.

Cathy Thomas was about the most popular girl in school. She was also the trendsetter, whatever she wore or did will be copied by the wannabes in school by the next day. I hear she now works as a fashion consultant for celebrities. Why she picked me to be her date for that prom, I never did found out as she was equally angry at me for forcing her to find a new date at the very last minute.

“_The_ Cathy Thomas? Little Miss Popular?” he said, his hockey stick resting on his shoulder.

“Yup, _the_ Cathy Thomas. Who will you be going with?” I replied as I turned towards him.

His only reply was the swing of his hockey stick that fractured the thigh bone of my left leg. I fell to the ground screaming in pain. He dropped the hockey stick as if it was a burning coal and ran straight into my house. I was thrashing on the grass, as the pain overwhelmed my brain.

Chris returned with my mom, and she looked visibly worried. She knelt right next to my thrashing form and pressed her forefinger gently on my forehead. I became less animated, as if I was given a tranquilizer, while she pressed her palms on the fractured area. Soon after she was sweating and looking awfully pale. Then she pulled her hands back and got up unsteadily. The whole thing must've lasted only a few minutes.

Anger filled me. I recalled this particular scene very well. He had no right and absolutely no reason at all to do it. It was obvious that he did it on purpose. I was puzzled when mom pulled him aside and whispered things to him. I didn't recall this happening. I walked closer to them, not at all worrying if they saw me.

“...I tell you last time? I told you to wait, didn't I? Were you even listening to me?” mom said behind clenched teeth. I've never seen her being so angry before.

“Sorry, Mrs. Willows, but I can't... I don't know what made me do it,” he said, shuffling his feet while looking visibly terrified.

Her right hand flew to his throat. Her long, slim fingers wrapped around his neck.

“If you want to have her, then you MUST be patient. You must keep that jealousy and aggression in check. If I ever see you do this again, I'll take you to hell myself, do you hear me?!” whispered mom, her face close to his as her fingers put more pressure on his neck, progressively strangling the poor boy. I couldn't believe that I could actually feel sorry for him. I was also shocked as I never knew this side of her.

I could see that Chris was having difficulty replying, or even breathing. His face turned purple and I could tell that he was almost at his end. Then mom threw him to the ground as the front door opened. Little Tell flew out, telling mom that the ambulance was on its way, then naively asked why Chris was lying on the ground.

I looked at Mother as the scene around me became hectic with neighbours and paramedics swarming around the 'me' on the ground.

“That didn't answer any of my questions, Mother. In fact, it raised even more questions.”

She giggled, “He he, I must admit. I actually made a mistake. That scene was not the one I wanted you to see. It was still a good show though. That was the closest Sarai had ever been to showing her Lilin self in public in broad daylight.”

Mother looked at mom. She was sitting on a flowerpot, looking at the scene in front of her. Little Tell was sitting next to her. Mom still looked a bit pale.

“Pity she was already dying when this happened. She was among the best of my Lilim. If only she wasn't so stubborn, she would still be alive now. Anyway, let's go to the scene that I wanted to show you just now.”

The scene changed. The night was very dark, not a single star was visible as far as I see. I could barely see flickers of light from which I assumed were lanterns. Mother took my hand and led me forward. Together we walked along the deserted road until we reached a neighbourhood that brought back memories.

“Know where this is?” she asked.

Definitely, “We're close to my house, I recognize this road and that house with the swing. That was the home of a former classmate Vicky whose father went mad one day and shot her mother before he shot himself. I was sixteen when I saw the bodies being taken out of the house. Mom took Vicky home and she was in so much shock that she didn't even cry. Vicky moved in with her relatives a few days later and that was the last time I saw her. This scene must've been several years earlier since when that incident happen, the house looked dilapidated.”

“How about the 'when'?”

I looked around, “Judging from the number of Jack o' Lanterns, I'd say we're here during Halloween.”

Mother clapped her hands, making me feel like a child who had just identified the letter 'B'. “Very good, come, let's see what happens next.”

She pulled me to a particular house. It didn't seem all that different from the other houses, except for the fact that a number of people, mostly children in costumes, were leaving the house. They must've been having a Halloween party or something here before we arrived.

Something nagged at me. I've seen this scene before. Then I berated myself. Of course I've seen this scene before, it was my memory after all.

Then I recoiled in horror as I recognize the three small children who couldn't be older than 8 leave the house.

“Oh my God!!!” I cried.

Mother smacked me on the back of my head, saying, “What are you so excited about? Watch silently, would you?”

One of the children was wearing a Peter Pan costume, another was wearing a Tinkerbell costume and the youngest was wearing a Captain Hook costume. Behind them, I saw mom and dad. Gosh, he looked so young. I have forgotten what he looked like when he was young. I had a hard time identifying this man who was cheerfully saying 'goodnight' to the other parents with my sour faced and irritated dad.

I was trying my hardest not to look at the scene, as I was feeling embarrassed at seeing myself wearing a girl costume. I turned my head back to watch the scene when I noticed Mother fixing me a glare that made me really worry for my own life.

Mom, dad and the three children walked away from the house and settled into a leisurely pace on the sidewalk. Our house wasn't far and we didn't have any need to use the car that night. Only Little Tell got tired halfway and dad ended up carrying her the rest of the way home.

As we reached our home, dad took Little Tell into the house while mom went to the neighbour's house. At the same time, Peter Pan took Tinkerbell's (shivers!) hands. I didn't recall this scene and I didn't recall this Peter Pan boy. I walked closer to them and with the aid of streetlights, I could finally see who it was.

It was the young Chris Reynolds. Good Lord!!!

I was almost afraid to go any closer. It felt as if my own sense of self-preservation was trying to keep me away. I was rooted to the spot and my feet wouldn't move anymore. Mother shoved me forward anyway.

“Pat,” I heard the young Chris say, “I like you. I want to marry you when we get older.”

My eyes were twitching madly the entire time he spoke.

Tinkerbell smiled and then said, “I like you too. Let's get married then”.

Peter Pan beamed and said, “Promise?”

“Promise,” Tinkerbell said as she, uh no, he pulled out his pinkie.

Oh dearest darkness of eternal void, I recall this pinkie promise.

I watched as Peter Pan shook pinkies with Tinkerbell.

Then mom came and told Peter Pan that his parents were waiting. Tinkerbell sneaked in a kiss on Peter Pan's cheek when mom wasn't looking and said, “Goodnight my future husband.”

The scene changed back to the wasteland-like place we were in before. I was shocked, and upset, and horrified at that final scene. It felt like I should puke, but I couldn't feel my stomach. My eyes were still twitching madly.

Due to the mad twitching of my eyes, I couldn't see Mother clearly when she stepped in front of me, but I could still hear her well.

“So now you understand why I said that Chris Reynolds was your soulmate?”

“But Mother, that promise was made when we were seven years old. We were both boys back then, despite me wearing the Tinkerbell costume. We didn't know the difference between boys and girls. It's not binding.”

Mother put her hands on my shoulders. “Ilyse, that promise was binding. When I claimed you, you became a creature of Sheol. Therefore, you were subject to the rules that governed all creatures of Sheol.”

“What do you mean, Mother?” I asked, my twitching has lessened but not yet subside.

“The Irish has a word for it, geas, it basically says that 'a word spoken cannot be unspoken and a promise made cannot be unmade'. As a creature of Sheol, you are especially vulnerable to this rule. So in other words, you do not have the ability to break your promises.”

The enormity of the situation hit me and I fell to the ground. I could feel tears running through my face.

“Since you made the promise to marry him, you have to marry him, whether you like it or not. Fighting it will only make it harder for both you and him. Your fates will always meet and there's no running away from it. Just accept it and make the most out of it. Next time, remember not to make promises so easily.”

I sat there in shock as I tried to digest all these information. I was destined to marry Chris Reynolds. I was destined to marry that awful man. I was destined to be a wife. I was destined to be a wife to that awful man. That awful man will be my husband. Me wife, Chris husband.

It was too much for me that I started to scream loudly.

Just before I managed to get a scream out though, Mother kicked me in the face. I flew a few feet back, effectively silencing me as I spit out mouthfuls of red dust.

“Don't do that,” she said, “I don't want you to scream so close to Yenne Velt. I have a half a mind now to make you mute forever, so don't push it!”

Then she got closer to me and stroked my hair, “Don't worry, child. It's not so bad, if he treated you badly, then just suck him to the edge of his life or curse him with clumsiness. He'll learn not to mess with you. I don't think you need to though, he really does love you”.

“How could he love me? He broke my legs when he found out that I was going to the prom with the most popular girl in school. He smashed my taillights when he found out that I was going on a date. He hacked into my computer and erased my research paper when he found out I was dating my partner for the project. He's just a mean, evil man.”

Mother smiled. “Don't you worry your pretty little head about it. You'll learn the truth soon enough. We who live in Sheol always learn the truth sooner or later.

“That word again. Mother, what is Sheol?”

“This is Sheol, dear. We are in the region closest to Assiah, the physical world. Sheol is Hell, at least that's how you humans nowadays seem to identify it with. The real Hell is actually far down there,” she pointed a finger downward, “we call it Gehenna. Only very special people were allowed to go in and out of that place before Armageddon. One of your duties is to ensure that Armageddon doesn't arrive unless I say so.”

She fixed her eyes on me, “So do you have anymore questions?”

I shook my head no.

“Good, now that we're done with that matter, let's move on to the next thing on the list.”

I was confused.

“Come on, little girl. Get out of that shell. It will be almost dawn soon and unless you start feeding soon, you won't have enough time to do it tonight.”

“But I don't want to feed. I don't want to do anything sexual with any guys, ever.”

Her glares became cruel and terrifying. Her pupils turned red and I avoided looking at it this time, as I recalled what happened when I looked into it just a while back. I didn't want to be plunged into a thousand years of inhumane torture again.

She grabbed my arms and I felt my body burning. I felt my skin become scorched and my flesh turned crisp while my eyeballs felt like popping. My hair was burning fiercely as if it was paper. My heart felt like it was going to explode and my lungs felt like it was being burnt out of existence everytime I inhaled. Even my soul felt like it was on fire.

She then pushed me to the ground and sat on my butt. I felt a tearing pain on my back starting from my temple all the way to my tailbone. Then I felt something like the tearing of skin at the back of my head and my neck. She then pushed her hand under the skin of my neck and pulled my neck out of the skin. The pain was excruciating.

This time I managed to scream loudly.

When I didn't respond, he repeated that last word with more strength than before. I found myself nodding slowly as I found myself lost in his deep black eyes, like falling into a deep abyss and not knowing about it until it was too late. “Good,” he said as he left me alone. I was woken from my stupor by the click-clack of heels on stone. I looked at the direction where the sound came from and saw at the archway a flurry of purple cloth and long dark hair that disappeared as the figure walked along the other side of the wall. So there was someone here, I thought. A woman, judging from the dress and long hair. Was she here all these time? The Half-Lilin Chapter 8 by Shin Eris

---

 
From last chapter:

 
I kept on screaming as I felt myself falling down a misty shaft back first. It was very cold. My arms tried to grab on to the sides without success. As I fell, I thought about my life and my destiny... namely that jerk Chris. I kept asking myself, “Why? Why? Why?” I had so many questions that I couldn't even tell where I should start.

Suddenly the mist disappeared and I fell onto a semi-hard object on top of a very soft surface. Immediately, I heard a disembodied female voice saying, “What the fuck?!”

I opened my eyes and I heard that voice again, “Get off me, asshole!”

In my clouded mind, I thought, I've heard that voice somewhere, but I couldn't figure out who it belonged to. It didn't take long for me to find out though as my eyes registered the familiarity of the room I was in. I asked myself, "why am I in my guest room"? My wandering mind was stopped short as I was kicked away from the bed that I seemed to have fallen onto just now.

“Bloody pervert. What the hell do you think you're doing?” Little Tell asked as I got up from the carpeted floor.

Little Tell picked up the alarm clock on the bedside drawer and threw it at me as she cried, “Die, perv, die!”

My mind was screaming, “No! Not the limited edition Star Wars alarm clock!” as I lunged to catch the flying alarm clock.

I was too late to realise that another special edition projectile was being thrown at me. It missed, but gave me a feeling of loss as I saw one of my Macross Special Edition plate clock broke into a hundred pieces. Maybe I should never have treated the guest room as a storage area.

She was about to throw my Naruto figurine (made of terracota!) when I said, “No! Put it down.”

When she didn't respond, I said, “Now, Tell. Put it down. I mean it.”

“First tell me what the hell you're doing screaming and jumping on top of me,” she said, the hand holding the fragile figurine still in the ready position.

I was sweating, that figurine could only be bought in Tokyo. “I... I was sleepwalking?”

“Bullshit! I locked the door.” she said, obviously still suspicious.

“Umm...” I was trying very hard to find a plausible explanation. Just as she raised her hand to throw it though, I blurted out, “I opened it!”

I mentally hit myself as soon as I said it, it sounded so desperate even to my own ears. Little Tell was cocking her head to the side, probably wondering what was wrong with that answer but couldn't figure out what.

Then she said, “Using the spare key? Why?”

“Umm... I wanted to wake you up?”

“Why? We're going somewhere?”

“Yes! Yes, we're going to buy a tree. You still love large trees, don't you?” I asked as I congratulated myself on my quick thinking. I put the alarm clock down on the floor.

She dropped her hand. Holding the figurine with both hands, she jumped in glee while my eyes were fixed on the up and down motion of her hands. I didn't want to see it fall. “Great! When do we go?”

“I was thinking of going shopping after work. That would be around 6, unless you want to find me at the office. We could go out at 5 if you did.”

“Oh... THEN WHY THE HELL DID YOU WAKE ME UP SO DAMN EARLY?”

I was barely in time to catch the figurine as it flew directly to my head.

“Oh, great catch! You must've improved sine we were kids. You used to suck at baseball.”

I was breathing hard, glad that I had managed to save the precious figurine, “Don't... ever... do that again, Little Tell! I don't think my heart can take it.”

“Oh yeah? Well, that should teach you not to mess with me. Hey, when did you cut your hair? Is there a 24 hour salon around here?"

My hands flew to my head. “What are you talking about? I didn't cut my...”

She was right. I have a much shorter hairstyle now, though what is this powdery thing in my hair? I looked down at the hand that was rubbing my head just now and saw something that looked like ash. Just then, I noticed a noticeable lack of mounds of flesh on my chest. What happened to my boobs?

My hands moved to feel around my chest and my crotch. Yes! I got my tools back!

“Ricky?”

I looked up, “Yes?”

“If you're trying to turn me on, it's not working.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“Oh whatever. Just get out my room, you smell like a forest fire.”

****

She was right. I did smell like a forest fire. I had to spend an extra half an hour scrubbing myself with herbal aromatherapy bodywash just to get rid of the stench of soot and scorched flesh. I had to spend 20 minutes extra just to ensure that there were no more ash on my head.

I arrived at the office early for the first time since a week ago. The feeling was amazing! Okay, maybe not amazing, maybe more along the line of relieved. At least something went well today. I thought I was going to die when Mother skinned me this morning.

Tell the truth though, I didn't know why I even bothered to come to work today. I mean, I had already finished my work. What exactly was I going to do here?

I logged on to the intranet messenger system, “Sue, you busy?”

Shortly after, a message popped up, “not really, wanna grab breakfast?”

“Sure, my boss' not here today, where you want to go?”

“3rd floor.”

“3rd floor? No way. The food there sucks.”

“Meet me at the elevator.”

Her last message gave me this weird feeling of... I don't know how to describe it... I don't know if there's even a name for it. The feeling was something like losing an argument, except that you don't realise you've lost, was wondering why you've lost and was at a loss as to how exactly you lost the argument. It felt like losing a nonexistent argument, as if you're destined to lose in the first place. Really weird feeling. I ended up staring out the window at the other building.

I must've spaced out because the next thing I knew, Sue was shaking my body like a ragdoll. She was asking me how long I intended to make her wait. She looked pretty pissed off.

Breakfast was pleasant. The food wasn't very bad, unlike the last time I've been here. It wasn't very good either. Only after the food arrived and I got a good look at the cook did it finally dawned on me why exactly Sue chose this place.

The new cook was really cute. To tell the truth though, he was no match for Sue, at least in the field of culinary skills.

“So, are you coming to the party tonight?” she asked as she took a sip from her soft drinks.

I asked her back, “What party?”

She gave me a glare and said, “Don't tell me you forgot. Because if you do, well, the outcome won't be so pretty.”

“Kidding, kidding. Don't get your panties in a wad. Of course I remember.” Sheesh, though I still don't have any idea which party she was talking about.

“Party starts at 9, don't be late.”

“Where's the party?”

She gave me a suspicious look, “My house. You totally forgot, didn't you?”

****

I spent the rest of the morning playing Starcraft: Brood War. Sure, I could go and help the other guys finish their work, but it'd be counterproductive in most cases. I wouldn't know how their designs work, and I will only end up making it even slower for them. So, I tried to stay away from getting in their way.

I noticed Chris walking around from cubicle to cubicle talking to his project members. Chris is the project peon for a computer program project ordered by a prominent civil engineering company. The project's quite large and believed to be worth millions, if they could finish it. So far, they've taken 6 months just to decide how they wanted to do it. Today, I saw him carry folders, papers, drinks, and lunch to the more senior members of the project, as well as getting some scolding here, and there.

I sneered. Exactly as you deserve, jerk.

I recalled my conversation with Mother this morning. You know, the one concerning him becoming my husband? The part where we promised to get married when we were older? As I watched his antics, I started mulling over the possibilities of him becoming my husband.

I snorted at the idea. Destined husband, my ass.

Ohhh, why does my sphincter suddenly quiver?

I watched as he walked nearer to my cubicle and I braced for impact.

I was barely in time to avoid the flow of coffee that he purposefully -accidentally dropped my way.

“Ha! Missed me,” I said as I giggled a bit.

He frowned. Probably not expecting me to anticipate what he intended to do.

“Now clean this up,” I said, referring to the coffee stain on one wall of the cubicle, “I want it spotlessly clean by the time I got back.”

I smirked as I head for the gents. He was so predictable. I thought it would be fun to have him as my husband, I'd have a slave that I could bully everyday. My grin got wider with that last thought.

As I walked back from the gents, my mind was full of all the delightful ways of how I would bully him and basically make his life miserable for making my life miserable. I noticed that he actually did a good job cleaning the wall of my cubicle. The moment I sat on my chair though, my eyes suddenly opened wide as I heard a squishy sound from under my butt.

In reflex, I got back up and twisted my body to see what I sat on. I saw yellow liquid sticking to the back of my pants and the seat.

“Ahhh!!! Damn you, bastard! Where the hell did you get the mustard?!”

I heard a boisterous laugh of victory from the cubicle in front.

“Oh, you think you're so damn funny, don't you? This is not the end, asshole!” I yelled as I walked as fast as I could to the gents. I must've looked like a baboon from behind as my ass was the only part of my body that was yellow.

The rest of the day went rather quiet. After that prank, (which forced me to stay in the gents for an hour waiting for my pants to dry), Chris didn't try anything else as he was kept busy by the more senior members of his team. I was plotting so many things against that jerk that it gave me a headache. I ended up playing House of the Dead 2 to lower my stress level.

By 3pm, many people from my office went home. I was sure that Roger will be the punch-card slave again this time. People always went back early when Mr. Stuart was not around and Roger, being the one who always had to leave late was always asked to punch their card for them when he left. If Mr. Stuart found it weird that 20 people punched out at 8pm every time he wasn't in the office, he didn't show it.

Anyway, at 3, I received a mass invitation for a LAN Counterstrike game starting in a few minutes. They called it the Christmas Counterstrike. How appropriate. The people in server room have always been lacking in creativity.

I couldn't resist playing it though, it had been so long since I played Counterstrike. The last time I played was back in college. So I put on my headphone, started the game, looked at the LAN games and found a game titled 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas.' Someone needed to teach these guys some creativity.

As I logged into the game, I found out that there were actually many people playing. I thought many had left for home already. As expected, I sucked at it. I've been way out of practice.

A short while after the game started, an interteam message from Bladerunner appeared asking, “Is there a Patty from IT here?”

I replied with, “Yeah, why?” after killing one of the terrorists.

“Cabbage, Sue wants you to bring your sister along,” he said right before I, Cabbage, got a headshot from Imagunnapwnjoo.

Once Bladerunner died, I sent a reply, “Yeah sure, I'll tell her about it.”

I played until 4. I just had to leave the game because I very embarrassingly suck at it. Besides, I need to go home to my feisty little sister. So I gathered my stuff, turned off my computer and left my cubicle. On the way to the door though, I was blocked by Chris in the cramped lane between cubicles.

I half expected that he would try to pin me down with his weight advantage like yesterday, but he simply stood there calmly. After waiting for him to make a move, I decided that he was just trying to get a rise out of me. So I tried to skirt my way around him, which he moved to block. I tried to skirt my way around him from the other side, which he moved to block as well.

I put my left hand on my hips and said, “OK, what the hell do you want?”

He said in a whispering voice, “Nothing, just want to check on something”.

“Check wha...” I was cut in mid sentence as his knee connected with my crotch. Oh, that really hurt. It felt like my balls exploded. I fell to the floor, my briefcase fell next to me as both of my hands covered my crotch.

“Hm, guess I was wrong. See ya later,” he said as he left me crouched with aching balls.

“You... freakin...fuc...” I whimpered as the pain remained after he left.

That's it. Destined husband or not, no chance in hell I'm going to marry him. Not now, not in a million years, not ever! That geas thing can go stuff itself. I'm NOT going to marry that bastard even if the world falls on me!

Why was I even considering such nonsense in the first place?

****

“What's wrong, bro? You seem pissed off,” Little Tell asked as I walked into the living room.

“Nothing to do with you. So you're ready to go?” I said as I pulled off my necktie.

“Yea, I'll just grab my bag. So where are we going?”

“There's a tree auction at Griffith Park starting around 7. We'll be going to the mall first before going there.”

“Tree auction? What's that about?”

“Well, it's similar to buying trees, except that instead of just picking one and carrying it back home, you have to bid for the trees that you like.”

“Would it end up being expensive?” Little Tell asked, while holding her handbag as close to her heart as possible.

I chuckled, “No, it was more or less the standard. The auction starts at a lower than average starting price. Bidding will be in increments of 5 bucks at a time. If there was a particularly beautiful tree, it may go higher than the standard price, but I've never heard of any tree being sold higher than 3 times its worth.”

“What about defects? Maybe the tree has some illness or some flaws?”

“The auctioneer is a really honest guy. I've chatted with him before. He runs the convenience store at the edge of the city. If there were any flaws, he'd tell us. He insisted before that he only did this for families; his and others; to have fun and be involved in the spirit of Christmas. He said that he was a businessman, not a thief.”

“Sounds like a nice guy. I can see why you wanted to go to this auction thingy.”

“Oh I'm not going there to see him, Tell. I picked that place to buy our tree because of the atmosphere. You'll see. My friend, Sue recorded last year's auction. It was really cool.”

“If you say so, bro. So are we taking the car or the transit?”

“The car. I have a feeling I'll need to juggle your bags.”

She lashed at me with her handbag in reply.

****

“Here you go, number 26. Thank you for joining the auction, Mr Willows,” said the cheerful faced Aaron as I signed the registration form.

“Oh please, Aaron. What's with the formality? It's not like I've never went to your store.”

He grinned, “Just maintaining a sense of professionalism, Rick. Enjoy the auction”.

“Thanks Aaron,” I said as he continued with 'number 27'.

The auction place was a simple setup. A stage in the middle of an open park with seats placed in front of the stage. There weren't that many seats, probably no more than 50, but the area was brightly decorated. Unlike Central Park in New York, we never had much to worry about vandals or street thugs in this part of the city. I assumed all the lighting was meant to give customers a sense of security as well as to attract people who didn't know about the event.

We arrived there rather early. There were plenty more seats available, so we picked the one at the front. Easier to see the tree and easier to leave once we were done with our purchase. Most of those who were already here were couples or a single family man looking for a suitable tree for their homes.

It was not until 8 when the auctions started to pick up in pace. The old auctioneer was very good at giving details of the trees on sale and as a result, many markers were raised and the prices skyrocketed to unbelievable levels. The auctioneer should be given credit for setting a limit to how much the price was allowed to rise though.

There was this one really large tree that Little Tell fell in love with and which she kept bidding for with this well-dressed man a few seats' behind us. The price had reached 3 times the starting price before the auctioneer put a stop to it. To make it fair and fun, he asked each of them to sing a Christmas carol on the stage. Whoever got the most claps gets the tree. The man went on stage first, his singing while wasn't very good, received quite a lot of claps for being a good sport. Little Tell bailed out of the competition when it was her turn to sing. She received a few claps anyway.

I on the other hand received a pinch on the side when I laughed openly at her bright red face.

To tell the truth, I didn't think the tree would fit in my living room anyway.

After losing a few bids, some of which we lost to 6 years old kids, we finally managed to get a tree that was large enough to keep Little Tell happy and small enough to fit into my living room. I paid for the tree, including the delivery fee and left with the receipt and a very happy sister.

“You're right, bro. That was fun. But I think that kid's parents should stop him from overbidding,” Little Tell said as she opened her door.

“Well, it was a fun show. Did you see how much fun they had when they bid for those trees?” I replied as I turned the ignition.

“Yea, those families seems to be having a lot of fun, especially those with kids. I wish we could've all done this when mom was still alive.”

I could tell that her eyes were wetting now, so I pulled out a facial tissue and handed it to her.

“Mom's gone, Little Tell. There's nothing you or I can do to bring her back,” I said as I drove out of the parking lot.

“But still...”

I waved to Danny, another one of the auctioneer's sons whose in charge of patrolling the parking lot. “Mom's in a better place now (I hope), don't worry about her. We're the ones left behind, we should worry about each other.”

She sniffled into the tissue.

“Are you doing anything tonight, Tell?” I asked, suddenly recalling that I got a party to go to tonight. Sue would be so pissed if I didn't go.

“Why? You bringing me somewhere?” she countered as she looked up from the soaked tissue.

“As a matter of fact, I am. A friend of mine is having an early Christmas party and asked me to invite you along. So we'll be going back a bit for you to change and then arrive there at around 10. Unless of course you don't mind going to the party with what you're wearing now.”

“Is it a formal party?” she asked.

“If you're talking about tuxes and long gowns, no.”

“Will I look weird in this?” she asked while gesturing at her clothes.

As I looked at the blue blouse and soft purple shortskirt, I said, “No, I don't think so.”

“Then let's go.”

“You sure you don't wanna change?”

“Absolutely!”

The drive to Sue's place was slow. It seems like this particular time was meant for people to buy Christmas gifts in this city.

“So this friend, how do you know him?” Little Tell asked while looking out into the rows and rows of cars waiting for the traffic light to change.

“It's a she, and you've met her before. Her name's Sue Preston.”

“Doesn't ring any bell.”

“She has dirty blonde hair, pretty face and she called you 'gorgeous' last time.”

“The rich one?”

“Yep. Her house is on that hill over there,” I said as I pointed to the hill in question.

She gave a little whistle, then said, “My, she really is rich.”

“Actually, her uncle was rich. She only inherited the property.”

“When will you marry her?”

I looked at Little Tell, frowned, and almost had to swerve to avoid an oncoming car, “I am NOT marrying her. We're just good friends.”

She gave me a curious look, “Another good friend? I feel sad for you, dear brother.”

“Why would you feel sad for me?”

“Because girls have always considered you as just 'good friends'. You might not know this, but back in high school, you had a reputation as a 'starter boyfriend'.”

“What the hell's that?” I asked as I gave her a short glance.

“You know, the kind of guy who was so cute and so nice that girls thought they'd like to date at least for a week and the kind of guy whom virgin girls practice dating on because they know you won't ever force them for sex.”

I thought of my life back in high school and finally understood so many things, “So, that was why those guys in gym class called me gigolo and pretty boy.”

She snorted, “They don't need to hear about those to start calling you a pretty boy. A mere glance would be enough justification to call you a pretty boy. Your looks may have matured, but you're still a pretty boy to anyone with eyes.”

I groaned.

“So, how many times have you gotten laid?”

I almost drove the car out of the road when she asked that.

“That's none of your damned business. Let's change the topic. When will you go back to college?”

“Let's change back the topic. How many times have you gotten laid?”

“Don't change back the topic. I've already changed the topic!”

“I still want to talk about it.”

“We're here. And for your information, I've been laid many times,” I said, thankful that we've finally arrived.

“How many exactly?”

“Drop it!”

****

“Patty! How nice of you to drop by. For a while there I thought that you weren't coming!” Sue exclaimed as she instructed a maid to take our coats.

The she addressed Little Tell, “Hi, Stella. You may not remember me, but I remember you very well. You look quite like your brother, except for the fact that he has short black hair and you're a blonde.”

“Mom must've switched babies when she was born. None in our family was blonde,” I said.

I grimaced as Little Tell's stilleto heels dug into my feet. Seems like not even steel-toed boots can withstand the penetrating power of stilleto heels.

Oblivious to my pain, Sue asked, “Patty, something wrong?”

“Urgh... nothing... just got... a nail... stuck to my... foot,” I said, as I pinched Little Tell's side in an effort to get her to let me go.

“Oh, that's dangerous, you should take it out real quick. My cousin got a nail stuck in his boot and he ended up getting tetanus.”

“I'll be... okay... don't... worry.”

“Well, come on, Stella. I have some friends you might want to meet,” she said as she took a hold of Little Tell's wrist.

Little Tell finally let go of my feet and I was shifting it back and forth to get rid of the pain.

Sue stopped when she realised that I didn't tag along, “Aren't you coming, Patty?”

“Nah, you go on ahead. Don't worry about me, I know most people here. You girls have fun,” I said, still trying to nurse my feet back to good health.

“OK then. Don't wander too far, mommy will be very upset if you leave without saying goodbye,” Sue said, mimicking the tone of an elderly woman.

“Ha-ha, very funny, Sue. Don't lead my sister astray.”

“No promises,” Sue said with a grin as she and Little Tell disappeared among the crowd.

****

I excused myself after chatting with Mr. Dushkin, more commonly known among people in marketing as Boss Douchebag. I didn't see how or why people called him Douchebag. He seemed like a perfectly polite gentleman to me. Maybe it was because of his 'superior' English accent? Or maybe because of his high nose?

He asked to be excused as he received a phone call from his wife who couldn't make it to the party tonight. He said that she had a bit of a flu and that was enough reason not to show her face in public. Rumours said that she wouldn't even want to be seen with a car that had pigeon poop on it, even if it was hers.

I took this opportunity to get myself a refill of the orange punch. Sue had a cocktail bar open, manned by a guy with a not so neat bow tie, though many seemed to avoid the cocktail section. I couldn't tell for sure whether it was because the guests were trying to stay sober for the drive home or because the burly barman had a visible scar on his face.

“Hey Pat.”

I froze. I could recognise that voice anywhere. I didn't bother turning around. I knew exactly who that was.

“So your... umm... balls feel better now? Or have I smashed it to pieces?”

Goodness Lord. This man is unrepentant.

He grabbed my left shoulder, pushed me out into the garden and turned me around, “You shouldn't ignore me, Pat. I don't like it when you ignore me. We should get along because it would be beneficial for both of us.”

“Beneficial in what way, you damn fag?” I said, trying to turn myself away from him without much success. His grip was really strong.

He made an attempt to show a shocked expression.

“Me? A fag? How come I get to be the fag when you're the one who sucks cocks and gets it up the ass around here,” he whispered, his face was really close to mine.

I felt blood rushing to my face as my vision blurred and the only thing I felt was anger. Anger at him, for being so mean to me. Anger at myself, for making that promise with him. Anger at fate, because I had to fulfill that promise even if I will end up being an abuse victim my entire life.

“Leave me alone, asshole. Go bug someone else!” I whispered with a barely controlled voice as I pushed his arms away.

I struggled as he captured my arms. “What if I don't want to? What if I only want to bugger... oops, heheh... bug you?”

“Leave me alone, sicko,” I said as I renewed my struggles, without any success. Maybe I need to start lifting weights.

“I would leave you alone, for now, if you promise you would come back to my bed tonight,” he said as he twisted my arms and in effect getting me closer to him.

I started to wonder where everyone went. This garden while deserted, was right next to the main hall, where the party was held. How could it be that not a single guest wandered off or looked out the window from the main hall?

I felt his grip on my arms tightened, “You're ignoring me again, Pat. I told you, I don't like that.”

By this time, his hold on my arms were starting to get really painful. So painful in fact, that my eyes started to get watery against my will.

When a single drop of tear fell on his hand, he pulled back in shock and finally let go my arms. I looked up at his face. He must've seen my tears as he looked really embarrassed and regretful. Why? Why would he be embarrassed or regretful? Maybe I translated it wrong. Maybe he simply hated seeing a man cry. It wasn't my fault, I didn't intend to cry.

I turned to leave when he grabbed my hand tightly and pulled me back to face him. I winced at his roughness and he let go of my hands. I was standing there looking down, not knowing what to do. If I stay, he may hurt me again. If I leave, he will pull me back here.

I was wishing that he'd do whatever he wanted to do or say whatever he wanted to say and then leave me alone. I was startled when he put his hands on my arms softly and ushered me to sit on one of the stone ornaments.

“I'm sorry, Pat. I'm sorry for being so mean to you. But you don't know what I've been going through. For a long time, I've struggled, wondering if I was a gay for wanting you. Then I came to a conclusion that I was gay, that I loved you so much it hurts. Hurts because you wouldn't understand my feelings. Hurts because you didn't share my feelings. It made me wretched and angry.”

He paused. His eyes searching my face for some kind of recognition.

Maybe he found something, maybe he didn't. Regardless, he continued, “I know I was never nice to you. Ever since we went to high school, I've been mean and often abusive of you. I won't try to justify my actions, but I wanted you to know that even back then, I considered you as mine. Mine and mine alone. I didn't want any girls or guys to have you.”

He paused when I raised my head and looked into his eyes. I wondered, was that really true? Was he really being mean because he considered me as his? To him, was I nothing more than a piece of property, his piece of property? Was I just a piece of fancy toy that he could break when I didn't function the way he wanted me to? As I looked into his eyes, I found out that I didn't know the answers, and I didn't think I wanted to know. I turned my face to the side.

He held my hand, softly this time, “Then when you came into my room, lay on my bed, next to me, I knew. I knew you were the one for me. I knew I wasn't gay. I knew that I fell in love with a gorgeous woman, with dark-red hair and... uhh... yellow eyes and small fangs...” he paused, “Will you always have yellow eyes and fangs? Frankly, I prefer you the way you are now, brown eyes and normal teeth.”

Then he straightened up, and I turned my face back to look at him, as I wondered if he was done. He grabbed my shoulders roughly again, “You better remember this. You're my woman. Got it? You shall let no one else have you. You're mine. I hope you can come to my place tonight, not for sex, but to chat. Understand?”

When I didn't respond, he repeated that last word with more strength than before. I found myself nodding slowly as I found myself lost in his deep black eyes, like falling into a deep abyss and not knowing about it until it was too late.

“Good,” he said as he left me alone.

I was woken from my stupor by the click-clack of heels on stone. I looked at the direction where the sound came from and saw at the archway a flurry of purple cloth and long dark hair that disappeared as the figure walked along the other side of the wall.

So there was someone here, I thought. A woman, judging from the dress and long hair. Was she here all these time? Was she listening to Chris' confession just now?

I suddenly felt cold and decided that I should hurry back in. Using water from the fountain, I washed my face to get rid of any traces of my tears. After checking my own reflection on the pool's surface several times, I walked back into the main hall, ready to face whatever ridicule from anyone who saw the debacle in the garden.

****

Surprisingly enough, after about an hour chatting with different people, the matter in the garden was never brought up even once. Either everyone was especially polite, which was impossible considering the number of loudmouths we had in the office; or nobody saw the whole damn thing, which was more plausible despite how strange it sounded.

Thankfully, Chris kept his distance for the entire time. I didn't think I would be able to handle anymore of him tonight. A glimpse of purple at the far end of hall took my attention away from the discussion on national economy. I wasn't very sure, but the purple dress has the same colour as the one I saw on the woman from the garden. I couldn't tell what her hair colour was from this distance in this light.

Was she a coworker or was she a friend of Sue? I didn't remember seeing that face anywhere. I would definitely remember that pretty face if I have met her somewhere. Maybe I should find Sue and ask.

Finding Sue was like searching for a particular cow among a herd of similar cows. It was like she was everywhere and nowhere. Whenever I asked a guest where she was, they would say, 'she was right over here' or 'she just left'. When I went to the direction they pointed me, I saw Sue, just for a few seconds, then disappeared again. After a while I gave up and stood at a particular spot in the hall, waiting for her to come this way again.

Soon enough, at about 11pm, I spotted Sue coming my way and flagged her to me. She asked me if I was enjoying the party and whether I was interested in anyone in particular. When I asked her about the woman in purple dress, she grinned as she told me that there were three women in purple dress in the hall. Two of them were married and the other one had an allergic reaction to something in the food and was resting in one of the rooms upstairs. I was curious as none of the description of their clothes fit the one worn by the woman I saw.

Just then Little Tell came up to me from behind.

“Ricky, I'll be going out with a friend tonight. So you'll have to go back alone, okay?”

I shrugged. “Sure, what time will you be coming back?”

She fidgeted a bit, a habit of hers whenever she was nervous, “Umm, I don't know. Probably will be very late. Don't wait for me.”

“Okay, do you bring your keys with you?”

“Yup, got it in here,” she patted her bag.

“How will you be coming home later?” I asked out of routine. I know she could take care of herself.

“Liz will send me home later, ta-ta!” she said as she quickly grabbed her coat and went out the front door.

I turned to Sue, “That was so nice of Liz to volunteer to send her home. Whaaaa, wait a minute! Liz? She's out with LIZ?”

****

I drove back in a less than sparkling mood. I was almost out the door chasing Little Tell when Sue intervened and told me to let her go. I was pissed off. I knew she was an adult, but I just... ahh, damn it! The thought of her going out with Liz, who was definitely bisexual, and leaning more towards lesbianity really sticks in my craw. Maybe deep inside, I didn't want her to grow up. Maybe I wanted her to be my innocent Little Tell forever.

I opened the front door and despite the darkness, immediately recognized the theme song for 'The Simpsons'. I was wondering if I was driving so slowly that Little Tell arrived home first. At least she wasn't spending the night at Liz's place.

Then I heard a female voice, which didn't sound like Little Tell's at all.

“Yeah, yeah. I know. But you can't be serious,” the voice said.

The voice sounded louder, more annoyed this time. “Look, I've had enough of your crap. You make money from ME making money! Discuss a better deal or I'll find someone else to do your job. Got that?”

I crept slowly and silently through the hallway. I intended to jump onto this gutsy thief who broke into my house, used my phone and argued with someone else using the phone in my living room while watching The Simpsons.

I was peeking in through the doorway to determine her position when I saw something that made my blood turn cold.

"Mother said you will be difficult, but I never thought you would be so foolish as to fight back," she said just as she made a gesture with her right hand that sent me hurtling towards the wall to her right. I smashed back-first at the wall at high speed. The pain was excruciating. I thought I must've broken my spine or pelvis. I managed to get up right before she sent me hurtling towards the souvenir cabinet along the opposite wall. This time I couldn't get up as the smashed cabinet was holding me in place. The Half-Lilin Chapter 9 by Shin Eris

---

 

From last chapter:

The voice sounded louder, more annoyed this time. “Look, I've had enough of your crap. You make money from ME making money! Discuss a better deal or I'll find someone else to do your job. Got that?”

I crept slowly and silently through the hallway. I intended to jump onto this gutsy thief who broke into my house, used my phone and argued with someone else using the phone in my living room while watching The Simpsons.

I was peeking in through the doorway to determine her position when I saw something that made my blood turn cold.

Chapter 9

 

It was a demon! A demon was sitting with her legs stretched out on my couch, watching a rerun of The Simpsons on my tube! A demon that looked just like me, save that her wings were more reddish in colour and her horns curved down and forward instead of swirling to the sides like mine. She also had hair that appeared to be long and blonde, unlike mine, not to mention the fact she was also smaller than me, and—sad as I was to admit it—cuter than me in my lilin form..

I was staring agape from my vantage point in the doorway when she turned and looked straight at me.

"How long do you intend to stand there?" she asked.

When I didn't make any response, she got up from the couch and walked towards me. I slowly inched back.

She paused, and put both her hands on her hips. Smiling sweetly, she said, "You come here right now or I swear you will regret it. I don't have time to play around with you."

When I didn't do what she asked me to do, she made a little gesture with her right hand and I felt myself wrenched forward through the open doorway, landing on the floor right in front of her.

She raised my face with the tip of her boot under my chin and said, "I can be mean, sister, so don't piss me off."

At that point, my very numb and confused mind finally recovered from the shock and I immediately rolled away from her. She watched amused as I got to my feet. We spent the next few minutes or so just staring at each other.

When she didn't say anything, I asked, "Who are you? What do you want from me?"

She kept looking at me, smiling sweetly like a little girl scout selling cookies. If not because she had such a pretty face, I thought I might've struck it in annoyance. Funny, her face reminded me of someone, but who?

Finally she said, "My name is Shaina. You are Ilyse, daughter of Sarai?"

For some reason I got really pissed off at hearing that.

"My name is Patrick, and I'm not a daughter of anyone."

She chuckled, "Oh yes, I got the correct person all right. Mother did say that you are in denial. As for why I'm here, let's just say that you owe me and I intend to cash in the favour."

"What favour? I've never even met you before!"

"What favour?" she asked as she walked closer, her wings seemed to expand behind her, "What favour, you ask?"

She was really getting too darn close now and it really made me nervous. I didn't know where to look. Do I look at her face? No, those pouty lips just begged to be kissed. Do I look at her neck? No, that neck looked so long and pale and clean that I felt like... biting it? Do I look at her breasts? No, totally bad idea, hers appeared to be about 2 cup size larger than mine--I mean my breasts in demon form, of course. I couldn't look sideways, because I didn't want to show weakness in front of her, so I decided to fix my eyes on hers. At least she didn't have that one thousand years of torment in her eyes like Mother did.

She stopped in front of me as her face closed in on mine. She didn't look pissed or annoyed, in fact, she looked like she was about to giggle, "You owed me one, because I had to give up my only contract to your little sister.

"Do you know how hard it was for me to get that one contract? I had to spend months just to finalize the deal. Do you know how many job opportunities I've missed?!" she said, her voice rising with every word spoken, her pretty face still making that sweet smile, except that this time her eyes were closed tight.

I was incredulous. I was confused. I didn't know what the hell she was talking about. "I have no idea what you're talking about. And what in bloody hell is a contract!?"

"Of course you have no idea," she finally dropped her smile, "It was Mother who gave that order. But that doesn't mean that you can walk away scot-free. I'm holding you directly responsible for me losing my contract!"

"What the hell is a contract!?" I asked again, almost shouting.

She frowned, "Sarai never told you about contracts?"

I shook my head no.

"What's the point of having a talented mother when she never told her daughter a single thing?"

I kept silent as my hands positioned against her flat stomach, discretely trying to push her away. It was proven futile when her tail came up and slapped my hands away. I think she must've broken my wrist.

Her sweet smile came back as she said, "A contract is a binding agreement between a Lili and a human. The human gets whatever he wants in exchange for the Lili receiving the human’s soul when they die. An agreement cannot be amended, but can be replaced. Until their deaths, we are bound to honour the words of the agreement."

"What do they normally ask for?"

"You're human, you should know. The most common are money, a harem of bimbos, magical powers...," then her tone changed, "That particular contract forced me to become his personal slave until the day he died. I have never been so degraded. I, who was the idol for teenage girls around the world, was reduced to a mere sex slave who performed for him and his degenerate friends and being loaned around like a lowly whore!"

"I must say that I didn't regret arranging for him to be hit by that particular trailer. It was so satisfying to see his face being smashed when the trailer’s brakes suddenly stopped working," she said with a grin.

"So what do you want me to do?" I asked as she stepped back and sat on the couch.

She grinned, "You are going to help me get a new contract."

"What?"

"No one can resist the idea of having two Lilim as personal slaves... or toys... or servants. Of course, we'll make the contract very vague in that regard. I don't want to have to share the contract with you once he's dead."

She gestured for me to come to her, though this time I didn't feel any magical pull, "I've never seen you in your lilin form, but Mother said that it didn't differ much from your human form, unlike your mother. From what I can see, I think both of us together would look irresistible."

"Why did you give your contract to my sister?" I asked as I sat down as far away as I could, which wasn't really far enough.

"I've told you, Mother told me to do so. Why she picked me, who had only one contract, instead of the others, who have accumulated hundreds of contracts over the years, is beyond my understanding."

She paused, looked at me, then continued, "I supposed it had something to do with protecting your sister from your own powers. From what I've heard, your control of your own power is as raw and immature as Sarai’s when she was young, despite the fact that you're a bicorne, a two-horns, like me."

"What's a two-horn?"

"Two-horn?" she pointed to one of her horns, "One horn", then pointed to the other, "Two horns. Or have you forgotten how to count?"

I was annoyed. Why was it that everyone from the supernatural side looked down on me? "How was it possible for you to taunt me with a smiling face?"

"My human self is an actress, dear sister. Times like these, I normally spend either practicing my lines or sleeping. Right now, I'm practicing, because there's no other time to do that. I’ve told my manager to give me some breathing space, but so far, she doesn't seem to be listening. I'm too busy to even feed properly, which really sucks. I could use some extra energy," she said as she made a slight frown, which was immediately replaced with her trademark winning smile.

I was really curious about this contract thing. If it involved torture, maybe I could make a contract with Chris, since the geas ensured that I couldn't run from him anyway. I loved the idea of torturing his soul, he had tortured mine long enough.

"So, what does this contract of yours do?"

She huffed, her smile losing form, "Before I passed it over to your sister, nothing. I have to give it an attribute or property that will be beneficial to me. You mother, Sarai, made a lot of guardian-type artifacts with her contracts. I supposed because it was hard for her to control her own powers. Anyway, I hadn’t exactly decided what to do with that contract before Mother made that decision for me."

She paused, laughed at a certain scene in the show and continued, "Now it's set to disperse all pure ether, diffuse some ether-based spells as well as resist hypnosis. I'm not sure if you've learned how to do that yet, but she would probably need it soon."

"That's interesting. So basically it means our magic can't harm her? I could use something like that."

This time there was a hint of a sneer behind her smile. "Your magic can't harm her. Mine still can, because that contract is still mine. Mother told me to give it to her, but she didn't say anything about relinquishing my claim on it."

"Since she asked you to do that, can't you just ask her for another one?"

"Because... it's easier to bully the new ones than to ask Mother for something," she said, in a tone which made it sound like common sense.

"Figures," I said dryly, "When did you give it to Little Tell anyway? I don't remember seeing any kind of parchment tucked around her."

"At tonight's party. I forgot to remove the taint of lust from it, but it was still pretty interesting. And it's not a parchment, it's a pendant."

"Taint of lust?" I asked as I pondered the significance of that phrase with tonight's events, "Wait, you're saying that you're the reason that my sister suddenly turned gay?!"

She grinned this time, instead of the sweet smile she had sported since the beginning, "Such a delightful lesbian your sister turned out to be. I should know, I watched them make out in the upstairs washroom. They didn't even know I was watching, too caught up with their snogging, I'm sure.”

She grinned, her eyes showing a real mirth, unlike before, “I must say, I'm very proud of my contract. He was useless in life, but very hardworking in death. By the way, I heard this disgustingly sweet confession in the garden during the party. It made me want to puke."

Something clicked into place. "You were the woman in the purple dress!"

"Of course, I thought it was fairly obvious. Who else in there would be able to cast the specific warding spell that kept you two alone for half an hour?"

"That was you?" she nodded, "How dare you! No wonder not a single person came out from the hall..." I paused, "But you were a brunette!"

"A disguise. I couldn't risk people recognizing me. Besides, it was not brunette, it was coal black. The lighting made it look lighter."

She got up from the couch right before I was about to ask another question, "Enough questions. I've already wasted a lot of my precious time waiting for you to come back. Now we're going to get me another contract as well as a nice meal, so get out of that skin."

I sat still on the couch, looking straight into her eyes, "What if I don't want to?"

One of her eyebrows ticked. "Excuse me?"

I looked up defiantly, "What if I don't want to go out and feed? Besides, I don't know how."

She lost her smile totally this time. "You don't know how? What the hell do you mean you don't know how? Just concentrate on something in this room and jump towards it without moving your body. Gosh! Every one of us knows that by instinct. And for your information, you won't be the one doing the feeding, I will. It's been months since I last fed."

"The thing is, I don't want to be a Lili. I don't want to go out and do anything sexual with any guy. So you can just turn around and leave me alone," I said, proud of my own courage to stand up against her.

She jumped up on top of me, encircled her fingers around my neck and started choking me, "I don't think you understand what is going on here. You don't get to choose. You do what I tell you to do."

I was struggling to push her away as my air supply was cut by her strong iron grip when she said, "Since you don't want to get out of this form, I'll help you with it."

She let go of my neck and attempted to turn me over when I kicked her with both legs. She staggered a step backwards, obviously surprised by my unexpected reaction. I quickly got up from the sofa and scrambled to my feet.

"Mother said you would be difficult, but I never thought you would be so foolish as to fight back," she said just as she made a gesture with her right hand that sent me hurtling towards the wall to her right.

I smashed back-first into the wall at high speed. The pain was excruciating, and I thought I must've broken my spine or pelvis. I managed to get up right before she sent me hurtling towards the souvenir cabinet along the opposite wall. This time I couldn't get up as the smashed cabinet held me in place.

She pointed a forefinger at my chest, and a pillar of non-light, of darkness, connected from her finger to my heart. At first, nothing happened, and I was wondering what she was doing. A few moments after, I had a creeping sensation. I felt an overwhelming lust, a powerful desire, a desire to sate my hunger. My mind became cloudy as I replayed all those times I fed and how much I enjoyed it, how much stronger I felt and how much power I experienced as I sucked them dry. Oh the feeling of having their aura enter every pores of my skin, how my steaming holes consumed their essence into my body and how their breaths fulfilled me. It was amazing! How could I be so foolish as to decide against indulging in such tasty pleasures?

Great Mother, I want to feed again!

Come out now. Let's go out and feed, little sister. I'll even share some of mine with you.

I looked at her through my fog-filled mind. I was feeling grateful and love for her willingness to share her meal with me. I felt like hugging her for her generosity, and not above kissing her in gratitude.

But that's just the thing, I don't want to share!

I felt a tingle on my back as I leapt at her. She looked surprised, and the disruption was enough to cut off the flow of the corruption line to my heart. I was closing in on her as she panicked and casted a warding spell in hastiness. I briefly wondered what the point of such an action was. Warding spells took a long time to cast, and I could push her to the floor in half the time it took for her to complete her spell.

Just as my fingers almost touched her, she blinked away. My senses immediately notified me that she was several feet behind me, attempting to continue the spell. If she managed to finish casting, she might be able to keep me trapped long enough for her to go after that meal. Well, I couldn't just let that happen. I would feed, and nothing she could do was going to stop me!

I closed in on her again. This time, I knew her spell was almost done and she wouldn't take her attention away for another blink. I also knew I was out of time. In a few more seconds, her warding spell would be complete and she would be untouchable. Almost without thinking, I stretched my right arm in front of me, pointed my palm at her, and did the only thing I could.

I blasted her with a stream of pure energy.

Her screams were cut short as the ethereal stream devoured her. The only thing left in her place was a layer of grey dust and the familiar smell of rotten eggs. I grinned, feeling my fangs poking my lips as I thought that I would have the meal all for myself. My tail was dancing wildly in anticipation at the delicious supper I'd be having.

I was about to fly out the window when my fog-filled brain suddenly cleared and I was hit by the guilt-train. I was feeling sick. Sick at what I had done towards another Lili and sick at what I had been thinking when I did the deed. It was then that I noticed the shifting weights on my back and the movement of my tail behind me.

I made a dash for my bedroom. It was pretty hard with a pair of large wings bouncing around behind me and getting stuck on things as I passed by them. Whenever I ran pass a narrow passage, my wings got stuck to the sides. Whenever I bent over, my wings unfurled and ended up knocking things over. It ended with me being so annoyed that I wailed in frustration. Then I grabbed the nearest object (a small flowerpot) and threw it at random, all the while my wings unfurled and knocked over several more objects.

The flowerpot connected with the sugar container on my kitchen counter and exploded. I was dumbstruck as I watched it burn with an almost invisible blue flame on my marble counter top. A flowerpot wasn't supposed to explode, and sugar wasn't supposed to burn on its own.

I thought that was the limit and tried to calm myself as I walked slowly towards my bedroom. My eyes were already wet with barely controlled tears and I was trying hard not to weep. This time, apart from knocking some other small objects, I didn't have much more difficulty in navigating the suddenly cramped space in my house, though it still took me much longer than normal. I immediately opened my closet once I arrived, where a full-length mirror had been built into the inside door. As I looked into it, I felt sicker than before.

I had a pair of large wings all right, and a constantly moving tail. My shirt was torn, probably by the sudden growth of my wings. Apart from those though, I was still Patrick. My horns weren't there, my boobs didn't form, and my hair was still short. I looked like a demonized human, like a demon Patrick, not at all like my alter ego Ilyse, the succubus. Even the fangs that previously poked my lips were gone.

That was when I noticed cracks and wrinkles on my skin. I looked closer at my hands and I saw the cracks and wrinkles spread quickly as if it was a plague. Where the skin cracked, tiny wounds appeared, and some even bled.

I took a step back, wondering if this was my punishment for killing another Lili. I fell to the floor in a heap, crying my heart out as the pain on my skin and wings turned dull.

As I began to lose consciousness, I thought back to all the people who had shaped my life. My dad--who was always grumpy, Little Tell--who was always in trouble, Chris--who was always cruel, and mom--who was always kind. I missed the old dad, the one who was friendly with everyone. I recalled the day when Little Tell got her nickname as she told mom that I skipped school for a smoke. Chris, how I wished we could be friends like before that stupid oath. And mom, I wanted to see mom again.

Is this what dying feels like? If it is, I don't like it at all.

With the last shred of consciousness, I silently called, "Save me! Anyone? Please?”

“MOM, HELP ME!”

As hinted in the previous chapter, this may not be suitable for everyone. However, if you've allowed yourself or are allowed to watch Seinfeld/Friends, you're likely able to stomache this. Oh well, here's an extract. Soon it became clear that I was rapidly being dragged down deep into the earth and if I don't do anything soon, I may never get out ever again. So I punched and kicked and clawed at the metallic rocks around me with little effect. I blasted a hole in front of me, which only made a small hole that was immediately filled in by more of the metallic rocks. In my desperation, I started to suffocate and getting increasingly anxious. I've never liked small spaces, ever since that one day in my childhood when I was trapped in a small closet that locked automatically as it closed. Author's Note: This chapter has been heavily modified. Where before, it is only about the punishment that Ilyse had to endure, now it also tells of Lesser Lilith's role in this story. The Half-Lilin Chapter 10 by Shin Eris

---

 
From last chapter:

 
As I began to lose consciousness, I thought back to all the people who had shaped my life. My dad--who was always grumpy, Little Tell--who was always in trouble, Chris--who was always cruel, and mom--who was always kind. I missed the old dad, the one who was friendly with everyone. I recalled the day when Little Tell got her nickname as she told mom that I skipped school for a smoke. Chris, how I wished we could be friends like before that stupid oath. And mom, I wanted to see mom again.

Is this what dying feels like? If it is, I don't like it at all.

With the last shred of consciousness, I silently called, "Save me! Anyone? Please?”

“MOM, HELP ME!”

Chapter 10

 

I was in a dark place, as in pitch dark. There was not a single source of light, yet despite the darkness, I could see my own fingers, my own hands, my own body as if it was bright as day. It felt like I've been here before though. It felt familiar, comforting and scary at the same time.

What was this place?

Just then, I heard a barely perceptible sound of footsteps from behind. I turned around and from afar, a long line of light shone, ending under my foot. It seemed like the light form some sort of pathway. I wondered if I was supposed to walk, following the path.

My question was answered by an emerging figure from the light at the end of the path. It was hard to discern any details at this range, what with all those mist swirling around the figure. I tried to step forward to see better, but my feet were rooted to the spot as I watched this figure walking serenely towards me.

As the figure got closer, I managed to spot some details suggesting that it was a womanly figure. She sported dark forest-green hair, and her skin the colour of desert sand was visible through the thin mist surrounding her. Her steps were soft and sounded as if she was walking barefoot on soft dry sands. As the mist around her face parted, I could see that her eyes were the darkest blue, like the colour of the deepest ocean where whales and dolphins frolicked untouched by human hands.

"Mother!" I said as I ran towards her.

Her rose red lips made a slight smile, and her hands cupped my face, stroking it softly.

This felt strange. She had never shown any compassion before, at least not like this. Although she was never hostile or rough, she was always somewhat distant. Despite the weirdness of the situation though, I didn't back away from her. I loved what she was doing and it made me feel loved and happy. If Mother was intending on treating me like this from now on, then who was I to argue?

Then she let go of my face, though her piercing blue eyes still focused on mine. "Mother, what's with the touchy feely thingy? You've never done it before, not that I'm complaining", I asked.

She made a sweeping motion with her left hand, bringing up a number of moving pictures that seemed to hover in mid-air. It was like a paper-thin TV screen showing videos of anything that went on in her mind. I have learnt before that this was the way she communicated, that these pictures she showed me were a journey into her own exquisite mind.

Several pictures appeared at the same time. Some lingered for quite awhile. Some only appeared briefly and was gone when I blinked my eyes. I managed to catch the birth of a baby, a mother kissing her child's temple, a boy's first fall from a bike as his father helped him get back on it and long-lost brothers hugging each other. Then the images changed and I saw a man kissing a woman, a family laughing and having dinner together and sisters hugging each other as one of them wept and the other patted her head.

I couldn't understand much from what I saw, but I did know that it felt warm and kind, a feeling that was pretty much far in the background whenever Mother came to see me. I couldn't figure out what this meant, but it didn't matter. I loved it when Mother cupped my face, when she patted my head, when she held me close. Whenever I was in her arms, it felt like the world didn't matter, as if I could ignore the world and lived forever in her arms.

Then she raised her right hand, her long manicured fingers pointing straight at me. I was confused. She made a gesture with that same finger, as if asking me to turn around. So I turned around and my eyes fell on two chairs, or probably more appropriate to call them seats with armrests. Both chairs were illuminated by lights from above, of which I could see no point of origin.

I stepped closer to the chairs, admiring each of its finer points. One of the seats was a simple wooden chair. It was ornately carved with motives of flora and fauna. The seat was made of the nicest cushion filled with the softest cotton. I assessed that this chair will not be out of place in an exclusive restaurant or a fancy dining room.

The other one however was simply amazing. It looked like a throne in every way one looked at it. The surface was coated with a layer of gold, making the shining light even brighter on my eyes. I knocked on the gold surface, and deduced from the sound that this thing was very dense. Either it was filled with lead or this entire thing was casted out of pure gold. Fitted all over the surface were polished gems, probably diamonds of the highest value that shined with a blinding reflection, giving the seat a truly majestic brilliance. The seat was covered by layers and layers of soft fur. Some of these furs belonged to animals which I could not identify. I was truly amazed. This was not a mere seat, this was a throne fit for am emperor!

I looked back at Mother. She was watching me with a gaze that suggested... was that curiosity I saw in her eyes?

"Are you asking me to choose one of these, Mother?" I asked, slightly bothered by her sudden show of emotions.

Despite knowing her love and compassion before, she had always acted as if emotions were beneath her. As if it was a wasteful habit to show how she felt. This time, her emotions were obvious. She was feeling curious and anxious, as if expecting something to happen.

She nodded in response to my question and I could sense her anxiousness increased.

I looked at the two seats. I told myself that if my only choices were these two, then my choice would be obvious. There was no denying which one appealed to me the most.

And so I sat down on the golden throne.

As I looked at Mother, she bent over backwards. Her mouth wide open, her face facing skyward as if howling to the sky, yet no voice was heard. Her hands clenched tight until orange coloured blood seeped through her fingers and landed with a splat on the lighted path, releasing smoke and turning grey.

She straightened and looked at me directly in the eyes. Her ocean blue eyes were wet with tears, falling down her distraught face. She mashing her upper and lower teeth together, in a show of anger. When she unclenched her hands, the flow of magma stopped, but in her left hand, something that looked like the stalk of a plant was forming and enlarging.

I was suddenly very afraid of Mother and started pleading for her to forgive me for whatever I've done.

Mother replied by throwing the stalk of the plant straight at me. I didn't even think of evading it before it buried itself into my heart and pinning me to the throne. I coughed blood as I felt the plant expand inside my body. From the wound, I saw small tendrils of plant life emerging. I suddenly found myself hard to breathe as the roots of the plant burrowed into my veins and arteries, clogging my lungs and invading my organs.

The last thing I saw through the rapidly growing flowers and leaves were Mother's crying face.

Mother, forgive me!

-----

I opened my eyes. Half expecting myself to still be in the tangle of tree limbs growing out of my own body. I was glad that it was still me, pretty much whole and... what's this heavy thing on my back?

I turned around and saw my wings. Have I always had a pair of wings?

"Having nightmares?" came a voice from somewhere above me.

I looked up and there it was, Mother Lilith staring down at me. She was sitting atop a large jutting rock, her long legs dangling at the edge. It was then that I recognised the surrounding. It was in many ways similar to the place she took me to last time. The ground was composed of rough metallic rocks and glassy sands, the sky was red, with thunder shooting here and there, giving a terrifying view. From afar, screams of agony could barely be heard amidst the roaring voice of the erupting volcanoes and shooting thunders. The entire place stinked of sulphur and rotten eggs.

She got up and then jumped down from her position, landing right in front of me. Instinctively, I scrambled backwards away from her. Being too close to her could never be healthy.

We spent the next few moments just watching each other. Unlike Shaina, Mother didn't seem to be in a hurry, so this 'few moments' might've went for hours. I don't know how long exactly, it's hard to perceive time in this place. It could've even been days for all I know.

I was glad that she didn't do anything else though. Actually, that made me curious. Why weren't she doing anything at all? Before this, she always taunted me, or at least said something to get a rise out of me. Now she was... silent, and relaxed... almost like she was waiting for something.

Just then, my wings started to get heavier and I fell to the ground on all fours. In front of my eyes, the skin of my hands started getting dry and wrinkly. In a few seconds, it spread upwards to the rest of my body. Where the skin wrinkled, cracks appeared developing into tiny wounds that bled. I fell to the ground, not even having the strength to get up. My wings had fallen to my sides and my tail had already lain lifeless.

Problem with the skin, child?

Mother, what's going on? It hurts.

I've told you before, did I not? Your lilin self will be consuming your own male essence. In this case, your wings and tails are feeding on your own body, which is not looking very good at the moment.

Help... Mother. Please.

Help? Why should I? Maybe this should be your lesson for not listening to me.

Pause. I could no longer reply as my mind became inarticulate.

What? You're talking gibberish. I can't understand a single thing you said.

Pause.

Oh fine, i'll save you. Next time, remember to take off your skin first before you switch forms.

In my numbness, I felt a hand tug at my neck and pulled something off of my body. My body suddenly regained its strength and the first thing I saw the second I opened my eyes were Mother's feet. At that time I had a really crazy thought of kissing her feet for saving me. Soon as it emerged, I pushed the thought away.

I looked up at her, I noticed something smoky in her hands. It looked something like a garment, like a robe of sort. It looked nasty, like a crumpled skin of a pig. The edges of the long sleeves and lower hemline of the 'robe' was smoky and seemed to be disintegrating. The smoke instead of going up, went lower and washed over my face.

"What the heck is that, Mother?" I asked between coughs.

"This?" Mother said as she shook the garment, "Why, it's your skin, of course. Don't worry, it'll return to you soon enough," she said as she threw the garment (my skin) at me.

I was expecting to be enveloped by the 'garment' but surprisingly, the 'garment' turned to dust the moment it touched me. It was even worse though as the dust entered my lungs and I couldn't stop coughing. I thought I must've developed tuberculosis.

"Now, let's talk about the events that brought you here," she said. Her voice barely heard through my continuous coughing and wheezing.

I wanted to ask her what she was talking about, but couldn't as I needed my lung capacity for breathing and coughing.

"Oh for heavens sake..." she said. Through the corner of my eye, I saw her snapping her fingers.

I stopped coughing. Period. I didn't know what happened, only that it was easier for me to breathe now and I no longer have feelings of irritation in my throat and lungs. I took in lungfuls of air, feeling better and better each time.

"Why did you even bother with breathing?" Mother asked, in a tone that suggested curiosity or probably mild amusement.

"Because everyone breathe, Mother. Don't you breathe?" I said as I got back up on my feets. My wings and tail felt much lighter and more alive than before.

"Not here. You're in ethereal form now. You don't need to breathe at all."

"What? Then what did I just do? I definitely felt air going into my lungs just now."

"That wasn't air, child. That was ether. Sheol is full of it, but you don't need to breathe it in." she said, this time clearly appearing amused by my nonexistent knowledge of the universe.

She turned her head to watch an erupting volcano far in the horizon. "A pity to those poor things. Their only sin was for saying that God was a horrible bullying child. Which was not all that far from the truth, though of course still very wrong. God is indeed a bully, but He was not a child, neither was He horrible. Anyway, let's talk about the events that brought you here."

I panicked, thinking that she was talking about what happened to Shaina. "Okay, first of all. It was an accident. I didn't intend to kill her. I don't know what came over me".

"What are you talking about, girl?" she said, an eyebrow raised slightly.

"Huh? I mean Shaina... I just... she just... umm... nothing, Mother." I kept my mouth shut. It was all fine with me if she didn't know about Shaina's death. I would probably be safer if she never knew about it.

"Were you talking about your supposed to be mentor, Shaina who was blasted away by pure ethereal energy?"

"Umm... she was my mentor?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Silly girl, she wasn't dead. You can't kill a Lili with that pitiful thing. Despite the corrosive nature of pure ether, there are plenty of ways to escape from it. Even if she wasn't able to get away, her natural defense would still be able to withstand the corrosive stream."

"But... there was a pile of grey dust where she was standing."

"Most likely her human skin. I'll tell her to pick it up later."

"If it's her human skin, then why not tell her now. It is hers, isn't it?"

"Because my voice can't reach her now. She's lost in a feeding frenzy."

"Feeding frenzy?

"Your attack drained her of most of her energy. She had to use her last strength to blink away to one of her marks. If not because that man had her mark, he would've been twice dead by now. After that, she simply moved on to the next marks and once she ran out of marks, she went after civilians instead."

The she looked at me, which made me back away from her, and continued, "Regardless, you need to be punished. When I told you to do something, I expected it to be done. I can understand why your greed caused you to attack Shaina, but you should've controlled your urges. If you've fed more, you would've had enough strength of mind to suppress your urges."

She took a step forward, which caused me to panic. I spread my wings and leapt to the skies. Flapping my powerful muscles, I flew away from her. I didn't want to experience the thousand years of torture again, nor the burning sensation in and out of my body.

I must've flown for miles and miles, my wings had gotten really tired with the continuous flying. Maybe I should've exercised more. I decided to land and rest for a bit. I took a gentle dive as I spotted a flat clearing below me. While the descend was smooth, the landing was not. I tripped over one of the jutting rocks and stumbled several feet away.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, "It was amusing watching you fly in circles. However, I'm getting slightly annoyed at having to watch you make a fool of yourself for so long."

I panicked, so I did the only thing I could think of. I turned around and blasted her with my stream of pure energy. I instantly regretted doing that.

Through the dust, I said, "Umm, Mother? I'm sorry, I panicked. I didn't mean to do it".

"Foolish, but harmless," she said as she walked out of the cloud of dust looking none too worse for wear. This time she looked mighty pissed off and it might've been my imagination, but I could feel tremors on the ground as she stomped her way towards me.

I held my hands in front of me, hoping against hope that she would stop, "Please, Mother. Stay away, leave me alone. I don't want to fight you".

I fed my palms some of my own energy to show her I was serious.

She stopped, thankfully. She looked straight at me and said, "Is this what you call a fight? No, child. This is just you throwing a tantrum. A real fight is something beyond your ability and understanding."

She continued, "Did you seriously think that such an attack would be good enough to harm me, little girl? You're like an infant compared to me."

"Your techniques are childish and immature. The same immature technique I've seen from Sarai when she was young. The only difference was that hers was 100 times more powerful than yours. Want to know the outcome of that childish outburst?"

I didn't think I want to. I had a feeling it would not be pretty.

She continued anyway, her beautiful face still showing anger, "She got her human body ripped to shreds. It took us two years just to gather enough of her human body to rebuild it. Do you know what will happen to you if you lose your human body?"

I didn't answer.

"You will become a lost soul. Wandering Assiah or Sheol looking for a new host body. You will rapidly forget your old self and you will be no different than a Legion bug. Do you know what a Legion bug is? They're those tiny insects that fly around in swarms draining the energy of Lilim and possessing humans when they got lost in Assiah. That would've happened to Sarai if I didn't capture her lilin self before she lost her mind. She had been docile ever since. The pain of having your body ripped to shreds would be enough to make anyone docile. So if you want to feel that pain, child, do what Sarai did. Use all your powers and send forth a stream of pure energies at me. Either do it now or do as I say!"

Despite my fears, I spread my wings and attempted to take to the skies. Anywhere would be safer than this place.

The moment I was about to leap upward, I felt something caught my ankles. I looked down and saw my feet vanish into the ground. I flapped my wings as hard as I could, but still could not escape from the clutches of the ground beneath me. It appeared as if the harder I flap my wings the faster I got dragged under the rough surface.

I gave up struggling as my leathery wings tore and my bones snapped when my upper body sunk into the ground. My cries of pain were unheard. The sounds of tearing wings and broken bones seemingly louder in my ears than my own voice.

Soon it became clear that I was rapidly being dragged down deep into the earth and if I didn't do anything soon, I might never get out ever again. So I punched and kicked and clawed at the metallic rocks around me with little effect. I blasted a hole in front of me, which only made a small hole that was immediately filled in by more of the metallic rocks. In my desperation, I started to suffocate and getting increasingly anxious. I've never liked small spaces, ever since that one day in my childhood when I was trapped in a small auto-locking closet.

In my panicked mind, I thought, I'm going to die, I'm going to run out of air and suffocate to death. That thought made me renew my punching and clawing of the rocks in front of me until I realised that I no longer have any more space for movement.

I pushed my nails with my finger muscles to make it a bit longer and used it to slit my own throat, just so that I wouldn't have to suffer death by suffocation. I had pretty much accepted my death and was trying to choose the lesser of two evils. So I closed my eyes and sang Jingle Bells in my head while waiting for my end.

A while later, I finished singing Jingle Bells, so I started with Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.

I finished that as well, so I started singing I Don't Wanna Close My Eyes, twice.

I finished that one too, and so I thought, 'what the hell, how long will it take for me to die?'

The rocks had stopped moving by now, though I was still very much stuck. The only things I could move by now were my fingers and my toes. I could also move my mouth and eyes though unless I started developing optical laser or dragon's breath, I didn't think it would be much use.

It was amazing what you could accomplish when you stayed calm. It was more amazing what you could think of when you were buried deep underground. I tested the rocks and the soil integrity by cutting the rocks slowly with a concentrated stream of pure ether. After what felt like an hour, I managed to cut enough of the large metallic rocks into small chunks that fell to my feet thus freeing my arms.

Slowly and carefully, I moved my palms so it faced the wall of rocks above my head. I took a deep breath, concentrated my ethereal might on my palms and blasted away. It took some time and my feet kept sinking into the rocks beneath me before the pressure from the ethereal blast lessened and I again got a glimpse of the red skies of Sheol. Ignoring the pain in my broken wings, I crawled and climbed the hole back out to the surface.

Once back on the surface, I sat on the ground, trying to nurse my wings back to health. I heard the popping sounds of mending bones and skin as I concentrated on the healing of my wings.

"Finally! I thought you were going to stay down there forever."

I gave Mother a petulant look. It made her even more angry but I no longer cared. Her stomps were obvious through the tremors in the ground. I winced when she pulled me by the hair, making me hang on the threads of my hair as she looked me in the eyes. I immediately dropped my eyes to evade hers.

"Did you pay attention to the memories I conjured for you just now? You're alone now, child. Gaea has forsaken you. Sarai has left you. Barbiel has already washed her hands off you. And not to mention your mentor was almost dead, thanks to you," she yelled as she shook her hands causing my body that was attached to the hair in her hand to swing back and forth.

"So in case it hasn't register in your brain, yet, you have nowhere to go. You have no one to turn to. I'm the only one you have. So you'd better show some respect, stupid child."

I was trying to dislodge my hair from her grip when I heard a ferocious roar from somewhere, far away. Then I heard a sound similar to a galloping horse, but much subdued, as if it was galloping on a road of cushions. I noticed the roars sounded getting closer and closer. From afar, I saw a dot in the horizon growing larger and larger as it got closer. I stopped my struggles when I saw the carriage closing in on us.

The thing that scared me the most was the lions, if it could be called lions. It was more like birds with the head of lions. Six animals with the head of lions and the body of owls tied to the carriage in pairs was running, or flying as fast as the wind, while pulling the huge carriage as if it weighed nothing. Somehow, I knew that this was the Anzu bird, Mother's pets. The carriage on the other hand was ornately carved, with symbols and figures of people and... some kind of ritual. Don't ask me how, but when the carriage stopped next to us, I was able to identify the carvings on the carriage.

The carvings detailed Mother's life. It started from her humble beginning as a glob of mud empowered by the eternal darkness at the beginning of the world to being the favourite child of Heaven. I noticed the words 'strength', 'judgement', 'power' and a seemingly much newer carving, 'concealment' next to the story. There was another word in front, 'shell', which from the look of it was meant to be erased, without much luck.

Then I read of her fall from grace as she left Heaven and her beloved Adam, thus being chased around the Earth by the three angels sent by The Great Sovereign to bring her back. Then they fought and fought and fought, until the earth cracked and split, mountains tossed and rocks fell down from the sky. I read of the deal she made with the three angels and noticed her glee at how much the angels squirmed at being forced to accept their new task, as watchers of Lilith and her children. Next to the story was something like a prayer, or incantation:

Great is the daughter of Heaven who tortures babies
Her hand is a net, her embrace is death
She is cruel, raging, angry, predatory
A runner, a thief is the daughter of Heaven
She touches the bellies of women in labor
She pulls out the pregnant women’s baby
The daughter of Heaven is one of the Gods, her brothers
With no child of her own.
Her head is a lion’s head
Her body is a donkey’s body
She roars like a lion
She constantly howls like a demon-dog.

Then it detailed the meeting between the weakened Mother with the child-goddess Ishtar, daughter of Anu and how she would help Mother get back on her feet if Mother would serve her for one day. Mother refused, fled to the fruitful river and made a home in the trunk of a Huluppu tree. One day Ishtar accidentally pulled the tree she made a home in from the river Perath and that shocked the child-goddess so much, that she ran home and pleaded Gilgamesh to chase Mother away. Gilgamesh succeeded and Mother was driven away from her home and had to walk the Earth again. Next to the story was the word, 'Utnapishtim'.

Mother finally fell exhausted on the cracked grounds of the wastelands east of the Red Sea. Then a storm came, bringing with it strong winds and pouring rain, and Mother became whole again. She flew to the beach of the Red Sea and settled there, mourning for her loss. That was until the three angels returned and told her of the creation of Eve. The rest of the paragraph detailed Mother's journey back to the Garden of Eden and how she persuaded Eve to eat the forbidden fruit with Adam. Next to the story was carved the words, 'regret' and 'longing'.

Then it told of the birth of the Lilim, Mother's children. The story continued up to the legend of the Tower of Babel. It mentioned in great detail of how Semiramis, herself one of the Lilim, persuaded her husband, King Nimrod to seek an alliance with Mother so that the Tower could be built faster and stronger. Mother agreed and so Lilim and humans worked together to build the greatest monument ever made by man, a symbol of mankind's unity and strength.

God was angry at their arrogance, so he brought down the confusion of tongues against them, and for the first time, men were unable to speak to one another and the Lilim lost their power of speech. Then God struck at the Tower with hundreds of lightning and scattered humans around the world with a great hurricane. The inarticulate and confused Lilim were easily picked off one by one by the swooping angelic army and out of thousands, only one survived, by love and grace of Mother.

Mother was angry and together with Samael, transformed into great serpents and threatened that she would drown the world unless her children were returned to her. God refused, He slew Samael, and cooled Mother, so she would never bring harm to the world again. In tears, Mother took the last Lili, dived into the Red Sea and sought refuge in the shadowy domains.

"Enough reading," Mother abruptly said as the door of the carriage suddenly opened and I was thrown inside.

-----

We arrived at a lush countryside. There were tall trees and green plains as far as the eye can see. In front of us is a kind of castle, not unlike medieval castles I've seen before. If not for the red sky, I would've thought that we're back on Earth. The sight of life sized fairies flying around was another major giveaway that this was not Earth.

Weird though, were they flying around with their hands clipped to their backs? What a strange style of flying. My pondering was cut short when the massive black door of the castle start to open. Once it was fully opened, Mother simply walked in through the courtyard as if she owned the place. I started to wonder if this was Yenne Velt.

Nope, can't be. If this was Yenne Velt, then I'm sure nobody would be brave or foolish enough to sit on her throne, I thought as my eyes fell on two figures in the distance. One of them was one of the fairies, the same kind as the one flying above us. The other was a mature man, who appeared to be around the age of 40 if he was human. By each side of the throne, two suits of armors were standing still as if guarding them. I couldn't tell if there were anyone in the suits of armors because they didn't move at all.

"Oh, how wonderful it is for you to fall. How amazing your beauty is. How beautiful your wings reflect the light of creation. And how great is your eternal elegance," I heard the man say.

We walked closer to the throne. The fairy was sitting crosslegged on the throne. She was smiling down on the man, who was holding her left foot in one hand and kissing her toes. I thought it weird that even sitting, I couldn't see her arms. Only as we got closer did I found out that it wasn't because she kept her arms behind her, she didn't have arms at all!

"Oh my goddess of the skies, I worship you in all your elegance and grace. Know that my love for you is eternal, and shall never wane," the man said.

I was mesmerized at how beautiful the fairy was. She had flowing white hair, and quite a long pair of legs. Her wings were painted with all the colours of the spectrum within a complex tapestry of forms and lines. Her eyes were totally white, suggesting either that she didn't have irises or even her irises were totally white. I didn't realise that Mother had stopped walking until she grabbed my right wing and pulled me back to her. The man seemingly aware of our intrusion into his private domain turned around and looked straight at us. By this time he had already let go of the fairy's feet.

"Your lies are truly magnificent, Asmodeus. Do you seriously believe that anyone would fall for your sweet words?" Mother said.

The man simply stood up without a word. He snapped his fingers and the fairy exploded into a million fragments with a loud scream. Even after the fragments turned into fine dusts, her screams continued to echo around us. He then moved a few steps back and sat on his throne.

"Disgusting, Asmodeus. You have just disintegrated your 'eternal love'. Have you no shame?" Mother taunted.

The man made a dismissive wave with his hand, "Bah! It's no big deal. She was just in my way. I can resurrect her anytime I want to, anyway. So what's the big deal? Besides, she got boring".

Mother made an obvious frown, then said, "Whatever you do in your own domain is your own problem. I won't interfere..."

I heard him murmur, "Yeah, right."

"Shut up! Let me finish.. I'm here..."

"Don't tell me to shut up! We're of the same rank. You are no longer my superior!"

I watched as the atmosphere became tense. Their stares locked into each other, their postures ready. Ready as if to pounce on each other. I saw the suit of arms made little movements, but otherwise still stationery in their stance. I positioned my right hand behind me, feeding it power, bit by bit, in case trouble erupts. It may not work on this man, Asmodeus, just like it didn't work on Mother, but I was hoping that it would work on those suits of arms.

Then Mother seemed to give up as she relaxed her arms and ceased her hostile glares, though she still kept her eyes on Asmodeus.

"I am not here to pick a fight," Mother said, "I'm here to request for your assistance".

"Assistance?" he grinned as recognition dawned on his face, "Another one into the lion's den?"

Mother pushed me forward. "Here you go. Help me make her more docile, will you? I'm getting tired of her attitude."

I was stunned. I recalled how Asmodeus 'removed' the fairy just because she was 'in his way'. I looked at Mother, hoping that she was merely joking, but she was not. She was serious about giving me to Asmodeus, and nothing that I could say or do would change her mind.

Asmodeus simply sneered, "You called me disgusting. Yet you're the one giving up your own daughter for someone else to abuse."

"I am not here to discuss the intricacies of immorality. Are you going to do it or not?"

"Sure," he said as he pulled two pointy white stalagtite thingy that stuck out of his armrest.

"I just have to do this first," he continued right before he hurled both stalagtite-thingies at me.

I cried in pain as both of those rock stakes punctured my shoulder bones and came out of my back. Shortly after, I felt weak, as if all my strength has drained away. I tried to pull both out with my hands, and when that failed, I tried to pull one of those with both hands. It failed. I fell to the beautifully tiled floor and continued to get weaker. I tried to feed power to my fingers so that I could cut the stony stakes into twos and push the stakes all the way out of my body. My hopes died when the ethereal beam flickered and disappeared.

Mother just looked at me and said, "I'll be picking her up after 80 years of your time. I want her alive and well when I return."

Then she turned around and left through the massive doorway. As the doors slammed shut behind her, I realized, that I was all alone.

"Now let's get to business," I heard Asmodeus say from behind me.

I turned around and watched as he got up from his throne and walked towards me. His manner and gaze was peaceful, almost kind, and his face was like the most handsome middle-aged man I've ever seen. His words and gestures were cultured and almost gentleman-like. I guessed aristocratic would be the best word to describe him.

He squatted in front of me, looking me in the eyes, and then offering me a smile. It was a smile that people made when they were giving someone else a present. It was a smile Dad used to have back when he was kind and cheerful. It was a smile that people would make when offering to help an elderly cross a busy street. It was a smile that warmed my heart and gave me hope.

"Can you stand, my dear?" he said as he offered his hands. The smile on his face was still warm and friendly.

I accepted his offer. I took his hands and he helped me stand. Funny, although I was feeling weaker, the stakes and the wounds on my shoulders no longer hurt.

"Thank you, are you really the Lord of Lust, Asmodeus? You're not like how I expected you to be at all," I asked as I noticed him continue to hold my hands.

"Oh, I can be many things, my dear. Lovely fingers by the way," he said as he scrutinized my hands.

I thought it was a bit weird that he would be holding my hands and watching my fingers so passionately. Though since he pulled that facade with Mother, I thought that maybe this pervert deserved to spend some time looking and touching me. He couldn't possibly be the evil man that obliterated his love in front of Mother and me. Maybe he just teleported her somewhere and would bring her back soon.

He raised his face and looked into my eyes as he said, "Too bad these fingers will be the first to go."

I was like 'huh?' when I felt him break the middle finger of my left hand. I screamed loudly, the pain was so intense!

I fell to the floor again, inadvertently pulling him down with me as he still had a strong grip on my left hand. He didn't fall, but he did drop down and knelt beside me, still holding my left hand. I screamed anew when he broke my forefinger. I screamed three more times as he broke the rest of my fingers. Then he let go of my hand. I pulled my hand towards me, my fingers stuck out at odd angles. Cradling my ruined hand, I formed myself into a ball as I wept and sobbed at the pain.

His strong hands grabbed my face and pulled it so that my face was looking at him. He no longer had that smile, but his face was neutral, as if watching a sobbing woman cradling her ruined fingers were normal, everyday occurences.

"My dear, you become numb much too soon. I enjoyed it when women scream in pain for hours. Not to worry, nothing a little hocus-pocus couldn't accomplish," he said as he let go of my face.

I heard he uttered something long, but although I was able to catch a few words, the rest of the words were foreign and unlike any language I've ever heard of before. Right after he uttered the last word, I howled in pain.

I was thrashing on the floor, all my fingers gave me the same pain as the one I felt when he broke them. Except this time, the pain was 5-fold, as all of the fingers sent shocks to my brain at the same time. My shoulders also gave me much pain, and it got worse as I rolled on the marble floor.

I was very terrified when he grabbed my right hand. I tried to push him away with my left arm and my legs. I begged him to have mercy, to let me go. He didn't bother to listen. I howled 5 more times as he broke my other fingers.

He grabbed my neck this time, while his other hand grabbed my face. I thought, 'good, now I can finally die'. It was not to be.

He pulled my face close to his, closing my mouth and spoke in a cool, clear voice. "As you may have noticed, women in my realm don't have hands. So over the course of the next few days, I will enjoy destroying yours. You will be allowed to roam freely in my domain within reason, just like the fairies you see flying over us. You will make yourself available to me when I require your screams to sing me to sleep".

He threw me to the floor. "Now off you go," he said as he walked back towards his throne.

I flew up to the skies. Tears streaming across the surface of my face and my screams continued to echo from my throat.

-----

Day 2

I was flying around, the pain on my shoulders and ruined fingers were still as intense as ever, but I had learnt to accept the pain and no longer needed to scream in pain all the time. I was very careful not to let my fingers hit anything though because the pain would've been intense. Sometimes I would land just because I could no longer stand the pain caused by the flapping of my wings.

Then I felt an overwhelming tug. It was so overwhelming that I changed course right away and increased my speed without any idea why. When I saw the castle from afar, I knew why. He was summmoning me!

I tried to turn back, to stay away from the castle. Away from him. Away from the tortures that awaited me.

I failed. I kept flying straight to the castle and landed right in front of his throne. He merely looked at me with interest.

"Kneel, that's what you should do when you're in front of your lord and master," he said, sounding very smug.

I knelt and kept my face to the floor. My wings relaxed and furled behind me. I looked down at my ruined fingers as I imagined what other cruel tortures he would have for me.

"That's a good pet. Now show me your fingers," he said as he got up from his throne.

I was reluctant at first, but upon seeing that smile on his face again, I relented and raise my hands in front of me. I was offering my fingers for his inspection. In my mind, I was hoping and pleading that he would be merciful and gave me my peace.

He took both hands, scrutinizing it again. He moved it around and he stepped a bit to the left and right, looking at it from different angles. Then I noticed a very burly demon stepped into my peripheral view.

"How do you feel, my dear? I am sorry that you had to suffer yesterday. I must've been possessed or something to have done such a horrible thing. Would you ever forgive me, little one?"

I looked up at him, wondering if he was telling the truth, then realized that it didn't matter. "Please, my lord. Please, have mercy. I've learnt my lesson. I won't ever disobey Mother anymore. Please, would you let me go back to my sisters, to Mother, my lord?"

He chuckled, "No, that won't do, little one. You see, Lilith expected me to keep you here for 80 years. What kind of man would I be if I break my promise? Besides, I can't let you tarnish my reputation."

He smiled as he broke my fingers into twos. He then threw me to the floor and said, "Smash her palms".

The demon grabbed my arms and put it both down to the floor. Another demon came into my vision. He was wearing partial plate armor and holding an infernal-looking hammer in his hands. I struggled, but it seems that I wasn't able to move my hands even an inch.

The demon swung his hammer and I howled in pain again.

-----

Day 3

"Smash her arms into pulp," Asmodeus said to my cries and pleads for mercy.

-----

Day 4

"Smash every bones in her legs," he said amidst my tears and whimpers.

-----

Day 5

I fell to the floor as I landed. Without working arms and legs to slow my descent and to land, I fell like a broken doll. My breasts were the only thing that cushion my fall, and it was very painful as I skidded to a halt and my breasts suffered full abuse from the rough landing. The pains in my body from the previous days tortures were still obvious and still very excruciating.

He merely watched as I fell to the floor, with no ability to get up. "I think your wings should go next," he said as he took a sip from his goblet.

I could only cry as the demons ripped off my wings.

-----

Day 7

I was slithering slowly towards his throne. With my arms and legs gone, and my wings ripped and torn off its hinges, there was no other way for me to move. I had to pull myself and slide slowly with either my face, my breasts, or my waist.

When I arrived in front of him, he looked at me with satisfaction. Even after the events of the last few days, I still had some hopes that he would eventually be gentle to me after he got his rocks off and allowed me some mercy.

"Kiss my feet, my little worm," he said, sounding amused.

I kissed it, and when he told me to lick it, I licked it too. I looked up at him, trying to see if I met his approval.

He did, he did approve of my grovelling. When he smiled, I felt happy, despite all the pains. But I was curious about the large hammer he had put on the right armrest.

"You have become a much enjoyable entertainment for me and my guests, my little worm. But alas, there was nothing more to do with you and I suspect that you have outlived your usefulness," he said as he picked up the hammer, "So off you go, worm."

He then swung the large hammer and as the hammer got closer to my head, I recalled being thankful that finally it was all over.

-----

Day 10

I gasped as I woke up in a large cauldron. It was very hot and I was surrounded by burning oil. My entire body was on fire and I was struggling to crawl out of the inferno. It was made much harder as my burning hair cut off my vision and I had to rely on instinct. My hands and feet danced wildly as I attempted to crawl out of cauldron. After what must've been hours of trying, I was finally able to get out of the cauldron and jumped away from it.

I tried to catch my breath and tried to heal my burning body. To my amazement, despite my nakedness, I was unharmed. I grabbed a lock of hair and it was as beautiful as ever. I touched my wings and made a sigh of relief as I found that it was again functioning and no longer just dangling behind me. I swished my tail and was so happy to have my tail back that I grabbed it in my hands and kissed the tip. Then I looked around, trying to see where I was.

The place was familiar. There were fields and fields of flowers of all kinds. There were small insects flying around above the flowerbeds and there were fairies flying merrily up in the red sky.

Wait, fairies?

It was then that I recognized the moving shape in the distance.

NO!!! Not him. Not him!

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me.

-----

Day 262

"Hello there," came a feminine voice from above me.

I was again reduced to a worm-like existence. Unable to touch, unable to walk, unable to fly. My existence was now on the ground, and my domain was a patch of beautiful thorny flowers that scratched and ripped my skin.

I looked at the direction the voice was coming from. First I saw a very long leg that reached to the skies. Then I saw flaring hips and slim waist that would make any woman envious. Then I saw the most perfect globes mounted on the most perfect torso. And then I saw her face.

"Mother?" I said to the goddess that was looking down on me with a smile.

Giggles, "I got that often," she crouched down, "look at me, do I look like 'Mother'?"

"Please get me out of here, Mother," I wept.

This time she groaned. Then she pointed two of her fingers at her own face and said, "Look into my eyes, little one. Look deep into it and tell me what you see."

There was a pause.

"Mother?" I said. I didn't see anything in there but Mother and how much I wanted to apologize for disobeying her.

She sighed, "Fine, I'll make it simple and clear things up. I'm not Mother".

I simply looked at her. Wondering if this was another torture. Who else would have that beautiful face, that gorgeous body and that mane rose-red hair?

"Not Mother?" I asked, confused.

"Yes, not Mother. My name is Lilith, yes, and I do look like Mother, but I am not her. As much as I hated this name, I was always identified as Lesser Lilith. Now, I don't tell people this name because I don't like to be called 'lesser'. So call me Lilith and not Lesser Lilith or Mother. She's my mother too, you know."

"You're not Mother?"

She smiled, "No, I'm not. I'm the consort of Asmodai, and diplomat for Mother. I'm pretty much the safeguard that prevents war between Mother's faction and Asmodai's."

Then for some reason, I couldn't stop my tears from flowing. "Please get me out of here," I said as I wept.

She groaned, threw her hands up and stood. "I'll leave you to calm down, we'll chat later," she said as she turned around and walked away.

-----

Day 20,439

I awoke with a gasp. I didn't need to open my eyes to know that I was back inside the Resurrection Couldron. The heat and the pain induced by lava was enough of a giveaway. The pain was still as intense as ever, but at least now I have learnt to accept it, embrace it even. As long as I made myself belief that the pain was nothing more than foreplay, it was easy to live with it.

Despite the sizzling hot surface of the Couldron, I worked myself to touch it and climb out through the opening above. It felt like my body was being stir-fried on the Couldron's hot surface, but just like the other pains I've felt, I learnt to accept it. Once out of the Couldron, I let myself fall to the ground and just laid there making small movements with my previously missing limbs.

"Finally! I've been waiting here for a full day. I was wondering when you would come out," mumbled a familiar voice. So I opened my eyes and looked around. There standing just behind me was Mother!

Well, not Mother really. By this time, I've become somewhat an expert at seeing the slight difference in auras. Where Mother's aura always chokes and intimidates, Lesser Lilith's aura is mostly chaotic and exciting. I smiled cheerfully. Lesser Lilith has always been nice to me, though my definition of 'nice' may have changed since living here. "Lilith! Taking me to one of your parties again? Isn't it a bit too early for a party?"

"Party? I sent you here to be taught a lesson and all you did was partying around? You disappoint me, child," she said with an obvious feeling of contempt.

Wide eyed, my subconscious self slowly worked up some fear into myself. From previous experiences, I was sure that this was Lesser Lilith, but now I wasn't so sure anymore. I thought that aura was Lesser Lilith's but I was sure that Mother was powerful enough to change her aura signature at will. It was curious to see that the aura still felt the same despite the anger in her face.

When she broke into a laugh, I almost shit myself. "Oh dear, that look on your face was priceless! I can't believe you actually fall for that. It was almost worth the time I wasted waiting for you to emerge from the couldron."

"Bloody hell!" I yelled when it finally registered in brain that Lesser Lilith was just messing with me, again. "Don't do that, you almost gave me a heart attack!"

She simply rolled on the ground laughing her ass off.

I was annoyed, very annoyed. "Okay, why are you here? Don't tell me that there's another party celebrating the non-existent full moon."

She giggled merrily and said, "No, no party for you in the near future. You won't need the escape since Asmodai has ran out of ideas to torture you. He's afraid that he's getting repetitive and he almost hate that in himself. I've always told him that he worked on you too fast and too soon, that he should've waited a few days for the experience to soak in before administering the next one. He wouldn't listen to me, I think he's actually quite fond of you."

Frowning, I said, "Oh please, he's fond of everything with a pulse. That old coot would fuck anything. Do you remember how he fucked that girl who had that cow udder bag on her stomache?"

"That night was hot, which one did you prefer?" she grinned.

"What?"

"Did you prefer the brunette, the blonde or the asian? I'm personally quite partial to the brunette."

"...So if you're not here to invite me to another party, then why are you here? I assume you haven't suddenly become Asmodeus' errand girl?" I said, changing the subject.

"Straight to the point, huh? You need to lighten up a little. Have some fun, throw a few giggles. I know you can, gosh, you were hotter than firecrackers back there."

I was exasperated with her constant attempt to derail the conversation. "Get to the point. I expect that Asmodeus will summon me for his fun soon."

"Didn't I tell you that he has ran out of ideas for you? You won't be tortured anytime soon. I told him to cool it down and find some other toys to play with while he think of new ways of torment for you. So for now, you're mine."

"So... what... you want me to lick your cunt day and night now?"

"What? No! I'm going to teach you a few spells. It's preposterous that you spent decades here without knowing how to cast a single spell. It's almost an insult to my talents."

"You have talents? I thought you only know how to throw a great orgy."

She giggled, "You have no idea."

-----

Day 20,440

"Okay, I've got it. I think this spell should work in sealing those things you have jutting out of your shoulders. That should give you the ability to retain your energy until it expires. I just need a sacrifice to finalize it."

"What sacrifice?"

She looked at me as if I was a retard. "You had to ask?"

"Fuck!" I cursed as she stabbed my heart with a mean-looking dagger.

Through the fog as I slowly lose consciousness, I heard her say, "You'll be as good as new by tomorrow."

-----

Day 20,442

"Now, listen well, I'm not going to repeat this again. The source of Lilim power is the ether. There are two ways to do this. First is by consuming pure ether, and that is something that you do naturally whenever you connect to a source of ether. Ether is the most common element in Sheol and simply by being here, you'll be consuming ethereal energies through your horns. Unfortunately, there are no ether on Earth, unless if you managed to get to the Ozone layer or deep underground."

"So that's why we need to feed on humans?"

"Not just any humans. Lilim can only digest male human essence. You can consume female human's essence, but it will be nothing more than a piece of candy. You won't get any nutrition from human females."

"What if I don't want to consume male essence? I can just stay in Sheol and consume pure ether here, can't I?"

"I don't think it works that way for Lilim. Lilim horns are not that efficient, as it can't take in all your needs. The number of horns increase the amount you ingest, but the more horns you got, the faster your body uses the ether. So Lilim like Sarai, will need to feed at least twelve times a week while Lilim like Adela only need to feed once every half of a century."

"Now," she paused, looked at my face and then said, "While pure ether is the power source for magic, Lilim can use it to manipulate the basic elements of earth, fire, water and air. This is most commonly known as Common Magic. Some Lilim can also use magic that involves elements of light, darkness, space and time. We call this High Magic. You may be able to cast some High Magic when you got older, but it's really hard. Now, let's begin!"

And so starts my hellish training. If not for the Resurrection Couldron, I'd never be able to learn a single thing. Lesser Lilith was a real slavedriver.

-----

Day 20,446

"Right, this is not working. For a Lili, you don't seem to be able to grasp the concept of control that Lilim know by instinct. I wonder why," Lilith mused.

"So... are you saying that I can't cast spells? Are you saying that stabbing me a few days ago was pointless?" I was still very annoyed at her for killing me and making me wake up in the couldron again so soon after I emerged from it.

"No no, don't get me wrong. You have the power, it flows without any obstruction. The only problem is that you can't manipulate it other than to simply gather it into a concentrated ball or a thin stream."

She looked thoughtful. "I suppose I can teach you how to empower yourself with pure ether... but that's no fun. Besides, only three-horned berserker-type Lilim, like Marabitha and Delilah would do something so crude and enjoyed it. No, I'm going to teach you how to cast fun, party spells even if it takes me a decade."

-----

Day 20,470

"Get your butt off those pieces of junk!" she said referring to the pile of bleached white bones I mistakenly conjured. I was supposed to conjure the nectar bowl that the psychais, those butterfly winged fairies thought to be more valuable than their own life. Lilith thought it would be fun to see a great number of psychai flying around trying to find it.

"You're off by many miles. Those bones are props that Asmodai keeps in his store to scare off newbies. Focus!" she admonished as she flicked a whip at me.

"Whipping me will not make it any easier, Lilith!"

"I agree, but it's sure fun to see you squirm. Now get up and do it again. I'll send these bones back later."

Cleaning my legs off the dust the bones brought with them, I said, "You know, if you gave me a little more hint, I'd probably be able to do it sooner."

"Learn it on your own. Gosh, you Lilim, always wanting freebies."

I was weirded out by her remarks, so I said, "Us Lilim? You're talking as if you're not a Lili."

"Of course I'm not," she snapped, "Do you see horns, wings and tails on me?"

She did have a point. Like Mother, she had neither horns, wings nor tails that identified her as a Lilim. I noticed it before, but I discounted it as just some kind of transformation, that she removed her wings from my view on purpose. Come to think of it, she didn't sprout wings or horns or tails when she lost control during those parties too, I imagined it must've been hard maintaining the illusion at that point. The more I thought of it, I began to notice how human, however unearthly, she was. She even felt more human than Mother, and I knew that Mother was the only pure human still alive.

Seeing as I didn't respond, she continued, "Don't be fooled by me living in Ashmedan. I'm entirely human. That was why Asmodai agreed to the terms of the peace treaty. He wanted a human female to nurse his broken heart, none of his psychai was able to do anything about it. I supposed you could say that I was a copy of Mother, though that's not entirely true as I did have human parents once."

-----

Day 20,501

"Okay, now that you've learnt how to control the flow of your own energies, we're going to learn some fun spells."

-----

Day 20,541

I was having the time of my life snapping my fingers and burning Asmodeus' prized scavenger worm. Those worms, the largest of which had the girth of my thighs and the length of my legs, had been a very frequently used instrument in some of my torture and it felt good to be able to pay them back. It was easy to lure them too, just need to lie down on the ground and let my cuntjuice soak the ground. They'll come knocking in droves. I just needed to make sure that I was in the air so they don't get to sneak up my gorgeous legs from under the ground.

"Having fun?" came Lilith's voice from below.

"Lilith! Don't stand there. There's scavenger worms down there. Get off the soft ground!"

She shrugged, and I could notice that she was somewhat unhappy. "They're not a problem. Watch," she yelled before clapping her hands.

Not a second later, I saw those scavenger worms leapt into the air and dived into the soft ground about a mile away. I believe they were running away.

"Scavenger worms are very sensitive to smell and sound. Give them a good dose of painful music and they'll run like their lives depended on it," she paused, gave me a sad smile and said, "Come down, I want to tell you something."

I landed on the upturned ground in front of her. Feeling a bit worried, I asked, "What's wrong, Lilith. You don't look too happy."

She gave me a small smile before she said, "Asmodeus wants you back. He's going to summon you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? But what about the lessons? You said you're going to teach me how to turn whisky and beer into piss," I said, probably in a somewhat sulky tone. I was really looking forward to that lesson.

"Sorry, he's the lord of the realm. Not even I can do anything to change his mind. You know how stubborn he is. Oh! Remind me to cancel the sealing spell on those things jutting out of your shoulders. He would be pissed if he found out that I tempered with it."

I sighed, "Guess it's inevitable. I knew this was going to happen someday, still got a few decades more before Mother returned and take me home, you see. But if he's going to summon me tomorrow, why can't you teach me that spell today?"

"Oh no, not possible. You're going to be very busy today," she said as she grabbed my right arm and pulled me to walk beside her.

"Busy doing what?"

"You'll be spending the entire day and night between my legs," she replied with a giggle.

I gave out a loud groan. Oh well, I could think of worse punishments than that. At least her gash smelled and tasted like honey.

-----

Day 29,210

I was on my knees licking Asmodeus' boots when the massive black door opened and in came Mother. I noticed Asmodeus jerk and almost seemed to pull his legs away from my tongue. He then relaxed and let me continue my grovelling.

"Ilyse, you little slut! Come here!" she yelled the moment she was close enough.

I jumped at her voice and crawled on all fours towards her as fast as I could.

"What happened to you?" she asked me.

I was unsure what to tell her about my crushed feet, but it seemed that she figured it out anyway.

"What the hell! Asmodeus! I said I wanted her alive and well when I return."

The Lord of Lust simply shrugged, "You came back a week early. You should've called".

I could sense that Mother was annoyed. Then she dropped down on her knees and touched my feet. At first it was painful, then it was warm and then it was no longer painful. The feeling was strange, almost unnatural. It has been so long since I've ever been free from pain, at least in my feet.

She got up, fuming. "Why did you put her on Eternal Torment? I only asked you to teach her a lesson, not send her to Hell!"

He shrugged again, "It was just a stroke of brilliance on my part".

"Lust!" she cried as the beautiful marble floor cracked under her feet, "Naamah will hear of this! I swear she will hear of this and you will not look as smug as you are now when she found out."

"Now now, Envy. We both know that she may have already known about this. The fact that she hasn't shown up for the last 80 years was probably because she didn't care."

Mother grabbed me and pulled me up. Then she pushed me back to the black door and said, "This is not over, you damned bastard!"

"Wait! You can't just leave. She has my..."

"We ARE leaving, Asmodai. Are you willing to risk a war by stopping us?" Mother cried.

Asmodeus was looking rather conflicted. Serves him right. Mother grabbed my neck, turned me around and pushed me forward as we walked out of the massive doors.

"Keep walking, don't turn around," Mother advised.

The carriage was already waiting for us outside the already opened massive black door. This time, I stepped in, willingly and gladly.

-----

In the carriage, Mother had her eyes looking outside to the Great Plains of the Baked Sands. She was still looking murderous. The pain in my body had lessened, becoming some sort of soreness and the wounds on my body had healed completely, thank Mother for that. So that was what she meant by 'eternal torment', it meant that I would never become numb to the pains and to the tortures inflicted upon me.

Mother turned her head and fixed her gaze on me. "I suppose I should say sorry. I didn't know he would go that far. He had never done that to any of your other sisters, so that was a shock to me as well".

Then she raised her left hand and did a complicated gesture with her fingers. "I've removed the enchantments on Raphael's Collar. You can pull them out now. I can't touch it, we can't afford another war".

I slowly raised my hands and grabbed both of the stakes. I looked at Mother, unsure of what I should do. She just gave me a nod and looked elsewhere.

So I pulled. At first nothing happened, the stakes wouldn't move even an inch. Then I pulled harder and slowly, it slid out of my shoulders. I thought I was totally numb, but this pain was something different. It felt like I was pulling my own bones out of my body. This must've been what Wolverine felt when Magneto ripped out his bones in one of those old X-Men comics my cousin used to keep.

Finally, the stakes became loose and I was able to pull the entire thing out of my body. Wow, the thing must've been as long as my forearm, I couldn't believe that something this long could've been stuck inside me for nearly a century.

I was about to give it to Mother when without looking at me, she said, "Keep it. As I said, I can't touch it. It's yours now".

Then she turned her head and looked at me, "Do you know what you are holding in your hands, child?"

I shook my head no.

"Those things were called Raphael's Collar. It was part of a set that was once used to bind Asmodeus, effectively distancing him from Sarah and her new husband. It was said that whoever possessed all three of the pieces will also be the master of Asmodeus."

"Really? Wow..."

"Amazing, don't you think? Rumours said that it was made out of Raphael's own collarbone, broken into three pieces and empowered by the Nile".

"Angels have collarbones?"

"Oh yes, they also have skulls and spines. Maybe one day you'd have the opportunity to break a few angel spines. They crunch and break really well, almost like biscuits."

Then she giggled like a schoolgirl.

-----

We arrived at a lush tropical-like place. The carriage landed on a long stretch of road that led deep into the forest. This time the carriage moved at a slow pace. Despite the long travel, not another word was spoken between Mother and me.

Then the carriage stopped and we both got out. I looked around and saw that we were in a large meadow, a clearing in the forest. Just like everywhere else in Sheol, this place was quite shadowy and lacked direct sunlight. Far to my left, a throne sat on a raised platform. Around us, there were many other Lilim. Some were walking around. Some were chatting and laughing. Some were flying above us. Some were engaged in what I would call lesbian sex and orgies.

Mother said, "Welcome to Yenne Velt, Ilyse my child. This is the sanctuary for all Lilim. If you ever need to run away from anything, you can always come here."

Then she walked away and the carriage left amidst the roars of the Anzu birds. Mother was walking towards the throne while I noticed every Lilim stopped whatever they were doing and eyed Mother. Some who were in Mother's way simply stepped aside, knelt and worshipped at Mother's feet.

When she sat on the throne, every Lilim in sight abandoned whatever they were doing and knelt in the clearing in front of her. Two Lilim in particular walked up to the platform and sat on the floor on either side of her throne, with Mother patting their heads as they purred in delight. Behind Mother's throne was another Lili, though she looked different and her presence was... null. I couldn't feel her presence at all. With Mother, I could feel an overwhelming presence that made me feel small and insignificant. With her, it felt like she didn't even exist.

Then I noticed someone creeping up behind me. I looked back and noticed this youngish looking Lili. She was cute, in a lolita sort of way. Her hair was platinum blonde and she had the cutest button nose. Her twin horns jutted from the sides of her head just above her ears and pointed backward and slightly down.

She smiled at me awkwardly, "Hi, my name is Nediva. You're Ilyse, aren't you? I heard what happened. If you want to talk, I'm willing to listen, if you'll let me".

I turned around and left her standing there. She followed me. She said something about how sisters should help each other and that she was willing to be more than just another sister to me if I want. I simply ignored her. I didn't feel like talking to anyone right now.

"Really, I'm serious. I've never been sent there, but I can guess it must be horrible. You can talk to me, I'll listen," she said, still following me.

I was really annoyed. I really had no interest in talking about it to anyone. Her persistent interruption to my peaceful little space became really irritating though, so I snapped my fingers.

"Aww, my face! My face!" she cried as her head burned fiercely.

I noticed every Lilim sitting in the clearing was looking at us. Mother was looking at me disapprovingly, but said nothing. I didn't understand what the big deal was, she was bugging me.

"You damned bitch!" she cried again as she ran around with her hands trying to douse the flames without much success.

She ended up hitting her head on a tree, fell unconscious, at the same time setting fire to the tree. Several other Lilim went to her and after a few minutes successfully doused her flaming head.

I just walked away.

I felt nothing. Absolutely nothing.

=====

Psychai = Daughters of Psyche, the only named psychai was Hedone (Pleasure) or the Voluptas (the Roman version)

Author's Note: This chapter has been heavily modified. Where before, it is only about the punishment that Ilyse had to endure, now it also tells of Lesser Lilith's role in this story.

Pat is back on familiar grounds. Returning as one messed up Lili, she finds comfort in a familiar face and learns a bit more about her past. This is the final chapter that sets the stage for the next chapter that would strengthen her resolve and help her make her final decision. By the way, did she really left Earth for 80 years? The Half-Lilin Chapter 11 by Shin Eris

---

 
From last chapter:

 
I was really annoyed. I really had no interest in talking about it to anyone. Her persistent interruption to my peaceful little space became really irritating though, so I snapped my fingers.

"Aww, my face! My face!" she cried as her head burned fiercely.

I noticed every Lilim sitting in the clearing was looking at us. Mother was looking at me disapprovingly, but said nothing. I didn't understand what the big deal was, she was bugging me.

"You damned bitch!" she cried again as she ran around with her hands trying to douse the flames without much success.

She ended up hitting her head on a tree, fell unconscious, at the same time setting fire to the tree. Several other Lilim went to her and after a few minutes successfully doused her flaming head.

I just walked away.

I felt nothing. Absolutely nothing.

 
Chapter 11
 

I felt the air went 'pop' as the familiar surrounding materialized in front of me. It was amazing that even after all these years; my room was still the same as when I left it 80 years ago. I took a step forward, hitting my knees on the bed.

I turned around as Mother tapped me on my left wing. "There will be some disorientation. You will find that the time that has passed in Assiah is not as long as you may have experienced in Ashmedan".

Cocking my head, I asked, "What do you mean, Mother?"

"Time is not as uniform as humans want to believe, especially when we're talking about time in Sheol. The length and perception of time is different, depending on where you stand."

I couldn't understand a single word, and it must've showed because she clarified, "In other words, time in Heaven, Assiah and Sheol is different. In Sheol, time also goes by differently, at a different pace, depending on which layer the realm was situated in."

"So you're saying that in the material world, I have not been away for 80 years?"

"Yes, I meant exactly that. Ashmedan is quite deep within Sheol, so the time difference is very significant."

I looked around me. Looking at the bedroom that I thought I'd left 80 years ago. Running my forefinger on the surface of the bedside drawer, I noticed the lack of dust which lent credence to Mother's words. I couldn't have left this place for too long.

"How long have I left this world?"

She smiled. "You'll find out. I'm going back to Yenne Velt. Come back once in a while. You should know how to do that by now."

With that last word, I felt the air thicken and and the light distort around her. Not 5 seconds later, her body distorts and disappears from view. By pure impulse, I waded the air where she was just now with my arms to see if she was still there. She was not.

I looked around me again, dawn light was streaming pass the curtains through the open window. It has been so long since I left this place, even if in this world's pace, I haven't been away for that long. Has anything changed? I couldn't even recall exactly how this place looked like to decide if anything was different.

Standing at the door, I let out a deep breath and turned the knob. I poked my head into the corridor, curious, or maybe apprehensive about going out of my room. You see, I have left this place for so long that it doesn't feel like my apartment anymore. It no longer feels like home.

Seeing no one in the hallway, I walked out slowly, almost hesitantly, but I knew that this was my home and I needed to make it mine again.

I walked into the kitchen, noticing a burn mark and a lump of... uhh, whatever it was, it was black and hard. I vaguely recalled being the one who caused it, though I couldn't recall how or what it was exactly. I touched the lump, it was crumbly and coarse, again I wondered what it was.

Then I moved to the doorway, onward to the living room. I noticed the smashed souvenir closet, its contents missing. At first I thought I was robbed, but then I recalled a particularly embarrassing encounter with Shaina, my supposed-to-be mentor. That memory of losing control to my own instincts was particularly embarrassing, but she was my mentor, so she was supposed to be able to handle anything I could've thrown at her. Besides, I wouldn't lose control if she didn't amplify my own darkness with that corruption beam.

As I walked into the living room, I noticed a foot sticking out of the end of the long couch. Who was it? Little Tell perhaps? She should know that she wasn't supposed to be watching TV til so late. I stopped in my tracks, wondering, how old was Little Tell anyway? What day is this? When is this?

It was then that I noticed the foot was wearing a pair of man's boots. Little Tell would never wear men's attire. She was a girly girl and from what I noticed, very proud of it. So I walked around the couch and was puzzled by what I saw. There was a man there, sleeping on the couch. His face was quite familiar, but I couldn't recall who it was, until a sudden burst of memory washed over me.

Why is HE here? This is my house, isn't it?

I looked around me, studying every little details of the room. Yes, I recalled getting that trophy in junior high. That picture on the wall, depicting a scene in some medieval battle was a Christmas gift from Little Tell during her junior year at college. Everything here pointed to this being my apartment.

So why is he here?

Only then I noticed that I was starving. For the last 80 years, I had to beg for every scrap from Asmodeus, sometimes I had to beg to be tortured just for a small meal. It was even worse when he cut my horns thus cutting my ability to consume Sheol’s ethereal energies, making me feel like starving to death. Looking at his sleeping form, my mouth started to drool. A sudden thought entered my mind, telling me that I must resist. It puzzled me, why must I resist? It was my right to eat anyone I wanted. Besides, he was the one trespassing into my area, so he was mine to do with as I wished.

I lay on top of him on the couch. Nudging his lips with my own, I said, "Wakey wakey, my delicious meal. Wake up and let me eat you",

----

Oh, that was wonderfully good. I hadn't had a meal this good since 80 years ago. I licked my lips, savouring the delicious taste, recalling the wonderful joy I felt at finally being able to feed again. It almost made me weep at how much I craved a real meal, how much I missed doing this.

But then, my brain cleared and I recalled why I wanted to resist before this. I hated this man. I hated him with every fibre of my being. Opening my eyes, I got up from my position beside him on the floor and started to stand. A hand shot up and held my right one.

"Where are you going, doll? Come snuggle for a bit longer. I've missed you."

"Hands off, Chris," I said coldly.

"Aww jeez, Pat. Would you slow down a moment? Lay back down with me," he replied, his tone as if pleading.

"Get it off me, or I'll break it into two. Your choice."

"Seriously?"

"Try me," I said, making sure that my tone was menacing. I wasn't sure if it worked.

I must've succeeded because he let go of my hand. I took the opportunity to stand up and walk to the couch. When I tried to sit on the couch, I was hit with a sharp pain as my wings were crushed between me and the soft cushion. I mentally hit myself for forgetting to switch into my human form. I've been using this form for too long that I have forgotten that I was originally human.

I stood up again, closed my eyes and tried to focus on my human form. It was so hard now to imagine how I used to look like, and I had to spend a particularly long time just to imagine my body without the wings, horns, tail and fangs. I ended up with a model of my lilin-self, minus the wings, horns, tail and fangs of course.

I think I did a good job. I touched my teeth. Good, no fangs, I thought. Then I touched my hair. So long and soft, or did I have a short hairstyle before this? Then I touched my boobs. Hm, nice, pert and supple, I don't think these needs to be changed. Oh it's good being a Lili.

I heard Chris's voice through my self-groping, "What's the big hurry, Pat? You're not going anywhere, so why can't we just lie down for a while longer?"

I didn't reply. Clothes. Humans wear clothes. Should I fetch one from my closet? No, I think a simple ethereal manipulation should do it, I thought as I imagined a particular dress that would look good on me.

"Seriously, Pat. We just made love, we don't need to..."

"We didn't make love," I said, cutting him off, "We fucked. Making love happens when both sides love each other. I don't love you".

I found it hard to breathe, as if my lungs were compressed. What's up with that? Maybe it was the strain of manipulating ether, I thought as the soft blue sleeveless dress formed in my mind and on my body. I wasn't sure about this colour though, maybe I should look at myself in the mirror to see if the clashing colours between the dress and my hair work. Maybe I should've chosen a darker blue? Doesn't matter, I can always change the colour later.

"Ouch," I heard him say. I opened my eyes as my dress formed and looked at his pained face, and suddenly I felt sorry for saying it.

"Why do you always deny it? Do you really hate me that much?"

I couldn't answer. Do I really hate him? Yes, yes I do.

He stood up now. Grabbing his briefs, he said, "You know what, I give up now. It was stupid of me to aim for the moon. I never should've clung to that promise we made when we were kids".

His words jolted me, "You mean you actually remember the promise we made, back in Halloween a long time ago?"

"Of course, don't you? It was in my mind the whole time. That was probably the clearest childhood memory that I have," he replied as he reached for his pants.

I didn't know what to say. The only reason I managed to remember that particular memory was because Mother showed it to me. And here he was telling me that he recalled that painful memory all these time? My eyes became moist as I imagined how torturous it must've been.

I hugged him from behind, just when he was about to reach for his shirt.

I guess it must've shocked him. "Stop! What are you trying to do? Would you please stop this? I finally got the strength to leave you and now you're trying to reel me back in. Don't you think it's enough?"

My tears fell like a broken dam. It fell on his back and flowed downward like a river.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," I said.

He turned around. "Too late, I've waited for you for twenty years while watching you ignoring me for half of that time. I've embarrassed myself, did things I should never do, just so that you would notice me. My shrink even suggested that I spend some time at a funny farm to teach me how to control my anger and self-loathing. I was such a fool that I waited for you all these years, losing my sanity with each passing day. That stops here. Let me go, Pat. I won't bother you anymore."

Through my tears and weeping, I said, "No, I'm not talking about that. I'm just sorry that you have to suffer with bearing that memory. Until Mother showed me, I didn't even remember that promise. Now you're telling me that you have never forgotten it. Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. We never should've made that promise. Mother said it would make it worse if I fought it."

I looked up at his face, and caressed his left cheek with the back of my hand. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

When he held me in his arms, it was so unexpected that I cried harder. "Ssh, calm down. I don't blame you for that promise. I was after all the one who proposed to you, when we were both too young to actually know what we were doing. So it was my fault really, but I just kept hoping that you would one day honour that promise and we would be able to love each other the way we promised to a long time ago."

I buried my face in his broad chest. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to do. To be told that all these years he has been waiting for me, for my heart and how he must've suffered watching me ignore him. Suddenly everything became clear.

My mind replayed the first time I started to hate him. It was after a soccer match in junior high. I stumbled on a rock and would've been kissing the rough ground if not because the striker from the other team caught me in time and got me back on my feet. I was about to thank him when Chris simply strode by and gave him a swift punch on the guts.

Then I replayed the time when a couple of bullies pushed me to a corner and demanded my lunch money. I never liked being pushed around, but I hated fighting even more. Ignoring the two bullies didn't work, so I decided to do the other thing that I hated. I was about to fight them when Chris came out of nowhere and brought them down with two well placed fists. When this happened, I was already annoyed at Chris for always showing off his muscled body in gym class that I decided to ignore him and walk away. I heard the next day that Chris was suspended for causing the hospitalization of the two bullies. Seemed like he continued to beat them up after I left. I remember being disgusted at him when I found that out.

Then I recalled the week before prom. Then my first date in college. Then the time when me and Rachel Wilkins were partners for the research paper. Suddenly it all made sense now. He was jealous. Even as a guy, he wanted me for himself, and it pained him so much that I kept ignoring him.

My tears anew, I pitied him for his suffering. I thought the geas had been cruel on me, but it seemed like the geas was even crueler on him. It hurt him so much that he became cruel and wretched himself. I suddenly regretted ignoring him, wishing that I could turn back time and stop his downward spiral.

"I'm sorry. Please, let me make it up to you," I said as I dropped to my knees.

"Hey hey, Pat. Stop! What are you trying to do?"

"Penance. I want to apologize," I said, my hands tugging softly on his belt.

-----

I leaned back against him on the couch. My back on top of his naked upper body, with his arms possessively around me and my hands above his. His nose was sniffing around on my hair. A few times he would inhale and sometimes he would blow at the top of my head. For some reason, I found it to be really comforting.

I snuggled closet to him, "Are you sure you don't want any compensation?"

"Well, I'll probably regret it soon," he said, his face pressing against the upper part of my head, "but I know this is enough".

I purred as he softly blew at the top of my head again. "This is enough for you?"

"You have no idea how much I've wanted to do this for the past 20 years, Pat. How much I wanted to hold you in my arms, to cuddle with you on a lazy Sunday morning, to kiss you and tell you that I love you, and to hear you reply with the same words. Yes, this is enough for me. I would have no regret if I die now," he said.

I pushed his arms aside and sat straight on the couch. Turning around facing him, I said with a serious tone, "If you want to die now, I can help you. I've wanted to kill you since junior high".

He looked... cautious now. I think he actually believed me. Maybe I should've threatened him with murder before this. Maybe that would've spared me from all those abuses I suffered at his hands.

"You're not really going to do that, are you?" he said, his expression doubtful.

I decided to play this a bit longer, "Who knows? Maybe I would, you're not really the easiest person to live with, you know?"

He grabbed my hands softly, "Oh come on, Pat. I know I haven't exactly been a model citizen before this, but for you, for us, I promise that I'll make this work. To love and to hold, in sickness and in health. This I promise you, my love".

For some reason I felt like throwing up at hearing such sweet words. I wondered how people could stand it at weddings. Freeing my right hand from his, I patted his cheek and said, "Honey, I'm not sure if I can handle being called 'my love' at the moment. It's far too sweet for me".

"What? I thought girls love sweet things?"

I threw him a smile, and said, "Not this girl".

"Well at any rate, you should call your sister. She left to search for you as soon as I arrived."

"Why was she searching for me? Wait, I change the question. Why are you even here?"

"Well, you've been away for two days, without telling anyone. Everyone's worried, you know. Besides, look around you. The house looks like it was trashed by the mob. You would be worried too if Stella went missing after looking at the state of this house."

I mumbled, "It's really not that bad..."

"As for me, I called here yesterday morning. Your sister picked it up and she was delirious. I couldn't understand a single word she said. So I told her that I'd swing by and she could compose herself to tell me what she wanted to tell you."

"So what did she tell you?"

"She was afraid that you were mad at her."

"Mad at her? Mad for what?"

"She told me that you don't approve of her being intimate with Liz."

"What? When did I ever say that?" I asked, because it was absolutely ludicrous. I myself had enjoyed some girl-on-girl actions too for the last 80 years. Okay, maybe 'enjoyed' wasn't the correct word, but I didn't think that there was anything wrong with that.

If I condemn her for being a lesbian, then I should be condemning myself too. It would be like the pot calling the kettle black. I would be a hypocrite. Hum, maybe we got this lesbian tendency from mom. I heard all Lilim were bisexual.

"Well, she was under the impression that you were mad at her for doing that. That was what she told me. Anyway, where've you been for the past two days?"

I looked at the morning sky outside the windows. "So it has only been two days, huh? Sure feels longer in Hell."

"Yes, it's Sunday now. So where were you?"

"Being tortured in the alternative lifestyle."

He grinned, "If you want to be sexually tortured, you can always come and find me. I'd love to make you beg for release".

I looked at him coldly, "I didn't mean it as a joke".

"Sorry," he said, losing his grin.

I didn't know why, but I hugged him, "It's okay. You didn't know what I've been through. It's not your fault, there was nothing you could've done anyway".

Then I let go of him and picked up the phone.

"Pat, what are you trying to do?" he asked.

"I'm calling Tell, like you told me to just now."

"Not when you sound like that, unless if you've told her about yourself, which I dare say you haven't yet."

"Tell her what?"

"That you can transform into a girl?"

"Of course I can. I'm a half-lilin. I have a lilin form and a human form. This is my human form, which I wear every waking moment."

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is!"

"No! It's not and I can prove it without even getting up."

"Go ahead. I want to see how you can prove that. This is my body, you know. I know my own body."

"I know your body too, baby," he said, loosening his belt.

"Mmm, so you're finally taking me up on that offer?" I cooed.

Chuckling, he said, "Tempting, but maybe later. Right now my belt's killing me. I must've buckled too tightly when I wanted to leave just now."

"Too angry at poor old me, sweety?"

"I won't ever be too angry at you, doll."

"Now sweety, we both know that's not true," I said as I threw him a smile.

"Those weren't anger, baby. Those were extreme lurvve," he grinned. His hands now holding his wallet and has started fishing for its contents.

"Ooo, you're paying me for my services? Kinky. Ooh, you’re making me wet. What would you like me to do for you, Mr Reynolds?" I said, snuggling back into his broad chest as I roleplayed a high class callgirl. The phone handle lay forgotten on the table.

"Doll, wasn’t I already paying for your meals? Ah, here it is," he said as he pulled out a folded photograph.

"What's that? I asked, raising myself up to look at it.

It was a picture of three boys in a soccer jersey. Two of them were holding a large trophy. One of the boys holding the trophy was the young Chris. Gosh, I have forgotten how cute he was.

"Remember when this was taken?" he asked, right next to my ears. His right arm has again draped itself around my waist. He was holding up the photograph with his left hand as I took it and lay back against him. Both his arms encircled my waist again. Oh, I really love cuddling like this.

I studied the picture, every second; the memories slowly trickled back into my brain. "It was in junior high, wasn't it? We were both in the school's soccer team and it was the first time our school ever won the championship. I remember how the entire team was paraded around school and got our picture posted in the front page of the local newspaper. I got laid for the first time too, hehe, Mandy Wallace was very good with her tongue. Now that brings back another memory. How dare you spread the word that Mandy Wallace was a slut to the entire school. Now don't deny it, I know it was you", I said as I turned my head and looked up at his face.

He flinched, "Okay, let's discuss that. There were so many flaws in those things that you mentioned and we'll go through it one by one".

He let out a sigh, "Now, you said that we were both in the school's soccer team?"

"Yes."

"You remember that our junior high never had a girl soccer team? Do you also remember that our soccer team never admits girls?"

"Yes, but I was an exception."

He let out another sigh, "Very well, let's talk about you getting laid. Who did you do it with?"

I raised an eyebrow, which was rather pointless since he was lying behind me and therefore won't be able to see it, "Mandy Wallace. I thought I just said that?"

"Yes, but what exactly did you do?"

I scowled, "I didn't think that it was any of your business what I did with Mandy Wallace. You called her a slut, remember?"

"A slut and later on, a bitch. It worked for the better, wasn't it? She became very popular after that. Anyway, let's focus. What did you do with her? She was not a lesbian, you know?"

"Well, she must've been. Why else would she be interested in me?" I asked, my head starting to feel like it was being hit by the cue sticks of African drums.

"Look at the picture, Pat. Do you recognize the three people in there?"

"Why of course. On the left was Henry Patterson, the midfielder and also the captain. In the middle was you of course, my you look deliciously young. Then the other guy holding the championship cup with you was... ummm... who was he? He looked familiar."

"Now, let's talk about this guy on the right. You said he looked familiar, let me give you a bit of help. Try substituting your place in your memory concerning Mandy Wallace and the fact that our soccer team didn't admit girls with this guy. Imagine him doing the things you did with Mandy Wallace..."

"Oh Great Mother!" I exclaimed, cutting him off. I sat upright as the realization struck me. I wasn’t a girl, I was a boy! My original body was that of a boy and this boy at the right was me!

I stood straight, next to the couch where I have just laid comfortably with Chris. I closed my eyes and imagined myself changing back to Patrick Willows, my original body. It was hard. I have spent far too long in lilin form and as a girl that it was hard for my mind to make sense of the transformation. When I was done though, I looked down and was horrified to see myself in the soft blue sleeveless dress with a hint of my lacy bra peeking through the cleavage area, which looked absolutely ridiculous since I didn't have breasts in my Patrick Willows form. So I closed my eyes again and manipulated the ethereal energies again to cover myself in more suitable clothing. I felt better to find out that it was easier to make male clothing than actually changing into a male.

"Pat?"

I felt suddenly humilliated, suddenly embarrassed. Suddenly all the feelings of shame that was repressed by my slutty side came out at once and I was thinking of finding a place to hide. Then I came across a simpler solution.

"Get out!" I shouted, pulling Chris on his feet, "Get out and don't come back. I'll kill you if I ever see you again, and I mean it!" I cried, as I pushed him through the front door.

I heard his pleading voice through the closed door, "Pat! Baby, what's wrong?"

I sat on the couch, the couch I just shared with Chris not 2 minutes ago and I started feeling disgusted at myself.

"Baby, please. At least give me my shirt and sweater. It's so cold it must be snowing out here. Please?"

I spotted his shirt easily. Almost instinctively I press the shirt to my face and started to breathe in his musky scent when I caught myself and threw it away onto the coffee table. I gave the coffee table a wide berth as I searched for his sweater. I found it next to the TV set. I grabbed the shirt using the sweater as I opened the door and threw them both at his shivering form.

"Thanks baby, I know you won't let me freeze to death. But... would you hand me my wallet too? I came here by cab. My car wouldn't start."

I knew where his wallet was, so I dropped down on the floor and looked under the coffee table. As I grabbed it, my eyes fell on the photo of us holding the championship cup together and for a fraction of a second, I mourned for the breaking of our friendship in that same week.

I opened the front door and threw it out to the corridor. He didn't say anything else and I spent the next half an hour sitting alone on the couch, with both my feet on the couch and my knees touching my chin. Then Little Tell came home and she was crying with joy to see me alive and well. I had to calm her down before she hugged me to death. It was a good thing that she came back when I was already in my male form. If she came when Chris and I were 'being friendly', I didn't think I would be able to explain it.

Little Tell who no longer look so little anymore, fell asleep on my lap, hugging me tight. I couldn't bear to wake her up, so I carried her back to her room and her bed. Gosh, she was heavy!

I was in the process of making lunch when I heard the tune of Michael Jackson's Black & White playing very near to where I was standing. At first I thought it was just Little Tell cranking up the volume of her CD player. But when the tune kept repeating itself, I got curious and started searching for it.

After searching for a while, I found something under the flowerpot near the window. I fished it out with the tip of my fingers and pulled out a Nokia mobile phone. It was not mine, and I was really sure that it wasn't Tell's either. Maybe it was Chris? Maybe it was his ploy to see me again? Damn, he was cunning bastard. I think I'll ask Little Tell to return it later.

Then the phone rang again.

The Half-Lilin Chapter 12 by Shin Eris

"I said I can't help you see her. It doesn't mean that you have zero chance of seeing her." "So there is a way for me to see her?" "There are several ways for you to see her. I just can't help you with any of those." I was suddenly struck by suspiciousness. "OK, what's the catch?" "Well," she said, her forefinger rubbing her lips. "I can teach you how to go there, but in exchange, you must swear one thing to me." "And that is?" "Be my slave, from now and forevermore. Obey me and pay me tribute," she answered with a look of satisfaction and childish glee. "Pardon? I lost you at the word 'slave'."

---

 
From last chapter:
 
Little Tell who no longer look so little anymore, fell asleep on my lap, hugging me tight. I couldn't bear to wake her up, so I carried her back to her room and her bed. Gosh, she was heavy!

I was in the process of making lunch when I heard the tune of Michael Jackson's Black & White playing very near to where I was standing. At first I thought it was just Little Tell cranking up the volume of her CD player. But when the tune kept repeating itself, I got curious and started searching for it.

After searching for a while, I found something under the flowerpot near the window. I fished it out with the tip of my fingers and pulled out a Nokia mobile phone. It was not mine, and I was really sure that it wasn't Tell's either. Maybe it was Chris? Maybe it was his ploy to see me again? Damn, he was cunning bastard. I think I'll ask Little Tell to return it later.

Then the phone rang again.

 
Chapter 12
 

Then the phone rang again. I was apprehensive about answering it. I didn't think I wanted to speak to Chris again so shortly after kicking him out naked from my apartment. Then the phone stopped ringing. Thank goodness. I really couldn't stand listening to a ringing phone.

Unfortunately, the phone rang again. With a groan, I pressed the answer button and said, "Hel..."

"Oh good, finally you pick up. Stephy, I need the number for that party planner who did your birthday party. I'm throwing a party for a friend and I want it to be perfect," said a female voice who spoke at a very fast pace.

"Uhm, sorry?" I replied, not quite catching her words.

"You sound different. Sore throat?"

"Eh? I'm sorry, I'm not Stephy. I just..."

Her voice cut my words before I managed to finish it again, "Oh? You're her new agent then? Don't think I've heard your voice before. So is my sister there?"

"Your sister?"

"Stephanie! I'm Sarah. I need to speak to her."

"I'm sorry, I don't..."

I heard a sigh from the other end of the line, "Okay, fine. If that's the way you want to play it. Hi, I'm Sarah, younger sister of your boss. What's your name?"

"Patrick, but I'm not..."

"Well, hello there Patrick. Could you get my sister on the line, please? I really need to speak to her. I know she's not on the set, so don't give me that excuse."

"Sarah, may I speak?"

"Yeah," she said, with a tone more like 'duh', "What's up?"

"The thing is, I'm also not her agent. I think your sister left her phone at my place without realising it," then I added another line to avoid her from saying something cheeky, "I wanted to return it to her, but I don't know how to contact her".

"Oh, that explains why she didn't pick up the phone. That's okay, I'll call her manager and tell her about the phone. Can't even reach her at home, wonder where she went. Any idea?"

"Umm, I don't know, sorry," Which was the truth, because I didn't even know a Stephanie.

"Oh well, I'll call her manager anyway. Nice chatting with you, Patrick. You're not her boyfriend, are you?"

"What? No!" How could I be a boyfriend to a girl I didn't even know?

"Just checking," and with that, she hung up.

Weird chick. So this is not Chris's mobile. How did it get here? Did Chris or Tell bring a friend here while I was gone? Or has this been here much longer? Did I bring a girl home while I was totally wasted?

-----

"Hello?" came a voice as I answered Stephanie's mobile. I've heard that voice before from somewhere.

"Hello, may I know who's speaking, please?"

"That's my mobile you're holding."

"Oh, you're Stephanie then? Do we know each other? You dropped your mobile in my living room."

There was a pause before she replied, "Do not insult me, Ilyse. No one forgets ME. Nobody can forget me, and you are NOT an exception."

Now I recalled where I've heard that voice from, "Shaina? Is that you?"

"Who else, you little bitch."

"Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to blast you away. Besides, you were the one who amplified my darkness with that corruption line."

"I don't tolerate insults, bitch, and I don't want to see you. My manager will..."

"Hold, hold on, Shaina. I need to talk to you. Please, I don't know who to turn to."

There was another pause. "So the little puppy finally crawls back to her mistress? Give me one good reason why I would want to see you."

I paused, wondering what would entice her enough to want to see me again, "Well, how about a rematch? You've just passed through a feeding frenzy, correct? Don't you want to punish me for blasting you to pieces? Let's meet for a bit of a civilized chat and then we can set the date and place for a rematch. How's that sound?"

"Deal. Meet me at Starbucks 2134, West Sunset Boulevard in half an hour," she said before I barely finished. I wondered if she even thought it over.

"You mean LA? You're here?"

"Yes. Besides, I work and live here," then she hung up.

-----

"Here you go, one Sumatran Coffee," I looked up at the cute waitress with a beaming smile.

"Is there anything more that you'd like, sir?" she said again. My, she has such a beautiful smile.

"Well, if you can give me your phone number, I'd like that a lot," I replied with a grin.

She just giggled and left to deliver more coffees to the other more snobbish patrons. I was too busy watching her bouncing ass that I didn't even realize someone coming towards me until that person sat on the chair opposite me. The person's feminine face and long blonde hair despite being covered by a hat suggested that it was a girl.

"Shaina?" I asked.

She looked at me coldly and said, "If your next few sentences include, 'I don't recall how you look like' or something similar, I'm leaving".

"Gosh, Shaina. I don't recall how you look like," I said, just to spite her.

She got up as if to leave.

"Oh come on, Shaina. Sit down. Where's your sense of humor?"

"Blasted away by pure ether."

"You're still on about that? Sheesh! It was an accident, okay?"

She kept looking at me with that cold gaze. I was very uncomfortable. It felt like talking to a parole officer, not that I've ever talked to one though.

"Don't you want to order anything?"

"There's no need. I'm just here to tell you to be at the Executioner's Spire tomorrow at 12 midnight. Don't be late... and give me back my mobile!"

I dangled the phone by the ornamental lace girls like to attach to their phones these days.

"Sure, but only after you help me with my problem."

She attempted to snatch it but I withdrew my hand out of her reach.

"Give it back, little bitch," she said as she bared her twin rows of white fences at me.

"Only after you help me, and the proper word is 'bastard', not 'bitch'."

Her only reply was, "Whore!"

And so I replied with, "Skank!"

"Slut!" she countered as she made another attempt at snatching the dangling phone.

"Funny," I said, as I dangled the phone even more. "I was under the impression that we're all sluts".

She tried to snatch it again unsuccessfully. She gave up as she sat straight on her chair while crossing her arms under her breasts.

"Fine! What do you want?"

"I want to see Mom," I said.

She frowned, "Then just go see her. You should know how to reach Yenne Velt by now. We don't have any protocols about seeing her in Yenne Velt."

"Mom is in Yenne Velt?" I asked, feeling surprised. I thought she was in Purgatory.

"Of course, she's always there. You can't possibly miss her, especially when she sits on her throne."

"Mom sitting on a throne?" I asked, at the same time thinking that there was something wrong with this picture. "Are you sure we're talking about the the same person?"

"Well, I'm not very sure, who are you talking about?"

"My mom, of course. She died last year. Who are you talking about?"

"Mother never died, she's sitting comfortably on her throne at this time, I'm sure."

"Well, I think there's the problem. I wasn't talking about Mother, I was talking about Mom. You know, Samantha Willows, Sarai as you know her?"

Recognition dawned on her face, "Sarai? We're talking about Sarai? Why didn't you make it clearer? I thought you meant Mother."

"Hey, I only have one mom!" I said a bit defensively.

"Not from the rumors I've heard. They say that your godmother was an angel and you were protected by the avatar of the living Earth for an entire year, before she became angry at you. Then Mother took you in."

My godmother was an angel? "Where did you hear this nonsense?"

"One favorite pastime in Yenne Velt is gossiping and bitching about others." That explained so many things.

"OK, so how do I meet her? Mother once told me that she's in Purgatory."

"Yes, she should be. In 2000, Mother allowed Sarai to die as a human instead of a Lilim. I was there when Mother told her she was free. Frankly, I didn't understand why she asked for that particular boon when Mother was willing to give her much better things."

'Well, I can understand why. It would mean that she would die free, no longer bound to Mother and no longer needed to feed on strangers and paying for her meals with sex,' I thought.

"Unfortunately," she continued, "I don't know of any way that will allow you to see Sarai. Purgatory is not like a hospital, you know."

My heart fell. I thought she would be able to help me, "Do you know of one who can help me?"

This time, her expression softened, "No one can help you, Ilyse. Not even Mother can help you. Purgatory is the safe retreat of human souls, created solely for storing human souls until Judgement Day. Neither angels nor demons are allowed to roam freely there. I would know, because I attempted to free my grandmother once".

"Then what happened?" I asked, a bit curious.

She made a little shrug, "Azrael kicked me down to Papua New Guinea. My butt still hurts."

I slumped in defeat, looking into the black liquid in front of me.

"Tell you what," she suddenly interrupt, "if you'll accept my terms, I'll tell you how to go there".

I looked up at her face, not sure if she was playing with me. "But you just told me that you can't help!"

"I can't help you see her, but I can help you reach Purgatory," she clarified as she called for a decaf.

"You have no idea where it is, don't you?" she asked as she made a predatorial grin.

I was slightly annoyed with her words, "What's the point of going there if I can't see her?"

"I said I can't help you see her. It doesn't mean that you have zero chance of seeing her."

"So there is a way for me to see her?"

"There are several ways for you to see her. I just can't help you with any of those."

I was suddenly struck by suspiciousness. "OK, what's the catch?"

"Well," she said, her forefinger rubbing her lips. "I can teach you how to go there, but in exchange, you must swear one thing to me."

"And that is?"

"Be my slave, from now and forevermore. Obey me and pay me tribute," she answered with a look of satisfaction and childish glee.

"Pardon? I lost you at the word 'slave'."

"Oh you heard me. I want you to be my slave. You will share the essence you took from your meals with me everytime. I'll take 30%. Now, I assure you, that's the standard rate. Oh and I want you to call me Goddess Stephanie."

"I hope you're just pulling my legs, Shaina."

"No, I'm dead serious. With the exception of yesterday, it has been so long since I fed myself. I'm always busy with work day and night. Sometimes I think that my cousin, that's my manager, wants me to drop dead," she said as she looked out the window.

"I pity you, but..."

"It's not so weird really, It's common culture in Yenne Velt actually. It was only when the mistresses started killing each other's subbies in turf wars did Mother limit each Lili to have a maximum of two subbies."

"Mother allowed this to happen?" I asked, quite shocked.

"Sure, It's necessary, actually. Since we don't have generals, mistresses act as squad leaders. I wasn't born yet when the war against Baphomet occured, but from what I was told, the system work greatly against overwhelming odds. Sarai told me that they were outnumbered thirty to one. She lost all her subbies in that war unfortunately. Oh, that reminds me. You know the girl whose face you set on fire, Nediva? She was Sarai's last subbie, since a hundred years ago. I think she was hoping to serve the daughter after the mother's gone."

I looked at her with a blank expression. "I'm sorry, this is too much to take in at the same time."

She waved her hands, "Oh, it's simple really. You just need to say, 'I swear in Mother's name that I will obey Mistress Stephanie at all times, never cause harm to her intentionally and give her three tenth of the essence I acquired from each man I fed from for my entire lifetime.' Simple, isn't it?"

"You must be joking. Me, a slave? To you? You are so full of yourself, Shaina."

"What the hell's wrong? I assure you, it's a most fair exchange. This is really top secret info!"

"Oh yeah?" I said, raising an eyebrow, "I bet I can simply walk into Yenne Velt and ask openly to any of the Lili in there. Probably will get a better deal, probably will even get it for free."

"Oh, you're so damn sure about that, huh? Well, go on then."

"Maybe I would," I said as I raised my hand to call for the bill.

Shaina appeared agitated as the waitress with the cute smile came closer, "OK, you win. How about we reduce the payment from 30% to 20%?"

"No deal!" I said as the beaming waitress stood right next to our table. I wondered if that smile had been surgically planted on her face.

Shaina waved the waitress away, saying, "No, he's just joking. Please go bug someone else."

"That not a really nice thing to say, Shaina. She could've been your fan, assuming she has even heard of you, before."

She threw me a sharp look, "OK, what do you want, now?"

"Well, I can tell you one thing I don't want. I don't want to become your slave."

"Oh, come on! I need it, these essence I sucked into me in my frenzy will dissolve in a few weeks. I need a food source, but I don't have time to go out and get it myself."

"You have your marks, right? Mother said marks should be able to allow Lilim to live on starvation diet, as the marks allow a steady flow of essence into a lilin body."

"Have you actually lived off marks alone? They're nowhere close enough to an actual feeding."

I looked at her face. She was about to cry now. Again, I was struck by how familiar her face looked.

"Fine," I said, "I will give you 20% of the essence I take, but it will only be for a month."

"What?!! That's no compromise! What will I do after one month?"

"Find someone else!"

"It's not that easy!" she snapped, "They must be willing to become my slaves. That's why I needed you to say the magic words."

"So? Just bully them. That's what you like to do, don't you? Bully the younger ones?"

"It doesn't work that way. Mother strictly said that any agreement made by force are not binding."

Then she continued, "OK, how about this? You will be my slave forever, you will obey my orders, but I will only take 5% of the essence you earned. You won't feel a thing, and I promise you that I won't give you any orders unless we go to war".

"I'm not really fond of being anyone's slave." I said halfheartedly. I didn't think that 5% would be such a big deal, but the idea of being her subbie really sticks it.

"It won't be any different from now, trust me!" she said, her eyes hiding a glimmer of satisfaction.

"I would agree to be your slave, if you agree to abide by your promise, teach me how to go to Purgatory and swear that you won't turn against me."

I could sense that she was conflicted. By the exact wording, she would be as much my slave as I was to her. By swearing that she won't turn against me, I pretty much assured myself that she won't drop me in hostile territory, bully me or kill me.

After much eye contact between me and her, she finally said. "Fine, I agree to your terms".

And so we made the oath that will bind us to each other for the rest of our lives.

"OK, now that it's done, can we please go back to getting me to Purgatory?"

"Sure," she said, looking more and more relaxed, "but first let me show you the basic schematics of Heaven, Purgatory, Assiah, Sheol and Gehenna".

She took out a piece of paper and some colored pens. She drew a circle and said, "This is Assiah, the material world. Also specifically called Earth."

She drew a few crescent-like shapes below the circle, "This is Sheol. As you can see, Sheol has many layers. It ranges from the Cloud of Lost Souls nearest to Assiah to the Walls of the City of Dis that separates Sheol and Gehenna. Asmodeus's domain, Ashmedan that you've been to before is located on the third last layer of Sheol."

She drew a half circle below the crescents, "This is Gehenna. Nobody had set foot in there for thousands of years. It's a forbidden place that not even Mother was allowed to venture into."

She drew two more half crescents over the circle representing Earth, "Now, these are the lower Heavens. The lowest part is basically the materials used to create the world, or also known as the Realm of Elements or Yetzirah. The second one refers to several layers of Heaven where angels and prophets reside in, called Briah. We won't go into detail about this one as we're not going anywhere close to that place."

She drew another, much larger crescent over the two crescents representing Lower Heaven. "This is Atziluth, the place where the Sephirah reside in, a place that not even the Archangels are allowed to enter without prior permission. Supposedly it's the place where you can meet God, but we don't know that for certain. Mother has lived there before, but don't bother asking her. She won't tell, said it was a secret between her and God."

She drew a triangle next to Earth, "This is Purgatory, your destination. As you see, it's not connected to any of the three realms. It is so that neither Heaven nor Hell would have any hold on the human souls stored within. You may think that since they had no real military presence, it would be a piece of cake to enter. The reality is the total opposite. The fact that they recognize no authority other than God made it easy for them to shoot down every single non-human that approaches them."

"So, how exactly am I going to get in?" I asked, as I got a headache looking at all the colorful shapes.

"You will pose as an elemental."

"A what?"

"Elemental. You know, fire, water, earth and air? You were born when water was strongest, so it's easier to disguise yourself as a water elemental."

"But you said they will shoot down everyone who approaches."

"Yes, but they won't shoot down elementals. They often float around there from Yetzirah, so it won't be odd for one to drift close enough to Purgatory."

"Won't they notice that I'm an impostor?"

"Nope. Azrael would, of course, but his lackeys won't be able to tell the difference. Which is good because he let his lackeys do all the soul reaping lately, too caught up with his desk job. It's unlikely he'll shoot you down personally, unless he's awfully bored."

I gave her a dry look, "Your words does not inspire confidence, much."

She made a slight giggle, "Don't worry. You'll be OK, really, I'll weave a warding spell on your body to help mask your living body. It's what to do once you enter Purgatory that would be the real problem."

"What do you mean?" I asked, slightly wondering if this plan will work at all.

"Well, obviously you'll need to find a way to contact Sarai. Don't ask me, I've told you everything I know. The only other thing I can do, is help disguise you as a water elemental."

"I don't think it would be that easy. I'll probably get kicked down to Papua New Guinea as well."

"It's likely, but you'll never know until you tried."

I groaned.

"By the way, what are your views concerning paparazzis?"

"Huh? What's with the sudden question?"

"Because one's focusing his lenses on us now. Don't look!" she said as I was about to turn my face to scan the cafe.

"What the hell?!!” I fell backward with a loud bang when I hastily pushed my chair back, which caused it to get stuck between the seems of the tiled floor.

She got up from her chair and squatted next to me, "Uhh, are you okay? Why'd you do that for? Just let him take the pictures, he'll go away once he's satisfied."

I got up unsteadily as I felt eyes of the cafe's patrons watching my antics, "I just don't like cameras. I can tolerate certain amounts, but I get really jumpy whenever my picture's taken."

"That's... weird."

"Hey Stephanie, thanks for the great shot. Who's the guy?"

"Shoo! You've got what you want. Now leave me alone."

"O-kay, as you wish, princess. Tata! Good luck with your new film," said the paparazzi as he exited.

I grabbed the chair and put it back into position, "You mind telling me what that was about?"

"Oh, it's nothing. They're always hounding celebrities. It's like having leeches sticking to you permanently and draining your blood. They're beneficial in most cases where I'm concerned though," then she supported her chin with her fingers, "The one taken just now would be perfect as a cheap publicity for my new movie."

"So, that's what I am? I'm baring myself to paparazzis for your damned movie?"

"Oh poo! What's the big deal? You'll be popular for a couple of weeks, maybe a month. People will ask about you, trying to find out who's that guy having lunch with Stephanie. And then there'll be a brief interview with me and possibly you, and then once the interest dies down, you'll just be a footnote in my wiki page."

"You don't understand. I'm engaged, at least that's what destiny dictated."

“With who? Your childhood friend? Oh please, only the two of you knew about it. Just tell him that he won't be getting any pussy if he blabbed. And don't go flying out of your window for the next few months. If you need to go somewhere in lilin form, blink.”

I whined, "But still..."

"Oh I can already picture the heading now, 'Stephanie Mills ditched the set for a date'. Then they'll have a picture of us having coffee like any normal people," she said with a giggle.

Mouth agape, I cried, "Stephanie Mills?!! You're Stephanie Mills?!!"

"Shush! Shut the hell up!"

I heard excited chatter and a sounds of chairs being pushed as she shot daggers at me.

"I'm going to enjoy gutting you alive with my bare hands, sister," she said right before we were surrounded by her fans.

-----

"So are you ready?" she asked, still looking pissed off by my actions in the cafe. I am currently in lilin form, though very transparent, much like clear water and I can almost see my guts.

"Yeah," I said, not regretting it a single bit, because the cute waitress caught up to me after Shaina was 'rescued' by her manager and gave me her resume asking me to call her anytime I wanted. She must've thought that I'm Stephanie Mills' agent or something. I did intend on calling her sometime.

"Now remember, the moment you pass through the portal, you must empty your mind of all thoughts. Elementals don't have thoughts, they only drift lazily until someone calls them. Be the elemental!"

Shaina previously managed to blink away from her manager when she shouted, "OMG! Governor Arnold!" Now, she's helping me prepare for my coming journey to the land of the dead. With a very long incantation, she managed to open a portal the size of a small fridge in my bedroom. Unlike the black colored portals that link to places in Sheol, this portal shimmered blue, white and sometimes green. I was suddenly having second thoughts about this.

"Remember, clear you thoughts!" she said as she pushed me headfirst into the portal.

The first thought that entered my mind was, 'I'm going to kill that bitch'. Thankfully I immediately remembered to clear out my mind, which was really not as hard as I expected it to be. This place she sent me to, feels very calming. I thought I must've been flowing in fluids, not air. I could understand how Shaina could've forgotten her goals when she came here last time.

I scanned the area, looking around in search of something that might look like Purgatory. Not long after, I noticed a flicker of light somewhere far away. Knowing that it's my only lead so far, I slowly glide forward, taking over an hour to reach a place that looked like a cave floating in nothingness. Carefully I glided into the cave's mouth and landed softly on the marble floor with a loud 'splat'. I decided to remove my disguise as I thought the 'splosh, splosh' sound from my walking would probably be more telling than to walk as a demon.

I was so darn wrong.

"WHO DARES TO STEP FOOT INTO TARTARUS? REVEAL YOUR TRUE NAME SO YOU CAN BE THOROUGHLY PUNISHED FOR YOUR INSOLENCE!"

Man, the voice was so loud I could feel it in my brain.

Then a figure materialized in front of me. I didn't think I'd need to explain what I saw, because there looming above me was a giant Grim Reaper!

"WHO DARES TO STEP FOOT INTO TARTARUS? REVEAL YOUR TRUE NAME SO YOU CAN BE THOROUGHLY PUNISHED FOR YOUR INSOLENCE!"

I shouted as hard as I could, "Geez, Pop! Would you please stop shouting? It really hurts my brain!"

"WHAT? YOU DARE TO TELL ME, THE ARCHANGEL URIEL, RULER OF TARTARUS TO STOP?" said the Grim Reaper as he waved his giant scythe up and down.

"Yup, I did ask you to do that, yes!" I shouted again trying to match his volume, but I knew that I was nowhere close.

"WHAT IS YOUR NAME, DEMON CHILD? AND WHO DO YOU BELONG TO?" he said as he rested the shaft of the giant scythe on the marble floor, crushing a tiny insect in the process.

"My name is Ilyse, and I serve Mother Lilith! I am here to see my mom, please allow me passage."

"LILITH? OH YES, I REMEMBER HER. I WAS THE ONE WHO BROUGHT HER THE SOIL FROM HER HOME SO SHE COULD SHAPE HER OWN MATE."

Then his form suddenly became twisted and as if sucked by a small tornado, the Grim Reaper was gone, replaced by a handsome man with feathery black wings.

"How is Lilith? I haven't seen her since she left Heaven," said the ruggedly handsome angel. His voice was totally different, smooth and irresistable.

I was speechless.

"Oh, I scared you. Please forgive me. This place is so boring now that I've taken a desk job. Though it's much preferable to having to take the souls of people's love ones. Samael did it until he went insane. I didn't want to share the same fate."

"What happened to Azrael?" was the only question I managed to ask.

"Azrael? What about him?"

"Isn't he supposed to be the chief of Purgatory? Wait, this is Purgatory, right?" I asked as I looked around at the marble floor and lavish decor of the hall.

"Oh yes, Azrael is still the chief of 'Purgatory' as you call it. But I am also the chief of Purgatory," he said in a matter of factly tone.

"So there are two chiefs here?"

"No, there's only one."

"Huh?" I said as I cocked my head to the left.

He chuckled, "Azrael is me in another name. Humans like to classify things. So they separate my two aspects, the Grim Reaper and the ruler of Tartarus into Azrael, the Angel of Death and Uriel, the Lord of Tartarus. But basically, we're the same angel".

"Oh, but you don't look so scary." I knew I sounded foolish the moment those words came out of my mouth.

"I've taken a rest from soul reaping since six hundred years ago, so I guess I've lost much of the intimidation factor," he said with a wink.

"Come, please sit. It's not often that I have guests over here," he said as he gestured towards a tea table flanked by two chairs which I dare swear wasn't there a minute ago.

He pulled my chair as I sat, with me trying to fit the narrow backrest between my wings. There was a cup of steaming coffee in front of me. The aroma was divine.

"Please, take a sip," he said, smiling devilishly, "it's my very own special brew. Very good if I may say so myself."

"It does smell wonderful," I looked up at his face, "Well, I guess it would be rude to not sample such a rare beverage."

I picked up the cup and tipped it to my lips.

The Half-Lilin Chapter 13 by Shin Eris

Mom let go of my lips, pushed my head to the side and whispered, "Glyph Shield: Thurisaz!"

There was a loud boom and I closed my eyes, hugging mom tightly. Then I heard two voices, male and female, saying, "What the hell?!!!"

I opened my eyes. Mom's face was one of shock, so I looked behind. Uriel's face was a picture of outrage. Between us, was a spear with its tip buried to the ground. I can barely make out the word 'Amphillogiai'.

Mom suddenly let out a great laugh, "Uriel, it seems like your old friend has something to say about your habit of abducting brides."

---

Chapter 13

So I picked up the cup of coffee and tipped it to my lips.

Even the taste was divine. Strong, rich and exquisitely divine. It felt wonderful on my tongue and lingers even after the first sip. It kept me alert, my senses awake. I could feel the presence of the the other angels of death in Tartarus. I could count each and every one of them and could tell exactly what they were doing. I closed my eyes, enjoying the brew's wonderful effect on my mind, heightening my senses as I started to get the feel of the terrain of Tartarus.

Only now did I realize that the Hall of Records of which I was sitting in was only a tiny part of Tartarus. As my senses expanded, I started to measure the length and depth of Tartarus from my seat in the Hall of Records at the top of Mount Purgatory. What I found was astonishing, beyond what mere words could explain.

It seemed like even with my heightened, highly attuned senses, I wasn't able to totally plumb the depths of Tartarus. There were deep chasms and areas that seemed to defy my attempts to probe it. I heard a strong, hypnotic voice in the winds telling me the names of the areas as I explored them and what kind of souls inhabit the area as if giving me a grand tour.

I noticed some familiar souls in some areas, though who they were exactly was too hard to tell. It was like looking at a perfectly white page, instead of one with a black dot in the middle, so it was quite impossible to tell who was who. But then, as I scanned the Isle of the Blessed in the Elysian Fields, I noticed a particularly familiar soul.

It was mom! Great Mother! I totally forgot the reason that I came here in the first place. I opened my eyes abruptly, immediately noticing a crushing pressure on my legs. So, I looked down, and was shocked at what I saw.

"Archangel Uriel! What have you done?" I asked, horrified at the sight of snakes coiling around my legs, binding it to the chair's legs.

"Me? Nothing at all. I'm just giving you a feel of what being the boss of Tartarus is all about. Don't you find it enlightening?" he said as if joking. His face a perfect mask of mirth.

I pointed downward. Without even looking at that thing down there that I was pointing at, he told me that it was normal. Told me that it was nothing to worry about. Yeah right. I'd bet a million bucks (which I didn't have anyway) that he didn't have a single snake coiling around his legs. Of course I wouldn't check to see if it was true, since that would involve me peeking under the table, which would put my face within striking distance of the snakes. Now, I never had snake phobias, but it was still a scary thought.

Despite the slithering movements of the serpents around my legs, I summoned up a bit more will from deep inside me. "I want to see mom, Archangel Uriel," I said.

"You're talking about the Half-Lili Sarai who killed the Antichrist thus canceling Armageddon 1999?" he asked, actually sounding more like a statement instead of a question.

"She killed the Antichrist? 1999 was supposed to be Armageddon?"

"An Antichrist if you want to be technical. But please, call me Uriel. I disregard formality when I'm with friends. And yes, you may see Sarai if you want. As my friend, you have certain... privileges."

I didn't think I like the suggestive way his last word was spoken. Nor did I like the predatory smile on his ruggedly handsome face. Despite my worries though, it was much better than being kicked down to Papua New Guinea.

"So do I just go down there and find her or are there some protocols I that need to adhere to?" I asked.

"Oh no, it's not safe for you down there. I'll send for her to come here. I assume you want to talk to her?"

I answered with a, "Yes, please," at the same time wondering if it was really going to be that easy.

"Very well..." he said while getting up from his chair, "...please make yourself comfortable. I'll send her up here shortly." Then he left.

I was expecting a couch or at least a lazy chair when he told me to make myself comfortable. Imagine my surprise when I turned around and saw a four poster bed instead. Apparently Archangel Uriel has a smashingly wicked sense of humor.

I took another sip of the coffee, silently praising Uriel for such a wonderful brew. I'd really love to get the blend. I wonder if I'd be able to find the ingredients in Assiah. As I was busy scanning the outer reaches of Tartarus, I heard a voice saying something. My already overloaded mind was unable to comprehend what was being said. It was like listening to hundreds of voices and looking at hundreds of faces at the same time, making it impossible to catch any details.

So I pulled my senses back, narrowing it to my immediate surrounding. I noticed a presence of someone, neither angel nor demon standing to my right.The presence was familiar... and warm, much like the memories of childhood on a bright spring day.

"Did you ask for me, sister?" asked a melodious, childlike voice as I opened my eyes.

I looked to my right and noticed a teenage girl with long blond hair in curly loli-girl style. Her eyes were brown and her skin was... deathly pale. It wasn't just pale, just corpse-like, like the skin people who has died looked like, though a bit whiter, like a ghost. Her nails however were perfectly manicured. Her two horns originated from the same point as the one on my head, but while my horns twist and twirl like a ram's horn, hers were swept backwards, curved in some section much like how a kris looked. Her wings are of the same shape and size as mine, though unlike mine, her wings are also whitish. Her breasts are smaller than mine, probably a B cup. She couldn't have been more than 14 if she was a regular human.

But I knew that she was never a regular human. "Wow, you look different."

She gave me an appraising look. I noticed that her eyes were her normal brown, not yellow slits like the Lilim. "Considering that I don't remember you at all yet you seem to know me, I'd say you look different too, sister."

"Mom! Don't call me sister! That sounds so wrong," I whined.

"You called me 'mom'. So does that mean that you're my child?" she asked, looking rather confused.

"Yes mom, you died a year ago, remember? From brain tumor?"

She looked outraged as she cried, "You are one big fat liar, sister! I've never had a Lilim daughter and I didn't die from brain tumor."

I was disappointed that she didn't recognize me. Has it been so long here? Does time here pass the same way as time in Sheol? When she said that she never had a Lilim daughter, I felt like a knife was driven through my heart. Then it struck me that maybe she didn't recognize me because I was in Lilin form. Of course she never had a Lilim daughter, I was her son.

"I'm not your daughter, mom. I'm your son, Patrick."

"Patrick?" she said, looking confused again, "but you don't look like a Patrick".

I sighed, then explained why I appear as a girl and offered to show her my Patrick form. She in turn told me that it would be impossible as it was Tartarus' nature to purge all tangible deceptions. Therefore my current form was my true form and the only form I could adopt while in Tartarus. So I started going into long tales of how Mother claimed me when I was 3 days old, how mom died and left me in the care of Mother Gaea, and how Mother Gaea went murderous on me thus giving Mother Lilith a chance to reclaim me. I omitted the part about being Asmodeus' torture toy so that she wouldn't be worried by it."

"Please, forgive me, my sweet little lily," she said as the fog in her mind was lifted and she looked healthier, her skin getting pinkier and her lips became redder, "It's the 'perks' of being dead in Tartarus. You lose yourself pretty easily".

"Did you fall into the River Styx or something, mom?" I asked, glad that she finally regained her own self.

"Styx?" again, she looked confused, "What are you talking about?"

"The water of the river could make you lose your memories, right? Or did I mixed up my mythologies?"

"I think you meant the River Lethe. The River Lethe is where people lose their memories. The River Styx is where people go to make oaths or suffer for eternity. Neither of them was the cause of my problem since when Lucifel was sent to Tartarus, Hades was renamed into Sheol and separated from Tartarus, taking with it the 5 main rivers of Hades. All the departed souls were sent here, to Mount Purgatory or the Elysian Fields after being briefly judged. We're all waiting for for Armageddon to happen so we could get out of here and either go to Hell or Heaven."

"If you're talking about Lucifer, I thought he was sent to Hell? And why would Hades be separated from Tartarus?"

"Lucifel was not sent to Hell, because Hell didn't exist before Lucifel was sent down there. Hell was Lucifel, Lucifel was Hell. Gehenna was made from Lucifel's body, which was why Lucifel couldn't leave Gehenna to this day. Oh, and contrary to what the Christian Bible said, he never rebelled against God, the only angels to have ever rebelled against God were the Grigoris and Gabriel was the only Archangel to have actually came close to being casted down to Earth."

"So why would God cast Lucifer down to Earth if he never rebelled?"

"He was never casted down to Earth. God told Lucifel his role as the master of Hell and he accepted it. Whether he went there without a protest was a different story."

Well, that was news. I've been raised watching movies and reading books about how Lucifer was casted down to Earth because he in his arrogance and wickedness rebelled against God and ran to Hell to create his own domain in a sick parody of Heaven. To hear that he never rebelled was a revelation.

"So Lucifer is here now?"

"No, he's in Gehenna. I know what you're thinking, it's true that at one point Sheol, Gehenna and Tartarus were connected, being right next to each other. Then Uriel broke off the bond and drifted Tartarus closer to Yetzirah."

"Anyway, neither of the rivers were the source of my amnesia. It's the nature of this place to make you forget so that you don't keep pestering the Angels of Death about going back to Assiah for various reasons. It's all in the mist."

I looked around me in reflex to her words. Finding nothing peculiar, I asked, "Mist? What mist, mom? I don't see any mist."

"No mist in here. Uriel put up a ward around the Hall of Records at the same time he created the mist. I imagine even he would be affected by the long exposure to the mist," then she noticed the contents of my cup, "Hey, is that coffee?"

Without even asking for permission, she picked the coffee up and drained it in one gulp. Then a sort of dreamy look came over her face. I wondered if I looked like that when I sipped the beverage earlier. There was a particular satisfied demeanor over her as it slowly lessened and she returned to normal.

It took quite some time before she sobered up. "Oh my, that's a good cup of coffee. I've forgotten how good it feels. We don't really drink here, you see. We just wander around like mindless ghosts under the influence of the mist."

"It must be terrible, mom. Why would you want to die then if you knew about it?"

"It's actually not so bad. It's preferable to being made aware of everything and constantly feeling like wanting to return to Earth to see your loved ones. At least this way we can avoid feeling bored, down or even angry for being kept waiting for the final day. I imagine many of us would be more than happy to bring down Armageddon by ourselves if we were made aware of how long we've been here. Some has been here for tens of thousands of years," she said, then appearing lost in thought, "Have anyone told you why I died?"

"Not from brain tumor?" I asked, getting the hint from her earlier outburst.

"No, I died because I was starving. Now don't blame your father. He allowed me to go out to feed as much as I needed, albeit reluctantly. It was I who decided that it was enough, that I have lived too long for anyone with a heart. This time, I decided to die before my family did," she said with a forced smile.

"Dad knew about you being one of the Lilim?" I asked, hardly able to grasp the idea. Was it the same case as me and Chris?

Her face again took on a dreamy look, "Oh yes, and it was quite romantic, the way we met. Maybe one day you can ask him, since it's hardly likely that Uriel will allow you to speak to me for the second time. Come to think of it, how did you persuade him to allow you to see me?"

"I didn't persuade him at all, I simply sat down on this chair and asked him to let me see you," I said, realizing as I spoke that my feet was no longer bound by the snakes.

"That's weird, I've never heard of anyone being treated that way. Back when I was still alive, I heard of many who was kicked down to Papua New Guinea for just stepping foot here. I can't imagine why he would treat you differently," she said, now taking a seat on the chair left vacant by Uriel.

Dryly, I said, "Yeah, I know of one like that."

"So how's life since I was gone. Found a girlfriend yet?" she asked with a grin.

"No long term relationships," I said, then remembered something and gave her a murderous glare, "What were you thinking when you asked Chris to take care of me, mom? Don't you think I can take care of myself? I don't need him to take care of me. I can take care of myself, mom!"

"Gee, pipe down. There's no need to be hysterical now, my beautiful little lily. My, if I knew you would be this beautiful, I would've let Mother have you sooner. Anyway, I meant nothing by asking him to take care of you. You were both mutually attracted to each other, even without me saying anything, you would've ended up taking care of each other. You wouldn't be able to resist it, with your cute childhood vow and the binding mark..."

"Woooh, hold on there. What did you mean by 'mark'?" I heard a muffled 'oops', "Are you saying that Chris is carrying my mark? Mom! How the hell did he came to carry my mark? I didn't even know how to put a mark on someone. How the hell did he get my MARK?!!!"

I noticed mom was stuffing her ears with her fingers by the time I finished yelling at her. "You're being hysterical again. I admit, I may have been quite underhanded when I put your mark on him, but it's for your own good. You don't want to kill your future husband. Trust me, the sight of your husband lying lifeless in front of you would be too much to bear."

I simply glared at mom. "Mom, how did you put my mark on him? Why did you put my mark on him? Where on his body did you put my mark at?"

"Yes..." she was looking sheepish, like a child who was caught swiping cookies from the cookie jar, "...you see, when you were 12, I was worried that you would go mad with the sudden hunger that should have surfaced at puberty. I was afraid that you in your inexperience would find one you were most compatible to and the most convenient - I'm talking about Chris by the way - and accidentally killing him in your frenzy. So one night, while you were both asleep, I laid his body next to yours and... umm... it was rather tricky".

The more I listened to her, the more annoyed I become. "Mom..." I said, barely controlling myself from raising my voice, "... do you realize that you have just confessed to abusing your 12 year old son?"

"Abusing you?" she said, feinting hurt, "Don't be silly, I did no such thing, I was merely securing your future. I have never forced or tricked you into having underage sex with a boy. So I don't see where you get the idea that I was abusing you".

"Well, how would giving him my mark help in securing my future? In case you didn't notice, he abused me in every way possible. He spread nasty rumors about me, humiliated me, erased my work, smashed my car and BROKE MY LEG!"

She frowned. "Okay, I didn't approve of that last one too but you must understand that it only happened because you tried to go against your vow," Her eyes took on a sympathetic shade. "We're not like them, honey, we don't have the ability to break our promises."

"Mom, let's just ignore that vow for a moment. Let's not forget the fact that in the real word, I'M A MAN! Two men can't marry each other in the real world, mom. So how exactly am I supposed to fulfill that promise?"

Mom made a dismissive wave. "Details, details. You're a Lili, dear. You are by default female, though you may also be either a succubus or an incubus. You can be either male or female though you may only ever feed in female form. As a succubus, you attract and consume male essence. As an incubus, you exude male essence. Anyway, what's so bad about being his wife? There are much worse fates than to be someone else's wife."

"Mom, he's evil. He abuses me all the time and spares no detail whenever he does that. He's the stereotypical wife beater! I won't be caught dead as his wife! Ever!"

"Now that's an improvement. You've just accepted the idea of yourself being a wife."

"Oh shut up. It didn't mean anything."

I took another look around. "So this is where I'll go after my death? I'm not really looking forward to it. It seems rather dull."

Giggling, she said, "Oh yes, it's dull, but nobody cares because nobody's even aware of themselves here. All thanks to the mist. That's the beauty of being in Tartarus. Sadly, you won't be coming here after you die."

"What do you mean, mom? This is where human souls go to after their death, isn't it?"

"Yes, but you're one of the Lilim. If you die, you will die as a Lili, as a demon."

"Then why are you here? Aren't you a Lili too?"

"Yes, but I'm different because before I died, Mother freed me from my obligations. Mother allowed me to die a human death. Otherwise, I'd probably end up being stripped of my powers and memories to be reborn as another Lili. If I was lucky, I would probably return to Adam Kadmon to be reborned as a new human soul. If I was very unlucky, I might lose myself and become Legion," she winced as she said the last word.

"That's the fate that awaits me?" I asked, totally horrified. I don't want to be Legion!

"Yes, but Mother as our matriarch and owner can decide where we go, so play nice with her. You really want to be on her good side. Becoming Legion would've been the worst punishment that I can think of before Judgement Day," she said with a shudder.

"But that's the problem, mom. I don't want to 'play nice' with Mother. I want to be me! I want to be free! I don't want to do Mother's bidding!"

Mom looked at me with a sad expression. Or was that pity? "Are you sure that's what you really want, dear?"

I hesitated. Truth was, I was starting to like my life as as Lili. As Patrick, I was uptight, vindictive and bitter where as Ilyse, I was more liberated, cheery and fun-loving. I know I'm going to regret thinking this, but for the past few times, I kind of liked the idea of spending time with Chris. Oh, this is so sick!

"Having second thoughts, dear?" mom interrupted with a knowing smile.

I sputtered as I was caught off guard by her remark, "No, no of course not. Why would I be having second thoughts, mom?"

Her smile widened as she said, "Oh, I don't know... why don't you tell me?"

"No! I'm not backing away. I want to be free. I don't want to be forced to do Mother's bidding anymore. I want to live the way I want to. So if you really care for me, mom, you'll help me."

Mom sighed, "Such disrespect. Where have I went wrong with you?"

"MOM!"

"Yes, yes. What kind of help do you wish from me? Just remember I'm already dead," she joked, which I couldn't seem to bring myself to laugh along with.

"Well, how about some info? How do I get myself free like you?"

"I'm afraid you can't take the same route as me, dear. I didn't set out to be freed in the first place, it just happened. Mine was a very special circumstance. Though if you really want to, you can try the same route 6 years from now. There would be a similar event then. Doubt it though, since I have served her for half a millennia before doing that final deed."

"You never told me of your life before. You have 500 years' worth of stories I'd love to hear, mom. Why didn't you ever tell me anything?"

"I'm sorry, my sweet lily. It was just that I was afraid. I was afraid that you would blame me. I was afraid that you would hate me. Til I died, I couldn't bring myself to tell you. Would you ever forgive me?"

"We have time now, mom. You can tell me anything, I'll listen."

"Oh, how would I start? 500 year's worth of memory is a lot of memory."

"How about you start with the place where you grew up, mom. How was England 500 years ago?"

"England? Whoever said I was raised in England?"

"But your accent... and you told us that your family migrated from England."

"I lived in England in the late 19th century and up to the middle of the 20th century. I migrated alone after the Second World War since my parents died of black death in the 16th century. I was actually born in a small hamlet near Leipzig in current Germany on the summer of 1488."

"Germany? You were a German?"

"A generic term. You must understand that when I was born, there was no such thing as Germany. We only had the Holy Roman Empire, but many would argue that it was not a German nation."

"Okay, so how was Germany back then?"

"Very turbulent. You can't travel far without meeting several 'tax collectors'. Minor nobles and raubritter were numerous and they made life pretty hard and dangerous for peasants like my family."

After pausing once, she continued, "But all that paled in comparison to the threat posed by the evil cult of Baphomet."

My interest peaked. "Baphomet? Wasn't he that goat-headed demon that the satanists kept worshipping as the face of the devil? The one they identified as Lucifer?"

With a weak smile, she said, "Yes, that's the one, though he was neither the devil nor Lucifel. He was a minor demon, one only slightly higher in status compared to the imps."

"So how did he get such a huge following? And what was the significance with your story?"

"You need to know that the title 'Baphomet' was originally empty. It was originally a perversion of the muslim prophet Muhammad, who was called Mahomet by the crusaders. This demon, who was originally so insignificant that none remembered his original name, saw the opportunity and attached himself to that name. He became almost an equal to the Seven Sins overnight. Then he started waging war on the Princes and Princesses of Sheol. Lord Astaroth fell first and Agrat Bat Mahlat fell second. Lord Belial tried to rally the other Princes and Princesses of Sheol to join forces and crush Baphomet's army but apart from Agrat and Naamah, he failed to get the others to join the fight. Not even Mother heeded his call to arms."

"I've heard of that, but I thought the Lilim fought Baphomet?"

"Well, we had no choice. He suddenly appeared at our doorstep with his entire army and demanded that Mother be his consort. Of course we couldn't just allow such insult to go unpunished, so we fought, despite the overwhelming odds. All Lilim, whether in Sheol or Assiah were recalled to Yenne Velt to defend the border while the unicornes stayed near Mother's throne in Vanity Meadows to weave a grand spell to stop Baphomet. Against Baphomet's numerically superior army, we fell like stalks of wheat. Not even I with my five guardian artifacts were able to hold them. My subbies all fell by the second wave. If not for Edria's sacrifice, we wouldn't even be able to hold against the third wave. I was overrun by the fourth wave and had to flee to Assiah before they grabbed me. Even in Assiah, I was hunted by Baphomet's worshippers. If not for a kind boy who happened to come across my weakened body, I think I would've been impaled and paraded by Baphomet's worshippers."

"So how did we, I mean the Lilim, survived?"

"Agrat and Naamah's forces arrived shortly before the... you know what, it's easier to just show it to you," she held out her left hand, "Take my hand, we'll explore my memories. Have you ever done this before?"

"Yes, I've done something like this with Mother to find out why Chris was my soulmate."

Mom gave a brief smile. "Was that the word she used? That's totally out of character for her. Now, stand still and wait for awhile. I was never very good with spells and although this one is quite easy, it's still too specific for me."

I felt her hold my hands tighter as a jolt and a slight woozy feeling came over me. Immediately, my view distorted and my left hand flew up to rub my eyes. As I was rubbing, I saw my surrounding change and peel as if there was another reality behind it. After about ten minutes of watching my surrounding distort and peel, the images around me settled. Good thing too, I was about to get sick from all the dizzying sights.

"Recognize this place?" mom asked.

I looked at the gigantic archway over the very long road leading into the forest, realizing that I've been here once before. I was about to answer her when I noticed the gloomy mood around me. The last time I was here, this place was full of joy, full of laughter. Now, there seems to be a cloud of despair and fear around us. I couldn't tell for sure where the feeling came from because we were alone here.

"This is the arched gateway to Inner Yenne Velt. It feels different from the last time I was here. And where's everyone?"

She blushed. "Sorry about that. Specific spells like this were never meant to be used by three horned Lilim. I had to spend ten minutes just to form a sustainable matrix. We normally just use grand spells that drained the hell out of our powers. Hold on, just a bit longer."

Then I heard disjointed noises, the likes you'd hear from scratchy CDs. After petering out a few times, the noises became more understandable as images flickered over the scenery. At some point, there were disembodied but clear noises, screams, shouts and yells. Then something like a fog fell over the scenery and it formed people, mostly Lilim, some looked like human with weird headdresses. Most didn't even look like people. There were creatures that looked like large winged insects with pincers and scorpion's tail, swooping onto the army of Lilim and humans . There were blobs with tentacles firing blob projectiles and casting spells which disintegrated those bugs. None of them were doing very well. Once those Lilim or humans were grabbed by one of those bugs, they weakened and turn into dry husks shortly after. Those tentacled blobs that had one of those bugs stuck into it melted and while those bugs gave birth to more of those foul bugs.

-----

"Mira, you come back here now!" yelled Sarai at the two horned figure running panicly towards the rear.

"You can fight all you want, mistress, but I don't want to die like Serana!"

"Damned coward. Sergei!" she shouted to one of the 5 giant arabian genies standing guard around her. One of the giants, Sergei, nodded at her and elongated his right hand to catch the fleeing Mira.

He then deposited Mira in front of Sarai and her genies. "Now fight..." muttered Sarai so that only Mira would hear, "...or I'll kill you myself."

The two horned Lili, Mira didn't even stand a minute against the Legion onslaught. One of the buglike creatures managed to get its scorpion tail into her guts and drained her of her powers. The Lili's body dried up and turned into dust. The Legion immediately leaped onto Sarai who were too caught up with blasting away one of the Legions and wasn't aware of the one leaping at her. Right before the bug managed to sink its scorpion tail into the top of Sarai's head, a red blast pierced its own head and it fell lifeless to the ground. About a mile to the rear, five very tall Lilim were standing on the arched gateway into Inner Yenne Velt. Three of them were firing magic arrows from their bows, one was reloading her crossbow while another one was aiming her musket.

Thanks for the help, Araminta. Keep that musket shooting!

No problem, Sarai. Just don't get caught like that again.

That's a pretty dumb strategy, Sarai. You should've used her as support instead of a tanker.

Shut up, Beata. I don't tolerate cowards. Is the shield operational yet? Sarai looked behind at a three horn who were flanked by six other three horns on top of a large boulder.

Yes, Milen just told me that the shield is stable and will operate at full power the moment she break contact, which was two minutes ago. This effectively means that we can no longer go in or out of Inner Yenne Velt.

One of Sarai's guardian genies casted a reddish blast that melted hundreds of Legions from the sky. Another slapped a couple of Legions away from Sarai.

I hope their plan works, Beata.

I hope so too. Else we'll just die for nothing out here.

I don't wish to die, Beata. I hope we can all get out of here alive

Unlikely, but I'm sure that some of us would be able to escape when the spell was ready.

Let's just pray that it's soon, I don't think I can last much longer. I almost shortcircuited Gerard just now.

Do your best anyhow, we need to defend for at least another hour.

The three horn, Beata, was very busy giving orders and coordinating between different Lilim squads that she didn't realize one of the Legions had snuck up with his nasty looking tail reared up and ready to pounce on her. This time, it was her turn to be saved by Araminta and her musket. When the Legion didn't die, one of Beata's subbies stomp on it until it turned into fine dust.

Knowing the threat was over, Beata turned to look far to the front line, which had already fallen. "Delilah!" she cried, "You come back here now! You can't fight them all!"

Far to the front line, the first line to fall, Delilah, a three horned Lili whose horns swept back with each of its tips converge together high behind her head was twisting around, her twin katars slashing and striking back and forth against the much numerically superior army of Legions that surrounded her from all sides and from above. A few times you could see her fighting madly for her life as the layers of Legions thinned at some sides. She was never granted much breathing space though as new Legions kept swarming at her despite knowing that none of them would be able to penetrate her killing zone. Her fighting skills were graceful and serene, if one could discount the fact that she had downed hundreds of Legions in a single minute with that deadly dance.

When a much larger swarm seemed to converge on Delilah's position, Beata leaped to the air and flew straight towards Delilah. She immediately drew the attention of several smaller swarms but two of her subbies who flew after her easily crushed them with their own spells. This attracted the attention of the larger swarm causing it to change direction to assault Beata instead.

Beata then stopped in mid air and told her subbies to blink back to their position. At the same time, a whitish glow seemed to encompass her clasped fists. By the time the glow expanded, both of her subbies had already blinked away to their previous position in the rear. The moment the larger swarm surrounded her, she parted her palms and there was a huge explosion that incinerated tens of thousands of Legions within a half mile radius. Some of the exhausted Lilim were killed by the explosion, though judging from their facial expression before their bodies turned to dust under the blinding glow of Beata's spell, they were actually thankful to die that way.

Somehow Delilah managed to remain alive after the explosion, though the sharp edges of her twin katars were damaged and no longer battle-worthy. She sent the katars back into the void and produced a black spear instead.

Beata, somewhat breathless, said, "Delilah! Stop this foolishness. Come back to the rear, you'll be of more help there."

"Leave me alone, Beata! This is my fight and we both know how many I could kill simply by fighting alone."

"This is not an argument. As Mother's retinue, I order you to go back to the rear and work with our..." Beata was about to say more when a swarm of Legions aimed their shooting spines at her. She managed to destroy them all by a weird technique where she made the sky literally fall on them, thus crushing most of them to the ground.

"You order me? Hah! By seniority alone, you have no right to order me around. You only got that position because you spent a lot of your time kissing Mother's sweet ass!" said Delilah as she helped Beata blast at some of the smaller Legion swarms around them.

"No, you stupid bitch! I got that position because you were too busy mourning for your beloved Samson whom you betrayed for..." Beata countered.

Delilah interjected with great stomp, causing a ripple that downed hundreds of Legions at ground level around her. "You shut your mouth! Shut your mouth! It's between me and him! You have no right to stop me! He's gone and I should've went with him. So shut your mouth, Beata and let me do my WORK!" This time she roared the last word and again, hundreds of Legions fell around her.

Not even Beata was immune to the amount of power that Delilah unleashed. "So that's what you're doing? You're trying to commit suicide? Don't you realize that you're the only one who can save us when the Outer Yenne Velt finally fall?" she swatted at a lone Legion that had lost its swarm, "Stop acting like a brat and start acting your age. I'm not going to let the oldest tricorne die, Delilah!"

Delilah was about to reply when Sarai's voice interjected. Would you two please stop arguing? I'm getting pinned down here. I've lost two of my guardian artifacts and I'm on the verge of losing another. Would either of you please come and save me?

"There you go, Delilah. Nurse your broken heart or save your friend, which will it be?" Beata said as she turned around and flew back to the rear.

Again, came Sarai's voice. Let's focus on the now and only now, Delilah. I need you here now. The only one who can help me, Edria has already blown herself up from overloading herself with tricorne power. Please come, I'll help you beg Uriel to let you see Samson after this, but please, help me!

Delilah hesitated. She looked at Sarai who were almost surrounded by a large swarm of Legions and turned to help her. As a final act of defiance, she blasted at the approaching swarm without even looking.

Then the images flickered and distort again and suddenly the entire scenery shattered like a wall of glass, sending us back to the Hall of Records. I covered my face with my own hands to avoid from being cut by the flying shards.

-----

"What happened, mom?" I asked after the sound of shattering glass disappeared.

"Sorry, I couldn't maintain a stable spell matrix," she answered.

Then her eyes took on a vacant look as if she was looking at a place far far away. "You have no idea. You have absolutely no idea how a demon created by mankind's own stray imaginations could've become so powerful. You have no idea how terrifying it was to see your sisters fall one by one and treated... in such a way. You can't imagine the fear we felt when the red sky of Yenne Velt turned black from all the Legions advancing upon us like a plague. and the feeling of hopelessness we felt as we assumed that all the princes of Sheol had turned against us. You won't understand the feeling of revulsion we felt when those foul creatures entered Vanity Meadows."

As she related her story, her tears flowed like two rapid rivers. I couldn't bear to see her in so much sadness and pain. So I got up from the chair and held her tight, telling her that she didn't need to continue telling the story. She touched my hands lightly, and told me that she was almost done and that I needed to know our history.

When she calmed down somewhat, she wiped away her tears and said, "Shortly after that, Beata realized that it was impossible to control the advance of the Legions and told us all to get away. Most of us was glad to be able to flee, though I felt myself useless for having to leave them both behind. In the end only Beata and Delilah remained behind. From what I was told, Beata protected Delilah while Delilah prepared a spell that stopped time. They managed to hold the enemy long enough before reinforcements, as well as Baphomet himself arrived. Anyway, once the stasis field and the shield were down, the unicornes fought hard in the only way they knew how. The dispelled, they cursed, they banished, they nulled the enemy's strength until in the end there were only Adela and Mother standing on the dais with the spell work they've been preparing throughout the entire battle". Then she went silent, though her mood seemed like it had improved.

After waiting for quite some time, while watching her expression became more and more jovial, I got impatient and said, "Well, feel free to continue the story before next year, mom."

"Hehe, turns out they've prepared a present for Baphomet. The spellwork they completed were designed to seal Baphomet and it worked wonderfully. After Baphomet was sealed, his Legions all fled to some disgusting place that I don't want to know about. It took us years to remove the taint of their filth from our forests, but eventually, we managed to restore Yenne Velt to its earlier purity," she said with a satisfied tone.

"You mean red skies and lush forest?"

"Yes, so do you have anymore questions?"

"Yes I do, how do I get myself free?"

She sighed and said, "You don't give up, do you? I don't know how you can get yourself free, but if anyone can help you, it would be Delilah. She had been my best friend since the Baphomet War. She has lived for over 3000 years and knows a lot more than I do."

"Delilah? Should I assume that it's Samson's Delilah? The one I see in your memory?"

"Yes... but don't ever mention Samson's name in front of her. She still can't forgive herself for what she did back then. Samson was her only real love, you see. I never found out why she betrayed him because everytime I tried, she started wailing like it's the end of the world. I think we might have been able to hold Baphomet's forces better if we made her wail... come to think of it, that's not such a bad idea at all."

"So how do I find Delilah?"

"She'll most likely find you, once she found out that you're my daughter. I know you don't remember, but she visited you when you were born. Whatever you do though, stay away from Adela. She can be nice and wonderful if she wants, but she's downright cruel when dealing with people she doesn't like. Since we don't know where you stand in her eyes, it's best to just stay away from her."

"What does Adela look like?" I asked.

"Have you been to Yenne Velt?"

"Yes, I've been there, once."

"Then you would notice one Lili in particular standing behind the throne whose presence felt like smoke."

"The one that I can see but can't sense?"

"Yes, that's the one. She has total control of herself, so you can't feel her presence until shortly before she kills you. She can also cancel every spell, offensive or defensive, that you may cast," she said with a shudder.

"Cancel every spell? Isn't that cheating?"

"There's no such thing as cheating in our book. Anyway, it's a variant of null field but much more effective. As far as I know, that power was exclusive to her. It probably had something to do with her being a unicorne. They're very rare."

"Unicorne?" I asked, curious after hearing the word again.

"Who's your mentor, dear?"

"Shaina."

"Shaina?" she laughed, "I can't believe Mother would name her as your mentor, she's still a child herself."

"I know, she told me that she's 22. She's three years younger than me, yet she speaks as if I'm a 6 years old.

"Well, in terms of experience, she is indeed older than you. She became one of the Lilim when she was 12, that's 10 years of experience. She's still too young to be anyone's mentor though."

"I think she's more of a brat than Little Tell.

A short laugh and she said, "How's Stella doing? And Shaina didn't tell you about unicorne?"

"Tell's fine. No, Shaina was pretty much in a hurry when we met last time. Then I blasted her away til she went on a feeding frenzy. So there was very little that we managed to talk about. I only know of one-horned horses, but I have a feeling that's not what you're referring to."

"Raise your hands and put them on your head," mom commanded.

"Are you serious?" I asked, being very sceptical.

"Do it! I won't take that attitude from you, young lady!"

"Wow, you sound just like mom," I said as I placed my hands on my head.

"I AM your mom, girl, and don't you forget it."

"Whatever you say, mom," I replied. Sheesh, just half an hour ago she couldn't even remember me.

"Now touch your horns. How many are there?"

"Two," I said, "A pair".

"Good, but it seems like it's a trait not handed down from mother to daughter," she turned around, her back facing me, "Now how many horns do I have?

"What's with the question - oh my! you got three horns!"

"Correct, I'm a tricorne, a three horned Lili. Adela's a unicorne, which means she has one horn. It's very rare to find unicornes among Lilim. We tricornes are pretty rare ourselves, though not as rare as Adela's kind. Adela told me that she once knew a four-horned Lili, but she was killed by her own powers when it exploded from inside her. Your kind, the bicorne, is the most common of all."

"What's the significance of the number of horns? Are one-horns more powerful than the others?"

"No no, you're totally missing the point. It doesn't matter how many horns you have, as long as you're good at what you do, you can become more powerful than the rest."

"I don't follow," I said with a blank stare.

"Fine, I'll explain. The only real differences between the unicornes, bicornes and tricornes are in the amount of power retention and control. The unicornes have the least power of the three, but they have perfect control over their own powers. Bicornes are the most stable of the three, with moderate amount of power and control. Tricornes have the most power, but suffers from lack of control," she said, then her eyes suddenly looked sad, "When I was younger, it was so hard to control my own powers that it exploded from within me on a number of occasions."

"So the tricornes are the most powerful?"

"No, it's not the matter of who's the most powerful. It's how you use your powers that matters. A unicorne normally can't use greater spells because they won't have enough power to cast it, but they can cast thousands of minor spells without seemingly losing any power at all since they have perfect control over their own spells. Tricornes can't control their powers effectively, so they ended up being unable to cast minor spells because it will fizzle most of the time due to the massive stress on the spell matrix but instead can cast greater spells which drained much power but gives great effect. Some tricornes even abandoned magics and used martial skills all the time. I wasn't willing to abandon magic, so I used three guardian artifacts every time I wanted to cast a spell. Bicornes are capable of utilizing both unicorne and tricorne skills, but not very effective at either of them."

"Another reason why you should avoid Adela is because she has shown the power to disrupt ethereal matrix on a number of occasions, thus causing a perfectly solid form to fizzle and disappear forever. As far as I know, two Lilim have died from her experiments and who knows how many Legions have suffered this spell. She can kill you with just a glance, so avoid her until you know for sure that she likes you."

"Kill me with a glance? That's insane. Not even Mother can do that!"

"Mother can, but she won't. Despite Mother's neglectful demeanor, she still loves us, her children. Adela has no reservations against doing that. She can kill five of us in ten seconds and Mother wouldn't glance even once. She's Mother's favorite daughter, the last of the True Lilim, so she can get away with almost anything. She's like the princess of the Lilim."

"What if she hates me on principle?"

"She won't. She has many other willing toys to abuse. Your only problem would be from the other Lilim. They would love to make you their subbie or bully you until you begged them to accept you as their subbie. I've seen them do it, and I don't really approve of their methods."

"Can a subbie be owned by two mistresses?" I asked.

"It has never happened before, but I don't think that's possible. Why?"

And so I told her about Shaina and our vow.

"That's quick, you have only been activated for a week and you already got yourself a mistress?" she laughed, "Well, I hope you'll do well with her. From the sound of it, you can't kill her even if you decide you hate her but at least she won't harm you, unlike the other mistresses that I know. You're probably better off with her and since you already have a mistress, the other Lilim might leave you alone. If not, I've left something behind for you."

"You mean the house?"

"The house? No, whatever made you think that? The house is under your father's name, anyway. So you'll have to wait until he's dead. I was talking about my powers."

"What do you mean, mom?" I asked, not understanding what her powers had to do with anything.

"When you were born, I decided our family will be the last family I'll ever have. I've fallen in love with many men, but your father was the only man I didn't want to outlive. So I decided to let myself die by giving you most of my powers. Normally, no Lilim will do this because giving your own power to someone else is equal to a suicide attempt."

"Then why did you do it?"

"Because, I have planned to die in this generation. So I thought that since I'm going to die anyway, it would be best if I put my powers somewhere it would be needed. I didn't implant all my powers inside you, so there was no danger of me dropping dead suddenly."

"Did you implant your powers inside Little Tell too?"

"No, she's not a Lili. She would die if I implant my Lilin powers inside her."

"Why's that, mom?"

"Well, I guess you can argue that everyone has a small Lilin fragment inside them since Seth's and Cain's descendants had intermingled over the millennium, but normal, average human being can't properly seal the power inside them and they can't convert essence into ether. They will end up the same as us when we got starved to death because their body will keep draining their essence but not convert it, so it disappears into thin air. It's like losing your lifeblood because once you've been infused with ether, your body will be mutated to crave it. That's why there's no longer magic in the world, it's far too addictive for humans."

"That's a nice history lesson, but my real question was why was it that Little Tell's not a Lili?"

"Oh! Well, the answer's simple. She wasn't chosen."

"That's it?"

"Yes, that's the only reason. As to why she wasn't chosen, you have to ask Mother. She's the only one who knew why," she paused, looking slightly thoughtful as if pondering something, then continued, "Have you been having problems with it?"

"Problems with what, mom?"

"The powers that I put inside you. The seal that I casted to contain the power should have broken the moment I died. I was afraid that you wouldn't be able to control the sudden explosion from your soul."

"That sounds dangerous."

"I'm sorry, baby. I was in a hurry back then. So did you have any problem when it came out?"

I told her no. She kept asking similar questions to which I also answered no. Then she started asking me if I experienced any symptoms of power overload or rejection. When I said no to all of the symptoms she listed, she became sceptical and I think she thought I was lying.

She grabbed my wrists and pulled me to her, boobs against boobs, forehead against forehead. "Don't struggle," she said, "I just want to check the status of the sealing spell".

She mmh-ed and ooh-ed, gasped and squealed until at last she said, "Oh shit."

I started to panic as I pushed her away, "Mom! What do you mean with 'oh shit'?!!! You're mom, moms aren't supposed to say 'oh shit'. YOU'RE SCARING ME, MOM!"

"And you're annoying me, girl," she said as she took her fingers off her ears, "It's not such a big deal. I just slightly screwed up with the wording."

"Mom! Listen to yourself. There's no such thing as 'slightly screwed up', you taught me that yourself. Now, what the hell did you screw up, mom?"

"Apparently, it's no big deal, you just can't use that power for as long as you live."

"Explain."

"Instead of the clause, 'after I die', I mistakenly included the clause, 'after you die'. That will make you a very useful suicide bomber or a very dangerous ticking bomb."

"Very nice, mom, " I said dryly, "So either I become a martyr or a murderer. Tough choice."

"Nonsense. It's not like it will explode suddenly. You'll have to die first, so it's entirely safe."

"Well, I'm very pissed off now, mom. So I think I'll leave for now. See you later."

She giggled, "Well, take care then, my sweet little lily. Take care of your father and sister for me. Oh and sweety?"

I paused, turned around and looked at the lolita who was somehow my mother.

"I'm sorry for everything," she said, her eyes hinting regret.

"It's OK, mom. It's nice to see you again," I said as I turned to leave.

Immediately, I noticed that something was wrong.

"Mom..." I said.

"Yes, dear?" she said with a puzzled tone.

"Can't move my legs... feels like it turned to stone or something," I said as I started to panic.

"What?" she said, sounding slightly worried, "That can't be right."

"Do I need Uriel's permission to leave, mom?"

"No, shouldn't... unless..." she looked at the table behind her, then asked, "Did you drink the coffee?"

"Yes, is that a problem?"

She looked horrified. "Bloody damned right, it is. You are in Tartarus! Have you already forgotten the tale of Persephone?"

"The who?"

"Persephone! The Queen of Hades!" she groaned, "I read you her stories back when you were young and couldn't sleep without a fairytale."

I was confused, the name sounded familiar, but the memory was fleeting.

My confusion must've showed on my face as she angrily said, "Persephone ate four pomegranate seeds while she was in Hades. There's a rule that says, if you eat anything from Hades, you must stay in Hades. Since you drank the coffee from Tartarus, you must stay in Tartarus. Great Mother, how dense can you be?"

"How was I supposed to know? He's an angel. They're not supposed to be evil," I said, slightly defensive. Okay, very defensive.

"There have been many evil or at least dishonorable angels in recorded and forgotten history. Azazel, Samyaza, Samael, Hubal, Astaroth, even Barbiel, Naamah and Eisheth Zenunim were known as evil or less than honorable angels at some point in the past. Uriel at least has a track record of tricking people before, so you should have been more careful."

"Well, I probably would've been more careful if a certain someone told me things before she died," I said, shooting an accusing glance at mom.

"Ouch. Too bad I don't have heart, because I just know it will hurt me," she replied, her voice suggesting a grin was coming up.

"Whatever, mom. I still can't move my legs, so what are we going to do now?" I said.

"Well, there's only one thing we can do. We'll just have to negotiate with URIEL!" She said that last word with an almighty yell.

Not two seconds later, I felt the air thicken and I heard a deep, hypnotic voice from behind me say, "You called for me, Sarai?"

I immediately turned around and was greeting by his dashing smile. I think I actually blushed. Do all angels look this good and irresistible?

"Heh, Uriel, you never change. Still listening in on other people's conversation, I see," she said with a smirk.

"I'm not listening in on your conversation. I can't stay away from my workstation for too long. Dead people shouldn't be made to wait," he countered.

"Ye-es, of course, keep telling yourself that. Anyway... you tricked my daughter!" mom said, putting great emphasis on 'daughter'

He walked pass me, pass mom, then sat on the chair mom vacated before the memory surfing thing just now, "I did not trick your daughter, since it was entirely her own choice whether to drink it or not. That's what being alive is about, choices. Hey! You drained the whole cup!" he said as he looked into my empty coffee cup.

"Oh please, this is not the first time you've done this. Just because Persephone's on rehab doesn't mean you can lure another poor sucker to keep you company."

I immediately objected at being called a 'poor sucker'.

Uriel simply picked up the cup, balanced it on his fingers and said, "For your information, this blend is very rare and time consuming to make. Why would you drink it, Sarai? You're dead, you don't need to drink. You especially don't need to drink my specialty coffee."

Mom crossed her arms under her breasts, emphasizing her smallish breasts. "Uriel, you shall free my daughter. And you shall free her now. She's already promised to another man in Assiah."

"I do not answer to you, Sarai," he growled.

Mom didn't seem to notice as she kept talking. "Of course with your history, I'm not really expecting you to abide by human's and Sheol's rule. Therefore, I'm fully willing to show you the error in your judgement."

Despite his obvious anger, there was a tone of amusement in his voice. "Is that a challenge, Sarai? Have you forgotten that I'm the Ruler of Tartarus and you're dead?"

"Oh I have not forgotten, dear Uriel, though your mist did a pretty good job at making me forget. However, unlike before, now I'm not without resources."

"Resources? She's only a few days' old, you're not suggesting that you're going to use her to fight me." Then he laughed as if he had just made a smashingly funny joke.

"Oh no, you misunderstood me. I'm the one who will fight you if you refused to let her go." I simply looked at her as if she was insane... well, maybe she was insane. No sane people would challenge the Angel of Death and Ruler of Tartarus for a fight.

"You are dead, Sarai. You no longer have your lilin powers. It seems the beverage you gulped down has had a negative influence on your logical judgement. Come with me, I'll help you go back to the Elysian Fields. You no longer need to worry, we'll take very good care of you," he said with a winning smile in a totally gorgeous, rugged sort of way. I briefly wondered if he reaped souls by seducing them.

"What are you talking about? I have my Lilin powers right here," she said as she wrapped her arms around me from behind.

"Let me help by driving home the fact that you're dead, Sarai. So please, understand your position and go back to dead people's land already!" Uriel said as he threw something that looked like a lightning bolt at us.

At the same time, I heard mom whispered, "Glyph Shield: Ihwaz" as she traced a pattern in the air in front of us with her right hand. Her left hand was held on top my heart, pushing me backwards against herself.

I closed my eyes at what I perceived to be an incoming doom. Then I heard a crackling sound and when I opened my eyes out of curiosity, I saw a bolt of electricity dancing about two feet away from us.

"Don't worry, my dear. He can't harm us, not as long as we're together," mom whispered into my ears, then she bit my ears just a little bit. I was a bit freaked out.

"How can this be? You're a dead soul. You can't have any powers of your own. You're also not Legion, so you can't drain someone else of their power," Uriel said while looking awfully confused.

"What you need to understand, Uriel, is that while I do not own this body," she said, tracing her fingers on my neck while her left hand still held over my heart, "I own half of what's in it."

Now her right hand moved down lower, tracing my breasts, and lower, rubbing my stomach. I freaked out when her hand moved lower.

"Oh please do calm down, baby, mommy's not going to harm you. Has mommy ever harmed you before?" she asked this while rubbing her body on my back, then she continued with, "You see, Uriel, I'm not draining her powers. I'm using my own power for my own benefit. Before I died, I sealed most of my power inside my daughter's body and specified that my power shall be hers the moment she dies. Since she hasn't died yet, the power is still mine and so it's totally my right to do with as I please".

"Disgusting, Sarai. You're using your own daughter for your personal gain. And stop doing that in front of me," Uriel said, probably referring to mom's licking of my neck.

Mom stopped her licking, but her lips were still on my skin. "Hm? Jealous, Uriel? I bet you'd love to kiss her," she kissed my neck, " Lick her," she licked my neck, "Or maybe perhaps give her a love bite?" Then mom gave me a hickey.

I spun around. "Mom! What got into you?"

At that same moment, mom's left hand slipped from my heart and the crackling electrical bolt intensified and exploded. I could feel my hair rising from the charged atmosphere.

"Don't move around, girl! Do you want to get killed?" mom pulled me back to her, this time, face to face, instead of from behind while her left hand moved to my spine.

"Sarai, do you seriously think that a single Lili can win against me? I am the Archangel Uriel, I command..."

"Yes yes yes. I bet you'd love to do this," she said as she kissed me full on the lips. I was totally caught off guard.

"That's the last insult, Sarai," he said followed by an almighty roar.

Mom let go of my lips, pushed my head to the side and whispered, "Glyph Shield: Thurisaz!"

There was a loud boom and I closed my eyes, hugging mom tightly. Then I heard two voices, male and female, saying, "What the fuck?!!!"

I opened my eyes. mom's face was one of shock, so I looked behind. Uriel's face was a picture of outrage. Between us, was a spear with its tip buried to the ground. I can barely make out the word 'Amphillogiai'.

Mom suddenly let out a great laugh, "Uriel, it seems like your old friend has something to say about your habit of abducting brides."

Uriel shot mom a dangerous look and then started looking around the hall. "Eris, you troublemaking witch! Show yourself!"

The only reply was a playful giggle from all around us.

I looked to mom for an explanation. She apparently noticed and offered, "Amphillogiai, meaning 'dispute'. Dispute is a child of Eris, the Goddess of Discord. I'm not sure if we're lucky or not, but judging from Uriel's expression, I can guess that he's got a bigger problem than us at the moment."

"Eris, you come back here!" he bellowed, his ruggedly handsome face a mask of pure fury, "And take this lousy piece of garbage with you!"

He grabbed the spear, which in a blinding flash of light turned into a crown. Even from here I could read the inscription, 'Ruler of Tartarus'.

"ERIS!!!" He bellowed again, "I do not need any proof! I AM the Ruler of Tartarus!"

"Maybe I can offer a solution," mom said, her lips right next to my left ear.

"You will be silent if you know what's good for you, demon!"

Mom put her right hand on my hips, her left was still on my spine. "Now that's just plain rude, Uriel. I'm offering you a solution to your current problem," she paused, when Uriel didn't reply, she continued, "The way I see it, you have to get rid of the spear, because if you don't... well, I'm sure we both know what really caused the Trojan War, don't we?"

"What are you suggesting, Sarai?" he said. His voice gravelly and sounding very dangerous.

"Well, since you can't leave Tartarus until your consort returns, you will need someone else to take it out of your domain. You can't trust any of your henchmen, because we both know that not even angels are immune to corruption. Since my daughter has not agreed to become your consort, you can't leave her here and remove it yourself. So the only logical solution, is to let my daughter take it with her when she leaves," somehow I can sense a smirk behind those words, even when her face appeared neutral.

"OUT OF THE QUESTION! She drank the coffee. She's bound to stay here with me as all those who eat or drink in Tartarus must stay in Tartarus. It is the rule here, not even I can change such rule."

"I'm not asking you to change the rule. I'm asking you to bend it. You did the same with Persephone, didn't you?"

"Just what are you suggesting?"

"Sweetie, how many sips did you take?" she said. Only a few seconds later I realized that she was talking to me. I told her that I took only two sips from the cup.

"There, two sips. So she will have to stay here for two weeks every year. It's a win-win situation."

"Unacceptable! Two weeks! Do you take me for a fool, Sarai?"

A corner of her lips turned up as if preparing for a grin, "I knew it would be too good to be true. Two months then, I'm sure that's more than you deserve."

I pinched mom's side hard. I didn't want to have to stay here for two months every year.

"Very well," she shall come here at the turn of each season every year. 15 days each time. No compromise."

"Deal," mom said, to which I countered with a loud, "Mom!"

Uriel threw the crown at us. Mom caught it with her right hand and with a flash, the crown changed again into a staff, with the word 'kratos' inscribed on it. Mom let go of me and her eyes took on a mad gleam, the likes you would see from psychopathic murderers shortly before they dismember their victims.

"Sarai!" yelled Uriel.

Mom appeared startled and dropped the staff, immediately taking two steps back. She looked nervous, shaken and perhaps a little bit embarrassed?

"Be very careful when you pick it up, sweetie, it will take on the form of the one thing you desired most. Don't let it get to you," mom said, this time appearing more like the mom that I once knew instead of the lusty nympho from just now.

I was apprehensive about touching it, but this was my only ticket out of here. So I picked it up. The moment I touched it, it flashed again and turned into a beautifully shaped ring. I wasn't sure if it was gold or silver, but it was very shiny nonetheless. On the ring was a beautifully sparkling gem that shined of every color of the rainbow. The word, 'eudaimonia' was inscribed on the ring. For some reason, I felt happy, content and the idea of staying here forever while not exciting me, seems okay.

I was woken from my revelry by a number of slaps on my cheeks, "You have to go, my sweet little lily. Once you arrived in Yenne Velt, give it straight to Mother. She's the only one who can seal it or send it away. Hurry before the cursed thing possess you again."

I looked at mom, suddenly realizing how much I missed her. I gave her a hug. I promised her that I will return. Then I put the ring on my right ring finger and jumped out of the door of which I came from.

----

I opened my eyes as my legs touched solid ground. I hoped that I blinked to the correct place.

"So did you see Sarai?" asked a feminine voice from behind me.

I turned around and sitting on one of the large boulders on the wastelands of the Outer Yenne Velt was Shaina. She's in full Lilin form and she looked much better than the last time I saw her in Lilin form. She has more color in her skin and her actions were more energetic than before. I guess having fed for two days straight have straightened her up.

"Shaina! Were you waiting for me?"

"Well, I just had to know whether you managed to see Sarai. Probably could use some pointers myself. Did Azrael gave you any trouble?"

"Yes, I did see her and Azrael was such a gentleman".

"What?" she said with a frown, "Azrael? Gentleman? Whatever you're smoking, get it away from me."

Then a glint from the ring caught her eye, "Say, what is that?"

I hid it behind me, "You don't want to have anything to do with it. It's dangerous."

"I'll decide if it's dangerous or not! Hand it over!" she yelled.

"No! If you know what this is, you won't even ask to see it!"

"You dare disobey your mistress, you little bitch!" she said as she lunged at me.

"Stop! Shaina, this is not you! Amphillogiai has possessed you. Ahhh!!! Stop biting my ankle!"

"It's Goddess Stephanie, you disrespectful bitch. Ow ow ow, don't pull my hair!"

"Get away, Shaina! This ring is not for us. I must hand it over to Mother! I said stop biting my ankles!!!"

I gave her a swift kick on the head with my other leg, expanded my wings and flew away to Vanity Meadows with her hot on my trail.

======

From Wiki: Katar, also known as a Bundi dagger, is a type of short punching sword that is native to the Indian subcontinent and popular elsewhere for swift and quick attacks.
Kratos: From the Greek word, krá¡tos, meaning strength.

Adela looked straight at me and her eyes glowed yellow again. If I was not in pain, I would've made a joke about how much it resembled a pair of traffic lights. It took less than a minute for the stump on my right shoulder to collect enough mass eventually forming a solid arm. Flexing my arms and fingers, I was pleased that it worked just as well as before.

Chapter 14

Shaina caught up to me right before I entered the skies of Vanity Meadows. Her experience evident as she proved that she was a better flier and tried to bring me down by punch, kicks, scratches and bites.. I fought tooth and nail, with everything I got but due to my vow with her, I wasn't able to deal any real damage on her. The same restriction didn't seem to apply to her though.

I could've sworn that she tried and almost succeeded in tearing and ripping off my wings several times. We continued wrestling in the air until we fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes. That really hurt. We ended up just lying there from both pain and exhaustion.

"What's going on here?!!!" exclaimed a voice from above my head.

Shaina and I tried to get up to see who it was, a feat made almost impossible as she made another attempt at slipping the ring off of my finger. I managed to kicked Shaina away when she got distracted by another glint from the ring. She rolled on the grass a few times, snarled and rushed at me with wings fully spread. My right fist connected with her cheek and again she rolled away on the ground.

"Enough!" said the same voice.

Shaina again got up right away but seemingly more behaved now. She and I looked at the owner of the voice at the same time. I thought I have seen her before while Shaina definitely knew her judging from her "Damn!"

"Milen! Wh... what are you doing here?" Milen! That's right. She's the one sitting to the left of Mother's throne. She's one of the three Lilim who were closest to Mother.

"Why shouldn't I be here? This is my home. Has been my home for the last 4000 years. Now, I asked you a question. If I don't like the answer, you'll both suffer and you know I don't make empty threats, Shaina."

I saw Shaina tense as she rightly should. Milen (pronounced Mil-lend) was a Lili even older than Delilah, Mom's best friend. She must've had so much knowledge, much power to bear in giving us a hard time. She's also a unicorne, judging from the lack of horns visible from my sight angle which suggested that she got a single horn at the back of her head, like Mom's third horn.

Shaina stuttered, apparently unable to find an excuse for her childish behavior. As the sound of Milen's foot tapping on the soft ground become louder, I can sense her anxiety increase. In the end, after glancing at Amphillogiai/Eudaimonia a few times, she simply said, "It's her fault!"

Milen's only response was encasing Shaina's body in a block of ice. Shaina's shocked expression at such a response was clear for all to see. Milen turned to me and said, "I expect a better answer from you or there will be two blocks of ice in Vanity Meadows today."

I glanced briefly at the block of ice that contains Shaina. Somehow, I could sense Shaina's eyes switching back and forth between me and Milen a few times. With great hesitation, I said, "I want to see Mother, Milen."

When Milen didn't show any reaction, I continued, "I have just received a sinister artifact that needs to be sealed. I was told that only Mother can seal it properly and that's why I need to see her. The artifact charmed Shaina earlier and made her fight me for it."

Milen's voice was neutral when she said, "Show it to me."

I placed my fingers under her gaze. Milen grabbed my wrist, turned it around as she scrutinized the ring. Satisfied, she let go of my wrist and said, "Eudaimonia, blessed happiness. A disguise for the fools. I know its true name, I have used it before. Come then, Mother will know what to do with it."

As she turned to leave, I couldn't help but ask, "Are we going to leave her like this?"

Milen responded with a glare that withered my confidence, almost bringing me to the point of tears. Then I heard a sound of something cracking. I turned toward the sound and saw the block of ice crack and fall apart, then Shaina's shivering body fell out of the space vacated by the ice.

Shaina got up with a shiver. She walked up behind us and I barely heard her say... no... more like whispered, "Thanks."

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" I asked.

She grumbled, "You heard me. Don't make me repeat it."

"No, really. I didn't hear you the first time. Just once more?"

"No!"

"Please, pretty please with cherry on top?"

"Lay of it, Ilyse," she growled.

"Oh please, oh please. Just once more. Please?"

"That's it! I'm gonna kill you!" she screamed as she lunged at me.

"Would you please shut up!" Milen yelled right before she encased us both in a large block of ice.

----

As we walked through Vanity Meadows, I felt eyes on our little party. They weren't even discrete about it. I looked around me and I saw Lilim peering in on us from the clearing, the bushes and the branches. I have a feeling that those Lilim in the sky was watching us as well. Without prompting, Shaina explained that it was very rare for any Lilim to be escorted by Mother's retinue. The only times when they appear would either be when something very important was happening or in the case where a disciplinable offense has been committed.

Our little party continued walking toward the center of Vanity Meadows. I was trying very hard to ignore the curious stares from the other Lilim. Finally, we reached Mother's throne. Mother was sitting cross-legged leaning on her right side with her right hand patting the head of the Lili sitting to the right of her throne. Ohh, what was her name? Adela being Adela was standing behind Mother's throne looking down on us with indifference, like always. Milen on the other hand left our group to take her place on Mother's left side. I was curious to see that Mother was the only one of the group without wings.

"Milen said you wanted to ask me for something? Mother said. Apparently they have conversed telepathically on our way here.

For some reason, that pissed me off. I didn't appreciate being intercepted or back stabbed. It was my problem and I was supposed to present it to Mother myself!

As my rage boiled to the surface, I stared at Mother straight in the eyes while my fingers tingled with an aching need to strangle someone's neck, my nails itched for someones hide and my throat hunger's for blood.

"Milen! How dare you go behind my back!" I cried to the astonishment of Adela and the other Lili. I became more pissed off when Mother didn't give me any response other than a raised brow while Milen showed no reaction at all.

The other Lili, the one with three horns that swept back neatly from the top and the sides of her head quickly recovered and raised her arms. Then she dropped her fingers and a great pressure pushed me to the ground. "On your knees, sister. I, Beata will teach you manners."

Her gloating face only stroked the raging flames in my soul. I looked at her with great contempt and gained some satisfaction in seeing her recoil slightly. Mother made an amused expression while Adela's was one of disapproval. Milen gave me a look of pity and that pissed me off even further.

Despite the great pressure on my shoulders, I slowly got up from my kneeling position with the aid of the staff which curiously appeared in my hands. It was hard, trying to fight a tricorne's magic. Eventually though with the staff's help, I was able to push myself to stand upright in front of them. I held tight the hilt of the sword with my right hand as my eyes shot daggers at all four of them. Slowly, I felt the magic lose its power and finally break. It was satisfying to see the look of shock on Beata's face.

I gave Beata a look that implied gruesome murder, then I turned my gaze to Mother's curious face. Raising my right hand with the sword in my grasp, I cried, "Mother! I demand..."

PAIN! The sight and feel of my exploding arm cut my voice in mid sentence. My sight went blurry as my right arm disintegrated in front of my own eyes while I was being thrown back, away from them by an overwhelming force similar to the one that pressed me down just before. I tried to get up, but my legs gave no response. Looking down, I spotted the problem. My legs up to my thighs were covered in ice!

With pain in my arms, a numbing coldness in my legs and tears in my eyes, I looked at the four people on the dais. Adela was staring at me intently, her eyes slowly stopped glowing. Beata had one of her arms stretched pointing at me while Milen's eyes continued to glow blue instead of the usual yellow. Mother however was looking at me in sympathy. I wondered if I looked pitiful now, with an arm missing and legs encased in ice. I realized that it didn't matter. I realized that I hoped someone would pity me and help me.

"Mother..." I whimpered, imploring Mother to help me.

She nodded and without turning her head, she said, "Adela, give her back her hand".

Adela's head turned so quickly that I imagined she must've given herself quite a neck pain.

After a minute's pause, Mother repeated her command without looking back.

Adela looked straight at me and her eyes glowed yellow again. If I was not in pain, I would've made a joke about how much it resembled a pair of traffic lights. It took less than a minute for the stump on my right shoulder to collect enough mass eventually forming a solid arm. Flexing my arms and fingers, I was pleased that it worked just as well as before.

Now what was left is my legs. So I turned to Milen and pleaded her to get rid of the ice.

I saw the blue glow in her eyes dimmed until finally she blinked her eyes and the ice around my legs cracked and fell apart. I breathe a sigh of relief and gladly stretched my legs. Beaming, I looked up at Mother only to recoil in horror at her expression. Where before, her expression was of pity, now it was of coldness which gave me chills that Milen's block of ice failed to create.

"You demand what, child?" she said, the coldness in her voice matching the one on her face.

I stammered a reply. I couldn't even understand the pure gibbers that I myself sputtered.

"Do not lie to me, child. You can't possibly hope to hide anything from me. You are mine. In front of me, your soul, your thoughts is like an open book."

"There's nothing I need, Mother," I said with a stutter, my body trembling without me knowing why.

Mother fixed me a cold stare as she raised her hand. I thought she was about to strike me down but instead, he hands just stayed at its position. I was surprised when the standing Adela suddenly blinked only to appear right in front of Mother. She had blinked into a kneeling position, one leg upright, her right hand gently supporting Mother's hand while her lips brushing against Mother's fingers. The single horn that looked like a large nail jutted from the top of her head and sweep back with the tip at the same level as her pointy ears. I have never seen Lilim with pointy ears before.

"Maybe you have not heard of Adela yet," Mother said, "she has a very efficient method of interrogation. She can strip your mind piece by piece and spread it in front of your own eyes for easy perusal. Would you like her to do that?"

Beata didn't even bother hiding her snickers. Milen was looking rather curious hearing that.

Adela who was still on her knees, glanced at me and turned around. Then inside my head, I heard a feminine, but rough voice, the kind of voice you'd expect to hear from a woman with a sore throat.

Speak or I shall enjoy breaking your mind apart. Choose wisely.

----

The damned longhorn didn't even give me time to think it over. The moment she finished her words, she plunged into my mind and proceeded to strip me of my fondest as well as worst memories. The memories of Mom's death, my graduation, prom night (or lack of it), the night that I lost my virginity as well as my first kiss (not the one with Chris) swam in front of me. She didn't even have to go that far in the past.

"So... you demand to be free?" Mother asked, somewhat more amused than before.

By now, the feeling of fear has subsided greatly. I was slightly annoyed that they found out about it before I was ready to tell her. Adela's very invasive technique wasn't much of a mood-lifter either. "Actually, I'm here for something else entirely, Mother."

Instead of replying me, Mother totally ignored me. "Do you stand by this, Shaina?"

I have totally forgotten about Shaina! I turned around and saw her cowering behind a tree. That little bitch must've been hiding the whole time. What kind of mistress would do that?

"I have nothing to do with her decision, Mother. I have never encouraged her through this line of thought," she said. What a nice mistress she was to let me face this alone.

"Well then..." Mother's word was punctuated by a flaming projectile that fell a few feet in front of her throne. The projectile turned out to be a burning Lili. Milen immediately extinguished the flames and we saw that she was covered in scorch marks and nasty burns. She appeared to be merely unconscious, though at first I suspected that she was dead. By Beata's hand gestures, I suspect that she was the one who deflected the flaming projectile from hitting Mother. Suddenly I started to notice noises of screams, taunts and cries of pain as well as an uncountable amount of explosions around and above us.

"WHAT IS ALL THESE RUCKUS!" Mother boomed as a few more Lilim fell from the sky. Some were in flames, some were covered in ice while some were without limbs.

The Half-Lilin Chapter 15 by Shin Eris

Author's Note: The latest chapter of The Half-Lilin. I know it has been so long since the last chapter. No excuses, but I would like to mention that I've edited the previous chapters and two chapters has been extensively modified. I'm talking about the chapter where Ilyse was in Ashmedan and the one where Ilyse was in Tartarus. Anyway, here's a sneak peek of this chapter:

"Well, not really. It was fun, but it's really degrading," I said, suddenly uncertain of what to say, "No... yes... I really hate doing that, Mother. Please don't ask me to do that again."

"Tough. You're stuck with that job for the rest of your long, demonic life. If you decide to kill yourself, I'll just resurrect you. We can do this over and over again, resurrecting you won't even make a tiniest dent on my powers."

"But Mother!" I said, realizing that I sounded a bit like a petulant child.

"Unless..." she looked a thoughtful as she gazed at the red sky. She made a gesture with her fingers and I heard a faraway scream from above.

---

Chapter 15

Mother looking furious, got up from her throne and strode over to the first Lili that fell from the sky. Grabbing her by the scruff of her neck (or whatever's left of it), Mother hoisted her up, their eyes on the same level. Then she proceeded to shake the Lili's body violently.

"Wake up, girl," Mother said as the Lili's body was shaken even more, "Wake up, you're going to answer my question right now!"

Seeing that she still didn't stir, Mother paused, just before a pinkish glow enveloped Mother's body. Without any hesitation, she trasfered the pinkish glow to the Lili's body in one violent blast. The Lili's body jerked and her eyes opened as the pinkish glow washed over her body. She yelped at seeing Mother's face so close to hers. Despite her increasing panic though, I sensed that she was also very confused.

"I want an explanation, Deianeira. Why are you fighting each other within the boundaries of Yenne Velt?" she said in a monotone that hinted at something much more dangerous than a simple indifference.

The still confused Deianeira replied with, "I... I don't know, Mother."

"How can you not know why you're fighting?" Mother said, shaking Deianeira's body again, "Am I raising a bunch of imbeciles here?"

"Please, Mother. I really don't know," Deianeira's head shook, tossing her long brown hair about as her eyes filled with tears. "Please let me go."

"Bah! You're no use," Mother said as she threw Deianeira to the ground.

As the booms got louder and more frequent, I looked to the sky and noticed a pattern. It seemed that wherever the fighting occurs, it will only occur there. If the battle raged on the ground, every Lilim will converge on that point. If the battle moved to the air, there would be a huge cluster of Lilim fighting each other with no apparent allies or foes. One Lili even considered everyone, even herself as as foe and blasted a huge fireball into the cluster, causing a huge chunk to fall off as a fiery rain of flaming Lilim. I have never seen so many Lilim, not even in Vanity Meadows. There must be hundreds, if not thousands of them fighting each other.

What's going on?

Mother walked back to the dais and plopped onto her throne. She settled into a comfortable position and simply said, "Adela."

Adela nodded to Mother, spread her arms and fingers as her eyes glowed again. Suddenly an overwhelming feeling of loss came over me, as if an important part of myself was wrenched away from me. The effect on the other Lilim was even more dramatic.

They simply stopped fighting and all the spells that were already present in the air simply vanished as if swallowed by the very air itself. I noticed some of the Lilim were making multiple failed attempts at casting spells.

Grand Null, works everytime.

Briefly, I wondered why Adela didn't just speak like a normal person. Having someone speak directly to my brain felt really creepy. Adela must've not went out much.

The peace didn't last long though. Realizing they have lost the advantage of magic, they proceeded to fight with their teeth, horns, bare hands, talons, tails as well as weapons that magically appeared in their hands.

Then I heard an almost silent scream from Mother's direction. It was the kind of sound that most people barely hear because it was at a much higher frequency than their ears could catch, so they wouldn't be able to hear it, only sense. At the same time, I heard a very audible sound of bones breaking and partial screams.

The Lilim flying seemed to have lost their body coordination as they flew right into each other at double speed, overestimated their turn angle thus hitting the Lilim flying next to them. Some flew too high eventually disappearing into the red sky while some flew too low causing them to hit the ground at breakneck speed, literally.

Looking at Mother, I wondered if she was the one causing it. She was still sitting crosslegged on her throne with her left arm vertical on the armrest supporting her head. I saw no indication of Mother doing anything, though I wouldn't say that I knew the extent of Mother's power. She could've done all that with a mere glance for all I know.

On the other hand, I noticed Beata closing her mouth and rubbing her jaw. Suspicious!

The rain of Lilim bodies was unsettling and could potentially be downright unpleasant if Beata didn't make an effort to deflect the falling bodies. I didn't think it was even an effort for her as she was swatting them left and right while looking bored the whole time. I imagined it must've been like playing table tennis with a child to her.

Once Beata was done with all the swatting, Milen stepped forward and her yellow slits glowed blue again as she raised both of her arms forward. Then Beata stepped behind Milen and reached around to join her hands on Milen's midriff where her bellybutton would've been, if she had a bellybutton. I noticed that none of the Lilim had a bellybutton with the exception of Adela, since all Lilim were created, not borned. Adela's such a freak.

I'm hearing you loud and clear, little sister. Want me to cancel your existence?

Err... oops. I didn't mean anything, Adela. Just a stray thought. Sorree.

For your information, True Lilim were borned from Mother's own womb. Think along those lines again and I'll make sure you don't even have time to regret thinking about it next time.

I hoped she wasn't serious.

By the time our telepathic conversation ended, the blue glow in Milen's eyes had intensified. At the same time, I noticed the temperature around me dropped drastically making me shiver slightly. Without warning, I was wrenched upward.

I was about to struggle free, thinking that maybe some of the Lilim wanted to continue brawling until I saw that it was only Shaina. She had her arms wrapped around me, holding me under my bustline with a panicked look on her face.

"They're mad, they're all mad!"

"What are you talking about?" I asked as we climbed further in altitude.

"Don't you see? Milen's going to freeze the entire Inner Yenne Velt!"

I was horrified. "Can she actually do that?"

"Not on her own, but with Beata's power, she definitely can. So I'm not staying anywhere close to the ground," she huffed as we went higher and higher.

I glanced down and said, "But don't you think we've flown much too far up already?" The lack of detail on the scenery below was a huge giveaway.

I felt her shift behind me and then heard her whisper, "You're right. We couldn't have been going this... oh no..."

"What? What?" I asked as I started to catch the panic virus.

"I forgot that we're under the effect of Great Echo! It doubles the effect of all physical actions."

"Is that bad?"

"Of course it is! We're flying upward at double my max speed and thanks to that curse, I won't be able to control our direction if I made a turn and stop. At this rate, we'll fly straight into the Cloud of Lost Souls in two minutes!"

"I assume we don't want to do that?"

"We definitely don't want to do that," she said. Then she asked if I knew how to cast Null Field and groaned when I said that I had no idea what a Null Field was in the first place. Then she told me to channel to her my powers so that she would be able to cast Purge on us without plummeting to the ground.

I didn't think I'd want to find out what would happen if we reached the Cloud of Lost Souls. So I immediately followed her directions and slowly channeled my energies. From my heart, through my mind, through my arms and into her heart my power flowed. Then she casted Purge on us.

I felt a slight disorientation from the single pulse of electrical discharge washing over us. Not ten seconds after, we stopped rising. That was the good news. The bad news was, we started falling. Then we started falling at a very fast speed.

"Why are we falling?" I asked in a slightly hysterical tone.

"Umm, I forgot one tiny detail," she said. Her words barely heard.

"And that is?" I said with a slight yell after noticing that she couldn't hear me well.

"My wings are numb," she deadpanned. I couldn't help but laugh at the way she said it.

She snapped, "Not funny! We'll hit the cold hard icy floor of Yenne Velt if we continue falling."

"Don't you dare scold me. Who got us into this mess in the first place?"

"Oh, so I made a slight miscalculation with Purge and now it's all my fault? I'm never going to bother saving your sorry ass again!"

"You suck," I said in reply.

"You suck worse," she countered.

"Total slander! I can bring a hundred men who would testify that I suck good."

I noticed Shaina opening her mouth as if to spout a retort but then she closed it before opening it again to say, "Can you use your wings?"

I raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Turning around to face her, I flexed my shoulder muscles to spread my wings. I found that something was dead wrong.

"My wings are numb too."

She looked at me somberly, "The effects of Purge should last for a few minutes. Let's just hope that we're still in the air when it ends."

"This is all your fault!" I said as I shoved her sternum, "I'd much rather be frozen than going 'splat'!"

"Stop blaming me! You were only frozen for seconds just now. I was frozen for a full week once and it was NOT pleasant! My pussy was numb and had icicles in it."

"You had icicles in your cunt?" The moment I started, I just knew that I wouldn't stop laughing.

"Oh yes, please continue laughing. I hope you die in happiness and joy," she said drily.

"I'm taking whatever little pleasures I can get, Shaina," I started laughing again, "I'd rather die laughing than screaming."

"Have more faith in me, would you? Besides, Mother won't let us die. We'll just suffer agonizing pain for awhile."

"Well, we're still falling. Unless you can stop our descent, you remain useless to me, mistress." I added that last word for extra effect.

"Ouch, you have no idea how much those words hurt, girl." Nice comeback.

For a few seconds, we were silent and a thought crossed my mind. I tested it without telling Shaina and to my dismay, it didn't work. I turned to Shaina and said, "Hey, I can't blink away."

"We're still under the effects of Grand Null. It's time specific and Purge can't cancel it. Under the influence of Grand Null, we can't cast any spells other than Purge and Null Field."

"Why then did Great Echo affect us?"

"Great Echo was not a spell. It's a force. Only spells are affected by Grand Null. Didn't you notice that the Lilim brawling above us were still able to elongate their nails and call on their contracts?"

"Fine, do something similar to Great Echo then. Anything to stop us from falling!"

She looked exasperated, "Beata's about 2500 years old, you can't expect me to... wait, you just gave me an idea," she said as she told me to hold tight.

When she spread her arms, I hugged her waist tighter thinking that she was abandoning me to save herself. Then I got my breath knocked out of me as we both said, "Ooph!" at the same time. I thought she failed and we had already smashed onto the ground. Then I noticed the lack of dismemberment on our part. We were also still in the air.

"Sorry, I made the air too dense," she said, her breathing heavy, "Sarai taught me this technique before, but I've never used it. We both share an affinity with air."

"Mom taught you this technique?" I said, glad that I didn't have to yell anymore to be heard.

"Yes, she was my mentor and she was... hey, what's with the face? Okay fine, I neglected to tell you that earlier. I was genuinely sad when she decided to die. You know, you and me, we used to play together when we were children. I know you don't remember..." she said as we fell at a more leisurely and comfortable speed, just like a feather.

"You were the girl with pigtails and lots of freckles?"

Astonished, she said, "So you do remember!"

"Barely, your family moved away when I was nine, if I recall correctly."

"To Beachwood Canyon. I landed a role in 'A Great Life' as Little Mandy, as well as bagged some commercial offers. Can you imagine that my first commercial after moving to LA was to promote chewing gum? My mum was adamant in having a paramedic present for the entire shoot."

"Hehe, I used to watch 'A Great Life', but eventually got bored and stopped watching. The serial was too freaking long."

She shrugged. "It kept me in the business and not to mention popular for three years, so I won't complain," then she appeared deep in thought, "Have you always known about me?"

"Not at first. Every time I saw your face on the screen or posters, I thought you looked familiar, but I dismissed it as just wishful thinking. When you came to my house the first time, the feeling was stronger, though I still couldn't place where I might've seen you. Then at the cafe, I thought, 'oh of course I've seen her, she's Stephanie Mills'. When you shoved me into Yetzirah and I managed to clear the fog inside my brain, I finally matched your Starbucks face with that of my childhood friend."

"Glamour, never leave home without it," she said with a grin, "I wasn't wearing my glamour when we met at Starbucks, so you had it easy."

"Glamour?"

"My disguise, I needed it to appear perfect."

Finally I understood why she looked so flawless. "You damned cheater! You put an illusion on everyone!"

"If you got it, flaunt it," she replied with a giggle.

Her giggling was infectious. Soon enough, I found myself giggling and laughing along with her.

"To think that I used to choke my chicken to your posters," I said with a short giggle.

"Choke your what?"

"GET DOWN HERE ALREADY!" came Beata's voice from below.

I didn't realize that we have gotten close to the ground already. As Shaina predicted, the entire Inner Yenne Velt was covered in ice, making the place looked a bit like Antarctica. Well except for Mother's dais, it looked as warm as ever. I'd rather not think about all those Lilim caught under the ice.

"I SAID GET DOWN!" cried Beata again as she violently jerked her hand downwards, causing me and Shaina to fall to the ground at breakneck speed. So when we fell to the ground less than a second later, we fell hard, very hard. It was a good thing that a Lilin body healed fast.

I got up slowly, silently thanking Shaina for cushioning my fall. It was nice of her to offer her body to lessen the impact on me, though I doubt it was voluntary. Shaina was out cold, I imagined she must've had chronic concussions and multiple broken bones.

"Ilyse..." I heard Mother say. Looking up at her, I noticed that she was holding a golden apple. On the apple was the word 'Kallisti'.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" she asked, noticing me fix my eyes on the apple.

While balancing the golden apple on her forefinger, she said, "Fascinating how such a small thing can give you the power to break Beata's spell or gather enough guts to defy me, not to mention turn hundreds of Lilim against each other. Interesting how such a power wasn't diminished even the slightest when it got three greek goddesses to quarrel among each other, how it with just a little nudging caused one of the largest and longest military campaign in the ancient world."

I was confused as I have never seen that golden apple before. My confusion must've showed on my face as Mother then said, "You don't recognize this? How about this?" Mother said at the same time the apple turned into a sword with 'Eleutheria' inscribed on it. "Recognize this?" another flash and it turned into a staff (Kratos), "Or this?" again, a bright flash and it turned into a ring. It turned into Eudaimonia.

I gasped as I now recognized what it actually was. "Amphillogiai!" I cried as the artifact cycled into hundreds different forms, each with a bright flash.

"Correct. I won't bother asking you why Eris gave you this toy. I don't want to waste time finding out Eris' motivations... here, take it back," Mother said as she threw Amphillogiai/Eudaimonia at me.

I caught the ring by reflex, then abruptly let it drop to the icy ground. I didn't want to be controlled by Amphillogiai again. I immediately noticed Beata's snicker through my peripheral vision.

"Don't worry, child. I have already sealed Amphillogiai's power. It will transform following your desires but will no longer be able to influence nor persuade you. I imagine that Eris will want to take it back after finding out that her favorite child has been sealed. When she does, kick her in the butt for me, will you?"

Without waiting for my reply, she continued with, "But seriously, I simply can't understand what made you think you can run from me."

"Umm, Mother?"

"I mean, what made you think that you can defy me? Asking for freedom, bah!" Mother looked a bit annoyed.

I decided to brave it out while also treading lightly, not knowing what would spark her anger. I have experienced her anger once and I wasn't keen on experiencing it again. "Mother, please, I just don't want to do this anymore."

"Which is another thing that puzzles me. Your sisters would jump at an opportunity to feast on men. Take Beata here for example, you'd love to do whatever I told you to do, don't you girl?" Mother said as she patted Beata's head as if she was a puppy.

Which might've been appropriate, since Beata's reaction was no different from a puppy in love, eager to serve. She cooed as Mother patted her head and said, "Of course, Mother. Anything for you."

"But Mother, they were born into this life. I wasn't. I had a good job, good home and good life back in the human world."

"Which has no meaning as you will always be at the bottom of the ladder. At least as a Lili, you're at the top."

"Top of what, Mother? The food chain? Sorry, but I don't particularly find that very pleasing," I looked at all four of them, then looked down at Shaina who was still out cold, "I don't enjoy feeding on men, Mother."

Milen spoke, "You don't enjoy feeding on men or you don't enjoy feeding on a particular man?"

I felt myself blush, which made me wonder if Lilim were hot-blooded or cold-blooded. "It doesn't matter, fact of the matter is, I hate doing it and I want out. I never asked for this in the first place."

"Careful with what you say, daughter. Is being my child that bad in your eyes? Do you hate me so much?" Mother said with that dangerous monotone voice.

I panicked, this was not going well, "No Mother... I didn't mean... I mean... that was not what I meant. I only hate the feeding part. I will never hate you, Mother. I'll always love you, please don't ever doubt that," I said, doing my best to make it sound all sweet and honey in the process. Strangely enough, the confession felt true for some reason.

"And I love you too, daughter. Do you really hate it that much?"

"Well, not really. It was fun, but it's really degrading," I said, suddenly uncertain of what to say, "No... yes... I really hate doing that, Mother. Please don't ask me to do that again."

"Tough. You're stuck with that job for the rest of your long, demonic life. If you decide to kill yourself, I'll just resurrect you. We can do this over and over again, resurrecting you won't even make a tiniest dent on my powers."

"But Mother!" I said, realizing that I sounded a bit like a petulant child.

"Unless..." she looked thoughtful as she gazed at the red sky. She made a gesture with her fingers and I heard a faraway scream from above.

She suddenly laughed for no reason with her eyes still fixed to the sky. Then she said, "Since I'm in a good mood, I'll make a compromise. I'll let you do whatever you want and I won't force you to feed, but there's a catch."

I felt a lump in my throat. "What's the catch, Mother?"

"Milen."

Milen rose from her seat next to Mother's throne and stared at me. I was wondering if she intended to freeze me when a loud explosion from behind rocked me. I turned around and saw a fairly large sized hole, the size of a small car was made on the icy floor. At first nothing happened, but just as I was about to turn around to face Mother, a slim right hand appeared from the hole. Then another hand came out and I could tell that someone was trying to get out from the ice.

What came out was a two-horned Lili. Her wings were dark brown, her hair brownish and her horns slightly curved downward. Her breasts were smallish, same with her butt. If I was asked to describe her in one word, I'd choose the word 'sporty'. She was covered in ice fragments.

Then Mother said, "That's the catch. You must defeat Dinah a week from now if you want your freedom."

I was still watching this Lili, Dinah, when Mother told me the terms of my freedom. Dinah was confused and it showed on her face. Then she broke into a grin and quickly crossed the length to kneel in front of Mother's throne. She then said that she would be delighted to show Mother how much she had improved since a thousand years ago.

Mother leaned forward a little. "So what do you say, child? Do you accept this agreement? Defeat Dinah for your freedom. Don't bother negotiating. This is final. If you accept this and lose, you will have no other chance, you must serve me unquestioningly."

I was about to tell her that it was unfair when a female voice from behind me echoed my sentiments. "Don't you think that's a little unfair, dear Lilith?"
===========================
Eleutheria = Freedom
Kratos = Power
Eudaimonia = Blessed Happiness
Amphillogiai = Dispute
Kallisti = An apple of discord is a reference to the Golden Apple of Discord which, according to Greek mythology, the goddess Eris (Gr. Ερις, "Strife") said that she would give "to the fairest" at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, sparking a vanity-fueled dispute between Hera, Athena and Aphrodite that eventually led to the Trojan War

*As always, comments are always appreciated. Thanks to Stanman for the editing.

---

"Don't you think that's a little unfair, dear Lilith?" came a voice from behind me. I spun around and came face to face with a green haired angel!

Well, it wasn't really all green. It was just four strips of highlighted hair. The rest of her hair was black. Her wings were covered in black feathers, much like Uriel's, although hers looked much smaller. At full height furled, the top of her wings were only about a foot higher than her head, and she's only about 6 feet tall. Her eyes were the color of electric blue and as she looked down into my eyes, I couldn't help but be drawn into hers...

I was awakened by the snap of Mother's fingers. Only then did I realized how much of myself had been laid bare before this newcomer, how much I have told her just by gazing into her eyes. I swore that I will never be so easy again.

"Naamah," Mother said in a monotone, "How nice of you to drop by. I was wondering when you would show up."

"My dear Lilith, I go where demand is the greatest. Right now, she needs someone to stand up for her."

The angel then pointed her finger at me. I couldn't help but admire how soothing her voice was, how pleasant it was to my ears.

Mother sneered, "Where were you then when your son casted Eternal Torment on her? Her needs back then were much greater than now. You can't possible tell me that you had no knowledge of that, not with that third eye that you stole from Horus."

"How many times do I have to tell you? I won it fair and square. It wasn't my problem if Horus was too proud to admit that I knew more about the universe than he did. And yes, I knew of the events in Ashmedan. But seriously, dear Lilith, do you expect me to jump in and save your daughters every time they get in trouble? Besides, one of your daughters was there too, yet she did nothing but use this poor child for her own fun."

"Heh! Why would this time be different then?"

"As I said, you're being unjust. I can't just watch as an injustice is being committed."

I heard a snort coming from Beata.

"Silence, pup!" Naamah cursed.

I looked at Beata and had to hold in a laugh as I saw her contort her beautiful middle-eastern face as if to say something through her nonexistent mouth. I gotta learn how to do that.

Mother appeared annoyed as she waved her hand in front of Beata's face, magically causing her mouth to appear again. Beata in her gratitude kissed Mother's hand over and over. Eventually, Mother had to push her face away with her other hand.

"DO NOT do that again, Naamah. This is my domain and only I may administer punishments here."

"Apologies, dear Lilith. I believe that I may have lost control for awhile there."

"Say it like you mean it, Naamah. You're the most calm of us all. You did it just to spite me, not because you lost control," Mother accused.

"So you finally admit that you're equal to the rest of us? I thought I'd never see the day," Naamah said with a veiled smile.

"Dream on, soothsayer. I'm better than all three of you combined. I don't think I need to prove it again," Mother answered. Her tone clearly showed that she was insulted at being referred to as equal to... whoever they were talking about.

"So you won't mind if I give her some pointers? To even out the odds?"

"Go ahead. I want to see what the Angel of Fortune Telling can teach her that will help her in a fight. As far as I recall, your fortune telling failed miserably against a decent opponent."

Naamah scowled, finally showing an expression other than 'cool' or 'veiled smile'. "I'm the Angel of Divination, not Fortune Telling!"

"Well, how many of those craps you relayed to those gullible bone readers were actually true?"

Naamah paused. "A fair point, but I am still the Angel of Divination. So... you have no objection to me taking this girl for awhile?"

"Take her. I want to see a good fight," Mother said as she gave us a dismissive wave.

Naamah turned towards me. Her voice pleasant and hypnotic as she told me to hold out my hand. I didn't bother to question why as at that time I felt like I simply had to do it, had to hold out my hand simply because she told me to.

"A little something from Agrat," she said as I felt her deposit something onto my outstretched palm. It felt somewhat warm but the gibberish chatter I soon heard in my mind was really distracting.

Then she turned around and left.

-----

As I was walking alone back to the Inner Gate (Shaina's still out cold in Vanity Meadows with multiple broken bones), I got to thinking about many things. Among other things, I thought about the odds of someone of Mother's rank (or close to) actually helping me. Then I thought about the duel a week from now and got depressed. How will I be able to fight a thousand year old Lili? If I failed, I would never have the chance to be free, so I mustn't fail, but how the heck would I defeat Dinah!

I barely noticed someone calling me until she was just a few steps behind. I turned around and saw a Lili with dark red hair, wings and tail. There were two white stripes on the back of each hands and her three horns swept back and curved up high on her head with its tips close to each other, but not touching.

"You're Delilah, aren't you?" I asked, recalling the image from Mom's memories.

She smiled. "You remember me? Amazing! I think the only time we've met was when you were only a few days old, two days after Mother claimed you."

"Oh no no, I saw you in Mom's... I mean... Sarai's memory. You were awesome during the war against Baphomet."

I noticed her wince, and her smile went dry as she said, "Awesome is not the word I would use to refer to my own actions back then. I was acting like an immature brat. I could've saved more of our sisters if I worked together with them from the start."

"Well, Mom had high praises for your contribution, either way. She said other than you, she wouldn't trust anyone else with her life," I said, recalling how fondly Mom talked of Delilah.

I was glad when she chuckled, "It's pointless now, she's already dead. Speaking of dead, you need to think of some kind of strategy if you want to defeat Dinah. When Mother said 'fight', Dinah translated it as 'fight to the death'. Dinah never did things half way. Although Mother will eventually resurrect you, don't count on her doing it soon."

I grasped her hands in desperation, "Can you help me? It's my only chance for freedom. If I lose this fight, I won't get a second chance."

"Freedom?" she inquired, appearing puzzled, "We are already free. We can do whatever the hell we want, except killing humans unnecessarily."

"No, I mean... free as in free to be myself, free to live my life without other people telling me what to do... you know, that sort of thing," I explained.

"I don't quite understand what you're getting at, but I suppose I may be able to give you a small help." She proceeded to untie the necklace she wore on her neck and put it around my neck. It was a crystal pendant strung on two thin chains of gold. I touched the pendant and noticed a face in the crystal. It was very blurry and I couldn't make out any distinct feature.

"That was once Sarai's. She gave it to me when I wanted to do some experiment in controlling my own powers. I encountered a bit of success but it has become dormant since Sarai's death. You probably would have a better chance at waking him up," she said as she positioned the necklace so that the pendant fit right in between my cleavage. I immediately noticed that my breasts tingled when she did.

"There may be another of Sarai's artifact that you can use. She kept it in her jewelery box since half a century ago. She told me it had rebelled and refused to do her bidding, so she put it there to guard her other jewelery. He probably won't do your bidding either, but it's worth a try."

"Thanks, Delilah. I've been wondering though, how did you escape from the ice?"

I jumped when she suddenly laughed. "Milen needs more than that to keep me tucked inside one of her ice blocks. I've lived far too long to be caught in that spell."

"Well anyway, good luck with the duel. I really do hope that you'll win, 'coz I've already got a bet going with the older girls. So don't disappoint me!" she continued as she turned back to Vanity Meadows.

"Wait, Delilah!" I shouted after her.

She stopped and turned her head to look at me. "Yes?"

"What do I do with this?" I said while raising my left hand, which was glowing blue.

"Oh, that's a message bubble. Just touch any reflective surface with that hand. It can be glass, mirror, water or polished metal. Then you can see and hear the message. Oh before I forget, please do me a favor and take Nediva as your subbie. She was Sarai's last subbie and a true lesbian. She hasn't been feeding since a year before Sarai died, and she needed to be specifically ordered to feed. She wouldn't have anything to do with a man otherwise. You'll actually be helping her by taking her as a subbie."

I didn't know what to say to that. I wasn't really keen on having a personal muffdiver, though the idea did has its appeal.

"If you need me for anything else, come find me in Solitude Garden, near the Mourning Fountain. It's my own little project," she smiled, leaped to the air and flew away.

-----

[Blink]

I opened my eyes the moment I felt fresh air around me. Taking a deep breath, I hid my horns, tucked in my wings and pulled the tail back into me. Then I used my human skin to cover the shrunken demonic features of my body. Looking around, I notice the sun was still high in the sky, above the rows of snow covered roofs of the suburban houses that looked old but friendly. I was back in my hometown of Colorado Springs.

And it was freezing!

Gosh! I have forgotten how cold this place was. I didn't notice it when I was in lilin form, but now in this form and in these clothes, it's really cold! In my lilin form, snow actually made me stronger, but in my human form... urgh. Keys, keys, where did mom put the emergency key? Urgh, it's so cold I can't think. Gotta use magic.

After fumbling for awhile with the locking mechanism, I was finally able to unlock the door (telekinetically) and push myself in. I have forgotten how cold Christmas was in Colorado Springs. I should've prepared proper clothing before dropping my lilin form. I was wearing my normal skimpy lilin clothing when I blinked here.

I closed the door the moment I was inside. Locking it, I proceeded to the living room area, where an old style brick fireplace was built into its northern wall. Despite the shivering cold, I checked the fireplace and was pleased that there were still a few blocks of wood in it. I had to fumble a bit with snapping my fingers, producing small flames at first until it got bigger. Have you tried snapping your fingers when your teeth were chittering and your body shivering? Not easy. I was very glad when the fire got bigger and stripped out of my clothes, not caring if anyone saw me. I must've made quite a sight, long red hair, kneeling, shivering next to the fireplace and not to mention buck naked. When I realized what I just did, I shuddered, though not from the cold. I simply hoped that dad really hadn't come home yet. That would be really embarrassing. Then I thought since he hadn't known about me being a Lili yet, it might ended up with both of us being embarrassed for a totally different reason.

I knelt there next to fireplace in front of the roaring fire for another half an hour. Then after the chittering stopped, I looked around me and realized for the first time since mom's death how much I missed this place.

I was born here, I was raised here, I went to school in this town. In that corner, right beside the window, there would always be a large pine tree during Christmas. It's empty now. I looked to the ceiling and thought that above there, was the place mom died.

Then I turned around and stared at a particular part of the pine flooring near the entranceway to the kitchen. That was the place where mom taught me how to seduce 'my man' by teaching me how to scrub and wipe the floor in a sexy way. All the time I knew her, she had never used a mop or broom, except for times when we had guests over. She said there was very little that was as good at getting your man riled up for a romp in bed, than to see you wiggling your butt while on all fours wiping the floor with a damp cloth. I didn't understand it then, but now I knew why she wanted to teach me that while she was still alive.

After I felt somewhat warmer, I dismissed my skimpy clothing and used ether to create a warm clothing for myself. Then I got up and walked to the kitchen. I looked at the marble island in the middle of the kitchen and was saddened by how empty it felt. Mom loved to cook. She taught me and Tell how to cook our favorite dishes, how to make neat cuts and how to clean things after we were done.

Actually, her idea of cleaning was actually to clean things while you're cooking, instead of waiting until after you've had your meals. The difference was amazing as I no longer felt the extreme laziness that I used to have if I washed the dishes after the meals. The only exception was when there were particularly tough burn marks which had to be soaked for awhile. This was also the place where she taught me how to seduce 'my man' through 'sexy cooking'. Suddenly I noticed how many of her 'lessons' were actually about grooming me to be a traditional housewife, only much more sexy and seductive.

I got annoyed at the thought, so I left the kitchen and went upstairs through the staircase in the living room's entranceway. As I stepped onto the second floor, I noticed that there was a puddle at the top of the stairs and wondered if the roof had leaked. Then I looked at my surroundings. I was in a corridor with the staircase behind me. My room was in front, Tell's bedroom on the right and mom's room on the left. Dad used to sleep with mom before she died.

Although I knew I should've went straight to mom's room, I couldn't help but pay a visit to my old room that I haven't seen for months now. My door was not locked, so I had no problem entering it. I pushed in and was overwhelmed by all the childhood memories that I have left behind. There was the bed of which I slept on since I was 8 (me and Little Tell slept in mom and dad's room before that, which was probably the reason why they didn't have another kid). There was the old computer I used to play Baldur's Gate and Age of Empires on. My gaze fell onto the medal hanging on the wall. That was the medal we got for winning the championship. After that last game was over, Chris followed it by delivering a strong fist into the opponent striker's guts, out of blind jealousy, I suspect. I stayed away from Chris after that day.

I closed the door to my room and walked the short length to mom's. When I opened the door, which wasn't locked, I could've sworn that I could smell mom in there. Lavender has always been her signature scent and I could still smell it in this room, even months after she was gone.

Fighting back the tears, I walked in and started to focus on finding the jewelery box. I went straight to her vanity, which I assumed would be the most common place people put their jewelery box in. Not finding anything, I went to check in her closet. I took a few minutes rubbing her clothes with my hands and crying into mom's blouse. I cried for awhile there, until my tears dried. I know, I can see mom anytime I want, but it's not the same as seeing her alive. She may have the same memories, but she is now no longer my loving mom, she is now Sarai the Lili. Composing myself, I started to turn the folded clothes around and shifting the hanging clothes. Nothing. I checked some other places, including dad's closet. Yet, it was nowhere to be seen.

I sat on the bed and started thinking. Then I decided that it was stupid to search aimlessly. While this house isn't as large as those posh houses in LA, it's still larger than I can manage. I weighed my options and decided to call Tell to ask if she knew where mom put it. I had thought of asking mom herself, but I didn't think that Uriel would let me leave as easily as last time. Mind you, last time was pretty hard too.

I went to the living room and dialed Tell's cellphone. She picked up after the second ring, "Hello," she said.

"Tell?"

"Who's this?" she asked.

"It's me, Rick."

"Which Rick?"

"Your brother Rick. How many other Ricks that you know will call you from our old home?"

"Ricky? You sound... different," she said, her tone suggested that she didn't believe me.

I mentally hit myself. I have forgotten that I was still in female form. It seemed like I was really getting used to being a girl.

"Yea, probably caused by the helium. Got some kids asking me to help blow their balloons just now," I said after adjusting my voice to sound more like the male me. My body was still female though, but I didn't think that she would mind.

"OK... why didn't you tell me that you're going back home? I would've went with you. We promised to celebrate Christmas together, remember?" she sounded hurt.

"Sorry, something came up. Hey listen, do you know where mom put her jewelery box?"

"Maybe... what are you planning to do with it?" she asked guardedly.

"I need to get something from the box. I've been looking around the house but couldn't find it."

There was a pause. After awhile, I said into the mouthpiece, "Tell, you still there?"

"What do you want to do with it?"

"I need something from the box."

She shot me a, "Are you broke?"

"Eh? What brought that up?" I said, as I was caught completely off-guard by her remark.

"Are you looking for the jewelery box because you want some quick cash?" she asked, her voice cold.

"I'm NOT broke," I said, trying to control my temper. I wasn't sure if I could maintain this voice if I got mad. "I just need something from that box. I don't know exactly what it is. Maybe a ring, or a necklace or even a FREAKING letter opener! I'll know it when I see it!"

Now, I was normally a calm person, but her accusing me of wanting to sell mom's jewelery was really too much.

Another pause, before she said, "It's with me. Dad gave it to me before he went away. I take it everywhere I go."

"So it's in LA?" I asked, by now my temper has subsided and I was quite embarrassed at myself.

"Yes, are you going to spend Christmas in Colorado?"

"No, I'll be there shortly," I said as I put down the phone.

-----

I slowly worked the door's lock with my mind. Just a few minutes back, I had blinked to the deserted back lane of my apartment after switching back to Patrick-form in my parents' house. Only as I was standing in front of the door to my apartment did I realize that I didn't have the key. See, my keys were in my pants, and I didn't wear any kind of pants when I left for Yetzirah. Well, except for panties, or whatever the lilim call that thing they always wore.

I heard the satisfying 'click' and opened the door, only to come face to face with my startled sister. She looked like she was going out, dressing like she was and with her right hand grabbing the knob on the other side.

"I thought you're in Colorado?"

"I was, I just got back," I said as I pushed myself in.

"Colorado's not in California," she countered in a suspicious tone.

"So?"

Her suspicion mounted. "You came here less than 10 minutes after hanging up and you were in Colorado Springs when you called."

I was like, 'oh shit' when it hit me. I have forgotten that even speeding all the way in my car, it would take me at least 16 hours to cross the distance. Add to the fact that the roads in and out of Colorado Springs were always snowy and sometimes closed, there was absolutely no way I would arrive in 10 minutes. Heck, I couldn't even reach Hollywood from here in just 10 minutes!

So instead of thinking of some bizarre way that it might've happen, I just gave up and said, "Look, I can't explain it now. I'm in a hurry and I need to see mom's jewelery box."

It made me really uncomfortable when she scrutinized my face with her suspicious expression. I was glad when she stopped doing that. "Fine, come to my room, I don't want to carry it all the way here."

So I followed her into the guest room. She rummaged around in the closet and came out with a travel bag the size of Jupiter. She unlocked the small padlock and then she pushed the bag to me.

"It's in here?" I asked, to which she nodded.

So I popped it open and was greeted with many similar-looking velvet boxes. I took one, opened it, got the shock of my life, opened another, and almost got a heart attack. "What the hell's this?" I yelled.

"That, my dear brother, are mom's jewelery," she said in a smug look. Apparently watching me get a shock of my life was good enough to make her perky.

"Yeah, but the whole bag?"

"Mom had a lot of jewelery."

"Geez, you could've opened a freaking jewelery outlet with all these... not that I'm suggesting that, by the way," I said, as I watched her face turn from jovial to angry.

"I will not sell mom's jewelery! I won't let any snobby middle-aged socialite get their hands on mom's prized jewelery."

I took out each of the jewelery boxes out of the bag, having gotten over the initial shock. "Don't worry, Little Tell. I'm not going to sell it. But you really shouldn't be carrying all these around."

She crossed her arms under her breasts, which I noticed was about the same size as mine... in lilin form, I mean. "I know, I was going to put them in a safety deposit box in Switzerland after new year."

"What's wrong with putting it in LA's banks?" I asked, taking out another box and opening it. It was an amazing piece. A ruby necklace with a ruby encrusted pendant. The box felt really heavy, which made me suspect that this was a purer gold than the other ones. There was also a pair of matching ruby earrings attached to the neckhole.

She huffed. "Swiss banks don't get robbed. I just need to figure out how to get all these to Switzerland without having the Feds label me as a smuggler or other kinds of dodgy characters."

"We'll find a way, but it's really not safe to keep this here," I said, thinking that it wouldn't be too hard for me to blink straight to Switzerland with the bag. Oh well, one thing at a time.

She merely shrugged. "So, found what you're looking for?"

"Not yet, aren't you going somewhere?" I said, gesturing at her clothes.

"It can wait. I'll be here until you're done," she said as she whipped out her cellphone and telling 'baby' that she might be late.

"Tell, I'm NOT going to sell mom's jewelery," as said, slightly annoyed.

She disengaged her cell after a few mock kisses. "No offense bro, but I won't even trust Jesus with mom's jewelery."

I was slightly annoyed, but pushed her out of my mind. I needed to find this 'artifact' that Delilah spoke of.

But which one?

I looked around me, to the open boxes with necklaces, rings, earrings, bangles, tiaras and brooches. There was even a very expensive looking jewel encrusted silver dagger. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought that mom must've been a princess. Come to think of it, that was probably what Little Tell thought too, which would explain her overprotective attitude towards these jewelery. Probably even thought that she would stand a chance to be a princess as long as she kept the royal seal or something similar near her. The fact that some of them had emblems and coat of arms painted on the cases probably cemented her suspicion.

"Find anything yet?" came her voice.

"Shut up, not yet. Keep quiet."

I repositioned the boxes so that all the jewelery would be facing me. Then I looked at them all real hard. Eventually, I gave up and simply picked each boxes up and touched the jewelery held inside. Tell was looking annoyed all the time, but thankfully stayed away while I ran my hands on the jewelery.

I was running my fingers through a wooden box that was carpeted with silk and containing some expensive looking rings when I heard it. You're not Sarai. It was a deep male voice, and highly accented.

Startled was a mild word and I almost dropped the box. I looked around wildly and called with my mind, asking whoever it was to speak again. I noticed that Tell was looking curiously at me. When I didn't hear anything else I looked down into the wooden box and touched each one in turn.

I heard it again the moment my fingers touched a ruby encrusted gold ring. Over here.

I picked it up and spoke to it with my mind. Are you the one who spoke to me?

Yes. Who might you be? I sensed a large part of Sarai inside you, yet you are not Sarai.

I'm her son, or daughter, most likely a son depending on your point of view. Anyway, my mom's dead.

Dead? Sarai's dead? I can't believe that. She was the most powerful warrior I've ever fought alongside with... Are you sure she's dead?

Yes. I saw her in Purgatory. What's your name?

Florian be my name, and what be of yours, son of Sarai?

Umm, well, I'm not really sure which name you should call me. See, as a human, my name is Patrick while in my lilin body, my name is Ilyse.

You are a lili? I could tell there was a feeling of awe or astonishment in his voice. Oh, I sympathize with you, to be forced to live a double life. It must be hard for you.

Well, I am in a bit of trouble and I need all the help I can get. Delilah said...

Sure, I'll join you in your cause.

Eh?

Somehow, I could detect something resembling a sigh from the ring on my palm. If you want to make it sound official, here goes. I, Florian the Sword, pledge to aid Ilyse, daughter of Sarai, maid of Ingolstadt, for as long as our paths are one.

I was stunned. Is that it?

If you're expecting fireworks, I afraid you will be disappointed.

No, I mean... Delilah told me that you rebelled against mom and refused to do her bidding.

Ah, well, if you were kept in a dark box alone for a hundred years, you'll change your mind too.

It was only half a century.

I beg your pardon?

Delilah said it has only been half a century.

He was silent for awhile but then he said, Well, it sure felt like a hundred years in there.

"So is that what you're looking for?" came Tell's voice which jarred me awake from the telepathic conversation.

I looked at the ring. It was a beautifully sculpted gold ring and as its centrepiece was a shield-shaped ruby with the top carved in the rough shape of a goat. The ruby was flanked by two gold swords on each side.

"Yes, you can put away everything else. This is the only thing I'm looking for," I answered as I put it on my right ring finger after shifting Amphillogiai/Eudaimonia onto my left ring finger. I was very careful not to let my left hand touch the new shiny ring.

I know people put wedding rings on the left finger, but for some reason, putting blessed happiness there makes me happier. It feels right for some reason.

"I never said you can take it, bro."

I was shocked and about to give Little Tell, my dear beloved sister a piece of my mind when I saw her grin. My mood changed instantly and I just laughed at her joke. Then we put back all the jewelery into the travel bag, locked it and put it back into the closet.

"Where are you going anyway?"

"Out. Christmas shopping. By the way, Sue and Lynn will be here later. Come home after you're done with your business. I don't mind how late. And I'm taking the car," she said before shutting the front door.

I was stunned. Did she know I wouldn't be able to join her for Christmas?

Christmas shopping. We were supposed to go Christmas shopping together today. With everything that happened, I had totally forgotten about it. The way she said she didn't mind me coming back late, it was almost like she knew I would be late. That frightened me a little, as unlike other girls who scream and kick when they were mad, Tell's idea of anger involved being reasonable to the point of ridiculousness. Celebrating Christmas together was all she could talk about a week ago and now, she was letting me off the hook. I shuddered to think what would happen once she calmed down.

But first thing's first. I stepped in front of the full length mirror at the back of the living room. It was a cheap standing mirror, a housewarming gift from a college friend that I placed strategically a couple months back to reflect more natural light into my living room. Now it's going to become a supernatural DVD player. I touched the surface of the mirror with my glowing left hand.

Nothing happened at first. I was annoyed as I thought that it was Naamah's idea of a joke by giving me an empty recording. Then I saw the surface of the mirror rippled and when it settled into a smooth surface again, I saw the face of an elderly smiling woman in there. She appeared to be somewhat Mediterranean, with small mouth and lecherous eyes. Her hair, instead of black as was normal with Mediterranean people, was entirely grey. It made her look wise, though not old, as her face was without blemish or wrinkles, and there was an innate joy in her eyes. There was a long red line stretching from the base on her nose to down to each cheeks. She gave me the impression of someone who could do anything and give anything imaginable, and have fun while doing it.

"Hello there," she said with a smile, I was amazed that the mirror could actually produce a voice, "I am Agreat Bat Mahlat. You may call me Agrat if you want, or Aunt Agrat," she made a slight chuckle, "I heard about your little outburst with dear 'ole Lilith and I was very interested with the problem you've discussed."

Then she turned to the left and as if talking to someone, she said, "Hey, what's her name?"

I didn't hear a reply but then she turned her head back to face me. "Ilyse, daughter of Sarai, your mother was an amazing lili. I was a huge fan of her. Not many can claim to single-handedly stop Armageddon. We all thought she was going to bring about the end of the world when she sided with the Antichrist. It was a good thing that she managed to turn herself around and ended up bringing down their organisation from within instead. But enough of that, as a tribute to Sarai's success, I've decided to train you to the point where you would be able to stand toe to toe against Dinah. Don't say 'no', because I don't take 'no' for an answer. Once you've done whatever you need to do there, touch this reflection and I'll summon you here. Don't take too long though, we'll need all the time we can get," she said before the images went static as if it was put on pause.

There was nothing I needed to do really. I thought of spending the next week in training to defeat Dinah, and realized that there was one thing I needed to do.

I need to inform Tell, but how? What am I going to tell her? Will she understand if I tell her the truth? No, she won't. She had never been a black and white person, but she's someone who believes in things she can understand. If I am going to tell her this, I will need to sit with her and talk to her about it. I don't have time for that now.

So I looked outside, spotted a pair of birds, and willed both to come to me. When it landed on my open palms, I crushed it, used the birds' body; blood, feathers and all, infused with my ethereal powers and transformed it into a pair of small ruby and gold hairclip, each with a small pigeon perched on the clips. Lesser Lilith taught me this while I was in Ashmedan last time. It was a technique to create a minor artifact by using a nature spirit instead of a human soul. I knew I couldn't program it much, so I just made it work as a communication method in case she really needed me while I was away. I wasn't sure it would work though as this was the first time I made something like this outside of Ashmedan. Maybe the rules were different out here in Assiah.

I put both hairclips into an old jewelery box (which I made new with my power), wrapped it up with a note and put it under the tree with the other presents. I already bought her a large gift, but I felt I needed to give her this.

Then I touched the mirror and a feeling of euphoria washed over me.

-----

I was in a tunnel of some sort. My head spinning as the walls changed color and pattern, with every color of the spectrum, in every shade from darkness to blinding light. I grabbed my head with both hands, trying unsuccessfully to make the spinning stop. Then it all ended as abruptly as it started and I proceeded to throwing up whatever's left of this morning's brunch onto the dusty black soil.

"Oops! I didn't count on you coming here in your human form. Quick, change to lilin form. Your human form won't last a minute in this place," said a concerned voice.

Despite still being sick and my eyes closed, I blew away my human skin and sucked it into my horns. Immediately, I felt much better than before and as my eyes focused, I saw standing in front of me was the grey haired woman from the mirror. The angel with green stripes in her hair, Naamah, was standing behind her with her eyes closed. Looking at them both, I noticed that Agrat was significantly shorter than Naamah by almost half a foot. I was shocked to see that instead of wings, Agrat had six huge black tentacles emerging from her back. It frightened me a bit as I imagined it must've been as dangerous as those tentacle monsters I've read about, like the Cthullu monster or hentai porn.

"Hello! Took your sweet time getting here, didn't you? Well, we don't have much time. Come here, let me have a look at you," said Agrat.

I walked forward, and stopped when she told me to. She told me to turn around with a hand gesture, and so I turned around, letting her see all of me. As I turned around, I noticed that the land around us is barren and rocky, much like the Plains of the Baked Earth and Outer Yenne Velt. Even the sky was the same shade of red. I wondered if most of Sheol was like this.

It was almost an hour of preening, posing and acrobatic stunts before I became impatient and asked Agrat, "You said I'm wasting time. But isn't this a waste of time? We've spent an hour doing nothing. I need to learn how to beat Dinah, please."

Agrat looked at me as if amused, she cocked her head to the left as if she wasn't expecting me to speak. Then she straightened up and said, "Silly girl. This is a region very deep within Sheol. It's much deeper than Yenne Velt though not deeper than Ashmedan... which I was made aware that you've been in before?"

Then Naamah opened her eyes and spoke in her hypnotic, sage-like voice. "We had to create a new realm to train you as none of the realms we have access to was considered sufficient or suitable for the needs of your training," she paused, twiddling her fingers before she said, "I have made a thorough examination of your body and I noticed an... anomaly. There was nothing wrong with your energy flow, but there was a large and volatile, but perfectly contained... potential inside your soul and you lack the innate and ancestral knowledge of the lilim. I would love to study you further, but I doubt we have time."

Lifting herself to the air using the six tentacles, Agrat came within a foot in front of me and without looking at Naamah said, "You're right, by my calculations, we only have 120 days to train this little one before the day of the duel. Without her innate lilim knowledge, this is going to be very tough."

"Since when has a challenge ever stops you, Agrat? I fondly remember the day you begged Lucifel to give you those extra limbs."

Agrat, using her tentacles moved back to stand next to Naamah. "Anything for more power," she said with a grin, which looked out of place with her grey hair and all.

Naamah tapped her forefinger on her lips, looked straight at me and said in a slightly loud voice, "What do you think, Eisheth?"

Agrat spun her head so fast at Naamah that I imagined I could hear the bones creak. She looked confused at Naamah's words until recognition dawned on her face and she said, "Eisheth! Eisheth Zenunim. Come out now, we know you're here."

"Liar!" came a voice from behind me as I swiftly turned around. The voice was very close, yet I couldn't see anyone.

"If Naamah didn't mention it, you would've never picked it up. By the way, Naamah, have I told you how much I wanted to rip that eye out from your forehead?" Again, I turned around, back to facing Naamah and Agrat, yet I still couldn't see anyone. I noticed that the voice was distinctly whispery and echoey, I imagined the tone and timbre would fit perfectly well in an Addams Family atmosphere as the voice of the family ghost or something.

Naamah replied nonchalantly. "Oh yes, you have. About 9426 times since the Romans turned Christian."

"Well, I'll say it again..."

"Would that voice please stop playing with my mind?" I cried, annoyed at being the only one who couldn't see this voice that sounded so close and almost as if she was at my ears.

"Oh Eisheth, just get out from under there. Show some sympathy for the poor girl. She has went through a lot and will probably die soon."

As soon as Naamah said that last word, I felt my shoulders getting heavier and it wasn't long before I felt fingers on my neck, a pair of arms resting on my shoulders and a pair of legs sliding lower and lower on my back. A smell of decayed roses assaulted my nose. I was almost afraid to look behind me.

"Of course I'm aware of her suffering, Naamah. I know of every single thoughts and knowledges of living creatures..."

"You mean you peeped in on every living creature's thoughts from their shadows," Agrat interjected with a smirk.

I felt the fingers around my neck tightened as Eisheth spoke from behind me, "Clamp your trap, traitor!"

"Traitor? You can't still be pissed about that old dispute now. It happened thousand of years ago. I'm sorry, okay? You went missing, we needed someone to hold that other place."

"Yeah sure. You got Salamanca, she got Damascus and Lilith got Rome. But instead of me, you gave Egypt to your mother, then when your mother died, you gave it to that sea monster Rahab!" The fingers were getting awfully tight around my neck now. I tried to pull at her fingers, to lessen the pressure on my neck but to no avail.

"You went missing! What was I - I mean, we supposed to do?"

"Of course I was missing!" she tightened her fingers again, making me really worried that I might get a broken neck in a few minutes, "I was trapped and sealed by the Levites, yet none of you bothered to find me."

Agrat glanced at Naamah. "Well, I did try to find you..."

"Would you please stop strangling the poor girl? We need her alive, in case you haven't noticed," Naamah interjected.

"Nonsense! She's a lili. I can break her spine, destroy her body and she still won't die. Besides, you must've noticed her 'anomaly', Naamah. Do you really think that a broken neck will kill her?"

Naamah, the cool, collected Naamah looked slightly concerned and said, "If you can just loosen your hold just a little bit... I'm sure..."

"I'll be training her first, and I don't want any disturbance," Eisheth cut in. Her fingers still tight around my neck.

"What?" Agrat objected, "Now, you can't just waltz in here and..."

And then they were gone. I believe we've blinked to another spot in the realm.

"Are you still fighting yourself, Ilyse?" she inquired as she let go of my neck. I was glad that she'd calmed down.

Turning around, while rubbing my neck with my palms, I asked to the cloaked figure, "Do I know you?"

She was somewhat taller, but not by much compared to me and I'm around 5' 8". Wearing something that resembled a cloak, yet made of a kind of smoky material that I couldn't identify, she flitted around like the shadow itself. She had coal black hair for sure (the kind that was so dark and unhealthy looking that it wouldn't reflect any light), but it was hard to make out distinct facial features other than that she had a dark skin. If I hadn't had my neck almost broken in two, I would've think that she was just a figment of my imagination. A hallucination, or childhood nightmare, something that came out from the dark corners of the room and gave little boys and girls a reason to sleep early.

"Not specifically. But I've known you for all your life. You see, my realm is the shadows, and everyone in Assiah have shadows. I am the most intimate friend you will ever have."

"That's unsettling on so many levels..."

"Don't worry about it. I'm not omnipotent, I can't be everywhere at the same time and I only do it for the knowledge. Very rarely did I ever go personally into any one person's shadow. But that's what I'm going to teach you. By the end of the lesson, you'll be as elusive and untouchable as the shadows. I have 40 days to turn you into a competent shadow walker. A bit stretching it, but I'm sure we'll manage. Move back 3 paces."

"Uhh, why?" I asked spontaneously.

She paused, cocked her head to the left and then said in a monotone, "Do it."

I stepped back three paces just as ordered.

"Today, you're going to learn how to reinforce yourself with ether so that you become stronger and faster. It's the primary technique for tricornes but simple enough to be learnt by both unicornes and bicornes. We're going to finish this lesson today, because tomorrow, I'll teach you how to back stab people."

And so starts my training at the hands of the other three Angels of Prostitution.

---

Naamah = One of the Angels of Prostitution. Some traditions also stated that she was the second companion of Adam after Lilith's departure and before Eve's creation. Naamah is said to have engaged, like Lilith, in intercourse with Adam. Naamah is often named as the mother of the demon Asmodai (Asmodeus), the consort of the Lesser Lilith (Lilith and Samael's daughter).

Agrat Bat Mahlat = One of the Angels of Prostitution. Considering Mahlat and Agrat as proper names and bat as "daughter of" (Hebrew), Agrat bat Mahlat means 'Agrat daughter of Mahlat'. Sometimes Agrat is used alone, or with variations (Agrath, Igrat, Iggeret). Iggeret means in Hebrew 'letter or missive' while 'agrah' means 'reward'. Mahathallah, probably the correct spelling of Mahlat means in Hebrew 'deception' or 'illusion'. Therefore, Agrat bat Mahlat could be translated as Agrat 'daughter of illusions', 'bringer of deception' or 'reward for deception'

Eisheth Zenunim = One of the Angels of Prostitution. Not much is known about her except for the story of her being shoved aside during the handing out of territories between Lilith, Naamah and Agrat.
 
 

*Thanks to Stanman for the proofreading. Comments are always appreciated.
 

The fire turned from yellow to blue, then it turned colorless before it turned green and finally black. The heat was so intense that even with Naamah's glyph shield, it felt like I was being scorched from the inside out.

The flames continued to burn for a few more minutes until with a sweep of her hands, it vanished. In its place was a field of scorched earth. "Well, I think we can say for sure that she wasn't there." She dusted off her hands as if a finishing touch.

"If she was there, you would've already turned her into charcoal," Naamah countered. Agrat simply shrugged.

Day 2

"Hit me," she said, suddenly.

"Excuse me?"

"It's a test, to see how well you've learned. Now give me your best shot. You can take as much time to prepare as you like."

I grinned, "I hope you don't regret that too soon."

"Oh please, little girl, a bicorne can't possibly make me worry even a little bit."

Her confidence amazed me. But then again, being one of the four Angels of Prostitution since the beginning of recorded time, she probably had already seen everything. I decided that I'll give her such a shock that she won't ever look down on me again.

With that thought driving me, I slowly channeled my powers to my right fist. Drawing power from deep within my soul, I could feel it traveling through my nerves, veins and arteries. As more power were drawn from myself and my surrounding, I could feel my senses became alive while ethereal energy danced and arced on my skin and around my body. It felt like I was back in Tartarus, still under the influence of Uriel's brew.

It felt wonderful, being able to carry this much power at my fingertips. When it started getting heavy and unwieldy, I thought that it was enough and charged at her. The ball of ethereal energy started to change and eventually turned into a globe of frigid cold air. As I ran, the tail of cold air following the frost orb in my fist left a trail of ice behind me.

I closed my fist around the orb in my hand, crushing it and spreading the icy breeze up to my elbows as I got close. I threw the punch as hard as I could at her and probably could've caused a serious injury, if she didn't block my attack at the very last moment. The impact wave threw me far back away from her. I heaved a satisfied sigh as I saw that she was pushed a step back while half her body was covered in ice. I think maybe one day, a couple of years in the future, I can become something like Milen.

"Pretty good. Don't get too comfortable though, Dinah won't give you the time to prepare," she said as she disappeared and reappeared at the same spot, causing the ice to fall and break on the hard ground.

"Way to go with breaking my mood," I grumbled.

"Oh do cheer up. Today we'll teach you how to do a proper backstabbing."

"Oh, I can back stab. I did that sometimes in high school."

"Funny, aren’t we?" she said as a formless black hand, that appeared to be made of shadow rose up from the ground in front of me holding a plain looking black dagger, "Try it if you can."

I took the dagger, holding it firmly in my right hand and ran toward her. Just as I was about to reach her, I raised my hand and blinked behind her. With a quick footwork, I turned around to attack her spine. Imagine my surprise when I felt a knife in my flank instead.

"That is the weakness of the normal blink, child," she said while pulling the knife out of my side, "you will always face the same direction when you blink." I didn’t even realize exactly when she blinked behind me.

"I just need to turn faster, that's all," I said, flinching while rubbing the stab wound on my flank.

"There is a much faster way. I'm going to teach you Vector Stab."

"The what?"

"... Some people call it Blink Strike."

"Ah."

She pointed a finger to the direction that my back faced. "Let us assume that is north. I want you to stand here and then blink into this circle," she drew a circle on the ground with her right foot, "facing north."

"That's not possible! You said it yourself!"

"No, child, I never said it was impossible. I only said that you will always blink facing the same direction."

I mumbled about how the wording made all the difference.

"You need to change your perspective. Think of everything in the world in the form of mathematical equations."

"Goodness! You're going to give me a lecture on Applied Math?"

"You're really exasperating, you know that? Just do what I tell you to do and we'll see how it goes."

I tried it once, it didn't work. I ended up facing 'south' after I blinked.

"Hard, isn't it? No matter how much you willed yourself to blink north, you will still blink facing south. Well, we don't have time to let you learn it on your own, so I'll give you the secret. Stand facing south like before."

So I stepped forward out of the circle and stood next to her.

"You are familiar with the term latitude and longitude, yes?" I nodded.

"Good, imagine yourself as a globe. Now you're standing still. So you can consider that the direction you're facing is 0 degrees longitude and 0 degrees latitude. Are you with me so far?"

"Yes," I replied.

"Good. Now, the primary principle of Vector Stab is not to magically change the direction, but to twist your body into the desired direction."

I stopped her. "Okay, I lost you there."

She bit her lower lip a little. "Okay, imagine you're standing still. In front of you, a very angry beast is preparing to strike. Now, you know you can outrun this beast, but not if you have to run backwards. So, you slowly twist your right foot so that the toes point to your right and slightly to the back. Then when the beast got distracted, you turn your whole body to the right, twist again to the right, and run away like you were chased by a horde of hungry Legions. It's the same principle here. Instead of just twisting your foot, you are twisting your entire body."

I frowned. "How do I do that?"

"By using the longitude and latitude you've established earlier. The way to do this is by focusing your perception on your initial direction - in this case, south - and almost without thinking it, turn your body to 180 degrees west by the latitude and longitude. You know what, let's do a bit of a practice. You're going to turn 45 degrees west," she said as she instructed me step by step through the process.

It was very confusing, having to focus on the direction I was no longer looking at and then snapping back into my real-time vision facing the new direction. It felt like my brain was snapped every time I did that. By the end of the day, my brain was so exhaustingly squashed that Eisheth had to heal me herself. I'll never get used to having all 24 hours to train and not a single second to sleep everyday.

Thank goodness I was able to master the technique two days later. But the road to there was terrible.

-----

Day 5

"I noticed that you have a very unique weapon there. Summon him, you need to familiarize yourself with your weapon if you are to defeat Dinah. While she's not the best fencer at any rate, she has 86 different weapons artifacts which she often use at the same time. You don't want to be subjected to her Steel Rain without a chance of fighting back."

"Weapon?" I looked at her quizzically as I was unaware that I was wielding any weapon. See, I've already returned the black dagger to her earlier today.

I almost jumped when Florian's heavily accented voice sounded in my mind. I believe she was referring to me, Ilyse.

I asked the ring, You're a weapon?

Yes, I am. A sword actually, haven't you paid attention to the vow I made when you picked me up? I am Florian the Sword, and I mean that literally.

Okaay... how do I summon you then?

I could sense that he was raising his eyebrows as he said, Just call for me to appear. You will be surprised at how many complex instructions I can process at any given time.

Okay, I decided to give it a try. "Florian, appear". I would've felt foolish if he didn't appear. Thank goodness he did.

He was a beautiful sword. If I was asked to give one word to describe him, I would probably choose 'gleaming'. Even in this shadowy world, where direct light is lacking, his gleam never fade. In fact, the more I admired him, the more gleaming it became. I wondered if it was his way of showing his pride. I noticed that the steel wire that made up the wire hilt was assembled in such a fashion as to make a pattern eerily similar to the goat head-on-a-shield coat of arms that was on some of Mom's many velvet and silk jewelery cases.

You're a rapier?

I feel insulted, Ilyse. I am a degen, specifically, a pallasch. Rapiers have thinner blades and are meant for civilian use. Degens are knight's swords and are used on the battlefield. Don't confuse degens with those fragile rapiers the French were so fond of!

Okay! Sheesh! Don't blow your tops off. I was just trying to say that you look too beautiful and thin for fighting, that's all.

I assure you that I am as sturdy as a Scottish claymore. Degens were made of the finest steel, not to mention that weapon artifacts of the lilim are always very durable.

Oh. Well, it doesn't matter, I guess. At any rate, I got my own witchblade, hehe.

I was never used by a witch, unless if you consider Sarai a witch. She sure act the role at times.

Nevermind, Flo.

"That's a nice sword you have there. You can accomplish much with him in your hands. However, a sword is only as good as the handler. If you treat it like a relic and never practice using it, it will feel as alien to you as having fishsticks as your fingers."

I looked at Florian, sighed, then looked at her. "So, what should I do?"

"I'll teach you some basic moves with a sword and we'll see how you get along with him."

After half a day's worth of 'practice', it appeared hopeless. "I can't do this, I'm as clumsy as a drunken ox. It's like I'm trying to kill a cockroach with a submachinegun."

"Relax. It has only been a day. I assure you that even those gifted fencers had to train years to become good enough."

I protested, "But this is not about practice. The sword feels wrong all over, no offense to you, Flo. See this handle? The grip is too slim, I kept feeling it slip from my hand."

I can fatten up the grip if you like. It was only slim because I was originally customized for Sarai's use. Her hands were small, because her true form was that of a 13 year old girl.

You can change yourself? Why didn't you tell me that earlier?

You didn't ask. I thought you knew.

I felt the grip fatten a bit under my fingers. I swung it a couple of times and was impressed with the difference. Much better. Can you elongate the blade too? I don't feel confident with using a blade of that length.

No problem. It's done.

I felt much better as I practiced more with my personalized rapier - oops - degen, hehehe. Anyway, by the next day, I was already proficient enough with the basic moves that Eisheth decided to teach me some shadow weapons play as well.

-----

Day 6

"You'll need Florian for this lesson, so raise him high and try talking to him," she said after healing the sores I had after being beaten again and again in mock combat yesterday.

"Umm, what should I talk about?"

"Anything you like. Your life, his former life, your dreams and other unrelated things."

I looked at Florian and feeling slightly stupid, attempted a conversation. What's your favorite food? I asked.

To which he answered, Bread

Just bread?

Garlic bread.

Okay... so you know my mom?

Straight to the point, I see. Yes, I did know Sarai.

How did you become her artifact?

Usual contract. I asked for something while I was still alive, she got me after I died.

Then I felt his mood go cloudy while the sword in my hand started to vibrate slowly at first but gradually increasing in intensity. In the end, I had to stab the point to the ground and used both hands on the handle to hold him steady.

What the hell was that, Flo? I asked after he calmed down a bit.

I don't want to talk about it. Suffice to say that she reneged on the deal.

Was that why you refused to do her bidding 50 years ago?

From his silence, I deduced that whatever Mom had done, must've been so terrible that it caused him to rebel against her. I wondered what it was that Mom did back then.

"Seems like you two will need more head to head talk, eventually. But for now, that should be enough. Will Florian work with you now?"

Florian in turn, reassured me in his heavily accented voice. Don't worry, Ilyse. My issue was with Sarai, not you. I'll aid you as best as I can.

Thanks, Flo.

"He will cooperate," was my answer to her question.

"Good, because until you learn to turn yourself into a weapon, I don't mean that literally, you will need him to perform this technique."

"What technique is that?"

"Shadow Claw."

"What does it do?"

"Imagine that your enemy is a hundred feet in front of you. You want to kill him, but between you and him, there is an uncrossable moat. Consider that flying is not an option. What do you do?"

"Use ranged weapons or spells," I answered.

"A good solution, yet what if you only have a melee weapon in hand and you don't have enough strength to throw it that far? That's when you use Shadow Claw. With Shadow Claw, you can cut anything in front of you and its power won't diminish even a bit for as long as you supply it with power. Watch what I do," she said as a rock was pushed out of the ground a hundred feet away.

She then crouched on the ground, produced a crooked black dagger from the void and stabbed it into the ground. I saw something that looked like three stripes of shadow appeared from the ground under the dagger and sped towards the jutting rock. I was amazed to see the three shadows cut three neat valleys in the rock as if it was tofu.

"When you finally turn yourself into a weapon, you will be able to do this without a weapon," she proceeded to press her five fingers to the ground and managed to achieve the same effect as before, then she continued with, "but until then, you need Florian or any similar weapon."

Then she told me everything, starting with the theories, practice, and execution. I was only able to shoot one shadow edge instead of three in the end, but it was way cool.

-----

Day 9

Earlier today, Eisheth had summoned a Wight as my sparring partner. At first glance, she looked like one of Tolkien's Hobbits, except that she was much slimmer and dark skinned. I say dark skinned loosely, because sometimes her skin changed color from deep black to slightly grey and sometimes almost silver. But one thing that never changed, was that her body was very translucent as if she was made from the shadows itself.

"Put your back into it! I feel like I'm looking at children brawling in the playground!" she yelled through the clang of swords hitting each other.

I kicked the Wight away and stumbled back for a breather. "I'm doing my best here!" I yelled back just before the Wight's sickle hit my blade. Apparently the Wight didn't need any rest.

"If that's the best you can do, I'll kill you myself right now to spare us the embarrassment of having to see you die in the first 10 seconds in a real fight!"

I knew she wasn't bluffing. If she said she will kill me, then she will most definitely kill me. I decided to avoid making gambles and just finish this quickly. So I casted Haste, the spell she taught me yesterday that was meant to improve my speed and reflex for the duration of its effect. The difference was amazing. I moved twice as fast and countered twice as efficiently but I was unable to do anything about my senses. It appeared that Haste only improves my speed and reflex, not my perception. I found that to be a disadvantage.

When I told Eisheth about it, she dismissed it as just me requiring more simulated fights. That was why she summoned one of her Wights to help train me. I must say, that even with the Wight instructed to fight at low skills, it was hard for me to keep up. She was like a phantom!

Eventually, Eisheth called for a stop and dismissed the Wight. Then she started talking about some techniques that could help in my fight after asking me the difficulties I was having with the Wight. Two techniques that drew my attention was called Amalgam Slash and Fade.

Amalgam Slash refers to a technique where the user of a weapon become one with the weapon, sharing each other's strength, mind and power. With proper execution, the damage can be increased up to tenfold, which was impressive in my opinion. The only problem was that to a newbie, it might take a long time to reach the level of synchronization needed to pull it off.

Fade was basically a variant of Blink. Though instead of popping here and there, Fade allows the user to fade out of existence and reappear anywhere the user wants, silently. Eisheth told me that it was also the only spell she know of that can overcome the warding spells put by all princes and princesses of Sheol on their own borders, specifically the warding that prevents people from Blinking in and out of their domains. The downside is that unlike Blink, that happens quickly, users of Fade will disappear gradually over a few seconds. Which means enough time for someone to drive a sword into one's heart.

We spent the next several days practicing and going over those two techniques.

There was another technique that she thought I could use, Shadowmeld. It was basically a variant of Invisibility spell, except that it wasn't a spell. Invisibility spells, while seamless, could be detected by someone with 'the sight'. Shadowmeld couldn't be detected at all. If anyone looked at a Shadowmelded person, they just see shadows. I recalled using this same technique in one of my dreams and after demonstrating it, Eisheth agreed that I needed no more lesson on that.

-----

Day 15

"When was the last time you fed?" she said suddenly after I graduated from her Shadow Whip lesson.

"Umm, a day before I come here, why?"

"You're looking too tired for just 15 days. Your last Shadow Whip couldn't even hurt the wight. Have the lessons really wear you down that much?"

"Yes, I'm very tired. Not being able to sleep made it even worse. I know you told me earlier that I don't need sleep, but I would really love a rest," I replied, rubbing the sore spots on my arms.

"Unfortunately, we don't have time for you to rest. Maybe we'll let you go out and feed after your lessons are done," then she looked thoughtful, "But we can't go on like this. If we are to continue the lessons, you need to be at your full strength."

She looked at me curiously and then gestured me to come close. "Perhaps we can use a different method to give you more strength."

"What do you mean?"

"Do not repeat this to anyone as knowledge of this technique is too powerful to be public knowledge. It is one of the forbidden techniques used by the princes and princesses of Sheol, including me, Naamah and your matriarch Lilith," she said warily.

"What is this technique?"

She bit her lips. "Okay, you are aware of the lilim needing to feed from human men and consume ethereal energies in insufficient quantities, yes?"

I nodded.

"Well, ether is only an element, but not a source of power. To exist in Assiah, you need two sources of power: Light and Darkness. Light is often referred to as 'God's gift' which gives life to all living beings on Earth, and it is the basic building block of angels. Darkness, or void, is the most basic unit of power that binds everything in the universe together. People in Assiah calls it 'zero point energy'. While light is the more powerful of the two, darkness or void is more numerous and eternal. I will teach you how to utilize this power of the void."

She looked uncertain and a bit worried, so I asked her, "That sounds great, but there's something bothering you, isn't it?"

"This... knowledge is too dangerous for a mere lili. Apart from giving you tremendous power, it will also destroy your body if your body proves insufficient to contain the power."

"But without it, I will have no chance of winning against Dinah?"

"Correct. While overfeeding will give you enough power initially, it will be drained quickly as Dinah has been storing her power in something similar to battery cells for the past 400 years. Without this technique, the only way you can win is to finish it in 10 minutes with all your strength, but that's impossible by itself. Continuous use of this technique will give you an unlimited power of which Dinah can't hope to match."

"So I really have no choice, don't I?"

She looked at me sympathetically. "You always have a choice, Ilyse."

"Then please, teach me. I shall decide if I need it or not."

She patted my head, the way that Mom used to do when I was a child. "Very well, but the training may be quite painful."

I shrugged. "It can't be that bad."

I was dead wrong. It hurt so bad when she pushed a Void Orb into my mouth. I could feel the globe split into many tiny pieces to open all my veins, arteries and nerve endings. As the void fragments burrowed into my brain, I realized that not even the torments in Ashmedan were as painful.

-----

Day 17

"Okay, remember the chants that I taught you? Good. Now I want you to try it here," she said as she disappeared and reappeared a quarter of a mile away.

She must've noticed my puzzled expression because she shouted from afar, "Don't worry. Just do as I taught you, you'll be fine."

Somehow, I wasn't feeling confident, and that annoyed me. Regardless, I formed the words in my head and chanted.

[Great Darkness of the Eternal Void, hear my voice and answer my summons. Inritus Cuspis!]

Well, suffice to say it didn't end well. I was blasted far away in many separate directions in many disjointed parts.

-----

Day 19

"Urgh! This is not going to work," she groaned, "this realm is not suitable for learning Inritus Cuspis."

"Why? What's wrong with it?" I asked, slightly tired. Since two days ago, I've been obliterated, dismembered and emboweled by the Void Point, a technique to harness the power of the vacuums of space and molecules. I wasn't a happy camper at all.

"The time difference is what's wrong. You can only gather as much power as you can in Assiah."

"I don't get you," I said while rubbing the point where my left arm was reattached after if flew away during one of my dismemberment phase.

She looked at me through the corner of her eye. "Assume that 20 days here are equal to 1 day on Earth. Assume also that in one day on Earth, you will gain 20 units of power. So when you come here, you will need 20 days to gain 20 units of power."

She groaned again. "How could I have forgotten the limitations of mortals?"

"So... training here is actually a waste of time? I can accomplish the same thing with the equivalent time on Earth?"

"No, the reason Naamah and Agrat chose this place was not to get you to gather energy, but to gain perspective. In a place like this, your mind gets extra time to think and to understand something. However, your power levels will remain the same, probably even reduced gradually because you only consume small amounts of ether each day compared to when you were in Yenne Velt."

She sighed, "The Void is unrestricted by time, but there [b]is[/b] a constant in time which is aligned to Assiah."

"So what now? Do we continue?"

"No, not this one. I've taught you the theories and the practices, but you must learn it on your own from now on. I do however have a technique which might be similar but equally or perhaps even more dangerous."

"Will it work?" I asked, not wanting to explode again.

"Oh yes, of course. You will only be using your own power, fused with the wild energies of Sheol and amplified by your own suffering."

"Amplified by my own suffering? I don't like what that implies."

"There is no other avenue. Without this technique, you have no chance of defeating Dinah."

I yelled in protest. "Why do I always have to suffer? You enjoy bringing me pain, don't you? I don't need to do this, I don't need all those painful lessons. You said I always have a choice. Fine! I choose to walk out of here. I'll apologize to Mother and everything will be just be FINE!"

She glared at me, but I couldn't help but feel like she was unconcerned with my protest. Instead, she said, "Conjure a ball of fire."

"Weren't you listening to me? I said I choose to leave."

"Pain is the strictest teacher. While you can learn some things without pain, some sacrifices must be made if you are to be good at what you do. Now, I'm not going to repeat it again, conjure a ball of fire."

I grudgingly acceded her command and snapped a finger above my left palm.

"You don't need any incantations for this technique. However, you will need a slight practice to fuse it with your soul."

"My soul? What do you mean, my soul?"

"Your soul will act as a catalyst. The ball of fire will engulf your soul and create a vacuum in your immediate surrounding that consumes fuel, in this case, ether into your body. Your soul will be the key to this vacuum, continuously turning fire into energy, much like a petroleum power plant on Earth."

I winced. "That would be very painful, I bet."

"Of course, but you need to learn it. I'll walk you through it step by step, so there wouldn't be any accidents."

"Oh joy..."

-----

Day 20

"Let's do it differently," she said after I nearly scorched myself with the fireball again.

"How much different can it be? I'll still be the one in pain, won't I?" I replied, annoyed. Since yesterday, she had been carrying me step by step through the technique. Since yesterday my body kept combusting.

"I admit, I may have used the wrong method. I've never done it myself, really. It's inspired by Agrat's retelling of how the souls she tortured in Gehenna actually gained some strength and resilience from having their souls burned."

I didn't know what to say to that. My mouth simply opened to a big 'O' as I realized that I had suffered through a technique that nobody had used before. A technique she invented out of thin air.

"I want you to gather power, just like you did on the second day you were here."

"This isn't just another made up trick, is it?"

"Saturate yourself with the energy. Get the power to flow freely in your body."

"Are you even listening to me?"

"We don't have time to listen to your ramblings. Do it now."

I was very annoyed and almost decided to leave instead, but I decided to give it one more try instead and do as she said. Closing my eyes and calming myself, I slowly and constantly pulled and sucked the ether from all around me. Through my horn, into my brain, down to my heart. From my heart, the energy flowed through my veins into other parts of my body. Sometime later, I felt myself bloated with ethereal energies as the energies seeped through my pores and arced over my skin.

I opened my eyes when she started talking. "Good, now focus all that energy onto your right palm. Recall the time when you charged at me and the energy turned into frigid air. Recall how it felt, how you reached that state. Do it now."

I tried to recall that second day. That morning when she asked me to attack her with all I got. That time when I was blinded by madness that the energy turned into ice and my body charged forward like a woman possessed. I slowly focused the energy onto my palm and slowly but surely, a whitish ball of air formed over my palm. It was cold even for me.

"Condense it. Try to change the state of the air into liquid by pure pressure alone."

"Easy for you to say!" I shouted right before the ball of condensed air exploded, encasing everything in a small radius, including me, in ice.

-----

I was only released half an hour later as Eisheth decided that I should learn how it felt to have my own power backfiring on me. She said that I needed to remember the feeling and use that knowledge to make the Soul burn work, that it was necessary for me to have a feel for my own power. I told her to stop throwing her pile of bullshit around. She didn't take that very well.

After having to fight off two of her Wights at mid skills, I caved in and told her that I surrender. It seemed like she wasn't very good at controlling her temper. I can say that for sure because even after I surrendered, she let the Wights pummel me up for awhile longer before sending them back to the shadows.

She had to heal me before the lesson could continue, though. I had numerous broken bones and some very nasty wounds that would've killed any mortal. Thank goodness I'm immortal, so it was harder for me to die. Those tiny, shy Wights can really throw a punch, though. It took them only about 10 minutes to beat me into submission. I shudder to think what a couple of Wights at high skills can do to me.

Once I was back in one piece, she instructed me to repeat the steps that I'd previously attempted before being frozen by my own power. It took awhile to gather enough power, became almost unwieldy at some point, but I did it nonetheless. Then she told me to compress it just like before.

Instead of using just one hand like before, however, I moved the frigid cold air between my two palms and tried to mentally push the orb into itself with some physical help from my palms. At some point, the flow became turbulent and it took all my concentration just to maintain its current pressure. In the end, the orb of frigid air which was initially very unwieldy and was the size of a small japanese car became a condensed white sphere the size of a soccer ball.

As the orb of frigid air started stabilizing and became almost liquidy at some places, Eisheth spoke, "Good, now try to..."

"Eisheth!" came a voice that broke my concentration and caused the high pressured cold air to explode again. I couldn't help but curse whoever that was before once again finding myself inside a block of ice.

I never thought it was possible, but it seemed like instead of muting my surrounding, being encased in ice actually made me hear things better.

Agrat Bat Mahlat, who was the culprit, asked, "Umm, what happened to her?"

"You happened to her. Did I not specifically say that I don't want any interruptions?" Eisheth scowled. Her expression distorted yet very visible through the ice. It feels so weird to be conscious while encased in ice with my eyes open.

"Well, I'm sure this news is worth your while. Lilith has moved the Yenne Velt."

"Run that through me again? This time, without your usual bull."

"You're really starting to piss me off, Eisheth."

"You mean you're only just started getting pissed off? I've been trying to accomplish that since the last millenia. My, you’re really slow."

Agrat Bat Mahlat frowned and said, "I assure you, this is confirmed. Lilith has moved the Yenne Velt. She moved it closer to us."

"It's true," came Naamah's pleasant voice, "I have confirmed it. By Agrat's estimate, due to the move we only have 93 days instead of 120 days."

"And this affects me how?"

Agrat replied, "Well, we thought that maybe you can shorten your lessons a bit, so the rest of us can get some of our own lessons in?"

"No deal. What you do with the rest of the time will be your problem. I intend to use all 40 days."

Naamah interjected. "Eisheth, please be reasonable. We all have much at stake here and we all wanted her to win. At least shave 10 days of your time..."

"Come on, sis, let us..."

"DO NOT call me 'sis'! We are not sisters and have never been sisters. Sisters don't leave the other trapped in a sealed marble statue. Sisters don't shove the other aside when they’re handing out territories. Sister's don't stab the other in the BACK!"

Naamah in her usual calm demeaner looked at the outraged Eisheth and instead of arguing, said, "Oh look at the time! Agrat, we really must leave before they finish the auction." Then Naamah took Agrat's left arm in her grip.

"What auction?" Agrat asked before they popped out of existence.

Eisheth still looked mightily outraged. I really don't want to be here right now. The problem is, I really have no choice. I'm stuck inside a block of ice, for Pete's sake!

Suddenly Eisheth's head jerked and she turned to look at me. The anger in her face had lessened and it had been replaced with a look of curiousity. Why are you still in there?

-----

Day 23

I gazed at the sphere of ice between my palms. Despite appearing solid, I knew from past experiences that it would explode if I took my mind off this blasted thing. It was very hard work trying to compress it as even the vapors needed to be contained.

“Good, now throw it somewhere far away,” she said.

“Uhh, why?” I asked.

“She’ll tell you to conjure fire next. Compressed ice doesn’t work well with fire,” Agrat interjected. She and Naamah came back early today to make sure that Eisheth didn’t overextend her allotted time.

“This is exactly why I don’t want you here, Agrat. You just can’t help running your mouth off, can’t you?”

“What, you’re going to ask her to do it anyway!”

“I don’t need you helping me, hell whore!”

“Hell whore? You want a fight, streetwhore?” she cried as she lunged at Eisheth.

Eisheth blinkstriked to Agrat’s left and tried to stab her in the flank with her signature crooked black dagger. Agrat countered with a heavy lashing from one of her black tentacles. It failed to connect as Eisheth blinked to her other side to again attempt a stab on Agrat’s flank. Almost as if it has a mind of its own, one of her tentacles intercepted Eisheth’s attempt, almost knocking the dagger out of her hand. Another tentacle pointed its tip at her and fired a luminescent beam of light at Eisheth from its tip.

“Damned hell slut!” came Eisheth’s angry voice from far to my left. Her hooded black robe was torn in so many places (more torn than usual) while her exposed left arm and half her face melted and had chunks dripping from it.

“Maybe it’s time to admit defeat, Eisheth? We really need to move along now,” Naamah said as she tried to diffuse the situation.

“Never!” Eisheth shouted as she made one, three, seven, fifteen and thirty-one solid-looking shadow copies of herself.

I was amazed at the sight of all thirty-two Eisheth Zenunims leaping towards Agrat. Each one of the Zenunims acting independently from each other as if they were not controlled by a single mind. I only managed to create one shadow copy in my last fight with the two Wights. It wasn’t because I didn’t have enough power to summon more, but more because splitting my mind to control two bodies already took too much out of me. The last time I tried, I only used it as cannon fodder to compensate from having to fight two opponents at the same time.

The many Eisheths fell upon Agrat from all directions, like a swarm of Legions. Some wielded fireballs in both hands, some carried fire in one hand and ice in the other, but all their attacks proved futile as Agrat's many tentacles opened a gaping maw at the tips and consumed all the fireballs and icebolts. The rest of them wielded black weapons of all types, shapes and sizes. Agrat fought them off by casting spells using all six tentacles, her two hands and her mouth. Even her eyes seemed like it was able to cast spells. I watched it all with great interest, wondering if I would be able to use their techniques in my own duel. I wasn’t able to catch everything as sometimes the pace was too fast and there were too many things happening at the same time.

“Both of you, grow up!” Naamah shouted after six of Eisheth’s copies were killed and one of Agrat’s tentacles was cut by a well-placed Shadow Claw.

“You mind your own business, crack whore!” chorused the Eisheths.

“Crack whore?” Naamah said, then she turned to me before asking, “What’s it mean?” Her face was full of question.

She wasn’t very pleased when I explained it to her. “The only drug I’ve taken was opium, Eisheth.”

Eisheth apparently couldn’t hear her. She was too busy avoiding Agrat’s tentacle blasts. Her copies were also trying to find an opening to get close. I realized that throughout the duel, Eisheth established herself as a kind of fighter/assassin hybrid class in D&D style with her superior speed and assassination techniques to get to point blank range before delivering direct damage. Agrat on the other hand established herself as a pure mage class using all kinds of spells that presumably can be cast by any part of her body to prevent Agrat and her copies from getting close.

“Childish!” Naamah admonished. Then she grabbed my right arm and we blinked to another place.

“We don’t have much time, so I’ll be taking over your training. I want you to conjure a ball of fire,” she said as she let go of my arm.

So I snapped my fingers and a roaring bonfire appeared on the ground before me. I noticed that all my spells were more powerful in Sheol than in Assiah, probably because of an abundance of fuel (ether) in the air.

“One of Lesser Lilith’s party spell, eh? That girl was such a delight. But I want you to conjure fire on your palm, not the ground.”

I snapped my fingers again. This time, the flames I conjured hovered about an inch above my palm.

"Now compress it, just like with the ice earlier."

"But I didn't compress the ice. I compressed the aura and it turned into ice."

"Similar method. Instead of compressing your pure aura, let the fire burn through it first before compressing it in your hands."

I tried. The first time I tried, the fire burned all my aura at the same time, making me something like The Human Torch. I learnt then that making all my aura flammable was a very stupid idea. Naamah admonished me for doing so.

"But if I didn't do that, the flame will be snuffed the moment I start compressing my power," I said.

"Of course, it will. You're naturally alligned to water. When you compress your power it will always turn into water. DON'T let that stop you!" she said as she pushed me to find out how to do it on my own.

-----

Day 32

In the end, I managed to use my previous knowledge with compressing frigid aura to compress flammable aura instead. It was pretty hard, considering that changing it too early will incinerate my body while changing it too late will snuff the fire. I found the perfect balance at my wrists, where I had to continuously change the property of my aura from frigid cold to flammable.

In the end, I managed to compress the essence of fire as well as its heat that I felt as if I was holding a miniature sun the size of a cocoa bean in my hands. Previously, whenever I made a mistake, I could always flood it with my frigidity aura. At this point though, if I make a mistake, it may well mean 'true death'. Unlike the previous times when my body exploded, making a mistake now may mean going back to Adam Kadmon, sent to the Lethe river to become a new lili or become a Legion, which would totally suck.

"Control it, girl," she said as the containment buckled. "Make it yours. You are its mistress and it cannot hope to harm you."

"You're talking as if it's alive," I said, referring to the miniature sun in my hands which felt hotter and hotter by the minute. I had to stop the flow earlier because its mass and heat had become unbearable.

"Of course it's alive. Life is not all about breathing or having blood flowing through your veins. It is about being able to feel and respond to others. For that matter, your fire is alive as it can listen to your voice, feel your emotions and respond to your commands. It can even sense your fear and control you through that fear, so never fear your own power."

"So what should I do?"

"Project your thoughts into it. Tell it what you want it to do, what you want it to be. Picture it in your mind. Concentrate and make it as vivid as if you're seeing it through its own senses."

"Umm, what should I tell it to do?"

She looked at me weirdly, "I don't know. What did Eisheth tell you to do with it?"

"She told me to fuse it with my own soul. To create a vacuum that will suck in more ether from my surrounding than usual as the fire will continue to consume the ether, causing more power to accumulate in my body through the torment of my soul."

Her mouth gaped open and she was speechless for a moment before she said, "That couldn't be what she said! That... that's absolutely preposterous!"

Then I told her everything that Eisheth told me and everything about the training.

"Foolish tramp!" she spat, "That inept shadow walker should've known better than to teach grand magics. Soulburn won't work for you as you're aligned to the element exactly opposite of fire. Forcing fire into your soul will not only fail, but also destroy you completely. Unlike fire aligned Lilim like Delilah or Beata, your body can't consume fire."

"So... what should I do with this?" I asked. My arms had started to ache from the burden of controlling the fire and my body had gotten increasingly hotter.

She gave me a look of pity then switched to glaring at the miniature sun. I noticed something that looked like a bubble start to envelope the miniature sun, until it was fully enclosed. With a blink of an eye the bubble imploded and disappeared.

"Wow, can you teach me that?"

"Unlikely, we don't have the time. You won't even be able to learn the theories in 20 days. We'll do something else."

"Aww, that looked really cool!" I pouted in reply, which she didn't seem to approve.

"I'm neither Lilith nor Lesser Lilith, child. Acting cute will not get you anywhere with me."

I straightened up, "So... what are we going to do now?"

"I'll teach you some curses and hexes that can weaken your enemies, unless they have immunities. If you live through this duel, you may encounter creatures that have resistance or even immunities from certain spells or forces. Take Agrat for example, using fire spells are useless against her since she pretty much lives in magma."

"So how do I practice these hexes and curses? Do I cast it on you?"

"No time to practice, I'm just going to give you the theories, the words of power and you'll have to do a trial and error during the duel. Eisheth told you to ask me for lessons on null field, didn't she? I predict that this will take a very long time."

"You know, I don't remember her saying thaaaattt...!!!" I cried as she grabbed my head and poured all kinds of words, images and what appeared to be redundant data.

-----

Day 52

"I shall admit that I may have been somewhat shortsighted when I stood up for you in front of Lilith last time," she said once I graduated Null Field.

"What's with the sudden regret?"

"I don't regret anything, child. Everything that happens was already foreseen. But let's look at this from my point of view."

"What are you talking about?"

She looked at me sharply. "You have no innate Lilim knowledge, no control of your own powers, no ability to perceive ethereal bonds and you have a large reservoir inside you that you can't access. Sometimes I feel like ripping it out and turn you into a wishing well."

"I assume you won't do that?"

"Of course I won't. It is in my best interest that you are in the best shape for the duel. Make no mistake though. If you lose, you better just kill yourself, because I'll rip out that power and turn you into a real wishing well. Anyway, this just means that I will just have to... improvise."

"I don't like the way you say that," I said as I felt the loss of control on my muscles. I realized that she had casted Petrify on me with just a glare.

She then stepped closer to me, left hand outstretched until finally, she placed her left palm on my face and chanted something. As her chanting became louder and louder, my head started to pound and my forehead began to burn. For the next half an hour, I just screamed until my voice was gone and still the pain became more and more unbearable. It felt like my brain was being boiled and my forehead was being drilled with a plasma torch.

I was very glad when she finally let me go. "Open the eye, girl," she said.

"But my eyes are already open!" I protested, the pain had already turned into a dull ache.

"THAT eye!" she jabbed a finger at my forehead.

I winced, expected a renewed series of pain yet the only thing I felt was a dull pain and something moving under the skin.

I gently touched the part of the forehead which she touched just now. I felt something under the skin moved as I pressed it a bit harder.

"Shit! I have a third eye!" I exclaimed as my fingers recognized and eyelid and the accompanying eyelash. There was no eyebrow though, of which I was grateful. I would look totally hideous with an eyebrow on my forehead.

"Not a third eye. MY eye. You have my third eye. It's called Wedjat and there's only one in the whole world," she said and suddenly I noticed that there was something missing in her face. I deduced that it must have been caused by the lack of the third eye.

"You gave her the All-Seeing Eye?" said a voice from my left. I turned and saw Agrat Bat Mahlat sat perched atop a jutting rock.

"Oh, you're done. Who won?" was Naamah's reply.

"Of course I won, was there ever any doubt in the first place?" said another voice from behind me, a voice I knew very well after living with her for almost 40 days.

"No you did not! Cheaters don't win, Eisheth!"

"Tactics, Agrat. People call it tactics," she countered with a smirk.

"Take your arguments somewhere else," Naamah said coolly, "You're wasting my time," then she looked at me and said, "Open your eyes, child."

I couldn't at first, as I couldn't feel the muscles of that eyelid respond. Seeing as Naamah didn't look concerned or impatient, I assumed that it was expected that I wouldn't be able to open it rightaway, so I took it slow. Naamah did appear fidgety though, she kept rubbing her forehead.

"I can't believe that you would actually give your eye to someone else. I thought you said that 'the eye' was worth more than your entire realm?" Agrat said suddenly.

"I'm not giving it to her. I'm lending it to her, to protect my, I mean, our... interests. I fully expect to get it back after this is over." Then she gave me a sharp look and said, "One way or the other."

For some reason, I believed her and shuddered as I imagined the 'other' way she meant to reclaim her eye.

"Open your eyes, child. I know the first time is always hard, but try harder."

I spent the next half an hour concentrating on the muscles on my forehead, trying to get my eyelids to open. It was a really hard work, but when I finally managed to open it, it was a truly wonderful experience. Instead of seeing the world as it is, I saw everything in grids, like the old Battletech cartoons. I could also zoom in and zoom out my point of view, either looking at the big picture or the smallest detail, the size of a particle. I could even predict how it would behave or where it would move. Looking at this, I could imagine how Naamah was able to know about everything that happened or will happen. My only complain was only that everything was in the shade of blue. I'm actually a rather red person.

Naamah conjured something on her palms. "Close that eye now," she said.

I closed that eye. It was a relief actually because the eye was starting to strain. I wasn't used to having that muscle yet. The moment I closed Wedjat, my view suddenly changed into normal. It feels good to be able to see colors again, instead of just blue lines on a black background. Now instead of a shifting blue grid thingy, I could see that Naamah was actually holding a fireball.

"Hard to discern, isn't it?" she said, referring to the fireball. "Using Wedjat has its own advantages and disadvantages, as you may have already experienced."

"Is it normal..." I paused as I rubbed the sore spot on my forehead, "to see blue grids on a black background?"

"I won't know how you see it. Wedjat functions differently for different people, depending on the way they can perceive details. For me, I saw only bright white light," she said with a shrug.

"How will you see anything if all you see is bright white light?"

"My true form was created from light, that was the way I see things originally," she said as she closed her fist, snuffing the flames in the process.

"Hey Eisheth!" she cried.

"What?!" replied Eisheth. She slighty tilted her head at Naamah, but still stood with her arms crossed.

"I need you to do the Warp Cloak."

"The what?"

"You know, the thing that you did back in Zebul? When you pulled the space around the city and hid the entire city from its master?"

Eistheth broke into a laugh and continued to laugh for a few minutes holding her tummy before she said, "That was funny. Beelzebub was like a lost puppy. He had never truly forgiven me for that prank." Then she giggled a little bit more.

"Obviously she still doesn't know that it was Beelzebub who made the prison that the Levites used to seal her," whispered Agrat as I jumped at how sudden she appeared behind me.

"So will you do it?"

"Why not? Without Wedjat, you'll never be able to understand its secrets. But don't you dare give a name to my techniques ever again!" said Eisheth as she pulled her right arm and stabbed it into the air to her left in one quick strike. To my surprise, she simply pulled back her right arm, carrying with it the fabric of reality itself. I merely watched as I saw her body disappeared as if covered by the cloak of reality.

"Wow, that's so freaky. Is she still here?" I asked Naamah.

"I don't know. Open your eyes, only you can tell for sure... AGRAT! What are you..." her words were cut off as Agrat leaped to the air and brought down a pillar of fire that fell onto the place where Eisheth was standing just now. The fire turned from yellow to blue, then it turned colorless before it turned green and finally black. The heat was so intense that even with Naamah's glyph shield, it felt like I was being scorched from the inside out.

The flames continued to burn for a few more minutes until with a sweep of her hands, it vanished. In its place was a field of scorched earth. "Well, I think we can say for sure that she wasn't there." She dusted off her hands as if a finishing touch.

"If she was there, you would've already turned her into charcoal," Naamah countered. Agrat simply shrugged.

Naamah turned to me and said, "Use the eye. Verify whether she's still there and if she's not, where did she went to."

I opened Wedjat and again was amazed again at how cool it was. Everything was in grids of blue lines and it looked as raw as a world without sharpness. Other than that, I didn't see anything.

"She's not there," I said.

"Are you sure? Have you looked at it in different spectrums?"

"Uh? What?"

"Wedjat is not your standard, mass-grown set of eyes. Wedjat is much more than just an eye, it was created before the first life was born to fine tune the creation of the universe and to ensure that no errors will appear later. It's the most perfect artifact that has ever existed."

"Yet the universe is still so fucked up..."

"Don't argue with me. Now, focus. Change your perspective, it's like squinting your eyes to improve your vision or ignoring something right in front of you to see something far away."

I pondered her words and after some thinking, understood what she meant. I attempted doing something similar to what she told me and started seeing results the moment I reopened Wedjat. Instead of the blue grids before, there now appeared slivers of blue in front of me in addition to the blue grids. The slivers of blue moved like leaves on the wind. I looked up and saw the same slivers moved rapidly in a river of blue in the red skies of Sheol.

"I saw blue rivers up there, what is that?" I turned at Naamah.

She looked up and said, "It's probably Sheol's mana flow, or it could be the 'superhighway of lost souls'. I don't know exactly what it is that you're looking at. How many spectrums have you tried?"

"Umm, just the first one and this one."

"Try with other spectrums."

I tried to change it, to modify the eye to see different 'spectrums'. It was a few spectrums later when I noticed an anomaly at the place where Eisheth previously was. "Naamah, I see something."

"What is it, child?"

"Well, the space around the place where Eisheth disappeared appears twisted, as if something pulled a blanket around itself."

"Oh, take this then," she said as she put something that felt hot onto my outstretched left palm.

"What's this?" I asked, referring to the invisible object on my palm.

"It's fire. Can't you see what you're holding?" I shook my head no. "My, you must've gone very far from the standard spectrum that you can no longer see its form. Eisheth can be very good with her stealth techniques when she actually tries."

"So what do I do with this?"

"Change the properties of this fire, so that instead of just existing in normal space, it can also exist in the space that both you and Eisheth now occupy."

"How do I do that?"

I looked at Naamah and it was freaky to notice that I could hear her voice, but I couldn't see her anymore. "Well, just use the same method as when you modified Wedjat to see other spectrums. It's the same application."

I tried it for half an hour until finally I can see an object which has its blue grids move swiftly from one form to the other.

"Throw it at her," Naamah whispered. I did as told.

The moment the fire connect, it turned into a roaring fire and spread into a large area. I saw the anomaly shift and finally disappeared. I switched back to the normal spectrum and saw Eisheth trying to snuff flames from her smoky robe while cursing at us in general.

"So that concludes your training. Your turn now, Agrat."

"Wow, you're such a speeder. Thank you for the early present." Agrat replied with a sinister giggle.

"What? But it's only..." I couldn't finish my sentence as Agrat pulled me into the void with glee.

-----

Day 92

"Well, you've only mastered arcane and ice spells, but I think that should be sufficient. Dinah's only of the earth, so you should be fine," Agrat said on the last day of my training.

"Thanks Aunt Agrat," I replied, other than drilling me the ways of magic, she also drilled me to refer to her as Aunt Agrat. "It was fun learning from you," I said. It really was fun. In a way, she reminded me of Lesser Lilith. Maybe all the magic types were really great jolly creatures like them.

"There's just one more thing."

"What's that?" I asked.

"You need to go back to Assiah and feed. You won't last 5 minutes against Dinah like this."

"But... I thought it's about time for the duel?"

"That's two more days, child. That means you'll have about one hour to waste in Assiah. We'll be waiting at Yenne Velt. Don't be late."

She had already opened a portal and was about to step through before I pulled on her sleeves. "Anything else?" she asked.

I let go of her sleeves before saying, "But you said that Mother moved Yenne Velt, how would I find it then?"

She laughed so boisterously that tears came out of her eyes. "You have no idea of the mechanics involved in navigating through Sheol, don't you girl? Well, here's a quick crash course. It doesn't matter where the place is located, as long as you know the sights, the smell and the feel, you can go there as easily as any other time. Yenne Velt is your home, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"But what if I still can't do it?" I asked, still not convinced.

"Well, in that case, take this," she said as she produced a silver bracelet from the void, "That can open a portal to my... mailbox. Just leave a message if you can't reach the Yenne Velt."

She dropped it onto my outstretched palms and stepped into the portal. The moment she left, the ground started to quake and crack and the sky unleashed great storm lightnings and thunders at the ground. Through Wedjat, I realized that space and time, the fabric of reality itself is collapsing upon this realm. I decided to split.

-----

Through Fade, I arrived at someone's backyard. Although it was midnight, the surrounding was rather bright from all the lights of Christmas. Although it was a bit distracting, it wouldn't be a hindrance to my interest. I'm going after some men, heheh. After Agrat mentioned it, I realized that I really was starving. Since I had one hour to do as I liked, I decided to get some eats.

Um um, nice smell from this house. I decided that this one would be as good as any, so I shrunk my tail, wings and horns and covered myself in my human skin again.

I was about to press the doorbell when I noticed something. I looked around me, then stepped back. There, plain as day was the thing I dreaded most. Frowning. I decided to go somewhere else for nutrition.

As I blinked away, I wondered why I appeared in Chris' backyard.

Assiah: Earth, the material world.

Thanks again to Stanman for the editing. My grammar has become worse since the last time I wrote anything. As always, comments are appreciated.

Sorry all for the very slow update. Truth is, I've been a bit busy, what with being a teacher and all. I'm afraid further Half Lilin installments may take some time as well, depending on the results of my trial. Without luck, I may end up spending time in prison. Don't worry though, it's nothing real serious.

I merely watched as the two spheres of earth floated slowly towards me. It was halfway between me and Dinah when Flo said, Ilyse, why aren't you avoiding it?

Umm, I don't know. Am I supposed to avoid it? It looked so slow.

Eh, naturally, when a foe throws something at me, I would avoid it. Even if it's just cabbage.

But she didn't throw it, she merely pushed it gently. By this time, the spheres were only 10 feet away.

FOR THE LOVE OF CHEESE! RUN!

"Yo!" I said.

"What the hell?!!!" said Beata as she jumped at seeing me fade in behind her. She frowned as she said, "Where the hell did you come from?"

That's rude, girl, came Adela's voice.

"Just testing, sisters," I said.

Milen said, "You're awfully gleeful. Is there anything we need to know about?"

"Nope, nothing. Better to be gleeful than frightened."

"Something happened to you, spill," said Shaina who suddenly poked her head from behind Mother's throne.

"Shaina! Are your bones' okay now?" I asked.

"Yeah, no thanks to you, humph."

Adela looked at me and said in my mind, So, are you ready for the duel?

Ready as I'll ever be. Where's Mother?

"I'm here," came Mother's voice as she materialized on her throne. Shaina yelped and took a step back away from Mother's throne.

"The question is," Mother continued, "where are your sponsors?"

"My sponsors?"

"Those nosy sluts, Naamah and Agrat. Where are they?"

"I don't know, Mother. I thought that they're here already... oh, that must be them," I said as I saw two specks of something white in the air coming from a distance.

"They must've stopped somewhere. I started one hour later than they did and I'm already here," came a voice that was very familiar to me. I didn't even need to look behind because I knew without a doubt that it was none other than Eisheth Zenunim, the Shadow Walker.

"Now that's a first. I never thought it possible for you to join forces with them again," Mother said with a sneer.

"Stow it, Lil. This is an alliance of convenience, which you in your eternal arrogance won't understand," Eisheth countered.

Fading here and there. You Shadow Walkers sure are being very rude to Mother.

You've already lost your vocal chords, do you want to lose your throat too, relic?

"You shall NOT threaten MY daughters in MY presence, Eisheth!"

"Hey all! Sorry for being late, I got a little bit lost, earlier. Hohoho," Agrat interjected as they both dismounted from the two white Pegasai they were riding on.

"Yes, and I had to bail her out of the tight spot she was in," grumbled Naamah. Though, with her pleasant voice, it sounded more like a serenade instead of a grumble.

Agrat protested, "How was I supposed to know that someone else took that address? And who in their right mind would put a stasis field at the entrance of their realm?"

"I put traps at the entrance of my realm, Agrat. You've been stuck inside Gehenna too long so that you've lost touch with the outside world," said Naamah.

"I have to agree with you. Her values are absolutely archaic."

"Hey! We're supposed to be on the same team. Stop dissing me!"

"It will be a cold day in hell before I finally lose enough sanity to join your team," said Eisheth.

Agrat, looking confused, turned to Eisheth and said, "But there's already a cold place in Hell. Frigidity is extremely cold, even I won't go there. Well, not often anyway. That Lucifel can be very intimidating."

Eisheth groaned in an out of character manner, "All those times torturing the damned must have destroyed your human soul, Agrat. I almost pity you, and take note that I say 'almost'."

"I discarded my human soul a long time ago, Eisheth, it's..." then she looked to the side and gleefully said, "Be-a-ta!"

"Eep!" squealed Beata as she broke into a run. She couldn't go far as Aunt Agrat's tentacles chased and caught her pretty quickly. Aunt Agrat then lifted her upside down by her legs and started tickling her soles and tummy.

"Aha! Ahahah! Stop! Haha! St-hahaha."

"Stop that! Put her down, Agrat," Mother growled, "We're going to start the duel. Are you ready, Dinah?"

I was pretty sure that I heard Aunt Agrat mutter under her breath, "But I want my toy."

Then out of the grassy ground, sand and dust rose and gathered in mid-air. In moments, it formed the shape of a human, then the wings, tail and horns formed and Dinah appeared from the sand and dust.

"Always, Mother," Dinah said. By now, there were already hundreds of Lilim gathering in Vanity Meadows. I noticed Delilah giving me a wink. She was with a small group of snobbish-looking Lilim, four of which were arguing rather heatedly. I recognized Araminta's crossbow-wielding subby from Mom's memories. As for the rest, I had no idea. Though, one of the Lili in her group, a purple-haired Lili whose two horns looked curiously like a pair of fully expanded wings, turned back to the group when our eyes met.

"Both of you, come here," Mother commanded.

I moved to stand in front of Mother. Then Dinah came and stood next to me, before kneeling and kissing Mother's fingers. Buttkisser.

It moved so fast that I didn't have time to block Dinah's tail. "Ow!" I cried as Dinah's tail smacked me in the face with such force that it pushed me a step backward, "Why'd you do that for?"

"You were too loud."

That pissed me off. "Die, tunnel rat!" I said as I launched an Ice Shard that both she and Mother evaded.

She quickly leaped to the air and dropped the sky onto my head, at least that was how it felt like. I definitely felt something hard hitting my head and tried to push me down to the ground. I resisted and defiantly looked up to cast Dark Shackle on her.

With her hovering in the air and with her arms and legs unable to move freely for the next 5 minutes, I proceeded to throw every single spell of fire and ice that I knew at her. Starting with a volley of Ice Shards, then I threw a Chromatic Orb at her which was supposed to daze her a little bit, followed by Dragon's Breath. Then I finished the whole thing with Wheel of Fire that shot Dragon's Breath from eight directions around her. I doubt anyone could stand after all that.

I was slightly annoyed to see her untouched by all that after the dust settled. Well, not really so, I noticed some cracks in her armor. Parts of her skin appeared cracked and crumbly, turning into grains of dust and sand that fell to the ground. It immediately resealed itself within a few seconds. It was annoying to see how the ice shards and flames barely even harm her.

"Got anymore?" she jeered.

I threw another volley of Ice Shards and then some more. The time I spent with Aunt Agrat had really greatly improved my frost talents. In the next minute, I lost count of how many Ice Shards I've launched at her. Must've been hundreds. Most didn't hit, but that wasn't a problem.

"Little girl, quantity doesn't always mean quality," she said as she stepped out of the chilly vapor left over by the hitting Ice Shards earlier. Apparently, Dark Shackle had lost its effect.

Doesn't matter, I thought, you're exactly where I want you to be.

I extended my right arm towards her, palms open, and and then closed it in a tight fist. It was satisfying to hear her scream and then hear her bones crushed as the chilly vapors compress against her. I got the inspiration from Shaina last time. This technique slightly stretches my ability as it's much closer to air than water, but it's still a frost technique. Anything cold falls under my domain.

She gave an almighty yell before crumbling into a pile of dirt. As the dust fell onto the ground, I had this slightly anticlimactic feeling.

"What, that's it? Jeez, what's the point of me suffering all the harsh training if you can be downed this easily?" I said as I started laughing the evil villain victory laugh, before I felt a pair of hands grab my legs.

I looked down at my legs and saw her face staring up at me. Like the face of Mars, her face seemed made of the earth. "You can't seriously think that I will lose that easily. I've lived through the Inquisition, the Baphomet War and I've burn at the stake long before you were born. I am..."

I blasted ice shard after ice shard at her face, of which her only responses were, "Ouch, ouch, eee, ow, wooo!" I still remember that time in Plains of Baked Earth how awful it was to be dragged under the earth. So I concentrated real hard and performed the ritual for Negative Gravity. Negative Gravity was the only high magic I was able to master during my lessons with Aunt Agrat. Dinah obviously recognized the ritual. She quickly tried to drag me under halfway through the ritual. It was a good thing that the other half of the ritual was verbal.

I managed to complete the ritual by the time I sank to my waist. Suddenly, though not so sudden for me, I felt like I was standing upside down as I along with the ground under me was roughly wrenched up to the sky. The ground broke apart, revealing Dinah's main body, whose skin now shared the same brown color as the earth around her. I was pleased that I got a clear target now.

I raised both my hands as if calling for rain. In truth, I wasn't calling for rain, I was calling for a hailstorm. As my hands glowed blue, I willed all of the ice shards that I'd released earlier to return to me. I was pleased to sense thousands of free flying ice shards respond to my call. Unlike ice in Assiah (Earth) that will melt at room temperature, ice in Sheol can stay in their frozen form almost indefinitely unless ii's exposed to direct heat or if the rules of the realm dictate so. There is no such rule in Yenne Velt that dictates that all ice must melt.

With practiced ease, I guided the ice shards to first strike at the hands holding my legs. It was hard to target though, due to the different directions of gravity screwing up my aim. I injured myself several times (actually more like 20 times) before the ice shards managed to hit my target. Once I was free, I directed the thousands of ice shards to hit her from all sides, which she attempted to block with a flawed Shield spell.

I could hardly see her body as the cold vapors from broken ice shards surrounded her body. I was about to crush her body again when I got blasted from behind, causing me to fall quickly to the ground.

I rolled on the grassy ground a few times, catching mouthfuls of grass and dirt. I was spitting out the grass and dirt when Dinah stepped on the back of my head and proceeded to grind my face into the topsoil. I tried to dislodge her using my hands, wings, and tail as well as trying to get back up by pushing on the ground. It all failed as it appeared that Dinah was very accomplished at this face-grounding business. She knew exactly when to evade, when to sidestep, when to let go and when to ground my face into the topsoil again.

Suddenly, I felt a shifting weight on my right hand as Flo transformed from his ring form to his sword form. As if on autopilot, my right hand proceeded to swing at Dinah's legs a few times until finally Dinah pulled away. Taking the opportunity to stand back up, I pushed at the ground hard and leaped to my feet.

"So, you have something other than Amphillogiai. I have to give you credit, I never thought I'd see the chivalrous Florian again. Did you know, little girl, that Sarai acquired Florian through trickery? Did you also know that Florian was close to mortally wounding Sarai when his metallic brain actually caught up to the fact?" she said after I got up.

I looked at Flo as if asking for confirmation. Don't listen to her, Ilyse. She's trying to sow distrust between us.

Is it true?

That is not a question to be asked during a battle, youngling. She's a master deceiver. Remember this, our strength comes from being able to work together in harmony. She's trying to persuade you into breaking that harmony. This is not the first time she had done this.

"Florian wouldn't tell you, dear sister? Well, that's typical of him. He always were a lone wolf. He wouldn't trust anyone, especially after his questionable method of death. Sarai was a really twisted little bitch," she then broke into a laugh. The kind of laugh you would hear from snobbish princesses or envious rich girls.

"SHUT UP!" I yelled as I stabbed Flo's tip to the ground. Shadow Claw appeared on the ground from Flo's tip and streaked directly at Dinah. She quickly punched the ground, causing a ripple effect that cracked the earth under her and throwing dust to the air. I knew she was still there, but due to the dust, I wasn't able to tell exactly what happened in there. I could've used Wedjat, but I was actually holding that back as an insurance policy.

"Oh," she said after the dust settled, though she was nowhere in sight. In her place was a pile of rocks that fell onto each other like a pile of gangbanged domino. "Seems like I struck a nerve. You should become more like your mother, she was a really sick fuck," came her voice as the pile of rocks exploded, revealing her form, appearing untouched by the Shadow Claw. Then she opened her palms and two trails of dust rose from the ground and form two small spheres of earth which she gently pushed at me.

I merely watched as the two spheres of earth floated slowly towards me. It was halfway between me and Dinah when Flo said, Ilyse, why aren't you avoiding it?

Umm, I don't know. Am I supposed to avoid it? It looked so slow.

Eh, naturally, when a foe throws something at me, I would avoid it. Even if it's just cabbage.

But she didn't throw it, she merely pushed it gently. By this time, the spheres were only 10 feet away.

FOR THE LOVE OF CHEESE! RUN!

I started running, which appeared to be the wrong move as the spheres increased speed and flew at me at twice my speed. It only took two or three seconds before it impacted and exploded. Good thing that I had the mind to create a layer of sturdy ice covering my back.

You were saying? I snapped at Flo.

Sorry, was his only answer.

Brandishing Flo, I blinkstruck behind her in what Eisheth would call a 'perfect execution'. It didn't hit as she summoned one of her weapon artifact, a two-edged sword and blocked my slash. Sparks flew as our two swords made contact and for a moment, I was blinded by the flash. Following up my attack, I blinkstruck behind her again. It failed to hit this time, as she blinked elsewhere instead, leaving me thrusting at the empty air.

My senses, honed by the continuous pummeling that I'd received at the hands of Eisheth's Wights quickly found her to be behind me. I blinkstruck blindly to where I thought she was and instead of striking her, I got double-stabbed in the back with first a sword that pierced straight to my front and then a dagger that lodged itself into my left kidney. I figured that I must've miscalculated the distance, that I mistakenly blinked in front of her instead of behind her. I quickly attempted to pull both out but for some reason, neither would budge.

I tried again to pull both out and still it refused to let go of my flesh. They're under orders to cling to your flesh, Ilyse. There's nothing you can do about it unless you can cut the mental ties between them and Dinah. This is merely a distraction. Don't take your attention away from Dinah. WATCH OUT!

I looked up and saw Dinah charging straight at me with a spear. Crossing my arms together with Flo pointed up, I gathered my frost power on both my arms until both my arms glowed blue. My training with Aunt Agrat had also allowed me to gather the frost power much quicker than the second day I was with Eisheth. Once she got close enough, I opened my arms thus releasing the stored frost power as a turbulent and violent blast of Frost Breath. It didn't take long before a field of ice the size of a tennis court appeared in front of me.

BEHIND!, came Flo's voice.

I quickly twisted myself around and was barely in time to deflect a thrusting spear. I almost lost my grip on Flo as the two blades in my torso bit even more into my flesh as I turned. I coughed some black blood as she relentlessly forced me back with continuous strikes which forced me to twist and move vigorously, causing the blades to dig deeper and deeper into me.

Blink, Ilyse! You can blinkstrike, use it!

Shut up, Flo. I'm going to. You don't need to tell me!, I replied as I blinkstruck behind Dinah.

She instead chose to blink behind me rather than standing there allowing me to get some wounds on her. So I again blinked behind her and for the next ten or so blows, neither of our attacks hit as it became a contest of Blink. I was mighty confused when I broke off from the engagement.

"How?" I asked.

She smirked at my confusion, "You can't seriously think that you're the only one who knows blinkstrike. Heck, half of those who survived Baphomet War are probably a master of blinkstrike, now. I myself mastered this technique centuries before Sarai was even born. So, have you given up, yet?"

"If I give up, are you going to let me go?"

"Hell no. I'll just make your death go quicker. You need to be punished for defying Mother. Traitors need to be taught a lesson. In that sense, you're just like your mother."

"Mom was not a traitor!" I cried as I charged at her. My body was now charged with a Frost Aura and Frozen Heart as well as Arctic Tempest that swirled around my body, carrying with it chilling wind, hailstorm and hard snow. I told Flo to change back to his ring form.

"Oh yes, she was," Dinah said as she ran backwards, matching my speed, "Hasn't anybody told you? She tried to bring down Armageddon once."

"She foiled the attempt from inside their organisation!" I stopped running and now used my wings to the fullest. I didn't realize that I had flown faster than Shaina's top speed. Curiously, Dinah seemed to be able to match my speed effortlessly. Through my peripheral vision, I noticed that we had already went far beyond the boundaries of Vanity Meadows and now reached a wide open plains. It didn't escape my notice that our spectators from Vanity Meadows also followed us, no doubt to watch the entertainment.

"I assure you, naive one, that she didn't intend to do that," she formed a large fireball and threw it at me, which was easily shucked off by Arctic Tempest, "She was a traitor, your whole ancestry was full of traitors. You great grandmother, Sarai's cousin, you're all descended from a clan of traitors! Why do you think that your sister wasn't chosen?"

"What the hell do you mean, you decrepit pile of bones?" I yelled as I shot Frost Bolts from both my hands.

"She's the biggest traitor of your entire lineage. She'll go drunk with power and attempt to take everything for herself if Mother chose her to be a Lili. You've already proven that you have the potential to be a traitor."

Ilyse, calm down. She's just goading you. Don't take much notice of her words. Calmly think of your options and decide the best course of action.

"I'm not a traitor!" I cried.

Of course you're not. I would not have agreed to join you if you were. I do have a very high standard when it comes to allies. I once allied with a goat, that didn't work very well, though. I learned to accept only the aid of a good horse since then.

I dropped to a stop and simply laughed. Dinah also stopped and asked, "What's wrong with you? I didn't know you would snap this easily. It once took me a week just to coax an emotion from Sarai."

That's the way to do it. Laugh. It's okay. So who cares if your ancestors were traitors, they're not the ones fighting at the moment.

One of these days, I'm going to ask you some questions and don't you dare change the topic again.

Sure, but you do have to win this first. After all, dead people can't ask questions.

Raising my hands, I chanted an incantation that increased the intensity and fervor of Arctic Tempest. Then in a quick move, I threw the entire cyclone at Dinah who made a face of unexpected shock and quickly sank into the ground. I didn't give her a chance as again I casted Negative Gravity on her. It was satisfying to see the chunk of rock get pummeled by the chilling wind and sharp ice shards. Then I heard a sharp whistling sound.

"What the hell's that?" I asked to no one in particular.

Then I felt a sharp pain as a spear pierced my spine, went through my heart and came out of my chest. The impact was so strong that the tip of the long spear stabbed into the ground, effectively pinning me where I stood. As my Frost Armor and Frozen Heart shatter, I felt my consciousness slipping.

Through the fog in my head, I heard Flo's heavily accented but muffled voice, Don't pass out, Ilyse! This must not be the end! If you pass out now, you will die, and then you shall lose this duel. Fight it. STAY AWAKE

I managed to open my eyes for a brief moment. Looking down at the long spear that pierced my body, I tried with all my strength to stay awake and attempted to Fade. I could feel myself succeed as I felt the two blades and the handle of the spear gradually disappear from my body. Then I fell to the ground, coughing black blood. Through my peripheral vision, I saw the two blades fall to the ground while the spear remained stuck to the ground, with my black blood staining its gleaming handle next to me.

Thanks Flo, I directed at Flo as I flooded myself with a pinkish Healing Aura.

It's not over yet, look up!

I painstakingly turned myself over to look up and to my horror, Dinah had already prepared a large fireball that looked pretty much like a sun. I know I should avoid it somewhat, but apart from my right arm, my body failed to respond. Even my mind wasn't coherent enough to blink anywhere. When she threw it, I could only watch as the fireball got closer and closer. At least until I remembered something...

Rummaging into the void, into my personal storage space, I was relieved to feel it against my fingers. I pulled it out and threw it at the approaching fireball. I just had to laugh when I saw the fireball got sucked into the foot-long bone stake, like a sponge soaking up water, until at last it buried itself into Dinah's breast, who was still hovering in the air.

"That can't be," Dinah cried, appearing undisturbed by the foot-long Raphael's Collar that pierced her body, "Luck can only get you so far." Then she appeared to throw something at me.

By this time, I had healed enough to be able to stand again. I blinked away, thinking that it was some kind of invisible attack. Dinah however looked at her hands in confusion, then she looked at Adela before looking at the bone stake that was stuck in her chest. Then she came down and stared at me in puzzlement.

"How did you manage to get one of Raphael's Collar? It was said that two was in the possession of Asmodeus while the other one was missing," then she looked at it again, "Where did you find this one?"

"Doesn't matter. Now you can't use magic anymore, which means defeating you will be much easier. Please just stay still and accept you fate, sister," I grinned as again Flo appeared in my hand.

Just as I was about to thrust the tip of Flo's blade into Dinah's heart, she grabbed my right arm with her left hand, pushed it away from her body and said, "Unfortunately, sister. While I can't use magic for as long as I have Raphael's Collar inside me, it won't stay that way for long." Then she proceeded to pull Raphael's Collar out and stabbed my stomache with it instead.

Flo switched back to his ring form as I let go of the handle. My body immediately felt weak, the same way I felt as when I was back in Ashmedan. The Healing Aura that I maintained to heal my body dispersed and was sucked into Raphael's Collar. The cyclone also dispersed as it lost the source of its power, me. I attempted to pull it out, but it proved impossible.

"Oh, you poor thing. Let me give you a little bit of explanation. When you threw it at me, you forgot to reactivate the enchantment to keep it inside my body. Therefore, I could pull it easily. I activated the enchantment just now, before I stabbed it into you. How's it feel? Nice?" she said before laughing at my face. I really hate that.

Ilyse, let me have control of your hand.

What?

Quick, while she's distracted.

Fine, you have it.

It was weird to see my hand move without my control. The hand then tugged at Raphael's Collar and pulled it out effortlessly.

How'd you do that?

Trade secret. I could feel his smirk.

"How'd you do that?" Dinah asked with a wide open mouth.

"I was wondering the same thing."

Best to put this away, Ilyse. You don't know how to use it properly. I'll return the hand to you now, he said as he released control of my hand. I almost let go of Raphael's Collar because of the suddenness of having control of my hand back. I then send Raphael's Collar back to the void. It has served its purpose.

"You know, this duel has gone on for far too long. It's time we end this, don't you agree?" she said as a great ball of electricity the size of a basketball appeared in her right hand.

"What?" I asked as she blinked away to appear quite a bit of distance away.

"I'm saying that I've gotten bored. See you in 20 years, little girl," she said as she threw the ball of electricity at me. The moment it left her hand, it transformed into thunder. When it hit me, I just knew that it was the last thing I will ever see.

-----

I opened my eyes.

I was in a dark place. Well, not really dark, more like twilight, if that matters in any way. It reminded me of the place Mother Gaea brought me to that last time when she attempted to kill me for some reason. It certainly seemed similar in many ways.

"Enjoying the view?" came a voice from behind me.

I turned around and was confronted with... myself. Or at least my lilin self. She had a more demonic demeanor than me, though.

"Who the hell are you?"

She looked annoyed. "Isn't it plainly obvious? I'm you, and you're me. Well, there's a slight difference, but that's basically it."

"So, what... am I dead now? You're something like my sins or the good deeds I've done in life, to guide me to heaven or hell?"

"Hell no! What gave you such a silly idea?"

"Well, I heard that when one dies, their love ones will come to pick them up."

She put both hands on her waist, appearing furious. "You sound stupid, please don't repeat that to anyone else. You're the new Queen of Tartarus. Stop believing in such folktales."

"So, am I dead?"

"Why? You want to be?"

I was getting extremely annoyed by now. "What is it with you and your aversion to straight answers?"

"Fine! No, you're not dead. Though you were very close to being one." she said, looking as if she'd rather be doing something else right now.

"Okay then. Why don't you tell me why I'm talking to myself right now."

"Hum, well, let's see. Do you still remember Mother saying something about she'd rather not activate a boy because he will end up developing multiple personalities?"

"I vaguely remember that, but yes."

"Well, voila!" she said as she opened her arms.

"What? You want me to hug you now?"

She rolled her eyes. "Seriously, I can't believe I could be attached to such an idiot. I'm your alternate personality. Or maybe you're mine, it's hard to tell, really. But since you're the one controlling the body while I'm stuck in this dark place, I would assume that you're the main personality."

"So what does this mean?"

"Well, ever wondered why you didn't have innate lilin knowledge?"

"People have made such a remark plenty of times. I assume you know the answer?"

"Indeed, I do. You didn't have innate lilin knowledge because I have that knowledge."

"What? You can't lend it to me?"

She groaned as she said, "It's not that easy. For you to receive ancestral knowledge, you must accept me. We must become one"

I opened my arms as I moved to hug her.

"It's not that easy, you damned fuck!" she yelled as she kicked me in the left breast. That really hurt. Halucinations shouldn't be that painful. "For us to be one, you must accept everything about me. You're still hung up about being female and about being a lili."

"But I have already accepted that."

"No, you have not. If you already accepted that, you wouldn't ask Mother for your 'freedom'. You still cling to the thought that maybe you'd be able to be a normal man after this is over. You must let go of everything and just be me."

"Well, maybe you're right. I don't want to be you. I just want to be me, Patrick Willows, web consultant, son of Theodore and Sandra Willows."

She conjured a stool and sat crosslegged on it. "Hate to point it out to you, my dear counterpart, but you are already much more than that. You are a woman, a lili and the Queen of Tartarus. You have a position that many can only envy and dream of. Hum, that's an idea. How about switching places with me? I'll take care of everything for you."

"And the catch?"

"You'll have to stay here forever, of course."

"No deal."

"Thought so," she smirked. "It's really not that bad here. You can still see what happens outside, you just won't have any hand in it."

"I said no deal."

She shrugged, "Well then. You should probably move along now. You have only eight lives left. Now that you know about me, I'll help as much as I can from here."

"Eight lives? What are you talking about?"

"Remember all those things that Naamah flooded into your brain?"

"How can I not? That was very painful. But I couldn't make out a single thing. It was pure garbage."

She looked horrified as she said, "Pure garbage! How can you even say that? Have you any idea what she gave you?"

"No."

"Well, I've taken some time studying some of those things she passed to you and it was amazing. We still live, thanks to one of those 'garbage' that she poured into your brain. It's called 'Nine Lives', basically a technique that can save an immortal from sure death by giving nine mortal lives."

"Isn't that an irony? Saving an immortal by making it mortal?"

"It may sound so, but it's not. You were immortal, but even immortals can be killed. There are many ways an immortal can be truly killed. The crude stab and smash method in Ashmedan thankfully wasn't one of it. Although Asmodeus no doubt knows how to kill you, he wouldn't do it because he wouldn't have the power to bring you back. You may not notice it, but his realm isn't very well off as he liked to portray it. While you were busy suffering, I've been expanding my senses and I found that the outer edge of Ashmedan was slowly disintegrating. It means that Asmodeus is losing his power. It's taking all his power just to maintain what he had. Killing you will most likely plunge his faction and the Lilim into a war which would hurt him more than it will hurt us."

"Anyway," she continued, "A high magic, such as Thunder, as cast by Dinah is one of the surefire way to kill a Lilim. It was the method that killed the most True Lilim during the Etemenanki event. If I didn't cast Nine Lives just now, we would have both died because we share the same body, and thus, we share the same life."

Half-Lilin Encyclopedia Etemenanki (Sumerian: Temple of the Foundation of Heaven and Earth), also known as the Tower of Babel. A tower built after The Great Flood as a testament to the strength and unity of mankind. Etemenanki event refers to the event known as the Confusion of Tongues where the tower was destroyed and by earthquake and lightning and its people scattered across the Earth and assigned new languages so that they can never be truly united again. The Etemenanki event in this context refers to the eradication of the True Lilim for their help in building the tower.

"What does it mean then by getting mortal life?"

"It means that even the most crude method can kill you. You got stabbed in the heart, you die. You lost lots of blood, you die. Your heart stopped beating, you die. Basically, anything that can kill a human can kill you now. There's another downside."

"What's that?"

"You can't use magic."

I threw my hands up in surrender. "Oh great! Why don't you just freaking stab me 8 times and get it over with? How the heck am I supposed to win when I can't use magic?"

"There's a time limit! You'll be able use magic after the time limit for Nine Lives is reached."

"And when will that be?"

"Probably a week, the details are pretty sketchy on that."

"Are you saying that I have to keep fighting as a human for a week? Are you stupid?" I resorted to yelling now.

"Give me some credit, will you? Before I casted Nine Lives, I already casted Haste on you, though I'm not really sure if it will remain now that you've lost one life. But I've been working on something and I believe it will help you greatly. Just let me have control of your left hand for awhile when you return to life."

I pondered my situation, and I found that there's really very little that I could do. I extended my hand to her in a peace offering, to which she shook. "Nice to see you, Ilyse."

"Nice to see you too, Ilyse." she said as her figure and voice slowly fade.

-----

I opened my eyes.

I was lying face up on the grass. I was glad to see the red sky again, as it means that I really am not dead. The sound of cheering and whistling was really distracting though. I got up.

Almost immediately, all the noise stopped. I looked around and was greeted with shocked faces. Delilah however was jumping with glee. Some of the others in her group however, were scowling. Dinah, who were raising her hands in triumph, fists in the air, dropped her hands in confusion at the sudden silence.

"Yo!" I said as Dinah quickly turned around.

"How the hell are you not dead? My Thunder hit you full on."

Yes, how are you not dead? Sarai would've died if hit with something like that. Even I can felt the power of that thunder.

Trade secret. I giggled.

"No matter. You won't be lucky the second time."

Standby, came my voice. Though I believe it's the other Ilyse.

Flo in turn asked, Standby for what?

I felt myself losing control of my left hand as it raised itself to the same level as my heart. Then I felt my skin crawl, and that's not good. Because I remember one other time that my skin crawl when I raise my hand and that proved to be disasterous. I tried to take back control of my left hand, but it didn't work. I attempted to pull my hand down with my right, didn't work either.

Relax, Ilyse. I got it down pat. While you were busy playing, I've analyzed all those times you failed Void Point and I know what you did wrong, so just let me do my stuff.

If you're wrong, this will be the end.

I'm not wrong. You'll see.

Ilyse, what is going on here?

Shh, Flo. I'm going to do something daring. Don't disturb my concentration. she said as I felt my skin crawl again.

The air suddenly stilled, tension grew as if from nowhere. I felt the air thicken and the pressure build, making me feel slightly claustrophobic. Even Dinah stopped in her tracks as she pondered the change in the atmosphere. I saw the beginning of what is to be Void Point appear as a speck of dust on my palms. Already I could see the difference, as unlike last time, this time the Void Point grew in maturity somewhat slowly, allowing the other me to control the containment that prevents it from overloading. Finally, the Void Point stopped growing once it reached the size of a tennis ball and became stable. It looked much like a black hole, so dark and not even light escaped from it. It however didn't appear to be sucking anything.

Okay, what do we do with it now? I asked.

Now, we're going to use it for Soulburn.

Soulburn? What the fuck?

Too late to disagree, she said as she crushed the Void Point with her fist. Immediately, I felt my heart being pressed and power flowed all over my body. The power pressed against my heart harder, causing me to black out.

When I awoke, I felt such overwhelming power that it felt like I was a god of some sort. That wasn't so bad. I thought Soulburn would hurt more. The pain of having my heart crushed paled in comparison to the amount of power I now controled.

That's because it wasn't a Soulburn. I only called it Soulburn because I didn't have the patience to explain it. The correct name is Enhancement. The theory is similar to you using your compressed frost power to greatly increase the effectiveness of your frost techniques. Anyway, sorry to make you lose one life there.

Ilyse! Watch out!

I looked up and saw Dinah charge at me with a spear in her hands. I leapt to the air to meet her head on. My speed surprised myself but that wasn't the biggest change. When I stabbed Dinah with Flo, my hands simply pass through her stomache as if it was a soft mashed potato. It was that easy, as if for that moment, her natural armor didn't exist.

She kicked me away, but really, the only reason I pulled back was because I was confused myself.

"How...?" she said between gritted teeth, her left hand over her wide open stomache that was still dripping black blood.

Hey, Ilyse. Why would Void Point work if I can't use magic?

Void Point is not magic. It's something like the process of photosynthesis in plants. You don't call that magic, do you?

Fair enough

The moment her bleeding stopped, Dinah let go of her spear, which hovered in the air where she left it. Then she opened her arms wide, as if asking for a boon from her god. Immediately, I noticed a wrongness in the atmosphere. I felt a ripping sensation from all around me. It felt much like the start of Void Point, only much more universal. Holes then started to appear in the atmosphere. Dark holes that instead of swallowing, regurtitates something. Only when it finished its task and the dark holes closed did I understood what it was. There were now swords, spears, knives, daggers, falchions, thorns, all kinds of weapons hovering in the air.

Oh hell, came Flo's voice, I was hoping we could finish her before she does this.

What? What is it?

Steel Rain. Her signature mass murder technique. She would often use this technique when she got pissed off enough. You see, she may have 86 weapons artifact, but she has no proficiency for any of them. This is her way to compensate for that weakness.

I made a stance and leaped to the sky with my Void Point empowered fist but I wasn't able to reach Dinah as I was impaled by about 40 of Dinah's weapons artifacts, causing me to fall to the ground.

As my visions blurred and my consciousness slipping, I heard a faraway voice saying, seven.

I opened my eyes again and was horrified to see my body still impaled by 40 different swords, spears, daggers and needles. I must've looked like a porcupine. I tried to get away, to push those weapons away from me but none would budge. Then four more weapons stabbed into my body and I lost consciousness again.

Six.

I awoke again. Still feeling the pain of all those weapons stuck into my body. As my wounds bled black blood, I lost consciousness again.

Five.

Again, I awoke. I was about to lose consciousness again, when a voice said, Get up! Don't waste your lives like this.

I again lost consciousness before I could think about doing anything.

Four

Ilyse, pull out the weapons with your right hand only. said Flo.

Opening my eyes, I tried to fight the feeling of wanting to go to sleep. I succeeded in getting myself away from the weapons by pulling it one by one, but in the end, I again fell unconscious.

Three. You did good.

I awoke again. Immediately I heard Flo's voice yelling, Ilyse, move!

So I rolled to the side, and was glad to see that I managed to escape death from three more swords. Move! Don't stop, Ilyse! And so again I rolled over and over as swords and spears fall to the place I was a second ago. That is until I put a stop to it and pushed myself to stand after my last roll.

Looking up at Dinah, I saw her face cold. Emotionless, as she again directed two more of her hovering weapons to streak at me. It failed to hit as I managed to sidestep at the very last minute. Then she threw something that looked like a lock with chains attached to it.

That's a trinket artifact. Break it? Flo asked.

Break it. I agreed as we prepared for...

Amalgam Slash!

The lock was neatly cut into two as it fell apart in two directions and exploded harmlessly away from us.

As she threw two more weapons at me, I flapped my wings hard, rushed behind her and was about to strike when I got stabbed from all sides by the free-flying weapons. Even my wings was clipped to my back. I lost consciousness again, just as I was about to fall.

Two.

I managed to pull the weapons and flew away before I fell to the ground. I wasn't able to stop myself from falling, but through the use of my holey wings, I managed to safely glide to the ground. I rolled around a little bit and stood up quickly before another dagger hit me.

"Throwing daggers at me, eh? Let's see how you like tasting your own medicine," I said as I moved to pull the dagger from the ground.

Ilyse, don't! cried Flo.

The moment I touched the dagger, I knew something was wrong. The steel from the dagger instantly liquidified and quickly ran up my arms to the rest of my body. While it didn't cover my body in any way, the liquid metal quickly cooled and set as it bound me to my crouching posture.

You must not touch other people's artifacts. For as long as the owner lives, the artifacts can only be touched by the owner or anyone else the owner gives permission to. You do not have permission!

That's just great, Flo! Remember to tell me before I do it next time, okay?

Instead of hearing Flo's reply, two spears pierced me from the back, going clean to the front. Oh well, I expected that. Sure was painful though.

One.

I pulled both out as soon as I awoke. The liquid metal had already reverted to its dagger form.

"Why are you still not dead?!!!" she screamed in rage as I felt my skin crawl again.

All around me, the spears, swords, daggers and needles started to vibrate and then flew up to the sky. I had a sinking feeling that things are about to go a lot worse. Then all the weapons, all 86 of them, flew straight at me. I knew that this was a fight I couldn't win. So I ran.

Even running with Haste and Void empowered body, I still couldn't outrun the Steel Rain. I managed to reduce their numbers by about ten, through crazy footwork. But there was no way that I would be able to outrun them all. I really wish I could use my spells at this very moment.

I just ran and ran, sometimes flew, depending on which method was fastest at the time. I finally arrived at the center of Vanity Meadows, the only place in Yenne Velt that I knew by heart. The Steel Rain's speed had lessened, so I took a bit of a breather while asking Flo and the other me what we could do to prevent a sure death.

I have a plan, Ilyse, Flo said, Let me have your entire body.

No friggin way, you pervert! I said in protest.

Not in that way! I'm asking you to relinquish control of your body to me.

Why? What are you going to do with it? I asked guardedly.

I'm about to use her natural lilin pride against her.

We DO NOT have any natural lilin pride! said the other me.

From afar, I saw the glinting of the Steel Rain. If you want to follow my plan, now would be a good time.

Seeing as we only had seconds, I said, Fine, you have it!

The moment he gained control, he sidestepped an oncoming sword that arrived earlier than the others. To my surprise, he picked up the swords and wielded it with no consequence to himself.

He then used that same sword to deflect the other weapons as it flew at us. I could feel the power of each of his slashes as the sound of clanging metal reverberate through the air. When that sword went blunt, he made one final slash and abandoned it, as he got hold of a spear that had its velocity greatly reduced from contact with the other sword. He then switched weapons a few more times until he finally was able to charge directly at the lone Dinah, by flapping my wings a few times and stepping on the still flying weapons.

How are you doing this? I thought that no one else can use her artifacts?

This is natural lilin pride, dear Ilyse. The Lilim believes that the definition of a soul, is one that has sentience. Therefore, they considered that only humans, angels and demons have souls. Their protection also applies only to these creatures. Anything other than that, such as artifacts, are considered soulless and therefore beneath their notice, so they never made any enchantments to safeguard from any artifacts that acts on its own.

We were less than two feet away from Dinah when with a flick of her hand, the sword in Flo's hand disappeared in a bright flash, making his attack fell short of hitting anything. She then cast Wind Blast on our back, forcing us to fall to the ground at breakneck speed. I broke my neck the moment my body hit the ground.

ZERO!

Is it all over? I asked.

Not by a long shot. You both did very well, she answered just as I felt a great breeze came out of all the pores of my body. Not long after, it turned into gale winds of extreme ferocity. I tried to stop it, but failed miserably. My skin cracked and bloodied, my hair flying behind me, until finally, it stopped. I opened my eyes and was amazed at the beauty of the icy cavern the size of a small room that I was in. I was about to move, when I felt my legs stuck. I looked down and saw my entire leg was covered in ice.

What's going on? I asked as I heard something pounding at the ice cavern from the outside

Mom's power exploded after your last death. I was hoping that would happen, but I was never very sure as the side effects of Nine Lives were not properly documented, even by Naamah. The last time she used it to flee from Gabriel, she ended up being reborn as a human.

The pounding started again. You can't move now, but I can. Conjure a Shadow Copy.

But I can't properly control it. Last time I only used it as cannon fodder.

Of course you can't control it, silly. You haven't mastered that technique yet. But I can, we're like two separate minds anyway.

Oh my gosh! You're right! I agreed as I casted Shadow Copy. It's color still looked sickly transparent, but it can fight as well as I can.

Good. Don't worry, I'll take care of everything, she said as she took control of the Shadow Copy and blinked away.

It was at that exact moment that the icy walls came tumbling down.

Ilyse, give me a body as well. I can fight in your stead. Flo said.

Can you control the Shadow Copy? I asked, feeling slightly sceptical.

Worth a try, don't you think?

So I created another Shadow Copy of myself for him as I noticed the other me fighting Dinah up in the sky.

I think this is working, Flo said, Sure could do without the breasts though.

I just giggled as he leaped to the sky to help the other me. I'll be borrowing Amphillogiai! he said as Amphillogiai transformed into Eleutheria, the sword.

While they were fighting and keeping Dinah busy, I tried to free myself from my icy prison. None of my attempts work. I tried melting it with fire spells and breaking it with Arcane Barrage, but none would even make a crack in the ice. Even Blink and Fade wouldn't work as it appeared that the ice I was standing on had some kind of dampening effect on those spells. I opened Wedjat, and was horrified to notice that there was no weakness in the spell matrix that held the ice together. If I didn't do something, I may well end up as a permanent decoration in Vanity Meadows. I however noticed a lot of flaws in Dinah's spell matrix and using Null Field, was able to break the key point of her spells, causing it to vanish prematurely nor cause any harm at all to the other me and Flo.

Ilyse! the other me called, This is not working. Even with mom's tricorne power, her own power seems limitless. We must end it now. We should use Banish.

Banish? But using that would destroy her entire ethereal essence!

That's the idea. We aim to kill now. We'll leave it to Mother to worry about her return later. If we don't do this, we will be the one killed instead. We must do this.

Alright, but I can't move, remember? I can't draw the circle.

Leave it to me. I'll draw the circle, you just cast it when it's done. I don't have any vocal chords to do it myself. Flo will keep Dinah company.

No problem, I heard Flo said.

Alright, go! I said as Flo fought harder with Eleutheria, with me aiding in nullifying Dinah's spells.

The other me started by drawing an inner circle, before proceeding with an outer circle with me at the center of the circle. Then she started drawing all the runes.

Starting with Fehu at 12 o'clock, outer circle. Uruz 3 o'clock, inner circle, surrounded on three sides by Thurisaz, Hagalaz and Inguz. Nauthiz, 7 o'clock, outer circle, flanked by Perthro. Sowilo, 8 o'clock, inner circle. And lastly Tiwaz at 10 o'clock, outer circle, linked to Mannaz in the inner circle.

Done! the other me said right before she was blasted out of commission.

Your sacrifice will not be in vain, Ilyse. Rest in peace, my other self.

I'm not dead yet, you damned fuck!

I giggled before chanting:

Rise, ancient spirits of Sheol
Firiel, The Bound Angel
May your vigilance be eternal
Galgrifon, The Royal Beast
May your reign be long and prosperous
Entenakra, The Ancient Queen
May your subjects worship you forevermore
Rise, and answer my call

Suddenly I stopped as my voice refused to come out.

"Damned bitch!" cried Dinah. I looked up and saw her with Eleutheria stuck in her stomache while her gaze and left hand pointed at me. Then she said through her coughs of blood, "You want to Banish me? Me? I'll show you how insignificant you are, you worthless little insect!"

Then she tried to kick Flo away before trying to push him with her free hand. "Get off me, you damned puppet!"

Flo instead pushed Eleutheria deeper, moved behind Dinah and held her in a tight bearhug. Now, Ilyse! Finish the spell. End this duel and claim your freedom!

I panicked, I really panicked. I know I should finish the spell, but my voice won't come out. I need my voice to finish casting. I need my voice. I need my voice!

Need a voice, mistress?

=========

Well, as it turns out, I didn't go to prison. So I took some time finishing this chapter. Great thanks to Stanman for the proofreading. And as always, any comments are appreciated.

"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.

"Honey, what's wrong?" he asked as I felt the doorknob turn.

I panicked and yelled at the closed door, "YOU STAY THERE AND DON"T COME OUT! I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU OPEN THE DOOR!"

Just then, I felt the doorknob being turned again from the other side, "I MEAN IT!"

"OK, OK. I'll wait. Wrong day of the month?" he asked from the other side of the door.

I woke up the moment the piercing morning sunlight hit my eyes. I rolled around, facing Chris. Snuggling up against his body, I recalled last night's wonderful romp. After we made love last night, we got to talking a little bit about our future, and of course that included marriage. He was all for getting married and to move somewhere far away where people wouldn't recognize us. The big lug actually thought that we should move to Argentina. Sheesh!

I shot the idea down immediately. I pointed out to him about Little Tell and how I couldn't just leave her alone now that I was the only family she had left. He then asked me how I was going to tell Tell that she now has a sister instead of brother. I was stumped, really. I thought maybe I would be able to think better after a good sleep. He actually had the cheek to tell me that he'd rather have my head at a rather specific place. He didn't mean the pillow. Yup, you guessed it. We had three more of those fun-filled moments after that. With me not needing to feed on him anymore, it was really a revelation to discover the maximum amount of times he could use his deadly weapon.

Thinking of Tell though, I got up and walked to the connecting bathroom. Chris stirred and for awhile there, I thought he was intent on not letting me leave his side, judging by the strength of his grasp on my wrist. I had to peel off his fingers one by one. My, he really didn't want to let me go, even in his sleep. I kind of wondered what dream he was having.

Well anyway, I was turning the tap to wash my face when I felt an extreme wrongness in my anatomy. I looked down and was shocked to discover that I no longer have my breasts. I touched my chest and confirmed that it really was flat. I splashed handfuls of water at my face, thinking that maybe I was just having a bad dream and that I didn't really lose my gorgeous, firm breasts overnight. After several splashes of water, I looked down and was dismayed to see that nothing changed. Then I thought of something and hesitantly reached my hand far down. My suspicions confirmed. I'm a man now! WTF?

"Calm down, Ilyse. There must be a very good explanation for this," I said to myself. I took a few minutes to calm down.

Just as my heartrate fell to normal levels and I could breath normally again, Chris said, "Morning, hon."

I turned around at his voice and without even looking at me (his eyes were half closed), he slid next to me and turned the tap. I was horrified, to say the least. I quickly ran out of the bathroom, closed the door and held the doorknob tightly.

"Honey, what's wrong?" he asked as I felt the doorknob turn.

I panicked and yelled at the closed door, "YOU STAY THERE AND DON"T COME OUT! I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU OPEN THE DOOR!"

Just then, I felt the doorknob being turned again from the other side, "I MEAN IT!"

"OK, OK. I'll wait. Wrong day of the month?" he asked from the other side of the door.

I quickly rummaged around in his closet for something to wear. Why does he has to be so big? Everything I tried on felt very loose.

"Just then the door opened slightly and in a panic, I grabbed the nearest item in my reach, which turned out to be a bedside table lamp, pulled the chord in one swift move and threw it at the opening door. The table lamp shattered upon impact and Chris quickly closed it back with a loud, "Shit!"

I turned back around to the closet and managed to find something slightly smaller at the back of the closet. It was a greenish t-shirt with the words 'Cars Are For Wimps' and black pants that had to be used with a belt. With my attire taken care of, I fled from the house through the front door, locking the door before closing it. It appeared I forgot to tell Chris to lock the door last night.

I just kept on running. I didn't even care where I was heading, just as long as I could put as much distance between myself and Chris. As I ran, I kept asking myself what happened. My mind started rationalizing that maybe all those things about being a Lili, Yenne Velt, meeting Stephanie Mills and the duel with Dinah was nothing more than a halucination or a dream, caused by not taking my pills. I wondered if maybe I was slightly gay in truth. By noon, I had ran for miles and my legs kept on running. When my legs stop though, I was freaked out at my surrounding.

I was in a cemetery! Not just any cemetery, but a fairly old one. With mausoleums and all.

"Greetings!" said an elderly voice behind me.

I turned around and said, "Hello, are you the groundskeeper? I'm sorry, can you tell me where I am at the moment?"

He rubbed his beard and said, "Why, you're in a cemetery, where else? Can't you see all the tombstones?"

"Okay..." I paused for a bit before saying, "where exactly is this cemetery?"

"It is on God's green Earth, that's where," he answered. I was starting to think that maybe this old man is a bit cuckoo.

Still trying to be polite, I said in a calm voice, "Okay, are we still in South Pasadena?"

"Names and titles worth little before God," he said instead.

By now I was about ready to lose my patience. So instead of blowing up at this ancient, probably senile man, I chose the better part of valor by leaving instead.

"Well, thanks anyway," I said as I took a step back.

I realized something was wrong the moment I tried to raise one of my foot. I looked down and found that the sports shoes that I wore (borrowed from Chris of course) had already sunk into the dark earth. I tried to pull my feet up but it wouldn't budge.

"Mister, please help me. Something's wrong, I can't get free." I said as I extended a hand his way.

The old man instead simply stood there rubbing his beard, his facial expression suggesting that nothing appeared wrong.

"Help me, please!" I said as tree roots starting wrapping itself around my ankles and pulling even faster into the earth. It wasn't long before I sunk to my knees and more roots wrapped themselves around my lower legs to pull me down.

Then the old man spoke, "This is a holy ground. Your kind is not welcomed here. Looks like instead of allowing you to walk freely, the earth decided to swallow you up and seal you in its embrace itself." He started laughing at his own private joke. It wasn't funny even a bit and I wasn't laughing.

Then I recognized the telling features of the sealing spell. It was a Seal of Heaven and Earth, that seals a creature indefinitely under the earth which was blessed by the light of Heaven. This sealing technique is particularly dangerous as continuous exposure to holy light of Heaven can weaken and eventually kill a Lili. With that realization, I grit my teeth and said defiantly, "Damn you, old man. You will not seal me this easily."

As I felt my power start to flow, I started muttering some curses and chanting some spells. One in particular was called Corruption Field, taught by Aunt Agrat to counter mass attacks from all sides. In theory, the spell would make any attackers choke in the darkness of their own heart.I don't know what exactly it can accomplish here, but it's the only thing I can think of. Already I can feel the tree roots around my legs writhe violently as the spell defiled their life force.

The old man looked worried, "Hey, what are you doing? This is a holy cemetery."

I grinned at the old man, playing a confidence that I didn't actually have. "You may have not heard yet, old man, but you're looking at the new Queen of Tartarus. Now, what do you think the Queen of Tartarus can do? In a cemetery?" He didn't appear pale, but I could tell that the realization shook him up.

"You wouldn't dare," he said in response.

"Wouldn't I? You know, by rights alone, this is my domain. If the earth itself wants to swallow me, Then I'd rather go with a boom! I wonder what will happen once I corrupt a holy cemetery. Would be fun, don't you think? I personally think it will be a blast."

I paused and looked at him for a response. His previous confidence had wittered and he was looking more unsure of himself. "Imagine all those rotting corpses breaking out of their coffins and digging their way out through the dirt. Maybe I'll grant them a special power, like the ability to infect a living person. Then we'll have a real life T-Virus outbreak. Imagine that, zombies running amok in the city. A Resident Evil nightmare come true." I punctuated it with an evil laugh.

He looked visibly shaken and uncertain. "Blasted harlot, don't think you can get away with this."

Soon after, I felt the tugging on my legs lessen and I could finally pull myself out of the ground. The old man appeared uncertain of himself and seemed to wonder if he made the right decision in letting me go.

In response, I cancelled my curses and pulled back the corruption which by now had spread a few feet away back into myself. I planted my thoughts into the soil and checked if anything was harmed. Apart from some mutated roots and earthworms, which should heal on its own in a few days, the corruption hadn't had time to spread far. It was almost close enough to touch one of the corpses though. I wonder if I really have the power to raise a corpse as an undead.

The old man seemed glad that I cancelled the corruption. "Don't think you've won, demon. When I return, you'll wish you were already sealed."

As his body slowly turned invisible, I said, "Sure, you uptight grunt. Come and get me."

He left and I suddenly stood there alone. Well, that was fun. At least I know I'm not gay. Now just what am I going to do with the rest of my life?

-----

Now it ends. Sorry, thought of releasing this next week, but I just can't bring myself to keep it hidden for so long. This is the true ending. Though if readers wants to consider chapter 19 as their preferred ending, that's OK. The next expansions will follow this true ending though.

Again, thanks to Stanman for all his help.

Watch out for the next one in the series entitled, The Half-Lilin: By the Light of the Moon.

I wasn't prepared to hear Mr. Stuart's guffaw. "Please, call me John." 'Call me John'? What the fuck's got into him?

"OK, John. I'm sure Miss Willows will get me settled in," she said as she gave me a wink.

"Miss Willows!" he said as he guffawed again. I could see tears flow from his eyes. "She does have a point, Willows. Cut that hair," he said right before he fell backward along with his chair. Even while on the floor, he was still laughing. I've never seen him like this. Did he get super lucky on the slopes of Switzerland or something?

The Half-Lilin
By The Light Of The Moon
Chapter 1
by Shin Eris
Proofreading by Stanman

"Hey, babe!"

I almost dropped the hot cup of espresso I was holding as a pair of hands took hold of my waist from behind.

Steadying my hands, I said without looking back, "Chris! How many times do I have to tell you? When I'm like this, you do NOT touch me!" I punctuated it with an elbow up his ribcage.

"Ow," he said, "I didn't think you were serious. Come on, Pat, let's stop with all this bullshit and just be yourself. Just let go."

"I AM myself, you lousy piece of brain-dead bastard. Get your hands off me. NOW!"

"OK, fine. If that's the way you want to play it," he said as he released my waist and stepped back.

"That's better," I said, still holding my cup of espresso and not looking back, "Now you listen to me, when I'm like this, you treat me like you always treated me. When I'm in my other form, that's a different story."

I heard him open the fridge and rummage around for something in there.

I took a sip of the espresso and said without looking at him, "Do you get me?"

"Sure, I get you," he said, his voice sounded so close, before he proceeded to pour some water on my head.

"What the fuck?!!!" I said, putting the cup on the counter before wiping my hair with my hands and untying my ponytail.

Despite the transformation from female to male, my hair still remained blood-red and long. I tried to cut it, but apparently, my new hair was invulnerable. Who ever heard of an immortal hair? The only consolation was that at least it only reached a little way down my back now.

"Is this OJ?" I asked after a few drops entered my mouth.

"Make up your mind, will you? Do you want me to act lovey dovey or do you want me to be a jerk? Maybe this will help clear that cobweb between your ears," he said before again giving my head another pour of the OJ.

I turned around and shoved him away. "Stop it!" I said as I walked out of the lounge.

As I headed to the washroom, I wondered what exactly I ever saw in him last Christmas.

------

"Willows, come to my office now," was the IM that Mr. Stuart, my boss sent.

I wonder what that was about as I sent, "Coming."

I got up from my chair, then grabbed my 'misc' folder along with a pen. It's a habit of mine whenever I was summoned to Mr. Stuarts' office. I never went there empty handed, Sue said it was likely because I didn't want to appear idle in front of the boss, but really, I only brought the folder so that I'll have something to hold in my hands.

"Lynda, Mr. Stuart asked me to come. Can I see him now?" I said to his personal secretary. Lynda's workspace is a small room filled with cabinets all around and connects Mr. Stuart's entrance to the rest of the office. That doesn't mean Mr. Stuart's office is isolated though. He could still spy on us from his blinds.

"You must be here about the newbie. Just go in, he's waiting for you," she said right before she went back to doing some kind of spreadsheet.

What's this about a newbie though?

I knocked on the door to Mr. Stuart's room and pushed it open when I heard him say, "Come in."

Mr. Stuart is a somewhat elderly man, though not by much. He's only 45 years old, give or take, but already sporting a very obvious potbelly and half-bald. When I walked in, I saw that he was shuffling some blank papers and looking intently at another blank paper. In front of him, sat a gorgeous brunette who was sitting crosslegged. She looked very european, as in east european.

"Ah, Mr. Willows, please have a seat," he said giving me a glance and went back to looking at those papers before snapping his head up to give me another look. It wasn't a very comfortable feeling to be stared in such a way.

"Is there anything I can do for you, Mr. Stuart?" I asked, the very same words I often said whenever I was summoned to his office. Although he's a bit laid back in office affairs, he is extremely strict when it concerns formality. He never calls anyone in the office with their first names. I heard he was a West Point graduate and went for a military career for a few years before he was dishonorably discharged. Nobody dared to ask him if it was true though. The last one who tried asking him that, disappeared the week after. Nobody dared to ask Mr. Stuart if he killed and buried her in his backyard either.

"As a matter of fact, there is. This is Ms. Ariel Ivanova. She'll be joining our department following the resignation of Mr. Henry."

"George is quitting? I've never heard that." I asked. George Henry, or as we call him, 'Mr. Comedian' was a great guy. He always filled the office with laughter. But I have not heard of a single rumor that says he's going to quit.

"Well, now you know, Mr. Willows. Please tell your coworkers that the company will pay for anything you need for Mr. Henry's farewell party, but that is not what I ask you to come here for."

"Anything else then?" I said after giving the girl, Ariel Ivanova, a glance.

"I want you to show Ms. Ivanova the ropes. She's just out of CalTech and this is her first job."

"First real job, sir. I used to be a part-timer at Macy," she interjected with a giggle.

I wasn't prepared to hear Mr. Stuart's guffaw. "Please, call me John." 'Call me John'? What the fuck's got into him?

"OK, John. I'm sure Miss Willows will get me settled in," she said as she gave me a wink.

"Miss Willows!" he said as he guffawed again. I could see tears flow from his eyes. "She does have a point, Willows. Cut that hair," he said right before he fell backward along with his chair. Even while on the floor, he was still laughing. I've never seen him like this. Did he get super lucky on the slopes of Switzerland or something?

Just great. I really need to get rid of this hair. Why is it that people make such a big deal out of this? Steve in the mail room had longer hair, yet nobody called him a girl. Sure, my hairs much softer and more beautiful than his, but still... plenty of guys have long hair.

"Well, if that's all, I shall take my leave, Mr. Stuart," I said to an empty table, as Mr. Stuart was still rolling on the floor laughing his ass off.

The girl, (Ariel Ivanova) followed me as I left his office and closed the door behind her.

"Hi," she said, her voice was like a thousand flowers in a spring garden, "I'm Ariel Ivanova. You can call me Ariel." She extended her hand and gave me a smile.

I took her hand, and said, "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Patrick Willows, you can call me Rick. Is that Ariel as in, the little mermaid?" I laughed a little, to show her that it was just a joke.

"Hehe, my mother loved the cartoon. I suppose maybe that was the inspiration for my name. So, where are we going now?" she asked as she stepped out of Lynda's room.

I gave a wave to Lynda, who didn't seem to notice, before I left.

"First, we'll get you sorted up. I think there's an empty cubicle near mine. You can't take George's place as he's still using it. Are you going to be taking his job?" I asked as I walked to the empty cubicle I mentioned. I noticed that aside from a handbag, she didn't carry anything else.

"What job would that be?"

"Systems analyst," I said, wondering if she agreed to the job without having any idea what she was supposed to do.

"Oh yes, that's it. What does it do, though?" she said in a bimbo-ish tone.

I proceeded to tell her everything a systems analyst do the moment she sat on her chair. Thank goodness I didn't have to teach her everything from A to Z.

------

We were sitting at the cafe across the street from our building when I spotted Sue coming in. Behind her was Liz and Tammy, as always.

"Sue! Over here!" I waved at her.

Sue saw me and walked over. The moment she came eye to eye with Ariel though, she froze, causing Liz and Tammy to collide with her back.

"Oy! Don't stop so suddenly, will you?" said Liz, who had to pick up the handbag she dropped to the floor when she collided with Sue.

Sue mumbled a 'sorry' before taking a seat in front of us. Her eyes fixed on Ariel's. I looked at Ariel and saw that she also had her eyes fixed on Sue's, except that instead of Sue's shocked expression, Ariel had a bit of a snarl.

"You guys know each other?" I enquired, seeing how intent they were at trying to outstare each other.

"Umm, what?" she turned to look at me for a moment before saying, "No, I don't think we've met. Hi, I'm Susan Preston. You can call me Sue." She didn't offer her hand for a shake.

"Ariel Ivanova. Call me Ariel," she said, also not offering her hand for a shake.

"Ariel? As in the mermaid?" Liz enquired, probably trying to break the tension between Sue and Ariel. I could see however that she was licking her lips and looking at Ariel lustily, which annoyed me because she was dating my sister.

Suddenly the atmosphere changed as Ariel giggled and said, "You must be the hundredth person to say that. And what do I call you?"

"Oh, just call me Liz. Never call me Elizabeth, it sounds so... Shakespeare," she said as they shook hands.

"I'm Tammy, are you Patty's friend?" Tammy said as they also shook hands.

Ariel took a look at me and said, "Patty?" then she looked back to Tammy to say, "I don't know, he's like, my tour guide. I just joined the company."

"Oh, the IT department? With Patty?" Tammy asked again.

"Yes, My cubicle's just a few step's away from his," she said as she sipped on her tomato juice.

"Mmm, guess I should spend some time in IT from now on." Again with the lip-licking.

Sue interjected, "Careful, Liz. Her brother's here."

Liz looked at me in shock as if seeing me for the first time, "You're her brother? I thought you're her sister!" They all, including Ariel, broke into a great laugh at that remark. I imagined the other patrons of the cafe must've been wondering what was so funny.

I swear, the next person who makes fun of my hair will be stabbed in the face with a steak knife.

------

I was in the living room, trying to do some work with my laptop while listening to some Eminem when I heard the door chime, "Tell! Can you open the door, please?" I called to Tell who was in the kitchen baking some cookies.

Tell instead yelled back with, "Why don't you open it yourself? You're closer."

"I'm working," I yelled back.

"For Pete's sake, you're only a few feet away from the door. Get off your ass and open it yourself!" she yelled back as the door chimed again.

"I can't, I'll lose all my inspiration. Please? I'll buy you some Baskins-Robbins tomorrow."

Then from the corner of my eyes, I noticed her crossing the walkway to the front door, "I'm not a child anymore, dear brother, but you better not forget your promise!"

Then I heard some voices at the front door.

A short while later, Tell brought a dark-haired woman and a young boy of grade school years into the living room. Tell told me that the woman asked to see me. I got up and offered a hand to the woman which she shook. She obviously disapproved of my ponytail, judging from the way she was looking at it.

I asked them to take a seat as Tell went back to the kitchen to prepare some drinks. I told them to make themselves comfortable while I fix the mess I made during the hour-long working in the living room. I didn't realize how much junk food I've had since I sat down an hour earlier. No wonder the keyboard's all oily.

Tell came in bringing four glasses of juice just as I finished tidying up the living room.

"You're staying?" I asked Tell.

"Damned right I am, oops, forgive my french. She said she wants to talk to you about Vicky, it's been such a long time since I heard from her."

"Which Vicky?"

"Your classmate Vicky! You know, the one whose father... umm-umm... her mother."

"Oh!" I said, finally realizing who she was talking about. She was talking about Vicky Sanchez whose father went insane one day and ended up shooting her mother, before shooting himself with the same shotgun.

"How is Vicky?" I asked.

"Dead," she answered coldly.

"How?" I asked, a bit stunned, to have Vicky's friend coming over to tell me that she had died. Call me sentimental, but Vicky had always been special to me.

"Before I answer, can Victor sit here and watch cartoons? I think we can benefit from a little work in the kitchen."

"Uh, what?"

"Of course," Tell interjected, before pressing the number on the remote for Cartoon Network, "The kitchen's this way."

We left the boy, Victor, alone watching TV in the living room while we quietly made our way to the kitchen.

"Okay, something you can't say in front of the boy?" I enquired the moment we arrived in the kitchen.

"I suppose I should introduce myself first. I am Lauren Thornton, Vicky's cousin. My family took Vicky in after what happened with her mom and dad. That boy, Victor, is Vicky's son."

"Oh," I said, not knowing what else to say.

"Vicky didn't die. Or at least we have no proof that she died. That was a lie we told Victor to stop him from asking about her. All we know is that when Victor was about 3 days old, she simply disappeared. We had no idea what happened to her or why she ran away. My parents never wanted the child, you see. When Vicky was pregnant, they urged her to abort the fetus, but she refused. She said that it was the only thing left from her previous life and she wouldn't let anyone take it away from her."

She took a sip from the juice in her hand and took a seat as Tell offered her one of the kitchen stools. "Vicky loved the child so much, we couldn't understand why she would abandon him so. Before she left though, she left behind a letter, for my eyes only. I only found the letter last Christmas, when I was packing up." Then she broke into tears.

I quickly pulled a few sheets of tissues and handed it to her, to which she said thanks.

"You must understand. I love him like my own son, but I have to think of my own future too."

"OK, calm down. It's OK, take your time," Tell said as she grabbed a couple more sheets of tissue and handing it to her.

"I... I think it's better if you read it yourself," she said as she handed me a piece of yellowed paper.

At Tell's urging, I read it aloud:

To my dearest cousin and friend Lori,

Mere words can not explain how sorry I am to be writing this letter, but it seems that fate has been cruel to me. First my mom went insane, then my dad followed in her footsteps. And now, now I feel like I'm going insane as well. I have seen the days following my mom and dad's death, and I know all the symptoms. I can see the symptom of my mom's madness in me now. When she came to me after Victor's birth, I just knew that I can't stay here anymore, if I were to keep all of you safe.

I'm sorry to have to leave Victor in your hands, but I can't bring him with me. I'm afraid what will happen if I were to go insane like my mom. All these times, I never mentioned who the father was. I shall tell you now, because I'm afraid that after this, I will never be able to tell you again. The reason I kept it secret before, was because I didn't want anyone to cause him any trouble. Not even he knows about Victor, but I don't want the truth to be buried forever.

I shall tell you now, dear cousin, because I believe that both he and my son deserve to know each other one day. But please, don't tell him this until he's ready. And if you do tell him, please also tell him that it wasn't a mistake. I have loved him for a long time, and I never regretted even for a second what happened that night. When your mother called to tell me that your family will be taking care of me, I just had to do it. I felt that if I couldn't feel his love that night, I will never be able to love anyone again. So please, don't be too hard on him.

You can find him in my old neighborhood. His name is Patrick Willows and he was the nicest boy I have ever met. I named my son Victor Sanchez, but I'd like his name to be Victor Willows, if Patrick wouldn't mind.

Vicky.

When I read the name, it didn't exactly register in my head that it was me. The moment the realization hit me though, I just couldn't believe my own eyes, and I read and reread the sentence over and over again. Tell was open-mouthed and Lauren was still sobbing.

Somehow, I found my voice. "My son?" I asked to no one in particular.

"YOU SLEPT WITH VICKY?!!!" yelled my dear little sister, right into my left ear.

---

To Be Continued...

*As always, great thanks to Stanman for the proofreading and for helping with the coding.

"Maybe you are a mother. You just don't know it yet."

Sue gave me a look that said something like, "not possible".

"PAT!" came a voice that made both me and Sue jump.

"Uh oh, I better go. Don't want to get in the way of your pissed off-sounding boyfriend," she said.

"Sue!" I said as she retreated and waved me goodbye.

The Half-Lilin
By The Light Of The Moon
Chapter 2
by Shin Eris
Proofreading by Stanman63 and Mystic_dragon

"YOU SLEPT WITH VICKY?!!!" yelled my dear little sister, right into my left ear.

With the volume of her voice breaking the fog in my brain, I gave a little mutter, "Well, it wasn't really sleeping. It was more like 20 minutes of comforting, hugging, caressing..."

"And fucking..." she added.

"Well yeah, if you want to be so blunt."

In a cold tone, she asked, "When did this happen?"

"The night before Vicky left for Massachusetts."

"What were you thinking? She was underaged, and her parents just died!" she resorted to yelling again.

"Uhh, reality check. I was underaged too. Vicky and I were in the same class, remember?" I said, as I got a bit defensive.

"Still! Her parents just died three days previous. How could you take advantage of her fragile state, that way?"

"You weren't there! You can't expect me to just ignore a half-naked, firm-bodied teenage hottie who for some reason was lying on my bed with her head on my shoulders and her naked legs rubbing my own legs."

"You could've tried!"

"I tried! I managed to last for about 30 minutes before she kissed me and started guiding my hands. What was a hot-blooded teenage boy supposed to do? Lie there like a rock? I was a freaking virgin back then!"

"You could've told her to go back to my room!"

"I tried, you daft cow! I tried, but she cried and cried and told me she just wanted to feel my love before she had to leave. I was young, OK?"

"Momma," I heard a small voice hidden by the kitchen isle, "Please stop crying. I'm sorry. I'll be good, please don't fight."

Lauren got down and pulled him to her lap, and said between sobs, "Oh, it's not you, baby. It's not your fault. It's not your fault."

Then the boy turned to me and Tell. "Please don't scold me, Momma. I'll be good. I won't make any noise. I'll keep quiet. I won't disturb anyone."

"No no, it's not your fault, little Vicky. It's never your fault. Stop blaming yourself. It's never your fault," Lauren said as she hugged him tighter to her.

I've always prided myself on being free from emotional distress in most cases, but just this once, I could feel my eyes water. No child should blame himself so badly, for whatever reason. No child should feel like he's the cause of everything bad happening around him. As if on autopilot, I took a step forward, gently took hold of the boy by his armpits and lifted him off Lauren's lap.

"No, it's not your fault. It was mine. My stupidity years ago made life hard for you, Vicky and Lauren. I can't imagine what you've had to go through in your young life, but I promise you, I'll take good care of you. If there's anything you want, anything you need, just tell me and you'll have it, OK?" I said as I held him so he sat on the crook of my arm.

"Thank you, mister, but I don't need anything," he said in his small voice.

Hearing that, Lauren's crying started again. When she calmed down, she said, "He learned long ago to not ask for anything. My dad would get all pissed whenever little Vicky asked for something. Mom was a bit nicer to little Vicky than Dad, and it was she who managed to persuade Dad into taking care of little Vicky after Vicky left. But even..." she stopped for some reason.

Tell, who was behind me, handed her another another sheet of tissue and Lauren blew her nose into it. Then she continued, "But even she took the same stance as Dad. And beyond feeding, schooling and giving him a shelter, he hasn't had the luxury that other children took for granted. I had to save little bits of money from my part time jobs since I was 13 to let little Vicky have a small bit of childhood that he should've had."

"Momma, don't cry. I'll be good," the boy, my son said, which only caused a renewal of sobs from Lauren.

"You must understand," she said after her sobbing lessened, "it breaks my heart to do this, but I had to find you. My parents are adamant about me continuing to college, and offered to take care of Victor while I went off to study. But I've lived with them all my life. I can't trust Dad not to let his temper get the best of him. And Mom, while she has always been at least friendly towards little Vicky, even she wouldn't be able to stop his temper. They have never been very enthusiastic about his arrival to this world. The only reason they even accepted Vicky into their home in the first place was because she was Mom's niece. I can't bear to leave him with them, knowing how they are."

"So you decided to take a chance on little Vicky's real father instead," Tell put in after Lauren was huffing with another sob.

"Yes. When I discovered Vicky's letter, I thought it could be another option. So I borrowed my mom's car and took him to Colorado after Christmas. I didn't tell my parents that I was going to meet his real father, I only said that I was going to a Christmas party that my friends held."

"I was in Colorado, the day before you were there. If only I went back there that day, we could've met. So how did you find out where I live?" I asked with a bit of regret.

She took out a piece of paper and gave it to me. On it was written my name and my address. "The old woman next door, I think her name was Mrs Stilskin. She saw me crying in the car and asked me to come in for some hot cocoa and a slice of cake. I didn't know what to do at that time. I was so lost. She sat me down and asked me what's wrong. Without realizing it, I told her everything. Then she told me to calm down and she gave me that," she pointed to the piece of paper, "and told me that it may have been outdated, that maybe you have moved, but that it should give me some clue as to where to find you."

"Good old Mrs Stiltskin. Baking cakes was her hobby. Remember Tell, how she would knock on our door just to give four slices of her cakes when we were young?"

"Of course," Tell gave a muffled giggle, "Whenever I smelled her cakes baking, I would always be sitting in the living room waiting for her to come offer us some of it."

"Did you like Mrs Stiltskin's cakes, young man?" I asked the small boy in my arms.

"She give me three," he said as he showed me four fingers. I just had to chuckle a bit at that.

She was about to take him back in her arms when I said, "So do you think you can trust me with your little boy?"

"You mean, you would take him in?" she said with a gasp.

"Of course, he's my son, isn't he? Even if I haven't been a father for the past seven years, it's well past time that I finally take responsibility for my actions."

Then Tell's hands appeared and she gently took little Vicky into her arms instead, "And I'll help in whatever way I can. Gosh, I never would've imagined that you'd have a son, Ricky," then she looked at Lauren, "How old is he?"

"Six," she answer between sniffles.

"I'm sorry," I said, as I gave Lauren a hug, "I have messed up really bad. I have destroyed his childhood, Vicky's childhood and I believe I have destroyed yours too. You gave away everything to take care of little Vicky, didn't you?"

"Yes," she said as she buried her face into my chest, "I didn't have time for any serious relationships, and even during the prom, my mind was filled with the thought of going home early. But it's all worth it. Little Vicky is such an adorable child, you'll see. When I got home after school or after my part time work, I would see him running towards me, with that huge innocent smile of his, and my life would feel so bright. He is the light of my life. This is very hard for me to do."

"Don't worry," I said as I rubbed her head, "You can come visit any time you want. Any day of the week. He may be my son by blood, but you're his real mother in every sense and purpose. I'll give him a childhood that other kids will envy," I smiled as she pulled out her face from my chest.

"Oh, don't. Don't spoil him too much, it will be such a culture shock to him. Then when I get him back, he'll be so spoiled I won't know what to do with him."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he won't go overboard," Tell said with a giggle.

"Ah, I'm sorry," Lauren said as she freed herself from my arms, "Are you his girlfriend or something?"

"Girlfriend? Yuck! He's my brother! Don't put such thoughts in my head ever again," she said.

"As if I'd want my scrawny sister as a girlfriend," I said as I pushed out my tongue and made a gagging sound.

"Oh, you'd be lucky if you can find anyone half as gorgeous as me," she countered.

I wanted to respond but I just didn't know what to say that would be PC in front of a six years old kid, so I just laughed. Then I heard Lauren laughed along and before long, even Tell laughed. Only Victor didn't laugh, probably because he couldn't decide which was funnier.

I mean, there was a spot of chocolate on Tell's chin. And there was a trail of white on her forehead. But I wasn't going to spoil the fun by telling her that.

------

The next day was filled with tears and more tears. Tell and Lauren kept crying as Lauren held little Victor tight to her, as if not wanting to let go. Tell was crying simply because, well, she's Tell. She has always been free with her emotions. Well, except for her anger. She liked to bottle it in and unleash it when it's least expected. That reminds me, I wonder when she's going to unleash her fury on me. I still haven't given any explanation for not being there on our Christmas night.

"Momma will be away for awhile, but I'll come visit every weekend. You be nice to Daddy, OK little Vicky?" she said to the boy. I had asked her to spend the night here instead of getting a hotel room. Partially because I wanted to find out more about the boy from one who knew him all his life. Another because I wanted to ease his transition to living in a strange place while his mother's still here to comfort him if there's any trouble. I of course told them to use my room while I slept on the couch, since the guest room was already taken by Tell. There's another room, but I used it for storage. Maybe I'll fix that room up and turn it into a proper little boy's bedroom.

Lauren called her parents to say that she found Victor's real father and will be going back to get his things before hugging little Vicky once more and saying that she will return in a few day's time to send his toys and clothes. Little Vicky seemed to be having second thoughts as he hugged Lauren a bit tighter and refusing to let go. Lauren to her credit, didn't break into tears, this time. She patted his head and told him that it will only be for a few years, and he can see her every weekend, or call her every night. she further told him that she won't ever leave him alone.

I held one of his hands in mine as we bade her farewell and she drove off. I noticed that she kept glancing back until she turned the corner. I was slightly worried that she would get herself into an accident or something.

"You're my new daddy?" he asked when Lauren's car was no longer visible.

"Yes, and I'll take care of you as best as I can. You know what, since this is practically your first day here, why don't you and I, father and son, have an ice cream? Would you like some ice cream?"

"Momma said I can only have ice cream if I'm especially good."

Tell broke up into a crying fit and hugged him tight. "Oh you poor boy," she said, "let's go to the mall. Daddy's going to buy us some Baskin-Robbins. You can choose which flavor you like. They have vanilla, chocolate, pralines 'n cream, very berry strawberry, pistachio almond..." she trailed on with what must be a hundred different flavors they have there. Listening to her, you'd think that she was in a commercial promoting Baskin-Robbins.

I sure hope she doesn't intend on getting all the flavors they have on offer.

------

"So you have a son? Wow, I never imagined you to be the single father kind," Sue said as she leaned on the partition wall for my cubicle.

"Yeah, me too. I only found out the day before yesterday. And to think, that he had to grow up without a father and his biological mom," I said. I was sitting on my swivel chair facing Sue. She came over just awhile ago bringing me some lunch. I had a bit of work to finish and couldn't go on my now daily luncheon with Sue.

"So... like... what happened to his real mother?"

"I don't know. I was told that she disappeared three days after little Vicky was born. I don't understand. Vicky has always been a very responsible person. I can't imagine why she would leave her three day's old child behind."

"Hm, do you have any idea where she went off to?" she asked, appearing very concerned. Sue has always been a soft-hearted girl, at least for as long as I've known her. It's like she has this emphatic sense that made other people's sufferings become her own.

"No, not even Lauren's family knew where she went off to. There was no credit trail, no news of her whereabouts whatsoever. It's like she simply dropped off the face of the Earth."

"So you took an emergency leave yesterday because of that?"

"Yup. The child grew up for far too long without a dad. It's about time that his dad brings him out to play."

Just then, Steve from the mail room walked by with his mail trolley. He turned to give me a letter and just stopped dead in his tracks.

"Woohoo! Cool hairstyle, dude. Rock on!" he said as he made the Metallica sign. You know, the one where only the middle finger and ring finger is folded? Steve's the stereotypical hippie, with long grungy hairdo, colorful clothing, dopy and stupid sounding voice and he always looked so irritatingly happy. I also suspected that he was a nudist, but as I had never seen him naked (which I hope that I will never get the opportunity to see), I could never tell for sure.

Then he passed by to give other peoples their letters. He stopped at Ariel's place and said in a very loud voice, "Wooah! Stone fox in the house!"

I don't blame him really. Although there are some major cuties in the company, such as Sue for example, Ariel is like a different level compared to the rest of them. She's like a supermodel, thin, slender and pretty face. And her legs, I just can't stop looking at them, even though I used to have comparably gorgeous long legs myself. Come to think of it, Ariel looked a lot like me in my female form. Not the face of course, but her figure was similar, even if her busts were a bit on the small side, a bit bigger than Sue's but nothing like mine. Probably for that reason, whenever I looked at her, it was like I was looking at myself.

"What is it with people's fascination with my hair, though? It just couldn't escape comment," I whined.

"Well, you could've probably style differently. I mean, look at your bangs and the way you did your ponytail."

"Bangs? I do not have bangs. And what's wrong with my ponytail?"

"You don't have bangs? Then what's that on your forehead? Curtains? And men tie their ponytails much lower than the way you do yours. Gosh, listen to me. I sound like someone's mother."

"Maybe you are a mother. You just don't know it yet."

Sue gave me a look that said something like, "not possible".

"PAT!" came a voice that made both me and Sue jump.

"Uh oh, I better go. Don't want to get in the way of your pissed off-sounding boyfriend," she said.

"Sue!" I said as she retreated and waved me goodbye.

I would've left too if not because the exit of my cubicle was suddenly blocked by a big mass mere seconds after Sue fled. "Umm. yes? Anything I can do for you, Chris?" I said to his glowering face, he was so obviously enraged. I couldn't help feeling extremely cowled.

"You can start by explaining what the deal is about you having a SON!" I recoiled a little bit as he practically spat the words at me.

"Ee... it's nothing. I just found out about it myself. Sorry, I didn't mean it to happen. How did you... wait, why am I apologizing... What's YOUR problem? It's my son, so it's none of your business! GET LOST!" I said as I quickly turned my swivel chair back around so I'd face my flat-screen monitor. I love these flatscreen monitors. They take very little space and looks very chic. I wish I had one of these for my 15th birthday, after a playstation, that is.

Chris obviously wasn't impressed with my response though. He grabbed the back rest and spun me around to look at his furious-looking face. I just can't help myself from sinking even lower on my seat. "It... IS... my... business! Don't forget you're mine. Mine!" he said as his face got closer and closer as my own tries to look the other way.

"It's not... I'm not yours. I'm a free person. You don't own me..." I said as I looked at the flyer for 'free coffee for every lunchset at Tony's Bella Vista' pinned to my cubicle wall.

"Look at me when you say that, damn you!" he growled at my right ear.

"I would, if you could perhaps get back a step or two," I said as I mentally read 'Valid until 15th January!' from the same flyer. I've never really taken a good look at the flyer before, but I heard Tony's Bella Vista foods are fairly good.

"Look at me," he said.

"Don't want to." Is it getting hotter in here?

"Look at me," he said again, his voice more menacing this time.

"You're just going to shout at me again," I said, still looking at Tony's Bella Vista flyer.

"Look... at... me!" he commanded. One of his hands was holding my chin, subtly urging me to face him. Umm, no, probably not so subtle.

"You could've told me yourself. Why do I have to hear this from someone else?" he said so softly that it almost made me want to cry.

"Who... who told you?" I asked in an almost inaudible voice. For some reason, his face being so close to mine made me feel, I don't know, uncomfortable I think. If either he or I move slightly forward, our lips would've touched.

"Steve."

"Mail room Steve?" I said as I breathe a little bit heavily. I guess the lack of oxygen from us having to share the same air is having an effect on me.

"Steve Candle. Your friend next door."

"Damned him," I said slowly, I noticed my voice was a bit husky, "You still don't own me, you know. I'm Hades's new consort now, you can't share me and still call me yours."

"Hades as in the god of the underworld?"

"Uhuh, the very same, except people call him Uriel..." I barely managed to finish my reply when he abruptly wrapped his hand around my throat with the same hand that he used on my chin just now.

"You're mine, Pat. I don't care what commitments you have with your fellow demons. You're mine!"

I was choking and unable to breathe for a bit and I don't know, I guess the lack of oxygen to my brain made me incoherent because I then said, "No, no. I'm not yours... not yours. Make me yours... take me... hurt me... own me... make me want you... only you..."

Suddenly he pulled back and shouted, "WHAT!?" His hand was still tightly wrapped around my neck, though not as chokingly tight as before.

I was like 'huh'? Then I opened my eyes and saw him standing up and looking to the side, beyond my cubicle.

"I'm busy!" he said.

As the fog cleared, I could hear another voice saying, "Mike wants to see you now! You know he's not a very patient guy!"

"What's going on?" I asked Chris, who was looking a bit flushed. I also noticed something sharp poking my lips. With the fingers of my left hand, I touched my lips and was horrified to touch two pairs of real fangs. I wondered what was going on. I was in my human form! The fact that my right hand was grabbing Chris's left arm, the one attached to the hand that was choking me and pulling it to me instead of pushing it away wasn't such a morale booster, either.

He grunted, then turned back to me and said, "We'll talk later." Then he let go of my neck, but paused as he looked at my hand that was holding his arm and pulling it to me. The moment I realize the reason for his delay, I quickly let go of his arm before he turned and left. Gosh, that was embarrassing. I wished the earth would just swallow me right at the moment.

"You OK?" Sue asked as she poked her head above the side of the partition separating my cubicle and the rest of the world.

I covered my mouth with a half fist and coughed a bit, feeling a slight pain on my neck. Chris's grip was really very strong. If he lost control there, he could've snapped my neck in half, not that it could kill me anyway. I couldn't let Sue see my fangs though. What would she think? Maybe she'd think that I'm secretly a vampire and tells everyone about it.

So instead, I just covered my mouth and said, "Yeah, what did Mike want with Chris though?" I guessed that it was Sue who told Chris that Mike wanted to see him.

She shrugged and said, "I don't know. Mike complained about the men's toilet not having any tissue paper when I walked pass him just now."

"You didn't!" I chuckled a little which touched that sore spot on my neck.

"I did. He's probably halfway to the mall for a few rolls of toilet paper now," she said with a giggle.

Just then, I saw Steve Candle, the snitch walk pass the entrance to my cubicle. Sensing my fangs retract, I got up from my seat and said, "Hey, Steve. Next time you try to be a newsreader, do me a favor and don't. I had to do some major explaining just now. You have no idea what Chris's like when he's mad."

He raised his hands, palms forward as if warding an attack. "Hey, leave me out of this. I don't deal with lover's quarrels. How was I supposed to know you guys are dating?"

"We're not dating!" I said through gritted teeth as I tried to avoid from shouting.

"What-ever. I'm staying out of this," he said as he turned towards his monitor.

"I swear, Steve. You do this again, I'll rip out your tongue."

He simply gave me a wave without even looking at me. Then Sue said something and I turned to look at her.

"Sorry?"

"I said, I'm going back to work. Are you going to be OK, now?"

"Yeah, now that I know he knows, it will be easier to avoid being cornered like that again."

"OK. If you need me, you know where to find me. Oh and Patty..."

"Yes? Anything else?"

"Cut the nails."

"What nails... arrrgggh!!!" Where the heck this these long nails come from? I'm in human form, damnit!

---

To Be Continued...

Then I heard the door to the room being smashed from the other side. The door held true, and I heard the monster howl before trying to smash it again. I could hear the door creak and I could feel dust falling from the ceiling. I heard the monster try to smash the door open again but this time it was accompanied by a howl of pain. After that, everything was quiet. No hammering, no smashing, no howling. Everything was quiet, apart from our own heavy breathing and sobbing.

"Is it gone?" I asked Vicky as I loosened my hold on her.

The Half-Lilin
By The Light Of The Moon
Chapter 3
by Shin Eris
Proofreading by Stanman63

"Ricky, I'm taking the car, OK?" Tell said as she led my son out the front door.

My son. I like the sound of that. Tell was wearing a black velvet dress with one of Mom's 'princess' ruby necklace. I also noticed that she was using the twin pigeon hairpin I made for her last Christmas. When I made it, I made sure to give her a very strong compulsion to wear it every time she went out. Unfortunately, it wasn't strong enough to override her strong sense of style, so she never used the ruby hairpin whenever it clashed wrongly with her attire.

"Sure, don't let little Vicky out of your sight."

"I'm not you!" she said, probably referring to yesterday's incident at the mall. I accidentally managed to lose little Vicky after a visit to the ice cream parlor. When Tell got back from the powder room, she was so furious she practically kicked me out of the chair I was sitting on and told me in no uncertain terms to look for him. We found him back at Baskins-Robbins, gazing longingly at the many different flavors offered. I was so glad to have found him that I bought him another cone of ice cream.

"I said I was sorry!" I shouted as I heard the front door close. Tell had a 'hot date' with Liz and she was dying to show Liz her new nephew. Frankly, I couldn't see what the appeal was. I thought girls wouldn't bring small kids on dates.

The moment Liz and little Vicky left, I changed the channel from Cartoon Network to HBO. Seeing as there was nothing on the tube, I changed the channel to Discovery Channel, booted up my laptop and tried to do my work with the sound of seals, or penguins in the background. For some reason, I just can't do any work in a totally quiet environment. I was making some good headway with my work until the bell chimed.

When the bell chimed again, I shouted, "Tell, would you open the door, please?"

Again the bell chimed. "Tell! Please open... oh, right. I forgot you're out. Urgh, guess I have to do this myself."

I got up from the floor (I had a habit of sitting on the carpet barefoot instead of the couch) just as the doorbell chimed again, "Coming!" I said loudly.

Grabbing the door and opening it halfway, I said, "Yes, can I help you... Oh, it's you. What do you want, Chris?"

He pushed the door open (and me aside) and simply strode in like he owned the place. I was mighty pissed off.

"Chris! I never said you can come in! Get out!" I said as I pulled on his left hand, trying to pull him out. It only achieved the opposite effect as he simply pulled me to him in one quick move, causing me fly into his waiting right arm. Then his left arm went around my waist.

"I said we're going to talk later, didn't I?" he asked as his right hand squeezed on my upper arms. I looked up at him from my half fallen position and just couldn't help but admire his strength. If only I had half his strength, we would probably still be friends.

"Now, where's this son of yours?" he asked as I freed myself from his arms.

"None of your business! He's my son, I won't let you lay a finger on him."

"Oh? And who is going to stop me if I want to?" he asked as he took a step towards me.

"I will. You want to hurt my son, you gotta get through me first!" I said as I also took another step forward.

"I can live with that," he said in response as he grabbed my upper arms and proceeded to give me a soul-scorching kiss. I probably took a bit too long before I pushed him away.

"What the fuck was that?!" I said as wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

"Well, you did say I have to get through you before I can see our son. So I thought, fair enough. I just need to get the mother to approve of me with the son. So that's why I kissed you. Have I won you yet?" he said with a huge grin.

"OK. One, there's a damn lot of things wrong in your words that I don't even know where to start correcting you. Two, I am not a 'mother'. Three, he is not 'our' son. Four, who gave you the right to kiss me?"

"Well, your mom said it's OK."

"Excuse me, did you just say my 'mom'?"

"Yup, she even bought us the house I'm staying in now so we won't have to spend any of our hard earned money buying another house."

"Wait wait wait. That big house in South Pasadena, the one you're living in now, that was Mom's money?"

"Yup, every single penny. Except for the decorations, that was my money."

I'm going to kill Mom. I'm going to kill her twice. And then twice more.

"Why'd she bought you the house? She didn't give me a cent when I rented this one last time."

Chris shrugged. "She said this house is not suitable to raise a family."

Great! I change my mind. I'm going to kill Mom thrice, then thrice more. Calm down, Ricky. You don't want to lose control and push your fangs and nails out again. It was damned hard to get myself to be calm enough to retract the fangs and nails this afternoon.

"So, can I see our son, now?"

I glared at him and said, "He's NOT your son! He's MY son. You have nothing to do with him. Now, get..."

It was at that point that a red pigeon flew in through the open window. I knew that bird. It was the same one I 'sacrificed' to make Tell's hairpin last Christmas, except that at that time, its color was gray.

Christ whistled. "Wow, a red pigeon. I've never heard of a pigeon with red feathers."

I raised my left hand and the bird flew to it and gently landed on the palm of my hand.

[*][*][*]

"Was that a fun movie or what?" I asked little Victor as I held his hand while we walked to our car.

"Vicky like monkey. But ghost is scary." he said, gripping my hand a bit tighter.

"Ghost? Hum, you mean the mummy?"

"Mummy? The mummy was pretty."

"Mummy? Pretty? But the mummy was... oh... hahaha, no honey, that was a different mummy. I'm talking about..." It was at that moment that my cellphone beeped, indicating an incoming message.

I looked at the screen and read the message. It was from Liz. "Oh great! Now you're telling me you can't go out, after I've waited for you for over an hour!" I deleted the messaged and put it back into my handbag.

"Who you talking too? Aunt Tell?"

I bent over to put my face right in front of little Vicky's. Then I touched his cute little nose lightly with my forefinger and said, "Now, don't you worry about that. Hm, what do you say we go for some late dinner?"

"But Momma said all good boys go to bed early."

"Oh, you poor thing..." just then I stopped walking as a large dog, probably some kind of wolf breed blocked our way. Through the dim overhead lights, I could see foam dripping from his mouth and his red eyes watching our movements.

In my book, foamy mouth always means a rabid dog. Which means he's ready to bite. I can probably survive a bite or two, but little Vicky most definitely can't. Seeing how intent it was at eying little Vicky though, I just knew that he was its first target. I slowly unzipped my handbag as to avoid making a sound, and grabbed the pepper spray I kept in there. I hope I could fire it accurately when it pounce. I gently pushed little Vicky so he'd be behind me. I have to give the boy credit, he didn't cry or try to run. Running from a dog is probably the worst mistake anyone can do. I sure hope such an option was available though.

The moment the dog couldn't see little Vicky though, it turned its red eyes on me and snarled, showing his foamy fangs. When he reared up to pounce, I took out the bottle of mace, shook it lightly and held it firm. Instead of pouncing though, it transformed into a bigger dog, bigger than a man and it was walking on its two rear feet instead of on all fours.

I staggered backwards as images flew around in front of me. Images so unsettling, of demons and and creatures of light, of talking flames and faces in the mirror. Countless images appeared in front of me, countless voices, some I knew, some I didn't, until it settled on one image.

[*][*][*]

"Shhh! Quiet... don't cry, Tell." Vicky said to me. She was about to cry herself, her eyes were full of tears.

"Why? Why did she kill him?" I asked Vicky. We were sitting together, huddled in fear inside her wall closet.

"I don't know, I don't know why Mommy would do that."

"No no, that's not your mom, Vicky. That's a monster. That monster has eaten your mom. That's not your mom," I said as I hugged her tighter. I tried my hardest to hold her tight, so her shaking would stop. Then I realized that it was me that was shaking, not her. I was shaking and I didn't even realize it. But I couldn't stop it myself.

I touched the wound on Vicky's left leg. It was still sticky with dried blood from the time the monster slashed at it with its claw. We only managed to escape because I pushed the cupboard down to fall onto the monster's back, allowing us to escape upstairs. We blocked the door with everything we could find. Dressers, cupboards, chairs. We know it wouldn't stop the monster, but we hoped it would at least give us some time. I don't know what we're expecting for, probably some kind of help. The neighbors can't be all that deaf to not hear all the howls and noises made by the monster. If help is going to come at all though, I pray it will come quickly.

Then I heard the door to the room being smashed from the other side. The door held true, and I heard the monster howl before trying to smash it again. I could hear the door creak and I could feel dust falling from the ceiling. I heard the monster try to smash the door open again but this time it was accompanied by a howl of pain. After that, everything was quiet. No hammering, no smashing, no howling. Everything was quiet, apart from our own heavy breathing and sobbing.

"Is it gone?" I asked Vicky as I loosened my hold on her.

"I..." she wasn't able to continue her words as a pair of furry arms punched through the back of the wall closet and pulled her away from me, at the same time tearing a large hole in the back of the wall closet.

I was dragged through the hole into Vicky's parents' bedroom as Vicky and I was still holding each other's hands tightly.

"Don't let her take me!" Vicky cried. The monster was pulling her out of the second story window by her waist. Not two seconds later, the monster jumped out to the yard, carrying with it Vicky and me. I could literally feel my bones break when my body hit the ground hard, but still I didn't let go of Vicky, and he didn't let go of me.

The monster was dragging us across the yard when we stopped moving. I looked up at Vicky and instead of Vicky's face, I saw the monster glaring down at me with its red eyes. I could only watch as I saw one of its big hands came closer to my face. Then I saw the big hand shook before it was pushed to the side by invisible hands.

"Don't you dare touch my daughter, werewolf!" said a voice from my left. In my adrenaline filled brain, I wasn't able to make sense of the voice at the time, but I was nevertheless glad to hear another human voice.

I looked to my left and all feelings of relief was washed away. The voice that I thought to be human, was actually the voice of a demon. A flesh and blood demon with wings, horns and tail, in the deceptive form of a beautiful blond girl in the early years of teenhood.

The monster roared at this demon. It then let go of Vicky and charged at this demon that was making some kind of gesture with both her hands. Just as the monster was about to throw a punch at the teenage demon, the demon straightened her arms forward, releasing a blast of whitish mist that hit the monster with such a force that the monster flew above my head and smashed through the garden door at the side of the house.

Then another demon, one slightly older swoop down behind the younger demon. "Mistress, the barrier is secure. As she's only a few hours old, the only way she can get out will be by killing me," she said with a hint of pride.

"How secure?"

"Total physical, audio and visual. We're in our own world. As far as anyone else knows, it's just another boring night of Bridge."

"Perfect! Let's go," the younger demon then started walking towards us.

"Tell, let's get out of here, they're going to drag us to hell!" Vicky said as she tried to pull me to stand.

"I can't. I can't feel my legs."

"Get up, Tell!" she said as she started pulling me backward. I could feel her limping from the wounds on her left leg.

In my fear, I didn't realize that I gripped Vicky's hands a bit too tightly that she grimaced in pain, "Vicky! Help me, please. Don't leave me here!"

"I'm not leaving you, but we must go, come on!" she said as she pulled me hard, dragging me slowly across the grass away from the two demons that were walking towards us.

"Vicky, stop doing that! You're only going to make her injuries worse. Healing is so not my style," said the younger demon who appeared to be annoyed.

Vicky, in her stupidity, chose to stop and ask, "How do you know my name?"

"Vicky! She's a demon. They all know our names. Father Aston told us it's how they corrupt humans, remember?"

"Father Aston? That silly old fool? The only thing he knows for sure is how to mix whisky with ginger. How dare he spread such lies about us," said the younger one again.

"Well Mistress, it is one of the most common misconception widely accepted by the church."

"VICKY! Snap out of it and start moving!" I yelled at Vicky when I noticed that she still hadn't moved.

"My little star, stop fighting. Your injuries are too serious. Come, let Mommy have a look," she said as she knelt in front of me. I was too afraid to move.

"Who are you? How do you know us?" Vicky said from behind me, her hands still holding mine tightly.

"How can I not?" the younger one said as a pinkish glow appeared from the palms of her hands, "I fetched you and my children from school almost everyday."

"No, only Mrs. Willows fetched me from school everyday."

"Well, there you go."

"Mommy?" I said as the meaning of her words sunk in.

"Yes, Sweety?" she looked up at me, then one of her hands moved to touch my forehead. In reflex, I moved my head away from her hand.

"OK now, WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? I was just going to check if you had any head trauma! WHY THE HELL DID YOU MOVE AWAY?"

This time, my trembling became obvious even to me.

"Mistress, mistress, calm down. Remember, this is your daughter. She doesn't know any better. She didn't do it on purpose," the other one said. She had both her arms around the younger one's waist.

The younger one took a deep breath and said, "I'm calm, I'm calm. Get your hands off me!" she paused and then said, "Do I look that scary, Shaina?"

"Well, you do exude a sinister presence in this form, mistress. You looked like you were about to eat the poor girl just now."

"I did not!"

"Yes, you did, mistress. Wanna bet? The girls can be the judge," the other one said with a grin.

"You know, I'm this close to putting you on muffdiving duty for the whole year."

"Heh, anything you wish, mistress," she replied with a smirk.

Totally ignoring her, the younger one asked me if I was hurt elsewhere, after fixing my legs and my lower torso. Her tone was soft and kind, almost like Mom's, but the voice was different, echoey and piercing, very unlike Mom's. When she saw me wince at every touch, she exhaled and exploded. When the smoke was gone, mom was sitting where the younger demon was just now.

"Mommy!" I said as I threw my arms around her. I stopped trembling the moment she put her arms around me.

"Shh, it's OK, sweetie. Everything will be fine. I'll make sure of it." Then she kissed my forehead.

"Vicky," Mom said. When Vicky didn't reply, she repeated it twice.

"Yes, Aunt Sandy?"

"Where is your father? Is he still at the office?"

Vicky suddenly burst into tears. As she wept and wept, saying 'daddy', 'daddy', 'daddy', I told mom what happened. All throughout my story, mom pulled me and Vicky to her and rubbed our heads.

"So Arnie's dead?" I nodded.

Mom looked at the other demon. "Guess we're too late, Shaina. It's just cleanup now."

"Well, we would've arrived much earlier, mistress, if you didn't insist on waiting for Acapulco Bay to finish. And don't forget about the werewolf."

Mom simply glared at the other demon. That's mom, alright. I don't see what's the big deal with those soap operas, but mom apparently loves them as if they're her other children.

"Speaking of werewolf though, are you sure she hasn't escaped yet? She's awfully quiet."

"Positive, Mistress. She did try the barrier a few times and... there goes another bump... she's trying to break through the barrier, but as I said, the only way she can get out would be by killing me. I suspect she will make her move soon."

"Well, let's not waste time then. I have Beverly Hills 90210 waiting in an hour," mom said as she shooed both me and Vicky from her lap. Mom then got up, grabbed her throat and pulled on it roughly, revealing the demon underneath.

"You ready, Shaina?"

"Yes Mistress."

"Alright! Let's go kill a werewolf."

"Mistress, you seem awfully giddy. Have you forgotten that this is your neighbor we're about to kill?"

"Details, details. That uptight bitch has been annoying me for years. Now I have a valid reason to... woooah!"

I watched as the monster downed mom with the full force of its huge body. Mom was using her right hand to hold the monster's neck, pushing its jaws away from her. Her other hand was holding the monster's right arm in a tight grip, while her tail did the same with the monster's other arm.

"Bad doggie! Bad bad doggie! Awh! Your breath smells like shit. Get off me!" mom said as she kicked the monster's stomach.

The monster didn't even seem to notice her kicks. It was too obsessed with the idea of biting off Mom's head.

Mom released a violent breath of bluish flame from her mouth at the monster's head, but the monster simply shucked it off as if it was merely stale air.

"Get off me!" Mom yelled again, "Shaina, what are you doing standing there like an idiot?!"

The other demon, Shaina, made a face of mock shock and said, "You need my help, Mistress? I thought you made it clear so many times that you don't need the help of, and I quote, 'a damned kid'." She made the 'quote' sign in the air with her fingers.

"Oh, fuck you! I'll do this myself," Mom spat in anger. Even from a full yard away, I could sense the venom in her words. I wondered if she was really mom. Mom never said any bad words and she was always polite to everyone.

My musings was interrupted by the flashes of lightning and the roars of thunder from the sky.

Then a bolt of lighting shot down from the sky, was stopped somewhere above the house for a second before it hit the ground, creating a small crater. Then another bolt of lightning struck not very far from us. It would've probably hit us if the demon Shaina didn't block the lightning bolt by raising a wall of earth between it and us. "Oh shit! She's serious. Poor doggy," the demon Shaina said with a sad face as if showing pity.

A minute later, with the roars of thunder and the continued flashes of lightning in the skies, mom made a loud banshee-like shriek that caused me to cover my ears in fear of going deaf. At that same moment, a great white light emerged from mom's body, raising high beyond the clouds. The pillar of white light blew away chunks of the monster's flesh as it punched through to the sky. With its fur soaked in its own blood, it howled in pain and backed off from mom's body.

"I'll deal with you later," Mom said, looking at the demon Shaina. She looked mighty pissed off.

Mom then raised her left hand, waited until something glowed on her palms and then swiftly brought it down. A halo of dim white light dropped down from the sky and hovered above the ground with the monster at its center. She closed her left palm and the halo quickly closed in around the crouching monster, until it yelped like a whipped dog as the halo crushed its body.

Then Mom turned to us, her right arm outstretched and flexed her fingers with the palm pointing upwards. A second later, I heard a loud scream from behind me. I turned around and saw the demon Shaina thrashing on the ground. Her body was covered in a very visible crackle of electricity. It looked extremely painful.

"You should know better than to betray me, Shaina. I'm sure you know that I don't tolerate traitors. My great great grandmother already showed me enough treachery to last a thousand years," mom said in a voice as cold as ice.

"Didn't... betray... Mistress..." the demon Shaina said as the crackles of electricity shocked her body continuously.

"You were about to let the werewolf eat me. If that's not a betrayal, I don't know what it is."

"Mommy, stop! This isn't you. Please, this is not you!" I said as I stepped between mom and the demon Shaina. I had no idea why I did that.

Mom looked at me coldly. "Step aside, girl. This is not the place for chivalry." Then she pointed that same hand at my heart.

Just then I heard a very loud explosion behind me, like a sonic boom of sort. I was thrown forward from the impact, landing just a few feet away from mom.

"Seems like you've learned well, Shaina. You used the distraction that my daughter provided to free yourself from my Static Field. For that alone, I'll give you a second chance to prove your loyalty. It's good to know that my lessons are not in vain," Mom said as she used that same hand to psychically lift me and send me back next to Vicky.

"Mistress, I didn't betray you. Your sense of judgment has been overcome by your hunger. This is withdrawal effect, Mistress, not you. Snap out of it!"

"Don't raise your voice at me, Shaina, or you'll find that your second chance is nothing more than simple words. Now silence!" Mom said as she turn to the monster and produced something that glowed brightly in the night. It was awhile before I noticed that it was a glowing white feather.

"Mistress, is that what I think it is?"

"If you're thinking 'angel', then yes, you're correct. It's an angelic essence I acquired during the demonic possession in an Ursulan convent in Aix hundreds of years ago. I've actually been saving this for something bigger, but I guess this is as good a time as any to use it," mom said with a sigh.

"Won't the cherubs notice its usage? My barrier is not good enough to contain angelic power."

"Probably, but angelic essence is the only positive power strong enough to totally purge negative power."

"We can wait until daytime, sunlight is a more powerful positive energy."

"And miss Beverly Hills 90210? Out of the question!"

Mom then took to the air as she raised the angelic essence above her with both hands. Then she fed the angelic essence with some kind of black smoke from her body, covering some of its light. It didn't last long as the light dispersed the smoke-like thing. She repeated the same thing five more times until it glowed brighter than the full moon. I noticed her coughing blood in the latter three attempts. She smiled at me, as if saying farewell, then she threw the angelic essence at the monster. I had a very bad feeling about this.

"SHIT!" cursed the demon Shaina as she attempted to run past me.

Shaina didn't get very far when the angelic essence hit the ground and exploded in pulses of very bright light. Unexpectedly, the pulses of bright light didn't feel at all hot. It felt warm, like summer, and filled my heart with joy. I closed my eyes to enjoy the feeling, and rubbed my skin as if bathing in the light. When I felt a tingling sensation on certain parts of my skin, I opened my eyes and noticed that with every pulse of light, all my wounds both old and new disappeared as if it was being washed away.

I was temporarily blinded as the angelic light faded out, leaving me in a relative darkness. When my eyes adjusted to the lack of light, I saw three bodies lying on the ground. One was Mom's demonic form, one was the demon Shaina and the other body belonged to Vicky's mom.

"Mommy!" Vicky cried as she ran to her mom's side. She wasn't moving.

"Ohhh, that hurts," Mom said as she got up and sat cross-legged on the grass which somehow seemed a bit longer than before. A pinkish glow then slowly covered her body.

"Shaina, get up! We're going to have to do cleanup now. It won't do if the cops find out they have a werewolf killing her own husband," mom said as she got up to stand herself. The only response from the demon Shaina was a loud moan.

"Oh you're such a drama queen. I don't need an actress here, Shaina. Get off your arse and start helping me clean up this mess. I don't want to miss Beverly Hills 90210."

"You could've warned me before you threw the angelic orb at me, Mistress. I thought I was going to die. That was mean," the demon Shaina said as she got up to stand unsteadily. I noticed her body was covered in the same pinkish glow that enveloped Mom's body earlier.

"You should've gotten plenty of warning. I enhanced the power of the angelic essence a few times, didn't I? Now I want you to change their memories of this. We'll make it appear as if Vicky's dad shot her mom, then attempted to shoot her in a fit of insanity. Not a very nice memory, but totally believable. I'll have to go into the house and make it appear as if it was damaged by a number of shotgun shells instead of a the claw marks of a werewolf. And remember, my daughter wasn't here."

"Aye aye, Mistress Biatch," the demon Shaina muttered to Mom's back as she turned to me.

"Please, what are you going to do to us?" I said with a bit of tears in my eyes.

"I'm sorry, Stella. It's better this way, you don't belong in our world," then she pressed her forefinger to my forehead, "Now sleep, Stella. It's nice to see you again. Say hi to your brother for me if you by any chance managed to remember this again."

Then everything went dark as a sharp pain grew in my stomach.

[*][*][*]

I opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was the upper arm of the furry monster. The same one in that memory. It had its claw in my stomach and the only thing I could hear was a distant child-like voice and the sound of my own dying heart.

"Pat! Pat! Snap out of it!" I came to consciousness as I recognized Chris standing in front of me shaking my body by my upper arms. I never thought I'd say this, but it felt good to see his face.

When it finally registered in my mind what I just saw, I gasped and ran to the keys rack. I was dismayed to notice that the keys for my car was missing and only recalled belatedly that Tell was taking the car. How the hell am I going to save Tell now?

Then I looked at Chris and suddenly got an idea. "Chris! Did you drove here from South Pasadena?"

"Yes, why?" he asked, suddenly wary of my question.

"I need to borrow it, give me the key," I said as I extended a hand to him, palm upwards.

"Nu-uh, nobody drives my Mercedes other than me. What happened to your car?"

"Tell used it. Please, I need to borrow your car."

"And as I said, not gonna happen. Unless of course, there's something for me."

"I can't believe you're asking for money at a time like this!"

"Not money, a kiss."

"You just stole one when you came in."

"Well, I want another one, one that you willingly give."

"Not bloody likely."

"Then the same answer goes for you. Not bloody likely."

"I'll kiss you later."

"I don't take debts."

I groaned at how much of a jerk he was being. "Fine! You'll just have to drive me there then."

"Works for me, where are we going?"

"Saving Tell and my son," I said as I gripped the pigeon hairpin tightly.

Please let them be safe. Please let me arrive there on time. Please Mother, let me have the power to save them.

---

To Be Continued...

*As always, comments are always appreciated. Thanks to Stanman for the proofreading and suggestions.

The Half Lilin: By The Light Of The Moon (Chapter 4) By shinieris Thanks To Stanman63 for editing! She merely cocked her head to the left. With a sweep of her hand, she telekinetically pushed the last car into its parking box, spread her wings and fled. "That's unexpected," I remarked as I started to chase after her. Unfortunately, she was far too fast for me. By the time I reached the second floor, she was gone.

[-][+][-]

"So care to tell me what's going on?" Chris said as he drove at 90 miles an hour on L.A's busy roads.

I didn't answer him. My mind was too busy thinking about Tell and little Vicky as well as that thing that happened 10 years ago. To think that it was Mom who made Vicky an orphan and that she was there when the werewolf struck, as if she knew beforehand when and where it was going to happen. Yet, she did nothing to prevent it from happening. Mom has a lot of explaining to do.

"PAT!" Chris smacked me in the back of my head.

"WHAT?!"

"I asked you what the hell is going on, like a hundred times already!"

"Liar!"

"You care to tell me why we're going to the mall on the other side of the city?"

I showed him the hairpin.

"I know that the pigeon transformed into that. What I want to know is, was that supposed to mean anything?"

"You're not even surprised at how the pigeon was able to transform into a hairpin?"

"Your mom already showed me enough amazing things. Compared to things she did, that magic trick of yours was like a third rate children's show," he said with a straight face.

Mom again! Why is it that everything has to do with Mom? She of all people should know that she's supposed to maintain the Code of Concealment. What the hell was she trying to prove?

"So?" Chris said out of the blue.

I looked at him. "What?"

"Explanation?" I saw his right eyebrow raised a little bit.

"I made this last Christmas for Tell. At that time, I was facing the possibility of never returning home. So I gave her this," I raised the hairpin, "So that she would be able to find me if I did got lost. It was actually made in a pair. Both should've came back to me together. I don't understand why only one returned."

"So now Tell's trying to find you? Can't she just call home?"

"This is NOT like going low on battery or lacking signal bars! To send the messengers, she must really want to send them. In this case, she really needed someone who could help."

"Just what kind of trouble is she in?"

"You probably won't believe me. I can hardly believe it myself."

"Try me."

"Alright. It's a werewolf."

"Werewolf?"

"Yes, werewolf."

"Ha!" he exhaled loudly.

"Why are you feeling relieved?! You're supposed to be shocked! Doubtful! Even downright denial! You haven't shown even a single obvious expression since we left!"

He was silent as he navigated the traffic.

"Answer me, damnit!"

"Would you like it if I was to keep telling you that there are no such things as werewolves or demons? Would you feel better if I say that it's all in your head?"

"Well no, but you could've at least appear surprised," I whined.

"Don't you know already that acting is way beneath me? I could've acted the perfect gentleman all these years, but I didn't. The thought of anyone other than me kissing or touching you filled me with rage."

"So that was why you were such a jerk?"

"Yup!"

I was about to give him a piece of my mind when he pulled over into the parking lot in question. I looked at the hairpin and felt a bit of relief to see that the ruby was still glowing, albeit being rather weak. At least it wasn't fading anymore. That means that Tell is still alive. Then I thought of little Vicky and became very worried again as the hairpin could give no indication of his status.

Please let him be safe.

It was a scene out of disaster movies. Cars were strewn all over the floor. Most of the cars had big dents on it, some on the sides, the front and some had dents on its roof. It was like a hurricane was here. But that wasn't all I saw. There were strange eerie glows that flew around or near the dents on the cars and slowly fixed each of the dents. And at the far side of the floor, a familiar form was telekinetically pushing the cars back into empty parking lots. It was a lili. One with dark purple hair and a pair of horns that made it look like she sported a pair of white wings on her head.

I know her. I've seen her before my duel in Yenne Velt. She was in Delilah's clique.

As soon as the car stopped with a loud screech, I opened the door and got out. I was immediately seized by two men, whom from the look of their uniforms seemed to be the mall's security.

"Let me go!" I cried.

"Pat! Get off her!" he yelled at the two men just as three more appeared and tried to grab him. He puunched one in the face and kicked one in the guts but was unable to avoid the punch from the third guy. That punch on his jaw left him winded for a few seconds, giving the same man the opportunity to put his knee in Chris's stomach, quickly followed by another hit on Chris's back.

I renewed my struggles as I saw Chris fell to the floor. Unfortunately, my struggles proved futile as both of the security guys kept a firm arm lock on both my arms on both my arms from behind. Kicking them was equally useless as my legs couldn't hit anything significant.

Chris on the other hand was in his element. He acted as if he belonged there, fighting three big-ish guys at the same time. He rolled around on the floor, then made that helicopter kick they often showed in those silly kungfu films, effectively tripping one before he did the same with another. Geez, I thought those fancy moves would never work.

He then jumped up from his horizontal position so suddenly and proceeded to deliver two simultaneous smacks on the security guy's ears as if he intended to flatten the guy's head. I bet his ears were ringing like ding dong bells now.

I didn't have much time to worry about that guy because the two guys behind me roughly pushed me to the floor, with one of them crossing my hands on my back and kneeling on it, effectively pinning my hands to my back with almost 200 pounds worth of dead weight. The other guy left me and stepped forward to help his friends. I found four against one to be very unfair.

"Chris!" I cried, just as he delivered a kick to the side of the last guy, causing him to black out.

"Yeah?" He gave the guy another kick just to make sure.

"Behind..." he punched the oncoming guy's face without looking, "... oh never mind."

He turned around to look at me, grinning like the way he used to when we were much younger. That grin that I used to adore when we were kids. Oh, how I missed those days when he wasn't always angry and there was no reason to hate him.

"Pat, were you worried about me? I knew it! You still love me, don't you?" He made that grin again and now it felt like he was mocking me. Why? Because he beat up four guys and I couldn't even get one off my back!

"In your dreams, rat bastard," I replied, finding it hard to draw breath as I was still pinned under that beefy security guy.

"I know you don't mean that, babe. Now you just stay tight. That perv sitting on your back will regret staying a second too long," he said while he crunched his fingers. The he charged and tackled the guy sitting on me in one swift move, reminding me of the times in high school when I would discretely watch him as he practiced his drills on the football field.

Gosh! How many times did I actually do that?

I sat up and watched as Chris give the guy a good pummeling. It was obvious that Chris had the upper hand, before he brought it down swiftly on the man's back. He also obviously had no problem with kicking a man when he's down on his back, because he did just that. Or at least he did up to the point when the guy passed out. Then he crouched next to the guy, his fingers feeling the pulse at the guys neck. He delivered another punch at the guy's jaw as he started to come around.

I didn't know what made me do it, but I crawled towards him as he looked at me. He had his head up and was grinning with that adorable grin of his. Without another thought, I took hold of his face with both hands and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips which lasted a full minute.

"What's that about, babe?" he asked as he stood up and helped me up as he straightened himself up. His left arm then encircled my waist. Then he grinned again and it actually made his face younger and naive. Great Mother. I don't understand how he could actually look naive.

We both looked at the purple haired lili at about the same time. I then noticed two bodies, Tell and little Vicky lying unmoving at the center of the maelstrom. I couldn't tell whether they were still alive, judging from what I could see from here.

I took a glance at the hairpin. At least Tell's still alive, I thought as I saw the ruby glow faintly.

"What are you doing here, sister?" I addressed the lili.

Her only response was a cool glance at me. Her hands seemingly working autonomously from her body as it moved about, manipulating the cars to move forward and backward. I tried to keep myself calm as I asked her, "What happened to the werewolf?"

This time she turned to look at me. "Were you involved in the attack on my sister and son, sister?"

She merely cocked her head to the left. With a sweep of her hand, she telekinetically pushed the last car into its parking box, spread her wings and fled.

"That's unexpected," I remarked as I started to chase after her. Unfortunately, she was far too fast for me. By the time I reached the second floor, she was gone. Probably blinked away.

When I got back, Chris was checking the pulse on little Vicky and Tell's necks.

"Weak, but stable," he said.

"I have a lot of questions here. Questions like what happened to the wound on Tell's stomach. Is there any way to rouse them?"

Chris rubbed his chin. "Well, I suppose you can try pouring water on their faces or slapping their faces until they wake up."

"So crude. I think I'll try a much gentler method," I said as I put my palms on Tell's heart.

Chris grinned again, with that adorable childish grin, "Just like a girl."

"Oh, shut up," I snapped as I slowly imagine myself transferring pink healing glow to Tell. I was only partially successful. Tell's pulses got stronger, but she hadn't woke up, yet.

"I must've become weaker. Even such a simple aura transfer sapped my strength far too much," I remarked after finding myself unable to get up.

"Will you be OK?" Chris asked as he held me by my upper left arm. I looked at his face and saw concern in it. It almost made me want to cry. He hadn't shown me that face since we were fifteen.

Noticing me looking at him with tears in my eyes, he suddenly appeared uncomfortable, then he loosened his hold on my upper arm, "Sorry, babe. Am I hurting you?"

"What? No! Help me up, please. I need to try wake up little Vicky. Maybe he can tell me what's going on."

"Why don't we do this at home? You're too weak to do this again."

"I'm fine. Just help me up."

"You're not really OK, are you?"

"Chris! Lay off it. Stop freaking me out with that expression on your face. Just... help me. I can't stand on my own."

"No!"

"Excuse me? Did you just 'no'?"

"I don't want you to harm yourself."

"Seriously? Seriously? This coming from the guy who broke my leg with a hockey stick?"

"Would you please give up on that? I was sorry. How many times do I have to say that? I didn't realize what I was doing."

"Suuure. Let's make a deal. You help me get to little Vicky and I shut up about that for a month."

"For ever."

"Two months."

"For ever."

"Half a year?"

"For ever."

"Gosh! You don't let up, do you? There is such a thing as a compromise, you know," I said, slightly annoyed.

"For ever, or you crawl there on your own."

"Meanie! Fine, I'll crawl there myself. I don't need you at all!" It was just 10 feet anyway.

"Go on ahead. I'm going to enjoy watching this," he said with a chuckle.

I paused. I thought about him watching me crawl away. It wasn't the degradation that made me rethink my move. I was just worried that he might be watching my bum. No, he was definitely going to watch my bum. Then he'll make some macho remark that will leave me red in the face.

"OK, fine. You win. I'll shut my mouth about that for a year if you'll help me get over there."

"For ever!"

"A year!"

"Fine, a year and you marry me when you break your promise."

I bit my lower lip before saying, " Gee, that's almost like rape, you know? And your confidence that I can't keep a promise is kinda insulting."

"Oh, you will. It's just a matter of when. Besides, I'm just reinforcing the promise that WE made long ago."

I looked up at him in defiance. "Your confidence pisses me off. Just so you know, I'm only agreeing because I don't want to argue much longer. Now GET ME OVER THERE!"

"I know we're only accompanied by unconscious people, but please, pipe it down. You're piercing my eardrums," he said as he put his arms under my knees and shoulders, then heaved me up.

"Umm, Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"I mean help me walk there. You don't have to carry me all the way."

"I want to. It reminds me of the first night we spent together."

"Uhh, the first night? Didn't I break into your bedroom through the window?"

"I'm talking about Christmas Eve."

"Christmas Eve? That was hardly our first night together."

"Feels like it to me," he gently placed me on the concrete floor, "Do your stuff. Just... be careful, OK?"

"Sure," I said as I did the same thing as what I did with Tell.

The pinkish glow enveloped my hands, as expected. I transferred the pinkish glow to little Vicky's body, as expected. Then the glow was absorbed into his body in a blink, not expected. A charge of purple lightning shot forth from little Vicky's body, hitting my chest, causing me to fly backward through the air, definitely not expected.

I gasped hard as the back of my head hit the concrete ceiling first, followed by my upper body. Then the momentum was gone and I fell straight down onto the floor, equally as hard.

The last thing I heard before everything went dark was Chris calling my name, twice.

---

To Be Continued

*Comments are always welcomed.

The Half Lilin: By The Light Of The Moon (Chapter 5) By shinieris Thanks To Stanman63 and Captain Normality for the proofreading! "You were saying something?" I cut her off just as she was about to say something, "Anyway, it's your mess. So you have an obligation to help fix it." "Oh!" I heard giggles from the other side, "So which tabloid did you hear that from?" "Tabloid?" "Oh, don't play dumb. I was wondering when you'd come across one of those mags." "What are you talking about?"

[-][+][-]

It's hard. That was the first thing I noticed when I attempted to do anything. It wasn't really pain, but more about the inability to feel, to use my own muscles.

When I finally opened my eyes, everything was blurry. I wondered if I was still in the parking lot. The general color of the ceiling was about the same, though I couldn't really tell with my vision so blurry. I tried to get up but fell back down as pain wracked my body. I closed my eyes, trying to resist the pain.

A pair of hands held my shoulders and pushed me back down.

"Don't move," said a gentle male voice, "I don't think you're ready for anything more than a light kiss."

Light kiss? How dare he presume... I'm not that kind of... light kiss... kiss... shit! It's Chris! He's hovering over... going to steal a kiss... don't need eyes to see... get up!

A pair of lips touched mine. I didn't know how long, but it definitely felt far too long. I felt my right arm move and my fist connected to something hard. The pair of lips departed and then I heard a cry of pain.

"Jesus! Why'd you hit me, Pat?"

I suppose it's true that it takes seventeen muscles to smile and much less to throw a fist at someone's face. Case in point, it was much easier for me to hit him than to speak.

"Daddy?"

Is that little Vicky? Oh, of course it is. Who else would call me Daddy? Oh, I wish I can see better. It's all so blurry.

All of a sudden, I felt something grab my left arm. Power flowed all through my body like a broken dam. It was refreshing at first. Then it kinda hurt a little, reminding me of the time when the seal on Mom's tricorne power was broken. Then it hurt a lot and my body jumped twice, my eyes opened wide, before I sat straight up and screamed like a manic banshee. For in that split second of pain, I was reliving the torments of Ashmedan. Torments I thought I had left behind.

Despite the numbness of my body, I struggled a little bit when Chris put his arms around my body, holding my slightly flailing arms pressing against my sides. Then his arms transformed. It turned greenish and slimy before his hands merged to form a single tentacle which wrapped itself even more around my body. In front of me was the giant, circular maw of Harmidas, the monster with rows and rows of sharp fangs lining its circular maw. It never consumed its prey in one bite. It preferred to place its prey dangling just inside its maw and then it will close those rows of razor sharp teeth one by one. It will start with the deepest row of teeth, so the feet will be chewed first.

Then the second, when the calves will break. Next, the thighs and waist will be turned into mush, and I will feel all the pain of being chewed alive. Finally, the fourth and fifth, which will sink hundreds of its fangs into my breasts, my wings and my stomach, pulling me slightly in as its flexible gums tighten, drawing the tips of its fangs inward. It will appear as if it was sucking me in, as its lips closed in around me, leaving only my head outside.

But no, that wasn't going to be the end. I will not be granted a quick death. As I scream and scream, its maw will continue to chew, piercing skin, shredding flesh and breaking bones. I will be aware of everything. Harmidas wouldn't care that it was chewing its own tentacles, as it couldn't even feel pain. For it was slightly emphatic, nowhere near enough to the level of full telepathy, nor did it provide him with sentience, but just enough to experience the sensation of others.

It was a creature of pleasure, like many of Asmodeus's subjects. Unlike others, it could only feel pleasure through pain, other's pain. It can tap into its prey's mind, sharing a small fraction of their pain, but it was never enough, it needed more. So it will prolong its prey's torment, amplifying it by sending the small fraction of the pain it harvested back into the mind of its prey, so that the pain would only grow with the passing of time.

It once took sixty days just to completely chew the lower half of my body, and another twenty days to complete the job. Then it would spit out what was left of my body: the head and a third of my upper spine, which would've been completely bare of skin and flesh. In the end, my head would have a small hole at the top rear, a result of the explosion due to the unbearable echoes of pain on the fiftieth day.

My eyes open, but despite the horrific madness in front of me, my eyes was looking at nothing. As the monster lowered my legs to its maw, my mind went back to Yenne velt. Oh, how I longed to be returned there. And at the center of Yenne Velt, in Vanity Meadows would be Mother's calming face, waiting for my return with a smile on her lips and a twinkle in her eyes. Then she would pat my head and told me how proud she was of me.

"Mother, look at me. Look at me! Would you come and take me back? I swear I won't defy you again, please take me home, Mother," I cried, knowing deep in my heart that Mother heard me, but refused to save me so she could teach me a lesson.

"Snap out of it," came a rough male voice right before I felt the tip of the tentacle around my body slap my cheeks. So very odd, Harmidas never bothered to hit its prey before. The pain from such an act was so very minute that it wouldn't even be able to sense it.

Then I noticed that the tentacle wrapped around me was very loose. Seizing the chance, I gathered my strength and broke off the stranglehold on my own arms and body. My wings were broken in several places, but nothing that couldn't be healed over time. I raised my right hand, pointed it at Harmidas's face and snapped my fingers.

"Take that, monster!" I laughed hard at seeing him flailing his tentacles as his face (including his giant maw) was consumed by flames.

I looked to the sky and thought, Wait for me, Mother. I'm coming home. Then I leaped up to the red sky of Ashmedan.

"Ow!" I cried as my head hit something hard, causing me to close my eyes in pain. I reopened my eyes and found that I was back in my living room.

Why is my plasma TV melted and covered in foam? And why is Chris still spraying my home entertainment system with my emergency fire extinguisher?

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY PLASMA?!!!" I yelled the moment my butt landed on the soft couch.

"ME? It was you who snapped your fingers and set fire to it! Can't you see that I'm trying to snuff the flames?" he said in defense. Then he murmured something under his breath that clearly sounded like 'ungrateful bitch'.

"What the hell do you mean by me setting fire to it? I bought it with my first paycheck," I asked when he stopped spraying the extinguisher foam.

He looked at me, then turned to look at the melted plasma TV before returning his gaze on me.

"I think you were having a nightmare. You were struggling so much in my arms and shouting in some strange language. I slapped your face to wake you up, but you pushed me off, snapped your fingers and the plasma TV went up in flames. All the time, your eyes were vacant, as if your mind wasn't really there."

"So it was all a dream?" I asked.

He nodded. "I believe so." He stepped forward, dropped the fire extinguisher and gently took me into his arms.

"What was it that you were dreaming about? What was so horrific that it spilled into reality?" he asked as he ran his left hand along my the soft tresses of my shoulder-length, blood red hair.

"I... I was back in Hell. In Ashmedan. I was calling for Mother, begging for forgiveness, begging for her to return, to take me home, to Yenne Velt. Home where all my sisters are."

"You have one sister here. Shouldn't that be enough?"

"You won't understand," I sobbed, "It's different. When I was there, in Yenne Velt, it felt right. I felt good,to be with my sisters. Eventhough I haven't spent much time with them, it was like I've known them all my life. I was actually happy, even when one of them attempted to kill me and I had to kill her so I could return. Back in Ashmedan, I begged and begged Mother to listen to my call, to take me back to Yenne Velt. Every single day I begged her, and in that dream, I begged her again."

"That was the strange language I heard?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Can you repeat it for me?"

"No, it was too foreign for me. Definitely not French or German. I think it was probably some Middle Eastern language. Sure sounds like it."

"Something like Arabic? Or Egyptian? Hebrew?"

"No idea. I've never learned any of those. The only Egyptian I've ever heard of was from The Mummy. You know, I probably should sleep with you from now on. You scared the poor bo-ow!" He couldn't finish his sentence as he soon found my fist in his kidney.

"Damned lech!" I said as I pushed him off me, gave him a loud slap and kicked him in the shin.

He chuckled, "Hah! You kicked like a girl!"

"Oh really? Now would you please... stand... just... like... THAT!" I delivered a strong kick aimed at his thighs with all my might.

A kick which fell short. Chris obviously anticipated it because he moved to the left just as it was about to hit.

Chris taunted, "Neh neh, can't get me."

"Stand still, bastard!" I yelled as I chased him around the living room. Well, actually I only chased him around the couch.

"Only if you'd give me a kiss," he laughed as he lingered on the other side of the couch.

"No chance in hell, pervert!" I started running to the left, which he compensated by running to the right.

"Then I guess you'll just have to catch me," he grinned from the other side of the couch.

"Oh, you asked for it," I said as I feinted right before going left.

Then I stopped half-way through. No, it wasn't because Chris saw through my feint. Actually, I was questioning myself for playing along in this game.

The important thing right now is to see whether Tell and little Vicky's OK.

"Where are my sister and son?"

"In her room. Are we stopping already?" He looked pretty down when he said that.

"I'm not playing your game, Chris," I said as I turned and walked to Tell's room.

When I opened the door, I saw little Vicky sitting on the bed next to Tell, reading the story of Cinderella to Tell's unconscious form. He looked up at me when I entered the room and said, "You OK, Daddy? You were screaming."

I walked up to him and ruffled his hair. I said, "Don't you worry, little one. I was just shocked, that's all." Then I turned serious and asked him directly, "Now what do you remember about what happened at the parking lot?"

"Parking lot?" he said, looking confused.

I knelt in front of him. Holding his waist firmly, I said, "Yes, remember? It was after you watched a movie with Aunt Tell. Then there was a big dog blocking your way, what happened after that?"

With very animated hands, "Big doggie sooo eeee-bil! He stabbed Aunt Tell then throw her away. Big doggie looked at me. But Mister Blue Toyota said he'll take care of..." I just had to stop him at that point.

"I'm sorry, did you just say Mister Blue Toyota?"

"Yes, he hit bad doggie with his nose. Then Miss Yellow Voxwagen said don't worry and she hit bad doggie too. Then Mister Black Merseeedeez hit bad doggie with his butt. Bad doggie didn't like it so much, so he beat up poor Mister Black Merseeedeez but Mister Green Mustang ran woosh-woosh at bad doggie and kick it away. Then Mister Red Chev and White Toyota help..."

I just had to interrupt him again because I was feeling awfully confused, "OK, Sweetie, does these people have names?"

"Silly Daddy, they're cars, not people." He giggled.

"Young and funny, I think we're going to like each other," Chris grinned from the doorway.

I ignored Chris as I said, "OK, Sweetie, let's forget about 'Mister Car' for now. What happened after all the Mister and Miss Cars fought the doggie?"

He became so excited that it was hard to keep him sitting firmly on the bed.

"Then an angel came. A very beauuuu-tiful angel, with big white wings and very bright, too. She fired la-ser at the bad doggie and big doggie ran away. The angel landed on the floor and kissed Aunt Tell. Then she told me don't tell my daddy about her and disappeared. Oh-oh, will I go to Hell now?" He sat on the bed finally and bowed down to look at his feet solemnly with his hands placed on his head.

"Oh Sweetie, don't you worry," I replaced his hands on his head with my right hand, "You won't go to Hell just for that. Believe me, I know."

"Yeah, because she's from that place," Chris said.

I gave Chris a sharp glare before turning to little Vicky. I noticed that he was looking pretty tired and told him to take a nap on the bed. He didn't protest as he hugged his baby pillow and laid down next to Tell. He fell asleep almost the moment his head hit the pillow.

I waited a few more minutes, caressing little Vicky's back, trying to get him into a deep sleep. This time I didn't use my healing aura. I didn't know what happened back at the parking lot, but I wasn't going to repeat the same mistake. I checked up on Tell and was satisfied that she was fine, except for not waking up yet. Then I turn around to walk out of the room, but was blocked by Chris at the doorway.

I sighed. "Move aside, Chris. I don't have the mood to play with you now."

He gave me an appraising look, then he said, "You didn't say the magic word."

I groaned and said, "I really hope that this magic word is 'please', because if it's anything else, I think I'd rather kick your butt than say it."

"Full sentence, please," he said as his forefinger made a circle in the air.

"Please... move aside, Chris."

"Is that so hard?" he said as he stepped back to let me through. He watched as I went back to the living room.

"What are you doing?" Chris asked when he saw me pick up the phone's handle.

"Calling someone who can give me an explanation."

"Anyone I know?"

I looked at his face and tried to search my memory to check whether he knew her. They both used to live in Colorado Springs after all. Then I recalled one of those times when Chris made her cry.

"Yup, you know her. She used to live in our neighborhood."

"Who?"

"Stephy, she had lots of freckles and had braces. She wore her hair in twin ponytails."

"Can't quite place her."

"You kicked her cat away when you saw me playing with it."

I saw his eyes dilate before he said, "That girl... I remember pulling her pigtails during recess."

I looked at him sideways. "You're awful," I said.

He grinned and made the gun sign on both hands and pointed it at me. "You know it, babe," he said.

"Hello, who is speaking?" came a stern-sounding voice from the earpiece. It didn't sound like her at all, whether it be her human or demon form.

"Umm, is this Stephanie Mills's number?"

"Who's this?"

"Her friend..."

"I'm sorry, she's busy. I'll tell her to call...." Then I heard a commotion from the other side and some raised voices.

"... tell you not to pick up my calls!" said a different female voice.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hey, Shai-na," I replied in a slow, teasing tone, dragging the syllables as I said it.

"Oh, it's you. What do you want, Ilyse?"

"I need to talk to you, Shaina."

"We're talking."

"I mean face to face, Shaina. I need you to explain something."

"Just what is this 'something'?"

"You'll know. Can we meet, now?"

"Now? Hell no! I'm waiting for an important call."

"A director?"

"A producer if you must know. What if he calls me on my landline?"

"Well, you did say you wanted a break."

"I'm a top celebrity. If I take a break, people will think I have a nervous breakdown."

"Wow, you have some serious issues there. So can we meet?"

"Did you not hear what I said?"

"You were saying something?" I cut her off just as she was about to say something, "Anyway, it's your mess. So you have an obligation to help fix it."

"Oh!" I heard giggles from the other side, "So which tabloid did you hear that from?"

"Tabloid?"

"Oh, don't play dumb. I was wondering when you'd come across one of those mags."

"What are you talking about?"

"You mean you don't know?" More giggles, "Great Mother, this is going to be good. Meet me at the same Starbucks we went to last time... in thirty minutes."

Then the line went dead.

"Freckles is now Stephanie Mills? Wow, how the world has changed."

I gave him a sideways glare. "You're awful. I'm going out, Did you manage to bring my car back?"

"Who was going to drive it back? You were all passed out."

I groaned. "Fine, give me your keys."

"Babe, I told you before, nobody drives my car other than me."

"What is it with you and your unhealthy attachment to that car? Did you buy it with the money you saved from delivering pizzas since you were fifteen?"

"I happened to like that car very much, thank you. And no, I used all my pizza delivering savings to go to the same university you went to. I paid the car in full with my first and second salary with a great deal of contribution from your mother."

"Mom paid for your car..."

He nodded. "That's right."

"I'M GONNA THROW HER INTO A HYDRA'S PIT!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

"Shh!" he frantically waved his arms, "Are you trying to wake little Vicky up? We can just go together."

"I don't want to go with you, asshole."

"Daddy?" said the little voice from the direction of Tell's rooom.

I looked in that direction and saw little Vicky half hidden by the kitchen wall. He was looking apprehensive, as if deciding whether or not he should be there. Looking at him, I recalled what Lauren said about his life at home. How he had to dance around her father, avoiding stepping on his toes all the time. How he had to hide everytime her father was in a foul mood. That kind of trauma could scar a boy for all his life.

It was all my fault. He never should've suffered that kind of life.

I gestured little Vicky to come closer. "Come here, Sweetie," I said.

He was hesitant, but seeing as my arm was still stretched towards him, he made a brave face and slowly came closer. I squatted on the floor to make myself look less scary to him.

He took my hand and I patted his head with my other hand. "There, there. You don't need to be afraid of me, Sweetie. I wasn't yelling at you. Did I wake you up, just now?"

He nodded once.

"Well, don't you worry. I'm never going to yell at you if you didn't do anything wrong."

"But I always do something wrong," he replied fearfully.

"Sometimes you made a mistake. That's OK. I make mistakes too. The important part is to learn from it and never make the same mistake again."

"But..."

"Ah-ah! No buts. I have to go out for a while. Will you be OK on your own?"

"Yes. I stayed at home sometimes when Momma went to work. I'll be OK," he said.

"Very good. I won't be long. Don't let strangers in and please take care of Aunt Tell for me, okay?"

He nodded.

"That's a good boy," I rubbed his head, messing up his dark brown hair as he squealed. He reminded me so much of his mother. She used to squeal too whenever I messed up her hair.

"I'm sorry that I... umm... the TV is damaged. But you can read storybooks while you wait. I bought some new ones yesterday. It's on the lowest bookshelf, so you can reach it easily."

"I'm not short!" he pouted.

Actually, I thought he was rather short for a boy his age. "Nobody's saying you're short, Sweetie. I just don't want you to be buried in a book avalanche."

"What's avalanche?"

"Err... it's when snow from the mountain's top fall..." I looked at his face noticed his blank expression.

"You know what," I said, "why don't we continue this when I get back, OK?"

I rubbed his head again as he said, "'kay."

"Good boy, now why don't you take the books and sit next to Aunt Tell. I won't be long."

Little Vicky nodded, went to the bookshelves to take the books and went back into Tell's room. I continued watching him until he closed the door.

I turned to Chris to tell him to start the car but was totally caught off guard when he wrapped his arms around my own arms and waist. Then his arms tightened, drawing me closer and tighter to himself. It was so tight that any movements I made would be closer to rubbing that actually struggling. With my arms pinned to my sides, he proceeded to give me a very deep and lustful French kiss.

I didn't realize when he let go of me. The next thing I knew, I had my eyes closed and I was actually kissing back. I stopped then opened my eyes. He opened his eyes and bent forward to continue the kiss, but I used my left hand to cover my mouth, causing his lips to kiss the back of my hand. That was when I found out that my arms were actually wrapped around his neck, pulling his lips down to mine this whole time. I looked at those soft lips that brought me to wonderland and licked my own lips before I caught myself.

"You forced me!" I cried after I used my other hand to push him away. He didn't make a move of protest. My left hand still on my mouth and I had to stop myself from licking my own lips again.

"Babe, if that was what you'd call 'forced', I'd really like to know your definition of 'consensual'," he grinned. Not the adorable, childish grin, but the annoying meanie grin, the one that said he's got what he wanted. I found myself getting hot in the face and neck.

"We're going to be late! Get your keys and let's go. I warn you, if you try to do anything in the car, I'll personally make us crash. Don't forget that I'm immortal and you're not!" I warned, then turned to the front door.

Behind me, I heard him say with a chuckle, "You're going to be a good mom."

I groaned.

*As always, comments are always appreciated.

The Half Lilin: By The Light Of The Moon (Chapter 6) By Shinieris Thanks to Captain Normality for the proofreading! "Well, Shaina, I'm having a problem with a werewolf." "Werewolf." "Yes, werewolf." "Impossible!" "I know! They're not supposed to exist..." I stopped when something else she said caught my attention. "What did you just say?" I asked. "This place is vampire territory. The entire L.A. area is vampire territory. They wouldn't let a werewolf in." "I'm sorry, did you just say vampire?" "Yes, I did."

[-][+][-]

"So tell me about this Yeni Vet place," he said after making a turn into North Hill Street.

"What?"

"Yeni Vet, or whichever way you pronounce it. The place where there's more of your kind."

"My kind? I really don't like your tone, Chris. That's racism." I looked away, feeling slightly offended.

"I'm not a racist! Remember that time in high school when I dated that black girl... erh... what was her name..."

"Shawna Thompson," I reminded him with a glare.

He leered at me. "Oh, I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with me back then? How come you knew her name?"

I gave him a sharp look. "It's hard not to notice when you started playing tongue tennis with her in the hallways everytime I walked past!"

He grinned without looking at me. Not the adorable, childish grin that he made at the parking lot, but the evil, 'I-got-you-now' kind of grin. "My my. Am I detecting a certain jealousy in your voice? I think someone's ready to admit her fee~lings."

I frowned at him. "Keep quiet and drive! I don't want to hear a single word out of your lips until we got home."

"Cool, your home or mine?" Chris quipped.

"Mine... hey! I go back to my place. You go back to your place!"

"But that's just the thing, babe. My home is yours too. Your mom bought it for us."

"Okay then. Following that reasoning, the house should be mine. So I'm kicking you out. There." I crossed my arms ad made a satisfied smirk.

"Oh boy, that's just mean. Too bad it won't work though. The house is under my name."

"Then keep... why is it dark?" I said, referring to the Starbucks in question, which appeared to be closed.

"What do you expect? It's two in the morning. Why didn't you just agree to meet at 7-Eleven, for example?"

"But she clearly told me to come here..." I looked at my watch, "... around this time. Maybe she's waiting in her car."

"Or maybe, she stood you up."

"Shut up... maybe she's just running late. I'll call her cell," I said as I whipped out my own cellphone.

"Excuse me. but you're the one who's late. I've been waiting here for the past five minutes."

"Shaina? Where the hell did you come from? Where's your car?" I started looking around.

"Not here. I didn't drive here. I just blinked. My cousin put me on house arrest."

Chris leaned over to my side of the car and said to Shaina, "Hey, Freckles."

Shaina's eyes bulged out. "Why'd you bring him here?"

Before I could answer, Chris said, "Comes with the car, baby," he grinned, "Are you going to come in or just stand there like a hooker?"

Shaina's left eyebrow ticked twice. She then stepped back and opened the back door.

"Great Mother, you stink!" she said, immediately after her butt hit the seat.

"Hey, in my defense, I fought off five big guys two hours ago. I've been taking care of grumpy here until she woke up and broke my nose."

"I broke your nose?"

"You damned near did."

"Should've put more strength into it," I muttered under my breath.

"Come again?"

"You wish!"

"I hate to break up your lover's quarrel, but I wasn't actually referring to you," she pointed a finger at Chris, "I was actually referring to you," she pointed at me.

"Me?" I smelled my sleeves, no particularly strong smell. I hesitantly sniffed at my ampits. No strong smell there, either.

I turned my body to face her in the backseat. "But I don't smell..."

It was about that time that Chris's fingers pushed the hair at my neck away and pressed his nose to the nape of my neck. "Pat's right. I don't smell anything," he said.

I elbowed his kidney with my right elbow in response. When he pulled back in pain, I turned to face him and shoved him to his side of the car, hard. Probably too hard. I winced hearing the loud sound of his back hitting the door.

"Ow, ow, ow! You better wish my spine's not broken. Else I'll be announcing my wedding vows in a wheelchair," he said. Judging from his voice, I could tell that he was in a lot of pain.

"You shouldn't have done that! Especially when we have company! Besides, when did I ever agree to marry you?" I pulled him by the sides of his chest, "Turn around."

"What?" he asked, pain still obvious in his voice.

"I said turn around. Don't make me repeat myself."

He turned around, making some pathetic pained noises as he did. I ran my fingers across his back, poking here and there to determine which part of his body was in pain. I covered my fingers with pinkish healing glow as I massaged his back under his verbal guidance.

First he told me to massage somewhere below his shoulder bones. Then he told me to go lower, a few inches below what I would call wing bones. I did as he asked even after he told me to massage the sides of his torso, going slowly to the front. I continued my massage when he told me to go lower, and I couldn't help but admire his six-packs. Mine was pretty much always flat.

Then he told me to rub lower, and that was when I smacked him on the back of the head. That caused his forehead to hit the glass of the window.

"Ow! What the hell was that, Pat?" he cried, covering his forehead with his left hand as if expecting another punishment.

"That's what you get for being a rat-bastard," I said, turning the other way.

"I'm sure this is all pretty amusing," Shaina said from the back seat, "And I can understand why he can't smell it. But you, you're a lili, how can you not smell that?"

"What am I supposed to smell?"

"Oh, you're hopeless," she said as she pulled my left hand roughly.

The next thing I knew, I was looking at myself from the back seat. Freaky. But that wasn't the worst of it. Immediately I smelled the stench of rotten meat, the kind of smell you'd get if you let a dead rat's carcass rot on its own without the aid of maggots. I wanted to cover my nose, but I couldn't control her hands.

That wasn't all, however. I also noticed a shifting darkness around me, I mean my body. At first I thought it was just tricks of the light, but then I noticed the darkness was flowing. Flowing like black smoke from one part of the body to the other. Constantly, as if it was no different from my own lifeblood. Maybe it was my own lifeblood, this foul black smoke with a heavy rotten stench that lingered in one's nose. I never thought I could smell so bad.

She let go of my hand and I found myself back in my own body, with the bad smell and nausea nothing more than a bad memory.

"What the hell was that? How can I smell so bad?"

"Oh, don't feel so bad. I've smelled worse. My friend Ledria smells like rotten fish and another friend smells like she crapped on her own head everyday," she said, probably trying to make me feel better.

I wasn't really listening. With my hands on each side of my head, I mumbled, "Oh, how can this be? How can I stink so badly? Have I always smelled this bad?"

"Actually, you didn't stink this badly last time. When I first met you in your apartment, your aura was turbulent, but at least it smelled like flowers. You only started to stink... oh my... you have his smell. You slept with him, didn't you?" she said that last part with genuine shock.

For some reason, I just knew that the 'he' that she mentioned wasn't Chris. Apparently, Chris came to the same conclusion because he was glowering at me intensely while his cheek muscles kept jumping like kangaroos on a race.

I just felt like I should offer some explanation, there's no telling what Chris would do if I just let his rage boil. "Calm down... honey," I said that last word with a bit of difficulty, "I swear I haven't slept with anyone other than you and Vicky (at least not in human form). She was just spouting nonsense..."

"But you must be!" she interjected. Totally ignoring my evil eye look, she continued, "That explains everything, like the change in your aura, this disgusting smell and the reason you weren't kicked down to Papua New Guinea."

"Shaina, this is a good time for you to stop..."

"What's this about Papua New Guinea?" Chris growled. If not because I knew how bad his tempers often ran, I would probably consider his growls as delicious.

Shaina, the loudmouth, replied with, "Well, it's common knowledge that only angels of death and dead humans are allowed to enter Purgatory. Anyone else gets kicked down to Papua New Guinea."

Shaina...

"She's the only one I know who didn't get kicked down to Papua New Guinea."

Stop talking...

"That's why you said last time that Azrael was the perfect gentleman."

STOP TALKING!

"First Hades, then Uriel, now Azrael. How many men were you cheating on me with?" Chris asked in a barely controlled voice. His face dark with volcanic rage. His hands, tightly gripping the steering wheel as if meaning to crush it in his anger.

"No, no. It's not what you think. They're not men, see. They're angels. And they're not different people, they're actually the same angel in different names."

Shaina gasped at that point. "No way! You're lying!"

"QUIET, SHAINA!" I cried at the same moment when Chris pressed the gas pedal. I was thrown back into my seat as the sudden acceleration caused me to lose my balance.

"Hey Chris, come on, don't be this way. Nothing happened, okay," I said as I started to clumsily put on my seatbelt.

"What's he doing?" Shaina asked as she poked her head between us. I couldn't believe she was unaffected by the sudden speed.

"Chris, baby, please stop. Crashing us won't change anything."

He obviously wasn't listening.

"What's the big deal? If he wants to die, let him. It's not like we'll die with him."

I turned to face Shaina. "I don't want to be trapped under a wreckage and had to explain why I wasn't harmed! I can't blink away, I lost my wings."

"Clipped, not lost. I can always tag you with me when I blink away. Bet you didn't know that."

She was right, I didn't know that. But... "That's beside the point..." I turned to look at Chris, whose hands had gone white from gripping the steering wheel too tightly, "... I don't want him to die."

She looked at Chris, flinched a bit when our speeding ride almost nicked a much slower car and said, "Why would you care? Do you finally have to have feelings for him?"

"What's that got to do with anything? Chris! Slow down!" I cried, seeing him almost hitting the metal railing at my side of the road. My first reaction was to seize the wheel and force him to slow down, but I've watched enough movies to know that it will always make things worse. At least now, we're not hitting anything despite the car cruising at the speed that would make Michael Schumacher green with envy. I doubt though that anything I said would enter his brain.

"It has everything to do with everything. I don't want to take you away if it means letting the man you love to die. Remember the vow? I can leave on my own, but I'm honor-bound to bring you with me."

"So it means that you can't save yourself without me?"

"That is what-ow!" she tried to say before the car swerved and she flew, her face ended up hitting the left window. "I'll kill you, bastard!" she cried.

I looked at Chris's dark face. His eyes were focused forward, as if the only important thing at the moment was to continue driving recklessly. I looked into his eyes and there was no more 'me' in there.

"So do you love him?" came the question I've been dreading.

I looked at Chris again. "But... this is just... so sudden... I can't."

"Time's running. Ten seconds and we're out of here."

"What? I can't..."

"Eight."

"Come on, I need..." she cut in by saying, 'six', "... to sort out my feelings."

"Four."

"Wait... I... I..."

"Two." She grabbed my shoulders.

"Okay! I love him, okay? I love him, stop counting!" I shouted at her.

"You love me?" came the voice I thought I'd never hear again.

"Err, you were listening?" I said, feeling slightly embarrassed. Although it was true, sometimes at least, but I wasn't ready for it to become public knowledge yet. I especially wasn't ready for him to find out about it. That was why I kept looking at him just now.

"You owe me big, bastard," Shaina said as she let go of my shoulders.

"Won't forget it, Freckles. Yes, of course, babe. I was listening the whole time. Totally fooled you, didn't I?" He punctuated it with a laugh. For a second there, I thought we were about to hit that old lady's car. She was so shocked, she didn't even hit the horn.

"So you... weren't really mad?" I was feeling a bit, how should I say it... cheated.

"You kidding? I believed you the first time. I knew you wouldn't cheat on me. I was just messing with you."

Didn't look like that to me.

"You mean that was all an act? And you!" I said, referring to Shaina, "You were in on this? What, you had a telepathic discussion while I was worrying my ass off?" I turned back to Chris, "And why are we still speeding?!"

He eased the pressure on the pedal, causing me and Shaina to be thrown forward a little. " I want to hear you say it again," he said, before pressing his foot onto the gas pedal again, "I want to hear you say you love me."

"Great Mother! Slow down!" That only made him press harder on the pedal. "Okay!" I said after seeing how determined he was to hear me say that again, "I love you, okay? I love you! Now stop the car!"

He grinned, made a 270 degrees drift and drove the car into a smaller road. I bet that if the windows were down, I would be able to smell the stench of burned rubber.

I was still holding on to the dashboard and the window when Chris pried my pale and petrified fingers and held it in his own.

"Thank you, Pat. You have no idea how long I've wanted to hear you say that again."

"Let me guess, last Christmas?"

He chuckled. "Yet you insisted on pretending that last Christmas didn't happen. Didn't you know you were breaking my heart every time you denied that we had something special that night?"

Shaina suddenly poked her head between us, which Chris quickly shoved to the backseat with his left hand. "Okay, I'm sorry to interrupt, but we have coppers incoming. Just stay cool and let me do all the talking."

Just as she said it, I saw the blue and red lights of the patrol car at the bend, followed by the car itself. "How did you know they're coming? I only heard the siren when they got to the corner," I asked.

"I sensed a change in the air turbulence before they arrived. They've been following us for a few minutes, barely keeping up. If you didn't stop just now, they'd be left behind."

"I knew I shouldn't have stopped the car," Chris complained.

"This is L.A. If they couldn't keep up with cars, they'd use choppers," I countered.

Chris was about to say something when Shaina shushed and said, "Quiet! Ilyse, open your mouth."

I only managed to let out a "Why..." when she shot something powdery from her forefinger into my throat, causing me to cough a few times. It felt like that blasted thing wrapped itself aroung my vocal box.

"What the fu..." I immediately noticed something different, "What the hell did you do to my voice?"

"Much better. Your voice was pretty androgynous before, but now there should be no doubt as to your gender," she replied, referring to my more feminized voice.

"My gender? I'm a dude!"

"Not for the moment. My glamour will show that you're a dudette."

"WHY?!!!"

"I must say, Pat, this voice fits you better," Chris grinned. I responded by smacking his forehead.

Then there was a knock on Chris's window.

"Good evening, officer. Is something the matter?" Chris said after his window was lowered.

"Don't play coy with me, boy. You know damn well you were driving over the speed limit. License, please," said the police officer.

I didn't think he was old enough to call Chris 'boy'. He was a dark haired guy, with macho-ish demeanor and sporting a rather obvious pot-belly.

Shaina lowered her window while Chris fished out his driving license. I noticed that he was taking his time.

"Hey there, big guy. What-choo doin' here so late at night?" Shaina cooed excitedly. She sounded like a drunk prom date.

"Well ma'am, it's Officer Mal...co...lm" was what he managed to get out before his voice trailed off and finally going silent. I leaned closer to Chris to sneak a look through his window. I took a look at the officer's face and noticed his blank expression.

"Oh my, Officer Malcolm, ya must be tired, havin' to work the graveyard shift."

This Officer Malcolm was looking shy when he said, "Naw, it's all part of the duty, ma'am."

"Must be hard on yah marriage, officer. How can ya stand doin' this ev'ryday?"

"Well, uhum. I'm divorced."

"Oh my, divorced? A strappin' hunk like ya? Mmm..." She licked her lips. I couldn't believe she was openly flirting with the police officer.

Despite the darkness, I could see Officer Malcolm's face blush.

"Well, any-whoo," Shaina bit her lips before continuing, "me and mah girlfriend here," she gestured at me, "just got back from a party. We took a bit too much cocktails for the night and was well sloshed. So instead o' drivin' back, mah friend here called 'er boyfriend to come and save us. He was driving fast because we called in the middle of a baseball game. Ya know how it is with boys and their baseball, don't ya, Officer Malcolm?" She said that last part with a very thick flirtatious undertone.

"Umm," he pulled on his collar as Chris and I marvelled at how much influence Shaina had on this guy, "Thing is, speeding is still a traffic offense. I'll have to give you a ticket, I think." I heard a voice from the patrol car asking him what was taking him so long.

"Awww, please? Ah've never gotten a ticket before. Don't wanna start now..." she left the sentence hanging while she made the cutest of pouts.

"Gee, you're not making it easy on... hey, I know you. Aren't you Stephanie Mills?"

"Hehe," she giggled while biting her tongue, "Ya got me. Maybe ah should straighten mah hair before goin' out next time."

"Oh god, I'm your biggest fan, would you sign..." he gave her a stack of summons ticket before realizing his mistake and switching it with a notepad that he produced from his belly bag. "Would you give me an autograph?"

"Wah, of course, officer. Anythin' for the brave men of the force. Lemme grab mah pen," she said as she stretched her hand towards the other side of the car.

There was a slight vibration for a few seconds. It felt like the car was vibrating. For that few seconds, I could see it by the minute movements of the rear mirror and I could hear it by the sound the windshield made as it vibrated to the frequency of Vault Call.

Then Shaina pulled back her hand and the vibrations stopped. In her hand, she now hold a pen. Not an artifact made in the shape of a pen, but a simple, ordinary pen. Okay, maybe not so ordinary. It appeared to be one of those pricey specialty pens. Regardless, I couldn't believe she would keep an ordinary pen in her Vault.

"Who'd this be for, officer?"

"Would it be too much if you give me two autographs, ma'am? One for me, and another for my daughter Isabelle."

"Not a problem, compared to mah official autograph signing events, two's no trouble at all."

Then I heard a gruff male voice from behind the car. "Hey Georgie, what are you doing? Just give them the ticket. What's taking so bloody long?"

Shaina raised her head from the notepad she was scribbling on and yelled sharply, "Officer!"

Both of them turned to look at her and I saw the other officer's eyes glazed over. Man, she's good. Just a glance and she already reduced them to mere puppets.

"Would you like an autograph too, officer?" she asked, smiling sweetly. The other officer nodded his head and murmured 'yes'. I noticed she had dropped her ridiculous accent now.

"Not a problem! There's plenty of me to go around," she giggled as she flashed her trademark dazzling smile at the two officers.

Then she gave the notepad back to Officer Georgie Malcolm and received a stern but lighthearted warning about not doing 'it' again. I didn't think Officer Malcolm even remembered what 'it' was. Shaina remained her charming self, giggling and promising to behave. They tipped their hats, got into their cars and drove away.

"You used your glamour on them, didn't you?" I asked.

"Not glamour, charm. There is a big difference between the two. I dropped my glamour to get Officer Malcolm to recognize who I am, I used my charm to make then dance around my fingers."

Chris cut in with, "That was impressive, Freckles. So tell me, did you magically make your freckles disappear?"

"I will not even dignify that with a response!"

"Ha!" Chris laughed, "It's true, isn't it? You-ow! Why'd you hit me, Pat?"

"You're being a jerk!" I said as I poked him in the ribs.

"For your information, we lilim are the most perfect women to have ever existed. Any flaws are carefully considered to make us blend into human society."

"I bet you tell that to every guy," he winked.

"Enough!" I said, pushing Chris to sit straight on his seat.

"Yes, enough of this. Why did call me out? What can be possibly important enough that you need to see me face to face?"

"Well, Shaina, I'm having a problem with a werewolf."

"Werewolf."

"Yes, werewolf."

"Impossible!"

"I know! They're not supposed to exist..." I stopped when something else she said caught my attention. "What did you just say?" I asked.

"This place is vampire territory. The entire L.A. area is vampire territory. They wouldn't let a werewolf in."

"I'm sorry, did you just say vampire?"

"Yes, I did."

"You know, babe. Seeing as there are demons and werewolves, it's not such a big surprise that there are vampires too."

"Don't interrupt!" I said to Chris.

"I assume you want pointers on how to destroy one?"

"Destroy? Heh! As if asking you would make any difference."

"Now what's that supposed to mean?"

"You had your chance ten years ago. You failed to destroy that lone werewolf. And now, she's back."

"What are you talking about? Ten years ago? We were only... oh!"

"So now you remember? How you and mom destroyed Vicky's life?"

"Blame your mom! She was the one who refused to move away from the tube! We would've been there earlier if not for The Bold And The Beautiful!"

"Acapulco Bay."

"What?"

"You were late because mom was watching Acapulco Bay."

"What the hell do I care what soap opera she was watching?" she countered, sounding very irritated.

"Well, fact remains that you didn't stop mom from killing Vicky's mother and you didn't argue when mom chose Vicky's father to take all the blame!"

"How the hell do you expect me to argue with her? Sarai was starving. She was past reason, she wasn't herself! You should've seen-wait... how come you know about this? You weren't there."

"Your mind-wipe spell failed. I saw Tell's memories as if it happened to myself."

"Oh! Well, you can't blame me for not being able to maintain the spell matrix. I was much younger back then."

"Well..."

"Wait! Did you say the werewolf's back? Your tone implies that you're talking about the same werewolf as the one Sarai and I fought ten years ago."

"It is the same one. I saw both the one from ten years ago and tonight. Both had the same crescent tattoo on its right cheek that glows faintly with the light of the moon."

"Okay... but that's impossible. Vicky's mom was dead. We buried her. Sarai even kept watch over her grave for two years before she determined that Vicky's mom was truly dead!"

"Yet she has returned. And I believe she's still here."

Shaina twirled her pen around her fingers, appearing lost in thought.

"Tell her about the demon," Chris said.

The pen stopped twirling. Catching it in her hand, she asked, "What demon?"

"When we arrived at the scene some hours ago, the werewolf was gone. Instead, we got ambushed by mall security and one of our sisters was there," I said.

"She appeared to be fixing the place, now that I think about it," Chris put in.

"Strange. Are you suggesting that one of our sisters resurrected the creature?" she said in an accusing tone.

"Hey, hold on a minute, I never said..."

"Oh please, don't get defensive. I wouldn't be surprised if one of our sisters did mastermind the whole thing. You did, afterall, kill the 8th oldest bicorne. They still can't find enough of her essence to resurrect her, you know."

"That was..."

"Plus, you destroyed Yenne Velt."

"Hey, come on. I wouldn't have enough power to destroy Yenne Velt. You're exaggerating. Destroying Yenne Velt would require a power equal to Mother, and we both know that no lili is that powerful," I said.

She looked at me with an accusing glare, "You know Vanity Meadows?"

"Yes, of course. I've been there a few times."

"Well, savor the memory. It's no longer there."

"Huh?"

"Your last spell destroyed everything there. Vanity Meadows is just a hole in the universe now."

I felt my gut knotting. "And Mother?"

She gave me a curious look this time. "I'm surprised you even worry about Mother. She's Mother after all. She, alongwith the Ardat Lili moved to Mount Desire after your bout of destruction, carrying with her the throne that used to be at the center of Vanity Meadows. The rest of the older lilim were trying to close the hole that was Vanity Meadows when I left."

"At least everyone's alright," I breathed a sigh of relief.

"That may be, but regardless, Mother holds you responsible and forbids you from entering Yenne Velt."

I shrugged. "Meh, I thought it would be a worse punishment."

"She didn't say how long. It could be she meant forever," her voice suggests pity now.

"As I've said, I expected worse." I shrugged again.

She shook her head side to side slowly, as if my answer wasn't exactly what wanted to hear.

"But why fix everything thought?" Chris interjected, "And why didn't she just kill her, instead of running away?"

Shaina took in a breath and started to explain, "Well Chris, let me first tell you about how we lilim do things. We have this rule called the Code of Concealment. It basically states that we must not draw attention to ourselves, and if we do happen to show our true form to mortals, we must make it appear as if it was a dream or hallucination. In other words, our existence must only remain in legends and mythologies. As for why she didn't kill her, we lilim like to drag out our hate and anger. We are very much into long term vendettas. If that was really her intention, then you can bet that she'll appear in front of her again."

"Wow," he looked at me, "you have a very messed up family."

"Shut up..." I said as I smacked his arm.

"How did she look like? This sister of ours?"

"She was a bicorne whose horns were shaped like a pair of tiny wings on the sides of her head. Her hair was purple but her wings were black. I think she's friends with Delilah."

Shaina remained quiet for a while before slowly saying, "The only one I can think of is Arienh (she pronounced it as ah-ree-anne-nah), but she's ancient. Pre-Baphomet war, definitely. I don't understand why she'd dirty her hands with you instead of asking one of her subbies to do it."

"I suppose this means I have a very powerful enemy now?"

"You bet. But don't worry, everyone has a powerful enemy at one point or another. Our elder sisters love to bully the younger ones. Though I've been wondering... how did you escape from her?"

"As Chris said earlier, she fled. We didn't need to escape at all."

"Weird. but then again, all the ancient ones are senile. Did you know that Delilah fills her garden with tombstones and Milen loves to make ice sculptures of her long dead husband?"

"Really?"

"But I'll make some enquiries either way. This is quite interesting."

"I would hardly describe an assault on my sister and son as interesting."

"Wait, you have a son?" She glanced at Chris.

"No! Not with him. With Vicky," I explained.

"Vicky? When did that happen?"

"Soon after you destroyed her life. She went missing a few days after he was born. He was raised by her cousin until very recently."

Eyes wide, she said, "A few days? Did Mother..."

"I don't know. I have thought about it too, but I seriously don't know. I can only be sure if I can ask either Mother or Vicky herself."

"What are you talking about?" Chris enquired.

Shaina turned to explain. "Whenever a baby that carries Mother's genes are born, Mother will have a chance to claim them as her own. If it's a baby boy, Mother has eight days to claim him. If it's a girl, Mother has twenty days. Upon puberty, their powers will awaken and they will become a young lili."

Chris turned to me. "That happened to you?" he asked. I nodded in response. The real story was actually much more complicated. I didn't feel like explaining at that moment.

"Oh, before I forget," she tossed what felt like a glossy magazine at me. "Turn to page sixteen," she said.

I pressed the light button overhead to illuminate the magazine in my hand. Then I swiftly turned the pages to page sixteen. It took me a moment to digest what I saw on page sixteen.

"Fuck! Why the hell is my face in there?" I cried in shock.

Chris got in close to look. His eyes narrowed as he took in the picture in the magazine. It was that scene in Starbucks. Sitting in front of Stephanie Mills in disguise, was a man on the verge of falling backwards in his chair. That man looked very much like me. It was me, actually.

"Stephanie's New Boyfriend Afraid of Cameras?" Chris read aloud. "Yup, sounds like you. Remember how Miss Waters had to threaten to withhold your high school diploma if you refuse to take the graduation pictures?"

I gave him a sharp glare which he countered with a chuckle. Turning to Shaina, I asked, "So does this mean that my quiet life is over now that..." I showed her the picture, "I'm your supposed boyfriend?"

She giggled. "Hardly, they will try to find out who you are, of course. Then they will start pestering you, following you around, asking questions about our 'relationship', et cetera, et cetera. Just tell them that we were childhood friends and stick to that. They'll get bored soon."

"Oh they will just love this new voice of mine," I said drily.

"oops!" She giggled again, "Sorry, I forgot about that." Then she slapped me so suddenly.

I was reeling with shock that it took me several seconds to formulate a response. "What the hell was that for?!!!"

Immediately, I noticed that my voice had returned to normal.

"Get rid of the hair, though. I don't want people to think that I'm dating a poof, or a hippie," Shaina said.

"I'm neither poof nor hippie! It's just my hair is invulnerable to stainless steel. SO how exactly was I supposed to get rid of it? Burn it perhaps?"

Chris quickly cut in. "No! Don't you dare!"

"Sounds like you haven't turned off your natural protection yet. Just turn it off and you can just cut it with normal scissors."

"You make it sound so simple. But how exactly do I do that?"

"You're saying you don't know how? Such simple thing?"

"Yes, I don't have the priviledge of living as a half-lili since puberty, you know."

She shrugged. "All you have to do is say, 'In Mother's name, my body is not eternal'. When you want to regain your natural protection, just say 'In Mother's name, my body is eternal'. Simple as that."

"Only that?" She nodded. "That was all I needed to do? You can't be serious!"

"What? Were you expecting fire and brimstone or divine light from the sky? Oh please, you watched too much of Supernatural," she said as she opened the door and got out.

"I have never watched Supernatural!" I yelled at the empty back seat.

"I have. It's a pretty good show. Much better than that 'Angel' crap at any rate," Chris said.

I glared at Chris again and said, "Nobody's gonna call you mute if you don't speak, Chris."

He pressed his right hand onto his heart. "Oh baby, you've hurt my heart again. My painful, tortured heart can no longer bear the abuse you've heaped on it, my sweet love."

I was about to gag. "Good, why don't you just jump down a bridge in the next ten minutes?"

Shaina poked her head through my window. "I'll make some enquiries. Even though we younger ones aren't allowed to enter Yenne Velt while repair work is ongoing, I still have some sources I can trust."

"What if the werewolf or Arienh returns while you're away 'making enquiries'?" I asked.

"Then use your connection. What's the point of having powerful friends if you don't use them?"

"Who?"

"That angel you're so close to. An angel can do a lot more than a piece of angelic essence."

I could only think of one particular angel. "Forget it. Uriel won't come down here just to save me. He's too busy with Tartarus and I'm really just another consort to him."

Shaina cuffed me on the forehead. "Not him! That girl you're close with. I think her name's... Sue... yes... Sue Preston's her name. The one who organized that Christmas party. Just ask her to help you."

My brain failed to digest the information at first. When the gears started turning again, the only thing that popped into my mind was a question.

Sue's an angel?

*As always, any comments are very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

The Half Lilin: By The Light Of The Moon (Chapter 7) By Shinieris Thanks to Captain Normality for the proofreading! "You've been spacing out for awhile now. Something in your mind? By the way, I don't like your new hairstyle." she said as she slurped on her OJ. I had cut my hair by myself before leaving for the office earlier this morning, using the tip left by Shaina last night. I didn't dare cut too much, as I had once become a laughing stock of the school for cutting too much of my hair in patches, so that I looked like a Kappa, a kind of Japanese spirit that holds water in the empty patch of hair on his head. I recalled Chris being suspended for a week for decking everyone who made fun of my hair, without caring whether it were boys or girls. Mom eventually applied a cream on my head that made my hair grow within 24 hours. Then she gave me a proper army style close-cut. At this moment, my hair is just a little above my shoulderline. "Sue..." "Uhuh?" "Why didn't you tell me that you're an angel?" It was funny seeing her choke on her OJ.

[-][+][-]

Tasteless. No, not bitter. Tasteless. That was my opinion of the coffee I was sipping. I've never liked sugar in my coffee and I rarely tolerate creamers. I've never liked sipping on a coffee that tasted like sugar or milk. I suppose I was one of those purists who like the pure taste of caffein in my coffee. Today though, no matter how much sugar or milk I put into the coffee, it remained the same. Tasteless.

I looked forward, to Sue who's sitting in front of me, sipping on her OJ. As I studied her, the previous night's conversation came back to me.

-----

"Wait a minute, Sue Preston's an angel?" Chris asked as he pushed himself to my side of the car.

"Yes, no doubt about it. I saw her for what she truly was at the Christmas party."

"You mean the kind of angel made of light and pure goodness? Not the metaphorical kind?" I asked.

"Pure goodness? That's what they want you to think. I've heard of angels who were less than honorable."

Yeah, I can name one. Uriel.

"I can't believe you've been around her all this time and yet you can't see her true identity. I mean, her mansion was glowing! She was glowing, shimmering like the morning sun."

"Umm, no, never seen that before," I replied.

"I thought I was going to get blasted to Gehenna when she approached me after I gave my artifact to your sister. I was so relieved when she only told me to behave myself. Did you know that each of them angels from Briah is more powerful than us one on one? Judging from her aura, I doubted I could last even a minute against her if she really wanted to kill me."

"She saw your true form?"

"She's an angel. Angels see everyone's true form. She likely saw yours too, though how she could get along so well with you, I have no idea. Angels often like to pick fights with our faction."

"Why didn't she pick fights with you, then?" I asked when I managed to push Chris to sit straight on his seat.

"She said her mission doesn't require her to kill any demons that cross her path, unless they're a threat to her mission. Apparently, I wasn't a threat. Angels can be pretty stiff fellas."

"Patty."

So my best friend's an angel?

"Patty."

Gee, this sucks. What am I to do with her now?

"Patty."

Angels and demons don't mix well together. I wonder if she has an ulterior motive behind befriending me.

"PATTY!" came a voice that jarred me awake.

"What?"

"You've been spacing out for awhile now. Something in your mind? By the way, I don't like your new hairstyle." she said as she slurped on her OJ. I had cut my hair by myself before leaving for the office earlier this morning, using the tip left by Shaina last night. I didn't dare cut too much, as I had once become a laughing stock of the school for cutting too much of my hair in patches, so that I looked like a Kappa, a kind of Japanese spirit that holds water in the empty patch of hair on his head. I recalled Chris being suspended for a week for decking everyone who made fun of my hair, without caring whether it were boys or girls. Mom eventually applied a cream on my head that made my hair grow within 24 hours. Then she gave me a proper army style close-cut. At the moment, my hair was just a little above my shoulder line.

"Sue..."

"Uhuh?"

"Why didn't you tell me that you're an angel?"

It was funny seeing her choke on her OJ.

Once she recovered, she said with difficulty, "I have..." coughs, "... no idea..." coughs, "... what you're talking..." coughs, "... about."

"Sue, do angels lie?"

"How am I supposed to know?" she replied, sounding slightly better.

"How come we got along so well, Sue?"

"Of course because of my charming wit and sparkling personality," she giggled.

"Seriously, Sue. We've been friends for like, what..."

"A year."

I paused. Now that she said it, it really has been only a year. I first met her in the previous Christmas party.

"But it felt like we've been friends for a much longer time, Sue."

She nodded. "So why ruin a good thing, Patty?"

"And this insistence in calling me 'Patty'. You saw me for what I was since the start, didn't you? Long before I even knew myself."

"Patty, please, drop this. It will only bring hurt to both of us," Sue implored

"Why? An army of angels would swoop down and slay you and me if you told me who you really were?"

"Not very far from the truth, but I doubt it would happen. No, Patty. To keep this secret, is to keep you safe."

"So you want us to remain ignorant to the fact that I'm a demon and you're an angel?"

"Half-demon. True demons are real nasty bastards."

"That's beside the point, Sue. Why didn't you tell me earlier? Even when I found out what I was, you kept quiet. Why? Do I fit in with this great scheme of the universe that I'm not allowed to know? I didn't even know your name!"

"Susan Preston. Call me Sue. That's all you need to know."

"See? We need to work on our communication. Because frankly, I don't see how we can continue being friends if you keep insisting on hiding the truth from me."

She sighed. "Patty, leave it alone. Let's just forget this conversation has ever taken place."

"You want us to just pretend that we're just two ordinary humans that got along well?" I asked.

"Indeed, that is the best course of action."

"But you can't forget it, can you? You have a mission here on Earth. Tell me what that mission is."

"I cannot tell you what my mission is, patty. Please don't insist that I tell you that. It is dangerous, to know."

"Your tone suggests a threat is incoming, Sue. What? You're going to blast me all the way to Gehenna?"

"Provoking me will not make it easier for me to tell you what you want to know, Patty. Just drop it, okay?"

"At least tell me your name. You owe me at least that."

"My name is Su..."

I cut her off. "Don't give me that! I want your real name. Not this false identity you're using to lie to me!"

Sue looked to the left and right. Only then did I notice that we were drawing stares from people around. I awkwardly sat down.

With a controlled voice, Sue said, "That is my real name, Patty. This body doesn't just magically appear and disappear at will. It has to first be born through an act of love and raised with love. This body has a name. This body is human."

"What, you reincarnated into a human body? Like Naamah? For this particular mission alone?"

"Heavens no! I wasn't reincarnated. I borrowed this human's body. In a way, Sue and I are merged to become a single being. We feel what each other is feeling, we make decisions based on each other's opinions and because we most often agree with each other in everything, we often found it hard to tell who's who. We fit each other too well that it's sometimes hard for us to remember that we were once two different persons."

"Did you force Sue into accepting you into her body?" I asked while playing with the handle of my cup.

"Patty, you're starting to piss me off! I did NOT force her into anything! Angels can only enter those who are pure and wishes for the holy light. She asked for me to enter her body, begged for it, in fact."

"You know what kind of people would say that so passionately, Sue?" I waited to let her digest, "Rapists. Rapists say the same thing too when they plead their innocence."

"Fine!" She got up and grabbed her bag. Leaning down so her angry face was inches from mine, she said, "If you want to insist on believing that I forced myself on her, then I'm leaving!" Then she turned around and started to walk away.

She had only walked a couple of steps I demanded, "At least tell me your name!"

"Mihael (mi-har-el)!" she replied as she stormed off.

I didn't know how long I was spaced out, but the next thing I noticed, Ariel was sitting in front of me, with a mug of hot cocoa.

"Hey there," she said. She took a sip from her cup of hot cocoa, before she continued with," I bumped into your friend Sue on the way here. She seemed upset. I know it's none of my business, but I'm curious, did you guys have a fight or something?"

"You're right, it's none of your..." I paused... to admire the twinkle in her big blue eyes.

Blue. Just like the colour of the Carribean coast. Everytime she spoke, there was a melody in her eyes. Everytime she blinked, her blue eyes would look like tiny stars twinkling beautifully in a sea of perfect white.

Wait, why is it getting closer? I thought, just before I fell into the ice-cold water of the sea. I pushed at the water with my feet, trying to stay afloat but found it impossibly hard. It was as if the sea itself was trying to pull me down. Despite being a master swimmer, I found myself drowning pretty quickly.

Through the deep water of the deep blue sea, I could hear a song, impossible as it seems. At first I thought that it was mermaids, coming to save me, but then it came to me that the song was very familiar. For awhile, I forgot that I was drowning, and I looked for the source of the song.

Far below me, deep deep down, a cellphone lights up and starts playing 'My Humps' by Black Eyed Peas.

I swam down, helping the sea water drag me down into its depth. Only a few more inches now... I moved my left hand forward to grab the cellphone - only to end up grabbing a slim wrist instead. I looked at Ariel. She was standing and her upper body bowed slightly to my side. In her hand is a very familiar looking cellphone. I quickly felt my pants pockets with my other hand while never loosening my grip on her wrist.

"Why are you holding my cellphone, Ariel?" I asked in confusion.

She quickly dropped the cellphone, which started ringing and vibrating again the moment it hit the table. My left hand was still gripping her wrist when I picked up my cellphone.

She coughed. "I just... wanted to see who's calling, since you were spaced out just now."

I looked at the still ringing phone.

"But it was in my pants pocket. How did it end up in your hands?"

"Don't you remember? You took it out when it started ringing, then dropped it onto the table as you started... I don't know... dreaming, I guess."

"Really?"

"Of course," she said quickly, "I have no reason to lie to you, Patty." Then she giggled.

"You've been talking to Sue, haven't you?" I noticed her forehead was pressed together by a barely hidden frown,

I pressed the receive button on the unknown number as it started ringing again. "Hello?" I said into the phone.

"If you apologize, I'll forgive you," said the voice in the phone.

"Apologize?!" I said. I noticed that Ariel was looking at the cute waiter two tables down. Eh? What? Did I just thought the waiter cute?

"Yes, apologize. For the rude remark you made just now."

"What the fuck are you talking about?!"

"Hey, you're supposed to apologize! Not yell at me," said the voice again, sounding somewhat sulky by now.

"Who the hell's this?"

"It's Sue. What, you don't even want to admit we know each other now?"

"Sue? But... why is your voice different?" I looked at the unknown number on the screen, "And where are you calling from?" I enquired.

"My desk. Where do you think I'd be? It's still office hour."

"I thought you'd have left for China by now, with your..." my voice dropped to a whisper, "...wings."

I heard Sue's groan from the other side. "I can't do things like that too often."

"Why not?"

"Because this body will burn!" she hissed.

There was a momentary pause. "You mean as in being covered in flames?"

"No, as in being incinerated by the focused light of a hundred suns!"

I blinked. "That doesn't sound healthy."

"So you coming to apologize now?"

"Hey! Why should I apologize? You're the one keeping secrets from me!"

"It's not like I want to keep secrets from you. It's on a need-to-know basis, okay?"

"So I don't need to know that my best friend's a..." I risked a glace at Ariel, who was doing something with her own cellphone, "... well, you know, that."

"You make it sound like it's a dirty word, Patty."

"I'm stating a fact, Sue. I don't like this keeping secrets thing."

"If you didn't know I was an angel, you would've kept your identity as Lilith's daughter a secret too. So how can you attack me like this when you were planning on doing the same?"

"It's different. Don't compare this and that. I thought you were normal."

"I am normal. I'm not the one with a pair of ram's horns and a tail with the tip shaped like a water monster's tail."

"It does NOT look like a water monster's tail!"

"Actually it is. Don't you see that it looks like a flipper? Not like a fish's flipper, but like the Loch Ness monster."

"It does NOT look like the Loch Ness monster!"

She giggled. "Oh, come on. Why don't we just forget this and go bowling after work?"

"Since when did you start to bowl? I recall asking you to join us months ago and you refused."

"Let's just say that someone converted me and leave it at that." Then she giggled like a blushing schoolgirl.

"Converted? Is it PC for you to say that, Sue?"

"Oh please, it's just a word." Another giggle.

"Hehe, fine then. But not today. I think Tell's not awake yet. She wasn't awake when I left for work this morning. I would've asked for a leave today, but it doesn't seem like her conditions are worsening. Besides, my son is there and he knows how to use the phone. You don't happen to know what's going on, do you?"

"Err, she's not awake yet? That's strange. I honestly don't know what's wrong, Patty."

"That's okay, then. See you later," I said as Ariel signaled for my attention.

"Hey hey! Come to my desk, quick! I have something to show you."

It was at this point that Ariel's pretty face turned into a frown. Why's that, I wonder.

"Okay, Sue. I'll see you later..."

"Not later!" Sue cuts in before I managed to finish my sentence, "Come now! This is BIG! BIG!"

"What's so big, Sue?"

"You'll see, come on!" Then she hung up.

"Sue can be such a pest, don't you think so?" Ariel said.

I turned to look at her and again found myself drowning in the waters of her sparkling blue eyes. But then the song 'My Humps' was heard again.

I blinked my eyes twice and pressed the 'receive' button. I listened as Sue shouted from the other side, "Hurry up!"

*As always, comments and feedbacks are very much appreciated. Even criticisms are welcomed, though I hope it will be said politely.

The Half Lilin: By The Light Of The Moon (Chapter 8) By Shinieris Thanks to Captain Normality for the proofreading! "Are you always this difficult?" he snarled. When I didn't reply him, he acceded defeat and said, "I intended to give this to you when you're properly appointed as my new consort. But... since every angel in Briah and Assiah already know that you're the new 'Queen of Tartarus', I guess it doesn't matter anymore." "You're speaking as if that was my fault!" I protested with a stomp of my feet. "It is your fault. You shouldn't have let that pesky agent of the Thrones go that easily. Thanks to you, my mailbox kept flooding since Christmas. Now I hear I'm about to have a riot in my hands. You're the first of my consort who flaunt her new position within 24 hours of acceptance." He slapped his forehead, though no sound was heard. "Hey, don't blame me. You're the one who tricked me." "Oh, believe me. I have already regretted that decision."

[-][+][-]

"Okay, what's so big that it can't wait?" I asked Sue as I leaned on the wall of her workspace. I've always envied these accounts people who got bigger desks, comfier seats a better window view than us IT guys.

"Stay away from her," Sue said without even looking at me.

"From who? Don't you think it's about time you told me everything?"

She swivelled her chair around and tossed a familiar-looking thing at me.

"Tell's hairpin?!" I said, my eyes locked to the ruby on the hairpin.

"I intercepted it last night. I think it was trying to find your mom, but couldn't find a route to Tartarus, so it ended up just circling above my house."

"The angel that Little Vicky mentioned... it was you, wasn't it?"

Sue nodded, probably knowing that there was no more point in hiding it. "Good thing I arrived just in time too. If I was any later, your son would've done irreparable damage to himself. That was one dangerous kid. Don't let him fight again. Next time, he might not be so lucky."

"What are you talking about? He told me that it was you who finished the werewolf."

"No, I didn't finish the werewolf. I forced her to leave, killing werewolves is not in my job description. But before I arrived, your son already had the werewolf beaten up without a chance of returning the blow. That boy... he has a potential that outshines both you and your mom put together. If he uses too much of his power, he could've destroyed this city on his own."

"I seriously don't get what you're saying. My Vicky beating up the werewolf? I don't believe you."

"Not exactly him, but his power that was doing the beating. I don't understand it myself. You should ask Lilith to seal up his power, at least until he's old enough to control it. I think he may be a Lili himself."

"I can't ask Mother. I'm forbidden from entering Yenne Velt and she won't listen to my voice."

"Aww, that sounds so sad. Why don't you ask your mom instead?"

"How would my mom know about this? It's Mother who did all the claiming."

"Oh, you will be surprised. Your mom was something like a legend among angels."

"My mom? A legend?"

"Your mom, at the height of her power approximately one hundred years ago, was one demon that even the angels who reside in Briah were unwilling to face one on one. Her presence in her lilin form in a confrontation often caused my side to withdraw without a fight. She loves fighting. And when she fights, she was one crazy, feral bitch."

"Don't talk about my mom like that. But I thought you didn't know her?" I said coldly.

"Okay, first of all, I didn't lie. As an angel who has lived since before Adam arrived on Earth, I know of many things. But I didn't know her personally. There was never any need for me to face her as my duties back then were quite different. Barbiel never sent me to deal with demons in the flesh, until now."

"Barbiel? That name sounds familiar."

"Her other name is Barachiel. She governs the month of October and big boss of the zodiac Scorpio. I was Mihael, an angel of the last days of Scorpio." Then she got quiet for a few seconds, before speaking in a soft, and shaky voice, "I understand that your mom made a deal with Barbiel at the moment of your birth."

"A deal?" I leaned a bit forward.

"However, I was not privy to the details and it was not my place to ask," she said with more composure.

"Who are you, Sue? Are you Sue, my best friend or Mihael, an angel, my enemy by default?"

"We don't have to be enemies, Patty. I have not had a need to strike at a single demon since I entered this body a year ago."

I was about to ask her how many demons she had struck when she continued, "And I'm pretty sure that Lilith didn't specifically tell you to fight every angel you see, am I right?"

"Mother never gave us such an order. She probably considers angels as beneath her concern. Mother fought three of your most powerful angels in the past and won. Your people are not a threat to Mother."

She chuckled. "Cute. It's amazing how much control she has over your kind. Hey, I have an awesome idea. Try saying 'Lilith' for me."

I looked sharply at her. "And why would I want to do that?"

"Oh, just humor me, would you?"

"Do you call your mother by her name? Oh wait, I forgot. You don't have a mother."

As soon as I finished, he smile disappeared to be replaced with a serious look. "Please, humor me. I'm trying to prove a point."

I raised an eyebrow at her odd request. "Oh, alright. I don't know what's up with you, but I'll say it, okay."

Her lips formed a hint of a smile now. "Go on ahead, Patty."

"Fine, I'm saying it," I said, while at the same time wanting to refuse her request."

"Patty, I'm waiting."

"Fine! Here it goes..." For some reason, the word won't form on my tongue.

"Don't make me wait too long, Patty."

"Quiet! Let me do this in peace."

She got quiet, but still looking intently at my face.

"Turn around! I can't do this while you're looking," I scolded.

She swivelled her chair around so that her back was to me.

"Li... Li... urgh... Lil... Li-il... Li-il-i..." I managed to let out before she turned around again and told me to stop.

She mocked. "You can't do it, can you?"

I didn't want to admit that she was right. It took me time just to gather my will to say it out loud but even then I was unable to say Mother's name properly.

"That is one of the many compulsions and restrictions she forced on you and your sisters. You're actually pretty good, to be able to attempt to say her name. Your sisters would've refused me the moment I requested it and mindlessly attacked me for 'insulting Mother'. The only lili that I know who was able to say Lilith's name in full was your mom, which was pretty impressive, considering that Lilith's conditioning is among the most powerful among demonkind..."

"Enough! Mother did no such thing! Stop dissing Mother!" I yelled at her face as I turned and left.

-----

"Who does she think she is?" I fumed as I zipped myself and went to the sink. I turned the tap and as the water poured into the basin, I paused and started to wonder. Why was I so sensitive just now? That wasn't enough reason to be so mad at Sue.

I splashed water on my face. Slowly, I felt my anger dissipate with every splash. With my eyes closed, I moved to grab at the wall-mounted toilet paper on my right. I pulled at the roll of toilet paper a few times, then used the length to wipe my wet face roughly. If mom saw me doing this, she would've screamed in horror. She always told me to wipe my face upwards gently. Meh! Mom and her wife-training schemes.

I opened my eyes and looked at the mirror. With a little 'eep!', I spontaneously jumped a step back.

For in the mirror was not my face, but Uriel's, in his grungy vest with the backdrop that seemed familiar. Then I remembered, it was the Hall of Records, only, looked at from a different angle. I recalled that long hallway and the entrance which lead to Yetzirah, the Realm of Elements.

"Are you alone?" he asked as he leaned forward a bit to look at my left and right. His voice was as clear as if he was standing in front of me, which may be true, in a way.

"Archangel Uriel! Why are you here?!"

"Technically, I'm not exactly 'here', as in 'there'."

"Archangel Uriel! Can't I even wash my face in peace?"

"Look, I don't like to do this, either. But I feel I must remind you of your obligation to return to Tartarus for two weeks at the turn of the season."

"I'm afraid I can't, Archangel Uriel. You see, I don't have my wings anymore," I said as I spread my arms as if to show him my nonexistent wings.

He frowned. "Is this your idea of a joke? I can see perfectly well the shape of your..." he leaned forward again, and I could see the mirror rippled at his face as if it was about to push through, "... oh! Hm, I see what you mean. That could be a problem."

"Sorry..." I said, making myself look as if I regretted it very much, though actually my heart was leaping with joy. I don't need to go to Tartarus anymore. Yay! With luck, he may even forget me altogether.

He chose that moment to shatter my joy. "But it's not a problem that can't be remedied. Raise your hand."

"Why?" I asked, feeling slightly depressed.

"Just do it, please."

"Not until you tell me why," I said as I crossed my arms.

"Are you always this difficult?" he snarled. When I didn't reply him, he acceded defeat and said, "I intended to give this to you when you're properly appointed as my new consort. But... since every angel in Briah and Assiah already know that you're the new 'Queen of Tartarus', I guess it doesn't matter anymore."

"You're speaking as if that was my fault!" I protested with a stomp of my feet.

"It is your fault. You shouldn't have let that pesky agent of the Thrones go that easily. Thanks to you, my mailbox kept flooding since Christmas. Now I hear I'm about to have a riot in my hands. You're the first of my consort who flaunt her new position within 24 hours of acceptance." He slapped his forehead, though no sound was heard.

"Hey, don't blame me. You're the one who tricked me."

"Oh, believe me. I have already regretted that decision."

"Why'd you chose me anyway?"

"I am under no obligation to explain my actions to you, daughter of Lilith," he growled, which sent a shiver up my spine.

"Hello..." I wave a hand in front of his face, "Do I look like anyone's daughter to you?"

"Am I supposed to care for your human appearance? Look at me, I look like a man, don't I?"

I nodded.

"Well, let me tell you the truth. Angels don't have gender. I only look like this to make my job easier."

"Am I supposed to care?" I taunted.

I saw his brows tick as he said, "You are lucky that angels don't get angry. Now RAISE YOUR HAND!"

"Okay! Sheesh! You sir, has a stick stuck up your ass," I said as I raised both my hands.

"No, not both hands. Just one," he said as his background slowly melted away until in the end, it appeared as if he was standing in the same washroom as I was. Then in a bright flash, my reflection appeared standing in front of him. I looked behind by reflex.

He wasn't there.

I looked back into the mirror and saw that in his right hand, is a scythe with a three foot-long handle.

Deathscythe.

Then he placed the handle on my palms and I immediately felt the weight of the scythe. I say 'weight' loosely, because despite the scythe looking like it was made of black metal, it was actually pretty light, as if it was a plastic toy.

I gripped the handle of the scythe and for that moment, it was like I was the scythe. I could smell death from miles away, see the different aura and spirits in the toilet and even see the date of my own death, which I must say, isn't very comforting.

"I hope you're not like those mortals who cringe at seeing their own deaths and go mad when they realize that they're about to die," Uriel said from behind me. Strange though, while I could see the date of my own death, his death date is represented by the symbol that I know as 'infinity'.

"How can you expect me to not be afraid of my own death when it's presented by my own eyes?" I protested while looking intently at his face in the mirror.

"It is understandble for you to be afraid. Persephone was afraid too when she was given the scythe. She attempted to run back to Mount Olympus through Taenarum on foot before Cerberus stopped her at the gates.

"Question!" I raised my left hand like a schoolboy.

"Please." he gestured with his right hand. He was still standing behind me.

"How is this going to help me get to Tartarus?"

He simply answered with, "Look at the mirror."

I looked at the mirror, then said, "Okay, I've looked."

He chuckled, which sounded cute, despite coming from a Mick Jagger clone. "Raise the scythe, then slash at the mirror," he said.

"Archangel Uriel! What the hell are you asking me to do?! Do you have any idea how much flak I'll get if Miss Rios found out I broke the mirror?"

"Relax, nothing's going to happen. The scythe is a spiritual weapon. Just slash at the mirror."

I knew shouldn't trust him, but for some reason, it felt like I had to. So with a little bit of trepidation, I raised the scythe's blade high in the air and slashed at the mirror with all my might. When I pulled back the scythe and opened my eyes, there was a smooth, clear line on the mirror's surface. It appeared like I had almost cut the mirror in two. That was also the time when I noticed that the scythe had turned into ice!

Great Mother! I'm so-so-so-so-so dead. Ms. Rios is going to disembowel me and feed my intestines to the dogs. Why the hell did I do what he told me in the first place?

*Sorry for the late posting. It's just that I found that I didn't have the time to type down the new chapters lately. Just got my hands on Devil May Cry 4 and a game controller :P The next chapter is almost done, I just need to type it down too.

*Any comments are very appreciated.

The Half Lilin: By The Light Of The Moon (Chapter 9) By Shinieris She looked worried when she said, "Umm, I don't know. Maybe you're seeing the date of death for this body. You're likely seeing the death of 'Sue', not 'Mihael'. "I don't like it either way, Sue." "Death is the fate of all things living. Through death, life is born and prosper, until death claims them too and the cycle repeats again and again and again." "See, this is the problem with you angels. You always sound so positive about everything."

[-][+][-]

I almost screamed when I saw a pair of hands push through the rip and pulled the rip apart. Behind the mirror was Tartarus, that gloomy, depressing place. At the center of the rip was Uriel's face, smiling like he owned the world.

"That's how you use the scythe to open a gateway to the Hall of Reception. You used the backdoor last time, so that's probably why you don't recognize this place. Well, I'm done here. See you again at the turn of the season," he said as he pulled the edges of the rip back together and smoothened the edges from the other side until in the end it appeared as if there was nothing wrong with the mirror in the first place. As if I didn't just cut it into two with my deathscythe.

Hm, my deathscythe. I like the sound of that.

I ran my hands along the rip, expecting to feel a sharp edge, or just anything that could hint at an imperfection, a sign left over from when I cut the mirror with my scythe. But there was none. The mirror was as smooth as if nothing ever happened to it.

I looked at the deathscythe in my left hand. It no longer appeared as if it was made of ice, but there were still fragments of ice covering parts of the scythe. Unfortunately, now I also have a problem. I'd be arrested if I walk with this outside Halloween.

I tried initiating a Vault Call, to open the door to my own storage bubble in the Void. As expected, nothing happened. The ability to initiate a Vault Call must be one of the abilities that I was restricted from using. At least I ould still manipulate my auras. Still, this is a problem.

I whipped out my cellphone and rang the first person that came to mind. "Sue?"

"Patty? I thought you're still sulking. Calmed down already?"

"Sue, I need your help. Come to the toilet now. Hurry! I don't want anyone else to see this."

"My floor or yours? I assume this is related to the supernatural?"

"Mine. Yes, it is. This is nothing but supernatural."

"Okay, wait there. Just hide in the stalls or something before I arrive."

"Sure... thanks, Sue."

"No problem."

Ten minutes later, my phone rang.

I picked it up and heard Sue say, "Is this payback? I'm sorry I didn't tell you, okay? I'm not allowed to tell you, you must understand that."

"What are you babbling about? And why aren't you here yet? My arms are getting tired holding up this blasted thing."

"I'm here already. The only thing I saw was two lesbians doing the nasty in one of the stalls. Not exactly the kind of thing I hoped to see when I walked in."

"How can there be lesbians in the men's toilet?"

"Men's? Oh..."

"Sue?"

"Yeah?"

"Hehehe, you went to the wrong toilet, didn't you?"

"Shut up... how was I supposed to know you meant the men't toilet? What are you doing there anyway?"

"What do you mean? I... damned her," I replied before I heard the 'disconnected' tone.

Then there was a knock on the door the moment I put away my phone. Not the door to the stall I'm hiding in, but the main entrance.

I opened the door and Sue suddenly made a grimace.

"What in heaven's name is that stench?"

"It is the men's toilet, Sue," I said, trying to blame my stench on the toilet.

"I'm so glad I didn't choose a male body to borrow," she said as she stuffed her nose with her fingers. Very unladylike.

"Well, I don't care if you think it's unladylike. How can you stand such a stench?"

I didn't know I spoke it out loud.

"Well anyway..." she said quickly, "...start talking."

"Don't you want to come in first?"

"Hello... that's the men's toilet. Have you forgotten that?"

"But I can't show you here, what if people see?" I protested with a firmer grip on the scythe.

"Relax, I've put a ward here. Anyone who wants to come here will get redirected somewhere else. Now what is so urgent?"

"Here?" I asked.

"Yes, here," she nodded.

I took out a deep breath and brought the scythe into view. "This..."

She spontaneously covered her mouth with her hands, looking so shocked it appeared as if her eyes bulged. "Great divine Father in Heaven! Is that..."

"Deathscythe," I said, "Archangel Uriel dropped by just now and gave me this."

"No wonder I felt a crushing pressure from somewhere in the building just now. I thought it was that whore acting up again, so I just let it slide. Oh dearest Father in Heaven, I'm starting to assume too much. I'm becoming human..." I cut her sentence with a downward smack on her head.

"Oww! Why did you do that?" she said as she rubbed her head.

"Focus! I called you here because of this, remember?" I shook the deathscythe, "Don't go running off into your own space..."

I looked at her face and my stomache twisted into a knot."Hey Sue, angels live forever, right?"

"Yes, unless God wants us to vanish. Why?"

"Then how come I see the date of your death three years from now, Sue?"

She looked worried when she said, "Umm, I don't know. Maybe you're seeing the date of death for this body. You're likely seeing the death of 'Sue', not 'Mihael'.

"I don't like it either way, Sue."

"Death is the fate of all things living. Through death, life is born and prosper, until death claims them too and the cycle repeats again and again and again."

"See, this is the problem with you angels. You always sound so positive about everything."

She pushed out her tongue out at me. "As if you're ever seen any angel other than me. I bet even now you can't see 'Mihael', can you?"

"Actually, I can," which wasn't that far from the truth, because beside her normal body, I could now see a glow that accompanied her silhuette. I know human auras and it's not that. It has the same feel as Uriel's Grim Reaper form. Besides, that glow behind her that was shaped like a pair of wings was pretty telling.

"Oh right," Sue said, "You're an angel of death now. One of the Reapers. It's not surprising that you can see us now. I wonder if you'll be the one taking my soul when the time comes." She looked pretty sad when she said that.

"Don't talk nonsense. I asked you here because I wanted to ask you how to get rid of this thing," I said as I shook the deathscythe.

"Get rid of it? Err... I don't think that's possible. Angels of death remain in their position until their own deaths. I suppose Uriel can release you from that position. There has certainly been a precedence that hint at such things being possible. You'll still need to see Uriel, though."

"I meant, how do I put this," I shook the deathscythe again,"... away, as in hiding it? It doesn't seem to want to part from me, see this..." I threw the deathscythe to the far end of the washroom. I blinked my eyes and the familiar feel on my palm tells me that the scythe has rematerialized in my hand.

She giggled. "I wonder how some reapers could lose their deathscythes even with such enchantment."

"They did? Gotta find one and ask how. Anyway, as you can guess, I can't ruddy well carry this massive thing around. I imagine Mr. Stuart will get a coronary when he sees me carrying this thing around the office."

She giggled again. "If you have an old torned robe, it will be perfect."

"He'll need a bypass by the end of the day," I giggled along.

She grinned, "Yup, such a mean prank."

"Gosh, we're so evil."

"Hehe, you're evil. I'm angelic," she grinned.

I coughed to clear my throat. "So... do you have any solution to this?" I shook the Deathscythe again.

"Can't you just put it away in a dimensional pocket or something? I've seen you lilim do that before."

"I would if I could. Problem is, I can't open my Vault. It's likely that the ability was sealed along with my lilin self."

She puts her forefinger on her lips and she had a faraway look in her eyes. "Well, I wouldn't know... The angels of death kept their secrets fairly well..."

"Or maybe you can hold it..." I pushed the handle to her as I was speaking. But before the handle could touch her, she jumped so far back that her back hit the wall with a loud sound.

"Uhh, why are you looking so scared?" I asked as I pulled my hands back close to my body and rested the end of the handle on the floor.

"You don't understand, Patty. Angels of death are highly respected in Briah. At the same time, they are also reviled and feared, as the mere presence of an angel of death means that someone is about to die. I know what you're thinking, yes, Reapers can reap angels too. It is not the same, human death and angel death. When humans die, they will be sent to the Hall of Arbiters, and depending on their sins, they may be reminded of it in Purgatory, allowed to reside peacefully in the Island of the Blessed or undergo punishment in the hells of Tartarus. When angels die, it's not because we're old, but because we had failed in our tasks and God decided that we should be cleansed. The presence of Reapers in Briah always caused entire areas to become deserted in less time than it takes for you to blink, because every angel knew that when 'death' didn't follow them, they're safe."

"Wow... that's..."

"That's not all. Angels of death can also stop time. It has always been the source of gossip in Briah, as most believed that the angels of death enjoyed appearing in a crowd because they love watching the other angels scatter in fear and they will always play a game of cat and mouse before finally getting bored and stopped time, thus 'cleansing' us. They could just stop time, come in, 'cleanse', leave and restart time and none would be the wiser. Instead, they liked to make it a game."

"O-kay... putting that aside, how do I get rid of this?"

"Have you tried willing it to go into your body?"

"Doesn't that sound dangerous?"

"Not at all, assuming that a deathscythe is no different from other angelic tools."

"What angelic tools?"

"Ah, you probably have never seen one before," she started pulling at the ribbon at the top of her blouse.

"Sue, why are you taking off your clothes?" I said as I saw her moving to undo the third knot of her blouse.

"I'm not taking off my clothes," she said as she worked to undo the fifth knot from the top.

"Then what the heck are you doing?" She had managed to undo the sixth and last knot now.

She started pulling down the left part of her blouse, which made me look away and said, "Just showing you this." I took a glance and saw that on her left breast, right where her heart would be, is a tattoo of a sun.

"What's that?" I asked once she pulled her blouse back up and started tying the ribbons again.

"My tool and weapon, the 'Light of Passion'. As an angel tasked with ensuring harmony and union between spouses, I have the power to reawaken the fire of passion that has been extinguished by age or winter's unforgiving embrace. I make those who were once in love remember the best times of their lives, when their love could overcome death, move mountains and drain rivers, all for the sake of their loved ones." She sighed, her eyes looking sad as she looked at me. "Unfortunately, I can't do that while I'm in Assiah."

"Why not? What will happen to those couples who need your help if you don't do that anymore?"

"Well, they'll just have to rediscover their passion on their own. In my current form, I can only inspire them at the most, and even so, I can't help everyone. As for why I can't use it. If I use it now, half of the city will turn into ash. The 'Light of Passion' is extremely hot. Only in Briah can I use it without worry."

"Can I borrow it? I joked.

She made a little snicker. "Alright, enough talking. Why don't you try changing the scythe into something else?"

"Uhh, such as?"

"I don't know, anything. From what I heard, the scythe is more than a weapon, more than a tool. It is an extension of the owner's power. Its corporeal and ethereal form depends entirely on the user. It remains in this shape now, probably because you watched too many movies that portray the deathscythe looking like a scythe."

"What else would it look like other than a scythe?"

"Well, I have at least seen deathscythes in the shape of a sickle, a lance, a claw and a whip."

"Let me get this straight. So this..." I shook the deathscythe, "... is not necessarily how it look like?"

"Yup, it's supposed to look like whatever you think a weapon of death supposed to look like, I think."

I rolled my eyes at her last two words, but chose to ignore it. "You know, I think AK-47 is a weapon of death," I said referring to my favorite weapon in Counterstrike, "But that won't solve my problem at all now, would it?"

"Erm, I think the deathscythe has a... sleep mode... or something like that. Maybe you can change it into a penknife or a letter opener?"

I closed my eyes and tried to imagine the scythe turning into a letter opener.

After a few minutes, I opened my eyes with a sigh. "Not working, I can't imagine it change. Even the image of the letter opener was a blur on my mind."

"Maybe... ah!" She leaned forward and pushed her fingers into my shirt pocket, before pulling out a ballpoint pen. "Change it into that," she said as she raised the pen in front of my face.

"I can hardly imagine a Pilot pen as a weapon of death, Sue."

She patted me on the chest. "Just try to believe in 'a pen is mightier than a sword and you should be just fine."

"Fantastic," I said drily. Then I closed my eyes and tried to imagine the scythe turning into a pen through my mind's eye.

"Try again. You almost got it, Patty," Sue said, breaking my concentration.

"Really?" I asked as I opened my eyes eagerly.

"Actually no. I was just trying motivate you. It didn't change... hey! What's with that look?"

I closed my eyes again, trying my hardest to imagine when she said, "Think of it as like casting a spell. I think you need to change the ethereal bonds of an ethereal structure to achieve the desired effect, right?"

I opened my eyes and glanced at her. "Your words sounds like it came directly from a textbook, Sue. Why're you asking me anyway? Don't you use magic too?"

"Patty, didn't they teach you anything in Yenne Velt? Angelic miracles are different from demonic magics. Angelic miracles require faith, hence why it's called a miracle. Demonic magics on the other hand require manipulation of ethereal and physical bodies. I wouldn't know how to instruct you on that. Barbiel will know, since he was one of The Watchers. Unfortunately, he's a bit busy nowadays, what with this end of the world thing coming up."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't The watchers supposed to be fallen angels? How come Barbiels still up there if he's a fallen angel?"

"Hey, don't ask me. I don't do politics. That's the role of my boss and the senile old angels of the Thrones. I just follow orders. By the way, sorry I couldn't be there to help you back when the Thrones sent an assasin last Christmas. I was too weak after saving your ass from that hellhole you called 'home'."

Then Sue grimaced and her left hand shot up to massage her upper right arm.

"Hold on... are you trying to say that it was you who pulled me out back then?" I asked as she froze suddenly.

"You were the one who told me to reach up?"

"Erm, yes. But don't tell anyone that you know, okay? Sue's such a bigmouth," she muttered.

"What are you talking about? You're Sue!"

"Actually, I'm an amalgamation of Sue and Mihael. We have each other's personalities melded together. Anyway, I'm sorry about not being able to grab the other you too. Someone else beat me to her, literally."

"The other me?"

"Don't play dumb. There was another one inside you back then, wasn't it? A real demon, inside you, a half-blood. Whoever beaten me up and pulled her out of there must be extremely powerful. Banish didn't even touch it. It must be either another, more powerful angel or a greater being."

"Greater being?"

"Gods, saints, prophets, et cetera, et cetera."

"Something like Loki? Or... Eris?" I added, when Amphillogiai popped into my mind. Amphillogiai was still missing after the Ritual Banish that I cast back then.

"Or it can be Buddha. Point is, I don't know who it was and try as I might, I couldn't trace where your other self went off to."

"Could it be that she's still inside me?"

"It's possible. If she could hide undetected for 20 years, it's very likely that she can stay hidden until now. There's no way to confirm that though, unless of course, you kill yourself, then we can see if she'll take over, heheh."

"Not funny, Sue."

"Oh come on. Where's your sense of humor? You used to be fun."

"It's hard to laugh when this..." I shook the deathscythe, "...is in my hands."

"H'okay... what spells have you successfully cast since Lilith clipped your wings?"

"Umm, well , I mostly just manipulate my aura and... umm... that's basically it. Oh! I forgot. There was that time at the cemetary when I successsfully cast Corruption Field. You know, just to scare off that old jerk."

"What's Corruption Field?"

"Erm, it's something like modifying your aura so it would become so sinister it can mutate living things into a more sinister version of themselves."

"I've seen that kind of technique before. Agrat Bat Mahlat taught you, didn't she?"

"Wow, you got it in one."

"Not that hard to guess, really. The only ones I know who could wield that technique regularly would be Lucifel, Agrat Bat Mahlat, Uriel and those black twins."

"Uriel can do Corruption Field?"

"Actually, the opposite. Uriel can create a Corruption Field that negates Corruption Fields. That's how he thwarted every attempt to break Tartarus's borders. That's also how he disperse all tangible deceptions from his domain."

"It seems like you know Uriel very well, Sue..."

"Err, umm, well... he kicked me down to Papua New Guinea once, several centuries ago... Hey!" She suddenly gave me a knowing grin. "Are you jealous or something?"

"What? That's absolutely ridiculous!"

"I thought that you're in love with Chris?"

"I'm NOT in love with Chris!"

"Yet you're also the new Queen of Tartarus. SO I can understand this dividing interest and such."

"Would you stop going off to your own space and start listening to me?"

"Oh, don't deny it too quickly. I heard it took Persephone centuries to admit that she had fallen in love with..."

"Sue! I asked you here to help me with this!" I shook the deathscythe furiously, "Who I'm in love with is not the issue here."

"O-kay! Was just trying to have some fun. Can you change your aura into something resembling water?"

"Water? No, don't think so, but I can make a frost aura."

"Okay, try that," she said as she took a step back.

I closed my eyes and tried to focus on switching my usual aura into the frost aura that I've used back during the duel with Dinah. That was the time when my nose caught the stench again. Great Mother, my usual aura smells like rotting meat that's been cooped in a small, unventilated box! I disgusts myself!

When I saw Sue putting her fingers under her nose, I decided to tease her a bit. "Oh, come on. It doesn't smell that bad."

"Actually, it does, Patty. I can't understand how you Angels of Death - just an expression - can stomache such a stench."

"I'm not an angel of anything, Sue."

"Never said you were. It's just a generic term, for those who carries with them the burden of death."

"Burden of death? How can you say that? I think the ability to kill anyone I don't like is very liberating."

"Eh, I don't think it works that way. Better doublecheck with Uriel before you do something like that," she said looking slightly worried.

I looked at the scythe in my hand, then I turned to look at her face.

"What's the point of having this..." I shook the scythe, "... if I can't use it to kill anyone I want?"

"With great power, comes great responsibility, Patty. Haven't you ever heard that?"

"No, Sue. With great power, comes greater opportunity to abuse that power."

She blinked. "Which movie is that from?"

"8-bit theatre," I answered.

She looked at my face, before she said. "What movie again?"

*Sorry for not posting for some time. I thought I had already posted this chapter before. Chapter 10 will be posted in a few days. My proofreader is a bit busy nowadays. Major fighting scenes will only appear in chapter 11.

*Thanks also to Jaden who reminded me a few days ago. As always, any comments are very appreciated.

She looked at me with such a sinister look that would make any man wet his pants. Then she grabbed my neck and pulled me up, suspending me half a foot above the floor by my neck. In reflex, my hands flew up to pull at the fingers while my legs kept kicking hers. As my vision started to blur and I started to lose consciousness, I called up the deathscythe in desperation. Immediately, I felt her grip weaken, and my visions returned. When my vision cleared, I realized that I had inadvertently drawn the blade of the scythe mere inches from her neck. "One of death, I see. You've come a long way from that love-sick boy in elementary school. Now what are you going to do with this, sister?" she mocked. The Half Lilin: By The Light Of The Moon (Chapter 10) By Shinieris

---

 

"Pin pon!" came the bell again.

I groaned from my facedown position on the bed. I had returned home so tired, I simply plopped down onto my bed and fell asleep. I guess having to practice my aura for two full hours sapped too much of my strength. I was so tired I had to leave my car at work and have Sue drive me home.

I looked at the black colored tattoo of the deathscythe at the back of my hand and thanked Mother for finally being able absorb it into my body in the end.

The bell rang again, just as I was about to drift to sleep.

I groaned loudly as I pushed my body up from the bed. It was a herculean effort, as my body's simple wish was to lie down and get back to sleep. I managed to put my two feet on the floor with great difficulty and it took a few extra minutes to pull myself into a standing position.

I was about to fall back onto the bed when the bell rang again. I reluctantly dragged myself, my body swaying left and right, to the front door.

"Daddy, are you okay?" Little Vicky asked when I came upon doorway to the living room.

I gave him the thumbs up sign with my fingers as a reply. I wasn't in the mood for much talking. A loud explosion managed to draw his attention back to watching the cartoon on my plasma TV. From a glance, I think he was watching Donald Duck.

Huh? Donald Duck? Something's wrong here.

There was definitely something wrong with this picture, but my tired mind couldn't process the information at all. Just walking to the front door made me want to faint. Another loud ringing of the doorbell jarred me awake, not to mention giving me a hell of a headache with the constant ringing in my ears.

Opening the door slightly, I asked in a weak voice, "Who the heck is it?!"

"Pat!" came the voice that I wasn't expecting. I suddenly became awake.

"Umm, Chris... hi," I said as I started to slam the door in his face. Damn, damn, damn. Why the heck is he here?

Like many other times before, it didn't work. He blocked it with one muscly arm. "Arggh! Damn, that hurts!" He looked like he was about to punch me.

I stood there silently, just leting him take his time to calm down. While at the same time, I was subtly trying to push the door close with my hands and foot.

He definitely noticed because he pushed right back with much more force that in the end, it became a contest of door-pushing, with me on the losing end. Then he got in, closed the door and said in a monotone, "You are going to explain to me why you avoided me for the whole day."

How would you explain that you were tired from practicing how to turn a deathscythe into ice, then practice shoving it into your body? At the same time you're troubled about the death of your own death and wondering how you were gonna die. Then to top it off, you wanted to take a piss but your bladder's frozen? And when you're done with all that, you just wanted to lie down and sleep?

Oh wait, maybe that's not such a bad way of putting it, I thought.

He intercepted my words before I could say anything. "And don't tell me you didn't cast some hocus pocus to keep me away. Don't think I didn't recognize witchcraft when I see one. Everytime I tried to talk to you, somebody else beat to it, or they tried get me to go somewhere else. Heck! I only sat on my chair for 10 minutes before someone told me to go away! I had to take my laptop and do my work in the pantry because I couldn't get any work done while I sat in front of you!"

Gosh! He was foaming at the mouth.

"That... wasn't me." I didn't lie. It was Sue who did it. I asked her to put that same warding field on my cubicle after seeing how effective it was at keeping the two horny lesbians from coming out of the ladies room. The main reason for that, was because I didn't want to deal with Chris today. I was so tired, it felt like my soul had left my body. It didn't cross my mind though, that I may have to deal with him at home instead.

Looking somewhat pissed, he advanced towards me. I couldn't help but took a step back, again and again, as he came closer and closer until in the end, I had my back to the wall. Then he raised his arms and trapped my head between them, with each mere inches from my ears. Not being able to slither my way under his arms due to the proximity of his body (which I noticed was touching me in several places), I realized that I was pretty much trapped.

"Do NOT avoid me, Pat. I did not appreciate it back then, and hell am I going to appreciate it now," he said in a very threatening voice.

I had a feeling that the 'back then' that Chris mentioned actually went way back, much earlier than this afternoon. Chris really has a long standing issue with me. I'm surprised that he hadn't broken my legs yet. I probably should be thankful for that.

"Umm, Chris... would you mind giving me a bit of space?" I said as I tried to will myself into the wall.

Instead of complying with my request, he pushed his face in front of mine, so close it may have appeared as if we were kissing. So in response, I twisted my neck, with my face facing left to the end of the hallway, which leads to my and Tell's room.

I could feel his breath on my neck as he spoke, "First you tell me why you avoided me for the whole day."

"I didn't avoid you," I said which sounded like a lie even to myself.

"Oh yeah? Perhaps you were playing cowboys and indians then?" he whispered in my ear. After a few moments of silence, he continued, "Or perhaps it was hide and seek, except I wasn't aware that we were playing."

"Geez, Chris..." I said as I felt his breath on my neck again, "... you're being too friendly again. Would it hurt if you give me a bit of space?"

"What, today's not enough.? You seemed to have plenty of space today," he said as his right hand came up behind my head and grabbed a handful of my hair, "How much space do you want now?"

I winced at the pain. "Well, if you could take a step back, that will be lovely, thank you. And would you mind letting go of my hair, please?"

With a snicker, and a tighter grip on my hair, he said, "You're cracking me up, Pat. You're going to..."

Crash!

"What the fuck was that?" Chris asked as he let go of my hair. Then I heard another crash, less loud this time, but still a crash.

I pushed his arms away. "Sounds like it's coming from Tell's room, "I said as I ran towards Tell's room. Little Vicky came out of the living room at that moment and I quickly told him to 'sit and watch the cartoon', to which he complied. Chris looked at into the living room and remarked, "Hey, I thought the plasma..." of which his remaining words were left unspoken because I had already arrived at Tell's room.

Chris was standing behind me when I opened the door. I looked around and started to panic. "Where the hell's Tell?!" I cried at the empty bed.

Then I made a scream of horror as my eyes found the source of the crash. It was my Special Edition Fate/Stay Night Excalibur! The hilt and lower part of the sword was lodged into the door of the walk-in closet. The other part was across the floor, as if it broke apart from the rest and flew across the room. Wait, that means it's now broken into two. Why!!!? They don't even make this anymore!

Another quick glance with my tears-filled eyes showed that the display shelf in the room, which was supposed to display my anime and manga stuff had a hole in the glass and one of my old stuff, a Magna Carta vase was missing. Looking at another hole in the window's glass, I just knew that the vase is now nothing more than a thousand pieces of fired clay on the street below.

I resolved that every single piece of my anime and manga things will be kept in a warehouse somewhere. My heart could no longer handle the pain.

As my tears of despair dripped to the floor at seeing the destruction of such rare pieces of limited issue relics, I heard a rummaging sound from the closet, before Tell's round ass poked out. She was walking backwards, bent at the waist and dragging out a huge case, which I identified as mom's jewelery case.

"Seems like she's just fine. There's no need to worry, Pat." Chris punctuated his words by patting my head.

"No way," I sobbed as I slapped his hand from my head, my eyes still filled with tears. Tell was entering the combination for the three locks, seemingly oblivious to our presence. "I have a very bad feeling about this," I continued.

"Man, you think too much," he patted my head again, then strolled over to Tell before I could remove it myself. "Hey Tell, you're scaring your sister."

I fumed at that. Despite still having a pair of wet eyes, I cried, "I'm NOT a girl! How many times do I have to tell you that!"

He grinned at my response. "Could've fooled me that time. Hey, Tell," he turned around and was about to put his hand on Tell's shoulder when she suddenly turned around and glared at us with eyes so wide it looked impossible.

And her pupils were red, not the brown that she normally had. It was glowing too, in this dimly-lighted room.

"You worthless fools!" she hissed, her voice echoing around me. "After all this time, you can't even handle one wild mutt. Why the hell did I even bother giving you time in the first place?"

"Err, Tell, are you okay? Maybe we should get you to the hospital. You don't look so well," Chris said as he offered his hand to Tell.

Tell moved as if she want to take it, but instead of taking it, she grabbed his arm, pulled it close and then she threw him across the room in a blink of an eye. The only indication he was no longer standing, was the sound of something hitting the wall behind me hard. Her throw only barely missed me.

I knelt down next to Chris as he complained about the pain of having his back hit the wall and about how his unprepared hand break his fall. I looked up at Tell and was shocked to realize that instead of being on the other side of the room, she was now standing right in front of me.

She looked at me with such a sinister look that would make any man wet his pants. Then she grabbed my neck and pulled me up, suspending me half a foot above the floor by my neck. In reflex, my hands flew up to pull at the fingers while my legs kept kicking hers.

As my vision started to blur and I started to lose consciousness, I called up the deathscythe in desperation.

Immediately, I felt her grip weaken, and my visions returned. When my vision cleared, I realized that I had inadvertently drawn the blade of the scythe mere inches from her neck.

"One of death, I see. You've come a long way from that love-sick boy in elementary school. Now what are you going to do with this, sister?" she mocked.

"Don't make me do this, Tell," I managed to rasp out, "The date of your death is still decades away."

"Good to hear," she loosened her grip and I fell to the floor in a heap. I immediately started coughing and drawing in breath that I had been denied of for a bit. Just as I was about to relax, he continued, "Which means I won't die tonight." Then she went back to mom's jewelery case.

By the time I fully recovered, she had already pulled out a long silver dagger with golden stripes across its blade. I recognized the dagger from the last time I opened mom's jewelery case, when I was looking for Flo. The dagger was smooth at the hilt, with notches about an inch apart, and the hilt was curved in shape, so the middle would be slimmer than the ends. It had a single blue gem at the pommel, held by what looked like claws that extended from the hilt. The dagger's blade was also slightly slimmer at the middle, but instead of notches, the edges were largely jagged, except for the base and the tip. This blade wasn't only meant to kill, it was meant to kill while causing the most amount of pain.

"What are you going to do with that, Tell?" I asked, seeing her flick the dagger on her middle finger while looking at it as if admiring its features. Then before the blood from her finger flowed down, she put the finger into her own mouth and sucked.

"What else? I'm going to kill that oversized bitch that clawed at my guts." Then she went back to sucking the injured finger before saying, "Isn't it amazing, how mom was able to get ahold of Hildegard's Silver Blade? This blade was once used to protect the first Empress of the Holy Roman Empire. Gotta love the history."

"And how would you know that, Tell? I don't see anything resembling a historical report here."

"Oh, dear sister. I see things. You have no idea," she said, her face making a pained look.

"What kind of things, Tell?" I asked, slightly wondering if she has some kind of psychotic illness.

She snapped her head to my direction. "All kinds of things, sister. By the way, my name is Illy-Lyri. Don't forget that," she said as she closed the jewelery case and started to walk to the door.

"Stop!" I said, pushing myself on my feet. "You won't last a minute against that werewolf," I said with my arms stretched to the sides, blocking the way to the door.

She abruptly stopped and snapped her head at me, her red eyes glowing brightly. "Is this a discussion?" she said as she walked the few steps to reach me. "I'm sorry," she continued, "I don't think I've received that memo."

Then she grabbed my shirt, and threw me over her shoulders and I flew behind her, hitting the wall before falling on top of Chris, who was about to get up. Chris responded by shouting profanities at me. At least I think he was cursing me. He did mention someone he referred to as 'bitch', and I'm about the only one I know whom he would refer to as 'bitch' regularly. Tell then walked out of the room, carrying in her hand the silver dagger.

"Stop!" I rasped as I used Chris's head as leverage to get back on my feet. Again, Chris responded with profanities, except that this time it was much muffled by his face's contact with the carpet.

By the time I came to the hallway, the pain had numbed and I was moving much smoother. Tell on the other hand was already out of the front door. I chased after Tell, asking her to stop. Tell, hearing my voice, stood at the walkway outside my apartment unit and turned around to face me. She continued looking at me even once I stopped in front of her to catch my breath.

"You can't go," I said, still catching my breath. "Come on, we'll find the werewolf together and we'll beat it together. At the moment, we don't even know where the werewolf is." Then I held out my hand to her, hoping that she would take it.

She seemed to hesitate, and I drew a breath of relief when she slowly raised her hand to take mine. Then her eyes glowed with the sinister red glow again and I just knew that things had taken a turn for the worse. "But sister," she said, "I already know where she is."

With that, she leaned on the railing and fell backward. I panicked. All I knew was that she must not go alone. So I forgot that I lived on the twelft floor when I jumped after her. So imagine my shock at seeing the ground coming closer and closer. As we both freefalled, I started to wonder the wisdom in jumping after her.

It was then that my eyes caught a sight of something moving near Tell. I stabilized myself as much as I could and focused my vision on Tell's legs. There, extending from under her nightgown, was a tail, of which the tip had started to turn into some kind of clear crystal. As I watched her, her back sprouted wings, to which I said aloud, "What the hell?!"

As I passed her and she started to fly away, the gravity of the situation (pardon the pun) hit me and I just had to say, "Fuck!"

*Done proofreading, now back to writing. I know the chapter is a bit short, but I felt that this chapter would not fit in either the last chapter, or the next. So there. As always, any feedbacks are very welcomed and appreciated.

*Anyway, I left a couple of easter eggs in this chapter. Can anyone guess what it is, and give me some thoughts? Want to see if I've become predictable, which is not good. Should not be a problem if you read it from the start. If you can guess it, you'll win a weekend vacation at Antarctica. No, that was a joke.

I spread my wings wide and glided down onto a patch of broken earth. As I folded my wings, my eyes scouted around, looking for any sight of movement. There was none. The park felt as tranquil as it looked outside, despite looking like it got hit by a meteor shower. I would've thought the place abandoned, if not for my pair of overclocked* eyes. Despite not having Wedjat in my forehead, I could still see how fresh the two mana trails here were. Some of the mana trails retained their shape as they fought all over the place. There was a lili punching a large upright-standing wolf who evaded and the lili's fist punched a hole in the tree'd trunk, where the werewolf was leaning on just moments before. There was the werewolf biting off the lili's left wing. I couldn't see their faces, but I was pretty sure that the lili was Tell and the big, upright-standing wolf was the werewolf we were looking for. The Half Lilin By The Light Of The Moon (Chapter 11) By Shinieris

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As I passed her and she started to fly away, the gravity of the situation (pardon the pun) hit me and I just had to say, "Fuck!"

"Fuck!" I repeated recognizing how screwed I was. I looked down and knew that I shouldn't.

Mother, if you really do love me, you'll save me now!

I looked down again and quickly closed my eyes as the ground came closes rapidly.

-----

It was awhile before I noticed that I hadn't had my guts splatter all over the ground. I opened my eyes and saw myself standing on solid ground. The color was all wrong, though. Instead of green and brown, the ground looked so... grey.

"If I really love you, then I'll save you?" came a very familiar voice, one that seemed to resonate with my very soul. "Now, don't you think that's rude, dear daughter?"

"Mother?" I said as I looked up. In front of me, several feet away, was Mother, sitting elegantly atop a jutting rock in her resplendent ceremonial robe... eh?

"Mother, what's with the akkadian gown?" I said, recalling that I had never saw her in a formal attire before. Heck, I've never even seen her wearing anything so... concealing before.

"Oh this?" she said, while lifting one of the laces attached to her robe, "You called me in the middle of an important meeting." Her voice then grew stern, "This better be important, daughter. The Guardians of Sheol are known for many things, but 'patience' is not one of it."

"Am I in Yenne Velt? Where's everyone?" I asked as I looked at the grey sky, which was totally different from the red sky that I remember from my time in Yenne Velt.

"You are in Yenne Velt, yet, you are also not in Yenne Velt. This Yenne Velt is a space that I created just for us to talk. It is neither here not there. As for your second question, since this is a space for just the two of us, naturally there would be nobody else here. So now... tell me what you want before my blood starts to boil and I start scalding your face with it."

"Umm, well, it's about Tell."

"Yes, what is it you wanted to tell me?"

"No, it's about my sister, Tell - Stella. She sprouted a crystal-tipped tail and a pair of wings and she called herself Illy-Lyri. What the hell was that about?"

"Illy-Lyri? That was quick. I wasn't expecting her so soon." Then Mother glared at me. "Well, obviously you didn't do a good job in the first place. Your weakness pushed her to finish things on her own!"

"What job!? Mother, I've been in the dark for so long, can somebody please tell me what's going on here?"

Seeing Mother remain silent, I pushed further, "How come it's my fault? How the heck can she become a lili in the first place? Don't you have to appear to the baby's parents in person before you can claim the baby? Mom said you never came for Tell. So how come Tell's a lili?"

Mother glared at me briefly and I suddenly regretted pushing my luck. "One parent," Mother said.

"Uhh, pardon, Mother?"

"One parent, not both parents. To claim the baby I only need to inform one of the parents. In you sister's case, Sarai never knew as I specifically claimed her the same night Sarai was away. I revealed myself to your father, whose memory I had discretely altered," Mother clarified as she looked to the side.

"You mean you lied to mom? And my dad?"

"Lying implies that I told a lie. I did not lie, I merely made them believe otherwise."

"That's cheating," I mumbled.

"I do not care what you call it. It was Sarai's fault in the first place. She was the one who forced my hand."

"What do you mean, Mother?"

"I seriously have no time to discuss this. What did you come here for, little girl?"

"Umm, well obviously you have to stop her, Mother. I mean Tell. She was plain freaky tonight. Oh! And you have to save me too. You see, I foolishly jumped after Tell and, well, seeing as I don't have my wings anymore, I'm simply seconds away from redecorating the ground with my own brain matter," I said, followed shortly by an embarrassed laugh.

"Save you and stop your sister? In that order?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Bah! I'm far too busy for something so menial. Save yourself and stop her on your own."

"If I could do that, I would've done that already, Mother. The standing issue here is that I don't have my powers and I was about to repaint the ground floor with the color of my blood. Assuming of course that I haven't already. I haven't died yet, right?"

"As I suspected, you missed your lilin form. And here I recall you asking me to 'free' you. Have you changed your mind, little one?"

"I haven't changed my mind! I just want a quiet, ordinary life. But now... now, I need help, Mother. Please, help me. Help me fight the werewolf. Help me stop my sister, she can't stop the werewolf on her own. You're the only one who can help me."

"Oh, don't look down on Lyrin. She's one of the earth. She's probably tougher than you. If you let her fight to the end, she will likely win, at the expense of her soul."

"What do you mean, Mother?"

"That is not good at all. If she continues fighting and ends up killing the werewolf, her heart will be filled with regret and sorrow. She will keep on blaming herself. She won't be of any use to me that way."

"What are you saying, Mother? Regret? Because she would be making her first kill?"

"No, not because it will be her first kill, but because the werewolf was someone you two used to know and love. Once the battle is over and she found out who it was, her heart will be broken and her soul will be dead. I have no need for such lili."

"Then help her," I felt tears fell down my face, "Help us. We need you, Mother!"

She was quiet for a little while, looking as if she was contemplating whether she should help us or not. In the end, she sighed and said, "Very well. It is after all, in my best interest that Lyrin does not kill that werewolf with her own hands. However, I cannot leave this place, not at the moment."

"Then, you'll send some of the lilim to help us?"

"What makes you think that will happen? This is your problem, handle it on your own."

"HOW!!!!!?" I cried in frustration.

"I'll unseal your powers for just this once. It is up to you how to use it. But remember," she raised a forefinger, "you only have until midnight. After that, the seal on your power returns."

"Midnight? But that's only an hour away. That won't be enough time!"

"This is NOT up for discussion!" she glared at me, "Don't forget that this is your punishment. Now go back!"

She made a swift dismissive wave and I found myself wrenched backward, farther and farther from Mother. Then through the fog which became increasingly thick, I saw three other forms materialized as Mother turned around and approached them. One was a beautiful woman in clothes of gold, silver and jewels, one was a half-naked angel, his body bound in chains and his wings the color of the soil, another was a humanoid creature with the tail of a wolf, the head of a lion and the horns of a bull. The next thing I knew, I was in a damned lot of pain.

I opened my arms and saw my severed arm lying on a pool of black blood. My black blood. Great Mother, I hope nobody saw me, I thought.

"Oh my god! Somebody jumped! Oy Eric, wake up! Somebody JUMPED!"

Great, there goes that wish, I thought again.

As lights came on from the building, I hastened my body to recover myself. It was pretty slow, trying to pull my life fluids back into my body. Just as I was about to crawl to my severed arm though, I sensed a bright flash in front of me.

Damned bastards must be taking pictures, I want to kill them... oh wait, I can.

So right after the next flash, I raised my head and made a sadistic grin. He took another picture and yelped in fear, before fleeing the scene.

Oh good, he dropped his camera. I grabbed it with my good hand and suddenly felt really kinky. So with my teeth biting on the skin of my severed arm and my face covered in blood, I took a picture of myself. Gosh, the bright light hurts my eyes. I wonder how I look like.

I turned the camera around and looked at the viewscreen. The first picture looked like a demon was lying dead on the ground. The second picture looked like Hell on Earth. The third looked utterly terrifying. The last picture looked like it's doomsday.

The picture showed a demon biting a severed arm, face dark with blood, with sinister yellow eyes glowing in the dark and one arm outstretched forward as if to grab the cameraman. Gosh, I looked so utterly terrifying any man would piss his pants.

This is so going into my facebook, I thought.

Looking at all the blood on my body, made me realize how hungry I was. It had a week since I last fed and if I wanted to fight both the werewolf and Tell, I'd have to be at my best.

Then a thought came to my head and I looked up, to where my apartment unit was. I couldn't help forming what must be a terrifying zombie-like grin. Food may be closer than I first thought.

So I stood up and flapped my wings with my severed arm still hanging from my mouth. My flight ended as soon as it started when the skin at my wings tore and and the sinew connecting my left with and my back became dislocated. When I landed on the ground, rather roughly, my left wing flopped down as if it was part of a defective Halloween costume.

Guess flying's not an option, I thought, then looked up at my apartment unit and decided, I'll just blink then. Blink however, proved to be almost as hard as flying, because the constant pain made me lose focus many times.

[Blink]

I appeared outside of my apartment unit after about a dozen tries. Immediately I noticed someone standing to my left. I turned my head to the left and saw a man, one of my neighbors, standing with mouth agape and feet rooted to the spot. I had been discovered.

Quickly I channeled a little bit of power to the forefinger of my left hand and aimed it at the man's heart. A burst of black aura appeared at my fingertips and launched straight to his heart. It was the same Corruption Line that Shaina once used on me, except for being more powerful as I was taught by the Mistress of Magic herself. At full power, it would make him do anything he considered bad or evil. At the level of power I was using, it would only make him lose his inhibition from doing what he would consider improper due to his own sense of morality.

I guess he was going to have some fun tonight. The side benefit of using Corruption Line on a mortal was that everything that happened from this point on to the time he went to sleep will be forgotten when he wakes up tomorrow. That was what would happen to humans hit by a Corruption Line. Which meant that it would save my skin from being flayed for breaking the Code of Concealment.

As he went back into his unit eager for a night of fun and debauchery, I opened my front door and walked in, wincing a little when my broken wing hit the doorframe. I held up my broken wing with my left hand before I started walking to Tell's room.

-----

"Mmm, you taste nice," I mumbled between kissing Chris. Truth was, that wasn't really meant to be romantic, I was actually sucking the life out of Chris's mouth. My wings had already popped itself back into its socket, while the skin on my wings had already regenerated to mend the tears, thanks to my skin's ability to absorb his lifeforce through his pores. My tail was dancing wildly behind mean indication of my eagerness to suck more delicious nutrients from this (almost) lifeless body.

Oh shucks! I can almost see his soul struggling to leave his body. Down boy, down, I thought as I stopped sucking on his lips. I wasn't at full power, likely because Chris was in a bad state to begin with, what with fighting Awakened Tell and all that. He is actually a good fighter when the opponent is human. Against even an infant lili though, he just gets beaten to pulp.

This will have to do though. With my training, beating a newly-born lili should be a piece of cake. Beating the werewolf may be a problem though. If she really is Vicky's mom back to life, this will be tough. Last time, mom used an angel's feather, and it didn't keep her dead for long. Perhaps it simply wasn't enough? I guess another tactic is necessary, I thought while licking my lips that still had Chris' taste on it.

A groan from below caught my attention and I only just realized that I may have sat on Chris' body for a tad too long. So I gently lifted myself off of Chris and strode to the door. When I reached the door, I turned around, blew a kiss to Chris' (almost) lifeless form and skipped along on my merry go way.

Halfway between the door and the living room, I saw Little Vicky came out of the living room. He was rubbing his eyes and he stopped short when he saw me. Okay, so I wasn't planning to show myself so soon, even if he may be a lili in the future. Since he's still not a lili, the Code of Concealment still applies, which means drastic measures must be taken.

[Corruption Line]

I watched as the black aura hit his chest, gets absorbed and bounced back, burning my fingers. So there I thought, okay, more drastic measure then.

It took only less than a couple of seconds for me to reach him, but by then, I had already placed my scorced forefinger at his temple and cast 'Oblivion'. I thought it was a pity that he would lose a week's work of memories, but I couldn't afford to be punished for breaking the Code of Concealment, even if he's really going to become a lili in the future. I guess I'll just ask Shaina to do selective memory reconstruction later.

I thought it was a done deal, nobody could resist this technique without feeling winded, me included, and certainly not a mere child. So imagine how shocked I was that even Oblivion was reflected back. Thankfully, the spell has a very short range, so it dispersed harmlessly instead of giving me amnesia.

So I asked myself, did my blood gave him spell immunity?

I certainly wouldn't know. I've never heard of lilim with spell immunity before. Though to tell the truth, with more mutations appearing in the recent generations, this won't be much of a shocker. I mean, look at me, I have two 'me' inside me. Heck, I heard one of the newer girl, though a bit earlier than me, had claws instead of fingers, which made me wonder how she was going to hold a spoon.

He just looked at me with that curious childish gaze as I cast both spells at him. Then with an innocent face, he asked, "Are you daddy's friend?"

"Err..." I hesitated, wondering how it was possible that he didn't find it strange that a scantily clad demoness was walking around in his home.

"Yes," I finally said, "Call me Ilyse. I came here to visit your aunt, you see."

"Momma told me its disrespectful to call someone older than me by their name."

"Great, that blasted Lauren's been raising my son to be a southern belle.

"Well then, how about Aunt Ilyse?" I cringed inside as I suggested that.

"'kay! Are you going to a party, Aunt Ilyse?"

"Now, what makes you say that?"

"Because you're wearing the bat wings, the horns and a tail. So you must be going to a party."

What had Lauren been teaching my son?

"You're right, I'm almost late, so I'll be going now," I ruffled his hair, "You be a good boy and stay at home, okay?"

He combed his hair back with his fingers as I opened the front door and was about to step through when I heard him say, "Daddy?"

-----

I sat at the ledge of Hollywood mountain, looking down on the city below as I wondered how the heck was I supposed to find Tell in such a big city? Earlier, I had cast a Vision spell to see where she was. It didn't work. I assumed that it was either because she was in a sealed off realm or I wasn't any good at that spell yet.

Hm, I suppose I could instead use the things that Naamah taught me.

I blinked back to the corridor outside my apartment, directly beside the point where Tell jumped. Preparing my mind, body and my eyes, I concentrated to focus my ethereal power at my eyes, empowering it with the ability to see more clearly the shape and color of auras and other ethereal bonds. Although this technique was supposed to be used together with Wedjat, there was no reason it couldn't be used with normal lilin eyes.

"Well, here goes," I said to myself as I closed my eyes and cast Mana Trace, with all its incantations and runes. It was the same technique I used to identify ethereal bonds of ethereal objects when I still had Wedjat. This time, I didn't need to identify ethereal bonds, I just needed the ability to see Tell's mana trail.

Mana trail is something like footprints. Just as every human and animals have footprints, all demons leaves mana trails. Even those who are aware of it, like me. Some have learned over the years to mask their mana trails, much like how animals disguise their footsteps, but there was always a trail. Seeing as Tell wasn't awakened until recently, there was a very slim chance that she would know the existence of mana trail, let alone how to disguise them.

So I opened my eyes and was blinded by the huge array of bright colors.

Change the spectrum! I reminded myself.

A short while later, the colors dimmed, but it took me a long while later, probably 10 minutes or so to tune out all the ethereal trail until only 4 remained. Apparently, there were plenty of demons and minor spirits passing through here everyday. Out of the 4 trails left, I chose the one which trail headed the same way as Tell, and with a powerful flap of my wings, took off in Tell's direction.

The trail took me to just outside Griffith Park, which was only a few minutes away with my powerful wings. I noticed that along the way, things were very quiet. Actually, too quiet, which only the casual honking from faraway breaking the silence. The silence was even more pronounced as I reached Griffith Part, where the trail ended.

"That's weird," I said aloud, "A demon's ethereal trail doesn't simply end for no reason. Even if the demon blinked elsewhere, there would have been an obvious sign of scattered ethereal matter in the air. Tell didn't blink away, nor was she kidnapped. She simply disappeared.

I didn't think she was dead, but without her mana trail, there was no way of knowing where she went off to. I beat my wings constantly, hovering there in the night sky until a lightbulb lighted up in my head.

Of course! I thought. The artifact I created to let Tell summon me back from nothingness should also be able to work the other way too. If it can find me, it should be able to find Tell too.

So I imagined in my mind the specific shape of the hairpin, what it could do and its form. Then I imagined its location. After I was sure there would be no mistake, I summoned it with only the most necessary amount of magic energy.

[Summon hairpin]

A black whirlpool appeared over my palms. It grew larger and larger before it burst and a pair of pants dropped onto my hand.

Great! Too little energy. Not enough to control what I summoned. Probably should use more power, I thought.

This hairpin was the one that flew to Sue's house, trying to look for a way to reach mom but attracted Sue's attention instead. I took out the hairpin from the pocket, sent back the pants to my own room and poured a bit of my power into the hairpin to wake it from its sleep. The hairpin then turned into a crimson-colored pigeon and flew forward, only to disappear into thin air when I blinked my eyes.

Ok-ay, so maybe the third time's the charm. So I summoned the other hairpin, putting more energy into it to give me better control over the spell. It was weird when the black whirlpool won't stop growing. It was freaky when it became larger than myself. It was painful when the thing burst upon reaching the size of a truck and something knocked my waiting hand down as it fell.

Shit, too much power! I thought as I dove at the falling Mercedez Benz CLS500. I wasn't able to reach it in time, at least not before it smashed itself onto the ground, turning what was once a stunning piece of german engineering into a pile of scrap metal. I wondered if his insurance would cover being totalled by falling from a great height. Got to admire the germans though, despite the car looking like a terrible shadow of its former glory, it could still let out that blaringly annoying alarm.

I landed next to the gasoline-smelling wreck and ignoring the loud car alarm, gingerly placed my hand where the piece of metal that used to be the front passenger's door and searched around for where that tiny hairpin might be. I didn't dare use 'summon' again. It was bad enough to smash Chris' car from great heights, but to make it explode would be overkill. It was a good thing that Chris' car wasn't moving, otherwise, I fairly believe that it will explode.

Through both visual and perception, I was finally able to locate the hairpin. It had fell to the floor of the passenger's seat and because of the wreck, was at the place where my hands alone won't be able to reach. Carefully, with great concentration, I was able to fish the hairpin out of the unreachable place with the aid of a perfectly executed telekinesis. I've learned my lesson, don't conjure anything without proper practice. Maybe I'd need to change Chris' memory. Make him think he was the one who wrecked it. Yeap, that will work.

Giggling inside at the thought, I gave a silent command to the hairping. It transformed into a pigeon in a burst of ethereal dust and flew off. It also disappeared not two seconds after it took off from my palms.

"Damned the devil," I muttered under my breath, "should've recognized a barrier when it's less than 5 feet in front of me."

So with a deep breath, I closed my eyes and flew straight into the barrier. It was pretty tough, especially once I found that my face was flattened by the seemingly solid barrier. Pushing through, I had to flap my wings hard, and used all kinds of spells known to me.

[Ice Shard] I conjured a number of sharp ice fragments from a single frost orb at the tip of my forefinger. Grabbing the ice shards with my mind, I launched it all at the barrier. It flared briefly as the ice shards smashed against the surface, but they didn't have enough penetration power.

[Ice Spear] I conjured a pair of long ice shards, one above each of my palms. Then I grabbed each with my hands and threw both simultaneously at the same point on the barrier. Due to the force of the throw, I found myself spinning in the air and had to correct myself by flapping my wings in varrying strength to get myself floating upright in the air again. In the meantime, I noticed the barrier flared again but still did not yield.

This is ridiculous, I thought as I initiated Void Call. The same technique that the other me used to defeat Dinah. I've never successfully used this technique on my own before, but I figured if the other me could use it perfectly, then there was no reason that I couldn't do the same. We do share the same body afterall.

I shoved my doubts away as a miniature black orb the size of a peanut started to appear in my hand. I let it grow to the size of a golfball, thinking that such a small Void Sphere wouldn't be enough to break the barrier. I was wrong. I was too greedy. The Void Sphere started to lose containment almost as soon as I let it grow and became absolutely unstable before it even reached the size of a golfball. I threw it away the moment I deduced that attempting to control it would be impossible, but it was far too late. The Void Sphere imploded and sucked my left hand into the vortex, leaving my arm a stump below the elbow and rupturing the veins of my entire body. I screamed in pain as I coughed black blood.

Not working, I thought. Damned the other me for not telling me how to make it work. Now instead of being filled with power, my body was so damaged I needed to heal myself first.

I can't wait that long, I thought as I focused all of my energy on my good hand. A frost orb slowly formed above my right palms as it drew negative energy from my surrounding making the surrounding increasingly warmer as the coldness rushed to my palms. It was slow, because California never got any snow even at Christmas. Once the frost orb reached the size of a basketball, I grabbed it with the same hand and crushed it, causing the liquid ice to erupt, spread and cover my entire body. If anyone was watching, they would see a block of ice floating in the air 20 feet above the ground.

Normally, I wouldn't be doing this. Simply because it would be so damned cold in there my body would shiver and my teeth would chitter uncontrollably. But now, I need power. I need to heal and I need to do this quickly. As one alligned to water, I was able to harness the energy of the frigid molecules around my body, allowing my body to heal itself simultaneously at no cost to my own power. The coldness would even provide me a little energy, as I am alligned to water, like a rechargeable battery. And just like a rechargeable battery, the longer I was in here, the more energy I would accumulate.

But I couldn't stay here. Not for long. Somewhere in there, under the barrier, Tell's fighting alone. Despite what Mother said, a few hours old lili couldn't possibly defeat a decade-old werewolf. It was just not likely, and I would not gamble her life to find out who was right. So I focused my thoughts and shattered the ice block covering my body. Then I gathered the cold air around me and formed a huge ball of compressed frost air above me, larger than even myself.

I gripped the huge ball of frost with my right hand and my restored left hand and slammed it at the barrier, as hard as my muscles could manage, aided by a bit of telekinesis from my mind. It hit the barrier and exploded, freezing my arms in a single block of ice and spreading frost air in all directions. Despite not having enough power to break through the barrier, it now provided a clear boundary in the form of a floating ice platform which marked the surface of the barrier. Though only a small part of the barrier was made clear, it should be more than enough.

I looked at my frost-bitten arms and pushed the entire frost energy in my arms out. Steam appeared from my skin and the ice covering my arms started to melt. I shook the ice from my arms before it completely metled and focused my energy to reform the ice into a constantly twisting ice tendril. With both hands clasped, I combined the two ice tendrils into a drill of spinning ice and dove straight at the part of the barrier illuminated by the ice. A second before the ice drill hit the barrier, I strengthened it with more power and made it twist and spin at a higher frequency,

It took the drill only a few seconds to break, but it did its purpose. I found myself falling though the hole in the ice into a scene of complete disaster. What a few seconds ago looked like a tranquil park is now a mess of fallen trees, broken seats and cratered ground.

I spread my wings wide and glided down onto a patch of broken earth. As I folded my wings, my eyes scouted around, looking for any sight of movement. There was none. The park felt as tranquil as it looked outside, despite looking like it got hit by a meteor shower. I would've thought the place abandoned, if not for my pair of overclocked* eyes. Despite not having Wedjat in my forehead, I could still see how fresh the two mana trails here were. Some of the mana trails retained their shape as they fought all over the place. There was a lili punching a large upright-standing wolf who evaded and the lili's fist punched a hole in the tree'd trunk, where the werewolf was leaning on just moments before. There was the werewolf biting off the lili's left wing. I couldn't see their faces, but I was pretty sure that the lili was Tell and the big, upright-standing wolf was the werewolf we were looking for. Strange though, there was a mana trail in the form of a lili floating brightly high above, its mana trail looked brighter than any other mana trails. The form wasn't moving in the slightest, so I figured it must be Tell's afterimage.

Where are they, though? I wondered to myself.

I was walking around, trying to determine where the mana trail ended, when I started feeling a slight tremor under my feet, which grew stronger with each passing second. It finally stopped, then suddenly the ground in front of me erupted, and something flew out from the hole in the ground.

It was the werewolf. The one with the crescent tattoo on its right cheek. The one mom defeated about ten years ago. The one we're looking for. The one werewolf that Tell must not kill.

A hand appeared out of the same hole that the werewolf came out of, pushing out dirt and dust along with it. Then the other hand came out and it grabbed the edges of the hole. A moment later, Tell appeared, pulling herself out of the hole in the ground.

She looked terrible. The membrane of her wings were torn in many places, her nightgown were in tatters and there were deep wounds all over her body. Either her natural lilin healing potential hadn't kicked in yet, or it had been exhausted.

"Why can't I kill you!!! You're just a damned werewolf!" she yelled at the still airborne werewolf, before she spread her wings and leapt to the sky in chase of the werewolf.

Just as she was about to throw a punch at the werewolf, the werewolf turned its body in the air and its right leg lashed at Tell as if it was an oversized, muscular and furry whip. The force of the kick caused what few aerofoil properties that Tell's wings still provided to fail and caused her to plummet to the ground like an over-riped fruit. I kicked the ground and flapped my wings towards my falling sister. I almost didn't reach her in time, but a timely kick of my legs and a strong flap of my wings pushed me forward to cross the necessary five feet. As it was, Tell fell safely into my arms, though there was so much force at work that it felt like my arms were about to be ripped out of its sockets.

"Sis?" Tell groaned weakly. I noticed now that her left eye was swollen shut, probably from the werewolf's fist. Then a sudden crashing sound made me look up and I saw the werewolf was already on the ground, landing safely unlike Tell.

"Shh, relax Tell. I'll handle this," I said reassuringly.

She must've not felt reassured, because she countered with a one-eyed glare, "Huh? You couldn't handle it before, why should I let you handle it now?"

"Because you must not kill her, Tell," I said, as it becomes clear to me now that we're dealing with Mrs. Sanchez, Vicky's mom. "Mother said it will be bad. She doesn't want you to fight the werewolf, said you will regret it deeply," I explained.

"Mother?" she said, her body started shaking in my arms. "My name is Illy-lyri, AND I DO NOT KNOW THIS 'MOTHER'!" she cried as she fired a burst of ethereal stream at my face and rolled away.

It burns! I silently cried in my mind as my hands cupped my face. It felt like that time in my childhood that I was scalded with hot oil. It was when I was only 9, mom was deep-frying some fish that dad brought home from his fishing trip. I was helping mom in the kitchen when I accidentally knocked over the frying pan, causing it to tip over and scald my right arm. Mom healed me back then but she told me not to say anything to dad. I remembered that pain, this pain was exactly like that.

I calmed myself down and tried ignore the pain. It was terribly hard, but I managed to tune it out eventually as I moved some of my pinkish healing aura on my palms and cast Minor Banish, which would disperse the ethereal particles on my face and Regenerate, which would help increasing the regeneration of my dissolved face. I knew from experience, back in Ashmedan that casting Heal will only make things worse, judging from the high concentration of ethereal particles on my face. Casting Heal now would be like throwing a lit cigarette into spilled gasoline at noon in the middle of summer.

Then through the corrosive ether, I heard Tell's voice saying,

"I call upon you, Libertate. You who called me to awaken from my deepest slumber. You who dragged me out, out of your own selfish desire, to see the world bleed for denying you your wish.
Hear me now, Libertate. Join me, and I shall show you a world charred by their own desires.
Join me! And you, who has lost your body, can live again.
Be my wings, be my hands, be my spears, Libertate!"

*IT term, referring to the overclocking of a computer's CPU to make it faster. Something like overcharging a battery.

*Hi everyone. Sorry about the slow progress. Truth is, nowadays I've gotten lazy when it comes to transferring the story from paper to digital. The entire story has been written, it just hasn't been rewritten in my computer. I know what would help. An Ipad2! Anyone kind enough to donate me one? :P

"Tell, don't!" I managed to let out. Seeing how intent she was at cutting the werewolf to pieces though, I doubted that she actually heard me. Just as the spears were about to hit the werewolf, it dodged to the left, causing only one of the four spears to hit while one only grazed its skin. Then Tell shortened the chains of the spears, pulling the werewolf to her. "Stop!" I shouted while releasing a huge ball of frost from my entire body. Before it could hit either of them, Tell redirected the three missed spears and slashed my huge ball of frost into four parts which exploded before it could even reach them. Through the field of ice between me and them that resulted from the explosion, I could see them still fighting, trading punches and exchanging kicks while Tell fired her ethereal blast and the werewolf clawed at Tell. "I said," I mumbled as I blinked behind the werewolf, "STOP DAMNED YOU!" The Half Lilin By The Light Of The Moon (Chapter 11) By Shinieris

Then there was a humming sound, slow at first, but growing increasingly louder, as the locket on Tell's neck started glowing, brighter and brighter, until it exploded in a blinding flash. As the glow faded, I saw that Tell no longer had a pair of broken wings. She now, in fact, has 3 pairs of wings, one pair the original black coloured wings which was now reinforced with some kind of silvery metal, the other two pairs were shimmering under the moonlight, as if it was made of polished silver.

"I thank you for your cooperation, Wings of Freedom. I assure you, your greed shall be sated. Blood will pour forth this night and all shall be dedicated to you, who roused me from my slumber," she said again.

Then she spread her new metallic wings and with one powerful flap, flew forward towards the werewolf with the speed of a bullet train. The werewolf was caught off guard and was smashed against a tree upon contact with Tell's supersonic kick. It wasn't dazed for long though, as it gave Tell's stomache a strong punch that sent her flying through the air. Tell had to spread her wings wide to regain balance, but it was too late. By the time Tell managed to regain stability, the werewolf had already leaped to the sky. Before Tell noticed, she was already peppered with half a dozen punches, each with the strength to crush rocks. It wasn't pretty and Tell looked like she was suffering without a chance of fighting back. It was clear that Tell was disadvantaged from her lack of experience.

"Stop it, both of you!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, which was impressive, because my voice echoed all around the park. Didn't make any difference though, as the werewolf grabbed on Tell's shoulders and hitchhiked on Tell's body, continuing to pepper her with rock-crushing punches.

Then I saw one of the pair of metallic wings changed shape and turned into a pair of razors that bent and attempted to cut the werewolf in half. The werewolf, sensing danger, let go of Tell's shoulders and kicked Tell away with its powerful legs, causing the twin razors to cleave air. While Tell flew a distance higher, the werewolf fell fast, aided by the Earth's gravity.

The werewolf flipped its body and instead of hitting the ground with its head, it managed to land on its feet without any perceived injury. Tell meanwhile was still spinning in the air, flapping all four metallic wings in many different directions, making it look like she was spinning in mid-air. As someone new to flying myself, I could appreciate how hard it was to control a pair of newly-formed wings, let alone three pairs of new wings. I could only imagine how hard for a newly-born lili to fly with six wings.

Eventually, Tell stopped spinning, but it was only because she was starting to lose attitude, and had learned to use her own pair of wings as stabilizer. She was screaming curses as she fell, which wasn't very nice to my ears. I had no idea those swear words were anatomically possible. Before I could move to catch her though, her metallic wings exploded and expanded in all directions. The metallic wings formed a network of semi-rigid webs that connected with each other creating a dome which broke Tell's fall, in the same manner as a spring or a ball.

The werewolf didn't give Tell any opportunity to catch her breath though, as she charged at Tell before Tell managed to place her feet on the ground.

Tell only realized the werewolf's approach once it got close enough to hit. To Tell's credit, she managed to change some of the web that broke her fall into sharp thorns that jutted from the web and impaled the werewolf's body with a dozen sharp spikes before it was able to withdraw. As a result, the werewolf suffered heavy damage from all the bleeding holes initsr body. I doubted it would be moving as fast now.

Now that Tell had the upper hand, she pulled back that metallic web and reformed it into the two pairs of wings. Before it fully reformed into wings, she reformed it into four chained spears and launched it at the werewolf.

"Tell, don't!" I managed to let out. Seeing how intent she was at cutting the werewolf to pieces though, I doubted that she actually heard me.

Just as the spears were about to hit the werewolf, it dodged to the left, causing only one of the four spears to hit while one only grazed its skin. Then Tell shortened the chains of the spears, pulling the werewolf to her.

"Stop!" I shouted while releasing a huge ball of frost from my entire body.

Before it could hit either of them, Tell redirected the three missed spears and slashed my huge ball of frost into four parts which exploded before it could even reach them. Through the field of ice between me and them that resulted from the explosion, I could see them still fighting, trading punches and exchanging kicks while Tell fired her ethereal blast and the werewolf clawed at Tell.

"I said," I mumbled as I blinked behind the werewolf, "STOP DAMNED YOU!"

I opened my Vault, pulled out one of Raphael's Collar, that I took from Asmodeus and stabbed the wolf's back, piercing its body. Within the blink of an eye, I pushed deeper, forcing the tip to come out of the werewolf's front and stabbing into Tell's stomache, piercing her body to her back. I could see the Collar glowed white as it sucked in mana and ether.

I pulled myself back as the werewolf swung its arms at me. The werewolf's sudden movement made Tell who was impaled on the other end of the Collar dangle around following the werewolf's movement, like a broken doll. It was a few seconds later that Tell was thrown free from the Collar, but the damage was already done.

Slowly, but inevitably, Tell's body started to turn to ash. With the ethereal bonds that maintained her lilin form gone, Tell's premature body was slowly breaking apart. It started with her wings as it crumbled into ash and was carried away with every passing breeze. Then her tail simply fell onto the ground, leaving a stump above Tell's butt. Then the tail also turned to ash and was carried away by the breeze. Tell touched her horns and it also crumbled and blown away. Her entire body looked like it was smoking, but I knew that it was just her lilin form dispersing, due to the nonexistence of ethereal bonds. Tell then fell naked on the ground, her nightie now in tatters, no longer capable of giving her any sense of modesty, The only thing she still had on her that was still in one piece was her panties.

A loud howling sound from the werewolf drew my attention away from Tell. The werewolf was looking at the sky, as if howling mournfully at the bright full moon. Meanwhile, the light of Raphael's collar shone upward, as it created a pillar of light that reached all the way to the topmost boundary of the barrier. It didn't take long for the barrier to stop having any effect on the Collar's light, as the light eventually shone beyond the barrier's boundary, higher and higher, as if reaching the heavens itself.

Then suddenly it stopped howling. It looked at me with its bloodshot eyes, it mad a feral grin and charged at me with all four limbs.

I thought, "Alright, let's get this party started. Then my body started smoking and this strange circle started glowing under my feet.

I barely avoided the werewolf's charge. Even so, the moment my feet touched ground again, the strange circle reappeared, glowing brighter than before. I didn't know if it was the werewolf's doing or a trap prepared by someone else, but I wasn't taking any chances. I flapped my wings and flew upward fast, before maintaining a distance of 100 feet above the ground.

The werewolf looked at me, totally ignoring Tell, who was lying fainted on the ground. It then grabbed the Collar, as if trying to pull it free from its body. I just had to laugh at the werewolf's futile attempts. That Collar will not ever be dislodged without my approval.

A sharp pain on my left cheek made me stop laughing. I touched my left cheek with my slim demonic fingers and saw black blood smeared on my fingers. I looked down at the werewolf and was barely in time to swat at an incoming object. I winced as the object hit my hand wit such a force as to break bone. I looked back at the werewolf and saw that it was juggling a number of broken-off concrete the size of a fist. I covered my right hand with a healing aura as it threw a whole volley of 8 concrete rocks at me in a matter of seconds.

I probably should've evaded, that would most likely be the most energy-saving solution. The only problem was I was pissed. So I covered my body in a cocoon of liqud ice and watched as the concrete rocks hit the ice, slowed greatly by the liquid and fell as gravity started working against the force of the throw.

As I felt my anger drained away, I laughed aloud again, wondering why this wild mutt kept doing futile things. Then something hit me again, but this time, instead of a sharp pain, it felt like I was being hit by a truck. This time instead of a small concrete debris, I found that I was being hit by a whole statue of a horse. As I fell from the sky, I heard the werewolf make short, stunted howls repeatedly. I knew exactly what that was. The damned werewolf was laughing at me.

Pissed, I flipped my body, stretched my arms forward and concentrated my power on my two hands. Then I launched that power with a full blast of hailstorm at the laughing werewolf. The werewolf, seeing hundreds of ice shards coming at it, dropped into a ball and covered its head with its arms.

I grinned at seeing the werewolf put on the defensive. As I fell, I kept on firing bolts after bolts of ice shards as the werewolf hugged its head tighter and tighter. Landing on the ground I launched an ice spike at the werewolf with one hand. Then I threw another and another. All the while laughing like a madwoman.

It was then that something glowed a foot in front of me. It took a moment for me to recognize the glowing circle and what it was. It was a spell circle. ELPH, LON, REN... no, this wasn't just a simple spell circle. It was a sealing circle. I turned around to escape when I noticed that there was already one of the same circle on each of the four corners. I leaped to the air, seeing that it was the only direction without one of those sealing circles. To my shock, the sealing circles rematerialized around me.

I tried flying up but another circle materialized over my head too. I tried to drop down but even the way down was blocked by a sealing circle. When the sealing circles started closing in on me, I panicked and let out a big blast of frost nova to blow it away. The blast was huge alright. My frost nova ended up freezing up to 50 feet of ground around me. The sealing circles however remained unaffected.

I mentally hit myself for panicking so much I forgot the nature of spell circles. While spell circles are constructed from ether, it is neither ethereal not corporeal. It is a perception, a thought formed not in the mind, but in the physical world where it may be perceived by people other than the caster, but only useful to the caster or those the caster chose to share the knowledge with.

Knowing that I was dealing with the mind of a caster here, I know of only four countermeasures. Those were Oblivion, Corruption Field, Exorcism and Banish. Oblivion was cast on the caster's brain to make them forget, which was useless because I had no idea who or where the caster was. Corruption Field could be used in two ways, one to corrupt the sealing circle and the other to corrupt the mind of the caster. So I spread my Corruption Field and tried to corrupt the sealing circle with my Corruption Field.

As the Corruption Field surrounded and started infesting the sealing circle, I recognized the error in my judgement. Instead of being eaten away by my corruption, it glowed brighter and started to push my corruption out and away. Then as it glowed brighter and brighter, until it felt like I was being smothered by the sun, I felt my body flattened from all six sides at the same time. I now knew that the spell had run its course, but what had been sealed?

Time's up, dear. said a familiar voice in my mind as I dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

Mother? Why? What are you doing? I asked while rubbing my legs, painfully aware of the loss of my wings.

It's midnight, dear. Time for Cinderella to go home.

Unfair, Mother! How do you expect me to defeat a werewolf in a human body? I objected, now realizing that I had lost both my horns and my tail, as well as realizing that I had lost my bodacious succubus body. I still has a female body though, powerless human female body.

That's your problem, little one. If you had used all your power, you would've won in seconds, Instead you waste time playing games. Let this be a lesson! With that final word, I could tell that she had already left my mind.

Mother! I called, hoping to make her change her mind. There was no response.

I turned around to face the laughter of that werewolf. Although I really did want to shut her up, I knew that as a human, I would just be slaughtered. Then the werewolf lunged at me.

Despite knowing that I wouldn't last a second as a human, I made a fighting stance awaiting the werewolf's claws. I was when the werewolf was about to grab for my head that its chest was pierced by what seems like four chained silver daggers. I couldn't see it clearly because some of its blood got in my eyes.

"Don't you dare lay a finger on my sister, bitch!" Tell or maybe Illy-Lyri said. She was still on the ground, lying on her front while her right arm laid on the ground, looking weak. From her back, four of the tendrils jut forward, the long chain connecting to the silver daggers. The point of the daggers changed shape, each turning into the shape of four hooks that dug into the werewolf's body.

Tell got up unsteadily, then shouted, "Come here, bitch!" as she shortened the chain, pulling the werewolf off its feet and flying backward straight towards her. Before the werewolf reached her, she stopped shortening the chains and instead turned the chains into a semi-rigid material, smashing the werewolf on the ground to her left and right. Then the other two tendrils turned into swords and slashed at the werewolf's body.

As the werewolf suffered from being smashed on the ground, a thought entered my head. If Tell can use her artifact in human form, there is no reason why I can't as well.

Windsor, Windsor,
My contract Windsor,
Hear my voice,
I summon you.

Nothing. I looked at the pendant. Nothing changed.

I looked at my right hand, at the ring with the Geyer family's seal. The ring which contained the soul of Florian. I willed the ring to turn into a sword, the pallasch which personifies Flo. Nothing happened. Not a flash, not a tingle and none of that cool paternal voice that made me feel like a child during our short time together. Flo was still asleep.

The sound of Tell's scream pierced through my feeling of guilt for being the cause of Flo's long sleep. I looked at the source of the sound and saw Tell was on a pulling contest with the werewolf, with all six of her silvery tendrils as the rope. The tendrils were still hooked into the werewolf's back, but the werewolf had turned around and grabbed the tendrils with its massive arms. As it became clear that Tell could not beat the werewolf's strength, I decided she needed my help.

But how? I looked around, looking for things I could use as a weapon.

My eyes fell on the ice spears that I had earlier launched but had not yet melted. I can do this. I told myself and proceeded to grab one of the ice spears. It was cold, but perhaps because this ice spear was mine, it didn't feel as cold as it should be. So I wielded it like a club with both hands and sprinted forward at the werewolf.

I hit the werewolf on the back and face with the hard ice over and over that it turned its head at me and howled loudly, almost piercing my eardrums. When it tried to grab the ice spear, I quickly pushed the tip forward, causing the ice spear to pierce its palm and stuck itself in there. Meanwhile, I noticed Tell drop to her knees and the six silvery tendrils disappeared from her back. She fell face-first to the ground as she exhausted her human energy and went unconscious. I looked at Tell with my 'death' eyes and was relieved that her date of death remained unchanged, which meant that she was not dead.

The howl of the werewolf warned me when it tried to sweep my head. I barely rolled away in time, aware of its frustrated face through the light of the Collar that reached the sky. It stalked quickly at my position, smashing the ground where I was with its good fist, or kicking at me with its strong legs. All which I barely evaded within a hair's breath. Then it suddenly howled again and I ran, I used that opportunity to reach another ice spear when a loud boom exploded behind me, throwing me away from the werewolf. I turned around and got myself blinded by the bright light that accompanied the werewolf's pitiful cries.

*Sorry for the late update. I only just managed to find the suitable words to write parts of the chapter. Only one chapter left. The final chapter should be quicker though, as it has mostly been written and typed, as the whole story was written to suit that ending. Thank you for those fans who never gave up asking me to continue the story, I love you guys. Thanks too to those readers who commented or mailed, I reread those and told myself, "I must do this." And here it is.

As always, comments and feedbacks are very appreciated. Praises gets me writing faster, contributing criticisms makes me write better. So don't be shy to comment or email.