Coming home

“Delightful work,” Lilith hissed from your side.

It was dark out and almost totally silent, the town having fallen into a blissful slumber and utterly unaware that one of the most powerful players had been taken off the board. Despite that, you couldn’t bring yourself to feel anything close to relaxed. The cult was still active and their plans had not slowed down. Worse, they would be out for blood now that one of their own was slain. It was simply a question of how long they could be distracted before sniffing you out.

“Oh, don’t make that face,” Lilith laughed. “You’ve won a great victory today. Those swine will be scared once the news reaches them, and men who are afraid make mistakes.”

“There’s still Chapman,” you reminded her. “He won’t be afraid, he’ll be out for vengeance.”

“Anger is just as damaging as fear. It clouds the mind, makes one act on impulse. Chapman has lost his major domo, that’ll be infuriating to him. Watch him closely from your position with his daughter. Orbit his life and observe how sloppy and erratic he’ll become. You’ll find an opportunity, and from there you can strike.”

Your lips pressed together in doubt, but ultimately you were too tired to argue.

Lilith grinned at you, a horrible thing despite her beautiful face. She looked like a big cat ready to chase down a wounded animal and devour it with fang and claw. One of fingers tapped you on the nose in a gesture that was strangely maternal. “You ought to get on home, rest up for the night. I’ll call upon you on the morrow, and we can plan our next move.”

“Where are you going?” You had a horrible feeling about this.

“Ohhhh,” she giggled and titled her head childishly, “a girl just likes to have fun. Don’t worry, there won’t be any bodies.”

You blinked and it seemed as if Lilith had faded into the shadows of the street. That brought out a sigh of unease and worry from you, but there was nothing for it. You marched the rest of the way through the deserted streets back to your neighbourhood, and then into the slumbering realm of your home. On your way to bed you stopped by your mother’s room, peered inside. Her sleeping form was still, but her face was pressed into a deep and unconscious frown. Whatever she was dreaming about, it wasn’t nice. You pressed a kiss to her forehead, and then went to your own bed.

Shoes off, clothes changed into your PJs, you were down in bed and ready to let unconsciousness take you. Then your phone rumbled and lit up the room intrusively. You spat a curse and reached for the obnoxious device, answered it.