Q&A with Lilith

Whatever Lilith did with the man, you didn’t want to see. But when you returned to them, Albert was slumped over and staring dead-eyed out at nothing. When you checked him, you felt a pulse and saw a faint rhythmic rise and fall of his chest, but there was no reaction to stimulus.

“They’ll think he had an aneurysm,” Lilith said, coming up to stand beside you. She examined her handiwork with a satisfied little grin.

“What did you do to him?”

She smiled enigmatically. “I just showed him some things.” Her eyes flicked over to you and narrowed with interest. “I didn’t bring this up before, but there’s a certain scent on you that intrigues me,” she inhaled deeply. “That half-breed.”

A tremor of concern ran through your being. You couldn’t meet her inhuman gaze. “If you mean Mandy…”

“Is that what she’s calling herself now?” Lilith seemed amused. “That’s charming. I know the one who sired her, she’s lucky to have been born on that side of the barrier. He devoured the last several of his offspring.”

“You never mentioned that your kind and humans could reproduce.”

Lilith shrugged. “Sometimes it happens, though I don’t know many that live to adulthood. She’s a rarity, your new girlfriend,” Lilith gave you a sharp look, “and don’t try to deny that, I can smell her scent all over you on molecular level.”

“She’s the one who tipped me off about this guy,” you said, gesturing to Albert’s insensate body. “She’s been fighting against the Cult just like me. I figured…well, enemy of my enemy…”

The eldritch being stared at you with smile that was soaked in rage. Her voice came out colder than a winter storm. “Michael,” she said, taking a step closer to you, “that girl is the child of a rival, she has the potential to confound my own plans for incarnation someday. If I should find out that you’ve betrayed me…well, it would be very sad for your mother.”

“My enemy is the Cult, and the Incubus,” you had to fight to keep your composure, your heart racing. “I’m not…moving against you.”

Her eyes were fixed on you, burning with malevolence. But then her shoulders sagged and she released a little sigh. “Oh, Michael, my sweet boy. I do sometimes forget you’re afflicted with a human heart,” she reached out and ruffled your hair in an almost maternal way. “You must be wary of evil women. They’ll take advantage of your hero complex.”

The world began to shift and rumble around them and you felt a tug as you were being pulled back into the human realm. Lilith sighed again and shook her head. “If you want to save that girl, you’ll probably have to crash the Cult’s ritual at the steel mill. Use whatever weapons you have and don’t be afraid to hurt people,” she waved her hand, “TTFN.”

—-

When you came back to yourself, you were standing in Albert’s office. A feeling vertigo came over you, but it quickly passed. It didn’t seem like your jaunt in the pocket dimension had effect time in the human world, but when you looked over and saw Albert, slumped by his desk and drooling almost lifelessly, you knew it wasn’t a dream.

Sneaking out was slightly easier than sneaking in, as you simply made for the expansive backyard and used one of the trees to help climb over and land back on the street with a thud.

You made your way back home as quick as you could, you only had 24 hours before another girl was killed.