“Be vigilant as well, my friend. I implore you,” she said as she embraced me. She took small, sluggish steps away from me and then stopped. “Are you certain you are ready to do this? You have been through much. Are you strong enough? Perhaps it is best if—”
I held up a hand. “Enough. You more than anyone else know the importance of this.” I moved to her and stroked her cheek. “By ridding the earth of Lilith, there would be less evil in the world. Her demon minions would probably scatter to the four winds and remain hidden, and you would be free to find your family without fear that, if you did find them, Lilith would go after them to destroy them like she desires to destroy you. Now please, get going—before you give me second thoughts.”
Taking in a deep breath, she turned away and ambled to the edge of the cliff. Her enormous wings materialized. She glanced over her shoulder at me and soared. I waited until she disappeared into the clouds and turned to the door once more.
I pushed the door and it creaked open. Who would dare invade the witch’s lair? Still, I had imagined the door bolted. It seemed my mother was self-assured of her invincibility.
I took a few steps forward, and the door groaned shut behind me. I continued onward. In the absence of flaming torches, the dimness in the long hallway gave the impression of twilight despite the brilliance of day right outside the house. The cold, damp air wrapped around me like a cadaver’s embrace. There was a reek of rat urine and smoke in the musky air. I crinkled my nose and gagged in disgust.
I made a sharp left turn, and there was light at the end of the hallway. My footsteps echoed on the stone floors. Was I prepared to do this? Was I being delusional in thinking I was strong enough to defeat Lilith? Second thoughts poked and jabbed at me like a pointed branch.
I thought of Aini and the countless girls who would suffer the same fate and continued to take wary steps. A sound stopped me; it was only the feet of rodents scurrying about. My eyelids fluttered shut. I needed to remain calm. The fate of the world was in my hands. I opened my eyes and moved on.
An imprecise shadow crept up the wall to my right. I stopped cold. My breath and pulse quickened as the walls pulsed in on me.
“I see you found your way to me as the Seers foretold… Prometheus.” A sinuous voice echoed off the cold rock walls.
I whirled around and saw her standing a few feet away from me. “Lilith.”
Her lips fell open as she stared at me. “So you know my name.” She sauntered toward me. “I am happy to see you, for it is destiny that brought you to me.”
I stiffened and clenched my jaw as she came closer. She stood before me with blood lacing her face.
“Come. You look weary from your journey. I shall bathe you myself.” She took me by the arm and led me to a great bathhouse deep inside her cave dwelling. A pool of water bordered by a short wall covered with colorful tiles sat in the middle of the capacious room. Steam rose from the pool, suggesting the water was warm. Many flower petals floated on the surface, but in addition to the petals’ perfume, a peculiar sour, earthy smell drifted into my nostrils.
Lilith guided me to steps leading into the pool. Before we descended into the water, she undressed herself and then me. The warm water went to work immediately on my sore and weary muscles. My arms dropped at my sides, and I unclenched my fists.
I stood still as she bathed me in ways servants would never dare. Her touch was kind and gentle, which confused me. I took in deep breaths to remain calm, reminding myself of her immense power. I had to be clever and patient if I was to stop her.
When she was done we sat on benches built inside the pool. I glowered at her when she turned her face. As she arranged her hair to one side, and against my better judgment, I asked, “Why did you do it? Why did you have to kill her?”
She stared at me for a long moment. “Are you referring to Princess Aini?” She spoke her name without reverence, as if she were less than nothing.
My heart pummeled against my chest wall as if it wanted to burst out to smash her face. My nod fell heavy, and I shut my eyes.
“You had feelings for her,” she said, almost laughing.
I stared at her and did not respond. Beneath the water, my hands tightened into fists as I tried to contain the rage brewing inside me.
“That is why she had to die,” she said, placing her hand on my thigh. “You and I are destined to be together. It is prophesized that we will have many offspring that in time will rule this world. So you see, our union is far more important than any little princess’s life.” She squeezed my thigh. “Anyone who comes between us must die.”
“What is it you say? Our offspring?” I furrowed my brow, rolling my neck to relieve the building tension.
“It was prophesized that you and I shall form a powerful union, and from this union many sons and daughters shall spring forth. We shall have many descendants and an insurmountable love.” She rose from her seat and squatted between my legs, both hands on my thighs now. She looked up at me through her lashes with an unblinking, focused gaze.
“Love?” I shook my head and snickered. “In order to feel love you must have a soul. Do you have a soul?”
“We are all souls trapped within a cage of bones. Whatever our souls are made of, yours and mine are the same. I know you feel it too, for I can see it in your eyes.”
As she rose to her feet I ogled her and then pounded my fists on my thighs, annoyed at myself for being mesmerized by her beauty. She gave me a sidelong glance and smiled an I-caught-you-and-don’t-plan-to-let-you-get-away-with-it smile.
As she climbed out of the pool, she beckoned me to follow with a crooking of her index finger. She stopped at the top of the steps, glanced over her shoulder at me, and waited. She tossed her head. Her hair whipped wildly, sending droplets of water here and there.
I trudged along behind her. She led me to her bedchamber. There, she dried me off and pointed to one of two cushioned chairs in front of her bed. I sat on it. She slipped on a diaphanous dress so fine that spiders might have stitched it. Drifting toward me like smoke, she sat across from my chair and lolled into the seat cushions. Her gaze was penetrating.
“In order to understand happiness, one must first understand sorrow,” she said. “Princess Aini was not meant for you, so leave her in the past where she belongs. You are mine and I am yours. It may not feel like it at this moment, but soon you will feel what I feel.”
My eyes met hers. Looking at her face brought back a familiar recollection, filling the void in my head, spinning memories of the last time I saw her as a child—when she tried to kill me. Then I thought of poor Aini’s face when I dug her out of her desert grave, her eyes huge, spherical sand pits. My pulse quickened and my muscles tensed. She had killed me twice.
I glared at her, feeling heat bloom on my face. I squeezed the cushion on my seat to keep my hands from shaking. I have to get ahold of myself, or I will ruin the plans. I shut my eyes tight and moisture seep out of them.
Lilith dropped to her knees before me, as she had done in the pool, and grabbed my face. “You feel much, Prometheus. I promise, in time you shall feel more for me than you have ever felt for anyone else. In the meantime, be comforted by the fact that the ache in your heart and confusion in your soul means that you are still alive and still open to the beauty of the world, even though you have done nothing to deserve it.” She let go my face and kissed me on the lips. Her lips were as cold as the night winds in winter and tasted like snake oil. “Above all,” she continued, “you must keep in mind that together we shall rule this world and make of it what we desire.”
She stood up, sashayed over to the bed and lay down. She pulled her sheer dress above her waist and glanced at me. She began to touch herself, writhing and moaning on the bed. Desire burned a hot spot in the pit of my gut. I hopped to my feet and bit into my lower lip, trying to resist her. I panted as I watched her.
“There is darkness in life and there is light, and you are the gloom in the darkness,” I whispered.
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“Come to me. I desire you,” she said.
I went to her. I succumbed to her many times after. I told myself it was to adhere to my plans, a means to an end, but deep inside I knew better. Every night she allowed me to drink her blood, and in doing so she transferred much of her strength and abilities to me. Mother or no mother, her flesh and blood called to me, and I found it challenging to resist. The heat of shame stung me, but I continued to do what she desired.
Days turned into weeks while I remained spellbound by this evil enchantress.
Again, she beckoned me as she sat on the bed. “Drink from me. It shall give you the strength to hunt your nightly meal.”
As I approached, she opened her legs. I dropped before her and bit into her groin. She squirmed and groaned as her warm, potent blood filled my mouth. Consuming her blood was like drinking lightning, and it surged throughout my body, strengthening every muscle fiber and filling my cells with power.
Her heart beat fast, hard and irregular. As I listened, she grew weaker and the beats began to slow. It would have been easy to kill her then, but it was not yet time. I stopped imbibing.
“Why do you allow me to consume your blood? I grow stronger each time I do so.”
She sat up on the bed and caressed my cheek. “I want you to be as powerful as you can be.”
“So you do not fear that someday I may grow strong enough to defeat you?”
“Why should I fear such a thing?” She put her arms around me and spoke softly in my ear. “I am a goddess, and I have made you my god because I love you. I trust you with my life because I feel your love grow for me each day. I trust you completely.”
“You are right. I have left everything in the past—where it belongs.” I kissed her cheeks. “I am devoted to you.”
A look of relief washed over her face, and she snuggled her cheek into my chest. Her body relaxed and sagged into mine like one whose trust was complete. I had her right where I wanted her.
“I must leave now. I will feed and return full of vigor,” I said as I slipped from beneath her. “I will not be long.”
“Before you leave I have something to tell you.” She was glowing. She licked her lips and seemed unable to be still. “I am with child,” she blurted out, laughing. “It has begun, the prophecy. It is all coming true.”
Her words jarred me. My mouth fell open, and I covered it with a hand. “H-how… how do you… are you certain of this? We have not been together long. I do not—”
“One moment is all it takes, lover. Are you not happy?” she said as she arched a questioning eyebrow in my direction. “This is our destiny.”
I blew out a breath and grinned, hoping I did not look as perturbed as I felt inside. “Of course I am happy. But I am surprised. It happened much faster than either of us had anticipated.”
She giggled. “It is a powerful little one, for I feel it move inside me even now. Here, feel for yourself.” She took my hand and placed it on her belly. I perceived a bump and swirl and withdrew my hand.
“I have to go.” I tittered as panic swelled up inside me. “We will celebrate when I return.”
As the door thudded closed behind me, I slumped against the wall outside her room, desperate to regain my senses. She is with child!
I pushed off the wall and ran toward the exit, my feet hammering on the stone floor. I tore open the front door and hurried outside, unable to breathe. Everything was spinning, and it felt as if the ground was disintegrating under my feet. I collapsed onto my hands and knees, my breathing quick and shallow. Darkness oozed around me like thick, black molasses.
“What is wrong? What is happening? Is it done?”
I looked up to see Gadreel’s troubled face.
I sat on the ground and she wormed down next to me.
I held my head with both hands. “I feel like I am walking in a dreamworld, a horrific, nightmarish dreamworld.”
She gasped. “Oh my God! You could not kill her.” Her voice was full of shock and dread.
“What are you doing here? I thought I asked you to stay away.” I frowned.
“You asked me to come back in a month’s time,” she said, jabbing her finger at me. “It has been over a month! I have been waiting out here for you. What has happened?”
I took in a long, deep breath and let it out. “I have not attempted to kill her yet.”
Gadreel’s eyes widened with grief, and she backed away from me.
“I was building my strength and waiting for the right moment,” I said. We got to our feet. She turned her back on me, which I preferred to the disappointed look on her face.
Letting out a harsh breath I shoved my hair away from my face. “She just told me she was carrying my unborn child.”
Gadreel whirled around to face me. “If this child is born, it will mean the end of the human race.”
“I know. That is why it must be done tonight.” A sigh escaped my lips. “Once, I saved a child’s life. I risked everything to ensure that he lived. And now… now I must destroy my own offspring.” As I said the words I felt the cold blade of a dagger stab my heart. “Remain hidden.”
I returned to the house and, with the stealth of a mouse, eased open the door to the bedchamber. Lilith stood with her back toward the door, slipping into a dress. I moved toward her with great speed. She did not seem aware of my presence until I had an arm around her neck and the other around her torso, just below her bosom.
She gasped. “Prometheus, I was not expecting you back so soon. I did not sense your presence.” She tittered and her body shivered. “It is a testament to the godlike powers I have given you—I can feel it.” Her voice trembled as she leaned back against me.
I held her tighter. “Your blood has made me more powerful than I ever dreamed possible.”
She turned her head to face me, smiled, and eased into my body even more.
In that instant, I shifted into my red fiend form before her eyes. “Actually, I never dreamt of being powerful. I would have given up any amount of power if only to have the love of a mother.”
She tensed in my arms, her bosom heaving as recognition bloomed on her face. “Dracúl? How could it be?”
“I survived… Mother.”
Her mouth slackened. For a moment she seemed to be in a trance. Then without warning, she exploded out of my grasp and knocked me to the ground. She glared at me, her nose flared and her face an angry red. I feared at any moment she would shift into her serpent form. As I jumped to my feet she rushed me, smashing me against one of the rock walls, knocking the air from my lungs. She pinned me there with her body and put her hands around my throat. I punched her sides, bit her arms, and tried to bash her with my horns. Nothing I did seemed to have an effect on her. There would be no hope of winning if she shifted into her serpent form.
I clawed at her fingers as she squeezed her hands tighter around my neck. Ragged gasps escaped my mouth. I needed to take a breath, and soon everything around me began to spin. My eyes rolled to the back of my head. As I began to slip away I shifted into my man form, and she let me go. I sagged against the wall and slid to the floor.
She turned her back on me and trudged away, sobbing softly. I furrowed my brow as I glided up the wall and steadied myself. I ran and grasped her from behind again. This time she did not struggle.
“Why have you not changed into your serpent form?” I said as I tightened my grip around her.
“I did not want you to see me that way,” she whispered.
Anger churned in my chest, and I did not say a word.
She reclined against me. “Forgive me.”
Her words tormented me, and I almost lost my grasp on her.
“You said you had left everything in the past,” she said. “Forgive me. We can still move on from here. Destiny brought us together, and now your child grows within me. I know you—you cannot kill your own child.”
I changed to my fiend form again and expanded my wings. “But you could.” I swung my left wing over he
r body and impaled her belly with one of its seven-inch spikes.
She wailed and used her free hand to try to stop the blood from jetting out of the gaping hole. “Our baby!” she screeched. “You killed our child!”
Blood and gore continued to seep between her trembling fingers.
I looked straight ahead, feeling the hot sting of bloody tears pooling in my eyes. I had dreamt of this moment for so long—the moment I would have my revenge—and now that it had arrived, I got no satisfaction from it. “You attempted to end my life as a child. You left me for dead, but I survived. I grew up in solitude and I have suffered much because of your ruthless deeds. I consider the death of this unborn child merciful.”
She grew cold in my arms. “What do you intend to do with me?” Her voice was little more than a breath.
“I intend to rid this world of your wickedness. I will drink your blood until your black heart beats no more, and when I am done, I will sever your head from your body, burn you, and spread your ashes in the forest where I grew up alone.”
As I held on, she went limp and her legs faltered, as if she had lost her will to fight. She made feeble attempts to escape, but shock, fear, and the wound in her middle had weakened her.
I pressed her head against her right shoulder and sank my fangs into the left side of her neck. As I drank in her blood, I sensed her strength leave her body and enter mine.
Suddenly, a deep, sonorous voice, not of this world, came from the rear of the room. “You may stop now, Dracúl.”
I lifted my chin, and Lilith’s head plopped over her bosom.
“We will take over from here,” said another silvery voice to my right.
I watched in awe as three angels materialized before me. I recognized two of them: Gabriel, who had given me the gift of tongues and crumbled the Tower of Babel; and Raphael, who had blinded the mob outside Lot’s house in Sodom before it was set ablaze by Esar. It seemed whenever these angels appeared, something catastrophic always followed.
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