“We will call him ‘Grief,’” the male said.
“I would not recommend that, my son,” Father offered.
“What about ‘Pain,’ then?” Lithilia asked. “Is that not what we are feeling right now?”
“That would be unfair to your son, my princess,” Father said.
Then, after a moment, the male spoke.
“We will name him ‘Cahen’!”
Lithilia agreed, and Father affirmed.
“Then Cahen it shall be!”
The pain of loss subsided with time and with Cahen being a handful. He was a very strong child, full of his parents’ curiosity and intelligence. They taught him well, and Father could not get enough of his grandson. Month after month, the couple bonded. But month after month, Lithilia was not with child. At first, this did not bother her. But, three years later, when she still was not with child, she became very concerned. Father could not find anything wrong with her and even he and his team were baffled by her situation. In fact, everything looked perfect. Yet she was unable to conceive.
The words of encouragement from her mate no longer provided their usual comfort. Before long, she started experiencing alien feelings; like low self-esteem, anxiety and a loss of libido. Lithilia became short-tempered and transferred her aggression to her partner and, worst of all, to their son, Cahen. In her presence, Cahen was always afraid and unhappy, but when his father was around, he was happy and playful. And so, it came to pass that Lithilia started experiencing something else that she had never experienced before: jealousy. But at who or at what? And nothing her mate, Father or his team did seemed to help her situation.
One night, as was recently the case with most nights, Lithilia refused to bond with the male. She stormed out of the domicile and into the night. She sought solitude. She grew more resentful by the day and convinced herself that everyone, including her son, was to blame for her inexplicable barrenness. Several hours later, she started returning towards their domicile. But as Lithilia neared their sleeping chamber, she saw bright, golden light streaming through a crack in the door. Curiosity and caution took over. She tiptoed towards the door, dropped to a knee and peered through the crack. What she saw shocked and paralyzed her.
Lying on his back, eyes closed and in seemingly deep slumber was her partner. But he was not alone. A creature straddled him. The creature was female, looked like them in shape and form, but made of bright, golden light. Lithilia tried to place this creature of golden light’s face with all the faces of the women working with Father. But this creature looked nothing like any of those women. The women working with Father were beautiful in every way Lithilia could conceive. But this creature straddling her partner made all those women look disgustingly ugly.
The creature was kissing Lithilia’s partner passionately on the lips and gyrating her hips against his in the same fashion that she, Lithilia, did when she bonded with her partner. At first, Lithilia was too shocked to do or say anything. Even thinking seemed like an impossible task for her. She opened her mouth to scream. But her scream died in her throat. She tried to move, but her muscles felt stiff. Finally, her thought process kicked in and went into overdrive as she finally started appreciating the situation. And the appreciation of the situation spawned a quagmire of rage and confusion, anger and jealousy, fear and powerlessness at the same time!
Lithilia wanted to pounce on this creature for her abominable act. She wanted to do a thousand and one things to this creature, none of which were akin to anything good. She wanted to punish this creature in ways she, herself, could not even imagine. Oh yes! Her evil intentions were purer than pure. Alas, fear and a feeling of utter powerlessness won. All Lithilia could do was watch helplessly as the creature peeled her lips from Lithilia’s mate’s and ground her hips faster and faster against her mate’s. The creature angled her head upwards, squeezed her eyes shut and parted her lips in a prelude to a scream of orgasmic pleasure.
Lithilia saw her partner move his head weakly from side-to-side. She heard him moan in his sleep. She witnessed his body tense up in an all too familiar way. Finally, in a symphony of light and sound, huge wings of golden light, like those of a bird, suddenly sprang from the creature’s scapulae as the creature screamed with unimaginable pleasure. Her mate gave seed, and, in a burst of bright, golden light, the creature disappeared, as if it was an illusion or a figment of fantasy. The night returned to an undisturbed stillness, her partner’s chest moved up and down slowly as he breathed quietly in his sleep.
In the back of her mind, Lithilia wished it had all been a dream. In the back of her mind, Lithilia wished this nightmare was just that, a nightmare and she could un-see what she had just seen. She shook her head as if shaking her head would erase everything she had just witnessed and help her make sense out of what had just happened. There was only one way to find out if she was dreaming or if everything was real. She took a deep breath and, slowly, she opened her eyes. Her heart raced as she turned her gaze towards his crotch, while her mind clung to the last string of hope that everything she had just witnessed was one messed up nightmare. Alas, her mate’s groin was, indeed, wet from him giving seed. And that was when Lithilia collapsed from an overload of emotions.
Lithilia awoke about an hour later and was immediately hit with the memory of what she witnessed. Or was she just dreaming? Or was that the voice of denial in her head? She doubted herself. She perched on one knee and peered through the crack in the door again. Her partner was now lying on his side with his back to the door. Nothing seemed amiss. She shook her head as if to clear her mind and make sense of her memories. In the end, as she opened the door, walked into their bedroom and climbed into bed, she concluded that she must have been dreaming. Despite everything, her sense of denial overrode all logic. And then, as if to render some peace to her troubled heart, her partner rolled over in his sleep and held her in his arms.
In his sleep, he sniffed her hair as he was accustomed to doing every night when they lay together. In his sleep, he adjusted himself to fully accommodate as much of her body with his as possible. In his sleep, he intertwined his fingers in hers as he held the back of her hand communicating that he had not given up on her and never will. She trembled at the memories of what she had put her family through. Anger and jealousy gave way to shame and remorse. But even those did not last that long as a sense of happiness and peace overwhelmed her, and she cried for several moments. As the burdens of her recent past came off her shoulders, she made a vow to herself never to abandon her family again, no matter what happened!
And so, for the next few months, the family was whole again. Lithilia still did not conceive, but she was filled with renewed hope. All was peaceful, quiet and good until one night, Lithilia had stepped out into the night when everyone was asleep. She wanted to enjoy the beauty of the night sky and the stillness of the night. When she returned a moment later, she witnessed the same creature with wings on her partner once again, bonding with him. It was déjà-vu all over. This time around, she knew she was not dreaming, and this time around she charged at the creature. But she was a fraction-of-a-blink too late as her partner gave seed and the creature vanished in an explosion of bright, golden light yet again. Lithilia shielded her eyes from the brightness. When the brightness subsided, she rushed to her partner and shook him.
“My love!” Lithilia called as she shook him roughly. “Wake up!”
“Lucie…” her partner said in his sleep
Lithilia froze in shock and stared at her mate, unsure of what to think, say or do next.
“Lucie…” he repeated in his sleep.
Lithilia backed up slowly, her mouth gaping in shock at the realization that her partner just said a name she had never heard before. Logic warranted that the creature’s name was Lucie and if her partner knew the creature’s name, then he must also know the creature. But how could her partner know this creature with wings? Who was this creature and why was she so… different? Did Father know about this? And if Father k
new, then why would he do such a thing to her? Why would he conspire with her partner to cause her such pain and hurt? She had just been healed from a very dark time in her life, only to be thrown deeper into a darker darkness. And for the first time in her existence, Lithilia felt something she had never felt before; betrayal!
“My love…” the male asked as he sat upright. “What is wrong? Why are you so upset?”
Lithilia had been so lost in her stream of thoughts that she had not realized that her partner had been awake.
“My love,” he said again, looking worried. “What bothers you?”
She opened her mouth to say something, but her throat felt very dry. Finally, she cleared her throat and spoke three words.
“Who is Lucie?”
***
Lithilia paused for several seconds and stared blankly at Walter.
“Come on, now!” Walter protested. “Don’t leave me hanging!”
“Why would I leave you hanging, my dear?” Lithilia teased. “A girl’s gotta save some tricks for later, no?”
“You do drive a hard bargain!” Walter said with a grin. “So, how do I get tickets to listen to the rest of your story, Lithilia?”
“Oh, let me see…” Lithilia replied tapping a finger to her luscious red stained lips.
“Those tickets are really hard to get, and I charge a very high fee for them,” Lithilia said with a mischievous lilt in her voice.
Walter could not help but notice her ample cleavage rioting against her low-cut blouse.
“But for you, I may be able to get you a small discount.”
“And pray tell,” Walter said, trying to act normal but he was getting weaker by the second from desire. “How much will this discount be?”
“I don’t know,” Lithilia replied. “It could range from free to free.”
“Her highness does me much honor indeed,” Walter said and bowed his head slightly, not even sure if his words were coherent anymore. “And how and when would her highness wish for me to reach her thus?”
“How about you give me your number?” Lithilia replied.
Walter scribbled his number and first name on a piece of paper on his notepad, ripped the piece of paper from the notepad and handed it to Lithilia. Lithilia folded the piece of paper and stashed it in her purse, without even looking at the number.
“Very well then,” Lithilia said, standing up.
Walter stood up with her like a true gentleman.
“I’ll see you later,” Lithilia added.
Lithilia turned around and started walking away, without even giving Walter a chance to say goodbye. Walter heaved a sigh of disappointment and returned to his seat. She’s never gonna call, he thought as he reached for his laptop. Suddenly, he felt a presence coming towards him and looked up. He smiled at what he saw. Lithilia took him gently by the chin and lightly pressed her luscious lips against his for a few seconds.
“I will call you, Walter Peabody,” Lithilia said seductively
Lithilia patted Walter lightly on the cheek. before she turned around and walked away. Walter watched her walk away, and a million butterflies went ballistic in his belly. He felt like a teenager who had just landed his first kiss.
What he did not notice, however, was that Lithilia had said his full name, even though he had only written down, and told her, his first name. What he failed to notice was how the smile on her face turned to an evil frown as she turned and walked away or how her eyes flashed in an orange-yellow brightness before returning to normal. What he failed to notice was that the sudden smell of burning was not burned cooking, but the smell of a different kind of burning from another realm. What he failed to notice was that as Lithilia stepped through the door of the tea shop, she actually stepped through a portal she had summoned that transported her to her domain in Hell Realm.
Worst of all, what he failed to notice was that the entire time he was having a conversation with the beautiful, dark-skinned woman called Lithilia, he was getting strange, sideways looks from the customers at the tea shop because, to them, he was having a conversation by himself.
***
“And where has my wife been?” Kazuk asked as Lithilia appeared.
“I was busy,” Lithilia replied flatly. “Working on a plan of mine.”
“And are you ever going to share this plan with me?” Kazuk asked.
“Patience, husband of mine,” she replied curtly. “In due time.”
Kazuk eyed her suspiciously before leaving their domain to attend to some other business of his.
“Not much longer now,” Lithilia said to herself. “Not much longer…”
CHAPTER EIGHT
AMNESIA
WELCOME TO THE Dimension of Lemuria! Its primary realm is Celestia and, by default, Celestia is home to the Zarark. Archangels rank higher than angels, and even archangels are ranked by seniority. Michael is archangel supreme and his handpicked group of archangels constitute his inner circle. Some of the members of his inner circle include Raphael (head of security and counter-intelligence), Gabriel (head of counseling and administration), Samael (in charge of education and training) and Uriel (keeper of records, in charge of recruiting ‘special’ talents, and personal adviser to Michael). These archangels were among the first group of creatures of Celestia to be spawned, right after Michael. Alas, after the Great Rebellion, these archangels were also some of the last ones left from the original group of creatures spawned during the creation of Celestia. But even though they were equal in rank, Raphael was the unspoken next-in-line in case Michael met his end.
The inner circle of archangels hardly made public appearances, except for Uriel. The phrase ‘special talents recruitments’ was just a cover-up phrase. The only ‘special talent’ Uriel was after was that angel or archangel, who fulfilled the prophecy. This angel or archangel was called ‘The One’. Many cycles had come and gone since the prophecies were made, and many angels and archangels had come forward, claiming to have heard the calling or The Voice. Of course, every claim had been false. If any angel or archangel did hear The Voice, that archangel or angel would have immediately appeared in Michael’s domain. But, for the sake of due process, Uriel had to patiently entertain every claim. So, when Michael informed Uriel of Eliel, she had been very excited.
Eliel had only heard about the legendary Uriel. He had a lot of respect for this senior archangel and felt very honored at the prospect of meeting her in person shortly, even though his head was still spinning in the wake of recent affairs and a possible, permanent change in his status. Eliel appeared outside Uriel’s domain and was greeted by Uriel’s assistant, Beliel. When Eliel introduced himself to Beliel, Beliel did everything except dropping to a knee and kissing Eliel’s hand. Eliel still could not understand why there was so much fuzz about him.
“R- Right this way, sir,” Beliel stammered.
Eliel wondered why Beliel called him ‘sir.’ As they walked down the long hallway, she turned towards Eliel.
“I never thought I’d ever behold this moment! It’s truly an honor to meet you, sir!” Beliel said.
“Why do you keep calling me ‘sir’?” Eliel asked. “I’m just an angel, maybe even of lower rank than you are.”
Beliel shook her head vehemently and chuckled lightly.
“Sir,” Beliel replied. “You may not know right now, or maybe you do and you’re still in denial. But YOU are no ordinary angel!”
“Hopefully, Uriel will shed some light on that,” Eliel said.
They stopped outside a door. Before she knocked on Uriel’s door, Beliel turned around to face Eliel.
“Let me put it this way, sir,” Beliel said. “I've been in Uriel’s service for many cycles and never has Michael sent anyone to her directly. So, whoever or whatever you are, you must be so special that Michael would personally endorse you and Uriel would clear out her schedule just for you, sir.”
Beliel spun around, knocked on the door, and the door opened by itself. She gestured for Eliel to enter. E
liel thanked her and walked in.
“Not that you need it, but good luck, sir,” Beliel said and closed the door after Eliel.
Eliel walked into a very large chamber. There were thousands of angelic tablets containing many scripts of old on the back wall of the chamber. In the center was an average-sized, marble-like table and Uriel sat behind the table. The angel who claimed to have heard The Voice sat opposite from Uriel. She looked nervous and excited at the same time. Uriel gestured for Eliel to sit on a chair in the right-hand corner of the chamber, without even looking at Eliel. Eliel obliged. The other angel’s eyes were glued to Uriel’s wristband on her left hand. She looked like she was about to drop on her knees and worship Uriel, but did a great job keeping her composure.
“So, Mazel,” Uriel said in a firm, soothing voice. “Tell me more about your experience with The Voice.”
“Well, madam,” Mazel spoke timidly. “It was not like I had an experience with it. I just heard it. I’m not sure how to describe it.”
Eliel noticed Mazel had just passed the first test. Regardless, both he and Uriel knew already that Mazel was lying about having heard The Voice; or maybe not on purpose.
“Alright,” Uriel said, her face expressionless. “Describe it to me.”
“Madam,” Mazel still spoke timidly. “It was a very strong voice. It sounded like a thousand waterfalls, and it vibrated with the very core of my being. But it was there. It was strong. I heard it and felt its power!”
She was losing her timidity as she spoke the words she had rehearsed a countless number of times. Even Eliel could tell Mazel was doing just that. If he could see right through Mazel’s bad acting…. Uriel nodded slowly as Mazel spoke. It was the least she could do. Every claimant, from the liar to the crazy, deserved a chance to at least be heard.
“How many times did you hear it?” Uriel asked, still maintaining the most expressionless face Eliel had ever seen.
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