There were gulps and shudders around the table. The psychic scream which had rent the night a week ago had been horrifying. No less so because human and naphil alike could hear it with physical ears. Everyone knew what it meant. Lilith had just discovered her prize was already imprinted on someone else.
"I don’t think she’ll wait," Salome said. "She’s been growing angrier and more unstable for decades. And Sarahi is right. It is personal. But it’s not Sarahi she wants to devour most.
Faces turned towards Annie, dressed in her Assassin uniform, but with her face uncovered. She paled, swallowed, and straightened her stance. "Who would have guessed falling in love would be so hazardous," she quipped with a wan smile.
"But even if she succeeded in wiping all nephilim from the planet, the host of Heaven would be in no way depleted. Real angels cannot be killed, and the Creator will not allow succubae to overrun His creation," Lucien said.
"Love, we’re not dealing with a rational mind," Sarahi reminded her husband. "Lilith’s hubris is beyond anything you can understand. She truly thinks she can challenge Heaven and win, and getting us out of the way is a good step."
"So the goal then is to protect ourselves and our families?" he asked. She nodded. "And how do we do that? Succubae, any suggestions?"
Jael, Sarahi, Rahab and Salome looked at each other. "Don’t waste time fighting drones more than you have to. Stay away from the succubae. If we can get rid of the source, the others will be leaderless. They can be scattered and dispersed much more easily. There is no second-in-command," Rahab said. The others nodded.
"Are you suggesting we concentrate the fight entirely on Lilith herself?" Jonas asked, appalled.
"Yes," his wife said simply.
"Is that even possible with the incubus’s unlimited energy behind her?" Nathaniel asked. "I know she can't access it, but he can, right? If he fights for her, what happens?"
"I don’t know," Sarahi replied. "But better to die trying than wait for the death she would dish out to us."
The ugly thought was far too true for anyone’s comfort.
"So what do we do then?" Jonas demanded. "If we want this fight on our terms, how do we draw her out? How do we make sure she doesn’t just wait until our numbers are down? There are no new nephilim. There will be no more. Every one we lose cannot be replaced. We will never be stronger than right now."
"I have an idea," his wife said.
"Tell us," Lucien urged.
The war council leaned forward. It was sure to be a desperate plan, but they had no other.
***
"Well, Jezebel," Lilith said irritably as she watched Josiah practice sword fighting with one of the drones. "Why do I have to keep him alive?"
"Mother," the succubus cooed in a placating voice which made Lilith want to hit her, "For centuries you’ve dreamed of an incubus. Now you have him. Why do you want him dead at this point?"
"The little prick gave away his power. He slept with some girl and imprinted on her. All that lovely energy, and I can’t drink a drop."
"He is tasty," Jezebel agreed, her eyes following Josiah’s muscular back as he pressed his attack against the tall warrior.
This time, Lilith did hit her, sending her daughter sprawling. The woman rose quickly and returned without a word of complaint. Her pale cheek bore a palm-shaped red mark which would soon turn into a bruise.
"All right, Mother," Jezebel said. "All joking aside, it is possible to break the imprintation and rework it?"
Lilith leaned forward over the arm of her chair until her face was very close to Jezebel’s. "How?"
"From what I’ve been reading, there is a provision for a bad imprint. If the girl dies of natural causes, or is killed outright, the imprintation will fade and the boy will share energy as he chooses. But if he kills her, it snaps, and he will imprint on his next partner."
Lilith nodded, considering the possibilities. "So I have to get him to...."
"Hunt down and destroy the girl who preceded you. But, Mother, you also have to make him trust and desire you. Otherwise he will not choose to give himself to you."
"Are you saying he does not desire me now?" Lilith hissed, rage bubbling at the suggestion.
"Please don’t hit me again, Mother. I’m not trying to be insulting. But you have to admit he’s not been too enthusiastic."
"What do you suggest?"
"Seducing a good-hearted man can be tricky. He’s conflicted. I’d suggest you play up the problems he must have had with our enemies and show him how much better it is here."
Lilith nodded, pondering. She’d never before had to work at taking a man. They came to her brainless and obedient. This would be an interesting challenge.
Chapter 19
For the next three weeks, targeted attacks of succubus strongholds increased in frequency and intensity. Clerics and nephilim engaged in hit and run tactics, firebombing buildings, planting snipers to take out targets from safe distances and generally doing anything they could to reduce the number of their enemies as drastically as possible. They made no attempt to cover their tracks. Soon succubus intel knew the exact location of the compound, and had a good approximation of how many nephilim and clerics were operating out of that location. The information they had been carefully fed showed a stronghold in the Mojave Desert and a force approximately half of what actually existed. When the stakes were this high, it was no time to play fair. They ruthlessly used every advantage available to them.
The risky decision had been made not to draw Lilith to the actual location of the compound. Its location remained concealed, and the young, old and vulnerable would be able to hide there. And last, as a final, desperate move, they had learned how to enter the hive. The succubae had demonstrated the method for opening a portal into the demonic realm where Lilith held court; a small world of eternal ice. All the nephilim, and those clerics, like Annie, who had regained special gifts, were able to access it. It was no different than relocating from one spot on earth to another, so long as they knew the coordinates.
The intention was to pry open the portal and send in a few troops, just deep enough to engage the enemy in hopes the mass of succubae would follow, leaving the queen lightly defended. Or, she might come through herself. Either way would work. They had contingencies for both possibilities.
The date of the attack was set for December 31. With all the hype about the Y2K bug, anything strange which appeared on computer screens and video feeds might be attributed to computer error.
The night before the battle a meeting was held in the cafeteria of the compound. Mr. Smith still refused to emerge from his room, so Lucien and Sarahi stood before the mass of clerics and nephilim for a final briefing.
"Does everyone understand what you need to do?" he asked. There were nods all around.
"Women and children will remain in the compound, along with the elders. We will maintain contact through the succubae and any others with psychic connections. Be careful not to disrupt your men while they are fighting."
Nods.
"Advance force," Lucien indicated a group of battle-scarred nephilim and the youngest of the clerics who sat apart from the body of the group. "Jonas will open a portal into the demon realm and you will enter. Take no prisoners or hostages. Cut down as many as you can. Make noise and draw attention to yourselves, and then retreat. We want this to look like the skirmishes we’ve been enacting against nests on earth. The important thing is to leave the portal open. Remember, we want them to follow. And don’t fight too skillfully. Make it look clumsy so they won’t suspect a trap."
The nephilim nodded. The humans looked ready to piss themselves, but imitated their angelic counterparts.
"First battalion, set up at your coordinates in the Mojave Desert. When the Advance Team returns, send them through the ranks to the rendezvous point. Engage and hold any of the enemy which emerge through the portal. It is vital you hold the line."
Clerics young and old and ageless nephilim all wore matc
hing expressions of grim determination.
"Second Battalion, wait at the rendezvous point. Triage the Advance Force as needed and wait for the call for reinforcements. If Lilith emerges, engage her. If not, prepare to enter the hive through the second portal and engage her there. I will be with the Second Battalion."
The second group of men and angels nodded. They had all been briefed and trained. They were all ready... as ready as anyone could ever be to face certain death at the hand of a powerful, sadistic enemy.
"I know this is asking a lot, but sleep, if you can. Exhaustion plays to our enemies."
Incredulous stares. Adrenaline, not rest, would be the foundation of their strength.
"Now, let me turn the floor over to Sarahi. She has several suggestions for you."
Trembling with nerves, the succubus stepped forward. "Here are some things you need to know. A succubus is not much more than a strong woman with claws. They can be killed by a body or head shot, by having their throats or hearts removed, or by severing the spine. High caliber firearms should be effective and I highly recommend taking out as many as you can before they get close enough to grab you. They’re quite adept at hand-to-hand combat, but Lilith is really old-fashioned. After the sword, she didn’t really acknowledge the development of other weapons. So shoot them if you can. A succubus decomposes instantly, so if they don’t go poof, they can still kill you. Severing limbs slows them down, but doesn’t stop them. Apart from their claws, their greatest weapon is their allure."
"But, ma’am," Jonas protested, "they don’t use that against us."
"That’s because they didn’t realize it would be effective. They, like the clerics, believed nephilim to be asexual. Now that they know better they will try it. Which brings me to my last piece of advice. Go back to your rooms with your wives and be sure that, come morning, the allure will have no power over you. Ladies, you have the responsibility to protect your husbands from the threat of dirty lust. No matter how tired, scared, or even sick you might feel tonight, there is no excuse for refusing. Cover your man with your love. You just might save his life." She looked at Lucien and then back at the crowd. "I have nothing further to say."
"I do," a raspy voice spoke from the doorway. Unkempt and unshaven, Mr. Smith staggered to the front of the room. "Let’s pray." Hands folded. Heads bowed. Sarahi slipped her hand into Lucien’s.
"Lord, we face the fight of a lifetime. The outcome is in Your hands, and we trust You. Help us face Your enemies with courage. Amen."
"And please protect Josiah," Lucien added.
"Amen," echoed other voices around the room, and the war council broke up.
As couples drifted back towards their separate quarters, a tall woman in a white costume approached Sarahi and Lucien.
"Annie," the naphil acknowledged her.
"Call me Assassin," she replied. "I’m no longer interested in being Annie."
"It’s not a bad thing to be vulnerable sometimes," Sarahi told her softly.
"It’s done me no good," the girl replied. "Lucien..."
"No," he replied. "You may not fight. You’d be walking right into her hands."
"I don’t care," Annie replied, her face dark with depression. "What’s left for me here? I might as well die doing something useful."
Lucien narrowed his eyes.
"Then I definitely don’t want you fighting. She’ll know, you know."
Annie nodded.
"Know what?" Sarahi asked.
"That your demon son left her with more than just a broken heart," Mr. Smith intoned from beside them. "She’s pregnant. It’s no wonder she wants to die."
"I don’t want to die," Annie snarled, making a dismissive gesture with one hand. "I want to help. But we all know we’re not coming back. This is it. I’d rather go down fighting than wait trapped in this compound like a rat. She’ll come. And when she does, those who don’t fight will go down harder than those who do. Especially me."
"I can’t believe you still love that demon," Mr. Smith mocked.
"Grandfather, be quiet," Annie snapped. "If you had been nicer to Josiah he would have wanted to stay with us. We would have him on our side in this fight. There was never anything wrong with him and you know it." She turned her back on him, focusing all her attention on Lucien. "I need to see him. To see if there’s anything left of the Josiah I know. Maybe there’s a part of him that still loves me."
"I’m sure there is," Sarahi told the girl gently. "But he’s been with her for weeks. He won’t be the same boy you knew. He’s seen too much by now."
"And maybe the part of him that’s still Josiah is sick of all he’s seen. I don’t know why or how. I just know I have to be at that fight. And I won’t be a liability, Lucien. You know how good I am."
"I do know, Annie," Lucien replied. "You’ve saved my hide often enough. But I’m not thinking of you as a soldier. I’m thinking of you as a daughter. I don’t want to see you hurt."
Annie blinked, and then threw her arms around the naphil. He hugged her back. Sarahi joined them.
"I love you both," the girl whispered.
"I hate to admit it," Mr. Smith said dryly, unmoved by the touching scene, "but I’ve had the vision over and over since her childhood. There is a chance for us to win this battle. But Annie has to be there. I don’t know how it will work, but her presence is the key to victory."
"And will you be there too, Smith?" Josiah asked.
Mr. Smith nodded. "I need to be. I may be too old to fight, but I’m not so old I want to hide in the tower while others do my fighting for me."
Lucien nodded. "You will both be there. Assassin, prepare yourself for battle. Smith..."
"I know what I need to do. Get out of here you two. I’ll be with the First Battalion in the morning."
The naphil and the succubus took their leave.
"Annie," her grandfather said to her, "can you forgive an old man for being stupid?"
"If it were stupidity or ignorance, Grandfather, I could let it go. But it was prejudice. And don’t say anything about demons. You hated Josiah long before we knew. You drove him away."
"I did. Now, for tactical reasons, I wish I hadn’t, but I still don’t think he’s the one for you, Annie."
"There has never been anyone else for me, Grandfather." She rested her hand on her flat belly. "I miss him."
Smith squeezed his eyes shut. "Can you forgive me, Annie?"
"I’m past holding on to hating you for your choices. You have to live with the consequences. The only thing left for me to do is move forward. Do you hate me now, too? Now that I carry the seed of his mixed blood?"
"I could never hate you, Annie. But why couldn’t you have loved a normal boy?"
She laughed, and the sound was bitter and harsh. "There are no normal boys here, Grandfather. Haven’t you noticed? We’re a community of gun-toting, right-wing crazies. Josiah was no stranger than the rest."
Mr. Smith made as though to argue, then stopped. "I guess you’re growing up, Annie," he said at last. "Hard for an old man like me to see. You’re not ten years old with a skinned knee anymore."
"No. I’m twenty-one with a broken heart."
"For what it’s worth," he said, "I am sorry for the role I played."
"I’m going to try and lure him back."
"No offense, Annie, but do you really think you can out-seduce the queen of the succubae?"
"Easily," she replied. "That bitch doesn’t love Josiah. She can’t have him. He’s mine and I will fight for him."
She tossed her milk chocolate curls over her shoulder and stalked away.
***
In the little bedroom, Lucien cradled Sarahi naked against his shoulder, stroking the side of her face, her neck, her arm. She kissed his bare chest.
"I don’t want to take your energy, darling," she said.
"I have it to give," he replied. "I want you, Sarahi." He leaned over and kissed her belly button.
"Did I cause all this?" she asked.
<
br /> "All what?"
"This battle. If I had left you alone, if I hadn’t seduced you, the nephilim could have remained in the business of keeping balance and protecting the innocent. There would have been no need to declare outright war."
Lucien shook his head. "No, love, you didn’t seduce me. I wanted to be with you. Can you honestly say you regret loving me?"
"Of course not," she told him quickly. "Your love is the brightest, most wonderful thing in my entire existence. But what right do I have to love?"
"The same right as anyone. You deserve to be loved, Sarahi. And look at the good you’ve done. Your actions allowed the nephilim finally to take wives, something they’ve wanted for centuries. Can you feel the love in this place tonight? All my brothers are holding their women. We have always faced death, and many have fallen. But now, finally, we have something worth fighting for, worth dying for. That’s because of you, darling, your courage and determination. You’re the best of your kind, Sarahi. And I love you."
She smiled and scooted up to kiss him. He took her lips, rolling her beneath him to ravish her mouth with blazing kisses. She kissed him back in a frenzy of desire. He released her mouth and rose to his knees, rolling her over onto her belly. He lowered his mouth and pressed heated kisses up the length of her spine, nipping and lapping at her tender skin. His hands delved beneath her, cupping her full breasts, rolling the nipples between his fingers.
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