Vero was still talking when Greer head-butted into his gut. They both fell to the floor in a heap.
“Don’t you EVER leave me behind again, Vero Leland, you stupid lunatic!” Greer punched his arm.
Vero had the wind knocked out of him by the force of Greer’s impact. As his breath came back to him, he struggled to get the words out, “Okay, fine. Never again.”
They pulled themselves to their feet before the gate and dusted themselves off. Vero tried the handle on the gate, and it swung wide. As they took a step forward, they saw they were standing in front of a courtyard, beyond which stood a formidable black, medieval-looking castle.
26
LILITH
Vero and Greer flew slowly across the courtyard, but they didn’t run into any trouble. No flying snakes, no fiery minefields, no Lilith. It was so easy that it made Vero nervous.
Vero and Greer landed in front of the huge castle door, and together the two of them pulled it open. After peering inside, they stepped into a massive room. Fiery serpent heads hung on the cold stone walls, spewing jets of fire from their mouths. Arched windows with solid black glass let in no outside light, not that there was any daylight in this great dark pit anyway. Massive cobwebs decorated the place, and a high, peaked ceiling enclosed the room like a tomb. But besides the cobwebs and the serpent heads, the room appeared empty. Greer moved in closer to Vero.
“And I thought Abaddon’s cave was scary,” Vero said.
Thump! Thump!
Terrified, Greer hugged Vero from behind and crouched down. Vero broke out in a cold sweat as his eyes scanned the room. Now that the sound had faded away, it was eerily quiet.
“Maybe the noise was just my heart pounding against my chest?” Greer said hopefully.
Thump! Thump!
Greer jumped. Vero tensed. Then his eyes focused on something moving in the far corner of the room. It was a tan wicker basket about three feet tall. Vero nodded toward it.
“Please, save me from her,” a young girl’s voice cried from inside the basket.
Vero tentatively walked toward the sound, but Greer grabbed his shoulders from behind.
“Probably a trick. Be careful,” she warned Vero in a low voice.
Vero nodded. He and Greer cautiously approached the basket, nervously eyeing their surroundings with every step.
“Please, help me,” the girl’s voice said. “Lilith put me in here and won’t let me out.”
As Vero and Greer neared the wicker basket, they could see that while the cylindrical sides were woven from tan wicker, its lid was cast from heavy lead.
“How long have you been in there?” Vero asked the voice in the basket.
“I don’t really know. There are no days in this place, only endless nights.”
Vero crouched down and saw the girl’s desperate gray eyes through the basket’s slats. He was moved to pity.
“Please, take the lid off,” she begged. “Have mercy on me.”
Vero and Greer exchanged hesitant looks.
“I can take you to your sister.”
“My sister? What do you know about my sister?”
“Lilith has her. Clover is her name. She’s been talking about Clover for a long time now.”
Vero looked to Greer, unsure. Greer bit her lip.
“It’s not too late. There’s still a chance you can get her back, but you need to hurry,” the girl said.
Feeling a surge of hope, Vero stood and reached for the lead cover. Greer grabbed his hand, stopping him from removing it. She shook her head and held up her index finger, indicating for Vero to wait.
“What is your name?” Greer asked.
“My name? I don’t know. I’ve been in here so long, I can no longer remember.” The little girl sniffled.
“Greer, we don’t have time for this!” Vero said, annoyed. Now that he was inside Lilith’s horrible fortress, he felt a renewed urgency to rescue Clover from her grip.
“No!” Greer said. “You don’t get it!” She tightened her grip on his hand.
“This is my sister’s life we’re talking about!” Vero shouted. He pulled away from Greer and shoved the cover to the ground.
The lid hit the floor with a loud clang and spun in circles like a fallen coin, echoing throughout the dark chamber. Vero and Greer stood back as the basket shook. They saw two little hands reach out and grab the rim. The back of a small child’s head of golden hair popped up.
“Stop!” Greer commanded. “Tell me your name!”
The girl spun around, and Vero and Greer saw her eyes were no longer the pitiful ones they had seen inside the basket. Her eyes now appeared to be made of stone, the same black obsidian stone that made up the castle. Vero then realized that he had merely seen a reflection of his own desperate eyes mirrored in hers. The girl smiled at them, showing jagged fangs of black stone. Vero jumped back.
Greer’s expression hardened. “I know your name!” she shouted.
“Liar,” the girl hissed.
As Greer held the girl’s gaze, she motioned behind her back for Vero to pick up the lid. Vero slowly bent down to retrieve it.
“I know exactly who you are,” Greer said, trying to buy Vero more time.
“You know nothing, stupid fledgling,” the girl growled as she put one foot out of the basket.
Greer saw that Vero had picked up the heavy lead cover. “Now!” she yelled.
Vero lifted the cover over the girl’s head, but it was heavy, and he trembled from the weight. Greer pushed down on the girl’s head, trying to shove her back into the basket. The girl fought back, snapping at Greer’s hands with her sharp black fangs. She knocked the lid from Vero’s hands. He scrambled after it. The girl was nearly out of the basket and smiling evilly. “You think you can overpower me so easily? I wonder what they teach you at that school these days?”
Greer looked into her soulless black eyes and said, “I’ll tell you what they taught me, they taught me your name! You are Wickedness.”
A look of shock came over the girl. She let out a shriek that echoed throughout the chamber.
“You are wickedness, and I command you into the basket!” Greer yelled forcefully.
The girl retreated into the basket and grew eerily calm. Vero slammed the cover over the top and let out a sigh of relief.
“How did you do that?” Vero asked, panting.
“Demons hate to give up their names. Once you know their names, you have power over them.”
“But how did you know her name?”
“Zechariah 5. The woman in the basket. Her name is Wickedness.”
“Why do you think she’s here?” Vero asked.
“I bet she’s Lilith’s attempt to corrupt us. If she gets out of the basket, her wickedness will seep into you.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Vero saw something black scurry from the floor into the hallway. He did a double take, but it was gone. “Did you see that?”
“What?”
“Come on, it went that way,” Vero motioned.
Vero stealthily rounded the corner with Greer. Crouching low, they proceeded down the hall, staying in the shadows. Vero saw what looked like the tapered end of a lock of hair slithering down the hall ahead of them.
“Lilith’s hair,” Vero whispered.
Vero and Greer followed it, keeping a safe distance behind. The truss of hair turned the corner, then disappeared.
“Forget it! She wants us to follow it,” Greer whispered to Vero.
“Yeah, but she is who we came for,” Vero whispered back.
Vero cautiously turned the corner and saw an enormous, windowless throne room framed by rows of stone pillars and arches. An ugly, black velvet chandelier hung from the ceiling but failed to illuminate. Flaming serpent heads attached to the pillars provided the only light. A long red runner ran the entire length of the chamber, up several steps, and ended at the foot of a throne whose back was forged from hundreds of scythes. Kira sat on the throne, looking very much like the 1
4-year-old girl Vero knew from school.
“Not bad for a teenager. Huh?” she said, her arms gesturing to her chamber.
“Is that her?” Greer asked in a hushed voice to Vero.
Vero nodded. He squared his shoulders. “Release my sister!”
“And Ariel,” Greer added, stepping forward.
“But your sister is my new BFF,” Kira said in a mocking tone.
Vero’s voice shook with fury. “You tricked her.”
Kira appeared not to have heard him. “And don’t forget Danny. All I had to do was send out one little email, and I’ve got your entire school believing he rigged that gym ceiling,” she laughed. “Humans really make it so easy for me. They love to believe the worst of a person. Just ask Davina about the kiss.”
“Let Clover go!”
“Do you really think I’ll take orders from two little fledglings?”
“You will from these two,” Vero said with conviction.
Kira laughed then looked up at the ceiling. “Oh, Pavouci!”
Vero followed her gaze. Suddenly, the chandelier started to move. Vero and Greer watched in horror as the arms of the chandelier began to untie the main body from the chain from which it hung. It wasn’t a chandelier at all but rather a massive spider suspended on its back! With lightning speed, the gargantuan spider jumped down and scurried on all eight legs toward Vero and Greer. Greer’s eyes bulged in terror as a strand of web shot forth from its abdomen and lassoed her. Another sticky strand wrapped itself around Vero. Vero saw the spider had a mouth, but no eyes! Pavouci gave an evil gurgle as he pulled both angels toward him. He quickly wrapped his spindly legs around them and began spinning them together in layer after layer of thick sticky silk.
Greer screamed as she thrashed wildly, trying to claw her way out. But her struggle only caused the massive spider to gurgle louder. He was enjoying himself. Vero, by contrast, had put his hand on his heart and gone limp as soon as the spider had begun to blanket them, putting up no fight at all.
When Pavouci finished his work, he dropped the bundle of wrapped fledglings on the floor and sat on it like a mother hen on her eggs. Kira, still on her thrown, brought her hands together for a few claps.
Then Kira rose, a malicious victorious smile plastered on her face. She walked down the steps toward the spider and his bundle, which was now completely still. But her smile quickly vanished when she heard what sounded like a sword being unsheathed. Pavouci, still nesting atop the cocoon, stopped gurgling. To Kira’s great anger and dismay, thick black blood gushed from underneath the spider’s abdomen, staining the white bundle below him. A moment later, Vero rolled out from under the dead spider, brandishing a sword covered in its black blood. Kira’s eyes grew big and rimmed red with rage as she let loose an unearthly scream.
Vero saw that Greer was still completely limp inside the spider’s silk web. With his sword, he quickly cut the webbing, further opening the hole from which he had emerged. Dazed, Greer rolled out of the pod, pushed back onto her butt, and shrank up against a pillar. Vero turned to Kira, brandishing his sword. “Give them up now!”
Kira let out another low growl and began to transform. Her teeth grew into rotted yellow fangs. Deep wrinkles cut into her face. Her bright hazel eyes changed to black stone. She had turned into the hideous, ugly hag. Kira was no more — the true Lilith had emerged. And then, from her scalp, the long hair train grew and grew. It seemed endless. Vero stepped back. Greer stumbled to her feet and stood beside him. Her sword shot forth from her hand.
“I will never let her go!” Lilith snarled, holding up her hands.
Vero and Greer’s eyes went wide with fear as they watched a gleaming scythe grow from each of her palms.
“Oh no . . .” Greer stammered as she studied the two curved blades.
“You have got to cut those nails,” Vero taunted Lilith.
Swoosh! Vero felt the wind of the blades as Lilith sprang toward them and swung her arm, narrowly missing his head. Apparently, she didn’t care much for his sense of humor. Vero spun and braced himself, his sword ready to block more swipes.
“Where is it? Tell me where it is,” Lilith said, circling the angels.
“Where is what?” Vero asked, never taking his eyes off her.
“The book. The book poor pathetic Raziel lost. Tell me where it is, and I’ll release your sister.”
Then Vero understood what Lilith was really after — the Book of Raziel. It was the book Michael had told him would play an important part in his life.
“Release Clover first!” Vero yelled. “Deal?”
Lilith smiled, and her forked tongue licked her lips. She shook her head. “Nice try, boy. But you have no leverage here.”
Vero held her gaze. “I know where the book is, and you don’t. I would call that leverage.”
Lilith shrieked and swung wildly at him with both scythes. Vero blocked her attacks, swiftly meeting each with the blade of his sword. With Lilith focused on Vero, Greer saw a window of opportunity. With incredible speed, she charged and brought down her sword nearly on top of Lilith’s head. At the last moment, Lilith dodged the brunt of the shot, but Greer’s blade found some hold and cut off Lilith’s left ear. Black blood seeped down the side of Lilith’s head. She let out a piercing screech that sent shivers down Vero’s spine and lunged at Greer, both scythes swinging.
“Greer, watch out!”
Lilith backed Greer into a corner. The tip of her hair rose up, split in two, and struck at Greer like twin snakes, grabbing her from both sides. The hair enveloped her, lifting her off the ground, and brought Greer face-to-face with Lilith. Greer looked into Lilith’s obsidian eyes and froze in terror. Lilith smiled wickedly. Her hair hurled Greer against the wall where she impacted with a bone-crushing thud and slid to the ground, knocked out.
“Greer, no!” Vero screamed.
Filled with rage, Vero blindly charged Lilith, swinging his sword wildly. Lilith easily deflected his reckless attacks. The clang of metal striking metal reverberated throughout the hall. Lilith laughed out loud as she effortlessly backed Vero up against a pillar. His wings shot out, and Vero rocketed into the air.
He didn’t get far before the tip of Lilith’s hair reared up and ensnared his right leg, pulling him back down to the ground. Vero swiped at the hair with his sword and sliced off the offending truss. Lilith’s craggy face grimaced as she recoiled with pain. But a moment later, she swung her scythes with a deadly strength at Vero’s head. Vero somersaulted over her as her blades sliced clear through a pillar like a circular saw, severing it.
“Lilith! I know your name, and I command you to give them back! Give them all back!” Vero shouted, his blade out in front.
Enraged at the sound of her real name, Lilith turned and struck his sword with such supernatural strength that it flew out of his hand and clanged to the ground. She flashed Vero a malicious smile as he backed away, bumping against a pillar. With her right hand, Lilith held the curved blade around Vero’s neck. He could feel Lilith’s foul breath on his face.
“Tell me where the book is. We could be so powerful together.”
Vero looked into her hollow black eyes. He closed his eyes and silently prayed.
“Tell me!” Lilith screeched.
Vero opened his eyes. A confident smile came to his lips as he looked Lilith directly in her eyes.
“You think your faith is going to get you out of this one?” she scoffed, tickling his neck with the edge of the blade.
“Yes, plus a little help from my friends,” Vero said.
And with that, Greer stepped from the shadows behind Lilith. Vero briefly saw her sword glinting silver before she thrust it into Lilith’s lower back. Lilith hissed in agony and surprise. She spun around to Greer, releasing Vero from her deadly scythe. Black blood gushed from Lilith’s side, but she did not appear weakened by the loss. Greer jumped back from Lilith’s swinging blades, but the tip of one of the scythes caught her, slicing across her midsection. Greer in
stinctively covered the wound with a trembling hand.
Vero watched as Lilith advanced on Greer, going in for the kill. Greer raised her eyes to meet Lilith’s hungry gaze and knew she didn’t stand a chance. “Vero,” she whispered. “Catch!” Greer threw her sword to Vero who caught it by the hilt.
Lilith raised her right hand, winding up for the blow that would end Greer’s life, when Vero leapt toward her and grabbed a handful of hair, jerking Lilith’s head back. With all his might, he swung Greer’s sword, severing Lilith’s mane of hair at her neck. “You will release them all, Lilith!” he shouted.
Lilith let out a bloodcurdling shriek as she lost her balance and stumbled back. Her scythes disappeared into her palms.
“No!” she screamed as she fell to her knees and desperately scrambled to collect her fallen mane. But suddenly Lilith dropped the hair and clutched her stomach as if just then feeling the deep wound that Greer had inflicted. Lilith looked up at Vero and snarled, “This is not over! It is never over!” She stretched out her arms and grabbed for Vero, who stepped back. “Fear me!” Lilith hissed.
Vero ignored her and raced over to Greer. He whipped off his sweatshirt and pressed it against her wound to stop the blood loss. He put his other arm around her, and together they watched as puffs of black smoke wafted from Lilith’s nostrils. Then her entire body spontaneously combusted into flames, though her howl of pain never ceased. The flames grew so intense that Vero pulled Greer into his shoulder to shield her eyes. After a few moments, the fire disappeared, and where Lilith had stood only a black scorched mark on the red carpet remained.
“She’s a goner,” Vero said.
Greer looked up a Vero, sadness in her eyes. “I think I am too.”
“No, don’t say that,” Vero said, near tears. “I’m gonna get you out of here.”
Greer shook her head. “Maybe the choir isn’t so bad . . .”
Suddenly, a warm glow filled the room. Vero looked for the source of the light. It was the pile of Lilith’s fallen hair — the black strands had turned golden. The hair coiled around itself and formed into the shape of a volcano as Vero and Greer looked on, wondering whether this was some new evil they would have to fight. Then Ariel shot out of the cone’s top. Being a cat, she landed gracefully on her feet, albeit dazed and confused. Vero and Greer smiled at her.
Pillars of Fire Page 25