Emilia cocked an eyebrow at them. “Oh,” she said. “You should have waited for me to return. I would have gladly joined you in this conversation. I could have told you all I know as well.”
“You’re not mad at us?” Lindsay asked.
“What for?” Emilia responded. “I was under the impression that you three were angry with me.”
“I know,” Lindsay said. “And this bothered you. We hurt you.”
Emilia laughed, waving a hand. “It was just a misunderstanding. It is true that we are in a tense situation. There is much pressure on us to succeed. Frankly, I am surprised it has taken us so long to have such a misunderstanding.”
“So,” Carrie chimed in. “We’re good?”
“If by this you mean, are we still friends? the answer is undoubtedly yes,” Emilia answered. “If every group of friends stopped being so the moment they had a disagreement, there would be no friends or companions at all left in the world.”
Carrie nodded in agreement. Emilia was making sense. “So,” she said, in an effort to steer the conversation back to the quest. “Tell us what you know about Asmodeus. You said earlier that everyone here knows him. What did you mean by that? Does everyone know him personally? Do you?”
Emilia shook her head. “I meant that everyone knows of him.” She thought for a moment. “What did Rebecca tell you? I would not want to bore you by repeating all the same details that you were given previously.”
Rebecca swallowed nervously. “Well,” she began, “we know he is the king of the dybbuks.” She did not know what she was going to say, and under the redhead’s gaze, she felt that nothing she could say would be sufficient or even remotely intelligent.
Emilia turned an inquisitive eye on Rebecca. “What do you know about dybbuks?” she asked.
“What I know depends on the story,” Rebecca answered. She thought over her words carefully and spoke slowly and deliberately. “Some stories portray them as goblin-like creatures, all ugly and misshapen.” She paused as more details came to her mind. “Other stories say that dybbuks are souls of the dead who have lost their way and cannot cross over. Dybbuks usually have the ability to possess people and are known as malicious spirits.” Rebecca smiled, proud at what she had remembered, and met Emilia’s approving gaze.
“Wait a minute,” Carrie said. “This is what worried me before. If dybbuks can possess people, does this mean that Asmodeus has this ability as well?”
“I believe so,” Rebecca answered. “But I’m not sure.”
“Creepy,” Lindsay said, shuddering. She reached up and brushed an errant strand of hair from her face. Her eyes were filled with fear. “If he can do this, then in reality, he could be anywhere and anyone.”
“No,” Emilia said, certain of herself. “He would not. He would be in his castle guarding the strings.”
“No offence,” Carrie said to her, “but how do you know that for sure?”
“A fair question,” Emilia answered. “Asmodeus is known for being fiercely possessive and protective of all he acquires. His home, his jewels, his wives, land, followers, children, power, and now the strings. He will guard them in any way he knows how. He will not leave them unless his certainty of their safety is absolute. This is always how he has handled such situations in the past, and he is set in his ways.” She turned to Rebecca. “What else do you know of his powers?”
“I think I was told he can control fire,” Rebecca said hesitantly.
Emilia nodded. “This is true. He is, in essence, an elemental fire demon. But he has other strengths as well. He has the ability to travel anywhere in the blink of an eye.”
“Like teleportation?” Lindsay asked. “Beam me up, Scotty?”
Emilia looked at Lindsay, utter confusion written all over her face. “I do not understand. I believe this power is more like moving so fast he cannot be seen.”
“Like The Flash!” Lindsay exclaimed.
Carrie laughed. “I’m sorry, Emilia,” she said. “Lindsay likes to reference sci-fi shows and stories. Half the time we don’t know what she’s talking about. What does Asmodeus look like?” She asked, trying to get the conversation back on topic.
Emilia looked at Rebecca as if prompting her to answer the question.
“Like I told you before,” Rebecca answered hesitantly. “Nobody really knows for sure what he looks like. But I do remember one story where he had three heads. One was the head of a ram, one was a bull, and the third was a man’s head. In this story he had a serpent’s tail, and he rode a fearsome dragon through the sky. Yet there was another story where he was totally human. It’s almost as if the storyteller chose Asmodeus’ form to suit the tale’s message. So, I don’t really know.” She shrugged apologetically.
Emilia nodded, causing a stray leaf to fall from where it had been tangled in her fiery hair. “All such tales are accurate and confusing,” she said in agreement. “Everyone who has seen Asmodeus comes forward with a very different description. No two stories are the same.” She turned back to Rebecca. “What do you know of his origins?”
“What does it matter?” Carrie asked.
“It is always important to understand one’s enemies,” Emilia explained patiently. “Understanding leads to better ways to outsmart and defeat them.”
Rebecca took a breath. “Some say that Asmodeus is the child of Adam, the first man, and an angel called Na’amah,” she began. “He cheated on his first wife, Lilith, with her. He was married before the creation of Eve. This beginning could be why he is sometimes called the Demon of Matrimonial Unhappiness.”
Lindsay laughed. “Jeez, what a combination! Fire and bad marriages! No wonder he’s not the friendliest sort of guy.”
“Are these stories true?” Carrie asked.
Emilia smiled enigmatically. “Over the years truths become embellished, stories are distorted. So much so that it becomes nearly impossible to distinguish what is fact from what is fiction.”
“So where does that leave us?” asked Lindsay. She looked at Emilia. “Can you tell us what’s true?”
“Who can say what truth is?” asked Emilia. “If by your question you are asking me whether what I know of Asmodeus is fact, the only person that can tell us that is Asmodeus himself.”
“Then we are exactly where we started,” Carrie said, exasperated. “How did this help us at all?”
Rebecca sat silently then looked up at her friends. “I think it helped a lot,” she stated.
“How?” Carrie asked.
“Think about it,” Rebecca said. “What do we know about this guy?”
“Nothing,” Carrie said dejectedly. “We know nothing at all.”
“Not exactly,” Lindsay said. “We know that he presents different faces and different characteristics to everybody he meets. What kind of person does that? He seems like someone with something to hide. Someone tricky, someone with no real identity. To me at least, this says a lot about him.”
Carrie, Rebecca, and Lindsay all looked at Emilia, who sat quietly, expression unreadable.
Chapter Fifteen
Ha Meara
Sometime later, the group was tramping through the forest. The tension had evaporated from all except Carrie. She still had bothersome little tendrils of doubt creeping through her mind. She laughed at jokes made, participated in all conversation, but it all was done in a halfhearted fashion. Part of her was still wary of Emilia. She kept replaying the conversation she had had with the nightingale over and over again in her mind. He had seemed so earnest in his desire to warn them. She fervently wished he had felt free to say more.
Rebecca looked back at Carrie, who had slowed her pace and lagged behind, looking at their surroundings. Rebecca absentmindedly twirled a strand of long black hair around her fingers. She had remembered something, something important, and had to tell Carrie. She glanced at Emilia and Lindsay, who were amiably chatting away. Now was a good opportunity to speak to Carrie, and she turned and took hold of her friend’s arm.
“I remembered,” Rebecca whispered. “I know what the shamir is.”
Carrie’s eyes flashed green in the forest light. “What is it?” she whispered back excitedly.
Rebecca snuck a glance back at Lindsay and Emilia. The two girls were still engrossed in their conversation.
“It’s one of two things,” Rebecca said. “It’s either a worm or a thing the size of a barley corn.”
“A thing?” Carrie asked her friend. “Could you be a little more specific?”
Rebecca sighed in frustration. “I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s so frustrating. Each story I’m remembering tells it differently. In some, my bubbie didn’t describe it at all. I wish I could be more helpful. I kind of suck.”
“You don’t suck. At least we have some information,” Carrie reassured her friend. “It’s more than we did before. What does a barley corn look like anyway? How big is it?”
“Not sure, but I think it must be pretty small,” answered Rebecca. “Anyway, the shamir can alter stone, metals, anything, even something as tough as diamond. So it can dig through anything just by staring at it or by you aiming it at whatever you want to get through. The stories say it can dissolve anything. Although it was never used on people, so I’m assuming it’s safe on skin.”
“I would still be careful. They may have left out some weird warning. So if the nightingale said it can help us,” Carrie replied thoughtfully, “he must have had a specific purpose in mind.”
The two girls walked on, lost in thought.
“I know!” Carrie exclaimed quietly. “We can use it to tunnel into Asmodeus’ castle. He’ll never expect us to come in from below. He can’t have planned for that kind of break-in!”
Rebecca mulled over this idea for a moment. “That could actually work,” she said. “Great idea, Carrie.”
“So where do we find a shamir?” Carrie asked.
“Unfortunately, it depends on the story,” Rebecca answered. “One story I remember has the shamir living among a group of moorhens. And before you ask, I don’t know what a moorhen is. Another has them protected by the golden eagles in their aerie. A third story has the shamir kept by a powerful witch.”
“And this helps us how?” Carrie asked. Her head hurt trying to sort through the muddle of folklore that seemed to infiltrate every aspect of this quest.
“That’s just the problem,” Rebecca responded. “I don’t know how this helps. It just makes this worse. I don’t know which story is true. There may be three shamirs, and all stories may be true. There may be one, and none of the stories are true. There may even be a zillion shamirs hidden all over the place, or they live in a weird shamir colony on the moon or something. I don’t know.”
Carrie thought this over. “I highly doubt the moon theory.” She was happy that Rebecca smiled at that comment. “You know what,” she said. “I’ll go and tell Lindsay you want to speak to her. Maybe the two of you can come up with a plan. I’ll keep Emilia occupied.”
Rebecca peered at Carrie with interest. “You still don’t trust her,” she said.
“Do you?” Carrie asked.
“Not entirely,” Rebecca answered honestly.
“I don’t know what it is,” Carrie admitted. “I just keep coming back to what the nightingale said. Not to mention the fact that she still seems like she’s hiding something. It really bugs me that I can’t quite get a read on her.”
“I know what you mean. I feel the same way,” Rebecca said. “There’s just something about her. I can’t put my finger on it but—”
“Exactly,” Carrie said. She turned and trotted off to where Lindsay was walking and took her arm.
“What is it?” Lindsay asked.
“Rebecca wants to speak with you,” Carrie told her.
“About what?” Lindsay asked, turning to face her friend.
“Um, about uh, she wants to know…” Carrie was flustered. She hadn’t thought this through. She was always horrible at subterfuge. “Just uh…stuff.” She gestured helplessly to where Rebecca was waiting and mentally kicked herself. There was no way Emilia bought this charade. She had to know something was up. She looked to where the princess was standing and was unsurprised to see her looking back critically.
“Okay,” Lindsay said uncertainly. She walked over to Rebecca to see what was wanted from her.
“Your world is fascinating,” Emilia said as Carrie fell into step beside her. Carrie felt both relieved and guilty when it appeared the redhead was not going to question her about what she had been trying to do.
“I have been told of so many wonderful things. It cannot all possibly be true, can it?”
“Like what?” Carrie asked.
“Lindsay was telling me of this marvellous device. Can you truly send messages to anyone anywhere in the world and have them be instantly received? It seems impossible!”
“It’s possible,” Carrie assured her.
“It is astounding!” Emilia said. “Your entire world must be so close. To be able to communicate so easily. Such problems as what we are facing now with Asmodeus must be so foreign to you. I would love to see what it is like to live in a world like yours.”
“Our world is far from perfect, believe me,” Carrie said. “I wish we used our technology to bring people closer. We have more than our fair share of problems.”
“I suppose all worlds do,” Emilia said. “Perfection must be impossible. If a world where you have so many wonders still has so many problems, what hope is there for anyone?”
“But it’s the world’s problems that make people strive to do and be better than they are,” Carrie said. “If everything and everyone were perfect, what would people have to work for? If someone can’t improve anything, why be ambitious? Why work hard? What would be the point?” Carrie was surprised to find that she spoke with conviction and truly believed what she said. “Tell me more about your world and all there is here,” she continued, changing the subject. “What else will we be passing on our journey?”
“We will be passing more caves and eventually the Golden Mountain,” Emilia answered. She seemed to be pondering over Carrie’s words.
Carrie absorbed this information. She turned to her companion. In the light of the glowing mushrooms, Emilia seemed even more otherworldly, feral. Carrie was struck once more by the realization that she was walking with someone alien, not like her, in a world unlike anything she was used to.
Carrie cleared her throat. “Um, is there anything useful in the caves we’ll be passing?” she asked.
“No,” Emilia replied. Her answer came swiftly.
“Nothing at all?” Carrie pressed.
“No, nothing at all,” Emilia said again.
Carrie nodded as if in agreement.
“In actuality,” Emilia continued, “we should probably keep our distance from the caves.”
“Why?” Carrie asked. Something did not ring true to this at all.
“The caves we will now be passing are dangerous,” Emilia responded. “It would be best to keep away from them.”
“Okay,” Carrie said. Emilia seemed so earnest, but Carrie did not agree completely with her assessment of the situation.
They walked on in silence, Carrie using her flashlight’s dimming beam to peer every so often through gaps between the trees. Every now and then she would see the gaping mouth of a cave, black and empty, yawning in the inky darkness that surrounded them. The night pressed on, swallowing them up even more than before as even the incandescent mushrooms started to become increasingly sparse on the bark and ground around them. Every cave they passed ignited a desire in Carrie. She felt a longing to break off from the group and go exploring. With every opening she saw, this desire grew stronger and stronger. She turned and saw Rebecca and Lindsay giggling to each other. She tried to surreptitiously get their attention and failed. She tried again, waving her hand behind her back. Still nothing. She blew out of the corner of her mouth, puffing her bangs off her sweaty forehead. She groaned inwardly. S
ometimes, putting the two of them together was akin to sending them into their own little world. The entire planet could explode around them and neither would notice; they would be far too caught up in their little stories and jokes. Carrie shook her head and smiled. She gave up and turned around and looked at her friends.
“Hey,” Carrie called out. “Why don’t you guys join us up here?”
Rebecca and Lindsay picked up the pace, and soon all four girls were walking together. Emilia, Lindsay, and Rebecca chatted amiably about anything from electricity to their world’s most popular movies. Emilia seemed fascinated about the idea that you could watch performances without the actor being anywhere near you. Carrie walked on, ignoring the girls’ conversation, staring off into every cave they passed. Curiosity was gnawing at her; she ached to go off on her own and explore them.
Carrie soon stopped walking altogether, mind made up.
“What’s up, Carrie?” Lindsay asked.
“I’ve, um, gotta go,” Carrie said, shifting nervously from foot to foot.
Emilia gave her an odd look. “Where must you go?” she asked.
“I’ve, ah, gotta go to the bathroom,” Carrie stammered.
“What?” Emilia asked. “There is no such place in the woods. Furthermore, we have no time for bathing. We need to focus on stopping Asmodeus.”
Rebecca laughed. “Carrie’s got to go pee,” she explained.
“Go…pee? Where is pee?” Emilia asked.
“No. She means Carrie needs to, um, relieve herself?” Lindsay tried to clarify.
Emilia still looked puzzled.
“Er, I need to pass…water?” Carrie said, flushed with embarrassment. “Yeah.”
“Oh,” Emilia said, giggling. “Would you like one of us to accompany you?”
“No way,” Carrie said swiftly. “I think I can handle it myself.” She turned to go. “I won’t be long.”
“Do remember to stay out of the caves and be careful,” Emilia reminded her. “You would not want a vicious creature to come upon you while you are vulnerable.”
The Song of Hadariah: Dybbuk Scrolls Trilogy: Book 1 (Dybbuk Scrolls Trillogy) Page 9