Queen's Journey (Lilith's Shadow Book 5)

by Benjamin Medrano

  Lilith blinked and laughed, another bit of amusement working its way out of her despite her shock, and she managed a bit of humor herself, if somewhat clumsily. “I don’t know about that. I did meet a few deities, you know.”

  “Sure, but as far as I know, the old Egyptian gods didn’t have winged Christian angels with flaming swords.” Emily shot back, her smile coming back abruptly as she teased. “Unless you met other gods that you didn’t tell anyone about? As far as I know, no one has met a direct representative of the Christian god since the Advent, so that’d be new!”

  “No, no… only Anubis, Bastet, Ra, and Serket. To my knowledge, anyway,” Lilith replied, frowning briefly, then shrugged. “Based on a couple of searches I’ve done, it’s possible that some of the other people along the way could’ve been deities, but I wasn’t introduced.”

  “Good! She’d probably blow a gasket if you had. I’ve heard that she’s really prickly about the whole thing, and relieved that there isn’t any confirmation on that front.” Emily replied, pausing for a few seconds before she asked. “What was Bastet like? I’ve never heard of Serket, and you talked about Ra and Anubis a bit.”

  “She was a gigantic lioness large enough that she could comfortably cover most cars, and she made me feel very, very vulnerable,” Lilith said, a bit amused as she looked around, then gestured at the chairs. “Do you want to sit? I can tell you about the trip to Sekhet-Aaru if you’d like. I don’t think I’ve had a chance to really go over it in detail with anyone, now that I think about it.”

  “Sure, I’d like that!” Emily said, grinning broadly, and she almost skipped over to a chair and sat down.

  Lilith smiled a little more and followed. At least the house wasn’t quite as empty, now.

  Chapter 6

  Tuesday, August 19th, 2031

  Poenari Castle, Wallachia

  “It’s getting late.” Ivanova said, then yawned pointedly, watching Vlad.

  “I’m sorry, dear. I just want to make certain that all of this is in order,” he replied apologetically, a hint of guilt washing over him. “I’m sorry to leave all of this on you.”

  “Which of us is the one treated as a weapon of mass destruction?” Ivanova asked, arching an eyebrow at him. “I’m quite certain it isn’t me.”

  “Yes, but I’d still rather handle it myself. It isn’t fair to force onto anyone else,” Vlad replied, letting out a heavy, smoke-filled, sigh. “However, if I want to keep this anywhere approaching quiet, she’d have to come here, or someone else must meet with her. As I have my doubts any plane carrying Ms. Carpenter would make it to Europe in one piece, that leaves only one option.”

  “Mm… you’re repeating yourself again, dear,” Ivanova said, clicking her tongue as she looked over at his chessboard. The chessboard that had been covered, to keep it from aggravating him whenever he glanced in its direction. “You’re worried. I’ve seen you obsess over that board enough times to know how… complex things have become. If I can take a bit of the weight off your shoulders, I will.”

  That caused Vlad to flush, and he coughed, turning back to his computer, and frowned. It’d been so difficult to find someone who could turn his old typewriter into a keyboard for the computer, and others to update it over the years. They’d suggested replacing the keyboard many times, but they just didn’t understand. This was his typewriter. His first typewriter, and he was fond of it. He read the screen, unhappily aware that he was going to have to replace that in the near future, but he’d be damned before he let them take away his typewriter.

  It looked like most of his requests had gone through already. Vlad was annoyed at the mounting bureaucracy that the United States was putting in his way. Once, he’d just had to say that he was visiting, and everything had fallen into place in a matter of hours. Now there wasn’t just paperwork, there was electronic paperwork. They were even asking for an itinerary, and he scoffed internally. Like they’d get that.

  “Well, I believe that things are almost complete. They want details they don’t deserve, but they don’t need them. They can have your flight plan, though,” Vlad said, sitting back in his chair at last, tapping his chin, then sighed, shaking his head. “Why are they such idiots? Lilith Carpenter is not following in Shadowmind’s footsteps, no matter what their paranoia claims.”

  Ivanova let out a soft sigh, looking at the ceiling. When she spoke, her voice was almost a drawl. “Why are you surprised? We’ve been together for the better part of a century at this point, and you know how humans are. Suspicious of anyone different, paranoid, superstitious… it’s a wonder you even bother with them at this point.”

  That prompted a laugh from Vlad, as his tension eased, and he nodded. “Yes, well… you’re talking like you’re not human anymore.”

  “Mm… I prefer to think that I’m more of a dragon at this point,” Ivanova replied with a lazy smile. “Greedy, prone to taking long, luxuriant naps by what I value most… why, I may as well have disowned the rest of humanity at this point. Now, if I’m going to have to take such a long trip, might I have the pleasure of your company in bed? It’s going to be a short enough night as it is.”

  “As you wish,” Vlad said, considering the screen for a moment, then shut his computer down. He could worry about anything more tomorrow. And worry he would.

  After all, the piece he’d come to assume was Lilith’s was now gilded, which was unusual, to say the least.

  Wednesday, August 20th, 2031

  Guardian Compound, Paragon City

  Decarin suppressed the urge to yawn, taking a sip of his coffee as he continued the slow, laborious process of waking up. He wasn’t sure if it was good or bad that the last few days had been quiet, as even the villains seemed to be in a bit of shock after Destruction Corps’ brazen attempt to kill tens of thousands of people in Vegas, coupled with the devastation of their attacks all across the United States. New Orleans and Boston had gotten the worst of it, and Decarin was privately thankful that General Mayhem hadn’t come to Paragon City. While Archon could probably have survived confronting the villain, he wouldn’t have enjoyed seeing a clash of two titans like that.

  The bad part was that he was finding it slightly harder to focus on the screens when there wasn’t much going on. Decarin’s mind kept drifting to his most recent project. If he could figure out a good way to power the drive system, he’d be able to improve the speed of their jet by nearly twenty percent, and that would—

  Clicking on an email, Decarin nearly spewed coffee across the screen and keyboard, and found himself sputtering and coughing as he read it again. He hastily swallowed, pounding on his chest to make sure it went down as he sputtered, then took a welcome gulp of air.

  “Ah, shit,” Decarin finally muttered, staring at the screen, then sat back almost bonelessly. He sighed, considering for a moment, then clicked the comm button and asked. “Hey, Shade, you still around?”

  It took a few seconds before the other hero replied, his voice slightly distant. “Yeah, for a few minutes anyway. What is it?”

  “I just got an email from SuperNet. A polite ‘For Your Information’ notice,” Decarin replied, giving a thin smile, since he supposed it was mean of him to share it this way, but he continued anyway. “Dracula’s Bride is visiting Paragon City next week.”

  For a moment there wasn’t a response. Then Shade snarled, “Oh, goddamn it!”

  Decarin couldn’t help a chuckle, as misery did love company.

  Chapter 7

  Wednesday, August 20th, 2031

  Eden Manor, Glendale

  Lilith pulled herself away from the screen, rubbing her temples slowly. While she wanted to learn more about ancient mythology, she found that she’d been a bit… naïve. She hadn’t realized just how much mythology there was, let alone history, and the last few hours had left her with a throbbing migraine as she tried to absorb as much as possible.

  It was a good distraction, as had Emily’s visit the day before. Having dinner with someone else had be
en fun, and Emily’s delight at seeing how Circe could make just about any food had been enjoyable to watch. Especially after the strain of the previous night.

  That hadn’t helped her sleep that night, though, and Lilith had ended up getting up early to exercise. If nothing else, she was thankful that she had a reason to work out more, but even exercising to the point of exhaustion didn’t stop her mind from mulling over what had happened with Gina and Rachel. They were probably halfway to England at this point, she imagined… they’d had a layover, if she’d heard right, but Lilith was trying to not dwell on things. She was also failing.

  “Need to do something else,” Lilith said aloud, letting out a soft sigh as she sat back. “Any suggestions, Circe?”

  “You did leave your console on overnight.” Circe reminded her gently. “It has since updated its software and installed the game you selected. You also have a friend request waiting for you.”

  “I have a what?” Lilith asked in surprise, rolling back her chair abruptly as she pulled her hands away from her head. “I mean, I bought the console and plenty of people saw me do it, but how could they know my username?”

  “I’m not certain, but the request arrived within minutes of you creating your account. I have my suspicions however, as the account making the request is listed as SunGod113,” Circe replied, a hint of amusement in her voice.

  For a moment Lilith couldn’t respond, instead blinking owlishly at the computer as incredulity washed over her. It couldn’t be who she was thinking of. It just couldn’t… could it?

  “You… don’t think that it’s Ra, do you?” Lilith asked carefully.

  “Normally, I would say that I do not. However, I tracked the account as far as I was able, only to find that the connection seems to vanish into nothingness, I believe that it very well might be,” Circe replied. “I’m not certain, but it seems likely. Though a week ago I would have been skeptical of the existence of the Egyptian pantheon, as they had not shown themselves since the Advent.”

  “Well. I suppose it’s not a good idea to keep a deity waiting,” Lilith said, standing up and stretching, all the while wondering how she should feel. Mostly she felt… anticipation and soreness. Her muscles were aching from the abuse she’d put them through that morning, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her.

  “Agreed. I’m not certain whether Ra is as petty as some of the other deities but given some of the actions of those deities I’ve seen footage of, I believe such is a wise decision.” Circe said calmly. Lilith wondered if she was really as confident as she claimed but decided not to ask.

  The house still felt empty on her own, but Lilith descended the stairs rapidly, focused on her goal. She wasn’t about to anger a deity who’d been friendly to her. Anubis… well, she didn’t like the man much, but Lilith was going to give him the benefit of the doubt. It wasn’t like he’d tried to kill her, after all. He also hadn’t tried to get close to her when she didn’t want it, which was leaps and bounds better than she’d experienced with plenty of humans, so that was a point in his favor.

  The thoughts formed an admirable distraction, and Lilith hit the button to turn on the television, and she waited for it to respond as she picked up the controller. When the screen lit up, Lilith saw the bell-shaped icon in the corner was lit up, rather than the mail icon she’d seen the night before.

  “Well, let’s see what this is,” Lilith murmured, and she toyed with the controller a little, trying to figure out how to get to the notification. It didn’t take too long, and she quickly found a message from the nickname Circe had told her about. Lilith considered for a moment, then shrugged and decided to accept the request. If all else failed, she could always unfriend the person later.

  The friend request went through, and Lilith waited for a moment, but when nothing happened, she shrugged and decided that she may as well try out the game. She’d only played a couple of games with Ra, so she didn’t have a solid feel for the game yet.

  She’d only gotten to the main menu when a phone icon began blinking on the screen, and Lilith blinked in confusion. “Ah, Circe?”

  “SunGod113 is calling you, Mistress Lilith.” Circe replied helpfully. “I do believe you set up your headset, did you not?”

  “Right, where did I put it—ah!” Lilith grabbed the headset and hastily put it on, accepting the call as she spoke hesitantly. “Hello?”

  “Lilith! You have wonderful timing! I just lost my partner for a tag-team match, and I need someone to help me teach these miscreants some respect!” Ra replied cheerfully, his voice oddly clear through the headset, and Lilith could hear frantic tapping in the background. “Care to join me?”

  “Um, sure? You know I’m still getting used to this game, though. I haven’t even had a chance to go through the tutorial yet—” Lilith began, only for him to interrupt.

  “Pfft! You kicked my ass when you’d never played before. You’ll do better than any of these sorry excuses for divinities!” Ra interjected, laughing. “Here, let me pull you into the call.”

  Before Lilith could ask what he was talking about, she found the screen changing as she was pulled into a different call. She resisted the urge to say anything, which was just as well.

  “This is Lilith Carpenter, and she’s going to help me beat some sense into the rest of you.” Ra announced, a gloating tone to his voice.

  “You require mortal aid, Ra? How fitting,” a woman with a Japanese accent replied, sounding amused.

  “Don’t you even start!” Ra shot back in outrage. “Who’s the one who had to take lessons on how to speak modern languages? Not me!”

  “Now, now, at least he admits some of his faults,” another woman with an Irish accent added, pausing before adding in a kindly tone. “My sympathies over your recent problems, Lilith. Those situations are never easy.”

  “Ah, thank you? May I ask who each of you are?” Lilith asked, confusion washing through her. “All Ra told me was that he needed a partner for a tag team match.”

  “Yes, of course. After Apollo abandoned him, he needed someone to help him try to regain some shreds of dignity,” the first woman said, her amusement more evident now. “I am Amaterasu, goddess of the sun. My partner is Áine, a goddess of summer and love, which is why she knows of your recent… issues. Ra has been heading attempts for the various deities of the sun to associate with each other more often, primarily via these games. It has gone poorly.”

  “For all of us, really. We’re not used to these sort of things, though for whatever reason Malakbel has picked it up quickly,” Áine added calmly. “Fortunately, despite his enthusiasm, Ra has performed… poorly, shall we say?”

  “I think I understand,” Lilith replied, her cheeks heating as she asked. “Is it alright for me to be involved in this at all? I mean, I am mortal. I think? I hope I am.”

  “You’re a special case. There were enough arguments among the deities where you were concerned already, fortunately they’ve been settled, and it isn’t like you’re going to be blaspheming us,” Ra said instantly, his voice firm. “Why, you didn’t even disrespect Anubis after he was rude to you. I think that has garnered you a great deal of leeway.”

  “Besides which, you aren’t opposed to the idea of her coming to believe in you,” Amaterasu added calmly. “In any case, I have no objection to her listening in. Though I would suggest that she take the mythology she is studying with a… how do they say it these days? Ah, yes, a large grain of salt. The records are not all accurate, and many have warped over time.”

  “Not to mention that our very nature has changed with our worship,” Ra added, his voice musing now. “I found her ignorance oddly refreshing.”

  “Perhaps so, but I’d rather read about you so I don’t find myself completely ignorant when I’m standing in front of someone like Eris,” Lilith replied, her cheeks heating slightly. “That strikes me as a good way to end up in extremely dire straits.”

  Murmurs of agreement came from the other callers at that, and Ái
ne spoke up. “Regardless, I believe we have a contest to participate in, do we not? I wish to see just how much better Ra’s champion is than him.”

  “You do realize that we are all likely to lose to her, yes?” Amaterasu asked curiously. “I am not so full of my own importance that I don’t recognize my limitations.”

  “There’s only one way to find out,” Áine replied stubbornly.

  “Agreed! As soon as you’re in-game, we can give things a spin, Lilith,” Ra said, laughing as he added. “If nothing else, it’ll be entertaining to watch!”

  “Alright,” Lilith agreed, hitting the button to enter the game, and began listening as the different deities bantered with one another.

  Soon enough she was in-game, and her eyebrows rose as she saw that there were rather more variations to the different characters than she remembered there being the previous time she played. Some of them looked nothing like what she’d have expected for the game’s particular style, but she shrugged it off and chose the blonde princess before settling in to play.

  “On your marks, get set… go!” Ra said, and the first race began.

  As it happened, Lilith learned that Ra had been understating just how bad each of the three were. Even with her luck, she passed him twice before the race ended, and nearly passed Amaterasu twice as well. The goddess had barely made it across the finish line ahead of her.

  The next game went marginally better for them, but not much, and Lilith’s only real competition were the computer-controlled characters, while the deities laughed and joked with one another, seeming mostly entertained by how terribly some of their attempts to get ahead went. Lilith wasn’t sure how Áine managed to get so turned around she went nearly a tenth of the track in reverse, but she had.