by Jared Stone
The professor looked around expectantly at the blank stares from his students. Lucian looked at them as well and figured that no one else would be brave enough to try and explain that apparent paradox. Trying to recall what Dareia had told him when he first found out about Gus' rebirth, he slowly raised his hand.
"Yes, Lucian," Professor Aviv called out.
"Well," Lucian began timidly, "because we're all empty of existence, nothing is carried over from one body to the next. The way it was explained to me before is like a candle lighting another candle. The flame is not actually carried over from one candle to the next; the first just works to ignite the second one to exist at the same time. So, no soul is needed to go from one body to another; it's just that one life served to spark another life elsewhere, at a different time."
"Very good," Professor Aviv said with a proud smile.
"Yeah, but...," Josh cut in from the other side of the row of chairs, "don't they believe that you keep all your memories and stuff? That would be impossible without a soul."
Lucian shot his hand up again and waited until the professor had nodded at him once more. "Actually, memories aren't stored in a soul," Lucian explained. "They're more like ripples of energy that exist on some other plane that we can't see. When the new life is born, it can tune into these memories, sort of like a radio tunes into invisible signals and creates meaning out of them. But I've also been told it feels more like a dream than an actual memory from that life, at first. And, like a dream, if the person doesn't acknowledge these memories and try to remember more, they'll just fade away and be forgotten forever. That's why none of us can remember our past lives!"
Lucian became quiet again, as he realized he was maybe going into too much detail for the rest of the class. It was going to be hard to back up many of his assertions without then going into the recent events of his life, which he would much rather keep hidden from his peers. Lucian looked up at the professor, who simply smiled back at him.
"Thanks, Lucian," Professor Aviv said. "Anyone else have any other questions for today?"
He looked around the room, but everyone was now silent and ready to leave.
"Alright," the professor concluded, "I'll see everyone on Wednesday, then."
As soon as he had said this, there was a rustle of activity throughout the curved rows of seats. Lucian, likewise, stuffed his notebook and pen back into his bag as he prepared to leave.
"Lucian, would you mind staying behind for a quick second?" Professor Aviv asked him.
Lucian looked up, confused. The professor's request to speak with him after class did not carry the same existential dread as Schuntz’s had when Lucian first met him, but Lucian still didn't enjoy being singled out by a professor, no matter what the reason. Was I talking too much? Lucian wondered. Should I have let other people answer more of the questions?
"Sure," Lucian consented nervously, sitting back down. He waited on the edge of his seat – quite literally – for the rest of the students to file out of the lecture hall, then looked up at the professor, who smiled down at him.
"Don't worry, it's nothing bad," Professor Aviv said with a chuckle as soon as he saw Lucian's worried expression, "I was just wondering where you learned all this stuff. It's obvious you understand Buddhism very well, and I’m confident it's not just from these readings. Heck, I probably could have let you teach the class these past few days!"
Lucian laughed, feeling a great weight lifted off of his chest. "Thanks, Professor...," he began.
"Oh, please, call me Mike," the professor insisted. "'Professor' just makes me feel old."
Lucian laughed again. "Okay, Mike," he said, feeling really weird about calling a professor by his first name. "Well, my class on religions last semester was really interesting to me, so I did some studying of it on my own, too. Also, I've made some new friends around here who know a LOT more than I do about this stuff, so they've been teaching me a lot, too."
That was all Lucian wanted to say for now on that matter. Mike seemed like an understanding guy, but it required a whole other level of understanding to be okay with hearing some of the stories Lucian could tell him.
"Well, that's great," Mike said, pushing himself off of the stage to stand on the floor. "Please keep it up. I really appreciate students engaging in my classes, and a lot of your peers seem a bit reluctant to do so."
Lucian stood up from his seat as well and grabbed his stuff. "Will do, Prof-, Mike." Lucian said awkwardly.
Mike chuckled. "I'll see you on Wednesday, Lucian," he said, walking away down the center aisle of the theater toward the doors in the back.
"See you then!" Lucian said with a slight wave.
* * *
Wednesday, January 21st
Lucian sat in the library working on a paper due the next day for his History of the Americas class. It had been quite some time since he had last gone to the library to work – since he and Lilly had studied for his final exam, in fact – and it felt good to be back among the familiar sights, sounds, and smells he associated with academic learning. Thinking of Lilly still brought up emotions for the boy, however, and he sat there thinking of what he could have done to save her.
Maybe she should have come to the graveyard with us, he pondered, absent-mindedly chewing on the end of a pen. I mean, we could’ve protected her. We shouldn’t have left her alone with the Fosters. Now they’re all dead. And it’s mostly my fault….
Lucian sat there, staring blankly at the wall in front of him as tears welled up in his eyes. He remained like that for several minutes, until someone came in through the staircase door and walked right past him. Snapping out of his daze of self-pity, Lucian sat upright in his chair again.
I’ve gotta focus on this paper, he reminded himself, taking the pen out of his mouth and laying it on the table beside his laptop. He put his fingers on the keys. Otherwise, I’m gonna be up all night tonight.
Lucian glanced over at his source material, reading over one section he had highlighted in fluorescent yellow ink. He then began typing.
“The impressive Temple of the Feathered Serpent in Teotihuacan stands 72 feet tall, with a base that is 82,000 square feet in area,” he wrote. “It was built somewhere between the years 150 and 200 CE, and some believe that the stone carvings of the feathered serpent around its sides represent the later Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, though the Aztecs did not exist until centuries after the temple was built.”
Lucian sat back and sighed. He wondered how any of this information would ever be helpful to him. He understood why math and science were required courses, as he saw direct applications in his everyday life. And sure, his religion classes weren’t the most useful in the job market, but they would still give him a different perspective and spiritual principles he could carry with him throughout the rest of his life. But this? Lucian was confident he would never again need to know the height and base area of an ancient Aztec temple.
Just then, Lucian heard his phone vibrate briefly on the desk next to him. Picking it up, he unlocked the screen and saw that he had received a text from Sam. Excitedly, Lucian pulled up the message.
Hey hot stuff
Hey!
How’s it going?
Pretty well, how bout u?
Fine, just writing a paper
on ancient Aztec temple
LOL
Ugh sounds dry
Yeah totally
I had a good time the
other night
Me too!
Let’s do it again soon!
Was thinking tomorrow
night
Sure!
Where u wanna go?
How bout my place?
OK ya
Sounds great!
Figured you could come
over late and watch a movie
or something
OK
Great
Be here around 10 or so?
Ya sounds good
Great looking forward
to it ;)
:)
Lucian put down his phone. His heart was fluttering wildly. He couldn’t wait to spend some more time with Sam, this time at the fraternity house, where they could have some privacy. He looked back at his half-written paper on the computer screen, thinking once again about the height of the temple. It all seemed so trivial by comparison.
* * *
Lilith sat alone in her room, her face contorted in repressed hatred and seething rage. In her hand, she held the tiny skull of an imp who had failed to acquire for her what she had wanted. Gazing into its empty eye sockets, she whispered, “I shall succeed. Samael shall love me once more.”
Just then, several loud knocks shattered the silence of the woman’s plotting. Casting her gaze over to the closed door, Lilith tightened her grip, immediately pulverizing the skull in her clenched fist.
“Yes?” she asked dryly.
The door swung partially open, revealing Samael standing in the entranceway.
“May I come in?” he asked her softly.
Lilith shrugged. “It is your house; you may do as you please,” she stated, feigning indifference.
Samael took a few steps inside. He glanced around the sparsely decorated interior for a second, then came to stand in front of the woman sitting on the bed.
“Lilith,” he began, “I wanted to come and express my appreciation for your patience. I know that it is not easy to await the proper opportunity to act, especially with your… eager spirit.”
Samael paused a moment. Lilith continued to stare down at the floor in silence with her fist clenched.
“I implore you to be patient a while longer,” Samael continued. “The time at which we shall require your assistance is near. And then, you and I may assume our positions beside Our Lord, ruling over all the beings of this realm. Together.”
Samael stood there again, awaiting a response from the woman, but Lilith seemed entirely resistant to his efforts to engage. With a sigh, Samael turned and headed for the door.
“I begin to question whether or not that is truly what you want,” Lilith finally stated under her breath.
Samael turned. “Excuse me?” he questioned sternly.
Lilith stood up. “I said, I begin to question your true desires,” she clarified, staring into his hazel eyes defiantly. “You claim to want me by your side, yet you sequester me away, instructing me to remain in this house like a prisoner! You claim to love me, and yet you fawn over this Lucian, as though he fully occupies your heart! You claim –”
Lilith would not get the opportunity to finish her tirade, as Samael had charged forward and placed his face only inches from hers. “You dare question me!?” he growled fiercely. His hand trembled against the very limits of his self-restraint. “Me? The only one in existence who worked to free you from your eternal imprisonment? Without me, you would be nothing! You always would have been nothing! You owe everything to me!”
Lilith and Samael kept their eyes locked on one another for a solid minute without moving. It was a challenge of willfulness and pride, destined to end poorly for the human in the equation. Eventually, Lilith resentfully cast her eyes to the side.
With a confident air of superiority about him, Samael stepped back again. “You are to remain here until I summon you,” he commanded. “Do not make me regret my decision to bring you back, Lilith.”
Turning, he strode toward the door. Laying his hand on the knob, he paused.
“And do not ever mention Lucian again,” he warned her without looking back. Hearing no further words of protest, Samael then exited the room, slamming the door shut behind him again.
Lilith stood there, fuming. Holding up her clenched fist in front of her, she finally released her grip and watched as the dust from the imp’s crushed skull rained down upon the floorboards.
“He shall never love me as long as Lucian lives,” she reasoned aloud to herself.
She started giggling, almost uncontrollably. As she worked out the details of a new plan in her head, she walked over to the closet and threw open the doors. Hanging inside were countless tops and pants which Samael had purchased in preparation of her arrival. Flipping through her options, she landed on a black pair of jeans and tight black shirt. Slipping these on, she then stood in the center of the room, looking down to admire her new, youthful body.
"This shall do," she stated with a smirk. A purple flash suddenly illuminated the entire room, and, once it had faded, Lilith was no longer there.
* * *
Lilith slowly made her way through an endless sea of gyrating bodies on the dance floor of the downtown club. She glanced around at all the lustful, young humans whose sole motivation was the seeking of pleasure and fulfillment of their desires, and she felt, for once, like she perfectly belonged. Never before in her history had there been such opulence available to so many people, and she took comfort in the fact that the world was progressing nicely.
Continuing forward, Lilith scanned her eyes over the crowd, searching for an ideal target. As she passed by the numerous shirtless men and nearly-shirtless women, she finally stumbled upon what she was looking for. Up on a box in front of her danced two young women, grinding against one another to the hoots and hollers of the audience on the floor beneath them. One had darker skin with a South American look about her features, and the other was a natural blonde who simply tanned too much. Lilith stood there silently, watching them with great interest until they finally finished their spectacle and clumsily stumbled down off the box. Once they had planted both feet back on the ground, Lilith approached them.
"Oh my God, that was amaaaaazing!" Lilith cried out in a shrill pitch, reaching deep into Lilly's brain to access TV shows and movies to gauge how she should interact with the young females of this era. "You guys are, like, sooooo good at dancing!"
Both of the girls smiled at her. "Thanks!" one of them said, swaying a little as she spoke. "I'm Sabrina!"
"And I'm Natalie!" shouted the other.
Lilith smiled coyly. "You're both sooooo pretty," she cooed, reaching up and twirling a finger through her hair. "I wish I could dance like you!"
Sabrina smiled. "You're so pretty, too!" she insisted, throwing her hand on Lilith's shoulder. "Get up there and dance!"
Lilith looked away bashfully. "No, no, I couldn't!" she protested.
"No, seriously!" Natalie urged, taking Lilith's hand and pulling her toward the box. "You’re literally SO pretty! Just go up and dance! You just gotta believe in yourself!"
"But my makeup!" Lilith cried, putting one of her hands on her face. "It's all messy right now! I need to fix my makeup if I'm gonna be up there! Can you help me, pleeeease?"
Sabrina giggled. "Of course we can!" she exclaimed excitedly, grabbing Lilith's other hand. "Come to the bathroom!"
The two girls pulled Lilith in a zig-zagging path through the crowd of people, toward the back of the club. Once there, they all filed into the narrow doorway of the women's restroom. Hurrying over to the mirrors by the sinks, Sabrina and Natalie both grabbed the little purses they carried with them and pulled out a multitude of tubes and pencils. They were both too preoccupied with their cosmetics to notice when Lilith sealed the door shut behind them with a shimmer of purple energy.
"So, for colors...," Sabrina began.
Lilith raised her hand into the air before her, and both girls immediately dropped to their knees on the bathroom floor, sending their cosmetics spilling across the tile. As they began to shake and cry out, their bodies lit up with a purple hue, and beams of light seemed to shoot out from fissures in their backs. Lilith began to laugh hysterically.
"Now, I shall make you irresistible!" she exclaimed joyfully as the girls' screams were drowned out by the pounding music outside the bathroom door.
6 - Temptation
Thursday, January 22nd
“Dude! Let’s go out somewhere!” Blake suddenly exclaimed from atop his bed on his side of the dorm room. He shut the lid of his laptop and looked
over at Lucian excitedly.
Lucian glanced up from his Intro to International Affairs textbook. “Huh?” he asked his roommate.
“I said, ‘let’s go out somewhere!’” Blake repeated, swinging his legs over the bed to sit on the edge and face Lucian. “I almost never go out anymore to have some fun, and you’ve never even gone out to a party with me!”
Lucian chuckled. “That’s mostly cuz I don’t drink,” he reminded Blake. “I’m really not much fun at parties….”
“Well, don’t you wanna do something fun before we decide whether or not to go and get that key this weekend?” Blake asked. “It seems like we’re about to go off on another crazy adventure, not knowing if we’re gonna live or die again, and you’re just sitting there reading for classes! All we ever do is stay here or go out to fight bad guys in a cemetery or a mansion or somewhere! Let’s relax a bit!”
“I kind of enjoy being here in the quiet when we’re not out fighting demons or the undead,” Lucian said. “This is my version of relaxing.”
Blake shrugged. “C’mon man,” he urged. “I don’t really have any other buddies since the whole Zagan thing, and I’ve just been working on school this whole semester, and it’s been super stressful.”