“We must sail to where the river flows through steep cliffs, for in one of those precipices we will find Lilith’s home.” Gadreel continued rowing as fast as she could, and I stayed even with her. Beneath us, angry black water swirled and spat.
The sky was hinting at sunrise but we did not fret, for few were foolish enough to sail so far south on the Nile. We came to a deep, narrow valley with steep sides and drifted between magnificent canyon walls. Before long, the river’s current became swift and rough. We used our oars to navigate through the torrents, but it was quite difficult to control the boat, as we were in a section of the river where the water’s velocity and turbulence were intense.
We sailed most of the day. Weary from being thrashed about by the rough waters, we were barely able to hang on. The boat was thrown against rocks. Whenever we crashed, wooden planks flew off the sides and bottom of the vessel, leaving behind splintering, gaping holes.
“These turbulent waters are tearing the boat apart! We are going to sink!” My body tensed and my head felt so tight with tension it was like my skull was shrinking.
Gadreel lifted her eyes to the sky. “There are many clouds, and this is a remote area. We can shift and fly the rest of the way.” The boat dipped without warning, and I grabbed Gadreel before she plunged into the steep and violent river. As soon as I let her go, her wings materialized. They fluttered and flew her to the clouds.
I shifted into my red fiend form and flew after her, abandoning the boat. We flew among mists, keeping our eyes open for Lilith’s home on the cliffs.
“There!” Gadreel said, pointing to a great house built into the rock face. “We have found the witch’s home!”
“It was a good thing we abandoned the boat. We would not have seen it from the river.”
“You are right. Perhaps we are receiving help from above?”
I cocked my head and glanced at her sideways. “Perhaps. We cannot remain hidden within the clouds for much longer, and we cannot land in front of the house in our present forms, so what do we do?”
Gadreel furrowed her brow, pondering my question before she answered. “We must wait until nightfall.”
At twilight, Gadreel scanned the surroundings of the house. “Behold!” She gestured to the area above the house. “Bats glide round the edifice. We can possess the flying mammals.”
“Wait… which bat do you plan to possess?” I stroked my chin and narrowed my eyes. “What would happen if we both occupied the same creature?”
“I had never thought of that.” She puckered her face. “Very well, then I shall possess the smallest.” She pointed to a little reddish bat with no more than a twenty-inch wingspan.
“Then I shall possess the largest—there.” I aimed at a black megabat with a golden crown.
We focused our sights and moved toward the animals we chose to control, and before long we were inside our hosts.
I flapped the bat’s huge black wings. They were not so different from my own when in my fiend form. I flew to a closed window and hovered before it. Gadreel flew to my side. We communicated through screeches and chirps and understood each other fine.
“We must enter the dwelling,” Gadreel said.
“Perhaps we should wait near the door, and when someone opens it we could sneak inside.” Flapping one of my wings, I signaled for us to go below. After swooping to the entrance of the great house, I grasped onto the rock wall. She followed me and hung in a nearby tree, and then we waited.
“Why does Lilith live so far from the pharaoh’s palace?” I asked.
“She and Ahmose have probably established some form of subliminal communication. When he summons her to his side, it almost certainly takes her mere minutes to reach him. I have witnessed her flying speed, and it is astounding. Besides, she spends many days and nights in the palace near the pharaoh. She has her own accommodations there.”
“Why are no soldiers guarding her door? Perhaps we should have first made certain she was not at the palace. If she isn’t here, our journey will have been for naught.” I pounded my bat head against the wall in frustration.
“Be still! I did not sense her presence in Cairo, Giza, or Luxor, but I do sense her presence here. Furthermore, Lilith is far too powerful to need the protection of mere mortals. She knows it would take a fearless man or woman to travel this far south, sail through the turbulent waters, and scale the steep cliffs in search of the demon-witch’s lair. No mortal would survive—but if by some miracle one did, he would then have to face her and meet his demise. You must trust me.” She closed her tiny bat eyes as she hung from the tree branch like some exotic fruit.
We continued to linger. The sky became as murky as tar. Even the stars were dim, and the moon was but a distant slit hidden behind dark clouds.
“We need to enter the house in the cover of night,” I said. “It is not good strategy to delay any longer.”
I decided to fly around and investigate, try to find another entrance into the house. I realized my mother’s home was virtually a cave. The façade of a great house was built in front of the cave’s entrance. I flew back to Gadreel.
“There are crevices on either side of the house that give entry into the cavern.” The little red bat jerked when I spoke and fell off the tree. I realized I had woken Gadreel from a deep sleep. A chuckle slipped through my lips.
“Oh, good, I am only too happy to amuse you, Dracúl.” Gadreel rubbed her tiny bat head.
“Apologies. I did not mean to wake you. I have new information.” I pointed to the edges of the house. “The spaces between the façade of the house and rock wall are narrow, and it would be impossible for a creature of my size to squeeze through, but…” I watched as a long-legged spider slid down from one of the tree’s branches on a thread of web and landed near me. I quickly occupied it. The bat I had possessed flew away. I was now a spider.
“Dracúl?” The small red bat leaned closer to the spider. “You are in this spider, are you not?”
“Yes. I will enter the house in this form.”
“Be careful. Spiders have many prey,” she said in a tremulous voice.
As this tiny creature, I was soon overwhelmed by the extent of the world I was able to see at any given moment. The night was no longer pitch-black, for my eight eyes provided outstanding night vision.
I squeezed inside the cave through one of the side cracks and scuttled along the cave floor near one of its walls. I was not alone; many diminutive creatures scurried about. I developed an uneasy feeling and no longer wished to be on the ground. Along the far, short wall was a narrow, polished acacia table. I scurried up and across the rock wall toward it. There was an elegant golden pitcher sitting on the table. It glinted like the sun in my eyes. While on the tabletop, I glanced at the pitcher and was jarred by my reflection. I gasped and held my breath as I stared at the golden reflection of the ogre-faced spider. I blew out my breath, pulling away, and moved on.
Soon I came across a massive, ebony wooden door with extensive carvings. I crept beneath the door into a bedchamber. Once inside, I climbed onto the bed to scan the room. It was spacious, and although it was situated in a cave, it seemed to have every luxury of a room in a castle. The sound of steps coming toward the room put me on alert.
“I am done with you for now. You may go settle for the night.” A young woman with long, chestnut-colored hair waved a dismissive hand to a haggard-looking woman. The servant lowered her head and bowed as she glided backward out of the room. The young woman had her back toward me but her voice was familiar. Is this Lilith? Is this my mother?
She sang a song as she removed her garments. Her voice was as pure and dulcet as a lover’s kiss. This cannot be Lilith.
She turned in my direction as the garments slipped off her body. It was Lilith. She was more beautiful than I remembered. Eating of the fruit of the Tree of Life must have enhanced her beauty further. She stood before me, her skin smooth and flawless like fresh cream. The curves of her body mesmerized me. No woman on
Earth could compare. She had no right to be this striking.
She climbed onto the bed, and as I watched her breasts sway gently above me, I realized she was on the verge of lying on top of me. Knowing I would be crushed, I darted to one of the bolsters on the bed, but when she laid her head she spotted me at once. I scurried toward the edge of the bed to jump off but she reached out and ensnared me in her hand. I scuttled to and fro, trying to find a gap between her long, slender fingers to no avail. I was trapped. My pulse raced and my head reeled as panic engulfed me.
She opened her hand and I remained motionless, paralyzed with fear as she scrutinized me. Her almond-shaped eyes were of different colors, one brown and one blue, but not the kind of shades easy to describe. The brown one smoldered with filaments of gold and bronze rimmed by the rich reddish-brown of dark mahogany. The blue one was almost like azure and violet in unison, with indigo creeping in around the edges as if trying to take over. She blinked and the shield of her long, thick, dark lashes momentarily covered the splendor. Her exquisite beauty captivated me.
Without warning, the spider’s instincts took control. It stood upright and began to spin a web between its front four legs.
Lilith chuckled. “And what do you intend to do with that diminutive snare?” Her voice was like the harmony of chirruping nightingales.
I stared at her perfect face through the spider’s two largest globular eyes.
Leaning closer, she peered at me. “You are a strange little creature. I sense something extraordinary within you, and I admire your valor. I shall allow you to live.” Then to my surprise she placed me gently on the floor.
She allowed me to live? Her voice—it was the voice. The sound of it quickened memories of the night I was attacked by orc demons in the tent. It was like the sun had dawned in my head. It was she who had saved me from an impending death. My senses were dulled for a few seconds, and then it seemed as if the foot of the world was upon me, trying to squash me. The air around me felt heavy, weighing me down further. Uncontrollable raw emotions crushed me.
It would have been easy to shift into my fiend form and attacked her while she slept, but I was indebted to her. She had rescued me from a gruesome fate. I crumbled beneath the immense pressure, the heaviness of my sentiments. I crawled underneath her bed and lay there, unable to move. Love, hate, sorrow, and rage intermingled in an immensely painful living mass inside me, a pain from which there was no escape. How can an evil entity such as she show none of its vileness on the outside? All the evil she has done, yet she chooses to save me and spare the life of a lowly spider? My mind was a surging perplexity. I desired only death.
While I lay under Lilith’s bed waiting to die, I watched a reptilian creature make its way into the room through a gap between the door and jamb. It hurried about, eyes flitting in every direction. It appeared to be searching for food. What do lizards eat?
It spotted me and scampered over Lilith’s garments toward me. So this is how I will meet my end. The lizard snatched me in its jaws, ran across the room, and out through the same gap it had used to enter. It did not stop running until it was outside the great house. I figured it would take me to its den in some tree and feed me to its young, but instead it spit me out of its mouth. I lay on the ground, gawking at it, soaked in reptilian spittle.
“What is the matter with you?” Gadreel yelled in my head. “Did she curse you with an impaired mind?”
I shifted to my man form and slumped to the ground. There was a murmur in my ears, and I lost track of what she was saying.
“What are you doing?” Her wide eyes darted toward the house. “Why do you show yourself in this vulnerable state?” She shifted to her angel form and shoved me, waking me from my stupor.
“Lilith sleeps.” My voice did not sound like my own. It seemed hollow and frail.
“What happened?”
I gazed at her glum face framed in wild golden curls. “I saw her. She stood before me in all her splendor and charm. More fetching a creature I have never seen. I was enchanted by her and rendered inept at accomplishing my task.”
“She is your mother.” Her expression was neither condemning nor angry, and her voice was toneless.
“She is also my savior, for it was she who saved me from the orc demons. If she had not come when she did, those monsters would have had their way with me. They would have tortured me in ways I cannot imagine, and afterward they would have discarded me like trash. They are not known for leaving their victims alive. She saved me from this gruesome fate. How could I destroy her knowing this?” My stomach flipped, releasing a geyser of burning liquid up to the back of my throat. I coughed and retched, feeling the fire in my gullet.
Gadreel came closer and stroked my back until I was somewhat calmed. “This is what she does. She confuses and manipulates the minds of others. Yes, she saved your life, but believe me, there was an ulterior motive behind her kind gesture. She does nothing unless there is something she can gain from it.”
“I am doomed to fail,” I muttered. “If I have not the strength to be in her presence, how can I destroy her?” Unable to look her in the eyes, I stared at the ground in shame.
She tucked a finger beneath my chin and tugged until I was forced to look at her and gazed at me with the shadow of a smile. “You should not count yourself defeated yet. We did not prepare enough for this task. I should have known better.” She held my face in her hands. “You were confused by the shock of having seen your mother for the first time after so many years of searching for her. Now you have seen her. The fruit of the Tree of Life has made her beautiful beyond compare, and she knows how to use her attributes to make men weak. I had hoped she would not have this power over you, since you are her son. I was wrong. I shall assist you in preparing for your next encounter with her, but first we must leave this place.” She leaned in and kissed me on the cheek.
I took her hand and kissed it. “Your words are wise and have refocused my mind. I will heed your advice from this day forth. You are my good friend.”
I changed to my red fiend form and together we took to the heavens, clouds blotting out the stars as we flew in the night.
Chapter 15
ARTEMISIA
We could not return to any of the big cities in Egypt, for it was certain Pharaoh Ahmose’s men would be looking for me for the crimes I had committed against his soldiers. We decided to fly east to Persia. Gadreel had come to know the King of Persia and people close to him.
“We shall be welcomed and protected there.” Her lips said one thing, but her face, marked with concern, told me another.
We arrived in Persia in the middle of the night, but instead of being escorted to the king’s castle, as Gadreel was certain we would be, we were taken to the household of a woman named Artemisia.
She introduced herself, her voice tight and raspy. “I am the Grand Admiral and leader of the Persian Fleet,” she said, measuring us with dissecting looks. Her wolflike eyes, the color of fire-gold amber, were striking against her warm, burnt-sienna skin.
I looked to Gadreel for answers, but confusion was etched on her face.
Gadreel stepped forward. “Why are we here?” Her speech was guarded and polite. She hid her wings the instant we landed, but despite doing so, she had a mystical peculiarity that made blending in with humans somewhat difficult.
“Where did you expect to be taken?” Artemisia replied.
“My name is Gadreel, and this is Prometheus,” she said with a faint dip of her head in my direction. I was grateful that she remembered not to use my real name. “Long ago I served as the king’s advisor and servant. In the past, he has received me himself, and I have been his guest in the palace.”
“Long ago… as you stated.” Her smile dripped with a silent threat. She walked around Gadreel, eyeing every inch of her near-naked body. “Much has changed since I became the king’s advisor, but I assure you, both of you will be well-accommodated here.”
“I have no doubt, and I am grateful.
” Gadreel straightened her back, looking tense. “However, I long to see the king. It has been awhile since I last visited.”
“You will see the king in due time. And you will be properly robed when you do. It is late—you are weary from your journey. We can speak of this again tomorrow.”
Gadreel bit her lower lip and bowed her head again. “Yes, of course.”
Artemisia ogled me. “My servants will bathe and clothe you and make you comfortable so that you may rest.”
“We are most grateful for your assistance and hospitality,” Gadreel said.
Artemisia gazed at me, eyebrows high, as if waiting for me to say something.
“I am appreciative of your kindness.” I stared her in the eyes, never bowing my head.
She moved toward me with an insolent smile until our bodies almost touched. Then she took a section of my hair, rubbing it between her fingers, as if to feel its texture. Her arrogant ways irritated me, so I stepped back, making my hair slip out of her fingers as she chuckled.
Gadreel hurried to my side. “Artemisia, you are most gracious. You are right; we are exhausted from our travels and no longer wish to offend you with our soiled and weary appearance. Perhaps we should go with your servants for now. In the morrow we shall be worthy of your camaraderie.” As she spoke she tugged on my arm.
Artemisia grinned at me. She never looked at Gadreel. Her eyes traveled down my body to my toes and back up to my head. “Fine,” she grumbled, sauntering away. “I will see both of you in the dining room in the morn.”
When she was out of sight, Gadreel exhaled long and loud. “What are you thinking?”
Her tone and angry expression took me by surprise. “What did I do?”
She gestured to the servants to walk ahead and take us to our rooms. “Your manner toward Artemisia was rude. She is a powerful woman, and we are guests in her home. It is best not to offend her.”
I lowered my voice and got closer to her. “She is arrogant and domineering.”
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