Lilith Enraptured (Divinity Warriors 1)

by Pillow Michelle M.

  She arched a brow. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

  “Yea, but Lord Ronen spoke to the king and asked him to cease all trades because the women didn’t know they were being transported.” Lance frowned. “It’s been some cause for disappointment amongst the unmarried men.”

  “Listen to me, Lance. You see a lot of wounds, don’t you?”

  Lance nodded. “Yea, too many.”

  “What if I told you I knew of a device that could repair the flesh better than fire and iron? And that these wounds could be healed in two weeks time, possibly faster?”

  “This handheld medical laser can do that?”

  “Oh, yea, it can do that.” She nodded. It took all her willpower not to jump on him and shake him until he came to his senses. Her husband was in pain and she knew how to save him. “I have a cart outside. If we can load him up and take him to Battlewar, I can get that laser.”

  “No, I’ll go. I cannot let you—”

  “Have you been to 187? Have you ever traded with another plane directly?”

  Lance frowned, shaking his head in denial.

  “I know them. I lived there for two months. I know their customs, their weaknesses. I know how to get that laser.” Lilith motioned to Sorin. “Do you wish to see your great war hero suffer like this? He did injure the Sorceress, after all.”

  Lance nodded. “I’ll ready the cart and assemble the men. We’ll ride at first light.”

  “We’ll ride now,” Lilith corrected.

  Lance nodded, hurrying to go.

  Lilith sat precariously near Sorin’s head. Shaking, she touched his cheek, feeling the heat. “I wish I was as brave as I sounded, but until I am, I’m going to fake it. I know you’d want me to do you proud. I won’t dishonor you.” She kissed between his eyes, holding her lips against him. “Damn you, my lord, you’re not allowed to die on me. Do you hear me, Sorin? I can’t live without you. I love you. I need you. Just don’t leave me.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “I want you to know, my lady, you will be taken care of. We all admire how brave you are and how you honor your husband. You do not have to worry about your babe should—”

  Lilith glared up at the man on the horse, cutting him off. After four days, she knew all the men by name. They were pleasant enough for the most part, though she was not in a mood to be social. Every inch of her body ached, she’d barely slept, stress and worry filled her waking moments and Sorin’s condition didn’t improve. She walked next to Sorin’s cart to stretch her legs as they neared Battlewar. Fatigue settled in her shoulders, stiffening her muscles, but she refused to stop. “Do me a favor, Rodrick.”

  “Anything.”

  “Spread the word. If any man tries to claim me, ever, he’ll wake up a woman.” Her meaning wasn’t lost. Rodrick gulped and leaned forward on his steed as if to protect his balls. Realizing how mean she sounded, she felt instantly sorry and opened her mouth to apologize, but the knight nudged his horse, riding ahead of her.

  Sorin groaned as the cart jerked. Lilith instantly crawled next to him and put her hand gingerly over his heart. The gesture always seemed to calm him. Throughout the journey, he didn’t wake up or open his eyes. His fever lifted for a few hours only to come back. She was extremely glad she decided to take him back to Battlewar Castle. If he didn’t improve soon, she wasn’t sure he ever would.

  “We’re almost there, my love,” she whispered, talking to him softly as she had throughout the journey. Lilith tried to keep the fear out of her voice, even as tears welled in her eyes. It couldn’t end like this. She didn’t know if he could hear her, but she still tried. “Just a little farther.”

  To her surprise, he blinked. Glazed eyes found her. Hoarsely, he ground out, “I saw you on the battlefield watching me.”

  “What do you mean? I wasn’t there.” Excitement filled her voice. He spoke!

  “Don’t use the portal.”

  “I have to. I already told you why.” She cupped his whiskered cheek. The scruff of growth scratched her hand. She willed his eyes to clear, to really see her. They didn’t.

  “Then I forgive you.” His eyes closed once more.

  “Sorin, for what? You forgive me for what?” She tried to keep him talking, but he passed out. Dismissing his feverish words, she clung to the hope that they weren’t too late.

  * * * * *

  His body hurt so badly he wasn’t sure he still lived. Every inch of him ached—his back from lying down, his wounded arms and legs, his broken heart. Through his dreams he heard Lilith’s voice calling to him. Like when he fought on the battlefield, she haunted him.

  Not knowing whether he was awake or asleep, he tried to grasp onto the ghostly figure always inches from his tattered hand. She stood, watching him, those big blue eyes tearing into his soul.

  “I saw you on the battlefield watching me,” he tried to tell her. I always see you.

  Lilith didn’t answer, but he’d heard her words before. She took him to Battlewar, to the Divinity portal. He knew she wanted to leave him. As much as it was his, this life was not hers.

  “Don’t use the portal.” Sorin hated his weak body. Why didn’t he move? Please, stay with me.

  This time, her ghostly lips parted and he heard her voice. “I have to. I already told you why.”

  She had told him. Her misery etched itself into his heart. Why didn’t the gods just let him die in heroic glory? He was nothing without her. “Then I forgive you.”

  If you must go, I will no longer stop you. I forgive you for finding your happiness, lady wife, and for taking my heart. But, please, I beg you to choose me. Stay. Forever. All I am is yours. I am undone by you. You have conquered me.

  * * * * *

  Lilith stared at the dials, her hand shaking. No one would know if she dialed home until it was too late. Someone at Divinity could bring a medical laser back. They had plenty of them in the store room. She could leave Staria and find justice for what had been done to her and the others.

  She could leave. Forever.

  “If my lady hesitates, I will go in her place. Instruct me.” Rodrick placed a hand on her shoulder. His boyish crush was harmless enough, and she knew it was because he met very few women out on the battlefield. She understood why the Starians bartered for brides, but that didn’t make it right, at least not when the women had been kidnapped.

  “No. There’s no time.” She turned a couple of the dials. Dimensional plane 187’s coordinates were memorized by all Divinity employees in case of an emergency. The doctors on the other side would help her with little question, so long as she gave them the clearance codes and a little incentive. “Did you bring it?”

  “Here,” Rodrick handed her a vial. Hopefully it would be enough.

  “But the child…”

  “Rodrick, there is no child,” Lilith answered, wondering why it hurt so much to say the words out loud. She’d let everyone believe she was pregnant, never once correcting their assumption. “It was only a rumor. No one thought to ask me if it were true.”

  She thought of Sorin and her decision was simple. She couldn’t go. Not yet. He may never come to love her, but his presence would be enough. She might never adjust, she might grow bored and bitter, but right now, she knew what must be done.

  “Stay back from the light!” Lilith ordered. She didn’t hesitate again as she set the dials. Then, pushing a button, she turned to the domed arch over the innocuous-looking center platform. The blue light shifted to pale green as she walked toward the portal. The closer she got, the more the light lured her in.

  Suddenly, the strong gravitational field pulled her off her feet, hurling her toward the back of the platform. Defensively, she curled her arms over her head and closed her eyes tight, braced for impact. She clenched the vial tight, careful not to let go. The concentrated light burned and every cell in her body felt heavy. She couldn’t move as her head hit the back wall. But what should have been a hard crash was only a moderate brush across her scalp.


  No matter how many times she went through, she would never get used to the sensation of being pulled apart at a molecular level. Like riding on a bad carnival ride, she kept still and stiff and waited for the second it would be over. The pull stopped and her body dropped with a hard thud on a metal platform.

  “Ugh,” she moaned, coughing as her body adjusted to the abrupt freedom. The blue light shone from above in a less primitive version of the Starian portal. A loud alarm blared overhead, buzzing annoyingly. The smell of metal and 187’s air-filtering sterilizer wafted over her.

  “Sterilization commencing. Please stand and move away from the platform.”

  Lilith trembled weakly, but pushed to her feet to obey the male, automated voice. If she didn’t let them sweep her for other dimensional parasites and viruses, they’d stick her in quarantine for a year. A shield came down, blocking the platform from the scan as a series of lights flashed over her.

  “Sterilization complete. Please state your clearance code.”

  “Lilith Grian. Divinity Corporation Analyst. Employee number 54367D.”

  “Accepted. Please move to the orange door.”

  The door was actually metallic gray with a series of numbers and letters written in orange across the front. It opened automatically and she passed through. It might have been awhile, but she remembered the layout well enough. Every facility on 187 had the same architectural design. The citizens were obsessed with immortality, and each worked for the central hospital government in some capacity.

  “Sans Grian,” Dr. Lu greeted. His long blue coat with red trim was standard issue for the facility, as was his shortly cropped hair, his perfectly groomed eyebrows and his manicured nails. “Welcome back to our facility.” He looked at an orange electronic clipboard and frowned. “Your scans show no injury or illness and you’re not due for a physical. I do see low levels of homytobin and plytomikin. Not threatening to life, but known to cause fatigue.” He reached into his pocket and took out a syringe. Like everything else it was electronic. He pressed the tip to the clipboard, waited for a beep and then leaned forward to press it to her bare neck. “That boost should take care of the deficiency. Good day, Sans Grian. I will send a copy of your record to Divinity Corporation Headquarters.”

  She wasn’t surprised by the dismissal. If anything, 187 was efficient. “Wait, Dr. Lu. I’m not here for me. I’m here to barter for a handheld unit.”

  He turned, again looking to his clipboard. “Divinity has several in working order. I don’t see why—”

  “I have trade.” She lifted the vial. “Blue mineral water from an underground spring. It has very unique properties. I doubt Divinity’s shown it to you yet. They’ll want to wait until they need a big favor.”

  His eyes lit with interest as he looked at it. “What kind of properties?”

  “Feel it for yourself.” She tossed it at him. He dropped his clipboard, not even seeming to notice as he studied the vial. “It stays warm, even when not exposed to a heat source. Just think of the possibilities. Deaths by freezing will be eliminated. Mountain climbers, deep sea divers, all your medical expedition teams can go longer and farther.”

  “Where…?”

  “I’m not sure of the dimensions coordinates, but if you give me a handheld and reverse the portal I just came from, it’s all yours.” She smiled, knowing she had him. Scientists couldn’t resist such temptations.

  “I will have to get the proper clearance.” Dr. Lu didn’t take his eyes from the mineral water.

  “I’ll need you to hurry. A friend of mine doesn’t have much time.” She thought of Sorin in so much pain. His condition seemed steady, but she couldn’t help the urge to hurry. Before, traveling to a new dimension, even one she’d been to before, would have thrilled her. Now, she found herself annoyed by the hum of the overhead lights and the sterile smell of air.

  He reached for his clipboard, refusing to let go of the new find. Pushing the clipboard’s surface a couple times, he lifted it up and began to speak. Lilith watched in silence as he transmitted his image to other doctors in the facility, telling them of her arrival and of her proposal. Finishing, he said, “I call for a vote.”

  Just a few more seconds… Come on, hurry.

  Lilith tapped her foot, eager to leave but understanding their protocol in such matters. By the light in Dr. Lu’s eyes, the trade would be a done deal. The sound of footfalls echoed along the hall, and she automatically moved to the side to let a couple of the doctors pass.

  “Denied,” an authoritative voice answered through the clipboard. “Please escort Sans Grian to Security Observation Five. She is to be detained in accordance with treaty law…”

  “What?” Lilith screamed, ready to bolt. The two doctors she’d moved over for had stopped. They grabbed her arms. Dr. Lu held the vial in his palm as he led the way to the security wing. Kicking her feet, she jerked violently. “What are you doing? I came for a simple, peaceful trade. Stop at once!”

  They didn’t listen and they didn’t let go.

  “Please, I have to get back. Please…”

  * * * * *

  Warm, soft hands touched him, gliding over every inch of Sorin’s flesh. He knew those hands, the way they dipped and explored every curve as if mesmerized by his form. Every part of him felt on fire, burning in agony as if he’d been set on fire.

  Lower.

  His cock ached, so hard and tortured. He couldn’t move his limbs to take it. In fact, his body didn’t seem to work at all, except for the hard mass surging painfully between his thighs. He couldn’t move, couldn’t look to see Lilith’s face. Oh, how he wanted to look at her! It was one of his great pleasures to watch her move.

  By all the gods, lower.

  After what seemed to be an eternity, she finally complied, running a tormenting trail over his stomach and hips. Every part of him tensed. What would it be? Her mouth? Her hand? The sweet creamy heat of her sex? Sorin didn’t care, so long as she released the pain her nearness caused.

  Finish me. Oh, blessed night, finish me.

  Random images filtered through his mind, thoughts of her bent over on her bed as he took her from behind, of her pressed against the bumpy stone wall in the brewery cellar, of how she’d sucked his cock after knife-throwing practice in a small alcove behind the castle.

  Mmm, those lips, soft pink disconcerting lips. How he’d liked the way her hair appeared to radiate sunlight even in the shadows. Her breasts bobbed, only giving him a teasing peek through the scarf. At first he wasn’t sure, but now he liked that she hid her charms from others. They were his. She was his.

  Sorin shifted his hips at the memory, finally breaking free of the paralysis. He remembered clearly how it looked to watch his cock slide in and out of her mouth, going in dry only to come out glistening and wet. Lilith seemed to enjoy it as well. She moaned into him, sucking as if she’d drain the essence from him and leave him for dead. Her hand rolled his balls and she gripped his hip tight. Sorin groaned. The memory so vivid he felt the graze of her teeth, the press of her lips, the lick of her tongue.

  Yea, Lilith, finish me. Oh, by the gods, finish me. I need you to…

  Sorin tensed, his hips jerking so hard it shook his entire body. Moisture flooded his stomach and he jolted awake, glancing down to see wet cum gleaming on his flesh. Dazed from release, he blinked heavily and looked around. His head felt light and dampened by a strange, cool sweat.

  “Lilith?” The word came out in a stranger’s voice, croaking and hoarse. He cleared his throat, coughing before trying again. “My lady?” The sound was little better.

  “My lord? Are you awake?”

  Sorin frowned, turning his head to the doorway. This wasn’t his chamber—not the tent or the Black Tower. Seeing Sera, he deduced he was at Battlewar Castle. He must have been in common quarters above the main hall.

  “How…?” He frowned, feeling a burning along his arms. He looked at the bandages, noticing the pain in them for the first time upon waking.

&n
bsp; “Shh.” Sera rushed in and grabbed his coverlet, pulling the fur over his naked body. He barely registered the fact that the evidence of his desire for his wife lay across his stomach. The servant touched his head. “You were wounded at battle, my lord, but you did honor to your family name. You wounded the Sorceress, proving she is mortal. All of Staria sings your praises.”

  “Where…?” His muscles ached and his head pounded violently from the effort to sit up.

  Sera pushed him down. “No, my lord, do not. Lance said we should not move you after so hard a journey.”

  “Why am I here? Why not leave me at the camp?” He frowned. This time he knocked Sera’s hand aside when she tried to hold him down.

  The servant refused to answer as she stood to retrieve a pitcher from the table. Pouring him a goblet of water, she brought it back to him. “I’ve been by your side, tending you, my lord. You have not been the easiest of patients. You need to drink and eat more.”

  “Why have you tended me? Where is…?” He stopped mid-drink and lowered the goblet before it touched his lips. “Where is my wife?”

  “My lord, you shouldn’t upset yourself. Lance said—”

  “I do not care what Lance said, Sera,” Sorin yelled. “Where is my wife?”

  “She’s not here, my lord.” The servant eyed him fearfully as she backed toward the door.

  “What do you mean she’s not here?” Sorin gripped the goblet. The soreness of his throat and dryness of his mouth forced him to drink its contents. Even so, he didn’t take his deadly eyes off Sera.

  “She left, my lord.”

  “Left?” Fear gripped him. No. “Where?”

  He knew the answer before she said it. “Through the portal. Please, my lord, do not get up. You must rest.”

  “When?”

  “Five days ago. The same day you arrived here.” At his dangerous look, she rushed on to explain. “She said she was going to get a medical device to cure you and would be right back. Rodrick took responsibility for her and brought her to the portal. He waited for her return, but when it became clear she would not he had himself locked in the dungeon to await your punishment for losing her. I’m sorry, my lord, but she has—”