Lilith

by Ashley Jeffery

  We drove to Culliver Creek in silence. I sat in the middle seat of Dean’s truck. The loud hum of the engine the only sound to fill the space. Dean’s hand held mine so tightly my bones were rubbing together, but I couldn’t complain. I didn’t want him to let go either.

  Fear is a strange thing. It’s like a passenger you take with you, the ugly voice in your head that whispers all of the horrible things that can go wrong. Fear sat beside me in that truck. It’s cold icy hand clutching tight to mine. I couldn’t ignore it any more than I could if it were a real person. I only hoped my fear didn’t keep me from doing what was necessary.

  Wes and Rhi were already waiting for us when we drove up. Dean parked the truck and pulled me into his arms. I sat on his lap and turned to face him.

  “I love you.” I lowered my lips to his and kissed him harshly on the mouth.

  Our teeth clanked together as our mouths opened and tongues explored. I could taste the bittersweet flavor of fear on my tongue. The kiss went on for a long time. Our mouths moving with the words we couldn’t seem to say. I was terrified that it might be the last time I ever saw him.

  Dean drew back and peppered my face with whisper soft kisses. My heart slowed as his hands caressed my back and shoulders. I leaned my head against his chest. I didn’t want to leave.

  “I love you.” His voice broke. “I hate that I’m not coming with you.”

  He kissed the top of my head. Rhi was making choking motions through the window. I sighed and jumped from his lap.

  “I guess it’s time to get started.” I slipped across the seat but Dean grabbed my hand to stop me.

  “Give me the other mirror.” He said.

  I pulled one round mirror from my backpack and held it out to him. Inside was a spare pair of clothes, food, and water bottles. The blood blade was in a front pocket. I left my cell phone at home. It wouldn’t survive the journey, not to mention it probably wouldn’t work in The Otherside anyways.

  Dean took the mirror gingerly in his hands.

  “Didn’t Charlie say we might be able to use it to communicate?” He asked.

  I shrugged. Inside a Ziploc bag, I had lots of notes explaining lots of things I didn’t understand. Using the mirror as a type of telephone was among them. I wasn’t a witch and neither was Dean. But just in case I was stuck there, the notes were in the backpack, witch or not.

  “I don’t know, we’ll see.” I said.

  He cradled the mirror to his body then slipped it inside his front pocket. I could feel the tears rushing to the surface. I was so scared. Leaving Dean behind felt like dying. I didn’t think I could breathe without him nearby, and now a whole world would be between us.

  Dean ran his hands up my arms to quiet the goose bumps covering my flesh.

  Rhi knocked on the truck door. “Are we gonna do this or not?”

  She was being impatient. Wes stood behind her shaking his head. He’d probably told her to back off, which obviously hadn’t worked. Rhi had about as much self-control as a foodie at a cake and donut convention.

  I took a deep breath and jumped out of the truck. It was time. It didn’t matter what Lilith had planned for me when I crossed over. It was go time; no excuse I had to procrastinate longer mattered anymore. I hooked my backpack over one shoulder and walked towards the water. It was brown and moving quicker than I’d remembered. The recent rain hadn’t helped the clarity at all.

  Dean took my hand and kissed it, then pulled me into a tight hug. Rhi and Wes followed behind him. Each one made my heart beat a little harder in my chest. I swallowed down the bile churning in my stomach.

  “I hate this.” Dean hissed.

  I pulled the mirror out with a shaky hand. “I know.”

  “I’ll be here when you get back.” He promised.

  I didn’t argue. Even when I knew that time moved differently in The Otherside than it did here. Charlie said it was different for everyone, if the Otherside wanted you it could make an hour crawl while weeks went by in the mortal world. She said at other times it could make the time speed up. An hour in the Otherside could be two minutes here.

  Whatever happened to me was up to outside forces. What I wanted didn’t matter. The Otherside would choose for me. Having no control was almost as scary as travelling to another world alone…almost.

  I waded into the water. The cold rose up my feet and spilled into my shoes. Its icy touch raising goose bumps on my skin. I turned and faced Dean and my friends. Their faces were stark white with fear. They stared at me as I trudged deeper into the rushing water.

  I held the mirror up as the water rose past my waist. This was insane. Why was I even doing this? We didn’t even know if it would work. And if it did…tears sprung to my eyes. I looked into the mirror.

  “Mont da Annwn.” I said as a tear ran down my cheek.

  The mirror started glowing, and the water around me began to heat. Bubbles rose out of the rushing water and froth covered its surface. A perfect glowing circle surrounded me. I met Deans eyes. The others stared at the water but Dean only stared at me. I mouthed I love you. He whispered it back. I took a deep breath and plunged beneath the surface.

  This was the tricky part. Charlie said that submerging myself should pass me through, but the water just kept heating and a strange tug pulled at the center of my stomach. It was an unnatural feeling, like being sucked down by the inside of your body. I fought against it but the pull just drew me deeper.

  I swallowed a mouthful of foul hot water. It was too murky to see anything even with the strange glowing light. A moment later, the tug was gone. I jumped for the surface of the water, the mirror clutched tightly in my dripping hand.

  I wiped away the moisture from my eyes and looked around coughing. The forest surrounding me was entirely different. The water was a glowing pink, and the trees a dark neon green. Their branches were eerie and skeletal, reaching out with mocking fingers. The sky above me was a dark vibrant purple.

  It was dreamlike.

  Lathered with bright unearthly colors. Even the blossoms looked alive and deadly. I just knew behind their perfect pristine petals teeth lurked. I heard birds squawking in the distance and turned to find them resting in the trees. They had enormous orange bodies covered in scales. Their wings looked papery and delicate, but I had a feeling they were anything but. They had long sharp talons and saw edged beaks.

  My eyes passed over both sides of the shore, I didn’t want to go anywhere near the birds. Their bright yellow eyes followed me as I moved. I felt something slither across my leg and I jumped. Two glowing eyes were looking up through the water.

  I screamed and swam towards shore. The birds weren’t my only problem. A long iridescent tail flicked out of the water. I shrieked again and crawled on hands and knees out of the water. The sand was warm under my fingers. I lay across it and rested my cold face on its wonderful heat. Now what? I hadn’t actually thought it would work. But the purple horizon and pink water was a dead giveaway.

  My shoes were soaked. I pulled them off and studied my surroundings. There were no buildings, but the forest was thicker than the one I’d come from. I glanced back at the pink water and looked for the glowing eyes. The water trickled by quietly, its pink alluring water a mask to hide the horrors that lay beneath. At least the trees weren’t like that, one look at them and you knew not to get close.

  I reached into my wet backpack and pulled out my dry bag wrapped clothes. I changed my socks and tried my best to use a towel to dry out my shoes. The idea was that I wouldn’t be staying for long. I needed to get moving. I changed my shirt and shoved everything except the blood blade back inside my backpack.

  The moment it touched my hand the ground beneath my feet shook. The trees around me vibrated and the wind swirled until a siege of dirt clouded around me. I covered my eyes with my free hand but kept ahold of the heating knife. It burned red hot as the cyclone surrounded me. The forest disappeared.

  The earth rumbled and I fell to my knees. Up out of the groun
d rocks sprouted, covered with a slimy moss. Even as the earth shifted and the ground beneath my fingers changed the cyclone kept spinning blocking my view of my surroundings. The warmth that had kept me from shivering in my wet clothes was replaced with a bone sharp cold.

  The air was damp and moldy. Drops of water dripped onto my head and shoulders. I felt like Dorothy in the wizard of Oz. The twister was taking me somewhere else. If it could move me with my feet planted firmly on the ground it was no wonder no one wanted to come with me to the Otherside. At any moment, a twister could come along and take you away.

  The howling wind slowed and the dirt covering my view dropped with a snap. I was standing in the center of a cave entrance. The rock walls coated with moss and trickling water.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Hall Of Mirrors

  My breath came out in white puffs of air. I dug through my backpack for a dry sweater. I pulled the cold fabric over my goose-pebbled skin. My pants were wet and half-frozen. I peeled them from my skin. I should have changed earlier. I glanced around once and threw them inside the backpack before I pulled out another pair.

  If I’d known, it would be so cold I would have packed warmer clothing. It was hard to pull them on when I couldn’t stop shivering. I held the knife between my teeth as I tugged them up. As soon as I finished dressing, I pulled a bottle of water out and downed it.

  The light that filled the entrance was dimming. Whether the source was a sun or moon, I couldn’t tell. It looked wrong whatever it was. I tried the flashlight. It flickered and burned out. Damn. I’d just have to go for it. A pang of fear jolted in my belly. I tried to press it back down but it refused to obey.

  I clutched the knife tightly in my fist and moved forward away from the light. I went slowly. Glowing lizards darted across the rock walls and slithered along the floor. The blade in my hand shook with every step I took. My eyes were finally adjusting to the dark.

  The rocks looked like faces, their expressions frozen in pain. A chill ran down my spine when they turned to watch me pass. The rocks trembled as long grey arms reached out to grab me. I ran past them towards a glittering light.

  As I rounded a corner a tall candelabra rose up from the uneven ground. Five thick white candles dripped with hot wax. Pools of it covered the ground. I took a deep breath and stopped moving. I inspected the candles. There was no way of telling how long they burned. I reached out and took one in my hand.

  The flickering flame danced against the sharp walls of the cave. I walked for what felt like hours. My feet started aching, and the cold froze the fingers uncoated with wax. I leaned against a cave wall. It whispered and hissed.

  “Keep moving.” I jumped and realized with horror that I’d been leaning against another stone face.

  I did what it told me to and bolted forward. Music started trickling across the walls. It started softly the sharp note of a piano and the haunting strings of a violin. Beethoven I thought, his seventh symphony, the one that most people knew. I wasn’t a classical music person by any means, but those notes were awfully familiar.

  “To what do I owe this honor Patience?” Lilith said from the shadows.

  I turned and watched her walk from the cave wall. Her skin changed from the rocky grey to her normal pale luminescence. She was the one that had been scaring me, I should have known.

  “Lilith.” I said. I kept the knife in my hand. Her dark black eyes filled with amusement when she noticed it.

  “You can’t kill me dear girl, I am immortal.” She laughed again and spun in a circle.

  “Come I have wine and food.”

  She looped her hand through my arm and pulled me forward. I fought the urge to jerk away. She was playing another game with me. It would be stupid to react violently until I knew what it was, but her nearness made my skin crawl.

  The cave hallway opened into a huge chamber. Large candle chandeliers and candelabra’s filled the room. The walls covered from top to bottom with mirrors. Lilith released me when we reached the center. She led the way to a large baroquely carved wooden table. I counted eighteen chairs surrounding it, but we were the only ones present.

  Food covered the table and my stomach grumbled. Charlie had warned me against eating or drinking anything that was from the Otherside. That was why she suggested I take my own food and water in case I got stuck. The folklore went that if you ate the Otherside fare you’d never be able to enjoy food in the mortal world again.

  Charlie also said that the food might make it impossible to leave. There were a lot of legends that warned against eating the food of the fae. That alone made me cautious. I wouldn’t eat anything, not one bite, or drink.

  Lilith sat leisurely in a chair.

  “So, what are you doing here Pacey? I’ve never had an actual human travel so far to visit. I’m…intrigued, and a little surprised. I take it that by the smell of ether from your hair that you used the river to get here. It’s a clever way to travel but not the only one.” She pointed to her mirrors.

  “Why should I tell you why I’m here?” I sat at a chair away from her and pulled a protein bar from my backpack. I ate it slowly and washed it down with another bottle of water.

  “You don’t have to I suppose.” Lilith looked bored she took a ripe red apple from the table and took a bite.

  The sight of her doing it sparked a vision. I saw a red apple held out to me by a golden hand. A man with glowing skin and gorgeous looks smiled at me. “Eat of the tree.” He said suggestively.

  In a snap, the vision was gone.

  “Remind you of anyone?” Lilith said with a smile.

  “Not really.” I said.

  Lilith snorted and jumped to her feet. I stood and reached for the knife I had tucked in my jeans.

  “Whatever makes it easier for you to sleep at night. I wonder if he remembers though, your Dean. It’s selfish of you to sip of the river but not let him. I wonder if he’d choose you if he knew. That you cheated when I didn’t. Apples and oranges I guess. We could all be accused of infidelity and bigotry when we’ve lived as long as we have. You have your mortality, but you’ve had other lives and men. But we never do forget our firsts, first love, first kiss, and first penetration.” She laughed.

  “First temptations and betrayals.” Her eyes narrowed and darted towards the knife in my hand. I didn’t even remember grabbing it. The amusement left her face.

  “If you want to stab me go ahead. I’m not sure what you think you can find here to use against me but you’re welcome to look.”

  Her ease was scary. I felt like it had all been too easy. The knife, the mirrors, the trip itself, and now here she was telling me I could stab her and take a look around. Something was off.

  “Where’s the mirror?” I asked testing the waters.

  Lilith’s laughter returned. “Which one my dear, there are many here to choose from.” She raised her hands and spun.

  “The one carved out of a magical cypress tree, with carvings depicting your days with Adam in the Garden of Eden.”

  Lilith’s smile fell and her eyes burned with heat. “What do you know of such a mirror?”

  I smiled. “I know that if I destroy it you will be trapped here.”

  Lilith’s mouth tightened and the side of her mouth twitched. “Isn’t that interesting.” She glanced around her hall, her eyes dancing over the mirrors. “I don’t think I have one of those.”

  Her eyes didn’t betray its location, and I was growing ever more impatient.

  “Well then.” I said. “I guess I’ll have to find it for myself.”

  Lilith rolled her eyes and took a seat again waving me off. I walked closer and slashed at her open wrist. Lilith didn’t even flinch. The black blood welled up and dripped to the cave floor.

  “Well look at that, a blood blade.” She glanced at the wound and up at me real fear shining in her face.

  “You are a clever girl.”

  “The mirror Lilith.” I said.

  She laughed again. “My dear I
have no idea what mirror you are talking about every mirror in my hall I know down to the last minute detail. I’ve had millennia’s to study them.”

  Her voice became shrill. The harsh lilt finally hitting the edge I knew. Laughing Lilith was scarier than this one. I was used to cold Lilith.

  “I guess I’ll just take a look around.”

  My eyes roamed over the mirrors. I don’t know how long I checked the walls, but many times Lilith erupted into sharp giggling batches. She was crazy. She didn’t move a muscle while I searched, her body frozen by the power in my blade. The blood at her wrist kept dripping. I glanced at the puddle, as it grew deeper and wider. I was starting to get a little worried. Could the blade kill her?

  “No.” She laughed. “Nothing but the hand of God can take the life from my veins. Even if you bleed me dry.”

  I froze, could she really hear my thoughts?

  As I can yours sweet girl.

  I heard her voice in my mind and swallowed hard. Only my father called me sweet girl. It was wrong hearing his words in her voice.

  “Tick tock. Pacey.”

  Had her finger just moved? Her smile widened answering my unsaid question. Shit.

  I scanned the walls again and that’s when I saw it in the hallway. In the same hallway we’d walked in from, the mirror hung above a bureau. I smiled when my eyes landed on it. Lilith gasped.

  “I never…” Her voice trailed off in awe.

  I walked towards it. I could see Lilith’s fingers dancing with anxiety. The white cypress wood was untouched by time. The carvings in it were pristine and a little pornographic. I scoffed at the thought that Dean, or Adam had ever done those things with her.

  “Pleasure goes both ways…and Adam never complained.”

  I fought the urge to cut her throat, it would just piss her off, not kill her…unfortunately.

  “We were friends once you know.” She said sadly.

  “Seriously?” I didn’t believe her.

  “Believe what you want, that’s why his betrayal with you was so hard, you were like my sister…I guess you were technically if you want to get into all that gene mumbo jumbo.”