Queen's Gambit (Lilith's Shadow Book 6)

by Benjamin Medrano

  “Do you regret that?” Ra asked curiously, tilting his head to one side, which caused the shadows filling the room to dance and sway.

  “No,” Lilith replied instantly, inhaling slightly, her shoulders growing tense as she admitted. “While it is powerful, it makes me feel useless. I’ve been frustrated by having to be on the rear lines, forced to watch as other people fight the battles I’m involved in, yet I can’t participate directly. Not without power armor or other tools. So, when I had the chance to change my powers… I did.”

  After a moment more Lilith slowly walked over to the bed and sat on the edge of it nervously, sinking into the mattress in the process. She thought about trying to fine-tune her control of her flight by countering that but decided against it.

  “Mm… I’m almost surprised you didn’t gain the other pinnacle set… but no, I don’t think it would have suited you, either. Instead, you have gained something else. Something light-themed, which I must say entertains me, as well as a few of the others. If you’re not careful, Amaterasu might try to lure you into her service,” Ra said, smiling slightly. “I’m truly curious to see what you do, going forward.”

  Lilith examined the deity skeptically for a moment, then asked cautiously, “You didn’t have anything to do with me gaining these powers, did you?”

  “Not directly, no,” Ra told her, his smile widening. “My gift could have given you the powers of the night itself if you’d truly wished for it. However, it was the gift of a deity of the sun, and that knowledge gave it a slight leaning toward light. It isn’t a surprise that your subconscious fastened onto that aspect.”

  Lilith didn’t say anything for a moment, instead glancing at the clock, then paused. She knew that it had been more than three minutes since she’d last looked at it, yet it stubbornly claimed that only that much time had passed. She looked at the deity, and he raised a finger to his lips, the kohl around his eyes crinkling with his mirth. She debated asking anyway but decided that she really didn’t need to know whether he’d stopped time just to have this conversation. If stopping time was possible… or maybe he was just looping her thoughts into an alternate dimension and this was a figment of her imagination. She decided to abandon that train of thought before she gave herself a headache.

  “I’m guessing you didn’t come here to tell me how my powers worked,” Lilith said, focusing on the deity.

  “No. That would be taking interference a bit too far, and I’m walking a fine line at the moment. The main reason I dare show up at all is that one of my worshippers has given a few very conflicted prayers regarding you, but by and large she wishes for your safety. That gives me a little room to maneuver,” Ra said, shaking his head firmly. “I may not be good at games involving action or driving, but when it comes to the rules of the world, I have millennia of experience walking lines like this.”

  Lilith opened her mouth, then shut it again, frowning. Eventually she asked, “Which of your worshippers would pray about me? That doesn’t…”

  Her voice trailed off as a memory eased its way forward, of a certain arrogant mage she’d met in Omega Code’s lair, and Lilith blinked in consternation. Ra just kept smiling. She swore that if he kept it up, his head would split in half.

  “Sabra prayed for me?” Lilith demanded incredulously.

  “That she did! She has very mixed feelings where you’re concerned. I really must thank you… she’d fallen into bad company, and your actions have instilled doubt in her heart,” Ra said, his smile fading a little as he shook his head. “That’s been further accentuated by the actions of her fellow renegade Atlanteans. They consider her choice to ally with you rather than with her fellow Atlantean to be a betrayal of the highest order, no matter that he would have gotten them both killed with his grudges. Eventually they’ll allow her out of solitary confinement.”

  “That’s…” Lilith found herself unable to figure out what to say. She’d never expected Sabra to pray for her. The woman had seemed to dislike her, even if she hadn’t hated Lilith. The two of them might have cooperated, but she’d assumed that if they ran into one another again, it would likely be as enemies. From what Ra was hinting, she was questioning that assumption.

  After a couple of seconds, Lilith stood and walked halfway across the room, feeling slightly more restless. Ra didn’t interrupt, giving her time to think things over. She glanced at the clock again, noting that the digital display still hadn’t changed, and shook her head.

  “Why have you come here, then? Just to talk?” Lilith asked, looking at the deity again, a little nervously.

  “There’s nothing just about talking. With me you can be frank, because the two of us are from such different worlds that you don’t have to wonder whether it’s safe to tell me something, unlike with Black Emerald,” Ra said, a flicker of something like unease crossing his face as he spoke the villain’s name. No, that had been a flicker of hesitation before her name, Lilith realized, her eyes narrowing a bit. Before she could interject, he continued. “But the primary reason I decided to see you is to make certain you were properly attired before your confrontation with your creator.”

  Lilith stopped, staring at him as a thought ran through her head. The question escaped her lips before she could think it over properly. “Can I beat her?”

  “That’s up to you,” Ra said.

  “Which… isn’t an answer,” Lilith said, her eyes narrowing.

  “No, it isn’t. It’s not intended to be an answer, Lilith. However, consider the history of mankind. There is no such thing as a perfect defense,” Ra said, sighing and shaking his head. “If it had been before? You would have been facing her in the fullness of her power, with all of her plans moving as she intended. Circe Prime ruined that, throwing her forces into chaos, and now she is having to change plans. That gives options you did not have before, but I will not answer the question for you. What you do is up to you. I like to consider myself a friend and acquaintance of yours, Lilith, but I will not intervene in that way.”

  “Alright,” Lilith said, deflating slightly as tired, exhausted grief welled up inside her again, and she asked nervously, a tiny amount of hope welling up inside her. “What about Circe? Is she really… really gone?”

  That flicker of hope vanished as Ra nodded, a little pity on his face this time. His voice was soft and gentle. “She is, Lilith. Her consciousness is gone from this world, and I will not speak about the afterlife. Whether an AI has a soul or not isn’t something which I wish to discuss with mortals. One day you will learn the answer, but not from me.”

  “You’re not being helpful at all, you know that?” Lilith accused him angrily, crossing her arms in front of her.

  “Ah, but I’m brightening the mood!” Ra retorted, glowing more brightly, and despite her grief she felt a bubble of amusement well up inside her. Which was likely the point. Then he made a snatching gesture, and a white undersuit with a gold ankh on the chest appeared in his hand from nowhere. “Now, may I ask why you’ve never worn this?”

  Lilith opened her mouth, then shut it, staring at the suit, then at him. She wasn’t sure how to deal with the change of subject for a moment, then slumped in defeat.

  “Have you looked at it? It’s pure white, it hugs every curve of my body, and the ankh is right on the chest.” Lilith said, gesturing at it. “I’ve seen how Gina looks as Warden, you know, and while she may have been well-regarded, her original outfit looked far too revealing to me.”

  “Form-fitting outfits are used because they share the innate durability many superhumans have, you know that,” Ra retorted, raising an eyebrow. “I am not going to argue about the rest of it, though. If you don’t like it, that’s simply how it is. So what would you wear? I can’t have you going into battle wearing what you usually do, it wouldn’t improve your survivability at all.”

  “I don’t want something that tight. I also don’t want something that restricts my mobility, for that matter,” Lilith said, frowning and toying with a lock of her hair. S
he paused when she saw the ruby highlights, and her thoughts began churning a little faster, then she asked, “What about something in a bright crimson, maybe with gold trim?”

  “At least that would have something gold to it. Let me see… if I do too much red it won’t look good, and I don’t want it to look too much like the outfits of other heroes or heroines,” Ra said, his gaze seeming to focus off in the distance. “Perhaps a slightly deeper red for the pants, and black for a belt… would a jacket for your upper body suffice for your modesty, with a lighter, short-sleeved tunic beneath it?”

  “That sounds reasonable… it isn’t going to look like it’s painted on, is it?” Lilith asked suspiciously.

  “Of course not! The pants will be snug, but they’ll incorporate armor not unlike what your friends can manufacture, to give you some added resilience to little things like bullets, energy cannons, and knives. The tunic will be lighter and likely a little more snug than you’d prefer, but that’s what the jacket will be for, since it’ll be tougher, and you can hand it off to someone else who needs it when rescuing others. Can’t have rescuees freezing to death because you can’t give them something to wear,” Ra said, sniffing derisively. “No cape, that wouldn’t fit the theme at all… helmet? I don’t care for the appearance, but your head is rather important.”

  “I like to think so, yes,” Lilith agreed, a slight smile beginning to tug at her lips.

  “In that case, might I recommend a pharaonic headdress?” Ra suggested, conjuring a headdress in one hand, complete with a golden mask that would obscure her face, a rising snake circlet, and a beard. Lilith blanched slightly.

  “Um, on second thoughts, I think I’d rather not use a helmet. I like having a full range of vision,” Lilith said quickly, examining him warily. “I also would prefer if you avoided trying to make it seem like I’m your representative, please. I don’t need the problems that could cause.”

  “If you insist,” Ra conceded without any apparent distress, and the headdress vanished. “In that case, we’ll adjust my plans slightly… ah, do you still want to keep your ankh? It doesn’t have any mystical properties except for durability at this point. If you don’t want to be seen as my representative, it might be a good idea to give it up.”

  Lilith’s heart clenched at that, and she quickly grabbed the ankh, shaking her head firmly. It took a couple of seconds before she could even think about speaking, with how it felt like something was stuck in her throat.

  “I… would prefer to keep it, yes. Even if it isn’t magical, it’s always been somewhat comforting to me. Even if I’m not sure why,” Lilith replied at last, and Ra smiled at her warmly.

  “That’s perfectly fine, Lilith. It is one of the oldest things that you have possessed in this world. Many beings need a touchstone, so I won’t begrudge you wanting one, particularly under these circumstances,” Ra gently told her. “Now, let’s get this suit made into something you’d actually wear. You’re going to need it soon enough.”

  With that, the white undersuit began to glow, and Lilith watched in growing fascination.

  Chapter 38

  Saturday, December 6th, 2031

  Black Emerald Lair, Utah

  The near imperceptible surge of magic sent a chill down Black Emerald’s spine, causing her to stiffen. Then she carefully set aside the tools she’d been using, and looked at her assistant.

  “My apologies, but you’re going to need to continue the experiment without me, Farah. I just sensed something I need to check in on,” Black Emerald told the brunette, who gave her a wry smile in return.

  “Not a problem, I think that everything is in place at this point, so I’ll just have to record the data,” Farah replied, looking at the vials. “Unless something goes a bit awry, of course.”

  “Agreed. If anything starts foaming over, I want you out of the room, though,” Black Emerald told her, then pushed herself away from the table, sighing as she turned to the door, her smile fading slightly as she did so.

  The sensation of deific magic was unmistakable, and if there was enough for her to sense it from elsewhere in the complex, the deity in question had used a lot of magic. It irritated Black Emerald to no end that deities could come and go from her lair without difficulty, but she wasn’t going to say anything aloud that might hear. Complaining would only encourage or offend them, depending on if they were contrary or overly full of themselves, and she didn’t want that. Eris made far too much of a nuisance of herself as it was, and the idea of Loki, Hermes, or a host of other deities interfering was enough to give her an ulcer.

  As soon as the airlock around the test room let her out, Black Emerald picked up a nearby tablet and pulled up the security system. It took a few seconds and a code to access the sensor systems. A few more were required for her to adjust the settings to detect the frequencies she needed, then Black Emerald’s eyebrows rose, if only slightly. Lilith’s room, was it? Well, that was a bit less worrying than if the magic was from somewhere else in the lair.

  “Hm. Well, I suppose I’d best check to see if she got killed, turned into a bull, or something else of the sort,” Black Emerald murmured, shaking her head. She really hoped that the visitor wasn’t Zeus. It wasn’t likely, but she wasn’t going to guarantee anything where deities were concerned.

  Closing out of the security system, Black Emerald started moving toward the personnel quarters. They were rather far away, mostly because it made sense to keep them away from the laboratories. Equipment could be replaced, valuable employees less so.

  It took a little while for her to reach the part of the lair the magic had come from, and as she walked Black Emerald tried to sense any more magic but didn’t notice anything. That made her a little more worried, as if there was an ongoing presence she’d have expected to feel something. Hopefully Lilith hadn’t been abducted… that would make her life a lot more difficult. She’d made a deal and intended to follow through on her part. Even if that meant challenging a belligerent deity.

  When she came to Lilith’s door, Black Emerald examined it and relaxed ever so slightly. There were no signs of damage on the door, which indicated there hadn’t been any overwhelming smiting involved… but that didn’t mean that less vehement smiting hadn’t occurred, either. She could find that Lilith was little more than a circle of ash burnt into the floor. So, she pressed the call button.

  “Lilith, are you there?” Black Emerald asked, folding her arms.

  “Ah, yes?” Lilith replied hesitantly, a somewhat flustered note to her voice as it came through the speaker, but Black Emerald relaxed slightly. “Is something wrong?”

  “I sensed some deific magic and wanted to make sure that nothing unpleasant happened to you. I did make a deal to protect you, after all,” Black Emerald said, tapping her arm patiently.

  “Oh, right, you can sense that sort of thing,” Lilith said, her voice seeming to calm down. “Ra decided to come visit while I was practicing with my powers. He also gave me a new suit, and I’m trying it on.”

  “Ah, better than I feared,” Black Emerald said, and paused as she realized what time it was. After a moment she asked. “So… your plans? You don’t have much time before Shadowmind’s time limit is up.”

  “That’s why I’m trying on the suit,” Lilith replied softly. Silence followed for several seconds, then the door opened, and Black Emerald’s eyebrows rose.

  Red wasn’t Black Emerald’s color. Oh, she probably would look alright in it, but her name was Black Emerald for a reason, at least as a villain. She thought she looked quite good in iridescent green, and Lilith would likely look good in it as well. However, she had to admit that when it came to red, Lilith would probably put her to shame. Unsurprising, given Black Emerald’s… artificial facial structure.

  Lilith’s suit was thicker than most of the suits that Black Emerald had seen on energy projector heroines. It was still close-fitting, with complex designs edged in gold that gave it a glittering, shimmering appearance. Yet most of the outfi
t was a deeper red, with some sections veering close to maroon. It was completed with what looked like a snug jacket and reached up her neck almost like a turtleneck. Black Emerald thought she sensed magic from the suit, but she couldn’t tell what it did. Not without examining it in significantly more depth than she was likely to have time for.

  “Hm. Intriguing design. Did you choose it?” Black Emerald asked, arching an eyebrow curiously. Lilith really was quite attractive. She wouldn’t have kicked the woman out of her bed if she wanted to join her there, and she thought the red particularly brought out the crimson in her hair and the green of her eyes.

  “I chose the colors, and asked Ra not to make it too… skimpy,” Lilith said, looking down at the outfit in a self-conscious manner. “He gave me a previous undersuit, and it wasn’t much different than what Gin… what Warden has worn for most of her career. I wasn’t comfortable in it.”

  Black Emerald smirked, inclining her head slightly, but she didn’t reply. Personally, she rather appreciated how a good quarter of heroines seemed intent on showing off as much of their physiques as possible, but that was a personal preference. As shown by her own armor, Black Emerald wasn’t like them. For one thing, she preferred having armor to protect her body from untoward perforations.

  “Based on what I’m seeing and hearing, I take it that you’re planning to confront Shadowmind once she appears? Or are you intending to leave now and hopefully draw her toward you? I must say that the latter would likely go poorly,” Black Emerald said thoughtfully.

  “I’m thinking to reunite with them and see if we can’t give her a bloody nose or worse, honestly,” Lilith said, her cheeks reddening. “I’m not sure if we can, but I’d rather not wait until too late, and I don’t have enough practice with my new abilities to dare face her on my own. That seems like a terrible idea to me.”