Child of the Morning Star

by Tatiana Carey

  Lucifer sneered, baring his teeth. “You think I wouldn’t turn back time and raise her if I could? Do you know how many times I wished I could have been the one to tuck her into bed or tell her goodnight? How her room in my realm haunts me because I know she’s never there. I never got a chance to watch her grow up. I never got to see her first steps. Hear her first words. All of that was robbed from me!” Lucifer choked on his words. He grit his teeth and finished, “You know it’s hard for me to be here for more than five minutes. You know I have no choice.”

  Lilith frowned. She saw the pain in her mentor’s eyes. “I know,” she answered.

  Lucifer let her go, “I’m trusting you with this. Soon, I’ll be able to stay longer and speak to her. Until then, you must be there for her in my place.”

  Lilith nodded, balling her fists up, “I won’t fail you, or her.”

  “Keep her from them. They plan to kill her when it starts,” Lucifer said and slipped into the shadows, “Besides, it won’t be long now.” He disappeared into the darkness.

  Lilith nodded, “I won’t fail her.” She sighed and went into the house.

  Chapter XIII: Burning

  People, there were people all over. Some were in red robes, others were naked and covered in paint.

  Atropa was laying down on something, she didn’t know what though. ‘Not this nightmare again,’ she thought with a grimace, knowing she was unconscious. Atropa let the dream continue.

  Men circled her, their hoods covered their faces. She heard them speaking but didn’t recognize what they were saying. Atropa wanted to roll her eyes, she wished it would just be over already.

  She could see women around, they were twisting and turning their bodies, dancing in the fire light. Atropa watched, mesmerized. She never got to look for very long, so it was a nice treat to see.

  The women began to swirl around her. They bent and spun this way and that. The women came to her and the robed men moved into a circle.

  Atropa saw the candles begin to burn brighter. She looked around at the people and saw the women lifting their heads to the sky and the robed men going behind them.

  Atropa shook her head, she hated this part. She watched as daggers were drawn and placed against the painted ladies’ throats. The sharp knives cut through their thin skin as blood began to run down the fronts of their bodies. Some of it sprayed on her, she wanted to look away but her mind refused.

  Atropa screamed, wishing she could close her eyes. “Stop it! Stop it!” she struggled to move, but it was to no avail. The women began to fall to the ground. Each man took a bloody finger and drew a mark on her. One on each hand and foot, one over her heart, and the final one on her forehead. Normally this was where the dream ended.

  It kept going though.

  Atropa’s eyes shifted upward. Three figures stood over her.

  An older man in a white hood spoke to the other figures. “You shall contain her, make sure she is raised well. Be cautious with this task, she may be small but her power is great, she may not be able to control it while she’s young. The seals we’ve placed with help, but will wear off with time. If she shows her nature, you must leave before they can test her, or else.” The man paused his voice turning dark as he spoke, “You know this will only save you from the fire if you succeed, but if you fail, you shall return.”

  The words hung in the air as the two figures nodded.

  “We’ll keep her out of sight, until she is ready.” Was that her mother’s voice?

  “We won’t let them find her, we promise,” Was that her father’s?

  Atropa had never seen this part of the dream before. What was going on? Why were her mother and father here?! She began to tremble as they both raised a dagger.

  Atropa screamed awake and began to flail around in the bedding.

  “Hey, whoa, whoa!” Lilith grabbed Atropa’s arms. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

  The smaller teen took in a deep breath, “I’m fine I… it was just a nightmare is all. It was just different, this time.”

  Lilith sat up, she saw 5:00am on the nearby clock. “How?” she asked to the trembling teen.

  “I saw more than before...my mother and father were there,” Atropa brought her legs up to her chest. “It felt so, real.” She shook her head and bit her thumb, “That’s crazy though, right?”

  Lilith nodded mindlessly, lost in thought. “I think we should check the news, see if we have school.”

  “Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Atropa rushed out of the bedroom, trying to leave her bad memories within it. She padded down the steps and into the living room. Turning on the TV, she flicked to the news station.

  “Today, the weather still hasn’t let up. We are getting reports that around the world heavy rain, snow, sleet and even floods are crashing into the main lands and wiping out the coasts. Fires seem to be popping up out of nowhere and wiping out town and cities worldwide. We…we’ve just been informed that raging tornados are destroying the Rockies and fires are ravaging Midwest America. The Middle East and other places with arid climates are reporting massive rain storms? Russia, Canada, and parts of Europe have been struck by a meteor shower?” The woman looked off to the side and asked, “Are these right?” Someone unheard must have answered her because she turned back to the camera and announced, “We now go to Chad Almer, live in Utah.”

  The screen flipped from the anchor woman to a man. Behind him was a wall of fire, Atropa shivered. There were people running here and there trying to put out the blaze, some even had buckets.

  “Nancy, I’m here in Utah, where…where raging wildfires are sprouting up around us. Men and women are scrambling to get under cover and…there seems to be no end in sight. This could be a disaster for the ages, Nancy.”

  “Stay safe out there Chad, we’ll be back with more right after these messages.”

  Atropa listened to the jiggle and stared at the blank screen. She turned off the TV. Her hands were shaking, the remote clattered to the floor with a ‘thud!’

  “Dammit,” Lilith cursed. She pushed off the doorway and moved to sit beside Atropa. She saw the other teen was in shock. “Hey, you’ll be okay,” Lilith grabbed the girl’s shaking hands, “Listen to me, you’re going to be okay!”

  Atropa continued to shake, “My…my mother and father.” Her voice was faint as possibilities ran through her mind. She was terrified, not because she thought they were dead, but because of the joy the thought brought her. How their deaths would be a beautiful blessing. She began to laugh.

  Fate was never kind to her.

  The front door opened, slamming against the far wall, “Atropa!” her mother roared. She stormed into the house, drenched from the rain. She threw her bags against the wall and raced into the living room. “Oh praise God,” she grabbed the small teen and pulled her off the couch, “Thank the lord you’re still here.”

  Atropa tried to pull away from the woman, “Mother, you’re alright?” She tried to hide her disappointment.

  “It took forever to get back. We were in Brazil and then a tsunami hit, it nearly killed us. Then the planes were down and we had to take ride after ride to get back here, there were choppers and… oh it's a mess!” Her mother looked at Atropa’s face, “I’m just glad you’re still here though.”

  The smile she bore was crazed and finally made the teen break away from her.

  Her father ran into the house, “Delilah! Oh thank God, Atropa, you’re here!”

  The teen nodded, “I’m fine. Lilith’s been keeping me company.” She turned to the demon. “Lilith, this is my mother and father,” she stepped out of her mother’s reach and moved to the other. She took the pale hand in hers. “Mother, father, this is Lilith.” She saw their terrified faces and cringed. “What’s wrong?”

  “NO!” Atropa’s mother cried. She pointed at the demon, “No, you can’t take her from us, we won’t let you! We haven’t come this far to fail now!” She grabbed her daughter and moved away from Lilith. “We put up with this for alm
ost 18 years! We won’t fail now!”

  “Mother, let go!” Atropa shoved the woman’s hand off. This was the most she had ever been touched by her. It was unsettling and made her wary of the normally distant woman that raised her.

  “Atropa, come here. We have to leave,” Atropa’s father gestured for his daughter to stand beside him. When she didn’t, he frowned, “Atropa, listen to me!”

  “No!” the teen defied. “How dare you, after all you’ve done to me, you’ll deny me this little bit of happiness I’ve found. WHY?!”

  The house shook with the scream. It rattled the glass and the doors trembled on their hinges.

  “Atropa!” her mother shouted, an unsaid demand in her voice.

  The small teen squeezed her eyes shut, “No! No more, I’m tired of it. I’m tired of hiding and of running. I’m tired of being afraid. I’m tired of being cut off from the world! What did I ever do to you?!” Atropa roared. Windows exploded inwards. Shards of glass and splintered wood littered the floor. Vases combusted, along with the TV. Cracks formed in the walls and the house because to fall apart.

  “Atropa,” Lilith whispered, placing a hand on the teen’s shoulder.

  The trembling girl stopped her rant, panting and sucking in a needed breath. Slowly the foundation stopped rumbling and the beams stopped shaking. The cracks in the walls ceased and the house turned quiet. She turned into the demon’s opened arms. Atropa buried her face into the chest. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, “I’m so sorry.” She could have brought the house down on top of them. She could have hurt Lilith. The thought alone made regret clog her throat.

  “You have nothing to apologize for,” Lilith replied into the dyed hair. Her red eyes glared at the two figures across the room. “You two have failed,” she growled.

  “No!” Atropa’s mother screamed. She grabbed a glass shard from the floor and tried to run toward the halfing.

  Lilith pushed Atropa out the way. She didn’t even flinch when the glass pierced her skin. The woman stared up at her, shocked. “Did you really think I’d let you kill her?” She pulled out the shard and saw her dark blood coating the edges. “You creatures disgust me, feeble to your religion and greed. You are all nothing but hypocrites, vile and impure as the so called others you say are damned. The sad fact is that you, the ones who crucify and harm others, are the ones that will burn in the lakes of fire you so fear.”

  “No, we did everything right. We are the saviors of this world!” Atropa’s mother insisted, “We are to save the world.”

  “BY KILLING A CHILD!” Lilith bit back, pointing to Atropa. A deep silence followed the statement. She glared at the man, looking directly into his eyes. The feeble mortal crumbled under her gaze and began to fall apart.

  Atropa froze and looked at her mother. “Is…is that true?” she asked, voice wavering.

  “The demon speaks lies!” her father seethed and moved to be against the wall. “Lies, lies, lies…we are the saviors! We were to rid the world of true evil but instead we raised it.” He fell to his knees, “We raised it!” He began to roll and shake on the floor. The weight of his sins crawled up his spine and into his skull where they knocked and stabbed at his thoughts.

  “Stop it! Stop it!” the woman cried. She ran to her partner. She couldn’t lose him now, not when she needed him most! “We did God’s work. We will be spared his wrath!” she assured, trying to counteract the demon’s influence.

  Atropa moved closer to the two figures, “Is that true?” her voice was barely a whisper. She began to tremble, “Is that true?” she asked again.

  Her mother swallowed a lump in her throat. “It is…” she tried to grab her daughter’s hand but the teen jumped back.

  Atropa felt her lip quiver, “W-why? What the hell did I do to you?! Why would you- I’m your daughter!”

  “You are evil incarnate!” her father screamed in agony. He staggered to his feet. He could feel the voices scratching at his mind, “We should have never done this. We should have never-”

  “Shut up, Judas!” her mother interrupted. She stood before Atropa, “You are evil. You are evil in the purest form. For the good of the world, you have to die.”

  Atropa moved away, “You, you can’t be serious. Right?” She saw the shameful look that crossed her mother’s face. The teen clutched at her chest, “Why me? What have I ever done to you?!” This didn’t make any sense.

  Her mother’s face turned to pure rage, “What have you done? Look outside Atropa, THAT’S WHAT YOU’VE DONE!”

  The teen shook her head. “No, I didn’t do that,” she bit her nail. She didn’t, did she?

  “Yes you did!” her father screamed and pointed an accusing finger at the girl. “You are the reason for this mess, you and your demon!”

  “Shut your mouth,” Lilith growled and moved to stand in front of Atropa. “You need to come with me.”

  “No!” Atropa’s mother ran toward the them. “I already failed to kill her. I will not fail to keep her locked away!” She grabbed Atropa’s arm, “You aren’t leaving, you’re staying here, and you’ll never leave again.”

  The teen ripped away from the woman, “Enough!”

  Atropa’s mother froze as a force hit her. At first, it felt like a breeze, then it turned into a fierce shove. She flew into the back wall, slamming into it. Her body broke the plaster with a sickening ‘crack!’ She slumped and fell onto the floor, twitching from her severed muscles and nerves.

  The teen was panting from the sudden power she had just unleashed. From the corner of her eye, she saw her father crawling towards a shard of glass. Atropa glared at him and watched his body fly across the room. He hit the wall and stuck. “Now,” Atropa flicked her eyes up and her mother flew beside the man. “You’re going to tell me, what the Hell’s going on! Who are you both?”

  The man hung his head. Years, it had been so many years. The weight had finally broke him and he confessed, “I am Judas, the betrayer of Jesus.”

  “Stop!” her mother screamed.

  “No,” Judas looked at the teen, “I am already damned. I was foolish to take this task, they knew I would fail, they knew all along.”

  “Stop, we can still be saved, we can!” her mother cried, trying to fight against the invisible force and encourage the man to stay silent.

  It didn’t work.

  Judas continued to explain, “She is Delilah, the wife of Samson. She cut his hair and was thrown into the pit.”

  “Shut your mouth!” Delilah screamed in fury. “Stop it, we will be back if we do not contain her. This is our last chance.”

  “We have already failed!” Judas roared. He turned to Atropa, “You must die, for God’s sake, and for the world’s.”

  Atropa’s face turned bright red with anger, “You keep saying that, who the hell am I?!”

  Judas’s face scrunched in rage, “You stupid, insolent child! You are the antichrist!”

  The teen froze. Her power fell away and the pair landed on the floor. Trembling hands went to her sides. Atropa whipped around to look at Lilith, “Did you know?” Her voice was broken, almost a sob.

  Lilith frowned. She stared into the violet eyes, “Atropa-”

  “Did you know?” Atropa demanded an answer. Stalking toward the demon, she growled, “Did you know?!” She felt her chest tighten at the thought. Her life was a lie, her name was a lie; her entire being was a lie!

  Lilith hung her head. She took the teen’s trembling hands in her. “I knew,” she whispered, “I’ve always known.”

  Atropa ripped her hands away, “Why…why didn’t you tell me?” She hugged herself and shook her head, “Why would you let me…why would you?” A wave of sickness crashed over her. Atropa staggered back and sat on the tattered couch.

  The demon shook her head. She wanted to move closer, but Lilith knew she’d be rejected. “I was going to tell you but then…” she glared at the fallen souls.

  “How…who am I? What’s my real name?!” Atropa looked up, her face we
t with tears. “Why do they have me?!” she pointed at the crippled humans. She was so confused.

  Lilith took a knee, “They stole you, when you were born.” She took Atropa’s hand, “You are a princess of Hell, and you will be the queen of Earth.” The demon kissed the knuckles, “And I will follow you.”

  Atropa was skeptical, “Why?” She pulled her hand back. “Because I am your queen?” she inquired, “Because I’m the antichrist?”

  Lilith felt her icy heart melt, “No,” she whispered, “Because I love you.” Her ruby eyes shined. “I was made for you, and you for me. I will do anything you ask, just say the word.”

  Atropa looked at her then at them. She glared at the figures. “You locked me away. You lied to me. You hurt me. You kept me from the world.” Atropa moved toward the two, “You told me I had to hide. Hide from the people who would use and abuse my powers. Who would poke and prod me and kill me on sight.” Hot tears spilled down her face, “What were you going to do to me?” She wanted to hear them say it. She needed to hear them say it. To sever the small tie between them, she needed to hear it. “What were you going to do?”

  Delilah shivered. Her hair was matted as she looked through her bangs up at the teen, “I-We….”

  “Tell me!” Atropa was tired of their beating around the bush. “What were you going to do to me?” she asked again, voice thick with malice. She stared into the woman’s eyes and reveled in the fear she received back.

  Delilah swallowed a lump in her throat. “We,” her whisper was shaky and strained, “were going to kill you.”

  Atropa stared at them, her frame shaking. “Were you going to do it today?” Atropa’s lip quivered at the thought.

  Judas frowned and looked at Delilah. They both locked eyes and whispered an uneasy, “yes.”

  Atropa laughed. She wished she could say she was surprised. A part of her wished she loved them enough to be heartbroken. Atropa stepped back into her demon’s arms.

  Lilith held the smaller body. “Say the word,” she whispered into the tanned ear, “Say the word and whatever you want, I will do.”