Face Of The Monster

~23~

Lillian couldn't fall asleep. Beside her, Gabriel snored gently. Every time she looked at him, she imagined the moment before he transformed, when, as his skin grayed, his eyes flashed between brown and blue. She shuddered.

They were lying in the cool, damp grass on the island, right beside where the beach began. The rest of the crew had scattered about, a few paired off for warmth. Lillian turned over on her stomach and watched the waves throw themselves against the shore.

As she turned, something heavy fell out of her pocket. The coin, glinting softly in the moonlight. Lillian laid her head back in the grass, too tired to talk to Agatha right now.

But her appearance had already begun. Particle by particle, the universe constructed her. Her skin glowed as if made from stardust, her hair so dark it blended into the night sky. She wore a simple blue dress that seemed to be woven of dawn light itself. Her chains hung heavy on her arms, her neck, her ears. Lillian noticed new ones clamped around her thin ankles.

"I'm sorry, Agatha," said Lillian. "I didn't mean to summon you."

Agatha frowned down at her, opal face going pink with, perhaps, indignity. "I know you didn't, my darling. I have summoned myself here." She reached out to smooth back LIllian's hair. Lillian jerked away, brushing the side of the burning cuff with her forehead. She yelped at the searing pain, a twinge of annoyance spinning in her heart.

"Perhaps you should go home," she said.

Shimmering tears covered Agatha's thin, dark eyes. "Oh, let me stay with you, Darling. I've already endured a new punishment for this visit." She lifted her delicate leg, showing Lillian the burning flesh of her ankle. She winced in pain, easing it back to the ground.

"I know," said Lillian. "I have my own now." She lifted her own wrist, feeling the heft of the metal chain as she lifted it into the air. Gabriel twitched slightly in his sleep.

Agatha shook her head. For the first time since Lillian had met her, her face had moved from its usual peace: peace tinged with sadness, peace colored with pleasure, peace spotted in confusion. Now, there was only sorrow. "Oh, Lillian. Did you let him use my sword?"

Dread coursed through her like branches of a stormy river. "I didn't let him. He just picked it up."

"No." Agatha sank her head into her hands, shoulders shining in the moonlight.

"What does it mean, Agatha?" Lillian demanded. "What's wrong?"

"It was meant to bind us," Agatha whispered into her hands. "Me to you. It would keep you alive, I knew it would. But this wasn't supposed to happen . . ."

Lillian sat up in the grass, forcing the fog of sleep away from her thoughts. "Wait, explain."

"The curse," said Agatha. "If you killed the monster with just any sword, my love, you would have died in Gabriel's place."

Lillian nodded. "I knew that. I agreed to it."

"But I couldn't let you die," Agatha rasped. She took Lillian's hands gripping them between her own. She brought them each to her lips in turn, her own opalescent fingers shaking. "I've given up so much for you already, Darling. I need you to keep living. So I . . . I made you the sword. Its enchantment lies in the strength of my love for you."

Lillian lifted the chain on her wrist, looking at Gabriel. "Do you mean that he is only alive because you love me?"

Agatha smiled, her face settling back into its usual unruffled peace. "Yes, Dear. He is being sustained by our love."

Lillian looked at her in wonder, thinking deeply in her own heart. She had never admitted to herself that she loved Agatha, that when she appeared, her heart clenched with instantaneous happiness. She leaned closer, placing her lips over Agatha's. "I do love you," she said. "I love you."

Agatha smiled into her lips. "I know."