Pulling my top up, I wiped off my face and neck. My skin felt like sandpaper, rubbed by the sweat and the grime of my clothing. I swallowed as a familiar ache grew in my throat, my concentration wavering as it became harder to retain.
I could hear their footsteps creeping closer, the sound ominous. Feeling exhausted, I gripped the knife in my right hand, fighting to stay alert. The door slowly opened, and I pressed closer to the floor. I waited for the sound of more footsteps, but only heard the one. As I peered in-between the cushions, a young man, lean and agile, made his way carefully into the room. His approach was slow and cautious, yet his gaze was hard. As he moved to the left of me, looking over behind the heavy curtains, I sprang to my feet. Flinging myself at him, just as he looked my way.
The two of us landed hard on the floor as he fired, catching me in my left shoulder. The pain seared me, leaving me panting as I hoped that it was a through and through shot. Bringing my knife up, I thrust the blade into his chest and rolled away. The sound of him faintly coughing up blood following me, before it finally went quiet.
Peering at my wound, I winced at the bleeding, but noticed that it wasn’t as bad as it should have been. The skin surrounding the bullet hole was slightly paler, and the pain as I flexed it had dwindled to mere tenderness.
‘The power of divine energy. Though if the consequences are going to be as crippling as before, it wasn’t fucking worth it.’
Getting to my feet, I realised just how bad I was feeling. I didn’t know for how much longer I would hold out. Listening for anyone nearby, I paused by the door. Hearing nothing, I leant against the wall, flushed, filthy and bloodied. My thoughts spun, Casimir’s words merging together as my head throbbed.
‘The tree of life. Maybe he was right, maybe I did want to see it before I died.’
Deciding to head that way, as though being pulled in that direction, I left the room and the corpse behind. Pushing myself to run, my eyes caught only flashes of the beautiful stories told by the art upon the walls, but all of a sudden I slammed to a stop.
‘Shit! The tree of life...’
Casimir had said that the relic was at the heart of all life, meaning he’d used the energy from the tree of life to carry the corrupting influence of the divine energy, from the relic and out into the world.
I set off once again, pushing back the dizziness that plagued me, even as my joints began to ache and my fever lingered. After a few turns, I found myself back in the solemn and brazier-lit hallway. A few steps in, a knife flew past me, embedding in the wall just past my face.
Spinning around, I kicked one of the braziers as it flared, catching the deep red rug underfoot alight. The flames rose higher as they writhed in a race to devour, the angel guardians stepping back at its fierceness. Looking over my shoulder, I backed away, preparing to turn, but as I did, a shadowy figure suddenly leapt through the flames. Before I could react, they had me pinned to the wall, but no-doubt still felt my blade resting threateningly against their stomach.
As I looked up, Cain’s face was but a breath away from mine. He smirked as I pressed the blade a little harder against him.
“You still trust no-one, not even myself or Abel?”
“I’m certain I’ll live longer that way, and you and I both know that you came here for the relic, not for me.”
Leaning closer, to the point that our lips almost brushed, he whispered, “I came here for both, though the relic was... the more urgent draw... You’re a complete contradiction, Lilith. Leaving Aquilo with us, yet not trusting us.”
“Aquilo is a child and lacks the motivations to betray and deceive, unlike the rest of us.”
‘If only he could stay that way.’
“True.” He stared at me for a moment, the two of us so close that I could see the softer flecks of lilac within his light grey eyes.
Slowly his expression shifted, becoming deeper. “Are you hurt?” he moved back slightly, to look me over more closely, before closing the distance between us once more. I could tell that he’d realised I was suffering from containing the energy, his dark look more than enough. Inhaling, I caught his unusual scent allowing myself a moment.
“I’m alive,” I said, as he rested his forehead against mine. The gesture was intimate, and yet I felt oddly at ease, almost as though I’d known both him and Abel for years. For a moment, my mind flashed back to our closeness at Bluebird, and his smouldering look.
‘What the hell am I doing...’
Even as I thought it, I let my eyes fall shut, the fire behind us still full of life, and edging closer, but the danger only enhanced the thrill of his hand beginning to trace over my eyes and cheekbones, before falling to my lips. His touch made me shiver as I relaxed into him, but then gunshots rang out, and as I opened my eyes I saw Abel parting the flames as he walked unhurriedly through them. The gap closing as soon as he had passed.
Coming to a stop before us, he raised a brow. “I see that you missed us, at least one of us anyway.”
I smirked, sliding out from beneath Cain. “How did you find your way here?”
“The same way that you did, only after Casimir’s angel guardians tried to kill us, but we made use of their bodies,” Abel answered, as we headed further along the hallway.
The further we walked, the more beautiful the murals we passed, and the more reverent the stories that they told became. Until we stood in-front of a set of gold gilded double doors. Without hesitation, Cain reached forward, tracing the infinity symbol that had been carved on the door, along with many other symbols, using his fingertip. A mechanism clicked, and the doors swung inwards.
Stepping inside, the air grew heavy, as though it had thickened into a viscous substance. The tree of life stood in the very centre, beautifully proud in its regal stance, where a hollow arch split its lower trunk of golden bark. A small sunken pool of water encircled it, traced by lit braziers that had the symbol for the air element etched into their fire bowls. The sight was breathtaking.
As though everything had momentarily stilled, the clashing of bodies and pained screams from further away, behind the fire, sounded louder than ever. As Cain and Abel moved closer to the tree of life, I turned, shutting the doors. I swallowed, leaning against them as I tried to find the will to ignore my burning throat and feverish body.
‘It seems Cain is a perfect distraction.’
Turning around, I slowly made my way over to the tree where both Cain and Abel were lifting an ornate relic, that would have been recognisable to almost anyone. The Arc of the Covenant, with its unique golden tone, taken from the Acacia tree.
I watched as they gently lifted the relic, using the staves, as they carefully slid it out from beneath the arch of the tree. Almost immediately, the air thinned as a light breeze blew through the room.
I stood a few feet away as I gazed upon its crafted beauty.
“How does it compare to reading about it?” Abel asked, as he stared at it with mixed emotions.
“You already know the answer, but your face is certainly telling a story.” I gave him a sly look. “Care to share?”
“You know I’d share anything with you, Lilith,” he winked.
“Anything of no real consequence,” I said, as I looked away from him.
Cain stood further away than me, wearing a sarcastic smile as he stared at the Arc of the Covenant. When he caught me looking at him, his eyes narrowed in amusement.
“Something funny?” I raised an eyebrow in question.
“You mean apart from life?” he asked, tilting his head.
As I glanced at Abel, the sound behind the doors grew louder.
‘They’re getting closer, while we’re outnumbered... And I don’t know if I’m strong enough to use my telekinesis in this state and keep control of it. Fucking great!’
Having spaced out I’d wandered around behind the tree of life, but when I looked over my shoulder I saw that Cain and Abel had followed me, carrying the Arc.
As I looked around and took in the beautiful carvings, the rich tones of the wood, a shiver swept down my spine, spreading across my skin. My gaze fell upon the tree of life.
The longer I stared, the sharper the ache behind my eyes became. From the corner of my eye, I bearly caught sight of Cain and Abel falling to their knees, before the room began to blur as everything faded into the background.
Flashes and fragments of foreign memories suddenly flickered behind my eyes. Laughter, light-hearted banter and mistrust entwined with memories of Cain and Abel streamed forth. Aquilo running to me after not seeing him for days, his eyes alight as he proudly told people, that I was his sister. Memories of us together before I joined the Sanctuary. Before Casimir had taken those memories from me, and given me a background of nothing but miserable fairy-tales.
A knot of emotion tightened my chest as heartache began to grow, taking root. I watched more memories flicker past, before seeing Casimir torture me over 15 years ago. My screams had joined Aquilo’s, as I was cut repeatedly. My blood streaming over my naked limbs. Pain and humiliation had lingered in the air when they had left me to listen to Aquilo’s screams instead, as they repeatedly drowned him. I had healed more quickly than a human, but not as quickly as my deity descendants. Casimir had explained to me with bitterness and spite about who I truly was, a throwback descendant of the Lilith clan.
Exhaustion and blood loss had wearied me, but they had continued on, enjoying my every scream and threat against them. I had been slick with sweat and left to hang from their shackles, with my skin broken open by each slash of their blades. Looking back on it now, I had held out purely out of wilful pride. I had made us suffer for my vanity, before betraying Cain and Abel to Casimir anyway, knowing that they would suffer the same fate.
Gradually the room came back into focus, and I felt hollow, as though I had been stripped of my emotions and was now left with nothing but an empty shell. I sat unmoving, until I heard his unpleasant voice drifting towards me, as though I was still immersed in my lost memories.
He didn’t stop until he was all I could see before me. “You’ve finally remembered, thanks to the energy of the tree of life.” He sighed. “It’s been fifteen years since I unshackled the three of you.” He eyed Cain and Abel, who had risen to their feet. “You two were the perfect distraction, creating a sinister air every time you appeared and disappeared. I enjoyed watching the both of you trying to stay ahead of the game, especially when you had no idea who was behind, locking you away to begin with. All those years of torture.” He then turned to me. “And you, Lilith, you kept the sanctuary from looking at me too closely, as you always excelled in your missions, allowing my activities to remain under the radar. I had to create more chaos by framing innocent people just to keep you busy, you were that good. I wonder just how many innocent people you’ve killed.”
‘That sick bastard.’
I closed my eyes, bracing myself against the tree of life as I staggered to my feet and through the shallow pool, but still Casimir’s voice continued to haunt the three of us, until Cain spoke up.
“You caught us, but someone else betrayed us.”
At his words, my eyes slowly opened as I turned to him. “Then you should look over here.” The words held no feeling, except for the smallest trace of guilt, that sat like a velvet choker around my neck. Casimir’s laughter sounded harsh and grating, as I recalled the moment.
“Aquilo is my half-brother, Casimir kidnapped us and tortured us both, until I gave in.” The guilt and shame that in others, would have been a flood to drown in, for me, was like a teardrop upon the parched desert earth.
Catching both Cain and Abel’s gazes, I held them steady. “I’m not going to say I’m sorry, because I’m not.” I narrowed my eyes. “All I can say is, karma caught up with me eventually. Ironic really...” I laughed, but surprisingly there was no bitterness.
“And if it had only been you being tortured?” Cain asked.
“I would have made the same choice.”
They both nodded, as though they had already known my answer.
“Just like us,” they smirked.
I huffed a humourless laugh. ‘Three of a kind... And not the good kind.’
With us momentarily distracted, Casimir lunged for the Arc of the covenant, but Abel snatched him back with a lasso of flames. Casimir screamed, and I felt it as the sound quenched an undying thirst within me.
Pushing back against the tree of life, I realised that my fever had dropped, and my body felt a little lighter as I jumped to the side, just as another splashed water over Casimir, dousing his flames.
Cain had fled to the front of the room, and was cutting through the guardians in a deadly but beautiful dance of movements. Every time his sword flashed, it cleaved flesh, the blade holding a blue shimmer.
As I looked to the doors, more and more of Casimir’s corrupted poured through, but their steps were unsteady and unfocused as they grimaced while slouching forward.
‘The poison...’
Stepping to the side, I spun around, kicking one of Casimir’s men in the head as he tried to sneak up on me, before slitting his throat.
“That was sexy,” Abel said under his breath, but I still heard him. He stood in-between five of the angel guardians, his flames writhing in intricate patterns, that burnt their victims alive within moments.
“Distraction will be the death of you,” I whispered as I neared him, ducking and slashing my way free of charging bodies.
“If it was you, I wouldn’t mind,” he winked as though we weren’t surrounded by enemies.
“Touching, but no matter how hard you fight, you will die – and I promise to make it a long and painful one.” Casimir appeared between us, his clothes burnt, along with part of his chest and arms. “Especially yours, Lilith, after which I’ll hunt down, Aquilo, your beloved brother, now that you can remember him, and do exactly what you said I would.” With a frenzied glower, he leapt at me, his hand brushing my throat.
For the first time in a long time, I felt a truly uncontrollable rage, as I sharply stepped aside. Catching his arm, I bent it back as I twisted it, until I heard the crack. I watched him grit his teeth, and almost missed the blade in his other hand.
Letting him go, I shoved him away as he overbalanced and fell to the ground. I spun as another brushed my back, and turned to find Cain.
“I’ll deal with him, look over there...” he said as he nodded with his chin.
As I did, I saw more and more corrupted streaming through the doors. Without saying anything more, I left.
Telekinetic energy pulsed around me as I tensed, trying to keep control. My rage still simmered, but instead of holding it partially in check, I opened the floodgates. Small arcs of energy spiralled across my skin as I let go, my palms facing outwards. The energy hit in a blast that shook the room, the shockwave shattering pillars and defiantly gouging the walls. The corrupted silently screamed, their lungs crushed and their flames extinguished, mirroring the deaths of their wielders.
As I stepped closer, panting from the exertion, I saw their bodies lying still, blood pooling around them. Releasing an exhausted breath, it was already too late when I was suddenly hit in the head from behind. The blow knocking me to the ground, but as I looked up, I noticed some of the corrupted rising to their feet, even as Casimir loomed over me.
I could hear Cain and Abel calling my name, as my vision blurred and I lay still. My eyelids fluttered as I realised that I was left with only one choice. Clenching my fists, my eyes still closed, I allowed the divine energy in me to rise to the surface.
The response was instant as I relaxed my hands, opening my eyes to see that flames had sprung up from my palms, infused with my telekinetic ability.
Casimir swore, almost stumbling backwards, but soon regained his balance enough to give me a slow and lazy clap.
‘It seems there really is a first time for everything.’
I smiled as I extended my palm, effortlessly sending a scorching pillar of fire towards him, watching as it swallowed his figure, trapping him inside. His screams echoed as he ran, until I pinned him in place with telekinesis, allowing the pillar to slowly consume him.
Seeing their lousy lord screaming in agony, both the angel guardians and the corrupted stalked towards me. I bearly turned as I kept Casimir in place, while raising a wall of flames to push the others back. I watched unmoved as the many turned into no more than a few, before disintegrating into nothing but scattering ash. Shaping my other hand in a sharp pincer-like movement, I tore the rest of their heads from their bodies.
As they limply fell to the ground, I glanced back at Casimir. His body had also slumped over, his silence telling. Dropping my shaking hands, I let the flames fade away into the aftermath of emptiness. My body shook as I fell to my knees before gently slipping backwards – but before I could hit the gleaming marble, I felt two sets of hands catch me.
Instead of laying me down there, they carried me over to the tree of life, but I could already feel my heartbeat slowing.
“I’m beginning to think that you’ve got more of a death wish than, Cain,” Abel said, as he leant over me.
“Is that even possible?” I smirked, but it was half-hearted. My breath was shallow, as the poison took a deeper hold.
“If you’re thinking of dying, don’t.” Cain bent down, leaning closer, as his breath caressed my ear. “I’ll never allow you to escape from me so easily.”
I smiled at the warm threat in his voice, as both he and Abel gently cupped the sides of my face while I lay between them. A single tear rolled down my cheek as I thought of Aquilo, just as the darkness opened its arms to embrace me. I felt a feather-light touch on my cheek and forehead, and their whispers of promises that I wouldn’t die.
Lingering on the edge of unconsciousness and coaxed by the beauty of death, I heard one last whisper.
“Death won’t greet you, Lilith, we will.”
- The End -
Thank you so much for reading until the end (total word count 27,267)