◖𓈈﹗ ﹙ chapter twenty ﹚
❛ ▬▬ dorian monsietti . . . ❜
A few days had passed since the attack. Lilith Arduenn fell silent with the farewell of each night, becoming lonely and reluctant to contact her fellow witches. She only wanted to talk to Rowena and Mandy, and for the rest, she avoided their existence. She was not in the mood and had no words to express. All the witches found out about her disobedience. Pandora scolded her for half an hour, left the office without really having heard a single word except: "Next time, think about your life and not just your mom's." If Lilith could do that, she wouldn't have done what she did.
At the end of the first week of February, Pandora agreed to let her go visit Bobby for research purposes. The days she spent being punished - which meant skipping Rowena's classes - gave her time to think about the demons. The situation with her project was still the same; she needed a spell and it could take months to come up with one. However, Lilith divided her time and managed to take care of both matters. There was much known about demons and their powers, with damned university careers dedicated to demonological research. It was an issue that involved thousands of generations and societies from different parts of the planet. In the absence of books on the origin of magic, she had too many books that talked about demons, of which a large part generated conflicts and sometimes turned out to be not real. That was why she requested to travel to Bobby's house, and also because she missed feeling with someone she had known forever. The brothers were there, and it was the best time to visit him.
She didn't complicate things by making a bag, as Bobby's house had a closet full of clothes and everything needed to stay for weeks, even months. She left the student tower before the sun finished illuminating the sky, quickly crossed the hallway of photographs until she reached the main door. Apparently, she was not the only one leaving the coven. Bárbara Monsieti was hugging a boy. It was the first time she had seen a man inside the coven. Suddenly, she remembered that Mandy had told her that only sons of witches had entered; this was her son.
"Hey, Lilith!" Mandy saw her arrive. "This is my son, Dorian. He came to visit me for a few days, I wanted to introduce him to you, but I haven't seen you in the yard or anywhere."
Her spirits were lower than ever, but she decided to behave politely. The boy was as tall as Sam, she would say a few centimeters taller. He looked a lot like his mother: an oval face with a prominent nose, pale skin like a ghost, and slightly long jet-black hair. The first thing she thought was that he looked like her first boyfriend, they even wore the same glasses. Dorian - a name that she found amazing - reacted to Lilith's approach without the confidence that the black turtleneck and pantsuit had given him. Lilith felt his shyness, she had already lived that story.
"Pleased to meet you," she extended her hand, taking the first step, or they wouldn't get very far.
Dorian accepted it after a few uncomfortable seconds. "Hello, my mom told me about you," his voice was deep, like that of a thirty-year-old man who looked the same age as Sam. "I'm sorry about what happened, I hope it gets resolved soon."
Lilith understood his sincere intentions, although it had touched her damaged heart. She had not talked to anyone about what had happened, just cried for days.
"Where are you going?" Bárbara asked.
"To South Dakota, I'm going to visit some friends.
"What a coincidence!" exclaimed Barbara, looking at her son, who blushed. "He's also headed there for work. Sioux Falls?"
"Yes, are you taking a plane?" she asked Dorian directly. Speaking to him directly made him even more nervous. At this point, he had already earned the label of adorable.
"No, I'm driving my car. I need it to move around the city freely," he explained, gesturing with his hands. Lilith was paying too much attention to the details of his body.
"Why don't you go together?" Barbara suggested, patting his back and giving him a little push towards Lilith. She had a feeling it wasn't the first time she had seen something like this.
"Mum!" Dorian looked at his mother, holding his briefcase tightly and pursing his lips. "I'm sorry," he apologized for behavior that seemed to him the most tender. "I'd be delighted. If you want, we can go together."
"Thank you, I think it would be a better idea than taking a plane. There's a storm forecasted, and I was going with the idea that they might cancel my flight."
"Very well," Barbara now had a more radiant smile than usual. "I wish you both a good trip, and you, behave like a gentleman and turn on your brain for other things too. Life isn't just about software and business."
Dorian set off before his mother finished talking, causing Lilith to follow him. She wasn't particularly short around ordinary people, but as her companions were the Winchesters, she needed heels to avoid neck pain. With Dorian and flat shoes, she felt like a dwarf, barely reaching his shoulders. The silence of the way to the gates ended with the surprise of finding a luxurious car parked near the witches' trucks. A metallic black Lamborghini with polished shine and tinted glass. Her knowledge of cars was non-existent, she only knew it was a Lamborghini because of the logo. The only source that informed her about cars (or brought up the topic of conversation) was Dean, and every time he did, Lilith paid more attention to the latest news.
"Is that your car?" It had impressed her. Not only did the model demand economic status, but the damn doors opened to the sky, and the interior was the most modern she had ever seen. "Wow, it's very nice. I don't know what else to say. I don't know anything about cars."
"Don't worry, I don't either," he sat on the steering wheel and turned on the engine, which made a soft and pleasurable sound. "A colleague told me to buy it, and I did. I liked the model, it's fast on the road, and, well, it looks like Batman's car. It's a Lamborghini Murciélago 2001," Dorian fastened his seatbelt, and Lilith imitated him. After traveling so much in the Impala, she had forgotten that they existed. Neither Sam nor Dean used them. "Get comfortable, and let me know if you need anything. We'll have to rest at a hotel during the early morning. Is that okay for you?"
"Yes, you're in the front, you lead. I don't know how to drive," Dorian said, intrigued by the luxury Lamborghini brand. "So, you're going for work? What do you do? A car like this doesn't maintain itself by magic, does it?"
Entering one of the exits from the forest that led them directly to the road, Dorian felt more comfortable in the open air with the sun still shining. He relaxed his muscles and smiled less timidly; his cheeks returned to their natural color.
"I graduated from MIT with a master's degree in computer and information systems, currently finishing my Ph.D.," he said, now more confident than before. "While I was studying, I created an e-commerce website about video games, comics, books, TV shows, movies, related items, you can imagine," Lilith could imagine it since Dorian had a Batman logo keychain. "I was lucky it did very well; you might know it, FreakShop."
"Oh, yes, I know it! That's where I pre-order Harry Potter books and bought a ton of mugs and T-shirts. You're the founder?" Dorian nodded proudly. Lilith corrected herself; he was probably a millionaire or had a few million dollars. That site was famous, and it had super exclusive items. "And what are you doing in Sioux Falls?"
"Well, there are some kids working on new technology related to each user's algorithm, and a friend of theirs is creating an advanced cyber security network. The guys were like me at that age," he suddenly became shy. "They're 16 and 17, they wanted to meet me, and I'm thrilled. Besides, I want to hire them, but since they're minors, I have to talk to their parents and some lawyers. Um... you know, I did my job alone, my mom didn't help me with magic. I get involved a lot."
"That's great," Lilith said, looking at his profile intrigued. Sometimes she noticed it, and her neck tensed, and when he became more nervous, he concentrated hard like a stone on the road. Lilith understood what was going on; some men didn't like the presence of a girl. "Do you want to know something about me?" she asked, pushing the conversation forward. After days of depression, meeting someone who looked too much like her first boyfriend gave freshness to her soul; she remembered what it was like to be fifteen.
"Yes, I'd love to," he reacted euphorically, at levels that made him feel embarrassed. Lilith thought it was cute. "I only know your name and what happened with your mother. Once again, I'm so sorry about what the others did..." Listening to the slightest reference to what happened the other night changed her face to one full of sadness. "Uh... but I think you don't feel like remembering it. Is there anything you want to tell me that you feel comfortable... telling me?" Poor thing, he thought he had messed up.
"Sure," despite everything, Lilith lost a lot of enthusiasm recently. "I was raised as a human; I always knew about the supernatural world. I grew up with hunters, but my mom hid from me that she was a witch, and I grew up being a very normal girl, with common aspirations and dreams. I cared about my studies from a young age so that I could get into Harvard and study my dream career: political science and government. And I did it; I did my first year, and then things happened, and I quit because of witchcraft."
"Damn, you went to Harvard?"
"Are you going to treat me like Elle Woods?" Lilith asked him. "If you understood the reference to one of her favorite movies, I would give you my phone number. Uh?"
"Legally Blonde?" he guessed. "No, I was just surprised that you left Harvard for witchcraft. My spider sense tells me not to ask why."
"Listen to your spider sense," Lilith said, getting serious and moving a bit closer to him, but not enough to make him uncomfortable. "I don't want to talk about witches or anything related to it."
"Done," he said, not expecting it. Barbara had trained him well. "Do you want to put on some music? You can connect your iPod or put on a CD."
Lilith laughed at her own thoughts, a small and inevitable chuckle that Dorian took as a strange sign, as if she was making fun of him. Lilith quickly added:
"I have a friend who is a bit... very old-fashioned about cars. He has one from '66 or '67, I can't remember, and he refuses to put a CD player or any iPod adapter, not even a pendrive. But I can connect my iPod in this one. Sorry, I laughed at my surprise when it's the most normal thing in the world."
"Well, feel free to put on your music. I don't have a set genre, I usually just put on the radio and listen to whatever they consider trendy."
Lilith had drifted away from music, or avoided falling into a more transcendental depression that would prevent her from concentrating on her witchcraft studies. The time she devoted to music was sacred to her, one of her favorite pastimes. It reminded her of the taste of morning. Her mom woke her up with music, with some Latin artist or the powerhouse voice of Etta James. To this day, she woke up with the hope of Stormy Weather, the delicious aroma of toasted bread, a bit of butter, and a hot chocolate before heading off to school. It was a very strong emotional attachment she had to the memory of her mother, and she was scared of the power of her mind and collapsing in front of Dorian. The randomness of a little-known radio station, with an indie and tranquil music schedule, was the best option for the following hours of casual conversation and a rainy landscape.
The trip from Salem to Sioux Falls lasted a day and a half on the road. Dorian and Lilith managed to create a pleasant and friendly environment between them, building a relationship that progressed from strangers to potential friends. She discovered a little more about Dorian's personality in the simplest things: first they had stopped at a very nice Italian restaurant, with soft lights and an extravagant menu. There, she learned that he had a kind of mysophobia, he washed his hands with antibacterial gel every so often, he had a very high hygiene; second, he was a gentleman, respectful to everyone's sight and shy around women. Lilith had to do the talking with the waitress and the hotel receptionist, who had mistaken them for a couple and offered them a single room. His face turned red in seconds in the slightest conditions of shame. Without a doubt, he was a particular boy, not to be found anywhere. He left a good impression on Lilith and a space in her mind.
Once at Bobby's house, she saw the Impala parked near the entrance. The brothers had not left, she could still spend time with Sam, she wanted to know how he was doing after his ordeal with Meg. The great chase and his near-death were due to a demon possession. She had forgiven him.
"Hello, guys!" Lilith
"Lilith!" Sam stood up to give her a strong hug that made her werewolf wound hurt. Dean only greeted her with a simple hello. "How are you? Have you had breakfast yet?"
"Nope, I'll make myself a latte." She approached Bobby's desk and hugged him without warning. "Are you busy?"
"You can sit down." He offered her the chair in front of him. "I have news about your magic syringe, they almost have it ready."
"That's great!" she said from the kitchen, starving. She grabbed a cup and some milk, checking the expiration date. It was a miracle that Bobby had any food in his house. Hunters only drank plain coffee and never prepared home-cooked meals. "Did they leave any cereal?"
"Here's the box, it's for you," Dean replied from the table. "Did you leave the coven?"
"No, she came because she wants to know about demons," Bobby clarified for her. "I have a few books here for you to look at, but I think you already know everything I do. So tell me...what's the reason? Why do you want to know?"
Lilith had omitted a lot of information to the hunters, breaking her promise to keep them updated on her mom's progress. They had no idea that she had attempted a rescue and failed horribly. Just imagining the conversation they would have put tears in her eyes; she would feel humiliated, like a child who had yet to learn anything, and they would likely be right. She finished making her coffee and grabbed a bowl to eat the little cereal the boys had left her.
"Well," she hesitated, sitting down at Bobby's desk. Even at this point, she was still lost in a gap that mixed her human upbringing with her new life as a witch. Bobby seemed to prefer the memory of a young Lilith. "It would help me understand several things about supernatural powers."
The vague interpretation of her deep desires provoked an ironic look from Bobby, who unloaded a book in front of her nose: "Demonology by Bobby Singer."
"Dean told us everything, and even though he said few words, he gave us a lot more information than you did," he said.
"Great, then we can go straight to the demons," Lilith hurried to say. What Dean knew was enough explanation. She preferred the natural way it happened. If she had to explain everything, she would become a nervous wreck. Her emotions were too affected after her failure.
"No, you two are going to listen to me for a second," Bobby looked at her and then at Dean, who was standing behind him drinking coffee. That idiot couldn't keep his mouth shut! "My house is not a motel. I want you separated by one meter."
Why wasn't she surprised? She had asked the number one idiot to keep it a secret that they had slept together. Lilith turned around, the fury transforming her facial expressions. She imagined a thousand ways to punish him, and seeing him there with a pious smile combined with his carefree attitude made her twice as angry. It wasn't until she saw the witch's threat - and the attention unfairly blaming him - that he became defensive.
"I slipped, it wasn't my intention!" Why did this guy bother talking if he was going to mess it up? Lilith provoked fire under his feet, moderate but enough to make him jump out of his chair and stomp around, terrified of burning his feet until the fire dissipated. "You're crazy, woman! Lilith didn't mean to!"
"Oops, it wasn't my intention, it slipped out," she replied innocently and ironically. "Anyway, back to the topic at hand: Demons. Who made them? Lucifer? Is there evidence of his existence? And if so, is he an archangel or a demon? What facts about demons are real? There is too much information about them, but not all of it is true, and since you had close contact with them, you could see how they work. So, do you know why they are harmed by holy water or react to the word Christo? There is a clear connection to the Roman Catholic religion, that is, the prayer translated from Latin to bless the water says: "I exorcise you, creature of water, in the name of God the Father Almighty and by the power of the Holy Spirit." But we're not going to argue about the existence of that God, but about the demonic powers and how they obtain them by analyzing their origins. I'm listening."
Bobby was left perplexed after the young witch's monologue. He sought help from the brothers, or at least he tried, but Lilith also surprised Sam. She had changed; the coven had turned her into a different person, a version that deeply connected her to the supernatural world, causing a disruption in memory.
"Wow!" Sam exclaimed.
"I told you so, you had to listen to me. It's too late to regret it," Dean exclaimed. After spending a week together, he got a scoop on the new Lilith, he had already seen that movie. "Lilith, demons are evil, they kill innocents, come out of hell, possess people, and make deals to get souls. Powers: they have more strength, they can throw you in the air without touching you... what else, well, it seems there are several species. The most common ones are the ones with black eyes, and then there's the yellow-eyed idiot. Lucifer? Come on, Lilith, after what you told me, are you going to start believing in Lucifer?"
"Those are too many questions," Bobby began before Lilith could respond to Dean. "Demons are spirits, human souls that were corrupted in hell. So, they must acquire their powers by walking through hell if we're going by logic... I haven't verified it, but the humanity they once had disappears to be replaced by demonic powers, somehow developing them. I don't know if there's a Lucifer, a creator, so to speak. I understand that you relate it to Catholicism because of the Latin, it's a good point that you shouldn't give too much importance to. There are monsters from thousands of religions from every era and around the world, it works because someone discovered it and nurtured it into their religion. It doesn't necessarily mean that everything written in the Bible is true."
"Also, demons seem to have their own hierarchy of powers," Sam added. "There are crossroad demons that are better known than the black-eyed ones, at least they have a job: collecting souls. What do you have in mind, Lilith?"
Their mind was like blank pages ready to be written on by demonic theories and information. They developed a brilliant capacity to store small details fundamental to consecrate entire theories and put together a functional and efficient connection. Lilith sank into her thoughts for a whole minute. She was interested in the powers of demons for one reason: they were much stronger than her and several witches. Catching them was difficult and killing them was a desire. The others had made deals with them, became allies. How would she fight against more experienced witches, packs of monsters, and demons? The entire supernatural world was against her, and of all of them, demons were the most powerful. Pandora gave the order to retreat when all that could be seen in the mansion was black smoke, hundreds of shadows hitting witches. Suddenly Lilith thought of Sam. He had developed powers overnight, in the ultimate expression of "by magic". What annoyed her the most was that he wasn't the only one; he had companions. Special kids, special kids, special kids... Yes, there were many special ones.
"From that," Dean pointed to the witch's trance, "to plastering this house with spells, there's only one night left. Go to sleep and you'll wake up in a madhouse."
"I can burn your penis right now. Do you want to see?"
"No," he backed away in his chair and covered his pelvis from her.
"Sam, I have a question for you," Lilith proceeded after thinking. It was a good time to conduct her experiment. "Did the others like you also develop powers out of nowhere? Was it at the same time?"
"Yeah, why?"
She reached for her bag with purple magic sliding through her fingers, catching the impression of Bobby and Sam as a deja vu of Dean's behavior. In the coven, she had prepared and bought the necessary tools for her experiment.
"I've spent six months studying magic: its origin, classification, and types. I recently found information that can help me in my research and Sam's problem," Lilith pulled out four syringes and four tubes used in hematology to analyze blood samples, which she labeled with the names of the hunters and hers. Her mysterious aura captivated the hunters as if she was using a spell. "Lidia Keyteler, a witch specialized in the study of blood, classified the level of magic in various creatures and invented a practical and effective solution to identify them from the blood."
Lilith took the syringe labeled with Bobby's name and approached calmly with the needle in hand.
"What is this?" Sam asked.
"I'm going to take blood from all of you, starting with Bobby, who we're certain is human." Without much drama, Bobby offered his arm. Lilith extracted a few milliliters and placed it in the corresponding tube. She would do the same with Sam and Dean.
"Of course I'm human!" Bobby howled, taking off his baseball cap.
The witch moved on to Dean. "Now you, who may not be human."
"Why wouldn't I be? I'm human, and damn sure of it, Arduenn. I didn't grow fangs." He didn't flinch at the prick. After emptying the blood into the tube, he approached Sam. "Why Lilith?"
"Because you're blood relatives," she replied eloquently as she finished with Sam. "I'll tell you now so you're not surprised: Sam won't come out human." She pronounced the sentence and opened the door to an uncomfortable silence. Before explaining further, she drew her own blood. "What? It's true. He has powers, humans don't have powers, not naturally..."
"Can you explain, Lilith?" Bobby asked.
"You're hunters, you should already know the definitions," Lilith kept the four labeled tubes and pulled a dropper bottle of Lydia Keyteler's witch solution from a small pocket. "Monsters are beings that feed on humans, right? They hunt out of necessity, like an animal, they need to feed. Witches don't eat humans; they're not our food, and frankly, we don't need them to develop powers or live. On the other hand, demons don't eat humans, but they need souls, and lastly, humans. Nothing more needs to be said about humans. Do you see that there's a big difference between species? And that difference is apparent in the blood and with this mixture. What I'm going to do is put a drop in each blood sample, and in a matter of seconds, it will change color, and that's how we identify which species it belongs to. Let me show you. Here, I have Bobby's blood. I'm going to put a drop, and nothing will happen because he's human. It has to remain exactly the same." Lilith shook the tube a little. "See? Nothing has happened to his blood. With Dean's blood, I hope no changes occur. If he didn't develop powers, it must be Sam's thing."
The hunters nodded expectantly for her to continue. Lilith had noticed the different emotions that became easier to appreciate, or she could be gifted in learning men's behavior. Although the three were intrigued and perplexed by Lilith's change, destroying the girl who dreamed of attending Harvard, Bobby evidenced the nostalgia and grief of having lost the straight mundane path for the supernatural; Sam, as always, listened without judging any piece of his soul and ignored the disaster that Lilith's strong statement had caused in Dean. The older brother barely followed Lilith's explanation.
"I told you he was human! I should have bet on it..."
"In humans, there is no change in the color of their blood, but when you put a drop of witch blood in it, it turns blue," said and done, within seconds his blood was no longer red. A beautiful royal blue. "If I were to do it on a monster, the blood would turn yellow. Now, Sam. I hope it turns purple."
"What does the color purple mean?" asked Sam. His brother frowned.
"It means you have a little bit of my type of magic, and that's the best you could get. It's not a classification as such, I assume it's because of the color mix: red plus blue equals purple."
Lilith didn't want to create more tension than there already was, but she couldn't deny that she was terrified of the result, mainly because she hadn't wanted to tell them that if it turned black, it meant he was a demon. Trembling hands, she poured a drop and shook it, waiting for the transformation. Fuck... it wasn't what she expected, not even close. The blood had darkened, a thick burgundy, full of shadows, but the human essence was still there. The color of the blood shattered Dean's hope, opened concern in Bobby, left Sam silent with his head bowed, and aroused scientific curiosity in Lilith.
"I don't know what it means, only that you weren't going to come out completely human, but it's in the range of reds," she gave a merciful explanation, rather, one that her emotional part of the brain created because she was too busy thinking about the demon blood's relationship. "It's always better to know the truth. If it helps, I don't think you should be scared. At least you didn't come out yellow, you're not a monster."
She escaped from the hunters as soon as it didn't become too obvious that she was hiding a thought. She locked herself in her room with the blood samples and the chapter where the witch Lydia Keyteler presented her research. Lilith didn't underestimate the hunters' intelligence, they had been in the supernatural world long before her, but scientific interest was a different perspective, one in which they lost interest. Sam's blood had darkened within the range of red...
She searched through the drawers for some old ink, she should have some somewhere because as a child she liked to feel like a Hogwarts student and write with quill and parchment. She took out a couple of old storybooks from a box, some movies she had found in the basement, and finally found a pot of black ink. It was a little dry, but it would serve her hypothesis. The only way Sam's blood could have darkened in that way was with the powers of the demons. It was pure color theory: if Sam obtained his powers with witch magic, his blood should be blue or consequently purple or pink; if he obtained them like the monsters, his blood should be yellow or orange; if he were human, it wouldn't change, and if he were a demon, it would be black, what happened was a degradation to black. Lilith placed two drops of black ink in Dean's blood, which was completely red. The result didn't surprise her, but it made her think.
The experiment with Dean's blood turned out to be the same as Sam's blood. It gave him a lot to think about. The powers developed by the special children, so far, resembled those of natural witches, but they did not have the same origin, curse, they came from demons. How had he achieved it? And why was Dean clean? It was interesting and at the same time worrying. With all the information about demons and how they obtained their powers from hell in a process that eliminated the human soul, perhaps Dean had been left with the wrong impression, and his obsession with seeing Sam as a possible killer was more destiny than probability. Still, Lilith found it fascinating how quickly the special children had obtained their powers, which would make her more powerful than ever.
Lilith's ambition sometimes overtook her emotions, and other times, defeated them. Upon learning the truth about witches and that Mom needed her help, she had blindly believed that now was her moment to make up for the twenty years of taking care of her in the privilege of a comfortable and stable life. She had been given everything she wanted, learned to get her way using every last resource, what was her last resort? When would she win? She was tired of crying every night immersed in magical problems searching for the answer to a topic that no witch had achieved in hundreds of years. She was tired of time, how much longer did she have to wait? She no longer felt powerful, it was pathetic what she had done, she couldn't even get rid of three damn werewolves, she almost died! And demons had saved her! In the height of knowledge, she was going back to the bottom of the cave, where everything was black and the light barely peeked through.
Lilith's attempts were beginning to falter due to motivation, which had never happened to her before. She didn't want to give up, but that night, hidden among the cars at Bobby's salvage yard so her cries wouldn't be heard, she smoked a cigarette and begged for a miracle. Her options were running out: she had made the same progress as other witches, well, a little more. Her magic extractor seemed to be the best of all time, and with a good spell, she would baptize it, but the problem was creating it, it would take her many months, even for a witch like Rowena or Pandora. Her mission to obtain more pearls and educate herself in witchcraft, although meritorious, required more work to match the best; and lastly, her interest in demons. The experiment with Sam's blood had shown her a clue to obtaining spontaneous powers, she needed them more than Sam, with her training, she would be able to control them better than him, better than all those special children.
"How did all those stupid special children get powers so quickly and out of nowhere?!" Lilith whined alone, her bones freezing under just a blanket. In her lap, she held a notebook where she was making several notes.
Demon blood and human blood... Demons were once human... they possibly obtain their powers from Hell... these children developed telekinesis, mind control, premonitions, there was one who could fry people... the yellow-eyed demon was involved... a plan. Shit! Why did they have to take her mom? Why not another witch? Mom had stepped away from witchcraft, didn't bother anyone, lived like any other human. Not even her own daughter knew she was a witch! Of all people, why her mom?
"There it is, didn't run away... oh... tears, I'm not good with tears," Dean's voice was heard behind her, and she burst into tears even more, damn it, she hid to be alone.
"You're leaving right now, Dean!" she said, showing her anger and taking the cigarette out of her mouth. "I'm serious."
"I'm leaving too," he turned to face Sam.
Lilith sighed as her tears allowed her to, not even wanting to talk to her best friend. She had locked herself in a bubble and wouldn't come out until she was ready to talk about her failure.
"I'm sorry, I don't want to talk to anyone," she threw away the cigarette butt and picked up her notebook and some torn pages.
She escaped from them as she usually did from people when she really didn't need anyone. She was still human, and as such, a social animal, but at that moment she just wanted to be alone. Sam followed her to the entrance of the house, leaving Dean behind. Even her best friends couldn't help Lilith with her pain.
"I know you want it, come on," he hugged her without warning. Did she need it? No, but it felt really good to feel contained. "Do you want me to make you some tea and we can talk?"
Lilith pulled away carefully.
"Thanks, Sam," she wiped her tears with the palm of her hand. "But no. I'm going to take a bath and then go to bed," the cigarette smoke was sticking to her hair and she hated going to sleep like that, "but thanks for caring." The witch sneaked up the stairs before Sam could give her his puppy-dog eyes and get a chat. She was terrified of telling him how she felt. She was sick of everything, there was no other expression. "
Sam was the better roommate of the two, he had left the bathroom cleaner than ever before and was generally the better person to live with. Lilith could be easy or a nightmare, depending on the time of day. In the past few days, she had been easy, just reading books and taking notes, almost like she wasn't even there. After brushing her teeth, her stomach growled with hunger since she had skipped dinner. She hoped that Bobby had gone grocery shopping, or else there would be nothing but coffee to eat. When she came downstairs, she never would have imagined seeing Dorian Monsieti sitting on Bobby's couch. What made it even more surprising was that she couldn't imagine anyone else but the brothers sitting in their living room/office. The worst part was that Bobby was acting as if nothing was wrong, flipping through his diary and drinking coffee. What the hell had happened?
"Dorian! What are you doing here?" Lilith approached, looking for explanations from the brothers. Instead of giving them, they watched the scene from the kitchen as if it were a gossip show, pulling out cups and cutting bread.
Dorian hunched over on the couch, creating his own shell with his shoulders. He was shy among so many books and in such an awkward silence. He got up the moment Lilith appeared in his vision, overwhelming everyone in a second. He was as tall as Sam, maybe even a little taller. His dress code never changed, even in the two days they had spent together. She never saw him in simple t-shirts or plaid shirts. He kept a neat style of fine cotton pants, a classic English style, and a deep blue polo shirt. She even saw a long military green coat. How had Bobby let him in? He hardly let any other hunters into his house. Did he know that he was a son of a witch?
"I wanted to know how you were doing. When I left, you seemed sad." That melted her heart, damn it, he hit the nail on the head.
"I'm fine," she said, searching his dark eyes. She saw his cheeks turn red, so she continued before it turned into silence. "Did you come all this way just to ask me how I'm doing this morning?"
"I was wondering if maybe you would like to have breakfast with me." What he lacked in confidence, he made up for in tenderness. Dorian was a true gentleman.
Despite not having woken up in the best mood, Lilith thought it was a nice idea to have breakfast with Dorian. He was a quiet guy, and a conversation that didn't involve witches or demons would do her good. Waiting for her to wake up had made Lilith a few minutes late in changing, but she finally came down the stairs wearing a deep red coat and a white cotton scarf. She left her hair loose and put on mascara to feel more beautiful and awake.
"Does your mommy predict which stocks to buy on Wall Street?" Dean commented, glued to the window, watching Dorian's car. Sam apologized for his brother's bad behavior with his best look of compassion, a skill he had perfected over the years.
"No, I have good contacts," Dorian replied. "You look very lovely. Shall we go?"
"Dean likes to make people uncomfortable, don't take it personally," Lilith intervened, rushing to get him out of that situation.
"Nice to meet you," said Sam. Thank goodness he was there because Bobby and Dean didn't have any manners or niceties.
Once they were comfortable in his car, Dorian felt emboldened to speak.
"I didn't know you were with hunters."
"Yeah... they're good. I'm sorry if they gave you a hard time. Dean is... well, Dean. No one knows when he'll behave like a normal person or be a total asshole, and Bobby is just a cranky old man who hardly ever leaves his house. I hope Sam gave you a better impression. He's the best."
"Yeah, Sam seems like a good guy," Dorian replied, hoping it would stay that way. He still hadn't fully deciphered what had happened with his blood, and it left a bad taste in his mouth.
They went to a café in the city center, quickly found a table, and within seconds, a waitress was taking their breakfast order. Dorian was more relaxed than the first time they met. Inviting her on a date might be adding a big word to the equation, but it definitely felt that way.
"How was work?" Lilith started the conversation, leading it toward the mundane. That's what Dorian wanted, a normal outing like any other person in the world, just like the couple sitting at the table next to them.
"Fantastic! The guys are officially working for my company from home, a schedule that doesn't interfere with school and is in accordance with the law. So, yes, I think it was a success. I called my father to get several shareholders to finance the new technology and cybersecurity project. We need to stay ahead of the competition. The people at this new platform, Youtube, are looking for new IT and engineering talent. After that, I'll sell them my technology for millions," Dorian said with an arrogant smile.
"Do you have a relationship with your dad?" Lilith asked. Apart from the general interest in his work, it seemed very unusual to hear that he had a father. In her own reference material and that of the other witches in the coven, they seemed to have gotten pregnant by any man. None of them were married or in a relationship.
"Yes, my dad is a banker. He works at JPMorgan-Chase," Dorian's face lit up with pride. "My parents were never together, always separated. I spent most of my childhood with my mom in the coven, and then with my dad and stepmother. He has no idea about witches. The only demons for him are the communists. I think I'm talking too much about myself. What about your interests? What are your plans for the future? How old are you? I never asked."
"I'm twenty, I'll be celebrating Halloween," Lilith took a deep breath, trying to hide the weight of thinking about the future. "I don't know. I haven't thought much about it since I became a witch. But my previous self would have told you that I would work my way up to being the governor of Massachusetts and maybe do the typical family stuff, but I always put that on the back burner."
"Very impressive. I have to admit, I didn't expect you to accept breakfast with me."
"Why?" Lilith squealed, feigning indignation. "Don't I have a nice face? I'm adorable, pretty, right?"
"Of course! You're absolutely gorgeous," Dorian rushed to say and immediately became nervous upon hearing himself speak. "God, that was...I didn't mean to say that, well, I did mean to say that you're very pretty. I'm sure you hear that a lot. I thought the next time I would see you would be from afar at the coven when I go to visit my mother. No girl usually accepts to go out with me... Shit! No, I didn't mean to say this is a date, it's just, um...Am I screwing up?"
" I thought it was a date," Lilith said as the waitress arrived with her order. The boy nearly fell out of his seat. His deep, dark, and incredulous eyes took some time to come back to reality. "Thanks," Lilith added as she added three spoons of sugar to her latte.
"It's whatever you want it to be," he said, trying to please her in a state of confusion.
"Well, I'm deciding that it's a date. What are you going to do about it?" Lilith admitted she was having fun putting him in these situations. She found it interesting how he reacted to her. Who had destroyed his confidence? He was a very handsome man.
"I suppose I won't panic," he said.
Lilith let out an adorable laugh. She had had enough; the poor guy looked like he was about to vomit. She leaned in across the table and took control of their interaction. "For today, I'm just a normal girl to you. I don't want to hear a single word about the supernatural world. I hate it right now. Can you do that?"
"What Hogwarts house are you in?" he asked. "I saw a cup with the Hogwarts logo on the counter, and I don't think your friend Dean is the type to read fantasy or any kind of novel."
"I'm a proud Slytherin. How about you?"
"Slytherin," he replied, returning to being the boy who led one of the most important e-commerce platforms of the moment.
"We're going to get along just fine, you and me."
• • ⛧ • •
In the afternoon, she returned to Bobby's house after he called her, letting her know that he had her syringe ready. Lilith was so excited that she left a class about religions that she had sneaked into. Demons were becoming more and more interesting to her, and she thought she could ask the boys to hunt one down for her to interrogate. She still had many doubts about what had happened at the Salvatore Mansion. Why did they save her? Why did Meg know her? It remained in her head like a virus.
She entered through the front entrance, opening the door with magic, and immediately saw the brothers watching television. Dean was flipping channels while Sam was browsing the web with his laptop on his lap. Soon, they all heard her arrive.
"Dorian Monsieti is an American programmer and entrepreneur, creator of the fifth largest e-commerce platform in the world with the highest sales, specializing in the Geek and youth sector. He has collaborated with major comic book companies, Star Wars, and there are expectations of a future collaboration with Harry Potter. His platform, Freakshop, has earned him an estimated fortune of 20 million dollars..."
Lilith interrupted Sam by closing his laptop.
"It wasn't necessary," she simply said, walking past both of them to Bobby's desk. That's where what interested her was.
"Just finished. Is it how you wanted it?" Bobby handed it to her, as if it were a treasure. "It's quite beautiful, to be honest."
And it was. It matched what she had imagined, her blueprints, all the symbols arranged perfectly, the materials specifically chosen for each part, serving a special purpose. It was beautiful, large, and very heavy, exactly as her calculations had shown. She was dying to show it to Rowena! She needed to experiment right away, but she still didn't have the spell.
"Thank you, Bobby!" Lilith kissed him on the cheek and rushed to her room.
She couldn't contain her excitement behind the closed door, alone with her books and notes, with a cauldron and a pen. She needed to test months of research, her greatest attempt to save her mom. She knew disappointment awaited her, that it wouldn't work as she hoped. She had made progress, yes, but there was still a long way to go. She disinfected the needle and the area where she would inject it, using her magic to hold the syringe so it wouldn't harm her arm. She did it carefully, counting to three. She felt the prick, then the euphoria. Slowly, she started pulling the plunger, and blood appeared in the glass, but she wasn't alone. Tiny particles of purple magic sparkled like electricity, microseconds of her magic, very little, barely perceptible fluctuations that she could perform on a large scale. It was marvelous! Lilith Arduenn had managed to extract magic, or at least a small portion of it, enough to make tears well up in her eyes.
⛧.