Chapter 14

Shaina caught up to me right before I entered the skies of Vanity Meadows. Her experience evident as she proved that she was a better flyer and tried to bring me down by punch, kicks, scratches and bites ... I fought tooth and nail, with everything I got but due to my vow with her, I wasn't able to deal any real damage on her. The same restriction didn't seem to apply to her though.

I could've sworn that she tried and almost succeeded in tearing and ripping off my wings several times. We continued wrestling in the air until we fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes. That really hurt. We ended up just lying there from both pain and exhaustion.

"What's going on here?!!!" exclaimed a voice from above my head.

Shaina and I tried to get up to see who it was, a feat made almost impossible as she made another attempt at slipping the ring off of my finger. I managed to kicked Shaina away when she got distracted by another glint from the ring. She rolled on the grass a few times, snarled and rushed at me with wings fully spread. My right fist connected with her cheek and again she rolled away on the ground.

"Enough!" said the same voice.

Shaina again got up right away but seemingly more behaved now. She and I looked at the owner of the voice at the same time. I thought I have seen her before while Shaina definitely knew her judging from her "Damn!"

"Milen! Wh ... what are you doing here?" Milen! That's right. She's the one sitting to the left of Mother's throne. She's one of the three Lilim who were closest to Mother.

"Why shouldn't I be here? This is my home. Has been my home for the last 4000 years. Now, I asked you a question. If I don't like the answer, you'll both suffer and you know I don't make empty threats, Shaina."

I saw Shaina tense, as she rightly should. Milen (pronounced Mil-lend) was a Lili even older than Delilah, Mom's best friend. She must've had so much knowledge, much power to bear in giving us a hard time. She's also a unicorne, judging from the lack of horns visible from my sight angle which suggested that she got a single horn at the back of her head, like Mom's third horn.

Shaina stuttered, apparently unable to find an excuse for her childish behavior. As the sound of Milen's foot tapping on the soft ground become louder, I can sense her anxiety increase. In the end, after glancing at Amphillogiai/Eudaimonia a few times, she simply said, "It's her fault!"

Milen's only response was encasing Shaina's body in a block of ice. Shaina's shocked expression at such a response was clear for all to see. Milen turned to me and said, "I expect a better answer from you or there'll be two blocks of ice in Vanity Meadows today."

I glanced briefly at the block of ice that contains Shaina. Somehow, I could sense Shaina's eyes switching back and forth between me and Milen a few times. With great hesitation, I said, "I want to see Mother, Milen."

When Milen didn't show any reaction, I continued, "I have just received a sinister artifact that needs to be sealed. I was told that only Mother can seal it properly and that's why I need to see her. The artifact charmed Shaina earlier and made her fight me for it."

Milen's voice was neutral when she said, "Show it to me."

I placed my fingers under her gaze. Milen grabbed my wrist, turned it around as she scrutinized the ring. Satisfied, she let go of my wrist and said, "Eudaimonia, blessed happiness. A disguise for the fools. I know its true name, I have used it before. Come then, Mother will know what to do with it."

As she turned to leave, I couldn't help but ask, "Are we going to leave her like this?"

Milen responded with a glare that withered my confidence, almost bringing me to the point of tears. Then I heard a sound of something cracking. I turned toward the sound and saw the block of ice crack and fall apart, then Shaina's shivering body fell out of the space vacated by the ice.

Shaina got up with a shiver. She walked up behind us and I barely heard her say ... no ... more like whispered, "Thanks."

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" I asked.

She grumbled, "You heard me. Don't make me repeat it."

"No, really. I didn't hear you the first time. Just once more?"

"No!"

"Please, pretty please with cherry on top?"

"Lay off it, Ilyse," she growled.

"Oh please, oh please. Just once more. Please?"

"That's it! I'm gonna kill you!" she screamed as she lunged at me.

"Would you please shut up!" Milen yelled right before she encased us both in a large block of ice.

As we walked through Vanity Meadows, I felt eyes on our little party. They didn't even try to be discrete about it. I looked around me and I saw Lilim peering in on us from the clearing, the bushes and the branches. I have a feeling that those Lilim in the sky was watching us as well. Without prompting, Shaina explained that it was very rare for any Lilim to be escorted by Mother's retinue. The only times when they'd appear would either be when something very important was happening or in the case where a disciplinable offense has been committed.

Our little party continued walking toward the center of Vanity Meadows. I was trying very hard to ignore the curious stares from the other Lilim. Finally, we reached Mother's throne. Mother was sitting cross-legged leaning on her right side with her right hand patting the head of the Lili sitting to the right of her throne. Ohh, what was her name? Adela being Adela was standing behind Mother's throne looking down on us with indifference, like always. Milen on the other hand left our group to take her place on Mother's left side.

"Milen said you wanted to ask me for something? Mother said. Apparently they have conversed telepathically on our way here.

For some reason, that pissed me off. I didn't appreciate being intercepted or back-stabbed. It was my problem and I was supposed to present it to Mother myself!

As my rage boiled to the surface, I stared at Mother straight in the eyes while my fingers tingled with an aching need to strangle someone's neck, my nails itched for someone's hide and my throat hungers for someone's blood.

"Milen! How dare you go behind my back!" I cried to the astonishment of Adela and the other Lili. I became more pissed off when Mother didn't give me any response other than a raised brow while Milen showed no reaction at all.

The other Lili, the one with three horns that swept back neatly from the top and the sides of her head quickly recovered and raised her right arm. Then she dropped her fingers and a great pressure pushed me to the ground. "On your knees, sister. I, Beata will teach you manners."