Chapter 16

"Don't you think that's a little unfair, dear Lilith?" came a voice from behind me. I spun around and came face to face with a green haired angel!

Well, it wasn't really all green. It was just four strips of highlighted hair. The rest of her hair was black. Her wings were covered in black feathers, much like Uriel's, although hers looked much smaller. At full height furled, the top of her wings were only about a foot higher than her head, and she was only about 6 feet tall. Her eyes were the color of electric blue and as she looked down into my eyes, I couldn't help but be drawn into hers...

I was awakened by the snap of Mother's fingers. Only then did I realize how much of myself had been laid bare before this newcomer, how much I have told her just by gazing into her eyes. I swore that I will never be so easy again.

"Naamah," Mother said in a monotone, "How nice of you to drop by. I was wondering when you would show up."

"My dear Lilith, I go where demand is the greatest. Right now, she needs someone to stand up for her." The angel then pointed her finger at me. I couldn't help but admire how soothing her voice was, how pleasant it was to my ears.

Mother sneered, "Where were you then when your son casted Eternal Torment on her? Her needs back then were much greater than now. You can't possible tell me that you had no knowledge of that, not with that third eye that you stole from Horus."

"How many times do I have to tell you? I won it fair and square. It wasn't my problem if Horus was too proud to admit that I knew more about the universe than he did. And yes, I knew of the events in Ashmedan. But seriously, dear Lilith, do you expect me to jump in and save your daughters every time they get in trouble? Besides, one of your daughters was there too, yet she did nothing but use this poor child for her own fun."

"Heh! Why would this time be different then?"

"As I said, you're being unjust. I can't just watch as an injustice is being committed."

I heard a snort coming from Beata.

"Silence, pup!" Naamah cursed.

I looked at Beata and had to hold in a laugh as I saw her contort her beautiful middle-eastern face as if to say something through her nonexistent mouth. I gotta learn how to do that.

Mother appeared annoyed as she waved her hand in front of Beata's face, magically causing her mouth to appear again. Beata in her gratitude kissed Mother's hand over and over. Eventually, Mother had to push her face away with her other hand.

"DO NOT do that again, Naamah. This is my domain and only I may administer punishments here."

"Apologies, dear Lilith. I believe that I may have lost control for awhile there."

"Say it like you mean it, Naamah. You're the most calm of us all. You did it just to spite me, not because you lost control," Mother accused.

"So you finally admit that you're equal to the rest of us? I thought I'd never see the day," Naamah said with a veiled smile.

"Dream on, soothsayer. I'm better than all three of you combined. I don't think I need to prove it again," Mother answered. Her tone and facial expression clearly showed that she was insulted at being referred to as equal to ... whoever they were talking about.

"So you won't mind if I give her some pointers? To even out the odds?"

"Go ahead. I want to see what the Angel of Fortune Telling can teach her that will help her in a fight. As I recall, your fortune telling failed miserably against a decent opponent."

Naamah scowled, finally showing an expression other than 'cool' or 'veiled smile'. "I'm the Angel of Divination, not Fortune Telling!"

"Well, how many of those craps you relayed to those gullible bone readers were actually true?"

Naamah paused. "A fair point, but I am still the Angel of Divination. So ... you have no objection to me taking this girl for awhile?"

"Take her. I want to see a good fight," Mother said as she gave us a dismissive wave.

Naamah turned towards me. Her voice pleasant and hypnotic as she told me to hold out my hand. I didn't bother to question why as at that time I felt like I simply had to do it, had to hold out my hand simply because she told me to.

"A little something from Agrat," she said as I felt her deposit something onto my outstretched palm. It felt somewhat warm but the gibberish chatter I soon heard in my mind was really distracting.

Then she turned around and left.

As I was walking alone back to the Inner Gate (Shaina was still out cold in Vanity Meadows with multiple broken bones), I got to thinking about many things. Among other things, I thought about the odds of someone of Mother's rank (or close to) actually helping me. Then I thought about the duel a week from now and got depressed. How will I be able to fight a thousand year old Lili? If I fail, I will never have the chance to be free, so I mustn't fail, but how the heck will I defeat Dinah!

I barely noticed someone calling me until she was just a few steps behind. I turned around and saw a Lili with dark red hair, wings and tail. There were two white stripes on the back of each hands and her three horns swept back and curved up high on her head with its tips close to each other, but not touching.

"You're Delilah, aren't you?" I asked, recalling the image from Mom's memories.

She smiled. "You remember me? Amazing! I think the only time we've met was when you were only a few days old, two days after Mother claimed you."

"Oh no no, I saw you in Mom's ... I mean ... Sarai's memory. You were awesome during the war against Baphomet."

I noticed her wince, and her smile went dry as she said, "Awesome is not the word I would use to refer to my own actions back then. I was acting like an immature brat. I could've saved more of our sisters if I worked together with them from the start."

"Well, Mom had high praises for your contribution, either way. She said other than you, she wouldn't trust anyone else with her life," I said, recalling how fondly Mom talked of Delilah.

I was glad when she chuckled, "It's pointless now, she's already dead. Speaking of dead, you need to think of some kind of strategy if you want to defeat Dinah. When Mother said 'fight', Dinah translated it as 'fight to the death'. Dinah never did things half way. Although Mother will eventually resurrect you, don't count on her doing it soon."

I grasped her hands in desperation, "Can you help me? It's my only chance for freedom. If I lose this fight, I won't get a second chance."

"Freedom?" she inquired, appearing puzzled, "We are already free. We can do whatever the hell we want, except killing humans unnecessarily."

"No, I mean ... free as in free to be myself, free to live my life without other people telling me what to do ... you know, that sort of thing," I explained.

"I don't quite understand what you're getting at, but I suppose I may be able to give you a small help." She proceeded to untie the necklace she wore on her neck and put it around my neck. It was a crystal pendant strung on two thin chains of gold. I touched the pendant and noticed a face in the crystal. It was very blurry and I couldn't make out any distinct feature.

"That was once Sarai's. She gave it to me when I wanted to do some experiment in controlling my own powers. I encountered a bit of success but it had become dormant at Sarai's death. You probably would have a better chance at waking him up," she said as she positioned the necklace so that the pendant fit right in between my cleavage. I immediately noticed that my breasts tingled when she did.

"There may be another of Sarai's artifact that you can use. She kept it in her jewelery box since half a century ago. She told me it had rebelled and refused to do her bidding, so she put it there to guard her other jewelery. He probably won't do your bidding either, but it's worth a try."

"Thanks, Delilah. I've been wondering though, how did you escape from the ice?"

I jumped when she suddenly laughed. "Milen needs more than that to keep me tucked inside one of her ice blocks. I've lived far too long to be caught in that spell."

"Well anyway, good luck with the duel. I really do hope that you'll win, 'coz I've already got a bet going with the older girls. So don't disappoint me!" she continued as she turned back to Vanity Meadows.

"Wait, Delilah!" I shouted after her.

She stopped and turned her head to look at me. "Yes?"

"What do I do with this?" I said while raising my left hand, which was glowing blue.

"Oh, that's a message bubble. Just touch any reflective surface with that hand. It can be glass, mirror, water or polished metal. Then you can see and hear the message. Oh before I forget, please do me a favor and take Nediva as your subbie. She was Sarai's last subbie and a true lesbian. She hasn't been feeding since a year before Sarai died, and she needed to be specifically ordered to feed. She wouldn't have anything to do with a man otherwise. You'll actually be helping her by taking her as a subbie."

I didn't know what to say to that. I wasn't really keen on having a personal muffdiver, though the idea did have its appeal.

"If you need me for anything else, come find me in Solitude Garden, near the Mourning Fountain. It's my own little project," she smiled, leaped to the air and flew away.

[Blink]

I opened my eyes the moment I felt fresh air around me. Taking a deep breath, I hid my horns, tucked in my wings and pulled the tail back into me. Then I used my human skin to cover the shrunken demonic features of my body. Looking around, I notice the sun was still high in the sky, above the rows of snow covered roofs of the suburban houses that looked old but friendly. I was back in my hometown of Colorado Springs.

And it was freezing!

Gosh! I have forgotten how cold this place was. I didn't notice it when I was in lilin form, but now in this form and in these clothes, it's really cold! In my lilin form, snow actually made me stronger, but in my human form ... urgh. Keys, keys, where did mom put the emergency key? Urgh, it's so cold I can't think. Gotta use magic.

After fumbling for awhile with the locking mechanism, I was finally able to unlock the door (telekinetically) and push myself in. I have forgotten how cold Christmas was in Colorado Springs. I should've prepared proper clothing before dropping my lilin form. I was wearing my normal skimpy lilin clothing when I blinked here.

I closed the door the moment I was inside. Locking it, I proceeded to the living room area, where an old style brick fireplace was built into its northern wall. Despite the shivering cold, I checked the fireplace and was pleased that there were still a few blocks of wood in it. I had to fumble a bit with snapping my fingers, producing small flames at first until it got bigger. Have you tried snapping your fingers when your teeth were chittering and your body shivering? Not easy. I was very glad when the fire got bigger and stripped out of my clothes, not caring if anyone saw me. I must've made quite a sight, long red hair, gorgeous body with long legs kneeling, shivering next to the fireplace and not to mention buck naked. When I realized what I just did, I shuddered, though not from the cold. I simply hoped that dad really hadn't come home yet. That would be really embarrassing. Then I thought since he hadn't known about me being a Lili yet, it might ended up with both of us being embarrassed for a totally different reason.

I knelt there next to fireplace in front of the roaring fire for another half an hour. Then after the chittering stopped, I looked around me and realized for the first time since mom's death how much I missed this place.

I was born here, I was raised here, I went to school in this town. In that corner, right beside the window, there would always be a large pine tree during Christmas. It's empty now. I looked to the ceiling and thought that above there, was the place where mom died.

Then I turned around and stared at a particular part of the pine flooring near the entranceway to the kitchen. That was the place where mom taught me how to seduce 'my man' by teaching me how to scrub and wipe the floor in a sexy way. All the time I knew her, she had never used a mop or broom, except for times when we had guests over. She said there was very few things that was as good at getting your man riled up for a romp in bed, than to see you wiggling your butt while on all fours wiping the floor with a damp cloth. I didn't understand it then, but now I knew why she wanted to teach me that while she was still alive.

After I felt somewhat warmer, I dismissed my skimpy clothing and used ether to create a warm clothing for myself. Then I got up and walked to the kitchen. I looked at the marble island in the middle of the kitchen and was saddened by how empty it felt. Mom loved to cook. She taught me and Tell how to cook our favorite dishes, how to make neat cuts and how to clean things after we were done.

Actually, her idea of cleaning was actually to clean things while you're cooking, instead of waiting until after you've had your meals. The difference was amazing as I no longer felt the extreme laziness that I used to have if I washed the dishes after the meals. The only exception was when there were particularly tough burn marks which had to be soaked for awhile. This was also the place where she taught me how to seduce 'my man' through 'sexy cooking'. Suddenly I noticed how many of her 'lessons' were actually about grooming me to be a traditional housewife, only much more sexy and seductive.

I got annoyed at the thought, so I left the kitchen and went upstairs through the staircase in the living room's entranceway. As I stepped onto the second floor, I noticed that there was a puddle at the top of the stairs and wondered if the roof had leaked. Then I looked at my surroundings. I was in a corridor with the staircase behind me. My room was in front, Tell's bedroom on the right and mom's room on the left. Dad used to sleep with mom before she died.

Although I knew I should've went straight to mom's room, I couldn't help but pay a visit to my old room that I haven't seen for months now, ever since we buried mom. My door was not locked, so I had no problem entering it. I pushed in and was overwhelmed by all the childhood memories that I had left behind. There was the bed of which I slept on since I was 8 (me and Little Tell slept in mom and dad's room before that, which was probably the reason why they didn't have another kid). There was the old computer I used to play Baldur's Gate and Age of Empires on. My gaze fell onto the medal hanging on the wall. That was the medal we got for winning the championship. After that last game was over, Chris followed through it by delivering a strong fist into the opponent striker's guts, out of blind jealousy, I suspect. I stayed away from Chris after that day.

I closed the door to my room and walked the short length to mom's. When I opened the door, which wasn't locked, I could've sworn that I could smell mom in there. Lavender has always been her signature scent and I could still smell it in this room, even months after she was gone.

Fighting back the tears, I walked in and started to focus on finding the jewelery box. I went straight to her vanity, which I assumed would be the most common place people put their jewelery box in. Not finding anything, I went to check in her closet. I took a few minutes rubbing her clothes with my hands and crying into mom's blouse. I cried for awhile there, until my tears dried. I know, I can see mom anytime I want, but it's not the same as seeing her alive. She may have the same memories, but she is now no longer my loving mom, she is now Sarai the Lili. Composing myself, I started to turn the folded clothes around and shifted the hanging clothes. Nothing. I checked some other places, including dad's closet. Yet, it was nowhere to be seen.

I sat on the bed and started thinking. Then I decided that it was stupid to search aimlessly. While this house isn't as large as those posh houses in LA, it's still larger than I can manage. I weighed my options and decided to call Tell to ask if she knew where mom put it. I had thought of asking mom herself, but I didn't think that Uriel would let me leave as easily as last time. Mind you, last time was pretty hard too.

I went to the living room and dialed Tell's cellphone. She picked up after the second ring, "Hello," she said.

"Tell?"

"Who's this?" she asked.

"It's me, Rick."

"Which Rick?"

"Your brother Rick. How many other Ricks that you know will call you from our old home?"

"Ricky? You sound ... different," she said, her tone suggested that she didn't believe me.

I mentally hit myself. I have forgotten that I was still in female form. It seemed like I was really getting used to being a girl.

"Yea, probably caused by the helium. Got some kids asking me to help blow their balloons just now," I said after adjusting my voice to sound more like the male me. My body was still female though, but I didn't think that she would mind.

"OK ... why didn't you tell me that you're going back home? I would've went with you. We promised to celebrate Christmas together, remember?" she said, sounding hurt.

"Sorry, something came up. Hey listen, do you know where mom put her jewelery box?"

"Maybe ... what are you planning to do with it?" she asked guardedly.

"I need to get something from the box. I've been looking around the house but couldn't find it."

There was a pause. After awhile, I said into the mouthpiece, "Tell, you still there?"

"What do you want to do with it?"

"I need something from the box."

She shot me a, "Are you broke?"

"Eh? What brought that up?" I said, as I was caught completely off-guard by her remark.

"Are you looking for the jewelery box because you want some quick cash?" she asked, her voice cold.

"I'm NOT broke," I said, trying to control my temper. I wasn't sure if I could maintain this voice if I got mad. "I just need something from that box. I don't know exactly what it is. Maybe a ring, or a necklace or even a FREAKING letter opener! I'll know it when I see it!"

Now, I was normally a calm person, but her accusing me of wanting to sell mom's jeweleries was really too much.

Another pause, before she said, "It's with me. Dad gave it to me before he went away. I carry it with me everywhere I go."

"So it's in LA?" I asked, by now my temper had subsided and I was quite embarrassed at myself.

"Yes, are you going to spend Christmas in Colorado?"

"No, I'll be there shortly," I said as I put down the phone.

I slowly worked the door's lock with my mind. Just a few minutes back, I had blinked to the deserted back lane of my apartment after switching back to Patrick-form in my parents' house. Only as I was standing in front of the door to my apartment did I realize that I didn't have the key. See, my keys were in my pants, and I didn't wear any kind of pants when I left for Yetzirah. Well, except for panties, or whatever the lilim call that thing they always wore.

I heard the satisfying 'click' and opened the door, only to come face to face with my startled sister. She looked like she was going out, dressing like she was and with her right hand grabbing the knob on the other side.

"I thought you're in Colorado?"

"I was, I just got back," I said as I pushed myself in.

"Colorado's not in California," she countered in a suspicious tone.

"So?"

Her suspicion mounted. "You came here less than 10 minutes after hanging up and you were in Colorado Springs when you called."

I was like, 'oh shit' when it hit me. I have forgotten that even speeding all the way in my car, it would take me at least 16 hours to cross the distance. Add to the fact that the roads in and out of Colorado Springs were always snowy and sometimes closed, there was absolutely no way I would arrive in 10 minutes. Heck, I couldn't even reach Hollywood from here in just 10 minutes!

So instead of thinking of some bizarre way that it might've happen, I just gave up and said, "Look, I can't explain it now. I'm in a hurry and I need to see mom's jewelery box."

It made me really uncomfortable when she scrutinized my face with her suspicious expression. I was glad when she stopped doing that. "Fine, come to my room, I don't want to carry it all the way here."

So I followed her into the guest room. She rummaged around in the closet and came out with a travel bag the size of Jupiter. She unlocked the small padlock and then she pushed the bag to me.

"It's in here?" I asked, to which she nodded.

So I popped it open and was greeted with many similar-looking velvet boxes. I took one, opened it, got the shock of my life, opened another, and almost got a heart attack. "What the hell's this?" I yelled.

"That, my dear brother, are mom's jeweleries," she said with a smug look. Apparently watching me get a shock of my life was good enough to make her perky.

"Yeah, but the whole bag?"

"Mom had a lot of jeweleries."

"Geez, you could've opened a freaking jewelery outlet with all these ... not that I'm suggesting that, by the way," I said, as I watched her face turn from jovial to angry.

"I will not sell mom's jewelery! I won't let any snobby middle-aged socialite get their hands on mom's prized jewelery."

I took out each of the jewelery boxes out of the bag, having gotten over the initial shock. "Don't worry, Little Tell. I'm not going to sell it. But you really shouldn't be carrying all these around."