Chad Gadya

The Fountainside Fight

     Apparently demons hate being Rick-Rolled even more than humans do. Lilith stepped backwards and ended up tripping. Saul looked up as he saw his queen sprawled on her back. While he was distracted, Alexandros picked him up and gave him a bear hug. "Let me go!" Saul said, wriggling in his grip.

Marzipan was the one who approached Lilith. She jumped back as the queen of demons shakily stood up. "You're trying to get me killed," she said.

I shook my head. "It's just a song and I didn't even mean for it to play."

Lilith waved my words away. "You don't get, do you Breina? You let yourselves be slaves to your God and for what?"

I backed up. "Stop it."

She blinked. "I'm only fighting for your one good."

"Really?" I challenged. "Is that why you attack humans? Is that why you snatch babies and kill people? To help us?"

"To help you see the truth!" she said.

"You're crazy!" I shouted. "Bitterness has made you crazy."

"Adam wronged me!" she said.

"Maybe he did," I replied, "but here you are hurting humans thousands of years later. Adam didn't make you do that; you chose your path."

Lilith's eyes narrowed. "You're right. I chose my path. I chose to birth the race of demons because Adam taught me the world has no morality — only those with power and those without."

I shook my head. "You're wrong."

I took a lump of clay out of my bag and Lilith laughed. "Do you really think some wet dirt will defeat me? Your trick might have worked on Deborah, but I am the queen of Gehenna. You'd need more power to trap me."

Alright, I couldn't trap her, but maybe I could. . . An idea was forming in my mind. Saul was still being restrained by Alexandros and the others were near the rabbi. "Mom!" I said. "Leave me. I'll fight her."

"No honey!" she said. "I won't."

"The rabbi needs you and you're the strongest," I said.

"I'll carry him," Simeon offered.

My mother threw him a quick smile. "I'm fighting with you, daughter," she said.

"Me too!" Marzipan said.

"Kuni, can you help my dad with Rabbi Amado?" I asked.

Kuni looked hesitant, but to my relief, he nodded. Lilith's nose wrinkled. "Even the three of you together cannot defeat me."

For good measure, I volleyed the lump of clay at her face. It hit her neck and bounced off, surprising but not hurting her. "Is that the best you can do?" she sneered.

Her sword appeared again in her hands and light glinted off of its sharp blade. She tapped it and it began to smoke and then erupted in flames. I found myself retreating. How were we going to fight her? "Water!" Marzipan said.

Good idea, but where was there water? Ahh, the fountain! We could run towards there. If only we knew the way. "Dad, can you get us to the entry hall?" I asked.

I could see worry lining his face as he hoisted Rabbi Amado onto his back. "I can try."

    Simeon didn't look like much, but apparently demons were stronger then normal (non- Goliath) humans because he carried Rabbi Amado as if he was a loaf of challah. Alexandros was still bear-hugging Saul. "Why don't you tie him up?" my mother suggested.