Prince of Fire

Chapter 14

The library was dark and empty at such a late hour. The candles burning on shelves, in scones on the wall, hanging from the vaulted ceiling, did little to light the enormity of the room. Darkness poured in through the windows high up on the wall, far above the line of shelves where nothing but the night sky could be glimpsed.

Lilith made her way through the maze of books, golden titles glinting at the edge of her vision as she stalked past further and further into the depths of the shelves where the darkness was strongest. She was not here for the books. She saw the Prince of Fire fleeing this place, running like his life depended on it. She saw it twice now.

Curiosity taking over, she abandoned her duties as a maid for the night and stole away to the south wing. More precisely, the royal library. No one had seen her enter. No one seemed to be inside either- for better or worse.

She wanted to see what could scare the prince who had the most deadly of all weapons coursing in his veins: fire.

The royal library was enormous, bigger than any other place she had ever seen- the throne room could fit into it twice. A staircase led up to a second level balcony that ran along the walls, and with its middle opened, looked over the floor below. Lilith did not actually know where mentioned staircase was, but as far as she knew- which was not much- it was hidden somewhere at the back, in the darkest of places, where no one dared or cared to venture.

But she did not need access to the balcony; she needed darkness and shadows.

After wandering for hours to the most shadowed areas, waiting for what felt like eternity, and finding nothing, Lilith was inclined to give up. As uncomfortable as it was, the bed in her closet sized room sounded more inviting than whatever it is she was seeking after.

When the darkness finally came, she was prepared for anything.

Well- almost anything.

A figure- hunched and massive- lurked in the shadows cast from the firelight, hiding. Scanning her surroundings, Lilith turned in a slow, deliberate circle. She was alone, save for the thing hiding.

It moved. Faster than any human, and quieter, its movement blurred at the edge of Lilith's vision. A blur of darkness. She whirled toward it, but it was already gone.

An ice cold breeze hit her back.

She turned.

In a blur, the creature was gone. She glimpsed a black withered hand ending in rotted talons. There one second, gone the next. Maybe it was not there at all; maybe she had imagined it. Imagined it all: the scared prince, the darkness that felt wrong-

Instinct told her to turn around. And so she did.

Once again, the creature was gone and Lilith, heart racing and breathing ragged, only became more irritated.

"Come out!" she shouted, the dagger shaking in her grasp. "Come out and face me, you coward!"

Coward. The word echoed through the room, bouncing from book to book to run raking claws up her arms. The word rang in her ears. That voice... Impossible.

Where is your darkness now, it moked. Lilith froze where she stood. She was a little girl once again. She had wandered into the town when she should not have, and now the other kids cornered her, shoving at her shoulder, mocking her for being a freak, an abomination. Coward.

Lilith's hands trembled, her voice shook where she spoke, "Where are you?"

Where are you, came the tear-filled voice of a little girl. Her voice broke on the question. The little girl was crying, Lilith knew. She knew because it was her, little Lilith asking for her parents.