Whispers at Witching Hour

Chapter 78

Musical inspiration: I See Red – Everybody Loves An Outlaw

Lilith had hated leaving Zelda like this, but she could not have risked angering Lucifer. She would have to make it up to her somehow, she reasoned as she was leaning against the toilet bowl after emptying her stomach's content in it from morning sickness. Being pregnant was definitely one of the things people made out to be better than it actually was.

Given the frequent reactions of her mark almost every night and sometimes during the day, Lilith thought it must be really hard for Zelda to be on her own – Even if she made her think she was doing a lot better. No, she had to properly apologise to her and find a way to spend the day with her, so they could catch up on a few things and strengthen their bond before they would lose each other.

What could she gift Zelda? Nothing too cheesy, she would not like that... But who could say no to some flowers? Maybe she could spice it up a little by enchanting a rose with hellfire... That would make a great present and would be an eyecatcher for sure... Yes, she would do that. And maybe take her out for lunch.

Lilith got up on her feet and rinsed her mouth before returning to the throne room where she pulled minion aside.

"Mistress?"

"Minion, I've got just the idea how you can make up for last night."

He nodded submissively and let Lilith continue in her urgent whisper.

"I need to have as much free time today as possible; you'll need to cover for me and only summon me if it can't be avoided at any cost. Tell him I'm off to the circles to... I don't know... Check if everyone's doing their job or something."

"As you wish mistress, I will try my best."

"Oh, and keep an eye on my little flame, she's naïve and hasn't gotten the hang of how things work down here yet."

Lilith brushed some strands of hair aside, gave minion a look that told him to go to work and left to find a rose and enchant it. Retrieving a rose in hell in a natural way was not a thing, so she had to materialise it and be quick to make it fire-resistant as the heat would have vaporised it within a blink.

Satisfied with her doing, she turned the burgundy rose in her hand, fascinatedly watching the petals burn up blue. That should do, she thought and prepared for the travel to earth. A moment of focus and a swirl of smoke later she found herself standing in Zelda's office at the Academy.

As soon as the smoke had dissolved, she froze, her arms hanging loosely on her sides and the rose slipping out of her hand to the ground. She desperately wanted to squeeze her eyes shut but they disobeyed her, a stake driving through her heart as she watched her whole world collapse in front of her. Zelda and the voodoo priestess. Kissing.

She said she was mine.

Lilith pressed her lips together, still unable to move, the rose's fire quietly sizzling on the ground next to her. She felt like she was running out of oxygen no matter how deeply and frequent she breathed. Her insides twisted, causing bile to rise in her throat, burning like the rose, like her soul.

Finally, Lilith was able to break out of her stupor and disappeared back to her chambers in hell where she slumped to the floor. No tears escaped her eyes; there was only the pressure in them, but she was denied the release of crying. All she could do was stare, stare into blank space where the images of her love kissing someone else repeated over and over and over again, torturing her, driving the stake deeper and deeper.

She sat there for hours, trying to convince herself she had been hallucinating or dreaming or... But it was no use; this was real, this was happening. Seeing Zelda with Faustus had been one thing, but with the voodoo priestess... She had seen the affection in Zelda's face. The look that should have been reserved for her and her only.