Let It Slip

Part XXIV

Lilith sauntered into the parlour munching on a freshly made scone, having stolen one from Hilda's cooling rack on her way down the stairs to find Zelda. The sight of the redhead hunched over the Shams al-Ma'arif, her copper tresses pulled back in a low bun to keep them from covering the words before her, brought the Queen of Hell such joy crumbs fell from her lips as they moved to smile. She knew the witch could likely sense her presence but she paused in the doorway nevertheless, taking a moment to enjoy the image before her.

Zelda was deep in her research, frowning as she scanned the Arabic script before her, cursing under her breath; "Goddess help me, my Arabic is so poor you'd think I'd never spent any time in the Middle East at all!"

Lilith tilted her head, always amused with the passion with which Zelda attacked each task, "I'm not sure I would be classified as a Goddess, my love, but I most certainly can help." Lilith floated in and rested her hand on Zelda's shoulder, offering her a bite of the steaming scone, "When will you learn to ask for help? Why torture yourself when you have an ancient languages linguist at your beck and call?"

Zelda shook her head at the scone and watched Lilith pop it into her mouth, reminding her that Lilith was still exploring everything Above Hell had to offer and that she was particularly fond of the taste of certain foods; "My Queen, never would I ever assume you would be at the beck and call of anyone, myself included....and I didn't want to bother you, I feel bad enough taking you from your hellish duties for familial duties."

"The way your sister is feeding me, I think it's safe to assume she considers me one of the family, no?" Zelda smiled at that and Lilith looked over her shoulder, "Ah, the Shams al-Ma'arif - what do you want to know?"

"I felt it would be best to get all the important information from these texts before we invite Samuel into the Mortuary. Ambrose is getting more anxious as the days go by and continues to express just how unpredictable this particular vampire is...I'd like to be as prepared as possible if, for some reason, we are put in a situation where the texts are no longer available to us." Zelda clasped her gloved hands in her lap, turning in her chair to face Lilith with a sigh; "I need to know if this text, in particular, has any clues to how to stop the Eschaton."

In that moment, Hilda walked in with a tray of tea and crossed over to the witches before setting the tea on the table next to the Shams al-Ma'arif and thrusting a cup into Zelda's hands, "Zelds, you also need to make sure you are resting." Turning to Lilith and offering her a cup, Hilda's face was lined with concern, "She was up all night trying to decipher that book."

Lilith sucked at her teeth and frowned, taking the offered tea, "Honestly Zelda, call on me. There is absolutely nothing in Hell that is more important to me than you....and this." Lilith motioned to the text, meaning their predicament.

Exhausted, Zelda's composure cracked somewhat and she slumped forward, her cheeks reddening with a touch of shame knowing it would have been far simpler and more reasonable to ask Lilith for help. She didn't need to do everything on her own - not anymore. The redheaded witch reached out to pat her sister's hand, "You're right. Thank you both."

"As for this particular book, if memory serves, I believe it outlines a way to communicate with various entities - angels, jinn, and spirits - using numbers and letters in a grid pattern. The grid pattern and the combination of letters and numbers is believed to be magical; those letters and numbers are said to correspond individually with the Quran, the Injil, and the Torah." Lilith paused and reached forward to pluck one of Zelda's gloves from her lap and slide it onto her own hand.

The demoness then began to riffle through the text on the table in front of them, "Ah ha...here it is." Lilith pointed to a page divided into nine columns and two rows, dragging a finger down the center column, "The seven seals, when used with the corresponding angels, incense, and other properties outlined in this table, these seven seals become an incredibly powerful talisman. It could be speculated that these seven seals mimic the Seven Seals of God from the Book of Revelation in the Bible....but unlike the Bible, the Shams al-Ma'arif speaks of conjuring magic not of an apocalypse."