Whispers at Witching Hour

Chapter 113

Musical inspiration: To Build A Home – The Cinematic Orchestra

Lilith spent three days in the Tree, nowhere else. She did not even go to hell once, leaving everything to Minion, which did not sit quite right with her, but she could not handle it right now. She sat a lot in the woven wooden chairs, wrapped in a blanket, staring at the horizon, thinking.

She could understand Zelda somehow, she knew the guilt her witch was experiencing, but with her, it was more than that. While Lilith had been drowning in her grief, Zelda was being eaten alive by this extreme self-hatred.

Their shared soul made it even harder for her to witness that, especially when she was near her. It was as if Zelda's grief was poisoning her. That was why she had needed to get away to clear her head. However, being here, all on her own, she missed Hilda and their conversations, someone to understand her.

Her hands brushed over the cover of the poetry book in her lap as she was curled up in the chair, tracing its edges with her fingertips. It was her only comfort right now. She opened it, flipped through the pages, skimming most poems, only actually reading a few. She knew most of them by heart anyway at this point.

As she was browsing, she found some loose pieces of paper falling into her lap. She picked them up. It was the poem she had written when she had been in hell with Zelda.

"Ol Oxiayal, ol hoath, ol salman"

My throne, my lover, my home

Within the fraction of a second, she found her cheeks damp, wiping them repeatedly. Why had she left Zelda? And their baby? God only knows what Zelda abusing her body like this had already done to the poor, innocent thing. They could only hope it had a strong spirit as stubborn as its mother's. And Hilda did not even know about it yet...

She pushed the blanket off her lap and stood up, pacing on the terrace, chewing her nails. As a mother, it was her duty to protect this baby, even if it meant from its other parent. How could she have left? This was wrong, she had to go back and do whatever it would take to make Zelda stop.

Arriving directly in their bedroom, Lilith found the bed empty, only muddled blood-stained sheets greeting her. She tried it in the kitchen, but there was just Hilda cooking, who was surprised to see her but immediately flashed her a warm smile, wrapping her arms around her.

"I'm glad you're back. Things have been... strange."

Lilith pushed her back, too nervous about coming back to allow the affection longer. "Strange? Where's Zelda?"

"Cemetery, last time I checked", Hilda mentioned, smoothing her apron, "Well, she actually, properly talked to me yesterday and today she asked me to make dinner for her too..."

"That sounds... like an improvement, I guess", Lilith concluded, lost in thought, "What did she talk about?"

"The past, mostly. Apologised for a lot of things she's done to me and... well, I reckon she's just feeling very guilty at the moment. Shall I cook dinner for you too? Or are you just visiting...?"

Hilda hid her happiness and relief about the demoness being back well; it only showed in her expectant tone.

"No, yes, Hilda, I'm back, it was a mistake to leave."

Lilith assured her but her eyes were already fixing on the door, her body itching to go outside. Hilda let her, and Lilith rushed to the front door, stepped outside and headed for the cemetery. From the distance, she could only see a black hump between the graves, but when she got nearer, she saw Zelda lying on the grass and started to run.