After-Life

Chapter 8. Revelations

"Adam and Eve?" Mabel croaked, her throat still sore from Lilith's display of anger. "As in, Garden of Eden, original sin, Adam and Eve?"
Lilith 'hmphed' humourlessly, under her breath; "briefest overview, ever."
Asmodeus shook his head with frustration and hurriedly pressed on, "Well, yes anyone who's anyone knows those crucial parts of the story. Okay, well..." Asmodeus stopped, sighed, and slumped forward, defeated. From behind him, Lilith clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and glowered loathingly at him. The demon grinned, sheepishly in response.

"My son," Lilith pinched the bridge of her nose as she turned to face Thet; "how many times have I warned you about the potential ramifications of being too lenient with the mortals?" She softly chastised; "I told you once that complications are bound to arise. Now, even I will admit that this is a rare case, but this just happens to be one massive complication that has been brought about because of your reluctance to let humans move on, and your demonic friend over there, taking full advantage of your leniency!" She jerked her head sharply back at Asmodeus.

Lilith took a steadying breath and turned to address Mabel and Kristoph. She refused to kneel to their level, preferring instead to stand at her tallest and glower down at them with a cold expression. She sucked noisily at her teeth before using her telekinetic powers to drag Asmodeus's chair closer to her. Sitting down gracefully, she crossed her right leg over her left and wrinkled her nose at the two beings, hunched on the ground, before her.
"Do you know what happens to those, who don't adhere to the laws of the Almighty?" She asked with a quiet calmness that betrayed a hint of venom.
Kristoph glowered angrily at the woman, what on earth gave her the right to treat them so appallingly?
"I can't imagine it would be good;" He responded sternly, through gritted teeth.
Lilith smirked, "understatement of a lifetime. There are laws, humans, that must be adhered to in life. at least that was the consensus, once upon a time, anyway. Women adhered to their men, men adhered to their maker, and so on;" calmly, she twisted a ring around one of her slender fingers.

"I was Adam's first wife, would you believe?" Lilith smirked, "I refused to adhere to him, the sniveling wretch. As a result, I found myself cast out of Eden. I found some comfort in the arms of the angel of Death, siring many heirs and dominating the entrance to Hell as recompense for daring to establish my own free will." She held her head high and stroked the back of her hand delicately, before continuing. "While it was not the life I would have wanted to lead, I feel I got off fairly lightly in comparison to Adam and Eve," she smiled cruelly. "They were condemned, you see. Cast out of Paradise for eating the forbidden fruit and disregarding the rules set in place by the almighty. Those who illustrated the first sin of the human race were left to experience all the luxuries that a human life without healthcare, shelter, and comfort can afford."

Lilith rested her hands calmly on her lap and smiled, sweetly at Kristoph; "Adam died first, at the ripe old age of forty," slowly she steadied an almost sympathetic look at Mabel. "Eve followed suit not long after. Their physical bodies were buried yet their souls were not welcome in heaven – they were the source of original sin, after all. Heaven forbid they enter Hell! Especially, after they had spent the rest of their meager existences repenting for their wrongdoing. So, here's the rub – what do you do with two souls who belong in neither heaven nor hell?"

Mabel narrowed her eyes, questioningly, and looked enquiringly at Thet; "limbo?"
Lilith laughed a singular bark like 'HA' and clapped her hands with mock delight; "oh you are precious!" She tilted Mabel's face upward with the tip of her toes; "my dear, limbo only came about after the almighty had his little miracle child. No, my dear, they enter purgatory. Doomed to live a drab life in darkness with no beginning or end, unable to find rest and peace. Their ultimate punishment was to never again cross paths – that is until now." She smiled grimly, and for the first time, there was a hint of uncertainty that flitted across her features.