Secrets And Sins Part 3: Happy ever after

Chapter 21

~Lilith~

Lilith only just got out of the way in time, the sword slicing through the air in front of her face. She couldn't afford another injury... not with the amount of hot, sticky blood flowing down her leg. It filled her boot, leaving perfect crimson footprints wherever she stood.

Lilith tried to stem the bleeding early on after having to teleport once again out from under Ava's claws as they sunk deep into the flesh of her thigh but had no luck. Something about the golden razor-sharp talons seemed to interfere with her accelerated healing and blood loss was quickly becoming a problem. To make matters worse, the former sister warrior just could not catch a break, every time she gained some breathing room Ava hounded her, giving her no chance to recover.

"Lilith, move!" Dora's voice shouted from behind her, and she promptly teleported out of the way.

The OCS had no choice but to join the fight once it had spilled outside. Ava was on a warpath of destruction, her Halo blasts leaving craters in the old buildings of the cathedral.

Drawing a ragged breath as she pressed a firm hand down against the wound on her thigh and watched as a barrage of divinium bullets rained down on the Halo bearer. But Ava was unphased. She turned her body, shielding herself with her golden wing, and the projectiles all ricocheted, falling harmlessly to the cobblestones. Despite the futility of their actions, the sister warriors emptied their clips, allowing Lilith some precious recovery time.

When they paused to reload, Ava was already moving. She swept that golden wing outward somehow creating a wave of energy that knocked back her opponents like they were leaves in the wind. The nuns were blown backwards out of their defensive position and Ava smiled a terrifying smile.

Gritting her teeth against the pain, Lilith spread her leathery wings and leaped off the ground, engaging the Halo bearer before she could finish the vulnerable sister warriors.

Ava saw her coming, meeting Lilith in midair, "You're persistent, I'll give you that."

"And you're an absolute pain in the ass."

They clashed over and over, Lilith doing everything she could to stay out of the reach of those golden talons that were already dripping in her own blood. But she was bound to slip up, and when she did, Lilith felt those burning claws rake across her back, sinking deep, scraping across the bone of her scapula, and spine, in several places. The scream that tore from her throat echoed across the courtyard as she fell. Ava swooped after her, and then into her, throwing Lilith straight into the brick wall of the convent with a sickening crunch.

She blacked out on impact. The darkness cloying, choking, she scrambled against it, trying to claw her way back to consciousness. She had to save her friends.

"Lil? Baby? Hey... it's okay."

She opened her eyes to find Mary kneeling beside the bed, one hand on her cheek and the other entwining their fingers together.

"You're back." Lilith whispered, trying to calm her racing heart, her injuries throbbing sharply from her thrashing.

Mary brought their joined hands up to her lips to brush gentle kisses over the winged woman's knuckles, "I just got in." Her dark eyes searched Lilith's, "Are you alright?"

A tear rolled down her cheek and onto Mary's hand, she struggled to swallow past the lump in her throat, there was no point in lying, Mary could so easily see her pain.

"No."

"What can I do?"

Lilith bit her lip, "Could you... would you hold me?"