Lilith (Demonology I)

IX

I immediately took a defensive stance, engulfing my arms in flames.

  "Calm down," Luna said. "I said that you're technically our game. That doesn't mean we have to kill you."

  "Start talking," I said, still cautious. "What do you mean by 'huntsmen?' I thought humans didn't have any power over angels and demons."

  "We don't have any power over you, true, but we can kill you. A small dose of angel ash or salt can easily kill a weak demon or angel. We're huntsmen for a group known as the Holy Shield. We try to keep angels and demons from interfering with human life. If that's what you're doing here, we might have to kill you."

  "I don't want any trouble. There's a war going on up there." I gestured upwards. "And I almost became a casualty. I was attacked by a demon in my sleep and I fell down here. Thankfully, I was able to cushion my fall. Now, why exactly are you killing angels and demons?"

  "For too long your kind has dictated our lives," Luna's father said. "You take over human bodies and use them as vessels. You mess with nature, and you always get humans caught in the middle of your battles. You're a menace to us all."

  "You should know that I'm not an angel. My father is - was - a human and my mother is an angel. A high angel, as a matter of fact. You might know her, since she's on the Council of Angels."

  "What do you mean?" Luna said. "None of the Council members have kids, it's forbidden."

  "Clearly it isn't." I lowered my arms, dousing my flames. "They've already acknowledged my existence. They even made me an Officer."

  "You've been deceived," Luna's father said. "I have a long history with the council. There's this one member named Wynne who's been pulling a whole bunch of crap for years. She's the most powerful out of all the Council members, and uses her abilities to pull the wool over everyone's eyes."

  "That's not true at all," I said, becoming defensive. "She's my mother, and she searched all over the world for 17 years just to find me. She's not a deceiver at all." I had already been lied to so much. To think that all of the lies in my life had been covered with even more lies was devastating. I clenched my teeth to keep from crying out.

  "Do you need proof? We've got tons of documents on her and the other Council members. I'm telling you, they're all users. And Wynne is the worst of them all." Luna grabbed a large book from the shelf and skimmed through it. "Ah, here it is." She showed me a black and white picture of Wynne with a young man. He was wearing a medal, and she was holding a trophy. "About a decade ago, the Holy Shield managed to get into heaven and take some stuff. We made copies of these and distributed them to all of our members. And as you can see, Wynne is very adept at taking advantage of people, especially Nephilim like you who are powerful and impressionable." I flipped through the pages of the book. She was right. There were multiple pictures of her and others, all of them were hosts for her to leech off of like a parasite. All of them victims of her deceit, just like me.

  I sat on the ground and buried my face in my hands. I had been so strong over the past few days, keeping my emotions in check every since my father's death. But this broke me. I cried - I was silent, but my throat felt raw. It all made perfect sense. I was weak and desperate, and she took advantage of it. Was everyone in on the scheme? Did Thalia know about this? 

  My sorrow developed into fury. I had been through so much, I had felt so much sadness. But I was going to change it all. I wasn't going to cry on anyone's shoulder anymore. I was going to beat the hell out of all who had done me wrong, and anyone who stood in my way. And I knew exactly how to go about doing it. But first, I needed to make sure I was properly supplied.