Lilith (Demonology I)

XVIII

The Greek underworld was like the exact opposite of the Christian underworld. There was no sky. There were no houses, no spirits wandering about. The only similarity was the large amounts of magma. It was like being trapped inside of a volcano.

  As we walked the barren landscape, one of the ghouls approached me.

  "Hey," he said. "I'm Marc Upton. Unlike all of the others, I actually dabble in the dark arts."

  "I'm Finn D'elia. The guy who caused all of this, in a sense." I shook his hand.

  "D'elia . . . You wouldn't happen to know a Seth D'elia, would you?" He said. I could hear the aspiration in his voice.

  "Yes, he was my father." I said, excited. "Why? Did you know him? Do you know where he is?" If he knew my dad, he must have known where he could be.

  "Yeah," he said, sharing my excitement. "He was down there with me. He told me about his son - you - and how you were in trouble, and that he needed to get back to save you. He escaped one day, supposedly to find you. I'm guessing either he found you, or you're not as helpless as he said you were." I went silent. My father was out there somewhere, as was my mother. If I could convince Eva and find his body, I would be able to resurrect him.

  "I'll keep that in mind." I said. I made my way to the front of the group, where Eva was walking. 

  "How are you holding up?" She put a hand to my forehead. "The demonic aura down here is really intense. Those sigils on you should do their job, but if you start to feel sluggish, I can help you."

  "I'm fine," I said. I wanted to ask her about my father, but chose not to. We had more important matters to take care of. "I still can't believe you came from a place like this."

  "What's that supposed to mean?" She asked with a poker face. 

  "Well, this is a place of malice and suffering," I said cautiously. "You grew up in a place like this, and yet you're such a good person."

  "Call it teenage rebellion."

  "You're a teenager?"

  "No, I'm twenty-six. But I never outgrew my rebellious phase. There are a lot of things you don't know about me. Your mind probably isn't ready for them yet." She gave me an enigmatic look. "Is there anything I should know about you? We've only known each other for a week now, and all I know about you is that you're hotheaded and impulsive."

  I rolled my eyes. "Well, aside from being hotheaded and impulsive, I'm also an avid music fan. Supposedly, I get it from my mother. I'll be sure to ask her about it when I find her."

  "When you find her?" Are you really that confident? She could be in the deepest depths of Hell for all you know."

  "Then that's where I'll go." I said firmly. "I've pretty much lost everything already. I have nothing to lose and everything to gain by finding her."

  "It must be nice, having something to look forward to like that. I know who my parents are. My father's an evil deity and my mother is, well, the Earth. Or Gaia, as they say in this part of the world. I've got my life figured out, but there's nothing to do." Her eyes glazed over, as if she was getting lost in thought. I understood the feeling. After Thalia had sacrificed herself, I had felt that same purposelessness. When you lose those you hold dear to you, nothing becomes important anymore, and you lose all of your livelihood. To Eva, the Shield was her home. And since almost all of them had been killed, she had nothing left.

  "You know, I'm going to need some help, and you might be just the person to provide it." I said, trying to solace her. She had watched me suffer for days and helped me through it, while suppressing her own distress. It was the least I could do for her. She gave a small smile and squeezed my shoulder. I took that as a yes.