The Divine Lament (Swan Queen)

Unearthly Commands & Regrets

The first thing Azael realized upon waking was that he was not alone. The air about him held a static charge that ghosted across his body, a distinct smell of sulfur and an underlying scent. Dead roses.

Azael sat up and scanned the room. There was no other living soul seen. He pushed the covers from his body and stood.

"Come now. Are we not beyond such games?" Azael called out to the emptiness.

"But games are all we have left. And I do enjoy playing them with you." An incorporeal voice answered.

"Well I do not. Now show yourself or take your leave."

A cloud of shadowy smoke materialized on the bed. When it cleared, there lay a beautiful woman. Her hair black as coal, draped across her pale shoulders and drastically contrasted with the stark white sheets. She languidly stretched her body, extending her long shapely legs to dangle close to the edge. She looked up at Azael with a wicked grin and glowing red eyes.

"You are no fun lover. Can't a girl jest with a man she has not seen in over a century."

"Yes, I suppose a girl may. But you and I both know you are no girl." Azael reached for a shirt suddenly feeling the need to cover.

The woman agilely sprung from the bed to land in front of Azael. She seized his hands as he was buttoning his shirt and stopped him from continuing.

"Oh, you are right. I am so much more than that." She dragged a long tongue up from his sternum to the base of his neck.

Azael threw the woman down onto the ground.

"Lilith, are you insane?!" He yelled, gently touching the scalded line on his chest.

Lilith howled with laughter as she stood from the ground.

"What's the matter Azael? You once reveled at my touch. If I remember correctly the more pain the more pleasure." Lilith replied as she took a seat on the bed.

"Forget what I said before. You are insane." Azael spat as he ran his hand across the mark healing it instantly.

"Don't tell me being around these mortals has tamed you?" Lilith pouted before smiling broadly.

"What do you want?"

"Simply to say hello and to see what the great Azael has been doing."

Azael stared at Lilith. He felt his anger rising. He wanted so much to exact his rage but knew that it would do more harm than good. A fight between them now would bring the entire inn down around them if not the town.

"Well you have had your fun. I suggest you disappear."

Lilith watched as Azael dressed. The clothing was strange, but she could not deny that it did nothing to hide his magnificence. Out of all the lovers she had taken to her bed, he had been the only one she desired to return.

"Why are you in such a hurry to dismiss me? Are you so eager to return to your charade? Or have you forgotten your true purpose?"Lilith leaned back against her hands.

"So, you have been reduced to messenger I see." Azael was pleased to see he had wiped the smugness from Lilith's face. "Out with it then, what is my purpose?"

Lilith rose from the bed to stand by a chair in the far corner of the room. She waved her hand across it and suddenly a sword appeared.

Azael's eyes widen as he took in the sight of the familiar weapon. It had been a long time since he last beheld its beauty, but not long enough that he would forget its use.