Malevolent

Chapter 13

I couldn't believe I was out of Dante's hold. He plagued my dreams so often, I started to think I was still with him.

It had taken me a while to feel like myself again. The few days I spent in Dante's clutches had taken a toll on my body. I'd lost blood, been bitten, taken a fall to the head, hadn't eaten or drank anything.

When I was finally able to get up, I almost cried when I looked in the mirror. There were bruises on my shoulders, arms, neck, waist, thigh, just about anywhere I could see. And that bite mark Dante had given me was still there, between the crevasse of my shoulder and neck.

Camael was certain I was only alive because of Dante's blood which had taken days to leave my system. In the meantime, Cam did what he could to help me heal and get all the demon blood out of my body.

I ran a finger over the dark circles under my eyes. I couldn't sleep anymore. I didn't want another Dante induced nightmare. I headed to the library instead. There was a collection of ancient texts here, not all of them were accessible, but the few that were, I read. They spoke of angels, demons, the beginning of mankind.

It was all fascinating and I hoped to learn something about Dante. Anything that could help me.

"No sleep?" Alia entered the library.

"No." I looked up from my book, watching as she approached me.

"Dante still in your dreams?" She raised her brow.

I nodded my head.  

I had met Alia during my stay here. This was her home. Alia was an angel, like Cam, and she was ethereally beautiful. She had long red hair, smooth fair skin, and magenta colored eyes.

"That bite keeps you attached to him. So, the longer you are away from him, the better."

Instinctively, I ran my hand across the bite mark Dante had left me with. The bite mark that almost killed me that night I had saved Cam.

"What are you reading now?" She took a seat in front of me, absently scrolling through the pages of another book.

"How Satan used Lillith to create his demons."

"Ah, yes." She replied, pensive. Her voice carried a tinge of sadness. "The tale of Lillith and her entanglement with Satan is a chapter in our history that is both fascinating and heartbreaking."

"Were you there?"

"I had yet to be created, but I have seen it through my brother and sisters eyes. You see," she continued, her gaze grew distant as if reminiscing the past, "What many of your kind don't know, is that Lillith was an angel once, just like me, but turned human, just like you." She smiled kindly before continuing.

"She was known Eliel in the heavens, but as a human she took on the name Lillith. She possessed a fiery spirit and unyielding desire for independence. So when our father posed the idea of humanity to us, she eagerly volunteered to become the first human woman...but it was her strong will and refusal to submit to any authority that led on a collision course with that wicked serpent." She shook her head.

"Lillith craved freedom beyond what was deemed acceptable and in her defiance, she chose to forsake her celestial duties and embrace a path that distanced her from the light," Alia explained. "It was during that period that she encountered Satan, the first Fallen One," Alia continued, her magenta colored eyes dimmed with a hint of sorrow.

In all my time in the orphanage, I had never heard the nuns tell that version of the story. Alia was right, it was as fascinating as it was heartbreaking. To witness the corruption of a once revered angel.