LILITH (DEMONOLOGY I)

XVII

We spent the night at Luna's house again. Eva and I were teaching our soldiers everything that they needed to know about the war that was going on.

"Demons have been swarming Heaven for weeks," I said. "Some got locked out of Hell when we sealed the gate, so they'll be the ones fighting the angels. That will provide lots of cover for us. You all are just hollow shells, so the angels can only find you if they see you. If you stay low, you should be fine. Since most of Heaven is just clouds, we have to enter through the Elysian Fields, which means that we're going on a little trip. And by little, I mean all the way to the Mediterranean."

"And why are we attacking angels?" One woman asked. "I'm a faithful Christian, so this is against my beliefs. Angels are righteous and holy, we should be helping them beat the demons."

"I don't think you're in any position to be supporting angels, as a demon just gave you a second chance at life." I retorted. "Angels are like politicians - they're never truly right, some people just believe that they're right. The angels that are running Heaven are corrupt. They wan't nothing but glory, and they'll do anything to get it. Such as killing my father and using lies to get their way. Because of them, I never knew my mother. If the angels are truly righteous, they wouldn't have let you all die so early in your lives."

"How are we supposed to fight angels?" Another girl asked. She couldn't have been any older than 16. "Most of us are just regular people."

"The plan isn't to fight them, but rather to elude them for as long as possible." I said. "If it comes down to it, we can fight them. You don't need to be an MMA expert or a pro wrestler to fight them. You just need a little magic on your side, and I can provide that for you." Since Thalia's death, I had thoroughly studied everything in her book. I had memorized multiple sigils, and knew almost every single one of the angels' weaknesses.

"You all are here because you possess certain qualities," Eva began walking down the line, rattling off said qualities. "You have a fighting spirit. You have the heart of a champion. You're a genius. You're adept at thinking on your feet." I left her to finish her speech while I gathered my necessities from inside. All I needed were the weapons and the books, but I packed more, just in case things went horribly bad. I considered bringing the guitar, but decided against it. I didn't need any extra baggage, especially if said baggage was like a family heirloom to me.

When I went back outside, our army was scattered about, talking amongst themselves.

"The ghouls are all ready." Eva said, taking some of the weapons from me. She noticed my confused look and elaborated. "I forgot, you've only known about the supernatural for a little under a month now. Ghouls are human bodies without souls. Zombies, in a sense. All of their souls are right here." She pulled up her sleeves, revealing numerous bracelets. "These are all charms meant to contain souls."

I thought back to what she had told me, how she would kill me in an instant if it meant freedom. Would she keep my soul in one of those charms, or would she free me as soon as she had the chance? I wasn't sure, but I couldn't doubt her. She was the only help I had.

"You're still scared of me, huh?" She said downhearted. "I don't blame you. Just yesterday I told you that I would end your life just to make sure we don't get caught. But trust me, eternal damnation in Hell is much better than what kind of punishment the angels dish out. I'm sure you've read in the book how they-"

"Yeah," I interjected. "I know. I know all about the tomb." Many years prior, Wynne and the other Council members had decided that Hell and Purgatory weren't punishment enough. They had a large tomb created in the middle of the Elysian Fields, where all of the "good" souls spent their eternity. The tomb was designed to ruin the livelihood of all those inside. It was a lot like Lucifer's Labyrinth, as it made your worst nightmares a reality, but there was no overcoming it. Only three people had been placed in the tomb. The record book Dale had given me stated that only those who weren't affected by the Council's influence were placed in the tomb, and Wynne did the job herself. It was just another example of how corrupt they were.

"Finn?" Eva snapped her fingers, trying to get my attention. "Are you alright? If you want, we can wait a few more days before we do this. Don't force yourself if you're not ready."

"No, no, I'm ready." I shook my head. "I just got lost in thought." To be honest, I wasn't ready. I was scared out of my mind. But I knew that I had to do it. Like Eva had said, I needed to stop doing what was right all the time, and do what was necessary. I turned to the ghouls. "Everyone gather around. We need to make our way to the Mediterranean, which would usually take weeks. Luckily, you're in the hands of an angel and a demon." I was technically a Nephilim, but this wasn't the time for technicalities. "I can probably get us to Europe in a matter of minutes. But I'm not sure if I can land us near the Mediterranean. It's a risk we're going to have to take."

Since I didn't have my cross, I had to draw power from other sources of angelic aura, AKA the church. Once we were there, I had the ghouls stand in a large cluster while I drew a circle around them. It wasn't as good as something Thalia would draw, but it was the best I could do. I stepped inside the circle. Eva had already made her way to Greece using her own abilities, and would have no trouble finding us if we got lost.

My fire ringed us, and I could feel my body going numb. I was calling on the aura from the church, but it wasn't enough to transport a Nephilim and three dozen ghouls. I pressed my hands into the ground, intensifying the fire. The ground cracked and trembled. The ghouls all huddled closer together, fearing the fire. When it spread and danced across their bodies, they panicked.

"It can't hurt you!" I shouted over their screams. "It's holy fire. The worst it can do is sting a little." They calmed down a tad bit, and I pushed even harder into the ground. I could feel us being transported, traveling away from New York. Please take us to Greece and not the middle of the ocean. I was hoping that whatever deities that powered me heard me. The last time I tried this, I had only moved a few yards. I really wasn't in the mood to end up taking a plane to Greece. (Especially since I had no money.)

Soon, the fire disappeared. We definitely weren't in New York anymore. We were in a strange abandoned temple. There were cracked columns and crumbling tiles on the floor. We were in the Parthenon.

"You told me that your powers weren't reliable," Eva stepped out from behind one of the columns. "And yet you ended up right where you needed to be." I was still in awe of our surroundings. I had never gone on a vacation outside of North Carolina, so this was like a dream come true for me.

"Isn't there supposed to be a statue here?" I asked. I had only taken two years of world history, but I was sure that a statue of Athena was supposed to be right in the middle of the Parthenon.

"If this was the fifth century, then yes." Eva stood where statue was supposed to be. "Supposedly, the Romans removed it. If it were here, we could get to the Elysian Fields. But since it's not, we have to travel through the underworld."

"I thought we-"

"Sealed it off, yes." Eva finished my sentence for me. "But that was in Christian territory. Unlike Christian beliefs, the Greek underworld is layered. To the Greeks, we only sealed off Tartarus, which is where all of the evil spirits, demons and Titans are. There's still the mainlands of the underworld, where only the most basic of demons are. And since yours truly is the direct spawn of the devil, I'll have no problem guiding you through."

The ghouls tried to object, but Eva raised her hand and they all went silent.

"What, is it your job to do that?" I joked.

"I can do the exact same thing to you, if you just let me. Sell your soul to the devil, as they say." She joked back. I gave a nervous laugh and cleared my throat.

"So, how do we get to the underworld?" I paced around, trying to find a potential gateway. "We need an artifact, and since that statue isn't here, I don't see how we're going to make it."

"This entire building is an artifact." She placed a hand on one of the columns and the Parthenon began to glow. The floor cracked open into a giant abyss. In her best carny voice, Eva said; "Step right up for a free trip to the underworld."