Misery Looms

Chapter 13 - Unbared Truth

Ed blinked a couple of time, memories dwindle away and it left a room where moonlight scrapped against rotten floorboards, where dust lived in corners.  

"Remember anything?"

Attention snapped towards the staircase, Lilith sat on a step, hands cupped chin and a bored expression edged into features.

"It shouldn't take this long." Lilith muttered then shrugged, "But, you are missing days."

Ed stared. This wasn't another memory that liked to curl at the edges of his vision and overlap with reality, this was real. He stood in front of the murderer, the one person who brought fear and death to the streets of Central, who's got the military running through the back alleys just trying to find a clue or witness.

"What?" Lilith asked a playful smile appeared. "Do I have blood on my face? I thought I washed it all off."

Dread seeped into the bottom of his stomach and everything felt off, from the way she could fake innocents, to how relaxed her body was as if he didn't pose a threat and it made Ed tensed, waiting for the moment the act fell apart and for Lilith to finish what was started.

Because the memories of those nights were coming back, even now he was a witness and Lilith wouldn't just let him walked out of here, not with knowing that he would tell someone everything that happened. But how to explain the theory that was conjured within the shadow lit alleyway? Lilith was playing a character, pretending to act like a vampire, but the question was did she really believe it or was it all an act just to see if anyone believed it to be true?

But, maybe that was the easy part of the explanation. What was harder, was trying to explain how she was able to control people or twist reality so much he believed for a moment vampires were real, going so far to recreate pieces of lore.

"What are you?" Ed asked, hoping confutation would somehow reveal the truth.

Lilith sighed. "I hoped you would be able to put it together, but with being an alchemist I guess it's hard to jump to any conclusions or ridiculous ideas." She got up from the staircase and took a couple of steps down.

Ed instantly took a step back. The idea she could attack at any moment stayed at the edge of his mind.

"Aw, is someone afraid," Lilith said, then stepped off the last step, the playful grin seemed to stretch a little.

"I was never afraid of you," Ed said, just as Lilith took another couple steps forward. Ed once again took another step back, but it wasn't because she had gotten closer. It was because he watched as the playfulness dripped away and left something cold in its place.

"You can't fool me." Lilith spat and then a small smile formed. "I've been around someone who brought fear to everyone around him. I watched every little movement on their bodies, studied them. They had better masks then you and I could still tell that the fear haunted them and if they were able to rise above that fear, well let's say it didn't last long. So, dropped that act."

Ed thought it was ironic as she was the one who had put on acted well before him.

"You came here for answers to the questions that have surely been driving you mad and yet you're almost halfway out the door. So, let's stop wasting time. You can leave, go back to playing human, lose control again and wake up with another body at your feet. It might be a stranger or maybe someone you know. Or you can stay here, get the answers you need so that you won't wake up in another alleyway with another body."

Ed felt sure that something had changed from the first time they met to now. Lilith was quick to control him, to show she held the power. However, now there was none of that. She still acted like she was in control of the situation, but she hadn't once held commanded over his body like the first day they met. Even though she clearly wanted to because the power could shift within a moment.