CH 18 - The Horrors

Lily coughs violently as she struggles to contain her emotions. Running forward, Lily trips over her feet as she reaches out. Reaches out to the darkness as her stomach lurches.

The child Lilith, the way she was looking into her eyes. Clinging to her with a depth of hope that Lily has never felt. She only felt a sense of protection and freedom by looking into the child's eyes.

Lily felt free of all her worries that she was making a mistake. She knew in her heart that she was ready to give up everything. Ready to face any challenge she needed to.

She was prepared to give up everything she had clung to in her life to give up her sanity for the child. The child devolved into a sickening grotesque damaged heart that was bleeding.

Lily does everything she can to steady herself so she doesn't collapse forward. How was it even possible? How was it all a lie, the child? She felt the heart beating as her hand grasped her finger. Her eyes sparkled when she said Lily's name. Was that even real?

For a moment, Sera had changed. The terrifying scream that escaped her lips was... it horrified Lily. It looks for a moment as if Caesar had killed her. Suppose he had stabbed her in the heart. It had to be a dream. It wasn't real. She did not witness her death at the hands of a man who saved her.

Her breath comes quick and shallow as she struggles to find her breath. Grasping her hands, she tries to calm her nerves. The red mist is not consuming the edge of her consciousness.

The blood she coughs up is not faded. She is not at the edge of consciousness witnessing her death. Coughing, she pushes forward as the creature's memory plays in her mind.

Her eyes faded to the glowing yellow as he slipped from her chest. Her skin turned to ash, and the entire world that Lily had known vanished in a moment. Why didn't he allow her to have her peace? She was ready to surrender. To give to him everything he could ever desire. But still, he denied her.

Why did Caesar take this from her? She was resolute. She knew what she had to do to protect a mother and child. She knew in her heart what she was doing and who she was meant to be. The moment in her heart that she became his, he stole it from her. Whoever that monster was deserved her life as much as anyone else.

Running forward as her bare feet slam against the stone floor. Slamming her hand against the door frame, she pleads for mercy and begs for salvation.

Crying pitifully, Lily needs to be safe. She needs to turn to the one person she can trust now. With Sera gone, she wishes that Olivia was near. But failing to find her, she turns to the one person she can trust.

Running forward, she strikes the door violently, trying to break down the last barrier. Tears stream from her eyes as she struggles to find her voice. Her throat is coarse from coughing her mind fights against her desire to give up.

To let her body slip into unconsciousness as she moves through the silent and expansive halls. Banging against the door, she murmurs like a small child pleading outside a parent's bedroom door after a nightmare.

"Please..." Lily begs against the door. Her knees grow weaker as the visions come into focus, and her mind realizes the horror. The scent of the putrid rotting heart fills her nostrils as the memories fill her mind.

A hint of an elaborate plot unfolds before her as she wonders why the creature wasn't seen. She had almost caught her for what she was. Falling to a kneel, she slips effortlessly back into the darkness of her mind.

At the moment of her turning her back to Caesar, when his fingers entered her mouth, she saw the creature. She saw the demonic being almost floating down the walkway. The ashen skin covered a skinny, almost bony body as she struggled with fear.

Cold sweat beads at the back of her neck as small tremors rush through her body. The way that she moved, the pattern was almost predatory as the yellow eyes seemed to almost peer into her soul. Their desire to have what she had was terrifying.

Lily had struggled to maintain her composure at the moment. The desire to run filled her waking thought as she looked towards the demonic light in the darkness. Something shifted before her eyes could focus on the object within the woman's arms. Caesar removed his fingers from her lips. The droplets of blood feeding her, empowering her, vanished before her eyes as the glowing yellow eyes receded into the night.

As Caesar removed his trickling life force from her lips, her world shifted. She was no longer the terrifying creature who wanted to steal her soul. She was... she transformed into Sera. She heaves into a wrenching cough once more as she realizes Caesar gave her that. She was terrified of the atrocity approaching, and rather than allowing her to wallow in fear, he gifted her a small measure of peace.

Still, she wondered what they were talking about. The words sounded almost foreign as the words were dark and foreboding. The sounds themselves appeared practically a growl as the terms dipped in and out of her mind. Lily struggles to remember what was said as her body wrenches in terror.

Looking back towards the great hall she escaped from, she wonders. Would she remember the conversation differently if she submitted to the monster who killed her friend? Would she have the courage to face the demonic tongue in her mind?

Reaching her hand against the door, she knocks again, knowing Gabriella lies beyond. As much as she learns and recognizes Nica, there is something strange. Almost foreign about someone who worships the Gods so wholly. Why would the Gods want anything to do with them and the plethora of Gods that walk through the world? How can you ever know who you truly serve?