Sunday's Serving - Lilith's Return

 

Devon suddenly appeared, hurrying out of the back door to approach Lilith.  His downcast eyes darted nervously at the dozens of succubi who lounged on his patio.  Feminine trills rose around him, along with appreciative calls inviting him to enjoy his guests in a carnal fashion.  A fashion that Devon knew full well would get him killed in a hurry.  The fear in his eyes revealed he was all too aware of the danger his life was in.

As if a multitude of words would shield him from the destructive attentions of Lilith’s daughters, he began jabbering before he’d even rounded the corner of the pool.  “Security cameras have picked up several vehicles outside the property.  Two men are screwing around with the front gate.  I think they’re trying to disable the system to get in.”

At last.  Lilith stretched lazily, as if her foes were only a minor distraction, as if her heart wasn’t suddenly pounding in anticipation.  “Our enemies are here,” she announced. 

Devon reached her side.  With a solicitous if trembling hand, he helped her to her feet.  His flesh was sweaty on her skin.  “Should I call the police?  Have them arrested?”

She laughed.  “Not at all.  Let come in so I and my children can welcome them.”  Her army of succubi, though not as great as she’d hoped, still outnumbered the Segreto. 

Lilith’s confidence in her offspring came through in her next statement to her daughters, all of whom had risen and waited for the word to finish the ancient war once and for all.  “This world is ours.  We claim it now.”

 

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Sunday’s Serving – Lilith’s Return

 

 

Alex’s face filled with torment, and for the first time, Lena really saw her mother.  Not the demon killing, bloodthirsty warrior, but a woman filled with doubt and fear and guilt.  “You don’t take any life without dying a little inside, Lena.  Even when the life you end is an evil one.”

“You kill demonkind all the time.”

Alex bowed her head.  “I know.  But in that case it’s the same idea as killing Hitler to stop him from killing millions of innocents.  Killing one to save many.”  Drops fell from her eyes, spilling over her clenched hands.  She was actually crying again, though her voice remained steady.  “Once upon a time I killed demonkind indiscriminately.  Don’t think it doesn’t haunt me to this very day.  Who knows how many of my victims were like you?  Like your father and Uncle Jacob?”

Lena had never realized the burden Alex had carried all her life.  It was a revelation to see that the tough woman felt every bit as vulnerable as she.  That she was in need of the same support that Lena sought.  Maybe needing even more.

 

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Sunday’s Serving – Lilith’s Return

 

Lena’s shriek rang through the room, and Alex almost grabbed Father Jackson, ready to fling him far away from her daughter.  Instead, she gripped her crucifix so hard it cut the palm of her hand.  The pain steadied her, as if inflicting damage on herself could somehow bleed it away from Lena.

The younger Lasham’s face twisted, as if to distort itself into a parody of her child.  Then the hazel eyes flew open.  Her gaze found Alex and stared at her with an expression the mother had never seen on her daughter’s face before:  utter hatred.

Through gritted teeth, Lilith snarled, “You would destroy your own child to get to me, Segreto?”

Alex’s jaw clenched tight enough to hurt.  She had to, to stop the scream welling up from her guts to fill her throat.  My baby, my little girl, don’t hurt my Lena! 

Father Jackson waved his crucifix before Lilith’s eyes.  “I order you to depart this child of God, Lilith.  You have no claim on her body, and you must relinquish your influence now.”

Lilith winced but gave no ground.  “Child of God?  She is of my blood, watered down as it may be.  She is not human.  She belongs to the sisterhood of first woman, descended not of Eve!”

Alex couldn’t hold back.  “She is descended from Eve through me, and it is the greater part of her.  You have no claim on her.  You will let her go!”

The priest drew the sign of the cross over Lena’s forehead.  “You are commanded to return to whence you came, Lilith.  God commands you.  Christ commands you.  The Holy Spirit commands you.”

Lena’s body writhed, held in place by her bonds.  Her eyes rolled back until only the whites showed.  Lilith’s voice still sounded strong as it issued from her lips, however.  “Fuck you.  She will die.  The Segreto will die.  All children of the black-hearted Adam and the usurper Eve will die, and I will take what was rightfully to be mine!”

 

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Sunday’s Serving – Lilith’s Return

 

The priest stared into Lena’s eyes.  “I call you forth, Lilith, first woman, first demoness.  I call forth the one who turned your back on the most high God.  Come forth and show yourself to us.”

Lena broke out in a sweat as the room suddenly blasted furnace hot.  She felt out of breath, as if she’d just run a mile.  The pain in the middle of her head returned, and she had an image of a rusty fish hook buried in there.  Trembling broke out over her body.  Yet Lilith didn’t come forward to challenge them.

Alex handed Father Jackson a vial of holy water.  Lena squeezed her eyes shut, knowing what would come next, anticipating it would feel a lot worse than the oily sensation she’d gotten at the little chapel nearby.

The priest’s voice rose, hard and commanding.  “I have your name, and therefore control over you.  Come forward now, Lilith!”

The water hit the exposed flesh of Lena’s face and arms.  A sound like bacon sizzling on a griddle filled Lena’s ears.  The pain hit an instant later.  Before she could scream against the vicious torment it faded away.  The alien mind that lurked within hers roared forward, eclipsing Lena in utter darkness.

 

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Sunday's Serving - Lilith's Return

 

When all the pure human members of the Segreto returned, Lena permitted them to tie her to a chair with a few lengths of scarves, most of which came from Stella.  Apparently, no one had thought to bring rope or duct tape to the hunt for Lilith.  Her stomach squirmed sickeningly to hand herself over to the Christian portion of the group.  She had no fear that any of them would harm her, at least not on purpose.  These were friends who had watched her grow up, came to birthday celebrations, babysat her when needed during her childhood, and refused to let her take their family portraits for gratis.  They were family, almost as much as those who shared Lena’s DNA.

As the Segreto bound her, they whispered things like, “You’ll be okay.”  “We’ll take care of you, Lena.”  “Stay strong, sweetheart.”  Everyone had tears standing in their eyes.  A couple wept openly, trembling with sobs even as they rendered her helpless.

They didn’t want to hurt her.  Like her, they were afraid they would have to.  Lena saw her own fear in every face surrounding her, along with grief that the worst might happen; oceans and oceans of grief.

After Lena had been trussed securely, Alex stepped forward.  Mother presented her crucifix to daughter, holding it so that only a bare inch separated the icon from her face.  “As a token of your purity as a child of God, kiss this symbol of his Son, who gave himself on the cross so that man, his greatest creation, may live forever.”

Lena did so with a frightened grimace.  The cold metal felt as if it squirmed against her lips, as if the crucifix had morphed into writhing maggots.  A dagger of pain sliced through her head, making her gasp.  As soon as Alex took the crucifix away, the pain relented.

Her mother’s relieved expression that Lena had successfully embraced the Christian talisman without coming to harm let the young woman know just how worried Alex was.  Alex next brought out a small drawstring bag; a voodoo gris-gris.  She pressed it into Lena’s hand.  “Don’t let it go.  This will shield you from the exorcism rite so that only Lilith is driven out.  Remember, your faith in God is absolute.  He has deemed you worthy of life.  Believe in that and you will not be harmed by this rite, even though you possess demon blood.”

 

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Sunday’s Serving – Lilith’s Return

Colwyn clenched and unclenched his fists several times, obviously trying to find a way out of the situation.  A way that wouldn’t threaten Lena’s life.  His struggle was so apparent that it brought fresh pain to Alex’s heart.  Losing Lena would destroy him.

Alex cupped his face in her small hands.  “Trust me, my love.”

At last his shoulders sagged in defeat, and he nodded.  “I do.  If anyone can get her out of this, it’s you.”

Colwyn’s strength still failed him.  It became obvious he couldn’t make himself walk out, leaving Lena to her fate.  He hugged both her and Alex hard until Jacob was forced to pull him away.  With his younger brother’s arm around his hunched shoulders, Colwyn joined the exodus of demonkind from the room.

The human members of the Segreto had already dashed out to gather the holy implements needed for the exorcism.  Alone for the moment, Lena glanced at Alex and blew out a breath.  “This is going to hurt like hell.”

Alex swallowed and was forced to remind herself she had no other option.  She couldn’t show a moment of weakness; not to Lilith who would pounce on any sign of wavering, and not to Lena who needed her strength so badly right now.

To her daughter she said, “It probably will hurt.  And it’s going to be a lot more dangerous to you than we let your father know.” 

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Sunday’s Serving – Lilith’s Return

 

Alex was as startled by Lena’s sudden outburst as everyone else.  However, she knew in an instant that something had gone terribly wrong with her daughter.  She didn’t hesitate to rush towards the distressed girl.  Before Alex realized on a conscious level what was happening, the alien sneer on Lena’s face stopped her in her tracks. 

Her words dripping with hate, Lena said, “Ridiculous creatures, all of you.  Watered-down demon blood and weak offspring of Adam.  Do you really think you can stand against my might?”

Colwyn and Jacob drew close, their faces confused and worried.  The younger brother said, “Lena?  What—?”

“It’s Lilith,” Alex interrupted him.  Molten rage poured through every vein of her body until she thought she might burst into flames with the force of it.  “Leave my daughter alone, you fucking bitch!” she screamed at the monster hiding inside Lena.

Lilith taunted her from within her precious daughter’s body.  “Or what?  What are you waiting for, Segreto?  You know where I am.  Come and get me!”

Alex carefully stepped closer to Lena/Lilith.  Her fists clenched at her sides, trembling with the need to pound the bitch for daring to touch her child.  “Oh, we’re coming.  You can bet your infernal ass we’re coming.”

She plunged her hand into her collar, pulling out the crucifix so that the gold shined in Lilith’s eyes.  Lena’s body jerked back, her arms rising to shield herself from the sight.  She snarled for an instant, like a rabid animal held at bay.  Then the hateful facade subsided from Lena’s face and she was herself again, falling to her knees at Alex’s feet.

Colwyn shot to his daughter’s side to cradle her shuddering body, wincing as he did so.  However, a thousand Christian relics couldn’t have kept him from Lena.  Alex put away the crucifix before it could harm him. 

As soon as the talisman was hidden behind Alex’s white button-down shirt again, Colwyn stared up at her with mingled fury and horror.  “Has that bitch been in Lena all this time?  Does Lilith know everything we’re planning?”

Alex’s heart thudded painfully.  She looked helplessly at her husband, without any idea of what to say. 

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Sunday’s Serving – Lilith’s Return

 

 Lilith rose from her seat in the study and stepped over to stand in front of the fireplace.  She’d meant to address her audience several minutes ago, but the stupid little demi-demon Lena had walked into a church.  The shock of where the young woman had gone, that she actually crossed the sanctified space’s threshold, was still fresh. 

Lilith had to afford her enemy’s daughter grudging respect for her ability to enter a chapel.  That someone descended from her bloodline, no matter how watered down, could withstand such surroundings spoke volumes about Alex Williams Lasham’s faith.  The Segreto bitch had somehow transformed profane energy into a child who could negate holy power.  Lena’s immunity to the sacred frightened Lilith almost as much as the church itself.

Lilith had withdrawn as much of her consciousness as possible from Lena while still maintaining contact with the girl’s mind.  She had been swept by nausea and pain nevertheless, and it had taken all her control to hide the agony from the others in her presence.  Finally the hateful little bitch had left the chapel.  After another five minutes of collecting herself, Lilith felt strong enough to take center stage before the hearth. 

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Sunday’s Serving – Lilith’s Return

 

She thought it one of the most warm and welcoming churches she’d ever set foot in, but Lena still experienced a heaviness in her stomach.  She was demonkind, supposedly not welcome here.  Alex had lectured her about the strength of faith, that the trappings of religion were nothing without intent present in those who used them.  She’d preached her own gospel time and again until the words were nearly burned in Lena’s brain.

“This crucifix can’t hurt you.  This holy water can’t hurt you.  They are only objects, nothing to be feared.  I have faith my daughter is good.  I cannot harm you with these baubles.  And Lena, if you do not believe in their harm, they really are only baubles.”

There had to be truth in that.  Through the years, Lena felt nothing more than slight discomfort touching such things.  Yet she’d seen Alex destroy demi-demons with those same objects.  Alex’s faith that she performed holy work made the icons destructive weapons that no demon could stand again.  In her hands, the symbols of the Church won every battle that Alex waded into.  Conviction was an unstoppable force, and Alex Williams Lasham wielded it like the Archangel Michael’s fiery sword.

Lena sat down in the backmost pew.  Her temples ached fiercely.  She bowed her head and closed her eyes to pray as she’d done countless times before, often without her parents’ knowledge.

She believed in God.  One couldn’t face the reality of demons and not be a believer.  Being one of the profane herself, Lena had more faith than many she knew who attended services regularly.  She hoped the Almighty could forgive her condition since she’d had no control over it.  Though she’d rejected the bloodbath of being a full-fledged member of the Segreto, Lena believed she’d conducted herself with basic decency.  Surely she couldn’t be damned because of an accident of ancestry.

Dear God, I am not evil simply because my existence can be traced back to Lilith and the Fallen.  You have to know this.  I am as good as any human.  In fact, I am kinder than many who have no demon blood in their veins.  I don’t want to hurt anyone except those who would destroy us all.  I don’t like feeding on misery.  Tell me I’m more than the sum of my parts.  Tell me I’m not doomed to hell for all eternity simply because I’m descended from those who do delight in the pain of others.  I’m begging you for a sign.  Something I can show my mother so she’ll see she has nothing to fear from me. 

Lena had lost count of how many times she’d sent out that prayer.  This time, as with all the others, she received no answer.  Perhaps there would never be one, and Alex would go to her grave in agony because she’d brought one of demonkind into the world through her own womb.  Lena didn’t like thinking such things, but she’d learned to live with the notion.  Still, she couldn’t help but plead her case yet again.

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Women in Horror Month – The Writers

Last week I celebrated the Women in Horror month by looking at movie characters.  This week I wanted to take a look at my favorite female writers in the horror genre.

Tanith Lee

 

The author of over 90 novels and 300 short stories, Tanith Lee has written some of the creepiest stories I’ve ever read.  Her story ‘When the Clock Strikes’ was my first introduction to her work.  That particular tale is a version of ‘Cinderella’ you’ll never read to your kids unless you like to hear them screaming from nightmares.  The Secret Books of Paradys (I-IV) were mindblowing in their ability to take the reader into a world that was as soul-chilling as any I’ve ever read.  Her many awards include the August Derleth Award, World Fantasy Award for Best Short Story, and the World Horror Convention Grand Master Award.

 

Daphne du Maurier

 

Perhaps her two best known works were Rebecca and The Birds, which were made into classic films.  If you liked the movies, you will absolutely adore the writing.  The short story The Birds, which I first read in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, made my skin crawl.  Her National Book Award for her masterpiece Rebecca was well deserved.

 Mary Shelley

 

You can’t talk women in horror without the author of Frankenstein coming up.  And though this book is a result of Lord Byron challenging Mary Shelley to write a horror story, it reads more like science fiction.  With this being one of the most recognized tales in the  world (over 15 versions made in film and television), Shelley always merits being at the top of the list of women in horror.

Anne Rice

 

Edward Cullen, eat your heart out.  Despite being undead, Rice’s gorgeous vampire creation Lestat de Lioncourt breathed the last great breath into the vampire genre.  Her Vampire Chronicles have been must-reads.  The Mayfair Witches were a pretty good series too.  Anne Rice perfected the sexy monsters one would not mind dying in the arms of.

 

Shirley Jackson

 

My hands-down favorite female horror writer Shirley Jackson could play with the reader’s head like no one else.  The Lottery is wonderfully terrifying in its bucolic setting, which warns us that even the most innocent-seeming of places can host horrors beyond imagination.  We Have Always Lived in the Castle was another story that continues to mesmerize me.   The Haunting of Hill House stands in my mind as the greatest haunted house story of all time ... more because of the question of whether the house was actually haunted or if the story’s heroine was simply insane.  One of the most chilling lines I’ve ever read came from that book:  “...silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.” 

And there they are, my five favorite Women of Horror in writing.  While I do not claim to compare in any way, shape, or form to these amazing wordsmiths, I’d like to shamelessly plug my own horror books at this time.  After all, it’s my month too!  You can pick up Lilith and Lilith’s Return for your Kindle, Nook, or other reading devices at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

  

Happy reading!

Sunday’s Serving – Lilith’s Return

 

 She paused only long enough to take a deep breath.  She braced herself for the coming storm.  Before she could let nervousness take hold, she knocked on the door.  After the space of a few seconds, Alex opened it and gaped at her.

“Lena!  What in the hell are you doing here?”

Pretending her heart wasn’t hammering a million miles a minute, Lena raised her eyebrows.  “Nice to see you too, Mom. Can I come in or do you want to yell at me in the hall?”

Alex was so mad that her face turned an appalling shade of deep red.  In the space of one second, she looked brutally sunburned.  Lena actually had a terrible moment when she thought her mother might have a stroke.  Then Alex stormed to the middle of the room, keeping her back to Lena.  Her fists clenched at her sides.

Lena stepped into the room.  Her father appeared out of nowhere to loom over her.  Colwyn looked every bit as pissed as his wife, and his voice shook with rage.  “You were supposed to stay home,” he growled through gritted teeth. 

Alex’s temper was one thing.  Seeing her father furious and being the object of his wrath made Lena’s knees wobble.  Such intense anger, rarely displayed, even backed her mother down when Colwyn gave vent to it. 

Lena quickly stowed her smart alecky attitude.  She was not about to provoke her father when he seethed like this.  Bowing her head, she told him, “I know you wanted me to stay in Miami.  I tried to, I really did, but I couldn’t shake the feeling I needed to be here.”

Alex spun around to face her.  “And do what?  Get our people killed?”  Spittle flew as she spoke.

Lena swallowed.  “I studied the rites on my flight over.  I went over protocols.  I’m ready to help.”

“You’re not doing shit, Lena.  You can turn your ass around and go the fuck back home.”

While not as quick to fire as Alex, Lena’s temper could be just as intense.  She struggled to keep it under control.  “I’m staying.   I’m not a child, and I have as much to lose as everyone else if Lilith wins.”

Alex shoved past Colwyn to get in Lena’s face.  Her voice sounded low and deadly.  “I will not allow you to put my people in jeopardy.  You turned your back on the Segreto years ago, and I don’t want you in it now.  You do not belong with us.”

Her words were like a knife twisting in Lena’s gut, bleeding out the simmering anger in an instant.  Tears welled in the young woman’s eyes.  “Mom—”

“Not another word!”  Alex’s scream made Lena take a step back.  Her mother wasn’t just angry, she was boiling.  “Go home, put on your makeup and designer dresses, call your friends for lunch, and play princess like you’ve always done.  Leave the work to those of us who aren’t afraid to get our hands dirty.”

With that, Alex stormed out of the suite.  The door slammed behind her so hard, Lena thought the frame might crack. 

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Sunday's Serving - Lilith's Return

 Lena remembered everything from the moment her parents sparked her into being.  Mere hours after sperm fertilized egg, she and Alex were in the midst of a fight for all of humanity.  She’d felt every moment of her mother’s hopelessness, terror, and pain as she battled to exile their enemy.  Despite Lena’s presence and power aiding Alex, the battle had been close, and death even closer.  Had the doomed unborn child Lilith carried at the time not rebelled against its mother, had Lena not reminded her own mother of the power of the coffin nail she carried, Lilith would have won.  Earth would be trembling under her rule right now.

The immortal succubus had come so close to winning last time.  Now Mom, Dad, and Uncle Jacob were going to face her yet again.  Lena knew how tough her family was and how committed to the fight.  They would do all in their power to fend off the great threat once more.  But she had a very bad feeling about it.

“I’m not a prognosticator, I’m a tracker,” Lena reminded herself.  “I don’t see the future.”

So why did she have such a sense of doom?

Lena couldn’t stand it anymore.  She had not fought demonkind in years.  She had forgotten more than a few things when it came to the rituals and verses.  But she needed to be with her family.  She had to face Lilith and stop the demoness, or die trying.

She picked up the phone and called the funeral home.  Aunt Marta answered before the first ring ended.  “Lasham Funeral Home.  How may I help you?”

Without preamble, Lena announced, “I’m going to North Carolina.”

“Your plane leaves in four hours.  Get packed and I’ll drive you to Miami International.”

Lena almost wept; from terror or relief, she wasn’t sure.  “How do you do that?”

“It’s a gift.  Get a move on.  I’m on my way.”

 

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Sunday’s Serving – Lilith’s Return

The airline attendant served coffee, and Alex tucked into hers with gratitude.  The night before had been mostly sleepless, even with Colwyn holding her close and feeding on her anxiety.  Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t the coming fight with Lilith that had Alex on edge.  She couldn’t shut down her worries over Lena, even though she’d left her daughter safe and sound in Miami.

“She really wanted to come with us.  She hasn’t wanted any part of the Segreto since she was a teenager.”  Alex kept her eyes trained on the brown pool of coffee in a heavy white cup.  She’d told the attendant to keep it full.  More than indulging her huge caffeine addiction, drinking coffee gave her something to do during the two-hour flight.

Colwyn’s big hand on her thigh was welcome weight.  He squeezed gently.  “She wanted to be normal when she was younger.  She wanted to be human.  I don’t blame her for that.”

“She’s had a good life with a lot of friends.  It would have been so much harder on her if she’d been a succubus.” 

Of all the challenges that had faced Lena, Alex was profoundly grateful being a succubus hadn’t been one of them.  The aunt Lena had been named for, Colwyn and Jacob’s younger sister, had been a succubus.  The first Lena had targeted only sexual predators for her deadly feeds, the very worst of the worst.  It hadn’t saved her in the end.  The original Segreto, run by the Catholic Church, had discovered Colwyn’s sister’s existence and murdered her.  She was only a teenager when she died, and Alex’s blood curdled to think of the young woman destroyed so ruthlessly without a hearing.  If that had happened to her own little girl... 

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Sunday's Serving - Lilith's Return

 

For Lena, the next morning came far too quickly.  She and Aunt Marta stood side by side watching the small chartered jet take off, carrying the Segreto away.  Carrying her parents and uncle away.  Perhaps never to return.

The two women had the private airfield’s lounge to themselves once everyone else boarded the aircraft.  The group had left quietly, every face somber.  They realized the potential executions they faced, and the knowledge had been like a pall cast over them. 

As loved ones disappeared into the blameless blue sky, both Lena and Marta blinked unselfconscious tears from their eyes.  Marta caught all of hers in her handkerchief, not allowing her makeup to be smudged or smeared.

The elder woman summed up their shared feelings in a few words.  “Damn it.  I thought they’d never have to deal with that bitch again.”

Lena looked down from her superior seven inches and saw the bald fear in her aunt’s expression.  It ramped up the feeling of dread that had kept her awake all night.  “I should be with them.  Maybe I’m not up on my training, but they need every person they could get.  I shouldn’t have let them talk me out of going.”

She said it despite knowing her aunt would echo her parents’ arguments as to why she shouldn’t be on her way to North Carolina.  Marta surprised her.

“Yeah, I think you should have gone too.  They do need you at their side.  But Alex and Colwyn are one stubborn pair when they think they’re right.”  Marta huffed.  Fright, anger, and hope took turns, chasing across her face.  She abruptly swiveled on her high, patent leather heel and marched out of the waiting area.

Lena followed her aunt out through the TSA gate and towards the just opening airport grill.  Her long legs didn’t take much effort in catching up to her hurrying relative.

She took a sniff as they neared the building’s greasy spoon, just now emitting breakfast smells.  Lena told the other woman, “Man, I need coffee.  An Alex Lasham-sized cup, better known as a silo.”  She inhaled deeply of the fresh-brewed scent.

Marta waved at the grill dismissively.  “Forget this place.  I’ll buy you some good stuff.  Breakfast too.”

“I don’t think I can eat.”  Lena’s stomach churned at the mere thought of food.

“Me neither.”  Marta pasted a big, bright, and utterly fake smile on her pretty face.  “Let’s go shopping instead.  We deserve whole new wardrobes, shoes, and purses.  Hell, we need jewelry.”

Lena managed to laugh at that.  Aunt Marta believed in mall therapy all right.  Uncle Jacob would return home to find his wife’s credit cards maxed out, and maybe his too.

If he comes home at all.  The unwelcome thought took away the brief burst of humor. 

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Sunday's Serving - Lilith's Return

 

As she ticked off things on her list, putting St. Christopher medals in a hard-shell case next to crystals and voodoo gris-gris bags, Lena walked into the room.  Alex couldn’t help the renewed surge of relief that her daughter looked like her old self.  Thank God she’d suffered no residual effects from Lilith’s possession.

That bitch better stay away from my kid.  I will fuck her up ninety ways to Sunday if she dares to harm one hair on her head. 

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