Lilith's Fall: Eden's Rise Ch. 03

I wiggled a little in happiness at her praise.

"And you can fly now?"

Darn.

"... Surprise," I said, my voice rising at the end while I gave her jazz hands. "It was supposed to be a gift. Now we can travel together. And you don't have to worry about dropping me and we can see new places-"

She interrupted my spiel with a kiss to the forehead. "It sounds wonderful, El. Very thoughtful."

Blushing, I squirmed in place.

"But we still need to address the development." She resolutely met Tartarus', Chi's, and Alora's recovered eyes in turn. "They are here. And they are coming for us."

The reality of the situation rippled through my body and I quivered as goosebumps covered my arms. "What do we do now?" I held her tight, breathing in her soothing scent.

Helal's jaw clenched with determination and her words came out terse. "Now, we prepare for battle."

Thus did the final preparations begin. I harvested what I could from my garden, my dirt-stained hands shaking. My eyes kept looking around, phantoms of imagined dangers haunting the edges of my sight. Helal asked me to close off the entrance when I returned, the final thing that would erase all traces of our above-ground presence. The sky darkened with an incipient storm, matching my outlook.

"I don't think I've ever seen it rain before," I mused. The dirt finished filling in the entrance just as the first of the cold fat droplets began to fall.

"Rain and snow is not a natural occurrence for me. This is a little gift I'd been setting up for the unwelcome guests that trod upon my surface," Tartarus remarked, amusement in her voice from where she leaned against the wall of the tunnel.

"Good, maybe a dash of cold will help them cool their heads."

"Crusader, there's something you should know," Tartarus directed toward Helal. "Your father has deigned this an important enough issue to make an appearance."

"... He's here?"

"Distinguished looking fellow that barks orders while walking around with his hands behind his back? Wears a golden laurel and is constantly surrounded by two bodyguards in golden armor?"

I suspected that Helal's jaw could make diamond out of coal at this point. "... That would be him."

"Is that bad?" I asked.

"It means he has judged my departure and the mystery surrounding you serious enough that he is willing to devote time to fix it. Which is not good when it comes to our chances of winning." She took my hand when she saw the fear this caused. "But, if we win... when we win, it'll mean we can put this thing to bed. If we defeat my father then we can live the lives we want, free from his tyranny. But in order to do that, we need to get ready. Here's what we're going to do..."

For a week we huddled into the newly claustrophobic space of our underground home, all the while Tartarus' storm continued to rage above ground. There was no sign of them discovering us, and as time went on I began to hope that we could escape this without having to fight. Then, explosions began to rock the earth. Day and night they searched for us, like a hillbilly searching for fish in a lake.

And I do not appreciate being the fish in this scenario.

Eventually, they stumbled upon a section of layered wards. With my help Helal had raised wards for all manner of things; reinforcement, concealment, anti-tampering... and a number of other useful qualities that I didn't understand or remember. Alora acted as our spy, relaying what they said, observing their search with her sneaky tentacles.

"They are discussing the possibility of breaching the wards," Alora's smooth tones issued out into the common room where we huddled around her like families of the past used to around a radio.

Helal snorted. "Good luck with that. The amount of aether El and I dumped into those things... They'd probably be better off physically lifting the entire complex out of the ground."

"That is the conclusion that Belial presented."

Helal clicked her tongue in disappointment. "Darn, I was hoping they would waste their time at least giving it a shot. He always did have a solid head on his shoulders."

"They have decided to survey everything and look for a weakness to breach."

"Can we close it off? Lay new wards to isolate and just wait it out?" I asked.

"Wouldn't do us any good. Couldn't place wards over the entrance because we regularly used it, and we can't do it now because part of the reinforcements that make them hard to breach make it nearly impossible to thread in additional connections that would be necessary for new wards. That intersection would then be brittle. Easily broken wards are not worth the effort. Good thought, though."

The gentleness of her dismissal was nice, as was the care she placed in my feelings. It warmed my heart.

"No. We have probably a day to mentally prepare. And then we have no other choice but to defend ourselves." Her words were followed by a grim round of nods. "Steel your souls and gird yourself for battle."

I let the lameness of her pep-speech pass without comment. The others dispersed and I pulled Helal off to the side. "Promise me, La. Promise me that you don't do anything foolish. Promise me that if push comes to shove, we take the girls and run. We rip open a new portal and get out of here."

"If we do that we'll never be able to stop running. God won't give this up, El. My 'rebellion' undermines too much of his authority."

"Then we'll run. It'll be okay as long as we have each other." I fisted the collar of her shirt, my eyes resolute and watery with emotional tears. "Just... Promise me... Please."

"I promise, El." She leaned in and pressed our foreheads together. "I promise to take care of you-"

"Us. We're together in this. I won't go anywhere without you."

Her arms wrapped around my upper back, gently connecting us and sheltering me. "Us," she amended. "I promise to take care of us, as best as I can. Now come on, let's do something to pass the time." Taking my hand, she pulled me into her bedroom and onto her bed.

The lovemaking was gentle and emotional. Helal took her time, showering me with kisses and with praise. Her touches encouraged me as I gently thrust down into her. I finished first but returned the favor shortly after. Unconcerned by my sticky seed that coated my fingers when I plunged them into her intoxicating warmth. I drew such sweet sounds from my lover that I wished to record them and listen to them on repeat. When it was over, we cuddled together in bed, and she drew humorous stories of my childhood from me. We laughed together at old tales from a simpler time. Sleep was a long time coming, and when it came, it was troubled by nebulous nightmares that chased me through dark corridors.

It happened much as Helal had described, except for a lack of Belial. The crusaders traced their way to the entrance of our home and with a single explosion, ripped away the shallow earth, revealing a wall of shielded warriors. They advanced in lockstep, moving with well-oiled precision into the narrow hall. The edges of the formation, pulled back into a seperate file, and then a third when only two of them could walk side by side, their shoulders brushing against the dirt walls.

Helal's eyes blazed, reflecting the light of her spear and shield as she revealed her presence to these invaders. The hellish visage and implacable expression were enough that the front file took several steps back, bumping into their compatriots.

Our setup was simple but no less effective for that fact. Helal positioned herself fifty yards down the entrance into our home. I hovered some five yards further in, eyes wide as I stared past her. Fully armored, she looked every inch the avenging angel that she was. A shield of blooming fire stuck out from one arm while her other held a piercing spear that was bright enough to hurt the eyes that looked at. A morning star, she was the first sight that greeted our enemies as they invaded our home. For many, that same light would also be the last thing they ever saw.

I was positioned a short distance behind her, my breathing labored from near panic and my heart yammering away in my chest. Petrified I would screw something up and get her hurt, I barely dared to blink; my eyes dry, red, and gritty from my mistreatment. At every hint of stirring aether, I would reach out and tug it from their grasp before they could form it into a spell. It was kind of like that game where someone holds out a dollar bill and you try to react in time to snatch it before it hits the ground. Only I had some warning, a countdown to the expected energy necessary to the spell. I began to count in my head.

One... Two... Three... Yoink.

I even made a pulling gesture with my hand, finding that it eased the visualization necessary to steal the aether. The energy cackled like lighting where it encased my arm and I focused. I didn't do anything with the aether I stole in this manner, instead releasing it to saturate the area on our side of the battlefield. The air was heavy with it, smelling of frost, spice, ozone, and dozens of other indefinable scents. The mixture wrinkled my nose and threatened to make me sneeze with its discordant cacophony.

It's like a game, but when I lose the game Helal eats a lightning bolt, ice blast, or some other manner of unpleasantness.

It'd happened several times already, her natural reactions and shield keeping her mostly safe. But each instance had my gut churning with guilt and regret.

We were separated from our enemies by scorched dirt walls that created a distinct no-man's-land created by Helal's enthusiastic attacks. Despite their obvious power, only one or two of the armored Crusaders fell to my angel's strikes and did not rise. The rest were pulled to safety by their comrades to recuperate.

"How are they even able to do magic? Shouldn't they be unable to access the aether?"

"They are capable of spellwork through aether storage devices created by Doctor Iscariot. They look like little discs of silver and they allow the long-term accumulation of aether for later use. But they have a storage limit, which is why this is a battle of attrition."

"And how many of these devices do they have?"

"Thirty. When full, they can provide almost two hours of regular aether supply, and much less if they draw from it at a higher rate."

"So they have... Sixty hours of continuous casting." I swallowed nervously at the number.

"Plus various other tricks and weapons that God has been storing up." Helal noticed my rising fear and laid a comforting hand on my shoulder. "It was never going to be easy, El, but we will get through this. This fight is not a doomed endeavor." Grinning, Helal soothed my concerns with her confident, almost eager, demeanor. "Besides, It's probably closer to eighty if they cycle people out to a plane whose aether they can use to recharge the discs."

"Eighty..." I let out a breathless sort of chuckle. "Sure... No problem... We're like..."

I did the mental math.

Three divided by eighty... That's like three point five, four percent, something like that.

"Four percent done."

Fuck.

I gave her a shaky thumbs up.

"That's the spirit." She winked. "El, together we will wreak such a terrible defeat upon God that he will erase us from Crusader culture such that they never consider coming to our home again."

The bloodthirstiness of her message was offset by the way she called this place our home. I tossed my body into a hug, wrapping my arms around her uncomfortable armor. It wasn't the most pleasant hug. We were both sweaty and dirty and smelled somewhat ripe. But I wished it could last forever, because that would mean we were still fine and I was still hers. The stirring of aether tickled the edge of my senses. I sighed and refocused down the hallway. After two seconds, I siphoned off the aether, a new floral scent joining those around us. Helal ruffled my hair with her calloused hands before gently pushing me behind her where she could protect me with her summoned shield from any of the more mundane threats.

Their assault crashed across Helal, breaking like the surf across a cliff face. Over and over, their weapons slagged upon her shield, her spear pierced their armor and tasted their flesh. Over and over, I stole their aether, my angel's magic eased by my success. Over and over, they struck and they bled, seemingly without end, each assault chipping away at our stamina. Their attacks wore away at my sanity, my reactions growing slower and slower as time went on.

Helal withdrew a stone from her belt. Perfectly round and slightly larger than a golf ball, she slotted it into a large strip of cloth and winged it around their head in a circular arc. The Crusader's took a nervous step back and raised their shields. But she didn't target them. She released the stone at the apex of its swing to slam into the empty tunnel between us. With a pulse, a translucent bubble of energy sprung up around the stone. Stretching from floor to ceiling, the humming blue sphere expanded to fill the space.

Did she miss?

"What was that?" I asked.

"A stone from the plane of Goliath. It should hold for an hour or so. Come on, let's take a break." A gentle pat on my behind got me moving back toward the common room where Chi and Alora were having an intense discussion.

A few soldiers came up and tapped their weapons against the barrier but it held firm. Their heads turned as someone shouted something at them from behind and they returned to their formation, sitting on the ground and staring at the slowly rippling membrane.

"What just happened?" I asked, the words coming slowly. My brain was still puzzling things out, working through a fog of exhaustion, her explanation failing to really register.

Helal took a swig of water from her leather flask. "El, go get some rest."

"I'm fine. I can keep-"

"I wasn't asking, soldier," she commanded, her tone cold. Remembering herself, her visage softened. "If you're tired, you're more likely to make a mistake. It's best, and safest, for everyone if you are well rested and sharp."

Keeping my chin ducked, I shallowly nodded my acquiescence and trundled off to my room.

Chi bristled, her wings stirring the air around them with angry posturing. Alora quieted her with a simple touch at the back of her neck. Once she'd calmed Chi, she turned her attention toward Helal.

"Quick question: Do you think she'll be able to rest after everything she's seen and done today?" Alora fiddled with the hair at the nape of Chi's neck. "That's what I think. But what do I know?"

Helal did not take this well. "Oh, yeah?" she questioned hotly. Puffing up her chest and looming over the shorter Alora, she sought to intimidate the mermaid. "And what do you propose I do about that?"

"If it was me, I'd probably stop treating those around me like unruly soldiers and start treating them like the friends and lovers that they are. You keep treating us like this and pretty soon you will be alone and you'll have no one to blame but myself."

Helal deflated. "If we screw this up... He'll..." She scratched the back of her head with a pained look. "El will bear the worst of it. We can't fail. Even if I have to trample on some feelings to achieve it."

"She does have a point, Alora," Chi admitted flatly. "Feelings mean nothing if we do not gain victory."

"Then she should stop barking at Mother and go do something useful!" Alora snapped, her cool demeanor slipping. "Go comfort her. Fuck her into sleep for all I care. Because I can guarantee you she's panicking and despairing alone in her room right now and there's nothing I can do about it. For better or worse she only seeks comfort from one person, and she is kind of being a complete bitch right now." Alora's finger pointed accusingly at the ex-Crusader.

Helal lost the confidence she usually wore prominently on her frame. Her shoulders slumped and looked in the direction of my room. "... I don't. I've never been good with this sort of thing."

"Well you better start figuring it out. Come on Chi, let's go take care of the entranceway, make sure that nothing happens when the barrier falls."

The butterfly-girl hesitated. "You do not have to be perfect. No one is. Just be there for her. That is all she wishes for anyway." She turned to leave but hesitated. "Also, do not for a second believe that you are the only one willing to give their life-... You are not the only one dedicated to protecting this home and the people within it. You dishonor us by acting as our better." Having made her peace, Chi followed Alora, leaving the angel alone with the genius loci.

"I suppose you have something to say about all this," Helal prompted wearily while she rubbed her eyes.

"Not really." Tartarus let the drifting shroud of aether that coated her fade. "I just feel bad for Lilith. Watching her hurt... Knowing you're going to fuck this up for her... It just makes me sad. And also glad that I don't love people the way that she does. Seems like it's only good for causing her pain." She sketched a mocking salute with her other arm held behind her lower back. "Permission to leave, Commander?" Without waiting for a response, her body dispersed, leaving Helal alone with her thoughts.

I didn't notice when my woven door peeled back and Helal nervously slipped into my room. Wrapped around a pillow, I pinched its lumpy softness between my thighs and squeezed it to my breasts with my arms while I buried my face into it. Helal had a long moment of self-castigation before she brought her presence to my attention by clearing her throat.

I poked my head out above the pillow. Seeing her there, I rapidly discarded the pillow towards the empty side of the room with an embarrassed heave. Blinking my eyes, I fought to keep the tears from falling while I addressed her. "Hi. Did you need something?"

"... I decided I needed a break as well."

"Who's manning the entranceway, then?"

"Chi and Alora were heading to take care of it."

"Will they be alright?" I asked, worried that they might get themselves hurt trying to do too much.

Which, in hindsight, makes my previous statements somewhat hypocritical. I am tired after all that time on edge. Even so, am I even going to be able to sleep tonight.

"They should be fine. Alora filled the tunnel with two meters of water, and Chi filled the area beyond it with a thick shroud of toxic gas. It should buy us more than enough time to rest."

I chewed on my lip for a moment. "I didn't even know that they could do that sort of thing."

Helal displayed her brilliant teeth with her smile. "You had a hand in their creation. Did you think they could be anything less than spectacular. They aren't true mages but they seem to have fair mastery over their shamanic abilities."

"Shamanic?"

"That's what it's called when a species has an inborn ability to manipulate the aether; while limited in the breadth of their capabilities, they can still be quite potent. But they lack our versatility."

"It always seems like I don't know anything," I remarked, pinching my lips together. "When do I stop feeling like a child tossed into the deep end of the pool?"

"I'll let you know when I figure that out for myself."

I laughed. "For some reason, that kind of helps. It's good to know that I'm not the only one making things up as I go."

"Honey, if someone seems like they have everything figured out that just means that they're better at hiding their uncertainties."

I chuckled for a bit, the sound becoming oppressive as it slowly died out in the otherwise silent room. My mind drifted back to the struggles of the day while also worrying over the amount of fight that still remained.