Lost Bloodlines Ch. 08

Remembering Lilith's lesson back in the interrogation room at Fort McPherson, I put the weight of the siren's song behind my words, fixing the lead demon with a narrowed glare. "How dare you accost me and my pet. Were you not notified of my arrival, legionary?"

I could see the magical persuasion of my speech seep into our captors, and their brows furrowed in confusion and uncertainty. The leader did not quite lower his weapon, but let out a stuttering reply, "No, uh, ma'am, there weren't any guests cleared for landing today."

Now that I had his attention and sowed confusion, I let the enchantment drop. I scoffed. "Typical." Taking a confident step forward, I reached out and shoved the tip of the demon's weapon down, out of my face. "I see that my children have forgotten proper respect in my absence. Do I need to teach it to you?"

I heard one of the other demons whisper, "Children?" in confusion, before the implication seemed to reach the three of them at once. Confusion was replaced by terror in an instant.

"You're her." The leader muttered in shock, and then dropped to his knees before me, his companions doing the same. His voice waved in fear, and I saw his wings and tail hug tight to his body.

"Please, we beg your forgiveness, Lady Lilith. If we had known you would grace us with your presence..."

I waved away his supplication. "But now you do. So, I am sure that such a mistake will not be repeated. Now, I have come to inspect the humans, where have they been housed?"

The leader raised his head from his bow, and raised a trembling arm towards the rear of the hanger, where a blinking doorway indicated an elevator. I noticed for the first time that the space beyond the entrance was not empty, and several dozen other demons (and even some goblins) had frozen where they stood to watch my heated interaction with the guards.

"The humans are on the empty lower floors, Mistress, between levels 10 and 30. My contubernium would be honored to escort you there..."

"I can find my way without your squad, legionary," I interjected. Looking back at a slack-jawed Victoria, I waved her forward. "Come, pet, we have business to attend to." Leaving the demons where they knelt, I stalked through the hanger, Victoria trailing behind in confusion. The demons in my way rushed to move, and all offered a bow or salute as I passed, each with a fist clenched across their chests. Reaching the elevator, its doors opened automatically, and I stepped regally inside. As Victoria shuffled in as well, I paused in confusion at the incomprehensible scribbles labeling the many buttons, but was relieved to find that at least the floors were labeled with Arabic numerals. I hit the button for the lower floors, leaving behind a room full of terrified demonic soldiers.

I couldn't maintain the straight face for another moment, and let slip a little giggle as I leaned against the rear of the elevator. Victoria was still looking at me like I'd grown another head.

"What the fuck was that?"

At her incredulous expression, I smiled guiltily. "From the way Lucifer and Sha'vas talked, it seemed like the old Lilith was one badass bitch. I figured acting the part would be a bit easier than trying to explain." I winced as Victoria's hand whacked the back of my head.

"You could have warned me!" She yelled. Her shock was definitely replaced by more than a bit of anger. "I thought that monster had taken control of you or something! I didn't know whether to run away or try to snap you out of it!"

"Well, I'm glad you didn't do either. Might have been a little hard to act all serious with you smacking me in front of everyone." The Valkyrie rolled her eyes and harrumphed. I laid a hand on her arm. "Sorry if it worried you, I just wanted to avoid bullet-holes in the new clothes.

Victoria tried to maintain the frown for a second longer, but a little smile did slip through. "It was kinda funny to watch you boss them around." She paused. "And hot. Definitely hot." I snorted, and the elevator dinged, the doors opening to our stop.

"Of course you would think so," I teased as we stepped out, but my companion's response trailed off as she looked around our new surroundings. Beyond the short hallway containing the elevator, the interior of the tower opened up into a massive circular room. Above us, several higher floors of the tower were divided by branching metal platforms and walkways. The walls were decorated by the same marble arches as the outside, but many statues and frescos decorated empty spaces under the dozens of arches. While it was clear the structure had once been magnificent in its prime, it had clearly seen better days.

The walkways were rusted and pitted, many paths even broken entirely or missing gantry sections. The statues lining the walls were chipped and broken, the frescos marred with age. Dust hung heavy in the air.

The area was a flurry of activity, however. Dozens of short, green-skinned humanoids were swarming over every inch of the interior, tearing up sections of metal, building massive scaffolds, or hauling new materials into the space. As I stepped forward, a door to my right opened, and a team of goblins burst out from the stairwell beyond, carrying what looking like a weight rack between them. They didn't spare me a glance as they brought their cargo to a section of the main floor. The little monsters were extremely industrious, and just in the minute I took to watch, they had dismantled a rusted stairway and replaced it with new, sleek metal.

I heard someone call my name, and shifted my attention from the construction works. Standing over a drafting table in a corner of the large hall was a familiar face, waving to get my attention.

"Captain Brooks," I acknowledged as Victoria and I approached the fatigue-clad soldier. Brooks spoke quickly to another team of goblins surrounding the table, and they rushed off to some unknown task. The weathered face of the soldier turned to face me with an exhausted smile.

"It's good to see you in one piece, Lilith. Some of the troops were worried you wouldn't survive meeting with the head honcho."

I waved off his concerns with an errant hand. "I can't say meeting the Devil was a pleasant experience, but it could have been much worse. I think the humans here will be safe for the time being. Just...avoid pissing off any of the demons with a title."

Brooks' eyebrow quirked. "Noted. So, what can I help you with? The retrofit for the U.S. embassy and the Tartarus training facilities is proceeding rapidly, even after only a day." He glanced at the green-skinned workers swarming all around us. "The goblins here are certainly skilled engineers."

"Fascinating as that is, Captain, I'm actually here to visit Agent Riley. One of the demons is stopping by to fix up her arm and I wanted to be present." The soldier cracked a knowing smile at my words, and for a moment I wondered how secret my little tryst with the agent was among the humans that accompanied us.

"You can find the medical facilities on level 20, just above the main hall," he gestured to the massive open space spiraling above us. His easy-going smile quirked again in amusement. "Dr. Lima and her team have settled in nicely. I'm sure both her and the Special Agent will be very pleased to see you." I rolled my eyes at his suggestive tone, but nonetheless muttered my thanks, and headed back to the elevators, Victoria trailing behind.

The Valkyrie nudged my shoulder as we walked back, indicating with her head towards the ruined artwork filling the alcoves of the hall. "Hey, why do you think everything here is all dusty and old? You'd think a huge place like this would be filled with monsters." I stopped for a moment and looked about, my eyes drifting over the faded mosaics and ruined statues. Belial's words came back to me from the previous day.

"I think this might be the base of one of the Legions without a ruler," I muttered, glancing back at my girlfriend. "Easy to see how a Legion without a leader might have fallen on hard times." Victoria nodded at my guess, and we continued on our way.

His name was Purson. Lilith's voice sounded in my head, and I stumbled a step. The demoness's voice was dipped in melancholy. One of the strongest of my brood, and Belial's great rival. I cannot imagine the force it took to defeat him. The heartfelt emotion in her tone gave me a brief pause, and some sort of empathetic ache of a mother's sadness for her lost child seeped into my own heart.

I shook my head to clear the feeling, but as I took the elevator up, I couldn't quite shake the sadness that began to creep in around the edges of my mind. It was discomforting, to feel so keenly the pain of another. While the rage, anger, and lust that had seeped into the bond before was disorienting enough, this was a more insidious feeling that refused to budge as much as I tried to dislodge it.

Even Victoria seemed to pick up on it on some level, and I felt her arms wrap around my midsection in a comforting hug. "Elizabeth will be alright," she assured me, squeezing lightly. "Just like Aqua." I nodded absently and leaned back into her warmth, happy to let her think I was agonizing over the fate of our friends, and not inexplicably a monster I had never even known.

Having reached the twentieth floor, a series of helpful medical staff pointed us in the direction of Elizabeth's room. While navigating the labyrinthine marble halls of structure was challenging, the sound of familiar raised voices provided the clue to reach our final destination.

Sharing a brief glance with Victoria as we stood before the door, I eased it open, and Dr. Lima's incensed words became clear.

"...for a single moment that I will let you preform some sort of witchcraft on my patient, you are dearly mistaken."

Barbas's softly spoken reply was cut off by my entrance, as the three pairs of eyes within the impromptu hospital room swiveled to me. Dr. Lima was towering over the small lion-demon, indignation coloring her expressive face as she caught her breath. Barbas was standing just before the incensed doctor, looking unperturbed by her verbal assault. Elizabeth, looking pale and tired, merely watched from her hospital gurney, her stump appearing freshly bandaged. The agent's eyes were sharp, however, as they roamed inquisitively over my form as I entered.

Barbas bowed with a softly-spoken acknowledgment of, "Mother."

Dr. Lima seemed caught off guard by my sudden appearance, her reddened face darkening further. "Lili...Mistress!" she stuttered, her normally seductive tones wavering. She looked down at her close proximity to the demon and took an embarrassed step back, clearing her throat awkwardly. "Did, ah, you know about this? This charlatan offering miracle cures and snake oils?"

I just sighed briefly at the display I accidentally interrupted. "Yes, Dr. Lima, I did. In fact, I specifically requested it. Barbas here is under orders from Lucifer himself to see to Agent Riley's injury." Lima's eyes flashed hotly at my words, and the impassioned fire I normally associated with the buxom doctor returned with a vengeance.

"I'm sure you mean well, Mistress," she spat, the title seeming very much mocking at the moment, "But Agent Riley is under my direct care. I cannot allow her to be subjected to some sort of wizardry, no matter how allegedly miraculous! She is recovering remarkably quickly, and I cannot allow that to be jeopardized by this...this..." she gestured wildly towards Barbas, seemingly unable to come up with a scathing-enough indictment of his medical ability.

For his part, the demon merely watched dispassionately at the doctor's heated words, offering no rebuttal or explanation.

"Look, Barbas seems to be trustworthy," I interjected. "And highly regarded in the magical community for his healing ability. Just yesterday he fully restored Aqua's vocal cords and healed the full damage to her neck."

Dr. Lima's eyes widened, but more in fury than surprise. "You let him experiment on that poor girl!? Without notifying me?" she thundered, and I took a shocked step back as the doctor advanced on me.

"Well, yes, but it worked..." I stammered out, halting as the doctor held up a hand dramatically.

"And she is fully recovered and conscious?" Dr. Lima asked coldly. I glimpsed nervously back at Victoria, but she just offered an apologetic grimace.

"Ah, no, but she should hopefully be waking up shortly..."

Lima just scoffed, and I opened my mouth again to assure her when Elizabeth's sharp voice cut me off.

"Do I not get a say in this?" she asked, glaring between Lima and I. Both the doctor and I rushed to reply.

"Of course you..."

"Absolutely not! I cannot..."

"Stop!" Elizabeth barked, the full weight of government authority behind her words. She sighed and rubbed at the bridge of her nose with her uninjured hand. Lima and I exchanged heated glances but remained silent as she seemed to think for a moment to herself.

"Lilith," she finally spoke, pointed her weary eyes in my direction. "You are positive that this magical method of healing is effective?"

"I am." I replied positively. Maybe Aqua hadn't woken up yet, but I had seen the unblemished skin on her neck where once scar tissue had dominated. She was alright. She had to be.

"It will give me back my hand?" she questioned; this time directed at Barbas.

The demon merely nodded his head.

"Can you promise the same, doctor?"

Dr. Lima grimaced. "Sadly, I cannot. Prosthetics have come a long way, but...it would certainly not be a similar level of ability. That, however, does not..."

"I refuse to be a liability, doctor. A war is coming, and I cannot fight it with a missing limb." Elizabeth's eyes darted between Barbas and I, and seemed to come to some sort of internal decision. "The demon's procedure may proceed."

Though Lima opened her mouth to argue more, it appeared she realized she was outmatched by the rest of the room, and sullenly backed away to a corner of the room, frowning all the while.

I approached Elizabeth's bedside, and took hold of her remaining hand. While the prickly edges of her agent persona were in full control, I could see the barest spark of warmth in her dark eyes as her hand lightly squeezed back at my touch.

"You don't have to do this, you know," I said softly. "You won't be a liability. I'm sure you could still out shoot any of the other soldiers who came with us."

The hard line of Elizabeth's mouth quirked slightly at the edge. "You may be right," she muttered ruefully, "But I still need to be at my best. Too much is riding on my appointment here." I examined her stubborn face for a moment before nodding, stepping back with a gesture for Barbas to begin. The demon took a step forward before a notable thud sounded somewhere directly above us, coming from a metal grate in the ceiling.

In an instant, Victoria and I were armed and armored, threatening magical sigils appeared around Barbas, and Elizabeth was pointing her sidearm at the grate. No one moved for a moment until a tinny voice rang out from the grate.

"Wait! Please don't shoot me!"

Elizabeth raised a skeptical eyebrow before calling out. "Come out slowly, into the open." There was another muffled thud, and a series of barely audible curses emerged from the grate for a few moments until a figure crashed gracelessly through the metal opening in a cloud of dust, landing heavily on the ground in the middle of the hospital room.

I ignited one hand in hellfire as the hazy debris settled around the mysterious figure, toeing cautiously closer. The room was absolutely silent, until something within the field of dust let out a tiny sneeze. I slowly unfurled my wings and stretched them out as far as possible as I inched closer, and when I figured I would be within grasp of the interloper, I brought them down in a thunderous flap, driving a powerful gust of air through the room and clearing the dust to the far wall.

I blinked in confusion at the empty space revealed, until another barely muffled sneeze beneath me caused my gaze to drift downwards. Sprawled on the ground less than a foot away, a tiny figure blinked owlishly up at me from behind thick safety goggles. It was a little goblin girl, dressed in a ratty set of overalls and covered in a mix of grime, dust, and oil, her short, spiky black hair an unkempt mess. Beside her was some sort of long object, wrapped in a rag.

The girl looked up at me blearily for a second longer before her gaze sharpened, and she let out a gasp, scrambling to her knees as I took a startled step backwards. "It's you!" she breathed, her eyes wide and glimmering behind the goggles. I jumped again as her forehead crashed to the floor, her arms extended in supplication before her. "It's an honor to be in your presence, Lady Lilith!" the girl squeaked.

I could only stare incredulously at the display as the girl basically trembled in suppressed excitement. Luckily, Barbas chose to be my unlikely savior, marching up behind the little goblin and seizing the back of her coveralls, yanking her to her feet with an affronted grunt. "Vaald." The lion-demon all but growled, for once an actual emotion seeping into his courteous voice. Annoyance.

With the goblin off the ground, I admit my eyebrows raised in surprise once again. What I took to be a little girl based on her size and voice was most certainly a woman, judging by the absolutely outrageous curves barely concealed by her disheveled clothing. She was just...very short, barely reaching above my hip at her full height.

The goblin's face was drawn into an embarrassed smile as Barbas held her in his grasp. "Oh, hello, sir, Mr. President Barbas, I...didn't mean...to..." The demon just began to lowly growl again, and the goblin cut off with a soft whimper.

"Can someone tell me what the fuck is going on!?" Elizabeth demanded, her pistol still trained unerringly on the short intruder.

"You may lower your weapon, Elizabeth Riley," Barbas said, his beady eyes still narrowed onto his captive. "This one is harmless, if entirely tactless." He paused, before shaking the goblin meaningfully. "Why are you here?"

The short figure pointed insistently at the wrapped package by her feet. "A gift!" She yelled, and her voice lowered notably as her eyes came to rest reverently on my face. "For the Lady Lilith." Barbas let out an exasperated sigh, before releasing her.

"Inopportune timing as always, Blackblood. Mother was rather occupied before you gracelessly interrupted." The goblin panicked at his words, scrambling to pick up the mysterious gift and hurried to kneel once more by my feet, holding aloft the package like some kind of offering.

"I'm really sorry, Lady Lilith, I just needed to get this to you as soon as possible!"

Warily, I let my armor dissipate, and reached out a hand to take hold of the proffered object. I grimaced at the oily feel of the rag wrapped around it, but it was surprisingly lightweight in my grasp. "Ah, well, thank you, Miss...?"

"I'm Vaald," the goblin chirped, lifting her head to look up at me eagerly. She pushed the goggles off her face to rest in her mess of hair. "Vaald of clan Blackblood. I'm the chief artificer of the Fourth Legion!"

"Artificer?" I questioned.

"She's an engineer," Barbas interjected, sparing Vaald a scathing glance. "Specializing in merging magical theory with scientific advancements. And an irritating pest that meddles where she is not wanted or needed." The goblin winced under the glare, but nonetheless beamed an eager smile up at me.

"I heard about your injured companion, and knew I had just the thing to offer!"

"And you couldn't have just knocked on the door?"

Vaald's smile faltered slightly as her cheeks darkened. "I, uh, use the ducts a lot to get around. Much faster than the elevator, and they all connect directly to my workshop." I spared the enthusiastic goblin an incredulous glance before unwrapping the object in my arms.