Lillith tried not to panic. The Maiden herself appeared to be calm and Lilith hadn't met this form before. “Don't worry sweetheart, I'm just here to talk. I can smell your fear and there is really no need for all that. Perhaps teaming you up with Shay and the Litch wasn't the best idea. The Eater of Souls is really old magics but it just might have what it takes to finish off of The Order. They haven't come after us in decades, but we have a long memory!” She giggled and took a sip of the champagne. Lilith nodded slowly and took another sip of the champagne as well. She took in a deep breath and paused a moment to center herself. “So what brings you to the city of lights? If you're not here to harm me, why seek me out?” Lilith asked before finishing her glass and reaching for the bottle to refill it. “Allow me love” The Maiden said with a nod, and Lilith's champagne flute was refilled with a glance. She nervously took a sip before placing it on the edge of the tub. It was delicious, and she saw at a glance the bottle was refilled as well. Yes, she was made of magic as well but this was The Maiden's way of showing off a fraction of her own power. “We hold a grudge that we simply cannot let go,” Lilith burst into a violent coughing fit and clung desperately to her throat. She began to convulse as water spilled from the tub, froth began foaming out of her nose and around her supple lips. “We set you on a simple path, offering you the revenge you and Shay both wished for. We would have been incredibly grateful to you for taking care of something you already wished to do… But you not only walked away! Worse even, you helped them!” The soft voice of the maiden became the croak of a hag as The Crone took over. “Your beloved Tobias was simply too broken to love even you, an Enchantress.” The Crone cackled in false glee as she grabbed the champagne flute from the side of the tub where Lilith had placed it. She broke the glass at the neck with the flick of her arthritic wrist and plunged the stem of the glass into the Enchantresses heart. The Crone ran a gnarled finger through the blood dripping from Lilith's chest and licked it before vanishing from the hotel.
When I woke up a few hours later I decided to get cleaned up. I had some spare clothes here, in my room. After a hot shower and some coffee, I was starting to feel a bit better. That had been a few hours ago. The plan was to leave in the morning for Utah and trek in from there. Manus Patris, or what was left of the stateside contingent was going to meet us there. They couldn't offer much assistance, but we would have transportation and plenty of vehicles. We would be rolling light with about 20 in total split between 5 vehicles. I felt awful that we had to delay the mission 24 hours on my account but M.P. were pretty flexible and used to rolling out on a moment's notice anyway. Angiola and I were sitting up in bed, snuggled up beneath the sheets and watching a movie on the TV mounted above the kitchenette at the foot of the bed. I was slowly nodding off, not paying too much attention to the show, just enjoying the company and the comfort. The TV went fuzzy then the lights flashed off. I was suddenly wet for some reason… like a splash of warm water hitting us and the bed just before the lights came back on. There was a bathtub next to the bed and??? Lilith was sputtering and desperately trying to pull a large chunk of glass out from between her breasts, a frothy foam was gathered around her lips and nose. I was completely blindsided, and so was Angiola. A large claw footed bathtub had just appeared beside the bed we were sharing. I jumped out of the bed and towards the tub. Angiola grabbed the phone off the nightstand and paged for emergency medial to the room. I crouched by the tub and placed my hand behind Lilith’s head, trying to cradle her as best as possible. I gently reached down and helped her slide what looked like the stem of a wine glass or something similar from her chest. “What happened?” I asked at the same time I heard Reginald reach the door jamb and ask the same question. He surely thought the medical call was for me again and rushed over, Simon was right on his heels as well. Weakly Lilith croaked “Baba yaga”... before trailing off and passing out. “She just showed up here, tub and all! We were relaxing watching a movie before bed.” I said to Reginald and Simon. They both rushed in and began to help me carry the tub with Lilith in it and get it into the hallway. The medical team arrived about the time we got to the hallway. We immediately set the tub down so the staff could get her onto the stretcher. “She's an Enchantress, She was stabbed in the chest with a large chunk of glass and possibly poisoned, some sort of foam was on her lips and nose when she showed up.” I said to the medical team as they loaded her onto the stretcher. Reginald and Simon began to chase after the medical team, Angiola and I paused for a brief moment. “We will meet you down in medical, if she comes around try to get any info you can.” We were both pretty damp from the sudden appearance of the bathtub and I wanted a moment to talk with Angiola alone. We got back to her room and I started to get changed, tossing her a towel from the rack in the bathroom. “I have absolutely no clue how this happened… I wasn't even sure an Enchantress could enter The Order headquarters. I'm so sorry about all this!” I frantically tried to apologise. I felt awful, like this was somehow my fault and I was just rubbing salt into the wound with Lilith just showing up like this. “Tobias, we are planning on being married for the next several hundred years or longer depending on how long we decide to stay with The Order. For the last time… You watched me DIE, you found temporary comfort with a Goddess of beauty and were still so heartbroken over me she could feel the rejection and loss so deeply that she finally just left you. I know how much you love me, there is nothing for you to apologize for, okay?” I smiled like an idiot, and we rushed down to the medical wing. Hopefully we could get some more answers.
Shay pulled the RV into the parking lot of Skateland, a local roller rink and arcade on the outskirts of Gilbert Arizona. When the sun finally set for the evening, he hit the open road, landing him here. It was a Friday night and Shay felt like this would be his best option for getting kids after dark. He was in luck tonight! He thought to himself as he read a large banner for “Scotty's 13th birthday bash” surrounded by balloons. Absolutely, this would work out just fine. Shay walked into the roller rink, and looked around a bit. There was a typical rink set up, an area for rental skates, an arcade along the far wall and a snack bar. In one of the corners, a table was set up with wrapped presents and a cake. Surrounding the table were roughly two dozen kids… Shay smiled a large and wickedly predatory grin. He could feel the power from his new God surging through him, and it was absolutely intoxicating! He bowed his head slightly and took in a deep breath before bellowing a hideously loud high pitched screech. All of the lights inside Skateland blew out, collapsing the entire building into darkness. Shay struck like a blur… He moved like an absolute tornado of blood. Within the first 45 seconds of his attack all of the adults lay on the floor, throats brutally ripped open, bleeding out and twitching on the floor. He paused long enough to drink his fill from a particularly attractive redhead, just old enough to work at the snack bar after school and on weekends. Redheads always have the sweetest blood. When he was done drinking, he went to the prize counter and grabbed a box of toy jump ropes. 30 seconds later he had 18 kids all tied together on a long leash of rope, leading them all single file to the exit door and towards his RV. Once he had all of them situated, locked into the back bedroom he turned the ignition key and started the RV. “Hang in there Sĕigo, I'm on my way.” Shay whispered into the ether as he pulled out of the parking lot, roughly five minutes after parking.
Angiola and I ran down to the medical wing, hoping Lilith was still alive, I guess she was living… Right? “What did we miss? Is she going to be okay?” Angiola asked Reginald and Simon as we entered the room. Reginald turned to us, “The doctors are working on her now, were not sure what poison may have been used but they have an IV running to help flush the system. They also began to sew up her wounds, Tobias I know this may sound odd but Philip has requested that you go in immediately. You may actually help her heal. We still don't know if an Enchantress can teleport or if you pulled her here somehow similar to how The Order travels.” I looked over and received a nod from Angiola. I didn't like it but I think I knew what Philip was getting at. I was the one with the strongest emotional connection with Lilith, so it made sense. I walked into the medical room, a hospital surgical drape had been placed over her lower half, her pale feet sticking out the end. The Doctor was cutting away the thread, setting the suture needle and scissors onto the tray next to him. Philp was on the opposite side of the doctor, standing to the side of the operating table. His broad smile met mine as he saw me look over at him. “Tobias. If you will, please join me over here.” He said as he gestured for me to take his place. I walked around the head of the table and was glad to see even under the harsh operation lighting, Lilith’s color looked better. They had also cleaned up her face a bit, likely running the foam from her lips through a mass spectrometer to find out what was used to poison her. Instinctively, I grasped her hand. It was cool and dry but not cold and dead like I half expected it to be. I was about to take a knee to begin to pray for her as her fingers closed around my hand. “Doctor, you need to see this.” The surgical nurse said, a bit alarmed while gesturing to the wound on Lilith’s chest. The sutures were slowly rejecting out of her skin and the wound looked like it had been sewn shut several days earlier. Right before my eyes the sutures popped out and the skin became a small pink welt that slowly started to fade. In the span of about 90 seconds the wound was completely healed. Her eyes began to flutter slightly, then open all together. “Tobias…” She began to say weakly before trailing off. “Can we get her some water?” I asked the Doctor, knowing how bad dry mouth can be after narcotics or any surgery. “Just rest a moment.” I said down to Lilith, gently squeezing her hand. The Doctor nodded and in a moment a nurse came right in with a Styrofoam cup with a small straw, handing it my way. I held the cup with my left hand and placed my right under Lilith’s head, raising it up slightly so she could take a sip. “I… COUGH… I didn't know what else to do, The Maiden showed up in my hotel room. She said she wasn't upset and just there to talk. The next thing I knew I was poisoned, then The Crone stabbed me before just walking away. I panicked, the last thought I had was wishing I could see you one more time”… Lilith trailed off looking me in the eyes. I didn't really know how to respond. Yes, she was beautiful and I had been in desperate need of company and healing when she found me. I definitely didn't want her to die or anything like that, there was absolutely no ill will on my end. It seemed like she was really upset or at least hurt enough for the Baba Yaga to get her to team up with The Eater Of Souls, but she ditched them and helped us out as soon as she came to her senses. “It's okay, I know you got in over your head a bit here. The Order really doesn't know a lot about Enchantresses, will you continue to heal? We can keep you here, protected at least, until this is over with but… You will have to cooperate and you CAN NOT put my marriage in jeopardy… In any way shape or form.” Lilith brightened up more when I offered her to stay at the compound until we took out The Eater Of Souls but that quickly turned into a look of shock when I mentioned that Angiola and I had gotten married. She nodded after a moment and brightened again before saying “No, that’s understandable. I wouldn't want to split you two up. Thank you for protecting me, all of you. I don't know if my kind can die and I should heal up just fine.” I knew Philip, being the archivist, would be thrilled to have her here to ask questions about our opposition as well as about her species in general. It would be helpful to have anything we could think of answered by someone who knew the area and the targets.