Enter the Crusades! #4
War charged the Lust demon queen, but went right through her. He fell ungraciously to the stone floor and Lilith waved her hand. War was frozen in place. “That’s better,” she said.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I’m not truly here, Death.” She stretched her arms out in front of her. “The ritual these idiots performed was never going to be strong enough to bring an Arch Demon to this plane.”
I couldn’t help but notice behind her and over War’s frozen body was the Spear of Longinus. “I take it you’re not here for the spear?”
She shook her head no. “I just wanted a bit of adventure, even if I’m not truly here.”
This was truly an odd situation. I decided just to go ahead and walk around her. “If you’re not here for this, I’m going to just go ahead and snatch it,” I said as I plucked it off the wall.
She watched in intrigue as I basically ignored her for the holy artifact. “I can’t say how long’s it’s been since a man ignored me when I stood in front of him.”
“Considering your reputation, and the fact that he goes away when I turn this in,” I gestured over at War. “I have all the reasons in the world to focus on the spear and not you, Lilith.”
She tittered, a small chilly laugh. “You are indeed an unpredictable one, Death.”
With the spear in my hand, I had no more reason to stick around. “Can you let him go once I’m good and far away?”
“Ohh horseman, you can’t go just yet.” Another wave of her hand and the door leading out snapped back on hinge and shut. “I didn’t sneak into this spell just for your entertaining banter.”
I couldn’t imagine what business she’d have with me. “Okay, I guess I’ll bite. What do you want, Lilith?” I asked defeated.
“Oh, just a simple request – watch your back.” The last part was especially cold. Whatever light and amused tone she was portraying was gone in a snap. “As the last celestial who lives on the human’s plane, you’ll be the first soldier recruited.”
“What… why are you telling me this?”
“The rules in Hell are changing, Death. Arch Demons aren’t happy with their lot and Lucifer’s reluctance to start the Apocalypse. Plans, many of them unfortunately, are in motion to get that ball started.”
Lilith was helping me prepare to stop the End of Times? Wow, this was turning out to be quite the day. “The Apocalypse won’t start until the Four Seal are broken. Unless the horsemen charge forward with trumpets playing, everyone’s okay.”
She twirled around, her wings fluttering for a moment. “If you think Beelzebub, Mammon, or the rest are going to wait for the horsemen to start the riot, you’re more naïve than I gave you credit for.”
Still, her warning would have to be taken seriously. “Death,” she said with a bit of finality in her tone. “The demons of Hell work at their own speed. A being as old as you, you’ll forget all these small blips in your life. However, when the time comes, the world will need the Death of old, not the one of self doubt and quips.”
Just like that, Lilith was gone. War jumped out, shouting. “Where did the bitch go?”
“It’s over, buddy. Let’s get this back into the proper hands, okay?”
The two of us left with the Spear of Longinus and me with a lot more questions about the future of this plane. Had Lilith just dropped a prophecy on me?
Jack
No comments:
Post a Comment