Into the Light

78

"Why would your friends cut you out of their lives?" I asked, wondering what she could have done that could warrant such behavior. "Because they're terrified," she said, holding my gaze. "Lilith has only ever been a tall tale, a history lesson. Now, she's very real and has untold powers that I can't even begin to understand. She's the darkest of the dark. I'm not sure if I know how to even begin to beat her. Your Anna may be living on borrowed time. Hell, we may all be living on borrowed time." Her last sentence was left hanging in the air, like the foreboding certainty of death hovering above us. Amethyst's eyes were boring into mine, like she was trying to reach my very soul. I looked away and started to fidget. She was making me nervous. "Would you do it all over again? If you knew," she asked, drawing my attention back to her. "Do what" I asked, quietly. I knew what she was asking though, and I knew my answer. I just wasn't sure that I wanted to share my answer. "With your Anna. Your spirit returned from the undead. Would you still go through everything that you did, if you knew what was going to happen with others, with Lilith? Would you still help her? Would you still bring her back?" I looked down and started pulling up grass and shredding it in between my fingers. Would I still do it all over again? Yes. Definitely. "Yes," I replied, keeping my gaze locked on the grass that I was ripping apart. I felt selfish in saying that. I felt like Sam, or she, may hate me because of it. I was still willing to put them all at risk, just to help Anna, a girl that I barely knew. A girl that I was in love with. And I was in love with her. There was no denying it now. What was the point? If we were all going to die anyway, then what was the point? "You would do it all? Endangering your friends, risking your own life, bringing myself and others into this mess? To save her," she repeated. I nodded. "Yes. I would do it all. I would die for her. I love her," I said, quietly.  I glanced at Sam to see his reaction. He was watching me with a thoughtful expression on his face. When he met my gaze, he just nodded. He wasn't mad, or sad. He looked like he understood. "That's all I needed to know," she replied. I looked back over to her to see what she meant by that. "I have a theory as to why she loves Anna's soul so much. Why she seems almost desperate to keep it." "Okaaay," I breathed out, waiting for her to continue. "Am I correct in assuming that she's pure?" she asked. "What do you mean by pure?" I asked. "I know she has Christian beliefs. She's a good person, but I'm sure she's made mistakes. She's human." She shook her head. "No, that's not what I mean. Do you know if she's a virgin?" she asked, so straightforward that it kind of shocked me. "Oh...uh...why is that important?" I asked. I didn't feel like it was my place to tell anyone that. That was Anna's decision on who she wanted to share that information with. Amethyst looked a little frustrated with my answer and rolled her eyes. "I'll take that as a yes. It's important because, if what has been written about Lilith is true, then a pure soul, a virgin soul, is one of the most powerful ones that anyone can harvest. That person chooses to save themselves for the strongest force in nature. Love. They choose to overcome their Earthly desires for the flesh and to wait for who they know will mate with their soul, and not just their body. Hence, the term 'soulmates.'" "So, wait..." I said, trying to understand what she was saying. "Are you telling me that Lilith won't want her if she's not a virgin?" "No," she replied, simply. "I'm not telling you that." She was quiet after that, so I assumed that she was trying to think of how she wanted to say her next words. Sam wasn't saying anything, but I knew that he was just there for me. The longer I waited for Amethyst to say something, the more aware I became of our surroundings. The park was growing quiet now, with only a few people still milling about. The extra lights that they had out for the benefit were now off, leaving the park mostly dark except for a few select areas. Our spot under this tree was growing darker by the second somehow. The air was starting to feel thick and my eyes were beginning to play tricks on me. I could almost swear that the blackness around me was bobbing in and out of the trees, growing and shrinking with their movements. I could hear heavy breathing beside me. It surprised me when I realized that it was Sam and myself, our breaths combined as one. Amethyst had a bag in her lap now, that I hadn't noticed before and she was pulling out candles. Four of them, white and brown alternating, now sat in front of her. She murmured something under her breath, then struck a match to the wick. She did this four different times, until all the candles were lit. Only then did she look back at me. "I'm sorry. I felt something coming. Something bad and I needed to make sure that nothing could penetrate our defenses. Where was I? Oh yes. No, I'm not telling you that Lilith will not want Anna if she were to lose her virginity. I have no way of knowing that, for sure. I do, however; believe that Anna would be of less value to her, if she were to become 'un-pure.'" I just stared at her for a few moments, trying take in everything that she was saying. Anna was very adamant about waiting until marriage to lose her v-card. But, would she change her mind if it could save her life? This felt very wrong though. To be forced to sleep with someone to save your life...it would be a violation of the strangest kind. "Now, while I don't know if that will work, or if she'll want to consider it, I have spoken to a few other witches to get their opinion on the matter." "Amethyst, I appreciate everything that you've done and I'm sorry that you've had to witness some horrible things. I never meant to put you in any danger. You've done enough and I can't expect you to do more. I'll understand if you want out," I said, looking over at Sam.