Anachronistic: Endless Masquerade

48 | True Self

- 48 -

God was finally ready to crush Lilith under his thumb. That was what all of this was. His will manifest. He had wrapped Gamal's hands around Pandora's throat and Lilith was forced to watch. God knew she didn't want to, that she would try to run again, but that's what the cage was for. She was helpless to fight against his will, and he made sure she knew it.

        To prove his point, he had allowed Pandora one last curse. Lilith watched the hex weave around the cage's lock. The polished steel dulled as muted red grew across its surface in rough patches. The metal pocked and crumbled as the rust spread. In less than a minute, decades had passed, but one tug was enough to prove it didn't matter.

        Lilith fought against the rusted steel; against the reality that she was still trapped. Nothing happened. Even pressing a foot to the bars and leaning her full body weight onto the weakened lock yielded the same results. The shackle refused to separate from the body. She had put in every ounce of strength she had, and all she had to show for it was a fine red powder smeared across her palms.

        You just wanted to show me that even with Pandora's help, I'm powerless.

        With no chance of escape, Lilith slid down the back wall, pressing her eyes closed. She squeezed until little white dots flared in the darkness behind her eyelids. It was her only escape from the scene unfolding in front of her. She was running again, but was that so wrong?

        She let out a deep breath.

        It was wrong; she knew it was. No matter how much she tried to convince herself that she ran because of her feelings for Pandora, it wasn't true. While the hunter had absolutely carved out a place in Lilith's heart, it was the accountability that hurt her most. She didn't want to be responsible for Pandora's death.

        She was nothing but kind to me and I killed her. Of course I deserve to be punished for that.

        Lilith slammed her foot into the side of the cage, causing it to lean forward before gravity slammed it back down. "I'm so fucking sick of this one-sided, corrupt Justice!"

        What she had done to Pandora was wrong, unforgivable even. But just and fair were two different things. The harm she caused had been an accident. She wasn't trying to bother anyone; didn't want anyone getting hurt. Meanwhile, Gamal was a liar, a manipulator, and a murderer. He endangered every life on the ship and tried to make a profit off of it. He was a vile, irredeemable monster.

        But he was human.

        Flames licked up at the corners of Lilith's mind. Before long, they burned across her every thought like a wildfire clearing a forest to cinders. Soon new life would grow up from the ashes. The seeds of a single-minded determination planted by God's hatred of her. A seething desire to reject his plans for her at all costs.

        Blood trickled through her fingers. Crescent-shaped holes lined her palms, dug out by her fingernails as she clenched her fist. When she saw them, Lilith began to laugh. A low restrained chuckle, like someone remembering a joke they heard. Except the recollection playing at the edge of her memory wasn't comedic. It was an entry in Pandora's bestiary.

        Succubi are shapeshifters.

        "After I found out what I was, I tried so hard to ignore it. To just be human. And you kicked me in the teeth every step of the way. So, you win. You want me to be a youkai so damn bad, you shitty God? Fine."