Mother of Darkwaters: Book one of the Vessel series (47 page)

   “Phew,” Julianna complains, “I'm never going to get used to this stuff.”

   She pinches her nose closed, tilts her head back, and downs the last of the thick liquid. Her face puckers. The sour tasting fluid is nothing like what her grams made for the cleansing ritual. She'd ask about the secret ingredient, but is afraid Martha might lose her mind if she knew what Julianna had been doing for these past few months.

   Julianna sits the empty bottle down upon the desk. She removes her necklaces and lays them next to it before removing her clothes, folding them neatly, and placing them on the desk's surface. Julianna turns and examines the drawing on the floor.

   The outlining circle is unbroken. The blue chalk seems to work a lot better whenever combined with just a tad bit of water. She carefully scrutinizes the five-pointed star within the circle's boundary. It, too, seems intact.

   The combination of the two shapes is known in the secular world as a pentagram. Some might consider it's usage to be witchcraft or devil worship, but Julianna doesn't see it like that at all. She sees a bridge between her world and Lilith's beach. Nothing more. Nothing less. She sure in the hell isn’t going to worship any demons or devils. Nor, is she trying to cast some kind of wishful thinking spell dreamed up by a group of people to make them feel more powerful or special.

   Julianna glances to the top triangle of the star. Within its boundaries, the same symbol found upon the Lilith diamond is drawn. Three straight lines converge inward and are interrupted by three wavy lines in the immediate center.

   She looks at the left triangle of the star. It houses a horseshoe shape facing upward. The right triangle of the star has the same horseshoe symbol, but it faces downward. Together, they represent the balances between life and death.

   The bottom left triangle of the star has the Greek letter for Alpha. The right has the Greek letter for Omega. Both symbols represent the beginning and ending, respectively. Julianna secretly scolds herself for not figuring out the proper symbols used within the language of Lilith. But she will. The symbols work, but to Julianna they are unacceptable. The drawing is incomplete within the realm of being truly genuine in nature. And it's something that bugs her to no end.

   Julianna steps inside the circle, turns and carefully places her body upon the star. Her arms stretch outward while her legs cover the two bottom triangles housing the Greek letters.  She closes her sleepy eyes – tiring from the powerful drink concoction.

   “Yhnri zelré,” Lilith's smoky voice greets.

   “Yen-ree zale-ray,” Julianna perfectly pronounces Lilith's greeting of
hello again
. She smiles and stands up.

   Lilith nods with approval.

   “Someone's been studying.”

   “Tré,” Julianna answers with a yes.

   Lilith claps her hands together. She excitedly begins speaking.

   “Shrio slati zéch slochni ait zéch slochnisté.”

   “Huh?”, Julianna reveals her lack of understanding.

   Lilith smiles.

   “Let's say it together,” the woman proposes.

   “Shrio,” Lilith slowly pronounces the first word.

   “Shry-O,” Julianna mimics. Lilith nods her approval.

   “Slati,” Lilith moves on to the next word.

   “Slaw-tee,” Julianna correctly pronounces Lilith's new word.

   “Zéch,” Lilith continues in her native tongue.

   “Zayhk,” Julianna holds out the h a little too long. Lilith ignores her slight stumble by moving the lesson forward.

   “Slochni.”

   “Slawk-nee,” Julianna clearly speaks the word better than the former.

   “Ait,” Lilith speaks again.

   “Eyet,” Julianna grins as she comfortably nails it.

   “Slochnisté,” Lilith pronounces the final word of her lesson.

   “Slawk-nee-stay,” Julianna copies the pronunciation precisely.

   “Very good,” Lilith coaches, “Now let's put it all together.”

   “Shrio slati zéch slochni ait zéch slochnisté,” Lilith speaks slow and clearly.

    “Shry-O slaw-tee zayhk slawk-nee eyet zayhk slawk-nee-stay,” Julianna fumbles through the sentence, but doesn't do too awfully bad.

   “It means:
Well done, my daughter of my daughters
,” Lilith reveals.

   “Your language is so beautiful,” Julianna answers. She pauses and raises the right corner of her lip slightly, “But it's hard.”

   Lilith finishes her greeting by kissing Julianna on both cheeks. Julianna leans in and returns the woman's greeting with the same respectful fashion. Her eyes accidentally wander towards the woman's chest as she takes a step back. Julianna looks away full of shame.

   “I was not expecting you.” Lilith lifts her left brow, “Would you prefer I put something on?”

   “No,” Julianna shakes her head while staring at the white sand around her feet.

   Lilith uses her right hand to nudge the girl's chin upward.

   “Why are you ashamed?”, Lilith questions with a genuine concern found within her voice.

   “You're prettier than I am,” Julianna answers blatantly. Her right hand dangles in front of her nether regions although she did not consciously place it there.

   Lilith angers. She reaches down and grabs hold of Julianna's wrist tightly. She pulls the covering hand away.

   “Do not do that!”, Lilith yells bitterly.

   Julianna jerks and looks upward. The woman's sudden change in demeanor is scary, to say the least. She winces as Lilith's hand squeezes tighter.

   “You're hurting me,” Julianna desperately informs the woman.

   “No you shameful girl,” Lilith angrily counters. She yanks Julianna forward and places her lips near to the girl's left ear.

   “Why did you choose to appear naked before me?”, Lilith's smoky voice is threatening.

   When Julianna refuses to answer, Lilith grabs her long hair and wraps her right hand up to the girl's scalp. She pulls Julianna's hair to let her know who has control.

   “Why are you doing this?!”, Julianna yelps out within her pain and fear.

   “Tell me now!”, Lilith yells.

   Julianna begins crying.

   “Say it!”, Lilith ignores her.

   Julianna turns her tears into a menacing stare as she looks into Lilith's fearsome eyes. She speaks through gritted teeth.

   “I wanted to be more like you,” Julianna's words are slow and deliberate. Her intentions are driven more from regret than any actual anger. She can't believe she looked up to this psycho.

   Lilith releases Julianna's wrist. She quickly maneuvers herself to the girl's backside. With her right leg wrapped around both of Julianna's legs, she drives the girl's knees into the sand. Lilith straddles the girl's back as she yanks on her hair.

   “Do not get up,” Lilith warns as she stands. She walks around until she faces Julianna's head. The girl lies in the sand – her feelings are hurt, but she is also highly agitated.

   “And you thought if you presented me with your naked body – something in which you, yourself, is ashamed of; then, I would bow down to worship you?”

   Julianna looks upward, “Worship? No. I would never...”

   “Close your lips woman,” Lilith commands, “Stand back up.”

   Julianna obeys and pushes herself to her feet.

   Lilith holds out her arms, “Put your arms around me.”

   Julianna hesitates.

   “This is not a request,” Lilith speaks calmly.

   Julianna's lips tremble as she steps forward, “Please don't m-make...”

  
Slap!

   Lilith's right open palm crosses across Julianna's cheek. The girl reaches up to assess the damage.

   “Don't do that!”, Lilith yells again.

   Julianna's shoulders begin shaking as she begins crying. She lowers her arms to her side in defeat. She knows without a doubt that Lilith is a warrior. The woman could do whatever she wanted and Julianna could do nothing to stop her. She steps forward and places her face against the woman's chest as she wraps her arms around Lilith.

   Lilith smiles as she feels Julianna's surrender against her body. She hasn't felt this kind of rush in a long time. Not since she was alive in the physical realm – back to a time when she, herself, was a feared and proud warrior.

   Lilith whispers, “I want to show you something.”

   Julianna nods. The woman steps back from her embrace and points at the wall of writing. Julianna stares at the massive wall while Lilith walks around to her backside.

   “Shh,” Lilith whispers as her hands re-grip Julianna's long hair up to her scalp. She pushes downward. Julianna complies by dropping to her knees. Lilith releases her and walks back around so Julianna can see her. The woman points at the sand in front of her.

   “Bow your head to the sand,” Lilith commands.

   Julianna complies.

   “Look at me,” Lilith commands.

   Julianna turns her head so she can view the woman's face. She watches Lilith point at the wall of writing.

   “Worship your God,” Lilith commands.

   Julianna's obedience flees. Her brows narrow.

   “I said worship your God, Julianna,” Lilith returns the same look.

   Julianna quickly pushes herself to her feet, “And I say no, Lilith.”

   “Oh my,” Lilith covers both of her cheeks with her hands, “Did little Julianna come out to play?”

   “No, Lilith,” Julianna rests her hands on her hips, “You can kill me for all I care. But I will
never
bow down to that sadistic and twisted perv.”

   Lilith tilts her head ever so slightly. Her green eyes scan over Julianna's body. She is still having trouble with finding anything wrong with her in the first place. When her eyes meet Julianna's daring stare, she notices the girl doesn't care about the visual intrusion anymore.

   “Those who walk around naked and ashamed,” Lilith speaks quietly, “Those people are made mostly up of spirit-souls who all thought they were pleasing Him. Yet, they found themselves here.”

   Lilith presents her body with the waving of her hands, “This is why you see me naked without a care most of the time.”

   The woman turns and points at the wall towards the sky, “Shame is for those who are here and believe they should be with Him.”

   “But someone like me,” Lilith turns back and winks with her left eye, “I just prefer to make Him as angry as I can. The punishment can't get any worse.
That
is already decided.”

   Julianna grins as the woman mockingly rubs on her breasts. Lilith stops caressing herself and sighs dramatically. The woman walks over and offers Julianna her right hand. The girl agrees by interlocking her fingers into the woman's hand.

   “Let me clue you in on a little secret,” Lilith begins walking; “Everyone here in this place faces the exact same punishment from Him. To walk around ashamed or embarrassed is to bow down and beg Him. Do you understand?”

   “Yes,” Julianna comprehends the woman's former anger.

   “It doesn't matter what you look like,” Lilith explains, “You are a woman. You are of my bloodline. As such, you have no reason to be ashamed or embarrassed of your body. I don't care if you find yourself in a room full of those - um what do they call them these days?”

   “Supermodels?”

   “Right,” Lilith answers mockingly, “Yes. Those women.”

   “They are of Eve's bloodline,” Lilith continues, “A lot of them, anyway. There's, also, another group. But I'm not getting into that mess right now.”

   Lilith stops and releases Julianna's hand. She turns to face the younger woman before her.

   “Here's the funny part about those women your world uses as a reference to beauty,” Lilith glances past the earth-line before returning her green gaze back to Julianna.

   “Most of those women will be the ones who walk around naked and ashamed because they do not meet His requirements.”

   Lilith leans down and gently kisses the red hand print on Julianna's cheek. She stands upright and searches the girl's watchful eyes.

   “But you will not be like them,” Lilith's smoky voice fills Julianna's ears, “In this world or in yours. You have no reasons to. Unless you'd rather beg Him for mercy which will never come. Then by all means, walk around here ashamed of yourself.”

   “Never,” Julianna answers with a new finality to her tone.

   Lilith takes a step back to slowly look over Julianna's nude form. She, purposefully, lingers her eyes in uncomfortable places. To her surprise, Julianna lifts her arms upward and begins swaying her hips.

   Julianna smiles as she pretends to be dancing back in the library. Her hands follow Lilith's eyes with a caressing motion. When Lilith looks into her eyes, Julianna turns to show off her rounded buttocks – a feature which Lilith, herself, is in desperate need of. When Julianna finishes her turn, she faces Lilith with a smile. She curtseys and winks.

   Lilith claps, “Much better.”

   “Thank you,” Julianna understands the woman before her more than ever.

   “You are most welcome, Julianna,” Lilith nods one time. She pauses for a moment as she contemplates pointing out an obvious fact about the younger woman before her. Believing this would not be the right time, Lilith decides to move on.

   “You are here to find out where to find the red key,” Lilith states as a fact.

   “Yes.”

   “No one in my family has ever found it,” Lilith explains, “And very few has ever had the fortitude to lash out against Him like you did.”

   “How did you know that I..?”, Julianna is cut short by Lilith's continued speech.

   “And the way you thoroughly enjoyed yourself while doing it was quite remarkable,” Lilith praises.

   “I have to admit,” the woman doesn't miss a beat, “I was impressed with every detail. Well, except for your execution. That was a disaster. But you are still young.”

   Julianna quietly watches as the woman of many braids steps closer. Lilith leans in and whispers in her left ear. Julianna's eyes widen as her mouth opens.