Sunday, June 29, 2008

Untitled Story -- Chapter 3

Wow, 2 posts in one day! My goodness, I must be feeling ambitious today. Well, here's another chapter. Enjoy ~ TLN



Chapter 3

“Alyra”

I walked into Maxus’ room and sat on the floor. There were tufts of fur on the floor and I grabbed one, running it through my fingers. Maxus sat on his bed, in wolf form, and wagged his tail, his tongue hanging out. He whimpered, then lowered his head onto his paws and looked at me.


“You’re shedding. Maybe I should brush you. That would probably help. You’ll have to come onto the floor though; I don’t think it will look good having all this fur on your bed. Come here.” I patted my leg.


Maxus jumped off the bed and walked over to me. He lay down in front of me; placing his head on his paws and snorted. I got up and walked to his dresser, grabbed the brush, then sat back down on the floor. I ran my fingers along his fur while I brushed, sighing to myself. He perked up his ears, and rolled his eyes towards me.


“I’m tired of being here Maxus. I need to go to the surface and do something. I think I’ve outgrown this world.”


Maxus whimpered and raised his head, his eyes speaking volumes.


“You can come with me, Maxus. We can live together just the two of us. We can go someplace far away from Egypt and away from the Pharaoh and the Queen. Let’s just go.” I kissed his muzzle and hugged him. He sighed and moved closer to me. Just like a big dog.


@


I carried a small bag towards the exit of the Underworld, with the goal of entering the upper world. I knew the sun had just set up there, and I had the intention of leaving the safety of the Underworld in order to begin my own life, and have my own family.


Argus grabbed my arm. “Where do you think you’re going, young lady?”


“I want to go to the surface. I need to expand, Argus, and I can’t do that down here.”


“You weren’t going to say good-bye?”


“I just wanted to go without a lot of drama. I couldn’t even say good-bye to my own brother, he cried when I told him I wanted to leave. I just can’t deal with all the tears, so I thought it would be best to just go.”


Argus looked at me. He sighed, lowered his head and looked at his feet. He pulled a necklace out of his pocket and placed it around my neck. “This is for your protection. If at any time you need help, just rub it, alright?”


“Yes, thank you.” I kissed Argus on the cheek then headed up the stairs. I didn’t look back.


I entered the world in the moonlight. I smelled the cool air and looked around. Egypt had changed while I was in the underworld with Malcolm. There were pyramids and sphinxes and images of the Pharaoh. I went to the area that was familiar to me, the homes of the slaves.


As I walked through the streets, a strange odor approached my nostrils. I looked around and saw streaks of blood on the doors. I wasn’t sure what it meant, I didn’t remember the slaves doing this on other occasions and thought maybe it was a new religious ritual.


I approached one of the homes and knocked at the door. I heard rustling inside but no one came to the door. I knocked again, and then whispered through the cracks.


“It’s Nontle’s daughter. I have returned and was hoping for someplace to stay just for one day. Be not afraid, please.”


“Nontle’s daughter? Asherah, you’ve returned?” The door opened a crack, and I saw a pair of black eyes staring at me. “Asherah, come in, hurry. We must lock our doors tonight for the Angel of Death is coming.” A hand reached out and pulled me into the small shack.


I found myself staring at Hagar, but she was much older than I remembered her. She cared for my mother the first time the Queen had her whipped. I remembered her kind eyes and soft hands. I also remembered the way she smelled, like lavender. She smiled at me, and took my hands in hers.


“We all thought you and your brother were dead. You never came back from the river and those guards were dead. It’s been so quiet without the two of you around, your laughter always made us feel warm inside. Where have you been?”


“I have been away. I’m back. I’m different. Jelani is also different. He remained behind. He didn’t want to come back with me. I just need someplace to stay until tomorrow night. May I stay here, with you?”


“Of course, my dear. You may stay.” She hugged and kissed me, pulling me to her, and then she gasped. Everyone in the house gasped. There was a strange wind outside the door and an eerie light. We heard the whisper of voices, and then the light disappeared. I went to the window and peeked through a small crack, seeing no one.


“What was that?”


“The Angel of Death, Moses said the angel would come to take the life of all of the first born sons of Egypt. All of the Jews were to paint their doors with lamb’s blood and the Angel would pass over us. God is punishing Ramses.”


“Ramses is the Pharaoh? Then there is a new Queen?” I looked at Hagar.


“There is a new Queen. Ramses’ mother is still alive as well. Ramses is worse than his father; he is brutal to the slaves. He does not care if we live or die or starve. Moses has come to save us from slavery and take us to the Promised Land.”


“What else has Moses done? Wait, I thought Moses and Ramses were brothers.”


“Well, that’s a long story, but I’ll give you the condensed version. The Pharaoh started killing Jewish boys because of a prophecy he heard. Well, a baby floated into the Queen’s room and she adopted him, calling him Moses and raising him as Ramses’ younger brother. The boys grew up together and were very competitive. Well, one day Moses accidentally killed a guard who was punishing one of the slaves. Moses left out of guilt. Years later, he returned, stating that God had spoken to him and he was ordered to get God’s people out of slavery. When Ramses refused to comply with Moses’ requests, Moses told him God would punish him. There have been plagues.”


“Plagues?” I looked at her, wondering how long Maxus and I had been gone.


A little girl crawled over to me, and touched my hair. “Yes, plagues. Locusts, frogs, boils, dead livestock, fire raining from the sky and now the killing of the first born sons. Moses is going to free us. You should come too.” I looked into her innocent eyes.


“Hagar, I can’t come with you. I need to tell you something about me. I just don’t want to scare the child.”


“Adah, go to sleep, I think the worst is over.” Hagar ushered the little girl to her corner, where she laid down on a mat and wrapped her arms around her brother. “What do you need to tell me, girl?”


“We changed our names. I’m Alyra and my brother now goes by Maxus. We were taken away by a man named Malcolm. He took us to a world beneath this one. There were all kinds of creatures down there, creatures I didn’t know existed. Malcolm is a vampire. We lived with other vampires and werewolves, witches, and other creatures that I don’t even know the names of. Maxus is a werewolf. I’m a vampire.”


Hagar looked at me, her eyes meeting mine. She ran her hand along my cheek and curled my hair around her fingers.


“You feel cold, like death. You’ll need someplace dark to sleep. Before sunrise, we will bury you in the ground. It will be better there for you, dark and damp. As soon as we are sure the Angel has completely passed over all of our homes, I will get some of the men together and we will dig a deep hole for you. I’ll give you this wrap; you keep it until you rise. You’ll be safe, I promise.” Hagar kissed me on the forehead and held me tight.


It was amazing to me the way the slaves accepted me. I couldn’t believe how calm they were. It was either because they were used to the evil in the world or their faith was so strong, they knew their god would protect them from me. I had no reason to harm them. I remembered how good they were to my mother, brother and I and for that I held no ill will towards them. Hagar called upon four men and told them she needed a deep grave dug. They looked upon me, felt the coolness of my skin, and then went to work. The grave was dug and I was placed inside just as the sun began to rise. I felt the dirt fall onto my body, and pulled Hagar’s wrap over my face. The sun, even in its weakened state, was burning me. The men had me completely covered just as the full strength of the rising sun touched the ground.

Although I was asleep, I heard the voices of the slaves above me. I heard the voices of the soldiers as they ran through the streets, looking for Moses. The Pharaoh’s only son was dead. I heard the tremor in the voices of the slaves and I was eager to be with them. Moses sounded like a great man, I wanted to meet him, wanted to introduce him to Malcolm and Maxus and Argus. Great men should meet and share their ideas. I was beginning to like the God of the Jews; he wanted to punish those who did wrong against his people. I also wanted to hurt those who had hurt my mother and the other slaves when I was a child in the Pharaoh’s palace. I promised God I would do good on Earth if He protected me. I waited for the sun to set.

@

When I pushed my way through the soil, I had to shake the dirt from my hair. I climbed out of the grave, and pulled Hagar’s wrap around me. I walked into Hagar’s home and looked around. Adah sat in a corner, holding a doll in her hands.

“Hi, Adah, where’s Hagar?”

“She’s with the others. Moses is asking everyone to leave.”

“Show me, please.” I held my hand out to Hagar. She rose from her mat and took my hand, leading me down the road to where everyone was. I let go of Adah’s hand as we approached the group and pushed her gently towards Hagar. I listened as the crowd argued back and forth about following Moses. It was decided they would pack their belongings and go, leaving the Pharaoh and slavery for freedom. I caught Hagar’s eye, and smiled. I was not going to go with them. I turned and walked away.

@@@

It was lonely without the slaves. I roamed their empty homes, picking up items left behind in the rush of packing. I decided I needed to leave Egypt. It would be better for me someplace farther away, where the heat was not so intense and the sun was not so strong. I went north and ended up in England. I found a simple farmer who promised to bury me deep in the Earth. His family was then bound to protect my grave until I awoke. They have managed to keep my secret all these centuries.

Untitled Story -- Chapter 2

New month so now it's time for a new post. Second chapter of my novel in progress. Well, I hope you all enjoy it and have fun reading it. Happy reading all, lots of love ~ TLN



Chapter 2

“Alyra”

Malcolm spent many hours with me showing me how to hunt and move without detection. He told me about his vampire ancestry and their battle against another evil, one that was feared by all. He told me stories of a mother who was the first woman, but not accepted by those who had raised me above ground. A woman named Lilith, who betrayed God and abused Adam, then was banished forever from Eden to the hell that the fallen angel Lucifer called home. Lilith was evil, created from earth infected by Lucifer before God began to mold and shape it. After expelling Lilith, God made Eve from Adam’s rib. Malcolm told me all of this, warning me to stay away from Lilith. He warned that she was the only creature that all other creatures feared, she was evil and angry and would do everything she could to destroy all life, whether it was human or immortal.


It was on the eve of my 21st birthday that I first met Lilith. I had decided to follow the River as far as it went, hoping to find another city much like our own. I wanted to meet other creatures, creatures I could learn from. I found the doorway to Hell, literally, and encountered two creatures I wished I had never met. It terrified me to the deepest core of my body and this is the first time I have spoken of it. I never told Maxus, for fear he would be angry with me, or would attempt to battle the ones who haunted me for the rest of my life.


I reached the end of the River and found two large, heavy doors, made of carved stone and guarded by strange looking demons. There was no light here, nothing shone in the darkness, yet I saw the demons clearly and they saw me.

“What are you doing here, girl?”

“I’m following the River. I have every right to, my father rules the land this river flows through. I am exploring the boundaries of my kingdom.”

“Then your kingdom ends here. What lies beyond these doors is not part of your father’s domain. Return to your land and forget about this place.”

“I will not. You cannot order me around. I will remain here until you open those doors.”

“We will not open these doors, so you will be waiting for all eternity.”

“Fine.” I crossed my arms against my chest and sat on a boulder, staring at the demons. They stared at me, their red eyes burning in the darkness. My eyes burned right back at them. After several hours the doors began to open. The demons bowed deeply, not looking at the figure that emerged.

“Who are you dear child?” It was a woman with long, flowing black hair and pale skin.

“I want to know what lies beyond the boundaries of my father’s kingdom.”

“And who is your father? The great almighty God?”

“God?” I paused. It had been many years since I had heard this name, the name of the one the Jews prayed to. “He is my eternal father. My father, the one who made me, is Malcolm. I do not know if you are familiar with him. This river flows throughout his land.”

“Ah, the Malcolm that rules the Under City. I do know him; he and I are not friends and stay out of each other’s way. You, on the other hand, I would like to have as my friend. Come inside dear girl.” She held her hand out to me.

I rose from my position and took hold of her hand. Her fingers were beyond frozen in my hand. I received a strange jolt of energy from her, something that made my skin crawl and my bones freeze. Part of my brain screamed that I should back away and run to the welcoming arms of Maxus, another part dared me to continue following the woman. I listened to the daring part and followed.

She led me through the doors and down a long hallway. I heard strange noises as we walked along, voices hissing and screeching. I began to feel relief rising in me because there was no light to illuminate the hallway and I was afraid of what was lurking in the shadows. There were noises I was unfamiliar with, noises that sounded hungry and rapturous, sounds of panting and flesh rubbing against flesh. I wanted out but couldn’t bring myself to leave.

“Where are we?” I stopped, tugging her hand.

“In Hell my dear, the place where all of the evil of the world resides. We are below your precious city, below the place you and your kind live, below the land of the Pharaoh. You are my guest here. I am Lilith.” She began walking again, pulling me behind her. We soon entered a large room filled with light. My eyes burned briefly as they adjusted to the brightness. Even my home city was not this bright and I had not seen the sun in years. When I opened my eyes, Lilith was staring at me, a smile crossing her face.

“What a beautiful young woman you are. How old are you?”

“I’m 21. Or rather, I will be tomorrow. We are having a celebration; my father is holding it in our main banquet hall. I’m afraid you aren’t invited.”

She laughed at this. “Of course not. Malcolm hates me, and I him. I destroyed his life many years ago, long before he became the vampire he is. I killed his wife and son. I am known for such things. His child was not protected, so he became mine.”

“He became yours? What do you mean by that?” I shivered in her presence.

“Yes. You mean, you do not know of the symbol that all parents should place above their newborn sons’ cribs?”

I shook my head. “No, I do not know of such things.”

“Ah, I see. So, Malcolm has not told his whole story. Please have a seat.”

I pulled out a chair and sat down, bringing my knees up to my chest. Lilith took the seat cross from me. She folder her hands in her lap and smiled.

“When I left that imbecile Adam, in the Garden of Eden, God sent three angels to retrieve me. I refused to go with them. I did not want to be treated like a lesser being just because I had breasts and a vagina. These angels: Senoy, Sansenoy and Semangelof, had the order to bring me back to the Garden or murder 100 of my children everyday until I complied with God’s plans for me.

“Well, naturally, I refused. I was smarter than God’s precious creation, Adam, and I was not going to be ruled by a moron. In retaliation for the murder of 100 of my children, I told the angels that newborns would be mine if an amulet bearing their names was not hung over the cribs.

“The angels took that message back to God. I sat on the shores of the Red Sea, watching as Senoy, Sansenoy and Samengelof killed 100 of my children everyday. As promised, I visited the homes with newborns. If there was no amulet, I took the child.

“Now, Malcolm and his wife, Aurora, welcomed a healthy, beautiful baby boy. They neglected to hang the amulet over the crib, believing that I only struck mortal Earthlings. They were wrong. I crept in one night, picked up the baby and left.”

I looked around the great banquet hall. “Is Malcolm’s son here? I would like to bargain for him, if he is.” I leaned forward.

Lilith laughed long and deep. “Oh, silly girl. I killed the child. I never leave an unprotected baby alive. The angels killed mine, so I killed those of God’s chosen people.” She laughed again. “Now, dear girl, tell me your name.”

I squirmed in my seat, “I don’t want to.”

“You don’t want to tell me your name?”

I shook my head, “I want to leave now.” I backed away from her and bumped into something very large behind me. I turned and found a large creature staring down at me. It was male, which was obvious from the bulging manhood between its large muscular legs. Hair covered its chest and arms, curling in numerous directions. Horns rose from his head and large white teeth sneered at me. I backed away from him, he followed me. Lilith wrapped her arms around my waist, her lips very close to my ear.

“This is my lord and husband, Lucifer. After I was banished from Eden, I went to the shores of the Red Sea and mated with the demons there, bearing hundreds of children. Then, Lucifer emerged from the bowels of the earth and invited me to live here and rule as his equal. Our children have walked this earth ever since. Sit down, dear child, and entertain us.” She thrust me into a chair, and then sat in a chair next to me. Lucifer walked around me, his fingers running along my neck and caressing my hair.

“I want to go. I am sorry I trespassed and caused you to come out of your realm. I will never return. I will go home and never speak of this place.”

“Just talk with us. We won’t hurt you; at least not while your talking. If you bore us, on
the other hand, we will dispose of you.” Lucifer whispered in my ear, his breath hot on my neck.

“I want to go.” I began to sob. I felt Lilith place her hands on my cheeks and wipe the tears away. She kissed my lips, then my nose and cheeks.

“Oh dear child, we will let you go when we are ready. Now, tell us what your name is?”

“I’m Alyra, blood daughter of Malcolm.”

“Ah, Malcolm. His family has been fighting Lilith for centuries. I’m sure that battle will continue for centuries more. We have his blood daughter here in our home, maybe we can torture her a little before returning her dismembered parts to him.” Lucifer knelt in front of me, his hands slowly snaking their way up my legs. I squirmed in my chair, fear gripping me. “You see, after Lilith killed Malcolm’s son and wife, Malcolm and his brothers came after our children. They tore through our great hall, killing many of the children that played there, taking their heads to the surface to be desecrated, blessings said over them and then burned. It so outraged us that we have sworn to destroy all those Malcolm loves. Imagine our surprise to find one of Malcolm’s own children outside our doors, waiting for us to come out.” He laughed as his fingers neared my womanhood, his nails twisting in the hair.

“She’s shaking, my love. You should take her, make her be the vessel for your child then return her to Malcolm. He will have to kill her, as the child within her would end up destroying his entire home.” Lilith hissed at Lucifer.

He made a move as if he was going to thrust himself upon me, but I reacted. I thrust my feet into his chest and propelled myself across the room, away from him and his disgusting manhood. I flew through the air and found myself against the ceiling, my fangs descending.

“Come down here, bitch!” Lilith hissed.

“Come and get me, bitch!” I slithered across the ceiling, making my way towards the door. The doors slammed shut before I could reach them. I looked at Lilith and Lucifer. Lucifer laughed.

“You won’t be leaving this room alive my dear, so you may as well come down. Just come down here, open your legs and lie still.” Lucifer smiled broadly.

“If you want me, come get me. I’ll kill myself before I let you touch this body.”

“Come down here!” Lucifer yelled and suddenly the room shook. I was knocked off balance and fell to the floor. Two hands grabbed my ankles and flung me against the wall. I found myself staring into Lucifer’s yellow eyes.

“Here I am what else do you want?” I sneered at him.

“Open your legs!” He wrapped his hand around my throat and laughed.

“No, sorry I can’t do that.” I brought my knees up to my chest and placed my feet against his chest. I thrust my feet through his chest and floated through him. I landed behind him, staring at the floor in disbelief. I wasn’t sure how I did that, but I was sure I could do it again. I turned and faced Lucifer and Lilith, their eyes burning in disbelief.

“How did you do that?” Lilith slowly made her way towards me.

“Wouldn’t you like to know? Have a great day, it’s been real fun!” I began to run towards the doors and threw myself at them. I closed my eyes, just in case I didn’t make it through and ended up on the floor unconscious. I felt my fingers touch the door then go through it, and I landed on the floor on the other side of the door. I bolted. I ran down the hallway, not looking behind me. I heard the doors to the great hall slam open and Lucifer roared. Lilith was yelling commands to the creatures in the darkness. Suddenly, I felt claws and talons pulling on me and grabbing at me. I made my way down the hall to the entry doors and burst through those. Malcolm and Argus were on the other side, waiting for me.

“Alyra, what are you doing here?”

“Curiosity? Let’s just go.” I began to run, but Argus grabbed me.

“Wait, how did you get out?” Argus looked at me.

“I just flew through things. Let’s go.”

Lucifer stepped through the doors and stared at us. He growled, and then looked at Malcolm, calming. “Malcolm, how are you? We were just having a spot of tea with your beautiful daughter here. We were going to escort her out but she said she was feeling a little under the weather and rushed out. How are things in your neck of the woods?”

“Lucifer, King of Liars. Nice to see you haven’t changed. What did you do to my daughter?”

“Nothing, really. We were just talking.”

“Ah, so that is why she flew through those doors in fear for her life.”

“Well, no, that’s not the reason. She came running through the doors because we were having a race.” Lucifer approached Malcolm, a smile crossing his face.

“Really? You must think I’m extremely stupid, Lucifer. Well, return to your lair. These doors are to remain locked for the rest of eternity, as you know, and this time I’ll get The Witch to put a new sealing spell on the door. Go back inside.” Malcolm pointed to the opening of the cave.

Lucifer lowered his head and tucked his tail between his legs. He grabbed Lilith by the arm and pulled her into the cave. The doors closed behind them. Malcolm turned on me.

“Now, young lady, you have a lot of explaining to do. Let’s go.”

“Malcolm, there’s really not a lot to tell. I saw the door, I went in, I chatted with Lilith and Lucifer, I left, and you showed up. End of story.”

“Uh huh. Come on, young lady.”

We walked home.