Lilith's Blessing 13

Trevor stood behind the counter. Milk screeched as he lowered the steam wand. Alexia caught his attention just like every time she visited. Their eyes locked. He smiled. She smiled back. An awkward pause. He wrote her order down, two pumps of vanilla, four shots of espresso over ice, before she could order. He remembered, she thought as her mind raced with assumptions.

The smell of ground coffee, screeching milk, she felt their vibrations. Heard it. B-b-Beep, b-b-beep. B-b-beep. B-b-beep. Alexia blinked, opening her eyes to the cold metal of the Isis-Nefertiti. The pleasant lighting of the cafe, the smell of coffee, Trevor, all gone within the confines of her mind.

Alexia lifted her head. The top of her head squeezed as if someone tied a bandana around her head too tight. She rubbed and dug into them, trying to force the pain out. It only made the pain worse. Frustrated, she fell back into bed. It wasn’t even time for her to wake up yet. She looked at the clock. 00:12. She sighed, remembering a tactic used by Olivia. “Break their REM cycle. The headache and pain will make them more responsive.”

She tossed and turned as Olivia’s words haunted her. She tried to find a comfortable position, burying her face into her pillow, applying pressure on the spot. After careful placement of a pillow, she relieved a portion of pressure, hoping to resume her previous dream.

The throbbing stopped. Alexia felt weightless, like she free floated in a bath of salt water. The light in the corner of her eyes disappeared. The silent hum of the Isis-Nefertiti’s life support system disappeared. Darkness surrounded her.

Alexia’s mind awoke before her body. She smelled something familiar, something she had not smelled in ages. She opened her eyes. Not on her ship, a strange yet familiar place. White pillars held up the sky as the roof, black with dots of light, mimicking an unfamiliar sky. She looked around the room, like she’d seen it before. But still fell for its grandeur.

Alexia blinked; rubbed her eyes, looking again. Her eyes widened when they fell upon a being over twice Alexia’s size, jet black skin, golden glowing eyes, and goat-like horns curling around her head. She looked unreal.

Alexia studied the woman, stunned by her beauty and golden accessories. She looked familiar, yet foreign. Like Alexia had seen her before. Déjà vu? Has she been there before? Alexia gazed into the golden eyes before. Eyes full of compassion, yet judging, she rose to her feet.

Alexia could not believe it. The woman shrunk before her. Alexia closed her eyes, fearing the worst. But the woman wrapped her arms around her, pressing her warmth against her. “Welcome home.” Huh? Alexia kept her arms to her side. Confused, she could feel warmth against her body. The aromatic smell of cannabis was undeniable. This is a dream. Why do I smell weed?

Seconds felt like hours as Alexia shook free from shock, hoping to wake up. The woman pulled back, extended her hand, gripped the top of Alexia’s head with her long fingers. A wave of nostalgia washed over her as she nudged her head in her hand.

“Even without your memories, you still do that.”

“Who are you?”

The woman removed her hand, extended her index finger, and touched Alexia’s forehead. Golden light washed out the background as she soared high above an island. Its land extended beyond the horizon as it curved out of sight. Thousands of buildings fill in the gaps between rivers and valleys as massive three side pyramids dominate the landscape.

Plazas and promenades, filled with people, eat lunch, play games and gossip under trees and marble statues of their king and queen. One looked just like the woman in front of her. While the other, a man with eight arms, each holding a weapon. People looked up in reverence in passing.

Farmers attend crop covered hills as ships, both in the air and on the water, traverse the landscape. “Beautiful. Where is this?” Alexia wanted to get closer but, off in the distance, bubbles of light, brighter than the sun, lit up the landscape. Over and over, flashes envelop the land.

Alexia tried to break the vision as she watched people hold each other as the light swallowed them up. “I’m dreaming. I’m dreaming. I’m dreaming.”

“This is not a dream. Xia, remember who you are.”

“Xia?” Golden light swirled around her, triggering ancient memories. A time before time. When humans shared this planet. When gods fought for supremacy and angels descended upon Terra, taking wives. A dark shadow stood next to her, holding her hand. His aura, familiar, but the face and body obscured by darkness.

The giant woman pointed a long finger toward her. Alexia scrunched her face. “Me?”

She nodded. Alexia shook her head.

“Your body is still on your ship. You, as your father and I crafted, stand before me.”

“I’m adopted.”

Exasperated, the woman grasped Alexia’s head again, forcing her to remember. Purple light covered Xia’s head in a veal, transporting her mind back in time back to her birth. What she saw, she never thought possible. But what is possible when a shapeshifting woman claims to be her creator? But what she saw, undeniable, reminded her of a story Empress Nefer told her. A jet black giant and a blue man with eight arms fought Emperor Eballa and his human supremacy.

Xia fell to the floor. What she saw filled in the gaps of Empress Nefer’s bedtime stories. She listened, but felt the story was incomplete. Xia looked at the woman. The light in her eyes brought all her memories to the forefront. She cried as she latched on to her long-lost mother.

“Yes, my child. Welcome home.”

“Why? Why did I forget you?”

“Because I stored them in your soul. Not your physical body. When you wake, you will remember everything. Just like the last time you were here. Remember?”

Xia, nodded. “After the comet hit the gulf of Akuanaan.”

“What did I tell you then?”

“Find Akor.” Xia lowered her head. She found him, but he had already married and looked happy. She waited until the next lifetime. But she never saw him. Another life went by; they missed each other. Another and another. Until they met in the cafe.

“Remember the first time you met Akor?” The background changed. The mechanical room turned into a mountain top villa, with a small village below. Night approached as the sun set over the horizon. The gates closed. When red eyes appeared, darting through the trees.

The city guard gathered before the gate as the glowing red eyes appeared on a small hill overlooking the city. He raised his sword into the air, chanting. “Fisa, Bulala Fisa, Bu lala…”

He vanished, appearing at the city gates, with an explosion blowing open the gates, sending shrapnel through the ranks of guards behind it. Before any combat capable guards could reach, the attacker pounced, slicing them down with a hearty laugh.

“Fi sa, Bu lala Fi sa, Bu lala…” The blood-soaked man stood over his victims.

Xia, overlooking the city, readied herself to step in. But her mother placed her hand on her shoulder. They watched as he didn’t attack anyone without a weapon. Any guards approaching, even from an angle. He cut them down. Citizens scurried for cover, but he let them escape. Xia’s mother released her grip, leading the way down to the city.

The villagers gathered at the matriarch’s sanctuary, prostrated as she walked through the humanoid crowd. They emerged from the church, catching the attackers' attention. He lunged forward, but the matriarch waved her hand, sending him crashing into a building, collapsing the roof atop him.

Xia stepped forward as the attacker burst through the debris; sword raised, he charged at breakneck speed. She gathered up mana in her right hand, pointing it toward him. With her left hand, she drew it back like a string from a bow. He heard the sound before he saw what happened. He twisted his upper body, dodging the first arrow, using his sword to block another. Only instinct and reflexes allowed him to block the volley.

Xia dissipated her bow, manifesting a short, curved sword with a triangular tip. He smiled as he rushed. Their swords clashed, but Xia faster and with more precision, sliced open his torso. He staggered, leaning on his swords. “Fi sa. Bu lala.” He struggled as blood poured from the open wound. She sliced him just above the stomach, but below the rib cage, he could not turn his upper body, or move. Xia raised her sword, but the matriarch stopped her.

“Akor Akaana.”

“No one survives the sun!”

The matriarch glared at the elder. He shrunk back, hiding behind his sons.

“It is him.”

The matriarch hovered over Akor. “Do you know who I am?”

He shook his head.

“I knew your father. Akaana. I knew your mother. Amadita.” Akor’s eyes widened as he mustered the strength to look up.

“I am Lilith. Your godmother. This is Xia, you're soon to be sister and wife.” pulling a small golden dagger from her sash. She cut the tip of her finger, drawing blood, dripping it into his mouth. “Now take his head.”

Akor lowered his head, ready for death. His last vision was blurry, but he remembered his family, ready to see them again. Xia raised her arms, stepping into the blow chopped down, removing Akor’s head. Purple mana swirled, mixing with his blood, following his detached head. Xia caught his body before it hit the ground; easing it to the ground as another picked up his head, gifting it to Lilith. She extended her arms, gathering his source, reattaching his head. Purple light enveloped the body. Xia closed her eyes.

Xia opened her eyes, hoping to be back on her ship. She could smell. Felt the breeze of air flowing in and out of ducts, filtering the intense smell of cannabis and incense. She pinched her cheek, twisting it until she could not bear the pain. Lilith glared at Xia, the eyes of an angry mother. “Xia, why do you fight your history?”

Xia closed her eyes, expecting punishment, only to open them. Her body, sheets and pillow, drenched in sweat. She shivered when the cold air from the vents hit her skin. Her headache was gone, but gold mana swirled around her hands. She swiped at it, trying to get it to dissipate. It followed the motion of her hands.

Alexia rubbed her hands together, and the purple mist dissipated. That was no dream, she noted as she pressed her head against her pillow. The wet and cold pillow forced her from the bed. She let out a frustrated sigh, opting to get up and take a shower.

Knock knock, k knock. Alexia sighed. Only one person did that. She pressed the comms button on her tablet. “Iulia, use the bright green button next to the door. Don’t knock.”

Alexia watched Iulia look at the button, then lean into it. “But knock before you enter someone's room.”

Alexia wanted to fall over. Iulia and Constantine integrated well into her crew, but old habits. They acted more like country bumkins rather than hardened soldiers from a major city.

“What do you want?”

Iulia entered as Constantine followed close behind. Alex knew what he wanted already. “No.”

“But Minister? Hear me out.”

“I showed you the satellite footage. Do you really think you can stop him?”

“Let me prove it to you. Iulia has a brilliant plan.”

Alex shook her head, “Constantine, that shotgun will do nothing.”

“But it's a cannon!”

“But nothing. A full battalion attacked that city. It's been six months. Do you think a monster like that would not prepare, knowing another threat may linger? Why do you think Memet sent a full battle group across the sea? For Zuvea?”

Constantine ran out of words, sighing in defeat, yielded to Iulia. “We arrived at Sioux Falls. At the present we are 13000 meters behind the main battle group. The captain wishes to know your orders.”

“I’m going down there.”

“What? Let me go with you?”

Xia shook her head, lowering her eyes. “I am going to do something. You want no part of.”