Chapter Three

The Beautiful Devil

Alice had been gone for awhile, and all I could do for the minutes following her departure was pray to God that she would be protected from harm and that her passage to Sibyl's home would be a safe one.

The last thing I ever wanted to receive word of was that the Angel of Death, my best friend's daughter, the child I was the foster mother to, was dead or had been caught by Lilife or her servants.

I had told her not to worry about me, but maybe it should have been the other way around. She should have been the one telling me not to worry about her.

Terror wrenched at my heart, mingling with worry, but all I could do to keep my mind off of it, was to return indoor and await Lilife's arrival. I kept my hand over the handle of the gun at my hip; I knew that I would need it.

No more than a foot in the door did I feel her presence. She had already arrived and was there in the house somewhere.

I had not expected any less from a Devil. They had sneaky ways of getting around behind your back unseen. My only worry was as to where in the house she was at that moment.

Something in my mind screamed at me to check Alice's room. I just knew that if Lilife was anywhere in the house it was Alice's room.

Climbing the stairs I felt tense. All I could hope was that I was wrong and this all was nothing more than my worry playing tricks on my mind.

Although, I knew by the smell of cigarettes that it was not a trick of the mind. The smell was disgusting and sour; obviously the cigarette had been newly lit, since I saw now smoke hovering in the air around Alice's bedroom door.

Opening the door, I saw her. In thirteen years she had not changed a bit. She still had her glossy golden hair. Her super-model form, tanned skin, as fair as a maiden's. She wore white, a colored connected with everything she was indeed not.

She was looking at the photo on Alice's dresser, picking up some of Alice's old stuffed animals she had had since she was a child.

Lilife already knew I was there.

"This was the same doll she clung to while watched her parents give their lives to me. You can still see Beatrice's blood and the blood of that Hume-Nymph she called a husband on it." The snake voice said to me, not even looking up from the doll that her slender fingers touched gingerly. In the mirror, I could see her smile.

Ugh, how I loathed that smug smile. How could a woman like Lilife be so damn smug after all that she has done to so many people? After all the people she killed.

I suppose it all had to do with Lilife's origins. She was a Devil, a pure-blooded Devil to add. The pure bloods were composed of the most ancient clans of the Devil. They clung to their nasty, fiendish old ways and taught their children to follow the old tradition.

The Bauvedtu clan was one of the most powerful among the pure-bloods and the most ancient, so I knew that they weren't about to stray from the old ways now. A nice Bauvedtu? That would have been an insult and a dishonorable thing their family name!

There was never any Bauvedtu that would dishonor their family by changing their ways.

I knew how to answer my own question; Lilife could be smug and smile even after killing thousands for one reason:

She wore the blood of those people on her hands with pride.

"Long time no see Lilife. I see you’ve haven't changed a bit/ Still murdering people are you?" I asked, mocking a friendly conversation, even though Lilife was the last acquaintance that I would really ever strike up friendly conversation with.

Lilife opened her snake like green eyes. Her poison pink lips curved into a smile as she looked at my reflection in the mirror.

"Ah, Victoria Lovelace. It's still Lovelace isn't it? You haven't gotten married and forget to invite me to the wedding have you Darling? But seeing how horribly you've aged, I suppose you haven't. I mean what man would want to marry an old maid?"

I could feel the anger starting to well up inside of me. I hated her voice. I hated what she said to me. I was getting irritated with her presence quickly.

"Get to the point Lilife what do you want?"

"Darling, surely you haven't forgotten Sibyl's prophecy about the charm? In case you don't remember, Alice has been seventeen for the past six months now. The protection Beatrice has placed on her is gone. So where is she?"

I inwardly laughed at myself. How could Lilife, as smart as she was, ask such as dumb question?

"She's not here. You just missed her. I'm afraid you won't be able to find her for awhile." I told her. I guess the best thing was to be honest.

Lilife's green eyes flashed darkly. I watched her painted poison pink lips pull into a frown. She was infuriated, and I was preparing to face her wrath at this displeasure.

Over and over again, she shook her head; she brought the cigarette to her lips again.

"Victoria darling, a very foolish thing you did." she muttered taking a puff. “She’s going to have to face me sooner or later. Preferably sooner than later. You can't keep her from me. You will tell me where she is."

I knew better than to do that. Alice's safety could not be compromised, even though it could me the sacrifice of my own life. There was no way that I was going to let this witch lay one finger on Alice.

Lilife sighed and continued to smoke the cigarette.

"You won't tell me? Victoria darling, I thought you were smarter. Now I'm going to give you one more chance to answer my question."

If I was going to do anything now would be the time to do it. I drew the pistol from my hip and aimed it right at her head.

Lilife sighed heavily and extinguished the cigarette on the dresser. The room had become unnaturally cold, and the storm's intensity had picked up. Tension hung in the air between us, so intense it could have been a solid object.

"Are you planning to shoot me with that? Don't make me laugh darling! That gun is a toy compared to my power."

She looked down briefly, after a minute, seeing that I wasn't going to drop my weapon any time soon.

"So...you are a fool then. Protecting the Angel of Death."

Gracefully she turned to me. I remember all too well that look on her face. One of pure evil. Her green eyes burned with hatred and bitter poison. A hint of blood-thirst lay among them. That was the look that she had given Beatrice before murdering her. I expected her to do the same thing to me.

"Ah, well, a pity that you would have me go find the Angel myself."

Anger filled my heart as Lilife said this. I knew that I had to keep her from Alice. Something in my heart told me that something was up, and that Alice had not yet made it to Sibyl's house.

"You will not get anywhere near Alice!" I roared involuntarily pulling the trigger. A loud boom reached my ears in rapid succession. I saw the bullets going toward her as the whole scene went in slow motion before my eyes.

Lilife's arm outstretched toward me. A blast of her energy collided with the bullets turning them into dust before my eyes. The beam kept coming toward me. I threw mu arms in front of my face to shield my eyes from the light.

The beam grazed my shoulder, cutting a gash. Blood spurted to the floor from my arm, the pain was blinding.

My glasses fell to the floor as my headed lulled forward. I was brought to my knees clutching the wounds that Lilife had given me.

Tears of pain spilled from my eyes, my thoughts spun and I became dizzy. Alice was as good as dead. Damn it...this can't be. I whispered under my breath over and over again, as I lay there on the floor, as a bright patch of blood began to soak into the carpet.

I'm sorry Alice. I thought. I prayed that she was safe.

Through my blurred eyes I could see that vicious devil standing above, she looked down on me with a look of pure pity. The same look she had given Beatrice's dead body. Although the look was not genuine. Bauvedtu's did not know pity.

Her white boots were right there in my sight. If only I could gather the strength enough to reach foreword and trip her. A childish move, I know, but anything would have been better to see than her gloating about this latest victory.

I waited for her to finish me off. For several minutes she just stood there watching me suffer. Watching someone in pain before killing them, Lilife had not changed her bit. This was the style of those on the Bauvedtu bloodline.

"Why are you taking so long to kill me? I growled out looking up through bleary eyes at the two-legged snake staring down at me.

Lilife turned. "Darling you expect me to waste my energy to kill an old acquaintance? No. I'm only going to let you off with a few minute scratches. Consider it a warning. Next time you stand in my way, I won't hesitate to finish the job darling."

Those were the last words I heard as she walked away/

The pain in my arm grew, and I had lost a lot of blood. My consciousness could not stay like Lilife.

As I fell in to darkness, my thoughts only focused on Alice.