Lilith (8 page)

I couldn't go into school. There was no way to know who she'd move through. If all it took was a shiny surface any teenage girl with a compact mirror, or who had previously been to the restroom was
moveable, like a pawn piece in an intensely dangerous game of chess.

"Dean, can you take me home?" I could see the surprise and r
elief flash through his eyes.

"
Yes, but Pacey, are you sure that’s what you want?" He asked.

“Yea.” I said softly.

He lead me back towards his truck. People were staring at us while we walked away. They probably all thought I was crazy. Before we got to his truck Lexie ran forward to speak to me, I could see Rhiannon disappear inside the crowd, evil concealed well behind the face of my friend. How could she not feel the evil that was squatting inside of her.

"Hey Pa
cey, you're not going to stay?"

I shook my head but didn't trust my voic
e to speak without squeaking.

"Well, uh here," Lexie handed me a folded piece of paper. "I wanted to give you my number, you know in case you ever wanna talk. I'm sure you could use a friend
…I know I could." She smiled and walked away.

I couldn't help but notice that no one else followed her. She hardly even made a dent in the staring crowd. Their eyes were otherwise occupied, half were watching me, and the other half were watching her;
Rhiannon possessed with a demon from hell.

I wonder
ed how long Lilith had been camping out inside her. She definitely wasn't there the first day I met Dean, no way would the succubus demon obsessed with him tell me to go after him. She couldn't have been there the day Rhiannon helped me pick out my outfit for our date either.

God I hoped
Rhiannon wasn't the one who'd attacked me? Could Lilith even attack me without a body? Did she have a body? There were so many things I still didn't know. I needed to figure out how to save my friend as much as Dean.

He opened the door and helped me inside. As he drove the short distance to my house I let my mind wander some more. If Lilith could move through anyone, why hadn't she tried to embody me. I couldn't hide at home forever, I had to find a w
ay out, find a way to kill her?

"Dean?"

He grunted a reply. Great now he was mad.

"How exactly did your ex die
again?" He slammed on the breaks and pulled to the side of the road.

"Why, did something happen?"

I shrugged trying to figure out exactly what I wanted to say.

"Well, she was
ran off the road, right?"

He
agreed without speaking. I hated the tension I could feel between us.

"Was there any proof like skid marks or d
amage to the sides of her car?"

Dean stared out the front window, his knuc
kles tightening on the wheel. "Yes, and no, there were skid marks that suggested she lost control of the car, but there were no actual marks on her car. The Police Report said that someone must have swerved at her and caused her to panic and drive off the road. Obviously no one would drive off the road on purpose."

Ha, that’s what he thought. He didn't have any idea some psycho entity was the cause, and that said entity probably entered his ex's bo
dy and made her kill herself.

My head started to throb in pain.
For all I knew she could do the same to me. What a horrible way to die. Would you be aware that your body was no longer in your control. Would you just watch in horror as you took your own life.

I choked back the fear creeping up
in my throat. I needed help, not the psychological kind I wished was the problem. The religious, know it all, Giles from Buffy the Vampire slayer help. I needed an expert or a priest. Some badass Dumbledore type character that knew everything about what was happening. It wasn't like I could go get the phone book and call a
“Demon hunter”
stuff like that wasn't even supposed to exist.

When you're standing on the edge of reality, looking into the black abyss of twisted things that could really
be out there, what do you do? I could feel it waiting with its open mouth and sharp dark teeth.

I opened the piece of paper in my hands
that Lexie had given me.

I think I can
help.

I laughed to myself, right like little miss trashy pants, psycho bobble head could help me now. It wasn't impossible, in fact in comparison to what I now faced, her honest help, seemed v
ery possible. I couldn't tell anyone, especially not the girl known for backstabbing. She could know something I didn't, who was I to judge her, I was obviously crazy.

It would
have been nice to go to Rhiannon and tell her what was happening, use the resources of the Bad Girls Club for once. I really wished I'd gone to more meetings. There were a few girls, like Liv, and Jennifer who might help, but I'd have to lie about what they were really doing. And Rhiannon couldn't attack me in front of witnesses, in fact, no one could so ditching school was sounding dumber and dumber.

As Dean pulled into my
driveway, I seriously considered making him turn around. All good plans were carefully laid. I had to do more research and find out as much as I possibly could about my adversary. Figure out a way to involve the Bad Girls, and Rhiannon, she didn't have to know it was her we were trying to help.

Not to mention Lilith's use of
Rhiannon could be controlled, maybe. If we were on good terms then she wouldn't be emotionally unstable enough to be moveable. I started smiling. I had a plan, I had a very good plan, and if it went right, if every piece was able to mold perfectly together than no one would get hurt.

Chapter Eight

Night Mirror

I was dreaming, of that much I was sure. I could feel the way the edges of my vision blurred and blended together like an old worn out movie. The reel was stretched and faded by time. But I was only there to observe, and watch in silence.

I was standing alone somewhere between dream world and
nothing. The darkness was so thick I rubbed at my throat trying to breathe the heaviness of it in. Slowly my eyes adjusted to the dark and the details of the room around me started to appear.

Soft candlelight was dancing across the jagged walls and floor. This was no ordinary room it was the main chamber of a larg
e cave. The halls carved by wind and water out of a cold impenetrable rock. It was fully furnished, large darkly stained antique furniture was displayed into three different spaces.

I kept walking forward. All along the walls heavy mirrors were hung, hundreds, maybe thousands reflecting the gentle light around the room. They were all different, some were gold and gilded, others antique and
patina with the age of time. Many of the mirrors were ornately decorated and faded around the edges from years of being polished over and over again.

It was one of the mirrors that caught my attention. As I moved forward into view of its reflective
surface, I could see that the mirror wasn't reflective at all. In fact it looked like a window, or a strangely framed doorway. There was no Pacey reflected back at me, but a clear iridescent view of my bedroom.

I walked closer, a sleeping Pacey lay snuggling inside her bed. That didn't make any sense, I was Pacey, that couldn't be me, when I was me. I rubbed at my jaw absentmindedly and felt someone move close behind me. I held my breath as a cold strong hand tightened around my neck. Lilith whispered into my ear so low the words
almost sounded like the wind.

"I've almost figured it out Pacey, you see you hold every part of myself and the
real world that I find...necessary for a live body. Not only do you have the mate I seek, but your rare talents will be very useful. See I plan to take that body lying so helplessly in your bed, and you'll watch the life I live out with Dean from here, trapped forever within my Hall of Mirrors."

I turned around and faced her, gasping at the image before me. She was not ugly or rotting flesh, there was nothing about Lilith that wasn't beautiful. She was tall and elegantly dressed, her long pale hair looked as soft as silk.
She was young frozen in the perfection of her early twenties.

Her eyes were so dark they had to be black, the
y were the only part of her that made you aware of what she really was, what evil lurked deep below the surface. I swallowed down my shock and tried to speak.

"Hello Lilith."

Her evil demon eyes narrowed. "Dear, dear Pacey. Don't you think that if Dean had the choice between us he would choose me. Why don't you play nice and just agree darling, you cannot deny my beauty. I am also far wiser, and older than you. I have birthed thousands of children throughout the centuries." Her voice was light and playful, as if we were two friends having a gentle debate.

"Never." I could feel the change in her stance, see the black pools of her eyes f
lashing red. I'd angered her.

"Stupid little girl. You do not possess a one hundredth of the attraction I have at my will. Men have fallen at their feet before me, pledged their souls to my beauty. You will not succeed in saving him. No one since the creation of time ever has, or ever will. The descendant of Adam will always be mine." Her angry
voice echoed around the room.

Her body erupted in pure white light. Reflecting so sharply off the mirrors, I felt myself stumble and fall backwards. The cold brightness was pushing me down, down
, down back into nothing.

When I woke
up, I was covered in a cold sticky sweat. I pealed my blankets from my wet body and got out of bed. I sighed in relief I was in my own bed. Did that mean my dream had been real, or just a nightmare?

I ran a shaky hand through my curly matted hair and made my way to the bathroom. I glanced at the clock and moved faster. I only had 45 minutes before I had to be a
t school. I ran through my short list of plans for the day.

#1 Go back
to school, and the Bad Girls.

#2
Avoid at all costs, being alone in the vicinity of a mirror, or fellow student, especially a female student.

#3 Patch things up with
Rhiannon.

It was
a very short list. But it was three of the most important steps in my plan. There was no telling how long number three alone would take, so until I succeeded in that, the rest of the plans hadn't even formed yet.

I recalled the nightmare I'd just had and a cold shiver of fear ran down my spine. I'd never be able to forget the malice and hatred clearly visible in Lilith's perfect face. It wasn't surprisin
g I'd had a nightmare. I spent the majority of the day before researching every piece of information I could find about her.

The most useful article I'd read had been from old Jewish Folktale. It told the story of a young woman who'd been newly married. She moved into her home with her husband and brought with her many pieces of furniture, and antiques that had belonged to her family. For
years, the couple lived happily, and when their daughter was born, the woman hung her families’ most prized possession. An old intricately carved mirror.

The mirror had been made from a Magical Cypress tree. The edges were carved with scenes from Eden, and what the family believed were Adam and Eve. What the family didn't know, and what the woman refused to believe, was that the mirror was in fact a depiction of the earlier days of Adam, before his Eve. The woman carved into the sides of the mirror was Adam's first
wife, Lilith.

For
years, Lilith watched through the magical mirror as the girl grew into a beautiful woman. With envious eyes, Lilith watched as the young girl was engaged to be married. The girl was enthralled with the mirror, she couldn't pass it without stopping and running a hand along the carving, and staring into her young and vibrant face. This was how Lilith was able to cast her web.

When the g
irl finally brought her betrothed into her home, she showed him the beautiful antique mirror. When Lilith recognized him as a descendant from Adam, she was enraged. How dare he choose this young maiden, this young talentless subservient over her.

When Lilith refused to serve
Adam, she was cast out of Eden and replaced with Eve. Since Eve was fashioned from Adam's rib, she would always be obedient to him, while Lilith who was made as his equal refused.

Lilith then came forward from the mirror and entered the young
maiden’s body through her eyes. The Maiden was trapped inside Lilith's Cave and the Hall of Mirrors while Lilith lived out the young girl’s days with the descendant of Adam.

The story eluded that it was the magical mirror that gave Lilith the power to move between
the Otherside and the real world, but Lilith did not need a woman to look into it to be able to possess them. Lilith could move through any reflective surface, as long as her mirror, a twin to the intricately carved Cypress was in her Cave and prison cell, the Hall of Mirrors.

She couldn’t leave the cave in her own physical body. The story eluded that some sort of spell kept her trapped inside its rocky walls. Her mirrors were her only way of seeing outside and travelling through spirit.

The story may have been the cause for my nightmare, but I knew that wasn't the only reason. Somehow, Lilith had been able to transport me into the Hall while I was asleep. I wasn't sure if that meant she could do at any time while I slept, but the idea terrified me. Maybe that was the key to her taking over my body, she could only do so while I slept.

Dean was waiting for me in the kitchen when I walked downstairs. I kissed him softly on the cheek and grabbed a banana. My mom smiled and waved as we walked out the door.
Luckily, she wasn't being as paranoid about where I was going anymore.

Although if she knew what was really happening I'd probably be shipped to some island without mirrors. I laughed to myself, all Lilith needed was a reflective surface as lo
ng as she had her own mirror. I felt like someone had slapped the back of my head.

Hello Pacey. All I had to do was figure out a way to destroy her mirror, and she could never again enter our world, or at least that's what the story made me believe. I hoped the Jewish Folktale wasn't just a bedtime story, or some stupid urban legend that had changed over time. I
needed the words to be real.

When we got to
school, I took a deep breath and exited the truck. Dean had been silent all morning. I walked over to his side of the truck and smiled.

"Hey you've been pretty quiet, is everything okay?" I watched his face contort in different emoti
ons. He looked so distraught.

"Yes, I just haven't been sleeping very well. No worries, I'll be fine." He gave me a forced smile and stepped forward to
kiss me quickly on the mouth.

I didn't believe him, Dean like me, wasn't a very good liar. I threw my arms around his neck and dragged him closer. I pulled us back until I could feel the truck behind me. I kissed him as thoroughly as I could. I didn't want to lose him, there was no guy out there lik
e him.

He started kissing me back forcefully. I could feel his hands knot in my hair and push his mouth closer, his teeth lightly grazing my bottom lip. Heat erupted inside my belly and I sighed in pleasure. He turned us around and pulled me even closer. Plastering my body against his
so I could feel his arousal, when I reached out a hand to brush against him he stopped kissing me.

"Wait, wait, Pacey stop.
We're at school remember."

I looked up into his in
tensely blue eyes and smiled. Wow, that was amazing. I was still pushing my body so close to his I could feel his heart beating. We haven't really talked about the sex issue yet, but I could see it was a conversation sorely needed.

I pulled my body back away from his and straightened my clothes. A blush was already starting to brighten my cheeks, and it erupted more when I noticed the faces staring in our direction.
PDA at school was a big no-no. If a teacher had seen us we'd both end up in his mom’s office having a very uncomfortable conversation. I did not want to end up in the Vice Principal’s office talking about the safe practices of sex.

We walked hand in hand into the North Building. I spotted
Rhiannon talking to the other Bad Girls and turned towards Dean.

"Hey, uh I need to go patch things up with
Rhiannon. See you at lunch?" He smiled and revealed the small dimple I loved so much. He smacked my butt as I walked away. Damn, that felt good.

"Be good Pace
y."

I laughed, he had no idea I p
lanned on doing the opposite.

"Hey Rhi."

She turned and stared at me in shock. It wasn't like I'd told her we were never speaking again, geez.

"Hey, I see you've temporarily separated yourself from Lover Boy, did it hur
t?"

I
rolled my eyes and continued. "No, sheesh. But I know I've neglected my role in the Bad Girls, and haven't really been spending enough time with you either."

I smiled when I saw
Rhiannon's face brighten with excitement.

"Really?"

I nodded.

"Awesome, so you're really going to join in. You realize this means your plotti
ng against your new BFF right."

I groaned. I'd had two, well
maybe three conversations with Lexie. The last one had been on the phone yesterday, it was one little loose end I'd tied up.

"She's not my friend Rhi, she just wasn't pissed about me telling her off. I can say she's different, but that doesn't erase what she's done to you and all of the other girls. So yes I'm with you,
let’s just keep the extreme bitchiness to a minimum okay."

Rhiannon
moved so quickly it scared me at first. She was hugging me so tightly I couldn't breathe.

"Rhi,
Rhiannon?"

She pull
ed back and smiled awkwardly. "Sorry. I'm just so freaking happy right now."

I looked up into her eyes and inspected them. There was no hint of black hidden inside, for the moment it loo
ked like Lilith had vacated her.