Chapter Sixteen
Lilith McLaren looked steadily into the mirror, memorizing the features of her new body. She’d chosen the form of a human again. She was sentimental, she supposed. Her last form had been that of a snow white cat, but that had become tedious. No one took animals seriously anymore, not like they once had. So she’d run out in front of a van and moved on.
She had been so many races in so many realms over the years. The fairies of the fae realms, for instance, were waiting for her to return to them and had been for some time. But she supposed they would have to wait a little longer.
Lilith was who she was now.
Her hair was different. Lalura’s hair had been light brown when she was a young woman. Now her hair was blonde, and rather than the waist-length tresses Lalura had grown accustomed to pinning in a loose bun over the years, Lilith’s hair seemed to be cut in thick layers. They were still long. But they were different.
It was always different.
Every time she did this, she felt disconnected. And a touch forlorn. There was no mourning time afforded her, not really. Because between each existence, there was only darkness and nothing. And then boom – there she was again, in a new form. Always moving. Always traveling.
Like the Nomads that shared her name.
Her nose was a little smaller this time around; she was happy about that, she supposed. But her chin was smaller too. She’d grown used to having a strong chin. Now it was pointed and dainty. She was dainty all over really, what one might call petite. She couldn’t have stood much taller than five-foot-three or four.
She turned a little in the mirror, studying her posture. At least that was good. She wasn’t slouching. She never could stand a slouch. But she supposed that was Lalura talking. The old bat had been brutal about some things.
Lilith chuckled, and when she did, she looked up into her eyes. They were further apart and wider than Lalura’s. But they were the same shade of vivid, stark blue. Like always.
She took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. “Well,” she said, “that’s that, then.” She nodded to herself like Mary Poppins on a mission and pulled a red suede jacket from the closet, slipping it on over her small frame. Adjustment period was officially over.
She moved to the door of what was apparently her apartment, grabbed what was clearly her purse, and fished her keys out of her jacket pocket. At least they were there, where she’d always kept things like car and house keys. Thank goodness some things never changed.
Because she had work to do.
*****
“Mr. D’Angelo.”
Roman went still at the sound of the voice behind him. It wasn’t one he had ever heard before… and yet, it felt immediately and infinitely familiar. He slowly turned around.
The note he’d received was one of the strangest messages he’d ever encountered. It was a single folded piece of paper that smelled like lavender and was tucked neatly between the most worn pages of his favorite book. He’d turned to the book in a moment of admitted anxiety – the world was falling apart right now. And when he’d cracked the spine, he’d smelled the flower.
He’d blinked down at the note. Then he’d read it.
It told him to be here, on this pier in Seattle, at this exact time.
At 4:00 a.m., the docks in Seattle were all but empty. A few drunks or homeless people yet remained in tents or asleep in the corners of lots or on park benches. But otherwise the night was empty, and the sound of water lapping up against the boardwalk was lonely. So there was no one around to see Roman smile a sad smile, shake his head, and fight with all his might not to literally shed tears.
“It’s good to see you, Lalura,” he told her. She looked different. But to a friend as old as he was, she also looked exactly the same.
She laughed a soft laugh. It was pleasant. “It’s Lilith now actually,” she said, smiling. “And it’s good to see you too, old man.” She moved closer, and there was that scent of lavender, washing over him in a wondrous way once more. It was her signature scent.
But her smile slipped, and an air of seriousness befell her, despite her new and apparent youth. “We need to talk, Roman.”
That was fast, he thought with solemn bemusement. But he nodded. She was right.
They made their way to an all night diner, and Roman bought her a cup of coffee. She held the mug in her hands, steaming and fresh, and brought it to her lips, inhaling the scent before she took a sip. When she did, she lowered it and smiled, but her lips were pressed hard together.
“First cup of coffee as Lilith?” he asked, almost laughing at her expression.
She nodded. “It’s good to know I still hate the stuff.”
Now Roman did laugh. It was a deep, hearty laugh, and it felt good, especially amidst the chaos that was unleashing itself of late. He called the waitress over and ordered a serving of tea, then put his elbows on the table, leaning in. They were alone when he said, “It was Arach who killed you, wasn’t it?”
Lilith nodded. “Yep. He went after the girls first. I was too distracted saving them to save myself. But of course that was the idea.”
Roman looked at her with a touch of skepticism. “You let him win, admit it.”
Lilith threw back her head and laughed. “Roman, that body was so goddamned old. You have no idea how painful it is to grow old. Or how terrifying.” She shook her head. “It was time for her to go.” She tilted her head to one side. “As for Arach, I’m guessing you put a few clues together while I was away.”
He had the decency to look as ashamed as he felt. “Actually, no. We thought it was Solan. It wasn’t until today that I knew the truth.”
“You thought the Traitor was William?” she asked softly, blinking her incredibly blue eyes. It was so bizarre to see his very old friend looking so very young. But he nodded, choosing nothing but honesty with her, as he always had.
“A lot happened in your absence,” he said in his defense. “The Shifter King found his queen. Or rather, he’d known where she was all along and the two finally got together, so to speak. But in the process, Arach ‘died,’” he said, making quotation marks with his fingers. “He was offed by the Entity. So naturally we jumped to obvious conclusions.” Now it was his turn to shake his head, and he found he was laughing. “So yeah. That was a mistake.”
He took a breath and went on. “Hesperos was murdered, but it turned out to be suicide because he was possessed by the Entity. Then he was reborn too – the two of you should get together sometime and compare notes. Anyway, he found his queen as well. Her name is Adelaide. And now apparently Arach is back.” He felt his jaw go tense. “And he’s had an upgrade.”
The tea serving came, and Lilith doctored her cup as Roman had watched Lalura do a thousand-thousand times. When she had it perfect, she again wrapped her hands around her mug and took a careful, slow sip. This time her smile was genuine, and she seemed to relax at once.
“I need to tell you about Amunet,” she said, putting the mug down, but keeping her hands around it for comfort. She paused, choosing her words carefully. “Amunet is one of us, Roman.” She looked up, locking gazes with him. “Like the Entity. Like me.”
Roman blinked. He was lost. But he didn’t have a chance to tell her as much before she was continuing.
“We’re all the same. Nomads,” she said, shrugging. “There are a number of us, but that number was limited to begin with and it has dwindled with time. There are things that can destroy us for good. Rare things. Terrible things. So far, I’ve managed to avoid them. And so have your enemies.” She paused to add meaning to her last words. “All three of them.”