Part 42 (1/2)

”That's why I did it, my love... for you,” she whispered, begging on a strangled swallow and choking on her own black blood.

”Anything for you, everything for you, my all. I knew you would cherish the child since nothing like it had ever been created. It was a gift, a surprise for you, darling. Please let me make it up to you, my dark essence, please... Just please stop the torture.

I'll do anything; just command it so.”

”You were always my most treacherous and favorite, Lilith. How could you betray me with such a loss? Had you not set the strategy in motion, Dante would still exist.” His anger seethed forth, and, baring his hooked teeth, he bent down to s.n.a.t.c.h her by her throat and then held her above his head with one clawed talon.

”I'm the only one left who has interacted with the Neteru males to know their weaknesses and vulnerabilities!” she shrieked, forestalling his blows.

He paused and stared at her for long tense seconds. ”Talk to me,” he said, his tone deadly.

”I was Adam's first wife.”

There was silence, and her mind scrambled to make her case within milliseconds.

”It was I who tricked the newest and most aggressive, Carlos Rivera, to descend to Dante's throne briefly-only I did that. I even made him ignore the warnings of warrior angels! Dear husband, please consider the possibilities as you rightfully rage against me.”

A cool wind blew, and her body began to knit itself back together and heal.

”Husband, my love, I was able to act quickly and rationally at a time of great chaos to s.n.a.t.c.h the embryo from the carnage of the female Neteru's womb... the millennium slayer. If you let me survive, I know another way to raise Dante.”

”Continue,” his disembodied voice said as the Unnamed One disappeared into the shadows, considering her offer. His eyes glowed red, then went black within their slits. ”Bargain with me, Lilith. You know that's my favorite game.”

Hot tears coursed down her face as she tried to speak quickly to him in Dananu. ”As long as Dante's firstborn male from his original bloodline exists, all that he was can be summoned forth. It's in the DNA, as always. There is only one other who can sit on Dante's throne to replace all that Carlos Rivera had the potential to be. He is Rivera's exact match, perhaps stronger.”

”The one you speak of is in a place that our realms cannot penetrate.” Her husband's low, growling voice thundered quietly through the darkness.

”Your month of exacting torture against me has ripped the fabric between the dimensions,” she whispered, s.h.i.+vering and holding her arms around herself, braced against a possible sudden blow. ”The subterranean disturbance has-”

”The one you speak of still resides within a realm that we cannot breach,” he said evenly. ”Do not toy with me, Lilith, for if you fail, I will blot you from all existence... slowly... with excruciating horror.”

She shook her head. ”Neither you nor I can breach that realm, but a living Neteru can. I've been around them and know their weaknesses.”