Sin of the Saints (Between Delusion and Sobriety Duet #2)

Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Bellcolor

I flap my wings freely. They don’t ache anymore, thank God. Looks like the training paid off. If I could just use them, that would be perfect. I’ve got to fly away, literally.

My stunt earned me an electric shock that was out of this world. While I lay sprawled on the ground like a ragdoll, Valentina was sent to my room to clean up the warning I’d left in blood on the wallpaper over my bed.

Though Valentina scrubbed the wallpaper with gusto – while incessantly hissing curses – the remnants were still there. When she was done, she stormed out of my room in a rage, though not before having a bit of her own revenge and kicking me in the ribs.

“Patience,” Lilith’s voice within me tries to soothe me, but what’s the point? As long as I’ve got this damned collar and bell around my neck, I’ve got no chance of escape.

Just as I finally regained enough strength to scrape myself off the floor, darkness descended upon my room.

I sat in the chair in front of my vanity, and brushed my long black hair to pass the time. I brushed and brushed until not a single knot remained. Movement became automatic, I was drawn into a vacuous trance and my mind was cleansed of all thought. Just emptiness and desolation. Just me and the pleasant sensation of brushing my hair.

“If I inherited my hair color from you, what does Mom’s hair look like?” I ask my father as he brushes my hair. I don’t have any photos of her, and my father doesn’t mention her often.

“She didn’t like the color of her hair, she’d change it often,” he answers, and I note the sadness sneaking into his eyes, which are as black as mine.

“I think I don’t really like my hair color either,” I wrinkle my nose at my reflection in the mirror.

“Well, you’re too young to change it.”

“I’m not young, I’m already 11! Those are two whole numbers!”

“We’ll agree to disagree, Bellcolor. But supposing you could change it, what color would you choose?” He seems amused.

I carefully consider my answer, and finally answer: “Red.”

My father’s eyes widen. “Red? Why?”

“I want to be like Merida.” I proudly straighten my back and chin.

“Who?”

“From the movie Brave, Dad!” I laugh.

“Do I need to start supervising what Betty lets you watch during your free time?”

“It’s actually a very educational movie. It’s about a princess who wants to determine her own destiny.”

“Don’t get any silly ideas into your head, Bellcolor. Your future is already determined.”

The memory dissipates, and now, with clear vision, I understand what my father meant. My future was never in my hands. I was ultimately meant to be claimed by the demon world, and to try and flee from them as Lilith.

I’ve got no chance.

I lie on my stomach, reading a book that looks at least a hundred years old. The door to my room opens and Valentina steps in.

“You can ask for a transfer, you know,” I tell her without shifting my gaze from the book in front of me. I don’t need to look at her to know she’s frowning and would rather be anywhere but here with me.

“What you wrote stirred up quite a tempest within the Council,” she says, softly closing the door behind her.

“Good, that was my intention,” I flip to the next page.

“Is it true…?” Her voice is hesitant.

I shut the book and examine her. She seems frightened and lost, glancing at the camera in the corner of the ceiling with terror. It’s like she’s caught between the need to know more and her hatred towards me.

I motion for her with my eyes to follow me, rise from the bed and go to the bathroom.

“Yes,” I groan and sit on the edge of the bath.

“But… that can’t be,” her eyes widen.

“Libretto is a traitor, he’s not who you think he is,” I repeat aloud what I’d written in blood on the wall. “And I can prove it.”

“In what respect?” Her gaze flashes over her shoulder, as though someone might ambush her from behind.

“Libretto carries within him the reincarnation of Ashmedai, the Lord of Lust. He may be a demon, but he’s a traitor. He seeks to rule Hell himself. He steals souls intended for Satan. He’s building up his power to avenge the sins of his forefathers, and of…” I fall silent. I don’t think I can admit the rest out loud.

“But what does that mean about everything we’ve been taught? He’s been at the head of the Council forever.”

“You remember our first day in Dr. Abano’s class? He said something that continued to haunt me: ‘ Be critical and try to understand what was cut out, what isn’t told and why .’ If the writings of the saints have been edited, isn’t it possible that our own texts were similarly edited? I did some research…”

“Did you find anything?” She cut me off, her expression suffused with curiosity.

“From our texts? Not much.” Valentina seems disappointed by my answer. “But Lilith’s memories have told me the full truth.”

“Lilith, is she…?” Valentina points at me, as though afraid to ask the question aloud.

“Yes, she’s within me, but she also is me.” I put my hand on my heart, and I sense her. “I don’t know how it’s even possible. I thought I’d be nothing more than a vessel until the moment of her awakening, just like the rest of the Marked, but she was the missing piece I’ve been searching for my whole life. Everything made sense to me at the moment of her awakening. I understood then why I felt like I’d been carrying a heavy burden, and I never knew where it came from.”

“Does she…” She clears her throat. “Do you wish to harm us?”

“No, her war isn’t with you or with the creators, not even with Libretto. It’s with Ashmedai. Lilith continues to reincarnate into the lands of Adam because her past has been so stained that she’s seeking her redemption. If it even exists.”

“Who is he to you? Why did he target you?”

I turn my gaze away from her questioning eyes. “It doesn’t matter now. But we have to stop him. If he gets his way, it won’t just endanger humans, but both Creators and their armies.”

“If you’re speaking the truth, why haven’t the Creators intervened?”

“I don’t know, but I think that if they’ve chosen to stand aside, Libretto has an important part to play in both their plans. It’s not like the Devil can take him back, because he won’t obey the call.”

“Just like you,” she examines me.

“Just like me,” I confirm, hoping she won’t ever learn the truth. “Why did you come here, Valentina?”

“When I returned the jug Libretto sent to you, the one you didn’t bother to feed from, one of the servants stole a drop of blood and went mad. Before I realized what was happening, he was dragged off to the castle dungeons.”

“That’s not unusual, he broke one of the laws of our world. Demons are forbidden from drinking the blood of their kind.”

“Right, but that’s not what shocked me, even though it should have. Before he was carted off, he said something that troubled me.”

“Which was?”

Valentina looks over her shoulder again, on guard. “He said: ‘God will avenge the blood of his firstborn, and Ashmedai will avenge the loss of his beloved at the hands of Satan’.”

Damn, Ashmedai would surely lose his mind if the truth came to light. “When did this happen? Do the guards know you overheard what the servant said?”

“It was just a minute ago, I came here straight away to figure out what he meant—”

I interrupt her, grab her arm and drag her into my room.

“Go! Now! You have to leave this castle before Libretto hears of this!” I shove her towards the door. The damned bell rings and I gasp in pain.

“W-what?” She tries to fight me off. Damn it, she’s strong even when she isn’t using full force.

“Valentina, go to the Vatican, look for Dr. Abano. You have to find out if he survived, and if not, look for Ellis. Tell him what happened here, tell him I’m willing to turn myself over to the Church.”

“Dr. Abano? I don’t understand what you’re saying. What does he have to do with this, what’s he doing at the Vatican? And why would you turn yourself in to the Church?”

“Valentina, please report to the main hall for a meeting with the Council,” a low and threatening voice intrudes into my room. Fuck, they know, and they’re surely watching us now.

I cling to Valentina, and whisper to her: “Whatever happens, don’t answer that summons. It’ll be the end of you. Get out of this room and run straight to the Vatican. They’ll tell you what to do. Now, Valentina, before it’s too late.”

She leaves the room. When the door opens, I notice the two guards assigned to my room. I know I have no chance of escaping with her.