Hellboy double-checked to make sure that his heavy weapon was loaded, for the fifth time in the last ten minutes. A feeling of unease came over him and he knew that something bad was going to happen. He couldn't explain it, but he just *knew*.
Frustrated with what he was feeling, Hellboy cast his gaze over at the group one more time, trying to pinpoint the cause of his restlessness. The same collection of men from last night were assembled together outside of the converted van, which was parked near the pier of the industrial zone. His eyes paused on the slender figure of his lover as Myers stood apart from the other men, giving them their last briefing.
Hellboy sighed. There was absolutely no persuading the man out of coming with them tonight. And oh how he had tried. He grimaced as he thought back to the series of frightening tantrums alternated with the heart wrenching tears.
By the end of the whole ordeal, Hellboy was a complete wreak and ended up letting John have things his way. Sometimes Hellboy wondered if maybe the human wasn't playing things up just a little. Suspiciously, he narrowed his eyes in Myer's direction.
John had just finished giving the other agents their orders and looked up to see Hellboy frowning at him. He gave the demon a dazzling smile before checking the barrel of his .38 special. Hellboy sighed once more, loudly, and slowly approached the agent. He drummed his fingers thoughtfully on the Samaritan as he thought about what he was going to say next.
Just as Hellboy opened his mouth…
"I feel fine, Red. Yes, I'm sure I want to do this… No, I don't think this is a bad idea… Yes, I'm absolutely sure I want to do this… And no, you can't change my mind." Myers cocked his gun ready, and smiled brightly up at Hellboy's look of astonishment.
"Are you two ready?" Abe came up to stand beside them. "Red, what is wrong with you?"
Hellboy finally closed his mouth and scowled. "Nothing's wrong," he growled. "Let's find this demon and get this over with." John and Abe looked at each other and shrugged before stepping into their positions.
The plan was simple. Lure the she-demon out and eliminate her with an old incantation. Unfortunately, executing the actual blueprint into practice was a whole other story. There was no guarantee that Lilith would make her presence known, or even if the old invocations would work. As with most of their assignments, they were flying by the seat of their pants and relying on sheer luck.
Overhead, the night sky was an inky black. Tiny stars sparkled faintly in their backdrop, their brilliance hindered by the neighbouring city lights. And as was expected, the moon was absent.
John took in a deep breath of the fresh air, cleansed by the nearby Atlantic. Gentle breezes caressed his hair and he could hear the leaves of the few trees close by rustle in the wind. An agent coughed quietly and another cleared his throat. It was just like the calm before a storm.
An owl could be heard all of the sudden, flapping its wings and hooting at them. The men aimed their guns at it, but then they relaxed once they realized what it was. The sounds the bird made seemed unusually loud in the dark quietness. Gracefully, it landed on its legs a few metres away and silently gazed at them with its yellow eyes.
"What is that? An owl?" Hellboy questioned loudly.
"It's a Snowy Owl," John breathed as he took a step closer towards the bird of prey to study it. "It's so beautiful. Look how white its feathers are." The owl calmly gazed its slanted eyes at the human, letting the man come close. Myers marveled at how fearless of people the animal was.
Hellboy rolled his eyes and the other agents watched the interaction between man and animal in amusement. When John was but a few feet away from the owl, tentacles shot out of nowhere from behind the bird and snatched onto his limbs. Myers cried out in surprise and the other men around him jumped in a belated response.
"John!" Hellboy screamed. He cocked his weapon, ready to shoot at the demon, but a dense haze abruptly enveloped both John and the bird, hindering his view. He didn't want to risk shooting blindly at his target so he cursed and started running towards his lover. Hellboy relied on following the sound of the man's screams. Behind him, he could hear Abe and the other agents following him. "Keep yelling!" he shouted.
The fog cleared and they found John with tentacles wrapped tightly around his waist. His legs dangled uselessly in the air as the man futilely tried to loosen the grip around him with his arms. It was apparent that Myers was having difficulty breathing. Lilith brought the agent closer to her, the white orbs of her eyes gazing intently on her victim.
Hellboy aimed the Samaritan at the demon and, just as he was about to pull the trigger, a set of tentacles shot out and plucked the weapon away from him. "Aw crap," he cursed and raced right after it. Abe continued to shoot at Lilith with the same type of firearms the other agents were using, and although his aim was accurate, the small bullets didn't seem to slow the she-demon down one bit. The moonless night was her crowning glory and her power was at her peak.
She gazed, curiously, at the human she held and studied him. She could sense a child within this one; yet, he was unlike any mother she had ever bled children out of. More bullets showered upon her, and with a screech of impatience, Lilith threw a thick appendage at the group of humans, swiping them all off their feet and onto their backs. Then she eyed the large red one haughtily… another demon.
Keeping the human safely behind her for further examination later, Lilith screeched again and focused all her energy towards Hellboy. She let her tentacles do all the work, knowing that her limbs were much quicker than the other demon could move. Easily she was able to trip him and hold him down. She was not deterred when he ripped from her grasp and kicked opened wounds in a few of her appendages. With her new strength and power, Lilith was able to renew her damaged limbs and regenerate her torn ones. She had faith that the other demon would tire out eventually.
As an afterthought, she scattered the other humans with another swipe of a tentacle when she saw them rousing out of the corner of her eye. She would enjoy tormenting them later, once she was done with the red one.
After a few minutes of the same thing, Lilith lost her patience and held firmly onto Hellboy's arms. With knife-like precision, she started to cut into his flesh with the force of her limbs. The stone hand of Hellboy's right arm worked its way out of the grip and tore that tentacle off in one swipe. But quickly, another writhing limb took its place. Having had enough, Lilith used all her strength to lift Hellboy up, and threw him out into the ocean waters.
>>>>>
John stared in horror, helpless, as Lilith easily beat his lover to a pulp. He knew that Hellboy could hold his own, but eventually even the red demon would tire out. The tentacles were relentless; for each one that Hellboy put out of commission it seemed like two more took its place. Lilith didn't even take her haunted eyes off of her opponent when she periodically took care of the other agents. Even Abe was looking a little worse for wear.
The grip around him had loosened slightly, enough so that he could breath again but it was still impossible to get away. When he heard Hellboy cry out loudly, John looked up in time to see his lover thrown out into the Atlantic waters. He screamed in horror and tears started falling from his eyes. He had no idea if Hellboy could swim, but given the weight of the heavy stone hand, the current status of Hellboy's physical condition, and the height he'd fallen from, Myers doubted it.
John started struggling again, more determined than ever to escape and take his vengeance out on the she-demon. The grip suddenly tightened around him as he was brought closer to Lilith. Her white blank eyes observed him as he tried to break out. She waited him out until finally his persistence stalled due to his weakened state. Anguished, Myers stilled in her lethal hold as he stared sadly at the spot in the water where Hellboy had been thrown. He wiped the tears from his eyes, clearing his blurry vision. There were no bubbles... no sign of life. Tiredly, he turned his head and saw that all the agents were lying deadly still on the ground. Even Abe laid unmoving, the rise and fall of his chest barely detectable.
"What do you want?" he screamed hoarsely at Lilith. John had no idea if she understood him, but he was desperate for a reaction from her. "What do you want from us?" When he received no immediate answer, he dropped his head in an exhausted defeat, letting the tears flow freely down his face. John suddenly didn't care anymore if she killed him. Hellboy was dead. Was there any more point to living? Everything else just seemed so insignificant now.
Suddenly, he felt a prick on the back of his head. It wasn't particularly painful, but it did take him by surprise. Shifting his eyes to his left, he could see a thin tendril leading from it and followed it to its source. Slowly it widened into a thicker stem until it reached inside of Lilith's mouth. His eyes widened when he realized that it must be a tongue of some sort and frantically prayed that she wasn't going to suck his brains out.
A voice, a very indistinct voice could be heard. John flicked his eyes over at the demon, but saw that her lips never moved. Then he heard the voice again. Lilith must be communicating with him through this strand. He focused in on the vocal feed and concentrated on what was being said.
~~Insolent mortals.~~ It sounded like a multitude of whispering, but there was faintly one main source of thought. ~~You try to defy me. You have failed.~~
"Not till the fat lady sings," John muttered under his breath.
A numerous amount of her tentacles appeared and deftly grabbed a hold of each of John's limbs. Once he was immobilized, the appendage around his waist was removed and it started prodding at his abdomen. Myers almost laughed at the sudden look of confusion on Lilith's face, and he would have if the current situation weren't so dire. The probing intensified and two more tentacles impatiently ripped apart his shirt and exposed his naked skin.
"Hey!" he loudly protested and, with renewed strength, John started struggling against his holds again.
~~Your child…~~
"Let go of me," John futilely demanded.
~~What is it?~~
"What?"
~~The child is demon. I must have it.~~ The rest of his shirt was torn apart and suddenly the writhing limbs paused. There, hanging on a chain around John's neck, was an amulet. The small wooden ornament was engraved with a crude interpretation of three little figures. In Hebrew, the names of the three angels were carved directly above the pictures.
~~What is this?~~ Lilith sounded almost amused. To John's unexpected surprise, the demon reached out with her hand to grab the amulet. Myers briefly had a vision of seeing the hand around the wooden charm sizzle and melt, but to his disappointment nothing happened. Instead, with one sharp tug, Lilith pulled at the amulet, causing the thin chain to break. She threw it over her shoulder and kept her white gaze on John. ~~Foolish. You demon child will receive no reprieve from an oath that protected human infants.~~
John swallowed hard and, with renewed vigor, began struggling in her hold once more. When he felt another prick behind his head, he looked and saw that the tongue that was attached to him had been retrieved. Another tentacle came to take its place and started forcing its way into John's mouth. He stopped moving as it required all his effort to keep his lips pursed against the unwanted intruder. But when the hold around his neck tightened suddenly, the agent let out a small gasp of pain, which allowed the tentacle to slither into his mouth.
John could feel the organ try to work its way down his throat. With the large blockage inside of his pharynx, he found that he was unable to breathe and he could feel himself becoming light headed from lack of oxygen. His eyes began to close as his surroundings became black, until eventually all bodily movement ceased.
>>>>>
Wildcats shall meet with desert creatures…
>>>>>
Abe shook his head to clear it, and immediately regretted it when a sharp pain filled his skull from inside out. Slowly, the merman began to take in his surroundings and saw the other agents with him were lying on the ground, scattered all around and clearly exhausted.
When Abe looked up, all he could see clearly was the Lilith demon, holding John spread out with her tentacles. He started to panic when he realized that one of the serpentine limbs was lodged down the agent's throat and that the man looked unconscious. Desperately, he looked around for Hellboy but couldn't find him. Deciding that it was now up to him to save everyone, Abe hurriedly searched his body for the written incantation he had brought with him.
Praying to all entities above that the spell would have an effect on the she- demon, Abe began to loudly recite the first few phrases:
"You are bound and sealed,
all you demons and devils and liliths,
by that hard and strong,
mighty and powerful bond with which are tied Sison and Sisin…"
He stopped when Lilith looked down at him and started screeching. She began to attack with her tentacles, which he quickly dodged. Now that the she-demon's attention was on Abe, she did not notice a change occurring within the human she held in her grip.
>>>>>
Deep inside the man's body was an unborn entity that realized its continued existence was in peril. Afraid for it's shortened life, as well as for its carrier, mRNA was produced and sent out to appropriate cells, demanding for an increase in hormonal production.
>>>>>
Lilith howled in pain when one of her tentacles was abruptly bitten off and many more torn out. She momentarily ignored the aquatic being to begin assault on her new attacker. The human she had once held was now crouched low to the ground. When he raised his head to look up at her, there were yellow pupils in the eyes and the black viscous liquid of her body fluids dripping from his sharp fangs.
Myers, or the half breed he had once more become, smiled briefly and wiped the liquid from his lips. The sharpened claws on his fingers glimmered with the same dark substance. Before Lilith was able to determine was she was dealing with, the feline demon leaped up high into the air and proceeded to tear deeply into the tentacles she abruptly threw at him. Black liquid splattered everywhere; she could hardly keep up with the quickness of the half-breed.
Meanwhile, with his attacker momentarily occupied, Abe quickly continued on with the chant.
"The evil Lilith,
who causes the hearts of men to go astray
and appears in the dream of the night
and in the vision of the day,
Who burns and casts down with nightmare,
attacks and kills children,
boys and girls.
She is conquered and sealed
away from the house
and from the threshold of Bahram-Gushnasp son of Ishtar-Nahid
by the talisman of Metatron,
the great prince
who is called the Great Healer of Mercy….
who vanquishes demons and devils,
black arts and mighty spells
and keeps them away from the house
and threshold of Bahram-Gushnasp, son of Ishtar-Nahid
Amen, Amen, Selah."
Lilith's movements slowed to a sluggish pace. She was definitely no longer a match for the angry cat demon she fought. Myers somehow knew that his unborn child's life was threatened, and he mercilessly set his sights on destroying the Tortuous Serpent. He ripped and tore and scratched at his weakening opponent. Sharp claws opened up flesh like a hot knife through butter, and he spat out the chunks of vile tissue that he bit off with his fangs.
Abe's voice remained loud and strong. He easily sidestepped the few tentacles that had tried to reach out to stop his chanting.
"Vanquished are the black arts and mighty spells.
Vanquished the bewitching women,
they, their witchery and their spells,
their curses and their invocations,
and kept away from the four walls
of the house of Bahram-Gushnasp, the son of Ishtar-Hahid.
Vanquished and trampled down are the bewitching women --
vanquished on earth and vanquished in heaven.
Vanquished are their constellations and stars.
Bound are the works of their hands.
"Amen, Amen, Selah," Abe yelled as loud as he could. The other agents had picked themselves up by then and had watched the calm merman they thought they had known so well surge with power, his voice becoming a forceful weapon. Then they saw the mild mannered man that was their commanding agent, in all his feral glory, attack at Lilith effortlessly. The men had a feeling that the current situation was now way beyond their scope of training so they stood sensibly off to the side to stay out of the way.
A wind tunnel swirled into being as the last word left Abe's lips. They tornadoed around Lilith, who had weakened dramatically and was protecting the last shred of her existence from the half demon fighting her. One of the wind funnels blew off of the port and into the ocean. There, the waters parted and before long, something was moving within the wind tunnel, blown centrically around and around until it finally broke free from the tornado and landed onto the cemented harbor.
>>>>>
…goat demons shall call to each other…
>>>>>
It was a large red figure standing there, dripping wet and full of wrath. His eyes were blood red and giant horns curved high above his crown. Anung Un Rama stood tall and regal, the dark prince setting his burning eyes upon the female demon. Everyone paused, unsure of what to do. Even Myers momentarily froze in mid-swipe when he saw the newcomer.
The red demon slowly started walking towards Lilith and with a frightening speed, he suddenly had his stone hand around her neck. Tentacles lashed out randomly, reaching for whatever was in its path, as Lilith struggled to escape the lethal hold of the angered demon.
The wind tunnels had disappeared by now and were replaced by a strong gale. The ocean waters of the Atlantic crashed hard against the port and violent waves formed. All eyes were on the two demons and everyone waited to see how the serpent witch would expire. When Anung Un Rama finally opened his mouth, foreign words were spoken loudly.
"Lilith, abitu, abizu, hakash, avers hikpodu, ayalu, matrota…*"
>>>>>
…there too Lilith shall repose, and find a place to rest.
>>>>>
With a loud cry, her final cry, Lilith wavered and twisted until she was surrounded with a screen of smoke. Once the air cleared, all that was left of the she-demon was a statue of her made of dust. Its details blurred as small particles were blown off by the dying wind, and it continued to swirl away until eventually nothing was left. The ocean waves were now calmed to a gentle current and the night sky was silent once more.
"Red?" Abe slowly approached the large demon and breathed a sigh of relief when the eyes became yellow and lucid again.
Hellboy reached up to his horns and broke them off. "I never thought I'd become that demon again," he grumbled.
"How are you feeling?"
"Not too badly, considering I sat like a lump of stone underwater for the last ten minutes." Hellboy picked up his Samaritan from the ground and shook water off of its metallic surface.
"Uh, Red?" Abe sounded decidedly uncomfortable.
"What is it?" He looked up to see the merman pointing behind him. Hellboy turned around and saw Myers still crouched low to the ground. Yellow eyes gazed back calmly at him, but the hybrid's stance was tense and he looked ready to pounce. "Aw crap."
"It must have been a protective mechanism to ensure the baby's survival," Abe mused. "We will have to get him back to the BPRD so that I can inject an antidote into him. Pregnant demons are extremely volatile and dangerous. We must turn John back into his human form."
"Easier said than done," Hellboy muttered as for every step he took towards his lover, Myers jumped back one. "For God's sakes, Kitty… it's me! You're having my baby dammit, the least you can do is remember who I am."
Myers purred warily at him, but continued to keep his distance. Suddenly, he dropped to his knees and hissed in pain. His arms wrapped around his waist and he started vomiting. Without another thought, both Hellboy and Abe ran to his side. The half demon allowed himself to be wrapped up in Hellboy's arms and mewed pathetically. Abe took a hold of his arm, and despite his current situation Myers still tried to swipe at the merman, albeit weakly. Risking injury to himself, Abe grabbed firmly to the pale arm and felt for the wrist.
"We need to get John back to the Bureau now, Hellboy," Abe ordered. "His pulse is weak, and if he is vomiting I am willing to bet that his blood pressure is dropping as well." Hellboy quickly gathered up the whimpering feline demon in his arms and ran towards the van; Abe fast at his side.
"Mission success," Hellboy yelled at the gathering agents. "Head back to HQ immediately. We have one man down."
Abe slammed the door behind them and almost immediately the vehicle started moving. "This is not good," he fretted.
"What's going on, Blue?" Hellboy demanded. "What's happening to John? What's not good?"
"While John was in Lilith's grasps, I witnessed him lose consciousness for a brief while due to suffocation. If he was out for long enough, there is a risk that he may have suffered from brain damage."
"What?" Hellboy tightened his hold on his lover and looked down to see that Myers had his eyes closed and was breathing very faintly.
"It is a small risk as I do not believe he was out for long, but it is something we must not rule out. The other factor that I am worried about is the aggressive handling he endured. A violent enough jar to his system may be enough to cause a miscarriage. It did not help that he also transformed, which places a considerable amount of stress to his physiology." Abe took John's pulse again to reassure himself. "We must get him into the medical ward as quick as we can. I cannot be sure of anything until I perform an ultrasound on him."
"Dammit," Hellboy swore.
"Hellboy," Abe reluctantly continued. "If John indeed did just suffer from a miscarriage… if we do not remove the fetus from his body… we may lose him too."
>>>>>TBC * The secret names of Lilith, revealed to the prophet Elijah. http://www.ritmanlibrary.nl/c/p/exh/kabb/kab_pheb_25.html http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~humm/Topics/Lilith/bowls.html
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