Lillian placed her hood back over her head and fled. She ran swiftly, and lightly and despite it being one of the busiest times of the evening, the most anyone saw was a black cloak turning out of sight in the corner of their eye, or 'I swear I just saw something move over... never mind.'
It was not until the next morning that the body was found.
'Marcus Owens, a known rapist and drug dealer has been found dead. The police had been on the hunt for him for several months now, but unable to locate him. He appeared to be the most recent victim to the serial killer. The police have made a statement saying that there should be no undue concern and that they are investigating every lead they have. If anyone has any information, please come forward-'
She switched off the holovid. The police's attempts to find her were laughable – they had no leads, they hadn't worked out who she was targeting yet.
The comm unit beside her crackled.
'...Copy? I repeat, does anybody copy? This is code red. Someone from the inside is targeting the syndicate. I repeat, we are being targeted. Do...'
The static was too loud to make out words anymore, but she had already heard enough. Lillian smiled – so someone had worked out her pattern, and it was exactly who she had hoped.
They would be running scared, they would know they were being hunted, and she would chase each and every one of them down before finally turning to her... The lodubyal ot... the Mistress.
The Mistress was the one who had given her the order to abort her unborn child, but Lillian had refused. She could remember that day clearly:
'You must give up this foolish quest. What do you gain from it?'
'Who says I must gain anything, except the fulfilment of motherhood?'
You will disable yourself, weigh yourself down with a child simply for that?'
'Yes.'
'You must have it killed. I will not have one of my soldiers pregnant.'
'No! I will not do that. I will not harm this child, and neither will you.'
'It is an order.'
'Then I quit.'
'You cannot. The only way to leave the syndicate is death.'
'Very well.'
And with that, she had left. She made her plans... If the only way to leave was death, then so be it, but it would not be her death, nor that of her unborn child that she had already grown to love.
No – she would hunt down each and every single one of them if it meant her child would be safe.
She rested her hand on her belly as she looked in the mirror. At the moment, her shape was not too large, and yet it was distinctly rounded. She smiled... She had always wanted to be a mother, despite her lifestyle choices. She did not see why she could not be both a mother and a huntress. She would be like a morakos, she thought, a formidable creature not unlike a Terran lioness who could kill without a second thought and yet she would also mother her cub, love it and nurture it. She smiled when she remembered that the Standard translation for a morakos was Shadow-killer. Yes... That suited her just fine.
Whoever her child would grow up to be, she would always love him or her. She would always protect her.
She closed her eyes and imaged a girl, about four years old. Her red curly hair cascading down her back as she ran through a field while holding up the skirt of her long gold dress that suited her grass-green skin almost seeming to glow in the warm sunshine and her huge smile was simply exuding happiness.
As she opened her eyes, her smile matched that of the child that she knew she would sacrifice anything for.
Lillian changed her black catsuit for a long white dress. Normally this dress would drag on the floor, but her new shape meant that now it was the perfect length. She pulled the front of the dress in under her stomach and looked one more time at its curve, before letting it go, pulling on a matching white cloak, and stepping out the house.
She breathed in a lungful of fresh air, and looked up at the brilliant stars.
For the first time in her existence, she had her whole life ahead of her. She rested her hand on her stomach and thought what a wonderful life it would be.
