Lilith shot up, her head beating like a drum.
She grimaced at the pain of it, but then it was gone. She didn't feeling anything.
Absolutely nothing.
There was nothing there.
All she remembered was the moon. The full moon. The scorching moon.
"Well, it took you long enough," Sister Mary Eunice pressed a cold, wet cloth to her head roughly. "How does it feel? Like an abyss, dark and bottomless?"
Lilith nodded.
"You'll get used to it."
Lilith tried to speak, but something held her back. Something was controlling her from within.
"Explain what you did to me," She demanded violently.
Mary Eunice laughed, "I called upon a friend, per say, to inhabit you for the time being. Hell, he may not even want to leave. Whatever the outcome, you're going to help me, because he's here now. In you." She jabbed a finger into Lilith's chest.
The nun relaxed onto the bed, "What am I supposed to do?"
Mary smiled at her. It was sweeter than before, but not sincere. Never sincere, "It's simple, really. You will follow all the rules I place before you, and preform all the tasks I require."
Lilith furrowed her brow, "Now, hold on. I get some puny demon and you get the Devil? Can you say short end of the stick, Sister?"
Mary Eunice giggled wickedly, "You're not as limited as you think. Now, meet me in the kitchen at about nine." She stood from her bedside and swiftly exited the room.
There was a lack of warmth. Lilith rubbed her shoulders, trying to bring her body heat up, but it was to no avail. The demon, slowly, achingly, crept around her body, her mind, pressing its cold fingers to her skin, dragging its claws along her bones.
The kitchen was cold and empty, with tiny streaks of moonlight pressing through the window on the wall. Lilith stared out it, grimacing at the shocks of pain caused by the creature inside her. She didn't feel herself. She felt sadistic, evil, and maybe even promiscuous. Yes, promiscuous.
The door banged shut behind her.
Sister Mary Eunice stood in the doorway, a hand grasping Dr. Arden's arm.
"What is she doing here?" he asked in a monotone voice.
"She's going to help us with the Raspers, Arthur. That's the only reason I've dragged you all this way."
Dr. Arden pulled his arm away, "We don't need help."
Something in Lilith wanted to scream at him. Some sort of urge; a fierce shove towards a staccato of hatred.
But she didn't yell, she spoke, very softly, "I think you need a lot more help than you think, Hans."
Sister Mary Eunice cackled, "I knew that Anne Frank doppelganger was right. Wow, a Nazi? Well aren't you impressive."
Arden pointed a finger at the Sister, "I'm done with you." He turned on his heel and stormed out the door.
"Is he always like that?" Lilith asked.
Mary rubbed her cheek, "Last time was a lot more violent, so no."
The two stood in silence for a moment, enjoying the tender bliss of the quiet.
"How'd you know he was a Nazi?" Eunice asked, staring from her blue eyes to Lilith's, "Even I was vacant of that knowledge."
She thought for a moment, "I'm not… not entirely sure." Her voice went deeper, cracking, "But it was the right thing to say."
For a single second, Lilith's eyes flashed the color of fire, a pure, toxic fire that could have caused anyone looking in them to burn away, fall to the ground as ash.
Then it was gone, and the silence was back.
"I was hoping for you to get a little bit more information on our grungy little friends out there," Mary titled her head to the window, "but since he's being an ignorant ass, we'll have to save it for another time. You're excused." The nun took a seat softly, closing her eyes and folding her hands together. Not in prayer, but in thought.
There was no prayer left in Sister Mary Eunice. There was only a morsel of a pure entity, a single speck of something that had once been so good.
Lilith wondered how it felt, to be gone like that. To have everything that made you feel safe stripped away from you, ripped up, and mutilated.
You'll know eventually.
The quad in the center of the convent was calm and serene. It pulled her way from her memories and thoughts, trapping her in a dream.
"You're new, aren't you?" A woman wearing a very neat, long habit stood before her, blocking the warming sun from her skin. Her hair was a dull, undistinguished gray that contrasted heavily with her deep, mossy eyes.
Lilith smiled, "Yes, I'm Lilith Quentin, nice to meet you." She stood, extending a hand.
"Joanna Masterson," She furrowed her brow, staring intently at the young nun. "You're just a little baby, aren't you? You don't look a day over ten."
Lilith pondered this statement. She was entirely sure if it was a compliment or a criticism, but she replied anyway, "Thank you."
"No, don't thank me; thank our Lord for giving you that face. You're like one of those birds from Vermont, aren't you? A pretty little talking bird, repeating all the pretty little words they taught you to recite."
Joanna glared at Lilith in contempt, folding her arms roughly. The Sister was not used to such hate. Her parents were distant to her, but never spiteful. Maybe Joanna was envious. She was old and still in the nunnery, probably a lonely, decrepit soul.
She just smiled, "I don't think I've ever been compared to a bird miss, but I do love them, so again, thank you."
The elder nun mumbled a mimic before taking one last look at Lilith and walking away.
"You won't last more than a week," She spoke; just loud enough for the Sister to hear.
"I hear you met our dear, sweet Sister Joanna. Sure is lovely, isn't she?" Jillian giggled, drying her hair from the bath.
Lilith shrugged, closing the Bible in her hands, "I think she's just unhappy, that's all. Maybe she's been a nun for all her life."
The Sister froze, "Are you implying one day… you'll…you'll renounce you vows?"
"Perhaps. Maybe some charming lad will come and lift me off my feet, our love-struck eyes illuminated by the sun we're riding into. The music will play and everyone will stand and clap. At least, that's how it happens on the silver screen."
Jillian pursed her thin lips, returning to the bathroom to put on her nightgown. Lillian sat the book on the end table, turning off her light and snuggling into the abyss of sheets and pillows upon her bed. The sweet hum of the heater by the window brought a level of comfort she could not describe. It eclipsed her, body and soul, making her one with her thoughts.
