Chapter Nine
"Even though I'm needy and insecure?"
"Yes."
"Even though I'm mousy and short?"
"I happen to think you're the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes upon."
"Even… even though I have to keep everything clean and orderly and start twitching if something is out of place?"
"Actually, I love you in spite of that."
"You awful man!" Lilith burst out into giggles as she lightly beat her fists against Valen's armor.
Valen couldn't help but laugh as he pretended to fend her off. He ended up wrapping an arm tight around her waist and pulling her close so he could kiss her on the nose.
The aasimar and the tiefling were still standing at the entrance to the Reaper's Realm, doing what they could to steal a few moments alone together before rejoining Deekin inside. Of course, standing outside in the cold meant that they had to keep close together, especially since Lilith was wearing very light clothes.
It was a hardship they were willing to endure.
Lilith sighed, snuggling against Valen's chest. "Your timing is awful, you know that? Now all I want to do is be near you, but we have an arch-devil to take down. You just had to go and be sweet and confess everything like that."
A smirk spread over Valen's face as he started running a hand through Lilith's hair. "I'd apologize, but I wouldn't mean it."
"Well, maybe you SHOULD lie. Then I'd have to punish you." She purred as she languidly stroked his tail.
Valen felt a wonderful shiver run through him and he leaned in so that his lips were a hairbreadth away from the sorcerer's. "Maybe I should at that…"
Valen was intent on kissing Lilith so passionately her knees would buckle.
The multiverse was intent on stopping him.
"BOSS!" Deekin burst out of the Reaper's Realm, grinning from ear to ear. He looked like he was about to say something when he noticed what Valen and Lilith were doing. Deekin cocked his head to one side and observed the pair. "Why Boss be looking at goat-man like he be made of chocolate? And why goat-man be looking at Boss like he's going to eat her face?"
Valen and Lilith pulled apart quickly, blushing fiercely and fumbling for explanations.
"Um… well, it was cold… and… and…" Lilith began.
"And to stop from freezing to death we had to stay close." Valen added quickly.
"Right! Because it was cold!"
"Why Boss and goat-man not come inside then?" Deekin asked curiously.
"Uh…" Lilith struggled for a response. "Because our feet have frozen to the ground and we are unable to move."
"Oh. Deekin thinks that make sense." The kobold said as he scratched his head.
Lilith and Valen sighed with relief.
"Was there something you needed, kobold?" Valen asked, more thank a little annoyed with Deekin's timing.
"Oh!" Deekin jumped like he had just remembered something vitally important, and then went back to grinning. "Deekin have VERY good news for Boss, and AWFUL news for goat-man!"
Lilith looked to Valen questioningly. Valen shrugged back.
"What do you mean, Deekin?" Lilith asked the kobold, curious now as to what had happened.
"Come see, Boss!" Deekin grabbed Lilith's hand and dragged her back into the Reaper's Realm. Lilith, in turn, grabbed Valen's hand and smiled at him over her shoulder as if to say 'How bad could it be?'
Apparently it could be very bad. For Valen, anyway.
No sooner had they re-entered the Reaper's Realm than they were greeted by squeals of delight.
"LILITH! ANGLING!" Lilith was immediately swept into the arms of a woman dressed in black clothes lined in rabbits fur and was kissed quickly all over her face.
"C-Coleta?" Lilith blinked, trying to get a good look at her assailant between the kisses.
"Surprise!" Coleta said with a grin, letting go of Lilith.
Valen stared at the woman, unsure of how he felt about this or what to do. Apparently this was the infamous Coleta whom Lilith used to sleep with. He was positive he didn't like that. On the other hand she WAS Lilith's friend, and Valen didn't want Lilith thinking he was an over protective jerk so early in their relationship.
Wait. She already knew he could be over protective.
That made things simpler.
"Care to introduce me to your 'friend', my love?" Valen wrapped an arm around Lilith and pulled her to his chest and away from Coleta. He tried to sound and look as casual as possible, but somehow he knew he was failing horribly.
"Oh, ah…" Lilith hesitated, settling back against Valen. She had hoped this moment would never come. That some how her ex-lover and her current lover would never meet and she could be spared all the awkwardness that came with the situation. "Um, Valen, this is Coleta. Coleta, this is--"
"Oh. My. Gods." Coleta cut Lilith off, staring at the aasimar and the tiefling. "This is Valen?" She asked, eyes wide. "This chiseled god of a man is the tiefling you're doing?"
"COLETA!" Lilith turned several shades of red and looked mortified.
"Well you have slept with him, haven't you?" Coleta asked innocently. "Yes, I'm POSITIVE you've gotten his clothes off."
"Oh gods. This is Hell. This really is Hell." Lilith mewled, covering her face.
Valen's eyes narrowed on the necromancer. "Stop bothering Lilith. Now." The tiefling began to growl. He already hated this woman and couldn't fathom how Lilith called her 'friend.'
"Oh, sweetling! I'm not bothering her." Coleta said.
"Sweetling?" Valen arched a brow.
"Well, you ARE rather yummy looking." Coleta chirped.
Valen blushed. Lilith giggled.
"Coleta can just be… a little overwhelming sometimes. Personality wise." Lilith said with a small smile. "She takes some getting used to."
"I'm all talk." Coleta sang, and then set her pack down so she could rummage through it. "Now, I've brought you some warmer clothing, angling, since you'll need them. And we better get a plan started so we can make good time, and—"
"Um… Coleta? Start from the beginning." Lilith sighed. "Why are you here?"
"Oh! I forgot that part." Coleta giggled as she straightened up. "We're coming with your little group to stop that big nasty devil."
"'We?'" Valen didn't like where this was going.
Coleta nodded, grinning. "Yes! Myself and, you won't believe this—"
"Me."
How Lilith and Valen hadn't noticed the man who spoke before was a mystery. He must have just appeared.
He was there, though, and Lilith was having trouble believing her eyes. The man was slim, obviously faster than he was strong, with pale skin that was colored with a slight red from the scales that seemingly ran all down his sides, from temples to ankles. His hair was short and a faded blonde that matched the faded green of his reptilian eyes. His draconic traits were made all the more apparent by the red scaled wings he held close to his body. This was a man who had a lot of dragon blood in his veins.
This was a man Lilith knew.
"I-Illa?" The word fell from Lilith's lips slowly, her eyes wide and locked on the man who was now smiling just a little.
"Miss me?" The man said as he stretched.
"How is this even possible?" Valen was in shock. The pseudo-dragon had said he didn't have a soul, when he died he should have just ceased to exist. So how was it that he was standing here before them?
Coleta started to giggle and dance around. "I had just come to Cania for a vacation! I wasn't expecting this at all. Illa showed up and explained that you would be here and would need our help, so…" Coleta stuck a pose. "Here we are!"
"Deekin say it be good news for Boss, and bad news for goat-man!" Deekin said as Coleta snatched his hands and began dancing about again.
Lilith was finding it hard to formulate thoughts. "How…? You knew I was going to die? How is it you're even here?" She was trembling now, and grateful that Valen tightened his grip on her to keep her steady.
"I too would like these questions answered." Valen had his eyes trained on the man who was apparently Illa. The tiefling wasn't sure he trusted him. The planes could play tricks on you, especially the Hells. They sought out your weaknesses and did all they could to tear your asunder.
But if this was Illa…
"Ah, questions. I have to admit I have a few myself." Illa mused, crossing his arms and humming a little. "Mainly pertaining to why Betty there has her arms to tightly wrapped around my charge, and if dear Betty has been treating her well. I think I can draw my own conclusions, though.
"As for my being here?" Illa's wings slumped and he looked a little unsure of himself for the first time in his snarky existence. "There's a lot I can't explain yet."
"You expect us to believe that?" Valen snapped, his tail lashing the air as he scrutinized the man. That was too easy and explanation. He wasn't going to trust this apparent Illa and what he said so easily, not if there was a chance Lilith could get hurt.
"Oh will you shut it, Betty?" Illa said, glaring at the tiefling. "For the love of whatever gods may be, haven't we heard all this before? I seem to recall you not trusting Lilith at all. Will you PLEASE get a new act?"
Valen blushed in embarrassment and started to growl. "That was completely different."
"Please stop it, you two." Lilith said quietly, shrinking back against Valen's chest.
Valen gave a start, instantly feeling ashamed of himself. He should have known that this couldn't have been easy for Lilith, and that he was only making things worse.
"I'm sorry, my love." Valen murmured, nuzzling her cheek gently before kissing her.
"Indeed." Illa said easily.
Lilith closed her eyes, trying to sort everything out. "I'm still confused. I thought you didn't have a soul, Illa. How is it that you're here? And… and aren't you supposed to be much shorter with a lot more scales?"
"I too would like an answer regarding that. You had led us to believe that once you died, you were forever gone." Valen said easily, trying not to sound too confrontational for Lilith's sake.
"Ah." Illa hesitated. "Well, for all intents and purposes, I told you the truth. My soul is not my own. I…" Illa stopped and gave a sigh, actually looking a little lost. "I cannot tell you more than that on that subject, at least for now. In truth I only really exist in the Hells."
Lilith furrowed her brow, still trying to figure things out. "So then how…?"
"How did I end up your familiar?" Illa finished for her. "As you can see I still bear a certain draconic resemblance, yes? My essence is manly dragon, and I was gifted, for a time, the form of a pseudo-dragon so that I could walk the prime material plane."
Valen observed Illa carefully. "You make it sound like you serve someone, like someone made you and then gave you your physical form. Are you in truth a slave, or is there even more to you than meets the eye?"
"I serve someone willingly. I cannot recall why or how I was made… it was so long ago and I do not know when I became able to form conscious thought. The person I serve now took me in and gave me purpose. They gave me a real life." Illa paused for a moment, seemingly lost inside himself and his memories. He continued quietly, distracted. "I was gifted the physical for so that I could watch over Lilith and try to keep her safe."
Lilith felt Valen tighten his grip on her, and she began to stroke one of her armored arms with the tips of her fingers reassuringly. "Someone wants me protected? Why?" Lilith asked. She hesitated, thinking back to when she was dead and the names she had remembered. "This… this has something to do with a woman named Tiana, doesn't it?"
Illa nodded, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Yes, it does, though I cannot say what it has to do with that woman specifically, or who she is. I will simply say that a promise was made a long time ago, and that promise means your protection."
Valen was growling softly, growing more and more frustrated. "You know much more than you are willing to tell us. Why lie, why keep secrets?"
"Eh, you still don't get it yet?" Coleta had stopped dancing with Deekin, and now held the very content kobold tightly to her chest like a teddy bear. "Valikins, I thought you were smarter than that." She sighed.
Valen raised a brow. "Valikins?" He shook his head, focusing on his frustration and not Coleta's use of pet names. "If you're so clever, necromancer, why don't you explain it to us?"
Coleta grinned and rolled her eyes. "It all has to do with Lilith's memory. Scales over there can't say anything relating to his bosses that she hasn't remembered on her own."
"I hate you." Illa shot at Coleta, almost as an after thought.
"Is she telling the truth, Illa?" Lilith asked.
"Yes, in part." Illa said with a nod. "Though I myself have not been informed of your past, or who you were, I do know some things you knew. I'm not allowed to tell you anything because there's a reason why you haven't regained your memories yet. You aren't ready to remember. It may not be pretty if you're told something you aren't ready to handle yet."
Lilith looked to the ground, unsure of how to handle what she had been told or what it all meant. "I have… had a sister, didn't I? She's dead now… and this Tiana person is someone powerful. A demon, or a sorcerer, I'm guessing." She said, trying to piece a few things together.
At this Valen tightened his grip on Lilith once more and took a protective stance. He turned Lilith a little as he wrapped his tail around her waist and tilted her head up so she was looking at him. "No matter what, I'll be here for you. No matter who you were or what beings have an interest in you. Even if you never remember anything more than what you have, I will always be here."
Lilith's eyes were riveted on the tiefling's face as he spoke, and for a moment she was overwhelmed by the sheer depth of his love for her. She'd have doubted that Valen really existed if he hadn't been holding her so tightly. "I love you." She said quietly as she leaned up to gently kissed him, then nuzzled in against his neck.
Illa smiled just a little. "Tiana is benevolent, at least. I can assure you of this. I wouldn't serve her if she meant ill." Illa said in a tone that clearly said he wasn't lying. "She is the one who told me of your arrival in Cania, and where to find Coleta."
Coleta giggled a little. "You REALLY wanted to go through a land filled to the brim with dead people WITHOUT a necromancer?"
Deekin tried to push himself out from between Coleta's breasts as best he could. "Deekin be having trouble breathing, witch lady." He said.
"Oh hush. If you didn't want to be smothered by pretty women then you should stop being so cute." Coleta sang.
"No offence, but neither of you will receive a warm welcome in Cania and it was deemed a good idea for a friend or two to tag along with you two and the kobold." Illa said.
Valen had to admit this was true. Aside from the obvious problems Valen would have in the Hells, Lilith was going to stand out like a shining beacon of holiness in this evil land. The thought of the things devils, or even demons, did to celestials caught in the Hells or the Abyss made Valen shudder.
The tiefling had already seen what one devil had done to Lilith. He wouldn't let it happen again.
"We need to find the Reaper's true name so he can send us back to Toril." Lilith said, looking at Illa and Coleta with the side of her face that wasn't pressed tight against Valen.
"We NEED to get you into some warmer clothes." Coleta said, setting Deekin down. The necromancer seemed excited, like they were going on some massive 'for fun' road trip. "Come on! Celestial resistances won't help you in the Hells! I have some warm clothes you can borrow. It's black, and probably too big for you, but the black banishes negative energy and I can probably tie things together for you."
"Nothing low cut. Valen doesn't need the distraction." Lilith said gently nudging the now blushing demon.
Coleta laughed. "Come on! I want to hear all the gossip about your new lover, and I absolutely need to how much better he is than me." The necromancer grabbed a protesting Lilith by the hand and pulled her with her over to her pack with Deekin following close behind.
This left Illa and Valen watching each other, glaring at each other as if in a war for dominance. The tension between the two was nearly palatable, as if there was a strong mutual hatred just waiting to be released. It was only a few minutes before Valen spoke, but it had felt like hours since either of them had moved.
"If you so much as think about hurting her--" Valen started, his tone low and dangerous.
"--I'll make you beg for death." Illa finished in a hiss, his eyes narrowed.
They glared at each other for a few moments more before Illa briskly walked past Valen to step outside.