SHEDIM CHATUL

PART 3

It was late when I returned home. I was tired and wasn't in the mood to deal with Edward when he knocked on my door. "I'm going to bed," I shouted without opening it.

"Could I please see you?"

"Not tonight," I said changing into my jammies.

"Bella, are you mad at me?" he sounded so sad.

I sighed and opened the door. "I'd have to know who you are to be justifiably mad at you, and I don't."

"We have to get married this weekend. Do you have anything planned yet?"

"You're not serious, are you?"

"Bella, he said you'll die! I can't let that happen." He reached out and lightly rubbed my arm. His touch melted me, and he eased me into a hug. "I missed you," he whispered against my hair.

I let out a sigh and pulled him into my apartment the rest of the way and down to my room. He stripped down to his boxers, and we snuggled in bed quietly. I knew I should ask him questions about himself and demand real answers, but I didn't have it in me to fight for them at the moment and went to sleep instead.

My phone was dinging up a storm the next morning. I felt Edward reach over and grab it for me. "Hey, where did you find this picture?"

"A graveyard, why?"

"I've seen this before. I can't quite place it, but I've seen it somewhere."

I was suddenly wide awake. "Was it in your building? This symbol is actually connected to your building. I'm doing some research for a client who has the original deed for the land from 1622."

"Wow, that's really cool. You can come check out the building itself if you want. Down in our basement laundry room is a weird wall. It looks older than the rest of the building, but I never thought anything of it until now."

"Let's go check it out," I said pulling him out of bed. I ran ahead of him, eager to see if there were any more clues as to what was going on.

There were three full normal-looking cement walls in his basement, and one half-cement wall. There was an archway that had been bricked up by old stones, and oddly enough, it had the sign of the Freemasons on it. "They'd put this on sacred or forbidden places. It's odd that it's here." I started rubbing the old crumbling mortar from the bricks.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm opening it."

"What if it's loadbearing?" Edward worried. He stepped back, looking at it dubiously.

"I won't remove the arch."

I was able to get one brick free and turned on my flashlight app to see what was in there. It was a small room and looked to be full of ash. "Everything is black," I said yanking on another brick.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to go in there."

"You can't go in there." I knocked four more bricks loose. "Bella, stop, you can't do this."

"Yes, I can, go lock the door, so we don't get caught," I said knocking in a few more bricks. The hole was almost big enough for me to climb through.

"You don't know what's in there!"

"Exactly, that's why I'm going in."

"I'll bet there are spiders," he taunted like it would scare me.

It wouldn't, but I thought it was funny how he thought it would. I flashed my light around, looking for the presence of creepy crawlies, and I was shocked to find none. "There aren't any," I said puzzled.

I stuck one leg in the hole and tapped the floor. I was relieved to find it was solid stone and proceeded to enter.

"You're insane, woman!" he screeched.

He had no idea. I was carrying a baby a demon was after. You could bet for damn sure I was going to do everything in my power to save it. I carefully pushed the ash around with my foot and took a closer look at the walls of the room. It looked to be a prison of some sort. I didn't realize monasteries had prisons.

I bumped my shoe on something solid and shined my light down on what looked to be a hand-hewn metal box. It had a few odd symbols of protection on it. I thought it strange that the Catholic faith would employ them. Of course, it might have just been this one person who had been a prisoner. I carefully examined the box before attempting to pick it up. I didn't want to damage it in any way.

When I squatted down to reach for it, it moved away from my hand. I looked down at my stomach and wondered if it was having a reaction to the baby. "Edward, come try and pick this up."

He reluctantly climbed through the wall, walked over to the box, and lifted it with ease. "I need to take this to the library, so I can examine it with my equipment. Come on," I said climbing out of the burn-out prison cell.

I found that as long as I didn't try and touch the box, I could look at it. I found where the latch was and asked Edward to open it. A leather-bound book had been locked inside. I excitedly ordered Edward to remove it from the box and carefully approached it. I was thrilled when nothing happened. I could handle the book. I put on my gloves and got right to work translating the old English script.

Edward cleared his throat and looked at me expectantly, "Well, what is it, some sort of spell book?"

"Not even close. It's a journal of a priest from what I can tell. This first part is just notes on scripture and sermons."

"Then why was it in the box with all those symbols on it?"

"I'm getting to that. This is gonna take a while. You can go home, and I'll call you when I get to the good stuff."

It was six hours later when I got to the reason for it being hidden. The priest had gone astray. He had thought that by hiding his confessions in the box, it protected him from what he considered the "punisher," and that he wouldn't be held accountable for them. Of course, being a priest, he should have known he couldn't hide his adulterous ways from God. He had been locked up, because he'd been accused of being unclean and allowing one of the immortal prostitutes loose to wreak havoc. The monastery had been built in an effort to combat the demon, and used to seal it in. His actions had released it.

When I went home, Jasper, Alice and Edward were all waiting for me. Alice about jumped down my throat. "You didn't answer any of my texts!"

I looked at my phone and grimaced. "I'm sorry, Edward distracted me, and I ended up finding out some pretty cool stuff. I think the demon is an immortal prostitute."

"I agree," Jasper said pulling out a book. "I looked up some of the symbols that seemed to be pieced together to make the one you sent Alice. All of them stand for protection. It's like the designer was making a supernatural shield."

There was a knock on my door. I had no clue who it was, so Edward answered it for me. "Mom, what are you doing here?" he asked surprised.

"I wanted to see how the plans for the wedding were coming. I brought over a few books for Ms. Swan to look at." She walked in and saw the open sketch of the protection shield. "Why do you have a picture of the family crest?"

"Family crest?" Jasper asked shocked.

"Yes, the women of my husband's family are all given one when they first start to date. He said it was an unbreakable tradition that his parents were very adamant about. I thought it odd, but I wear it." She pulled out a chain from under her blouse and held up a pressed silver medallion with the symbol on it. "Edward has one as well, though I've never seen him wear it. My husband gave one to Tanya while they were together as well. I believe she still wears hers. I should talk to my husband about having one made for Bella."

"I don't think the baby will let me wear it. All protection symbols tend to affect us negatively," I said frowning.

"If you have one of these, Edward, you should definitely be wearing it," Jasper admonished.

"Um, okay, I'll go and get it," he said and slipped out the door.

He was only gone a moment, when we heard the screeching of tires and a horrible thud. I ran to the window and screamed at what I saw. Edward lay lifeless in the road, and Lilith was crying over his body. We heard the sirens. Esme and I were down by his side immediately.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hit him. He came out of nowhere and just darted into the street," she cried to me.

He had been in a hurry to go get his medallion. I hugged her, trying to keep her from hyperventilating. When the ambulance guy saw her freaking out, he came over to check on her. I wasn't surprised to see Esme glaring at her. I was surprised, when she took off her necklace and wrapped it around Edward's ankle. "Don't take this off of him," she ordered. "I'm his mother, and if it comes off, I'll sue the ever living crap out of your hospital and have you shut down."

"It's hospital policy to remove all jewelry, Ma'am."

"Not this piece you won't, and I'm coming with you," she stated and climbed into the ambulance. She reached into Edward's pocket and tossed Jasper Edward's keys. "Go to his apartment and find his leather cuff. Bring it to the hospital."

"I'm on it," Jasper said hustling across the street.

The paramedic suggested Lilith come in to be checked out, and I volunteered to drive her in. It just so happened that the closest hospital was the one she worked at and the one Edward was being taken to.

"Thank you so much, Bella. I'm so sorry. I don't know what happened. I was just on my way home, and then he was suddenly there in front of me," she sobbed.

The baby started kicking, like it could tell someone was upset nearby. I shifted uncomfortably.

"Are you okay? Is the baby alright?" she asked worried.

"Yeah, they're just being active. At this stage in my pregnancy, there isn't a lot of room, so they tend to kick important organs."

"Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?" she asked.

"No, they weren't able to tell, they were being modest."

"You're so lucky to be able to experience that. I can't have children," she confided and rested her hand on my tummy. The baby became oddly still, giving me some peace, so I could drive and not have to worry about peeing my pants.

We drove the rest of the short distance in silence, her hand still resting awkwardly on my belly. "I have a friend in the maternity ward who can check me out. Have you toured it yet?" she asked.

"No, I really need to check on Edward, if you're okay."

"Yes, of course, how silly of me. Go on and see how your baby daddy is doing. Maybe you can learn some of his secrets from his mother while he's out."

That kind of pissed me off, but instead of retaliating, I rushed off to find out how Edward was doing. I found Esme, Jasper and Alice.

"I've called Tanya down," I overheard Esme say, and I felt like I'd been slapped. She had called his ex-girlfriend to come see him. It wasn't even an hour earlier that she had been planning my wedding to her son.

"How is he?" I asked.

Alice hugged me, and Esme glared. "He'll be fine, now that I know how to protect him and who from," his mother snapped.

Alice and I both stood shocked. "Ma'am, what do you mean by that?" Jasper asked irked.

"The family symbol will keep him safe. He doesn't need to marry that tainted woman who's obviously friends with the demon. I'll bet they set this whole thing up to trap him and drag his soul down to hell," she ranted.

"What are you talking about?" Alice asked.

"That woman who hit my baby boy, she's the demon. I could see it in her eyes, and my necklace got hot. It's done it a few times in my life, but I never thought anything of it, until you told me what it was." She held up her wrist that bore a leather cuff with the symbol. "I'm safe, and so is my son. I'll trade off with him as soon as I can, but I'm not letting you or you demon harlot friend anywhere near him."

"What do you mean you could see it in her eyes?" Jasper asked.

"They shined brighter when she hugged Bella."

"I've seen that, too. The first time we shook hands. It was unsettling, but I just thought it was a play on the lighting. It can't be her, I was already pregnant when we first met," I informed them. I didn't think Lilith was a demon; other than not liking Edward, she was really nice to me.

"When did you lose your cat?" Jasper asked sternly.

"I don't know; he just stopped coming home."

"Think hard, Bella, was it before or after you met her that your cat went missing?" he pressed.

"It was after he went missing. I was hanging a lost pet sign when I first met her."

"You said Tanya could see things?" he addressed Esme.

"Yes, she claims to, and she warned Edward about the cat," she answered.

Tanya rushed into the doors and looked around frantic. Esme waved her over. "I'm so glad you're here. That woman's a demon, isn't she?" Esme pointed at me accusingly.

Tanya furrowed her brow at me and looked at me closer. I was curious what her take of me was at the moment. "She's not," she reached toward my tummy, but didn't touch it. "The baby isn't quite yet, either, but there is something about it that's different. It's not quite right. Does that make sense?" she turned and asked the others.

"That makes perfect sense," Jasper agreed.

"She's not a demon?" Esme asked confused.

"I told you she wasn't. She's more a victim in this mess than your son. She's guaranteed death upon delivery of that child, though, and there's only one way to save her, if I fail in killing the demon."

"Well, you'd better not fail, because I'm not risking my son. That thing already attacked him once. I'm not letting it happen again."

"It attacked him?" Tanya asked shocked.

"It was driving a car and hit him with it," Alice explained. "What was your friend's name again? It was something unusual."

"It's not that unusual. Her name is Lilith."

"Holy shit!" Jasper swore. We all looked at him to see his wide-eyed pale expression.

"Have you heard of her before?" Alice asked.

"Every demonologist in the world has heard of her. She's one of the original wives and the only infertile one. I can't believe…oh crap…I have to…I'm gonna need more blood. Bella, do you mind coming with me? This is a lot worse than I thought."

I followed him, shaking. I was afraid for my baby, myself and Edward. Jasper took me to an odd little apartment, where Jacob seemed to be waiting for us. "Is the room clean?" Jasper asked him.

"Yes, Sir, it's clean and clear of all entities."

"Okay, Bella, I want you to get comfortable. I'm going to draw some blood and then lock you in a salt circle. It'll keep you trapped inside, but also keep Lilith out. She won't be able to touch you, okay?"

I nodded yes, knowing Jasper was my only hope.

Jasper and Jacob worked late into the night. They mixed my blood with several other things. I watched in fascination, wondering if I'd ever understand what they were doing. The salt circle had to be broken several times for me to use the restroom. Jacob suggested they bring in a camp toilet, but I absolutely refused to use the restroom with them present. After two nights of no word on Lilith's whereabouts and a sore back from sleeping on a recliner, I finally begged Jasper to just let me go home.

Just like MJ, Lilith had disappeared. Edward had a broken leg and was stuck staying with his mother. She insisted he be where she could care for him and protect him. I had to get back to work, but was scared. I told Jasper that Lilith often came to visit there, so he devised a plan to make a salt circle discreetly around the building, once I was inside.

We fell into a routine of Jasper taking me to work and him securing a circle once I entered, and in the evenings, he'd come let me out and take me home. He made a circle around my bed at night as well, to keep me safe from the demon, since that was when it was known to visit people.

Edward had been at his mother's for about a month, when movers came and packed up all of his things. I hadn't seen or heard from him, and I missed him desperately.

I was pushing thirty-eight weeks, when Carlisle came in. I had completely forgotten about him and his deed. "You never got back to me on my deed. Did you find anything interesting?"

"I'm so sorry. My boyfriend was hit by a car, and I haven't been able to focus since. I did find some interesting stuff." I waved him over to my work station and carefully took out the priest's journal that had gone untouched for the past couple of months.

"Wow, that looks old, where did you get it?"

"This is actually from your building."

"My building?"

"Yes, I'm not sure if you were aware, but there was a Freemason-protected door that this was hidden behind. It was locked in that box over there." I didn't even bother trying to pick it up.

"May I?" he asked to handle it.

"Yes, go ahead. It's technically yours."

"Really?" he eagerly picked it up and examined it.

"It's covered in markings for protection. This journal was hidden inside of it. I believe it was the box that saved it, when the fire ravaged the monastery."

"This is from the monastery?" he asked excited.

"Yes, I don't think it's related to you specifically, but I suspect that the journal keeper's actions did affect your family. What I did find curious is that there were three daughters of John Platt who all died within a year of each other. They were buried outside of the church cemetery, but their parents were buried inside of it, along with two brothers. The ones buried inside the cemetery had a unique marking on their headstones. It basically called for protection using nearly every religion known to man. The fact that they were Protestant and were buried there, and that the church also allowed the engravings, is very significant. That does deserve a second look. I'm pretty sure it had something to do with why they donated the land to the Catholic Church. I told you there was more to the story."

"That you did."

"I hope you continue to look into it. I'm going to be off for a while. I'm not sure if I'll be able to come back," I said fighting back tears. There was no guarantee that I'd survive the birth of my child.

"Of course, your baby, how far along are you now?"

"Thirty-eight weeks, it can come anytime now."

"Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"

"No, they couldn't see," I rubbed my belly worried.

"Bella, I brought something for you, and I have a confession to make."

He set his briefcase on my work table. He had some sort of legal document and a jewelry box. He went to hand me the box, but a wave of nausea hit me, and I just made it to the trashcan.

"Are you alright, dear?" Carlisle asked worried.

"Yes, sorry. You'd think morning sickness would be over by now," I covered. I had a feeling I wasn't going to like what was in the jewelry box.

"How about we try this again?" he said and opened the little box and set it in front of me. I kept my distance, because I was close enough to see what it was.

"Where did you get that? That's the symbol that's on their markers."

"There's a tradition in my family to always give these to those who are close to us. They were thought to protect you against evil."

"That's very flattering, Carlisle, but if I'm going to get involved with anyone right now, it'd be with Edward. I'm really not interested in anyone else," I tried to let him down gently.

He laughed. "That's good to hear, because I'm not giving you this on behalf of myself, but on behalf of my son."

"I'm sure he's a very nice boy, but-"

"Bella, I've brought the pre-nup for you to sign, so you can marry Edward."

"Edward?" I looked him up and down a little closer.

"My last name is Cullen. I'm Edward's father, and he's been trying to escape my wife's clutches since she brought him home from the hospital. He's worried about you and wanted to let you know he plans on going through with the wedding. He's asked me to have you sign this and pick up the marriage license. He said it was important that you wed before the baby is born. Are you in agreement with his plan?"

I still didn't know Edward very well, but after Jasper's reaction, I was willing to marry Edward, just to be safe, until Jasper could do something about Lilith. I nodded yes timidly, afraid that my desperation would shine through.

"Would you like to look these over before you sign them?" he asked handing me the pre-nup.

I flipped to the back. "No, I trust him."

"You trust the skilled liar now?"

"I don't really have a choice, do I?"

Carlisle frowned, but took the signed document back. "Do you mind coming with me to the courthouse to purchase the marriage license?"

I worried nervously on how I'd make it out of the protective circle, but I had to get out, so I could get the license. That was the one thing that could truly save me. "Sure," I said and headed to the door. Thankfully, Alice showed up.

"Where are you headed off to?" she asked curious.

"This is Edward's father. We're going to buy a marriage license."

"You're marrying his dad?" she shouted shocked.

"No, Edward wants to marry me and sent his father to come collect me. We're going to go to the courthouse right now. Would you mind walking us out?" Thankfully, she got the hint and broke the circle, so we could leave without incident. Of course, that didn't last for long. Shortly after we bought the license, my water broke. Right on the courthouse steps, to be exact.

That was when I saw her. Lilith stood across the street with a huge wicked grin on her face. I knew she had come for us. Carlisle shocked me, when he picked me up in one swooping motion and ran to his car. He rushed to the hospital with skilled speed and was calm, as he called Edward and let him know what was going on. They were talking on the car Bluetooth, and I burst into tears, when I heard his voice after being deprived of it for so long.

"I saw her, Edward, I'm scared," I cried.

"I'm on my way. I'll call Jasper and Alice. We'll meet you there," he promised and hung up, leaving me feeling empty and alone.

Carlisle was surprisingly supportive and completely opposite of his wife. I really hoped she didn't stop us. The doctor checked me and happily told me I was dilated to a nine.

"How can that be? My water just broke. Labor doesn't go that fast."

"Well, it did, honey, and that's a good thing," the doctor tried to soothe. They didn't realize that the faster it went the closer to death I was.

My eyes landed on Carlisle's briefcase. I didn't know why he had brought it in, but I had an idea. "Carlisle, can you bring my necklace over to me? I want to look at it."

I knew I couldn't touch it, but once the baby was born, I planned to slip in on right away, in hopes it would prevent Lilith from killing me, and then I'd have a chance at saving my baby.

He was confused by my request, but set the little box on the bedside table.

I felt the transition in my body and knew it was time to push. "I don't think he's going to make if for the birth," I cried.

Carlisle squeezed my hand. "It's okay. He'll be there for the other important parts in the baby's life."

The baby had just crowned, when a couple of nurses walked in wearing gear that covered them from head to toe. I knew she was trying to hide, but her eyes were unmistakable. "Get her out of here. I don't want that woman anywhere near my baby!" I shouted pointing at Lilith. I turned to Carlisle, frantic. "You can't let her touch the baby. Whatever you do, you can't let her near it. Carlisle is to hold it and no one else." I saw he wore a cuff with the protective symbol and hoped it would be enough to stop Lilith from taking my baby. I shoved him toward the foot of the bed, and the doctor looked up at him and gave him a nod, like he was willing to do what I asked. With his consent, I finally pushed. My daughter was born just moments later and was promptly handed to Carlisle. The baby seemed to scream louder, and I worried that the close proximity of the symbol was hurting her, but Lilith was hovering. I quickly snatched the necklace from the bedside table and put it on, so thankful that it didn't make me feel sick. "Don't let her near the baby!" I shouted.

Lilith turned to me, and her eyes seemed to glow brighter. She took a few deliberate steps, but stopped suddenly. Her eyes landed on my new necklace, and she sneered. "That child is mine," she hissed lowly and turned back to Carlisle, who seemed to be at a loss when it came to his screaming granddaughter. He brought her over to me, as soon as the nurse checked her out, and I was thankful the baby settled down in my arms. It didn't escape my notice that her eyes were a vivid gold color, just like Lilith's.

The sound of rushed footsteps was followed by Edward, Jasper and Alice crashing into the room. Their eyes darted to the baby in my arms, and I quickly pointed to Lilith, who stood in the corner of the room, waiting for something. I didn't understand why the other hospital workers hadn't kicked her out of the room, when I had asked that they not let her near my baby. It was as if they were ignoring her presence.

"Did you get the license?" Edward asked his father.

"Yes, I have it with me."

"Good, let's get started. Jasper, you can officiate, right?" Edward asked him.

"Yup," he answered, and Lilith screamed, but the nurse in the room didn't seem to notice.

"You can't do this! That baby is mine!" she wailed.

Jasper ignored her, and we plowed through our vows, ending with "for all eternity," not "in death do us part."

"This isn't over," she hissed. "You may have saved yourselves, but that baby is mine. One look at her eyes is proof of that." She had just finished that phrase, when she collapsed to the floor. Alice was behind her and had stabbed her in the back. Again, no one took notice of what was going on as they finished cleaning up, while Alice used six more knives, ending up stabbing Lilith a total of seven times.

Lilith looked up at us confused. "How?" She touched one of her wounds that were bleeding. "It's not possible. Who betrayed me?"

"That would be your daughter. I used her blood and your demonic genetic material to create a weapon to kill you once and for all," Jasper growled.

She shook her head no at him, still not believing the inevitable, but crumbled to ash on the ground.

"I'm going to need to bind these in a grave, so there's no way she can return," Jasper said gathering the ashes.

I looked down at my daughter, relieved she was finally safe, and noticed her eyes had changed to a newborn blue color. Edward slipped a little band around our daughter's ankle that had the protective symbol on it. Lilith might have been gone, but we knew she wasn't the only one out there. I was just happy we were safe for the moment.

The adrenalin rush caught up to me, not to mention having a baby was exhausting, so I turned my daughter over to my husband and fell asleep. When I woke up, it was several hours later, and Edward and our daughter were asleep across the room. He looked different from before, and after a bit of studying his features, I realized the gray was gone from his temples, and he looked much younger. Curious, I opened the little vanity built into the patient table and saw the same was true for myself. Our stolen life force had somehow been returned to us. That was how I knew it was finally, truly over.

Edward took us home to my apartment and stayed with me. Just like he'd promised before, we bought a little house in the suburbs, and he worked from home. It turned out that his family owned Masen Investments, and he was very well off. I was surprised he wanted to stay married to me, even after Lilith was dead and we were okay, but he reminded me that he had been interested in me before the whole mess had started, and we had the rest of our lives to fall madly in love.

I was looking forward to it.