I don't know if I ever posted anything online about this, but I have a Tumblr. So, erm, if you want to ask me some questions or something, you can go on there and do it since I only check my PMs when I log in and post chapters. The link is on my profile. No one probably cares, though.

Started doing ShoutOuts again too. Because I've actually really missed talking to readers.

ShoutOuts ~

Guest: Yes! The feels! Have a Kleenex on me!

~ THEMESONGS ~

Future Starts Slow ~ The Kills

.M.I.W.

15. This World of Chaos

It was an incredibly hot night for it being so early in the summer. Brooklyn's infamous muggy weather was enough to seem like some sort of monster that stretched across the entire, polluted city. It made the air thick, making Belial assume that human tempers would rise with the weather. A Greater Demon could only hope.

He was standing in a shadowed alley, his back leaned casually against one of the brick walls. His hands were in his pockets, and his legs were crossed in front of him at the ankles. His dark gaze was focused on a bar in front of him.

It was lively tonight, many demons had ventured inside to probably kill some poor human. Idiotic things – if they continued what they were doing, they would be killed before the first rays of sunlight. In their place, so many years ago, Belial had been cautious. It was what had gotten him to the position he was in.

But Lilith was cautious too, if not more so. And for that reason alone, Belial could not understand what she was doing in the establishment he had seen her go in. This was a place only the lowest of the weak would venture. Lilith, like him, was of almost-aristocratic standing – she could do so much better.

Hours had passed by like this. Belial watching the bar's entrance with the patience any hunter would envy. He had centuries of practice, doing this. Watching, waiting, thinking.

It was almost too suddenly that he saw Lilith strut out. Lilith, in all of her glory and exuding it through her current human vessel. This one was a small blonde woman, petite in every sense of the word. No one would harm her because of her angelic beauty, not knowing what lay just underneath her skin.

She had two guards stationed on either side of her, which wasn't surprising. Lilith was cautious, after all. She used a large amount of her energy on shifting her soul from one human body to another, had countless guards. Very unlike Belial, who decided manifestation was easier for him, and didn't have much need for guards. Only his champion. The Verdantia. And she was falling into his hands at a steadily increasing rate. It wouldn't be long before she was his.

Of course, there was one obstacle he had to overcome to make sure she stayed this way.

Lilith started moving away from the club, and Belial remembered his objective.

He immediately disappeared in a cloud of black mist, only to appear before Lilith in all of his own glory. He looked down at her, slowly putting his hands in his pockets. She made a show of sizing him up, seeming to appreciate what she saw. A smile quirked at the corner of her mouth, reminding him of something suddenly quite recent. "Hello, cousin."

The guards at her side dared to move forward against him, and Belial glared at them. The demons crippled under his stare, and were immediately exorcised, empty vessels falling to the ground. Lilith looked to her sides, appearing remorseful.

"Oh, Belial, why did you have to do that?" She murmured. "I had put a bit more effort than normal into bringing them from Hell."

"I wanted to talk alone." He answered. "Please, Lilith, do manifest. I don't like talking to masks."

She smirked slyly up at him before the body suddenly dropped to the ground. A black mist spiraled out of the girl's mouth, and the shape of a new woman formed before Belial.

Instead of being petite and blonde, this woman was of an average height, though still on the shorter side. She had dark brown hair that was twisted back into a bun. Her body was no longer frail, instead thin and strong. Now almost being Belial's height, she met his gaze, seeming incredibly bored.

"Well, now you have my complete attention." She informed him. "You didn't tell me you were in the my world, Belial. Last I'd heard, you were in some quaint English village."

"Yes, dealing with one of your spawn." He answered dryly. "Which is why I needed to speak with you."

Lilith arched an eyebrow. "Spawn? No, Belial, that demon was more of a pawn. I didn't think she would be much trouble –"

"She wasn't, I assure you. But her message may be." He answered slowly. "She seemed to make it abundantly clear that she was working for you, and that you are after something very dear to me."

"Oh?" Her lips curled back into a hard smile at the challenge. "And that would be?"

"My ward. The Verdantia."

She seemed to glow in recognition, and Belial didn't like it. It had been five hundred years since he had seen Lilith, and it still didn't seem like enough time to be away from her. She would steal and lie and cheat to get anything she wanted – she went by no system of honor whatsoever. That was something he found incredibly familiar too.

She smiled at him. "So you're the creator of the little imp. Clever use of your power – how many years did it take you to become so strong?"

He didn't answer. She knew how long something like that would take. It made her smile even wider.

"What would you have had her do?"

He wouldn't respond to her toying.

"It must be difficult to come to terms with the fact that your magic is completely wasted." She went on. "All on some bratty, ungrateful child. If I were in your stead, I would have picked someone much more submissive."

"If you know how to push her like I do, you would see that a problem like that doesn't concern me."

"So she has weaknesses."

"She's still human."

"Yes." The smile turned into a hard smirk. "I know."

Belial's frown deepened at the admission. How, though?

She seemed to read his thoughts, which wouldn't be surprising if she was. "Dreams are very powerful things, you know. My first intention was to break her. It isn't in a mortal's place to call my first born – and she had to be punished. Death or insanity seemed adequate enough. Somehow, though, she resisted. For appearing so senseless, she has quite the mental fortitude. Of course, that must have been why you haven't killed her yourself."

After a few minutes of silence, he spoke. "It's like owning a wild animal. If it doesn't trust easily, you must take time to tame it –"

"Or spare yourself the trouble and break it." Lilith practically snarled, causing an abrupt silence once again.

When Belial refused to speak, she continued. "Don't waste my time with your proverbs. Since you couldn't control your little pet, she has stepped onto my territory, and now she is mine. I will not make the mistake of losing her again."

"Only because I've made her useful to you." Belial said. "If I hadn't, you would no longer care."

"Perhaps." Lilith agreed. "Or perhaps it was because her counterpart was proving to be quite interesting. I do like matching sets, you know."

Belial's eyes widened. "How do you –?"

"After seeing the Verdantia growing so well, it made me interested in what else of the Fate was still intact. It turns out your magic was only a catalyst – speeding up what was already in motion. If I can't have her, then I will kill her and take the other."

Belial's temper rose, and he let out a low growl before suddenly letting his fist fly towards her –

Only to have Lilith disappear in a cloud of black mist.

He let out a low growl, venting out his frustration. He should have known there wouldn't be another way. He had only one last resort if he wanted to gain anything out of this growing problem.

"Then I wish to strike a deal with you."

He felt her presence behind him as she manifested again, and could almost feel the victory in her voice.

"Truly?"

.M.I.W.

I do wonder what that was about. After a chapter like the last one, I thought we could use some space from psycho-Madi.