Page 55 of I Am the Night

I close my eyes and imagine the place I want to go, then I open them and find myself standing before an ornate door carved of cherry wood. I use the door knocker and a moment later, a young woman with cat ears and a tale opens it. She's wearing a white fur jumpsuit and smiles when she sees me. "Eve!" she hugs me, and I laugh as I return the hug.

"You look happy," I say, so pleased she seems to be settling in well to her new life, after being a sex slave to The Collector.

"I am, thanks to you." She turns to escort me in. "Mistress Lilith will be delighted to see you."

"Hopefully that's still true after she finds out why I'm here," I say.

Lilith's mansion is a vision of class and sophistication, much like the ancient vampire herself.

She's sitting at a white grand piano in her all white living room, playing a complicated piece I don't recognize. She stops when she notices us, and stands, adjusting her crimson red dress as she walks over to greet us.

She looks like a drop of blood in her pristine parlor, and the contrast is striking. Lilith is one of those beings who always stands out from their environment, but in a way that is complimentary, as if the world is orientating itself around her.

"Eve, how lovely to see you," she says, kissing both my cheeks, then offering me a glass of wine.

"Actual wine, I hope?" I say, sniffing at it.

She laughs. "Of course, darling. I know you haven't yet developed a taste for the finer things. But give it time."

It's my turn to laugh. "I think I'm good, thanks though."

We sit across from each other and she leans back and studies me, her long sharp nails clicking against her wine glass which is definitely not filled with actual wine.

"It's been ages since you've come by for a visit. I hear you've been digging in the dirt with the peasants."

"Your elitism is almost offensive," I say smoothly, "were it not for the fact that I know you donated the money to feed and clothe everyone for nearly two months while we worked."

She wrinkles her nose. "How did you find out? It was meant to be anonymous."

"You just told me," I say, winking.

She rolls her eyes. "I cannot believe that trick worked on me. I must be losing my edge in my old age."

Lilith might be the oldest person alive, or undead, rather, but she looks in her prime, with flawless skin and luminous dark eyes that are keenly intelligent and full of secrets.

I fill her in on the details of my life the past few months, then I get to the crux of it. "I need your help."

"Of course you do," she says. "You have that look about it. Always getting into some kind of mischief. It's part of why I adore you. It's never boring when you're around."

"The dead dragon body count would disagree," I say.

"Tragic, truly, but still not boring."

To Lilith, boring is the worst offense. I guess when you've lived that long, everything else is just shades of perspective.

I decide to say this as bluntly as possible. "The world will end in less than two weeks, and I will die with it, unless we can defeat the Mother of the Dragons. Will you help me find a way to stop her?"

Lilith leans forward, putting her glass of blood down. "Oh my, this truly is the most excitement I've had in quite sometime. Amora is back is she? I had a fling with her once ages ago, but she is too racist for my taste."

"Is there anyone you haven't slept with?" I ask with a laugh.

She winks. "You, for one."

"Well, if we don't stop her soon, I won't be around as an option for much longer."

"Then I guess we're going to have to play chess with the most powerful being in all the worlds I know of," she says with a conniving smile. "And in this game, there is no king."

I take a sip of my wine before asking, "Where do we start? How do we get to her?" I tell her about the unicorn horn dagger I have, and her eyes widen.

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