Chapter 230 – A Meeting In a Nameless Village

Lilyth - Day 29 - 97 Days Remain

I started to suspect we were fucking cursed when we were resting in a village that was called, and I shit you not, “Without a Name”. At least that's what my translator was saying. It could have been it glitching out, but given how I knew of at least two villages in Ukraine called Bezimenne, or “Nameless”, I wasn't sure it was actually an error.

At least it is not a “Nowa Wieś”, or New Village, equivalent.

The encounter we had there was truly a chance one, and probably wouldn't have happened if we had followed our initial plan for the evening.

You see, at first, we wanted to spend the night outside and only enter Without a Name, henceforth known as Lazyfucksville, because Jesus Christ, how lazy you can be, in the morning, but soon afterwards we all developed a bad case of Get-there-itis and figured “might as well sleep under a roof”.

We planned to spend a few days in Lazyfucksville to rest after nearly a month on the road. I wasn't really counting our stay in Denyr as rest for reasons that should be obvious to everyone. Of course, sleeping on an inn floor wouldn't exactly be refreshing either, but it was more about “staying in place doing fuck all” than anything else. We already earmarked a bed for Sav; she needed bed rest badly, and we wouldn't get back on the road until she could walk without issues again.

Another decision we made was to take up Princess Zaevi on her quest, should our two groups meet again, and she was still interested in getting our help. We didn't have a plan for Nevahl, so we would just have to wing it. Maybe this time the process wouldn't result in a city getting terrorbombed.

I know this is wishful thinking, but a woman can dream, godsdammit!

Anyhoo, having rented all three rooms the Lazyfucksville inn had, we went to eat supper in the common room. We decided to maintain a low profile in the village, so I was wearing my tunic-and-pants combo, my fur was its normal orange colour, and I was using my standard “Sindara” alias. We still drew a lot of attention, but with Aki leading us, the hope was that I would just be “another freak in the line-up,” though it was difficult not to twitch whenever the subject of Denyr was brought up, especially since my Title was mentioned in the same breath.

‘Maybe we should just set up a long-term camp by the river,’ Caei sighed. ‘All of this talk is making ME uncomfortable, so I can't imagine what you and ‘Phone must be feeling, hon.’

‘Yeah, hearing people gossip about an assassination attempt on me was not on my bucket list,’ I shuddered. ‘Or being accused of terrorism.’

Basically, people were divided into three camps. The first blamed all the damage in Denyr on the Jägers and said I survived. The second thought I died, given how I hadn't been seen since. The last one blamed the incident on me, claiming it was my failed attempt to remove Prince Vikker from power.

I can't believe I am thinking that, but I think I’d rather be in hell right now.

Judging by her expression, Persephone was of the same opinion.

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore, so I excused myself to go to the restroom. I took a few minutes there to compose myself, a “Queen” couldn't be seen crashing out in public, and began making my way back to my friends.

A man reeking of sweat and alcohol stood waiting in the small corridor.

‘Sorry, I took so long there,’ I smiled at him. ‘Don’t wo-’

I didn't get to finish the sentence as he crashed into me, and moments later, a sharp, searing pain spread through my stomach. And again. And-

‘The Red Mask sends his regards!’ the man snarled.

Shit!

He retracted and lifted his arm, showing me the bloody, jagged knife he was holding in his hand. The wannabe Roose Bolton reversed his grip on the blade and began a downward stab, likely aimed at my chest. I reached for it, trying to stop it, but misjudged the movement, and the knife impaled me through my hand. I used his momentary confusion to summon my gun into my left hand and fire several bolts into his body.

Roose staggered backwards, so I followed through by shooting him in the face, dropping him.

Turns out, Starks could have survived the Red Wedding if they were properly armed.

‘Tell Ereshkigal I said hello, motherfucker,’ I snarled at Roose through gritted teeth.

‘How are you feeling?’ Aki asked after Sav let her, Caei and Ren into the room she used to patch me up.

I tried to sit up on the bed I was lying on, but I was stopped by pain.

‘My stomach hurts,’ I admitted. ‘It is slowly getting better, though.’

‘Yeah,’ Sav grimaced. ‘The blade that fucker used was designed to inflict as much damage as possible. ‘I patched you up the best I could, and I imagine whatever slimy regenerative powers you still have are taking care of the rest.’

I smiled at that.

‘And how are you… handling it?’ Caei asked. ‘This is yet another assassination attempt on you.’

‘I’ve had so many close brushes with death, I had a child with her. In fact, that's what kept me going as I waited for you guys to arrive. I want to be there for Phoebe as she grows up and to do that… I need to live.’

‘Wait…’ Aki scratched her head after I said, making me realise I fucked up. ‘Aren’t we barred from the afterlife? So you could still be with Phoebe after death?’

‘Uhhhhhh…’ I stammered and began to explain.

Caeileera - Day 29 - 97 Days Remain

‘Seriously… you actually ended up in hell after you had the heart attack?’ I asked, utterly mortified. ‘How is that even possible?’

‘I don't know,’ Lilyth said with a shrug. ‘When Ere took me on a trip to the afterlife, the same thing happened, and she has no idea why, too. So I have to assume that when I die again… that's where I am going.’

She didn't seem particularly bothered by that perspective in and of itself.

‘What’s… hell like?’ Deirdee, who was standing guard by the window, asked.

‘Cold and dark. Violent too. Best I can tell, time flow there is… fucky. When I died, I spent hours there, but here it was just minutes. ’

‘And what… Ere made you the ruler of it?’ Aki was horrified.

‘More like law enforcement. But… yes. From what little I’ve seen… some law and order won't hurt that place.’

Why is she being so vague?

‘That means we have a new objective, though,’ Aki suddenly said brightly. ‘Keep Lilyth out of hell! Or well… find a way to invade it if that one is impossible.’

That elicited a smile out of Lilyth.

‘Together till the end,’ she said cheerfully.

‘Not to ruin the moment,’ Ren interrupted, ‘but who the fuck are you and what have you done with Lilyth? Our furball would never agree to this so easily.’

‘If that surprises you,’ Sav answered, ‘imagine my shock when she immediately agreed to bodyguards.’

‘Did she suffer a head injury or something?’ Aki asked, genuinely concerned and began to examine our Jelly’s scalp.

‘Exactly my reaction,’ the medic chuckled. ‘But it seems she’s serious.’

‘It all comes down to Phoebe,’ Lilyth patiently explained. ‘Even if we somehow manage to figure out a way to keep me out of hell, being stuck in the Realm of Shadow is only a minor improvement. What if she moves out after she grows up and gets into trouble and needs my help out there? I need to be alive to do that.’

‘Have you considered going back home then?’ Ren asked with pain in her voice.

‘Yes,’ Lilyth admitted. ‘But that's not a solution. For one, it would give Halveck and whoever else wants to kill me a win. I might still be alive, but I will no longer be a threat to them. And two… how will I face my daughter if one of you dies while fighting my fights? No. When I embarked on this mission, I made peace with the possibility that I am likely not coming back from it and when the moment comes, I will have no regrets. But… that doesn't mean I will take stupid risks. After all, there is a difference between dying in battle and getting stabbed to death by a smelly man in a bathroom corridor.’

‘There are no good options here, eh?’ Deirdee asked.

‘Pretty much. I don't want to die. I want to be there for my daughter. But… this is literally a quest to build a better world for her. There is also another wrinkle to it - if we fail to stop our enemies, who says they won't use Phoebe against me, or, worse, me against her when she grows up? No. Those fuckers have to go, and I will not rest until they are no longer a threat to her.’

It has been a long time since I saw this much fire in Lilyth. Perhaps, not since the day we left the Tower of Trials, and she was mad at the gods. Is this what being a parent does to someone?

Not for the first time since Phoebe was born, I felt jealous of her. I would never get to experience such a thing. My entire species would never get to experience such a thing. In fact, with the Blood gone, I was one of the last Sanguine to ever get spawned. Eventually, all that would be left of us would be a memory.

‘Perhaps there is a solution to that,’ a crackling silence sounded in my mind.

It was Lady Madness.

‘What my errant tool did to you as a species is… abhorrent,’ she added. ‘But… it would appear that certain safeguards I put in place may have finally triggered.’

What?

‘Ask Savri to scan Deirdee’s stomach,’ she finished and ended the connection.

Whaaat?

Still, I did that. Savri followed the instructions, furrowed her brows and then scanned my body to be sure.

‘Someone, go grab Persephone. I need to hear what exactly the transformation did to you.’

‘Why?’ both of us asked.

‘Deirdee seems to be now sporting a mint condition uterus and ovaries.’

The sorceress wasn't of much help. She just reiterated that the transformation cleansed Deirdee of corruption.

‘I just assumed it meant my inability to use spells,’ the assassin mused. ‘Why give me… those? Aren't you and Lilyth infertile?’

Our Jelly stirred.

‘It’s… complicated,’ she said cautiously and showed us the back of her left wrist. A complex pink sigil appeared there.

‘A geas,’ Persephone gasped. ‘What are the terms?’

‘I was granted access to certain information due to my new position and relationship with Ere. However, if I reveal them… I’ll die. So far, I haven't triggered it, so let me just say that… the two of us aren't the same kind of Hellborn as Deirdee is. I was unaware of what the transformation did to her, though.’

‘Is any of that information relevant to our mission?’ Savri asked.

‘Nope. Basically, some need to know Marquess of Hell stuff.’

‘Very well. So, Persephone doing her thing on the Sanguine would fix their… issues, for lack of a better term?’

‘Based on what Lady Madness said, yes,’ I confirmed.

‘So do you want to…’ ‘Phone began to ask, but I shook my head.

‘Not right now,’ It pained me to say it. ‘I don't think this is the right time.’

‘Offer active until I keel over,’ the sorceress smiled.

‘About that,’ Lilyth began to get up,’ time to go.’

She immediately winced from pain but pushed through it and continued to gather herself from the bed.

Sav moved to stop her, but Lilyth waved her away.

‘Not staying in a compromised inn any longer than I have to, pinkhair,’ she said. ‘I want to be at least an hour away from here before we stop for the night.’