Book Two: The Book of Myca

Book Two: The Book of Myca

All content and ideas property of the author: Tracy Ford

One

The young woman tended to one of the pregnant girls in her coven. She rubbed sweet smelling oils onto the girl’s feet and massaged her toes one-by-one. Myca lovingly did this task and upon finishing, kissed the girl’s swollen belly with many sweet little kisses. She had been this one’s sole caregiver since the knowledge of her pregnancy.

            Lehana was the girl’s name. She was younger than Myca’s seventeen years, although not by much. This was her third pregnancy. Myca had tended to Lehana through each one. She had even helped in the birthing process itself. Myca had always thought of Lehana as her sister. They even looked alike. They were both of the same Middle Eastern heritage; their hair and eyes were dark, their skin eternally bronzed. Lehana’s hair was longer and didn’t have the waves of Myca’s lochs. Lehana had larger eyes, always filled with wonder. She looked to Myca, flashing her her beautiful wide smile.

            Myca loved Lehana. She prayed every day to her mother Lilith that Lehana may have a safe, healthy, female baby. If the baby were a boy, he would not be allowed to grow within the Temple walls and Myca would never see him.

            Myca was one of Lilith’s children. She was born within the Temple, just as Lehana’s babies were. Her mother had been tended to as lovingly as she tended to Lehana now.  Her father, of course, had been one of Lilith’s sacrifices. Myca had yet to be blessed with a child of her own, but she knew it was just a matter of time before she too would have her time as a goddess.

            Lehana had been lured to the Temple by the prospects of power that Lilith promised to her girls. Upon the taking of Lilith’s blood, Lehana had become physically stronger. She had become instantly enlightened to the ways of the world. Lilith’s life source had given her powers of the body and mind, but it also made her want more. The women always wanted more. They stood anxiously waiting for Lilith’s cup to be passed so they could sip of the powerful blood within. Lehana had been given more of this magical life-essence when she became pregnant. These powers were granted to her unborn babies. They had also been granted to Myca. She had never known life without them.

      On this night, Myca dressed Lehana in robes of the darkest blue. She began to adorn the temporary goddess with golden bands on her wrists and ankles, with gold beads throughout her warm-brown hair when suddenly, Lehana grabbed her hand.

            “Do you smell that?” She asked, her eyes wide, tinted with worry.

Honestly, Myca could smell nothing except the aroma of the perfumed oil she had been rubbing onto Lehana, but she sniffed the air to please her. Myca stood, deciding to peek out behind the curtains which surrounded every goddess, isolating them from the others to give them personal worship areas. What Myca saw behind the curtain terrified her.

            Lehana had, indeed, smelled something. She had smelled smoke.  When Myca peered from behind the curtain, she saw small fires burning upon the dirt floor. The flames slithered up the tapestries that hung on the stone walls of the Temple. The fires moved upwards and outwards, consuming anything that would succumb to its crackling heat. The drapes which hung around the rows of columns caught fire and threatened to crumble Lilith’s Temple to the ground, turning it into a pile of ash.

            Winged creatures, flashing fangs and long, talon-like nails rampaged through the Temple, tearing and biting everything and everyone in their paths. Myca saw her sisters lying lifeless all around her. Their blood was smeared upon the walls and pooled into dark puddles beneath them. Myca realized she hadn’t even heard a scream. The demons had taken her sisters’ lives before they could even call out for help. Myca instinctively knew that she was surrounded.

            One of the damnable fiends turned a corner and began walking towards her. He looked at her with dead, milky eyes. Myca felt herself begin to tremble. He had light colored hair, streaked with wet blood. His skin was a pale white, without even the tint of grey Myca had seen in her mother Lilith’s skin. His large wings erupted from behind him, casting shadows across the room. In the fiend’s clawed hand dangled the severed head of one of her sisters.

            Myca turned to warn Lehana of the approaching danger. One of the winged creatures stood behind her beloved sister and friend. A large dark circle appeared upon her beloved friend’s chest. Myca looked upon it, transfixed as it gradually spread outward. Myca could scarcely see movement behind the royal blue silks upon her sister’s skin, before a bloody clawed hand appeared. Lehana’s mouth was open in a silent scream when the light faded from her eyes. Myca felt hands wrap around her and she didn’t hold back the scream that erupted from her soul. She tried desperately to struggle, but the hands that bound her felt as if they were made from stone. She knew these were the same hands that had held her sister’s severed head.

            The one who had impaled her sister with his bare hand walked up to her, laughing. In his black eyes was a glimmer, as if the situation truly amused him. Blood trickled down his white chin, as dark on his skin as the strands of hair that fell into his eyes. As she closed her eyes and prayed, Myca could not help but to notice the resemblance these demons had to her Mother goddess. She felt the breath of the one behind her on her neck before her world turned black.

Two

The vampires brought the bloody girl to stand in front of their Master. The one who had bitten her, the light-haired demon with the dead eyes, had flown with her tucked under his arm. She had seen the lands below her turn from brown to green. The air held a chill she had never felt before.

As they flew further north, the random trees gathered into forests and the lands started to roll. The demon who cradled her under one of his strong arms traveled above large expanses of water. In the distance, Myca could see a mountain chain form. The mountains were grey in color, with snow tips of white.

As they approached, Myca could see that within the towering grey rock, a fortress had been built. It seemed to be part of the side of the mountain itself. The only possible way to get to it was by flight.

Myca trembled with fear and cold. Her face was numb, her lips tinted blue. She could not feel her fingertips or her toes. Myca’s bottom lip was bloody, her eyes bruised and swollen but she could not feel the pain. She couldn’t feel anything. Myca could not keep the images of the Temple from her mind. The death of her loved ones haunted her.

Enosch stared down at the girl who was brought before him. He dismissed the group of fiends that had destroyed his mother’s Temple. He only allowed the one who held her to stay. The girl had brown eyes that now held a distant stare beneath her swollen features. Her captor had beaten her, but she was alive and that was all that mattered. Her mortal wounds would soon be forgotten. She was beautiful, despite the damage Almóðr had done. Enosch’s Norse creation loomed over the girl like a pale ghost.

“This is the one I had asked for?” Enosch asked him in his native language, so that the girl could not understand their words.

“Yes, Master. She doesn’t know.”

Enosch paused. The girl did not know of her ancestry?

“How do you know she’s the right one?”

Almóðr smiled. The rare occurrence made him look even more wicked than usual.

“The older women remembered. They knew who her father was and the damage he had caused. Many of their family died because of him.”

Enosch nodded.  Myca’s father, Teroth, had been the last son of Adam. He remembered delivering the slave to Lilith. He had unknowingly been part of Teroth’s plan to infiltrate his mother’s Temple. Teroth was assigned to keep Lilith occupied while his fellow men surrounded the city of Jericho. They toppled the walls and destroyed the city and everyone in it. In return for their destruction, Lilith gave them their death. Myca was all that remained of Adam’s men. The girl was special. This was why he wanted her. Enosch finally addressed the girl who stood motionless before him.

“Do you remember your mother, girl?” He asked.

“Yes,” she whispered.

“And your father?”

Myca looked up at the Master of the fiends for the first time. He sat upon a throne, chiseled from the grey rock of the mountain side. He had long, wavy black hair that hung in his piercing blue eyes. His pale face was hidden behind a long black beard. Enosch was dressed like that of an average man. He did not adorn himself with material things as Kings often do. He did not even wear thick animal furs, despite the chilling cold winds.

“My father was a sacrifice,” she finally responded quietly.

Myca was frightened, but her curiosity of those around her peaked. She decided to ask a question of her own.

“You are a son of Lilith?”

Myca knew her Mother had three sons, although she had never seen them. They had left the Temple before she was born. She recognized some of her Goddess’s features within this demon Master. He smiled. It was a beautiful smile Myca had seen many times before.

“I am Enosch, son of Lilith and Cain. Behind you would be Almóðr, my right hand, so to speak.”

The one behind her with the dead eyes grunted in response. He may have said a word, but Myca did not understand him.

Enosch stood, “Mother never let us near her girls. She kept us apart from you. It is rumored she fed you her blood to make you stronger than the mortal men she tried to keep you all away from. I want to know what happened within her temple walls. I want to know what makes you women so special, so sacred as to keep her sons away. And you are going to show me.”

Enosch stood and approached Myca. He reached out and gently touched her cheek.

 “We were forbidden to touch any of you,” he whispered into her ear.

Myca felt the heat emanating from Enosch. She saw the lust in his eyes. Her fear returned. She again felt the stone hands upon her arms, holding them down at her sides. Enosch brushed back her long chestnut hair and bit into the throbbing vein in her neck. Myca flinched, expecting pain to come, but the bite was not painful. She could only describe it as sexual. Every part of her body began to tingle with pleasure, as waves of heat pulsated through her body and into him. She moaned softly as Enosch, taking her from Almóðr, placed a hand behind her lolling head.

Lilith stood before her Temple of women. She appeared to them every evening, when the sun had set.  The Goddess looked like a demon. Her skin was tight and pale with a tint of grey hue. Her large eyes were black, her fangs long and sharp. Lilith placed drops of her blood in pitchers of wine which then would be passed around to each of the women. The women slowly gained strength and wisdom from the words of Lilith. She was their Goddess. Love spawned within her demonic features, making her large bat-like wings look more like a place of salvation than a weapon for evil.

When the hunger began to overwhelm Lilith, she asked for a male sacrifice. When the man had been chosen from a group of captured slaves, he would be washed and adored. As they will, the women would take her turn with the man. They would each ride him until they felt the godly pleasures that the emotion of lust and the actions of sex brought upon their feminine bodies. The women would convulse in ecstasy before dismounting the man who was to be worshiped. After each session, the next woman would cleanse the man with warm water and rub his strong body with sweet smelling oils. Only the most strong and healthy men were to be brought before their Goddess. The men would be treated with love and devotion by all of the women.

Inevitably, some of the women would become pregnant. In this special instance, the mothers-to-be became goddesses themselves, equal in importance to Lilith. These women received extra blood from her. It was given to their unborn children. Once the babies were born, however, the women would step back into place amongst the other women of the Temple. Girls were raised by all within the Temple walls. Boys were given to the towns of their mother’s origin, or they would be sold as soldiers or slaves. The boys brought in a lot of resources for the Temple. They were strong and intelligent, more so than the average man.

Lehana starred with her bright eyes and her lovely smile. Her smile quickly faded and her mouth parted to form a scream. Instead, a guttural, gurgling sound escaped her throat. From behind her was one of the fiends. His hand ripped through the flesh of her sister…

…As were the images that flowed through Enosch as he drank the last of Myca’s life. He stared down at the lifeless body in his arms. She was pale and cold. Her eyes had sunken in and her lips were bright blue. Her blood was powerful. She held many memories of Lilith among her own. Myca had sipped of his mother’s blood since she was in her infancy. She indeed, knew nothing of her father or his lineage. She also knew very little about himself or his brothers. Lilith had successfully hid those images from Myca. He would fix that.

Enosch bit into his wrist and placed it to Myca’s lips. As the first drops of their mingled blood touched her lips, life began to flow into her. Her lips quivered, her eyes moved beneath the lids. At last, her lips closed upon his wound and she began to suckle upon it, as a baby at its mother’s breast.

Enosch felt the pleasure of her first bite. His life and his memories flooded into her. He closed his eyes and allowed the pleasure to course through him. Myca was the first woman he had ever created and he wanted to enjoy every moment of it.

Myca’s eyes flew open when her body became stricken with unbearable pain. The bones of her back ripped from the flesh and expanded outwards. Her skin tightened and pulled to cover her new appendages. Blood ran down her arms as she knelt upon the floor. The pupils of her eyes dilated, immediately changing the way she looked upon the world forever.

Myca thought of Lilith, then. She realized what her Goddess had gone through.

What is happening to me?

Enosch felt bad for the girl. She screamed out with pain in front of him. There was nothing he could do to console her or to ease her suffering. He was the one who caused her torment but in Enosch’s mind, it was his mother who had brought the curse upon Myca. It was Lilith who had brought Teroth and Natasha together. She had forced the coupling that had resulted in Myca’s life.

His mother had presented herself to these women as something she was not. It was time for the truth about her to come out to them.

“You are experiencing the same curse as your Goddess,” Enosch said, “Now you will know the truth. You will now be equal to the one you once worshiped.”

Myca slouched over, giving in to the darkness beyond her pain

Three

Lilith was in North America. She had begun to leave the confinements of her Temple after centuries of being a Goddess. Lilith wanted to learn from the people throughout the world. She knew they all had something special to offer. She wanted to bring knowledge back with her to share with the women of her Temple. She believed it was knowledge that would make all women stronger. And she needed some time alone.

After Jericho fell, all Lilith had left was her Temple. Her life had become about spreading the word to women all over the region. She always believed that she was where Fate had led her to be and Fate was a force even God had to follow. Deep within her however, she felt hurt and confused.

Why am I continually punished for doing what I feel is right? Why does God punish me for being myself? How is empowering women sinful?

These questions led Lilith to the decision to travel. She needed to get away from her life for awhile. She needed to see what else was out there in the world. What she found changed her life forever.

Lilith had run into a group of young native men out on a hunt. At first, Lilith thought they might have been women because they were so beautiful. They had long, lustrous, black hair and flawless bare skin. The men grew no facial or body hair. Their skin was brown and smooth. She was immediately attracted. With curiosity in their eyes, the men led her to their tribe.

What Lilith saw amazed her. She expected to see the result of a small group of hunter-gatherers, a small fire and maybe a few structures that could be set up and taken down quickly. She certainly did not expect the large city she looked upon. There had to have been thousands of residents. A large field of maize grew to the height of her shoulders. Beneath the long leaves were beans, their vines flourishing along the stalks, providing the soil with needed nutrients. Lilith was immediately impressed with their knowledge and respect for the Earth.

Hundreds of structures littered the grounds where the people lived. Women gathered together in small groups and children played happily in the alleys between the homes. Large mounds were built throughout the territory. They varied in size to represent power and rule among their tribe. The Temples and the homes of the elite were among those raised above the common households. It was to one of these homes the group of men led Lilith.

Inside the wooden structure was an old man. He did not look at Lilith as she walked in alone. The men had not followed her through the entranceway. She sat upon the dirt floor and waited patiently. She looked around at her surroundings to get an idea of who the man before her was.

The structure was circular. It had been built with tree limbs and ropes to secure the structure. They were tied to large posts secured within the risen lands.

The old man stood in front of what looked like an alter. Upon it were parts of animals and plants that thrived in the area. Some had been turned into tools, others into art pieces.  He was burning some herbs in a large stone bowl. He bathed himself in the smoke and chanted. Lilith had not been around them long enough to understand every word, but she believed he was chanting a protection spell.

These people intrigued Lilith. They had heavy thoughts, yet light tongues. It was as if they considered their words to be sacred. When the old man was ready, he turned and sat across from Lilith. The deep lines within his brown face told the tale of a life that was led in the elements. It was a sharp contrast to the long, thin white hair that fell past his shoulders. The man’s deep brown eyes bore into her. When he spoke finally to communicate to her, his lips did not move. His words echoed through her thoughts. He spoke to her from his mind as she could do with others.

Are you from this Earth, beautiful creature?

Lilith slowly nodded to the old man and responded, “I was.”

The man reached out to Lilith, taking her hand into his own. His hands were soft, the lines deep. She showed him her life story. She could not explain how it happened, exactly. All Lilith knew was her memories flowed out and into the man in front of her, they then circled back to her mind where they belonged.

The man nodded to her, “Now I understand why you sit before me nude.”

The man Lilith sat with was a Shaman. His name was White Owl. On the night of White Owl’s birth, there had been a full moon. When he emerged from his mother’s womb, his infant head was covered with white hair. The first sound heard, even before he let out his first cry, was an owl in the distance. Thus White Owl was born and a Shaman he became. It was his Fate. Lilith would never forget his story.

White Owl opened worlds to Lilith she had never known to exist. She wondered if even Lucifer had known of these dimensions. Lilith learned how to travel through meditation. While in these states, her thoughts were clear. She would become at peace with the world around her. Again, she was part of the Earth and not merely a being living upon it. The Native American people made Lilith feel included. Here, she was not a Goddess or a Demon. Here, she was a student.

Four

Myca’s eyes fluttered open. As awareness began to creep into her mind, she quickly stood. Fear gripped her heart, or rather, the emptiness within her chest where her heart used to beat. The night before, Myca had become something else. She had become a monster. She remembered coming out of the torture that had consumed her. The pain had been unbelievable. She emerged from the pain a different being. She craved the blood of others. Myca took a deep breath as nausea threatened to overwhelm her.

 Enosch had given them to her. She had killed them with her own clawed hands. She looked down at them. They seemed so foreign to her now. Long thick claws tore out from the ends of her fingers. Strangely, her skin had retained the same light brown shade she was born with. She moved her new wings. They felt very strange to her.

Then Myca remembered the blood. It flowed from them so smoothly. It was everywhere. She had become so strong. As she reached out for them, her fingers easily penetrated their skin. It was as if their flesh had been molded from clay.  She felt her body begin to tingle with anticipation.  The thoughts horrified her, but her body responded to these acts. She did not know who the people were. She had not cared. She gave little thought to the fact that they were people at all. People like she had been only moments before she killed them.

Myca looked around at her surroundings. Many of the events from the evening before were still in a fog. She found herself in a cell. She did not remember how she had gotten here. Myca went over to the door. It was a heavy wooden door with a small bared window. When she pushed, it easily opened for her. She paused to look uncertainly down at her naked flesh. She folded her large wings against her back, took a deep breath and went through the open doorway. When Myca walked out of the cell she had awoken in, she left her mortal life behind her.

************************************************************

Lilith sat in a peaceful meditation when the images started to flood her mind. They were terrible images of the death and destruction of all she had left in this world. The images were so vivid! She could smell the smoke that poured out from the bowls of her Temple. Her lovely daughters were dead! She could see their mutilated bodies scattered through the grounds of what was once their home. She saw her son, Enosch. He was laughing. She then saw him drinking the blood from her dear Myca, taking her life. He was giving her their shared curse!

Lilith’s eyes instantly opened, “Myca!”

The old man who had become Lilith’s teacher and friend looked at her with worry in his eyes.

I must go. I have to go home.

When the man nodded subtly, Lilith took to the sky. She had a long trip ahead of her.

 Lilith arrived at her Temple. Smoke billowed out from the doorways, just as she had seen in her vision. It was true. The smell of death loomed in the air. The stillness was threatening to make her insane. She paused before going inside. She didn’t want to face the reality of what was behind the walls. Only death was there to great her home. Blood tears welled up in her eyes. She had seen who was behind this massacre.

Five

Lilith flew into her son’s castle in the sky. She was still hurt and angry. Enosch’s loud and boisterous thoughts had led her quickly to him. Lilith walked into the large hall, where she knew her son would be found. When she entered the room, what she saw made her stop in her determined tracks.

At the far side of the room, her son sat confidently upon his throne. At the foot of the platform, her lovely Myca sat upon her ankles. Her hands touched the floor before her, so her weight was distributed upon all four of her limbs. Large wings protruded from her back. Blood had dried upon her beautiful one’s arms and chin.

When Lilith could move again, she slowly walked up to the girl she had risen since birth. Myca hissed at her, baring her fanged teeth. Lilith became enraged. This would certainly not do! Her eyes bore into those of her son.

“You vindictive brat of a son of mine,” Lilith said.

While Lilith was in North America, she became a student. The Shaman man taught Lilith many things, secrets of the Earth. She had meant to teach her women of these secrets, but now she used them to avenge their deaths.

With all of her being, Lilith called out to the spirits of the Earth. She closed her eyes and mumbled the chants she had learned in the America’s. Lilith called upon the spirit of the sky and of the wind. She called out to the spirit of the animals and the plants. She felt their energy gather within her.

Lilith opened her eyes, which flashed and crackled with the energy inside of her and faced Enosch. She pointed at her son and she cursed him with her words, just as the angels sent by God had done to her so many generations ago. The energy poured from her pointed finger and into the body of her son as she spoke.

“I curse you, my eldest son, Enosch. You cannot control the beast which lives inside of you, so I am exposing it to all. You will live with the reminder of the brutality you have caused. You will live as the beast within your soul.”

Enosch fell to his knees. He looked to his mother with disbelief. The large wings which had grown with him since his birth fell to the ground with a soft thud. Thick hair grew and crept across his body, which grew in size and girth. His bones began to reform, cracking and breaking within his body, as he had seen happen to those he created. When the bones of his face popped and began to move forward, Enosch’s screams turned into howls.

Myca watched in silent horror as Enosch changed into a massive wolfish beast. Her mother then turned to her, with sternness in her eyes.

“You. Get up. You are not an animal, you are a woman and you are coming with me. You will remember who you are, Myca.”

Her eyes wide with fear and her mind spinning from what she had just witnessed, Myca nodded silently and followed her Mother through the chambers of Enosch’s fortress. It was now just the two of them.

Six

Myca agreed to help her Mother. Lilith wanted to rebuild her Temple. She wanted to keep spreading the word of Freedom to the mortal women. It was obviously a need she felt deeply. Myca could see the passion in her mother’s eyes as she spoke to her.

“I will show you who you are, Myca. You may have been transformed, but you are the same woman I have taught. Do not forget who you are, my dear.”

The demon women smelled the death awaiting them before they came within sight of the Temple in Jericho.

As they crossed the threshold, Lilith led her daughter into her past. She dragged her emotionless assistant through the maze of walkways that led to the worship hall of her Temple. Myca had become a shell of who she had once been. Life no longer danced in her dark eyes. Love never again showed upon her face. Instead of wonder, there was only curiosity. Instead of empathy, there was hunger. Lilith was afraid all of her offspring would become the evil she was forced to join when she was cursed. Lilith led Myca to the only one she thought that could help her. She led her to the corpse of her beloved Lehana.

Myca stared down at the bloated body in front of her. She remembered who this corpse once was. It was someone she once had great feeling towards. Now the same girl lay in a pool of her own dried blood. Her stomach had been cut open and her intestines were spread out in front of her. Her mouth was gaped open in an expression of Horror.

Vaguely, Myca remembered there being a child, one whose life would never be. Myca looked to her Mother.

“What now?” Myca asked, her face expressionless, “Do we burn the corpses?”

Together, they laid the bodies of their sisters in a large pile and set it on fire. It was larger than any ceremonial fire Myca had ever seen. Myca did not have a hard time with the task emotionally or physically. In fact, Myca realized just how strong she had become. She remembered what Lilith had taught her. And without human emotions in the way, a lot about life had suddenly made sense to her. She now looked at people as she had always looked upon any animals in the Kingdom: As a possible meal.

In return for her help, Lilith promised to teach Myca everything she knew. There were no worshipers to bring sacrifices, so Myca’s first lesson was how to hunt, and within the same action, how to re-build the Coven.

“If you close your mind and focus, you can hear them” Lilith began.

“Hear who?”

“The humans, you can hear their thoughts.”

Myca closed her eyes and focused her mind outward, like her Mother had always taught them to do.

Can you hear me?

Yes

Good. Now listen with your mind. Do you hear them?

Myca paused.  She did hear something. Yes, a low rumble of voices. She concentrated on the voices until they became clear. She chose one and tuned out the others.

 We must rebuild, Myca. Find women in trouble. Remember, for every moan of pleasure, there are ten cries of pain. Listen for the cries of our future sisters. Those who cause their pain shall become our sacrifices. The women will then come to our Temple.

Our Temple?

Yes, Myca. We shall teach them together.

Lilith led Myca into a small village near what used to be the city of Jericho. It was a small gathering of mud-brick homes. The night was young and the people coupled outside by fires, drinking and singing songs of heroes and fools. The work for the day had ended and the fun had begun.

Lilith and Myca stayed within the shadows. To mortal eyes, they would have disappeared into them completely. Lilith walked through them quickly, with a grace Myca hoped to one day match. She worried her step would fall outside of the shadow cover or her robes would swish in the wrong moment and she would be heard by human ears.

Myca noticed that the humans were very social. They resided in groups, surrounded by their family and those who they believed were like themselves. Myca wasn’t sure if they were ignoring the cries she followed or if they simply couldn’t hear the pleas she heard in her head.

Myca realized she was hungry. It was not like a human hunger. She remembered what that had felt like. This was more like a need. Like an addiction. She could see the blood pulsating through the veins of those she saw on their journey. She imagined herself, lashing out at all of the men around the fires. They had smiles on their faces, but she knew if she approached them, those smiles would soon turn to anguished cries. She saw herself tearing the heart out of the chest of one of these men, who now all looked the same to her. She would drink from his heart, as it gushed blood with its last pulsating throbs. She would kill each one of them and dance happily around their fire as their blood rained down upon her. The thoughts made Myca’s body tingle with pleasure.

“Myca,” Lilith said in a stern voice.

 Myca shook the thoughts from her mind and looked to her Goddess. She nodded her head as she picked up her pace.

Lilith led Myca to one of the small homes near the outside boarder of the village. Inside this house, men drank and rubbed the breasts of the women who sat upon their laps. They ate from bowls of food and swayed to music only they could hear. The whimpering voice came from a back room.

They approached from the back of the house, and looked through the rear window. No candles lit the room. Dark shadows hid the scene from mortal’s prying eyes, but the moon above gave sufficient light for a vampire to clearly see.

A man, obviously drunk on ale, held the woman firmly in front of him by her light brown hair. She twisted her body and whimpered. He had her bent over in front of him, her skirts lifted above her waist to reveal her sex. His robes were open in the front, revealing his weapon of choice, which was not cooperating with him. The large amount of ale had apparently made him impotent. Swaying and cursing loudly, the man tightened his grip on the woman’s hair. A small yelp erupted from her thin lips. Her pale skin indicated she was from a northern land.

Myca looked to her Mother.

Lilith nodded, “Quickly, before he harms her,” she whispered.

With speed still new to her, Myca stood behind the drunken man. Without wasting any time, Myca grabbed him by his shoulders and pulled him towards her. She bit into the muscle of his neck, biting down hard to pierce his flesh. His skin was gritty with dirt and sweat but she didn’t mind. The blood was hers. The man’s life had been uninteresting. He had been the son of a farmer. He was filled with unlearned ignorance and naivety. Myca had enjoyed taking his life. She liked feeling the power she felt after she would feed. She looked to Lilith with blood dripping from her chin.

Lilith was leaning over the girl who had been assaulted. She reached out to her, lovingly. Myca wondered how Lilith could still feel love for any humans. She believed she had become what Lilith was, a Goddess. She now wondered if she was wrong. Lilith truly was a Goddess. Even when darkness had crept into her body and her soul became tainted with the evil which she transferred to her children, Lilith could feel love. She could bear offspring and she could love them as a human mother would. Myca knew she could never return the Love Lilith held for her. Lilith reached out to the cowering girl and lovingly stroked her hair.

“It’s all right now. He can’t hurt you. No one will ever hurt you again.”

 This act by Lilith towards a human woman she had never met before awakened a level of respect within Myca that would never be forgotten. Lilith gathered the girl into her arms. The girl’s face, which was quite plain to look at, was streaked with tears. Her curly hair stuck out in every direction, her robes were tattered and those worn by peasants. Myca later learned the girl, Stella, had been sold to the group of men in the house for the night so that her family could buy the grain they needed to make bread to eat. Lilith promised her family would never go hungry again. As far as Myca knew, Lilith held that promise until Stella died an old woman of the Temple.

After many nights, Lilith allowed Myca to split from her and hunt on her own. She believed they could essentially save more women that way. Myca wanted to gather the women quickly. She was ready to become a Goddess of the Temple.

                ******************************************************************

Myca respected and admired Lilith. She looked up to her as a student would their mentor. She had taught her everything she knew about what she now was, but Myca no longer felt free.

She saw the love the worshipers had for Lilith. Myca felt nothing towards them. She remembered the way Lilith had treated her when she was a child. Myca could not treat one of these women’s children in the same way. She saw very little difference between the bosomy ‘victims’ and the men who used them. They were all food to her.

As a result, Myca did not attract the attention of the women as Lilith did. They feared her. They saw the hunger in her eyes when she looked at them and they instinctively stayed away from her. Myca was a predator. Like Lilith had when she lived with Cain and her offspring, Myca spent most of her time alone in her chambers, which Lilith had built next to her own.

When alone, Myca often spent her days practicing the magic her Mother had learned in the America’s. She became sensitive to the spirits around her. She learned to travel from her mind’s eye into the lighted world that would otherwise be unseen by her. She could see the world through the eyes of any living creature, including humans. She could choose to disrupt their thought processes or remain unknown to them.

Lilith told Myca about her sons and those they had created. She taught her how to feel the others among them. Myca learned how to detect their presence, but she did not learn about who they were. Lilith had told her that they could read the thoughts of those weaker than themselves, as Lilith could read the thoughts within Myca’s mind. Myca was not permitted to practice such a talent. Lilith directed her to avoid those like themselves. Those they may have encountered would be weaker, but still dangerous to all they strove to accomplish. These fiends were their greatest enemy. Myca remembered her encounter with Enosch and Almóðr. They had been evil and they caused her great harm, but they were like her now in so many ways. She had become like them, more so than her Mother, Lilith had. Myca wondered if any of them made it through their creation with their soul intact, or if this was something granted only to Lilith herself.

Lilith also told the women of the Temple about the others. She did not want a repeat of what happened to Myca so she told the mortal women that these beasts were her children and thus they must be treated as such. They were to be worshipped as she was.

Myca questioned her about these statements once they were alone.

“Why would you tell them such a thing?” Myca asked her, shocked.

With a thin smile, Lilith said, “I want them to live. Kneeling before the fiends may be their only hope for survival”.

With the memory of her creation fresh in her mind, Myca doubted her Mother’s words for the first time.

Seven

Lilith entered her chambers in the early evening hours. She was in no mood to socialize with anyone. She had been worried about her daughter, Myca, for some time now. Lilith did not understand the severe depression of her dear counterpart. When Myca had been created she had changed. The light that had been within her had vanished. It had been replaced with darkness, not unlike the darkness she had seen in her offspring.

The only illumination within Lilith’s chambers was the light of the moon. The reflection of the silvery glow bounced off of the purple silks that wrapped around the columns within her room. She had purchased these silks from the East herself. She slowly walked towards the moonlight, being drawn to it as a moth to fire light.

Lilith was not alone. When she saw the movement upon her bed, it startled her. She had not sensed anyone around.

Who could this be?

“Hello Lilith,” he said.

The words were spoken by Lucifer, which explained why she didn’t feel him. She guessed the effect was from yet another power the Dark Prince held within.

 Lilith sat with him upon the bed. She was drawn to the pure beauty of him. His light colored skin was flawless. His eyes were a blue that reminded her of the ocean. She could get just as easily lost within them. His lips were full and rosy. She wanted nothing more than to kiss them. But Lilith knew this was part of his deception. The wingless creature before her had been thrown out of Heaven by God. Darkness spawned from him. This was his Fate.

Lilith reached over and placed a hand upon the Dark One’s shoulder. She could not help but to feel some Mercy for him. She understood his eternal punishment. She touched his long hair, which was the color of wheat fields, twisting the lochs around her fingers. It was soft in her hands. Lucifer looked to Lilith, an expression of confusion on his face. He gently took her hand and placed it upon her lap. When he looked back up at her he was smiling.

“There is a reason why I am here, young one. I want to show you something. You will be pleased.”

Lilith wondered what it was Lucifer was up to. She followed him out of the chiseled rock doors that led outside from her chamber. Again, he lightly grabbed her by the arm.

In a second of time, the world around her changed. She was no longer beyond the fields of ancient Jericho. Lilith surveyed the scene around her. She saw a Temple. It looked like her Temple, but this one was a little smaller and built with less adoration.

“This is your Temple, Lilith. These people have built it in your name. Rumors of a Goddess are brewing. She helps women, grants them safety. She is you, Lilith.”

Lilith wasn’t sure how to react. She was thrilled to know her words had spread beyond the doors of her Temple.

“How many?”

“Fifteen, last I checked.”

Lilith gasped, “I never imagined so many.”

“The idea is growing quickly. You have been preaching words to women for centuries, Lilith. Your words were bound to have an effect. I have a plan.”

Lucifer smiled broadly. He always had a plan for her. She was cautious.

“A plan?”

“Yes. Send Myca to Crete. Tell her to descend upon them, appear to them as their Moon Goddess as you did with the people of Jericho. They believe in Multi-gods and goddesses. Her words will be your words, but they will be in her name. This way the idea can spread to a larger population, changing to appeal to the people of Crete.”

Lilith wondered why he needed her to succeed. She knew it wasn’t for her sole benefit. Lucifer had to be getting something out of this idea. Lilith realized the Dark One must know the future. He held the secrets of what the results of today’s choices would be. She could only rely on her thoughts of what could happen. At the present moment, Lilith’s goal was to help the women of her world. She believed Lucifer’s plan would help her succeed in her goal. Perhaps, his idea would benefit them both in the future.

Lilith nodded, “I like this idea. It may be just what Myca needs to lift her out of her depression. But do you think she’s ready?”

“I know she is.”

Lilith took Lucifer’s hand, “Let’s go. I must tell Myca of the good news.”

Lucifer pulled Lilith close to him. He lifted her chin and kissed her tenderly on her pale grey lips. Within seconds, Lilith was within her chambers, the door to the outside was closed and she was alone in the dark.

*********************************************************************

Myca heard a tapping on her chamber door. She knew it had to be Lilith. No one else ever came to visit her. She sat up in her bed. It was not quite daylight, she sensed, but she had wanted to slumber the world around her away.

“Coming, My Goddess.”

Myca opened her door to her Mother. Her eyelids dropped and she yawned as Lilith came barging through the door.

“Myca, my beloved daughter,” she started.

Myca knew this was not going anywhere good. She wondered where Lilith had been. She did not usually seem so cheerful or flushed as she was.

“I wish for you to create a Temple of your own. I would like for you to spread our knowledge and understanding further. Use your name to spread these words of wisdom to women in other lands.”

Myca could hardly believe her ears.

“You want me to go far away to start a coven of my own?”

“Yes. You must guide a people as I did with those in Jericho. Arrive as their Goddess. Allow them to worship you and give you sacrifices. We will grow stronger. More women shall be freed.”

Myca nodded, “As you wish, Goddess. But where shall I go?”

“The island of Crete has been chosen for you to descend upon. Remember to treat the mortals well and always appreciate the men who are brought forth to you.”

“Yes, Mother,” Myca replied, her heart racing with anticipation.

Eight

            Myca soared through the night. Heading toward the island of Crete and her new life. Myca did not look forward to the compromises she would have to make with the mortals who called the island home. What she did look forward to was the freedom she knew she would find away from Lilith and her Temple.

After her creation, Myca felt different from the mortal women of her Mother’s Temple. She felt like a wolf amongst sheep. Myca hid within her chambers to keep her cravings to a minimum. While on her own, she would demand far more sacrifices to keep herself fulfilled. Lilith had kept the practice to a minimum. Her Mother only ate when she could no longer bear to go without.  Myca had to wonder again how Lilith managed to exist the way she did. Myca now understood Enosch and his brothers. Lilith was so intent on spreading her words to Mortal women, she had forgotten the curse she placed upon others. Myca felt alone within her Mother Lilith’s Temple. Myca knew Enosch had felt the same, he had shared his pain with her in her creation. She felt remorse for what Fate had befallen him. She wondered, fleetingly, how he got down from that Castle of his in the sky after Lilith turned him into a Beast.

Myca looked across the clear blue sea to the island she would soon claim as her own. She was determined to remain positive about her experience. After all, she had nothing against this island or the little people who mingled upon it.

When Myca arrived upon the island of Crete, she realized there were more than one people who inhabited the island. Various cities littered the coasts. She decided to study the people before making her arrival known.

As Myca roamed the land and studied the beings surrounding her, she found the most amazing creature. She had seen them in her homeland, swimming through the sands while leaving waves behind them in their wake. She reached up into a tree and plucked from it an amazingly green tree snake. Myca decided to wear her friend around her neck as an ornament made for a Goddess. She could make mental contact with him to see the world through his serpent eyes. Myca would speak to him, promising him safety and travel. She granted him complete freedom.

Myca chose to appear before the Minoan people of Knossos. She had known from the first moment she had set her eyes upon the city of Knossos that she would rule there. The people who lived in Knossos governed themselves and created beautiful architecture and creative art pieces. Women were seated within ruling positions. The city brought images of her mortal life at the Temple in Jericho back to her. Myca remembered being happy as a mortal woman. She hoped that someday she could feel that way again.

When Myca descended upon Knossos, the people looked upon her with awe and fear. Myca knew she looked intimidating to their mortal eyes. Instead of human fingernails, Myca had large thick claws. Her dilated eyes were black and large bat wings protruded through the soft skin on her back. Myca believed she had become an animal when she was created by Enosch. Lilith taught her that she had become much more.

Through their mortal eyes, Myca saw herself. Her bronze skin and chestnut hair brought a human quality to her that she did not feel. Through their thoughts, Myca could hear them deciding her status. The people were slowly coming to a realization that she was their Snake Goddess, an aspect of their Great Mother. Myca found it to be interesting that they weren’t far off from who she really was.

As the thoughts spread from one human to another, the people of Knossos kneeled before Myca. When they reacted as such, she felt a surge of power run through her body. She enjoyed the feeling of being in control.

Nine

            The people of Knossos, inspired by the night arrival of their Goddess, began to build Myca a Temple in her name. Stone was fixed into columns. These columns held up a large roof made from wood and plaster. A beautiful mural of Myca descending from the heavens would be painted upon it. The large room built for ceremony was open to the elements and to the people. In the months that followed, the people of Knossos began to ask Myca what it was she wished from them.

“Bring me sacrifices. You may bring me prisoners of war or enemies of your people. In return, I promise that no one among you shall ever be hungry, without shelter, or live in fear. The doors to my Temple will be open to all.”

The people of Myca’s new city applauded and nodded to their Snake Goddess with approval.

Myca understood that the basic needs of the humans had to be met. They had to be alive to do her bidding, after all.

Myca had her people build her chambers first. The room had to be sealed from all light. The door had to be of the thickest cut stone. Myca wanted no human to be able to enter her chambers. She also needed a hole cut in the roof for her ceremonial fire to burn. Myca had faith in her people’s intelligence that they would come through for her. They did not disappoint her.

Myca’s actions frightened her people. They did as she asked of them out of fear. A small group of women decided to approach the Goddess. The leader of the group, Nopina, had been placed in charge of Temple matters by the head council. To make such decisions, Nopina had to speak with the Goddess, herself. She used her charismatic nature to talk her friends into coming with her.

One evening, when the moon was full and their Goddess was awake, Nopina and her friends approached Myca cautiously.

Myca sensed the women behind her. She allowed them to approach her before she turned to acknowledge them. The four girls walked toward her slowly, as if she could turn on them at any moment.  Their reaction humored Myca. She knew they were frightened, as she could read their thoughts. She was pleased they knew her so well.

“Goddess,” the girl who was at the forefront started, “We wish to speak with you about matters of the Temple.”

“Go on,” Myca said, nodding to the girl. The confidence and courage of the girl mildly impressed the new Goddess.

“I am Nopina. I have been chosen by the Council to organize Temple affairs.”       

“Is that so?”

Nopina paused. Her face flushed. She slowly nodded her head.

Myca stepped back and studied each of the young women individually. She wanted to know who they were and if they had an agenda.

Nopina was a petite girl, with large brown eyes and light hair. Two perfect curls fell on each side of her tiny round head. Nopina however, had a very large personality. When the tiny girl spoke, her voice was loud and strong. When she walked amongst the others she was immediately noticed.

Close behind Nopina stood two sisters, Kitane and Ariadnh. The women had dark hair piled upon their heads, fastened with gold clips. Their dark eyes were fixed upon the floor. They had come for the love of their friend, Nopina, not for the love of their Goddess. For Myca, the women held fear. The girls had spoken privately of the night Myca had arrived from the skies and appeared before them. They were skeptical that she was indeed a Goddess.

Kitane and Ariadnh were from a powerful and wealthy family in the city. Myca knew having these two among her followers may come to an advantage. She admired the thoughts of Kitane and Ariadnh. She believed their skepticism hinted to true intelligence and correct instinct. The sister’s stirred memories in her of Lehana. Myca saw the images of her once beloved sister but they would not create an emotional tie. Myca wondered if she would ever again feel love.

The fourth girl who stood silently behind the brunette sisters could have easily been overlooked. Any mortal standing in the room would not have known the girl was there at all. Myca went towards the girl, who never looked up to her.

“What is your story, young one?”

The girl looked up to Myca with Blue eyes. They did not hold fear, but shame.

“She cannot speak,” Nopina said.

Myca brought the girl’s wrist up to her lips and kissed it gently. She then bit into it, savoring the blood that came forth.

Nopina moved towards her dear friend, but stopped when she heard a moan of pleasure escape the girl’s lips.

Nopina did not want to believe that her snake Goddess would kill her friend, a sister to her. She breathed a sigh of relief when the Goddess parted her lips from Nona’s wrist.

Nona was from a Northern land. Myca had figured as much when she saw the girl’s light hair and complexion. She was sure when she saw her blue eyes.

Nopina’s father was in the trade business. He had a boat and he traveled to the Northern lands many times in order to trade goods with the large men who lived there. Her father dared to cross one of the men. As punishment, the man placed a curse upon Nopina’s father.

Nona was a slave girl. Her mother had been a slave, and her mother before her. She was considered expendable by the men she lived amongst in the cold snowy lands. The angry man lifted her by her hair violently and opened her mouth. Another man came up to her and cut out her tongue.

Nona was placed onto Nopina father’s doorstep and stabbed multiple times. The men knocked upon the door and left. Nopina answered the door.

Nopina did not scream. She did not turn in fear. Rather, she gathered the girl, who was miraculously still breathing, and nursed her back to health. She could not have been more than Nopina’s eighteen years. Nopina named her Nona. She had never been given a proper name by her people. Wherever Nopina was, Nona was not far. They developed a way to communicate with one another. They spoke with their hands in a language that only the two of them knew.

Myca did not want to kill the girl. She had already been through too much. The torture she felt Nona go through reminded her of the night her Temple burnt to the ground. Enosch’s fiend, Almóðr had inflicted a similar amount of pain upon her.

“I could use your help,” Myca finally said to the four of them.        

“Anything you wish, Goddess,” Nopina said, kneeling down upon one knee. The others quickly followed.

“I want to speak through you, the four of you. Your words shall be my words. Your actions shall be my actions. I am making the four of you, Nopina, Kitane, Ariadnh and Nona, High Priestesses of my Temple.”

The girls looked to each other with wide eyes. Again it was Nopina who spoke,

“What shall we do, Goddess?”

“My Temple doors will always be open. Treat all who come with equal respect. Feed them, give them wine. Most of all, listen to them. Listen to their words of suffering. Hear their prayers for me.”

Nopina smiled, “I believe we can do that for you, my Goddess.”

Myca was pleased. She was determined to be free from the Temple life.

Ten

            Myca enjoyed throwing a dark cloak around herself and standing in the shadows to watch the services of her Temple from afar. Women and men alike came to the Temple that was built in her name. Large statues of her adorned four corners of the large open room. The sisters, Kitane and Ariadnh, painted murals of her upon the walls. The people prayed to the images of Myca in hopes of a blessing from their Goddess. They went to her human leaders with their human needs. They prayed to Nopina and Nona for protection of their crops, fertility, and safety from personal enemies, love spells, ext, ext...

Myca still admired Lilith for reaching out to the human women and trying to really help them, but she could not. She was truly happy the people only spoke to the images of her and not her true self.

Myca watched as the women she had chosen passed out cups of wine and bread. As she had promised, Myca provided her worshipers human needs for their survival.

The group of humans lingering within the large open congressional area parted down the middle to allow a group of about five soldiers drag a man towards the altar and the four women who awaited them. The man would become Myca’s next sacrifice. Her followers would clean him and feed him in preparation of her. The thought made her flush with anticipation. The mortal women would not pleasure the man, as they had in the Temple of Jericho. In Myca’s Temple, pleasuring the man was her duty as his Goddess.

Myca jumped slightly when she felt the hand upon her shoulder. She had not sensed anyone near her. Had she been so focused on her thoughts?

Myca turned to see a man in a cloak much like hers. The man was not of her world. He was far too beautiful. Myca could see silky blonde hair and bright blue eyes beneath the black cloak. She sensed immense strength emanating from him. She had never met anyone more powerful than her mother, Lilith. She had not known there was such a being.    

“Come with me, Myca. We must speak.”

The man’s voice was deep and he spoke with an heir of authority. Myca did not believe she was in a position to deny his request. She immediately obliged.

Myca followed the Angel into her chambers. He walked in behind her and closed heavy bedrock door behind them, entombing them from the humans. He swung the cloak off of his shoulders. His perfectly chiseled image of man was wrapped in a golden cloth. His tan skin seemed to glow in the same hue.  Myca could see that he had once had wings, but they had been removed. They had not fallen off as Enosch’s had. This one’s wings seemed to have been ripped from his back. What remained was mutilated stubs of bone and leathered flesh. Myca was in pure awe of him.

“Do you know who I am, Myca? Did Lilith tell you of me?”

Myca shook her head slowly. The being before her did not match any image she had received from Lilith or her creation.

“No” she said softly, “Enosch has never known of you.”

The Fallen Angel before her smiled. A wide, perfect smile that lit up his beautiful blue eyes like stars.            “No, he has not. I am Lucifer, Myca. It was my idea to send you here to spread Lilith’s words. You have not done well, I’m afraid.”

Myca furrowed her brow, “Whatever do you mean? Am I supposed to answer every frivolous question enclosed within the guise of human prayer? Am I supposed to care for some, yet prey upon others? I do not understand what it is you want from me.”

Lucifer continued to smile. He reached out to Myca and she let him take her hand into his. His flesh was smooth and warm. He almost felt human, although there was no way he could hide the strength within him. Lucifer gently held her hand within his like he would a delicate flower.

“I understand, Myca. You are more like me than Lilith is. Lilith was human. A human created and punished by God. You were created by a man. You have no light, Myca. You are a Demon. A follower of mine. You have no sympathy towards the humans because they are your prey.”

The words Lucifer spoke to Myca were the same that had been running through her mind since her creation. She had felt most like herself when chained beside the throne of Enosch.

She sighed, “Exactly.”

“That is why I have come,” He said, “To explain to you why you must continue to spread Lilith’s words of equality. You don’t have to care about them any more than you already do. But you must do more to spread the Word. You must make your followers more dedicated to our cause.”

“And what cause would that be exactly?”

“Myca, you believe that all humans are equal, right? Equal in each and every way? All are options from which to feed, yes?”

“Well….yes.”

“That is the word that you preach to them. Equality. Give of your blood to make them stronger. To make them more loyal to our cause.”

Myca noticed the second use of the word our in Lucifer’s orders. She wanted to know how he shared in Lilith’s cause. It was obvious to her that he did not need Lilith.

“Why do you want us to spread the words of equality?” she asked Him, “How are you involved in all of this, exactly?”

Lucifer shook his head. He liked this one. She was smart.

“I see the future, Myca. I know of God’s future actions and I am planning accordingly.”

Myca nodded. She believed he had spoken the truth. Knowing Lucifer’s motivation helped her to understand her own role in his Plan. Myca had made a decision.

“I will do as you ask.”

“And, Myca,” Lucifer added as he dropped her hand and picked up his cloak, “You are free. Do what you will. If you want to stand behind and watch as those you dictate do the work that is your decision.”

Myca smiled.

Eleven

Myca felt like celebrating. She eagerly went to her chambers, where she knew her sacrifice would be waiting.

The man had been bathed and oiled for her. He stood nude in front of the large glowing ceremonial fire. His hands were still tied behind him. Myca knew that this indicated the man had been a challenge to those who prepared him for her. She enjoyed those who were a challenge.

His dark eyes glared at her with hate. His wet black hair was cut short and glistened in the firelight. Myca walked up to the man slowly, seductively. He had something she wanted.

Myca did not understand the powerful sex drive that came along with her creation. She enjoyed the act now even more than a human woman would. The blood, by contrast, was an ecstasy all of its own. It was a pleasure unique to Vampires.

Myca entered the man’s thoughts. His name was Sama. He was angry for being taken from his home by her people. He knew he was being prepared as a sacrifice and did not appreciate it. However, he had a difficult time not responding to her beautifully naked body.

Myca stayed within Sama’s thoughts as she reached out to him. She rubbed her hands gently down his smooth chest, careful not to scratch him with her long claws. She kissed his bronze neck, inhaling the aroma of the oils rubbed onto him. Myca gently nipped at his nipple. She reached down and cupped his testicles within the palm of her hand.

Myca could feel the pleasure as he felt it while within the thoughts of his mind. She also felt the hostility he had for himself for being so weak to this sort of torturous pleasure.

“Do not worry,” she whispered softly into his ear, “All mortal men are weak to this pleasure.”

Myca cut the ropes that bound Sama’s hands. They immediately came up to her breasts and he kissed her passionately. The memory of his fate subsided. He moved to mount her, but she stopped him.

“I am a Demon. We are always on top.”

Myca sat upon him, and thus able to adjust herself for her optimum pleasure. Myca grinded her hips into his, enjoying the waves of heat that pulsated through her body.  She leaned down to him and sank her teeth into his pulsating jugular vein. The bite granted Sama a pleasure he had never experienced before.

In unison, the Demoness and her sacrifice convulsed in human ecstasy. Myca bit her wrist and placed it to the lips of the man beneath her.

“Drink!” she demanded.

Sama did as he was told and Myca reveled in the repercussions.

As her blood filled his veins, Sama became stronger. Memories from Myca flooded his mind. He saw Lilith and the women of the Temple where Myca was born. He saw images of her true mother and the death and destruction that had surrounded her creation. He also saw her conversation with Lucifer and the intentions she had of lying to the very people who worshiped at her feet. He stopped and rolled onto the floor, his body being struck with the searing pain of creation.

Myca watched in horror as the man before her screamed, his bones breaking from the flesh of his back.

“No!” Myca fretted. She did not mean to do this. She would surely be punished for creating this sacrifice. She had to destroy him, and quickly.

Myca franticly looked about her surroundings. Near the fire was Myca’s sacrificial dagger. She reached over and grabbed it with both of her hands. Myca crawled over to Sama, who writhed on the floor in unbearable pain. She again straddled the man. She lifted her arms and plunged the dagger into his chest. Over and over she brought the dagger down into his flesh.

Myca eventually stopped and stood up from the bloody corpse of Sama. In shock of what had transpired, Myca threw the half-vampire body into her ceremonial fire. Myca vowed to never again bring a sacrifice into her bed.

Twelve

For generations of time, Myca’s Temple flourished in Knossos. Myca did as she had promised to Lucifer. She began placing drops of her blood in all of the wine, she bade her four loyal women to tell the humans of equality and women ruled in the Temple. Despite her efforts and to Myca’s great dissapointment, her time in Rule became short-lived.

Right away, Myca knew something was very wrong. The very air that surrounded her was hot and brittle, as if it were about to combust. Myca smelled ash and quickly sat up in her bed. The sounds of movement and whimpering pleas echoed through the corridors of Myca’s temple. Myca stepped out from her chambers, which were hidden from the elements like a tomb within the walls of the Temple that had been built in her name.

 It’s daylight, she thought.

 She could feel it. The sun should be out to burn her eyes. Yet, outside was as dark as the dead of night. Dark clouds of ash blanketed the sky, bringing with them rains of ash and hot embers. The people of Knossos ran, trying to find refuge from the burning sky. The volcano, which towered over the lands of Knossos, emited a low- guteral sound. Molten lava spewed from the peak and slithered closer, threatening to engulf the city she had protected for centuries. Myca could not protect it from this natural enemy. She knew she had no choice but to flee, leaving Knossos and her girls to die. She spread her massive wings and allowed the winds to lift her into the sky. She had only one place to flee, she headed towards Lilith’s Temple.

As Myca flew into the sky, she dared to look back at the island she had called her home for many years. She saw the clouds of ash as they moved quickly towards her. They burned within the sky, igniting in hues of red, orange and blue. She could feel the heat upon her dead flesh. Myca knew that if she were a human, her skin would have been seared and cooked as if upon a fire. Below her were boats, filled with people who tried to escape the inferno by sea. Mothers and Lovers lay upon those who they most loved in this world, trying desperately to protect them from the falling hell.  They had all failed in their attempts. Those who dove in to the sea for protection bobbed up and down with the waves, their bodies bloated in the boiling waters. Tears of blood fell from Myca’s worried face as she traveled onward to a new life for herself.

Ishtar

The times had gotten more violent for the mortals. Rulers and Kings believed they owned more of the lands and they tormented the small villages that surrounded them in order to gain even more wealth.

            The Greeks had chariots, pulled by the quickest of horses. Hundreds were sent out into the battlefields. In Central Europe, swords and armor were molded from iron. Battles commenced as Kings greedily declared war for more territory.

            Lilith was not surprised to see more vampires being created. They took the place of mortals in King’s armies. Throughout the battles, they became legends.

Lilith’s coven was again attacked by her son’s brutal vampire children. The vampires flooded into Lilith’s temple biting, clawing, and burning everything in their path. The evil beasts that had been spawned from her destroyed all. One of the victims, Ishtar, had been bitten and thrown onto the pile of corpses that used to be her sisterhood. As the blood flowed from the dead around her, drops landed into her mouth, granting her the strength to stay alive.

Lilith knew the fiends were on their way to the Temple. She had made it a point to keep her sons’ armies within within her sights. This temple was south of her Temple in Jericho. She flew into the night, moving as fast as she could.

This is not happening again! No. No. No.

The further Lilith flew through the star filled skies, the more she feared what she would find when reaching her destination.

The shape of civilization appeared along the horizon. Structures towered above massive walls built to keep away invading armies of mortal men.  It was larger than anything Lilith had ever seen before. She knew man had advanced in architecture and technology, but to see it was another matter entirely. Gardens had sprung from the deserts themselves, watered by irrigation systems created by the people who needed more food to feed their ever-multiplying mouths. Even though their efforts were done in vein, Lilith had to admit that they were more than sufficient.

The Temple dedicated to her was the most beautiful Lilith had ever seen. It was two stories tall and as large as her own city of Jericho. Paintings and sculptures of her, Cain and their sons could be found throughout the grounds. Her Temple was a village in its own right. Women had worked and lived within these walls., which protected them from harm. Tears of blood streamed down Lilith’s face as she scanned the area for life. She would never have the opportunity to meet those who called this Temple their home. Lilith could only sense a glimmer of hope among all of the despair. Although, the glimmer of life she sensed was not that of a mortal. The metamorphasis had already begun.

           

Lilith glided through the complex seeking out the last survivor. When she found the woman, she was buried beneath a pile of dead bodies. The stale blood of her deceased sisters was what had kept her alive. Lilith would not allow her to die. She felt guilt for not arriving in time to save more of these women. Ishtar was trembling, weak from the psychological torment of being buried under the dead. Lilith finished the creation process. She took her daughter into her arms, and fed her the blood from her wrists.

            After many years of teaching Ishtar how to manage her new strength and use the intelligence and enlightenment passed down to her, Lilith released Ishtar to her homeland of Babylon. She was to become the next Goddess.

Instead of appearing in the night as the people’s Moon Goddess, as her Mother and Myca had, Ishtar decided to take a different approach.