Tears of Blood by Simone Beaudelaire Page A

to walk with them in the courtyard in the evening.
She’d turned them all down. She didn’t foresee changing that in the
near future.
    A clashing sound drew her attention
to the far side of the courtyard, where two young men were sparring with
blunted daggers. Back before she’d been forbidden any contact with
Josiah or with weapons, she’d been one of the best at that. In fact, the
excuse for denying her access to the practice field was that her ability
discouraged the boys. Sigh. While she wanted to remain part of the clerical
order, and do what she could in the battle they all knew was coming, she had to
admit, this was a very old-fashioned society.
    ***
    The black fire which barely
illuminated the interior of the hive where Lilith resided also put out little
heat. Naked demonesses shivered in the corners of the room, their emerald eyes
gleaming like lamps as they converted the dim flame into useful illumination.
On the bed, the long, pale body of the demon queen writhed. A low moan echoed
from her full lips. Then she let out a long hiss. Beside her a drone screamed,
and then his scream was cut off as her long talons crushed his throat.
    "Mother," a succubus who
stood a safe distance from the range of those deadly claws said,
"it’s time."
    "I know that, idiot,"
the demon snarled. "I’ve done this thousands of times." She
bore down, her fangs grinding together. One long tooth speared her lower lip
and black blood dripped down her chin.
    From the foot of the bed, a
long-haired woman reached out and scooped up the tiny creature who had just
emerged from Lilith’s body.
    "Hello, sister," she
whispered to the infant, a tiny girl with a wisp of golden hair and glowing
green eyes. "Welcome." She wiped blood from the baby’s face
and body with a towel and then wrapped the little one in a blanket.
    "Well?" Lilith snarled.
    "Another fine daughter,"
the succubus said hesitantly. Lilith howled in rage and rose to her knees,
swiping claws in the direction of her two daughters. The succubus turned to the
side, protecting the baby and receiving four deep gouges in her arm. Blood
spurted from the wound and the succubus' teeth set, but she did not cry out.
    "Another girl?! Always another
girl," she hissed in disgust. "For centuries I have tried for a
son. Why can I not have one? When will the promised incubus arrive?"
    "Mother?" A sly voice
emerged from the shadows, followed by a golden-haired demoness with a devious
expression.
    "Yes, Jezebel?" Lilith
addressed her most loyal and dangerous daughter.
    "Suppose we have misunderstood
some part of the prophecy?"
    "What do you mean?" When
Jezebel spoke, Lilith always listened. That Salome knew. She cuddled her
newborn sister to her chest and slipped from the end of the bed, withdrawing to
a hidden alcove where she could eavesdrop without being seen.
    "Just this," Jezebel
replied. "I have seen something which gives me deep suspicion. I went to
visit one of the sisters some time ago, and she was holding a child. She said
she was seducing his father. But now I wonder. Why would that have been
necessary? We succubae have powers and need no such petty tricks."
    "His?" The demon
queen’s voice was low and dangerous.
    "Yes. A baby boy with the most
striking green eyes, and then..."
    "Go on," Lilith urged,
her bifurcated tongue tasting her dry lips.
    "Then more recently, when we
attacked a family of clerics on vacation, they had with them the most amazing
boy, with green eyes and a taste..." her own tongue shot out as though
sensing the air in memory of the boy’s flavor. "It was like a
succubus... but not. Words can’t express. He relocated instantly, and we
never could find him again. But I couldn’t help wondering what he
was."
    Salome gulped.
    "Why did you not report this
to me immediately?" Lilith asked. From her hiding place in the corner,
Salome flinched. If Mother had used that tone of voice with anyone else, it
would have been a precursor to a swift and bloody death.
    "I didn’t