For the next few days, Rachel kept going to school and working with Jesse as her lab partner. It felt weird, since she knew him so well and he didn't know her (or so he thought), but their interactions were mostly good. There was one incident where Rachel felt like she'd slightly annoyed Jesse, but he seemed to have gotten over it by the end of class.

The next week, however, things were different. When Rachel got to her Science class, the teacher Mrs. McLain had an announcement. "Okay, everyone," she said, "Today's the first day of our Sex Ed unit. And you know what that means."

I returned her intense look and felt a wave of relief washing over me. I noticed a tiny smile on her face that was getting bigger by the second.

I tried to pull her up slowly. A few seconds later, Mary was up and let herself fall into my arms. We hugged intently for a while. Two sisters against the world. Nobody and nothing could shake us.

During this intense hug we were both crying. We held each other close a little bit longer and then finally let go.

“I am so sorry, Riley. I think that I was way too harsh.”

“I know almost everything they say about lawyers,” he responded. “We make up most of the jokes ourselves. But what do they say about linguists?”

Randy didn't know what to do. He'd lost his family and his house. He didn't have any immediate relatives he could live with, and as far as friends went...there was Jesse Pindle. He was Randy's best friend, and his family had always been very hospitable to Randy. But the Pindles were off on a cruise, and they wouldn't be home for another couple weeks. Randy wished very badly that he could stay with them, but they wouldn't be an option. All he could do was find a secluded alleyway and sleep in there for the night.

"It's Saturday, Mom!" I Shouted.

Watching the spreading fire through the eyes of a ghost flying high above the camp, Keir smiled at his work. He'd never tried to animate a forest before, the challenge had been interesting. Of course he'd never been near a forest where virtually all of the plants were dead. He wasn't sure if he should find the creation of poison gas on such a scale interesting or terrifying.

Author’s note: TRIGGER WARNING. This chapter contains a description of abuse and sex trafficking. Also, this is the final chapter of the first book of Lilith. I have more planned but I will have to wait a bit to get the outline done on it before I start writing. I am grateful to all of you who have traveled through the adventures of Lilith.
***

December 6th
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Hello, Elise,
Hey, there, Seth. Just a reminder from me:

The demons moved cautiously through the dead forest. Most of them had fought in the ferocious battles that had seen the humans nearly exterminated in the region. The piles of bones, the cracking of dead wood, and the stench of death reminded them that the enemy couldn't be underestimated. Still, the instinctive need to kill the humans was strong.

Calci and I were working on our anti-mind control potion again. Like the other day the first half of the class had been a lecture on various alchemicals and how they interact with each other. Professor Pyrotechny was still smoking from adding dragons bile to cockatrice venom. The clockwork teacher been demonstrating why reading the instructions was extremely important, and how two seemingly harmless ingredients could have a very volatile reaction.

Keir sat back watching the dead work under direction of living officers, preparing for the coming battle. Most of the living were checking their weapons or resting before the demons arrived. One of the priests was holding a quick service for anyone needing religious support.

The next few days, the media was filled with news about me and my request to see those in charge of this country. President Frump was among those that made a public statement on the subject. His statement said that he refused to meet with me and that I was still considered a terrorist. What an idiot. The media was still all over the place on what I was and what it meant for the future of the country.

Zoe, Olivia, and Lanie all crowded together, doing their best to protect the box of explosives. "You hand over that bomb you're carrying," said Circe, "Or else all three of you will be killed!"

"Never!" said Lanie. She fired a bolt of energy at Circe, but Circe just absorbed it with her hand.

Olivia looked at Circe with a burning hatred. "You've caused us a lot of trouble," she said. "You trained Miss Johnson to turn boys into girls, which led to the disaster of the Y. F. F. H. You kidnapped Bailey, you kidnapped Rachel, and your men even killed Bailey!"

Lady Plague sat on the throne of mithril and emerald green spider silk, that filled one entire side of her office, staring down at Blood Wing, Micheal and myself with her pitch black eyes. The dragon skull on her golden sceptre seemed to be growling at us.