33
Legacy
(Lillie Joanna)
All I can hear are the beating of wings against the air around us. My delirium is unprecedented as memory after memory assaults my very soul. I needed to make amends. I needed to fulfill my destiny, one of my own choosing. I chose to become the deliverer of retribution to those that do not deserve clemency. Because I once held the balance of all the worlds in my hands. The future of mankind and fae-kind alike. I was the reason that the worlds collided. I was the reason that mankind fell into their sinful ways. I was Eve. And Lachlan was Adam. We were kindred souls! Until I ripped the very fabric of our existence to pieces when I ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Life. That is my legacy for all of mankind.
Oh, my gods.
What did I do?
Everything slams into me all at once and then it stops as quickly as it began. That’s when I sense a change in the arms around me. I gasp as I realize that my kindred soul mate has shifted back to Daxell’s form and we begin our descent from our dizzying height. Only one of us has wings now. The sensory download must have been too much for him through our bond. Hell, it was overwhelming for me and I lived through it and was designed to withstand it. Panic all but swallows me up as we continue to fall out of the blood-red sky, the wind buffeting us. Suddenly I remember the wings that exploded out of my back as I clutch onto Daxell. I have no idea as to how to work the useless appendages on my back.
What the hell?
This should be easy, right?
On second thought, I begin to pray to my creator. I don’t think that we can die. Not easily, but plummeting to the ground below us will hurt like a mother fucker. Closing my eyes, I concentrate on my wings and they slowly spread out slowing our descent. I’m clueless as to how to operate these new appendages and damnation if they are slow to cooperate.
“Seriously?!” I scream as we continue to plummet from the sky like broken dolls.
Suddenly, I feel claw-like hands from behind and our descent slows. It’s then that I see both Leviathan and Asmodeus. Their demons obviously in control as they slow our descent. Their bat-like wings are such a stark contrast to Daxell’s. I’m all but spent and surrender to the two Fallen. Knowing that they would never allow anything bad to happen to Daxell or his demon.
Slowly, I wake from the most disturbing dream. I was Eve, as in Adam and fucking Eve. What the hell was that all about? Why, oh why does that feel so right to me? Then it hits me. It wasn’t a dream at all! Holy freaking demon babies everywhere. This can’t be happening.
I was the original Eve. I was the reason that mankind went down the ultimate path of destruction. Not to mention that I doomed my family. The family that I had with Adam. Adam who is now my twin brother. How the hell do I even process any of this?
“LJ?” Daxell is by my side, “It’s okay, I know you’re freaking the hell out, but don’t freak out.”
“I’m freaking out, Daxell! And you know why.” I all but shout.
“It’s okay. Everything is going to be all right.” He soothes.
“How can you say that?” I demand and scramble back away from his touch, scrubbing my hands over my face. Then I remember the wings that exploded out of my back and launch myself onto my knees, frantically looking over my shoulder, desperate to get a good look at them, but don’t feel them weighing my back down. Where did they go?
“Lillie Joanna!” Poppy pops up in front of me snapping those tiny fingers in my face and flitting here in there, “Girlfriend … get a hold of yourself! You don’t get to freak out right now. So, get your shit together!”
“But I …” I stammer, not sure what she will think of me when she hears the truth. “Poppy, I was Eve. As in Adam and Eve, as in the stupid bitch who listened to a serpent and ate the forbidden fruit. That freakin’ Eve.”
She considers my words carefully, cocking her head to the side. Her dark hair spills over her delicate face. She reaches up to flip it back over her shoulder before asking, “Does it matter? Who you used to be? I mean, does any of that matter today? You of all people should know that we learn from our history. Isn’t that why you’re here? You may have been Eve all those years ago, but today? Today you are my Lillie JoBug, you are your Da’s little flower, Lillie Joanna. You are who you are today, who now happens to have a wealth of life-time experiences and knowledge to fall back on. And yeah … you just so happen to be the badass goddess of retribution.”
My tiniest best friend in all the worlds strikes a chord within me, knocking some overdue sense into my slightly addled brain. “You’re right, Poppy. Thank
