June 20th, 2017

The night before had gone better than expected. Apparently, they weren?t the only place in the city having difficulty, and most of the patrons had a good time poking fun at the situation. All the better if everyone felt like they were all in this together. It certainly made Lilith?s job easier.

Today her agenda consisted of one item: cool off the club somehow. With the air conditioning down, it was almost sweltering up in the VIP area. Once you added hundreds of moving bodies, it became almost unbearable. Last night they had used huge blocks of ice and battery powered fans, but Lilith was trying to come up with something more efficient.

Time to talk herself into what she was about to do. ?Okay. I can chill a cup between my hands so I just have to take that idea and make it bigger. And?out.? Furrowing her brow in concentration, she raised her palms like she was in the midst of a worship session and tried to focus. Just like cooling off a warm beer on a summer day. Just?a?little?.more?

The chandelier above her came crashing down, shattering into a million pieces of ice covered crystal as it hit the dance floor. Lilith dove out of the way, arms shielding her face from the shrapnel. After everything went quiet, she propped herself up on her arms and surveyed the damage. ?I am not supposed to be able to do that?? Sitting the rest of the way up, she shook her head in disbelief then stared down at her palms. ?What in the Darkness??

Lexi came running down the stairs and skidded to a stop next to Lilith. ?What did you do??

?I. I don?t know.? Lilith got to her feet and brushed her hands off on her jeans. ?Help me clean this up.? Grabbing Lexi?s arm as she went by, she steered them towards the employee hallway and the closet full of brooms.

?So would now be a bad time to mention the microwave??

Lilith stopped. Turned. Stared. ?What about the microwave?? It was an appliance. That ran on electricity. So theoretically, it should not be doing anything at all right now.

?Well, the door won?t stay shut and it keeps burping these seed pods into the apartment. But on the bright side, where ever they land the prettiest little tufts of flowers appear!?

Lilith abruptly turned and headed back down the hallway towards the dance floor.

?Lilith? Where are you going? I thought we were going to clean???

The only reply Lexi heard was the distinctive sound of a lowball glass hitting the bar followed by the unmistakable ?glug glug? of a healthy dose of alcohol being poured into it.

With a shrug, Lexi followed.

June 22, 2017

Lilith crouched on the branch, waiting. Stalking. Her breath was the gentlest of whispers. Not even a rustle made as she shifted her weight forward. The moose still wasn?t quite close enough for her to drop onto it yet. It was happily munching on a nearby shrub. Lilith was considering trying to maneuver her way into a closer tree if it didn?t pass below her soon. Her knife was sheathed to her thigh, plenty long enough and sharp enough to reach the brain for a humane kill, provided she got the drop she was looking for.

In the past she just reached out and ?switched off? her prey?s brain. But lately, her abilities had gotten very?unpredictable. Last night, when she had been hunting, instead of simply taking out the stag she had been aiming for, she had accidentally vaporized everything within a 50 yard radius of herself. Including a colony of adorable rabbits. It looked like a mini crater. Not one lick of life was left.

So in an attempt not to repeat Bunnygate, here she was. In a tree. Doing it the old fashioned way. Moose blood was delicious. Earthy with the right amount of gamey spice to compliment almost any bourbon she got her hands on. And the meat would fetch a good price at the butcher. Now, if only that blasted animal would come just a little?yes, that was it!

The moose ambled its way towards Lilith?s tree. Just another few feet now. Almost. Almost. Lilith tensed her muscles, poised to spring like the predator she had been trained to be. Her fingers twitched next to her leg, ready to draw her knife mid-jump and slam it home into the beast?s skull. The moose was in place. Lilith took a deep breath and?

LILITH AMMARIE DEBROUGH! LIIIIILLLLLLIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTHHHHHHHHHH!!

Her entire mind was on fire, burning white hot. Lilith?s vision swam. She felt herself let go of the branch, her body freefalling. The echo of Lexi?s yelling bounced around her brain like ball bearings, crashing through the glass walls of her consciousness. The summoning stone was supposed to be a gentle ringing at the edge of her thoughts, a call she could ignore or answer at her leisure. It was not supposed to be like getting your brain flattened by a semi.

The bush that broke her fall was full of brambles and thorns, and Lilith spent a few seconds scrambling free, tearing small holes all over her pants and shirt in the process. Hearing a weird clicking sound behind her she spun, a little unsteady on her feet. The moose was snapping its teeth together. Lilith took a couple steps backwards, trying not to aggravate the beast further. Too late, it seemed. The moose rolled its neck, tossing its head backwards like an angry horse. Then it charged.

Lilith turned and ran, the moose right on her heels. Lilith was supernaturally fast, but the moose was still faster. Pushing her battered body to the limit, she leapt and swung herself up onto a branch just out of reach of those massive antlers. Continuing to climb, she hauled herself up a handful more branches until she was satisfied she was out of reach for good.

When the moose had wandered off, Lilith dropped out of the tree (more gracefully this time), and headed back towards town, murder on her mind. Specifically, the murder of a pain in the ass feline named Lexi.

***

Lexi had gotten tired of waiting and had gone to look for her boss. A dirty homeless woman with twigs and leaves in her hair was heading towards her, and it took her a minute to realize it was Lilith.

?Oh, wow. What happened to you? Your hair looks unreal.? Lexi ran up to Lilith, grabbing her by the shoulder. ?Never mind, it doesn?t matter. I was just coming to look for you, oh just wait until you see what happened!? Half dragging Lilith, she jogged them towards Sanctuary, until she rounded the final corner and felt resistance.

Lilith stopped in her tracks, pulling Lexi to a halt beside her. There was a gigantic willow tree in the middle of the street right in front of Sanctuary. Not to mention wildflowers, grass, and other plants that had completely taken over. There were vines crawling up the face of the building, and forcing themselves in through the doorway. Lexi was yammering on, and it took Lilith a moment to process what she was seeing enough to listen.

??not really the whole building, just the front part. I tried to call you, did it work? Our apartment is fine, aside from all those seed pods. If you had a phone it would be so much easier when stuff like this happens. It?s not so bad, though, right? I mean, it?s kind of beautiful, don?t you think? We could do a woodland creature theme, or call of the wild, or??

Lilith tuned her out. More breathing exercises. More counting. Nothing was going to be enough for this. It was dangerous enough for the less powerful species magic to be going haywire. With someone like her? It was a disaster waiting to happen. That creature inside of her was hard enough to strap down as it was. With the right provocation it could level every living thing in the city that wasn?t properly warded. It was time to get some answers. With a sharp move, she broke Lexi?s hold on her arm and turned back towards the way she had come.

Lexi followed for a few paces, confused. ?Where are you going now? The alcohol is inside.?

?To get a phone. Then to figure out what?s going on and how to make it stop.?

?Yes! Make sure you get a case for it!?