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Hel Logesdottir has a plan to avoid being identified as an Immortal by a death-seer at her school. So she's making a request of Lilitu.

It's a plan filled with typical teenaged foresight.

This is a scene from Divine Blood

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

The sound of chimes and bells came out of the chapel just moments before the doors opened to let out a small crowd of people dressed in their Sunday best. Among them was someone easily discernible by the intricate red marks on her face as she walked out, brushing her blond hair back and chatting with some of the other church goers.

“No, it’s getting a lot better,” Lilitu told the people walking beside her. “Most of the bruises have stopped coming back.”

“And then you’ll be heading back to your work and your normal church,” someone noted. “It’s always good to meet a fellow believer, even an American, but it’s a shame you’re here only for such a short time.”

“Well, the Creator willing I’ll be in the area again,” Lilitu returned. “But we’ll see.”

“You know, I’ve been wondering why you say ‘Creator’ instead of ‘God’,” someone noted.

When Lizbet appeared and jumped up to Lilitu’s shoulder, several of the people around her backed away in surprise at the odd seeming cat. “Miss Geisthexe, you must do something about that cat’s behavior. She is somewhat terrifying sometimes.”

“Oh, Lizbet doesn’t mean any harm,” Lilitu noted, scratching the familiar’s head as she glanced back to see Hel standing under a tree across the street.

“Very strange animal, I must say,” someone noted.

“Yeah, a custom breed,” the blond woman said before turning back to face them. “Excuse me; I see something I have to take care of. I’ll probably see you next week for mass.”

“God go with you, Miss Geisthexe,” one of the men said in a friendly tone.

“The Creator’s always there,” she responded with a smile as she broke off.

Lilitu’s expression turned serious as she marched across the street and looked in different directions. “What are you doing out here?”

“I need to ask a favor,” Hel noted quietly.

“Let’s find somewhere else to talk first,” Lilitu said, bending down to pick the girl up.

“What are you doing?” the red-headed death seer demanded, taking a step back.

“Well, unless I want to burst into sulphurous smoke in front of the one sanctioned Baptist church in this city, you’re getting carried,” Lilitu said insistently. “Consider it punishment for ditching Moloch.”

Despite a weak attempt to back away again, Lilitu managed to easily bend down and scoop Hel up into her arms as Lizbet jumped down from her shoulders and padded on ahead of her. Fuming silently until Lilitu brought them into an alleyway and burst into smoke, leaving behind Lizbet to curl into a hidden corner, reappearing in a small room with comfortably thick air that smelled of brimstone and home to Hel.

The room they were in was fashioned of a dark, organic material, almost as if it had been grown rather than built. There was a rough-hewn wooden bed in one of the rooms that looked like it might have been made in Germany three hundred years ago, but other than that, the furniture had the same warm, slightly alive feeling that the walls of the building had.

When Lilitu sat her down on the floor Hel, without seeming to pay much heed to the alien furniture, hobbled to a window and looked out into a smoky sky where a deep red sun hung over everything. In the distance, a massive snake with eight separate heads was curled around three of the visible mountains.

“What are we doing in Yomi?” Hel asked cautiously.

“Getting some privacy and checking my apartment,” Lilitu said.
Hel glanced around the tightly packed, sparsely decorated set of rooms. “Lilitu, you’re first tier, can you not afford a better apartment?”

“What was your favor, Hel?” the blond asked, walking over to a bulge in the wall. It was asymmetric in design, but uniform in shape, clearly crafted for function and an alien sort of beauty. Lilitu tapped on the center of the bulge and the surface twisted open to reveal a stack of boxes within out of which Lilitu pulled a colorful variety of cereal.

“This trip to Sydney is coming fairly soon,” Hel noted. “And there will be a mortal death seer there.”

“Well, I can fashion an excuse for you,” Lilitu said. “Play the aunt thing and say you have family business for that week.”

“No, I must certainly compete in that competition!” Hel insisted.

“Okay, so what do you want me to do? Ambush the other death seer and bind their powers for a week?” Lilitu asked. “I’m a Shadow, I’m supposed to investigate crimes, not cause them.”

“You’re a spy, Lilitu,” Hel noted.

“Okay, not cause crimes against parties uninvolved in our business,” the other noted.

“In any case, no, I don’t want that either.”

“What do you want?”

“I need something to simulate a lifespan,” Hel said. “And Orochi won’t…”

Lilitu held out her hand toward Hel and reached up to squeeze the bridge of her nose.

“You want me to commit attempted murder … on you and whoever the Compact decides to kill along with you,” she said after gathering her thoughts together. “So you can get around the suicide barrier in Orochi?”

“It only needs to last for a week,” Hel protested. “And then you take it off. That way I will be able to escape detection as an Immortal in case I am unable to avoid interacting with this mortal.”

“You want me, to shape … a killing curse. On. You,” Lilitu spoke flatly.

“Only for a little while,” Hel repeated.

“Hel, there is no little while with you like this,” Lilitu snapped. “Your life-force is already shredded by your own power. You can’t predict how fast any particular killing curse will work on you.”

“I suppose there’s some form of poison,” Hel suggested.

“No.”

“Are there diseases that can survive our immune…”

“No.”

“There aren’t ANY diseases we can catch?”

“Some bacterials, but no I’m not infecting you.”

“How about…”

“No familiars either. Unless you want one that feeds on something other than you.”

“That won’t help me simulate a life-span. There are those rune parasite vines for sealing powers; do we have any of those?”

“Oh so you can be helpless and dying, got it, wonderful. No.”

“But how am I going to avoid this death seer?” Hel asked. “She’s the student body historian, she’s going to be one of the student officers making sure everyone gets on.”

“Two options,” Lilitu said.

“Yes?” Hel asked hopefully.

“Don’t go.”

“Not an option.”

“Just let her know you’re Immortal.”

“But … that’s not…”

“It’s just a mortal death seer,” the blond said with exasperation. “One or two of them stumble on one of us or the other side every so often. It isn’t that big a deal.”

“But this death-seer…” Hel protested insistently.

“What about this death-seer?” Lilitu asked, feeling tired suddenly, “Is there something more than just a mortal problem here?”

“No, no,” Hel said. “Its fine, I shall handle it somehow.”

“Let’s go, Lizbet says the coast is clear back on Earth,” Lilitu said, laying a hand on Hel’s shoulder.

**************************
Index of Other Divine Blood Stories and Art in my gallery

Divine Blood Index**************************
Divine Blood stories available on DA:
Novel Sample Chapters:
This Looks Like a Safe Neighborhood... : http://fav.me/d42d6br
Deployment: http://fav.me/d42d9cq
Just a Girl: http://fav.me/d42dado
Creepy Cute: http://fav.me/d42dbfa
In Motion: http://fav.me/d42ddgt
Center of It: http://fav.me/d42dfjf
Unique Perspective: http://fav.me/d53r3zz
Extracurriculars listed chronologically to the Divine Blood Timeline (focus character in parantheses):
Regarding the Proper Use of Force (Gaetana Trolleti): http://fav.me/d5vpbpa
Following Dernhelm (Eowyn Desai): http://fav.me/d5bh3hn
Can't Go Home (Whelan Connor): http://fav.me/d5nw5qc
Smoke Over Grimsvotn (Lilitu Geisthexe): http://fav.me/d5bh2wj
Serious Matter (Sherissie Minaba): http://fav.me/d5bh3zv
A Day in the Life of a Busy Woman (Mao Semezou): http://fav.me/d5c0o5b
High School Hel (Hel Logesdottir): http://fav.me/d5j1hg7
Pop Quiz (Naiki Semezou): http://fav.me/d62tdla
Magnets: http://fav.me/d6eju4e
*******************

**************************
DrivethruRPG Storefront: rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.p…
Amazon Author Page: www.amazon.com/Luke-Green/e/B0…
Smashwords Author Page: www.smashwords.com/profile/vie…

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

Description

Art by

Hel Logesdottir has a plan to avoid being identified as an Immortal by a death-seer at her school. So she's making a request of Lilitu.

It's a plan filled with typical teenaged foresight.

This is a scene from Divine Blood

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

The sound of chimes and bells came out of the chapel just moments before the doors opened to let out a small crowd of people dressed in their Sunday best. Among them was someone easily discernible by the intricate red marks on her face as she walked out, brushing her blond hair back and chatting with some of the other church goers.

“No, it’s getting a lot better,” Lilitu told the people walking beside her. “Most of the bruises have stopped coming back.”

“And then you’ll be heading back to your work and your normal church,” someone noted. “It’s always good to meet a fellow believer, even an American, but it’s a shame you’re here only for such a short time.”

“Well, the Creator willing I’ll be in the area again,” Lilitu returned. “But we’ll see.”

“You know, I’ve been wondering why you say ‘Creator’ instead of ‘God’,” someone noted.

When Lizbet appeared and jumped up to Lilitu’s shoulder, several of the people around her backed away in surprise at the odd seeming cat. “Miss Geisthexe, you must do something about that cat’s behavior. She is somewhat terrifying sometimes.”

“Oh, Lizbet doesn’t mean any harm,” Lilitu noted, scratching the familiar’s head as she glanced back to see Hel standing under a tree across the street.

“Very strange animal, I must say,” someone noted.

“Yeah, a custom breed,” the blond woman said before turning back to face them. “Excuse me; I see something I have to take care of. I’ll probably see you next week for mass.”

“God go with you, Miss Geisthexe,” one of the men said in a friendly tone.

“The Creator’s always there,” she responded with a smile as she broke off.

Lilitu’s expression turned serious as she marched across the street and looked in different directions. “What are you doing out here?”

“I need to ask a favor,” Hel noted quietly.

“Let’s find somewhere else to talk first,” Lilitu said, bending down to pick the girl up.

“What are you doing?” the red-headed death seer demanded, taking a step back.

“Well, unless I want to burst into sulphurous smoke in front of the one sanctioned Baptist church in this city, you’re getting carried,” Lilitu said insistently. “Consider it punishment for ditching Moloch.”

Despite a weak attempt to back away again, Lilitu managed to easily bend down and scoop Hel up into her arms as Lizbet jumped down from her shoulders and padded on ahead of her. Fuming silently until Lilitu brought them into an alleyway and burst into smoke, leaving behind Lizbet to curl into a hidden corner, reappearing in a small room with comfortably thick air that smelled of brimstone and home to Hel.

The room they were in was fashioned of a dark, organic material, almost as if it had been grown rather than built. There was a rough-hewn wooden bed in one of the rooms that looked like it might have been made in Germany three hundred years ago, but other than that, the furniture had the same warm, slightly alive feeling that the walls of the building had.

When Lilitu sat her down on the floor Hel, without seeming to pay much heed to the alien furniture, hobbled to a window and looked out into a smoky sky where a deep red sun hung over everything. In the distance, a massive snake with eight separate heads was curled around three of the visible mountains.

“What are we doing in Yomi?” Hel asked cautiously.

“Getting some privacy and checking my apartment,” Lilitu said.
Hel glanced around the tightly packed, sparsely decorated set of rooms. “Lilitu, you’re first tier, can you not afford a better apartment?”

“What was your favor, Hel?” the blond asked, walking over to a bulge in the wall. It was asymmetric in design, but uniform in shape, clearly crafted for function and an alien sort of beauty. Lilitu tapped on the center of the bulge and the surface twisted open to reveal a stack of boxes within out of which Lilitu pulled a colorful variety of cereal.

“This trip to Sydney is coming fairly soon,” Hel noted. “And there will be a mortal death seer there.”

“Well, I can fashion an excuse for you,” Lilitu said. “Play the aunt thing and say you have family business for that week.”

“No, I must certainly compete in that competition!” Hel insisted.

“Okay, so what do you want me to do? Ambush the other death seer and bind their powers for a week?” Lilitu asked. “I’m a Shadow, I’m supposed to investigate crimes, not cause them.”

“You’re a spy, Lilitu,” Hel noted.

“Okay, not cause crimes against parties uninvolved in our business,” the other noted.

“In any case, no, I don’t want that either.”

“What do you want?”

“I need something to simulate a lifespan,” Hel said. “And Orochi won’t…”

Lilitu held out her hand toward Hel and reached up to squeeze the bridge of her nose.

“You want me to commit attempted murder … on you and whoever the Compact decides to kill along with you,” she said after gathering her thoughts together. “So you can get around the suicide barrier in Orochi?”

“It only needs to last for a week,” Hel protested. “And then you take it off. That way I will be able to escape detection as an Immortal in case I am unable to avoid interacting with this mortal.”

“You want me, to shape … a killing curse. On. You,” Lilitu spoke flatly.

“Only for a little while,” Hel repeated.

“Hel, there is no little while with you like this,” Lilitu snapped. “Your life-force is already shredded by your own power. You can’t predict how fast any particular killing curse will work on you.”

“I suppose there’s some form of poison,” Hel suggested.

“No.”

“Are there diseases that can survive our immune…”

“No.”

“There aren’t ANY diseases we can catch?”

“Some bacterials, but no I’m not infecting you.”

“How about…”

“No familiars either. Unless you want one that feeds on something other than you.”

“That won’t help me simulate a life-span. There are those rune parasite vines for sealing powers; do we have any of those?”

“Oh so you can be helpless and dying, got it, wonderful. No.”

“But how am I going to avoid this death seer?” Hel asked. “She’s the student body historian, she’s going to be one of the student officers making sure everyone gets on.”

“Two options,” Lilitu said.

“Yes?” Hel asked hopefully.

“Don’t go.”

“Not an option.”

“Just let her know you’re Immortal.”

“But … that’s not…”

“It’s just a mortal death seer,” the blond said with exasperation. “One or two of them stumble on one of us or the other side every so often. It isn’t that big a deal.”

“But this death-seer…” Hel protested insistently.

“What about this death-seer?” Lilitu asked, feeling tired suddenly, “Is there something more than just a mortal problem here?”

“No, no,” Hel said. “Its fine, I shall handle it somehow.”

“Let’s go, Lizbet says the coast is clear back on Earth,” Lilitu said, laying a hand on Hel’s shoulder.

**************************
Index of Other Divine Blood Stories and Art in my gallery

Divine Blood Index**************************
Divine Blood stories available on DA:
Novel Sample Chapters:
This Looks Like a Safe Neighborhood... : http://fav.me/d42d6br
Deployment: http://fav.me/d42d9cq
Just a Girl: http://fav.me/d42dado
Creepy Cute: http://fav.me/d42dbfa
In Motion: http://fav.me/d42ddgt
Center of It: http://fav.me/d42dfjf
Unique Perspective: http://fav.me/d53r3zz
Extracurriculars listed chronologically to the Divine Blood Timeline (focus character in parantheses):
Regarding the Proper Use of Force (Gaetana Trolleti): http://fav.me/d5vpbpa
Following Dernhelm (Eowyn Desai): http://fav.me/d5bh3hn
Can't Go Home (Whelan Connor): http://fav.me/d5nw5qc
Smoke Over Grimsvotn (Lilitu Geisthexe): http://fav.me/d5bh2wj
Serious Matter (Sherissie Minaba): http://fav.me/d5bh3zv
A Day in the Life of a Busy Woman (Mao Semezou): http://fav.me/d5c0o5b
High School Hel (Hel Logesdottir): http://fav.me/d5j1hg7
Pop Quiz (Naiki Semezou): http://fav.me/d62tdla
Magnets: http://fav.me/d6eju4e
*******************

**************************
DrivethruRPG Storefront: rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.p…
Amazon Author Page: www.amazon.com/Luke-Green/e/B0…
Smashwords Author Page: www.smashwords.com/profile/vie…

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