who tricked the newest and most aggressive, Carlos Rivera, to descend to Dante's throne briefly--only I did that. I even made him ignore the warnings of warrior angels! Dear husband, please consider the possibilities as you rightfully rage against me."
A cool wind blew, and her body began to knit itself back together and heal.
"Husband, my love, I was able to act quickly and rationally at a time of great chaos to snatch the embryo from the carnage of the female Neteru's womb... the millennium slayer. If you let me survive, I know another way to raise Dante."
"Continue," his disembodied voice said as the Unnamed One disappeared into the shadows, considering her offer. His eyes glowed red then went black within their slits. "Bargain with me, Lilith. You know that's my favorite game. Strike a deal with me."
Hot tears coursed down her face as she tried to speak quickly to him in Dananu. "As long as Dante's firstborn male from his original bloodline exists, all that he was can be summoned forth. It's in the DNA, as always. There is only one other who can sit on Dante's throne to replace all that Carlos Rivera had the potential to be. He is Rivera's exact match, perhaps stronger."
"The one you speak of is in a place that our realms cannot penetrate." Her husband's low, growling voice thundered quietly through the darkness.
"Your month of exacting torture against me has ripped the fabric between the dimensions," she whispered, shivering and holding her arms around herself, bracing against another possible sudden blow. "The subterranean disturbance has--"
"The one you speak of still resides within a realm that we cannot breach," he said evenly. "Do not toy with me, Lilith, for if you fail, I will blot you from all existence... slowly... with excruciating horror." She shook her head. "As I have been trying to tell you, dear husband, neither you nor I can breach that realm, but a living Neteru can. I've been around them and know their weaknesses."
Again, her proposal was met by silence.
Panic-stricken and yet filled with hope, she pressed on. "The one we seek has the mark of banishment from the One on High that we never name, but a Neteru can bring him forward through the barrier if the veil between worlds is weakened. You just did that, my beloved. You weakened the veil as you raged beneath the earth. Torturing me was wise, dear husband, and most appreciated, for it created another opportunity that we may have missed."
When her husband didn't answer, Lilith's voice became strident. "I know Rivera's greatest weakness, his insecurities, because he sat on Dante's throne. Let me go to Dante's throne and extract what we need from the residue of energy Rivera left in it. It's still there, and as a female of our kind, I can still taste that essence," she said, speaking quickly and bargaining for her life. "Therefore, knowing his shortcomings, I also know the female Neteru's greatest weakness as well, because they are linked at the heart chakra; they are soul mates. Fracture the soul mates, and you will have your revenge, which will be no less catastrophic to mankind than what happened to Adam and Eve."
The lack of response made her tone urgent as she continued to speak in a flurry of Dananu. "Husband, your righteous fury thinned the veil between worlds. Time stopped, a rip occurred; therefore I can siphon the past to the forefronts of their minds. I can delve into the darkest crevices
of what they have forgotten, what has been forsaken. After that, all we have to do is sit back and watch as their love implodes, taking their team of Neteru Guardians with it. Unprecedented. Think of it. The Covenant will wobble and fall. There will be no earthly protection for humankind. The past will feel like the present, the present like a faraway thing of the past. Let me work unhindered, beloved. You have seen my best efforts, and I have only failed you this once."
Hot tears of anguish coursed down Lilith's face. "I'll make you a new Chairman, one that you have waited for since the dawn of time... one who is stronger than Dante ever was and no less tortured. This one won't be infertile, and can call out the others like him from the banishment realm. He will be able to walk in the daylight, and has a soul, like those around him--thus the Guardian teams worldwide will be bereft with confusion. He's half-human.