last I recalled, though that might not be her greatest size. Do not let her form deceive you. She is most agile and fast in water. The Hydra is a water snake, after all.”
“At least it can’t fly,” Rhys said, ruffling the feathers of the wings he kept folded behind his back even in humanoid form.
“But her reach is tremendous,” Tal reminded the young eagle spirit. “The long neck and tail, added to the range of the hellfire she breathes, will never let you close enough to do damage.”
“I’m pretty good at maneuvering,” Rhys replied.
“Do not underestimate the Hydra,” Dalair reiterated. “We engage her only as a distraction to get to the boy. We are not here to take her down. If the stars are aligned in our favor, perhaps we won’t have to engage her at all. Perhaps only her soldiers await.”
“Well, we’ll soon find out,” Eli said quietly, his gaze trained on the gigantic lake below.
“Brace yourselves.”
Chapter Seventeen
Benji slowly rubbed his eyes open and blinked.
The low light of his surroundings was soothing upon waking, allowing his still drowsy self to adjust.
“Hello, little man.”
He shifted his half-lidded gaze in the direction of the melodic voice and focused on the speaker.
“Hullo.”
She was sitting beside him on what seemed to be a gigantic bed, certainly much larger than his own back at the Shield, though his bed was bigger than most boys his age, according to his friends at school.
He had what was called a “King” bed while his friends slept in “Twin” and “Full” beds. But what he really wanted was a “Bunk” bed. His room was large enough for at least three of them. That way, he could have lots of friends visit for sleep-overs. Alas, his parents didn’t even allow play-dates, unless it was Benji who visited other people’s houses.
Only Annie got to visit, since she currently lived at the Cove amongst vampires.
It made him a little sad, that he couldn’t have friends like other boys even though he was human too. Just a human that lived among vampires, fairies, animal spirits and other magical creatures. He supposed it was a reasonable trade—normal friends for access to a supernatural world—but it still made him sad sometimes.
“Slept well, my darling?” the strange, beautiful woman asked, her voice a husky purr.
But not the soothing kind of purr that Mama Bear rumbled when she was in her kitten form. This was more like a predatory purr.
“Yes, thank you,” Benji answered politely, the way he was taught to interact with strangers. Or really anyone. Mom and Dad insisted that everyone deserved courtesy and respect.
Nevertheless, curiosity won over polite, first-meeting distance.
“Who are you?” he asked bluntly, sitting up.
“I’m going to be your new best friend,” she said silkily, regarding him with those uncanny black eyes, the ones that looked like Sophia’s when the monster overtook her.
They reminded Benji of spilled petroleum oil or tar. Those eyes seemed to taint everything they looked upon.
“What’s your name?” he asked. “Shouldn’t I know that first before you claim friendship? Mine is Benjamin Larkin D’Angelo. Most people call me Benji.”
He added silently that he’d prefer she didn’t call him that, for he was in no way comfortable enough in her presence to allow this familiarity. But he didn’t want to be outright rude.
Her full, blood-red lips curled in a serpentine smile as if she heard his thoughts.
“Such big words you say,” she murmured. “You speak as one who has many more years than you do.”
He shrugged.
“I live with lots of…old people. They tend to talk funny. I guess it rubs off on me.”
He stared directly at her, into those eerie black orbs.
“And you still haven’t told me your name.”
“You may call me Lilith, little angel,” she finally conceded.
“Lilith…” he tested the word on his tongue.
Somehow, her name seemed familiar, though none of his friends or acquaintances had such a name.
“Does it mean anything?” he asked.
Living amongst ancient Immortals, Benji learned early on not to take names for granted. They always had meaning. Sometimes, even when it hadn’t been intended when the names had been chosen or given.
“It comes from an older name, Lilītu,” she answered without really answering. “Do you know it?”
Benji scrunched his face a little in concentration as he dug into his memory banks where all the random knowledge he’d accumulated thus far was stored.
“The name of a Mesopotamian night demon? Also known as a Dark Angel? Storm Goddess?”
He considered this for a few seconds, letting the implications sink in.
And then he pronounced, “Cool name.”
For