Pure Destiny (PureDark Ones #12) - Aja James Page 0,104
on.
Lilith tracked the boy’s movements with slitted eyes as he casually explored his surroundings—her private chamber in the manmade catacomb of underwater caverns.
The benefit of living thousands of years and having access to unlimited funds was the ability to make any long, long range plans she could ever imagine come to fruition. She’d commissioned the construction of this particular lair over fifty years ago.
It was one of many, and a good thing too. For she had been forced to abandon her last lair after the Pure Ones discovered it through Medusa’s lures. Though they didn’t know precisely where it was underwater, she didn’t linger long. Only enough to bide her time and regroup. Once she had the Creature secure and snug in his armored test tube, she moved house.
Most of her hidey holes were within a few hours distance of New York City. She couldn’t afford to go too far out of range from the epicenter of power. The deeper waters of the Bay would have been perfect for another lair, but there was simply too much traffic, too many aircrafts, boats and cars traveling into and out of the city.
And if she moved too far out to sea, it would be difficult to amass and maintain the requisite guards to defend her lair, for the piping of oxygen would have been extremely tricky. Her mindless soldiers, no matter their strength, still needed to breathe in order to function.
If only her snake experiments yielded more fruit. This was why she had persuaded Medusa to go after the Snake King to recruit him to their army. Lilith was certain that she could have used his venom, blood and other genetic materials to stabilize her experiments involving aquatic creatures—reptiles, amphibians, marine mammals, even fish.
Unfortunately, they were unable to capture the Snake King and bring him back alive. He fought to the death after they killed his Mate.
That was the trouble with Mates. When one passed, the other tended to lose the will to live.
Without the Snake King’s biological samples, Lilith was back to trial and error with her experiments. If only Medusa had tended towards an earth dragon like the Zmey Gorynych from Slavic mythology. Also multi-headed, spat fire, but had wings and lived in mountains. Much easier to deal with than underwater environs.
But really, Lilith had no one to blame but herself.
She was the one who fed Medusa a steady diet of snake venom over the millennia, after all. And it just so happened that her subject absorbed the poisons from water snakes better than the rest.
“So, tell me why I’m here,” the boy looked her straight in the eyes as he issued the imperious command.
Strange, unnatural child, Lilith thought. Why wasn’t he afraid of her?
He seemed rather bright for his age. Surely, he understood the danger he was in, even if he didn’t know the particulars? Surely, he had enough sense to shrink with fear from monsters like her?
“I’m going to help you become everything you were meant to be,” she replied, her opaque black eyes glittering with anticipation.
He was perfect, this Benjamin Larkin D’Angelo. His little body practically glowed with an inner strength and barely-leashed power. Anyone who looked upon him would know that he was special, even if they didn’t comprehend the reasons.
He was simply better. Stronger.
More.
If he had lived during the Age of the Gods, he would still have outshone them all, even as a mere human.
She wondered what sort of dragon he would become. Something golden and gorgeous, no doubt, with that fine, sun-kissed skin and buttery blond hair.
“I don’t need your help,” he told her bluntly, though not meanly. His tone was simply matter-of-fact.
“I’ll grow up when I’m supposed to. And I choose who I become, not anyone else. My Mom and Dad said so. I know so.”
“And what do you think you know, little man?” she asked, both amused and frustrated by his gently stubborn nature.
He had a mind of his own, this boy. No matter how young he was, he would not be moved from his own convictions.
He reminded her of someone… But who?
Instead of answering her, he slid his hand along the Creature’s container again, careful not to jostle any of the tubing.
“Is your creation alive? Can it breathe in there? Where are the air holes? How do you open this thing?”
Silly boy. He should be more worried about his own wellbeing, not wasting his sympathies on the hapless Creature in his test tube.