Divinity

Camila was sitting in front of the computer at the base of operations, she had been reviewing possible clues to Adriel’s whereabouts for hours, but nothing seemed viable enough. 

Dinner time had arrived and Mother Superior should already be in the dining room with the other nuns, but Camila preferred to finish reviewing the last clue she had, although she did not expect that it would lead her to anything. 

Her eyes had started to hurt about half an hour ago, but she had forgotten her reading glasses in her room and was about to finish, so she concentrated on finishing reading the file she had on the computer screen. 

Just as she was reading the last paragraph of the document, a notification window appeared in the middle of the screen and the name of the secret location where Lilith and Mary were. 

Without thinking twice, Camila accepted the video call, feeling her worry suddenly invade her; the agreement was not to communicate by any other means than the encrypted program in the secure location’s computer unless it was an emergency. 

Mary’s smiling and carefree face managed to reassure Camila a little, but when she noticed Lilith’s absence her panic returned worse than before. 

“Where is Lilith?” asked Camila, upset. “Is she all right?” 

~Calm down, baby girl, your beloved little demon is fine.~ 

“She’s not a demon.” 

After her last statement, Camila’s brain processed all of Mary’s words and the insinuation that she loved Lilith, which made her cheeks feel hot and possibly take on a reddish color. 

~I’m fine too, Cam, thanks for asking.~ 

“Bea and Ava called?” Camila asked, puzzled by the reason for the call. 

~No, they’re still too busy on their honeymoon.~ 

“If everything is fine, why did you call all of a sudden?” 

~Because you need to know something.~ 

“Oh, wait, I’ll go find Mother Superior and...” 

~No, I think it’s better this way~ interrupted Mary. ~You’ll break the news to her and I’ll save myself the sermon.~ 

Camila looked confused at the image of her friend on the computer screen, trying to figure out what she was referring to. “Okay, now you’re worrying me again” she admitted taking a more serious attitude. “What’s going on?” 

~It’s been over a month and a half since the Vatican, so I’ve fully recovered from the wounds I got in that battle and now I have to go find Vincent.~ 

“What?” 

~I’ve read all the reports you’ve sent us and we’re no closer to finding out where Adriel and Vincent are or what they’re plotting to do~ argued the brunette. ~We need to know so we can be prepared, Lilith doesn’t need me to continue her training.~ 

“Are you planning to go alone?” 

~Lilith won’t accompany me no matter how much she wants to, she feels she’s not in control of her powers yet and won’t want to put anyone at risk, and also...~ 

“And also, what?” Camila asked, puzzled by Mary’s sudden decision to keep quiet. 

Mary muttered a curse under her breath. ~She won’t like this~ she said to herself before looking straight ahead again. ~Lilith has been having nightmares, they started a few days after we got here, and obviously she hasn’t wanted to talk about it, but I think it’s obvious what they might be about.~ 

“Is she all right?” 

~I don’t know, I think the nightmares are getting worse and now she’s avoiding sleeping as much as she can by going in for longer.~ 

“Maybe if you try to talk to her...” 

~It’s Lilith~ Mary pointed out interrupting her friend. ~We both know she won’t talk to me, or anyone, about it; I’ve already tried.~ 

“Then ask her to go with you, so she won’t be alone.” 

~She’s too much of a perfectionist, she won’t want to leave here until she can fully control her powers and I can’t stay here any longer without doing anything.~ 

“But...” 

~I don’t want to leave her alone either, but maybe that’s exactly what she needs.~ 

“What do you mean?” 

~She’s always solved her problems on her own; like it or not, maybe it’s her way of handling things and now she just needs more time to work it out~ Mary stented. ~Though I would feel more at ease if you could communicate with her on a regular basis just to make sure she’s okay.~ 

Camila considered that option silently for a couple of seconds because, in a way, she had been avoiding talking to Lilith since they parted ways in Italy so as not to have any distractions and avoid the possibility of making a mistake; she knew that a single message from the taller girl could distract her from anything, even her work. 

“Yes, of course” said Camila, refusing to leave Lilith alone when she might need someone, “I’ll keep in touch with her.” 

~Great, one less thing for me to worry about~ said Mary more to herself. ~In fact, I’m surprised you’ve managed to stay away from her without any communication at all this time.~ 

Camila felt her cheeks heat up as they took on a reddish hue, she knew what Mary really meant, the truth behind those words that knew the truth of her feelings of Lilith. 

“Well, I...” Camila tried to answer, but her nervousness was being a huge obstacle to formulate a coherent answer. “Actually, I...” 

~Hey, it’s okay~ interrupted Mary. ~Take it easy, baby girl, I couldn’t judge you even if I wanted to; Shannon would be really mad at me if I did~ she admitted with a smile on her lips. ~It just took me by surprise, I didn’t see it coming.~ 

“I didn’t either...” Camila admitted before placing her elbows on the surface of the table and burying her face in her hands with noticeable frustration. 

~I guess that’s how it works, just look at Bea~ commented Mary, trying to lighten the mood of the conversation and make her friend feel better. ~Maybe you should talk to her.~ 

“With Bea?” Camila questioned confused, uncovering her face. “You know the plan, I can’t communicate with her, it would be dangerous.” 

~Not Bea, I mean Lilith; you should talk to her.~ 

“Mary, I’m a nun, in case you’re forgotten... and she is too.” 

~Shannon was too, so that means nothing if anyone decides to stop being one; besides, you can’t use that as an excuse, we all know Lilith only became a nun to join the order because that’s what her family forced her to do.~ 

“She could have refused to take her vows, we all could have, you did.” 

~Yes, but it was different for Lilith, also for Beatrice. They made them believe that they had no other choice.~ 

Camila was silent for a couple of seconds, thinking about her own circumstances that led her to become a nun. 

~Hey, I don’t mean to force you to do something you don’t want to do~ Mary said, interjecting what could be a downward spiral of thought from her friend. ~It’s your decision, you can choose, but I wanted to remind you that you have that choice and that you shouldn’t feel bad or blame yourself for anything if you do make it.~ 

“Thank you, for everything...” Camila replied with a small smile. 

~I’m here when you need me, baby girl.~ 

“I know and I really appreciate it.” 

Mary looked somewhere behind the computer screen and then immediately returned her attention to her friend. ~I should go, Lilith is about to finish her training and I still have to hell her I’m leaving in the morning.~ 

“Are you sure you want to do it? You could wait a little longer.” 

~I have to, for Shannon’s sake.~ 

Camila knew there was no way she could convince Mary to wait any longer before acting, not when it came to the former Halo wearer. 

“Okay, but keep your phone with you at all times and send me updates every day, got it?” 

~Shannon taught you well~ commented Mary, teasing a bit at the curly-haired girl’s sudden commanding attitude. ~Lucky giving Mother Superior the news~ she added by way of farewell before ending the video call. 

Camila had already completely forgotten that she would have to inform Mother Superior about Mary’s decision and she knew well that this would not please her at all. 

“I’m in trouble...” 

|||||||||||||||

Lilith walked back to the safe house after her training, the sun had set recently, less than an hour ago, and she found it strange that Mary hadn’t come looking for her to tell her that she needed something to eat and rest, as she had been doing for over a month now. 

However, she was thankful that wasn’t the case because then Mary would have seen her stumble trying to dodge a small rabbit that came out of nowhere when she was practicing her teleportation and made her fall into a bush full of thorns. 

“Stupid rabbit” Lilith muttered as the wind blew a lock of her hair into her gace and she noticed an ear tangled in it. 

Surely Camila would have wanted to keep the little rabbit as soon as she saw it and imagining that little scene made Lilith smile; although the curly-haired girl would have also reprimanded her for hearing her use bad words. 

It’s not Lilith was still a nun, she hadn’t told anyone, not even herself out loud, let alone obtained nullity from any church superior, but technically she wasn’t anymore, she had decided. 

She had decided that it wasn’t what she wanted, it never was, what she really wanted was the Halo and becoming a nun was just one more step in all the sacrifices she had made to get it, and now that she couldn’t have it it no longer made sense to continue living with the consequences and collateral damage that her previous decisions had brought; she could make new decisions, her own decision, even though she didn’t have much experience in that because she had never done it before. 

Although she found the idea of a half-demon nun funny, she thought it would make a good basis for a comedy series on television. 

Lilith unraveled the line of thought she had formed during her walk to the house and proceeded to open the front door to enter in search of Mary. 

It was strange for her to find her friend sitting at the kitchen table in front of the closed laptop, she knew that Camila sent reports with updates every three days or so, and the last report was sent the day before, which meant that quite possibly something had happened. 

“Oh, there you are” Mary said as she looked at her with a calm demeanor. 

“Is everything all right?” Lilith asked curiously. 

“Yeah, everything’s fine, but we need to talk.” 

Lilith still thought the whole thing was strange, but decided not to point it out. “Okay, then talk” she replied as she began to walk to the refrigerator in search of some cold water. 

Mary stood up and followed the taller girl the few meters to the kitchen. “I’ll go get it” she said without thinking about it. 

Heating those words made Lilith’s movements stop instantly, freezing in place, with her hand holding the open refrigerator door; it wasn’t necessary for the older woman to stay the name of who she was referring to, they both knew well who they were talking about. 

“Give me a little more time, I can control my powers and then...” 

“I know you’re going to get them under control” Mary interrupted, “I have absolutely no doubt of that, but I can’t just stand here and do nothing.” 

“You can’t face it alone.” 

“I know, and I won’t; I’ll look for him and when I find him you’ll help me kick his ass.” 

“What if I still can’t control my powers?” 

“It’s Vincent, you won’t need your powers to kick his ass.” 

“But he’s with Adriel.” 

“We can deal with Adriel later” Mary hoped that would be enough to convince Lilith, but the taller girl didn’t seem to accept the idea at all. “Listen, I’m not going to approach them alone, I’m not an idiot, I just have to find them so I can give us a bit of a head start knowing where they are and what they might be planning to do” she added being a bit more persuasive. “Divide and conquer, remember? I’ll find them and then we can all go kick their asses.” 

Lilith sighed noticeably frustrated, she didn’t think it was a bad idea, just risky; however, risk was part of their job all the time and Mary was right, they should take advantage of the time by advancing on different fronts. 

“I’ll be ready by then” Lilith affirmed, determined not to disappoint anyone else. 

“I know you will, baby girl” Mary replied with a big smile, placing her hand on the taller girl’s shoulder. 

A big laugh came from Mary’s lips as she saw the frown on Lilith’s face when she heard the nickname she used to use with her even though she didn’t like it. 

[…] 

It was about two in the morning when Lilith came out of the bathroom after taking a long shower after she had finished training. 

Every muscle in her body ached, she couldn’t even lift her arms to try to dry her hair, she had dressed and managed to place a towel over her head, after that she had given up, she simply walked to her room dragging her feet on the wooden floor to make as little effort as possible. 

She let herself fall forward on the bed, letting out a groan that was a mixture between relief and pain, then closed her eyes hoping to fall asleep quickly, although she knew that the insomnia she had been having for almost two months would not let her rest do easily. 

Mary had left in search of Vincent and Adriel over a week ago and Lilith had been training every day until her body had stopped responding; less than an hour ago she had been lying on the grass for ten minutes until she felt she regained enough strength to stand up and walk back towards the safe house. 

Lilith had almost managed to control her teleportation completely, it was the skill she trained the most every day even though it was also what drained her energy the most. 

Now that she was alone with no one to force her to stop her training, every day she ended up on her knees on the ground, her arms barely managing o support her weight so as not to smash her face in to grass and her vision blurred with slight black margins extending from the edge. 

That day was no exception, so she was relieved when her consciousness began to fade as she slowly drifted off to sleep. 

However, because of her bad luck, the emergency disposable phone on the nightstand next to the bed suddenly began to ring, eliminating any trace of sleep she had in her body due to the sudden rush of adrenaline that coursed through her system. 

The two words on the small screen of the flip phone barely registered to Lilith before she flipped the device open and quickly placed it to her ear. 

“Hello?” 

~Sorry if I woke you up~ said Mother Superior by way of greeting. 

“I wasn’t really asleep.” 

~Yes, I guessed so.~ 

Lilith found the small conversation strange, it was not common between the two of them, especially not over a line that should be used in case of emergency. 

“Did something happen?” Lilith asked, puzzled. “Is everything all right?” 

~Not everything...~ 

A second rush of adrenaline made Lilith sit up on the bed in one swift movement. “What happened?” she questioned with concern. 

~Mary sopped communicating three days ago and Camila has spent almost two full days trying to figure out what has happened to her~ Mother Superior reported in a steady, if tense, tone of voice. ~I’ve barely gotten Camila to eat anything, but she had refused to rest until she manages to contact Mary.~ 

“I guess Mary didn’t warn about her disconnection or Camila won’t be trying to find her.” 

~No, she didn’t; maybe it’s just a precaution, she might have suspected someone might find out about it and decided not to contact her anymore until it’s safe.~ 

“Yes, it sounds like something Mary would do without telling anyone beforehand.” 

~I hope so~ Mother Superior murmured more to herself. ~But right now I’m more worried about Camila, I’m afraid I might succumb to exhaustion at any moment and I think she might listen to you more than to me.~ 

Lilith swallowed the question of why she thought that and simply decided to agree to help, feeling equally worried about Camila. 

“I’m on my way” she reported before ending he call. 

She stood up and slipped on a pair of shoes as quickly as she could, not even bothering to pick up the phone she had dropped on the bed again before using her powers and teleporting to the convent where she knew Mother Superior and Camila had set up their base of operations. 

Lilith appreciated in the middle of the central courtyard of the convent, she had been there before, so she had no trouble getting there on her first teleportation attempt. 

Mother Superior was standing by a column at the edge of the place, the disposable phone in one of her hands and her cane in the other; she didn’t seem surprised by the brunette’s arrival, in fact it was as if she was expecting exactly that. 

“This way” said the older woman starting to walk without waiting for an answer. 

The silence between the two remained all the way through the old corridors of the old convent, even after they descended the stairs and stopped in front of a pair of wooden doors. 

Lilith watched the woman in white tees expectantly, waiting for her to do something else or say anything, but all she got was a slight nod of her head beckoning her to enter before Mother Superior walked away. 

It was strange, but Lilith decided to let it pass and proceeded to slowly open the heavy wooden door. 

Camila was there, sitting in front a computer monitor, her brow slightly furrowed behind glassed that adorned her face resting on the bridge of her nose. 

“I ate the sandwich” the curly-haired girl announced, anticipating what she thought was what she was about to hear. 

“Well, one less chore for me.” 

Camila immediately turned her attention away from the monitor when she heard a different voice than the one she was expecting. “Lilith?” she called with an expression of surprise and disbelief, removing her glasses from her face as if there was possibility that she was mistaken. 

The taller girl smiled and began to approach. “Hey.” 

It took Camila a couple of seconds to process what was happening. “What are you doing here?” she questioned after she was able to react. 

“Apparently I’m the reinforcements.” 

“Mother Superior called you?” 

“She’s worried about you... and so am I, that’s why I’m here.” 

“Surely she’s fine” Lilith interrupted in a further attempt at persuasion, although she didn’t know if she was trying to convince herself or Camila. “This is Mary we’re talking about, I bet she’ll make fun of us when she comes back for worrying so much about her; maybe she’ll even feel a little offended, so you’d better get some rest.” 

The curly-haired girl was silent for a couple of seconds, returning her gaze to the monito in front of her, although she didn’t seem to be looking at anything in particular, rather she was debating with herself to make a decision. 

Lilith reached out her hand towards the other girl when she saw her let out a long sigh as her shoulders slumped slightly with a defeated attitude. 

Camila watched the brunette’s hand and was about to raise her own hand to take it, but decided to do something else first. 

“Will you stay?” 

That question took Lilith by surprise, she hadn't thought about it, but she knew she would if Camila asked her to. 

“Only if you want me to stay.” 

Camila smiled in spite of her tiredness and finally took Lilith’s hand, accepting the help to stand up. 

They both left and walked in silence, Camila leading the way to her room; there was no one else awake in the convent, only the two of them and Mother Superior, who had disappeared. 

Lilith took care of closing the door to Camila’s room once they entered while the curly-haired girl approached the nightstand next to the bed to turn on the small dim lamp. 

Camila began to take off her shoes when she noticed Lilith approach the small desk in the room and place her hand on the back of the chair. “Sleep with me” she asked noticing the brunette’s plan. “You don’t look much less exhausted than I do.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“It’s not the first time we’ve slept together” Camila answered innocently, although she noticed the double meaning of her words only a second later because her cheeks turned reddish at her blush. 

“Okay” Lilith agreed, deciding not to comment or make any joke about it, so as not to make the curly-haired girl uncomfortable. 

Lilith took off her shoes and lay down on the bed on her right side, facing Camila who was almost in the same position, lying on her left side, looking at her. 

Before Lilith could ask what she was thinking, Camila slid down on the sheets, breaking the distance between them, wrapping her arms around the brunette and sinking her face against the taller girl’s chest. 

“I missed you” Camila murmured against Lilith’s sternum. 

It took Lilith a second to be able to react and bring her brain up to speed with what just happened, but as soon as she did she also wrapped her arms around Camila to keep her close. 

“I missed you too” Lilith replied with a smile on her lips.