- Final -

The static churning in Lilith’s stomach hadn’t disappeared, but meeting Medusa had calmed it. She had met an actual youkai living in Eden. Not sneaking around, not hiding in the gutters, but actually thriving. Still alive after a decade of working in the city. Lilith’s own future terrified her, a feeling that would likely never go away completely, but now she knew it wasn’t hopeless.

I’ve made it, Dad. I found the new life you wanted for me in Eden.

Her attention stalled on making it down the church’s gnarled steps in one piece, but once she reached the bottom intact, she looked back up to her girlfriend. A new life at Pandora’s side. The hunter leapt forward, landing on the cobbles beside her. Lilith flinched, not expecting her to bypass the stairs altogether. But then, wasn’t it just like Pandora to choose the direct route?

Lilith couldn’t help but smile. “Are you in a hurry or something?”

“Not really, why?” Pandora yanked at the chain across her stomach, flicking her pocket watch into the air where she caught it with a flourish, then checked the clock face. “Was there something you wanted to do before going home?” she asked, ignoring completely that her actions might have been the source of Lilith’s question.

“That’s not what I meant. And I assumed we would be heading straight there. It’ll be dark soon enough.”

Pandora clicked her watch shut and replaced it. “You’re right. I want your first impression to be in good light.”

First impression of what, her home? Images of lavish estates like the ones setting her romance novels flooded forth. But where would a city as crowded as Eden have anything like that? She didn’t understand but got the feeling asking Pandora was wasted breath, so it was best they start moving.

“Which way? Do you live here by the edge, or closer to the city center?”

“Back by the port, actually.”

Lilith turned to the street they had arrived down, ready to retrace their path to the elevator. The trip up had felt like dying. She wasn’t keen on repeating it. She could endure it again as long as she was with Pandora, but luckily it was a trial she wouldn’t need to face. Instead, the hunter’s footsteps clattered away from her. When she turned back, she found Pandora waving her along from thirty feet out.

“Come on. If we get separated before I show you where home is we may never see each other again.”

“Didn’t we come from the other way?” Lilith asked, chasing after her.

“I figured you wouldn’t want to take the elevator again. There’s a stairwell in this direction.”

“You promise not to jump down these ones?” Lilith asked, falling into step beside Pandora.

The hunter paused, then glanced back at the dilapidated abomination leading up to the church’s door. A smile cracked her face, then her hand slapped down onto Lilith’s scalp to jostle her hair out of place.

“Very funny, wise-ass,” Pandora sneered. With Lilith’s hair thoroughly ruined, the hunter’s grip fell away. Her hand dropped to her side where she pressed it into Lilith’s, locking their fingers together. “I promise,” she whispered.

The route they followed was relentlessly straightforward with only a slight inward curve to break the monotony. Lilith wondered if it ever ended, or if it circled the entire city to swallow its own tail on the other side. The dull ache growing in her feet certainly made it feel infinite. But worse, it was bland. After hundreds of steps, the unchanging scenery was starting to grow tired even to her. As a resident, Pandora must have been bored to tears.

She understood the reasoning: they were avoiding the cliffside for her sake. Lilith did appreciate the gesture. She was confident she would be fine as long as she didn’t stroll to the edge and look down, but understood now wasn’t the time to test her theory. Still, the day had already been long, and considering the stairwell was still out of sight, only half over.

After God knows how many miles, Pandora tugged at her hand, beckoning her down a road to their right. It was as if all the energy had flowed back into her. Rejuvenated by the change of pace, a smile took hold. Their destination was close at hand, it had to be. The ouroboros had given them distance, now they were making fine adjustments.

“Is the stairwell nearby?” she asked, hoping for a yes.

“You’ll be able to see it once we reach the end of this street.”

Lilith peered ahead, attempting to gauge the distance. The angle of the sun against the tall buildings cast the street in shadow, but to her relief, she could see the light peeking across the next intersection a few hundred feet away. Just a short walk down this neglected street. The road surface was carved into the wood rather than finished with cobbles like on the other. She wondered if it was under repair or if there was a hierarchy to the paving of the city. Perhaps based on wealth. The buildings lining the street did appear run-down, with crumbling brick a common feature.

Lilith froze, save her hand which followed alongside Pandora until she was pulled to a stop a few steps later.

“What’s wrong?”

A good question. She wasn’t entirely sure yet. She blinked, making sure she had, in fact, seen what she believed.

“Behind that crumbling wall up ahead. Does that look like feet poking out at the bottom? I think someone is hiding back there.”

Pandora’s hand cupped her chin and guided it to the side so their lips could meet. Lilith weathered the sudden kiss with eyes wide. Sharp punctuated questions flooded her mind.

What?…

Why?…

She noticed Pandora had kept her eye open as well, her gaze flicking to the spot Lilith had pointed out.

When their lips parted, Pandora said, “You’re right. I bet they’re planning to mug us.”

“You could have looked normally,” Lilith mumbled.

A devious grin curled across Pandora’s face. “But I wanted to kiss you. You didn’t like it?”

“Don’t put words in my mouth.” Lilith sighed, adding, “Is there another way around?”

Pandora considered the question, then waved it away. “There is, but fuck that. It’s getting late and I want to go home. If you really want to go around, we can, but I’ll make sure no one hurts you. Here, or anywhere else. Do you trust me?”

Lilith shrunk back. “You’re not going to shoot anyone, are you?”

“Of course not,” Pandora baulked. “I’m going to threaten to shoot them.”

What other answer did she expect? Lilith grumbled but ultimately gave permission. In a blink, Pandora whipped her hand to her back and drew her weapon. Raising it to the wall, she called out, “We see you hiding there. Come out slowly and don’t start any trouble.”

A head poked from behind the brickwork, just far enough to reveal shaggy blond hair and dark-rimmed eyes. The man must have spied the gun, because his head zipped back into cover before raised arms peered out in surrender. With caution, he followed the instructions waved to him through the barrel of Pandora’s gun until he reached the center of the wooden roadway.

“Good boy,” Pandora mocked. “Now, you’re going to stand right there until you can’t see us anymore. Understand? Feel free to rob the next person along, but we don’t want any of your bullshit.”

“I was just sleepin’ back there, honest. I ain’t no thief.”

He was lying, of course. Something in his demeanor stank of bullshit. He was a troublemaker, Lilith just couldn’t prove it. Not that she needed to; Pandora had the situation more or less handled. They would be able to move past without much hassle. Still, she wanted to catch him in his lie, the way she had seen Pandora do so many times before. She took a deep breath and readied her best imitation of the hunter.

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“Then why did I hear you toss your knife away before stepping out?”

His eyes widened and he dropped an arm to rip at his shirt. “Couldn’t be. Did it slip…” The fabric lifted away to reveal a knife tucked neatly into the band of the man’s trousers. Upon seeing the blade right where he had left it, his thoughts finally caught up to his impulses; their stupidity punctuated by a hushed, “Oh.”

“Good job, Lily.”

Pandora’s praise swelled in her chest, making her feel light.

Turning back to the thief, Pandora shouted, “Hey, dumbass! Toss the knife over here then back away slowly.”

He slipped two fingers around the handle and pulled the blade free. With a flick, it clattered to the ground in front of Pandora. She stepped forward, then kicked it as far away from its owner as she could manage.

“Now fuck off and don’t let us see you again.”

He nodded, then backed his way down the street, careful to never turn his back on the gun. Lilith watched him disappear around the corner, then let out the breath she had been holding.

“You’re quick on your feet. You’ll be a better hunter than me one day.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Lilith said, turning back to Pandora.

The hunter holstered her weapon as she wandered over to the knife. “You’re too modest,” She said, holding it up to the sky as if examining it in the scant light filtering past the buildings.

“Is there something special about it?”

She flipped it into the air, catching it by the blade. “Not even a little bit.” She extended it toward Lilith, offering her the handle. “You should keep it. Think of it as a trophy.”

“But you’re the one who dealt with him.”

Pandora pushed the knife further forward. “I’ll train some self-confidence into you eventually, but fine. Think of it as a souvenir of your first day in Eden.”

A keepsake to remember the start of her new life? Lilith liked the idea. She held her hand out and Pandora dropped the weapon into her palm. It was heavier than she expected, iron instead of steel. She opened her bag and retrieved her book. She hadn’t felt compelled to read from it recently, not since living out her own romance plot, but the well-worn pages hadn’t outlived their usefulness yet. After all, she couldn’t have a loose blade rolling around in her bag. She cracked it open and slipped the knife inside like a bookmark, then tucked them both away.

Pandora took her hand. “Are you ready? The stairs are just ahead.”

Whatever Lilith had expected from the so-called ‘stairwell’ hadn’t come within a sea’s width of reality. They were stairs in an academic sense; level ground with sudden short drops that gradually covered a significant elevation. But they were so far beyond ordinary that their function almost seemed an afterthought. More than a place to walk, they were a place for people to live. The scale was incomprehensible. Each tread approached twenty-foot square, with seating and planters thick with foliage. The outer wall had tall holes bored through, acting as windows. Natural sunlight streamed through in massive columns, with bare-wired electric lights running the ceiling to provide their support. On the other side, rooms were carved into the wood creating homes and shops.

“Pandora, don’t you think you undersold this place a bit? There’s a whole neighborhood here.”

“Two actually. Well, sort of. These homes were built for the port workers, but here at the top, it’s mostly people who work in the city. The two groups get along well enough though, so maybe it’s not wrong to think of it as a single diverse neighborhood.”

Lilith wandered from tread to tread as if in a trance. She wanted to take in every sight: the workers returning home from their shifts, the children playing on each level, the couples sharing a meal in front of a nearby shop. It was nothing like living locked away in Coventry. She never wanted to leave.

“You said you lived by the port. Is this what you meant? Are we going to be living here?”

“Not quite, but we can visit. The well has the best restaurant in the city. I’ll take you some time.”

It was wrong, but a mild disappointment seeped in. Lilith had quite liked the idea of living in such a vibrant, lively place. She would likely take Pandora’s offer of dinner but saw herself returning, even alone, to simply watch the people go about their day.

“If you don’t live here, then where?”

“All the way at the bottom, unfortunately. We’ve still got a hell of a walk ahead of us. My legs are going to be jelly by the time we get back, though I have gotten used to the feeling these last couple of days.”

Heat rose in Lilith’s face as she realized why that was. “Sorry. I’ll make sure to give you a break tonight.”

“What? No need to be hasty,” Pandora said, her tone suddenly serious. “Let’s rethink this.”

Giggling, Lilith darted ahead. A worried, “Lily?” cut through the ambiance behind her. The rest of her trip to the bottom continued the same way, taking in the sights and teasing Pandora. Both enjoyable activities in their own right, but if she had to choose, teasing Pandora was just a little more fun. Though she had been right about one thing, the hike down had brought Lilith’s legs to the verge of failure. She wouldn’t complain, it only served to remind her how lucky she had been. Not too long before walking at all posed a struggle. Only through meeting Pandora did she have a chance at a normal life.

Lilith rushed to the hunter’s side and squeezed under her arm, savoring the familiar scent heavy on her clothes.

Pandora turned her gaze down. “Did something good happen?”

“If you don’t need an excuse to kiss me, I don’t need one to cuddle.”

“I wasn’t complaining.”

Good, she thought, continuing alongside her with eyes closed. I don’t plan on stopping. The gentle sway of the hunter’s stride was too relaxing to give up. She didn’t care where they were going, she was content just to be together.

The taste of salt built on her tongue as the sound of waves grew. Pandora suddenly stopped and Lilith opened her eyes to churning water. The cliff wall closed in on their left, and to their right, a small pier gave way to open ocean. She blinked. The path to Pandora’s house led to the port’s end?

With a nervous laugh, Lilith said, “I hope you don’t want me to jump in. I can’t swim.”

“There’s no need to swim. At least, not when the tide is out.” Pandora brought her thumb to her mouth, then winced as she bit into the flesh to draw blood.

“Lunar pull, shifting tide. Endless shore of sand long dried. Send the sea to meet its source, then strike again with crushing force.”

The wind picked up as the curse circled them, swirling like black smoke caught in a cyclone. At its edge the water retreated, foaming white as the water crashed against the spell’s border and shrank back. Pandora stepped forward, walking right off the pier and dropping to the exposed seabed. Where Lilith expected a splash, there was none. Instead, the ground crunched beneath Pandora’s boots as if it had never been wet at all.

“Be quick. I can only maintain the curse for so long.”

Lilith wasted no time leaping down after her, even pushing slightly ahead as they followed the cliffside out into open water. She trusted Pandora could hold back the tides long enough to reach their destination, but had no desire to test the limits. She hadn’t been lying about her inability to swim.

Before long the port disappeared around the curve of the wall, hastening Lilith’s steps even further. Pandora dropped a hand to her shoulder. “Try to relax. We don’t have much further to go now.”

Up ahead, a small pocket of land rose above the water. It reminded Lilith of an island in its isolation from the rest of Eden, even if its position butted up against the cliff disqualified it from the classification. Whatever it was, she was happy to see it. As soon as the curse reached the shore, Lilith scurried up, happy to be on dry land. Or at least, land dry without the aid of magic.

“So, what do you think?” Pandora asked, climbing up to meet her. The curse thinned like drifting smoke, completely gone by the time she reached Lilith’s side. The water had returned to its natural place, once again crashing against the cliff in swirls of white foam.

“Somewhere you could only reach with magic: the perfect place for a witch to hide.”

“Exactly. Though if you know where you’re going it’s possible to travel by boat. There’s one on the island in case we need to move but can’t wait for low tide.”

Lilith turned back to her new home. A vast field sloped up from the water, a small cabin nestled beneath the cliff face near its top. In a way, it reminded her of Coventry. A little pocket of her former rural life hidden in the shadow of the city.

“It’s perfect. How did you find this place?”

“No idea. Renna was already living here when she took me in. For me, it’s a place that’s always just been.”

Fingers interlaced Lilith’s. Pandora pulled her hand close and squeezed. “Hey,” she said, voice sparking with a sudden energy. “Let me show you my favorite spot.”

How could she refuse that invitation? Pandora was so often composed and in control that seeing her excited for something was a genuine treat. A chance to glimpse the real woman hidden away behind the bravado. Lilith let Pandora pull her up the hillside, past the house, and toward the highest point on the island. At the top, the land fell away to the sea creating an overlook.

Her stomach tightened as they approached. What if her anxiety took hold again? What if her body rejected Pandora’s special place? Doubts swirled through her head, but in the end, they were wasted thoughts. She found the view from the top rather relaxing. The drop-off wasn’t any higher than the Colossal’s upper decks, and a sturdy wooden fence lined the edge. It was no different than her days spent watching the ocean from the ship. If anything, the experience was improved by the two large trees at the peak, ready to provide shade in the summer months.

Lilith gazed at them, imagining herself sitting at their base, reading. Then she noticed a stone pillar shooting from the earth between their trunks. She swallowed. The stone was sun-bleached, worn at the edges, and though she couldn’t read it, clearly engraved.

“I keep meaning to plant flowers, but never seem to get around to it.”

She flinched, the words leaping out at her like a ghost. Pandora had caught her staring. She shrunk back, and with a faded whisper of a voice, asked, “Is that Renna?”

Pandora’s arm slipped around her, pulling her in close. “She’s not really there of course. There wasn’t anything left to bury. But I wanted somewhere to remember her, so I picked the most beautiful place I knew. You can almost see the stars at night from here. Better than anywhere else in the city, at least. And the sunset is breathtaking.”

Lilith pulled at the hem of her blouse. “That’s sweet.”

“Would you like me to help you make one for your father?”

“What?!” She jumped away from Pandora, shaking arms outstretched to separate them. What was she saying? It was absurd. “I-I couldn’t,” She stammered. “It wouldn’t be right. This is your home.”

Surely there was some nice place in Eden Lilith could find without bothering Pandora. She could go looking in the morning, or she could ask Medusa for help. Or…

Pandora’s hand pressed to her cheek, halting the slight tremble that had formed in her jaw.

“No, Lily. This is our home.”

Moisture pooled at the corners of her eyes. She fell forward, pressing herself into Pandora’s chest. Desperate to feel her warmth, to breathe in her scent. Before she realized it she was crying, the relief too heavy on her heart to hold back the tears anymore. Coming to Eden was supposed to be a fresh start, a place to stay in safety. If she looked, she could have found that anywhere. But what Lilith had really gained with Pandora was so much more. She had found a place where she could truly belong.

Lilith shared her first night in Eden with Pandora watching the sunset as they built a memorial for her father.