you, Lilith. I would risk everything to be with you." She smiled down at him.
"I love you too, Samael. You have given up so much for me."
"And he is about to give up so much more." With a gasp, they both pulled apart and stared up at Eve who was standing there with her arms across her chest.
"Who's this female, Samael?"
"I’m Adam's new wife, Eve. And you must be this Lilith he cannot stop talking about." Eve spoke before Samael could.
"Eve, what are you doing here? Why aren't you back in Eden with Adam?" Samael grabbed his robe that he had discarded earlier and covered them both with the cream colored cloth, hiding their bodies from Eve's gaze.
"Making sure you both get what you deserve." Liliana frowned and looked from the other woman back to Samael.
"What we deserve? Why are you speaking such foolishness? Leave us be, and go back to the Garden of Eden."
"Oh, I will be going back, but not before I do what I came here to do. That would be imparting a gift to you that will ensure my happiness and give me much pleasure."
"Eve, stop before things get out of hand." Samael's words were spoken softly, yet they held an underlying warning that came across loud and clear.
"What will you do, Fallen? That’s right, Samael, you will not do anything. You've been left bereft of your power for the choices you've made. So what'll you do?" Eve's head went back as she laughed, her dark eyes filled with what Samael recognized as anger.
"I curse you both." Lilith gasped and buried her face into Samael's neck. "I curse you, Samael, to be doomed to walk this Earth with knowledge of who you were and the awareness of the love you have for Lilith."
"Is that all, Eve? That isn't a curse; it's what's already in place."
"Oh, don't rush me. I've only just begun." The smile on her face did not show in her eyes.
Samael heard Lilith whimper and whisper his name against his neck. He held her even tighter against his chest, trying to soothe her; he knew he was failing miserably.
"Now let's see. Where was I? Oh, yes. You, Samael, will know Lilith and love Lilith throughout eternity. All the same, she will never know you. You can't remind her either. The knowledge of what she has done has to come from her." She giggled and then looked directly at Lilith.
"And you, dear, get the worst of it. You will not know who you are, and Samael can't tell you. You will die, and every time you die, you will come back and be that much further from the truth. This curse will last until you remember your name and what you did to me."
Tears fell from Lilith's eyes, and she looked at Eva.
"Why are you doing this? What did I do to you?"
"Do you know how hard it is to live with a man who doesn't love you? Who pines after another woman and compares everything you do to what she did? No, you don't, because everyone wants Lilith! Lilith even has an angel choose to be fallen just for the pleasure of being between her thighs. I was the one taken from his rib, made to be his. The perfect fit for him and yet he pines for you!"
"You must be mistaken! Stop this! Go back to him, please, Eve. This is madness!" Liliana was pleading with Eve and her words ignored.
"Oh, I am going back, but I'll not stop it. The curse stands." Though she laughed, no humor filtered into her laugh.
"Eve, no good will come of this." Samael continued to hold the crying Lilith.
"Maybe you’re right, but I feel better already."
****
He was brought out of his reverie by a male voice behind him. T urning, he smiled as he looked at Clay Quinones.
"I knew I'd find you here, bro."
"Yeah, it is the one place I can come and think." It was a nice lookout point down into the city. Yet, strangely enough, he found that no one really visited it. Which made it a nice escape for him when he needed to think things through, and today was one of those days when he was in need of such an escape.
"I understand completely. Eva has put us in a bind. She can't find her way to me until what she’s put into