Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night
Chapter 267: Secret Meeting Part II

Lilith stood coldly as she silently calmed herself. She could not very well tell a fanatic like Balthasar the truth. Because to do so would lend credence to Zane's claims that their mother favored him. To put it simply, there was no physical way that Zane could have possibly broken through her charm.

It was a mental ability that Lilith possessed. She could quite forcibly bind weaker beings to her will and permanently at that with a simple gesture. It was a skill that among all the Horde Kings only she possessed. And even those of greater strength would have a hard time overcoming it. Except for Death herself, of course.

No matter how much she thought about it, there was only one being that could break her spell, and that was her mother. But to say that Death had reversed her spell for the sake of saving Zane, who Balthasar and his fellow fanatics had branded a heretic. It would make Lilith herself a blasphemer.

And if that happened she would be either under siege from the majority of her siblings, or on the run like Zane.

Neither of which were an ideal fate for her. Because of this, she had to lie. And lie she did. She just needed to make it convincing because Balthasar, when outraged was a truly terrifying monster. One that even Lilith would think twice about before provoking.

"He broke free because I did not cast the charm myself. Zane did not walk into my territory directly. Rather, there is a small human settlement in my domain which for scientific reasons I have chosen to spare. Particularly because their leader possesses a skill similar to my charm. Albeit much weaker.

She couldn't charm a Tier I Horde King for long, but I didn't understand just how weak her abilities truly were. It was a slight miscalculation on my part, one that has resulted in that heretic escaping from my grasp.

I could have caught up to him if I chased him. Unfortunately, another group of humans arrived and attacked. I was forced into a dilemma: deal with those bastards who would dare try to act up in my domain, or chase a heretic. I chose the former for obvious reasons…"

Damian gazed at Lilith with a curious glint in his golden eyes. He knew Lilith perhaps better than any of their other siblings. Although the two of them may publicly act the part of rivals in competition for control of North America, the reality was that behind the scenes there was a secret alliance between the two of them.

And though Lilith had failed to inform the man about Elysium and its true purpose. He knew his sister well enough to understand when she was lying out her ass. Which she was obviously doing at the moment. Still, he did not make an attempt to reveal this deceit. They were, after all both of the moderate faction when it came to their siblings.

Insofar as the two of them were not religious fanatics when it came to the worship of Death herself. The same could not be said for the majority of their siblings who were far more aligned towards Balthasar's influence.

As for Ophelia, she was always suspicious of Lilith, and frowned towards the woman as she made her excuses. Ultimately, it would be up to Balthasar whether he chose to believe them or not, and whether he pardoned Lilith for her failures.

Balthasar remained silent as he put out his cigarette butt, which had been smoked in its entirety. He gazed upon Lilith through his bronze tinted sunglasses for a long while in total silence. Lilith was a master of deception, and because of this it took even someone as powerful as Balthasar to see through them.

In the end, he sighed heavily after a long pause. He had failed to detect any trace of hidden truths or deliberate deceit within Lilith's words, and because of this he accepted her excuses.

"I suppose it couldn't be helped…"

There was a long and heavy sigh of relief not only by Lilith but also Damian and Ophelia as well. That is until Balthasar spoke again.

"I am curious, though. What exactly is this scientific research you are performing on the livestock?"

Lilith did not want to reveal that she was smarter than her siblings, at least insofar as she was not stupid enough to eat them all in one setting, and instead chose to actively breed them as actual livestock. Instead of wiping humans out entirely.

After all, this would reveal her long-term aspirations to unseat the current rule of order among the Undead. Instead, she attested it was merely a curiosity, a fascination if you will to learn more about humanity's newfound powers following the start of the apocalypse. And she said this with an incredibly smug tone in her voice.

"The kind of research that will eventually determine the source of humanity's new abilities. Can none of you honestly say that you are not curious in the slightest about how humanity suddenly gained such strength the moment mother created us?

If not, then to each their own. But I want to know how these so called awakened came to be, and what fuels their growth. Is it just blood crystals? Or are there still other things we are not aware of that they have kept a secret from us all this time?"

Balthasar thought nothing was out of the ordinary when Lilith said this. She had, after all always been one to study things in depth, rather than just accept them for face value like so many of her other siblings were inclined to do.

And because of this, he let the matter go entirely, and instead chose to switch the subject to something far more important to him.

"Very well. If you replace amusement in such endeavors, then, by all means, continue with your efforts. I'm more concerned about this heretic who is on the loose. Have we received any reports since he escaped from you? I mean, didn't he have his own human settlement he was hiding in? Has it not been razed to the ground yet?"

Ophelia was quick to speak up this time. She had, after all made use of Bartholomew in the past, and had been keeping him in her service ever since the man entered her debt. She reported exactly what they knew about Zane's current whereabouts, and how she knew them.

"Immediately after Lilith told us what happened in her domain, I tasked little Bartholomew to keep an eye on the heretic. Bartholomew's agents reported that Zane had absconded from the human settlement in the dead of night, and has not returned.

Last we heard he was headed south. But unfortunately, he detected the agent who was tracking him and eliminated it while at a crossroads. Truth be told, he could have headed in any direction, south, west, or east.

We don't know his end destination, or where he currently is located. Though I have asked Bartholomew to send out more scouts to look for clues in this regard. But unfortunately, they have yet to report any replaceings."

Needless to say Balthasar was not pleased with this news. But there was nothing he could do otherwise. As for Lilith, she was fuming when she heard that Ophelia of all people had dared to issue orders to her little plaything, or that the craven bastard had actually gone and followed them!

But she said nothing, because before she could make an outburst, Balthasar spoke up once more.

"What about this human settlement he lived in? Is there anything in there that can be of use to us? Any hostages we can make use of?"

Lilith was about to mention the girls that had come to Elysium with Zane, but was ultimately stopped by Ophelia who once more spoke her opinions on the matter before Lilith could do so.

"Unfortunately no. Though he had companions in the past, a group of human women who followed him around wherever he went. They were completely and utterly left behind. In fact, they searched the entire following day in the surrounding areas for his whereabouts once they realized he was missing.

While they may have formed some emotional attachment to Zane, it is clear that he himself had no such inclinations towards them. Because only a cold-hearted bastard would just walk out on them like that.

Destroying Gravestone, or holding the heretic's former companions hostage, will serve no purpose. The man will not willingly walk into a trap like that for the sake of some petty humans who he once used as meat shields.

When Lilith heard how Zane had so ruthlessly abandoned the women by his side, even she believed Ophelia's statement. She had thought there was some kind of human lingering within him, but it turned out that was false.

And because of this, the only thing this meeting could conclude was that Lilith was not guilty of any foul play, and that the efforts to replace and eliminate Zane had to be doubled.