Chapter 36: 36. Loved

"Hi Lily," I smiled as I plopped myself down on the leather sofa next to my big blue demon mom.

Mira perched on the edge of the sofa on the other side and grinned, "Hello mater."

Our demon mom slowly looked back and forth at the two of us before responding, "Hello you two. Why do I get the feeling you're up to something?"

My smile got wider as I responded, "Because we totally are?"

"You're not supposed to tell her," Mira stated as she made a face at me.

"What?" I laughed. "It's not like she couldn't tell we were plotting something."

My other self rolled her eyes, while Lily just seemed slightly worried as she looked back and forth at the two of us again.

After a few more seconds our mater finally asked, "Well what it is then? Why are you two in here pestering me? Shouldn't you be out there bothering your girlfriends instead?"

She gestured vaguely towards the two windows on the wall across from the sofa, but they were both dark. Me and Mira left our physical bodies in bed together in Mira's room, if anyone looked in on us they'd think we were both asleep. We didn't even leave the bodies in a lewd pose or anything, they were just like curled up next to each other.

"Nope," I stated. "We're spending time with you tonight. Actually we've got something planned, so c'mon!"

I jumped up to my feet and grabbed one of Lily's hands, as if I could pull the eight and a half foot tall demoness off the sofa. Mira did the same, she got up and took our mater's other hand.

Even with both of us tugging on her there was no way we could budge her if she didn't want to move, but luckily she played along. She got to her feet and followed as we led her around the sofa then to the back of her apartment, and finally through the big door back there and into Mira's villa on ancient Thera.

I still had trouble getting my brain around that sometimes. Like how the front door of Lily's apartment in our head could be connected to the front door of Mira's villa two thousand years in the past and on an island in the Aegean.

That was still on my mind as we dragged our demon mom into the atrium, and it led to a question I'd never got around to asking before.

"Hey Lily?" I looked up at her. "That big black door was always at the back of your apartment, right? Like I remember seeing it way back the first time I visited you in there. Where did it lead to, before it got attached to Mira's place?"

Her cheeks got darker as she blushed, "It led nowhere Mara. I modelled my space in your mind after an apartment you saw in a movie once. That place had a front door, so I had a front door in my place too. But it didn't go anywhere. I didn't even know it could open, I never bothered to try it."

That felt weird to me, like having a door in your home that you never opened. And it left me wondering about the other door, if that had a purpose too. "What about the door at the top of the spiral staircase?"

Her cheeks got even darker and she sounded guilty as she admitted, "That was my larder. That's where I kept souls that I took but wasn't planning to consume right away. And I'll ask both of you girls to never ever go through that door."

"Ok Lily," I promised. "We won't."

Once we were in the middle of the atrium the three of us sat down together on the marble bench. It had recently grown much bigger, and now it was covered in some thick soft blankets so the three of us would be comfortable. It wasn't quite as nice as Lily's leather sofa, but it worked ok and fit the decor. Another recent change was the fire pit that now sat in the middle of the atrium, directly in front of us.

Mira gestured and it burst into flames, a big bonfire for the three of us to enjoy. Finally there was a large amphora full of wine next to the bench, and my demon twin poured three big goblets of wine then handed them out.

"Why are we in here?" Lily asked as she accepted her drink. "And how did you set all this up? The fire and the wine?"

"Mom taught me how to do it," Mira replied with a grin. "Or ok, she didn't teach me how, but she taught me it was possible? Both your apartment and my villa are basically like dreamworlds, right? Like persistent dreams that we can consciously control. I remember you told us once about how you can conjure up things, like the piano or the harp. So this is my villa, it's my dreamworld or whatever. I can change it and add stuff to it. I can make the bonfire and the wine and even the sunset."

Sure enough the sun was setting off to the west. Parts of the atrium were already deep in shadow, but the bonfire made it feel nice and warm and friendly.

Our mater asked again, "And why are we here?"

"Because we wanted to talk with you Lily," I replied. "Me and Mira have been worried about you. You've been kind of quiet for a while."

Mira added, "We know you're here when we come in to talk, but we hardly hear from you otherwise. It feels like you've been quiet for months now."

I finished, "And you always say it's nothing or you're fine, but we're not going to let you get away with that anymore. So we're going to talk."

After a brief pause I asked, "Do you know what day it is?"

"It's Tuesday," our demon mom replied impatiently. "Can I go now?"

Mira rolled her eyes and clarified, "Do you know what the date is?"

Lily sighed, "Yes, of course I do. It's the eighth of June. It's the second anniversary of Mara's death."

I added, "It's also the second anniversary of when you and me met, Lily."

"The second anniversary of a moment that went on to change the lives of everyone we know and love," Mira stated. "Mara and I know it holds difficult memories for you mater, but we also think it's an important date. And it felt like an auspicious one, so we decided this was the best time for all three of us to talk."

Our mater sighed again, and had a gulp of her wine. She didn't protest though, and she didn't try to escape. After a few long quiet seconds her shoulders slumped and she asked, "Oh very well, let's get this conversation over with."

Me and Mira already agreed that I should go first.

I put an arm around Lily's waist and leaned against her in a hug as I said, "We know your 'big tough scary demon' thing is just an act Lily. Even though you deny it and try to hide it and stuff, we know you have emotions. We know you can feel hurt or scared or sad or embarrassed. And we know you can also feel joy and love and happiness and excitement."

Our demon mom got kind of tense while I was talking, like she was getting defensive. She even flustered a bit as she tried to come up with a response, like she wanted to deny what I just said.

Meanwhile Mira was hugging her from the other side, and she took over with the difficult conversation. "Mater, you and I both know it's natural to have emotions. What's unnatural is to pretend that we don't."

She continued, "We're not that different from humans, and I know you know that. I remember how you raised us in our previous life, I remember you tried to teach us to suppress and bury our feelings. We think someone taught you to do that as well. You didn't come up with that on your own."

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By that point Lily had gone quiet. She was staring at the fire, and she set her goblet down then wrapped her arms around both me and Mira. For the next few minutes none of us spoke, we all just sort of cuddled together as the sun set over the western Aegean and the bonfire continued to burn in front of us.

"You're right," our mater finally responded. Her voice was quiet, like she was either ashamed or afraid to admit it. "Unlike you, I never knew my parents. I don't know if I even had any. I emerged from the sea after an eruption of what you know as Mount Etna. I made my way to the mainland, and eventually settled near what became Naples. I let my nature and my instincts guide me, I learned what food sustained me, and I learned to keep my nature and true appearance hidden from the humans that lived around me."

She sighed again as she continued in that soft voice, "The first demon I ever met was Armaros. We didn't just become allies, he also became my mentor. He taught me what it was to be a demon. He taught me that our kind doesn't show weakness or emotion. That we can't afford to be vulnerable. That we don't have friends. He taught me to be strong, and he taught me..."

Her voice trailed off for a few moments, then she sighed once more. "He taught me to kill. Until then I fed like your girlfriends do. I had sex with humans and drained a portion of their energy, but I left them alive. Armaros told me that humans were nothing more than food. He said I could grow much stronger by draining them completely, and he was right. So that's what I did."

"For twenty-five hundred years he was the only other demon I knew," Lily added softly. "He was older, stronger, and more powerful than me. I looked up to him, and perhaps he became a sort of father-figure to me. So I took his lessons to heart, and I believed what he said. When we met Verothilas and Efranir I saw Verothilas was strong, and that she was like him. I thought Efranir and I were both flawed, cursed with emotions while the stronger demons were not. I loved Efranir, but I respected and feared Armaros and Verothilas."

Mira and I both held our mater tighter.

My twin shook her head, "Armaros and Verothilas thrived by spreading pain and suffering among humans. That's how they fed. But you're different, and so was mehter. I know sex and lust can be seen as negative, but they can also be positive things mater. Mehter took away negative feelings. Both you and Efranir left people feeling happier after you fed. Together you two had the capacity to bring joy and love to people."

"Maybe they saw you and Efranir as a threat?" I asked. "And the original Mara too, since she took after Efranir like that?"

Lily sighed again as she continued to hold the both of us.

My other self and I both hugged her tighter, and I said "It's ok Lily, if you're feeling upset it's ok to share it. Mira and I are both here for you. You're our mater and we love you."

"Mara's right," my twin added. "And you know the rest of the DLP are here for you too Lily. So is Grace. I'm sure you could even count on our human moms as well? They both like you, and you're all part of Team Mom after all."

"Thank you," our demon mom murmured.

The three of us were quiet for a few minutes, till Mira spoke up again. "So back to our original point mater. You've been quiet and withdrawn for months, and we worry maybe you're depressed. Will you please tell us what's wrong? Mara and I want to help. So do the rest of your friends."

Lily sighed once more, and she definitely seemed emotional. She was still trying to fight it though, like she wasn't ready yet to let everything out. I couldn't blame her for that, considering she'd been keeping stuff bottled up for like seven thousand years or whatever.

After a few minutes our mater finally stopped fighting. She took a deep breath then started telling us what was troubling her.

"It's foolish, but I feel lonely," she admitted quietly.

"For more than seven thousand years I saw Armaros as an ally, as a father figure. Likewise, for almost five thousand years I believed Verothilas was also an ally. And despite being her lover for a time, I suppose I saw her as a mother-figure. Like I said, I feared and respected both of them. They were stronger, older, smarter, more powerful than I. As for Efranir..."

Lily's voice faltered and she paused for a few moments. "For eighteen hundred years I was in love with her, although we were only lovers for seven centuries. She's been gone for three millennia now, and I still miss her. Then I lost my child, until the two of you returned to me. And now Armaros and Verothilas are gone as well, and I'll ensure they never walk the Earth again."

She shook her head, "I thought I'd rejoice when my enemies were defeated. Instead I realize I'm the last of us. I might even be the last of my kind, for all I know."

"You're not the last," I reminded her. "Me and Mira are still here, and we'll never leave you."

My other self gave me a sad smile, "We're not the same Mara. We weren't born demons, we don't have true demonic names. Our birth wasn't heralded by some great cataclysm, and I doubt our death will be either. Our bodies are demonic, and we can access mater's demonic magic, but we're not real demons."

"What?" I frowned. "But we have demonic glyphs right? On our tattoo? I thought that was part of the true name stuff?"

Mira shook her head, "Those are just our human names. Yours reads Mara Carter, mine is Mira Carter."

"You're both demons as far as I'm concerned," our mater stated as she held us tighter. "You're my daughters, regardless how you came to this life. I'm sorry girls, I didn't mean to make you doubt or question that."

"Thanks Lily," I smiled as I held her too. "And I'm sorry you're lonely. But hiding out in our head isn't going to make you less lonely. I know it's hard, but the way to fix that is to get out and make more friends. Meet people. Maybe they won't be demons, but you can be friends with humans too you know?"

"Mara's right," Mira stated. "You already have human friends, and there's no reason you can't make more. Till then you could try spending more time with the friends you already have."

I suggested, "Why don't you go hang out with some human friends tonight Lily? Melissa and Susan and Amber are all home, they're in the living-room watching TV."

"Perhaps another night," our mater decided. She was still holding me and Mira. She hugged us both closer again and said, "I think I'd like to spend tonight visiting with my girls."

That made us both smile as we hugged her back. Mira let go after a bit, she poured us all more wine from the amphora before cuddling up against Lily's right side again. And I stayed cuddled up against Lily's left.

By that point it felt like there wasn't much more to say. My demon mom and my demon twin and me all sat quietly together on the marble bench in the atrium of Mira's villa. We sipped our wine and cuddled each other as we watched the bonfire. It was a clear sky overhead and all the stars were out, and for a long time the only sound was the crackle and pop of the fire.

"Mira, Lily?" I said, breaking the long silence. "I love you two."

Mira smiled, "Same."

Lily was quiet for a few more seconds, before she finally smiled. "Thank you Mara and Mira. I love you both as well."

Then our demon mom leaned over and kissed me on the forehead, and I stretched up and kissed her on the cheek. She turned to the right and exchanged kisses with Mira as well. And finally the three of us settled even closer together, Mira and I both cuddled our mater as we all sat and watched the bonfire.

We stayed that way well into the night, a demon mom and her two demon daughters enjoying each other's presence in a warm loving embrace.

~ End of Book Six ~

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