Read Online Fallen Nation: Party At The World's End by James Curcio - Free Book Online Page A

sleep in the damn hallway?”
    “ You’ve got thinking to do. I like it when you think,” she
winked at him.
    “ Look. I’m not like that concierge. Like, I see your breasts
and suddenly I’m just a brain-stem attached to a penis.”
    Lilith shook her head. “It
was about catering to his delusions. The breasts only get you in
the door. Anyway, listen. If you need something to keep those
industrious hands occupied, I could really use the smoke detectors
in our room shut off. Within about...ten minutes?”
    “ That’s not–”
    Artemis patted her
crossbow. How the fuck did she get that in here? “I’ll help. If you
don’t mind, that is.”
    “ I don’t– Screw it. Why not?”
    Lilith let them in and then
shut the door with a loud click.
     
    The corner suite had the
same aesthetic as the rest of the hotel, full of hard lines and
stark, incoherent furniture. Ariadne whistled. “These are some
digs. How much did this cost?” She started putting her hair in
pigtails. Black and red, shaved underneath.
    “ Don’t worry about that,” Lilith said, “Girls, there’s a hot
tub in there just dying to meet us.”
    Mary, Amber and Ariadne
looked at one another uncertainly. Jesus began sauntering towards
the bathroom.
    “ Not you, hon,” Lilith said.
    Jesus frowned. “What, I’m
not a lady?”
    “ I said girls.”
    “ Point. But I do make bathing an exacting art.”
    “ I’m sure you do,” Lilith said, walking up to her and patting
her ass. “New initiates. Wheat from the chaff,” she said, quietly,
after the three of them were already in the bathroom. With a silk
bag casually flung over her shoulder, Lilith followed them, closing
the door behind her.
    Cody swaggered to a nearby
sofa and dropped onto it heavily. He managed to finish the bottle
of whiskey he’d been nursing all night before passing out, still
sitting up.
    Jesus and Dionysus looked
at each other. Dionysus sighed, but then smiled wearily. “I was
really excited about the hot tub, too.”
     

     
    Lilith handed a bundle of
candles to Amber and contemplated the layout of the room. Not the
bath-houses of Tiberius in Ancient Rome, but it would do. Most
importantly, the hot tub could accommodate three.
    She made a circular gesture
at Amber, who nodded and began placing them around the hot-tub.
Lilith sat down by the bath and turned the faucet.
    “ Leave your clothes over there,” she said, motioning to the
far corner of the room. “Don’t be shy. I’ve seen it all
before...Not that you aren’t fine specimens.”
    They did as instructed, and
stood somewhat awkwardly in the center of the room. Lilith began
lighting the candles. “Ardat li li. Lamashtu. Ahi hay
lilitu.”
    She snapped restraints on
Mary and Amber’s wrists, but when she approached Ariadne, she
pulled away.
    “ Hold on a second. I don’t even–”
    Lilith grabbed her by the
throat. Ariadne’s eyes opened wide. “As a famous writer said: You
bought the ticket, now take the ride. OK?”
    She let go. Ariadne rubbed
her neck for a moment. “Christ you’re strong.”
    Lilith smiled, and bound
her hands as well.
    “ I’m not a fan of empty talk. But I’m going to tell you
something that Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Hedwig and Macguyver out
there haven't figured out for themselves yet. We are the scions of
eternity. My memory goes all the way back to ancient
Babylon.”
    “ You’re serious?” Ariadne asked.
    “ Women told tales of me...I would steal the men away from
them. I would devour their children. I was an abomination. I lived
inside mirrors to seduce the vanity of nubile girls. Can you
imagine? They were afraid of me. I know. You're probably thinking
I'm crazy, and at the same time wondering about all the voices in
your head that won't let you sleep at night. The nightmares that
soak your sheets. I'm not the only one.”
    “ Only what?”
    “ Demigod.”
    “ Ah.”
    “ We don't always remember. In fact, more often than not, we
forget.” Lilith put her hand