Part Twenty of Lilith's Escape

                                                            

“Did he bite you?” Lilith repeated.

Edward kept his gun aimed at her, watching as she pushed back her hood to reveal her face. “No,” he replied.

                                                                  

“Good or I would have been forced to kill you.”

“Stay where you are,” Edward ordered, as Lilith moved towards him, but she ignored his command and the gun pointed at her.

“Would you really shoot me?” she asked.

Edward stood motionless as she reached out and moved the gun away from her chest. With his gun out of her way, she stood on her toes and kissed him gently on the lips.

                                                                           

“What is he?” Edward asked when Lilith removed her lips from his. It took all his control to keep his arms by his side, his desire for her too strong to ignore.

“He is what I’m trying to prevent from happening in the future. This is a genetically engineered zombie and he was sent here to kill you.”

                                                              

                                                                   

Edward’s glance went to the dead man and then back to the woman before him. “What are you and what does this have to do with the man I’m looking for?”

She let out a sigh. “Let me remove this, before I explain,” she said pointing to the dead man lying at their feet.

Edward watched as she slid her sword from its leather scabbard and touched the body. There was a flash of light so bright that Edward was forced to shield his eyes with his good arm.

                                                               
          When he lowered his arm he saw that the zombie was gone. The bloods stains on the rug were the only proof of the ungodly visitor.

After sheathing her sword, Lilith removed her cloak and let it fall to the floor. She undid her armor and dropped it next to her cloak, but as she did so, she winced. Dressed only in a flimsy linen drape, she placed her arms around his waist and her head against his chest.

                                                     
     Edward kept his arms at his side and a tight grip on the gun while trying to fight the urge to take her into his embrace.

“What are you?”

She kept her face hidden at his chest. “I’m an immortal. Hold me Edward.”

“Are you a god?” he asked and nudged her away from his body in order to look into her eyes.

“No...but I was  designed by one.”

                                                               

Edward felt the bitter taste of bile work its way up his throat. “Are you the first wife of Adam?”

                                                           

“I am that woman, but I was never his wife.”

“Then you’re a demon,” he replied .

“I’m no demon.” She tried to move back into his arms.

                                                              

“Then, what are you?” Edward asked as he took a step back from her.

“I am a planet seeder, created way before man evolved to take his place on earth.”

                                                                          

He tightened his grip on the trigger; his fear of her was stronger than that of the zombie.

“Go on,” he urged her.

“I was sent to the earth man, to increase the survival rate of future generations” she replied softly.

                                                                        

“But, that didn’t happen,” he countered.

 “I fell in love with another and would not stay with the man.”

                                                        

The sound of loud thumping filled the room and at first Edward was unable to identify the source. His heart was beating so fast that he felt light headed, but he needed to know more.

“So you ran away?”

                                                                    

“Yes, I'm so cold, please hold me," she pleaded, but when Edward made no move to embrace her, she continued speaking,. "Another was formed to take my place, but she was unable to stop the man from joining forces with the enemy.”

                                                                       

“Who is creating the zombies?” he asked.

“Hold me in your arms and I will tell you everything.” She raised her hand and touched his cheek.

All thoughts of the past few days seemed to fade away as he looked into eyes. She was telling the truth, but how he knew this as fact, he couldn’t say.

                                                                      

“Hold me, Edward. I’m so very cold,” she pleaded, but in a weaker tone.

     He took her into his arms and held her tight. He was surprised at how cold her skin felt. “Who is this man you have me searching for?” 

     There were was no reply. She had gone limp in his arms and when he tried to lift her, he noticed the blood on his hand.

                                                                

Philadelphia Writer's Conference

I had the opportunity this past weekend to attend the Philadelphia Writer’s Conference. This was my second year of attending and this time, I was accompanied by my granddaughter Katrina and her friend Jessica. Katrina is only 15, but I swear she is an old soul. She loves to write and I was so pleased that she could attend the conference, in spite of her young age. Jessica traveled all the way from Alberta, Canada for this event.

                                                                   

I had signed up for several classes and was able to get plenty of expert advice and suggestions from my talented and knowledgeable instructors: Caridad Pineiro, Merry Jones, Marilyn Horowitz, Kathryn Craft and Jonathan Maberry. I’m now ready to tweak my work and send it out to an editor. Here are just two of my instructors.

                                                                     

             Marilyn Horowitz, Author, Writing Coach & Script Consultant

                   Jonathan Maberry, Author- NewYork Bestseller-Multiple Bram Stoker Award winner-Speaker-Writing Teacher.                                                                                

                                                                                                               

I’ve also made a lot of new friends, but unfortunately, I did not get everyone’s picture.

                                      Jonathan Maberry and Brad Hecht 
                                   

So, if you’re a writer and you want to attend a writer’s conference, you should try to attend next year’s event. The people who pull this wonderful conference together every year are amazing and they present every writer with the means to perfect their work.

                                                Katrina and Don Lafferty, PWC Board Member                  

Part Nineteen of Lilith's Escape

He had only been in bed a few hours when the scratching sound at the window awoke him. He had been tossing and turning most of the night, his aching shoulder preventing him from falling into a sound sleep.

                                                              

The curtains were drawn closed and he wasn’t able to see the cause of the sound. The branches of the old London Plane, which sat in front of his apartment building, would tap against his window when there was a strong wind.

                                                                           

He was about to roll over and ignore the sound, but…a premonition and his internal warning system, which had kept him alive throughout his career, made him reach for his gun.

                                                         

The sound of breaking glass had him on his feet and alert. He watched as a bloody hand took hold of the bedroom curtain.

                                                                 

“I’m armed and if you’re here to rob me, you’ve made a poor choice of a victim,” Edward called out in a calm tone, even though his heart was racing.

For a mere second, time seemed to halt as the owner of the hand moved into view.

                                                                   

“Stay where you are,” Edward ordered. He was unable to assess in his mind what now stood before him.

The only reply was a deep growl and then the monstrosity attacked.

Edward had a chance to get off a shot before he was knocked over. He knew the bullet hit the man in the shoulder, but it had not stopped the attacker. Edward struggled with the intruder and as he did, he could smell the decay. It was strong enough to make Edward gag.

                                                                 

Edward was finally able to push the man away and reach for his gun. The shot was well aimed and fatal. The man stopped moving, his brain splattered all over the bedroom rug.

                                                                  
                                     

The sound of knocking on his apartment door, told Edward that the other tenants had heard the shots.

                                                                 

He made his way to the door and after calming the neighbors down a bit with some bullshit story of his gun discharging while he was cleaning it, Edward returned to the bedroom.

“Did you send him?” Edward asked aloud. He wondered if Lilith was responsible for this creature. His hands shook as he took a closer look at the body. The man’s body hinted that decomposition had been taking place long before Edward’s bullet put an end to this intruder’s existence.

“Did he bite you?”

Edward spun around and pointed his gun at the woman standing near the window.

                                                          

An Interview with the Master of Dorian's Parlor

                                                                      

As promised dear readers, I asked the busy Gil Cnaan, the man responsible for Dorian’s Parlor if I could do an interview and he graciously agreed. So with great fanfare, let us begin our journey.

                                                                                                       

My granddaughter, Allie, first introduced me to the wonderful world of Steampunk about a year ago and ever since that first night, I’ve been hooked.

                                                   
              Could you give my readers a little background history on what is Steampunk?

Steampunk started back in the 1980s, although others will argue it's even older, as a revival of Victorian Science Fiction ideas.  It first got its name as a satire of the genre cyberpunk, a dystopian subgenre of science fiction.  In the early 2000s, it took off as a musical, clothing, and film genre, thanks mostly to the advent of instant communications of the internet.

                                                            
                                     

How did you become involved with Steampunk and how hard was it to get the event started in Philadelphia?

 I worked at Jeff Mach's Wicked Winter Renaissance Faire for a number of years.  Eventually, I was told one year that we were going to have a "Steampunk room".  At the time, I had no idea what Steampunk was, but I made it happen nonetheless.  Upon seeing the room, I realized that this was an aesthetic I had already been rather fond of, but had not had the words to properly describe until that point.  From there, we launched a monthly event in Piscataway, New Jersey, called Clockwork, that I helped DJ.  We also launched the Steampunk World's Fair.  After a few months, I decided that I wanted a monthly event in Philadelphia, and after some hunting around, found the right people to start it with, the right venue to work with, and made a go of it.

                                                 

What is involved with getting the acts and venders together for the night’s event?

 The first step is actually negotiating a date that works for both the hotel and for our technical crew and sponsors, Circuit Six.  Once we've found our date, then the work divides among three people.  I go through a rather lengthy document I keep of potential acts, and I begin to reach out to acts that I would like to work with.  Simultaneously, Evelyn Kriete reaches out to designers that she knows to see who will be doing the fashion show.  While we are both occupied on this end, Pretty Kitty handles our vending now, so she will e-mail everyone on our current list of vendors and potential vendors to tell them what the date of the next event is, and as people message back, she attempts to make sure that we are balancing our vendors, so that we don't have too much of any one type of vendor.  On the performer end, we usually try to have one "A list" musical act, one opening musical act, and one miscellaneous, non-musical act.  Long term, we'd like to see more fire shows happening at each event, as they are a fun draw and get people outside.

                                                                                                                      

What are your future goals for this amazing event?

 Long term, we are hoping to increase our attendance, as increased attendance means that we can bring in more amazing acts from further away.  I'd love to bring over the Diablo Swing Orchestra from Sweden, as an example, or bring Sunday Driver over from England.  We are also looking into acquiring our own venue, so that we can control better the timing of all of our events.  We know which building we want, so we are attempting to quietly raise the capital to do so.

                                                         

Is there anything else that you would like my readers to know about Dorian’s Parlor?

I would want folks to know that everyone is welcome.  We do not have a strict dress code, but we do enjoy being one of the few events in Philadelphia that occupies the space between regular club nights and black tie affairs. 

                                                                                                                        

Thank you so much Gil, for sharing this with my readers and I did want to mention that although my fellow ghost hunters and I are “Baby Boomers” we were welcomed with open arms.

                                                           
I’m wishing you the best in obtaining your own site and for all my facebook and twitter friends who live near to Philadelphia, check facebook for the next scheduled event and make plans to visit Dorian’s. You’ll be happy you did.

My next blog will be on where to find some great Steampunk clothing or how to throw an outfit together from items you find at thrift stores.

                                                            
Have a great week and don’t forget to check on the next episode of Lilith’s Escape at this blog site on Friday morning.

                                                             

Part Eighteen of Lilith's Escape

                                                               

                                                     

“I don’t know when the apocalypse is to begin and I would like to keep it that way,” James replied after downing his drink. When Edward didn’t respond, James added, “No matter what comes along, I’m already a sitting duck.”

                                                

“Give yourself a little credit, James. You’re still dangerous enough to kill a few men even though you’re stuck in that chair,” Edward replied.

“You know me well and yes, I would go down fighting.”

                                             

The two of them sat there sipping their drinks, each lost in their own thoughts until Edward said, “Lawrence Levi is missing and it isn’t just me looking for him,” Edward then told his ex-partner the events of the past two days.

                                                

“Well the fact that these men tried to kill you might mean that Levi is still alive and you’re getting close to finding him,” James suggested.

“There was a lot of blood on his rug, so he might be badly injured. I need to find him before he dies and I need to contact our little lady,” Edward replied.

Edward stood up to leave and James followed him to the door. “Don’t make it so long between visits, I miss our talks,” James said as Edward pulled open the apartment door.

“I’ll try to visit more often after this case.”

James had moved his wheelchair back so that Edward could close the door, but before it was completely closed, Edward asked “When you needed to contact her, how did you do this?”

                                                       

“I had to place a red sheet of paper in the window. Very strange and very mysterious this little lady is, but if I wasn’t stuck in this chair…she’s beautiful enough to make you ache.” James needn’t expand on his meaning because Edward had already felt the effects that she had on a man’s libido.

                                                     

Edward took a taxi back to his apartment and after he took care of his cat, he searched for some paper. He found a small gift bag shoved in the back of his coat closet.

                                                        

The red gift bag held an unopened birthday gift from a co-worker at MI6. Taking out the leather gloves, he folded the bag and placed it in the window.

                                                           

                                                               

His head was pounding and his shoulder hurt like the dickens so he headed to bed with the hopes of a good night’s rest.  He was mistaken.