The flames exploded in the shape of a salamander; curls of blaze turning in upon itself. The night was dark, the fire was tall; Delah danced low and steady in circles. Two other sisters, all three together; moonclad and dancing slowly with incantations mouthed silently and dark thoughts shadowing their eyes.
Low and stooped they danced; close to the floor, arms a-spread with eyes on the blaze, the dance reflected upon them:
“Fire, fire, take her pain, let us gain your trust;
To burn and wither, scar and break, e’er ashes and dust.
For she was cheated, wrong must be right;
Trust is broken, revenge takes flight.
O Father of the Night, O hear our words,
We beg of thee, will born of thirds.
Make right what is wrong; curse the man, make him thirst,
Curse the Sakrisan, curses be upon him, let him be forever accursed.
“Fire, fire, take her pain, let us gain your trust;
To burn and wither, scar and break, e’er ashes and dust.
O please hear our words, O please hear our words, O please hear our words.“
En-zu, A daughter’s revenge for Delah
Slow and low they danced; hitting the floor with their palms. Delah arose, a knife clasped in her right hand, feeling the strength of the earth rising through the soles of her feet, racing through her body to the hand holding the knife . To her hair she cut and threw upon the fire; to her hand she did bleed and poured it upon the flame. Slow and low they danced.
—————
Delah had slipped away at first light; stepping over the slumbering body of the disgraced Sakrisan she stole away into the Gardens. At the Well of Mercy, she paid her respects and her token. A new name echoed through the Underworld, dressed in red.
Running swiftly down the hillside, she made for her abode; to speak to her sisters. Low voices confirmed her arrival, for they were already met. Presenting her a new cloth to cover her modesty, an elder bid her a grave welcome. The warning and danger present within her eyes.
“Tell us O Sister, O Sister tell us; what became of you this accursed night?” The chorus of voices growing softly on the breeze, the trees joining in with a shake of leaves and the sigh of branches leaning close to hear. “Tell us O Sister; pray tell us.”
“A mortal man, a mere mortal pretended to be our Lord; in blasphemy and infamy I can think of no act worse or more debased.”
The chorus died to a murmur; a young Sister leaped to her feet. “Denounce him Sister, may She deal with his treachery.” The chorus took up the chant of “Denounce him, O Sister denounce him” as Delah stood among the trees. “I shall not denounce him, for he will destroy us all with his folly. No my Sisters, No Delah will not denounce the mortal blasphemer.”
Delah took the arm of two Sisters; “Come, we have work to do this day and night; for curses and destinies are decided when the stars are bright.”
They prepared by cutting away their mortal clothes, discarding unnecessary mass. For they needed to fly as ravens unto Him with their prayers. A pyre created and set a-flame. Two effigies dressed in red tied and nailed to stakes, silently observing the Sisters purify themselves.
Utu began his slow decline and death; Lilith was waiting and so were the Sisters. For they needed Lilith’s assistance to talk before Anu. They prayed and debased themselves for Lilith, crude word and simple deed. They placed the black dagger by the fire. For Lilith, for her hand. The Sisters had to show Lilith sanctuary and defense, for she was still most wary of Utu within the flame.
Nanna rose; the Goddess awakened and heard their prayers to Lilith and Her Father; the great and mighty Anu. She listened and heard the treason and treachery, the fraud and falsehood. She spoke unto Anu and He decreed the fate of the mortal man, the disgraced Sakrisan E-Azad-kutu-ana. The justice set in flame, hair and blood of the innocent.
Lilith heard too; for she was still bright of eye for Inanna. She planned a new romance.
To Chapter Thirty-Three – First Night Nerves
The Angry Farmer 