I smile looking at the reflection of myself in the full length mirror wearing a white floral print halter dress and bone colored strappy sandals. Six months into my time on Earth and I have to say I’m starting to love living life as an ordinary human being.
After one hundred twenty-five years stranded in Lucifer’s library I didn’t realize how much I miss those little things that make life on earth so much fun like a summer breeze and grass between my toes. I can’t wait to get outside and feel that sunshine against my skin.
I hurry out of my bedroom and out to the living room. Hearing my heels pound into the hardwood floors, John eases his laptop onto the coffee table and jumps out of the comfortable spot he’s in. The husky golden brown skinned man dressed in a green V-neck shirt and black jeans greets me with a smile as he looks me up and down.
“Where are you off to?” John asks.
“Since we don’t get that many days off I’m headed to Saks.”
“Getting some new lingerie?”
He wishes. “Armani skirt suit. But if I see something I like to go underneath it, I might let you take a peek.”
“Have fun.”
“Thanks. I’ll just get the elevator up to the top floor and be on my way.”
John gives me a quizzed look. “Upstairs? Don’t you think the 1 train would be faster?”
“I’m taking the scenic route.” I quip.
“Watch out for pigeons.”
I give John a kiss and a cheeky smile as I sling my purse over my shoulder and leave the apartment. As I step out into the corridor, and press the up button I watch as the distorted reflection of myself in the brushed metal elevator door disappears on the activation of my cloak. While there’s no one about in the hallway, the security camera in the elevator would have people asking questions about my trip upstairs. I don’t want people freaking out when they see me jump off the roof.
The ping of the elevator signals the car arrives. I get on and hit the button for the top floor. As the elevator ascends I calm the butterflies in my stomach while I slip off my sandals and buckle the straps around the shoulder strap of my purse. I haven’t flown in a couple of months. Not since John and I had to escape the fire that destroyed the Penthouse of the Morris Phillips Tower. Since then we’ve been so busy traveling the globe doing Morris Phillips’ business that we haven’t had much time to ourselves. Thankfully, July has been pretty slow. I can actually take a minute to stop and smell some roses.
The elevator arrives at the 30th Floor. The doors open and I hurry to the roof access door. Anticipation builds inside me as I bolt up the stairs and open the security door. Warm summer air hits me in the face as approach the edge of the concrete parapet. From the way the American flag across from me is waving it looks like the winds are moving in a northeast direction. With any luck I’ll be shopping on Fifth Avenue in about fifteen minutes.
I take a deep breath and smile as I stretch out my arms and leap off the ledge. The world feels like it stands still as I clear the roof. For a moment I hear the air howling around me as I plunge past the two top floors of the tower. With a thought, bat wings sprout from my back and catch the warm Northeast winds.
I navigate through a maze of tall buildings on my way cross-town. As I peer down at the traffic crawling on the thoroughfares and make my way across Central Park I smile noticing the couples lying out on the Great Lawn sunbathing. I’m going to have to get John to take me out here one Saturday afternoon. Maybe I’ll even wear that bikini I bought last week-
My body twitches as I feel the muscles in my back spasm. My wings abruptly shrink into my back. I go into freefall; my body tumbles headlong towards a thicket of trees near Central Park’s lake. I put my arms in front of me to brace for the impact; I scrape by a thicket of trees. My purse is torn off my shoulder; ducks and geese sense my presence and scatter as I tumble into the lake with a splash.
Momentum drops me deep into the murky green water; I can’t see two feet in front of me in this soup. I regain control over my body as I hit the bottom of the lake and flail blindly propelling my body up to the surface. When my head breaks through the surface of the miry water I thank God. That has to be the most disgusting water I’ve ever had the displeasure of ever falling into. It’s going to take a dozen showers to get the layer of filth from it off me.
I swim to the shore and pull myself out of the water. It seems the rest of my powers are working; the skinny white guy in shorts and a T-shirt listening to his iPod sitting on the park bench has his eye on the blonde in red spandex skating by on rollerblades instead of me. There’s only one person who can turn my powers on and off like a light switch. And he’s around here somewhere.
Chapter 2
E’steem scans Central Park’s walkway by the lake looking for me. Now that I have her attention, I may as well reveal myself to her.
As I appear to her in a flash of light, my former librarian’s hands clench into fists. Six months into this farcical redemption of hers and she’s still unrepentant.
“Feeling refreshed after your little dip?” I tease.
“No, I like having one of my favorite dresses ruined.” E’steem snaps.
“I figure its fair compensation for the soul you cost me.”
“You’re still mad about that?”
“I’m never happy when I lose a soul.”
“Mine or John’s?”
Oh, how I’d love to skewer her on my golden trident right now. “This isn’t over between us-”
E’steem smiles at me. “Of course it isn’t. You always love to hold a grudge.”
“Only against the people who I feel are threats.”
“I have to wonder if you hate me just as much as you hate John-”
She’s starting to draw my ire. But I’d still rather have her as my ally than as my enemy. She knows too many of Hell’s secrets to not have under my auspices.
“Him I can’t stand. But you I can tolerate. I offer you one last chance to return to my legion. Return to my fold and it’ll be as if nothing ever happened.”
I extend my hand. E’steem glares at it. She doesn’t even have to think about her answer.
“Sorry, not coming back. The pay and benefits on this side of are just much better.”
“How long are you going to continue this farce Katian?”
“Please. You were going to kill me anyway-”
“I wasn’t going to kill you-”
“When a man and a woman lie together the two become one.”
My eyes grow wide on the revelation. She’s smarter than I give her credit for. “So you figured it out-”
“Yeah. I did. You value me so much as a member of your legion that you’d sacrifice me to achieve your goals-”
“Like a lamb to the slaughter.” Lucifer laughs. “You know there’s no way He’ll take you with your record-”
“He takes everyone-”
“But you? You murdered millions of people over the course of for four eons.”
“I was just following orders-”
“Did that excuse work for those Nazis in Germany?”
“Well, we’ll only know on Judgment Day-”
“I can tell you for a fact, many of them are burning in the lake of fire as we speak.”
“That’s not going to be my fate-”
“There’s no place for you to go but back with me. You may as well accept what you are. A demon in my Legion-”
“Nah, I’m having too much fun being Just a plain old ordinary human being.”
E’steem chuckles as she turns awa
y. She finds her mockery funny, she won’t be laughing when I’m through with her.
I grab her by the shoulder. Her face twists into a grimace on the touch, she winces in pain as and lets out a shriek as energy is pulled out of her body into my hands. When her body is drained I shove her face down into the grass.
“What’d you do to me?” E’steem barks as she springs up from the ground and meets my eyes with fists clenched.
“The powers only comes with the position.”
“I guess I’m fired.”
“You put in your resignation six months ago. I just chose to accept it now that you’ve turned down my final counteroffer.”
“What can I say? The pay and benefits on this side are just so much better-”
“That’s what you think. Since you like being human so much let’s see how you fend for yourself in this world as a flesh and blood woman.”
Chapter 3
The smile on my face twists into a grimace as a flash of light takes me to the offices of Lucerne Holdings. It’s clear I have to do something about that Katian witch. Now that she’s gone rogue she’s too dangerous to have roaming about the realms. Each day she is on the earth is another day she could inspire others in my Legion to follow her lead. There has to be a way to contain her the way Brent is containing John-
I’m pondering options when Brent Morrison appears in a flash of light. The slender pale skinned ginger haired man in a tailored gray flannel suit steps into my parlor followed by an attractive slender mocha skinned young woman with short boycut hair wearing a tan pencil skirt, orange silk blouse, and strappy sandals. Perhaps they can give me some suggestions on how to deal with that Katian harpy after they brief me on their progress in containing John at Morris Phillips.
The demons bow to me before addressing me. “Good Afternoon Brent.” I greet. “What’s the progress of your containment plan?”
“Lord, Mr. Haynes has spent several weeks traveling across the globe learning more about our business operations. He’s met with many of the executives at our international divisions.”
“So he hasn’t had much time to disrupt my operations.”
Brent’s eyes fall to the floor. “Not in the foreign divisions. But in America-”
“What has he done in our core operation?”
“He’s replaced quite a few of our key agents in senior executive positions with his own employees. And he’s planning on placing several people on our Board with his own when the former Vice President of the United States steps down-”
“What happened to your containment plan?”
Brent’s face twists into a grimace. “I did my best-”
My hands clench into fists on the revelation of his failure. “What do you mean you did your best?”
“Lord, Mr. Haynes is a hard man to control-”
“You told me you’d have this contained-”
“I’m trying to. But he keeps eliminating my veteran staff before they can make a move-”
“So let’s eliminate one of his.” The girl barks.
An exasperated Brent glares at the demoness. “D’Lilah, it’s not your place to speak in this matter-”
Such treachery. The girl is bold to interrupt a senior ranking demon like Brent. I like that about her. “Please excuse my new assistant Lord.” Brent apologizes. “She can be a bit aggressive in pursuing opportunities. She doesn’t understand that her job as an assistant is to take notes and learn-”
Sounds like she has promise to go along with her pulchritude. I see a place for her outside of my secretarial pool.
“Why Brent, don’t be so quick to chide.” I continue. “We should give the younger demons a chance to show their creativity. Maybe they can give us a fresh perspective on things. Who do you think I should kill to get John’s attention D’lilah?”
“Why E’steem of course.”
That’s an aggressive course of action. Most of the lower level she demons wouldn’t think of trying to usurp a herald’s position. She must have tremendous confidence in her abilities. Or extreme hubris. I’m still curious to see how she’ll go about killing E’steem.
“How would E’steem’s death that get John’s attention?”
“Without E’steem John is alone. He’d be just another lost and confused mortal in over his head. In a few months after his bad business decisions, our board members would oust him.”
“I think you underestimate John.” Brent says. “He knows demons work at Morris Phillips-”
“He may have figured out that a few of you Old Guard demons are executives. But without E’steem to tell him who they were he’d be lost.” D’lilah snarls. “We take her out and John boy wouldn’t know his head from his rear end.”
A good strategy but I think it needs more seasoning. She’s a little too caught up in the flesh to understand that my primary goal is taking the soul. I’ll let her know that she needs a few more years in the secretarial pool to polish her skills. “You’ve got some good ideas. But I really think you’re underestimating John-”
“I think you overestimate him Lord.” D’lilah says looking at Brent. Most of these old farts wouldn’t know how to tie their shoes without their secretaries. Kill the woman behind the man and the man falls.”
“I have to admit it’s a very good plan. For a novice. “At a loss to the Lord’s portfolio.” Brent interjects. “My plan would lead to us resuming operations with all our assets intact in three years-”
“It’s going to be hard to resume our operation with Haynes firing off your staff old man.” D’lilah continues.
“Of course that could mean opportunities for smart young demons like yourself to slip into those positions-”
“What opportunity? There won’t be a Morris Phillips left in three years if he continues on this trajectory-”
“Which is why we need to be patient. These things work themselves out-”
“It’s not working itself out!” D’lilah snaps. “Haynes is hiring mortal outsiders. There isn’t a place for us demons in his organization. If we’re going to keep our jobs, we need take the short-term losses now to save the entirety of the organization for our kind.”
She has such passion, such fire. I’m tempted to give her a shot just to see how things would go. “And how would you go about killing E’steem D’lilah?”
“Lord you can’t be serious about entertaining her proposal.” Brent says.
“I’d like to hear her answer.”
“But she’s a low level demon. Barely a grade above imp. She doesn’t have the power to challenge a Herald-”
“I just learned how to project blue Hellfire last year.” D’lilah snarls. “And I can teleport anywhere in the world just like a Herald.”
“You have a little power. But you don’t have much experience.” I say.
“These Old Guard demons die just like the young ones if you kill them right.” D’lilah snarls glaring at Brent.
Such vitriol and contempt. I’m convinced she could actually kill E’steem if she ran into her. Especially now that she’s vulnerable. I might not have to worry about E’steem after all. “You do know it’s pretty brazen for a demoness of your level to challenge a herald’s authority-”
“You need to take action if you want to maintain order Lord. Usurpers like E’steem need to be crushed to show an example of what happens when you betray the Legion.”
She’s treacherous. But loyal to me. I’ll give her that shot. “And what would you want as reward for killing E’steem?
“Her last position before she started working for John Haynes.” D’lilah snarls.
“I don’t think you’re ready for that level of power yet-” Brent interjects.
“E’steem was only twenty-one when she became a herald. I’d be accomplishing everything she did up to now two years after she came to the age of ascension.”
“Making you the new highest ranking she-demon in all Hell.” I say.
“She doesn’t deserve that titl
e.”D’lilah growls. “She wants to be on the other side, I’ll make sure she crosses over to be with her new Lord.”
I place my hand on her shoulder. “I tell you what D’lilah, if you bring E’steem’s carcass to my office before noon today, I’ll give you the power of her previous position.”
D’lilah’s hands clench into fists. “Just tell me where I can find that witch.”
“Central Park by the lake.”
On the revelation of E’steem’s location blue hellfire burns away her clothes to reveal a tattered dingy white bikini top and matching loincloth. Black cloven fingernails and toenails grow on her hands and feet and her brown eyes change into reptile ones. When her transformation is finished, a pair of short spiky black horns sprout out of her forehead.
“I’ll have it here by 11:30.” D’lilah says as she disappears in flash of light.
Chapter 4
After D’lilah leaves, a concerned Brent turns to me with a quizzed look on his face. “Lord, pardon my query, but why send D’lilah against the Katian? She’s clearly out of her league.”
“Perhaps she is and perhaps she isn’t.” I reply. “But it’ll ruin E’steem’s day. That’s at least good for a chuckle.”
Brent smiles at me. “You have no intention of moving her up in the organization.”
“She’s young, brash, and ambitious-” I continue.
“Her ambition blinds her.” Brent growls.
That works to my advantage. Blind people are easy to manipulate and easier to control. She’s so full of rage she can’t see two steps in front of her. I’m going to have so much fun breaking her.
“She has a lot of promise.” I say “There could be a place for her in the higher ranks of the legion with a little seasoning.”
Brent’s eyes grow wide. “You’re still planning on promoting her?”
I smile at my old friend. I understand his apprehensions about my promoting D’lilah, but I have my reasons. I’ll reassure him that my actions won’t harm the Earth operation. He’s got enough headaches dealing with John. “Come on Brent, D’lilah’s ambition should be rewarded. By moving her up in the organization it sets a wonderful example to the lower level demons.”