The Politics of Hell Read online

  What is he crazy? I’m supposed to go out there and kill a god face to face just like that. I need time to prepare and a strategy. It took me almost a year to get as close as I did to Isis. I won’t just rush in like a fool.

  “You’re funny.” I say.

  “It shouldn’t be so hard for you to kill her now. After all you almost killed her on your own.”

  “I had time to prepare a strategy then.” I reply. “I can’t just go out and kill someone on such short notice.”

  “Are you sure you don’t need more time to procrastinate?” Lucifer asks. “I thought you were ready to be a Lord. When I give an order to one of my Lords they do it without question.”

  That last comment irks me. I really am getting tired of him questioning my readiness.

  “I need to think up a strategy-”

  “You have an excellent strategy in front of you E’steem.” Lucifer continues. “Isis doesn’t know you’re alive. Use the element of surprise to your advantage.”

  “That plan would work if she weren’t redeemed. Isis is a lot more powerful than she was before.”

  “You still have an edge. Even though she’s been redeemed, she’s inexperienced in the use of her powers. She still thinks like a mortal. You know more than she does.”

  He’s making some excellent points. Everyone thinks I’m dead. And it’s evening over here so it must be early morning on the other side of the world. I could slip onto the island unnoticed and kill her in her sleep. Even if she has powers she’s I’m far more experienced in the use of my abilities than she is. The opportunity for attaining ladyship is still there for me; I have to take it before it’s too late.

  Before I leave I initiate my transformation into my true form. With a thought, horns shoot out of my forehead and my teeth grow into fangs. My eyes change from human ones to snake ones and my fingernails and toenails turn back into hard black cloven claws. He may disguise himself with a human visage, but this is the face I wear when I do my work.

  “I’ll have her carcass in front of your throne by this afternoon” I say as I disappear in a flash of light.

   

  Chapter 4

  So Lucifer is sending me out to kill the goddess. My arguments must have been very persuasive for him to give me another chance to become a member of the elect so soon. I thought I’d have to wait years to get this opportunity. The master must have a lot of confidence in my abilities to send me back out after her so soon.

  I teleport a few miles above the Island of Solitude and the cool early morning east winds catch underneath my wings allowing me to circle around the island. I take that time to plan my attack. The topography has changed quite a bit since I died. From this vantage point I can see the large house in the center of the island. That must be where Isis lives now. I could use an old strategy and easily incinerate the whole island. However, if I attack directly with Hellfire, Isis would become aware of me and get on the defensive. I don’t want to have to contend with her and her enchanted weapons again. Worse, I may arouse the suspicions of the gods with such an attack. Since I still have the element of surprise I’ll used some stealth to infiltrate the island.

  I shed my wings and teleport on the West side of the island far away from the house. It’s a long trek up the beach then another long walk through a forest of trees. Even with the early morning sunlight it’s difficult to see anything in the thick tropical foliage, however I find the chimney of the house jutting out above the trees. It doesn’t seem too far; I keep my eyes on the red brick tower as I keep walking east. Within a half hour I’m at the back of the house. Excellent.

  I peer over the brick fence. No one seems to be about. The shadow those two trees cast in the backyard will make good cover. I leap over the stone wall and dash through the trees. I steal into the house through an open patio door. This is going to be easier than expected. She must be really foolish to leave her door open like that. Anyone could walk in.

  I walk softly and slow my breaths. I don’t want Isis to hear me; I need the element of surprise to make this kill quick. As I walk through the corridor, I notice a large room full of books. That must be her library. I never pegged Isis for an intellectual. The girl seemed somewhat simple to me. From the childish way she speaks I thought she would have a hard time understanding the most rudimentary of human tasks. Perhaps I’ll take a moment and look at her tomes.

  Just as I’m about to look at what’s on her bookshelf, I notice something useful above the fireplace across from wall of books. Mounted on the mantel is Isis’ golden spear, the very weapon she killed me with. With my dagger destroyed, it’s probably one of the few remaining weapons that could kill a god. This is too good to be true.

  Carefully I lift the spear out of the brackets. I slip out of the room and through another long corridor. Quietly dashing up the stairs I notice one open door among the dozens of closed ones on the second floor. I’ll look in that room first.

  I peer in the doorway and a smile sprouts on my face .My heart starts to race in anticipation at the sight of the sleeping Isis lying on her bed. The sound of her harsh snore only makes me more excited. This will be even easier than I expected.

  I tiptoe up to the edge of the bed and get one last look at the peaceful sleeping beauty. I hope she’ll look just as content in her coffin.

  I’ll make this kill quick. I raise the spear high above me and aim for her heart. With both hands firmly planted upon the spear I slam it into the bed with all my strength. The four-poster bed crashes down around her. When I see the gold spear jutting out of the broken pile of wood and linens I frantically dash to the broken bed and push the collapsed parts aside looking for Isis’ corpse. The spear went right through the mattress and into the floor but not into Isis’ heart. Where did she go?

  “If you’re looking for me I’m right behind you.” Isis says.

  I’m startled by the sound of her voice. I tumble in the air and crash into a wall. As I wake up out of my daze I look up to see Isis scowling at me. She becomes surprised at the sight of me.

   

  Chapter 5

  I catch a glimpse of my destroyed bed. I would have caught the bad end of my own spear if I hadn’t acted on my own instincts and teleported out of the way. It’s a good thing I never forgot my samurai training.

  I get a look at my attacker lying on the floor and see a woman who should be dead. I’m shocked to see her. Really shocked to see her. I thought she’d be burning in Hell along with Seth right about now.

  “E’STEEM!” I blurt without thinking.

  She doesn’t say anything; she’s still dazed from the judo flip I gave her. I’ve got a lot of questions I want to ask her. First off, how is a dead woman here in my bedroom trying to kill me? Second, if Seth is dead then why is she still after me? She never held a grudge against me; she was just doing Seth’s dirty work. I need to find out what this about.

  “I saw you die!” I demand.

  “Osiris came back from the dead. Why can’t I?” E’steem says getting up.

  “You’re not a god.” I snarl.

  “Let’s just say I know other people in high places who resurrect the dead.”

  The surprise backhanded slap knocks me into the ruins of my broken bed. I frantically stumble about shoving broken wood, pillows, and sheets out of my way. Just as I push the debris aside, E’steem charges at me with my spear. I grab the end of it before it reaches my heart and twist it away from my chest. She wrestles me using all her might to push the spear towards my chest; I use all my might to push it away.

  “Seth is dead. Why are you after me?” I ask struggling with her. “Revenge?”

  “The demon who slays a god becomes a Lord, one of Lucifer’s elect.” E’steem says.

  “So what happened last time had nothing to do with Seth?”

  “I was using him to get to you. You’re the youngest and the weakest of the gods. You’re the easiest to kill.”

  That explains why she was so tenacious in attempting to
kill me after Seth died. However, I’m not as weak as she thinks I am. She’s not facing some powerless naïve young woman; this time she’s facing a goddess who knows who she is and knows how to use all her powers. If she thinks she’s going to come to my island and kill me she’s got another thing coming. I’m going to kick her behind up and down this little stretch of land and send her back to Hell in a whole lot of pain.

  E’steem thinks her little revelation will get me to loosen my grip on the spear. It doesn’t. While she focuses on the spear, I tuck my knees into my chest then push my legs upward. When I feel my feet on her stomach I roll backwards. E’steem flies over and falls out the bedroom window.

  I look out the window and see E’steem’s twisted body lying on my patio table. Before she can make a move, I grab my spear and vault out the window. As I land feet first on E’steem’s stomach, the patio table she’s lying on breaks in half. I roll with the impact and spring up in a fighting stance. She looks unconscious. Perhaps that took the fight out of her.

  I approach E’steem carefully. I have to be cautious; E’steem is very crafty and one mistake by me could give her an advantage over me. I poke her with the blunt end of the spear; no response. I better find some chains to bind her with.

  “You should know better than to turn your back on me goddess.”

  E’steem teleports behind me and wraps one arm around my neck and uses her free hand to reach for my spear. Her grip is so tight I can barely breathe. Reaching to get her hands from around my neck, I drop the spear. Before it tumbles to the ground the weapon lands in her grasp.

  E’steem shoves me to the ground hard. The impact of the fall stuns me. She smiles as hurls the spear at my chest. My weapon comes at me like a bullet; I barely have enough time to put my bracelets in front of me. As the metal spear slams into my bracelets it shatters like glass. E’steem’s eyes grow wide and her jaw drops. She doesn’t know I’m full of surprises too.

  “The spear-”

  “Was a replica.” I say getting up. Do you think I’d be foolish enough leave the real golden spear lying around in plain sight?” I say.

  “I don’t need any weapon to kill you.” E’steem snarls. “I can do this with may bare hands.”

  “Big talk for someone getting her butt kicked.” I taunt.

  “And you talk bigger for someone who’s about to die.”

  “You have to kill me first.” I tease.

  E’steem begins pacing around the lawn in a circle stalking me looking for an opportunity to strike. I gesture with my hands for her to attack me. She charges at me; I see her fist coming a mile away. I grab her hand and then slam my knee into her stomach. I press my attack with a karate chop to the back of her head. The blows stagger her for a moment but she quickly gets her wind back. The right cross to the face catches me by surprise. She throws her shoulder into my gut and tries to tackle me into the oak tree a few yards from us. But I’m ready for her. Before my back hits the bark, we disappear in a flash of light.

  Startled by being teleported across the island I flip E’steem over me and she crashes into the sand.

  “Lets see how you like sand in the eyes!” E’steem says.

  Before I can approach her, she hurls a handful of sand at me. The grains that hit me in the face feel like razors. I stagger about blindly brushing the sand off my face. The grains don’t feel gritty; they feel hard like pieces of a broken bottle. She fused the sand into glass shards with her Hellfire before she threw it at me. That’s just dirty.

  As I try to get the shards of glass out of my eyes, I hear E’steem charging towards me. She grabs me around the neck. Her grip is like a vise; I gag as her grip tightens. The fact that she’s fighting dirty shows how desperate she is.

  “Glass in the eyes. Clever but dirty.” I say choking.

  “Wasn’t dirty when you did it.” E’steem snarls.

  “No, it was desperate.” I say.

  When I fall to my knees I catch her arrogant eyes and her evil smile. She believes I’m dying. That’s her mistake. She doesn’t have the upper hand in this fight. Ever since we got out in the backyard I’ve been taking the time to assess her fighting style. She’s been running on emotion, her anger causing her to lose focus and make mistakes. She irrationally throws punches haphazardly not thinking about where they land or how to use them to incapacitate me. Even without my powers I’ve been besting her in this battle. With them this fight is over.

  E’steem tightens her grip even more. In the blink of an eye I teleport out of her grip and reappear few yards away from her. I wish I had a camera; the look on her face is worth capturing forever.

  “Who’s desperate now?” E’steem taunts.

  “You still are. You actually think you can choke out someone who can teleport out of your grasp?”

  She’s talking like she wasn’t surprised by me teleporting. It’s an act to convince herself that she still has a chance. She’s woefully unprepared for me; that’s not like her. The last time E’steem and I fought she had me beat because she knew I was both naive and powerless and used that information to plan an effective battle strategy. It was a miracle of faith that I beat her then without my powers. Why didn’t she plan for me having them? It’s like she rushed out here to attack me. If planning was so important to her then, I wonder why she didn’t have a plan now.

  I’m about to turn to make a move when I see a blue fireball coming at me. She throws it wide; I’m able to easily duck it. As I’m ducking, the sand underneath my toes starts to feel very hot and slimy. My body starts to sink into the ground. I look down to see Hellfire melting the sand underneath me. She’s fusing the sand into glass!

  “Teleport out of that.” E’steem taunts pressing her attack. She charges at me again, so I deicide to press my defense. With a thought I rise out of the sand with the fused glass on my feet. It doesn’t weigh me down; E’steem wasn’t smart enough to fuse it too deep. The sight of me flying shocks E’steem and she doesn’t notice me kicking her in the face until the glass blob slams into her chin shattering into shards. E’steem falls on her backside and I fly away hoping she’ll be foolish enough to pursue me.

   

  Chapter 6

  Flying away like a coward. I see right through you Isis. You won’t get away from me so easily. The fact that I have you running tells me that you’re beaten. Ladyship is mine.

  She’s not the only one who can fly. While I can’t match her speed with my wings, I have other ways of flying. I point my hands at the ground and fire blasts of hellfire at the ground. The fire is so powerful that it propels me into the air. Within a few moments I catch up with Isis. Rocketing upwards I slam into her back shoulder first. It stuns her, but she keeps going. I’ll keep going too. One of us has to give soon enough.

  I wrap my legs around Isis’ waist. I grab at her throat. She’s moving so fast that I can barely keep a grip on her; it’s hard to make a killing strike.

  “It’s over Isis.” I .say.

  “Is it?” Isis replies. “I wouldn’t look down.”

  I decide to oblige her and look around. I gasp at the sight beneath me. The world looks so small from up here. We must be thousands of feet in the air; the air is so thin we can barely breathe.

  I gasp for air as Isis twists her body downward flying down at the same speed that we went up at. I try clawing at her throat, but I can’t move my arms. A fervent heat builds around us. I look down and see her headed for the ocean. At this speed and at this height hitting that water would be like slamming into a brick wall. I’ve got to make her stop.

  “You’ll kill us both flying at this speed.” I demand.

  “You weren’t so worried about me dying earlier. You shouldn’t be worried about your death now.”

  “When we hit that water will it’ll feel like hitting a wall.”

  “You’re invulnerable. It won’t hurt much.”

  As the blue water gets closer and closer, I feel a change come over me. My horns and claws start to retract. No! It
can’t be! I’m losing my powers! I’ve got to persuade Isis to stop.

  “Isis you have to stop- my power is-”

  She can’t hear me. We’re moving so fast that the air screams around us. I’m terrified as we slam into the water; as we make impact it explodes around us. Momentum pushes us deeper into the ocean and riptides from the ocean filling itself back up pull Isis away from me. I think to reach for her but I’m so dizzy from hitting the water I don’t have the strength to move. Water fills my lungs, I can barely breathe. In desperation I try to swim up, but the currents keep pushing me further down. Everything is so black down here; I reach in the water to grab on to something but find nothing I feel myself losing consciousness I have make it. I have to………

   

  Chapter 7

  I watch as E’steem blacks out in the depths of the South Pacific and shake my head. She had so much promise. But she just can’t let go of the past.

  There’s no way I can make her part of my new operation, it’s clear she refuses to adapt to the ways of a changing world. If I employed her in a position in one of my new businesses she’d corrupt all my new agents with her ancient way of thinking. That’s going to prevent me from acquiring souls.

  It looks like I’ll have to chalk up her resurrection as a loss. She’ll have to spend the rest of her days working in my library cataloging and transcribing until I can find something else to do with her.

   

  Chapter 8

  Just like I planned, hitting the water at this speed would weaken E’steem. The impact of our bodies slamming into the water is like a cannonball slamming into a stone wall. Water explodes around us. The ocean filling itself back up pushes us down further into it.

  Riptides push E’steem away from me. Fighting for her own life will keep her from thinking about killing me. Now that she’s beaten I’ve got to make my escape. I may be immortal but perhaps under these conditions even a goddess can die.

  I seem to be holding up well under water. Even in this deep dark part of the ocean I’m still in one piece. The pressure would have crushed an ordinary person in moments. However; flying all the way up into the Earth’s upper atmosphere and coming down fast used up most of the air around me. Slamming into the water was a great strategy but it weakened me too. I can barely stay conscious. Luckily I took a very deep breath before E’steem caught up with me. I’ve got a few seconds left to plan an escape before I pass out.