E'steem: Deadly D'lilah Read online

  “But she’s clearly not ready for the power of a herald-”

  “Who said I was going to make her a herald? I said I’d give her E’steem’s old position.”

  Brent’s eyes fall into a sly glance. “I didn’t think you’d ever find the right person for that job-”

  “Well, either which way you’re going to have to look for a new assistant.”

  Brent smiles. “I did have my eye on this young blonde in records…”

  Chapter 5

  Lucifer thinks taking my powers away will scare me into returning to the Legion. That just makes me more determined to stay on the side of the angels.

  I’ve come too far to go back. All my life I’ve only wanted to help people, to do the right thing. I was only a part of Lucifer’s Legion because I thought Osiris was God and He had rejected me. Now that I have a second chance with the true Living God I can’t let anything deter me from doing His work.

  I peer up at the trees around me and spot my purse and heels in the higher branches of a large oak tree. With my powers I could easily teleport up there, grab them and be back on the ground in an instant. But thanks to me and my big mouth, I’m gonna have to do this the hard way.

  Thankfully I was pretty good at climbing trees back in Ancient Egypt when I was younger. And the branches on this oak look pretty sturdy so I think I can manage a quick trip up the oak once I get cleaned up. Lucifer may have taken my demon powers, but my knowledge of magick is something he can’t take from me.

  I look around; No one is coming. The kid on the bench seems to be still lost in the songs on his iPod. I gesture my hands and quietly chant “RESTORUS RAIMENTUS ANEWUS!”

  In an instant the grimy waterlogged dress changes into a dry, clean brand new garment and my ruined hair changes back into the sultry style that falls over my left eye. I hurry across the plush grass over to the tree where my purse is lodged in its branches. I manage to get a foot hold on the trunk and dig my nails into the bark. I start shimmying up the oak struggling to keep my grip. Man, I wish I had my finger and toe claws right now; it’d make things a whole lot easier.

  I’m making my way up the tree when I feel a hand tugging on my ankle and huff a sigh. Looks like I’ve caught the attention of the police. Maybe if I explain things to them they’ll help me get my purse and shoes out of the tree.

  I turn around and greet the officers with a smile. When I catch the reptile eyes of the demoness scowling at me my eyes grow wide. She’s definitely not a member of the NYPD.

  Chapter 6

  Well, well, well. The legendary E’steem. Caught like a cat in a tree. I didn’t know this was going to be so easy.

  My cloven fingernails dig into her ankle as I yank her out of the tree. The air is taken out of her body as I slam her to the ground flat on her back. I become excited as Blue flames of Hellfire explode from my fists. They’re gonna be talking about me for centuries.

  “E’steem. The most powerful she-demon in All Hell. I was expecting you to be prettier.”

  “I can’t help it that you caught me on a bad day.” She retorts.

  “Well, you’re not so scary looking in person.”

  “Looks can be deceiving Miss…”

  “D’lilah. The woman who has come to take your place among the demons in Lucifer’s Legion.”

  “Wow, I didn’t know Lucifer filled my position so quickly-”

  “I get to start when you die.”

  Just as I fire a blast of Hellfire from my hands, E’steem kicks at my ankles. My flames extinguish as I’m knocked off my feet. E’steem springs up off the grass and meets my reptile eyes with her brown ones. “I think you better go look for another job.” She tells me. “Starbucks on Broadway is hiring-”

  I jump off the ground. “No, I really want this one. The pay and benefits are just too good.”

  I throw all my strength into a right cross. The blow knocks the old woman back, several more blows send her staggering, and a roundhouse punch knocks her into the grass. I storm over to the fallen body of E’steem and hoist her body over my head. She lets out a scream when I hear the pop of her spine as the small of her back slams into my knee. That’ll take the fight out of her.

  I toss the broken body of the former greatest she-demon of All Hell into the grass again. Hellfire explodes from my hands as I smile looking at the terrified look on the old woman’s face.

  “Today the Old Guard ends and the New Breed Rises.”

  E’steem screams as I fire a blast of Hellfire at her and laugh as the blue flames of Hell consume her body. This was all too easy.

 

  Chapter 7

  I should be a pile of ashes.

  Either the Hellfire isn’t as hot as it used to be or Lucifer was lying to me about taking my powers. I’m thinking it’s the former and not the latter. As the black smoke clears, the smug smile of D’lilah changes into a shocked expression when she sees that all she’s done is burn off all my clothes.

  “That’s Blue Hellfire! You should be a pile of ash!”

  Dark Blue Hellfire. And from that little toasting I barely got a light tan. What an amateur, she must have just learned how to project blue flames.

  I catch a glance of the small crowd that’s formed watching our catfight. Across from me on the park bench, the guy on the bench with the iPod has his camera recording everything. Great. In my attempts to show my good side to the world I’m giving them a shot of my backside. This couldn’t get any more embarrassing.

  While the spectators get an eyeful of E’steem au natural, I jump off the ground into a fighting stance. “You know that was one of my favorite dresses.” I retort.

  “You should be glad I got rid of it.” D’lilah snarls. “It made your hips look wide.”

  She’s just jealous. I looked fabulous in it. Just like I used to look fabulous in my old red dress. Since I can’t go around fighting naked during our little show, I’ll show her how we Old Guard demons used to style and profile back in the old days.

  “RAIMENTUS CHANGEUS!” I chant.

  A flash of light transmutates the air molecules around me into a replica of my old tattered linen red dress. D’lilah rolls her eyes at the sight of me in my legendary attire. I don’t think she’s impressed.

  “That one makes you look fat.”

  “Says the woman wearing a two-piece with a flabby midsection.”

  “Why don’t I help you burn off some calories so you can look better in it.”

  D’lilah gestures and fires a huge ball of Hellfire at me. I look across the lawn at the small audience that has formed watching our little show. Even though her hellfire isn’t as hot as mine, it can still incinerate everything in the nearest vicinity including all those spectators. I’ve got to put out her fire before it catches any of the foliage and the people around us.

  A thunderclap from my hands sends a shockwave across the park that rocks the trees and knocks people off their feet. The force of the blow dissipates the Hellfire into vapor and sends D’lilah flying into the trunk of an oak tree a few yards away. A flash of light takes me over to the stunned woman who staggers to her feet.

  I’m about to grab her when I feel claws raking against my stomach. D’lilah lets out a whimper as she holds her stinging hand and peers up at me.

  “AAAAAGGGHHHH!!!!” she cries. “It’s like clawing at steel!”

  “100 sit-ups a day will give you abs like this.” I say punching her in the stomach. “You ought to try it. Tone up all that flab you have hanging over that loincloth of yours.”

  D’lilah doubles over in pain from the blow; a right cross to the jaw has her lumbering about. I look into her tired eyes; she doesn’t have much left. She clenches her fists and tries to musters the strength to continue fighting.

  “There has to be a way to kill you! There has to be!”

  “I doubt you’re in a condition to find out.” I tease.

  With her big plan to kill me a bust it looks like she’s desperate. As much as I’d like to ent
ertain her, I can’t allow her to continue putting lives at risk. Time to take her down.

  “I promised Lucifer I’d bring your body back to his office by noon!”

  “I look up at the sky, notice the time and give her a playful smile. “It’s 11:30 now. I don’t think you’re going to make it.”

  “I’ve still got time.”

  Blue flames explode from D’lilah’s fists as she charges at me; I dodge her blows and chant a spell that should take the fire out of her for good.

  “AUURUS SOLIDIUS.”

  After the spell is cast, the air around D’lilah becomes an invisible dome. D’lilah pounds on the barrier, then screams and fires a blast of hellfire at it. As she starts to panic she fires longer intense blasts. Smoke fills the dome; and in a few seconds she gasps a final breath and slumps to the ground as all the air inside evaporates.

  With the fight taken out of her, I chant the counterspell to get her out of the invisible vacuum.

  “AUUURUS GASSUS!”

  The counterspell turns the invisible air dome back into regular air and the passed out D’lilah falls onto the grass. All too easy.

  I dust off my hands and look out to all the spectators and take a bow. Maybe if I tell them this was all part of some stunt show they won’t think to be terrified about all the supernatural happenings that just went on.

  “Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for taking the time to watch our show Magic in the Park. We hope to be back with another performance in the future.”

  A round of applause fills the air as a flash of light takes me high into the branches of the tree to retrieve my purse and sandals. When I return to the ground, I pick up the body of D’lilah, sling her over my shoulder, and disappear into a flash of light. Lucifer should be in his office waiting for D’lilah’s return right about now. She should show some initiative by coming in a little early.

  Chapter 8

  A flash of light takes me from Central Park to the offices of Lucerne Holdings on Fifth Avenue. The receptionist peers up at me as I approach my desk. I smile at her before stating my business.

  “E’steem Katious making a delivery to Damien Lucerne.”

  “He’s expecting you.” she replies. “Walk through the cubicles, make a right and turn the corner.”

  I stroll down the hall through the cubicles. The employees whisper amongst themselves as I walk through the red Berber carpeted office space carrying D’lilah’s body.

  “Is that really her?” one man asks.

  “No, that can’t be E’steem. She’s dead.” A woman whispers. “Isis killed her.”

  “Maybe she just has the same name as the old E’steem.” Another woman whispers.

  “But she looks just like her.” A young man says.

  “It’s not her.” An older woman chides. “The Real E’steem was much taller.”

  “Yeah, She was at least six foot two.” An older man says.

  From the chatter it looks like only demons work at Lucerne Holdings. I make that right and find Damien Lucerne’s name inscribed on a Brass plaque on the two tall ash wooden doors in front of the corner office. I kick the double doors and stroll into the Executive suite. Lucifer stops staring out of the picture windows and twirls around his office chair to meet my serious eyes with his wicked smile.

  “E’steem. How nice of you to come visit me.” Lucifer greets. “Is this going to be a regular thing?”

  “You’re gonna have to do better than this.” I say dropping D’lilah’s unconscious body in front of his desk.

  “I take it you made light work of my assistant.”

  “I didn’t even break a sweat.”

  “But it did ruin your day.”

  Sure I suffered a little embarrassment from the indecent exposure in the park, but it’s nothing I can’t shake off. He’s not going to bring me down. “Not in the least. I’m still going shopping.”

  “I kind of like what you’re wearing right now.”

  He may like it, but I think I can find something at Saks that better reflects who I am today. “This old thing? It was out of style years ago.”

  “You know I can send a thousand more like her after you.”

  “I’m sure you can.”

  “Are you sure you can take them without your powers?”

  I did fairly well with them. I think I could take them without them if I had to. “You never took my powers away-”

  “I know. I just wanted you to know that I have the power to take them from you any time I feel like-”

  More like he wanted to send the message that he still has power over me. But I know that’s a lie. The only power he has is what I allow him to have over me. “Who needs your power? As long as I have God in my life I can always overcome you-”

  “So boastful.” Lucifer laughs. “I wonder how strong your faith really is.”

  “Stronger than you think it is-”

  “I don’t know. You new Christians crack under the slightest pressure-”

  “Send a hundred of your agents, a thousand of them or a million of them. No matter what you throw at me or who you send after me, I’m never coming back to the Legion.”

  “So I’ll be waiting a long time for your return?”

  “It’ll be a cold day in Hell before you see me among your demons again.”

  “I tell you what. E’steem. I’ll let you keep your demon powers for the interim. It’ll keep things fair.”

  Like he fights fair. “I’m sure.”

  “This isn’t over.”

  “It’s only beginning.” I say I disappearing into a flash of light.

  Final Chapter

  I’m carrying shopping bags and sipping on strawberry lemonade when a flash of light takes me from the streets of Fifth Avenue back to John’s apartment up in Harlem. On seeing me standing in front of him, he eases his laptop down on the coffee table and jumps out of the comfortable spot he was sitting in to greet me with a smile.

  “You know you could have used the door.” John chides.

  I could, but I really wanted to show him this new dress I just bought. I think it’s gonna make a statement about who I am. I my ease my shopping bags and the cup with my drink in it on the table next to his computer and flash him a smile.

  “I could have, but I wouldn’t want to disturb the neighbors with my abrupt change of clothes.”

  “I’d think they’d know all about that from the show you put on this morning.” John says picking up his laptop off the coffee table.

  I look down at the counter under the show at the bottom of the video on YouTube. Looks like the kid with the iPod was busy this afternoon while I was shopping for that new Armani skirt suit. “Wow. Two million hits.”

  “Lucky for you people thought they were watching some sort of stunt show.”

  “I’ll try to be more careful next time.”

  “Why didn’t you use your cloak?”

  “Lucifer made me think he took my powers.”

  John’s eyes grow wide. “Lucifer?”

  “He was the one responsible for me crash landing in Central Park and taking a dip in the lake. “It was his way of getting my attention so he could make me an offer to return to his Legion.”

  “I take it you turned him down.”

  “What can I say? I like working for you.”

  “And that demon you were fighting-”

  “She was looking for a job promotion.”

  “It’s pretty clear from what I saw that she wasn’t qualified for the position.”

  That’s exactly what I thought. “So have you been here all day watching my little wardrobe malfunction?”

  “Nah, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

  That is true. There was that summer morning he walked in on me in my room to use his office and caught that eyeful of E’steem au Natural when I was napping. John looks me up and down in the replica of my old tattered red dress and smiles as he meets my eyes. “Katian original?”

  “Yep, this is what I used to w
ear when I was terrorizing the masses.”

  “It looks good on you. I have to say red is your color.”

  “It’s so out of style.” I say. “This is going to look way better.”

  I reach into the shopping bag and pull out my new dress. John lights up at the sight of the new red wrap dress as I put it up to me.

  “Wow. I can’t wait to see what you look like in it.”

  “I can’t wait to show you.”

  I toss the dress up in the air and disappear in a flash of light. The replica of my old dress falls to the floor in a puddle of linen as a flash of light explodes in John’s eyes and I reappear wearing my new dress. John smiles at the sight of me. I think he likes it as much as I do.

  “There’s a new way of trying on a dress.”

  “It helps when I’m in a hurry.”

  John looks me up and down and gives me an approving smile. “I’d have to say it really works for you. Kind of like an update of your old favorite.”

  I feel it represents my place as his partner. “That’s what I was going for.” I say. “You always said you had a hard time finding a place to put the red in your outfit.”

  “The T-shirts I tried to mix in were always too flashy-”

  He may be reserved, but I like a little flash. It shows how charismatic I am. “I feel this dress symbolizes our partnership. A way of saying that we’re in this together.”

  “A way of saying you have my back.”

  “I don’t plan on leaving your side.”

  Epilogue

  I feel sheets and a pillow under me as I stir out of a state of unconsciousness. I can’t believe E’steem beat me so badly I wound up in the hospital.

  Man, these Old Guard demons are a lot tougher than I expected. I just thought all those stories I read about E’steem in school were legends. I had no idea she was that powerful for real. Next time I’ll be ready for her magicks.

  I open my eyes and look across at the tall mahogany posters of the bed I’m lying in and realize I’m not in a hospital. I’m in someone’s bedroom. The furniture is clearly 19th Century, but the flat-screen TV mounted above the dresser and mini fridge next to it are brand new. There are some cans of Diet Coke in the black wastepaper basket next to the night table which has a copy of Soap Opera Digest with Derek Moore on the cover and a library call number taped to the bottom of it. Derek Moore hasn’t been on Young and the Restless since he left to star in that cop show Criminal Justice over a year ago. So whoever was living here hasn’t been home in a while.