The Fallen Queen of Eden Ch. 03

Long after Lilith had found comfort in Eli's bed and drifted off to sleep, another soul was becoming more twisted in his obsession. Levi Sethos, the Preacher-man, stood looking out of his study window as the sun was beginning to rise. His sermon notes were strewn across his desk, but he was having difficulty focusing on the subject of 'dealing with temptation wisely'. He had received a call the day before on a burner cell phone he carried informing him that Lilith Eden had been observed packing a backpack and leaving the home she had shared with Millie Daws. He had to know where she was going because there was no way he was going to let her escape the destiny he saw for the two of them.

Since meeting her, he had not been able to get her out of his mind. Lilith was different from the other beautiful women he had enjoyed dallying with over the years. She was strong, confident, and carried an air of sensuality that made his blood run hot. From his seat at Millie's bar, he had loved to just watch the way she moved around tables, chairs, and people with the grace of a dancer. He liked to picture himself coming home after a long day and finding her waiting, smiling and looking at him with real love in those brilliant green eyes of hers. He imagined easing his troubles in her soft arms or feeling her next to him while he slept. So many sugared thoughts, but he wasn't about to just simply watch her from a distance anymore. He had to find her and make her love him. I'm tired of only being able to watch you from the roof of my palace Bathsheba. Your king desires his perfect queen. In your eyes I can see all of the promises of heaven fulfilled, he thought as his fingers touched the cold glass of the window. In her he didn't just see a mistress he could use to satisfy his carnal desires, no, he saw his perfect partner. She was the one who would finally give him his heir . . . his Solomon. You have to come to me.

Looking out at the moon reflecting on the lake, Levi sighed in frustration. He had everything he could want in life except her. From his mansion in the hills, he had a breathtaking view of Table Rock Lake that was just secluded enough from Branson that he didn't have to deal with the endless traffic and lights and he loved it. Almost every facet of his life was exactly as he had imagined it would be. He enjoyed his wealth and the power and influence he had over people. It was amazing. Church members, staff and even total strangers wanted to talk to him and ask him anything from marital advice to lottery numbers. The press loved him for his natural charm and charisma. No one could ever be certain what his true feelings on a subject were because when the cameras were rolling he always said what was most popular in the mainstream world, or craftily sidestepped the issue. This had enabled him to build quite a powerful empire. He had dined with presidents and visiting dignitaries. On two occasions he had been asked to speak at the National Prayer Breakfast. He rubbed elbows with Hollywood stars and could call many of the rich and powerful elite his friends. It was intoxicating.

There was a time when he had lived a far more humble life, at least outwardly. It was when he was fresh out of Seminary school and preaching in his first church with a congregation of maybe twenty people. He and his young wife of a year, Jeza, were living in a shabby little home struggling to put food on the table. Back then he had been deeply unhappy and dissatisfied with his meager income and hated being nothing more than a small-town minister and relative nobody. He wanted so much more out of life and was determined to get it. Eventually, the two of them decided to travel from one end of the country to the other, visiting churches and preaching the word. Sometimes they would set up tents and canvas the town with flyers. He wrote books, appeared on the radio making his reputation grow along with his bank account. He was proud as he posed for pictures showing him laying the cornerstone of his new megachurch. It was a marvel of architecture with huge elaborate stained glass windows and seating for more than fifteen hundred people.

As the years went by Levi changed, but not for the better. He still put on an air of piety, but the only God he believed in was himself. Every Sunday he put on an incredible performance and gave the people what they paid for. He wore the persona of the simple preacher whenever he was on public view, but inside he had become corrupt and his heart had been replaced by an idol made in his own image. The marriage he shared with Jeza had been fractured from the start, but now the gulf between them had widened until it had become too difficult to span. Now they only saw each other when the cameras were on. Jeza lived in the second story of the mansion enjoying her life of fine clothes, manicures, hair salons, plastic surgery and her personal instructor Ty. She knew of her husband's numerous infidelities, but ignored them because leaving him and dissolving their marriage meant the end of all they had built . . . particularly her lavish lifestyle and of course Ty.

In many ways, she was glad that he had his mistresses because it meant she wouldn't be expected to fulfill his needs. As far as Jeza was concerned it was a perfect situation and Levi agreed wholeheartedly. When he saw a beautiful woman that interested him then he turned on the charm and soon had them eating out of his hand. He made sure they fully understood the arrangement of course, but that was a small price to pay in exchange for the large amounts of cash and other luxurious gifts he lavished on them until his interest waned. Lilith was the first to not fall for his allure. In fact, she had refused him and pushed him away at every turn. This had only served to make his desire burn even hotter.

"Are your kisses as passionate as I think they are?" he whispered softly. How badly he wanted to find out. From the first moment he had laid eyes on her, he had been sure that she was somehow meant for him. Why couldn't she see it too? In the dim light of the room, the windows reflected back the images of various objects, which normally he never noticed. Suddenly his eyes fell upon the echo of the cross above his desk and rather than feel repentant for his thoughts and actions, he began to feel anger towards God and the lust he felt. "I am a good man. I have always been a good man," he repeated to himself. It was difficult to say if he was trying to convince himself or God. "I am holy, upstanding and devout. You promised her to me, Lord! I saw her image in the dreams of my youth and knew her to be mine. Bend her heart to me and make her love me!"

With a low growl of frustration he moved away from the window and began to put a couple of books away in his bookcase. The first one went in smoothly, but the second didn't quite fit the gap and got stuck. As he pulled it back out something came out with it. At first, it appeared to be two ordinary pieces of paper. He bent down and picked the first one up and looked at it. It was small, not more than a couple of inches at most and the paper was discolored and old, but the sight of it stirred his heart and brought a gentle smile to his face. It was a black and white picture of himself when he was about sixteen sitting with a girl in one of those coin-operated photo booths. The girl was named Laine and she was about a year younger than he was and beautiful. Her hair was long and dark, but what stood out to him was her eyes. They were a fiery green and so full of life. He could still see their color and the way they sparkled with life even though the photo was in black and white. He would not see another pair like them for a long time, not until he saw Lilith.

Pushing away the painful memory and deep loss he felt, he quickly snatched up the other piece of paper, knowing full well what it was even before he had turned it over. It was the picture of Lilith fishing at Roaring River State Park that he had taken from Millie's home. Her golden skin was more tanned than normal and she wore a lace camisole top that showed off her bare, flat stomach along with her favorite cut-off jeans just high enough to grab someone's attention but not enough to be indecent. Her long dark hair was smooth and shone like silk in the sun. How he wished he could bury himself in the soft strands. On those nights when he had gone to the bar he had caught whiffs of her perfume. Even now the memory of that fragrance, a combination of sweet incense with a hint of candle smoke, was like a drug. She haunted his dreams and he lusted for her in his bed. How could she refuse him? Him? The Preacher-man? No one refused him.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted as he heard his study door open. Casually Levi slipped the photograph into the book and placed it back on the shelf. Turning to see who was entering his sanctuary, he was pleased to see it was Adam Benoni, one of his more loyal and 'special' employees. The young man had started working for Levi two years before after the Preacher-man had found him living on the streets and selling himself for drug money. The minister, in a great show of publicity, had helped him into rehab, gave him food, clothes and ministered to him so that he might know God. The truth was not so inspiring. He had cleaned up Adam, for the most part, and set him up in a small studio apartment where groceries were regularly sent to him. Adam worked for the Preacher-man but he was far from an official employee. Levi used him to spy and run seedy errands that a man of his upstanding reputation could not be seen doing. He had several 'special' employees like this, but Adam was his favorite.

As for the young man, he remained glued to the Preacher-man's side for two reasons. The first was a misguided sense of loyalty. The young man firmly believed that Levi cared about him and the proof was how he had gotten him off the street, cleaned him up and supported him. He would do anything that the minister asked because he believed the Preacher-man to be an angel sent by God to help him. This was very advantageous for Levi. Rather than correcting the young man and showing him that all the worship and praise should be going to God, he instead relished the adulation and softly encouraged it. The second reason Adam was faithful to Levi was that he controlled the young man's heroin addiction. Under the guise of wanting to ease withdrawal symptoms, the Preacher-man continued to supply him heroin, but only after he did the tasks assigned to him.

"I did what you told me to, pastor. I know where she is." At this, Levi took a step forward and raised an eyebrow. "I followed her to the fairgrounds where she met and left with some man . . ." Adam reached out and handed the Preacher-man his camera. Flipping through the memory he saw three or four photographs of her walking down the sidewalk with her backpack then paying her admission to the fair. The next showed her walking away from the sideshow. Another swipe of the screen and she was now standing with a group of four men talking. "I got a picture of the guy's license plate then I traced it back to the owner and found out his name and address. I managed to get the last picture after climbing a tree next to his home and looking through an upstairs window with a telephoto lens." Curious, the Preacher-man scrolled to the last photo, then his dark eyes grew wide. Sure enough, there was Lilith with her arms around the man and her lips clearly pressed to his. As much as he was enjoying the sight of his quarry, he was equally riled at seeing the brown-haired man she was holding. Even so, Adam had clearly done an excellent job. "Pastor, why is this woman so important?"

"She . . ." Here the Preacher-man thought carefully. "She has made threats saying she intends to destroy my ministry. She doesn't believe in God and prefers to try and either fabricate evidence or simply spread rumors in a vile attempt to show church leaders as hypocrites and discredit them. As long as I can keep my eye on her or have evidence of her disreputable character then she cannot hurt me." Turning to his bookshelf, Levi took out an antique leather-bound book on alchemy and opened it. Inside was a compartment that held a small plastic bag with white powder twisted and tied shut. Taking the small bag he started to hand it to Adam only to pull away at the last second before the young man could take it.

"Who is this man?" the Preacher-man asked.

"Elijah Asher," he answered, then gratefully received payment.