The Fallen Queen of Eden Ch. 10

Eli's plan to keep Lilith safe was two-fold. First had to do with his phone call earlier that Lili had witnessed. At least for one night he had managed to set up some protection for her and hopefully keep the Preacher-man at bay. There would be other nights though, and that's where the next part came in. Neither he nor his friends could be available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. He also knew that she could decide to leave altogether and would need something to protect herself. Preferably something small that she could easily conceal. Having first-hand experience with her ability to use a rope dart, he was confident she could handle herself when given an opportunity to prepare. What she needed was something she could wield at close range and he knew exactly where to go to find such an item and that was Casen's.

Casen's was a tactical shop and gun supply store that was little more than a 'hole in the wall' that mostly catered to law enforcement. Since it was only about six blocks from Millie's, Lilith had seen it around before but had never gone in. Having demonic power and strength had made it unnecessary, until now. Going inside, Lili looked about the place, taking it all in. There was one wall covered in peg hooks displaying a variety of different holsters, targets, firearm accessories and more. There was a good selection of handguns, rifles and shotguns as well, but those were either locked in a glass case, or displayed behind the counter where an eagle-eyed employee kept watch.

"You know, I've never really paid much attention to human laws, so tell me, can you just walk in, throw down some money and buy a gun?" Her naive question made Eli momentarily laugh.

"Uh, no. It doesn't work like that," he explained, as he thumbed through different packages and brands of pepper spray on a circular rack. "If you want to own a gun in this state then that man is going to hand you a series of forms to fill out then he's going to take that information and run a full background check on you to verify that you haven't been flagged by the FBI or a convicted felon." He then shrugged and added offhandedly, "Of course that only works if they've done their jobs and ticked all the right boxes." He went over to another rack that had various types and styles of tasers and began to look through them. He wanted something easy to handle but strong and effective. "Right now I think you'll be better off using something less lethal."

"Why? Don't you think I'm capable of using lethal force to protect myself?" she asked. "I assure you I've done far worse than put a bullet in someone."

"Oh I think you are," he responded, thinking back to how quickly she had brought him to the ground with her rope dart. "But I also don't think that everyone should have one. By your own admission, you have a sketchy past. I'm not taking any bets on whether or not you'll pass the background check," he answered with a playful twinkle in his eyes. He firmly believed that Lilith's stories, while colorful and imaginative, were masking a much darker and seedy past. His instinct wasn't wrong either, although he couldn't begin to fathom the truth before him. "Why don't we just start out with something simple," he suggested, handing her two packages.

The first was a can of pepper spray whose brand was number one on the market and sprayed red pepper gel up to eighteen feet. Lilith stared down at the can, impressed that such a small black canister could potentially make a full-grown man back off and even runway. The other item was a hand-held taser that could be looped around her wrist. According to the package, this little beauty could send a high voltage shock into her assailant that would cause him confusion, disorientation and bring him to his knees. The idea of doing this to the Preacher-man sounded more than a little appealing to the demoness

"Either one of those, or even both, should be powerful enough to stop even the devil," he advised.

"I seriously doubt that," she mumbled looking over at some of the other products on display. Eli heard her comment and couldn't help rolling his eyes. He didn't know what made her cling to her delusion, but boy could she cling to it.

"Oh yeah . . . right. I forgot . . . you actually know the devil." He gave a sarcastic flick of the eyebrows as he looked at a multi-tool knife. Lilith looked at him, noting the obvious acid in his words.

"You can believe whatever you want, but I do," the demoness smirked. "And he's not a creature with red skin, horns, or a tail. Nor is he the monster depicted in medieval paintings and artwork devouring souls and crapping them back out. He's actually quite beautiful, which only makes sense considering he was God's most beautiful angel. Of course humanity never sees him."

"Well isn't that convenient."

"They hear him though. He loves to whisper in the ears of men." Lili laughed slightly as she thought back to some of the things she had seen the devil tempt people with and how easily they had agreed to it. "There is a lot of satisfaction to be had by simply letting humanity destroy itself. His hand is in every war, political assassination, uprising and revolution. He works brilliantly. He has no sides, no loyalties. All it takes is a whispered rumor in the right ear and the world becomes ablaze in hate, discontent and injustice with millions clamoring for blood." A dark smile curled her pretty lips. "Who do you think it was that lit the fuse and set off World War One, then ultimately paved the way for World War Two?"

"It's always good to know that around a hundred million people lost their lives for the devil's entertainment," Eli responded with a shake of his head.

"Well he is the Lord of Hell," she responded, as though no other explanation was needed.

"And you think that makes it acceptable?" he asked, turning to Lilith and waiting to hear her response. She didn't know what to say. She had never given it any thought before. Throughout her entire existence there had always been a certain distance between her and the human world the same way children look at anthills. Looking into Eli's face it suddenly occurred to her that he probably had had family that fought and maybe even died in these conflicts. For the first time her dark, detached humor suddenly seemed rather inappropriate. Even more strange was that she was suddenly feeling that same knot in her stomach that she had experienced earlier in the day although it didn't feel quite as bad.

"It doesn't matter what I think is acceptable, only that humanity seems to think it is. Turn on a TV and see the unhappiness, the cries for this cause or that, civil unrest, misery and want." She waited for Elijah to respond to her declaration, but he just continued to look at packages. "You know we don't just arbitrarily steal souls. We ask to sift them first. Most of the time we are told no, but occasionally permission is granted. It's usually so that the person in question can have an opportunity to be tested and come away stronger and more faithful. Sometimes they fail. There are always people who are willing to embrace their weakness and the momentary pleasure it gives then hold out for an eternity of paradise. Not that I have any personal objections to a little hedonistic pleasure." Here she smirked at the idea, but Eli never so much as glanced at her. "Each and every soul is given a choice," Lilith said, then absently ran her fingers along the edge of the package she was holding. Her mind traveling back in time to the shores of the Red Sea and her last true human moments on earth on her knees before God. "Just as I once was."

Eli heard the regret and bitterness in her voice when she spoke and decided to say nothing more on the subject. For whatever the reason she deeply believed in her delusion and right now it seemed a bad idea to challenge it. The last thing he wanted was to be in a public place with an angry woman trying desperately to prove she wasn't crazy. He was no student of psychology, but he knew enough to know that people with delusions cling to them no matter what, often trying to cover the first lie with an even bigger one.

What he really wanted was for her to drop the charade and just be her real self. Hopefully that would come with time and he was a patient man. A child that grows up first being abandoned and then being tossed from one foster home to another, enduring neglect and who knows what kind of treatment is going to have any number of issues. Trust was only one of them. What she needed, more than anything, was someone who was willing to do what was necessary to heal those wounds and make her whole again or at least as close to it as she could ever be. The best thing he could do was be her friend and be certain that he always kept his word so trust would continue to build between them . . . and also have lunch. Neither of them had eaten any breakfast and before he went off to work he wanted to take her out to eat and go over a few things regarding her safety in his absence.

The place Eli chose for lunch was a well-known bar known as Momo's Den. Named after Missouri's favorite cryptid, the bar had a live band every weekend and patio seating just out back behind the old building along the alleyway. There was even a wood and papier-mache statue of Momo himself inside the bar, smiling, waving and ready to be photographed with any patron who wanted to claim they saw the Missouri bigfoot for themselves. Besides the yeti figure, Momo's was also known for having some of the best bar food in town. From spicy hot wings, hand-cut fries, and giant burgers to steaks cooked to absolute perfection. Momo's knew how to please a hungry crowd.

Eli went there at least once a week and everyone at the bar knew him on a first-name basis. He always ordered the porterhouse special cooked medium rare with fries and a salad. Today was no different. The waitress didn't even ask him what he wanted and instead simply took Lili's order then left the two alone. Once she was gone, Elijah began to explain just how this evening was going to work. His plan was for one of his friends to keep a watchful eye on her and make certain that she was safe while he put in his shift at Rawley's. The demoness wasn't sure if she was flattered by his desire to protect her or annoyed that she was being put under the care of a babysitter. She had taken care of herself for countless ages so why would she need someone's help now?

Lilith didn't hesitate to voice her opinion on this matter either and was quick to point out to Eli that he had just bought her mace and a taser. If the Preacher-man showed up she had zero qualms about using it on him, or anyone else for that matter. In fact, a little part of her was hoping he would show up so just so she could light him up with the taser. While Eli liked her show of bravado, he was not so confident in her ability. Levi Sethos was not above sending more then one thug to subdue her, which was why he had called his friend Kaleb to watch and protect her for the evening.

Kaleb Alvah had been a close friend of Elijah's since the two had met at least a decade before while hanging round the park at night with other twenty-somethings. They fixed each other's cars, threw big barbecue's, bowled and went out drinking together. Both had always agreed that they would never post bail for each other because they would be undoubtedly sharing the same cell laughing at what they had done to get incarcerated. Despite all of Eli's assurances that Kaleb was an upstanding guy that Lilith could trust with her life, she seemed unconvinced.

"Spend eight hours in the company of a strange man? Sorry, I can't. My mother would never allow such a thing."

"I thought you didn't have a mother?" Eli responded tersely.

"Well then, that proves that I am more than capable of taking care of myself," the demoness argued.

"He's had us followed and sabotaged your ability to get on a plane. . . I doubt I need to bring up the backseat of his car. Do you really think he's above breaking and entering if he found out you were alone? I just don't think it's wise to leave you by yourself right now." Hearing his summation, Lili swallowed the shot she had ordered then quickly motioned the bartender to give her another. Seeing this, he leaned in close to her ear. "You also need to have your wits about you so you might want to back off the alcohol."

Lilith looked up at Eli sharply. His advice might have been well-meaning, but Lili had little appreciation for anyone telling her how to behave. She was about to tell him so, but she was forced to bite her tongue as they were joined by a familiar face from the fair. The two men greeted each other, then Elijah turned and reintroduced his friend Kaleb to the demoness. Lilith smiled and shook his hand. He seemed friendly enough and had a nice smile, but guarded, as though he had snuck a cookie before dinner and was afraid of being caught. His dirty blond hair was neatly combed, although perhaps a bit overdue for a trim which made up the slight difference in height between the two friends. His eyes were shrewd and glanced furtively between her and his phone as he rapidly sent texts and barely paid attention to Elijah.

"No, no, it's cool. I can keep an eye on her for you. What's it going to interfere with, a night of frozen pizza and reruns? Besides, I owe you one after the way you helped me with my alternator."

"Eli, Kaleb!!" called out a cheerful voice, interrupting the discussion. The two men looked up in surprise as another familiar face from the fair joined them. Lili drank another shot and glanced up at the new man. Wynne was shorter than the other two and thin (but not to the point of skeletal) yet muscled. His hair had receded to his chin and whatever was left on top he had shaved leaving nothing but smooth skin. His dark eyes were piercing, yet there is a vulnerability to him. . . bringing to mind the old adage 'old soul'. He had known Eli since grade school and both had traveled to Springfield after they had completed tech school and worked a variety of welding jobs and other companies to build their resumes.

The two were truly like brothers with each eagerly having the other's back. They had tormented teachers together, gone to high school parties that were loaded with illegal alcohol and had pulled each other out of more than one scrap with the law or an altercation with someone a little more willing to fight then they were. Both of them swore that if they ever had a body to hide, they would call each other.

"What are you doing here?" Kaleb asked.

"Eli left me a message about needing a favor," he explained. Eli realized the mix-up and began to explain that he had actually called Wynne first, but when he didn't get a reply back he tried Kaleb. Lilith found the entire situation ridiculous. She was the Queen of Demons, she should be able to crush anything that came her way. It was humiliating to think that she needed a babysitter. She knew how to lock a door and if the worst did happen, she was resourceful when it came to turning something into a weapon. Goodness knows Eli had plenty of tools lying around she could use.

"Well, since we're both here anyways, why can't we both watch her?" Wynne suggested. "Two sets of eyes are better than one and it allows for bathroom breaks." The two men laughed, but Wynne quickly stopped when he realized that Kaleb didn't seem particularly amused. "Hey, I'm sorry, I'm probably stepping on your toes. He obviously asked you first. I can take off if you got it, or if you want I can handle it and you can have your night to yourself."

"No, it's cool," he smiled. "Like you said, two sets of eyes are better than one." Eli thanked both of them repeatedly then handed some cash to Wynne, telling him to take care of her. Before he could do the same with Kaleb, his friend's phone once more alerted him of a text message. "Hey, I have to make a quick call. I'll be right back."

While he was taking care of his call, Eli was giving Wynne the short, abridged version of the situation. He didn't even mention the name of the man behind it all, just that there was a stalker and to watch her at all times. After a few moments Kaleb returned and Elijah repeated the story. He glanced at his watch then looked over at Lilith as she sat there staring down into her empty shot glass.

Reaching into his pocket he took out a keychain with a spare key to his house and handed it to her. Lili took it from him, surprised that he would trust her so much. She looked at the key chain and raised an eyebrow. It was a simple piece of wood carved into the state of Missouri with a little heart and the word 'home' engraved over Springfield.

"Sorry, it was the cheapest keychain at the store," he explained. "If you need to, you can get into the house." Eli looked at her, hesitant to walk away. "Be careful." Lili smiled and attached the chain to her charm belt. Eli looked at his watch and he knew he needed to get going, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it was a mistake leaving her, but what choice did he have? He had to go to work so he could pay the bills and besides, he was leaving her in good hands. He took out his keys then reminded her what time his shift ended then took off out the door.

As soon as he was gone Lili asked the bartender for another shot and the two gentlemen took up stools on either side of her. Kaleb ordered himself a beer and silently glanced at his phone, but

there were no messages. Wynne was more outgoing and immediately started chatting. He talked about the summer heat, funny stories he had seen on the internet and regaled her with his witty comments about the people he could see using the mirror behind the bar. One person that caught his eye was a woman sitting at the end of the bar that had long since passed middle age but was dressed as though she was still only about twenty. It didn't take long for the two of them to start making up stories about her for amusement.

Kaleb was less gregarious which was rather surprising to his friend. Normally when the guys were hanging out together, he was as loud and as boisterous as any of them. He never hesitated to throw his two-cents worth in on a subject or join in feats of tom-foolery (usually preceded by the phrase 'someone hold my beer'). The only time he became quiet and reserved was when someone new joined the group. Even so, Wynne was quick to point out that he had never seen him quite as standoffish as he was with Lilith, which led to him teasing Kaleb and calling him bashful.

"Hey, hey, I am not bashful or shy, it's called being a gentleman. Not that you would know," he argued, taking one last glance at this phone then stuffing it in his pocket.

"A gentleman?" Wynne countered. "Aren't you the guy who said 'can I buy you a drink or do you prefer cash' to some girl at a bar in St. Louis?"

"Okay, First of all, that girl was nasty. I mean, 'a walking petri dish with God knows what' kind of nasty. Secondly . . . I might have had too much tequila. Besides, you're one to talk, you're the one that got punched because you were hitting on a girl that was sitting right there with her boyfriend."

"Hey . . . that girl was cute," he pointed out. "And you never know, she might have traded up."

"Amateurs," Lilith scoffed, listening to their examples of bad behavior.

"Oh? Do you have a better story?" Wynne challenged, his mind beginning to fill with images of ladies nights at strip clubs.

"I once bet Catherine the Great that she couldn't take the bellend of a horse. What I thought was a sure bet ended up costing me ten thousand rubles. At least the horse was happy." she said this as though it were nothing, but Wynne immediately choked on his drink and Kaleb could only stare at her in slack-jawed wide-eyed amazement. Neither believed her, but she said it so quickly and with such a matter-of-fact attitude that they didn't know what to say.