The Fallen Queen of Eden Ch. 17

She waited a moment while he turned the idea over in his mind. He couldn't think of anything. He stuttered and stammered but nothing came to mind. He had taken numerous pictures of her but in all of them she was was doing nothing wrong. The only thing he had seen was a woman living her own life.

"Pastor said . . ." he finally said feebly, but he couldn't finish the sentence because he realized the Preacher-man had never said anything specific about what she had done or was doing. Instead, other things were coming to mind.

For two years he had worked for Levi Sethos and in that time he had been asked to follow people, take down information, photograph individuals and record conversations. He had broken into businesses and homes to leave envelopes and packages at the minister's request. How many times had he been roughed up or injured because the Pastor sent him to a seedy area to deliver messages to shady people. Now he had broken into someone's home and was holding a gun on this woman for no more reason then because Pastor Levi had asked him too. Adam's eyes began to well up with tears and putting his free hand to his head, he pulled his hair, growled and gnashed his teeth in anger and bitterness. All this time he had believed that the Preacher-man was molding him into a better man and instead he as simply using him.

"Please, you really don't want to do this, Adam." Seeing that he was beginning to understand reality, Lilith began to slowly lower her hands. "Let me help you." she offered, taking a step towards him. She had never offered to help anyone before, but this young man needed someone to help him find his way and she was better than nothing. "We'll go to a rehab center where you'll get counseling and everything will be fine."

Slowly he lowered the gun, his hollow eyes welling up with tears. Relief swept through Lilith, but before she could go up to Adam and take the weapon, Eli appeared on the porch. At the click of the door handle, the young man suddenly panicked and raising his gun again he fired three shots, hitting the demoness. Instinct took over as Elijah took his Smith and Wesson from his concealed holster and pulled the trigger twice in rapid succession. For a moment, time seemed to stand still as the two .38 caliber bullets left the muzzle with a flash of fire and smoke hitting their target, first in the kneecap shattering it, then in the shoulder, causing Adam to drop his gun and crumple to the ground.

Falling to his knees, Eli pulled out his phone and started to dial 911 as he simultaneously tried to put pressure on the worst of Lilith's wounds. The three bullets had struck her in the shoulder, thigh and abdomen and she was bleeding everywhere. Before he could complete the call, Lili took the phone from his hand and set it aside slowly shaking her head.

"It won't do any good," she told him, trying to smile. "I have to go home."

"You are home." he said, pulling her into his arms and holding her. The motion caused her to momentarily cry out in pain and yet there was no greater place she could wish to be. She had never had a real home in all her long existence and these three simple words and the love with which he said them, brought tears to her eyes. "You can't leave . I've spent all day trying to find you and bring you back."

"Everything will be okay," she assured him before gasping in pain. "H-help me take the brace off my hand." She knew that to Eli this would seem like such a trivial thing, but she had no desire to die with it on, or take it back to Hell with her. Carefully he pulled the brace off and tossed it aside. She looked into Eli's fine blue eyes, surprised to see him crying. No one had ever shed tears for her before unless it was out of joy.

"You have to hold on." Elijah softly ordered. "I'm not letting you go."

"D-don't be sad," Lilith's breath was labored but still she continued. "Y-you did b-bring me back . . . Y-you brought back s-something in me that I thought h-had died back w-when the world was new." Her voice was barely audible but her lips mouthed the words. ". . . Thank you." Her head fell against him and he knew she was gone. There was no more light in her eyes. Elijah gently brushed a stray hair from her face then laid her down. His head fell against her chest, as a few silent sobs escaped from his lips before a cry of anguish erupted from him, like a wounded animal. How many times had he assured her that she was safe only for her to be murdered right here in his own entryway?

As he knelt there, a rage began to fill him as Adam's moans of pain filled his ears. He turned and looked at the young man still laying on the floor where he had fallen. Swiftly and without thought, he crossed the room in mere seconds grabbing him with both hands. Anger and sadness so filled him that he was cognizant of Adam's screams and sobs as he jolted him up from where he lay. It took all his self-control to not grab his gun and end the bastard's life right there.

"WHY?" Elijah demanded, punching him as hard as he could and shaking him like a rag doll.

"H-he said that she was trying to destroy his ministry," he cried.

"You idiot! That bastard manipulated you!" he roared in return. He balled up his fist, ready to punch him again, only to stop as he realised how pointless it was. He could tear the bastard apart with his bare hands but it wouldn't bring her back.

Elijah released Adam with one final shake, letting him drop onto the floor knee first. He turned to once more look at Lilith, only to feel his heart stop and his breath still at what met his eyes. She was gone. There was no body . . . no blood. Eli couldn't speak. It was impossible! There was no way someone could have snuck in here and carried off Lili's body without him knowing. Even if they could have, there was no way they could have cleaned up the blood and it was nowhere to be seen either.

Eli fell to the floor, his wide sharp eyes looking over every grain of wood, but it was clean without a single mark or stain. He turned his attention to the walls and ceiling, scrutinizing the paint for proof of Lili's murder. There wasn't a trace of blood spatter or any evidence she had ever been there. He looked down at his own clothes and whatever sanguine fluid had gotten on him when he was holding her, was gone. The only trace he found of Lilith Eden was her wrist brace laying silently on the floor.

Suddenly every claim she had made about being a demon came back to haunt his recollection, but he told himself that it wasn't true. It wasn't that he didn't believe in demons, angels, Heaven or Hell, he just couldn't fathom that such things would show themselves to him. Lilith had only made-up the persona to help her deal with an unhappy childhood, he was sure of it. Yet what he saw before him, or the absence of it, defied explanation and he didn't know what to think. All he kept thinking about was her words, 'I have to go home'. What home was she referring to?