Seraphim

by Leslie Swartz

  Wyatt gathered the energy from the air around him to form balls of lightning, throwing them, one after another at the targets he’d set up on the roof a few months before. He hit one bullseye and then another, over and over, growing more confident in his ability to fight Lilith with every shot. He turned his eyes to the clouds, using his anger and grief to summon a thunderbolt and bring it down hard into the rubber mark. As it struck the target, Gabriel and Valerie were thrown back, having just walked onto the roof to find him.

  “Oh, my God! Are you okay?!” Wyatt called. “I didn’t see you.”

  “Show off,” Gabriel joked as she helped her sister up.

  “Are you all right?” he asked, hurrying to Valerie’s side.

  “Yeah, I’m good,” she told him. “So, you and the vampire a thing now?”

  “Come on! Why is everyone so concerned about who I’m sleeping with? I don’t ask about your private life.”

  “If I had one, I’d share that shit voluntarily,” Valerie scoffed. “I’d be so happy, I wouldn’t be able to keep it to myself. Listen, I’m no expert, but according to every sitcom I’ve ever seen, talking about who we’re fuckin’ is just something family does.”

  Wyatt sighed. “No judgement?” he asked. Both women nodded. “It’s like I can’t control it,” he admitted. “Like a fog comes over me and I have to--”

  “That’s vampire shit,” Gabriel explained. “She, more than any of them, has like, a pheromone thing happening that makes her irresistible to men. The closer she gets to you, the stronger it is.”

  “Succubus,” Wyatt said, remembering that Allydia had said she’d been called that in the past.

  “Yeah,” Gabriel confirmed.

  “So, I’m getting roofied?”

  “No, I mean, you don’t lose free will,” Gabriel said. “You’re not getting knocked out, just a little impaired. It’s kind of like she slips you ecstasy. You know what you’re doing and you could stop if you wanted to, but you really won’t want to.”

  “That’s fucked up.”

  “Vampires, man,” she shrugged.

  “Did you find Lucifer?” he asked.

  “No,” Gabriel answered, obviously annoyed. “He went looking for Lilith. He hasn’t found her, so now he’s blowing off a little steam.”

  Chapter 21

  “What can I get you?” the bartender asked sweetly as Lucifer sat down at the half empty bar.

  “A bottle of your strongest beer, and keep them coming.”

  “The one with the highest ABV that I’ve got is fifty dollars a bottle. You still want it?”

  Lucifer pulled the credit card Gabriel had given him from his pocket and put it on the shiny marble counter.

  “Do your worst,” he told her, smiling charmingly. She smiled back as she retrieved the bottle from under the bar and opened it for him, pouring him a glass.

  “Thank you, love,” he said, taking a sip.

  “London accent?” she inquired.

  “It would seem so.”

  “So, how long are you in town?”

  “Hopefully not that much longer,” he told her. “I have a little business to take care of before I return home, although I admit, I’m not exactly looking forward to the trip.”

  “Afraid of flying?”

  “No, it’s just,” he thought for a moment. “Lonely. Dismal. Ghastly.”

  “Really? I’ve always wanted to visit the UK. So much history. Big Ben, the Tower of London, the Globe Theater. Seems romantic.”

  “It can be.”

  “How long have you been away?”

  “From London?” Lucifer asked, trying to recall the year. “It was fifteen eighty-two, I believe.”

  “That long?” the girl chuckled.

  “It’s been quite some time.”

  She giggled, leaning forward, allowing him to see nearly half way down her shirt. Lucifer noticed her attempts to flirt with him and he encouraged them. He continued to smile and held eye contact and she pushed her long, wavy dark hair behind her ear. She put her elbow on the bar and rested her tawny cheek on her hand. Her big brown eyes and full coral lips had certainly gotten Lucifer’s attention. He shouldn’t let himself be distracted by this beauty. He needed to find his sister while she was still weakened, but this woman’s cleavage seemed to be beckoning him and the truth was, one of the only good things about being trapped in a human body was the chance to indulge in the pleasures of the flesh.

  “I’m Mariana,” she told him.

  “That’s lovely. You can call me ‘Lou’. Would you like to hear a story, Mariana?” he asked.

  “Sure,” she said emphatically.

  “As I’m sure you’re aware, this bar has stood since eighteen ninety-two and has changed very little over the years. However, in nineteen twenty, the federal government passed the Volstead Act, outlawing the sale or manufacture of alcoholic beverages, except for religious purposes. Of course, the law was never much enforced in New York, but when it was first enacted, bar owners were terrified of being put out of business, so they found creative ways of keeping their doors open. Instead of selling drinks, one might receive a free beer with the purchase of a bowl of peanuts that just happened to cost the same price as a beer had before Prohibition. Others ignored the law outright for fear of rioting. Most required a code word either for entry or to buy the forbidden products. As it became harder to acquire the alcohol needed to satiate the masses, bar owners resorted to bootleggers to meet demand, giving rise to organized crime. One night, one such bootlegger had become dissatisfied with the terms of the agreement he’d made with the owner of this particular establishment. He refused to deliver the goods that had already been paid for. Patrons lashed out, breaking glasses and screaming obscenities. Until a man, we’ll call him ‘Lewis’, explained to the crowd that it was the seller, not the proprietor, that was to blame for the shortage. He then led the mob to the home of the bootlegger where they proceeded to persuade him to reconsider. By night’s end, the bar was stocked once more and customers developed a loyalty to the place, feeling a sense of ownership for helping in keeping it afloat.”

  “What happened to the bootlegger?” she asked.

  “He was fine after a short stint in the hospital. I’m sure he got what was coming to him, though.”

  “Miss!” an older man called from the end of the bar.

  “Don’t you move,” she said as she walked off to attend to her customer.

  “Wouldn’t dream of it,” Lucifer said, taking another sip of beer. He glanced around the room, impressed with how well it had been maintained. For a moment, he felt as if he were back in that time, rallying drunkards instead of on the hunt for his malevolent sister.

  As his new conquest tended to other patrons, Lucifer thought about the last time he had visited Earth. Elvis was on the radio and there was a hydrogen bomb panic, giving rise to a bomb shelter industry who’s underground bunkers would have been all but useless had an attack actually happened. It was in one such bunker that he had tracked the demon he’d been searching for. It had taken over the body of a little girl, about four years old, a crime Lucifer would not see go unpunished.

  “Please!” the demon had squealed when he’d been found, cowering in the corner of the shelter. “Let me be!”

  “You know that isn’t possible,” Lucifer had told him.

  “I’ll kill the girl!” he’d hissed, holding a fork to the child’s throat. Lucifer rushed over, grasping the fork and flinging it to the floor. He placed his hand on the girl’s chest, making quick work of the exorcism, enraged at the gall of the demon. To possess any human was forbidden, but to possess a child was superior in it’s repugnance. Once back in Hell, he’d be sure to reprimand the monster considerably.

  The demon had taken it’s leave, Lucifer left holding the little girl as she struggled quietly to breathe. She was in bad shape, unable even to open her eyes, and wouldn’t make it, even if he could get her to a hospital. He wasn’t very practiced in healing and wasn’t sur
e he could save her, but he knew his Father would be angered at the loss of this child to such circumstances as these, so he gave it a shot.

  He placed his hands on the girl, one on her head and the other on her chest, and concentrated. Slowly, her skin began to glow and the damage the possession had done started to diminish. She opened her eyes with a start, jumping up and backing away.

  “You’re all right, now,” he’d told her, feeling a little disoriented. Healing another while maintaining his own host body’s integrity had taken a lot out of him. The girl looked at him, remembering everything that had happened to her over the last few days. She walked back to where Lucifer still knelt on the cement floor, threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

  “Thank you,” she said quietly.

  Lucifer gently hugged her back, surprised at how touched he felt by the girl’s gesture.

  “You’re very welcome,” he’d told her.

  She ran off, up the stairs and out into the yard of the small Midwestern home.

  “Mommy, mommy, mommy!” she’d yelled. A woman stepped out onto the porch and fell to her knees at the sight of her daughter who, after days of looking progressively sicker with no diagnosis from the doctor, seemed to be her usual, healthy, happy self. The girl leaped into her mother’s arms and the two held each other for several seconds. Tears of joy streamed down the woman’s face as she looked up and saw Lucifer exiting the bomb shelter. He’d waved as he walked away, wanting to take the body he was in as far away from the family as possible before leaving it. No reason to traumatize them further.

  As he sat at the bar, he wondered what had become of that little girl. Then, he remembered he had access to all the known knowledge of the world on the phone Gabriel had given him. He took it from his pocket and tapped on the button that brought up the internet. He typed in the girl’s name and the state where he’d left her. Three people came up in the results, but only one was the right age. He clicked her profile and was pleased to find she was still living, a grandmother of four and retired social worker.

  “Friend of yours?” Mariana asked, pouring him another beer as she’d noticed his glass looking dangerously close to being empty.

  “You might say that,” he said, putting the phone away.

  “I’m jealous,” she quipped. “So, what’s your business? Must be important for you to come all this way.”

  “It is. I’m a headhunter of sorts. I’ve been tasked with finding a particular woman with a specific skill set. My boss insisted a long time ago that she be brought into the company, lest she take her abilities elsewhere.”

  “I see. And, from the look on your face when you talk about her, she’s giving you a hard time?”

  “You have no idea.”

  Just then, a group of men burst through the doors, laughing and talking very loudly. They sat at a nearby table and one of them called to Mariana, “Yo, can we get some whisky?”

  She sighed softly as she placed four glasses on a tray, filled them and walked them over. Lucifer watched as two of the men stared as she made her way back behind the bar while the others sucked their drinks down so fast, it was like they were trying to win a race. These were the exact kind of humans Lucifer tried to avoid. Brash, rude and utterly uncivilized, seemingly missing the use of the higher functioning parts of their brains. The misogyny wafted like the scent of manure from the table, Lucifer able to hear the vulgar comments they whispered about the bartender. He was already feeling frustrated, doing his best to hold back from violence, and these sorry excuses for the masculine gender were testing his resolve by their mere existence.

  “Well,” Mariana said, continuing their conversation. “I’m sure you’ll track her down. You don’t strike me as the kind of guy to give up easily.”

  “Your instincts would be correct. I’m the epitome of conviction when it comes to my work.” His eyes twinkled as the two flirted. He found her very attractive, with high cheekbones, rich olive skin and just a hint of a Latin accent he couldn’t quite place. Her beauty plus the beginnings of inebriation were a welcome distraction from his duties, which he knew he needed to get back to, just not quite yet.

  “Baby!” one of the men shouted. “We need another round!”

  “Be right back,” she told Lucifer seductively as she got the order together and rushed it to the table. As she placed the glasses in front of the men, one of them brushed her leg. She pulled back quickly and gave him a look of warning.

  “You got great tits,” he said.

  “This isn’t that kind of place, guys,” she told them.

  “What kind of place?” one of the other men asked.

  “Enjoy your drinks,” she said, turning to walk away.

  “Hey!” the first man shouted, grabbing her arm. “When a man pays you a compliment, you say ‘thank you’.” He pulled her closer, trying to sit her on his lap. She fought her way free only for him to grasp her arm again.

  “Excuse me, love,” Lucifer said, stepping between Mariana and the table. “Could you freshen my drink? I’m feeling a bit peckish.”

  She nodded and hurried back to the bar, relieved to put some distance between her and the men. Once she was safely behind the counter, Lucifer turned his attention to the table.

  “Mind your fucking business, fa--” But, before the abuser could finish his sentence, he was met with a swift punch to the face. Lucifer hit him again, this time breaking his cheekbone and knocking him unconscious. The others appeared shocked as Lucifer went calmly back to his seat and took a sip of beer as if nothing had happened. They dragged their friend out of the building, shouting obscenities as they went, Lucifer smirking and trying not to laugh.

  “Sorry for the ugliness, pet,” he told Mariana. “Those cretins were being disrespectful and, to be honest, in my head, I’d already laid claim to you.”

  She looked at him hungrily, impressed and turned on by his defense of her.

  “Follow me,” she commanded.

  She led him to a storage room, pushing a pallet of boxes in front of the door to act as a makeshift lock. She kissed him hard, reaching under her skirt to slip off her panties. He held her face in his hands as they kissed and she unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants. He lifted her onto a crate of pickled eggs and pulled his pants down, letting them fall to his ankles. She pulled him closer and ran her fingers over his manhood, subtly checking it for anything that felt like it could be an STD. When she found nothing out of the ordinary, she spread her legs wide, inviting him in. He accepted her proposal, sliding himself inside her and beginning the act he’d been denied the last sixty years.

  “I only have a few minutes,” she breathed, grabbing his posterior with both hands, urging him to go faster. “No one’s watching the bar.”

  He touched her cheek again, looking into her eyes with determination and longing.

  “Your exquisite loveliness has captivated and beguiled me,” he told her. “No offense to your work or this establishment, but they’ll both have to wait. I plan on relishing you.”

  He kissed her neck as she moaned with pleasure, her eyes rolling back. She wrapped her legs around him and ran her fingers through his short, wavy hair. In her rapture, she decided getting fired would be well worth this highly satisfying experience.

  Lucifer left the bar with Mariana’s phone number written on a napkin securely in his pocket. He didn’t know if he’d ever see her again, but it was nice to know that she would be available should he require her company in the near future. The sun had begun to set and it was quite dim in the alley, but he could very clearly make out the group of men from earlier there waiting for him.

  “Isn’t this a little cliche’, boys?” he sighed as one of them started toward him. The man raised his fist, but Lucifer grasped it with his left hand, crushing several bones, causing him to cry out in pain. This angered his friends, all of them rushing to attack Lucifer at once. They tried and failed to lay hands on him. The four of them were no match for God’s most powerful ange
l.

  Lucifer beat them bloody, throwing one into the brick wall of the building next door, bashing the back of his skull in. As they fought, the anger and frustration of not being able to find Lilith bubbled over, the rage overwhelming him and, soon, he had lost all control. He noticed the man that had treated Mariana so inappropriately trying to flee. His fury was too strong and, before he knew it, Lucifer had taken the man by the hair and pulled his head savagely from his body.

  As he looked around at the scene he had created, all four men dead, blood and gore everywhere, the madness slowly subsided. He didn’t want Mariana finding this mess, becoming traumatized and blaming him, so he stuffed all of the bodies, and their severed parts, into a nearby dumpster, took a lighter from his pocket, ignited the flame and threw it in. The flames weren’t as high as he would have liked, but with the small amounts of alcohol coating much of the garbage’s contents acting as accelerant, he was confident the fire would do the job. He hurried off, making sure there was no one around who would have seen what happened.

  On to the next adventure, he thought.

  Chapter 22

  He walked for a long time, trying to calm the rage that had taken over, and he was almost feeling better, until he heard it. The ravings of a zealot.

  He followed the voice until he came upon a man handing out pamphlets and yelling at passersby. His words were obviously the rantings of a fanatic, and most everyone on the busy street ignored him completely.

  “Homosexuality is a sin!” the man shouted. “These politicians trying to normalize behavior that’s clearly the work of the Devil are putting your children at risk of eternal damnation! This is the inevitable outcome of decades of going against God, ignoring the Scripture, and doing whatever feels good! First, it was interracial marriage, which is clearly forbidden in Genesis 28:1 and Leviticus 19:19. Then, it was allowing women to work instead of staying home with their babies as God intended, Titus 2:5. Then, gay marriage, Leviticus 18 and 20. Now, we have these freaks calling themselves trans. These abominations are--”