Stolen Redemption

by Michel Prince

  “Esther—” Kiriana got up and took a step toward me.

  “I will not talk to you. You cannot help me because you do not understand…no one understands.” My pacing became hurried, but I couldn’t just leave the area. Did she have me in a hold? I’d heard Kiriana had powers. “How could they? I try and try to redeem myself only to find there is no redemption, no, not for someone like you, Esther. The devil has possessed you since the moment of your conception.”

  Suddenly, I could no longer move. Kiriana may be small but her arms wrapped around my body and held me tight.

  “She tried to expel the poison in her system, but no…even her mind was gone while you dwelled inside her.”

  “Esther, you are not a demon.”

  “Then when you came into this world you tried to drag your mother’s soul with you, but I stopped the attack. Never again shall you hurt your saint of a mother. You will pull the trigger, Esther. Do not damn her soul. Pull the trigger. Do not make her have to commit murder…do not…” I crumpled to the ground, taking Kiriana down with me.

  Tears ran down my cheeks and Kiriana cradled my face. She gently stroked back strands of hair that had fallen from my braid out of my eyes.

  “Are you back?” she whispered.

  “I was possessed again, wasn’t I?”

  “No. You just didn’t want to tell me what happened, but I had to get it out. Can I ask you questions now? Or are you too spent? I just want to clarify a few things.”

  “Like what?”

  “The gun. Your father put it in your hand, didn’t he?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I needed to be sent back to Hell where I belonged.” How could she not see how evil I was? Everyone in our compound could. They all knew. They stayed away as if I were the bearer of the ten plagues of Egypt.

  “Why would he think you were from Hell?”

  “I had done so many things against God’s teachings. If I didn’t kill myself my mother would have to send me to my grave. Then she would be damned for life.”

  “And I thought my father was a monster.”

  “My father was a great man, a prophet,” I spat out. “God spoke through him.”

  “You’ve been Frozen for over thirty years and you still believe that?”

  “Why wouldn’t I? If he has passed I’m sure he’s in the celestial kingdom as one of God’s servants.”

  “Would it sadden you if he wasn’t there when you’ve completed your redemption and ascended to Heaven?”

  “He will be there. He is one of God’s vessels.”

  “Then how could he think you were possessed?”

  “I am, I just showed my possession to you. I need to leave.”

  “If that is what you need to do I cannot stop you.” Kiriana kissed my forehead. “I am the daughter of an angel and the niece of Gabriel of the great house of Ryeal. I see no demon when I look at you. I see a lost girl who wanted to please her father.”

  “I will please him when I ascend to the kingdom of Heaven and serve by his side. I will have proven I expelled the demons.”

  Chapter 5

  Detective Vincent DeTello

  PINCHING the bridge of my nose with one hand and flipping off my computer screen with the other, I stretched my back. I opened my desk drawer and restocked my pocket with Dum-Dums, then popped one in my mouth. Pineapple, how summery.

  The crime lab hadn’t gotten back to me yet, but then again we weren’t a priority by any stretch of the imagination. Meegan had texted me a half dozen times with bits of information, but nothing mind-blowing. Bundling up I headed outside, only to be hit with a calm November night. Although the air was crisp, it wasn’t cold.

  When I rounded the corner to the parking lot I came face to face with the violet eyes of Esther. She stared at me from behind the back bumper of my car. I slid the sucker to the side of my mouth.

  “You want to be a bit further behind if you’re going to jump out and wish me a happy birthday.”

  “It’s your birthday?”

  I pulled out the sucker. “No.”

  “Right.” She stood and rested her gloved hands on my trunk. Sadly it was my car’s trunk and not mine personally. I shook my head to clear the dirty thought from my mind. “I guess I’ll have to come back tomorrow then.”

  “It won’t be my birthday then either.”

  “Eventually I’ll get the right day.”

  “True, but it would suck for you if my birthday was yesterday.”

  “I would get to see you every day for a year. There are worse punishments.”

  I would have been flattered if her job wasn’t to be what every guy wants. Her pimp probably sent her for recon. Poor kid. She didn’t look like she’d been playing at this game long enough to take chances.

  “No guy?”

  “Guy?” she asked.

  “You usually have a man around you.”

  “I guess it would seem that way to you, but no. No man. I’m more than capable of caring for myself.”

  “All right,” I said and unlocked my door. “Most women think that. Or they think they’ve found a man to protect them, but it turns south pretty quick.”

  When I opened the driver’s side door, she stepped closer and placed her hand on the car to block me.

  “Is he hurting you?” I asked when surrounded by the smell of warmth and flowers she carried. Even the harsh fluorescent lights of the open paved lot couldn’t darken her vivid eyes.

  “Who?”

  “Whoever. Esther, give me your name. I’m sure your family is worried about you.”

  “You don’t know my family.”

  “No, I don’t, but I know Uncle Bruce isn’t a member.”

  “Maybe not, but he’s not a threat.”

  I felt myself slipping into detective mode. “Who’s Kiriana George? She moved here and disappeared a month later.”

  “You said she wasn’t missing.”

  “She isn’t, but her shotgun-like wedding—”

  “She’s pregnant, but I assure you the love was there from the start.”

  “So you do know her.”

  “Walk away, Vincent.”

  I’d loaded up the next question, but it wouldn’t come out. “I can’t.”

  “We’re not part of whatever is going on here.”

  “We’re?” I resigned to play her game. She needed to be pulled into my world to feel safe. “Esther, are you hungry?”

  “No.”

  “You sure you couldn’t even use a piece of pie?”

  “There are no diners open at this time of day.”

  “True, but I have some at home.”

  “Go home with a man I barely know unchaperoned. What type of woman do you take me for?” she snapped. I caught her arm as she pulled away. Then, I yanked her toward me and her body crashed against mine. “I forgot, you think I’m a woman of the night.”

  “No, I think you’re a woman caught in something you can’t control.”

  “Only God can control the world. We are but servants.”

  This might go deeper than I thought. A cult? The people of Mount Pleasant kept their head in the sand about some things, but they had to have noticed a set of people walking around in a trance. Then again when I looked in Esther’s violet eyes I saw life staring back at me. She was reaching out for help. Or was she warning me for fear they may hurt me? Either way she had me. I felt her stomach against mine, but it wasn’t the smooth form she portrayed. There was a weapon under her coat. Its form was unmistakable.

  I placed my hands on her hips and worked my way up to right below her breasts. Slowly, making sure to not miss an inch of her body. Damn, the cut and curve from her hip to her breast had feelings stirring in me that I shouldn’t have for a suspect. She stood frozen as her lips plumped and her eyes dilated. A flash of red caught my eye as her tongue pressed lightly between her teeth. Along either side right below her
ribcage were two small handguns. When my hands no longer touched her, and instead touched the guns, she inhaled sharply.

  “You have a license to carry these?”

  Her hands covered mine and she repositioned them over her chest.

  “They came as a matching set,” she said, stepping closer to me as her nipples hardened against my palms. “Of all the things asked about them a license was never discussed.”

  An instant reaction hit my groin, but I removed my hands and cupped her chin. The trembling in her voice told me she wasn’t being true to herself. She had been taught a game to play with men and I was her latest playmate. Or victim.

  “Esther, come with me.” My thumb traced along her lip and I caught myself. “You are so much more than a piece of flesh to be traded.”

  “You have no idea how the world really is.”

  “I’ve seen more depravity than I’d like to admit.” I swallowed hard, imagining what she’d gone through to be this controlled. Whether from her upbringing or a few months of torture, either were just as damaging. “I can protect you.”

  “You can’t protect me from the things you don’t understand.”

  Her lip trembled and I stepped back to break our connection. It would take time for me to earn her trust. Small things. Digging in my coat pocket, I pulled out two suckers.

  “Be yourself.” I passed her one. “It’s the only way you’ll be happy.”

  “I will be happy when God has accepted me into his bosom.”

  “He already has.”

  * * * *

  Esther Benson

  The demons came again. Their possession of me had me trembling to suppress their thoughts. How dare Vince say God had accepted me? Never had I heard such blasphemy. I had yet to earn his—

  A sound on the wind stole my attention from the feel of Vince’s warm hands.

  Turning sharply I took off down the street to the alley. Behind me I could hear Vince’s footfalls, but I didn’t have time to worry about him. A woman’s scream tore through the dark night and Vince passed me at a steady clip as he fumbled for his gun.

  Halfway down the alley was a woman with her legs wrapped around a man. The screams were turning into moans and both of us came to a sudden stop. The man’s face was buried in her neck as his hips thrust over and over.

  “Does she seem to be into it?” Vince asked me.

  “How would I know?”

  “Every woman can tell a fake orgasm.”

  “I’ve never had a real or fake one so how could I tell a woman’s feelings?”

  He turned to me as we retreated to the end of the alley away from the fornicating couple.

  “Fine, does she seem in distress or ecstasy?”

  “Again, I wouldn’t know.”

  “She had dark hair anyway.”

  “The blonde thing?”

  “Yes, he is specific in that regard.”

  “At least he has some standards. So few men do.”

  “We still need to talk about your guns.”

  I started heading back toward the police station where I’d left Kiyoshi, who’d graciously agreed to drive me here.

  Vince followed me. “Esther, do you have a permit to carry?”

  Flipping my phone on, I called Yoshi.

  “Where did you go?” he snapped when he answered.

  “I heard a scream. Do you have a permit to carry with you for me?”

  “Why would you need a permit to carry?”

  “Detective DeTello wants it.”

  “I can print you one off when we get home.”

  I stopped, held the phone to my chest, and turned to Vince.

  “I can print one off for you and bring it back here.”

  “Along with your fake ID? Esther, what the hell is going on with you?”

  A gust of wind smelling of sulfur tore past us as a bantling still in animal form cut between the two of us, only to stop suddenly and turn to snarl at me. Instantly a shot of fear went up my spine. Not for me, but for Vince who stared at the animal as if unsure of what he was seeing.

  Although bantlings took animalistic forms, they had a decomposing scent and were larger than the normal animal they were portraying. The demon was attempting to morph from the animal to the human form it would take on Earth. Its current form was of a King Charles spaniel the size of a Great Dane. The creature’s fangs dripped an acid-like substance meant to aid in its protection until a Deumos appeared to help it transition from one form to another.

  “Esther,” I heard from my chest and realized I still had Kiyoshi on the phone. Slowly I raised my hand to my ear, all the while keeping my eyes trained on the demonic puppy. I’d never encountered a bantling without backup before.

  “Bantling.”

  No explanation was needed. In a swift motion I dropped the phone and shrugged off my coat. The cool air did not hit my skin, not when I was in the mode to fight. The physical parts of the world were gone. Only those I needed to fear or protect were in my mind. My guns were drawn from my corset the second the animal jumped. Following the demon’s trajectory, I had to shoot directly over my head as I slid back in a crouched position. Half of each magazine, eight bullets in total, was enough to drop the animal to the ground, but not enough to end its life. Only one thing could do that. Without thinking I dropped the guns to the ground and unlocked the pouch sheath for my claustranima so retrieval could be done without delay. Preparing myself to send it into oblivion I caught sight of Vince underneath the struggling animal.

  Panic set in and I pulled back on its neck. The animal’s fur was matted like a fleece blanket that had been dropped in a lake. It was slick to the touch and my fingers could not find purchase as my hand trembled.

  My heartbeat, wild and frantic, echoed inside my skull as the beast snarled and snapped at my arms. Straddling its back I locked my left arm around its neck and pulled back to the point where the animal almost bent in two. Quickly my right hand removed my knife.

  I sliced down. The bantling’s blood gushed from its neck and bathed Vince while silencing the snarls and causing the head of the beast to calm as the body still squirmed. A stab through its heart and ashes exploded into the night air. Covered in blood and black ash, Vince opened his eyes. His irises glowed gray green in the dark.

  Kiyoshi screeched his tires as he stopped his car inches from Vince’s head and headlights doused the two of us. Jumping from the driver’s seat, he came out with his knife drawn.

  “Why was a bantling out at ten at night?” I gasped as my heart rate started to slow and the cold hit my skin.

  “The queen made a comment about adjusting time when she was dying.”

  “Where was the night one supposed to emerge from?” I asked as I pulled my coat on and retrieved my guns, then kneeled by Vince.

  “By the Hy-Vee grocery store…nowhere near here.”

  “Did you see any Deumos?”

  “No.”

  Vince stared up at me, then passed out. Assessing the damage I saw his jacket was torn and he might have a head injury or just be in shock. When I pulled back on his jacket I saw the real damage.

  “It bit him.”

  * * * *

  Pivane

  Some men would dream of living in the middle of drop-dead gorgeous women. Bodies literally created for sin. No moral compass within a thousand miles. And yet I’m stuck with the only Deumos not in heat…well, almost none in heat. Ceiline is liable to explode if LaDressa doesn’t let her release the sexual tension. Then there is the princess herself who can’t sit in the room with me without drenching her panties.

  A shift in the air had all of us wandering into the center of our cul-de-sac.

  “It worked,” the princess cawed to the Heavens with her hands in the air. “They will no longer control me. I will rule.”

  “Did a bantling just emerge?” I asked.

  “Yes, but it died,” she replied absently and I checked my timepiece.
<
br />   “And that’s okay?”

  “He came two hours early. I’m speeding up their arrival. The next will be here at eight instead of noon. Eating up two hours between each bantling emerging. I will cast again and bring the timeline closer tomorrow. Instead of six they will come at four. Then again until there is no longer a moment when they aren’t coming and the void will open up.” Her eyes were wild as she ran her hand through her hair, which had become freed from its restraints as it spun in wind. “The Frozen will be unable to adjust fast enough without my help. Humans will die and within a week I will have my Damarion back.”

  Her black wings were starting to emerge. The curse of being half angel and half devil, they dripped with her blood from the razor sharp edges of the feathers. We all stepped back. Although she had improved at controlling her wings when her emotions overwhelmed her, she tended to be their victim instead of their commander. With a giant flap she shot up into the air, leaving us all to wonder where she went and when she’d come back.

  I eyed Masako with her long black hair tied back in a chignon. She stood resolute in a trendy sweater and skinny jeans. She looked very different from the first time I saw her in her traditional robe sneaking Damarion into LaDressa’s private chambers. My spouse had tragically fallen into a pit so deep that even Prince Lucifer was unsure of its bottom. Dying in Hell left no chance for reincarnation. I smiled at the memory.

  “You will not have her,” Masako said as she stepped to me.

  “Because you won’t let anyone take your man. I’m touched. Why not come in my house and try to convince me I’m yours?”

  “I know who and what you are.”

  “Tell me then,” I challenged and sat on the curb. “Who am I?”

  “The prince owns you.”

  “The prince owns everyone. We are to be faithful servants. That’s how it works with heir apparent.” I yawned from boredom. “No matter what LaDressa thinks, Damarion is not her way to the throne.”

  “And you think you are?”

  “I can control the emotional outbursts that are going to kill her.”

  “If only I could believe you.”

  “Why shouldn’t you? What have I ever done to make me seem untrustworthy?”