The Fallen Queen of Eden

Elijah opened his eyes the next morning and found himself looking into the still sleeping face of Lilith. As with the previous night, they had parted with her going into the spare room. He had no idea when she had snuck back in, but there she was. He was starting to think he would be better off tying a bell around her neck so he would hear her coming. He was less startled at finding her in his bed, but he wasn't prepared to discover that her ankles were wrapped around his when he tried to sit up. This was a completely inappropriate situation, yet for a moment he had no desire to untangle himself. It had been a long time since he had shared his home or bed with anyone. The last person was Ruby and while he was glad the relationship was over, his home and his life had both become empty. His cat, Mr. Jingles was a comfort of course, but hardly the same thing.

Pulling back the blankets, Eli caught a whiff of Lilith's natural fragrance and for a brief moment he was tempted to lay back down with his arms wrapped around her waist and hold her to him. He had missed waking up to a warm, soft feminine body next to him as well as the morning flirtations that inevitably lead to morning sex. Of course, Lilith was not his girlfriend or in any sort of relationship with him. She was a guest and nothing more. With that in mind, he pushed those thoughts out of mind as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and shook his head. There was nothing between them, there could be nothing between them. He was just trying to help her out, nothing more.

Mr. Jingles jumped up on the bed and meowed a good morning to his owner. He would like to think the animal was greeting him out of affection, but he knew his pet better than that. The cat was hungry and had come to remind his human servant that his first duty was to fill his dish. Eli put his finger to his lips and whispered 'shhh' to the cat, then carefully slipped his leg out from between Lili's and slowly got out of bed, trying hard not to wake her up. After all the stress from the day before, he could only imagine how exhausted she was and how badly she needed sleep.

Pulling on a pair of jeans, he went into the bathroom to brush his teeth and noticed one of the light bulbs above the sink had gone out. It was an easy fix and he had plenty of bulbs in the garage. It would take less than five minutes. Finishing his teeth, he was all set to go to the garage when he saw Lilith emerging from his bedroom once again wearing his robe.

"You know, if you're going to keep sneaking into my room, it might make things less awkward if you at least wore a nightgown or something," he suggested, thinking back to the errant thoughts from a short while before.

"Ewww," she answered, twisting her nose up at the very thought.

"By the way, I was thinking last night, why don't you post that video of The Preacher-man shooting Millie on social media. That should garner a lot of attention. He couldn't possibly make that kind of exposure disappear." Eli's idea had merit, but Lilith had already been down this road before.

"I tried that. The major news agencies wouldn't return my calls. The social media outlets all removed it for showing violence and false information. I was attacked and accused of trying to destroy someone doing good in the world. Some said I was using an actor to defame him and extort money. The most popular response was that I was a liar and just trying to get my fifteen minutes of fame. Since he also has so many high-powered political connections there were a few claiming I was trying to push an agenda. Like I give a shit about any of that. Some of the more kind hearted ones simply pointed out that the camera was at a distance and I might be mistaken and wouldn't it be a shame to destroy a man over an error. I have no doubt his money and connections were the tools used to get the social media platforms to do his bidding. The rest is just people wanting to show that they are part of the 'in crowd'."

This was disappointing to hear, but not entirely surprising. Still, Eli was confident that they would figure out something so Lilith could either leave town or stop the Preacher-man's advances. With a heavy sigh he started to turn to go down stairs when he suddenly stopped and looked back at Lili, his blue eyes sparking with a touch of mischief.

"So, which of my shirts are you planning to wear today? I believe there are a couple of Carhartt shirts in there that are fire resistant. They might look good on you."

"No thank you." she answered with a smirk.

Eli gave a slight chuckle then went downstairs leaving her to her morning ablutions. He started a pot of coffee then went out the back door to the garage in such good spirits that he was even whistling as he punched in the door code. As the door rolled up the track his pleasant mood vanished with the discovery of his motorcycle and the rubber carnage that had once been its tires. They weren't just punctured, but slashed repeatedly until they had been shredded beyond repair and one of his own screwdrivers was still sticking out of the front one along with a piece of paper duct-taped to it. He stepped inside and approached the bike then carefully removed the paper. Walk away from her, it said. It was a message from the Preacher-man, there was no doubt in his mind. Noticing all the fragments of glass all over the floor he looked up and saw the shattered window. This, he surmised, was how they got in.

Infuriated, he gave a low growl and kicked a shelf that was already hanging by a thread. The sudden impact from his size twelve shoe caused it to fall and take with it a small tool box, a couple of plastic oil bottles and some cans of spray paint. The crash of wood, metal and plastic along with his shouts of profanity were loud enough that Lilith's sharp ears could hear it all the way through the upstairs bathroom window. The angry words coupled with the sound of the commotion, sent a pang of fear through the demoness that was like nothing she had ever experienced. This time she wasn't afraid for herself, but for Eli. The woman who had never thought beyond herself for even an instant was suddenly terrified that one of the Preacher-man's thugs was hurting Elijah. Dropping everything and still in only a robe, she ran down the stairs and out the back door to check on him. A thousand horrible scenarios playing in her imagination as she ran.

Eli was just beginning to calm down when he heard the sound of the back door fly open and then slam shut. Seeing Lilith, he immediately wadded up the paper and left the garage, hitting the button on the controller so the door would slide shut before she saw what had happened to his motorcycle. The preacher-man had proven that his grasp could reach anywhere, even all four corners of the globe. There was nowhere that Lili could go and find safety. His place had been her only sanctuary so far and if she saw what had happened to the bike then she would lose all confidence in that. As far as he was concerned, she looked over her shoulder enough without having to worry about him too.

"Good God almighty," he said to himself softly. It was partly a prayer and partly just his own desperation coming out. "How do I fix this?"

"What happened? What's wrong?" she demanded as she rushed towards him. Eli quickly caught her and assured her that everything was fine.

"Some stuff fell off one of the shelves, that's all," he explained with a smile that made it seem as though it really had been nothing. She might have believed him but before the garage door could close, she had noticed the slashed tires on his Yamaha. Why was he ignoring it? If she had noticed the damage in such a short time, then surely he had. Lili started to point towards the door and ask him about it, but before she could manage even two words he quickly and gently started leading her back to the house. Opening the screen door, he waited for her to go in, but she didn't move. She just stared at him bewildered. His reaction just didn't make sense. Finally she decided that if, for whatever reason, he didn't want to talk about it, then perhaps it would be best to follow along. Perhaps she could draw it out of him.

"Was there something you came out here for?" Lili asked, noticing he had nothing in his hands.

"Oh . . ." he responded, then immediately turned around and went back into the garage.

Lilith watched him through the screen, expecting him to re-open the garage door, but he didn't. Instead, Eli entered through the side entrance causing the demoness to shake her head in bewilderment. Why was he hiding the damage? With a frustrated sigh she went inside and poured herself a cup of coffee determined to ask him about the bike. True to plan, as soon as the screen door opened she attempted to broach the subject, but he didn't seem to hear her or even notice her. Clearly deep in thought, he walked right past her and straight up the stairs without so much as a glance. THAT was totally unacceptable. Men always noticed her. First he ignored his slashed up tires, then Eli ignored the Queen of the Lilim. It was as if he had lost his mind or something.

Taking a sip of her coffee she decided she would try again as soon as he came back. It wouldn't take long, she determined. After-all, changing a lightbulb takes less than a minute even for the most inept humans, so surely he would be back any second. Unfortunately those seconds quickly turned to minutes, then a few minutes turned into twenty. At first, she assumed he was probably dressing or something only to remember that he had been fully dressed when he went out to the garage. She tried to blow it off and remind herself that Eli was probably just collecting his thoughts, or venting off to himself before coming back down stairs. These were reasonable and logical assumptions but her newfound paranoia over the Preacher-man soon started to eat away at her certainty.

Pouring Eli a cup of coffee as an excuse to join him, Lilith started up the stairs, but before she reached the top, the sound of his voice caught her attention. She didn't know who he was talking to, but he was telling someone about her stalker, although he was careful to leave out who he was. She could also hear him walking about the attack at the restaurant the night before as well as his destroyed tires. The only new information she picked up was the note he had found and what it said.

The demoness sat down on the top step and listened intently, grateful that he was not including any of the more lurid and painful details of the previous night. Even with his discretion she still couldn't help feeling a bit exposed and vulnerable. How she hated that feeling. Still, it could be worse. Elijah didn't know that the Preacher-man's actions the night before were not the worst things he had done to her and quite frankly she didn't want him to know. As it was, Eli knew enough and it seemed strange that he wasn't spilling it all to the unseen person on the other end of the phone. Lilith had never met someone who didn't jump at the opportunity to take full advantage of another's vulnerability. In her world that was a given.

Here was an opportunity to tell every last juicy detail and he wasn't taking it. Why? So many others would have and not thought twice about it. Confused, Lili could only sit there and sip her coffee while waiting for the inevitable betrayal that she was certain was coming. To her astonishment it never came, but instead she learned what the true cost of those slashed tires was to Eli and it affected her more than any treachery could have.

"No, no I won't be able to go . . . Look, it's really not that big a deal . . . I know, I know we scheduled our vacations and everything, but New Orleans will just have to wait a year." Hearing this, Lilith suddenly felt sick and for a moment she looked down at the cups of coffee she was holding believing that such a feeling could only come from something she had consumed. "Oh, and when you see her, please don't tell Lilith about the tires. She already has enough to worry about."

So that was it, she thought to herself as she went back down the stairs to the kitchen. He tried to hide the damaged tires because he didn't want her to worry about him. Why? Didn't he understand what it was costing him? Perhaps in her world such a road trip was nothing more than a simple, frivolous mortal dream, but it was his. For the first time in all of her long existence she didn't want a human, this human to miss out on something they wanted just because of her. It seemed completely unfair. Elijah had spent a year planning every detail of that trip and now it was over.

Still believing that the sick gnawing feeling in her gut had to have come from the coffee, she went back down to the kitchen and poured out the pot then started a fresh one. She couldn't imagine how Eli could have messed up when he had brewed a pot so perfectly the day before. Taking out the container she carefully checked the expiration date and even read the instructions on the side to make sure she was doing it right. According to the date, the product was still good and all it took was grounds and water, that was simple enough.

Lilith put a fresh paper filter in the basket then added the grounds, all the while her mind still went over the problem of Eli's slashed tires and lost vacation. There had to be a way to remedy the situation. All he really needed was a new set of tires and everything would be fixed. She could do that! Money was never a problem for her. As a demon, even a powerless one, currency had a way of appearing for her whenever she needed it. Sometimes it was because an individual was unable to resist her charms, sometimes it simply appeared in her hand or pocket by supernatural means, the 'Celestial Bank of Gods and Monsters', if you will. The more she thought about replacing those tires the more that tightness in her stomach faded. Perhaps it wasn't the coffee after-all, but she still wasn't sure what it was.

Once the coffee pot was filled Lilith poured two more cups and was about to go back up stairs when Eli suddenly burst into the kitchen in a rather somber and hurried state. Eager to rectify his bike issue and wanting to ease his troubled mind, she started to suggest that they go out for the day. She had so many ideas such as a nice lunch, maybe a movie, but most importantly she wanted to surprise him with a trip to the tire shop. He would balk when they got there of course, mostly over the cost and the fact that she wasn't supposed to know, but those were easily handled. Lili wasn't nearly as penniless as he had assumed she was and as far how she knew about the vandalism, well, she would simply tell the truth. He would simply have to get over it. One of the best things about being her was that she almost always got her way. She would this time too.

Lili's enthusiasm was bubbling over, but before she could tell him her ideas, he shut her down. Much to her disappointment, he didn't have the day off and with only a few short hours to get anything done, he simply didn't feel he could waste any of it on fun. Lilith was disappointed and couldn't imagine what it was he thought was so terribly important that it had to be done right this minute. He didn't even notice the fresh pot of coffee and instead simply switched off the appliance and suggested she get dressed and find her shoes.

Elijah didn't wait for a response or to see if she even moved. He simply grabbed his keys and wallet, checked to make sure the back door was locked then went out the front door and around to the garage to get the car. Lilith stood there a moment a tad annoyed at his presumption that she would just do as she was told, but like a cat, her sense of curiosity was stronger. She wanted to know what he was planning that was so urgent. Finally she sighed and went up stairs to finish getting ready for the day.

Lili's fashion sense could be summed up as soft, but showing as much of her body as she could legally get by with. This may have been because she was naked in the Garden of Eden or because she was a sexual creature by nature and this was one way to show it. On a whim she reached into her suitcase and took out a leather belt that was covered in various charms. While this one wasn't a cleverly disguised weapon like her rope dart, it still possessed a few items that she could use, such as a small vial of powdered nightshade. Most of the charms were small tokens of places she had been over the centuries such as ancient coins, various polished stones or gems and other bits of jewelry. Other talismans were representations associated with her such as the Goddess Nephthys or the Bird Woman as originally depicted in the Burney Relief. Still, a few of the baubles were items of great power that she could wield such as the 'All Seeing Eye' . . . at least she could if she weren't trapped in human form. Whether it had power or not, once it was fastened to this belt, it would remain regardless of which plane of existence she was on.

"Won't those shoes hurt your feet?" Elijah asked as she came down the stairs to join him. Lili looked down at the platform wedges she was wearing and shrugged.

"No," she answered, finding the question odd as she followed him out the door. He locked the door and the two of them went out to the car parked next to the house. Getting into the passenger side, she looked once more at her footwear and once again shrugged. She couldn't recall ever having her feet hurt in all her long existence and she had experienced every type of shoe imaginable. "I like these shoes. They match my shirt."

"Okay," he conceded. To him they seemed the height of impracticality to him, but that somehow fit the personality of the woman wearing them.

The demoness was content to go along with the ride confident that whatever Eli had in mind would be fine. He knew exactly where he was going and hoped he was making the right decision. After the attack on Lili the night before, followed by the note and clear message gouged into his tires, his concern was entirely about Lili's safety. He had to go to work, there was no other option, but he didn't like the idea of leaving her without something she could protect herself with. For that he had a plan and knew where the best little tactical shop in the Midwest was located.