Shooting Eros - The Emuna Chronicles: Complete Boxset: Books 1 - 3

by Benjamin Laskin

  “No problem. When are you leaving?”

  “A week from Thursday.”

  “Okay.”

  Relieved that that matter was out of the way, Ellen said, “So, to what do I owe you gracing my humble office?”

  “Are you busy?”

  “I have to teach a class soon. What’s up? You seem a little on the glum side.”

  “Well, my friend and boss was brutally murdered last night, you might recall.”

  “Oh, that,” Ellen said. “Right. It was horrible. Are you okay?”

  “The funeral is later today. Gideon said he’d go with me.”

  “That’s nice of him,” Ellen said begrudgingly. “Will Cyrus be there too?”

  Oh shoot, Malkah thought. I forgot to even mention it to him. I was only thinking of myself. “I don’t know, but I’ll make sure he knows about it.”

  “I saw the news this morning about the incident,” Ellen said carefully. “Were you aware of his extracurricular activities?”

  “No, because there never were such activities. They smeared a truly decent man. It was shameful, and I’ve never been more outraged in my life.”

  “Well, you were close to him, so I can understand your sense of loyalty, but…”

  Incensed, Malkah struggled to keep her anger under wraps. “There is no ‘but,’ Ellen. And there were no mafia ties or anything else. They made it all up. They lied.”

  “Why would they do that?”

  “Because he was good,” Malkah declared.

  “Well, now you’re just being silly.”

  “Am I?” Malkah said, reaching the end of her calm. “An innocent man is stabbed multiple times attempting to feed some people he thought were homeless and hungry, and suddenly he’s the bad guy. The media turned the victim into the villain!”

  “…And paranoid,” Ellen said clinically. “Look, I guess we’ll never know. But I’ll give you this much, what happened was ghastly, and not even a crook who tries to rip off the mob deserves that.”

  Malkah stared at her cousin in disbelief. She was too appalled to speak. She wondered what ever became of the sweet girl she grew up with.

  Carl bounded onto the floor, and tail wagging, scooted to the corner of the room.

  “There he goes again,” Ellen chuckled. “I thought he had gotten over that obsession.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Carl finds that corner of the room riveting for some reason. It’s like he has an invisible friend there or something. Crazy pooch.”

  “Dogs are pretty perceptive,” Malkah said, eager to change the topic away from Saul and what she considered was her cousin’s moral obtuseness. “Maybe he sees something we can’t.”

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know, angels maybe?”

  “Mac, honey, last night really was traumatizing for you, wasn’t it?”

  Malkah didn’t want to go back to that subject. “It wasn’t very long ago that you believed in such things.”

  “I never believed in angels,” Ellen retorted. “I was curious about mental powers. Two very different things. Besides, I’ve satisfied myself that I was mistaken.” She smiled big and proud. “See, I can admit when I’m wrong.”

  Malkah observed Carl again. He was sitting, his tail sweeping the floor, his furry head looking up expectantly.

  “So, then what’s with the corner?” she asked.

  “Beats me. Maybe those supplements I feed him have side effects.”

  Malkah got up and knelt beside Carl. She petted him and squinted as if trying to see what the dog saw. She made some passes with her hand in front of her.

  “Volk,” Sett said, surprised, “She suspects us?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Why?”

  “Because Cyrus told her where he came from.”

  “Nooo…,” Sett said. “And she believed him?”

  “Apparently.”

  “She’s a knockout,” Sett said. “I don’t see why Cyrus ever thought her cousin could have been this Swerver you talk about. Other than her beauty, I’m not too impressed.”

  “She’s changed a bit since then, but Cyrus’s instincts were right. He was close.”

  “Still, if he had just let things be, they might have worked out, and Cyrus would still be with us instead of trapped down here.”

  “Maybe, but then we wouldn’t know all we do about Anteros and this Lamed-Vavnik mess, would we?”

  “I’m not sure that’s something we’re better off knowing. We’re just matchmakers, Volk. What the hell are we doing wrestling with the forces of good and evil? We’re out of our league. You said there are other angels far more powerful than us to deal with that stuff.”

  “HaShem must have His reasons,” Volk said confidently. “Anyway, it’s too late now.”

  “Malkah, you are acting weirder than usual today. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Malkah returned to the couch. “I’m getting married,” she stated.

  “What?!”

  “Gideon proposed to me last night and I accepted.”

  “But you only just met the guy! You don’t know anything about him.”

  “I know him. I’ve probably spent more time with him than any other guy.”

  “Malkah, that isn’t saying much.”

  “For me, it says a lot.”

  “I’m not sure I approve. I mean, he reminds me too much of that Cyrus creep.”

  “They aren’t creeps, Ellen.”

  “Mac, honey, I think you ought to take some time before you do anything rash. You’ve been through a lot recently, and so I doubt you are thinking clearly. I think this Gideon guy is taking advantage of you in a time of distress. You are underestimating the anxiety that murder caused you. Or…”

  “Or what?”

  “You might be a little jealous.”

  “Of who? You?”

  Ellen bobbed her head. “It’s only natural that seeing Chance and I happily together again might have rekindled memories of some of our old rivalries.”

  “Trust me Ellen, that has nothing to do with it.”

  “I’m not so sure. Childhood memories are powerful stuff.”

  “Volk,” Sett said, brandishing his demon duster, “we got yetzer movement in the room. I can feel it!”

  “Good,” Volk said. “What kind?”

  “Huh? I don’t…wait…Grudge or Resentment Yetzer maybe. I’m not sure but it’s in the Doubt species.”

  Volk smiled and slapped the commander on the back. “Excellent, Sett. I’m impressed. Who’d have thought you’d be such a fast study?”

  “What the hell are you talking about, Volk? For God’s sake man, we got some steamed up yetzer scum here! Get your weapon out, would ya?” Sett held his demon duster in front of him and scanned the room.

  Volk petted the dog and then strolled over to Malkah. He passed his hand over her head and revealed a poisonous Self-doubt Yetzer. It had the body of a black scorpion and the hideous face of an enraged monkey. The yetzer let out a loud, chattering cry when it saw him.

  Then, more carefully, he did the same to Ellen Veetal, springing back as a large Envy Yetzer tried to bite his hand off. The Envy Yetzer was a big, green hairy caterpillar with daggers for teeth and the wings of a pterodactyl. There were other yetzers as well, including a Grudge and Resentment Yetzer. Ellen had clearly become infested with yetzers since Volk had last visited her. Most were sleeping, but the Envy Yetzer was wide-awake.

  “How the hell did you do that?” Sett exclaimed.

  “A trick of the trade.”

  “Get back and let me blast ‘em.”

  “No, wait. Let’s see what happens.”

  “Huh? Why?”

  Volk said, “Ellen Veetal’s yetzers have called out Malkah’s Self-doubt Yetzer. They want it to kill Malkah’s idea of a life together with Gideon. If she’s the Swerver we can’t touch it without disqualifying her. She has to slay it herself.”

  Sett grimaced at Malkah’s yetzer as its shiny bla
ck tail and stinger curled and uncurled. The monkey-faced demon chattered wildly and smacked its fanged choppers.

  “I know what you’re trying to do,” Malkah said.

  “I’m not trying to do anything except save you a lot of heartache. All I’m saying is think it over. What’s the big hurry anyway?”

  “Gideon is leaving at the end of the month. He’s moving to Phoenix and I’m going with him.”

  “Phoenix? That’s SFF territory. Have you lost your freaking mind?”

  “Ellen, is there any NPF propaganda you don’t swallow hook, line, and stinker? A modicum of liberty still survives there, and frankly, I’m looking forward to a taste of it.”

  “The SFF is run by a bunch of fascists!”

  Malkah rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, I’ll send you a postcard and let you know.”

  “It all smells of desperation to me,” Ellen said, dialing back her tone. “Look, we really should talk this out,” she glanced at the wall clock, “but I have to get to class.”

  She stood, slung her purse over her shoulder, and grabbed up a stack of papers from her desk. Malkah got up and followed her outside, Commander Sett and Captain Volk right behind them.

  “Be a good doggie,” Ellen told Carl. “I’ll be back soon.” She closed and locked the door. She turned to Malkah. “Would you like to stop by this evening? Chance is coming over and I think he might add some good perspective to this conversation.”

  “No doubt,” Malkah said, “but I have a funeral to attend.”

  “Oh, right. Well, come afterwards. But don’t bring your boyfriend.”

  “Why not? Don’t you think he should have a say?”

  Ellen snorted. “He’d be a little biased, don’t you think?”

  “But not you.”

  “Definitely not. I’m the most objective person you could talk to. No one knows you longer or better, and only I have your best interests in mind.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “Don’t think too hard. Gotta run.” She kissed Malkah on the cheek and scooted down the hall.

  Malkah shook her head and headed in the opposite direction, and then stopped. She glanced at the door on her left, stroked her chin, and knocked.

  A voice said, “Come in.”

  Malkah brushed her hair with her fingers, straightened herself, and opened the door. “Professor Matterson, do you have a minute?”

  5

  Dead-end Job

  “Well, well,” Chauncey Matterson said jauntily, laying eyes on the young woman’s bright, smiling face. He spun in his office chair, and hand extended, offered Malkah a seat on the sofa. “What a nice surprise. I was afraid the knock meant another student begging me to lift her grade.”

  “You’d need a crane to lift mine,” Malkah joked. “Actually, I came by to say hi to Ellen, and on my way out I saw your name on the door and thought, gee, while I’m here…”

  “My door is always open for you, Malkah.”

  “Thank you, Professor. That’s so nice of you to say.”

  “Chance,” he said. “If Ellen can call me Chance, why not you?”

  “Chance,” she repeated. “I like that. It fits you.”

  “Really, how so?”

  “Well, you do have a reputation as a maverick in your field. You take risks. Chance. That’s good.”

  Matterson smiled, clearly pleased by Malkah’s flattery. “I do sometimes wonder who that guy was back then. I fear I’m not as original as I used to be, and even marvel at the nerve I once possessed.”

  “Well, I think you still have it,” Malkah said admiringly. She wasn’t afraid she was pushing the envelope on the professor’s ego. She didn’t believe the frontiers of his ego had any limits. “I saw the video of the speech you gave at the United Nations Commission on Mental Health extolling the benefits of Islamic sharia law on Western society. I thought it was, um…fantastic.”

  “You saw that?”

  Malkah nodded assuredly. It was over a year ago but she remembered the event well. She happened to be in the kitchen at the time getting ready to fry up some eggs for breakfast when Ellen, gushing with praise, sent her the link to the video. Malkah clicked on it, and after ten astounding minutes, clubbed herself with the skillet. Almost.

  Malkah said, “I was on my feet clapping right along with Iran, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Belgium, France, and England.”

  “I had no idea you were a fan. I seem to recall that when you were in my class you were a little…aloof.”

  “Really?” Malkah said, feigning regret with a touch of a pouting frown. “I’m so sorry. My intellectual insecurities are sometimes mistaken as indifference. I have to work on that…”

  Chance waved his hand. “Don’t worry. I took no offense. Tea?”

  “If it’s not too much trouble,” Malkah answered with a shy smile.

  Her charming dimples ejected the professor from his chair like a jack-in-the-box and over to a hot water dispenser at the rear of his office. Reaching for two coffee mugs he said, “Rose hips or chamomile?”

  “Rose hips, please.”

  “What is she up to?” Sett asked.

  Volk stroked his beard. “I’m not sure.”

  Matterson returned with the tea and set the steaming mugs on the corner of his desk. Malkah smiled slyly when she saw the mugs. They were identical, and each had a colorful red and green print on them, a web address, and in bold letters, the acronym, PUP.

  “Poop?” Malkah said raising her cup to her mouth and blowing on it.

  “Pup, like in puppy,” he said. “It stands for Psychologists United for Peace. It’s an NGO I started a few years back to foster better understanding between the Muslim world and the West. To help the West mentally prepare for a smooth incorporation of sharia law into their societies. It was through this group that I got to address the UN. We send out these mugs to everyone who joins or contributes.”

  Malkah weighed the cup in her hand. “Comfortable handle too,” she said approvingly. “That’s as important as the logo. So, you’re telling me that you’re the brains behind that outfit? I’m very impressed, Professor…Chance.”

  “It was my idea, but of course I got some help along the way. Our membership is up to more than six thousand professors from around the world.”

  “Really? And here you were telling me you were afraid you had lost your originality. You are too modest.”

  Matterson blushed slightly, and shrugged.

  “I really don’t think he knows that she’s mocking him,” Sett said.

  “No. He’s blinded by a combination of her beauty and his enormous ego.”

  “But why is she doing it?”

  Volk chuckled. “I have no idea, but it is fun to watch.”

  “In fact,” Matterson said, “in a few days from now, I’ll be representing PUP in a speech in front of some very influential people with some very deep pockets. If I make my case well enough, I’m hoping to secure the funding to expand PUP overseas and establish a footprint inside a number of top academic institutions there. I was putting the finishing touches on my presentation when you knocked.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry…”

  “No, no, I didn’t mean anything. I could use the break, really.”

  Malkah smiled, relieved. “Well, it sounds like a big honor and a big opportunity. I wish you lots of luck.”

  “Thanks, but enough about me. Is there something on your mind that made you knock?”

  “No,” she said, gazing into her mug and toying with the tea bag, conviction missing from her voice. “Ellen had to run off and teach a class and, well, like I said, I just wanted to say hello.”

  “Hmm,” Chance said. “I’m not so sure, Malkah. If you don’t mind me saying so, you seem a little…distraught.”

  “You can tell?” she said, her eyes wide in a mix of surprise and embarrassment.

  Matterson nodded professorially. “I am a trained professional,” he reminded her. “I have a few minutes. Maybe my ear can be of som
e help.”

  “Well, you’re right. I am a little pre-occupied. Okay…upset.”

  “Go on,” he encouraged.

  “Well, last night, you know, at the deli, that was pretty horrific.”

  “Oh, yes. I almost forgot. How insensitive of me. I saw the news report this morning on TV. Your boss was involved with some nasty characters, apparently. Such a shame.”

  “Yes, nasty characters,” she repeated. “In any case, the terrible incident also left me out of a job, and as you might know, finding work is not so easy.”

  “So I hear,” he replied trying to sound sympathetic.

  “I’m embarrassed to even mention something so trivial. I mean, compared to the weighty matters you deal with on a daily basis, but it troubles me nonetheless.”

  “What kind of work are you looking for?”

  “Waitressing or the like. It’s what I have the most experience in. But, I’ll do most anything, if only to tide me over until I find something better or more permanent.”

  “That shouldn’t be so difficult.”

  “It shouldn’t, but…”

  “That’s not what I meant. Just a minute…”

  Matterson stood, and withdrawing his cell phone, he walked to the back of the office. Malkah smiled impishly into her mug and took a sip.

  “I don’t get it,” Sett said.

  “You will.”

  “You know what she’s doing?”

  “As above, so below,” Volk said cryptically.

  “Huh?”

  “Grace.”

  “Our Grace? You’re losing me, Volk. Again.”

  Volk walked over to Malkah and waved his hand over her head. The Self-doubt Yetzer reappeared.

  “Whoa,” Sett exclaimed. “What happened? I’ve never seen that before?”

  Not only was the foul creature half the size it was the last time Volk revealed it, the yetzer was encased in a transparent globe and looked wounded. It staggered about in a circle, its now drooping scorpion-like tail trailing behind it like a useless appendage, and its ugly monkey face was no longer chattering and hurling insults.