Lilith: Eden's Planetary Princess (The Michael Archives Book 1)

by Robinson, C. E.

  “Get out of my room,” she screamed. Shorinam tried to move but the sword’s edge began to slice across him, left to right, down to up, right to left, and back again, hacking the clothes from his body until he, too was nude.

  Kuko’s carving artistry left behind a bloody swastika across his chest and abdomen. She backed him up until he reached the threshold of her doorway. With a blazing fast foot, she kicked him out the door, smashing him against the hallway wall.

  Chapter 39

  Avoiding the Music

  There is a time to confront lost loves. There is also a time to hang out with your friends. Confront lost loves once or twice, just enough to see if the air can be cleared. Spend the remainder of your spare time hanging out with friends. That’s something you can do for the rest of your life.

  —Josephine

  Oceania

  "Shit,” Josephine said under her breath. Pegasus looked up to see who was entering Bill’s Clear Creek Grill.

  “Don’t you like Brittney?”

  “Who?” Josephine asked. She glanced again at the group that just entered. “Oh. Uh, no. I didn’t notice her. Yeah, well, she hasn’t been stationed here that long. I’m sure she’s great. Transferred because of Aniel. But I really don’t know her very well. I was talking about Dr. Yummy.”

  “Who?” Pegasus shouted over the noise.

  “Dr. Yummy. The green-skinned Melchizedek pretty-boy with Brittney and…and I don’t know the name of the other Angel.”

  “Oh. I saw those two meet Brittney at the dock. Pretty-boy, uh, Dr. Yummy, gave her some flowers.”

  “This is really the last thing I wanted to deal with right now.” With eyes closed, Josephine looked down at the table, shaking her head, just knowing that eventually Collin would see her and feel compelled to speak.

  “Let’s go,” Pegasus said. Pegasus waited for Dr. Yummy and the others to look in the opposite direction. She grabbed Josephine’s arm and they escaped out the back door.

  “Thanks for that,” Josephine said looking up at the stars, stretching out her arms and performing a child-like pirouette in the sand.

  “Hey. Where ya going?” Josephine called after Pegasus as she trotted back to Bill’s. Pegasus quickly returned with their beers, pipe, matches, and the package of Soma.

  “No reason for Dr. Yummy to make our beer and Soma go to waste.” Silently, they walked along the beach with their arms interlaced, Pegasus holding her beer in her left hand and Josephine holding hers in her right.

  A warm breeze blew through Josephine’s skirt, caressing her skin. Earlier in the day, she had planned to slip her skirt over her bathing suit, but when she went to the powder room at Bill’s, the bathing suit felt uncomfortable. She had not thought to bring any underwear, so she was wearing her delicate light skirt with nothing underneath — something that was quite unusual for the modest Josephine.

  “So Theatre commander? How’s that treating you?” Pegasus asked.

  Josephine said nothing. She did not want to be reminded that she was still the commander, did not want to think about what had happened to so suddenly upset her orderly life. But the logical part of her brain could not stop grinding through the situation again and again, always arriving at the same inevitable answer. Her head fell. “It was stupid. Just a stupid mistake,” she said to the sand.

  I wonder how Yummy fits into all this, Pegasus thought. It’s not possible that Josephine got suckered in by someone who’s so obviously a player. It’s not possible he was stupid enough to play games with someone as serious about relationships as Josephine.

  “Do you have a room yet?” Josephine asked.

  Pegasus just shook her head no. “But, if you’re tired, I’ll just walk over to the base. I’m sure I can get setup somewhere.”

  “Nope. Come on. Back this way. You’re staying with me.” They turned around and headed down the beach in the opposite direction toward the shopping area.

  When they arrived, Josephine poked around in her bag until she found her keys. The bell to her boutique welcomed them. Pegasus looked around, confused. “You live here, not on base?”

  “Yep. It’s a nice distraction. Helps remind me of what a normal life looks like.” Josephine locked the door behind them and flipped through the keys until she found the one for the door to her upstairs apartment.

  They entered the apartment. “Bed, bathroom, closet, little office, door to balcony,” Josephine said as she pointed around. “Let’s go to the balcony.” She grabbed Pegasus by the hand and pulled her to the small door that led to the roof.

  On the other side of the street, torches cast a soft orange glow in the park. A couple torches lined each side of a temporary bar. In the grass meadow that lay deeper in the park, a small orchestra played soft music for this, the beginning of Oceania’s visitor section. Mixed in with the music was a rumble of conversations as hundreds of Angels talked and danced. Hundreds more were deeper in the park where the only light was starlight.

  Pegasus sat next to Josephine holding her hand. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small bag and a pipe. She loaded the pipe with some freshly ground Soma buds, lit it, and handed it to Josephine.

  “So you go directly from being Kahmael’s Intelligence Officer on Edentia to Eden Theatre commander. And they throw in a dress shop to boot. How’d that happen?”

  “Well, enjoy the view while you can,” Josephine said as she passed the pipe to Pegasus. “I don’t know how much longer I’ll be here.” Maybe we can pack up and leave together, Josephine thought to herself. Aniel had already told her about Kuko tricking Pegasus.

  “Why? Get booted upstairs already? Ka decide he just couldn’t live without you?”

  Josephine’s face fell. Pegasus knew something was terribly wrong.

  Did Yummy deceive her and in reply, she did something terribly abusive and got reprimanded for it? Pegasus knew Josephine demanded perfection of herself. She was just like her mother in that regard. Receiving a simple reprimand would be enough to make Josephine flip out.

  Pegasus took a few puffs. “The twists of fate come quickly with no warning,” she said, then immediately regretted it. Crap. This is something you’d say to the SLS, not to an advanced officer like Josie. What are you thinking?

  Josephine looked over and laughed. She took a big, sloppy drink of beer and wiped her mouth on her sleeve. “Yeah, and the collapse of a mind into pure stupidity can happen pretty fast too.”

  Elysium

  Shorinam did not give up. Naked and bleeding, he pounded on Kuko’s door frantically. Now dressed and sitting on the bed, none of the women spoke as they watched Guru Patanjali’s massive phallus writhe like a snake on hot coals, his anguished cries in the distance serenading them.

  Occasionally, Kuko would point her right index finger upward, swirl the air to form a Celestial sparkle, and then give her finger a little flick in the direction of the phallus. Each time, an electrical charge flashed across the room, hitting its target and making it jerk.

  When Castor, Kati, Rickey Reinhardt, and a couple large muscular guards approached Kuko’s door, Shorinam turned to Castor and started babbling.

  “What?” Kati shouted so loud that Kuko could hear her through the door. She fell to the floor laughing when she saw the bleeding swastika on Shorinam’s chest.

  Shorinam glared at Kati. He wanted to pounce on her. But while his attention was distracted, Castor gave him a quick little punch to the head, dropping him to his knees. The two guards, trying not to laugh, put their arms under Shorinam’s and dragged him away with Rickey following.

  There were two gentle raps on the door. Kuko nodded to Salecia who unlocked the door, and pushed it open. Daresiel stood at the same time, walked over to the penis, and gave it a good hard thump with her middle finger. “I’ll be seeing you soon, big guy,” she shouted, and then followed Salecia out, both of them nodding respectfully to Castor as they left.

  Castor strolled in, hands clasped behind his back. He was looking down and sh
aking his head, still attempting to comprehend what Shorinam had been babbling about.

  From the corner of his eye, Castor saw something undulating, like a massive snake on Kuko’s balcony. He looked over and froze. And then he looked at Kuko.

  Kuko shrugged her shoulders. He turned back again, now identifying the source of the exhausted screams coming from outside. “This couldn’t possibly be happening?” he mumbled under his breath. He walked to the side of the bed where Kuko was sitting and sat down beside her.

  “Men really bond to each other through their members, don’t they?” Kuko said. “You hate this guy, remember.”

  Castor Mayhew was proud of his sexual prowess. As a member of the Nazz, he obviously had rough sex, but Kuko had never known him to be abusive. He never had any type of sex without his partner’s full consent. Castor knew if he ever raped someone, even a female enemy, his powerful sister would beat him senseless.

  “I knew you were angry with Guru Patanjali.” Castor shook his head. “But this?”

  “Look, my dear brother. I was just sitting here, minding my own business. I didn’t trick him into anything,” she said indignantly. “He was the one who sent his dick into the Etherial with the intent to rape me.”

  Castor said nothing. He stared at the bleeding, impaled penis in disbelief, listening to Guru Patanjali’s sufferings, now clearly understanding why Shorinam was so upset.

  There was a hesitant tap at the open door. “Madame Kuko. May I come in please?”

  “Of course.”

  Kati walked in, scratching her scalp and running her fingers through her long, blond hair, unsure of what she was about to see. As amusing as his story was, Kati would never fully trust someone as devious as Shorinam. She stopped a meter away from the phallus, studying it carefully. Then she looked back to Kuko with a mischievous grin.

  “Madame Kuko. Is it not true that as long as his….” Kati bent over and laughed out loud. Trying to gain some composure, she stood up straight, forced a serious look on her face, and then tried again.

  “Madame General. Is it not true that as long as his…” She gestured to the balcony. “…thingy is held within the Celestial, the rings will constrain it?”

  “Yes, Sergeant Kati. That’s true.”

  Kati walked over to Kuko and whispered something. A sly smirk crossed Kuko’s face. “Brilliant. Tell the captain of the guard to accompany you. Inform him you are acting under my blessings.”

  Kati quickly left.

  “This can’t be good for Patanjali,” Castor Mayhew muttered.

  Kuko glanced at Castor. “No Brother. I promise it won’t be.”

  Chapter 40

  Brittney’s Betrayal

  Angels are born to be used, so use us wisely.

  —Brittney

  Oceania

  For Lieutenant Collin Striker, life did not get any better than sitting at his favorite booth at Bill’s Clear Creek Grill on a Friday night after five large ships had docked.

  When he first saw her at the dock early that morning, Collin could tell Brittney was in a lot of physical pain. But by now, they had had a couple rounds of beer and a few pipes of Brittney’s favorite strain of Soma. She sat across from him, her face radiantly glowing, obviously happy to see both him and Jessica.

  He had seen Josephine as soon as they walked in, but to his relief, some big, white Angel with a tough face dragged her out while Collin forced himself to look in the other direction.

  Jessica sat beside Collin, squeezing his hand tightly in an attempt to extract strength and emotional support. Brittney had asked why she was so upset, but every time Jessica attempted to answer, she broke down in tears. Brittney simply gave her a hug and a kiss and told her she loved her and there was no rush. She planned to stay on Oceania at least until her wounds healed, which might be for some time considering the way her tender flesh had been ripped apart.

  “I’m so sorry I betrayed you Brittney,” Jessica blurted out, tears streaming down her face. “I just know you’re gonna hate me when you remember what I did to you.”

  Brittney looked at her. “You betrayed me? When?”

  Jessica was unable to look up as she spluttered. “It was 125 years ago Eden time. We were on Aribia together.” Brittney grasped Jessica’s hand from across the table.

  “Do you mean when I was married to Rickey Reinhardt?” Brittney asked hesitantly, quickly calculating which physical life this must have been.

  “Yeah,” Jessica replied so softly it was hard to hear her above the music.

  “That’s what you’re upset about?” Brittney chirped, a smile on her face, squeezing Jessica’s hands tightly. “In comparison to being married to a perfect ass like Reinhardt, I was happy to live on the streets.”

  “Told ya,” Collin whispered in Jessica’s ear.

  Jessica did not believe her. She knew the power of Brittney’s capacity to love and forgive. “But I was suppose to be your best friend. I betrayed you. I seduced Rickey behind your back, and then convinced him to divorce you and marry me. I lived in wealth and you died in the streets. I know you did. I remember reading it in the obits. ‘Homeless person, Brittney Reinhardt found dead in streets of Dresden yesterday evening by local police.’”

  “No, not quite like that,” Brittney said trying to hold back a chuckle. “Dresden had plenty of soup kitchens, some of which were behind the city’s best restaurants. When I was married, I ate with Rickey and his ‘elite’ family at those restaurants. Of course, the selection was not as big, but the taste and quality of food coming out the back door was just as good as the food coming out the front. You probably didn’t know this but Aribia’s laws forced restaurants whose patrons were above a certain income level to do this. And there were plenty of homeless shelters, some of which were pretty decent hotels.

  “When they discovered I was barren, Reinhardt and his family became extremely abusive. Then you came along and gave him a son. I promise you, it didn’t take much seduction. I’m sure you don’t know this, but he used to punch me in the stomach and then kick me in the butt so hard I’d slam to the floor. Then he’d look down at me as I was curled up in pain, spit on me, and tell me how much more attractive you were than me and how he bet you were actually a ‘female’, meaning that in order to be classified as a female you had to be fertile.

  “I finally figured out how to escape. I made sure to extend you a warm welcome whenever you came over. And whenever the three of us were together, I would create some excuse to leave the room, to get drinks or snacks or whatever, just so the two of you could be alone. The day you think you seduced him was the same day I sent the maids and butlers home. We three were the only ones in the house. I pretended I had to leave because my mother had unexpectedly fallen ill. Then when he walked me to the door, I gave him a smile, a kiss on the cheek, a pat on the butt, and whispered in his ear, ‘Now you play nice, sweetie. Remember, she’s still young and delicate.’”

  Brittney shook her head. “So if anything, I was the one who used you and put you in danger. If it had turned out that you, too, were barren, then your life would have become a nightmare, far worse than mine had ever been. I’m sure if wife number two was also unable to bear children, at some level he would have started to blame himself. And the last thing you want is a monster like Rickey Reinhardt to beat you in an attempt to cover his own failings.”

  Brittney paused, giving Jessica time to process. “Still, at some level, I just knew you could bear him children. Periodically, I saw him hanging out the sunroof of his limousine, holding his precious male-child, pointing out all the sights and wonders of Dresden.”

  Brittney smiled. “One day, when he was walking with his son, we ran into each other at a crosswalk. When he saw me, he actually looked a touch panicked — he and his boy in their fancy clothes and me wearing some worn-out-something. For some reason, the biggest smile came to my face. I looked him in the eye and said, ‘Oh Rickey. I’m so happy for you. May Indra bless you, Jessica, and your wonderful chil
dren.’ The panic never left his face, but I just turned away until the light changed, standing there like he had ceased to exist. The next year, you gave him a daughter and then two more sons. The few times I saw you with him, I could see how proud of you he was.”

  “Here, here,” said Collin as he held up his beer. The two women reflexively dropped each other’s hands and held up their mugs as well, and then clanged them together. “Here’s to fertility! The only way to subdue a son-of-a-bitch like Rickey Reinhardt. A perfect asshole if there ever was one.”

  Brittney continued. “And I didn’t die in the streets because I was malnourished or sick or mugged. Some friends and I had acquired some good whiskey and Soma bud. Being about as drunk and high as I had ever been, I wandered into the street and was flattened by a bus. Never knew what hit me. Then suddenly, I woke up in the Carolina Resurrection Halls.”

  Brittney took another large gulp of beer. “Fill that and light ‘er up for us, Yum Yum,” she said to Collin as she pushed the pipe toward him. “Never ceases to amaze me how we can come away from the same experience with such different reads on what happened.” She took a big drag off the pipe, and then handed it to Jessica.

  “Tell me. Do you remember who your oldest son was?” Brittney asked. Jessica shook her head slowly.

  Brittney continued quietly. “You don’t remember signing up as horse? And who you were impregnated with before we went in?”

  Jessica closed her eyes, slowly nodding her head. “I guess. Uh, yeah, his name was, uh, Hermaiez, something.”

  “Correction,” Brittney said just above a whisper, then leaned forward and spoke directly into her ear. “SAS Valkyrie Lieutenant Colonel Herman Hernandez.”

  “Really,” Collin exclaimed. “So it was you who brought Hernandez into Aribia? I didn’t know that. I’m impressed. Do you know what happened next?”

  Both Brittney and Jessica stared at Collin, neither one knowing this part of the story. “Nothing is known about this below Kahmael’s office because it was a covert insertion. And certainly neither one of you should say anything more about it.” He looked at Brittney. “I think it’s okay for me to tell you this because you were the set up.” Then he looked at Jessica. “And you were the horse.