Guardian Devil

Edited by: nancyharpman17... Thank you as your additions are what kept this from being mindless drivel.

*

Faith. Intuition. The comforting feeling that a higher power is offering a helping hand to navigate life. These phenomena lend credence to the truth that we all have guardian angels assigned by Destiny to watch over us in times of need. But what we never realize is the reverse is also true...

*

"Iskra!" The name was shouted in the same way every annoyed Father would call for his daughter, the first syllable a dull roar and the second; well, it was obvious she was in trouble. Satan's fingertips glowed red as they tapped in an angry cadence against his throne which emanated an ominous, unnerving pulse while he awaited her arrival.

*

Iskra shook with freight upon hearing her name. "Damn." She thrust the silver platter forward, "Here, just take them all." She released the serving dish just as quickly and the boy barely held onto it.

Iskra hurried to the main hall before her footsteps became lead. She trembled and her whole body resonated with the tone her father used and the echo of her own name. All too soon she appeared at the expansive, imposing metallic black door. Nervous sweat rolled down her forehead. She brushed it away, along with the few tendrils of her long, bright red hair. Her hand scraped over the two horns that protruded three inches from her head. She didn't want to go in there; but with one final breath, she steeled herself and pushed open the door.

The first thing Iskra noticed was his large, imposing horns that arched backward and down before curling forward and framing his face. This led her to his piercing black eyes, so similar to her own, but yet, far more sinister. They penetrated her very existence and caused her to march the rest of her journey with her head downcast, staring at the cracks in the cement floor.

"What were you doing?" Satan quickly took the vocal lead, his voice deep and brusque, which only fueled Iskra's melancholy.

"Nothing... Just baking some cookies," Iskra's voice barely cracked above a whimper.

"Just baking some cookies?" Satan reiterated the same words; but the tone implied harshness and cut through the sweet innocence her tone had made them sound. His stare was fiery, as a square formed above his left shoulder and began to play her villainous act in high definition. "Does this look like you were just baking cookies?"

The scene unfolded quickly; Iskra entering the regrettable nightmare the nine-year-old boy was forced to relive over and over again -- his personal hell -- and offering comforting solace; and, of course, a few chocolate chip cookies.

"Well?" Satan's stare had never left his daughter during the playback, and now he wanted his answer. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Father, Andy's only nine." Iskra subconsciously lifted her arms in conjunction to her soft plea.

"Yes, a nine-year-old who..." Satan paused, as a large book appeared in his lap, and a pair of bifocals fell upon his nose. He flipped open the ledger and turned to the name 'Andrew Staley'... "picked up his father's gun and shot him dead. Then realizing what he had done, turned the weapon upon himself. He is in Hell for a reason."

"But he only committed those sins because he witnessed his drunken father repeatedly slam his mother's head into the wall. It was the only way to save her."

"And he failed. She died and went to heaven; and he is with us, where he belongs. It is the way of the world. It is what we do."

Iskra's face contorted in what she felt was the unfairness of it all, "But, Father..."

"Iskra," Satan took off his glasses as he leaned forward, "We are in the business of souls. We harvest all those who are sinners. Hell, we even encourage the righteous to be corrupt."

"I know, Father," Iskra's voice went monotone as proof to how many times she has been lectured on the subject. "We devils have desires, encourage others to have desires, grant desires, and, in return, we garner their souls." Her voice then changed to one of a pleading nature, "But, there are souls here that..."

"Iskra," Satan interrupted. "I will not have this conversation with you again. You are the daughter of the leader of Hell, the one whom all other demons worship as their leader. What does that say about me when I can't get my own spawn to act like a true devil?" Satan shook his head, "You lower the temperature, give water to those assigned manual labor, and visit purgatory in an effort to lighten the hardships of the souls trapped there. Where did I go wrong? Your brother and sister are at the top of the list when it comes to corrupting human souls. Perfect devils. But you... I can't even send you to earth for fear of you screwing up. There is no room for compassion in what we do." He rubbed his forehead in frustration. "I don't know what to do with you."

Iskra's head fell, tears in her eyes; and her hands quickly covered them. Above all else, she knew her place in her father's heart; and, like so many children, all she wanted was his respect. "I know, Father... I know I am not worthy to be called your daughter...but I want to be. I'll do better to make you proud."

Satan looked at Iskra with benevolence. He may be THE Devil...but this was still his daughter. "When I step down, I was going to divide the world in half, with each of your siblings getting a controlling share. There is still time to change my mind and divide it into thirds."

"Father?" Iskra glanced up with reddened eyes.

"I have decided to give you a chance to prove yourself. An eighteen-year-old high school boy named Mason Parker...Corrupt him and you may be on your way."

"Oh, Daddy, thank you!" Iskra ran forward and jumped into his arms. Her embrace was tight and she showered him with kisses. "I won't let you down."

"I know, Iskra. I know," Satan chuckled. "Your name means 'spark'. Now show me yours. Show me you can be a devil."

Iskra jumped from his lap and giddily ran towards the exit. Satan put the arm of his glasses in the crook of his mouth as he sat back in his throne. With an amused smile, he shook his head. "Kids..." He let the word trail off as he felt the emptiness of the space where his eldest daughter had just vacated. "I hope I did the right thing..."

*

Iskra was rounding the corner in the hall, almost to her bedroom in the castle. She was excited and couldn't wait to meet her mark, although she had no idea about how to corrupt someone.

"I can't believe Father is sending 'The Reject' to earth." The words came from a girl leaning against the wall, her foot lifted against it, and the words were spoken with utter distaste and spat towards Iskra. "You couldn't get a fly to commit a sin."

Iskra stopped in her tracks at her little sister's proclamation. "Morana, what do you want?"

"Nothing. Just pointing out how useless you are as a devil." Morana pushed herself away from the wall, a menacing smile on her face. "So, what did he give you...some high school boy?"

Iskra glanced down, "Um, yeah..."

"HA! I take down a hundred of those in a week. They are so susceptible to lust. Figures he'd give you an easy prey. Of course, you've got to actually be willing to get your mark to commit one of the seven deadly sins." Morana then laughed as she walked away, "Don't forget to change your appearance. Humans don't have horns."

"Maybe she's right..." Iskra looked down, dejected. The truth seemed to smack her in the face. Her eyes closed as she was on the verge of tears. "No, I'll show them... I'll be the best devil there is." Her eyes reopened and her smile resumed, "I can do this!"

*

"Ow," Mason grunted, dropping his books as he was shoved into the locker.

"Out of my way, dork!" Wade Harvey, one of Hilldale High School's resident macho football chauvinists, laughed as he walked past with his entourage.

Mason glanced at Wade's girlfriend, the cheerleading beauty, Kristen Petry; before quickly grabbing his dropped books and doing his best to make a hasty retreat and avoid the humiliation of what had just transpired. With downcast eyes, he made his way to his physics class; and with a sigh, he plopped into his front row seat.

"A week into the school year, and things are just as they left off. Another year of being on my own." Mason shook his head as the bell sounded and Mr. Poole began the day's lecture.

It was the same every year...nothing but taking the brunt of the elite of Hilldale High School. He had hoped things would change now that he was eighteen and a senior; but it was obvious he had another year of wedgies, toilet swirlies, and worst of all, the verbal taunts. Mason shivered at the thought.

The sound of high-heeled footsteps were heard far before the door opened; but only then did everyone in the class look up and behold the bright red haired beauty at the door, wearing a short, black mini skirt and tight v - neck red top.

"Excuse me," Mr. Poole turned from the blackboard to the girl at the door."Who are you...and why are you interrupting my class?"

"I'm your new transfer student."

"I wasn't aware there was a new student for my class."

"Oh, I almost forgot," Iskra snapped her fingers. "Yeah, today is my first day." She reached into her bag and pulled out her class schedule...the exact same schedule as Mason Parker.

Mr. Poole immediately backtracked. "Of course, now I remember. You must be Iskra Abaddon. Please, take a seat in any empty desk."

"Thank you." Despite clothing that accentuated her curves, which she despised, Iskra couldn't help but to smile at the effectiveness her snap had on the teacher's memory. She started to scan the front row and stopped when she reached the middle. Black, unkempt hair, jeans and a t-shirt... a little bigger than she thought, but it was him. She casually walked down the middle aisle, giving a seductive glance to the student in the front row before taking an empty seat in the back.

Iskra couldn't be any more excited. Based on the drool coming from the boy in the front row, Morana was right...high school boys are easy prey when it comes to lust. "I'll be home tonight and Father will be so proud."

*

As soon as the end-of-class bell rang, Iskra wasted little time in heading to the front of the class and to her mark. "Hey there, I'm Iskra. Do you mind showing me to my next class?"

The thud of his book dropping resonated through the class or it could have been the collective jaws that fell to the floor in surprise, echoing everyone's grumbles of, "She choose that nerd?"

"Um... Uh... Ye-ah... Uh... Sure."

Iskra smiled again at the ease of it all, "Thanks."

They walked in silence with Iskra two paces ahead. She despised what she was going to do next. It was going to be her first time and she had wanted it to be special; but, alas, she wanted to make her father proud, even more.

When they reached the next class, Iskra stopped short. She took a breath and turned, wrapping her arms around his neck. It had to be around his neck because she doubted they would have made it around his waist. "Here's a thought...instead of going in there together, why don't we go somewhere... more private?"

"Um... My next class is down the hall, but..."

"What?" Iskra's face dropped. "You're not Mason Parker?"

"Mason? What would you want with that loser? Anyways, I'm George Thatcher. We can still..." He let the rest hang in the air as he looked at her hopefully.

"Um, sorry," Iskra took a step away, followed quickly with another one. "I've got to get to class." She entered the classroom hurriedly and took a seat. She really did feel sorry for leading George on, but her own embarrassment was far more cognizant in her mind. Her head was in her hands and she was blushing profusely.

*

After watching the new student with George...someone just slightly higher on the social echelon than he...at least he was the class clown...Mason shook his head and entered class. He sat in his normal seat, the front seat in the furthest row of desks.

Iskra was in a daze all throughout class. "How did I get the wrong person? He matched the description and sat in the front row?" The sound of the bell startled her out of her thoughts. She looked quickly and saw someone else who happened to match the description she was given, although he was slender... awkwardly toothpick slender. She made her way to the head of the class, far less confident of herself this time, "Um, you're Mason, aren't you?"

Mason didn't even look away from packing his book into his book bag, "I am and I'm not interested." He threw his backpack over his right shoulder, not even offering a glance at the red haired beauty before hurrying out of the room.

'What is that girl trying to do? First George, and now me? I'll just avoid her.' Mason let out an exhale as he crashed down into his seat for his next class.

Iskra stood paralyzed, "Um... Uh..."

"Miss." Miss Dyer interrupted Iskra's train of thought. "Not sure what you're used to; but here, at this school, when the bell rings, you go to your next class."

Iskra acknowledged the teacher with a small, nervous smile, "Oh, yes, thank you." She shook her head as she walked out of class. "Now what do I do?" She then thought about what she was wearing. 'I feel silly.'

"Hey there, Sexy," Wade put his arm around Iskra's shoulders, "I know you're new here...so, let me tell you somethin'. I'm the most popular guy at this school and I'm goin' to let you date me."

Iskra rolled her eyes, thankful she was at her class. "No thanks," she shrugged herself out of his grasp. "Not interested."

"Huh?" Wade blinked in shock. "Nobody has ever said, 'No' to me."

"Sorry to break your impressive streak," Iskra spoke over her shoulder as she entered her class.

Wade glared at her back, "She'll come around."

When Iskra entered class, she immediately felt defeated at seeing Mason cringe upon seeing her. She didn't know what to do. He was her goal but he wouldn't even look at her. So when the end-of-class bell rang, she simply followed him. Every class...she was there. During lunch...she sat at his table. When he switched tables to get away from her...she trailed him. She even followed him into the men's restroom; but immediately exited and waited against the wall when she realized he wasn't the only one in there. She had no plan, but just hoped her presence alone would eventually entice him to do... something.

Mason gave a relieved sigh when the final bell rang. He packed up his book bag and hustled for the exit. A small smile appeared when he didn't see his new shadow amongst the sea of people.

"Come here, you little shit," Wade grabbed a hold of Mason's shirt and while sneering, he slammed him against the lockers. Wade's muscled bicep flexed as his hard forearm pressed against his fellow teen's chest. "What makes you so fucking special, to have the new girl all over you? Huh?" And with that, Wade pushed even harder into his ribs. "Answer me!"

"I... I... I don't know." Mason cringed, turning his head to the side in hopes of not having to see the destined impact. "She keeps following me."

"I bet if I kick your ass she'll realize what a waste of time you are."

"Wait... Please, just wait," Mason pleaded. He then added the only words he could think of to get the brute to reevaluate his plan of slaughtering him. "Don't you already have a girlfriend?"

Wade laughed. Hard. He still maintained his grip on the nerd in his clutches, but it took him a minute to compose himself. "When you are me, you have the right to be with any girl you want." He then offered a devious smile and cocked his fist. "And now you'll pay for not minding your own business."

Iskra let out a relieved sigh. Just turning her back for the couple seconds it took to put her books in her backpack gave Mason time to flee, but she had finally found him. Her relief, however, only lasted for a moment, as she saw his predicament. With a rushed step, she arrived as Wade's arm thrust forward.

"So, you think that by punching Mason, that will make me want to go out with you?" Iskra's eyebrow rose with her question. She then shook her head, "Pathetic."

Wade's fist stopped right before impact, the gap only paper thin. "Hey, Baby. I wasn't going to hit my friend here." Wade let go of Mason's shirt, patting his shoulder as he dropped his fist. "You know how we boys are." He then wrapped his arm around the nerd's neck and gave him a noogie. "Nothing wrong with a little roughhousing." He released his captive and then nudged him forward with a sneer. As he walked away, he glanced over his shoulder, "See you around... friend."

Iskra smiled, "I'm glad I got here when I did."

Mason picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder. He started walking for the exit but paused when he was next to Iskra. He wasn't sure what to say. She had stopped him from getting pounded; sure, but he wouldn't have been in that predicament if she hadn't been hounding him all day. "Thanks." It was mumbled but audible as he continued out the door.

Iskra's smile evaporated. She felt utterly defeated. She thought how disappointed her father would be at her futility. She was supposed to be a devil...the daughter of Satan himself...and she couldn't even get one measly high school boy to lust. Morana was right.

"You shouldn't give up so easily." The male voice came from directly behind her.

Iskra was startled from her self pity. She turned to find a man who appeared to be in his late twenties, dusty blonde hair, and a body that seemed to be out of a cologne ad. His piercing blue eyes penetrated her and his smile seemed to be one of confidence. "Uh, what was that?"

"Hi, I'm Todd Phillips... I mean, Mr. Phillips. I'm the counselor for students whose last names begin with the letters A-J." Todd touched Iskra's shoulder as he walked by, "And it's refreshing to see a student who knows what she wants; and if you want it bad enough, you'll get it. You shouldn't give up so easily."

Iskra stared forward as Counselor Phillips left. "He's right. I can do this." She hurried out the door and saw Mason on the other side of the parking lot. He was walking past all the cars to the sidewalk on the other side. After a deep breath and renewed determination in her eye, she began her pursuit.

Mason was a block from home when he heard the familiar voice shout, "Hey Mason, wait up!"

Mason glanced over his shoulder to see Iskra coming closer. "Why are you following me?" he bellowed. But instead of waiting for a response, he ran.

Iskra let out a frustrated sigh. She was already unsteady in her high heels just trying to walk fast; so running was out of the question. "Curse high heels."

Mason charged through the door to his home, quickly shutting and locking the white wooden door.

Iskra arrived at the door and started knocking on it, "Mason, open up!" When no response came, she resorted to pounding on the door. Frustrated, her face scrunched and she put all her effort into her scream, "I just want to have sex with you!"

"Excuse me? What do you want to do to my son?"

Iskra squeaked open her eyes only to see Mason's mother at the door. Her hands were on her hips, her eyes narrowed, and she had a fierce, protective expression etched into her face.

"Yeah, Mom, she's been following me around all day. First she humiliated George and now she's after me." Mason was in the background, almost hiding behind a chair.

'Could this get any worse?' Iskra took a deep breath and then offered a smile as she snapped her fingers. "Oh, hello, Mrs. Parker, I'm Iskra, a friend of Mason's from school. I'm just trying to get your son to open the door, because I was absent for part of a lecture and I was hoping he could fill me in on what I missed. I only said what I said to get him to answer faster."

Mrs. Parker's face softened and a welcoming smile pursed her lips, "Well, of course, you can come in, dear. Any friend of Mason's is always welcome here." She quickly stepped aside to allow Iskra to enter. "And none of that Mrs. Parker nonsense. You can call me Diane."