He knew it for about a moment or two before it happened. He had time to look around, and found everything normal. He could even feel the pressure of Doris' panty covered butt against his thigh.

But right then Glen Tucker knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt that he was about to die. It was a certainty in his mind, and he could feel a strangeness creep over him.

He had time to reach out and put his hand on Doris' hip before the blackness covered him and closed all about him.

There was a strangeness to it, certainly, but also there was a kind of 'I've been there before' similarity that invaded his mind, as the blackness closed in.

And then it did!

The lovely sensation of his hand on Doris' hip faded, and was gone. All of his awakening mind slipped away from him, and if anything it was obvious that he was losing himself, going off into whatever darkness or murkiness surrounded him at that precise moment.

He tried to reassess. Not dead, maybe, but he knew that it was certainly death that was in his mind the moment before and he also knew that his, what could be called 'normal' life had at least been suspended.

But he was somewhere different, somewhere strange yet so familiar. He certainly couldn't think of ever having had it happen to him before but there was yet a nagging sense that he was treading an old path. There was no certainty though, and only this nagging thought in the darkness.

He felt himself slump into whatever it was that was surrounding him. He thought that he had no choice but do that. There was no comfort in that for him right then but he knew that it was what he had to do, and so, he was resigned to it, letting it caress him, surround him, take him over and make him, in its own way, what it wanted.

But the darkness, the murkiness didn't last. It began to give way to a kind of light that he knew had a purpose and had maybe a kind of story or a task for him. He also realized that he wanted to give himself over to that purpose.

He waited, trying to feel his way into this newness and was just not sure about it.

But the light was increasing. He became more and more aware of it. He wasn't sure if he was part of the murkiness or part of the light that was coming or just the plaything, maybe, toy or agent of it. Those thoughts crossed his mind suddenly, and it was then that he realized that he was thinking, pretty much and feeling all this.

The message surged in his mind that if he were indeed thinking and feeling this, then he couldn't really be dead, although maybe this was a kind of transition world or existence to whatever was to come.

Whatever was happening, confusion reigned just then. But his sense that the light around him was increasing took hold and became the dominant part of what was just then going on.

Then a noise began to make itself known. It impressed itself upon his mind and his senses at first. Then he could actually hear what was happening, going on.

He thought, at first, that he was imagining things but the rumble of, he thought it had to be voices, increased. The light was getting more intense and the voices from far away were coming nearer and he could hear them more and more clearly:

"Sta'aniel! Sta'aniel! STA'ANIEL! STA'ANIEL! STA'ANIEL, STA'ANIEL!" they, these voices were saying, chanting, almost singing.

And it was as though his consciousness was moving among those voices and the voices continued to increase in intensity but never lost a total sweetness to their sound.

He was surrounded by the sound of that strange word, 'Sta'aniel'. It was everywhere and it produced in him a kind of a joy that came suddenly and couldn't or wouldn't be denied.

Finally, he stopped, or at least his continued consciousness stopped and he realized that he'd come to what seemed to be the center of the light, and now the chanting, singing voices were all around and their fervent and joyous shouting of the strange word, 'Sta'aniel' was all around him.

And they stopped as suddenly as they'd previously begun, and there was only silence but it was silence that was steeped in the light.

The voice that came to him then came from the light that seemed to be everywhere but was concentrated where he was.

The voice was calm, and it came to him, penetrating his thinking and his intelligence and his very essence, making him a part of that voice.

The voice said calmly, and he heard it with his inner being, not only with his hearing: "Sta'aniel! Greetings, Sta'aniel!"

He realized that the voice was talking to him, meant him and he expressed, at least to himself, his doubt about this.

But the essence from the light knew his thoughts as soon as they were real to him.

"It's what you are called among us, and when you go forth for us! You are 'Sta'aniel'.

"I?" he asked, with the ripple of his mind.

"Yes, Sta'aniel!" the voice said back.

He had no quick thought then because the purpose of the voice was taking him over and he had neither the power or the wish to push it away and not be captured by it.

"It is from the most ancient of tongues!" the voice said to his mind. "It means 'God is my worship'! It's who you are for us and among us, 'Sta'aniel' heaven's warrior."

The reality struck him, though these thoughts brought to him by the voice were completely shocking for a long moment. It was then that he understood what was being said: "He was indeed 'Sta'aniel' a warrior, heaven's warrior angel.

And before he could react, object or harbor any kind of such thought, the words blossomed inside of him and were pushed by his intelligence toward the voice: "I am your servant!"

"Yes," the voice thundered back to him, "Our Sta'aniel!"

And then the chorus of voices was back with their dizzying repetition of the word, and the name, amid such obvious feelings of joy that it simply took hold of him, and he was right then no longer merely Glen Tucker. He was 'Sta'aniel' heaven's warrior, though at first he didn't know what that even meant.

But the voice was ready for him and continued to tutor him in the meanings and necessities.

"Speak to me please, wonderful one!" his mind murmured and went quiet to wait for the voice to instruct.

"Favorite of the Great EL, we welcome you back among us; we greet you in EL's foremost name."

He was silent and received the greeting as an adulation, received it with a joy that was as total as anything that he'd ever suspected.

The voice went on now with the lesson, and as soon as that happened, 'Sta'aniel' was no longer in any doubt about who he was or why he was here. The knowledge flooded into him from the intention of the voice, from the garden of light that surrounded him, and he was filled with the knowledge of his kind power that lingered in him, emanating from the light and from the Great EL.

"Thank you, wondrous one!" he said, having received the infusion of knowledge.

It was as though, in that moment, that second, he was back, back to himself and his purpose. And, when he realized this the chorus of singing, chanting voices was back and singing his name on all sides.

He felt that greeting, filled with adulation, joy and pride sweep over him and he held out his arms in an intended embrace for all of the singers, chanters who were part of this throng, and in a moment of unity he felt the embraces returned, and he glowed with the light himself.

Then he went silent, for he knew that the voice would now instruct, give him messages from the Great EL.

"Sta'aniel," the voice inhabited his mind and senses, "children of the lie, children of the great, great liar are being raised and must be rooted out. You will do this."

"Your servant," his mind murmured back to the voice from the surrounding light.

"You will know them; they cannot hide from you. You will see them infused with darkness, dark power. But it is the power of lies and will not stand up to the purity of your might. In your presence, by your very glance their power will fade and they will return to emptiness before you."

"Your servant," his mind responded, as was apparently appropriate.

"Seek them out, our Sta'aniel; seek them out and empty them, neutralize them. They cannot hide from you and will not be able to oppose you."

"Your servant," was the message of his mind again.

"The great lie from which they come, by which they were spawned cringes before the power that the Great EL sends out. It will be fine."

There was a pregnant second and then the voice expanded and filled everything, every space, and every time. The loudness of the voice itself was like a loving embrace that enfolded him at that moment and proclaimed the joy of that place and time:

"YOU ARE THE GREAT EL'S HERO STA'ANIEL!"

And the chanting was back; the singers were back and the anthem of their singing swelled to a kind of crescendo.

And suddenly he was back. There was a party, and he was invited. It was, he realized, his own time and his own place, and he also knew now that he had another existence but that other existence was kind of 'on hold' for this time, when he was Sta'aniel.

When he finished shaving, he did his hair, slightly curly and a rich dark black. He went to dress then, selecting a suit from a closet of clothes that were there and ready for him. He chose a grey suit and blue shirt with a soft, slightly colored tie.

He was pleased. He realized that as the warrior of the Great EL, he was both taller and more robust than he remembered himself to be.

He put on a pair of slightly tinted glasses then, which served to hide a barely glowing blue light that resided in his eyes. This was his secret; this was his weapon, Sta'aniel's weapon.

Then he was ready. He took a cab to the address where the party was to be, anticipating it with joy. It was staged at an ad agency in the city.

He was no longer Glen Tucker then; Glen Tucker was set aside and waiting for him. Glen Tucker was part of the bounty of the Great EL and Glen Tucker would be there, when his task as the Great EL's Sta'aniel was accomplished.

DORIS:

Many people were already there and the atmosphere was one of barely muted joy and pleasant conversation.

The hostess greeted him with a cheek kiss: "You're here!" she said triumphantly. "We weren't sure if you got our message."

"I did," he said, smiling, "How is Sylvie!"

"Basking in your masculine beauty!" she said and she laughed as though at an old joke between them.

"Gerry," she said to a group of men, "Look who's here, Stan!"

"Hey, Stan," Gerry said, as he came to shake hands with him and slipped into an easy, man to man embrace, born of affection between them.

"Good to see you," Gerry said, "We knew you were away and weren't sure if you were back at all."

"Here I am," Stan said, "Out on the town."

"Well," Sylvie interjected, "You know most of the people here. Get a drink and enjoy yourself. And, yes," she went on, "They have mineral water for you."

Gerry laughed: "The tea totaler himself!"

Stan just chuckled and made his way to the bar.

Before he got to the bar for his drink, he passed a small knot of women, and his eyes lit on one of their members. She had a lovely rounded figure and was very pretty, she wore a sweeping gray dress that had pleats and swirls in it. She had beautiful almost violet eyes and wore her hair short and curled about her ears.

Stan stood for a nano second and let his senses react to this lovely woman, and the voice was there in that second:

"This one is yours," the voice flooded his mind. "Your Doris."

"Your servant," his mind replied.

He recognized his Doris then and it opened a place of joy inside of him, and he was turning to her.

But there was a sudden change in the atmosphere of the room. He noticed it, though no one else seemed to.

He looked around, wary now, his instincts as a warrior at play. And there they were. A couple had just come in through the door. They were probably in their 50's and were gorgeous people. She was blond and petite and he, also blond, was tall, though not as tall as Stan.

Stan just stared at them. To him they were obvious. Their eyes glowed with a red light, and each had a filmy red aura that surrounded them, moving all the time. He could tell that their power was searching but it was a search for targets that would become their pray. He knew that they were searching for just the right person or persons to recruit for the Great Lie or for their private use that night.

He also knew that with his glasses on, they couldn't recognize the power in him.

His plan was immediate. He would empty the man of power, render him empty and defenseless and then the woman would be easy.

He watched them, drinking from his glass of mineral water and nodding to people he knew, chatting lightly and moving around, never far from the couple.

In an almost breath-taking show of brazenness, he saw that they were aiming their power at his Doris, and he decided to act.

With a nod full of his intentions, he sent the man to the bathroom, down the hall from the party room.

He stood by as the woman talked to Doris and the man excused himself, feeling the sudden urge, and walked in the direction of the bathroom.

There Stan waited for the very few moments that were necessary. The man came out of the bathroom, the red aura spilling around him in profusion, since he'd selected a target for their enjoyment. The man was already mentally removing Doris' clothing and having his rough and dominant way with her, when he saw Stan.

This was the part that Stan really loved; he realized that suddenly. He even took the opportunity to confess it, this attitude, to the voice. But the answer was that he should dwell and work in the joy of the Great El.

The man, upon seeing Sta'aniel, and realizing it was a challenge, was joyful. This was just one more victim for him, was what was moving through his mind.

Sta'aniel felt the surge of power, an alien power to be sure, since it originated through the gift of the voice. He loved the feeling. He was fully aware now, fully himself and he was ready, ready for this cocky evil man, who was grinning at him, as though hungry to encompass an new victim with his evil.

Stan was taking his glasses off and the blue light of his own eyes was shining.

The man stopped dead in his tracks He sputtered: "Sta'aniel! But, but you were, are gone. It's been all around and generally known."

"But here I am," Sta'aniel said and nodded at the child of evil, who was standing before him and now quaking.

Sta'aniel also knew what was going through the mind of the child of evil. He sensed the thoughts and realized that the thoughts of stripping, hurting and taking a woman were meant for Doris, the one that he, Sta'aniel claimed. It made him eager for this, ready for it.

Then Sta'aniel was smiling, and with his glasses totally removed, with the bright blue light of the Great El, shining through his eyes, since removing his glasses said: "Hello, weak one!"

The man stood still, stunned and began to speak but there was no time, as the blue light from Stan's eyes ramped up and invaded the tall blond man's senses.

There was no contest between them but Sta'aniel knew that. In that last second, Stan said in his powerful but subdued voice, acknowledging the child of evil's worst fear: "I am Sta'aniel, warrior of the Great EL!"

The man, shocked, quivered and then he was empty. The red light was gone and the man's mind was blank, his body, his existence was empty of any semblance of power and would never seek or have that kind of power again.

Stan merely nodded and put his glasses back on. Mentally he told the man to wait and sent him off to a room to sit and wait. Stan needed to seek out his female companion then, his Doris.

She was with the woman, the companion child of evil, and that woman already had Doris half way under her influence. They were standing off to the side and the woman was talking softly to her, as though they were friends who were sharing secrets.

But the secrets that were being shared were sexual, as the child of evil filled Doris with words and pictures of how she would be taken over by the two of them, by her and her evil companion.

Doris had suddenly little power to break away, and heard the words of being raped, and beaten, of ultimately being sacrificed to evil, after being taken to the desert in a car trunk, beaten and naked, that were aimed at her, meant for her, creating the horror that was part of the cat and mouse play that the evil woman enjoyed so much.

Doris had heard too much in too little a time period. The child of evil, this woman companion of the now empty man, knew that her words could enthrall Doris is a short time period, and they did.

This was the part of the seduction to evil that this woman enjoyed, talking about it, describing it. She licked her lips, as she talked:

"You're weak," she said, and Doris only looked on mutedly. "If I want," the woman continued, "I can make you piss your panties right now! RIGHT NOW!" She said this last leaning in, looking like a bosom companion or girl friend and said: "Do you want that?"

Doris could only croak: "Please! No more." But the evil was already taking hold of her.

The woman laughed and ran a quick finger over Doris' lips, talking more about the scenes that Doris would be enduring in just a little time.

"Then you'll piss for me, alright, girl friend!" the evil woman said.

It was then that Sta'aniel arrived. He stood back at first to listen. It seemed obvious that Doris was almost completely enthralled to the woman.

"I'm going to give you to my partner," the woman said, and Doris, struggled but nodded her head.

"Good," the woman said. "He'll take you to the garage next door; once there he'll push you against a wall and raise that lovely dress, way up over your head, exposing you. He'll take your panties and then, with your dress over your face, he'll fuck you!"

Doris whispered a besotted 'yes', though she shook her head 'no' at the same time.

The woman, realizing and relishing the struggle that Doris was having, losing struggle, simply grinned.

"Then he'll take the rest of your clothes and discard them," the woman was saying now. "You won't need clothes, once we have you."

Doris moaned and whispered a fairly futile 'no'.

"Yes," the woman said insistently, the red glow of her eyes throbbing, taking Doris in more totally.

"Yes," Doris said then.

"Once you're naked, little dove," the woman went on, "He's going to fuck your ass!"

"My ass!" Doris whispered.

The woman was completely enjoying herself, preparing Doris for the fates that the two of them, she and her partner, had in mind.

"This is so easy," she exulted but that was the last triumphant thought that she had.

A few things happened at once. Stan made, with a surge of his mind, sure that Doris knew that she was his and that he was there for her.

"We're busy, Dude," the evil woman said, with poison in her voice. "You can be next! The little bitch gets priority right now."

The second thing that happened was his sense that It was time. Sta'aniel grinned and took his glasses off, while pushing Doris softly behind him. She went and stayed there, her hand resting on his back, to gain assurance for herself.

They were in a corner of the crowded room, where the evil woman had propelled Doris, to better be able to talk to her, spin word pictures of sexual torture for her, and get control of her.

The woman just gaped then!

"Sta'aniel," she said with a choke in her voice. "But you're ... you're..."

He held up a hand and she was struck dumb and, smiling, he said: "But I'm not! I'm right here with a greeting from the Great El!"

His eyes flashed a brilliant blue at the woman, and she was emptied, simple and emptied, with no harm in her. Nor would she possess such potential for harm again.

He put his glasses on, while reaching one hand behind his back. Doris took the hand.

He said, with a voice dripping with concern: "Are you feeling all right, dear? You look pale."

"I'm so sorry, I don't feel quite well," the woman said and went to sit down.

Sta'aniel walked away then, still holding Doris' hand, and smiling at her.

"You did that so well," she said.

"Yes, thank you," he said, "But it's not my power."

"Yes," she replied, "I heard what you said, though I didn't understand it."

"No matter," he said. "Did you drive?"

"Yes," she said.

"Shall we go then?" he wanted to know.

They did leave, hand in hand. For Doris the scene that had just played out was still burning in her mind. She told him that.

"I know," he said, "It's hard to get those evil words out of your mind. We'll deal with that."

Doris was shaking her head and said; "It's almost as though I was waiting for, longing for those things to happen, that she was describing.

"I know that too," he said, turning to her.

There were tears in her eyes then and she went on: "Those images will probably never leave my mind. They'll always haunt me!"

"No," he said, and put his arms around her.

She crowded herself against him and, obeying an immediate impulse, moved right away to kiss him. It almost burned and sent a sense of shock through her entire body, causing her to moan out loud with it.

But then he moved and deftly grabbed the hem of her dress, pulling it upward, until even the empire waist was rucked up above her breasts, leaving Doris completely exposed.

She made a moaning noise, for this was precisely what the woman had told her would happen, and now he was doing it, this powerful man was doing it, and her senses swam in the knowledge that this powerful man was indeed her man.

His strong hand held her dress above her head with it gathered around her wrists, which he held.

"Yesssssss," she hissed. "This is it! You do it! You do it now!"

"Yes, I will," he said. "You're mine; you know that!"

"Yes, I do!" she said quickly and felt his kiss through the material of her dress that was covering her face.

Then she felt him push down and take her panties off.

"Oh, everything!" she wailed against him, "All of it, yes, all of it!"

The panties were gone and he also took her bra. She never did figure out how he got that off so easily but it was gone and her breasts sloped toward him, and she could feel his hand on her breast, playing softly with a nipple.

She gasped.

He lifted her up then and settled her down on himself, so easily, putting her in the position of a marionette. She dangled from him and made increasingly large noises, as he made love to her, stealing totally the previously dirty picture of steamy sex that the evil ones would employ her for.

Then she was screaming against him, reaching her orgasm, while still dangling there, impaled by him, and being richly loved.

He came into her in his turn and released the dress, letting it flow downward, though he still was inside of her, so that her smiling face came into view.

She kissed him over and over, mumbling into his lips: "So strong! So wonderful! My man!"

It had all returned by then. Everything in her life that the evil woman tried to erase away and make her forget, surged back for her and she knew it all again, and it was wonderful in the reawakening. She knew that he'd brought her back. He'd even appropriated the dark sex scene that the evil woman had promised her and made it theirs, as they still clung to each other against the wall of the parking garage.

"Home, Glen?" she said softly.

"Home!" he said.

She smiled at him: "There are still things that she promised that need to be done." She gave a soft giggle, when she said this.

"Yes," he said, "Still those things."

"My panties?" she asked, with another giggle.

"Right here," he said. "Sorry about the bra."

She gave him a warm smile and said: "He's so strong!" Then she giggled.

"The power's so strong," he said, pushing that knowledge into her."

"Yes, it is," she said, giving him the car keys to take them home.

He took her home, though he had no intention of remaining. He knew that other evil ones were abroad on this night and he'd need to go out seeking after a bit.

Doris was still effected by it, and, as soon as they were inside the house, with him watching and smiling, she reached under her dress and took off her panties.

"You can have these again," she said.

He gave her a smile and said: "Yes, they're mine by conquest."

It made her giggle again.

Then the dress was off and she had only her thigh high stockings on and her heels. She went to him employing a hip swinging motion with her arms outstretched and her fingers wiggling an invitation to him.

He caught her up and was kissing her then.

"She," Doris began, speaking into his lips, which were against hers, "Promised, threatened maybe, ass fucking."

He leaned forward and smiled at her, and said: "My lady's servant!"

"Mmmm, I like that!" she said.

"You get something," he said next, "I'm going to watch."

She giggled. "You do that, it's all for you, big boy!"

She put on the exaggerated walk again, as she went to fetch something.

He took her right there in the living room then, with her draped across the arm of a chair and wailing into the seat cushion, as he entered her and filled her, slowly and with both caution and concern.

His hands were beneath her, holding her breasts as they came together again, erasing yet another of the dirty suggestions that the evil woman had made to her earlier, when she was almost enthralled to them.

Finished, he pulled her up against him, and snuggled her against his body, his hand roaming down from breast to breast and then across the plane of her stomach, and coming to rest in her pubic thatch.

"You really know how," she said, and the said and "Oops!" as he, shrinking now, came out of her.

She turned and reaching down, grasped his shrinking erection and pulled him toward the bathroom, with her matching his grin.

"Gonna clean him," she said. "Maybe not done!"

"Definitely not done," he said.

She did clean him then and he grabbed her, his arm beneath her knees and the other across her shoulder and carried her to the bed, where he settled her.

He began with her this time by putting his mouth against her pubic mound. It made her wild quickly and she told him urgently. The whole of the evening the evil and this very good were coming to a head in her and she wanted her finish.

He made love to her then, with her cooing to him: "Yes, yes, this makes it fine; this makes it real; this makes it ours!"

"Yes, ours!" he said to her, as their love making crescendoed.

They lay there then and she cried; she cried for all of it, all of that night.

In the dark he said softly: "I have to go out."

"I know you do," she said, "Don't always understand but I know it."

"The power is calling!" he explained.

"Yes, calling!" she said. "Thank you for tonight!"

"I'll always be there for you," he said.

"I know that!" was her reply as she snuggled against him.

WALKING THE DOG:

He left her sleeping, knowing that he'd come back to her. He always did.

Then he was gone. The power put him where he was needed. It was a basic feature of his life in the power.

The street was suburban. It was dim, lit now and then by street lamps. In the dusk, on the deserted street, a woman pretty and petite, around 50 years old, was walking a small dog. The dog was busy happily sniffing at the fence by them and the grass. It was a very busy walk for the dog.

But this quiet space had been invaded that night. There were three of them. They were confident in the evil that they carried within. Their eyes shone that muted red that spoke of power that was waiting to be used. A faint red aura surrounded each of them, like a present colored fog.

The woman, Irma, was startled, when they were suddenly front of her.

"Hi, Momma," one of them said, not bothering to hide the evil dripping in his voice

"Hi," Irma said, quietly. "What do you want?"

The three of them laughed then and the red light in their eyes flashed a bit and frightened Irma even more than she had been.

"A lot!" one of them said.

"What's your name?" one demanded.

Her reply was almost automatic, at this point produced by the evil power that they were wielding.

"Irma," she said, almost an automaton, not quite yet. They wanted her to retain her composure to see what they were going to do.

"Well, Irma, we'll take care of Sparky for you!" one said, grabbing the leash from her hand.

"Don't take my percy!" she wailed.

"Shut up, Irma, or we'll kill percy right now!" was the demand.

She went quiet, totally frightened now.