Chapter V 
                           Demon's Dilemma

The redheaded demon, and the one with the widow’s peak were walking down the first floor corridor of Demon Hall towards the dreaded office of Satan. They had been summoned, and they were afraid.
“It hasn’t happened in many centuries,” the redhead commented. “In fact I can’t remember ever hearing of anyone failing to deliver a soul! Can you?” he asked, looking at his dark-haired partner with the widow‘s peak.
“No, I can’t,” his partner said worriedly. “But, if it’s true that if a mortal manages to live past the time of his death, he can live to a ripe old age, then we could lose him. He could turn his life around! I don’t think that the Boss is going to appreciate that!”
“Well, we’re about to find out, ”the redhead sighed. The glass doors they had stopped in front of opened automatically. They entered reluctantly. The doors closed behind them.
"Ashtar and Shamaaz,” the very beautiful receptionist said from behind her highly polished red mahogany desk. She was dressed in a yellow, form fitting business suit, which only served to enhance her golden hair, and dancing blue, evil eyes. She looked to be about five-feet six-inches tall. “Have a seat,” she said. Satan will be with you shortly.”
With that, she hurried into a huge office carrying two folders.
“Ours, no doubt,” Ashtar, the redhead grimaced.
Shamaaz only nodded.
The wait wasn’t long. Within minutes they were ushered into the office of the Devil himself.
Neither of them had ever been in the inner sanctum before. The office was much bigger than they had anticipated. And there were mirrors everywhere. No matter which direction they looked their reflections looked back at them.
There were couches along the walls made of leather, and the very large semi-circular desk was made of a blood red material that looked like ruby. The chair behind the desk, fashioned like a throne, was covered in the same shiny material as the couches. Gold brads edged all the leather furniture. The material felt soft, warm, and supple.
“This leather is so soft it almost seems alive!” Ashtar marvelled, running his hand over the back of a nearby chair.
“And so it should!” a powerful voice roared out, as Satan entered through a door at the back of his office. “It’s made of the skins of demons that failed to do their jobs! And it looks like you two messed up on yours! Can you explain why? Make it good!” he warned, picking up their files and slapping them down on his desk.
“He broke away from us and jumped back into his body!” Shamaaz blurted. His eyes were panic stricken.
“And how did a mere mortal manage to break away from two demons with the strength of a Samson in each of their bodies? Not concentrating on the job maybe?”
“It was unexpected,” Ashtar said, quickly. “We got there to make the pickup just like any other. We each had one of his arms and were about to bring him along when all of a sudden he began squirming like mad and screaming. It took us both by surprise. Before we realized it, he had broken away from us and jumped back into his body! Once that happened there was nothing we could do.”
Satan leaned back in his chair, his eyes searching the faces of his two very nervous, very frightened, minions. His eyes seemed to blaze into the core of their beings. Suddenly, his manner changed. He leaned further back in his throne-like chair, and with the index finger of his right hand, beckoned them both to approach closer to the desk.
Ashtar and Shamaaz looked quickly at each other, and then slowly, cautiously, approached the desk.
“I’m going to give you both one chance to redeem yourselves,” he said, poker-faced. His tone was soft, his voice velvety. “You, Ashtar, will go above, make the acquaintance of Steve, and make sure he doesn’t stop being what he is...evil.”
“I can do that,” Ashtar said, relieved that he wasn’t going to be made into a covering for a chair.
“I’m not finished,” Satan growled. When Satan growled everything in the huge office shook!
“Sorry, Sir,” the redhead apologized quickly.
Satan nodded, and then continued. “You will not go as you are. You will go as a woman. You will meet this Steve and seduce him, and then make yourself a permanent part of his existence. Take control of his life. Keep him on the path that brings him to me. You can’t kill him, and in his particular case you can’t drive him to commit suicide, either. Got it? Think you can handle that without messing up?”
“Yes, Sir, Ashtar muttered. “But...but I’m not a woman.”
“You’re one now!” the devil roared, pointing his finger at the redhead.
Ashtar’s eyes widened, and then got glassy. His body was changing shape all over the place! His waist went in, his hips came out, and then the shirt that he was wearing began to bulge as breasts formed! But the real shocker was when he felt his genitals begin to change shape and go inward! In a moment he was no longer a male demon. He was a female demon. He had felt his features changing also, and now he examined himself in one of the mirrored walls. He gasped! He was actually beautiful! His hair had lengthened, his lips were full and red, his body was curvaceous and he oozed sex appeal!
“Ok, Boss,” he said, when he finally caught his breath. “What do I do next?”
“The subject will be alone in his apartment for the next three hours. You find an excuse to knock on his door and introduce yourself. It’s up to you to take it from there. And remember, from now until the human's soul is brought to me you are, and will think, act, and be a woman. You are female! Understood?”
“Yes, Sir! And Shamaaz?”
Shamaaz had been standing there shaking as he watched what was happening, wondering when the Boss would get to him. He was terrified.
“Take him with you,” Satan said, waving a clawed hand in dismissal. “He will be your contact, and will relay your progress to me. And remember, I have never lost one of mine to Him. That would be the ultimate embarrassment! Don’t let it happen!” His look sent cold shivers up and down their spines. “Now get out of here.” With that he got up and disappeared through the same door that he had come through.

Professional Reviews
Satan Enraged
Review by Rob Vogt
Reporter, Claresholm Local Press

Redemption is never impossible, and that's what Steve Caplan and Al Richards discover in Satan Enraged.

The two con men are just out of prison and plotting their next moves when Caplan has a horrifying experience. He collapses in his apartment, and has an out-of-body encounter with two evil looking men who try to drag him away. Panic stricken, he fights them off managing to escape back into his body. When he regains consciousness he reflects on this, and we discover that the two men are actually the demons, Shamaaz and Ashtar, who, not expecting such violent reaction to their attempts at a casual pickup, let their guard down sufficiently to allow Caplan to escape.

Now they can’t deliver his soul and Satan is not happy. What follows is their attempt to keep Caplan from straying off the beaten path, and away from the straight and narrow. If they don't succeed, they'll be adorning Satan's office permanently - as two new pieces of leather furniture.

Their attempts are at times funny, and at times scary, but always unexpected. Shamaaz and Ashtar try to be Caplan's puppet masters but he works with a whole different set of strings.

The fun comes in watching how Caplan and his partner Richards never act totally as they should and continue to make life frustrating for the guardian demons.

Have you ever seen the movie where the spirit of a man doesn't quite make it to Heaven? Well this one poses as many challenges for the forces of darkness as that one did for the forces of good.

A fast-paced, tense, dramatic, sometimes humorous story, Satan Enraged is not a book that will be easily forgotten.

Victor Farrell's Website:   www.morekoolbooks.com