Welcome to the Kali Sweet Chronicles. Sweet Malice is the fifth book in the Kali Sweet Urban Fantasy series and will be released to retailers in February 2025. I’ll release a chapter twice a month here in my Magic Bites Membership, and I look forward to reading your comments! *Please note that these are UNEDITED and some story elements may change before the official book release in February. Enjoy!
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Sweet Malice, Kali Sweet Urban Fantasy Series
©2024 Misty Evans
Chapter Eleven
By the time I made it to the conference room, most of the others were already there. Those that weren’t would have to catch up with the rest of us later. I didn’t have time to wait. “Lucifer and I have come up with a new plan for gathering the Fallen.”
Damon had reserved the seat at the head of the table for me, and I considered taking it. It would show my authority to the others, and although I wasn’t concerned about Cole, Aphrodite, or even Damon himself questioning it, I knew the other vitiums, as well as the head angel, would.
I had too much adrenaline flowing, however, to sit still, so I didn’t. I paced, working through ideas in my head at the same time. “Hunting them one by one isn’t working. We need to bring them to us using the natural connection they feel toward each other and to their savior.”
Salmad sat forward with his usual solemn frown, interlacing his fingers on the table. After our last altercation, I knew he’d be against any and all plans I proposed. “God cast them out of Heaven. They feel disconnected from Him, as well as his Son. How exactly do you plan to restore that?”
“Not God or Jesus. Azaria. She’s their savior.”
The attendees glanced at each other, confused. All except Damon. “You want to use her like a magnet to attract them.”
I touched the end of my nose, letting him know he was on the right track. “Lucifer is able to locate them, thanks to Azaria’s connection to them. That’s how he came up with the list. I believe we can use her to contact each of them and draw them to a central location.”
“The Institute isn’t big enough to hold that many,” Cole said. “We certainly don’t have enough room to train all of them.”
I lingered at the end of the table, placing my hands on the high back of the chair. “Right, you are. Even if this trick works and we get most of them to search for her, our resources are limited. With the Institutes all over the globe, we have options, but it will still be overwhelming for most. That’s why we have to do this in waves. First, I want to see if it works with a small local group. If it does, we scale up, using the Fallen who are already trained.” I pointed at Tabriss. “I want you to create at least three teams to command operating bases in the tri-state area. Think of them like military posts. We’ll make sure each one is secure and supplied with everything you need. Avoid highly populated areas in case there are any…accidents with their powers.”
Di raised her hand. “How exactly are you using Azaria to draw them in?”
I was still working on that, but I had a strategy. “They need to see her, so I’m going to have JR create a short video that we can send each of them. It will also contain instructions on where we want them to travel to. That’s why we have to get the bases set up first.”
Rad toyed with one of his guitar picks, flipping it end over end between his fingers. A restless habit. “Some of the Fallen live on the streets without access to technology. Some of them are drug addicts and mental patients. Even more are behind bars for crimes they’ve committed. How are we going to reach them?”
“They’ll be the second or third wave once we work out the kinks. For the initial wave, you, me, and Cole will handle them.”
The War demon and the Chaos demon traded a glance. Half the time, they wanted to kill each other; the other half, they watched football games and talked about expensive cars like the best of bros.
Tabriss made a face, obviously a bit put out. “The Fallen in residence here are still rehabilitating. You can’t ask them to go out in the field and—”
I cut her off. “All boots on the ground. We don’t have time to baby you and yours. Get Josiah to help us find the rest of your friends. If you have a better idea, I’m listening.”
Everyone’s attention turned to her, and her cheeks flushed. Josiah was her second in command, and I wished he was their leader. He was so much easier to handle. “All I’m saying is that you’re asking a lot from us.”
Neve burst in at that moment with a tray of pastries, a carafe of coffee, and insulated paper cups. She wheeled her chair to the reserved open spot, and Di jumped up to help her unload her haul from her lap.
At that point, I lost control of the meeting while everyone grabbed brownies, cookies, and turnovers and poured themselves coffee.
I snagged a brown sugar scone that was still warm. It melted on my tongue and tasted like Heaven. Once I’d downed half of that, I grabbed coffee, still turning ideas over in my head.
“Okay, everyone back to their seats,” I called over the din of voices. “We need to look at this idea from all angles and pick it apart. When we initiate it, I want as few problems as possible.”
We spent the next hour strategizing and troubleshooting. Damon was exceptionally quiet, but the others had plenty of things to say, most of them annoying to me. I tried to channel him, rather than my inner bitch, and listen to their concerns, as well as their suggestions. Then, I began doling out assignments. “Damon, I need you to find us three locations in the tri-state area. Tabriss, you and Josiah select your teams and assign responsibilities. Aphrodite can help you prioritize the rehabilitation sequence, but you’ll need someone responsible for meals, sleeping arrangements, and training.”
“And what exactly are you doing?” she snipped.
I downed the last of my coffee and crushed the cup in my hand. “I’m in charge of global networking and getting the video.” Like Lucifer had warned, Amy would be as reluctant about using their daughter for this. “If anyone has any questions or problems, direct them to me.”
Damon stared at his cup. “If anyone has questions or problems, I’ll handle them.”
Okay, then. “For now, is everyone clear on what you’re doing?”
Salmad cleared his throat. “Who is going to see to everyone’s spirituality?”
“You and the rest of the vitiums.”
Our squad glanced between him and me, none of them saying a word. Unusual, to be sure, but I was grateful they weren’t arguing.
On the other hand… Tabriss stood, squaring off with me. “What about Michael? You said he’s already gotten to some of the Fallen before you did. What if he finds out about our plan?”
It was one of the reasons I’d hesitated about including her in this meeting, but I never had only one plan. Even if I’d left her out, she’d learn about it all in due time.
Plan B—her obsessive connection to the archangel was too good to pass up.
I smiled at her, and even though it probably looked more like a grimace since I couldn’t stand her, at least my voice came out friendly. “Michael knows every name on the list because he is Azaria’s guardian. He’s tapped into her abilities, not her mind. The only way he’ll know about this plan is if someone in this room tells him.”
The insinuation hung in the air like dust motes laced with acid. She set her hands on her hips. “You think I’d tell him.”
It was a statement, not a question. “I think your love for him keeps you hovering on the edge of a thin line. I strongly suggest that you remember how he walked away from you in my cemetery because you’d ingested demon blood. My blood. He no longer cares about you, Tabriss. You don’t owe him loyalty or love.”
That shut her up. She stomped from the room, leaving the door open in her wake.
“What do you want me to do?” Rad asked.
There were a multitude of things I wanted him to do, but a few had to wait. My smile turned genuine. “You and Cole will come with me to Sweet Investigations to talk to JR, and—”
Before I could finish, my body stiffened, an icicle of angel magic shooting down my spine. The hand holding the crumpled coffee cup began to fade.
“Not again,” Rad said, leaping to his feet.
I swore under my breath. “Not now, Lucifer! I’m in the middle of a…” I choked, the ice hitting my throat and closing it up.
In the next moment, I was once again transported through time and space, but the place I ended up in wasn’t Hell.
“There you are,” Michael said with a delighted grin. He was eating grapes, chewing each one slowly as he looked me up and down from a golden throne. “My favorite little demon. We need to talk.”
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Not Michael again! How did he just do that?