Welcome to the Kali Sweet Chronicles. Sweet Malice is the fifth book in the Kali Sweet Urban Fantasy series. I’ll release a chapter weekly here in my Magic Bites Membership, and I look forward to reading your comments! Enjoy!
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Sweet Malice, Kali Sweet Urban Fantasy Series
©2025 Misty Evans
“We should move Amy and Azaria to the Institute,” I told Lucifer around a mouthful of ice cream.
He didn’t so much as blink. “No.”
We were gathered in Amy’s office while Gabriel watched camera feeds of the front and rear exits. Cole and Bane continued their outside perimeter security.
“This place is warded to the nines,” Amy said, rocking their sleeping child in her office chair. The girl’s white-blond hair curled around her ears. One chubby hand rested on Amy’s collarbone, the thumb of the other in her mouth. “There’s no safer place.”
I jabbed my spoon into the melting treat. I had anticipated resistance, but I was running low on patience. “It sits on top of a Hellmouth. Hell, remember? Where Lilith lives.”
No one appreciated my sarcasm except Faron. She idled in the corner, pretending to be engrossed with filing her nails, but I saw one corner of her mouth rise.
“It’s been sealed,” Keisha stated.
“Seals can be broken,” Rad countered. He knew I was right. Lucifer did, too; he just didn’t want to admit it. “The Institute is the safest place on earth for you right now,” Rad continued. “Between the demons who are well acquainted with Lilith and her strategies and the angels who will go to any lengths to protect you, you already have a trained supernatural army at your disposal.”
I spooned more ice cream, savoring the smooth creaminess and caffeine I desperately needed. “It’s a well-oiled machine, run by an archdemon who can outthink all of us.”
Like a magnet drawn to steel, Amy’s gaze went to Lucifer. He stood staring out the single window in the room. His shoulders were tight, the magic radiating off him, making the ground under my feet buzz. Every few minutes, I sent my own energy spiraling downward, checking the perimeter under the building for any sign the seal was weakening. Due to the thick wards, it was a challenge for my demon to draw up her usual amount of magic, and even the caffeine and sugar I was inhaling weren’t enough to overcome the weariness in my body. I needed red meat, a long sleep, and a good workout with lots of punishment to replenish her.
I spoke to Lucifer but knew my words would register with Amy. “Lilith won’t expect you to take Amy and the child there. She would never risk her own neck to infiltrate the Institute.”
“So she’ll send someone else,” he argued.
“She doesn’t have anyone powerful enough, outside of Michael, who could.”
Faron, who seemed to be bored with the whole discussion, blew on her nails and pocketed the file. “You definitely can’t stay here,” she told him. “At the moment, Lilith is making plans to blow us all up.”
That got everyone’s attention. We came to our feet like an orchestrated dance, and Lucifer whipped around to glare at her. His wings went nuclear, flaring around him, the tips hitting the ceiling. “You’re only telling me this now?”
A lesser being would have dropped to the floor and groveled at his feet. “It’s not going to happen this minute. Maybe not at all.” She flipped a cool glance to me and Amy, who clutched her daughter hard enough to rouse the girl from slumber. Those unemotional eyes slid back to him. “It’s simply one of the things she’s considering doing, and she’s gathering the resources to do it.”
He raked a hand over his face. Silent communication passed between him and Amy, and then he gave a sharp nod. He pinned me with his intense eyes, the fires of Hell raging behind the dark irises. “Get them both to the Institute. Use the ring.”
“Do I have time to grab a bag?” Amy asked Faron.
The Fate nodded.
Lucifer barked orders to Rad and Keisha. Rad left to round up the others while the Vodun priestess went to help Amy gather what they needed for themselves and the girl.
When everyone was gone, Lucifer, Faron, and I formed a triangle. Lucifer started to say something to me, then stopped himself. Some internal decision made, he gave me a curt nod. “I’ll alert Damon that you’re coming so he can prepare.”
That he would leave Amy in my care spoke volumes. “Or I can go tell him, and you can stay here with your family,” I offered, suspicious.
He didn’t argue or offer any reason for his plan. He simply blinked out, and it was just Faron and I.
“Can you read my mind?” I asked.
Her eyes skimmed my face. “Possibly. Why?”
“If I think of an action, something I’m going to do but haven’t put into play, can you tell me the odds of success based simply on the thought?”
She sauntered to the desk and sat on the edge. “Depends on how much intent is behind the thought. For example, Lilith has a lot of intent and momentum behind her goal of stopping the prophecy. Any plans she makes are easy for me to pick up on, but I can’t see the outcomes simultaneously. I can only see the one she is actively pursuing.”
“Like bombing this place.”
She nodded. “Everyone expects her to use magic to kill the girl, but she’s realized that since Azaria is in a physical body, she can postpone the prophecy if she annihilates said body. No magic necessary. All she has to do is create a catastrophic event.”
“Lilith not using magic? I didn’t see that coming.”
“Nor did she. It wasn’t her idea.”
“Michael?”
“His role is to protect the girl from danger, but only up to an extent. If the bomb is meant for her parents, she’ll be collateral damage. His will cannot overrule that of her guardians’ choices. Although she is a babe, free will still plays a part in her life, as it does with every life. The actions of those who care for her subject her to various threats and dangers. He cannot interfere with that.”
“In that case, she won’t be safe at the Institute either, will she? We need an underground bunker.”
“Speak to Damon. I believe he has been making plans for such circumstances.”
I tossed my cup in the trash can. “You’re pretty handy to have around. I’ll have more questions for you once we secure the package with him.”
She boosted off the desk and gave me a saucy wink. “I knew you would.”
I climbed the stairs to the apartment to hurry things along with Amy. Through the door, I heard her and Lucifer talking in low voices. He was already back from alerting Damon that we were on the way.
He must have sensed my presence because he cut off mid-sentence, stomped across the floor, and yanked the door open to glare at me. “We’ll meet you downstairs in a moment.”
Past his shoulder, Amy furiously wiped away the wetness on her cheeks as she turned her back to the door. Keisha held the baby, patting her back and humming low as Gabriel stood beside her with arms crossed. None of them were happy about leaving this place.
“Can I speak to you in private after I’ve delivered them?” I asked Lucifer.
“Why?”
I pointed a finger at the floor and the Fate below. “It’s better if I don’t explain, but it is important.”
He arched a brow. “It better be.”
The door slammed in my face. I blinked and returned downstairs, helping myself to a premade sandwich in one of the display cases. I snagged a soda to go with it.
Rad sat at one of the tables, toying with a plastic knife. In anyone else’s hands, it would seem harmless. In his, it was as deadly as any metal blade. His chaos magic could drive it right through a heart or use it to slit open a throat.
His fingers manipulated it with ease as if he were playing his guitar. He was about as happy as the group upstairs.
I hurriedly chewed the sandwich while I kicked aside one of the chairs and plopped down. “I know the situation is not ideal, but what’s really eating you?”
“How did we get here?”
“You’ve been along for the entire ride. You know how.”
“I mean, you and I. How did we end up lapdogs for Lucifer?” He jabbed the knife’s point into the top of the table, breaking off the tip. “First it was Maria, then the Noctefectors for me and the Bridge for you.”
“There’s nothing I’d like better than to return to Sweet Investigations and ignore all of this. Go back to how things were—helping humans and other supernaturals with their problems.”
“Why don’t we? Screw all of this. When do you and I get to do what we want?”
He knew the answer to that; he was just feeling pissy. I was right there with him. “I’m working on this for us.” I didn’t care who heard me. I am a demon, and that means I’m selfish. It was to be expected. “Whatever happens, I will make sure you and I have a chance. I can’t predict the future or guarantee the outcome, but this is what I can offer—a chance for us to leave all of this behind and do what we want.”
“Team Kali.” It was said with a sharp level of discontent. He wanted to believe me, but he knew the odds as well as I did. “It will never be over, no matter what they want to believe.”
“What do you mean?”
“You think all of this is random? That God, or whoever created the universe, would allow sin in the first place if he truly loved humans?”
A valid point; one I had considered many times. “So why do you think He did it?”
“Either He isn’t as omniscient as everyone claims and didn’t realize humans would go down this path, or…”
“He wanted them to,” I finished.
“I’m tired of feeling like someone else is pulling the strings. Free will is a joke. We’re in The Matrix, and someone is always writing a script that we’re forced to act out.”
This gave me pause. I sipped my soda. The movies depicted a fabricated reality and simulated world created by machines to deceive humans. Substitute God for the machines, and you had a similar world with angels and demons in place of secret agents.
The war between machines and humans might symbolize the war we faced. The oracle in that story was similar to Faron. A chill crept up my spine. “So, how do we go Neo on the matrix and break out?”
He gave me a forced grin. “You’re the smart one. You tell me.”
I finished the soda and tossed the cup and sandwich wrapper in the garbage. Hearing the others descend the stairs, I gestured for him to follow me to the office. “Let me think about it, but one thing we should do is try to be unpredictable.”
He grabbed me by the hand and yanked me back, crushing me to his chest and kissing me. “Like this?” he asked with heavily lidded eyes.
My breathing picked up, and I huffed out a chuckle. “Yeah, like that.” I kissed him back as ardently and then dragged him to the office.
Everyone was there now, including Bane, Frank, and Cole. The only one missing was Zayfeer. I was more than happy to leave him behind.
“Form a circle and hold hands,” I instructed the group.
Lucifer gave Amy a peck on the forehead and brushed a hand over Azaria’s head. “I’ll catch up with you soon.”
Her jaw was set, and she gave him a stiff “Be careful.”
He faded from sight. I bit my lip to keep from reminding him that I needed a moment of his time. If he wanted to use me as a secret agent, he knew the importance of communication between us.
I pulled the ring from around my neck and stepped into the circle. “Ready?”
I didn’t wait for confirmation, closing my eyes and sending us to the Institute.
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Is the Institute really safe, though?