Welcome to the Kali Sweet Chronicles. Sweet Malice is the fifth book in the Kali Sweet Urban Fantasy series. I release a chapter a week 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
Seeing yourself as a living torch is one of the seven wonders of the world.
Not.
This must be what Hell feels like. I wasn’t melting on the outside, yet my organs, blood, and bones boiled on the inside.
I would have screamed, except for the fact that my vocal cords blazed with a violent inferno, and Lucifer continued to squeeze my neck into a pulp.
My demon roared in my chest, blasting her magic at Lucifer.
He didn’t even flinch.
“Wait!” Faron’s voice was a background screech.
Hers wasn’t the only one—Cole and Rad were also shouting. Since neither ran to me or attacked Lucifer, I assumed he had them pinned to the wall.
Through the blaze of agony, I saw my tormentor flick his gaze to the Fate. “What?”
Faron moved into my peripheral vision, her eyes milky again. “Perhaps… Yes. She’s telling the truth. She intends to doublecross your brother, not you. She’s your strongest ally.” Her head tilted as if she were viewing a movie behind her white orbs. “She’s your only hope.”
The vise released, the fiery torment instantly gone. My body dropped to the floor at Lucifer’s feet. I coughed and choked, sucking in cool air. My skin felt as if I had a bad sunburn.
“Get up,” he ordered.
Blinking away my double vision, I rose on trembling legs. “I would never…” It came out a croak. I had to clear my throat several times, my vocal cords raw. “Betray…you.”
He rocked back on his heels, his arms crossed, seeming to consider this declaration. I stood as still as possible, but my body shook with what felt like an earthquake’s aftershock from his assault. I kept my eyes cast downward, playing the subservient little demon he wanted—but I couldn’t have raised them even if I’d wanted to.
Was Faron’s prediction accurate? Was my bold statement?
I’ve been alive too long to say I would never do something. Circumstances and situations had forced me to perform services I disliked and commit to alliances I hated.
The room was quiet and still, everyone waiting for Lucifer’s next move. His intense regard made me twitchy, and I found it difficult not to fidget. Sweat ran along my hairline and trickled down the back of my neck under my collar.
I’d survived plenty of torture in my day, but never anything like that. Comparing it to the time he’d given me the plague, I rated this attack worse. With either, he could extend the agony out as long as he wanted to, and a tiny part of me felt sorry for those in Hell who suffered his torment over and over.
“Look at me.”
A rush of soothing ice slid into my limbs. The trembling eased. I lifted my gaze.
The expression on his face reminded me of my father’s when I’d disobeyed him. “Tell me exactly what happened between you and Michael.”
I did, describing the desert, Michael’s throne, and the ice prisons. I mentioned my father’s book, the fact that Michael had returned my whip, and his promise of a slice of Paradise for those I cared about.
At the mention of that, Lucifer’s attention flipped to Cole and Rad. Behind his hateful glare, something softened—he was thinking of Amy and his daughter.
On some level, we were the same—we would do anything to save those we loved.
He huffed an angry breath. “You’re a shrewd negotiator.”
As hot as the inferno he’d created inside me had been, the icy sensation swept through me, refreshing. I sighed with relief, my demon quieting. Lucifer’s magic caressed her like a cat.
Shocked that she would allow it, I nevertheless was grateful for her cooperation. “The bloodbond wasn’t my idea,” I told him. “He exacted it against my will before I knew what was happening.”
“That’s true,” Frank said.
I glowered at him over my shoulder, noting that he’d sought shelter in the corner. He glanced away, refusing to meet my eyes.
Traitor.
As suspected, my bodyguards were imprisoned behind an invisible wall. They pounded at it and yelled, but the wall was soundproof, cutting off their protests.
Making eye contact with each, I offered a reassuring smile and a wink to let them know I was okay. Still angry and looking like they wanted to rip Lucifer apart limb by limb, they at least stopped their attempts at breaking free.
Facing Lucifer again, I bowed my head slightly. “I convinced your brother to give me Frank so I could use him as an insider at the Institute. This will allow me to feed Michael information, although I will have to do a few things to make him believe that I’m sabotaging your attempts to fulfill the prophecy.”
His eyes narrowed. “Such as?”
“I could use a few hours, maybe overnight, to devise a plan. We need a way for me to free the six without Michael suspecting that’s my goal. There’s nothing I can offer him as a trade since he must already understand their importance to your success. I can’t even hint that I want them, or he’ll suspect a double cross. Is there any way you could sneak Frank and me into his desert kingdom? We could free them and return here before he even knows it.”
Lucifer shook his head. “He’ll be prepared for that. Now that he has his sword, he’ll most likely use it on them.”
The fact that I hadn’t thought of that made my stomach twist. All of this might be for nothing.
Frank shuffled up from behind me. “He can’t use the sword against another angel, not even a Fallen.”
“Not true,” I told him. “When this whole thing started, he gave me the sword to use on Lucifer.” I motioned at my boss. “As you can see, I didn’t do that, but I did send a Fallen, who I put in Lucifer’s place, to the great beyond with it.”
Frank looked stumped. “That’s not supposed to be possible.” He paced away, rubbing his chin and shaking his head. “But he won’t kill the six if they’re so important to the war’s outcome.” He turned to face us, his eyes brightening as he raised a finger. “That’s it. That’s why he was working with her.”
“What are you talking about?” Lucifer asked.
“Lilith.” Frank returned to my side, nodding his head adamantly. “They made a bargain, and that must be what he promised her—that she could have us in exchange for her help.”
“Help to do what?” I asked. “What does an archangel need the mother of demons to do for him?”
The brightness on Frank’s face evaporated. He glanced at Lucifer and back to me, eyes wide with something to fear. “Oh, boy. Or maybe I should say, girl.”
“What?” I wanted to shake him. “Tell us.”
He swallowed hard. He couldn’t quite seem to meet the archangel’s eyes as he stammered and shifted his weight from foot to foot. “Michael may not be able to harm your daughter because your wife asked for his protection for her, but…”
Understanding hit like a ton of bricks. I gasped and looked at Lucifer. He met my eyes with the same fiery, angry inferno that had burned inside me only moments before.
Faron put a hand to her mouth, and even though she wasn’t seeing the future, she got it, too.
Without hesitation, Lucifer freed Cole and Rad from their prison. The two clamored toward me, grabbing me and checking me over to ensure I was truly okay. I batted away their fussing hands, my stomach bottoming out. “You need to go,” I said to Lucifer. “Check on Amy.”
His full lips were a thin line of wrath. “We’re all going,” he snarled, and the next thing I knew, I was hurling through time and space.
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Lucifer is quite the boss, isn’t he? Don’t miss the next episode!