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 Two
Clown face signs leered from every abandoned ride and carnival booth. “Hell take me, I hate clowns.”
I sat on the side of a hill, frowning at the weed-choked landscape and the scattered rides below, which were in various states of rust and decay. A few tents defied the general apocalypse appearance, standing proud, but their fabric sides were ripped in places, and sections blew in the breeze.
I half expected zombies to appear and was tentatively happy that Zayfeer didn’t.
When my sharp hearing caught the sound of footsteps behind me, I vaulted to my feet and whirled. My hand automatically reached for Volante. It came away empty since my whip had been blown to pieces by Michael’s former lover, Tabriss. A fallen angel I hated with a passion, but she was my blood slave now, and I kept her on a short leash. She was never returning to heaven if I had my say.
A throwing star missed my head by inches as I ducked and rolled, bounding back up and facing my attacker.
“About time you showed up,” Cole said. “I’ve been waiting here for hours.”
No whining nanny-angel. In his place, my favorite warrior. Lucifer had the right to be smug. He was intelligent, cunning, drop-dead gorgeous, and held the power of heaven, even though he was the king of hell. He’d fooled me again.
If Cole had wanted to hit me with the throwing star, he would have. Missing me showed he cared. I nearly laughed with glee and threw myself at him, my relief at seeing a familiar face palpable.
Being who I am, emotional displays of affection are off the table. They make me appear weak, and Cole wouldn’t appreciate it, anyway. I brushed dust from my leather pants and gave him a cocky smile. “You know archangels, a bunch of holier-than-thou schoolgirls. I had a ton of red tape to cut through.”
He approached, picking up the star that I had given him as a gift and pocketing it. “Ready?”
“You’re my partner? For real?” Score another surprise for Lucifer’s camp. “How?”
His dark brown hair had been shorn close to the scalp. He kept his matching eyes averted. “Damon said you needed someone watching your ass. Last I checked, that’s my job.”
But only Lucifer got to make that call now. Was he continuing to sweeten the pot to gain my trust? If so, why? “I’m grateful, but I don’t technically work for Damon while I’m hunting Fallen.”
“I do, and you’re my assignment.” Seeing my hesitation, he added, “He cleared it with your asshole boss. We good?”
Referring to Lucifer as my asshole boss could get him chucked right into the Pit. Hopefully, Lucifer wasn’t listening.
Damon wasn’t without his own cunning and ability to manipulate. I knew that firsthand. Had he cut a deal or convinced the devil I’d be more efficient with a tried and true partner by my side?
Right now, I didn’t care. I wasn’t going to look a gift demon in the mouth. I nodded and strolled a few feet away, brooding. “What are the odds that Azaria will reunite heaven and earth?”
He didn’t miss a beat. It had probably been on his mind as well. “We placing bets?”
The former Roman gladiator liked to gamble. “Sure, why not?”
“I give her ten to one.”
That was more than I’d give. “And if she does? What happens to us?”
He understood I meant the collective ‘us,’ the demon population. A shrug. “Sin will still exist.”
Would it, though? I didn’t think so. We treaded slowly down the incline, both of us scanning the place for signs of life. “You sound certain of that.”
“You’re not?”
I stopped midway, feeling my gut tighten. “I suspect there’s more to all of this than we realize.”
Another shrug as he halted next to me. He appeared casual and relaxed, yet he’d picked up on my sense that something was off. “We’re pawns in all of this. Gods, angels, humans…they use us and then exterminate us like ants. That’s how it’s always been and always will be.”
Hunting with Cole was one of my favorite things to do. Still, Michael was out there, crafting some form of revenge on me. That put him in danger. “Are you sure about this? Working with me?”
“No place I’d rather be.” He elbowed me, reached under his leather trench coat, and pulled out a fine-looking sword. “I can use some bonus points with the ruler of Hell. Besides, Damon is already making life at the Institute unbearable.”
“Why?”
“I have the feeling he’s none too happy about your new assignment.”
That made two of us. “Why do you want to earn points with Lucifer? Spoiler alert, calling him names isn’t your best play.”
“Eh, you know. Hedging my bets.” I arched a brow, and he grinned. “When you take over Hell, I want to be there.”
He always had my back. Always. I never doubted it. We’d been through too much together. “Sorry to disappoint you, but that card is off the table.”
“Is it?” He didn’t wait for my reply. “Seems like someone has an admirer, even though he’d never admit it.”
“What are you talking about?”
“How many demons, or any beings for that matter, have outwitted Lucifer? He doesn’t trust you but sees you as his equal in many ways. He dared to go against God; you dared to go against Michael. For him. He respects that. Azaria cleans up the mess he and his witch created, and they live happily ever after. He’ll turn over the Pit to you.”
I laughed, a full belly chortle that echoed over the empty park. “Lucifer doesn’t see anyone as his equal. And my virtue may prevent me from entering Hell.”
Cole held up the sword, light rippling along the blade. “All I’m asking for is a seat at the table when you take over.”
“If Hell continues to exist, and Lucifer bails as king, Damon will be in line for that position.”
He groaned. “Fuck me.”
“Come on, Damon is a prince. He’s also got the most experience running large organizations.” Which Hell was. “You know what my worst fear is?”
“That Beaumont will write another sappy love song about you?”
Smartass. Rad, my lover, was a former rock star. He’d written plenty of songs about and for me. “Besides that.”
“What?”
“That I’m helping Lucifer destroy all of us, along with the humans. Azaria reunites the Fallen with Heaven, returns Earth to Paradise, and therefore eradicates sin for humanity. Without them, we cease to exist.”
Fiddling with the sword’s handle, he seemed to soak that in. “Then I guess you better start thinking up a plan to save us.”
My logic agreed. We stood shoulder to shoulder, gazing down at the ruined park. “What the hell is a Fallen doing here?” I muttered.
“Beats me.” He resumed his descent, sneering at all the clown-themed signs. “As long as there are no actual clowns…” He shuddered.
The prickles along my skin hinted worse things were waiting for us. “I hate them, too, especially sceleros.” Those were demons that clowns had been based on. We’d recently had one loose in Chicago preying on kids. My buddy, Michael, had used the little prick as a distraction to prime me for his hostile takeover of my vessel, but Rad caught the demon, and I sent him packing back to Hell.
Halting near the entrance to the grounds and a dilapidated sign faded over time, Cole handed me the sword. “Where do we start?”
The weight was just right. I twirled the handle in my palm, jabbed the air in a mock fight, and pivoted to bring it across my imaginary opponent’s neck. “Nice. One of yours?”
“I might have taken it off a vamp who didn’t need it any longer.”
I chuckled. He’d been brawling again. “Let me guess, Dru won’t be sending you a Christmas card this year?”
“If he does, I’ll shove it up his royal master vampire ass.”
“That’s the real reason you’re here, isn’t it? You killed one of the Chicago Undead and pissed off the vamp king. Damon needed to get you out of town until Dru cools off.”
“You weren’t there, and the guy made a move on my property.”
“Brianna is not your property.”
“Tell her that.”
I rolled my eyes. Cole and the female vampire, who happened to be one of Dru’s bodyguards as well as his favorite recurring snack, fought like feral cats and screwed each other like them, too. Most of the time, I couldn’t tell if they loved or hated each other. Quite a predicament for a demon such as Cole, who’d lived his whole life killing vampires and knew the female had a thing for her master. Knowing Cole, he probably offed the vamp just to piss Dru off.
I raised the sword so the tip pointed outward, holding it like a water witch using a dousing rod. Sending some of my magic into it, I was pleasantly surprised when it trembled and jerked six inches to the right. “That way.”
The blade could never replace Volante but had enough sentience it wanted to please me. We started walking, alert to whatever waited for us. Lucifer may have sent me here, but that didn’t ensure there wouldn’t be trouble.
Zombies and clowns were the least of our problems when we stopped in front of the funhouse. The building was a faded red without windows. The marquee overhead had lost structural support, and one side listed precariously, ready to fall at the next strong wind. The walls were disintegrating along the foundation, and a swarm of black beetles seethed about the door. We exchanged a glance, the sword insisting our quarry was inside.
“I don’t like it,” Cole said. “Can you sense anything?”
I placed the palm of my hand against the wall, closing my eyes. Earth magic zinged up my legs as I opened myself to it. I held still, enjoying the rush, and tuned my mind to the structure and what it held inside. The beat of a heart came back. So did magic, but it wasn’t like ours. It filled my nose with the smell of beeswax, herbs, and blood.
The faint scent of steel registered with the blood—a knife. Sacrifices? Torture? “One entity, but traces of more. Blood magic has been used, but other stuff as well.” There was no ward, but bits of spells hung in the air like the ash behind Lucifer’s gates. “It feels very…human.”
“At least it’s not a scelero.”
“Stay here.” I kept the blade at the ready. While I might find more than a Fallen waiting for me, even they could be a handful. Rarely did they realize who and what they were, which caused them to run or fight me. Convincing them I wanted to help was a losing battle. “But stay out of sight.”
His hesitation told me he hated this plan. He still did as I asked, slipping into the shadows of the building.
Touching my ring fingers and thumbs together to raise my protective magic, I walked into the dim interior, stepping over the tide of bugs. At least it wasn’t rats. I’d forgotten about Lucifer’s ring—it reminded me it was present when it heated on my chest.
I drew the chain from under my shirt to find it hanging there. That guy. Always thinking about me.
The sigils glowed as if the gold were lit from within with the fires of Hell. I settled the magical passport under my clothes, feeling an odd reassurance that it held protective magic along with its transporter skills.
The temperature in the sunless interior was a few degrees cooler. The odor of unwashed bodies and weed hit my nose, blanketing my earlier psychic smell. My sensitive senses recoiled as I trudged deeper and deeper, using my natural night vision to see.
A buzzing rippled over my skin— magic, and heavy doses of it. Under the putrid surface stink and the ritual odors of burning candles and herbs, I caught another that made me slow my steps. The stench and feel of Lilith, who was technically the mother of all demons, wasn’t something you forget once you’ve come into contact with it.
Definitely not human. Was the queen of demons walking the earth again? If so, how? While logic said it wasn’t possible, and this wasn’t her usual MO, I knew better than to charge in mindlessly. In the supernatural world, anything is possible.
Now on high alert, I retraced my steps and found Cole, telling him what I’d sensed.
His face went tight, his magic coiling like an asp ready to strike. “You’re sure?”
On the way back to him, I’d considered and discarded several possibilities. “Lucifer would know if she was here. Either he sent me into a trap, or it’s not her.”
“Any hell hounds?”
She always traveled with a pack. They were invisible unless she wanted them to be seen, but I could sense when they were present. “None.”
“Could it be a witch like Vicky? Working with Lilith?”
Vicky was a former human witch who was now a vampire and a long-term resident of Bridge’s dungeon. She’d once successfully raised Lilith from Hell. “That’s my guess.”
“Great.” He pulled out a dagger. “Can’t wait to meet her.”
“A witch hiding off the grid in a place like this but forgoing any wards. Weird, right?”
He glanced around, and I knew he was taking in the scenery as if he were human. “I can see some punk kids coming here to do drugs or drink. Maybe a homeless person seeking shelter.” Both confirmed the body odor and pot. “Other than that? Maybe she doesn’t have anybody to hide from, and this beats paying rent.”
“Maybe she’s simply human.”
“A human dabbling in black magic who doesn’t know enough to ward up.” He considered it. “Not scared, but seeking something. Retribution?”
It wouldn’t be the first time a scorned woman delved into the dark belly of blood spells to exact revenge. I nodded, yet that didn’t feel right, either.
He recognized my hesitation. “Is it possible she already left? That what you’re smelling and sensing is residual?”
It wasn’t out of the question. “I think we have two different entities.” Once, I’d entered a haunted house at a pop-up circus at Halloween, searching for a lemurea. Spectral demons attach themselves to buildings, usually houses, where they feed on humans and cause trouble. The more Hollywood versions were actual ghosts and poltergeists. Lemurea, however, could appear as three-dimensional as any other creature and often lived and worked side-by-side with humans. They hung around places where large groups gathered, such as apartment buildings, high-rise offices, and the like. The one I’d been hunting fed off the fear people expressed inside the haunted house, adding his own flavor to the ridiculous jump scares.
An amusement park could feed their kind equally well, but with this place being a ghost town, I doubted our magic worker was getting much bang for their buck at this point. Witch or demon, it didn’t make sense, but I feared our fallen angel was their captive. “This building has secret passageways and hidden rooms.” Just like the haunted house I’d tracked the lemurea through. “I suspect I didn’t go deep enough, and when I do, I’ll run into some nasty magic. Not only will it try to kill me, but it will alert our current supernatural resident.”
“I’m coming with you.”
While I didn’t want to admit it, I wanted him to. After everything that had happened in the past few weeks, my brain might be the thing that was off in this situation. Michael had, after all, scrambled it to leave Lucifer a message.
My emotions had also been a roller coaster that could give any amusement park ride a run for its money. “Let’s be smart about this, do recon first. I want more intel before we bust in there.”
War demons rarely like to cool their heels, but Cole isn’t any warrior. He’s a bodyguard like none I’ve ever known. There is no one I would want to go into battle with more. Uncovering information and details about our enemy would mean the difference between a successful mission and being hit with a magical bomb or taking a few rounds of holy water to the chest.
“We’re not dying today.” He took out a second dagger. “You know the routine. I take lead.”
Man, I hated it when he pulled that card, but the training I’d received from him always worked best if I conceded to his uncanny ability to handle dodgy surveillance. Typically, we both preferred to go in guns blazing, but this required stealth.
Don’t take it personally. He was better at this stuff than I was, period. “If I get a whiff of Lilith or anything else I don’t like, we abandon ship and regroup.”
He nodded his agreement. “And if our Fallen is being held against their will?”
He often read my mind. “Their captor is all yours.”
He grinned, wicked and evil. I knew which outcome he was hoping for. “Either way, we go for a beer and steak after this.”
“I’ll buy.”
And then I followed him into the funhouse.
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Things are always more fun for Kali when Cole’s around. Comment and let me know what you liked about this chapter! And don’t miss what happens next!