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!
***
Sweet Malice, Kali Sweet Urban Fantasy Series
©2025 Misty Evans
Merde. This was almost my version of paradise until she showed up. Did I want to know what she wanted?
No. No, I didn’t.
Alciscor was a name Lilith used for me, based on a similar Latin term that meant to avenge. Because of her power and status in the demon world, I should have bowed my head and greeted her appropriately. I didn’t. “Wish I could say the same.”
She quirked a brow and stalked me, her nostrils flaring at the scent of my blood. Her black hair fell in perfect waves around her shoulders. Her skin was impeccable, her almond-shaped eyes as dark as Azaria’s. “Did he do this to you, my pet?”
I was done playing games, and I was nobody’s pet. My desire to get back to Rad, Cole, and the others hadn’t dimmed, but damn if I didn’t need a break. “What do you want?”
Her hounds, as tall as my chest, sniffed me. At my tone, each of them peeled back their lips and showed me their fangs.
Sharp, very pointed fangs.
I exposed my own teeth, letting them know I could bite, too.
The tip of her dagger traced the outline of my jaw and slid down my neck to the base of my throat. “What has he done to you to make you lose your spark?”
My spark? Was this some New Age mumbo-jumbo? Had Lilith become enlightened? I didn’t respond, noting that the dagger was too damn close for comfort.
She smiled slyly. “Your blood smells of Michael.”
No sense in pretending otherwise. “I’m bloodbound to him.”
“Why would you do such a senseless thing?”
“To save those I care about.”
She sneered. “Humans?”
“And Demons. If Paradise comes, we’ll cease to exist.”
“That’s why I’m here.” She removed the dagger point from my skin and waved it around, indicating our surroundings. “Do you know what this place was?”
“Lucifer says it’s the Lost City of Angels.”
“Before that, this was Eden.”
I scanned the landscape, searching for any indication it had previously been the famed Biblical garden. I saw nothing to indicate that, and Lilith wasn’t exactly known for her honesty. On the other hand, why would she lie? “Doesn’t look like much now.”
The hounds backed off so she could stroll in a circle around me, using the dagger to touch me in various places. She ran the tip down one arm, around my lower back, and up the other arm before standing in front of me again. She pressed her rack to mine and searched my face as if she might find the answer to her salvation there.
Good luck with that.
“I’m raising an army,” she purred, “and I want you to join me.”
“I’m sort of all joined out.” The dagger was between our stomachs, and while I preferred it didn’t get buried in mine, I didn’t get the feeling she planned to use it. “The archangels beat you to it. They’ve both enlisted my help, and I have no choice but to fulfill my bargain with Michael. However, doing so will make sure at least some demons survive.”
Hopefully, not you.
She touched the end of my nose, and the broken cartilage snapped, righting itself. I barked a yell and stumbled backward, grabbing it.
A cloth appeared in her hand, and she tossed it at me to wipe the blood away. “What if we send the angels back to Heaven,” she said, “and we take over the Earth?”
My jaw still hurt, but her magic was healing my nose. My own magic was lending a hand.
I cleaned myself up and shoved the bloody cloth into my back pocket. I didn’t trust her not to use it against me somehow down the road. “That’s not going to happen. There’s a prophecy—”
“I know about the prophecy. There have been many such things since time began that have never come true because of beings like you and I. There are many timelines, alciscor, and we have choices.”
I wasn’t going anywhere, so I figured I might as well hear her out. I just wish I had something to eat while she talked. “Like what?”
“The key to stopping our demise resides in the Bridge Institute under your care now.”
She knew about that, huh? “Lucifer has a Fate with him. She knew what you were planning the moment you put it into place. His wife and daughter are off-limits. He’s put me here for that very reason because he doesn’t trust me after Michael forced me into the bloodbond. He wrongly believes that I moved his family to the bunker to kill them myself.”
“And would you? To save us?”
Not her, but it was best I didn’t divulge that fact. “Going up against Lucifer is a suicide mission.”
“Allowing him to reunite the Fallen with Heaven is as well, is it not?”
“Fun fact—he doesn’t like me, and he can destroy me with half a thought.”
“Yet, you still live.” She gave me that sly smile again. “You and I are on the same side, and with my protection, he won’t be able to touch you.”
“You can’t win against the archangels.”
The old Lilith would have lashed out at me, but the new version seemed exceptionally confident as she strode to one of the broken monuments, hopping up on it. “Alone?” Her voice rang out over the area. “No. But with my army…” She swept the dagger through the air in a semi-circle around her. The energy pulsed, and I gasped as thousands of demons came into view.
They muttered and snarled and shifted from foot to foot. Some were bipedal, others on all fours. They sported tough, wrinkled skin, elongated claws, and horns. Bulging eyes glared at me, and noses flared as they scented me. Some bore weapons, others were weapons in and of themselves.
A horror movie come to life. The stench of sulfur hit my nose, and I eased my way backward, keeping an eye on them. Previously, I’d taken on a dozen or so attackers at once, but this many? There was no way I would survive if she gave the word for them to kill me.
“I have a plan,” she purred, jumping down beside me. “I want you to be my general.”
I saw the future again, not because of Azaria’s vision, but thanks to my imagination. Thousands of demons covering the Earth and consuming humans.
Bloody, brutal extinction.
And then what? Would they turn on each other when there were no humans left?
Azaria’s vision fell again like a filter over everything, this time making more sense. Her father stood—a giant in all his Lightbringer glory—on the edge of the world, cradling her lifeless body in one arm. The sword of Michael was in his other hand. But where was Amy in the vision?
On my knees before him, I bowed my head, waiting for the blade to remove it from my neck. Nothing was left; Lucifer had scorched the entire world to rid it of the demon pestilence that had taken over.
More than that, he’d ended the source of all suffering and was about to take the final act of retribution—against me.
For I was the Beast who’d risen up and killed the savior of the Fallen. I’d killed Azaria.
“My legion can be yours,” Lilith crooned, pushing a strand of hair from my face like a mother. “Work with me, alciscor, and I will give you everything.”
Her army seemed to move as one, closing in another step. If I said no, would they tear me limb from limb? Eat my heart? Take me to Hell and torture me for eternity?
She wasn’t giving me much of a choice, but everything was a negotiation. “I have a request,” I said. “Two, actually.”
A pause. Her patience and enlightened self were growing thin. “I’m listening.”
“I want Michael’s sword.” The memory of how good it felt in my hand caused my palm to heat. Even Volante had felt the attraction to it. I wished she was with me now, and I tried to remember where I’d left her. I was exhausted beyond my limits if I’d lost track of my beloved whip.
“That’s a substantial request.”
“I’ll need it if I am to go up against him or Lucifer, and that’s assured if you’re rising against them.”
She hesitated, then faced me and smiled. Either she was confident she would get it, or she was bluffing. “Done. And the second?”
“Dinner. Steak—rare—and fries, with cheesecake for dessert. Preferably back on Earth with my friends.”
“Another sizable request.”
“Compared to taking out the archangels and Fallen? This is peanuts. If you can’t provide either, you’re not strong enough to win the war.”
“A test?” She chucked me on the chin. Her hellhounds showed me their fangs again.
I snarled back. I’d slaughtered plenty of their kind, and my demon was done being intimidated. “Call it whatever you like, but those are my terms if you want my help.”
She snapped her fingers, and the next thing I knew, I was in the Institute’s cafeteria with a full-course steak meal in front of me.
When Damon strode in and yelled, “What the hell, Kali?” I glanced up from shoveling in the medium-rare piece of meat.
“You need better wards.” I swallowed and sucked down some fries. “And once those are in place, we need to talk.”
It took some serious negotiating with Alexandru, the king of the Chicago vampires, but Damon managed to get Victoria, the strongest witch I knew outside of Amy, to his office.
Victoria had once been in our dungeons but had petitioned Dru to be moved to the Chicago House. He didn’t like having her there, but thanks to me, she was a vampire now, and he had a responsibility to each and every one of them.
Dressed to the nines in a silk suit with a red ascot, Dru was the sexiest vampire in the world. Not by my standards but by Maddy’s and most of his followers. Thanks to the newest addition to the House, an influencer from one of the social media platforms, they had a monthly vampire ezine called Lust. Dru was featured in every issue.
While I was his queen, we shared no romantic relationship. It was only business. But damn. He was a fine male as he stood in the room, staring me down with an intensity that said he wanted to strip me naked and discipline me for making him deal with the witch. Looked like Damon would have to get in line for that spanking. “You said it was an emergency.”
My blood had snapped to attention the moment he’d stepped onto the property. We shared something wholly different than anything I’d ever experienced. We’d exchanged blood—not because I’d wanted to, but in order to survive, certain concessions had been necessary. That bond gave us certain leverage with each other, as well. Hence, asking for this favor. “Good to see you, too, my lord,” I said, giving him a cocky grin. “It’s been too long.”
Dru’s irritation slid away, his keen senses instantly alert at my sweet words. “Where are my manners?” He strode forward, took my hand, and kissed my palm, his eyes never leaving mine. As his lips brushed my skin, he inhaled deeply and smiled at me from beneath his dark brows. “I am glad to see you are well.”
That was debatable. I gave a mock curtsey. “And you, my lord.”
Damon’s impatient magic flared, goosing mine. Get on with it.
“I apologize for interrupting your day.” I left my hand in Dru’s grip, not disliking the thrum of his power flowing up my arm and into my chest. So much darker and richer than the tartness of angelic mojo. “I’m in need of Victoria’s spellwork to enhance the Institute’s wards, and it is indeed an emergency.”
Victoria spat on the ground, her wild red hair shorter than the last time I’d seen her. “Go screw yourself. I got nothing out of our last deal.”
When she was human, she’d been a powerful witch and leader of the Satrina Arcanum. I wanted her for more than the wards, but baby steps. “You have a reputation now that rivals mine when it comes to outsmarting archangels,” I reminded her. “And Dru was kind enough to grant your petition to move to the House.”
She raised her manacled hands. “I’m still a prisoner.”
Slipping past Dru, I faced her. She’d lost much of the crazed manic energy she’d had when I’d first met her. I hoped her devotion to another queen was still intact. “I’ve spoken to Lilith. She has a job for you.”
Interest flared behind her flat eyes, but she quickly squelched it. “You’re lying.”
“There’s a New World order coming, Vicky. Do this tiny favor for me, and I’ll make sure you have a prominent position in it.”
The two males behind me and the guards on either side of her stiffened. None knew what I was talking about, but instinct told them to be wary.
“That’s where you made your mistake,” Vicky said. “As soon as you say ‘tiny,’ I know it will be a major favor. I also know you hate Lilith. You would never work with her.”
“When it comes to manipulating certain outcomes, I have many bed partners.” I winked at her. “The chessboard has been rearranged, and I’ll work with whomever I need to in order to save demons, vampires, and even you, Victoria.”
My sincerity must have registered. Curiosity replaced her hesitancy. “Go on.”
“The spell you used to cloak me from Michael—you strengthened it to cover the Institute and the Fallen.”
“Yeah, so?”
“It’s no longer effective. Has it weakened because you’re not here, or did you purposely set it to fail at some point?”
Her face blanched. “My magic is not weak.”
“Then, you admit that you intentionally designed the spell to fail?”
“Surely not,” Dru said, moving to stand beside me. “That would endanger your queen and be seen as an act of treason.”
Punishable by death. Permanent death in the Undead world.
Vicky had often claimed she didn’t fear dying—Lilith was in Hell, after all, and she’d get to be with her. But she preferred to raise the mother of demons and let her party it up on Earth. That had always been Vicky’s goal.
While that might still be buried under the current self-righteous attitude, she didn’t show it. “Anything is better than being a prisoner.”
Vicky had gone Zen on me before my last showdown with Michael. How could I motivate her now without giving too much away?
Michael and Lucifer had learned that threats only went so far in motivating me, and both had switched to offering me rewards instead. It was time I turned the tables and did the same with her. “I’ll grant you your freedom in exchange for a simple reupping of the magic.”
Stunned silence smacked into me.
“You can’t be serious,” Dru said.
Everyone around me would have to put considerable trust in me going forward. I was going to say and do things that made them doubt my allegiances, my cunning, and my intelligence. “Dead serious. The battles are only beginning. The war we face is beyond our comprehension. We must reinforce the wards so we can speak more freely, or any planning we do is moot.”
Everything in Vicky stilled. Everything but the wheels in her brain. Even the most hardened criminal imprisoned for life can flip over like a dog and show you their belly when the carrot of freedom is dangled in front of them. “I don’t believe you,” she said.
“If I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t either. Things have changed, however. For all of us. I’m looking for new allies, and I’d like you to be one of them.”
The deafening silence fell again. Dru and Damon were telepathically trying to get my attention, demanding to know what I was doing. I pushed them to the back of my mind, letting them buzz like bees around a hive while I stayed focused on her.
Leaning toward me, she sniffed. I forced myself not to back up. Her vampire senses picked up the scent of sand, hellhounds, and the queen she loved to worship. Probably a tinge of sulfur and brimstone, as well.
Her nostrils flared, and her eyes went wide. “Did she ask for me?”
An echo of Tabriss’s previous question about Michael. Love made us stupid, devotion even more so. “Why do you think I’m here requesting you reinforce the wards? I can’t give you her message until I’m sure a certain entity isn’t listening.” I pointed toward the heavens.
She knew I was talking about Michael.
The manacles jangled as she held out her hands. The offer of freedom had snagged her interest, but the idea that Lilith had a message for her made her sit up and beg. “What are you waiting for? Do it.”
Will Vicky betray Kali? Find out what happens in the next chapter!