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 Nine
The institute smells like a typical commercial building, with equal parts carpet, metal, and burnt microwave popcorn. Then you add top notes of body odor and old coffee.
I took a deep breath and felt my shoulders relax for the first time in days.
I never imagined I’d feel at home in such a place but that’s exactly what hit me as I passed familiar faces in the hallway on my way to Damon’s office.
Word here traveled faster than psychic communication, and I was ambushed by Rad before I reached the door.
Dressed in destressed jeans and a blue shirt that brought out his eyes, he enveloped me in a bear hug and kissed me hard. Every bone in my body melted, and I welcomed the heat he stoked in my blood.
In the background, Maddy made gagging noises, and Cole coughed. The door of the office flew open, and Damon cleared his throat.
Rad broke the kiss and grinned. “About time you checked in.”
“Miss me?” I teased, tugging on a lock of his hair. “Nice shirt.”
“Kali,” Damon growled in a scolding tone. “My office.”
“She got a puppy,” Di called, catching up to us.
Damon arched a brow at me.
“It’s Cole’s,” I said, throwing him under the bus.
“Satan’s balls,” Cole grumbled. “I don’t do dogs.”
“Why did you have to get a chihuahua?” Maddy gripped. “I hate those little suckers.” Her were-cheetah boyfriend had once dated a canine shifter—a cute, spunky chihuahua—to make her jealous. “And dogs hate vamps.”
On cue, the dog curled her lip at the teen. “She’s a hitchhiker,” I said. “Di will find her a home.”
“She already has one.” Di hugged her tighter. “Right here with me. What is your name? What if we call you Cutie Pie? No, how about a goddess name? Artemis? Milena?”
The dog barked her approval at the latter.
“We’re not running an animal shelter,” Damon growled.
The dog wagged her tail at him, smitten with his alpha energy, and gave a cute yip. She liked her males on the dominant side. I didn’t blame her. A failing of mine, as well. “We sort of are,” I countered. “Of angels.”
He glared at me. “Not. The. Same.”
“Isn’t it?” I quipped, only half kidding. “Dogs, angels. Not much difference.”
“You are incorrigible.” He opened the door wide and pointed to the visitor seat. “Now.”
I gave Rad a quick kiss and sauntered in, my leg already healing from the bite. Damon ordered Cole in with me, and the War demon took the couch as I flopped into the visitor’s chair. Damon sat at his desk, scribbling something on a ledger in front of him before he slammed it shut and tossed down the pen. “What are you doing here?”
“My job. I brought you two Fallen.”
“You’re to drop them off and get back to work, not spend time catching up with your friends.”
He was often in a bad mood, but I bristled at his lack of appreciation, as well as not inquiring about my health. After all, I’d taken his place with Lucifer so he could return and run the Institute. I’d done him a favor.
“Hey, Kali. Good to see you,” I said in my best Damon imitation. “How’s it going? The Institute isn’t the same without you.” I met his challenging stare, reverting back to my normal tone. “Don’t overdo it on the welcome back, boss.”
He hated it when I called him that. But the look in his eyes told me he was covering for something. Had he actually missed me?
“You wanted to leave to protect your friends from Michael,” he grumbled, “so what are you doing in my office?”
“You just ordered us in here.”
“Since when do you follow orders?”
Well, wasn’t he particularly irascible, today? “What’s going on? Why are you so upset?”
“Nothing for you to worry about. Do you have something to report or not?”
I shifted so I could pull out the scalpel and brooch. I tossed both on his desk. They glowed with the eerie blue light that was all Michael. “The archangel paid a visit to all of the Fallen on my list so far. He annihilated the first one before I could bring him back here. I don’t know what he was planning with the couple I just deposited on your lawn, but he was about to do something because he gave them that brooch.”
“Like what?”
“He’s trying to sabotage us,” Cole said.
I nodded. “How does he know who the Fallen are? Can you look into it? I’d also like to talk to Salmad about a connection between Michael and Lilith.”
Curiosity flickered behind Damon’s dark eyes. “What type of connection?”
I briefed him about what we’d encountered with the mad scientist. “It reminded me of a kid playing with a chemistry set, mixing a bunch of things together, and seeing what the result is. It’s possible the only connection between the two is the demonologist himself, but I suspect there’s more to it.”
“Michael and Lilith can’t be working together,” he said.
“We’ve encountered weirder things.”
There was a knock, and I felt angelic energy prickle my spine. Damon called for the entity to enter.
Tabriss was dressed in black, but there was no denying the glowing aura that emanated from her skin. Her hair was done in a fancy braid, probably thanks to Di. She rushed me, dropping to her knees and grabbing my hand. “You are here.”
We weren’t friends, and her display unnerved me, but I suspected the reason why. “Do you need blood? I thought I left plenty for everyone.”
She licked her lips, her eyes lit with fervor. “No, I am satiated. Did you see him?”
“Who?”
A tremulous smile broke across her face. “Michael, of course.”
Long ago, in a place called Heaven, the two of them were tight. She was Fallen now, though, and when Michael had discovered she was my blood slave, he’d turned his back on her. “Why would you think I’ve seen him?”
The leather squeaked as Cole leaned forward. “Do you know what he’s up to?”
Her eyes never left my face. “Did he say anything about me?”
I removed my hand from her grip. “I haven’t seen or spoken to him. We’re in the middle of a meeting. If you know what he’s up to, great. Tell us. If not, you need to leave.”
Her attention tracked to the items on the desk. “I can sense him.” She shifted to kneel before the desk.
Before she could lock her hands on the scalpel and brooch, I snagged her by the collar and hauled her backward. Coming to my feet, I shoved her toward the door. “Get out, Tabriss. Go to your quarters and wait for Damon.”
She whirled and punched me in the face, knocking me to the ground.
I cursed and bounded back to my feet, my nose spilling blood, but as she lunged for the items, Cole caught her in a vise grip and pinned her to the wall.
I wiped blood from my upper lip. “What the hell?”
Damon scooped the Michael-embued artifacts into a drawer. “Take her to the chapel,” he ordered. “Have Salmad douse her in holy water.”
I wasn’t sure why that would help, but at least it would get her out of the proximity of the items. Cole wrestled her from the room, and I watched Damon go to a section of his bookshelves. He pressed an invisible button, and a portion of the shelves slid sideways.
Behind them, a panel opened, revealing a wall safe. He muttered words in a dead language under his breath, which unlocked it. He withdrew a zippered pouch.
Returning to his desk, he slipped the artifacts inside. “This should contain their magic and break the connection they have to Michael,” he said, zipping it.
“You never told me you had a safe in here.”
“I haven’t needed one until now.” He returned the pouch to it and locked it up. “With so many entities residing inside these walls, it seems prudent.”
“With so many Fallen,” I corrected. We had more to worry about from them than any of the demons or other supers living here. “Why drown Tabriss in holy water if that pouch will do the trick of breaking the compulsion?”
He shrugged, giving a faint smile. “No reason.”
“You want everyone to believe that’s the way it works.”
“No one will come sniffing around for the real impetus then.”
Smart. “Any idea what game Michael’s playing? Is this just about thwarting Lucifer, or does he fear the big divine reunion?”
He returned to his desk, looking as tired as I felt. Mental battles were as taxing as physical ones. “Both.” He motioned at the door. “See your friends, talk to Salmad, get some rest. Then get back out there and track down the next Fallen. I have the feeling we’re running low on time.”
Heading to the chapel, which was previously an interrogation space the priest had converted for his growing congregation, I turned ideas over in my mind. I preferred efficiency, and hunting down Lucifer’s friends would take years at this rate. I sensed the same thing Damon did—we had a limited timeframe with Michael breathing down our necks. Since he was duty-bound to keep Azaria from harm now, he was being more creative in stopping her destiny from coming to fruition.
Salmad was holding a prayer service in the chapel. As I neared the gathering, my skin tingled and itched from the level of angel magic. My ears buzzed, and my teeth ground against each other.
Inside the nave, the group was packed tight, singing a hymn. As one, they swayed. Tabriss was at the front, drenched to the bone. Cole was nowhere in sight.
While humans love to hear angelic voices, to a demon, it’s worse than howling hellhounds. I longed for earplugs but had to settle for layering a bit of my magic over my ears as I marched to the front of the group to stand at the foot of the pulpit.
Salmad gave me an irritated shake of his head, warning me not to interrupt.
I did anyway, using a sharp whistle to bring the singing to a stop. “That’s all for today,” I said loud enough to shut down the last few still carrying on. I clapped my hands and made waving motions. Most of them blinked at me, exchanging looks as if coming out of a trance.
“What is the meaning of this, Kali?” Salmad said through clenched teeth. “This is a sacred space, and you’re being rude.”
Rude? I chuckled to myself. “Everyone out,” I ordered. I turned to him. “I need to talk to you about something important involving Michael and Lilith.”
“Can’t it wait?” He gripped the sides of the pulpit, turning his knuckles white. “It’s rare I can get them all together like this.”
A few stood and moved toward the exit. I waved at those in the closest rows, shooing them off. “No can do, priest. We need to talk now.”
“Let’s resume today at two,” he called to the exiting congregation. “I’ll make sure we’re not interrupted at that time.”
A few stragglers gave me the evil eye. I gave it right back.
Once we were alone, I told him about my experience with the demonologist and the mixed-up magics. I also filled him in about the artifacts infused with Michael’s magic. “I asked Sophia about spells that link him to Lilith or any history that I could call on to figure out a potential liaison between them, but she came up mostly blank.” I gave him the info that she had shared about the archaeologist and shrugged. “What do you think?”
His face was tight, his eyes still snapping with anger. “I don’t know anything off the top of my head that I can tell you, but I’ll research it.”
I clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks.”
“That’s it? You dump that on me and say thanks without an apology for interrupting my gathering?”
“You do understand the importance of my job, right? I’m charged with locating and bringing in thousands of Fallen. Working around other people’s schedules is not a high priority for me. Lucifer is an impatient master, and I don’t owe you an apology. I need everyone onboard, using their skills and capabilities to help me with this. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings but get over it. We’re not here to be friends with or play nursemaid to these angels. We are here to recover and rehabilitate them before handing them over to the king of Hell.”
He blustered, and I left him standing there in his self-righteousness. “As soon as you have anything, call me,” I said over my shoulder as I marched out.
The heat in my blood drew me to Rad, who waited in my assigned room. Neither of us said a word, stripping each other of our clothes and coming together in a flurry of desperation and lust.
He swore softly in French as I grabbed him and guided him inside me, my hips bucking against him as my legs locked him into an unbreakable grip. We didn’t make it to the bed, and he pinned me to the wall as he drove himself into me over and over again. My climax hit hard and fast, and I cried out, my magic blowing out of me. The gust knocked over the bookcase and sent the contents across the floor.
He slammed a hand into the wall as he followed me into bliss, and it was only a few moments later, as we came down from our lust, that I realized he’d put a hole through the plaster.
Words still escaped us as we fell, laughing, onto the bed. We kissed, and he trailed his hands over my naked body as if he couldn’t get enough of me.
Two fingers slipped inside of me, and I gasped, my body quaking again with desire. He lowered his mouth to one of my breasts, and I felt a second orgasm on the verge of exploding between my legs. I sank one hand into his hair, gripping it tight, my body arching under his. The other scratched and clawed at his back.
Just as I was about to go over the cliff of pleasure again, I felt an odd tug in the center of my chest, right below my breastbone. My body became transparent, and Rad swore. “What is going on?”
“Oh, shit.” I tried to force him off me, but my hand became spectral, and it went right through his shoulder. I could no longer feel his fingers inside me. “Lucifer is…”
The next instant, I was standing outside the gates of Hell again.
Only this time, I was completely naked, and Lucifer was waiting for me.
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Nothing like showing up in front of Lucifer in the buff! Comment and let me know what you liked about this chapter!