Balance (The Balance Series Book 1)

by Janelle Stalder

  I wanted Caleb.

  “Your little Russian friend had it right, you know?”

  “Artem?” I tried speaking again.

  “Yes. I know he told you everything. Did you think it all superstitious nonsense?” he asked, laughing.

  Yes, of course I did, I thought looking at him. Who would believe something like that?

  “I figured as much,” he said, shaking his head. “Most people nowadays would, that’s what makes things so much easier for me.” He sighed, then got up again and walked to the far wall. Leaning there he looked at me smugly, arms crossed.

  Was he the Devil? I thought sceptically. That was something you saw in movies, not in real life, not standing across the room from you. I couldn’t bring myself to believe it, yet he seemed to be implying that it was true.

  “There have been so many names,” he said, almost too quietly for me to hear.

  My mouth dropped open in shock, splitting my lip again. Had he read my mind?

  “I know the one you probably jump to, and it’s just as true or untrue as the rest of them. When you’ve been around as long as I, it really doesn’t matter what people call you anymore. The Devil,” he snickered. “Satan, Lucifer, Hades, Asmodai, Dis Peter, Demon, etcetera, etcetera. All the same in the end really, you see,” he continued shrugging his shoulders.

  My body jerked when someone sniffled behind me. A familiar smell hit my nose, turning my stomach, but couldn’t put my finger on what it was exactly. It was making me break out into a sweat, and suddenly I had a strong urge to vomit.

  Dermot’s revelation didn’t help matters either. He walked around the room again, making my heart jump every time he got too near to me. I listened in amazement as he lectured me on his very existence.

  The Devil.

  “In folklore they had me as a God of wealth, death, lust, the underworld, you name it. Anything that was bad I controlled, which essentially is true in a way. They would sometimes describe me as a prince of hell, someone who controls the evils of this world, and things like human sexual desire.” He laughed. “How bad can that really be?”

  Other voices behind me laughed with him. Now I wasn’t sure how many people were in the room. It sounded as though there were more than one or two behind me. Goosebumps started to rise along my arms, the tiny hairs standing on end. My body began to shake in fear.

  “Let me be clear,” Dermot continued, grabbing my attention again. “I’ve never controlled hell, or any underworld for that matter. My home is not one of fire and lava, humans just have a very bright imagination. No, no, my home has always been amongst you mortals, where I could better carry out my duties. Nevertheless, people believe what they want to.

  Newer religions started to spring up and become popular like Christianity and Islam, where they also found a place for me. The Devil, they called me, or Satan. It was somewhat refreshing to have a new spin on things for myself. Of course my general description stayed the same – an evil entity, a tempter of mankind. I was put here to lure you easily influenced humans away from the all-powerful God.” He stopped in front of me, a slow smile spreading across his face, distorting it.

  “I was to take your souls, and all that nonsense. A trickster they even called me. Little did they realize that in very few situations did I have to use any tricks whatsoever.” He leaned in toward me. I attempted to move away from him, with no effect. “You see, I never tell people what to do, I simply suggest. People don’t need to be tricked or told to do bad things – look at our late friend Brian Connor, whom might I add your boyfriend very neatly destroyed against my orders, but that is another issue. People like that already have it in them, they just need to be pushed in the right direction, and let me assure you my pet, it doesn’t take a very hard push at that.” He stepped away and sat back down across from me.

  “I play on what already exists in people, that’s all. You are all born with the ability to do good or to do evil. Don’t blame me for that,” he said holding up his hands in mock innocence. “He gave you all the gift of freewill, freedom to make your own choices. Some people just happen to make some really bad ones.”

  The people behind me chuckled again, causing the hair on the back of my neck to stand up. I was so engrossed in what Dermot was saying that I hadn’t been paying attention to the smell I noticed before, but now that I heard the others again I began to smell it once more. My stomach turned and I leaned over and dry heaved until my stomach felt as though it would rip apart.

  Dermot sat quietly and watched me. “Get her some water,” he finally said.

  I sat up and tried to catch my breath. Kellan appeared beside me with a glass of murky liquid. I didn’t care what it looked or tasted like at that point, all I wanted was something to cool down my throat. He held the cup to my lips as I drained the whole thing dry.

  “Thank you,” I murmured. He nodded and disappeared behind me again. I tried to breathe through my mouth, so I wouldn’t smell the stench anymore.

  “Better?” Dermot asked. I nodded. “Good, then let us continue. As you can see, no matter the religion or culture, it is all relatively the same thing, and it really doesn’t matter what they name me or describe me as, I am what I am.”

  “And what is that?” I managed.

  “The force of evil on this earth that is the direct opposition to the good,” he said, raising his eyebrows.

  My eyes narrowed. I didn’t know if I should believe him, it all sounded so farfetched, but there was something about him that told me he probably wasn’t joking.

  “I keep things balanced here amongst you mortals. If it weren’t for me, there would be no good. You can’t have one without the other, so really you need me,” he continued. “People should learn to appreciate my existence in this world, because without me they wouldn’t feel the true joy of life’s little miracles when they do happen. Like love,” he said wistfully. “How would you know love like yours and Caleb’s, if you didn’t know the hate you felt for people like Brian Connor? The contrast makes everything that much more sweeter.”

  “You’re sick,” I blurted out. He just laughed, as did the others behind me.

  “Now, now, let’s not get personal. I’m not such a bad person, Vivian,” he said leaning on his elbows. “Like I said before, I simply suggest things to people, I never directly interfere. It’s you humans that are the sick ones, not me. Even I couldn’t have thought up things like the Holocaust.” He shook his head, leaning back. “Mankind has had many downfalls all on their own. You see, you give humans enough rope, and they’re bound to hang themselves with it.”

  The room fell into silence as we stared at each other. My heart was racing, and I could feel my eyes begin to burn from the tears again as his words sunk in. How could this man really exist? I thought dreadfully. How could Caleb be a product of something so cruel? I physically shook my head without saying anything, trying to push away the bad thoughts. Caleb was better than this man.

  He was good.

  “He’s not, you know. Not like you think he is,” Dermot answered my unspoken denials. Tears started to fall from my eyes as I looked away from him. “Be angry with Him,” he said pointing towards the sky. “He made it possible for me to exist by making you humans so weak and vulnerable. I simply saw an opportunity and took hold of it. I fell willingly, finding a place more fitting for me and my sons here on earth. Don’t curse my name.”

  I wanted to tell him to shut up, but instead I kept my eyes focused on the wall beside me. I tried to wriggle my hands and feet free, but it was useless. I could barely feel them, and I was too stiff to have any strength. Dermot laughed at my weak attempt.

  My head hung lower as more tears made their way down my cheeks and nose. If only this were a bad dream again, I thought wishfully. I knew it wasn’t though, I knew it was real. No one was here to help me; there was no waking up to Caleb’s arms. My anguish crushed me and I silently sobbed as the others in the room remained quiet.

  “Ah, human emotions,” he fi
nally said, breaking into the silence. “They are such a nuisance, aren’t they?” The others laughed. “I never understood this one, sadness. I never got the point of being unhappy over something. Why you humans let yourselves get so involved in anything that it would make you sad, is ridiculous in my eyes. I understand the feeling of lust, but most human emotions evade me.”

  I looked up to see him watching me closely.

  “Nora brought on those feelings,” he reminisced. “She was beautiful in her day, very similar to you. Her eyes were like Caleb’s, and she was so petite. She let herself get too invested as well, and now look at her,” he scoffed in disgust. “She is a waste.”

  “How can you expect me to believe all of this?” I asked, my voice cracking.

  “Oh, I know it is a lot to ask of you, which is why I plan on making it very easy. I wanted to give you a little introduction myself first, before we really begin. You will believe me when we’re done, Vivian, I can promise you that.” His voice turned colder than I had ever thought possible.

  I started to shake as the others began moving around behind me. I thought I would faint again from the fear, but I forced myself to stay conscious. Dermot got up and moved his chair over against the wall. I sat alone in the middle of the room again, unprepared to deal with whatever was coming for me.

  Kellan, and who I now recognized to be Liam, came into view. Behind them were two small creatures that I knew from my dream. Their eyes scorched into me again as they laughed and danced around.

  Then he came to stand in front of me. The tall, horned demon from my nightmare, the smell I had recognized from before. I vomited then beside my chair, as the rest of them laughed in delight. I could feel the Demon’s eyes on me, and wanted to die right there in that second.

  “Why are you doing this?” I cried.

  “Because you need to learn your lesson, my dear,” replied Dermot. “I need you to leave him, and this seems to be the only way. After this, you’ll beg me to leave, you’ll never want to see him again if it means you can escape from here.” He smiled menacingly at me. I cried out then, not bothering to keep my sobs quiet anymore.

  Artem sat outside the room where he could hear her screams. Laying his head against the wall, he wished he could storm into the room and take her away. He didn’t know what they were doing in there, but he knew it was nothing he would have sanctioned. None of this was what he wanted. As Vivian cried out again, Artem swore to himself that he would do whatever it took to make it up to her, for as long as he lived. He would never let her down again.

  The trip to the airport and back had been torture. As he’d waited for Caleb’s flight to land, he could only imagine what would happen if Caleb didn’t believe him. He could almost guarantee that he would see right through their stupid lies. It was clear that Vivian loved him, surely he would know that and realize something very wrong was happening. Artem had shaken at the thought, since he’d been the only one present that Caleb would be able to take his anger out on. He had prayed he would live to see another day.

  To Artem’s surprise he had believed it right away. Caleb took the letter from Artem’s sweaty hands and read it slowly numerous times. Artem had watched as the agony slowly spread across his face, and then an eventual acceptance at the new development. He had wanted to speak up right there and tell Caleb not to believe a word of it, to go and find her and save her from them. But he’d known he couldn’t do that – there were bigger things at stake.

  Artem had left him sitting in an empty waiting area at the airport. There was no comfort he could give him, and he’d desperately wanted to get back to the warehouse and make sure Vivian was alright. He had begun to shake again on the way back, feeling the weight of his guilt crushing him.

  Now as he sat outside the room, he felt like maybe not living through today would actually be a blessing from God. He needed to be strong though, for her sake.

  Suddenly Dermot walked out to face him. Artem looked up hesitantly, trying to fight back the nausea he was feeling.

  He smiled, a sickening grin. “She’s ready.”

  Before you grab your pitchforks and torches, wait.

  I know, I know - really, I know. Nobody likes cliffhangers. They leave you dangling in limbo, with no view of the ground beneath to reassure there is an end in sight.

  I get it. I really do.

  But before you curse my name to eternal damnation, and fill your review with "WTF Janelle?!” know that part two is not far behind. It is already written people! 86,000, or so, words, strung together in an attempt to tell a story, I swear it. Editing is beginning and then she'll be in your hands. It will be out at the beginning of next year, if all goes well.

  This cliffhanger isn't the end...yet. And in my, somewhat, defense, this is PART ONE, so it's only logical that not everything would be wrapped up in order to justify a part two.

  If you still want to curse me after reading part two...well, we can talk then ;) (We'll be talking, trust me.) There is so much more to come in this story, so be prepared.

  If you'd like to hear about the release date as soon as it's public, and possibly get a sneak peek and chances to win freebies or advance copies, sign up for my newsletter! All news goes there first :)

  Subscribe here.

  Thank you for reading Vivian and Caleb's story. I hope to see you back for the conclusion.

  xo

  J

  Thank you to Nicole at Harper Skye Designs for the gorgeous cover, and for being such a pleasure to work with. Another thank you to Cover Me Darling and Athena Interior Book Design for formatting the interior of the paperback and ebook. You're all lifesavers in getting this book put together.

  As always, I have to thank my editor, Denise, for picking out all the things I miss, and for rushing when I needed it. Wrapping up these projects is always crazy, so I really appreciate it when those on my team put up with me.

  To my betas, Terri, Kayleigh, Karina, Becca, and Heather, your input is always appreciated and invaluable. You went above and beyond with this one, making it truly a better story.

  Another shout out to my family and friends, who are always so supportive. I don't know if I'd keep doing this if it weren't for those around me, pushing me to stay with it.

  And obviously, last but certainly not least, my readers. Without you, I would have no job! Thank you so much for sticking with me. This is my 14th novel, which is insane, but would also be impossible if it weren't for you.

  Love you all

  xo

  J

  About the Author

  Janelle Stalder was born and raised in Brampton, Ontario. At an early age she developed a love for literature. Her debut novel, Eden, was the first book in a series of four, released in September of 2011. Since then she has released an Adult Dystopian Romance series, the New World Series, hitting the best sellers list on Amazon. She has also released a Mature YA/NA novel, Brush Strokes, that stayed on the best sellers list for contemporary romance for sixteen straight weeks. She is a strong supporter of other independent authors, and loves to interact with her readers. When she's not writing, Janelle is at home with her husband, three children, Aiden, Elora and Violet, and her two furry children, Alice and Lily. She now resides in a small town in Ontario in her old, possibly haunted, century home.

  Janelle loves to hear from her readers! Contact her at jmstalder@gmail.com and follow her on Twitter @jmstalder

  Want to always be in the know? Hear about Janelle’s upcoming releases, giveaways, advance copies, etc. by signing on for her newsletter. It’s the quickest way to learn news first before it hits social media. Sign up here.

  Please consider leaving a review if you enjoyed this book. Every little bit helps!

 

 

 
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