by Lexi C. Foss
Contents
A Note from Xai
Xai’s Useless Definitions
Demon Classifications for Those to Ignore
1. Hell Needs New Minions
2. Will You Slay Demons with Me? Yes!
3. Well, This Sucks
4. I’ll Find You, Evangeline
5. A Date in Hell without Evangeline Is Hell Indeed
6. What Year Is It? I’ve Lost Track of Time…
7. Would You Like to Dance with Death?
8. Chaos Lurks within the Shadows
9. Dear Evangeline, Wake. Up. Sincerely, Xai
10. Bloody Good Times Hosted by Xai
11. I’m Craving a Plate of Death with a Side of Revenge, Please
12. Don’t Tempt Me, Darling
13. I Seem to Have Lost Touch with Humanity
14. A Quick Guide to Seducing the Daughter of Death: Buy Her Silver Toys
15. Congratulations! You’ve Just Been Promoted to My Kill-on-Sight List!
16. Time for Chaos to Come Out and Play
17. I Have No Idea What Side I’m on Anymore
18. Shadow Demons Suck. Literally
19. Xai’s Relationship Advice 101: Forgiveness Is Important
20. How Many Deaths Does It Take to Earn a Vacation?
Dark Provenance Series
Music Playlist
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by Lexi C. Foss
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Son of Chaos
Copyright © 2018 Lexi C. Foss
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This book may not be redistributed to others for commercial or noncommercial purposes.
Line/Copy Editing by: Outthink Editing, LLC
Proofreading by: Allison Literary Services
Digital Edition
ISBN: 978-1-7325356-9-5
To my grandmother “Jo” for believing in me and telling me to follow my dreams. You’re forever in my heart and my very own guardian angel <3
Angel: Superior beings, clearly.
Archangel: Angels at the top of the angelic hierarchy.
Dark Angel: Evangeline’s adorable pet name for me.
Dark Provenance: A faction of Nephilim who want to protect humanity and need a hell of a lot of guidance from their superiors (Angels, in case you’re not reading in order). Evangeline cares about them. So I do too.
Demon: Spawns of the underworld.
Divinity: Children of Heaven and Hell who work together to uphold the balance.
Fallen Angel: Angels or Archangels wandering Earth or Hell.
Halfling: Created when demons fornicate on Earth with mortals. Not common because they’re frequently killed by Hell’s minions for sport.
Nephilim: Created when angels fornicate on Earth with mortals. Apparently, I’m in charge of an army of them. See above definition of Dark Provenance for details.
Archdemon: Princes of Hell, otherwise known as demons who sit at the top of the demonic hierarchy. Similar to Archangels, but not as good-looking.
Cyclops: Giant demons with one eye and no brain.
Dargarian: Excellent bodyguards who breathe fire.
Demonic Lord: Reasonable allies on Earth who each maintain their own territory and all the demonic minions who reside within it.
Ghoul: Garbage demons who help clean up dead bodies by eating them.
Guardian: Commonly used as bodyguards for their brute strength, but their lack of intelligence renders them useless. See above definition of Dargarians for a security upgrade.
Incubus: Male demons who require sexual energy to stay alive and who commonly fuck mortals.
Ōrdinātum: A title assigned to demons who oversee specific regions within a Demonic Lord’s territory.
Orsini Devil: Annoying little demons with a penchant for invisibility. Only to be used for spying when no other resources are available.
Pestilence: Archdemon Alastor’s humanoid-looking pets who are known for causing plagues and other diseases. Not allowed on Earth for obvious reasons.
Portal Dweller: Extremely useful demons who can teleport easily between the planes but have a tendency to talk too much. Or at least Remy does.
Royal Guard: Cloaked demons assigned to protect the Princes of Hell, not that they actually require protection. It’s more of a pompous status symbol. There is no equivalent in Heaven, and for good reason.
Scrubber: Helpful demons who erase memories.
Shadow: Wisps of former demonic entities that feed on life in the Shadow realms.
Slither: Evangeline’s least favorite kind of demon because of their snakelike bodies and their penchant for ejaculating venom. Should be killed to make her happy.
Succubus: Female demons who require sexual energy to stay alive and who commonly fuck mortals.
Tracker: Valuable demons who can sense and trace auras. Always good to have one as a friend, unless they piss you off, in which case, kill the Tracker and hire help as needed in the future.
1
Hell Needs New Minions
“Sloppy.”
I whipped a blade toward the jibe and cursed when the bastard caught it by the sharp end. The dark angel tossed it aside with a flick of his wrist.
“Now that was just disrespectful,” I accused. Silver didn’t exist on Earth, making the item priceless. It deserved to be set aside with care, not treated like garbage.
My opponent shrugged. “Then perhaps you should consider improving your aim.”
I narrowed my eyes. “If you wanted me to draw blood, you just had to ask.”
Xai didn’t smile. “Stop flirting and challenge me, Evangeline.”
Arrogant prick.
I palmed two more knives and circled the tall, athletic, and sexy-as-sin angel before me. His all-black suit served as a taunt—a way of saying he didn’t think I could ruin his expensive wardrobe.
Pity I had to prove him wrong.
He countered my leg sweep with a jump—just as I anticipated. I swiped my dagger upward at the perfect angle to catch his thigh and grinned as it sliced through the fabric of his tailored pants.
I leapt backward, triumphant, and grunted as his palm slammed into the center of my chest. The concrete bit into my back as I landed unceremoniously on my ass.
“Shit,” I breathed as stars danced through my vision.
“If you’re going to ruin my pants, you might as well go for the femoral artery,” he chastised. “I thought the Nephilim were improving your sparring, love, not worsening it.”
“Fuck you,” I managed as he straddled my hips and settled on top of me.
“Oh, we’ll get to that,” he promised, his ebony eyes grinning seductively.
He plucked the knives from my hands and set them aside before sliding his palms under my shirt to find the other two weapons strapped to my ribs. The last time we did this, he had left me armed and I destroyed one of his favorite shirts. It seemed he didn’t want a repeat performance.
“You don’t play fair,” I said as the spots in my vision started to clear.
“What would be the fun in that?” he asked as he drew one of my blades down the center of my chest. “And you told me not to go easy on you.”
I snorted. “Jackass.”
“Now who is being disrespectful?” he asked, grinning. “You had a perfect opportunity to bleed me and chose to ruin my pants instead. I went for the kill, as any being in my position would when facing the Daughter of Death.”
“Sweet talker,” I murmured, amused. Because he was right. I could best almost anyone in a fight, thanks to my lethal heritage and affinity for sharp toys, but Xai almost always topped me. There were moments in our long history that I managed to beat him, but they were rare. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Xai pressed the knife to my throat before leaning down to brush his lips over mine. “I think the Nephilim may need a harsher instructor, love.”
“You’ll kill half of them.”
“They would recover. In theory, anyway.” He didn’t sound all that concerned. Then again, humanity never did matter much to him. A consequence of spending over two thousand years on this plane.
“Mietek said we’re here to help guide them, not slaughter them,” I reminded.
He sat up again, the blade still at my throat. “They are destined—” Xai’s midnight gaze drifted to the woods surrounding our home as a prickle of energy tinged the night air.
Demon.
No, not just any demon.
An Archdemon.
Xai stood, alert. I joined him, placing my back to his, silver blades slipping into my palms. We chose this retreat for its elevation and exclusivity, giving us the ultimate advantage should any unwanted parties choose to disturb our dominion.
A swish of robes sounded to my left as several members of the Royal Guard appeared. The emblem embedded in their dark blue cloaks belonged to Ashmedai. He appeared behind them, his white-blond hair glowing in the moonlight, his sculpted abdomen bare, and a pair of board shorts slung low on his hips.
Xai was gorgeous in his own right, while Ashmedai defied reason. Mortals didn’t stand a chance in his presence. Hell, even I wanted to weep at the sight of him. And the way the stars seemed to shine down upon him as he strode forward didn’t help matters.
“It’s fucking cold up here,” he said, his brows drawn downward. “I much preferred Miami.”
“You’re welcome to go there instead,” I replied, smiling. “We won’t mind.”
Xai snorted, folding his arms. “Why are you here, Ashmedai?”
“You’re so much like your father,” the Archdemon murmured. “Always wanting to discuss business over pleasure.” He drew out the last word with a twirl of his tongue and stared right at me, his intention clear. Xai didn’t take the bait, his confidence just as high as Ashmedai’s where seductive energy and looks were concerned. Their collective arrogance was almost suffocating.
Almost.
“Get to the point before others decide to join us,” I said, twirling the silver blade through my fingers. “You know you’re not allowed on this plane.”
He shrugged, his hands tucked into the pockets of his board shorts. Most Archdemons wore their ceremonial robes, but not Ashmedai. No, he resembled a surfer, ready to hit the waves. “It’s far easier for me to ascend than it is for them to descend.”
Ashmedai stopped before us, power seeping from his aura in waves. The Royal Guard at his back was only for show. Archdemons didn’t require assistance when they wanted to destroy something, and they didn’t typically show up with an armed Guard either. Which meant Ashmedai needed something.
“Kalida has escaped,” he murmured, as if reading my mind. Hell, he probably could, which was why voicing my shock at his three words wasn’t needed.
“How?” Xai demanded.
“A mystery I’m still trying to solve.” Ashmedai’s shoulders lifted and fell. “I’m more concerned about retrieving her at the moment, since she escaped to this plane. You’re both going to help me find her.”
Such confidence.
And so not happening.
I tracked her down after she framed me for a murder I didn’t commit—her own—and that experience was enough to last me for an eternity. If the demons let her escape, then that was on them to fix, not me.
I gave Ashmedai the politest grin I could muster. “We’re booked this weekend, but thanks anyway.”
Ashmedai matched my smile with a dazzling one of his own. “I like you, Evangeline. Always questioning authority and thinking you have a choice.”
“And I like you too, Ash. Always commanding and thinking I’ll jump to obey. So adorable.”
His Royal Guard bristled at the nickname and my tone, clearly not approving. Ashmedai’s amusement merely grew. “Kalida escaped twenty-seven Earth hours ago, and I’ve narrowed down her location to this region. That should give you a reasonable start, but I suggest you stop delaying with me and start searching.”
“You seemed to have misunderstood me. When I said we were booked, that was me rejecting your request.”
“Order,” he corrected.
“Request,” I repeated. “Look, I caught her the first time, and you lost her. That fuckup is on you to resolve, not us.”
He arched one of those arrogant brows. “Not even if I offer to let you kill her?”
I snorted. “As if I would soil a blade with her blood.” I had the chance to kill her two decades ago and passed up the opportunity then. Why would I change my mind now?
“What about your precious humans?” Ashmedai drawled. “Think of the havoc she may wreak upon them as a starved Succubus…”
“Guilt trips, Ash? I’m disappointed.”
His lips twitched. “You need more incentive, then?”
“Incentive would imply interest, of which I have none. Get one of your demon lackeys to track her down.” I had better things to do—like train a Nephilim army to maintain balance on Earth.
“He has no one else,” Xai murmured, his ebony irises flaring with ancient knowledge. “Her aura has disappeared again, hasn’t it?”
Ashmedai merely stared at him, his non-reply saying more than words could.
Xai smirked. “Without an aura, there are very few competent enough to track Kalida down, and you need to solve your traitor issue in Hell before you can fully engage in hunting her down. That’s why you’re here.”
Ashmedai merely shrugged in response, neither confirming nor denying the accusation.
“Still not seeing how this is my problem,” I pointed out. Hell needed to learn to control their own and not rely on the Fallen Angels of the world. I was retired for a reason.
Ashmedai’s lips curled, a sinister gleam entering his violet eyes, one that sent a chill down my spine. “I thought you might feel that way, Evangeline.” Those words didn’t alleviate my concern, and neither did the snap of his fingers that followed. “So I brought some motivation, you know, to make this your problem, as you so eloquently put it.”
A Portal Dweller appeared with her arms wrapped around a woman with rich brown curls and dressed in jeans and a sweater. Her hazel eyes were narrowed into slits at Ashmedai, her curses slurred from the gag lodged between her full lips.
Trudy…
Oh, fuck that.
My knuckles tightened around my blades. “I suggest you let her go, Ash, before I make you let her go.” Archdemon he might be, but that Nephilim belonged to me. I took a step forward and found my feet cemented to the ground. Fucking telekinesis. Were there any powers this Archdemon lacked?
Ashmedai chuckled. “Now, now, I promise to treat her well. I merely meant to provide a reason for you to work with me, which I believe has been achieved now, yes?” He glanced at the struggling female, amusement evident in his features. “When my advisors told me of your protective feelings for this one, I had my doubts. Why would you care about a Nephilim? Perhaps I’ll learn the answers from her captivity in my realm.”
“She’s a child, Ashmedai.” Xai sounded and appeared far calmer than the situation warranted. I knew better than to believe the facade. Xai was at his most lethal when he feigned disinterest.
“A child?” The Archdemon studied the fumin
g female with far too much interest. “With those curves? Hmm, I think not.” His violet gaze slowly returned to mine. “Evangeline, you track Kalida and bring her to me—preferably alive, but it’s not required—and in exchange, I’ll return your protégé. Fair?”
“Fair?” I repeated, my ire creeping into my tone. “You seriously have a death wish.” Trudy was not only my protégé but also my father’s favorite student. “Azrael will have your head for this.”
Ashmedai smirked. “Only if he can find me in Hell, sweetheart. Happy hunting.”
He disappeared in a flash, his entire Guard and Trudy disappearing with him.
I gaped after them, my legs slowly remembering how to function. “Fuck.”
Xai chuckled, his palm sliding to my lower back. “An invitation I would love to entertain, darling, but it seems we have a demon to find.”
“I may kill her,” I growled, referring to Kalida. “Just for the inconvenience.” And I’d probably stab Ashmedai too for good measure. With a silver blade.