Sin Eaters: Devotion Book One

by Kai Leakes

  “Yeah, Princess,” Calvin firmly replied. “Khamun did his interrogation thing and found out that his Guide is not only a Vessel but also an Oracle. We need to get her ASAP. That’s our fam.”

  “Then let’s get her.”

  Kali looked around urgently, every man quietly watching Khamun as he sat back without a word.

  “What do you all need to find out?”

  “Not sure, Kali, but I trust you will know once you do your thing,” Khamun evenly replied.

  Kali quickly pulled out her laptop from the air, a trick Calvin had taught her. She quickly began pecking at the keys, her mehndi tattoos glowing with power.

  “I know she is family, but I can get an extensive check of her personal background. Go into her medical history, read between the lines, as you know only I can do, and find out the truth before you bring her here scared and screaming.”

  Nonchalantly watching, Khamun gave a curt nod. “Do that, little sis.”

  “Okay, so Sanna Steele, born in St. Louis, she’s twenty-seven—Wait, are you all just going to sit here and not get her?”

  Lenox stood and stretched, running a hand through his dark hair. “I will have to do that tomorrow. I’ve been keeping tabs on her and the family twenty-four/ seven, and I already feel like I’m stalking them. Khamun and Calvin just came back from a fight. We are positive she’s safe right now, and we all need to rest, including you. Didn’t you just get off a plane from India, little sister?”

  Kali rolled her eyes and grumbled.

  She promptly shut her mouth as Khamun stood and called his weapons to him. “I will go back and watch her home, and get that blood sample.”

  “Wait, bro, you need to rest,” Marco replied. “I’ll watch her, and Lenox can get the blood sample tomorrow. Then we move them to safety as planned.” He stood. His hands brushed down his jeans as he held his hand up, a steel gun etched with verses from the Bible on its shiny surface glinting in the fire light.

  “We have to look at the whole picture, gentlemen,” Lenox interjected.

  “Sanna has two siblings. Twins. A brother and sister. Amara is at Spelman College, and the other, Darren, is at the University of Illinois, Chicago.”

  An apple appeared in Lenox’s hand again as he walked with both hands behind his back, the green surface of the apple missing a piece. “This family is about unity. They don’t do anything without making sure family is protected first. We have to be smart and logical about this and not go out there in a weak state of mind and body. We all need to rest and process this shit. Research.” Lenox’s voice reflected his own authority and wisdom as he eyed everyone in the room.

  Kali decided that was her cue. Clicking on her laptop, she said, “Nox is right. We do need to rest, but look, about that research end of all of this, if San is an Oracle . . . Remember the e-mails you sent me, Calvin? You said you think Kyo’s a Gargoyle because of some things you remembered back when we visited them a lot.”

  Calvin nodded, as everyone focused their attention on Kali. “Well, if everything is true, then she is what will help keep our side strong and survive.”

  Lenox gave Kali a slight smile, his pearly whites flashing for a moment.

  Inwardly laughing, Kali added, “Of course, we need to check out her family too before we start handing out labels. These two women are not the only ones we have to protect. We have to protect both women’s families.” Not once looking up from the computer, Kali held her laugh as she counted in her mind and waited for the men’s reply as she searched for more information.

  Every man groaned and stopped everything they were doing, as if lightbulbs flashed over their heads.

  Lenox’s chuckle filled the room as he sighed, his hand sliding into his dark denim jeans. “We have to report this to Society, mainly your mother, man. See if they can explain why none of them saw this Guide and her family.”

  Khamun stood again. The tapping of computer keys reassured him.

  “You know why, Nox. Mom’s been blocked, and this is going to piss her off even further, but I’ll do what I can. She’s going to want the whole family, shit. What more can you tell us? Break down her lineage. Maybe we can see if an ancestor is registered in Society.”

  Lenox headed into the kitchen and came back out with a beer. He shook his head in agreement. He knew the team was going to dig up more info and want to do everything they could to protect this family. Hell, he couldn’t deny his own desire to rush back out and kick some ass and take names later, but he had to keep a rational head here. Everyone was battle-worn, and all of this info was fresh like baked bread. The team needed to research and sort this crap out.

  “Hmmm. First up, Kyo Satou. Age: twenty-six. She is about to be twenty-seven. Mother and father: Takiko and Hideo Satou. Has a younger brother Takeshi Satou, and get this—He’s at the University of Illinois, Chicago as well.”

  Kali glanced up and clicked a button, and images of Sanna, her family, Kyo and her family showed on the TV screen. A picture of Takeshi and Darren in matching frat colors and canes flashed on the screen, as Kali scrolled on.

  “Takeshi is enrolled in international business, and Darren is in law. Dang! Why am I acting brand-new about this?” Kali shook her head in frustration, and glanced at the men, who blankly stared at her and shrugged. Playful smirks flashed over their faces as she continued to stare.

  “What?” every man said in unison, their playful stances quickly dropping at the seriousness in their little sister’s coco-rich eyes.

  With a huff, she clicked a button on her laptop, cranking up the volume on the TV of a news article displayed on the screen. The report flashed images of a vandalized and destroyed loft apartment in an old, brick shoe factory. Patio balcony doors hung off their hinges, and shattered glass was strewn everywhere. A close look showed items of fabric, blood, and other debris scattered in the loft. Police, building tenants, and neighbors all vocalized their confusion and fear.

  Every team member saw flashes of Stalkers, demons and Dark Seers mixed into the crowd, portraying themselves as ordinary, concerned pedestrians. In that moment alone, everyone knew this was no game.

  “We need a team to get Amara from school ASAP because the family is being attacked. Takeshi and Darren are at the University of Chicago Hospital due to trauma. We need a team up there now!” Kali yelled, her hands suddenly shaking, tiny sparks of Mystic light dancing against her long, painted fingernails.

  Calvin shot into motion, almost heading out of the door before Marco stopped him. Calvin spun around, his hands flexing open and closing. He yelled, “Why didn’t they call me? Shit!” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell. Scanning it, he yelled, “Shit!” He had multiple voice mails from Sanna and Tamar, each one hitting him on the hour. “I need to go to them.” He apprehensively glanced around, checking his weapons to see how much ammo he had.

  “We’ll get them, bro. Just be calm. You’ll set off Khamun too, man, if you don’t chill,” Marco whispered. Both men stopped and glanced at an agitated Lenox.

  “You see this?” Lenox said. “The numbers are adding up. These two are important! It’s not an accident that you have an Oracle being protected by a Gargoyle, and her brother is being protected by a Gargoyle as well. Check out the sister. Does she have one too?”

  Resting be damned, ran through Lenox’s mind, urgency fueling his motives and making him process what needed to go on. Units needed to go on alert, and they needed to make sure this family didn’t fall through the cracks, not another one.

  Khamun casually slid his cell phone open. He began making calls to various loyal Society council members who worked in conjunction with his family House and his own outcast of a House. Having loyal associates was everything within his world. Certain protocols dictated how acknowledged Houses worked, and since his House was unofficial, it made things easy for him to function without technically following the rigid rules of Society.

  But because he was also of a royal birth house and a Guardian, he himself ha
d necessary rules and guidelines to follow, although his own House did not. That meant that, as the son of the region’s High Elder and of the long-living royal line in the States, he had duties to perform. It also helped having allies within the council. People he could use as liaisons. This kept the eyes of Society members who would like to take his father’s place as High Elder off him, his House, and his father. He was no fool to let them use him against his father for their own game. What he established with his own House also provided a means of never-ending protection for those he called family.

  The Nephilim world had changed a lot over the generations. A main reason was the fear of being wiped out, the shifting views of the many humans and hidden Nephilims they protected. Also, as generations changed, the many so-called righteous members of Society who thought they were better than everyone were really agents of the Cursed, allowing the Cursed to manipulate them and taint the old ways of the Light’s survival, democracy, and history.

  This was one of the main reasons he had to be sure to protect his Guide, because if a Cursed spy, or a Phantom as they called them, ever found out his truth and his Guide’s truth, then that could adversely affect the balance in this war and lead to a catastrophe.

  Shaking off his thoughts, Khamun started pacing. He noticed Kali tilting her head his way to gain his attention, as she continued to punch keys. Multi-tasking, he listened and spoke to the Society members he knew he could trust. It also helped that Marco had gained a seat long ago, due to family rights via his Light royal lineage, so he synced his phone conversation with Marco as they both listened to Kali.

  “Doesn’t look like she is in danger yet. She’s well protected at Spelman, so she doesn’t necessarily need one. But looking at her activity via Facebook . . . ” Kali laughed and shook her head. “I love my family. I know we are not around them a lot, but they are a very smart family and have smart friends. Looks like the Satous sent a cousin down with Amara to watch her. The cousin was enrolled in Spelman at the same time. Her name is Miya Satou-Katsu.”

  An image of a smiling doppelgänger of Kyo, just with several distinct differences, flashed in front of Khamun’s view as Kali continued on.

  “The registry seems to be digging hard for this family. They must be very ancient, which is also key. Your girl Sanna and her family have strong backings. I’ll have to check the Asian registry.”

  Kali held her hand up, ticking each one off as she counted, “One, two, bam! There they are. Satou and Katsu. Now let’s see if this is the same family.”

  Kali was no joke with technology. Khamun had to give her the upmost respect. She was able to crack any code and get beyond any firewall without detection at all, and could find without hassle any old records.

  Kali sat with her glowing hazel eyes closed. The laptop flashed pictures on the TV screen as she jerked forward and gasped, her hands resting on her crossed thighs. “Um, they are Imperial! Royal Gargoyles. This is incredible. Calvin, what’s up with our cousins? Who in the family was smart enough to have Imperial Gargoyles watch and protect this family?”

  With a look around the room, Kali stared astounded, “Did you all hear me? They come from Dragons!”

  Calvin shrugged, circling his sister. He kneeled down behind her back, glancing at her laptop screen. “I told you I don’t know, li’l sis. I only—wait what!” Calvin cursed in Creole and shook his head. “Ey, man, that’s crazy. Dragon Gargoyles are thought to be extinct!”

  Kali’s eyes reflected the many colors of hazel as they widened with excitement. She searched more.

  “Yes, that’s why these records were hard to find. I had to dig deep, and they are not on our Internet archives. I’m putting it in my own archives now.”

  Khamun shifted his thinking. “Whose Vessel is she? Not only is she an Oracle, which is rare, but, shit, who is she? We need to get her now.” Urgency filled him, his jaw clenched. “Damn the diplomacy. That family is coming under attack, and the Cursed are not going to stop, especially if they find this out.”

  “War,” was all Marco said as he steepled his fingers in front of his mouth, nodding. “Yeah, they will go to war for them.”

  Lenox sat back, his ankle resting on his knee as he took a long drink from his chilled beer, his Adam’s apple working as he spoke. “As Kali said, this seems to be very strategic. Each Steele child is being protected, yet as I sat in that kitchen with those ladies, neither knew anything. It was the same with the mother. Calvin, give us a family rundown.”

  Kali and Calvin nodded at the same time, which let everyone know Kali was looking up Calvin’s family history of and would fill in with what she found if questions arose.

  His fingers laced together as he cracked his knuckles, Calvin rolled his shoulders and leaned against a nearby table. “A’ight. Sanna is my cousin through my G’ma Sera. Bishop, her father, married Sanna’s momma, and that’s all I know. Bishop’s my cousin, but I’ve always called him Unc. Nothing special about his background, ’cept that his ma and g’ma are Prophetesses. That’s where she gets her Nephilim gene then. I assumed it was dormant because he was human too.”

  Kali frowned as she shook her head and looked up at Calvin. “Bro, that’s not true. G’ma Sera sat and told me the truth. She shared her vision with me.”

  “What? When? Why didn’t she tell me?”

  The concern in Calvin’s eyes made Kali halt her Internet searches. She placed her laptop on the table and stood to move to his side and hug him gently, her hands cupping the sides of his face briefly while he looked up at her with brotherly love.

  She loved her brother deeply. Ever since his family had adopted her as a child, her life never felt devoid of love, even with the loss of both her Guardian parents, so to see the distress in her big brother’s eyes always upset her. She would go to war for him and her family, which included Sanna.

  “Because she knew you carried too much as is, so she talked with me.”

  Calvin wrapped his sister in a bear hug and simply shook his head, his shoulders slumping in understanding and quiet disappointment. “Tell us.”

  Kali muttered, “Okay. Unc Bishop was an Immortal and Mystic. His father was a Guardian, and his mother was a human guide, a Prophetess, G’ma’s twin sister Sadie.”

  Calvin frowned, as did everyone in the house. Everyone knew the law—Guardians and Guides never mated for life. It was against Society for Guardians to let their presence be known to their Guides, unless it was to protect them from Cursed attacks. That was it. Any prolonged or intimate acquaintance was against Society bylaws.

  Khamun stroked his jaw, his mind churning in thought. That very restriction was the reason why he had never made himself known to Sanna until the attack, and even that was very covert. That restriction was what had him yearning for her at night and waking up in cold sweats, needing to feed and horny as fuck.

  He often thought of breaching protocol and risking his status in Society. He wanted to do it just to sit and have lunch with Sanna, but he knew he couldn’t, because of his mother and father. It would put them in an already difficult situation, so Khamun used his team to get close to her. Lenox and Marco acted as his mouthpiece when his will broke, and he sent Sanna steamy dreams of being with her.

  Kali and Calvin were the anchors, checking to see if she was okay and were not affected by the dreams the very next day or week.

  The law of Guardians was difficult, and he had heard tales of many falling and leaving their posts as Guardians to be with their Guides. It was one of the reasons more Halflings were in the human population and had to be watched for an active Nephilim gene.

  Calvin’s voice broke through his inner thoughts. “Damn! Really? I remember he was killed by a Snatcher. Shit makes sense now.”

  “No, brotherpoo, it’s deeper than that.” Exhaling, Kali watched her brother as she continued. “Grammy was ashamed how this happened, but Uncle Bishop’s dad ran off and hid with Sera so they could be married. It took a long time before Grammy could even find them to demand
that they come home. Bishop’s dad had died protecting Sera, and Sera had brought Bishop home to raise him. The summer we spent, when you had just found out about your immortality, that was when we got to meet him, bro. Then a year later he was killed by a Snatcher, dying in the same his father had died when he was protecting him.”

  Kali wiped a solitary tear falling down her toffee cheek, with the heel of her hand as she gave a half-hearted smile. “You Freeman-Steeles know family is your life or death.”

  Calvin shook his head and slouched over in the chair. He had taken the time to sit and cradle his head, the new knowledge swarming his mind. “Why did that shit have to happen, sis? I connected with him. He schooled me in so much. I had no idea he was Immortal. What made a Snatcher come after him?”

  “I don’t know,” Kali replied softly. “She wouldn’t tell me that.” Tears choked her up, making her draw her knees up to her chest.

  “I think we need to find out, because I have a feeling it’s connected to his children,” Lenox replied hoarsely.

  Kali was already combing through her computer again at Lenox’s words. She tried to distract herself from the emotional tension of her cousin’s background history while she checked out birth records and reports on Bishop Steele’s death. Determination caused her to furrow her brow.

  “As Kali mentioned, they are not even registered with Society then,” Lenox pointed out.

  “So how do we handle this, Khamun?” Marco calmly asked, watching his fam. “You’re her Guardian.”

  Everyone sat lost in thought while he paced then stopped then paced again.

  “I’m not her Guardian then, since she is a Vessel and Oracle. The law of Guardians doesn’t apply here now. I can intervene and get her, but we have to do this intelligently, as Nox said. Everything in me wants to grab her now and usher her in here, you know, but we can’t,” Khamun said. “We can’t drop the ball like the past Guardians did with that lost Oracle. We have to surround her, and we have to gain her and her family’s trust. We need to insert ourselves around her.” He ran over what he needed to do in his mind.