Sin Eaters: Devotion Book One

by Kai Leakes

  Something in her had her ready for this fight as she braced herself. If he bit her, she prayed to all that is good that she didn’t die.

  Eyes flashing, her own hiss sounding in the air, her nails glinted in the moonlight as the big beast of a thing ran toward her. What she was fighting now, she had always thought she’d run from, if ever she was an actress in a movie, but tonight proved to be different. She was protecting not only herself but her family and all these innocent people.

  She felt her body lift from the air as the thing hauled her up and threw her down on a nearby car, glass shattering and cutting into her body.

  She screamed and sideswiped the demon as she rolled over on her stomach panting. Amazement hit her. She blinked when she realized the glass didn’t penetrate one ounce of her skin and shards lay around her. She brushed her hands over her body to dust the crumbled glass away from her then planted her feet on the hood of the car the demon had placed her on and kicked out, landing her foot right into his hissing face.

  Another grab by the demon had her soaring over his shoulder as she landed on her feet in a low crouch. She saw the thing turn from her and try to head toward Sanna. She scraped her hard nails across the asphalt surface, sharpening them.

  “Hey, asswipe!” she yelled and jetted forward.

  “We are not done.”

  She jumped on his huge back, dropping all of her weight on him, to put him in a choke hold, and then flipped him over her body.

  Turning in a full circle, she saw an old man watch her, a sinister look on his face as he breathed hard. The way he watched her creeped her out and had her really feeling as if she was in a scary movie.

  She jumped on the huge, burly demon she was currently fighting and sliced her hands down his body, ending his life swiftly and severing his head. “Making sure your ass doesn’t get the fuck back up!”

  Smirking, she ducked at that old man who jumped out on her blind side. Flipping back, she dipped again as he sideswiped her with a quick punch to the face.

  Kyo shook her head, her vision blurred. She felt as if the wind was knocked out of her. That little old bastard had a mean right hook.

  Stepping back, she fanned herself and took in the sight. This man looked like your average, run-of-the-mill elderly man with grey hair, a newsboy cap, button-down vest, and slacks. Yeah, looks could be deceiving.

  The old man looked up at her and smirked. Evil filled his face. An animal-like tongue whipped from his mouth before his face disappeared and a contorted, mutated beast of a face revealed itself before going back to its human appearance.

  Kyo titled her head back and looked toward the heavens, asking for forgiveness for hitting a crazy elderly man.

  Instantly as she motioned toward the crazy old man, she was promptly thrown back by an invisible force cast by that old bastard.

  Kyo’s form flew in the air and dropped into a rolling thud. She pushed herself up but was held down by invisible hands as the old man stalked her slowly, his movements jerky like that of a zombie but only faster.

  She hissed and clawed, but nothing was helping her up, until she felt Sanna’s power bubble split and cover her, and the old man let go in sheer pain.

  Kyo rolled away, moving fast behind him, and landed a blow that had her amped. “Damn!” She grinned as she landed from a swift roundhouse kick flush to his face. She knocked the old man clean out as he lay on the ground near her feet, like a stretched-out praying mantis on acid. She was done playing. She knew she had to finish him fast.

  She dropped down, her hands wrapping around his obtuse neck and twisting it until it snapped. Her stone-hard nails sliced into the thick flesh that seemed to peel away as she ripped the head off.

  Jetting up, she moved like the wind. Her eyes scanned the area, finding more prey.

  Just then an Escalade pulled up with a team of motorcycles behind it. Something told her they could be trusted, whoever they were. She shrugged and went on with her attacks.

  She circled around wherever Sanna moved, and she sped over cars, jumping and soaring in the air, moving like lightning. Nothing was allowed to touch her best friend. Nothing. And she meant it.

  Chapter 16

  She didn’t know what was going on with her, but she knew this guy needed help and after she clearly saw the torture, which she didn’t understand he went through, justice needed to be had. She couldn’t believe she could do this, let alone fight. She ducked from a jumping monster that snapped at her neck. She screamed then dropped her hand and swung up, snatching the monster woman by the shoulders. She pulled her with a ferocity she didn’t know she had and let that beast drop down right against her knee.

  The woman grunted and swung out, but Sanna backed up from the slash and sent her Tweety bird covered house shoe right into the she-monster’s face. Black-red blood spilled everywhere as she laid her hands on the demon. She felt her power ebb within her then pushed out into the entity’s molting form and blasted her into the sky.

  “Duck!” Amit yelled and he swung the pipe like a bat and knocked off the expanding head of a nearby demon with a bright smile. “Score!” he yelled, pointing in the air as the head exploded and disappeared in the night sky. Tendrils of darkness seeped through the air, and Amit began his chanting.

  Sanna found herself doing the same, repeating every word he said. As she moved through the congested and destroyed interstate section, she realized he was speaking spiritual hymns and verses from the Bible.

  The tendrils of power that ebbed from his body and Sanna’s lit up like a thousand Christmas lights as they flew around and misted in the air. “Beautiful,” she whispered, looking around at the flowing bursts.

  As she moved to run, a tall golden-haired man with chiseled, handsome features that could rival any Hollywood actor’s stepped out of a skewed limo. He walked past an unaware human who held up a cellphone recording everything.

  While the man locked eyes on Sanna, he smirked, brushed off his shoulders, and punched his hand through the innocent bystander’s chest. Blood and flesh rained everywhere as he flung the body, licked his hands, and wiped them off with a handkerchief.

  Sanna swallowed deeply as the man-thing continued his descent toward her. She heard him mutter, “I want you.”

  Ice filled her veins instantly in fear. This man wasn’t normal, especially with his eyes glowing pure ruby red, and his body seemed to double in size.

  Locking on to him, her mind seemed to connect to his, and she gagged. Tears of anger formed in her eyes as she spat.

  This bastard was a well-known social diplomat and PR rep for the Bulls. He had just left his office after working a late night. The thing was, this bastard had assaulted his secretary, a woman he had just hired, raping her and throwing her in a closet to bleed to death. She knew this wasn’t his first time doing such a then and she realized this was his M.O. a monster who got off assaulting women.

  Fury unlike anything she had ever felt flowed through her, hazing her vision as she ducked from his snatch. She jabbed an elbow into his hard ribcage, searching for whatever she could to hit him hard on his skull with. Her mind ripped open with a synergy unlike anything. She yelled and blocked his punch as she tried to run.

  His hand reached out for her and got a fistful of her hair.

  Tears spilled down her face. Sanna reached behind her, her nails digging into his forearm as he lifted her in the air with a jerk. The force of it made her mind scream, Oh, hell naw!

  A static charge jolted through her, and she was ecstatic. Her mind slashed through his body, seeing everything that made this monster evil. She honed in on the very DNA of the thing. She exhaled, pulled then let go as she snapped her fingers.

  The monster’s eyes bulged out as he dropped her. He reached out and gripped his throat then roared before imploding into nothing but red black visceral mist, each drop glowing with white light as it flowed behind her.

  The fast-moving, arching, tunneling droplets of lights made her swiftly turn. She saw a man with lo
cks fly by her, running on the top of cars, his movement graceful yet predatory. She felt her body hum with rapid desire as she watched him. That mist wrapping around him as it shot back from his body into pure light through the sky. It was a symphony of beauty.

  “You okay, cousin?”

  A hand made her jump and swing as she blinked. Her hands flew up to her face as she saw Calvin duck, a slick smile on his face.

  “Damn! Good reflexes. You okay, San?” Calvin looked his cousin up and down. He reached out to turn her around. She looked good. No scratches, just fear and anger swallowing her eyes as his mouth dropped open. She was fully awakening into her power. Her skin glowed softly, and he could feel his body humming with her gift so much, he had to let go because of the strength.

  “Yeah, I’m okay. What are you doing here? Wait! Amit!” Sanna turned. She snatched at a bloodied and dirty young man hobbling past her, clutching his sides, something nestled in his hand. He was dressed in nothing but white pants with a black-and-platinum collar.

  Glancing down, the guy was holding a steel dented pipe. Calvin knew what was up—an Initiate.

  “He needed our help. Well . . . still does. We need to call the police. I don’t know what’s going on, but those bastards are crazy!” Sanna instantly went into rambling, explaining everything that happened.

  Calvin just crossed his arms, watching closely. Kyo ran by in his peripheral vision. She flew through the air as she sprinted and jumped off demons’ shoulders and back. She screamed and clawed, her skin glittering in the moonlight. Girly was bad, and it was an honor to see both her and his cousin in action.

  “Slow down, San,” Calvin said. “We have to get you all out of here and contain the mess.” He gently tried to lead her and Amit away but only succeeded in being halted in his footsteps.

  Sanna grounded her feet and stared ahead. “Wait. Is that Khamun?” A part of her power bubble seemed to follow not only Kyo, but it also trailed a man who looked intimately familiar to her in an instant. It moved with him as he hacked at demons, using a sword she had only seen in movies. Her mouth dropped as she swore she saw fangs gleam in the moonlight. She watched him snatch a running monster and fling it like it was a rag doll.

  Calvin quietly bobbed his head, trailing an approaching figure. His emerald eyes glowed as they narrowed. A clicking sound echoing around them made him push Sanna behind.

  “What is it, Calvin? Wait. But am I crazy, or was that Khamun?” Sanna tugged his arm, her fear raising the hair on his body as she quietly asked, “What is going on?”

  Ignoring his cousin, Calvin shifted on his feet. He watched his team take down demons that seemed to pop up like roaches.

  “Kyo!” he yelled. “Come get Sanna and Amit now! Take them to the Escalade! Kali is waiting!” His body alerted him of the approaching danger, and he held his arm out to block his cousin.

  He sneered as he saw Kyo halt mid-kick to hook a demon behind her knee and flip him to the ground before stomping on its head. She grinned with triumph while nodding to run, and grabbed a fighting Sanna. His confused and battle-amped cousin sent another demon flying with just a flash from her glowing eyes.

  She was here. The Medusa. He could sense her, and this was not good. Looking through the power bubble, he could make out her curvy form and he rolled his shoulders, so she couldn’t get through. Excellent.

  He could tell she couldn’t see either, because she kept slashing at the bubble, trying to get in while peering in, but she only ended up burning herself in the process. This was good. The more she tried to get through, the more she hurt herself.

  “Sanna! See that woman?” Calvin yelled.

  Sanna paused outside of the Escalade and turned to get a good look. “Yes!” she shouted back.

  “Knock her ass out with a power burst. Ya feel meh?” Calvin smirked. His eyes glowed with warmth, letting her know she could do this.

  Sanna took a deep breath. She bit her lower lip, looked around at the many demons that hopped out of cars and noticed the innocent people who ran, trying to get away. They needed protecting, and if she could do it, she would.

  “I’ll try!” She flung her hands out with a push, but nothing happened. Closing her eyes, she tried it again, with no results. “Um, see . . . I don’t even know how I did what I did, cousin!”

  Calvin gave a lighthearted laugh and flung a hand out. His protection sigils glowed on his arms and hair as he glanced at her with glowing eyes. A set of demons flew backwards, knives protruding from their chests.

  Sanna screamed, and everything seemed to go silent as demons lifted in the air, hit the bubble barrier, and imploded. She saw who she knew was Khamun on his knees in a shower of black-red blood.

  His eyes closed, dark silver wings extended as his head dropped back and white light flowed through him. The tendrils of black mist swirled him and entered him before expelling itself from his body.

  “Hey, Sanna! Mami, it’s me, Marco. Do that again!”

  Turning, she saw the one named Marco yell at her as he stood at the bubble’s edge, sword ready. She blinked, tears in her eyes while she dropped the bubble, and pushed out, letting her power wrap around Marco as he smiled at the Medusa. She heard him taunt his prey with his laughter.

  “¿Me acuerdas? Remember me? Tell mi gemelo, my twin, that I’m not dead and that we have some unfinished business.”

  The hazel ring around Marco’s grey eyes expanded, and he sent the crazy-looking woman flying with a kick and mental push. Her screech filled the air as she disappeared. His eyes returned to their steel grey color, and he turned to kick a team of demons. He took them down in one move, slicing and shooting them as they crumbled into nothing but visceral matter.

  Amit seemed to closely watch. His eyes narrowed as he pointed out demons that were trying to surround Marco.

  Sanna screamed again. She saw a tall, dark-haired man running, guns pointed, blasting demons’ heads off as if he were doing nothing but shooting at a gun range.

  Calvin moved to the side and disappeared before popping back into view, guns blazing. A sizzling pop of power escaped his fisted hands while he flashed a lopsided smile.

  “Oooo wee! You see that chump go flying? Lookie here. Nothing like charred demon to make a brotha feel right. After tonight, shit, I’m hunting for some nice, soft booty!” he yelled while laughing. He jumped on a hood of a car, shooting off rounds, kicking entities in the face and occasionally glancing behind him to make sure Sanna was okay.

  She saw Marco’s smirk as he moved through the crowded streets. Her cousin was something she had no idea about. He moved like an experienced soldier, finding his prey and slicing them down the middle or just blowing them away. Sometimes she swore his body would glow with some inner power.

  As she watched, Calvin dropped into a low dip and came up kicking demons on a handstand. The ground underneath where he touched lit up and cooked demons where they stood. This was powerful stuff, and it blew her mind away. She didn’t know what was what, or why it was happening to her, but she couldn’t help but be impressed by it all.

  Looking around again, she saw that Khamun had gotten up and was slicing demons with his wings. They seemed to harden like blades and that tripped her out. He had wings! The man she was just flirting with yesterday, who was doing quality and beautiful work on her restaurant, now stood feet away, moving like an assassin and taking down monsters like it was everyday thing.

  “Kali. I need to know what in all hell is going on? Who are you people?”

  Her cousin Kali sat quietly behind the steering wheel while she watched. Her mouth was silently moving as she clicked on an iPad. Cars seemed to light up and move as if she controlled them.

  An old Buick shifted on and drove itself into a tank-size demon, taking it down as a Ford pivoted from the right and ran the thing over, slicing it in two.

  “We are Protectors.” She activated another car. She sent this one colliding into more entities.

  “What does that mean, cousin? Talk to
me please. I’m freaked out here.”

  Kyo stood at her side, her reptilian-looking eyes dilated, and her skin seemed to sparkle with the shifting moon. Her nails seemed to have lengthened, and they sparkled like granite. Fangs protruded from her sister’s mouth as she breathed. Confusion danced across her pretty face.

  “Kyo?” Sanna gently touched her shoulder, and she shook her head.

  “I don’t know, sis.”

  Sanna glanced at Kali, who sat looking at her hands, then resorted to touch her own softly shimmering skin as she tilted her head to the side.

  Kali gave Sanna a matter-of-fact look as she spoke. “When I say we are Protectors, I mean you as well.”

  Everything felt like her mind was compounding on itself. Not like her typical migraines, but as if something was breaking open in her mind. Slowly rubbing her temples, she shifted in her seat. She was ticked. Just a few seconds ago, she stood in the chilly morning air, in her PJ’s and slippers, disheveled and sore. She just pulled off the best magic trick in the world, and everyone was clustered around her talking in code? Yeah, fuck the protector crap! “I’m going to ask this again, and I want the cryptic dialog to stop. You are my blood! Kali, what is up?” Sanna pleaded again.

  Kali frowned. “I can’t exactly say just yet, cousin. Trust me. You need time to know what this all is about, and I promise we will talk about it. But, first, your safety is a must. We need to get you to safe land and make sure this area is clear. We have a team coming in to do just that, so it won’t take long.”

  Sanna was about to pry again when Amit chimed in, “She doesn’t know she’s Nephilim? All this shit that went down and she doesn’t know?”

  Kali rolled her eyes and eyed the young man. He was fine but dirty and bloody. His skin seemed to flicker and dull whenever he coughed, and she knew that was not a good sign. The attire he wore and the collar around his throat let her know that he was a Cursed chosen, an Initiate.

  Frowning she was curious as in how he escaped and why he wasn’t turning yet. “Who are you?”