Voracious Vixens, 13 Novels of Sexy Horror and Hot Paranormal Romance

by Travis Luedke

  While Redd is evil and Miku is good, Miku herself has been known to be very wicked. Her power is her voice. When she sings to anyone, they literally start to rip their hearts out. How cool is that?

  In fact, Miku caused so much havoc my dad calls her “Pretty deadly.” Although she takes pills to suppress her evil side, even now when Auntie Pretty walks into a room, some angels shiver.

  The truth is Auntie Pretty is a super sweet Guardian. She knows where to do all the best shopping and she let me rummage through her closet when I was little.

  Her husband is my Uncle Jay. Uncle Jay has skin the color of nightfall. He has a big cocky grin that always makes things better. He wears hot shades and sneaks me and Sam out of the house so we can joyride in his car at one hundred and fifty miles an hour. And one time he actually let us drive. I felt like my heart was in the back of my head. The wind was going by so fast, I thought Sam and I would hurl. It was awesome.

  Uncle Jay’s power is speed. It’s called Gliding, as I said before. He can walk from here to the other side of the world in seconds. And even though we aren’t all officially related, Miku, Jay, and Rage are my family. That’s why I’m hoping they will help my mom see the light.

  “C’mon baby girl, stop pacing and be easy,” Uncle Jay says to my mom.

  “I can’t, okay? My daughter is hurting and I can’t make it better,” she replies.

  “Emmy,” my dad calls out as he places a calming hand on her shoulder.

  “Have you and the rest of the Council gone over the pattern enough? Maybe you guys are missing something,” my aunt Pretty says.

  “Miku, we have looked over the pattern again and again. Randy needs to die,” my mom says.

  “You can’t keep Pryor from this pain,” Uncle Rage tells her.

  “How is it I can stop the world but I can’t stop my own child from hurting?”

  “Come on, yo. You know it’s not your fault. You can’t just fix everything for them. Carrot is young, but death comes to everyone and she will have to accept that,” Uncle Jay says.

  “I know you’re right, honey, but if something happened to our twins...I don’t know that I could just stand by and let it happen,” my aunt confesses.

  “Yeah, I know I couldn’t sit back and watch anything happen to Aaden. I’m sorry this is happening,” Uncle Rage tells my parents.

  “She came into the kitchen with this desperate look on her face. She reached out to me to make it better and...Jay, she’s my kid. How do I protect her?” my dad asks.

  “I’m gonna be real with you, you can’t protect her—not from this,” he replies.

  My mom sighs heavily and the sky darkens outside. The more upset she gets, the more the clouds start to roll in.

  “Randy means the world to Pryor. How can I just take him from her?”

  “Emmy, human teens lose their friends all the time,” Uncle Rage says.

  “Yes, but their friends aren’t usually killed by their moms. Why am I Death? Why not Fate or Time? I’m failing my daughter.”

  “Baby, you’re not failing her,” my dad says, pulling her into his arms.

  “Marcus, she’s so young. How do I make her understand? What do I say that won’t break her heart?”

  My dad turns to Uncle Rage and addresses him.

  “Were you able to find anything that could help?”

  “Marcus, I’ve looked everywhere and it’s exactly like we thought: Once the Bytrin has a fixed pattern of who will die, it’s done. The being has to die.”

  “So there’s absolutely no way around it?” my aunt asks.

  “No. Well, actually there is, but it’s not a good path to take,” he says.

  “Wait, there’s something that can be done?” my mom asks.

  I have to force myself to stay where I am and not leap into the kitchen and ask one hundred questions.

  Steady Pryor; stay calm and just listen.

  “Rage, what do we need to do to stop Randy from dying?” my aunt asks.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Then how do you know it’s a bad path?” my mom asks.

  “Because it starts with setting up a meeting with Oden.”

  “Oden? I’m a member of the Council, I can’t get involved with−”

  “Emmy, we know. That’s why I said it’s a path we can’t go down,” Uncle Rage says.

  Who’s Oden? Why can’t we meet with him? How can he help?

  “You’re going to have to let her go through this,” my aunt tells them.

  “Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything, Rage. Maybe I should have just let it happen,” my mom says.

  “No, we’re already keeping something from the kids. We don’t need to add any more secrets,” my aunt says.

  What secret? What are they keeping from me and the other Norus? It must be bad if they have decided to keep it from us. The Guardians and my parents have always told us what was going on. They never want us to be in the dark about what’s happening in the Angel world. Yet this time, they are choosing to hide information from us. Why?

  “Have you ever tried to tell her, Marcus?” my aunt asks.

  “It’s been calm for years. There’s no reason to think the new evil is here,” my dad replies.

  “The Council already told you, the new evil is coming,” Uncle Jay says.

  “That was a while ago. We haven’t heard anything. It’s been really quiet. If anything, the demons are too busy fighting among themselves to even appoint a new evil.”

  “I think you guys should tell Pryor and Sam. They need to know,” Uncle Rage says.

  “I’m not going to drop another bomb on my daughter,” my mom snaps.

  Everyone in the room grows silent. The thunder and lighting begin to crackle outside.

  “Sorry guys,” my mom says.

  “It’s okay, baby girl. We know this is hard for you,” Uncle Jay says.

  “We will tell the kids the secret later. Right now, Pryor has enough to worry about. She’s about to lose her only human friend and no amount of power is going to take her hurt away,” my mom says.

  “Hey, have you guys heard about the Alexi?” my aunt asks.

  An Alexi is a beautiful silver bird that appears when a female angel is pregnant. It takes the seed out of her body and takes the baby, or Sib, as we call it, to a place in the light called Noni. Alexis are immortal and stunning to behold in the air.

  “What about the Alexi?” Uncle Rage asks.

  “They’ve been disappearing,” my aunt responds.

  “How is that possible? Alexis always know where they are going,” my mom asks.

  “All I know is at least three of them are missing.”

  “It may be nothing. They may be injured and need time to heal. Alexis can’t be killed, so I don’t think there’s a reason to worry,” my dad says.

  I don’t have time to listen to the rest of their conversation. I sneak back into my room, put on my sneakers and my leather jacket, and take off into the sky. I’m headed to Randy’s house. It’s time he knew the truth about my family and me. I wanted to wait, but the fact is I will need his help to save him.

  I don’t know how Randy will take the news that he’s supposed to die. I’m guessing he won’t be inviting me in for snacks. But I don’t care how hard it is for him, he will have to learn the truth. I will do whatever it takes to save him. And if that means turning his whole life upside down, then that’s what I will do.

  *******

  I have been standing outside of Randy’s apartment building for about ten minutes. I could ring his bell and tell him to come down. Or I could text him and have him come outside. Or throw rocks at his window and let him know to come meet me. So why have I not done any of these things? Simple. I don’t have a good opening line.

  You can’t just walk up to someone and say, “Hey, I’m an angel. And um...my mom is the Angel of Death and she’s going to kill you...like, soon.”

  Wait, why can’t I say that? It’s the truth. Randy’s a tough kid unde
rneath it all. He can handle what I have to say. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?

  Okay, so this is the plan: I text Randy to come down and meet me. I tell him all about me, he’s a little shaken but all in all, he takes the news well. Then I get him to promise to avoid all potentially dangerous activities so Death doesn’t come for him. There. Simple.

  I text him that I’m waiting for him outside, and a few moments later he appears before me. He’s smiling and looks at me suspiciously.

  “Hey, what’s up? You okay?” he asks.

  “Yeah, I just need to talk for a sec,” I reply.

  “Okay, usual place?”

  “Yeah.”

  We head down the block to the abandoned playground. Somehow sitting on rusty swings and kicking dirt with our feet makes it easier to tell each other our secrets. We head towards the swing set where Randy will learn the truth about me. But we never get to the swings because a massive dark Powerball lands right in front of Randy. He goes catapulting lifelessly into the air...

  CHAPTER THREE: DEAR OMNIS...

  Randy lands over by the slides a few yards away. I dash over to him but a Powerball hits just inches away from me, causing me to lose my balance and fall to the ground. I look up and find two demons careening down from the sky, ready to attack once again.

  I hold out my hand to Pull the demon. Right away, a burst of light emerges from my palm. His life force seeps out of his body, forms a stream of black smoke that is drawn into my hand. The demon dies midair.

  I go to Pull the other demon, but then something happens: The demon gets a good look at me and sees something that makes him stop dead in his tracks—my purple eyes.

  Damn it!

  I didn’t remember to put my contacts in. Having purple eyes is a dead giveaway. Soon a slew of demons will descend upon us, knowing they have stumbled upon a Noru. Not just a Noru, but the daughter of a Council member.

  Great, why couldn’t my mom work at Starbucks?

  I hold out my hand to Pull the demon, but I can’t get a lock on his position because he’s weaving through the air. I debate going after him but I can’t leave Randy alone. I have no choice but to let the other demon go. I’m guessing he’s racing to tell the others he’s found a Noru out in the open. Soon the place will be overrun with demons.

  I run over to Randy and take his head in my lap. He’s bleeding from his nose and mouth. His eyes are closed and he is eerily still.

  Please, Omnis, don’t let him die. Please.

  “Randy, Randy, can you hear me?” I ask desperately.

  He doesn’t answer but I know he’s alive because I can feel a faint pulse when I place my fingers on the side of his neck. I start to pick him up and prepare to fly him to safety. That’s when I see them from the corner of my eye: a cluster of demons flying furiously towards us.

  They start attacking us from the air even before they can get a good shot. Seeing a Noru out in the open has excited the horde of demons. They are approaching in a feverish frenzy. There is no way I can Pull them all at once. And even if I could, it would mean letting go of Randy, and I am not about to do that.

  Well you better think of something quick! I scold myself.

  I hoist Randy effortlessly over my shoulder just as the Powerballs start to rain down on us. I dive behind the plastic staircase that leads to the slides. This is a temporary hiding place, as the Powerballs are melting the plastic structure.

  A few demons make their way towards us. I Pull as many of them as I can, but soon there are just too many for me to handle. I take out my cell and make a call I never thought I’d have to make.

  “Key, it’s me. Help!” I beg.

  No sooner than I hang up the phone, a Powerball sends me flying into the lamppost across the street. I gasp as my whole body throbs in pain. A dozen or so demons follow me. I Pull them fast and without mercy. They fall from the sky like drunken flies. That’s when I spot the other demons descending upon Randy’s body.

  “Get off him!” I scream as I run towards them.

  I take to the sky and Pull them left and right. They are dying quickly but not quick enough. They are about to reach Randy’s body, and I won’t get to him in time. Randy’s going to die and it’s all my fault.

  The first demon to land on the ground picks Randy up by his collar and hurls him across the park. Randy’s body looks like a ragdoll as it goes flying through the air. He’s about to hit the brick building across the street head first.

  “Randy!” I shout, not knowing what else to do.

  There are just too many demons in my way. I can’t even get airborne. I can’t stop what’s about to happen. Just as he’s about to hit the brick wall, a gorgeous angel with flowing raven hair and almond-shaped gray eyes snatches Randy from certain death.

  “Pry, I got him, let’s go!” she shouts.

  The demons now turn their attention towards Keyohmi. I signal for her to use her power and “Rip” the demons. She nods and then turns her focus on to the group of demons to her right. Her eyes glow red and soon a beam emerges. It hits the demons head-on, and within seconds they are reduced to drops of blood. The blood sprays into the air and hits the pavement like paint splashing on a canvas. That’s why the other Norus and I lovingly call her The Artist.

  Meanwhile, I Pull as many demons as I can as I make my way towards them. Between the two of us we are able to take most of the demons out, but more are coming.

  “Get on the Port, hurry!” Keyohmi says as she tightens her hold on Randy.

  A Port is a small black Frisbee-like thing that takes you from one place to another. It’s more useful than flying at the moment, as it stops the demons from following us.

  “Let’s go!” I yell as I step on the Port.

  I turn just in time to see a Powerball head straight for me; a fraction before it makes contact, we disappear.

  *******

  A Port is programmed to take you where the owner of the Port designated. I have no idea where Keyohmi has programmed it to take us.

  “You brought us to the warehouse?” I ask as we appear in a new location.

  “I figured you would want to keep this quiet,” Key says.

  The warehouse is located just outside the city. There is nothing around for miles, making it a perfect place to train when we are on earth.

  There are a few rooms towards the back of the warehouse. We use it to Recharge after all-night training sessions. Recharging is an angel’s version of sleeping.

  “Put him down there,” Key says, pointing to the cot in the corner.

  I place him and look on anxiously as Key places her hand a few inches above Randy’s body. She hovers over every inch of him.

  “Is he okay? Can you fix him? Please heal him,” I beg.

  “He’s bleeding internally,” she replies.

  “Heal him. Please, Key. Please.”

  “Pry, calm down. And let me focus.”

  “Okay, okay. Sorry,” I reply.

  The only way to make sure I don’t speak is to place my hand over my mouth. Randy is pale and motionless.

  Key’s hands start to form a “blanket” of light all around Randy’s body. The light engulfs him. I look on, very close to losing it.

  I feel my pocket vibrate. I take out my cell and look at the screen. It’s my mom texting me. She wants to know where I am and why I’m out at all given that I’m grounded. I can’t reply to her right now. The only thing that I care about is getting Randy to wake up.

  I put the cell back in my pocket without responding.

  It takes two torturous hours but finally Randy’s eyes start to flutter. He tosses and turns slowly; moments later my best friend is awake and healed.

  “Oh thank you, Omnis, thank you,” I cry out as I hug him tightly.

  He looks up at the ceiling and then at me.

  “Pry, where am I? What happened?”

  “What’s the last thing you remember?” I ask.

  “Sand from the playground hitting my face and then
darkness.”

  “That’s all?” I say to him.

  “I think I saw...no, it’s crazy...I don’t know. I opened my eyes and I thought...no, maybe I’m just high.”

  “Randy, you don’t get high,” I remind.

  “Maybe I walked by the weed spot one time too many times because I could have sworn there were guys with big black wings coming at me,” he says, shaking his head.

  “Randy, look at me.”

  He looks at me and doesn’t have a reaction. That’s because he doesn’t expect to see wings attached to me, so he won’t see them.

  “Randy, you weren’t hallucinating. The guys back there had wings. They aren’t the only ones; I have them too,” I reply carefully.

  That’s when he really looks at me, and before his eyes, my wings spread out behind me and flap against the air.

  Randy leaps over to the corner of the room and hurriedly wraps the blanket from the bed protectively around him. His body is shaking and his eyes are wide in terror.

  “Randy, it’s okay. It’s me. It’s just me with—wings,” I say, getting closer.

  “You have...and the guys back there they have...you’re a...” He is too stunned to complete a sentence.

  “I’m sorry, Randy, I didn’t mean to break it to you like this but—”

  “YES! I KNEW IT! I FREAKING KNEW IT! YOU’RE A SUPERHERO! THIS IS SO FREAKING AWESOME!!!”

  “Randy, I’m not a superhero. I’m just an angel. Well, not just an angel but—”

  “Okay. Start from the top and tell me everything...”

  *******

  For a guy who almost had his head smashed in, Randy is having the time of his life. He asks a million questions and before I can answer, he starts listing what he thinks my reply will be.

  “So what’s your superpower?” he asks.

  “Well, I—”

  “I know—you kick ass right? But I bet it’s more than that.”

  “Randy, there’s a lot you need to know but right now—” I begin.

  “Can you bend metal like Magneto? Wait, I bet you can control the weather? Make it thunder, Pry!”

  “Randy!” I shout impatiently.

  He isn’t paying attention to me at all. He goes off on a tangent about battles, superpowers, and hero uniforms.