by Avery Rae
Desire From Hell
Demon Brotherhood II
Avery Rae
ISBN: 9781983285110
Copyright © 2018 by Avery Rae
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.
Contents
1. Hazel
2. Edwin
3. Hazel
4. Edwin
5. Hazel
6. Edwin
7. Hazel
8. Edwin
9. Hazel
10. Edwin
11. Hazel
12. Edwin
13. Hazel
14. Edwin
15. Hazel
16. Edwin
17. Hazel
18. Edwin
19. Hazel
20. Edwin
21. Hazel
22. Edwin
23. Hazel
24. Edwin
25. Hazel
26. Edwin
27. Hazel
28. Hazel
29. Edwin
30. Hazel
31. Epilogue
Follow Avery Rae
1
Hazel
For the past year, I'd had the strongest urge to toss my cookies after we finished every summoning we did. Maybe it was the overwhelming scent of espresso that permeated the air all the way from the café upstairs down to the wet, clammy basement.
Yeah, that's all it is. It couldn't ever possibly be that I was having doubts about what we did. It couldn't be that I lived in guilt and shame because I didn't know what to think about my dedication to the Druid doctrine anymore. The doctrine my family had died for. I was supposed to have died for it, too. But I survived that night at the community center for reasons I couldn't explain.
As I ascended the stairs and approached the kitchen doors of Earthen Roast, I could hear the dim roar of the packed café, backed by the flurry of activity in the kitchen. I frowned to myself. It all seemed so normal, but it was far from it.
The kitchen staff didn't even so much as glance at me. They were Druids, just like me. The trickle of people from the basement, leaving through the back door and kitchen, didn't faze them in the least. I slid out of the hooded brown robe, the scratchy material rough against my skin, and hung it in a closet next to the door. Until next time. A shameful part of me replied, I hope there isn't one.
I pushed through the swinging doors and stepped out onto the floor, blinking as my eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight streaming in through the wall-length windows. I looked through the sea of gleaming wooden tables seated with customers and saw several faces that ranged from confused to devious. My stomach sank. Like clockwork, our summoning had worked. Yet, every single time, I sort of hoped we would fail.
"We did so good, Hazel," said a giggling voice to my side. "It looks like we got at least twenty this time."
I looked over to see my friend Abby tying on her apron. She worked here at Earthen Roast as a cashier. Most of us Druids worked somewhere connected to our clans. Not only did it make it easier when you had to clock out for an hour to summon souls, but it was also one less risk of anyone reporting you missing if you died for the balance. When it came to work, I was lucky, if you can call it that, because my parents left inheritances for me and my sister before they died, and she left me hers. I had nobody to leave mine to.
"There's no need to gloat, Abby," I murmured, sweeping my eyes over the crowd once more. Several of them were getting up, mischief in their eyes. My already unsettled stomach churned at the sight. I could still remember what it felt like to be possessed by a soul. Would they remember what happened when the souls finished taking their bodies for a joyride? I hoped they wouldn't.
Among the crowd, one person caught my eye more than the others, someone who remained seated, unaffected by our summoning. I was happy for him, but that wasn't why I stared. He was beautiful. His hair was such a light blond it was nearly white, and his eyes were a sparkling bright blue. He smiled at me. A sad smile found its way to my lips in return. He was the opposite of Edwin in every way. I closed my eyes and looked away. I couldn't do anything without thinking about my mysterious dark knight anymore.
"Ah, crap," Abby said under her breath. "Elders are coming. Better pretend like we're strangers again. Still on for drinks at your place this Friday though, right?"
"Of course." I looked forward to our occasional nights together. We could pretend for a short while that we weren't as abnormal as they came.
Abby gave me a conspiratorial grin before she zipped over to the front counter. As the Elders—a man and a woman, nameless to me—walked through the kitchen doors, I stepped aside and focused anywhere else.
Druids weren't supposed to forge bonds or connections. Our loyalty was to the balance. That was it. Having no ties beyond your family, who shared in the cause, made it easier to die if you had to. But we all cheated in our own ways, I was sure. Maybe if I had followed the rules, I wouldn't hurt for my lost family every single day. I told myself they died honorable deaths, but it didn't seem so honorable when my sister's face contorted with pain as she collapsed on the floor of that community center.
I tried to shake off the thought as I started for the café's exit, but my thoughts only shifted to Edwin instead. He'd been there that night. I still didn't know why. But then again, he didn't know why I had been there either, so I figured it was best if we avoided talking about it.
We'd been seeing each other maybe twice a month for the past year. Emphasis on the maybe. It'd been three weeks since I saw him last. There was never much talking. He always appeared at random times and we went straight to my bedroom every time. We both liked it that way, I think.
I sighed as I stepped out onto the sidewalk. The sun was shining down from high in the sky, leaving the ground hot beneath my feet. It was unseasonably warm, something that worried the Druids. The Earth was crumbling to pieces as far as they—we—were concerned. Our summonings didn't seem to help much either.
We didn't talk with our fellow Druid clans, but I was certain they were still working just as hard as we were. So why wasn't the Earth getting better? I had nobody I could ask. I'd be shunned if I dared, and my clan was the only thing I had left in this world.
I'd only been walking down the sidewalk for a couple minutes when I heard a voice shout from behind me. "Wait, Miss!"
Even though I didn't think it was for me, I couldn't help but pause and look over my shoulder. To my surprise, the blond-haired man from the café was jogging toward me. I looked to either side of me, then ahead. There was nobody else.
I turned around and pointed to myself. "Are you talking to me?"
The man came to a stop in front of me, not the least bit winded. He was so staggeringly tall that I had to crane my neck to look at him. He smiled down at me when our eyes met. "I saw you back at the café and I—I was hoping to get your number."
"So, you chased me down? That's a little weird, don't you think?" I cringed internally. I hadn't meant to sound so rude. I liked to blame my social awkwardness on my Druid upbringing, which had discouraged socializing, but Abby didn't seem to have my struggles. I probably would've been a social misfit no matter my circumstances.
He rubbed at the back of his neck and let out an awkward laugh. "Uh, yeah. That's fair. I guess I was just too much of a coward to say anything back there and I figured it was now or never."
I couldn't help but be suspicious. I knew what I looked like. I wasn't an ogre by any means, but I was best described as your average, mousy, light-haired brunette. The kind you could imagine sitting at a table
full of people with her nose shoved in a book, ignoring all of them. Because that was me all throughout school. I even spent my lunches in the library. Friendships were forbidden, so I turned to books—my secret little escape that got me through the hardest years.
At twenty-five, the height of my fun and flirty twenties—at least according to some article I once saw—I still thought turtlenecks were a great fashion choice. I was okay with makeup, but I wasn't wowing anyone with my skills. I certainly didn't know how to contour. I still really wasn't even sure what contouring was. But I did know who I was and had no qualms about it.
This guy, however, was most definitely model material. He was the sort of guy who belonged with a girl that could gain millions of followers on social media just by photographing her face. Sure, Edwin was equally handsome in his own way, but we connected on some weird, primal level. We'd been sleeping together for a year and we were still practically anonymous to each other. I didn't even know his last name. We could just give each other something that nobody else could, so it made sense. This guy being desperate enough to follow me, on the other hand, didn't make sense.
"You want my number?" I asked, my eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "Why?"
"Obviously because I'd like to get to know you better," he replied with a crooked smile. It was such a sweet look I almost smiled back. "Unless you're opposed to getting to know me better. In which case I'll politely walk away."
"Politely walk away? Such a gentleman."
His grin widened. "I try."
I eyed him in silence for a moment. ”You're not a serial killer, are you?"
His brows rose to his hairline. "I'm the opposite of that, I think. For one, I don't even kill bugs." He lifted his fingers and started to count them off. "I'm a vegetarian. I give to charity. If I stop and think about it, I'm basically a saint."
"None of those things disqualify you from being a serial killer."
He tilted his head to the side and laughed, genuine and hearty. "You know, I'm used to getting a much different reaction when I ask women for their number. I don't think I've ever been called a serial killer."
I shrugged. "I call it like I see it."
"And I like that about you already." He held out a hand. "I'm Nathaniel."
I shook it. "Hazel."
"Go out with me, Hazel. Just once." He leaned down and said, "Somewhere very public, so you won't have to fear for your life."
That one earned an honest smile from me. A rarity to anyone who knew me. But it was a smile that faded quickly as Edwin's face flashed in my mind. I liked what we had. Most of the time. But it wasn't just Edwin that crushed my smile. It was the fact that even if this Nathaniel guy and I were to hit it off, I couldn't ever be with him.
A Druid could only ever have children with a Druid, and even then you were just creating fodder for the balance. If you didn't train your child to become a Druid, to harness their innate abilities to use the powers of the Earth to bring balance, then you were just ruining it. I couldn't have a child knowing they would either be a sacrifice or a disruption.
I touched a hand to my temple, roughly rubbing it, despite how weird it might've looked. My head hurt. This was why I didn't do relationships. They were too hard for my kind. "Listen, I'm sorry, but I don't think it's a good idea, I'm not really looking—"
"Just one date," Nathaniel insisted, his eyes imploring mine.
I bit at my lower lip for a moment, considering the possibilities. As wrong as it was, it would be nice to go out for a night. Feel normal for a bit. If Nathaniel was really that interested, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Before I could convince myself otherwise, I blurted out, "Okay!"
2
Edwin
One month, two weeks, and a day. That was how long it had been since I'd been able to see Hazel. Not by choice. Druids had been insanely active around the world, and it wasn't like I could insist upon being sent to Hazel's town without raising suspicion. I'd nearly terrified my hunting partner, Cheri, by how quickly I'd rounded up souls today. I didn't tolerate any of the usual bullshit. Now I finally had the chance to see my girl.
Her apartment building was small and quiet. I was pretty sure most of the people that lived in it were a good sixty years her senior. She seemed to like it though. The interior of her apartment fit in well with the geriatric crowd. The woman had a weakness for antiques that mystified me. I was fairly certain she knew more about the early 1900s than I did, and I had lived during it.
Because it was so quiet, I could hear the murmur of voices as I approached her door. That was odd. She'd never had anyone over in the year I'd been coming around. I figured it might be her neighbors, even though they're usually silent. I was reaching for the key she kept on top of her door frame when I heard something that turned my blood cold.
"Look, I'm not going to say you're wrong to put up with it," a male voice said, "but if I had an open invitation to your bed, I wouldn't stay away."
I recognized Hazel's sweet laugh. "Yeah, you've made that pretty clear."
I jammed the key into the lock and barged inside, tossing the key to the floor as I shut the door with a shove. As it rattled in its frame, Hazel jumped up, spilling coffee all over her dress. Her eyes were wide. "Edwin?!"
I wasn't looking at her anymore. I was looking at the angel—a winged cherub-looking motherfucker—sitting on her couch, drinking from one of her floral-printed coffee mugs with a smug smile on his face. Are you fucking kidding me?
"Who the hell are you?" I asked, barely resisting the urge to shout. The only reason I didn't was because I didn't want to piss Hazel off more than I already had by slamming her door. I wasn't sure how long that would last, judging by the way he looked like a cat that got into the cream.
"He's a friend of mine," Hazel said, voice terse, "so I would appreciate it if you were nice."
She gave me a warning look before rushing into her kitchen. Cute one, babe. Did she think I wasn't going to start asking questions? Not a chance. Especially since that angel didn't take his eyes off her as she walked away—and it wasn't like he was admiring how goddamn shiny her hair was.
"You mind?" I asked through my teeth.
Once Hazel was inside her kitchen, he shifted his eyes to me with a deliberate slowness that sent my blood pressure through the roof.
"Sorry, I should introduce myself," the angel said as he slowly got to his feet. "I'm Nathaniel. Like she said, I'm a . . . friend of hers." His lips curved up at the corners; he was clearly pleased with himself for filling such a small phrase with so much suggestion.
Nice try on his part. Sadly for him, I wasn't a total fool. They hadn't gone beyond friendship. I could tell that much. However, judging by the way this Nathaniel had eyed her, he didn't plan on staying just friends, and that wasn't going to work for me.
I'd never killed a man, but that would change real fast if he even tried to get into her bed. I looked toward the door to her bedroom, somewhere I'd been more times than this guy could ever pray for. That didn't mean he wasn't planning on finding a way between her sheets.
Beyond him getting cozy with her, though, the real worry was the fact that he was an angel. That wasn't something I could let slide right on by without a question. It was suspicious for an angel to just be palling around with Hazel, drinking coffee on her couch with her, gossiping like a couple of old biddies.
Angels had some weird ability to see your sins in a glance, so I had no doubt he knew what she was. Plus, I hadn't met an angel I would trust with anything. Especially a woman like her. That included my boss down in Hell, Samael. They all thought they were better and smarter than the average schmuck. It was cockiness crossed with a god complex and a holy crusader attitude that spelled out disaster waiting to happen.
"You're a long way from home, Pegasus," I said with my upper lip curled back. "Am I supposed to believe this is a coincidence?"
"Pegasus? How clever of you." He gave me a serene smile even though his ivory wings twitched with irritation. If only Haze
l could see what he really looked like. I had always found his kind strange-looking. At least Samael's wings were black, because they looked especially stupid in white.
"I agree that this seems highly unlikely. What are the chances of an angel and a demon stumbling across each other on accident? Slim, I would think." Nathaniel's voice was irritatingly calm. "But even that which has a one in a million chance must happen to someone, yes?"
See that? That's what I was talking about. The guy could've said all that in one sentence, but angels gotta always turn it into a thing. If anyone were to ask me, I would say that angels were the reason why the word "pompous" existed.
"Yeah, alright, listen." I folded my arms, leveling him with a hard stare. "I'm going to need you to spare me your heavenly saint act. I'm not buying it."
The angel's eyes glinted but his smile remained. "I'm not certain I understand."
"What're you doing here?" I took several steps forward, itching to knock that placid look off his face. "Why her, huh? If you're planning on trying anything, I swear to you—"
"Edwin, don't." Hazel was at the open doorway to her kitchen, holding a bottle of spray cleaner and a towel, her big blue eyes focused hard on me. She blew a light brown curl out of her face and shook the towel at me. "Seriously. Either play nice or leave."
I was about to say something I would regret when Nathaniel hoofed it over to her and tried to take the things from her hands. I smirked. Wrong move. Hazel hated it when anyone treated her like a damsel who couldn't take care of her own stuff.