Coming
Darkness
Archangel Lucifer lives a comfortable life of self-imposed exile with his vampire lover, Kai. When the other Archangels come to him
with a problem — Heaven is gone and their Father is missing — he refuses to get involved because not only is
it not his problem, but it's probably some elaborate ruse they've cooked up to
lure him back into the fold. When he's personally attacked, he finds that he's
wrong on both counts. There are other powerful gods at work, gods who believe
the current creation is flawed and must be destroyed.
Kai is
thrown off balance when Lucifer disappears, and his life begins to spiral out
of control. In the past, he never cared that he was looked down upon and called
Lucifer's pet. But with Lucifer absent, he's left to navigate a world that
doesn’t respect him. Since the only true currency is respect, he must gain it
the only way his enemies will understand, through blood.
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Excerpt
Remember
me.
A
choked sob was all he could manage as his world gradually disappeared before
him. He crumbled to his knees as the echo of the request played over in his
mind. Remember me.
An unsettled Kai walked the back halls of The
City, heading toward Te’s office. He took the longer, roundabout route to avoid
contact with as much of the Other-kin population as he could. Currently, the
only ones he came in contact with were the gentle Eineu servants who scurried
out of his way when they saw him, and that was just fine with Kai in his
current state of mind.
He didn’t often dream of his master, but when
he did, it always left him uneasy. It didn’t help any to wake up in an empty
bed. Lucifer was usually there when he woke, impatient to get his hands on him.
Instead when he opened his eyes, he was greeted with the baleful stare and low
growls of the newest cat Luc had acquired. Luc liked to call them ‘earthly
angels,’ and with Kai’s grudging acceptance, they were always in residence.
Apparently, this particular ‘angel’ didn’t know the rules of the house yet, as
it followed him from room to room, arching and hissing. Kai knew he was
protected, but it still rankled that he felt chased from his own home by a cat.
His list of annoyances kept growing by the minute.
He was on edge. Sex or feeding, or both,
would have gone a long way to release the tension in his body and the clouds in
his mind. The brothels were always open to him, but he knew he should only
satisfy one of those desires, and it held little appeal.
For all of Lucifer’s boast and bluster, he
was surprisingly possessive. Kai was mildly shocked when he found out, and at
first was uncomfortable with the arrangement. The idea that Lucifer wanted
exclusive rights to his body seemed stifling. Granted, he’d been with his
master for over two hundred years before meeting Lucifer, but they both had
other sexual partners—sex led to feeding or vice versa. It was a natural
progression.
As their association grew however, he was
surprised to find that while the dictate seemed restrictive, it actually
wasn’t. Having Lucifer in his life was all encompassing; there was simply no
room for anyone else. Kai was more than satisfied. Except now. Now he wanted
his lover and was annoyed that he hadn’t found him already.
He entered the small antechamber to Te’s
office and was taken by two surprises. The first was that the usually-absent
Stephan was sitting at his desk, and the second was to find the door to the
inner office closed. Being extremely jovial and welcoming, Te’s door was mostly
there to finish the room and was rarely closed. He shot a warning glance to
Stephan to keep his mouth shut and cautiously knocked on the door.
Kai was about to turn and leave when Te
opened the door. Today’s suit was canary yellow, the festive color clashing
with his somber expression.
“Come in.” He gestured toward one of the wing
chairs that stood opposite the desk. Kai took the offered chair and waited for
the troubled demon to speak.
“One sec,” Te said, before making a gesture.
Kai felt the magic tingle over him and looked at Te, bemused. “Stephan has been
particularly nosy today.”
Kai snorted in amusement at the thwarting of
Stephan’s plans to eavesdrop. He settled back in the chair, eager to hear what
was on Te’s mind.
“We have a problem,” Te said as he walked
around to his desk and sat down.
“Who do I have to kill?” Kai responded,
trying to lighten the mood.
“That’s exactly the problem.” Te’s silver
eyes focused on his desk for a moment before looking up and fixing on him.
“That youngling you killed last night—”
“Let me guess,” Kai interrupted. “The Kazat
won’t willingly dismiss it. The little shit insulted me. I was perfectly within
my rights to kill it.”
Te nodded his head. “I know, and technically
you didn’t break Other-kin law. But—”
“They still want vengeance,” Kai interrupted
again.
Te leaned back in his chair, eyeing him. “You
know how they feel about their young.”
“I’m sure it doesn’t help matters that the
youngling’s killer just happened to be Lucifer’s
pet.” Te made a noncommittal gesture, but before he could speak Kai waved a
dismissive hand, “Fine. We’ll settle this at Court.”
“I had thought that once you’d calmed down,
you’d change your mind. You’re serious? You really mean to go through with
this?”
“I do.” Kai got up, walked toward the wall of
glass, and stood in front of it looking out. “They don’t respect me, Te.” He
turned to face him. “Worse, they don’t fear
me. Even younglings feel they can insult me.” Strength must be shown; he was a
rightful master, and holding Court was the most direct way of reminding
everyone of that fact. He knew Te understood, so why was he fighting this?
Te looked at Kai, concern plain on his face.
When he spoke, it was obvious he’d chosen his words carefully. “Are you at all
concerned that your long disdain for politics has placed you at a
disadvantage?”
“No.”
“Well, I am. Plus, you’ve spent the last
seven hundred years traipsing about with Lucifer. You’re out of touch.”
“You’re saying I’m weak.”
“No, I’m saying you’re inexperienced and
possibly too much of a beta for your own good.”
Kai recoiled, taking a step back as if hit.
Te rose and swiftly crossed the room. When he was close enough, he placed a
hand on Kai’s shoulder, a gesture meant to soothe, even if the result was Kai
tensing to the point of pain.
When he spoke, his voice was gentle. “I mean
no insult. I worry; that’s all.”
Kai had forced himself to maintain eye
contact throughout. “I am beta to you and Luc. Not to Lugan or the rest of my
clan and certainly not to the Kazat.”
“My apologies.” Te squeezed his shoulder, and
Kai relaxed. Te then crossed his arms and studied him. “Remember, you are the
rightful leader of the clan. If you decide to hold Court, Lugan will think
you’re making a play for power, and technically he’ll be right. Are you prepared
for the consequences?”
Author
Bio –
They say it’s never
too late to find and pursue your passion. Turns out they’re right. Although
Susan loved to read, she didn’t start writing until she was in her late 40’s. A
stint in grad school helped her hone her craft, and now she happily spends her
days making up stories and figuring out how best to emotionally (and sometimes
physically) torture her characters.
Social
Media Links –
Website: http://susanaliaterry.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@susan_alia
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/SusanAliaTerry
Creativia Author Page: http://www.creativia.org/focus-passion-and-purpose-fantasy-author-susan-alia-terry.html
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