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DEDICATION
For Autumn and Cayden
My best, sweetest works in progress
C ONTENTS
TITLE
DEDICATION
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE On Fire
CHAPTER TWO And So It Begins
CHAPTER THREE Crazy Day
CHAPTER FOUR Hellos and Good-Byes
CHAPTER FIVE Marna
CHAPTER SIX Lie Detector
CHAPTER SEVEN Jay’s Future
CHAPTER EIGHT Taking the Initiative
CHAPTER NINE Kaidan or the World
CHAPTER TEN Worries Aplenty
CHAPTER ELEVEN Ginger and Blake
CHAPTER TWELVE Dream Within a Dream
CHAPTER THIRTEEN Sky High
CHAPTER FOURTEEN Impatient Freckles
CHAPTER FIFTEEN Dancing with Light
CHAPTER SIXTEEN All-American Boy
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Darts
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Makeshift Holiday
CHAPTER NINETEEN Love in the Air
CHAPTER TWENTY Big Rotty
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE No Girls
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO Mercenary
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE Strategizing
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR Prisoner
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE Jet Ride
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX Sin City
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN Allies
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT Galaxy
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE Lunar Room
CHAPTER THIRTY New Life
EPILOGUE
DUKE NAMES AND JOB DESCRIPTIONS INDEX
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
COPYRIGHT
PROLOGUE
N ot a soul in the Vegas cocktail lounge had any idea demons were in their midst. Not a soul would believe the four gentlemen receiving appreciative stares and envious glares were some of the best workers of hell ever to walk the earth. Humans could sense their allure—the power and mystery in their handsome faces—and were drawn to them like butterflies to bright, poisoned nectar.
Pharzuph, Astaroth, Mammon, and Melchom sat unsmiling in crisp new suits, sipping martinis and scotch, discussing events from the night before. They’d taken four women to Melchom’s private island off the California coast, ruined them, and then abandoned them at the docks after promising transportation back to Vegas.
“I’d love to see those cows explain this one to their husbands and fiancé,” Astaroth, the Duke of Adultery had said, laughing as they sped away.
But the fun and games were over now, and it was time for business. They sat contemplating all they’d learned last night about traitors in their ranks and among their children.
Mammon, the Duke of Greed, absently swirled his scotch in the melting ice, thinking about the son he’d killed on the island. Flynn had been his favorite Nephilim child in centuries, and he’d turned out to be an ungrateful Judas. The shock of his betrayal still stung. It’d been many years since Mammon had killed, and it left a bad taste in his mouth—not that he’d ever admit that to his brethren of hell.
“He showed no signs of rebellion before last night?” asked the Duke of Envy, Melchom.
“None.” Mammon tilted back his drink and emptied it before slamming it to the table with a grimace.
“It’s time to tell the other Dukes. We’ll gather tonight.” Pharzuph’s arms were crossed as he thought.
“Some have already left town,” Melchom said. “Like Belial.”
“We’ll call them back,” Pharzuph said with a sneer. “We can’t let Belial know we’re on to him. Let’s make him think we’re only suspicious of a Neph uprising.”
Astaroth ran a hand through his shoulder-length blond waves and pulled out his cell phone, dialing. The others listened in on the conversation with their keen supernatural senses.
“Yes?” said a voice with French inflection.
“Brother Rahab. Call the Dukes back to Vegas. We have news.”
Rahab paused. “Very well.”
“And one more thing,” Astaroth continued. “The old prophecy.”
“What about it?” Rahab snapped.
“Can you recite it for us?”
“To my knowledge...” His voice went gravely with disgust. “A Nephilim pure of heart shall rise up and cast demons from earth to the depths of hell, where they will remain until the end of days.”
The table quieted, and the demon men appeared momentarily ill.
“How certain are you of its validity?” Astaroth asked.
“Lord Lucifer himself told me of the prophecy.”
The four Dukes exchanged silent looks as the lounge bustled around them. Pharzuph cleared his throat and took the phone from Astaroth, speaking low.
“How did our Lord obtain this information?”
Rahab’s voice was a dangerous whisper. “You dare to question him?”
A carefully blank look remained on Pharzuph’s face, and his smooth English accent never wavered. “Don’t be ridiculous. I question his source.”
Rahab was quiet. Then, in a tone of reluctance, he admitted, “It was a whisperer. One of the Legionnaires.”
Again the Dukes exchanged skeptical looks. This was the reason nobody had ever taken the prophecy seriously. It seemed unlikely that a worthless Legionnaire spirit could acquire important information and recite it back correctly.
“The prophecy is valid!” Rahab shouted through the phone. “I’ve been telling you fools for two millennia not to trust the Nephilim race! Why are you bringing this up now? What has happened?”
“We will discuss our findings soon, brother,” Pharzuph assured him.
Rahab let out a low grumble before disconnecting.
“Right, then. What’s the plan?” Astaroth asked.
“First we find out if Belial and the girl followed through with the orders given at the summit. See if she’s still a virgin. She’s number one on my suspicion list. The angels of light had never intervened for a Neph until her.”
Melchom leaned his elbows on the table. “How will we find out if she’s pure?”
A wicked grin spread across Pharzuph’s face. “Leave that part to me.”
“And if she is?” Melchom asked.
“We kill her immediately before the damned angels can stop us.” Pharzuph finished his martini and eyed a woman who kept stealing glances at him. “And wait to see Belial’s reaction to gauge whether they’re working together or if this is a Neph-run operation.”
“None of it makes any bloody sense.” Mammon rubbed his forehead. “We had the lot of them tailed after the summit.”
“Only for the first six months,” Astaroth clarified. “Apparently they’ve been busy in the year since then.”
“We’ll have them tailed again. For as long as it takes.”
Melchom shook his head. “Lord Lucifer won’t be happy about this—using his Legionnaires to babysit the Neph again when they should be focusing on humans. He was livid about the wasted efforts after the summit.”
Pharzuph sighed. “Fine. We won’t sic the whisperers yet. We’ll wait and see what we find out about the daughter of Belial.”
They all nodded their agreement, and Pharzuph stood.
“Let’s enjoy a few hours of Vegas before our meeting.” He walked toward the woman with the red aura, who was locked in his blue gaze. “Best job in the world,” he whispered to himself.
To love or have loved, that is enough....
There is no other pearl to be found in the dark folds of life.
—Victor Hugo, Les Misérables
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