Prince of Hell

by J N Moon

  Prince of Hell

  Always Dark Angel Series

  Book Four

  Edition 1 2018

  Copyright © 2018 JN Moon

  Edited by Rascon Revisions

  Cover art by Andrei Bat

  Table of Contents

  Copyright Page

  Acknowledgements

  Hello Humans

  Falling

  The King

  Blood & Kings

  Morning Star

  Brothers

  Surfing Vampires

  Demon’s Wrath

  Sex, Drugs, and Blues

  Stoned Demons

  Vicious Beauty

  The One I Really Wanted to Kill

  Seven Princes, Seven Deadly Sins

  Hell & Coffee

  Author Notes: Prince of Hell.

  About the Author.

  Acknowledgements

  To my friends who are my family, especially Carole Spencer, Twenty Twenty and Victoria.

  Many thanks to Michelle, my fabulous editor and Andrei for his mind-blowing cover art.

  Hello Humans

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  Falling

  You look right through me, so I hide my face, my heart suffocating, tears threatening to expose my emotions to you.

  My dreams are dust. What is my tomorrow? Scanning the tired faces of mortals as they rush around but go nowhere whilst I remain the same for all eternity. Except for my humanity that is. I feel it slipping away like sand in an hourglass. It's just a matter of time, holding back the pain that wants to shatter me, break me here in the city.

  Back in my world, in my time with my friends but without Rachel. Without Nathaniel, an emptiness echoed inside me, increasing and anger slowly surging. Looking up, I saw the two demonic children flying high but out of view of the mortals. Glancing back at my friends, I saw a sweat break out on Kyle’s forehead. I would seek him out later — there had been something off with him, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

  Now, I needed to get away from them all, solitary time in my pain and loss before I embarked on something alone. Something I guessed I wasn’t meant to know and that I’d have to do in secret.

  Hunger clenched my stomach, but my spirits were too low to care. Stumbling into my damp flat, I sat there in the darkness. The sounds outside echoed like a stadium assaulting my ears. Day turned to night, and watching the shadows chase across my musty apartment, my mind was numb. I’d been here before. In the depths of emotional hell when I was first turned. But this time was different. This time I’d lost the love of my life.

  Welling like a volcano until tears burst and my belly tightened, my control was lost in grief. Doubled up on the bed, I stayed for days, ignoring my well-meaning immortal friends. I needed this time alone. But then I remembered, Rachel had visited me — as a ghost, I’d presumed. She’d let slip that she’d never been human. The thought had me bolting upright fast, wiping my bloody tears away, gasping.

  And I could never forget what she’d said about me: I was Asmodeus before I was human. Who the hell was he?

  I switched on my laptop. It was so slow, I’d been gone for ages. Whilst it updated chuntering, I showered and dressed. I would find out what she was, and I would bring her back.

  Asmodeus, Prince of Hell, one of seven. I spluttered a laugh. Yeah right! Prince of lust! Ok, that was about right. When I’d first been turned, I had been out of control. Looking back, I couldn’t help but smirk. Really, I was glad not many knew about that. As far as this Asmodeus thing went, my instincts told me that Kyle, a shady figure, would know.

  Texting Marcus to find out were Kyle was staying, I decided I needed to eat. Driven by the desire to reincarnate my beloved, I got my shit together. Maybe if I could revert back to this Hell Prince, I could bring her back, and Nathaniel...imagine...

  ***

  I hadn't needed to take blood so often after I’d had an encounter, long ago now, with a demigod who given me her blood to save my life but that seemed to be waning now. Scouting around the backstreets of Bath, it wasn't long before I found one: a human with the scent of malevolence. He didn't have any fear of me at first, but as I stepped closer, the icy chill of death flowing off me surrounded him, his plump face full of horror as I stepped forwards and grabbed the wretch by the neck, pulling him into me. Moving his greasy hair aside, my teeth punctured his flesh as my mind spun, his heart pounding rapidly. I realised how much I'd missed that taste, that power, the buzz. Unfortunately, drinking from the evil, their emotions and memories flood our senses, which leaves me in turmoil but also unable to stop. His crimes, though, like many, unseen and unknown by society was his undoing. I took his life such as it was. His blood for my own. Dropping the corpse, I turned swiftly. I thought I'd caught the scent of an old friend, but it must've been a trick of the mind, shadows dancing, whispers in the night. Like dirty trash, I grabbed the body, running through the outskirts of the city and buried it outside a cemetery.

  Usually, I don't kill, but tonight...who am I kidding? I’ve killed with and without remorse. That is what I am: a predator. Fighting that, fighting my instincts was exhausting. So long as I fed on the evil, I could live with myself; protect you and others like you.

  Like feeling the day turn to night, that colder air brushing my skin, I could feel — actually feel — my humanity slipping away. Breathing deeply, I found a stream and washed the soil, the blood from my hands and went to find Kyle.

  He had sought refuge with the Nephilim — clever boy — but I was friends with them, and he had my trust, so I only needed to lure him away.

  Marcus met me, still in shock after our latest misadventure and was only too keen to call him.

  A camaraderie had built between everyone, and I found them all, including the Victorian vampires who sat around chatting whilst my Nephilim friends were heady on beer, laughing raucously, cramped in the tiny house that Acacius rented on the edge of the tiny city.

  Surprisingly, as I walked in, Kyle, his eyes small and challenging said nothing. But as I nodded towards the door, he followed me. Maybe he was drawn to my dark energy. The others either ignored it, knowing I'd lost her, or were too polite to say. I suspect it wasn't manners.

  "Have you fed?" I enquired.

  His lips tight, he furrowed his brows. "I know what you want, what you seek. You want my blood so that what I know will be yours!"

  Nodding, he came closer. "I know you won't kill me, not with them in there. If you promise to spare me, you may share my blood."

  I admit, my mood was black as it had crossed my mind to drain him, but hell. I had helped save him, and he seemed the only one willing to tell me what I wanted to know.

  I hadn't asked the others. I had a strong suspicion that, some of them at least, did know my history, but there was no way they would tell me, not for their sakes, but for your sake and for mine. No, this was a path I had to follow alone, so I drank Kyle's rich immortal blood.

  Unlike the human, his was stronger and his scent warming. His memories, his knowledge flashed at me like flickering snapshots, sensations, emotions. A book filled with secrets, a name, a father.

  Distracted for a second, I forgot what I was doing as I spied the r
ed-headed Nephilim, his head cocked, eyes wide as he watched from the doorway. Aaron probably would've been game for this, had he not been on the other side. He wobbled slightly drunk. We must've been a sight for him. I'd known him and his kin for some time now, but except for Marcus, who was as divine as his kin until he got the taste for drinking vampire blood, I had never shared this ritual in front of them.

  I wondered now if he too weighed up his odds to become like his brother Marcus, a fallen angel beyond redemption.

  Saying nothing, I stepped away, licking my lips. Kyle slightly dazed. The experience is sometimes erotic, always rushing.

  “Want to try?” I whispered to Aaron. Grinning with alcohol and excitement, he answered, "Yes, but the consequences...mean I'll decline. But tell me. How does it feel?"

  Leaning into his dazed body, I whispered in his ear, "Like unfettered passion coursing through your body, power, ardent, addictive," and then pulled away smirking. Bloody hell he was drunk. His eyes half closed as he grinned. A warmth flowed through him, and I touched his face, running my fingers down his cheek. “You have to give up everything Aaron. Walk in the shadows. Surrender to the darkness. You have to be strong to be one of us,” I whispered.

  Nephilim are much stronger than us, but I was only playing with him. I would never want him to succumb to this curse as Marcus had done.

  “You smell...of death, Anthony. You killed tonight!” Aaron muttered, his face confused.

  Smiling, I said nothing. I'd noticed Kyle had gone. “Go back in, Aaron, and don't do anything foolish.”

  As I was about to go, Acacius called me, “Anthony I need to speak to you in private. It's a delicate matter!” he sighed.

  Following him into the kitchen, his eyes creased with worry, Acacius put his hand on my arm.

  “I won't try and console your loss, that would be thoughtless, but Nathaniel has left you in his will, his estate, everything.” Taking a deep breath, he continued, “Our solicitors, we have specialist legal people, and I received this news this morning as no one else could get hold of you. Well, actually it was a friend of Nathaniel's who managed to tell Marcus, and he’s only told myself and Aaron. You will need to complete this. Here's the solicitor’s number, and Anthony,” he hesitated. “Please don't suffer alone. We’re here for you, your friends.”

  Gasping, I hadn't expected that. My heart burned with pain, loss of my friend. I wasn't sure I wanted to go on without him, and this made it final. He was gone.

  Reluctantly, I took the slip of paper from Acacius, reading it, noting the hours of the solicitor's office. “He works night hours?”

  Nodding as he spoke, “As I said, specialist to supernatural needs. Would you like me to go with you, or Marcus?”

  Swallowing hard to reign back emotions, I replied, “Thanks Acacius, but no. I must do this alone. I'm going to take time away. Don't look for me and don't worry. I need space, and I have questions that need answering. Thanks...for being there.”

  His smile was sincere, full of love, not sympathy. I left and wandered slowly down the road, then pulled out my phone and phoned this solicitor.

  It still felt strange phoning a professional at night, but the man was amiable enough, but then Nathaniel had wealth, so I guessed he was reimbursed well by his rich clients.

  He said to meet him at Nathaniel’s townhouse. One of many, I later found out, so I dragged my feet and heavy soul to the other side of town and waited.

  My preconceptions of the solicitor were shattered as a blacked-out Bentley pulled up and out stepped a dashing vampire. His dark suit with crimson edging, which you might imagine looking tacky but was actually breathtakingly tailored. Grinning instinctively, I knew he’d been a friend of Nathaniel’s.

  “Hi Anthony,” he called as he flipped the switch locking his car. “I’m Darren. Thanks for meeting me here.”

  His face was quite blank. I wondered how old he was and whether he had lost his compassion. Did he mourn the loss of his friend or was he numb, as I was beginning to feel?

  “Come, this won’t take long. We have a slightly different system for reading the will.”

  A shiver ran through me as I stepped over the threshold, a cold dampness surrounding us. Nathaniel hadn’t been here for ages, and his home had an emptiness that sent a chill down my spine. Bracing with all my strength, it suddenly dawned on me that Rachel’s family — her human family — might never know what happened to her.

  Quietly, he spoke, “I’ve known Nathaniel for longer than I’d like to remember and whilst we were never friends per se, he will be missed. But it is my pleasure to bequeath to you his will, and all within it, he’s left to you and you alone.”

  Trembling as I took the thick paper in my hand, I gasped, staggered and sat down. He’d had a fortune, but what he’d left me, I was gobsmacked!

  Nathaniel had properties everywhere, I mean globally, and his wealth...I didn't want to think about it. It felt improper.

  “Thank you, Darren. I am leaving the day after tomorrow to travel. Is it possible to have the deeds drawn up quickly?”

  His lips curving like a mask, he replied, “Already done and the money has already been deposited. Here’s my card if you need anything else, and I mean...anything. Nathaniel obviously thought a lot of you.” Standing, he held out his hand. I shook it firmly, both our hands cold and clammy.

  “I’ll see myself out. Please sit, stay.” As I looked up, he’d gone, and I was left in the massive townhouse with its decadent designer finishes, paintings all originals and books. Hundreds of books and only the memory of my deceased friend.

  ***

  It's a macabre effect of being dead, but I realised I'd been sitting there quite still for several days when I heard a knocking at the door. As I went to stand up, my legs locked, stiff like stone, dizziness whirled around in my head. Walking slowly, I got to the door, opened it and before me, larger than life, stood Marcus, frowning, mouth downturned and full of worry.

  "We hadn't heard anything from you. We, I especially, were concerned for you," his voice deep and rumbling as he tried to speak softly.

  Burning surged through me, raw emotions thrashing. He reminded me too much of what I'd lost. Part of me wanted to hug him, another part to attack him, knowing he'd kill me and release me from this torture if provoked.

  Marcus followed me back into the living room. Picking up my phone, I'd missed half a dozen calls, the battery nearly dead. Taking a deep breath, he spoke, "It's Ok. You don't need to speak. I understand. I'll just sit with you a while." He frowned, and I guessed my pallor was whiter than usual. In those seconds, I’d forgotten his ability to read my mind.

  Darkness washed away, dawn broke through. Opening my mouth, my voice croaked, "I'm leaving for a while. Right now, I need time alone. Thank you for coming, it means a lot."

  A small warm smile, he stood up and touched my shoulder, "Stay in contact. Otherwise, I'll come looking for you. You're like a brother to me." Then he was gone. I got up and started searching through the books. I could see from the spines many were on the occult. Wading my way through book after book, I found some on demons but not what I wanted. I opened his Mac, then, grabbing the Will, I saw a list of numbers written on the back on a post-it: passwords.

  Who was...what is Asmodeus?

  Rummaging around, I found an old leather-bound diary and address book. There were certainly clues, contacts. What I'd learned from Kyle was an address in Bristol and a large book, unsurprisingly, with a pentagram on it.

  I couldn't delay it any longer. I couldn't stay in darkness. Typing the address in on my phone, I got a map. I grabbed a charger and the keys to Nathaniel's car. The black Lotus...my car. My other car, before this, was a VW. Reliable, battered, but old. Now I had a Lotus. Was this who I was now?

  It smelt of him, musky and sweet and the rich scent of leather seats. Turning the key, the engine purred, and I drove to Bristol to meet my fate.

  The King

  Parking, I scanned the area, sensing vampi
res. Many of them, and something more. Demons, maybe.

  Walking around, the air was sticky. The rich smell of blood hanging heavily but the buildings like Bath, neoclassical in this wealthy residential area, the most expensive area of Bristol, Clifton. Sniggering, it always amused me. For, sure, evil lurked everywhere, and there is always much in the poorer areas, usually driven by desperate, lost souls looking for any way to survive. But the most affluent areas, a different type of malice lay here. Contrived, colder and this place reeked of it. Maybe all these buildings were occupied by vampires?

  It wasn't long before I was approached by some of these vampires, svelte, oozing money their clothes bespoke, immaculate hair. They looked like they’d stepped off of the runway at a fashion show. These males eyed me with interest, not anger.

  "Your name? We've never seen you here before."

  Hesitantly, I told them, "I'm Anthony, a friend of —"

  "Ah yes, your reputation. We know you. What are you doing here? These hunting grounds are claimed."

  I think inside I died a bit at that inane remark. God, back to the Middle Ages again!

  “I’m looking for an address. Abigor is the house name, and I’m on Elmgrove Road?”

  Their eyes widened. Both were silent for a few minutes whilst I stood perfectly still.

  “Well, you haven’t missed it, it’s just a bit farther up. One of the Victorian houses. You can’t miss it.” I wasn’t sure why, but after they told me, they said no more turned and walked off fast. Calling after them, I asked, “Then you know who lives there? Who is it?”

  One of them looked back. “You’ll find out, I guess!”

  Thrumming with fear and excitement, I headed up the hill looking for the house and there it was. Standing, staring at it, a chill ran through me, but I needed to know what Rachel had meant. My gut told me the answer was inside this house, but it also told me once I’d entered, there would be no going back.

  I could leave right now, go back to my friends, live in ignorance, but that loss, that pain would eat away at me, so I strode right up to the front door and pounded on it.