Also by Sara Humphreys
Unleashed
Untouched
Undenied (free e-short story)
Untamed
Undone
Tall, Dark, and Vampire (Read on for a sneak peek)
Asmodeus, Demon of Lust Copyright 2013 by Sara Humphreys
Published by Sara Humphreys
Cover design by Hot Damn Designs
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For more information on the author and her works, please see www.sarahumphreys.com
Chapter One
Struggling with the skeleton key, Kai swore under her breath as she fought to open the attic door of her grandfather’s old colonial house. Her mouth was set in a firm line as she wrestled with the uncooperative lock and reminded herself it was now her house. For better or for worse, the enormous place was now hers.
Kai hadn’t ever met her maternal grandfather and if it weren’t for an old picture her mom kept she wouldn’t even have known what Jacob Kelly looked like. Kai’s parents were killed in a car crash a couple of years ago, and not only did the jerkoff skip the funeral, he didn’t even call. Not a card, a note, a text. Nothing. Not a Goddamn word.
What a prince.
Then about a month ago, Kai received a call from Ben Flaherty. He claimed to be an attorney in Idaho and said that she was the sole beneficiary of her grandfather’s estate. At first she thought it was a joke or a scam or something, like one of those emails from the guy in Kenya who said you inherited a billion dollars. But after learning a few pertinent facts, she realized it wasn’t a joke.
Ever since her parents died it was like she’d been traveling under a dark cloud of shitty luck. Kai’s little tarot shop in New Hampshire went belly up last year, her boyfriend cheated on her—again.
Needless to say, life was sucking in a big, fat way. The only soul in the world Kai could count on was her Siamese cat, Zephyr, and she was a moody little thing. So, when Mr. Flaherty had laid it all out, the inheritance wasn’t easy to turn down.
The property was in Bliss, Idaho with a whopping population of about three hundred people, but when Kai heard that Bliss was located in Magic Valley, that was when she knew it was all going to be okay. She’d always been fascinated with all things mystical and, at a young age, had discovered she had a knack for reading people, or more specifically the auras that surrounded them. Tarot cards helped her get a more in-depth reading but, in most cases, she was able to get a solid bead on people by studying the color of their aura.
When she was little, she called it the glow and only her mother knew what she was talking about because she could see it too. Kai’s dad would chuckle when his girls yammered on about auras, inner light and so forth. Kai was relatively certain her father thought it was just a silly game but she and her mom knew better.
While Kai’s mother was happy to discuss it in private, she discouraged the idea of sharing their intuitive nature with other people. So when Kai opened the tarot shop, her mom was less than thrilled and worried that Kai might attract the wrong sort of people—the ones without light.
Her mother, Katherine, called them the Dark Ones and warned Kai they would come if Kai wasn’t careful about the kind of mystical practices she dabbled in. According to her mother’s stories, the Dark Ones were capable of stealing a person’s light—essentially they were soul- stealers. Her mother said that a Dark One could suck the soul out of a regular person but that it was even more dangerous for people who saw auras or light the way that Kai did.
Kai shuddered but quickly shook it off. She knew her mother was being overly cautious or perhaps just flat out made up these scary stories to keep her from using her powers too freely.
Kai scoffed as she continued to fight with the lock on the attic door. The idea of a person without an aura was ludicrous because it would mean they didn’t have a soul. Kai had never met anyone without light. Some people had auras that were darker or murkier than others, but everyone had a glow of some kind because everyone has a soul. Even animals have auras.
Kai let out a short laugh as she adjusted her grip on the iron key. Right now, she’d give just about anything for one of her mother’s lectures on the mystic realm...and one of her hugs. The hole in Kai’s heart grew smaller with time but there were moments the sadness and grief would surge and threaten to overwhelm her.
Not today. Today she would reclaim this house in her mother’s memory and in honor of the twenty-five loving years her parents had shared. Kai had come out here with the intention of clearing the place out and selling it, but once she set foot on the property, something inside of her, that swirling unsettled energy that constantly battled to be let out...stilled.
With a growl of frustration, Kai swiped sweaty strands of blond hair from her forehead.
“Old man,” she muttered through clenched teeth as she tried to force the lock. “This door is as stubborn as you were.”
Holding her breath, the key slippery in her sweaty hands, Kai leaned her shoulder against the white painted door and in one final effort, the lock gave way with a satisfying thunk. Kai let out a sound of relief and gave Zephyr a thumbs up, while, in typical feline fashion she sat in the hallway giving Kai a bored look.
“Well, you could at least give me a small meow or something.” Kai said between heavy breaths. “I almost had a stroke trying to get this door open.”
Zephyr let out a short mewling sound and promptly began licking her front paw, clearly unimpressed.
“Nice.” Kai laughed as she wiped sweat from her brow and tightened her ponytail. “Some help you are. It’s just the two of us out here in the middle of nowhere so you better behave yourself or I might let the coyotes get you.”
Zephyr meowed loudly and flounced over, rubbing her furred body up against Kai’s bare calf.
“Oh, I’m just kidding.” Kai scratched the cat’s head and brushed the layer of cat hair off her skin as Zephyr trotted down the hall. “Shit, you are shedding like crazy. I can’t blame you. It’s hotter than Hades in here but something tells me it will feel downright balmy compared to the attic.”
As if answering her prayers, a cool breeze from the open window at the end of the hallway wafted over her, providing momentary relief. Kai closed her eyes and reveled in the breeze but as soon as she tugged the attic door open she got a face full of thick, stale humid air.
Kai flipped the light switch on the wall as she tried not to breathe in the stifling air. To her great relief, the bulb dangling at the top of the steps still worked, so at least she wouldn’t be stumbling around in the dark. Steeling herself, Kai climbed the creaky wooden steps with a combination of excitement and trepid
ation.
On one hand, she loved the idea of investigating what hidden treasures might be up there, but on the other, was the irrational fear that the bogeyman was in a dark corner waiting for her.
As Kai gripped the weathered railing, she coughed as dusty air filled her lungs, and reminded herself that the Dark Ones weren’t hiding in attic corners. Darkness, true evil, lived in the hidden parts of people’s hearts and minds, and that was more terrifying than any bogeyman.
As one Converse-clad foot hit the landing she looked around in awe. The attic was a cavernous space that ran the entire width of the house and it was filled with years worth of stuff. Dust-filled rays of sunlight streamed in from two oval windows, one at either end of the room, and Kai let out an exhausted sigh as she walked around the box-littered floor.
“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Kai murmured.
Zephyr rubbed against her leg again before trotting off and disappearing into the sea of clutter.
“If you find any mice, please don’t behead them and drop them at my feet.” Kai stepped over an old steamer trunk. “It’s gross and I’m already convinced of your bad-ass ninja like fighting skills. I don’t need anymore proof.”
Making her way through what looked like a path amid the clutter, Kai opened both windows, which made the space bearable. Between the open windows and the door at the bottom of the steps, a gentle breeze now flowed through the musty room.
Kai glanced over and saw Zephyr lying on top of a box in front of one of the windows, settling in for yet another nap.
“Your mouse hunting skills are rivaled only by your ability to sleep but I guess that’s why they call them cat naps,” she laughed. “Don’t mind me. I’m just jealous. But as soon as I get through this mess, I’m taking a nap of my own.”
Several hours later, Kai had managed to dig through almost every box and pile in the stuffy attic. Most of it was comprised of old clothes, blankets, books and records. There didn’t appear to be anything of any real value monetarily or emotionally, and it became abundantly clear she was going to need to have all of it hauled away. Little of it was even in good enough shape to donate.
She’d hoped that there would be pictures of her mom as a little girl, old photo albums or something, but no such luck. Kai chalked it up to the fact that Jacob, clearly hadn’t bothered with sentiment.
Her grandmother had died soon after Kai’s mother was born and Jacob was so distraught he removed all images of his wife from the home. Kai shook her head as she stood up and brushed dust from the back of her shorts. “Charming.”
A sudden gust of wind rattled the window and slammed it shut with a nerve-shattering crack. The sound had Kai jump about a foot in the air and sent Zephyr running for cover beneath a stack of framed prints that were leaning against the beamed wall.
“Holy crap,” she said with a laugh. Kai’s hand rested on her chest as her heart thundered rapidly. “That scared the bejezzus out of me.”
Kai stepped over a few boxes and went to inspect the window, convinced the glass must have cracked from the force of the blow. To her relief the only thing that had come off was a bunch of old white paint chips that were scattered over the blanket where Zephyr had been sleeping.
“Looks like your bed got dirty,” Kai said as she brushed away the flakes of white. She peered over her shoulder at the cat, currently hissing at Kai from her hiding spot. “Don’t be pissed at me. I didn’t make the wind blow.”
Kai turned back and noticed the blanket was covering a small crate. She pulled it off, coughing from a mouth full of dust. Beneath it was a weathered wooden box with faded symbols she couldn’t quite make out. The top was nailed shut, which only piqued her curiosity further.
“Leave it to you,” she said to Zephyr. “To find the most interesting-looking thing in the whole place. I’m gonna need a crow bar or something to open this one. Come on, girl. Let’s get it downstairs.”
Kai picked up the box and while it clearly had something inside, it wasn’t as heavy as she thought it would be. With Zephyr at her heels, Kai made her way down the steps and breathed a sigh of relief when she hit the much cooler air of the second floor.
Mystery box in hand, Kai trotted down the main staircase, which led to the front entry hall of the old colonial. She passed through the massive formal dining room that looked like it hadn’t been used in a century and took her treasure into the sunny country kitchen.
She put the crate on the weathered butcher-block kitchen table, but as she headed for the mudroom, the sound of a car pulling up the driveway caught her attention. With Zephyr at her heels, Kai went to the front hall and peered through the screen door to see a familiar black Lexus pulling to a stop in the semi-circular dirt drive.
Smiling, Kai pushed open the creaky door and stepped out onto the covered porch to greet Mr. Flaherty. She held the door for Zephyr but the petulant feline stuck her tail in the air and went back inside, clearly uninterested in their visitor. Kai brushed her hands off and trotted down the steps to greet her grandfather’s attorney.
Ben Flaherty stepped out of the car and looked even more out of place in this rural setting than his car did. His dark suit and crisp white shirt stood out in stark contrast to the rolling green fields and red weathered barn. He was tall, handsome, wealthy and educated. The kind of man she would never in a million years attempt to date because the man was slick from head to toe.
Even his aura was extra bright. Most healthy people had brightly colored auras but his was an almost blinding yellow. She’d never met anyone with an aura that bright other than her own mother. The familiar feel of his aura was probably why she’d felt comfortable with him right off the bat.
His clothes were never wrinkled and so far she’d seen no evidence that he perspired, and at the moment Kai was sweating like a pig.
Mr. Flaherty flashed a big pearly, white grin as he crossed around the front of the car and extended his hand to Kai.
“What brings you all the way out here, Mr. Flaherty?” Kai asked as she shook his well- manicured hand.
“I thought I told you to call me Ben,” he said as his aura shifted from yellow to a reddish hue. “Mr. Flaherty was my father.”
Kai blushed as his hand held hers a bit longer than a typical handshake.
“Right,” Kai said. She dropped her hand and stuck it in the pocket of her shorts. That color change in his aura was a sure fire sign that he was attracted to her and she had to admit, he was cute. “I thought we took care of everything the other day in your office.”
“We did,” he said as he took off his sunglasses and peered at her with warm brown eyes. “But since you don’t know anyone in the area and you’re living out here all alone, I thought I’d pop in and check on you. You look like you’ve been working hard,” he said as his eyes wandered over her.
“You could say that,” Kai said as she self-consciously brushed off her dusty tank top. “I managed to get through most of the house and today I finally tackled the attic.”
“Really?” His gaze flicked to the open attic windows and his eyebrows rose. “In this heat? You’re a brave soul, Kai Kelly. Find anything of interest?”
“Not really. Mostly old clothes and stuff.” Silence stretched out for a moment as he continued to study her. Feeling awkward, Kai jutted her thumb toward the house and squinted against the setting sun. “Would you like to come in for a glass of lemonade?”
“I’d love to but I have to get back into Gooding for a dinner meeting.” Ben glanced at his watch and then locked eyes with Kai. His voice dropped to a softer tone. “I’ll do you one better, though. How about if you let me take you out for dinner tomorrow night?”
“Uh, sure,” she said with a smile. Kai stuck her hands in the pockets of her shorts and instantly felt even more self-conscious than she did before. She didn’t own a single item of clothing that would be appropriate for any restaurant Ben would want to go to.
“Did you have any place in particular in mind because I saw a nea
t looking place in town and I wanted to try it,” she said. “Angels and Outlaws. Have you heard of it?”
“Well, sure.” Ben let out a short laugh. “But I was hoping for our first date to be somewhere more fitting of a lady. But I want you to be comfortable. So Angels and Outlaws it is.”
First date? Kai swallowed the lump in her throat and wrestled with her conflicting emotions. Ben was hot and rich and she’d be crazy not to go out with him. So why was she feeling hesitant?
“Well,” Kai began slowly as she tried not to notice the ripples of red in his aura. “I’m a simple girl and if you tried to take me to one of the fancy places you probably had in mind, I’d use the wrong fork or something. A burger joint is fine with me. How about if we meet there tomorrow night around seven?”
“Sounds good to me,” Ben said as a smile cracked his face. He slipped his sunglasses back on and walked back to the driver’s side of his car. “I’ll see you at seven tomorrow and by the way...something tells me you’re anything but a simple girl.”
Before Kai could respond Ben was in his car and driving down the driveway. As the cloud of dust settled and his taillights disappeared from view, a smile played at Kai’s lips. Maybe Bliss wasn’t going to be so boring after all?
Kai made her way back into the house and started rooting around in a box of tools that were in the mudroom adjacent to the kitchen. Crow bar in hand, she came back into the kitchen and found Zephyr sitting on top of the box again.
“What’s your story?” Kai asked with narrowed eyes as she pointed the crow bar at her companion. “I’ll make you a deal. You can have the box but I get whatever’s inside.”
Zephyr, seemingly satisfied with the arrangement, hopped off the crate and onto one of the chairs. Her large blue eyes stared intently at the box, her curiosity matching Kai’s. That phrase curiosity killed the cat ran through Kai’s mind.
“Here goes nothing,” she murmured.
Finding the seam along the top, Kai wedged the tip of the crowbar into the crack and with one big push the top popped open. She did the same thing along two other edges, and when she finally pulled the top off, what she found inside left her stunned.
Asmodeus: Demon of Lust---Part One (Princes of Hell) Page 1
