Voracious Vixens, 13 Novels of Sexy Horror and Hot Paranormal Romance

by Travis Luedke

  “The story of how I ended up with another woman is a long one. And we just don’t have time for it. For now, let’s just say that on our last mission, I had to do things I didn’t want to do in order to stop the Angel world from collapsing,” my dad says carefully.

  “Meaning you cheated on Mom?”

  “No, honey. Your father united with another woman because it was the only way to save all of us. It was hard on me; on us. But it was necessary. And when your father was finally able to get out of the union, we thought that was it,” my mother informs me.

  “Later we learned that the woman had a child; my child,” Dad adds as emotion fills his voice.

  “So because he had a different mother, you disregarded him?” I accuse.

  “No. I wanted him. He was my son. I was going to go after him and have him come stay with us,” Dad replies.

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “He had already killed and was making his way in the Demon world. He could not have been saved.”

  “Dad, you don’t know that. He could have turned out like Uncle Rage. He started out evil but then he changed,” I plead.

  “Your uncle is a rare case. Demons don’t normally change. Rage fell in love with Aaden’s mom. That love was able to change him,” Dad explains.

  “Maybe if Malakaro had your love he would be different now,” I argue.

  “It’s not that simple, Pryor. His mother was vicious and wrathful. She made it her mission to cause chaos. It’s no surprise that her son turned out the same,” my mom says.

  “He’s evil because you abandoned him, it’s that simple,” I tell my dad.

  “No, it’s not that simple. And if you think it is then you definitely are not ready to lead,” he counters.

  “So being a leader means that I have to walk away from my own flesh and blood?” I ask.

  “Sometimes, yes. I wanted Malakaro. But it was too late to save him. I had to look out for my family: you, Sam, and your mom,” Dad insists.

  “So you lied to us for all these years?” I push.

  “I did what I thought was best. You don’t get it now, but maybe someday you will,” he says.

  “I doubt it,” I snap.

  “Honey, there are going to be moments when you will have to make tough decisions. And in those moments nothing is black or white. In the end you try and do the best you can. That’s exactly what your father and I did: we did our best,” Mom says, placing her hand on my shoulder.

  “Your best was lying to me and abandoning a kid?” I ask.

  “Pryor, do not mistake Malakaro for a lost little boy. He is the new evil for a reason. If you and the others didn’t drink Cole, and your location wasn’t hidden, he would find you and kill you. Just like he killed all those humans today,” Dad cautions.

  “That’s why the Council is meeting: we need to decide if we will be moving you and the others,” Mom says.

  “Moving us?”

  “You may have to stay in the light,” my dad replies.

  “What? No, I have to help Randy,” I counter.

  “Pryor, we are not going into this again with you,” Mom says impatiently.

  “But I can’t just—”

  “Pry, they’re right. You need to be safe,” Randy says from the top of the stairs.

  “Before you argue with us, Reesie, nothing is official yet. The Guardians, the Council, the Paras, and most of the angels will be meeting in the light. What happens to you and the others affects everyone. We can’t let Malakaro take out our best defenses against evil,” Dad says.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Cane, if Pry and the others are so powerful, why do they need protecting?” Randy asks, coming down to join us.

  “They are powerful now but not nearly as powerful as they will be when they are adults. The new evil will try and stop that from happening,” my mom explains.

  “How are they going to be protected then?” Randy asks, concerned.

  “We have placed an Opt around this house; it’s a force field. We also have angels posted all around this area. We called the others and they are coming here just as soon as they find Swoop. We want to make sure you are all together and safe,” Mom adds.

  “What about Aaden? Is he coming here too?” I ask, trying to stay casual.

  “Rage will look after Aaden,” Dad informs me.

  “He should be here with us,” I remind them.

  “We told him that but he doesn’t want to come,” Mom says carefully.

  “He’s safest among other Norus right now. Why wouldn’t he want to come?” I ask.

  My mom comes closer to me and pulls a strand of hair away from my face. When she speaks her voice is soft and filled with regret.

  “Honey he...he doesn’t want to see you.”

  *******

  You ever have one of those days where it seems everything that could go wrong does? And then you think to yourself “If one more thing goes wrong, I’m gonna lose it?” Well here we are and that “one more thing” is Aaden refusing to see me. I bolt up from the sofa. My parents are about to speak but I cut them off by holding out my hand.

  “I need to do something and I really need to do it alone. You want to send an army after me then fine. But I’m going out. Randy, stay here and wait for the group,” I order.

  “Where are you going?” my dad asks.

  “I’m going to see a demon about an ass kicking” I reply as I storm out.

  I take off into the sky and by the time I get to Rage’s house, I am seething. My fists are balled up and I’m biting on my lower lip to keep it from quivering in anger. I bang on Uncle Rage’s door repeatedly.

  “OPEN THE DOOR!!!” I scream.

  I don’t hear anything so I pound even harder.

  “OPEN THIS DOOR!!!” I order.

  Uncle Rage comes out with a stern, dark look on his face and a sizzling, roaring fireball in the palm of his hand.

  “Damn it, Pryor, I could have killed you,” he says as the fire diminishes in his hand.

  “WHY THE HELL IS YOUR SON BEING SUCH A DICK?” I demand.

  “Your dad told you Aaden won’t come to the house?” he replies.

  “Yes; I’ve heard Aaden doesn’t want to see me. Well, he needs to grow some damn balls and tell me to my face why he’s acting like an asshole.”

  “Okay, chick, take it down a few.”

  “I know that he’s mad at me because I bailed on the Atu. And he’s not the only one who’s pissed at me. Bex can hardly look at me without taking shots. But Aaden is different. I mean we...he...I..ARGH! WHERE IS HE?”

  “Wow, you are just like your mother when she was your age—impulsive and rash.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know. I need to stay calm,” I mock.

  “No, I like a little fire in a girl,” he says shaking his head, amused.

  “Tell me where he is. If he’s so angry that he can’t stand to look at me, he should tell me face-to-face. I know it was wrong to abandon the team but that still doesn’t mean he has the right to treat me like crap.”

  “That’s not what he’s doing, Pry.”

  “That’s bull. The safest place for him is my house right now, but he won’t come because he’s mad at me.”

  “Don’t worry about Aaden’s safety. I took care of it. He has more than enough security.”

  “Why won’t he see me? How much longer is he going to punish me?”

  “Kid, this isn’t about you. Aaden is staying away for reasons that have nothing to do with you.”

  “Then help me, please Uncle Rage. Tell me: Why is Aaden staying away?”

  “This past year has been really hard for my son. He’s trying to deal with...events that are hard to take in.”

  “So let me guess: Aaden found one girl in the universe who isn’t attracted to him and now his heart’s broken?” I reply.

  “No, that’s not it.”

  “Okay so...he got some girl pregnant. Great. That makes seven Norus,” I snap.

  “Pryor, you have to understand—�
�

  “Well I don’t; I don’t understand any of this. Uncle Rage, everything in my life has changed in the past few hours. I have no idea what to feel about anything.”

  “Yeah, the rest of us thought you should have been told about your brother. It was a crap deal you got.”

  “It’s not just that. I have a best friend to save and no idea how to get to the being that’s supposed to save him. And now I’m supposed to hate a brother I don’t even know; a brother that’s hell-bent on killing me.”

  “Are you old enough to drink yet?” he asks.

  “I don’t want a drink. All I want for the love of Omnis is someone to be straight with me. Please for once can someone just tell me the truth?”

  He looks into my eyes and sees the frustration and anger that fills them. He puts his hands in his pockets and lowers his head.

  “Uncle Rage, tell me what’s going on with Aaden. Please.”

  “Last year Aaden was taken to Bliss.”

  “Bliss is a prison for angels; why would Aaden go there?”

  “He killed five unarmed humans.”

  CHAPTER SIX: PEACE NO MORE

  The words echo inside my skull on an endless loop, yet I can’t bring myself to accept them.

  “That’s not possible,” I argue.

  “Yeah, it was a shock for me too,” the demon confesses.

  “Uncle Rage, Aaden would never do that.”

  “Yeah, well he did.”

  “No, I don’t believe it. He wasn’t that kind of guy,” I plead.

  “He changed; you of all people know that.”

  “Just because he started acting aloof doesn’t mean—”

  “It wasn’t just that. Aaden started to pull away from your group. He pulled away from me too. He got moody and sullen. He became...introverted,” Rage says.

  “Just because he turned into a loner doesn’t mean that he would commit murder. That wasn’t who he was. There has to be some other explanation. What did Aaden say when you asked him?”

  “He was in Bliss for a whole year and he refused to see me.”

  “What did he do when he got out of prison?” I ask.

  “He made it clear he wanted nothing to do with me or the Angel world. It’s not just you, Pryor. My son hates everyone.”

  “Why? What happened?”

  “The older he got, the more he learned about his mother’s death. He started to blame me because I couldn’t save her. It was just a teen rebellion thing. I thought it would blow over,” he says, sounding pained.

  “Well what happened the night of the murders?” I ask.

  “I wasn’t there. All I know is that a few Paras flying by heard a crowd of humans screaming and running away. They landed near the commotion, in front of some dive bar, and found Aaden standing over five dead humans. When they asked what happened, Aaden confessed. He said the men hustled him all night, and when he was trying to leave, they came after him. And he killed them.”

  If Aaden had been human, he could have made a case for self-defense. But the fact of the matter is humans with an armload of weapons can hardly hurt an angel, let alone cause serious injury. So, if Aaden did kill the humans, it wasn’t out of fear for his life but out of pure desire.

  Could Aaden really have done that?

  Suddenly there are images of Aaden attacking the humans in my mind. I can “see” their blood splatter on the sidewalk as they crumble to the ground, lifeless. I feel light-headed and weak. It takes more energy than it should to remain standing.

  “Pryor, are you okay?” Uncle Rage asks.

  “No, I’m not,” I admit, shaking my head.

  “Here, sit down,” he says, helping me sit on the steps.

  I hang my head low and look down at my feet. I wait for the spinning in my head to stop. This takes a few moments.

  “As I said before, this isn’t about you, Pryor. I failed Aaden. I was supposed to keep him from his evil side and I guess I fucked that up,” he says.

  I don’t reply. I just continue to look down.

  “Your mom is always on me about not cursing. Sorry, but sometimes there’s no other word that can fit better than ‘fuck,’ as in I fucked up my only son’s life,” Rage adds.

  “Where is he?” I ask.

  “I don’t know, but he’s under watch by the Paras.”

  “Are they watching him to protect him from the new evil or because the Paras are afraid Aaden’s a full-on demon?”

  “Both.”

  All I can do is nod. I’m worn out. It’s like I’ve been flying all day and just need a place to land; a safe place to land...

  “I don’t know how to...talk and junk. I can’t make you feel better. Your parents are good at that. You should talk to them.”

  “All they do is lie.”

  “They agonized over whether to tell you kids about your brother.”

  “They made the wrong decision.”

  “Maybe, but it’s done; suck it up and deal.”

  “Is that the advice you gave Aaden?” I snap.

  His face is clouded over. I thought he’d be mad at me but the demon isn’t angry; he’s hurting. He blames himself for what’s happened with his son.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say that,” I tell him.

  “Its fine,” he lies.

  “How was Malakaro able to stop the Council from freezing the humans?” I ask, attempting to change the subject.

  “He’s stronger than they thought. He’s stronger than we all thought. There’s never been an evil with both the power of darkness and light. The birth of Malakaro could signal the end of well...everything.”

  “So I hear...” I quip.

  “I guess I should get back home. Thank you for telling me about Aaden.”

  “Why? I just added to the ‘suck pile,’” he says.

  “Yeah, but you gave me something good too.”

  “What?”

  “You gave me something I haven’t had all day: certainty. I don’t care what you or anyone else says: I’m certain Aaden didn’t do what you think he did. And until I hear it from him, I will hold on to that.”

  “You really are very much like your mom.”

  “Is that a good thing?”

  “Mostly...

  “We need to get going, I have to meet the others in the light,” he says.

  “I thought they never let you up there,” I reply.

  “No, they never have before. It’s serious enough that the Council is willing to have me come to the light. Just about every angel of influence is up there right now.”

  “That means we’re in real trouble,” I conclude.

  “Yeah. But the Guardians and I will fix it. We’ve battled evil before and we’ll do it again. No matter what happens, we will protect you guys.”

  “Aren’t we supposed to be doing that?” I ask.

  “You will when your powers get to their full strength. Right now, none of you is strong enough to take on Malakaro. It would be stupid to try.”

  I’m about to answer him when I get an emergency text from Swoop.

  “I have to go,” I inform him as I start to take off.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Don’t know yet; but Uncle Rage, don’t worry, Aaden didn’t do what they said. I’m sure of it...”

  *******

  When I get to the warehouse I find everyone waiting for me, including Randy. In addition there’s a male angel about our age, whom I have never seen before. He wears jeans and a grey sweatshirt. He jams his hands inside the pockets; he darts his eyes back and forth.

  “What’s going on? Where is Sam and who is this guy?” I ask.

  “Sam is with the sitter. And this guy, well, Swoop thought it would be better to hang out with him than to return our calls,” Key says.

  “Really, Key? You can’t drop the attitude even with everything going on?” Swoop snaps.

  “No, I can’t. You are so damn selfish. We spent hours looking for you,” the older twin replies.

  �
��Well you found me, so chill the hell out,” Swoop replies.

  “We thought something happened to you. Why didn’t you text us back?” Key pushes.

  “I’m not a child. So how about you back off?”

  “Our parents were worried about you.”

  “They were so worried they went to a meeting?” Swoop challenges.

  “They knew they could count on me to find your spoiled ass,” Key replies.

  “I said I was sorry. I didn’t hear my phone, okay?” Swoop barks in return.

  “No, it’s not okay. Your sister was worried sick about you. When the hell are you going to grow up?” Bex asks.

  “If she spent all night with you and she was thinking about me, I think you have bigger problems,” Swoop retorts.

  “Watch how you talk to me,” Bex warns her.

  “Yeah, and what are you gonna do about it, Para?” Swoop pushes.

  “Don’t you talk to him like that!” Key scolds.

  Soon they all start talking at once.

  “EVRYONE SHUT THE HELL UP!”

  All eyes turn to me. I survey the room and try my best to remain calm.

  “I can’t tell you how screwed up my day has been,” I tell them.

  “We heard about your ...new brother. Sorry, Pry. How do you even deal with that?” East asks carefully.

  “No idea, but I just found out some really messed up stuff going on with Aaden. I mean, seriously, you won’t believe what they think he did.”

  “Oh, the prison thing?” East says casually.

  “What? You guys knew about that?” I ask, shocked.

  “You know it’s nearly impossible to keep things a secret in the Angel world,” East reminds me.

  “Why didn’t you guys tell me?”

  “Why should we?” Bex retorts.

  “Bex, I had a right to know what was going on.”

  “You don’t have a right to anything,” he shouts.

  “Bex, honey, please—” Key begins.

  “No, Pryor left us. You walked out on us. No call, no text, nothing! Then she comes out of the blue and wants us to save some guy we don’t even know.”

  “I’m sorry, Bex, I thought we could save Randy just because he needed saving. I didn’t know he had to be a friend of yours. Silly me, I thought saving humans is something we do.”

  “There is no ‘we.’ You made sure of that when you walked away and never looked back.”