Kiss of Death
Hell on Earth Series, Book 3
Brenda K Davies
Copyright © 2019 Brenda K. Davies
All rights reserved.
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Contents
Also from the Author
Glossary Of Terms
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Find the Author
Also from the Author
About the Author
Also from the Author
Books written under the pen name
Brenda K. Davies
The Vampire Awakenings Series
Awakened (Book 1)
Destined (Book 2)
Untamed (Book 3)
Enraptured (Book 4)
Undone (Book 5)
Fractured (Book 6)
Ravaged (Book 7)
Consumed (Book 8)
Unforeseen (Book 9)
Forsaken (Book 10)
Coming 2019/2020
The Alliance Series
Eternally Bound (Book 1)
Bound by Vengeance (Book 2)
Bound by Darkness (Book 3)
Bound by Passion (Book 4)
Bound by Torment (Book 5)
Coming 2020
The Road to Hell Series
Good Intentions (Book 1)
Carved (Book 2)
The Road (Book 3)
Into Hell (Book 4)
Hell on Earth Series
Hell on Earth (Book 1)
Into the Abyss (Book 2)
Kiss of Death (Book 3)
The Edge of the Darkness (Book 4)
Coming 2020
Historical Romance
A Stolen Heart
Books written under the pen name
Erica Stevens
The Coven Series
Nightmares (Book 1)
The Maze (Book 2)
Dream Walker (Book 3)
The Captive Series
Captured (Book 1)
Renegade (Book 2)
Refugee (Book 3)
Salvation (Book 4)
Redemption (Book 5)
Broken (The Captive Series Prequel)
Vengeance (Book 6)
Unbound (Book 7)
The Kindred Series
Kindred (Book 1)
Ashes (Book 2)
Kindled (Book 3)
Inferno (Book 4)
Phoenix Rising (Book 5)
The Fire & Ice Series
Frost Burn (Book 1)
Arctic Fire (Book 2)
Scorched Ice (Book 3)
The Ravening Series
The Ravening (Book 1)
Taken Over (Book 2)
Reclamation (Book 3)
The Survivor Chronicles
The Upheaval (Book 1)
The Divide (Book 2)
The Forsaken (Book 3)
The Risen (Book 4)
Glossary Of Terms
Adhene demon <Ad-heen> - Mischievous elf-like demon. Corson and Wren are the last adhenes.
Absenthees – Center of the Abyss and its main focus of power.
The Abyss – The Abyss is another plane. The jinn can open a doorway into the Abyss and enter it. Absenthees is at the center of the Abyss and main focus of power in the Abyss.
Akalia Vine <Ah-kal-ya> - Purple black flowers, orange berries. Draws in victims & drains their blood slowly. Red leaves. Sharp, needle-like suckers under leaves. Behind the 6th seal.
Barta demons <Bartə> - They were locked behind the 55th seal. Animal of Hell. Now part of Lucifer’s guard.
Calamut Trees <Cal-ah-mut> - Live in the Forest of Prurience.
Canagh demon <Kan-agh> - Male Incubus, Female Succubus. Power thrives on sex but feed on souls on a less regular basis than the other demons. Their kiss enslaves another.
Ciguapa (see-GWAH-pah) – Female demon with backward feet.
Craetons <Cray-tons> - Lucifer’s followers.
Crantick demon – Crazy. Often run head first into walls and throw themselves off ledges for fun. Howl in a pack. Like to fight but mostly innocuous.
Drakón <Drak-un> – 101st seal. Skeletal, fire breathing dragons. They now protect the varcolac’s Chosen.
Erinyes (furies) <Ih-rin-ee-eez> - demons of vengeance and justice. 78th Seal.
Faerie/Fae – Empath demons who were slight in build, fast, and kinder than the other demons. The fae bloodline still exists in mixed demons but the purebred fae died out thousands of years ago.
Fires of Creation - Where the varcolac is born.
Forest of Prurience <Proo r-ee-uh nce> - Where the tree nymphs reside. Was also the original home of the canaghs and wood nymphs.
The Gates - Varcolac demon has always been the ruler of the guardians of the gates that were used to travel to earth before Lucifer entered Hell.
Ghosts - Souls can balk against entering Heaven, they have no choice when it comes to Hell.
Gobalinus (goblins) <Gab-ah-leen-us> - Lower level demons, feed on flesh as well as souls. 79th seal.
Hellhounds - The first pair of Hellhounds also born of the Fires of Creation, with the first varcolac who rose. They share a kindred spirit and are controlled by the varcolac.
Jinn (Singular form is jinni) – 90th seal. Beautiful creatures. They’ll grant a wish, make it more of a nightmare, and tear out their victim’s heart as payment. Feed on the life force of others as well as on wraiths.
Lanavour demon <Lan-oh-vor> -The 3rd seal. Can speak telepathically and know people’s inner most secrets and fears.
Leporcháin <Lepor-cane> - Leprechaun looking creatures. Half on Kobal’s side, the other half are on Lucifer’s. Only ten in existence.
Macharah – 103rd seal. Creature with 30 plus tentacles at the bottom.
Manticore – 46th seal. Body of a red lion, human/demon head.
The Oracle – The oracle is a lake of fire, deep in the bowels of Hell, where earth could be looked on. Few made the journey as the lake was also the central focus of all the heat in Hell.
Ouroboros - 82nd seal
. Massive, green serpent.
Púca <Poo-ka> - 80th seal. Shape changers which can take on animal or human form. Could also be the source of vampires as they drain their victim’s blood.
Skelleins <Skel-eens> - Guardians of the Gates.
Spiny Clackos – demon who is known to have spikes in every part of their anatomy.
Tree Nymphs – Live in the Forest of Prurience. Men and women. Striking and very free sexually. Smaller than wood nymphs and live in the trees.
The Wall - Blocks off all of Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Blocks parts of Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, and Arkansas. Similar wall blocks off parts of Europe.
Wraith - A twisted and malevolent spirit that the demons feed from. On earth they only come out at night.
Varcolac demon <Var-ko-lack>- Born from the fires of Hell. Only one can exist at a time. When that one dies another rises from the Fires of Creation. Fastest and most brutal of all the demons. They are the only kind that can create and open natural gateways within Hell as well as close them. They control the hellhounds.
Demon Words:
Mah lahala ˈMɑ: <la-hall-a> - My Love.
Mohara <Mo-har-ah> – Mother
Paupi <Pow-pea> - Father.
Unshi <Un-she> – Uncle
Chapter One
Hawk
I rubbed at my eyes as we crested a hill and the wall came into view. The fatigue clinging to me like a second skin vanished as the prospect of drinks, a shower, and friends caused excitement to race through me.
This journey back to the wall had been especially exhausting. The last truck we possessed gave a loud groan and belched smoke before dying on the side of the road three days ago. We’d continued on foot, but most of the humans looked about to collapse as they walked with their heads bent and their shoulders slouched forward. Some of the demons didn’t look any better.
We’d left half our troops in the Wilds with Magnus, Amalia, and Shax to command our growing number of soldiers there. It had been over a year since River succeeded in closing the gateway, and during that time, we’d cleared most of the Wilds and were reclaiming the land from the demons seeking to destroy us.
If we could only find and destroy the rest of the horsemen and angels, we might succeed in ending this war, but they’d been scarce since Amalia and Magnus battled them in the Abyss. That was in February, and it was now October.
We’d run into them, even fought with them a couple of times, but the few times we encountered them, they retreated. For the most part, it was as if they’d ceased to exist. There were sightings of them, but there hadn’t been any solid leads in a month.
Able to travel on the air, Death could be anywhere, and the same with the angels, but the other horsemen had to be somewhere in the Wilds. They wouldn’t get past the wall without us knowing. However, where they were was a complete mystery, and one I could take a break from trying to solve for the next few days.
The dust rising in the distance indicated the approach of vehicles from the wall; someone must have spotted us, and they were on their way. A massive shadow passed overhead and swept over the land. It was so big it blocked the sun before turning sideways and sweeping over the earth.
Shielding my eyes, I tilted my head back as the enormous drakón nearly touched the land with the tip of a wing. The hundred-foot-long, fire-breathing dragon soared over the ground while the blue flames enveloping its body flickered on the air.
Most of its frame was skeletal, but strips of tattered flesh covered some of the bones making up its wings. When its head turned back to look at us, I glimpsed the blue fire in its eye sockets as it released a roar that shook the ground. The beast was letting us know, if we tried anything, it would torch us where we stood.
I didn’t know if this drakón was Flint or Blaze as only River could tell them apart. I also didn’t know how long it stalked us before deciding to reveal itself. For such large creatures, they were stealthy.
I was glad it was a friend; otherwise, we would be nothing but ashes as they were extremely loyal to River. After Lucifer forced River to break the seals in Hell, the Drakóns—which were locked behind the hundred and first seal—had followed and protected her. They were her guards, and they took the job seriously.
The cloud of dust drew closer until a white pickup rose over the hill; an assortment of other vehicles from the wall followed it. When another shadow passed overhead, I looked up as the angel, Raphael, soared overhead.
I turned my attention back to the vehicles and almost let out a shout of joy at the prospect of finishing the rest of our journey in one of those vehicles. I started walking faster and wasn’t surprised when Corson and Wren kept pace with me. We’d had enough of this endless walking, and I was tired of feeling like Frodo with the ring.
The pickup pulled to a stop fifteen feet away. Two demons climbed out of the cab of the vehicle while more exited the bed. It was impossible to miss Kobal, the six-foot-nine King of Hell, when he stepped out of the back of the truck.
Bare-chested, except for a piece of cloth slung over one shoulder and around his chest, the black markings on his arms, upper chest, and upper back were mostly visible. Flames, with intricate symbols, marked Kobal’s right arm. Since becoming a demon over a year ago, I’d learned some of the demon’s symbols, but I didn’t recognize many of Kobal’s.
On Kobal’s left arm were two hellhounds surrounded by flames. I’d seen those two hellhounds leap out of his body and tear into anything threatening him or River. The King of Hell was a formidable figure with many secrets.
He possessed so much power that my skin prickled as he strode toward us with a broad smile and what I swore was a twinkle in his black eyes. The blackness of Kobal’s eyes took up the entire eyeball, but when he was infuriated, his eyes became more human in appearance and turned an amber color like a wolf’s.
I was at the wall for nine years before River arrived, and I’d never seen Kobal smile before then. Of course, he often moved around and was rarely at our camp, but the few times I saw him, there’d been nothing inviting about the imposing demon.
He held his hand out to Corson, and the two nearly embraced as they clapped each other on the back. Bale hugged him next, but it wasn’t until Lix approached and a tiny hand rose over the cloth on Kobal’s chest that I realized the King of Hell was carrying a baby.
“River had the baby,” Caim murmured.
I detected a hint of pride in the fallen angel’s voice, and his raven eyes, with their rainbow-hued flecks, were filled with awe. He glanced at me before straightening his shoulders and ruffling his ebony wings.
Like his eyes, rainbows of color danced through his wings, but midnight blue was the most prevalent color amongst the feathers. The silver spikes sticking out of the top of his wings were nearly a foot long, as were the ones on the bottom.
“I am an uncle again,” he stated proudly.
I didn’t know how River would feel about him declaring himself as such. She’d always hated that they referred to her as their niece and Lucifer had considered her his daughter. However, at one time, the angels all considered themselves brothers and sisters. Descended from Lucifer and Michael, the other angels saw River as their niece.
“Congrats,” I muttered to Caim as Kobal and Lix shook hands.
When the small fist continued to fly, Bale took the tiny hand and smiled when it gripped her finger. I stepped closer to get a better look as she asked, “What’s his name?”
“Braxas,” Kobal said.
“He can draw on life,” Bale commented.
“Just like his mom,” Kobal said. “He’s extremely strong.”
I’d only seen that look on Kobal’s face when it came to River, but as he gazed at his son, the love and p
ride he felt for his child were as evident as the markings on his arms. A twinge of longing tugged at my heart. Before becoming a demon, I’d planned to eventually settle down. My family was gone, and I could never replace them, but I wanted to experience that love again.
And now… well, now I couldn’t kiss a woman without enslaving her and ruining her life, and I couldn’t have any children unless I found my Chosen. That was a possibility, but with the angels and horsemen still out there, starting a family wasn’t an option. There was a war to fight, and after…
Who knew what after held? I was trying to stay focused on one day and one battle at a time. I could think about a Chosen and a family when the fight was over.
I stepped closer to Bale so I could see the baby and smiled when he gazed up at me with the same amethyst eyes as his mother. The child didn’t have his mother’s black hair, but he did have his father’s dark brown coloring.
Because the fires of Hell forged Kobal, he couldn’t pass his abilities on to his son, but I sensed a lot of power in the boy as he jerked on Bale’s finger. But then, his mother was a mighty force.