Possessed by the Devil, page 1
part #2 of The Captive Collection Series
Possessed by the Devil
The Captive Collection
Nicola Rose
Copyright © 2019 Nicola Rose
All Rights Reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Whilst the towns/cities are real, all other names, characters, businesses, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Any similarity between the characters and situations within its pages and places or persons, living or dead, is unintentional and coincidental.
Cover Design by Nicola Rose
For all the anti-hero lovers and your little dark hearts…
Contents
Playlist
Author’s Note
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
Exclusive Content!
Books by Nicola Rose
About the Author
Acknowledgments
“We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell.”
Oscar Wilde
Playlist
Every Breath You Take - Chase Holfelder
The Devil Within - Digital Daggers
Seven Devils - Florence & The Machine
Devil’s Playground - The Rigs
Monsters - Ruelle
I Get Off - Halestorm
Control - Halsey
Animals - Maroon 5
Dark In My Imagination - of Verona
Black Sea - Natasha Blume
Hatef—k - The Bravery
Desire - Meg Myers
Eyes On Fire - Blue Foundation
Bruises & Bitemarks - Good With Grenades
Love & War - Fleurie
Bad Guy - Billie Eilish
Animal - Chase Holfelder
Beautiful Crime - Tamer
Irresistible - Fall Out Boy
Blow Your Mind (Mwah) - Dua Lipa
My Demons - STARSET
Flesh - Simon Curtis
Bloodsport - Raleigh Ritchie
Hurts Like Hell - Fleurie
Sweet Dreams - Beyonce
POSSESSED BY THE DEVIL ON SPOTIFY
Author’s Note
This book is intended for adult reading. It’s dark, steamy, and bloody!
1
There’s a certain smell when you send a demon back to Hell.
It never leaves you. Once you’ve encountered that stink for the first time, it’s always there in the back of your nose, in your subconscious — metallic, burnt wood, smoky, nasty.
But the more you kill, the more you get used to it.
I find that I kinda like it these days. As soon as it hits my senses I’m awake, on fire, alive…
This particular demon — my latest victim — thrashes inside a salt circle, head swinging violently from side to side, body shuddering. He’s going to smell rank when he dies, but he won’t look it. They never do. Demons always pick the finest human hosts they can. Usually opting for tall, dark and handsome. Standing before me is a suited businessman, impeccably dressed, chiseled jaw, good height and build.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen an ugly demon…
Kicking up my feet on the table, I lean back in my chair, toying with the seraph blade in my hands. I’ve become attached to this blade. There’s been plenty of others in the past, but this one feels special. I run my fingers over the intricate carvings on the handle and I swear the blade hums to me. Purring, softly vibrating, calling out for blood…
“You’ll pay for this, bitch!” the demon yells, bloodied spit spraying from his mouth and over my boots.
Patiently, I rise to face him. “Very original, I’ve never heard that before.” These low level demons can be so disappointing. Such an anti-climax.
I’ve been hunting this dick-weasel for weeks. Following him, tracking the innocent souls he’s claimed, digging and digging until I finally found his name and was able to summon him here with a demon-trap. There’s plenty of other ways to summon or kill a demon, of course, but this is my favorite.
This way, you can take your sweet time. Go slowly. Indulge. Savor every moment.
He’s surrounded by salt, trapped by symbols and spells — this fucker isn’t going anywhere. Not until the moment I choose to send him back to Hell. Tingles erupt along my spine at the thought.
Suddenly falling still, the demon’s head slumps. Then it raises, slowly, and he spits in my face. I hadn’t realized I’d drawn so close, studying those pitch black eyes, falling into their chaos. What must it be like, I wonder? The peace of having no soul, no guilt, no emotion whatsoever?
I drag my knife slowly down his cheek, not even bothering to wipe away his spit. He cries out in agony. I’m transfixed by the trickle of blood that ebbs toward his chin…
Boom!
There’s an almighty crash from outside the warehouse.
The demon grins.
“Oh, you naughty boy! Did you bring friends?!” I smile back, excited that maybe this evening won’t be such a disappointment after all.
Drawing a second blade from its sheath on my leg, I sprint toward the sound of the commotion. There’s shouting, snarling… if it’s his friends, it sounds like they’re already having problems of their own.
Hurling myself through a door, I burst out into the parking lot. Another explosion rocks the ground and I duck behind my truck as rubble rains down.
“Motherfucker!” I grumble, noticing a massive dent in the hood from flying debris. Fire blazes only feet away.
“Hey, Angel.” A woman appears, crouching beside me. “Sorry about that.” She nods to my ride.
“Brooke?” I ask, peering at her through the dark. “What are you doing here?”
A bullet whizzes past my ear.
There looks to be a dozen hunters around the place, battling demons. Shoving my knives away, I draw my own gun and begin shooting. A bullet won’t kill a demon, but an enchanted one slows them down.
“We got a tip-off about demon activity in the building,” Brooke shrugs, readying herself to dash across the lot, closer to the action.
“Wait.” I grab her shoulder. “A tip-off from who?”
“I dunno. Why?”
“Shit! That piece of fucking degenerate scum—” Dodging bullets and flames, I speed back into the building, already knowing what I’m going to find.
The salt circle is broken. The symbols I’d carefully painted with my own blood have been smudged. And my demon is gone.
“God dammit!” I kick over the chair I’d been sitting on earlier. I’d taunted him with my nonchalance. Sloppy.
‘Don’t mess around, Angel. You must be able to protect yourself. Kill, and run. Never stay still.’ My dad’s voice slices through the ringing in my ears.
How the hell had he managed to call for human backup? No demon could have got inside my circle to destroy my spells. My victim had to have had human help. All that shit going down outside was just a distraction whilst he escaped.
And here I was, thinking he was just a bottom-dwelling demon.
“Game on, douche-nozzle. You just landed yourself on my priority shitlist,” I yell into the heavy air inside the warehouse.
He’s gone, but they’re still fighting outside. He must have been pretty high up to summon others to his aide. A normal grunt would get zero assistance from his fellow demons. They only care about themselves, they don’t form bonds or connections or allegiances. Self-serving, they deal in lies, death and dodgy deals.
How had I missed this?
You know exactly why… the dark voice inside me taunts. It’s always worse at this time of year, putting me off my game, unsettling me.
Cursing, I slump back into my chair, uninspired to join the fight outside. I hate working with other hunters, even on a good day. If I were here alone, I’d be out there taking out the enemy and loving every second. But right now, I feel a little stupid, and a lot pissed off that there’s a bunch of other hunters out there on my turf.
I mean, Brooke’s sweet, I guess. Probably the closest I’ve ever had to a friend. She always tries to engage with me when our paths cross. But the others? Meh. I have no interest.
There’s another explosion. More shouting.
It shouldn’t be taking this long for them to put down a few demons. I’m confident I could have done it alone already.
Inhaling a deep breath — annoyingly devoid of the expected exorcised-demon smell — I drag myself back outside.
“You do know this is my warehouse? I use it all the time for summoning when I’m in the city.” I position myself next to Brooke, shooting a demon-bitch between the eyes as she charges us.
With all these hunters here, it’s going to be excruciating after the fight. I’ll have to go around nodding and smi
But sometimes you have to pick those battles. They’re harder to navigate than the actual flesh and blood brawls. And they aren’t always worth fighting.
‘Sometimes you have to play nice and share,’ Dad would say. But he wasn’t talking about sharing my toys like a normal parent. No, he was talking about sharing my kills. I guess I’ve always been a selfish bitch when it comes to death.
I’m so busy obsessing over this hatred of working with others that I don’t notice the big-ass demon who’s crept up behind me until his hands are around my throat.
Dropping my gun, I grab my knife from my hip and try to stab him, but he switches in a lightning flash to holding me by my neck with just one hand. His other hand grabs the knife, barely flinching as it slices his palm. He yanks it from my grip, tossing it across the lot.
“Hey, that’s my best blade!” I gasp.
“Lucky you won’t be needing it anymore,” he smirks, in that irritating way that all demons do. Confident, cocky, evil…
Frantically trying to retrieve one of the many other weapons stashed on my body, I keep muttering obscenities at him in the hope he won’t pay attention to my desperate fumbling.
It’s no good.
I dropped the gun in favor of my knife, and now I can’t reach the blades in my boots.
And I can’t fucking breathe.
Come on, Angel, you’ve been in far worse predicaments than this before — the voice in my head helpfully points out. It’s not like the memories of my dad’s voice that come through. This is real, and present — my own self-torment, conscience, whatever you want to call it. But it never sounds like me. I always use a male voice when I’m talking to myself. Serious daddy issues, I suppose.
Crossed with split-personality, maybe?
The world dims. I can’t see much.
My lungs burn…
His lips open in a silent scream, black smoke erupting from his throat, shooting up into the sky in an angry, swirling stream. It goes on and on and on…
Eventually it stops. His mouth falls shut. He blinks, eyes going from all black to the normal blue irises of a human. There’s a second, so very brief, when I always think they’re alive… but the human host dies the instant they’re possessed. No coming back. So no, I don’t feel guilty for the way I torture demons, make them bleed. It’s just a demon, no human present.
He slumps to the ground, the momentum pulling me with him. His grip on my throat loosens. I disentangle myself, stand up, and dust down.
Brooke stands there, wiping off the angel blade that she stuck between his shoulders against her pants.
“I could have handled that, I was just toying with him.” I stoop to retrieve my own precious blade.
The parking lot has fallen silent. All demons vanquished. All hunters pausing for breath. I subconsciously rub at my neck, already feeling the pain from bruising.
“You’re welcome!” Brooke grins, all white teeth and warmth, grabbing me for a hug. It doesn’t matter how much of a bitch I am, she never gets pissed with me. “And you’re right, I’m sure ya’ll could have handled it, but the point is, you didn’t need to. Learn to accept help, Angel, it won’t kill you.”
Releasing me from the hideous show of affection, Brooke saunters away to join her friends. Predictably, they fall into an easy routine of chatter and praise about the fight, showing off new injuries, gathering weapons back, finishing off any demons who were only down and not out.
I stand there awkwardly for a moment, then try to sneak away—
“Hey, Angel!” One of the guys calls out.
No, please no. I die a little more on the inside. Don’t ask, please don’t ask…
“You coming to The Salty Haven?”
My stomach sinks through my boots.
“Hunter rules,” Brooke calls out in her teasing tone. Teasing, but true. “Hunters who live to see another day after working together, must party together. Don’t go breaking that code and cursing us all!”
May the Devil have mercy on me, because this is going to be Hell.
Stupid Hunter Code.
What a crock of horseshit.
I never play by the rules. I work alone, they know this. And yet, Brooke gives me that smile, and I don’t feel like I can say no—
Such a pussy when it comes to humans. You can gut a demon in seconds without blinking, but you can’t say no to a human request of friendship?
“Come on, give me a smile.” Brooke nudges my shoulder as I exit my truck and we walk slowly toward her bar. “Ya’ll never come to play with us. We finally got to share a fight with you, give these guys something back. You’re like a celebrity to them, you know?”
I scoff, rolling my eyes.
My palms feel clammy.
The Salty Haven. Only hunters are allowed through the doors ahead. Those big blue doors that suddenly seem like the most imposing things I’ve ever seen in my life—
“Relax.” Brooke grabs my shoulders, pulling me to a stop and forcing me to face her. “They’re just people, Angel. People who think ya’ll are the baddest, most kick-ass hunter in the whole stinkin’ world. Smile, talk shit with them for an hour, then you can leave.”
Nodding once, I try to smile, but my face refuses to cooperate.
With a resigned sigh, Brooke pushes through the door and disappears. It’s alright for her, she manages this place, she loves it, it’s her home…
I take a deep breath. Then another, and another.
Wiping my palms on my cargo pants, I take another step. Something dark flashes past the corner of my eye. Swinging round, I scan the area, hand poised over my gun.
There’s a rustle in the bushes, but that’s all. Peering into the night, I try to work out what it was. It flashes by again, this time from the left, just out of my main vision but I detect the motion, see the dark shadow as it zips past.
I will not fear the shadows. I embrace the shadows.
I spin round in a circle, drawing my weapon.
“Who’s there?” I shout, which is a surprisingly effective tactic. Demons are so vain they can’t resist stepping out and revealing themselves.
Another trace of something dark, right on the edge of my vision. No matter how fast I spin around, I can’t get a good look at it. There one second, gone the next.
I can’t see the shadowy shape lurking anywhere, but I can feel its presence, everywhere.
All around. Watching. Waiting. Silently assessing me.
I will not fear the shadows…
I repeat my mantra to myself. One of these days it might actually sink in and my body might agree. For now, my heart is beating so hard I think it’s going to snap a rib.
“Seriously, how long does it take for you to talk yourself into this? Get your butt in here, sister!” Brooke re-appears, holding the door.
Holstering my gun, I move away from my demon stalker, into the midst of something far scarier.
There’s a whole chain of Salty Haven’s across the country. You can find one in every city. Magically warded so that normal humans barely notice them, and never feel the urge to step inside.
Dad used to drag me to every Haven he could find as we traveled around in our nomadic way. I hated it. He never seemed happy either, but we still went. All the hunters would talk about why and how they became hunters. It was like a rite of passage when you entered a new bar — you told them your story. I listened to so many of theirs, most clearly embellished with every retelling to make them more dramatic.
But no matter how many times I heard Dad’s story, it never changed. There was never any glory, any passion, any emotion. It was short and simple — ‘I became a hunter because what else could I do once I found demon’s existed?’
