Damnation and Desire

By Kali Willlows

A Wiccan descendent of a notorious victim of the Salem witch trials, Tessa Ledger is obsessed with the Malleus Maleficarum and its claim that women are susceptible to the influence of the devil through their sexuality. Tessa seeks the services of 1Night Stand to tame her blazing carnal desires, and perform a little experiment on bewitching men. Her date is to take place in Salem...on the most supernatural night possible, where the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest and anything can happen.

Samson Langley is a highly revered clergyman in a small town near Salem. Being a positive community leader and overcoming his ancestral legacy has been his lifelong purpose, but his natural urges plague him night and day. With a few qualms, he agrees to his mentor’s suggestion to exorcise his personal demons with a date arranged by Madame Evangeline of 1Night Stand. He doesn’t expect to find his own faith and integrity in question as he is faced with satisfaction, or damnation in the arms of a one-night stand.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Decadent Publishing
• Release date: Oct 27, 2011
• ISBN: 9781613331408

Book preview

Damnation & Desire

Malleus Malificarum

Kali Willows

A 1 Night Stand Story

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2011 by Kali Willows

ISBN: 978-1-61333-140-8

Cover art by Fantasia Frog Designs

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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Published by Decadent Publishing Company, LLC

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~DEDICATION~

To the kindred spirits that have crossed my path in this life, and to those who will in the future, thank you for your inspiration and for the magic!

Chapter One

Flipping through the pages of the crumbling Latin text with growing disturbance, Tessa felt the thumping in her chest grow to an uncomfortable pace. Long before the Salem witch trials, Heinrich Kramer, 15th century cleric, penned—or quilled—the Malleus Maleficarum and set aflame one very short, but cruel, witch hunt.

Section Three...those bastards! She jerked away from the book as if expecting the repugnant words to leap off the page and set her ablaze.

Page after page of detailed instructions for gruesome torture—and ghastly illustrations—further drove her need to complete her thesis despite how appalling the topic was. Researching and translating the ancient language brought her the agonizing knowledge that the women accused of practicing witchcraft had no way to escape interrogation, torture, and eventual death. The pain and suffering of these victims afflicted her personally as she absorbed their history.

Glancing over her shoulder at her empty inbox on the monitor, Tessa fiddled with her pentagram necklace like a security blanket and tapped her foot. With a sigh of annoyance, she refocused on the project in front of her, flipping through the pages of the ancient manual.

You have mail. She tensed when she saw the message from Madame Evangeline. Before taking the leap, she inhaled and composed herself. 1Night Stand’s success was critical for so many reasons. She clicked on the email.

Your match has been found and your date has been arranged at the Castillo Resort in Salem, Massachusetts, on the thirty-first day of October. You will attend the Witch’s Ball in the Sapphire Ballroom of the hotel.

Halloween? Salem? Having her date in her hometown lacked the discretion she’d envisioned when she sought the services of Madame Eve. The sudden shrill of her ringing phone made her jump.

Hello?

Hey Tess, any word yet?

Hi Jen, I just got her reply. Her heavy shoulders drooped as she settled back into her chair.

So, when is it? You don’t sound very enthused.

You won’t believe this; maybe Madame Evangeline has a sense of humor.

What?

It’s booked for Halloween night at the Witch’s Ball.

You’re kidding? Jen’s laughter added to the unease settling in the pit of her stomach.

Yup, sending a Wiccan to the Witch’s Ball to get some—how the hell am I going to keep this discreet? Everyone in town will be there.

"Oh, Tess, try not to worry. Just because they’re there doesn’t mean