Mercury Rising

By KD Jones

***FOR ADULTS ONLY***

She was born from the light and forged in the fires of hell to be a warrior.
At least that’s what Cassandra Adira Knight was told and is being thoroughly trained for.
But how is she supposed to fight demons and save the world when she can’t even figure out which guy she wants to be with? It doesn’t help at all that her best friend is not talking to her, and that dead bodies start showing up.
Cass better get her shit together because...7even Circles is here and the mercury is rising.

• Language: English
• Publisher: KD Jones
• Release date: Nov 15, 2016
• ISBN: 9781943738342

KD Jones

KD Jones has been a huge fan of both romance novels and science fiction novels since she was 16 years old. Her favorite television shows growing up were Star Trek and Doctor Who. When not writing, she can usually be found curled up on the couch with a good book, working on her hobby of photography, or spending time with her family.

Book preview

Mercury Rising

7even Circles

Book 2

KD Jones

Copyright 2016 KD Jones

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

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

Epilogue

About the Author

BLURB

She was born from the light and forged in the fires of hell to be a warrior.

At least that’s what Cassandra Adira Knight was told and is being thoroughly trained for.

But how is she supposed to fight demons and save the world when she can’t even figure out which guy she wants to be with? It doesn’t help at all that her best friend is not talking to her, and that dead bodies start showing up.

Cass better get her shit together because…7even Circles is here and the mercury is rising.

Chapter 1

"Do it again, Cassandra!" the angry man yelled at her. He was always yelling at her. She didn’t like him very much. His face got all red and spit came out of his mouth, but it was his mean glowing eyes that scared her the most. He was evil, she didn’t doubt it despite her mother’s denials.

"Pull it tighter!"

Cassandra picked up the bow and arrow and pulled back the string as best she could. The bow was too big for her small hands and fingers to grip properly, but the angry man didn’t care. She took aim at the target on the stone wall. A bullseye made of six red circles had been drawn—concentric circles with the larger circle on the outside and the smaller circles inside each other. A big red dot gleamed in the center of the target, which she was supposed to hit dead center. She hadn’t been able to hit the mark yet and the angry man was losing patience.

She let the arrow go and it flew fast, hitting the fourth circle in from the outside edge. That was better than she had done before. Surely the angry man would be pleased. Smiling, she turned, asking, How was that?

The angry man took three long strides to reach her. He raised his arm so fast she didn’t have time to do anything. He slapped her hard across the cheek, sending her flying backwards onto the floor hitting the back of her head. Pain shot through her head and she felt like she was going to throw up.

"Pathetic! You need more practice," the angry man yelled.

She fought the tears; the angry man got even angrier if she showed any weakness. I practice every day.

"For how long?"

"A couple of hours a day. I stop to eat lunch."

"You need to practice longer. For now on, you don’t eat until you have practiced a full day. You will continue to practice today until you get to the fifth circle. Not only that, but your mother will be kept locked up in the dungeon until you have done your practicing for the day." The angry man stormed away and she wanted to curl up into a ball.

"How am I supposed to get the fifth circle? I am too tired and I’m too hungry," she whispered.

"You can do it," a voice from the dark corner called out.

She wiped the tears from her cheeks and sat up. Who’s there?

"A friend."

"I want my mom," her voice broke with her tears.

"He won’t release her until you practice."

"I hate the angry man."

"I hate him, too. I don’t like to see him hit you. You need to practice and get better so that he doesn’t hit you anymore."

"I’m scared."

"I’m here with you. You’re not alone."

"Come out so I can see you." All she could see was glowing eyes in the dark. Who was that? Was he a friend?

"I don’t want you to be scared, I look different from you. Just know that I’m your friend and I’ll watch over you."

"For how long?"

"For forever, if you like."

"I need a friend but the angry man doesn’t want me to have friends." A tear fell at the memory of the pet kitty that her mother had given her for her birthday. The angry man took it away and she could hear the kitty screaming. She didn’t want anyone else she cared about to be hurt.

"Then it will be our secret."

*****

Cass woke up sweating. She touched her cheek expecting it to still burn from the slap, but realized it had been just a dream. One she’d had more than once, but she had never before remembered much of it once she’d awoken. This time, she remembered more details.

In her dream, she had been a little girl—maybe six years old—and she wanted her mother. It was strange remembering the feelings, but she couldn't remember what her mother actually looked like. Getting up, she walked over to the dresser and turned on a lamp. There was dampness on her cheeks from crying in her dream.

She came from nothing; she couldn’t even remember the first eight years of her life. Cops from the Detroit Police Department had found her wandering the streets. When they questioned her about who she was, she had no idea. She didn’t know who her parents were or where she lived. She didn’t even know her own name.

All she had with her at the time was a picture of a woman with dark hair holding a baby. On the back of the picture was one name: Knight. Cass also wore a silver cross with a word inscribed Adira. She had been placed in the foster care system and forgotten about.

Twelve years later, she met Father Raphael and the Arkangel Michael, who told her who she really was. She was born Cassandra Adira Knight. She also had a name to the woman in the picture—her mother, Laura Knight. She still didn’t know who her father was, but she knew what he was.

Her father, name unknown, was one of the arkangels. Arkangels, spelled with a k instead of a ch, were higher-level angels that actively did God’s works. They were known for giving messages to prophets. Some were healers, and others were warriors for God and would one day fight demons on the Earthly plane during the Apocalypse. She thought the spelling was weird and when she asked about it, Father Raphael had explained that both spellings were known as throughout the centuries but was more widely known with the ch spelling. What she came to realize was that the angels themselves preferred the spelling with the k for some reason.

Arkangels were in constant battle with demons but they had a shortcoming—they could only fight demons on the Earthly plane. Demons were allowed on the Earthly plane for a limited time before they were somehow called back to their inner circle in hell. There were seven circles or layers of hell, and most demons were bound by their circles. Angels could not go past the first circle of hell which was why they had to fight the demons on the Earthly plane.

One of these warriors for God, her angel daddy, decided that to be able to fight demons on their own turf, the inner circles of hell, they needed someone with the blood of an angel and the blood of a demon. Unfortunately, angel and demon blood alone would be in constant turmoil; it needed an anchor. That’s where her mother came in to the mix.

Laura Knight was half demon and half human. That meant that even though she might have demonic powers, she could chose to be good or evil. Free will and all that goes with that. It also meant that she wasn’t bound to the inner circles. Half-demons, or—as they like to be called—demi-demons, could come and go from the inner circles as they liked.

Cass’s angel daddy, along with his angel buddies, decided to impregnate a demi-demon. The child was prophesied to be born of light but forged from hell. Meaning that her father was an angel of light and her mother was part demon. The child of light would have all the strengths of both and would be one of the best demon hunters ever created. Yadda yadda yadda.

Personally, she thought that the reasoning behind her conception was cold and calculated. Did none of them care about the innocent child they were bringing into the world? Did no one ever love her at all? Was she only ever seen as a weapon for them to use as they saw fit? She may never know these answers because her mother was dead and her father was MIA. Father Raphael was cautious in what he told her. Maybe in time…

Sighing she glanced again at her appearance. She had a t-shirt and shorts on and thought maybe she should take a shower and get dressed. Not yet…she wasn’t ready to start her day yet. She walked to the door of her room and opened it, trying not to make any noise. She was living in a room above a church along with the two men who had changed her world almost two months ago: Arkangel Michael and Father Raphael.

Father Raphael had his own story to tell. He was once was an arkangel but messed up and was sentenced to live on Earth to slowly age and eventually die. He had healing powers, which were slowly fading as he aged. Michael was a hot young arkangel trying to prove himself. He was beautiful on the outside but was seriously lacking in social skills.

Walking down the creaky stairs of the old church, she wasn’t sure where she was going. She went first to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door. There wasn’t anything that was appealing. Instead, she grabbed a clean glass and poured water from the faucet. Taking a few sips she sat the glass down on the table, feeling restless. She wasn’t in any hurry to go back to bed, afraid the dream would come back. It had really unsettled her.

Heading down the hall, she ended up going into the nave part of the church where all the pews were lined up neatly. She walked down the aisle and didn’t stop until she got to the sanctuary where the altar, cross, and the chair for the priest resided.

It wasn’t the first time she had been in a church, but it felt like it. One of the foster parents she stayed with temporarily would drag her to a church two days a week. She had never been a follower of anything, but she believed that there was a being with higher powers. Right now though, she felt completely disconnected to that powerful being.

She stared at the shiny silver cross. It glowed as moonlight filtered in through the stained glass windows. There were times she caught Michael or Father Raphael staring at the cross and it would seem to have an unnatural glow. It looked like they were having some kind of private conversation with someone she couldn’t see. Afterward, they always seemed focused, unworried, and