The Watchers

By Danielle Broussard

Back home, Elizabeth's life is far from boring. With two demons and one angel living with her, she barely has any time to herself. Between attention craving house guests, renovations to continue, and a wedding to plan, decisions made while in Hell come back to haunt her. No longer able to live in limbo, Elizabeth must make a choice. Will she chose to side with the angels of Heaven, or will she be forced to pick the demons of Hell?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Danielle Broussard
• Release date: Sep 24, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370527397

Danielle Broussard

Danielle Broussard was born in Houma, Louisiana to a loving and supporting family. After moving to Texas for a short stent, she moved back to Louisiana when she was still young and has spent most of her life there.Sports and art defined most of her childhood. She played basketball for several years and also ran cross-country and track. A self-proclaimed jock, she hated reading and avoided it at all costs and spent most of her time either outside playing sports or watching anime.For college she attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Architectural Studies.

Book preview

The Watchers

Danielle Broussard

Published by Danielle Broussard at Smashwords

Copyright 2018 Danielle Broussard

Other titles by this author

Fall

Seven Heavens

Seven Hells

The Hagoromo

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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

Chapter 1

Spring was just trying to break winter’s grip. Louisiana isn’t quite like the rest of the country. It doesn’t really get cold until January, and then the cold tries to hold on until somewhere in the middle of March, occasionally the beginning of April. Unfortunately, along with the warmer weather comes the humidity, which makes staying outside for roughly ten of the twelve months absolutely miserable. Not to mention the mosquitoes, the pollen, the sneezing, the sore throats, the runny noses, and so on.

Easter was closing in quickly and it was approaching a year since she had met Ben. A lot had happened in that year, but most of the time she tried not to think about it. Ben and Azazel stopped by frequently to grace her with their presence and bickering. They would normally pop in several days a week, and spend the night roughly three or four of those days, driving her absolutely insane. They had to be able to sense her murderous intent though, because every time she was ready to wring their necks, they magically had to leave. It was a shame really. Although she loved them to death, the thought of ridding herself of one, or two, annoying demons was definitely a pleasant one.

Raguel, on the other hand, had become a permanent fixture. For the past couple of months, he rarely left, and when he would leave, he was never gone for long. The angel was good company for the most part. He was a lot quieter than her demon house guests and spent most of his time either reading or watching TV. The cooking channel was always on now, replacing Ben’s beloved Animal Planet. Raguel had more interest in learning how to cook the cute, fluffy animals as opposed to watching how they lived. Although Elizabeth didn’t mind since it took the responsibility of cooking off her shoulders most nights.

This was one of those rare occasions when everyone was at the house. Thankfully, the demons had settled down months ago and finally accepted Raguel’s constant presence. Considering their history, they actually got along great and rarely fought anymore, at least not about anything important. Normally, everyone would be in the living room watching TV, but since today was one of those rare, nice days in Louisiana, everyone opted for hanging out in the backyard instead.

Scratching the side of her head, Elizabeth leaned more of her weight on the arm of the chair she sat on. Turning the page of her book slowly, a soft grunt caught her attention. Glancing at the demons standing in the yard, she let out a deep sigh and looked back at her book. Another grunt caught her attention, and then a soft curse. Resting her cheek on the palm of her hand, she glanced back up at the demons.

Standing several feet apart, the two demons remained in crouched positions glaring daggers at each other. The sweat beading on Azazel’s forehead slowly slid down the side of his face, pooling at the edge of his jaw before dripping to the grass below. As if on cue, the demon darted forward swinging, only to stop short and leap back to his previous position.

Retreating quickly, Belial skid to a stop, kicking up clumps of grass in his wake. Leaping into the air, he swung back at Azazel with a grunt. Prepared for the new attack, Azazel quickly countered with a grin plastered to his face. Not to be outdone, Belial spun and swinging with all his might, hit the projectile back at his opponent. Not prepared for the strong attack, Azazel scrambled to get into position, but knew he wouldn’t make it. Gritting his teeth, the demon dove in a last attempt, but failed to meet his target. The red and white birdie bounced once on the ground before resting innocently on the grass just inches from Azazel’s racket.

Cursing under his breath, Azazel slowly rose from the ground, snatching the evil rubber and plastic projectile. Clenching his hand around the birdie, he swept the dirt from the front of his shirt, and frowned when a few small streaks of green refused to budge. Puffing his chest out, Belial grinned at his opponent. That was another point, meaning he was now comfortably ahead of Azazel. Ready to concede yet, general?

Growling low in his throat, Azazel got ready to serve, Never! Tossing the birdie into the air, he swung his racket at the unsuspecting birdie, rocketing it over the net at Belial.

Letting out a deep sigh, Elizabeth watched the scene apathetically. They’d been at it for hours, although she much preferred this than some of the other outlets they’d tried. At least her house wasn’t about to get destroyed this time.

Feeling eyes on them, Azazel grinned, and turning towards the porch, he said, Hey angel, Elizabeth, come out here and we’ll play doubles.

No thanks, she said, pulling her legs up onto the chair to get more comfortable, I think I’ll just watch.

Same here, Raguel muttered, his eyes never leaving the book in his lap.

Frowning, when Elizabeth’s eyes strayed from him, Azazel bounced the birdie on his racket a few times. It was only a matter of time and he’d draw her attention again. Grinning, he didn’t give Belial any warning and quickly shot the small projectile over the net.

Glancing at the two demons out of the corner of her eye, Elizabeth barely shook her head in exasperation. They’d been like this for weeks, always trying to attract her attention one way or another. At first she thought it was cute or almost flattering, but now it was completely annoying.

You do realize that they’re not going to stop, Raguel muttered, At least, not until you or Lucifer make your choice known.

Groaning, Elizabeth rubbed the bridge of her nose. Please don’t say that, she moaned. They’re like two roosters out there, strutting around with their feathers out hoping to attract the most hens.

Grinning, Raguel knew the demons wouldn’t appreciate being compared to common fowl. Well, what did you expect? You put a stop to the wrestling.

They were destroying my living room, thank you very much, Elizabeth snapped.

Smiling, Raguel said, You also were furious about the sword fighting.

They were shedding so many feathers it looked like I was mauling an entire flock of geese back here! Elizabeth replied, Not to mention if the neighbors would have seen!

You completely ignored the arm wrestling and thumb wars, Raguel added.

Glaring at the angel, she said, Who wouldn’t? How childish.

Then you completely annihilated them in video games, Raguel pointed out, so it didn’t matter who was better at that point.

Grinning, Elizabeth still remembered that episode. Shaking her head when she heard another curse come from one of the demons, she said, Okay, I’ll give you all of those, but badminton? Seriously?

Smiling broadly, Raguel said, You mentioned you were fond of the game, so it makes sense.

Running her hand through her hair, Elizabeth released a defeated sigh, Yeah, when I was in high school. I haven’t played since.

Shrugging his shoulders, Raguel flipped to the next page in his book. The corner of Elizabeth’s eye twitched. The damn angel was probably enjoying her suffering. He was probably internally laughing at her at that very moment. Scowling, she leaned over the arm of her chair to get a better look at what had so completely captured his attention. Glaring at the pristine white pages, she should have known. Another cookbook.

Leaning back in her chair, her foot tapped at the air in agitation. Chewing on a fingernail, a profound thought hit her. Why the sudden interest in cooking?

Stiffening, the question caught Raguel off guard. Clearing his throat, he said, Why not?

Resting her cheek in the palm of her hand again, she glanced at the demons still dancing around the yard, hitting the poor, defenseless birdie like their lives depended on it. Turning her gaze back towards Raguel, her eyes narrowed at the book in his lap. Frowning, she said, You little shit.

Glancing up from his book, Raguel turned his startled eyes towards her. Excuse me?

Clinching her fist, Elizabeth said, You’re just as bad as those idiots! You started cooking to impress someone! And I swear upon all that is holy that it better be Claire!

Frowning, Raguel mumbled, You shouldn’t swear Elizabeth. It’s not proper and He doesn’t like it.

Crossing her arms, Elizabeth said, Oh, He’s sleeping. He can’t hear me anyway. And don’t you change the subject! Shrugging his shoulders again, Raguel turned back towards his book. Tapping her foot impatiently, Elizabeth shifted in her chair, and leaning towards Raguel continued, So, what is going on with you and Claire? I mean, you know, since you’re always here, when do you go see her?

Ah, he said, she broke up with me.

Humming softly, Elizabeth mentally nodded. That made sense. If he was still dating Claire, then he wouldn’t have been spending all of his time at her house. But then that still left the question of who he was learning to cook fo- Wait! What?! Elizabeth yelled, When did that happen?!

Lowering his book only slightly, Raguel stared out into the yard deep in thought. I don’t know, he said, I guess it was some point in January.

Grunting, Azazel sent the birdie flying back over the net. Sparing a glance at the porch, he glared at the angel that was occupying Elizabeth’s attention. Growling, he easily caught the birdie hurtling for his head without looking. Game forgotten, Azazel strode towards the porch, intent on getting Elizabeth’s attention back on him. Grinning mischievously, he rested a foot on the porch, So, our little angel got dumped.

Striding towards the porch, Belial crossed his arms over his chest. Letting out a soft snort, he added, And by a human, no less.

Rolling her eyes, Elizabeth wasn’t about to let those two bully Raguel about his misfortune. Completely ignoring the demons, she kept her focus on the angel sitting next to her. Leaning over the arm of her chair, her eyes softened, So, what happened?

Turning to the next page in his book, the image on the page was nothing more than a blur. Trying to focus on the glossy page, his mind was in a whirl. What to tell her? Claire was her good friend, so he couldn’t just tell her the complete truth. The human girl was attractive and fun but that was all. She was a fling, as the humans say, nothing more. A good time to pass the boredom in his monotonous life. Clearing his throat, he flipped the unread page, Nothing to tell, really. She wanted to have kids and get married, and I couldn’t do that for her.

Bouncing the birdie on his racket, Azazel sneered at the angel. Nothing to tell, huh? Elizabeth might fall for his nonchalant attitude, but the demon knew better. Although it was probably true the human wanted more from the angel than he was willing to give. Raguel knew from the start that nothing would come of the relationship and was stringing the girl along on purpose. He probably thought it would be a good way to stay in Elizabeth’s good graces while also having a reason to see her without making his true intentions known. Angels, and they had the nerve to criticize demons.

Leaning over his propped knee, Azazel kept the birdie bouncing rhythmically on his racket. Grinning like cat, he said, So, you didn’t want to join the club, huh?

Glancing at Azazel, the demon beamed brightly at Elizabeth brightly. Cocking her head to the side, Elizabeth couldn’t figure out what he meant for the life of her. Join the club? What club? Those idiots better not be planning something at her house without telling her.

Lowering his book, Raguel’s eyes slowly rose to meet the demons’. He knew those two would never give up Elizabeth willingly, but he also never thought they’d be so bold or blatant in their pursuit either. Frowning, his only saving grace was that Elizabeth was oblivious to most of what was going on, especially their little jabs at each other. Glaring at the grinning demon, Raguel nearly growled, No.

Shrugging his shoulders, Azazel kept the birdie bouncing without losing a beat. That’s too bad, he said, I was starting to like you, too.

Glancing between the two on the porch and Azazel, Belial noticed how Elizabeth’s eyes followed the birdie with every rise and fall. Eyes narrowing, he punched Azazel in the arm, causing him to drop the birdie and completely loose his balance. Elizabeth’s curious eyes met his own, and he inwardly nodded in approval. That’s where her attention should be, on him. He had met her first, and she was already his whether she or anyone else knew it or not.

Not wanting the attention to remain on him, Raguel knew just what to say to distract Elizabeth. Turning back towards his book, he casually stated, It’s really not a big deal. Besides, she’s already dating someone else and seems to really like him.

She’s what?! Elizabeth said, Why didn’t I know any of this?

Jumping from the rocking chair, Elizabeth sprinted into the house and went straight for the phone. It rang several times before going to voice mail. Hanging up, she decided not to leave a message. Claire would see that she called and would call her back eventually. Walking over to the refrigerator, she poured a glass of water and glancing at the calendar, saw that it was Tuesday. It was the middle of the afternoon, so that meant she was at work. It had gotten hard for Elizabeth to remember what day it was since she still didn’t have a job. Although, in all honesty, she wasn’t really looking anymore, and hadn’t been for months.

The guys kept her really busy and she finally was able to start on the upstairs renovations only recently. It took forever to finalize the plans since they all had an opinion, not pointing fingers or anything. Both the demons and angels were some of the neediest people she knew. Not only did they all want their own rooms, but also their own bathrooms, which of course had to have all of the current spa-like amenities. In the end, there wasn’t enough space for all of their demands and she settled on three bedrooms and two baths. Although disappointed that their extravagant demands weren’t met, the guys didn’t seem to notice the mess that the upstairs was now in, and somehow still slept up there with all of the studs showing and surrounded by construction dust.

It was Friday evening and everyone was at the house again. Ben and Azazel had royally ticked her off and left in a hurry on Wednesday