Demon's Redemption: Sons of Sariel, #2

By Sarah Winters

3000 miles, two strangers, one deadly threat.

With an exciting new career on the horizon, Alexis Mitchell assumes the solo trek across the country will be a relaxing scenic drive. She didn't plan on picking up a gorgeous hitchhiker whose mercurial attitude would have her alternating between wanting to kiss him or kick his surly ass. With hundreds of miles before them, it'll take a miracle to arrive without losing her sanity – or her heart.

Haunted by recent trauma and mired in shame, Seir has been doing his best to stay one step ahead of his caring family and avoid women in general. Not an easy task when you're a sex-starved Incubus. Rescued by a stunning spitfire, he's desperate to make it to his destination without falling prey to his baser instincts.

Unfortunately, forces beyond their control are conspiring to make sure they never make it there at all.


Demon's Redemption is a full-length novel with a HFN.
It features a white knight turned angsty hero, slow-burn romance, and plenty of villainous plotting.
This book is the second in the Sons of Sariel paranormal romance series. Each book is a different couple and can be read alone, but are best enjoyed in order.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sarah Winters
• Release date: Apr 6, 2021
• ISBN: 9780995923232

Sarah Winters

Sarah Winters lives in Prince Edward Island, Canada. She has been writing since she was in elementary and self-published her first book in 2017. Having always had an active imagination and an introvert personality, writing seemed the best career choice. She believes you can never have enough socks and always needs more bookshelves for her ever expanding library. She writes best on rainy days with a glass of iced tea beside her and her writer dog, Tails, at her feet.

Book preview

Prologue

April 6

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Standing at the edge of the gaping hole, Eisheth stared down into its stygian depths. The flashlight in her hand did nothing to penetrate the blackness. The sinkhole, which had opened up two days ago and devoured a portion of some human dwelling, looked rather out of place surrounded by garden beds and the pavement strip of a driveway. Somewhere at the bottom lay the Florida home's garage and mudroom, as well as a nice section of well-manicured lawn.

The sinkhole had been a stroke of good luck.

The map she had taken from the Heavenly archives had indicated this area. Unfortunately, with more than two millennia passing, things weren't quite where they were supposed to be anymore. The idea of putting a twenty-mile hole in the ground to cover her lack of a precise location had crossed her mind, but it wasn't a good idea. Not only would the humans notice, so might the godly ones, and she needed to stay off their radar.

Thankfully, the human idea of security was pathetic. The area had swarmed earlier, police officers and workmen cordoning off the hole and setting up a barricades along the roadside to warn the curious of the weak ground. But now, in the dark early hours of the morning, the attention had slowed down, and the area was finally quiet.

She slung her backpack off and stuffed her windbreaker into it, revealing the black halter top that left most of her back bare. Tugging the hairband off her wrist she pulled her long dark hair into a low ponytail. Taking one last look at the map pictured on her cellphone screen, she tucked it safely into its waterproof pouch and stashed it in her pocket. With a bracing breath, she swept up her backpack and let her wings unfurl.

White feathers tipped in stormy grey covered the graceful arches of her wings, falling almost to the ground. The wings closed in and brushed themselves against her bare upper arms, trying to rub away the night's cool breeze. Shrugging off their attention, she stepped up to the edge of the sinkhole.

It was a long way down, the bottom disappearing into darkness.

Without hesitation, she stepped off the edge, plummeting feet first into the abyss. The beam from her flashlight caught on the oddly smooth walls of earth as she fell. She pointed the light downward and flared her wings when a flash of white siding from the crumpled garage came into view.

Drifting to a stop among the rubble, Eisheth cast her flashlight beam around, examining the space. The ground was muddy and littered in chunks of broken building and clumps of grassy topsoil, all sitting in a pool of ankle-deep water. About eight feet away, a lump of dirt sat, two yellow tulips drooping on their wilting stems, their brightness a startling contrast to the surroundings.

Eisheth headed for the edge of the hole, searching the perimeter. The sinkhole was only about twenty feet wide, but as she picked her way around broken chunks of pavement, she heard the unmistakable sound of moving water. On the far side, a large piece of the garage wall leaned haphazardly against the hole’s side. Striding over, she grasped the fragment of drywall and flipped it over, revealing an outlet for the water just large enough to fit a person.

She crouched, shining her flashlight down the small tunnel. It descended slightly and turned, hiding anything beyond. A shallow stream of water ran merrily along the bottom, sweeping away bits of the surface world it had claimed. This whole area had probably been wearing away slowly over the years, each rainfall stealing a little more of the limestone until the ground had nothing left to support its weight.

She let her wings retract and gave her bare shoulders a roll to re-calibrate her balance. Tossing her backpack into the tunnel ahead of her, Eisheth clipped her flashlight to her belt and dropped to her hands and knees, crawling inside. In moments the knees of her black leggings were soaked, and she kept having to rub her palms against her thighs to get rid of the muddy grit. The limestone tunnel and its little stream turned left, meandering through a narrow section. She grabbed her flashlight and cast it through, seeing the tunnel continue on the other side. She would definitely have to remember to invest in some proper spelunking gear; a headlamp would have come in handy right about now. Getting down on her belly, she shoved her backpack through the narrow space and wiggled through behind it, soaking the front of her clothes in the process.

The tunnel tilted down and broadened a bit, allowing her enough space to crawl again. She pushed her pack ahead, and it went a foot before dropping out of sight entirely.

Shit! She scrambled forward, worried she'd dropped her bag and its priceless contents somewhere out of reach.

Dangling her head and shoulders over the drop, she shone her flashlight into the darkness. Her mud-splattered black backpack was nestled safely in the cradle of a jagged rock formation ten feet below, the stream creating a miniature waterfall in front of it. Relieved it hadn't gone far, she shuffled forward until she pulled herself over the edge. A quick somersault in midair and some help from her angelic reflexes had her landing safely amongst the sharp rocks. She yanked her bag out of its resting place and shrugged it on before taking in her current location. Casting her flashlight beam around, she realized the narrow tunnel had emptied into a large cavern, the water falling into an eroded trench around the edge of it. The ceiling of the cave rose high above her, disappearing into the shadows. In front of her, the rock inclined sharply and flattened on top so she couldn't see what was up there from her current vantage point.

Excitement surged through her veins as she followed the edge of the large rise until she found a spot to climb up. She clipped her flashlight on her belt and started the messy scramble up the silty limestone. With a triumphant grin, she hooked a knee over the edge and hefted her body onto the flat top.

Flashlight in hand once more, she rose to her feet, her heart racing at what lay before her.

The formation was about twelve feet across and flat except the section farthest from her, which had a grouping of stalagmites rising toward the cave's ceiling. Most amazing of all, a mummified body lay spread eagle in the dirt. Thick chains circled its withered wrists and ankles, binding it to four great boulders. The tattered remnants of feathered wings were spread wide beneath it, iron spikes pinning them to the ground. The body, bare but for a scrap of disintegrating fabric swathing its hips and torso, was so diminished there was no way to tell if it had been male or female.

Elation swelled in her as she stepped closer, circling the remains. The chains winding around its limbs still glinted gold beneath the dust and dirt, their links unbroken after all these centuries. Mottled brown and white feathers were scattered all around, their once lovely shafts bent and twisted amongst the dirt and rocks. The creature's skin had turned into a grey leather that stretched over prominent bones. Its jaws hung open on an eternal scream. The fingers, all tightly encased bone with long brown nails, were curled around the chains as if frozen in the act of trying to free itself.

Eisheth pulled off her backpack and dropped it on the ground at the creature's feet before examining the chains. She could remove them but decided against it until she knew exactly what she was dealing with.

There was no acknowledgement from the angelic being that its prison had been discovered. Perhaps it's truly dead, she mused, stepping around its legs. She nudged its side with the toe of her hiking boot and moved closer to examine its face for any sign of life.

Golden eyes flashed open, their appearance in the distorted face like something from a horror movie. The whites had yellowed with age, but those irises burned like molten gold, staring up at her. Its jaw moved, sending an audible crack echoing around the cavern, and a high keening wail rang out.

Reflexively, Eisheth covered her ears to mute the grating shriek. She kicked at its side gently, needing to garner its attention. Stop that! She warned. She'd have to remember to add some protective earmuffs to her bag for the next time.

Without taking a breath, the noise continued, its sound both plaintive and deafening. The scowl that darkened her face didn't bode well for the being's continued existence. Shut up! Your screaming is going to carry to the surface!

Those eyes never left her face, but the sound didn't stop.

Giving up, she swung off her backpack and knelt beside it. Standing her flashlight up so it lit up the area, she unzipped her bag and pulled out the sizable watertight lockbox it contained. Flipping the lock open, she withdrew the four bagged and bubble-wrapped packages, laying them out carefully on the ground.

As she finished unwrapping the first item, those golden eyes went impossibly wide.

She grinned as the last swath of bubble wrap fell away from the black-bladed dagger in her hand, the crimson stone in its pommel radiant even in the dimly lit space. She waved the blade in the air tauntingly. Remember this?

The living corpse writhed, jangling its chains, and the keening got louder. Obviously, it recalled the blade involved in the sealing of its prison.

She reached for the smallest bundle and divested it of its protective wrappings before holding it up for viewing, unveiling the ancient gold skeleton key. Perhaps you remember this too?

Dust rose as the being tried to flutter its wings, shaking them against the impaling spikes and no doubt causing it untold pain. Its unholy wails rose to yet another ear-piercing level.

Quickly uncovering the other two artifacts, she laid everything out in front of her on one of the protective plastic sheets. With a snide grin at her captive audience, she held up the chalice and the vial of sparkling red blood. These ones should be new to you.

The creature's cry tapered off as it eyed the items she held.

That's better. All right, we're going to make a deal, you and I. I am going to release you from your prison. And in return, you are going to assist me until I say the favour is repaid. Got it? She eyed its withered features but couldn't read any thoughts from the immovable leather face. That horrible noise had ceased at least. She quirked a delicate brow at the angel. So? What's it going to be?

Those golden eyes flared and its mouth worked silently for a moment. Eisheth was almost afraid the angel was going to say no or start wailing again when its voice groaned out, sounding as if it had been dragged from the depths of Hades.

Yessss...

Relieved, Eisheth knelt beside the Grigori, the first of her fallen angel allies, and readied the ritual to return its vitality. She found a level spot and brushed it clear of debris before she sat the chalice down. Next, she took the vial filled with Incubus blood. It glimmered like liquid ruby inside the glass, the golden ichor from the donor’s angelic heritage obvious.

As she uncapped the vial and poured a quarter of the precious fluid into the cup, those golden eyes sharpened. Bringing it up, Eisheth placed the rim of the chalice against those withered lips, tilting it. The angel drank greedily, taking in the few meager sips of vital blood that had been denied him so long. She knew from her research that once the angels had been captured, they had been drained of blood, the loss of ichor in their veins making it so they could not revitalize themselves. This would give the angel just enough of a boost to jump-start its system once more. Time would have to do the rest.

Once the cup was empty of everything but the final drops, Eisheth ran her finger around inside, gathering the remains and letting the decimated body beside her lick the residue from her finger, its dry tongue brushing her finger in desperate, sandpapery strokes.

Setting the chalice aside, she smiled expectantly at her fellow angel, awaiting the changes that were to come.

The golden eyes drifted closed and a soft, plaintive moan filled the air. A weak shudder rattled through the body, kicking up a storm of dust, and its wings twitched.

Realizing she should probably be assisting, Eisheth climbed to her feet and grasped one of the spikes embedded in its wings. With one foot on the feathers beside the puncture, she pulled for everything she was worth.

The metal slid free with a grinding of stone and she stumbled back, catching herself before she fell on her ass. The angel seemed immune to the pain, but its wing trembled, shaking as the hole began to leak a shimmering, clear fluid. Determined to continue, she grasped the next spike. This one was harder to withdraw, and the reverberation of a foreign body grinding against bone made her shudder. Gah. I am so getting someone else to do this next time.

Tossing the spike away, she glanced at the angel's face and noticed its skin was losing the grey colour of decay, slowly reverting to a more golden tone. Muscle seemed to be forming beneath the skin, the bones in its arms becoming indistinct as the limb fleshed out minimally.

Hurrying, Eisheth reached for the final spike on this side, pulling until the wing was free to flutter lamely against the rock. Finally free, the wing slowly curled over its host, shielding the decimated body.

She went to the other wing and repeated the process, tossing the stakes aside. It didn't take her long before the angel's wings were both free, enveloping its body in a feathered cocoon. The arms that stretched out from inside the wing's embrace were still bound in heavenly chains, but they grew more substantial and alive with each passing second.

Eisheth used this time to gather her ritual tools, wrapping artifacts and tucking them safely back into their box. Everything except the golden key she would need to unlock the chains.

A moan of mixed delight and pain rang out and those big wings trembled as they unwrapped from the body within. The angel inside was still diminished from its former glory, but it no longer resembled the dead. Broad shoulders would soon fill out with thick muscle, and the ribs that were currently visible would disappear under a well-defined chest and abs. The frail strands of fabric that had once covered him had crumbled into dust, leaving him bare.

Those golden eyes pierced her as they opened and she found herself smiling at her first ally. Feeling better?

He blinked. Alive. His voice was still gravelly but clearer than before.

A wry smile tugged at Eisheth's lips. Do you remember our deal?

A solemn nod. You free me. I aid you.

Will you vow it? Eisheth demanded, knowing an angel's vow was an unbreakable pact.

Something behind those gold eyes flickered before he nodded curtly. I vow to aid you until such time as this favour is repaid.

All right then! Satisfied, Eisheth went to the nearest boulder to unshackle his foot. The key fit the lock smoothly. When the lock sprung free, the angel bent his leg for the first time in what must have been eons. The rest of the chains were easily removed and, within moments, the angel struggled into a sitting position. He stretched, joints cracking in their disuse and his wings encircling him as they settled around his shoulders.

Eisheth gave him a moment, packing the key away and removing a rolled bundle and some rope as she waited. So, what's your name? She inquired curiously.

He didn't answer, climbing unsteadily to his feet instead.

They don't make male angels small, do they? She murmured as he towered over her.

Golden eyes finally met hers and he gave a slight bow of his head. I am called Kasdeja.

Eisheth couldn't help a burst of glee. You're one of the corrupters of Sodom and Gomorrah. Nice work! She complimented, shaking out the rolled-up blanket and tossing it to him.

Do the cities still stand? Kasdeja asked, catching the blanket and staring at its fluffy blue fabric in confusion.

Nope. Scorched from the Earth. From what I heard, Raphael had quite the fight against you guys. The cities were caught in the crossfire. She informed him, passing him the rope. Sorry, I don't have anything better. I was kind of in a hurry to check this place out. Wrap the blanket around yourself and use the rope as a belt. We can fly once we're out of here, but that will save any important bits from getting scraped on the way out.

And the others? There were five of us guiding those cities. He asked, covering his lower half as directed.

Captured. You're the first I've found. Snatching her flashlight up from the floor and shrugging on her backpack, she headed back toward the edge of the plateau. I'm hoping to release the others, but finding their burial sites has been complicated.

Kasdeja strode past her, jumping from the drop-off and landing solidly below. He looked back at her standing at the edge and raised a hand, expecting her to put her own in it. Mistress...

Eisheth slipped her hand in his, finding his grip warm and strong. He steadied her jump down and frowned when he followed her over to the hole halfway up the cavern wall.

You came in through there? He eyed it skeptically.

She nodded. Yep.

Why not just blast open the cavern top and fly out?

Because the world isn't what you remember. We do that, and fifteen minutes later, our asses are plastered all over Youtube as the latest paranormal 'real or not' video. She scampered up the rocks and tossed her backpack in ahead of her.

You...Tube? He asked hesitantly.

Eisheth looked over her shoulder and smirked. Oh, you're going to love the twenty-first century!

Chapter 1

May 21

––––––––

Seir locked his room door and spun the motel's key ring on his finger, the tattered paper tag displaying his room number fluttering in the chill May wind. The expansive parking lot hosted only the motel owner's ancient white Buick by the check-in office and his own old black Toyota Tercel parked in front of his room. The place wasn't anyone's idea of a popular spot, but it would suit his needs for the night.

The welcoming lights of a 24-hour gas station beckoned him from the other side of the shared parking area and he headed toward it. He'd found a truck stop for breakfast that morning, but he hadn't eaten anything substantial since, opting to keep driving until well after dark. Now, at almost midnight, his dinner options were going to be extremely limited.

Pulling the glass door open, he gave the sleepy-eyed young man behind the cash a courteous nod. The store was deserted this late in the evening, the lanky youth manning the register almost asleep over the textbook he had open on the counter in front of him.

Seir started going through the aisles, trying to find something appetizing. He eyed the selection of frozen entrees, but he hadn't seen a microwave in his brief inspection of the motel room. Settling for two plastic-wrapped cold cut subs, he wandered the aisles looking for snacks. He grabbed a box of granola bars, a big bag of barbecue chips, and a pack of beef jerky to snack on. Managing to balance it all in one arm, he bypassed the beer and snagged a Coke and two more energy drinks from the cooler. It should be enough to hold him over until he found a fast food place to stop at tomorrow.

He dumped his bounty on the counter and the young man started scanning items through unenthusiastically. Seir looked at the racks surrounding the cash desk and added a Twix bar to the pile.

Will that be everything? The cashier asked, having managed to cram everything into one small bag.

Seir nodded and glanced at the register display before he dropped a fifty-dollar bill on the counter. Yep. Thanks. Grabbing the bag, he left without collecting his change.

He pushed the door open with his back and headed out into the lot. The sunshine from today had faded into darkness and a cold gust of wind blew a crumpled-up paper bag across the cracked pavement in front of him. He tilted his head back to take in the sky and felt a stab of disappointment run through him. The bright lights from the gas station had drowned out any sight of the stars.

This wasn't quite what he'd imagined being in the Canadian wilderness was going to be.

Five months ago, when he had awakened from captivity, he'd been lost in a mire of confusion, despair, pain, and self-hatred. Just a wretched, ragged hole in the body of an otherwise good person. Everything he had been up to that point had been overshadowed by the actions his lust-addled brain had let his Incubus body do. Even now, he still wasn't sure exactly what had happened, but his imagination had filled in the blanks of the few flashes of memory he had.

With his brother's mate sobbing and the scent of sex and sated bodies all around, it wasn't hard to figure out what he had done. An Incubus in control could go