Born of Chaos: A New Adult Paranormal Romance Novel

Prologue

The books have it wrong: they call me Lucifer.

The Morning Star.

The Devil.

But they missed one small detail.

The most beautiful angel in Heaven wasn’t a man.

My friends call me Stella. I’m the one who fell.

And actually…I jumped.

Chapter 1

DAMNED recruited me thousands of years after I jumped through the gates of Heaven with a smile on my face. The fall didn’t hurt nearly as much as it did to sign a contract with a government agency of the United States, to see my name in bright red ink at the end of a thirty-page, legally binding document, but what could you do?

Hard times.

D.M.N.D., otherwise known as the Department of Metaphysical and Naturalistic Detection, was a bastard offshoot of the U.S. government given a bad rap among those in the know because it employed creatures like me to do its bidding. Not everyone could handle a fallen angel, let alone the actual devil herself.

But DAMNED sure tried.

There’s been another magical surge along the coast.

I rested my head in my hand and rolled my eyes toward the voice. Lix Tetrax, the fallen angel of wind, had been with me since the beginning, since the jump heard round the world, and still she snuck up on me. At least I’d managed to get my reaction under control this time. It was a game we played together. She snuck, I screamed, our coworkers laughed.

They want one of us to go and see what we can find, she added, tapping her black boot against the worn carpet with consistent thuds.

Sorry. Hard pass, I told her. I stared at the television screen mounted on the wall of the break room. I’m not feeling it today.

Lix cracked a grin and grabbed the chair next to me, back first, and saddled it with a dramatic flare. Her head twisted to the side, eyes wide and dark, her arms crossing over the top of the back. The picture of angelic innocence and malaise rolled into a single package.

They say it’s an unauthorized summoning by a group of pagan demon worshipers. Cultists, if you will. We’re the only ones who can authenticate the occurrence and stop the responsible parties before they strike again. If there are any. You know, because demons happen to be our specialty.

I could practically hear her eye roll, although I didn’t turn in her direction to see for certain.

No regular police force hoped to handle a summoning, especially not when actual demons were involved. It took a qualified individual to deal with the aftermath of a summoning. Although any half-brained idiot within a two-mile radius could feel the power surge. Before you knew what was happening, a horned god with berry-colored eyes was trampling down the center square and wreaking havoc. It was a normal Tuesday.

All jesting aside, these were not good times to be human in New Orleans. Not with occultists and strange magics on the rise. These kinds of swells made people do strange things and even the normies were feeling the difference.

I didn’t believe a word out of Lix’s mouth, however, and filled my own with a pile of candy corn. A personal weakness. Is that what Horus told you? I asked through the candy.

Horus was our handler, one of about half a dozen assigned to handle rogue fallen angels aka demons aka me and the four others who decided it was better to stay on earth than continue to fight an angelic game of tug-of-war.

But after working with the government all these years, I wasn’t so sure we’d made the right choice. Politics were politics no matter where you landed.

Lix flicked long ebony hair over her shoulder with nails sharp enough to slit through a piece of paper. Or a throat, whichever the situation called for. Something along those lines, yeah. I stopped paying attention about three sentences in. I’m pretty sure that was the gist of it, however.

Lix and I were as far apart in looks as two angels could get. She didn’t exactly fit the mold of stereotypical heavenly being, with line straight black hair and eyes to match. Her lithe body could have belonged to a dancer or prima ballerina. Whereas I…

If I didn’t lay off the candy corn, I wouldn’t be able to fit into my skinny jeans. Then what kind of Devil would I be? The kind with long blond hair, purple eyes, and a muffin top.

Still a hard pass, I replied with a candy-coated grin.

Lix sighed. You hardly move for anything less than earth shattering anymore.

It’s not my fault. I’m busy. I have better things to do than investigate purported pagan demon worshipers. If those guys can’t even bother to do the research and get their facts right, then they aren’t worth my time, I said. Horus can kiss my beautiful deviant ass.

Lix went a shade paler than white. You know he’s probably listening. He doesn’t appreciate when you tell him to kiss things, Stella.

When the police and public government offices had difficulty covering up a magical event, the kind they were not equipped to handle, they called in D.M.N.D.. They spoke to Horus, or any of the other handlers, and they made the decision on what team to send out. If the job happened to involve any kind of divine being, those not originally of this world, then Horus called in me and my squad. Team Alpha.

At least it gave me a purpose.

I grimaced and rubbed at the side of my mouth.

Can you really afford to be this picky with your tasks, Stel? Lix continued. She glanced down to my stomach. "Sitting here eating candy corn all day isn’t exactly good for your…mind."

I sat for another moment in the shadowy break room of the government facility we called our home away from home, staring down at my pile of dwindling candy corn, raising my eyebrows at her statement. Did she make a good point? Yes.

Did I dislike the point immensely?

Also yes.

"Fine, you win. I’ll go with you. I mean, a cult of demon worshiping pagans could be fun."

Yes, and pigs would fly soon. But then again, if things were different, I’d be out of a job.

Standing, I rubbed my side and the ribs that still ached from the last task Horus had sent us on, a wendigo with an attitude and a heavenly sword, though who knew where it had gotten the last one.

My smile had a bit of an edge to it when I faced my friend, I was sure. Ready to head out?

Lix responded with an eager nod. Since when did death put her in such a good mood?

I followed her down a short hallway painted in shades of gray that must have been on closeout sale, the color of a water-bloated corpse. Horus hated it when I drew the comparison. Which meant I did it often and loudly.

I liked to think it kept him on his toes and made him appreciate my company even more.

Whatever had happened tonight with the demon worshipers, Lix and I were more than enough to handle anything we’d find at the scene. We didn’t need to bother the boys.

We passed through the wards keeping D.M.N.D. headquarters protected from otherworldly predators and unsuspecting civilians. The force of magic washed easily over us as reality stretched tight, until Lix and I popped out on the other side of the wall and stood on the sidewalk next to what looked to everyone else like a shabby office building.

It could have been at home in any city. The spells keeping us safe from hostile magic on the inside also made efforts to conceal the true size of the building from the outside. It left us with a squat two-story box of concrete, complete with rusted green metal roof and steel bars securing the small dingy windows.

No place like home.

In every other way, we were like any government facility in the area: a place where the staff worked in relative quiet and the field agents were kept far away from the general public. No one knew that the divine hid alongside the mundane world of paperwork and computer networks.

I touched the wall behind me and drew in a breath, making sure the wards were secure before we left. Better to check twice than come back to a steaming pile of--

Are you ready for this? Lix asked, the outline of her wings flickering behind her. They were a twist of shadow, a shimmer of black pulsing for a second before disappearing again.

The pagans had done us a favor and completed their summoning—if it had actually worked—at the stroke of midnight. The darkness gave us partial cover from prying eyes. The streets were quiet, hazy moonlight sifting down on the sidewalk and the metal storm grates. Beyond here, the majority of the city of New Orleans slept, blissfully ignorant in their beds. A deceptive kind of peace.

I knew better than to hope.

A deep breath brought with it the scents of the city, car exhaust, and fried food. The crush of humanity. This was the life I’d chosen. This was what I’d risked the wrath of heaven to find.

Kinda made a girl wonder about her priorities.

Come on, I gestured to Lix. Let’s get this over with.

What? Are you afraid you’re going to miss some prime reality tv if this takes too long? she teased.

We both wore street clothes, tight fitting leggings and loose t-shirts to enable easy movement if ass-kicking was required. Which it usually was.

I held out a hand to her, closing my eyes and pulling on the spark of divinity inside of me, the one lying beneath the human mask I wore. You’re damn right.

We winked out of existence, there and gone in the blink. Better than air travel. Horus had given Lix the location of the summons, and I followed the knowledge in her head, the spark inside of us giving us a mental bridge to each other. The closer we worked together, the more that bridge strengthened, until I could pluck the information from inside of her with half a thought.

Seconds later, we wound our way through an underground garage with fluorescent lighting flickering overhead and the scent of the bayou nearby adding a layer of haze to the air.

I cursed Horus under my breath. It’s like he gave us these assignments on purpose. He knew how much I hated enclosed spaces, especially underground. Parking garages fit the bill perfectly, yet here we stood.

This is definitely where murders happen, I told Lix. A snap of my fingers brought a bluish ball of light into existence, hovering just above my palm. A small and pretty display of angelic magic. "I’m pretty sure I saw this exact garage on an episode of Making a Murderer. Do you see a chalk body outline anywhere?"

Lix shrugged, raising an eyebrow like she wanted to tell me to stop fooling around, but she agreed. Does it matter? If you get taken down by a human, then you don’t deserve your title or your paycheck.

Ah, yes. The Almighty Lucifer. That’s me. I released a hysterical cackle I hoped worthy of the situation. My voice echoed back to me, and I nearly jumped.

Okay, not doing that again.

We stepped farther into the darkened garage until our steps fell in unison. We were not born hunters. In fact, we were born of the light, and the darkness had become ours only out of necessity.

Not what the books said, but most of those were lies anyway.

What do we have? I asked Lix.

A shadow on the ground ahead of us shifted all on its own. Imagination? Creature of the night?

Power stirred in the air, and my blood crackled in response.

Barest minimum information with prerogative to apprehend but not kill anyone we find at the scene, she answered immediately.

So nothing to worry about, I told myself. Still, I didn’t sense anyone else in the vicinity. No other living beings besides the two of us. It didn’t make sense.

Neurons snapped, putting the pieces together.

Crime scene, maybe, but no elements of a summoning. No candles, ritualistic alter, no bones, feathers, or elements of earth.

Lix must have realized the same things seconds behind me. Her eyes flashed, and she stared at me. This is too strange. Her change of tone had me turning to her. All humor had drained from her face.

I had a bad feeling. A flicker in the universe that probably meant nothing in the long run and everything in this moment.

We found the body with relative ease, laying spread eagle with blood pooling beneath it. A single body.

Golden blood.

No summoning, then.

Either our pagans did something terribly wrong...or someone here called down an angel, I said, almost as an afterthought.

Someone, or something, had opened the angel’s chest cavity and ripped through muscle and bone, tearing away its heart.

His heart, I realized with a start. Although the wings had disappeared, I recognized the span. The iridescent glow left behind in the ashes. An angel’s wings were our signature, unmistakable to anyone else with a divine spark.

Baraqijal.

My stomach plummeted. A chill slid over me. It wasn’t important.

Baraqijal was one of the fallen. He hadn’t jumped alongside me, but I knew of his descent to Earth. Poor bastard. He didn’t deserve this. The fallen weren’t the monsters everyone thought we were.

This was bad. My stomach lurched at the blood, revulsion hitting me hard and causing my stomach to lurch. I shouldn’t have eaten all those candy corns before coming here.

No one else around, I said with a gulp. Seems like our cultists cleared out pretty quick.

Something didn’t feel right. The tiny hairs on the back of my arm stood to attention, and my stomach lurched against a wave of fear.

What in the Heavens was going on here?

I threw a meaningful glance in Lix’s direction, and I saw the tension in her shoulders and her legs.

Though my heart was shuddering away in my ears like a loose engine, I stood perfectly still and met her eyes with an unflinching stare.

Still think this case wasn’t worth your time? She spoke softly though each word landed hard.

I put my hand to the ground and closed my eyes, tuning in. Trying to think like a cop rather than an angel. Going still. Waiting.

There’s something hidden in plain sight, I told Lix. As long as you have the key. Can’t you feel it?

A pulse, an undercurrent. An unmistakable something in the air that didn’t belong.

You know I can’t understand you when you have a sugar high. Talk to me in a way I’ll understand.

In a single motion I whipped around and grabbed her wrist, using the sharpness of her index finger nail to slice cleanly through my wrist.

Stella!

Lix froze, her fingers curving into claws at the thick golden blood swelling from the wound and slowly dripping onto the corpse. My face twisted against a flash of pain that came and left within seconds. A curse that came along with pretending to be human for too long.

The instant my blood touched the gaping hole where his heart used to be, his skin began to blaze with white fire. My power collided with whatever spell surrounded Baraqijal and with a single drop of blood, all hell broke loose.

When would I learn?

It was like using an atomic bomb to kill an ant. The invisibility spell could have been handled more delicately; instead, I’d caused a reaction.

Magic pulsed again and I gasped, my lungs constricting, the space around us blurring. A spasm shook the whole of me, and through the screeching of the flames, my heart sounded a death toll. Wind picked up from nowhere and batted us like child’s playthings.

I reached for Lix and grabbed hold of her in the middle of the tangle of currents, trying to see through the wind as my eyes went watery.

Do something! I demanded.

The fallen angel of wind. She should have power over the maelstrom. She simply shook her head. Too caught up to even try.

I reached deep inside of my light, the light of heaven, the light of the first conscious beings to walk this universe. It permeated me, flowing outward as sparks along my skin. My essence became that light, luminescing into the physical world, molten lava from a volcano.

Settle down, Stella, and control your power.

It had been too long since I’d wielded my full might. Even that drop of blood packed enough power to send the state into the Gulf of Mexico. A bomb when a fly swatter would have sufficed.

Admit it. You like the power.

I shoved the devilish voice in my head aside and focused on controlling the mess I’d started.

The body of the dead angel began to lift from the ground. I opened my mouth, struggling to call it down, pouring my magic into keeping us grounded to the earth. Tugging the reins and calling it to heel.

Eventually the world stopped spinning around us. The parking garage refocused. I forced us to anchor against the ebb of the magic I’d called.

And I stared down at the words written across the skin of our dead comrade.

Words that should not have been there.

With Lix catching her breath next to me, I bent down and ran my finger along the first letter, feeling the prickle of blood magic. Poorly one, but effective. Whoever made the mark clearly had at least a little skill.

Why do you always have to do things the hard way? she panted.

Exhausted—I needed to get back into fighting shape—a lump rose in my throat. Whoever had called this being and marked him had taken great pains to hide the identity of the fallen. This wasn’t a summoning gone wrong.

This was an execution.

Stel, take a look. Lix had gotten over her indecision and pointed down at an area near the shattered ribs.

I struggled with the feeling of being strangled for a few agonizing seconds before I pushed it aside. I had work to do. Couldn’t very well get caught up in nostalgia now.

Lix continued to point. Symbol. Familiar, it looks like Enochian, but I can’t make it out.

Acid coated the roof of my mouth, and shivers had my spine straightening. Not good. Yeah, an understatement.

I knew the symbol. Lix wouldn’t be familiar with it, because as far as she knew, it didn’t exist. I’d invented it, a swirling circle around five raised fingers, palm open, and an arrow shooting straight up through the middle.

Aindrila.

The female star.

And my last name.

Chapter 2

We couldn’t leave the body of the fallen angel in the parking garage. The parking garage held no other clues for us.

Loathe as I was to get my hands dirty, I gathered Baraqijal against my chest. He definitely deserved better than this. He hadn’t been a bad guy. Heavier than I thought he’d be without his head and wings and heart, but a decent soul while alive. Irritation punched my insides.

The body was slick and kept trying to return to a prone position on the cracked asphalt. Heaving a sigh, I fought to maintain my hold on the slippery corpse.

Stay up! I demanded. For some reason, it didn’t want to obey the command.

Cross your fingers this is a singular occurrence, Lix murmured. Otherwise, we’ll be the ones on the hunted list.

She closed her eyes and summoned a gentle wind through the space. It whirled above the pooled blood and gathered the droplets into itself. She guided the blood soaked air into the palm of her hand, willing it to solidify and dropping it into her pocket.

It was a nifty trick.

I wouldn’t worry, I said with more bravado than I felt, considering my sweaty palms. We’re government agents. Highest security clearance in the country. Besides, we can take care of ourselves.

When I glanced over, my friend wore a patient expression that drove me mad because it clearly said I was being irrational.

What?

If you think your security clearance is going to keep you safe against an angel killer, then maybe you want to rethink some things in your life. Lix patted her pocket. Someone ripped off his wings and carved out his heart, Stel. This wasn’t an accident. It was deliberate.

And these are things we will discuss when we’re back at D.M.N.D.. Let’s just return to base so I can drop him off. He’s heavy.

A flash of divine magic brought us back to the exterior of our building. The Louisiana air hung heavy and damp, adding to the slight sheen of sweat from all the physical exertion.

I shifted, cradling Baraqijal on my hip like a mother with a heavy toddler, and held my hand out to the cement façade while Lix maintained a glamour to keep us hidden.

Authorized personnel only.

The ward read my energy signature, Lix beside me, and allowed us entry. We sank through the wall and a narrow hallway greeted us. It stretched to a double staircase, and we headed down.

No one around, inside or out.

If I’d been in a better mind space, I might have found that odd, disconcerting even.

The stairs ended on a landing with twin doors painted in the same disgusting gray. The color of the fallen angel’s skin, I noted weakly. Bad thought. Oh Heaven, the paperwork ahead of us…

This day would never end.

You could make it all end.

The monster in my blood wanted out. Back in your box, I thought, and pushed it down, down, down into the quiet of my soul.

Lix pushed ahead, holding the door open for me. I inclined my head to her in thanks before walking down another discrete hallway. The extra short pile of the gray carpet absorbed our steps, and when I glanced behind, I noticed we’d left a blood trail. I must have jarred his wounds loose with the astral travel.

Great. Super.

We marched down the hallway side by side until we reached the entrance to a small infirmary.

Let’s leave him here and call for Margie, I supplied.

Margie was a short gray-haired woman who kept her hair in neat little curls and her mortuary cleaner than a sterilized lab. She was also the best technician we had. Especially for a human.

A little winded?

I noted Lix’s smirk. I didn’t care. I’m in tip top shape, thank you very much, but we’re leaving a trail and maintenance isn’t going to be happy. That was an exhalation of disgust, not exhaustion.

I set the body down on top of a stainless-steel table, trying my best not to think about the sigil still glowing on its chest. And trying not to put my hand over it to stop the glow.

Aindrila.

Why would the dead angel hold