Realms of Fantasy
an angel/demon anthology from Mychael Black & Shayne Carmichael
Samhain Publishing
Created to be equal, yet divided by the Fall.
Hunter and the Prey
When is it in the best interests of an angel to run like hell? Lev is
about to finds out when he tries to destroy Alael, a demon from the
Order of Blood.
Angels of Blood
The Order of Chaos sends Adon on a mission to exterminate Irael, a
rogue angel who has set himself up as a god on the ninth world of the
universe. But Adon has his own agenda, and the chaos that follows could
very well destroy them both.
Unholy Need
As an angel of the Lower Order of Creation, Nichael’s mission is to
stop a power-hungry wizard from shifting the balance of power between
Michael and Lucifer. His own equilibrium is thrown when he’s dragged
into saving the life of Nias, a young demon.
Order of the Highest
Talah, a demon of the Disillusioned, is sent by the powerful ruler
Sepha to scout the Order of the Highest. There he encounters Aridas,
equal in power and just as determined. Can Talah survive their power
struggle?
The True Fall of Lucifer
Cast out from The Court of Heaven, blinded by eons of pain and
bitterness, Lucifer has been separated far too long from the other half
of his soul. Michael must show Lucifer the truth of their existence—or
lose his only chance to bring the Prince of Hell back to where he truly
belongs.
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Excerpt from "Hunter and the Prey":
“Is that him?”
Lev nodded, giving only a noncommittal sound in response. He had been
tracking this one for nearly four years, and every time he came close
to striking, the foul creature would flash a dark smile his way then
disappear without a trace. This time, Lev was determined to succeed.
This game of cat-and-mouse was getting old.
“Is it time?” the younger one beside him asked, almost
under his breath. Lev couldn’t blame him, really. He’d been
nervous on his first mission, too.
“Not yet.” Just a bit longer, Lev neglected to add.
Despite his annoyance with this game, Lev found himself seeking this
demon out…for his own purposes. Ebony hair that shimmered blue
in the moonlight drew a straight line for Lev’s eyes to follow,
down the exquisite form of a male body. Dark eyes laughed at him,
mirroring the devilish smile, every time they crossed paths. This time
was no different, but once again Lev found himself too mesmerized to
act when his chance came. Before he could even blink, the creature
disappeared in a cloud of blue-black smoke.
“Wow.”
The exclamation from the young one beside him told Lev he understood.
He stood from where he’d been crouching and stretched his arms
over his head. The silver of his wings shimmered in the scant light of
a streetlamp, and his gaze lingered where the creature had been.
“Are they all…”
Lev glanced down at the young angel still hunched near his feet. The
young one’s lack of words conveyed much. “No. They are not
all created as the picture of beauty.”
The young angel looked back at the empty space, where only moments
before the most beautiful creature of Hell had stood. “But he
was.”
Lev nodded. “Yes. He most certainly was.”
Heaven above, what was he thinking? Four years ago, Lev had been sent
to hunt this one down, a rogue minion straight from the bowels of Hell,
freed by a foolish dabbler in arcane arts and left to wander the Earth.
Four years ago, Lev had told many of them they were crazy. They had
tried to warn him, tried to tell him of the creature’s beauty,
but he had not believed them. Until he saw Alael for himself.
Now, he was growing tired of the games. Four years was a long time to
harbor a deep-seated ache for something one should never want to begin
with.
He waited for the young angel at his side—Simael, his name was.
As Simael stood, Lev pushed stray thoughts of Alael from his mind. This
was a training mission, and the last thing he needed was his mind on
things other than teaching Simael the fine art of demon-hunting.
“Come.” The one word was a clear command, and Lev gave Simael only the slightest glance before lifting into the air.
As they moved unseen above the city, Lev watched the young angel
carefully, looking for signs of quick learning. Then Simael dipped, and
Lev followed. He sensed the lesser taint and hoped Simael did as well.
He smiled as the angel did not disappoint. They landed in the middle of
a thickly wooded park. Lev let Simael lead the way, knowing the young
one needed to learn to trust his senses. A lesser imp lay in wait in
the blackness of an alley, hoping for a hapless soul to wander by, one
who would be weak enough to entice. At the sight of the two angels, the
imp cowered then jumped, leaping up to the top of the four-story
building beside him.
Lev sighed and nodded, waving his hand in the direction the imp had taken. “After you,” he said with a wry grin.
For two hours, they chased the imp—a sleek, red-skinned creature
with tiny, almost useless wings and razor sharp teeth. No taller than a
four-year-old child, the imp was relatively harmless, but he was a
menace nonetheless. When they finally cornered him, Lev stood back,
letting Simael lead the fight. It was a short one and, with a bolt from
Simael’s palm and a high-pitched shriek from the imp, the little
demon disappeared in sparkles of light. Lev smiled.
“Very good!” He clapped his hand on Simael’s back and
nodded toward the portal opening before them. “Return now to the
Order, and take your rest. We will continue your training next week. I
have a good amount to catch up on down here.”
“Thank you,” Simael said before stepping through the portal.
As the doorway closed behind Simael, Lev sighed. He didn’t mind
teaching, but his own work went neglected when he did. The Order of
Harmony maintained a balance in the physical realms and part of
Lev’s job was to train the younger angels.
He turned and started for home, which, for the time being, was nothing
more than an oversized loft apartment in a renovated warehouse. On loan
from the Diocese of Washington, it was better than most places,
especially when one couldn’t land a normal job for lack of
sufficient—and believable—identification.
As he neared the warehouse, Lev’s mind wandered back to the one
place he knew it should not venture. Yet no matter how hard he tried,
he always thought of Alael, the sinfully graceful devil who had
captured his imagination…in more ways than one. If the
Higher-Ups knew what was going on in his head, Lev would never hear the
end of it. While it wasn’t an issue that was entirely forbidden,
it was certainly frowned upon. Lev knew the rumors would run rampant if
word got out that he fantasized regularly about a demon.
He had just started down the sidewalk that led to the main entry of the
building when he felt an all-too-familiar presence. He stopped walking
and closed his eyes, all the while trying desperately to reign in his
insanely beating heart. This time was different. He could feel it. He
was now the hunted.
Turning in a slow circle, he looked around the deserted parking lot.
Aside from the few cars belonging to church officials, he saw nothing.
Yet the feeling of being watched remained, and Lev knew he had a
choice. Alael was giving him a choice: destroy him, or give in. And
that was the question that loomed in Lev’s mind, as his head told
him to destroy the demon once and for all, but his heart? Now that was
a whole different story.
“Funny how the hunter can easily become the hunted.”
Lev spun around, knowing that voice well. Its rich tone had haunted him
for four years, speaking to him in the dead of night, when his
fantasies drove him to the brink of madness. Now he stood, once more
face to face with the very demon he had vowed to destroy, and yet he
couldn’t bring himself to move a single muscle.
Alael stepped out of the darkness near a corner of the building, his
black feathery wings settled against his back as he approached Lev.
Stalked was a better word, really, as the demon’s movements were
sleek and graceful like a cat’s. Lev knew, if he were to give
into his darkest fantasies, the demon would purr…and growl. Both
sounds echoed in Lev’s mind every time he climaxed at his own
hand.
“I could destroy you easily,” Lev said, exuding a calm he certainly did not feel.
“Ah,” the demon said with a soft, silky purr. “But you won’t.”