Carved (The Road to Hell Series, Book 2) Read online

  CARVED

  Brenda K. Davies

  Copyright © 2016 Brenda K. Davies

  All rights reserved.

  Distributed by Smashwords

  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 ebook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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  Books By The Author

  The Road to Hell Series

  Good Intentions (Book 1)

  Carved (Book 2)

  The Road (Book 3) Coming January 2017

  Into Hell (Book 4) Coming 2017

  The Vampire Awakenings Series

  Awakened (Book 1)

  Destined (Book 2)

  Untamed (Book 3)

  Enraptured (Book 4)

  Undone (Book 5)

  Fractured (Book 6) Coming winter 2016/2017

  Historical Romance

  A Stolen Heart

  Books written under the penname Erica Stevens

  The Captive Series

  Captured (Book 1)

  Renegade (Book 2)

  Refugee (Book 3)

  Salvation (Book 4)

  Redemption (Book 5)

  Broken (The Captive Series prequel)

  Vengeance (Book 6)

  Unbound (Book 7)

  The Fire & Ice Series

  Frost Burn (Book 1)

  Arctic Fire (Book 2)

  Scorched Ice (Book 3) Coming November 2016

  The Kindred Series

  Kindred (Book 1)

  Ashes (Book 2)

  Kindled (Book 3)

  Inferno (Book 4)

  Phoenix Rising (Book 5)

  The Ravening Series

  Ravenous (Book 1)

  Taken Over (Book 2)

  Reclamation (Book 3)

  The Survivor Chronicles

  Book 1: The Upheaval

  Book 2: The Divide

  Book 3: The Forsaken

  Book 4: The Risen

  Dedication

  To all the kids of Sherman and Leonard streets, you know who you are.

  Thank you for the many days of playing in the field, running up town, setting off the railroad tracks, jumping in leaf piles, tree climbing, riding bikes, football, baseball, ghosts in the graveyard, and switching Halloween costumes.

  You made every day an adventure.

  GLOSSARY OF TERMS:

  Adhene demon - Mischievous elf-like demon.

  Akalia Vine - Purple black flowers, orange berries. Draws in victims & drains their blood slowly. Red leaves. Sharp, needle-like suckers under leaves.

  Canagh demon - Male Incubus, Female Succubus. Power thrives on sex but feed on souls on a less regular basis than the other demons. Their kiss enslaves another.

  Carrou Vines - Thick black vines. 6-inch-long thorns. Grow around Canagh demon nests.

  Craetons - Lucifer’s followers.

  The Gates - Varcolac demon has always been the ruler of the guardians of the gates that were used to travel to earth before Lucifer entered Hell.

  Gargoyle - Claws contain a paralyzing agent they use on their prey. When victim is paralyzed, they peel away their skin one strip at a time and eat it.

  Ghosts - Souls can balk against entering Heaven, they have no choice when it comes to Hell.

  Hellhounds - The first pair of Hellhounds also born of the Fires of Creation, with the first varcolac who rose. They share a kindred spirit and are controlled by the varcolac.

  Lanavour demon -The 3rd seal.

  Madagan - A beast from Hell. Resembles a boar with a giant tusk in the center of forehead. Mottled red and black skin, plumes of smoke from a blowhole in top of head. Extended, round skulls, cloven hooves.

  Palitons - Kobal’s followers.

  Revenirs - Mummy-like skeletons. Debilitating cry. Suck life from victims with “kiss”.

  Skelleins - Guardians of the Gates.

  The Wall - Blocks off all of Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Blocks parts of Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, and Arkansas. Similar wall blocks off parts of Europe.

  Wraith - A twisted and malevolent spirit that the demons feed from. On earth they only come out at night.

  Varcolac demon - Born from the fires of Hell. Only one can exist at a time. When that one dies another rises from the Fires of Creation. Fastest and most brutal of all the demons. They are the only kind that can create and open natural gateways within Hell as well as close them. They control the hellhounds.

  DEMON WORDS:

  Mah Kush-la ˈmɑ: - My Heart.

  Mjéod - Mead or a demon drink.

  GLOSSARY OF SYMBOLS: -

  Humans took some of them and turned them into what became known as the Elder Futhark, also known as runes.

  Eiaz - (Tilted Z) - Speed, heightened senses, and protection.

  Risaz - (Straight line with a triangle attached to the middle) - Force of destruction.

  Sowa - (Backwards E with sword piercing the center) - Blade of fire.

  Zenak - (Three wavy lines) - Eternal fire and life.

  Ziwa - (Two V’s with a line connecting the top, like fangs) - Guardian of the hellhounds. Mark is considered gift of strength, endurance, and virility. Considered a blessing and a curse as well as marks bearer as having a piece of the hellhound’s soul within them.

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Other books by the Author

  Glossary of terms, demon words and symbols

  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 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Excerpt from Book 3, The Road

  Where to Find the Author

  CHAPTER 1

  River

  “River, River wake up.”

  I stretched leisurely, a small sigh escaping me as I instinctively turned toward the strong fingers caressing my cheek. My eyes flu
ttered open, and my heart leapt as I took in Kobal looking back at me. It was hard to believe I’d ever found his obsidian eyes, without their whites, a little disturbing. Now, they warmed me and made my toes curl as heat pooled between my thighs.

  My gaze searched his chiseled face, noting the angles of his strong jaw, pointed chin, aquiline nose, and high, broad cheekbones. The deep brown strands in his dark hair were highlighted by the dim glow of the lantern on the bedside table. His hair was longer than when I’d first met him; it now fell in waves next to his eyes. Somehow, the longer hair made him look more enticing and dangerous, if that were possible.

  My gaze lingered on his full mouth as I recalled the scorch of his kiss. Recalled the way his tongue tangled with mine in such a way that it was impossible to think when tasting him. He made it impossible to do anything other than lose myself to the overwhelming sensations and emotions he so effortlessly evoked within me.

  My heart swelled with love. Mine.

  And I was his. He’d claimed me as his Chosen. In response to his nearness, his bites on my skin tingled. Bites meant to mark me for all humans to see, and for every demon to know to whom I belonged, even if the marks faded away.

  I had marked him also. My eyes slid to his neck and the faint hint of my teeth marring his bronzed skin. One of my bites was just above the tips of the intricate flames marking his body. I’d made those bites without fully understanding at the time what had driven me to do so, but since then, I’d come to realize it had been the demon part of me seeking to stake my claim on my Chosen also.

  I didn’t like how faded my marks had become; I needed to remedy that right now.

  His breath froze and his fingers on my cheek stilled when I smiled at him. I went to open my arms to him when I suddenly recalled what had happened last week. A startled cry escaped me. Gripping the blanket, I pulled it against my chest and scrambled up in his bed.

  I may be sleeping in his bed, but he hadn’t shared it with me since he’d ripped the head off the woman who had been trying to kill me and I’d told him to get out. I knew he’d done it to protect me, that when he’d seen Eileen attacking me he’d lost control, and when Kobal lost control, his demon instincts rose to the forefront.

  Yes, Eileen had been trying to kill me, but no one deserved to die the way she had. Her death had been brutal, and Kobal hadn’t shown any remorse about it. He didn’t understand why I was upset about what he’d done to her.

  We were too different from each other to ever possibly work out. A pang stabbed my heart at the thought. You can say those things to him, but don’t lie to yourself, River.

  And it was a lie. I hadn’t distanced myself from him because of what he’d done, or how different we were, I’d done it because I was petrified. I’d done it because I had connected with my ancestor, Lucifer, in a dream.

  In that dream, Lucifer had promised to use me as a weapon to destroy Kobal. The memory of it caused my blood to run cold; I could still feel the evil emanating from him and beating against my skin. Lucifer had prophesied that I would become evil like him. Kobal believed I could never become like Lucifer, but I wasn’t so sure. Whereas I considered Lucifer a distant ancestor, all of the demons, including Kobal and Lucifer himself, considered him to be my father. Some people had black sheep in their family; I shared DNA with the Devil himself, and the knowledge terrified me.

  I wasn’t so foolish or so deep in denial that I couldn’t admit my fear over Lucifer’s words was a big part of the reason I’d taken a step back from Kobal. I couldn’t be the catalyst for his destruction when I loved him so much, and when he’d been the only one of his kind to survive Lucifer for any length of time.

  Kobal had never claimed to love me; I knew he cared for me and I was bound to him for as long as my mortal life would allow us to be together, but it was best if we kept our distance from each other. At least that was what I’d told myself a thousand times a day since we’d stopped sleeping together, and for the most part, stopped speaking to each other.

  So now, I tore myself to shreds to keep my distance from him. At one time, I’d connected with Kobal through his dreams. There, I’d seen his fantasies of me, fantasies that had eventually come to life, but since I’d pulled Lucifer into my dream, I had somehow shut down my ability to connect with Kobal, or anyone else while dreaming.

  Before Lucifer, I never would have thought that I could control my ability in such a way. However, I had a feeling the subconscious part of me that had originally reached out to Kobal and Lucifer, was trying to keep my heart and mind protected by making sure I didn’t connect with them now. Or maybe there was nothing subconscious about any of it and my ability to control what I did in my dreams was growing as my powers grew.

  Some nights I contemplated trying to connect with Kobal’s dreams again, but what I might see there worried me. Would he be dreaming of other women? Would he be dreaming of me still? I didn’t think I could continue to keep my distance from him if I saw his body moving over and within mine again, not when I craved his touch every second of the day. If he dreamed of someone else, my already battered heart would never be able to take it.

  My eyes were drawn to the hellhounds on his left arm when he shifted his weight. They were so realistic looking with their razor-like fangs and curved claws that I could almost feel their breath on my face. Flames twisted around them as they looked ready to leap from his arm.

  On his other arm, more flames swirled over his flesh. Within the flames were intricate markings he'd once explained were from his ancient language. The black markings on both of his arms started on the back of his hands and traveled up to his shoulders. The tips of the flames licked the base of his neck before traveling down to his chest.

  I couldn’t see them now, but I knew each of his pectoral muscles had a circular pattern of flames around them, as was the same with his shoulder blades on his back. The rest of his finely honed body was bare of any markings.

  I knew his body almost as well as my own. I knew what it felt like to have him buried deep within me, knew every dip and hollow of his etched muscles, and I clearly recalled the taste of his skin. I’d spent hours locked in his arms.

  I shivered at the memory of those moments and pulled the blanket closer against me; he lifted his eyebrow before rising to his full height. A foot taller than my five foot nine frame, he was the most massive man I’d ever seen with his broad chest, thighs the size of logs, and arms the size of large branches. And I had let him go.

  You’re an idiot. Yep, wasn’t going to argue with that, but I would do everything I could to try to protect him, even if it meant hurting us both.

  “What are you doing here?” I inquired, proud my voice came out stable when all I wanted was to trace the markings running over his skin as I molded my body against his, holding him and blocking the world out for just a few hours.

  “I came to get you,” he replied dryly. His detached coldness rattled me as he surveyed me; I despised it even while knowing I’d caused it. “Get dressed.”

  “We’re leaving already?” I blurted, my eyes darting to the wind-up clock on the stand beside the lantern.

  We were supposed to start the mission today, heading into the center of the decimated country and toward Hell itself. I’d been told we were leaving at sunrise, but plans must have changed, as the clock now read midnight.

  “No. Get dressed and come with me,” he ordered.

  “Why?”

  “Do you have to question everything I say?”

  “Yes.”

  A muscle throbbed in his temple. I didn’t know why I was arguing with him. I simply knew this was the most we’d spoken in days and I didn’t care what I had to do to make it last longer.

  “It’s important. Get dressed, River.”

  He turned on his heel and stalked out of the tent. The only sign he’d been there was the rippling of the flap as it fell back into place behind him. I sat for a minute before tossing aside the covers and swinging my legs over the side of the bed.
I tugged on the flaxen brown pants and brown shirt, that had become the mainstay of my wardrobe since arriving on this side of the wall.

  Brown was the color the volunteers wore until they completed training. The only color on their uniforms was a single band used to mark their groups. My band had been yellow, but once I’d started training with the soldiers who would be making this journey with us, I’d stopped wearing the band.

  I would be going on this mission with soldiers who wore forest green uniforms, but I hadn’t asked for different clothes so I could match the others. I’d stood out from everyone since I’d been brought here; there was nothing that would help me blend in with them more now.

  Besides, Corson, one of Kobal’s seconds-in-command, had informed us during part of our orientation for this journey that the Craeton demons, those on Lucifer’s side of this war, would tear us to shreds and bathe in our blood no matter the color of our outfit. The muted colors we wore were to help us blend in with our environment a little better.

  Some of Corson’s other encouraging words during his spiel were to expect anything and everything. Most of it would be hideously worse and more lethal than anything we could ever imagine. The fact he had sparkly, red, beaded earrings dangling from the pointy tips of his elf-like ears had done nothing to ease the fear his words created.

  I knew this journey was going to be awful, and many probably wouldn’t survive it, but I tried not to dwell on it. Dwelling on the unknown was a guaranteed way to shred the already thin line holding my composure together.

  I’d been on an emotional roller coaster ride since being forced to leave my family behind and come here. Being informed I was part demon and angel and the only living descendent of Lucifer hadn’t helped. To cap it all off, I’d fallen for a bossy, domineering, short-tempered demon, who had completely stolen my heart before I’d ended the relationship. I couldn’t deal with worrying about what was to come on top of it all.