Pilot: An Angel and A Demon

This is the first chapter of a story that came to me in a dream. Set in the fictional city of Santa Josina, two girls are swept up in a battle between angels and demons. I wanted to post the synopsis and first chapter to get a feel for whether this idea is something readers would be interested in.

Description: 17-year-old Evangeline is the daughter of a business executive who gets excellent grades and always knows what styles are in fashion. Her childhood friend, Dez, seems like her polar opposite. A rebel with a shameless weed habit, Dez is usually too busy helping pay her parents' rent to care about other people. But when an angel recruits Dez to a battle for the souls of Santa Josina, she discovers that the one person she thought she knew had been keeping a dark secret. Her best friend is a demon and has been for years. For Dez, the battle for Santa Josina is the only way to save her friend's soul. But for Evangeline, she doesn't want to be saved. Becoming a demon gave her the freedom she wanted, and killing an angel would be her ticket to climbing the ranks of Hell itself.

CHAPTER ONE: GIRL GONE BLOODY

Life for a high school girl can be hard when you’re a demon.

I learned that the hard way when I almost killed my best friend. Don’t worry, I said almost. But before we get to that, we have to back up a bit. That night had started when I’d just sat down after taking a shower, dressed down to my bra and leggings to let my hair dry while I did a little studying, when there was a knock on my window.

I turned and looked outside, not that anyone could have climbed up to my penthouse, at least not anyone human. It took a second, but I immediately knew what it was. There’s this sort of sixth sense between demons. My skin warmed and there was a light pressure on my ears like I was in an airplane.

But I couldn’t see the demon. I quickly stepped out of my room to do a sweep of my apartment. No, my parents didn’t know I was a demon. Quite the opposite, in our little family, I was their perfect angel. Besides, how would they find out? Dad had executive meetings for nine months out of the whole year, and Mom was too busy cheating on Dad to notice what I was up to, as long as my grades stayed perfect. And tonight, it looked like she had already gone out to reel in another catch.

The knock came from outside, but that was the kind of trick I would have pulled. Against the Mundane it would’ve worked, but I listened to the heat on my skin like I was some kind of evil compass. They weren’t in Mom’s room, and the living room didn’t have enough hiding spots. I reached under the kitchen sink and drew my 1911, bracing myself for two options: a wicked party or a bloody fight. Demons only hung around other demons for those two things, and they weren’t always exclusive.

I checked the pool, careful not to stand too close to the edge of the rooftop. But they would’ve had to be a pretty stupid demon to try and surprise me near a saltwater pool. From what I’ve heard, Hell didn’t have any salt, and most demons were allergic. Like “I carry an epipen because of a nut allergy” kind of allergic.

“Come out, fucker,” I said mordantly, stalking back to my room. “I swear to every Prince in Hell I’ll rip your brains out your ass if you make me play hide and seek.

I slowly creaked my door open with my pistol aimed forward, flicking the safety off as I felt the heat on my skin growing. I burst through the door and it took all of half a second to bring the sights up to my eyes, and just as much time for my hair to blacken and my skin to turn blood red. Finger on the trigger and ready to give my wallpaper a new coat of demon blood, I realized at the last second I wouldn’t need to.

Lying on my bed was a round, puckish, goat-horned demon with green eyes. He wore clothes, thank God, but nothing more than a grease-stained tropical t-shirt and an ugly pair of swimming trunks. I would’ve shot him for putting his feet on my bed if he wasn’t picking his gums with a Stygian knife, a blade forged in Hell itself that could cut straight to a Mundane soul. That, and also because I recognised him. Unfortunately.

“You’re quite the boorish host.” The lower demon flashed a toothy grin. “I thought you Mundies cared about hospitality.”

I put my hand on my hip, even with my gun still trained on him. “What are you doing here, Pog?”

“There’s this girl I’m looking for, Evangeline,” he said, still picking his teeth. “Blonde hair, whiter than the north pole, a real classic American doll. Nah, I’m probably in the wrong place. A girl like that should be positively parsimonious and impetulant.” He pointed with his knife. “You’re too pernicious to be her.”

I rolled my eyes and tucked my pistol into my leggings. Demons, even the dumb disgusting ones, liked playing with Mundane words. “Enough histrionics. Answer the question.”

He shrugged. “Can’t I see an old friend? Well, I suppose I’ve seen you plenty of times. But peeping through the window just isn’t the same as the full view.”

He licked his lips and reached out to pinch my side, and I couldn’t have slapped his hairy hands away any faster.

“Don’t fucking touch me!” I growled.

“Alright, sheesh,” Pog clenched back, rubbing his wrist. “I came to play the messenger imp this time. Negl sent a call out for every demon in Santa Josina to meet at his Den at midnight. That includes you, Halfie.”

Suddenly, I felt the urge to grab my gun again. “Call me that one more time.”

Pog stuck his tongue out. “What are you gonna do, Halfie? That pea shooter’s only going to slow me down.”

My lips curled themselves back into a scowl as I heaved a mental sigh. “Tell Negl he can keep his drugs. I have calculus homework to do.” Then I turned my back to Pog, a dangerous thing even against a lower demon, and sat at my desk, returning to my textbook as my hair and skin returned to their usual colour.

“Oh, I don’t think you want to be contumacious this time, sweetheart. Negl’s been unusually fastidious about this particular problem plaguing his premises, and it’s a real pervasive one too. Every agent of Hell’s gonna want to hear what he has to say.”

“And why is that?”

Pog’s cheeks pulled back into a murderous grin. “Two demons were eradicated last night. An angel has come to Santa Josina.”

I couldn’t stop myself from turning around even if I wanted to. Angels were powerful, one of them could destroy thousands of demons on their own. Even so, demons were always eager to find an angel. Killing one was like winning the lottery: impossible risk with a life-changing reward. The soul of an angel had enough power to turn any demon into a Lord of Hell, equal to the First Princes.

“Hey,” Pog snapped his fingers at me, “be a little more loquacious, will ya? You coming or what? As soon as word gets out that there’s an angel in town, every demon in the west coast’s going to be sticking their nose in our business.”

I blinked, not answering him yet.

Being a demon can be hard when you’re a high school girl. One night you’re fourteen and a lesser demon named Pog takes you to his boss to remake you into a Halfie. The next thing you know, you’re seventeen and partying with demons a hundred years older than you. Your creator was a Lord of Hell, making you equal to any Hell-born demon, but their sneers tell you that there’s more, that you’ll never really be in control with the way you are now.

“Homework can wait,” I said, bringing out my demon side again. My skin was flushed with heat, like opening an oven after an hour of baking.

But even as I threw on my crop top and jeans, I knew I shouldn’t have let Pog get in my head. I had been a demon for only three years; high demons with centuries of life could die like flies to an angel. This time wouldn’t be any different. If there was an angel in Santa Josina, that’s because someone high up wanted us demons out of the city. But the promise of power was more addictive than Sin.

Thinking back on it, even if I knew what would happen later at midnight, I don’t know if I would have refused the invitation.