Mercury Rising Read online

  Mercury Rising

  7even Circles

  Book 2

  KD Jones

  Copyright 2016 KD Jones

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

  Table of Contents

  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

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  BLURB

  She was born from the light and forged in the fires of hell to be a warrior.

  At least that’s what Cassandra Adira Knight was told and is being thoroughly trained for.

  But how is she supposed to fight demons and save the world when she can’t even figure out which guy she wants to be with? It doesn’t help at all that her best friend is not talking to her, and that dead bodies start showing up.

  Cass better get her shit together because…7even Circles is here and the mercury is rising.

  Chapter 1

  “Do it again, Cassandra!” the angry man yelled at her. He was always yelling at her. She didn’t like him very much. His face got all red and spit came out of his mouth, but it was his mean glowing eyes that scared her the most. He was evil, she didn’t doubt it despite her mother’s denials.

  “Pull it tighter!”

  Cassandra picked up the bow and arrow and pulled back the string as best she could. The bow was too big for her small hands and fingers to grip properly, but the angry man didn’t care. She took aim at the target on the stone wall. A bullseye made of six red circles had been drawn—concentric circles with the larger circle on the outside and the smaller circles inside each other. A big red dot gleamed in the center of the target, which she was supposed to hit dead center. She hadn’t been able to hit the mark yet and the angry man was losing patience.

  She let the arrow go and it flew fast, hitting the fourth circle in from the outside edge. That was better than she had done before. Surely the angry man would be pleased. Smiling, she turned, asking, “How was that?”

  The angry man took three long strides to reach her. He raised his arm so fast she didn’t have time to do anything. He slapped her hard across the cheek, sending her flying backwards onto the floor hitting the back of her head. Pain shot through her head and she felt like she was going to throw up.

  “Pathetic! You need more practice,” the angry man yelled.

  She fought the tears; the angry man got even angrier if she showed any weakness. “I practice every day.”

  “For how long?”

  “A couple of hours a day. I stop to eat lunch.”

  “You need to practice longer. For now on, you don’t eat until you have practiced a full day. You will continue to practice today until you get to the fifth circle. Not only that, but your mother will be kept locked up in the dungeon until you have done your practicing for the day.” The angry man stormed away and she wanted to curl up into a ball.

  “How am I supposed to get the fifth circle? I am too tired and I’m too hungry,” she whispered.

  “You can do it,” a voice from the dark corner called out.

  She wiped the tears from her cheeks and sat up. “Who’s there?”

  “A friend.”

  “I want my mom,” her voice broke with her tears.

  “He won’t release her until you practice.”

  “I hate the angry man.”

  “I hate him, too. I don’t like to see him hit you. You need to practice and get better so that he doesn’t hit you anymore.”

  “I’m scared.”

  “I’m here with you. You’re not alone.”

  “Come out so I can see you.” All she could see was glowing eyes in the dark. Who was that? Was he a friend?

  “I don’t want you to be scared, I look different from you. Just know that I’m your friend and I’ll watch over you.”

  “For how long?”

  “For forever, if you like.”

  “I need a friend but the angry man doesn’t want me to have friends.” A tear fell at the memory of the pet kitty that her mother had given her for her birthday. The angry man took it away and she could hear the kitty screaming. She didn’t want anyone else she cared about to be hurt.

  “Then it will be our secret.”

  *****

  Cass woke up sweating. She touched her cheek expecting it to still burn from the slap, but realized it had been just a dream. One she’d had more than once, but she had never before remembered much of it once she’d awoken. This time, she remembered more details.

  In her dream, she had been a little girl—maybe six years old—and she wanted her mother. It was strange remembering the feelings, but she couldn't remember what her mother actually looked like. Getting up, she walked over to the dresser and turned on a lamp. There was dampness on her cheeks from crying in her dream.

  She came from nothing; she couldn’t even remember the first eight years of her life. Cops from the Detroit Police Department had found her wandering the streets. When they questioned her about who she was, she had no idea. She didn’t know who her parents were or where she lived. She didn’t even know her own name.

  All she had with her at the time was a picture of a woman with dark hair holding a baby. On the back of the picture was one name: Knight. Cass also wore a silver cross with a word inscribed “Adira”. She had been placed in the foster care system and forgotten about.

  Twelve years later, she met Father Raphael and the Arkangel Michael, who told her who she really was. She was born Cassandra Adira Knight. She also had a name to the woman in the picture—her mother, Laura Knight. She still didn’t know who her father was, but she knew what he was.

  Her father, name unknown, was one of the arkangels. Arkangels, spelled with a k instead of a ch, were higher-level angels that actively did God’s works. They were known for giving messages to prophets. Some were healers, and others were warriors for God and would one day fight demons on the Earthly plane during the Apocalypse. She thought the spelling was weird and when she asked about it, Father Raphael had explained that both spellings were known as throughout the centuries but was more widely known with the ch spelling. What she came to realize was that the angels themselves preferred the spelling with the k for some reason.

  Arkangels were in constant battle with demons but they had a shortcoming—they could only fight demons on the Earthly plane. Demons were allowed on the Earthly plane for a limited time before they were somehow called back to their inner circle in hell. There were seven circles or layers of hell, and most demons were bound by their circles. Angels could not go past the first circle of hell which was why they had to fight the demons on the Earthly plane.

  One of these warriors for God, her angel daddy, decided that to be able to fight demons on their own turf, the inner circles of hell, they needed someone with the blood of an angel and the blood of a demon. Unfortunately, angel and demon blood alone would be in constant turmoil; it needed an anchor. That’s where her mother came in to the mix.

  Laura Knight was half demon and half human. That mean
t that even though she might have demonic powers, she could chose to be good or evil. Free will and all that goes with that. It also meant that she wasn’t bound to the inner circles. Half-demons, or—as they like to be called—demi-demons, could come and go from the inner circles as they liked.

  Cass’s angel daddy, along with his angel buddies, decided to impregnate a demi-demon. The child was prophesied to be born of light but forged from hell. Meaning that her father was an angel of light and her mother was part demon. The child of light would have all the strengths of both and would be one of the best demon hunters ever created. Yadda yadda yadda.

  Personally, she thought that the reasoning behind her conception was cold and calculated. Did none of them care about the innocent child they were bringing into the world? Did no one ever love her at all? Was she only ever seen as a weapon for them to use as they saw fit? She may never know these answers because her mother was dead and her father was MIA. Father Raphael was cautious in what he told her. Maybe in time…

  Sighing she glanced again at her appearance. She had a t-shirt and shorts on and thought maybe she should take a shower and get dressed. Not yet…she wasn’t ready to start her day yet. She walked to the door of her room and opened it, trying not to make any noise. She was living in a room above a church along with the two men who had changed her world almost two months ago: Arkangel Michael and Father Raphael.

  Father Raphael had his own story to tell. He was once was an arkangel but messed up and was sentenced to live on Earth to slowly age and eventually die. He had healing powers, which were slowly fading as he aged. Michael was a hot young arkangel trying to prove himself. He was beautiful on the outside but was seriously lacking in social skills.

  Walking down the creaky stairs of the old church, she wasn’t sure where she was going. She went first to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door. There wasn’t anything that was appealing. Instead, she grabbed a clean glass and poured water from the faucet. Taking a few sips she sat the glass down on the table, feeling restless. She wasn’t in any hurry to go back to bed, afraid the dream would come back. It had really unsettled her.

  Heading down the hall, she ended up going into the nave part of the church where all the pews were lined up neatly. She walked down the aisle and didn’t stop until she got to the sanctuary where the altar, cross, and the chair for the priest resided.

  It wasn’t the first time she had been in a church, but it felt like it. One of the foster parents she stayed with temporarily would drag her to a church two days a week. She had never been a follower of anything, but she believed that there was a being with higher powers. Right now though, she felt completely disconnected to that powerful being.

  She stared at the shiny silver cross. It glowed as moonlight filtered in through the stained glass windows. There were times she caught Michael or Father Raphael staring at the cross and it would seem to have an unnatural glow. It looked like they were having some kind of private conversation with someone she couldn’t see. Afterward, they always seemed focused, unworried, and even at peace. She could do with a little of that peace right now. She did something she hadn’t really done a lot of before—prayed.

  “Hey there God, or whoever is working as your contact. I’m Cass, Cassandra Adira Knight. But you know that already. Everyone is telling me that I’m this child of light, one of the most powerful beings born on Earth, and that I will lead the fight against demons. Right now, I don’t feel very powerful. I can’t even handle a few bad dreams.” There was silence but she continued on.

  “I think somebody picked the wrong girl. I don’t know what I’m doing most of the time. My best friend Leeza isn’t talking to me right now. It’s really hard going through all of this, with no one I can talk to about it. Father Raphael is great for answers on demons but I can’t talk to him about my feelings. I feel guilty because I was the reason he lost his wings and had to come to Earth to live. Michael, I mean, Arkangel Michael…he’s just so focused on training me to be this mighty warrior that he never listens to my concerns. Sometimes he talks about me like I’m a thing, a weapon, and not a human being with feelings.”

  “I miss Ari—he’s a demi-demon that knew who and what I was before anyone else. He’s just always been there for me whether to give me a hard time at the diner or pushing me to search for my inner powers. Even he has pushed me away, disappearing for over a month and a half with no calls or anything. I’m worried something has happened to him, but at the same time I’m furious he hasn’t called.”

  “I don’t know why I’m saying all this, it doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t ease the stress I’m feeling with the weight of the world on my shoulders.” She shook her head, feeling ridiculous to be standing there talking to a cross. What did she expect? To hear some heavenly voice speak to her? You are the chosen…

  Snorting she began to move away, but stopped as she heard a buzzing noise. She looked around but couldn’t see where it had come from. She waited for it to happen again but she didn’t hear anything else. “Great, now I’m hearing things.”

  Turning and heading back down the aisle, she didn’t see the cross as it started to glow.

  Cass bumped into Michael as he was coming out of the kitchen. “Sorry.”

  “Couldn’t sleep?” Michael asked.

  She looked at Michael, suddenly seeing him in a different way. He had on a pair of shorts, no shirt, and his usual perfect blond hair was a little messy from sleep. He looked more human, and ridiculously hot.

  “Cassandra.”

  She blinked, realizing he was talking to her. “What?”

  “I asked if you were having a hard time sleeping.”

  “Yeah, I had a bad dream and woke up. I came down here for some water.”

  Michael glanced at the direction she had come from. “From the sanctuary? Are you drinking holy water now?”

  She snorted. “No. I drank tap water, then walked around a bit trying to tire myself out.”

  “I made myself a sandwich, would you like one?”

  Wow, he was asking to do something for her. That was a rarity. She glanced at the sandwich on the plate he was holding. The whole thing was bigger than her face. She shook her head. “No, but thanks for the offer. I’m going to go back upstairs and try to get some sleep.”

  “Don’t forget we have morning practice.”

  She walked past him, grumbling. “Like you guys would let me forget that.” She was halfway up the stairs and glanced back. Michael was watching her…or more exact, he was staring at her ass.

  “See something you like?”

  Michael almost dropped the plate. He moved fast, catching it before it reached the ground. She turned back around, laughing as she went up the rest of the stairs. “Good night, Michael!”

  That was a little bit of an ego boost. One she desperately needed after Ari pretty much dumped her. Granted, she was furious with Ari, and hadn’t even been talking to him right before he told her that he was leaving for a while.

  Ari, as a demi-demon, had the ability to make people forget memories. He had done something to her friend Leeza to help her forget that she had been kidnapped by a demon and almost blown up. When Cass questioned him about the gaps of her own childhood memories, he wouldn’t answer her directly. She knew that he had something to do with the gaps in memory. It was his fault she couldn’t remember her mother, or the first eight years of her life. For that alone, she was furious.

  The only person who knew her when she was younger, knew what she had endured, where she had been kept, and knew her mother, had refused to answer any of her questions. Now he wasn’t even around for her to press him on it.

  Everyone seemed to want something from her while keeping their own secrets. No matter how hard she tried, it felt like she was falling short of their expectations. She thought she had learned a long time ago to stop trying to please other people because it never worked out, and they would always show their true colors to her. She found herself still wanting that approva
l, seeking unconditional love. Some things were just not meant for her.

  Chapter 2

  The next morning

  Cass drank coffee at breakfast, feeling exhausted from lack of sleep. She had never been able to go back to sleep fully. Now she was dressed for early morning training and knew she just wasn’t up to it.

  “You look terrible,” Michael commented.

  She glared at him from across the table. “Seriously, you don’t say shit like that to a woman.”

  A throat clearing reminded her that she had just cursed in front of a priest. “Sorry, Father.”

  “It’s all right. I’ve heard worse. Why didn’t you sleep well?”

  She shrugged. “I had a bad dream.”

  “What about?”

  “Why are you making a big deal out of this? It’s just a dream.”

  “Angels send messages through dreams, and some people can foretell future events through dreams.”

  “It wasn’t like that. It was more like memories of my past, when I was a child. I wouldn’t put too much stock in it being actual memories. I’ve had similar dreams like this before. Though, this time I remember much more.”

  “Tell us about the dream.”

  “I was somewhere cold and dark. I think I was six. There was an angry man forcing me to practice with the bow and arrow.”

  Michael and Father Raphael looked at each other. Michael spoke, “That would explain why you are so natural with your bow and arrows now. You learned early on and practiced.”

  “I would say I was forced to practice, if it was real. He refused to let me leave, eat, or rest until I could hit the center of the target. He also evidently kept my mother locked up until I hit the target.”

  “Do you remember your mother?”

  She shook her head. “No, I dreamed that I asked for her. I couldn’t see or hear her.” She didn’t tell them about her secret friend. It felt wrong to betray that trust. “That’s all there was.”