Free Night of the Demon: Paranormal Romance (Devon Slaughter Book 2) by Alice Bell

a group name and we’ll
take a vote. Please don’t vote for your own idea.”
    “Why not?” Charity said.
    “ Think about it,” Chastity said.  
    It took a good five minutes. When I’d got all the slips
back, I got up and shuffled them at my own desk. Then I wrote each idea on the
board.
    The Hermiones
    Mysterious Muse
    Merry Pranksters
    “ Come on,” Charity said.
    “I couldn’t think of anything,” Chastity said.
    “So you picked the one you said was dumb?”
    BO$$
    Liars
    Catchers in the Rye
    The Edward-ians
    Eden’s Bitches
    “ Really ?” (Chastity.)
    “It’s better than plagiarizing,” Charity said.
    “Ugh. Bitches? That’s just terrible. The worst.”   
    Team Rain
    I brushed chalk off my hands and delivered more slips. I
told them to write down their vote. When I’d collected the papers, I marked off
each vote on the board.
    There was a hush in the room. I wished they would talk to
each other. Or something.
    Liars – 1
    Eden’s Bitches – 3
    Team Rain — 5
    “You are all officially Team Rain ,” I announced,
relieved. I had to agree with Chastity. Eden’s Bitches was the worst.
Personally, I liked Liars . 
    They erupted into noise and motion, talking, laughing,
shouldering their backpacks and heading for the door. Charity’s cheeks were
flushed, as she followed her sister.
    I checked the handwriting on the slip and confirmed my
suspicion that she had posed Eden’s Bitches . I also thought she’d voted
for it.
     
    * * *
    “You seem happy today,” Dr. Sinclair said.
    “I got a make-over. I changed my hair.”
    “I noticed. You look nice. Has changing your appearance
lifted your mood?”
    “I hadn’t thought about it but yes. I’ve been more decisive,
lately. Not going back and forth so much and agonizing over every stupid thing.
I want to make choices, like you said. Be in charge of my life. So I can be
empowered. And not afraid.”  
    Dr. Sinclair’s eyes smiled at me. She wasn’t an effusive
person. Maybe it was her professional presence but I got the feeling she moved
through her personal life in the same businesslike manner. I envisioned her
fiancé following her around with a check-list.
    But I felt I’d pleased her. Which pleased me.
    I smoothed a piece of fuzz off my baby blue skirt and
adjusted the cuff on my jacket. My shoes were silver Gucci stilettos. I loved
them very much, more than I should.
    “What are you thinking right now, Ruby?” 
    “Well, I had a date the other night.”
    Now, Dr. Sinclair’s eyes really smiled.
    “He’s a colleague. In the history department. Don’t worry, I
checked and there’s nothing in my contract against fraternizing.”
    Dr. Sinclair nodded.
    “Things went well. Mostly …”
    She waited.
    “He came to my house. We kissed. I—it was nice.”
    She cocked a delicate eyebrow.
    I gazed down at my hands folded in my lap and admired my
French manicure.
    “Just nice?”
    “Well, I wanted more to happen. But I was scared. I kissed him ,
and then when things progressed, I chickened out.”
    “It’s good to take things slow, Ruby.”
    “I know. But. I guess I wonder if I’m addicted to my
fantasies. They are always so beautiful, Dr. Sinclair. And then … reality is a
disappointment.”
    “Nice is good, Ruby. I promise you.”
     
    * * *
    That night, I had trouble falling asleep.
    A voice whispered inside my head, soft as moth wings, but
sinister too, like the glint of a blade in the shadows. I almost caught an
image of who had spoken, but then the memory was gone, covered up, like a
coffin under dirt.

Part 2
    ZADIE TRAVELED the world, searching for her sire, Inka, and
always, always for Devon. The other demons she met were strangers to
her. There were too many cultural differences, and often, a language barrier.
    In Europe demons were afraid. Angel soldiers had become
blood thirsty, killing more demons than they captured.
    On her knees, Zadie prayed. “Mother Ishtar, whose might no
god approaches. My heart is not