City of Souls and Sinners

CITY of SOULS and SINNERS A House of Devils NOVEL Table of Contents CITY of SOULS and SINNERS For my family— The light in my dark. Welcome back to Angelthene DARKSLAYING CIRCLES OF ANGELTHENE PART I 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 PART II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 PART III 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 PART IV 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 PART V 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 EPILOGUE CAST OF CHARACTERS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ABOUT THE AUTHOR Books by Kayla Edwards: The Ice and Iron Series Dreams of Ice and Iron — The House of Devils Series City of Gods and Monsters City of Souls and Sinners CITY of SOULS and SINNERS A House of Devils NOVEL KAYLA EDWARDS City of Souls and Sinners A House of Devils Novel Copyright © 2023 Kayla Edwards Cover Artwork © Sarah Hansen, Okay Creations Map Design © Abigail M. Hair All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. ISBN 978-1-7778807-7-4 (e-book) Other editions: ISBN 978-1-7778807-8-1 (Paperback) This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, events, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author. For my family— The light in my dark. Welcome back to Angelthene As always, we hope you enjoy your stay. Please avoid going out after sunset, and keep a form of protection on you at all times. The use of Blood Staves is strictly prohibited. Darkslayers operate in the city, so exercising a high level of caution in all districts is highly recommended for residents and visitors. Avoid unnecessary travel to the Meatpacking District, Hooded Skullcap, Stone’s End, Ebonfield, Oldtown, the Narrow Hills, and the Black Alder District. Travel to Angelthene National Forest is recommended only between the hours of seven a.m. and three p.m. All cell phones within city limits are programmed to receive alerts regarding Blood Moons. If a Blood Moon is in the forecast, stay inside the forcefield until dawn. Report any suspicious activity to the Magical Protections Unit immediately. DARKSLAYING CIRCLES OF ANGELTHENE The Seven Devils Marked with a horned letter S in the gothic script of an ancient world, they answer to Darien Cassel, Head of Hell’s Gate — The Reapers Marked with the cloaked and masked God of Death, they answer to Malakai Delaney, Head of the House of Souls — The Huntsmen Marked with a Hellhound, they answer to Lionel Savage, Head of the Hunting Grounds and former Right Hand of Randal Slade — The Angels of Death Marked with overlapping wings in white ink, they answer to Dominic Valencia, Head of Death’s Landing — The Wargs Marked with a crescent moon in luminescent ink, they answer to Channary Graves, Head of the House on the Pier — The Vipers Marked with an animated striking serpent, they answer to Jude Monson, Head of the Den of Vipers After the unexpected death of Randal Slade, who the Darkslaying circles of Angelthene answer to is to be determined. No one outside of these six circles may operate on Angelthene soil. To do so is punishable by death. For a full list of characters, flip to the back of the book PART I THE DEVIL AND THE WHITE LILY 1 Being human in Angelthene felt a lot like walking into a party you weren’t invited to, only there was no end to that party, no quick escape by simply walking out the door. Loren Calla had spent twenty years getting used to that feeling. As one of the only human students at Angelthene Academy for Magic, the party truly never ended. The whispers were constant, chasing her down every hallway and into every classroom. Balled-up sheets of paper were forever thrown at the back of her head. Students made it their daily goal to trip or bodycheck her into rows of lockers. Sure, there was the odd time when she made it through a whole school day without being the victim to any of these things, but those days were rare. And when it wasn’t whispers, paper cannon balls, or feet swept out to trip her, her problems usually involved trying not to be killed by one of the magical beings that made Angelthene such a dangerous place. Whispers, paper cannon balls, and feet were far better forms of conflict than bullets, teeth, and claws. Bullies, she could handle. Bullies, she had a high chance of surviving, as long as their attempts at making her life a living hell did not extend beyond these walls. But vampires, werewolves, demons, veneficae, and hellsehers? She was still learning how to live with those. A lot had changed for Loren since her first day at Angelthene Academy, but as far as the other students were concerned, she was the same person she had always been. Human. Weak. Ordinary. An easy target. That was fine with her. They didn’t need to know the truth, nor did she want them to. Better to be targeted for being human than to be targeted for housing the coveted powers of a legendary magical artifact. Loren was doing her best to ignore the students seated at the table behind her in history class, but as the minutes wore on, and more balls of paper struck the back of her head, the harder it became to resist the urge to tell them off. The students—three male warlocks who excelled