If you're a newsletter subscriber or you have joined the Facebook Page or Group, you know that the eighth book in the Zodiac series is coming out on April 24, 2025!
Many of you have been waiting to find out what happens after Lucifer rocked Zeke's world with the huge news-bomb at the end of Libra's Liberation. Well, now the adventure continues. And in my excitement about the release, I've done something crazy. I've put the first three books in the series ON SALE for $0.99! So whether you've been riding with Zeke and the gang throughout the series, or you're new to this world, April is full of good news. Pre-order Secrets of Scorpio or grab the first three books while they're on sale by CLICKING HERE.
As is my tradition whenever I have a new release, I like whetting your appetite with a sneak peek of what's to come. So, in saying that, how about we check out the first two chapters of Secrets of Scorpio? Enjoy!
1 - Somewhere in the Underworld
Lucifer laughed, making me feel all warm and bubbly inside. “It’s not as simple as just ‘starting.’ There’s a process to taking my title.”
I fidgeted in the hard chair. “Of course there is. Why wouldn’t there be?”
“Everything has a process,” the ruler of the Underworld said. Almost calmly.
Calm. He’d just told me He wanted me—me!—to take the title of “Lucifer” from him. To stand tall over all demons. And he was calm? How did demons like Him pull this off? Sure, I’d been calm plenty of times in my life. I was calm when making a peanut butter sandwich. Not calm when waiting for my order of chicken wings to arrive. I was calm when taking a stroll through the Fifth Circle of Hell. Not calm when sitting at the ass end of a charging chimera.
When it came to something this important, this monumental, how could I be calm? How could anyone?
I did what any reasonable demon would do. I asked.
Lucifer chuckled. His bushy eyebrows rising up His wrinkled forehead. “Calm? I appear calm to you?”
He was joking, wasn’t He? In His position I would’ve chewed my fingernails down to knobs, making them less attractive than the chicken bones I left behind after one of my visits to my regular wing place.
“As calm as a billionaire seeing the price of eggs rise by a buck per carton.”
That only made Him chuckle harder. “I can assure you, I’m anything but calm. What you see on the outside is the result of the eons of exposure to this game.”
“It’s not a game.” I shook my head. “None of this is.”
I picked at the table with a fingernail. Nothing like endearing yourself to the lord of the Underworld by destroying his property one sliver at a time. Because I wasn’t looking at Lucifer, I didn’t see the physical reaction, but I heard the sigh.
“Things aren’t always as they appear, Ezekial. You’ll need to understand that before you take the title.”
“I get the feeling that there is a lot I need to understand before I put that crown on my head.”
“There is no crown.”
I snapped my head up, looking at Lucifer. He was smirking. I didn’t think he was capable of understanding humor. “Do I have a while yet? I’m not exactly ready to take on your responsibilities.” Lowering my voice to a mumble, I said, “In fact, I doubt the Underworld is ready for this change.”
“Which is exactly the reason it must be done as soon as possible. Before anyone is aware. Before anyone has the chance to prepare.”
I was still wrapping my head around the offer. Well, it wasn’t really an offer, was it? When the king of demons told you that you are about to become his replacement, that he’d already designated you as such. To call it an offer was to misunderstand what was happening.
Most definitely, I understood what was happening.
Across the stone floor that kept the room cooler than the outside air, a small slit of a window let in the light of the Hellfire. So far away from the window, I couldn’t take a deep whiff and catch a lung-full of the fresh air, fearing my nose would only be filled with the stuffiness of this room. A room the ruler of the Underworld had spent far too much time in. Holed up. Locked away. Protected by fortifications and hundreds of demons sworn to protect to their last breath. Harpies as well. Thousands of the nasty birds of prey. Their glowing green eyes always watching, always hinting at the deep desires held within the bodies of a bird. Couldn’t forget about them.
“Will this be dangerous?”
Lucifer watched me. The wrinkles around the corners of His eyes deepened. I’d never really stared into His eyes before. Even when I was foolish enough to confront Him. Lucifer’s eyes fell somewhere between a light blue and gray. In His earlier years, they might have been piercing. Now, Lucifer only knew how much later, they’d faded. Worn out. Exhausted. Just like the rest of the demon sitting on the other side of the table.
After a moment’s silence, I asked, “What?”
Eloquent, I know.
“Neither of us should go into this with any false assumptions or beliefs.”
“I’m not sure what to believe. Understand, you threw me for a loop with this.”
“I imagine I have.” Lucifer sat back, keeping one liver–spotted hand on the table, rolling his fingers in an idiosyncratic beat. “For me, this won’t be dangerous. Painful? Most likely. But pain is temporary. Once I’ve experienced it, the end of my reign, my pain will subside.” His hand flipped over with a thunk. “For you? The end of my pain will signal the beginning of yours. Trust me when I say this, Ezekial. You’ll hate the duty as much as I do. As much as I have.”
I spread my hands. “Then why give it to me? Why me?”
Lucifer rolled His lips inward. He sucked His teeth, releasing His lips with a popping sound. “The fact is, you're uniquely qualified for this position.”
“How so?”
“How does being the only demon in the Underworld capable of standing up to the Founders sound? If you only had one qualification, that would be enough.”
“Are you implying I have more than one?”
This time, Lucifer broke eye contact, looking down at the table. He flipped His hand over and began picking at the wood, almost mimicking my microscopic destruction of His property. “Your history. The fact that you’re the only demon in creation without magic. Or that you were selected by One to hold your halberd. The reports I’ve received about you are impressive. As long as you’ve been watched, you’ve set standards for those I trust.”
“Lucky me.”
If my interruption annoyed Lucifer, He hid it well.
“I could have given this opportunity to anyone.”
“Probably should have,” I mumbled, glancing His way.
His smirk was back. “Time will tell if my suspicions are correct. But we demons are at a crossroads.
Events in the Upperworld have influenced my thinking, I’ll admit. Conditions are changing. Not only here in the Underworld, but the Overworld as well. However, it’s the Upperworld that has me most concerned.”
My thoughts went to Cassie. “Why? What’s happening there?”
Lucifer scrunched His eyebrows.
“Only fair to ask, right? I mean, if I’m supposed to assume your duties, you’d think I’d need to be as informed as possible. Shouldn’t I?”
His voice was firmer, as if I was pushing the limits of his patience. “Were you to assume the duties today, yes, I’d agree. But you’re not. Unfortunately for all of us, this transfer of power will take time.” Before I could ask how much, He continued. “In due time, I will let you know everything. Everything you need to understand. To do so right now would be to introduce risk I don’t want you to assume.”
This wasn’t the first time I’d sat down with the lord of the Underworld and hashed out our disagreements. This was, however, the first time I’d done so with clarity. Now that I understood he wasn’t my enemy and I wasn’t His, the tension between us had dissipated slightly. At least from my perspective. Any confrontation needed to be done with an air of respect. Not deference. I hadn’t deferred to any authority in a long time. Kanthor Sunstone made sure I learned that lesson on a deep level. So deep I wouldn’t return to previous teachings. Still, Lucifer wasn’t my enemy. We might not be friends, now or ever, but we weren’t going to war. Not against one another.
“Can I ask something?”
“Of course.”
“Are you being cautious for my sake or yours?”
“For everyone’s.”
Curious answer. “Everyone’s?”
“Yes, of course. Why do you ask?”
I noticed Lucifer had stopped picking at the table.
I shook my head. Was everyone in a leadership position absolutely blind to the realities everyone under their influence? I wanted to believe He’d called me here because everything He said was true. That he saw something in me. That I had the capabilities to pull off what He said I could. I didn’t want the title, but if I was going to have to take it, I could use it for the benefit of those I cared about. Even those I didn’t know. As long as they were good demons, they could enjoy the freedoms they didn’t have currently. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted this opportunity. I just didn’t want to piss Lucifer off and have Him withdraw the offer that wasn’t an offer. Not when accepting it could change the fortunes of the important demons in my life. But He was blind. Ignorant, maybe. Uncaring? Possibly.
Keeping my temper cooled, and the thoughts of all those His rule had deprived of equal opportunity, I said, “From my perspective, it hasn’t always appeared that you cared. That you weren’t concerned with the plight of others. Far be it for me to understand why, but it’s pretty normal for demons to look out only for numero uno. So I’m wondering if caution is the name of the game because you’re making sure you get to set yourself up for a peaceful retirement. Probably someplace with a lot of sun and expensive drinks.”
Lucifer threw His head back and laughed. A hearty laugh from deep in His chest. “I assure you, Ezekial. My caution is to ensure that you make it through to the transfer of the title.”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
Lucifer looked toward the window. Light danced off His gray–light blue eyes. His chest swelled.
When He spoke, He did so toward the window, not the younger demon sitting across the table that was supposedly His heir apparent. “The Council has fallen apart. I’d hoped to stop it.” He laughed, bitterly. “Any hopes such as those should have been acted on long before you were a thought in your father’s mind.”
I stiffened at the mention of my father. Intentional or not, Lucifer wasn’t the only one with enemies. With demons who disappointed Him to the point of needing to take desperate action.
“Long ago, I should have stepped down,” He said. “Young. Naïve. Possibly cocky. I don’t know. I thought I could make a difference. Make up for my numerous errors in judgment. One day, I don’t know how long ago it was, I woke up and realized it was too late. That I didn’t have the power to do what I should have done thousands of years earlier. When I should have acted, I sat by and let those junior to me grow in power and influence. When I realized how strong they were, how weak I was, it was too late.”
Though I’d been watching Lucifer speak, after He sighed, He looked my way.
I looked away, unable to meet His gaze. Those light eyes had taken on a sudden darkness.
“I’m too weak, Ezekial. Even on my best day, I no longer have the power to stop the ambitious.”
“We’re talking about the Founders here, aren’t we?”
Lucifer nodded. “We are. They’ve gone beyond what I expected. Selecting them made sense a long time ago. Stubbornly or because I was myopic, I didn’t rid myself of them when I could have. When I should have. Fresh blood would have done the Council miracles. Now the only miracle will be if you can save us from the course we’re on.”
“And what course is that?”
“Civil war,” Lucifer said darkly.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Do you honestly think it’ll come to that?”
“These are the things I need to protect you from. Doing so will allow you to focus on what I need you to focus on. On what we all need you to focus on. But I will respect you enough to give you the best answer I can give you at this moment. Yes, if those who can do not intervene soon, the only result of my failures will be civil war.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, unable to formulate a question. How long I’d been on the run from the Founders, trying to save my skin. Throughout the entire time, I’d only had the kindness and fidelity of friends to lean on. I’d never run anything bigger than a bookstore and never commanded anything except for the blazeball field. Lucifer was absolutely out of His mind if He thought I could stop a civil war.
Lucifer spoke up as my mind continued spiraling into darker and darker thoughts. “I’d intended to have these separate Councils figure out a way to work together. I thought appealing to their selfish desires would tame them. Buy me time to figure out how I could stop or at least slow down this runaway chimera train. But they’ve shown me they have no intentions of being satiated by what I’ve already given them. It’s only a matter of time before they turn on one another.”
I’d been to the depressed sections of the Underworld. I’d seen how underprivileged demons lived. What they’d had to resort to in order to survive. It was no mystery who would be the first to pay the price when Founders went to war against one another.
“But you could stop this.” My comment came out like a croak. “It’s not too late. It can’t be.”
“The eons have stripped me of my power, Ezekial. I’m not the demon I used to be. The time has come for someone younger, someone stronger, to take up the mantle.”
“I really wish—?”
“It has to be you.”
“If someone like you can’t even stop the disappearances from happening or a war breaking out, how am I supposed to?”
Lucifer cocked his head. “Disappearances?”
I groaned inwardly. “You don’t know? About demons disappearing all around the Circles? About the Abandoned doing the same in the Overworld?”
“I’m afraid I don’t. How significant is this issue?”
“Well, I’ll try to not be a smart ass,” I said in a smartass tone. “Even one demon going missing is concerning. At least it would be to me if I were in charge. So I would say the hundreds I’ve heard about, if the rumors are true, are a major problem.”
Lucifer pursed His mouth before His lips started wrestling each other. The humming sound came from deep within His throat. “That is a problem. Something that’ll have to be looked into.”
With each of His responses and comments, I started to believe I might pull this off. Might be a more effective Lucifer than the demon across the table. “Should have a long time ago. But no one asked me my opinion.”
“All the more reason to begin. It won’t be simple or easy for either of us.” Lucifer sat forward, interlocking His fingers. “The transfer will take time. Things must be in place before we can. So let’s begin now.”
2 - Somewhere in the Underworld
Lucifer walked alongside me. We’d taken a gateway from the top of His tower into His garden. Lucifer claimed His knees couldn’t make the journey. Not funny. What was, though, was watching His guards scramble to relay the overlord of Hell’s location so a squad at ground level could accompany us on our walk.
“It’s peaceful,” I said, taking in the colorful array of flowers and manicured bushes.
“One of the few remaining places where I find enough peace to think,” Lucifer said.
Now would have been a great time to hint that He’d maybe done too much thinking and not enough acting. I let the chance slip. Plus, none of my angelic or mortal friends would believe me if I told them that Lucifer caused His own inertia by overthinking.
Past exotic plants I didn’t recognize, the types that didn’t grow in the Fifth Circle or in the Overworld, we walked on in silence. I appreciated their uniqueness. The glowing, soft colors. Almost bioluminescent. Flowers so bright they could put a child’s drawing of the sun to shame. Even the tower—uh—towering above us didn’t blot out their brilliance. Rows upon rows. Wide and demanding on the face of the row of bushes. Topping the rich greenery.
Normally, I don’t like the smell of flowers. To me, their aroma was bitter. No matter the species. My opinion of them didn’t improve after I’d grown tired of my best friend’s mother treating him worse than the bag of trash she’d walked by on her way to her flower shop every day. No flowers’ fault. But, still. Though my dislike of the flowery aroma was as eternal as my six-millennia-and-change existence, these were sweet. Almost fruity. Even the way the branches of the bushes rustled off the path added a pleasant soundscape ambience.
“Follow me,” Lucifer said, indicating a tall flowered arch on the edge of the garden.
He went first, of course.
Not walking into a trap. That’s good.
I followed.
Before the arch swallowed me, I glanced back. The four guards took up stations outside the entrance. None of them looked interested in following. One grimaced at the rustling shrubbery like it had a vendetta against him.
With a deep breath, I turned away. I followed the demon that billions of mortals had cursed and blamed for all the world’s ills. Assigning blame to Him since long before they created the written word to explain the nature of the universe they didn’t understand and couldn’t comprehend. Well, less than that, in truth. It took a while for the early mortal churches to force enough people into the belief that He was the embodiment of evil at the end of a sword. But for well over a thousand years, this weary demon leading me into the depths of His garden had been cursed the world round.
Poor bastard.
My future?
Was this the first step in assuming that role? Or had that already begun when He told me His plans?
Past the arch, it was like stepping into a secret, separate world. Noise, as minimal as it was in the garden, faded. The rustling of leaves and tiny bush creatures was non-existent here.
The sharp scent of perfume tickled my nose as a snapping of a branch somewhere unseen popped in my ear. I put my hand to it, trying to block the pungency of the flowers in this nature tunnel.
“Where are we going?” I asked with a laugh, hoping this wasn’t the dark fate my mind was painting.
This was Lucifer. If He wished, He could have put an end to me in His chambers. In His garden. In the blessed privy. At any time of His wishing. It was ridiculous to fear that He was leading me deeper into His garden to commit the glorious act of ending my life. Yet, here I was, fearing exactly that.
Who said I was rational?
The path was wide. We could have walked side by side, yet we didn’t. Ahead, the ruler of every single demon who’d ever lived drifted forward at a slow but consistent pace. From time to time, He’d stop and reach to caress a colorful flower or particularly oversized leaf. But not once did He make a sound. Not even a grunt or try to squeeze out a fart without me noticing.
Ten minutes later, we still hadn’t exchanged another word as we made our way through the dense thicket of towering plants. Slivers of Hellfire punctured our natural cover. Just enough to highlight our way. Sort of like the hallways of the clubs—discotheques—in Germany, where the light was just poor enough to hint at the fun promised ahead without giving away the dirty truth that the club hadn’t been sanitized in years.
Puffy clumps of fungi clung to ridges where the Hellfire didn’t touch. Lucifer stayed away from those.
Under my steps, the ground was dry but soft and spongy. Almost like walking on a giant pillow.
Deeper into Lucifer’s grove, the air cooled. But a drop in temperature didn’t mean it lacked humidity. The air here was thick. Stagnant without being stale.
This time, the prickling sensation I felt had nothing to do with being in Lucifer’s presence.
Occasionally, behind the wall of leafy green, something crackled. Leaves? An old man’s bones?
I reached down and rubbed Creed. The petrified dark cherry buzzed once and then fell still.
We came to the end of the tunnel. The grove opened before me. I looked up in awe.
Massive tree trunks with rich brown bark reached seventy feet into the air before being broken up by leafy branches. Red, brown, yellow, and orange leaves floated toward the ground. Drifting, like the flakes inside a snow globe, spinning as they fell. When one settled on the soft ground, it vanished.
My confusion must have been obvious, because Lucifer pointed up. “They recycle.”
“So they’re not dying?”
He shook His head. “No. I had this made well before your father’s father’s father breathed his first breath. I just like the smell of decaying leaves. Watching them fall. I don’t enjoy the mess they leave behind, though, so I had them designed to recycle. Perpetual.” He looked up. His face was unreadable. “I like it.”
“Pretty cool.”
“Come. We’re almost there.”
Lucifer led me to the side of the clearing, to a pond the size of an Olympic pool. Just not all rectangular and uniform.
He walked to the water’s edge and looked down.
I joined Him. Nothing was awkward about standing by His side.
The water was crystal clear. If someone had dropped a pin into the pond’s bottom, I’d have been able to spot it easily. Water lapped at the shore. A slight slurping sound whenever it pulled away.
“Let’s talk,” He said, moving away toward a wooden bridge that spanned the pond.
We crossed. Wood creaked, but didn’t give.
At the far end of the bridge, Lucifer walked along the pond’s shoreline to a bench. Gray stone. The likeness of gargoyles etched into each of the bench’s two legs. He patted the seat. “Sit, Ezekial.”
I sat.
The rustling noise came from behind us now. Closer, I swore. Creed vibrated, catching Lucifer’s attention. I put my hand to it but kept an ear out for any of the big guy’s henchmen who might have it in for me.
“Determined forest animals, you have,” I said with a nod toward the noise. The approaching sound.
Lucifer scowled, trying to push to His feet.
Crashing now, no longer rustling. Whatever was concealed by Lucifer’s leafy haven, it was big enough to make my core temperature surge and for Creed to buzz against my hip. No cuddly forest animal did that.
A red haze formed around Lucifer’s hands. Like a big cloud of red dust. A manifestation of His magic. Yet again, reminding me I couldn’t sense when He was casting. Heavens, I didn’t even sense when He began to cast.
The flames of annihilation burst to life on Creed without me calling to my halberd.
A cloaked figure stormed out of the shrubbery. Branches and leaves burst outward, mimicking the lord of the Underworld’s own expanding cloud. Lucifer was so focused on the cloaked figure he didn’t see the three others coming at Him from the side.
The first unwelcomed guest nearly reached Lucifer. The stranger held daggers. Glowing blue.
Hellfire.
Lucifer should still be strong enough to handle a single problem, but what about the three He wasn’t aware of? Could I stand by and wait? Would I tick Him off if I acted on my own? Worse, did Lucifer’s domain have automated defenses that’d cut me down the moment I unleashed my halberd?
Hellfire of my own glinted on Creed’s blades. It vibrated in my hand so aggressively that it rocked me an inch to the side.
“Die!” the cloaked figure nearest Lucifer said just as the three out of His sight leaped into the fray.
No more time for decisions.
As the variety of bladed weapons held by these assassins burned with Hellfire aimed at Lucifer, I sprinted around the ruler of Hell.
The first assassin held a sword. I lashed out with an upward swing, catching his weapon. Metal rang around the clearing. A sharp sound that shattered this realm’s tranquility.
The other two assassins continued past me, not bothering to assist the one I’d confronted.
Busy with this cloaked and masked figure, I didn’t have the luxury of checking to see if Lucifer had taken care of the first intruder who was serving as a distraction to deal with the two.
My opponent’s weapon was far more mobile than a six-foot halberd. Maybe once I was Lucifer, I’d shrink it down into its truncheon form, just with the epic blades. How adorable would that be? An issue for another time.
I met his next strike at high guard. The edge of his blade caught the peaked prominence of Creed’s smaller ax head. The resulting sound was like shattering glass. I winced and watched in amazement as the assassin’s sword disintegrated. His access to the Hellfire died and clumps of dull steel fell to the ground all around our feet.
Without a word of command to Creed, a blue beam of flame burst from the halberd’s dagger. It struck the assassin in the chest, searing a grotesque hole clean through.
I turned away, not only sickened but also recognizing this fight wasn’t over. Unless I wanted a blade in my back, I needed to help Lucifer finish something we didn’t start.
He’d killed the first assassin, but we were being ganged up on. He’d formed a shield that looked an awful lot like the one I formed with Creed in my times of need. His strained expression told me everything I needed to know about how long He’d last.
I aimed Creed’s double-ax at the nearest demon and blasted him into oblivion. With a will of its own. Stubborn halberd. Though, I had to admit, it came easier this time. Without thought.
The remaining demon looked my way. I couldn’t read his expression behind his mask. It didn’t matter. Lucifer cut him down.
With the four vanquished, I turned toward the wall of greenery that was supposed to provide peace and serenity. Listening, I heard only the soft whistle of a distant wind.
Creed collapsed back on its own. Stubborn stick.