Chapter 1

“Boom, boom, boom,” the bass blasted from the speakers drawing everybody in the room into a rhythmic trance. As the beat pulsed and vibrated through his bones like the strikes of a war drum, his turquoise-blue eyes raked the dance club hoping against hope to spot a new object of desire. Seeing a possibility, the young man put a hand up to ruffle his sandy blonde hair, swallowed back his nerves, took a deep breath, and made his way through the throng knowing that tonight was going to be a productive night. He saddled up to the bar and turned to his left. “Can I buy you a drink?” he asked the raven-haired beauty.

She was resting against the polished metal countertop in a

suggestive way: all hips and attitude; she wore a skin-tight black dress that came down to her knees and left little to the imagination. A slight smile broke across her face as her eyes took him in, but then slowly, sarcastic indulgence washed out all else from her expression. “Maybe next time, sweetheart,” she said and spun on a heel, walking off to join the dancing throng.

Josh Connors huffed and swiveled back to the barman. “Get me

a beer, will you?”

The barman studied him for a moment. “I need to see some

I.D.”

Josh was by no means twenty-one. In fact, he had only recently

graduated high school and was enrolled to start his freshman year at the University of Miami this coming fall. But nevertheless, he flashed the barman the fake I.D. his older sister had made for him and a beer was brought over. He sipped slowly and thought about his endeavor.

Or lack thereof, he said to himself spitefully.

Ever since he had arrived in Miami, he had tried everything

he could think of in order to have his bedroom graced with a Miami beauty. The city was filled to the brim with them and—according to Josh anyway—should be easy pickings. After a couple of weeks . . . still no luck.

He ran down his list of pro’s and con’s once more.

Decent looks . . . check.

Sweet condo . . . check.

Foreign luxury car . . . check.

Money . . . check.

Josh sighed to himself as he belatedly realized this wouldn’t be

like high school where hooking up with girls was easy. At that moment, as the glitzy lights flashed across the polished metal surfaces and posh fabrics, a glimmer of silver caught his eye. Scratch that. Not just his, but every one’s. One of the most beautiful women Josh had ever laid eyes on was walking, more like gliding, toward the bar. Her slinky silvery dress gleamed like a diamond as she slipped sinuously through the crowd. Her pixie-like features, infused with a middle eastern beauty and mystery, came into greater focus as she brushed by him and leaned against the bar. Josh found it hard not to stare as the dress barely covered the tops of her thighs and every inch of her bare skin appeared to be like a most expensive silk.

The woman flashed a dazzling smile at him. “Why don’t you

buy me a drink?” she said, her voice smooth and cherubic.

Just as an angel’s should be, thought Josh. He cleared his voice

to buy him a moment to regain any lost composure. “Sure. What do you drink?”

A sensual, flirtatious smile crept over her face and she raised a

single, manicured brow. “I’ll have a martini,” she said, pausing to lean into him. “Extra filthy.”

The smell of spices and some type of sweet nectar filled his

senses as blood boiled beneath the surface of his skin; Josh breathed her in and a fiery warmth stirred deep in his gut. Quickly, he turned to get the attention of the bartender and order for her. As the drink was mixed, he studiously avoided her gaze to calm his racing pulse. This is it! I’m taking this one home, Josh swore to himself. “Thanks,” he told the bartender as the drink was slid over to her.

When her full lips touched the edge of the glass, he couldn’t

pull his eyes away.

The woman flicked her eyes towards him, caught his deer-ina-headlight gaze, and licked her lips. “I just love it a little dirty, don’t you?”

He swallowed hard. “Yes. Definitely,” he finally managed to say.

“So . . . um . . . I’m Josh.” He extended a hand to be shaken.

Her skin was just as smooth and soft as it appeared to be. Yup,

he thought, very much like silk.

“Nice to meet you, Josh, I’m Kali,” she said with a smile that

was designed to draw him in.

To him, it was as if everything else around them had ceased to

exist, like a bubble had enveloped them completely. “So . . . um . . .” he sputtered, chuckling nervously.

Without further ado, she placed a manicured hand on his fore-

arm and leaned against him. He could feel the heat emanating from her skin though the thin, silvery material as her lips brushed his earlobe. “Why don’t we make this easy . . . and just take me back to your place already.”

Tingles of excitement flew up and down his body as her words

registered in his muddied brain. Josh nodded in acknowledgment, downed his beer, and grabbed her hand to lead her out of the packed club. What luck! What luck! he shouted in his mind with utmost glee.

They found the night to be hot and humid—as it had been ever

since he had arrived here—but nothing could get him down tonight. He had the valet bring his car around and opened the passenger door of the sleek Audi convertible so this his companion for the night could climb in. As Kali slid onto the plush, leather seat, a flash of red, lacy underwear caught his eye. With great willpower, Josh managed to avoid overtly staring and closed the door, hurrying to the opposite side.

The short drive to the condominium that he and his sister

shared off Biscayne Blvd was filled with anticipation and little conversation. Her hands constantly brushed up and down his thigh, toying with him playfully. Pulling into his space in the parking deck, they climbed out and walked arm-in-arm to the elevator. They entered the mirrored car and Josh pushed the button for the topmost floor . . . well, just beneath the penthouse suite anyway. His wealthy father—a shipping tycoon—had purchased the expensive condominium at his behest when he had been accepted into the University and now, finally, his bedroom would see some action. His brief thoughts were swiftly interrupted as the woman on his arm placed a hand across his jawline and pressed her lips hungrily to his. Passion ignited within him causing a fire to burn deep into his being. His hands found the small of her back and pulled her closer to him. She whimpered with want as their bodies pressed together.

Soon, but not soon enough, the elevator ceased its ascension

and the doors dinged open. Barely coming up for air, Josh dragged her to the door and hurriedly unlocked the bolt. He flung the door open, a hand never leaving her body, and they stumbled lustily through the door; their desire was almost to the breaking point. Josh managed to kick the door closed before she pulled him over to a white leather couch, spun, and pushed him down onto it.

Setting her small purse to the side, Kali grabbed the hem of her

dress and removed it in one fluid motion over her head, desire glinting in her brown eyes.

His eyes drank in her luscious body and barely-there red, lacy

bra and panties. Before he could react, she straddled his lap, parted his lips with her own, and began to search his mouth with her tongue. In pure passion their tongues met and melded into on as his hands explored her body.

Breaking, off the kiss, he moved his lips across her angular jaw-

line and traced a path down to her collarbone.

She let out a breath of air and asked, “Do you have protection?”

“Yeah,” he replied huskily, reaching over to the end table drawer

which would surely contain a few of the square packages.

With his attention elsewhere, Kali slipped her hand into her

purse and slowly extracted a dark metal dagger. It’s black, hardened titanium blade and razor-sharp edges screamed of death. With a quickness barely registrable, she brought the tip of the blade into the point of the skin just above the collarbone and to the left of his neck where there would be the least amount of muscle to slow its descent. As the dagger’s six-inch blade penetrated the aorta walls, Josh managed to secure a last breath of air and met her placid brown eyes. Questions flitted across his features almost reaching out and demanding an answer to the injustice.

“Obviously, not the right kind of protection, but don’t worry,”

she told him, twisting the blade and ripping it free, “you’ll have plenty of company soon.”

His leaking life blood spread across the white surface of the

couch as Kali wiped the blade on his shirt and moved to stand. A shrill, piercing cry reverberated throughout the room as Josh’s elder sister, Bailey, had stumbled upon the gruesome death scene.

Kali whirled around in a blur of motion and with a swift flick

of her wrist like the strike of a cobra, she sent the blackened dagger flinging through the air. The blade glinted in the dim lighting before burying itself to the hilt in the hollow of the still-screaming woman’s throat. The razor-edged tip severed her spinal cord, instantly ending a second life in the span of a minute, and the room was plunged into a thick, eerie silence.

The sickly sweet, coppery tang of blood filled the atmosphere as Kali slid her silvery dress back onto her body and moved towards the still, female corpse. She bent down and wrenched the dagger from the elder girl’s neck. A soft giggle escaped from her lips. “Two for one,” she said, smiling satisfactorily.

Quickly wiping it clean, Kali slipped the dagger back into her

purse and strutted back to the couch, her high heels echoing in the pervading silence.

She bent over his body, peered into the young man’s lifeless eyes

and brushed her lips against his. “Thank you for a great night,” whispered Kali. Digging into his pocket, she brought out his cell phone and dialed 9-1-1.

The phone clicked.

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?” a pleasant voice sounded

through the speaker.

“Yes, I’d like to report a murder,” she said, calmly. “Well . . . two

actually,” Kali corrected herself.

“Excuse me, ma’am, did you say a murder?” Confusion laced the

operator’s voice.

“Yes, I did.”

“Alright.” Kali heard the clacking of a keyboard. “Now, can you

tell me what happened?”

“Of course,” Kali said, smiling to herself. “I killed them.” Only a breath-filled silence came through the speaker.

“You should make a note,” continued Kali, “that this is only the

beginning of many more. And so that the right people get this message

. . . I am the goddess of Death.”

“Ma’am?” asked the operator.

There was no response.

“Ma’am?” the tinny voice asked once again.

But there was not a living soul present in the room to answer. As soon as she had finished speaking, Kali had set the connected phone down onto a coffee table and disappeared into the darkness, leaving behind nothing more than a death-filled, bloody nightmare.