Tessa Hastjarjanto - Lucifers Favour

C ontent warnings : Demons, smoking, alcohol, death, murder, kidnapping, (off-page) sex, blood, spiders, (fantasy) violence.

Copyright 2022 by Tessa Hastjarjanto

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

First Published, 2022

Cover design by Ravven

Edited by ThEditors.com

ISBN EPUB 9789083006581

ISBN MOBI 9789083006598

W hen 16-year-old Nora cycles back home after a night with her friends, Felicia, Emily, and Josy, a mysterious man accidentally knocks her off her bike. The next morning, she learns the mysterious man is one of the new kids in her class, Ben. Her friend Felicia obsesses over the other transfer, Danny, but he is more interested in Nora. Felicia hates it and banishes Nora from their group. After several attempts to make up with Felicia, Nora gives up. Michael, Noras childhood friend, pulls Nora out of isolation and takes her to prom. Ben steals a dance from her and they share a kiss. Michael punches Ben, and the trio becomes the popular gossip for the next couple of weeks.
After the winter break, Nora tries to make amends with her friends. Ben takes her to the movies, where they share another kiss, one Nora wants to remember. Matthew, Ben and Dannys guardian, explains why Felicia has been acting the way she did.

Noras head is filled with thoughts and emotions, but one thing shook her world: Ben and Danny are angels. After they broke the spell Felicia was under, Nora no longer wanted anything to do with the boys. Especially when she learns the boys made a bet to make her fall in love with them.

Danny clears up all the lies he has told and shows his true self to Nora, while Ben has given up trying to make Nora fall in love with him. When the Devil summons the three of them to settle the bet, he looks into Nora's soul to see who she truly loves. Danny ends up losing his wings and falls into a coma, while Ben returns to the Angelic City, angry at Nora for picking Danny over him.

T wo months ago, Nora thought it was over, but she was wrong. It was only the beginning.

Nora, do you want a drink? Matthews voice resonated through the upstairs hallway. Cold beverages were the only weapon against the latest heatwave. Matthew refused to get air conditioning and a fan could only do so much.

No, thanks. My cup is still full, Nora said. She glanced at the cup of lukewarm tea on Dannys nightstand and took a sip.

Dannys blond hair danced in the artificial winds, the only part of him thatd moved all summer. After their horrifying trip to the Plain of the Unliving, Danny had slipped into the strange coma he was still in to this day. It took her weeks to get used to, before the tears stopped flowing at the sight of him. Even though she had no control over it, guilt was eating her up. Had she chosen differently, this wouldve been Ben. Would that be better? Worse? She didnt know.

Nora had asked Matthew to stay with Danny after he lost his wings, to help find out what was wrong with him. Matthew was reluctant, but gave in. She had told her parents she was working with Matthew on his architectural business; archiving old files and cleaning up the administration. The kind of things a business owner never had time for and were perfect for a high school student in need of money.

It took Nora several days to clean up the administration. Matthew said it wasnt necessary to actually do that, but she needed a distraction. At least this way it wasnt a complete lie to her parents, and she did want to know more about running a business.

After finishing the paperwork, she looked into stories with mysterious comas. Over the course of the summer, they had been looking for an answer to Dannys situation. Matthew had contacted several people to try to wake Danny up. But neither shaman, druid, witch, or doctor could help him. None of them had seen this before, especially in a supernatural being.

Danny had no pulse, nor breath. His other bodily functions had stopped as well. It looked like he wasnt alive at all, but he looked pristine. The druid saw him a month after he lost his wings and asked Matthew if Danny had been embalmed. The word corpse scared her, afraid that they had been too late to save Danny. The only thing the shaman said after that was strange.

When Matthew told the shaman the boy he was examining used to be an angel, he took a risk by entering the spirit world and ask his friends there for information. One of the spirits told him she could feel Dannys soul, but that it wasnt inside of him; it was lost.

Matthew had become ever more convinced that Nora was the key to Dannys revival. After all, she was the reason he lost his wings. Perhaps she would be the one to help him find his way back from wherever he was. But if she really was the key, he would have woken up already.

Nora had taken over Dannys bedroom, using his desk and laptop to work. Books were sprawled all over, except for his bed. Shed pull up her chair to Dannys bedside and read him the strange tales she found that day, hoping he could hear her.

There was only a chapter left to read in this book. She had analysed the story of the little mermaid and how she turned into sea foam. The sea witch cast a curse on the little mermaid and only a true loves kiss could break it. Of course, there was a time limit, creating a sense of urgency and raising the stakes. Fairy tales liked deadlines, but real life was different. No one set a timer on Dannys coma.

Her voice formed a soft melody over the rhythmic sound of the fan. The opened window let a cool breeze in, making the curtains dance through the room. It was more tolerable here than in Matthews office. Nora had no idea how Matthew held out being stuck in that room days on end.

Matthews unkempt head popped around the corner. Are you drinking enough? I dont want you to get dehydrated.

Yeah, Im fine. Nora smiled and held up her book. Im nearly done with this chapter, and Ill refill my glass.

Ok. Matthew turned to Danny. Id ask him if he wants anything, but he wont even give me a snarky reply. Ive got a terrible roommate.

Nora giggled. Danny wouldve appreciated the joke. She let out a sigh. She missed him.

I miss him too, Matthew said.

Nora turned back to Matthew with a frown.

What? I know you were thinking it too. Matthew leaned against the door post. The white shirt and beige linen pants fit well with the leather flip-flops. The only thing he missed were handmade bracelets and hed fit right in with the hippie crowd.