"A thought-provoking look into a unique world where humans and demons co-exist."
Reviewed by Mandy Burns
Posted July 19, 2008
Fantasy Urban | Romance Paranormal | Paranormal
Morgan Kingsley's parents are members of the Spirit
Society, whose main belief is protecting and hosting
demons, so that demons can walk the Mortal Plain. At an
early age, the society begins testing children to see if
they are able to host, then when they are old enough, they
sign a contract and a demon takes over their body. To their
dismay, Morgan's body refuses to host a demon. However,
when the King of the Demon Realm, Lugh, is placed with
Morgan anyway for his protection, he's unable to completely
control her. This is an enigma within itself and completely
unheard of, so Morgan starts her own research into the
past. Morgan is an active exorcist and a hater of demons. This
stems mainly from her brother, Adam, who is now catatonic
after his demon left his body, as well as the fact that
Morgan doesn't want anyone or anything controlling her.
She's now a target because Lugh's brother, Dougal, is
trying to find and destroy both of them. Dougal feels Lugh
is too soft to rule the Demon Realm. During her
investigation, Morgan finds a tangled web of deceit
starting with her parents and her stay at the The Healing
Circle, a special hospital that deals with demons and their
hosts, during her childhood testing period. Jenna Black's THE DEVIL YOU KNOW is an interesting
look into a unique world where humans and demons co-exist.
It's also full of intrigue, mystery and suspense, which is
a must in any fabulous read. I look forward to reading the
rest of this series to find out where she takes us next.
SUMMARY
The beautiful. The bad. The Possessed. Some people worship them. Some people fear them. And some
people—like Morgan Kingsley—go up against them toe-to-toe,
flesh-to-flesh, and power against power. An exorcist by
trade, Morgan is one of the few humans with an aura
stronger than her possessor, even though her demon can
tease her body senseless. She's also a woman who has just
discovered a shocking truth: everything she once believed
about her past, her identity, may have been a lie… With a family secret exploding around her and with a full-
scale demon war igniting, Morgan is a key player in an
unsettled world. Then a rogue, sociopathic demon enters
her life with a bang. His name is The Hunter. And since
she is the prey, Morgan has only one choice: to hunt The
Hunter down—no matter what heartbreaking truths she
uncovers on the way…
ExcerptChapter OneThere’s no denying Dominic Castello is a treat to look at—
the classic tall, dark, and handsome. Soulful hazel eyes
framed by thick lashes, warm olive skin, muscles in all
the right places . . . But on seeing him standing in my
doorway, my first impulse was to slam the door in his face. He must have read my expression, for he wedged his foot in
the door and smiled at me. He has a sweet, disarming smile
that would turn most women to jelly, but I’m not most
women. Besides, his equally good-looking boyfriend was the
sadomasochistic demon host who’d shot my brother. That put
Dominic near the bottom of the list of people I wanted to
see, with only his boyfriend, Adam, and pretty much my
entire family below him. Unfortunately, with him being over six feet tall and at
least two hundred pounds, I wasn’t keeping him out of my
apartment now that I’d been stupid enough to open the door
in the first place. Giving in to the inevitable, I moved away from the door,
letting him enter—though I didn’t actually invite him in.
I headed to my minuscule kitchen, where a half-full pot of
coffee left over from breakfast still sat on the warmer. “Wanna cup?” I asked without looking at him. “Sure. Thanks.” I filled two mugs, noticing that the coffee was dark as
ink and smelled stale. If it were just me, I’d make a
fresh pot, but I didn’t want Dominic staying that long. “Cream and sugar?” Dominic looked at the tar-scented swill in the cup I
handed him and shook his head. “I doubt it would help
much.” That almost made me smile. “So, what brings you to this
part of town?” I took a sip of the coffee to prove it was
drinkable and tried not to gag when I discovered it wasn’t. When Dominic didn’t immediately answer, my nerves went on
red alert. Apparently, this wasn’t a social call, which I
suppose I’d known all along. “Maybe we should sit down for a bit,” he suggested. I really hated the sound of that—and the way he wouldn’t
quite meet my eyes. My stomach gave an unhappy gurgle, and
my fingers clenched on the coffee cup. I put it down
before I took a sip by reflex. For the last few weeks, I’d been trying my best to live
under a rock. I’d had enough stress lately to last me a
lifetime—or three. Realistically, I knew my problems were
far from over, but I’d been determined to hold them at bay
for as long as possible—ideally, until I was on my
deathbed. See, here’s the thing. I’m an exorcist. My calling in
life, my very raison d’être, is to kick demon ass. Only
the ones who possess unwilling hosts or who commit violent
crimes, of course, but in reality I didn’t like legal
demons much better. So as you can imagine, my life became
a little complicated when I found out I was possessed by
the king of the demons, who was embroiled in a war for the
throne of the Demon Realm. For reasons neither of us understands, the demon king,
Lugh, can’t take control of me the way a normal demon can.
Even though I’m possessed, I remain in total control of my
body. For the most part, Lugh can only take command when
I’m asleep, and can only communicate with me through
dreams. From the moment I’d found out I was possessed, my life had
shot straight to hell and stayed there. My best friend had
tried to kill me. My house was burned to the ground. I was
thrown in jail for murder. My boyfriend, Brian—actually,
he’s my ex-boyfriend now, though I have yet to convince
him of this fact—was kidnapped and tortured in an attempt
to get to me. And to win his aid in rescuing Brian, I’d
let Dominic’s boyfriend whip me bloody for his own
amusement. All in all, I was desperately in need of some R&R. But
since I wasn’t getting Dominic out of my apartment through
brute force, I figured the quickest way to get rid of him
was to listen to what he had to say. I’m sure I looked pretty sulky and mulish as I led him
into my living room and gestured him toward my couch. I
dropped into the love seat and suffered a momentary pang
of yearning for the homey, comfortable furniture that had
been destroyed when my house burned down. I’d rented this
apartment furnished, and nothing in it reflected my
tastes. This love seat, for example was hard enough to
numb my ass. I hoped the sofa would have the same effect
on Dominic. “So we’re sitting down,” I said, folding my arms across my
chest. “Why don’t you tell me why you’re here?” He put his cup on the coffee table—I don’t think he’d been
stupid enough to take a sip, like I had—then turned so he
could face me full-on. I didn’t like the intensity of his
expression, so instead of looking at him, I idly tugged at
a loose thread on the arm of the love seat. “Adam has found out something he thinks you should know,”
Dominic said. I pulled on the thread a little harder, and the fabric
started to unravel. With a grunt of disgust, I stopped
fidgeting and gave Dom my best steely-eyed glare. “If Adam
thinks I should know, why isn’t he the one sitting here?” Dominic grinned. “He thought I was more likely to get
through your door.” I couldn’t help a rueful chuckle. There have been times
when I’ve said some terrible things to Dominic, but he’s
never deserved them. When I’d first met him, he’d been a
willing demon host, and I had despised him for being the
kind of weak-minded, suicidal fool who was willing to give
up his entire identity to host a demon. Because the human
personality was (in all cases except my own) completely
buried beneath the demon’s, I’d considered the human hosts
as good as dead. Many people—including my entire family—
considered those who sacrificed themselves to host “Higher
Powers,” as they called demons, to be great heroes.
Because demons are so much stronger and so much more
resilient than humans, the hosts can take on extremely
dangerous tasks. But I’d always considered them sheep. After some of the things he had done for me—and for Brian,
a man he didn’t even know—I now believed Dominic was a
genuine hero, even without his demon. And despite my
feelings about Adam, I had to admit that, most of the
time, I rather liked Dom. “Adam could have tried phoning,” I said, trying to
maintain my grumpy demeanor. Dominic just laughed. “And you would have hung up on him
and taken the phone off the hook.” Probably true. “All right, you win. Tell me what he found
out. I assume it’s important or you wouldn’t be here.” The humor faded from his face. “Yeah.” He cleared his
throat, and once again his eyes slid away from mine. “This
is going to be kind of awkward.” “Great.” “Adam’s been doing some, er, investigation.” Along with all his other sterling qualities, Adam is also
the Director of Special Forces, the branch of the Philly
police department responsible for demon-related crime. The
fact that he’s hosting a demon himself has never seemed
like a conflict of interest to the Powers That Be, though
I wasn’t the only citizen who questioned the wisdom of his
appointment. “What kind of investigation?” I prompted when Dominic
seemed to be struggling to continue. He huffed out a breath, and one corner of his mouth tipped
up in a wry smile. “I can’t think of a way to tell you
this without risking bodily injury, so I’m just going to
blurt it out.” And honest to God, the man tensed up as if
ready to defend himself. “He’s been investigating you and
your family.” I blinked a couple of times as I let that sink in. A low
simmer started in my chest, but either I was getting more
serene in my old age, or Dominic had given the statement
so much build-up that nothing he said could be as bad as I
expected. Knowing me, the latter is more likely. “Investigating how? And why?” He was still watching me warily, which meant there was
more to this story he didn’t think I would like. “He’s
been wondering why Raphael chose you to be Lugh’s host.” Dougal—Lugh’s oldest brother and second in line for the
throne—had hatched an insidious plan to take over as king
of the Demon Realm. He’d planned to summon Lugh into a
human host, and then burn that host alive, which, counter
to popular wisdom, is the only way to kill a demon.
Raphael, Lugh’s youngest brother, had ostensibly been
Dougal’s accomplice, but instead of arranging for Lugh to
take over the chosen host, he’d stuck Lugh in my body. Turned out Raphael had always been on Lugh’s side, and had
summoned him into me to save his life. Somehow, Raphael
had known Lugh wouldn’t be able to take me over, and
because of that inability, he would remain hidden from his
enemies. Even when Raphael had revealed his true
loyalties, he’d refused to tell Lugh how he’d known. “I’m sure we’ve all been wondering that,” I said
cautiously. “What does my family have to do with anything?” “You mean other than the fact that your brother was
Raphael’s host?” I rolled my eyes. “You know what I mean!” “Yes. Well. Adam figured that Raphael must have found out
something interesting when he insinuated himself into your
family, so Adam hoped to find out what that interesting
something was.” My heart seemed to be beating louder than it should, but
it was probably my imagination. “And? What did he find?” Dominic looked even more uncomfortable. “I love Adam, but
I wish he hadn’t sent me to do this . . .” I made a little sound of frustration. “Just tell me,
already! Waiting for the other shoe to drop is killing me.” Dominic clasped his hands in his lap and regarded them
with concentration. “He found an old, buried police report
from twenty-eight years ago. About a rape.” He
squirmed. “The victim was your mother.” The blood drained from my face. Never had my mother even
hinted that she’d been raped. Of course, my mother and I
had been at each others’ throats since I was about five,
so I guess it isn’t surprising that she hadn’t shared a
confidence like that with me. Still, I didn’t know how to feel. I mean . . . damn! What
a horrible secret to keep for all these years. How much
had that rape affected my mother’s life? And her
personality? Was it possible that all the things I
despised about her were symptoms of that terrible trauma
in her past? Then the other shoe dropped—though I was losing count of
how many shoes it had been so far. “Twenty-eight years ago?” I asked in a hushed whisper, and
Dominic met my eyes this time. His chin dipped in a barely
perceptible nod, and the sympathy in his expression made
my throat ache. “Then there’s a chance . . .” I couldn’t
say it. My pulse was pounding in my ears, my world tipping
sideways once again. Dominic sighed. “Not just a chance, I’m afraid,” he said
gently. “Adam also found the record of a paternity test.” My heart clenched in my chest, and it was all I could do
to hold myself together. “I guess that means my father
isn’t really my father, huh?” I tried for something like
nonchalance and was sure I failed. Dominic shook his head. “I wish there were some good way
to tell you this.” He looked so miserable that I was able to pull myself up
by my bootstraps, at least temporarily. “You did fine,” I
assured him. I could only imagine how Adam would have
delivered the news. He doesn’t like me any more than I
like him. In my more generous moments, I admit that I’ve
given him good cause to dislike me. But my generous
moments are few and far between. Still, I guess this unpleasant truth about my origins
explained a bit about my less-than-stellar relationship
with my parents. I’d always assumed they favored my
brother for his willingness to host a demon. My parents
are members of the Spirit Society, a group that
practically worships these demons. To them, there can be
no greater glory than to sacrifice oneself to host a
demon. The fact that they hadn’t been able to brainwash me
into hosting had inspired boundless animosity, but now I
had an insight into what else they held against me. And it
wasn’t pretty. “Not to be shitty or anything,” I said, “but is there some
burning reason you and Adam felt it necessary to tell me
this? I mean, I’ve gone twenty-eight years without
knowing, and I’d have been happy to go twenty-eight more.” Dominic shrugged. “Lugh can’t gain control of you. There’s
got to be a reason, since Raphael had no trouble taking
over your brother. Don’t you think the fact that you and
your brother have different fathers might have something
to do with it?” I leaned back into the stiff, uncomfortable cushions of my
rent-a-couch and brooded a bit. I wasn’t sure how I felt
about this revelation. There was definitely an element of
shock. I mean, how could I not be shocked? But I think I
would have been more devastated if I were actually close
to my dad. Christ! Why had they done it? Why had my mother decided to
keep her baby under the circumstances? Yeah, she was the
pro-life type, but even if she wasn’t willing to have an
abortion, that didn’t mean she had to keep me after I was
born! Had my father known all along that I wasn’t his? The questions circled like sharks, and I didn’t want to
deal with them. “Okay,” I said, “let’s say you’re right and my biological
father”—man, did that sound weird—“has something to do
with why Lugh can’t get a foothold. What does that gain
us? We don’t know who he was, do we?” Dominic shook his head. “No. Your mother didn’t even give
much of a description in the police report. But the
strange thing is that, after she made the initial report,
nothing happened.” “What do you mean?” “I mean, no one made any effort to investigate the case.
It just kind of sank out of sight, and your mother never
made an inquiry. I can’t help wondering why.” I had to admit, that was pretty strange. But I also had a
sneaking suspicion where this was going, and I intended to
nip it in the bud before it got there. “If you think I’m
going to question my mom about it, you can forget it.” “Now, Morgan—” “No!” I snapped. “I do everything I can to avoid her, even
in supposedly pleasant situations. No way in hell am I
asking her about a rape she never bothered to tell me
about.” I was too agitated to sit still, so I stood up and paced.
I wanted to pull the blanket of denial up over my head
again. After all the shit I’d been through, I needed more
time, damn it! Bad enough to have to deal with royal
intrigue and assassins and the fate of the human race—
which, according to Lugh, could turn seriously ugly if
Dougal managed to grab the throne—but to have to deal with
my family issues on top of all that . . . Nope, not ready for it. Dominic’s a pretty smart guy, and his instincts are good.
He took one look at my face, then swallowed whatever
argument he’d been about to make. “All right,” he said, standing. “I can certainly
understand your position. Adam will keep poking around the
old files. He’ll let you know if he finds anything
important.” I’m not the most polite person under the best of
circumstances, which these weren’t, so I couldn’t manage
much better than a curt nod of acceptance. Still, I did
walk him to the door, which I felt was rather decent of me. “If you ever need someone to talk to,” he said before he
left, “give me a call. I’m a good listener.” I couldn’t help a little snort of laughter. Dom looked
hurt. “Nothing personal,” I hastened to assure him. “I’m sure
you’re a great listener. But I’m a lousy talker.” Which I
bet he knew already. He hadn’t known me all that long, but
he was far too sensitive not to have picked that up. Dominic smiled faintly. “All right. But the offer stays
open.” “Thanks,” I said, and then there was nothing else to say. After Dominic left, the apartment seemed ominously empty
and quiet. Just the kind of atmosphere to encourage a
round of brooding melancholy and self-pity. I decided
hanging around would be a bad idea, so I stuffed my Taser
in my purse and headed out. Tasers are one of the few weapons that actually work
against demons. The electricity fucks up their ability to
control the host body and leaves them essentially
helpless. Normal weapons, like guns, might be able to kill
the host, but the demon would just return to the Demon
Realm. And if it ever managed to get back to the Mortal
Plain, you’d be high on its shit list. It used to be that I rarely carried my Taser when I went
out. By the time I’m called in to do an exorcism, the
demon has been well and truly contained and is no threat
to me. Now, with Dougal’s unknown minions wanting to kill
me, I wouldn’t go to the lobby to pick up my mail without
the Taser on my person. I didn’t actually have a plan for where I wanted to go,
but as I walked the streets of Philadelphia, trying not to
brood or even think, I found myself heading toward The
Healing Circle. That’s the hospital-cum-nursing home where
my brother currently resides. The demon Raphael abandoned
my brother’s body after Adam shot him. My brother managed
to survive the gunshot wound, but as is usually the case
when a host loses his demon, his mind didn’t survive. He’s
in a state of catatonia, probably permanently. For many years, I’d despised Andrew as much as I’d
despised the rest of my family. But in the horrible moment
when Adam shot him, I’d realized that, despite all our
troubles, I still loved him. And so, even when I was
otherwise trying to keep my head firmly buried in the
sand, I made sure to visit Andrew on a regular basis.
Usually, I tried to time my visits to miss my other family
members. Visiting spur of the moment like this was
dangerous, but I guess after the disturbing news I felt
the need to connect to the one family member I felt
comfortable with. The fact that I could talk to Andrew without him talking
back might also have been a plus. The gods decided to have mercy on me—for once!—and Andrew
had no visitors when I arrived. My parents were well-off
enough to afford a private room—only the best for their
favored son—so I closed the door behind me and pulled up a
chair. Naturally, Andrew had lost a lot of weight since he’d gone
catatonic. He was too tall and big-boned to look frail,
but he certainly didn’t look like the strong and powerful
big brother I’d once known. “Hi, Andy,” I said, reaching out to clasp his limp hand.
My voice came out a bit raspy, and the stinging in my eyes
said I was on the verge of tears. I blinked until they
went away. Andy didn’t move or blink. His eyes were open, but they
stared fixedly ahead. I swallowed hard. Those few demon
hosts who’d recovered after being in this state said they
were conscious and aware during their catatonia, even
though they couldn’t move or speak. Knowing that, I always
tried to talk to him, keep him up to date on the news,
maybe even read to him. Anything to keep his mind from
atrophying inside his useless husk of a body. But tonight, my own mind was in too much turmoil to manage
banter, and I didn’t want to tell him what I’d learned
from Dominic. There was always the possibility he knew,
but I kind of doubted it. He would have been only three
years old when the rape happened—too young to understand
what was going on around him, even if he had heard
whatever discussions my parents must have had as they
decided to keep me. Instead, I just sat there holding his hand. It felt
strangely peaceful, and I let my eyes slide shut. I guess I hadn’t been getting all that much sleep lately.
Either that, or the stress of Dominic’s revelation had
sapped the last vestiges of my energy. Whatever the reason, I must have drifted off, because when
I next opened my eyes, I wasn’t in my brother’s room
anymore. When I’d first met Lugh in my dreams, his control of even
my unconscious mind had been tenuous at best. I’d met him
in a barren white room with no doors or windows. As his
control had gotten better, the room had gotten homier. He’d embellished it since the last time I’d been here,
adding a simple geometric rug under the coffee table and a
frothy potted fern on a plant stand between the sofa and
love seat. I gave these details about a half-second’s
attention before I gave in to the inevitable and let my
gaze rest on Lugh. Dominic is nice to look at. Lugh is every woman’s sexual
fantasy come to life. His skin is a beautiful burnished
bronze, his hair is a silky, shiny jet black and reaches
to his shoulder blades when unbound, and his eyes . . .
They’re an intense shade of dark amber, and there always
seems to be a hint of light glowing behind them. And let’s
not even talk about his incredible body! Of course, demons are actually incorporeal, so that body
was nothing but an illusion—and since Lugh has access to
all my deepest thoughts and feelings, he knows exactly
what buttons to push to make my mouth water. But knowing
that doesn’t ever seem to stop me from drooling when I see
him. He was sitting on the middle seat of the sofa, his long
arms stretched out along the back, his ankle resting on
his knee as he watched me ogle him. His sensuous lips
curved into a hint of a smile. I made an unladylike
grunting sound and plopped into the love seat. I didn’t
particularly want to talk to my own personal demon right
this moment, but it would take me a while to close my
mental doors to him. So . . . “Long time no see,” I said, fighting the urge to cross my
arms over my chest in my trademark defensive gesture. “I’ve been trying to give you some space,” he answered. His low, rumbling voice always seemed to vibrate through
my nerves. Goose bumps rose on my arms at the sound of it,
and I had to fight a shiver. “Very considerate of you.” My voice sounded too breathy
for the attempt at sarcasm. “But in light of this evening’s news,” he continued, “I
think it’s time for us to do some investigation.” I suppressed a groan. “Let Adam do all the investigating
he wants! That’s not my area of expertise, and I’d rather
spend time with my gynecologist than my mom.” I tried a
little harder to close my mental doors. “There’s only so long you can go on pretending none of
this is happening. You know Dougal’s people have been up
to no good while they’ve walked the Mortal Plain, and you
know the fate of your entire race may lie in the balance.” “Thanks for reminding me!” I snapped, allowing another
wave of self-pity to break over me. “I might have
forgotten all about it otherwise.” He sighed quietly. “I can apologize again for dragging you
into this against your will, but my apologies don’t seem
to do either one of us any good. The only chance you have
of returning to your ‘normal’ life is to help me defeat
Dougal. Until then, you’ll never know when one of his
supporters might find out you’re hosting me and try to
kill you.” His words stung. “Do you really think the only reason I
might help you is to save my own ass?” “Of course not,” he answered with reassuring
promptness. “I just thought the reminder might hurry you
up a bit.” I was working my way up to a smart-ass reply when I
finally managed to shove those mental doors closed and
wake up. I entertained a few less-than-complimentary
thoughts about Lugh for a moment before I remembered where
I was. My hand was still clasped in Andy’s. With a start, I
realized that his fingers were actually curled around mine
instead of lying limply in my grip. A shot of adrenaline
burst through me, and I sat up abruptly and opened my eyes. Andy’s head was turned toward me, and when our eyes met I
could see the recognition and intelligence in his gaze.
Without a moment’s warning, I burst into tears and bowed
my head over our clasped hands.
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