Marked By The Devil's Heir

CHAPTER ONE

~MALAKAI~

∙

∙

I saw him today.

The devil in shining armour.

His face brought back all the memories I've tried to forget.

All the blurry lines became clearer.

Up until now, it had been difficult to distinguish between the truth and my imagination.

I can't believe it's only been twenty-four months since we last saw each other.

Sometimes it feels like decades; other times, it's just like yesterday. But he was real.

And he is my demon. He crawls out from under my bed every night, and I'm drenched in the nightmares of his own making.

'Pierce, do you know that the dark parts of you no longer scare me? I'm only afraid of the dark parts of myself that you created.'

**TWO YEARS AGO**

The whooshing sound of the belt welcomes me as I step into our living room. I can already feel the tension in the air. The sight of the belt is something I'm already used to.

My brother, Ezra, is facing the wall shirtless as our father mercilessly strikes his bruised back. I wince at the sight. The injury will certainly take some time to heal.

"Pornography is a sin! I'm only stopping you from going to hell!" Dad says furiously as he continues to lash out at my brother.

Mom is busy in the kitchen. She usually turns a blind eye each time our father punishes us. She always tells us that Dad loves us and that he only disciplines us to make us better human beings.

Dad is a preacher at the local church, and as his children, we are expected to be godly just like him. Other kids are expected to follow our example.

"Ezra, do you think I like doing this? The belt hurts me just as much as it does you!" Dad says, and I nearly snort at that. It's a lie I've heard so many times.

Dad notices my presence and says, "Your brother is so perfect. He attends fellowship, participates in activities, and gets good grades. Why can't you be more like him?"

Ezra stares at me, and I notice his bruised lip and jaw. It seems Dad has gotten a little too excited this time.

I stand in the corner awkwardly. Each time our father compares Ezra to me, the distance between us brothers only seems to increase, and I hate it.

"I'll be in my room," I murmur to myself. I can hear Dad continue to scold Ezra as I make my way to my room and lock the door behind me.

I snatch my laptop from the table and jump on my bed. I have more important things to do, and my thighs are already shaking in excitement as I turn on my laptop.

It's quite a pity that I'm not the perfect son my father thinks I am. I stare at the image of Lana Winters on my laptop.

My dirty little secret.

She's sitting by the poolside, her hair wet, droplets