Daeva

Republished Second Edition in November 2025 after revisions for clarity and pace

Trapped inside mortal minds, a powerful demon with a grudge against humanity seeks a host capable of releasing him into the world. The demon, Rothsirge, can't act for himself, but he's a master manipulator. He knows his hosts' every thought, fear, and aspiration, and he influences them by offering power, the gift that corrupts.

Unable to find a suitable host after centuries of searching, Rothsirge allows a gifted young girl, desperate for companionship and blinded by ambition, to convince him to try something new. She promises that if he'll stay with her and reward her family with power, she'll raise the host he hasn't been able to find on his own. Fifty years later, she finally fulfills her promise by shaping her grandson Chris to be exactly what the demon needs.

Sharon, Chris's younger sister, isn't intellectually gifted like her brother and grandmother, but she sees some things more clearly, and she doesn't like what her brother is becoming under the demon's influence. She encourages Chris to resist Rothsirge while she researches his origins, but by the time she fully understands his threat, it may be too late to save her brother... or humanity.