Tempt, p.1
Tempt, page 1
Table of Contents
Copyright
Disclaimer
Content Warning
Introduction
Map
Chapter 1 – The Trap
Chapter 2 - Firm Friends
Chapter 3 - Tightening the Noose
Chapter 4 - Stepping into the Unknown
Chapter 5 – The Dreamgate
Chapter 6 – Blast from the Past
Chapter 7 - The Screamer
Chapter 8 – Blue Moon
Chapter 9 - Back to Reality
Origin Story
Prequel
Social Links
About The Author
Glossary of Main Characters
Copyright
Tempt by Sazora Stone
© 2023 Sazora Stone
ISBN: 978-0-6459972-2-4
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by copyright law. For permissions contact Sazora Stone.
Cover art, interior art & Map by Sazora Stone. © 2023 Sazora Stone
No AI software was used in the creation of this story.
Disclaimer
This is a completely fictional story. The names, characters and incidents portrayed have been created by the writer. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.
Content Warning
Please be aware this tale contains adult themes and language. References to demons and paranormal happenings are also present.
The Idol Demons series is intended for readers over the age of 18. Visit Sazora Stone’s website for full details of all warnings.
Introduction
When sassy music journalist Amy gets wasted after watching idol supergroup Sasin perform, she has an extraordinary encounter with the group's leader, Adam. She writes it off as a delusion, and then gets blackmailed into testing out a mysterious new virtual reality system.
The strangest part? It's supposed to mimic a real-life date with Adam.
Amy enters a huge, glowing portal and becomes immersed in an incredibly realistic moment from her past. Strangely, things aren’t quite the same, as this fantasy world contains some dark, paranormal undertones. Once Adam appears, they embark on a brief, crazy adventure which ends with a sizzling interlude which can't possibly be real.
Or is it? Because Amy's journalistic instincts are telling her something different, especially regarding Sasin's charismatic leader.
The Idol Demon series is a set of paranormal romance adventures about a group of friends who become involved with an enigmatic new Korean idol band called Sasin. The underlying story is an absorbing, tangled mystery that will keep you guessing right till the end.
In the first five books, each of the characters goes on a virtual date with their favorite member of the group. They embark on incredible adventures where romance blossoms against the backdrop of their personal fantasy worlds. It soon becomes clear nothing is what it seems as they are drawn into intrigues which will eventually lead them back to the little country town where they grew up.
As they unearth dark truths about Sasin, they learn many things about themselves and find unexpected love. Some of it is sweet, some is scorching hot. None of it will be forgettable.
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Map
In this series, Nevari Island is the fictitious place where most of the stories occur. It is a location within the world which wasn’t discovered until recently.
Chapter 1 – The Trap
Encouraged by a few quiet cheers, Amy kneeled down and crawled backwards through the ground level window.
“You can do this!” an enthusiastic woman declared nearby.
“Okay. Here I go!” Amy pronounced, lowering herself down the interior wall. She clung on with shaky fingers, only to realize the concrete floor below was farther down than she had expected.
Next thing she knew, she was sprawled across the ground with a trickle of blood running down her face.
As Amy wiped away the warm liquid, she felt a jolt of shock which briefly sobered her up. As she let out a deep gasp, she realized she was in the midst of breaking into a lavish hotel.
Despite how baffling as her actions may seem, this wasn’t the first odd thing the sassy brunette had done tonight. Agreeing to drink with total strangers had been the beginning of a series of impulsive decisions which were entirely out of character for her.
It seemed that falling and hitting her head had just knocked some sense into it.
Amy could hardly believe she was slumped on the concrete floor of a toilet cubicle in the sub-level of a multi-story building. Evidently, she had lost her grip as she lowered herself through the narrow window almost ten feet above and fallen to the ground.
Delicately touching a finger to her temple, Amy began recalling how she had ended up in such a bizarre situation.
It had all started just a few hours ago at a huge concert she had attended with a group of her oldest friends. With Christmas fast approaching, it became a fantastic reason for them to get together after being apart for the past twelve months. Filled with giddy anticipation, they had watched an extraordinary performance by a new Korean idol band called Sasin, which was the hottest thing around.
Being a music journalist, Amy had seen hundreds of shows in her twenty-eight years on the planet and was thoroughly jaded about live performances. She already knew this band had an incredible stage presence and amazing sets, but she wasn’t expecting to be completely blown away by what she saw onstage tonight.
Sasin was a rare anomaly in the world of K-pop music, a genre known for its upbeat vibes and catchy songs. The group's aesthetic was shamelessly demonic, with theming to match this boldly unique premise.
Their live performances took place on a vast, high-tech stage which would seamlessly transform into a range of strangely beautiful stygian landscapes. Sasin blended perfectly into these hellish panoramas, performing complex choreography to the thumping beats of their hypnotizing tunes.
The concept of their tour aligned with the group aesthetic, centering on the struggles of hellion overlords defending their realms.
For three hours, the action-packed concert relentlessly assaulted Amy’s senses until her whole body was numb. During the climactic finale, she witnessed what had to be one of the most realistic battle scene ever portrayed on a stage. Staring so hard her eyes dried out, she watched as Sasin’s members transformed into magnificent winged lords and fought hordes of demonic invaders.
Once Amy had seen the group performing live, she totally understood why people said the Annihilation tour was aptly named. She was absolutely wrecked by the end and felt like she had just dragged herself across the finish line of a grueling marathon.
Strangely, she was feeling quite euphoric, a condition which she thought was because of some lingering adrenalin. This elation was part of the reason she ended up in a seedy bar with a couple of die-hard fans after the concert was over.
It took little effort for the women to convince Amy to join them for a few drinks. Heading to a dingy tavern nearby, they began recalling the highlights of Sasin’s show over a series of vodka shots. Once they were nicely primed, they concocted the moronic plan which had led to Amy’s current predicament.
Somehow, they came up with the idiotic idea to sneak into the group’s hotel and attempt to track down the band.
Their ill-fated scheme was conceived after one of the women declared she knew a cleaner who worked in the place where Sasin was staying. Apparently, this person swore they saw the band’s members getting into black vans about two hours before the concert was due to start.
This news immediately pricked Amy’s journalistic instincts and soon her companions were suggesting they should head over to the hotel. If they could track down the band, she might be able to interview them, a feat which few other reporters achieved.
Since the building wasn’t far away, the women quickly downed their drinks and staggered off into the night. When the trio arrived at the entrance to the luxurious suites, they crept around the side and found a small open window at ground level. Amy volunteered to climb down and see where it led as she thought it might be a stealthy way to sneak inside. If she could find the service elevators, then the others could crawl down too and join her as she scoured every single floor....
Emitting a low groan, Amy was forced to accept what a steaming pile of crap their scheme was.
Unfortunately, she was no longer in a position to back out now, as the window she had lowered herself through was well and truly out of reach. It had been put there for a reason, specifically to let fresh air into a small subterranean bathroom.
As the reality of her situation set in, the hapless journalist began shaking her head in grim resignation.
Amy’s troubles were only beginning though as she was about to experience a level of shame which she rarely achieved. She was only a couple of minutes away from being caught out like a clumsy cat burglar who’s realized they’re not cut out for a life of crime.
Slowly standing up, she avoided touching the grubby concrete floor with her blood-smeared hands. The room began to spin, forcing her to grab the toilet seat to avoid ending up back on the deck.
“Shit !” Amy spat out as she bolted upright and raised her palms into the air.
A hundred backsides had likely graced the seat’s well-worn surface since it last received the attention of a cleaner.
Making a collection of strangling sounds, she lurched out of the stall and grabbed the tap sitting over the small sink attached to the wall outside. Once she had some water running, she pushed on the old soap dispenser above the basin and scrubbed her hands.
Amy muttered a few curse words as she noted how badly kept this bathroom was, especially for such a luxurious hotel. There wasn’t even a small mirror she could use to inspect her injury, so she ended up carefully patting the front of her skull until she found a sore spot. Once she had located the split just above her temple, she washed away most of the blood which had run down over her face.
Her wound was still oozing though and there was only so much she could do without some basic medical supplies. Feeling slightly less gory, Amy was now confronted with the task of locating something she could use to dry her hands. Grumbling about the facilities again, she went to retrieve some toilet paper and discovered there wasn’t even an empty core left in the dispenser.
Amy would’ve resorted to wiping them on her pants if they weren’t made of black shiny vinyl. Glancing down at her clothes, she had to admit she wasn’t dressed for an impromptu break-and-enter. Her sturdy combat boots were perfect for the job but her crop top emblazoned with the words ‘eat the rich’ was so conspicuous it was almost like a neon sign.
Grimacing, she tried to dry her hands using what little loose fabric she could grasp at the bottom of her t-shirt. As she gave up in defeat, she then remembered the stash of tissues which were tucked away in one pocket of her bag.
“Why aren’t you working, brain?” Amy muttered to herself.
Since her satchel was still outside with her two accomplices, she raised her head and yelled out for their help.
“Hey, guys! Can you pass my bag down?”
She got no response, only hearing the soft chirruping of crickets.
“Don’t you dare bail on me!” Amy wailed with clenched fists. “You useless bitches! This was your idea!” Producing a sound like a dying swan, she almost crumpled to the floor in a haze of angry desperation.
Deep down, Amy knew she shouldn’t be surprised the two women had abandoned her like this. Cradling her damp, blood-stained head in her hands, she felt the dread of knowing she was now well and truly on her own.
She began scolding herself for believing she could interview Sasin in her current state, let alone face the extraordinary man who headed up the group.
Sasin’s charismatic leader Adam was, in Amy’s humble opinion, one of the most gorgeous men to have ever graced this world. His angelic visage had taken her breath away from the moment she laid eyes upon it, eliciting feelings which she thought were dead and buried years ago.
Like all of Sasin’s members, he was tall, athletically built and capable of doing incredibly difficult dance routines. Able to sing through the sequences without missing a single note, he was the initial reason she had become interested in his group.
Amy believed Adam had played a pivotal part in the band’s rapid rise to fame over the past ten months. He wrote all of their powerful songs which could hook you in right from the moment you heard the first beat drop. The handsome performer also exuded the effortless confidence you would often find in the people who excelled in leadership roles.
This remarkable young man appealed to her in a way which she hadn’t experienced since she was in her teens. He was sophisticated, not brash or over-the-top, like many of the male entertainers she met as an adult. Being a music journalist, Amy was regularly exposed to these men, so it was no surprise she had ended up in relationships with them. Eventually, she made a poor choice which caused her so much grief she had given up on dating.
Adam was different to these guys, however, it wasn’t something Amy wanted to sit down and analyze. Knowing he existed was all that mattered because he brought some much needed joy into the romantic vacuum of her life.
He wasn’t currently featuring in Amy’s thoughts though as she was far too busy worrying about being in a place where she had no business to be. If she wanted to preserve the last shreds of her dignity, she needed to figure out how to get out of this hotel without being seen.
Dropping her chin, she tried to force her addled mind to focus on the urgent task at hand. It was now close to midnight on a Thursday night, so Amy was likely to draw some attention if she attempted to leave through the building’s foyer. She needed to find an emergency exit she could dash through, as the moment she opened the door, it would trigger all the building’s alarms.
Sadly, she never had time to enact her plan as the distinct sound of creaking hinges began echoing around the concrete walls. Still standing in the toilet stall, Amy assumed it would be some random stranger looking for a place to relieve themselves. Shutting the cubicle’s door, she pushed its flimsy lock closed before leaning all of her weight against it.
Then she heard a voice she immediately recognized, the Korean-accented tones of Sasin’s leader.
“Is everything okay in here?” Adam asked in his warm, deep voice. Stopping halfway through the entrance into the bathroom, he added, “I heard someone yelling.”
Amy almost wet herself as her whole body clenched up.
Then she went into complete denial.
Surely that couldn’t be Adam standing out there, not in this awful concrete bunker which passed as a bathroom. Frozen in place, her mind was whirring at a thousand miles an hour as he spoke again.
“I’m coming in,” he said as he stepped into the small space.
The sound of measured steps bounced around the walls, filling Amy’s head with complete and utter dread. If that really was the famous performer, there was no way she wanted to meet him in her current state.
“Say you’re okay and I’ll leave,” Adam spoke calmly. “I pulled up outside and overheard you.”
Amy quickly concluded there must be an underground carpark on this floor. If only she had acted promptly and sought an escape, she wouldn’t be stuck in this awful situation.
“I’m fine,” she croaked out.
“You don’t sound like you’re alright.”
“I’ve had a tiny accident.”
“You’ve been drinking, haven’t you?”
His question was met with heavy silence.
“Can you please come out? I’ll feel a lot better when I can see you’re not dying.”
Grimacing, Amy realized he would not leave her alone until he was satisfied she would be alright. Touching a finger to her bloody forehead, she was forced to accept this was about to become one of the most awkward moments in her life.
“Okay,” she replied as she prepared to face Sasin’s leader. Pulling herself up straight, she took a deep breath before turning around and sliding the lock open with a shaking hand.
Slowly opening the door, she lowered her gaze as she slunk out of the cubicle and headed directly for the basin. Pressing her lips together, Amy dropped her chin to her chest as she clutched the edge of the porcelain with one hand, while the other gripped onto the tap.
“Are you alright?” Adam asked as he took a step towards her.
Trying not to wince, she turned to face the man she had recently seen on stage, dressed like some impossibly powerful prince of the underworld. The moment she locked eyes with the dazzling performer, she found she could not breathe.
Dressed in a biker’s jacket and matching black pants, Adam looked like he had stepped straight out of one of Amy’s fantasies. Even without a trace of makeup, he was so extraordinarily good-looking he would make an archangel green with envy.
Like all the members of Sasin, he always wore a set of contact lenses in his own custom designed hue. Adam’s were the intense blue of a winter sky, filled with tiny flecks of the palest silver which glowed under the fluorescent light. His dark hair was cut short at the back, while the rest had been allowed to grow into a soft frame for his handsome face.
