“You have to break the curse and free him.”
She shook her head. “He’s too dangerous.”
“That’s funny. He said the same thing about you.”
Selina’s lips twisted. “Yeah, I bet he did. Poor thing. I know he can be very charming when he wants to be, can’t he? Did he happen to tell you how he has to break the curse if I won’t do it of my own free will?”
“No.”
Selina’s cheek twitched. “He would have to kill me with his bare hands and tear out my heart. Not exactly a walk in the park, is it? Although, since he’s incorporeal I don’t know how he plans to do that.”
“I need to sit down.”
Selina helped Eden back behind the table where she sat down on the chair. “I would understand if you don’t believe me right away, but what I’m telling you is the truth. Darrak’s an archdemon. Do you know what that is?”
Eden shook her head. “It doesn’t sound good.”
“It’s a demon of high rank and great power who answers to Lucifer himself. The archdemons gain their power from one of the four elements: earth, wind, fire, or water.”
“Isn’t that an R&B band from the 1970s?”
“Trust me. Not the same thing.”
“Fire,” Eden said then. “His eyes… when he’s mad they seem to be made of fire.”
“His eyes?” Selina repeated with confusion. “How can you see him? I destroyed his body.”
She looked up at the witch. “He… he can take solid form during the day.”
“That’s not good.” Selina slumped down in a spare chair next to Eden as if her own legs had given out. “And he looks like a man? Dark hair, blue eyes, tall, and…”
“Really hot?”
“That’s him.”
Eden nodded. “I asked him if that was his true form or if he used a glamour, but he wouldn’t answer me.”
“That should have been your tip-off that he was hiding a lot.”
“His first impulse is self-protection. He can’t control that.”
Selina shook her head. “He can control whatever he wants to. But he doesn’t want to. He’s selfish. All demons are.”
“An archdemon.” Eden rolled the word over in her mouth. It tasted as bad as it sounded.
Selina nodded. “Before he was promoted to archdemon, he was a lower-ranking demon—an incubus. That’s one of the reasons I chose to summon him. Incubi prey on women, stealing their energy to increase their own power. With a spell I cast, I was able to have him give me power instead. That’s what made me into a black witch.”
Eden didn’t want to hear anything else. She didn’t want to believe it, but she couldn’t block it out. Everything the witch said felt like the truth.
Darrak was a demon. And he was a bad one.
Because, duh, there weren’t any good demons, of course.
No. She still didn’t want to believe it. Selina could be lying to her. Even though it felt like the truth, it could still be lies.
“Darrak…” Eden managed after a minute. “He said if we don’t break the curse that keeps him bound to me then in a year I’m going to die.”
Selina’s eyebrows went up. “What do you know? He told you one truth. That’s got to be a record. You have a year—at the very most. He will drain your energy slowly but surely. That’s what demons do and why they need to be destroyed when they get too close to humans.”
Eden’s head was stuck in a cloud of confusion and denial. “But I don’t understand. If you summoned him and you got what you wanted, then why would you try to destroy him?”
Selina pulled one of her books off the pile and clutched it tightly as if it was a life preserver. “Defending myself against a dangerous demon who wanted me dead, mostly. Also because I realized what I did was wrong. That nothing I did, magical or not, would bring back my sister. Destroying an archdemon who’d stepped foot on human soil was to be my self-appointed penance. I tried. I failed.” She blinked. “And now you’re here with him during my signing. It’s been such a great week up until now.”
“Sorry to ruin it for you.”
Selina touched Eden’s hand. She tried not to flinch away. “You must let me destroy him for you. Since I’m the one who cursed him, I can do it while he’s dampened. There’s no other way.”
Eden moved away from her. “No.”
The witch’s eyes widened. “No? Haven’t I convinced you that I want to help you?”
Eden exhaled shakily. “You’ve given me a lot to think about. But… I’m not ready. Not right now. Not like this.”
“Then when?”
“I need to think.”
“Fine. But think fast.” Selina opened the book she’d been clutching and scribbled down a phone number on the title page. “I can’t force you to let him go. You need to do it of your own free will, otherwise it will probably kill you as well. I don’t want to hurt anyone who doesn’t deserve it.” She touched her gray pendant. “Black magic isn’t my thing anymore. At all. And killing humans with magic would turn my soul completely black. Call me tomorrow. If not, I’m leaving and I won’t be returning.”
She pushed the book toward Eden. She took it.
“I don’t know…”
“You said he wouldn’t tell you the truth about his appearance,” Selina said.
“That’s right. And he wouldn’t tell me his true name, either.”
“Just like a man. Wouldn’t want to give his power to someone else. Might come back to bite him in the ass.” Selina smiled thinly. “It’s Darrakayiis.”
Eden was surprised. “What?”
“His true name. And a further reason to trust me because I’m sensing that you’re fighting that. I’m giving you this as a favor to show that I want to help you.”
It sounded like Dare-ah-KAI-iss.
She memorized it and tucked it away in her head. “Can I dampen him with this name?”
“Yes, but that would be overkill. Using his name will give you power over him, especially if he’s weakened. With the amount of psychic energy I feel from you, and his ties to you, you should be able to dampen his presence with a well-placed commanding thought. It’s really not that hard.” Selina ran her hands over her hair as if to neaten it. “I can’t hold this camouflage spell much longer. I’m a bit rusty using any higher level magic. So if you’ll excuse me.”
“What about…” Eden touched her chest. “When will he be back?”
She shrugged. “I dampened him really good. He’s gone for a while and won’t know what hit him. Call me tomorrow if you want my help. If not, good luck. You’re sure as hell going to need it.”
“Thanks.”
“And that book’s not a freebie. You’ll have to pay for it before you leave.”
She looked down at the hardcover. “I was going to get it anyhow.”
“It’s helped a lot of women even more clueless than you are when it comes to lying, cheating men.” Selina pressed her palms down on the table. “Susciatatio humanus.”
There wasn’t a major shift in the crowd’s behavior, but now they could look directly at Eden instead of her being invisible to them. Selina began signing again as if nothing had happened. Eden shakily made her way to the cashiers, paid for the book, and left the store. The cool night air swept over her.
What in the hell just happened?
A sob welled up in her chest but she forced it back down. Having a breakdown was not going to be very helpful at the moment. But she couldn’t concentrate. It felt as if her entire life had just imploded.
Selina said that Darrak was evil. An archdemon. And that everything he’d told her about himself had been a lie.
Was it the truth? If so, she should have let Selina get rid of him. Why would she want to delay it another minute?
But there was a small part of her that remained strongly skeptical. The witch could be the one who was lying. It was a good story with a great delivery, but did that make it true?
It felt true. That was the worst part.
It felt as if Selina had just filled in the blanks in a really difficult, demonic crossword puzzle.
Had Darrak really lied to her? This realization made her more angry than hurt or sad or afraid. How many men had to disappoint her before she realized they were all creeps who deserved to be cursed? And Darrak wasn’t just a normal, run-of-the-mill creep. He was a demonic one.
So what was preventing her from marching right back into the bookstore and asking Selina to get rid of him tonight?
Why would she even want to defend him or give him the benefit of the doubt after everything Selina told her? Darrak wasn’t her friend, and he was just using her.
But she’d spent a lot of time with him over the last few days—more time than with anyone else in recent memory. And the more she was with him the more she… liked him.
More than liked him.
Is that what this was about? She’d developed a strange, warped infatuation with an evil entity from Hell?
Yes, that was exactly it.
She was so completely screwed.
“Hey, Eden! Wait up!”
She looked tentatively over her shoulder. It was Vanessa with a bag of purchased books in hand.
Pull it together, she told herself. We have an audience.
“Hey,” she managed weakly.
“I wanted to thank you.”
“Thank me?” She’d completely forgotten about the girl in her rush to leave the store.
Vanessa grinned. “Yeah. I knew I needed a change, but you helped put everything into perspective. I was going to call you tomorrow—you gave me your card, remember?”
“I remember. So, your boyfriend?”
She huffed out a breath. “Gone. Literally. I tried to contact him a few hours ago to break things off with him, but couldn’t find him anywhere. I don’t care if I lose the club. I’d rather be in control of my life than dependent on any man. That’s what Selina always says.”
“Right. Selina.” Eden glanced back at the bookstore. “She’s… she’s great, isn’t she?”
“She’s like a goddess of good advice.” Vanessa studied her. “You don’t look so good. You okay?”
“I’ve been better.”
Vanessa nodded knowingly. “Man trouble?”
Eden sniffed. “You have no idea.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Worse.”
Vanessa shifted her book bag to her other hand. “Are you headed to your car?”
She’d parked in the underground parking lot across the street from the bookstore. “I am.”
“Would it be terrible if I mooched a ride off you?” Vanessa asked tentatively. “If you don’t mind, that is.”
Eden nodded. “I don’t mind.”
Of course she didn’t. Despite her current traumas, she’d rather know that Vanessa got home okay—since Eden still didn’t know how everything had worked out with Fay and her husband—than leave her to wander the streets at night alone. Besides, it would give her something else to think about for an hour before she had to deal with her own issues again.
Eden led her into the parking garage and down the elevator to the level where she’d parked the Toyota.
“Maybe you’re overthinking things,” Vanessa said.
“What things?”
“With your boyfriend. The reason why you’re upset.”
“He’s not my boyfriend. He’s just…” She had no idea who or what he really was. “Let’s just say he’s somebody who’s managed to get under my skin and now I can’t figure out the best way to get rid of him.”
“Come on, nobody gets this upset unless there’s some romance involved.”
“I’m not upset. And there’s no romance.”
“Yeah, right.”
Eden wiped a hand under her nose while she dug into her purse for her keys. “It’s complicated.”
“It always is. It’s kind of funny, though.”
“What is?”
“I didn’t think he ever let you out of his sight.”
Eden placed her purse down on the trunk of her car so she could find the keys that seemed to have slipped down to the bottom. Then she frowned at Vanessa. “Did you meet him? He didn’t come in the club with me earlier today.”
“We met. Never guess he was a demon at first glance, that’s for sure.”
Eden froze and looked at the blonde. “A… demon?”
“Yup.”
“Not sure I know what you’re talking about.” She was getting used to denying certain things. This was one of them. “Are you sure you met him?”
“I am, indeed.” Vanessa smiled and Eden suddenly noticed that her eyes were very dark. Black, in fact. “He threatened to rip my arms off if I hurt you, remember? However, I was in a different body at the time. I’ll forgive you for not being so clear on the details.”
Eden’s stomach sank. “You know, now that I think about it, he’s going to meet me here any moment.”
“I think you’re lying.” Vanessa’s smile turned cold. “I knew you were a nosy little bitch earlier today, but you had to go and ruin everything for me, didn’t you?”
The drifter. His dirty little secret had been found out and he’d had to switch over to a different body. And he’d chosen his girlfriend’s.
“My business card,” Eden said flatly, but feeling the panic begin to swirl inside her. “That’s how you found me?”
“Called your office earlier. A man told me where he thought you’d be tonight. He sounded really cheery, actually. Funny. You really don’t strike me as the private investigator type.”
Andy had been in a good mood with all their newfound business. He’d probably thought Vanessa was just a friend who wanted to meet up for drinks tonight.
“You need to leave me alone,” Eden said. “And we won’t have any problems.”
Vanessa laughed. “Not so fast there, sweetheart. I think I need to settle up with you for ruining a good thing I had going on. Now I need to start all over again.”
She drew a knife out of her handbag. Eden eyed it with growing alarm.
“Drifters aren’t murderous,” she said.
“I guess you must be special, then.” Vanessa smiled. “Because I’ve decided to make an exception for you.”
SEVENTEEN
“Wait a minute.” Eden staggered back a few steps and hit a cement support beam. She looked around for someone within screaming distance, but the parking garage appeared empty. “Let’s talk about this.”
Vanessa raised a thin eyebrow. “What do you want to talk about?”
“You don’t want to kill me.”
“I don’t?”
She shook her head. “No, you absolutely don’t.”
The drifter laughed. “Humans are so entertaining. You walk around like you own this world, but you’re actually not the top of the food chain. You don’t have any idea how many things are out there lurking in the darkness with a taste for human flesh. Then again, I’m sure you know that now since you’re dating a demon.”
“I’m not dating him.”
Vanessa eyed her curiously. “Is it a spell you’re using to bind him to you?”
“No spells.”
“Then why did he protect you earlier today? That wasn’t normal demon behavior.”
“He’s different.” Her answer even surprised herself. But it was true. He’d seemed different. He’d acted different. Was it all just pretend?
She tried reaching inside to find the dormant demon, kind of like how she’d reached into her purse trying to find her car keys. She couldn’t find him, either.
Would he bother to help her now that she might know the truth about him?
“He’s different? Yeah, I bet.” Vanessa held the knife tightly and threw her purse and bag of books over toward the Toyota’s front tire. “It’s strange, that’s all. The only time I’ve ever known a demon to be interested in the well-being of a human is when they were after something. Has he bound himself to you? Must have. That would act as protection for him
. Can’t be dragged back to Hell without the human’s permission then.” She shook her head. “For such weak sacks of meat, you have a certain level of power in the universe.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
She shrugged. “Maybe I’m cherishing the moment before I take the life of a human a demon was in love with.”
The thought was completely ludicrous. “He’s not in love with me.”
“He seemed kind of into you, if you ask me.”
“I’m not asking.” She glared at the drifter. “Besides, he’s evil.”
“Evil’s a lot like the color black. There are many shades.”
“Black’s not a color.”
“Let’s not get technical.”
She came toward Eden with the knife. Eden grabbed her arm but found her just as strong as the drifter had been when he’d possessed Richard.
“Don’t bother trying to fight,” Vanessa said. “You’ll lose.”
Eden fought anyhow. She attempted to squirm out of the drifter’s grip and almost made it, but Vanessa maneuvered her around and trapped Eden’s hands. She thought of Darrak then. What would happen to him when she died? Even though he was currently dampened, would he be able to find someone else to possess before it was too late?
Why did she even care what happened to the demon?
The blonde raised the knife high in the air. But then she froze. “What the hell?”
“What?”
“I can’t move my arm.”
“You can’t?”
“No. And I was seconds away from plunging this into your chest. Or slashing your throat. I hadn’t decided yet.”
Eden stared at her with shock. “And now you can’t move at all?”
“No. It’s very strange.” Strain showed on the drifter’s stolen face. “What’s causing this?”
“I am.” Malcolm stepped out from behind a beam near the stairway exit.
Eden stopped breathing for a moment at the sight of the exorcist. She was happy to see a familiar face at a time like this. Even if it was his.
“Who the hell are you?” the drifter snapped.
“One whose sole focus in life is to destroy things like you.” Malcolm approached and, without even glancing at Eden, plucked the knife from the girl’s prone hand.
“Go ahead,” the drifter said without any fear in her voice, glancing at her knife. “Kill me, then.”