“Trust me, I’ve met my daily quota of evil today.”
“Well, maybe I haven’t,” she whispered suggestively into his ear.
He groaned deep in his throat. It sounded like encouragement to her.
The phone rang. Eden ignored it as she kissed Darrak again, swept away by this mindless need she felt for him. She couldn’t resist it. She wanted to make love to him all day long and make up for lost time.
Suddenly, though, she found herself on her back. On the floor. Alone.
“Oof,” she exclaimed as the wind was knocked out of her from the fall from Darrak’s lap.
Darrak scrambled up off the sofa, looking down at her. “Sorry.”
His gaze swept slowly over her, but then he seemed to force himself to look away. A moment later he was clothed, the black garments appearing as though a magic brush had painted them on.
He grabbed the phone.
Don’t look at her, Darrak told himself sternly. Because if you do, you’ll pick her up and take her into the bedroom and you won’t emerge for the rest of the day.
“What?” he snapped into the phone.
“Good morning,” Theo’s voice greeted him.
His grip on the receiver was nearly tight enough to shatter the plastic. “You.”
“You don’t sound all that cheery. Everything okay there?”
Darrak willed himself to stay calm. “We found your little gift in the fridge.”
“Oh, good. Wow, that was faster than I thought. She must be addicted to that OJ even more than you said she was.” He snickered.
“Why did you do it, Theo?” Darrak tried to keep his voice even and conversational. It was a struggle.
“Just helping out a friend in need. I know you’re in a bad place. This kills two birds with one stone, forgive the saying. Gets your rocks off and helps push our Girl Scout to the dark side so you don’t have to worry about her so much.”
Darrak almost laughed. Theo’d done this to help him, not to hurt him?
What a pal.
“There are wards up around the building. How’d you even get in here?”
“I phased. Didn’t have a problem at all. Guess those wards don’t work on me. Or maybe Red secretly wanted me to get through so I could help you two to a morning of pleasure.”
He’d phased. Fury simmered just at the surface of Darrak’s mind. He didn’t want to scream at Theo over the phone. What was done was done. Theo had wanted to help—a demon’s version of a kind gesture.
It didn’t make it any better.
He and Eden had been compelled to have sex, and it had triggered the spell. Whether or not that spell was triggered every night when he possessed her was still unknown.
In any case, triggering had occurred.
And, by the look of Eden—who’d drawn the crocheted afghan around herself, the remnants of lust for his very accommodating body burning in her eyes—that compulsion hadn’t yet worn off.
If Darrak concentrated, he could see it, the power lying just under the surface of her skin. Eden was turning into a five-foot-six nuclear power plant in serious danger of having a reaction if she wasn’t very careful.
Theo’s proverbial heart might have been in the right place, but he must have known this would enrage Darrak, hadn’t he? The other demon had always been a trickster, playing practical jokes and finding humor in the most unlikely places.
Darrak wasn’t laughing. And if he kept speaking to his old friend, he was sure to say something he’d regret.
After all, Darrak still needed his help.
“Tell Theo as soon as this elixir wears off I’m going to take that angelheart of his and shove it up his ass,” Eden said sweetly.
Darrak chose not to relate the message.
“Is everything still on for noon?” he asked instead.
“It is. So, anyhow, about the—”
“See you then.” Darrak hung up the phone. If Theo knew what was good for him, he wouldn’t call back. Not until Darrak had had a chance to calm down.
He turned to Eden. “Are you feeling okay?” he asked cautiously.
“I’m feeling a bit too good, actually.”
He clasped his hands in front of him. “Is it safe to approach you or, uh, should I stay over here?”
She gripped the afghan closer to her otherwise bare skin. “Don’t make it sound like this is all my fault. It was a two-way street in the red light district a minute ago.”
“You’re right.” Darrak moved closer and sat down on the sofa, then he looked at her. “You will never use your black magic again.”
“But what if—”
“No, Eden,” he said sharply. “Never. Ever, ever. Promise me.”
Her jaw clenched. “The only times I’ve used it was only to protect myself. And you. And . . . uh, Andy, too. I had no choice.”
“You do have a choice. You need to swear to me that you won’t use it again.”
She bristled. “Just like you swore you wouldn’t borrow my body when I’m asleep?”
The woman was argumentative even when she was filled with lust. “Fresh slate. I promise not to steal your body, and you promise not to use your black magic.” He held out his hand.
She looked at it for a moment before she took it. The touch of her warm skin was not helping him keep his mind on the current problem.
“Fine,” she said. “I promise.”
He nodded. “Good. I promise, too.”
Eden brought her hand to his face. Sliding her index finger down his cheekbone, her thumb over his bottom lip. “So if I promise not to use my black magic, then I don’t suppose it really matters if we—”
“It matters,” he said hoarsely as she drew closer. Her mouth was only a couple of inches away from his own.
“You’re sure about that?” she asked before brushing her lips against his.
He groaned deep in his throat. “This isn’t helping, Eden.”
“I know.”
“How much damned orange juice did you have?”
“A lot. I was like a sponge. A thirstier than normal sponge.”
Darrak stood up and paced to the other side of the room. “I need to tell you something.”
“What?”
“It’s about the singles’ club, Luxuria, and why you got a strange vibe while there. It’s because it’s possessed by a demon.”
Eden stared at him blankly. “The nightclub is possessed by a demon?”
“Yes.” He proceeded to tell her about Asmodeus. He tried to keep it as family-friendly as possible but had to include the part about the semi-drained and addicted patrons. After all, Eden wasn’t dumb enough to believe this was a Disney movie.
Her eyes moved back and forth as she attempted to piece it together. “Graham’s murder. It was Asmodeus who killed him, wasn’t it? Graham got too close, learned too much.”
“No,” Darrak forced out. “I still don’t know what happened to him. Or the other missing women.”
The last thing he wanted was for Eden to be tempted to dip into her growing pool of black magic to gain some vengeance today.
Darrak lied to protect her. That made it okay, right?
“Asmodeus wants to help us,” he said.
Her eyes widened. “The demon who’s possessing a nightclub wants to help us. With what? Buying us a free round of margaritas and an appetizer platter?”
“He’s going to channel his energy into breaking my curse after he has his, uh, awakening today. And Theo thinks he can do it, too.”
“Let me get this straight. This demon lord is going to use the power he’s stolen from siphoning energy from hundreds of people, thereby turning them into mindless lust-filled zombies, to help us out.”
“You make it sound like a bad thing.”
“It is a bad thing.” Eden got up from the sofa, drawing the afghan full around her body, and paced back and forth around her small living room.
“It’s the only chance we’ve got,” he said simply.
“What
about the wizard master . . . Maksim? I thought he could help us?”
Darrak sighed. “That was a shot in the dark—I wasn’t sure if that would work. Wizards are so unpredictable. But this is a sure thing.”
“This Asmodeus—” Eden’s eyebrows drew together in concentration. “He’s very dangerous, isn’t he?”
“Well, of course he is. He’s one of the seven Lords of Hell.”
“Would the black diamond Theo has be enough to destroy him with? That is, if he tries anything funny today?”
“Possibly,” Darrak replied. “But until he has form it’s no good. Besides, if he’s going to help us break my curse, I don’t really want to destroy him. Not yet, anyhow. If that makes me a shameless user, then so be it.”
Eden shook her head with confusion. “Theo said the angelheart can only be used once. So if you use it on Asmodeus, you couldn’t use it on Lucifer, too. Right?”
“Probably not. Besides, Lucifer’s more powerful, so he’ll need that diamond at full strength to even have a chance of . . .” Darrak blinked. “Hold on. How do you know the diamond is meant for Lucifer?”
Realization of what she’d said slid behind her green eyes. “Uh . . . you must have told me.”
“No, I didn’t.”
Color rushed into her cheeks. “You must have.”
“I know for an absolute fact that I said nothing.”
Eden tried to move past him. “I need to have a shower.”
He blocked her way to the bathroom. “How do you know about Lucifer?”
She bit her bottom lip. “Everyone knows about Lucifer, don’t they? He’s the original fallen angel. All prideful.”
Darrak grabbed hold of her bare shoulders. “I’m asking you again. How do you know about Lucifer?”
“Be careful or I’m going to lose this afghan,” she warned.
He eyed her slipping cover. He really didn’t need any other distractions at the moment.
“I want to have a shower,” she said firmly, then slid her right hand down his chest. “You’re welcome to join me, though.” She frowned. “Damn lust elixir. It’s really not helping right now.”
Tempting. Very tempting. But he was too distracted by what she’d said before. Why would she mention Lucifer?
“Fine.” He stepped aside, and she went into the bathroom and closed the door without another word. He heard the shower turn on. He waited, not moving from his spot.
Ten minutes later she emerged wearing a towel. She flicked a glance at him.
“Just forget it,” she said.
“No.”
She glared at him and disappeared into her bedroom. Another ten minutes went by, and she emerged fully dressed in jeans and a black sweater. Her grayish amulet lay against her chest and his eyes moved to it.
It was still the same color as yesterday. It didn’t gauge her level of black magic, only the darkness of her soul. She could be filled to the brim with black magic, but if she didn’t use it, it wouldn’t do any damage to her.
If she never used it again, the color—and her soul—would stay as it was right now.
Gray was better than black.
Theo had been trying to help. It was true, though. If Eden’s soul went jet-black, it would be a one-way ticket to Hell when she died—just being immortal didn’t mean she couldn’t be killed. If he went back to Hell, they could be together.
They might even be able to set up house in the pit with a black picket fence and a family hellhound.
But Darrak had known black-souled humans before. They were . . . different. Eden wouldn’t be the same as she was now. She’d be something else.
If Eden’s soul went to Hell, Darrak would be there to protect it. Protect her. Till the end of time.
But it wouldn’t really be Eden anymore.
Darrak had seen her soul when they first met. He’d touched it when he possessed her. It had been a shimmering, glowing pure thing unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. Despite the damage that had occurred since, it still filled him with such energy and life. A soul like Eden’s deserved to go to Heaven.
And if she really was a nephilim, she deserved to go to Heaven even more.
One problem at a time.
“Tell me about Lucifer,” he said firmly.
She paled. “I can’t do that.”
He was trying very hard to stay calm. It wasn’t working very well. “Pretty please with sugar on top?”
“Being polite isn’t going to change my answer.”
He racked his mind. Where had she gone? Who had she seen and spoken to?
“Does this have to do with Ben?” he asked.
“No.”
“The Malleus leader you talked to? The witch who dampened me?”
“No and no.”
Who else had she come in contact with lately? It wasn’t Andy, who’d been clueless about anything supernatural until just the other day. It wasn’t Leena, so self-serving she wouldn’t have offered any insight on anything, let alone his and Theo’s plans toward the Prince of Hell.
Then who?
“Darrak, just forget—”
Then something just clicked.
“Lucas,” he said.
She gasped. “Darrak, please . . .”
That was the reaction he’d been looking for. He’d hit the target.
But . . . Lucas? That bland, uninteresting teacher who wanted to borrow Leena’s metaphorical sugar?
Darrak frowned deeply. “Is he . . . a servant of Lucifer’s? Was he sent here to keep an eye on me? Is that it?”
“Please, no. Just forget it,” she said, now panicky. “And don’t mention him again. Ever.”
Darrak studied her face, trying to glean the truth there and wishing again that he could read her mind. Why was she keeping this from him? And why did she look so afraid?
More clickage occurred for him. This time it came with a side helping of shock.
“Wait, I’m wrong,” he said. “Lucas isn’t Lucifer’s servant, is he? Lucas is Lucifer.”
Eden looked as if she was ready to hyperventilate. Her face had paled so much it was as white as the wall she braced herself against.
She didn’t reply. That was confirmation enough for him.
Darrak pulled her to him, cupping her face in his hands, feeling a wave of protectiveness toward her at her look of fear. “It’s okay. You can tell me anything.”
Did she still trust him? Or had he managed to completely destroy that between them?
Tears shone in her eyes. “He has my mother’s soul.”
He tensed. “So he can blackmail you?”
“Yes.”
“What does he want?”
She brought her voice down to a barely audible whisper. “He knows, Darrak. About the weapon. About Theo’s plans. And he knows you’re in on it.” Her expression suddenly turned to annoyance. “Why would you be in on something stupid like that?”
He cringed. Terrific. Everybody knew. “I have my reasons. I just don’t understand why I didn’t sense it before. I talked to Lucas twice.”
“Does he look different?”
“Yeah. But, of course, he has different forms, just like me. This is one I’d never seen before.” He swallowed. “I didn’t even know he could enter the human world. Thought it was part of his punishment that he had to stay in Hell.”
“He has to take mortal form when he’s here,” Eden said quietly.
Okay, that was news. “He told you that? When?”
She twisted her fingers through her dark red hair. “We’ve spoken a few times. The marble he gave me yesterday—he called it a summoning crystal. You didn’t even know I was gone.”
She was right. He’d been completely and utterly oblivious, too consumed by his own problems to even notice anything like that.
So this is why she’d been so preoccupied and secretive lately. Lucifer had been summoning her for secret meetings.
“Wait a minute. You said he has to take mortal form.” Darrak considered the w
ord. “Do you mean that while in the human world, Lucifer is human?”
Eden nodded. “He’s vulnerable while he’s here. And it’s probably one of the reasons he insisted I didn’t say anything to you about this.”
Lucifer was here. Right next door as their friendly, teacherly neighbor with glasses and an off-the-rack suit. And he had been for days.
There was a moment of fear for Darrak—for himself and for Eden—but it was quickly replaced by a wave of fury that turned his vision dark red.
“I’m going to kill him,” Darrak said softly.
Without another word, he turned toward the door and stormed out of the apartment, headed to the one next door.
TWENTY-THREE
Oh, this was not good. There were no words to describe how completely not good this was.
“Darrak, stop! Don’t do this.” Eden hurried behind him as he stormed out of the apartment.
But he wasn’t listening.
He knocked on the door to Lucas’s apartment. Eden grabbed his arm, but she couldn’t budge him an inch no matter how hard she tried.
“You don’t know what you’re doing,” she said, trying to fight against the panic rising in her chest. How could she stop him from making a horrible mistake like this?
“I know exactly what I’m doing,” he replied stonily.
The door opened. Lucas stood there holding a mug of coffee and looking very, totally, utterly human. Just a teacher getting ready for a regular school day.
“Good morning,” he said.
“No, not good,” Darrak replied. “Not for you.”
Darrak’s hand shot out, and he grabbed Lucas by his throat, pushing him back into the apartment. The coffee mug crashed to the ground, the hot black liquid splashing on the clean ceramic tiles. Lucas sputtered and his face began to turn purple.
“Stop it, Darrak!” Eden grabbed hold of his arm again. “Don’t hurt him!”
Darrak’s arm was like an iron bar. He didn’t show the true extent of his power very often and claimed to be weakened by his curse, but he sure didn’t seem all that weak at the moment. Compared to a regular archdemon, then maybe. But matched up against an average, everyday human male there was no comparison.
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