Eden raked a hand through her hair and paced back a few feet before turning around to face him again. She understood his anger. She’d been wrong to keep this from him for so long. “You
can
be both. That you’re standing . . . err,
leaning . . .
right in front of me right now proves that.”
“You just don’t get it, do you? This will destroy me. That—what happened before? It was only a taste test of the pain to come. I’m headed directly for the Void like this, Eden. But, hey, look at the bright side. At least you’ll be rid of me forever.”
She just gaped at him.
“Excuse me,” the security guard piped up from behind them. “You were looking for someone, weren’t you? Something to do with a sweepstakes? What was that name again?”
“Forget it,” Darrak said, his lips twisting into a humorless smile. “Looks like the party’s canceled. Permanently.”
Eden drove immediately to Maksim’s mansion and knocked on the door until her knuckles hurt. The butler finally answered to tell her he wasn’t home. He hadn’t been seen since their meeting with him yesterday, and the butler didn’t know when he’d be back.
“Tell him Eden Riley needs to speak with him as soon as possible,” she said, trying to control the sharp edge of panic in her voice.
So much for wizard intervention.
Darrak had waited in the car. He hadn’t said a word since leaving the office building. She thought for a time he was just being sullen, but then she realized he was dealing with the tearing pain inside of him.
He needed to be comfortable and her apartment was the first place that came to mind. He didn’t resist when she helped him into her bedroom and into bed.
She’d worry about failing Lucas’s task later.
“Tell me what you need,” she asked, stroking the dark hair back from his forehead.
“I need you to cut the angel parts out of me. Stat.”
“Can’t happen.”
He squeezed his eyes shut. “Then just leave me to die.”
“Don’t be so damn melodramatic, Darrak. This isn’t that bad.”
His eyes snapped open. “You know, your bedside manner leaves a lot to be desired.”
Eden’s heart twisted to see him in this much pain, but she refused to believe this was the end for him. She’d dealt with complications, too, that fight between her angel side and her black magic—although Maksim seemed to think it was the demon who possessed her that had caused her imbalance. The jury was still out on whether he was right.
This, what Darrak was dealing with, was an imbalance as well. However, it was recent. If he’d been half-angel for a while, then this should have been an issue all along. But it wasn’t.
“If it wasn’t for the angel part, you wouldn’t be who you are,” she reasoned.
“Small comfort.”
“You’re going to be fine.”
“I hate angels. Despise them.” He stared up at the ceiling. “And I’m not just being cranky. I’m
supposed
to hate them. I’m a demon. It’s a balance thing. I hate angels, so I stay away from them as much as possible. They hate demons so they stay away from us, too. Everything’s all equal and proper on the universal playing field. But now I have an angel inside of me clawing to get out.”
“It’s not inside of you like an alien in a movie. It
is
you.”
“Are you trying to be helpful or make me feel worse?” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I think I have a solution to this problem.”
“What?”
“Slap that chain on my wrist and send me directly to Hell. Maybe the angel bits can be burned right out of me if I jump into a pool of hellfire.”
“Don’t be an idiot, Darrak.”
He glared at her. “That bedside manner? Not improving.”
How could she fix this? Trying to reason with him seemed pointless when he was dealing with this pain. It was manifesting itself physically, rather than just emotionally.
“We’ll fix these unpleasant side effects,” she assured him. “But then you’re going to have to look on the bright side.”
“There’s a bright side?”
“Sure. You felt fine this morning. You had no idea anything was even wrong.”
“
Fine
has taken on a whole new definition for me lately. I used to be a strong, powerful archdemon, and now I’m an inconsequential leech on the world. Yeah, sounds fine to me.”
She grabbed hold of his hand, which felt even colder than it had before. That wasn’t a good sign. His skin was normally warm, even warmer than a human’s. “Selina showed you to me in that vision of the past, you know. How you were back when you were that strong, powerful archdemon before you were cursed. You were absolutely horrific.”
Darrak pressed back into the mattress. “I appreciate the compliment, but fond memories of who I used to be aren’t helping.”
She knew he was trying to be amusing, even now. “That wasn’t supposed to be a compliment.”
“But it was. Demons . . . we’re supposed to be fearsome. Powerful. Scary as hell. It’s our whole raison d’être. I mean, you’ve seen my demonic visage. All horns and talons and fire. I can’t accept the possibility of wings and halos. I just can’t.”
She grimaced. “Got to say, I prefer the Darrak who has humanity and a pinch of angel running through him. Personally, I think it’s an improvement on the original.”
A glimmer of a smile played at his lips before it faded away completely. “This is the beginning of the end, Eden.”
She shook her head. “No it isn’t.”
“You really think we can stay this way forever? Playing house in your little apartment in the sky while our lives fall apart all around us? We’ve been fooling ourselves.”
Her throat felt thick. “Don’t say that.”
Darrak’s dark brows drew together. “You really think this has a chance in hell of working out? You and me? Even if the curse is lifted, it doesn’t change anything else. I’m a demon/angel hybrid freak and you’re a half-angel who can do black magic. Sounds completely nuts, that’s what it sounds like.”
A moment later, his expression shuttered off, his forehead creasing. He didn’t make a sound, but she knew he was feeling the tearing pain again.
Enough of this. Enough damned waiting.
She stood up from the side of the bed. “I need advice.”
Darrak gasped for breath. “But you said Maksim’s gone AWOL. Again.”
“Not from Maksim.” She turned and left the bedroom headed toward the hall closet. She grabbed her coat and reached into the pocket to pull out the marble.
Desperate times called for desperate measures. She’d tried to deny everything, but what Darrak told her had gotten through to her in one very important way. She knew he didn’t have much time left—not feeling like this. She’d seen him shift to smoke this morning for a horrible moment. If he did that and wasn’t able to possess her, wasn’t able to take form again, he’d be swept away to the Void. She’d lose him forever.
She wouldn’t let that happen.
Eden had failed to send Brenda to Lucas for his hellish job interview, but she had to see him. She had to get him to help her. Help Darrak. She couldn’t think of another answer.
Her hand closed on the marble just as Darrak’s grip clamped around her wrist. She looked up into his now fiery eyes.
He was pale and looked ill, but he’d dragged himself out of bed in order to stop her. “Don’t do this. I don’t want to owe him anything.”
She shook her head. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“No, Eden, don’t—”
She squeezed the marble.
“Lucifer.”
Bright light flashed in front of her and her apartment disappeared, replaced by the familiar beach. However, it was darker this time and a cold breeze blew across the sand. The sun could barely be seen on the horizon. Instead of a wash of pink, purple, and orange, it was indigo and black.
Something felt wrong here.
But this place didn’t really exist. It was made up out of Lucas’s imagination. A pleasant getaway compared to his usual home base in the fiery pit.
A chill went through her as she turned, trying to see where he was. If she was here he had to be, too. Somewhere.
Eden spotted a form on the sand fifty feet up the beach. She swiftly moved toward it to find that it was Lucas, lying on his stomach. She gasped and dropped to her knees next to him.
“Lucas!” She tentatively touched his shoulder.
He didn’t move.
What could have happened here? She rolled him onto his back so she could inspect him better. No wounds. No blood. She wiped the sand off his face and felt at his throat for a pulse, even though she knew he wasn’t human. There was a faint pulse, but his skin was cool.
Had he somehow been affected by what had happened to Darrak? It seemed impossible, but she knew they were connected. After all, Lucas had been the one to create Darrak in the first place.
Her hands trembled. If she had to guess, she’d say Lucas was dying. But the Prince of Hell couldn’t die, could he?
“I don’t know how to help you.” She grasped hold of her amulet and squeezed it. “I can’t heal, I can only destroy with my magic.”
Eden didn’t like him, didn’t trust him, but the thought that he was hurt or gone forever bothered her. If he was gone he couldn’t help her fix Darrak.
She pressed her hands to either side of his face. “Please, don’t go. I need you. Wake up. Say something.”
Faster than anything she’d ever seen before he grabbed her arms and twisted her over to press her against the sand. His hands closed around her throat.
Lucas’s eyes didn’t blaze with fire like Darrak’s did. Instead, his were filled with bright white light. This, strangely enough, was much scarier.
“You defied me, Eden.” His voice was calm, but filled with menace. “Didn’t you? And now you come here looking for my help? Are you gutsy or just plain stupid?”
Definitely stupid; she knew that coming into this but she’d done it anyway. She struggled to breathe. “Lucas, let go of me!”
“Why should I? I know you didn’t follow my orders. You failed me, yet again. And what am I supposed to do now? Forgive and forget?”
It was on the tip of her tongue to try to lie, but she knew it was futile. “You must have known I couldn’t go through with it. Maybe you’re the one who’s stupid.”
Oh, that was smart of her. Call Lucifer stupid. Great.
She must have a death wish.
Time to be proactive. She clenched her fist and tried to summon her magic, and was surprised when nothing happened.
Lucas smiled. “Remember, this is my domain, Eden. Your magic doesn’t work here.”
“So I’m at your mercy, is that it?”
“I’ve never really been known for my mercy.”
“Then why haven’t you killed me yet if I defied your undefiable order? Because I’m right, aren’t I? Because you didn’t think I’d be able to do it at all. Besides, she doesn’t want to talk to you.”
He raised an eyebrow. “She?”
That was right. He didn’t know anything about the person named on that card. Brenda had been cloaked to him and still was. “Let’s just say, she’s not interested in working for you.”
“Not
for
me, exactly. And it doesn’t really matter in the end. She was only an alternate. I have someone else lined up who is much more eager for the opportunity.”
Relief filled Eden, but she didn’t dare move just yet. “So no harm done.”
“You still defied me. And now you come here seeking answers to fix your demon boyfriend.”
Tears burned her eyes. “He’s in trouble.”
“What else is new?”
“It’s my fault. I did something by mistake that hurt him, made something shift inside him. You have to help me.”
Lucas laughed at that and pushed up off the ground. “Help you? Why would I want to do that?”
“Because you need me.”
He cocked his head and studied her curiously. “You think so, do you?”
Darrak thought Eden was part of some master plan on Lucas’s part. She knew the prince wasn’t in love with her, so why else would he put up with her mistakes, her arguments, and all the difficulties she’d caused him since they’d first come into contact?
And yet, he kept sniffing around.
Lucas wanted something from her, but he wasn’t ready to ask for it yet.
This didn’t help ease her mind one tiny bit.
“Yes, I think so, Lucas,” she said evenly. “Whatever you need from me, I’m willing to help out. Within reason. But you have to help me in return.”
“Do I now?” He smiled and closed the distance between them to grab hold of her amulet, and he looked down at it before his gaze flicked to hers. “You’re the strangest black witch I’ve ever come across. Filling up with darkness on a daily basis, but unable to resist helping someone in need. Be it this woman today, or Darrak, or even me, seemingly injured on a beach. Your charity may one day lead you down a very dark path.”
His proximity made her tremble. There weren’t too many paths that would lead her anywhere darker than this. “Tell me how to fix Darrak.”
“To truly fix him? You’d have to remove the angelic side, which I’m sure he’s just thrilled about. But that’s impossible. There are no take-backs.” His lips thinned. “Do you know that one word from me would set Hell on him like flies to honey? There are many demons who hate anything angelic so much they’d relish the chance to tear an anomaly like Darrak apart. Others, however, would prefer to dissect him slowly. Demons aren’t quite as altruistic as you are.”
Fear raced through her and she struggled to keep her voice calm. “Please don’t do that.”
“We’ll see.”
“Whatever you need from me, you can’t get it just by threatening me.”
“When have I ever threatened you, Eden? Never. Not once.”
A nervous laugh bubbled in her chest. “You had me in a choke hold a minute ago, in case you forgot.”
“That was just playing around.” He stroked a long lock of her auburn hair behind her shoulder, and she couldn’t help but take an automatic step back. This made him smile. “So many women would literally kill for me to touch them. To do whatever I like to them.”
“Is that what you’re looking for? For me to want you like that?”
“No, in fact I prefer that you don’t. What I want from you is very specific, but you’re not there yet, Eden. So very soon, but not quite yet. There’s too much at stake for me to strike before the iron is hot, as the saying goes.” His gaze moved down the length of her. “Besides, I know you already belong to him. He has staked his claim in ways that surprise even me.”