“Eden is living in a fantasy world. One that is going to inevitably lead to her death. You know that, I know that, and the Malleus knows that.”
“I still don’t understand why we’re not intervening in that matter more forcefully.”
“Black witches are dangerous.”
He already knew that about Eden from firsthand experience. He’d really prefer to keep his head attached to his body if possible. “But she needs help. Why can’t the Malleus help her?”
“Oliver still wants to know how the celestial energy is affecting the demon. He has a lead on more information. Nothing’s going to be done until he acquires that information. That’s all I can say right now, Ben.”
Everything revolved around that damn demon. “So you don’t know anything about the angel.”
Sandy sighed. “The only prisoner I know about is the shapeshifter we brought in yesterday. And let me tell you, she’s a real bitch to deal with.”
Was she referring to the woman with the almond-shaped eyes and mocha-colored skin who’d glared at him from the shadows of her cell? “A bitch?”
She nodded. “Evil to the core.”
“Yeah?” Bitch, he’d believe. Evil might be a stretch, despite his telling her she probably belonged in a locked room. That unpleasant exchange had stayed with him since he’d walked away from her earlier. “Why do you think she’s evil?”
“She has something to do with Eden Riley and that demon of hers. Oliver thinks the shifter has information that could help the Malleus, but she won’t talk. She refuses to help us.”
“What’s her name?”
Sandy crossed her arms. “She won’t tell us even that. We tried bribing her, but nothing. My magic doesn’t work on shifters to help coax the truth. Tomorrow we’re going to have to get more serious with her. Oliver is going to want you there. He wants to introduce you to the more high level intel extraction methods.”
He didn’t like the sound of that. “I’m supposed to be a part of this?”
“You’re involved in the Eden Riley case already. If she talks to you, it won’t be too bad for her.”
Ben watched her carefully. “And you’re okay with that? With these high level intel extraction methods?”
It was a nice, fancy way to describe torture.
She met his serious gaze and he saw nothing in her eyes to indicate any doubt or worry. “It’s all for the greater good, Ben.”
“Right. The greater good.” Ben couldn’t believe he’d felt something for this woman who stood before him. It was as if the curtain had been pulled back from in front of his eyes showing the messy stage behind it. He’d thought Sandy was one of the good guys—one of the best of them all, actually.
But maybe she was just another hammer.
What the hell had he gotten himself into?
He had no friends, no one to confide in. A brand on his arm that still itched, that bound him to an organization he’d quickly come to doubt—one that used medieval methods in modern times to prove their way was the right way. The only way.
The greater good.
Ben wanted to do the right thing. He
did
. He wanted to help others more than anything in the world.
But this—it felt wrong to him. So wrong.
“I’ll be there, too,” Sandy assured him. “For moral support.”
“Thanks. I—I appreciate that.”
“Eat your soup. Know that I made it with love in my heart.”
He nodded. “Can’t wait.”
“I’ll call you later.” She went up on tiptoe and brushed her lips against his. Then, with a last flash of a bright smile, she slipped through the front door.
It only took Ben a minute to pour the soup down his garbage disposal.
He’d definitely lost his appetite.
SIX
After he left Eden to her busy office-workings, Darrak was a bit surprised to see Stanley sitting at a table at Hot Stuff. Although it did make sense. After all, his brand-new fiancée worked behind the counter.
Two words: free coffee.
Stanley spotted Darrak and immediately turned to study the wall as if looking for a crack to crawl into.
“Relax,” Darrak said as he approached the nervous-looking man. Other than Stanley there were a half dozen other customers in the small, delicious-smelling café. “I come in peace.”
“Sure. Great.” Stanley ran a hand through his thinning hair. “Glad to hear it. Hey, Darrak, how are tricks?”
“Tricks are for kids. Or wizards.”
“Oh, right. You—you saw Maksim earlier, didn’t you?”
“I did indeed. Believe it or not, he helped us. More than I even thought possible.”
“Thank God.”
“Or whomever.” Darrak cast a glance over at Nancy behind the glass counter filled with pastries, who in turn was sending a look of love and devotion toward Stanley. “So you and Nancy are tying the knot, huh?”
Stanley gripped his coffee mug tighter and leaned back in his seat. “We are.”
“Your idea or hers?”
“Mine.”
“Really? I didn’t think you were that into her.”
“Things change quickly. I love her. I know it’s crazy and fast, but that’s just the way it is. I’m an old-fashioned guy.”
“I never would have thought it.”
“Maybe you should do the same with Eden.”
Darrak frowned. “What?”
Stanley shrugged. “Ask her to marry you. Why not? I get the feeling you’re into each other.”
That was a thought. A completely insane—if vaguely intriguing—thought. Ask Eden to marry him? Stanley had been drinking one too many espressos today.
“Not so sure about that, but thanks for your opinion.”
“When I found the right girl, I knew I’d want to spend the rest of my life with her. Whammo. That girl is Nancy. And here we are.”
“Here we are.”
“I’m going to leave.” Stanley cast a plaintive look toward the exit.
“Don’t go on my account.”
“Oh, no. This has nothing to do with you. I, uh, have a bunch of things I need to take care of.”
“I’m not going to hurt you, Stanley. Seriously. Just chill. What’s your problem, anyway?” Darrak was starting to get a complex. If he wanted someone to be scared of him, then that was one thing. A flash of talon or horn from his demonic visage usually did the trick. But this was . . . weird.
So much for making friends and influencing people without even trying. This was more like terrorizing and traumatizing.
“I don’t want to go to Hell,” Stanley blurted out. “I’ve done some bad things in my life, but now that I’ve found Nancy, I’ve found a reason to redeem myself. Spending time with . . . well, with
demons
isn’t going to earn me any brownie points.”
Darrak took a seat across from him. “You think I have any pull down there anymore?”
“You’re a demon.”
“Uh . . . yeah. And your point?”
“I know you’re not dragging anyone’s ass to Hell at the moment, but that might change at any time.”
Interesting point. There was a time, not so long ago, that Darrak had been convinced that this was temporary, this humanity that infused him, making him feel guilty about anything remotely demonic he did. He’d been certain once the curse that destroyed his original form was broken, when he was able to reform himself on a permanent basis, his old ways would return in full force.
But that wasn’t going to happen. He had it on very good authority.
Darrak was a changed man. A demon with morals.
Which obviously sucked for way too many reasons to count.
He tried not to think about it. Accepting it was not something he was ready to do yet, but he’d have to eventually.
The main problem was that morals got in the way when it came to life in the proverbial basement. It wasn’t such a nice place, depending on how you looked at it, but from a normal demon’s eyes, it was business as usual. If Darrak returned to the pit with his new outlook on life, he might start trying to rescue the damned souls who’d been sent there. The ones that screamed the loudest, anyway. That sound wouldn’t be quite as melodic anymore. It would actually bother him to hear anyone in agony like that, whether they deserved it or not.
Maybe he’d just try to steer clear of the main hot spots. So to speak.
As if going back to Hell was even an option for him. What a laugh. As soon as he stepped foot anywhere within the Netherworld, he’d be exposed for what he was—a freak of nature. He was now an outcast, a hybrid, a demon with humanity and a bit too much celestial energy he’d digested, thanks to Eden, that he needed to burn off before he could go anywhere near Hell again undetected.
What a mess.
Quite honestly, the only thing keeping him from gnashing his teeth, or whatever, about this situation was Eden.
He knew the love he felt for her weakened him, made him less of a demon. And the craziest thing was he really couldn’t care less. He’d never experienced something like this before. Ever. And it made him . . . happy.
At least, when it wasn’t making him completely miserable.
Ah, love
, Darrak thought.
I could totally write one of those sexy romance novels if I wanted to.
Hmm. That might be a good idea, actually.
He heard somebody whimpering. He looked up from his thoughts and realized he had Stanley’s wrist in a death grip. He let go immediately, no harm done.
“Hey, baby!” Nancy called over from the counter. “Everything okay over there?”
“Oh . . . yeah. No problem. Just chatting with Darrak.”
“Cool! Darrak you want another donut?”
“I’m good, thanks,” Darrak said.
Good.
Well, that might be an overstatement, really.
Nancy sent another shiny smile their way before she moved to answer the phone.
Darrak cast a look at the man tensely sitting across from him. “Look, Stanley, listen to me and I want you to hear the words coming out of my mouth. I’m not going to hurt you, maim you, eviscerate you, or otherwise bother you. I am not going to kill you and drag your soul to Hell. I do not like green eggs and ham. Et cetera. Get it through your head.”
Stanley frowned. “So you’re being totally serious with me. The rumors are true that you’ve changed.”
“Uh-huh. Wait, you’ve heard rumors?”
He shrugged. “A few from, uh,
Maksim
. He called this morning to let me know he was back, which was why I was so surprised to hear from you immediately afterward.”
Darrak grimaced. Another mark against him that made him feel like less than his once-powerful self. “Perfect timing.”
“Are you going to see Maksim again?”
“Not sure. I got a bad vibe off him, and I don’t mean that as a compliment. For his sake, I hope he wasn’t screwing around with us.”
“Will you hurt him if he was?”
A slow smile snaked across Darrak’s face. “You know, everyone always assumes all a demon ever cares about is violence and mayhem and the sound of tearing flesh. But, trust me, that’s actually only 95 percent of the time. We do have a few other hobbies, you know.”
The look of horror that crossed Stanley’s face shouldn’t have amused him, but it did anyway. Maybe he was still evil down deep.
It was a comforting thought, actually.
Eden spent the day organizing Andy’s files. It was what she typically did on Thursdays, nice mindless work—mostly deciphering her partner’s lousy handwriting. She went out midafternoon to Hot Stuff to grab a sandwich, which sat heavily in her queasy stomach.
Stomach flu. Definitely.
She had to look on the bright side—she’d removed Darrak’s spell. That was a huge step in the right direction and it made today a wonderful one.
Visit from dead mother and darkening amulet notwithstanding.
Her mother was back. Her dead mother had returned from both the grave and Hell itself to show up on her doorstep. This revelation brought with it conflicting emotions in Eden. On one side she was glad Caroline had survived her trip to Lucas’s domain unscathed. It showed that he did follow through with his promise to release her. On the other hand, the last thing Eden needed right now was a mother set on redemption who wanted to pitch in and help save her daughter from the big bad demon.
She’d deal with Caroline, and of course she’d want to see her again and try to work things out between the two of them. Just not today. Today she needed to deal with the black magic. If only it didn’t come at so heavy a price, she would use it for just about anything. Housework would be a breeze, for instance. And cooking. And getting dressed. She’d be Samantha Stephens and Darrak could be Darrin. A happy couple who made the differences between them work, no matter what.
Happy couple.
Was that possible? Did they really have a future together, despite how many odds were stacked against them?
It sounded like a pipe dream at best to a realist like Eden. There were just too many difficulties for her to just ignore.
Love didn’t fix everything, even if she really, really wished it could.
But still, she couldn’t help but be hopeful.
When it was close to sunset, it was time to shut down the office and go get Darrak and leave before his curse hit and he lost corporeal form. Eden grabbed her coat from the rack near the door and slid it on, grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder, then reached into her pocket for her keys. Something else was in the pocket, something small and hard; for a moment she didn’t know what it was until she pulled it out.
A marble.
She looked at it. “I don’t remember putting you in my pocket.”
The marble immediately heated up and she squinted against the bright light it emanated.
“Oh—” she began, but by the time she finished she wasn’t in the Triple-A office anymore—“shit!”
Eden was now standing on a beach.
The marble was a summoning crystal given to her a couple of weeks ago. It always brought her here, to a place that looked exactly like a beautiful tropical beach at sunset, with ocean waves lapping gently against the shore, golden sand, and a warm breeze scented with papaya and lilies.
She’d just been summoned here, to a place that didn’t actually exist in real life.
And she already knew by whom.
Another feeling of queasiness went through her, but this had very little to do with a stomach flu. Turning her head slightly to the right she saw him approach from down the beach. He wore white pants and a white shirt. No shoes. He was smiling.