The Demon in Me (35 page)

“Right.” Eden forced a smile, but her sudden swell of fresh anxiety had made strange electric tingles course up and down her arms. Was that the black magic inside her sensing a change in her mood?

“I don’t like that woman,” Darrak said under his breath as they parted ways outside. “And not just because of her unfortunate fashion sense.”

“We need to go now,” Selina suggested firmly. “While we still have daylight. That is, if you still want me to break this curse.”

Eden nodded. “Of course we do.”

She thought back to what had happened between her and Darrak earlier. His mouth on hers. How it felt when they’d made love. She’d wanted him so badly, it had blinded her to everything else.

“This shouldn’t have happened.”
Darrak’s words echoed in her head.

No, it shouldn’t have.

Sex with a bad boy usually left one with a broken heart. Sex with a demon left you with a broken soul.

She’d have to remember that important little fact for future reference.

———

Eden drove Selina and Darrak back to the apartment com
plex, although truthfully her attention was not on the road as much as it should have been. Luckily she didn’t get them into an accident. Even though she was a black witch—
Oh, my God
, she thought—she knew from what Darrak had told her previously that despite her new immortality—
Oh, my God
again—she was still fragile and as easily killed as a regular, nonmagically infused human.

Oh. My. God.

So she kept her hands at ten and two on the steering wheel and tried not to think about everything that had gone horribly, horribly wrong. It wasn’t easy.

She entered the outdoor lot and parked with an unhealthy lurching gearshift sound. She might be about to live forever, but her rusty Toyota was another story altogether.

With a nod of her head, Eden indicated the wooded area. “Over there.”

Selina inspected it with a sweeping glance. “That will do. We still have some time before sunset, but we should get to work right away.”

“And you’re sure the curse can be broken?” Darrak asked. Eden jumped. She hadn’t noticed he’d come up behind her after leaving the backseat.

Selina nodded. “You get your wish, demon. Your freedom. Although I’m still not convinced you deserve it.”

“Then why are you doing this?”

“To help Eden, of course.” Selina looked at her with strange affection. But then again, she felt like they were sisters now, didn’t she? It wouldn’t be long before they were magically braiding each other’s hair. “She’s got enough to deal with now without you further complicating matters. She’ll be lucky to be rid of you and never see you again. Ten minutes and this will be over.”

“Good,” he replied.

Yes, he was getting his freedom. Just like he wanted. And Eden would live to see another year without the risk of death by demonic possession.

The perfect happy ending for everyone involved.

If that was so, then why was her throat thick and emotion stinging her eyes? She exhaled shakily and tried to compose herself. Ten minutes and this would be over. He’d be gone. And she’d try to forge some sort of normalcy in her life again. If that was even remotely possible.

She’d found a newfound interest in working with Andy at Triple-A. She wanted to help people. Funny how helping others was useful in forgetting other troubles. It was a good lesson to learn. So, black witch or not, that’s what Eden would be doing.

All by herself.

Well, with Andy, too, but suddenly after days of having Darrak with her it still felt oddly alone.

And that was a good thing, she reminded herself firmly. And it was how she wanted her life to be. Independent. Private. Solitary. Much easier that way. Nobody around to let her down or abandon her when she got too used to having them in her life.

“Can I talk to you for a moment before we begin, Eden?” Darrak asked. “In private?”

She swallowed past the stupid and inconvenient lump in her throat. “Of course.”

“Don’t take long,” Selina said tensely. “Time is money.” He led Eden over to an oak tree next to the small clearing—which she now realized, for the first time since she’d moved in last month, was a kids’ playground. She’d seen the area in passing as she went to her car, but had never explored further. A swing set, slide, and teeter-totter stood, unoccupied, a dozen feet away, shielded by a thatch of tall trees. Darrak stood with his arms crossed tightly in front of him.

“What?” Eden asked, and it actually came out sounding a lot harsher than she’d meant it to.

“I want you to know I didn’t mean for this to happen.” His handsome face was oddly expressionless.

The flat statement delivered in a monotone—was this supposed to be some sort of apology?—fell on the cool, late afternoon air. And it took that strange emotion inside of her and hardened it. In other words, he’d managed to officially piss her off.

“Oh?” she said. “And what exactly do you refer to? The original possession, throwing my life out of control? Or maybe draining me of energy on a regular basis and putting my life in danger? Scaring off a man who I really liked spending time with? Or was it neglecting to mention your sexual history and the fact that a meaningless roll in the hay with you might destroy my entire life?”

She was happy to see him wince a bit, and something resembling an emotion flickered in those currently flat blue eyes of his. “Meaningless, huh?”

Strange he’d pick up on that particular word in her rant. “Let’s just end this now, Darrak, and not try to pretend it was anything more important. After all, being an ex-incubus I’m sure you’ve got so many notches in your bedpost it’s… well, you probably needed to work at a bedpost factory to keep up with your past conquests.”

“No, you’re right. Of course. Meaningless.” He nodded with a firm motion of his head. “You need to make me a promise, though.”

She stifled an unpleasantly bitter laugh at that. “A promise? What might that be?”

“Don’t use any black magic in the future. Ever.”

“I wasn’t planning on it.” Eden’s jaw tensed and she looked away.

He drew closer, touched her chin and made her look up at him. “I can still see your soul if I concentrate hard enough. And it’s still as bright and shiny as the first time I saw you. I don’t want you to risk that by dipping into the magic inside you.”

“What if it’s really, really important?”

“Even then.”

The heat from his hand seared into her. It was hard not to remember how good those hands had felt on her body.

Meaningless.

She wished she really felt that way about it. About him. It would make everything way easier.

She batted his hand away and stepped back. “Well, that’s no thanks to you, is it?”

“No, it’s not.”

“Let’s not waste any more time with this. Time to finally say good-bye. You’re going to be gone soon. Back to Salem, or wherever.”

“Right. I… wanted to thank you, though.”

Her eyebrows raised. “Thank me?”

“For not exorcising me. For trusting me despite the things you’ve seen or heard.” He moved toward her again and took her face between his hands. “You’ll be better off without me. Just like Selina says.”

She looked into his eyes and hated to admit even to herself what she was feeling inside. She’d miss this demon. Even after everything she knew about him, everything she’d seen, and everything he’d done to her.

She’d miss him horribly.

No way
, she thought, angry with herself. She wasn’t letting herself feel like this. She forced herself to step away from him, and his hand dropped back to his side.

“You’re right,” she said as evenly and coolly as she could. “I will be better off without you.”

“Eden—”

“Selina showed me the real truth about you. You’re a monster. You’ve ruined my life. I should have exorcised you when I had the chance, but I was too stupid. I regret everything that’s happened between us. Now, I just want you gone.”

She twisted the words into him like a knife. Darrak’s previously steady, unreadable gaze flickered as he looked away from her. Had she hurt his feelings?

Did an archdemon really have feelings? He’d claimed he now felt human emotions all too intensely. But she had no idea if that was really the truth or just more lies.

“Then let’s not waste another minute,” he said after a moment.

“Fine with me.”

“Good-bye, Eden.” He turned and walked back to Selina and the two of them entered the tree-shrouded playground.

Out of the corner of her eye, Eden spotted an uninvited
guest lurking under a nearby car in the parking lot. A black cat that was trying to appear incognito.

Leena.

She ignored the shapeshifter, but couldn’t help but find it vaguely amusing. The cat wanted nothing to do with her or Darrak, but she was curious enough to stick around to see how things played out?

Selina led them into the small wooded area until they found a bare patch covered with fallen leaves.

“White witches practice nature magic,” she said wistfully. “I dabbled with that in the beginning, but now it’s not even an option for me. Black magic will destroy nature.”

“Vengeance isn’t gained very well with rosebuds and peach nectar,” Darrak said. “So what do I need to do?”

She eyed him. “Just stand there.”

“At your mercy, you mean.”

She smiled. “Just like old times.”

Darrak looked at Eden, but she didn’t meet his eyes. It was better that he thought she was mad at him, hated him, and wanted nothing to do with him.

Better for
her
, that is. It made it easier.

The sun was low in the sky. It wouldn’t be long before sunset. If this worked, Darrak wouldn’t have to possess her tonight.

His curse would be broken.

The thought was a relief, of course. Her feelings for the demon might be a total conflicting mess, but she didn’t want to be possessed by him. By anyone. Ever again.

“Are you ready?” Selina asked Darrak.

“I am.”

“Have to warn you, it’s not going to be a pleasure trip. For you, this is going to sting. A lot.”

“I can take it.”

“Then let’s do this.” She closed her eyes and held her arms up at her sides.

A moment later, Eden felt the energy begin to swirl in the open area they stood in, and small electric sparks flickered off the edges of the playground equipment. In response, her own magic began to wake up—a tingling inside, a growing power that was very difficult to ignore.

But she did ignore it.

She shivered, and it wasn’t just from the temperature; she drew her thin coat closer to her body, crossing her arms as she stood and watched the witch and the demon.

Selina opened her eyes. “
Darrakayiis
, I use your true name to bind you where you stand.”

Darrak went rigid in place.

Tensely, Eden noticed Selina’s amulet darken a shade of gray as she began to channel her black magic for a specific purpose. It wasn’t until that moment, and the witch’s use of his full name, that she realized how much was currently at stake. Having it exist in theory to having it play out right in front of her were two separate things.

Selina now had the power to break Darrak’s curse or destroy him where he stood.

She then understood how much trust Darrak had put into the witch. He was now at her mercy much as he’d been three hundred years ago. The only difference was she was much more powerful now. Did Selina still hold a grudge? Would Eden really blame her if she did? Had she been lying before by saying she’d help?

Eden felt a sliver of panic at the thought. Maybe the witch had lied for a chance to finish what she’d started with the demon. Eden had believed her completely. Darrak wasn’t so naïve, of course. She could see in his eyes right now, that hope mixing with distrust. He’d willingly opened himself up to the pain that would either lead to his ultimate freedom or complete destruction.

She watched, warily, her hands clenched into fists at her sides, and she could feel her own magic now at her fingertips—just as Selina said it would be. So easy to use she didn’t even need a training manual. Would it really be that simple? No more difficult than throwing a thought?

It was. That’s why it was so dangerous.

“Do it.” The pain in Darrak’s voice was already noticeable. “Finish this one way or the other.”

Selina smiled at Eden. “I know what you’re thinking.”

“You do?”

The witch nodded. “But don’t worry. I won’t hurt him more than I have to. And I will release him from this curse and the other spell I put on him. It’ll be a new beginning for all of us.”

She was telling the truth. Through their strange new bond, Eden knew it, and it was a huge relief. Despite being a black witch, Selina wasn’t evil. She’d fought against it. She tried to help others with her books—man-hating diatribes that they were. Eden knew the witch would be able to help her with her strange new magical ability—a molten lava pool of power it was disturbingly tempting to jump into headfirst.

“Now, let me finish this,” Selina said firmly.

That pesky lump of emotion came back to take up residence in Eden’s throat. The demon’s pain-filled gaze was heavy on her as the energy swept through the playground and around her and she knew any moment he would disappear completely.

Good-bye, Darrak
, she thought.

There was an interruption in the flicker of energy around Eden. She felt it. The witch’s eyes were open again and her attention had shifted.

“Who the hell are you?” Selina asked sharply.

Eden turned to see that Malcolm was watching the proceedings, leaning his shoulder against a tree.

“Sorry. Am I interrupting something?” he asked.

Cold fear shot through her at the sight of him.

“Interrupting something?” Eden asked, forcing herself to laugh lightly at that. “Just three good friends hanging out in a children’s playground. Nothing strange about that, is there?”

Malcolm approached slowly and Eden’s gaze flicked to his hand where he held a palm-sized piece of rock salt. “I consulted with my mentor about what we discussed last night and I’m now ready to finish this.”