The Demon in Me (34 page)

Eden looked at Darrak to see the demon was furious. Selina turned to him as well.

“You’re upset over this,” she observed.

“You’re brilliant.”

“At me or at yourself?”

“Both. This never should have happened. I should have known. Should have predicted it.”

Selina cocked her head to the side. “Are you playing games, demon?”

“I wish. Games are fun. This? Not so much.”

She studied him for a moment longer. “The archdemon I summoned would never blame himself for something like this. You really have changed, haven’t you?”

“Yes, I have.”

Selina’s expression remained skeptical. “But that doesn’t mean it will last. You’re weakened right now. If you were to regain your power, these feelings will slip away and you’ll return to how you were before.”

He shook his head. “I won’t.”

“How do you know that?”

“I just do.”

She pursed her full red lips. “If you were human once I might believe it. But you weren’t. So you need to stop acting so naïve.”

Eden shakily took a sip of her now lukewarm hot chocolate. It slithered unpleasantly down her throat. “I don’t think he’s being naïve. I believe Darrak’s telling the truth.”

“You think so, do you? After everything he’s done to you?” Selina’s green eyes flashed. “You need to see something. Now that we share this power inside us, I can share other things as well.” Her grip tightened on Eden’s wrist.

“Wait, what are you—” But the next moment the words were ripped out of Eden’s mouth. The coffee shop shimmered away before her very eyes, and suddenly she was standing in the middle of a small grassy meadow surrounded by trees. It was night and a full moon hung heavily in the dark skies above.

A cool breeze moved past her. She could smell pine needles and wildflowers.

Where was she? What the hell was going on?

“Release me,” a dark voice said from behind her. She spun around and gasped at what she saw.

It was Darrak, in demon form. Tall, huge, and horned. Golden flames licked at the surface of his entire body, lighting the darkness around him, and he stood in the middle of a ring of white powder. His voice was harsh, raspy, and pissed off.

“Release you? Why would I do that?” The words left her lips and she sounded like Selina. She
was
Selina. It was Selina’s memory she was currently sharing.

“I’ve given you what you want.” Beneath the flames, she could see the demon’s lips curl. Inside the magic circle he couldn’t tempt her by shifting to his human form—a form she did find very tempting indeed. As a human she could pretend that he was only handsome and charming and irresistible, but he wasn’t. It was only an illusion. In the binding circle there was no hiding from what he truly was.

“Release me, witch,” he said again. “Before I lose my patience with you completely.”

She felt the magic simmering inside her. She’d taken everything she could from him and knew he was greatly weakened. But a weakened archdemon was still more powerful than a hundred regular humans. “I want revenge on the men who killed my sister. I command you to destroy them. Make them know a demon stripped the flesh from their bones.”

He nodded once. “I will do as you say.”

“You’re mine,” she reminded him. “Body and soul.”

“I have no soul. But my body is yours to command.”

“Do you love me?” she asked, surprised at the pathetically needy words spewing from her mouth. What happened to being strong and taking control of her life? It was why she wanted to become a black witch in the first place. But she had to know.

He’d been quick to respond to her seduction. Each time they’d coupled during the days since his summoning her magic grew stronger—the dark power inside of her growing until she felt as if it would burst through her very skin. She was ashamed at how quickly she’d fallen in love with him, knowing what he was. It was so hard to remember his dark nature when he was in his appealing human form.

“Do I love you?” he repeated. “You don’t want the answer to that.”

But she did. “Tell me the truth. I command you to, Darrakayiis.”

He flinched as she used the power of his true name against him. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before opening them again. It felt as if his fathomless gaze bore right into her very soul.

“I am a demon, created from hellfire,” he said. “I bring pain and death to those who cross me. So, do I love you, witch, who has trapped me, forced me to give you Hell’s power, and commanded me to kill your enemies?
Do I love you
?” Those soulless eyes narrowed. “An archdemon cannot love anyone or anything. I will kill you the moment I’m able and you will feel my wrath much more acutely than you felt my body. I will taste your blood on my lips as I retrieve the power you’ve stolen from me from your darkening soul. And then I will leave you in pieces for the winds to scatter.”

The cool breeze whipped the long dark hair back from her face as she stifled her fear at his cold threat. “A simple no would have been just fine.”

“Then, no. I don’t love you.” His lips curled again. “However, I’m very fond of the weather tonight.”

She looked down to see that the wind had blown some of her salt away, breaking the circle. Which meant that the archdemon was no longer trapped.

Darrakayiis stepped out of the magic circle and he smiled, showing off razor-sharp teeth as black as the thick obsidian horns extending from his temples. “About that arrangement we had? And the tearing-you-apart thing I mentioned a moment ago? Let’s take care of that right now.”

She scrambled backward, but not before his talons sliced shallowly into her throat and she felt the ooze of her warm blood.

Darrakayiis’s terrifying smile widened. “I don’t mind a bit of a chase. Makes it more interesting, actually.”

There was no reasoning with him now. She knew what he meant to do to her.

Without another thought, she unleashed everything inside of her, every ounce of her new black magic. It was a power that scared her deeply, but she needed it and the destruction curse was at her fingertips in an instant. She watched the inky blackness wrap itself around the demon, pulling him away from her, dousing the hellfire that protected him, and trapping him in place as effectively as the circle of salt had.

She focused that destructive magic—magic she knew was damaging her soul as well—and opened up to it completely. The archdemon screamed in pain as she decimated him, his body literally exploding into a ball of fire.

And then it was all over.

She collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath, but alive. Ashes fell like snow all around her. It was all that remained from the demon’s body.

But she’d paid dearly for her victory. The power inside her had only grown stronger from being used, and it was still ready at her fingertips. She was putting her soul in danger.

But what was done couldn’t be undone.

She touched the shallow wound at her throat and her hand came away bloody. It reminded her of what was important. There were still men with the blood of her sister on their hands who had to be dealt with—human, but as evil as any demon.

She no longer had the archdemon to do her bidding, so she’d have to take care of them herself.

It would be worth another piece of her soul to avenge her sister’s murder.

Eden gasped as her consciousness slammed back into the café after her vision, and she looked at Selina with wide eyes.

“Did you kill them?” she asked, breathlessly. “The men who killed your sister?”

Her expression was unreadable. “Would you believe me if I said no?”

“Probably not.”

“What did you show her, witch?” Darrak asked harshly.

Eden slowly turned to look at him. She hadn’t seen that side of Darrak before and it was everything she’d been afraid of. A living, breathing nightmare.

But what she’d seen was very unlike the man who looked across the table at her with concern etched into his handsome features.

“I saw when she cursed you,” she said quietly.

“I’m sorry you had to see that.” His jaw tightened. “Enough of this, Selina. Will you break my curse or won’t you?”

Selina was quiet for a very long time just studying Darrak as if trying to figure him out like a particularly difficult riddle. And then, “Okay, fine.”

His eyebrows went up. “Wow. Really?”

“I’ll do it.”

“I can’t believe you’re actually saying yes.”

She glared at him. “Don’t give me enough time to second-guess myself here.”

He cleared his throat. “When can it be done?”

“Now.”

“Now?” Eden said, still attempting to get over the frightening vision of the archdemon sitting across from her. “Right here?”

Selina stood up and slid her purse strap over her shoulder. “No. Somewhere private and outdoors, preferably similar to where the curse was originally cast.”

“There’s a little wooded area near my apartment,” Eden suggested.

Selina nodded firmly. “Fine. And just a warning. Breaking the curse will send him back to the original location where his body was decimated.”

“It will?” Eden looked at Darrak.

“Yes. So his ass is going on a one-way trip back to Salem, Massachusetts. Hopefully they didn’t build anything on that specific location or it might be a bit of a hard landing. Is that a problem, demon?”

He shook his head. “No. In fact, I’m glad to hear it.”

Eden swallowed. He was glad to hear it? Break the curse and, poof, Darrak was gone. And after everything that had happened, he wouldn’t be taking a plane directly back to Toronto. He’d be on the run from Hell’s agents who wanted to drag him back to the mother ship.

“I’ll also break the black witch spell I put on him while I’m at it. A bit like closing the gate after the horse has run off, but it’s the least I can do. And when the demon is finally out of our hair, we can begin your education.” Selina smiled a little. “I had to learn all this on my own. Believe me, it hasn’t been easy. You’re lucky I’m willing to help you.”

She
was
lucky. All things considered, her brush with demons, witches, and the supernatural could have turned out much worse. At least she was still breathing.

The power of positive thinking. Maybe she should subscribe to that philosophy. The law of attraction sure hadn’t helped too much lately. The universe had one hell of a strange sense of humor.

Something caught her eye as they stood up from the table to leave. A familiar woman walking out front of the coffee bar and peering in through the bank of windows. She made eye contact with Eden and then rushed in through the doors a moment later.

Darrak swore. “Thought we’d seen the last of her.”

Eden thought so, too. It was Rosa, the exorcist she’d hired the other day—the mother of Malcolm. She wondered if the woman had any idea how knowledgeable her son really was about demons and exorcisms.

“Ms. Riley,” Rosa said, approaching her.

“I don’t want any trouble,” Eden replied. That was putting it mildly. Her current mountain of worries was so high that she couldn’t even see over the top.

Rosa anxiously clasped her hands on top of her walking cane. She wore a bright yellow floral dress covered by a thin red coat that looked handmade. “I think we made a mistake the other night. I feel horrible that an officer of the law had to intervene. I’ve had a few complaints lodged with the police as it is. I wanted to come by today to apologize to you personally and check in on how you’re feeling. Was it really only indigestion?”

“Yes.” Eden smiled tightly and glanced at Darrak. “Uh… trust me, I won’t be having Mexican food again for a long time. Those refried beans are a killer.”

“I didn’t put through the other half of the payment on your credit card and I’ve refunded your deposit. I’m very much hoping you won’t submit an official complaint against me.”

“Let’s just forget it,” she replied.

Finally some good news. Maybe the universe hadn’t given her the finger as much as she’d thought it had.

“Do you get a lot of calls for exorcisms?” Darrak asked her.

“You’d be surprised,” Rosa said. She glanced at him and Selina as if noticing them for the first time. “I’m sorry. I didn’t meant to interrupt. I just wanted to have my say. I hope there are no hard feelings toward me or my son.”

Darrak laughed a little at that.

“Do you know my Malcolm?” she asked.

“We’ve met. Sort of. He’s very dedicated to his work.”

“Yes, he certainly is. I’d hoped he would consider going back to the university. He has a scholarship waiting for him, you know. But he wants to pursue other interests. He’s a stubborn boy.” She looked at Selina. “You’re that author lady, aren’t you?”

Selina eyed her coolly. “I have written a couple of books.”

“What is it that you call yourself… love guru… love something.”

She smiled thinly. “Something like that.”

Rosa scanned Selina’s expensive suit and jewelry, stopping briefly on the gray stone pendant. “That’s lovely.”

“Thank you.” Selina touched it. “It was a gift from an acquaintance a long time ago.”

Yeah
, Eden thought.
A
long
time ago.

“Thank you for talking to me and for the refund, Rosa,” Eden said. “And there are no hard feelings. Toward you or Malcolm.”

“I’m so glad.”

They all began to leave the café at the same time.

“Bye Ms. Shaw. Your books have changed my life! Like,
seriously
!” Nancy called from behind the counter. “And bye, Darrak.
So
great seeing you again.”

Rosa turned with a frown to look at him directly. “Did she just call you Darrak? Ms. Riley, wasn’t that the name of your demon?”

“No,” Eden said immediately. “That was… uh…
Eric
. And it wasn’t a demon at all. It was Mexican food. Indigestion. Ugh. Not pleasant.”

Rosa frowned. “Mexican food named Eric?”

Eden clenched her jaw. “I have one heck of a crazy imagination.”

“Oh.” She shook her head and laughed a little, resting her weight on her crystal-topped cane. “Don’t we all. And my memory isn’t what it used to be, anyhow. No surprise. At my age everything is starting to fail me.”