“Do you still pine for her?” Eden asked.
His expression shuttered to one that was completely blank. Darrak wasn’t the only one who could wear masks. “I told you I didn’t. The affair was so short it made no difference in my existence other than teaching me a valuable lesson.”
“Which was?”
“Humans are forgettable. Now, why don’t we get this show on the road so Darrak can be on his way to forgetting you as well?”
She glared at him. No romantic tale of lost love—whether or not he’d admit it was true—would ever help her get past the disdain she had for the demon.
Weird, though. She’d felt just a bit of pity for him. He was fooling himself if he thought that lost love hadn’t gotten to him.
But it didn’t matter anymore.
“This is so great,” Darrak said dryly. “I thought you two would get along famously with each other. Glad to see I was completely and utterly wrong about that.”
“Your girlfriend asks too many questions,” Theo growled.
“She’s naturally curious. It’s one of her many charms.”
“Follow me.” He turned and walked away from them. Eden had to hurry to keep up.
They entered the main club, with the bar along one side and the dance floor in the middle. Without the flickering lights or the loud music it seemed a bit tired and drab.
They weren’t alone.
“Who are they?” Eden asked. A dozen men and women were seated in the lounge area with their backs to them. All stared forward at the wall and didn’t move.
“Human sacrifices,” Theo said conversationally. “Asmo has a great deal of power at the moment, but he might need to recharge. Plus, he’ll be very hungry when he takes form. But don’t get upset. They’re practically drained to start with. They’ll just disappear. No mess to worry about.”
Eden’s eyes widened. Human sacrifices?
“The women who disappeared. It was Asmodeus who did it, wasn’t it?” She looked at Darrak. “You lied to me.”
“Ooh, point for Darrak.” Theo grinned. “Maybe you’re not as whipped as I thought. If he didn’t tell you that, I guess he didn’t tell you about the dude I strangled out back, either.”
Eden felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. Theo killed Graham. She knew it.
She looked at Darrak. Why didn’t he tell her? Why would he keep this from her?
“Don’t make a big deal about this,” Darrak told her. “Not now. Please.”
Don’t make a big deal about murder? About a demon who sucked the life energy out of anyone he wanted and who was about to do the same to a dozen more? About Theo snuffing out Graham’s life like he meant nothing?
If she made a big deal, if she freaked out right now and ruined this, they wouldn’t get the chance to break Darrak’s curse. It pained her to bite her tongue, to restrain her power, even though she was shaking inside with anger and disgust, but that’s exactly what she did.
For now.
“Later, then,” she said quietly, her throat tight with trying to keep herself under control. “But these people have to leave here so they can have a chance to recover.”
Darrak glanced at the backs of the zombies’ heads. “Is there another way for Asmo to feed today, Theo?”
“Sure.” Theo sat down on a leather armchair near the dance floor and put his feet up on a glass table. “One fully energized human—or almost human—will be better than twelve nearly drained ones any day.”
Darrak’s eyes narrowed. “Eden is not on the menu.”
Theo sighed wearily. “Well, I guess that will be up to him, won’t it?” He looked up at the ceiling. “Asmodeus? We’re ready. Let’s do this.”
If Theo thought he could serve her up on a platter, then he had another think coming to him. Theo knew she was a black witch. She’d sworn not to use her power again—and she really didn’t want to if she could help it. But she would if she had no other choice.
The air began to crackle with more electricity—but it wasn’t because of her. It raised the fine hair on Eden’s arms.
“It’s over,” she said. “I’m leaving. And I’m taking those people with me. This needs to stop right now.”
Theo looked at her. “Oh, Red, it’s way too late for that.”
The lights in the club flickered. The ground trembled. The buzz that had been low frequency before grew louder and louder.
Darrak and Eden exchanged a glance before she forced herself to look away.
He’d lied to her again. He’d brought her here where a demon lay in wait ready to drain anyone who came into his path.
“I don’t care what you say,” she snapped. “I’ll stop this. I’ll—”
She suddenly realized she couldn’t speak or move. She was frozen in place.
And a demon lord with a big appetite was about to arrive.
“This is perfect,” Theo said. “I was concerned about Lucifer figuring things out, but it doesn’t really matter. Asmo will protect us until we can figure out a new plan.”
Darrak couldn’t stop looking at Eden. It was Asmo who had frozen her in place. A glance at the other humans showed that they were unmoving as well. The best way to deal with potential prey was to paralyze them and ensure they couldn’t fight back.
“He’s coming,” Theo said.
He was right. Darrak could feel it. The building felt alive, throbbing with energy, and . . . kind of lusty, too.
Suddenly, the club grew darker, the walls literally turning black. But it wasn’t really the walls—it was smoke. Black smoke coated every inch of the club and bled down to the floor. It looked like ankle deep, thick black mist that rippled and undulated.
Eden’s gaze widened nearly imperceptibly, and Darrak could tell she was afraid.
It bothered him.
But he couldn’t go to her. Not now. There was no time.
Asmodeus was about to have his awakening. Now Darrak wished he’d brought some of that fiesta dip. It seemed like an event worth celebrating. The beginning of the rest of Darrak’s existence would begin after this short break.
Please stand by.
“Welcome, my lord,” Theo said with reverence. He stood up from his seat.
“GREETINGS, ALL,” a deep and booming voice sounded. It echoed through the club. “I’M GLAD YOU COULD JOIN ME TODAY. THIS IS GOING TO BE SO AWESOME!”
Asmo had always been one of the more enthusiastic demon lords.
“Welcome, Asmodeus,” Darrak said as well.
“DARRAK! IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME. HOW’VE YOU BEEN, PAL?”
His eyes flicked toward Eden, standing so still and silent. “I’ve been better, actually.”
“RIGHT? TRUST ME, I KNOW. I FEEL YOUR PAIN, MAN. I MEAN, LOOK AT ME RIGHT NOW. IT SUCKS TO BE BODILESS.”
“Not for long,” Theo said. “It’s your time, what we’ve been building to. Take form now, Asmodeus, and show us your magnificence once again.”
Theo had always been a bit of a brownnoser.
“YEAH, ABOUT THAT. THERE’S A TEENY BIT OF A PROBLEM.”
“What?”
“I CAN’T TAKE FORM. JUST TRIED. NO LUCK.”
Theo frowned. “Then what should we do now?”
“PLAN B. I’LL TAKE A PERMANENT BODY. NOW THAT I SEE I HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE, I’M COOL WITH IT.”
“Oh . . . uh.” Theo wrung his hands. “Great. Well, whatever works, right? As you can see I’ve assembled a nice assortment of humans here for you. Please, feel free to take your pick.”
Darrak had moved to stand between Theo and Eden so he had a better view of the lounging zombielike humans. He realized for the first time that one of them was Nancy.
Why was she still here? Wasn’t she with Stanley last night?
But Stanley worked for Theo. It all came back to Theo, didn’t it?
Darrak pushed away the sinking feeling he felt at seeing the familiar face.
“I’VE TASTED ALL OF THESE ONES BEFORE.” The smoke gathered and moved toward th
e group like an anchored storm cloud. “AH, THIS ONE I’VE ONLY NIBBLED ON.” Darkness covered the body of the man sitting next to Nancy like a shroud. There was a slight, strangled cry, and then the darkness moved away. Nothing of the man remained.
“OOPSIE. GOT A LITTLE CARRIED AWAY. I’M SO HUNGRY!”
“It’s not a problem,” Theo said tensely. “There are plenty more where he came from.”
The same thing would have happened to the women who disappeared. It bothered Darrak more than he’d like to admit. Asmo took the lives of humans as if he was Forrest Gump sampling from a box of chocolates.
“HMM . . . WHAT ABOUT THIS ONE? SHE’S NEW, ISN’T SHE?”
Darrak thought he was referring to Nancy, but the smoke had shifted direction. It approached Eden instead.
“No,” Darrak said, but it was too quiet, so he said it again, louder. “No. Theo, I told you. He doesn’t get to touch Eden.”
Theo shrugged. “What Asmo wants, Asmo gets. Just accept it, Darrak.”
“Stop him.”
“You think I have that kind of control?”
“If he harms Eden, there’s going to be a problem.”
Theo smiled and placed a hand on Darrak’s shoulder. “Come on, just chill.”
Darrak pushed his friend back from him. Hard. Theo staggered back, surprised, but then fire appeared in his narrowing gaze.
“Don’t do that,” he warned.
“Stop Asmodeus now.”
“No.” Theo shoved Darrak.
Darrak held his hand out to his side and summoned his fire. He turned to the smoke gathering at Eden’s feet. Her expression hadn’t changed. She looked almost serene, but there was a slight tension to her forehead and her eyes moved back and forth.
So not as serene as she looked at first glance. Terrified. And Darrak would be willing to bet that she had no access to her black magic at the moment, if she was tempted to use it. And he wouldn’t blame her at all this time if she did.
Well, maybe a little.
“Asmodeus,” Darrak snapped. “She’s not for you.”
“OH, YEAH? WHY THE HECK NOT?”
“Because she’s mine.”
“SHE’S FILLED WITH MAGIC LIKE AN OVERFLOWING TEAKETTLE. I LIKE HER.”
Theo grabbed Darrak’s arm and held him in place. “Let her go. You’ll forget her. Just like I forgot Kristina.”
Darrak glared at him. “You never forgot Kristina.”
He waited for the other demon’s response. What he hadn’t expected was feeling a blast of energy come off his friend, launching him across the nightclub like a bomb had gone off. Darrak got back to his feet in a flash.
Archdemon power. He missed having that much of it.
But he still had some.
He allowed fire to course down into both of his hands this time and moved toward Theo.
“What are you going to do?” Theo asked. “Fight me?”
“Looks like.”
“Just like that. After everything I’ve done for you? Would you really want to mess this up? This is your answer. Asmo’s going to take her. She won’t be your ball and chain anymore. You’d throw that chance away? Are you that much of an idiot?”
There really was no way to answer that question. “Yes, I’m that much of an idiot,” didn’t really sound too good.
Maybe Theo was right.
Free from Eden. Free from the necessity of possessing her body at night. Free from his ties to her during the day. He could be restored to his former self, a demon who didn’t care about anyone or anything and only cared about achieving more power and more pleasure.
It was for the best. When the curse was removed and Eden was gone, this would all be a distant memory.
“What will happen to her?” he asked quietly.
“I WILL POSSESS HER, USE HER SHELL, AND THROW AWAY THE YOLK. I WILL BURN AWAY ALL THAT REMAINS OF HER SO THERE’S PLENTY OF ROOM FOR ME TO PARTY. SHOULDN’T TAKE MORE THAN A FEW SECONDS.”
“But . . . but she’s a woman,” Darrak said, trying to remain calm. It might be a little late for that.
“I’M VERY OPEN-MINDED. WHAT IS SHE, A SIZE SIX? ARE THOSE BREASTS NATURAL OR SILICONE? FORGET IT, I DON’T REALLY MIND EITHER WAY.”
The thick smoke began to crawl up Eden’s body like a black boa constrictor. Her eyes closed.
Darrak surged forward, mindless to anything but saving Eden from this fate. Theo’s hand clamped down on his shoulder again.
“Don’t do this,” Theo growled.
Darrak spun around and hit Theo hard, knocking him right to the other side of the club thirty feet away. Before the demon hit the ground he disappeared in a haze of fire and reappeared right in front of Darrak’s face.
Phasing. He still missed that ability more than he could say.
Darrak grabbed hold of his friend and shifted to his demon form. Theo did the same. It was funny how similar they looked this way, then again, they’d been made at the same time. That made them almost like twins—the same.
But they weren’t the same. Not anymore.
“I said I’d destroy you if you got in my way.” Theo clenched his razor-sharp teeth.
“Right back at you.”
“Over a woman?” Theo shook his head. The flames that coated his body were blue while Darrak’s were amber. “How sad.”
“You’re sad.”
“Not your wittiest comeback, I’m afraid. Besides, it’s too late. No matter what you do, you can’t stop this.”
Darrak craned his neck to see that Eden was completely surrounded by the smoke now. It covered her like the man Asmo had already devoured.
He was too late.
“OH, SHIT.”
Theo pushed Darrak away from him. “What’s wrong, my lord?”
“PARDON THE SAYING, BUT THERE’S NO ROOM AT THE INN. SHE’S ALREADY DARRAK’S HOST SO SHE’S BLOCKED TO ANYONE ELSE. IF I HAD FORM, I WOULD BE SOBBING RIGHT NOW WITH DISAPPOINTMENT.”
Theo shifted back to human form.
“You can still have her,” Theo said. “But you have to break Darrak’s curse first so he stops acting like a smitten schoolboy. Stanley!” He raised his voice so it reverberated through the entire club. “Could you come in here right now?”
Theo still believed Darrak was dealing with a temporary curse-driven shift in personality. Which was the truth, of course.
Eden was still in one piece. Still frozen, though, with her eyes closed. He hoped she was unconscious and not experiencing any of this firsthand.
He changed back to human form and looked at Theo warily.
“Somebody need a hug?” Theo asked, with a big shit-eating grin on his face.
Darrak forced a smile. “You are such an asshole, you know that?”
“I aim to please.”
So all was forgiven? The shoving match? The threats of destruction?
Sure. Two could play at that game.
“Seriously”—Darrak slapped him on the back, as close to a real hug as he was comfortable with, and tried to laugh—“I’m going to kick your ass.”
Theo shook his head. “You’re just lucky I like you. Not too many others would have put up with all of your bullshit.”
He was right. Why had Theo put up with him? Was he really and truly Darrak’s friend? Selflessly and at the threat of his own existence? Well, that would go against demon nature, wouldn’t it?
But so did falling in love. Theo hadn’t been cursed when he fell for Kristina. And he had been a mess after she’d died—at least until he’d pulled himself together and put on his public face. It had been a long time ago, but Darrak remembered it clearly.
“It’ll be okay,” Theo assured him.
“Fingers crossed.” Darrak turned away so he could slide the black diamond he’d just stolen from Theo into his own pocket.
Theo was a true friend, despite many problems Darrak had with him.
But having a backup plan was always a good thing.
Stanley entered the club and looked at them
warily. “So, I’m here. How goes it?”
“OH, GOODY. HE’LL DO FOR NOW.”
The black smoke shot toward Stanley, surrounding him in an instant. Stanley shrieked, flailed his arms as if fighting off a swarm of bees, before the smoke disappeared and he stilled.
Then he inhaled a great gulp of air and opened his eyes, looking down at his hands and smiling.
“Not bad,” he said.
“Asmodeus?” Theo asked tentatively.
Asmo, currently in the form of Stanley, approached them. “That’s my name, don’t wear it out.”
“Uh, how do you feel?”
“Fabulous! And look at me.” He pointed at his head. “I’m balding!”
“Congrats.”
“Although,” Asmo moved toward Eden again, “this one is more esthetically pleasing to me.”
He slid a hand down to her butt and squeezed.
Without even thinking about it, Darrak found he was beside the demon lord and prying his hand away from Eden’s body.
“Don’t touch her, please,” he said firmly.
“I can touch whatever I want.”
Darrak squeezed Asmo’s wrist tighter. “No. You can’t.”
Asmo smiled. “You’ve always been a funny one, haven’t you?”
“I do enjoy making others laugh. Or scream in pain. Either or.”
Asmo looked down at Darrak’s grip. “Go ahead. Break the wrist if it makes you feel better. It won’t be mine for much longer.”
Darrak released him before he did any irreparable damage to Stanley. It had been very close.
Asmo cocked his head to the side, studying Darrak. “There’s something strange about you. I didn’t really notice it before, but now . . .” He leaned toward Darrak and sniffed, before a look of displeasure spread across his borrowed face.
“Do I smell bad?” Darrak asked. Not to be vain, but he did find that hard to believe.
“No. You smell kind of . . . uh . . .” Asmo’s lips turned downward for the first time. “Good?”
“Thank you.”
He scrunched his nose. “I mean good in the worst way possible. What have you been eating?”
Darrak glanced over at Theo, who watched their conversation carefully. “Donuts mostly. Chocolate ones.”
“Not food. I mean from your power source.” He sniffed Eden then. Darrak knew for a fact she smelled like lavender. It was from her body wash. She only wore perfume on special occasions. “I sense black witch, but there’s something else there, too. Can’t quite put my finger on it.”
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