That Old Black Magic lie-3

by Michelle Rowen

  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.”

  She had to get back. Darrak was getting worse with every minute that passed. “Darrak needs—”

  “He needs something I won’t be providing. Quite honestly, I don’t care if he lives or dies. But he matters to you.” His eyes lit up again. “The answer is as simple as they come, Eden.”

  She went silent, waiting, willing her impatience to back off. It wasn’t helping right now with this hellishly frustrating man. “I need to get back.”

  “Of course. For Darrak. And for your friend… the werewolf.”

  She inhaled sharply. “You know about Andy?”

  He nodded. “You have obtained a spell to contain him tonight.”

  “How do you—?”

  “Not everything is cloaked to me, Eden. I know the things I need to know. It’s all a part of the whole.”

  Now he was talking like a fortune cookie, too. “Please tell me how to help Darrak.”

  “Like I said, it’s simple.” He grasped her chin and looked into her eyes. “You broke him, so you need to fix him. I’ll see you again, Eden. Very soon.”

  He snapped his fingers, and the next moment she wasn’t on the beach any longer. She was back in her apartment.

  Darrak stood directly in front of her, holding on to her wrist. “I’m serious, Eden. You can’t see Lucifer again. It’s too dangerous. Put that damned summoning crystal down, will you?”

  Lucas had returned her within the exact millisecond she’d left. Darrak had no idea she’d even been gone. She put the marble back in her pocket and hung her coat back up in the hall closet.

  He sighed with relief. “That’s better.”

  “I need you back in bed,” she commanded.

  He leaned against the wall. “I appreciate the interest, but I’m not feeling all that frisky at this precise moment.”

  She grabbed his arm and pulled him along with her to the bedroom. He didn’t argue again as she put him back into bed and sat on the edge with her hand on his forehead.

  “It’s okay,” he said. “It doesn’t hurt that much.”

  “And here I thought you were a good liar.”

  “It’s over, Eden. I can feel it.”

  “No it’s not. Not even close.”

  She didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to get what Lucas had told her. She’d made this mess, she’d done something, shifted something, messed with something that shouldn’t have been messed with when she’d tried to remove the curse. Nothing else had changed in order for him to feel this lousy.

  This wasn’t his inner angel and demon doing battle inside him. This was merely a glitch.

  She looked down at his pale face as he looked up at her uncertainly.

  “I’m going to fix you,” she said. “So get ready.”

  ELEVEN

  “Not that I don’t have every confidence,” Darrak began, “but are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

  “Do you trust me?”

  He eyed her. “Should I?”

  “Do you?” Eden asked again.

  “I don’t want you to use your magic again for this.”

  “Tough. It’s the only way. I need to go back in and shift things back to the way they were before. When I tried to remove the curse, I rearranged the furniture in there. I know what I did wrong — I shifted the light and dark sides of you when they were already in perfect feng shui position.”

  “So you’re trying to say you did an Extreme Home Makeover on me?”

  She snorted. “Pretty much.”

  He leaned back against the pillow. “Fine. Do your worst.”

  “I think I already did that.”

  “Andy’s got less than three hours before sunset.”

  “I know. Now, shhh.”

  Eden pressed her hands against his chest and closed her eyes so she could concentrate. This time it didn’t take long at all to sink down to the metaphysical level. She wouldn’t be able to explain it to somebody else, only to say that it felt very natural. Very right. If it didn’t do damage to her soul while she was down here fiddling around, it would prove to be a very useful talent.

  She scanned Darrak’s being, and yes, the light and the dark were bumping up against each other violently now. Of course. How couldn’t she have noticed that before? It was like two lions infringing on each other’s territory, both equally powerful but very, very different.

  A turf war was going on in Darrak’s body between who he was and the new part of himself he refused to accept.

  Something else caught her attention. She hadn’t noticed it before. She’d been too distracted thinking the pure darkness was the curse, when really it was his demonic side. But now she saw it hiding at the edges, staring out at her. His curse. It was slimy and evasive, and one look at it told her it would devour her if she even attempted to reach toward it.

  If the spell from before had been like a puppy returning to its master at its first opportunity, this was a snake, winding around everything, both light and dark, until it was too tangled to untie.

  One day, she might try again. But not today. She instinctively knew that grabbing hold of it now would only do more damage.

  Darrak gasped out loud as she shifted the light and dark parts of him back into their comfortable positions. The raging jutting turf war stopped immediately.

  Putting Darrak back together was a lot like putting IKEA furniture together. Only this didn’t come with instructions.

  Eden opened her eyes to see Darrak was staring up at her.

  “Done,” she said. “How do you feel?”

  “Better.”

  Relief flooded her. “Thank God.”

  “If you say so.” He grinned and slid his fingers into her hair. “Yeah, I feel way better now.”

  “Things don’t seem as bleak?”

  “Oh, things still reek of bleak. Just without the bonus prize of sheer agony.”

  She pulled back. “I should have told you. I’m sorry.”

  He sat up. “Yeah, well, I’m sorry for not taking the news like a champ.”

  Her guilt from before prodded at her again. “You had a right to know earlier than today.”

  “How about we renew our agreement to be honest with each other? Or I might start borrowing your body again to do my errands at night.”

  “Blackmail. I can respect that.” She hadn’t told him about her meeting with Lucas, but she’d been returned so quickly that she honestly didn’t see a reason she needed to share that with him. She didn’t want to spoil his improved mood by mentioning his ex-boss.

  Eden looked down at her amulet. “Not much damage done.”

  “Anything is too much.”

  “It was worth it. I’m so glad you’re feeling better.”

  “Angel.” He blinked. “I’m half-angel. Maybe if I keep saying it out loud it won’t feel so utterly insane. Which half is angel, though? That’s the question.”

  She almost smiled. “I think it’s your right half.”

  He snorted. “It was a rhetorical question.”


  “I could see it, you know. Two separate pieces that aren’t too thrilled about taking up the same space. The right”—she took his right hand and brought it to her lips, kissing it—“and the left.” Then she did the same to the left.

  Darrak watched her carefully. “Well, I can tell you that both sides like that a lot.”

  He was wrong. This wouldn’t be the end of him. She’d fixed the pain and she could fix everything else if given enough time. “You’re going to be okay.”

  “You know that for a fact?”

  She nodded. “Yup.”

  “Beauty, brains, and the ability to soothsay. I’m very impressed.” He frowned. “You’re looking at me strangely right now.”

  Desire had replaced the concern she’d felt before. She slid her hands over his shoulders. “Am I?”

  “You are.”

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Better, like I said.”

  She leaned forward and brushed her lips against his. “How much better?”

  His gaze darkened with passion. “One hundred percent.”

  Then, as if a well had broken, he pulled her against him and kissed her hard and deep on her lips.

  She grinned. “So you are feeling frisky now.”

  “Never friskier.”

  His mouth covered hers again, his tongue sliding against her own. She couldn’t remember him ever kissing her with this kind of abandon before, not even the time they’d been given a lust elixir. There had always been something to stop them — worries about her black magic, Darrak’s spell that might make it worse, or not admitting her true feelings about the demon in the first place. They’d always fought against what felt so right.

  Sure, they had plenty of problems stacked up against them like a tall, impenetrable brick wall, but nothing remained to keep them from giving in to their passion for each other.

  “I want you, Darrak,” she whispered against his lips.

  His eyes blazed with need. “You know how much I love you.”

  “Show me. Make love to me.”

  It was all the encouragement he needed. He gathered her into his arms and turned her around to press her down against the mattress. She worked to remove his T-shirt and jeans, running her hands over his hot, bare skin.