glass of beer and slammed it down on the table, before raking a hand through his thin head of hair. “My decisions have led me to this fate. If I’d been a perfect angel, I wouldn’t be here, would I?”
“How can you just accept this?”
“Eden, leave him be,” Darrak said.
“Theo stole his soul,” Eden said.
“Angels don’t have souls. Neither do demons,” Alistair said. “He stole my energy, my power. My ticket back to Heaven. So, yeah, I’m pissed. But I only blame myself.”
Eden looked at Darrak.
“Angels are very even tempered,” he said. “Except for the archangels. Don’t want to mess with them. All flaming swords and fury. Not pleasant, or so I’ve heard.”
Eden draped an arm around Alistair. “This is my fault, too. And I swear I’ll try to make it up to you.”
“Really?” Alistair said.
She nodded. “Really.”
He clamped his hand over her left breast and squeezed. “I think I know how you can start making it up to me, pretty lady.”
She pushed him away, her compassion and guilt turning quickly to disgust. This was an angel? “Not exactly what I had in mind.”
“Oh, come on. I thought you were feeling guilty? Black witches are disgusting evildoers, but they’re still soft and warm and human enough. You look like you might be good for a roll in the hay.” He reached for her again, and she slapped his hands away.
“Darrak?” she said.
“Charity time over?” he asked.
“Afraid so.” She stood up and looked at the former angel, who now just looked like a drunk man. “I am sorry. Really.”
“If you were that sorry, you’d be giving me a lap dance right now.” He patted his lap. “Come on. Make it up to me.”
“You’re disgusting.”
Her cell phone rang again, and she dragged it out of her pocket. Andy again. She finally answered it.
“Andy, I’m a bit busy right now.”
“Eden. .” was the hoarse, weak reply. “Please. . help me. .”
Her back stiffened. “What’s wrong?”
“I. . I’m hurt. I need. . help. . please. .”
“Where are you?”
The line went dead.
With shaking hands, Eden hit the speed dial for Andy’s number. It rang but no one picked up.
“What’s wrong?” Darrak asked.
That was a good question. What was wrong? She didn’t know. But something was.
“It’s Andy. He’s hurt and I. . I don’t know where he is.”
“Does everyone who knows you end up hurt, sugar tits?” Alistair asked, knocking back the first shot of vodka the bartender brought to the table.
Yeah. It looked like maybe he was right.
She had to find Andy. Darrak followed her out to the parking lot.
“I have to concentrate,” she said, trying to tap into her psychic energy. She had been able to locate things in the past, but it had never been with much accuracy or when she’d wanted to. Images came to her mind without her asking for them and at unexpected times. She wished she could channel it to help her whenever she needed it.
However, she did have another power she could now channel whenever she wanted.
As if reading her mind, Darrak grabbed her arm. “Eden, no. You can’t use your magic for this.”
She shrugged away from him. “He’s hurt, and I don’t know where he is. I won’t let him die.”
“Eden, no—”
But it was too late. She flexed her mind and dipped shallowly into the surface of her magic that had been there lying in wait the whole time they were with Theo. She cringed as the force of it hit her and her stomach cramped with pain.
She had just one thought:
Her magic reached out over the city as if it was a spider-web, pulsing and moving, searching and reaching. The spiderweb turned thicker, like oil spreading out. A rancid black icing spread over the top of a rotting cake.
But it did the trick. She saw it as clear as day.
“I know where he is.” She opened her eyes to look at Darrak, who held by her shoulders and stared down at her, concern creasing his brow.
“Eden, why do you keep doing that?” He sounded furious with her, and his eyes blazed fire. “You
Magic continued to crackle around her like static. “You’re so cute when you worry about my immortal soul.”
“Eden, I—”
She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him closer to her. Then she kissed him hard on his mouth.
When they parted and he looked at a loss for words, she slapped him.
“Ow.” He pressed his hand against the side of his face. “What was that for?”
“For introducing me to your asshole buddy Theo.”
“And the kiss?”
“Because using my magic makes me want to kiss a demon, and you were the closest.” She took his hand and pulled him toward the car. “There’s no time to talk about kissing or slapping. Get in. Hurry.”
He did as she asked without further argument.
It took ten excruciatingly long minutes for her to drive to the location she saw in her mind’s eye. It was an alleyway filled with Dumpsters and strewn garbage between two graffiti-covered buildings. She didn’t wait for Darrak to follow her. She got out and started walking toward the spot she’d seen in her head.
“Andy,” she called out. The magic that had been there for her a minute ago had finally faded, leaving her feeling cold and scared.
There was no reply.
“Eden, be careful,” Darrak said.
She felt on the verge of hysterical tears. “He was trying to call me but I ignored him. He wanted my help on this case, but I was too busy dealing with everything going on with us.”
“And Andy understood that.”
“It doesn’t matter. If something bad has happened to him, it’s my—”
“Watch out!” Darrak yelled and grabbed her, pulling her out of the way as something launched itself at her. She hit the ground hard.
“What the hell was that?” she asked.
She heard a growling sound and looked up. A huge animal stood eight feet away from her, baring its teeth and growling. Saliva dripped from its jowls. It had gray fur and a dark streak down its back.
It looked like a. . wolf.
“Werewolf,” she managed.
“Don’t move,” Darrak warned.
Andy had been on the case — the werewolf case. The cheating spouse. All he’d had to do was to take some pictures, but. . but something had gone wrong.
Her stomach clenched as she saw the blood on the wolf’s muzzle. It snarled and moved closer.
“Don’t even think about it, puppy dog,” Darrak rose to his feet. The wolf didn’t back down; in fact, it drew closer.
“Darrak!” What did he think he was doing? “Don’t get near it.”
