Something Wicked

Realization of what she’d said slid behind her green eyes. “Uh. . you must have told me.”

“No, I didn’t.”

Color rushed into her cheeks. “You must have.”

“I know for an absolute fact that I said nothing.”

Eden tried to move past him. “I need to have a shower.”

He blocked her way to the bathroom. “How do you know about Lucifer?”

She bit her bottom lip. “Everyone knows about Lucifer, don’t they? He’s the original fallen angel. All prideful.”

Darrak grabbed hold of her bare shoulders. “I’m asking you again. How do you know about Lucifer?”

“Be careful or I’m going to lose this afghan,” she warned.

He eyed her slipping cover. He really didn’t need any other distractions at the moment.

“I want to have a shower,” she said firmly, then slid her right hand down his chest. “You’re welcome to join me, though.” She frowned. “Damn lust elixir. It’s really not helping right now.”

Tempting. Very tempting. But he was too distracted by what she’d said before. Why would she mention Lucifer?

“Fine.” He stepped aside, and she went into the bathroom and closed the door without another word. He heard the shower turn on. He waited, not moving from his spot.

Ten minutes later she emerged wearing a towel. She flicked a glance at him.

“Just forget it,” she said.

“No.”

She glared at him and disappeared into her bedroom. Another ten minutes went by, and she emerged fully dressed in jeans and a black sweater. Her grayish amulet lay against her chest and his eyes moved to it.

It was still the same color as yesterday. It didn’t gauge her level of black magic, only the darkness of her soul. She could be filled to the brim with black magic, but if she didn’t use it, it wouldn’t do any damage to her.

If she never used it again, the color — and her soul — would stay as it was right now.

Gray was better than black.

Theo had been trying to help. It was true, though. If Eden’s soul went jet-black, it would be a one-way ticket to Hell when she died — just being immortal didn’t mean she couldn’t be killed. If he went back to Hell, they could be together.

They might even be able to set up house in the pit with a black picket fence and a family hellhound.

But Darrak had known black-souled humans before. They were. . different. Eden wouldn’t be the same as she was now. She’d be something else.

If Eden’s soul went to Hell, Darrak would be there to protect it. Protect her. Till the end of time.

But it wouldn’t really be Eden anymore.

Darrak had seen her soul when they first met. He’d touched it when he possessed her. It had been a shimmering, glowing pure thing unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. Despite the damage that had occurred since, it still filled him with such energy and life. A soul like Eden’s deserved to go to Heaven.

And if she really was a nephilim, she deserved to go to Heaven even more.

One problem at a time.

“Tell me about Lucifer,” he said firmly.

She paled. “I can’t do that.”

He was trying very hard to stay calm. It wasn’t working very well. “Pretty please with sugar on top?”

“Being polite isn’t going to change my answer.”

He racked his mind. Where had she gone? Who had she seen and spoken to?

“Does this have to do with Ben?” he asked.

“No.”

“The Malleus leader you talked to? The witch who dampened me?”

“No and no.”

Who else had she come in contact with lately? It wasn’t Andy, who’d been clueless about anything supernatural until just the other day. It wasn’t Leena, so self-serving she wouldn’t have offered any insight on anything, let alone his and Theo’s plans toward the Prince of Hell.

Then who?

“Darrak, just forget—”

Then something just clicked.

“Lucas,” he said.

She gasped. “Darrak, please. .”

That was the reaction he’d been looking for. He’d hit the target.

But. . Lucas? That bland, uninteresting teacher who wanted to borrow Leena’s metaphorical sugar?

Darrak frowned deeply. “Is he. . a servant of Lucifer’s? Was he sent here to keep an eye on me? Is that it?”

“Please, no. Just forget it,” she said, now panicky. “And don’t mention him again. Ever.”

Darrak studied her face, trying to glean the truth there and wishing again that he could read her mind. Why was she keeping this from him? And why did she look so afraid?

More clickage occurred for him. This time it came with a side helping of shock.

“Wait, I’m wrong,” he said. “Lucas isn’t Lucifer’s servant, is he? Lucas is Lucifer.”

Eden looked as if she was ready to hyperventilate. Her face had paled so much it was as white as the wall she braced herself against.

She didn’t reply. That was confirmation enough for him.

Darrak pulled her to him, cupping her face in his hands, feeling a wave of protectiveness toward her at her look of fear. “It’s okay. You can tell me anything.”

Did she still trust him? Or had he managed to completely destroy that between them?

Tears shone in her eyes. “He has my mother’s soul.”

He tensed. “So he can blackmail you?”

“Yes.”

“What does he want?”

She brought her voice down to a barely audible whisper. “He knows, Darrak. About the weapon. About Theo’s plans. And he knows you’re in on it.” Her expression suddenly turned to annoyance. “Why would you be in on something stupid like that?”

He cringed. Terrific. Everybody knew. “I have my reasons. I just don’t understand why I didn’t sense it before. I talked to Lucas twice.”

“Does he look different?”

“Yeah. But, of course, he has different forms, just like me. This is one I’d never seen before.” He swallowed. “I didn’t even know he could enter the human world. Thought it was part of his punishment that he had to stay in Hell.”

“He has to take mortal form when he’s here,” Eden said quietly.

Okay, that was news. “He told you that? When?”

She twisted her fingers through her dark red hair. “We’ve spoken a few times. The marble he gave me yesterday — he called it a summoning crystal. You didn’t even know I was gone.”

She was right. He’d been completely and utterly oblivious, too consumed by his own problems to even notice anything like that.

So this is why she’d been so preoccupied and secretive lately. Lucifer had been summoning her for secret meetings.

“Wait a minute. You said he has to take mortal form.” Darrak considered the word. “Do you mean that while in the human world, Lucifer is human?”

Eden nodded. “He’s vulnerable while he’s here. And it’s probably one of the reasons he insisted I didn’t say anything to you about this.”

Lucifer was here. Right next door as their friendly, teacherly neighbor with glasses and an off-the-rack suit.