earthbound angels who watch the Netherworld gateways temporarily get rid of their wings while they’re here to ensure they’re not damaged.”
Then that was impossible. “Why would the Malleus be holding an angel in a prison cell?”
“They wouldn’t, of course,” Sandy said firmly. “The Malleus fights on the side of light — on the side of angels — against the darkness.”
“You’re right, of course. I guess I was just seeing things.”
“Listen. . Ben, I wanted to talk to you. About. . about what happened yesterday. When you and I. .” She chewed her bottom lip and averted her gaze.
“The kiss?”
“That would be the topic at hand.”
“I think you already established how you felt about that. How it was a mistake and against the rules.” He raised an eyebrow. It hurt a little.
“Yeah, I did say that already, didn’t I?”
“And also how you know how much I care about Eden and my current obsession to save her from demons and other nasty creatures of darkness.”
“So we discussed this already?”
“We did.”
She forced a smile. “Then, well, that’s good. Forget it. Why don’t I just grab some bandages and I can patch you up a bit?”
Ben stood up from the couch. “Sandy, can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Do you like working for the Malleus?”
“Of course. It makes me feel like I’m doing something worthwhile.”
He nodded. “Me, too.”
“And even though they have a lot of rules, it still makes sense.”
“Most of the rules I agree with.”
“Most of them?”
“Yeah. There’s just one I’m finding I’m not too fond of.”
“And which one is—”
She tensed with surprise when he kissed her but didn’t resist. He wondered if he’d forget about everything if he kissed her long enough. If breaking this one rule with Sandy would be enough to make the rest of it make sense.
It was definitely worth a try.
Eden wondered exactly what would be involved in a demon lord awakening.
It didn’t sound like a chance for balloons and streamers, but maybe she was wrong.
She needed that black diamond. The angelheart.
No matter what else happened here today, she had to get her hands on it.
The front door to Luxuria was unlocked when she and Darrak arrived at almost noon. She had to force herself to take each step farther along the hallway leading to the main club. She felt like Dorothy getting ready to approach the Wizard of Oz and ask him for a ticket back to Kansas.
“You okay?” Darrak asked. She was walking so slowly some might consider it standing still.
“Not especially.”
And, as if she needed anything more to deal with at the moment, a wave of pain hit her without warning, almost bringing her to her knees. She cried out. Darrak grabbed hold of her before she fell.
It was gone as quickly as it had arrived. Just a drive-by.
Darrak’s eyes were filled with concern as he helped her steady herself. “We can leave.”
She laughed weakly. “You don’t mean that.”
“I do.” His jaw set. “We’ll wait for Maksim to get back from wherever he is. We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”
“No, I’m okay now. This is your chance to get your curse removed. And I don’t get the pain very often. That, hopefully, was my only dose today.”
He didn’t look convinced. “Fine. But when the curse is broken, I want you to leave immediately and don’t look back.”
“Why?”
“When I change. . I can’t guarantee how I’ll act then. Toward you. I don’t know.”
Right. He felt that when the curse was broken, he’d revert back to his old demonic self — no humanity need apply, right?
“So you’ll become dark, dangerous, and not a fabulous conversationalist?” she asked.
“The first two. I could always hold my own at a cocktail party.”
“You really think that’ll happen? Losing the humanity you’ve gained after all these years?”
He nodded solemnly, then stroked a strand of dark red hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear. “I do. I just wish. .”
“What?”
He kissed her then. Just a quick brush of his lips against hers before he pulled away.
“Come on,” he said. “Theo will be waiting for us.”
Eden pressed her lips together and tried to ignore the lump in her throat.
Was it true? Would he change the moment the curse was broken? He believed it completely, so why wouldn’t she? Probably because it made her sad that this Darrak she’d grown very fond of was only a facade. He seemed to embrace this chance to return to his former self, not doubting it for a moment. Not wanting to be anything else.
This unfortunate experience was just a blip in the video game of his existence.
And it was true, he didn’t feel remorse for anything he’d done in the past — not even being the cause of death for all of his former hosts. He was a demon who did demonic things. Period. After all, a lion didn’t apologize for eating a gazelle, did it?
They had no choice but to go forward with this. The last thing she wanted was for Darrak to continue to possess her. This really was their only answer.
However, it relied on a great deal of trust. For Theo and for this Asmo demon.
Eden would let Darrak handle the trust. She’d focus on getting the angelheart.
As they rounded the next corner toward the inner entrance, Theo stood there with his arms crossed as if waiting for them.
“Darrak,” he greeted his friend. His black-eyed gaze moved toward her. “Lovely to see you again, Eden.”
Her face felt tense. She bit her tongue so she wouldn’t immediately tell him to go to hell. A demon would probably take that more as a suggestion than an insult, anyhow.
She couldn’t help but sense something different in the club today. The lust and desperation that always hung in the air there had risen to palpable levels. There was an audible hum in the building, and electricity seemed to lightly charge the room. It felt like the air outside just before a thunderstorm — a restrained energy about to be unleashed.
A demon lord was preparing to take form.
That didn’t help relax her very much.
“Is Asmo ready?” Darrak asked.
Theo nodded. “More than ready. He’s been waiting for this for centuries.”
Eden stayed silent, trying her best to look at ease. She watched Theo very carefully and wondered if he had the angelheart on him right now.
“You can talk to him?” Darrak asked.
“He’s been able to communicate with me despite his incorporeal state. However, until today it’s taken a great
