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
“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.”
“
“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
Darrak glanced over at Theo, who watched their conversation carefully. “Donuts mostly. Chocolate ones.”
