The Demon in Me

to rain outside. The cat didn’t wear any tags, and its ears weren’t tattooed with ID — she was pretty sure the Humane Society did that for strays.

“Fine, kitty.” Eden scratched its head. “One night. Then you’re out of here.”

Eden liked living alone. She valued her privacy. She’d lived briefly — very briefly — with her ex-fiance, but after that had ended, she realized how much she liked time and space to herself.

She hadn’t even thought about having a pet. She’d had one when she was a kid — a turtle. Her mom had run over it with her Camaro and blamed Eden for leaving it on the driveway. Eden had cried for a week over Speedy’s squishy demise.

Seemed that anyone or anything she loved always left her — either by death or simply… going away. It really was best not to get attached to anything. Eden even threw out her magazines after one week. No need for clutter — emotional or material.

“And I’m not a big fan of cat hair.” Eden found that she was still scratching the feline’s head. It was oddly soothing.

She was exhausted and the wine hadn’t helped do anything but make her more tired. Her brain hurt from thinking too much.

The exorcism hadn’t been draining for Darrak alone. She felt the effects of it as well — like a hangover.

Before bed, Eden poured some milk into a bowl and put it on the ground. As an afterthought, she also put down half a can of tuna.

“I know, I’m a sucker,” she told the cat. “You saw me coming from a mile away, didn’t you?”

She went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. She looked long and hard at her reflection in the oversized mirror to see there were dark circles under her eyes. Stress circles.

Gee, I wonder what those are from? she thought. She was lucky she didn’t have a bruise from when Malcolm had struck her.

Jerk.

She pulled off her shirt and jeans, kicking them over onto her fuzzy pink bath mat, and then reached around to unhook her bra. She let it fall to the floor.

“I’m feeling much better now,” Darrak said.

She stifled a scream and clamped her hands over her bare breasts. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“Did I interrupt something?” There was a short pause.

“Oh, I see. Don’t let me stop you from getting naked. Please, continue.”

Eden scanned her reflection with wide eyes. Could she see the demon inside of her? Did she look possessed?

Nope. There was nothing noticeable. Other than the deep voice in her head only she could hear.

“This should be interesting.” Darrak sounded amused. “As I said before, I’ve never shared living space with a woman before. I honestly never would have guessed black lace panties for you. But I do approve.”

She glared at her reflection, feeling equal parts anger and embarrassment from being caught half naked by the demon. “I think we’re going to need to set some boundaries.”

“Then I suggest you don’t look at yourself in the mirror when you’re in a state of undress. It’s the only way I can see you—all of you, at the moment.”

She turned away from the mirror. “Fine.”

“Isn’t it a little early to have Christmas hand towels out? Or do you use those all year round?”

She looked at the floor instead. The last thing she needed was a demon critiquing her lousy decorating skills.

“Darrak”—she let out a shuddery breath—“I need my privacy.”

“That’s going to be difficult. For obvious reasons.”

“I’m exhausted right now and I can’t deal with this. Can’t you just go wherever you’ve been for the last few hours?”

“Afraid not. I need to be much more drained in order to fade like I did earlier. I can stay quiet, if you’d prefer, and enjoy the view. I’m just happy to have somebody to talk to after so long. You have no idea what it’s been like for the last three centuries.”

She couldn’t even imagine. “I’m sure it hasn’t been fun for you.”

“No, it definitely hasn’t. There have only been four hosts over the years who could hear me — and none as clearly as you can. Two of them went insane. The other killed himself. You had the privilege of meeting the fourth earlier today. He figured out I was a demon, but he was already crazy to start with.” He was quiet for a moment. “I tried to stop him. But my voice in his head only made him angrier.”

Eden’s eyebrows raised. “You really tried to stop him from killing people?”

“I tried. My influence on him wasn’t going to last long, though.” His voice sobered. “Luckily his death came early.”

“I’d think a demon would be okay with murder and mayhem.”

“Some are; I won’t lie. But the rest of us… well, I think stomping out a human life is a waste.”

She hadn’t believed in demons until today. Well, not outside of the Hollywood ones. And they were all evil. Darrak said he wasn’t. She didn’t exactly have any choice other than accepting what was happening to her at the moment, did she? Until they found the witch who’d cursed Darrak, Eden was stuck having his voice in her head.

From her chest of drawers she grabbed the oversized red T-shirt she wore to bed and quickly slipped it over her head.

“Purple walls and framed movie posters,” he observed. “Interesting choices for a woman of your age. Especially the Goonies one.”

Her cheeks heated again. She had framed posters of her favorite movies. All of which seemed to be from the 1980s for some reason. Goonies was a very underrated flick. Some people decorated with an eye for chic design. She preferred choosing things that brought back happy memories.

“You’re positive the witch who cursed you is in the area right now?” she asked after a moment, choosing to ignore his comment.

“I know she is. Or she will be.” He hesitated. “But I don’t know exactly where she is or how to find her.”

She thought about that. “It should be fairly simple to find somebody who’s over three hundred years old. Just look for the most dried-up old person in a seniors’ home. She won’t be able to move very fast.”

“She won’t look old. She’s a black witch.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He snorted softly at that. “I keep forgetting you’re new at this. A black witch is one who practices powerful black magic. Even back when she cursed me, she was very vain and would undoubtedly have used some of that magic to keep herself as youthful as possible to go along with her immortality.”

Learn something new every day. “We’ll find her.”

“You sound very certain.”

“I have to be. I can’t live like this.” She yanked the edge of the T-shirt down as far as possible. She still felt nearly naked. She’d have to buy some full pajamas ASAP. “I can’t have somebody lurking around in my head all the time. We’ll find the witch, we’ll break the curse, and then you’ll go away and leave me alone.”

“It sounds like the best plan I’ve heard for three hundred years.”

“Now I’m going to bed.”

“Lead the way.”

She pulled the covers back and climbed in. “I thought I was exhausted, but now I just hope I can fall asleep.”

“Do you want me to tell you a bedtime story?”

She refrained from rolling her eyes. “I’d prefer silence.”

“I can do that, too.”

She turned off the light, squeezed her eyes shut, and tried her best to forget she was sleeping with a demon.

The demon didn’t say another word.

— Smooth, warm skin. It felt so good.