The Demon in Me

the right place.”

The hug was so tight it actually hurt a little.

“Let go of her,” Darrak said sharply.

Fay tensed and leaned back from Eden, her eyes wide. She looked over her shoulder at the demon in the corner and drew in a sharp breath.

“I didn’t sense anything…” she began, then shut her mouth. “I need to leave.”

“No, wait,” Eden said as Fay began moving toward the door. “Don’t go.”

If only so she could understand what the hell was going on. The air felt thick with tension all of a sudden.

Fay’s expression was tight as she turned back to Eden. “I sensed that this was a welcoming place. But now I see that it is not.”

“I’m not what you think,” Darrak said.

“You’re a demon.”

He frowned. “Well, okay. Maybe I am what you think. But just relax. Unless you wish ill to Eden — and I don’t think you do — then I mean you no harm in return. Seriously.”

“And why would I believe that?”

“Because I guarantee it,” Eden told her. “How do you know what he is?”

“I never would have come within a mile of this place if I’d sensed him”—she paused—“but his true essence seems to be somewhat weakened.”

“You could say that,” Darrak agreed. “Now, why don’t you tell us why you came here today?”

She shifted her feet as her gaze darted back and forth between Eden and Darrak. “I suspect my — my husband is cheating on me. I want to hire you to follow him.”

“What is your husband?” Darrak asked.

“What is he?” Eden shot him a look.

“He’s human,” the woman replied, as if it wasn’t an odd question.

“So you think he’s cheating on you?” Eden scribbled down the information as neatly as she could.

Fay sat down in a chair next to Eden’s desk. “I think he might be enchanted in some way.”

Eden dropped her pen. “Enchanted?”

“Yes. Manipulated by magic.”

“I know what enchanted means.” She swallowed hard. “I’m just not used to dealing with it on an everyday basis.”

Fay glanced back at Darrak. “She’s new to this?”

“You could say that.”

She studied Eden for a moment and her brow lowered. “I thought you were different, but are you only human?”

Eden blinked. “Well, of course I am.”

Fay dared another glance at the demon behind her. “I sensed this place was Other-friendly. In fact, when looking for a detective agency, I was compelled to choose this one in particular.”

“Other-friendly?” Eden asked cautiously.

“Other than human.”

“Oh.” Eden felt the blood drain from her face. “Of course. Silly me.”

“Eden is human,” Darrak said. “She has some psychic abilities, but has no conscious control over them. And she has been touched by a magical presence recently. Perhaps that is all this is.”

Touched by a magical presence. Demonic possession. Potato, potahto.

Eden exhaled slowly and tried to center herself. “We can have your husband followed, Fay. Believe me, I’m not trying to turn away your case just because it might have some strangeness associated with it that I’m not entirely comfortable with. This is a business, after all.”

A business that was going to fold like a cheap suit without this woman’s case. And if that happened, then Andy would never agree to help them find the witch.

If nothing else, it helped to make Eden’s choices crystal clear.

Fay had been compelled to come to Triple-A? Eden could understand someone compelled to stay away from this flea-bitten office, but compelled to come here?

“It makes me very uneasy knowing that you’re involved with a demon,” Fay said stiffly.

“I wouldn’t really say we’re involved per se,” Eden said quickly. “It’s really more of an unpleasant, temporary arrangement.”

Fay shrugged. “I have a family prejudice against demons.”

Darrak snorted. “Yeah, I figured.”

“What does that mean?” Eden asked. She felt like she was constantly asking for clarification now, but it was the only way she was going to be able to keep things straight in her head. She liked order. Chaos and her brain did not get along.

“Fay is a fairy,” Darrak explained. “From the Unseelie court if I’m not mistaken.”

“A fairy?” Eden sputtered. “Like a happy little sparkly winged creature?”

“No.” Darrak sighed. “Not happy or sparkly or, for that matter, winged. How have you managed without me all of these years, Eden? Unseelie fairies are malevolent little creatures of darkness — descended from demons, actually, eons ago; their Seelie counterparts are descended from angels — who like to play dress-up amongst the humans when they’re not draining them of energy in order to keep up their power reserve in this world.”

“I don’t do that,” Fay protested. “Well, not anymore. I’m a vegan now. I gave up my powers when I married my husband.”

Darrak rolled his eyes. “Let me guess, you don’t have a day job, either, do you? You just stay home and do laundry and cook meals for your cheating scumbag of a husband?”

“Darrak!” Eden exclaimed.

He looked at her guiltily. “Sorry. I have issues with fairies. Always have. Back in the day, pre-curse, a swarm of them tried to tear me apart.”

Fay shrugged. “We hate demons. Foul creatures of darkness.”

“Yeah, like your clan are any better.”

She turned away from the demon to grab Eden’s hand, which was very cold now. Going into total and complete shock made her chilly. “If my marriage fails, I’ll have to go back to my family. I’ll be tried as a deserter of my kingdom and if I’m found guilty I will be killed.”

“Killed?” Eden gasped.

Fay nodded. “Fairy law is very strict. They see my marriage as disrespectful, especially when I refused an arranged marriage. Disowning me was my parents’ only choice. If my marriage doesn’t last I would have to return and face my punishment. Obviously, I don’t want that. I want to stay here. I know my husband loves me. I never would have taken such a great risk if I didn’t believe that. It’s only very recently that he’s been acting strangely. Please, you must follow him. Find out where he spends his days when he’s not at the office.”

Eden swallowed. Her mouth felt as dry as a room full of unbuttered popcorn. “Office?”

“He’s an accountant. Here is Richard’s picture.” Fay pulled out a photo from her purse and slid it across the desk to Eden so she could see the handsome, dark-haired man smiling at the camera next to his wife.

“Does Richard know you’re…” Eden cleared her throat. “That you’re a fairy?”

She shook her head. “He doesn’t know, and I’d like to keep it that way. I assume the woman he’s seeing has enchanted him to get him to act this way. If that’s so, then I need to know so she can be stopped and he can be released from her spell. But if he’s truly been unfaithful”—she blinked very hard—“then it’s important that I know that as well. Will you take my case?”

Eden thought about it. She didn’t like it, not one little bit. She’d wanted to quickly and soundly back away from any paranormal elements, not welcome them into her life with open arms and a sloppy kiss. But she couldn’t see any way to get what she wanted — for Andy to find the witch by using his fabulous missing person skills — if she let this fairy fly out of her net.

“Okay, fine,” she said after a long moment of silence. “But I’m going to have to figure out what kind of a deposit Andy normally charges for this sort of case, though.”