The Demon in Me

mentioned a moment ago? Let’s take care of that right now.”

She scrambled backward, but not before his talons sliced shallowly into her throat and she felt the ooze of her warm blood.

Darrakayiis’s terrifying smile widened. “I don’t mind a bit of a chase. Makes it more interesting, actually.”

There was no reasoning with him now. She knew what he meant to do to her.

Without another thought, she unleashed everything inside of her, every ounce of her new black magic. It was a power that scared her deeply, but she needed it and the destruction curse was at her fingertips in an instant. She watched the inky blackness wrap itself around the demon, pulling him away from her, dousing the hellfire that protected him, and trapping him in place as effectively as the circle of salt had.

She focused that destructive magic — magic she knew was damaging her soul as well — and opened up to it completely. The archdemon screamed in pain as she decimated him, his body literally exploding into a ball of fire.

And then it was all over.

She collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath, but alive. Ashes fell like snow all around her. It was all that remained from the demon’s body.

But she’d paid dearly for her victory. The power inside her had only grown stronger from being used, and it was still ready at her fingertips. She was putting her soul in danger.

But what was done couldn’t be undone.

She touched the shallow wound at her throat and her hand came away bloody. It reminded her of what was important. There were still men with the blood of her sister on their hands who had to be dealt with — human, but as evil as any demon.

She no longer had the archdemon to do her bidding, so she’d have to take care of them herself.

It would be worth another piece of her soul to avenge her sister’s murder.

Eden gasped as her consciousness slammed back into the cafe after her vision, and she looked at Selina with wide eyes.

“Did you kill them?” she asked, breathlessly. “The men who killed your sister?”

Her expression was unreadable. “Would you believe me if I said no?”

“Probably not.”

“What did you show her, witch?” Darrak asked harshly.

Eden slowly turned to look at him. She hadn’t seen that side of Darrak before and it was everything she’d been afraid of. A living, breathing nightmare.

But what she’d seen was very unlike the man who looked across the table at her with concern etched into his handsome features.

“I saw when she cursed you,” she said quietly.

“I’m sorry you had to see that.” His jaw tightened. “Enough of this, Selina. Will you break my curse or won’t you?”

Selina was quiet for a very long time just studying Darrak as if trying to figure him out like a particularly difficult riddle. And then, “Okay, fine.”

His eyebrows went up. “Wow. Really?”

“I’ll do it.”

“I can’t believe you’re actually saying yes.”

She glared at him. “Don’t give me enough time to second-guess myself here.”

He cleared his throat. “When can it be done?”

“Now.”

“Now?” Eden said, still attempting to get over the frightening vision of the archdemon sitting across from her. “Right here?”

Selina stood up and slid her purse strap over her shoulder. “No. Somewhere private and outdoors, preferably similar to where the curse was originally cast.”

“There’s a little wooded area near my apartment,” Eden suggested.

Selina nodded firmly. “Fine. And just a warning. Breaking the curse will send him back to the original location where his body was decimated.”

“It will?” Eden looked at Darrak.

“Yes. So his ass is going on a one-way trip back to Salem, Massachusetts. Hopefully they didn’t build anything on that specific location or it might be a bit of a hard landing. Is that a problem, demon?”

He shook his head. “No. In fact, I’m glad to hear it.”

Eden swallowed. He was glad to hear it? Break the curse and, poof, Darrak was gone. And after everything that had happened, he wouldn’t be taking a plane directly back to Toronto. He’d be on the run from Hell’s agents who wanted to drag him back to the mother ship.

“I’ll also break the black witch spell I put on him while I’m at it. A bit like closing the gate after the horse has run off, but it’s the least I can do. And when the demon is finally out of our hair, we can begin your education.” Selina smiled a little. “I had to learn all this on my own. Believe me, it hasn’t been easy. You’re lucky I’m willing to help you.”

She was lucky. All things considered, her brush with demons, witches, and the supernatural could have turned out much worse. At least she was still breathing.

The power of positive thinking. Maybe she should subscribe to that philosophy. The law of attraction sure hadn’t helped too much lately. The universe had one hell of a strange sense of humor.

Something caught her eye as they stood up from the table to leave. A familiar woman walking out front of the coffee bar and peering in through the bank of windows. She made eye contact with Eden and then rushed in through the doors a moment later.

Darrak swore. “Thought we’d seen the last of her.”

Eden thought so, too. It was Rosa, the exorcist she’d hired the other day — the mother of Malcolm. She wondered if the woman had any idea how knowledgeable her son really was about demons and exorcisms.

“Ms. Riley,” Rosa said, approaching her.

“I don’t want any trouble,” Eden replied. That was putting it mildly. Her current mountain of worries was so high that she couldn’t even see over the top.

Rosa anxiously clasped her hands on top of her walking cane. She wore a bright yellow floral dress covered by a thin red coat that looked handmade. “I think we made a mistake the other night. I feel horrible that an officer of the law had to intervene. I’ve had a few complaints lodged with the police as it is. I wanted to come by today to apologize to you personally and check in on how you’re feeling. Was it really only indigestion?”

“Yes.” Eden smiled tightly and glanced at Darrak. “Uh… trust me, I won’t be having Mexican food again for a long time. Those refried beans are a killer.”

“I didn’t put through the other half of the payment on your credit card and I’ve refunded your deposit. I’m very much hoping you won’t submit an official complaint against me.”

“Let’s just forget it,” she replied.

Finally some good news. Maybe the universe hadn’t given her the finger as much as she’d thought it had.

“Do you get a lot of calls for exorcisms?” Darrak asked her.

“You’d be surprised,” Rosa said. She glanced at him and Selina as if noticing them for the first time. “I’m sorry. I didn’t meant to interrupt. I just wanted to have my say. I hope there are no hard feelings toward me or my son.”

Darrak laughed a little at that.

“Do you know my Malcolm?” she asked.

“We’ve met. Sort of. He’s very dedicated to his work.”

“Yes, he certainly is. I’d hoped he would consider going back to the university. He has a scholarship waiting for him, you know. But he wants to pursue other interests. He’s a stubborn boy.” She looked at Selina. “You’re that author lady, aren’t you?”

Selina eyed her coolly. “I have written a couple of books.”

“What is it that you call yourself… love guru… love something.”