The Demon in Me

“What if it’s really, really important?”

“Even then.”

The heat from his hand seared into her. It was hard not to remember how good those hands had felt on her body.

Meaningless.

She wished she really felt that way about it. About him. It would make everything way easier.

She batted his hand away and stepped back. “Well, that’s no thanks to you, is it?”

“No, it’s not.”

“Let’s not waste any more time with this. Time to finally say good-bye. You’re going to be gone soon. Back to Salem, or wherever.”

“Right. I… wanted to thank you, though.”

Her eyebrows raised. “Thank me?”

“For not exorcising me. For trusting me despite the things you’ve seen or heard.” He moved toward her again and took her face between his hands. “You’ll be better off without me. Just like Selina says.”

She looked into his eyes and hated to admit even to herself what she was feeling inside. She’d miss this demon. Even after everything she knew about him, everything she’d seen, and everything he’d done to her.

She’d miss him horribly.

No way, she thought, angry with herself. She wasn’t letting herself feel like this. She forced herself to step away from him, and his hand dropped back to his side.

“You’re right,” she said as evenly and coolly as she could. “I will be better off without you.”

“Eden—”

“Selina showed me the real truth about you. You’re a monster. You’ve ruined my life. I should have exorcised you when I had the chance, but I was too stupid. I regret everything that’s happened between us. Now, I just want you gone.”

She twisted the words into him like a knife. Darrak’s previously steady, unreadable gaze flickered as he looked away from her. Had she hurt his feelings?

Did an archdemon really have feelings? He’d claimed he now felt human emotions all too intensely. But she had no idea if that was really the truth or just more lies.

“Then let’s not waste another minute,” he said after a moment.

“Fine with me.”

“Good-bye, Eden.” He turned and walked back to Selina and the two of them entered the tree-shrouded playground.

CHAPTER 22

Out of the corner of her eye, Eden spotted an uninvited guest lurking under a nearby car in the parking lot. A black cat that was trying to appear incognito.

Leena.

She ignored the shapeshifter, but couldn’t help but find it vaguely amusing. The cat wanted nothing to do with her or Darrak, but she was curious enough to stick around to see how things played out?

Selina led them into the small wooded area until they found a bare patch covered with fallen leaves.

“White witches practice nature magic,” she said wistfully. “I dabbled with that in the beginning, but now it’s not even an option for me. Black magic will destroy nature.”

“Vengeance isn’t gained very well with rosebuds and peach nectar,” Darrak said. “So what do I need to do?”

She eyed him. “Just stand there.”

“At your mercy, you mean.”

She smiled. “Just like old times.”

Darrak looked at Eden, but she didn’t meet his eyes. It was better that he thought she was mad at him, hated him, and wanted nothing to do with him.

Better for her, that is. It made it easier.

The sun was low in the sky. It wouldn’t be long before sunset. If this worked, Darrak wouldn’t have to possess her tonight.

His curse would be broken.

The thought was a relief, of course. Her feelings for the demon might be a total conflicting mess, but she didn’t want to be possessed by him. By anyone. Ever again.

“Are you ready?” Selina asked Darrak.

“I am.”

“Have to warn you, it’s not going to be a pleasure trip. For you, this is going to sting. A lot.”

“I can take it.”

“Then let’s do this.” She closed her eyes and held her arms up at her sides.

A moment later, Eden felt the energy begin to swirl in the open area they stood in, and small electric sparks flickered off the edges of the playground equipment. In response, her own magic began to wake up — a tingling inside, a growing power that was very difficult to ignore.

But she did ignore it.

She shivered, and it wasn’t just from the temperature; she drew her thin coat closer to her body, crossing her arms as she stood and watched the witch and the demon.

Selina opened her eyes. “Darrakayiis, I use your true name to bind you where you stand.”

Darrak went rigid in place.

Tensely, Eden noticed Selina’s amulet darken a shade of gray as she began to channel her black magic for a specific purpose. It wasn’t until that moment, and the witch’s use of his full name, that she realized how much was currently at stake. Having it exist in theory to having it play out right in front of her were two separate things.

Selina now had the power to break Darrak’s curse or destroy him where he stood.

She then understood how much trust Darrak had put into the witch. He was now at her mercy much as he’d been three hundred years ago. The only difference was she was much more powerful now. Did Selina still hold a grudge? Would Eden really blame her if she did? Had she been lying before by saying she’d help?

Eden felt a sliver of panic at the thought. Maybe the witch had lied for a chance to finish what she’d started with the demon. Eden had believed her completely. Darrak wasn’t so naive, of course. She could see in his eyes right now, that hope mixing with distrust. He’d willingly opened himself up to the pain that would either lead to his ultimate freedom or complete destruction.

She watched, warily, her hands clenched into fists at her sides, and she could feel her own magic now at her fingertips — just as Selina said it would be. So easy to use she didn’t even need a training manual. Would it really be that simple? No more difficult than throwing a thought?

It was. That’s why it was so dangerous.

“Do it.” The pain in Darrak’s voice was already noticeable. “Finish this one way or the other.”

Selina smiled at Eden. “I know what you’re thinking.”

“You do?”

The witch nodded. “But don’t worry. I won’t hurt him more than I have to. And I will release him from this curse and the other spell I put on him. It’ll be a new beginning for all of us.”

She was telling the truth. Through their strange new bond, Eden knew it, and it was a huge relief. Despite being a black witch, Selina wasn’t evil. She’d fought against it. She tried to help others with her books — man- hating diatribes that they were. Eden knew the witch would be able to help her with her strange new magical ability — a molten lava pool of power it was disturbingly tempting to jump into headfirst.

“Now, let me finish this,” Selina said firmly.

That pesky lump of emotion came back to take up residence in Eden’s throat. The demon’s pain-filled gaze was heavy on her as the energy swept through the playground and around her and she knew any moment he would disappear completely.

Good-bye, Darrak, she thought.

There was an interruption in the flicker of energy around Eden. She felt it. The witch’s eyes were open again and her attention had shifted.