That Old Black Magic

She grimaced. “Sorry.”

It was enough to prove to her that this woman was her mother possessing the body of a lingerie model. She’d never told anyone what happened to Speedy.

Her mother was back and Eden felt… well, Eden didn’t know how she felt about that other than feeling a dull ache in the pit of her stomach. She needed time to absorb everything.

Eden directed Caroline toward the door. “We’ll get together soon and talk about all of this, I promise. Right now, though… I–I just can’t deal with a surprise like this.”

Caroline looked over her shoulder at Darrak. “I don’t know what’s going on here, honey. Why are you with this scumbag? Can I do anything? Can I help you?”

“With Darrak?”

“Is that his name? He’s a demon, you know.”

Eden flinched. “Yeah, well, he’s not as bad as you might think.”

“Please. I just spent three months in Hell’s waiting room. I think I know a little something about demons. They’re evil, vile, disgusting creatures of darkness.”

“Stop,” Darrak said. “You’re making me blush.”

“Darrak’s different.”

Caroline rolled her eyes. “Sure, that’s what they all say. So, what? Are you in love with him?”

Eden flicked a glance at him. She had told him she loved him just after she’d nearly lost him forever, but today didn’t feel like the right time to say it again. Especially not in front of present company. “We’re… involved. Deeply.”

Caroline’s voice lowered to a whisper. “Is he forcing you to do anything you don’t want to do?”

She sighed. “No.”

“Then what is this? Eden, honey, when did you discover this sordid side of life? Did you summon him for sex?”

That actually earned an amused look from Darrak as he waited patiently for her reply.

“Look, it’s not like that. Darrak… he — he has a curse. He’s bound to me right now.”

“Bound to you?” She looked confused and her gaze moved to Darrak.

He crossed his arms. “Yes, your daughter and I met during an unfortunate demonic possession. You know eHar-mony? This is sort of the opposite of that.”

Caroline’s eyes widened. “Oh, my God.”

“Not exactly.”

“Eden”—Caroline grabbed her shoulders, concern etched into her rented, wrinkle-free face—“what can I do to help you?”

“Help me?” Eden said dryly. “Why would you want to do something like that after nearly thirty years of the exact opposite?”

“Sweetheart…”

“This isn’t a good time. I’m dealing with a laundry list of problems right now and to have you around, too… well, it’s not something I need right now. You have to move on. There has to be a way to get you to Heaven.”

“I haven’t been seeing any tunnels of light. This is it, I think. I’m stuck here in the human world forever.”

“Then if you’re here forever, we’ll have lots of time to catch up later.” She hated how dispassionate she felt about this, but she had enough to deal with without adding her estranged mother’s presence to the list.

Caroline’s mouth thinned to a straight line. “If you think for one moment I’m just going to pretend I don’t see what’s going on here, and that I don’t want to help you, then you’re wrong.”

“I don’t need help.”

“You do. You’re possessed by a demon.” She looked at Darrak. “Strange demonic possession with you standing right there. Didn’t know it worked like that.”

“It’s daylight right now,” he told her. “After sunset it’s a bit more traditional.”

“Disgusting,” she spat at him, then turned to Eden again. “How could you let this demon convince you not to exorcise him the moment you had the chance?”

“Oh, I don’t know, Mom,” Eden said wearily. “Why didn’t you tell me my father was an angel?”

Caroline blinked. “Excuse me?”

“An angel? My father — the red-haired guy who came by for a five-minute visit when I was a kid?”

Caroline just gaped at her. “Daniel was a — an angel?”

Oh boy. She hadn’t known. “Forget I said anything.”

“Daniel was a drifter… a loser. Nobody I wanted around for long. Sure, he was hot as hell, but it was a mistake I regretted almost immediately.” At Eden’s sharp look, she added, “Well, I didn’t regret you. You were a blessing, honey. But that man…” She frowned. “An angel? Seriously?”

This wasn’t exactly something she’d lie about. “Trust me. He is.”

“You’ve met him recently?”

She shook her head. “Not yet, but the way my week’s going, he’s probably lurking around the next corner. Look, give me a phone number where I can reach you and we’ll get together soon. I promise. We’ll figure everything out then.”

Caroline grasped her hands. “My daughter, always trying to help other people, putting them before herself.”

Eden grimaced. “You make me sound like some sort of saint.”

“You are, honey. I never saw it before, but you’re truly wonderful. In every way. And you deserve a bright future.” She cast a dark look at Darrak. “And anything I have to do to ensure that is exactly what I’ll do. Call me, honey. Soon.”

Caroline scribbled a phone number down on a scrap piece of paper on Eden’s desk and handed it to her. She kissed Eden’s cheek and then, shooting an even darker glare in Darrak’s direction, left the office.

Eden suddenly felt like having a long nap. For a couple of years.

“So, your mom seems super nice,” Darrak said dryly.

She shot him a look. “She’s as scattered as she was when she was alive.”

“It’s adorable.”

“No it isn’t.”

“No, you’re right. It isn’t. She hates me.”

“Don’t worry about her. She’s harmless. It’s a whole ‘bark worse than bite’ thing.”

“Famous last words.”

“Let’s hope not.” Eden noticed he looked disturbed. “You okay?”

“Never better.”

“Forget what she said. She doesn’t know you.”

“She walked in right when I was about to ravish her daughter in the middle of a place of business. Not a great first impression.”

“Bad timing, that’s all.”

Darrak raked a hand through his unruly hair. “I’m going to go next door to see Nancy for another donut and I’ll give you some privacy to do your work. We’ll talk later.”

She was about to argue, but she closed her mouth. He was right. Now was not the right time to plunge back into a ravishment in the middle of the office. The moment had passed.

She nodded. “Later.”

Later they’d do many things. One of which, although Darrak didn’t know it yet, was for Eden to break his curse first thing tomorrow morning.

Forget “too good to be true.” She’d managed to remove the spell with a slightly darker shade to her amulet as the only glitch. She was feeling a renewed sense of confidence.

Maybe their luck was finally on an upswing.

It could happen.