have to do the right thing in the darkest situation. You have to prepare for a journey that will change everything.”
Eden hissed out a breath of frustration. “You sound like a fortune cookie.”
Brenda’s eyes cleared and she laughed, but it sounded a bit bitter. “I know.”
Eden couldn’t help but ask. “This journey, this dark situation… will everything work out okay in the end?”
Brenda shook her head. “I don’t know that.”
“Lot of good you are.”
“Sorry.”
“Lucifer wants to talk to you, and I don’t think he’s willing to negotiate about that.” Eden’s grip on the chain grew tighter.
“Talk? You really think anything to do with him is that simple?” Brenda looked stressed. “Please, Eden, look into your heart. Do the right thing for you, for Darrak, for… for
Where was Darrak? Why hadn’t he followed her out here yet?
This woman had nearly killed her, Eden had no doubt about it. When it came to self-protection, if Brenda was that dead set against ever having this “talk” with Lucas, then she might have been willing to do anything to avoid it.
Eden didn’t know the whole story. All she had was a request from Lucas on one side and this woman begging her to let her go on the other.
In the end, all she really had was her gut instinct.
“Fine.” She let go of Brenda’s arm. Magic still sparked off her fingers, charged and ready to be used, but she wouldn’t need any more of it today. Today was proof that the more she used it, the more control she had over it. It was only when she tried to ignore it that it began to control
Brenda’s eyes widened with surprise. “Really?”
“Why are you still standing here?”
“Thank you! Thank you so much!” Brenda N. Franks then pushed through the glass doors and ran down the sidewalk until Eden couldn’t see her anymore.
It was the flu that made her do it. It was obviously messing with her brain as well as her stomach this week.
Lucas wasn’t going to be happy with her. Not at all.
TEN
Eden didn’t stand there another moment; she turned and ran directly back to Darrak. He sat with his back up against the front of the security desk. Brenda’s cloaking magic still seemed to be in effect since no one seemed to notice. Either that, or nobody cared.
She knelt next to him and grabbed his hand, which felt disturbingly cold to the touch.
“Let me take a wild guess,” Darrak said. “You slapped the chain on that chick’s wrist and sent her ass straight to Hell like the coldhearted assassin I know you to be.”
She snorted. “Sure, that’s exactly what I did. I’m such a badass.”
His answering laugh sounded pained. “No, you let her go. You believed her sob story, bought the whole ‘I’m a nice girl in a tough situation,’ and let her scurry away.”
“You really think I’m that much of a sap?”
“Not a sap. But for a black witch who could level this city, you’re a hell of a softie.”
Her eyebrows raised. “You really think I could level this city?”
“Maybe just the downtown core. Use the CN Tower as a big-ass cigarette and the Rogers Centre like an ashtray. It would be epic.”
Eden got to her feet and held a hand out to him. “Let’s go.”
“Cigarette and ashtray time?”
She shook her head. “See Maksim the wizard time. What happened before with you — it scared the hell out of me.”
His expression wasn’t filled with humor anymore. “Why didn’t you tell me, Eden?”
Her chest felt tight. “This isn’t a good place to discuss this.”
“Damn it, Eden, talk to me.”
She swallowed hard and felt tears burn her eyes. “I was going to tell you.”
“When was that? Before or after I found myself torn into two separate but equally annoying beings of light and dark?”
“We need to see Maksim. It can’t wait till tomorrow, not if you’re feeling like this. Whatever I did earlier triggered something bad.”
Darrak slowly got to his feet, using the security desk to help him up. “How long have you known?”
He was angry with her. She couldn’t very well say she didn’t deserve it. “Two weeks.”
He actually laughed at that, but it sounded bitter and unpleasant. “Two whole weeks? And you figured this out all by yourself?”
Might as well get it all on the table now. “No. Actually, Lucas told me.”
“Oh, this is terrific. Just terrific.” He swore darkly under his breath. “You should have told me, Eden. I should have known it wasn’t just an acorn. The sky is literally falling.”
A spark of anger fought against her guilt. “Why? So you could overreact like this? We’ll figure out what I did to screw you up this morning, Darrak, but this isn’t the end of the world. So you’re part angel. So what?”
Eden went to reach for him, but he shrugged away from her.
“Not the end of the world,” he repeated. “No, to you this is probably great news. I’m not a scum-sucking, bottom-dwelling demon anymore. I’ve been given a little additional sparkle at the edges like a fancy doily. But it doesn’t work that way, Eden. I
Eden raked a hand through her hair and paced back a few feet before turning around to face him again. She understood his anger. She’d been wrong to keep this from him for so long. “You
“You just don’t get it, do you? This will destroy me. That — what happened before? It was only a taste test of the pain to come. I’m headed directly for the Void like this, Eden. But, hey, look at the bright side. At least you’ll be rid of me forever.”
She just gaped at him.
“Excuse me,” the security guard piped up from behind them. “You were looking for someone, weren’t you? Something to do with a sweepstakes? What was that name again?”
“Forget it,” Darrak said, his lips twisting into a humorless smile. “Looks like the party’s canceled. Permanently.”
Eden drove immediately to Maksim’s mansion and knocked on the door until her knuckles hurt. The butler finally answered to tell her he wasn’t home. He hadn’t been seen since their meeting with him yesterday, and the butler didn’t know when he’d be back.
“Tell him Eden Riley needs to speak with him as soon as possible,” she said, trying to control the sharp edge of panic in her voice.
