That Old Black Magic

So much for wizard intervention.

Darrak had waited in the car. He hadn’t said a word since leaving the office building. She thought for a time he was just being sullen, but then she realized he was dealing with the tearing pain inside of him.

He needed to be comfortable and her apartment was the first place that came to mind. He didn’t resist when she helped him into her bedroom and into bed.

She’d worry about failing Lucas’s task later.

“Tell me what you need,” she asked, stroking the dark hair back from his forehead.

“I need you to cut the angel parts out of me. Stat.”

“Can’t happen.”

He squeezed his eyes shut. “Then just leave me to die.”

“Don’t be so damn melodramatic, Darrak. This isn’t that bad.”

His eyes snapped open. “You know, your bedside manner leaves a lot to be desired.”

Eden’s heart twisted to see him in this much pain, but she refused to believe this was the end for him. She’d dealt with complications, too, that fight between her angel side and her black magic — although Maksim seemed to think it was the demon who possessed her that had caused her imbalance. The jury was still out on whether he was right.

This, what Darrak was dealing with, was an imbalance as well. However, it was recent. If he’d been half- angel for a while, then this should have been an issue all along. But it wasn’t.

“If it wasn’t for the angel part, you wouldn’t be who you are,” she reasoned.

“Small comfort.”

“You’re going to be fine.”

“I hate angels. Despise them.” He stared up at the ceiling. “And I’m not just being cranky. I’m supposed to hate them. I’m a demon. It’s a balance thing. I hate angels, so I stay away from them as much as possible. They hate demons so they stay away from us, too. Everything’s all equal and proper on the universal playing field. But now I have an angel inside of me clawing to get out.”

“It’s not inside of you like an alien in a movie. It is you.”

“Are you trying to be helpful or make me feel worse?” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I think I have a solution to this problem.”

“What?”

“Slap that chain on my wrist and send me directly to Hell. Maybe the angel bits can be burned right out of me if I jump into a pool of hellfire.”

“Don’t be an idiot, Darrak.”

He glared at her. “That bedside manner? Not improving.”

How could she fix this? Trying to reason with him seemed pointless when he was dealing with this pain. It was manifesting itself physically, rather than just emotionally.

“We’ll fix these unpleasant side effects,” she assured him. “But then you’re going to have to look on the bright side.”

“There’s a bright side?”

“Sure. You felt fine this morning. You had no idea anything was even wrong.”

“Fine has taken on a whole new definition for me lately. I used to be a strong, powerful archdemon, and now I’m an inconsequential leech on the world. Yeah, sounds fine to me.”

She grabbed hold of his hand, which felt even colder than it had before. That wasn’t a good sign. His skin was normally warm, even warmer than a human’s. “Selina showed you to me in that vision of the past, you know. How you were back when you were that strong, powerful archdemon before you were cursed. You were absolutely horrific.”

Darrak pressed back into the mattress. “I appreciate the compliment, but fond memories of who I used to be aren’t helping.”

She knew he was trying to be amusing, even now. “That wasn’t supposed to be a compliment.”

“But it was. Demons… we’re supposed to be fearsome. Powerful. Scary as hell. It’s our whole raison d’etre. I mean, you’ve seen my demonic visage. All horns and talons and fire. I can’t accept the possibility of wings and halos. I just can’t.”

She grimaced. “Got to say, I prefer the Darrak who has humanity and a pinch of angel running through him. Personally, I think it’s an improvement on the original.”

A glimmer of a smile played at his lips before it faded away completely. “This is the beginning of the end, Eden.”

She shook her head. “No it isn’t.”

“You really think we can stay this way forever? Playing house in your little apartment in the sky while our lives fall apart all around us? We’ve been fooling ourselves.”

Her throat felt thick. “Don’t say that.”

Darrak’s dark brows drew together. “You really think this has a chance in hell of working out? You and me? Even if the curse is lifted, it doesn’t change anything else. I’m a demon/angel hybrid freak and you’re a half-angel who can do black magic. Sounds completely nuts, that’s what it sounds like.”

A moment later, his expression shuttered off, his forehead creasing. He didn’t make a sound, but she knew he was feeling the tearing pain again.

Enough of this. Enough damned waiting.

She stood up from the side of the bed. “I need advice.”

Darrak gasped for breath. “But you said Maksim’s gone AWOL. Again.”

“Not from Maksim.” She turned and left the bedroom headed toward the hall closet. She grabbed her coat and reached into the pocket to pull out the marble.

Desperate times called for desperate measures. She’d tried to deny everything, but what Darrak told her had gotten through to her in one very important way. She knew he didn’t have much time left — not feeling like this. She’d seen him shift to smoke this morning for a horrible moment. If he did that and wasn’t able to possess her, wasn’t able to take form again, he’d be swept away to the Void. She’d lose him forever.

She wouldn’t let that happen.

Eden had failed to send Brenda to Lucas for his hellish job interview, but she had to see him. She had to get him to help her. Help Darrak. She couldn’t think of another answer.

Her hand closed on the marble just as Darrak’s grip clamped around her wrist. She looked up into his now fiery eyes.

He was pale and looked ill, but he’d dragged himself out of bed in order to stop her. “Don’t do this. I don’t want to owe him anything.”

She shook her head. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“No, Eden, don’t—”

She squeezed the marble. “Lucifer.”

Bright light flashed in front of her and her apartment disappeared, replaced by the familiar beach. However, it was darker this time and a cold breeze blew across the sand. The sun could barely be seen on the horizon. Instead of a wash of pink, purple, and orange, it was indigo and black.

Something felt wrong here.

But this place didn’t really exist. It was made up out of Lucas’s imagination. A pleasant getaway compared to his usual home base in the fiery pit.

A chill went through her as she turned, trying to see where he was. If she was here he had to be, too. Somewhere.

Eden spotted a form on the sand fifty feet up the beach. She swiftly moved toward it to find that it was Lucas, lying on his stomach. She gasped and dropped to her knees next to him.

“Lucas!” She tentatively touched his shoulder.

He didn’t move.

What could have happened here? She rolled him onto his back so she could inspect him better. No wounds. No blood. She wiped the sand off his face and felt at his throat for a pulse, even though she knew he wasn’t human. There was a faint pulse, but his skin was cool.

Had he somehow been affected by what had happened to Darrak? It seemed impossible, but she knew they