That Old Black Magic

you better than that.”

In another life, another universe, that might have made her laugh.

Andy whined, and gently tugged at the corner of her shirt. It was enough to snap her slightly out of her bloodthirsty and mindless need for vengeance.

Tears slid down her cheeks. “See? I knew you were going to make a nice werewolf.”

He nudged her magic-filled hands with the top of his furry head.

She shook her head. “I can’t help it. I need to do something or I think I might die over this. All I have left is my magic.”

He nudged her again.

Andy didn’t want her to do anything she was going to regret. Using this magic, feeling the way she was, it wouldn’t end well. For anyone.

“Damn it.” She took a deep breath and pushed back against the power at her disposal, the darkness that threatened to overtake her if she waded too much deeper into it. The moment she did, the steely, calm reserve she’d had a tentative hold on peeled away and all she felt was raw pain.

Her stomach lurched violently. She managed to make it to the washroom before she threw up. The flu had been waiting for this exact moment before it decided to make its presence known in full force. One more thing for her to deal with.

It took her a while before she cleaned herself up, ignoring her churning gut and her puffy, red-ringed eyes in the mirror. She expected to be alone when she entered the office again, the cold wind moving in through the broken glass door. Ben was gone now — smart guy — but her mother still stood there.

Eden cast her a dark look. “Go away if you know what’s good for you.”

Caroline wrung her hands. “You just puked.”

“The flu’s been circling me for days. I hardly ever get sick like that.”

“The only time I ever had bad nausea like that was when I was pregnant with you.”

She wanted to be alone. “Not really in the mood for a walk down memory lane right now.”

“So what do you think you’re going to—?”

“Leave,” Eden growled. “I don’t want to see you again. Ever. Get it? Ever. I hate you.”

Caroline flinched as if she’d been hit, but she wasn’t stupid. She finally got the hint and slinked out of the office, leaving Eden and Andy alone. Eden’s knees gave out and she crumpled to the ground, cold and empty and not sure what she was supposed to do next.

Andy sat down next to her. She could feel the heat from his large furry body.

A hot tear slid down her cheek. “I loved him, Andy. I didn’t even realize how much. More than anything. Anything. And he’s gone forever.”

He whined again and pawed at her leg.

Eden slid her hand over her stomach, hating the thought that she was getting sick, especially now.

Then she went very quiet. There was no sound at all except the thud of her heart in the cool, silent office.

“The only time I ever had bad nausea like that was when I was pregnant with you.”

It couldn’t be. It couldn’t.

But Eden suddenly knew with total and complete clarity that it was true. She wasn’t nauseous because she was coming down with the flu.

“Oh, my God,” she said out loud. “I’m pregnant.”

Ben wasn’t sure what he’d expected. Maybe shock for a bit, followed by an outpouring of gratitude as Eden realized she’d been saved from a fate worse than death by two people who cared about her.

He was such a fool.

“I need to go,” he said to Caroline outside of Triple-A. The front window of the van was cracked down the center from Eden’s surge of magic that had made his blood run cold with fear. The rental agency wouldn’t be happy about that but at the moment he couldn’t care less.

Despite his initial reluctance, he’d teamed up with this drifter — a wandering soul inside a stolen human body. Together, with the same goal, it had felt so right. But now it felt wrong.

Everything felt wrong.

“It wasn’t a mistake,” Caroline told him. “She’ll see that in time.”

Even she didn’t sound so sure about that anymore.

Ben’s throat felt thick. “I have your number. I’ll call you later to make sure you’re okay.”

He drove away, barely able to focus on the road. All he saw was the look on Eden’s face when she realized Darrak was gone. She’d been a study in grief, in rage. He’d seen emotion that strong before. It was when someone lost a loved one in a senseless tragedy.

There was no arguing with it anymore. Eden had loved Darrak. Truly loved him. And that love had not been forged out of something vile or impure as Ben had always believed. It was as real as anything he’d ever witnessed.

Eden had been ready to kill him and Caroline on the spot for what they’d done, but she’d let them walk away. He was still surprised by that.

Ben drove to the Malleus headquarters. He had a meeting with Oliver.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Oliver said. He had a large, richly decorated office, done in shades of gray, silver, and black, and he was seated behind a large black lacquered desk with his fingers templed in front of him.

“Where else would I be?”

“Are you well? You look distracted.”

“I’m fine. What do you need me to do?”

“Fetch the shifter. Bring her to interrogation room three. Tonight we’ll get to the bottom of everything. Find out exactly how she and Eden Riley are connected. See if she can give us any insight on the demon and how the angelic energy has affected him during the possession. I need answers.”

Ben nodded. “Fine.”

“You will take the lead in this questioning, Ben,” Oliver said. “And you are to use any means necessary to extract the truth from her. It can’t wait another day. Do you understand?”

“I understand.” Ben was once a man, but now he was a monster. Might as well prove that just a little bit more than he already had. “Can I ask you about something, sir?”

“What is it?”

“I want to know about the angel you have imprisoned downstairs.”

Oliver’s composed expression didn’t give anything away. “An angel?”

“Yes.” Ben’s gaze wanted to move to the single white feather that lay on the floor next to Oliver’s desk, but he forced himself not to look.

While he waited for a reply, the office felt as if it chilled a few degrees.

Oliver fixed him with a steady smile. “You’re working too hard and beginning to see things that don’t exist. There are no angels downstairs. That makes no sense at all. Why would I imprison an angel?”

“That was what I wondered.”

“Soon I’ll be able to authorize a two-week leave for you, Ben. I think you need a vacation. But there are important matters to deal with first. Go get the shifter.”

He knew better than to argue. No one wanted to tell him the truth about what he’d seen, so much so that he was beginning to question his own memories.

Ben went downstairs and his hard-soled shoes made an echoing sound against the floor. The walls were narrow down here. A guard accompanied him. He glanced down the hall at the silent cell that held the winged man to whom he’d spoken only once.

No time to think about that. He had other matters to attend to.

“She’s pretty hot,” the guard said. “Maybe after you’re finished with her later, I can play a little bit.”