The card was blank.
This was not good. Not good at all.
Eden frowned. “Darrak, what’s wrong?”
He slipped the card back into his pocket and glanced across the room at the wizard scanning his extensive collection of books.
Stalling for time was more like it.
Darrak should have seen this coming from a mile away, but he hadn’t. He’d wondered why Maksim had known so much about them during their last visit here. Too much. He’d given Eden advice about her powers. He’d known she and Selina had twin magic. He’d given advice, which helped to break the sex magic spell perfectly, but then nearly destroyed Darrak when Eden tried to do the same to break his curse.
He should have known that spells and curses couldn’t be approached in the same manner without doing serious damage.
Darrak had never met Maksim before. All he had was Stanley’s word and gut instinct that this was the guy. Stanley said the wizard had called him just before Darrak called looking to see if he’d returned to town.
Talk about coincidental.
Darrak’s gut had failed him this time. They’d been set up from the very beginning. Their every move had been monitored, and it had all brought them here. And now.
He just wondered how much still remained a secret, other than Ms. Franks and her magically disappearing location card.
Darrak went to Eden’s side and slid his arm around her waist, pulling her back a few feet from the wizard.
The jig was up, but Darrak knew he wasn’t the one leading the band.
He could play along and pretend that he still believed that they were speaking with the wizard master, but Darrak wasn’t that good of an actor. Not when it came to the boss.
“Before you do that spell, Maksim, maybe you and me can have a little talk first.”
Maksim raised an eyebrow and glanced over his shoulder. “A talk about what?”
“Stuff.”
The curve of Maksim’s lips made Darrak know that maybe Lucifer wasn’t a mind reader or omnipotent, but he was a hell of a good judge of character.
Maksim’s smile grew. “Have you managed to discover my secret?”
“Maybe.”
“May I ask how?”
Darrak flashed him the blank card. “Surprise.”
He nodded. “You don’t really think you have a chance here, do you?”
“Uh-huh. Sure I do.”
“I’ve always admired your tenacity, Darrak.”
“And I’ve always admired your…” He frowned. “Well, I can’t really think of a thing. Sorry.”
“What are you two talking about?” Eden asked.
Maksim exhaled and went to sit casually in an armchair close by. Darrak didn’t relax even a little bit. The prince was like a lion. Just because he was taking a break from the hunt didn’t mean he still couldn’t rip the leg off a gazelle with one crunch of his powerful jaws.
The wizard templed his fingers in front of him. “I’m actually surprised she managed to rescue you in time. Not completely surprised, but a little. No one’s ever escaped the Void before, you know.”
“Can’t get rid of me that easily.”
“The odds were against you.”
He couldn’t help but be curious. “Oh yeah? What were they?”
“I’d say ninety-ten. At best.”
Darrak nodded. “I should head to the casino. I think I’m on a lucky streak.”
“This is going to happen, you know.”
Darrak’s lips thinned. “No, actually it isn’t.”
The wizard only looked amused by this challenge. “We seem to have a bit of a problem then, don’t we?”
“Looks like.”
Eden clutched at Darrak’s hand. The look on her face told him that she’d been following along and had managed to catch up. He always thought she should take her job at a private investigation company more seriously. She could be a fully fledged investigator if only she’d give herself a chance.
She’d figured out this mystery fairly quickly, all things considered.
“Lucas?” she asked. “Why — why are you playing this game?”
He brushed his hand absently along the unwrinkled, designer jacket sleeve he wore. “Is that a trick question?”
“Stop this.” Her grip on Darrak’s hand tightened. “Just show me who you really are.”
“Eden, darling, you couldn’t handle who I really am. But I’d be happy to humor you.” In a shimmer of light, Maksim was no longer sitting in the chair. It was Lucifer, with his rumpled suit. Nothing too noticeable. Handsome, but not as hot as an incubus had to be. Brown hair, brown eyes. Warm smile. Hands folded on his lap. At first glance he appeared to be harmless and approachable.
Despite his nonchalant appearance, Lucifer regarded each of them with a look of certainty in his eyes like a cat who’d cornered a couple of mice but wasn’t quite hungry enough yet to kill them.
“You made the deal, Eden. You can’t take it back. And yet, here you are attempting to do just that.”
Her hand had grown cold and clammy. Darrak wanted to storm forward, grab Lucifer, and phase to the Void, but he couldn’t. Not yet. He had to bide his time just a while longer. When that happened, when there was no other choice, he knew he’d never see Eden again. Not like this, anyway. Sure, he could
After all, he’d made his own deal recently.
“I’m not going to resist,” she said.
“Good.” Lucifer stood, and she inadvertently took a step back from him. “Even now you’re afraid of me when you know I’ve never harmed a hair on your head.”
“I guess I finally clued in that you’re not somebody I can trust. Takes me a while, but I get it eventually.”
“This is the most wonderful day of my existence. Nothing will go wrong from this point forward. I won’t let it.”
Darrak felt his anger coming to a boiling point. How he despised this monster before them. Angel, his ass. Lucifer was a self-serving creature of darkness. He might at one time have meant that as a compliment. But, no more.
He willed himself to sound relaxed. “Don’t suppose I can say anything to change your mind, can I? I can help you find another nephilim. They’ve got to be all over the place if you keep looking. Kind of like Waldo.”
Lucifer’s gaze swept over him. “I honestly had you out for the count, Darrak. And yet, here you are again.”
“Just like a bad penny.”
“That sums it up nicely.” He shook his head. “I want you both to meet someone. Come with me.” In one smooth motion he stood up from the chair and breezed past them toward the hallway.
Darrak found himself compelled to follow after him. It was a subtle reminder that the prince held great power over him. It was going to be tricky to get the upper hand.
He leaned closer to Eden as they walked. “When I tell you to run, you run. Understand?”
She looked at him sideways as if warning him not to say anything else.
He tugged on her hand. “Understand?”
Her expression turned bleak, but she finally nodded.
Eden had no idea what Darrak planned to do but she still trusted him. He’d lost that trust by doing some stupid things behind her back, such as borrowing her body when she was asleep and heading out in the middle of
