That Old Black Magic

“Oh, get over it, will you?” Caroline snapped. “I made my share of mistakes. So what? You’ve turned into a great woman anyway. So pull your head out of your ass and do something to prove that.”

Eden really hadn’t been expecting an apology so she wasn’t disappointed.

Sandy rolled her eyes. “Let me get started, Eden. You’ll see it isn’t that difficult at all. Let me kill Ben for you.”

Sandy grabbed Ben and energy flowed down her arms. “Good-bye, lover.”

A muffled yell escaped Ben’s throat as he thrashed around in the chair. Whatever Sandy was doing was hurting him badly.

“No!” Eden grabbed hold of the witch, digging her fingers in hard enough to make the witch flinch as she pulled her away from Ben to face her instead.

“Maybe I will kill you after all.” A second later, Sandy’s hands wrapped tightly around Eden’s throat and her dark magic shot through Eden’s body.

Luckily, she’d already put up a shield to protect herself — a shield that was quickly slipping.

Sandy squeezed tighter. “You’re either with me, Eden, or you’re against me.”

“I’m sorry.” Eden gasped for breath. “I guess… I’m… against you.”

Black magic flowed through her hands and shot like lightning directly into Sandy. Sandy screamed, raised up off the floor so she hung there for a moment, suspended in midair, then she flew backward against the wall.

Her open, glossy eyes stared up at the ceiling.

“Damn it,” Eden said, her voice shaky. “I didn’t mean to… to…”

“She’s dead,” Ben managed.

Yeah, that. She didn’t mean to do that.

The witch had been too close and Eden’s magic too strong. Not a good combination to allow Sandy to walk away in one piece.

Eden quickly moved around the room to untie all three of the prisoners. Then she moved back from them until her back hit the wall. She needed the support or she thought she might fall down to the floor.

“You did the right thing, honey,” Caroline said. “She was going to kill you. Kill all of us.”

“I know,” she replied softly.

“Are you…” Ben began. “Are you okay?”

Eden shook her head. “You all need to get out of here while you still can.”

“Eden… your necklace…” Leena approached her.

“No. Get out of here. Now! Run!”

After a short hesitation, the three did what she asked without saying another word.

Eden didn’t have to look down at her amulet to have the truth confirmed. She’d gone over the line. She’d killed a mortal with black magic — even if it had been accidental. Even if the witch she’d killed had deserved it. Even if it had been in self-defense.

She’d killed her.

And Eden’s soul was now black.

TWENTY-SEVEN

Darrak saw his life flash before his eyes. It was a short flash for such a long life, but really, the only good things had happened recently. It was more of a slide show, really.

He’d tried. But it hadn’t been enough.

I’m so sorry, Eden.

His last thoughts.

Well, his last thoughts until someone grabbed hold of his wrist.

He looked up with surprise, a surprise that only grew when he saw that it was Lucifer who held him over the Void by his thick, demon wrist.

Before he had any time to truly register this, Lucifer tossed him up over the edge. It was a strong enough throw to land him about a hundred feet away. He lay on his back, looking up at the blank, black velvet sky over this part of the Netherworld.

“Not finished torturing me yet?” he asked, when Lucifer’s form loomed over him.

“Why would I want the fun to ever stop?”

A flash of fire appeared before Darrak’s eyes and then suddenly they were back in Maksim’s mansion. Darrak scrambled to his feet and swept his gaze over a scene that took his breath away.

“What happened here?” His demon voice boomed out loud and raspy. It was more than enough to fill most humans with deep fear and a loss of control over their bodily functions. He knew this from amusing personal experience.

The redheaded angel was unconscious on the ground to the left. That he was still here was enough to prove that he hadn’t been destroyed. Angels, just like demons, vanished in the human world when they’d been decimated, leaving no body behind. He figured the heavens had their own version of the Void. Or perhaps there was only one Void where all creatures lacking souls were tossed when they were gone for good.

To the right was Sandy, and she wasn’t only unconscious. Her eyes were open and glazed.

Ding dong, the witch is dead.

Ben, Leena, and Caroline were nowhere to be seen.

Eden sat in the chair where Ben had previously been tied. She looked up at him as he entered the room.

“Oh, good,” she said. “You’re back.”

“Eden…” He made a move to draw closer but then froze in place. His gaze dropped to her amulet. “No.”

Such a simple word for every fear and raw emotion that flowed over him in that split second. Her amulet was black.

Her soul — she must have been the one to kill the witch. Something bad happened here, something he couldn’t protect her from.

“I didn’t mean to,” she said. “But I’m not sorry I did it.”

The others — somehow she’d saved them.

But it was at the cost of her soul.

It felt as if a hand clutched his throat, making it hard to speak. “I’m so sorry, Eden.”

The smile she gave him then was enough to chill him to his very core. The coating of hellfire did nothing to help warm him against that emotionless expression, so different from what he was accustomed to. It was as if she didn’t care about what had just happened and what it meant.

A human was their soul. It was their personality, their warmth, their goodness, their joy. When it turned dark, so did everything else. The black of her soul wasn’t a color, it was a force that absorbed everything good.

Even a demon understood that.

“It’s okay,” she said softly. “There’s no other way this can be. I see that now.”

Darrak took her by her shoulders. His fire wouldn’t hurt her, he wouldn’t let it. “You’re wrong. I’m going to be the next Prince of Hell. I can fix this. You won’t come to any more harm, I swear it.”

Lucifer approached. “It won’t matter if I take her celestial energy now, will it?”

“Take it,” Eden said firmly. “We had a deal. It’s yours.”

Darrak had failed. He’d started out with such good intentions — destroy Lucifer, save Eden. Instead, Lucifer had pulled him out of the Void so he could return to see this. See that everything he’d done had led to losing Eden even if she was standing right in front of him.

Eden’s angel half wouldn’t save her now. It was too late.

“Take it,” Darrak growled. “Before I change my mind. Take it and I take your throne. Go back to Heaven. Find a fluffy cloud and learn to play the harp and leave us the hell alone for the rest of eternity.”

Lucifer looked at him. “For the record, I think you were right.”