That Old Black Magic

TWENTY-TWO

“Looks like everything worked out,” Theo said.

“I can’t phase right now.”

“No, you can’t. I wanted to talk first.”

“You can control my ability to phase?” Darrak’s eyes narrowed. “Andy’s going to shift back to human any minute. It’ll kill him if he’s still here.”

“Then we should probably talk fast.”

Darrak got a sinking feeling. Well, more of one. “What do you want?”

Theo smiled. “World peace. Happy children smiling and dancing together. Love and harmony for all.”

“I’m still demon enough for that adorable image to make me gag a little. Cut the shit, whoever you are. What do you want from me specifically?”

“You’re a nobody, you know that, Darrak?” Theo’s expression didn’t change. “How do you feel about that?”

“Is this a trick question designed to make me slam my fist into your stomach really hard? Because that can be arranged.”

“It wasn’t meant to be an insult, believe it or not. More like an observation. You were created from nothing but hellfire and now you stand before me as a new creation — demon and angel combined. How does that feel?”

“It’s a bit itchy around the collar, but I’m sure after a couple washes it’ll soften up.”

Theo’s smile held. “You cover your fear and uncertainty with humor. It’s as charming as it is annoying.”

“Everybody’s a critic.”

“Answer me truthfully, Darrak. How does it feel to be what you are now, having come from your very specific beginnings?”

He was about to say something snarky, some quip to amuse himself, but after everything that had happened he wasn’t feeling much like joking around. This thing in front of him wanted answers and he was somehow in control of Darrak’s phasing ability, which was the only way they could get out of here in one piece.

If they stayed much longer Andy would succumb to his shift, and a human couldn’t survive here. It might look like an urban landscape, but it was far from it. Andy would burn up in about two seconds flat.

Andy had helped Eden on her journey. Darrak would be forever in his debt for that. If Eden hadn’t arrived when she did, he had no doubt that he’d be long gone by now.

He’d faced the Void and lived to tell the tale.

So instead of a joke, he chose to answer Theo with the truth.

“What does it feel like to be changed from what I’ve always been? It scares the hell out of me.” He snorted. “Literally scares the Hell out of me. I’m changed inside and out, but if I had the chance to go back to what I was before… I wouldn’t take it. I am exactly who I was meant to be, and it’s all thanks to Eden. I love her with every fiber of my being, and if you make a move to hurt her I promise you I’m still demon enough to turn you inside out. And trust me, that can get very messy.”

Theo leaned against the wall behind him. “Yeah, that’s basically what I thought.”

“Great. Now are we done with this little tête-à-tête? Have you gotten what you wanted out of me? Can we go now? I have something I need to deal with as soon as possible.”

Destroying Lucifer. He’d always enjoyed a challenge and this was as challenging as it got.

“Attempting to throw Lucifer in the Void sounds a bit risky,” Theo said.

Darrak froze. “Excuse me?”

“Mind reading.” Theo shrugged and tapped his temple with his index finger. “It helps me in oh so many ways.”

Even Lucifer couldn’t read minds. “Who the hell are you?”

“You keep asking that question. It’s really cute.” Theo smiled. “Just so you know, Lucifer won’t be easily beaten. You should know exactly what he’s capable of. But even he will succumb to the Void if you’re successful. He’s not invincible. And he’s not half as smart as he thinks he is. His mind can be manipulated just like anyone else’s.”

He was taken aback by Theo knowing his very dangerous plans. “If he takes Eden’s angel side, am I right? Will she be lost to me?”

“Not all at once. But soon and forever.”

Darrak’s jaw tightened and he cast a glance toward the gaping mouth of the Void. “Then Lucifer has to be destroyed. There’s no other choice.”

“You certainly seem as if you have the drive to do exactly what you’re saying. There have been attempts to destroy him before, but no one has yet succeeded. He doesn’t let many get close to him lately. But you’re an exception. He likes you.”

Darrak laughed. “Yeah, right. We’re best pals.”

“You’re different from the others, and he respects that. You’re something he created out of nothing, but you’ve taken on a life of your own and a strong, individual personality has evolved. You’re a being of passion and conviction. You were always meant for this, Darrak. It just took you a long time to get here.”

It sounded like a compliment on the surface, but it didn’t sit well with him. This entity using Theo’s face knew him too well, could even read his mind. He didn’t like that at all.

“What do you want me to say?” Darrak asked.

“If Lucifer is destroyed, Hell will be without its prince.”

“Don’t worry. He already has someone lined up.”

“Pretenders to the crown. There are many who would love to take his place — they’d line up for the chance at that kind of power. But none are worthy. There’s a reason a former angel rules Hell, you see. Yes, Lucifer was prideful and not fond of humans, but he was a shining star from the very beginning.” Theo smiled. “That’s his name, you know. The bringer of light. That was why he was needed; why he was created. But he’s forgotten this and now wallows down here in the muck feeling sorry for himself.”

“That sounds like him.” Darrak thought about his many unpleasant dealings with the prince. “Crybaby. Muck-wallower.”

“It’s not an easy job — quite possibly, the most difficult job in the universe for a being of pure light. I don’t entirely blame him for seeking a way out.”

Darrak glanced at Eden. The thought that she’d have to hand over her angel side to Lucifer was too much for him to bear.

“She can’t hear us right now,” Theo said.

Darrak’s attention returned to him. “Why not?”

“Because what I need to ask you, what I need you to agree to, is not something she can know. Not right now.” He was quiet for a moment. “Do you know who I am now, Darrak?”

Darrak studied the face of the demon he’d known for his entire existence. But this wasn’t really Theo. Not even close.

“Yes, I do.”

Even to him, he sounded a bit breathless.

“When Lucifer is destroyed, I need you to agree to take his place.”

Darrak’s throat tightened and he couldn’t speak for a moment. Very unlike him. “You want me to be the Prince of Hell.”

“You have proven to me that you’ve changed. You have enough darkness in you still to not let this place or the shadows here drive you insane. But you now have enough light to make you the perfect, levelheaded choice to maintain and control the balance down here.”

Darrak couldn’t remember anyone ever calling him levelheaded before. “I can’t do that.”

“But it was what you and Theo once planned, wasn’t it? To rule Hell together. To take over each demon lord’s throne until you managed to seize control of them all. It would have been quite the coup if you’d succeeded.”

“We never would have succeeded. Lucifer knew too much.”

“You’re right. But he doesn’t know this. His head is full of plans for the future once he takes Eden’s angelic energy.”

“Is it enough to get him back to Heaven? To break his ties here to the shadows?”

“It is. And as an angel he will be accepted again in Heaven if he succeeds in sloughing off his darkness. It’s everything he wants.”

Darrak thought it through. “But nobody would be here, despite him lining up a candidate. Whether he succeeds or I succeed in destroying him.”

“Correct. He doesn’t have the final say on who would take his place. I do.”

“The Prince of Hell.” Saying it out loud didn’t help it sound any more logical than it did in his head. Darrak the incubus turned archdemon, turned cursed and bodiless possessor of humans, turned part angel — although still ridiculously good-looking…

The Prince of Hell.

There was a time when this would have been the best offer ever.

Those days were long gone.

Darrak shook his head. “I don’t want this. I want to be with Eden.”

“I know. Which is all the more reason for you to agree to this. Knowing what you’ll be giving up will make your oath to follow through that much stronger.”

Darrak laughed hollowly. “You and your sacrifices. I’ve never really bought into that line of thinking much.”

“Of course not. You’ve been only a demon until recently. Not the most self-sacrificing of creatures.”

Darrak crossed his arms and cast a look around the area once again, his attention resting on Eden, who’d sat down on the ground next to Andy while she waited for him to return. “What will happen if I say no?”

For the first time, a trace of doubt crossed Theo’s dark eyes. “You know very well what will happen.”

He did. He wished he didn’t, but he did. The shadows of Hell would not be kept under control and they would spread — much like Eden’s darkness, but much bigger, much broader. The Void would grow larger than it already was and begin to consume everything in its path, like a black hole sucking in matter from everywhere in the Netherworld. It would consume the human world then, and go on to devour the heavens as well.

Lucifer was more than just a hellish dickwad. He, just by his very existence and position, held those shadows back. He was the vessel for them, just as Eden had been the vessel for Darrak when he’d been cursed.

Because of this trip to the Netherworld, which was supposed to be one-way only, Darrak was free from that curse for the first time in over three centuries. Free to go where he wanted, do what he wanted. Be who he wanted.

And be with who he wanted.

Or whom. Whatever. Proper grammar could bite it.

“Eden’s black magic,” Darrak whispered after a full minute had gone by in silence — a minute Andy really didn’t have. “When I take Lucifer’s place, I want you to make sure it never hurts her again. So she and the baby will be safe.”

“Is that all you want? To ensure the safety of the woman you love and your unborn child?”

He swallowed hard and nodded with a firm jerk of his head. “Yes.”

“Then it shall be done. Do you want her to forget that you ever existed? I can do that. She will fondly remember the father of her child, but his absence will not weigh heavily on her mind. She doesn’t need to know what happened to you. You know she would want to be with you if she does. And you know that she can’t be here — even the short pass Lucifer has given her, it will not last, especially if she loses the darkness inside of her. She’s still essentially human.”

“Yes.” Darrak could barely hear his own voice. “Make her forget me. But not yet. Not until it’s time.”

“Fair enough.” Theo nodded and extended his hand. “So do we have a deal? Once Lucifer has abandoned his throne, you will take it of your own free will. You will become the new Prince of Hell.”

He nodded tightly and shook Theo’s hand. “We have a deal.”

“Thank you, Darrak.”

Seemed like a deal that should have a more solid agreement than a firm handshake. But it was what it was.

As he shook Theo’s hand, he got an image of Lucifer doing the exact same thing. Agreeing to become the Prince of Hell of his own free will. He’d been given the choice a very long time ago just like this.

Darrak had never known that. He’d always thought Lucifer had no choice and been cast out of Heaven, which was why he’d always had such a huge chip on his shoulder about it.

Theo said he’d forgotten this.

But why? And how?

He released Theo’s hand and glanced at Eden. Just the sight of her made his chest tighten. Soon she’d forget him.

It was for the best since there was no other way this could work, but it was the hardest thing he’d ever had to face before.

When he turned to look at Theo again, the entity had disappeared.

“What, no good-bye and good luck?” Darrak murmured. “God, what a jerk.”

He turned and walked directly to Eden’s side.

“Are we good?” Andy asked. “Because I’m not really feeling so hot right now.”

“Believe me, if we stay here much longer, you’re going to be feeling much hotter… by about two thousand degrees. So let’s skedaddle.”

Eden grabbed his arm and looked up at him with concern. “Is everything all right? Why was Theo here? How did he manage to survive what Asmodeus did to him?”

“That’s a lot of questions,” Darrak said. “We’ll deal with them later, okay? But everything’s fine. Everything is exactly how it’s supposed to be. I see that now.”

He leaned over and brushed his lips against hers. She touched his face as she kissed him back and then smiled at him.

“So you’re talking cryptically now?”

“It’s my new thing. Now hold on tight.”

Eden did as he asked, sliding her arms around his waist. It felt good to be close to her again. To know how she really felt about him.

Darrak loved her more than anything in the universe and he always would.

He wasn’t doing this for the universe. He was doing it for Eden. He’d anchor himself to this rotting hellhole in order to ensure her safety. She just never had to know the truth.

So be it.

He was finally able to phase the three of them out of Hell without any issues this time and back to the comfortingly bland interior of Triple-A.

Okay, he thought with grim resolve. Time to go kill Lucifer.

Dawn wasn’t far off.

Ben paced outside the motel where he’d taken Leena, his cell phone pressed to his ear.

“What is it?” Caroline asked when she answered on the third ring. It didn’t sound as if he’d woken her up.

“I need your help.”

“Haven’t we already made a mess of everything? My daughter hates me. And she hates you, too.”

“Why quit when you’re ahead?”

She sighed. “What can I do?”

“I need you to take over the body of a guard at the Malleus so I can break out someone they’re holding prisoner.”

There was a long silence. “You’ve got to be joking.”

“Afraid not.”

“Who are you trying to break out?”

Ben wondered how much he should share with her and decided not to hold anything back. “An angel named Daniel.”

Another stretch of silence. “Daniel.”

“Makes you wonder why he’s their prisoner, doesn’t it? He’s got something they want, which is all the more reason to free him.”

“What does this Daniel look like?”

“I only saw him once. He’s…” Ben’s grip on the phone tightened. “Tall, pale, red hair… green eyes.”

“Where should I meet you?”

She hadn’t taken much convincing. That was good. In fact, she’d agreed much quicker than he thought she would. This wasn’t going to be safe or easy.

Ben told her where to meet him and when — fifteen minutes. Then he headed for his rented van.

Leena was already sitting on the passenger side, inspecting the cuff he hadn’t removed from her wrist yet. He knew the moment he did she’d take off on him. She must have been watching him, waiting for him to leave. It was only a little after seven o’clock.

“No way,” he said. “You’re staying here.”

She looked at him like he was stupid. “You obviously don’t know me very well. Anything I can do to screw up the Malleus’s plans is something I want to help with as much as possible. Don’t argue, Ken doll. I’m coming.”

Ben knew anything he said would be a waste of breath, and he didn’t have time for this. “Fine. But you’re staying in the van as a lookout.”

“I can do that.”

He got in and put the key in the ignition. “I know the real reason you want to come along.”

“Oh yeah? Do tell.”

“You want to stick with me because you’re afraid to be alone. You think if you stay in that motel somebody’s going to come for you. But when you’re with me you know I’ll protect you.”

She glared at him. “I don’t need anyone’s protection. Especially not yours.”

His grip closed on the steering wheel as he backed out of the motel’s parking lot. “You don’t have to worry. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

“Yeah, well. Maybe I’m the one who’s going to protect you.”

“I’ll take all the help I can get, actually.”

There was silence for a moment. “You used to be a cop, right?”

“Yes.” He eyed her sideways. “And let me guess, you used to be a criminal.”

This earned him a true smile. The woman really should smile more often — it was a good look for her. “I did what I had to do to survive.”

He was quite certain she had.

Ben drove to the meeting spot to find Caroline already waiting for them. Good. He was determined in a way he’d rarely felt before. It might be the last thing he ever did, but freeing an angel seemed like a good decision after a mountain of bad ones.

Caroline wasn’t the only one looking for redemption these days.

“Wait here,” he told Leena. “And keep the engine running.”

She saluted. “Yes, sir.”

Caroline followed him to the nondescript entranceway in the side of the brick wall. She looked tense.

“Everything okay?” he asked. Stupid question to ask at a time like this but he wanted to make sure she wasn’t about to flake out on him.

“The angel,” she whispered. “I think I know him.”

He frowned. “You’re kidding.”

She shook her head, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. “His name’s Daniel. Red hair, green eyes. I’m not positive, but… I think he might be Eden’s father.”

It was as if someone had just thrown a glass of ice-cold clarity in his face.

He was such an idiot. Oliver told him that Eden’s angel father would inevitably learn that his daughter had been possessed by a demon. Oliver said the angel would be sure to arrive and set things right.

But that never happened and Ben had forgotten about it.

How could he forget?

The angel’s eyes… they were just like Eden’s.

He was Eden’s father. And Oliver had him locked away in the basement and was ingesting his wings for some nefarious plan of his.

What the hell was going on?

“We’ll get him,” Ben promised, taking Caroline’s arm as he pushed open the door and they slipped inside. It led to a stairwell and they went down three flights before they emerged on the prisoner level.

An alarm was blaring.

“What’s going on?” Caroline asked, covering her ears to block out the jarring sound.

“I don’t know.”

This couldn’t be because of breaking out Leena. That had been hours ago.

A guard Ben recognized stormed toward them, and he braced himself.

“Ben! Thank God you’re here! Where have you been? We’ve been trying to contact you!”

Ben chose his words carefully. “Sorry, I’ve been busy. Came in early to check on things. What’s going on?”

“A prisoner broke loose.”

“What prisoner?”

“I don’t know. Guy had red hair and… and wings. Got out of his cell and disappeared. But that’s not the worst of it. It’s — it’s Oliver.”

Shit. “What about him?”

“He’s dead.”

Ben gasped and Caroline clutched his arm tighter, although she didn’t say a word. “What do you mean, he’s dead?”

“He was murdered in his office less than an hour ago. We think the angel stabbed him in the heart with some ceremonial dagger. I saw the body myself.”

Oliver was dead and the angel killed him? “No, this is — it’s impossible.”

“The shifter broke out last night, too. I don’t know what’s going on, Ben, but it’s bad. I have to go. I’ll touch base with you later, okay?”

Ben forced himself to nod. “Yeah, okay.”

The guard was gone. The one Caroline could have possessed to help them break Eden’s father out of his cell.

But he’d already been broken out.

“This is wrong,” Caroline said. “All wrong. Daniel wouldn’t have killed anyone. He’s an angel.”

It didn’t make sense. None of this made sense. Why would Oliver lock up an angel like Daniel and ingest his feathers for weeks now? He’d been so interested in Eden and Darrak’s strange relationship, almost too interested, but then that faded. It was as if something new had taken his attention. He still wanted to know how Eden’s celestial energy had affected Darrak, enough to lock up Leena and grill her for information. But why?

He’d wanted Sandy to make Ben fall in love with her so he would be more of a help than a hindrance. So he wouldn’t get in the way.

And now Oliver was dead. Murdered.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” Ben said. “But we need to get out of here.”

“Good idea.”

They raced back up the stairs. Whatever they decided to do next, staying clear of the Malleus headquarters would be a good start. The news that Ben was the one to break Leena out hadn’t gotten around yet. He had to count his blessings for that, at least. This could have turned out much worse.

Ben knew he had to call Eden and explain everything to her. Tell her she was in danger. If Daniel was the one who murdered Oliver…

No, it just didn’t make sense, but he wasn’t willing to take the chance there was a murderous angel on the loose in the city right now.

He pushed open the door to the alleyway and he and Caroline ran to the van that was still idling. Ben opened the driver’s side door and looked in at Leena.

She was sprawled unconscious across the seats.

“Hey, lover,” a voice called from behind him.

He slowly turned to see Sandy standing there with her arms crossed over her chest.

“So,” she continued, eyeing the pair of them. “You haven’t returned my calls. I have a funny feeling, between these two”—she nodded at Caroline and the unconscious Leena—“you might want to start seeing other people.”

He held his hands up in front of him as she drew closer. “Sandy, what are you doing?”

“You should have had the soup, Ben. Trust me, it was delicious.”

“We need to talk about this.”

“Nah, let’s not and say we did.”

Ben’s gaze moved to her throat. The necklace she wore with the light gray stone had changed. The stone was now black.

Something about that made his blood run cold.

“You’re a witch,” Caroline said, her voice trembling. “My daughter has an amulet like that.”

Sandy touched it lightly. “Yes, pretty isn’t it?”

“You killed Oliver,” Ben said, the realization sinking in with dark certainty. “You killed him with black magic.”

“Smart guy.”

“I don’t understand. I–I thought you were a gray witch.”

“Baby…” A chilling smile stretched across her face. “I’ve been upgraded.”

There was a crackling of energy, like lightning circling her hands as she raised them in Ben and Caroline’s direction.

“Run!” Ben yelled.

But before they had a chance to take even a single step away from her, Ben heard Caroline scream, and then everything went black.