That Old Black Magic

TWENTY-FOUR

Maksim waited for them by the front door. None of his maids or butlers seemed to be around this time of the morning. He escorted Eden and Darrak into his parlor immediately.

Darrak hurriedly explained the situation, while leaving some of the more incriminating details out. Bottom line, they needed a strong cloaking spell put on Eden to hide her here in the human world from a very powerful supernatural being.

Simple.

Okay, not simple at all considering who that powerful supernatural being was, but it had to work anyway.

Eden shook her head. “This is Lucifer we’re talking about, not just some guy on the street.”

“He’s not omnipotent,” Darrak explained. “He doesn’t see all, know all. He can’t read minds. Thankfully. He is a very powerful fallen angel who has a lousy day job, that’s all. If it could work on that Brenda chick it will work on you. It isn’t perfect. I figure it’ll buy me a day, maybe two at the most before he figures out something’s wrong. And you can’t go back to the apartment since that’ll be the first place he’ll check. You’ll have to stay at a hotel. Preferably on the other side of the world. What is that, Australia? Perfect. You’ll love Australia. Forget chocolate donuts. I have two words that will make this all better: Tim Tams.”

The auctioneer-like speed of his speech didn’t seem to help her relax in the slightest. “You really think this can work?”

He glanced at Maksim. “It will, right? You’re powerful enough to do this.”

“Of course I am,” Maksim replied confidently. “I just need a moment to prepare.”

“Right. You do that.” Darrak was just glad he wasn’t arguing. Not everyone would work magic against Lucifer. It was a job that could come back to bite the wizard on his magical butt, even if it was for all the right reasons.

Maksim moved toward the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that he scanned. He didn’t seem the least stressed about the prospect of doing this spell.

No emotion, this guy. It was a bit creepy, considering he was about to help them screw Lucifer out of a tasty piece of angel food cake.

Eden had her arms crossed tightly over her chest. “I’m not saying I’m sorry for what I did. I’d do it again if I had to.”

“You shouldn’t trust Lucifer so much.”

“I just — I don’t know. I feel like I’ve gotten to know him a little and he’s… he’s in pain. He hates his existence. I guess I can’t help but feel sorry for him.”

His jaw clenched. “You go ahead and believe in his good side. I’ll stay focused on the side that’s ruled Hell for the last few millennia.”

She grimaced. “That long, huh?”

“Don’t worry about Lucifer, Eden. It’s not all sour lemons for him. He’s had his fun, too. I have to say, though, I’m glad you let Brenda go. One less victory for that guy.” He pulled the card from his pocket to glance down at Brenda’s name and blinked hard at what he saw.

Nothing.

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.

Tricky, Lucy, he thought. Very tricky.

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 see her. In time, he might even be able to take day trips to the human world. But she wouldn’t know who he really was.

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 the night to take care of a few chores.

It had been a necessary evil, so to speak, although he supposed he could have gone about it in a less deceptive manner.

He’d earned that trust back, and he wouldn’t jeopardize it again. No matter what.

Eden had come close to promising Darrak she’d never use her black magic again, but here they were in jeopardy and her magic automatically slid down her arms and into her hands ready to destroy something. To cause a distraction. To make something explode.

A flaming BlackBerry might come in handy right about now.

She despised Lucas for lying to her, for making them believe he was Maksim.

And she’d been fooled so easily.

In the end, she couldn’t even blame him for their current situation. She’d made the deal of her own free will. She’d promised him her celestial energy.

And now he wanted her to pay up.

They were the ones trying to break the rules, not him.

She wasn’t giving up hope. There was still a chance for her and Darrak to come out of this unscathed, but maybe she was fooling herself. She’d made the deal, and Darrak had just tried to screw Lucas out of it.

They were in deep trouble.

Lucas wasn’t a nice guy who sometimes kissed a bit of her darkness away. He was darkness. That’s why he needed her in the first place.

“Here we are.” Lucas had stopped at the end of the flight of stairs to the basement. A man emerged from a room at the end of the hall. He was tall and handsome with broad shoulders. His hair was red, very red, the color Eden might expect a Viking to have. Erik the Red, or something. It was the color her hair would be if she didn’t make regular trips to the salon.

And just like hers, his face wasn’t covered in freckles as she’d seen a lot of redheads have. No, his face was pale, perfect skin. Straight nose, full lips… green eyes.

Just like hers.

“Oh shit,” she whispered.

“What?” Darrak asked.

Eden had seen this man before. He’d visited when she’d been just a little girl playing in a sandbox a long, long time ago. She’d liked him, she remembered that much. And then he was gone as quickly as he’d arrived.

She never knew why he never returned.

“That’s my father,” she whispered, stunned.

“He’s your… What is he doing here?”

“I have no idea.”

“It’s rude to talk behind my back,” Lucas noted. “I’m assuming that you know who this is.”

“Yes.” Eden forced herself to sound strong. The spark of power in her hands faded away. “What is this, Lucas?”

“A reunion of sorts. Daniel and I go way back.”

“I’m sure you do.” Darrak cocked his head and crossed his arms, walking closer to the angel.

What was he doing? It was as if he had no concern for his own safety. This was Eden’s father, she had no doubt about that, but she was wary. He didn’t look at her as if he recognized her, that he cared that she was in trouble. He seemed utterly clueless, actually.

That worried her more than she already was.

“Nice to meet you,” Darrak said to the angel and held his hand out.

The angel eyed him before shaking his hand. “The pleasure’s all mine, demon. I’ve wanted to meet you for some time, but it never really worked out.”

Lucas grinned. “Are you going to ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage? How retro, Darrak.”

“I like to do things Little House on the Prairie style whenever possible. Great show, by the way. I think I developed half my humanity just from watching the Ingalls.” Darrak turned to Lucas. “I know what’s going on here.”

“Do you?” Lucas said.

“Somehow you’ve convinced Daniel here to take over your throne. Which I find a bit hard to believe considering your plan requires you to suck all the angel juice out of his daughter first.”

Eden was holding her magic in reserve, not ready to use it yet. This had all begun by her and Darrak going to Maksim to seek his help only a couple of days ago. Her magic had been uncontrollable, or it seemed that way, anyhow. But the more she used it, the better it got. The stronger it got. If it didn’t destroy her soul it would be the perfect tool.

Or weapon.

She’d find a way to get herself and Darrak out of this tight situation. She just wished she knew exactly how to do that.

“I suppose I’m lucky that angel juice, as you say, is a naturally renewable resource considering how much you’ve absorbed over the last month.” Lucas walked a slow circle around Darrak. “I wonder what it would have done to you if you’d been bound to her longer — another month, another year. Would you have turned completely angel then? Grown a pair of wings? And if so, would that have been enough to break your curse, considering that it had first been cast upon an archdemon?”

“You could do your college thesis on me. I smell an A+. Possibly a movie deal. Exciting stuff.”

“Quite. The demon who became good.”

Darrak’s smile stretched unpleasantly. “I’m sorry, but I’m not sure you’ve been following along. I might be part angel now, but I’m not all that good. For example, right now I’m feeling a whole hell of a lot of malevolence, and it’s all directed at you, Lucy.”

Lucas’s eyes narrowed. “I think you know what it’s like to feel my wrath. Shall we go down that road again?”

Eden clenched her fists. Her heart felt as if it was going a thousand beats a minute.

Stay calm, just for a bit longer, she told herself. Darrak has this under control.

“Smite me,” Darrak snapped. “Go ahead, you limp-dicked angel. Because that’s what it’s going to take before I let you lay a finger on Eden.”

Well, perhaps “under control” was a bit of an overstatement.