That Old Black Magic

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.”

“About what?”

“A very long time ago I’d agreed to do a job, one that never had an end date. No yearly assessment. No pay increase. Somebody made me forget about that. Or maybe it was no one’s fault but my own. My memories”—he held his hands to his temples—“they’re cloudy when the years grow long and there’s no one who truly understands how lonely it can be.”

Darrak rolled his eyes. “Maybe I’ll learn how to play a harp. Anything to block out the self-pitying whining. Seriously. Just do it, Lucifer, and get out of my face once and for all.”

Lucifer smiled. “So you, my lowly creation, no more than hellfire with a personality, are going to take over my throne, my responsibilities. You will control the shadows. You really think you’re worthy enough for that?”

“I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?” Darrak’s patience was at an end. The sooner he took over Hell, the sooner he could do something, anything, to help restore Eden’s soul. She was standing right here in front of him. She wasn’t lost to him. Not yet.

“Not yet,” he remembered the entity using Theo’s face saying. “But soon and forever.”

“Do it,” Darrak growled. “Now before I change my mind.”

Lucifer approached Eden, who stood up from the chair to face him.

“Ready?” he asked.

She nodded. “Take it all, Lucas, and then go away. I never want to see you again.”

“As you wish.” Lucifer pulled Eden against him and crushed his mouth against hers. Darrak fisted his hands at his sides, only sheer determination keeping him from pulling the prince away from her and pounding him into the ground.

This wasn’t jealousy, not anymore. This wasn’t a kiss of passion. It was one of a thief. He was stealing her angel half so he could use it for himself.

Greedy bastard.

Darrak had never felt so much hate for anyone in his entire existence. But that hate made him stronger. It would have to. He needed to be strong, stay strong, for Eden. For what was to come.

When the kiss ended, Lucifer staggered back from Eden and inhaled raggedly. Eden collapsed but Darrak was able to grab her before she hit the ground.

And then something caught his eye. Her amulet.

It had turned white. Completely white.

His gaze snapped to Lucifer.

Dark veins appeared around his mouth. His eyes were not brown anymore, but black. Completely black, even the whites.

Darrak’s eyes widened. “You didn’t take her celestial energy. You — you took her black magic.”

Lucifer grinned, but it was shaky. “Not delicious, let me tell you. It was a bit on the bitter side, actually.”

Confusion crashed over him. “Why would you do this?”

Lucifer swallowed hard. “Look after her. Look after both of them. They need you more than I do.”

Eden stirred, her chest hitching as she gained consciousness.

None of this made any sense to Darrak. “But I said I would do your job. I would be the Prince of Hell.”

Lucifer smiled then, an eerie look on his haunted face. “Oh Darrak, I don’t hate you that much.”

The next moment he gasped and hunched over as pain wrenched his body. Flames poured out of him, covering his form in an instant. He grew taller and broader as if taking on a new visage — one Darrak recognized immediately. Nine feet tall, four hundred pounds. His skin turned black as coal. His upper lip peeled back from his teeth to show they’d grown sharp and long as knives.

Eden trembled in Darrak’s arms. “Wh-what’s going on?”

“The darkness he consumed… it’s turning him into Satan.”

Large, batlike wings spread out on either side of Lucifer.

No, not Lucifer. Not anymore. This was a true monster from the fiery depths of Hell. The shadowy beast that controlled everything, that wanted to break free and destroy anything it touched.

It was pure evil made flesh.

“You can’t be here,” Darrak snarled, holding Eden closer to him as if he would be able to protect her from something this horrific. “It’s not allowed! Go back where you came from!”

Satan couldn’t take form in the human world. It was a safety precaution. The only reason Lucifer could be here at all was because he took mortal form. He had some power, but not enough to truly harm anyone, apart from one of his own creations like Darrak.

And yet, here he was. Satan was making his first personal appearance on human soil.

Black eyes tracked to Darrak, and a cold smile snaked across the creature’s face.

Satan snarled at him. “You wanted this for yourself. All this magnificent power. And you would give it up for a mere woman?”

Darrak shielded Eden as the monster drew closer to them.

“Hey, Satan,” he said evenly. “Go to Hell.”

Satan’s smile disappeared.

Lucifer was still in there somewhere, and he knew exactly what he was doing. He was the one chosen for the job in the first place, after all. He’d wrangled this beast many times before.

With a last, soulless, black-eyed glare, Satan wrapped the huge, leathery wings around himself, and disappeared in a violent flash of fire.

He was gone.

That had been too damn close. Pun fully intended.

Darrak pulled Eden closer. The room was lit up by his own fire, the same hellfire from which he’d been created once upon a time. He controlled this fire, it was a part of him in this form, and it would do no damage unless he wanted it to.

He grabbed hold of Eden’s face, checking to make sure she was okay.

“Eden,” he rasped. “It is you? Is it really you?”

She nodded and threw her arms around him. “It’s me.”

“I thought I lost you.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“That makes two of us. Only…” He swallowed. “There’s a problem.”

She pulled back. “What?”

“My form… I–I think this might be it. I might be stuck with this demonic visage for a while.”

Her gaze moved over Darrak’s fearsome face, along the curved horns. She touched his sharp cheekbones, ridged jaw, and down his heavily muscled arm until she entwined her fingers with his that were tipped in sharp talons.

“I can get used to it,” she said very seriously.

Darrak couldn’t help but grin, hoping she wouldn’t be too afraid of his razor-sharp teeth. “I’m just messing with you.”

He shifted back to human form.

She punched him in his arm. “Don’t do that.”

“Sorry.”

She kissed him then, very hard on his much more kissable mouth. Considering that he thought he’d never be able to touch her again, it was quite possibly the best kiss they’d ever shared. He took the time to fully explore her mouth, before he kissed every inch of her face. Finally he felt her push against his chest.

He moved back a bit. “Let me guess. Your father is currently standing behind me about ready to unleash heavenly fury on me for defiling his beautiful daughter.”

“Pretty much.”

He turned to look at Daniel, who stood there, his white wings stretching out behind him.

Maybe he hadn’t escaped decimation after all.

This time Eden blocked Darrak. After everything they’d survived today, meeting her father was not going to be the end of everything. She wouldn’t let it.

Angels were powerful creatures.

Well, so was she. Even if she wasn’t a black witch anymore.

“Don’t even think about hurting him,” she growled.

Daniel shook his head. “Wasn’t planning on it.”

“Well… good.” She still wasn’t quite ready to breathe yet.

“You’re yourself again?” Darrak asked.

“I am.” Daniel nodded and cast a glance down at himself. “When Oliver Gale took over my body, I could still see and hear everything. I know you were willing to sacrifice yourself for Eden, and that you tried to save her from Lucifer.”

“I tried,” Darrak said. “Wasn’t all that successful.”

“You love her.”

Darrak looked at Eden. “Yes.”

Her heart swelled. “And I love him. I don’t care what anyone thinks. Including you.”

“Good,” Daniel said. “That will help you a great deal.”

Well, it was nice to have a vote of confidence for once.

Darrak slid his hand down her back. “Lucifer consumed the darkness in her. All of it. It sent him directly back to Hell, do not pass go.”

Daniel took in this information. “Are you sorry not to be the next Prince of Hell?”

Eden watched Darrak carefully for his response. It was a lot of power to give up, even if it meant dealing with that monster she’d just seen. It would have made Darrak one of the most powerful beings in the universe.

“Am I sorry?” Darrak repeated. “Nope. I might have wanted that once, but I’ve changed. A lot. I’m exactly where I want to be.”

“Good answer.” Daniel then looked at Eden. “And as for you, daughter—”

“Daughter, huh?” she said tightly. “I still don’t understand what happened with my mother and why you never acknowledged me.”

His handsome face grew serious. “I know it’s difficult to understand. And I wish I had a meaningful story for you, but you may be disappointed. When I met your mother, I was at the end of my job as a gatekeeper to one of the Netherworld entrances. Seven years of living in the human world. I was weak, and your mother was beautiful. That’s all it was. I’m sorry you felt abandoned, Eden, but I had no choice. My place was in Heaven from that point forward.”

He was right. That was a bit disappointing. She’d hoped for something a bit more magical than that even though she knew it hadn’t been more than a one-night stand for her mother. Why should it be anything else for her father? “So why did you visit me when I was just a little girl?”

“Because I’d just learned of your existence and had to check on your safety. There are those who’d like to use a nephilim for her power — just as Lucifer wanted to do.”

She laughed. “I’ve never had any power. A bit of psychic insight, but nothing very reliable.”

Daniel nodded. “There’s a very good reason for that. When I came here I was able to cloak that magic — from others and from you as well.”

Eden inhaled sharply, remembering what Lucas had told her about nephilim being cloaked to him. How only her black magic counterbalanced that and made him see what she was underneath. “So that’s why.”

“You’re ready now, Eden,” Daniel continued. “I can finally remove the cloaking from you once and for all.”

She hooked her arm through Darrak’s. He hadn’t said a word this whole time, letting her father speak uninterrupted. “What will happen to me then?”

“Your psychic insight will be more acute, more controllable. I think it will come in handy in your line of work — private investigator, right?” He smiled. “Also, when you were a black witch, you had the capacity for immortality. A nephilim isn’t truly immortal, but she is very long-lived and will retain her youth for as long as she breathes.”

A breath caught in her chest. “How long-lived?”

“Very. Consider it a pleasant bonus to being half-angel. Even if you never learned you were nephilim it wouldn’t have been much longer before you realized you were no longer aging.”

She’d lost her black magic that had given her so much power, given her the chance to live for a long time with Darrak. While she’d been glad to have it removed, she’d known it meant she was mortal again — helpless, fragile, and short-lived.

This… well, this was a wonderful gift her father had given her.

Then again, he did have nearly thirty birthdays to make up for.

Eden nodded, bracing herself for more pain. “Then go ahead and take away the cloaking. I’m ready.”

Daniel shrugged. “Sorry to disappoint, but I already did that the moment I woke up. You didn’t even feel it, did you?”

She didn’t. She felt no different at all. There was no pain, no discomfort, not even any sensation of morning sickness from before.

Eden put her hand over her stomach. “But the baby…”

“Don’t worry. She’s fine.”

Her heart pounded as she looked at Darrak.

He nodded and gave her a big grin as he hugged her against him. “She.”

A girl. They were going to have a daughter.

Darrak tensed against her, his gaze fixed on the angel. He watched Daniel as if waiting for her father to pull them apart.

But he didn’t. Instead Daniel reached his hand out. Darrak eyed it for a moment as though he was uncertain of what to do. Then he grasped hold of the angel’s hand and shook it.

“Be good to my daughter,” Daniel said. “Or else.”

Darrak couldn’t help but grin. “Yes sir.”

Eden felt a lump form in her throat. “Will I ever see you again?”

Daniel leaned forward to kiss her cheek. “You can count on it.”

Then, within the blink of an eye, Daniel disappeared in a flash of light.

He was gone. She’d met her father for about the same amount of time as he’d been in her presence before. And now he’d gone back to Heaven.

“So,” Darrak said after a quiet moment. “Your father didn’t destroy me.”

She nodded. “I think you’ve been destroyed enough lately.”

“Agreed. And he didn’t beat me up or get out a shotgun when he realized you were pregnant.”

“He handled it like a champ. No shotgun required.” She swallowed hard then, remembering all that had happened. “Will Lucas be okay?”

“He just swallowed enough black magic to choke a hundred hellhounds. I think even somebody like him will need a while to recover from that.”

She looked down at the spot Darrak had stood when she’d thought he was frozen, before he phased both himself and Lucas out of there. “You didn’t kill him.”

“No, and he didn’t kill me. In fact, he saved me.”

“Looks like he saved me, too.” Her eyes widened with surprise as it all sank in. Gratitude flowed through her for the prince who’d deceived her, demanded things from her, and nearly destroyed her. “I knew he wasn’t all bad.”

“He’s my hero,” Darrak said dryly. “However, I’ll still kick his ass if he ever comes anywhere near you again.”

“And that is why I love you so much.” Eden took his face between her hands and kissed him before hugging him tightly against her. “You’re my guardian angel.”

He snorted. “Come on, now, let’s not end this with an insult.”

She smiled. “You don’t have to possess me anymore.”

“We’ll look on those as the good old days. Although, I have to admit I was getting kind of used to living in Eden, my own personal garden of paradise. This is better, though. We can be together because we want to, not because we have to.”

“You’re sure about that?”

“Positive.” He frowned. “Aren’t you?”

She pulled away from him and walked to the doorway leading to the hall, her arms crossed. Then she turned to face him. “I–I have a question for you first, Darrak. An important one.”

The certainty in his eyes slipped a little. “What is it?”

Eden studied him carefully. “You promise to answer me honestly?”

He nodded solemnly. “I promise.”

“Okay, now I understand based on how things have gone down before if you need to think about it, but…”

His dark brows drew together. “Eden, what is it? Tell me. What’s the question?”

“I just need to know… will you marry me?”

He stared at her for a long moment before a grin stretched across his handsome face. “Finally a question I know I’m smart enough to answer.”

Ben watched with relief as Eden and Darrak left the house. He and the others had waited outside, pacing, not knowing what to do next.

Sandy was dead. He wished he felt even a bit of sadness over that. He supposed he did. It wasn’t fair. She’d been nice, he knew that hadn’t all been an act from day one. But power had corrupted her swiftly and completely. He wasn’t able to save her. He hadn’t even realized she needed saving until it was too late.

He wanted to talk to Eden, to explain everything. To apologize.

There’d be time for that later. After all he’d been responsible for, maybe it was best if he just faded away into the distance.

Ben turned to leave and found Darrak standing behind him with his arms crossed.

“Did I have a chance to thank you so much for locking me in the office at sunset?” Darrak asked dryly. “Nearly destroyed me, but I’m thinking that might have been your goal.”

“I know you’ll never believe this,” Ben replied tightly, “but it made me realize I was wrong. About everything. I’ve changed. And I’m sorry.”

Darrak studied him carefully. “Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re not just being funny right now.”

Ben shook his head. “I don’t think I could be funny if I tried.”

“I think you’re right about that.” Darrak blinked. “You’re still a member of the Malleus. You have the brand.”

He touched his arm. “I’ve decided to quit. I don’t care if that’s against the rules.”

“Smartest decision you’ve ever made.”

“I’m trying to make more of those.”

“Ditto. Back to the police force?”

“I don’t know yet.” He didn’t. He had no idea where his future would take him. All he knew was that he still had a future.

Darrak nodded. “So was this enough small talk between us to clear the air?”

“More than enough.”

Leena came to Ben’s side. He’d finally removed her cuff while they waited to find out how it all turned out, but she hadn’t left yet or shifted to her werepanther form.

She eyed the demon. “I can’t believe you knocked Eden up, gruesome.”

Darrak eyed her warily and crossed his arms. “Somehow I’m thinking today isn’t going to end up with us all in a big group hug.”

Leena grinned a little. “And here I didn’t think you were that smart.”

“I’ve missed you since you moved out, Leena.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, the apartment doesn’t have that pungent odor of kitty litter to it. And the furniture doesn’t get clawed up anymore.”

Ben expected her to snap back with another insult, but instead she laughed out loud. “I hear you’re half-angel now. Guess you keep that side hidden.”

“As much as inhumanly possible.”

“Take care of Eden,” she said very seriously. “I swear, if I hear you’re being a hellbeast, I’m going to kick your ass.”

“This seems to be a common refrain.” Darrak smiled. “But I honestly wouldn’t put it past you to follow through.”

“Some chaperone I was, anyway. You still got her pregnant.”

“Consider yourself fired. Now, if you’ll excuse me. Both of you.” He left them alone to join Eden, who was talking with her mother by Maksim’s bay window.

“So,” Leena said.

“So.”

“I’m sorry about Sandy.”

Ben shook his head. “Don’t be.”

“Do all your girlfriends end up dead?”

He looked at her sharply. “Nice.”

“It’s not a joke. It’s an important question I need the answer to.”

Ben shook his head. “You and me, it’s not going to happen.”

Leena glared at him. “As if. You’re not my type, Ken doll. I prefer men with more of an edge to them.”

He frowned at her. “I have edge. Lots of edge.”

“Besides…” She waved a hand. “I’m not sticking around this city. I hate the winter. I have big plans.”

“Like what?”

“Traveling. Seeing the country. Going overseas. A werepanther likes to roam, you know. She doesn’t like getting tied down to any one place.”

He couldn’t help but smile at her certainty. “Okay. Then what are you still doing here, werepanther?”

She ran a hand absently through her long black hair. “Well… I just wanted to check something first.”

“What’s that?”

Leena grabbed his shirt, pulled him closer, and kissed him hard on his mouth. It only took him a second before he was returning the kiss with an equal amount of passion as his body, heart, and soul all reacted to her. He was breathless when she finally broke off the kiss.

She bit her bottom lip. “Well, that’s unfortunate.”

Ben found his voice enough to say, “What is?”

She shrugged before giving him a slow, sexy smile. “Looks like you are my type after all. Who knew?”

“I have edge.” He grinned before it started to fade. “However, I have no job, no money, and no prospects.”

She laughed and slid her arms around his waist. “Now you’re more like the kind of guy I usually date. See? That’s much better than Mr. Shiny-Perfect. Besides, I don’t need your money.”

“No?”

Leena shook her head. “That locker key Eden’s holding on to for me? I have a little bit of sparkle locked up in there. Enough to keep us very comfortable for a few years at the least. You interested?”

He eyed her skeptically. “Is this a treasure obtained through legal means?”

She cocked her head. “Sorry, no. But trust me, nobody will miss it and nobody got hurt.”

He scratched his chin as a smile spread across his face. “Then I think I just might be okay with that.”

Leena smiled and grabbed his shirt to pull him closer for another kiss.

She was a werepanther as well as a beautiful but dangerous woman with a shady past. This was a bit different for an ex-cop and ex-Malleus member. But, as he gave himself completely to her kiss, Ben realized that different was more than okay with him.