That Old Black Magic

THREE

Ben Hanson couldn’t stop thinking about angels.

He’d met one — a real one. He was sure of it. The angel was being kept prisoner right down the hall in the cell with the tiny window on the door. Ben had been staring at that cell for almost ten minutes now.

Ben had quickly realized that the Malleus had a bit of a dark side. To say the least.

But why were they holding an angel prisoner? There had to be a solid reason, something that he could understand.

He needed answers.

Not that he could do a damn thing about it, even if he wanted to. He’d signed over his body and soul when he’d accepted the job offer here. He’d tendered his resignation as a cop nearly two weeks ago and had been faced with questions he couldn’t answer. For better or for worse, he was a civilian now. One who worked for the Malleus — Latin for the hammer.

There was really only one thing that made this place remotely tolerable. Ben had met a woman named Sandy Matthews, a gray witch. He’d hoped she’d be able to help him forget someone else — a woman named Eden. So far, however, it hadn’t worked all that well.

Eden was the main reason Ben had signed up as a Malleus member. She’d helped him see that the world didn’t only contain criminals to lock up, but evil monsters as well. And, when the going got tough, Eden had chosen one of those monsters over him.

Things like that weren’t too good for a guy’s ego.

Ben had been told by his superiors to keep a close watch on Eden and her demon. His boss, Oliver Gale, had plans that had something to do with both of them, but he wasn’t exactly all that forthcoming with the details.

Damn it, he needed answers about that angel. It was driving him crazy.

The Malleus worked as a “need to know” organization. If Ben didn’t need to know something, he wasn’t told. But this was different. For his own peace of mind, he had to know the truth. Oliver was the leader here, the one who’d personally branded Ben’s forearm with the fleur-de-lis symbol that, along with the ritual that went along with it, gave him the ability to sense those who are Other and the extra strength needed to fight against them.

The pay wasn’t bad, either.

It was too late to change his mind now. He’d been told that once you were a member of the Malleus the only way out was death.

He really should have read the fine print first.

“Hey, Ken doll,” a female voice called out to him from the tiny window on a cell to his left. “Come here. I need to talk to you.”

“Ken doll?” he repeated.

“You’re blond, tan, and perfect. It’s as good a name as any.”

He glanced in the direction of her smooth voice. He couldn’t see anything but dark skin and dark eyes glittering from the other side of the window. The cell itself wasn’t lit.

“What do you want?” he asked warily. The Malleus dungeon was filled with evil creatures who were locked up until their ultimate fates could be decided.

“You have to help me. I shouldn’t be here.”

“If you’re in there it’s for a good reason, honey.”

Her almond-shaped eyes narrowed. “Wrong place, wrong time, that’s the only reason for this.”

“Are you human?”

“Well…” She hesitated. “Not exactly.”

“Then you’re exactly where you need to be.”

“Nice attitude,” the woman called after him as he started walking again. “That’ll get you far, asshole.”

“Nice talking to you.”

Her tone turned desperate. “Wait! They’re going to kill me. You know that, right? You need to do something!”

Ben’s pace slowed and his mouth went dry. “If you want help, you’re asking the wrong guy.”

He was followed only by silence as his footsteps echoed along the long hall.

He took the stairs to the top floor and came to a halt just outside of Oliver Gale’s office when he heard Sandy’s familiar voice. Ben hadn’t even known she’d be in the office today.

“—won’t be much longer,” she said.

“And you don’t have any new intel?”

“No, I think I need to—”

“What you need to do is focus on your assignment,” Oliver hissed.

Ben tensed. Oliver had been rough with Sandy before, given her a black eye when she’d done something he didn’t approve of. It had taken everything inside of Ben not to beat the shit out of the old man, but raising a hand in violence against one of the Malleus elders would have resulted in Sandy — and himself — being reprimanded in a much stronger and more unpleasant manner.

“The problem with Ben”—oddly, Sandy’s voice held none of the timidity Ben was accustomed to hearing—“is what you see is what you get. He’s here because he wants to help rid the world of evil. He has no deeper agenda than that.”

“Is he still obsessed with Eden Riley?”

“His connection to her is fading.”

“Have you succeeded in making him fall in love with you?”

Sandy cleared her throat. “Love isn’t something that can be forced naturally.”

“Did he love Eden?”

“He didn’t know her very long. I think he might have if given more time. He’s still obsessed with saving her from the demon because Ben’s fiancée from years ago was murdered. He thinks saving Eden will somehow right that wrong on his conscience.”

“How sad.”

“He’s a noble guy. Stupid, stubborn, and boring, but very noble.”

Every muscle in Ben’s body was tense. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Sandy was normally so sweet, so genuine. Or so he’d assumed.

“So you have failed to have him fall for your womanly charms,” Oliver said.

“I didn’t say that. We are sleeping together.”

A smile entered Oliver’s voice. “Even though he was told such a relationship between those associated with the Malleus is forbidden.”

“There is a rebel inside of him.”

“He’s too much of a wild card to have here right now. If he loves you, he’ll toe the line and won’t get in my way. Use a strong spell to make him fall in love with you. Control him, Sandy. Wrap him around your little finger, and, along with the other matter we’ve discussed, you’ll be well rewarded when the time comes. And that time is coming very soon.”

“Consider it done,” Sandy replied. “He’s mine.”

There were footsteps on the hardwood floor, but by the time the witch had left her boss’s office, Ben was already gone.

Ben had signed away his freedom, his life, in order to do the right thing. And now he was being betrayed by those he trusted. By a woman he was sleeping with.

Nothing made sense anymore. Maybe it never had in the first place.

* * *

Eden stayed quiet on the twenty-minute drive from Maksim’s bachelor-pad mansion to the small office that housed Triple-A Investigations as they absorbed the information presented to them by the wizard. Darrak had chosen not to try to get her talking. He wasn’t feeling too chatty at the moment anyway.

Something felt off about visiting the wizard, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

Perhaps it was that Maksim had “helped” them without asking for anything in return. Darrak was accustomed to practitioners of magic being on the greedy side. Greed was one of the most popular deadly sins, after all. Right after lust.

It was also one of the most reliable.

“We’ll check in with Andy,” Darrak said. “Then you and me — we need to talk. In private.”

He reached for the door handle to let himself out, but felt Eden’s hand on his arm stopping him. He looked at her cautiously. Her beautiful face was tense.

He immediately worried she was experiencing the tearing pain again. “Are you all right?”

She just nodded.

“Then what?”

“What you said back there when he asked you what you felt about me.”

“Oh, that.”

“I just…” She rubbed her lips together, and her gaze flicked up to meet his. “Sometimes… I–I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything.”

“You didn’t have to be so blunt with him. You could have held something back.”

“Why would I want to do that? What I said was the truth.” He almost laughed at the shadow of doubt in her gaze. “Do you think I was lying to him?”

“No, but…” She shook her head. “Nobody’s ever felt like that about me before.”

He drew closer to her. “Stupid of them, but less competition is not necessarily a bad thing. I’m a little rusty on my sword fighting against other suitors. And pistols at dawn isn’t that appealing. I’m not really a morning person if I can help it.”

She searched his expression. “You really think this has a chance?”

“What?”

“You and me.”

Darrak thought he understood that doubt in her eyes. He wasn’t thinking quite so far ahead, but Eden was already looking years into the future to try to figure out if a relationship between someone like her and someone like him had a chance in a world of white-picket-fence dreams competing with a high-divorce-rate reality.

He knew he wasn’t Eden’s perfect choice in a man. He wasn’t even a man, really. Never had been, never would be. Some demons were former humans, with lives and memories and morals that they could cling to even if they’d made a few wrong choices in their lives that caused them to sell their soul to a demon lord or Lucifer himself.

Darrak had been reminded time and time again by the big boss that he was a big fat nothing. A lesser demon created at Lucifer’s whim once upon a time with a bit of hellfire and some powerful magic. That he lived, breathed, desired, lusted, loved, wanted, needed, and hungered was only a side effect of that magic.

How could something like that aspire to anything more than an eternity of servitude?

But he did. He aspired.

There was a fire inside of him that had nothing to do with Hell anymore. It was a fire ignited by the auburn-haired woman who studied him intently like whatever he said next was going to be some sort of prophecy for their future together.

“Kiss me,” he said.

It appeared to be a prophecy that had immediate results. She drew closer, took his face between her hands, and pressed her lips against his with a kiss that would have swelled his immortal soul if he’d been in possession of one. Her tongue slipped past his lips and slid against his own.

The kiss grew heated very quickly and his body responded in kind, hardening with a need he could barely hold back, especially when her hand moved up his thigh to brush against his groin. He didn’t stop her; he only managed a dark groan from the back of his throat.

He wanted her. In a parking lot at eleven o’clock in the morning, he desperately wanted her.

And it looked like he could have her as she crawled onto his lap to straddle him in the passenger seat. He moved his hands up to cup her full breasts, slipping underneath her crisp white shirt and bra. He ached to slide inside of her. Feel her heat, her need, make her cry out his name as he took her with long, sweet thrusts.

It seemed as if she was currently a mind reader since she began fiddling with the zipper of his jeans.

“Wait, Eden,” he managed. “We can’t do this…”

“You don’t sound completely convinced of that.”

“Eden,” his tone turned sharper. The woman was insatiable. Twice they’d made love, and both times had been incredible. Maybe he’d inadvertently managed to addict her to his demon loving just a little bit too much.

Sounded conceited, but it could actually be the truth. The spell on him could unconsciously drive her to seek more black magic by any means possible.

“Oh, hell.” His mind went foggy when she slipped her hand into the front of his pants and wrapped her fingers around him.

“Did you really mean it?” she whispered. “When you said you loved me?”

There was no parking lot anymore. No chance of being discovered. The world had narrowed to only Eden — sexy, desirable, incredible Eden — the only woman he’d ever truly loved in his entire existence. One who wasn’t sure about their future together since there were so many odds stacked against them. A black witch who was part angel.

One he’d corrupted so much that her soul was currently at risk of being sent directly to Hell upon her death.

Damn.

Yes, that thought definitely helped to douse his mindless desire.

He grasped her wrist and pulled her away from him. He turned his head when she attempted to kiss him again. He zipped up his jeans and took her firmly by her upper arms, directing her back to the driver’s seat. Her face was flushed and the need in her eyes hadn’t left yet.

“Yes,” he said very seriously. “I meant every word.”

Then he got out of the car and headed into the office on shaky legs.

The black magic made her do it.

It drew her to Darrak like a moth to a flame. While there was a whole lot of celestial energy swirling inside him, more than even he was aware of yet, there was still a large amount of Hell energy, too — the darkest of the dark. And that worked like a magnet for a black witch. And a black witch’s sex drive.

She wanted him so badly it hurt, but he’d put on the brakes.

Darrak loved her.

And he’d just soundly rejected her seduction attempt in the parking lot of Triple-A for her own damn good.

She had to focus. Too much was at risk here if she kept losing her mind like that.

A gorgeous, dark-haired, blue-eyed immortal demon had told her he was in love with her. But that same demon was cursed to possess her — and according to Maksim, that was the reason for a great many of her problems.

But she already knew that. Most of it, anyway.

Was it still considered an abusive relationship if the abuse wasn’t intended?

There was a time in college when she’d been involved with a man who’d intentionally abused her. She hated looking back at how weak she’d been then, how willing she was to accept a heartfelt apology and shiny gifts to make up for the occasional bruise or broken rib. She knew she’d never be in another relationship like that. Ever.

In fact, it was more than likely the reason she’d shielded herself from love ever since and refused to give up her control. Sure, she’d been briefly engaged since, but only because it had felt like the right time, the right place, the right opportunity. In that relationship she hadn’t been abused physically. Emotionally was more like it. Her fiancé had cheated on her on Valentine’s Day, originally prompting her to move to Toronto and take over half ownership of Triple-A so she could have a fresh start.

Eden’s love life had always been one big fat joke. She couldn’t help but be guarded, even now. Even with Darrak.

Maybe it was because of her mother’s influence. Caroline had never exactly been a glowing example of someone who had healthy relationships. She’d had a one-night stand with an angel and become pregnant from it. Who did that?

“Morning,” Andy McCoy greeted her as she entered the office. Darrak held the door open for her. “Or, rather, late morning. Just strolling in now whenever you feel like it, is that how it is?”

Darrak shrugged as he hung both his and Eden’s coats up on the rack near the door. “Had to see a wizard about a problem.”

“I will assume that’s not a euphemism.”

“Eden’s magic is no euphemism.”

Andy nodded gravely. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

“Well, for starters, you’re going to turn into a werewolf tomorrow night.”

Andy recoiled slightly. “No, I’m not.”

“You are.”

“Am not.”

“Are.”

“Not.”

“You can deny it all you like, Andy, but it’s going to happen. You got bitten by a werewolf. Mauled, actually.”

He shuddered. “I remember that part.”

“And that means you’re a werewolf, too. I’m not sure why this is so difficult for you to grasp.”

Eden felt bad for the guy. He was still in serious denial about what would happen. It was a discussion they’d had several times in the last couple of weeks, but no progress had been made to get him to accept the inevitable.

Maksim had given them a spell that would allegedly help safely contain Andy and cloak the area. Wouldn’t want someone to walk by and see a werewolf clawing at the door to be let out.

Apparently werewolves could shapeshift anytime they liked, but when it came to the full moon, they didn’t have a choice. It was all werewolf all the time, for one night a month.

She glanced around the office, trying to judge how much damage there would be if they made this the containment area. Seemed like as good a place as any. She’d done some research into werewolves, along with Darrak’s knowledge of them, and knew Andy would go one of two ways. Either a rabid, out-of-control beast who had none of his human traits and only wanted to rip things — or people — apart. Or he’d be Andy. In wolf form.

She was hoping for the latter, but planning for the former.

“I am not going to turn into a werewolf tomorrow night,” Andy said firmly. “Just stop it. Both of you.”

He went to his desk, sat down, and took out a silver flask from his top drawer, draining it in one gulp.

Denial was a thirsty state of mind.

Darrak hadn’t looked directly at her since the impromptu lap dance in the car, but they had to talk. If her magic was truly identical to Selina’s, then they had to give it a shot. First with the spell and then, if they were successful, with the curse.

Could it really be that easy after all this time?

The bell above the door jingled as someone familiar entered the office. She was short, with bleached blonde hair, red lips, and a smile that stretched a mile wide. Nancy was the assistant manager at the coffee shop next door, a place called Hot Stuff that Andy also owned. She came by with coffee and donuts first thing every morning, the scent of which usually made Eden’s mouth water.

This morning it seemed to have the opposite effect. She felt a little queasy, actually.

Great. Word had it that the flu was going around. Getting sick was the last thing she needed to deal with right now.

“Hello all!” Nancy exclaimed cheerily.

“Nancy, you’re back bearing more delicious treats. Twice in one morning. What’s the occasion?” Andy grinned at her as if thrilled for the excuse to avoid the werewolf topic. Nancy was blissfully ignorant about a great deal of paranormal activity in the area. She’d come face-to-face with some dangerous magic recently at a local singles club that happened to be possessed by the demon Lord of Lust, but had recovered nicely. Well, except for one very unfortunate result.

The blonde was currently dating Stanley, the weaselly wizard’s assistant whom Darrak had made cry earlier on the phone.

Some women had questionable taste in men.

“I saw Darrak and Eden just got here. Had to bring over more munchies.” Nancy held up a paper bag emblazoned with the Hot Stuff logo.

“You’re an angel,” Darrak said. “And I mean that as a compliment, not an insult.”

Nancy had a large crush on Darrak for a while, but thankfully it had subsided. There was a time she’d demonstrated this crush by making Darrak chocolate donuts in the blobby shape of hearts. Now they were regular blobby-shaped ovals.

“Here, Eden.” Nancy held out a coffee to her.

“Thanks.” Eden took it and couldn’t help but notice something glitter on Nancy’s finger. Her eyes widened. “Wow, Nancy. Nice ring.”

“Oh, this?” Nancy held her left hand out to show off the diamond solitaire and then wriggled her fingers.

“You’re not…” Eden frowned. “Are you engaged?”

She would have thought it impossible, but Nancy’s smile shot up another fifty watts. “Stanley popped the question last night.”

“Congratulations!” Andy exclaimed.

“Popped what question?” Darrak asked.

“Stanley asked me to marry him, and I said yes.” More finger wriggling. “I’m going to be Mrs. Dancy!”

“Nancy Dancy,” Darrak said. “It’s catchy.”

Eden’s brows drew together. “I’m glad you’re so excited. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’ve only known him a couple of weeks. Are you positive this is the right thing?”

The brightness dimmed a little at the edges. “Now you sound like my mother.”

“I’m just saying—”

“She was all ‘Is this going to be like last time? Marry in haste, repent at leisure,’ or whatever. But it’s not true. It’s not like the last time. That wasn’t true love. This — what me and Stanley have? It’s real. I feel it deep inside of me like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. It’s real and it’s lasting and I want to spend the rest of my life with that man. He’s the most wonderful person I’ve ever known in my entire life.”

“Stanley is?” Eden cleared her throat as Nancy’s cheery smile turned into a glower. “I mean, sure… he’s, uh, great. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to rain on your parade. I’m just practical about this sort of thing. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

The blonde’s expression softened again. “I know. And I appreciate it. Don’t worry about me, Eden. You’ve always been like an older sister to me.”

“I believe I’m a few years younger than you, actually.”

“It would mean a lot to me if you’d be one of my bridesmaids. Will you do that?”

Eden was at a loss. It felt wrong talking about things like true love, bridal plans, and weddings when she was getting used to dealing with curses, demons, and an unavoidable working relationship with Lucifer himself. “I… I would be happy to be one of your bridesmaids.”

“Thank you so much.” Nancy gave her a tight hug. “Listen, I have to get back to work but we’ll talk soon. What fun!”

Then, with her mood elevated again by good wishes and promises of bridesmaids and impending nuptials, Nancy left them to their coffee and donuts.

If anything, Eden felt a bit queasier now than she did to start with. “I just hope Stanley isn’t using her.”

“When did you become such a Negative Nelly?” Andy said.

“Around the time I was a toddler. And it’s called being a realist, actually.”

“I think it’s wonderful. We could use more good news around here lately.”

“Definitely.” Darrak bit into his donut, then held the other one out to Eden. “Want some?”

Their tryst in the car came back to her with full erotic strength.

Oh, she still wanted some, all right, and she wasn’t talking about donuts. But she’d cooled off from before. Enough to keep her attention fully fixed on the issues at hand.

She gave him a strained smile. “Maybe later.”

Andy grabbed his coat. “I need to head out to meet with a client. Glad you two got here so I wouldn’t have to shut the office down completely.”

“More werewolves?” Darrak asked pointedly.

Andy cringed. “Would you stop with the werewolf stuff, already?”

“It was just a question, not an accusation.”

“Then no. Not werewolves. A human client, believe it or not. Wanted me to investigate a missing sister who ran off with a boyfriend without leaving any forwarding address. I already found her living in Vegas. Quick case, nice and easy.”

“Well, good,” Eden said. “Fine, you go do that. Darrak and I have some business of our own to take care of.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

“I’m going to experiment with a little spell removal.”

“Eden, I thought we were going to talk about that first.” There was a warning edge to Darrak’s voice.

She ignored it.

“Well, that’s great. Good luck with that,” Andy said. “But please try not to break anything.”