Authors: Michelle Rowen
“What do you care? He was just an angel.” Theo shrugged. “And it’s not like I killed him.”
“He can’t go back to Heaven now,” Eden said. “Can he?”
Theo rolled his eyes. “He’ll have more fun as a human than an angel.”
“You need to go now.” Darrak didn’t sound as if he wanted any further argument. Eden found small comfort in the fact he wasn’t celebrating alongside Theo at the moment.
Theo looked confused. “You are so harshing my victory buzz right now. Do you know how long I’ve been planning this? And now I’m going to help you out.
Both
of you.”
Darrak didn’t answer. His jaw was tight.
“I also have another surprise planned to show my gratitude,” Theo said, then raised his hands when that received a glare. “Don’t worry. It’s something you’re going to
love
.” He cast a dark look at Eden as if he blamed her for Darrak’s current treatment of him.
“I think Darrak said something about you leaving?” Eden said grimly.
He turned to face her. “Oh, Eden, what would Darrak do without you?”
She glared at the sarcasm but didn’t reply.
“You’re lucky he’s sweet on you, you know that? Because, just between you and me?” Theo’s eyes narrowed. “It’s the only reason you’re still breathing.”
“Just try something,” Eden said, feeling magic channel into her hand. “I dare you.”
“Enough,” Darrak growled. “Both of you. Theo, leave now.”
“Hope she’s worth it, Darrak,” Theo replied. “Oh, and Eden? Darrak and me go way back. We’re almost exactly the same and always have been. If you think he’s any different, then you’re fooling yourself.” He grinned and patted his pocket. “Thanks again for the help. I owe you one!”
He left the pub without another word.
“Is he gone?” Alistair asked, facedown.
“He is.”
Alistair pushed back from the table and looked at her wearily. “Well, I don’t think that could have sucked any worse.”
She shook her head. “I am so, so sorry. I had no idea what he planned to do.”
“I feel drained.” He raised his hand to catch the bartender’s attention. “Smirnoff. And keep ’em coming.”
“I’ll do everything I can to get your angelic energy back.”
Alistair laughed humorlessly. “Don’t bother. It’s too late.”
“No, it can’t be. I can fix this.”
“What are you, stupid or something? Not everything can be fixed. This is one of those things.” He drained his glass of beer and slammed it down on the table, before raking a hand through his thin head of hair. “My decisions have led me to this fate. If I’d been a perfect angel, I wouldn’t be here, would I?”
“How can you just accept this?”
“Eden, leave him be,” Darrak said.
“Theo stole his soul,” Eden said.
“Angels don’t have souls. Neither do demons,” Alistair said. “He stole my energy, my power. My ticket back to Heaven. So, yeah, I’m pissed. But I only blame myself.”
Eden looked at Darrak.
“Angels are very even tempered,” he said. “Except for the archangels. Don’t want to mess with them. All flaming swords and fury. Not pleasant, or so I’ve heard.”
Eden draped an arm around Alistair. “This is my fault, too. And I swear I’ll try to make it up to you.”
“Really?” Alistair said.
She nodded. “Really.”
He clamped his hand over her left breast and squeezed. “I think I know how you can start making it up to me, pretty lady.”
She pushed him away, her compassion and guilt turning quickly to disgust. This was an angel? “Not exactly what I had in mind.”
“Oh, come on. I thought you were feeling guilty? Black witches are disgusting evildoers, but they’re still soft and warm and human enough. You look like you might be good for a roll in the hay.” He reached for her again, and she slapped his hands away.
“Darrak?” she said.
“Charity time over?” he asked.
“Afraid so.” She stood up and looked at the former angel, who now just looked like a drunk man. “I am sorry. Really.”
“If you were that sorry, you’d be giving me a lap dance right now.” He patted his lap. “Come on. Make it up to me.”
“You’re disgusting.”
Her cell phone rang again, and she dragged it out of her pocket. Andy again. She finally answered it.
“Andy, I’m a bit busy right now.”
“Eden . . .” was the hoarse, weak reply. “Please . . . help me . . .”
Her back stiffened. “What’s wrong?”
“I . . . I’m hurt. I need . . . help . . . please . . .”
“Where are you?”
The line went dead.
FIFTEEN
With shaking hands, Eden hit the speed dial for Andy’s number. It rang but no one picked up.
“What’s wrong?” Darrak asked.
That was a good question. What was wrong? She didn’t know. But something was.
“It’s Andy. He’s hurt and I . . . I don’t know where he is.”
“Does everyone who knows you end up hurt, sugar tits?” Alistair asked, knocking back the first shot of vodka the bartender brought to the table.
Yeah. It looked like maybe he was right.
She had to find Andy. Darrak followed her out to the parking lot.
“I have to concentrate,” she said, trying to tap into her psychic energy. She had been able to locate things in the past, but it had never been with much accuracy or when she’d wanted to. Images came to her mind without her asking for them and at unexpected times. She wished she could channel it to help her whenever she needed it.
However, she did have another power she could now channel whenever she wanted.
As if reading her mind, Darrak grabbed her arm. “Eden, no. You can’t use your magic for this.”
She shrugged away from him. “He’s hurt, and I don’t know where he is. I won’t let him die.”
“Eden, no—”
But it was too late. She flexed her mind and dipped shallowly into the surface of her magic that had been there lying in wait the whole time they were with Theo. She cringed as the force of it hit her and her stomach cramped with pain.
She had just one thought:
Where is Andy?
Her magic reached out over the city as if it was a spider-web, pulsing and moving, searching and reaching. The spiderweb turned thicker, like oil spreading out. A rancid black icing spread over the top of a rotting cake.
Gross.
But it did the trick. She saw it as clear as day.
“I know where he is.” She opened her eyes to look at Darrak, who held by her shoulders and stared down at her, concern creasing his brow.
“Eden, why do you keep doing that?” He sounded furious with her, and his eyes blazed fire. “You
can’t
use your black magic, no matter what. What about this don’t you understand?”
Magic continued to crackle around her like static. “You’re so cute when you worry about my immortal soul.”
“Eden, I—”
She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him closer to her. Then she kissed him hard on his mouth.
When they parted and he looked at a loss for words, she slapped him.
“Ow.” He pressed his hand against the side of his face. “What was that for?”
“For introducing me to your asshole buddy Theo.”
“And the kiss?”
“Because using my magic makes me want to kiss a demon, and you were the closest.” She took his hand and pulled him toward the car. “There’s no time to talk about kissing or slapping. Get in. Hurry.”
He did as she asked without further argument.
It took ten excruciatingly long minutes for her to drive to the location she saw in her mind’s eye. It was an alleyway filled with Dumpsters and strewn garbage between two graffiti-covered buildings. She didn’t wait for Darrak to follow her. She got out and started walking toward the spot she’d seen in her head.
“Andy,” she called out. The magic that had been there for her a minute ago had finally faded, leaving her feeling cold and scared.
There was no reply.
“Eden, be careful,” Darrak said.
She felt on the verge of hysterical tears. “He was trying to call me but I ignored him. He wanted my help on this case, but I was too busy dealing with everything going on with us.”
“And Andy understood that.”
“It doesn’t matter. If something bad has happened to him, it’s my—”
“Watch out!” Darrak yelled and grabbed her, pulling her out of the way as something launched itself at her. She hit the ground hard.
“What the hell was that?” she asked.
She heard a growling sound and looked up. A huge animal stood eight feet away from her, baring its teeth and growling. Saliva dripped from its jowls. It had gray fur and a dark streak down its back.
It looked like a . . . wolf.
“Werewolf,” she managed.
“Don’t move,” Darrak warned.
Andy had been on the case—the werewolf case. The cheating spouse. All he’d had to do was to take some pictures, but . . . but something had gone wrong.
Her stomach clenched as she saw the blood on the wolf’s muzzle. It snarled and moved closer.
“Don’t even think about it, puppy dog,” Darrak rose to his feet. The wolf didn’t back down; in fact, it drew closer.
“Darrak!” What did he think he was doing? “Don’t get near it.”
“Werewolves don’t scare me,” he said. “Should be the other way around, right puppy? What? Don’t you sense what I am? I can understand that. I’m a bit different recently. But, trust me, not where it counts.”
He held his right hand out. Eden’s eyes widened as flames began to ripple across his skin from the elbow down until his hand could no longer be seen behind the fire.
The wolf whimpered and stepped back.
“That’s right. I suggest you run away before I decide that well-done werewolf steaks are on the dinner menu tonight.”
The wolf bared its sharp teeth again as if deciding whether or not it wanted to fight with a demon, but then it thought better of it, tucked its tail between its legs, and ran away.
Eden finally let out the breath she’d been holding.
Darrak glared at her. “That was way too close.”
She scrambled to her feet. “Where is he?” She scanned the alley until she saw it. A boot attached to a leg, sticking out from behind a green Dumpster. Without hesitating, she ran to it.
Sure enough, it was Andy. He lay on the ground, half covered in garbage. His white shirt was dirty and ripped and covered with blood.
Three deep, red slash marks streaked across his face.
She clamped a hand over her mouth at the horrific sight, a sob catching in her throat.
Darrak pushed past her, knelt at Andy’s side, and checked his pulse.
“Is he . . .” she began, not wanting to ask the question. If Andy had been killed because she’d ignored him, she didn’t know what she’d do.
“He’s alive,” Darrak confirmed. “But barely.”
She dialed 911 on her cell phone. Why would Andy call her and not an ambulance? She could yell at him for that later. Right now, they needed help.
The ambulance arrived five minutes later, and Andy was taken away to the hospital.
Eden and Darrak followed in her car.
It was funny how something like this, a friend who’d been hurt and almost killed, cancelled out all of her other worries. She’d endured blackmail from Lucifer himself, as well as helping a greedy demon strip an angel of his power, but Andy’s well-being was the only thing that mattered to her at the moment.