“I know you’re Eden’s father,” he said, his throat feeling sore. “That you came here to help. I’m sorry you were locked up and that I didn’t act before this. I came back tonight to break you out, but you were already gone. Sandy—she killed the man responsible for your imprisonment. Oliver Gale was consuming your feathers . . . your celestial energy.”
“Yes,” the angel said. “That’s exactly what happened. Well done, Ben.”
“Then why are you standing by? Why aren’t you doing something to stop this? Sandy killed a man tonight with black magic. She’s evil.”
“That’s not Daniel,” Caroline spoke up, her voice creaky as if she’d just woken.
Ben craned his neck. “What?”
“It looks exactly like him. It looks. . . . like he did thirty years ago, not a single day older.”
“But he’s an angel. They don’t age, do they?”
She shook her head. “It’s still not him. Not really.”
A bark of a laugh from Leena. “I think I get it. Is that why you locked me up in your dungeon? Well, I guess you found your answers without torturing me for the truth, huh? I wouldn’t have been able to help you, anyway, now that I know what you wanted, you sick bastard.”
Ben didn’t understand what she meant for a moment, but then the truth finally hit him.
His widening gaze moved to Daniel again and swept the length of the red-headed angel. So tall, so powerful. His wings were tucked behind him, but they were unmistakably real wings that glowed a little in the half light of the room, as full and beautiful as if they’d never been plucked of a solitary feather.
Oliver had been consuming those feathers because he needed to fill himself with celestial energy. He’d been investigating what the affects of possessing a nephilim would do to a demon like Darrak.
It had all been one big experiment with a single purpose.
“Oliver,” Ben said in no more than a whisper. “It’s you, isn’t it? You’re inside of Daniel. You’re using his form and you had to destroy your own body in order to do that. That’s why you had Sandy kill you—a black magic ritual, right? All so you could possess the body of an angel.”
The angel drew closer and cocked his head. “You could have been such an asset to me, Ben. To us all. I’m truly sorry it had to turn out this way.”
“This is why you had power over me since I became a member of the Malleus, isn’t it? I thought you had some ability to tap into witchcraft, but it was the celestial energy you’ve been consuming that was giving you special abilities.” It all began to click into a horrific jigsaw puzzle. “But I don’t understand. Why are you doing this?”
“Why?” Oliver’s new smile grew to show off straight, perfect teeth in his handsome stolen face. “Because I’ve recently made a very important deal with a very important being.”
“With who?”
“Lucifer.” Oliver said it reverently.
An icy chill rushed through Ben’s body at the familiar name—one that represented true evil like nothing else in the universe. “Lucifer . . . but—but why? What for?”
Oliver stood up very straight and that cold self-satisfied smile of his grew larger still. “I’m about to become the new Prince of Hell.”
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.