Мишель Роуэн - The Demon in Me

Something caught her eye as they stood up from the table to leave. A familiar woman walking out front of the coffee bar and peering in through the bank of windows. She made eye contact with Eden and then rushed in through the doors a moment later.

Darrak swore. “Thought we’d seen the last of her.”

Eden thought so, too. It was Rosa, the exorcist she’d hired the other day — the mother of Malcolm. She wondered if the woman had any idea how knowledgeable her son really was about demons and exorcisms.

“Ms. Riley,” Rosa said, approaching her.

“I don’t want any trouble,” Eden replied. That was putting it mildly. Her current mountain of worries was so high that she couldn’t even see over the top.

Rosa anxiously clasped her hands on top of her walking cane. She wore a bright yellow floral dress covered by a thin red coat that looked handmade. “I think we made a mistake the other night. I feel horrible that an officer of the law had to intervene. I’ve had a few complaints lodged with the police as it is. I wanted to come by today to apologize to you personally and check in on how you’re feeling. Was it really only indigestion?”

“Yes.” Eden smiled tightly and glanced at Darrak. “Uh… trust me, I won’t be having Mexican food again for a long time. Those refried beans are a killer.”

“I didn’t put through the other half of the payment on your credit card and I’ve refunded your deposit. I’m very much hoping you won’t submit an official complaint against me.”

“Let’s just forget it,” she replied.

Finally some good news. Maybe the universe hadn’t given her the finger as much as she’d thought it had.

“Do you get a lot of calls for exorcisms?” Darrak asked her.

“You’d be surprised,” Rosa said. She glanced at him and Selina as if noticing them for the first time. “I’m sorry. I didn’t meant to interrupt. I just wanted to have my say. I hope there are no hard feelings toward me or my son.”

Darrak laughed a little at that.

“Do you know my Malcolm?” she asked.

“We’ve met. Sort of. He’s very dedicated to his work.”

“Yes, he certainly is. I’d hoped he would consider going back to the university. He has a scholarship waiting for him, you know. But he wants to pursue other interests. He’s a stubborn boy.” She looked at Selina. “You’re that author lady, aren’t you?”

Selina eyed her coolly. “I have written a couple of books.”

“What is it that you call yourself… love guru… love something.”

She smiled thinly. “Something like that.”

Rosa scanned Selina’s expensive suit and jewelry, stopping briefly on the gray stone pendant. “That’s lovely.”

“Thank you.” Selina touched it. “It was a gift from an acquaintance a long time ago.”

Yeah , Eden thought. A long time ago.

“Thank you for talking to me and for the refund, Rosa,” Eden said. “And there are no hard feelings. Toward you or Malcolm.”

“I’m so glad.”

They all began to leave the café at the same time.

“Bye Ms. Shaw. Your books have changed my life! Like, seriously !” Nancy called from behind the counter. “And bye, Darrak. So great seeing you again.”

Rosa turned with a frown to look at him directly. “Did she just call you Darrak? Ms. Riley, wasn’t that the name of your demon?”

“No,” Eden said immediately. “That was… uh… Eric . And it wasn’t a demon at all. It was Mexican food. Indigestion. Ugh. Not pleasant.”

Rosa frowned. “Mexican food named Eric?”

Eden clenched her jaw. “I have one heck of a crazy imagination.”

“Oh.” She shook her head and laughed a little, resting her weight on her crystal-topped cane. “Don’t we all. And my memory isn’t what it used to be, anyhow. No surprise. At my age everything is starting to fail me.”

“Right.” Eden forced a smile, but her sudden swell of fresh anxiety had made strange electric tingles course up and down her arms. Was that the black magic inside her sensing a change in her mood?

“I don’t like that woman,” Darrak said under his breath as they parted ways outside. “And not just because of her unfortunate fashion sense.”

“We need to go now,” Selina suggested firmly. “While we still have daylight. That is, if you still want me to break this curse.”

Eden nodded. “Of course we do.”

She thought back to what had happened between her and Darrak earlier. His mouth on hers. How it felt when they’d made love. She’d wanted him so badly, it had blinded her to everything else.

“This shouldn’t have happened.” Darrak’s words echoed in her head.

No, it shouldn’t have.

Sex with a bad boy usually left one with a broken heart. Sex with a demon left you with a broken soul.

She’d have to remember that important little fact for future reference.

— Eden drove Selina and Darrak back to the apartment complex, although truthfully her attention was not on the road as much as it should have been. Luckily she didn’t get them into an accident. Even though she was a black witch— Oh, my God , she thought — she knew from what Darrak had told her previously that despite her new immortality— Oh, my God again — she was still fragile and as easily killed as a regular, nonmagically infused human.

Oh. My. God.

So she kept her hands at ten and two on the steering wheel and tried not to think about everything that had gone horribly, horribly wrong. It wasn’t easy.

She entered the outdoor lot and parked with an unhealthy lurching gearshift sound. She might be about to live forever, but her rusty Toyota was another story altogether.

With a nod of her head, Eden indicated the wooded area. “Over there.”

Selina inspected it with a sweeping glance. “That will do. We still have some time before sunset, but we should get to work right away.”

“And you’re sure the curse can be broken?” Darrak asked. Eden jumped. She hadn’t noticed he’d come up behind her after leaving the backseat.

Selina nodded. “You get your wish, demon. Your freedom. Although I’m still not convinced you deserve it.”

“Then why are you doing this?”

“To help Eden, of course.” Selina looked at her with strange affection. But then again, she felt like they were sisters now, didn’t she? It wouldn’t be long before they were magically braiding each other’s hair. “She’s got enough to deal with now without you further complicating matters. She’ll be lucky to be rid of you and never see you again. Ten minutes and this will be over.”

“Good,” he replied.

Yes, he was getting his freedom. Just like he wanted. And Eden would live to see another year without the risk of death by demonic possession.

The perfect happy ending for everyone involved.

If that was so, then why was her throat thick and emotion stinging her eyes? She exhaled shakily and tried to compose herself. Ten minutes and this would be over. He’d be gone. And she’d try to forge some sort of normalcy in her life again. If that was even remotely possible.

She’d found a newfound interest in working with Andy at Triple-A. She wanted to help people. Funny how helping others was useful in forgetting other troubles. It was a good lesson to learn. So, black witch or not, that’s what Eden would be doing.

All by herself.

Well, with Andy, too, but suddenly after days of having Darrak with her it still felt oddly alone.

And that was a good thing, she reminded herself firmly. And it was how she wanted her life to be. Independent. Private. Solitary. Much easier that way. Nobody around to let her down or abandon her when she got too used to having them in her life.