It took until nearly eleven o’clock to get the door adequately fixed. Then Eden drove home, making a detour to the drive-through at McDonald’s to grab a garden salad and a McChicken.
As she distractedly pulled up in front of her apartment complex, something darted out in front of her car. She slammed on the brakes and her car skidded to a halt.
She groaned. “Please tell me that was not a black cat.” But it was. The feline glared at her from the bushes at the side of the driveway as she continued on.
“Bad luck omen,” Eden said under her breath. “You’re about eight hours too late.”
She parked in her assigned spot and got out of the car into the chilly October night, juggling her purse, takeout bag, and keys. Her leg bumped into something furry. She looked down.
The small black cat looked up. “Mrrroww?”
“Meow, yourself. Shoo. Go home.”
After entering through the main doors, she went directly to the elevator and took it up to the fourteenth floor, her mind overflowing with replays of her day with a killer, a cop, and a demon. She worked her key into the lock of her apartment and opened it. Something dark moved along the floor and scooted into the apartment ahead of her. It was the cat.
Had she been too distracted to even notice it in the elevator with her? Tricky little thing.
“Oh, no you don’t.” Eden flicked on a light by nudging the wall switch with her elbow. The cat had made a beeline for her brown corduroy couch, jumped up, and curled into a ball.
“Great,” she said, dropping her purse and bags on the coffee table. She pulled off her coat and threw it over the easy chair. “Sure. Make yourself comfortable. Same goes for your fleas. Fantastic, really. Just what I need.”
The cat lifted its head, then put it back down on its paws and closed its eyes.
“You can stay for a couple minutes to warm up,” Eden told it, “but then you need to go back to your home. I don’t have pets — no matter how smart they think they are. I don’t even have houseplants. Trust me, it’s better that way for everyone involved.”
She went into the kitchenette to pour herself a glass of wine — which she drained as she attempted to forget about her problems for thirty seconds — then sat down on her couch in the living room and pulled out her McChicken and forced herself to take a few bites before putting it down. The food sat heavily in her stomach. The cat raised its head, its attention fully on the sandwich.
“Mrrrow?”
She waved a hand. “Help yourself.”
The cat got up, jumped over to the discarded sandwich on the coffee table, sniffed at it daintily, and then chowed down, sesame seed bun and all, as if it hadn’t eaten in days. Then it returned to the couch and lay down next to Eden, resting its head against her leg. It began to purr.
So much for her plan to kick it out of the house. A quick glance out her balcony window showed it had started to rain outside. The cat didn’t wear any tags, and its ears weren’t tattooed with ID — she was pretty sure the Humane Society did that for strays.
“Fine, kitty.” Eden scratched its head. “One night. Then you’re out of here.”
Eden liked living alone. She valued her privacy. She’d lived briefly — very briefly — with her ex-fiancé, but after that had ended, she realized how much she liked time and space to herself.
She hadn’t even thought about having a pet. She’d had one when she was a kid — a turtle. Her mom had run over it with her Camaro and blamed Eden for leaving it on the driveway. Eden had cried for a week over Speedy’s squishy demise.
Seemed that anyone or anything she loved always left her — either by death or simply… going away. It really was best not to get attached to anything. Eden even threw out her magazines after one week. No need for clutter — emotional or material.
“And I’m not a big fan of cat hair.” Eden found that she was still scratching the feline’s head. It was oddly soothing.
She was exhausted and the wine hadn’t helped do anything but make her more tired. Her brain hurt from thinking too much.
The exorcism hadn’t been draining for Darrak alone. She felt the effects of it as well — like a hangover.
Before bed, Eden poured some milk into a bowl and put it on the ground. As an afterthought, she also put down half a can of tuna.
“I know, I’m a sucker,” she told the cat. “You saw me coming from a mile away, didn’t you?”
She went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. She looked long and hard at her reflection in the oversized mirror to see there were dark circles under her eyes. Stress circles.
Gee, I wonder what those are from? she thought. She was lucky she didn’t have a bruise from when Malcolm had struck her.
Jerk.
She pulled off her shirt and jeans, kicking them over onto her fuzzy pink bath mat, and then reached around to unhook her bra. She let it fall to the floor.
“I’m feeling much better now,” Darrak said.
She stifled a scream and clamped her hands over her bare breasts. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”
“Did I interrupt something?” There was a short pause.
“Oh, I see. Don’t let me stop you from getting naked. Please, continue.”
Eden scanned her reflection with wide eyes. Could she see the demon inside of her? Did she look possessed?
Nope. There was nothing noticeable. Other than the deep voice in her head only she could hear.
“This should be interesting.” Darrak sounded amused. “As I said before, I’ve never shared living space with a woman before. I honestly never would have guessed black lace panties for you. But I do approve.”
She glared at her reflection, feeling equal parts anger and embarrassment from being caught half naked by the demon. “I think we’re going to need to set some boundaries.”
“Then I suggest you don’t look at yourself in the mirror when you’re in a state of undress. It’s the only way I can see you—all of you, at the moment.”
She turned away from the mirror. “Fine.”
“Isn’t it a little early to have Christmas hand towels out? Or do you use those all year round?”
She looked at the floor instead. The last thing she needed was a demon critiquing her lousy decorating skills.
“Darrak”—she let out a shuddery breath—“I need my privacy.”
“That’s going to be difficult. For obvious reasons.”
“I’m exhausted right now and I can’t deal with this. Can’t you just go wherever you’ve been for the last few hours?”
“Afraid not. I need to be much more drained in order to fade like I did earlier. I can stay quiet, if you’d prefer, and enjoy the view. I’m just happy to have somebody to talk to after so long. You have no idea what it’s been like for the last three centuries.”
She couldn’t even imagine. “I’m sure it hasn’t been fun for you.”
“No, it definitely hasn’t. There have only been four hosts over the years who could hear me — and none as clearly as you can. Two of them went insane. The other killed himself. You had the privilege of meeting the fourth earlier today. He figured out I was a demon, but he was already crazy to start with.” He was quiet for a moment. “I tried to stop him. But my voice in his head only made him angrier.”