“I know that.”
“I tried to destroy him three hundred years ago.”
Eden backed away from her a few steps. “I know that, too. You destroyed the body he had back then but not the rest of him. It’s why I’m here to see you tonight. You need to break the curse you put on him so he doesn’t have to possess me anymore.”
Selina’s mouth gaped open. “Break the curse.”
“That’s right.”
She touched her gray-stoned pendant. “I’m not breaking any curses. Don’t you understand? You’re possessed by a demon. From Hell. Why aren’t you more upset about that?”
“I finished freaking out the other day.” Eden wrung her hands. “You need to help us.”
“Help… us?” Selina repeated with shock and took a step forward. “You don’t seriously think that demon is your friend, do you?”
Eden took a step back. “Yes. He’s my friend.”
The witch looked very confused but then a slow clarity came into her eyes. “I think I see what’s going on here. You’re yet another woman who has been seduced and manipulated by a man. And not just any man — a demon.”
“You don’t know Darrak.”
“Darrak?” Selina rolled her eyes. “This is worse than I thought it was. And this was supposed to be a nice, relaxing signing. Okay, listen to me and I’ll take it really slow so you understand me. Demons are not the friends of humans. Ever. I don’t care what he’s told you. What’s your name, honey?”
Eden shook her head. This had gone badly enough as it was, she didn’t need this crazy witch knowing her name.
Selina sighed with exasperation, then closed her eyes, reaching out to touch Eden’s arm for a moment, before opening her eyes again. “Okay, Eden, let’s chat.”
“How—?” Eden shut her mouth. She knew how the witch knew her name. Because she was a witch. She might have been able to reach right down into Eden’s brain and scoop out the information.
“That’s right,” Selina said with a slight smile. “I can retrieve the info I’m looking for telepathically with a little effort. One of the bonuses of being me. And I couldn’t help but notice that you’ve got some interesting skills, yourself. A little bit psychic, are you?”
“A little bit. A very little bit.”
Selina studied her cautiously. “You remind me of myself when I was fully human. I could sense changes in the weather and tell when there would be a storm even if the skies were still blue. It was an ability one kept to themselves in my time for fear of repercussions.”
Eden glanced around at the lineup who continued to wait patiently as if there was nothing more interesting to pay attention to at the moment than the easy-listening music piping through the store’s audio system.
“I can imagine.”
Selina shook her head. “I don’t think you can. You have no idea what it was like back then. Now a woman can walk into a bookstore and buy a book about witchcraft or demonology and no one raises an eyebrow. But back then, if you were sexually active before marriage you might be considered one of Lucifer’s concubines.”
“But you became a black witch. You must have accepted it.”
Her expression went from wary to frigid. “The demon tells you many things, doesn’t he?”
“He…” Eden’s mouth was dry. “Can we just try to calm down. I don’t want any trouble here.”
“Then you shouldn’t have brought him here. Did he tell you why I became a black witch?”
“The subject hadn’t come up.”
“My abilities to predict the weather caught the attentions of men in my village. They decided I was a witch. Before I could be tried, I ran away and fell in with new friends who recognized my abilities before I even said a word about them. They taught me how to develop them and how to gain more. They had books of magic that I poured through, eager to learn everything I could. However, after I left, my sister was captured in my place, tried as a witch, and executed after weeks of torture. She didn’t have any special abilities at all. Her only crime was trying to protect me after I’d run away from home.” Her voice caught. “Try having that on your conscience for three centuries.”
It sounded so horrible that Eden could barely believe it. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. It made me realize that men are the source of all evil and the only way to fight evil is with more of the same. Using the books of magic I learned how to summon a demon to give me the strength and power I wanted.”
Eden’s mouth was dry. She touched her chest. “This demon?”
“That’s right. I summoned the demon you call ‘Darrak’ and he helped turn me into a black witch. The rest, as they say, is history.”
“So he helped you,” Eden tried to reason.
Selina laughed. “Oh, that’s a very naïve way to put what he did to me, but I think it’s kind of cute, actually. Helped me. Sure. Let me guess… he’s told you things about himself, hasn’t he? Maybe that he’s harmless? That he’s decent and respectful to humans? An all-around wonderful guy?”
Eden really didn’t like the condescending way she said it. “It was his job to hunt down those who escaped from Hell and bring them back so they wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
That earned another humorless laugh. “Oh, that’s priceless. Yes, there are demons who are given such assignments, but trust me, your Darrak wasn’t one of them.”
Eden felt weak and light-headed as if she was about to faint at any moment and fall to the floor, taking a pyramid of Curse That Creep hardcovers with her.
“I’m not trying to be cruel,” Selina continued, noting her stricken expression. “Not too much, anyhow. And I’m not evil like I’m sure he’s told you I am. I want to help you. You’re in a bad place right now. I’d have to be blind not to see that.”
“You have to break the curse and free him.”
She shook her head. “He’s too dangerous.”
“That’s funny. He said the same thing about you.”
Selina’s lips twisted. “Yeah, I bet he did. Poor thing. I know he can be very charming when he wants to be, can’t he? Did he happen to tell you how he has to break the curse if I won’t do it of my own free will?”
“No.”
Selina’s cheek twitched. “He would have to kill me with his bare hands and tear out my heart. Not exactly a walk in the park, is it? Although, since he’s incorporeal I don’t know how he plans to do that.”
“I need to sit down.”
Selina helped Eden back behind the table where she sat down on the chair. “I would understand if you don’t believe me right away, but what I’m telling you is the truth. Darrak’s an archdemon. Do you know what that is?”
Eden shook her head. “It doesn’t sound good.”
“It’s a demon of high rank and great power who answers to Lucifer himself. The archdemons gain their power from one of the four elements: earth, wind, fire, or water.”
“Isn’t that an R&B band from the 1970s?”
“Trust me. Not the same thing.”