Was he right? Did she need to let him help her get rid of Darrak once and for all? Even though Selina had offered to help, she didn’t trust the witch. Did that mean she trusted Malcolm? He did seem rather… earnest. He felt he was doing the right thing. That’s why he helped Rosa with her exorcisms. That’s why he was a member of the Malleus.
“Can you get rid of him right now?” she asked. The words actually hurt to speak.
He shook his head. “With my skill level, he’s too deep for me to touch him, even with your permission. Drifters are much easier to destroy than demons. For my exorcism ritual to work, the demon must be conscious and present. You have to be completely willing to rid yourself of him. You can’t fight me once it begins or you’ll be risking your own safety. Are you ready to do that?”
Eden clenched her jaw. Was she ready? She didn’t know. Which probably meant she wasn’t ready.
“You’ll be glad once this evil is finally removed from your body.” Malcolm’s words were firm.
“You can sense he’s evil? And you’re absolutely sure?”
He frowned. “I don’t know what you mean.”
She shook her head. “I… I was told there were good demons. That it’s possible for them to not all be evil.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
She felt a wave of shock and a smidgen of hope at that unexpected confirmation. “It is?”
He nodded. “Some demons were once human and sold their souls for some agreed upon price. They become demons when they die, but there is the humanity that remains within them that occasionally compels them to seek redemption. Is the demon you’re possessed with a former human?”
Her heart sank. “No. He told me he was created in the Netherworld. He was an archdemon.”
Malcolm’s lips thinned. “An archdemon?”
She nodded.
“I had no idea he was that powerful.” His voice sounded hollow and she could hear fear there now. “We’re lucky he hasn’t done any more harm to you. An archdemon — they don’t travel to the human world often. But when they do it usually ends very badly for anyone or anything that crosses their path.” He exhaled shakily. “Has the demon told you his true name yet? That might be helpful.”
“He…” she began, but then closed her mouth. “He refuses to tell me.”
It wasn’t a lie. Darrak hadn’t told her. She’d found out his true name from Selina. So why wasn’t she telling Malcolm?
She still needed time to sort through everything in her head. And now that Malcolm couldn’t exorcise him right away, she’d have that time.
“I need to consult with my mentor in the Malleus. Now that I know we’re dealing with an archdemon, that might change how we proceed.” Malcolm shoved his hand into his coat pocket before pulling something out. “Take this. You can reach me at that number at all hours.”
The card had Malcolm’s name and a phone number in simple black type.
“What’s this?” she asked, pointing to a small emblem of a fleur-de-lis.
“It’s the mark of the Malleus.” He rolled up his left sleeve to show her his forearm that bore a similar symbol. “It’s a brand. When we’re accepted into the Malleus, it’s given to us — and with this mark and the ritual that accompanies it, we’re given insight to be able to sense demonic activity and the presence of evil.”
The wound looked fresh still. Pink. It was the fleur-de-lis enclosed in a circle, about three inches in diameter.
“Did it hurt?” she asked.
“Like hell.” He grinned at her. “But it was a cleansing pain.”
“If you say so.”
“Take this as well.” He pressed another crystal in her hand. “It will help protect you from your demon. Call me if there are any problems at all. I will contact you once I speak to my mentor and learn how best to deal with an archdemon. Is that acceptable?”
Was it acceptable? That was a very good question.
She nodded. “Okay.”
“Then, good night. And be safe.” He turned and walked swiftly out of the parking lot.
After a moment went by, Vanessa stirred on the ground before blinking her blue eyes open. She sat up and rubbed her forehead. “Where am I?”
“You fell and hit your head,” Eden said, gripping the piece of salt in her hand before slipping it in her pocket and Malcolm’s card into her purse. “But it’s going to be all right now.”
Yeah, right.
— By the time Eden dropped Vanessa off at her place and returned to her apartment she was kicking herself for not asking Malcolm to come back with her. Not that she had a habit of luring twenty-one-year-old boys back to her home, but it might have been a good idea tonight for safety reasons.
It felt completely insane for her to be thinking she needed to be afraid of Darrak. After all, he’d been nothing but protective of her so far. That was the most difficult thing about this. She couldn’t rationalize how he could be one way with her and yet be something she had to be afraid of.
But he was a demon. There was no doubt about that. And demons, according to both Selina and Malcolm, were evil. Full stop.
Was there another explanation? Or did she need to get rid of him by any means possible as soon as she could?
After all, the piece of salt in her pocket definitely wasn’t for making margaritas.
She closed the door, locked it, and pressed up against it, her fearful gaze moving through her small apartment as if looking for a definite sign of what she should do next.
Leena, in cat form, jumped down off the couch and came over toward her, batting Eden’s leg with her head. “Mrroww?”
The concerned-sounding meow helped the rush of emotion she’d been holding back for hours surge forward. Eden burst into tears.
It only took a couple of moments for Leena to morph into human form and Eden felt her hand on her shoulder. “Let me guess. Bad night?”
Eden continued to blubber uncontrollably. “The worst.”
“You need something to eat?”
“I don’t think that’s going to help very much.” She sat down heavily on a dinette chair.
“What’s the problem?”
Eden took in a shaky breath. “I’m possessed by a demon.”
“No shit. Didn’t we already know that?”
Eden chewed on her thumbnail — a nervous habit she thought she’d given up long ago. “He’d convinced me that he was a good demon—”