Wicked Souls by Misty Evans

comment about me being scared stung. I
hesitated, then told her the truth. “Maybe.”
    She wrapped her arms around me and gave me a
hug. “I’m relieved Gabriel didn’t kill you. That must’ve been
terrifying.”
    I hugged her back, staring at my reflection
in the mirror. My hair was straight and shiny, gold highlights
weaved in amongst the dark chestnut strands. If only I felt
straight and shiny on the inside. Like the leopard-print image in
the mirror, though, I was covered with spots. Magical spots I
couldn’t seem to change.
    A lump rose in my throat. At least, like
Keisha said, I was alive. “The last thing I thought of was
Luc.”
    She drew back and stared into my eyes, her
hands firm on my shoulders. “What you talking about?”
    I shifted my feet and dropped my gaze,
embarrassed. “When Gabriel attacked, there was a moment when I was
dying…” I hesitated, pressing my lips together, wishing this whole
unpleasant two days could be pressed into submission as well. “My
dying thought was of Lucifer.”
    Anyone else wouldn’t have understood, or if
they did, would have questioned my sanity. Not Keisha. In the span
of a breath, she got all the reasons I was freaked out, scared and
angry over that dying thought, and she didn’t try some bullshit
logic on me about why I might be thinking of him rather than Adam
or even her. That’s why she was my best friend.
    That, and the fact she made one hell of a
triple chocolate cheesecake shake.
    “I know being magic-free means a lot to
you,” she said. “But are you sure it’s worth it?”
    No , my magic retorted.
    I silenced it, calling up Adam’s face. Stepping away from Keisha, I smoothed the leopard-print fabric over
my stomach and hips as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. “I’m sure.”
    Keisha stood behind my shoulder and met my
eyes. “Then we better get going. You don’t want to be late for the
ceremony.”
    In my living room, we found Eve, in her
human form, sitting on the couch as if she owned the place. Her
legs were crossed, the top one swinging lazily back and forth over
the other while she flicked through pages in my Vogue Magazine.
    I didn’t bother to ask her what she wanted. I already knew. “Adam’s not here.”
    She didn’t look up, didn’t still her leg. “I’m not here for him. I’m here for you.”
    Okay, maybe I didn’t know what she wanted. “If you’re the one messing with my willpower, stop.”
    She closed the magazine and tossed it on the
seat cushion next to her. “If you stay magic free for another hour,
you’ll get your soul back from Lucifer.”
    Now she had my undivided attention. “Come
again.”
    Her gaze slid over me from head to toe with
the same laziness of her leg swing. “You heard me. Six months of no
magic of any kind will make your soul revert back to you. Especially if that’s what you really want. If it’s not, well, then
you’re kidding yourself.”
    Keisha stepped forward. “How do you
know?”
    Eve gave her a dismissive look. “I know a
lot about Satan.” Her gaze came back to mine. “If he’d had all of
your soul, it might be a different matter, but half?” She shrugged. “That’s why you have certain steps, certain goals in Witches
Anonymous. The longer you go without using magic, the more in
control you are.”
    It made a tiny bit of sense. “Six months
magic free earns me a chip and half my soul back. Seriously?”
    “Seriously.”
    “What about Gabe’s half? How do I get that
back?”
    She rose from the couch, her perfect figure
jiggling in all the right places, her luxurious reddish blonde hair
falling over her shoulder. “You give me Adam and I’ll help you with
Gabriel.”
    Interesting proposition. “No deal.”
    Her snicker was barely audible. “I told Adam
about you and Satan in the alley, and after yesterday’s incident,
he’ll be mine again soon, with or without your help. If you don’t
give him up right now, you’ll have no chance at retrieving your
soul