Read Online That Old Black Magic by Michelle Rowen - Free Book Online Page A

feathers are being plucked daily from his wings. It seems to weaken him. He looks very ill. Do you know what’s going on?”
    She cocked her head to the side. “Why would the Malleus imprison an angel?”
    “Maybe it’s an evil angel.”
    “An evil angel?” she laughed. “I’ve never heard of anything like that before.”
    “Well, Eden seems to think her demon is a nice one.” Even saying it aloud made Ben grimace. He had major issues when it came to Darrak and had committed himself to destroying the demon at his earliest convenience. So far it hadn’t been all that convenient. “If that’s true, then maybe it works the other way around.”
    “Eden is living in a fantasy world. One that is going to inevitably lead to her death. You know that, I know that, and the Malleus knows that.”
    “I still don’t understand why we’re not intervening in that matter more forcefully.”
    “Black witches are dangerous.”
    He already knew that about Eden from firsthand experience. He’d really prefer to keep his head attached to his body if possible. “But she needs help. Why can’t the Malleus help her?”
    “Oliver still wants to know how the celestial energy is affecting the demon. He has a lead on more information. Nothing’s going to be done until he acquires that information. That’s all I can say right now, Ben.”
    Everything revolved around that damn demon. “So you don’t know anything about the angel.”
    Sandy sighed. “The only prisoner I know about is the shapeshifter we brought in yesterday. And let me tell you, she’s a real bitch to deal with.”
    Was she referring to the woman with the almond-shaped eyes and mocha-colored skin who’d glared at him from the shadows of her cell? “A bitch?”
    She nodded. “Evil to the core.”
    “Yeah?” Bitch, he’d believe. Evil might be a stretch, despite his telling her she probably belonged in a locked room. That unpleasant exchange had stayed with him since he’d walked away from her earlier. “Why do you think she’s evil?”
    “She has something to do with Eden Riley and that demon of hers. Oliver thinks the shifter has information that could help the Malleus, but she won’t talk. She refuses to help us.”
    “What’s her name?”
    Sandy crossed her arms. “She won’t tell us even that. We tried bribing her, but nothing. My magic doesn’t work on shifters to help coax the truth. Tomorrow we’re going to have to get more serious with her. Oliver is going to want you there. He wants to introduce you to the more high level intel extraction methods.”
    He didn’t like the sound of that. “I’m supposed to be a part of this?”
    “You’re involved in the Eden Riley case already. If she talks to you, it won’t be too bad for her.”
    Ben watched her carefully. “And you’re okay with that? With these high level intel extraction methods?”
    It was a nice, fancy way to describe torture.
    She met his serious gaze and he saw nothing in her eyes to indicate any doubt or worry. “It’s all for the greater good, Ben.”
    “Right. The greater good.” Ben couldn’t believe he’d felt something for this woman who stood before him. It was as if the curtain had been pulled back from in front of his eyes showing the messy stage behind it. He’d thought Sandy was one of the good guys—one of the best of them all, actually.
    But maybe she was just another hammer.
    What the hell had he gotten himself into?
    He had no friends, no one to confide in. A brand on his arm that still itched, that bound him to an organization he’d quickly come to doubt—one that used medieval methods in modern times to prove their way was the right way. The only way.
    The greater good.
    Ben wanted to do the right thing. He did . He wanted to help others more than anything in the world.
    But this—it felt wrong to him. So wrong.
    “I’ll be there, too,” Sandy assured him. “For moral support.”
    “Thanks. I—I appreciate that.”
    “Eat your soup. Know