“How did you know last time? I’m sure I’ll make enough noise to wake you.” I kept my body stiff. “I’m mad at you right now.”
He ignored my tone and wrapped his arms around me, nestling his chin on my shoulder. “I know. You can be mad. I think you’ve earned it. But I can’t willingly put you in danger. Besides, Wesley has a lot of books out there. You might be able to find something to help us track down the incubus.”
“You’re just trying to placate me.”
“Is it working?”
“No.”
“Can we finish fighting about it in the morning? My arm is sore and I need some sleep.”
How could he possibly sleep at a time like this? “What about me? I won’t be able to sleep. Am I just supposed to sit here and listen to you snore?”
“That would be great.” He kissed my cheek and snuggled even closer. His body was wrapped entirely around mine. Even though I was annoyed with him, I had to admit I felt safe.
“Hadley?” He whispered against my ear, causing me to wiggle as excitement shot down my spine.
I worked overtime to keep my voice petulant. “I’m not in the mood for that.”
“I know. You don’t have to be. That’s not what I was going to ask.”
“Oh. What were you going to ask?”
“I need you to give me just a little bit of room on this,” he pleaded. “I don’t want to cut you out, but I’m afraid. I’m doing the best I can here.”
I wanted to argue, put up more of a fight. Instead, I exhaled heavily. “Fine. I’ll go to Wesley’s tomorrow. You only get one day, though. I’m not some child you can just shove off to play at Grandpa’s house when something like this happens. I’m supposed to be part of the team.”
“You are the most important member of my team.”
“It doesn’t feel like it.”
“I’m sorry.” He kissed my cheek again. “You are. That’s why I need to keep you safe. We’ll figure things out. We always do.”
“I certainly hope so.”
“I know so. We can’t fail as long as we’re together.”
It was a nice sentiment, but I was still annoyed. “You’d better not drool on me.”
“Oh, if that’s the rule then you’re retroactively in trouble.”
I was scandalized. “I don’t drool.”
“It’s like being caught in the rapids.”
“And we’re done talking.”
“And you thought we couldn’t agree on anything tonight.”
17
Seventeen
I was still pouting when Galen dropped me off the next morning. The fact that he made me pack an overnight bag – just in case, he repeatedly told me, before giving up the ghost and admitting he had other plans – caused the anger to return to with a vengeance.
“You didn’t say anything about staying the night,” I complained as he carried the bag to Wesley’s front porch. My grandfather sat at his favorite table, a book open, and looked amused more than worried when he saw us.
“I hadn’t worked everything out in my head last night,” Galen admitted. He dropped the bag on the porch next to Wesley. “Thanks for doing this.”
“She’s my granddaughter. It’s my job to keep her safe, too.”
“Yeah, well ... .” Galen dragged a hand through his hair. He was freshly showered, but it already looked as if he’d spent twelve hours in a wind tunnel. “She’s not happy.”
“I heard the kvetching from the driveway.” He pinned me with a serious look. “You’re not going to be trouble, are you?”
“Oh, I’m going to be so much trouble you’ll wish Galen had kept me with him rather than you.” I was deadly serious. “You can’t just leave me here.”
Galen rested his hands on my shoulders. “The thing is ... I can.” He smirked when I swatted his flank. “Get over it, Hadley.” He turned serious when I started stomping my feet. “You’re staying here whether you like it or not.”
“You’re not the boss of me.”
“I’m not,” he agreed. “But you don’t have a way back to town. That’s why I insisted on dropping you off instead of you driving your cart.”
My mouth dropped open. “I knew you were up to something sneaky.”
“Yes, I’m sneakily keeping my girlfriend safe. I should be publicly flogged.” He flicked his eyes back to Wesley. “I’m sorry about this, but it’s important. You still have that security system on all your windows?”
“I do.” Wesley nodded. “I’ll make sure it’s engaged tonight.”
“I should be back in time for dinner. We’ll spend the night here. Maybe then I’ll get more than a few hours’ sleep.”
“That’s fine. I have plenty of rooms, so you can each have your own.”
“Why can’t I just sleep in Hadley’s room with her?”
“Because you’re not married.” Wesley looked a little too pleased with himself.
Even though I thought he was being antiquated with his beliefs, I couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s not so funny now, is it?”
“We’ll work it out.” Galen was firm. “Your safety is more important than sleeping arrangements. Although ... I’m still hopeful that your grandfather will see fit to change his mind about us having separate rooms when I return tonight.”
Wesley snorted. “Not likely.”
“Yes, well, we’ll talk about it when I get back. I’ll bring dinner.”
“That won’t butter me up enough to let you fornicate with my granddaughter under my own roof.”
“I don’t want to take his side or anything, but you and May weren’t married and you were fornicating everywhere,” I reminded him. “You two got divorced and still kept fornicating. I bet that’s frowned upon in the eyes of ... whoever you’re trying to appease.”
“I’m only trying to appease myself,” Wesley shot back. “And, what do you know? I’m fine with being a hypocrite.”
Galen growled. “Well, great. I think we’re all going to have a lovely night together. I can’t wait to see how it all turns out.” He leaned over and gave me a hard kiss. “Just remember, it’s because I care that I’m leaving you here. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Whatever.” I wasn’t in the mood for his apologies. “Just so you know, I’m going to walk back to town as soon as you leave. Your plan didn’t work. You didn’t win.”
“I won the day I met you.” His grin was sly as I rolled my eyes. “Also, there’s no way you’re walking back. The heat index will be over a hundred degrees today. You hate the heat.”
“I don’t hate it. I just don’t like it.”
“Yeah, well, suck it up.” He lowered his voice and rested his forehead against mine. “I have to do what I think is right. I know you’re capable of ... whatever it is you put your mind to. This is a terrifying situation. I’m doing what’s best for you, even if you don’t want to believe it.”
“You’ve said that a million times.”
“I’m hoping that if it’s the last thing you hear from me you’ll take pity on me when I get back.”
“Doubtful.”
“Well, I had to try.” He planted another kiss on me and then turned on his heel. “I’ll text if I find anything.”
“I still think you suck,” I yelled to his back.
He merely waved as Wesley chuckled. That forced me to turn my attention to my grandfather.
“It’s not funny,” I announced. “It’s ridiculous. I’m a grown-up.”
“You’re not acting like one.”
“Oh, no? How do you figure?”
“A grown-up knows when a loved one is struggling and tries to make things easier. You’re making things harder on Galen ... and that boy is clearly struggling.”
I faltered. “But ... I want to help.”
“I’m sure you will help when it’s time. Incubi are rare. They’re also dangerous. He did the right thing bringing you here. Finding this thing won’t be easy. He’s got his hands full.”
“I can’t believe y
ou’re taking his side.”
“And I can’t believe you’re not. Suck it up. We’ll be in another battle together soon. It would help if we had all the facts first. Galen is trying to get the facts.”
I squinted until my eyes were nothing more than slits. “I don’t like that you’re taking his side.”
“I didn’t think the day would start this way either. It just goes to show that life can change with the wind. You need to remember that and not hold this against the boy. He’s doing his best.”
“I’ll consider it.” I grabbed my bag and stomped into the house. “Is it okay if I use your library today? I want to research incubi.”
“That’s a fabulous way to spend your day. I’ll be in the barn. One of my mares is about to give birth.”
“Really?” I was intrigued. “I want to see a baby horse.”
“When it gets close I’ll call you outside. How does that sound?”
It sounded as if my day was looking up.
I WAS DETERMINED TO keep feeling sorry for myself, but it didn’t last when May showed up to help with the research. She was chipper, and because I was still getting to know her I didn’t want my mood to sour things.
“What do you know about incubi?” I asked as she floated around Wesley’s extensive library. I’d pulled a few books but wanted to get a basic grasp of the creatures before I dove in.
“They’re horrible.” May wrinkled her nose. “They have sex with women until they kill them.”
“I already know that much. What else do you know?”
“I only know stories.” She sat on the couch next to me, and I couldn’t help wondering how she managed to keep from falling through the furniture. It probably took practice. She had nothing better to do but argue with Wesley, so practice was most likely part of her daily regimen. “None of the stories are pretty.”
“Life isn’t pretty. Galen says the thing that’s been trying to get into the lighthouse is an incubus. It clawed him last night. He can’t turn into an incubus, can he? I mean ... I’ll probably still date him, but that could put a crimp in our love life.”
May chortled, the sound low and delightful. “Oh, you two are adorable. I’m so glad you found each other.”
“Most of the time — when he’s not making me stay out here against my will — I agree. Right now, he’s on my list.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll get over it.” She shot me a sympathetic look. “As for your question, there’s a lot of incubi lore, but I have no idea what’s true and what isn’t. For starters, I believe a lot of the stories were passed around by early Christians. That means they took on the life of the storytellers.”
I had to read between the lines to puzzle out her true message. “You mean that the Christians wrapped the lore around their belief system.”
“Pretty much,” she confirmed. “For a long time, people believed an incubus mated with a human woman because he wanted to impregnate her and create a whole host of demon babies. The problem with that is no one ever managed to confirm that even one incubus baby was born. There’s a question about whether it’s possible.”
“Galen said that incubi are fallen cupids. How does that work?”
“Cupids are mysteries themselves. They purposely try to keep the truth about what they’re capable of quiet. They want to be revered — at least most of them — but they also enjoy being secretive.”
“Did you know Booker’s mother? She seemed to know you ... and Mom.”
“Judy?” May’s face twisted into a grimace. “I know Judy. I knew her mother better. She was a regular fixture in Moonstone Bay. She was a cranky woman, but I respected her. She believed cupids should keep their magic to themselves. Judy was a different story.”
Now we were getting somewhere. “What does Judy believe?”
“I have no idea if she still feels this way, but the last conversation we had included an argument about how cupids were superior to all other supernaturals. She said that controlling the hearts and minds of humans was important because they were too stupid to figure things out on their own.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. “She believes that cupids should influence humans?”
“She believes cupids should control all humans. It’s not just a bit of a push here or there to give a human courage. She thinks that cupids should be able to control everything.”
“That sounds ... blech.”
May chuckled. “I never had much use for Judy. I thought Booker was destined to follow in her footsteps. You’ll never know the relief I felt when I realized he was his own man and didn’t believe as his mother. That’s a hardship for her.”
“Because Booker is special, right? He can shift.”
“How do you know about that?” May leaned forward, intrigued. “Did he tell you? I thought for sure that was a secret he would take to his grave.”
“He didn’t tell me. I saw his hand do a weird thing the day Ned attacked. I forgot about it — there was a lot going on that day — until Galen mentioned the incubus shifted and managed to claw him. I thought the two were linked.”
“I guess, in some ways, they probably are,” she admitted. “What else did Galen tell you? Do you know the story about the splitting of the elementals?”
I bobbed my head. “I do.”
“Good. That simplifies things. As for Booker’s ability to shift, my understanding is that it occurred because his mother and father were both from pure lines. It’s rare now because the cupid lines have been diluted. The cupids of today aren’t the same as the cupids of a millennia ago.
“An incubus occurs when a cupid doesn’t rein in his talents, so to speak,” she continued. “A succubus is the female version. The same thing happens to her. With practice, cupids can become extremely powerful. If they don’t balance the power with a shot of humanity, that’s when you get an incubus.
“Given how an incubus operates, the laws in the paranormal world are fairly straight forward. If you come across an incubus, you’re expected to kill it. They’re dangerous and no incubus has ever managed to overcome his inner wants and needs to turn back into a cupid ... or even exist without killing.”
This was heavy stuff and it twisted my stomach. “Do incubi reproduce?”
“No. They’re basically fallen cupids. Even if all of them are eradicated, more can be born through misdeeds and greed. They’re dangerous creatures.”
“But Galen won’t turn into one because of the scratch, will he?”
“No. He’s perfectly safe.”
I rubbed my chin. “Does an incubus look like a cupid when shifted? I mean ... if Booker was to shift fully and the incubus was to do it at the same time, would I be able to tell them apart?”
“I believe an incubus looks like a deranged anaconda. That’s what I was told anyway.”
“Galen said they were serpentine with feathers. I thought maybe he was messing with me.”
“Galen would probably know better than me.”
“Do you think that an incubus can shift because, back when their lines were pure, cupids could shift, too?”
“I’ve never really thought about it, but that makes sense.”
“Yeah. I guess it’s time to conduct some research.” I sighed as I opened the book. “I really am going to punish Galen for leaving me here all day. It’s not that I don’t like spending time with you and Wesley or anything, but this is about me. I should be involved.”
May’s eyes twinkled. “Something tells me you will be before it’s all said and done.”
Something told me she was right.
AS PROMISED, WESLEY COLLECTED ME when it was time for the foal to be born. He positioned me in a spot in the corner so I was out of his way, and then he stood with two men and waited for the chestnut mare, which was whinnying and neighing as if her life depended on it, to push out a slimy baby … hooves first.
I was in awe as Wesley and his men sprang into action, wiping down the colt and checking his airways before stepping back and allowi
ng the mother to take over. She carefully licked her foal and nudged him with her head as he climbed on to wobbly feet.
“It’s like Bambi,” I offered, delighted. I wanted to touch the foal — I didn’t care about the slime at all — but I didn’t want to ruin the moment. “He’s adorable.”
“He’ll be a nice-looking boy,” Wesley agreed, running his hand over the colt’s flank. “His father was one of my favorites before he had to be put down a few weeks ago. I hope this little one will grow up to be as strong as him.”
“Why did you have to put him down?”
“Cancer. It took him quick. I’m glad he didn’t linger, but I loved that old boy. I couldn’t ride him once he got sick, but he still loved taking his walks. He and I would go down to the spring once a week just so he could enjoy the view.”
This was a side of my grandfather I’d never seen. “You walked your horse?”
“Yup.”
I smiled as the new foal focused on me for the first time. “Can I touch him?”
“Sure.” Wesley watched with joy as I tentatively reached out and touched the horse’s ear.
“He’s kind of slimy,” I said.
He chuckled. “He’ll be cleaned up by morning. He’ll also be walking much steadier.”
“It’s weird. Humans have to learn to walk over months. Horses are born knowing how to run.”
“It will be a bit before he runs.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I do.” Sincerity showed in his eyes as he pinned me with a look. “Is that why you’re so worked up about Galen leaving you here? Do you want to run?”
“I want the option to run if I feel the need,” I clarified. “I feel better on this island, freer than I’ve ever felt. I don’t want to leave, not you or Galen. I still want the ability to make my own decisions.”
“That’s all well and good, but you decided to get involved with the sheriff. Saving people is in his nature. He’s pretty fond of you. You don’t want your nature infringed upon. Why do you assume he wants differently for himself?”
I worked my jaw. “I didn’t realize I was laboring under a double standard like that. It doesn’t seem fair to him, does it?”
To Spell With It Page 16
