Incubus

by Celia Aaron

  “Speak not to me!” Artemis raged. “My favorite child and my greatest disappointment.” Her voice was now full of sadness, and the words were like an arrow to my heart, piercing and breaking off inside me, never to be removed.

  “From this day forth you are banished from my service and the slopes of Olympus. You may depart here carrying only the boon of your bow and arrows. I will give you until nightfall to leave these woods or my hounds will tear you apart. You are no longer Lilah de Artemis. Find your way in the mortal world. I have done with thee.”

  Before I could raise a protest, the goddess vanished, taking every maiden with her in a deafening thunderclap.

  Alone in the hollow arena, I collapsed onto the stone steps, great sobs racking me as my despair echoed all around. Abandoned and left for dead, belonging nowhere and to no one. My strength ebbed until it was only a shadow of the power I’d wielded just moments before.

  The wolf’s betrayal was only an opening salvo for the misery that now enveloped me. Though my tears had not subsided, the darkening sky reminded me of the two choices that lay before me: death or earth.

  I settled in to wait for the hounds.

  24

  Lilah

  My thoughts came in a torrent. I didn’t understand Roth. He ran hot and cold—at one moment tender and another cruel.

  The cruelty was what I needed. My plan, after all, was to betray him. And I should know better than to cozy up to a male. It was only a matter of time before he turned on me. I was not going to give up on my plan, not for a smooth-talking incubus. Who had once been a good man, my thoughts taunted.

  Pushing Roth’s past out of my mind, I decided that from now on, I would keep our relationship strictly business.

  Striding to the motorcycle, I fiddled with the helmet strap to get it loose. Roth approached as I cursed the unyielding security mechanism. His hands gently closed over mine, setting them away as his nimble fingers made quick work of the ties. So very nimble. I sensed a struggle inside him, his muscles drawn as tight as my bow string. The feel of his light breath on my neck sent a shiver of pleasure down my spine. Getting astride the rumbling motorcycle had begun to sound like a good idea before I shook myself. I almost checked my ears to make sure I wasn’t somehow turning into a horny nymph. I’d never been like this over a man. Hell, I hadn’t been with a man since Farrow and that was what, a century ago? And if I was being honest with myself, it had been only once and it hadn’t been that good.

  Roth threw a leg over the bike, and I climbed on behind him. His hand rested on my thigh for a second, making sure I was settled before gunning the engine. He was taking care of me. Even though he had just frozen me out by telling me his kiss was an act.

  That kiss. He was so masterful with me, making my sex wet for him. I had never been so aroused in my life. But the thought of his explanation sent a chill through me, stamping out the fire that threatened to burn me from the inside out. There was nothing he really wanted from me. I was just another one of his conquests, another notch for his bedpost, if he even had any bedpost left after his lifetimes of lovers.

  But he’d told me I’d been his first in hundreds of years. Could that possibly be true? If it was, I might be in some serious trouble. I wanted to believe he was lying to me when he said it was an act. I felt the heat coming off him, knew it meant something to him. But after his revelations in the catacombs, he’d changed. I continued musing on the immortal I clung to, feeling his strength as he raced through the narrow streets.

  I leaned out slightly and glanced around him—just in time to see the creature dart in front of us. Roth wrenched the bike to the left to avoid hitting it, but the tires lost their grip and the whole thing started bucking up from the pavement. In an instant, I was sent flying off the back. The only thing that kept me from smashing into the wall of the alley was Roth reaching out for me as he too was thrown from the bike.

  We landed in a heap, a sickening crunch resounding in my ears. It wasn’t my bones breaking. It was Roth’s. He’d protected me from the harsh ground, cradling me on top of him as we crashed into the unforgiving stone.

  After we skidded to a halt, I ripped off my helmet and then Roth’s. He was conscious but badly injured. The skin was scraped from his right arm, revealing blood and, in one instance, bone. I didn’t know what was broken but had heard more than one thing snap when we hit the pavement.

  “Roth, Roth.” I tried to get his unfocused gaze to lock onto mine. His eyes rolled back in his head as I heard the flap of wings close behind me. “Shit.”

  Stepping into the street, I found our attacker—a fury straight from the Underworld. It had the shape of a woman, but its gray skin and yellow eyes revealed its true nature. Furies were known for their vicious attacks. Their needle fangs dripped with poison. This one was no exception, her stringy yellow hair hanging in her face as her eyes flicked from me to Roth.

  The moonlight—a sigil of Artemis—made me hum with power, giving my abilities a much-needed boost. Roth was still out on the ground. I didn’t want to reveal my bow and arrows to him, lest he guess where I got them. Anything that gave him any insight into my past was a threat to my future. But there was no other way out. I stilled and summoned my bow. It materialized in my grasp, a wisp of silver growing into the curved tips and taut string. It resonated with power in my hands as I pulled a similarly effervescent arrow from my quiver.

  The fury’s wings, translucent and covered in a fine black fur, flapped to keep her hovering above the ground. The fury examined the markings on my neck. She pointed. “Not you, servant of Artemis. My master wants the incubus.”

  “The incubus is mine. If you want him, you’ll have to go through me first.” The glow of the moon and my instinct made me ready, spoiling even, for this fight. It had been far too long.

  “So be it.” The fury splayed her claws and dove for me as its battle cry pierced the night.

  I rolled to the left and let my arrow fly, punching through the creature’s wing and soaring off into the night. The fury let out a shriek that had blood running from my ears. But I didn’t care. I was in my element. Over a century of battle in Artemis’s army flowed through my veins.

  The fury shot up and came back down, her fangs dripping with poison, strong enough to kill even an immortal. At the last second, she changed course and headed straight for Roth’s limp body. I dove, flipping over on my back next to him and delivering a swift kick to the fury’s face with the heel of my boot. The shriek rang out again, now tinged with frustration. I jumped to my feet, nocking another arrow as I stood over Roth.

  “I’m having fun. Come again, hag.” If only Artemis could see me now, dueling to the death against a powerful Underworld fiend.

  The fury changed tactics, swooping down at a frantic pace and using her powerful wing to slam me into the ground. The impact made my teeth chatter, but I rolled to the side to avoid the fury’s arcing claws. Too late—my right arm was slashed to the bone. I cried out from the stinging pain before steeling myself for another attack. Emboldened by the successful strike, the fury once again turned to Roth.

  While the fury was focused on her intended victim, I heaved myself from the ground, feeling a strange heaviness settling into me. Fighting against it, I nocked another arrow. The fury floated over Roth, rearing back for the death blow.

  “He’s mine!”

  It hissed at me, its fangs dripping. “Fool to think you could stake our claim on him. He’s bedded thousands, and would have bedded more if I hadn’t come to claim his head.”

  I rolled my eyes at the creature. “I don’t mean mine like that.” I wasn’t trying to say Roth and I were together. Because that was ludicrous. I swallowed thickly. Ludicrous. “I mean he’s my bounty. I got to him first.”

  Her cackle rippled through the night like an electrical current. “Truly, you are an even bigger fool than I thought.” It dismissed me with a flick of its talon and focused on its prize.

  What a bitch. I drew the bow, letting my br
eath dissipate slowly as I aimed for the fury’s heart. The bolt flew true and pierced its chest, black blood spurting from the wound. It shrieked and rose in the air, listing badly before crashing into a nearby rooftop. Its wings flapped helplessly as its screams broke all the windows on the street, sending glass showering down like a rainstorm.

  Silence reigned after the last tinkle of glass whispered through the street. I eyed Roth, his eyes still closed. Incapacitated. Maybe this was a stroke of luck. I walked toward him, my knees going oddly week. I could capture him right now, tie him up, call on one of the goblins to bind him with their unbreakable magic, then ship him off to Ares. The plan was solid, but my heart faltered a few beats as I imagined what Ares had planned.

  It didn’t matter. I’d made a deal. One that couldn’t be broken.

  I fell to my knees beside Roth as my bow and quiver flickered and disappeared. Heaviness enveloped me like a stifling blanket, covering my entire body with a pressing darkness. My sight began to fade and my hands were numb.

  One word whipped through my mind. “Poison.” Not just in the fury’s fangs like I’d been taught.

  My mother’s singsong voice echoed in my head, “You learn something new every day.” I gave a crazed guffaw before falling to my side, lying in the gritty street, unable to move.

  “Roth,” I croaked, struggling to keep my eyes open while my heart played a strange beat. “Roth.”

  Only silence answered.

  The venom took over completely, and I fell into the void.

  25

  Roth

  “Get Paris to the house. Now!” I barked into the phone before throwing it against the curb in frustration, shattering it.

  I had awoken to a world of pain, but nothing prepared me for the acute agony that took hold when I saw Lilah lying beside me, blood pooling from her wounded arm. It was more than an ordinary injury. As an immortal, the bleeding should have stopped within a matter of seconds, with regeneration beginning soon thereafter. But the black blood mixing with Lilah’s had stopped the healing process. One look and I knew that the creature lying in wait for us must have been a fury.

  Its poisonous fangs and claws could bring down even a powerful immortal like me, which was likely why it had been chosen as my assassin. And now Lilah had been caught up in my web, slowly being crushed on the wheel right along with me. She must have fought the fury off. If she hadn’t, I’d be dead.

  When I’d realized the nature of her injury, I’d phoned Bartholomew and called on a favor from Paris, though my vision went red from the very thought of what was about to happen. I gathered her up in my arms and began walking toward my arrondissement, ignoring the pain that fired through my body.

  It seemed like hours before Bartholomew finally arrived in his Mercedes to pick us up, though it was mere minutes.

  “Did you get Paris?” I lay Lilah in the backseat, cradling her head in my lap. She was fading fast, the color already drained from her fair cheeks.

  “Yes, master. He will be meeting us at the house.” Bartholomew shot Lilah a worried glance before hurrying back to the driver’s seat.

  “Quickly, Bartholomew!”

  Bartholomew didn’t disappoint, cutting through the minimal traffic and making it home swiftly. He pulled into the courtyard, and I jumped out of the backseat, hugging Lilah to me as I raced up the stairs. Paris was standing in the foyer, appearing as if he’d come straight from some glitzy club—his blond hair gelled back into an immaculate coif and his Armani suit fitted to his imposing frame. He seemed about to make a flippant remark, but when his eyes lighted on Lilah, his look changed to one of desire, his fangs lengthening. It made me want to punch him until there was nothing left of his face, but I needed him. Needed a vampire to save her.

  “What’s the deal?” Paris took a step closer to Lilah. I teetered on the brink of flying into a rage. The incubus within had been quiet while I had been holding her. Now it seemed like it wanted to pummel Paris just as much as I did. As if it were protective? Impossible.

  I didn’t have time to reflect on my twisted inner workings. “I need you to drink her.” The words burned through me as I positioned Lilah on the fainting couch in the sitting room.

  “My pleasure.” Paris flicked his tongue over the tips of his fangs.

  My hand was around his throat in an instant. “If you kill her, there will be hell to pay. Understand?” My eyes had changed to ember, but I wanted the power of the incubus behind my words, needed the threat to reach home in Paris’s heart.

  “Let up. Jeez. I won’t kill her.” Paris avoided the incubus’s gaze. “But this means we’re square, right?”

  I didn’t hesitate. “If you save her, your debt to me is paid.” I hated losing a favor of this magnitude—Paris was extremely valuable to have under my thumb—but I would have paid the price twice over to save Lilah’s life.

  “What happened to her?” Paris eased down beside her. As he reached out to position her neck, I growled low in my throat. Mine.

  “Fury venom.” Bartholomew twisted the signet ring round and round on his finger.

  “But that could kill me.” One of Paris’s hands strayed to Lilah’s midnight locks.

  “You will do this or you will be at my beck and call for the rest of your life.” I could barely contain the urge to rip Paris in half for touching Lilah.

  “You won’t die from it. You’re too old.” Apollo had appeared behind me. “Just get on with it. Roth’s got it bad for that little filly.”

  “I can see why.” Paris let his gaze rake over her body. Before I could snap his neck, Paris had struck at Lilah’s throat, quick as a snake.

  She let out a whimper, her eyes still closed. Paris moaned against her flesh, sucking her with relish. I flexed my fists and once again moved to take the vampire’s head off, but Apollo put a strong hand on my shoulder. “Let him do this. If he doesn’t, she’ll die.”

  I stayed in place, though the incubus railed against my inaction, trying to claw its way to the surface. I’d never felt this type of possessiveness from the incubus before. Never known it to want one woman in particular. The demon’s need to protect Lilah mirrored my own. Could I dare hope the incubus would be satisfied with Lilah, and Lilah alone?

  When Paris finally pulled away, licking his lips with satisfaction, I pushed him back and sank down beside her, holding her limp hand.

  “Did you get it all out?” I inspected the small puncture wounds on Lilah’s alabaster throat. Paris had done no more damage than he had to, for which I was grudgingly grateful.

  “Yeah, I don’t feel so hot. But her blood. Man…” He ran a hand over his mouth as his gaze once again took in Lilah’s reclining form.

  “One more word and it’ll be your last,” I growled. And I meant it.

  “Come on, lover boy. Let’s go see if we can pick up some eurotrash chicks who’ll do anything for an American.” Apollo affected a Yankee accent. He clapped Paris on the back and led him from the room.

  I paid them no more attention, my whole being focused on Lilah. She was still out, but the pink bloom was steadily returning to her cheeks. I breathed a sigh of relief, not realizing how on edge I’d been until now. The thought of Lilah dying had been a shock to my system, one I wouldn’t soon forget.

  I lifted her from the couch with ease and took her to my bedroom. There was no way I was letting her out of my sight until she could stand on her own two feet again.

  “Anne,” I called down the hall.

  As I smoothed her hair, Anne and Corinne appeared in the nymph’s doorway. “What happened to her?” Anne asked, approaching and inspecting the bloodied wound on Lilah’s arm.

  “Fury attack. She’ll live. I need you to help me bathe her.”

  “I can take care of that. It would be my pleasure,” Corinne purred from the doorway.

  “No,” I didn’t care how cross I sounded. “I need someone to take care of her, not prey on her.”

  “Suit yourself.” Corinne smirked before retreat
ing to her room.

  “Anne, I need you to help me as much as you can. Let’s strip her and get her in the bath. We need to wash the wound and make sure all the venom is out.”

  “Okay.” She began unbuttoning Lilah’s pants. Ordinarily, I would have been especially pleased to have Lilah in my bed, about to get naked. But all I could think about was the wound she’d endured for me.

  “Be as gentle as possible. I’ll get the bath running.” I felt a modicum of trust in Anne. She was a gentle nymph who’d only recently reached her immortality. She hadn’t lived long enough to be embittered by fate, unlike Corinne.

  I ran a warm bath for Lilah and undressed, showering off before returning to the bedroom for her. I didn’t realize how badly I’d been wounded in the accident until I saw so much of my blood disappearing down the drain. If Lilah hadn’t been there, hadn’t saved me, the fury would have killed me as easily as crushing a bug. That’s what came of me ignoring the incubus’s needs and refusing to take Anne or Corinne on the night I brought Lilah home. I was weaker than I should have been.

  “Shall I leave you now?” A surprising timidity colored the tones of Anne’s voice.

  “No, I want you here in case she wakes, so she’ll know I wasn’t trying anything.”

  Anne followed me into the bathroom and took a seat on a bench near the door. I sank down into the warm water, settling Lilah between my knees, her back to my chest. I couldn’t ignore the beautiful curves of her body, her supple breasts that would be just more than a handful, and the enticing curls at the juncture of her thighs. But I controlled myself, keeping Lilah away from my thickening shaft. She needed me to be a gentleman, and that’s exactly what I was going to be, even if it killed me.

  I poured water over her silky hair, lathering it up and rinsing until the shampoo was gone. Then I soaped up a loofah and set to work on her body, carefully washing the now-closing wound on her arm before wiping the remnants of blood away from her ears.