Incubus

by Celia Aaron

  “Something like that.”

  Once he’d produced the knives, I paid up and caught a cab to the airport.

  All my other provisions could wait until I landed in Istanbul. I didn’t want to spend another second in Paris, lest the urge to run back to Roth overcame me.

  I sat and watched the familiar sights go by my window, silently saying my good-byes to the city that had taught me to love. To the man, really. Roth had brought me back to life in the City of Light, yet all I’d done was scheme to betray him. But I could make it right.

  I sighed and rested my head against the glass, letting dusk settle over my heart as it did the city. I was at once satisfied I was getting away so easily yet sad Roth would never know what happened to me. This is the only way to save him. Staying would only make things worse.

  47

  Roth

  I strode into the foyer, setting a load of packages on the marble floor and easily hefting a huge bunch of flowers into a nearby vase. I’d enjoyed making every purchase, imagining the look on Lilah’s face as she saw the exquisite jewels and beautiful clothing I’d chosen for her. Of course, she could shop wherever she chose, but I wanted to surprise her with a wealth of gifts.

  Bartholomew appeared instantly, clucking with disapproval. “Master, I could have procured all this for you.” He began organizing the purchases.

  “This was something I wanted to do myself.”

  Bartholomew looked wounded, so I followed it with, “But next time you must come along and help me with the bags.”

  Bartholomew perked up at the idea, and I clapped him on the back appreciatively. “What would I do without you?”

  After smoothing Bartholomew’s ruffled feathers, I headed for the stairs. Treating Lilah like the priceless treasure she was felt so good I was grinning like a madman as I took the steps two at a time, a ruby and diamond necklace clutched in my hand. I would fasten it around her lovely neck, though she would put it to shame. The thought of her wearing the necklace and nothing else caused my heart to beat a little faster. The added thought of the necklace bouncing against her skin as she rode me had me quickening my pace.

  She should be done with her newest chapter by now. Though the book was secondary to my true goal, I was keenly interested to see her progress. I wanted to see myself through her eyes, stripped down to my essential elements. I had hidden nothing from her, giving her access to my soul and telling her of my most wicked deed. But she had still seen fit to choose me above all others. And I hadn’t forgotten our deal: once she was finished, I got her for an entire night, to do with as I chose. I only hoped she was a fast typist.

  The incubus lounged contentedly inside me, though I could sense it longed to see Lilah once more. Never before had I known it to return to a single female. The only way Corinne had become a mainstay was her ability to commune directly with my demon. She was a succubus bred of the Underworld. Not only inhabited by a demon, Corinne was the demon. She could give the incubus what it needed, like a mainline of energy plugged into the darkness inside me. But Lilah, she put even the succubus to shame. Lilah was awash in power, which was made manifest through her sexual desire. I was still charged from her but couldn’t get enough. Knew I would never get enough.

  In truth, I had been afraid I would have to fight the incubus to return to her. But the incubus was just as pleased with her as I was. It was almost too good to be true. If I were the whistling sort, I would be tweeting like a lark. Instead, I sprinted down the hallway to her door. I expected to hear the tick tick tick of her adroit little fingers hitting the keys on her laptop, but instead there was silence.

  I knew the room was empty before I even swung the door open. The furniture and closet were stripped of her meager belongings. Only her lovely scent lingered in the hollow room. I went to the bed and tossed the sheets aside before going through every one of the drawers. She’d left no trace. In her closet I found some everyday items, but nothing that was especially hers. When I realized her daggers were missing, I knew she was gone for good.

  “She left hours ago.” Corinne’s voice grated on my ears. She had been lounging against the door frame, watching me search for any sign of Lilah.

  “Where did she go?” I approached her with unbridled aggression. I would never harm a woman, but Corinne was a demon, one who would meet her death if she hurt Lilah.

  “Don’t know. She packed her things and left. Good riddance. Now it’s just the two of us, like it should be.” She reached out to stroke my face.

  I caught her hand and squeezed it roughly for emphasis. “There is no ‘us.’ Not anymore. And if I find out you are lying to me, you’ll wish for your death before I’m finished with you.”

  Her eyes blazed. “You don’t mean that.”

  My voice was as cold as the death I’d promised her. “Oh, I do. Now tell me where she is.”

  Corinne huffed. “I told you, she left!”

  Her voice was free of subterfuge, but I wasn’t sure she was answering truthfully. The incubus, however, sensed the demon’s sincerity and told me as much. I was relieved Corinne had done nothing to hurt Lilah but was still worried some harm had come to her.

  “Come to my bed. It’s been so lonely without you.” Corinne placed my hand on her breast.

  I pulled it away as if it burned. I couldn’t blame her for being a succubus, but it was time to part ways. Lilah was my future, no matter the consequences. I stroked Corinne’s blonde hair, though it nagged at me that it wasn’t soft and dark like Lilah’s. “I will provide for you, but you and I are no more.”

  Corinne’s honey voice turned into a shriek of rage, and she stamped her spiked heel into the wooden floor. “You need me!”

  “For a time, yes, I did.” I took a step back. “But I don’t need you any longer. And if you’re being honest, you don’t need me either.”

  She flew at me, clawing my face and sinking her fangs into my shoulder. I didn’t want to hurt her, but every minute spent fighting her was a minute wasted when I could have been looking for Lilah.

  I dislodged her and flung her onto the bed, but she was already on her feet, coming for me again.

  “I know why she left.” Her tone was like a dagger to the heart. “She was disgusted by you.”

  Corinne danced around just outside my reach, readying her next attack. But her voice was already causing damage. Corinne’s anger seeped into her tone, but her words had a sting all of their own. They were poison.

  “She knew you were a demon, one who only wanted to use her up and throw her aside. Just like you’ve done thousands upon thousands of times. She left because she knows you for what you are. Once she found out, she ran. I guess she was smarter than I thought.”

  Again, she rushed me, but this time I was ready. I caught her by the throat. It would have been easy to snap her neck, but instead I held her gaze with my own. “You and I are over. If you come near me or Lilah ever again, I’ll send you straight to Hades where you came from. I won’t hesitate.”

  The fire went out of her eyes as she realized the seriousness of my words. She gasped, and a tear trickled down her face, the first I’d ever seen there. “Because of her?” Her voice was a dirge, and she dropped her arms to her sides, defeated.

  “Yes.” I loosened my grip. “She’s mine.” As if that were explanation enough.

  “Can’t you keep us both?” Her eyes were no longer lit with wrath, changing as quickly as a child’s whim. The tears now coming in earnest.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Corinne’s succubus had saved me from ruining countless lives, but I couldn’t allow her to ruin Lilah’s.

  She stepped back from my hold, and I let her go. Without saying another word, she stalked out of the room and down the hall, slamming the door behind her.

  “Women, right?” Apollo appeared in the doorway. He whistled the sound of a bomb dropping and exploding. “Looks like I’m going to need to go and uh, comfort Corinne again.” He sauntered off after her.

  I tu
rned back to my search, though I knew I would find nothing helpful in Lilah’s room. After one more fruitless effort, I bolted out the door, intent on finding Bartholomew. Luckily, the butler was already at the top of the stairs.

  “Master, I was just looking for you. A—”

  “Not now,” I silenced him. “Did you see Lilah leave? How long has she been gone?”

  Bartholomew tapped his chin with his forefinger. “Ah, I believe she left only half an hour or so after you did. So that would be—”

  “Six hours. Did she tell you where she went?”

  “No. She did give me a kiss on the cheek, though.” His face flushed with the memory. “But then she wouldn’t let me help her with her bags, which as you know made me a little upset, but it—”

  “Bartholomew, focus for me.” I placed my hands on the old butler’s frail shoulders. “Did she say anything or do anything that would give you any idea about where she went?”

  “No, master, she didn’t say, and I don’t know.”

  “Was she angry?”

  “No, but she did seem…” Bartholomew appeared to be at war with himself on how to describe her. “She did seem a little sad.”

  “Damnit!” I pounded my fist on the balustrade, shattering the wood into splinters.

  Gone without a trace. But why? Corinne’s words came barreling through my mind—“She was disgusted by you.” Had Corinne been right? Had Lilah realized her night with me—the greatest night of my life—had been a mistake? Had I hurt her? Shame overtook me. Of course I hurt her. I hadn’t kept my demon at bay and must have frightened her or worse.

  “Oh, gods.”

  “Master?” Bartholomew asked, concern shading his tone.

  “She ran from me the first chance she got.” I sank down onto the top step, cradling my head in my hands. “She only stayed because she gave her word…but I broke her.”

  A chasm opened within my chest and the incubus wailed with pain at the thought of losing her. Find her!

  But I wasn’t going to chase her if she had run from me. Couldn’t bear the thought of her fearing me. Though the gods knew I wanted to find her and make her see how much I loved her. I laughed bitterly. Love. Once something I thought as ephemeral as pixie dust had now grabbed hold of me so deeply I thought I might die of sorrow for the loss of it. Misery settled on me like a great weight, stifling any thought of happiness I’d had only moments ago.

  “I disgust her.” I’d never felt such regret, not even after what happened to the innocent Delia.

  Bartholomew patted me on the shoulder. “No, master, no more of that talk. It was clear she was taken with you.”

  Though meant as a comfort, his words only sank me deeper into despair. Yes, she might have been attracted to me, but I’d killed any chance I’d had when she’d seen my true nature. And could I blame her?

  I sat at the top of the steps for what felt like hours, running the last few days over and over again in my mind. Imagining her lovely feet on the stairs where I sat. She was born to be here with me, mistress of this chateau. Lost her.

  Bartholomew cleared his throat; I’d forgotten he was even there. “Master, I hate to interrupt your…well, your-your thoughts, but I was trying to tell you earlier that you have a visitor.”

  I couldn’t care less, even if it was Zeus himself sitting on my fainting couch. I lifted my head slightly and saw Bartholomew looking at me expectantly. No reason to make him suffer along with me. What was left of me humored him. “Who is it?”

  “He said his matter was urgent. It’s a goblin, master. Named Cranfel.”

  48

  Lilah

  I worked my way through the desolate landscape, though it somehow seemed even more ruined than before. The cursed valley’s red earth with its jagged cuts and fissures only reminded me of the torment that awaited me at journey’s end. But that pain was dulled by the ache of leaving Roth and never even saying good-bye. The thought of him, so wild yet gentle at the same time, made me want to turn around and leave this place. We could make a life together away from the gods, and in time, I would even forget the sting of my lost sisters. If only I could see him again, I would run into his arms and stay there.

  Instead, I adjusted the kerchief tied around my face and continued on, deeper into the pit from which I knew I’d never return. The carrion birds greeted me with hungry looks as they perched on the petrified trees, barely visible through the sulfur and smoke. Their chattering squawks would have unnerved even the stoutest of hearts. And the dogs, the sigil of Ares, were out there prowling through the fields of bone around the cave entrance. My hand strayed to the satchel slung across my shoulders, and I comforted myself with the thought of all the weapons that lay inside.

  Reassured, I began crossing now-hardened molten flows that led toward the entrance of the dark chasm. I picked my way carefully to avoid a misstep, lest I injure myself and hurt my chances to carry out some major retribution against the god of war. I had to anger him enough to kill me quickly, couldn’t risk giving him a way to keep me alive for his pleasure. The thought of being his slave stopped my forward movement, the cold fist of fear pounding into my temple. I couldn’t bear to spend one second as his victim, much less the hundreds of years he’d threatened.

  After steadying myself and taking a swallow of water from my canteen, I continued my descent into darkness and death. I had no daydreams of walking out of Ares’s lair alive.

  Though I might have hidden the tiniest spark of a hope deep within my heart, I couldn’t think of it now. No one could beat Ares at his own game, and the gods were not simply immortal. They were endless, timeless. I couldn’t kill Ares, because it was incomprehensible. Just as death never came to the rocks beneath my feet, the gods were forever. But I can hurt him.

  With that thought I sent up one final prayer to the goddess to give me the strength to finish what I’d started. If Artemis had never heard me before, I could only hope she heard me now, when I needed the goddess’s power the most.

  Instead of getting a legion of warrior maidens by my side as I’d requested, I cried out when one of Ares’s dogs lunged out of the haze and latched on to my leg. Another one launched itself onto my back, easily weighing one hundred pounds even in its emaciated state. I took hold of my dagger as a ripping pain erupted when the beast crushed my shoulder blade with its powerful jaws. With an agonized scream, I dropped to my knees, my vision blurring with pain. But there was no reprieve, because now I was eye-level with one of the red-eyed hounds, its teeth bared and dripping saliva.

  It lunged for my face, but I was faster, jamming my blade through its rib cage as it let out a death scream. It was enough to make the rest of the pack remain around the periphery but didn’t stop the two that were already on me.

  The one on my leg had clamped down like a vise, its canines pinning the skin and bone. One swift stab with my blade had it yelping and running, leaving one of its eyes behind on the tip of my dagger. I fell forward from the weight of the mutt on my back, unable to support myself with the injured leg, and the dog began clawing me, shredding my skin and trying to shake me like a rag doll.

  I had no opportunity to reach it with the blade, so I pushed with all the strength left in my legs and jolted up in the air, dropping onto my back and crushing the beast into the sharp rocks that lined the valley floor. It yelped with pain and let go before running off into the gloom.

  I sat up, quickly taking stock of my injuries as I reached for my bag. The growls were all around me now, closing in. The hounds no doubt smelled my blood and were anxious for a meal, but I had places to go and gods to piss off. Finally finding what I needed, I blindly tossed a magic bomb toward the guttural sounds and covered my head with my arms. In seconds, there was a deafening roar followed by pained howls. Bingo. I felt the insane urge to laugh as bits of razored rock and dog hair rained all around me, confirming I’d hit at least one of my targets.

  “I’ve got a lot more where that one came from, bitches!” My scream shredded throug
h my throat and matched the acid feeling of the bites on my leg and back.

  I heard nothing in return, save for the sound of retreating yelps.

  Feeling as safe as one could in the deadliest valley in the world, I began searching in my bag once more. I pulled out a flagon of aqua vigoratus, a specialty of the white witches in Paris, before taking a swig and dousing my wounds with it as best I could. It tasted like dirty gym socks smelled, but the effects were nothing short of miraculous. I’d emptied my entire bank account to afford this one dose, but I could tell it was going to be worth it. My wounds stopped stinging almost instantly, and my flesh began sewing itself back together at a rapid pace.

  I had hoped to save it for later, in case I needed it for the battle with Ares, but I couldn’t risk being wounded before facing him. Can’t give the bastard even more of an advantage.

  Though still smeared with blood, my skin was smooth where it had been ripped only moments ago. I leaned back and tilted the potion bottle to my lips, draining every last drop before casting the bottle into a bubbling pool of magma. It caught fire and melted slowly, breaking down into its elements until it no longer existed. Just like I was about to do. Replacing my kerchief, I dusted myself off and continued toward the obsidian cavern I could just make out in the distance.

  My time in the hourglass was almost up, but it didn’t matter anymore. I kept a steady gait and watched for more signs of trouble.

  Ares knew I was here, knew I’d come without Roth. But I still had a few tricks up my sleeve even the god of war didn’t know about, and before it was all over, I would enjoy making the son of a bitch bleed.

  49

  Roth

  I careened down the stairs, not stopping until I caught sight of Cranfel napping on the sofa in the study, coffee cake crumbs littering his overalls and the sounds of his snores shaking the china.