by R. C. Murphy
A gasp came from behind him; so faint he thought perhaps it was a false wind winding through the leaves. “It worked.”
Deryck froze. He couldn’t turn around, even if his life depended on it. There was no way. It had to be his imagination running wild and masking the true voice of the woman who’d summoned him. Yes, he was hearing things.
Soft footfalls whispered across the grass and crossed onto the path directly behind him. A pebble skittered around his shoes. “Deryck? I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have come. You’re upset. I’ll find a way to leave.” The tremor in her voice made his stomach flip.
“No, stay.” Deryck turned around and forgot everything he’d ever wanted to say should he be given the chance to see Shayla again.
The light from the moon made its way through the branches and gave him a good look to reassure himself he wasn’t hallucinating. Shayla stood a few feet back on the path, her arms crossed over her chest. She was in an oversized sweatshirt and jeans similar to what she wore during their movie night. Even with her body covered and her hair pulled back from her face in a low ponytail, she stole his breath. Shayla didn’t need to imagine herself in revealing clothing to feel secure in the Inbetween. She chose to be herself to face him.
Her eyes darted from his face to the stream beside them. “Are you sure you want me to stay?”
“Of course I do. I’m just surprised you called on me. By all rights, you should hate me.”
“Deryck, if I hated you, I wouldn’t be here.”
He closed his eyes for a moment and took a slow, deep breath to keep himself in check. She said she didn’t hate him, it didn’t mean she trusted him or wanted anything beyond a talk. He’d told her to come talk if she wanted to—as friends, nothing more. He needed to respect her wishes.
“Let’s sit and talk.” He gestured to the grass.
Shayla toed the damp lawn. “I should have picked a better place. We’re going to end up with wet butts.”
“This is your playland, Shayla. Picture a blanket in your mind and walk around that tree.” Deryck pointed to the large oak tree behind her.
She gave him a confused look, but turned and walked around the oak as he’d suggested. When she vanished behind the massive trunk of it, he heard her startled gasp. Shayla emerged from behind the tree with a plaid blanket over her arm. “It was hanging on one of the branches.”
“The Inbetween was fashioned to grant human desires, similar to the Dreamlands, but it allows creatures like me to come and fulfill certain needs otherwise ignored in dreams.” Deryck relieved her of the blanket and spread it over the grass. He sat, legs stretched in front of him, and watched the water in the stream trickle past.
Shayla joined him, picking a seat on the far side of the blanket. “So I’m not dreaming?”
“Not really. Dreams hold too much of a human’s energy, because it is their subconscious powering everything that happens. With access to so much energy, a demi-god could absorb it, kill the host, and pose a serious threat to the gods.” Deryck met Shayla’s eyes. “The truth no one will tell you is humans hold all of the power in the universe. Belief is a power the gods can never match. They rely on humans to provide them with that energy.”
She rubbed her forehead. “Why are you telling me all of this? It has to be against whatever rules you guys operate by.”
“As far as I see it, I have one chance to be honest with you. Once you hear everything about me, that’s it. But even if you never want anything to do with me again, you are still in danger of being used to free another incubus. Herryk’s ritual failed; your prophecy has not been fulfilled. Someone else will try. It is just a matter of when, and I want you to be prepared—know your enemy. There is no guarantee the next will give you an option like I have.”
“This is too much too fast.” Shayla dropped her head back to study the stars. “Most people start with small talk and work up to large, possibly life-threatening topics.”
“I’m sorry, Shayla.” He looked up to join her in stargazing. “How is Faye doing?”
“Why, do you want to make sure her child isn’t yours?” She didn’t sound upset or angry. Nevertheless, Deryck wished he could go back and send Faye to someone else.
“Incubi are infertile. She is a good friend to you; I want to make sure she is okay. Pregnancy is not easy on the human body.”
“Oh.” Shayla stretched her legs out in front of her. “She’s doing good, great, actually. Her first ultrasound was yesterday. I saw the pictures. It’s hard to imagine her as a mother. Faye has always been the wild one, doing whatever she wants when she wants. She made life fun. God knows I couldn’t have done that during the last five years.”
“You’re too hard on yourself. Everyone has a different idea of fun; yours just happens to be very subdued. I’ve never had more fun sitting and watching something.”
“Thanks. I think.” She rolled her head to him. “What have you been up to since . . . you know?”
Deryck looked away from her. “I’ve done what I was born to do.”
The conversation died with his admission. He knew she was likely reconsidering her trip to see him, given he couldn’t do what an honorable man would and keep his dick in his pants while mourning the loss of a good relationship. Even if Deryck tried, he would have been dragged to the Inbetween anyway. There was no vacation for them, no time to gather their wits. They barely got time to sleep and eat some days.
He watched the stars overhead and was once again struck with the amount of detail Shayla used to shape their surroundings. She was unique, wonderful, and deserved a life befitting her vibrant soul. Eros was a world-class prick, bringing her into this life. Deryck wished he could confront the man.
“Let me help you, Deryck.”
“You don’t have to, Shayla. I don’t want you feeling guilty about how I live my life.” Gods, how he wanted to take her offer and run with it, but he knew her heart wasn’t in it. She felt obligated by pity.
“For someone who has lived as long as you have, you’re an idiot.” Shayla laughed suddenly. “Of course, Faye called me the same thing earlier.”
“Why would she do that?”
She rolled onto her stomach and rested her jaw on one of her hands. “Because I told her I wasn’t sure if I wanted to see you again. I was afraid if I did, you’d act like Harry. Drag me off to God-knows-where, force me to nearly bleed to death, and leave me to die buried in some temple where no one will be able to find my body.”
Deryck sat up and met her eyes. “Shayla, I would never, ever do anything to harm you. What he did was barbaric and not at all what was intended by those who created this loophole to free my kind. Are there others like him? Of course. There always are men who want more than they will ever have on their own and feel the need to steal it from others. I have never been like that, and the gods help me, if I ever do turn into that sort of man, I want someone to put me out of my misery. We are creatures created to spread pleasure. There is no pleasure to be found in subjugating the people who give us power from their belief.”
“How can you stand up for humans when you’ve been used without your consent for this long?”
“I’ve spent nearly three thousand years witnessing the beauty of women in all of their forms. There are cruel ones, women who fantasize about brutalizing men in ways they have been threatened. But they are like Herryk and his ilk, rare and dangerous to those who fall in their path. If they use me instead of a human man, then there is one less person suffering.” He shook his head. “No matter what, though, there is too much beauty in what humans have created.”
“And now you want to live amongst them.” Shayla sat up and crossed her legs under her. “I can do that for you, Deryck. Let me free you, it is the least I can do.”
“That is your guilt talking.” He hated to be so blunt with her, but she had no clue what she was offering and what it meant to him. Deryck wanted to be free, yes—he wanted to be free and in her life.
“Let me rephrase, I want t
o free you. I wasn’t sure until I got here, but now it’s all I can think about.”
Deryck saw the determination in her eyes. “I wouldn’t know how to live a normal life. Even when I came to visit you, I was subject to the laws governing my kind.”
Shayla leaned over and grasped his hand in hers. “I can help with that too, if you want.”
His heart hammered against his ribcage so hard, he was certain she could hear it. He’d been so sure she would free him and leave him to flounder around the human realm by himself. There was hope for them beyond her ability to end his enslavement. Deryck’s thumb brushed over the smooth skin of her knuckles. She had a lady’s hands, soft, unscarred, but nimble from working with small things—the devices she used at her work place. Now he was asking her to bloody those hands once again.
“I will be honest with you, Shayla. If we do this, I don’t know for sure what will happen during the ritual. You have to summon my father—“
Shayla’s hand tightened on his. “I don’t know if I can go through that again.”
“Herryk wasn’t keen on learning how to do things properly. He came up with the blood summoning to make it easier on himself. Min’s summoning ritual is easier, cleaner.”
“Min? Is that your father’s name?”
Deryck nodded, swallowing the anger he felt any time he thought about his sire. It wouldn’t help her decision to show how he truly felt about the god she’d be facing. “Yes, he is my father. After you summon him, you must ask him for his blood. This is the part of the ritual that cannot change, unfortunately. I’ll need your blood as well, only about a spoonful. If you don’t want to do it now, I’ll understand.”
Shayla turned away; her eyes followed the length of the stream across the path from them. Deryck didn’t dare breathe. He needed her too much. Not just the service she’d provide by freeing him. He needed her by his side. Her smile made the reality he lived in easier to bear. After coming this close to being free to love her as he wished, he knew he could never return to life as an incubus. But he had no choice. The women would call and he’d be forced to go to them. Feeling soiled, he slid his hand free of hers.
“You’ll be there with me, right?”
“Of course.”
She licked her bottom lip and nodded. “I can do it.” Her eyes darted to his, then away again. She was scared, but wouldn’t back down from her decision.
“You are the bravest woman I’ve ever met, Shayla.” He took her hand, placing a gentle kiss against her knuckles. “In three days, the moon will be in the correct phase to summon Min. I will come get you and take you to my father’s temple.”
“Oh.” She gave a shaky laugh. “I thought we could go now and get it over with. You know, like ripping off a Band-aid.”
He smiled. “I wish. However, the moon cycle is important. A few days will help you prepare. I have supplies to gather, as well.”
“I guess I can wait.”
Shayla scooted across the blanket to kneel in front of him. Her arms wrapped behind his neck and dragged his head down to hers. Their lips met. Deryck fought to keep control. His nature warred with his conscious. Take her, she’s offering it. He palmed her cheek and gently pushed her away before her tempting lips pushed him past the point of reason.
“Not yet, Shayla. Not here.” He brought her hand to touch the tattoos around his wrist. They writhed under her fingers. “When these are gone, then we can be together as equals. Here, I am at your mercy, I am your servant to do whatever you ask.”
“That’s not what I want.” Shayla’s fingers traced a section of his tattoo. “I’m getting tired. How is that possible, I’m asleep?”
Deryck kissed her again. “Your body is ready to wake up in the human realm, so it signals you to sleep here in order to ease your consciousness back into your body. If you don’t sleep, it is like waking from a falling dream—harsh and jarring. Lay down, sweetheart. I will stay with you until you wake in your realm.”
“I wish I could take you with me,” Shayla whispered and lay down on the blanket.
Deryck sprawled beside her. She shifted closer, using his bicep as a pillow. He allowed himself the simple pleasure of holding her, touching her. There was nothing sexual about it, yet he’d never wanted her more. Shayla’s eyelids fluttered once. She opened them wide. He chuckled.
“Go to sleep, Shayla. I promise I will see you again in three days.” He kissed her forehead and dropped another kiss over her eyelid.
“Three days . . . .” She burrowed into his shoulder. In moments, her breaths evened out. When she slipped into a deep sleep, her body faded, taking away the warmth at Deryck’s side.
He stared at the stars above, enjoying them while they lasted. Soon the mists crept over the landscape Shayla created and wiped it clean of any traces of her. Deryck studied his incubus tattoo, waiting for it to tell him where to go next. The slow burn started at the back of his wrist and spread. The designs shifted into a new pattern. Reluctantly, he stood and began the walk to the next caller. Gathering the items he needed for the ritual would have to wait.
Traveling via demi-god powers was a lot cheaper and easier than catching a flight to Egypt. Plus, they didn’t have to worry about the TSA freaking out over the knife and other supplies in the duffle bag Deryck carried. If they weren’t there for a specific reason, Shayla would have been excited to finally travel out of the country. As it was, she’d begun to have a panic attack. The dizziness from being transported across the globe only made it worse. She braced herself against his shoulder, closed her eyes, and took several slow deep breaths. He isn’t like Harry. This time it will be different. The frightened voice that’d been abused in the prior attempt to free an incubus screamed at her to stop lying to herself.
“Are you okay?” Deryck smoothed a hand over her back.
“Can someone get car sick popping from one place to another?”
“Human bodies don’t agree with the power necessary to transport. You’ll get used to it.” He urged her to look up at him with a hand under her jaw. “Look around, it will help.”
Shayla wasn’t so sure moving her head would help, but she did it anyway. The full moon overhead lit everything around them. At first, she thought they’d landed at a random spot in the middle of nowhere. Tall bushes swayed in the breeze behind them. A branch fell from a nearby bush and landed on a pile of rocks—square rocks. Shayla let go of Deryck’s arm. Carefully, she picked her way through the rough ground, covered in rocks and thin grass, to get a closer look at the bricks.
The wall she found had fallen into the building, leaving a stack of chest-high mud bricks larger than her all-in-one printer at the office—though she thought the dinosaur of a printer probably weighted more. It was hard to see in the moonlight, but her fingers found the faint outline of a god she didn’t recognize. There were hieroglyphics above his dual-feathered headdress; they were rendered unreadable from time and exposure. A goddess stood in the next panel.
Shayla squatted down. “She looks familiar. Where are we?”
Deryck joined her. He produced a flashlight from the bag and aimed it at the wall. “We’re near Qift. This is the temple my father held with Isis.”
“Leave it to me to only recognize the most famous Egyptian goddess there is.” She wished she could remember more about Deryck’s people. It would make meeting his father a lot easier. Most people didn’t have to worry about offending someone capable of extinguishing their existence by snapping when they were taken home to meet their significant other’s parents. Of course, she wasn’t exactly dating Deryck . . . yet.
“There are a lot of gods and goddesses in the pantheon. I don’t expect anyone to be able to keep track of all of them.” Deryck tapped the male figure beside Isis. “That is Min. Worshippers in this region thought they were lovers.”
“I thought Isis was with Osiris.”
“As the ages went on, the stories changed to fit what each set of believers wanted to worship. Here, Min ruled with Isis. Elsewher
e, Isis and Osiris were in charge. After a while, you stop keeping track of the stories and save yourself the confusion. Incest and infidelity were big during the height of the religion. Good thing, I guess, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. Fertility gods are allergic to monogamy.”
“And their offspring?” Shayla smiled, hoping he knew she was teasing him.
“Old dogs can learn new tricks.” Deryck grinned and nodded toward the far end of the wall. “The entrance should be down there.”
Using the light of the full moon instead of the flashlight Deryck offered, Shayla followed the wall to the end. A doorway sat right before the corner. The section of wall was mostly intact, reaching far over their heads. She eyeballed it warily, wondering if it would be safe to walk under the ancient bricks. Trusting his judgment, she took a step closer.
Deryck caught her arm. “We can’t go in yet. I’m sorry about this . . . .” He set the duffle bag down and pulled out a gallon of water. It wasn’t drinking water, even in the dim light she saw how cloudy it was, like river water. Deryck popped the plastic lid off and dumped the cool water over her head.
Shayla shrieked. “Hey!”
Deryck set aside the empty bottle and pulled another out, pouring the second over his head. Damn, he looks good sopping wet. I probably look like a drowned hippo.
“What was that for?” She leaned over and rung out her hair, hating how it stuck to her neck.
“Only cleansed priests may enter the temple and perform rituals. The water not only cleanses, it brings us closer to the elements—water is sacred. Water from the Nile, doubly so.”
