Incubus Yule Read online

  “Faerie hound,” Tod whispered. That’s what his grandfather had called them. Horse and hound combined. Few people saw them and lived to tell.

  “His name is Jasper,” said Ania. “He likes nose rubs and kittens.”

  Tod took a moment to process this. “Please tell me you don’t mean what I think you mean.”

  “You know how some horses like sugar cubes…?”

  “Ah! Stop!”

  “You’re a dog! Don’t you hate cats?”

  “I’m a man who had an unfortunate encounter with a werewolf. I am not a dog, and I am demonstrably on friendly terms with at least one cat.”

  Ania laughed again, the sound echoing among the trees.

  A number of tiny blue flames erupted around the clearing, creating gouts of steam in the snow. Mal came loping back from the blind. “The corn’s sorted. Tie our goose to your abomination of a horse, and let’s go. Did you bring the snow?”

  Ania shrugged. “You invited a piece of Faerie home. I’d say you’re going to get our snow all day. Is that a problem?”

  Mal twitched his tail. “I guess not. Jessica will like it.”

  “And Azrael will lose his mind,” said Ania cheerfully. She’d finished tying the goose to her saddle and hopped up in front of it. “Away we go.”

  Chapter 9

  Jessica

  Jessica returned to the bathtub. Azrael took a shower. They engaged in a shouted conversation about the library’s newest acquisitions. Books were a passion that Azrael and Jessica shared. Mal would listen to anything they cared to read to him, but he rarely sat still long enough to finish a book on his own.

  When Jessica got out of the bath, she said, “Dry my hair for me?” Azrael didn’t usually use magic for something so frivolous, but today he’d baked cookies with ambrosia, so maybe.

  He ran a hand through her hair, murmuring words that tingled along her scalp…and her hair was dry. “Up or down?” she asked.

  “Which dress?”

  “The green lace.” She would never have worn it in the Provinces for Yule. It wouldn’t have been warm enough, although it was the right color—emerald green, with a full taffeta skirt and a lacey outer layer. The top portion left enticing glimpses of her back and stomach visible beneath the lace, while adequately covering her breasts. Jessica figured she could get away with a cocktail dress at a friendly dinner in warm rooms.

  “I’d leave it down then,” said Azrael, and kissed her cheek. “Maybe put some combs in it.”

  Jessica sat at the dressing table in the washroom and worked on her hair and cosmetics while Azrael shaved. He’d selected a red waistcoat for this evening. It was a shade darker than the color usually worn at Yule, and it had gold threads running through the weave, so that it seemed to shine at a distance. He laid it out with a white shirt, black bow tie and black dress trousers, but he didn’t put it on yet. “I want to make some mundane cookies for those who can’t absorb magic,” he said. “No point in wasting ambrosia.”

  Jessica nodded. “Less messy,” she said with mock seriousness.

  He laughed and went out of the room.

  Jessica was just finishing her red lipstick, when there was a knock on the door of their suite. She went to get it and found the butler holding a silver tray with a single card. “Madam, one of your guests has arrived early. Shall I show him in or provide him with refreshments in a private chamber until others arrive?” He hesitated and added, “Or confine him elsewhere or incinerate him at once? What is your pleasure, my lady?”

  Jessica wished she could tell whether the butler was joking. She still found the staff difficult to read. “Well, don’t incinerate him.” She looked over her shoulder and saw that Azrael had come in from the kitchen. “Ren, Jacob is here.”

  “Oh, he can come back,” said Azrael to the butler. To Jessica, he said, “I think Lucy was going to rest until closer to dinner time. Do you mind talking to him? If you’d rather not, I’ll just entertain him myself. I would also expect Mal and Tod to return at any moment, so we shouldn’t be sitting around staring at each other for long.”

  Jessica laughed. “Oh, I don’t mind.” Jacob had visited the island three times in the last year. On each occasion, he’d inspected the school, spoken with Azrael and Nicholas, and spent some time with Lucy. However, he’d never come solely to see Lucy. At least, not that he would admit. This Yuletide dinner was the closest thing to a purely friendly, family gathering he had attended. Jessica thought he was uncomfortable with the idea.

  Her suspicions were reinforced when Jacob arrived, dressed in an old-fashioned, double-breasted waistcoat and an expertly arranged ascot. The clothes were beautiful, but in demure shades of charcoal and silver, as though he’d taken considerable effort with his appearance, but didn’t want anyone to notice. Jacob had a hawk-like nose, brown eyes, and hair that had once been dark, now liberally streaked with gray. He was a powerful sorcerer, but Jessica had never seen a bound demon about him. She’d asked Azrael once where Jacob acquired his magic and Azrael had only shrugged.

  “An artifact, would be my guess. Or perhaps he just keeps his demons out of the way. He’s vocally against binding them. I don’t know.”

  “Is it considered rude to ask?”

  “It is. Magicians are territorial when it comes to sources of magic.”

  Jacob was a mystery in so many ways. He was a demon hunter who’d done contract work for the High Mage Council, but he was not an official member, and he made it very clear that he was no one’s hunting dog. Jessica wasn’t sure whether he was inspecting Azrael’s school on behalf of a client or in his own interests. Jacob’s endorsement had certainly mollified the magical community, and the first couple of semesters had gone off without a hitch. The students were home for the holiday now, so Jacob could not make the excuse that he’d come on their behalf.

  Azrael greeted him at the door. “A merry Yule to you, Jacob. Lucy is resting until closer to dinner, and Mal is hunting. I am baking and Jessica is keeping me company. If you’d like to join us in the kitchen, you are welcome. Otherwise, I’m happy to provide you with a drink and a book out here.”

  Jacob—always the picture of composure when he was working—smiled a little self-consciously at the mention of Lucy. “I’m sorry to arrive early,” he began. “I was—”

  “Nonsense!” said Jessica. “Come join us in the kitchen. I’ll make you a drink.”

  “Are you aware that it’s snowing?” asked Jacob as they walked through the sitting room.

  “It is?” Jessica was delighted.

  “Yes, and I think it’s localized over your island.” Jacob glanced at Azrael. “You might want to check your wards.”

  Azrael grumbled something about never a moment’s peace. He went into the dining room and drew back the curtains that covered the long window. It was indeed snowing, and the refracted dawn light glowed over the garden. Jessica clapped her hands. “How wonderful! I can’t wait to watch Mal romp about in it!”

  “He did behave like a lunatic the last time we took him somewhere with snow,” agreed Azrael. He returned to the kitchen and to his mixing bowl. Jacob sat down at the kitchen table. Jessica made all three of them hot toddies. After a moment’s consideration, she said, “You should really try Ren’s cookies, Jacob.”

  Azrael nearly choked on his drink.

  Jessica smirked. “These cookies,” she continued as she scooped one onto a plate, “are something special.”

  Jacob raised one eyebrow at her, as though he thought they might be having a joke with him, but Jessica just smiled. “Try it.”

  Jacob picked up the cookie and took a bite. He nodded, glanced at Azrael. “Well, they say magic is a lot like cooking and you can certainly…cook…” He trailed off, staring at the cookie.

  Jessica’s grin widened.

  “Ye gods, what did you…?” Jacob took another bite of the cookie. His face relaxed. His eyes blinked shut. Jessica hadn’t actually tried one yet. Now she really wanted to. Jacob turned to Azra
el, who was grinning into his mixing bowl.

  “Ambrosia in baked goods?!”

  Azrael laughed.

  “That is the most wasteful, decadent, and possibly the most delicious thing I have ever tasted.”

  “It’s Yule,” said Azrael simply. He did not add, I’m happy. He didn’t have to. Everything about his voice and posture said it.

  Jacob finished his cookie. Jessica took one of her own. Buttery sweetness filled her mouth, followed by the warm rush of magic. Jessica shut her eyes. Like feeding. It wasn’t a lot of magic, just a little hit. But she could see why Jacob had reacted so strongly.

  “Nicholas is coming to dinner if you want to ask him any more questions,” said Azrael as he worked. “He was talking about bringing a couple of the students.”

  Jacob’s brow furrowed. “I thought they all went home.”

  “Most of them,” said Azrael. “But two are in complex situations and they can’t go home. They were invited to eat with the courtiers, but most of the courtiers are a few years older and they inhabit a different world. Anyway, Nicholas thought they might be more comfortable with us.”

  Jacob nodded. “Is Nicholas getting along with the students now?”

  “Better,” said Azrael. “He’s still a bit of a cold fish.”

  “That’s to be expected.”

  “He’s made a couple of friends among the staff,” offered Jessica. “Tod talks to him sometimes, although he’s definitely got his guard up.”

  Jacob turned to her. “Is it your impression that he resents being bound?”

  Jessica pursed her lips. “He’s not delighted by it. But I do think he’s moving in the right direction.”

  “And the school? Do you feel the students are content?”

  The three of them spoke easily about the school for a while, its various students and their classes, the teachers Azrael had hired and their areas of expertise. Jacob asked Jessica’s opinion as though it mattered, as though Azrael’s were not the only opinion in the room. Jessica found this refreshing. She knew she was married to a powerful man sixteen years her senior, but Jessica had her own way of looking at things. She saw angles Azrael didn’t. Azrael knew this and valued it, but most diplomats did not. Lucy has good taste. Well that shouldn’t surprise me.

  Jacob had visibly relaxed. The bourbon—and perhaps the ambrosia—had put some color in his cheeks, and he spoke with something approaching animation about new techniques for long-distance communication with magic. “Sendings,” he called them. “Someone could teach a class at your school without actually being here or disturbing your wards.”

  Azrael had a great many technical questions. Jessica thought they would descend into drawing on napkins and speaking in impenetrable jargon, but Azrael stopped the conversation with a wave of his hand. “It’s Yule, Jacob. I promised my family I wouldn’t work today. Let’s talk about it another time.”

  Jacob nodded. “Of course. I don’t mean to bring the office into your sitting room.”

  “It is very easy to bring my office into my sitting room,” said Azrael. “I don’t need much encouragement.”

  Jacob sipped his drink in silence for a moment.

  Jessica took a deep breath. “Jacob, how did you meet Lucy?”

  Azrael shot her a warning look, but Jessica ignored him. “You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to, but Mal and I are so curious. Lucy is really…” Jessica searched for a word. “Picky.”

  Jacob gave a low chuckle. “You could ask her.”

  “She won’t say,” continued Jessica, “but I think it’s because she doesn’t want to hurt your reputation. You’re a demon hunter.”

  Jacob let out a heavy sigh. His eyes flicked to Azrael. “I know what you’re thinking.”

  “I doubt that,” said Azrael. He’d decided to wash his dishes himself.

  Magic for cookies and hair, but not for washing, thought Jessica. Well, you’ve got to draw the line somewhere.

  “You are thinking that I am a hypocrite,” said Jacob, “and maybe I am. But she’s not an astral demon. I am not her summoner, nor have I ever been her master.”

  Azrael said nothing.

  “Are you contemporary with her?” asked Jessica. “Mal and I keep trying to decide how old you are.”

  “Jessica!” exclaimed Azrael.

  “I think it’s a fair question,” shot Jessica.

  Jacob stared into his drink.

  Azrael came to sit with them, still wearing his apron. “He probably doesn’t know.”

  Jessica was surprised, but Jacob nodded. “Time tends to become less meaningful when you spend a considerable amount of it outside the mortal plane.”

  “In Faerie?” Jessica hazarded.

  “In Faerie, in the Shadow Lands, in pocket worlds, in Dream, in…other places.” He hesitated. “You asked if I was contemporary with Lucy. Not quite. Lucy was born about fifty years before me, but at this point…”

  “At this point, you’ve spent so much time beyond the mortal plane and Lucy has spent so much time trapped in her bottle that you’re essentially contemporaries,” said Azrael succinctly.

  Jacob nodded. He smiled without looking at them. “Whenever I came back from a long assignment or research trip…I’d look for her. I used to have nightmares about finding that she’d been killed or banished. I don’t know why I looked forward to finding her so much. She always seemed to be working for terrible people who caused no end of trouble. But I always looked.”

  Jacob slipped into his teaching voice. “Lucy was one of a number of entities made powerful and bound to vessels by a particularly cruel technique of sending earth-born demons to the astral plane and then yanking them back. Few survived this treatment, but when they did, they were wonderful sources of magic. There was no need for demon hunters in those days, because sorcerers hunted down earth-born demons with vigor.

  “The few who did survive their journey became almost as powerful as astral entities, with the added understanding that comes with being human…or having been so. They were easier to control and considered safer and more desirable.”

  “This was in the early years after the Sundering?” guessed Azrael.

  Jacob shrugged. “My grandparents remembered the Sundering. We were still learning how to work with the higher levels of raw magic pouring out of the Shattered Sea. Fortunately, that technique for amplifying earth-born demons has been banned since the Rift Wars and the manuals containing the spells destroyed. Most of the demons created in this way have been destroyed, as well. I helped to get rid of some of them. But Lucrecia…I always came back from my journeys dreading the news that someone had finally killed her.”

  Jessica patted his hand. “Lucy is more human than plenty of humans I’ve met. And she’s kinder than she wants anyone to know. I understand why you looked for her.”

  Jacob smiled ruefully. “You’re an anomaly yourself, Jessica. You’re what they used to call a—” He stopped. “It doesn’t matter. Those days are gone, and I helped to shut the door on them. The world has lost so much magical knowledge, and mostly that’s for the best. Lucrecia and I are leftover pieces—bits that survived by accident.”

  Jessica wanted to ask what exactly people used to call demons like her, but she held her tongue. “How did you meet?” she whispered.

  Jacob swirled his glass. “As a young man, I worked as a dragon slayer. I wanted to save people. I was full of ideals, some of them poorly conceived.”

  “Well, that’s certainly changed,” said Azrael dryly.

  Jacob quirked a smile at Azrael. “I really did want to be you when I was growing up. Knock everybody’s heads together and make them get along, drive away the monsters, save the orphans. And of course I wanted to be powerful and respected. Everyone does. But the world is not so simple.

  “Anyway, I received a contract from a city in Solaria to deal with a dragon who’d been terrorizing their merchants over the summer. The dragon was mysterious. No one could find it when it wasn’t hunting
. That should have been a clue, but I was young. I went up to the mountain where this dragon was supposed to keep its hoard and waited for three days. I was sitting in the heather one afternoon watching the sky, when I was approached by a young woman. She had black hair and eyes like the bluest mountain lake.”

  Jessica smiled, picturing a young Lucy and a young Jacob in a wilder time and place.

  “She was dressed like a village girl,” continued Jacob. “She told me she was looking for mushrooms. I asked whether she knew that a dragon lived on this mountain. She said, yes, but she thought it was dead. I assured her that it had plundered a monastery of the seven-armed god less than a fortnight ago. She appeared astonished and thanked me for warning her.

  “I saw a book in her satchel. It was something I liked, and we fell to talking. We sat up there in the heather, with the smell of the pines all around us, under a summer sky. She shared her wine and cheese. I shared my cured mutton and apples. She knew more about the politics and economics of the neighboring cities and villages than I would have expected. I had begun making conversation with her because she was pretty, but I ended up asking serious questions about local governance. One thing led to another…”

  Jessica sat with her chin in her hands, enjoying the story. Azrael had a faraway look on his face. Jessica wondered when he’d first had a conversation with Mal and forgotten, just for a moment, that he was a demon. She wondered whether it had been in the mountains of Bethsaria. Probably. Though not in summer.

  Jacob was a little pink around the ears. “I chivalrously offered to escort her back down the mountain, and she said that wouldn’t be necessary. She had something she wanted to show me. I thought… Well, I was a young man; you know what I thought! We went back up among the crags. She walked me along a narrow switchback that was invisible from the ground. And there was a cave full of treasure.”

  Azrael finally laughed. “You’re lucky she didn’t eat you.”

  “In a bad way,” offered Jessica and Jacob’s ears went even pinker. Jessica thought there was something particularly adorable about watching an older man blush.