Incubus Caged Page 5

  Jessica’s head snapped up. The illusory stream! It wound lazily around their table as though it had always been there. Jessica stood, practically trembling with excitement.

  “Yuli?”

  “Mmm?” The other girl muttered without looking up.

  “I’m going to pick out some books and leave. See you tomorrow.”

  She didn’t wait for an answer, but started along the banks of the stream, following it through the reading room. The lights had just begun to dim for the evening, and Jessica could see fireflies. But it’s not night yet. She wasn’t sure she could have gotten up her courage to do what she was about to do at night.

  Jessica left the last of the reading chairs and tables behind. The stacks loomed ahead, stretching impossibly high in the big, airy room. Jessica had traveled a little way into the stacks with librarians over the last few days, and she’d been surprised at how normal the shelves had seemed. She had felt foolish for imagining a forest. Now, however, as she approached the edge, she was once more struck by the shadowy interior of the rows of books. The aisle where the stream disappeared seemed darker than the others.

  Jessica stopped on the edge of the stacks. She could smell water and, underneath, an earthy scent like loam. She could smell the books, too—ink and paper and glue. To her delight, she recognized some of the titles on the shelves beside the stream. This is the place where the panther came out.

  She shivered. And the place where the duke tried to choke me. Jessica glanced quickly over her shoulder, but nobody was near her in the big room. She took a deep breath, then followed the stream into the stacks.

  Chapter 13. The River and the Waterfall

  Jessica’s anxiety disappeared almost immediately as she moved down the aisle, deeper into Azrael’s library. The spines of the books along the shelves were wonderfully rich in color and design. She saw gold embossing, bright shades of red and blue and green, so many different languages, images of lions, dragons, treasures, swords, and ships. The light in the stacks seemed perfectly adequate, and she wondered why she’d ever thought it dim. The illusory stream itself gave off a faint glow.

  Jessica caught a rustling sound on the edge of hearing—like pages…or, if she shut her eyes, like wind through leaves. She walked in the water of the stream, which seemed to grow more solid as she moved deeper into the stacks. She couldn’t feel any wetness, but she could see the ripples of her own footprints. She was walking against the current, and she thought she sensed its faint push.

  Every now and then, she reached a break in the stacks with an aisle running at an angle to her own. But the stream continued in the same direction, and so did Jessica. She looked back at one point and was surprised that she could no longer see the reading room. She felt as though she’d been going in a straight line, but the bookcases behind her curved out of sight. She had a vague notion that she ought to be unnerved by this, but she wasn’t.

  On and on she walked, through crystalline waters that splashed and tinkled. Jessica was startled out of her reverie by a voice up ahead. “Ahoy, there, pretty lady. What brings you to my seas?”

  She looked up to see a handsome man in tight trousers and an open shirt, leaning against a bookcase.

  “Who are you?”

  He smiled, but instead of answering her question, he said, “Would you like to visit my island? It’s quite lovely.”

  Jessica stared at him in confusion. “Island?”

  The man came towards her, holding out his hand. He froze on the edge of the stream and looked down. “Ah. You’re walking up the river.”

  “Yes.” Jessica felt strangely calm in spite of the odd situation. “And I’m looking for someone else. I can’t stop right now. I’m sorry.”

  The man seemed disappointed. “Well…if you pass this way again…consider it.” He stood there on the banks of the stream as she walked by. When she glanced back, Jessica could have sworn he disappeared, not around the bookshelves, but into them.

  She shivered. Something’s wrong. I should feel more worried about what’s happening.

  The water was so beautiful. It had colors that Jessica couldn’t describe. She thought she detected a faint dampness against her ankles, and she wondered if she should stop and take off her shoes so that they didn’t get wet.

  Jessica gasped. She could see the forest reflected in the water—massive, leafy trees, dense ferns along the bank, sunset colors in the sky… She looked up, blinking at the library shelves, the beautiful spines of books, the high ceiling and ethereal lights. She looked back into the stream and saw the reflected forest. It felt so strange—as though she were strolling along the paper-thin border between two worlds.

  Jessica caught a movement near the edge of the stream: a wolf reflected there, loping along the bank, watching her with yellow eyes. Jessica shot a quick glance away from the water and was relieved to see no wolf in the library. The reflected wolf gave her a tongue-lolling expression that could have been a doggie smile or a doggie sneer and veered out of sight.

  Ferns waved in a breeze Jessica could not feel. A moment later, a flight of pixies shot over the reflected surface of the stream. They were diving and chasing each other—their tiny bodies iridescent as dragonflies. Jessica reached out, mesmerized, as though she could touch them. She thought she heard howling in the distance. The world was growing darker.

  “Jessica!”

  She blinked. Jessica could not have said how long she’d been staring at the water. She’d come to a pool in front of a waterfall. It was very beautiful.

  “Jessica!”

  She dragged her eyes away from the pool. Jessica felt a moment of vertigo, as though the world turned inside out. She was in a small clearing among the stacks in front of a stone tower. The illusory stream looked more like a river now. It gushed through the tower entrance, spreading out into the pool.

  Beside the entrance, but not actually in the stream, lay the panther. “Jessica! Get out of the river!”

  “What?” Her voice sounded small in her own ears. The hiss of the reflected waterfall was so loud.

  The panther rose in a crouch, his green eyes sharp. “Come here, Jessica. Just…come here.”

  The last two words seemed to vibrate inside her head. Next thing Jessica knew, she was stepping over the illusory bank. Instantly, the noise of the waterfall and the evening wood sank to a barely audible murmur. Fear slammed into her. “Oh, no! I— I didn’t… Why did I—?”

  “Yes, why did you?” demanded the panther. Up close, he was so big. He caught her dress between his teeth and dragged her further from the stream. “That was exceedingly stupid. Weren’t you listening when they told you not to go into the stacks?”

  Jessica jerked her dress away from him with a flash of anger. “I was looking for you!”

  “Why?”

  “You know why!”

  They stood staring at each other. On an impulse, Jessica reached out and touched his head. The fur was short and soft like velvet. The panther flinched. Jessica could feel…something. A current of energy between them. She sensed she could do things with that energy, but she didn’t understand what. It was like trying to flex a muscle she’d only just discovered.

  The panther groaned. “We are going to get into so much trouble.” Then he dissolved into black smoke and changed.

  Chapter 14. Not a Good Person

  Mal felt as though he could breathe again for the first time in years. Suddenly, the hated collar was nothing more than an interesting necklace. As a man, he stood about a head taller than Jessica. When he bent to kiss her, he thought she might pull away. And maybe that would be better for everyone.

  But then she leaned up and brought her mouth to meet his. Mal crushed her to his chest, the lacy bodice of her dress scratchy against his bare skin. She was warm and lithe and eager, sliding her arms around his neck, her mouth opening under his lips.

  Mal ran his hands over her breasts, caressing the nipples through the fabric, making her gasp. He considered actually ripping
her clothes off. He could do it. But maybe she likes this dress.

  He gave a couple of expert tugs and had the bodice open without a pause in their kissing. Jessica moaned as he slid his hands inside her clothes, over the delicious arch of her back, her round ass, her flat belly. He pressed a finger into the warm folds between her legs, producing a little mew of pleasure, and finding her already wet. Mal backed her up to the wall of Azrael’s tower, some distant part of his brain smugly aware of the irony, and pressed her against the stone.

  Jessica responded by trying to wrap one leg around his waist. Mal had always been one to take his time, but at that moment he didn’t think he could wait. He wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anyone in his life. Even knowing the reason didn’t help. Is this what it’s like to be human?

  Mal hiked up her dress. He slid her panties off, then lifted her off her feet and pinned her against the wall of the tower. Jessica was gasping and shuddering. She threw her head back as he planted kisses along her jaw and down the exquisite line of her long throat. Her blond hair fell around them, cascading free of its combs and pins.

  Jessica wrapped her legs around Mal’s waist and he pressed his cock inside her. She shuddered and he grunted, briefly overwhelmed with sensation. Her entrance felt tight and hot and slippery.

  Mal thrust against her, trying to force himself to go slowly, but Jessica wrapped her legs more tightly around his waist and clenched her arms around his neck. Not slow? Alright.

  Mal started fucking her hard, driving deep inside her with each thrust. Jessica panted and groaned against his ear, and when she came on his cock, he felt it—a spasm that rippled through her, massaging his dick, and making her clenched legs shudder. Mal thrust once more and spent himself inside her. The pleasure was intense. For one moment, he forgot what shape he was in and almost bit her.

  The world seemed to stutter…then slid back into focus. Mal tried, shakily, to set Jessica on her feet, but she seemed unsteady, so he just caught her, and they both slid to the ground. Mal leaned his back against the tower, and Jessica crawled into his lap, open clothes fluttering. She rested her head against his broad chest, and Mal stroked her hair.

  “What are you?” she whispered.

  “An incubus.”

  Jessica went very still. She drew back a fraction to look into his face. “That’s a type of demon.”

  “It is.” Mal watched as fear and uncertainty flickered in her blue eyes. “How much do you know about demons?”

  “Not much,” admitted Jessica. “I thought…I thought you might be a werebeast…or a charmed guard.”

  Mal snorted. “Azrael would never go to such trouble to keep anything so simple about him. No, I’m a demon, summoned from the astral plane and bound by a spell I cannot break.”

  Jessica frowned. “So…you’re a slave?”

  Mal nodded.

  “That’s not right,” said Jessica.

  Mal did not dispute this.

  “Why?” asked Jessica. “Why did he bind you?”

  Mal was surprised that she would ask such a stupid question. But she didn’t know much about sorcerers…or demons. “Azrael does magic,” said Mal. “I am magic.”

  “A source of energy…” said Jessica thoughtfully.

  Mal nodded. “The binding allows him to draw on my power.”

  “What would you do if you got free?”

  Mal yawned. “Consume my master. Then return to the astral plane where I belong.”

  Jessica stared at him. Then she crawled carefully off his lap and drew her knees up to her chin.

  Her departure left Mal feeling suddenly heavy. The silver collar burned against his skin, and he could no longer hold the man shape. His transition back into a panther did not seem to ease Jessica’s anxiety. Of course it doesn’t. It makes me more obviously a predator.

  “Azrael does good things,” said Jessica in a small voice. “He stops wars. He settles disputes without bloodshed. He helps people.”

  “He helps humans,” said Mal bitterly. “What do I care about that?”

  Jessica struggled to her feet, still a little wobbly, but looking flushed with something other than desire. “You are not a good person.”

  “No, but I’m a good lay,” said Mal with a lazy smile.

  As she started towards the edge of the stacks, he added, “You might want to reconsider your fondness for humans. They will certainly not be fond of you…eventually.”

  Jessica turned towards him, busily lacing her dress. “Why do you say that?”

  “I know my own kind, Miss Jessica. You are a succubus.”

  Chapter 15. Demonology

  Jessica hardly remembered the journey back through the stacks. She followed the stream, but she did not walk in it. She did not speak to any of the people who stepped out of the bookcases. She felt foolish and lightheaded. She did not realize until she reached the reading room that she was crying.

  Images jumbled together in her mind—Mal as a man, his electric green eyes and dark curls, his powerful arms holding her so gently, his words a cruel juxtaposition to his tenderness. “He helps humans. What do I care about that?”

  Stupid, Jessica. Stupid, stupid!

  “You are a succubus.”

  He’s a demon! she told herself. Demons lie!

  But she had a terrible suspicion. The memory of Dustin’s slack face and glassy eyes haunted her. She realized that she’d seen that look before—on the faces of the men at Azrael’s dinner party…when Mal had been… Feeding on them?

  Jessica forced herself to stop and speak to a librarian on her way out. “Could you help me find a book on demonology, please? Yes, a very basic text will do.”

  * * * *

  Mal lay at Azrael’s feet throughout the next day as he talked endlessly with the leader of the Solarian separatists. Why did I say those things to her? Why didn’t I lie? Or say something different? Anything different!

  “We would never traffic with necromancers, my lord. You can be very certain of that.”

  “And yet you have had illness in your villages recently…and bodies disappearing.”

  “Illness, yes, Lord Azrael. However…I know King Asher would not like me to say this to you, but mountain villages do not receive aid as readily as other portions of his kingdom. Asher has no interest in our health unless bodies are disappearing. Desperate people are likely to say anything that will get them supplies and medicine.”

  Why didn’t I at least give her some warnings? Mal asked himself. Before I just blurted it out, why didn’t I tell her how to protect herself? I should have known she’d run away as soon as I told her what she is. Why didn’t I say other things first?

  Azrael gave Mal an impatient nudge with this shoe. He glanced down with an expression that said, “Pay attention, please. I am trying to work.”

  Mal dutifully paid attention, providing a focused stream of energy while Azrael finished a handful of charms for the Solarian. “I want you to put these in your most vulnerable villages. It’s just a precaution. They will alert me if certain kinds of magic are used. Meanwhile, I am going to speak to King Asher about your medical care.”

  “Thank you, my lord.”

  When they were alone, Azrael murmured, “What is wrong with you?”

  Mal raised his head and rested it heavily on the table. “I’m an astral demon trapped in a physical body for twenty-three years. What’s not wrong with me?”

  Azrael drummed his fingers. “Don’t be coy. You act like I’ve drained you recently, but I haven’t.”

  Mal yawned. “You should laugh at my jokes. It might make me inclined to kill you faster when I finally get loose.”

  “You should answer my questions; it might make me less suspicious.”

  Mal gave a snort of laughter and rolled onto his back. “Nothing makes you less suspicious.”

  “You’re right; now answer my question.”

  “You have not given me a chance to really recharge in quite a while.”

  Azrael con
sidered. “Perhaps not. We’ll do that soon. I may need you in the tower before this business with the necromancer is over.”

  Mal perked up. Azrael was vulnerable when he was working major spells. It was one reason Mal was not usually allowed into the tower. “You know your textbooks say that all sorcerers are eventually consumed by their magic.”

  “A fact of which you love to remind me,” said Azrael with a distracted expression.

  Mal smiled sweetly. “‘Consumed by their magic.’ That is such a neat, clean phrase…compared to what actually happens when something like me consumes something like you.”

  “I have no doubt,” said Azrael with a maddening lack of concern. He continued as though Mal actually had any interest in the politics of his domain. “Something is very strange about this whole affair with the separatists. Some other hand is moving here. I wish I knew whose.”

  * * * *

  Incubus and succubus: male and female aspects of Lust respectively. These demons feed on sexual energy, converting this energy into their own magical essence in much the same way that corporeal beings convert food into flesh and bone. Incubi and succubi can drain the life from a sexual partner. However, they rarely do so. Like vampires, these demons typically prefer to take a small amount of energy from a number of victims, rather than draining a single victim. Mortals may feel exhausted after sex with an incubus or succubus, but they usually suffer no long-term effects.

  Incubi and succubi on the mortal plane reproduce by fathering children on unsuspecting mortal women or receiving seed from unsuspecting mortal men. Demons with a mortal parent tend to harbor more kindness towards humanity than those originating on the astral plane. Earth-born demons may even view themselves as human. They typically appear completely human until their first sexual intercourse, at which point they begin to mature into their demonic nature. This happens slowly over several years.

  Some scholars consider such incubi and succubi half-demons, but most agree that there are no such things as half-demons. Magic burns away their humanity until they are fully transformed into—