Incubus Awakened by Kitty Thomas

16

Luc stood next to the stove, trying to stay out of the cat fight. The girls were gathered behind Maria who was facing off with Tam. They’d been arguing loudly for the past thirty minutes, enough that it woke Anna. When she entered the fray, Tam whirled on her.

“Gypsies? The fucking gypsies are coming today?”

The girls, who had been hiding behind Maria, used the distraction as an opportunity to leave.

“I’m not sure. Why?” Anna said. She looked to Maria, who nodded. “I guess they’re coming today. Is that a problem?”

Anna’s hair was a messy mane of curls Luc wanted to thread his fingers through. He had to fight to keep from kicking every female but Anna out of the house so he could get some alone time with her, but Tam looked even more irritated than before.

“Look, I know we got a lot done the other day, but I agreed not to come by yesterday because the weirdo ghost people were coming. How did that go, by the way?”

Luc and Anna both avoided her eyes.

“I see,” Tam said. “Now we have to give up another day to the gypsies. And really, you can have gypsies but not witches? You know me. Am I in any way creepy or evil?”

“No . . . but . . . ”

“But nothing. I can’t believe you’ll go to complete strangers and use gypsy magic but you won’t use witch magic. How many options do you have left here?”

She looked from Anna to Luc as if he’d give her support. It wasn’t a misplaced appeal. He wanted the spell broken, and the sooner Anna could run through her list of pointless attempts, the sooner he could convince her to just burn the damn thing down.

Karen rushed back into the room. “They’re here! And they look just like real gypsies. I’m so excited!”

Maria scowled. “They are real gypsies.”

“I know,” Karen said, “but I thought they’d be wearing jeans, not cool skirts and jewelry. It’s like they just stepped off a caravan.”

Maria rolled her eyes. “That’s because they work as fortune tellers with a traveling carnival. I cannot believe they’re wearing that. It’s just reinforcing stereotypes. I hope they’re wearing shoes.”

“I like the outfits,” Karen said defensively.

Maria turned to Tam. “What if your coven showed up wearing long black dresses and pointy hats? Wouldn’t you be appalled?”

“Oh my God, yes.”

Luc gawked at both of them, unable to believe they were bonding now after they’d spent the past half hour at each other’s throats. He stole a glance at Anna and was surprised to find her looking at him. She seemed to have abandoned the drama around her once Karen had returned. There was a heated expression on her face that said there might be a chance. For what, he didn’t know.

He reached out to her, unsure of the plan past feeling her skin against his, when the door opened and in glided three gypsies. They each had long black hair and kohl lining their eyes. Their lips were a deep ruby red that would have made other women look like harlots.

True to Karen’s description, they looked like real gypsies in brightly colored skirts and layers of jingling coin scarves that made a cachink cachink sound when they moved.

“Maria! Darling. Why are you living in this house of sin?” one of the gypsies asked with a thick accent.

“I am a hooker or had you forgotten?”

“We were hoping you would stop that and come work with us,” a second woman said.

“I don’t think so.” Maria looked down her nose at the women. Luc raised a brow at the interplay. There must be some serious family drama if she preferred the life she had to the one they offered.

She turned to the rest of the group. “These are my aunts on my mother’s side, Lenora, Merripen, and Zenda. They are sure to lie to you about their exploits, but the magic is real, and that’s what matters.”

“Maria, really,” Merripen said. “We aren’t that bad.”

Lenora was the oldest, sixty at least, though her hair was black through the miracle of hair color. She turned her hawkish gaze on Luc.

“This is the demon, then?” Her eyes glittered dangerously as she pointed a long, manicured fingernail at him. Her head whipped around to Anna suddenly as if she were receiving some sort of vision. “And you. You’ve been tainted with him.”

She grabbed Anna’s hand, an act that was starting to wear on Luc’s nerves. Did no one from this century have manners or a sense of personal boundaries? Although it did lend credence to them being the real deal if they could sense the blood magic on her, unlike the ghost hunters of the day before. Either way, he was tired of it. Luc growled before stepping forward and physically moving Anna behind him.

He felt his eyes burn with the light that was brought on by strong emotions for his kind. “Don’t touch her. You are here to break a curse, nothing more.”

“Oh, this is interesting.” Lenora moved closer to him without a trace of fear. If Anna weren’t there to witness it, he could have broken through that wall of bravado quickly enough. But behaving like an animal would get him nowhere in gaining Anna’s trust.

The gypsy gave him a once-over and laughed. “A demon with feelings. It’s been a long time since I’ve crossed paths with one of those.” She looked back to Anna, assessing. “You haven’t slept with him. And yet you are the one that he wants. Very strange.”

Luc growled again. He wasn’t sure if the gypsy had intended to be more insulting to him or Anna. Either way felt like a good reason to be pissed.

She held her hands up in surrender. “Calm yourself. I’m not going to touch your girl again.” Then to Anna, “Where would be the best place to do the ritual, dear?”

He could feel Anna was shaken. Besides the slight tremor of her body when they’d briefly touched, emotions were pouring out of her so strongly he could feel them without effort.

She led the three women to the living room. “Here is fine.”

“No, it’s no good,” Zenda said, her eyes glazed over. “Magic has already been worked here. Catholic magic. We will have to cleanse the space.”

When they started working, Anna excused herself to look for Tam. Luc didn’t attempt to follow, more concerned with babysitting the gypsies to make sure they didn’t try anything funny.

* * *

Anna foundher beside the fountain in the garden, staring down at the green algae and smoking a cigarette.

“Want one?” Tam asked. She seemed ready to forgive Anna’s witch-prejudice as if no ill words had been exchanged in the kitchen. But that was how their friendship was. Little spats, a little crisis, then all’s forgiven. Like sisters.

“You know I don’t smoke anymore.”

“Yes, but now seems like a good time to start again. It’s very tense in there,” she observed, gesturing toward the house.

Anna shrugged. “What the hell. Yes, I would love to take up smoking again.”

Tam smirked but passed her a cigarette. “You remember when we were in high school and we used to pretend to smoke just to upset our parents?”

Anna laughed and took the offered lighter. She was already making promises to herself, planning to quit again when Luc was free. She was aware of Tam’s eyes on her, gauging markers only longtime friends even knew to look for.

“So you wanna tell me what’s wrong?” Tam said, finally.

Anna spent the next twenty minutes describing her run-in with Father Jeffries and the choice in front of her.

“Yeah, I knew about all that.”

“You what?”

“Well, not about the bond and stuff, but I knew about the other dimensions. I mean, hello? My gods don’t live here.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I think your exact words were: ‘Tam, whatever you do, just don’t tell me about it.’ I took you at face value. Sue me.”

Anna was still having a bit of trouble with the witch thing. For years they’d been out of touch, and before that, her friend had mostly kept it hidden. Now that the world had turned out to be so magic, Tam wasn’t bothering as much with discretion. Anna couldn’t really blame her.

Merripen poked her head out the door. “We’re ready to start.”

Anna nodded her acknowledgment, and the gypsy went back inside.

“I really think Luc’s okay,” Tam said as if reading Anna’s fears right off her face. “I know you don’t like the witch stuff. But I’ve been using magic for a long time now. And I told you, I don’t get the same vibe off him as I do other demons.”

“But you were under thrall the first time you met him.”

“I took care of that problem.”

Tam didn’t elaborate, and she didn’t push. Whatever rituals were being done behind closed doors were none of Anna’s business. “You coming in?”

Tam laughed. “And have a freak-out about conflicting magical techniques? Or have them sniff the unclean non-gypsy magic on me? No, thank you. I’m going down to Sally’s to see how much we can reasonably fit on the shelves. I’ll call you later.”

When Anna returned to the foyer, candles and incense were already lit. Odd items lay scattered in a strange pattern on the floor.

“Oh, good, you’re here. Anna, dear, come. I need you for the ritual.” Lenora motioned for her to step into the circle. Scarlett and Rhett sat just outside the ritual space, wary but curious.

Luc watched the proceedings from the corner. “Why do you need her?”

Lenora met his eyes and something passed between them. When she spoke, it seemed more for the benefit of Anna than Luc. “I need her blood. You know blood is the only thing strong enough, and she owns the house now.”

His jaw clenched. “It’s up to her. I’m not going to make her do this.”

“Anna?” The gypsy woman asked.

Anna looked uncertainly from Lenora to Luc. “Will it hurt him?”

Lenora’s eyes widened. “Even more interesting. You care for your demon as much as he cares for you. I had thought it was one-sided.”

“He’s not my demon,” she said. Denial, a traitorous voice in her mind whispered.

The woman looked deeply into her eyes, then nodded, satisfied when she found what she was looking for. “Take it from an old gypsy fortune teller. He will be.” She held Anna’s hand in hers, and looked at her palm. “Ah, just what I suspected. You have a very long life line. Shall we?”

Everything the gypsy said or did was cryptic and seemed like an inside joke. It made Anna uncomfortable, but she stepped into the circle anyway because Luc was counting on her.

Lenora withdrew a gilded knife with tiny rubies set in the handle. The knife vibrated with a power that was palpable even to someone like Anna who, until recently, had been unused to magic. Lenora cut a thin line down the center of Anna’s unmarked palm, causing her to hiss with pain. A low growl came from Luc, but he didn’t move to intercede.

“I will heal it before we begin,” Lenora said. The growling stopped. Merripen and Zenda sat on the floor just outside the circle mixing herbs and chanting. After Lenora had gotten several drops of Anna’s blood into a saucer, she held out her hand expectantly.

Like doctor’s assistants, Merripen and Zenda gave her damp muslin they’d soaked in water and then dipped in the herbs. Lenora wrapped Anna’s left hand while chanting quietly. A gentle breeze picked up, then the burning sensation from the cut was gone. Lenora unwrapped her hand, and it was healed.

Anna moved to Luc as the three sisters sat together drawing symbols onto the hardwood floor with her blood. She couldn’t help thinking she’d have to deal with neurotic-Luc if this didn’t work and bloodstains were left on the floor. Maybe they could get an oriental rug to cover it.

After a few moments, the gypsies joined hands and started to chant in their native tongue as they swayed slowly back and forth. A wind picked up, causing the candle flames to flicker in and out. As their voices grew louder, the wind turned to a full-on gust, zipping around the room. Luc wasn’t responsible for it this time.

The candles puffed out from the force of the wind, leaving the mid-afternoon sun filtering through the windows as the only remaining light. An invisible energy flung the door open, and Luc was pulled toward it. He bounced hard off the barrier.

The chanting continued. It happened again, causing Luc to slide against the floor and land in a heap. The barrier wasn’t going anywhere.

“Stop it!” Anna shouted. She rushed over and crouched next to him as the chanting died down, her hands skimming over his arms in search of injury. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he growled. “The only thing hurt is my pride. That wasn’t incredibly manly.” He clasped her hand in his, holding her gaze. “But it’s nice that you care.”

Anna, looking for a distraction from the intimate moment, pulled her hand away, and turned to the gypsies. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t let you keep flinging him against the barrier like that.”

“It’s all right,” Lenora said. “Unfortunately, we cannot undo the curse. Was there a clause to break it?”

Anna stared at an interesting spot on the floor. “Yes, but we were hoping not to have to do it.”

“You will probably have to. We felt the anger. And pain. There was too much fueling the spell. Our magic may be strong, but vengeance is stronger.”

“You could see the original spell?” Anna asked.

“We could sense it, yes.”

The gypsies turned then as one organized unit and started packing bags. They seemed to consider their business done. No small talk or chit chat or staying for lunch. Anna almost had whiplash as she watched them file out the door.

She was quickly running out of options. Maybe she should take pictures of the house before she burned it down. Then she could move all the furniture into storage, so she wouldn’t lose that, at least.

The harem stood over in the corner whispering amongst themselves. Maria had gone outside to see her aunts off, and no doubt to get a lecture about her choice to remain under the same roof as a demon.

“We’re never getting that blood out of the floor,” Luc grumbled, interrupting her thoughts.

“Oh, here we go. I knew it was just a matter of time before you started in on that. I’m going to burn down the house just so I don’t have to hear about the antiques and the walls and floor anymore. Do you know your demon status is the only thing keeping you intimidating? All the cooking and the obsession with antiques . . . ”

He growled. “Don’t push me, Anna. I don’t care if there are witnesses.”

A shiver––though not from fear––ran down her spine.

Karen came over then. “We’re going to Mama Bella’s for lunch. Want to come?”

Anna glanced over to Luc. The look in his eyes was so possessive she wanted to flee to the safety of the restaurant with the others, but the excited twinge in her stomach wouldn’t let her.

“No, that’s okay,” she heard herself say.

Karen shrugged and rejoined the group. Anna practically ran to the kitchen. What was she doing letting herself be alone with him, without the harem as a buffer? She ran hot water in the sink and started putting the breakfast dishes in.

“We have a dishwasher,” he commented.

“I like to do them by hand.” I like to keep my hands busy so I won’t put them on you. I like to distract myself from temptation.

She felt the demon behind her, pressing himself firmly against her back. He pulled her hair away from her neck, kissed the side of it, and whispered in her ear.

“Gypsies are rarely wrong about the future, you know.”

“Luc . . . ” She was holding onto the rarely part of that sentence.

His hand slipped underneath her shirt to caress her lower back. “I don’t know why you fight it. You are mine. There’s nothing you can do about that.”

She bristled. It was one thing to voluntarily go to him, it was quite another for him to act as if he had some kind of special claim over her that she was powerless to fight. She could fight it. She was pretty confident Father Jeffries could undo the bond.

“Stop saying that! If you think it helps your cause, it doesn’t. You know you can take what you want. I know you can take what you want. You can use the hypno mind thrall thing or whatever if you want. If you’re going to do it, do it. But stop hanging it over my head. I don’t like being messed with like that.”

Luc didn’t say anything more. He just kept rubbing her back in small, soothing circles. And like an idiot, she kept leaning into it so he didn’t stop.

“I start to see you as something other than a demon, and you keep reminding me.”

He stopped touching her and stepped back. “I don’t want you to forget it.”

She turned to face him, wiping her sudsy hands on her jeans. “Why the hell not?”

“Because I’m not human. I don’t want you to be disappointed by that. If you decide to be with me, I don’t want you to pretend I’m just another guy you’re dating. I need you to be aware.”

She threw her hands in the air. “I’m aware! I’m so aware, there’s no more aware I could be. Unless you start stomping around the house in demon form.”

He cringed.

“See? Double standard. You say you don’t want me to forget what you are, but you’ve yet to show me. Show me, and maybe I won’t be so forgetful.” She knew she was baiting him, and she didn’t care. She was tired of the hypocrisy. It wasn’t her fault she forgot he was a demon when he acted so much like a person half the time.

“You never have to see that.” He reached out to touch her, but she sidestepped his hand.

“Whatever.”

He moved to sit in one of the kitchen chairs. “Anna, why must we always fight? Why is it so hard with you?”

“It’s four o’clock.”

“So?”

“Last Saturday the Townsends invited me to dinner. It’s today.” She draped a hand towel over the draining dishes.

“You’re being avoidant.”

“Yes, but I’m not lying. The issues we have can’t be worked out in twenty minutes. I promise we’ll talk when I get back.”

The frown lines around his mouth showed his disapproval, but he let her go.