Tears of Blood (10 page)

With the release of sexual tension came the release of self-control as
well, and Sarahi’s misery of the last two decades expressed itself in a
flood of tears. Lucien stroked her hair as she wept on his shoulder. His hands
felt so good on her. She had forgotten how good. But now she was remembering.
Now she felt alive again. She felt his soft kiss on the top of her head.

"I love you, Lucien," she sniffled.

"And I love you, Sarahi."

"Never leave me again."

"As long as there is breath in my body, I will not. And that is a
vow I shall never break."

Sarahi smiled through her tears.

Lucien’s erection had softened inside her, but her needy body was
far from finished with him. When he made a move as though to withdraw from her,
she placed her hand on the center of his chest and sent him a little pulse.
Instantly, his sex thickened to throbbing life. He groaned.

"How did you do that?" he asked her.

"Succubus," she replied. He drew her head down for a kiss,
then stood, still inside her, and reversed their directions, bearing her down
into the mattress. Sarahi looped her legs over his elbows, presenting herself
to him for another deep, thorough taking which left them both panting and
sated.

Chapter 15

Lucien led his lady out of her bedroom. Much time had passed while they
had been inside. He had missed breakfast altogether, and his stressed body was
clamoring for food. She had taken a tremendous amount of energy from him,
between the feeding and the physical exhaustion of sex, however wonderful it
might have been. That, coupled with the battle he’d just completed, had
left him starving to the point of lightheadedness. Hand in hand they made their
way through the compound to the empty kitchen. The women and some of the men
took turns cooking meals, but a large number of snacks could be had by anyone
who felt a need.

Lucien scanned the refrigerator and snagged an apple, crunching it
nosily while Sarahi rummaged for a pan and heated it on the stove.

"How can a creature who does not need to eat know how to
cook?"

"How can a creature sworn to celibacy be so good in bed?"
she bantered back. He shut up.

She sautéed some onion and bell pepper in a pan with bacon, and
then added a few beaten eggs. By the time he’d finished his apple and a
banana, she’d completed the omelet and slid it onto a plate. He devoured
it. She sat beside him, toying with a cup of lukewarm, leftover coffee. While
she did not require food or drink, she could take them if she so desired. Or so
she’d told him. Once the edge of his hunger was satisfied, he returned
his attention to his lady, taking her hand and admiring the long, slender
fingers, the perfect half-moon nails, the soft, soft skin. He touched his lips
to her palm, and then to the pulse in her wrist. He felt her heartbeat increase
under his lips. She opened her hand on his cheek, stroking.

He stood and hauled her into his arms for another long kiss. This was
madness. They had to slow down. But he couldn’t.

"Sarahi!" A harsh voice behind them broke the couple apart.

Mr. Smith stood, arms crossed over his chest, regarding the succubus
with an angry scowl. "You promised us our men would be in no danger from
you. You swore you’d never seduce them. What on earth is this?"

"Mr. Smith, I..."

"Quiet," he ordered, slashing the air with his hand.
"You’ll have to leave now. We can’t have you here, not of
you’re harming our men."

"Mr. Smith," Lucien cut off the elder’s tirade. He
stopped dead and turned, taking in the face.

"Lucien? You? Did you learn nothing from your previous
punishment?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did." Lucien said,
deliberately being cryptic.

"I know you have a... weakness for women, but a succubus?
Really?"

Lucien shook his head. "No, not the way you think. Sarahi did not
seduce me. She would not do that."

"But... but..." the cleric sputtered.

"Listen, you wanted to know... I’ll tell you. This is not a
casual fling with a hungry succubus. We’ve known each other a long time.
Sarahi is... Josiah’s mother."

That rendered the stuttering cleric silent. He looked from one to the
other and back. Apparently, Lucien’s lady felt nervous. She clung a
little closer to him. He tightened his arm around her.

"Mo... mo...mother?" Mr. Smith forced out at last. You mean
he’s... "

"Half naphil, half...me," she said softly.

"A demon," he gritted out. "That explains so
much." A sour look passed over the elder’s face.

"He’s not a demon," Sarahi hissed. Lucien could never
recall hearing that ugly, snake-line tone in her voice before. Apparently even
a succubus could be dangerous in defense of her offspring. "He’s
less demon than I am, and you let me stay here. What makes you dislike him so?"

"There’s something wrong with the boy. And before you go
all cobra on me, Sarahi, remember. I’ve raised him since infancy.
You’ve never seen him. You have no idea the trouble he’s caused in
this place, with his strange urges and his unnatural abilities."

Her body tensed in Lucien’s arms and he tightened his grip,
warning her to remain calm.

"Listen, Mr. Smith," he said, "I’ve been here
the last ten years, and I have not seen him behave differently than any of the
other boys. Why are you so set against him? If this is the way you’ve
treated him, no wonder he’s begged me to take him away."

"I wish you had," Mr. Smith said coldly. "He should
never have existed. I felt that when I thought he was your son by a human
woman. Now that I know he’s a demon..."

"He is not a demon," Sarahi said again, more strongly.
"He is the incubus. And you should be careful how you treat him. If he
hates you, he will side against you. He’ll go back to
her.
Even
now she calls for him."

Mr. Smith’s eyes bugged out. "Incubus? But... that’s
just a legend!"

Sarahi turned in Lucien’s arms, fully facing the furious elder.
"If that’s so, then why has Mother been trying to create one for
millennia? She’s not stupid. She knows the prophecies as well as you
do... at least the ones she has access to. You have volumes here she’s
never seen. The incubus exists. He lives right now. Where is he? Where is my
son?"

Mr. Smith gulped. "He’s been sent with several other
clerics in training to investigate a succubus in Billings."

Sarahi blinked.

"Now listen, ma’am, I think we need to talk."

"Yes, I agree," Sarahi said coldly. "I sent my son
away so he would be safe. If I hear he’s been abused in some
way..."

"He has never been harmed, I swear," Mr. Smith replied.

Sarahi nodded. "Very well then," she said, though Lucien
could feel from the tension in her arms she wasn’t fully convinced.
"We
do
need to talk."

"We certainly do," the elder agreed. "In fact,
let’s gather the council, the other nephilim, the clerical generals. I
think this is information everyone needs."

"I agree," Sarahi said. "That will give me a few
minutes to gather my materials."

Half an hour later, the elder conference room was filled to capacity.
The massive table seated two dozen, and the seven elders sat along one side,
all in a row, with Mr. Smith at the corner, the seat of power, as it were.
Across from them, the generals of the nephilim; Lucien, Jonas, and five others
Sarahi did not know, though she’d seen them all at one time or another.
The rest of the seats were taken by the heads of the Order of Clerics; stoic
men none of whom Sarahi knew by name. Younger clerics, teachers and
elders-in-training crowded around the table, standing or leaning on the wall.
Sarahi had been given a spot beside Mr. Smith, across from Lucien. At the last
moment, a silent figure dressed in white slipped into one corner.

All eyes turned toward her. She suddenly regretted volunteering to lead
this conversation. After three millennia of hiding, she did not like being in
the spotlight. And it really was a spotlight, the overhead bulb glaring down on
her. She gulped and met Lucien’s eyes. He nodded.

"I wanted to start by thanking everyone who has made me feel so
welcome here. It can’t have been easy, having a succubus in your
midst." Gasps sounded all around the room. She suppressed a grin. Now she
really had their attention. "The reason I’m here is that I’ve
been marked for death by my mother. I don’t know if you are aware, but
all succubae are the daughters of Lilith, in a literal sense. There is so much
information I need to share with you, and I’m not used to public
speaking, so I hope you’ll forgive me if I... ramble, and don’t
present my thoughts in the most organized way..."

"The demoness is your mother?" a heavyset elder demanded.
"The succubae are your sisters? Why are you turning against them? Have
you no loyalty to your family?"

She turned to the man, meeting his eyes squarely. He flinched.

"You should be glad I have chosen your side," she told him
coldly. "I choose to believe that DNA does not determine destiny. I have
made a choice. Don’t make me regret it." She let her nails grow out
from delicate shell colored half-moons into three inch, razor-sharp talons.

He nodded once, cowed.

"Now, does anyone else want to waste time on silly questions, or
can we move forward?"

No one spoke.

She opened the book in front of her, an ancient text bound in
musty-smelling leather. She sneezed. "All right. The information I wanted
to present to you has to do with the incubus."

Several people snorted, and one man standing near the door turned
ostentatiously and walked out.

"It’s a fact, not a legend," she said. "He
already lives."

That drew their attention back to her.

"What proof do you have of that?" Mr. Smith demanded.
"You saying it doesn’t make it so."

"You’re right.  And I would hardly expect anything
else. All right. I’m in a rather unique position. I’ve spent my
life with access to the library of prophesy owned by the succubae. I’ve
read them all. I never guessed the ones you had would be so... different.
Combining them, I finally feel like I understand what they mean." She
swallowed, looked down at the book and then back up at the people around her,
meeting their eyes. She locked gazes with The Assassin and received a wink. She
smiled, but grimly.

"What it means, friends, is that war is coming."

"I hate to break it to you, Toots," one of the cleric
generals drawled sarcastically, "but we’ve been at war for
millennia."

"I know that," Sarahi snapped. "I’m not talking
about these little skirmishes and sneak attacks we’ve been engaging in
since time immemorial. I’m talking about outright war. She will come, and
she will kill us all."

"And just why would that happen?" The naphil seated next to
Lucien asked. "What reason could she possibly have to come against us
now?"

"It’s because of the incubus," Sarahi said. "To
us, to her, it’s not a legend or a myth. It’s a fact. She’s
been trying for years to create one."

"Why?" Several difference voices posed the query at the
same time.

"Yes, that is the question," Sarahi said. "And that’s
where having access to both sets of prophecies has answered a lot of questions
for me. Yours explain what an incubus is. Hers explain what one does."

"Enough with the foreplay, succubus," another of the
generals said. "Get to the point."

"The point is, the incubus is an inexhaustible source of power.
He will not    take energy from intercourse with others. He will
create it."

"That’s impossible," Mr. Smith said. "Energy
cannot be created."

"Perhaps not as such," Sarahi admitted, "but it can
be generated. Think of a static charge. When two objects rub against each
other, it can create a spark, even if neither object is electrical in nature.
That same kind of process goes on inside the incubus."

She glanced around again. They were listening, finally. Good.

"I believe I also know why. Our texts speak of the
incubus’s power. He will be able to provide unlimited energy to his
partner, or he can use it to enhance lust, or even kill. He’s a living
weapon."

"I can understand why Lilith would want one," Lucien said.
The sound of his deep voice made a little shiver roll up her spine.

"Yes. But what she did not understand was how to go about getting
one. She assumed her demon blood, mixed with human, would suffice, if only a
son could be born. But that’s not the case. Human nature, tainted as it
is with original sin, mixes easily with the demon. No conflict. No energy. It
requires untainted DNA to create the friction which will result in the energy
production."

"So, an angel, then?"

Sarahi looked for the source of the voice. A woman standing near the
door.

"In a sense, yes. However, Lilith could rape an angel and not
conceive. The natures are too disparate. You might as well mate a tiger to a
fish. Nothing would happen. The mingling requires a catalyst. Lilith herself
can never produce an incubus, because the catalyst, human DNA, is not present
in her. She is fully demon."

She waited, hoping someone else would make the inevitable leap.

"So then," Mr. Smith said, "human DNA is the
catalyst?"