The Incubus, Succubus and Son of Perdition Box Set: The Len du Randt Bundle (22 page)

Her mind reeled;
her heart beat faster than ever before; her breathing was short, and her
stomach tightened. ‘I...I’m married...’

‘To what?’
Dominic asked. ‘A good for nothing, cheating husband that doesn’t care about
you or your baby?’ He established eye contact with her to make sure she soaked
in what he said. ‘I, on the other hand, care greatly for you and your baby. I
will always be with you and will never leave or forsake you.’

Rebecca wanted
him to embrace her. She yearned physical contact. ‘You...you have to leave,’
she said.

Dominic gave her
hand a slight squeeze before he got up. ‘Think about what I’ve said.’ He headed
for the door and gave her one last look before leaving through it.

Denial is a
terrible thing
.

To Rebecca,
everything between her and Justin was spinning out of control: their love life,
their communication, and their marriage. ‘Oh, come home, Justin,’ she
whispered, and then she cried.

*    -    -   
-    *

Demons battled
angels. Simon was surrounded by the foul smelling creatures. They advanced at a
rapid pace, all baring fangs and waving swords.

‘Elrisk!’ Simon
shouted. ‘Where are you?’

The demons
advanced quicker.

‘Elrisk!’

‘Right here
beside you, my old friend,’ a voice spoke from his left.

Simon looked to
his side and saw the man that had been in his apartment only a week ago. The
man was clothed in robes of gold that radiated light. He brandished a flaming
sword in his hand and had huge, powerful wings.

‘Looks like we
have company,’ the angel known to Simon as Elrisk said and pointed at the
advancing horde.

Simon didn’t
make a move until they were almost upon him. He instinctively reached for his
side and unsheathed a flaming sword. With one forceful arc through the air,
Simon slew four demons at once.

‘Welcome back,
Yuriel,’ Elrisk said and laughed out loudly.

The two of them
slashed their way through hordes of demons until, finally, there were no more
to slay.

Simon looked at
the angel next to him. ‘I accept,’ he said.

‘Accept?’

‘The truth.’

Elrisk didn’t
say anything.

‘I accept the
truth and embrace the knowledge of who I really am.’

Elrisk smiled
and his teeth radiated a blinding light that engulfed Simon. He woke up and
slid off the bed. On his knees he prayed while the tears flowed. But they were
not tears of sadness. They were tears of victory and joy.

‘
You what?
’ Justin asked
louder that he intended to. ‘You gave me your word!’

Lance frowned.
‘I know I did,’ he said. ‘But I would really not have asked you if you weren’t
my only hope.’

‘Is there no one
else in the entire company that can go?’

‘This is our
biggest paying client,’ Lance said. ‘We simply can’t afford to lose them.
Richard made such a mess of the site that they’re threatening to cancel the
contract, and if that happens...well, then who knows how many people we would
have to lay off.’

‘That’s not my
problem,’ Justin said. ‘You gave me your word that I wouldn’t have to go.’

‘You’re up for a
review next month,’ Lance said, ignoring Justin. ‘Just imagine to what
advantage it could be, career wise, if news would reach the board members that
you single-handedly saved the company.’

Justin bit his
lip. He wanted to single-handedly smack Lance across his large desk. But there
were bills to pay, a wife to take care of, and a baby that would soon need a
lot of diapers. All of those things meant money, and money was something that
Justin could use more of.

‘It’s all in
your hands now,’ Lance said. ‘You alone control the fate of this company.’

Justin thought
about the comment for a while. ‘And who controls the fate of my marriage?’

Lance smiled. ‘I
know you’ll sort something out with the wife,’ he said. ‘You always do.’

Justin wanted to
strangle Lance with his own tie.
Why don’t
you
go, mister family man,
he wanted to shout as Lance’s face turned from red to purple. ‘I’ll see what I
can do,’ he said instead.

‘You do that,’
Lance said and exposed his teeth in his perfectly practiced corporate grin.
Defeated, Justin took a deep breath and left the office.

*    -    -   
-    *

‘I don’t think
you should go,’ Simon said, ‘I really have a very bad feeling about this.’

‘So do I,’
Justin said. ‘If I go, Rebecca
will
leave me. For good this time. I know
it.’ He sighed. ‘But if I don’t, the company will lose its biggest paying
client and most likely fire or retrench me; something we can’t afford now that
there’s a baby on the way.’

‘They can’t put
that kind of pressure on you,’ Simon said. ‘Is there no one else they can send
instead?’

Justin shook his
head. ‘Not according to Lance, no. I’m the chosen one that will save the
company. The corporate messiah.’

Simon didn’t
laugh at Justin’s joke. ‘Have you spoken to Rebecca about your concerns with
Dominic yet?’

‘I haven’t, no,’
Justin admitted. ‘Didn’t have the time to do so yet. She was troubled about
something when I got home the other night, so I didn’t want to upset her any
more than absolutely necessary.’

‘When are you
going to the site?’

‘Tomorrow
afternoon; after work. Just have to shoot by the apartment to pick up some
stuff and say goodbye to Becky before I leave.’

‘Will you be
able to talk to her tonight?’

‘I don’t know,’
Justin said. ‘I guess I could at least try.’

‘I still don’t
think you should go,’ Simon said.

‘Tell that to
Lance.’

Simon rubbed his
face. ‘This is really bad.’

‘Why couldn’t
they just send you?’ Justin asked. ‘No offence.’

‘I have that
roll-out to finish,’ Simon said. ‘It
has
to be done by Friday, and
there’s no way that anyone could be brought up to speed in time for me to take
over your site.’

‘This sucks,’
Justin said. ‘Guess I have no choice but to face the music then, do I?’

‘Everything will
turn out fine,’ Simon said. ‘I’m almost sure of it.’

Justin shrugged.
‘Tell that to my wife,’ he said and walked off.

*    -    -   
-    *

Rebecca sat on
the couch with her face in her hands. She didn’t know what to believe anymore.
Was Justin having an affair? Should she just leave him and get it over with?
Did Dominic really care for her and the baby as much as he claimed that he did,
or was it merely an infatuation? Did she really like Dominic enough to cheat on
her husband?
Tit for tat
, Tanya would say. Rebecca switched on the
television. She desperately needed companionship right now.

‘People of
Kelwick are baffled about the heat wave that has been ravaging the small town
for the past five months. Many have been hospitalised due to dehydration and
heat stroke, and many more have been treated with severe sunburn.’

She muted the
television. White noise would have to do.

A soft knock on
the door made her jump. She instinctively knew who it was, and as she walked
down the corridor she secretly hoped that she was right. She opened the door to
find flowers blocking her view from whoever was at the other side.
So many
flowers
.

‘A
kiss-and-make-up present for the most wonderful lady on earth,’ Dominic said.

Rebecca held her
hand to her mouth and then stepped aside and let him in.

‘Where can I put
this?’ he asked.

She had no idea.
‘Put them on the table for now,’ she said. ‘I’ll deal with them in a moment.’

‘Do you like
them?’ Dominic asked.

‘I love them,’
she said. ‘Thank you.’

Dominic just
smiled.

‘What on earth
are they for?’

‘Just a gift,’
he said. ‘It’s my way of apologizing for upsetting you the other day.’

‘No need to
apologize,’ Rebecca said. ‘I just had a lot on my mind lately, that’s all.’

‘That’s a relief
to know,’ he said. ‘For a moment there I figured that I lost a wonderful
friendship.’

‘Not at all,’
said Rebecca while she smelled the flowers.

‘I’m glad you
feel that way,’ Dominic said. He extended his arms for a hug and Rebecca
accepted. The hug went on for longer than it should have. She felt butterflies
in her stomach and her heart pounded her chest. When she looked up at him she
was still held firmly in his embrace, and he in hers. Without saying anything,
the two of them brought their lips together and kissed.

*    -    -   
-    *

Justin came home
with a small bouquet of flowers; substantially smaller than Dominic’s.

‘Oh my,’ Rebecca
said when he gave her the flowers. ‘What are these for?’

‘Just because I
can...’ Justin said. His words trailed off as he spotted the two vases filled
with flowers on the dinner table. ‘What’s that?’ he asked.

Rebecca
hesitated. Her stomach churned and it felt as if Justin could see right through
her. She wanted to confess to kissing Dominic, but for some reason didn’t feel
that she had to justify herself. ‘These were from Dominic,’ she said as
casually as she could manage.

‘Why?’

‘Not sure,’ she
said. ‘I think it might be to thank me for dinner the other night.’

Justin clenched
his teeth and for a moment it felt like they would snap off in his mouth. ‘I
want you to take it back,’ he said. ‘Tell him that you can’t accept it.’

‘I already
did
accept them, Justin,’ Rebecca said. ‘He didn’t mean anything by it.’

‘Oh no?’ Justin
asked. ‘And how would you feel if I gave another man’s wife all those flowers?’

She hesitated.
‘It’s different...’

‘Really? How?’

‘It...just...is...’

‘How Rebecca?
How is it different? You’re married. Men shouldn’t be giving you flowers.’

‘Well, you’re
married too,’ she snapped back. ‘You shouldn’t be spending time with other
women.’

‘What?’ Justin
asked. ‘What the hell are you talking about?’

‘Don’t pretend
like you don’t know. The ‘late’ nights at the office. The constant ‘sites’ that
you have to go to. Your lack of physical attention. The lack of emotional
attention. The missing ring that you never bothered replacing. The list goes
on, Justin.’

‘What are you on
about?’ Justin asked. ‘Do you seriously believe the things you’re saying?’ He
didn’t wait for an answer. ‘I’ve been breaking my back to put food on the
table, Becky. I’ve gone to the sites so that
you
might have a better
life. And you know damn well that I’m waiting until payday to replace the
ring.’ He paused to regulate his breathing and regain control of his voice.
‘Wait…are you implying that I’m having an affair?’

Rebecca pursed
her lips. ‘Are...are you?’

‘Of course not,
honey,’ Justin said. ‘That’s absurd! I don’t even have time to focus on you and
our baby properly, let alone anyone else.’

‘I...I don’t
know what to believe anymore,’ Rebecca said. Justin took her in his arms and
gently stroked the back of her head. Her lip quivered. ‘I’m sorry that I’m such
a terrible wife.’

‘Nonsense,’ he
said. ‘You’re not a terrible wife. It’s me that’s the terrible husband.’

‘You’re not,’
Rebecca said and bit her lip.

‘You are the
best thing that ever happened to me, Becky. Don’t ever forget that.’

Rebecca looked
up at Justin. She wanted to tell him so desperately about her mistake, but
couldn’t find the strength or courage.

‘I know that I
haven’t been much of a husband to you lately,’ he said. ‘I’ll make it up to
you.’
Might as well go all the way.
‘The first thing that I’m going to
do when I get back from the site is get myself another job.’

Rebecca pushed
herself away from Justin. ‘Another site?’

Justin frowned.
‘This will be the last one,’ he said. ‘I promise.’

‘You promised
before,’ she said.

‘This time it’s
different. I’m going to quit when I get back.’

‘Why don’t you
just quit now?’

‘It won’t go
down too well with management. I need them as reference when I look for another
job. If I burn my bridges now, all my hard work to date would have been in
vain. The time away at sites; everything I’ve done would have meant nothing.’

‘I need you more
than you need them,’ she said. ‘You can always get another job somewhere, with
or without their reference.’

‘Becky, it took
me months of actively searching to get another job after I lost the previous
one.’

‘Well,’ she
said. ‘You have to decide now, Justin Greene, which is more important. Your job
or your wife. Because it appears that either way, you’re going to lose one of
them.’

*    -    -   
-    *

Despite the
numerous amounts of explaining Justin did, Rebecca couldn’t understand why he
would choose to go to the site instead of staying with her and their unborn
child. Did they mean so little to him?

‘I’m going to
resign,’ he said after he finished packing his bags. ‘This time it’s for real.’

You might as
well not come back,
Rebecca thought.
All your
belongings are already packed.
She just stared at him. She wanted to be
tough, but couldn’t stop her lower lip from quivering.

‘We’re going to
work something out,’ Justin said and hugged her. She didn’t want to let go of
him, for if she did, he would leave. She clung to him. He gently pushed her
back. For just the briefest moment in time, she managed to make herself believe
that he didn’t really have to go; that they would have a nice relaxing evening
in front of the television. He broke himself free and gave her a quick peck on
the cheek. ‘When I come back,’ he said, ‘we’re going to sit and work through
this. I promise.’

She waved as he
drove off until the car disappeared around the corner, and then with
tear-filled eyes returned to the cold emptiness of the apartment.

*    -    -   
-    *

The woman
entered the large empty room with a huge pentagram painted in the middle of the
cement floor. She walked around the pentagram and placed a black candle on each
point of the star while she chanted something in a foreign language. The
cloaked woman then lit the candles and stepped inside the circle painted around
the pentagram and walked to the middle of the five-pointed star. There, she sat
cross-legged and chanted for a while longer. She suddenly stopped and opened
her eyes.

‘Oh, prince of
darkness,’ she said while forming various patterns in the air with her hands.
‘Hear me and guide our chosen one to complete his appointed task in this final
hour.’