The Incubus, Succubus and Son of Perdition Box Set: The Len du Randt Bundle (3 page)

Justin’s head
spun faster.

Kiss her,
kiss her, kiss her!

His mouth
searched for Megan’s.

The demons
chanted even louder and faster until their voices buzzed in a blur of white
noise. Justin’s mind reeled. He pressed his lips hard against Megan’s and
kissed her passionately.

Silence.

The demons stood
perfectly still, eyeing the embraced pair; their mission accomplished. The
creature waved them off and they scattered into the night air, in search of
other victims. The demon grinned as it watched the two. Something caught its
attention. It looked towards a few trees not too far away. Glowing eyes stared
back from the darkness. The demon bowed and, taking one last look at the
couple, shot into the night skies.

Justin pulled
himself away from Megan. ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t do this,’ he said.

‘Yes you can,’
Megan said and tried to pull him closer.

He broke free
from her grip. ‘I have to get back to my wife...’

‘Are you sure?’
Megan asked seductively. ‘I only invite once.’

Justin rubbed
his throbbing temples. ‘I...I have to go.’ With that, he turned and stumbled
down a path in the general direction he thought would lead to his cabin.

Megan shook her
head. ‘Men,’ she sighed and then went inside and closed the door.

From behind one
of the nearby trees a figure stepped into the path and observed Justin
stumbling away in the distance. Its eyes glowed like burning embers and its
snarl revealed razor sharp teeth. Justin’s one small act of adultery was all it
needed to proceed with its mission. The damage was done. The gateway had been
opened.

*    -    -   
-    *

Justin tried to
suppress the throbbing headache as he weaved through traffic. ‘Hello,’ he
shouted into his cell phone. ‘Is this emergency services?’ The voice at the
other end confirmed. ‘It’s my wife,’ he said and stole a worried glance at
Rebecca. ‘There’s something wrong with her and I need to get her to a hospital
urgently!’

The dispatcher
asked Justin a few routine questions and directed him to the nearest emergency
room from his current location. Justin hung up and flung the phone on the back
seat and accelerated the car.

‘You’re going to
be fine, Baby,’ he said, not entirely sure just whom he was trying to convince.
‘I’m going to find you to a doctor and you’re going to be okay.’

Rebecca didn’t
answer. Her eyes were rolled back into her head and she shook while sweat ran
down her forehead. Justin placed his hand over hers. It was icy cold.

Food
poisoning?
he wondered.
Not likely.

Thoughts about
the previous evening with Megan popped into his mind.
No!
Justin rebuked
himself.
That was a mistake!
The throbbing in his temples stabbed into
his brain like small daggers; unsympathetic and relentless.

It took just
under twenty minutes to reach the hospital. He pulled into the emergency
parking lot and called a nurse for assistance. She rushed at them with a wheel
chair and, with Justin’s assistance, carefully moved Rebecca from the car into
the chair.

‘When last did
she have anything to eat?’ the nurse asked as she wheeled Rebecca into the
hospital.

‘Around noon, yesterday,’
Justin said. His throbbing head didn’t help much with the remembering process.
‘I think...’

‘Do you know if
she’s been bitten or stung by anything?’

‘Not to my
knowledge, no,’ Justin said.

‘Any allergies?’

‘Nothing that
I’m aware of, except maybe gelatine and dust. Contact with it gives her a
rash.’

The nurse
stopped at the front desk. ‘Any medical history that we should be aware of? Any
recent operations or drug prescriptions?’

Enough with
the interrogation already! Help my wife!
Justin
merely shook his head.

‘All right,’ the
nurse said. ‘Please fill out the relevant forms at the desk. We will take care
of your wife.’

Justin looked at
Rebecca. She was barely conscious and not aware of her surroundings at all.
‘Where can I find her?’

‘Please wait here,’
the nurse said. She had no time for small talk. ‘I will fetch you when we’re
done.’

Defeated, Justin
could only watch as the nurse pushed his wife down the hallway and into an
elevator. The doors closed with a
ding
and Justin found himself standing
in the reception area, alone. He made his way to the counter.

‘Excuse me,’ he
asked the nurse behind the counter. ‘Do you have some aspirin?’

She handed him
two tablets and pointed to a water fountain in the corner of the room. Justin
took a plastic cup from its holder and filled it with the crystal clear liquid.

He then returned
to the front desk and filled out the forms to the best of his ability. He
paused at the employment section, wondering if he should write down his old
job’s details. The word
unemployed
didn’t particularly go hand-in-hand
with
bill payments.
He decided to fill the blank space with
self-employed
instead.

‘Mister Greene?’

Justin turned to
face the nurse that disappeared with his wife. ‘Is she...?’

‘She’s going to
be fine,’ the nurse said. ‘We gave her something for dehydration as well as a
Vitamin B12 intake.’ She paused. ‘Did you notice anything odd about your wife
the last few days? Did she stop drinking water? Maybe vomit occasionally?’

Justin shook his
head. ‘Not that I know of.’

‘Well, I suggest
you keep her in bed for two or three days and make sure that she keeps down all
her liquids and solids.’

Justin nodded.

‘Keep a close
eye on her and notify us immediately if the symptoms should return.’

Justin agreed,
and while he waited for the nurse to fetch his wife, paid for the consultation
and medication. He flinched when he thought about how they were going to get
through the month. His antics the previous evening knocked a huge dent into
their budget.

He let Rebecca
sleep on the way home and decided that he wouldn’t mention anything about the
finances until she felt much better. Right now what she needed was a lot of
rest and a worry-free mind.

*    -    -   
-    *

‘I’m sorry,’
Rebecca said weakly as Justin covered her with blankets. ‘I’m sorry that I
ruined our anniversary.’

‘Nonsense,’
Justin said. He leaned forward and kissed her softly on the forehead. ‘It could
have happened to anybody, and besides, it doesn’t matter what we do as long as
we’re together, right?’ He tried to comfort her, but didn’t know if she
registered anything he told her. ‘It’s not the location that matters. It’s
being with you.’

Rebecca forced a
faint smile and closed her eyes.

For a brief
moment the thought of losing her crossed Justin’s mind. He shuddered and
blocked out the idea. ‘Would you like something to eat, Becky?’ he asked. She
managed a faint nod. ‘Maybe a nice cup of tea?’ Another nod. ‘I’ll be right
back, baby,’ he said and left the room. On his way to the kitchen something
felt out of place. He couldn’t figure out what it was at first, but soon
realized that it was the study door. It was open. Justin had a “house rule”
that the study door should be closed at all times. It was mainly to keep his
“work area” separate from the rest of the apartment, but also because the room
only had a lace curtain that people could see through when the lights were on
at night. He didn’t like the idea of outsiders being able to look right into
their him and he insisted on having the door closed until they could afford
decent curtains.
Could be the wind,
he thought and closed the door. He
then made some toast and a cup of tea for his wife.

*    -    -   
-    *

‘Justin Greene?’

‘Yes?’

‘This is Doctor
Jacobs, how are you?’

‘I’m fine, thank
you, Doctor,’ Justin said. ‘And yourself?’

‘Likewise,’
Doctor Jacobs said. ‘Justin, I’m calling you about your wife.’

Justin held his
breath. ‘Yes…?’

‘I received
Rebecca’s blood test results. When would you two be able to come in and see
me?’

Justin had to
think. ‘We can make it on Thursday,’ he said. ‘Would that be all right?’

There was a
moment of silence and Justin almost thought that the line cut off. ‘Thursday
will be fine,’ the doctor confirmed. ‘Say around nine?’

‘Nine is
perfect,’ Justin said. ‘Is...is everything okay?’

‘I’d prefer to
discuss the results with the two of you in person.’

‘Okay,’ Justin
said defeated. ‘We’ll see you on Thursday. Thanks for calling.’

Justin killed
the line, wondering what could be so bad that the doctor couldn’t tell him over
the phone. He figured that only time would tell.

*    -    -   
-    *

‘The reason I
wanted you both to come in,’ Doctor Jacobs said once they were seated at his
desk, ‘is because I have some rather interesting news regarding Rebecca’s blood
test results.’

Both of them
leaned a bit forward without realizing it.

‘Rebecca, the
analysis of your blood indicated the presence of the human chorionic
gonadotropin hormone.’

‘The human
chronic gelatine what?’ Rebecca asked.

‘In other
words,’ the doctor said, ‘you’re pregnant.’

Both Rebecca and
Justin were caught off guard at the news. ‘We’re...Wait! What?’ Justin asked.
‘Pregnant? Are you sure?’

‘Positive.’

‘I...wow...’ was
all that Justin could manage.

Rebecca was
speechless.

‘I’ll have my
secretary schedule an appointment with Doctor Taylor. She’s a gynaecologist at
the hospital next door and should be able to see you two right away. She will
assist you during the pregnancy and perform all the necessary scans and tests
to see that everything develops as it should.’

Justin’s head
was reeling. He hoped that Rebecca was taking all this in.

‘I will also
suggest that you contact your medical aid, if you have one, and make the
necessary arrangements.’

After the doctor
discussed a few other essentials with the couple, they stood up, thanked him
and turned to leave.

‘Oh, and one
more thing,’ the doctor said. They turned to face him. His mouth curled into a
large smile. ‘Congratulations, to both of you.’

*    -    -   
-    *

‘Pregnant?’
Rebecca asked once they were outside.

‘I dunno,’
Justin said and shrugged. ‘I guess this scan will confirm it.’

Rebecca bit her
lower lip. ‘We’re not prepared for this,’ she said and fought back the tears
that were trying to break through.

‘I know,’ Justin
said and hugged her tightly. ‘I’m sure it’s nothing.’ In his gut he hoped that
the doctor was wrong and that she merely ate something bad. They wouldn’t be
able to afford a baby right now and he silently hoped that this problem would
somehow just disappear. ‘Either way,’ he said. ‘We’ll be fine.’

She looked up
into his eyes and searched for a glimmer of hope. ‘You think so?’

Justin nodded.
‘Everything will turn out fine,’ he said. ‘Trust me.’

*    -    -   
-    *

The reception
area at the gynaecologist’s consulting room was small, yet had a certain warm
feel to it. Justin found the silence extremely uncomfortable and almost
overwhelming. Shifting one’s weight on the wooden chairs made a creaking sound
to which everyone present looked up. Justin didn’t feel at home enough to read
one of the magazines on the table in the middle of the room, so he played a
game on his cell phone instead.

‘Rebecca
Greene?’ A voice came from the small passage way.

Rebecca put down
the magazine she was reading and Justin quit his game and switched off his cell.
They followed the doctor down the passage and were guided into her office.

‘Please,’ the
doctor said. ‘Have a seat.’ Justin and Rebecca sat down while the doctor took
her place behind the huge desk. ‘I’m Doctor Taylor,’ she said. ‘Doctor Jacobs
sent me your urine and blood samples.’

Rebecca nodded.

‘Congratulations,’
she said.