The Naphil's Kiss (20 page)

Remembering those claws, he grabbed her arms and pinned them to the bed above his head as he gave her his last few strokes and poured his seed into her welcoming body.

After giving away so much energy, Lucien collapsed on Sarahi. She slipped her hands out from under his and embraced him.

“Are you all right, darling?”

“Never better,” he sighed. “You?”

“All better. You healed me. I didn't take too much, did I?”

“No. I'll need a good night's sleep, and a huge breakfast, but I'll be fine. I love you, Sarahi.”

“And I love you, Lucien. Can you believe we survived, that we won?

“I know. It's amazing. I also can't believe I'm still awake.” He yawned hugely and rolled to his side, pulling her close.

Epilogue

Josiah married Annie the next day, and eventually the couple did come to terms with all that had happened. Their son was later joined by two daughters.

The Nephilim continued protecting humanity from rogue succubae. But without the influence of Lilith, the work was both easier and safer.

In the fall, Lucien and Sarahi welcomed a tiny daughter to their family. Her eyes were brown. Lucien quipped at the delivery that after everything they had faced, how much trouble could one little baby be? He soon found out.

And so the angel and the demon found a way to live together, not only in peace but in joy. And so the prophecies of the succubae, the Nephilim, and the one who was called the incubus came true, just as had been foretold, and the will of Heaven was maintained.

Afterward

Dear Reader,

I hoped you enjoyed this wild ride with Sarahi and Lucien. It was certainly like nothing I've written before, though I enjoyed it very much.

If you found this book entertaining, I would appreciate it very much if you logged on to Amazon and left a review. This is your opportunity to provide feedback to the author, which could very well make the next book better. Don't miss out on the opportunity! And I do hope you will consider my other paranormal, historical, and contemporary romances available on Amazon. Scroll down for more information.

Thank you for spending your valuable time reading my book.

Sincerely,

Simone Beaudelaire.

***

Note on the spelling of words

The term
Nephilim
is a plural form, like
cherubim
and
seraphim
. While it is acceptable to use Nephilim as singular, I did not prefer to do so. The grammatical rendering of the singular form, according to my research, is
Naphil
.
Succubus
has two possible plural forms.
Succubi
is most common, but I felt
succubae
looked more elegant and exotic.

About the author

Simone Beaudelaire is the pseudonym for a mild-mannered French teacher from Texas. When she isn't explaining verb conjugation and adjective agreement, she's reading and writing sweet and sexy romance novels.
The Naphil's Kiss
is Mme Beaudelaire's 12
^th
published novel.

Other Works by Simone Beaudelaire

Psychic Selene Johansen is an excellent police investigator, able to determine guilt from the first handshake.

While her talent for fact-finding keeps her busy, her personal life is lonely. After all, who wants to date a girl who can read minds?

But Selene's consuming solitude dissolves when she learns longtime friend Brandon Price knows about her psychic gift ... and her secret love for him.

As their relationship heats up, Selene dares let her guard down, not realizing that a ruthless stalker is determined to put an end to the couple's passion... and their lives.

At only 25, Anne is becoming an old maid before her time. She likes the simple things in life; knitting, cats, and her immaculate apartment. That is, until a friend's wedding arouses longings for a closer connection. Driving home, Anne is struck by a wild sense of déjà vu moments before being pulled four decades into the past where events beyond her wildest imagination await her.

Julie (Jules) Masterson, budding mechanical engineer and skeptic, sets a goal of debunking the alleged haunting in her university's auditorium. While searching for electromagnetic fields, she meets Theo Kent, future geneticist and true believer in the supernatural. He hopes to meet the ghost and encourage it to move on. Jules and Theo quickly discover they have a new goal... spending as much time together as possible. But when the ghost strikes, pushing another helpless girl off the balcony, they must act quickly to find and banish it before anyone else gets hurt.

Evening in South Texas. The citrus scented breeze fans the palm fronds. Lovers linger in the growing darkness, hoping to steal a moment alone. But their solitude is about to be shattered as legends of the Border come to life to claim new victims. Tragedy, love, terror and myth merge in this trio of tantalizing tales...

Notable Works by Other Authors

Montayna was terrified, every word the woman spoke, dripped with evil. The fear she felt enveloped her. In that moment, she felt Sheerak.
You can survive this. I cannot help you, and I will not be able to communicate with you after this, but you will survive. Find that strength within. I will be waiting.

As suddenly as she had appeared, she was gone. The woman had clearly known she had communicated with someone. This sent her into a rage.

“No magik is to be used here. You will do as I say and learn.”

“How can you say no magik may be used? You are dripping with evil magik.”

The woman laughed a hideous ugly sound. “It is you, who may not use magik if you want to pass this challenge. This will be oh so easy for me. You will never survive. It is almost beneath contempt that they have sent me such a pathetic girl.”

Montayna felt hatred being thrown at her. It was like a physical thing, and then she was pushed to the floor of the cavern. She was held by an invisible force, and could not move for a very long time. She fell in and out of sleep, and when she could finally move, her muscles were cramped, and she was dirty and hungry. Slowly she began to move her stiff and aching joints. She had no idea whether it was day or night, or even how long she had been there. Her eyes had now adjusted to the darkness. She looked around and saw a bucket on one wall. Standing up, she stretched, then looked inside the bucket. There was water, though it looked dirty, but she was so thirsty. If she was to survive this, she needed to keep up her strength. She could not understand why the Nunnehi had put her here. From what Gilcune had said of them, they were honorable. Why would they have agreed to this? She finally drank some of the water, and it was indeed filthy. She could taste the grit, but at least it quenched her thirst. She was determined she would survive, no matter what.

Inspecting the cavern, she followed the walls, feeling carefully with her hands. There didn't seem to be any opening. How was she to get out? She sat down and thought of all that had happened. There was obviously a reason, but she could make no sense of why she was being challenged in this way. If the dark side was trying to entice her, then this surely was not the way. Sighing, she stood up, and began to feel her way around the cave once more. Her fingers felt a groove in the rock. She could feel a breeze and knew this was an outer wall. This must be an opening. The challenge, was how to get it open. Feeling around with her foot, she stubbed her toe on a rock. Without moving too far away, she picked up the rock and began working at the groove. It was a slow process. She was tired, hungry, and thirsty, but was determined not to stop. Finally, a great chunk of rock fell and she felt fresh air on her face. A tear trickled down her face, but she brushed it aside and continued until she had made a hole big enough for her to crawl through.

Once through to the next chamber, she discovered it to be much the same as the one she left. With the exception that it had an entrance. She could hear the sound of running water, and headed in that direction. She came upon a rock face with water running down into a pool. She drank her fill, then washed her face. She tried to see where the water came from, but could not. It was just there. Being faint from hunger, she thought this was why she could not think clearly. She walked to the entrance, taking care to check there were no traps before she stepped through.

She stepped into a passage that as far as she could tell went a very long way. Of course, this was intuition rather than anything else. There was nothing else for her to do but go forward. She had traveled some distance, when she saw a faint light. It was not directly ahead, more off to the right. She increased her pace and arrived at another cavern. This one was clearly lit, with a table and chair to one side. There was warm bread and cheese, and a jug of cool water. Without stopping to think about it, she sat and ate and drank. Later, she realized that may have been a mistake. What if the food was poisoned? It was too late to worry now. What was to be her next step? As she had this thought a parchment appeared on the table. She picked it up and read:

Chosen One
You have managed to come this far unscathed.
Your question now is.
Do you choose the passage on the right or the left?
One will take you to the next level, the other will not.
You must choose now.

She got up and stretched her aching muscles. The cavern had darkened except for an entrance opposite to where she had come in. She stood in the doorway trying to decide. She realized how much she had come to rely on her magikal ability. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and turned left.

The passage was dimly lit and though she traveled for some time, nothing happened. She was just beginning to think she had chosen wrongly, when she felt that same evil malevolence she had in the first cavern.

“Well girl, you have made it this far. Either you had help, or it was dumb luck. Either way, you should have taken the other path. Now you have to fight me, and I am more powerful. So prepare to die, Chosen One.” This last she almost spat at Montayna. The hatred coming from the woman was like a suffocating cloak.

Montayna could still not see her properly. Her face was hidden by magik. They fought with fists like street brawlers. The woman threw Montayna to the ground and got her hands around Montayna's throat. The advantage Montayna had was from learning to fight as a child. She relaxed her body for just a moment, which took the woman off guard. This gave Montayna a split second to throw her off. As lithe as a cat, Montayna was up, swung around behind her, got her in a headlock and twisted. She heard the breaking of bone and the woman went limp. She let go and slumped down gasping for breath. She realized she had killed the woman, and though she knew it was kill or be killed, she felt sick to her stomach.

She saw the way ahead become lighter. She stood up, walked towards it, and entered another cavern. There was a table with a jug of water, another parchment, and a beautiful sword. She drank some water, then unrolled the parchment.

You have done well Chosen One.

The path you chose was harsh, but you are now that much stronger and perhaps a little wiser.

Accept these gifts as your right.

She looked puzzled as she read this, for there was only one gift. The sword. It was beautiful. Made from what looked like silver, carved with Elvish writing. The handle, made from a dark wood, was carved in the shape of a dragon, with a large dark blue sapphire embedded in its throat.

She picked it up and it fit perfectly in her hand. It began to hum, just as her dagger had when she received it. The cavern filled with brilliant light, so bright she had to shield her eyes. She felt herself being lifted into the air and gently began to spin. She could hear hundreds of voices raised up in song, it was almost deafening. As the sound began to fade, she became aware of her surroundings. She had stopped spinning and floated to the floor. She was now in a room. There were beautiful tapestries hanging on the walls. The floor had a soft covering, and she realized there were no windows. She must be still underground.

The door opened and ShaYung entered. She came and knelt before Montayna, placing her fist across her heart as she spoke. “We honor you, Chosen One. We are yours to command, if and when you have need of us.”

Montayna could not decide whether or not it was fatigue, but everything sounded and felt different. Her senses were heightened. It was as though she knew what ShaYung felt.

“I have prepared a room for you my lady. A bath and clean clothes, then you must sleep before your return to `above world'.”

“How long have I been gone?”

“Twenty five days my lady. They can wait one more day until you are rested.”

Montayna soaked her aching body in the wonderful steaming water. She tried to come to terms with the fact that it had been so long. How had she survived that long without food? ShaYung had sent some food to her room. She ate a little, then climbed into the bed, and just as she was drifting off to sleep, she heard the familiar purr of Sheerak.
Welcome back little one, all is well. Sleep now.