The Incubus, Succubus and Son of Perdition Box Set: The Len du Randt Bundle (17 page)

*    -    -   
-    *

Justin was still
fumbling with the key when the door next to theirs opened. A young man with
silky white skin and slick black hair stepped out and closed the door. He
looked at Rebecca and smiled, and for the briefest moment, her legs went weak.
She had never seen such an attractive man in her life before; had never been in
the presence of a man with such overwhelming charisma.

‘Hi,’ she said
and blushed. She shot her eyes to Justin. He didn’t see. Good.

The man’s smile
disappeared and he just stood there, watching them both for what felt like a
long time. Finally he smiled again. ‘Hi there,’ he said and extended his hand
toward Justin. ‘I’m Dominic.’

The two men
shook hands and then Dominic stuck his hand out at Rebecca. She took it and
felt a faint bolt of electricity shoot up her arm and into her body. Was this
what it felt like when two people had a spark between them? She smiled at the
thought, and if Dominic did not let go of her hand first, she would have stood
there the entire evening, holding onto his elegantly soft hand.

‘We weren’t
aware that Mr. Richardson moved out,’ Justin said and Rebecca was instantly
transported back to reality.

‘I’m... his
cousin,’ Dominic said. ‘I’m looking after the place while he’s away.’

‘Oh,’ Rebecca
said. ‘I didn’t even realize that he left.’

‘He had urgent
family matters to attend to in Italy,’ said Dominic.

‘Mr. Richardson
is Italian?’ Justin asked.

Dominic chuckled
and shook his head. ‘No, but his parents moved there a while ago when his
father retired.’

‘How long will
he be gone?’

Dominic’s smile
faded. ‘I’m not sure,’ he said. ‘A month, maybe. Might be a bit longer.’

‘Well,’ Justin
said. ‘It was nice to meet you, Dominic.’

‘Likewise,’
Dominic said as they shook hands again.

‘You should come
over for dinner one evening,’ Rebecca interjected.

Justin shot her
a glance and frowned.

‘It is most kind
of you,’ Dominic said. ‘I might just take you up on that offer. I don’t know
anyone here, so some company would be most welcome.’

‘Very well
then,’ Justin said bluntly and opened the door. He made no effort to hide the
irritation in his voice. ‘I’ll have my people call your people.’

Dominic merely
smiled warmly and stepped back. With one final goodbye, the couple entered
their apartment and closed the door. Dominic waited until the lock bolted
before he moved. Not taking his eyes off their door, he slowly moved backward
until he disappeared into the shadows.

*    -    -   
-    *

Demons fought
against angels.

Swords clanged
against swords.

Demons screamed
and angels shouted.

Simon was alone.

He looked at the
battle commencing around him. The angels were outnumbered.

Claws ripped
against shields.

Simon looked
down. He had a sword and shield in his hands. The demons grew in number,
advancing at incredible speeds with unmatched ferocity. Simon spotted a demon
with its back turned to him. He raised his sword in the air to strike, but at
the last moment the demon turned around and used a shield to block the blow.
Only it wasn’t a shield. It was a human being. Simon couldn’t stop the force of
the swing. There would be no way to pull the blow enough for the human to
survive.

‘
No!
’
Simon shouted and sat up straight in bed. The dream was getting worse; more
intense. He raked his fingers through his drenched hair and tried to regain
control of his breathing. Something was wrong. Very wrong. He just wished he
knew what it was. He slid off the side of the bed and onto his knees, weeping
as he prayed.

The heat was almost unbearable. To
Simon the heat wave appeared to be restricted to Kelwick only. He got up and
stepped out from behind the tree. Even in the shade it was too hot and humid to
be outside an air-conditioned building. Simon figured that it could have been
the heat that drove all the animals crazy, but deep down he felt that something
more sinister was at work. He couldn’t focus on his book, so he decided that it
would be best to go home.

Pity, Simon
thought. He wanted to see the setting of the lazy Sunday afternoon sun. After a
long, drawn out stretch, he slowly started his stroll down the road back home.
He was halfway when something tugged at his leg.

‘Any spare
change would greatly be appreciated.’

Simon looked at
a homeless beggar and knelt down beside the man. It didn’t take long to figure
out that the man was blind.

‘It doesn’t have
to be much.’

Simon reached
into his pocket and retrieved a few crumpled notes that he dropped into the
man’s tin.

‘Thank you,’ the
beggar said. ‘May God bless you.’

Simon smiled and
got up. He was about to leave, but the beggar grabbed Simon’s leg again.
‘Please don’t leave,’ he pleaded. ‘Don’t leave without giving me my sight
back.’

‘Excuse me?’
Simon asked. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘Just say the
word,’ the man begged. ‘Just say the word and I’ll be healed.’

Simon hesitated.
He looked down the road toward his home; his comfort zone. He swallowed hard
and knelt down next to the beggar again. ‘How do you know this?’ he asked.

‘I can sense
it,’ the man said and took hold of Simon’s arm. ‘I can feel that there’s
something different about you.’

Simon shook his
head. ‘I…I can’t...’

‘Yes you can,’
the man said and tightened his grip. ‘All you need to do is give the word.’

Simon broke free
from the beggar’s grip. A tear trailed itself down the man’s dirty cheek. ‘All
you need to do is say the word,’ the man sobbed.

Simon took a
step back. ‘I can’t do it,’ he said. ‘You have me mistaken for someone else.’

Tears streamed
down the beggar’s cheeks. ‘Please, young man. Just give the word!’

‘
I can’t!
’
Simon shouted and with that he turned and ran. He could hear the man shouting
something behind him as he ran, but he didn’t hear what it was. He just wanted
to get away from there as quickly as possible.

*    -    -   
-    *

‘And how are you
feeling today?’ the gynaecologist asked as Justin and Rebecca stepped into her
office.

‘We’re fine,’
Justin answered for them.

‘I’m glad to
hear that,’ Doctor Taylor said. The three of them sat down. ‘You’re still using
your vitamins, right?’ Rebecca confirmed with a nod. ‘Well then,’ the doctor
said. ‘Let’s see how this little one inside you is doing.’

Justin’s stomach
twisted into knots. Was there going to be a heartbeat? Was everything going to
be okay?

Rebecca lay on
her back as the doctor applied the internal scan.

‘Where are you?’
the doctor asked and Justin felt his heart sink. On the monitor, Justin could
only see a black spot. ‘There you are,’ the doctor said as something the size
of a bean appeared on the screen. ‘And just look at that heart!’

Justin looked at
the monitor, but couldn’t see any lines or blips that could represent a
heartbeat. ‘Is there a heartbeat?’ Justin asked.

The doctor
nodded and pointed to a spot inside the bean. Justin leaned a bit forward and
focussed on the area that she pointed to. He almost cheered out loud when he
saw the tiny black spot inside the bean shaped object fluttering at a rapid pace.

‘That’s the
heartbeat,’ Doctor Taylor said and smiled. ‘And such a strong one at that.’ She
clicked somewhere inside the bean and rapid
gwaap-gwaap-gwaap
sound
played through a speaker.

‘So…everything
is...okay?’

‘Everything’s
fine,’ she said and pushed a button on the machine. A black and white picture
of the sonar popped out of the machine.

The machine
is giving birth to a picture of my baby
, Justin
thought and chuckled at his own joke.

The doctor
zoomed in and pressed the button again. Another photo came out. She then
selected two points on either side of the bean image and pressed a button. The
machine indicated that the baby was seven weeks old. Another press of the
button produced the final photo.

Once the three
of them were seated in the office again, Doctor Taylor handed them two of the
photos and added one to her own personal file. Justin noticed sonar pictures of
the first baby and hoped that Rebecca didn’t see it. She was too busy studying
the new pictures, and a sense of relief settled over him. There was a strong
heartbeat. It appeared that the baby was going to make it after all.

‘I’m prescribing
Progesterone for you that I’d like you to take with your vitamins. Use the two
together, okay?’

Rebecca nodded.

‘Well then, I’d
like to see you again in two weeks. Call me if you have any problems.’

Relieved and
beaming, the couple left her office and booked their next appointment with the
receptionist.

*    -    -   
-    *

Nothing in the
world could put a damper on Rebecca’s mood now. Justin dropped her off at home
before heading back to the office. She sang and danced her way to the kitchen
to make herself a cup of tea. There was a strong heartbeat. Everything was
fine. The doctor would know.

‘Everything’s
okay,’ she told Tanya over the cordless as she flipped the switch to the
kettle. ‘There’s a strong heartbeat.’

‘I’m so
relieved,’ Tanya said. ‘See? I told you that everything was going to be okay,
didn’t I?’

‘Yeah,’ Rebecca
said. ‘You did.’

‘We should
celebrate,’ Tanya said. ‘We can’t just sit back and do nothing.’

‘How about
dinner at our place sometime?’ Rebecca asked. ‘Justin and I kind of invited the
neighbour’s nephew by accident and it would be perfect if you could join us.’

‘By accident?’

‘Long story,’
Rebecca said and laughed.

‘Becks, I don’t
do the blind date thing. You of all people should know that.’

‘Oh no,’ Rebecca
said. ‘It’s nothing like that.’ She paused. ‘Although, you should see this man,
Tanya. He’s to die for.’

‘You’re married,
remember?’

‘I just said
he’s gorgeous,’ Rebecca defended in a playful manner. ‘I didn’t say that I
would actually do anything.’

Tanya chuckled.
‘So,’ she said. ‘What’s his name?’

‘Dominic.’

‘Has a nice ring
to it. And you say he’s good looking?’

‘That’s putting
it mildly,’ Rebecca said. ‘I guess you’ll just have to see for yourself.’

‘Oh all right.
When can I get to see him?’

‘Hmmm… How about
two weeks from now?’

‘Two weeks?’

‘Friday the
twenty seventh, yes,’ Rebecca said. ‘That should be fine with everyone. It’s
after payday, see?’

Tanya sighed. ‘You
make me curious, only to tell me that the earliest that I can see this mystery
man is in two weeks?’

‘That’s right.’

‘I’ll get you
for this, Becks.’

Rebecca only
laughed. ‘Patience, my dear friend.’

‘So I’ll pick
you up tomorrow morning?’

‘If you don’t mind,’
Rebecca said.

‘Not at all.
Same time?’

‘Eight.’

‘Okay. See you
then.’

They both hung
up just as the kettle boiled. Rebecca put the phone down on the kitchen counter
and got herself a mug from the cupboard. They weren’t fancy enough to own a tea
set, but Rebecca didn’t mind. More tea in a mug anyway. A figure in the corner
of her eye made her freeze. She could clearly make out the shape’s head, arms,
body, and legs. She took two deep breaths and slowly moved her eyes, but the
figure quickly moved behind the wall and slipped into the hallway.

‘Who’s there?’
Rebecca asked. Uncertainty and fear seeped through her voice.

No answer.

She opened the
drawer and pulled out a butcher’s knife. ‘Hello?’

Again, no
answer.

Slowly she made
her way to the living room, scanning every inch of the apartment as she walked.
She was distinctly aware of the fact that her heart was beating louder than
normal. Her arms and legs felt numb, but she couldn’t afford to be caught off
guard, so she decided to use a more threatening approach.

‘I want you to
leave me alone,’ Rebecca demanded.

A
thud
from Justin’s office made her spin around.

The door was
closed, but she was sure the sound came from within there. Her grip tightened
around the handle of the knife and it made her feel somewhat more protected.
Not a whole lot, but enough to make her advance towards the office.

A sense of fear
gripped her stomach and got worse as she approached the door. Another dull
thud
and she took an instinctive step back. She drew another deep breath and then
reached out her hand to the handle. The fear intensified.

Inside the
office, a chair moved.

Someone’s in
there!

Rebecca’s hand
inched slowly towards the handle. As she touched it, a loud knock on the front
door made her jump and shriek.

*    -    -   
-    *

‘Hi,’ Dominic
greeted Rebecca with a perfect smile as she opened the door. She didn’t hide
her relief when she realized it was him. ‘I’m Dominic from next door.’ He
looked at her facial expression and then at the knife in her hand. ‘Is this...a
bad time?’

Rebecca shook
her head. ‘Not at all. You come as if you’ve been sent.’

‘How so?’
Dominic asked. ‘Is everything all right?’

‘I think there’s
someone in the apartment,’ she said with a hushed voice.

‘What do you
mean?’ Dominic asked, also barely above a whisper. ‘Like a burglar or
something?’

‘I don’t know,’
she whispered back. ‘But I’m sure glad that you showed up when you did.’ She
stepped aside and allowed Dominic to enter.

‘Want me to look
around?’ he asked.

She nodded. ‘But
be careful. I think he’s in the study.’

‘Wait here,’ he
said and made his way deeper into the apartment. He did a quick scan of the
kitchen, and then moved to the living room. No real hiding spots there. He
walked to the hallway and stopped in front of the closed study door, leaning
forward to listen for any strange sounds. He couldn’t hear any.

I’ll save
this one for last,
he thought and checked the
bathroom before entering the bedroom. Everything appeared to be in order. Only
the study left. He then walked back to the study door and slowly opened it.

‘Hello?’ he
asked loud enough for Rebecca to hear from the front door. ‘Is anyone in here?’
At first he didn’t see anyone, but when he stepped into the office he saw the
dark shape with its glowing eyes in the darkened corner of the room. The
sunlight piercing the curtains weren’t enough for him to see who or what it
was. The huge shape growled softly and suddenly advanced towards him at a rapid
pace. It stopped short in front of Dominic, towering over him. It was a bulky creature
that reeked of scorched hair and had razor sharp claws.

‘Well done,’
Dominic said and grinned. ‘You can go now.’

The creature let
out a grunt and a snort and slowly backed away to the corner of the room where
it sniffed the air a few times before it dissolved in the shadows.

Dominic left the
study and closed the door behind him again. ‘All clear,’ he announced loudly as
he made his way to the front door.

‘I could swear I
saw someone,’ Rebecca said when Dominic joined her. ‘I also heard something in the
study.’

‘I’m sure it was
a cat or something,’ Dominic said and smiled. The study window was open. Either
way, whatever it was is gone now.

Rebecca couldn’t
help but notice how perfect his teeth were. ‘Thank you,’ she said and tried her
best to suppress the blush lighting up her cheeks. His mere presence made her
feel comfortable and she couldn’t tear her gaze from his face. ‘How could I
ever repay you?’

‘Well,’ he said.
‘I came to borrow some sugar. But if there’s a cup of coffee in your offer, I
wouldn’t mind having it here instead.’