Authors: Simone Beaudelaire
“We've been harboring a demon in our midst?” One of the elders asked, disgusted.
“My son is not a demon,” Sarahi said. “He has the potential to be a great hero, our savior. If we can harness his power, we just might be able to destroy Lilith for good.”
“And how do we do that?” Peter asked.
“From what I've read, the incubus is like… a duck. He imprints to his first partner, and only that woman can connect to his energy. So who would it be?”
She met eye after eye. Every person, each and every one, blushed and turned away.
“What?” she asked.
“It's just…” Mr. Smith started, then broke off, visibly steeled himself, and continued. “You mean sexual partner?”
“Of course.”
As one they all turned their eyes to the floor.
“Would someone please explain the problem?” Sarahi insisted.
“Listen, love,” Lucien said, “to the clerics, sexuality is… intensely private. To the Nephilim, a total mystery. You are speaking of this as though it were a casual coupling, as though it were nothing.”
“Oh no,” she said, “it's very important. I just need to know who.”
“No one,” Mr. Smith said. “He's unmarried.”
“He's twenty-one years old,” Sarahi said, incredulous.
“That's not so very old to be unmarried, here,” Mr. Smith replied.
Sarahi didn't respond, but it occurred to her that being married meant a great deal to them. She'd never encountered an attitude like it.
“All right, well there's no time to lose,” she said after carefully measuring her words. “Even now, Lilith is searching for him. If she becomes his imprinted partner, we have no chance.”
Now everyone was squirming.
“Imprint on Lilith…” Mr. Smith stammered, “but that means…”
“Try not to think about it,” Sarahi urged. “But it's really important to prevent it. I'm sure you'll all agree.”
“Well, that's a problem,” Peter said. “There's only one girl he likes…”
“It will never happen,” Mr. Smith said firmly.
“What now?” Sarahi demanded.
“Josiah's crazy about Smith's granddaughter,” Peter said irreverently, earning him sharp glances from all the elders. “Has been forever.”
“And so?”
“So I won't have that demon child near Annie,” Mr. Smith said. Sarahi raised her eyebrows.
“I'm afraid a lot of parents are going to feel the same way,” a female elder said, having the good grace to look apologetic.
“I see,” Sarahi said. “So harnessing an unlimited source of energy means nothing to you people?”
“There's more to it than that, love,” Lucien said. “These people set a great store by marriage. Josiah has been raised by them. He is… quite attached to Annie. I doubt he would consent to anyone else.”
Sarahi shook her head. Could they not understand? “Every day he remains unmated, the risk increases. Lilith knows he exists. She will be reaching out to him, trying to tempt him.”
“There is no way a child of our community would consent to incest, not even that one,” Mr. Smith insisted.
“And if he has no idea the beautiful creature in his dreams is his grandmother?” Sarahi let the question hang in the air, daring someone to take it up. Only Peter spoke.
“No disrespect, ma'am, but I think you're overstating Josiah's importance. I've known the kid his whole life. He's weak, small. Barely equal to the lowest cleric, let alone some otherworldly creature. I really doubt he has the capacity to be… all that you say.”
“Peter, be quiet,” The Assassin snapped in a raspy whisper. “You're an overrated, self-centered turkey. This is no time for your egotistical bullshit.”
The youth colored and shut his mouth with a snap.
Sarahi grinned at her friend and winked.
“We will consider the situation, but I don't expect this to be resolved quickly. Is there something we can do in the meantime to help ensure our safety?”
“Yes,” Sarahi said. “Bring my boy home. I want to see him. And if he's here, we can work on finding him a wife, since that's so important to you people.”
“It is,” Mr. Smith said softly.
It looked as though the meeting was about to break up when Jonas spoke. “What about Lucien?”
“What about him?” one of the elders replied.
“His lover is here; the mother of his child. There's no way he can maintain his vows in the face of that. I wouldn't be surprised if they'd been fornicating already.”
Lucien blushed, giving away the answer. Sarahi nailed the Naphil with a green-eyed glare.
“Well, Lucien, have you broken your vows again?” Mr. Smith demanded.
“He hasn't,” Sarahi insisted.
“Liar,” one of the elders accused, pointing a gnarled finger in Sarahi's direction. “Are you denying you've been intimate?”
“Not at all,” Sarahi replied lightly. Across the table, Lucien choked. “I'm saying it was no violation for him to do so.”
“How do you figure?” the elder asked.
“Well, he broke that vow long ago, right?”
The old man nodded.
“Did he ever remake it? Lucien, did you swear, after your return, that you would never touch a woman again?”
“No,” he replied. “I knew you were out there somewhere. I would never swear a vow I knew I could not keep. And they never asked.”
“There you see,” Sarahi said, her voice filled with triumph. “He never vowed. He's free.”
“Hey!” Peter protested. “Why should he get to have a hot woman to play with? Shouldn't our heroes have to follow the same rules we do? I can't have a girl in my bed until I get married, right? So why does he get to?”
Suddenly, everyone was talking at once. Lucien brought one big hand down on the table. The shouting ceased.
“This is not my decision to make. However, I will not be parted from Sarahi again. From this day forward, I go where she goes. I fight only for her.”
Sarahi's jaw dropped. “Lucien,” she whispered into the tense hush, “you don't need to do that.”
“I do,” he said. “I love you.”
Sarahi felt prickles of heat climbing up her cheeks. Her eyes burned and her throat clogged with tears. “Oh, Lucien,” she said softly.
“Very well then,” Mr. Smith said, “since you obviously won't stop your wicked ways, and we can't have you setting a bad example for everyone, you two will be married this afternoon. If you refuse, you'll both be cast out. We'll figure out how to deal with your… child later.”
“I'm agreeable,” Lucien said.
Sarahi nodded, not trusting her voice.
“Wait a minute,” Jonas said, “that's worse. I want a wife. I bet there's not a Naphil at this table who would say otherwise. Why should Lucien get one?”
“They've already born a child together,” one of the female elders pointed out.
“I can make that happen,” Jonas said, arching an eyebrow. The other Nephilim were nodding
“Gentlemen, wait,” Mr. Smith said, “are you saying you
want
wives?”
“Yes, Mr. Smith.”
“But, Jonas, why didn't you ever say anything?”
“We did. Many times. We have always longed for that connection. You clerics made celibacy a condition of your help. We gave up asking centuries ago.”
“I beg your pardon,” Mr. Smith said, contritely. “I had no idea. I assure you it was never my intention to deny your people such an obvious need. Remember, when we came of age, rose among the clerics, you were already established, with your rules, culture, everything. I assumed you took those vows as a formality.” The man looked flabbergasted. Sarahi couldn't take it anymore.
“But that's foolish,” she interjected.
“What do you mean, Succubus,” he asked her coldly.
“I'm sorry, but think, sir. Where do Nephilim come from?”
“From the joining of angel and human,” he replied as if by rote.
“Have you ever considered what that means?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.
“What?”
“That the angels
lay
with those human women. Why on earth would the joining of two sexual beings create an asexual one? That makes no sense.”
His eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “Why didn't I think of that?” he muttered.
“Perhaps because you're not a succubus,” she said with a gentle smile.
“Well, this is a dilemma,” Mr. Smith said.
“I don't think it is,” Lucien disagreed. “Give them the same rules as clerics. If they want a wife, they can have one. She must be at least twenty years of age and give full consent. And gentlemen, there are no divorces in this society, so if you choose badly, you're stuck with her. Also, we're ageless. Human girls are mortal. If you marry, you'll watch the woman you love age and die.” Lucien reached across the table and took Sarahi's hand. She stroked her thumb over his fingers. “That should be enough reality to keep you from making foolish decisions.”
“If your lady is right and that demon is coming for us,” Jonas said darkly, “we might all be dead in short order.”
“If we can keep Josiah on our side,” Sarahi replied, “we just might stand a chance.”
Sensing she was finished, the clerics and Nephilim began to drift away.
Sarahi rose and circled around the table to Lucien. He wrapped his arm around her slender waist and leaned down to kiss the top of her head.
“Mr. Smith,” she turned to address the elder once more.
“Yes?” he asked warily, clearly not recovered yet from the events of the day.
“When does my son return? I need to see him.”
“We're expecting them any minute. I'm surprised you didn't ask about him sooner.”
“I had no idea he was here. When The Assassin brought me, she just told me I would be safe. She never said a word about Josiah.”
“She?” Mr. Smith raised his eyebrows.
“Yes. The Assassin is a girl,” Sarahi replied, “but she's never told me her name, so don't ask me who she is.”
“Well at any rate,” the elder went on, “I don't know when the young clerics will return, but you two are going to be married this afternoon, before you incite a riot. Sarahi, go to the storage room next to your room and look through the white dresses. There should be one you can wear.”
Sarahi nodded.
“And is it too much to ask the two of you not to… do it until after the wedding?”
Sarahi gave him a wicked smile which set his cheeks aflame, but said nothing. Lucien pondered the question. “I think we might just be able to manage… if you hurry.”
The elder hurried all right. He nearly ran from the room.
“Just what is it about me,” Sarahi asked as they walked hand-in-hand down the hall, “that makes everyone so uncomfortable?”
“Well, love, you represent the decadent lifestyle a lot of them secretly wish they had experienced.”
“But, Lucien, I hated that.”
“I know, love. If you truly were a tramp, I wouldn't have wanted you. “
She grinned. Then her smile faded. “Does it bother you how I used to live?”
“Sarahi, it's two millennia past. And it's not as though you had a choice in the matter.”
She nodded.
“I love you. The rest doesn't matter to me.”
That made her smile. “Now if only we can figure out how to get Josiah and this Annie together, all will be well.”
Lucien faltered a bit.
“What?” she asked him.
“Doesn't it feel… I don't know…awkward to talk about sex that way?”
“No,” Sarahi replied, genuinely puzzled by his response. “No more than you would feel awkward talking about what you had for dinner last night.”
Lucien pondered for a moment. “Why is it,” he said, “that Josiah lives on food like a human, or a Naphil. Why doesn't he need to be fed your way?”
“I suppose because he's more a potential incubus than a true one. Besides, he's only one quarter demon. It's not a strong part of his nature. He's more human than anything else.” She tapped her thumbnail against her front teeth. “Are you sure he doesn't, though? There's a lot more to this than what I told them at the meeting.”
“What, love?”
“He has all the powers of a succubus, but in male form. He can enhance lust in women. That means, if he isn't careful, he could become quite a seducer. Even a predator. Maybe it's good such a repressed group raised him. If he doesn't imprint properly to a good girl, he'll become a monster in his own right. In Mother's hands…” Sarahi shuddered. “Mr. Smith needs to get over hanging on to his granddaughter. All our lives might just depend on it.”
“I know, love, but I don't know how to fix it. He's a good leader, but where Annie's concerned, he's just not rational.”
They arrived at the storage room and Sarahi entered, Lucien following closely behind. It was a long rectangular room filled with cast-off clothing. Each wall had a bar installed at shoulder height and one at hip level. Two rows of silver racks stretched the entire length of the room. In the compound, nothing went to waste. Just inside the door was a basket of clothing too worn out to be handed down, ready to be converted into rags and patches. Overhead, a single low-watt bulb provided only the dimmest illumination, just enough for her to find the white dresses. They were all the same; long and shapeless, and she held one up.
“Do I really have to wear this?” She made a face.
“When in Rome,” Lucien replied.
“Oh, oh, I know how that goes!” Sarahi chirped. “When in Rome… kiss an angel!”
“Does that go for storage closets as well?” he asked
“As far as I'm concerned, there's no wrong place.” She walked into his arms. Just as she had expected, he crushed her in a tight hug.
“Jonas is right about one thing,” he murmured against her lips.
“He was right about a great many things. Which one do you mean?”
“Times are uncertain. We have to be close to the ones we love.”
“We do,” Sarahi replied. “Starting right here, right now.”
He pushed her through a forest of hanging garments up against the wall and kissed her breathless.
If anyone had been outside the closet when the two emerged, they would have noticed how unusually red Sarahi's lips were, how pink her cheeks. They would also have noticed her towering half-angel walking with a decidedly uncomfortable gait.
As they reached the main entrance, there was a loud roar of shouting and thundering feet. A crowd of young men ran into the room and pounded down the adjoining hallway to where most of the bedrooms were located. It appeared the clerics-in-training had returned. Sarahi was unable to pick her son from the herd of youths. Behind them, a tired-looking Naphil dragged himself through the door and slammed it shut.