Tears of Blood (14 page)

Annie looked Josiah right in the eyes and lied. "I didn’t
see your mother. I just felt you were there and I wanted to see you. So I went
in. And then, when I saw you, I had to have you."

Josiah shook his head. "Nice try, Annie. Mother, why is it so
important Annie have sex with me? What was that about? You say I’m an
incubus. That’s more than a male succubus, isn’t it? What is it
about me you want to control?"

Sarahi shook her head. This was quickly falling to pieces.

"You’re looking at it the wrong way," she said.
"You should have been married to Annie years ago. You need that connection.
You need to be loyal to the nephilim, to the clerics. They need you too. I was
just trying to help the process along. It’s necessary..."

"So you manipulated us both. And now there’s no way Mr.
Smith will ever give me a chance."

"To be honest, son," Lucien interjected, "he never
would have anyway."

"That’s for sure," the elder sneered.

"Well I’m sure about one thing," Josiah said.
"Whatever it is you think I need to do, I will not be anyone’s
pawn. I make my own decisions." He rose stiffly from the table and
stalked away. Sarahi tried to go after him, but Lucien held her back.

"Give him some space."

"Give me some space too," Mr. Smith said. "Lucien,
take your... wife away."

Lucien nodded, wrapping his arm around Sarahi and walking her back to
their bedroom. From the corner of her eye, she saw Annie sneaking down the
hallway towards Josiah.

"Did I do wrong?" she asked Lucien.

"I don’t know, love. People object to being
manipulated."

"But I only gave her the tiniest nudge."

"I know. You’re right. They should have been married years
ago. I’ve suggested it more than once."

"Why is everyone so afraid of Mr. Smith?"

"Not afraid, exactly.  Respectful. He has visions of the
future, and they always come true. Between that and his natural charisma,
he’s a great leader."

"Not when he’s putting his entire society in jeopardy
because of squeamishness and bigotry."

"Be easy, love. The succubae have been our enemies for millennia,
since the dawn of time. Asking them to accept you was difficult, but asking
them to accept the merging of our lines might just be too much."

"I don’t understand why. He’s less demon than I am. I
know Mr. Smith doesn’t trust me, but he doesn’t hate me. So why
does he hate Josiah?"

"I’m not sure. Part of it is just protectiveness.
He’s lost so many. Part of it is that Josiah’s existence made him
question so much of what he’s always believed about nephilim. I think he
was quite uncomfortable with the idea that we might not want the vows of
celibacy. That he might be responsible for denying us a basic need humans take
for granted. The fact that I wanted you more than I wanted to keep my vow was
the first blow to his world view. The fact that I was able to produce a child
was the second. So long as no nephilim fathered children, it was easier to pretend
these needs didn’t exist. My actions forced him to reconsider his
own."

"But to take them out on a child..."

"I doubt he saw it that way. More likely he just didn’t
want the corrupted bloodline in his family. Annie is much stronger than he
gives her credit for."

"Yes, I know." Sarahi considered telling him that Annie was
The Assassin, but decided against it. That was not hers to disclose.

They had arrived at the bedroom by now and Lucien led Sarahi inside and
shut the door behind them.

***

"Josiah." Annie stepped into the bedroom and approached him
cautiously. A few paces from him, she ran the rest of the distance and threw
her arms around him. He turned in her arms and kissed her. Then he wrenched
himself out of her embrace.

"Josiah, what’s wrong? Grandpa was way out of line, but
really, what does his opinion matter?"

"It matters," he said darkly.

"Why?"

"You belong here. I never have. I have to leave, Annie. "

"Leave? You can’t leave. Where would you go? What about
what your mother said?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I have a hard time trusting a
mother I’ve known since yesterday. Everything she said this morning
sounded like they need to control me. If she truly is a succubus, mother or
not, I don’t trust her."

"I trust her," Annie said.

"Why?"

"I’ve known her for a couple of years. She’s been
passing me information about the locations of the succubae. Her intel has led
to dozens of successful battles. And do you know how she got that information?
She went to the hive, right into Lilith’s presence. Do you know what
Lilith would have done if she’d been caught? It wouldn’t have been
pretty. She risked her neck for us over and over. I’m the one who brought
her here. She’s my friend."

"She manipulated you into my bed. I didn’t want that,
Annie."

"Liar."

"Okay, I wanted you. I still want you." He took her arms in
his hands and skewered her with an intense, green-eyed gaze.

"You can have me, Josiah. I want you too. We’ve always
belonged together."

He shook his head. "I can’t. You deserve better than to be
the lover of a bastard demon."

"I already am, Josiah. Do you hear me complaining?"

"Why are you so determined, Annie? Are you part of this plot to
keep my supposed ‘powers’ under control?"

Annie slapped him. While he still stood blinking in surprise at the
blow, she hissed, "Idiot. Don’t you know better than that? I wanted
you long before your mother arrived, before I knew you were an incubus.
I’ve always loved you. I still love you, asshole. Now stop talking
nonsense."

"Are you sure you wanted me? What if I’m putting out some
kind of demonic lure?"

She lifted her hand again and he flinched.

"I know my own mind, Josiah. Never doubt that."

"Okay, okay," he said. "Forget it. You know your own
mind."

"That’s better," she said. "Cool off, Josiah.
No one is out to get you... well except maybe my grandfather. But he
doesn’t get to decide for us."

"No, that’s right. We make our own decisions. I love you,
Annie."

She smiled.

"Listen, babe. I need a little... space. And some time to think.
Okay?"

Annie nodded. She kissed Josiah again and slipped out of the room.

***

At dinner time, Josiah did not appear at the table.  Concerned,
Sarahi knocked on the dormitory door. No one answered. The other boys, back in
the dining room, reported never seeing him after breakfast. A thorough search
of the compound revealed the devastating truth. Josiah was gone.

Chapter 17

Josiah had been gone for two weeks. Search parties had been sent after
him in every direction, to no avail. It almost seemed as though he had vanished
from the earth. Annie, of course, was devastated. So was Sarahi. The succubus
was also wracked with guilt, convinced it was her interference which had driven
him away. Convinced also which his desertion would spell certain doom for the
clerics and the nephilim. They had called for reinforcements from Europe and
Africa, but had been refused. Both continents were rife with succubae and could
not spare a single warrior. Australia sent a few. So did Asia. But the added
troops only swelled the number of total angelic warriors from 200 to 300, with
an equal number of trained clerics. At last count, there were over two thousand
succubae active in North America. If they attacked the compound in force, with
drones, the nephilim stood little chance of success. If Lilith decided to join her
daughters, there was no hope.

Each night, as she lay cradled in Lucien’s arms, Sarahi reached
out to her son, whispering to him, telling him how much she loved him and
urging him to come home, but to no avail. He did not respond. The best that
could be said was that he did not push her away.

A week after that, four women knocked on the door of the compound.
Lucien came out, his bride in tow. He’d just returned from another
fruitless search and was eager to do something constructive.

"Sarahi!" The girls squealed, embracing her.

"Jael! Salome! Rahab! Sheba! And who is this?" Sarahi
leaned over Salome to see the baby her sister was carrying. "Another
succubus?"

Salome nodded, long black hair dancing around her dusky skinned body.
In deference to the cold, she’d dressed, for once. "Mother told me
to expose her, to leave her outside to die, but... I couldn’t."

"Why would she do that?" Lucien asked. "Why not have
another soldier in her army?"

"She says she doesn’t have time to care for a baby or a
sister to devote to her. There’s too much at stake right now. And... she
said there was something wrong with the baby. It reminded her of...you."
She turned to Sarahi. "She didn’t want to risk it. But... a baby...
you understand?"

"I do," Sarahi said. "She’s our sister after
all. Did Ruth not come?"

"Ruth’s dead," Rahab said, casting her tilted green
eyes to the ground. "She made Mother angry and..."

"How did she do that?" Sarahi asked.

"Her drone was a little... livelier than Mother wanted. He
refused her."

Sarahi made a sympathetic face.

"Well, he was the lucky one," Sheba said dryly. She tore
his throat out. He was dead in seconds. Poor Ruth." She shuddered.

Sarahi shook her head. She did not want to think about it.

"So these are the sisters you trust?" Lucien asked, approaching.
Sheba hissed and took several steps back. Jael ducked behind a tree, her golden
hair glinting in the sunshine. Salome turned, shielding the infant with her
body. Rahab pulled two daggers from her belt.

"Sisters, please," Sarahi said, "there’s no
need for this."

"But that’s a naphil," Salome whined.

"Yes. He’s also my husband."

"Husband?" The daggers fell from Rahab’s hands.

"Yes." Sarahi giggled. "Lucien. Darling, these are my
sisters Rahab, Salome, Jael, and Sheba. And... Salome, what’s the baby’s
name?"

"She doesn’t have one," Salome replied. "I
couldn’t just leave her there. Can she stay here too?"

"Of course," Sarahi said. "They won’t turn away
an innocent baby, will they Lucien. After all, they accepted Josiah."

Lucien nodded. "The child is fine. But ladies, we cannot simply
admit you until we know you can be trusted. If... your mother knew we were
here, it would be very bad for us."

"If mother knew we were here, it would be worse for us,"
Salome said. "How can you know if we are trustworthy?"

"I can read your auras. Ladies, if you step forward, one by one,
I will be able to see if you are safe."

"And if we’re not?" Rahab asked? "Will you kill
us? After all, we know where you live now."

"I cannot in good conscience harm a guest. If you are not safe to
admit, I will remove you from this place, and you will not remember how to get
back."

"Fair enough," the succubus said. "Might as well
start with me. What’s my color, angel?"

"Red. Very bright. Contentious, but not necessarily evil. You
have quite a gray overlay, but I’m not surprised you’re feeling
uncertain. Do you swear you will not go out of your way to cause trouble? She
will come, and when she does, our only chance is to be as united as
possible."

"Yes," Rahab said. "That’s true."

"So you won’t have the men fight over you?" Sarahi
asked, raising one eyebrow."

"Not right now," Rahab replied with a hint of a smirk.

Lucien bowed his head to her and she walked past him and through the
open door. Next, Jael stepped forward.

"Green, though muddy."

"What do you mean?" The brown haired succubus asked.

"Nothing bad. Just that you might be feeling a little...
sensitive..."

"Yes, darling. Jael is very sensitive. But she doesn’t like
to talk about it. She also saved my life once. Let her in."

Lucien gave his wife a long look and then indicated the doorway.

"Sheba?" The blond succubus approached. Lucien recoiled. In
a flash, Sheba was gone.

"Darling?"

Lucien rubbed his eyes as though he’d looked at something
painful.

"That was the ugliest black aura I’ve ever seen. Sorry,
darling. Sheba was a spy."

"Is she..."

"Sleeping in your trailer. When she wakes up, she will have no
recollection of this meeting."

"Sir..." Salome stepped forward and held out the baby.
"Please take her. Even if I’m not... worthy, I want to be sure this
little one is safe."

Lucien smiled. "Bring her in yourself, sister. I’ve never
seen such a beautiful blue aura, even on a full human. You are welcome
here."

Tears glittered in Salome’s eyes and she rose on tiptoe to kiss
Lucien’s cheek.

"If I may," he said, "I think this baby should be
called Eve."

Salome nodded and walked through the door into the compound.

***

Josiah roared down the road on the second-hand motorcycle he’d
taken in lieu of payment after helping out on that feedlot back in Nebraska.
How many states ago had that been? He didn’t remember. A motorcycle was a
cold way to travel in winter, and it didn’t hold many possessions, but he
liked it. And unlike a car or pickup, he had a license for this one. It had
been one of the things he and Father had done together back when he was a teen.

Father. Sometimes Josiah missed him. Sometimes not. Lucien could be
interesting, but he was still stuffy, pompous, and inclined to talk rather than
listen. Those were all deadly flaws to a twenty-one-year-old would-be rebel. It
was easy to stay away from Father. Mom was harder. No matter that he’d
only known her one day, the sparkling, rose-colored image had been part of him
as long as he could remember. She still came to him, singing, hugging him, begging
him to come home. Telling him how much she loved him.
Love, ha. Love
doesn’t manipulate. And what kind of mother arranges for her son to have
a tryst with a girl?
A demon mother, that’s what. He didn’t
want to see her either.

Annie. Josiah wanted to close his eyes, but  riding a motorcycle
at speeds in excess of sixty miles an hour without looking was a good way to
become a splatter against the side of that oak tree over there. Sweet Annie. He
missed her. He dreamed of her nearly as often as he dreamed of Mother. Just
dreams though. She couldn’t caress his mind the way a demon could. He
believed her when she said she wasn’t in on the plan to control him.
They’d known each other too long, loved each other too long, for him to
think otherwise.

Back before you knew you were a demon.

This time he did close his eyes. Just a quick blink to prevent the
sting from becoming tears. Annie was so powerfully good. He’d seen her
shining white aura. She was more angel than he, despite having only human DNA.
She deserved a human husband. Or maybe a naphil, since they were allowed to
marry now. He could see that. It would be a good match.

Actually, he
could
see it in his mind’s eye. Annie would
forget about him in the wake of a half-angel’s love. Surely if his father
could love and even marry a succubus, a creature who’d no doubt had
hundreds of partners in her lifetime, another naphil could forgive Annie her
one indiscretion. Or rather her one night of indiscretions. Even as his teeth
ground at the thought of her marrying someone else, he couldn’t help but
take a bit of satisfaction in knowing he’d been first.

Josiah’s stomach growled. He’d been riding since dawn,
hardly stopping to stretch his legs, and the sun was hanging low in the sky. He
needed to eat. He pulled his bike into a sleazy-looking truck stop off the
interstate and walked inside. The smell of greasy burgers and bad coffee nearly
choked him, but a quick glace at the white plastic menu above the counter
convinced him this was the place. He’d need to pick up work again soon or
he wouldn’t be able to afford more gas for the bike.

"Burger and a beer," he told the long-bearded man behind
the counter.

"Wanna show me some ID, son?" the man said.

Josiah pulled out his license, demonstrating he was over 21, and the requested
beverage appeared quickly. He took a swig. Then another. The alcohol hit him
pretty fast, since he wasn’t used to it and his stomach was so empty. By
the time the burger landed on the counter in front of him, he was too dizzy to
stand up. Hoping the greasy meal would help sop up some of the excess, he ate
quickly, barely noticing a person sliding onto the bar stool next to him. That
is, until a sultry female voice spoke.

"Howdy, handsome."

He turned and looked into familiar lamp-like emerald eyes in a pale,
pretty face, surrounded by a nimbus of curly brown hair. He gulped. She
reminded him of Annie.

When she saw him, her eyes widened. "What are you?" the
succubus whispered.

"Same thing as you, I guess," he replied.

"Come with me," she urged, taking his hand and tugging him
away from the bar to a private booth. He stumbled a bit, but managed to make
the walk.

She sat beside him, placed an arm on his shoulder and whispered in his
ear, "There’s no such thing as a male succubus. So what the hell
are you?"

"According to my mother, I’m an incubus."

She took his chin in her hand and turned her to face him.

"Incubus?"

He nodded. He suddenly doubted telling her was a good idea, but it was
too late.

"My mother would love to meet you!"

Josiah considered. He made his own decisions. Couldn’t make good
ones without information. He needed to know what he was up against. "Take
me to her."

***

Two weeks later, most of the nephilim and all three remaining succubae
were married. Jael had scooped up Jonas the first night. A week later Rahab
said her vows with Peter. Sarahi had managed to convince the elders the boy
would not turn as long as the succubus did not feed exclusively on him. And
there was certainly enough love energy floating around to fill in the gaps.
Finally, Salome was wooed and won by Nathaniel’s older brother. Having
the bad girls securely attached to husbands made everyone feel much better
about them being there. They also proved invaluable in surprising areas. Salome
was gifted in caring for children. Once the mothers became accustomed to her,
they were grateful for the opportunity to get a little break now and again.
Jael could teach. She taught the council of elders things about the succubae
they had never imagined. And fiery Rahab had a firm grasp of the strengths and
weaknesses of the succubae and drones, and even a few about Lilith herself,
which she was quick to share with the generals.