Incubus Among Us 1(9)

Oh well, I had other things to worry about. I glanced across the driveway on the opposite side from the church. The bushes parted to show a path that led into the cemetery and meandered among the graves. The area was large enough it would be easy to get lost among the dead and buried.

I turned toward the church and tilted my head back to catch a glimpse of the imposing spires. A large stained glass window with the Virgin and Baby Jesus stared down at me. I nervously smiled and waved my fingers at them. No, nothing naughty going on here. I was just going to swipe some holy water to save my soul from an incubus.

I glanced at the large, heavy-looking wooden doors. They were opened, and I could hear the faint sound of organ music playing inside. I cautiously stepped inside and found myself in a small lobby. To my left and right were doors leading to offices and whatnot, and in front of me was the long room with the benches. I moved forward and found myself in a wide, long room filled with the wooden benches. There were two aisles, one on each side of me, so that made three rows of long seats. At the very front was the choir section, and on the left side of that lay the organ. An older man in black garb was instructing a younger man in black garb on how to play the sheets of music in front of them.

There were a few people on the benches and a nice alter at the front, but none of that was as important as the fountain to my left. There was a gap of about ten feet between the entrance and the rear benches, and in that space to the left of the door lay a fountain. There was a pool of water on the bottom and I quietly stepped over to it. I leaned down and gave the water a polite sniff, if such a thing is possible. There was a strange smell to it, and there were small petals of roses floating on the surface. There must have been about two gallons worth of water in there. I’d hit the mother load of all holy waters.

I took my bottle and dipped the mouth into it. My fingers brushed the surface and I felt this sizzling pain, like I’d touched acid. I yelped and dropped the bottle into the water. There was a small splash, but all I cared about was the burning in my hand. I clutched my hand and watched steam rise from my flesh. My skin boiled and blood poured from the wounds. There came a gasp in front of me, and I glanced up at the other patrons. They had all turned to look at me and the music had stopped as the two men in black glanced in my direction.

The elder looked to me with hard, suspicious eyes and marched down the aisle toward me. I decided I wasn’t ready for confessional time and rushed out the doors. “Stop!” he cried.

I raced out into the daylight, but it didn’t purify my guilty conscience. A sprint down the driveway would have told him where I went, so I opted to run across the driveway and into the depths of the graveyard. The tall, imposing gravestones with their myriad of bushes and trees was the perfect spot to place hide-and-seek if you were sadistic or desperate. I was desperate, and ducked behind a small square of hedges that encircled a dozen graves and a tall, ancient tree. The tree was wide and knotty, and I wove through the tombstones and nestled myself among its roots with my face and one shoulder against the bark.

I heard the priest’s footsteps hurry along the ground, and he paused in front of my hiding spot. My breath caught in my throat as I listened to his raspy breathing. His feet scraped the gravel as he turned this way and that. Another pair of feet joined him.

“What is it, Father?” a young voice asked him. I guessed it was his priest-apprentice.

“I don’t know, Brother Lawrence, but we must find that girl,” the old man replied.

Their feet hurried onward down the declining path. I breathed a sigh of relief and rolled over to lean my back against the tree. My breath caught in my throat when I noticed someone standing in the corner on my left. I tilted my head and my eyes widened when I beheld the incubus. He had a wide smile on his beautiful face and his eyes were of the soft reddish hue I knew so well.

I opened my mouth to scream, but he pressed a finger to his lips. My scream was arrested, but I pressed myself against the tree as he moved and knelt down in front of me. His hand brushed through my hair and his eyes swept over me with a longing that made me shudder. The familiar heat arose inside me and I panted for air.

“You’re very swift on your feet. That old man can sometimes be difficult to elude,” he commented. His hand slid down my face and cupped my chin. “I wonder what other talents you have. Perhaps we should see how long you can withstand the fire? Or perhaps we should see if you can pleasure yourself as I do you?” He released my chin and stood to look down on me. “I think that would be an interesting idea. We’ll see how long you can withstand my seduction until you pleasure yourself.”

He was asking me to masturbate. This nearly-complete stranger who kept enticing me into these awkward and mind-doubting situations was asking me to fight against his strange hold over me until I gave in to the desire and touched myself.

Okay, that was the final straw. I don’t know if it was his ungodly demand, the godly sanctity of the place, or if I was just too God-damned tired to obey, but my meek self crossed her arms over her chest and glared at this ungodly creature. “I am not a monkey,” I growled.

His eyes widened and he blinked at me. “Pardon?”

His confusion emboldened me. “I said I’m not a monkey. If you want a show then you’ll have to go find yourself another whore.”

The incubus’ mouth dropped open and his words came out in one long stutter. “B-but you must. I demand it!”

“And I demand a million dollars, but I’m not going to get it so we’ll both have to be disappointed,” I bit back.

He stumbled backward into the bushes and clutched his head in one hand. The heat blanket over my body dissipated with his confidence. “How can this be? Why are you not obeying me?”

I stood and wiped the mud, snow and rotten leaves off myself. “Maybe you just picked a bad time to mess with me,” I suggested.

The incubus frowned and dropped his hand. He glanced up at the overcast sky. “The day. Curse you.”

I walked over and jabbed my finger into his chest. “Uh-huh, and if you’re done cursing the sky I’d like a word with you about everything you’ve been doing to me. You’ve been driving me nuts and I don’t like nuts.”

He grasped my hand and frowned. “It wasn’t my intention to drive you to insanity. I was merely trying to show my appreciation and affection for you.”

“What about flowers? Or better yet, chocolate? You’re an incubus for-um, for something’s sake! Think of something more romantic than trying to drive me nuts!”

He grasped my hand and pulled me against him. His lips brushed against mine and the heat from his body swept through my clothes and soaked into my skin. He spoke in a low, sultry whisper that made me shudder. “Like this?”

I wrenched my hand from his and stepped back. “No, not like that!”

His eyes widened and they flickered to the area over my shoulder. “Quiet!” he hissed. “He may hear you.”

I raised my arms over my head. “I don’t care if the whole world hears me! I just want you to stop harassing-”

The incubus jumped forward and clapped a hand over my mouth. He pressed my back against his chest and wrapped his arm around my waist. “You must be quiet.”

“Mhm um hmumhm mm,” I replied.

He raised an eyebrow and removed his hand from my mouth. “Could you repeat that?” he requested.

“I said you have to stop harassing me,” I repeated. “If this is about me dragging you into the rec room then you’ve definitely more than thanked me. Now you can go off and torment somebody else’s nightmares and day hours.”

The incredibly adorable incubus smiled and shook his head. “I’m afraid you have my current intentions all wrong. I have fallen in love with you.”

My mouth dropped to the snowy ground. “Seriously? You weren’t faking it in that abandoned furniture store just so you could get a better reaction from me?”

He leaned down and brushed his lips against my neck. A thrill sped down my spine and I gasped. “Do you believe I need the help of lies to coax a wonderful reaction from you?”

“It might help,” I squeaked.

“I won’t lie to you. You are the first human to show mercy on me that didn’t originate from my abilities to please you, and because of that I have fallen for your kindness and beauty.”

That broke the spell. I snorted, pulled myself from his arms and turned to glare at him. “All right, enough lovey-dovey talk. How can I get you to haunt somebody else?”

He chuckled. “While I haven’t entirely neglected my duties, I couldn’t release you from the change even if I wished it.”

“Change?” I repeated. “What change?”

“Your transformation into a succubus, a female of my kind,” he reminded me.

I blinked at him. “Come again?”

“As I told you in the abandoned store, you will soon by like me, a creature of dreams and fantasies. An immortal,” he revealed.

My eyes widened and I threw up my arms. “Where is that in the contract?” I shouted.

“It is the pact of love between a human and one of my kind. The human will become an incubus or succubus, and join their mate in my world,” he explained.