"How many then?" he asked.
"Three for sure. At most five."
"I suppose you can invite them. But I’m still not sure how you can be so certain they won’t turn on us."
"I’ll check them out," Lucien said between bites of ham and mushroom omelet. "I can see by their auras if they’re trustworthy."
"Oh all right then," Mr. Smith sighed. "I guess having a few more with inside knowledge won’t hurt. But you be sure they understand that they have to leave their sluttish ways behind them. I won’t have that here."
Sarahi nodded. Explaining to her sisters that they would have to feed by standing nearby while others made love was going to be interesting.
A tall figure slid into the seat beside them.
"Good morning, Annie," Sarahi said warmly.
"Good morning." The girl blushed and looked down into her cup of tea. Luckily, Mr. Smith was examining his coffee again as though it contained the answers to all the perplexing questions which had arisen of late.
Sarahi poked the girl in the ribs and wrinkled her nose. Annie grinned through her blush. It had only taken the tiniest push to break through her restraint. And Annie, though embarrassed, clearly had no regrets. Thank Heaven.
"I’ve been wondering something," Sarahi said, making idle conversation.
"What’s that?" Annie asked, her eyes begging for discretion.
"How is it that the nephilim and the clerics came to work together? And how did the clerics gain the power to make rules for semi-angelic beings?"
"Oh, I know the answer to that," Annie replied. "After the flood, there were thousands of nephilim, but over the centuries, many were lost. By the middle ages, they were down to about six hundred. It was decided there were not enough to police the whole known world, and so they began to gather the gifted from among the human race and train them to fight succubae. Eventually, the Order of Clerics emerged, similar to Knights Templar, but much more secret. They have declined greatly in ability, but at their height, around the time of the Renaissance, the clerics had great gifts; healing, prophecy, supernatural speed, strength or endurance. Most of those eventually dwindled or died out."
"That’s amazing," Sarahi said. How do you know all that?"
"The same way you know so much about the incubus. I studied. I teach, so I have to know things."
"Why were the gifts lost?"
"That we don’t exactly know. Perhaps too many mundanes were brought in to prevent inbreeding and the blood thinned. For the longest time, clerics were nothing but soldiers. That is, until recently."
"What do you mean?" Lucien looked around Sarahi at the girl.
"Well grandfather is a prophet."
Mr. Smith met his granddaughter’s eyes. She challenged him with a glare.
"It’s true. I do see visions from time to time."
"And when he sees one, it’s guaranteed to be true," Annie added. "And there are others."
"What others?" Mr. Smith asked her.
The girl’s expression turned wicked. She stood and walked behind Sarahi, over to Lucien. "Allow me to demonstrate. Sir, do you trust me?"
"Yes, Annie," he replied. "What are you going to do?"
"You’ll see." The girl closed her eyes and concentrated. A pure white light shone around her, eventually drawing down around her body to her hand, and then to the tip of her index finger. "May I touch you?" she asked.
Lucien nodded. Even though she didn’t open her eyes, she seemed to know he had granted permission. She laid her fingertip against the scar on his face and traced it along the length of the injury. She never looked, but her finger followed the scar with unerring accuracy. When she had stroked the entire length, her hand fell to her side and the light disappeared.
Sarahi looked at Lucien and gasped. The scar was gone as though it had never been.
"It seems I have a gift of healing," Annie said smugly, returning to her breakfast. Another person joined them. Josiah had dared slide onto the bench next to Annie. He didn’t speak. His whole body was tense. Sarahi reached around Annie’s back and touched his shoulder. He looked at her. She winked. He smiled, but it looked strained.
"Sir," he said hesitantly.
Mr. Smith scowled. "I have nothing to say to you, Josiah. But you had better get away from my granddaughter this minute. Go."
"No, sir." Josiah said. "I have something I need to tell you." He raised his chin, meeting the man’s eyes. Sarahi looked from her son to the elder. This was not going to be pretty.
"Well, boy, say your piece then and be done with it."
"Very well. I love Annie." He slipped his hand into hers. "She loves me. I want to be with her."
"No," Mr. Smith said.
"You mistake me, sir. I wasn’t asking permission. I want to be with her, and I will be. You can’t stop it."
A vein in Mr. Smith’s temple began to throb. His teeth ground together audibly. "What did I tell you, Josiah? What did I say would happen if you went near Annie again? Do you want to be thrown out?"
"No, sir," Josiah replied.
"Then get away from her, and me. NOW!" The last word was a roar. Conversations stopped around the room as people turned to stare.
"No, Grandfather," Annie said. "You can’t do this. You’ve never been fair to Josiah. Why do you dislike him so much?"
"He’s an unnatural creature, the bastard son of a naphil and a..."
"Stop!" Sarahi exclaimed. "That’s no way to tell him."
"Tell me what? Child of a what?"
"Succubus." Mr. Smith spat out the word as though it were an insect which had flown into his mouth.
Josiah went pale. "Mother?"
She gave a short nod. He gulped. Suddenly, the expression on his face became haunted. He looked from one person to another, begging for help.
"Do you understand, Josiah? Do you understand why I didn’t want you for Annie? She deserves better than to be saddled with a demon."
"You watch yourself, Mr. Smith," Sarahi hissed. "Why accept me and not him? Have you been tormenting him his whole life?"
"He has," Annie said. "And that was long before we knew what you were, Sarahi. He has some kind of prejudice against Josiah."
"After what happened three years ago, how can you still defend him?"
"What? When I almost gave him my virginity? I wish I had."
"He manipulated you."
"I may have," Josiah said. "Mother, is it possible?"
Sarahi shook her head. "We cannot create desire where none exists. We can only enhance what’s already there. If you influenced Annie, it was only by acting on feelings she already had."
"That’s right," Annie agreed. "I wanted him. I didn’t feel manipulated."
"I didn’t know what I was doing." Josiah cast his eyes down at the table.
Annie slipped her arm around him. "I love you, Josiah."
"When a succubus, or in your case an incubus, comes into puberty, son, that ability to enhance can flare without warning. Likely you got caught up in it yourself, not realizing what was happening."
He nodded.
"But I thought the age of marriage here was twenty," Sarahi continued. "If anyone should have married young, it’s Josiah. Why was he not given a wife?"
But Mr. Smith was not listening. He was glaring at the young couple in front of him. "Get your hand off him, Annie."
She shook her head. "I won’t. You will not take me away from him again."
"I will make him leave."
"Mr. Smith," Sarahi gasped, "consider. If you throw him out, what will become of us? She will find him."
"She who?" Josiah turned.
"My mother. Lilith."
"The demon queen is your mother? That’s what I come from? I’ve been training all my life to kill succubae, and now you tell me I am one?" He gagged.
"Most of them need killing," Sarahi replied darkly. "Especially Mother. Promise me, Josiah. Promise you won’t go to her."
He shook his head, not hearing what she was sayin
g.
"I’m a demon?"
"No, son, you’re not," Sarahi said. "Demon is a choice. You are the incubus. But you’re only a demon if you act like one. I’ve chosen a different path, and I’ve got more of that blood than you do. Please, Josiah, calm down. Mr. Smith, calm down. This is not helpful. The important thing is the fight which is coming. In order to succeed, we need everyone working together."
"I will not work together with that!" Mr. Smith snarled.
"You’re not thinking clearly," Lucien said softly. "Your hatred of Josiah is causing you to make bad decisions. We need him if we want a chance to win."
"We need Annie, not that creature. I’ve seen it, and my visions are never wrong."
"Well, Grandfather, at this point, wherever Josiah goes, I go. I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine. So if you want me here, you have to make peace with Josiah, and with us being together. Now that I have him, I’m never letting him go."
The words from Song of Solomon registered on Mr. Smith will all their significance. His dark face took on a purplish hue and he seemed to be choking. "Tell me, Annie," he managed to force out, "that you didn’t... that you haven’t..."
Annie’s cheeks turned red, but she didn’t answer.
"This was your doing." Mr. Smith turned the full force of his rage on Sarahi. "My granddaughter is a modest, quiet girl. You used your sluttish powers to influence her, didn’t you? You wanted me to give Annie to your demon son, and when I refused, you took matters into your own hands."
"It’s true, isn’t it, mother?" Josiah asked softly. "When Annie came to me yesterday, she didn’t seem like herself. Did you influence her?"
"NO!" Annie insisted. "No one influenced me. I wanted Josiah and I couldn’t stand to wait another minute."
"But why right then? Mother had left just a moment before you arrived, right? Why did you come in?"
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, Ann
ie."
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.
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