Incubus Moon

by Andrew Cheney-Feid

  The vortex drew inward and caught the hem of Haemon’s robe. Instead of tearing him away into the tornado of sharp, whirling ice crystals shredded the garment, leaving Haemon bare-chested and trembling before me now, a mixture of panic and rage animating his expression.

  I gazed up into the frightful countenance of that black moon and its pulsating blue corona one last time and I shouted, “Mater Obscurum. EGO sum vestri imperator!”

  Haemon opened his mouth in a twisted grimace, but I clamped mine over it, swallowing his scream and the unimaginable stream of dark energy—vampire energy!—slamming into me.

  Intense heat and cold warred inside me, coalescing into one terrifying yet glorious stream of inconceivable power.

  “Imperator Obscurum!” The Dark Mother cried in response.

  The raging storm of black ice began to subside, spiraling upwards through the oculus and out into the nighttime sky. No longer centered, the moon was slowly transitioning away from the temple, its departure pushing back the chilling tide.

  Once the wind, ice, and dense layer of fog further dissipated, the ancient temple gradually revealed itself once more. Niko stood in the same spot, his shock and relief patent, his wrists no longer fettered. Nothing else human or supernatural stirred. Kassandra and the vampire guards were no more. And although fire did not return to the copper braziers, the wall-embedded crystals continued to give off a faint glow, bathing the temple and its contents in what might as well have been sunlight for how well I could see through my new eyes—vampire eyes.

  A sudden profusion of orange blossom and ancient power rippled through the temple.

  I looked away from the cautious smile beginning to form on Niko’s face and into the amalgam of incredulity and defeat on Haemon’s. The amulet still hung around his neck, but soon became riddled with tiny fractures, before utterly disintegrating.

  That talisman was the only means of return to our dimension.

  The Dark Mother’s voice echoed softly over the domed ceiling. “Inconceivable power flowed through you this night. The amulet is nothing compared to what you have harnessed, to the power which resides within you now. You can do with it whatever your imagination holds. Whatever you desire…”

  I looked into Haemon’s eyes once more. His hatred for me burned as bright as ever, but it was human loathing. Every cell in my body validated this, told me that the man I held in my grasp was just that, a man. The ritual had made Haemon mortal.

  More satisfying still was that he knew this to be true.

  I let go of him and Haemon collapsed to the floor, his breathing labored. He hadn’t taken a true breath in over twenty-four-hundred years.

  When I left the lip of the stone circle that had been my prison, it was to go to Niko, who I gathered into my arms and just held. All the guilt, horror, and pain of the past week washed over and through me in one raw, emotional wave. The nightmare was finally over.

  “Easy,” he half-laughed, half-winced. “You have the strength of two gods now.”

  “No,” the Dark Mother’s voice spoke softly. “Of a Dark General.”

  I unwound from our embrace to step back and take all of him in, to marvel at his strength and bravery. Beneath the cuts and bruises, the bite marks and swollen eye, he was still my beautiful Niko; the same smiling rascal who’d got me to scale a mountain.

  We’d both survived the nightmare and triumphed over the monsters.

  I pulled him into a gentle kiss, thrilling at the warmth of his skin, the press of his lips against mine—something I’d feared, only moments ago, would be lost to me forever.

  “My Dark General,” she added. “Strong and fearless, and who shall do my bidding.”

  Once again, I eased back from my intimate moment with Niko. Glancing up and around the ancient temple, at Haemon trembling with impotent rage on the granite floor, I searched the deepest shadows and zeroed in on a dark shape beginning to take form near the set of tall doors against the far wall. As it drew together, I saw the vague outline of a woman.

  The power of the Incubus Moon and vampire energy spiked inside me, as I continued to stare at the shadowy figure. The energies were still uniting within me, becoming as one, and they were mine alone. They did not, and would not, answer to anyone but me.

  EPILOGUE

  The Dark Mother hadn’t exaggerated about the limits of my imagination. Putting them to the test, I’d envisioned Niko and me safely returned to Los Angeles, and here we were.

  In retrospect, I should have been more specific about the location. Materializing in the living room of the carriage house behind Mark and Christie’s place may have been the most logical destination, but our arrival here had completely caught me off guard. It had been my home once upon a time. Now, all I could feel was a sickening knot beginning to form in the pit of my stomach, as the horror and tragedy of how and where they’d died collided with the wonderful memories we’d made here together. Mark and Christie Gold were never coming back.

  After today, neither was I.

  Night had fallen by the time we’d showered and changed into fresh clothing.

  Shortly after gathering up a few essentials—a spare wallet, credit card, cell phone, and keys to the convertible, everyday items that seemed utterly alien to me after being trapped in a waking nightmare—we were in the car and backing down the long drive.

  The darkened windows of the main house tightened that knot a little further, especially after seeing the yellow police tape crisscrossing a large sheet of plywood that covered the opening where the front door had once hung. I replayed the scene in my mind, watched as Mark, Christie, and that female detective were struck repeatedly by flying bits of splintered wood and metal. I relived my friends being viciously attacked and abducted by Haemon and Kassandra.

  At some point I’d have to call their families and tell them… What, the inconceivable and horrible truth? Thankfully, that time was not right now.

  Instead, I turned away from the house and continued to back down the drive. The windows of Dimitri’s mansion were also dark.

  In my visions, he and Shayla were coming for us. They never made it, though. Was it because they tried and failed and had to give up? Or worse, did they try and fail because something unthinkable had happened to them?

  A kaleidoscope of fragmented images, snatches of conversation, and intimations of dread all raced through my mind.

  Niko must have sensed this on a subconscious level, because he leaned over to snuggle against me. The gesture re-anchored me in the present, reminding me how very lucky we were to be alive. Gratitude, though, was never going to numb the horror or loss. Only time and distance would accomplish that. And the best way to put some of that distance between us was to point the nose of the car in the direction of the vibrant neon “W” sign in the city below.

  The short ride down into Hollywood didn’t help to ease my melancholy or settle my nerves. It was an unending sea of glaring traffic and streetlights along Highland and Hollywood Boulevards, the luridness of it all blinding after our confinement in the Dark Mother’s realm.

  And people. There were so many of them; strolling on sidewalks, whizzing by in shiny cars and on buses, their likenesses plastered across illuminated billboards. People everywhere.

  No less vibrant and bustling was the hotel lobby. Its soaring ceiling, tall glass windows, dramatic one-story chandelier, white marble, glass, and red-carpeted staircase was reminiscent of the vastness of the Dark Mother’s temple, without of course the vivid trappings. Here, the rich and famous, poor and wannabes, all converged to meet and be seen, unaware that vampires, incubi, and other terrifying creatures were encroaching upon their glossy reality.

  Indeed, they were unaware that I, one such creature, was walking amongst them even now.

  The young woman at reception greeted us with a smile, which quickly faded after taking in Niko’s battered condition. I used incubus glamour to make her see what I wanted her to, a happy couple here to enjoy everything the famous hotel chain had
to offer. Her smile returned.

  No, we didn’t need assistance up to our room. We’d packed a small overnight bag between us. Everything else I’d left at the carriage house. We’d buy new clothes in the morning.

  The modern luxury of our hotel room was yet another departure from the world we’d we only recently fled. The living room was softly lit and appointed with furnishings in soft gray and pearly white tones. Glass and crystal accents were set against ebony-stained wood floors, and the suite was tricked out with state-of-the-art everything. Beyond the large bank of windows sparkled the vibrant lights of Hollywood.

  Niko stepped around me and headed straight toward a door at the far end of the room.

  I followed him into the bedroom, where a dramatic wall of angled glass led onto an expansive, private terrace. Staged with contemporary outdoor furniture, a fireplace and potted palms, it boasted the same commanding view of the city.

  Inside, the king-size bed was crowned with a white tufted headboard and draped in elegant linens. To the right of it sat a large, jetted infinity bathtub. After where and what we’d been through, this truly was Heaven.

  Niko stripped out of his clothes, letting them fall to the floor, and slipped beneath the soft bedding with a deep sigh. Following his lead yet again, I did the same. We kissed and cuddled, and I soon drifted into a heavy, dreamless sleep.

  What startled me awake was the familiar and heady scent of orange blossom wafting into the room through the open patio doors. It was still dark out, the street traffic below having quieted to the occasional passing truck or bus.

  Careful not to rouse Niko, I slipped from beneath the warm covers and out into the cool, night air. She was waiting for me at the far end of the terrace.

  Unlike the indistinct, misty figure in my visions or back at the temple, she appeared almost corporeal standing there in the shadows. “My General,” she whispered to me.

  I made my way across the patio to her, the cold, damp travertine pavers oddly pleasant against my bare feet “You found me.”

  “We are forever linked, you and I.” For a moment, all I could do was stand there and take in her loveliness. “I will always find you.”

  Her timeless beauty was not shaped by any one distinct ethnicity, but rather captured an alluring amalgam of the qualities and intrigue of all women from around the world. She stood tall and proud, the nipples of her smallish breasts hard beneath the long, gauzy, sheath dress covering her shapely form.

  Her full lips lengthened into a luxuriant smile. She was pleased that I found her to be equal parts beauty and danger. She was definitely both of these things.

  I gave a glance over my shoulder to the darkened bedroom. The last thing I wanted was for Niko to wake up and discover us out here. He’d been putting on a brave front for me, but it didn’t take supernatural perception to see how shaken he was, how much damage had been done to his psyche from our terror trip through hell and back.

  “Such love you bear for your human,” she sighed. “And such remorse…”

  The Dark Mother’s form shifted, returning to the familiar black mist through which I could now only glimpse fleeting images of an ivory arm or hand, a shoulder, or hint of leg appeared.

  “He’s all I have left.”

  “No, child, you have me, always.” Then she whispered, “Although he is what keeps your humanity alive.” The hint of an enigmatic smile materialized from within the billowing mist, and then faded. “Without it…”

  I waited for her to continue, but her phantom shape remained silent.

  What happened next caught me completely off guard. A rush of power spilled over me, skittering across my naked body like electric current. She was probing the source of my own power, testing its strength, its vulnerability. But the psychic wall I’d instinctively put up blocked any further attempts.

  Had the Ritual of Malum imbued me with a power greater than even the Dark Mother’s? Could I be stronger than her now?

  Her image flickered within the undulating cloud, like an old black-and-white movie projected onto a screen. She seemed to be struggling to keep her essence from fading.

  “I am as old as the Earth itself, child,” she said in a voice that held a distinct note of warning to it. “My power is infinite, immutable.”

  In certain spheres, my mind told me. It was the energy from the Incubus Moon speaking to me, guiding me; I was certain of it.

  As it continued to sustain and fortify the supernatural shield around my physical body and thoughts, it revealed to me that countless worlds infringed on others. Gateways existed to other dimensions where her powers were limited, and some where they held no sway at all.

  I had but sampled two in a vast universe of many.

  In this plane of existence, however, our powers felt very nearly matched.

  Still, best not to test this theory. Not tonight. Not here. Not where Niko and other people might be harmed. A being that had existed since the Dawn of Time would have an unquestionable advantage in skill and cunning over a thirty-year-old incubus/vampire hybrid.

  Nevertheless, my gut told me that the moment would arrive when I’d be forced to challenge her authority, to test its limits. Because back in her dark dimension, after the hell that I’d endured, I’d made a promise never to allow myself to become a victim again.

  “What happened to Haemon?” I surprised myself by asking.

  Soft laughter drifted over to me. “He is exactly where I need him to be.”

  “Is that where Dimitri and Shayla are, too?” A protracted silence ensued. “I need to find them, talk to them.”

  “You need to learn to harness the power inside you,” the Dark Mother answered. “To conquer it and use it to do my bidding. For another war is coming, and you shall serve as my fist, my Supreme General. Together, we shall crush our enemies.”

  Again her image flickered, the shadowy mass that was her form beginning to dissipate.

  “Dimitri and Shayla would be great allies,” I countered. I’d already gone through a war that nearly cost me everything. I wasn’t jonesing for another one anytime soon.

  “It was I who kept them from entering the temple,” the Dark Mother revealed. “I planted in their minds a vision to convince them that your adversary had already destroyed you. They turned back, seeing no purpose in continuing.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you are too emotionally tied to them, child—especially the vampire.”

  Child. I was not a child. If she continued to view me as such, then she was in for one hell of a rude awakening. “But I’m powerful now.”

  “Not against them.” I could feel her energy roll over me again, pushing against my psychic barrier and seeking to find a way through it. “They conspire together, and have a connection you cannot comprehend.”

  Our energies collided and the pavers beneath my feet gave a tiny rumble.

  I reminded myself that now was not the time to challenge her. There was still so much I had to learn about this new power of mine. Inwardly, though, I vowed to find Dimitri and Shayla without the Dark Mother knowing. I would be no one’s puppet. Not hers. Not theirs. I would do what suited me, because I wanted it to happen. All the rules were about to change.

  “As you wish.” I inclined my head to her vaporous form in a gesture of respect. “But tell me, what do you see in my future?”

  “That is not open to my sight at this time.” As I listened to these vague words, her face suddenly became more distinct within the smoky, churning mass. Her eyes glowed with a cold violet fire. “That you will face inconceivable challenges is certain.” Then her lips curved in a knowing smile. “And I shall be there to counsel and guide you.”

  “Austin?”

  I glanced over my shoulder again at the darkened bedroom. “Coming,” I told Niko.

  Turning back to face the Dark Mother, I found that she had vanished. No trace of her presence hung in the cool night air. To the east, a pale sliver of light began to encroach on the mantle of darkness. I cou
ld already feel the sun’s influence and wondered, for a terrible instant, if I could meet it without bursting into flames.

  Then again, had Haemon been victorious, he would have been able to walk in sunlight. Why should it be any different for me because I’d claimed his powers?

  One thing was certain: the city below was waking up. A new day, a new life, was dawning, and I felt a welcome rush of exhilaration at the prospect of meeting it head on.

  The Dark Mother might be all-powerful in some spheres and could certainly become a formidable enemy, if I wasn’t careful about how I played things with her. But she’d also been posturing. She needed me, needed to keep me compliant, to fashion me into her ultimate weapon of destruction. Whatever that was. We’d just have to wait and see which of us would be the first to bend to the other’s will.

  The sun slipped over the horizon then, and the world and the sky around it exploded into vibrant bands of pinks and golds. I turned away from it and began walking back to the bedroom—and without bursting into flames!

  Once inside, I quietly closed and locked the sliding glass door behind me. About to climb into bed and snuggle up next to Niko, my cell phone vibrated on the nightstand. I picked it up. Unknown caller was displayed.

  “Hello?”

  “Austin?”

  My pulse jumped. I recognized the voice. “This is he.”

  “It’s is Julia Caulfield, the police detective? We need to talk.

  It seemed as though that adventurous new day had already arrived

  Table of Contents

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19