The Price of Possession

by Dakota Brown

  "No objection," I protested when she accused me of being a prude. "Just not my scene."

  "Was once," she teased.

  "Eh, not quite. Still, got a friend out of the experience, didn't I?"

  She nodded.

  We'd met when I'd drunkenly accepted a dare to get a lap dance at a club. I actually had enjoyed myself and somehow Andi and I had ended up friends after. Still, I preferred to get my kicks other ways and Andi knew it.

  I was about to see if Sabian was ready to leave when he came over to the table and scooted into the booth next to me, his expression pinched.

  "Problem?" Andi asked sounding slightly annoyed.

  Sabian shouldn't look worried after all the attention he'd gotten from her girl.

  "Chris, that guy who just came in." He pointed and my attention zeroed in immediately on who he meant.

  "Mother fucker," I snarled. It was one of the humans using the demons.

  "Friend of yours?" Andi now sounded worried. Wise of her.

  "No, not in the least."

  "That one's barely subdued," Sabian offered after a moment.

  "Any idea what kind it is?" I muttered as I watched the possessed human stalk up to the stage, eyes glued to Sherry.

  "Shit, demons, really, Price?" Andi groaned.

  I turned my attention to her and arched an eyebrow.

  "Chris, the only thing that gets you more excited than watching your not-boyfriend here is the idea of fighting a demon."

  "Not so," I objected.

  "She's right," Sabian the non-helpful, replied.

  "Wait, what?" I turned my attention fully to Sabian for a moment.

  He grinned suggestively at me. Right, he could apparently sense more emotions than just lust.

  "Wait, he actually is an incubus," Andi exclaimed, staring at Sabian.

  The demon's eyes widened slightly before he glanced at me.

  I sighed. "Told you, long story. He's relatively harmless, though, so no worries there."

  "Thought you quit." She crossed her arms, though she kept most of her attention on Sabian for the moment.

  "Blame Darius."

  "To answer your other question, a very unfriendly and pissed off demon," Sabian continued when Andi didn't reply.

  "Andi, call the sheriff. Tell them one of Deputy McClellan's delinquents showed up at your place. You can tell them I'm here which is how you know to ask for her if they question you. We'll keep an eye on him. If he behaves, we'll leave him alone until the cops show. If he causes a problem, well, I'll see what I can do about it."

  Andi eyed me before nodding and getting up from the table and heading toward the back.

  For now, the human acted content to watch the woman who had replaced Sabian's dancer. The mood had certainly shifted, though. Unlike before with Sabian's presence where everything had been light and friendly, the audience shifted restlessly, and though the woman was good, it just wasn't enough for them. Nothing about that energy was normal and I could tell the dancer was uncomfortable.

  "Should you do something?" Sabian's voice was full of worry.

  "Me? You're the demon."

  "I'm a lover, not a fighter." He held up his hands.

  "Can you counter that energy at all?"

  "I could try, but I think it would start a fight sooner rather than later."

  "Great, mate. Leave it to the puny human to handle the big bad demon."

  "I could incite an orgy."

  "I can't tell if you're being serious or not. Probably not the best time for it, though."

  He shrugged. "Think Mal can get here in time? He's actually a warrior."

  I tilted my head. "He is?"

  Sabian gave me an exasperated look.

  "Okay, yeah, I noticed the scars," I conceded. "And the muscles, and everything else." I might have had to wipe a bit of drool away and this time it wasn't Sabian's fault.

  While I was contemplating if I should call the vampire or not, the demon surged to his feet.

  One of the bouncers charged forward and then went sailing through the air as the demon tossed him as if he weighed nothing.

  Yeah, little old me wasn't going to do shit against that guy in a fist fight. A magical fight on the other hand... I raced forward, hopped onto a vacant chair, and leapt onto the stage, putting myself between the dancer and the demon.

  He glared at me, human eyes rimmed in red as the chained demon worked its way through the cracks in the binding spell. That might prove to be in my favor since I didn't have a crystal to destroy so I could unbind the demon before exorcising it, and there was no way in hell I was touching that focus necklace.

  Best guess, the human had wanted to come to the strip club. The demon was using the human's distraction to work further into his system and now he just wanted to cause problems.

  "You're blocking the view," the demon hissed.

  "I am the view, asshole," I snarled back and called out the first line of the Latin exorcism ritual I knew best.

  His eyes widened and he turned to bolt. Sabian blocked the doorway, and the demon twisted around, picking up a chair as he went and swung it at my head.

  I dove out of the way, rolling across the stage and nearly sliding off the far edge. I caught myself in time and scrambled back to my feet, hoping the normal humans had taken the hint and left. The dancer was gone, at least.

  I started over. "Exorcizamus te, omins immundus spiritus..." I chanted, lending that extra power I had to my voice, the power that made me just a little bit better than your average exorcist. Something innate. Something that commanded demons, even when they didn't want to be commanded.

  Wow, I really hoped I didn't get a two for one here and send Sabian back to hell on accident.

  The man screamed, spit spraying from his mouth as his back bowed and the demon fought. I suspected it had full control of the body now, but it was caught up in my incantation.

  "Ab insidiis diaboli..." I shouted, focused on expelling the demonic presence that polluted the atmosphere in the club.

  "More are coming, Price! We'll get you!" it shouted as I yelled the last words of the rite and commanded the demon back to hell where it belonged.

  The human collapsed as the demon was sucked away.

  "Chris!" I glanced at Sabian, the panic in his voice tugging at me. He had sunk to his knees and was grasping the doorframe as if his life depended on it.

  "Sabian! Stay!" I shouted, not sure what else to do. I'd never tried to command a demon to do anything but leave before.

  Fortunately, I had his true name and that and my simple order was to be enough. He sagged in relief.

  Well, shit. No exorcisms with the incubus present.

  I leaned back against the pole on the stage and sighed, suddenly exhausted.

  No one moved for a minute, then the human groaned, rolling over.

  A couple of people pushed past Sabian and I made myself focus on them. Deputy McClellan and another cop quickly handcuffed the now mellow and bewildered looking human.

  McClellan studied me while the other deputy handled the arrest. "That was something to see," she marveled.

  Uncomfortable, I shifted my gaze away from hers and shrugged. "Yeah, can get ugly. That was an easy one."

  She continued to stare at me before her attention flicked over to Sabian. "That the one you pulled out of the other charm?"

  I ran my hand through my hair and sighed. So much for not telling anyone Sabian was a demon.

  "Yeah, mate. He's all right. Helping us." Maybe Darius had told her.

  She didn't ask what we were doing here, so my suspicion that Darius had spilled the beans intensified.

  Rolling my shoulders to ease stiff muscles, I straightened off the stripper pole that had been holding me up.

  Wide-eyed expressions from the remaining normal folk in the bar followed me as I headed toward the edge of the stage. Sabian met me, a grateful look on his face as he helped me get off the stage more or less gracefully.

  He massaged my shou
lders while I stared at Deputy McClellan. "You need anything else? Cause I need to get home."

  She shook her head. "No. Thank you for saving us quite a lot of trouble." She gestured to the mostly intact bar. The bouncer that the demon had tossed was on his feet and looking pissed as hell. Andi stood next to him, probably explaining what had happened.

  "Great, later." I headed for the door. "Andi, call me, or come by for pizza soon. Thanks for a good night."

  "I'd flip you off, Price, but you kinda saved our butts, so I guess you get a pass tonight." She grinned at me.

  I waved and Sabian followed me out into the cooler evening air. The sun had set. I hadn't realized how long I'd actually been in there.

  Exhaustion tugged at my feet and I trudged back to the car.

  Sabian helped me in the driver seat before getting in. "Think you can make it home?"

  "Yeah, mate. Had worse."

  He grinned. "I'll help keep you awake."

  My entire reproductive system nearly orgasmed with the seduction in his voice.

  "You're going to wreck me," I groaned.

  "As long as you don't wreck the car in the process."

  "Fuck."

  His chuckle ripped through me and I shuddered, back arching, eyes rolling back in my head as my body exploded with pleasure. If nothing else, I was no longer tired. No. I was wide awake and desperate for more.

  Chapter 7

  Price

  Sabian's little voice trick in the car did get me home, but now I was so keyed up, I practically fled into my bedroom and dove for my vibrator.

  It was not going to be enough, but unless I was fucking a demon or calling a vampire, it would have to do. Why was I not fucking the demon? I seriously had to ask myself that as I yanked my clothing off. Why was I not calling Mal? Oh, right, because I didn't want to be that desperate. Surely, he would understand...I was living with an incubus. No. I could literally take care of myself. I didn't need anyone else.

  I collapsed onto my bed, aching for release.

  I killed the battery on my vibrator before I even managed to feel satiated. Damn Sabian, anyway. I mean, I was grateful for getting home safely, but did he have to key me up this badly?

  Still, I wasn't about to explode anymore and that was something. A quick shower and I crawled into bed. I wasn't even sure where Sabian was, but he was a big boy. He could take care of himself.

  Fuck, my brain latched onto that thought and I was nearly back to pre-vibrator horniness levels in an instant. I buried my face in my pillow, and my fingers in my pussy, and finally managed to get myself off enough that I could at least get some sleep.

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  "Price," the voice crawled through my mind, slipping through my veins like sludge, crawling into my heart, clenching.

  I clutched at my chest, crying out, sinking to my knees.

  "No! What did you do?" I crawled forward, grasping.

  "Honey, what's wrong?" My mother turned to look at me, an ancient tome in one hand. How had she gotten that?

  "Chris, get up," my father demanded.

  I tried to do what he told me, but when my mom went back to chanting the words from the book, my body stopped cooperating. I screamed as my heart tried to stop.

  "Chris! Wake up!"

  I tried to do what my father said, but the demon had crawled inside me and I was losing the fight.

  "Chris!"

  A sharp sting on my face made me bolt upright, fist connecting with something solid.

  I looked around, drenched in sweat, heart racing, but I was just in my room. It was a dream. The same dream that had plagued me off and on for years. Though my mind had twisted things from how they'd actually happened, the dream captured enough of the real events that had killed my parents.

  Wiping tears away, I glanced up at Sabian, who knelt straddling my legs. Moonlight filtered in through the open curtains, showing concern creasing his brow. I wanted to sink into those glowing amber eyes and lose myself for a while.

  I almost reached for him.

  He brushed his thumb along my cheek. "Are you okay?"

  "Yeah, just a nightmare. Thanks." I collapsed back onto the bed. I'd expected them to hit after sparking the memories by going into my parents' room, but that didn't make it any easier.

  "Do you want to talk about it?" He shifted until he was next to me. Sabian laid down, and before I could say anything, he'd gathered me against his chest. I snuggled into his warmth, feeling protected.

  "Naw, thanks."

  He held me tight, not pressing me to talk, just comforting me.

  I really could get used to this. I shouldn't be thinking that, but damn it was nice to be held. I thought about Mal, and the way he had held me. I missed him. I wanted to see him again and that scared me. When you depended on others, they left. Didn't they? It was better to be on my own.

  Sabian tightened his arms around me.

  "Neither of us want to leave you, Chris," Sabian whispered, apparently reading my thoughts.

  "What's in it for you, then?"

  He kissed my neck, and my pulse quickened again.

  "You. We both want you."

  I whimpered. The intensity of his answer scared me. What could I possibly offer to Sabian? He was an incubus, after all. Surely, he could get whoever and whatever he wanted now that he was here on earth. We hadn't banished him. Truth be told, probably wouldn't banish him. He'd given us his name, and therefore we had power over him should he choose to misbehave. He was growing on me as a companion, too. So help me, I liked having him around and he'd only been here a short time, but I couldn't imagine why he would want me. And why would Mal possibly be interested in me as more than a momentarily interesting diversion? Sabian was right about a lot of things, but this couldn't be one of them.

  He sighed. "Chris, why wouldn't we want you?"

  I didn't answer. Couldn't answer. He probably sensed the dark turn my thoughts took, anyway.

  "Get some rest. I'll guard your dreams."

  My eyelids dropped and before I could protest, I'd drifted back into a deep, dreamless sleep.

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  "You should call him," Sabian insisted.

  I glared at my computer, trying to ignore the demon and the unsatisfied ache between my legs. I hadn't seen Mal in a week and I'd literally broken my damn vibrator two days ago. Traitor.

  "Whoever 'he' is, you should definitely call him," Billy agreed, coming into the office. "Because you're going to scare off your new team members if you're not careful."

  I turned my glare on Billy. He grinned back at me, unperturbed. He'd gotten used to Sabian's presence, though, like just about everyone else, his eyes lingered on the sexy demon longer than normal.

  Sabian followed me everywhere. To be fair, I hadn't told him not to. He was sweet. Helpful when he could be, grabbing a door for me now and again, carrying things for me when I needed an extra hand. The only awkward thing about having him around, other than the staff giving me curious looks all the time, was the low level arousal being around him caused. Well, sometimes it wasn't low level at all, but being out doing stuff during the day helped. It was evenings when I had more time that it got really uncomfortable. He claimed he was keeping it under wraps as best as he could.

  We did have two new members of the wait staff. I'd met both of them a few days ago and they seemed nice. Billy had a talent for hiring good people. The two they had replaced were moving on to college in other states. We did not have a high turnover at Price's Pizza Parlor. I took care of my people.

  I was about to reply when Rebecca, one of our new team members ran in. She was a younger Native girl whose family had just moved to the area, and her eyes were wide with fear.

  "Billy!" She avoided looking at me. "A man just ran into the bar demanding the exorcist." She blurted something in Navajo that I didn't quite catch but the word Skinwalker stood out to me.

  I shot to my feet.

  "I'm sorry, Ms. Price. I just...he scared me." Unshed tears made h
er eyes shine.

  Shit, if she was that scared of me, I must be in some kind of mood.

  I felt a blast of energy and flinched as the lights flickered. Sabian glanced at me, uneasy.

  "Sabian, why don't you stay here, just in case," I said to the demon, putting a bit of extra power behind my words just in case I had to do something drastic. I didn't want to lose the incubus on accident.

  He nodded.

  "Rebecca, you don't ever need to worry about being afraid of someone in the store. We've got your back. We'll take care of it." I patted the girl on the shoulder as I stalked past.

  Billy and Rebecca followed me out of the office. The kitchen was a disaster. Sauce had splattered everywhere. The dough had virtually exploded. The cooks looked shell shocked and just kind of stared around at the mess.

  They turned their wide eyes to me when I stormed through the kitchen.

  "Don't worry about it, mates, not your fault," I shouted as I jogged out into the dining area.

  The man, or should I say demon, causing all the ruckus was not someone I'd ever seen before. He was decent looking if you overlooked the red rimmed eyes of full demonic possession, and the torn and blood splattered shirt barely concealing a scared chest. A few poorly done tats circled his biceps. His blond hair stood on end, but I doubted that was its normal state.

  "Bring me the exorcist!" he shouted.

  Patrons were scattering from their tables as he stomped toward the back of the restaurant.

  "Hey, what the hell do you think you are doing?" I shouted, hoping to get his attention before anything else exploded. This mess was going to be hard enough to clean up as it was.

  The guy turned, eyes narrowing, focusing on me. "You!"

  "Yeah, I'm the owner and we're calling the cops. What the hell, dude?"

  "I will have the exorcist!"

  "Yeah, there's a Catholic church down the way with a qualified priest. Maybe you should go there."

  "No." He hissed.

  Fuck.

  I jumped up on a clean table. "Everyone out! Sorry for the mess! Come back next week, tell the waiter discount code demon and you'll get fifty percent off your order. Anything you managed to eat today before this jerk showed up is on the house."