“Trust me, I know.” The horses spook again and Hunter lets me know the incubus is circling us, still on the astral plane. “I’m a sitting duck here as well.” Flicking my eyes back up to the roof, I cross the barn and slice twine off a bale of hay and toss everyone several flakes. I check water buckets and make sure all the stalls are locked.
“Ready to make a run for it?” I ask as Ethan slides the large doors shut, leaving about a foot and a half open for us to slip through. Holding out my hand, I let magic start to gather around my fingers. When in doubt, throwing a fireball at a demon seems like a good option.
“Go first,” Ethan tells me, stepping out of the barn and motioning for me to go ahead. Hunter stays by my side, shadowing around me as I run into the house, leaving the door open behind me so Nik and then Ethan can come in.
Ethan locks the door behind him and looks outside, eyes darting around the yard. “What does this son of a bitch look like?”
“Kinda like a small gargoyle,” I start, feeling weirded out all over again that I was dreaming about a sexy gargoyle which was no doubt a result of the incubus’s influence on me. Remembering Devin’s suggestion of lighting candles to help restore my aura, I go through the kitchen and into the library, opening a cabinet near the fireplace. All of my books on magic and witchcraft are in here, and I have every intention of organizing my magical supplies but haven’t gotten to it yet. I dig around in a box for the candles and holders.
“What are you doing?” Ethan asks, watching me pour a circle of salt on the floor.
“Trying to restore my aura,” I say, using magic to light the candles as I sit in the middle of the circle. “Though I’m just now questioning if restoring my aura is like refilling the buffet. Is it going to attract the incubus?”
“If it does, then let’s use it to our advantage.” Ethan pulls the heavy demon encyclopedia off a shelf and sets it on the coffee table, flipping through pages until he finds the entry about the incubus.
“Huh,” Nik notes, taking the book into his lap. “If the female counter-part had targeted you, she would consume your testicles.” Both he and Ethan pale a bit. “They’re basically a parasite, draining what they can before consuming your physical body. Do you have any idea where you picked it up?”
I look up from the candles, shaking my head. “No. I mean…where do incubi hang out to even get exposed?”
Ethan shrugs and then it hits us both at the same time.
“What?” Nik asks, reading our expressions.
“The night we fought the ghouls,” I start, cringing a bit at having to say this out loud.
“We had sex in my Jeep,” Ethan finishes, not ashamed or embarrassed. “And you…you did something.”
“Something kinky?” Nik asks, shifting his gaze back and forth between us both.
“Well, yes, but I know what Ethan is referencing.” I hold up my hands and magic sparks around my fingers. It’s not the flickers of fire, but something else. “I pulled energy in and then let it go when… when I, well, you know.”
“Ahhh.” Nik leans back, trying not to smirk. “You accidentally summoned this thing.”
“Oh my god.” I put my hands in my head. “I did. There was already negative energy at the apartment, and I could feel something lurking, but it wasn’t on our plane. I didn’t realize it at the time since we were a little hyper-focused on killing ghouls.”
“So I really am that good,” Ethan says, lips pulled into a cocky grin.
“Oh my god,” I repeat, covering my face.
“As much of an accomplishment as that is,” Nik begins, running his finger over a section of text in the book. “We, uh, may have a bigger issue at hand than we thought.”
The flames on the three candles in front of me double in size, and wax drips onto the hardwood floor. “What is it?”
“Once an incubus consumes enough energy, they can spawn demon babies.”
“Great,” Ethan huffs. “We need to come up with a plan on how to kill this motherfucker.”
“Well, it seems one fool-proof way to bring it to our world is to tempt it,” Nik goes on. “If you two—” He makes a crude gesture with his hands, forming a circle with his thumb and index finger and using his other fingers to slide in and out. “—the demon will want to come,” he cuts off snickering, “come and take as much energy as possible. This has already been going on for a few days and your energy, Anora, is much stronger than that of a regular human. It might not need much more.”