Incubus (The Daughters Of Lilith) Read online

  Incubus

  The Daughters Of Lilith:

  Book 2

  by Jennifer Quintenz

  Copyright © 2013 by Jennifer Quintenz.

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Published in the United States of America.

  First Printing, June 2013.

  Secret Tree Press

  www.SecretTreePress.com

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  Find out more about the author and upcoming books online at JenniferQuintenz.com.

  Like on Facebook.

  Follow on Twitter.

  Explore on Goodreads.

  To my sister, Manda.

  Chance. Choice. Love you.

  Table of Contents

  Acknowledgments

  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

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Epilogue

  About The Author

  Acknowledgments

  Book two, and my list of acknowledgements continues to grow. I’m seriously indebted to a supportive network of family, friends, and fellow story-tellers.

  To my parents, who nurtured my sister’s and my interest in writing from the beginning. Dad, who hinged our allowance payments on creative writing tasks—not just chores. Mom, who journeyed with us to bookstores at least once a month to load up on new stories. Dot, who subscribed us to the magical TLB Enchanted World Series. Clyde, who never tired of my questions on religion and philosophy.

  To some truly excellent friends. Bethany Lopez, whose support and sense of story was invaluable. Josh Feinstein, who volunteered his mad-ninja editorial skills. Marc Manus (both manager and friend), who gave excellent and thorough story notes from outline through drafts.

  And finally, to Asher and James, who sacrificed in little and not-so-little ways to give me the precious gift of time to write.

  He has inscribed a circle

  on the face of the waters

  at the boundary between

  light and darkness.

  - Job 26:10

  Chapter 1

  The late September sunlight had its own kind of magic.

  Spears of mid-morning light broke through a heavy bank of clouds to strike the leaves of an expansive aspen tree, setting each one aglow with an emerald fire. I tilted my head up, eyes closed, letting the warmth seep in, welcoming it beyond my skin, through sinew and muscle, into my bones. Some hidden part of me had been cold since last December. I lived with this fist of ice around my heart, unable to pry free from its hold.

  Winter solstice.

  My eyelids snapped open. I felt the muscles of my back knot up. With effort, I forced myself to pull in a long breath. As I let it out, I willed my body to relax.

  In answer, I felt his warm fingers lacing through mine. Lucas stood next to me, distracted by the stream of kids pouring out of the newly arrived school bus behind us. I don’t think he even realized he’d taken my hand. It was an unconscious gesture, but it did more to warm me than the sun. I leaned closer, breathing in the subtle spice of his scent. He sensed the motion and turned to look at me. I smiled but he read something in my face. Concern clouded his eyes.

  “It’s nothing,” I said, then, tasting the lie, I shrugged. “It’s nothing new.”

  Lucas nodded. There was nothing else to say. The only reason he wasn’t having sheet-twisting, sweat-drenched nightmares every night was that I policed his dreams. Even then, more than a handful of times the Lilitu demon Ais had risen up before us, conjured by Lucas’s sleeping mind. In many dreams we’d battled her together, fighting teeth and nails that glinted like steel, staring into glassy black eyes. These fights were always epic and acrobatic—loosed from the laws of physics that dictate everything in the real world, Lucas and I could run faster, leap farther, and fight tirelessly. Our dream fights were much more glamorous than the actual night we had faced Ais. The night we had nearly died.

  Fragmented memories of that night rose up, knife-sharp and aching to shred my forced calm. I turned my attention back to the reason we were all here.

  The Mission of Puerto Escondido sat perched in the foothills, about 15 miles away from the center of Old Town. The monks who’d settled here hundreds of years before had picked a beautiful vantage point. Piñon and juniper trees dotted the mountains that enclosed our little valley. Most of the town was nestled comfortably in the lowest dip between the peaks. Standing in front of the mission, I could see across the bowl of our valley, from the glimmering stand of old oaks that edged my neighborhood to the wealthy foothill community on the other side of town.

  As if glancing at his neighborhood was some kind of summons, Royal’s brand new, platinum two-seater cut across the unpaved parking lot, kicking up a dusty plume in its wake. The kids nearest the parking lot coughed and waved dust away from their faces, irritated. Irritation changed to interest as they got a good look at the car. The Corvette Stingray convertible had been a present from Royal’s father. If you asked Royal, he’d say it was an attempt to compensate for being chronically absent—but that didn’t mean it wasn’t fun to drive.

  “Told you.” I grinned at Lucas, feeling some of my anxiety melting into the background. Royal was a grounding force in my life. Safe. Familiar.

  “You said he’d make an entrance,” Lucas replied, unable to wrench his gaze off the gleaming roadster, “but now I’m thinking you left out a few key details.”

  “What?” I said innocently. “I told you he got a car for his birthday.”

  “A car—?” Lucas glanced at me, incredulous. “That’s like calling the Hope Diamond a pretty rock.”

  “Which is technically true,” I shrugged, “depending on your taste in gemstones.”

  Lucas smiled, shaking his head, then draped an arm over my shoulder. “Okay. Now I’m thinking I put too much thought into your Christmas gift.” I elbowed him in the ribs. Lucas grunted, but his grin deepened.

  In the parking lot, Royal emerged from this gleaming work of art, seemingly oblivious to our classmates’ stares. He walked around and opened the passenger door for Cassie. She unfolded from the car, smoothing her long black hair back from her face. She was beaming, flushed from the ride, and when she spotted us she waved brightly. We moved forward to meet them at the edge of the parking lot. Royal approached us casually enough, but as he got closer I could see the twinkle of excitement in his eyes.

  “Well?” he asked. “First thoughts. Brutal honesty.”

  “Hm.” I said, tilting my head to one side critically. “I thought it’d be more—” I glanced at Lucas.

  “Awesome,” he supplied.

  “Yes. I thought it’d be more a
wesome,” I said. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. It’s okay, for a car. I’m sure it will get you from point A to point B. Maybe you can upgrade it in a few years. Get something a little—”

  “Awesomer,” Lucas said.

  “Right.”

  Cassie bit her lip, muffling a giggle.

  “It’s an incredible ride and you know it,” Royal said, unruffled. He held up his car keys. “Just for that, Cassie gets to drive it first.”

  “Me?” Cassie squealed.

  “I’d like to amend my former statement,” Lucas said.

  “Too late.” Royal tossed the keys to Cassie, who plucked them out of the air gleefully. Lucas looked forlorn.

  “Although I do need a favor, so if anyone wants brownie points—” Royal jabbed his thumb over his shoulder at the car behind him. “To be clear, brownie points get you behind the wheel.”

  “Let’s hear it,” Lucas said.

  Royal lowered his voice. “My dad’s hired some SAT dude to come over and tutor me three times a week. I could really use some company. This guy is way, way beyond plastic. Just watching him smile all afternoon makes my cheeks hurt. Isn’t there some saying? ‘If you’re going to suffer, you might as well make your friends suffer, too?’”

  “I don’t think so, no,” I said.

  Royal snapped his fingers. “Misery loves company.”

  “Yeah, that’s not exactly the same thing.”

  “Whatever. My misery basically demands your company. It’s the first rule of friendship.” Royal turned beseeching eyes on Cassie. “Save me from Academic Ken Doll. You’ll have my eternal gratitude.”

  “All right. I’m in,” Cassie said.

  “Thanks, study buddy.” Royal grinned, catching my eye for the briefest moment. I knew—and I knew Royal knew—that if Cassie was going to go to college, she’d need some serious scholarships. The kind of scholarships that started with an excellent score on the SATs. Which made me suspect that this tutor might not be as lame as Royal would have us believe.

  “Count me in, too,” I said.

  “So these brownie points,” Lucas began.

  “Don’t worry, pretty boy,” Royal said, grinning. “There’s plenty of road to go around.”

  Behind us, Mr. Landon clapped his hands together, drawing everyone’s attention toward the doors of the old mission. His portly stature and receding hairline—which might have made him the target of students’ jokes—were easily overshadowed by a youthful enthusiasm for his subject. He was one of a handful of beloved educators at Coronado Prep voted among the “Best Teachers” year after year. Mr. Landon taught AP History to all the juniors at Coronado Prep, which was the reason for this class-wide field trip.

  “All right, kids, I think that’s everyone,” Mr. Landon said. “Please direct your attention to our fabulous guide for the day, Annie Gerardo. Annie?”

  I turned toward the slender, mousy woman standing next to Mr. Landon—but my gaze caught on another figure, hovering at the back of the crowd of students. Almost as soon as our eyes locked, the strange woman slipped through a gate into the mission’s garden and was gone. A shivery tingle crept over the back of my neck. I’d only had the briefest glimpse of her, but something about the woman was off. She was human—that much I could see instantly. Approaching middle age, with a wide, kind looking face. But something in her eyes was missing.

  “Braedyn?” Lucas looked at me curiously. I noticed the rest of the students were following Annie into the mission’s main sanctuary. Royal and Cassie, a few paces ahead, trailed the bunch, waiting for me to catch up.

  I turned back to the gate through which the woman had vanished. “Did you see...?”

  Lucas followed my gaze, but of course there was nothing to see. “What am I looking for?” he asked, tensing like a coiled spring, ready for release. I realized I wasn’t the only one with a hair-trigger these days.

  “Nothing,” I said, forcing a smile. I squeezed his hand, still laced through my fingers. “Let’s catch up before we miss the whole tour. Knowing Landon, this is probably going to end up on a quiz.”

  Lucas and I were the last of our group to set foot inside the mission. The heavy mission doors swung shut behind us and a sweeping peace enveloped me. The outside world fell away, as though muted by a great distance. The sunlight, which had seemed so harsh moments ago in the parking lot, was at the wrong angle to beam directly into the sanctuary. Instead, fingers of light shot through the high windows to reflect against the painted ceiling, bouncing aimlessly in the vastness above us and filling the cathedral with a reflected glow.

  “Come in, everyone. Come on, don’t be afraid to scootch a little closer.” Annie waved us forward. When Lucas and I edged farther inside, she gestured at the sanctuary around us grandly. “This mission was first established in 1593, by a group of Spanish monks. This room we’re standing in was the entirety of the original mission. Everything else—the dormitory, the gardens, the refractory—that was added later.” Annie gestured for us to follow her deeper into the sanctuary. I stepped out from under the shelter of the foyer and got my first good look at the simple stained glass windows, depicting the lives and deaths of a variety of saints.

  I heard a group of guys muffling laughter from the other side of the sanctuary. I glanced over and saw Dan Buchanan making a lewd gesture while a group of kids surrounding him snickered. One of the girls tossed her icy-blond hair back over one shoulder and noticed me staring. Her smile vanished in an instant.

  Amber. She used to brag that she’d grown up getting most of the things she wanted in life. Until I came along, I suppose. She’d made a failed play for Lucas when he started at Coronado Prep, but that wasn’t the reason for the icy rage that gleamed in her eyes.

  This was about an ultimatum she’d given me last winter.

  You were there when Derek died, she’d said. You had something to do with Parker’s meltdown. I don’t want you at my school. I don’t want you near my friends. I’m warning you. If you stick around, whatever happens next is on your head.

  With some effort, I let my gaze slide away from Amber back to our tour guide. Amber’s threats were toothless. If she ran around telling everyone her theory that I was a Lilitu demon, they’d all look at her like she was nuts. Never mind the fact that it was true. Most of humanity wasn’t willing to accept that people—things—like me existed. I’d had a hard enough time believing it myself when I’d found out. Steering my thoughts carefully away from this sensitive topic, I sighed. No, there wasn’t much Amber could do to me, and we both knew it.

  “And now for the pièce de résistance,” Annie proclaimed with a wide sweep of her arm. She walked into the small alcove to the left of the altar. “Have you ever wondered why our town is called Puerto Escondido? Well, feast your eyes on this.” Placing her hand on a carved wooden rose, she turned her wrist. The rose, which had looked like it was carved into one of the church’s pillars, moved. It was some kind of latch. Behind Annie, a section of the rich oak paneling popped open. She pulled it open farther with a flourish.

  While Annie was obviously excited about this revelation, the junior class of Coronado Prep did not share her enthusiasm.

  Annie, struggling to win back her audience, attempted a “spooky” voice that came off painfully corny. “But why, you may ask, did the monks of Puerto Escondido need a secret door out of their sanctuary?”

  “Booty calls?” Dan offered. The sanctuary rang with raucous laughter. Annie’s face fell, and my heart went out to her. But seriously, we were in high school, not kindergarten.

  “Okay, Mr. Buchanan, you’re with me for the rest of this tour,” Mr. Landon said. Dan shrugged and moved to join Mr. Landon near the front of the group.

  “Um...” Annie struggled for a way back into her tour.

  “Maybe the kids could roam a bit? Come to you if they have any questions about the mission?” Mr. Landon offered. Annie’s face melted in relief and she nodded. “Okay, kids,” Mr. Landon said, taking charge. “Try and rem
ember this is a school field trip. There may or may not be a quiz on this mission so it might behoove you to take some notes.” He waved off a chorus groans with good humor.

  “Thank the Lord,” Royal said, turning around to face us. “That poor woman. I was getting ready to dial emergency services to come and resuscitate her.”

  I heard someone approaching behind us, but when the newcomer spoke, even Royal’s expression blanched.

  “Cassie?” Parker’s voice wavered. When she saw him, the blood seeped out of Cassie’s face. Royal and I had made a pact to keep Parker away from Cassie as much as possible. We’d done a thorough job of it so far this year; Cassie hadn’t come face to face with him once since school started. If she guessed why we’d sometimes steer her down a side hall, or forget a textbook and ask her to walk back to a locker with us, she hadn’t let on. But here in the mission, outside the confines of school, we’d let our guard down. He’d gotten past our defenses. Royal locked eyes with me and I saw his flash of panic.

  “Leave me alone,” Cassie said to Parker, her voice suddenly cold.

  Royal and I moved at the same time. Royal guided Cassie away. I stepped in front of Parker to block him from following.

  “What are you doing, Parker?” I hissed. “She doesn’t want to see you anymore, remember?” I felt Lucas move to stand beside me.

  “I thought maybe—” Parker ran a shaking hand through his hair.

  “Maybe she forgot that little video you made?” My voice crackled with quiet fury. “That’s not likely, is it?” It had been almost a year since Parker had seduced Cassie on a dare and shared the videoed evidence of the deed with his friends. She’d never quite recovered. She put on a brave face, hung out with us like old times, but she’d stopped sewing, stopped designing those fashion-forward creations she’d been so passionate about before. And she’d stopped wearing her hair in the quirky twisted knots that had always seemed so her. Where she used to radiate her own personal brand of Cassie-ness almost unconsciously, she now struggled to fade into the background. It was the thing I hated most about what Parker had done to her. He’d stolen her from herself.