Incubus (35 page)

wanted to tell me. Finally, I felt her give a resigned sigh.
Not yet.

That sounds ominous,
I replied.

The Lilitu know the final battle is coming sooner rather than later. Like, a lot sooner. And Puerto

Escondido is ground zero. In fact, now might be a good time to pack up all your little Guard friends

and get the hell out of town.

Nice try, but we’ve got some unfinished business here.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

How many are coming?

I don’t know,
Karayan replied. A lot.

When you say a lot, what are we talking? 10? 50?

You’re not ready for this,
Karayan answered grimly.
Almost all of the Lilitu in this world are

gearing up for war. That’s got to be over 200.

200?
I felt my breath rush out of my lungs sharply. Lucas and Seth watched me with concern, but I

shook my head. I needed to finish this conversation.

200 on this side of the seal,
Karayan corrected.
There could be thousands on the other side, lining

up for the moment that thing pops open.
For a long moment, my mind was too numb to form a

response. I felt Karayan’s worry.
Braedyn? You still there?

We can’t fight that many,
I told her, feeling faint.

Yeah.
I felt her smile humorlessly.
I believe I’ve already said something to that effect.

I closed my eyes, steeling myself against the panic that threatened to overwhelm me.
Be careful,
I

urged.
The Guard is coming here, too. They’ll be stepping up patrols. If you don’t want to end up in

their basement, you need to stay out of sight.

What about you?
she asked. For once, there was no snarky edge to her voice.
What are you going

to do when those spotters get to town? Because, if memory serves, keeping a pet Lilitu is kind of one of

the Guard’s big no-nos. And you’re not going to be able to hide from them, living right next door.

I trust Hale,
I said.

I can’t say I share your faith in the Guard.
But then she added, grudgingly,
Though, if they’re

smart, they’ll recognize what a powerful ally they have in you.

Karayan, you could join us,
I started.

No.

So you’re on their side?
I couldn’t keep the judgment out of my thoughts, but if Karayan sensed it,

she didn’t seem to care.

I’m on my side,
she said.
Perfectly content with my seat on this fence.

So what’s the plan? Just wait the battle out, see who wins?

I couldn’t have put it better myself.

You’re going to have to pick a side eventually.

I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree about that,
she said.
Take care of yourself, Braedyn.

I released the connection, letting my consciousness flood back into physical reality. Karayan’s

presence faded from my mind. Lucas and Seth waited on pins and needles. I wished I had better news

for them.

Dad came home the next morning to find us slumped on the couch, asleep. We’d tried to wait up for

him, finally passing out sometime after two o’clock. I’d fallen into a dreamless sleep. It was rare, but

it gave my mind a chance to rest.

Dad didn’t look like he’d had any sleep. He gathered us into the dining room. We sat around the

table, rubbing our eyes.

“They caught the Thrall,” Dad said.

Lucas and I traded a look, suddenly awake.

“What—what did she say?” Seth asked. “Did she tell you who the incubus is?”

“She was a Thrall,” Dad said gently. “She didn’t say much.”

“What about Gretchen? Could she sense any kind of connection between the Thrall and whoever

turned her?” Lucas asked.

Dad shook his head, solemn. “It seems like Thane was right. Incubi seem to operate on a

different...
frequency
than regular Lilitu.”

“But—you were gone all night,” I said, stunned. “Didn’t you learn anything from her at all?”

“Yes. We learned two things.” Dad took a moment to compose himself. “Seth, the first thing we

managed to get out of her—this Thrall was the one who killed your mom. There’s no doubt in our

minds now, the incubus was behind Angela’s death.”

Seth stared at Dad. It didn’t come as a surprise to us, but hearing the confirmation of our

suspicions still hurt. He cleared his throat. “Did she say why?”

“Yeah. That’s the second thing we learned.” Dad folded his hands. It almost looked like he was

getting ready to pray. “For the last several years, Angela’s been researching rumors of a mythical

weapon. That research led her to the story about the incubus who attacked the mission all those

centuries ago.”

Seth’s hands tightened on the edge of the couch with every word Dad spoke. “Yeah, that weird

knife. She was obsessed with it for a while. But, I don’t understand. What does that have to do with

—?”

“We think the incubus is here for that weapon. We think he believes it is the one way to secure

victory for the Lilitu. And Angela was the only human alive who knew where it was hidden.”

Five days left until the solstice, and we were no closer to finding the incubus than we’d been the day

Angela had first told us about him.

That afternoon, after they’d recovered from their grueling night, I told Dad, Hale, and Gretchen

about the conversation I’d had with Karayan. They listened to me carefully, sitting around our dining

room table. I could see the fear gripping each of them as I related what Karayan had told me. 200

Lilitu on this side of the seal, untold numbers on the other side. All waiting for someone to open the

seal so they could flood into this world and reclaim what they saw as their birthright. And yet, even

after I’d explained everything, the Guard still wouldn’t agree that the ritual—our only known chance

of keeping that seal closed—was the right move.

“We have to wait for Clay,” Dad insisted.

“For how much longer?” I asked, exasperated.

“The solstice isn’t for another five days. We can wait a little while longer,” Dad said.

“And if we miss our window?” I asked, frustrated.

“Right now, our primary goal has to be keeping that weapon out of the incubus’s hands,” Hale

said. “There will be another window.”

I stared at him, stricken. “Yeah, in
20 years.
”

Hale looked at his hands, miserable. “The point is, this solstice is not our last chance to attempt

the ritual, once we’ve had time to research it properly.”

“But it’s
my
last chance,” I said. “You want my help to defeat the Lilitu, right? So let me help.

Locking the seal could make a real difference in this war.” Hale wouldn’t meet my eyes. “Dad?” I

turned to Dad. He couldn’t look at me either. “Dad, please.”

Dad stood abruptly. “I can’t,” he said hoarsely, but he looked at Hale as he said it. Hale nodded,

and Dad left the room.

I turned back to Hale. “Why?” It was all I could manage.

“We’ve been fooled before,” Hale said simply. “Whenever something looks too good to be true, it

usually is.”

“No.” Tears burned in my eyes. “Not this time. This time it’s real.”

“We can’t know that,” Hale started.

I stood, ready to blurt out everything. That I had the ingredients for the ritual. That I knew where

the vessel was. That all I needed was his blessing, and I could bring this whole nightmare to an end.

But something stopped me. I could see it in his face. Whoever this Clay was, Hale wouldn’t risk going

against him, even if not acting meant losing the war.

“Screw it,” I muttered. I turned to leave. “I’m going to get something to eat.”

“Braedyn,” Hale called. “Stop. There’s something else we have to discuss.”

“What more is there to say?” I snapped, pausing at the entrance to the foyer.

“I’m calling the spotters back.”

Icy fear flooded into my veins. “Am I supposed to move into the attic or something?”

“No. We’re going to station them at the edge of town with small units of Guardsmen. As far as the

Lilitu are concerned, this is now a closed city. No one in, and no one out.”

I heard Dad on the stair behind me and turned. He saw my distress and opened his arms

wordlessly. I moved forward into his hug, holding onto him, trying to sear this feeling into my

memory.

“So this is it. The final battle is beginning.” The words felt strange on my tongue. One moment,

the final battle was some abstract concept, some epic confrontation for the end of time. Then suddenly

it was here, and the Guard wasn’t ready to act.

As I hugged Dad, I felt a surge of determination. The Guard might not be ready, but
I was.

You wouldn’t think the end of the world was right around the corner. The Guard had stepped up

patrols. We’d see them occasionally in town, walking the streets in pairs, looking for all the world like

boys - albeit extremely fit ones - from the nearby college. They kept their daggers concealed beneath

their jackets or stashed in their bags, ready should the need for weapons arise. Each day more and

more arrived. They came in units of five or seven or 10, filling the Guard’s house until the basement

alone was lined with cots to sleep 50 soldiers.

When the first spotters arrived, Hale started housing teams in empty homes on the outskirts of

town. Lucas started calling them the “outposts” and the name stuck. Dad left to check on the outposts

every day. He’d make rounds, gather intelligence, deliver supplies. Each spotter was charged with

patrolling the five block area surrounding her outpost. Gretchen was the spotter “assigned” to the five

blocks that included my home and school. In that way, Hale insured the entire town was covered—and

that none of the new spotters got the chance to lay eyes on me or my secret.

Seth and I were ready. We had everything we needed for the ritual, and I knew exactly where to go

to find the vessel. Seth pressed me for it’s location once, but I shut him down. When the moment was

right, I would get it. Until then, better to leave it undisturbed. He didn’t look happy, but he dropped

the subject after that. We had to perform the ritual on the solstice; Angela’s notes were very clear

about that. It started at dawn and wasn’t complete until the light of the full moon struck the vessel that