Tears of Blood (13 page)

"Everyone is jealous of you." Annie grinned. "You
have a freedom they lack."

"I’m about to give up that freedom for good," Sarahi
smiled back. "They’ve decided Lucien and I need to marry
immediately. In fact, I’m on my way there right now."

"Wow!" Annie’s brown eyes widened.
"Congratulations!"

"Thank you." Sarahi’s smile widened until her cheeks
hurt. Then she set her crafty little plan in motion. "I’m running
late, and I need to get to the chapel about ten minutes ago. But I left
something in the room there. Would you be a darling and get it for me?"

"Okay," Annie agreed. "What is it?"

"You’ll know it when you see it," Sarahi said.

Annie’s desire for Josiah glowed so brightly, Sarahi was amazed
she’d never noticed it before. She sent a little pulse of enhancement
energy into her. And then she dashed down the hall before the girl could ask
any more questions.

Sarahi opened a couple of wrong doors before she found the chapel. It
was at the bottom of the tower which stood in the corner where the compound met
the wall of the courtyard. Three stories, it was made of rebar-reinforced
concrete, painted white to match the cinder blocks of which the rest of the
compound was formed. High on one wall, a small,round stained-glass window
admitted a shaft of multicolored light. Two sections of red-cushioned chairs
waited for Sunday service. But right now they stood empty. Only Lucien waited
at the front for her, and Mr. Smith stood behind the pulpit.

"The dress, Sarahi?" the elder asked her.

"Sorry. I misplaced it. Does it really matter?" she asked.

"I suppose not. It’s not as though anyone is pretending
you’re a virgin." He sighed. "Come on then."

She smiled and walked up the aisle to her lover, taking his arm, ready
to make her own vow.

***

Annie stepped through the door without stopping to consider what room
it was or what she was looking for. Inside she stopped dead. Josiah sat on the
bed looking at her with a stunned expression on his face. She had not so much
as said hello to him since that disastrous day in the meadow three years ago.
Grandfather had forbidden it. But she had never forgotten. No one meant as much
to her as Josiah. No one.

"Annie?" he looked at her like a starving man looks at a
juicy steak. "Why are you here, love?"

"I’m not sure," she said. "Your
mother..."

"You met her? Isn’t she beautiful?"

"Yes, Josiah, she is. We’ve been friends a long
time."

He smiled, but it looked tired. "You should leave, Annie,"
he said.

"I know," she said. But she didn’t leave. She walked
closer to him, drinking in the sight of him. Short, messy black hair which
couldn’t decide if it was curly or straight. Chiseled, angelic features.
Glowing green eyes. No darkness was too dark for those eyes. Kissable lips she
hadn’t tasted in far too long. His thin black sweater clung to bulky muscles.

"Annie, leave now."

"Yes. I’m going." She walked even closer, close
enough to touch. Then she sat down on his lap and slid her arms around his
neck.

"Don’t do this, Annie," he said. "I’ve
tried to live by your grandfather’s rules, to stay away from you, but my strength
is low right now. I’m tired. And... and I want you."

"I want you too, Josiah. Surely you know that." She kissed
him.

"I thought you were mad at me," he said when she pulled
back to breathe.

"Never. Why would I be?"

"The meadow. I wasn’t thinking. Wasn’t listening. I
didn’t mean to hurt or dishonor you, Annie."

"You didn’t. I loved how you touched me. I didn’t
want you to stop. Do it again."

"Annie, if I touch you, your grandfather will throw me
out."

"He won’t either. I won’t let him. We’re adults
now. He has no right to interfere. I know what I want, Josiah. Touch me."
She kissed him again and guided his hand to her breast. Then she pulled back
and watched. His expression conflicted, he stimulated her nipple as though
against his will. She saw the exact moment his resistance collapsed. They fell
back on the little bed, kissing and touching. This time, no seduction was
necessary. Each was wild to have the other.

Josiah had Annie out of her white suit in a flash, faster than she even
realized he was capable of moving. Finally able, he made free with her slender,
wiry body, caressing her little breasts, kissing her with wild passion as he
pressed her down with the whole weight of his body.

"I love you, Annie," he whispered. A thrill shot through
her belly, part sexual arousal, part deep love. How long she’d wanted to
hear it. After grandfather’s ultimatum, she thought it would never
happen. And now here she was, right where she wanted to be, in Josiah’s
arms, naked in his bed. She felt no shame. This was meant to be.

"I love you."

She lifted his sweater over his head and pressed kisses all over his
chest and shoulders. Josiah quickly returned the favor, lifting her breasts,
one after the other, and nibbling them all over. She sighed with pleasure. He
was a natural at this. Unless...

"Josiah, have you done this before?"

"Yes," he replied, and her heart clenched. "With you,
in the meadow. You’re the only woman I want."

He scooted down her body, cupping her hips in his hands and kissing
down her belly. Annie wasn’t ignorant. She and the other girls had read
naughty novels and giggled. She knew how this worked. But when his tongue
parted her folds and lovingly tasted her, she realized her imagination had not
been anywhere near accurate. He probed and lapped at her.

"Oh, Annie," he groaned, "you taste so good."
He slipped one finger deep inside her. "All mine."

She arched her hips, urging even deeper penetration, but he slipped
out. She whined in protest. He returned, but with two fingers this time,
slipping gently in and out while he kissed and teased her clitoris.

In no time, Annie was drenched and panting, poised on the brink of
orgasm. But he didn’t stop. He eased her over the threshold into that
devastating peak, where she writhed in ecstasy.

"More, Josiah," she begged. "Give me the rest!"

"Tell me what you want, Annie. Do you want me inside you?"

"Oh yes," she pleaded. "Yes, Josiah. It’s
right. Don’t you feel it?"

"Yes, baby. I feel it. Here. Feel this." He guided her hand
down to his straining erection. She moaned, bending her knees and parting them
wide. She stroked him a couple of times and then guided him into position. This
time there would be no stopping. She didn’t want him to. He rammed into
her with a mighty thrust, claiming her body for all time.

Annie sucked in a sharp breath at the pain of his entry, but it
didn’t stop her from lifting her hips to him, forcing him even farther
inside. She wanted to be filled in every inch. He moved forward until he rubbed
her deepest place.

How he held off his orgasm, she didn’t know, but Josiah was far
from finished. He claimed her aching passage again and again, gliding through
her wetness to her fullest depth, pulling out, and surging in again. Her own
arousal had been doused by the sudden sting. But she knew, once the pain faded,
this kind of slow, deep taking would be very pleasurable. Already she could
feel the faint stirrings of stimulation. Next time should be phenomenal.

Josiah’s hard thrusting brought him quickly to his own peak.
Annie stroked his back as he growled and ground his body inside her,
ejaculating against her cervix.

As his erection waned, he slipped from her sore sex. Annie whimpered a
bit.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked.

"You took me," she replied, "and I was a virgin. Of
course it hurt. But I’m not sorry. This was what I wanted." She
cuddled Josiah close in her arms and kissed his cheek.

"I took you because I love you."

"I let you because I love you."

Their lips met again.

"Your grandfather is going to throw a fit."

"I know. Ask me if I care."

"You should. He only wants what’s best for you."

"Let’s not talk about him," Annie insisted.

Josiah nodded. "So tell me about this costume you came in
wearing. It’s not Halloween. Are you really The Assassin?"

"Yes," she admitted. "They told me girls can’t
fight. I think I’ve proved them wrong."

"It’s not that you can’t. It’s that people
don’t want to see you in danger."

"Josiah, we’re all in danger. Every day. Every hour. How am
I in less danger if I don’t know how to defend myself?"

He grinned. "You don’t have to convince me. You’ve
been better at all this stuff than me from the very beginning."

"It’s not a competition, Josiah," she said,
stretching like a cat and pressing herself against him. He squeezed her gently.

"Should we get up and go face the music?" he asked.

The other boys would be occupied with food for quite some time.
"Not yet," she replied. "Hold me a little longer."

"Okay," Josiah agreed quickly, snuggling Annie close and
kissing her forehead. She smiled, enjoying being cherished.

***

While Lucien and Sarahi had intended their wedding to be private, the
unheard-of joining of succubus and naphil drew quite a crowd. One was
Nathaniel, one of the youngest nephilim, a newborn when the Flood occurred. No
sooner had the words been spoken, then the golden-skinned blond man raced down
the hall to a bedroom he’d passed many times, wishing. He knocked. A
woman of about forty with long hair the color of tea answered the door.

Her eyes widened at the sight of Nathaniel. They nearly popped right
out when he hauled her into his arms and kissed her. "Come on!" he
said, taking her hand and dragging her down the hallway to the chapel.

"Nathaniel, what?"

"Trust me. Things are changing. You have to see this to believe
it."

They arrived a few steps behind Sarahi and slipped into a pew near the
back. The lovely woman looked up to the front of the church. Her hand tightened
in his as she realized what was happening. Weddings at the compound were
generally brief, and this one seemed to go faster than most. Within ten minutes
the naphil Lucien and the succubus Sarahi were pronounced husband and wife.

As the happy couple tugged each other down the aisle, clearly intent on
finding a bit of privacy in which to celebrate their union, Nathaniel
whispered, "What about you, Mary?"

She looked at him, not understanding.

"They’ve revoked our vow of celibacy. The nephilim are
allowed to take wives. Will you be mine?"

She blinked at him.

"I can’t do that, Nathaniel," she said sadly.

"Why? He asked, feeling as though his heart were about to break.
"You know how long I’ve loved you."

"I know, but Nathaniel, I’m already middle aged. We have so
few years together, and I already look old. It would be ridiculous."

"I’m much older than you," he said, puzzled.

"I know, but you’re ageless."

"Mary, I don’t care about that. I would rather have you for
whatever time is allotted to us than miss out altogether. I love you.
Don’t you love me, Mary?"

"Of course I do," she said.

"Good. Then come on." He led her to the front of the room,
where a rather shell-shocked looking elder was still standing.

"Mr. Smith," Nathaniel said, "do you have time for
one more wedding?"

The elder looked at the two of them, opened his mouth as though to
speak, and then closed it again, replying to the request with a brief nod.

Ch
apter
16

In the morning, Sarahi and Lucien wandered hand-in-hand down the
hallway to the dining room. Adjoining the kitchen, the massive space doubled as
a meeting hall and auditorium. Every surface was white; white cinder block
walls, white laminate floor, white tile ceiling. A row of narrow windows near
that ceiling admitted the pale winter sunlight.

The room was full of milling clerics, nephilim, and children, like any
other day, apart from an excited buzz which hummed just below the surface.

Mr. Smith stared blearily into a cup of coffee as the newlyweds slipped
onto the bench across the white laminate cafeteria table. Lucien set down a
tray laden with a huge breakfast. Sarahi carried a glass of juice and a muffin.
Mr. Smith looked up from his drink and eyed the succubus.

"I didn’t think you needed that," he said, indicating
the food.

"I don’t need it," she replied. "But I can eat
if I want to. It’s easier for people if I do now and again. Helps them
forget." She smiled and laid her head on Lucien’s shoulder. He
squeezed her gently and then tucked into his food without a word.

"Mr. Smith," Sarahi said hesitantly, "could I ask a
favor of you?"

He raised one eyebrow.

"There are a few of my sisters who I think... well I think they
would leave mother if we offered them sanctuary here."

The second eyebrow joined the first. "I’m not sure inviting
succubae into the compound is a good idea. How do you know you can trust
them?"

"They’re my sisters," she said.

"And how would they be fed?"

"The same way I was. There’s enough love energy in this
place right now to feed a dozen succubae."

"A dozen?" He slapped both hands on the table and leaned
forward.

She shook her head. "No. There are not twelve who are
trustworthy."

"How many then?" he asked.

"Three for sure. At most five."

"I suppose you can invite them. But I’m still not sure how
you can be so certain they won’t turn on us."

"I’ll check them out," Lucien said between bites of
ham and mushroom omelet. "I can see by their auras if they’re
trustworthy."

"Oh all right then," Mr. Smith sighed. "I guess
having a few more with inside knowledge won’t hurt. But you be sure they
understand that they have to leave their sluttish ways behind them. I
won’t have that here."

Sarahi nodded. Explaining to her sisters that they would have to feed
by standing nearby while others made love was going to be interesting.

A tall figure slid into the seat beside them.

"Good morning, Annie," Sarahi said warmly.

"Good morning." The girl blushed and looked down into her
cup of tea. Luckily, Mr. Smith was examining his coffee again as though it
contained the answers to all the perplexing questions which had arisen of late.

Sarahi poked the girl in the ribs and wrinkled her nose. Annie grinned
through her blush. It had only taken the tiniest push to break through her
restraint. And Annie, though embarrassed, clearly had no regrets. Thank Heaven.

"I’ve been wondering something," Sarahi said, making
idle conversation.

"What’s that?" Annie asked, her eyes begging for
discretion.

"How is it that the nephilim and the clerics came to work
together? And how did the clerics gain the power to make rules for semi-angelic
beings?"

"Oh, I know the answer to that," Annie replied.
"After the flood, there were thousands of nephilim, but over the
centuries, many were lost. By the middle ages, they were down to about six
hundred. It was decided there were not enough to police the whole known world,
and so they began to gather the gifted from among the human race and train them
to fight succubae. Eventually, the Order of Clerics emerged, similar to Knights
Templar, but much more secret. They have declined greatly in ability, but at
their height, around the time of the Renaissance, the clerics had great gifts;
healing, prophecy, supernatural speed, strength or endurance. Most of those
eventually dwindled or died out."

"That’s amazing," Sarahi said. How do you know all
that?"

"The same way you know so much about the incubus. I studied. I
teach, so I have to know things."

"Why were the gifts lost?"

"That we don’t exactly know. Perhaps too many mundanes were
brought in to prevent inbreeding and the blood thinned. For the longest time,
clerics were nothing but soldiers. That is, until recently."

"What do you mean?" Lucien looked around Sarahi at the
girl.

"Well grandfather is a prophet."

Mr. Smith met his granddaughter’s eyes. She challenged him with a
glare.

"It’s true. I do see visions from time to time."

"And when he sees one, it’s guaranteed to be true,"
Annie added. "And there are others."

"What others?" Mr. Smith asked her.

The girl’s expression turned wicked. She stood and walked behind
Sarahi, over to Lucien. "Allow me to demonstrate. Sir, do you trust
me?"

"Yes, Annie," he replied. "What are you going to
do?"

"You’ll see." The girl closed her eyes and
concentrated. A pure white light shone around her, eventually drawing down
around her body to her hand, and then to the tip of her index finger.
"May I touch you?" she asked.

Lucien nodded. Even though she didn’t open her eyes, she seemed
to know he had granted permission. She laid her fingertip against the scar on
his face and traced it along the length of the injury. She never looked, but
her finger followed the scar with unerring accuracy. When she had stroked the
entire length, her hand fell to her side and the light disappeared.

Sarahi looked at Lucien and gasped. The scar was gone as though it had
never been.

"It seems I have a gift of healing," Annie said smugly,
returning to her breakfast. Another person joined them. Josiah had dared slide
onto the bench next to Annie. He didn’t speak. His whole body was tense.
Sarahi reached around Annie’s back and touched his shoulder. He looked at
her. She winked. He smiled, but it looked strained.

"Sir," he said hesitantly.

Mr. Smith scowled. "I have nothing to say to you, Josiah. But you
had better get away from my granddaughter this minute. Go."

"No, sir." Josiah said. "I have something I need to
tell you." He raised his chin, meeting the man’s eyes. Sarahi
looked from her son to the elder. This was not going to be pretty.

"Well, boy, say your piece then and be done with it."

"Very well. I love Annie." He slipped his hand into hers.
"She loves me. I want to be with her."

"No," Mr. Smith said.

"You mistake me, sir. I wasn’t asking permission. I want to
be with her, and I will be. You can’t stop it."

A vein in Mr. Smith’s temple began to throb. His teeth ground
together audibly. "What did I tell you, Josiah? What did I say would
happen if you went near Annie again? Do you want to be thrown out?"

"No, sir," Josiah replied.

"Then get away from her, and me. NOW!" The last word was a
roar. Conversations stopped around the room as people turned to stare.

"No, Grandfather," Annie said. "You can’t do
this. You’ve never been fair to Josiah. Why do you dislike him so
much?"

"He’s an unnatural creature, the bastard son of a naphil
and a..."

"Stop!" Sarahi exclaimed. "That’s no way to
tell him."

"Tell me what? Child of a what?"

"Succubus." Mr. Smith spat out the word as though it were
an insect which had flown into his mouth.

Josiah went pale. "Mother?"

She gave a short nod. He gulped. Suddenly, the expression on his face
became haunted. He looked from one person to another, begging for help.

"Do you understand, Josiah? Do you understand why I didn’t
want you for Annie? She deserves better than to be saddled with a demon."

"You watch yourself, Mr. Smith," Sarahi hissed. "Why
accept me and not him? Have you been tormenting him his whole life?"

"He has," Annie said. "And that was long before we
knew what you were, Sarahi. He has some kind of prejudice against
Josiah."

"After what happened three years ago, how can you still defend
him?"

"What? When I almost gave him my virginity? I wish I had."

"He manipulated you."

"I may have," Josiah said. "Mother, is it
possible?"

Sarahi shook her head. "We cannot create desire where none
exists. We can only enhance what’s already there. If you influenced
Annie, it was only by acting on feelings she already had."

"That’s right," Annie agreed. "I wanted him. I
didn’t feel manipulated."

"I didn’t know what I was doing." Josiah cast his
eyes down at the table.

Annie slipped her arm around him. "I love you, Josiah."

"When a succubus, or in your case an incubus, comes into puberty,
son, that ability to enhance can flare without warning. Likely you got caught
up in it yourself, not realizing what was happening."

He nodded.

"But I thought the age of marriage here was twenty," Sarahi
continued. "If anyone should have married young, it’s Josiah. Why
was he not given a wife?"

But Mr. Smith was not listening. He was glaring at the young couple in
front of him. "Get your hand off him, Annie."

She shook her head. "I won’t. You will not take me away
from him again."

"I will make him leave."

"Mr. Smith," Sarahi gasped, "consider. If you throw
him out, what will become of us? She will find him."

"She who?" Josiah turned.

"My mother. Lilith."

"The demon queen is your mother? That’s what I come from?
I’ve been training all my life to kill succubae, and now you tell me I am
one?" He gagged.

"Most of them need
killing," Sarahi replied darkly. "Especially Mother. Promise me,
Josiah. Promise you won’t go to her."

He shook his head, not hearing what she was saying.

"I’m a demon?"

"No, son, you’re not," Sarahi said. "Demon is a
choice. You are the incubus. But you’re only a demon if you act like one.
I’ve chosen a different path, and I’ve got more of that blood than
you do. Please, Josiah, calm down. Mr. Smith, calm down. This is not helpful.
The important thing is the fight which is coming. In order to succeed, we need
everyone working together."

"I will not work together with that!" Mr. Smith snarled.

"You’re not thinking clearly," Lucien said softly.
"Your hatred of Josiah is causing you to make bad decisions. We need him
if we want a chance to win."

"We need Annie, not that creature. I’ve seen it, and my
visions are never wrong."

"Well, Grandfather, at this point, wherever Josiah goes, I go. I
am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine. So if you want me here, you have
to make peace with Josiah, and with us being together. Now that I have him, I’m
never letting him go."

The words from Song of Solomon registered on Mr. Smith will all their
significance. His dark face took on a purplish hue and he seemed to be choking.
"Tell me, Annie," he managed to force out, "that you
didn’t... that you haven’t..."

Annie’s cheeks turned red, but she didn’t answer.

"This was your doing." Mr. Smith turned the full force of
his rage on Sarahi. "My granddaughter is a modest, quiet girl. You used
your sluttish powers to influence her, didn’t you? You wanted me to give
Annie to your demon son, and when I refused, you took matters into your own
hands."

"It’s true, isn’t it, mother?" Josiah asked
softly. "When Annie came to me yesterday, she didn’t seem like
herself. Did you influence her?"

"NO!" Annie insisted. "No one influenced me. I wanted
Josiah and I couldn’t stand to wait another minute."

"But why right then? Mother had left just a moment before you
arrived, right? Why did you come in?"