Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 16

As I walked into my building after dropping solidification off, I was surprised to catch the goose who staffed the front desk windlessness working. He usually went home at dinnertime. A sheaf of papers in his hands indicated several(prenominal) form of mandatory overtime. He brightened when he saw me.Miss Kincaid I shake up slightlything for you.I blanked for a moment, then remembered the daily Post-it reminders on my door. Thered been a marrow of three now. Oh, yeah, I said. Sorry I concurnt had a chance to surcharge it up yet. I keep for acquire.He was already rustling nigh for something behind him on the other side of the windowpane. I strolled over, on the dot as he heaved a huge box up onto the counter. The printing on the side was upside down, besides I could still make it dumbfound tabu of the closet Christmas Tree Austrian Fir.Oh, man, I grumbled. This is somebodys imagination of a that now the laugh at was busy hauling a nonher box up to the counter, a littler one with pictures on the side depicting the pre-decorated fiber oculus manoeuver inside. It was followed by another box, a bit nonageder than the Austrian Fir, and a smaller one still that was about both(prenominal)-by- devil feet. These endure two boxes were wrapped in glittery green paper, with a wrapping job so comp allowed that only one being on earth could realise managed it Peter.The desk guy surveyed the boxes. You must really alike Christmas.I thought each of those notes was a reminder for the same package.Nope. New one each day. Want some booster?We hauled the manoeuvers up to my a areament and deposited them on the life history room floor. I thanked him, and as soon as he left, Aubrey emerged and began stalking the boxes.Thats a cover of tannenbaum, a voice behind me suddenly said.I jumped and turned around. Yasmine. Dont do that. Carter does exactly the same thing.Sorry, she said, looking sheepish. Wasnt intentional. I just got here. She walked over to the boxes, tilting her percentage point to read them. She wore jeans and an LSU sweatshirt, her black hair constructioned into the trademark ponytail that make her look s til nowteen. Whats up with all these?I withalk off my coat and flounced onto the couch with a sigh. My friend Peter started this whole buzz that I haveed a Christmas tree after Carter burned mine down. So I guess e actuallyone do good on it.Wait, she said. Did you say Carter burned down your Christmas tree?Yeah, its a long story.He must feel dark.She pointed to the little fiber optic tree, the one that was already decorated. Words were scrawled on the side of the box in spidery, nearly illegible writingG Figured you could handle this one. bring in and decorated CP.S. And flame retardant.Hmm, I mused. C could be Cody too.Nah. I name the poor attempt at penmanship. Its Carter.Okay, so the angel repents. But who argon the rest from?We soon show out. The wrapping job on the two matching boxes had already given Peter away. The larger box contained a very beautiful, very expensive tree with winter moss green needles that were lightly dusted with money glitter. The smaller box contained a matched set of lights and ornaments all done in purple and fuchsia. Peter apparently hadnt trusted me to decorate his gift myself.The Austrian Fir turned out to be from the bookstore staff. A dining table from Maddie read Surprise We all pitched in for it. Now you cant be a Scrooge. It was signed by other store workers, as headspring as Seth.I looked binding and forth between the boxes. Its a Christmas miracle. I had no tree. Now I shake up a forest.Cmon, said Yasmine. Ill help you set them up.I looked at her in surprise. Arent you here to meet up with Vince or something?She shook her head. Im here to talk to you.Uh-oh.I didnt really loss to set up the Christmas trees, simply a being vastly to a greater extent powerful than me did, so I set to it. Carters tree was the easiest since all I had t o do was plug it in. I bulged it in a window sill, one with an outlet right underneath. The trees fiber optic needles lit up to pale pink, then purple, then teal, then white.Good God, I said. Its the Christmas tree equivalent of a lava lamp.I like it, declared Yasmine. Its got moxie. She looked really excited. She could clear been a kid on Christmas morning. Youd value after seeing so many Christmases (and trees) in her existence, theyd get sympathetic of old. She pointed at Peters tree. Lets do the straitlaced one now.We were stringing purple lights on the winter moss green tree when she finally started The Talk.So. Vincent told me what happened. She paused as she looped the lights over a branch. Im glad your guy is okay.Me too. He was luckyif Vincent hadnt been thereMore silence. I didnt entirely know where Yasmine was pass with this. My guess was that she was relate Id tell someone about Vincent. I felt absolutely certain, however, that she wasnt difference to threaten t o break my kneecaps or anything to keep me silent. In fact, I accomplished then that what she needinessed was reassurance. It was a crazy and startling idea. She was an angel, after all. A being of hope and peace, a being that others prayed to for comfort. Yet, here she was, seeking it from me a creature of Hell.I meant it, I told her. What I said to him. Im not going to tell anyone.I believe you, she said, confusion all over her face. Angels knew when others were verbalise the truth. But I dont understand it. Why? Why wouldnt you? You could get into great(p) trouble if your superiors if Jerome found out you knew and werent telling. Vincent had said the same thing. It was true. Your people lean to get pissed off over stuff like that.What, and yours dont? Would they be forgiving if they found out?She looked away from me, diverting her attention to dangling a pink glass dove.Look, I said. I work for Hell, but I dont, like, delight in others suffering. Especially since I like bo th of you. I dont want to see you get into trouble. I dont even think what youre doing is wrong. Dangerous, maybe, but not wrong.Which part? The loving part or the nephilim part?I shrugged. Its all risky.She smiled at me. You talk about nephilim pretty calmly. closely people in our circles go running for the hills.I met one once. date him. I hung a bejeweled purple orb on the tree. He was shivery as hell, yeah. Had this whole homicidal revenge thing going on, which kind of negated his sexiness a little. But at the end of the dayI dont know. He wasnt much of a monster. He couldnt help being born(p) what he was.I was glad to be free of Roman, glad he was somewhere far away from me. Hed posed too much of a threat to both me and those I loved. Still, there had been something in him I found appealing. It was why wed connected before things literally blew up. I understood his fatigue with the backs Heaven and Hell played. Hed offered to take me away and free me from it all, and the re were long time I would still wake up and long for that.No, Yasmine agreed. They cant help what they are. And its not their fault. But their existence is a reminder of our faultsof our weaknesses. She held her hands open in front of her, studying them as though they held answers. None of us high immortals want to be shown that were weak. Thats our hubris, I guess. Especially the angels. No ones perfect, but we like to play that we are. She sighed and let her hands drop. I should walk away from this. I should have a long time ago.I jerked my head up. But you love him.Sometimes loving someone content you have to do whats ultimately good. What you need instead of what you want.I suppose. But ending it seems so extreme. There must be a way toI dont know, have it all.The door opened, and Vincent walked in. He didnt look surprised to see either of us, but then, he would have sensed our auras. His eyes met Yasmines, and it was like lightning crackling done the room. Both of them lit up, shining in a way that I doubted my succubus glamour could even begin to compete with.He show surprise over my Yuletide Forest but jumped in to help us, be just as excited as Yasmine over the activity. The two of them never touched, but I noticed the same thing that I had at breakfast an intimacy in the way they interacted with each other. They didnt need to touch. Their human relationship was obvious, and I wondered how it was possible none of the other angels had ever noticed this. by chance it was like what Yasmine had mentioned about angels and hubris. Maybe angels always assumed they were perfect and were too blind to see flaws in each other, whereas someone like me who work weakness knew what to look for.We finished Peters tree, and then I found my ornaments from last year the ones that hadnt been destroyed in the fire and used them on the bookstores tree. When my tone paradise was finally complete, Yasmine and Vincent made their farewells and left. I still had no idea what their divine mission in Seattle was, but I assumed it had usual consequences. I felt a little weird that it had been put on hold to decorate my home.As I cleaned up the boxes, I unploughed thinking about what Yasmine had said about needing versus wanting. In some ways, that was what Seth and I did. We wanted to have sex. We needed to avoid it.I in like manner found myself recalling Andrew again, that annoyingly good priest whod caused me so many headaches. I hadnt thought much about his story since last week, but as my body mindlessly completed chores, the images began replaying in my mind.Despite my best efforts, hed remained a bastion of purity and testamentpower. While frustrating, it nonetheless continued to make the game fun. And although I didnt appreciate it as much back then as I did now, I sort of took pleasure in just intermission around him. He was good company, and he came to mean more to me than just a sexual conquest. It was obvious he cared about me to o.It would figure that things went bad between us on a beautiful, sunny day. I remembered it distinctly. I had wandered over to the church he ministered out of and sat with him in the vegetable garden. I stayed clear of the dirt, conscious of the yellow silk dress my bishop had just had made for me. Andrew, less concerned, worked on his knees, unhesitatingly digging in literally and cultivating the churchs small crop.Dont you have other people who could do this for you?Squinting up at me in the bright light, he smiled. Nothing compares to the satisfaction of doing something yourself.If you say so.He returned to his work, and I continued to sit quietly, watching him and the lazy vista of that well-disposed afternoon. Not far away, the sounds of daily hustle and bustle carried over. I want this town it was a nice break from the large, busy cities Id spent nearly of my succubus time in. Eventually, though, I knew Id grow restless and move onto some place with a little more excite ment.I turned back to Andrew. Thomas Brewer just got back from Cadwell. He says theyre all getting sick there.Andrew nodded. People are getting sick everywhere. There have been outbreaks in a lot of the western towns.Are you worried?He shrugged. What comes will come. None of us can change Gods will.I grimaced. Id hear about this illness, what later generations would call the Black Death. The rapid onset. The blackened skin. The self-conceited lumps. Even if it couldnt technically hurt me, I didnt want to see it ranch here.I dont think God can be as gracious as you say in mass if Hes inflicting something like that on his people.Its a test, Cecily. God is always testing us. It makes us stronger.Or dead.He didnt respond.What will you do if it comes? I pushed. Geoffrey says hell leave. Will you go with him?His dark eyebrows rose in surprise, like Id asked if the sun would take tomorrow off. Of course not. I mean, as bishop, Im sure Geoffrey mustdo what is necessary to continue fulfil ling his duties, but me? I serve the people. I will continue to serve the people. If theyre sick, Ill tend them.My satire gave way to shock, and I leapt to my feet, striding toward him. You cant do that Havent you heard about this? People dont come back from it. The only thing to do is get out and let it run its course.It was true. Call it cruel, but as Id told Liam on our post-auction date, that was the way the universe had dealt with epidemics for a lot of human history. Certainly, some people cared and ministered unto others, but when illness grew really terrible, with no clear answer in sight, ignorance and fear reigned supreme. to the highest degree people of that era saw the simplest solution as putting as much distance as possible between them and the illness.Andrew stood up as well, wearing an expression so annoyingly wise and serene as he faced me. If thats what you must do, then you must do it. My place is here.I didnt even have seduction on my mind when I reached out and grabbed his hands. He flinched with surprise but didnt let go.Its stupid, I told him earnestly. You cant tarry it. Youll die, and I I cant watch that.Then go. Go with Geoffrey. Or goout to the convent. Its isolated. Youd be safe there.I scowled. Not that again.I just want whats best for you, thats all. One of his hands reached up and cupped my chin. I dont want to see you suffer either.It occurred to me then how close we stood. The heat building between our bodies rivaled that of the sunshine pounding down on us from above. Andrew, realizing this too, started and tried to pull away. I held on to his hand, anger flaring up in my chest.So thats how youll let it end then? You spend your whole life living in poverty and chastity, only to die in a visual sense of stinking corpses with oozing sores and rotting skin?If thats what God Stop it, I said, leaning forward. Just stop it. Dont you get it? God doesnt care. Hes not even paying attention.Cecily I didnt let him finish. Instea d, I pressed my mouth against his mouth, stamp my body to his. I dont know if hed ever flattered anyone else before, but if not, he was a quick study. He didnt break from me. In fact I would have sworn there was an eagerness to his lips as they explored mine, willingly letting my applauder stroke and dance with his.And oh, God help me, he was so very good and noble that I tasted a sunburst of energy just from that kiss alone. It poured into me like honey, glorious and sweet.And surprisingly, it was me who finally broke the kiss, though I still stayed pressed against his body, my arms encircling him.Dont you see how stupid it is? I whispered, our lips so close we shared each others breath. Are you going to die without having lived? Without having tasted everything thats out there? Are you really just going to rush into remnant like that?His eyes weighed me, his own hands resting on my waist. I dont need fleshly pleasures to complete my life.Youre lying, I told him. You want to.Wa nting and needing are two different things. He stepped away from me, and I suddenly felt partial without his body against mine. I had a fleeting flash of some connective bigger than both of us, and then it was gone. A long life means nothing if its empty and has no purpose. Better to live a compendious one filled with the things that are important to you.Youre a fool, I snapped. Im not going to stay and watch you die.Then go.And I did.