Succubus Heat

CHAPTER 18

When it was over, I rested my cheek against his chest while still staying mostly on my side. His heart beat heavy beneath my hands, and the smell of his skin and sweat nearly overpowered me. I lay there, perfectly still, scarcely daring to breathe. I was afraid that if I moved too much, I'd break this spell, this dream that I'd somehow stumbled into.

Slowly, carefully, Seth ran his fingers through my hair, idly twining the strands into loops. He let his hand drop and shifted slightly, just enough to press a kiss to my forehead. I exhaled and snuggled closer, realizing that I really wasn't going to wake from this dream.

At least, that's what I thought until his cell phone rang.

The ring was "Where the Streets Have No Name" by U2, not a particularly hard or jarring song but one that made me flinch anyway. For a moment, we each held our breath, both of us frozen. I wanted the phone to disappear off the face of the earth, to get smote the way I kept fearing some demon would smite me. I needed it to go away because if it kept ringing, it meant none of this was real. That we were going to have to face reality.

But it was already too late. The spell was broken. The phone was reality.

"You should answer that," I said.

He hesitated for the space of two heartbeats, sighed, and then slowly disentangled himself from me, still careful of my back. Sitting on the side of the bed, he reached down and pulled the cell phone from his jeans pocket. I shifted over, staying propped up on one elbow, admiring the shape of his body, even as a strange, bittersweet feeling began spilling through my heart. I knew, without knowing how I knew, that it was Maddie.

"Hey. Yeah…I got caught up with…um…" Seth paused, and I sensed something monumental about to take place. "I got an idea for this latest chapter."

I closed my eyes. In all the time I'd known him, I'd never heard Seth outright lie.

"Right. Yeah. Okay. Um, if I leave now, I can probably make it in…oh, twenty minutes. Mmm-hmm. You want me to pick you up, or…? Okay. See you there."

He disconnected and continued sitting with his back to me, clasping the phone in his hands. Although he sat up straight, he had the air of someone hunched over, weary with defeat.

"You have to go?" I asked.

He looked back at me, anguish on his face. "Georgina…"

I managed a weak smile. "It's okay. I wasn't tricked here. I understand the situation."

"I know, but I want you to realize that it wasn't…that I didn't…"

He didn't need to finish. One of the things I'd always loved about Seth was his open, honest nature. Occasionally he'd been able to hide his feelings from me, but more often than not, they shone through on his features. This was one of those times. With a single look, I saw what was in his heart, that he hadn't had sex with me because I was easy or available. He'd done it because of how he felt about me, because he loved-still loved-me. It made all of this that much worse.

"I know," I said softly.

After one more kiss to my forehead, he put on his clothes. I watched each move hungrily, uncertain if I'd ever see anything like it again. When he was dressed and ready to go, he sat beside me on the bed, playing with my hair again. Again, those golden brown eyes spilled over with emotion. He was overcome and confused. I was too, but for his sake, I tried to appear strong and articulate.

"It's okay," I said. "It was great. Amazing…but I understand that we shouldn't have and that we can't ever…" So much for articulation.

"Yeah," he agreed.

"It was just this once. And it was perfect."

"Just this once," he repeated.

I couldn't read his voice, but something told me he wasn't entirely happy about that. Neither was I, but honestly, what could we do? We'd succumbed to passion, and now he had to go back to his girlfriend. End of story.

He tipped my head back, and our lips met in a soft, warm kiss. It was brief, only a few moments, but I felt that same, soul-deep connection that had consumed me during sex. He stood up and studied me for a few moments more, as though he might not ever see me again. I felt a little silly lying there naked, but his expression told me he thought I was beautiful.

He left after that, and I stayed in bed, drunk on my own feelings. Aubrey joined me, curling up against my leg.

"Was that how it was supposed to be, Aubrey?" I couldn't decide. Certainly the sex had been everything I'd ever imagined with Seth. But this afterglow? It was a bit lacking. Nothing about the situation was normal. I had no prior experience to fall back on.

After almost a half hour of staring at nothing and reaching no conclusions, I got out of bed. I was still reeling from what had happened, and my body burned with what Seth and I had done. I usually liked to shower after sex, but not today. I could smell Seth on me, his sweat and even a faint trace of the leather-and-apple cologne he used sometimes. I couldn't stand to wash him off yet, so I put the old cotton robe back on. Ratty or not, its fabric was soft against my bruised skin.

As I was about to leave my room, I noticed the photo of the medallion on the floor. I picked it up, intending to set it on my nightstand, and froze. There was writing on it.

Inked with a black Sharpie, neat handwriting read: Smoky quartz indicates earth or a oneness with the earth . The symbols on the medallion were circled, with lines drawn out from each one, leading to brief notes: this indicates an affinity for water, a harmonious, blending state; this is similar to the water one, except it's for the earth; this is a masking symbol, meant to shield the object it protects and keep the seal strong; this one's strange, indicates blankness or whiteness-maybe white sand or stones?; this is the symbol for tears-combined with the water sign, probably indicates salt water .

I reread the notes three times. Where had they come from? When had this happened? I retraced my steps, trying to figure out when I'd abandoned the picture. There'd been no writing when I showed it to Dante. The most likely time would have been while I was out for food. Someone could have also theoretically broken into my home and done it while I was with Carter in the living room, but sneaking past the angel seemed pretty out there.

Unless…was it possible Carter had helped me after all? He kept saying he couldn't; he'd even directly denied involvement with my assorted rescues. But the timing here was awfully coincidental. I kept staring at the symbols, at the notes, and the pictures of the seal. Whoever had written this was irrelevant for now. If their notes were correct, then I needed to use them to find Jerome.

Carter had said the seal served two purposes. One was to infuse the vessel with power. The other was to serve as a "lock" that could open the vessel and release Jerome. The parts of the seal itself were with the demon and the summoner, but the symbols should give some clues to the vessel's location. Supposedly, these symbols would have been used in hiding Jerome, infusing the vessel with a type of energy specific to the location that would help blend and mask Jerome's presence.

An affinity with the earth, as well as markings for water-salt water, specifically. A lot of places that were infused with power tended to be wild, natural places, though some had become centers of civilization and activity. Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle, for example, was one such ancient place of power that had been completely built upon by humanity.

But these…what did they indicate? Some place near salt water, apparently. The vessel was probably close enough to the water that the symbols would resonate and camouflage its location. And the earth location? Buried in the dirt maybe? Was Jerome buried on some beach near the ocean? Jerome's kidnappers wouldn't want to keep him too far away from them, but nonetheless, the Pacific flanked the entire western half of Washington. That was a lot of beach, and I knew there were a lot of places of power along there. I didn't know of any white sand beaches anywhere in the area; only further investigation could say for sure.

Groaning, I lay back on my bed, still holding the picture. The notes had only narrowed down the locations, but that was still a lot of area to cover. Yet what could I do? I had to find the vessel, sooner rather than later, or else Seattle was going to have a new archdemon. Studying the photo further, I willed it to give me some more info. Nothing. Just the medallion, the mystery notes, and Mary's cataloging info at the top which told me little-

I frowned, rereading her header. It was brief, just the materials, name, and date the medallion had been created and then picked up. But the date it had been finished…the date stuck in my head. Why? It was from a week ago. Something about that date was important, but I couldn't figure out why. It felt likes years had passed in this last week, but I nonetheless counted backward, reassessing my recent activities.

There. The seal had been made the day after I'd first gone to Vancouver…the day the vampire turf war had gone down. Would the seal's creation have triggered anyone's immortal radar? I didn't know, but if it had, Jerome, Grace, and Mei would have all been busy sorting out the ensuing vampire mess. Misdirection.

From there, other things began to arrange themselves in my head. I thought back to the Army of Darkness, wondering what events their activities might line up against. The event in Queen Elizabeth Park matched the date the seal had been picked up. And the Army's impromptu visit to Seattle…? That had preceded Jerome's summoning, though no one would have wanted to direct attention to that, would they?

The answer was here. I just couldn't quite make the pieces fit yet. The Army had staged their show. Jerome, Grace, and Mei had given it their full attention. Jerome had been summoned. Where had this game's other players been?

I left the bed and its aching, alluring memories. Finding my cell phone, I dialed Kristin's number.

"Hi, Georgina," she said, pleasant but busy like always.

"Hey," I said. "How's it going?"

"Crazy." I could imagine the grimace on her face. "Cedric's stressed to hell-no pun intended-with all these demons in the area. At least that…that succubus is distracting him."

"Tawny?"

"Whatever her name is. Cedric's actually out with her right now." Bitterness and the tiniest hint of jealousy came through in Kristin's voice. I remembered her perpetual devotion to him-and the look on her face when he'd asked Tawny out. I felt for her but had too many romantic hijinks of my own to deal with.

"Huh." I didn't really know what else to say. "Look, I have a question for you. Do you know, did Cedric come to see Jerome the day the Army was down here?"

"Yeah. Cedric came down after you left the message. I thought you knew."

"No…I only heard about it after the fact, and then, the whole summoning kind of took precedence."

"Why do you want to know?"

I hesitated. I liked Kristin, but she was clearly loyal to Cedric. I didn't think it'd be wise to share my theories with her, like that the Army being in Seattle had provided a convenient reason for Jerome and Cedric to be together when Jerome got summoned. It occurred to me that I might very well owe Hugh an apology for my adamant denial of Cedric's involvement. Something else also occurred to me.

"Um, it's a long story," I said hastily. "Do you know if he's been hanging out with Nanette a lot?"

"Why?" Her tone was quickly turning suspicious. She didn't like me interrogating her about her boss.

"Well…I told him the other day that I thought Nanette might be involved with Jerome's disappearance. He didn't think so, but he told her…and she got really pissed off. She, um…. well, let's just say she got physical, and I have the scars to prove it."

My immortal friends had pointed out that Nanette's attack made her look guilty. If Cedric had done enough goading to make her angry when he told her, it could have very well sent her to me in a rage-and successfully shifted attention from him. Fuck. I didn't want another suspect in all of this. I didn't want it to be Cedric. Nanette had hitherto been a convenient explanation.

Kristin was silent for several seconds. "I didn't know that," she said quietly. "Are you okay?"

"Mostly. Mei healed the worst of it, but I'm still a little sore."

"I can't imagine…Cedric would never have told her if he thought that was going to happen. He likes you. He wouldn't condone that. He couldn't have known. I'm sorry."

She was sincerely contrite, hurt at the thought that her boss-even if he was a demon and a servant of evil-could have been involved with something that had turned out so terrible.

"It's okay," I said. "I've gotta run, but thanks for the info. Things are kind of crazy here too, as you can imagine."

We said our good-byes and disconnected. I flipped the cell phone around in my hand, feeling overwhelmed. Nanette wasn't off the table yet, but Cedric was right alongside her now as a culprit-maybe more so. If I had enough evidence, I could possibly take it to Grace and Mei…but I didn't have that yet. Besides, knowing who the culprit was wouldn't solve the immediate issue: finding Jerome.

I glanced back at the photo, resting on my nightstand. Sore back or no, it looked like I had to do a little beachcombing.

I nearly knocked Dante over when he came home that night.

"Succubus," he said, letting me wrap my arms around him. He was careful only to rest his hands on my hips. "Happy to see you too."

My eagerness was twofold. I was excited to see him because I wanted to pick his brain about the medallion and places of power. But also…well, while hanging around today, I'd had a lot of time to think about Seth and what had happened between us. The memory of his body still made mine burn, and I grew breathless recalling that amazing connection and sense of rightness between us.

And yet…whatever rightness had been between us, it had still been wrong. He was with Maddie-my friend. I'd been upset when she and Seth had first slept together. I was no different. In fact, I'd knowingly done it, which made it worse. Now there was Dante to consider. Dante, who despite that dark, scowling nature really did love me and wanted to win my regard as more than just someone I had sex with. This was where my future lay, not with Seth.

I kissed Dante on the lips, lingering several seconds. "I missed you."

His smile turned wry. "Don't look at me like that, or I'm going to have a hard time remembering that you're injured and that I should keep my hands off you."

Those words triggered a pang of guilt. My injuries certainly hadn't been enough to keep Seth off me. I could have told Dante that I was better, that it didn't matter, yet for whatever reason…I didn't.

We broke apart, and I found the medallion picture for him. He stared incredulously as I showed him the phantom notes and explained my story.

"What, you have no idea how they got there or who did it?"

"Nope, but at this point, I'm not going to question it."

He shook his head, face still shocked. "Well. I wish I'd known this before I left. Would have been a lot easier to just wait and have invisible helpers come leave clues."

I recalled how he'd gone out to see what he could find about the medallion. "What'd you turn up?"

He gestured at the picture. "Same thing."

I rested my hand over his. "Sorry. I really appreciate your help. And if your research found the same thing, it means I can probably trust this."

"Maybe," he said, still not sounding happy about the wasted time. "What are you going to do? Something crazy?"

"Look for saltwater beaches, I guess."

Dante let out a low whistle. "There are a lot of those around here. Not to mention you have no way of identifying this vessel anyway."

"I know. But I've got to start somewhere. Can you help me make a list?"

We got an atlas of the Pacific Northwest area from my car and laid it flat on the kitchen table. Scrutinizing every detail, we each marked as many places as we knew. Dante knew a lot more than me, which didn't particularly surprise me. I'd once noted to Erik Lancaster that those who study religion tend to know more about it than those who practice it. Sometimes, I felt the same way about immortal affairs.

We found twelve in all that were easy day trips-and many more beyond that. "Looks like you've got your work cut out for you," Dante mused. "When are you going to look? Too dark now."

I stared at the map with dismay. "Tomorrow, I guess. Can you go with me?" A psychic like him might able to sense something, as Carter had pointed out.

He grimaced. "Not tomorrow. I've actually got a few appointments people have scheduled. Crazy, huh? I probably can go the next day or the day after, if you can wait. I'd feel better if you didn't go alone."

I was glad for his business but sad at the delay. "I don't think I can wait. Don't worry, though. I'll find somebody."

"On the bright side," he said, trying to cheer me. "I'll have money tomorrow. We can go out somewhere nice."

I mustered a smile. "Yeah, that'll be-oh, shit. I can't."

"What's going on?"

"Fuck. I promised the people at the store I'd teach salsa after work."

"Cancel," he said dismissively. My dance lessons didn't hold much importance, as far as he was concerned. "Tell them you're sick."

That wouldn't entirely be a lie…and yet, I hated to go back on my word. Furthermore, I could still see Maddie's radiant face, so excited and happy when I'd agreed. How could I deny her that after what I'd done to her today?

"No…I've got to do it. Let's go eat out now. My treat."

He drove us over to Belltown for some of Seattle's best seafood. Wine and conversation flowed, and I discovered I was healing by leaps and bounds. When we got back to my place later and went to bed, Dante snuggled up to me and kissed my neck.

"Looks like you're on the mend," he noted, moving his lips up to my earlobe. "We could do it…I could be careful…"

All around us were the sheets and blankets where Seth and I had made love earlier. The thought nearly smothered me. God. I really should have washed the bedding. I swallowed and shifted position so that I didn't meet Dante's eyes. "Maybe…but I'd rather wait, so we can not be careful." I hoped there was enough of a seductive growl in my voice to make it believable.

Dante sighed, fortunately unwilling to push me. "Fair enough."

He rolled over and left me to sleep, but it was a long time in coming.