Chapter 16
Prax
The real estate agent and the couple did not stay long, especially not after I pretended to be the little old lady next door who’d outlived several of the people who had resided in Penny’s home. I told them I was sure the house was haunted because anyone who stepped foot in it went slowly crazy.
The real estate agent denied it, of course, but I made up lurid stories of previous owners telling me they had heard voices and other creepy things. Then, once they were inside the house, I popped in and masqueraded as everyday objects, following them around and making strange whispers and creaking sounds everywhere they went. It was kind of fun, actually.
When they asked Penny if she’d experienced anything weird in the house, she said she was pretty sure there was an incubus watching her shower and sleep. I mean, it wasn’t a lie.
The real estate agent had glared daggers at her. I bet her parents were going to hear about that later.
After they left, I helped her pack up anything she’d already taken out of boxes. We were close to done when I got a call to help out at the museum since one of the afternoon guards had fallen ill. Darlington Museum was special in that most of the artifacts in it were actually owned by Desmon himself. They were part of his extensive hoard and were rotated out seasonally for visitor variety. The museum was always extra busy after things had been switched out because everyone wanted to see the new displays.
You’d think working as an on-call guard at the museum would be one of the more commonplace jobs I’d done for Desmon, but it wasn’t. The last time I’d taken a job at the museum, it was to help track down a missing artifact. That had ended up being a memorable adventure, complete with an evil wizard, powerful magic, centuries-old secrets, and even family betrayal.
“Go,” Penny said. “I’ll be fine on my own. The house is warded, and I won’t open the door for anyone, I promise. You can’t watch me twenty-four-seven.”
I didn’t want to leave, but she was right. I left her my cell number so she could contact me if necessary.
Darlington Museum was filled with both magical artifacts and non-magical but historically significant ones. Instead of usual museum thieves looking to steal goodies to sell to unscrupulous collectors with private collections, we had to worry about other dragons or powerful wizards coveting the dragon’s treasures. Those were the ultimate private collectors.
Desmon could have avoided all this by hiding all of his treasures away instead of letting the public see them, of course, but he thought that sharing them with the world was important because if the world knew they existed, they could have a price put on them. Sure enough, since the fall of The Wall, historians and other collectors had been coming to see his treasures, giving something that once only sat there, unseen by human eyes, a monetary value. As a result, Desmon’s net worth grew as the items gained value.
Since the fall of The Wall, Desmon had requested that his guards work in their natural forms. Not only were thieves less likely to steal if the guard next to their target was a dangerous monster with sharp teeth and claws, it also added to the otherworldly appeal of the museum. Even those not interested in historical artifacts came to ogle the menagerie of fantastic beasts and monsters standing guard.
Currently, I was in manticore form: the body of a lion, the tail of a scorpion, the face of a man, and the wings of a wyvern. I crafted my appearance to look identical to Mateo, the real manticore on the other side of the display. He was head of security here and liked to be on site for new displays.
To my surprise, the “new display” this time was one made up of the very weapons Desmon had just purchased from me. He’d even had the stories I’d told him about the weapons written out on little plaques in front of them.
I had no idea people would pay to see the things I’d collected. It reminded me that I still had to choose which pieces in my collection I wished to auction off and which I wanted to keep.
“I heard all this used to belong to you,” Mateo said when we had a lull in the stuffy scholarly types visiting today.
“It did.”
“Never took you for the collector type.”
I shrugged. “I’m not. It just kind of happened over the centuries.”
“I guess that means you’re set when your contract with Desmon ends.”
“Yeah, but I still asked Seth to put in a word for me at the EA.”
I didn’t miss Mateo’s grimace.
“What?” I asked.
“I worked for the EA briefly. I’m not sure you’d like it. I sure didn’t. But that could just be me.”
“Why did you leave?”
“There were way too many rules, and reports to fill out, especially after The Wall fell and they started working with the human police. Working for Desmon is better for someone like me. As long as his artifacts are safe, he doesn’t quite care how I do it, you know? Like, you remember our little misadventure with the locket?”
I did. Mateo had originally been the one tasked to find the missing locket. The mission had resulted in him finding not just the locket but also his mate, Eva. She had owned the second half of the locket, the half that matched up perfectly with the one that was missing.
“Yeah.”
“So, you know how we let the two ifrits do their thing to get rid of all the evidence? That would never fly with the EA. Well, it would if they deemed it necessary, but we’d be doing paperwork from now until forever.”
I guess something still hadn’t changed from the olden times. Dragons were still above the law. Mountains of gold and other riches usually bought immunity for most things.
But not always. Most dragon hunts started similarly with the dragons overstepping, taking too much from the people around them in either riches or lives, and those living on their land rebelled when they found out their nature.
Even with The Wall, it was hard to explain away a giant dragon raining fire on your village because the villagers didn’t have enough to pay their taxes. Dragons might live a long time but they were still mortal and could be killed.
The Wall was an insidious spell, however, and dragon scales, claws and even skulls slowly morphed over the centuries to resemble those belonging to other creatures. By the age of enlightenment, the old trophies could be explained away easily.
Dragon claw? Nope. Giant Eagle.
Dragon Skull? Nope. Dinosaurs.
Dragon scale? Nope. Anaconda.
And in my case…Incubus? Nope. Sleep paralysis demon.
Sure, sleep paralysis existed, but so did I. But apparently, having sex with sleeping women was a big no-no now, no matter how much their dream selves begged for it. The last time I told someone I couldn’t fuck her because she was technically asleep and couldn’t consent, she turned into a crocodile and tried to eat me. It was only in her dream, of course.
“Anyway, I could use some occasional help here at the museum, so if the EA thing falls through, come see me. It’s perfect if you only want something part-time so you can spend the rest of your time exploring the world these days. Technically, you’ll still be under Desmon’s payroll, just less directly.”
“Thanks.”
That had me thinking of Penny again. She was in the middle of a career change, just like me. Hell, she’d just taken the first step to overhaul her entire life! That was not an easy thing to do. I respected her for that.
Would it really be so bad to claim her as mine like the spell wanted and stay with her? I mean, yes, I was new to the century and wanted to do all kinds of exploring. But couldn’t we do that together? Women and sex, especially the casual kind, stay the same year after year, and after a while, every woman looked and felt the same. Hell, even the men started to blur together after I got bored and decided to see how the other side lived.
I shook my head, surprised at where my thoughts were going. I wasn’t actually thinking about settling down, was I? That was too much. Sure, I didn’t want any of the other males the spell chose for Penny to have her, but was I really willing to give up my eternal bachelorhood for her?
I was an incubus. That wasn’t something we did.
But maybe I could stick around for a little while longer. I wasn’t bored yet, not by a long shot.
“Say, do you know anyone renting out a decent apartment in a good neighborhood?” I was sure Griselda would let her stay there a while, but she’d want a place of her own soon.
“Desmon kicking you out that quickly? I thought he’d let you stay a while even if you weren’t working for him.”
“Not for me. This is for a witch.”
“A special witch?” He raised his eyebrows significantly.
“Kind of.” A witch I’m spelled to. But I couldn’t tell him that.
“I see. You’re trying to get into her pants.”
“I was already in there,” I clarified without saying anything more.
“And you’re sticking around?”
I shrugged, which felt strange in a lion’s body. “I like her. Her parents are trying to rent out her place from under her to force her to move home, and she’s having none of it.”
Mateo narrowed his eyes at me. “Her parents? How old is this witch, anyway?”
I threw a paw up into the air defensively. “It’s not like that. She’s old enough. Her parents are just overbearing jerks. She comes from money, and they hold that money over her.”
“Just checking.”
“I’m an incubus, Mateo, not a creep. Besides, sexual energy is like a fine wine: it takes time to mature. Virgins are no fun. Men who seek them out must be really unsure about their performance. I’m not afraid of comparison.”
Mateo chuckled. “Maybe if you like her enough, you two can move in together. You should have enough to afford a nice place after parting with all this. Seriously, I’m surprised you still took this job now that you’re set.”
I shrugged again. “I said I’d help out. I’m a demon of my word.”
Move in with Penny? Permanently? Hell, yes!That must be the spell controlling my brain. I was an incubus. I didn’t cohabitate unless it was with a coven of witches. So why did the idea titillate me?
Mateo laughed again. “You should see the look on your face right now. Not ready to be tied down, huh?”
“I don’t know. It’s not in my nature. What about you? How is it living with Eva?”
“Amazing. It’s the best thing that has ever happened to me. But then again, I’m not an incubus. My kind settles down. She’s my mate.”
“Demons can have mates, too.”
“Good point. Liam is happy with Seth, and Eamon is happy with Tansy. You’ve met her, right? Seth’s little sister?”
“Only briefly.” She was a strong witch. Much stronger than Penny.
“How urgently do you need to find her a place?”
I shrugged. “I scared away a couple looking to rent where she is now by pretending to be an elderly next-door neighbor. I told them the place was haunted, and everyone who lived in it slowly went insane. Apparently, Penny’s parents listed it at a ridiculously cheap price to try to rent it out quickly and force her to go home, and I told them that was why the price was so low. They left rather quickly. I’m hoping I bought her some time.”
Mateo cackled. “That would do it. Well, I’ll ask around and see what’s out there.”
“Thanks, man.”
Moving in with Penny…
I mean, why not? She needed a place, and so did I. Plus, I’d get to wake up with her in my arms every morning. I pictured her moving in with that haughty wizard from the club, and the thought had steam coming out of my ears.
Nope! Not happening. I was going to throw his claim that Penny would never want me for anything more than some fun back in his face. Penny would move in with me, or no one at all.
I thought of all the cool things I wanted to experience. Technically, I could do all of that with Penny at my side. Actually, that sounded like a whole lot of fun.
Maybe that spell really was onto something.