Page 20 of An Illicit Seduction

“Sari,” Zing called.

The older woman patted Sierra’s cheek before looking over at Zing. “Yes, dearest?”

Nodding in my direction, Zing began, “She is in distress. The black chokes her.”

All three women look at Seraph, and Sierra moved closer to her and took her hand.

“Mama Sari,” she said, addressing the older woman, “this is my friend, Seraph. I believe she is being attacked by an incubus.”

Mama Sari’s brows knitted briefly, and then she pursed her lips and let out a soft, melodic whistle. A few moments later the curtains behind Zing rattled once more, this time parting to reveal a man ducking to enter the room. When he straightened, Seraph’s eyes stretched as she took him in. He was tall—taller than the bead-covered doorway by several inches—with skin as dark as unrefined oil spurting from an untapped well. Rimless glasses sat perched on his nose above a salt and pepper beard that hung down to his chest, and his head was bald and shiny.

“My love,” Mama Sari crooned, eyes twinkling with appreciation as she stared at the onyx giant who was surely at least seven feet tall.

His cheeks bloomed, eyes crinkling. “Yes, keeper of my heart?”

“I need Zing. Can—”

“Go. I have the store.” Then, he seemed to sink nearly two feet into the ground behind the counter in one smooth motion.

Mama Sari grabbed Sierra and Seraph’s hands in each of hers and led them around the counter where Seraph noticed that the tall man had sat on a stool, which made his immense height less visible from the other side of the counter. He smiled at her, tipping his head in the direction of the curtain with a quick wink. That small act worked to calm her somehow as she allowed herself to be pulled beyond the beads and down a narrow hallway into a room where she was ushered into one of four chairs that surrounded a round table.

“Okay,” Mama Sari began after Sierra and Zing were both seated, “tell me how the angel acquired a demon.”

Seraph looked at Sierra who stared back at her expectantly.

“Just…tell her what you told me.”

With that, she did. Taking a deep breath, she focused on her fingers as she detailed the last three months, taking care to leave out the more explicit moments, just as she had done for Sierra. She told them how Damon’s demeanor had completely changed and even though they were having sex, he felt like a stranger. When she finished speaking, she looked up from her hands just in time to see Mama Sari and Zing exchange a look she couldn’t decipher.

Mama Sari smiled. “Well, friend, I have news. It is up to you to decide if it is good but know that it may not bring you much comfort.”

Anxious and not at all looking forward to what the woman had to say, Seraph held her breath.

Reaching across the table, Mama Sari grabbed both of Seraph’s hands in her own. “From what you have described, your Damon does have the characteristics of being possessed by an incubus. The possession likely took place during his time in New Orleans, which was just before the party where he initiated your first orgasm. Incubi are hellish creatures that must take a host in order to walk among the mundane. They thrive on sex, needing the hormones that are secreted during an orgasm to maintain a tight hold on their host. They tend to attack their victims at night, as we are all most vulnerable whilst we sleep, dipping into their dreams and presenting an irresistible interaction.” She paused and glanced at Zing briefly before returning her gaze to Seraph.

“Just about everything you mentioned is standard incubi activity…except for one thing.”

Leaning forward in her seat, Sierra’s lips parted. “What thing, Mama Sari?”

“Incubi are not known to pursue the same victim as consistently—persistently—as you have detailed. Night after night, they will attack scores of women to ensure that their hormone levels never fall enough for them to be cast out, but it has been three months for you. That is…puzzling.”

“I—” the lump in Seraph’s throat made swallowing difficult, but she had to push forward to give a final detail that she’d tried to avoid revealing. “Do you think it may have something to do with Damon being my cousin?”

Before Mama Sari could answer, Sierra piped up. “He’s her step-cousin! They aren’t related by blood.”

Seraph glared at her friend. “That doesn’t matter! I’ve known him since he was a small boy. He was raised by my father’s brother, even after Uncle Louis and Damon’s mother divorced. Blood isn’t the only thing that makes people family.” She turned back to Mama Sari. “Damon is my cousin.”

“Friends, please. Emotions are high and your energy is angry. Please, calm yourselves.”

“Calm ourselves?!” Seraph screeched as she pushed back in her chair, preparing to stand up and pace the room, her terror feeling too big for her to sit in it. “How am I supposed to remain calm when I’m getting fucked two-to-three times a day by a family member, and I can’t even say no to him?! Please, Mama Sari, tell me how, because I am desperate to know!”

“All is well.”

Seraph felt a hand on her forearm and gasped when she realized that Zing—who was previously sitting on the other side of Sierra—now stood in between the two of them. No sooner had she registered the thought did she release a breath she hadn’t known she was holding, expelling all of the fear and hysteria that she’d felt suffocating her with every piece of information Mama Sari laid at her feet. Suddenly, her head was clear and she truly believed what Zing had said. All was well. She looked across the table.

“Please forgive me.”

Canting her head in acknowledgment, Mama Sari’s smile never wavered. “All is well, friend. If it is your desire to eliminate the demon from your life, you must first bind him and then cast him out.”