Incubus Trial Read online

  Incubus Trial

  INCUBUS, Volume 4

  Emma Jaye

  Published by Purindoors Publications, 2018.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  INCUBUS TRIAL

  First edition. January 31, 2018.

  Copyright © 2018 Emma Jaye.

  Written by Emma Jaye.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  CHAPTER 23

  CHAPTER 24

  CHAPTER 25

  EPILOGUE

  Emma Jaye Books

  CHAPTER 1

  With his eyes still shut, Ezra identified the warm weight of a head resting on his bicep. A small male body spooned up against his chest. Warm, comfortable, and needed, he had no impulse to move. The hair tickling his nose smelled fresh, like the fluffy pillow under his head. But even though he tried, something niggled enough to stop him falling back to sleep.

  It took him a few slow, languid heartbeats to recognise what irritated him. The body against him wasn’t naked, neither was he.

  “You can open your eyes; we know you’re awake.” The female voice made his head spin. It was as familiar and strange as this situation. He slept in a bed like this every night, and yet, he never had.

  I’m not cold. Should I be cold?

  His arm tightened around his bed partner as if he were an anchor that could tether him to reality.

  “Ezra, don’t squeeze him. He needs his sleep.” He froze. That voice came with manipulation games, soft kisses, pleasure, pain, and lies that everything would be alright.

  The female voice matched the comfort surrounding him, Silas didn’t belong here, he didn’t belong here, and yet–

  Pain spiked in his temples as two different lives, two different realities, tried to combine and rebounded off each other.

  Ezra groaned, screwing his eyes shut, sure that opening them would make it worse. The body against him stirred.

  “Ezra, let him go, he–” Silas said as a chair creaked.

  He pulled his bed companion tight against him. The boy was too fragile to survive the vampires. Besides, they’d given him to him and he wasn’t going to let his prize go that easily.

  “No, no you can’t, he’s mine,” Ezra babbled as his leg shot over the boy’s, pulling him as far away from Silas as possible. But this bed wasn’t the lumpy one in the cellar, and his voice didn’t echo.

  “Leave; you’re confusing him. Send one of the twins in,” the woman ordered.

  “You sure? I could try compelling him again.”

  “And wouldn’t you just hate controlling him again?” Her tone dripped sarcasm. “I’ve yet to work out how innocent you are in all this, or even what you are to tell the truth. No, he stays as he is unless that becomes dangerous for either of them.”

  The woman is a higher rank than Silas? What the hell is she?

  Footsteps sounded on a wooden floor. A door opened and shut. The masculine, sandalwood scent left the room. Once, Ezra craved it more than anything, had dreamed about it, but that had been– his mind seized as he shrank back, clinging onto the unknown person who was somehow more important than breathing.

  “Ezra, can you ease up a little? You’re hurting me.” His eyes shot open at the strained words of the boy in his arms.

  The plain, nicely furnished, rustic bedroom sparked a vague memory from last night. ‘Silas’s room’ popped into his head but the pink-haired, petite woman in the chair in the corner didn’t fit that information. This tiny woman made Silas flee without protest?

  He swallowed, as his eyes flicked around the room, then down at the dark-haired, blue pyjama wearing young man in his arms. Pulling his almost numb limb from underneath his bed companion, Ezra touched his left wrist, needing another sense to confirm what his eyes told him.

  The boy turned over. Eyes so green, so beautiful they couldn’t be real, captured him. In that second, Ezra decided he’d do everything within his power to keep this prize that had ended up in his bed.

  “Ezra? Are you with us? Do you remember what happened?” Something tickled the back of his mind, but he couldn’t quite grasp the information; trying made his head throb.

  Maybe the green-eyed beauty knew more and getting his sympathy would be half the battle. The boy didn’t act or look like any demon Ezra had ever met, but he didn’t seem fully human either.

  Manipulation and sex appeal were the only weapons Ezra possessed, and like always, he intended to use them without a hint of shame. Somehow, he knew manipulating the boy would be child’s play compared to the pink-haired figure on the other side of the room.

  Ezra blinked like an innocent and held up his wrist. “No cuff?”

  Tears shone in those mesmerizing eyes before the boy averted his gaze. Regret for making him sad tightened Ezra’s throat. That face should be joyful, or tense with passion, not sad and tired. Pushing away the uncomfortable emotions, Ezra cupped the boy’s warm cheek.

  “That’s a good thing. Don’t be sad.” The boy let out a choked sob and clung to him, his face buried in Ezra’s chest.

  Unable to work out what was happening, Ezra looked over at the pink-haired woman. If she’d been a human, he guessed she’d be in her early twenties, but that expression held a hell of a lot more experience than a score of years. He’d have to tread carefully with this one.

  Her lips pressed into a thin line. Ezra couldn’t work out whether she was angry with him for upsetting the human, or for his attempt at an ‘innocent’ act. Keeping it up until he knew the strategy had definitely failed or he knew what the hell was going on seemed prudent.

  “It is good, right?” he asked, eyes flicking between the window and the door.

  If I’m not chained, is escape possible? Could I take this boy with me? He wouldn’t last long with the vampires. But he won’t last long anyway, being human, so why do I care? Because he’s pretty; that’s all it is. Even as he thought it, Ezra wasn’t convinced it was the truth.

  The strangely familiar woman stood and approached slowly as if any sudden movement would spook him. He stayed tense and still when she perched on the bed beside the boy.

  “Yes, it’s good.” She gave him a sad smile. “Do you know who I am?”

  Frowning, he opened his mouth to say her name then shut it again when nothing came out.

  “Pixie, my name is Pixie, and this is–”

  “Finn,” he said without thought.

  Both Pixie and Finn beamed as if he’d said something profound.

  The names opened a door in his mind. Memories flashed, each shouting, shrieking for attention; none waited long enough to grasp or place before the next shoved it aside.

  “Breath, just breath, you can do this, I’m with you.” Finn’s hand rubbed at his shoulder.

  The swirling colours, emotions, and screaming voices in his head slowed as he concentrated on the voice that was an anchor in the mental tornado. Gradually, the spinning slowed.

  “I warned you, vampire, stay away. He’ll cope, give him time.” Pixie sounded cross and Ezra was glad it wasn’t directed at him. He couldn’t feel her slight weight on the bed
anymore.

  Ezra imagined her standing there, hands on hips, her eyes shooting sparks at whoever had pissed her off. Annoying Pixie was a hazardous business, and yet he did it all the time, just to see that expression.

  With that memory, everything settled as if someone had turned off a giant wind machine. His memories crashed back to earth, although they were still jumbled, at least they were there and staying put.

  Taking another steadying breath, he removed his arms from around his head, not that he remembered curling up in a foetal position. The high-pitched keening noise couldn’t have been him, could it?

  Finn, Pixie, Milo and a pair of shifters he didn’t recognize had their backs to him. They were facing Silas who stood by the door. Finn, his Finn, his vascellum, wore blue pyjamas, with a yellow, goggle- wearing pill-shaped character on them. The legend ‘I’m one in a Minion’ was written across his backside.

  Whatever was going on, Silas didn’t have the upper hand; the shifters did. With his immediate safety guaranteed, Ezra’s attention turned to the next most important issue. That little blue bubble butt called Ezra like nothing else on earth.

  The urge to prove to himself, to Finn, and everyone else in the vicinity that the vascellum belonged to him buzzed in every cell. After the last few days, even the three feet of distance between them felt too far. Ezra needed to be in Finn, marking him, taking his lust, now. Lunging forward, Ezra grabbed his prize around the waist and pulled him into his lap, his own back against the wall.

  Finn let out a squeak, but he didn’t struggle apart from twisting to stare at him, eyes wide. The worry on his young face perturbed the demon. Even though Ezra felt as if he’d undergone electro-shock therapy for many hours, he gave Finn a grin.

  “I like your pyjamas, but they’d look better on the floor, and there’s only one person that’s going to be in this little minion today.”

  Pixie groaned. “Well, he’s back. I can’t decide whether I like him better like this or the quiet version.” The smirk on her lips broadcast to everyone which she preferred. He might not be able to use sex to manipulate the cunning fae, but if he made her life interesting, she ate out of his hand just like any human. It was almost too easy sometimes.

  Ezra made shooing motions. “Well go on, unless anyone wants a show. I don’t mind, but Finn here might object to–”

  “I hate to spoil the party, but officially, Ezra’s still in custody,” Silas said. “He’s not to be left alone, especially without restraints.”

  Ezra laid back on the bed, wishing he was naked to wind them all up, well, everyone but Pixie. She just found his antics amusing, not a turn on. At least they hadn’t stuffed him into a set of cartoon pyjamas like Finn’s. Still, boxer shorts were more than he normally wore in bed.

  “Well, if this is what being a prisoner of the council is like I’ll take it any day over–” His throat tightened, choking off his words. A brief memory of being strangled had his hands flying to his neck but he found nothing there.

  “That still works then,” Silas said, his lips thinning. “In case you don’t remember, Fabian put a hefty compulsion on you not to speak ill of him.”

  Ezra’s gaze shot to Pixie, who nodded affirmation.

  “Which brings me to the other reason why we’re all here,” Silas continued after checking his expensive gold watch. The bastard’s suit was probably worth more than Ezra made in a year. He wondered if he could talk Silas out of his watch by the end of the day.

  “If you’ll both get dressed, I think Finn having some breakfast and discussing this somewhere a little less... distracting would be in order, don’t you? Fabian has demanded an immediate trial or that the charges be dropped and we hand Ezra over.”

  Ezra stiffened at the reminder of the bastard who wanted to destroy him all over again. He swallowed hard.

  Get back in character before anyone notices. They’ll use any weakness against you.

  The identical brown-haired shifters stepped obediently toward the door.

  Clenching his fists to hide his shaking hands, Ezra piped up, “What about my breakfast? It’s been a while since I had twins.”

  “Put a sock in it,” Pixie growled, “and if you want to know what Gethin and Glyn are like in the sack, you can ask Finn later. They were the reason you had such a good meal last night. Come on, Finn, before Mr Horndog gets distracted again.”

  Before he could protest, Finn pecked him on the cheek, said, ‘see you later’ and was out of his reach before he could grab him again. For a human, he was damn quick.

  The door shut behind his last visitor leaving him alone. Ezra had both feared and craved being alone for most of his life. He had to be social to feed but being on his own meant less fear, pain and uncomfortable emotions.

  The smile he’d put on for Finn and the others died as if it had never been. Being cheerful had saved him from a few beatings back in the day, and it always worked with humans. He could turn it on and off like a tap, even when terrified– especially when terrified. The thought of going back, of enduring it again, made his bones ache and his belly cramp, but the prospect of being separated from Finn was worse.

  Getting out of the oh so comfortable, safe bed took willpower, but the closed curtains itched at his sanity. Creeping over to the window, he pulled the dark blue drapes open and stared at the idyllic rural scene of calm grazing sheep. The sight of the uncaring dawn sky lulled him. As this couldn’t, wouldn’t, last, he stored every nuance of the scene, hoping he could recall every detail in the months or years to come.

  If Fabian won, Ezra would be back in that dark, cold, windowless cellar before he had time to scratch his own gorgeous arse. If he was convicted of using illegal compulsion on Finn, he’d be in Silas’s domain, the supernatural prison. Either way, he wouldn’t be seeing a view like this for a long time, and probably neither would his vascellum.

  Even though Finn wouldn’t be incarcerated with him, he would have to be near enough to prevent the separation pain. The fact that Finn would probably be in the arms of his smarmy, smooth, bastard of a relative didn’t help lift the depression that was descending and smothering him like a blanket of snow.

  Last night, he’d been so sure he’d been back with the vampires, but he remembered Avery’s face over Finn’s shoulder. The deceitful blond incubus had timed things perfectly. He’d waited until Finn had given Ezra his energy before coming inside the vascellum. Avery had claimed the ability to drain the energy Finn collected. Energy that should only be Ezra’s. What hurt even more was that Avery’s actions had been the right, the logical, sensible thing to do.

  Avery can stick his logic up his arse. Finn is mine. That Finn could make Ezra the richest demon on the planet no longer mattered to him, but it mattered to all other sex demons. Finn was a precious artefact and his fellow sex demons would use him, just as Ezra had been property to the vampires. But isn’t that how I thought of him before the bond kicked in; how I thought about all humans? All this moralistic soul-searching made his head ache. Life had been so much simpler before he met Finn.

  The door to the room creaked open. Ezra didn’t turn around. One of the sheep trundled across the field toward another group. He wondered if they were friends or enemies. Did sheep have enemies?

  “I’ve got you some clothes.” The deep rumbling voice belonged to the huge bear shifter, Jericho. Ezra kept on watching the sheep. “Pixie had an elemental pop her to your home to get you and Finn some of your own stuff. She’s... an interesting person.”

  Ezra didn’t reply. ‘Interesting’ didn’t cover what he thought about Pixie. She’d dragged him out into the world again, damned and then saved him. But her recent actions had, and could still cause Finn a hell of a lot of pain; he couldn’t forgive that.

  “Quiet today, aren’t you?”

  Ezra turned around, leaning back on the window sill to display his lean, tanned body. The instinct to seduce, to manipulate, was as natural as breathing.

  Like Pixie, the huge hairy bear shifter c
laimed he couldn’t be influenced by sex. So far, Ezra hadn’t devoted any time to the problem and he wondered if he ever would. Not having Jericho lusting after him was relaxing.

  Ezra scratched the back of his head, going for ‘disarming’. “Yeah, sorry, been a hell of a few days. Thanks for sticking up for me and Finn against–” his throat closed up again.

  Ezra pinched the bridge of his nose. He wanted to hit something. The vampiric compulsion was still as strong as when Fabian had laid it on him.

  “You really can’t say his name, can you?” The bear tilted his head, staring at Ezra as if he was a weird lab specimen.

  Ezra sighed pinching the bridge of his nose. “Change the record, will you? It’s bloody uncomfortable, feels like the b–” He gave up as the word ‘bastard’ stuck in his throat. “Look, I know I can be a bit of a dick sometimes but–”

  “Sometimes?”

  Dropping his hand, Ezra scowled at the shifter. “Trying to apologise and be friendly here, so give me a break, will you? I’m not used to people who don’t want to literally fuck with me. The no lust thing is unnerving. In fact, Pixie is the only other one I’ve come across in... forever. Which is why, when I found her, I latched on like a damn limpet.”

  “You can’t manipulate me either.”

  Ezra gave him a huge grin. “That might be true, although I haven’t tried yet. Wanna be besties instead of fuck buddies?”

  The way the huge brown eyebrows drew together caused Ezra to bark with laughter.

  CHAPTER 2

  Wearing his own jeans and deep red shirt made Ezra feel almost like himself again as he strolled through the rustic shifter pack house with his hirsute guard. Ezra’s mood brightened as he passed meal after potential meal until Jericho ushered him into the Alpha’s office.

  Faced with a sea of supernaturals wearing serious expressions, he would have turned on his heels had it not been for the immovable Jericho towering behind him like warm mountain. Crowds of humans he could cope with, but the mass of non-aroused shifters and demons in the confined space had him sweating even before he sat in the only available chair.