Hes only been there six weeks, I added, still stroking Styxs fur while she slept. Hes Mr. Wesners replacement. Sabine knew he wasnt human, but we didnt know anything was wrong until Danica Sussman had a miscarriage in the middle of first period on Friday, and it turns out the baby wasnt her boyfriends, I said, trying not to remember her on the floor, bleeding
Uh-oh. Alec scuffed one hand over his tight, dark curls. Okay, lets start with the facts. He popped his can open and took the first sip, then set it on an end table. Incubi are all male, and they do feed from lust, either indirectlykind of like sunbathing on a bright dayor directly, which involvespretty much exactly what youre thinking.
Ew! I tried and failed to purge the visual of Mr. Beck feeding during sex, but Sabine only shrugged.
At least youd die happy. Her brows rose. Hey, maybe thats how youre gonna go, Kaylee.
I shook my head, firmly denying the unease crawling slowly up my spine. No way. No. But I couldnt deny the coincidence. Our new math teacher was a psychic leach and I was scheduled to die in four days. Please, please, please dont let those two things be connected
Dont worry. Alec leaned forward to scratch behind Styxs ears. I doubt his charm would have much of an effect on either of you, considering youre not human.
Charm?
Its like sexual charisma, or some kind of strong, supernatural pheromone. He can direct it, to a certain extent, but a little bit of it is always going to leak out and draw people to him. And he, in return, can feed indirectly off the lust those people feel for him.
So, every time some poor student gets a crush on her math teacher, he has a little snack? I said, horrified by the very concept.
Yeah. Only hes not limited to students. Or girls.
Lucky bastard! Sabine set her can on the floor. He doesnt even have to wait for anyone to fall asleep.
Yeah. Thats the part of this thats messed up. I turned to Alec, trying to forget how much Sabine had in common with Mr. Beck, at least on the surface. Any other incubus facts?
Well, youre right about the breeding. The incubus fertility cycle lasts a hundred to one hundred twenty years, but theyre only actually fertile for twelve to fourteen months of that. The exact length of time varies, like a womans menstrual cycle.
That is nothing like a menstrual cycle, Sabine said, and for once, I had to agree with her.
So, what youre saying is that Mr. Beck is ready to have kids for the first time in roughly a century, and he picked Danica Sussman to be the mother?
Well, I doubt she was the only one, Alec said. Incubi can breed with human women, but it takes a lot of work toproduce just one little baby incubus.
What does that mean?
Alec shrugged. I dont have concrete numbers, but from what Ive heard and because hed spent a quarter of a century in the Netherworld, Alecs information was the best wed have access to for every dozen or so girls he gets pregnant, only one will give birth to a healthy baby boy. The rest will either miscarry or give birth to a girl.
So then Danica was just the first, right? I asked. There will be more like her?
Yeah, or there may already have been. He could have a whole string of miscarriages and pregnant girls behind him, but based on the fact that hes still trying, Im guessing he doesnt have a son yet.
Who cares if its a boy? Sabine asked. What, hes a sexist lust-demon?
Alec actually laughed. Only the boy babies are incubi. Girls share their mothers species and are usually considered worthless.
So, you cant put an incubus and a human girl together and get a succubus? I asked, sorting through the details in my head.
Nope. Alec shook his head. Theyre two completely different species. And consider yourself lucky youre dealing with an incubus, because the only thing scarier than a succubus trying to get pregnant is a succubus whos already pregnant. Talk about hormonal
What did you mean about the girl babies being worthless? Sabine asked, her eyes going dark again, and I realized hed hit one of her hot buttons. As a toddler, Sabine was abandoned by her parents on a Dallas church doorstep, and after that, shed bounced from one foster family to the next, for most of her life.
Alec shrugged. Theyre almost always abandoned by the incubus. As recently as a few decades ago, it was difficult for a mother to raise an illegitimate child alone, so the baby might have been abandoned by the mother, too. Thats not much of an issue today, though. The mara didnt answer, but I could see anger simmering quietly in the dark depths of her eyes.
So, how does this charm work? I asked, trying to redirect the discussion.
Alec shrugged. Ive never actually met an incubus, and Im not sure his charm would work on me even if I liked guys, because Im half-hypnos. His father was a minor Netherworld creature who fed on the energy from sleeping humans, as it bled through the barrier between worlds. But from what I understand, just being around him makes peoplewell, want him. If hes reining it in, which he probably is in a public place, itll exaggerate the symptoms of physical attraction. Students may start competing for his attention. Theyll flirt and try to impress him. Theyll touch him and try to get him to touch them. Theyll become infatuated with him very quickly and personally offended by criticism of him.
Uh-oh. Alec scuffed one hand over his tight, dark curls. Okay, lets start with the facts. He popped his can open and took the first sip, then set it on an end table. Incubi are all male, and they do feed from lust, either indirectlykind of like sunbathing on a bright dayor directly, which involvespretty much exactly what youre thinking.
Ew! I tried and failed to purge the visual of Mr. Beck feeding during sex, but Sabine only shrugged.
At least youd die happy. Her brows rose. Hey, maybe thats how youre gonna go, Kaylee.
I shook my head, firmly denying the unease crawling slowly up my spine. No way. No. But I couldnt deny the coincidence. Our new math teacher was a psychic leach and I was scheduled to die in four days. Please, please, please dont let those two things be connected
Dont worry. Alec leaned forward to scratch behind Styxs ears. I doubt his charm would have much of an effect on either of you, considering youre not human.
Charm?
Its like sexual charisma, or some kind of strong, supernatural pheromone. He can direct it, to a certain extent, but a little bit of it is always going to leak out and draw people to him. And he, in return, can feed indirectly off the lust those people feel for him.
So, every time some poor student gets a crush on her math teacher, he has a little snack? I said, horrified by the very concept.
Yeah. Only hes not limited to students. Or girls.
Lucky bastard! Sabine set her can on the floor. He doesnt even have to wait for anyone to fall asleep.
Yeah. Thats the part of this thats messed up. I turned to Alec, trying to forget how much Sabine had in common with Mr. Beck, at least on the surface. Any other incubus facts?
Well, youre right about the breeding. The incubus fertility cycle lasts a hundred to one hundred twenty years, but theyre only actually fertile for twelve to fourteen months of that. The exact length of time varies, like a womans menstrual cycle.
That is nothing like a menstrual cycle, Sabine said, and for once, I had to agree with her.
So, what youre saying is that Mr. Beck is ready to have kids for the first time in roughly a century, and he picked Danica Sussman to be the mother?
Well, I doubt she was the only one, Alec said. Incubi can breed with human women, but it takes a lot of work toproduce just one little baby incubus.
What does that mean?
Alec shrugged. I dont have concrete numbers, but from what Ive heard and because hed spent a quarter of a century in the Netherworld, Alecs information was the best wed have access to for every dozen or so girls he gets pregnant, only one will give birth to a healthy baby boy. The rest will either miscarry or give birth to a girl.
So then Danica was just the first, right? I asked. There will be more like her?
Yeah, or there may already have been. He could have a whole string of miscarriages and pregnant girls behind him, but based on the fact that hes still trying, Im guessing he doesnt have a son yet.
Who cares if its a boy? Sabine asked. What, hes a sexist lust-demon?
Alec actually laughed. Only the boy babies are incubi. Girls share their mothers species and are usually considered worthless.
So, you cant put an incubus and a human girl together and get a succubus? I asked, sorting through the details in my head.
Nope. Alec shook his head. Theyre two completely different species. And consider yourself lucky youre dealing with an incubus, because the only thing scarier than a succubus trying to get pregnant is a succubus whos already pregnant. Talk about hormonal
What did you mean about the girl babies being worthless? Sabine asked, her eyes going dark again, and I realized hed hit one of her hot buttons. As a toddler, Sabine was abandoned by her parents on a Dallas church doorstep, and after that, shed bounced from one foster family to the next, for most of her life.
Alec shrugged. Theyre almost always abandoned by the incubus. As recently as a few decades ago, it was difficult for a mother to raise an illegitimate child alone, so the baby might have been abandoned by the mother, too. Thats not much of an issue today, though. The mara didnt answer, but I could see anger simmering quietly in the dark depths of her eyes.
So, how does this charm work? I asked, trying to redirect the discussion.
Alec shrugged. Ive never actually met an incubus, and Im not sure his charm would work on me even if I liked guys, because Im half-hypnos. His father was a minor Netherworld creature who fed on the energy from sleeping humans, as it bled through the barrier between worlds. But from what I understand, just being around him makes peoplewell, want him. If hes reining it in, which he probably is in a public place, itll exaggerate the symptoms of physical attraction. Students may start competing for his attention. Theyll flirt and try to impress him. Theyll touch him and try to get him to touch them. Theyll become infatuated with him very quickly and personally offended by criticism of him.
