Page 45 of Incubus
"Yeah. Goodnight."
Once Nathan was settled under the covers, he stole a glance at Sasha by the window and found the incubus staring out at the night, looking still and solid as anything as if nothing could move him. It was an easy strength that Nathan admired, and had nothing to do with the real physical strength Sasha possessed. It was quiet, the kind of strength that always made Nathan think of his parents, and that he never thought he had enough of himself.
Seeing Sasha like that made Nathan feel safe, and he drifted easily into a much needed sleep.
Chapter 17
SometimeduringthenightNathan remembered Sasha passing by his bed, probably while switching out for Jim as lookout. Groggily, Nathan had grabbed onto the incubus’ pant leg and asked him just what the hellwereManolos anyway.
With his usual smirk, Sasha had leaned in close to Nathan and whispered, “Shoes worth more than everything you own, Nathan.”
The next morning Nathan wasn't entirely sure if that encounter had been real or if his half-conscious mind had made it up. Judging by Sasha’s answer, Nathan hoped it was a dream. No pair of heels was worth more than all of his worldly possessions.
Getting a fairly good night’s sleep had at least given him some time to reflect on their situation. He just hoped Jim would keep his big mouth shut about it.
“Sasha, meet Walter.” Nathan gestured to what surely looked like empty space to the redhead. “If you were anyone other thana seal and an incubus, I’m sure you’d think I was nuts, but I swear…he’s there. I can give you a description if you want.”
Sasha stared with apparent awe at the spot where Nathan could see Walter standing amongst them. “You can see your Spirit Guide?” Sasha said breathlessly. “That’s just…I mean, it’s sorare. Has this only been since you were marked by the Messenger or could you always see him?”
“Since the first night without both our parents,” Nathan said. “Walter showed up while we were huddled in an alleyway hiding. He’s how we found our first Veil doorway. Been pretty helpful a few other times too.”
The reaction Nathan might have expected from a normal seal was clearly lost on Sasha. He acted as though he were looking upon something holy when he stared unfocused on a spot in the room that only Nathan could see the truth of.
“They say only humans have them, but I’ve always wondered…” Sasha shook his head and turned to Nathan. “Why tell me now? I understand why you didn’t at first. I’m still a seal. Usually, being able to talk to a Spirit Guide or any spirits is a supernatural sign. It might even have to do with the fae blood in your family.”
“Save the supernatural for Jim,” Nathan said. “There’s nothing special about me. I don’t know why I can see and speak with Walter, I just can, and he’s saved our asses plenty. I figured he could help us.”
Walter looked humbled by the attention, which kept him remarkably quiet.
"Walter can't get too close to sidhe," Nathan clarified, "but I figured having him hanging out in their front yard would be less conspicuous than us. While he keeps an eye on them, we can ready our attack."
"Nathan," Jim said with a frown. "These Muses might not be able to see Walter or know he’s there, but they’re not stupid. They have to be expecting us to attack.”
“I got an idea about that too,” Nathan said. "Now, this is going to sound a little crazy at first, but I noticed a ‘for sale’ sign in front of a house next to the one the Muses are staying in...”
BythetimeNathanwas heading over to the Muses front door to ring the bell, his hands were shaking. He couldn't help the pang of anxiety he felt that one of them would manage to touch him again before he could pull off his part of the plan. Jim had called him a fool for volunteering to go, but the thing about bait was that it had to be something the Muses wanted.
Walter had kept them informed that the Muses hadn’t left their house once during the night or yet that morning, almost as if they were waiting for something.
Nathan was not about to disappoint them.
“Hey there,” Nathan said, aiming his grin at the Muse who answered the door. “I was wondering if I might interest you in a set of encyclopedias.”
The dark-haired sidhe grinned back at him, her eyes instantly shimmering into a deep violet with prominent slit pupils.
“No?” Nathan said, holding his ground. “I just figured you’d need one later when you wanted to look up the termgullible.” At which point Nathan turned on his heels and started sprinting across the lawn toward the house with the ‘for sale’ sign.
The Muse gave chase just as Nathan had hoped, moving faster than any normal human should be able to. Nathan was barely able to keep ahead of her, but the neighboring house was close and he soon flew through the open kitchen door, bypassing thewaiting Sasha and Jim as he skidded to a halt on the other side of the room.
The lone sidhe was walking calmly by the time she entered the kitchen after him. “Do you give yourselves up so easily?”
Nathan took in heavy breaths as he stepped forward to stand more evenly with Sasha and his brother, who were each armed with iron. He nodded at the floor below the Muse's feet. “I’d say it was pretty damn easy,” he said.
She looked down, her smirk dropping as she realized she had been caught. An Entrapment Rune had been drawn right where she was standing.
Runes powerful enough to affect sidhe had to be perfect, and Entrapment Runes had to be drawn specific to what they were capturing in order to work—light or dark, fae or sidhe—but, if drawn correctly, even a Weird Sister would be unable to move unless the lines of the symbols were broken.
“Fools,” she hissed, looking up at them with a glare. “I am merely one. The others will come for me.”
