Tears of Blood Read Online Free Page B

for yourself."
    Sarahi closed her eyes and reached
inward, considering. Her eyelids flew open; her jaw dropped.
    "Lucien!"
    "I know." He gathered
her tenderly into his arms and carried her inside the trailer.

Chapter
6

    Mojave Desert, 1979
    It turned out a pregnant succubus
was not that different from a pregnant human. Sarahi was normally ravenously
hungry, and as her belly expanded, her hunger grew more and more. And like a
human woman, only certain foods appealed to her. She was no longer able to take
nourishment from any source other than the sweet love energy of her angel.
    Lucien fed her lavishly, filling her
greedy belly with the choicest of pleasures, spending so much time with his
lady that he was disciplined more than once for not being where he was supposed
to be. It was his own fault. She was so luscious he couldn’t stay away.
    He never told her  she was
draining him. The more energy he gave to the sustaining of their child, the
weaker he became. How could he say a word? She would be consumed with guilt,
and for naught, because the baby needed to be fed, and this was the only
nourishment its mother could take.
    Still, it was a relief when, on that
Midsummer’s Eve, Sarahi woke with a start, wracked by labor pains. Lucien
had summoned the Indian woman who had agreed to act as midwife, and the two of
them oversaw the birth.
    As the dawn pierced the horizon,
Sarahi gave a long loud wail and the midwife scooped into her arms a tiny,
squalling bundle of limbs with a wisp of fuzzy dark hair.
    Lucien kissed his lady, proud of her
strength, while the woman cleaned and examined the baby. Then she laid him
tenderly in Sarahi’s arms and showed the succubus how to place her son on
her breast.
    Lucien looked on, pride swelling his
heart. He was blessed beyond what his kind could ever have expected. Sliding
his arm around her pale shoulders, he kissed the fiery hair at her temple.
    A
boy...that’s good. At least I don’t have to try to be father to a
succubus. He’s going to grow up to be a fine, strong naphil.
    "What should we call him,
love?" he asked her.
    "I think... Josiah," she
replied.
    "Josiah. Excellent. I like
that."
    He leaned over and kissed the baby
too.

Chapter
7

     
    Lucien had been gone for five weeks.
The work had been excruciating, long and dangerous. Several of his fellow
nephilim had not returned. But Lucien had been determined to survive. He had
others relying on him now.
    In truth, this was the reason his
kind vowed celibacy. The responsibility of caring for a woman and a child meant
he was not able to throw his life away in pursuit of his mission. But having
tasted the sweetness of Sarahi’s kiss that long ago day in Rome, this
conclusion had been inevitable.
    He found his lady inside the trailer,
sitting on the bed, propped up on pillows, their son cuddled to her breast. He
was alarmed to see that as she fed the baby, tears were spilling down her
cheeks. Her slender shoulders shook with quiet sobs.
    "What’s wrong, my
love?" He slid into the bed beside her, stroking the dark skin of his son’s
cheek where it touched her pale flesh.
    "Oh, Lucien!" She leaned
against his shoulder and wept as though her heart were breaking.
    He stroked the scarlet silk of her
hair, waiting for the storm to pass, wondering what on earth had upset his lady
so much.
    "Talk to me, Sarahi. What is
it?"
    "It’s the baby,"
she wailed.
    "What? Is he ill?"
    "No. Worse. You can’t
imagine how bad."
    "Why?"
    "Lucien, look at him."
    Josiah had finished nursing, and she
lifted him to his father, showing Lucien the brilliant green eyes shining from
the dark face.
    "How nice, love. He has your
eyes."
    "Demon eyes."
    "So he takes after you in some
ways. He’s a boy. Therefore he’s a naphil."
    "No, love. He’s
not."
    "There’s no such thing as
a male succubus."
    She sobbed. "If only that were
true. Haven’t you heard the legend of the incubus?"
    "Bah. Old wives’ tales.
There’s never been such a creature."
    "Lucien,