Incubus

7

Chapter Seven

Ice cold terror filled every inch of her body. The brief attraction she had felt for the man was quickly consumed with the frightful realization that he was a demon. A demon who had given her sleep paralysis. A demon who had caused her bicycle to crash. A demon who had filled her with perpetual fear all day...

A demon she had summoned.

Stumbling backwards in sheer panic, Celia barely heard the sound of Valerie screaming as the glass shards of her coffee mug crunched loudly and soundly beneath her converse. Only one person stole her attention, only one person made her react with such fear.

And that was the red eyed man standing across from her-- or rather, the red eyed demon. The unnamed man stood up from his stool, towering at his full height. It made him more terrifying than ever, as his eyes gleamed the same deep red color she saw when she crashed her bicycle earlier that day.

"Get back!" She shouted, reaching blindly behind her. Finding a handle, she triumphantly brought the object defensively in front of her... Only to realize it was a spatula.

Amusement danced in the fiery red depths of the beautiful man's eyes, his lips tilted in a smirk. A flash of something sharp and white protruding from his mouth caught her, and she realized with horror it was a fang.

"That's quite rude," he commented in that silky smooth voice, "Do you always treat your guests this way?"

She swallowed fearfully as he stepped around the counter, closing the distance between them with a long stride.

"After all, you invited me, if you recall." He arched a dark brow as her cheeks flooded with color.

"It was quite romantic; to say the least, with the candles and jasmine. Most summoners don't go to such lengths... I'm guessing you were desperate to see me."

Celia stared at him, unable to grasp, let alone believe the situation. Standing before her was the demon she had summoned with a spell she had never expected to work. He seemed perfectly human aside from those unnerving eyes, and his godly beauty.

"You're no longer welcome," her voice shook as she took a few more steps back, "now please, go," a gasp escaped her lips as she backed right into the counter.

"That's not an option, darling." He only smirked as he took yet another step closer.

Hearing panicked breathing, she glanced to see Valerie's panicked green eyes. From her expression, Celia could tell she knew. She knew this was what she had summoned.

She flitted her eyes to the telephone; then to Valerie, trying to convey a message. With wide eyed realization, the redhead seemed to understand. She began to inch toward the phone-- but before 911 could be dialed, Valerie suddenly went motionless. She fell forward, smacking painfully against the tiled floors.

Celia gasped as she heard more thuds following, her eyes following the movement of the other customers literally fainting from their seats. She slowly brought her eyes back to him, at the same moment his outstretched hand fell to his side.

"Much better!" He exclaimed, wiping his hands together in a dusting motion.

"Now, where were we? Ah yes, we were just introducing ourselves. I'm the demon you summoned, but you can call me Cain." He smirked, watching her shell-shocked expression.

Her gaze flitted from Valerie, to the other customers, to Valerie again. "What did you do to her?" She asked faintly, unable to tear her eyes away from her fallen friend.

"She's asleep," he reassured, "And she won't have any memories of what just happened. Neither will they," he casually gestured at the rest of the customers who had quite literally fainted at his hands.

"How?" She asked in a breathless whisper, her eyes meeting his gaze again. Only, she was taken aback to find they had returned to their previous amber shade. He almost looked human. Almost.

"The same way you summoned me." He took one more step to her, so close to her she could feel the warmth radiating from his body. She was trapped against the counter with no escape, her chest rising and falling as she struggled to breathe. He leaned forward, warm breath caressing her ear--

"Magic."