Hire an Incubus

PART II -18.

The house was quite ordinary looking. It wasn't in the middle of the city, more on the outskirts, towards the docks, in a quieter part which was more like a little village. Whoever lived here definitely shared Achilles's fondness of being out of the way. Lisa stood there for a few minutes before knocking and took a deep breath before doing so softly.

She heard soft footsteps before the sound of the lock clicking and then the door swung open.

'Hello?'

Lisa took in who was standing before her. It was a man, a tall man, who looked to be in his twenties. He had dark brown hair which was cut quite short apart from on top where it sat softly against his forehead. He wasn't clean shaven but rather had some stubble. But that wasn't what caught Lisa's attention.

It was his captivating grey eyes.

'Hi, my name is Lisa Farrow.' Lisa began quietly, trying to be covert. 'I'm here because Achilles Starling said I would be safe here.'

The man blinked a few times, making no attempt to hide his surprise. 'Wow. I haven't heard that name in a long time. If Achilles sent you here then you must really be in trouble. Come in.'

Lisa stepped cautiously into the house afraid to touch anything. Still looking at the man, she spoke up softly. 'Who are you, exactly?'

'I'm surprised Achilles hasn't mentioned me, actually, scratch that, I'm not surprised at all. My name is Aster Starling, I'm Achilles's brother.'

'Nice to meet you, Aster.' Lisa wasn't actually that surprised Achilles hadn't mentioned Aster, she was just more surprised that he actually had a brother.

'So Lisa, who are you to my brother? You're obviously quite important to him if he has sent you all the way to me.'

Lisa scratched her chin, looking down and the carpet. 'That's actually a bit of a tricky question at the moment. I suppose I would say girlfriend, but we're not exactly on the best of terms so maybe I'll just say poor unfortunate who is currently knocked up?'

Aster looked at her sideways, 'Oh, that makes sense as to why he'd want to keep you safe.'

'Because of his past?'

'Exactly.' Aster nodded. There was something in the way he projected himself that was less intense than Achilles. Maybe it was just his manner but Aster seemed a lot more relaxed than Achilles, and a lot less intimidating. Lisa had barely known the guy two minutes and she was already starting to feel relaxed in his company.

'So, are you an incubus?' Lisa said, following Aster in to the kitchen as he motioned for her to come in.  She knew it was probably a strange question to ask, but he seemed like the most human incubus she had met.

'I am indeed, I suppose you're wondering why you're not getting any of those weird vibes that you normally get with an incubus. Tea?'

'Yes please.' Lisa smiled, 'And yes, I suppose I am wondering that.'

'Very simple.' Aster turned, switched on the kettle and turned back around. 'I am very good at concealing it, being half human helps with that. Also, you're pregnant with another incubus's child, so you're all hyped up on that right now, judging from what I know, if Achilles tried to get in your head he could do it very easily, probably just by touching you, even by accident.'

Lisa felt a pang in her chest. Achilles hadn't actually been trying to take control of her, it had just happened, and she had turned on him for it. He obviously hadn't meant to hurt her or upset her and she hadn't even let him have the benefit of the doubt like he had with her so many times.