Incubus Blues

For those coming straight in here this story thread picks up from the end of the Vespera main story arch. I suggest you go back and read that one first all the way through to the Epilogue and then return here.

Also, I've decided to switch to a First Person POV for this thread. Sorry for the change but I think it'll work out better long term. We'll see how we like it anyways. If you catch me slipping up between the tenses (and I surely will) please feel free to let me know about it so I can fix it.

Finally, this part of the story will focus mostly on Lucian. Expect **** levels of "that gay shit". If that's not your thing check back later when one of the others are the focus.

Now on with the story...

***

Needless to say the family is surprised by Vespera’s torpor but I assure them all was well. I could feel it. She needed time to adjust and adapt. She needed to rest. As powerful as she was being ripped permanently from one reality and rooted into another was no small feat. With Ves resting in the attic the normal Devlin day to day life quickly returned to normal. And after a few days of much needed recovery I am feeling better than ever.

Walking through the house one day I spot my little brother Lucian sitting by himself in the library. He is curled up into the corner of one of the big leather chairs joylessly flipping through one of the old tomes one page at a time. Wearing only reading glasses, an oversize mint green t shirt with yellow panties and socks, his bare legs tucked up close, he is ridiculously adorable and sexy as hell, as usual. Of course chilling at home he is in his natural form as a half incubus. Pink hair, emerald eyes, small horns, and his short inch wide tail slowly waving back and forth. Not quite guy, not quite girl, curves and breast but with hints of muscles and masculine angles here and there. But, like our mother, it is the imperceptible things that really put him on another level. He oozed with sexual confidence and he KNEW how fucking good he looked.

Right now however he just looked sad. His moods shift wildly at the best of times yet, after the initial elation of Vespera’s arrival, he had been in something of a steady funk since last week.

I am glad to have found him like this as I had actually sought him out today with a purpose in mind. I had talked mom about it and discovered that Lucian’s loss of control with me last week was a problem. It had been a huge setback in his preparation for independence. If he could not contain his demonic powers, if he wasn’t a “good boy” as my mother put it, he would not be able to go out to lead the life he wanted to live. She told me that a demon, even a half demon, known to be on Earth free of the bonds of a contract was bound to draw the attention of angels, demon hunters, or worse. For his own safety Lucian needed to master himself.

And beyond mere safety the boy had ambitions. Lucian was really smart, clearly his father’s son in that respect, and where his sister Trixie hovered around the bottom of the graduating class grade wise he was at the very top. He wanted nothing to do with the family business and thanks to his interest in football he had big dreams of becoming a medical doctor with a specialization in Sports Medicine. He was not going to be satisfied living here in the safety of the manor forever. He dreamed of a normal life and to achieve it he had to resist the temptations of his heritage, or at least learn direct them in controlled ways, and with Ves asleep I had taken it upon myself to use this time to help him.

“Hey, there you are. Why so glum?” I ask as I walk up and set the small flat box I carried on a side table. I squeeze in beside him on the wide chair, he happily makes way for me. Patting his smooth bare knee I ask. “What’s up sweetie?”

Setting his book to the side he leans into me, resting his head on my shoulder. One of his small horns pokes into me but not enough to complain about it. “Hahhhh.” He sighs. “I think Mum’s disappointed in me. For what happened with you last week. For being bad. I really messed up.”

“Hey, no way!” I assure him. “She understands better than anyone. From what I understand the sin of forbidden lust is one of the most powerful things you can experience.” He nods but says nothing. “I don’t think either of us were ready for what happened last week.” I chuckle and give him a squeeze, feeling that one of a kind combination of soft and firm in his body. Had my eyes been closed I wouldn’t have been able to tell if it was a man or a woman beside me. “Trust me she is not disappointed in you. In fact she is pretty damn proud of you standing up for me like you did.” I slide my hand from his knee to take his delicate hand. “And so am I. Thank you Lucian, I’ll never forget that.”

Despite himself he smiles and blushes a little.

“I think there’s something else bothering you though.” I say. “You haven’t been your usual bratty self lately.”

“I’m not a brat.”

“Yes you are.”

His emerald eyes roll in the brattiest way. “Says you.”

“Come on. What’s up? Is it Ves? Does having a new sister bother you?”

“No, no. Nothing like that. I love Ves.” He says. “It’s just…things have been weird at school since…ya know.”

“Since Bron and I beat up those guys?”

“Yeah.” He sidles up even closer to me, hugging to my arm snugly. “Everyone is acting differently around me now. And…I do miss the fun we had. A couple of those guys could really fuck.”

“They treated you like garbage.”

“I know, and I won’t let that happen again. But…hmmm…I’m glad I’m graduating soon. I can’t wait. If I can even leave after that outburst with you. I need to work harder to control that. You have no idea how hard it is Jacob.”

“I know sweetie.” I kiss his head, his pleasant natural perfume lighting up my senses. “So you’re still set on Harvard?”

“Pffft!” He puffs with the impudent sarcasm that only an 18 year old truly can. “Yeah, I guess.”

I try to hide my smile at his disdain for getting into one of the most prestigious schools in the world. Yet I cannot help but to sympathize. The Devlin’s were old money, American aristocracy, and the weight and expectation that came along with the name could feel smothering at times. For a Devlin so gifted academically one of the Ivy League schools was the natural destination. If I had half the brains of Lucian I would be there right now myself.

“You really had your heart set on Ohio State huh.” Heaven knows why but my younger brother was a rabid Buckeyes fan. At first I thought it was simply to get under Bron’s skin, who was a Michigan fan, and it might have started out that way but through his teens it had bloomed into a full fledged passion. Needless to say it was an interesting day around the house when the Bucks and Wolverines played each other.

“Yeah.” He sighs and his slender shoulders slump in defeat. “It has a fine program too. But not as good as Harvard’s obviously. Dad says Ohio is a redneck school. Dad says that I’m better than that. And Cambridge is so much closer to home. Yeah, it’s Harvard. I guess Dad’s already got me lined up for some secret society or something. Everything is set. I’m going to get the finest education money can buy.”

“They say an education is what you make of it. It’s not Dad’s decision, it’s yours. It’s not Dad’s life, it’s yours.” I say. “You should at least go check OSU out before making the decision final.”

“Check it out? Don’t be ridiculous. When am I going to do that?”

“Well…” I smile. “…how about now?”

He looks up at me. “Now? What do you mean now? I can’t just…”

“Why not? You never miss any school. Skip tomorrow and then it’s the weekend. We can make a whole weekend of it. If we leave right now we can be there late tonight, we can check out the campus tomorrow then look around Columbus on Saturday, and back on Sunday. With your grades one day off won’t hurt.”

“We?”

“Yeah, I mean if you don’t mind the company. I thought it might be fun. Just you and me away from the rest.” I shift in the seat and invite him up onto my lap. “Come here.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” He looks at me suspiciously. “Don’t tease me Jacob. I’m not a baby.”

“I’m not teasing you, and you will always be my baby brother.” I insist. Motioning to the little box I’d brought in with me I say. “Come on, I got something for you. Come here Lucian.”

He hesitates a second but eventually moves up to sit on my lap. Sitting like this he is taller than me but not by much and only weighs as much as a small woman, he wraps his hands around my neck and without even thinking about it begins playing with my hair at the back. Once he is good and comfortable I make him an offer that he can’t refuse.