Page 51 of Bloodhunter

“Good.” She let go of me and sat back, then picked up aslice of cheese pizza and took a small bite, chewing into our uncomfortablesilence.

“Do we…” I had to stop and clear the gravel from my voice.“Do we know what the attacker is? He’s not a vampire.”

Clayton answered me, his voice as calm and empty as his eyesalways were. No, not always. There were times when his stare was hot and fierceand male and alive, and that made his forced submission to Miriam seem evenworse.

But he was a murderer, and a sadistic one, if I believedMiriam. And I did. At least, I had absolutely no doubt that she believedeverything she’d just said. Perhaps there were two sides to the story. Icouldn’t know.

“I believe he’s some sort of demon.” He stared over my head.“You will need extra protection. If his life depends on taking yours, he willfind a way.”

“So he’s feeding,” Rhys said.

Angus, a little more subdued than usual, put his elbows onthe table and leaned in, as though he didn’t want anyone else hearing what hewas about to say. “You don’t think he’s just a demon, do you?” he askedClayton. “You think he’s an—”

Miriam’s gasp interrupted him.“Incubus,”she spat,her voice a whisper. She turned her head slowly to look at Clayton.

He flinched. Not obviously, but I saw. I saw the flinch inthe area around his eyes. I saw.

But Rhys scoffed. “Incubi have been scarce since thefourteenth century. I doubt one is showing up now, trying to suck the life fromTrinity.”

“Idon’t doubt it,” Angus said. “They are rarely seenanymore, but they still exist. I think Clay has something. I think he’s right.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that?” Miriam asked Clayton, quietly.

“I wasn’t absolutely certain.”

Her lip curled. “Oh honey, I know you.” She leaned closer tohim. “You’re trying to assert yourself.” She pressed her lips against hischeekbone. “It won’t work. You’re strong, but you’re not that strong.” Shelaughed, suddenly, and clapped her hands. “But I do enjoy watching you try.”

She winked at me, as though I joined her in her delight.

Rhys sighed, and put his arm around my shoulders. Angusreached across to pat Miriam’s hand, and I understood two things at thatmoment.

One, Miriam was a little more broken than the rest of us,and two, they sincerely cared about her.

And then realization popped into my head exactly why theattacker—who may or may not have been an incubus—used the Foam of Aphrodite.“The victims,” I whispered. “They have sex with the attacker and then he killsthem? He rapes them?” I swallowed my sudden nausea. “Why?”

“If he’s an incubus,” Miriam answered, when no one elsewould, “that’s how he feeds. He takes his victim’s life force to survive.”

Angus cleared his throat. “Usually an incubus doesn’t killhis victims. But there’s something wrong with this one. I’m just spitballinghere, but if he’s an incubus, and if he’s killing when he feeds, then he’s…” Heshrugged. “He’s just sick.”

“Maybe,” Rhys said. “And he’s weak.”

“Because he ran from Clayton?” I asked. “Because he has touse the foam to get…” I gestured, unsure.

“Laid,” Angus said, helpfully.

Miriam eyed me. “Because a demon at full strength would havetorn Clayton into little bitty pieces and you would not be talking to us rightnow.”

“And an incubus wouldn’t ordinarily need help from sexfoam,” Angus said. “They hold some sort of magical influence over theirpreferred gender. Makes them irresistible to the human they want to feed from.”

“You must be an incubus,” I joked, then wanted to sink intothe floor and disappear when I realized I’d insinuated that I found Angusirresistible.

Angus roared with pleased laughter.

Rhys chuckled. “I never understood his appeal myself,” hesaid. “Now it all makes sense.”

“I only meant…” I muttered.

“Honey, don’t even try,” Miriam told me, giggling.