The Witch and the Incubus Ch. 08

"I still can't believe that Layla's pregnant," Sarah muttered as she piled rice on her peppered beef.

"We don't know that. I said that it's what makes the most sense," Lilith said. "She wouldn't say it directly, but she knew what I suspected and said we'd figure it out."

"She's pregnant," Alex confirmed as she hunched over another paper plate of General Tso's.

Sarah motioned to Lilith and pointed at Alex as if presenting evidence.

"Layla doesn't have a way to read Alex's mind, nor can Alex read Layla's," Lilith said.

"But I do know my friends. It's something I pride myself on," Alex pointed out. "That look she gave me before leaving said pregnancy. And we already know that she took a bottle of scotch with her, which tells me she wasn't going to make a blood offering. Again. The only reason she would do that is if she was truly in love with Caliban."

"Which we know is the only way a human can become pregnant with a demon," Melissa added.

"Auntie Nevada has a certain ring to it," Nevada said with a smile.

"Cambion are extremely rare," Lilith said. "We have no idea what its temperament will be like, what it'll look like or even the extent of its powers. I wouldn't be embracing the role of Aunt until we know more."

Lilith heard footfalls in the hallway and looked up as Caliban, naked in his human form, walked into the room, holding Layla in his arms. His cheeks were wet with tears. "I'm back," he said with a sheepish smile.

Alex blushed at the sight of Caliban's human form. He ignored Alex and laid Layla down in his oversized leather chair. She looked up with him with glazed eyes and a small smile. "I love you," she whispered.

"I've got some good news and some not-so-good news," he said to the room as he gazed back at Layla. "The good news is that my trip to hell wasn't as traumatic as I believed it would be. The bad news is that I broke Layla - shattered her will and her sense of self."

"Get dressed," Alex blurted out. "I can't be mad at you and turned on at the same time - get fucking dressed so I can yell at you properly."

Caliban raised an eyebrow. "I'm not leaving her side, Alex. And quips about finally learning what pushes your buttons will have to wait; I'm not really in the mood."

"You... broke her?" Alex said accusingly. "Please tell me it wasn't on purpose."

"It wasn't on purpose."

"Good. Now I'm just furious... " Alex said as she turned away. "Someone get this man some clothing!"

"That's rather glib of you, Alex, considering the situation," Nevada spat.

"Given all that we've been through, I know there has to be a way to fix this," Alex responded, looking at Lilith.

"Not that we know of," Lilith stated. She watched the color drain from Alex's face.

"So, we're all going to end up like her?" Nevada said.

"No," Caliban said. "It usually takes more than 15 years. I make my contracts with humans 13 years to be on the safe side."

"It's because she fell in love with you?" Sarah said with tears brimming in her eyes.

"That's my best guess," Caliban said.

"Well, at least it's romantic," Melissa said.

"Would you break for me?" Nevada asked.

"Nope," Melissa admitted.

Lilith knelt beside Layla and placed her hand on her head. "I'm sorry this happened to you," she whispered.

"I chose it," Layla whispered back. "I love him."

Lilith raised an eyebrow and looked at Caliban. "She chose it?" He nodded. "Then she can unchoose it."

_____________

"... and that's why I wanted you here today," Caliban explained. "I'm not interested in making you one of my pets; I want you as a nurse."

"First of all, I'm a little insulted. I mean, you obviously think I'm attractive enough; otherwise, you wouldn't have given me a second look," Brianna chuckled, "but you're not even giving me the option."

"You want to be one of my pets?"

"I'm not sure yet. I just want the option. The other problem is I don't know what you expect me to do. I'm not a psychiatric nurse," she confessed.

"Well, no. I hope that when Layla's baby is born, she'll have a reason to snap back to herself," he explained. "Romantic love is one thing, but the love that most parents feel for their children is on a completely different level."

"You want a midwife?"

He nodded.

"I've helped deliver three babies. Helped is probably too strong of a word. I was in the room and watched it happen. I was there in an emergency capacity only because they were high-risk, and that emergency didn't occur." Brianna drained her glass of wine. "Post-op is my jam."

"But you know the general mechanics of it?" he asked.

"Yeah..." She leaned away and tightened her jaw.

"And you like money?" Caliban smiled.

"I don't like where this is going," Brianna said.

"I've watched midwives deliver babies for thousands of years, and none of them were as prepared as you are right now," he said. "And you're going to try to convince me you can't do it?"

"There are also legal reasons. Doctors who do this shit are insured against malpractice!" she argued.

"We're talking about a half-demon baby; lawsuits aren't even an option," he countered.

"You can't find anyone else to do it? Someone with a little more expertise? Like a doctor?!" Brianna suggested with a sheepish grin.

"I could, but I don't know anyone else who can resist my mind control abilities," Caliban said as he threw back the rest of his scotch. He leaned forward with a devilish grin. "Just how do you do that anyway?"

"I... didn't resist your mind control abilities," Brianna stated. She was expressionless.

"Because you chose not to. I felt a little push back the first time I used my abilities on you, specifically when I told you to forget our conversation. When you gave me your number, I had to wonder what it was you remembered," Caliban said.

Brianna looked Caliban up and down as if he was insane. "I don't remember shit. I gave you my digits because you were hot, and I assumed you were rich; not everyone can afford the expensive suits you wear."

"Right. That's a perfectly reasonable assumption. Maybe it was all in my head," he shrugged, "So today, I decided to test my suspicions. When I commanded you to stay and listen to what I had to say, I chose not to include the command not to panic. You didn't panic anyway. And then, when I commanded you to give me your panties and masturbate, I intentionally dampened my power - very hard to do, by the way - so that you could easily resist if you chose to do so. Not only did you not resist, but you came. Hard."

"So what if I was into it?" she said with another exaggerated look.

"Lilith, one of my pets, and I have this running joke. If she thinks I'm fooling myself, and I often am, she'll quote Hamlet - Methinks the lady doth protest too much - and I'll pretend I didn't hear and ask her to repeat herself. We both know what she said, but she'll lie, and I'll let it slide," he explained. "The reason why the joke works is because we both know that I'm so good at detecting a lie that it's useless to try to do so. I don't read minds, or can hear your heartbeat skip, or can smell a specific pheromone that indicates that you're lying - it's nothing supernatural - it's just a keen understanding of behavior and simple observation."

"Oh? And what do you observe that makes you think I'm lying?" Brianna asked.

"Do I need to make a list? To where you look, the inflection of your voice, your posture, the exaggerated emotions. You're the worst liar that I've ever seen. Please stop trying to snow me and tell me who you are," he insisted.

Brianna looked down and bit her upper lip in thought. Caliban sat back and gave her the room to consider her following words. When she looked back up, he cocked his head to one side and waited expectedly.

"Mortals like to say that there are fallen angels in Hell. Hunters from the ninth level of Hell like to appear as angels but say they are demons. Did you ever think that perhaps, just perhaps, you got the lie and the truth between those two switched?" she asked.

"That wouldn't make sense," he said. "For there to be fallen angels, there would need to be angels that didn't fall. That would also suggest the existence of heaven. I've seen no proof of that."

"And almost all humans haven't seen proof of demons. Yet here we are, an angel and a demon having dinner together," Brianna said as she leaned back.

Caliban watched her for a moment and breathed a heavy sigh. "You're not lying."

"You've proven that I'm not good at it," Brianna said. "It's a waste of energy to try."

"Why?" he asked.

"We've had our eye on you and several others for a while," she explained. "I can't tell you much more than that, but I will say that we're impressed with your progress."

"So is there a -"

She interrupted him. "I said I couldn't tell you much more."

Caliban nodded. "Can you help Layla?"

"No. But you're right in thinking that the baby will heal her. Her love for that child will force her to pull the shards of her former self together. It'll be a long road, and she'll never truly be the same, but I'll serve as a midwife to make sure it happens. However, you can never speak of this to anyone - mortal or demon," she said.

"Speak of it?" he smirked.

Brianna glared at him. "Let me clarify: Don't write it down, don't hint at it, and don't change your behavior regarding this issue or issues adjacent to this issue. If we have any reason to believe that you are not doing your best to keep this information hidden, you'll have the wrath of Heaven coming down on your head harder than Theia hit the Earth."

"What?" Caliban asked.

"The planet that hit int- ...actually let's not get into that right now. The point is, you won't like what happens next," she clarified.

Caliban sighed. "Fine. So I guess this means you're not interested in being a thrall?"

__________

Layla held her baby and watched from the balcony as Sarah, Nevada, Melissa, and Kylie - Caliban's newest pet - played volleyball on the beach. She adjusted her bikini strap and looked down at her baby. His eyes glowed orange.

"Don't use those eyes on me, young man. I just fed you!" she grumbled.

"You know, I could take him for a while if you want to join the girls," Brianna offered from inside the hotel.

Layla shook her head. "No," she called back through the screen. "I've been away from him too much already on this trip. I'm afraid he'll forget who his momma is."

"You've hardly been away from him at all this trip, Layla. Let me do my job. Caliban isn't paying me to watch you; I'm here to watch the baby!" she said.

Caliban walked through the door. "Hello ladies," he said smoothly.

"Where are Rachael and Lilith?" Layla asked.

"Lilith and Rachael politely asked, repeatedly and with increasing frequency, that I leave them to their own devices. I think taking on another older woman in my harem was a mistake," he chuckled.

"Well, it's good that Lilith has a partner in crime; the two of them make a cute couple," Layla said with a smile.

"Speaking of cute couples," Brianna said, "Caliban? Can you please convince Layla to let me do my job?"

"Layla. Please," Caliban said. "You'll have more than enough time to smother Adam when we get back home. You should enjoy yourself and, more importantly, enjoy the company of the other pets. Soon, you'll be living separately from the rest of us; you should bond with them."

"I know, I know," she frowned, "but it isn't like I'll be far away or unreachable. It's just that my baby saved me from the abyss. I feel I owe him my life."

"You probably do," Brianna said as she approached. She held out her arms, "Don't you think he'd want you to enjoy some of it?"

"Okay - twist my arm!" Layla said as she handed Adam off to Brianna. "I'm going to miss you when you're gone. You've been a good friend."

"I'll check in from time to time," Brianna said with a wink. "Just enjoy yourself."

Layla rushed to change her clothes; she wore black leather pants, a 'Joan Jett and the Black Hearts' tee-shirt that had a deep v-neck torn into it, and knee-high leather boots. She also wore a red leather collar on which was printed 'His pet' on the back. As she and Caliban were heading out the door, she asked, "So, where are we going for lunch?"

"Well, I was hoping to meet up with Sarah at that barbeque ribs place off the main strip," he said.

"You convinced Sarah to agree to ribs?" Layla looked at him in shock.

"They have beer-battered fish and chips; I checked before I suggested it. They don't, however, have a decent scotch. I'll have to settle rum and coke, I guess," he explained as they reached the elevator off of the main hall.

"You know, while it isn't the tropical vacation I was hoping for, this has been nice," she said as they entered the elevator. She wrapped her arms around Caliban's left arm and rested her cheek against his bicep.

"I've been avoiding asking you," he said as he hit the elevator button for the garage. "I've never had a pet who returned from being broken. I want to understand what it does. What was it like?"

"It's hard to describe," Layla said. "It was a profound sense of emptiness like I was waiting to be told who I was supposed to be, what I was supposed to become. The only thing that felt real was the whisper of my love for you that echoed, I guess you'd say, in that emptiness." Layla smiled and nuzzled Caliban's arm. "And there was the persistent memory that I chose it for you - I wanted you to have me completely, without reservation. And there was arousal like I've never experienced before; every opportunity I had to be obedient to you was like a small orgasm."

"I'm pretty sure anyone else I inflicted this upon would have just been empty. No other broken-minded pets smiled unless I instructed them to," Caliban said as he looked down.

"You're not the same, Caliban," Layla observed. "I like this Caliban. He's got a tender side, but he still fucks me like a monster."

"You've changed too," He said as the elevator opened. "You're even more subdued and submissive than before..."

"I'm still a little broken," she admitted as they walked towards Caliban's rental car - a dark gray Lexus. "But I'm broken between you and Adam, and somehow that holds me together."

"And when Adam is all grown up?" Caliban asked as he opened the passenger side door for her.

"I'll probably shatter again and become your mindlessly obedient sex slave," Layla said with a sad smile before he closed the door.

__________

Sarah drove up to the restaurant and saw Caliban's rental car. "Damn Damn Damn - they're already here!"

She pulled the parking brake, grabbed her keys, and jumped out of the car. Her breasts bounced in her neon orange bikini top as she ran across the parking lot and swung open the door, and burst into the dining room. It was dimly lit, with televisions mounted in every direction you turned and a large bar in the back. Sarah spied Layla and Caliban in the corner booth; Layla waved her back.

She rushed back to their table, almost knocking over a waiter, and stopped right in front of the table. "I'm so sorry for being late. I totally forgot and had to shower off the sand and pull on a pair of jean shorts," she said, motioning down at herself, "and I rushed here as fast as I could."

"We got here ten minutes before you, chica," Layla smiled. She patted the seat next to her. "Come and sit here!"

Sarah slid into the booth and looked Layla over. "You look hot." She bit her lower lip.

"And you look barely dressed, not that I don't appreciate that," Layla replied. "Now eat some of the crab dip before Caliban finishes it off."

"What? We can get more!" he feigned innocence.

"So what is this about anyway? Caliban wouldn't tell me," Layla asked Sarah.

"I'm leaving the harem," Sarah stated as she picked up a menu.

"WHAT?!"

Sarah smirked and gave Layla a side glance. "To be with you."

Layla looked back at Caliban, who chuckled. "Since Brianna is leaving us, I wanted someone else from the harem to live with you. I considered Lilith or possibly having them all rotate, but Sarah was insistent that she wanted to be with you."

"We're to live as lovers, and we can both be mothers to Adam," Sarah said.

"Isn't that going to confuse Adam? I thought we were going to give him as normal of a childhood as possible," Layla said.

"Gay couples raising children isn't abnormal. Having his father not married to his mother isn't that weird either; as long as he's in a loving, healthy environment, what relationships we have between each other is our business," he explained.

"Caliban and I talked it over, and we also had another idea." Sarah blushed. "If you'd like, I mean, if it's okay with you, Caliban would like us to get married."

Layla looked to Caliban on her right, to Sarah on her left, and back again. "I think I'm lost."

"You said that the thing keeping your mind from shattering completely was Adam - that the love you have for both of us held you together," Caliban said. "What if there was a third person in your life you felt that way about?"

"I've fallen for you, Layla," Sarah said as she snuggled up against her. "I want you to be my Mistress, like Lilith is for you. And even if you don't feel that way about me now, I want the chance to earn your love."

"I... don't know what to say!" she gasped.

"You don't need to accept her proposal now -"

Layla interrupted Caliban. "Yes! I mean - I already love you because you're my best friend," she said as she caressed Sarah's cheek. "I'm more than willing to give a deeper romantic relationship with you a try."

"I'll let the two of you set your own pace. If this works, you'll have another heart-string to hold you together, and I'll get to keep you - all of you - for a long time," Caliban murmured.

"I love you, Caliban," Layla whispered.

"I love you, Layla," he replied.

__________

Alexandra swiped her key card to the hotel room she shared with Sarah and opened the door. Her eyes bulged as she saw Layla wearing nothing but a strap-on, sawing in and out of Sarah.

"God damn it!" she yelled. "Can I just have one week without girl-on-girl?!"

Both Sarah and Layla turned to her. "Who is that behind you?" Layla asked.

Alex glanced behind her to the tall, muscular, tanned, college boy she met an hour ago, wearing a muscle shirt and swim trunks. She blushed and closed the door. "Your room, then?" she asked with a sheepish grin.

Author's Note: Thank you for reading The Witch and the Incubus. I hope you've enjoyed reading this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it. If you are interested in more stories regarding these characters or this world, please leave a comment. Your comments may influence the type of stories I write in the future.

- Michael St. John