Free Incubus by Jennifer Quintenz

see the future he dreamed of.
    “How?” Thane glanced at me impersonally. “She is Lilitu, Murphy. What kind of future do you
    really think she’ll have? Marriage? Children? These things are impossible for her.”
    “That’s not true,” Lucas said. His whole body was coiled tight with anger. Thane eyed him,
    unmoved.
    “If you think the Guard will allow her to take the life of a human man in order to create a Lilitu
    child, you’ve missed the entire point of our existence,” Thane said. He turned back to his plate,
    dismissing the entire conversation.
    “This discussion is moot anyway,” Hale said. “We’ve got bigger problems.”
    “You’re fools if you believe that,” Thane said around a mouth of spaghetti. “More immediate
    problems, yes. But bigger problems?”
    “Enough,” Dad said, pushing back from the table and standing to loom over Thane. “She has done
    nothing to earn your distrust.”
    “She’s Lilitu, Murphy,” Thane said, sounding almost bored. “She earned my distrust the day she
    drew her first breath.”
    “Sit down,” Hale commanded. But Dad didn’t budge.
    “It’s no wonder you drove Karayan away,” Dad said through gritted teeth. “You don’t have the
    capacity for fatherly love.” That got Thane’s attention.
    “Karayan should have been a warning to us all,” Thane hissed, lurching to his feet. “Instead of
    trying to raise up another demon, we should have drowned it at birth.”
    Dad lunged across the table, grabbing Thane by the throat. Chaos erupted. Gretchen and Matthew
    tried to pull Thane back while Hale worked to pry Dad’s hands free from his throat. Everyone was
    shouting.
    Lucas turned toward me, pleading with his eyes.
    “If I ever have children,” I said, surprised by the strength in my voice. “They will be human. ”
    This pronouncement cut through the chaos, leaving a stony silence in its wake. Dad turned to look
    at me, uncomprehending. Hale took advantage of the moment to wrest Dad back from Thane. Thane
    was breathing hard. His hands lifted to massage his throat, but he kept his glare fixed on Dad.
    Everyone else in the room was watching me.
    “I don’t—” Dad started. “Braedyn?”
    “Sansenoy made me an offer,” I said. Uncertainty edged a tremor into my voice, but the time had
    come to tell him. “He has the power to make me human.”
    Dad’s face lit from within. Unbidden, tears glistened in his eyes. He grabbed me, pulling me into a
    fierce hug. “God... thank you, God,” he murmured into my hair.
    As Dad embraced me, I saw Gretchen and Matthew turn to Lucas. Gretchen’s face broke into a rare
    smile as she pulled Lucas close. Matthew caught them together in a hug and ruffled Lucas’s hair,
    beaming.
    “That’s, I’m—” Hale looked stunned. A slow smile spread across his face and he shook his head.
    “I’m so happy for you, Braedyn.”
    “Just like a Lilitu,” Thane growled. Dad released me and turned to Thane, genuinely stunned.
    Thane’s lips twisted into a bitter smile. “Have you forgotten why she was suffered to live in the first
    place?” Thane said. “Without a Lilitu ally, the Guard has virtually no chance of victory in this coming
    battle.” Thane glanced at me, eyes simmering with outrage. “And she abandons her duties now, at the
    critical moment.”
    “I’m not abandoning anything,” I snapped. “Why do you think I haven’t taken him up on his offer
    yet?”
    “No,” Dad looked at me, urgently. “We can find another way to defeat them,” he said quietly.
    “This isn’t your responsibility.”
    “The hell it isn’t,” Thane said. “If you won’t do your part, demon, then—”
    “Thane!” Hale grabbed the front of Thane’s coat, cutting the older man off mid-sentence. “Get
    out.”
    “You know what’s at stake,” Thane growled.
    “ Out. ” Hale’s voice left no room for argument. Thane straightened, summoning what dignity he
    could, and left. When we heard the front door